Category Archives: Immortality

Some 50 km from Dharamshala in Himachal, lies a pretty town named Baijnath in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The town is mostly noted for being home to an ancient temple of Lord Shiva (Baijnath Temple), after which the place is named.

But thats not all; do you know, Baijnath is a rare place in India where Dussehra is not celebrated, and this is why.

Soon after getting his wishes fulfilled, Ravana requested Lord Shiva to come with him to Lanka. Therefore, the Goa converted himself into a shivalinga and asked him to carry it to Lanka. However, Shiva also warned him not to put the shivalinga down on the ground on his way and, if for some reason, he does that, Shiva will settle at that very spot forever.

Soon after quenching his thirst, Ravana felt the urge to answer nature's call. So he requested Ganesh to hold the shivalinga while he relieved himself. But, Lord Ganesha kept the linga on the ground and, as told by Shiva, the shivalinga settled at the same spot in the form of Ardhanarishwar (Lord Shiva in the form of half male and half female). The spot was in the modern day town of Baijnath, where Dussehra is not celebrated in respect of Ravana's devotion to Lord Shiva.

While the whole country burns the effigy of Ravana and his clan, Baijnath has no such ritual.

About Baijnath Temple

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Baijnath: The Himachal town that doesn't celebrate Dussehra - Times of India

It seems that a Legacy of Kain revival is possibly being considered by Crystal Dynamics, if a new survey is anything to go by.

The new survey was posted by developer Crystal Dynamics, polling fans on what their favorite titles in the series are, how they rate each game, and even whether they prefer the eponymous Kain or his lieutenant, Raziel as a protagonist.

However further into the survey fans get a tantalizing question: what would they prefer the next game in the Legacy of Kain series to be? The options you can select include:

Its worth noting that the above four options in the survey are set to be put in order of which you prefer most so Crystal Dynamics is considering everything when it comes to reviving the beloved series.

The survey then goes on to ask which of the five main games in the series theyd like to see get a remake or remaster, and whether or not theyd like to see a story recap in these purported re-releases. It also asks what modern game most resembles what theyd expect a new Kain title would play like, and what media most resembles the tone of the series.

The survey also asks more intricate questions like what they enjoy most in vampire games, i.e. blood feeding, immortality, magic, and so on. Interestingly, the survey also asks which of the supporting characters are the players most favorite, and what other vampire games theyve enjoyed the most (aside from the Legacy of Kain series, of course).

Its very possible that the Embracer Group buyout of Crystal Dynamics will lead to a revival of the series, as the parent company and its subsidiaries have been bringing several IPs back from the dead with their seemingly endless cash.

Would you like to see a Legacy of Kain series revival? In what form and what kind of games would you like to see? Sound off in the comments below!

The rest is here:
Legacy of Kain series revival teased by Crystal Dynamics in new survey - Niche Gamer

Darth Vader will feature in Star Wars films for years to come, thanks to an 'immortalising' AI technology.

James Earl Jones, the 91-year-old actor who has been the voice of Darth Vader since 1977, has reportedly agreed to have his voice synthesized by an AI so that Disney doesn't have to recast the role after he dies.

According to Vanity Fair, the aging actor agreed to let Ukrainian AI company Respeecher take past recordings of his voice and use it to create new lines for Darth Vader that sound "indistinguishable from the original speaker".

READ NEXT: Inside Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher's saucy 3-month affair

The method was reportedly used during during the newly-released Obi-Wan Kenobi series over on Disney+.

It was used because the series needed to depict a younger Darth Vader between Star Wars Episode III and IV, and because Jones no longer wants to play the character at his age.

Jones has given the green light to archive recordings of him playing Darth Vader so that the AI company can continue to churn out convincing lines long after he's gone.

It marks yet another high-tech immortalisation of an iconic Star Wars character, after both Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing reprised their roles in the series after their deaths.

An 'eerie' CGI version of Peter Cushing, complete with digitally reconstructed voice, appeared in Rogue One.

Meanwhile, Carrie Fisher was 'brought back' as Princess Leia in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, again using advanced CGI technology.

