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https://blackgirlnerds.com/need-to-know-what-black-films-are-playing-at-sundance-in-2023/

Jamie Broadnax of Black Girl Nerds breaks down some of the films featuring Black filmmakers or Black ensemble cast members in movies premiering at Sundance 2023.

Films mentioned:

Magazine Dreams, A Thousand And One, All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt, Rye Lane Mami Wata, Girl, The Stroll ,Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Story, Little Richard: I Am Everything, Milisuthando, Kokomo City, To Live and Die and Live, Bravo, Burkina!, Young. Wild. Free and Invisible Beauty.

Images and footage provided by The Sundance Institute.

Jonathan Majors B-roll footage provided by Men’s Health.

To learn more about Sundance 2023 go to their website here: https://festival.sundance.org/

Edited by: Jamie Broadnax

Music provided by Epidemic Sound

Featuring artists: Tilden Parc, Particle House, CLNGR and R.A.D.

https://nerdist.com/article/james-webb-space-telescope-nasa-latest-images-discoveries/

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to deliver awe-inspiring images and insights into the universe. Its mirror is six times the size of the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been taking stellar pictures since 1990. But it’s not just about size. The new telescope records infrared wavelengths rather than visible light so it can see farther and more clearly. Older stars appear as bright eight-pointed spikes in the Webb telescope pictures below due to the way the images are taken. But it also adds to the ethereal nature of each image as we peer farther and farther into infinity.

A Holiday Galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope shared this festive image just in time for the holiday season. Galaxy NGC 7469‘s spiral looks like a wreath, complete with glowing lights. The large red starburst is actually made up of spikes from the telescope’s hexagonal mirrors caused by the light from the galaxy’s center. The gas and dust shines brightly as it falls into a black hole, but doesn’t it look lovely? Scientists are excited about the star-forming regions they can now see thanks to the telescope’s infrared cameras. But it’s also the perfect image for this year’s holiday card.

An Illuminating Protostar

A new star, “only” about 100,000 years old, is forming in the neck of this cosmic hourglass. The protostar L1527 itself is hidden in this view, but the light it creates illuminates clouds of gas and dust that are being sucked inwards. The vivid pinks, oranges, and blues are only visible in the infrared light of the James Webb Space Telescope. As the star ages, it gathers these nearby materials into its accretion disk, gaining mass and eventually reaching the size and stability of a full star. 

The James Webb Space Telescope Captures the Pillars of Creation

The first image of the Pillars of Creation from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 is one of the most widely seen space photos. Now the James Webb Space Telescope adds its remarkable abilities to share even more of the wonder that is the Pillars of Creation with the world.

The near-infrared view of this cosmic nursery 6,500 light years away reveals many new details. The red dots seen on the edges of the top pillar are young stars, only a few hundred thousand years old. The red lava-like areas in the other pillars are ejections of hydrogen molecules from still-forming stars. The entire image is eight light years across but represents only a small area of the Eagle Nebula. This image from the James Webb Space Telescope is truly astounding.

In addition, we also got to see a slightly more creepy version of the Pillars of Creation courtesy of the James Webb Space Telescope. This rendition was taken with the telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The first image, meanwhile, was taken with the telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam). This second view allows researchers to see concentrations of gas and dust. But it also makes for another amazing, slightly horror-movie-inspired image from the James Webb Telescope.

Dust Rings Around Binary Stars

The James Webb Space Telescope imaged a system with two enormous stars, each 25-30 times more massive than our Sun. Called Wolf-Rayet 140, their orbits bring them close together about every eight years. The gravitational forces push out a huge dust cloud when that happens. Previous images from ground-based telescopes could see two dust rings, but the new image from JWST shows at least 17. Check out this video from JPL for a visualization of the two stars orbiting each other and a comparison to the older images. 

