This initiative is set to offer additional functionalities such as exclusive rights and digital identity authentication, aiming to transform the way digital assets are perceived and utilized. The decision to launch these innovative NFTs will be democratically made through a community vote scheduled from December 27 to December 30, 2024. BurgerCities is calling on its community members to actively participate in this crucial decision-making process. Voters will have the choice to either support the proposal, recognizing the potential for new opportunities in the digital market, or oppose it due to concerns over market volatility and potential technical challenges. The 2025 NFT series proposed by BurgerCities seeks to enrich the digital asset market by integrating sophisticated elements of art and technology. These NFTs aim to go beyond mere collecting; they are envisioned as a medium to appreciate digital art and leverage it for more practical applications like identity verification and exclusive access rights. This approach could potentially set a new standard for how NFTs are utilized, making them more than just collectible items but also functional assets that carry significant cultural and technological value. The outcome of the community vote will significantly influence the direction of this project and its potential impact on the digital asset landscape. BurgerCities emphasizes that the introduction of these art and technology-infused NFTs could revitalize the market and foster the development of a digital culture that celebrates technological innovation alongside artistic expression. The results of the vote will be announced promptly on various social media platforms following the conclusion of the voting period. BurgerCities aims to ensure transparency and community involvement in the evolution of its platform and the broader digital market.
Miller puts up 24, SMU downs Longwood 98-82
NoneBoopie Miller's 24 points spark SMU to a 98-82 win over Longwood in nonconference finale
AP Business SummaryBrief at 1:37 p.m. ESTPreview: MK Dons vs. Crewe Alexandra - prediction, team news, lineupsMoment jobsworth binman is caught on doorbell camera removing rubbish bag from top of bin at Christmas By MILO POPE and SAM WRIGHT Published: 22:42 GMT, 27 December 2024 | Updated: 23:05 GMT, 27 December 2024 e-mail 9 View comments A 'petty' binman was caught on doorbell camera footage removing a rubbish bag from the top of a bin at Christmas . A Hull resident posted a video of the incident to social media, tagging his local council with the comment: 'Remind me why I pay you over £130 a month [Hull City Council].' The footage begins by showing a lorry travelling down a road as binmen go to collect the rubbish. When a binman reaches the person's house, he can then be seen removing a single bin bag on top of the wheelie bin. After that, he wheels the bin to the lorry and disposes of the rubbish before wheeling it back, leaving the single bag of rubbish. Furious people online shared their fury over the 'petty' move by the rubbish collector. One person wrote on X: 'Now an extra bag or the lid being open by 1cm is refused! It’s madness.' Another said: 'Count yourself lucky, I pay more than that and they didn’t even touch the bin when I left a bag on top of it.' Footage begins by showing a lorry travelling down a road as binmen collect the rubbish On this person's Ring doorbell footage, a binman can be seen picking up the bin bag After removing it, he then starts to wheel the bin away to remove what is inside The 'petty' move sparked fury online, with many people condemning his actions A third added: 'I think councils often forget they are a public service & when this is combined with tendering services to the lowest cost provider, this approach is the result.' A fourth wrote: 'I was a bin man in West Sussex for a bit and any out of bin extras we always threw in the lorry. Council need to sort it as bin man must leave it for a reason.' A fifth also said: 'Happened to me last Xmas. Two extra nearly tied bags next to the bin. Bin men Left them. I was watching and went out. Bloke thought I was about to argue. I simply picked the bags up and threw them in the van. Neither weighed more than 6 or 7kg. Jobsworths was my only comment.' However, some argued: 'Rules are clear. Rubbish has to be in a bin for them to take it. If you’ve run out of room, ask a neighbour if you can put it in theirs or take it to the tip.' Another also said: 'And then what happens when someone leaves two bags, and then three bags. Has to be a rule otherwise people in society will take the p***.' MailOnline has contacted Hull City Council for comment. Hull Share or comment on this article: Moment jobsworth binman is caught on doorbell camera removing rubbish bag from top of bin at Christmas e-mail Add commentSaint Bonaventure wins 65-55 over Buffalo
