đŽ Intergalactic planetary
Outer space, the deep blue sea, the depths of hell, and so much more...
Morninâ. Did you set your alarm so you could wake with the risingâŚEarth?
On this day in 1966, NASAâs Lunar Orbiter 1 sent back the first ever images of Earth as seen from lunar orbit, otherwise known as the iconic âEarthriseâ images. Just a few weeks later, in early September, NBC debuted an obscure little sci-fi show you might have heard of called Star Trek.
Our collective obsession with space was kicked into high gear, and it still hasnât slowed all these years later.
Itâs fitting then that todayâs newsletter has a lot of space talk, both real and imaginary. Counting down: 5âŚ4âŚ3âŚ
âEric Alt, Andrew Nusca, Tim Leong, Marques Edge
Buffed/Nerfed
Whatâs up and down in the world rn.
Buffed: Pink Floyd-inspired theories. Chinaâs lunar rover (we warned you thereâd be lots of space talk) was able to map 1,000 feet worth of hidden âstructuresâ beneath the surface of the dark side of the moon. Starting syncing up side 1/track 1âŚnow.
Nerfed: Your ability to sleep. New York City launched its first ever âAnti-Rat Day of Actionâ because residents have complained about ârats the size of Crocs.â They mean the shoes, but too lateâyouâre now imagining either crocodile-sized rats or Crocs made of rats and good luck sleeping tonight.
Buffed: VO job openings. Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario going all the way back to Super Mario 64, is retiring at the age of 67. âItâs-a me!ââthousands of voice actors vying for the gig.
Nerfed: Being twice shy. After being released early from his six-year prison sentence for wire fraud, Billy McFarland, the man behind the infamous Fyre Festival, appears to already be planning Fyre Festival II. Another unwanted sequel, it seems.
Buffed: Work excuses. âA bird dropped a fish on our power linesâ is the new âmy dog ate itâ excuse, thanks (natch) to the never-boring state of New Jersey. âEA
Burning Questions: Which is safer: deep space travel or deep sea travel?
Asked and answered.
If you listen to the way in which space launches or space tourism are talked about versus how deep sea expeditions are discussed, youâll notice that one always seems to be wrapped in Star Trek-inspired optimism while the other seems forever steeped in The Abyss-inspired anxiety.
ButâŚis that fair?
Executive editor Eric Alt sat down with two experts to tackle this question: Sean Carroll, an expert in astrophysics and space exploration at Johns Hopkins University, and Robert Stern, an expert in sea exploration at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Shameless plug: âDiablo IV: Season of Bloodâ is coming Oct. 17
Youâve already been hacking your way through zombies, goatmen, and winged fiends, and youâre probably thinking youâve seen the worst Sanctuary has to throw at you.
Youâll never feel this good about being this wrong.
Blizzard has just announced that Diablo IVâs second season is coming just in time for Halloween, and itâs bringing vampires with it. But all is not lost, because actress and producer Gemma Chan is also joining the fray as a vampire hunter.
There will be blood.
Extractor: How movies have treated video games over the years
Investigations of interest.
As much as we love seeing our favorite games brought to the big screen, what happens when movies try to integrate the feeling and experience of actually playing a game?
Looking at everything from fun digital romps to dystopian thrillers, contributing writer Isaac Feldberg goes decade by decade to uncover some of the best ways gaming has been represented on the big screen.
Wayback Wednesday
This is a wayback within a semi-wayback.
This ad for Hearthstoneâs âKobolds & Catacombsâ expansion may have only been released in 2017, but its heart is firmly in the 1980s.
Designed as a loving tribute to the gloriously cheesy (and sometimes budget-challenged) fantasy films of that decadeâmost notably, Muppets creator Jim Hensonâs forays into the genre like Labyrinth and The Dark CrystalââThe Light Candleâ features Star Wars: Battlefront IIâs Janina Gavankar as the âmovieâsâ heroine in what is apparently Kobold King Togwaggleâs complete auteurist effort (he wrote, directed, and stars).
From the deliberately cheap and dated visual effects to the over-the-top puppet designs, the ad proves you can only truly make fun of something if you deeply love it. This one was definitely from the heart. âEA
Wormhole
Click the following image andâŚwell, we donât want to ruin the surprise.
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About us
The Edit is a thrice-weekly newsletter exploring the intersection of gaming and life. Our love letter to millions of gamers around the globe, it is written and published by the Activision Blizzard King global editorial team.