Elon Musk has been posting controversial statements about the coronavirus since early on in the pandemic. The posts have been general in nature but now, with Alameda county not giving Tesla the “green light” to reopen production, Musk is taking it personally. “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen [sic] on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA” tweeted Musk. He is also threatening to sue the state of California over the prolonged closure of the Tesla plant.
Since Musk’s outburst he has decided to re-open the Alameda plant today, in defiance and violation of county health order to remain shutdown.
Governor Tom Wolfe of Pennsylvania signed a ban against marriage under the age of 18 last Friday. The age of marriage is 18 in most states, but earlier marriages may be approved by parents and guardians down to the age of 12. “Setting the minimum age to obtain a marriage license will help prevent child exploitation,” said Governor Wolf in a press release Friday. “Marriage is a sacred and serious commitment that should be undertaken with love by two adults, not by children being exploited by unscrupulous adults.” The majority of these child marriages are primarily between underage girls and adult men, with over 200,000 underage marriages occurring between 2000 and 2010
Seattle’s “Stay Healthy Streets” program was launched to allow residents to walk and exercise outdoors without breaking social distancing. 20 miles of city streets were shut down for this purpose and Mayor Jenny Durkan says they will stay that way even after pandemic restrictions have been lifted. The city parks are still closed but the open stretches of road are allowing Seattle dwellers to find an escape from their houses. “We’re announcing a nimble, creative approach towards rapidly investing in a network of places for people walking and people biking of all ages,” said Durkan. The city is partnering with the Seattle Department of Transportation on this project and plan to make it permanent.
The morning of May 7th, an LG Polymers plant that was gearing up to reopen experienced a massive gas leak. The leak has been identified as a vapor form of Styrene, a common base of industrial polymers. The workers were not initially aware of the leak and an LG representative stated that the alarms only go off if Styrene leaks in liquid form. It must have “reacted with something” in order to escape in vapor form. The current estimate of those that have died is 11 people and over 300 people were hospitalized. Most of those affected were found unconscious in their cars, on the streets or on their balconies. The leak is now under control.
The Nintendo 64 is the third home console for the beloved video game company. It was the first Nintendo console capable of rendering actual 3D worlds. While the Super Nintendo Entertainment System had games that gave the illusion of a 3D environment, it wasn’t until the N64 that players had the freedom to explore these worlds. With that in mind, let’s look at the very best games for the Nintendo 64.
Paper Mario
Paper Mario is an RPG made on the heels of success from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It’s turn-based combat, and the colorful story made it stand out as a proper successor to Mario RPG. It might not be at its height anymore, but many people love this series because of its beginnings. Paper Mario was an odd direction to take this style of game, and it ultimately paid off by delivering that classic Nintendo charm in the form of paper cutout characters.
Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Rare was at the height of its power while developing games for the N64, and one of its best outputs was also one of the last games to release for the console. Conker’s Bad Fur Day is one of the few mature games. Conker is an alcoholic squirrel who will face many ridiculous situations including fighting a boss that goes by the name “The Great Mighty Poo” who has an opera performance while you fight him and a sunflower who you need to get to reveal herself to a group of honey bees. Conker was an unexpected game to appear on the N64 but would go on to become a true cult classic.
Star Fox 64
Star Fox is a space combat series that started on the SNES, but Star Fox 64 is the height of the series. You play as Fox, the captain of the Star Fox crew, as you pilot his Arwing through various levels. You dodge both the environment and enemy fire on your way to defeating the evil Professor Andross. This might not be the most popular of Nintendo’s franchises, but Star Fox 64 remains in the hearts of many 90s gamers.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
How do you follow up one of the best video games ever made? By reusing its assets to create a creepier story within a year of the former’s release. Majora’s Mask is one of the more unique Zelda games. It lies as a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time and sees Link deal with many homages to the five stages of grief. The iconic 3D Zelda gameplay introduced in the previous game returns here with new mechanics introduced through the different masks you wear. Majora’s Mask is often seen as one of the best games in the Zelda series, as well as one of the best overall on the N64.