Neptune’s Rings in Focus Courtesy of the JWST

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the clearest view of Neptune’s ring in more than 30 years. We see the rings and the planet’s fainter dust bands. Neptune system expert and interdisciplinary scientist Heidi Webb said, “It has been three decades since we last saw these faint, dusty rings, and this is the first time we’ve seen them in the infrared.”

Tarantula Nebula

The image above of the Tarantula Nebula is 340 light years across. It introduces us to tens of thousands of stars never seen before because they were lost in the dust of Hubble’s view. The region forms news stars, which appear pale blue. And in case you’re trying to find the eight-legged creature the nebula is named for, apparently it looks like a tarantula’s burrow with silk around the entry, rather than the spider itself. The video below also shows the mid-infrared image from the Webb Telescope. Gases and cosmic dust glow turquoise and purple. It’s beautiful to us casual observers, but adds even more data for astronomers.

Two space telescopes, twice the star power.

This #TransformationalTuesday, watch as @NASAHubble’s view of the Tarantula Nebula fades into Webb’s NIRCam, then MIRI instrument views. Hubble and Webb will work together to showcase the universe across multiple wavelengths of light. pic.twitter.com/GDIRSWWFQV

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 6, 2022

The James Webb Space Telescope Reveals the Phantom Galaxy

Also known as M74, the Phantom Galaxy is 32 million light years away in the constellation Pisces. When compared to pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, the image from the James Webb Space Telescope cuts through the gas and dust to show off the star clusters at the galaxy’s core. Stars and other distant objects are also visible through patches in the arms of the spiral. Combining the images from the two space telescopes gives astronomers the best of both worlds. The visible and infrared light spectrums provide complementary insights into the mesmerizing center of the Phantom Galaxy.

Exoplanet HIP 65426 b

Images of this faraway planet are the first of one outside of our Solar System. Different cameras and filters on the James Webb Space Telescope provide multiple views and insights to astronomers. HIP 65426 b is a gas giant nine times the mass of Jupiter, but we don’t know much more about it yet. Scientists are analyzing all the new data from the Webb Telescope. They removed the light from the planet’s sun using a coronagraph. Once the much brighter star was masked, the faint planet could finally be photographed. 

Talk about out of this world! This is Webb’s first direct image of a planet outside of our solar system, and it hints at Webb’s future possibilities for studying distant worlds: https://t.co/ITcl6RItLa

Not what you expected? Let’s walk through the details👇 pic.twitter.com/bCgzW0dcUE

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 1, 2022

First Images from the JWST

Keep up with the telescope’s Twitter account to see the newest images and research. These include tests taken right here in our own Solar System. Like stunning views of Jupiter, including aurora and some of its many moons. And plenty of distant targets, like the Cartwheel Galaxy and its swirling dust clouds. And of course the first images, including a deep field view that included the oldest and farthest away objects ever photographed.

Originally published September 6, 2022.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

The post NASA Reveals New Pictures From the James Webb Space Telescope appeared first on Nerdist.

https://blacknerdproblems.com/a-quick-loop-back-and-forward-through-the-modern-heyday-of-roguelikes/

Welcome back to the start of another essay about roguelikes.

Are you honestly surprised that we have somehow managed to find our way back to the ever-looping genre? That the cyclical dirge of gameplay has once again begged itself to be written about? What more could be possibly said about a genre of games that is inherently centered around repetition? Is this intro just a clever metaphor for the constant deja vu that the genre evokes to create a flow state? How many times do you plan on save-scumming this thesis that “the roguelike is good and continues to be good”? 

The short answer is when studios stop managing to innovate on the genre, which given the trajectory of the last four years, may actually be like a gaming’s version of Moore’s Law which dictates that every two years the number of transistors in a circuit doubles. So, let’s posit the Rogue’s Legacy Law in that every year, a new roguelike will:

1. Latch onto a specific style of game 
2. Propel itself into the spotlight for the year 
3. Cascade into many games trying to iterate on the design to varying degrees of success
4. Have a large footprint

Now we could go back and look at the entire history of the genre to try and see if it holds true from the inception, but in interest of time and sanity, we’ll just look at the last five-ish years at some of the most mainstream roguelikes that have captured imaginations and slowly created an enduring legacy for themselves.

