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As we head full swing into Holiday Week, let’s not forget that we still have a Grindhouse podcast to air….specifically, this Sunday at 5pm eastern. The issues to be unpacked? EVERYTHING: our impressions of the (final?) film in the Star Wars saga, The Rise of the Skywalker; comedic legend, Eddie Murphy returns to SNL after a 35 year “hiatus” (because of, you know…superstardom and all that); more on the penultimate episode of S1 of Disney+’s Mandalorian series; Christopher Nolan returns in the John David Washington scifi-spy trailer for Tenet; Henry Cavill’s The Witcher series premiered on Netflix this weekend to so-so reviews; iconic sci-fi director, Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys) had some rather choice things to say about Marvel and Black Panther, specifically (can’t have those Black kids dreaming!) more Watchmen talk: is S1 final? And should it be? Watchmen’s Doomsday Clock ended but even that might continue; JK Rowling might have to get off of twitter (even if she’s right…..just like Trump says he really wasn’t impeached either…..sigh); And if you need proof that Armageddon is near-50 Cent is producing an Black superhero animated series. Call LIVE at 646-915-9620.
Afronerd Radio Airs 12.22.19
As we head full swing into Holiday Week, let's not forget that we still have a Grindhouse podcast to air....specifically, this Sunday at 5pm eastern. The issues to be unpacked? EVERYTHING: our impressions of the (final?) film in the Star Wars saga, The Rise of the Skywalker; comedic legend, Eddie Murphy returns to SNL after a 35 year "hiatus" (because of, you know...superstardom and all that); more on the penultimate episode of S1 of Disney+'s Mandalorian series; Christopher Nolan returns in the John David Washington scifi-spy trailer for Tenet; Henry Cavill's The Witcher series premiered on Netflix this weekend to so-so reviews; iconic sci-fi director, Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys) had some rather choice things to say about Marvel and Black Panther, specifically (can't have those Black kids dreaming!) more Watchmen talk: is S1 final? And should it be? Watchmen's Doomsday Clock ended but even that might continue; JK Rowling might have to get off of twitter (even if she's right.....just like Trump says he really wasn't impeached either.....sigh); And if you need proof that Armageddon is near-50 Cent is producing an Black superhero animated series. Call LIVE at 646-915-9620.
Here’s the thing about lightsabers that isn’t acknowledged enough: They’re just as dangerous for their users as they are for enemies facing off against them. Which isn’t a big deal considering the elegant weapons for a more civilized age are fictional, but in real life, this fact becomes frightening relevant. Check out the Hacksmith’s “world’s first protosaber” build for proof of that assessment, as well as an understanding of why a true energy sword is not only nearly impossible to build, but also unwise to wield.
For those unfamiliar, the protosaber (or “proto-saber”) is an archaic form of lightsaber, with the main difference between the two being the former’s use of an external power pack. As the Wookipedia notes, “the hilt [of a protosaber] was connected via cable to an external power pack due to limitations in power pack technology,” which not only resulted in a relatively short operational timeframe, but also, of course, limited mobility for its user. In the Star Wars universe, the protosaber was first discovered during a mission to Mustafar, when the Rebel Alliance found it in a container. It first appeared in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi — The Golden Age of the Sith, a comic book sub-series that ran between 1996 and ’97.
Jump to 14:25 in the video to see the IRL protosaber in action.
In the video, the Hacksmith refers to lightsabers/protosabers as the “holy grail of sci-fi tech,” although he also notes that they are “scientifically impossible to create in real life.” But because he seems to have a dash of Mad Hatter DNA—which is also definitely present in Colin Furze’s blood, for the record—the Hacksmith (and friends) took on the challenge anyway, ultimately coming up with an IRL protosaber that produces enough energy to power half of an average North American home; all from a block of batteries that’s slung over a user’s back.
Most of the video revolves around building a portable battery pack capable of powering the IRL protosaber, which seems dangerous enough even without taking the finished product into account. Apparently the battery pack “burst into flames” on several occasions, and while there’s no footage of that happening in this video, the protosaber itself does light on fire when the Hacksmith first turns it on.