Mario Party 2
Mario Party made its debut on the Nintendo 64, but its sequel is the one that stands out. In Mario Party 2, everything is made better. Four players move around a board while collecting as many stars as possible. Mini-games are held at the end of each round of turns to earn coins to buy those stars and items. Every board in the game has a theme that has all characters dressed up to match, including cowboys, pirates, and more. The mini-games in Mario Party 2 were much better than the original, either by being updated or bringing in brand new ones that felt much better.
Diddy Kong Racing
Diddy Kong Racing is a game that is still beloved by many 90s gamers. It introduced many colorful characters that made playing as each racer feel different, even though it was not. Races could take place in cars, hover vehicles, or airplanes, and truly made this a unique racing game during this time. The item selection is small, but between the extensive adventure mode and fun multiplayer racing, Diddy Kong Racing is a 90s classic for the N64.
007 Goldeneye
Imagine whatever first-person shooter game you enjoy. A big reason you can enjoy that game is from the success of 007 Goldeneye. Even though the N64 controller is not great by any means, the work Rare put in to make this game feel good was essential to making FPS’s feel the way they do today. The single-player campaign was great, but the real fun of this game comes from its multiplayer. Numerous nights were spent between friends and siblings battling each other in Goldeneye’s matches. It is rough to go back to play today, but this game’s importance cannot be overstated.
Banjo-Kazooie
Our fourth (and final) Rare game on the list goes to Banjo-Kazooie. A 3D collect-a-thon platformer that features so much charm. Banjo and Kazooie need to save Banjo’s sister Tootie from Gruntilda, a rhyming witch who is trying to steal her pretty looks. The diverse worlds all are unique to each other and give you plenty (but not too many) items to gather in your quest. Combine these colorful worlds with a brilliant soundtrack composed by Grant Kirkhope and the kind of characters you only find in a Rare game, and you have one of the most beloved games of the 90s.
Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 is Mario’s first time jumping into the 3D plane. It was an instant success and became one of the most important 90’s video games released. At the time, game companies were trying to figure out how to make 3D games properly. There were issues from how to control the camera to how to make moving in the 3D environment feel right, and Mario 64 hit it out of the park on both accounts. This game gave Mario a bunch of new moves, and every world was varied and fun. Mario 64 is a true classic that introduced many to what a 3D game could achieve and still feels great to play today.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is one of the greatest video games ever created. Like Mario, Link made his first adventure in a 3D environment on the N64 and smashed it. In this game, you travel back and forth through time carrying out classic Legend of Zelda mechanics in an (at the time) expansive world that enamored so many people. Ocarina of Time took advantage of everything the N64 could offer at the time and put out an epic adventure that lives on today as one of many people’s favorite games. Breath of the Wild might have overtaken it as the best game in the series, but if you have access to any of its versions, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will still put a smile on your face.
Three Russian doctors have “fallen” out of hospital windows in the last two weeks. The most recent, Dr. Alexander Shulepov, fell out of a 2nd story window, allegedly during an argument over being forced to work even after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He is recovering now and has retracted all inflammatory statements made prior to his accident. He is the third physician to suffer from such a fall, and the only one to survive. Dr. Natalya Lebedeva was killed from a 6 story fall out of a Moscow hospital after being blamed for spreading coronavirus within the hospital, and Dr. Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, who also fell from a 6 story window, dies from fatal injuries caused by the fall. Nepomnyashchaya had been pushing to not receive more patients due to a massive shortage of PPE.
Kayfabe (ˈkāˌfāb), noun – a professional wrestling term used to put forth the impression that staged events with a predetermined outcome are authentic and real.
Most current fans of professional wrestling are too young to remember when the events were regulated by state athletic commissions and there was a wink and nod acknowledgement that, yeah, it’s staged, but we won’t admit as such. In 1989, however, Vince McMahon was in the relatively early stages of his establishing his global monopoly. To further his ends and provide greater evidence of his lack of concern about adhering to long-held industry standards, there was a means to an end public admission that it is entertainment and should not be subject to the same regulation and oversight as “real” sports. With that, there was no longer a need to give athletic commissions the cut they once demanded.