Dead Cells

In the quote unquote modern heyday of “Roguelikes” (modern being a very imprecise word for a wide variety of reasons, but it gets the point across), the first of these harbingers of Rogue’s Legacy Law is none other than Dead Cells. The 2018 Metrovania seamlessly blended the play/learn/die/repeat iteration in the 2D platformer as you control “The Beheaded” through a gauntlet of modular biomes to face a gauntlet of bosses, all while trying to balance your weapons and abilities in an ever-increasing hectic situation.

The appeal of Dead Cells was vested in the sheer amount of options presented to the player. With three different schools of weapons that all played into different builds that fared to varying degrees of success in the different worlds led to a mind-boggling degree of replayability. Motion Twin recognized how much the playerbase loved it and has provided a steady stream of DLC to keep the game in the forefront of the mind. The latest DLC is poised to bring even more fans back to the fold with a direct appeal to the Castlevania franchise that inspired Dead Cells.

Slay the Spire

2019 saw the Rogue’s Legacy Law applied to a genre I don’t think anyone quite expected with a deckbuilder. Slay the Spire is one of the most elegantly designed games and roguelikes I’ve had the fortune of playing and have sunk a minimum of a 1000 hours climbing and falling and climbing over and over again. With a simple starting deck and a single relic, you map your first path facing various critters with strikes and defends while drafting more potent cards as the difficulty escalates in a wide variety of ways.

One act you’re prioritizing front loaded damage just to be able to kill the tankier elites, while also trying to think about defensive options for the next, and juggling fitting in scaling for the longer boss fights. Each card and relic is individually intuitive and the beauty of Slay the Spire is the fact that there are so many synergies that emerge from interactions that allow you to reach unrivaled levels of power. Every single card-based roguelike you’ve run into is largely due to the cultural impact of Slay the Spire, and while the devs at MegaCrit are working on their next game, the board game garnered over a million dollars on Kickstarter within hours at launch.

Hades

The third horseman of Roguelikes will come as no surprise as 2020 unleashed Hades onto the world. Supergiant for years had been perfecting isometric combat with evolving weapon and ability archetypes. Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre all experimented with the foundational system, and Pyre toyed with the repetitive loop; however, Hades… Hades was something else entirely. In addition to its variable combat system with 6 perfectly balanced weapons that have resulted in the very odd occasion where no two people I’ve seen have had the exact same tier list, a boon system that allows for wildly potent builds, and the ability to reliably lean into replicating your favorite builds, Hades true pinnacle was that it was able to incorporate a meaningful narrative into the structure. Roguelike is not a genre synonymous with story. Lore yes, but story? Not truly. Hades flipped the script as the Sisphysian climb to the surface with social links, romances, and a beautiful story about Zagerus reuniting his family. And it’s no wonder that the Hades II announcement at the Game Awards had me yelling into various discords incoherently in all caps. It’s a shame for every other isometric roguelike to have to be compared with one of the pinnacles.

Vampire Survivors

So finally, we come to the latest horsemen of Roguelikes, the one we haven’t talked about all this year and that is honestly a shame and a grave mistake on my part. But the latest entity to show the Rogue’s Legacy Law is none other than Vampire Survivors.

Between the early release in 2021 and the formal release in 2022, the exact annual component of my Rogue’s Legacy Law posit is a little off. However, anyone who has booted up the bullet hell knows that it’s just as addictive and innovative as its predecessors. Vampire Survivors has no right being as entertaining as it is. All of the particle and sound effects are pure Pavlovian responses as you loot classic weapons from defensive auras to directional projectiles. The simplicity of the maps belie how much you have to manage your path into literal endless hordes of enemies and explore to find various power-ups and coins to buy access to more tools. And then after a while, you discover that power-ups are capable of evolving under certain conditions, that there are so many more characters and weapons then you ever thought, and that the maps hold specific secrets if you can endure the onslaught. And if you’re just hearing about this for the first time, great news: the game only costs $5 on Steam, and there’s DLC on the way.

