While TAG Heuer has not yet shared any specific metrics surrounding these benefits compared to other conventional hairspring setups (be it steel, alloys like Nivarox, or the more modern silicon used by Rolex, Omega, Patek, and of course, Ulysse Nardin), they have been able to industrialize the technology to the point of including it in a pair of 50-piece limited editions that are backed by a five-year warranty. While silicon is already amagnetic, I’m very interested to see some specs comparing this novel carbon solution against silicon for shock resistance and timekeeping performance, especially given the somewhat brittle nature of silicon.
Thirty eight million people and counting have watched Hbomberguy’s near four-hour video Plagiarism and You(Tube), in which the YouTuber – real name Harry Brewis – forensically dissects intellectual theft across the platform in a work of investigative journalism worthy of a Pulitzer. To put that into perspective, 32 million people in the UK tuned in to watch Princess Diana’s funeral broadcast live on the BBC. If you’re not familiar with the work, video essays may just be the biggest cultural phenomenon you’ve never heard of.
Early versions of video essays – thoughtful deep dives that filter cultural analysis through the distinct personality of the creator – emerged in the early 2000s, but it was the converging currents of the “online left” and the creativity that flourished under lockdowns that saw the number of creators rise and the format swell in popularity. For the past eight years, the British Film Institute has put out a yearly ranking of video essays of the year. BBC auteur Adam Curtis has said if he were starting out again, he would become a YouTuber, calling it “the last wild west” of online creativity.
Prevailing common sense in the boardrooms of streaming services and broadcasting corporations is that attention, both in terms of quality and quantity, is dwindling. Research from the psychologist Gloria Mark has shown that attention times are declining, now averaging 47 seconds on a given task while using an electronic device. This creates an issue for the commissioning of factual entertainment, which by its nature requires viewers to engage with ideas. To get round this problem, streaming services have turned to easily digestible output – reality TV, nature documentaries or grisly true-crime miniseries. Public service broadcasters such as the BBC, whose mission is to “inform, educate and entertain”, have mimicked streamers, not wanting to be left behind.
On smaller phone screens, TikTok and Instagram Reels range between 30 seconds and 10 minutes. The bold, the catchy and, in some cases, the extreme, travel far. Other platforms, such as Facebook or X, where ideas might once have been exchanged and discussed in good faith have become wastelands of misinformation, posturing, hot takes and conflict.
In contrast, video essays are thought-provoking, nuanced and self-reflexive. They mix philosophical theory, cultural studies and internet subcultures. Even if a streaming service wanted to, they wouldn’t be able to generate a tag for this type of content. The couple behindLeftist Cooks, former academic Sarah Oeffler and creative Neilly Farrell, are emblematic of the mixture of education and entertainment. Their video When Your Hero Is a Monster inspired by the unsavoury allegations against Neil Gaiman, went viral at the end of last year; it sees them literally donning a number of different hats in order to represent the struggle many have in reconciling their attachments to cancelled celebrities.
“We’ll be talking about Foucault or something and then, yeah, it’s like: Oh, there’s that episode of BoJack Horseman that does that,” says Oeffler.
Video essays can also be very, very long. The final product takes months, and in some cases, years worth of research, writing, planning, costume and set designing, filming and editing. ContraPoints’ magisterial 2hr 40min video Conspiracy, about the allure of this thinking and its impact on democracy, has no fewer than six costume changes, including one Eyes Wide Shut-inspired scene with eight different Venetian masks. In another scene, the channel’s creator, Natalie Wynn, “built this giant trope of a conspiracy wall with yarn … a week was spent making hundreds of photo prints … I went through three canisters of ink printing out declassified CIA documents and pinning them all over the wall. It’s probably eight feet.”
José María Luna’s latest essay, Searching for God in Film, explores faith through cinema by referencing 50 films, including The Seventh Seal and The Sound of Music. It also features the creator dressed as St Sebastian (arrows and all), a cardinal and a layperson confessing his sins. When mood-boarding the essay, he thought: “‘What if I fake a confessional [booth]?’ So I faked [it] with some black poster board and the back of my bed in my bedroom, which was very fun.”
