STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[MIKA27]

Paul Rudd's Ant-Man And The Wasp Stunt Double Is A Badarse Amputee

At 16, Brett Smrz lost his leg after a freak trampoline accident. Today, Smrz is a professional stunt driver and one of two Ant-Man stunt doubles you'll see in Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Production on the Ant-Man sequel began earlier this year, but last week, photos of Smrz wearing part of his Ant-Man costume and his everyday prosthetic leg made their way online and challenged everyone to rethink their ideas about what kinds of people become stunt doubles.

Now this is super cool. This is #AntMan's stunt double. If you know any kids that this may help uplift feel free to take it.

Smrz has spoken candidly about his fateful accident on the trampoline, but more importantly, he's also been very up-front about how having a prothesis hasn't really changed his life all that much. In fact, Smrz has said, it hasn't slowed him down in the least — a determination rooted in the fact that he comes from one of Hollywood's best-known families of stunt performers.

[MIKA27]

Before We Vanish Gives A Quirky Philosophical Twist To The Alien Invasion Genre

Though the space creatures visiting Earth in Before We Vanish can inhabit the bodies of homo sapiens, they don't know what it means to be human. But the more they learn about it, the closer we get to possibly becoming extinct.

Before We Vanish doesn't try to replicate the special effects extravaganzas seen in most alien encounter movies. Instead, it tackles the questions that most films — and people — take for granted. The film starts with two big shocks, the first in the form of an elderly couple's gorily dismembered bodies. The second shock is more personal, when Narumi Kase (Masami Nagasawa) learns that her missing husband, Shinji (Ryuhei Matsuda), has been found after a week, but he doesn't seem to know anything about anything. When it seems like Shinji can't remember his infidelity that caused the couple to drift apart, Narumi thinks it's a ploy to avoid angry reprisals from her.

However, it soon becomes apparent that Shinji doesn't know the most basic information about living life. That's because his body is now home to an alien who didn't previously have a physical form. This creature — along with two others who have been taken over the bodies of a teenage boy and girl — has been tasked with pulling knowledge from human brains in advance of a mass invasion. So when Shinju touches his finger to the forehead of a design studio exec to harvest the idea of work, all of that meaning leaves the man's brain completely. The hapless exec gallumphs across desks making paper aeroplanes from blueprints and smashing intricate models of famous buildings. He doesn't know how to work anymore.

It's impressive how nakedly existential Before We Vanish is. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa revolves his film around foundational questions that most adults have settled on answers for, like, "Who am I? What is love? Why do we fight wars? What is property?" Much of Before We Vanish plays as a comedy and the film mixes quirkiness and tension well. Yet, even as you're laughing at the nihilistic hijinks of the teen aliens, you sit in a sense of creeping dread as they near the completion of their mission. There's something horrible about watching them rob unsuspecting humans of vital concepts after goading them to load up ideas in their heads. When a human falls to their knees after an alien touches their forehead, you know that they have permanently lost a piece of the knowledge that made them who they are.

After she starts off wanting the old version of her unfaithful husband back, Narumi wants to keep this new Shinji. He's kinder, gentler, and more open to experiences the old him had written off. A cranky reporter named Sakurai (Hiroki Hasegawa) finds himself orbiting the alien in a teen male body, tethered by a mix of careerist scoop hunger, morbid fascination, and ornery bitterness. The aliens refer to both Narumi and Sakurai as their guides to humanity's cognitive wilderness but the two humans wrapped up in this chaos find their loyalties challenged. Sakurai spends much of the movie trying to get people — including himself — to believe that the alien invasion threat is real. While she's also butting heads with the government agency trying to suppress the truth, Narumi is trying to figure out a routine with this weird, naive Shinji variant in her life.

Kurosawa's film juggles bursts of poignant emotion, sudden violence, and manic comedy with ease. It's fun to watch, even more so because it's designed to make you think. Before We Vanish is reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers but, here, the organising concern is deep existential questioning, not cold war paranoia. It makes viewers question how the expectations and relationships we have with others define our sense of self and how we re-orient that sense of self when the people around us go through dramatic changes. The extraterrestrials came to Earth to absorb knowledge and discard flesh but what they experienced changed them, too.

[MIKA27]

The 2018 Kia Stinger GT Is Good 

It is fair and justified to be sceptical of the 2018 Kia Stinger GT. A rear-wheel drive sport sedan from Kia? With 272kW? Again, from Kia? All of it seems improbable, like something you'd experience in a wild fever dream. But it is real, and apparently it's pretty good, too.

This comes to us from Ignition's Randy Pobst, a guy who knows a thing or two about fast cars that are good. And before he even starts on performance, he explains why it's maybe the most interesting Kia ever, being on the same rear-drive platform as the new Genesis G70 and technically being a hatchback, not a sedan.

The Stinger is also the real first product of Albert Biermann, the former BMW M boss who got poached by Hyundai, so it's spearheaded by someone who knows what a performance car should be. Out on the road, Randy says, the Stinger proves to be quite a lot of fun to drive, albeit on the heavy side due to the platform-sharing.

On the Streets of Willow, it falls short of being a real track car, but it's a great sporty sedan. And the twin-turbo V6 has a lot of punch without a ton of lag, enough to spin the tires in third gear at low revs. The brakes didn't fade, either. Perhaps best of all, the stability control can be switched off entirely — something of an increasing rarity these days, even for performance cars.

So hell yes, Kia! Good work here. It's nice to know this thing has actual chops and isn't another poser sport sedan.

[MIKA27]

You Can Now Watch The Blade Runner 2049 Prequel Anime From The Director Of Cowboy Bebop

Shinichirō Watanabe is one of the most iconic anime directors in the business, thanks to his work on the beloved Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop. But his latest work is an intriguing sidestep: A 15-minute short film set in the world of Blade Runner.

The third and final prequel movie set between the events of Blade Runner and the upcoming sequel, 2049, Watanabe's Blade Runner Black Out 2022 covers a period hinted at in the previous two shorts. It's the year when a gigantic EMP blast knocks out power to the cities across the world, leading to a rise in anti-Replicant sentiment and eventually a complete prohibition of Replicant creation — one lifted in the years before Blade Runner 2049 through the actions of the movie's new villain, Niander Wallace (Jared Leto).

You can watch the full thing over at Crunchyroll for free in lower resolutions, but if you want it in full quality you'll have to sign up for the anime service.

