Category: starred

This blog post was co-authored by Peter Sylvester and Valerie Parham-ThompsonIntroduced in version 10.1.3 (and with substantial changes in 10.1.4), the MariaDB data encryption at rest feature allows for transparent encryption at the tablespace level for various storage engines, including InnoDB and Aria.Before now, there have been only two widely accepted encryption methods for MySQL/MariaDB: encryption at the file system level, or encryption at the column level. For comparison, we’ll do a brief overview of how these work, as well as the pros and cons typically associated with each option.File System EncryptionThis is performed by setting a file system to be encrypted at the block level within the operating system itself, and then specifying that the encrypted volume should be the location of the data directory for MySQL/MariaDB. You can also use encrypted volumes to store MariaDB binary logs.ProsOne-time setup and then no additional management required.ConsThere is a large degree of overhead at the CPU level. Every time an InnoDB page/extent is retrieved and stored in the InnoDB buffer pool, the data has to be decrypted. The same issue occurs when dirty pages are flushed back to persistent storage, be it data or a log file.Column EncryptionYou can encrypt data at the column level by using a binary data type (varbinary/BLOB) and then encrypt the data as it goes into or out of the the page at the application or code level. Typically this is done using the AES_ENCRYPT and AES_DECRYPT functions in MySQL/MariaDB.ProsYou’re only encrypting the data that needs to be secured. All other data has no encryption-related overhead.This provides a higher degree of security then file system encryption. If the data is encrypted at the file system or by the data encryption at rest feature, if you can get into the running MariaDB instance you can still see the unencrypted version of the data. With column-level encryption, the data is stored in a secure fashion and you need to supply the encryption key every time it is accessed by the MariaDB instance.ConsThe crypt key needs to be stored somewhere that allows the application to easily provide it when running queries against MariaDB.You may be able to see the crypt key in statement-based binary logging, or in the process list.Data that is encrypted should not be used for reverse lookups. For example, if you are encrypting a column that stores a name, and you need to search that column for a specific name, you have to specify the search using the AES_DECRYPT function, which will force all the table records to be scanned, decrypted, and compared as part of the “where” operation of the query.MariaDB Data Encryption at RestThis solution sits somewhere between the aforementioned file system level and column level encryption, allowing you to encrypt data at the table level. This allows for encryption that is easier to manage and work with, while also allowing for a narrower focus so you are encrypting only the data or logs that you wish to encrypt. Although, it should be noted that like file system encryption, if you can get to the launched MariaDB instance, you can get access to the encrypted data.Now let’s walk through a test of the functionality of the MariaDB data encryption at rest feature.PrepPreparation included cloning a Centos7 base VM in VirtualBox, adjusting the IP and hostname, and installing MariaDB 10.1.11 using their repository with instructions here.Create KeysThe first step was to create keys. The output of the openssl command below (with example output) was used to edit a new file /var/lib/mysql/keys.txt.The command was:openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -P -md sha1
enter aes-256-cbc encryption password:
