#future installments may or may not have the same level of rendering

[lovelypol]

Illuminating the Future: The Advantages of LED Lighting

The world of lighting has seen a significant revolution with the advent of LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology. LED lighting has quickly gained popularity as a superior lighting option, surpassing traditional incandescent and fluorescent bulbs in efficiency, durability, and versatility. In this article, we will explore the advantages of LED lighting and why it has become the lighting solution of choice for homes, businesses, and even public spaces.

Energy Efficiency:

LED lighting stands out for its exceptional energy efficiency. Compared to incandescent bulbs, LEDs consume up to 80% less energy while providing the same level of brightness. This efficiency not only helps reduce electricity bills but also has a positive environmental impact by lowering greenhouse gas emissions. LED lights are the go-to choice for energy-conscious individuals and organizations aiming to minimize their carbon footprint.

Longevity and Durability:

LED lights have an impressively long lifespan, often lasting up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. While incandescent bulbs typically burn out after a few thousand hours, LEDs can operate for tens of thousands of hours. This longevity means fewer replacements and reduced maintenance costs. Additionally, LED lights are more resistant to shocks, vibrations, and temperature fluctuations, making them ideal for both indoor and outdoor applications.

Instant Illumination and Dimming Capabilities:

Unlike some other types of lighting, LED lights provide instant illumination when switched on, without any warm-up time. This immediate brightness is particularly useful in spaces where quick and reliable lighting is essential, such as offices, warehouses, and security lighting. LED lights also offer excellent dimming capabilities, allowing users to adjust the brightness according to their needs, creating the desired ambiance, and saving additional energy.

Design Flexibility:

LED technology offers unparalleled design flexibility. LEDs are available in various shapes, sizes, and colors, making them suitable for a wide range of lighting applications. From small accent lights to large-scale installations, LEDs can be tailored to fit any design requirement. They are commonly used in architectural lighting, decorative fixtures, signage, and even in innovative lighting designs that can be controlled and programmed for dynamic color-changing effects.

Environmental Friendliness:

LED lighting is an eco-friendly lighting option for several reasons. As mentioned earlier, LEDs consume significantly less energy, reducing the demand for electricity generated from fossil fuels. Additionally, LED lights do not contain harmful substances like mercury, which is present in fluorescent bulbs, making them safer to handle and dispose of. LED lights are also highly recyclable, further minimizing their environmental impact.

Better Quality Lighting:

LEDs provide superior quality lighting compared to traditional bulbs. They produce a brighter and more focused light, with excellent color rendering capabilities. This means that LED lighting can accurately showcase colors, textures, and details in both residential and commercial settings. LED lights also do not flicker or emit UV rays, making them more comfortable for the eyes and reducing eye strain and fatigue.

Cost-Effectiveness:

While LED lights may have a higher upfront cost compared to traditional bulbs, their long lifespan and energy efficiency translate into substantial cost savings over time. The reduced energy consumption and the longer replacement intervals result in lower electricity bills and decreased maintenance and replacement expenses. LED lighting is a smart investment that pays off in the long run.

Conclusion:

LED lighting has revolutionized the way we illuminate our spaces. With its exceptional energy efficiency, longevity, design flexibility, and environmental friendliness, LED technology has become the preferred lighting solution for homes, businesses, and public areas. By embracing LED lighting, we can enjoy brighter, more vibrant spaces while reducing our energy consumption and contributing to a more sustainable future.

Request for free Sample : https://www.bonafideresearch.com/samplereport/170630052/India-LED-Lighting-Market-2016-2022

[mariacallous]

National security leaders have long warned that technologies produced by Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese companies could be used as conduits for foreign espionage, hacking, and other nefarious activities. But state and local government agencies across the United States are still purchasing and installing this dangerous equipment. If U.S. policymakers do not construct a more unified defense against foreign technology threats, the country will remain vulnerable to potentially devastating attacks.

U.S. government agencies have been forbidden from using equipment from Huawei, ZTE, and three other Chinese companies designated as national security threats since 2019, and policymakers have been sounding the alarm on these firms since at least 2012. But in a recent report we published with Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, we found state and local officials have continued installing products from these companies in the networks of schools, hospitals, transit systems, utility departments, and other government facilities nationwide.

Eliminating a particular product from any supply chain is no easy feat. The global technology industry is vast, complex, and opaque, which makes it exceedingly difficult for governments to determine the provenance of the products they purchase. Aside from transparency issues, many state and local agencies also have limited funds and technical expertise, and they may reasonably prioritize addressing pressing threats like ransomware over the more abstract risks posed by foreign technology.

Still, this technology poses a variety of national security threats. Huawei has been implicated in data breaches, internet censorship, and espionage campaigns in dozens of countries. FBI investigators recently discovered that the company’s equipment could intercept or disrupt communications related to the U.S. military’s nuclear arsenal. Potential backdoors have also been uncovered in products from other Chinese companies, such as Hikvision. When deployed in government networks, these technologies can serve as possible entry points for hackers looking to damage public services, steal sensitive data, or spy on internal operations.

Our analysis of public procurement records revealed that nearly 1,700 state and local agencies purchased products and services connected to the five Chinese companies on the federal blacklist between 2015 and 2021. The data is incomplete, which suggests the true number is much higher. Still, agencies in every state except Vermont appear in the list.

In addition to security threats, the global dominance of Chinese technology giants also presents broader economic risks, potentially leaving the United States dependent on its biggest geopolitical competitor for access to critical technologies. Jeremy Fleming, director of the United Kingdom’s GCHQ intelligence agency, recently called China’s efforts to dominate the global technology ecosystem “the national security issue that will define our future.”

State and local governments do not face the same risks as, say, the U.S. military, but they should still take foreign technology threats seriously. These governments manage a wide variety of public services and are heavily involved in certain critical infrastructure sectors, such as water management and transportation, and foreign hackers have already shown an interest in targeting them. Even if state and local networks are not the primary targets, hackers can use them as springboards into other critical systems.

Lawmakers in a handful of states—including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, and Vermont—have attempted to block purchases of untrustworthy foreign technology. Although well intentioned, these measures generally fail to address the risks at hand, with some containing loopholes large enough to render the regulations ineffective. Local-level efforts are all but nonexistent.

This is not all that surprising, as the federal government is generally responsible for national security. But the mismatch among federal, state, and local approaches to foreign technology threats underscores the need to develop a more cohesive, nationwide strategy.

The Federal Communications Commission can take the lead here. Commissioners will soon vote on rules that would prohibit new authorizations of equipment produced by companies that pose national security threats. Should it pass, this measure would make it illegal to sell most new products made by Huawei, ZTE, and eight other foreign companies on the agency’s blacklist. Such a policy would lay the foundation for a nationwide defense against untrustworthy foreign tech.

The rest of the federal government has the power to build on this base. Under a 2019 law, federal agencies can ban equipment from foreign vendors on the grounds of national security. A Trump-era executive order also permits the U.S. Commerce Department to review and block any technology-related transaction that it deems a national security risk. This applies to purchases by all organizations—public and private—that fall under U.S. jurisdiction.

But while federal policymakers are empowered to combat foreign technology threats, they have yet to effectively wield that authority. Leaders need to apply political pressure to reinvigorate supply chain security programs. Congress must provide the Commerce Department with the resources to implement its new authorities, increase funding for “rip and replace programs,” and require policymakers to publish a master list of current and future federal bans. State and local agencies should align their own procurement practices with the federal blacklist.

Building a more unified defense against foreign technology threats will secure American networks and bolster the U.S. tech economy. Policymakers have all the right tools at their disposal—it’s time they start using them.

[headjust]

Watch the hidden map

#Watch the hidden map full

In these cases, the conceptual connection started to take shape in the impacts of flooding at the edges, and how filled land can become a marker for shoreline flooding, which will inevitably be impacted more by sea-level rise in cities that have claimed 1 this land from their adjacent water bodies. This is obviously not unique to New York City, and I’m interested in researching other places where flooding and made land has a similar correlation. Map of flooding during Hurricane Sandy – ( Village Preservation) Looking at the extent of flooding in Hurricane Sandy (map below) and a number of studies on flood risk, it’s possible to do a quick mental overlay ad show the vulnerability related to the ‘made land’. Expanded Shoreline of Manhattan from 1650-1980 – via Daily Mail In this June 2013 article in the Daily Mail, “ How Hurricane Sandy flooded New York back to its 17th century shape as it inundated 400 years of reclaimed land.” the. At the time there were a number of articles that caught my eye, particularly the idea that inundation and flooding at the margins were related to the idea of land filling and shoreline creation and the margins, replacing natural shorelines with hardened urban edges and bringing development out into these areas. Hurricane Sandy opened many eyes to the risks. These continual, cyclical events along the Eastern Seaboard ad Gulf Coast highlight the danger or urban flooding and as Sanderson points out, offers clear connections with the current flood events in locations of historical, now buried, waterways. Hurricanes, however, seem to be a special case in exacerbating issues just by the sheer scale and concentration of impacts in a short duration. We have plenty of extreme events and flooding here in the Pacific Northwest to see this phenomenon play out in similar ways, causing water levels to rise in creeks or streams, or with high-precipitation rainfall that accumulates faster than it can drain in cities. While the explanation is simple, the complex interactions between that hidden (buried) strata beneath the surface that have been erased from our urban areas and how these areas are poised to re-emerge in the urban sphere in dangerous ways as zones of flooding during extreme weather events is a topic worthy of more examination. I feel like I’ve been overcomplicating my explanations of the connections of climate change and hidden hydrology and Sanderson just nailed the concept in a few words. “Water will go where water has always gone” – Eric Sanderson The work will be installed from May 23, 2022, through Decemso those in New York City go check it out and report back.Ī September 2021 NY Times opinion piece “ Let Water Go Where It Wants to Go” by one of my inspirations, Eric Sanderson points out the connections between historical ecology and the future city with a simple statement: Based on some of her previous work it will be wonderful in execution.

