Without spoiling anything, it’s safe to say that Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald brings the new franchise in the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling even closer to the Harry Potter universe.
Characters we know and love are being introduced into Fantastic Beasts and fans of the original Harry Potter universe are pining for nuggets of information that tie Fantastic Beasts to the original canon they know and love.
If it’s Potter easter eggs you’re looking for, you might want to pay extra attention to the artwork — the newspapers; the posters; the adverts – in the The Crimes of Grindelwald. They’re full of easter eggs for the attentive moviegoers.
The artwork has been created by a London design studio called MinaLima, and if you’ve ever seen a Harry Potter film, chances are you’ll be familiar with their work.
According to designer Miraphora Mina, their work is important when it comes to tying in Fantastic Beasts with the Harry Potter universe.
“There is a legacy now, and some things you expect as audience,” Mina told Mashable. “It’s actually useful because there are protocols we’ve established on Harry Potter, such as how the newspapers function and the sense of humour, which is important as well.”
Like in the first instalment of Fantastic Beasts, MinaLima created a series of newspaper front pages to give context to the storyline in the movie — sadly, this time they did not make the final cut of TheCrimes of Grindelwald.
However, the papers still hold a number of clues and references that may be familiar to eagle-eyed Potter fans…
This 1927 cover of The Daily Prophet has several worthy headlines, for instance.
Image: Minalima
Is this a distant relative of Fluffy’s, on the loose in London?
Image: minalima
Congratulations to the well-known wand maker of Diagon Alley on winning an award.
Image: minalima
The Daily Prophet was throwing shade at Albus Dumbledore even then.
Image: minalima
MinaLima also did a cover for the American wizarding news source, The New York Ghost.
This lesser known American publication also contains some nuggets.
Image: minalima
Look at this subtle nod to the free house elf of our hearts, Dobby. You were not the first free elf, and we’re sure you won’t be the last.
Image: minalima
Although Wolfsbane potion wouldn’t be invented until much later, it’s perhaps worth noting the main ingredient found in a No-Maj (or muggle, if you’re keeping it British) nursery.
Image: minalima
Obscuruses were of course only introduced into the Wizarding World in the first Fantastic Beasts, but this special report would have been pretty useful before Credence went off, tbh.
Image: minalima
MinaLima created a French wizarding newspaper (the name of which translates into “The Cry of the Gargoyle”) for Fantastic Beasts that also holds some nods to the Harry Potter universe.
Image: minalima
Here is a shoutout to our friends at Beauxbatons (who apparently have started dabbing in the art of potion making.)
Image: minalima
And of course the creator of The Philosopher’s Stone, Frenchman Nicolas Flamel (who was a real person, BTW) has his own column about the enigmas of alchemy.
Image: minalima
We know that Hogwarts portraits leave their frames from time to time, but apparently the Mona Lisa forgot to return to her frame in The Louvre.
Image: minalima
Finally, one of the most exiting new additions to the wizarding world in The Crimes of Grindelwald is the Maledictus. A Maledictus is, in the words of J.K. Rowling herself, a woman born with a blood curse who can transform into a snake.
The first Maledictus we meet is perhaps the most significant Maledictus in history: Nagini.
The adverts for the Nagini show in the Paris circus were inspired by real life freak show ads from the past, Mina told Mashable.
The caption of the one below reads, “In the flesh” and, “From the depths of the Indonesian jungle.”
Image: minalima
An exhibition of the graphic art featured in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald is currently showing at House of MinaLima, 26 Greek Street, London.
Another man tried delegitimizing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and ended up getting both brutally ratio’d and beautifully meme’d.
Eddie Scarry, a media reporter for the Washington Examiner, tweeted a photo taken from behind the newly elected Democratic representative and wrote, “Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.”
His smug attempt wasn’t received well by a majority of Twitter users.
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/oaLpy5aXlt
In a New York Times interview last week, Ocasio-Cortez admitted that since she won’t receive a salary until she’s inaugurated into Congress in January, she can’t afford an apartment in Washington, D.C. yet.
“There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead,” she later tweeted.
