The long wait for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is ending soon. And, the developers recently revealed a new map to hype the fans, and it also excited another genre of fans.
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The upcoming game is the sequel to the 2019 reboot series Modern Warfare. Further, the new Call of Duty will follow the story of an elite squad consisting of familiar characters like John Price, Gaz, Ghost, Soap, and Farah. Further, this team will also have a new character, Mexican Special Forces Col. Vargas.
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The task force would have to control a situation after a missile strike from the US that eliminated a foreign general. Further, the elite squad would have to take care of the terrorist organization Al-Qatala and the drug cartel Las Almas. Also, the game has a thrilling multiplayer mode to entertain the fans.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II unveils an F1 circuit for multiplayer
The developers, Infinity Ward, recently unveiled a new map that would be available for Modern Warfare II’s Multiplayer 6v6 matches. Call of Duty claimed they worked on maps to give an ultimate experience to the fans. Further, the upcoming game would suit every kind of player.
The new 6v6 match map they introduced would be called Marina Bay Grand Prix. And as the name suggests, this circuit might be based on the real-life F1 circuit, Marnia Bay Street Circuit, that hosts the Singapore GP. Undoubtedly, an F1 circuit could be a great battlefield for 6v6 fights.
Twitter reactions to the Marina Bay Grand Prix map
The 6v6 map in the upcoming Call of Duty title impressed the CoD fans, as well as the Formula One fan. This Marina Bay Grand Prix map undoubtedly narrowed the wall between CoD and F1. Further, the motorsports fan showcased their excitement for the new map. Let’s look at some of the tweets from the fans.
THIS MAP ALREADY LOOKS BETTER THAN ANY MAPS FROM MODERN WARFARE!!!!
Looks clean, traditional to a sense, WOW. I literally cannot wait for this game.
There are a lot of expectations from the new Call of Duty title after the failure of Vanguard last year. Let’s hope the game lives up to expectations and impresses F1 fans. Are you excited to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
WATCH THIS STORY: Top 5 Call of Duty Games of All Time
Constance Hall OWNS the ‘desperate, lonely and sad’ man who sent her ad**k pic – as she publishes his vile text to her
Australian mummy blogger Constance Hall has called out men for explicit pics
The 38-year-old mother shared the text messages on her Facebook page
She tried to ‘put herself in their shoes’ but couldn’t make sense of the situation
Ultimately she ‘felt sorry’ for the men who feel the need to send such images
By Matilda Rudd For Daily Mail Australia
Published: | Updated:
An Australian mummy blogger has unleashed on creepy men after she was sent an unsolicited explicit photo of a stranger’s genitals and a series of graphic text messages.
Mother Constance Hall, who lives in Western Australia, took to Facebook with a photo of the texts – and a censor over the male genitalia – to talk about the ‘assault’ that is receiving such low rent content.
‘I just got sent ad*** pic but unlike all the other lonely boys that have sent me them in the past, this came through to my private phone number on an app I downloaded two days ago to message my paranoid friends on,’ she captioned the photo.
‘Aside from the obvious victim on the other end of this assault, what is going on with these blokes? So I tried putting myself in their shoes.’
Mother Constance Hall, who lives in Western Australia, took to Facebook on August 7 with a photo of the texts – and a censor over the male genitalia – to talk about the ‘assault’ that is receiving such low rent content
Despite ‘trying to be open minded’ Mrs Hall couldn’t see how sending these types of images would be gratifying – for the sender or the receiver
Despite ‘trying to be open minded’ Mrs Hall couldn’t see how sending these types of images would be gratifying – for the sender or the receiver.
The message she had received read: ‘Weren’t you after this? Did you text me after something big and throbbing?’
‘Could it be depravity? If I had never met anyone who actually wanted to see my stimulated v**** could I be driven to send it out there anyway? Umm that’s a no,’ she concurred.
‘Maybe to get even? If I found out that my husband was sending his genitals to a number of people who didn’t want to see them would I then be inclined to ‘get even and show him that two can play at the game of assaulting strangers with our genitals? I don’t think that’s how I’d frame that particular revenge.’
Mrs Hall couldn’t actually come up with a single instance in which she thought the photos were okay to send without the receiver first acknowledging that they wanted to see them first.