One artistic take on the Star Wars protosaber. Brules
After replacing the protosaber’s “blade” with a thicker piece of tungsten—the original one couldn’t handle the 20kW of power produced by the battery—the Hacksmith reveals the final product at about 14:25. And the whole thing, including the protosaber blade and hilt, as well as the steampunk-style battery pack, turns out beautifully. The Hacksmith goes on to demonstrate its destructive capabilities by using it to burn through various objects, but does so without wearing any type of protective gear aside from some safety glasses. Which we only note because, again, this freakin’ thing is so freakin’ dangerous. Luckily, the Hacksmith doesn’t underestimate the power of the Force (of electricity), and manages to wield the weapon without burning himself.
What do you think about this IRL protosaber build? Are you shocked to see the Hacksmith wield it without any safety gear on, or do you think he’s well on his way to becoming some kind of engineering-class Jedi? Give us your proto-opinions in the comments!
Feature image: the Hacksmith
The post World’s First IRL STAR WARS Protosaber Is Insanely Dangerous appeared first on Nerdist.
Source: Brad Barket / Getty
Model Mama Cax, who worked the runway and advocated for inclusion of people of color and with disabilities, has passed away. According to a post that was posted to her Instagram account this morning, she passed away Monday (Dec. 16). She was 30-years-old.
“To say that Cax was a fighter would be an understatement, reads the IG post. “As a cancer survivor, she had grown accustomed to taking on life’s several challenges head on and successfully. It is with the same grit (fervor) that she fought her last days on earth.”
Her cause of death has not been disclosed.
Mama Cax, born Cacsmy Brutus, was hospitalized this month to address blood clots near her lungs, legs and a medical filter near her lungs. Brutus had struggled with illness at a young age. At 14, she battled cancer and had to have a hip replacement. Unfortunately her body rejected the replacement, which led to her leg being amputated.
If you watched the Savage x Fenty fashion show on Amazon Prime earlier this year, then you saw Mama Cax strut in the sexy lingerie with confidence.
“I think it’s so important to show people who have physical disabilities because there are people out there who have physical disabilities who buy products and who never see themselves represented in any way, shape, or form,” the Haitian-American beauty told Teen Vogue in 2018.
Rihanna took to Twitter to share her sadness about her death.
“A queen. A force. A powerhouse beauty that brought her strength to the [Savage x Fenty] stage this year inspiring so many across the globe,” she tweeted.” “Rest In Power sis.”
On Cax’s last Instagram post, she shared that she was rushed to the emergency room while in London due to severe abdominal pain.
“The next morning it got worse, while barely conscious, I asked the hotel to call me an ambulance,” she wrote. “They discovered that I had several blood clots in my leg, thigh, abdomen and near an IVC filter near my lungs (which is a medical device that prevents clots from entering the lungs.) Up until this emergency visit I had no idea I had such filter (which I assumed was placed there during my chemo days 14yrs ago) – nonetheless this filter saved my life.”
Our condolences go out to her friends and family.
A queen. A force. A powerhouse beauty that brought her strength to the @savagexfenty stage this year inspiring so many across the globe. Rest In Power sis
@mama_cax pic.twitter.com/Nq43DoJZb9
— Rihanna (@rihanna) December 20, 2019
I was gearing up for a wonderful couple of weeks went from celebration an anniversary with bae in Serbia, flew to NY for a quick job then had a quick shoot in London before heading to L.A to celebrate a fruitful yearlong partnership with my #sephorasquad family. While in London I started experiencing severe abdominal pain and was rushed to the emergency room- they dismissed it as an inflammation and sent me back to my hotel with some pain meds. The next morning it got worse, while barely conscious, I asked the hotel to call me an ambulance. They discovered that I had several blood clots in my leg, thigh, abdomen and near an IVC filter near my Lungs (which is a medical device that prevents clots from entering the lungs.) up until this emergency visit I had no idea I had such filter (which I assumed was placed there during my chemo days 14yrs ago) – nonetheless this filter saved my life. Lots of unanswered questions which I’ll have to figure out once I’m back to the States but I’m finally out of the hospital, in less pain, resting and taking blood thinners. Unfortunately flying puts me at risk of a pulmonary embolism therefore I’m stuck across the pond until after Christmas. Hope y’all are gearing up for a wonderful holiday season. (Thanks @sephora for the flowers 
and to everyone who took time to message and call me- love you all 
) _______________________________________________
“The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead.”