Although many Americans supported her on social media, older conservatives have been ridiculing her and trying to poke holes in her claim. Fox News reported that she had “at least” $15,000 in savings, and then joked about her pricey clothing during a segment.
Scarry’s absurd tweet — aside from being wildly invasive, because who even takes pictures of people just walking through their workplace? — became a copypasta as Twitter users paired his claim with hilarious photos.
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/A6XWdKxYpX
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/VQXcT4ZByN
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/yTypW3OpGN
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles pic.twitter.com/FI0hWxapWu
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/jq49oOpzHB
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/yn7G4rgxeD
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/MRCQcRqlfQ
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/UrP3uGrjVL
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/Ct0gCsgVpO
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/reJoj1XBbU
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/p9O1NGsHbL
— Clarkisha “Technically Plus-Sized” Kent (@IWriteAllDay_) November 15, 2018
Hill staffer sent me this pic of Ocasio-Cortez they took just now. I’ll tell you something: that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles. pic.twitter.com/SEXH9xVRAS
Other Twitter users pointed out how unnecessary Scarry’s tweet was. Just because she has a sense of style doesn’t mean Ocasio-Cortez has stacks!
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been financially strapped but you figured out how to buy a suit and a coat (including on credit) because you were a grownup who had a job to do. https://t.co/gJtXBHkJUs
Among the many things wrong with this tweet — like calling an elected official a “girl,” for example — I find myself most fascinated by the idea that you can determine the worth of a very basic set of clothing and use that to judge someone’s wealth. https://t.co/CbU3IWS3uj
Per BBWAA.org, Betts and Yelich were named AL and NL MVP, respectively, in landslide votes.
Betts received 28first-place votes and 410total points, beating out Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (one first-place vote, 265total points) and Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians (208total points).
Betts’ teammate, J.D. Martinez, received the other first-place vote and finished fourth in the AL MVP race.
Yelich became the Brewers’ first MVP winner since Ryan Braun in 2011 after the former received 29out of 30 first-place votes and 415total points. Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (250points) and Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (213total points) rounded out the NL’s top three.
New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who finished fifth overall, received the other first-place vote in the NL.
After the Brewers acquired him in a trade with the Miami Marlins in January, Yelich had the best season of his career in Milwaukee. The 26-year-old catapulted the Brewers to their first division title since 2011 by leading the NL with a .326 batting average and .598 slugging percentage.
Yelich earned the MVP award thanks to a brilliant stretch run. He was fine before the All-Star break with a solid .823 OPS but found a different gear with a .367/.449/.770 slash line and 25 homers in 65 games during the second half.
MLB Stat of the Day @MLBStatoftheDay
.@ChristianYelich turned up the heat in the 2nd half …
He led all @MLB qualifiers in AVG (.367), SLG (.770) & OPS (1.219) post-ASB. https://t.co/26xZf7oCxV
“He’s doing special things,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy in September. “This is what guys in this conversation do.”
Two months after Counsell’s comments, Yelich led the NL MVP conversation by doing something only two other players have done since 2000:
MLB Stat of the Day @MLBStatoftheDay
Few have been able to accomplish what @ChristianYelich did this season. #MVP https://t.co/77sxkuzzNY
Two years after he finished second to Trout in the AL MVP voting, Betts was awarded for having the best season of his career. The 26-year-old led MLB with a .346 batting average, .640 slugging percentage and 10.4 FanGraphs wins above replacement. He ranked second with a .438 on-base percentage and 84 extra-base hits.
Boston Sports Info @bostonsportsinf
Mookie Betts is 1 of 8 players (9 seasons) in MLB history, in a single season, ≤ 25 YO with
Per ESPN’s Sarah Langs, Betts’ WAR total in 2018 was a strong indication he would be named AL MVP:
Sarah Langs @SlangsOnSports
Mookie Betts had 10.9 WAR this year.
Since the BBWAA began voting on MVP in 1931, there have been 12 position players with at least 10.9 WAR in a season, including 2018 Betts.
10 of the prior 11 won MVP.
Only exception: 1964 Willie Mays, had 11 WAR & lost to 6.1-WAR Ken Boyer
In addition to Betts’ unique offensive prowess, the Red Sox superstar is also revered for his defense. He has won three consecutive Gold Gloves and tied for fourth among all qualified players in 2018 with 20 defensive runs saved.
