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https://nerdist.com/article/could-fallout-season-2-introduce-new-vegas-yes-man/

Prime Video’s Fallout featured a major, infamous figure from Fallout: New Vegas. The mustachioed leader of RobCo present for Barb Howard’s secret meeting was none other than the billionaire industrialist Mr. Robert House. With the show heading to the wasteland’s Sin City in season two, we might see the once powerful New Vegas ruler (or at least his brain) once again. But he might not be the only iconic denizen of the Strip still living there. We might also see a beloved video game character we would never say “no” to meeting again: Yes Man.

Who is this super positive, upbeat, hilarious fan-favorite AI robot voiced by Dave Foley? Here’s everything to know about a friendly and funny figure who can never turn us down.

Who Is Fallout: New Vegas‘ Yes Man?

Mr. House amassed his fortune thanks to his advanced robotics and software company. He then maintained order and kept power in New Vegas thanks in part to his fleet of Securitron robots. The heavily armed, single-wheeled machines served as his own private army. Fallout: New Vegas opens with an associate of Mr. House stealing the Platinum Chip, an upgrade that would greatly enhance the effectiveness of Securitrons.

The thief behind the subterfuge was Benny, head of the Mr. House-aligned tribe and casino operators known as “The Chairmen.” Benny (voiced by the late Matthew Perry) was already in possession of something that once belonged to Mr. House. That object was vital to Benny’s attempts to take control of New Vegas.

The Chairmen leader had reprogrammed a damaged Securitron robot with a unique AI program. Benny’s right hand man/robot was known as Yes Man, and with good reason. Its comprehensive new programming (with one fatal oversight) made it impossible to refuse any commands or withhold any information asked of it. Yes Man’s compliant nature is the reason it alerted Benny to the Mr. House’s pending covert plans of the Platinum Chip. It also helped ruin its owner.

What Happened to Yes Man in Fallout: New Vegas?

Benny’s ultimate scheme to take control of New Vegas was going to include uploading Yes Man into Mr. House’s mainframe. First, he had to steal the Platinum Chip from the Courier, the delivery person gamers play as in Fallout: New Vegas. Benny’s associates left the delivery person for dead, but the Courier returned to New Vegas. There, Yes Man couldn’t refuse to answer the Courier’s questions about his owner or Mr. House. It was programmed to serve anyone and everyone.

Fallout: New Vegas provides players with many decisions, and they can change when and how gamers interact with Yes Man initially. Ultimately Yes Man becomes their sidekick as Benny is either captured, killed, or set free.

One available storyline sees the Courier work with Yes Man to free the city from the three main forces vying to control it. In that alternate ending the Courier acts on their own behalf, using Yes Man to secure the Hoover Dam and New Vegas. In one version of that ending the Securitrons don’t get an upgrade and chaos comes to the Strip. The one that includes them getting the Platinum Chip upgrade results in them maintaining order and peace in Sin City.

Yes Man ends the game by undergoing a small personality change Benny really should have thought of. It makes Yes Man only follow the Courier’s commands.

Does Yes Man Die in Fallout: New Vegas?

Yes Man is an artificial intelligence program. If someone or something destroys the robot or machine he possesses he simply pops up in another one. Yes Man’s sunny persona and smiling face can appear in any Securitron, his usual form. (Sometimes when he respawns its hard to find his new Securitron body. The Platinum Chip does not change his personality and programming if/when uploaded to Mr. House’s operating system.)

The only way Yes Man can truly “die” in the game is if he’s destroyed by a laser or plasma weapon. Prime Video’s Fallout doesn’t have to treat that as canon. And why would it when fans would love nothing more than to see Yes Man appear on the show?

Why Is Yes Man Such a Beloved Fallout Video Game Character?

Yes Man offers players advice and insight, but that’s not why players adore him. It’s how he does it. His can-do/must-do attitude makes for an always charming, consistently hilarious sidekick who is brought to life by the great Dave Foley. Yes Man, along with his biting, insightful commentary, is a whole lot of fun in a franchise that makes a dystopian wasteland a place worth wandering.

If you know Dave Foley, it’s not hard to understand what makes the character so memorable. Whether you’ve played Fallout: New Vegas for a thousand hours or are just learning about it right now, you can hear Foley saying, “This is going to be great! I’m going to help you accomplish so much, whether I want to or not!”

What we want is for Prime Video’s Fallout to say “yes” to bringing Yes Man to the show. With a character this good how could it even think about saying “no” to that?

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who loves Dave Foley and always will because of Newsradio. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The post Could FALLOUT Season 2 Introduce NEW VEGAS’ Beloved Yes Man? appeared first on Nerdist.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/5-worst-depictions-of-suicide-for-people-of-color-on-television/

A great thing about television is how it may normalize people of color navigating their mental health or suicidality. However, one of the worst things for television is shoddy depictions of suicide for people of color. Here is my list of the top five worse depictions of suicide for people of color on television. 