Verifying – enter aes-256-cbc encryption password:Sample output:…
key=AD2F01FD1D496F6A054E3D19B79815D0F6DE82C49E105D63E1F467912E2F0B95
iv =C6A3F3625D420BD19AF04CEB9DA2D89BSample contents of keys.txt using that output:1;C6A3F3625D420BD19AF04CEB9DA2D89B;AD2F01FD1D496F6A054E3D19B79815D0F6DE82C49E105D63E1F467912E2F0B95(You can take the additional step of encrypting the keys, but that was not done here.)Don’t lose the key file, or you won’t be able to start the server:2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] mysqld: File ‘/var/lib/mysql/keys.txt’ not found (Errcode: 2 "No such file or directory") 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] Plugin ‘file_key_management’ init function returned error. 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] Plugin ‘file_key_management’ registration as a ENCRYPTION failed. 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] InnoDB: cannot enable encryption, encryption plugin is not available 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] Plugin ‘InnoDB’ init function returned error. 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] Plugin ‘InnoDB’ registration as a STORAGE ENGINE failed. 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [Note] Plugin ‘FEEDBACK’ is disabled. 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] Unknown/unsupported storage engine: InnoDB 2016-02-13 20:37:49 140334031026304 [ERROR] AbortingYou can of course remove the relevant configs and restart successfully, but we have found at least two issues when trying to remove this configuration after it has been put in place on the MariaDB instance.If you encrypt the InnoDB log files (redo, not binary logs), then remove the encryption configuration and restart MariaDB, it will not be able to start until you re-enable the data at rest encryption feature.If you enable default encryption by putting innodb-encrypt-tables in the my.cnf, and then create a table, remove the feature, and restart MariaDB, the server will crash irrecoverably when selecting data from the table (bug filed as http://ift.tt/24cX7wN).Install PluginNext step was to install the plugin and use this file. The clearest path to doing this is to add the following two lines in /etc/my.cnf within the [mysqld] section:plugin-load-add=file_key_management.so
file-key-management-filename = /var/lib/mysql/keys.txt</pre>Restart MariaDB, and confirm the plugin is installed. The file_key_management plugin should display as “active.”show all_plugins like ‘%file%’;Testing Encrypted TablesAs the documentation indicates, you can encrypt all tables when they are created (specify innodb-encrypt-tables in the my.cnf) or individual tables (by adding the settings to a create or alter table statement). (See further below for result of using the third option, innodb-encrypt-tables=force.)Here are the results if you encrypt a single table.First, create a table:mysqlslap –concurrency=5 –number-int-cols=2 –number-char-cols=3 –auto-generate-sql –auto-generate-sql-write-number=1000 –no-dropAnd encrypt it:alter table mysqlslap.t1 encrypted=yes encryption_key_id=1;Here’s the table definition after encrypting:show create table mysqlslap.t1\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
Table: t1
Create Table: CREATE TABLE `t1` (
`intcol1` int(32) DEFAULT NULL,
`intcol2` int(32) DEFAULT NULL,
`charcol1` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL,
`charcol2` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL,
`charcol3` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1 `encrypted`=yes `encryption_key_id`=1Looking at the .ibd file directly via xxd, you can see some text data before encryption:0084570: 0001 8000 0002 7661 6c65 7269 6570 6172 ……valeriepar