[MIKA27]

Ataribox Will Ship Next Year, Costs $US249 To $US299

Here's something you probably expected: the Ataribox, a machine designed to play modern and retro games, will ship next year. But what you probably didn't expect is that it's running on ... Linux.
In an email newsletter, Atari confirmed that the Ataribox would be powered by "an AMD customised processor" using "Radeon Graphics technology". It's not scheduled to ship until autumn next year - the email says spring 2018, although it's coming from the other side of the world, so autumn for Australians.

The company added that the box will cost between $US249 to $US299, depending on special editions (like the wood version) and memory configurations. They didn't specify if memory was referring to internal storage, RAM, both, or something else.

One of the most interesting elements is that the retro box will run on Linux, rather than Windows:

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It'll run Linux, with a customised, easy-to-use user interface. This approach means that as well as being a great gaming device, Ataribox is also a full PC experience for the TV, bringing you streaming, applications, social, browsing, music, and more.

Linux isn't a completely crazy choice. SteamOS is built on Linux as well, although it's rarely used these days. But for something that acts as a time machine while playing a select range of modern titles (as not everything supports Linux), there's a lot that can be done with Linux.

Atari also confirmed that the Ataribox would ship with "tons of classic Atari retro games pre-loaded [and] current titles from a range of studios", adding that they would announce newer titles "very soon".

Atari also confirmed that they will launch a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo. Here's the details on that:

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We're launching Ataribox on Indiegogo this autumn (read: pretty soon). To reiterate why: we want you, the Atari community, to be part of this launch. We want you to have early access, grab special editions (& pricing) and to have you as active partners in the rollout of Ataribox. We want you to be part of the story.

More news is due out in the next few weeks.

[MIKA27]

FERRARI 412P AT THE 1967 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA

This meticulous print is the result of countless hours involving a team of artists to recreate the scenes, sights, and sensations of the pit lane after the legendary 1967 24 Hours of Daytona. It’s the work of Unique & Limited, a company that uses a group of graphic artists, photographers, and 3D modelers to offer glimpse back through the veil of time at some of the racing world’s finest and most memorable moments.

The Ferrari 412P was essentially a Ferrari NART 330 P3/4 with a better transmission, Weber carburetors in place of fuel injection, more effective brakes, and an almost identical body shell. So similar were the two cars they were (and still are) often mistaken for each other.

Each print by Unique & Limited is offered in sizes from medium (110cm x 47cm, limited edition of 25) to large (220cm x 94cm, limited edition of 5). They’re also signed, and come with both a certificate and a silver plaque to guarantee its authenticity.

 

[MIKA27]

New Tone-Deaf ‘Geostorm’ Trailer Uses Weather as a Weapon

I’m going to give Warner Bros. the benefit of the doubt on this one. They probably didn’t think that the release date for Geostorm, a special effects bonanza about an artificially generated worldwide natural disaster, would be following on the heels of three devastating hurricanes in the U.S., earthquakes in Mexico, and other natural disasters around the world. I also can’t really fault them for releasing the film since they’ve invested in its production and it’s ready to go; it’s the financially smart thing to do if not the emotionally correct one. And besides, you already lost me at “Gerard Butler stars as Jake, a scientist.”

Dean Devlin (writer/producer, Independence Day) makes his feature film directorial debut with suspense thriller Geostorm, starring Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Alexandra Maria Lara, Daniel Wu, with Oscar nominees Ed Harris and Andy Garcia.

Here’s the actual synopsis of Geostorm:

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After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world’s leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong—the system built to protect the Earth is attacking it, and it’s a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything…and everyone along with it.
 
Butler stars as Jake, a scientist who, along with his brother, Max, played by Sturgess, is tasked with solving the satellite program’s malfunction. Cornish stars as Secret Service agent Sarah Wilson; Lara as Ute Fassbinder, the ISS astronaut who runs the space station; Wu as Cheng, the Hong Kong-based supervisor for the Dutch Boy Program; with Garcia as U.S. President Andrew Palma; and Harris as Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom.
 
The film also stars Adepero Oduye (“The Big Short,” “12 Years a Slave”), Amr Waked (“Lucy,” “Syriana”), Robert Sheehan (“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” “Season of the Witch”) and Eugenio Derbez (“Instructions Not Included”).
 
The film, written by Dean Devlin & Paul Guyot, is being produced by Skydance’s David Ellison, Devlin, and Skydance’s Dana Goldberg. Herbert W. Gains and Electric Entertainment’s Marc Roskin are the executive producers. Rachel Olschan of Electric Entertainment and Cliff Lanning co-produce.
 
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Roberto Schaefer (“Finding Neverland,” “Quantum of Solace”), production designer Kirk M. Petruccelli (“White House Down”), costume designer Susan Matheson (“The Big Short,” “Safehouse”) and VFX supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still”).
 
A Warner Bros. Pictures and Skydance presentation, “Geostorm” is a joint venture between Skydance and Electric Entertainment, Inc. Set to hit theaters October 20, 2017, it will be distributed in 3D and 2D in select theaters and IMAX, by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

 

[MIKA27]

PAPPY VAN WINKLE BARREL-AGED HOT SAUCE

Few whiskies out there can compete with the reputation of Pappy Van Winkle. We’ve all heard of the famed Kentucky bourbon but few of us have ever pulled the trigger on purchasing a bottle of the $1k+ whiskey. Luckily, there’s another – albeit spicier – option that’s much more affordable to consider.

Through a partnership with Midland Ghost, Pappyco has successfully put together their own exclusive hot sauce that pays homage to the renowned whiskey. Each batch is made with fresh locally grown Ghost Peppers from Midland and then aged in their very own bourbon barrels to form a unique and rich flavor profile that’s smokey, oaky and certainly hot. Outfitted as your go-to kicker for just about any dish, one dash of old Pappy and you’re sure to be sweating like it’s mid-July in Kentucky. Available now.

[MIKA27]

Gonzo Motorcycles Nimbus Type C ‘Odin’s Fury’

If your first impression of the Gonzo Motorcycles Nimbus Type C “Odin’s Fury” concept is that it looks like it was designed and purpose built to crush straight line drags, you’re absolutely on the money. Even though the bike doesn’t bear much resemblance to the donor Nimbus Type C it’s based on, that historic Danish bike (which was originally built by vacuum manufacturers) had a remarkable engine cast into a single block paired to a shaft drive. When Danish motorcycle builder, tinkerer and all around madman Lars Nielsen set out to build “Odin’s Fury” to compete in the “750cc, home built frame, partially streamlined, vintage, blown category” at the Bonneville Salt Flats during AMA Speed Week, he kept that motor and rebuilt the rest of the bike around it. An entirely new frame was built with a hard tailed configuration in the rear and Sportster forks up front. The wheels were swapped for ones from a Honda Goldwing. The fuel tank and bodywork both come from unknown donor vehicles. Head to the Gonzomoto Facebook page for updates on how the bike performs at the flats.