ASX 200 outperformed the market last week with a 1.96% boost over the five trading days. This was the fifth week out of the past six that tech stocks have fared better than all other market sectors. The (ASX: XJO) lost 0.23% last week to close at 8,420.9 points on Friday. The benchmark index reset its all-time high once again on Tuesday at 8,514.5 points. Only five of the 11 market sectors finished the week in the green. Let's recap. ASX tech shares led the market last week Several of the larger ASX tech shares by enjoyed solid gains over the week. The share price of the sector's biggest player, rose by 2.56% to end the week at $131.37 per share. The ( ) share price finished 1.68% higher at $178.04. ( ) shares rose by 3.41% to close Friday's session at $31.54. ( ) shares continued their seemingly unstoppable trajectory, rising 3.88% to $26.21. Shares in electronics solutions provider ( ) rose 3.04% to $16.25. The ( ) share price swished 5.05% higher to close at $6.66 on Friday. Some of the most impressive gains last week were seen among the ASX tech shares. ( ) shares skyrocketed 39.4% to $2.21 apiece. This followed the wealth management software company on Wednesday. The company also said it would resume paying in 2025. Another strong performer was ( ), which provides administration software and financial planning tools to the wealth management industry. The Praemium share price rocketed 9.09% to 78 cents, despite no news from the company last week. The ( ) share price lifted 5.15% to $2.86 despite no news from the memory and semiconductor technology company. Technology is on track to be the . As we reported last week, some ASX tech stocks are even on share price growth. However, many brokers think some of the ASX tech shares with the highest price gains of 2024 are still in the buy zone. You can check them out . ASX 200 market sector snapshot Here's how the 11 market sectors stacked up last week, according to CommSec data. Over the five trading days:Share Tweet Share Share Email Timing is crucial in the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies. Identifying the peak moment to sell assets like XRP, Solana, and Dogen can maximize returns. Understanding when these digital currencies might reach their highest value is key for investors. Exploring market predictions and cycle patterns may reveal insights into the most opportune moments to exit positions. Dive into the factors that could signal the perfect time to sell. DOGEN Rejoys Big Moment: Trump’s Victory Will Send It to the Moon Guess who is going to join Elon Musk’s moon mission soon? DOGEN, the boldest meme coin for alpha males, is gearing up for take-off as Trump’s victory in the recent US election has the entire market euphoric about the prospects of cryptocurrencies, especially meme coins. Donald and Elon are Best Buddies for Meme Coins Donald Trump’s love for crypto is no secret — he’s promised to make the U.S. the global crypto leader in his campaign. And joining him is none other than Elon Musk , the ultimate Dogecoin (DOGE) fan who’s backed the crypto movement and even aligned with Republicans earlier this year. With these two icons fueling the fire, meme coins are set for a wild ride! DOGE Soars 130% in Just One Week! DOGEN will be the Next Star with 500% Surge Following the US election results, Dogecoin (DOGE) has been on a steady rise: from $0.15 to $0.39 in just one week . DOGEN follows the same upward trend, starting at $0.0003 and now trading at $0.0013, a staggering 333% leap . With a total of 13 presale stages, DOGEN is set to rise to $0.0019 by the token generation event (TGE), which represents a 500% increase from its initial price. Like it DOGE style? Grab Some DOGEN Now and Watch It Soars 500% A Community-Driven Token with Referral Program The backbone of DOGEN is its strong and engaged community—an energetic group of investors ready to seize the next big opportunity. With nearly $4,000,000 already raised , DOGEN has proven its appeal among crypto enthusiasts. Adding to its allure is DOGEN’s unique multi-level referral program, which rewards community participation: 7% in USDT from direct referrals 2% from second-tier referrals 1% from third-tier referrals Wanna Surf this Bull Wave? Join the DOGEN Army! Step into the winner’s circle with DOGEN—where elite investors get access to exclusive campaigns, epic perks, and top-tier deals . Live the high life you deserve: luxury cars, stacks of cash , and unforgettable experiences await those who go all-in on DOGEN. Don’t settle for ordinary when you can have it all! Flex Hard, Earn Big – DOGEN is Your Power Move! XRP: A Fast, Low-Cost Cryptocurrency for Global Transactions XRP is a cryptocurrency that operates on the XRP Ledger. It is designed to be fast, low-cost, and open. XRP allows for borderless transactions that are resistant to censorship and counterfeiting. It does not rely on a central authority, making transactions secure and irreversible. XRP was created by Jed McCaleb, Arthur Britto, and David Schwartz. They launched it with a supply of 100 billion tokens. Ripple received 80 billion XRP to improve network liquidity and support the ecosystem. Ripple uses XRP to facilitate quick and efficient transfers across different currencies. In the current market cycle, XRP’s technology and potential applications may make it an interesting option for global payments. Solana’s SOL: A High-Speed Platform for Decentralized Applications Solana is a blockchain platform designed for scalability and speed, offering a foundation for decentralized applications alongside competitors like Ethereum and Cardano. Its architecture enables faster transactions and flexible development across multiple programming languages. SOL, the native cryptocurrency of Solana, is central to its ecosystem, facilitating transactions, running custom programs, and rewarding network participants. The coin holds