‘And I do realize that it’s not always possible to understand someone who’s lived a different life to yours, male privilege can be hard to fully grasp when you have been served the privilege of it,’ she said.
Mrs Hall couldn’t actually come up with a single instance in which she thought the photos were okay to send without the receiver first acknowledging that they wanted to see them first
‘But there isn’t enough empathy in the world that could help me understand how desperate, lonely, sad and full of self entitlement I’d have to be to send someone a close up of my aroused genitals who simply didn’t want to see them.’
She did acknowledge that there was a certain degree of sympathy for those ‘poor excited men’ who sat alone in their bedrooms taking these photos.
‘They’re dreaming about the wide world of sexual encounters being had all over the place, none of which he was invited to,’ Mrs Hall said.
Bizarrely when she snapped a screenshot of the photo it was naturally censored by the app it was sent in, preventing Mrs Hall from sharing it on even if she wanted to.
‘Of course, that thought moved on. And left me wondering what kind of an app blanks out d*** pics in screenshots? How the f*** am I supposed to process this if I ca n’t black out his nob de él and rip apart his bedroom with my queens?’ She said.
Some of her 1.3million fans praised the mother and clothing designer for her prose, and agreed that they couldn’t understand why men sent such photos (Pictured with her husband Denim)
Some of her 1.3million fans praised the mother and clothing designer for her prose, and agreed that they couldn’t understand why men sent such photos.
‘Never in my life will I understand why ‘men’ send a pic! Send back a pic of a scoring panel!’ One woman wrote.
‘I’m in a relationship now but before I wasn’t and I found this kind of behavior really disgusting and degrading … hard no, from me,’ another said.
While one woman said: ‘Weird that men think it is a turn on.’
Premium smartwatches have more or less all caught up to each other when it comes to features like heart rate tracking, smart assistants, and crisp OLED displays. So how does a company like Tag Heuer make its digital timepiece stand out? It teams up with Porsche for a special edition model that can remotely control certain features when paired to a user’s supercar.
Tag Heuer and Porsche have already teamed up for a handful of more traditional mechanical chronographs, but this is the first smartwatch the two companies have collaborated on, and the TAG Heuer Connected Caliber E4 Porsche Edition brings with it more than just a unique design featuring a matte black titanium case, “Frozen Blue” accents borrowed from the electric Porsche Taycan, and a custom “Circuit” watch face option that blends circuit board elements with subtle nods to race tracks. It’s not quite as subtle or ‘dressy’ as most of Tag Heuer’s offerings, but it certainly feels more modern.
Image: Tag Heuer
Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ processor and running Google’s Wear2 OS, the TAG Heuer Connected Caliber E4 Porsche Edition promises up to 24 hours of battery life after a 90-minute charge, although that will vary depending on how it’s being used. Its fitness-tracking and heart rate monitoring features may knock that down a bit. Basic features include a compass, barometer, NFC functionality for tap-to-pay systems, and waterproofing to a depth of 50 meters: standard stuff for a premium smartwatch today.
Where the TAG Heuer Connected Caliber E4 Porsche Edition gets interesting, and might start to justify its $US2,750 ($3,818) price tag, is its added connectivity with current Porsche vehicles, including most of the car maker’s 2022 lineup and newer models. Users can add complications to the smartwatch’s face displaying their vehicle’s total mileage, the car’s current charge level and estimated range (for electric models), or just the estimated range (for gas-powered models). The smartwatch even includes controls on its OLED touchscreen for adjusting a Porsche’s air conditioning and heating, which is presumably more useful for making sure the interior is comfortable after remote starting the vehicle than making temperature adjustments on your wrist while driving.
The TAG Heuer Connected Caliber E4 Porsche Edition will officially be available starting in September, and while you don’t need to own an actual Porsche to buy one, it really seems like the only way to take advantage of its uniquely expanded functionality.
Tomorrow is the birthday of Ron Mael from Sparks, so how could the Thursday quiz, where he has been a regular feature, be anything other than Ron-themed? You face 15 general knowledge and vaguely topical questions, all of them tenuously linked to the wonderful world of Sparks and some of the brilliant songs that Ron has written over the years. There is a playlist of all the songs mentioned to listen to as you do the quiz, and a very special bonus guest contribution too. To answer them you don’t have to be a Sparks fan – although of course you should be – and there are no prizes, it is just for fun. Let us know how you get on in the comments, and happy birthday, Ron!