With an additional sequel trilogy reportedly planned for Star Wars, as well as a myriad of TV series and shorts coming out continually on Disney+, we could be watching artificial characters replace actors for years to come as Disney continues to milk the galaxy for all it's worth.

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Star Wars' Darth Vader will 'live forever' after being given digital AI immortality - Daily Star

Its striking to watch this in such close proximity to Andrew Dominiks Blonde, another tale of Hollywood predation centered around a fictionalized, brutalized Marilyn Monroe. For my money, "Immortality" has far more to say about the voyeuristic nature of the film camera and the leering male eyes that look through it. We watch Marissa in various states of vulnerability and undress (sex and nudity are major components of the first two films, in particular), sometimes encouraged by Marissa but inevitably colored by the power dynamics of the men she works with. In so doing, we understand the carnivorous way Fischer and Durick look at Marissa and see it reflected in ourselves. As our eyes scan footage of her frame-by-frame, or you click on an exposed breast to match-cut to another scene of the same, its hard not to feel complicit in that same consumption.

And Barlow, much like Dominik in Blonde, is hardly immune from criticism on that front. Whether Marilyn or Marissa, both figures revel in the transgressive nudity of their subjects under the guise of critiquing the male gaze that hungers for it so ravenously.

Beware: major spoilers for a fundamental layer of "Immortality"s gameplay follows.

But what makes "Immortality" more elusive (and consequently more gripping) is that aforementioned third layer, which lies beyond the thin veneer of celluloid that separates reality from the movies. Its subtle at first, that low, bassy thrum that plays over specific stretches of footage. Stop the tape and roll it back slowly, and something akin to a jump scare comes; where Marissa stood, you see a mysterious woman (a haunting, revelatory Charlotta Mohlin) in her place, slinking through the frame like a serpent. Her words are enigmatic and spare but speak volumes, especially as you apply the same trick to more and more clips, uncovering the darker, anguished side of Marissas life as an artist.

Is she something supernatural, the living embodiment of the Greek muses? Is she the metaphorical expression of Marissas sublimated frustrations about the artistic process and her place in it? Blissfully, this element of the game makes room for both interpretations.

Through Mohlins staggering performance, anchored with centuries of pain and hurt, comes "Immortality"s most beautiful moments. This culminates (for me, at least, you can view the proceedings in whatever order you like) in a gut-punch lip-sync of Lou Reeds Candy Saysa mournful love song about transgender woman Candy Darling, one of Andy Warhols superstars (a figure who himself floats in the periphery of Marissas New York artist world).

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Scratching the Celluloid Surface of Sam Barlow's Hollywood Lament Immortality | Video Games - Roger Ebert

Baseball fans could be treated to a double-dose of home run immortality this week, as both Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols are closing in on historic milestones.

In the Bronx, Judges incredible season for the New York Yankees rolls on, as he enters play Tuesday with 59 home runs on the campaign. Judge belted a pair of home runs for the New York Yankees on Sunday, in the Yankees 12-8 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, leaving him just two shy of Roger Maris American League record of 61 home runs in a season, set back in 1961.

Judges second blast on Sunday was a no-doubter off the bat, as you can tell by the reaction from Brewers pitcher Luis Perdomo:

As you can hear from the crowd after that moon shot, the calls for Judge to win American League Most Valuable Player continue to grow. Judge leads the league in a number of offensive categories, including on-base percentage (.419), slugging percentage (.701) and on-base plus slugging (1.120). His 59 home runs leads the majors, and also puts him 20 home runs ahead of Kyle Schwarber, who ranks second in baseball with 39 home runs.

But perhaps the best case for Judges MVP candidacy comes via Wins Above Replacement. Heading into play Tuesday, Judges WAR of 9.6 leads the league, putting him ahead of Shoehei Ohtanis mark of 8.7.

It is also the highest since the 10.7 posted by Mookie Betts during the 2018 season, when he won MVP.

Then there is Pujols, who is closing in on one of baseballs most elite clubs: The 700 club.

