Ricky Riley, Author at Blerds

July 28, 2015July 28, 2015

‘Rise of the Tomb Raider’ Hitting PS4 and Other Formats Next Year

The next installment of the Tomb Raider franchise, Rise of the Tomb Raider, will be available only on Xbox 360 and Xbox One when it is released in November. However, in a July 23 announcement, the gaming publisher Square Enix has revealed that the game will be available to PC users, Steam and the PlayStation 4 in 2016.

“Renowned developer Crystal Dynamics, a Square Enix studio, is leading development in the latest entry in the iconic series for additional platforms,” according to the released statement.

The game begins where the 2013 Tomb Raider game left off. Lara Croft is now in Siberia searching for the ancient city Kitezh in order to find the secrets behind immortality. As she navigates through the wilderness, she will be facing off with Trinity and the forces of nature as well.

Here is a snippet of the gameplay released during E3:

Source: YouTube/Game Spot

July 28, 2015July 29, 2015

6 Books for Black Teens That Can Coincide with the #BlackLivesMatter Movement

The African American experience in this country is a winding road with peaks and valleys. Sometimes our schools fail to explore all the nuances and just give basic facts without real substance. To remedy this, there are a plethora of books written by Black writers that dig deep and go further than any classroom history lesson could.

As police brutality and the #Blacklivesmatter movement engulfs the public consciousness, teens and young adults are awake to the world, cultural appropriation, and other areas of Black history. Here are six books to check out.

The Mis-Education of the Negro By Carter G. Woodson

The synopsis from Amazon states: “The thesis of Dr. Woodson’s book is that African-Americans of his day were being culturally indoctrinated, rather than taught, in American schools. This conditioning, he claims, causes African-Americans to become dependent and to seek out inferior places in the greater society of which they are a part. He challenges his readers to become autodidacts and to “do for themselves,” regardless of what they were taught.”

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July 27, 2015July 27, 2015

‘Jessica Jones’ Co-Creator Raves About the New Netflix Series

Netflix’s upcoming Jessica Jones series will be a new addition to Marvel’s ever expanding universe.

Krysten Ritter plays the title character, Jessica Jones, and Mike Colter plays Jones’ significant other and hero in his own right, Luke Cage. In November 2001, comic writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos introduced the former super heroine turned private investigator in Alias #1 to the Marvel universe.

Luke Cage will be introduced in the series and then he will have his own series soon after. Cage was a prison inmate and the government used him to as an experimental guinea pig. In their efforts, they turned the man into an invulnerable and impenetrable wall. Now he has bullet proof skin and works as a hero for hire.

In a long Tumblr post, Bendis answered a fan’s concern for the series.

“The show is so good. I have seen the first couple of episodes and because I didn’t work on it directly I can say this with full no ego fanfare: I loved it!! and believe me, I was going to be the hardest on it. Harder than any of you. Jessica is a part of my DNA. A bad Jessica Jones show would have hurt me deeply. BUT it is faithful and lively and everything that I could personally have wanted from the show. the mean streets of marvel Netflix from a different perspective than Matt’s but at the same time… it all fits. just like the comics on their best day. and just like Netflix DD, the look of the show is cracklin’ noir but with its own palette.”

Over the past month, the series has been picking up steam with multiple set photos being released and increasing media coverage.

The show is set to air later this year. Below are some of the released set photos.

July 24, 2015July 24, 2015

China Plans for a “Moon Base” on Unexplored Far Side by 2018

As more new discoveries about Pluto come from the New Horizons spacecraft flyby, China has announced a mission closer to earth. The nation plans to begin exploring the far side of the moon starting in 2018 at the earliest.

“The country submitted their preliminary report to the United Nations Office for Outerspace Affairs indicating that it has plans of launching an unmanned mission to the moon with the spacecraft Chang’E-4 by 2018 or 2019. The probe will lay the groundwork for what would be China’s lunar base,” reports Rachel Cruz for Headlines and Global News.

Back in 2013, China successful pulled off its first moon landing. The nation’s moon lander, Chang 3 and rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) were able to explore and take photos of the moon, making China the third country in history to land on the earth’s natural satellite.

CNSA (China’s equivalent to NASA) will go back in three to four years to explore using a new lander called Chang 4, then the country intends to establish a base as an observational outpost to observe the solar system. China is also optimistic that the base could serve as a station for manned missions further in the solar system.

According to International Business Times writer Darwin Malicdem, “China stated that the project is open for cooperating with other nations exploring the space, particularly with ESA for future lunar missions, as the latter has proposed building a ‘lunar village’ recently.”

July 23, 2015July 23, 2015

Micro: Bit Device to Help Children Learn Computer Programming

One million English schoolchildren will be able to learn computer programming due to a new portable device.

