COVID-19 Patients Twice As Likely To Have Dined Out Before Illness: CDC Study
Eating or drinking at restaurants or bars may be “important risk factors” for contracting coronavirus, research found.
Lovecraft Country Episode 5: Easter Eggs And References In ‘Strange Case’
In the fifth episode of Lovecraft Country, the show goes full-on body horror. Most of the characters deal with this figuratively, fighting with how they feel inside and how they present themselves to the world. Tic fights the violence inside of him when he nearly kills Montrose in a one-sided beatdown. Montrose fights his feelings for Sammy in a world that is unaccepting of them. Leti struggles with her mother’s religious faith, which she’s pretended to have but never made her own.
And Ruby, thanks to William’s magic, gets to live–quite literally–inside the skin of a white woman. And although it allows her access to the spaces and opportunities once denied her, she ultimately leaves her second skin behind, especially after she begins taking out her frustrations on the only other black woman who works at her department store.
Here is every Easter Egg and reference that we noticed in Lovecraft Country’s fifth episode, “Strange Case.” When you’re done, take a look at our Easter egg guides for previous episodes.
- Episode 1: “Sundown”
- Episode 2: “Whitey’s on the Moon”
- Episode 3: “Holy Ghost”
- Episode 4: “A History of Violence”
1. Strange Case
The title of the episode, “Strange Case,” is taken from the horror novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, about a man of science who uses a serum to transform into an evil persona and indulge his depravities.
2. Remember Her?
The white woman who Ruby transforms into is Dell, the same woman from Episode 2 who was guarding the town’s tower with attack dogs. It implies that the metamorphosis serum might be tied to people who the Braithwaites know and have access to.
3. Patience and Prudence
The song that’s playing during Ruby’s police car ride is the Patience and Prudence cover of “Tonight You Belong To Me.” It’s creepily appropriate (since she’s being taken back to William against her will), and it’s also a hat tip to the horror anthology series American Horror Story, which has used the song several times during its run, including in its pilot.
4. Intersectionality
It’s worth noting that during the police car ride scene, Ruby is treated better than she was as a Black woman, but as a white woman, she’s still not treated as an equal to white men; she’s largely ignored by the officers who are taking her back to William. Multiple factors collide to create second and third class citizenry.
5. Metamorphosis
During the scene where William cuts Ruby open to quicken her transformation, there’s a news report on the television about locusts, and their molting/metamorphosis process. It recalls a novella by Franz Kafka called “Metamorphosis,” about a man who wakes to find himself transformed into a giant cockroach.
6. The Rainbow is Enuf
The spoken-word monologue that narrates Ruby’s day as a white woman is from the theatrical piece “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf.” It’s used ironically, to discuss the hardships of Black women in America while Ruby is enjoying the comparative benefits of white womanhood.
7. Tutti Frutti
Pat Boone, a white musician, sings the “Tutti Frutti” version that Ruby and her co-workers dance to on their work break. Little Richard, a Black musician, was the originator of the song. Boone’s version, however, ended up charting higher, because his music was considered “safer” for white homes in 1956. This attitude is mirrored in the co-workers attitudes toward Black people; they want to go to a Black bar on the South Side for some excitement, even though they also fear it.
8. Norman Rockwell
The co-workers discuss their boss, Paul, as someone who lives in a Norman Rockwell painting. Rockwell was an artist for the Saturday Evening Post, famous for his sentimental portrayals of American suburban life. Although his name is frequently invoked as shorthand for “over-idealized small-town America,” Rockwell also addressed serious issues in his art. Most notably, his portrayal of Ruby Bridges integrating the public schools in Louisiana continues to receive widespread acclaim.
9. Torso
The police captain appears to have a Black man’s torso when he removes his shirt, which raises all sorts of questions. In an episode about dual natures and multiple identities, is Lancaster using a Black person’s body to stay alive? It recalls the central premise of the film “Get Out.” Jordan Peele, who wrote and directed that movie, executive produces Lovecraft Country.
10. Stiletto
Ruby uses a stiletto to rape Paul. The stiletto heel first became popular in America in the 1950’s and came to symbolize sexual power and femininity. Appropriate to the episode, the word “stiletto” originally referred to an Italian dagger from the 15th century.