Currently, that elite club has just three members: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. Pujols is on the cusp of joining them. After a slow start to the season, Pujols locked in as August began, and has 12 home runs since August 10th. On that date, Pujols launched a solo shot off Austin Gomber of the Colorado Rockies, kicking off his late-season hot streak at the plate.

On Friday night, Pujols launched this rocket to deep left off Raynel Espinal of the Cincinnati Reds, giving him 19 home runs on the season, and 698 for his career:

The week ahead should give Judge ample opportunities to reach Maris mark. The Yankees kickoff a homestand tonight, starting with a quick two-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates are expected to start Luis Ortiz on the mound Tuesday night, having just recalled him to Pittsburgh after an injury to J.T. Brubaker, and Roansy Contreras on Wednesday.

Judge has yet to face either pitcher this year, but Ortiz, the young flamethrower, has bounced around between AA, AAA and the Pirates this season. Contreras, another younger arm in the Pittsburgh organization, has spent time at both AAA and with the major league club this season. In just over 83 inning of work with the Pirates, Contreras has allowed ten home runs.

Should Judge get through this two-game set with the Pirates without notching another home run, hell get his chance against the Yankees bitter rivals when the Boston Red Sox come to town for a four-game series, the final meeting between the rivals this season. Judge has 5 home runs in 14 games against Boston this season, and two of those came against Nick Pivetta, slated to start for the Red Sox on Saturday.

Pujols might face a tougher road to reach his milestone, at least in the early part of the week. The Cardinals travel west to start a West Coast swing, starting with three games against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mike Clevinger gets the ball for the Padres on Tuesday night, and Pujols has just a single hit in 14 career at-bats against him. Wednesday night will see lefty Blake Snell on the bump for San Diego, and Pujols has just one hit off Snell in his ten career at-bats.

His best chance might come Thursday, when Joe Musgrove is expected to get the call for the Padres. Pujols homered off Musgrove back in April of 2017, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

See the original post here:
Aaron Judge, Albert Pujols closing in on baseball immortality - SB Nation

Everyone wants to live forever. Few, if any, of us will ever achieve such a thing, but its not for lack of trying. Well try every new miracle cure, every wellness fadessential oils, stuffing lord knows what into who-knows-where, generally following the dubious influence of people more attractive than we are. Because if they look like that, then surely theres something valid to this outlandish claim, we think, overlooking the fact that theyre 20 years younger than we are and born with a silver IV drip.

You cant outrace death, which is in part where the idea of a church promising eternal paradise comes ina personal network thatll help reserve you a seat in the afterlife. If death is a certainty, then people can hardly be faulted for not only holding fast to the idea that something elsesomething better, evenis still yet to come, but that we can maneuver our way to the right place. In more far-fetched scenarios, theres also resurrection and reincarnation, but in the event that our bodies eventually break down, and the next plane is a bust, theres always immortality the old fashioned way: Living a legend that exists well after youre gone.

Short of being bit by a vampirejurys still out on that onethe last way is the most achievable way to immortality, but its by no means easy. The shelf-life on a posthumous legend is roughly a generation or two. We typically reserve the plaques and the monuments for those who changed history in some way, and not always necessarily for the bestworld leaders, pioneers in groundbreaking fields, explorers, heroes, saints. But even celebrities arent immune to fading into historys unforgiving ether. Shakespeare made it a few centuries and The Beatles probably have a good shot at being remembered in whatevers left of our world a few hundred years from now. But the rest of us probably wont be so lucky to have documentaries made about our lives and books written about us. And as much as we try to leave an impression through digital means, the Internet isnt forever. Take it from someone whos had to remind himself to download PDF copies of the stories written for websites that no longer exist.

Dying young, however, has an ironic way of making immortality seem strangely closer to achievable. Its in the morbid glamour of the 27 clubartists gone before their time, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain, who feel permanently ingrained in our popular culture. In fact, there was once an entire genre of song based around young lovers meeting tragic ends at the end of a fiery speedway. It began with the Cheers Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots in 1955, eerily just before the untimely death of James Dean, and continued through the following decade through songs like Dead Mans Curve, Last Kiss and, most famously, 60s girl group The Shangri-Las morbid hit Leader of the Pack.