#Watch the hidden map full

You can check out the full press release here for more info. Through Landscape and Memory, Iglesias renders this buried history visible again, inviting viewers to contemplate centuries of transformation of urban sites that were once natural.”Įxcited to hear more about this and see more images, as the sketch is a bit… sketchy. With nineteenth-century industrialization, streams like the Cedar and Minetta were buried underground to create additional land for building sites, underground drains, or sewers. For the project, Iglesias located and studied antique maps that documented the water flow beneath Madison Square Park, where the Cedar Creek and Minetta Brook once coursed for two miles before flowing into the Hudson River. For Landscape and Memory, Iglesias will exhume an impression of Cedar Creek, which once flowed beneath where the park now stands today.”įrom the Madison Square Park Conservancy, some more info: “Nodding to historian Simon Schama’s major 1995 volume of the same name, which surveyed the history of landscape across time and terrain, Landscape and Memory is informed by Iglesias’ research into the history of the site. Entitled Landscape and Memory (referencing the title of one of my favorite books by Simon Schama), the work unearths a buried stream in Madison Square Park.įrom The Architect’s Newspaper: “Manhattan is crisscrossed by streams and rivers that have since been buried but continue to flow, flooding their banks and the basements above when it rains. A project from artist Cristina Iglesias (see a post of some of her previous work here) again dives into the idea of hidden hydrology, this time in New York City.

[thedemonscrawler]

as promised; lots of effort for an ultimately very silly comic

part 2 (maybe?)

[sanctamater]

i’ll set the fires of hell upon them myself: a comprehensive timeline of an alternate universe in which lady c.omstock raises elizabeth in comstock house and joins booker de.witt when he comes to columbia in an effort to save her daughter. 

welcome to yet another timeline post by tumblr user sanctamater. this one is perhaps the peak alternate reality.

1892: amelia is indoctrinated into the cult and is courted by zachary. she introduces him to senators, congressmen, governors, and other cogs in machine politics as her intended, giving him access to resources he lacks; enabling him to indoctrinate some politicians into the cult and secure funding for rosalind, who is able to now communicate with robert and eventually create the lutece machine. zachary then uses this for his prophecies.

1893: amelia and zachary marry in january. columbia is now well under construction and set to launch at the world’s exhibition fair in may of that year. zachary tells amelia that she is to bear their messiah. use of the lutece machine to peer into alternate realties has rendered zachary sterile. outwardly, he blames amelia for their inability to produce a child, and seeks the help of lutece. at first, she refuses; but at the prospect of being united with her other self robert, she accepts, and agrees to have robert procure anna dewitt. offering to wash booker of his debts in exchange for the girl, booker accepts; only to regret it at the last minute. in the struggle between booker and zachary, anna loses her pinkie finger as the door between universes closes. on october 8th, 1893, anna is brought to columbia, and renamed elizabeth at zachary’s behest. elizabeth is brought to amelia, and zachary claims the child is cut from the holy cloth. amelia, obviously, does not buy it; and noting that zachary spends unorthadox amounts of time with chief scientist rosalind lutece, accuses him of having an affair with her, and that elizabeth is the product of that union. rosalind tells amelia the truth of elizabeth’s birth. it’s not clear in the canon voxophone rosalind leaves behind, but - “Lady Comstock seems to believe the child is a result of some errant act of carnality between myself and her beloved Prophet. I told the poor woman the truth: that the child was a product of our little contraption. But I think she found that less believable than her delusion.” rosalind, in my canon, was very clear in the fact that elizabeth is amelia’s daughter.  in many worlds, amelia rejects this, and claims that rosalind is still lying to her. in others, she does see the truth for what it is; and chooses to raise elizabeth as her own in an attempt to protect her only child from the prophet’s designs. 

1894: with elizabeth’s arrival, tears begin to appear in columbia as her powers manifest. with exposure to tears comes consequences: columbia, by the time the game takes place, has fertility issues and high cancer rates for those who have been exposed to tears. zachary begins to make plans to monitor, control, and suppress this power while amelia is left to raise the child.

1897: comstock house centre opens. comstock house is a research and “rehabilitation” centre that focuses on ridding man of sin, which columbia considers to be a symptom of illness. what goes on in comstock house is likely very intentionally left vague by canon sources; but “heretics” who are caught are subjected to forced lobotomies and mental conditioning in order to make them exemplary members of columbian society. comstock house now contains zachary, amelia, the lamb, their servants, and the doctors and their medical staff that work below. in addition to comstock house opening, zachary installs a large siphon in comstock house meant to stabilise and drain elizabeth of her power. from an early age, elizabeth is cautioned by amelia to use her power sparingly, if at all; and that she will get in trouble with her father if she is caught opening tears. 

1901: the boxer rebellion occurs and columbia displays its considerable military power in an attack against beijing. after being ordered to return to the usa to answer for its unsanctioned attack, columbia simply ascends into the clouds and proclaims sovereignty. elizabeth and amelia are now rarely allowed outside of comstock house unless it is a state holiday or larger religious occasion in which parading the holy mother and messiah around would be beneficial for the prophet’s image. amelia attempts to be content with the situation, though wishes elizabeth were allowed playmates. elizabeth grows restless. the luteces are enlisted to help educate elizabeth in tandem with her mother. 

1907: elizabeth’s powers continue to manifest and comstock house becomes dangerous due to electrical blowouts and the mysterious, accidental deaths of several servants, administrative workers, low level politicians, lawmakers, and guards. zachary’s response is to section elizabeth off to the wing of comstock house that lady comstock occupies and keep her there with amelia and a larger siphon. elizabeth becomes resentful of this situation, though amelia knows her hands are tied in the matter. 

1909: daisy fitzroy, now leader of the vox populi, is captured and brought to comstock house. amelia attempts to see her, but is denied. she is interviewed by dr. pinchot, who is fascinated by her. fitzroy later escapes and kills several doctors in the process.  rosalind and robert lutece come to an ultimatum to send elizabeth back to the world she came from, in order to prevent the razing of the united states in the future. zachary sabotages their machine to explode and kill them “accidentally”. the funeral is a quiet one.  elizabeth is distraught at the loss of her tutors, and amelia comes to the revelation that the only way either of them can be happy and the only way elizabeth can be safe is if she is far away from zachary, and out of the city. 

pre timeline ends here. game events reconstructed/rewritten are below.

booker dewitt comes to columbia on succession day; one of the only times that the lady comstock and the lamb are allowed outside of comstock house and are able to be seen by the public. it is one of elizabeth’s favourite days for this reason, and amelia will spoil her with treats until it is time to return home to comstock house. sheltered, shy, and wanting for nothing; elizabeth is still a rebellious teenager who has much bigger plans than becoming the prophet’s heir. 

in the chaos of the raffle, elizabeth and amelia are hustled on to an airship to be delivered safely back to comstock house. booker, however, boards the ship and takes out their guards. booker’s only task is to deliver elizabeth to new york city, not her mother - and much to his surprise, the sainted lady grabs a gun from a fallen guard and aims it at booker without hesitation. in a stand off, amelia says if he is to take elizabeth out of the city, then that she must come with her daughter as well. booker agrees. songbird attempts to disable the airship and the three fall into battleship bay. 

travelling with the lady comstock and messiah is not easy. amelia is easily recognizable even in a dishevelled state and both must take precautions not to be seen - either by wrapping their hair up or obscuring their faces - or else the guards will be called. stealth is now initiated in passive levels. it is known throughout the city that the lady comstock and messiah are missing, and that the prophet Fears The Worst for his Beloved(TM) and child. 

amelia, while rusty, is handy with some small guns like pistols and handcanons, given her upbringing and the leisurely hours spent at shooting ranges and hunts (which were a sport of the american elite). she’s a sharp shooter who does not hesitate when her daughter is involved, and despite the violence surrounding them, wishes to protect her from witnessing it. 

amelia gives elizabeth permission to use tears to aid the party in its travels as it is revealed how useful this power would be.

the hall of heroes goes about the same; though the first lady’s memorial is now an exhibit on the holy couple’s endeavours against the vox populi. by the end of the hall of heroes/battleship bay, the pa system now treats lady comstock as an enemy of the state as well; and states that elizabeth has been kidnapped by the treacherous first lady and the maniacal false shepherd. zachary expresses his disappointment over the pa in soldier’s field, to which amelia tells him to ‘choke on his sermon’. 

liz knocking out booker with a wrench scares the shit out of amelia and only strengthens her resolve that elizabeth needs to leave. with booker incapacitated and neither no longer trusting him after the whole new york v paris debacle, the two set off on their own and are captured and await for the arrival of the prophet’s men to escort them both back to comstock house.

the rest of the level progresses as normal with the reunion in shanty town, aside from yet another deviation -

elizabeth is forced to kill a founder soldier who disarms amelia and goes to shoot her. she is traumatised by this action and inconsolable.

once again, daisy does not die. amelia is able to talk with daisy given their former friendship years ago and agrees that the three of them will join the vox in order to take down the prophet and leave columbia in good hands, as amelia makes it plain they simply want to leave the city; and that amelia has no intentions of her daughter staying to rule the city. daisy agrees.

amelia helps elizabeth to cut her hair and step into her old relics (her dress) within the airship. the airship is knocked out of the sky and crashes in emporia, which is in the middle of evacuating. 

instead of fighting the siren, as amelia does not die in this world, the three go to uncover truths that the prophet has long since buried. 

in the lutece’s laboratories, it is revealed that elizabeth was brought to columbia via tear; something amelia tearfully professes and apologizes for; saying that she will always be her daughter; in this world or the next. 

in the bank, after elizabeth opens a tear that reveals that in many worlds, amelia has been murdered, amelia’s nose begins to bleed. ‘the prophet... killed me?’ ‘mother, your nose is bleeding.’

with comstock house’s gate now firmly closed to them both, booker and amelia devise a plan to blow the gate in to gain access. it works. they continue on, but the songbird takes both amelia and elizabeth to comstock house.

elizabeth begs the prophet not to hurt her mother, and says she will be his daughter so long as he does not harm her. amelia is placed in comstock house asylum, and elizabeth is tortured by the prophet as he makes ready to install the leash. 

booker is brought through to 1913 from the prophet elizabeth timeline, and rescues amelia from the asylums first before the two make their way into the depths of comstock house to save elizabeth. both daughter and mother agree that zachary hale comstock must die for what he has done, and that the vox will aid them in this.

the trio fights their way into zachary’s zeppelin with the help of the vox populi, and make their way up to the prophet’s sanctuary.

amelia inserts herself between zachary and elizabeth when he begins to get physically aggressive and a fight between the three breaks out. booker intervenes and slams zachary’s head into the baptismal font, ending his life. elizabeth comes to the conclusion that they must leave this timeline and destroy the siphon in its entirety.

the vox and songbird help the trio battle off the last of the founders and return to comstock house, where they destroy the large siphon that exists there. 

the sea of doors occurs. it is revealed in one tear where booker and amelia find themselves dancing together that they were, in another timeline, lovers; and eventually married. it is then revealed that amelia did indeed birth elizabeth, and die during the process - and that booker sold anna/elizabeth to zachary.

amelia is not pleased. they have an argument on the boat. elizabeth just wants her parents to shut up because she’s monologuing. the luteces are grateful that this is not a common outcome in the sea of doors.

elizabeth drowns booker/zachary in the baptismal river with amelia’s hand on her shoulder. she is the last figure to vanish before elizabeth is left alone.

burial at sea does not happen but the cutscene shows all three of them together in a universe where amelia does not die and they are all very happy thank u good night. 

