Blizzard Debuts New IP 'Overwatch' At BlizzCon With A Beta In 2015

Blizzard Debuts New IP 'Overwatch' At BlizzCon With A Beta In 2015

Blizzard shocked everyone this afternoon by announcing their first new IP in eons outside of their famed Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo trilogy. It’s called ‘Overwatch,’ and just debuted minutes ago early on at BlizzCon 2014.

The game first debuted with a cinematic trailer, then was followed by a an actual gameplay vid, and then finally it was announced an early build of the game would be playable all weekend for Blizzcon attendees.

That’s one hell of a debut.

So what is Overwatch? There’s still a lot to learn about it, but from what we know so far, it appears to be a Blizzard shooter MOBA in the style of the upcoming Battleborn from Gearbox and the immortal Team Fortress 2.

The lore sets the game in the (relatively) near future in a Pixar-ish universe where a group of heroes had their order disbanded, and many became mercenaries. The former members of the Overwatch group fight against the forces of evil, and the result is the multiplayer game we see before us today.

The intro vids debuted about ten characters or so, almost all of which had guns or projectiles of some kind. There’s a giant armored Gorilla who can go bezerk, a dual-pistol wielding Reaper who gun-takas his way through rooms killing everything in sight. An angelic sniper medic, a Japanese samurai bowman, a mech-building inventor. There are a lot of familiar character types to be sure, but Blizzard has put their own spin on things.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Overwatch is the fact that it was kept a total secret, a rarity in this industry, and many were guessing that Blizzard’s big surprise was going to be a new Hearthstone expansion or something along those lines.

But past that, it’s the timetable that’s even more impressive. Blizzard could have just debuted the initial cinematic trailer and walked away, but theyimmediately followed it up with a gameplay video, and then announced the game was actually playable right that minute at the convention, with a beta coming in 2015. Needless to say, Blizzard is not known for moving quickly when it comes to their new releases, so the fact that they’re debuting their first new IP in eons and the game seems ready to roll in just a short while makes this a really, really big deal. Blizzard does not do small franchises, and Overwatch could be the beginning of something huge for them.

As for being an FPSMOBA, that’s a genre that was recently just coined by Battleborn, Gearbox’s game which looks at least somewhat similar to this. And then there are obvious echoes of Team Fortress 2, though calling it a “clone” of either game is extremely unfair given the limited information we have.

It’s interesting to see Blizzard essentially doubling down on the MOBA genre with this and Heroes of the Storm. HOTS is more of a direct competitor to king-of-the-mountain League of Legends, while Overwatch is expanding into a genre that doesn’t really exist yet, so it seems like there’s room for both in their roster. And past that, I think the most exciting thing about this is that this is a brand new Blizzard universe with new characters and lore. I’m very much hoping there’s a single player campaign in Overwatch to flesh out the story and introduce the universe, but given the format we’ve seen, I’m not holding my breath.

There’s obviously a ton we don’t know about Overwatch, including the full roster of characters, if the game will feature things like upgradable items, if it will be PC only or on consoles as well, if it will be free-to-play, subscription or just a box copy. Perhaps Blizzard isn’t even sure about all that themselves yet, but for now, this clearly seems like something for everyone to get excited about. More details to follow. Source

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd Charge dropped

Charge dropped against AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd

A New Zealand police charge of "attempting to procure murder" against AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been dropped, his lawyer said.

Rudd, the 60-year-old drummer for the legendary hard rock band, had been accused of trying to have two men killed. But the Crown Solicitor decided there wasn't enough evidence to justify it, attorney Paul Mabey said in a statement.

"The charge alleging an attempt to procure murder should never have been laid. The Crown Solicitor's opinion was not sought. The charge is now withdrawn, within 24 hours of Mr. Rudd's first appearance in court," Mabey said. "Mr. Rudd has suffered unnecessary and extremely damaging publicity as a result of widespread and sensational reporting of a very serious allegation, which on any basis was never justified."

Rudd still faces other charges, including threatening to kill, Mabey said.

"Mr. Rudd will defend the charge of threatening to kill. Charges relating to personal possession of drugs are minor," he said.

Police searched Rudd's waterfront home in Tauranga on Thursday morning, TVNZ reported.

The Australian-born drummer moved to New Zealand in 1983, after being sacked by the group. He rejoined the band years later.

AC/DC is one of the world's biggest-selling musical acts, and in 2003 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The band's latest album, "Rock or Bust," is scheduled for release December 2.

In a statement Thursday, the band said Rudd's absence wouldn't affect the album's release or a tour scheduled for next year.

"We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking," the statement said. "We have no further comment." Source

Hundreds line up for H&M's grand opening at The Galleria

Hundreds line up for H&M's grand opening at The Galleria

HOUSTON -- At least 600 people lined up and wrapped around the halls of The Galleria in Houston early Thursday.

It was all for the grand opening of H&M's first location in the heart of the city.

"I slept in my car, woke up and I was like, 'Let's go,'" said shopper Kendra Edmond.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time," said shopper Tyshae Phillips.

The new location, which opened at noon, will offer collections for women, men, teens and tweens. It features a separate "store within store" sections for accessories, lingerie, cosmetics and its plus size line.

It's also one of the first H&M locations to receive clothing from designer Alexander Wang.

"I thought everybody was going to be at work, but no, this is crazy, never seen anything like it, ever," said Phillips.

The first 300 shoppers in line Thursday received gift cards ranging from $10 to $300. The company also welcomed customers to bring in their old clothing for the launch of a new recycling program. At the grand opening, donors received a voucher for 15-percent off their next purchase at the store, which is located in the Nordstrom wing of the mall.

"This is my Black Friday," said Edmond.

"No this is worse, than Black Friday, a lot worse," said Phillips.

Shoppers have plenty to smile about. H&M is just the beginning. It's the latest in a string of new luxury and high-profile stores set to open or renovated at the Galleria in the next few months. Source

Unhappy With The Election Results

Unhappy With The Election Results? Just Look At The People Your Neighbors Voted Into Office

As the dust settles and we take a closer look at Tuesday night's election results, we can't help but wonder what some voters were thinking. As with every election, there were the incumbents who were able to win re-election, like Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), who threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), who just won a 23rd term in Congress despite being found guilty of a number of ethics violations in 2010, and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who joked about suicide just weeks before the election.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg in Congress. All hail the power of incumbency.

But there are some even stranger figures who got elected across the nation this week. Here are a few of them.