Like almost anything McMahon has done in his career as impresario of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) which was later renamed as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), it was about money: maximizing the value of his company and profiting from it. There’s no denying he succeeded. What he surrendered for that success is undoubtedly irrelevant to him, but for many fans and people who were involved with professional wrestling at every level, the loss of the tradition of kayfabe was a death of sorts.
The most recent episode of Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring revisits one of the most infamous events in pro wrestling history when 20/20 reporter John Stossel spoke to WWF wrestler “Dr. D” David Schultz and told him – not asked him as Stossel now claims, but told him by way of declarative statement – “I think this is fake.”
Schultz responded with an open-handed slap to the side of Stossel’s head, knocking him to the ground. After Stossel stood up, Schultz hit him on the other side of his head, knocking him down a second time. Wisely, Stossel left.
Obviously, there was no justification for an assault which, technically, is what Schultz smacking Stossel was. Still, according to Schultz, he was told by McMahon to “tear his ass up and stay in character.” That can have endless connotations, but given Schultz’s seriousness about the business and that he was ornery by nature, it’s obvious what would happen. In addition, Stossel’s confrontational tone almost invited Schultz to take a whack at him. Would the result have been different had Stossel done as he now claims he did and asked Schultz whether wrestling is fake rather than say to the wrestler’s face that what he does for a living is fake?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Regardless, Schultz’s refusal to break kayfabe was the residue of the code he learned in his formative years in the business.
Prior to McMahon’s public disavowal of any pretense that the matches were predetermined and for entertainment only, kayfabe was a sacred part of being involved in wrestling. Schultz was a wrestler’s wrestler who was fully invested in being his character. His teachers and mentors hammered home the point that breaking kayfabe was about as low as a wrestler could possibly go in damaging it, potentially destroying the business and losing his job and everyone else’s too. Tradition required that if the wrestlers agreed to one thing when they became part of the club, it was to uphold the code. That code was destroyed by McMahon three decades ago through the same ruthlessness that made him a billionaire, but it was done purposely and not as part of a television news investigation.
Whether you are a wrestling fan, were a wrestling fan or have a perverse fascination with the suspension of disbelief necessary to become emotionally invested in an event with a predetermined outcome, the notion of kayfabe was a foundational part of enjoying the show. The old-school wrestlers took it seriously. Perhaps not as seriously as Schultz did, but still seriously because their livelihoods were at stake.
Kayfabe is the crux of the chasm between purists and McMahon. Veterans of the business hated the financially motivated admission that it was staged. McMahon was trying to turn wrestling from a somewhat tawdry niche diversion into a family-friendly event that would make him and his wrestlers an exponential amount of money compared to what they would have made had they clung to the past. To achieve that, kayfabe needed to disappear.
When McMahon bought the WWF from his father Vince McMahon Sr., he had his plan already mapped out and within a decade had turned it into the equivalent of a license to print money. Unimpeded by relationships and collusion with fellow promoters throughout the world, he set out to invade their previously sacrosanct territories. He poached talent, changed the way stories were told, and tried to make it something that went beyond a diversion for men by branching out into television, film, toys, clothing and more by appealing to children and women. He did it and then increased his and his wrestlers’ income by detonating the notion of kayfabe.
The key difference between Stossel’s subversive attempt to destroy kayfabe and McMahon intentionally destroying it was one was doing it for no real reason and the other was doing it for a fully acceptable reason of growing the business and making money.
The insular nature of professional wrestling and the locker room camaraderie that the wrestlers were working together came with a compact that they do not break the code to outsiders and ruin the game for everyone. They were not putting something over on the fans who were paying good money. They were trying to give them an enjoyable show and sacrificing their bodies and minds to achieve that knowing the consequences. Unlike Stossel’s unsaid implication that people who were watching were somehow hoodwinked because it is “fake”, it was kayfabe that shielded the unsaid truth as to what the show was all about. With that in mind and in retrospect, it’s no shock that Schultz reacted the way he did. In fact, it should have been expected.