0084580: 6861 6d74 686f 6d70 736f 6e00 0000 0000 hamthompson…..And after encryption:0085470: fdf4 7c27 d9cb 5d33 59b1 824d 4656 b211 ..|’..]3Y..MFV..
0085480: 7243 9ce0 1794 7052 9adf 39a1 b4af c2fd rC….pR..9…..Once that table was encrypted, to test moving encrypted tablespaces, the files were copied from the source to a destination server as follows. The destination server had no encryption plugin, configs, or key installed.The following process is typical for moving tablespaces: create a similar empty table on the destination server, without encryption. (It throws an error on that unencrypted server if you try it with `encrypted`=yes `encryption_key_id`=1.)create database mysqlslap;
use mysqlslap
CREATE TABLE `t1` (
`intcol1` int(32) DEFAULT NULL,
`intcol2` int(32) DEFAULT NULL,
`charcol1` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL,
`charcol2` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL,
`charcol3` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;Then start the move process. First, discard the tablespace on the destination server. This leaves you with just the .frm file there.-rw-rw—-. 1 mysql mysql 65 Feb 13 13:15 db.opt
-rw-rw—-. 1 mysql mysql 932 Feb 13 13:15 t1.frmALTER TABLE mysqlslap.t1 DISCARD TABLESPACE;Prepare the table on the source server:flush tables t1 for export;Now you have a .cfg file on the source server:-rw-rw—-. 1 mysql mysql 65 Feb 13 13:13 db.opt
-rw-rw—-. 1 mysql mysql 620 Feb 13 13:16 t1.cfg
-rw-rw—-. 1 mysql mysql 976 Feb 13 13:14 t1.frm
-rw-rw—-. 1 mysql mysql 557056 Feb 13 13:14 t1.ibdSend the .cfg and .ibd files from the source to the destination server:scp /var/lib/mysql/mysqlslap/t1.cfg root@192.168.56.69:/var/lib/mysql/mysqlslap/t1.cfg
scp /var/lib/mysql/mysqlslap/t1.ibd root@192.168.56.69:/var/lib/mysql/mysqlslap/t1.ibdFree to unlock on the source server now:unlock tables;You’ll get an error on import if you don’t make them usable by mysql:chown mysql:mysql /var/lib/mysql/mysqlslap/t1*With the .cfg and .ibd files in place on the destination server, import the tablespace there:alter table t1 import tablespace;As intended, the encryption prevents importing the table:MariaDB [mysqlslap]&gt; alter table t1 import tablespace;
ERROR 1296 (HY000): Got error 192 ‘Table encrypted but decryption failed. This could be because correct encryption management plugin is not loaded, used encryption key is not available or encryption method does not match.’ from InnoDBinnodb-encrypt-tables=forceIf you set innodb-encrypt-tables=force in /etc/my.cnf, attempting to create a table with encryption=no fails:create table t3 ( `intcol1` int(32) DEFAULT NULL, `intcol2` int(32) DEFAULT NULL, `charcol1` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL, `charcol2` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL, `charcol3` varchar(128) DEFAULT NULL ) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1 `encryption_key_id`=1 `encrypted`=no;
ERROR 1005 (HY000): Can’t create table `mysqlslap`.`t3` (errno: 140 "Wrong create options")The error message could be more clear, but the setting would save future create statements from undoing desired encryption set up by a DBA.Encrypted BinlogsBinlogs can also be encrypted.Start by adding this to the my.cnf, and restart server.encrypt_binlogBefore encryption, the binlogs look like this:008dfb0: 494e 5345 5254 2049 4e54 4f20 7431 2056 I NSERT INTO t1 V
008dfc0: 414c 5545 5320 2832 3132 3635 3538 3138 ALUES (212655818
008dfd0: 352c 3737 3332 3733 3731 382c 2759 3838 5,773273718,’Y88
008dfe0: 4e30 3774 6f30 3333 6d32 5845 497a 487a N07to033m2XEIzHz
008dff0: 4d4a 7348 7558 544c 3247 6543 6865 4334 MJsHuXTL2GeCheC4
008e000: 574a 7149 436c 4471 6f6c 3479 634d 7071 WJqIClDqol4ycMpq
008e010: 5a68 374b 3463 5a79 7442 4251 684e 4d42 Zh7K4cZytBBQhNMB
