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As a fan of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, I am delighted because, even though her name was Arachne in the musical, the connection to Madame Web was undeniable, and now we’re supposedly getting a “secret Marvel movie” from Sony in which all signs point to Madame Web making her live-action debut.

A woman of psychic abilities, Madame Web (or Cassandra Webb, depending on which Madame Web they’re going with) is the kind of character who often helps Peter Parker and tells him of people he needs to catch or what’s happening around him. She also comes to Peter Parker’s apartment to prove that she knows he’s Spider-Man.

With the idea of Sony working on a Madame Web movie, it’s clear that they’re trying to bring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker more into the Sony-specific side of Spider-Man movies. Without Peter Parker, a Madame Web movie would be centered around the clairvoyant, and while exciting, it does seem as if it would be a great way of bringing Parker into the project.

However, there is an additional bit of information that does delight me to no end: Director S.J. Clarkson has signed on to develop the first female-centric movie. So, even if it isn’t a Madame Web film, the movie is going to focus on a female hero from the Spider-Verse.

Sure, the movie could focus on Julia Carpenter, too, and range from her time as Spider-Woman into her time as Madame Web, but who knows what Sony has planned? I’m just excited that it means that the women of the Spider-Verse are getting their time. With Venom, Morbius, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, we focused on male characters in Peter Parker’s world, but starting with this “secret” movie, we can maybe get more of the women who help to fill out the Spider-Verse.

The secret movie is … well, very secret. There is no writer yet, and we still don’t know for certain which hero it will focus on, but to be honest, I’m just excited about more Spider-Verse content.

(via Variety, image: Marvel Entertainment)

Here are some other stories we saw out there today:

• The first look at Alexander Skarsgård in The Stand is here. (via Entertainment Weekly)
• Navajo Nation surpasses New York state for the highest COVID-19 infection rate. (via CNN)
  

  ZODIAC

  (on Netflix in the US on 1 June) pic.twitter.com/cLVhec4HHx

  — NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) May 20, 2020

• The New York primary is back on. (via HuffPost)
• Alison Roman’s column is on “temporary” leave after her comments went viral. (via Vulture)

Anything we missed? Let us know what you saw!

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 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Yesterday, legendary producer Babyface announced that his “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack special would take place this upcoming Sunday, May 24.

After he shared the good news, he gave a tutorial on how to sing like Toni Braxton. He did so by holding water in his mouth to get that not-so-clear sound she is known for making.

Afterward, Tamar Braxton, Toni’s younger sister, joined in on the fun. Being that she grew up around her sister, she was able to mimic her tone and bass perfectly. She told us that the trick was cutting off the words before the end of a sentence.

With those two as guides, the Toni Braxton challenge was born.

Check out some of the hilarious impersonations on the following pages.

It’s hard to say what the exact effects of climate change will be by the end of the 21st century, but that hasn’t stopped people from theorizing. In this recent video from YouTuber, RealLifeLore, for example, we’re treated to a glimpse of what would happen to Earth if the average global temperature rose by 4 degrees Celsius by the year 2100. And the prophecy is (expectedly) terrible for many, while enormously beneficial for some.

RealLifeLore, the YouTube channel dedicated to answering “questions that you’ve never asked,” recently posted the extremely speculative climate change video. The video’s narrator, Joseph Pisenti—who also runs the channel—notes that the speculations made in the video are based on those outlined in the book, Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization.

Connectography is a book on the “global network revolution” that may take place over the next 80 or so years, written by geopolitical advisor and international relations expert, Parag Khanna. If you want to hear more about Khanna’s theories regarding how “the map of the world” is going to change by the year 2100, check out the author’s TED Talk below.

As far as the predictions in the video, they basically boil down to this: Everything’s going to become a desert. Except for narrow strips of land closer to the planet’s poles. Which, according to the assumptions made in the video, could mean that Canada, Russia, the Nordic countries, and Greenland all become the 22nd century’s top superpowers. Although Alaska would apparently go a long way in helping the U.S. stay relevant.

The video notes that with a 4°C rise in average global temperature, every continent would be home to a massive dessert, with Africa “effectively [becoming] an entire desert continent.” The video also notes that unthinkable large migrations of people will need to take place in attempts to relocate to livable areas of the world. China, for example, is theorized to become almost entirely uninhabitable desert, displacing roughly 1.4 billion people.

The desert areas (brown, yellow) that would result from 4°C warming. RealLifeLore

There are, of course, an endless number of questions the climate model elicits in regards to the inevitable geopolitical ramifications of global warming. For example, how countries would interact with each other as the world warms; i.e. which ones, if any, would go to war with each other? The core assumption that Earth could warm by 4°C by 2100 may also be inaccurate. Especially taking into consideration the fact that new technologies may mitigate the effects of climate change catalyzed by humanity.

What do you think about this video of what Earth would look like if it were 4°C warmer? Is this the kind of future you think is coming, or is this theory way off? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Feature image: RealLifeLore

The post What Earth May Look Like with Global Warming of 4°C  appeared first on Nerdist.

Actor Clark Gregg, also known as the MCU’s Agent Phil Coulson, tweeted out a rather searing indictment of the new MacBook Air that speaks to a common frustration where Apple’s pricey computers are concerned.