Jody 'Abortion Is Worse Than Hitler' Hice

Republican Jody Hice of Georgia had no problem winning his state's deep-red 10th Congressional District on Tuesday. Salon documents some of the most controversial viewpoints of the soon-to-be congressman: Hice has said Islam is not a real religion and doesn't deserve First Amendment protections, that legal abortion is "worse than Hitler's six million Jews or Mussolini's three hundred thousand," and that the gay community is trying to seduce and sodomize your children.

There's more. From supporting nullification to wanting to re-litigate the Civil War to suggesting that women should ask their husbands for permission to enter politics, the list goes on. And on.

(It's worth noting that Hice will take the seat formerly held by Rep. Paul Broun, who once declared that evolution and the Big Bang are "lies from the pit of hell." It seems fair to predict that Hice will represent the district with a similar mindset.)

Ryan 'Hillary Clinton Is The Anti-Christ' Zinke

Former Navy SEAL Ryan Zinke of Montana handily won a seat in Congress on Tuesday, despite expressing a number of controversial views throughout his campaign. Perhaps the most surprising of these was calling former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the "anti-Christ." Zinke later claimed the comments were a joke.

Zinke has been an equally ardent critic of President Barack Obama. He previously led an anti-Obama super PAC that claimed the president "conveniently took credit for killing Osama Bin Laden for political gain." Earlier this year, Zinke also appeared to suggest that he would support impeaching Obama if given the option when he gets to Congress.

Glenn 'What Do We Need Weekends For, Anyway?' Grothman

Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican running for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Tom Petri, cruised to victory over his Democratic challenger on Tuesday. Grothman, like Hice, has established himself as a far-right politician with a number of divisive views. He once told The Huffington Post it was "a little ridiculous" that Wisconsin had laws against a seven-day workweek. In 2012, he claimed to the Daily Beast that women get paid less because "money is more important for men."

Grothman also believes that teachers should be banned from discussing homosexuality in the classroom because it could turn kids gay, that people on food stamps eat too well and that Planned Parenthood is "the most overtly racist organization." These are just some of the views Grothman will be taking to Washington.

Michael 'The Gays Are Out To Recruit Your Children' Peroutka

Michael Peroutka, a former Constitution Party candidate who has since turned Republican, won a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council in Maryland on Tuesday, receiving 53 percent of the vote against his Democratic opponent. Peroutka attracted scrutiny throughout his campaign for his involvement with the League of the South, a Southern secessionist group, which he severed ties with last month amid the controversy.

In October, Peroutka also decried what he called the LGBT "deathstyle," which he said needed to "recruit your children" to maintain its ways. He has also suggested that "there is no such thing as a civil right," and that gay people don't deserve protections because of their sexuality.

Mark 'Let's Go To War With Mexico' Walker

Republican Mark Walker secured an easy victory Tuesday in his race to replace retiring Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.). Walker raised some eyebrows on the campaign trail when he suggested that a solution to southern border violence and undocumented immigration would be to "blitz somebody with a couple of fighter jets for a little while." He went on to say he had no qualms with going to war against Mexico, though he later claimed he was joking.

Gordon 'Obama Is Literally Possessed By Demons' Klingenschmitt

Gordon Klingenschmitt cake-walked to a seat in the Colorado state house on Tuesday, taking nearly 70 percent of the vote in the state's heavily Republican House District 15. Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain, has made a name for himself as a prominent voice on the religious right. He has frequently made extreme anti-gay claims and suggested in his book that Obama is possessed by "demonic spirits," which, according to the Bible, has led the president to actions that are "worthy of death."

(Read more about Klingenschmitt at Right Wing Watch, which has tirelessly tracked his career.)

Saira 'NRA-Endorsed College Freshman' Blair

On Tuesday, 18-year-old Saira Blair won a seat in West Virginia's state legislature, securing the distinction of being the youngest lawmaker in the nation. Blair began her campaign at the age of 17 and, according to the Wall Street Journal, did most of her campaigning out of her college dorm at West Virginia University, where she is enrolled as a freshman. In May, she defeated a 66-year-old Republican incumbent in the GOP primary, and in the general election on Tuesday, she trounced her Democratic opponent, 44-year-old attorney Layne Diehl.

Blair is ultra-conservative. She has the NRA's endorsement and believes life begins at conception. She opposes Plan B contraception, gay marriage and labor unions, and says her focus is bringing jobs back to West Virginia.

The 18-year-old will join her father, a sitting state senator, in the upcoming legislative session, at which time she says she'll defer her spring semester of college. Source

Cleveland Browns

Browns drub Bengals, Andy Dalton for share of AFC North lead

CINCINNATI -- Cornerback Joe Haden led a line of Browns players jumping to slap hands with joyous fans in the first row. The stadium was filled with the sound of woofing.

Felt like times from way, way back when.

And with a dominating performance, the Browns suggested they've finally made it all the way back.

The team that has been the AFC North's bottom-dweller for years climbed into the top spot Thursday night. The Browns were all over Andy Dalton all night, turning a first-place showdown into a shockingly one-sided 24-3 victory.

With every interception and every sack, the Browns showed they're for real.

"This is a little different Browns team than the rest of the league is used to seeing," said Haden, who shadowed A.J. Green all over the field and shut him down again.

Cleveland (6-3) improved on its best start in 20 years and moved into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh. The Browns also snapped their streak of 17 straight losses to division opponents on the road.

The last win? Also in Cincinnati, a 20-12 victory on Sept. 28, 2008.

"A huge boost for our guys," coach Mike Pettine said. "Just look at the streaks we ended. Not many people gave us a chance."

Just like the Browns, the Bengals (5-3-1) were trying to break away from some bad franchise history. They've played some of their worst games in prime time and wanted to show they finally were ready to hold up under the national attention.

Instead, they crumbled along with their quarterback. They also got drubbed 43-17 during a Sunday night game in New England this season.

Cincinnati fell to 18-41 in prime time.

"It does confound me," coach Marvin Lewis said. "For whatever reason, the two times (in prime time) this year we didn't play well. Because we were at home, there was an energy and excitement instead of being steely eyed and focusing on what we have to do."



Dalton was 10-of-33 for 86 yards with three interceptions and two sacks and a passer rating of 2. It was another big-game meltdown for the fourth-year quarterback, who has led his team to the playoffs three years in a row only to lose opening games all three times.