Despite all of his individual success, Betts is still hoping for more:
Alex Speier @alexspeier
Betts is the first AL player ever to win the World Series and pick up an MVP, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger in the same year. “It’s been a pretty good 2018. … 2019, hopefully we can make it better.”
The Red Sox were the best team in MLB, winning 108 games en route to a World Series title. Betts was their best player and had a historic individual season, making him the franchise’s first MVP winner since Dustin Pedroia in 2008.
In a deep year for MVP candidates in both leagues, Yelich and Betts were the clear standouts. Their individual performances led to big seasons for their respective teams, and they earned the right to have their names etched alongside those of the greatest players in MLB history.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the most powerful African-American in the House, has expressed support for Nancy Pelosi as speaker. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
Influential Democrats in the group aren’t willing to endorse Marcia Fudge.
Lawmakers in the Congressional Black Caucus back Nancy Pelosi for speaker over one of their own members, Rep. Marcia Fudge — a bad sign for the former CBC chair who’s considering a challenge to the California Democrat.
The CBC has been spoiling to elevate a group member into one of the top two positions in Democratic leadership for years, with current CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond writing as recently as two weeks ago that having a black speaker or majority leader was a top priority.
Story Continued Below
But in interviews with eight CBC members about a potential Fudge bid for speaker, all but two members said they would back Pelosi over Fudge. Other CBC members on Thursday tweeted or put out statements of support for Pelosi, including Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the most powerful African-American in the House and a close Fudge friend and ally.
“She knows that, she knows that, she knows I’m for Pelosi,” Clyburn said of Fudge in a short interview in the Capitol.
“She’s a great leader, and I support her more than 100 percent,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights icon, of Pelosi.
Fudge, 66, has not formally declared for the position. She is part of a group of anti-Pelosi critics who don’t want the woman who has led the party for 16 years to be the speaker in the next Congress.
They say 17 incumbents and incoming freshmen have signed a letter vowing they will not support Pelosi on the floor — though POLITICO has only verified 12 of these names with the members or their offices. The group has been trying to find someone to challenge Pelosi so that members who don’t want to vote for her can have someone else to support.
Fudge’s bid would nullify Pelosi allies’ suggestion that a vote against her would be ‘anti-woman.’ Fudge would also be the first African-American to ever serve as speaker — and the first black woman to be in leadership.
Still, some CBC members didn’t think that was the most important factor in a leadership race.
“I just think you put your best generals forward, your battle-tested generals, and I think that leader is Pelosi,” said CBC member Rep. Val Demings of Florida, who backs Pelosi. “We have to realize that we’re at a point right now where we’re not the ‘girls club’ or the ‘black club’ or the ‘Hispanic club.’ We’re looking to… be successful in moving the agenda that supports the American people.”
Still, that feeling wasn’t universal.
Richmond told reporters that should Fudge decide to run, he’d be on “Team Marcia.” And the Louisiana Democrat predicted that his fellow CBC members currently backing Pelosi over Fudge would change their tune should she actually jump into the race.
“I think Marcia would be a good speaker,” Richmond said. “I’m not anti-Pelosi, but whatever Marcia does, I’m very pro-Marcia.”
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri also said he was “very intrigued” by the idea, calling Fudge “one of my closest friends.”
“If Marcia is very serious [about running], it could create some tumult in the Democratic caucus,” Cleaver said. “She would create a whole new dynamic that might cause some people to” change their mind on the Pelosi question.
In a CBC letter sent just days before the election, Richmond reaffirmed the group’s desire to have a black lawmaker in the No. 1 or No. 2 position.
“Over the past couple of weeks, several of our colleagues have respectfully shared letters of intent expressing interest in various House Democratic Caucus leadership positions,” Richmond said in a “Dear Colleague” letter. “It is within that context that I’d like to reiterate that if there is any change in our top leadership positions the Democratic Members of the CBC endorse African-American representation in at least one of the two top positions of elected House Democratic Caucus leadership.”
That notion, however, clearly doesn’t extend to Fudge when Pelosi still wants the job — at least not for much of the CBC.