(This article will reveal a lot of spoilers.)

5. Curb Your Enthusiasm

In case absolutely no one has noticed Kramer’s crappy comments about suicide in Seinfield, or all of the crappy comments Larry David made about mental health all throughout Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David’s content especially wasn’t great at depicting a person of color’s attempted suicide. 

In Episode 4 of Season 5, Larry meets a Japanese man named Yoshi (Greg Watanabe) who attempts suicide after Larry accuses his father of being a cowardly kamikaze pilot in World War II. While Larry and his friends are gambling at Yoshi’s sister’s house, when his sister (Elaine Kao) and brother in law (Kevin Nealon) get a call about his attempted suicide, Larry and his friends continue to play cards. 

In the end, stereotypical Japanese music plays while Yoshi’s father (Ken Takemoto) crashes into Larry with his wheelchair shouting “Banzai” as the sound effect of a plane crash also plays. 

I don’t feel comfortable with how Larry David always portrayed Asian people as caricatures who are victims of his antics throughout Curb. 

4. Rick & Morty

I know some may not be surprised this is on the list considering the whole well-meaning white leftist animated comedy writing that just ends up making the situations worse, but it’s still worth bringing up. Out of all of the times Rick & Morty has made fun of suicide, flippantly and casually, only two episodes out of its entire run so far presented a content warning for depictions of suicide. I will talk about one of these episodes: Episode 4 of Season 7.

Rick (voiced by Ian Cardoni) gets spaghetti from an alternate universe that is tasty for the whole family to assign once a week “Spaghetti Night.” Unfortunately, his grandson Morty (voiced by Harry Beldon) finds out that Rick has been obtaining the spaghetti from a planet where if someone chooses to die by suicide, their body’s internal parts turn into spaghetti.

When Morty brings this to the planet’s government’s attention, they turn it into a conglomerate targeting dying people of color, formerly incarcerated people, and more who are considered disposable to die by suicide so spaghetti can be sold across the universe. They also use each person’s “story” as a marketing ploy. The first “test” before the pasta goes live as a product is a Black woman who dies by assisted suicide. 

I would feel differently about this episode if we as viewers actually learned something about how to remind people that they’re not disposable and that although being alive is difficult, it’s worth it. But we don’t. Instead, it’s just another episode where Rick and Morty go the equal opportunity death route because Rick deems everything worthless. 

3. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Copaganda screws up once again after attempting to make this a “teachable moment” kind of episode. Even if their intention was to encourage people in and out of law enforcement to seek help, the impact involved romanticizing suicide for law enforcement and just reminded viewers why law enforcement can’t be trusted to handle the topic in the first place. 

In Episode 12, Season 21, of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, we see a total of three suicides in one forty-five minute episode. One by Rachel Wilson (Holly Robinson Peete), a Black former NYPD officer who ends her life with a gun publicly at Ed Tucker’s (Robert John Burke) retirement party because of a mishandling of a sexual assault complaint she filed during her career. Another by Ralphie Morris (Saul Stein), an officer who completed his suicide two hours after being interviewed by Olivia Benson (Mariska Hartgitay) and her team. The final suicide is completed by Ed Tucker within the final minutes of the episode. 

What frustrated me about this episode was the piss-poor attempt of talking about what Rachel must have felt as a woman of color while on the force. Moreover, I don’t trust writers who believe a Black woman is capable of making her suicide a spectacle for her white ex-colleagues. 

2. House

Kal Penn’s character’s exit deserved so much better.

In Episode 20 of Season 5, Lawrence Kutner doesn’t show up for work at the hospital one morning. House (Hugh Laurie) sends his team members Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) and Thirteen Hadley (Olivia Wilde) to discover why Lawrence didn’t show up. The two show up at his apartment and see Kutner’s dead body from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although we as the viewer don’t see Kutner’s body, we do see Foreman and Hadley covered in his blood. 

The leading cast of House already isn’t very racially diverse. To have one of its popular characters, and only Indian character, have such an abrupt and heavy exit from the show like that was totally unnecessary. Because Penn was leaving the show to work for President Obama, the show could have written a celebratory episode of him leaving for a better medical job.

But no, the show creators wanted to display how suicide can be an element of surprise, I guess? No one can ever predict when, how, or why someone chooses to die by suicide. But to do it like this and viewers are only seeing it treated like a mystery to be solved instead of a public health crisis on a doctor’s drama. Disappointing. 

1. The Last of Us

Episode 5 of Season 1 involved two Black brothers: one is younger and deaf (Keivonn Montreal Woodard) named Sam; another who is older (Lamar Johnson) named Henry. They are both on the run from a resistance group because their leader (Melanie Lynskey) blames Henry for her brother’s death.