[MIKA27]

3-INGREDIENT COCKTAILS

You don't need a bunch of components to make a good drink. Most of the time, you just need three. In 3-Ingredient Cocktails: An Opinionated Guide to the Most Enduring Drinks in the Cocktail Canon longtime cocktail and spirit editor Robert Simonson walks you through some of his favorite libations. The book's 75 recipes are organized by the style of drink, covering beverages both classic and contemporary, accompanied by outstanding full-color photographs and amusing asides.

[MIKA27]

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Trailer, Release Date, & Everything Else We Know

Ever wanted to fight the Empire from the cockpit of an X-Wing @Smithy? Or do you dream of mowing over the pesky droids invading Naboo? Star Wars Battlefront 2 wants to put you in the frontlines of every era of the Star Wars saga, from the Prequel Trilogy all the way to The Force Awakens. 

Star Wars Battlefront 2 adds a few things that the first game was missing, such as a story mode that bridges the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. It introduces all-new characters as well as explores the birth of the First Order. 

Plus more multiplayer modes, including the Starfighter Assault mode that finally gives fans the chance to enter intense dogfights in space. Oh, and there are tons of new heroes, such as Yoda, Darth Maul, Rey, and Kylo Ren!

Here's everything else we know about the game:

Star Wars Battlefront 2 News

Check out the new Star Wars Battlefront 2 trailer where John Boyega aka Finn reveals the full game experience that players can expect to immerse themselves in this holiday. Whether it’s dominating as your favorite iconic hero in epic multiplayer battles with up to 40 players, piloting a starfighter through thrilling dogfights in space, or stepping into the boots of commander Iden Versio in the campaign’s all new untold Star Wars story, there’s something for everyone in this sequel.

Along with 5 unique multiplayer modes to suit any play style and 18 locations set across all three cinematic Star Wars eras, the new class based system, Battle Points and reworked Star Card system offer greater depth and progression than ever before.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Release Date

Star Wars Battlefront 2 will be released on November 11, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Players who pre-order the game will be able to access exclusive content from The Last Jedi, including ships and costumes. 

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Trailers

Star Wars Battlefront 2 will feature space battles, something that was missing from the first game at launch. Check out the impressive trailer for the Starfighter Assault mode below:

EA took the stage at D23 2017 to unveil more details about Star Wars Battlefront 2, including some info on main character Iden Versio and her Inferno Squad. We also learned that Finn will be a playable hero in the game. Check out the trailer:

EA has announced that those who pre-order the game will receive early access to the beta as well as exclusive in-game content related to The Last Jedi that includes exclusive outfits, vehicles, and access to hero and starfighter cards.

The publisher has also announced that future content updates will be free and that the first wave of content updates will add Finn and Captain Phasma to the game as playable heroes. 

Finally, here's the first cinematic trailer for Battlefront 2's multiplayer gameplay:

And here's almost 20 minutes of multiplayer gameplay!

A new developer diary posted on Sony's US blog addresses the scope of Battlefront 2's story and how the game's emphasis on the Empire allows the development team to explore new worlds and aspects of the Star Wars universe which are not always explored. Take a look:

Here is the official reveal trailer for Star Wars Battlefront 2:

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Beta

EA has confirmed via the PlayStation Blog that the Star Wars Battlefront 2 beta will begin on October 6th. Those who pre-order the full game will be able to access the beta two days early. 

This beta will allow 40 players to participate in the Galactic Assault on Naboo, which you may remember seeing during the game's E3 2017 showing. You'll be able to select from four trooper classes during the battle and the beta will feature a selection of playable hero characters. 

Beta players will also be able to participate in the game's Starfighter Assault mode which highlights Battlefront 2's enhanced ship to ship combat options. This mode takes place during the original trilogy era and will feature period-specific ships doing battle on an objective-based map.

This announcement only references the PS4 version of the beta, but it is believed that these beta dates apply to all versions of the game. We'll be sure to update you if we hear an official announcement stating otherwise. 

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Details

It turns out that leaked Battlefront 2 trailer was accurate - you can view the official version in the trailers section below - but Star Wars Celebration 2017 did bring us some brand new details about the next Battlefront game. 

Battlefront 2's campaign will focus on a character named Iden Versio who leads an elite unit of Empire soldiers named the Inferno Squad. The campaign takes place shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi and focuses on how the remaining stormtroopers and Empire leaders dealt with the fallout of the Death Star II's destruction.  

Yes, the next Battlefront game will largely focus on the bad guys of the Star Wars universe. This isn't the first time we've stepped into the shoes of the Empire's best and brightest, but it's fascinating to go from "No real Battlefront campaign" to "A Battlefront campaign that lets you dive into the dark side."

EA didn't dive into too many story specifics, but they did note that Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren will be featured in the story as playable characters. They also noted that this story will be considered a part of the official Star Wars canon. You'll be able to enjoy this canonical story via the game's co-op campaign mode which can be played online and via split-screen. 

Additionally, the Battlefront 2 panelists confirmed that all film eras of Star Wars will be represented in the game's multiplayer mode. Joining these classic Star Wars generations will be a new class mode that allows players to unlock new abilities. Not only will you be able to upgrade your basic trooper, but the multiplayer's heroes will also be upgradable via a unique skill system. 

Speaking of multiplayer heroes, it sounds like the appearance of heroes in battles is going to be a much bigger deal this time around. The Battlefront 2 team at SCO noted that the appearance of heroes in a match will have a major impact on the proceedings, but did not go into details regarding how the new hero system may work. 

Best of all, it sounds like Battlefront 2 will bring proper space battles back to the Battlefront universe. We know that Criterion will be handling the development of these space battles, but it's not quite clear whether or not these battles will be incorporated into the ground battles or whether or not they will be separate match types. 

Star Wars Battlefront 2 Writers

If you've been wondering how Battlefront went from no campaign mode to a shockingly original and highly-anticipated campaign mode, it turns out the answer may have something to do with the people writing the game's story. 

