Not only do these arguments always turn out to be implicitly racist, but they usually directly contradict themselves. In the midst of trying to defend not wanting any of their favorite superheroes to be depicted as Black, some people claim that the argument has nothing to do with race – a claim that’s impossible because the conversation in and of itself is indeed about race. One comment on a message board said, “I’m not for changing Spiderman to a black dude. This isn’t about race and it wouldn’t matter if Spiderman wasn’t such an iconic character. Change Daredevil to a black guy, no one would care …. Spiderman is the second most popular superhero of all time trailing ONLY Superman in his awesomeness.” So there you have it, it’s just the awesome characters who can’t be changed to Black characters — but it has nothing to with race and everything to do with how awesome one race is allowed to be portrayed.
In 1998, two underground Brooklyn emcees postponed their individual projects to collaborate on a full-length album, and the result was “Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star.” Around the same time, another artist transferred from Pennsylvania State University to a cell in prison where he wrote verses behind bars in what would become “Revolutionary, Volume 1.” I can remember the first verse I heard from Jean Grae, the first track I heard from Brother Ali, and the exact song that made me give Atmosphere a chance after five recommendations from Pandora prematurely thumbed down. They all began with skeptical resistance, followed by a raised eyebrow after the third or fourth bar, followed by “What’d you say their name is again?”
I can also remember the first webcomic I browsed online. It came in an email with a single link, with a subject heading that read “Read.” It sat in my inbox for three sunsets, which is an eternity for someone who keeps their inbox cleaner than hospital rooms. Leaving an email for three days says I care nothing of the message it brings, and that it only remains un-deleted in sheer respect to the sender. A good friend had sent it, so before the sun set on the fourth day, I begrudgingly clicked the link, raised an eyebrow at the third or fourth panel, and replied, “Where’d you say you found this again?”
We previously covered the comedy of hip-hop and classic gaming, and now the genre teaches a new lesson in creative art: some of the most incredible works are the secrets you are least likely to hear or read. In comics, those secrets come from the fire inside an artist that burns hot enough to draw in their living room or basement, without promise of compensation, because they have a story to tell. It means hosting a website and sharing a piece of you to the world for free because any scrutiny is less damaging than keeping that story to yourself. It comes from a garage at 2 a.m. It does not originate at DC or Marvel. With an increasing readership, new Eisner award categories, and the comic industry’s growing fan base, recognition for noteworthy webcomics are on the rise as popular sites like XKCD and The Oatmeal are being joined by long-form online stories.
If a webcomic creator survives the long hours of unrecognized dedication for long enough they might find a home with a larger publisher to lend them credibility, but it will never be the publishing company that gave them their talent of storytelling; they will only monetize it best.
Uzzle is the author of “Retro-Km: Lord of the Landlords,” which is set in dystopic America and follows the growth of an emerging Black nation.
Wendy Raven McNair
McNair is the award-winning author of “Awake,” “Ascend” and “Giant Slayers.” Her books tie together Black romance and science fiction in a form that is rarely seen among Black sci-fi novels.
Capt. America is an over-exaggerated parkour practitioner. It is possible to mimic his actions with a lot training in boxing and parkour.
Black Panther (Marvel Comics)
Like Iron man and Batman, Black Panther has wealth. Like Capt. America he is a martial artist and parkour practitioner. Any fighter in the real world willing to learn non-Asian fighting styles can be Black Panther.
Over the weekend, 60 students from Usher’s New Look Foundation came together at Georgia Tech to learn about the exciting potential behind computer science and receive training to help them compete in the tech industry.
As a part of the campaign, Georgia Tech and Usher’s New Look Foundation teamed up with the School of Computing and the Higher Altitude Foundation to show young students that there is more to the computer science world than many young people realize.
Many young people don’t associate computer science with music or the entertainment industry but the Day of Code helped students understand that there is more to technology than creating websites or collecting data online.
The day’s activities focused specifically on how computer science is incorporated in music and video productions and helped them develop skills on two platforms called Scratch and EarSketch.
All of the students took part in a friendly coding competition, learned how to remix beats and even created their own music animations.
It’s a much-needed focus for programs that aim to get students interested in the technology.
In addition to helping students obtain training and develop the skills they need to compete in Silicon Valley, they also need to understand the wide range of possibilities in the field.
Usher’s involvement in the Day of Code and his position as a National Spokesperson this year for the Hour of Code Campaign is already a step in the right direction.
It helps combat the stereotype that the tech industry is only a place for geeky white males and that there will be nothing more for students to do than create algorithms or build apps.
In the Black community many young people are sold dreams of becoming successful music stars although the likelihood of those dreams coming true are slim to none.
Introducing technology as a way to still be involved in the entertainment industry, however, can be a truly successful way to spark an interest in the field.
In addition to giving students the skills they need to compete in Silicon Valley, the Hour of Code Campaign aims to push the importance of computer science classes in schools across the nation.
Roughly 90 percent of schools don’t offer computer science as a class and the ones that do often don’t count the course towards the credits students need to graduate from high school.
Without incentives to give computer science classes a try, students are often cheated out of learning about a field that is quickly growing and eagerly seeking young people to fill a deficit in employees, especially ones of color.
