The coolest up to date film star, Keanu Reeves, added to his portfolio in 2021 by creating a comic book e-book collection known as BRZRKR, co-written by Reeves with Matt Kindt and illustrated by Ron Garney. The title, a vowelless “berserker”, references these Viking warriors who fought with trance-like fury. Within the comedian, that is “B”, also called Unute, an immortal who appears very very like Keanu Reeves (Reeves has signed as much as play the function within the forthcoming Netflix adaptation). B goes from prehistory to the current day through a collection of extraordinarily violent fights, dismemberments and killings. He will be injured, however not killed: his wounds heal, lacking physique components develop again, and on such events as his physique is solely annihilated a large magic egg seems out of which he later emerges.

BRZRKR, as title, suggests a phrase too muscular for piddling little lower-case letters, and albeit too macho for vowels. Grunt, shoot, stab, kill, rip our bodies aside with naked arms, is the entire sport right here. And if “BRZRKR” additionally appears considerably like a typographical illustration of any person blowing a raspberry, there’s something ridiculous about the entire thing, too. There is little by the use of precise story. The basic samey-ness of the vanity, with diminishing returns of ripped-out intestines and gore, knives, arrows, bullets and blood spray, flattens and banalises the telling. Nonetheless, it has Keanu as most important character, and Keanu is cool.

Now Reeves has expanded the franchise right into a novel by collaborating with British writer China Miéville – I’d name Miéville “the good up to date author of the unbelievable”, although the bar is reasonably decrease than in film stardom – with a title that’s, at the very least, absolutely provided with vowels. It’s Miéville’s first novel for 12 years. His earlier books, from the brand new bizarre Perdido Avenue Station (2000) by means of the much-praised The Metropolis & the Metropolis (2009) to Embassytown (2011), dominated SF for a decade. His return is way anticipated by his followers.

The Guide of Elsewhere revisits the fabric from the comics, fleshing issues out, as a novel can, giving a extra thoroughgoing and detailed account of the backstory. The primary motor of the plot is B’s craving for mortality. This isn’t a easy need to die however a extra nuanced intent to cease being immortal. The thought right here is that it’s our mortality, our living-towards-death, that provides life that means and richness, and B desires that. However it doesn’t matter what is tried, he can’t get previous his unkillability.

The place did B come from? His mom had a painful-sounding encounter with a supernatural being, maybe a god. Struck by a bolt of blue lightning in a delicate space, she turns into pregnant with Unute. He learns his origin as he grows up.

“So my father just isn’t my father?” Younger B asks his mom.

“Hush, foolish,” she replies. “Your father is your father, he’s your dayfather and the blue lightning is your nightfather.”

B roams by means of prehistory, righting wrongs, combating and killing unhealthy guys, then does the identical factor by means of historical past, like Christopher Lambert’s Highlander, besides that decapitation wouldn’t gradual him down. Within the current day we discover him a part of a US army unit that deploys him on varied black ops missions. A scientific department of this unit, headed by Dr Diana Ahuja, can be finding out B’s uncommon powers. This analysis has produced varied technological and army advances (a brand new sort of helicopter is described as “a spin-off know-how”, which can be a joke), however nothing to unravel B’s elementary immortality downside.

There’s additionally a prehistoric pig whose mom was likewise struck by the magic lightning, and which spends immortal aeons repeatedly monitoring B down with a purpose to gore him with its enormous tusks. Why the pig is so irked at B isn’t solely clear, and there’s an off-kilter goofiness to this aspect of the story. B thinks if he can discover a strategy to kill the pig then he can unlock the thriller of his personal immortality, and so he brings it to the institute for additional examine.

“‘This pig … ’ Diana whispered. ‘That is farce. The repetition of you, the unique tragedy.’” It’s not each superhero story that features references to Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire, however Miéville is a scholar of Marxism in addition to a author of fantasy.

Reeves has made clear that it was Miéville who wrote the novel, but it surely needs to be stated that The Guide of Elsewhere is unlikely to take its place amongst his masterpieces. There may be the daftness of the premise, the bittiness and repetitiveness of the narrative, the necessity to revert to scenes of tiresomely excessive ultraviolence.