Walt Williams has revealed that he and former IGN editor Mitch Dyer are penning Battlefront 2's campaign narrative. For those who don't know, Walt Williams was the lead writer for Spec Ops: The Line; a game that is regularly cited as arguably the greatest example of intelligent storytelling in gaming. 

Williams was 2K lead narrative designer until he left the company in 2014. Since then, Williams has refrained from disclosing what he is working on. We now know that he has been helping to write what is shaping up to be the most interesting video game exploration of the dark side since 1994's Star Wars: Tie Fighter. 

It remains to be seen whether Battlefront 2 can emulate the brilliance of that game's twisted narrative. Given that Williams once penned one of the darkest examinations of war's effect on humanity, though, our hopes are high he and Dyer will turn in something special. 

 

[Fuzz]

1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

The Rarest Stuff We Found In Akihabara's Game Shops

 

 

Just don't make the mistake of walking into the wrong store. Akihabara is not just famous for anime/manga, electronics, gaming etc.

[MIKA27]

16 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Just don't make the mistake of walking into the wrong store. Akihabara is not just famous for anime/manga, electronics, gaming etc.

Trust you to know....  Ahhhh @Fuzz you truly worry me mate. 

Saying that.... You'd probably come out better off with the latter and happier considering the prices for those games! 

[Fuzz]

9 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

Trust you to know....  Ahhhh @Fuzz you truly worry me mate. 

Saying that.... You'd probably come out better off with the latter and happier considering the prices for those games! 

Last time I was in Tokyo, we were walking around Akihabara and my friend's wife walked into the wrong store. She saw all the toy vending machines (gashapon) out front, so walked in to see what else they had. Came running out bright red when she realised what they sold and said the dudes inside all turned to stare at her.

[MIKA27]

How Ancient Star Maps Gave Rise To Modern Astronomy

Scientists have incredibly advanced tools to look at the stars today, but in the era before light pollution, star-gazing was much easier and simpler for the average person — just step outside at night. Pretty early on, and in a variety of cultures, people realised that they could chart the stars and their movements for navigation. The Greek constellations, which were tied to their myths, illustrate how this information moved through time. But humanity's early star maps are much more than ancient artifacts — they became part of our history and culture, and continue to inform modern science to a surprising degree.

Dunhuang Star Chart

The first complete star map that still exists today was made in 650 A.D. in Dunhuang, western China, a city on the Silk Road. There, a star atlas was meticulously drawn onto a piece of paper, then filed away with other documents in a temple alcove. The space was sealed off at some point, and wasn't re-discovered until 1907, when a Taoist monk, the self-appointed guardian of the temple, accidentally crashed through a wall to find the hidden cache, which contained sculptures, piles of documents, and the now-famous star map.

"[The map] was most likely made by someone highly educated like a scholar or a court astronomer," cosmologist Dr. Khee-Gan Lee, a NASA Hubble Fellow at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, tells Gizmodo. "This was definitely not amateur work, but was professional for the time."

Lee is an expert on ancient star maps who has given several presentations on them at U.C. Berkeley over the past few months. The history of star maps matters to him personally, because even today, maps of the cosmos help guide his research.

"Mapping out what we can observe...is one way of inferring some of the fundamental parameters of the universe," Lee said. A good example of how this works is the recent Dark Energy Survey, which used information about the shapes and distribution of galaxies to "infer the density of gravitational matter in the Universe — one of the fundamental parameters of the Universe," Lee said. That Survey's results were also a test of Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Following the Dunhuang map, there wasn't another more complete star map for hundreds of years (at least, none that have been discovered yet). All civilizations were limited by technology — they could record what was observed by the naked eye, like the brightest stars and planets. For almost a thousand years, that limitation halted a further understanding of the cosmos. To get more detailed information, humans needed a better eye.

When the first telescopes were developed in The Netherlands in the early 1600s, amateurs and experts alike were excited to try them, even though they only had weak magnifications of 3X or 4X. From Galileo's early models, to Newton's, to the 457.20m-long model designed by Johannes Hevelius, astronomers of the 16th and 17th centuries were limited by the quality of the glass needed to make more powerful telescopes. Not much more could be learned about the stars until higher magnifications were achieved.

Sir William Herschel and Caroline Herschel. Colour lithograph by A. Diethe, ca. 1896. William polishing a telescope element, probably a mirror and Caroline Herschel adds lubricant.

In late 1770s, German/Czech/Jewish musician William Herschel turned to designing telescopes. After some failures, he developed a powerful enough 'scope to make brand-new observations, and immediately began a systematic search and recording of the night sky above Bath, England. In 1781, he was able to discern that Uranus wasn't another star, but a planet. Following that discovery, he was appointed Court Astronomer by the British king, George III, and paid to study the stars full time. His sister Caroline Herschel, who started her career in astronomy by recording her brother's observations, soon moved on to making her own when she got her own telescope. Her observations on comets became widely published, and she was also employed by the Crown, the first woman in British history to be recognised in this way.

"On the construction of the heavens." The shape of our Galaxy as deduced from star counts by William Herschel in 1785; drawn by Caroline Herschel. Read at the Royal Society, February 3, 1785. 

Putting their observations together, William and Caroline Herschel published On the Construction of the Heavens in 1785, which painted a basic picture of The Milky Way. "The Herschels were the first people to systematically chart the heavens. "From my perspective as a modern cosmologist, it's the earliest echo of what I do — charting out and analysing the positions of objects in the sky, then inferring the properties of the universe through the process," said Lee.

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"That the Milky Way is a most extensive stratum of stars of various sizes admits no longer of the least doubt, and that our Sun is actually one of the heavenly bodies belonging to it is evident. I have now viewed and gauged this shining zone in almost every direction, and find it composed of stars whose number, by the account of these gauges, constantly increases and decreases in proportion to its apparent brightness to the naked eye." -Herschel

In the 1800s, humanity's understanding of the universe exploded thanks to several key advances, which improved star mapping by revealing the distances between and relative movement of stars (not just their fixed location at a given time of observation). Going from knowing where a star is to knowing how it behaves over time is the cosmological difference between a two-dimensional representation of the Universe and a three-dimensional one.

The first advance came in 1838, when the Astronomical Distance Scale was established, using the breakthrough parallax method developed by Friedrich Bessel — this meant that distances between stars and other objects could be measured much more accurately.