The Thursday quiz, No 68 – Rum from Sparks special edition
If you do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email [email protected], but remember, the quiz master’s word is always final, so only do it if you really think this town is big enough for both of us.
(Pocket-lint) – They say never work with children or animals, but Swann Security allows you to keep a watchful eye on all your loved ones. Swann is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of smart security systems meant for average, everyday users. The Swann Security system includes a wide range of devices, including video cameras, video doorbells, window/ door alerts, motion alerts, and more. But if you’re looking for a security device to monitor your family, you can’t do better thanSwann Tracker Cam.
When you’re a parent, one half of your mind is constantly at home with your kids and pets. What are they doing? Are they safe? What if I miss them doing something cute? These are just some thoughts that may wander your mind when you’re working. Swann Tracker Cam is an extremely simple and easy-to-install video camera that monitors your family, tracks their movements, records footage, and gives you peace of mind.
This article describes how you can put your family first with Swann Security.
Zoom and track your kids’ and pets’ movements
Swann Tracker Cam is a smart video camera that provides 1080p visuals with a 180° viewing angle, allowing you to monitor your pets and children with complete clarity. But Tracker Cam’s most innovative feature is the ability to automatically track moving objects. The camera features a second camera view that zooms and focuses on the shape of your children and pets, allowing you to follow your kids and pets around the room.
Keep an eye on your family even at night
Swann Tracker Cam allows you to monitor your family at night. The video camera has a powerful infrared lens that can capture up to 32 feet (10 meters) of visuals in pitch-dark conditions. Furthermore, unlike most night vision cameras, you don’t have to worry about losing contrast or definition – the videos are always 100 per cent clear and high-definition. Even if you’re working late nights, you can monitor your kids from anywhere.
Save thousands of videos of your family
Parents hate missing precious moments of their children and pets. Kids and pets get up to all kinds of cute and adorable things when you’re not looking. Swann Tracker Cam features an inbuilt 32GB micro SD card that captures and stores thousands of videos, allowing you to replace the essential unseen moments of your family’s life. You can also download the recorded footage and save them in your family’s personal gallery.
Speak directly with your kids and pets
Swann Tracker Cam features an inbuilt 2-way microphone that allows you to communicate with your kids and pets. If you’re not home and want to communicate with your kids, you can simply engage the microphone feature in the smartphone app, which turns your phone into a handy walkie-talkie. You can now communicate directly with your kids and pets, and they can respond to you. This is an incredibly useful feature that allows you to convey information from Afar.
Install conveniently without hardwiring
Swann Tracker Cam is extremely easy to set up, install, and monitor without hardwiring or professional monitoring. You can connect the video camera to your home’s WiFi router, following which you can plug it into the power outlet – you don’t need a smart hub or DVR. Because of the simplicity of installation, you can easily invest in this product without any concerns about the installation, making it useful for renters.
Claim a limited-time discount right now
Swann is offering a limited-time discount on theSwann Tracker Cam right now. Instead of paying £89.99, you can get this powerful video camera and baby monitor for only £69.99. If you want a convenient, comprehensive, and scalable means of monitoring your baby or checking in with your pets in the warm weather, we encourage you to learn more about the Swann Tracker Cam today.
Home Security Week (8-12 August) in association with Ezviz. Find all the latest content on our hub.
A global leader in smart home security, EZVIZ is dedicated to building next-level security solutions powered by intelligent video, advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. With a footprint in 130+ countries, we’ve been trusted by millions of families who enjoy visual protection and tangible joy provided by our products.
Yof Michael Caine is the quintessential London actor, Romain Duris could become his Paris equivalent. Born and raised in the city, he rose to international fame in 2005 playing the real-estate hustler with ambitions to be a pianist in Jacques Audiard’s The Beat That My Heart Skipped. Quick to the punch but nifty in his fingerwork from him, dropping rats in a sack on unwanted tenants while wearing Cuban heels, he was Parisian squalor and glamor in one snake-hipped paradox. Then he cashed in his tousle-haired bourgeois-bohème cachet in Christopher Honoré’s Dans Paris and Cédric Klapisch’s Paris. And now the pinnacle: he is starring in a new biopic about engineer Gustave Eiffel.