Maz Kanata’s words to Rey in The Force Awakens were a powerful emblem of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. A lonely scavenger girl from the desert planet Jakku, Rey grew up in isolation, without a family, rooted to a place she hated, hopeful they’d return. In her introduction sequence, we see the consequence of that loneliness. Selling parts to scrape by, eating meals in the sand with a whimsical eye to the horizon, not unlike Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. But Rey always felt different. Untethered from familial burden. A hero made from the inside, forced to survive–and surviving on the Force.
But Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker saga, completely obliterates Rey’s arc in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. An arc that, until this point, was about forging her own identity. In the mirror cave on Ahch-To, as Rey wonders about her lineage, the Force shows her only herself. She’s what matters most. Her parents were nobodies. “You have no place in this story,” Kylo Ren tells her. And that’s the whole point.
Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below.
Lucasfilm
Except it isn’t. The Rise of Skywalker walks back Rey’s entire journey by making her a legacy character, after all. She’s the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, back from the grave to enact some final, ill-defined plan. Rey’s parents were nobodies… from a certain point of view. Because they chose to be. The movie also tells us that Rey has long suspected this and that Luke and Leia knew it as well.
It feels like a joke. And it plays out like one, too. For the second time in a row, this vital bit of information about Rey is told to her by Kylo Ren, as he attempts to manipulate her. This time it’s clear how he knows all of this, because Palpatine told him. But it doesn’t make the reveal any less clunky or cruel. After two films about letting go of the past and forging your own destiny, The Rise of Skywalker makes Rey the bearer of two different legacies: Palpatine and Skywalker.
The implications here reek of character assassination and cowardice. Writer/director J.J. Abrams, who began Rey’s story in The Force Awakens and closes it out in The Rise of Skywalker, once said of the Force:
“I really feel like the assumption that any character needs to have inherited a certain number of midi-chlorians or needs to be part of a bloodline, it’s not that I don’t believe that as part of the canon, I’m just saying that at 11 years old, that wasn’t where my heart was. And so I respect and adhere to the canon but I also say that the Force has always seemed to me to be more inclusive and stronger than that.”
Syke?
Lucasfilm
The Rey reveal is also the most glaring example of a trilogy with no cohesion whatsoever. If this was Abrams’ plan from the onset, why not embed it into the story straight away? What’s the point of dragging out the mystery of who this person is over the course of three films? It’s frustrating and insulting, and it seemed done after The Last Jedi. Many fans nitpicked Kylo’s speech to Rey, poking holes in his wording, assuming there was a “gotcha” lurking around the corner. Making Rey a Palpatine is more in service to the plot hole crowd than to the character herself.
And let’s go back and examine what Kylo says for a moment: “They were filthy junk traders. Sold you off for drinking money. They’re dead in a pauper’s grave in the Jakku desert. You come from nothing.” In the text of the film, we realize that he’s reading her mind, saying aloud what she fears and assumes. But in The Rise of Skywalker, he tells her he never lied to her and that everything he said was true. So what about the drinking money thing? That part was objectively a lie, and one the film never references or contends with.
What an absolute dishonor it is to the story to present something that profound and neglect it right away. There’s a beautiful message to make of something like that. That children from broken homes and troubled families who never felt loved can still have strength and be heroes. That you can come from nowhere and still be important. That the Force chooses the most worthy, not the person with the most genetic relevancy.
Lucasfilm
But J.J. Abrams clearly doesn’t understand the foundation of what he created or the possibility of imagination. Instead, Rey had to suffer through an identity crisis for three movies only to land exactly where she began in the first place: rejecting the past and looking fondly to the future. In the closing moments of the film, Rey wanders through the Lars homestead on Tatooine, another desert planet. Kylo Ren, transformed back to Ben Solo, is dead. She has her Resistance family, but symbolically, the movie ends with her alone, taking the name “Rey Skywalker,” for reasons that are mostly unclear. She has to rebuild the next era of Jedi by herself.
Rey didn’t need to be a Palpatine to be strong. She doesn’t need to wear the Skywalker name like a mask. She could have truly been Rey from nowhere, with no last name. Who struggles with her inner darkness not because it’s a clue, but because she’s a human. It would have made her story better. It would have made Star Wars better. Instead, the galaxy far away and the Jedi order is limited, elitist, and destined to fail again. May the Force be with us.
Featured Image: Lucasfilm
The post How THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Ruins Rey’s Story appeared first on Nerdist.