value by underpinning the operation of the Solana network, allowing users access to a suite of projects. Unlike some platforms, Solana avoids sharding or second-layer solutions, aiming to attract developers and investors with its high-capacity network capable of hosting high-activity products and services. In the current market cycle, Solana’s technology continues to garner attention for its scalability and efficiency. Conclusion With XRP and SOL showing less short-term potential, DOGEN stands out for those seeking the best in life. Designed to embody luxury and success, DOGEN expects 700% growth by the end of presale and potential thousand-fold returns. Following successful tokens like BONK, WIF, and Popcat, DOGEN builds a community of leaders offering real benefits and exclusive perks for early adopters. Site: https://dogen.meme/ Twitter: https://x.com/dogenmeme Telegram: https://t.me/Dogen_Portal Related Items: dogen , Trump’s Victory Share Tweet Share Share Email Recommended for you Key Indicator Flips to Bullish for DOGE, SOL, and DOGEN—Will Their Prices Ignite a Fresh Parabolic Surge Toward the All-Time High? Polkadot and Polygon Holders Turn to a $0.0013 Token Ready to Dominate Altcoin Markets Top 5 Meme Coins to Explode in Winter Rally – Dogen Aims for Ethereum-Level Growth by 2025 CommentsGap lifts guidance, touts optimism ahead of crucial holiday shopping season
Congress Bids Adieu To Its Gentle Statesman Dr Singh At Party HQLisa Simpson once said during an episode of “The Simpsons:” What could be more exciting than the savage ballet that is pro football? On Monday night, the entire Simpsons universe gets to experience it in a way not many could have imagined. The prime-time matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also take place at Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as part of “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternate broadcast. The altcast will be streamed on ESPN+, Disney+, and NFL+ (on mobile devices). ESPN and ABC have the main broadcast, while ESPN2 will carry the final “ManningCast” of the regular season. The replay will be available on Disney+ for 30 days. Globally, more than 145 countries will have access to either live or on replay. “We’re such huge football fans, and the Simpsons audience and the football audience, I feel, are like the same audience of just American families and football. And the Simpsons are so much a part of the DNA of the American family and culture that for us to, like, mush them together in this crazy video game, it’s so fun,” said Matt Selman, executive producer of “The Simpsons.” While the game is the focal point, the alternate broadcast, in some ways, will resemble a three-hour episode of “The Simpsons.” It starts with Homer eating too many hot dogs and having a dream while watching football. Homer joins the Cowboys in the dream while Bart teams up with the Bengals. Lisa and Marge will be sideline reporters. “That’s the beginning of the story, and the story continues through the entire game until Homer wakes up from his dream at the end of the game. It is like a complete story, and the NFL game will happen in between. It’s just going to be an amazing presentation with tons of surprises,” said Michael “Spike” Szykowny, ESPN’s VP of edit and animation. This is the second year ESPN has done an alternate broadcast for an NFL game. It used the characters from “Toy Story” for last year’s Sunday morning game from London between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. “The Simpsons” has featured many sports-themed episodes during its 35 seasons. Even though “Homer at the Bat” remains the consensus favorite sports episode for many Simpsons fans, there have been football ones such as “Bart Star” and “Lisa The Greek.” There also was a Super Bowl-themed one after Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 33 between Denver and Atlanta in 1999. Even though “The Simpsons” remains a staple on Fox’s prime-time schedule, it is part of the Disney family after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. All 35 seasons are on Disney+. The show’s creators have worked with ESPN and the NFL to make sure the look and sound is definitely Simpsonsesque. The theme song is a mash-up of “The Simpsons” opening and “Monday Night Football’s” iconic “Heavy Action.” There have also been pre-recorded skits and bits to use during the broadcast featuring Simpson’s legendary voices Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith. The telecast will be entirely animated, with the players’ movements in sync with what is happening in real-time on the field. That is done through player-tracking data enabled by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats system and Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. While Next Gen Stats tracks where players are on the field with a tracking chip in the shoulder pads, there is skeletal data tracking and limb tracking data — which uses 29 points per player — to get closer to the player’s movements. The other data tracking will allow Beyond Sports and Disney to add special characters to the game. For example, there might be a play where Lisa catches the ball and goes 30 yards instead of Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. “Lisa is much smaller than the rest of the players. So, in real life, the ball would go over her head, but now, with data processing, we can take the ball and make it go exactly into her hands. So for the viewer, it still looks believable, and it all makes sense,” said Beyond Sports co-founder Nicolaas Westerhof. The other major challenge is making “The Simpsons” two-dimensional cartoon characters into 3-D simulations. Szykowny and his team worked to make that a reality over the past couple of months. “That’s a big leap of faith for them to say, hey, we trust you to make our characters 3-D and work with it. Our ESPN creative studio team has done a wonderful job,” Szykowny said. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart and the Bengals; while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe join up with with Homer and the Cowboys. The broadcast will also feature ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. ESPN’s Drew Carter, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will call the game from Bristol, Connecticut, and also be animated. They will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from Springfield using VR technology. For Kimes, being part of the broadcast and being an animated Simpsons character is a dream come true. She is a massive fan of the show and has a framed photo of Lisa Simpson — who she said is a personal hero and icon — as part of her backdrop when she makes appearances on ESPN NFL shows from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn’t have any input, and I didn’t see anything beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if it would look like me, but it kind of does, which is very funny,” said Kimes, who drew Simpsons characters when she was a kid. “To see the actual staff turn me into one was a dream.” Even though the Bengals (4-8) and Cowboys (5-7) have struggled this season, Selman thinks both teams have personalities that appeal to “The Simpsons” universe. “We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” he said. ”And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy -- he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly. “If Homer is mad at Bart and has a hot dog dream while watching ’Monday Night Football’, and then it’s basically McCarthy versus Burrow, Homer versus Bart, and that’s the simple father versus son strangling — Homer strangling Bart dynamic that has been part of the show for 35 years. I don’t know if that would have worked as well if it was like Titans versus Jacksonville. We would have found something. We would have made it work.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) — Chance Moore scored 16 points as Saint Bonaventure defeated Buffalo 65-55 on Saturday night. Moore shot 5 of 11 from the field, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 8 from the line for the Bonnies (9-1). Melvin Council Jr. scored 12 points while shooting 5 for 11, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc and added three steals. Jonah Hinton had 12 points and shot 3 of 5 from the field, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the line. Ryan Sabol led the way for the Bulls (5-5) with 14 points. Buffalo also got 14 points from Bryson Wilson. Brayden Jackson had 11 points. Saint Bonaventure took the lead with 19:26 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. Hinton led their team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them ahead 32-22 at the break. Saint Bonaventure closed out the victory in the final half, while Moore led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times (TNS) LOS ANGELES — Each day, an army of trucks delivers tens of thousands of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables to Mexico City’s Central de Abasto, one of the world’s largest wholesale food markets. Most of the produce finds its way to people’s kitchens, and eventually their stomachs. But around 420 tons goes bad each day before it can be sold. It ends up, like so much food around the world, in a landfill. Globally, a staggering one third of all food that is produced is never eaten. That waste — more than 1 billion tons annually — fuels climate change. As organic matter decomposes, it releases methane , a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the planet. The United Nation estimates that up to 10% of all human-produced greenhouse gases are generated by food loss and waste. That’s nearly five times the emissions from the aviation industry. For many years, scientists and policy makers have been largely focused on addressing other drivers of climate change, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which is by far the largest contributor to global emissions. But food waste has recently been drawing more international attention. The issue was on the agenda at this month’s United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan, where for the first time, leaders signed a declaration calling for countries to set concrete targets to reduce methane emissions caused by organic waste. Only a handful of the 196 countries that have signed the Paris Agreement on climate change have incorporated food waste commitments into their national climate plans, according to the UK-based nonprofit Waste & Resources Action Program. Many more nations are like Mexico, which is just beginning to assess how it can reduce the 20 million tons of food wasted annually here. A recent report by the World Bank identified several waste hotspots in the