John Romero, one of the creators of Doom, announced a special surprise for fans on the 1993 game’s 25th anniversary: more Doom.
Sort of, anyway. Romero doesn’t own the rights to Doom as a series, and rights-holder Bethesda Softworks already rebooted the series for a modern audience, with great success. But as a fan, Romero has access to the same modding tools as anyone else.
He’s putting those tools to work on building out a whole new, nine-level episode as a “megawad,” which is basically a collection of fan-made additions and changes (commonly referred to as mods), all packaged together.
Titled Sigil, the mod’s planned Feb. 2019 release is set to bring an additional nine levels to the single-player game, as well nine levels for the online deathmatch mode. The announcement on Romero Games’ website describes Sigil as “the spiritual successor to the fourth episode of Doom [that] picks up where the original left off.”
One important thing to note: While the Sigil megawad is free, you will need to own a copy of the original Doom in order to use it.
Romero has a history of continued tinkering with his early creation. In Jan. 2016, he released a new level for the original game, the first one he’d designed in 21 years.
Although President Donald Trump once considered then deputy national security adviser Dina Powell to replace then chief of staff Reince Priebus, the current crop of candidates is — so far — uniformly male and white. | Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The president does not have a ready backup after Nick Ayers turned down the post that John Kelly will vacate at the end of this month.
President Donald Trump was hunting for a new chief of staff Monday, a day after the leading candidate for the job unexpectedly dropped out of the running and set off a new round of staffing confusion at the White House.
After White House aide Nick Ayers told Trump on Sunday that he would not accept the post, speculation centered on Monday around one of the president’s preferred options for the position, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.). Following a CNN report that Meadows had told associates he was “absolutely not” interested in the job, the conservative House Freedom Caucus chairman sounded more positive in a statement to POLITICO’s Playbook PM.
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“Serving as Chief of Staff would be an incredible honor. The President has a long list of qualified candidates and I know he’ll make the best selection for his administration and for the country,” Meadows said.
Meanwhile, another candidate whose name was circulating in political circles, New York Yankees president Randy Levine, told POLITICO that he was not in the mix.
“Nobody has talked to me about this. Nobody,” said Levine, who served in the Reagan Justice Department and as deputy to then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. “I respect the president, but I’m very happy being president of the Yankees.”
POLITICO reported Sunday night that three other people under consideration for the job — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer — were also reluctant to accept it, though White House aides held out hope that they could be persuaded.
The surprise decision by Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, to turn down the promotion set off a scramble in the White House. Many senior aides were certain that Ayers would ultimately take the job, even though he had told associates that he hoped to return to his home state of Georgia.
The chain of events was triggered by Trump’s Saturday announcement that his long-beleaguered chief of staff, John Kelly, will be leaving by the end of the year.
The uncertainty set off a scramble among Trump’s allies to push their favored candidates, with some people close to the president making the case that David Bossie, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager, should be considered.
But White House officials downplayed the possibility that Bossie would become chief of staff, noting that his candidacy would likely face strong opposition from the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. People familiar with the matter said Bossie had not yet had any conversations with Trump about the job as of early Monday.
Although Trump once considered then-deputy national security adviser Dina Powell to replace then-chief of staff Reince Priebus, the current crop of candidates is — so far — uniformly male and white. Senior aide Kellyanne Conway, a trusted Trump adviser, is said to not be interested in the position.
Ayers, who had been quietly talking to Trump about becoming chief of staff for months, spent the last few days in negotiations with the president about the terms of his service. Ayers would only agree to serve until the spring, even as he pushed for the full authorities granted a permanent chief of staff, like firing aides. Trump, for his part, wanted a two-year commitment.
Some in the White House speculated that Ayers’ demands were aimed at self-preservation. A fixed, shorter term would limit speculation about how long he’d last and give him an opportunity to shift the inevitable blame for anything that goes wrong to others. Ayers is said to want to eventually run for office in Georgia, and people close to him said he was concerned about the risks associated with accepting the job, which has tarred the reputations of his predecessors, Reince Priebus and John Kelly.
Nancy Cook, Gabby Orr and Eliana Johnson contributed to this report.
In Tierra Whack’s world, MTV stands for “men touch vaginas,” ABC means “all boys cry,” and BET stands for “bitches eat tacos.” That’s according to “Cable Guy,” one of the most accessible points of entry on her shapeshifting, impressive debut, Whack World, a swirling realm all her own where songs vanish just as unsystematically as they materialize. Welcome to an entirely new dimension.
Of course, “accessible” seems like the wrong word to describe Whack’s ephemeral wonder. It’s surely immediate, but that actually undersells how easy the adventurous Whack World — which is comprised of 15 songs, all precisely one minute long — is to get lost inside of. Without much warning, bouncy beats suddenly lift and yield to toy keyboards or looping carnival melodies, the last phrase Whack sings still hanging in that half second of empty space.