Even several black women in the group eager to see an African-American female leading the party are sticking with Pelosi over Fudge.
Rep. Karen Bass tweeted that she was still with her fellow California Democrat on Thursday afternoon. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas also reaffirmed her loyalty to Pelosi to reporters, even as she had nothing but praise for Fudge.
“[Fudge] has been a real key leader in the conference,” she said, adding: “I have expressed my support for Nancy… But [Fudge] is a fantastic person but I just hope that we can work together.”
The situation clearly created some discomfort for some CBC members. Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin would not say anything when asked about the matter Thursday, telling reporters she had to get to the caucus meeting right away. On Wednesday, Moore had said kind words about Pelosi.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is currently running for caucus chair, wasn’t so shy, declaring “I continue to support Leader Pelosi.”
First elected in 2008, Fudge was a mayor in Ohio and a local prosecutor before coming to Congress. She previously led the CBC and served as Democratic National Committee chair, and she is well respected in the caucus.
It is unclear whether CBC members will try to convince Fudge to back down. Asked about that possibility Thursday, Clyburn said it wasn’t his place to lobby Fudge.
“I’m supporting Pelosi, I’m supporting Hoyer, and I hope they’re supporting me,” Clyburn said. “But I’ll never tell anybody not to run for [something], not even my own children.”
PlayStation will not be making an appearance at the next E3.
Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that PlayStation will not be attending the upcoming E3 show in 2019, Game Informer reported Thursday. Not only that, it won’t even host an independent press conference around E3 — something that Electronic Arts has done.
This will be PlayStation’s first absence from E3 since the very first show in 1995.
The Entertainment Software Association announced its upcoming 2019 E3 show Thursday but made no mention of PlayStation in the press release circulated via email. In the press release, the ESA listed “the leading video game companies already committed to participating in E3 2019,” which included Microsoft/Xbox, Nintendo, Activision, Bethesda, Capcom, Ubisoft, and a handful of other heavy-hitters that pretty much always make an appearance.
“As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” the company told Game Informer. “PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”
This statement seems to imply that PlayStation doesn’t have enough new content to show off in June, and thus doesn’t want to disappoint fans with a lackluster showcase.
The company outright said this in reference to its recent cancellation of its 2018 PlayStation Experience event. Shawn Layden, head of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said PlayStation“wouldn’t have enough to bring people all together in some location in North America to have that event.” It’s likely that the situation with E3 is no different.
PlayStation’s big tentpoles in 2018 were God of War and Spider-Man, two game of the year contenders, and while The Last of Us Part II and Days Gone are still on the way, having just two games to show off internally from the company would definitely be a letdown to fans who expect to see some new announcements every year.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that games for PlayStation will not be at E3. There are plenty of third party developers working on PlayStation games like Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima.
As for what PlayStation will do in the future, the company is ambiguous, but it did mention that it will be “exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019” so there’s still a possibility of something happening. We just don’t know what.
With Black Friday only a week away, Amazon isn’t waiting for the shopping holiday to officially begin. The online retailer is throwing caution to the wind and announcing deals really early, so you can save on great products for the holidays.
We’ve rounded up the best deals we’re loving right now on Amazon, and are even giving you a sneak peek at what’s going to be on sale before the deals are actually live. So all you have to do is skim through this roundup and pick the products that would make the perfect gift for your friends and family — or for yourself because you totally deserve it. (Hot tip: Add what you’re coveting to your shopping cart now, then once the deals go live just check out!)
Amazon officially kicks off its Black Friday sale on Friday, Nov. 16, when even more products from great brands like Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Fisher-Price, Mattel, and more go on sale for the holiday season. There are even deals on Amazon’s devices for video streaming and home security.
In fact, the retail giant also has deals on turkeys for Thanksgiving from Whole Foods. Now that’s what we call synergy!
And keep checking back on this post, as we’ll be updating it with new deals from Amazon as they become available.