008e020: 6234 4c6e 7161 6457 425a 5366 7649 544c b4LnqadWBZSfvITL
008e030: 7a64 5a77 3536 7571 4835 4771 5466 7477 zdZw56uqH5GqTftw
008e040: 6a36 6a5a 5943 336b 6c4f 4e5a 616c 6d50 j6jZYC3klONZalmP
008e050: 454a 4c4a 5047 4161 4c49 4f27 2c27 6970 EJLJPGAaLIO’,’ipAfter restarting the server with encryption, newly generated binlog files look like this:011b860: 69c5 cc00 5cb0 1581 0217 2d3f 728c 77ff i…\…..-?r.w.
011b870: a6ca e6e3 a041 0f26 ee39 c398 eecd 4df9 …..A.&amp;.9….M.
011b880: 5bef 53e0 bf0a 96bd 7b61 bfcc c074 6151 [.S…..{a…taQ
011b890: 208b 63fc 4efd ee91 b2bc 0a90 1009 76a1 .c.N………v.
011b8a0: bf18 84e3 f444 82a1 e674 b44b 7754 2cc9 …..D…t.KwT,.
011b8b0: b63f 946c 821d 222a ae57 a251 451c 8332 .?.l.."*.W.QE..2
011b8c0: d030 1c5f 3997 db77 96f1 4da5 a03e 55a9 .0._9..w..M..&gt;U.
011b8d0: a882 3980 f81f 9fa9 7b45 27c1 2f51 34ad ..9…..{E’./Q4.
011b8e0: b8bf e5e6 4b1e 6732 11a1 1b00 0000 c049 ….K.g2…….I
011b8f0: b2a9 ad08 ed95 4c5c 5541 05b4 a256 14d3 ……L\UA…V..
011b900: 045b e74f 2526 0000 009f 921c 1482 d621 .[.O%&amp;………!Note that also you can’t use mysqlbinlog on encrypted binlogs:mysqlbinlog /var/lib/mysql/maria101-bin.000006
/*!50530 SET @@SESSION.PSEUDO_SLAVE_MODE=1*/;
/*!40019 SET @@session.max_insert_delayed_threads=0*/;
/*!50003 SET @OLD_COMPLETION_TYPE=@@COMPLETION_TYPE,COMPLETION_TYPE=0*/;
DELIMITER /*!*/;
# at 4
#160213 10:49:27 server id 1 end_log_pos 249 Start: binlog v 4, server v 10.1.11-MariaDB-log created 160213 10:49:27
BINLOG ‘
h1C/Vg8BAAAA9QAAAPkAAAAAAAQAMTAuMS4xMS1NYXJpYURCLWxvZwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEzgNAAgAEgAEBAQEEgAA3QAEGggAAAAICAgCAAAACgoKAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAEEwQAAGbdjEE=
‘/*!*/;
# at 249
# Encryption scheme: 1, key_version: 1, nonce: 4caf0fe45894f796a234a764
# The rest of the binlog is encrypted!
# at 285
/*!50521 SET skip_replication=1*//*!*/;
#620308 22:02:57 server id 3337593713 end_log_pos 2396907567 Ignorable
# Ignorable event type 118 (Unknown)
# at 324
ERROR: Error in Log_event::read_log_event(): ‘Found invalid event in binary log’, data_len: 42, event_type: 204
ERROR: Could not read entry at offset 366: Error in log format or read error.
DELIMITER ;
# End of log file
ROLLBACK /* added by mysqlbinlog */;
/*!50003 SET COMPLETION_TYPE=@OLD_COMPLETION_TYPE*/;
/*!50530 SET @@SESSION.PSEUDO_SLAVE_MODE=0*/;As a test of replication, encrypted binlogs were sent from an encrypted master to an unencrypted slave. The master had encrypted binlogs, but the slave had no encryption plugin, configs, or keys.Nothing special in the replication setup, and replication did not break. No issues were detected in multi-master replication with replication filtering. Also, if the slave is set up for encryption, the encryption key in use on the slave does not need to be identical to that of the key that is in use on the master.Of special note for security, while the master’s binlogs were encrypted, the slave’s relay logs were not. Change statements on an unencrypted slave are easily viewed at the file level or using mysqlbinlog on the relay logs. Watch those user permissions! Relay logs on the slave can be encrypted using the ‘encrypt-binlog’ setting on the slave having the plugin installed.ConclusionsBinlog encryption prevents viewing change statements in raw format or via mysqlbinlog.Replication from an encrypted master to a nonencrypted slave works. Note that the relay logs on the nonencrypted slave make the change statements visible.Encrypting a table prevents copying the tablespace to another server.Once implemented, the steps to unencrypt multiple tables in your schema require careful planning. It is recommended you test this feature carefully before implementing in production.
via Planet MySQL
Data Encryption at Rest