Duris couldn’t resist the man’s ubiquity. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m Parisian, but Eiffel is really a figure in France who matters,” he says. “He is everywhere – there are lots of Gustave Eiffel bridges, lots of buildings at the bottom of courtyards signed by him.” And, of course, that tower. The film shows the fraught atmosphere around the competition to design a showpiece exhibit for the 1889 Exposition Universelle; how Eiffel’s peers and the press deemed what was the world’s tallest structure at the time a dangerous act of hubris – and how he fought to make it happen.
He was, in Duris’s eyes, the Steve Jobs of his day: “He made it look easy, like a children’s game. A bit like Jobs, who had the intelligence to think of his computers as almost like toys that anyone could use. Eiffel fabricated the tower in sections in gigantic warehouses in Paris, and really assembled it as if it were a game for children with numbered pieces.” A quick, agile talker who pinpoints the eager aesthetic qualities of his projects, Duris is speaking on the phone from the set of the film he is working on in south-west France.
Duris makes it look easy too, playing Eiffel as a kind of dashing control freak, fretting over wind speeds and hydraulic pressures. And what kind of Paris picture would this be without some romance? Director Martin Bourboulon – who picked up the project after it had passed through many hands down the years, including Ridley Scott’s – gives Eiffel an unrequited love affair with a Bordeaux landowner’s daughter, Adrienne (drawn from cursory suggestions in his biography of him).
In truth, this forbidden-love plot – based on the Titanic blueprint – feels a bit schematic, even inadvertently comic: as Eiffel tries to win her back, the tower comes to seem less hubristic than horny – the biggest over-compensatory erection until the Trump Tower. But Duris feels the flashbacks energized the script, as did the casting of the Anglo-French Sex Education actor Emma Mackey as his lover de ella: “It’s like when you’re cooking a mayonnaise, and it takes.”
The film also came to serve as a tribute to Duris’s architect father Philippe, who died at the end of 2019, just before a Covid-enforced break in shooting. His dad’s job was another reason why he signed up: “It’s a profession that speaks to me.” Its specific mixture of flair and exactitude was one he was familiar with. “One thing my dad and Eiffel had in common was that they made their blueprints freehand, without rulers or computers. So I always used to see these huge blueprints in the house, traced by hand, and that always impressed me.”
Duris clearly inherited some of this talent, and originally trained as an illustrator. But his drawings of him were anarchic, sexual – deliberately so: “It was my way of doing things in relation to my father.” Life coaxed him further down the freeform artistic path as a teenager, when a casting director spotted him outside a school in Paris’s third arrondissement as he was waiting to pick up his girlfriend from him. “This had happened a few times before. I had a bit of an edgy look: my hair sticking up, trousers covered in paint. So people used to stop and ask me about doing adverts, films, photos. But I always said no.”
Bourgeois-bohème … The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005). Photograph: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
This time, a friend persuaded him to read the script that came with the offer for Cédric Klapisch’s rowdy 70s Paris youth memoir Le Péril Jeune. Luckily Duris liked it, and it was the start of a partnership that has seen them make seven films together. What does he think the casting director saw in him at that moment? “It’s hard to have that kind of distance,” he says. “But I think it was a nice mixture of fragility and modesty, but at the same time being a bit of a loudmouth.” I have scoffs. “You know, that kind of big I-am at school, the kind where you say: ‘Oh-la-la, either he’s going to end up badly or he’s going to become something.’”
Now he is one of the most sought after French actors, so not bad. The 48-year-old is currently shooting Le Règne Animal, a dystopic sci-fi picture about humans who turn into animals being interned in concentration camps. Production has been halted until the autumn because some of the sets burned down during the recent wildfires: “It’s a catastrophe, but that’s the world we live in,” says Duris.
The film sounds like another idiosyncratic turn in a recent unclassifiable filmography that has oscillated between more mainstream punts such as Eiffel and the 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller Hold Your Breath, gruff social realism such as 2019’s Our Struggles and a few dollops of period drama. It seems he is no longer penned into the charmers and chancers of his early career but rather searching for direction in that tricky post-40 phase. Despite his magnetic turn in The Beat That My Heart Skipped and a couple of films – Heartbreaker and Populaire – at the turn of the last decade that tried to position him in the Euro-swoon category, and a small English-speaking role in Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World, an international career has not happened for him.