Here are the best deals for Black Friday and beyond — so far:
Purchase Nintendo Switch for $299.99 and receive Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a full game download code in-box at no additional cost, a $59.99 value
Audible, music, and e-books
For a limited time, save 53% on an Audible membership for three months at $6.95 a month
For a limited time, new Amazon Music Unlimited customers can get three months of the premium streaming tier for just $0.99 and enjoy unlimited access to more than 50 million songs and hands-free listening with Alexa
Get three months of Kindle Unlimited for $0.99 – Enjoy unlimited access to over one million books, popular magazines and thousands of books with Audible narration. Offer valid for new subscribers only
Through Nov. 22, customers will be able to purchase select organic ($3.49/lb) and no antibiotic ($2.49/lb) turkeys, and Prime members will save even more on turkeys ($2.99/lb organic/$1.99/lb no antibiotic). Customers can reserve their turkeys in advance at wholefoodsmarket.com. Prime members who place their orders in advance online will be eligible for the lower prices on turkeys.
Through Nov. 22, customers who are not yet Prime members can receive $20 off their next Whole Foods Market in-store purchase of $20 or more when they sign up for Prime at amazon.com/PrimeSavings. New members can try Prime free for 30 days, full promotion details are at amazon.com/PrimeSavings.
All-New Fire HD 8 tablet with Hands-Free Alexa is $30 off — just $49.99; save $105 when you buy three — just $134.97 (Buy 1 for $49.99, or Buy 3 for $134.97)
All-New Fire HD 8 tablet and Show Mode Dock bundle $39.99 off — just $79.99
Holy moly, has Google just changed the smartphone camera game with the release of the Night Sight mode for its Pixel 3 and 3 XL phones.
Announced at its October Pixel 3 launch event, Google boasted Night Sight as a significant leap forward for taking night photos — useful for exposing colors and details lost in the shadows.
I’ve only just tried Night Sight, currently rolling out to Pixel 3 phones via a software update, and my mind’s still piecing itself back together from being blown apart.
It’s no secret Google has been flexing its computational photography and machine-learning skills to enhance shots taken with its Pixel phones.
Though it’s questionable whether we, as photographers and creatives, should be letting Google decide for us what is a “good-looking” photo — the Pixel 3 tends to shoot pictures that are more contrasty, more saturated, and artificially sharpened than an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy — I don’t think anyone disagrees that the company’s leveraging of software to produce better pictures is a game-changer.
Unlike regular DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, where you can attach lenses of all different sizes with different-size apertures to shoot better low-light photos, smartphones are limited by their thickness.
The tiny image sensors inside of our phones can only collect so much light. Phone makers could make these image sensors larger so they could collect more light to take better low-light photos, but it’d also make phones balloon in size, thickness, and weight as well.
So Google turned to software. And Apple’s done the same, too. And I’d bet good money other phone makers will soon make the move as well.
Does it really work like magic? Yes, and no. But mostly yes.
With HDR+, Google proved it could take one evenly-exposed money shot by combining a series of images taken at short exposures. The results were good and have only become better.
Night Sight uses the same HDR+ technology, but injects it with steroids. Depending on how dark the scene is and the amount of luminance available (measured in lux), the Pixel 3 will take up to 15 shots at varying shutter speeds (i.e. 1/15th of a second or 1 second) and then combine them all into one final picture.
In other words, Night Sight is the equivalent to a long exposure on a “real” camera. Google gets really technical and nerdy about the details in a blog post, but what you really want to know is: Does it really work like magic?
Yes. And no. But mostly yes.
While the Pixel 3 and 3 XL are Google’s best phones to show off the power of Night Sight because of improved camera components and a faster processor, the original Pixels and Pixel 2’s are also getting the new camera mode.
I haven’t tried Night Sight on any Pixel 1 or Pixel 2 phones yet so I can’t speak to how well it works on older hardware (Google says there are some differences and shots won’t look as good as on Pixel 3).
But on a Pixel 3 XL, however, Night Sight seemingly turns night into day. See for yourself in the shots below.
In the below photos, I pointed the Pixel 3 at a scene so dark I could barely make out what I was shooting. The Pixel 3’s camera brightens the viewfinder in Night Sight mode so you can see what you’re shooting, but it looks really noisy.
However, you won’t see that level of extreme image noise in your photo after it’s finished processing.
Without firing the flash, the Pixel 3’s Night Sight mode exposed this faux Thanksgiving dinner scene, bringing out the colors that would be lost without the mode turned on.