We’ve mentioned that sharpening your knives with a whetstone (or water stone) is the best way to keep them sharp and safe, but this video will walk you through picking the right stones, learning the right angles, and getting the perfect edge—all in one sitting.

http://ift.tt/24bUA5X…

The video, from our friends at KnifePlanet—who also taught us the “sharpie trick” to sharpening knives—put this video (and the associated walkthrough linked below) together to help address the common questions for whetstone beginners. The whole thing covers topics like which stones you should start with, what “grit” means in the context of a whetstone, where to get good stones (spoiler: Amazon has a great selection of the #400 grit, #1000 grit, and #5000 grit stones you’ll want, complete with their holders), and more.

http://ift.tt/1RnaLsp…

Your first big lesson here is to not be afraid of damaging your knife with a whetstone—if you use any measure of care with one, you’ll be fine. The video also walks you through creating the “burr,” or the overlaid edge on one side that comes from sharpening the other. It’s important to make, because it means you’ve removed the fatigued metal on one side of the knife, and a good indicator that you’re applying the right amount of pressure at the right angle. Then you’ll be ready to flip it over and do the same with the other side of your knife.

The video is a bit long, close to 20 minutes, but you won’t find a better, more complete guide to the topic that covers as much detail without skimping on the specifics. Peter Nowlan (who you’ll remember from the last video) even touches on whether you should just use one whetstone, or use several with progressively higher grit for a sharper edge—but that’s an advanced technique for folks who are comfortable with one, so press play and see how far along your knife sharpening skills are.

From Dull to Sharp: A Video Guide to Sharpen Your Knives | KnifePlanet

via Lifehacker
A Complete Video Guide to Sharpening Your Knives with a Whetstone 

Arizona criminal defense attorney Marc J. Victor recently put on an excellent Trieste on the primary legal implications of using a handgun in a defensive situation. The article, published at LewRockwell.com is a long, but detailed and logical look at major criteria any firearms owner should know when it comes to the real use of […]

Read More …

The post 5 Things Every Reasonable Gun Owner Ought to Know – By a Defense Attorney appeared first on The Firearm Blog.

via The Firearm Blog
5 Things Every Reasonable Gun Owner Ought to Know – By a Defense Attorney

Whether or not you see George Lucas’ tinkering with the original Star Wars trilogy as harmless meddling or the greatest sin committed in cinematic history, it’s a shame that fans don’t even have the choice to purchase HD versions of the original theatrical cuts. But now, at least, a restored version of the first Star Wars is available online.

This isn’t a “despecialized edition” like many other fan attempts to revert Lucas’ changes. Somehow, a group of fans dubbing themselves Team Negative One found an original 35mm film print of the first Star Wars movie, and have spent years cleaning it up, scanning each frame of film and digitally restoring it to make the cleanest version of the original movie as possible. You can check out a video comparing the state of the original film reel and the final, cleaned version below:

Team Negative One’s restoration is meant to be more faithful than the only publicly released HD version of the theatrical cuts made available as DVD bonuses in a 2006 release of the original trilogy (which themselves were taken from the Laserdisc release of the movies and suffered from detail loss in the transfer process). It’s by no means a perfect restoration, with some graininess and color differences, and you won’t get the sharp image of the Blu-ray releases, changes and all, but it’s the closest there’s ever been to a true restoration of the original Star Wars.

Due to the highly dubious legality of releasing the restoration, Negative One has remained relatively quiet about putting the restored film online; it began seeding its way through the internet about a month ago, but it’s only just started receiving wider attention as more and more fans discover it. Obviously because of this, we can’t directly link to where to download the restoration, but should you desire to see it, it’s not exactly difficult to find if you go looking.

You can check out the link below to see more comparisons between the restoration and the original print, as well as the 2011 Blu-ray release of the film.

[StarWarsTrilogy.com via TheForce.Net]

via Gizmodo
An Original Film Print of Star Wars Has Been Restored and Released Online

It’s going to be a good year for Marvel’s Black Panther. Not only is he getting an extremely promising new comic book series, in a few months he’s making his Marvel cinematic universe debut in Captain America: Civil War. If you’re not familiar with the superhero, king and Avenger, here’s your primer.

1) He was the first black superhero in mainstream comics.

Although there were black heroes before him—back when Marvel was still Timely Comics in the ’50s, it published stories about “Waku, Prince of the Bantu” in Jungle Tales—Black Panther is widely credited as the first black superhero to debut in mainstream comics. Although he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 in April 1966, T’Challa wouldn’t actually star in his own comic book until 1973, when he headlined Jungle Action, another jungle-themed anthology that stretched back into Marvel’s history when it was Atlas Comics (the company went through multiple name changes in the ’40s and ’50s).