[aion-rsa]

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen

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This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12

The Simpsons Season 32, episode 12, “Diary Queen,” may be the sweetest offering of the series. It’s not only sentimental and self-esteem-positive, it’s downright edumacational. At least for Bart, who certainly learns a lesson. Thankfully, as the episode explains by example, he probably won’t retain it.

“What’s the matter, Bart? I figure you’d be used to failing by now,” Edna Krabappel once consoled the spiky haired kid who seemed so determined to get through school without schooling. Marcia Wallace, who played the Springfield Elementary teacher, died unexpectedly in October 2013. Edna’s death was first acknowledged in “Four Regrettings and a Funeral,” from season 25, when Bart wrote “We’ll really miss you Mrs. K” on the chalkboard. He only wrote it once. Her death was punishment enough. Both the character and the voice actor were instrumental in the chemistry of The Simpsons, and chemistry happens to be one of the few things Bart’s ever excelled at in school, even pranking a talent show in the “Haw-Haw Land” episode. But he gets his beakers crossed in the latest installment.

“Diary Queen” opens with an inspired West Side Story song parody, “Too Nice” replacing “Tonight.”  It’s time for Ned Flanders’s annual yard sale, and he’s on a holy mission to undersell eBay. Comic Book Guy is looking for a broom to play Quidditch on, Waylen Smithers is going to score some kitsch, and Ned will finally toss those fuzzy dice Maude bought him to the bottom of an impulse item box of jokes he did not get. The Flanders family are parting with their humble possession in a public bid for humility, in case no one notices. Ned gives up Rod’s teeth. Todd consigns his toys to the auction block on the grass. “Playing is a sin that we regret,” one of the Flanders kids explains.

Ned’s bizarre outdoor bazaar is the only segment which has any meanness in it. The Springfieldians want to take advantage of Ned, and openly mock him. Carl and Lenny turn the yard sale into a yarn brawl, and Jimbo’s gang buys commemorative plates just to smash them. It’s enough to send Ned looking for the fans he always carries around in case of stress-induced hot flashes. As Patty and Selma are flicking ashes into Rod and Tod’s baby shoes, it seems Nelson, Bart, and Millhouse are the only ones worthy to buy Ned’s treasured mementos. And, of those, only Nelson’s purchase is authentic. He buys all the bad words, like “adultery” and “fornication,” which Ned cut out of his old religious texts. Nelson has a genuine use for them, you can just tell.

Bart and Millhouse buy the books. Even without the offending admonishments, they swear they’ll still find useful ways to better themselves. Their haul winds up being the fiery centerpiece for a supercool skateboarding feat which no one will ever see. It’s an old joke, but we do get to notice how big Millhouse’s nose looks when he’s picking it. One book, which gives the title to the episode, is spared the conflagration of Bart’s daredevil jump: Edna Krabappel’s diary. Bart recognizes the Ds and Fs, and Millhouse recognizes the smell of Parliament Lights 100s. It’s very telling how these are the most recognizable clues. They are each ready-made character punchlines.

The diary is a font of information. Bart and Millhouse learn all the teachers work night jobs during school hours, and the many lonely secrets of Groundskeeper Willie. But their first use of it is inspired gaggery. Bart learns Superintendent Chalmers keeps his car keys behind the visor. The two kids not only steal the car but take advantage of a free yogurt offer at a car wash. The idea that taking the yogurt and ditching the car is a “perfect crime” is great kids’ logic. It is a little odd, however, that Springfield’s Chief Wiggum sees fourth grade car thieves as inspiration for a little personal time with Officer Lou, but it works within Simpsons logic.

The central point of the episode is Bart’s relationship with his dead teacher, and his relationship with himself. He actually believes someone he thought only saw him as troublesome also considered him “smart as a whip.” It leads him to believe he actually has potential, which he translates to: all the time he was showing his butt he was showing promise. This spurs him into thinking about getting seriously educated. Not only does he try but he succeeds on his first dry run, resisting the urge to draw a skeleton head on a multiple-choice test grid, and getting an A. Not only does he finally understand how his sister Lisa doesn’t suck, but he puts himself on the same level.

Lisa goes through all the stages of jealousy, and even realizes she’s on the verge of obsession when even her imaginary comfort pony begins to look like Bart. This makes it worse, because realizing he is the only thing she can think about only makes her dwell on it. Lisa is usually the family genius, and how she reacts to Bart doing well really depends on the circumstance and need for story conflict. For instance, when Bart had to apply geometry to miniature golf in an early episode, Lisa brought a Zenlike understanding of all things which putt. Lisa does Bart a disservice tonight in the guise of doing the right thing. It’s her MO.

Of course, Marge and Lisa don’t trust Bart’s recent good grades, but while he comes up clean to Marge, Lisa digs up the dirt. Bart correlates “cruel” with “lying” because “they’re both great.” He thinks he’s going to win a Spelling Bee just because he has the potential to do it. Would it have been less cruel for Lisa to let him see how far his belief would get him? She’s set him up for worse humiliations just for an edge at science fairs.

Millhouse gets a few good gags tonight. When Lisa starts developing a rash because of the stress of not crushing her brother’s potential, he pulls cream out of his fanny pack labeled “rash stash.” Groundskeeper Willie is a highlight of the episode. His character has one of the most interesting takes on passive aggressive behavior in comedy. It’s not that he gets it backwards, so much as he pays it forward: Terrorizing Bart with the idea of simmering a new pet into rabbit stew when all he’s thinking of is how much bunnies love stewed carrots.

Read more

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Subtle social commentary makes its way into the episode. As this is the first episode since the Trump presidency, it opens with a Bald Eagle flying a sign asking “Is it safe yet?” We learn Ned doesn’t find Bill Maher funny. A priest tells Bart and Millhouse reading someone else’s diary in church is not the worst thing you can do within the hallowed walls. Moments later we see the priest handcuffed and escorted past the pews by the police. We can only wonder what offenses are happening at Reverend Lovejoy’s competition.

Fat Tony (Tony Montagna) tells his henchmen his crime family doesn’t kill children, “We wait till they’re 18.” Lisa is kept up at night by the cold dead eyes of Mike Pence. Subtle subversive commentary can be found when Principal Skinner declares the drug-free portion of the school assembly a success because Lisa, the only one in the auditorium, tells him she doesn’t do drugs. But the scene comes shortly after we learn Dr. Hibbert is pushing kiddie-Xanax “sleepies” and “dopies” on her. The best bad side effects are “Portuguese insolence” and the “tendency to see yourself as others see you.”

The episode has quite a few sight gags which work well. The sign outside the Spelling Bee contest reads H-E-A-R, and we see one of the losing contestants ripping up a dictionary on the way to the exit. When Ned starts to preachify in the treehouse, he only stops because Bart is drawing back a trigger finger on his slingshot. Mrs. Krabappel’s beloved cat not only was not harmed during the making of the episode, but was a willing participant, according to the closing disclaimer. One of the stills in the photo montage is of Krabappel watching The Bob Newhart Show, which Marcia Wallace was a regular on.

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For the majority of The Simpsons’ run, Mrs. Krabappel was a sexually independent woman who was often “looking for a substitute to teach me a lesson I sorely need.” She began dating widower Ned in “The Ned-Liest Catch” from season 22. They married in secret and stayed together until her death in “The Man Who Grew Too Much.” The cause of Edna’s death has never been revealed, except in a non-canon, future-set episode. For this installment, Wallace’s two lines are taken from earlier episodes. “Diary Queen” will be her last appearance.

This is a different kind of arc for The Simpsons. “Diary Queen” is on an uplifting trajectory until Lisa knocks it off course, and ends in a sudden life-affirming crash. Bart’s final warning to Marge, “I’ll go over the edge if you try to make me feel better,” is wonderfully skewered, but the final twist is a dose of treacle. The episode was originally slated to premiere on Valentine’s Day, and is a sweet sendoff.

The post The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[mdoug9090-blog]

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[arecomicsevengood]

Is This How I See Jaime?

Objectively speaking, I am not that old. Still there’s no getting past the fact that I am getting older every day, like everybody else. I might not be at the point where my body betrays my age, where I ache all the time and grunt when I stand, but my mind still carries with it the weight of decades of lived experience, and this can at any moment make me want to lie down.

There are few artists that capture the feeling of aging quite like Jaime Hernandez. Partly this is because of his working method. No one else does what he does, making serialized comics for close to forty years, that tell stories with the same characters. These are not truly STORIES, utilizing flashbacks that provide crucial context to events and create literary effects, even as the overall narrative they tell moves forward in time and builds an attachment between reader and character comparable to long-running television series. Still, when broken up into serialized installments in issues of Love And Rockets, it can frequently feel like nothing is happening. Often, what you get in an individual issue is around fifteen pages, split between multiple pieces focused on different characters. These fragments are focused, compressed in a manner closer to cinema than television, but you’re still only getting what might amount to three to five minutes depicted on-screen. With a few exceptions, what you get in an issue is not a complete short story with a beginning, middle, and end. For all the influence the Hernandez Brothers have had on alternative comics, reading the people they’ve influenced will not prepare you for how much Love And Rockets is modeled off of serialized comics, and how much of its power it draws from continuity and extended engagement.

This pacing demands a certain level of expectation-free interaction, which is crucial to deep relationships. It’s worth noting Jaime’s strips run alongside his brother Gilbert’s work, which is similar in some ways, but by no means the same. Gilbert’s body of work is a lot more complicated, due in part to how prolific he is, the meta/self-referential/self-deconstructive elements of the stories he’s telling, and also how he draws tits like Mark Newgarden draws noses, that just keep getting larger. He deserves a deep critical reading, but I don’t have the energy, money, or time to keep up with him. Running the two brothers’ work side by side makes Love And Rockets implicitly about family, which then in turn becomes a subject each cartoonist explicitly makes work about. And not just “chosen” family, but the actual people who’ve known you your entire life. Which is, inherently, a concept which both means more the older you get, and remains somewhat alienating. As a reader, it helps to be prepared to extend to Love And Rockets the goodwill one would a family member, to begin to get on its level.