"We didn't start fast, and that's on me," Dalton said. "I missed a couple early and could never get into a rhythm."

The game marked the first since 1986 -- when Bernie Kosar and Boomer Esiason were the quarterbacks -- that the intrastate rivals played with first place on the line so late in the season. The Browns won that one 34-3.



And they were in charge right from the start in this one, too.

Playing in a cold, gusty wind, Dalton was repeatedly off target and made a big early mistake. His first pass was high and incomplete. His next one was intercepted by linebacker Craig Robertson, who returned it to the 18. Five plays later, Ben Tate went into the end zone from 4 yards for the lead.

"We put a lot of pressure on their receivers by covering them tight," cornerback Buster Skrine said. "He overthrew a lot of balls. He started the game with an interception, and after that, nothing went right for him."

It never got any better for Cincinnati, which self-destructed in a tone-setting first half.

Kevin Huber's 25-yard punt into the wind set up a 59-yard touchdown drive by the Browns, highlighted by Brian Hoyer's completions of 17 and 22 yards to Travis Benjamin. Isaiah Crowell carried the last 2 yards for a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.

Billy Cundiff's 32-yard field goal made it 17-3 at halftime. It was Cleveland's biggest halftime lead in Cincinnati since 1994, when the Browns won 28-20.

The Browns essentially put it away late in the third quarter when Hoyer completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Gary Barnidge in the middle of tight coverage. Terrance West went in from a yard out for a 24-3 lead that sent some Bengals fans to the exits.

Cleveland rushed for 170 yards after managing only 158 in the previous three games combined. West led the way with 94 yards on 26 carries. Hoyer was 15-of-23 for 198 yards.

The only good moments for the crowd of 65,871 came after the first quarter when 4-year-old Leah Still -- daughter of defensive tackle Devon Still -- was on the field for a check presentation. The girl is fighting cancer and flew in from Philadelphia to see her father play for the first time.

The Bengals raised more than $1 million for cancer research and treatment through sales of Still's No. 75 jersey. Still wrote "Leah Strong" on the eye black strip across his face, and police officers at the game had his No. 75 on the back of their uniforms.
Game notes

It was Cleveland's most lopsided win in Cincinnati since a 34-0 victory in 1987 with strike replacement players. ... The Browns were missing top receiver Andrew Hawkins, inactive with an injured knee and thigh. ... It was Cincinnati's first loss at Paul Brown Stadium since a 27-10 defeat against San Diego in the playoffs to end last season. Source

Interstellar's Jessica Chastain barely talked to co-star Matthew McConaughey

Interstellar's Jessica Chastain barely talked to co-star Matthew McConaughey

Jessica Chastain may be a two-time Oscar nominated actress, with directors from Terence Malick to J.C. Chandor clamouring to work with her, but when Christopher Nolan offered her a part in the sci-fi epic Insterstellar, the 37-year-old admits crying "nerd tears".

"It's a thrilling space adventure movie and I knew it was going to have these sections that were so mind boggling in space," she says. "But for me, the core of the film is about the bonds of love between a father and daughter."

Interstellar is set in a near future in which an agricultural crisis has brought the world to its knees and dust covers the planet. Mankind has lost faith in science and NASA has been shut down, with the Apollo moon landings rewritten for the history books. Another planet that can support humans must be found, so former fighter pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is recruited to take a team, including a scientist (Anne Hathaway), into space through a wormhole in search of another galaxy.

Forced to leave behind his two children, Cooper is gone longer than anyone imagined and while he remains the same age in space, his daughter Murph (Chastain) grows from a petulant child (Mackenzie Foy) into an astrophysicist looking for her own solution to the crisis. "We've all at some point felt left or abandoned and it was kind of heartbreaking for me to play this woman who isolated herself because of the lies that just kept coming," Chastain says.

Stacked with Oscar winners, including McConaughey, Hathaway and Nolan regular Michael Caine, Insterstellar is one of the most hyped films of the year, however Chastain rarely crosses paths with her famous co-stars on screen.

"Because they are in different worlds in the film, I felt slightly that way on set because we never even had a cast dinner or anything that brought us together," she says says at the Los Angeles press day for the film. "My character was very isolated emotionally and literally in the film, so it's interesting that I'm only getting to know them all better now we are doing press."

The elegant redhead is surprisingly shy when it comes to talking about herself, even though she is a favourite for next year's Academy Awards with the soon-to-be-released A Violent Year.

Her co-star Hathaway, however, seemed eager to do it for her. "I think this is Jessica's best performance yet in an already considerable career," says Hathaway. "I had met her because we went through award season together the year I was in Les Miserables and she was in Zero Dark Thirty but we only had short, fun interactions on the red carpet. And then the first day we were doing camera tests for this film, Jessica had just come from a two-week gourmet cooking class and I remember being so charmed because she was describing how you poach the perfect egg and I realised she was a great actor because she was that passionate and intense about everything."

While Nolan grappled with a variety of technical challenges bringing the story to the screen, Chastain had her own struggles on Earth – she was covered in a dust created from biodegradable grated cardboard. "It was very Earth-friendly dust but it's not the most comfortable thing to have chucked at your face with winds everywhere," she says. "At the same time I knew Anne was in an astronaut suit trying to run in ice cold water and Matthew was on a glacier in Iceland and couldn't look down because of his space helmet, so I wasn't going to be ... complaining about dust!" Source

The Democrats Lost Generation

The Democrats’ Lost Generation

As Democrats take stock of their grievous losses in the 2014 elections, party leaders are confronting a challenge perhaps even more daunting than their defeats in the House and Senate: the virtual wipeout of the Democratic talent pool across the country.

After the Republican waves of 2010 and 2014, the party is depleted not just in its major-league talent, but also in its triple-A recruitment prospects. It amounts to a setback, Democrats say, that will almost certainly require more than one election cycle to repair.

At the start of the 2014 campaign, Democrats envisioned an election that would produce new national stars for the party in at least a few tough states – Georgia Sen. Michelle Nunn or Kentucky Sen. Alison Lundergan Grimes, for instance, or maybe even Texas Gov. Wendy Davis. Even if the party fell short in those “reach” states, Democrats hoped to produce new heavyweight blue-state Democrats – Maryland Gov. Anthony Brown, the country’s only black state executive; or Maine Gov. Mike Michaud, who would have been the first openly gay candidate elected governor.

Any of them could have landed on a vice presidential short list in 2016.

Instead, all of them lost.