There are, although, good touches. At one level, Diana and B focus on establishing an goal scale for hatred.

“What’s probably the most universally hated factor on this planet?” she stated. “Youngster molesters? Hitler?”

“Not Hitler, sadly.” They had been each silent awhile. “Mosquitoes,” he stated.

“OK,” she stated. “That’s good: they’re small, in order that they’re good for items. So, let’s say the hate geared toward one member of the Culicidae household measures one, I don’t know, culicid. A cull! Which implies,” she stated, “that if you happen to hate one thing as a lot as you hate 10 mosquitoes, your hate is 10 culls. A decacull. That’s, say, canine shit on my shoe. Now, the Westboro Baptist church, say, I in all probability hate … ” She shrugged. “A superb seven or eight kiloculls.”

However Miéville’s supple, creative creativeness will get stretched skinny on the rack of Reeves’s unique concept. Enter the Miétrix, however be ready to be underwhelmed.

Keanu Reeves has shared ugly particulars in regards to the damage he suffered on the set of his forthcoming film, Good Fortune.

Directed by and starring comic and actor Aziz Ansari, the brand new comedy, led by Reeves, additionally options Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer. The plot of the movie is being saved tightly underneath wraps and a launch date has not but been introduced.

Reeves, 59, was photographed strolling with crutches and an ice pack wrapped to his left knee earlier this yr. Ansari later revealed that the John Wick star had fractured his kneecap after tripping on a rug in his film trailer.

Throughout a current look on The Late Present with Stephen Colbert, Reeves elaborated on the story.

“I used to be filming a scene with Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen and we had been in a chilly plunge,” he recalled. “I used to be loving it, I used to be standing there, and we end the scene, and you already know while you’re chilly and also you’re [shuffling]? I had a washing swimsuit and a towel, and you place it over your head and also you do the chilly shuffle?”

The Matrix actor continued: “I’m doing the chilly shuffle on this room that had protecting carpets down after which, simply right here, there was like slightly pocket, and my foot bought caught within the pocket within the shuffle, after which I went [down], however [my knee] didn’t comply with.

“After which, in gradual movement, I went falling. My arms got here out, however then my knee failed as a result of it’s bought some stuff, and I spiked it. And my patella – kneecap – cracked like a potato chip,” he added, inflicting the host and viewers to groan.

Whereas Reeves admitted he initially thought he was positive, he stated he knew one thing was flawed when “my knee was blowing up.” “Comedy’s exhausting, man,” he quipped.

When requested by Colbert whether or not cracking his kneecap was the worst factor that’s ever occurred to him, Reeves responded: “No, the two-level fusion of my backbone was.”

Recalling the process, which was accomplished simply earlier than he started coaching for The Matrix, Reeves remembered: “I used to be like dropping feeling, and I used to be form of beginning to fall within the bathe, and I went to see this physician, and he was like, ‘We have to do surgical procedure proper now.’”

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He stated that his spinal wire was squeezed between parts of his spinal discs that had been splintered and compressed.

Requested how he had damage himself, Reeves stated: “So many issues, motorbike accidents, racquetball.”

Reeves shared that whereas filming The Matrix, he needed to put on a contraption round his neck to make sure his backbone might fuse correctly, which required manufacturing to reschedule his struggle scenes.

“However all’s properly that ends properly,” he concluded.

FLORENCE, Ky. (WXIX) – Like all the things round Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, his new blond haircut was the discuss of the web when he arrived for coaching camp on Tuesday.

Pictures of Burrow’s new look had been rapidly shared throughout the web and social media. The person behind Burrow’s new look, Darnell Bonner of Nell’s Barbershop in Florence, mentioned his most well-known buyer dropped the thought throughout a earlier trim.

“He sprung it up on me someday,” Bonner mentioned. “I used to be like pay attention, in the event you’re prepared, we’ll do it, I’m down.”