On a superficial level, making work about family seems somewhat conservative and nostalgic. That’s not to suggest it’s not valuable, or worth fighting for. There’s just a certain adjustment of values or attitudes a reader needs to make to get on board with the work, that might be at odds with the punk rock alternative comics reputation that precedes it. The comics themselves are built on a formal language of cartooning that’s older and out of fashion: Sixties Ditko comics, Lil Archie, Dennis The Menace Goes To Mexico. This adds to a feeling of being about aging in a way younger art cartoonists inspired by their same-age immediate peers can’t get to. For instance, I love Olivier Schrauwen, and I can see the influence Yuichi Yokoyama has on his work, and I view the two of them as peers in dialogue, creating the future of comics, which creates a totally different reading experience than I get reading work that feels more in dialogue with the past. The formal choices of the Hernandez brothers, including that their work appears for the first time in serialized comic book formats, calls conscious attention to history. Consciousness of the past hurts, and this truth is a huge element of the plots and themes of Jaime’s work.

It’s the sheer graphic strength of Jaime’s drawing that enables it to stick in the memory. He’s able to capture a tiny gesture and render it iconic through use of line and spotted blacks. The precision he brings his images gives them a certain ease of recall. This is the crux of a two-page spread at the climax of The Love Bunglers where, as a bunch of different stories and images are recalled, now rendered at different angles, they’re all there in your consciousness, in a mix of your memories of the comic and your memories of your own individual life. It’s a hugely cathartic climax.

However, both Gilbert and Jaime have this aspect to what they do that can easily frustrate a reader, and it is seemingly inextricable from the core of their power: Once a point is reached where you can easily follow along, and a satisfying conclusion to a story occurs, the next several issues will completely destabilize that and you will again not know what exactly is going on. For instance, if you read the Perla La Loca collection, collecting the “Wigwam Bam” and “Chester Square” graphic novels, by the end of it, you will have a very exciting experience that should convince you Jaime Hernandez is one of the greatest cartoonists in the world. Reading the Penny Century collection of the work that followed, plenty of stories will leave you feeling like he lost his touch, or is spinning his wheels. At the end of the book, and the “Everybody Loves Me Baby” story, you’re knocked flat on your ass again, but if you had read the original comic books as they came out, who knows if you would’ve stuck it out that long.

This, by the way, is one of the most realistic things there is. Life’s “things just keep happening” quality will fuck you up time and again. While I haven’t given up on life just yet, I have stopped reading Love And Rockets a few times. I’m not the sort of reader who sticks with a series out of inertia. I have always been hyper-aware of the value of my comic-book buying dollar, and therefore pretty fickle. If I read two issues straight of a comic that feels like it’s treading water, I would be done with it. I’ve gone back and picked up things after the fact and filled in gaps, or I’ve switched to reading trade collections checked out from the library. I bought the first two issues of the recently relaunched Love And Rockets volume 4 in one go, realized that it was continuing stories from Love And Rockets: New Stories, and didn’t go back for more, put off by the stories’ continuation from the previous volume.

It’s only now, with the release of Is This How You See Me and Tonta, that I am reading the stories that followed up The Love Bunglers in a complete form. They blew me away. The effects Jaime’s going for at any given moment may be subtle, but they accumulate, and this accumulation then becomes the true effect, and why I analogize it to aging: There’s this sheer weight that results from how things just continue to happen, and each time they hit you with what feels like more force, even as the moments themselves are minor ones. This is a true-to-life feeling that is very hard to capture. It’s present in the relentless pace of Charlie Kaufman’s masterpiece Synecdoche, New York, but that is a movie too intense to rewatch for many. Jaime’s work is built around you returning to it, which means it has to be somewhat inviting, and include levity.

Is This How You See Me focuses on the characters of Maggie and Hopey, introduced in 1981 as teenagers, now presumably in their mid-fifties, happily married to other people but still weighing the possibility of cheating with their ex. The characters return to a “punk rock reunion” in their hometown, to reminisce on the past with old friends, and old characters we haven’t seen in years appear, visibly older than when they were last drawn, but still recognizably themselves. This plot lends the comic some elements of nostalgic fan-service that I intellectually feel an aversion to. It feels almost like the plot is designed transparently for those purposes. Bringing back old characters would strike me as a crass project in the pages of X-Men or Legion Of Super-Heroes, but the naturalism of Jaime’s approach means that it allows him to show me things I legitimately haven’t seen in a comic book before. It’s probable they’ve been in movies or books, but I would argue they work better in comics.

For instance, there’s a scene where the reunited cast are showing each other photos on their phones.  This is a normal thing people do, and so surely it has been depicted in a film. But in a comic, there’s this weird meta element to it. Smartphones have text message conversations appear in little word balloons, right? The word balloon being a technique comics used to depict speech, as part of their normal communication system of images. Then, when interacting in physical space, people show pictures to each other, using this device they usually use for the mimesis of speech over distances, but they’re communicating using pictures to show what their life is like. Which is what the comic itself is doing more generally. So, there’s there’s this semiotic quality to the gesture of the outstretched hand with phone in it which feels really profound when depicted in comics, while it would feel sort of stupid and uncinematic in a movie, where the aging theater audience would have to squint and ask their neighbor what is being shown in the text message they’re seeing on screen.

Similarly, we see the married couple of Maggie and Ray, separated from each other for the length of the weekend, fretting over how much they should be in communication, drafting texts and deleting them. There’s an intimacy people who live with each other share, where much of what they encounter apart from the other person they want to talk to them about, because to be close to another person is to have them in some ways always present inside your head. Depicting the writing of a text, and then the decision to delete it, captures both the intimacy of a couple and the intimacy of one’s own private thoughts, in a way that only a form with the intimacy of a comic is able to depict effectively. Prose alone can’t capture the fluctuations of posture and self-presentation which is the heart of deleting a draft.

Concern for one’s image is depicted as well in the title pages to individual chapters, showing characters taking pictures of themselves in mirrors with their phones. These pages seem to depict not so much the cultivated selfie but the self-awareness of the drafting process, the titles above them taking on a certain poetry, built around the words spoken to oneself unconsciously that are the opposite of the language one chooses to send in a message to convey a precise thought.

This stuff really impressed me, and it all fits within a language of small gestures. While there are tons of books that are about how connection works in the digital age, it also always feels like that stuff is a commentary on how young people live. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything as interested in how people in middle age use these devices. Of course, it’s possible examples exist in work targeted to older audiences, and I just missed it because it wasn’t marketed to me.

It was actually Jaime’s other 2019 book, Tonta, that spoke to me more. Here, the aging the book is about is a coming-of-age thing about a high school student, and the book has this spirited youthful quality to it from the outset. While other, darker, plot elements unfold as it goes on, what was interesting to me is that the noir-like narrative that exists as a counterpoint in the finished book might not have even seemed part of the same story to a reader of Love And Rockets, where the character nicknamed Tonta just sort of suddenly emerged. There’s even a few pages in this collection given over to narration by Ray, who otherwise doesn’t appear in the book. These elements don’t seem dissonant or like they don’t belong. It just makes the book itself feel loose, like it feels as free and exploratory as a teenager looking for something to do. Placed together inside a book, the disparate threads become united by having a main character to pay attention to how developments of the plot affect her. The book has a real tonal arc as it unfolds, and the way the book gets you in its grip from such a goofy start seems to replicate how the stories about the Maggie character developed over time, here captured in miniature.

The sum of these two books will at some point only be a portion of a future volume of the Love And Rockets library, the formatting of the Perla La Loca and Penny Century books I mentioned earlier. There are portions from recent issues of Love And Rockets that are natural continuations and codas from these books, and what tapestries these fragments will be woven into is unknown to me. Another gutpunch could be just around the corner or years in the offing. There’s really no way to know what the future holds.

[ledscreenparts]

Multi Function Stadium Requirements For LED Displays

High Standards Of Materials And Control Technology

Luminescent Material : Luminescent materials are the most important materials for display screens technology, especially full-color display screens. They are the key to ensuring the display effect and high reliability and long life. The main reference indicators are brightness and uniformity.

Control Driver Chip : Controlling the driving chip is the guarantee of the key design of the display. Due to the high huidu control system technical content of this part and the uneven level of manufacturers, the design of this part should be treated with caution.

Switch Power : The switching power supply is a component with a high failure rate in the display screen. A high-quality switching power supply must be used to ensure that the use requirements of the display screen in the stadium are met.

The stadium display is a large-scale facility serving competitive projects. In terms of its control technology, it needs to integrate advanced technologies in the industry, such as static latch technology, white balance technology, nonlinear correction technology, high grayscale technology, and color uniformity technology. LED video processor technology, fast moving image compensation technology, full brake control technology, etc.

Gymnasium display screens are generally used in sports competitions and large-scale events. Any failure or mistake will cause a great impact. Therefore, stable project quality is the objective requirement of users. In order to meet the requirements, to ensure the stable and reliable operation of the LED display screen, and to be foolproof, we must take quality as the guide in design, production, installation, commissioning and delivery, and use an effective quality assurance system to ensure the entire production process.

Analysis Of Site Demand For LED Display

The design, manufacture, installation, commissioning and operation of LED electronic display must be matched with the sport stadium floor plan and section to coordinate the overall effect. At the same time, the power supply structure of the venue must be fully considered. Generally speaking, the power supply should work normally within the range of (220 ± 22) V, (380 ± 38) V. In addition, all control equipment should be centralized in a control room, and there should be access to control equipment in the venue at the referee seats for various games.

The venue is large, and the stadium has more than 5,000 spectator seats. Generally, two LED electronic displays with an area of ​​40M2 can be constructed. One of the screens is divided into three parts: the clock area, the full-color area and the dual primary color area. There are two parts of the clock area and the dual primary color area. Doing so not only ensures the satisfaction of various functions, but also the reasonable use of funds. If the funds are sufficient and it is possible to host a large-scale rally or competition in the future, you can also make the two screens full-color screens. In this way, the playback effect will be more realistic and the atmosphere rendering will be stronger.