Then, in the 1850s and 1860s, the development of astronomical spectroscopy (analysing starlight by wavelength) allowed astronomers to access even more information. Lee calls it the "key to astrophysics," since now observers could learn about the spin, magnetic fields, composition, and relative motion of stars. Together, the distance scale and spectroscopy gave scientists the ability to make a star map with much greater detail and three-dimensional perspective: "We were no longer confined to plotting two-dimensional positions on the 'celestial sphere,'" says Lee.

1880: First photograph of the Nebula in Orion, by Professor Henry Draper.

In the late 1800s, astrophotography advanced the field yet again. No longer were humans reliant on what could be observed with the eye and a telescope: astrophotography can reveal nebulae, galaxies, and dimmer stars using a longer exposure time for the film in a camera. Direct recordings were now possible: "...where before we had to manually write down the positions of objects and sketch their appearance by hand," said Lee.

In 1920, the National Academy of Sciences sponsored a "Great Debate" about whether the sun was at the outskirts of the Milky Way or toward the center (and how spiral nebulae related to our galaxy). Harlow Shapley, a Princeton astronomer, argued that the Milky Way was the extent of the universe, and the sun was in the outer arms of it; Heber Curtis, the director of the Allegheny Observatory, disagreed, presenting evidence that there were many galaxies, and the sun was at the center of the Milky Way. "It was such a huge question at the heart of where we are in the universe, and nature of the universe itself," Lee said. Though it seems odd to us that people were arguing about whether the sun was at the center of our galaxy or not less than a hundred years ago, Lee explained, "It was an honest debate in terms of what they knew and there were good reasons for either camp to argue for what they did — at that point it was such a universal question."

One of Andrew Ainslie Common's 1883 photographs of the same nebula, the first to show that a long exposure could record stars and nebulae invisible to the human eye

Just a few years later, in 1923, American Cosmologist Edwin Hubble calculated the location of the Andromeda galaxy using astrophotography. "Hubble could not have discovered the Cepheid variable 'standard candle' stars in the Andromeda galaxy if he wasn't able to photograph it and record the exact position and brightness of the stars in that galaxy at different times," says Lee. This measurement allowed him to prove that Andromeda was outside our galaxy and settled the question — there were more galaxies than our own (probably trillions, we know now) as Curtis has argued. But Shapely was correct about the placement of the sun in the outer arms of the Milky Way. The photographic plates from Hubble's astrophotography make a whole new kind of map — one made from photographs representing a three-dimensional universe.

Shortly after that, advances in photography and electronics set humanity up to double our knowledge of the known universe — and expand ideas of the universe itself. "Electronic detectors are a critical part of what's been possible in modern times, providing the quantum leap to get to where we are now" Lee said. In the 1940s and 1950s, scientists sat inside giant telescopes taking photographic plates each night of star movements — it took years to gather a data set. Electronic detectors are much, much faster.

Lee cites the "CfA stickman" map as a good example of the new type of star map (or now, galaxy map) that came out of the mid-late 20th century data from electronic detectors. Published in 1986, by Valerie de Lapparent, Margaret Gellerit, and John Huschra, it was the first real evidence for the cosmic web. (It got the "stickman" moniker from the anthropomorphic cluster of stars at its center.) It includes thousands of galaxies and was the precursor to other important maps like the Great Wall, from 1989.

Now, cosmologists like Lee can collect and analyse data sets that scientists 75 years ago could only dream about. Still, Lee sees his work as connected to the people in this history — he says his work is built on their foundations, even though he's looking at places that are 10 billion light years away, in the Cosmos field targeted by the Hubble telescope. "I'm old-fashioned in that I actually do make maps and stare at them," Lee said. "I see what I'm doing is giving this extremely distant and remote, early part of the Universe a sense of place by mapping it."

 

[MIKA27]

In The First 'Annihilation' Trailer, Natalie Portman Seeks Out An Alien Horror

Our first look at Alex Garland's post-Ex Machina project is finally here, and it's looking fantastically creepy — and filled with weird new alien vistas for Natalie Portman and her team of crack scientists to explore and be fearful of (with good reason).

Based on Jeff VanderMeer's book of the same name, Annihilation follows the story of a female scientist (Portman) leading a taskforce into the aftermath of an environmental disaster, both to find the strange creature that caused it and to rescue her husband (Oscar Isaac).

Ex Machina was one of the best scifi movies in recent years, so there's a lot of interest riding on Garland's next writer/director venture — and everything we've heard about the movie so far sounds hauntingly mesmerising. Plus, lady scientists kicking arse and fighting weird alien looking stuff? Sign us the hell up.

Annihilation hits theatres February 23, 2018.

[MIKA27]

Scientists Say They've Found A New Type Of Renewable Energy More Stable Than Wind Or Solar

Harvesting power from naturally evaporating water could become a brand new form of renewable energy, according to new study.

The researchers reckon harnessing the "evaporation energy" of small lakes in the US could theoretically provide the same amount of power as almost 70 per cent of what the country generated in 2015.

While ways to actually to harness evaporation energy are in their early stages, the researchers say it could provide a more stable form of power generation than wind or solar.

They say natural water evaporation could provide power densities three times that of wind power.

Nearly half of the solar energy absorbed at the Earth's surface drives evaporation - which affects ecosystems, water resources, weather, and climate. Recent studies show the ability to convert evaporation energy into work, yet there is little understanding on the availability, reliability and potential of this resource.

Ozgur Sahin developed a model to describe how an evaporation-driven engine affects the evaporation rate, and provide predictions on how these energy harvesters could optimally perform in the natural environment.

The team estimates up to 325 gigawatts of power is potentially available from evaporation from existing lakes and reservoirs larger than 0.1 km2 (excluding the Great Lakes) in the United States, which is over 69 per cent of the US electrical energy generation rate in 2015.

The findings indicate the power available from this natural resource is comparable to wind and solar power, but it doesn't suffer as much from varying weather conditions.

Finally, the technology can cut the evaporative water losses by nearly half, which might favour the implementation of these energy harvesting systems in regions suffer from periods of water stress and scarcity.

These findings might just motivate the improvement of materials and devices to convert energy from evaporation, and provide a way to address the intermittency problem of renewable energy.

[MIKA27]

Garmin made Star Wars and Marvel fitness trackers for kids

Garmin has partnered with Disney to put BB-8, The Avengers, Minnie Mouse, and other popular characters on the bands for its newest fitness tracker, the Vivofit Jr. 2.