Like cooking a mayonnaise … Duris with Emma Mackey in Eiffel.
But Duris is relaxed about it, saying he doesn’t think of his career as something that needs a direction: “I like to manage my present, my life. But managing a career or journey, that’s a pain in the ass.” He responds to projects on a one-by-one basis: “It’s a very sincere, instinctive feeling. There’s no calculation there. I’ve never done things calculatingly, never.”
What has been a constant is the vivacious tempo of his performances, which you could see as operating on Parisian rhythms. When his on-screen energy is contained and channeled, he is precise and decorous; but he often threatens to overspill into something nervous and ragged. He’s a delight in the 2018 crime black-comedy Fleuve Noir, as a prissy French teacher with grand literary ambitions, trying to outfox Vincent Cassel’s detective but always flirting with disaster.
Even as Duris gets older, gravitas isn’t his natural mode, he admits. “I have problems when I’m asked to play authority figures. It’s not something I’m at ease with. That kind of cold, calm authority that certain people can project very well – I have to work at that.” Even as the real-life father of two sons, his on-screen dads have n’t got any more commanding: “Fathers have changed these days. So I can play the modern ones better. My ones are either a bit quirky, or just as crazy as the kids.”
‘I always played the clown’ … Duris. Photograph: Marc Piasecki/WireImage
He’s never lost his natural anti-authoritarianism, he says. This kicks in when I ask him whether he admires Jobs, or the other visionaries of our age: “Anyone with too much power makes me suspicious. Anyone like that today at the head of a business or an empire can’t be spotless – so I don’t take much inspiration from that.” Remaining on the side of the poets, he was well cast as Vernon Subutex, the wastrel record-shop owner and alt.culture diehard on a Parisian odyssey in the recent TV adaptation of Virginie Despentes’ bestselling novels.
Maybe this allergy to authority figures is why Duris remains reluctant to step up to directing – even if he’s happy to play a director, as in Michel Hazanavicius’s recent meta-zomcom Final Cut. He just hasn’t found the “life and death” subject matter that would justify him devoting all his time to it. “It has to be essential and visceral,” he explains. “And I already communicate that way through illustration. When I finish a film, I love drawing on my own, and I get to communicate certain things. That’s more natural for me.”
So for now Duris is still doodling, keeping it loose on screen. Next up are a pair of Three Musketeers films with Bourboulon, in which the actor gets to lark it up with Cassel and Pio Marmaï. Duris is Aramis, the conflicted seducer and would-be man of the cloth: “Either he’s doing one thing and regretting it, or doing the other and regretting that.” It sounds like a fun paradox to navigate freehand. No doubt it will be done with gusto, no different from his D’Artagnan days, when he was the ingenue on the Paris boulevards: “I always played the clown, I always made people laugh. I knew that the camera wasn’t going to be a problem.”
Ace Call of Duty Season 4 comes to a close, it’s time to start looking ahead to the next major update. Season 5 will launch soon, and it’s presumably the last major season before Modern Warfare II comes out in October. But when will Season 5 launch, what can you expect from it, and will Verdansk make one last appearance before war zone 2.0 released? Here’s what you need to know about Call of Duty Season 5.
When is the Call of Duty Season 5 release window?
While Activision has yet to confirm the release date for the forthcoming season, the in-game war zone Battle Pass counts down to August 24, 2022, at Noon Eastern. This is when you should expect Season 5 to launch, though it’s possible this will shift by a day or so.
Season 5 will likely go live on or around August 24, 2022.Activision
August 24 is on a Wednesday, which is typically when seasonal updates go live in war zone. Keep in mind, that seasonal updates are often released at Midnight in vanguard, usually, 12 hours before they come to war zone.
Is there a Call of Duty Season 5 trailer?
There isn’t a trailer just yet, but if Activision plans to release one, you should expect it to be available a couple of days before the season begins. For instance, Season 4’s trailer was published on June 20 — just two days ahead of the season’s launch on June 22.
What are the Call of Duty Season 5 updates?