2) He actually predates the Black Panther party.

When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were creating T’Challa, he almost had a radically different design, featuring no mask and a much more colorful costume. (As you can see, Lee also says he was going to be called Coal Tiger, although it plausible at least as likely that this is a joke on Lee’s part). The two eventually re-worked the design, and then six months after he debuted, Huey Newton formed the radical nationalist political organization called Black Panther Party later in 1966, known for its armed patrols to protest police brutality against African Americans.

People have long since assumed that Lee and Kirby were inspired by the Black Panther Party when creating Black Panther, but it was simply a coincidence—although the BPP’s rise though did briefly become a point of contention for Marvel. In 1972, as the Panthers reached the apex of their influence, T’Challa returned in Fantastic Four #119, calling himself Black Leopard as he pondered a return to the US, where his former name now had “political connotations.” The name change and acknowledgment of the Black Panther Party was never mentioned again.

3) He’s royalty.

T’Challa’s life is dominated by legacy. Not only is the Black Panther role a hereditary title passed down throughout his family (although rigorous mental and physical tests have to be passed before one can assume it), he’s also from the ruling family of the Panther Tribe, who govern the independent African nation of Wakanda. T’Challa earned both the right to rule and the Black Panther persona (as well as the powers that come with it, gained from eating a mysterious plant poisonous to many non-Wakandans) from his father, T’Chaka.

4) He rules over the most advanced country in the world.

As T’Challa is the Chief of the Panther tribe, you might have imagined that makes Wakanda some remote, tribal country. Nope. On Marvel’s Earth, Wakanda is one of the most important countries on the planet, a leader in scientific and technological advances. The country is one of a handful of places where vibranium (the near-indestructible metal that Captain America’s shield is made of) can befound, and the country’s isolationist nature has ensured Wakanda is decades ahead of the likes of the US when it comes to a technological standpoint.

5) He is essentially Marvel’s answer to Batman.

Black Panther and Bruce Wayne share a lot more in common than a fondness for pointy ears on their cowls. T’Challa is pretty much Bruce Wayne, except that the Black Panther also has a few superpowers. One of the smartest people in the world—he’s on a level with super geniuses like Tony Stark and Reed Richards— T’Challa is also incredibly skilled in armed and unarmed combat. He’s also at the peak of human strength and agility, on par with Captain America. This means…

6) Like Batman, he can beat down opponents who are much more powerful.

Black Panther always has a plan. He’s renowned as a master tactician, and between his supersmarts and his fighting skill, it means as a hero he can punch above his weight more often that not. He’s single-handedly defeated villains like Doctor Doom, and yes, he’s even gone up against teams of his fellow heroes and handed their super-butts to them easily. Like I said, his first ever appearance was to beat up the Fantastic Four, pretty much for shits and giggles.

7) The Civil War movie isn’t the first time someone’s tried to bring him out of comics.

Chadwick Boseman might be the first person to actually bring Black Panther to the big screen, but it’s not only not the first time an actor has brought the character to life. Djimon Hounsou voiced T’Challa in a 2010 animated series that ran on BET, and you can see the opening titles above. Additionally, Civil War isn’t even the first time someone’s tried to make a Black Panther movie. In fact, it’s happened twice before!

Wesley Snipes was linked to a potential Black Panther movie from Columbia pictures in the early ’90s, but plans fell through .Later, after Snipes went on to portray Marvel’s vampire hunter Blade, the project was again considered. We almost got a Snipes-starring Black Panther movie in 2004, instead of Blade Trinity.

8) One time, he took Daredevil’s job in Hell’s Kitchen to do some soul-searching.

This should tell you a lot about T’Challa’s character: when Matt Murdock was busy getting over the comically depressing event of being possessed by an actual demon after the Shadowland comic arc, T’Challa offered to step in as Hell’s Kitchen’s erstwhile defender while Daredevil was out of action.