Demand Analysis Of LED Display Content

The multifunctional modern gymnasium can be used not only to hold various sports competitions, but also to hold various large-scale cultural events and rallies. Therefore, the requirements for the display screen can be summarized as rich, diverse, and real-time. Sports competitions, cultural performances, and large-scale events held in the stadium can be broadcast live through the electronic display, and have special effects such as panoramas, close-ups, slow motion, flash action, drag images, nostalgic movies and so on.

Systematic Requirements Analysis Of LED Display

The display screen of the gymnasium is an important part of the electronic information system of the stadium, so the display screen and the control system are systematic projects. The computer in the control room, the arena, the referee, the referee, and the news center of the gymnasium are integrated into one to serve the entire sports game efficiently. It is only one of the components, so compatibility should be fully considered in the entire system design. All interfaces adopt standard interfaces to form a systematic facility for sharing information resources with the network.

Demand Analysis Of LED Display Environment

High brightness : Because the stadium games and activities are performed during the day or under strong light, the display screen must reach high brightness and be clearly visible under strong light.

Protect from moisture, corrosion and heat. Due to the large volume of the display, fixed installation, and more wiring, special storage methods cannot be used. In addition, it must adapt to the humid, rainy, and high-temperature weather that may occur in the installation area. In consideration of moisture, corrosion and good heat dissipation measures. At the same time, the display screen must be protected against dust.

[rebelsofshield]

Panels Far, Far Away: A Week in Star Wars Comics 10/3/19

It’s October which means it’s time to return to Mustafar for another series of creepy shenanigans! Also, Doctor Aphra tries her best to survive as an official employee of the Empire and Greg Pak’s sprint towards the end of this volume of Star Wars continues.

Star Wars #72 written by Greg Pak and art by Phil Noto

Look. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me say it, but Rock People. I never would have guessed that a story where C-3PO and Chewbacca team up with sentient stone men to thwart the plans of Darth Vader would be one of my favorite stories in the seventy five issue run of Star Wars, but here we are. If this whole arc was simply this storyline, I would be throwing out “A” grades every issue. Between the humor, brilliant art, playful action, and one of the best character beats for C-3PO in years, each installment of this story twists what came before while also just being damn fun.

The same, unfortunately, can’t be said about the other two stories. Han and Leia’s noir love triangle has a fun character moment for Han, but we’ve been stuck in the same ballroom set piece for three issues now. There’s a lot going on in this particular narrative, but the pacing over these last several installments has all but halted. Hopefully things pick up next chapter.

Luke suffers the most though. While the idea of Luke meeting up with a young thief who learned the Force from the Guardians of the Whills is an interesting one and has the potential for all manner of character and hijinks, writer Greg Pak’s handling of Luke here can’t help but feel poor and misguided. It is unclear at this point why Luke has any trust for Warba, who has repeatedly used and lied to him while offered little in return. Young Skywalker is still in his good natured farmboy phase of his character development, but after over seventy issues one would think that his naiveté would have worn off just a little. It’s a disappointingly simple character turn that hopefully will improve in future issues.  

Score: B

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #37 written by Simon Spurrier and art by Caspar Wijngaard

It all ends where it began. With just four issues left in her long winding journey, Doctor Aphra once again finds herself working for the Empire and just under the shadow of Darth Vader himself.

Bringing Aphra and Vader together again after all this time is a logical jump for the final story arc of this comic. Aphra’s scheming and leverage over Darth Vader always made her the perfect foil for the galaxy’s most iconic villain and seeing Simon Spurrier get to fully dig into this dynamic makes for some fun storytelling opportunities. The rapidly approaching end to this long strange voyage is likely to spell nothing but doom and sadness for our good doctor, but the journey still proves fun and filled with humor.

Spurrier has a particular knack for finding creative spins on existing Star Wars concepts and twisting them to fit into the bizarre corner of the galaxy that he has carved out for Doctor Aphra. Having a full Imperial task force focused on weeding out old temples that may serve as rebel bases is the perfect blending of this particular story’s concepts and such an obvious fit for Aphra, even if it goes awry incredibly quickly. It leads to a twist that is sure to personalize the upcoming issues in unexpected ways. It may feel a little convenient, but the emotional fallout is sure to make it worth it.

Caspar Wijngaard is a welcome addition to this book. I did not make my frustrations with Wilton Santos’s pencils subtle, and I’m glad to see that Spurrier’s frequent collaborator has taken his place and is back on board for another story. Wijngaard’s pencil style lends itself well to motion and character design and while this issue is light on action, it does offer ample opportunity to show off his creativity. Wijngaard’s work still looks best when he handles his own colors and it’s hard not to be a little disappointed that Lee Loughridge has stepped in. Loughride’s work is serviceable and does a great job at capturing mood and environment, but Wijngaard’s faces lack definition and it does a disservice to some of the weightier moments

Score: B+

Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle #1 written by Cavan Scott and art by Francesco Francavilla and Megan Levens

The original Tales from Vader’s Castle remains my favorite project put out by IDW’s tenure on Star Wars. Cavan Scott, Derek Charm, and a host of other artists were able to churn out a series of fun Star Wars set horror stories without ever sacrificing the book’s decided audience of younger readers. Giving the anthology stories of Adventures a solid frame narrative to work with added a fun level of consequence and continuity and it built to a finale that contained some of the best visual storytelling in a Star Wars comic of the last year.

When IDW announced that we would be returning to Mustafar for another round of macabre tales from the Dark Side, I could not have been more excited. Even with Derek Charm sitting this anthology out, Return to Vader’s Castle still looks to be a delightfully creepy continuation of what is hopefully a holiday tradition.

Scott switches up the framework this year and has the different stories being told by Darth Vader’s mysterious servant, Vanee, to an unfortunate listener. Vanee is an underdeveloped but suitably unnerving character so his place as our Crypt Keeper for this anthology works well. While I won’t spoil the reveal of who Vanee’s audience is, it comes as a fun piece of continuity to last year’s event, but it may be lost on many of the comics younger readers who may not have been keeping up.

Francesco Francavilla nails these framed sections, with shadowy pencils and sinister character designs. Each frame is colored in dark blues, reds, and greens and it gives all the segments in Vader’s castle an air of dark magic and playful scares.

As for the actual tale, the decision to make the mysterious monster at its center Spider-Maul is an inspired one. This insane, monstrous version of the fallen Sith Lord makes for the perfect haunted house villain and Scott sets up a fun plot that sees young scavengers happening upon his trap. The art for this segment disappoints however. While Megan Levens draws a suitably creepy Maul and the scenes concerning the young scavengers function fine, Charlie Kirchoff’s pencils prove misplaced. The comic is rendered too bright and colorful and it robs the story of its eerie atmosphere. The result feels divorced from what is a surprisingly dark tale on the page.

All in all, I am happy to be back in the walls of Fortress Vader. I’m a sucker for Halloween and fun seasonal scary stories set in the galaxy far, far away could not be more my jam. I look forward to future weeks.

Score: B

[breakingarrows]

Memory and Self in Prey (2017)

Arkane Studios’ greatest success in 2017 was introducing a piece of science fiction that brought up interesting questions, not only about whether or not Typhon, whether as a stand in for humans or artificial intelligence, can be taught empathy, but also about the nature of memory and its relationship to our personality. Prey isn’t the only piece of science fiction to bring up these questions, but I think its interpretation on that relationship is worth discussing, mainly because it taps into a deeply personal fear I have.

Prey’s main mechanic for upgrading your character, as well as the big breakthrough within the fiction, is neuromods. These handy devices are a bit horrifying in their application, needles being stuck into your eye ala Dead Space 2, but result in the instant addition of key skills. Removing them results in the loss of memory from when you installed it to its removal. For Morgan Yu, the player character, her constant removal and application of different neuromods resulted in various personalities with different end goals being created. Each leaving behind their desires in the form of recorded messages or custom Operators. Over the course of the campaign the player has to question and determine which of these former selves to follow. Essentially: which is the most valid? Is it the oldest, and therefore, most pure one? Or is it simply the one that most aligns with the player’s own thinking? This introduces other lines of questioning: Can different versions of ourselves emerge from memory loss? Are we more than just our conscious memory? Does the removal of memory of past actions remove our guilt for the things we did? They are troubling questions, and relate directly to a personal fear of my own: should I reach a point where my memory begins to falter, does that make me less me?

The most direct comparison between memory loss due to neuromods and a personality being altered due to that is Alzheimer's. Many scholarly articles have been written about the effect this neurodegenerative disease has on personality, as have personal accounts from relatives of those who experience it. This potential future is something I dread. To forget key memories of childhood, however inaccurate they may actually be, is something that I never want to dwell on but something that Prey provokes. Prior to moving to Vancouver, Washington I talked to my therapist during one appointment about this fear and we discussed whether or not we are more than just our mind and our memories. Despite her reassurances that I, we, are more than just a collective of images and sounds and smells, I’m still anxious about it. Playing through Prey again these questions were on the forefront of my mind as its existence as a test of empathy also introduced new moral questions regarding memory loss.

Completing Mikhaila’s side quest not only requires you to retrieve her life-saving medicine but also to discover what happened to her father, a man wrongfully imprisoned for speaking against the Soviets. Should you track down this questline you’ll find an audio log that reveals you oversaw the experiment that resulted in his death at the hands of a mimic, with an uncaring tone throughout. Presumably the audio was when you had full knowledge of your relationship with Mikhaila and before you entered the simulation chambers which wiped your memory of the event. Delivering the audio to her will obviously result in a change in the relationship between you two for the worse. Truth is more important in the game’s view though, as delivering the audio is required for the most empathetic ending, the thing the game is testing for. Mikhaila eventually reveals she knows that Morgan isn’t the Morgan she is currently speaking to, seemingly voiding Morgan’s responsibility for her father’s death, and the deaths of countless other volunteers aboard the space station.