Rapid Fire Round

For the better part of the last five years, we have had a steady stream of roguelikes and the genre-modifier is certainly going through a Renaissance. We didn’t even touch on the precursors of the era with FTL, Risk of Rain and the Binding of Isaac. Contemporary games like Returnal and Deathloop or The Division’s Survival mode. Or some of the popular off shoots like One Step from Eden, Monster Train, Griftlands, and Inscryption. The fundamental principles of the roguelike manage to extend a plethora of genres with just a little imagination, and I eagerly await the next roguelike to lose a 100 hours too in 20-60 minutes at a time.

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The post A Quick Loop Back and Forward Through the Modern Heyday of Roguelikes appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://www.thenerdelement.com/2022/12/24/nfl-week-15-prediction-updates-and-christmas-day-game-picks/

Good evening, everyone! Today I want to discuss which picks I got correct and which ones I got wrong! So, let’s get started! I predicted that the Eagles would beat the Bears 42-17, but the final score was 25-20 Eagles over the Bears. I predicted that the Chiefs would beat the Texans 37-20, but the final score was 30-24 Chiefs over the Texans in overtime. The Chiefs scored a game-winning touchdown to win the game. I predicted that the Chargers would beat the Titans 34-23, but the final score was 17-14 Chargers over the Titans. I predicted that the Giants would beat the Commanders 27-20, but the final score was 20-12 Giants over the Commanders. I predicted that the Packers would beat the Rams 28-17, but the final score was 24-12 Packers over the Rams.

I predicted that the Jets would beat the Lions 24-15, but the final score was 20-17 Lions over the Jets. I predicted that the Cowboys would beat the Jags 38-21, but the final score was 40-34 Jags over the Cowboys in overtime. The Jags scored a game-winning touchdown on the interception to win the game in overtime. I predicted that the Cardinals would beat the Broncos 17-14, but the final score was 24-15 Broncos over the Cardinals. Colt McCoy had a concussion on his head after he dived for the first down, the Cardinals offense was out of sync once again and the defense of the Cards gotten beaten by the run game even though they were not running the ball well because the Cardinals were missing Zach Allen. I predicted that the Patriots would beat the Raiders 26-19, but the final score was 30-24 Raiders over the Patriots. The Patriots cost themselves the game by Jacoby Meyers bad decision to throw back the ball and Chandler Jones intercepted the ball and took it in for a game-winning touchdown. That was a very stupid decision. I predicted that the Bucs would beat the Bengals 24-21, but the final score was 34-32 Bengals over the Bucs.

So overall, I have gotten 5 out of 10 picks correct!! Now, let’s get to the NFL Christmas Day picks, shall we?! They are only 3 games on Christmas Day. The first game I will predict is the Packers @Dolphins game. I think the Dolphins will beat the Packers 26-17. The next game I will predict is the Broncos @Rams game. I think the Broncos might beat the Rams 13-10.

The last game I will predict is the Bucs @Cardinals game on Sunday Night Football. Both of these teams are coming off with the losses last week. The Buccaneers have lost 3 games in a row and they are 6-8 because the Bucs offense has not been playing really well. It is a possibly that if the Bucs win tomorrow night, then they will clinch the division, but they have to win the last 3 games. The Cardinals will be starting Trace McSorley. I think the Bucs will likely beat the Cards in a must win game 21-13 and the Cardinals are 1-5 at home. The last game I will predict is the Chargers @Colts game on Monday Night Football. I think the Chargers will beat the Colts 30-13.

So, what do you guys think about the NFL Christmas Day game picks plus a Monday Night Football game?! I would love to hear lots of comments, thoughts, opinions, questions, or concerns down below!

Stay tuned for NFL updates.

The post NFL Week 15 Prediction Updates and Christmas Day Game Picks! appeared first on The Nerd Element.