By the metrics of bigger organisations, video essays shouldn’t work, and yet they do. In fact, these videos are mainly watched on larger TV screens, much like regular movies or shows. Canadian documentarian Dan Olsen, also known as Folding Ideas, has covered topics as wide-ranging as media criticism and online conspiracy and finance culture. He believes that YouTubers have reached a point of maturation where they are able to make ambitious, educational, entertaining content on a par with previous broadcast educators such as Carl Sagan, who popularised astronomy in the 1980s with his landmark documentaries. He believes that video essayists are a “filling a hole in documentary production, in educational content, in science communication, at a wide swath of budget and production levels that I think people are thirsty for and [that] broadcast TV has been unable or unwilling to fill for a very long time.”Line Goes Up, his definitive and acerbic two-hour breakdown and takedown of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, through direct to camera monologue, graphics, images, and screen recordings has more than 17m views.
The first creator to make videos in 2004 specifically for an internet audience was James Rolfe, the Angry Video Game Nerd, who posted scrappy gaming reviews and skits in character. This was followed by Channel Awesome posting comedic film reviews. After leaving the channel, creator Lindsay Ellis would go on to be one of the original YouTube essayists, posting long-form critiques of animation and fantasy films, among other things.
The political strand of video essays emerged between 2014 and 2016 as progressive creators found themselves sharing YouTube with the emerging “alt-right”. Things came to a head over GamerGate, a misogynistic online harassment campaign against women in the gaming industry. Hbomberguy’s first video was the The Sarkeesian Effect: A Measured Response, mocking the men who were taking aim at the woman at the centre of the outrage. The term “Bread Tube” (a reference to anarcho-communist Peter Kropotkin’s book, The Conquest of Bread) was coined to describe a loose collection of creators, including the above as well as other channels such as Philosophy Tube, though many creators rejected it.
The videos are in no small part successful because they represent political points of view, identities and creators – including trans people, queer people and people of colour – who have been marginalised by the mainstream. “People who are traditionally excluded from more formal publishing opportunities can have a voice on YouTube,” says Wynn. “And often there is an audience that is not being catered to elsewhere that does exist and is there on YouTube. There were creators and there was an audience. They were not being connected with each other until the gatekeeping was eliminated.”
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Over time, the format expanded to encompass theoretical perspectives on culture (and vice versa – culture was used to explain theory). Wynn’s Twilight video, in which she sits at an overflowing banquet table replete with candelabras and skulls, uses feminist and queer theory to explore themes of sex, sexuality, desire and power dynamics between genders as evoked in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire novels.
Fashion and lifestyle trends have also become a subject for creators such as Mina Le. Her first video was about the historical accuracy of the costume design in the film Atonement. “It’s OK to think seriously about things that are otherwise considered mundane or irrelevant,” says Zandile Powell, AKA Kidology, who documents in real-time the excesses and extremities of internet culture.
“This corner of the internet is a surprisingly pleasant place to be,” says Oeffler. “There’s genuinely a bunch of solidarity between creators. We try to boost people all the time, we recommend people to our audience who might not natively get as many views. We know based on research that people are less likely to click on the thumbnail of somebody if they’re Black, for example.” Although the parasocial relationship between creators and audiences, combined with the high standards of the left, has meant that audiences have at times pushed back against creators for not being radical enough.
What next? “Right now we are in a golden age because there are a lot of channels that are able to access business-level budgets,” says Olsen. Thanks to Patreon, the most popular creators are able to hire teams and/or work full-time on their videos – although many smaller YouTubers rely on revenue made from hosting adverts in their videos, making them vulnerable to brands pulling advertising budgets as they did during the pandemic. Some video essayists are already moving away from YouTube to the creator-owned platform Nebula.
For now, things are exciting. When I ask José María Luna what video essay concepts he is working on next, he pulls out his phone: “I have a Notes app full of ideas like ‘Donald Duck and cultural imperialism’ or ‘Musicals and mental illness’. I don’t even know what I meant by that.”
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday granted bail to PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shershah Khan in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots.
The Lahore Police arrested Shershah, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from outside his home on August 22. He was then sent on a five-day physical remand and later to jail for 14 days on August 28.
Today’s development comes a day after Shershah’s triathlete brother, Shahrez Khan, was also granted bail in a similar case. Shahrez was picked up on August 21 and was handed over to police custody for eight days before his judicial remand and bail.