Although the brothers were able to escape the group with the help of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), in the end Sam is bitten by a zombie. Because he puts Ellie in danger as a zombie, Henry shoots Sam, killing him. Completely distraught, Henry kills himself with the same gun. 

I know the material is loyal to the plot in the video game, but this one downright broke my heart. I’m not asking for television that will never make me sad. I am only asking for television to be more intentional when it does. I will also say, in the original video game, Sam is not deaf. So although it’s wonderful to see a young disabled Black actor getting recognition, the deliberate choice of making a character disabled as a tool to get even more empathy from viewers when he dies feels gross. And to have a beautiful love story between Black brothers end because of a suicide knowing the suicide of Black youth continues to rise hurts too much. 

What would it have been like to challenge the video game’s original narrative? What would it have been like to see Henry and Sam live and fight zombies along with Joel and Ellie? What would it have been like to invite more Black writers on The Last of Us team to make Henry and Sam’s story grow? 

Remember, if you or a loved one is struggling with suicidality, contact the suicide warmline 988. For Deaf or hard of hearing folks, dial 711, then 988.

https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-the-phantom-menace-retro-action-figure-multipack-hasbro/

It’s hard to believe, but The Phantom Menace arrived in theaters 25 years ago. It premiered on May 19, 1999. As the first news Star Wars movie in nearly 20 years, the film had a lot to live up to, especially since it explored the origins of Darth Vader. The movie marks the in-universe beginning of the Skywalker saga. The Phantom Menace will be returning to theaters soon to celebrate the milestone anniversary on May 3. That’s right before May the 4th, a.k.a. Star Wars Day. Hasbro has several new items for that special day, including an absolutely perfect retro collection multipack of action figures for The Phantom Menace.

This multipack comes with action figures for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Queen Amidala, Darth Maul, Jar Jar Binks, and a battle droid. In other words, it’s the ideal The Phantom Menace action figure sampler pack. It’s made all the cooler by the retro sculpt style. The lightsabers look like they’re from the ’70s and just look at Qui-Gon’s fabric cape! Take a closer gander at the figures in the gallery below.

Inspired by the design of 1970s Kenner Star Wars action figures, these 3.75 inch scale The Phantom Menace figures each have five points of articulation. Each figure is individually packaged on a cardboard back within the box. The packaging has classic Kenner branding and a weathered look. As usual with these figures, the cardboard backing also has a large “Retro collection” label that takes away some of the coolness. However, if you’re like me, you open your action figures so the packaging doesn’t matter anyway.

Other items in the Hasbro May the 4th release include an Epic Hero series stormtrooper, Epic Hero series Paz Vizsla, a Vintage Collection Jango Fett, a Black Series Droideka, a Black Series Darth Vader, and a Vintage Collection Mandalorian.

This multipack of The Phantom Menace action figures retails for $59.99 and is available in stores now.

The post Hasbro’s THE PHANTOM MENACE Retro Action Figures Could Not Be More Perfect appeared first on Nerdist.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/mental-monday-tips-distressing-2/

Originally Published Jun. 27, 2016

It’s hard to take time for oneself, especially when you are trying to run a business and so much needs to get done. It always feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day or not enough hands on deck to assist you. Or, you may have trouble delegating even if you have enough able bodies around you. A number of issues affect the mental state of entrepreneurs—from depression to substance abuse. What strategies can you use to avoid some of the issues that plague your physical and mental health as an entrepreneur? Here are some suggestions.

Meditate

Studies show that meditation is good for your mental health because it helps fight depression, stress, and anxiety. Taking time out to be centered, still, and quiet pays huge dividends toward reducing stressors and keeping your mind right.

Sleep

It is important to get enough rest and keep yourself healthy. Sleep deprivation can also cause poor judgment. As the sole decision-maker for your business, it is vital that you make those decisions with a clear, focused, and well-rested mind.

Exercise

Many workout plans take less than 20 minutes and can be done by people at all fitness levels. If you feel tired and burned out at the end of the day, try getting your workout in before you start work in the morning.

Create a support group

Meet and talk with other entrepreneurs to understand how they feel and cope. Your listening and their encouragement could be equally beneficial. You will see that other people are facing similar things, and you don’t have to remain in your silo.

Take breaks

When the stress of the daily grind starts to get to you, take a break. Studies show that microbreaks between 30 seconds and 5 minutes can increase mental activity by up to 13%. A 15-second break every 10 minutes can reduce fatigue by 50%.

Reclaim your weekends

Entrepreneurs can get caught in a cycle of never-ending work, but we all need to recharge now and then. Set aside your weekends to spend away from work—also, schedule hobbies, meetups, or other fun things to do. You’d be surprised at all the activities you can think of when you allow yourself to get bored.

Book vacations

It is essential that entrepreneurs schedule vacations—real ones that last a week or more outside of a 10-block radius. Block out vacations on your calendar, and book them for an entire year in advance.

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