According to Techcrunch.com writer Matt Burns, “this web-based tool allows users to program and simulate tasks before transferring the data to the device. And since it runs in the browser, users can program the Micro:Bit on nearly any device.”

The device has red LED lights, a motion sensor, two buttons that allow users to simulate computer programming. The students will be able to make letters and numbers with the 25 LED lights. The device can also connect to other computing kits for more advanced tasks.

Tony Hall, BBC’s director general, believes that the device could help tackle the fact children were leaving school knowing how to use computers but not how to program them.

“We all know there’s a critical and growing digital skills gap in this country and that’s why it’s so important that we come together and do something about it,” Hall said at a launch event in London July 7.

This new tech initiative is slated to be released in October. To see how it all works, watch the demonstration below.

Source: YouTube

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015

DC’s Cyborg Gets His Own Solo Title

Cyborg has had a long history in the DC Comics universe. He first served as a key member of the Teen Titans in the 1980s, and in the New 52 he became a founding member of the Justice League. But Cyborg became extremely popular after the early 2000s animated Teen Titans series.

While all of his fellow JL founding members had a solo title, Cyborg was left without, even though he had fans. However, all of that changes this week when Cyborg #1 is released.

The title is written by David Walker with art done by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Adriano Lucas. Cyborg aka Vic Stone will be on his own trying to balance being half-man and half-machine.

In an interview with comicbook.com, Walker talks about the theme of the new title.

“I’m surrounding him with a cast of characters that some pull him in one direction and others pull him in another direction, in that sort of man-versus-machine,” he said. “Who are the supporting characters who make him feel more like a machine, and who are those that make him feel more like a man?”

There will be new villains called the Tekbreakers and the Technosapiens who are original creations by Walker.

This title is part of DC Comics post New 52 lineup that has shaken up the entire universe for the better. Titles like Midnighter, Black Canary, Dr. Fate and others are energizing the DC brand. Hopefully, the book will introduce an exciting rogues’ gallery for Cyborg and a new host of fans.

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015

5 Major Problems That the Marvel Cinematic Universe Needs to Address

The Marvel cinematic universe has become a gold standard in cinematic world building. However, it isn’t perfect. For fans who waited years to see their favorite super heroes on the big screen, the MCU is perfect and can do no wrong, but for others, it is a pool of mediocrity. With all of the good there is also bad. Here are some problems that need to be addressed.

People of Color

Watching Marvel movies can be a painful experience for people of color. Actors like Idris Elba, who is a Golden Globe winner, has been relegated to a divine doorman. He may get five minutes of screen time per Thor film, even though he is a dynamic actor who starred in his own TV show.

Oscar winner Don Cheadle plays the sidekick to Robert Downey, Jr., a man who was nominated for an Oscar portraying a Black man in Black face. There has to be a reason Terence Howard jumped ship. These talented Black actors have climbed the mountain top of their craft and they get no real respect or significance in these films.

Honestly, Anthony Mackie has a decent role and some actual importance in the Captain America films. Also, Nick Fury is vital to the universe but what will happen after Infinity War? People are banking for Black Panther, but will he be relegated to a bit player in the team up films? It is possible. Marvel has a lot of diverse characters. It would be nice to see more Hispanic and Asian heroes as well.

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July 21, 2015July 21, 2015

Ava DuVernay Explains Why She Passed on Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ Flick

During the 2015 Blogher Conference held in New York from July 16-18, filmmaker Ava DuVernay talked the ins and outs of the film industry. The director also dished on why she passed up Black Panther.

“For me, it was a process of trying to figure out, are these people I want to go to bed with? Because it’s really a marriage. It’d be three years of not doing other things that are important to me,” she explained. “So it was a question of, is this important enough for me to do?”

In Blerds‘ continuing coverage of DuVernay’s journey into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there had been news about the director possibly directing the Black Panther film since the last week of June. The blogosphere went bonkers with anticipation and some websites were reporting that she took the job.

However, in the first week of July it was revealed in an interview with the Huffington Post that DuVernay turned down the job over creative differences.

“This is my art,” DuVernay told the crowd of bloggers. “This is what will live on after I’m gone. So it’s important to me [to] be true to who I was in this moment. And if there’s too much compromise, it really wasn’t going to be an Ava DuVernay film.”

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015

‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Comes to Life in Set Photos

Many fans have worried about how X-Men: Apocalypse will look after seeing a leaked and blurry trailer of the film from San Diego Comic Con.

On July 16, Entertainment Weekly released high-resolution, behind-the-scenes images of the cast in full costume.

The film will take place in the ’80s where the ancient Egyptian mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) returns to gather his four horsemen. So far, he will gather Pyslocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Angel (Ben Foster) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). This gathering of powerful mutants will put Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) on high alert to defend humanity.

In addition to the regulars, there will be new mutants premiering in the franchise and younger versions of mutants who were prominent in the earlier films.

The film is set to be in theaters May 27, 2016.