It’s a lovely shot and would work just fine for posting to Instagram or Twitter, but the picture’s a little soft overall. In really dark scenarios, the Pixel 3 struggled to find something to autofocus on. There’s a button in the upper right corner of the mode that lets you manually change the focus to “near” or “far”. I’ll have to shoot more with it in the real world to see how well it really works, though.
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Image: raymond wong/mashable
Night Sight enhances dynamic range. Similar to a long exposure, the colors can be more exaggerated. There wasn’t a green cast on the standup bass, but the instrument is more defined and pops in the image.
This candle-lit dinner scene wasn’t quite as dark as the one above, but you can still see Night Sight brings out the shadows nicely.
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Night Sight isn’t always the best mode to shoot low-light photos with, though. Sometimes you want a little contrast and shadow to give a shot a certain tone. Night Sight can sometimes flatten the colors in an image like in the shot below.
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Mashable Deputy Tech Editor Michael Nuñez looks more spritely here. His posture is more visible and the food looks more appetizing.
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Not a whole of image noise here too. There’s a teensy bit of skin-smoothening going on, but it still looks pretty darn good.
Night Sight made Mike look less tired!
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
As good as Night Sight is, you don’t wanna use it all the time. In some night shots, the regular camera just produces a better look that’s less washed out and has less image noise (see black sky in on right side of photos below) IMO:
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Night Sight also works with the selfie camera. On the left is what the scene looked like to my feeble human eyes. The image is a little soft, but still… like wow.
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
Image: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE
I can’t help but be really, really impressed by Night Sight, even though it can be hit or miss with photos sometimes coming out completely blurry, soft, or full of image noise.
These nitpicks aren’t enough to stain Night Sight because this is just the first version. It’ll only get better like HDR+ has and as features like optical image stabilization improve. Using a tripod should also improve sharpness.
Night Sight feels almost like black magic. It’s really not very different from Sony’s A7S II, which is beloved for its ability to to do the same. The difference is how the Pixels are doing it. Instead of hardware, Google’s doing it all with software. Night Sight puts the Pixel 3 cameras several steps ahead of the competition — at least when it comes to night photography.
At first, I was really concerned about Night Sight misrepresenting reality. And in many ways it does. Night Sight is like having night vision — it lets you see what your naked eyes can’t. But just like a long exposure, it opens up new creative expressions for mobile photography. You should use it sparingly, but it’s gonna be hard not to. I’d love to see a future version shoot both a Night Sight version and a regular version and let us pick the one we want.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, “Anthony will part ways” with Houston even though he won’t be placed on waivers in the immediate future. The Rockets are expected to announce as much prior to Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
Wojnarowski added more details:
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
For now, Anthony will remain on the Rockets roster, but will not rejoin the team, sources said. Anthony’s wisest course of action could be exercising patience and allowing changes in league rosters – through trades, injuries, team needs — to create more playing options for him. https://t.co/L5aC5Ueah0
Anthony, 34, averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest with the Rockets. His final game was a 1-of-11, two-point outing in his return to Oklahoma City. Houston sat Anthony for the last threegames because of an illness, while rumors swirled about his future with the club.
The Rockets went 4-6 with Melo in the lineup and are 6-7 overall, making them by far the NBA‘s most disappointing team of the first month.
“We’re nowhere near where we expect to be,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told reporters. “We have high expectations, and we’re going to stick with those, and that’s where we’re at.”
Morey went on to say Anthony was unfairly scapegoated during his time in Houston, which is a fair point. Numbers from nearly every contributor from last season’s 65-win team are down. The Rockets had to convince assistant coach Jeff Bzdelik to come out of retirement to help fix their defense.
Anthony is far from being at his peak, but he’s also far from the only problem.
Whatever team signs Anthony next will need to have a realistic expectation regarding his playing time. As will Melo. He’s clearly not washed up to the point he needs to be out of the league. There’s an NBA role for Anthony in 2018; he and his team just have to find it and embrace it.
Anthony might want to watch Dwyane Wade, who’s relishing in his part-time role in Miami, and look to find a similar situation.