In the last hearing on Tuesday, the ATC had again granted the prosecution time till today to present the case record in connection with Shershah’s post-arrest bail plea.
ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill presided over the hearing today, where Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer appeared as Shershah’s counsel.
During the hearing, Umer pointed out that the prosecution had still not produced the case record in the Jinnah House attack case against Shershah.
“No one knows when the trial will begin. Therefore, the suspect cannot be kept in jail for an unlimited period,” the counsel contended. He asserted that “no evidence” had been produced against his client on the record.
“The suspect was not involved in any riots,” Umer stated, arguing that individuals with more serious charges against them had been given bail in other cases.
“Someone cannot be implicated [in a case] just based on one suspect’s identification of him,” the lawyer contended.
Pointing out the arrest “28 months” after the May 9 incidents, Umer alleged, “Vindictive actions are being taken because of being a part of the PTI founder’s family.
The lawyer called the purported recovery of a cane from Shershah, as per the prosecution, “planted”. He argued that the same ATC had previously discharged PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid from a case based on a co-suspect’s statement.
Subsequently, Judge Gill accepted the post-arrest bail plea of Shershah against a surety bond of Rs100,000 and ordered his release, if not needed in any other case.
Umer, on X, said the bail was a “result of teamwork” of the lawyers.
Shershah’s lawyer, Barrister Taimur Malik, also confirmed the bail approval on X.
His cousin, Qasim Zaman Khan, referring to the bails of both brothers, alleged: “These arrests were nothing but political victimisation.”
Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had expressed their concerns over the arrests of Shahrez and Shershah, with the former terming them a “political witch-hunt”.
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry had defended the arrests, saying they could not be chalked off as “fake, fabricated [or] politically motivated”.
On May 9, 2023, PTI supporters, protesting Imran’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence.
Following the riots, the state launched a crackdown on the PTI, with thousands of protesters and top party leadership arrested. Scores of PTI leaders have recently been convicted in cases over the riots and disqualified from their parliamentary roles.
Overheating has been the silent enemy of hybrid cameras. Long 8K or high-fps takes often force recording limits, with hot media cards becoming the weakest link. While Fujifilm’s large GFX cameras already manage heat through their sheer body volume and magnesium frames, the company’s smaller X-series models don’t have that luxury. A new Fujifilm patent reveals a clever solution: an integrated airflow and heat dissipation system designed specifically for compact mirrorless cameras.
Fujifilm Patent and the cooling mechanism apparatus for X-Series Cameras
In high-resolution video modes, heat builds quickly inside smaller housings. The image processor, the sensor, and especially the recording medium (CFexpress or XQD cards) generate continuous thermal load. Today’s X-series cameras rely on bolt-on accessories like the FAN-001 to keep running during long takes. That approach is practical but not elegant, and it limits reliability for filmmakers who need uninterrupted capture.
Fujifilm’s new patent
The filing shows a housing with two intakes at the bottom and a single exhaust at the top right, creating a vertical airflow. A central cooling fan sits away from the exhaust, so that components in between are actively bathed in moving air. A small rectifying ridge inside the body pushes intake air upward into the fan, ensuring even circulation.
The real innovation is focused on the recording unit:
A finned heat sink cools the controller board that writes data.
A thin graphite or metal sheet wicks heat away from the card slot and even its lid, dispersing thermal load across the chassis.
Different fin orientations and spacings are used for separate components to avoid turbulence and interference between heat flows.
The image sensor’s companion electronics are cooled by dual fin stacks with the fan partially between them, saving space while keeping temperatures stable.
Why this matters
CFexpress cards are notorious for heating up under sustained 8K or ProRes recording. Once the card bay reaches critical temperature, the whole system throttles or stops. Fujifilm’s patent directly targets this failure point. By splitting the card bay cooling into a heat sink for the electronics and a graphite sheet for the media cage, the design ensures the camera can maintain data rates without forcing a stop. This approach is different from GFX cameras, which solve heat dissipation through sheer size. Here, Fujifilm is miniaturizing pro-level cooling into a smaller body, likely signaling the next generation of X-H cameras or even a new flagship X-mount hybrid.