This situation is something our current justice system, flawed as it may be, has not had to reckon with. Would a killer, with their memory of the killing removed, be rendered innocent? The action remains irreversible, but the motivation and thought process behind it could be removed, presumably rendering the killer harmless. On a base level, this doesn’t appear to be justice though. Does the robbing of memories equate to the consequence of robbing a life? It is a tough question, as the guilty person would have no knowledge of their action that they are paying for should they be imprisoned. This is a situation where the personality changing as a result of memory loss differs depending on the media. Would someone who has committed an action just end up committing it again even if their memory was removed?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has an opposing viewpoint when compared to Prey. In this movie memory erasure technology is capable, to a point, of removing painful memories of loss or break up. However, the subconscious can rebel, and some semblance of memory remains, leading to those subjects going back to the relationship they once had. This is exemplified by the main plot thread of Joel and Clementine trying again (and again and again depending on your interpretation of the final stuttering scene), as well as Mary Svevo falling in love with Dr. Howard Mierzwiak again despite the initial relationship being erased. Despite the actual relationship being removed, the reasons for them cannot be, resulting in situations repeating over and over. Though not addressed in the film, presumably a person’s memory of the crime could be removed but the motivation behind it could not. Prey errs on the side of developing alternate personalities due to the memory erasure instead of falling into the same one from before. One Morgan Yu wants to destroy Talos I, another wants you to simply run away and escape, one wants to use the nullwave to salvage what they’ve accomplished so far. The only ending decision the game refutes is the escape pod, which results in an audio clip and game over screen instead of a full revelation of the simulation. The other decisions are all valid, it is up to the player to decide which they want to utilize.

While the affect of man-made memory erasure on our id, personalities, and culpability are prime science fiction fodder, they remain fiction. Prey, Eternal Sunshine, and other works may have varied and imaginative takes on the role memory has on our lives, they do little to assuage my own fears of no longer being able to recall small moments: creating snow forts in Harriman, lonely afternoons working a summer job and marathoning podcasts in California, and my friendships and relationships that have all had a hand in shaping who I am now.

[kiwigreenflame]

It’s been a while since the Top 10 religion and comics installments, and I’ve been meaning to post a number of other comics that didn’t make it into that list but are still worth mentioning in passing. No commentary on these apart from the official blurbs. As always, YMMV reading these.

Testament

Creators: Douglas Rushkoff & Liam Sharp Publisher: Vertigo (DC Comics) Date: 2006-2008

From the imagination of best-selling author Douglas Rushkoff, one of the most iconoclastic and acclaimed minds of our era, comes a graphic novel series that exposes the “real” Bible as it was actually written, and reveals how its mythic tales are repeated today. Grad student Jake Stern leads an underground band of renegades that uses any means necessary to combat the frightening threats to freedom that permeate the world. They employ technology, alchemy, media hacking and mysticism to fight a modern threat that has its roots in ancient stories destined to recur in the modern age.

Chosen (American Jesus)

Creators: Mark Millar & Peter Gross Publisher: Image Comics Date: 2009

From the writer of the Universal hit, Wanted, comes his next graphic novel on the way to becoming a feature film! American Jesus Volume 1: Chosen follows a twelve-year-old boy who suddenly discovers he’s returned as Jesus Christ. He can turn water into wine, make the crippled walk, and, perhaps, even raise the dead! How will he deal with the destiny to lead the world in a conflict thousands of years in the making?

The 99

Creators: Naif Al-Mutawa Publisher: Teshkeel Comics Date: 2007-2014

Young heroes gain superhuman abilities when they bond with 99 powerful gemstones. These Noor Stones were forged from the destruction of ancient Baghdad to preserve the wisdom of the ages, and were lost for centuries, but they are being found, one-by-one…

Vampirella Strikes

Creators: Tom Sniegoski & Johnny D. Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Date: 2013

For years, the raven-haired heroine Vampirella has hunted the world’s supernatural threats, all the while fighting back her own bloodthirsty nature. After a night out in Boston leads to particularly brutal violence, she seeks comfort in her Brownstone home… but discovers the most unexpected surprise of all. Angels have been sent to her by God — and they come asking for help! Enter Janus, a former soldier in the legion of Heaven, who skirts the line between the damned and divine. Only a fallen angel can navigate Vampirella through the seedy, demon-run underworld, where she hopes to find the source of an addictive, body-altering drug derived from archangel blood. Will Vampirella’s mission redeem her… or will she uncover secrets so shocking that their discovery will damn her forever?

Loaded Bible: Jesus vs. Vampires

Creators: Tim Seeley, Nate Bellegarde & Mark Englert Publisher: Image Comics Date: 2006-2008

In the near future, nuclear Holy War has decimated North America and humanity’s last stronghold is the dome metropolis of New Vatican City. When vampires attack, the Church turns to a clone of Jesus Christ Himself to protect them! But all is not as it seems for the Test Tube Messiah, as he’s drawn into a web of betrayal, bloodshed, and seduction!

The Sisterhood

Creators: Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, Wellinton Alves, & Andrew Dalhouse. Publisher: Archaia (BOOM! Studies imprint) Date: 2008

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre is an elite group of specially trained nuns, the world’s most powerful exorcists. But they don’t just get rid of the demons they exorcise…the Sisters draw the demons into themselves, using their own bodies as cages of flesh. If they die a natural death, the demons die with them, small pieces of the world’s evil gone forever. But if the Sisters should dies violently…the demons are released into the world again!

Now someone has sent assassins to kill the oldest of the sisters, releasing the captive demons out into the world. Eden Parish is assigned the task of discovering who is behind this massacre, and why. In her journey she will uncover dark secrets about the Order, and about their enemies. And the real reason behind all this murder.

Blankets

Creators: Craig Thompson Publisher: Top Shelf Productions Date: 2003

Blankets is the story of a young man coming of age and finding the confidence to express his creative voice. Craig Thompson’s poignant graphic memoir plays out against the backdrop of a Midwestern winterscape: finely-hewn linework draws together a portrait of small town life, a rigorously fundamentalist Christian childhood, and a lonely, emotionally mixed-up adolescence.

Under an engulfing blanket of snow, Craig and Raina fall in love at winter church camp, revealing to one another their struggles with faith and their dreams of escape. Over time though, their personal demons resurface and their relationship falls apart. It’s a universal story, and Thompson’s vibrant brushstrokes and unique page designs make the familiar heartbreaking all over again.

This groundbreaking graphic novel, winner of two Eisner and three Harvey Awards, is an eloquent portrait of adolescent yearning; first love (and first heartache); faith in crisis; and the process of moving beyond all of that. Beautifully rendered in pen and ink, Thompson has created a love story that lasts.

A Contract with God and other Tenement Stories

Creator: Will Eisner Date: 1978

This semi-autobiographical work captures with pen and ink the drama of the city and its all-too-human inhabitants. Set in the same Bronx neighborhood as later works Dropsie Avenue and A Life Force, the four stories that comprise the book – “A Contract With God”,”The Street Singer”, “The Super” and “Cookalein” – examine the world of immigrant life in New York City in the 1930s with a unique look at the emotion and character of its denizens.

Warrior Nun Areala

Creator: Ben Dunn Publisher: Antarctic Press Date: 1994-2002

Follows the exploits of Sister Shannon Masters who is part of a militant Catholic organisation, the Order of the Cruciform Sword, who protect Church and world from supernatural threats. Plays fast and loose with things Catholic the series still manages to portray characters with genuine faith, humility and the odd bit of theology.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Creator: Michael Mendheim; Mike Kennedy; Sean Jaffe; & Simon Bisley Publisher: Titan Comics Date: 2014

Raised by the ancient Order of Solomon, Adam Cahill is one of a rare handful of highly trained warriors bound by bloodline to guard the Seven Holy Seals that contain the End of Days.

But ageless forces have conspired towards a prophetic event foretold by numerous cultures and multiple religions… and when that cryptic date arrives, they strike against the order without mercy!

The Lone and Level Sands

Creator: A. David Lewis and mpMann Publisher: Archaia (Imprint of BOOM! Studios) Date: 2005

Pharaoh Ramses II hasn’t seen his long-lost cousin Moses in nearly forty years. Yet while pressed by the Hittites to the North and construction delays in the South, Ramses must make time for this ancient desert rascal, the long-ago mystery he represents, and the impossible demands of an alien deity. Drawing on the Bible, the Qur’an, and historical sources, writer A. David Lewis (Mortal Coils) and artist Marvin Perry Mann (Arcana Jayne) present a retelling of the Book of Exodus through the eyes of the man who is either its greatest leader or its worst villain: a man trying to rule wisely, love his family well, and deal justly in the face of a divine wrath.

Some New Kind of Slaughter, or Lost in the Flood (and How We Found Home Again)

Creator: mpMann & A. David Lewis Publisher: Archaia (Imprint of BOOM! Studios) Date: 2009

If there is one constant throughout most of Earth’s historical nations, cultures, and religions, it is the threat and the destruction of the Great Flood. In the wake of the recent Indian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and alarm over global warming, the award-winning creators of The Lone and Level Sands return to plumb the depths of the world’s great myths with this graphic novel exploring how this legendary fear may be more relevant now than ever before. Like Noah, sea-bound Ziusudra and other heroes across time must strive against the coming Floods and the baffling will of the gods.

Judas

Creator: Jeff Loveness & Jakub Rebelka Publisher: BOOM! Studios Date: 2009

Judas Iscariot journeys through life and death, grappling with his place in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” and how much of his part was preordained. In a religion built on redemption and forgiveness, one man had to sacrifice himself for everyone…and it wasn’t Jesus.

Kismet: Man of Faith

Creator: A. David Lewis; Noel Tuazon; Rob Croonenborghs; Taylor Esposito; & Tyler Chin-Tanner Publisher: A Wave Blue World Date: 2018

Punching Nazis used to be more than a meme. In 1944, it was a vocation. And no one put his gloved fist in the faces of more fascists than the Man of Fate, the Algerian Operative, our man in Occupied France — Kismet.

Then, he disappeared. Gone without a trace…until now.

Back from beyond, Kismet finds a new world of gay rights, quantum physics, and computer technology along with the old evils of bigotry, greed, and ignorance at a crossroads. Twenty-first-century America needs more than a superhero. It needs an ally.

Religion and Comics – Wrap Up It's been a while since the Top 10 religion and comics installments, and I've been meaning to post a number of other comics that didn't make it into that list but are still worth mentioning in passing.

[gtaglassrepair-blog]

Be Informed About Glass Repair Vs Replacement - Before You Need It!

If you own or manage a commercial building be it residential, retail, restaurant, or some other business - at some point you're going to get word that a window has broken. Or that something is leaking, maybe a skylight, or a shower door. It's best to know your options when it comes to commercial glass replacement or commercial glass repair ahead of time, so that when you do get that call you're ready!