country, including the Central de Abasato, which stretches across 800 acres on the south side of the capital. In the dense warren of stalls, the best-looking produce is displayed prominently: ripe bananas, glistening limes and orderly rows of broccoli and asparagus. In the back are fruits and veggies that no longer look perfect: mushy papayas, wilting spinach and bruised tomatoes. A few years ago, market organizers launched an initiative to collect the produce that looks too old to sell but is still perfectly usable. They donate it to food banks and soup kitchens. Organizers say they’ve reduced the amount of food that is thrown out by about a quarter since 2020 — and have provided meals to tens of thousands of hungry people. “It’s much better to donate,” said Fernando Bringas Torres, who has sold bananas at the market for more than four decades. “This food still has value.” Environmental activists say reducing food waste is one of the most attainable climate solutions, in part because its not politicized. Asking companies and consumers to cut back on the food they send to landfills is far less charged than urging a reduction in meat consumption, energy use or the number of gas-fueled cars on the road. “People on the left and the right both have a gut reaction to it because it is a waste of resources,” said Christian Reynolds, a researcher at the Center for Food Policy at City University in London. Reducing waste “is not a silver bullet” to stop global warming, Reynolds said. “But it’s up there with the things you’ve got to solve, and it’s a useful way to open doors around climate change.” Scientists say cutting back on waste is valuable because methane traps heat at a much higher rate than carbon dioxide. Methane emissions are to blame for about 30% of the recent rise in global temperatures. U.N. climate leaders say slashing them is a vital “emergency brake” that will help curb the extreme weather already seen across the world today. About 20% of methane emissions come from food loss and waste, an umbrella term that describes all food that is produced but not eaten. It includes crops destroyed by pests or extreme weather, produce or meat that spoils in transport because of faulty packaging and food that goes bad at market before it can be sold. It also includes all food purchased by individuals or served at restaurants that ends up in the trash. The data on food waste are stunning: Experts say some food waste in inevitable. Humans need food to survive and it degrades quickly. Modern food systems are built around the transport of products across long distances, increasing the likelihood that some things will spoil. But they say there are relatively pain-free ways to reduce waste at all stages — from producer to consumer. The simplest thing is to reduce the amount of extra food being produced in the first place. But other solutions include fixing inefficient machinery that makes it hard to harvest all of a crop, bettering poor roads that prevent food from making it from farm to table and improving packaging, so food stays good for longer. At the end of the chain, restaurant workers can be better trained to prepare food in a way that avoids waste. Retailers can be encouraged to avoid over-buying and to stop the practice of stocking only perfect-looking produce and discarding the rest. And consumers can be encouraged to eat all of what they buy and lower the temperatures on their refrigerators to delay food from going bad. There has also been a major push to get retailers to change how they label foods, given that many consumers throw out products if they are past their sell-by date. “We should be making sure that our food safety policies are not getting in the way of our climate goals,” Reynolds said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill, AB 660, that would bar food-sellers from using the term “sell by” on packages, requiring them to switch to “use by” or “best if used by.” Advocates say it would dissuade Californians from throwing away food that is still good. Other efforts are focused on recovery and redistribution — getting food that is about to spoil into the hands of hungry people. Each year 783 million people around the world go hungry, with a third of the global population facing food insecurity. World leaders “are starting to make the connection between the the climate impact and social impact,” said Ana Catalina Suárez Peña, an advocate with the Global FoodBanking Network, which works with food banks in more than 50 countries. Her organization recently developed a calculator for food banks and businesses that allows them to measure the volume of methane avoided by curbing food waste. The group found that six community-led food banks in Mexico and Ecuador prevented a total of 816 metric tons of methane over a year by redistributing food that would otherwise have gone to landfill. That is the equivalent of keeping 5,436 cars off the road for a year. Tools to measure food waste — and the savings generated from avoiding it — are an important part of tackling the problem, said Oliver Camp, a food systems adviser at the COP summit. Though he was heartened by the summit declaration calling on countries to set targets for avoiding food waste in their climate plans, he said there was still much progress to be made. Countries need to implement a “comprehensive, costed national strategy