Barely four minutes in and somehow already a quarter of the way into the experience, she deadpans, “I’m not perfect but I improvise.” A few tracks later, on a song called “Fuck Off,” Whack grabs hold of a cartoonish country twang to spew hexes involving ass rashes. It’s hilarious. It’ll also give you whiplash if you’re not careful.
Whack grew up in Philadelphia and battle-rapped in her teens under the name Dizzle Dizz. But she wanted more. She idolized Lauryn Hill and André 3000 for their innovation and creative command. “I’m like, I want to be like them. I want to be an artist,” Whack told MTV News in an interview at the top of 2018.
Eventually, after completing school in Atlanta, she cut the wild “Mumbo Jumbo” after a trip to the dentist left her mouth swollen. The track is nearly post-vocal, with Whack’s garbled delivery becoming more important than anything she could be communicating clearly. It came out under her given name in late 2017, but it was just a primer for what she’d soon prove to be capable of.
Whack World splits that kind of bold pioneering into 15 shards of shrapnel; Whack adopts new musical personas as she sees fit and discards them in seconds. For music obsessives, this kind of brevity evokes a key, if potentially obsolete, question: Is Whack World an album or an EP? If 2018 really is the year of the EP, long defined as a music collection of less than 30 minutes, and if albums are basically already dead anyway, then Whack’s contribution snugly works as an EP. Right?
Or maybe albums are just shorter now. This year, Kanye West oversaw an entire fleet of new albums clocking in at barely over 20 minutes. Rappers like Valee, Earl Sweatshirt, and Chris Crack crammed more songs onto releases by keeping them lean, yet brimming with unique flavor. Or maybe it doesn’t matter at all. Whack World, naturally, is unconcerned by these semantic squabbles. The artist has world-building to do.
Whack focused on crafting something complete and holistic, including a full-album visual that also doubles as a short film. She partnered with directors Thibaut Duverneix and Mathieu Léger for a series of interconnected, moody vignettes that allow Whack to inhabit precisely who she wants to be for each track — say, a bloated insect victim on “Bugs Life” and a childlike songbird in “Pet Cemetery”‘s Sesame Street-esque puppet sequence. On release day, Whack also unveiled each clip (and therefore, each song) individually on Instagram in the ultimate act of meeting music fans where they already live. After you’ve experienced the songs via the visual, it’s hard to hear them without conjuring those striking images. And maybe that’s the point.
Last week, at Billboard‘s Women in Music event, Whack presented the Trailblazer award to another pioneer in the field of (e)motion pictures, Janelle Monáe. But then Monáe flipped the script. In a series of escalating praises that left Whack shaking her head in gracious disbelief, Monáe delivered a knockout compliment. “I just want to thank you for sacrificing your time to present this award to me,” she said, looking directly at Whack.
There’s truth there. From the time Whack walked out onstage until when she walked into the back together with Monáe, the whole encounter lasted about six minutes. That’s six Tierra Whack songs right there.
The world lost Carrie Fisher almost two years ago, and on Sunday night Family Guy used the approaching anniversary of her death to finally lay Angela, the character she voiced, to rest.
It’s not the most touching set of parting words you’ll ever hear, but this is also Family Guy. That Peter Griffin’s eulogy for his former boss — Fisher played Peter’s boss at the Pawtucket Brewery, appearing in 25 episodes since 2005 — manages to avoid being overtly offensive is an achievement unto itself.
Peter’s goodbye is mostly comprised of weird, tangential references to TV show theme songs. There’s one genuinely touching bit right at the end, though: “I may have lost a boss, but heaven has gained a princess.”
Godzilla alone is intimidating, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg in the new trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The latest promo shows our titular monster facing off against multiple, massive monsters who have risen from myth and obscurity to take back the earth.
Godzilla and Mothra – and various other “titans” – don’t really care about the casualties of their war, but of course the humans in this movie are fighting like hell to stay alive. Whoever the new titan alpha is, it doesn’t have to be humanity’s enemy – or does it?
The trailer offers glimpses of a sprawling and stacked cast, including Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Aisha Hinds, Zhang Ziyi, and more.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters hits theaters May 31.
Rep. Mark Meadows’ chance to become White House chief of staff might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But under President Donald Trump, it could also be political suicide. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images
As chief of staff, the Freedom Caucus hardliner would help Trump counter a flood of Democratic investigations.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows wrote a secret memo last month about how House Republicans could counter Democratic plans to investigate and potentially impeach Donald Trump.
Now, the president is eyeing the North Carolina Republican — one of his closest allies on Capitol Hill — to replace outgoing chief of staff John Kelly in part because of that insight.