Expect new weapons, balancing changes, and other features during Season 5.Activision
Since Activision hasn’t made any official announcements pertaining to Season 5, it’s unclear what it will include. We’ll likely get a new batch of weapons, balancing changes, in-game events, and hopefully some new gameplay mechanics to keep things fresh.
One thing we’re curious about is how the upcoming season will play out ahead of Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0’s launch. Presumably, Season 5 will be the last one before Modern Warfare II comes out on October 28, so it’ll be interesting to see how things tie together.
Will this be the original Warzone’s final season? How will it lead to the start of Modern Warfare II and war zone 2.0? We hope those questions are answered in a few weeks.
What is the war zone Season 5 Verdansk status?
Players want Verdansk back during Season 5.Activision
As we approach Warzone 2.0’s release later in 2022, it’s likely the original war zone is nearing the end of its life cycle. With this in mind, players have expressed interest in seeing Verdansk — the game’s original map — added to war zone one last time before the sequel comes out. The demand for Verdansk’s return was so high that it began trending on Twitter earlier this month.
Caldera, the current map, hasn’t resonated with the community, so it’s easy to see why the demand for Verdansk’s return is so high.
But will this happen? It’s unlikely.
Typically, seasonal content is planned out three to four months in advance, so unless Activision started working on this in May 2022, you shouldn’t expect to see Verdansk make an appearance during war zone Season 5.
However, this doesn’t mean the map is gone for good. It’s highly likely it’ll be featured in some capacity later on — possibly in war zone 2.0 as a limited-time mode.
A US breakfast television host you have documented her frantic morning rush to get to the studio after accidentally oversleeping.
TODAY star Savannah Guthrie50, is on-air at 7am every weekday on the American TV show, but this morning was almost a very different story.
Guthrie nearly missed the show after she didn’t wake up on time and she shared her stressful sprint to the studio on Instagram.
READMORE:Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to receive humanitarian award for Archewell Foundation’s work
Savannah Guthrie almost missed her 7am show after oversleeping. (instagram)
READMORE:Clearing her name of stealing $140k from her late mother almost cost Siham Benz everything, including her life
“Overslept big time. It’s 6.34am and I’m still in the car,” Guthrie captioned a selfie, just 25 minutes before the cameras were due to start rolling.
As she arrived in the building still undressed for the day, TODAY’S radio program director could be heard yelling out, “Oh Savannah!”
“I know. I can’t even,” the exasperated TV host responded.
At 6.40am, Guthrie filmed her stylist running a hairdryer through her air with only 20 minutes until showtime. “Miracle workers,” she captioned her clip of her.
The TV host had just 14 minutes to get ready. (instagram)
READMORE:Prince Harry was ‘unwise’ to sue over police protection row, says Princess Diana’s former bodyguard
Amazingly, it took the hair and makeup artists just 14 minutes to get the anchor camera ready.
Finally, just six minutes before the 7am show, Guthrie strolled into the studio and greeted her co-host Craig Melvin.
“This is a miracle,” she said as she joined them at the studio desk. “I’m gonna make it!”
After the show began, Melvin took the opportunity to tease his co-anchor about oversleeping.
She made it on-set with six minutes to spare. (instagram)
READMORE:The discreet drink order for women who feel unsafe in a bar
“Savannah Guthrie rolled in about 15 minutes ago. She overslept. She is normal,” he told viewers.
“15 minutes ago with no hair, no makeup. It was a terrifying sight,” Guthrie joked in response.
“But some miracle workers upstairs rolled me in and I’m very happy to be here.”
After the show, Guthrie shared a sweet text message sent from her husband Mike, who was also amazed she made it on-air.
“You made it AND you look hot,” he quipped in a text.
READMORE:Marriage unravels over husband’s vile gym prank
Guthrie is no stranger to the trials and tribulations of morning television. Earlier this month, the TV anchor revealed she had filmed the entire show with her shirt on backwards.
“Realizing you wore your shirt backwards all morning,” Guthrie wrote on Instagram.
In 2020, the TODAY host also admitted she wore her dress the wrong way while on-air.
“I have to point out, I’m sorry, sometimes when you get dressed in the morning – you all know this – things get backwards,” Guthrie laughed during the show.
