Photo: SOPA Images (Getty Images)
Parler, the internet’s premier destination for consequence-free hate speech and coup-planning, isn’t doing so well right now. While there’s still plenty of room to share just about any deranged, evil thought that crosses your mind on Facebook and Twitter (as long as you’re not thePresident), Parler’s been removed from both the Apple and Google Play stores until it pours bleach on its servers and entirely reinvents its moderation policies. For now at least, Parler’s offline.
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Nature abhors a vacuum, though, and Parlor, an app for talking to strangers online, has rushed to fill Parler’s place, gaining popularity based on the fact that it’s the top result showing up on digital storefronts now that the one spelled with an “e” is down.
Photo: John MacDougall (Getty Images)
Jonathan Lawton is a visionary artist. His work may seem humble the West Yorkshire man builds model railways, set in blue-skied little villages, just like so many other people looking for a productive reprieve from their daily lives. But, Lawton’s work extends beyond its genre and into the realm of speculative fiction thanks to his collaborator, a cat named Mittens that towers like a benevolent god in a showcase of his creation.
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Lawton recently created a striking short film in which he put a camera on a model train as it toured his miniature town. The craftsmanship on display in the tiny boxcars and bridges is impressive in its own right, but what truly stands out is Mittens walking throughout the town, mighty and proud as it surveys its domain.
American Gods has lost more than a few of the core characters that made the show’s first two seasons so compelling, the network’s barreling into a third chapter of Shadow Moon’s story that Neil Gaiman is confident will still be able to captivate audiences.
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During a panel at this year’s digital-only New York Comic Con Metaverse event, Gaiman joined
American Gods’ cast to discuss what season three has in store for the warring gods and otherworldly beings. Gaiman insisted that in season three,
American Gods has a firmer grasp on who its players are and the series will give a number of its characters more depth. Actor Ricky Whittle specifically noted that, following season two’s revelations about Shadow Moon’s heritage, he’s going to begin seriously questioning what his true place in the world is. Season three, Whittle explains, brings Shadow to Lakeside, an important location from the original novel that here takes on a new significance.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
A pair of ongoing NASA missions the Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter and the InSight lander on Mars have been extended following an external review.
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An independent review panel said both Juno and InSight have “produced exceptional science,” and that both missions should be allowed to continue, according to a NASA statement.
“The Senior Review has validated that these two planetary science missions are likely to continue to bring new discoveries, and produce new questions about our solar system,” Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division, said in the statement.