Bonner believes his prospects see their hair as an extension of themselves.

“Hair is unquestionably an extension of who you might be,” Bonner mentioned. “Form of like a portrayal of what you need your picture to be. With him, he’s proven you don’t know what’s coming subsequent.”

Whereas Burrow doesn’t observe traits, he has began them.

“We’re going to be flooded with the Burrow bleached buzz minimize,” Bonner mentioned. “It’s now not simply the bleached buzz, it’s going to be the Burrow bleached buzz. I anticipate a giant wave of that so we’re going to have to regulate our books a bit to tackle that overflow. I’m positive it’s coming.”

Bonner mentioned anybody who’s considering of getting the Burrow look has to know the way to put on it.

“You bought to rock it,” Bonner mentioned. “You bought to confidently rock it no matter you do. In immediately’s period, everyone is doing one thing new. Everyone is doing one thing so particular person, so personalised. So simply rock it. Personal it.

Bonner started chopping hair when he was younger and out of what he calls necessity.

“I had a white stepdad,” Bonner mentioned. “He saved giving me the white man’s minimize and all of my black associates would make enjoyable of me, so I needed to study to chop my very own hair. Subsequent factor I fell in love with it. All my associates had been asking, ‘Hey, can you chop me up earlier than college? Can you chop me up earlier than we exit?’”

Anybody wanting a Burrow Bleached Buzzcut can schedule an appointment at Nell’s Barbershop, though it might be a problem to get on the checklist.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has denied studies that emerged final week that he was planning to donate $45m a month to a Tremendous Pac targeted on getting Trump elected.

On Tuesday, Musk appeared on Jordan Peterson’s present, the place he stated the declare was “merely not true”. “I’m not donating $45m a month to Trump,” he stated.

“Now what I’ve achieved is that I’ve created a Pac or Tremendous Pac or no matter you wish to name it,” he stated. It’s referred to as the America Pac.”

Tremendous Pacs, brief for Political Motion Committees, are unbiased political organisations to which donors can provide limitless quantities of cash, whereas donations to people or non-Tremendous Pacs are capped.

After the Peterson interview, Musk replied on X to a clip from the interview saying, “Yeah”, and to a different tweet referencing the studies saying, “Yeah, it’s ridiculous. I’m making some donations to America PAC, however at a a lot decrease degree and the important thing values of the Pac are supporting a meritocracy & particular person freedom. Republicans are principally, however not fully, on the facet of benefit & freedom”.

The denial comes days after Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race, endorsing his vice-president Kamala Harris, who now has sufficient delegates to assert the Democratic nomination in August.

Additionally on Tuesday, the New York Occasions reported that the Tremendous Pac was being staffed by former aides to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential marketing campaign. “The Tremendous Pac has acquired an charisma within the Trump orbit, with different exterior teams largely at nighttime about its plans,” the Occasions reported.

However the aides, Generra Peck, who initially managed the DeSantis marketing campaign, and Phil Cox, a former head of the Republican Governors Affiliation, “might assist legitimize it throughout the Republican institution because it goals to grow to be one of many main teams on behalf of Mr Trump.”

“The intent is to advertise the ideas that made America nice within the first place,” Musk stated on Peterson’s present. “I wouldn’t say that I’m for instance Maga,” he added, referring to the Trump catchphrase. “I feel America is nice. I’m extra M-A-G, make America better.”

Musk didn’t make clear how a lot he intends to donate to the Pac.

The America Pac has already been backed by a few of Musk’s buddies and allies within the tech world, the Occasions reported, together with Joe Lonsdale, who co-founded the software program firm Palantir with Peter Thiel, a significant political donor to Trump’s newly named vice-president choose, the Ohio senator JD Vance.

The Winklevoss twins, cryptocurrency entrepreneurs who’ve attacked Joe Biden for waging what they referred to as a struggle on cryptocurrency via regulation, have additionally reportedly contributed to the hassle, the Wall Road Journal reported. They hailed Trump as “pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, pro-business” in June.