Joining them were numerous down-ballot Democrats widely viewed as future contenders for high office: attorney general candidates in Nevada and Arizona who looked like future governors; aspiring state treasurers in Ohio and Colorado who could have gone on to bigger things; prized secretary of state candidates in Iowa and Kansas as well as countless congressional hopefuls around the country.

Arizona Rep.-elect Ruben Gallego, a state lawmaker who will be one of the few Democratic freshmen in the next Congress, said the party will need to redouble its efforts at recruitment and voter registration in order to bounce back. Along with other state and local Democratic leaders, Gallego predicted that city- and county-level officials would be the best place to look for ground-level Democratic recruits in the years ahead, thanks to the party’s strength in urban America and these officials’ relative insulation from national trends.

“The way we rebuild is really by having a deep investment in our local city council races and state races, by really starting to recruit and pipeline strong local candidates,” said Gallego, a 34-year-old Marine Corps veteran. “That’s where your good congressional candidates in the future are going to come from.”

Some Democrats hope their better-performing candidates will take another try at statewide office – and soon. New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said he would encourage Democrats like Nunn and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter to seek rematches in “a more favorable climate in 2016 and 2018.”

“People were swept out this year because of the red tide,” Buckley said. “I can envision them running again in a few years.”

Democrats, many of whom argued Wednesday that the election’s painful outcome reflected little more than off-year voter apathy, cautioned that there were a few bright spots on the recruitment front. They elected at least three new House members who could stand for statewide office: Gallego, Florida Rep.-elect Gwen Graham and Massachusetts Rep.-elect Seth Moulton, a decorated veteran who took on an incumbent Democrat during primary season.

And a pair of new governors, Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf and Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo, have the potential to prove themselves as national figures. In a few states, Democrats add, they have already established powerhouse figures with obvious statewide and national potential, including several of California’s constitutional officers and the mayors of Los Angeles and Chicago.
Source

Locals plan Veterans Day parade, concerts, thanks

Locals plan Veterans Day parade, concerts, thanks

Feeling gratitude to American troops and veterans should be a year-round thing, but annual Veterans Day celebrations are a meaningful way to make the recognition official.

So said Keith Ellis, a former Air Force sergeant who is disabled.

“This is a way we honor the veterans who sacrificed their lives, or were wounded, or who served to protect our freedoms and rights,” said Ellis, 51 and a Layton resident.

“It makes you feel good for what you did, and that people recognized what we did. And for me, it’s also a way to remember the friends I lost.”

Past Veterans Day in Northern Utah

A number of local events are planned to commemorate Veterans Day. Sheila Scott Simko, a Veteran’s Affairs official who works with Weber State University, is helping plan a ceremony for Tuesday at WSU’s Davis campus.

“Almost every family has a veteran,” Simko said. “Our goal is to honor them and let them know we appreciate their sacrifices.”

Local celebrations begin Saturday, with a parade, and continue through next week.

• The Ogden Veterans Day Parade starts at 11:11 a.m. Saturday. The start time honors the signing of the World War I Armistice, which happened at 11:11 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918. The Ogden parade’s staging begins at 9:30 a.m. at the corner of 31st Street and Washington Boulevard.


The parade will head north on Washington, then turn west on Historic 25th Street. At Grand Avenue, the parade will head south, then disperse.

• A Veterans Day celebration to honor current and past members of the military will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the commons area of Davis High School, 325 S. Main St., Kaysville. The event will pay special tribute to Kaysville’s local heroes. Lt. Col. David Becker of the Utah Army National Guard will be the speaker.

• The Box Elder Symphonic Choir will offer a patriotic program of music at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Box Elder Tabernacle, 251 S. Main, Brigham City. Admission is free.

• On Monday, Weber State University will sponsor an extensive display of military weaponry and equipment. The all-day exhibit will be at the Shepherd Union Building at WSU, 3848 Harrison Blvd., Ogden.

• On Tuesday, Weber State will sponsor a veteran appreciation event at its Davis Campus, 2750 University Park Blvd, Layton. The event begins at 9 a.m. with the Weber State University ROTC Color Guard. A prayer will be offered by Hill Air Force Base chaplain (retired) Charles Chandler.

A veterans tribute presentation is scheduled for 9:20 a.m.

Art Amos, Sgt. 1st Class in the United States Army and recipient of two Purple Hearts, will speak at 10 a.m. At 11 a.m., the names of nearly 100 fallen heroes, many of them from Utah, will be read. The next speaker, Berni Davis, of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs, will talk at 1 p.m.

• American Festival Chorus & Orchestra on Tuesday will offer a free Veterans Day concert the Chase Fine Arts Center Kent Concert Hall, at Utah State University, Logan. The music starts at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.americanfestivalchorus.org.

• The Treehouse Museum on Tuesday will offer free admission for all military families with military ID. The Treehouse is 347 22nd St., Ogden. Tuesday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 801-394-9663 or visit www.treehousemuseum.org.

• The Brigham City Museum on Tuesday will open a new traveling exhibit, “Our Lives, Our Stories: America’s Greatest Generation.” Art, artifacts and photography will document life from the 1920s through 1950s, and will include a paratrooper helmet, a Tuskegee Airman Congressional Medal, a serviceman’s pocket Bible, and other World War II memorabilia. The exhibit remains through Jan. 7, and admission is free. Museum hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. For information, call 435-226-1439 or visit www.brighamcitymuseum.org.

• Ogden Nature Center on Wednesday will host “In Honor: A Special Veteran’s Day Program,” as part of its ongoing Wild Wednesday event series. Those who attend can honor veterans and discuss the history of Veterans Day. They also can meet the resident Bald Eagle, Des Ta Te. Free admission will be offered to veterans and current military members and their families.

Admission for others is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $2 for children 11 and younger. The center is at 966 W. 12th St., Ogden. For information, call 801-621-7595.

• Weber State on Nov. 15 will offer a Military Appreciation day at its football game. As many as four free tickets will be available to veterans and active duty military. Advance ticket will be available through the Dee Events Center ticket office with proof of military service or veteran status. Tickets also will be available at the stadium on game day. Source

by Nancy Van Valkenburg

Everything You Need To Know About The Making Of Big Hero

Everything You Need To Know About The Making Of Big Hero 6

This week, Disney gives us its version of a superhero movie with Big Hero 6. We've got all the details on the huggable healthcare robot Baymax and the mashup city of San Fransokyo, plus how anime, Disneyland park mascots, and Clint Eastwood inspired the film.