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The TV shows every kid of the 80s and 90s will remember
The Inklings and Octolings are at it again, or at least they will be from 9 September 2022 with the ink-splattering turf war style multiplayer action game set to launch exclusively on the Nintendo Switch from this date. To mark this impending release, Nintendo hosted a dedicated Nintendo Direct livestream focusing on the game, sharing new information on what fans can look forward to, a special free-to-play demo opportunity, confirmation of post-launch ‘large-scale’ DLC and more.
While I encourage you to watch the whole 32-minute presentation in the header above, you can also read a summary of all announcements made by scrolling down!
Splatoon 3: Splatfest World Premiere Demo: Available to download from the Nintendo eShop on 18 August 2022, with some parts to be available from 25 August, the first Splatoon 3 Splatfest will take place from 27 August 2022 – encouraging all Nintendo Switch Online members to join Team Paper, Team Scissors or Team Rock. This is a time limited event though, with the main tri-colour Splatfest starting at 9.00am (PT) and concluding at 9.00pm (PT)
Return of the Mammalians: The completely new Story Mode is ideal for getting the hang of battles and weapons, while setting out on an adventure to discover the secrets of Alterna, the Fuzzy Ooze, and how it connects to the title’s theme. As Agent 3, the latest recruit of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, players will battle with the Octarian Army, whose members are covered in hair for some reason. Along with their Smallfry buddy, players can explore many stages, each one full of twists and turns.
Improved Turf War Gameplay: Naturally, in a place called Splatsville, Turf War is the locals’ favorite pastime. Two teams of four compete to ink the most turf on the map within three minutes. New techniques have been introduced, like the Squid Surge where players can swim up walls in a single burst, and the Squid Roll, which makes it possible to jump out of ink while turning around. When the players’ character glows while executing the move, it also repels ink from opponents.
Salmon Run: The Salmon Run mode returns, which allows up to four players to work together and collect Power Eggs from the Salmonids advancing on them. Now, Salmon Run can be played at any time! Players will encounter ferocious creatures called Boss Salmonids, including the new Slammin’ Lid and the Big Shot. Plus, watch out for Cohozuna, a new King Salmonid super-giant Salmonid! When battling a King Salmonid, the tank on players’ backs will transform into an Egg Cannon. Collect the Golden Eggs and deal massive damage to the King Salmonid and give it the boot! Plus, Big Runs are coming in the future… an event when Salmonids invade the city in which Inklings and Octolings live!
New and Returning Battle Stages: Turf War battles will play out across a variety of exotic locations. There are stages specific to the Splatlands like Eeltail Alley, Scorch Gorge, Mincemeat Metalworks and Undertow Spillway. There’s also the new Hagglefish Market, a pier filled to the brim with vibrant street vendors. Several stages from Greater Inkopolis also make a return, such as Museum d’Alfonsino, Hammerhead Bridge and Mahi-Mahi Resort. A total of 12 stages await at launch, including the ones shown off in the presentation. More stages will be added in free post-launch updates.
The Deep Cut Trio: Deep Cut is a popular trio who hosts the Splatsville news program Anarchy Splatcast. They provide information on battle stages currently available, as well as other news bulletins. For the first time in the series, these updates can even be read on the go while exploring Splatsville!
Splatfests Return: In these online events, players vote for their favorite choice out of three in an announced theme. The team they represent is based on that choice, and the winner is decided via battles over a set period of time. Splatfests will consist of two halves. In the first half, the three teams will compete in 4-v-4 Turf War battles. The second half includes the new Tricolor Turf War battles, a mode where three teams fight at the same time. Can the first-place team defend themselves in this unique 4-v-2-v-2 match type?
Table Turf Battle: The Tableturf Battle Dojo in Splatsville’s vacant lot is the home of Tableturf Battle, a new mode in Splatoon 3. In this 1-v-1 competitive card battle spinoff of Turf War, players can ink different shapes with different cards, charge up power, then unleash it all at once with a special comeback attack. There are over 150 cards to collect.
The Splatlands’ Main Weapons: New Splatlands-specific weapons have been added in Splatoon 3. The bow-like Tri-Stringer can fire in three directions simultaneously and unleash charged shots that briefly freeze before exploding. The Splatana Wiper sends blades of ink flying with the centrifugal force generated by swinging it. If swung after charging up, it’ll transform into a charged slash. Plus, all main weapon types from previous splatoon games will be available in Splatoon 3 from the start.