Tesla boss Elon Musk says the electrical automobile maker will begin producing and utilizing humanoid robots from subsequent yr.

In a social media publish, Mr Musk mentioned the robots will first be utilized by Tesla, which is able to begin making them to promote in 2026.

The announcement got here because the know-how billionaire has been pushing to chop prices at Tesla within the face of weakening demand for its automobiles.

On Tuesday, the corporate reported that income had dropped by practically half for the three months to the tip of June, falling from $2.7bn (£2.09bn) to lower than $1.5bn (£1.16bn), as a gross sales droop weighed on the underside line.

“General, our focus stays on company-wide value discount,” the corporate mentioned on Tuesday in an replace for traders.

Tesla mentioned its automotive income fell 7% year-on-year within the quarter, regardless of a flurry of value cuts and different incentives aimed toward attractive clients.

It nonetheless eked out an general income rise of two%, because of progress in its vitality storage enterprise.

Tesla’s shares fell by nearly 8% in after-hours buying and selling.

Mr Musk’s companies have been more and more specializing in applied sciences comparable to synthetic intelligence, autonomous driving and robots at a time of slowing demand for electrical autos.

Mr Musk had beforehand mentioned he anticipated the robotic, known as Optimus, to be prepared to be used in Tesla factories by the tip of this yr.

“Tesla can have genuinely helpful humanoid robots in low manufacturing for Tesla inner use subsequent yr and, hopefully, excessive manufacturing for different firms in 2026,” Mr Musk mentioned on his social media platform X, previously generally known as Twitter.

Different companies, together with Honda and Boston Dynamics, have additionally been creating their very own humanoid robots.

Tesla has mentioned it goals to construct an “autonomous humanoid robotic” to carry out “unsafe, repetitive or boring duties.”

Mr Musk has beforehand mentioned Tesla aimed for the robots to be mass produced and value lower than $20,000 (£17,900) every.

He’s identified for setting formidable timelines for his firms, which he has not at all times met.

In 2019, he mentioned he felt “very assured” Tesla would have self-driving taxis on the street by the next yr.

Earlier this yr, Mr Musk mentioned the long-awaited robo-taxi could be unveiled on 8 August, however that occasion has reportedly been delayed.

Tesla mentioned on Tuesday that it was nonetheless working “vigorously” on robo-taxis, however the timing of the rollout would rely partly on regulatory approval.

Deep-sea mining

Liam Davies is loving the problem of his first yr as an expert, whilst he’s handed a string of brutally powerful attracts in the beginning of the season.

The 18-year-old has first spherical matches on the Xi’an Grand Prix, Wuhan Open and British Open developing towards the trio of Ricky Walden, world champion Kyren Wilson and Barry Hawkins respectively.

It couldn’t be rather a lot trickier for the rookie as he appears to make an impression on the three rating occasions, however he’s something however fearful and loved seeing the massive names come out of the hat subsequent to his.

‘I don’t do issues simple, to be honest,’ Davies instructed Metro.co.uk. ‘I believe it’s good. It’s a giant problem as a result of clearly I’m a large second favorite in all three video games, however it’s good. It’s a pleasant take a look at in the beginning of the season to see the place your sport’s at.’

The Welsh teenager performs Walden on Friday in Xi’an Grand Prix qualifying, however his matches with Wilson and Hawkins are held over to the primary venues in Wuhan and Cheltenham, one thing else he’s trying ahead to.

‘First yr on tour, first time taking part in in China, playing the world champion, it doesn’t get much bigger than that for your first game in China,’ he said. ‘Maybe playing Ronnie would be bigger, but the current world champion, that’s a big occasion, it’ll be a good experience.

‘I was happy when I saw the draw for Cheltenham as well because I was up there with Mark [Williams] last year when he won the British Open. It’s a brilliant venue so I wanted to play there.’

Davies got his pro career underway at the Championship League last month, where he impressively beat Marco Fu and picked up a draw with Hammad Miah.

It was a low-key start to life on the World Snooker Tour, but his enthusiasm for the game shines through at any event.