T’Challa himself was going through a rough patch where he found himself spiritually broken after a battle with Doctor Doom. Adopting the persona of diner manager Mr. Okonowo, he set up shop in Hell’s Kitchen and spent his nights getting back to his roots as Black Panther… while savagely beating up bad guys. That’s Black Panther’s idea of a spiritual retreat, basically.

9) He’s been on a ton of superhero teams, but isn’t much of a team player.

Black Panther joined the Avengers in his second-ever appearance, and since then he’s not just remained one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but joined the likes of the Ultimates, the morally-grey Illuminati, and even briefly lead the Fantastic Four into battle.

But despite his reputation as a stalwart team member, Black Panther’s highest priority is to himself and the people of Wakanda. This isolated nature is maybe best captured in Chris Priest’s seminal run on the character, which began with an arc that saw Black Panther nonchalantly reveal that he only joined the Avengers so he could spy on them and see if they were a threat to his people. None of them had the heart to call him out on it though.

10) He totally kicked the KKK’s kollective asses.

Hot off the success of Don McGregor Panther’s Rage, one of Marvel’s first experimentations with self-contained story arcs, the very next story saw T’Challa travel to Georgia with his then-girlfriend, where he ended up fighting a white supremacist organization that wore conical hoods and were technically not the Klu Klux Klan but look at them and their pointy white hats. McGregor could only refer to them as “The Clan” in the actual comic, and it was incredibly controversial at the time, but yes, Marvel’s first black superhero beat up the KKK.

11) He and Storm were once the ultimate Marvel power couple.

T’Challa and Ororo Munroe are two of the most prominent black characters in Marvel’s roster, and their 2006 marriage was such a huge deal, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers took a break from fighting each other in the comic Civil War event to celebrate it.

Fans loved the characters together, but the marriage wouldn’t last. In a controversial move, their relationship was annulled in 2012 when Black Panther banned all mutants from Wakanda following an attack by a brainwashed Namor the Sub-Mariner. Many assumed the couple’s split was because there were plans underway to bring T’Challa to the Marvel’s cinematic universe, where he couldn’t bring his wife—Storm being part of Foz’s X-Men movie rights.

12) He’s currently helping solve the biggest problems to the Marvel Universe.

In the current “All-New, All-Different” update of Marvel’s comics, Black Panther stands as a member of the cosmic superteam the Ultimates alongside Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, America Chavez, and Blue Marvel. The team works together to safeguard the Earth from cosmic threats, capable of doing so thanks to support from advanced Wakandan technology.

Their first story saw them manage to turn Galactus into a life-giving cosmic force rather than a planet-devourer, so they’re pretty dang good at what they do. Black Panther is a big part of that.

13) Spider-Man may have screwed with his Civil War role.

Although Civil War marks Black Panther’s movie debut, the recent addition of Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe might mean there’s a little less of him in the movie. When Civil War was first announced, Black Panther was touted as a hero who would be a neutral, a never-before-seen hero without links to Steve Rogers or Tony Stark that would be able to offer a fresh perspective on the conflict between the two former friends. This neutral party is pretty much the role Spider-Man filled in the original Civil War comic.

But when Sony made the deal to allow Marvel access to the webslinger, the Civil War scripted was altered to accommodate him—and it’s likely that Spidey is returning to his role as “hero trapped in the middle.” As such, it’s almost certain that Black Panther’s place in the story has been diminished, and he’s less integral to the movie’s plot. Hopefully that’s not the case, though, because it’s a long wait until Black Panther drops in 2018.

14) You really should be excited for his new comic.

If you were looking for a Black Panther comic to read up on before Civil War came out, there isn’t one at the moment—but there will be soon. It’s coming from a ridiculously exciting creative team, artist Brian Stelfreeze and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, this April.