based on data as to where food loss and waste is occurring, and evidence-based interventions to avoid it,” he said. The World Bank analysis of Mexico found that most of the country’s emissions come from the energy and transportation sectors, but that the food wasted here is the fifth biggest contributor. “There is an overproduction by farmers,” said Adriana Martínez, 48, who runs a stall at the Central de Abastos that she inherited from her late father. She said customers “only want food that looks perfect.” Each week, about 30% of her product begins to go bad. In the past, she would have sent it to the overflowing dumpsters that sit behind the market. But now she calls up a market organizer who connects her with a local food bank. Martínez said her father, who grew up poor, would be happy knowing that food from the stand is helping other people instead of decomposing in a dump. “He knew hunger,” she said. “And he hated waste.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
PSX and IBA sign agreementTo play Maria Callas, Angelina Jolie had to lean how to breathe againGwandu Festival: CSO Commends Idris For Fostering National Unity Through CultureLisa Simpson once said during an episode of “The Simpsons:” What could be more exciting than the savage ballet that is pro football? On Monday night, the entire Simpsons universe gets to experience it in a way not many could have imagined. The prime-time matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also take place at Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as part of “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternate broadcast. The altcast will be streamed on ESPN+, Disney+, and NFL+ (on mobile devices). ESPN and ABC have the main broadcast, while ESPN2 will carry the final “ManningCast” of the regular season. The replay will be available on Disney+ for 30 days. Globally, more than 145 countries will have access to either live or on replay. “We’re such huge football fans, and the Simpsons audience and the football audience, I feel, are like the same audience of just American families and football. And the Simpsons are so much a part of the DNA of the American family and culture that for us to, like, mush them together in this crazy video game, it’s so fun,” said Matt Selman, executive producer of “The Simpsons.” While the game is the focal point, the alternate broadcast, in some ways, will resemble a three-hour episode of “The Simpsons.” It starts with Homer eating too many hot dogs and having a dream while watching football. Homer joins the Cowboys in the dream while Bart teams up with the Bengals. Lisa and Marge will be sideline reporters. “That’s the beginning of the story, and the story continues through the entire game until Homer wakes up from his dream at the end of the game. It is like a complete story, and the NFL game will happen in between. It’s just going to be an amazing presentation with tons of surprises,” said Michael “Spike” Szykowny, ESPN’s VP of edit and animation. This is the second year ESPN has done an alternate broadcast for an NFL game. It used the characters from “Toy Story” for last year’s Sunday morning game from London between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. “The Simpsons” has featured many sports-themed episodes during its 35 seasons. Even though “Homer at the Bat” remains the consensus favorite sports episode for many Simpsons fans, there have been football ones such as “Bart Star” and “Lisa The Greek.” There also was a Super Bowl-themed one after Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 33 between Denver and Atlanta in 1999. Even though “The Simpsons” remains a staple on Fox’s prime-time schedule, it is part of the Disney family after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. All 35 seasons are on Disney+. The show’s creators have worked with ESPN and the NFL to make sure the look and sound is definitely Simpsonsesque. The theme song is a mash-up of “The Simpsons” opening and “Monday Night Football’s” iconic “Heavy Action.” There have also been pre-recorded skits and bits to use during the broadcast featuring Simpson’s legendary voices Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith. The telecast will be entirely animated, with the players’ movements in sync with what is happening in real-time on the field. That is done through player-tracking data enabled by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats system and Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. While Next Gen Stats tracks where players are on the field with a tracking chip in the shoulder pads, there is skeletal data tracking and limb tracking data — which uses 29 points per player — to get closer to the player’s movements. The other data tracking will allow Beyond Sports and Disney to add special characters to the game. For example, there might be a play where Lisa catches the ball and goes 30 yards instead of Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. “Lisa is much smaller than the rest of the players. So, in real life, the ball would go over her head, but now, with data processing, we can take the ball and make it go exactly into her hands. So for the viewer, it still looks believable, and it all makes sense,” said Beyond Sports co-founder Nicolaas Westerhof. The other major challenge is making “The Simpsons” two-dimensional cartoon characters into 3-D simulations. Szykowny and his team worked to make that a reality over the past couple of months. “That’s a big leap of faith for them to say, hey, we trust you to make our characters 3-D and work with it. Our ESPN creative studio team has done a wonderful job,” Szykowny said. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart and the Bengals; while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe join up with with Homer and the Cowboys. The broadcast will also feature ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. ESPN’s Drew Carter, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will call the game from Bristol, Connecticut, and also be animated. They will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from Springfield using VR technology. For Kimes, being part of the broadcast and being an animated Simpsons character is a dream come true. She is a massive fan of the show and has a framed photo of Lisa Simpson — who she said is a personal hero and icon — as part of her backdrop when she makes appearances on ESPN NFL shows from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn’t have any input, and I didn’t see anything beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if it would look like me, but it kind of does, which is very funny,” said Kimes, who drew Simpsons characters when she was a kid. “To see the actual staff turn me into one was a dream.” Even though the Bengals (4-8) and Cowboys (5-7) have struggled this season, Selman thinks both teams have personalities that appeal to “The Simpsons” universe. “We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” he said. ”And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy -- he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly. “If Homer is mad at Bart and has a hot dog dream while watching ’Monday Night Football’, and then it’s basically McCarthy versus Burrow, Homer versus Bart, and that’s the simple father versus son strangling — Homer strangling Bart dynamic that has been part of the show for 35 years. I don’t know if that would have worked as well if it was like Titans versus Jacksonville. We would have found something. We would have made it work.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory ahead of the funeral of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, scheduled for Saturday. The traffic advisory outlines restrictions and diversions on major routes in New Delhi, urging the public to avoid certain roads and use public transport to help ease congestion. "The dignitaries of many of foreign country and other VIPs/VVIPS and the general public will visit Nigham Bodh Ghat on the occasion of state funeral of late Dr. Sh. Man Mohan Singh, Former PM of India on 28.12.2024," Delhi Traffic Police said in its advisory on Friday. According to the advisory, diversion points include Raja Ram Kohli Marg, Rajghat Red Light, Signature Bridge, and Yudhister Setu. Traffic restrictions, regulations, and diversion may be imposed on Ring Road (Mahatma Gandhi Marg), Nishad Raj Marg, Boulevard Road, SPM Marg, Lothian Road, and Netaji Subhash Marg from 7.00 am onwards, likely till 3.00 pm. The advisory advises people to avoid the mentioned roads and stretches, as well as the area where the procession will take place. Commuters going to Old Delhi Railway Station, ISBT, Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, and Tis Hazari Court are advised to leave with sufficient time to accommodate possible delays on the route. It is also recommended to use public transport to reduce road congestion. Vehicles should only be parked in designated parking lots; roadside parking should be avoided as it obstructs the normal flow of traffic. In case any unusual or unidentified object or person is noticed in suspicious circumstances, the public is urged to report it to the Police, they added. The last rites of Dr Manmohan Singh are to be performed at Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon. "Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister passed away at 9.51 PM on December 26, 2024 at AllMS Hospital, New Delhi. It has been decided by the Government that State funeral will be accorded to Dr Manmohan Singh. The funeral will take place at 11:45 AM on December 28, 2024 at Nigambodh Ghat, New Delhi. The Ministry of Defence is requested to make arrangements for State funeral will full military honours," the MHA stated. Dr Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had a sudden loss of consciousness at home after which he was rushed to the hospital. Dr Singh's political career spanned several decades, with notable positions including Finance Minister from 1991 to 1996, during which he spearheaded economic reforms that transformed India's economy. He served as the 13th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014, succeeding Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His tenure is particularly remembered for his steady leadership during economic crises and his contributions to modernizing India's economy. After his second term, Dr Singh retired from public life, having led India through a period of unprecedented growth and international recognition. He was succeeded by Narendra Modi in 2014 after the Congress-led UPA lost the general elections. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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