The Vivofit Jr. 2 is meant to be worn all day long and can track sleep, steps, and minutes of activity. It’s swimproof and has a battery that’s supposed to last one year on a single charge.

There are only two big differences between this version of the band and last year’s debut model of the Vivofit Jr. First, this new model has a color screen, instead of a black and white one. And second, there’s the branded bands — last year’s models just included some colorful patterns, like flowers or pixelated camo, which seem a lot less fun for the young audience Garmin is trying to appeal to here. There will also be bands featuring the Captain America’s shield and silhouettes of various Star Wars icons.

Characters from the bands will also show up a mobile app that connects to the fitness tracker. Kids can play through stories by completing activity goals and other tasks set for them by their parents. Garmin had this feature last year, but the in-app game had kids going through a jungle — and while jungles are cool, they are also not Star Wars themed.

The new fitness tracker will sell for $99.99, up $20 from the original model. Additional bands will be sold separately for $29.99 and can be used to open up different game themes inside the app.

[MIKA27]

BUFFALO TRACE ANTIQUE COLLECTION BOURBON

Just like any other season of the year, there are certain traditions that take place every fall worth writing home about. One such tradition comes from one of the oldest whiskey distilleries in the US, dubbed the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, and features a series of 5 limited edition aged released from the staple Kentucky brand.

This year, Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley along with his team are releasing whiskies featuring various ages, recipes, and proofs, in order to diversify yet unite the collection as a mosaic of flavors any devotee would proudly own. Here, there’s a 129.2 proof George T Stagg, an uncut and unfiltered Willian Laure Weller, an uncut and unfiltered 127.2 proof Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye, 17 Year Eagle Rare bourbon, and 18 Year Sazerac Rye all on the docket for release for around $90 a bottle. Cheers to that fellow bourbon drinkers.

[MIKA27]

The Harley-Davidson Book

Only by simply mentioning the name of Harley Davidson, we all know that we are talking about the best and top of the line motorcycles. No other motorcycle brand in the world has the nearly mystical reputation of a Harley, and now, we can celebrate this heritage brand with The Harley-Davidson Book. The 224-page coffee table book takes you on a visual journey through the brand´s 114 year history, of the bikes themselves, with a close-up look at the aesthetics and power, and articles that will look at the lifestyle associated with the iconic two-wheeled American muscle motorcycle.    

 

[MIKA27]

KEN OKUYAMA KODE57 SUPERCAR

Designer Ken Okuyama is no stranger to supercars. While at Pininfarina, Ken helped create the lines of the Enzo Ferrari and the one-off, Enzo-based Ferarri P4/5. His latest automobile design is the Kode57, a breathtaking open-top roadster based on the Ferrari 599. A spectacular blend of vintage roadster and modern aerodynamic lines, the Kode57 has a F1-inspired front that sweeps elegantly to the rear while enveloping the passenger compartment. A partially exposed motor and rear-hinged, upward-opening di-hedral doors make for a design that is as interesting with the doors open as shut. Limited to only five examples, the Kode57 is an instant modern classic.

[MIKA27]

YEASTIE BOYS INARI BIRU RICE BEER

Based in New Zealand, Yeastie Boys brewed this beer in the UK using high-grade Japanese Koshiihikari rice. Despite those tangled logistics, Inari Biru is a well-balanced extra golden pale ale that finishes clean and dry. Unsurprisingly, it pairs well with Japanese cuisine and comes in these simple, appealing 12oz cans.

[MIKA27]

Coming to America 2 Lands Director and New Writer

It’s an old adage that it is always better to be late than to never arrive. We may very well see that accepted wisdom tested as the long, long, long belated sequel to Eddie Murphy’s comedy classic, Coming to America, moves forward at Paramount. Back in the spring, The Tracking Board broke the news that the studio has tapped Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield, two of the three writers on the 1988 comedy classic (the third being Murphy himself), to write Coming to America 2. Now The Hollywood Reporter has word that Black-ish creator Kenya Barris will re-write their screenplay with Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies, 50/50) coming on board to direct.

Currently, there are no details on the sequel other than Kevin Mishner is producing and that Murphy is expected to take a starring role in Coming to America 2. Just speculation, but it is easy to imagine that Murphy’s lovable Prince Akeem is now a ruler himself in the fictional land of Zamunda, and he has a son who might be in need to sow his oats in the United States.

In the original film, which was directed by ‘80s comedy stalwart John Landis (The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places), Murphy played a fresh-faced Prince Akeem, son of King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones). Along with his personal assistant Semmi (Arsenio Hall), Akeem travels to the only place in America perfect for finding a modern 20th century girl destined for monarchy: Queens, New York. Once in the outer-borough plenty of fish out of water comedy ensues that includes Murphy and Hall first doing the “multiple roles” shtick that would become synonymous with the former’s later comedy movies, as well as playing off John Amos, Shari Headley, Paul Bates, and a then very-unknown Samuel L. Jackson.

Presumably a lot of the humor, very much a product of 1980s sensibilities, will have to be updated for the 21st century.

[MIKA27]

A Resident Evil 2 Board Game Is Coming

Steamforged Games, the company behind the very successful board game adaptation of Dark Souls, have launched a Kickstarter campaign for an official board game based on Resident Evil 2. 

Given that the game was successfully funded in about an hour - it's currently raised $403,652 - and that Steamforged had proven they are able to follow-through with their campaign promises in a reasonable time frame, we feel confident that this project is actually going to be completed at some point.

Much as it was with Dark Souls, one of Resident Evil 2: The Board Game's biggest selling points is the quality of the included figurines. Actually, much of the game's initially requested $202,000 funding was probably devoted to creating its beautiful figures. The game board itself is fairly sparse, though we're certainly a fan of the optional "Retro Edition" which includes pixel art recreations of Resident Evil 2's famous items and weapons. 

While the board game's full ruleset hasn't been released, Resident Evil 2: The Board Game seems to have been designed as a cooperative experience that includes an optional single-player mode. It allows up to four players to venture into the Resident Evil 2 police station and do battle with the undead hordes and mutants that populate Racoon City. 

However, in the spirit of old-school Resident Evil titles, doing battle with the undead will require you and your team to expertly manage an incredibly small collection of resources represented by a series of cards. It's not quite clear how this aspect of the experience works, but it sounds like players will need to weigh the merits of combat at any given time due to the limited nature of guns, ammo, and items. This aspect is complicated by the presence of a "Tension Deck" which contains a series of cards designed to dramatically change your circumstances.