Coates, best known for his work across dozens of publications as America’s foremost commentator on African-American culture in the modern day, will open the series with an arc that delves into T’Challa’s rule over Wakanda as the country comes under attack from superpowered terrorists. Given Coates’ background (this is his first writing gig for a comic), it’s hard not to look forward to what he can do with the legacy of a character like Black Panther. Just in time for you to pick up an issue or two before you go see Civil War!

via Gizmodo
Everything You Need To Know About Black Panther Before Marvel’s Civil War

While the Seagate 1.5TB disks had problems, its new drives look much more reliable.
via Ars Technica
HGST hard disks still super reliable, Seagates have greatly improved

The story of Deadpool’s surprising success can be directly traced back to the CG demo reel Tim Miller and Blur Studios produced to sell Fox on Deadpool. But it turns out Miller and Blur also did something similar for Marvel Studios—and it helped the first Iron Man movie get made in the first place.

Remember, when Marvel was considering kicking off its movie slate with Iron Man back in 2006, Iron Man was at best a B-list comic book character. Only some comic fans liked him, and the general public had little to no idea who Iron Man was, compared to big names like Spider-Man or the X-Men.

So Marvel tasked Miller and Blur Studios to develop a series of Iron Man shorts targeted to kids, designed to help explain who the character was and raise awareness. According to Marvel’s Chief Creative Office Joe Quesada, the shorts had three objectives:

1- Clearly demonstrate that there was a man inside the armor.

2- Show off his wide range of cool powers.

3- Position him clearly as a hero on the same level as Spidey and Hulk by having those characters show how cool they perceive him to be and valued him as a peer.

These shorts been floating around the internet in various states of quality for a while, but in the wake of Deadpool’s success, Quesada took to Tumblr to reshare them with the world. You can see all three below!

Obviously, Miller’s shorts were successes, giving Marvel the necessary confidence to keep working on Iron Man. And we all know how well that went! Marvel even planned to do a similar test for Thor ahead of his cinematic debut, but according to Quesada Marvel ended up canning them as they couldn’t get them broadcast on TV. Still, it’s cool to see that Miller and the amazing CG artists at Blur had their hands in turning two unlikely superheroes into major movie franchises.

[Comic Book Resources]

via Gizmodo
Watch the Iron Man Demo Reels That Deadpool’s Tim Miller Made for Marvel

Real Racing 3 has finnaly arrived on the new Apple TV. The native tvOS app comes with all the best features Real Racing is known from, including split-screen Party Play mode, diverse control options and cross-device Cloud Saves. Are you ready for the biggest NASCAR race of the year? Real Racing 3 brings the action, thrills and […]
via Apple TV Hacks
Real Racing 3 finally available on Apple TV

All sorts of theories surrounded Kylo Ren early on, with our own Remy Carreiro having his own say in the matter. Now we (at least who’ve seen the movie or the spoilers) know who he is, and either you love him or hate him. However you may feel, this is a must-read: “Why Kylo Ren […]
via ForeverGeek
These Star Wars GIFs Show That Kylo Ren and Han Solo Are Just Like Us

Most of the best artists and productive people you know have one thing in common: For them, “I’ll get to it later,” wasn’t acceptable. If you want to create, do it with a sense of urgency.

As business blog Entrepreneur points out, a sense of urgency does wonders for the creative process. Any working artist can tell you how much more motivated they get when there’s a deadline. However, it’s how you act when there isn’t a deadline that can mean the difference between success and lost projects:

Creators don’t wait to be asked to create something. They create because there’s nothing else to do but create. Creators don’t care if what they create doesn’t turn out beautifully. The true pleasure is in the process — even the frustrating aspects. Creators can’t keep it in. Their need to create literally spills out of them. Creation is URGENT.

If you’re waiting to start a project, stop waiting and do it. Tomorrow is too late. Even if you have no deadline, even if no one cares whether you do it or not, hell even if you don’t think you’re ready to start, don’t wait. Figure out what the first step you can reasonably take is today and start doing it. Then don’t stop until it’s done.

Urgency Is What Fuels Prolific Artists | Entrepreneur

Photo by Judith E. Bell.

via Lifehacker
Create With a Sense of Urgency If You Really Want to Build Your Career