We have already talked a bit about our visit to Walt Disney Animation Studios with other members of the entertainment press. If you haven't read that write-up, I suggest you read that one first. Very minor spoilers in both that post and this one.

While there, we learned about Baymax's origin, and how Big Hero 6 co-director Don Hall discovered a vinyl health care robot being developed at Carnegie Mellon University and decided to base his huggable nursing robot on it. We learned about the individual characters and their talents, how the design team combined San Francisco and Tokyo to create the fictional mashup city of San Fransokyo, and how they had to abandon the Rocket Cat subplot (even though Rocket Cat still turns up in overseas advertising). But there is so much more that we learned there that we have to share:

Director Don Hall Originally Wanted to Produce a Series of Marvel Shorts

When Disney acquired Marvel, the folks at Walt Disney Animation Studios were excited to do something Marvel-related. Don Hall, who would eventually co-direct Big Hero 6, originally approached John Lasseter, the studio's chief creative officer, about producing a series of short films based on Marvel characters. Lasseter, however, told Hall to "think bigger," and Hall dove into the Marvel catalogue.

Big Hero 6 producer Roy Conli explained to us that Hall deliberately didn't want to base a movie around one of Marvel's larger titles, but instead wanted to use a property he could "bring into the Disney universe." Hall was attracted to the name of Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau's superhero team, and he especially liked that served as a love letter to Japanese pop culture. But what he really latched onto was the relationship between the boy genius Hiro and the robot Baymax. As he and the rest of the Big Hero 6 team worked to reinvent the ideas from the comics, that relationship remained central to the film.

It's the Anti-Robot Uprising Movie

One of the key themes of Big Hero 6 is the question of what you do with your potential. Hiro is a brilliant roboticist, but his brother, Tadashi, worries that he's not applying his talents constructively. And just as people may apply their talents constructively or destructively, so too can technology be used constructively or destructively, depending on the person who is using it.

The directors deliberately didn't want technology to be the enemy in Big Hero 6, even if the villain Yokai uses technology to destructive ends. They felt that the idea of "technology run amok" that we see in so many films about artificial intelligence simply isn't that interesting. Technology is, itself, neutral. It's people who apply it for good or for ill.

To some extent, that idea is visually represented through the microbots, the insect-inspired robots that Hiro invents and that Yokai steals. The microbots are controlled through a device that reads brainwaves, and when Hiro uses the device, the microbots are very orderly. When Yokai uses it, we see the microbots manifest as his chaotic mind, taking on a more malevolent appearance in their movements and the shapes that they form. Also look out for a circuit board motif in the microbots' formations, something that the special effects team included as a nod to the computer programming behind the microbots' existence.

Grief Wasn't Always Such a Central Theme

Loss is a huge part of superhero origin stories, and when we spoke to Conli and co-directors Hall and Chris Williams, they were quick to mention the death of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben as a key part of Spider-Man's origin. From the very beginning, the directors knew that Hiro was going to lose his older brother, who had built a robot. But as the movie developed and the directors received feedback from early screenings, the idea that Hiro needed to heal from the loss of his brother emerged as central to the movie's plot.

"One of the things I'm proud about is that I really do think it speaks the truth," Conli told us. "The message of 'they live on through you' is so true to me."

But equally important in Conli's mind is the theme of finding your family. Hiro starts the film as a person who does things on his own, but over the course of the film, he learns to work with Tadashi's friends, who become part of the Big Hero 6 super team. And as these scientists (and science enthusiast Fred) learn to apply their talents in superheroic ways, they also learn to work together and gradually form a family. It may be a film about loss, but, Conli said, "The film is also about renewal."

Marvel Comics are a Big Influence, But So is Anime

Obviously, the germ for Big Hero 6 is the Marvel comic book of the same name, but since Japanese design is such a huge part of the film, the animators wanted to incorporate visual elements of anime as well as Marvel Comics. Zach Parrish, who headed animation on the film, encouraged the animation team to take cues from anime, such as holding poses for longer periods of time than you would in traditional Western animation, thinking about the dynamics of the camera work and how close characters can get to the camera, and studying anime-style action sequences.

The effect, Parrish believes, actually makes the film more closely resemble a comic book in the end. He hopes that, as audiences watch the movie, they see shots that could easily be panels in a comic book.

What Baymax has in Common with Hello Kitty

"My favorite thing about Baymax is the less you do, the more the audience projects feelings on him," Parrish told us. "And as difficult as it is to remove all that information, I love that that gives the opportunity for the audience, for them to be Baymax for that split second, which is something you can't do with a normal character."

Like Hello Kitty, Baymax is a character with limited facial features, which invites the audience to project their own feelings onto Baymax rather than merely receiving visual information. "We were joking that a model sheet of Baymax would be a bunch of the same face," Parrish said, "but literally, that's what we do in the film."

Aspects of Baymax's character and his growth as he begins to understand the world better, are conveyed in part through timing. The animators gave a lot of attention to the timing of Baymax's blinks and other movements, which help inform Baymax's processing of information and how and what he comprehends about the world around him. Hiro grows and changes throughout the film, but so does Baymax.

GoGo Tomago was Inspired by Clint Eastwood

Each character in Big Hero 6 has their own unique personality. Wasabi is very reserved in his movements and very precise. Honey Lemon can barely contain her own energy, something that comes out in little skip-kicks and other visual flourishes. And GoGo, GoGo is the movie's Clint Eastwood.

Mainly, Parrish explained, the animators wanted to translate Eastwood's thousand yard stare to GoGo, but Eastwood's tough western heroes also inspired GoGo's persistent bubblegum chewing. The animators asked themselves, "What is the Disney equivalent of blowing smoke in someone's face?" They settled on GoGo popping gum bubbles in people's faces.

Fred's Kaiju Suit was Partially Inspired by Disneyland Character Suits

The animators watched loads of kaiju movies in order to figure out how to animate Fred while he's in his superhero suit—a modified kaiju costume. But they also brought in the people who make the costumes for Disney's parks to explain what the kaiju suit would be made of, how much it would weigh, how Fred's movement would be limited.

"You try to get the weight and believability and limited motion you get out of a suit that size," said Parrish, "but depending on what the shot or the story calls for, sometimes you play up the monster and sometimes you play up the guy." Fred takes himself so seriously, he explained, that sometimes he acts like he really is a kaiju, and the animators had a great deal of fun playing with that.