Gregg directed his tweeting ire at Apple because a brand-new MacBook Air he’d purchased for his soon-to-be-graduating-high-school kid came with what he termed an “awful” webcam. When you consider the price point, everything should be top of the line and up to date. The 2020 MacBook Air starts at $999 with 256GB storage, but even the $1299 512GB Air doesn’t come with an upgraded camera from the $999 model. The 720p cameras that these computers sport are decade-old tech at this point.

Dear @Apple
Hi. Big fan for 30+ years.
I stuck even when you bugged up the iphones to get us to buy new ones (lame) But I just bought my nearly high school graduate a new MacBook Air to use for what will probably be zoom university in the fall and the web cam is awful. Why?

— Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) May 19, 2020

Mere months ago, webcams wouldn’t have been such a huge concern, although it’s not wrong to expect a pretty snazzy webcam when you’re shelling out enough money to purchase a used car on a new computer. These days, however, webcams are more important than ever before—video conferences are how we do work and socialize, and Gregg’s kid is headed to what he terms “Zoom university” in the fall. If everything from attending classes, giving presentations, and making new friends will revolve around a webcam, finding a subpar one on a brand-new, super-expensive computer is definitely frustrating.

As for Apple’s new MacBook Pro, well, those range from $1299-$1799 for the 13-inch and $2399-2799 for the 16-inch. At those prices its webcam better come packaged with an award-winning Hollywood cinematographer who frames me in soft lighting every time I open up FaceTime. Alas, this isn’t so. As CNET points out, both the new Airs and Pros have “left us with the 720p FaceTime HD camera, which is a 1.2-megapixel webcam (with 1,280×720-pixel resolution) that badly lags behind the front-facing cameras on our smartphones.” They note that it’s “disappointing that Apple chose to leave its newest Mac with such outdated technology,” but it’s not exactly a shock.

BTW. This was my SECOND Mac. The PowerBook 100 Respect your customers @Apple or you will end up as outdated as this machine. pic.twitter.com/HIXoxg3eU5

— Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) May 19, 2020

Apple’s current line of computers are so far above my price range that I haven’t had the recourse to own a new model in quite some time. The truth is that I’ve often felt like I’ve dodged a bullet. Complaints have poured in about the newer MacBooks for years, especially their keyboards, which users bemoan for being nightmarishly bad. (When you start typing “Apple MacBook keyboard” into the search bar, it helpfully auto-suggests “not working” as the first result.)

While the new 2020 MacBooks are said to correct this issue (by abandoning the hated “butterfly keyboard” entirely), it took Apple five years to finally fix the keyboard problem. This despite knowing full well that the keyboards were faulty and prone to sticking and breaking, and hearing plenty of feedback on the matter. Five. Years.

As The Verge explained earlier in May with the 13-inch MacBook Pro announcement:

“After five years of applying bandages to the butterfly keyboard, Apple has switched over its entire laptop line to the scissor-switch-based Magic Keyboard in the span of six months.

Switching the entire product lineup over to a new keyboard in the span of six months is impressive, but the decision to finally do so came far too late. Apple obstinately stuck with this keyboard design for much too long, hurting its image and causing wholly unnecessary hassle and cost for its customers […] the whole butterfly keyboard saga has been a huge reputation hit for Apple.”

It’s hard to imagine many companies getting away with a wonky product in what’s supposed to be their specialty—design—for five years and still have customers willing to shell out so much money for the latest models. But customers have been willing to forgive Apple for quite a lot over the years; Gregg’s invocation of how Apple purposefully slowed down some old iPhone models is testament to that.

Not good when Agent Coulson calls you out.

— Alicia #CoulsonLives #ClarkGreggUniversity (@Philinda_AoS) May 19, 2020

YESSSSS!! finally somebody with some weight said it 😩…💥💥

— Austin Crute (@AustinCrute) May 19, 2020

The keyboard issue was a simmering problem that now appears mostly fixed by the switch to the “Magic Keyboard.” Yet Gregg’s Tweet highlights further dissatisfaction that not only Apple will have to take into account. Webcams, an often-overlooked area when buying a computer, are now vital technology, and their quality will be much more closely scrutinized.

Some replies in Gregg’s thread suggested that anyone looking for a peak-performing webcam fix for a new Apple MacBook can purchase an additional peripheral. You know, with all that extra money you have left after shelling out upwards of a thousand dollars on a laptop computer. And that’s if you can find one—good webcams have been selling like hotcakes (the $200 one linked below, which doesn’t even work with Airs, ships in 8-10 weeks).

in the meantime you are apparently welcome to purchase a $200 peripheral https://t.co/bBAAo6hWHz

— *yodeling intensifies* (@Sedna_51) May 19, 2020

While there’s long been an almost religious warfare online between fans of different systems, Gregg’s Tweet speaks to frustration from those who are staunch Apple supporters but have found it increasingly difficult to understand or justify the company’s decisions and their astronomical pricing.

Sorry, A reply from them will cost you $79.99 and you need to agree to the terms & conditions first

— Dave Meggison (@Cupidstunt1980) May 19, 2020

(image: Marvel Studios)

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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—