Video games have been a saving grace for many people during the current pandemic. While we may all be stuck at home for the foreseeable future, we can still go on grand adventures either alone or with friends. If you happen to own a virtual reality headset, you are even better off. They are excellent means of taking you to another world, and with everyone stuck at home, being about anywhere else would be welcomed, even for a small time. Also, virtual reality games can be a decent means of exercise, depending on the game you are playing. Here are some of the best virtual reality games you can play right now.
Half-Life: Alex
For the first time in what seems like forever, Valve made a new Half-Life game. It may not be Half-Life 3 like everyone has been waiting on, but at this point, we will take any game Valve decides to make. In this VR game, you control Alyx before the events of Half-Life 2. It is a first-person shooter, so you can get right into the action of this game. It is the latest game to release on this list and quickly added 1 million players to Steam’s VR player base.
Beat Saber
Beat Saber is mostly Guitar Hero played with lightsabers. You choose a music track that will hurl blocks in your direction to the beat of the song. Use your sabers to slice the blocks coming at you while also dodging red walls with your head. Beat Saber is an example of a simple VR game that works brilliantly in its execution, making it one of the most popular games you can buy for your headset. As a bonus, the game is filled with great songs and is available on nearly every VR headset.
Superhot
Superhot is a game that places you in an action movie where you are the protagonist. Red people attack you in progressively harder levels, but time only moves as you do. When standing still, time comes to a crawl, giving you a chance to think about your next move. Will you dodge incoming bullets or fire your weapon where you predict the enemy will be. This unique mechanic not only works well for the regular version of the game but VR as well.
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission is a 3D platformer where you need to help Astro Bot rescue his crew of 212 lost robots. The camera is controlled by your head movements and can look around corners and find secret areas. Juggling the usefulness of the VR headset as a camera and the gadgets attached to the Dualshock 4 controller has helped make this PlayStation VR exclusive the best rated virtual reality game on Metacritic.
Minecraft
Minecraft remains one of the most popular games in the world, and taking that experience to virtual reality enhances the game further. Where some VR ports take away features from the base game, you can enjoy everything Minecraft has to offer in VR, including survival and creative mode, and even cross-play on some versions.
The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
This game based on The Walking Dead universe takes place in New Orleans, away from the Atlanta/Washington D.C. setting of the books and show. Get up and close with both the undead and the living who are waging war on each other while making decisions along the way that will affect everyone around you. The Walking Dead: Saints And Sinners is one of the newest game on this list, and also regarded as one of the best you can buy.
Vader Immortal
Set between the events of “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope,” Vader Immortal sees you train under and fight the infamous sith lord. Everything in the Star Wars universe is available from force powers to imperial blasters, and, of course, the iconic lightsaber. Vader Immortal delves into new aspects of Darth Vader’s past and is a must-play for the Star Wars enthusiast. With three different episodes to play, you will find yourself getting enamored with this world.
Carole Baskin, of Tiger King infamy, has refused all interviews since the Netflix documentary aired weeks ago. Her silence was broken this week when YouTubers pretended to be producers from the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Josh Pieters and Archie Manners contacted Baskin and convinced her to give an interview over Zoom, ostensibly with Fallon. They explained to her that she wouldn’t be able to see Jimmy Fallon during the interview and utilized clips from past episodes to make it appear to be a back and forth conversation.
Three off-duty LAPD police officers were on a hunting and camping trip this weekend when one of the officers, Ismael Tamayo, shot one of his fellow officers in the upper body. The man was airlifted to a trauma center and is expected to make a full recovery. “The events overnight culminating in the serious injury to our off-duty officer apparently at the hands of another member of this Department, give me great concern” said Police Chief Michel Moore. Tamayo is still under investigation for this event.
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