Alcatraz was Once a Key Plot Point

The directors chose San Francisco as one half of the basis for their mashed-up city San Fransokyo for a number of reasons. They wanted to avoid New York as a setting since so many Marvel characters are based there, and as for LA, they immediately ruled it out. "We live here." But from a visual perspective, San Francisco offered a number of iconic landmarks in a compact space.

When designer Lorelay Bove was tasked with creating the initial look of San Fransokyo, she made a series of travel posters for the imaginary city, including one for Alcatraz. Apparently, Alcatraz was once part of a major plot point for the film, and while that part of the plot was ultimately dropped, we should be on the lookout for former prison and its Japan-inspired makeover.

The Filmmakers Decorated Their Studio as San Fransokyo

We mentioned this in our earlier writeup of our set visit, but we have more photos of the San Fransokyo decorations at Walt Disney Animation Studios. The team created a lot of delightful artwork to surround themselves with and so they could, in a small way, inhabit San Fransokyo.

Source

Miley Cyrus Dating Patrick Schwarzenegger After His Longtime Crush

Miley Cyrus Dating Patrick Schwarzenegger After His Longtime Crush on Her: All the Details

Miley Cyrus is now singing "Adore You" to a brand-new man. The boundary-pushing singer, 21, is dating actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, sources confirm to Us Weekly.

The pair have been seen together in recent weeks, more than three years after Schwarzenegger, 21, first voiced his affection for Cyrus.

PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus: Then and Now

The handsome, buzzed-about son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver was speaking to Details about his dating prospects in May 2011 when he admitted, "My eye, though, is set on Miley." He was previously linked to the likes of Taylor Swift and his USC classmate Tootsie Burns.

After a brief fling in 2011, when Cyrus was on a break from then-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth, Schwarzenegger finally reconnected with his crush earlier this year. Insiders tell Us the stars have been quietly dating for "several months."

"They have been friends for a long time," a source tells Us. "They have a ton of common friends so they have run in the same circles for years." After splitting from Hemsworth in 2013, Cyrus dated producer Mike Will Made-It until earlier this year.

Cyrus and Schwarzenegger celebrated Halloween together at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel, says a second source, who adds that they went back to the "We Can't Stop" singer's house after the bash.

PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus' Wild Life

"She thinks he's hot, she thinks he's cool," a third source close to Cyrus told Us. "Patrick is a nice good guy. He's grown up in Hollywood just like her and it was only a matter of time before they hooked up."

The relationship is casual at this point, as sources tell Us "it's not serious," but Schwarzenegger is "seeing where it goes" and "he likes her." Source

Keira Knightley Demands Topless Photos Remain Unedited

Keira Knightley Demands Topless Photos Remain Unedited

Keira Knightley is hardly the first actress to have photographs of her body retouched in Photoshop for magazines and advertisements. Knightley, however, wants to do something about it. Keira recently posed topless for Interview Magazine, and requested that her photos remain untouched in protest of Photoshop editing.

In the British Times, Knightley opened up about the photo shoot. For previous films, such as King Arthur, Keira was criticized because advertising teams manipulated images to make her breasts appear larger. For the recent photo shoot with Patrick Demarchelier, Keira decided she’d had enough with Photoshop.


“I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters. That [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine doing the topless shot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch.’ Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are.”

“I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame. Our society is so photographic now, it becomes more difficult to see all of those different varieties of shape.”

Keira is joining a growing movement of celebrities who feel that women’s bodies face too much scrutiny. She spoke with Net-a-Porter recently about gender equality and double standards in the media. Knightley revealed that she has turned down roles because they had unjustifiable violence or sex.

“There’s a concept of how you should be and I’m not sure anybody really fits into it. I hope they don’t, because I don’t feel like I do.”

Recent controversies regarding the leaked nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other actresses have made Knightley and others reconsider how they are portrayed in films and photos. How much to reveal is a question Keira has had to ask herself many times during her nearly 20 years of acting.

“It’s actually a difficult question: how much flesh are you meant to bare? What are we saying is appropriate or not appropriate? We’re saying that we should be sexually liberated but then again not that sexually liberated. It’s confusing.”

Like Knightley, other actresses such as Chelsea Handler have also fired back about unequal representations of women, as reported by the Inquisitr. Chelsea posted a topless photo on Instagram in imitation of Russian president Vladimir Putin to protest Instagram’s differing policies on male and female nudity. Source

What's Left of the Wang X H&M Collab at Three NYC Stores

What's Left of the Wang X H&M Collab at Three NYC Stores

The highly-anticipated Alexander Wang for H&M collaboration debuted at 8am this morning. Employees handed out bracelets to the first 420 people in line that denoted designated 15 minute shopping slots. Racked editors were on the scene at three Manhattan stores—here's what's left.

Soho 

After the men's section downstairs got wiped out by a stampede in about three minutes, shoppers flipped a switch and patiently waited in the store for their designated time slots to browse in the women's section. Things were oddly calm upstairs, where people were shuffled in for their 15 minutes of shopping via bracelet color. By the time we left at 9am, practically nothing had sold out besides the gray Wang crop sweatshirt (there were still a few in black).

However—staff made it clear that there would be no restocking, and instead directed late shoppers to the Herald Square location, where stock was plentiful. And though nothing else had been completely wiped out, it was rare to find more than three or four of one item. Moral of the story: If you're not already currently in Soho, don't waste your time here.

Flatiron

Just like at the Soho store the men's section for Alexander Wang x H&M here has been heavily picked over—there's only one rack of mixed items right now. As one shopper said, "It got craaazy up there," because the men's section was literally one five-foot long rack to begin with.

By the time the women's section had been opened to the first few groups, it looked like the Wang sweatshirts/hoodies were gone. But there were still lots of leather pants and leather culottes, and lots of leggings to go around, too. There were no more duffles shortly after and very few accessories. Not one boxing glove in sight.

For women, the yellow sports bra seemed to be a hot item, but beware: it is tiny! (The deep-V bra was nowhere to be found.) Also, the dresses run pretty small, too. It'd be wise to head to the dressing room (remember, seven-item limit) to try before you buy.

Upper East Side

H&M employees at the East 86th Street store are taking the 15-minute shopping limits very seriously—once you're out of the designated Wang area, there's no going back. The scuba sweatshirts were flying off the shelves. By the time we got there at 8:45, the style was sold out in black, although there were a few gray ones available in sizes extra-small through medium. We also noticed that the parka was gone.