Sheva is one video game character who will always have a special place in gamer history. The certified badass is the first Black female partner Chris Redfield has ever had. She’s also a unique portrayal of a Black woman in the video game world who is not only beautiful but also incredibly intelligent and tough. In a genre that is, unfortunately, known for its female characters (especially of color) who lack any real depth, Sheva is a female Blerd’s dream come true.
Aveline – Assassin’s Creed: Liberation
Aveline is the only Black female character who is even more interesting, perplexing, exciting and refreshing than Sheva. Aveline is actually of Caribbean descent and the daughter of an enslaved woman and her master. Nobody ever thought the stories of the Maroons would make their way into a mainstream video game, but Assassin’s Creed was full of surprises. Aveline also leaves her mark in gamer history as the first Black and the first female protagonist of the Assassin’s Creed series.
With Telltale games redefining the adventure video game over the last few years, when they announced that Game of Thrones would be one of their 2014 releases (along with Tales from Borderlands), it seemed like a perfect match. While sword clashes, pushing boys from four story towers and really, really terrible weddings are often the flashy takeaways from George RR Martin’s epic tale, the political maneuvering, alliances and betrayal are what define it. With a game that focuses so much on choice, who remembers those choices and its consequences, then Game of Thrones fits snugly into that play style. In the opening episode of Telltale’s latest, they hit the mark on most things and miss the target on a few.
It’s hard to explain the plot too thoroughly without spoiling how it develops, but you begin the story as Gared Tuttle, squire of Lord Gregor Forrester. House Forrester is loyal to Rob Stark, The King in the North, before his unfortunate…circumstances. This causes chaos in Westeros, of course, but especially for the Northern Houses that have are now left scrambling for allegiances and protection. The story doesn’t just stay in the North, however, as we are treated to the capital of political entanglements, King’s Landing.
While the story jumps around between characters, they all center around the internal and external machinations of the Forrester family and trying not to get the Forrester House decimated any further. Familiar faces show up for Thrones fans throughout, all with the vested interest in who the Forresters align themselves with and the plan to use their much talked about ironwood as a resource. The story takes the best of the Thrones political maneuverings and puts you squarely in the middle of them. Rarely is there a “good” response or action as opposed to “one that you don’t think will kill you immediately, even if it does down the line.” Every decision is treacherous, and like the show, you will seldom know what domino effect a choice makes in the world until it comes back against you from a different angle. Even in this first episode, the alliances and motivations of the characters you deal with weave in and out of each other. At some point you have to trust someone, but there’s no clear choice who that should be.
There are three separate “acts” or “characters” that you will play through alternately throughout the first episode and that might be why it feels a little over-long.
Imagine a world where underground parks are the norm. That concept has become a real possibility thanks to James Ramsey. He’s the creator of the Lowline, a project that, if all goes well, will turn an abandoned trolley terminal on the Lower East Side into a living, breathing, underground park by 2018. Ramsey tells us how he hopes to create more green spaces in unlikely locations.
Advancements in 3D printing technology have given consumers access to what is being hailed as the world’s number one 3D printer, but it appears as if even the world’s best is falling short when it comes to capturing small details.
Many people have never even seen a 3D printer before, but the new device has been steadily growing in popularity over the past few years.
When it comes to real life consumers, however, having great potential just isn’t enough.
The latest front-runner in the world of proprietary 3D printers is XYZ Printing’s da Vinci 1.0 AiO.
The 3-in-1 desktop printer is compatible with Windows XP, Windows 7 and higher and Mac OSX 10.7, 10.8 and 10.9.
It is complete with a full ABS 3D printing system and a laser 3D scanner.
After placing your object of choice inside the printer, a turntable will rotate the item and allow it to be scanned by a laser.
That laser will be quickly gathering information about the object and use the data regarding contours, size and shape to create a nearly identical copy.
The key word here is “nearly.”
Even with today’s technology it is still difficult to get an exact copy of the object you’re scanning.
Many of the smaller details are lost in the replicas and even this printer hasn’t found a way around the tricky task of scanning shiny objects with a laser.
For now, it is recommended that consumers avoid shiny objects as a whole when they’re playing around with their new printer.
Tech Crunch ran a few tests on the printer and, while the results were impressive, they also served as a reminder that the 3D printing world still has a ways to go.
The copy of a small lion statue resembled what the original statue might look like if it were left out in the hot sun too long.
While the main composition and shape of the copy passed the test, details of the lion’s face and around his head seemed to be lost and meshed together.
Credit: Tech Crunch
The results of copying a small gargoyle head was still more impressive than what most home 3D printers will offer but still failed to hold its own when placed next to the original figure.
It’s also been made clear that the printer won’t pick up engraved writing very well.
Smaller details aside, the printer is certainly at the forefront when compared to other devices in the same category, but it also comes with a catch.
While many 3D printers allow users to refill the filament on their own, the AiO won’t allow for such a thing.
The printer uses a special cartridge, Tech Crunch revealed, but refilling the cartridge will still only cost around $30.
Further generations of 3D printers certainly will continue to enhance and improve the detail of the copies that are created, but anyone who is eager to get their hands on one now can purchase an AiO for about $800.