There's no word yet on a release date, but given that Steamforged has proven that they're able to translate video games into fascinating board game experiences, we're excited to see how this project turns out. 

[MIKA27]

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dead, aged 91

As much as anyone, Hugh Hefner turned the world on to sex. As the visionary editor who created Playboy magazine out of sheer will and his own fevered dreams, he introduced nudity and sexuality to the cultural mainstream of America and the world.

For decades, the ageless Mr Hefner embodied the "Playboy lifestyle" as the pajama-clad sybarite who worked from his bed, threw lavish parties and inhabited the Playboy Mansion with an ever-changing bevy of well-toned young beauties.

He died September 27 at the age of 91. His death was confirmed by Playboy in a tweet.

Quote

 

American Icon and Playboy Founder, Hugh M. Hefner passed away today. He was 91. #RIPHef pic.twitter.com/tCLa2iNXa4

— Playboy (@Playboy) September 28, 2017

 

From the first issue of Playboy in 1953, which featured a photograph of a nude Marilyn Monroe lounging on a red sheet, Mr Hefner sought to overturn what he considered the puritanical moral code of Middle America. His magazine was shocking at the time, but it quickly found a large and receptive audience and was a principal force behind the sexual revolution of the 1960s.

Mr Hefner brought nudity out from under the counter, but he was more than the emperor of a land with no clothes. From the beginning, he had literary aspirations for Playboy, hiring top writers to give his magazine cultural credibility. It became a running joke that the cognoscenti read Playboy "for the articles" and demurely averted their eyes from the pages depicting bare-breasted women.

Few publications have so thoroughly reflected the tastes and ambitions of their creators as Mr Hefner's Playboy.

Quote

"I'm living a grown-up version of a boy's dream, turning life into a celebration," he told Time magazine in 1967. "It's all over too quickly. Life should be more than a vale of tears."

The magazine's formula of glossy nudes, serious writing and cartoons, coupled with how-to advice on stereos, sex, cars and clothes, changed little through the years and was meant to appeal to urban, upwardly mobile heterosexual men. But Playboy also had a surprisingly high readership among members of the clergy — who received a 25 per cent subscription discount — and women.

"Hefner was, first and foremost, a brilliant businessman," David Allyn, author of Make Love, Not War: The Sexual Revolution, an Unfettered History, told The Washington Post in an interview. "He created Playboy at a time when America was entering a period of profound economic and social optimism. His brand of sexual liberalism fit perfectly with postwar aspirations."

"Hef," as he was widely known, was in charge of editorial operations from the beginning and was known to work on the magazine for 40 hours without a break, driven by the deadline buzz of amphetamines, Pepsi-Cola and his ever-present pipe.

He hired a large staff of editors and artists who brought literary sophistication and visual dash to the pages of Playboy, but there was never any doubt that the guiding vision behind Playboy was Mr Hefner's, and his alone. For many years, the magazine was produced in his home town of Chicago.

Before he turned 50, Mr Hefner was, as Esquire magazine once decreed, "the most famous magazine editor in the history of the world."

He commissioned articles by some of the world's most celebrated writers — Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin and Joyce Carol Oates, to name a few. Among the works that first appeared in Playboy were excerpts from Alex Haley's Roots, Larry L. King's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Cameron Crowe's Fast Times at Ridgemont High, John Irving's The World According to Garp and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's All the President's Men.

The magazine's in-depth interviews with leading figures from politics, sports and entertainment — including Muhammad Ali, Fidel Castro and Steve Jobs — often made news. One of the magazines's most newsworthy revelations came in 1976, when presidential nominee Jimmy Carter admitted in a Playboy interview, "I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times."

Each month, Mr Hefner wrote an editorial in which he sought to define the "Playboy Philosophy." In his view, sexual freedom was part of a larger spirit of liberty, including free speech, relaxed drug laws and civil rights, including gay marriage.

 

Mr Hefner's umbrella organisation of Playboy Enterprises grew to include television shows, jazz festivals, book publishing and an international chain of Playboy clubs, where cocktail waitresses, known as bunnies, wore revealing satin outfits with fluffy white tails.

In 1961, when independently owned Playboy clubs in Miami and New Orleans refused to admit African American members, Mr Hefner bought back the franchises and issued a sternly worded memorandum: "We are outspoken foes of segregation [and] we are actively involved in the fight to see the end of all racial inequalities in our time," he wrote.

At the Playboy Mansion — first in Chicago and later in Los Angeles — Mr Hefner held glittering parties that attracted Hollywood celebrities and scores of women who eagerly shed their clothes. Outside the front door, a sign read, "Si non oscillas, noli tintinnare" — a Latin phrase loosely translated as "If you don't swing, don't ring."

Once-forbidden sexual imagery and ideas popularized in the pages of Playboy became commonplace in film, television and other media, as the culture at large came to reflect the values Mr Hefner espoused.

"We will never recapture the importance of Playboy in the '60s and '70s," he told The Washington Post in 2003, "because we changed the world. We live in a Playboy world now, for good or ill."

Although he took offence at anyone who called him a pornographer, noting that Playboy seldom, if ever, depicted overt sexual acts, Mr Hefner relished denunciations from religious groups and self-appointed protectors of morality.

Still, he was caught off guard by the outrage of feminists who found his magazine's depictions of women degrading. Feminist writer Gloria Steinem briefly worked at a Playboy Club in New York City to gather background for an undercover article she wrote in 1963.

In a 1970 appearance on the Dick Cavett Show, author Susan Brownmiller confronted Mr Hefner, saying, "When Hugh Hefner comes out here with a cottontail attached to his rear end, then we'll have equality."

Mr Hefner remained silent.

"Quite frankly," he said on the NPR interview program Fresh Air in 1999, "the women's movement from my point of view was part of the larger sexual revolution that Playboy had played such a large part in."

Over time, some women came to view Playboy with greater acceptance, if not respect. Feminist scholar Camille Paglia approvingly pronounced Mr Hefner "one of the principal architects of the modern sexual revolution" in a 1999 documentary.

When Sex and the City, a television series about four sexually adventurous women in New York, premiered in 1998, the lead character played by Sarah Jessica Parker wore a necklace depicting the Playboy bunny.

'Rigid ... fundamentalist' childhood

Hugh Marston Hefner was born April 9, 1926, in Chicago. His father was an accountant, his mother a teacher, and he grew up in what he called a conservative household of "rigid Protestant fundamentalist ethics."