Leader of the Pack is one of the most popular examples of a teenage tragedy song, alternately known as splatter platters. They were a bit like murder ballads but produced for a youth demographic, romantic in their depictions of car wrecks and airplane crashes and other manner of grisly demise. Sometimes with a class ring still on their hand, in the case of Teen Angel, or given a touch of ghostly effects in Johnny Remember Me. And occasionally, like in Jody Reynolds Endless Sleep, they survive in a last minute twistthough Reynolds original version was written with a tragic ending, his label (Demon Records, interestingly enough) thought it too depressing to release as is.

Leader of the Pack is also a work of fiction. Written by Brill Building songwriters George Shadow Morton, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwhich, supposedly after consuming a bottle of champagne and some cigars. Intended as a follow-up for the groups prior single Remember (Walking in the Sand), it tells a fairly simple story of love between a girl and her ill-fated, motorcycle-straddling misfit suitorthink Arthur Fonzarelli but more of a reckless rider. The song is heavy with the sounds of revving hogswhich the group replicated in their own performances, supposedly by bringing an actual motorcycle backstageand dripping with teenage naivet.

The songs most famous line is arguably its first: Is she really going out with him? Borrowed by Joe Jackson and The Damned, its become an oft-repeated pop culture reference point, one of the great opening lines in popular music, but here its intended as an innocent bit of adolescent gossip that slowly walks us into a familiar story between narrator Betty and her hellraiser boyfriend Jimmy. Girl falls for bad boy (My folks were always putting him down (down, down)/They said he came from the wrong side of town), girl breaks it off with bad boy because dads being uncool (and pretty classist, it would seem), bad boy speeds off toward his imminent doom (As he drove away on that rainy night/I begged him to go slow, whether he heard/Ill never know). And with a Look out, look out, look out!, and a climactic instrumental crash, Jimmys story comes to a violent end. Or as Barry in High Fidelity puts it, The guy fuckin beefs it on his motorcycle and dies, right?

Strange as it might have been for youth audiences to be as enamored with the idea of songs about loved ones getting mangled in wrecks 60 years ago, its not exactly a mystery why Leader of the Pack became a hit song, reaching as high as number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Its catchy! I dont imagine there are many of us who wouldnt recognize the title hooktheres immortality for you!and it essentially follows the basic rules of a great pop song, in and out in less than three minutes, memorable chorus, simple melody, dont keep the audience waiting for the hook, and so on. But its also a very weird song in some respects. There are a lot of spoken word parts, and the reverb-laden middle section in which Betty says goodbye to the doomed Jimmy feels pretty weird to sandwich into an otherwise upbeat pop song, but then again, its a pop song about rowdy teenagers meeting an untimely demise, so I suppose it fits. You can hear its echoes on an album like Bat for Lashes The Bride, which uses similar aesthetics in an album that turns the trope upside down by spending most of it working through the aftermath and the grief. And, to a lesser extent, Fucked Ups David Comes to Life.

Leader of the Pack and the many other teenage tragedy songs of the 60s are connected Stagger Lee or Ode to Billie Joe in that they essentially descend from a similar folk tradition of grim and tragic narratives told through song. In fact, folk music had something of a resurgence in popular music at the time, which also saw murder ballads like Tom Dooley, popularized by The Kingston Trio, made into contemporary favorites. The difference is perhaps in the marketabilitythe songwriters behind Leader of the Pack and Dead Mans Curve saw a listenership that craved this macabre romanticism, likely in part because it echoes the inevitable sense of rebellion that every American teenager will at some point embrace. Sure, Jimmys dead, but at least he didnt have to ride his motorcycle responsibly. Safety is for squares.

But maybe theres another, more hopeful explanation is the one that goes back to the idea of immortalitythat if you go out in a fiery inferno with your engagement ring still on, or you lose control of your speedster so you can win your best girls affection, perhaps the tale is just too good not to turn into a song. Sure, eternal youth comes at a cost, but its a lot harder to sell a song about growing old and being forgotten.

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Originally posted here:
"Leader of the Pack" and the Teenage Tragedy Song | Treble - Treble