President Donald Trump has been sequestered with his lawyers to discuss how to respond in writing to a series of special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions, only adding to the intrigue that something big is about to happen. | Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Half a dozen people in contact with the White House and other Trump officials say a deep anxiety has started to set in.
Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. insist they aren’t worried about special counsel Robert Mueller.
But half a dozen people in contact with the White House and other Trump officials say a deep anxiety has started to set in that Mueller is about to pounce after his self-imposed quiet period, and that any number of Trump’s allies and family members may soon be staring down the barrel of an indictment.
Story Continued Below
Then there are the president’s own tweets, which have turned back to attacking Mueller after a near two-month break. Thursday morning, Trump launched an oddlydetailed condemnation of the special counsel and his team: “They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want,” adding that the investigators “don’t … care how many lives the[sic] ruin.”
The presidential taunts, launched during a week in which Trump has been sequestered with his lawyers to discuss how to respond in writing to a series of Mueller’s questions, have only added to the intrigue that something big is about to happen.
Mueller obsessives, political junkies and Washington insiders have been scrutinizing the president’s every mannerism, such as snapping at a CNN reporter for posing a “stupid question” about whether he wanted the new acting attorney general to stymie the Russia investigation.
“You can see it in Trump’s body language all week long. There’s something troubling him. It’s not just a couple staff screw-ups with Melania,” said a senior Republican official in touch with the White House. “It led me to believe the walls are closing in and they’ve been notified by counsel of some actions about to happen. Folks are preparing for the worst.”
Adding to the unease is a spate of anonymously sourced media reports suggesting Mueller’s self-imposed quiet period that started about two months before 2018 Election Day is about to transition into a Category 5 hurricane.
Mueller, as has been his custom throughout the investigation, hasn’t said a word about what’s next for his probe into the Trump 2016 campaign and whether it conspired with Russian hackers to win the White House. Instead, the special counsel has let his legal filings do the talking. On Wednesday, Mueller stirred the speculation pot yet again, delivering a one-page motion to a federal judge in Washington, D.C., confirming that former Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates “continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations” and still isn’t ready to be sentenced. Gates pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy against the U.S. and making a false statement in a federal investigation.
In and around Trump world, the pressure is tangible.
Jerome Corsi, a conspiracy theorist and ally of longtime Trump associate Roger Stone said during a live-streamed video broadcast on Monday that he expects to be indicted by Mueller for perjury.
For his part, Stone told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in May that he was “prepared” for the possibility of an indictment. In the months since, the self-proclaimed dirty trickster has beefed up his legal team and even designated friends to be his spokesmen just in case a judge slaps a gag order on him.
Also on indictment watch: Donald Trump Jr., the president’s oldest son, who has told his friends in recent weeks that he believes he could be facing charges from Mueller, according to one of those people.
Lawyers for the president and Trump Jr. insist they aren’t worried about Mueller.
“I have no reason to be concerned about that. I can’t imagine what they’d indict him for,” Rudy Giuliani, one of the president’s personal attorneys, said in a recent interview when asked about Donald Trump Jr.
Alan Futerfas, who represents Trump Jr., referred POLITICO to a statement he gave earlier this month to Vanity Fair, denying his client had been expressing any concerns about Mueller.
“Don never said any such thing, and there is absolutely no truth to these rumors,” Futerfas said.
But others in contact with the White House say they are picking up a very different sentiment — paranoia that Mueller is far from finished and that there may indeed be more indictments either about to be filed or that have already been entered in federal court under seal.
At 18 months and counting, the special counsel has already netted guilty pleas from the president’s former national security adviser, 2016 campaign chairman and the Trump campaign deputy. The special counsel, whose original mandate charges with him investigating both Trump-Russia connections and “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation,” also has no deadline to finish his work.
Trump’s allies and former aides interviewed since the midterms said they aren’t sure what to think about the current state of the probe. Several sources sought to put some distance between the president and Stone even though the two share a deep connection going back more than three decades. They also downplayed the seriousness of the crimes at the center of any potential indictments.
“They’re all going to be for the same reason — they lied,” said former Trump campaign adviser Barry Bennett. “I don’t think perjury charges are necessarily earth-shattering. Those are just personal errors.”