New Special Weapons: There are special kinds of weapons that can be unleashed after inking enough turf, and Splatoon 3 brings some new and unique special weapons. These include the Tacticooler – when it’s activated, a fridge appears with stat-boosting beverages for the team. There’s also the Wave Breaker that unleashes sonic waves around the area. And the Reefslider is a shark-shaped, ink-propelled float which charges forward creating an ink explosion on opponents. Some familiar special weapons from the splatoon series, like the Tenta Missiles, Inkjet, Ink Storm, Ultra Stamp and Booyah Bomb, will make their return. Special weapons are paired with main weapons, so players can find the combo that suits their splatting style.
Battle Modes: In Anarchy Battles, players compete for rankings in objective-based battles. There are four separate modes, which are on rotation: Splat Zones, Tower Control, Rainmaker and Clam Blitz. Wanna take on a challenge alone? Select Anarchy Battle (Series). But if players want to team up with friends, joining Anarchy Battle (Open) is the way to go.
Lobby Features: The Splatsville lobby is host to a number of features. Online friends appear as 3D holograms. In battle, it’s easy to join as an ally or drop in as an opponent. And by forming a team and playing, players can see what friends are up to at any given moment. The lobby also includes a Memory Player, which can replay recent battles.
Customizing With the Catalog: When battles start, Splashtags appear. These can be customized with a title, background and badge. Additionally, the emote a character performs when winning a battle can be customized. All of these and more can be obtained via the in-game catalog, which will be available at Hotlantis, a general store on the edge of Splatsville. Players can exchange points earned from battles for various items, like seasonal gear and ability chunks. After the catalog’s initial launch, updates will be released every three months for two years.
SplatNet 3 Connected: SplatNet 3 is an online service for Splatoon 3 within the Nintendo Switch Online app that can be used with a smart device. It contains features like checking battle records, ordering special in-game gear from the SplatNet Gear Shop and much more. A new feature is Crusty Sean’s Wandercrust. It’s possible to support Crusty Sean’s journey using Inked Points earned during battles. SplatNet 3 will be available at launch.
New amiibo Inkoming:New Splatoon 3 amiibo figures are arriving this holiday, including separate amiibo figures for Inkling (Yellow), Octoling (Blue) and Smallfry which will be available at select retailers for a suggested price of $15.99 each. Scanning the amiibo in-game will allow players to save their favorite gear combinations as Fresh Fits to easily swap outfits. Additionally, the amiibo come with exclusive gear, and it’s possible to snap in-game photos together with them. Plus, some Splatoon 2 amiibo figures will be relaunching soon: Both the Callie & Marie 2-Pack and the Pearl & Marina 2-Pack will be restocked at select retailers at a suggested price of $24.99 each.
Post-Launch Updates: After the game launches, a free in-game season catalog will be distributed every three months for two years. Additional weapons will also be added around the same time as each in-game catalog. In addition, X Battle and League Battle are planned for future updates. X Battle is unlocked after attaining an extremely high rank in Anarchy Battle. In League Battle, players can compete every two hours in teams based on their Anarchy Battle results. Large-scale paid DLC is also planned for the future. More details will be shared at a later date.
Han Solo’s original blaster, used by Harrison Ford in Star Wars: A New Hope, is expected to fetch up to $500,000 (£410,000) when it goes under the hammer later this month.
The prop firearm, which was previously missing and presumed lost, was rediscovered by Rock Island Auction Company (RIAC), and will be available at the company’s premier auction.
The gun is the sole surviving blaster prop remaining of the three used for filming the original Star Wars trilogy, according to RIAC. The pre-auction estimate for Han Solo’s BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster is $300,000-500,000.
The prop was based on the German-made Mauser C96, one of the first and most recognizable semi-automatic handguns ever made.
Wanting an old west gunslinger feel for the captain of the Millennium Falcon, the designers selected the Mauser C96 as the basis of Han Solo’s iconic blaster.
Star Wars Hollywood memorabilia has become highly desirable in the field of collecting. In 2018, Han Solo’s blaster from Return of the Jedi sold to Ripley’s Believe it or Not! for $550,000. More recently an original X-wing miniature prop went for $2.3m in June 2022.
Image: Tag Heuer