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“Serving as Chief of Staff would be an incredible honor,” Meadows told POLITICO Playbook. “The President has a long list of qualified candidates and I know he’ll make the best selection for his administration and for the country.“
Should Trump tap Meadows for the job, he’d be securing an astute political operative who’s made it his mission to defend Trump from embarrassing headlines.
Meadows and his best friend Rep. Jim Jordan, a Fox News TV star and hero on the right, have almost single-handedly pushed Republican chairmen and GOP leaders to start counter-investigations of the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation, a key talking point for Trump who’s panned the probe as a “witch hunt.”
The duo is often on TV assailing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and touting Trump’s legislative achievements. And with Mueller closing in on Trump and newly empowered Democrats eager to highlight scandal out of the West Wing, Meadows’ knowledge of Congress and willingness to fight for him has appealed to Trump, White House insiders say.
“He’d have a keen sense of what to do, what groups to engage with, what events to hold, going into a hyper political time,” said one White House official who asked not to be named. “He also knows oversight better than most. Going into a Democratic House takeover, he would know tools Republicans have at their disposal to push back on Democrats better than anyone.”
Some top Trump allies are publicly urging the president to pick Meadows.
“Meadows understands the oversight process, the media, and how to pick fights we can win,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz who said he’s doing “all I can to encourage the president to pick him.” “I lobbied the president the best way I know how. I made the Meadows case on Fox News.”
Meadows’ ascent to the position is far from a done deal. While he and Trump speak frequently if not daily by phone, the president is also considering several others for the job.
While sources close with Meadows believe he’s open to the job and would serve if asked, they also noted the political risks involved. While the position of chief of staff was once revered, it could amount to political suicide under Trump.
Meadow would have to relinquish his influential position in the GOP conference, not to mention his seat in Congress, for a job that would likely be his last in politics. With allegations of collusion, corruption and campaign finance violations haunting the president, the job might quickly turn dirty — a challenging feat for a man who at times seems to be sensitive to his reputation.
Still, the opportunity might be once in a life time and comes as Meadows’ influence in the House is set to wane. With Republicans losing control of the chamber, the Freedom Caucus’ relevancy will be diminished.
What’s more, Meadows had initially hoped to lead the House Oversight Committee GOP as Trump’s top defender against Democratic investigations, which was why he recently wrote a memo on countering Democratic investigations. He stepped aside at the last minute, however, so Jordan could become ranking member of that panel.
Meadows could also face opposition from Republicans across Washington that undercut his effectiveness as White House chief. As the Freedom Caucus leader, he’s made many enemies both inside the Capitol and out and has a long, difficult relationship with the GOP establishment.
Meadows first made a name for himself when he filed a “motion to vacate” on ex-Speaker John Boehner, a procedural maneuver meant to boot the Ohio Republican from power. Boehner resigned not long after. Since then, Meadows has been a pain in the side of GOP leaders, circumventing Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to get what he wants on policy matters.
During the Obamacare repeal effort in the House, for example, Meadows leveraged the Freedom Caucus numbers to make policy changes favored to conservatives, including targeting pre-existing conditions protections that would later haunt the majority on the campaign trail.
Meadows did the same thing for tax reform, appealing to Trump directly to land wins for the right.
When Freedom Caucus members ultimately endorsed both of those pieces of legislation, Meadows ensured the White House knew of his role in taming the rebellious group to help bring a bill over the finish line, White House sources said.
“He was skillful in playing it such that he emerged in Trump’s mind as one of the heroes who helped get health care reform done” in the House, said a former White House official, even though the bill later died in the Senate.
Critics of Meadows — namely GOP establishment types — say he would likely appeal to Trump’s worst instincts. He and Jordan have long championed using government shutdowns to get what they want. During last spring’s spending fight, they called Trump personally to encourage him to veto a spending deal Ryan and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell struck with Democrats.
Perhaps that’s why Trump World insiders say the president views Meadows as a sort of gut-check on all issues of importance to the base.
White House officials describe Meadows as “a man on a mission trying to charm the president.” From the outset of the administration, Meadows’ energetic defenses of Trump on television earned him several invitations to the Oval Office for signing ceremonies, where Trump advisers noticed he would linger to regale the president with compliments.
Among other things, Meadows has been overheard telling Trump what a historic leader he is, how extraordinary and unprecedented the Trump administration is and how awful the media can be — though he gabs with reporters frequently and often in the hallways of the Hill. He’s complained to him about the Mueller investigation as well, ingratiating himself further with the president.
Despite his reputation as a hardliner, however, Meadows is at times sensitive to being seen as a partisan. In person, he’s a people-pleaser, often torn between his ideological inclinations and his desire to make a deal with his political opposites.
In the House, he has friendly relationships with Democrats, including incoming Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, at least for now. He’s tried to befriend moderate Republicans as well, but ended up burning bridges with some when he walked away from immigration negotiations with them earlier this year.