‘It was brilliant,’ he said. ‘Being behind closed doors, it wasn’t quite the same, but perfect conditions, it was brilliant. Made three 90s to beat Marco Fu.

‘I had Ryan Day, Fu and Hammad Miah, so a few tough draws to start off there too. I definitely don’t do things the easy way!’

Snooker was hit with the sad news over the weekend that six-time world champion Ray Reardon passed away at 91 years old.

Reardon was a legend of the game and sport in general, but nowhere is he more revered than in his home country of Wales.

Despite being born in 2006, long after Reardon retired from playing in the early 90s, Davies did get to meet the iconic figure and has a touching story to tell of him.

‘I met him the year they made the Welsh Open trophy the Ray Reardon Trophy [2016], Ray sorted tickets and backstage passes out for me and my dad,’ said Davies.

‘We had a coffee and a chat backstage. He was so lovely. The things I remember about him was how lovely he was and that he was the best dressed and best smelling person I’ve ever met in my life.

‘I was really young. I think I was nine or 10, so he wasn’t really giving me advice but it was a pleasure to meet him. I never get starstruck, but the first couple of minutes I couldn’t really say anything, I was just staring at him, it was surreal. When he walked in the room he had such a presence about him.

‘He’s a Welsh sporting icon. I don’t think he gets quite the respect he deserves in the sport as one of the best sports people to come out of Wales.’

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Sir Andy Murray has introduced he’ll retire from tennis after the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Murray exited Wimbledon for the ultimate time alongside his brother Jamie within the males’s doubles, having not been in a position to play within the singles competitors resulting from harm or the combined doubles because of the withdrawal of his associate Emma Raducanu.

And within the week earlier than the Video games, he introduced it could be his final event.

“Arrived in Paris for my final ever tennis event,” Murray posted on X/Twitter. “Competing for (Britain) have been by far essentially the most memorable weeks of my profession and I’m extraordinarily proud to get do it one ultimate time!”

On the Olympics, Murray is predicted to compete within the singles and the lads’s doubles. He’s already an Olympic champion, having overwhelmed Roger Federer in straight units to win gold at London 2012. Murray efficiently defended his title 4 years later in Rio, when he was Staff GB’s flag-bearer for the Video games. The Paris Olympics might be 37-year-old Murray’s fifth Olympic Video games.

Paris 2024 could not carry up the identical feelings from Murray as his Wimbledon farewell, when an interview performed by Sue Barker – who had been there on court docket for his Wimbledon ultimate defeat to Federer in 2012 and his victory over Novak Djokovic the next 12 months – offered fairly the send-off.

He grew to become the primary British Wimbledon males’s singles champion in 77 years when he received on the All England Membership in 2013, earlier than happening to win the event a second time in 2016.

He then grew to become the one man to win two Olympic gold medals within the singles at Rio in 2016.

His profession was derailed by a persistent hip harm, and over the previous few years he has struggled to attain the extent that noticed him change into world No 1 in 2016.

He first introduced his retirement on the Australian Open in 2019, earlier than returning after hip surgical procedure.

Firstly of 2024 he indicated that he deliberate to complete in some unspecified time in the future over the summer season however he had been imprecise as to the precise date.

The ankle harm he suffered on the Miami Open in March solid doubt over his potential to even seem at Wimbledon, and one other setback got here when he sustained a again harm at Queen’s Membership and underwent an operation to take away a spinal cyst, which finally restricted him to only one doubles look.

Murray has all the time fought for others, correcting those that diminished the achievements of feminine tennis gamers, and might be remembered for being Britain’s first males’s singles Wimbledon champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

First minister John Swinney hailed Murray as “our best ever sportsman” because the tennis star introduced his resolution to retire from tennis after the Paris Olympics.

In a publish on X, the primary minister thanked the 37-year-old for “an impressive and galvanizing profession which has made a profound impression on so many”.

Wimbledon posted: “All the perfect, @andy_murray,” and his mom Judy commented: “fifth Olympics. Remaining event.”