Accessories-wise, yoga mats and boxing gloves were almost untouched—probably because they were packaged/disguised in mesh bags, which no one seemed to have time to open. There were still a lot of key rings, whistles,sunglasses, and decorative cups when we left. We saw a lone beanie, but it's probably gone by now.

Over in the men's section, there were still plenty of coats on the racks. And, given that some of the items in this collab run small, the styles could work for women.

Shoes didn't seem to be popular. There were lots of suede booties and scuba high tops. The only bags available were the large duffels and the leather styles—there were no scuba bags or backpacks.

When we left at 9:25, there were still lots of sporty tank tops, fitted cut-out dresses, sports bras, deep V-neck bras, shorts, pants and skirts on the sales floor. Source

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare Multiplayer Review

'Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare' Multiplayer Review

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer mode is the best in years, drawing inspiration from the multiplayer found in Black Ops II and expanding upon that in important ways.

The big, obvious changes all hinge on Sledgehammer’s introduction of the Exo-suit, a futuristic, high-tech kit that gives your soldier super abilities. This changes the game in fundamental ways while still, somehow, retaining the Call of Dutyfeel. It’s at once a very different game and very much the same—a remarkable achievement.

Call of Duty is a series that changes in small ways from one year to the next, iterating and evolving without reinventing the wheel. That makes sense when you consider how well the game sells each year. You don’t want to mess with a winning formula.

Still, each year the game changes and multiplayer in particular has evolved year over year. Last year’s Call of Duty: Ghosts was something of a letdown after the excellent MP of Black Ops II, which introduced the Pick 10 system allowing players to mix and match their gear and perks utilizing up to ten slots.

Customize



Advanced Warfare wipes the slate clean after Ghosts, and takes its cues directly from Black Ops II, introducing a Pick 13 system instead of Pick 10. This means three more slots for your loadout, which is a good thing since now you have your Exo abilities to consider, as well as customizable scorestreaks. You can even add a fourth scorestreak, or make them cooperative instead of solo. The options here are mind-boggling.

And you can test out your loadout in a new virtual firing range, which is a nice little addition.

Customization is key. Players can outfit their soldiers with all sorts of new outfit options just to give your avatar a unique look (and then show off that look in the Virtual Lobby.) As an RPG fanatic this ticks off all the right boxes for me. Lots of choices for loadout, lots of choices for how you dress up your character, lots of unlocks to grind through. The feedback loop is strong with this one.

As you rank up and earn medals and unlock gear, you also get rewarded by Supply Drops—loot crates essentially, filled with some random items which you will eagerly open up like a kid on Christmas morning. Some of these are special weapons. Some are just cool outfit stuff for your character. There are different tiers of rarity for items also, meaning sometimes you’ll get something really cool and rare. Did I mention how strong the feedback loop is in this game?

Exoskeleton

The new Exo-suit is the big game-changer, though. The suit gives you the power to boost jump, allowing you to double jump to new heights. This adds a layer of verticality to the game not present in past titles. This is probably the biggest single change to the multiplayer. You don’t just have to worry about enemies coming around corners or waiting for you on a rooftop or high window, now they can be anywhere.

The added boost dash and dodge abilities mean that players can dodge in and out of cover or zip forward in midair, giving the entire experience an even faster, twitchier feel. There’s also a boost slam that allows you to melee smash from above. There are other abilities, as well, including Exo Ping which allows you to see enemies through walls, Exo Cloak which temporarily makes you invisible, and more.



It’s all very new and yet it all feels very much like the Call of Duty we’ve come to know. Multiplayer is familiar and fresh all at once. It’s fast and frenetic and fun—just really, really fun even for a lesser-skilled player like myself. (Honestly, I can’t keep up with hardcore CoD players. I play dozens of games each year. I don’t have the time to hone my skills the way some of these people do. But I enjoy trying.)

People compare the game to Titanfall, and it is similar in a sense. But you don’t have the parkour of Titanfall, nor do you have the mechs. There are no weak bots adding bodies to the maps. And maps themselves are generally more compact than what you find in Titanfall, which needed oversized maps to accommodate its oversized Titans.

Ultimately, whether you like one or the other better comes down to taste. I like the immediacy of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. It’s just more my style than Titanfall or Destiny or really any other major first-person shooter outside of the all time great Counter-Strike.

Maps



The game ships with 13 maps. Additional maps will become available with DLC down the road. Here they are:

• Ascend
• Bio Lab
• Comeback
• Defender
• Detroit
• Greenband
• Horizon
• Instinct
• Recovery
• Retreat
• Riot
• Solar
• Terrace

It’s plenty of content to keep you playing for hours on end.

Something Old, Something New

Advanced Warfare handles really well, too. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but the game just feels tight all around. Maps are laid out perfectly for the game’s expanded mobility. Guns are solid and responsive. Even the introduction of energy weapons doesn’t change the trademark feel of the MP experience. I’m usually the type who moans and groans about console shooters, but I barely even missed my mouse and keyboard playing MP on my PS4.

All told, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has tight, responsive controls, terrific maps, and tons of different modes to sink your teeth into (though I tend to stick to Death Match and Domination and a sprinkling of others. Uplink is a lot of fun.) It looks fantastic on PS4. And it feels like a real rejuvenation of the series, filled with energy that you can almost feel radiating from the other players, too.

Lag
All of these very good things are being impacted to some degree by lag issues. The peer-to-peer servers used for the game mean that gamers with a poor internet connection need to be accounted for—which, in turn, leads to a lag compensation mechanic that can really distort who kills who at times.

Honestly, I haven’t encountered too many problems with lag or lag compensation, but it has happened. Some players seem to be experiencing it a lot; others not so much. This is week one, however, and I suspect that the issue will be resolved. I’ve reached out to Activision for comment and will update accordingly.



For some people, this issue may be a turn-off. I’ve seen it described as “crippling” and reddit is flooded with lag posts at the moment. (On second thought, let’s not go to reddit, it’s a silly place.)

For my part, it hasn’t been a big deal, and certainly not enough of an issue to make me stop playing. (I’m much more likely to rage quit, regardless.)

In Conclusion

All told, lag issues aside, this is a terrific multiplayer experience. If you’re worried about lag issues, I suspect updates and slightly less over-worked servers following launch week will clear things up nicely. Maybe wait a little bit and pick up a copy when things have cooled down a bit.

