Month: January 2016

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SNL: Undercover Ren

To see what it’s like to be one of the many minions supporting the First Order, head cheese Kylo Ren goes “deep” undercover to live among the great unwashed in this sketch that makes us wonder how employees on Undercover Boss are so clueless about their disguised superiors.
via The Awesomer
SNL: Undercover Ren

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My Grandmother, My Mother, My Sister, and Me (12 photos)

Renowned street photographer Arlene Gottfried has created her most intimate work to date for her new book, titled Mommie. A collection of portraits of her mother, grandmother, and sister over the course of the last 40 years, it features them eating, getting dressed, and getting old. They share everything, from clothes to cheekbones. The effect is of more than a series of pictures of a family; it becomes a portrait of time. “I wanted to try and capture them more,” Gottfried said to The Atlantic. “To stop time and hold onto them.”



(Arlene Gottfried)


via The Atlantic Photo
My Grandmother, My Mother, My Sister, and Me (12 photos)

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How to Stream Fox Business’ Republican Debate Tonight, No Cable Required

How to Stream Fox Business' Republican Debate Tonight, No Cable Required

The Republican presidential candidates are having yet another debate tonight, this time on the Fox Business Network. If you’re interested in watching, they’re making the debate available to as many people as possible. Here’s how to watch.

As usual, there will actually be two debates – one starting at 6pm ET/3pm PT, with Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum. Then, at 9pm ET/6pm PT, the “frontrunner debate” will begin, with the rest of the candidates: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie.

For those folks who want to tune in, here are a few internet-only and mobile options:

As before, Fox Business has teamed up with a number of cable and satellite providers, so if you have cable but don’t get Fox Business, you will have it tonight during the debates.

Where You Can Watch and Paticipate in the GOP Debate | Fox Business


via Lifehacker
How to Stream Fox Business’ Republican Debate Tonight, No Cable Required

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See how VFX transforms ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

Alert: Spoilers ahoy. There was a lot of talk about practical effects in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but make no mistake, digital dominates — there are over 2,100 CG shots in the film out of 2,500 total. However, a new VFX show reel released just ahead of the Oscar nominations shows how cannily the producers married the real and the fake. JJ Abrams and the ILM effects team grokked that viewers clearly know when they’re being fed CG, so the team uses practical sets, props, stunts and explosions wherever possible. Digital effects are then added to dress up the shots and add the necessary scale.

An example of that is when Finn arrives at a crashed Tie fighter in the desert. When he first encounters the flaming ship, it’s a practical set-piece with minor digital enhancements. Then, when it disappears into the desert sand, the craft is replaced by a matching digital version, with Finn composited into the foreground via a green screen (but still on location in the desert). Since actor John Boyega is able to work with a physical prop, the scene feels real and gritty.

That said, there are a lot of all-digital shots in the film. The model ships used in the first trilogy have their charm, but the space battles in Force Awakens are mostly CG. Still, it’s very good CG, with some of the strongest modeling, reflection, lighting and shader work I’ve ever seen. The VFX team, led by ILM supervisor Roger Guyett, also added generous smoke, vapor trails, motion blur, depth-of-field and camera shake to to make the shots less video game-like. The overall effect is a master class in how to keep a film emotionally grounded when it’s swimming in VFX. Check out the reel in the video below, but again, there are so many spoilers that you may want to avoid it until you’ve seen the movie.

via Engadget
See how VFX transforms ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

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You can stop Microsoft bugging you about Windows 10 upgrades

One of the great things about the days of the doorstop salesperson is that you could slam the door in their face if you weren’t in a buying mood. It’s not a hint that Microsoft was willing to take, constantly harassing Windows 7 and 8 users to make the upgrade to Windows 10. Thankfully, the firm has made it known that it is possible to disable the notifications once and for all, as long as you’re prepared to get your hands dirty. If so, then you can use this tutorial to amend the registry, blocking any access to the upgrade path. At the same time, Microsoft is relaxing the rules as to who can upgrade their system to Windows 10, enabling small businesses and similarly small organizations to get in on the action.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: TechNet, Microsoft Support

via Engadget
You can stop Microsoft bugging you about Windows 10 upgrades