The first thing to consider is whether the glass will need to be completely replaced. Commercial window glass comes in many forms, from small windows to huge plate glass storefront windows. No matter what your business, there's glass to be found everywhere, probably even in places you wouldn't think of right away. Look around; you'll see glass table tops, mirrors, safety glass partitions, even sneeze guards.

The good news is commercial window glass is often installed in sections, allowing it to be replaced in place rather than requiring the entire thing to be removed and replaced. For example, if an individual window pane is broken, many times that pane can be replaced without ever removing the window from its frame. Any commercial glass repair company will be able to take care of this for you, and in some cases you may be able to do some of the work yourself. Small chips or cracks are sometimes repairable by a qualified commercial glass repair company; upon inspection of the damage, your contractor will advise you on the best action to take.

If you have some full-scale commercial glass replacement to do, be sure to hire a company with a solid history of commercial window glass work. They'll be able to board up the exposed section in question in order to render it safe and secure for you as well as your customers.

There are many options as far as the glass itself when it comes to commercial window glass. You can choose from Low E glass, which reflects heat and blocks a large percentage of UV rays, which lessens fading and damage to interior finishes. Tempered glass is also offered. Tempering increases glass strength to help prevent future cracks or breaks. Also consider decorative glass-etched with your business name or logo or privacy glass, which filters light and unattractive views.

Be sure to check references from commercial glass replacement companies. In addition, check to see that the quotes you receive are for the same glass and levels of service. They can differ greatly, and going with the low bid could get you less than what you expect.

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[argunthakur10]

Finfisher: How Can You Prevent It From Your Infected System

We hope that this account of our path in 21st-century skills through all of FinFisher's numerous levels of safety, concealment, and pro measures will be beneficial to future researchers investigating this virus. We think that industry collaboration and information exchange are critical in protecting customers from this sophisticated piece of malware and a great career opportunities in the future.

In the cyber security course a Security Researchers, a global cybersecurity organisation, has done a thorough analysis of new upgrades to the FinSpy malware that attacks common operating systems, notably Windows, Mac, and Linux. According to the findings, FinFisher places a strong priority on defensive evasion, making it one of the most difficult-to-detect Spywares to date.

FinFisher, commonly known as FinSpy or Wingbird, is a surveillance programme that Kaspersky has been monitoring since 2011. It can collect different passwords, file listings, and deleted files, as well as a live broadcast or record data and get access to a webcam and microphone. Its Operating system infections were discovered and investigated many times until 2018 when FinFisher appeared to have vanished.

Following that, Kaspersky discovered a number of suspicious installers of normal software, such as TeamViewer, VLC Media Player, and WinRAR, that included dangerous code that could not be linked to any known virus. That is until they uncovered a website in Burmese that included the infected installers and samples of FinFisher for Android, allowing them to determine they had been Trojanized with the same malware. This finding prompted Kaspersky researchers to dig deeper into FinFisher.

The researchers also found a FinFisher sample that changed the Windows UEFI bootloader. This method of infection enabled the cyber attack to install a bootkit without having to circumvent firmware safety checks. Kaspersky suggests the following steps to defend yourself against attacks like FinFisher:

Apps and programmes should only be downloaded from reputable websites.

Don't forget to keep your operating system and any software up to date. Many security concerns may be resolved by installing updated software versions.

By default, e-mail attachments should be avoided.

Installing software from unknown sources should be avoided. It may, and frequently does, include harmful files.

On all desktops and mobile devices, install a powerful security solution, such as Kaspersky Internet Security for Android or Kaspersky Total Security.

Kaspersky recommends the following for organizational security:

Create a policy regarding the usage of non-corporate software. Inform your staff about the dangers of downloading illegal software from untrustworthy sources.

Provide basic cybersecurity hygiene training to your employees, as many targeted assaults begin with phishing or other social engineering tactics.

Install anti-APT and EDR systems to provide threat detection and detection, investigation, and fast incident response capabilities. Give your SOC staff access to the most recent threat intelligence, information security course and professional training on a regular basis. All of the aforementioned features are accessible within the Kaspersky Expert Security architecture.

Dedicated services, in addition to adequate endpoint protection, can aid in the prevention of high-profile assaults. The Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response service can aid in the detection and prevention of attacks in their early phases before the attackers achieve their objectives.

Spaghetti and trash coding renders standard analyst tools useless. The elimination of garbage instructions and "spaghetti code," a method that tries to mislead disassembly tools, is the first obfuscation challenge that requires a solution while analysing FinFisher. Spaghetti code, as the name implies, makes the programme flow difficult to comprehend by introducing continuous code jumps.

Phase 0: Dropper with the custom virtual machine.

Phase 1: Loader virus prevents sandbox and debuggers from being used.

Phase 2: consists of a second multi-platform virtual computer.

Phase 3: An installer that pushes DLL side-loading to new heights.

Phase 4: The memory loader — GDI function hijacking for fun

Phase 5: The final loader assumes command.

Phase 6: The package consists of a modular spyware architecture for future investigation.

 Defence Against FinFisher

We were able to safeguard our clients from this sophisticated piece of malware by exposing as many of FinFisher's mysteries as possible throughout our arduous investigation. Because of the high code integrity standards that don't allow unfamiliar unsigned binaries to execute (thus preventing FinFisher's PE installer) or load (thus blocking FinFisher's DLL persistence), Windows 10 S devices are automatically protected against FinFisher and other threats. Similar code integrity policies taught at diploma in cyber security that may be implemented in Windows 10 using Windows Defender Application Control.

Microsoft 365 Threat Intelligence Protection protects mails against email marketing campaigns that distribute malware like FinFisher using zero-day vulnerabilities. Using time-of-click security, Office 365 ATP prevents hazardous attachments, malicious URLs, and linked-to files. Using this research's findings, we improved Office 365 ATP's resistance to FinFisher's anti-sandbox checks.

[greatreviewreview]

Building efficiency begins with lighting design and controls in step with the space

At the surface level, lighting is the application of light to spaces and simply serves as a prerequisite for visualization. However, because our impression of a space happens via sight, commercial lighting not only becomes a necessity for vision but a medium for perception. This means the type of lighting fixtures selected, in what location they are installed, and at what light levels they are set can drastically impact people’s perception of a building and the work being done within it.

At this point in LED technology development, there is no shortage of literature on the many benefits of LED highbay light. Objectives of LED lighting increasing comfort in spaces, boosting morale, and reducing energy waste have been well documented and the evidence in favor of LED solutions over outdated fixture types is overwhelming. With the maturity of the LED market and reduction in product costs that aid in generating competitive return on investment (ROI), there is no argument against the investment. However, a successful LED lighting project lies at the intersection of design, product selection, and the fundamental client necessity for light in a space. The lighting designer/specifier or installer needs to clearly align the objectives and the value of each criterion considered for the space in collaboration with the facilities manager or building owner.

Designing solutions to fit the space

At the core of every lighting project is the solutions design. True to the title, LED panel light design is the process of delivering the necessary lighting to an area, but to better expatiate on the importance of the job, it is important to differentiate between the commodity of “light” versus the asset of “lighting.” Lighting is an investment that can be very advantageous to an organization and should be carefully considered. Every project starts with a conversation about necessity.

In order for the lighting to best support the client’s goals, project managers and designers need to know the organization, who will be using the space and their lighting needs, characteristics of the building, importance of energy efficiency and budget, restrictions based on geographical location, and much more. Based on what the owner wants to communicate through lighting, decisions on quantity of light, color quality, brightness, and direction can be determined.

The importance of an open dialogue between a building owner and the project manager cannot be stressed enough. Lighting designs cater to the building and work being done which in turn leads every project to a custom solution in terms of size, style, and programmatic requirements. In addition to discussion, it is beneficial for a facility to take advantage of audits in which experts can determine the heavier traffic areas of the building and select the fixture types that would be most advantageous. With proper identification of LED opportunities for retrofits and thoughtful coordination of the building systems, solutions can be designed with consideration to specific needs.

For example, spaces without access to natural sunlight, such as warehouses and mechanical shops, may place importance on implementing LEDs with color temperatures that mimic daylight and allow for circadian stimulus. Advantages like this — which can only be gained through the creation of custom LED design — are leveraged to create an environment that is more sustainable, flexible, and enhances the experience of inhabitants while still meeting safety and visibility requirements.

Product specification

Design works in concurrence with product selection, or specification. While considering the more human-centric aspects of lighting needs, it is also critical to assess the quality of the product, longevity, and controllability. Is there a chance the space may change over time? If so, how will the lighting demonstrate flexibility and ability to augment? To reiterate, deploying LED solutions is an investment, so it is important that the lighting fixtures both fit the logistical needs of the building and abide despite future changes. Incorporating these considerations into a lighting design will not hinder finding the perfect fit, either. Due to the advancement in LED technology, clients are able to select from a wide variety of LED products, but must make sure to prioritize the appropriate light levels for their building.

Ample lighting in an office space, for example, keeps employees alert and the higher visibility allows them to yield accurate results. If the space is underlit, it may have adverse effects on productivity, health, motivation, and even employee retention. Light levels that are too high prove to be just as bad and consume unnecessary energy. Successful lighting design and product selection takes efficiency into account to best make a building sustainable while maintaining an attractive ROI. This can be done by investing in LED light fixtures with higher lumens per watt that provide sufficient light while consuming less energy. For the slightly higher initial cost of efficient LED lighting, organizations can save significantly in the long run through decreased maintenance costs, lower utility bills, and utility incentive programs intended to help offset the initial installation cost of such solutions.

As established, lighting plays a critical role in how a space is perceived. However, lighting decisions can influence performance, mood, morale, safety, security, decisions, and actions as well. Lighting design and product selection allows for optimal lighting depending on the goal of the building and people within.

For example, fixtures with low color temperatures, which are considered warm and relaxing, may be specified for homes and restaurants where the goal is to feel at ease and there is generally no reason to be on high alert. The same fixtures would not be suitable for a commercial and industrial (C&I) environment since the effect from the lights would be counterproductive. Instead, the fixtures in C&I settings are often designed with high color temperatures that can increase awareness and energize. These spaces rely heavily on visibility in order to perform high-precision manufacturing tasks. LED flood light in spaces in which people are expected to concentrate for long periods of time, such as classrooms and offices, are typically designed to have a neutral color temperature so as not to be over- or under-stimulating.