Ultimately, though, Sledgehammer has achieved exactly what the franchise needed: A reboot, essentially, without actually messing with the formula. It’s new and fun and fast as hell, but it still plays just like Call of Duty. Source

Black Friday 2014 Everything You Need

When is Black Friday 2014? Everything You Need to Know About The Big Sales Day

Black Friday could see you nab some absolute bargains but what outlets are getting involved this year? Here's everything you need to know


Shoppers grabbing bargains in Asda on Black Friday

Black Friday is nearly upon us, the day where bargain hunters across the country try and grab themselves a great deal heading into the festive period.

The annual shopping bonanza has been a huge hit in America for years, but now shoppers on this side of the pond can look forward to a day of huge discounts as more and more UK retailers get in on the fun and games.

A reported £200 MILLION was splashed out on Black Friday on these shores last year so as you plan your shopping spree we have all the information you need.

When is it? When does it start? And what UK retailers are getting involved? Patience, we've got you covered.

What is Black Friday?


US shoppers snap up deals in Walmart's Black Friday sales

Black Friday was originally an American tradition, dropping on the day after Thanksgiving each year. Retailers offer massive discounts on a masses of products in an attempt to persuade you to spend your hard earned in the run-up to Christmas. But UK retailers have jumped on the bandwagon in recent years so bargain hunters over here get the chance at some festive deals.

When is Black Friday?


A family picks up an XBOX One video game console 

at a Toys"R"Us store during their Black Friday

Sale in New York

This year Black Friday will happen on Friday 28th November. However, some retailers will start their week of deals on Monday 24th November.

Why is it called Black Friday?


A young shopper carries large toys towards the checkout
Nobody's entirely sure, but most suggestions surround how businesses and retailers detail their finances. Many shops see the biggest profits of the year on Black Friday. Many businesses will detail their gains in black ink (and losses in red ink), hence the name.

What time will it start?


Amazon Warehouse Employees Prepare

For Their Busiest Time Of Year

Stores in the United States will open their doors to the hordes as early as 5am and many high street retailers this side of the pond will open early at 8am. Many of the best deals will be found online, when the deals go live at midnight.

Doesn't it get a bit rowdy?


A man was restrained at an Asda store last year after

he picked a fight when told he couldn't buy two televisions

It can do. In the States, the day has a reputation for turning otherwise rational, mild-mannered shoppers into feral, bargain hunting maniacs. Fights frequently break out over the last reduced telly on the pile - and this spread a little to the UK last year, with a few isolated incidents being reported.

Of course, you can avoid all this by buying online.

Which UK retailers will be doing Black Friday?

Apple


Apple stores will feature hefty cash discounts

Despite offering reduced gift cards for Black Friday in US stores this year instead of slashing prices, Apple are expected to offer a range of cash discounts in UK stores this year.

Amazon UK


Amazon will be running a 

range of lightning deals

The entertainment retailer have been running Black Friday deals over here since 2010 and this year is no different. This time around, they promise thousands oflightning deals - time and quantity limited offers on some of their best products to take place for a week from Monday November 24.

John Lewis


John Lewis will be matching competitors prices

John Lewis has joined the Black Friday train, as part of their commitment to being "Never Knowingly Undersold". They say they'll be matching the prices of all their competitors, and laying on great value offers on laptops, televisions, small and large electricals and more.

Asda


Asda is almost certain to have a range of Black Friday bargains

Asda hasn't announced any of its Black Friday deals yet, but being owned by US retail giant Wal Mart, it's all but certain there'll be some corkers in store. Last year, the supermarket chain claimed to have sold a month's worth of televisions in 45 minutes, with electronics sales up 400% compared to the same week the previous year. Source

Alex from Target Hollywood Agents Offers

Alex from Target: The Viral Bieber Mesmerizing The World

The digital world is in a frenzy after a girl posted a picture of a boy who works at Target. No, really.

Alex from Target is very important.

I know this because I've just been to his Twitter feed, and he's had a message from Ellen. Yes, Ellen who has that Ellen show.

This can only mean one thing. Ellen wants him on the Ellen show, which means that he's so famous that she might get very nice ratings.

You, though, might not yet know who Alex from Target is.The story has it that a girl called Rims (well, that's what she's called on Twitter, at least) espied Alex from Target in, um, Target.

She took a picture of him and posted it Sunday to Twitter. She accompanied it with these words: "YOOOOOOOOOO." I know that's just one word, but there's surely a vast array of sentiment buried within it.

I assume Rims was mesmerized because Alex from Target looks just a little like Justin Bieber and therefore she wanted to go with him for a joyride in a very fast car. My assumption might be mistaken, however.

Little did Rims surely know, however, that Alex from Target might soon be famous in the Pacific Rim. Analytics site Topsy swooned that there were 994,214 tweets about Alex from Target today.

Even more uplifting was that Target has decided to rename itself Target from Alex.

I lie a little, of course. However, the company did leap onto its own bandwagoning shopping cart by tweeting: "We heart Alex, too!" The company added the hashtag #alexfromtarget, of course.

But really, how did this all happen? How could this unassuming young lad suddenly become more important than tomorrow's election? Worse, how can it be that, even after hours of world tweeting, he hadn't been identified?


The San Antonio Express muttered that Alex from Target is Alex from a North Texas Target. But no one offered more. Naturally, I have contacted Target to ask please would the company just spill the beans and keep me away from the nagging questions of a thousand teenagers and those who behave like a thousand teenagers. (Of course, this could all be one big advertising mullarkey organized by Target.)

Even Google has begun tweeting about Alex from Target. So if even Google cares, there must a national security interest in unveiling this youth, even against his will.

In a few days' time, very few people will care who Alex from Target is. He, however, will hopefully have signed a modeling contract -- come on, Target, step up before Safeway grabs him. Or, gosh, Walmart -- and made enough money to have his hair coiffed by mermaids for life.

Humanity, meanwhile, will look to crown the next viral hero. Because humanity needs heroes and it needs them daily.

Updated at 8:25 a.m. PT November 4: A Target spokeswoman told me that Alex is indeed a "Target team member." She added: "Usually our new weekly ad is what gets people tweeting on Sundays. So imagine our surprise...when one of our Target team members managed to flood the internet with images of red and khaki without even trying. We are proud to have a great team, including #AlexFromTarget, and are in contact with his store and family. We will keep you posted if he is available for comment, but for now, we would ask you to respect his privacy." Source