11. Dresses and Shirts
The big reveal at the end of the episode was one that we predicted last week: William and Christina are the same person. Early in the episode, you can actually see several dresses hanging in William’s closet, which foreshadows the twist.
Coronavirus: Marseille’s Covid-19 hospital beds ‘close to saturation’
“Worrying” coronavirus increases in the southern French city and in Bordeaux spark new restrictions.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Sets New Franchise Record
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 has been widely regarded as an excellent remastering of two classic skateboarding games, and now Activision Blizzard has boasted that the good buzz has coincided with great sales.
In a tweet, the company says that it’s now the fastest game to reach 1 million sales in franchise history. It didn’t mention exactly how fast the game cracked that record, but it’s only been out for just over a week.
Critics have been largely positive on the remastered Tony Hawk, finding it a return to form that captures the feeling of the classics with some welcome new additions like trick elements from later games. It also gave the stages themselves a fresh layer of polish, sometimes with clever twists like the abandoned mall or a school that is empty due to COVID. The game is also coming at the end of a console cycle and is priced at $40, which likely helped it reach its big sales numbers.
US Customs Doubles Down After Seizing Apple AirPod “Fakes,” Which Are Just OnePlus Earbuds
In what appeared to be a mistaken attempt to prevent counterfeit good entering the country, the US Customs and Border Protection has accidentally confiscated a large shipment of what it believes to be fake Apple AirPods. Turns out they aren’t fake at all.
The shipment, mistaken for knock off Apple AirPods, is in fact a legitimate product from Chinese smartphone and electronics maker OnePlus. The OnePlus Buds were announced earlier this year and retail for $79, which brings the total shipment cost of the 2000 pairs confiscated to $158,000. That’s far less than the estimated $398,00 in fakes that the customs officials stated they had discovered.
After the “stash” was shown off on Twitter, OnePlus US had this cheeky reply on hand for their confiscated stock.
Scandinavian Adventure Game Roki Launches On Nintendo Switch This Fall
Developer Polygon Treehouse has confirmed that its atmospheric adventure game Roki launches on Nintendo Switch this fall. An exact release date has not been announced yet.
An adventure game set against Scandinavian folklore, Roki dropped earlier this year on PC; it’s Steam user reviews stand at “very positive” as of this writing. You play as a young woman named Tove as she embarks on a wintry journey through ancient ruins and thick forests to save her family. You’ll meet giant wolf-like beasts, terrifying tree monsters, and more as you solve the game’s puzzles to unravel the mystery of her parents’ disappearance.
Publisher United Label Games shared a new Roki trailer. It’s a short, atmospheric video featuring voice-over about how “they were wrong” about monsters not existing, with some puzzle-solving and point-and-click elements scattered throughout. You can check out the trailer, which was unveiled during Pax Online 2020, below. There are also some screenshots you can view below.
Fall Guys Levels Are About To Get Mixed Up In New Update
A new update is bringing much-needed change to some Fall Guys mini-games. Mediatonic shared screenshots from the update that show new obstacles wreaking havoc in existing levels.
The screenshots show segments from Dizzying Heights and Hit Parade. Each level is getting a few tweaks, such as how wrecking balls now swing over the spinning circles on Dizzying Heights. The pink propellors from the Whirlygig are replacing the revolving doors from the second section of Hit Parade. Mediatonic didn’t specify if changes like this were coming to every level or only these two stages.
“Here’s some sneaky screenshots from the upcoming Fall Guys Update,” the official Fall Guys account tweeted along with the images. Mediatonic confirmed that Fall Guys is getting Fortnite’s anti-cheat system and a special hammer obstacle in this update. The studio didn’t give a specific date for when the update would hit but has maintained it’ll be sometime in the next few weeks.
US West Coast fires: Row over climate change’s role as Trump visits
Governors say the president is in denial about climate change’s role in the massive wildfires there.
Climate change: Rising sea levels in Fiji create ‘ghost towns’
Coastal erosion, rising sea levels and intense cyclones have forced people to abandon their homes in Fiji.