Former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that while Stone, Corsi and Trump Jr. speaking up about potential indictments may represent their own legitimate concerns, he nonetheless dismissed the suggestion that the anxiety is any more widespread.
“I actually think that it’s a big media creation,” he said. “The only people who ever ask me about this are other reporters.”
But Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor and National Review columnist whom the president has cited on Twitter with respect to the Mueller probe, said Trump and his allies shouldn’t feel they are free from legal jeopardy just yet.
“Anybody who’s asked to testify or provide information to a prosecutor who’s not told he’s in the clear has stuff to worry about,” he said.
Also fanning the flames of apprehension is the intense media attention that’s returned to the Mueller probe after it took a brief backseat behind the 2018 midterm campaign, Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation fight and a series of pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats and media outlets.
Television journalists on Monday morning captured footage of former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen and his criminal defense attorney as they arrived at Union Station in Washington, fueling speculation he was in town for a meeting with the Mueller prosecutors.
And every day, CNN has a rotating cast of reporters camped outside Mueller’s office, where they’ve been chronicling the special counsel’s early morning arrival and keeping count of at least nine visits over four weeks from Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman whose cooperation with Mueller was part of his guilty plea.
At the D.C. federal courthouse where Mueller’s grand jury meets, journalists routinely prowl the hallways and the building’s perimeter on the lookout for the special counsel’s prosecutors or witnesses who aren’t afforded the luxury of secret escorts through a secure backdoor entrance. A reporter from one of the major television networks said last week he was on stakeout patrol because he heard a competitor was already there.
The feeding frenzy is everywhere. John R. Schindler, a columnist for the Observer and former National Security Agency analyst, wrote last week that Mueller was holding “dozens of sealed indictments” involving people associated with Trump, his campaign and the administration. He cited an unnamed intelligence community official who has worked with Mueller as his source.
While Schindler buried that detail in the final paragraph of his op-ed, it nonetheless got noticed. The Daily Mail published a story the next day that led with the column’s most jarring detail. In Washington, Brett Kappel, a Democratic campaign finance lawyer, used the Observer column as inspiration to spend the weekend sorting through the federal court’s online criminal docket to make a list of all the sealed cases in the District of Columbia circuit that could be Mueller related.
He counted 336 criminal cases filed since the start of this year — 53 of them are still sealed.
While there’s no guarantee that any of the mystery cases are Mueller-related, several are chronologically listed right around some of Mueller’s earliest moves in 2018, including charges filed against a California man who later pleaded guilty to unwittingly helping the Russians interfere with the presidential election, a Dutch attorney who has since gone to prison for lying to Mueller’s investigators and the case against 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities accused of sabotaging the 2016 campaign on Trump’s behalf.
Kappel also found 11 cases sealed during just the first two weeks of May and another dozen that were lodged between Labor Day and Election Day when Mueller was staying under the radar.
In an interview, Kappel acknowledged that many of the cases he found could have nothing to do with Mueller. But he added that the D.C. docket has what “seems like a disproportionately high number” of criminal indictments that could be kept under wraps because Mueller doesn’t want to tip off potential targets or disrupt the rest of his investigation.
Indictment watch seems to kick into high gear every few days now. On Tuesday, CBS’ “This Morning” cited “sources with knowledge” of the Mueller probe to report new charges could be coming “as soon as today.” Multiple media reports followed that story with their own articles that repeated what CBS said. On Twitter, #indictmentpalooza has become a thing.
Others on the outside, meantime, are left just trying to read the tea leaves.
“We think it’s about to be indictment-thirty up in here,” Evan Hurst of Wonkette wrote on Tuesday. “We’d put bets on it but it’s entirely possible we’re wrong. But if we’re right, then the rest of this week is going to be NUTFUCKINGCRAZY.”
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F883650%2F929eed24-34cf-4429-90cf-3b09726e3e97.jpg)
By Laura Byager
(@juliareinstein) 
(@KateKnibbs) 
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F884010%2F30a0b13a-4a2f-4b82-9cee-fb15e8335c4a.jpg)
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F883213%2F62b93493-44d2-4e70-b51b-4492ad0d7dcd.jpg)
Daily Trends Hunter 