Fujifilm’s new patent
If implemented, this design would put Fujifilm alongside Canon and Sony, who have also filed patents for internal cooling architectures. But the emphasis on recording media stability is unusual and directly relevant to filmmakers working with high-bitrate codecs. It shows Fujifilm understands that reliability is no longer about just the sensor or processor but the entire data path.
The Fujifilm X100V on Amazon Renewed
Patents are never guarantees of shipping products. Still, the detail in this filing, down to fin orientation, graphite sheet placement, and door conduction, suggests Fujifilm is preparing its smaller cameras for true long-form, high-data-rate video without external fans. For filmmakers, that could mean the next X-H body runs cooler, longer, and more quietly, finally closing the gap between compact hybrids and dedicated cinema cameras.
NEW DELHI – Neeraj Chopra does not usually worry about distance as long as he gets on the podium but the poster boy of Indian athletics knows he may have to throw beyond the 90 metres mark if he is to defend his javelin world title in Tokyo this month.
A mop-haired Chopra became India’s first track-and-field athlete to win Olympic gold in the Japanese capital four years ago, and has since added a Diamond League trophy, world championships gold and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Games.
In November last year, the 27-year-old brought in three-time Olympic champion Jan Zelezny as his coach in a bid to throw even farther. Six months into the partnership, Chopra registered a personal best of 90.23m in Doha earlier this year.
But the Indian has fallen well short of 90m in his last five outings and threw a modest 85.01m in the Diamond League Final in Zurich last week, finishing a distant second behind German Julian Weber’s monster throw of 91.51m.
While a string of high 80m throws have kept him in the top two in each of his last 26 competitions, Chopra acknowledged it would probably not be enough to leave Tokyo with another gold medal around his neck this month.
“This was not too bad. But we are getting very close to the world championships, so I still need to throw a little bit further,” Chopra said after Zurich.
“There were a few things that went well, but still, there were the things which did not go that well.
“In this sport, we do not know. It depends on the day. In Tokyo, everything will be different.”
Weber laid down the gauntlet with a pair of 90m-plus throws in Zurich. Chopra and Brazil’s Luiz Mauricio da Silva are the other others to have breached that mark this season.
“Julian, he is a good friend of mine and I am always happy when he is doing well and we push each other,” said Chopra.
“At major championships, the gold is more important than the far throws. So I will try my best to win the medal.” REUTERS
Check out the voice actors and performers behind the characters and cast of Borderlands 4.
Borderlands 4 isn’t just about guns and looting, it’s got a story to tell, which is why Gearbox Software secured several talented voice actors to play the roles of the characters. Some of these voices will be familiar to players while others are new to the franchise. What they all have in common is the ability to bring these Vault Hunters and allies to life. Please check out the voice actors and cast for Borderlands 4.
Voice actors and featured cast in Borderlands 4
There are several familiar voice actors and performers that lend their talents to Borderlands 4. If you’ve played the previous games, you’ll recognize some as returning members, while others will be familiar due to their work in other video games.
Amon, the Forgeknight – Ray Chase
Amon is voiced by Ray Chase.
Amon, the Forgeknight is voiced by Ray Chase. Those with keen ears might recognize Chase’s voice from Borderland 3 where he voiced Rhys Strongfork. Chase has numerous other video game credits including Eve in Neir: Automata, Roy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Extraction Pilot AKA Pelican 1 in Helldivers 2, the Custodian in Remnant 2, and the narrator in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. He also voiced Cyclops in X-Men ’97.
Harlowe, the Gravitar – Kimberly Brooks
Harlowe is voiced by Kimberly Brooks.
Harlowe, the Gravitar is voiced by Kimberly Brooks. Brooks has a long history of video game voice acting, including recent work as the perpetually angry Xivu Arath in Destiny 2: Lightfall, Nichole Daniels in South Park: Snow Day!, as well as several roles in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Dead Rising, Mass Effect as Ashley Williams, and many others.
Vex, the Siren – Judy Alice Lee
Vex is voiced by Judy Alice Lee.
Vex, the Siren is voiced by Judy Alice Lee. Players will recognize her from games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, Luna Snow in Marvel Rivals, Melinoe in Hades 2, Clementine in Remnant 2, Mindt in Octopath Traveler 2, