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- Hello, king of death
Hello, king of death
+ Forget Kendrick vs. Drake. Here's true beef.
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OVERWORLD:
-Microsoft, king of death, kills several small & successful game studios-
ONE BETWEEN:
-There are $2 million VIP seats at Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul-
THE DEPTHS:
-Forget Kendrick vs. Drake. Here’s true beef.-
“If there hadn't been women we'd still be squatting in a cave eating raw meat, because we made civilization in order to impress our girlfriends.”
— Orson Welles
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Small fish in a big tank
Microsoft, king of death, kills several small & successful studios
Actions speak louder than words.
Like when you say "Man, fuck it. I'm not going to KFC anymore.” 6 days later, you're in that bucket, fingering.
That's what Microsoft is doing right now.
Matt Booty (yes, Booty), head of Xbox Game Studios, reportedly said they "need smaller games that give us prestige and awards."
That was one day after Mr. Booty and co. shut down Tango Gameworks, which had made the small, prestigious hit Hi-Fi Rush. They also shut down Arkane Austin (Death Loop, Prey).
✦What’s going on here?✦
These layoffs are odd, especially since the games are doing well. Actually, Hi-Fi Rush, had recently expanded to PS5 after its successful launch.
These types of shutdowns signal a new era in the gaming industry - it's more fragile than ever.
Projects are getting canceled left and right, and layoffs are happening in tsunami waves.
According to The Verge, the situation at Xbox is tense, with employees uncertain about future directions and strategies - and wether or not they’ll keep their jobs.
In 2023: 11,250 people were laid off across the entire gaming industry.
In January 2024: 6000 people were laid off. That's over half of last year's total layoffs in one month - and 1900 of them were under Microsoft.
Adding to the shit-storm, Microsoft's financial reports say Xbox hardware revenue declined by 31% year over year, with previous reports showing a 30% drop.
Also, the company is grappling with declining Game Pass subscriptions are slowing down.
Sadly, that means people need to get wiped.
THE KING NEEDS YOU
Human, you are a mere . Do you not seek grander ventures? A greater title? Honor? Take up arms, and help me expand my kingdom!
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Refer a friend with this link.
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✦QUICK HITS✦
✦Business & Tech✦
Tesla’s got company: Climate protesters tried to break into Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory, leading to police interventions and roadblocks amid ongoing demonstrations against the factory's expansion. Multiple arrests were issued.
Return of the gangsta: GameStop shares soared 40% in premarket trading as "Roaring Kitty," a key player in 2021's meme stock rally, resurfaced on X/Twitter after 3 years. His comeback coincides with a resurgence of interest in GameStop, which has jumped over 57% in May, although it remains below its peak levels from 2021.
Apple is reportedly nearing an agreement with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18, enhancing iPhone capabilities with new AI features. Although discussions with Google’s Gemini chatbot continue without a deal, Apple's AI advancements will be highlighted at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
✦Fashion & Culture✦
Kim Jones is collaborating with Stone Island for a Dior Men's capsule, blending Parisian haute couture with functional Italian detailing… and it’s surprisingly good.
Yes, this is real: Adult Swim has released a new teaser for "Rick and Morty: The Anime," set to air in 2024. The latest clip reveals Morty as a celebrated hero on a foreign planet, showing his widespread acclaim during a city's independence celebration. The anime will premiere on Adult Swim and Max this year.
Videogamedunkey, real name Jason Gastrow, has glo’d up and expanded from reviewing games on YouTube to publishing them. His company, Bigmode, recently released "Animal Well," a puzzle game by developer Billy Basso, and everybody is loving it.
✦Hmm… Interesting✦
Read: Food labels and the lies they tell us about ‘best before’ expiration dates (2021)
For developers: Why the CORDIC algorithm lives rent-free in my head
About startups: The Worst Outcome is a Mediocre Success
ONE
BETWEEN
Different strokes for different folks
There are $2 million VIP seats at Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul
To be cringe, or not to be cringe. That is the question. And many are asking themselves this ahead of the Tyson vs. Paul fight.
Cause it might be cringe, but it might also be cool. Regardless, the fight will be among the 2020’s most monumental events.
And with Mike’s legacy so engrained in American entertainment history, the fight is relevant across six generations.
Some people will be taking the fight very seriously. So much so that they’ll spend $2 million on a VIP package.
Here are some numbers:
Who’s going?
Over 121,000 fans having registered for presale ticket access.
Floor seating is highly sought after, with 35,000 people interested.
Over 10,000 have expressed interest in VIP seats.
What does it cost?
The biggest VIP package costs $2 million, and includes ringside seats, locker room photos, signed gloves, and luxury accommodations.
Ringside seats are currently selling for $8,067 each.
Secondary market prices start at $357 for the lowest-cost seats.
What are the odds?
This might be history’s most betted on fight ever.
Oddsmakers expect Paul to win. He’s listed as a -145 favorite at DraftKings, while Tyson is a +150 underdog.
70% of the betting money is on Tyson.
What are the rules?
16-ounce gloves
2-minute rounds
No official judges
No winner unless KO
THE DEPTHS
Gentlemen’s war
Forget Kendrick vs. Drake. Here’s true beef.
Egypt. Aliens. Right?
Probably not. At least not when it comes to drilling techniques.
If you didn't know, stones such as quartz and granite are hard as shit.
This has left us with lots of question marks and conspiracies as to how ancient Egyptians could drill flawless little holes through them.
Recently, some Russians were real annoyed with the ancient alien theories. So, they made a video on how they drill the stone themselves using only ancient instruments. (English subtitles available).
✦Beef of the century✦
And way before that, there was general scholarly controversy among Egyptologists. One such disagreement occurred in the 1880s between two eminent Egyptologists, Alfred Lucas and Sir Flinders Petrie.
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Petrie: They used jeweled tubular drills with cutting points of emery—a hard abrasive material—to achieve precise, smooth drilling evidenced by concentric lines on granite cores.
Lucas: They used a loose, wet quartz sand as an abrasive, a material readily available in Egypt. In his view, this would account for the detailed craftsmanship without the need for setting hard abrasive points into the drill.
Kendrick vs. Drake? Eh... yeah, no. This is real beef.
✦Let’s settle this shit✦
And before Russians could make sick ass YouTube videos, this 1983 study was published to settle the beef.
It's called "Ancient Egyptian Stone-Drilling: An Experimental Perspective on a Scholarly Disagreement."
Basically, they took a sarcophagus from 2500 BC (pictured below), which had holes drilled with sniper precision and filled the drilled granite lid with silicone.
The silicone would then reveal the shape of the tool. The researchers could get pretty precise information when placing the silicone under a scanning electron microscope.
Below you have the silicone, then that silicone under a microscope.
Then, they tried replicating it. They used various abrasives and variables: beach sand, crushed quartz, garnet, emery, and diamond, combined with different mediums such as dry conditions, water, and olive oil.
The result: The use of emery and diamond in a lubricated or wet environment did recreate these distinct patterns.
So, Petrie's theory is probably closer to truth. But who cares about that? The sad part is that there are no aliens.