When it comes to specifics like a warehouse facility or a laboratory, they differ quite a bit. There are many aspects of the two workspaces that contribute to the lighting choices. For example, the core differentiating features of a warehouse facility is overall building design, ceiling height, and loading capability. Warehouses are also the largest industrial real estate category, which sets it apart in terms of number of fixtures and light levels. To maximize space utilization, most warehouses employ rows of tall shelving, which results in narrow aisles that are challenging to light, with a "cavernous" effect. In designing a lighting solution, the top priority is visibility as it correlates to employee morale, productivity, and reduction in error, which in turn decreases cost.

While working with precision and delicate materials in a laboratory, visibility is paramount but for different tasks and in a completely different environment. Lighting for a laboratory would be designed to be extremely bright for the essential work as well as to contribute to the perception of cleanliness and making the space look sterile.

Even if two light sources have the same correlated color temperature, the color rendering index (CRI), which is used to describe how faithfully the light source renders the color of objects, may still differ. CRI is especially important when designing lighting for places such as grocery stores and other retail locations where the product appearance greatly influences the business. The same strong light in a retail store that favorably accentuates the merchandise and influences customers to purchase more may be fatiguing in an office space.

Controls are key to lighting success

Controls are paramount when discussing LED canopy light design and product selection. Lighting controls are integrated, programmable systems that allow fixtures to deliver the correct levels of light at the correct time to best maximize efficiency. They can practically be broken down into levels that allow options for managing lighting systems.

The first level can be described as relying on manual adjustment in which users can manage individual programmed occupancy sensors or non-programmable ceiling sensors. On this basic tier of controls, there is no ability to control lighting levels beyond a simple wall dimmer switch. Tier two allows for wireless integration directly from the fixture to a device. This level of controls can include sensors that have the capability to identify occupancy and vacancy of rooms and change levels based on select settings. In other words, unoccupied rooms will reduce light levels by a certain amount to conserve energy.

The second level of controls also allow for high-end trimming or output adjustment of lights. Since LED fixtures typically produce higher lumen output than the fixtures they replace, the fixture output can be raised to match the standard needs for the space. Along with this, the trim can account for the LED’s degradation over time and provide the originally desired light level. The low-end trim defines the lowest light level and ensures that the lights do not turn off when dimmed to the lowest capability. This is important for datacenter facilities, for example, as they contain rows of equipment that can obscure a person from motion sensor control. If the system goes into an unoccupied mode, the trim prevents all the lights from turning off and creating a safety hazard. The design may include that the trim be 10%, which would provide visibility even if the sensors are obscured and the lights are not at the optimal levels. Additionally, datacenters often control lighting by grouping fixtures and programming different sets based on various needs by using individual auxiliary sensors. This allows for control concurrency and can be regrouped depending on the layout of the space.

The highest level of controls includes all the benefits mentioned previously in the second level, with the added benefit of being integrated directly into the building management system. In other words, a building manager could potentially have its HVAC system respond in direct relation to the occupancy sensor used for the LED lighting system, which would provide much more granular control of the building’s total mechanical system. Depending on what is needed in the space, controls can be used as a powerful means to customize lighting further than initial product selection and installations.

[aion-rsa]

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 22 Review: Sad Man’s Parade

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This My Hero Academia review contains spoilers.

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 22

“Even if you stumble in life, you can pick yourself back up again.” 

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.” That’s the central question that the Joker poses in Alan Moore’s Batman: The Killing Joke, but it’s a concept that’s been prevalent throughout the histories of many of My Hero Academia’s villains. The events of “Sad Man’s Parade” explore how Twice’s life in particular has had a dark domino effect that progressively pushed him to his life of crime. This style of oppressive morality play can begin to feel melodramatic when it’s overdone, but what’s important about Twice’s situation in “Sad Man’s Parade” is that it also continually pushes the message that it’s never too late to turn your life around and that redemption can be right around the corner. 

This is an optimistic virtue that’s evaded and crushed Twice in the past, yet it’s something that many of the head figures at the League of Villains are currently wrestling with in the tail-end of My Hero Academia’s fifth season. “Sad Man’s Parade” is an episode that lets a lunatic run the asylum, but the operation is such a success that maybe the League of Villains should let unstable trauma victims lead the way more often.

Twice has always been one of My Hero Academia’s most fascinating and frightening characters because of the frayed state of his mind and how the use of his Quirk appears to only make him progressively more unstable. The series has never necessarily made previous comparisons between the character and DC’s Clown Prince of Crime, but in terms of karmic mayhem it’s apt. “Sad Man’s Parade” pulls the trigger of removing Twice’s mask, but then sends the character into a dangerous tailspin when he confuses Skeptic’s puppets with himself and believes that he’s the one that’s hurting Toga. This difficult realization makes Twice even more erratic than normal. He’s a character who’s always stuck in some level of an identity crisis, but “Sad Man’s Parade” depicts him at his very worst. And then he reaches peak performance. 

This glimpse of the villain’s rock bottom is only fitting since the episode largely fills in the blanks surrounding Twice’s origins. This information is satisfying and helpful regarding Twice’s future, but it feels even more appropriate following the looks into Shigaraki and Toga’s backstories that have been provided in the previous installments. This “My Villain Academia” arc continues to unpack the layers on My Hero Academia’s deadliest characters and “Sad Man’s Parade” results in another disturbing, emotional home run for the anime.

There’s a compelling juxtaposition in play through “Sad Man’s Parade” between Skeptic’s control over his puppets and Twice’s own duplications and how these comparable abilities contrast in slight, yet vital ways. Ideally, Skeptic wishes to absorb Twice’s Quirk and have a replication and puppet Quirk that’s even more advantageous than what he currently wields. This sinister master plan involves eradicating what’s left of Twice’s fractured mind so that his Quirk can be used to proliferate Re-Destro and make a whole team of copies for this volatile villain. So you know, it’s basically Multiplicity, but with a whole lot more genocide. 

Every detail that’s provided on Twice’s past is fitting and succeeds in its mission to humanize this hyperbolized wild card from the series. Twice only started to clone himself in the first place because he suffered from crippling loneliness, not because he possessed any malevolent intentions to improve his Quirk. It’s such a simple, human piece of backstory that does more for the character than what a verbose monologue would provide. Twice is currently stuck in an incredibly dangerous situation, but the initial desires that push him down this path to villainy are highly relatable. 

Much like with what’s learned about Himiko Toga in the previous installment, “Sad Man’s Parade” presents Twice not so much as an evil mastermind whose purpose is revenge as it paints him as a scared, hurt victim of circumstance. He finds comfort in the League of Villains because he’s vulnerable and without confidence, just like Himiko Toga, not because he’s fueled by a bottomless pit of rage. What’s just as moving as the circumstances behind the genesis of Twice’s Quirk is him finally regaining his confidence in the department. Twice has been paralyzed in fear over his Quirk after he witnessed some of his clones eliminate each other, planting seeds of doubt in his mind if he’s actually the original version of himself or just another clone. 

This is some of My Hero Academia’s deepest material and “Sad Man’s Parade” provides Twice some closure in this area that’s incredibly cathartic and also allows him to passionately embrace his powers again as he gets his groove back. It manages to be just as inspirational as the moment when Shoto Todoroki takes ownership of the fire side of his Quirk and he moves out of the shadow of his father’s trauma, which is saying something for a secondary villain. It’s so satisfying when Twice’s clones are able to overpower Skeptic’s puppets and he can take solace in his powerful Quirk rather than allow it to control him through fear and doubt. 

There’s a powerful symmetry to the episode where Twice’s growing confidence mirrors the unshackled nature of his Quirk, leading to the extraordinary culmination of Infinite Doubles. My Hero Academia wisely doesn’t undersell this moment and it’s a visual extravaganza as the streets are literally overrun with hundreds if not thousands of Twice copies. The icing on the cake is that the rest of the League of Villains can’t believe their eyes over Twice’s comeback. 

A promotion may be on the way for the masked weirdo who seems to have left some of his emotional baggage buried under countless duplications. “Sad Man’s Parade” functions as a celebration of Twice, but also his strong connection with Toga and why they need each other. It ends with both of them more empowered than ever before and it makes both “Sad Man’s Parade” and last week’s “Revival Party” two complimentary sides of the same story.

This is Twice’s episode to win, but Dabi, Mr. Compress, and Spinner get to show their skills against the Meta Liberation Army’s ice-based Geten. The battle brews in the background and it still offers some fun variety that breaks up the episode’s focus, but it’s largely inconsequential. It just provides more stunning action and an opportunity for Twice’s story to breathe. The final stage of Twice’s plan where Twice produces clones of Shigaraki, Dabi, and Mr. Compress is the perfect climax to all of this even if Re-Destro’s Tetsuo-esque Akira powers make swift work of them. 

Re-Destro and Clone-araki’s fight is brief, but well choreographed and benefits from how it’s just as much a battle of values as it is of Quirks. Re-Destro continues to preach over how the very perception of Quirks in society is broken and beyond repair. On that note, it also sounds like Yuki Hayashi’s theme music for Re-Destro kicks in once he reveals his motivations to Shigaraki and it’s a heavy, intimidating tune.

There’s a broad vein of wild comedy that runs through “Sad Man’s Parade,” but it’s also a surprisingly brutal episode that doesn’t shy away from the visceral nature of breaking Twice’s arms and legs, as well as what nearly happens to Toga. My Hero Academia has steadily grown more adult, especially with how far it’s willing to go with its violence, but it means even more that this prolonged focus on the villains doesn’t present a sanitized version of the anime’s action. 

Similarly, Shigaraki and Twice are so specific over how they’re the ones to kill Re-Destro and that they want his death to be personal. Their involvement in his execution is as important as the outcome. It’s significant that they’re reached such a place of animosity and aggression for their enemies. Shigaraki currently seems to exhibit more hostility towards Re-Destro’s Meta Liberation Army than he does for All Might and U.A. High’s heroes, which is fascinating.

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Every time that My Hero Academia devotes an episode’s worth of backstory to a character it runs the risk of spoiling what makes that individual compelling in the first place, yet “Sad Man’s Parade” is an effective example of how character development and plotting can work together. Twice suddenly evolves from a loose cannon into a top tier villain in a manner that doesn’t just feel believable, but is also genuinely inspirational. The series’ prolonged shift in perspective over to the bad guys continues to be one of My Hero Academia’s best decisions. The stakes that surround the conflict between the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army are so engrossing that a return to Deku’s schoolyard shenanigans suddenly seem a lot less important. 

The post My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 22 Review: Sad Man’s Parade appeared first on Den of Geek.

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