In Russia matters, Meadows has been on the front lines of the Republican effort in the House to suggest anti-Trump bias has tainted the FBI’s ongoing probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. He’s one of six Republicans on a small task force that has hauled in Justice Department and FBI officials to grill them about their handling of the Russia probe and GOP allegations that they downplayed the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server in favor of a focus on Trump.
Democrats have blasted that effort as a hyper-partisan push to shield Trump as the investigations become increasingly perilous to him, his business and his family.
Meadows was in the fray as recently as Friday, when he pressed former FBI Director James Comey behind closed doors about the FBI’s surveillance of a former Trump campaign associate whose Russia contacts were under scrutiny using a so-called FISA warrant. He also grilled Comey on interactions between the FBI’s general counsel and a law firm associated with the Democratic National Committee.
Meadows has also forcefully agitated for the removal of deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein and pushed to hold him in contempt of Congress for what he claimed was slow-walking the production of documents connected to the Russia probe.
He was one of the earliest voices in Congress seeking Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ resignation for what he said was a failure to police the Russia investigation. And Meadows has been a vocal advocate for Trump to declassify reams of documents connected to the Russia probe, a move Trump seemed to embrace in September before backing down after citing pushback from a foreign partner.
Winning any competitive race is hard, but one should be extra proud to pull off a victorious run by punctuating the event with a faceplant at the finish.
The celebration didn’t go according to plan but his performance was brilliant!
Jimmy Gressier produces a front-running display to defend his title in the U23 race at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships. #Tilburg2018pic.twitter.com/GHuBSOya6w
21-year-old French runner Jimmy Gressier was streaking to an easy victory this weekend, carrying aloft two French flags as he approached a muddy, slippery finish line for a win in the SPAR European Cross Country Championships Under-23 mens race in Tilburg, The Netherlands. That’s when he fell flat on his face while attempting to slide across the finish line.
Not to worry, his lead was big enough he still clinched the win. Sadly, he didn’t even break the finish line tape, instead, the person holding it awkwardly let it fall as Gressier laid in the mud.
Gressier took it all in stride, even flashing a smile, which is a whole lot easier to do when you win.
A poster for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog movie surfaced on Monday morning, and the internet has declared that Hollywood’s vision of the eponymous speedy rodent is a horrifying monster of Lovecraftian proportions. But god damn, would you look at those sexy legs?
In the poster, the video game mascot’s body is seen only in silhouette — a weirdly muscular and human-shaped look. Take a gander. (It’s a motion poster, so you have to hit play.)
With so much left to the imagination, this kind of response was almost unavoidable. Maybe that was the point.
We, the video game fans of the internet, may be excoriating Sonic’s impressively sculpted thighs and lithe upper body for being an epic failure of a thirst trap. But at least we’re talking about him in the context of the 2019 movie.
I tried to make this about a push-and-pull between “yay a sexy Sonic who definitely fucks!” and “what in the ever-loving hell is this nightmare vision?” but the internet’s response is pretty unanimous: thanks, we hate it.
Sonic movie pitch meeting: “Here’s our goal. We’re going to make something so horrifying even the deviant art crowd won’t want to fuck it”
No, no, no. You misunderstand the situation. This is the first time the Sonic fan base unanimously hate the same Sonic related thing. There is no division for once. We all agree it’s garbage. pic.twitter.com/aA8AKELBRW
The team announced the signing of the shooting guard Monday.
Swaggy P joined the Golden State Warriors last year and captured his first NBA title. After Young started a career-high 60 games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016-17, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr primarily used him off the bench.
Given the strength of Golden State’s roster, Young’s 17.4 minutes per game marked his lowest average since he was a rookie in 2007-08, and his 7.3 points per game tied a career low.
Despite Young’s decreased production last season, he possesses tremendous value as a scorer off the bench. The 33-year-old shot 37.7 percent from three-point range with the Warriors and has connected on at least 36.9 percent of his attempts behind the arc in four of the past five seasons.
Young does have to prove he is fully dedicated to playing at a high level. Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle noted last October that Swaggy showed up to Warriors training camp “a bit overweight.”
Because Golden State is so loaded with talent, Young could get away with playing at less than peak physical powers. Kerr had the luxury of turning to Shaun Livingston off the bench.
The Nuggets are likely banking on Young to be ready to play instantly. He has the potential to be an excellent under-the-radar signing given his experience as a starter or coming off the bench and his ability to shoot from three-point range.
Denver, which looked like it had a ton of depth at the guard spots coming into the season, has been dealing with a rash of injuries. Gary Harris and Will Barton remain out of the lineup, while Isaiah Thomas still does not have a timetable to make his season debut. The Nuggets also lost big man Paul Millsap to a toe injury last week.
The Nuggets will look for Young to provide a scoring punch as they try to stay near the top of the packed Western Conference.
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