"There was no drinking, no smoking, no swearing, no going to movies on Sunday," he recalled in a 1962 interview with the Saturday Evening Post. "Worst of all was their attitude toward sex, which they considered a horrid thing never to be mentioned."

After serving in the Army during World War II, Mr Hefner graduated in 1949 from the University of Illinois, where he majored in psychology.

While working in the personnel office of a box manufacturer and as an advertising copywriter for a department store, he tried without success to become a cartoonist. He later worked in promotions for Esquire magazine and held other publishing jobs while developing the idea for Playboy.

With $US600 of his own savings and investments from friends and family — including his parents — Mr Hefner wrote most of the first issue of the magazine himself. He purchased the rights to the nude photograph of Monroe, originally shot in 1949 for a calendar. ("I had nothing on but the radio," Monroe once quipped.)

Mr. Hefner had planned to call his magazine Stag Party, but when the publishers of another men's magazine named Stag threatened to sue, a colleague came up with an inspired afterthought: Playboy.

The magazine hit the newsstands in December 1953 and quickly sold out its press run of more than 50,000 copies.

For Playboy's second issue, an art director drew a cartoon-like bunny's head with a bow tie. It became the enduring symbol of Playboy, often disguised within the cover photo on the magazine. Beginning in 1955, another of the magazine's defining features was its centrefold, highlighting the "Playmate of the Month" in a glossy colour photograph.

Nude pictorials of actresses and other celebrities often appeared in Playboy, but the centrefold Playmates were chosen for what Mr Hefner called a "girl-next-door" quality. Some of them, such as Anna Nicole Smith, became famous as sex symbols, but even she was unknown when she first appeared in Playboy in 1992.

The nude pictures grabbed public attention, but the substance and variety of the magazine's other features — interviews, cartoons, serious journalism and fiction — set Playboy part from other skin magazines. Mr Hefner rejected tawdry advertising in order to cultivate a more sophisticated, worldly image.

"Playboy straddles the line between pornography and anti-pornography," Allyn, the historian and author, wrote in an e-mail to The Post. "Conventional pornography . . . tends to relish in, and celebrate, vulgarity, whereas Playboy treats the vulgarity of conventional pornography with disdain."

Shortly before Mr Hefner married Mildred "Millie" Williams in 1949, she confessed to him that she had had an affair with another man. The wedding went ahead, and the Hefners had two children, but Mr Hefner later said the revelation shattered any illusions he held about the virtue of women.

"I was absolutely devastated," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1994. "I'm sure that in some way, that experience set me up for the life that followed."

Embodying the Playboy image

Even before his divorce in 1959, Mr Hefner sought to embody the Playboy image of the carefree, urbane man about town. For a while, at least, his life was synonymous with that of his magazine and the budding Playboy empire.

From 1959 to 1961, he had a syndicated television show, Playboy's Penthouse, with top jazz stars entertaining at intimate gatherings in Mr Hefner's home. It was one of the first television shows in which black and white guests interacted as social equals. Another show featuring Mr Hefner, Playboy After Dark, aired for two seasons, beginning in 1969.

The magazine reached the height of its popularity in the early 1970s, with a circulation of 7 million. Mr Hefner's personal fortune at the time was estimated at more than $200 million, and he travelled in a black jetliner with the bunny-head symbol painted on the tail. The Harvard Business School studied his formula for success.

Before long, though, the Playboy franchise began to weaken. In 1974, Mr Hefner's longtime assistant, Bobbie Arnstein, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and later committed suicide. Mr Hefner was not implicated in any wrongdoing, but he was repeatedly investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service and was named on President Richard M. Nixon's "enemies list."

He also battled postal authorities and federal commissions that sought to restrict the magazine's distribution. Other publications, such as Penthouse and Hustler, cut into Playboy's readership by publishing more explicit photos, and several of Playboy's spinoff businesses lost money.

In 1980, 20-year-old Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten was killed by her estranged husband in a murder-suicide. Mr Hefner's detractors held him indirectly responsible, saying Stratten had been caught up in Playboy's hedonistic milieu.

After a stroke in 1985, Mr Hefner stopped smoking his familiar pipe, and three years later he stepped aside as Playboy's chief executive in favour of his daughter, Christie Hefner, though he retained his title as editor-in-chief of the magazine until his death. The magazine remained headquartered in Chicago until the editorial operation was shifted to New York in 2002 and later to Los Angeles.

Christie Hefner resigned as chief executive in 2009 amid financial struggles for Playboy Enterprises. Mr Hefner led an effort to buy back the company's stock, making it a privately held corporation by 2011.

After his divorce from his first wife, Mr Hefner often said he would never marry again. He had a long relationship in the 1970s and 1980s with onetime Playmate Barbi Benton, but they did not marry.

In 1989, when he was 63, he married 26-year-old Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad. They had two sons, Marston Hefner and Cooper Hefner. The couple separated in 1998 and divorced in 2010.

On New Year's Eve 2012, Mr Hefner married another one-time Playmate, Crystal Harris. He was 86 at the time; she was 26.

In addition to his wife and sons, Mr Hefner's survivors include two children from his first marriage, Christie Hefner and David Hefner.

Well before his marriage to a woman 60 years his junior, the aging Hef had become something of a self-caricature, strolling the grounds of the Playboy Mansion in silk pajamas, accompanied by a troupe of women who never seemed to turn 30. He acknowledged sleeping with "more than a thousand" women and often touted the efficacy of Viagra. From 2005 to 2011, the adventures of the young women who inhabited the Playboy Mansion were chronicled in a cable reality show called The Girls Next Door.

Away from his magazine and his every-day-is-a-party approach to life, Mr Hefner was a generous if unheralded philanthropist. In the 1970s, he led a fundraising effort to restore the renowned Hollywood sign on a Los Angeles hillside. In 2010, he contributed $1 million to prevent real estate development near the sign. He also donated millions to efforts to preserve classic films and endowed a chair for the study of cinema at the University of Southern California.

Well into his 80s, Mr Hefner continued to edit his magazine and did his best to maintain his swagger as the unflappable, unstoppable and unrepentant king of the Playboy way of life.

"I have not become jaded," he told The Washington Post in 2003. "I wake up every day well aware of my good fortune, loving the work I do, loving my life, realising that life is a crapshoot and I'm on a roll second to none.

MIKA: A life well played IMO - R.I.P Sir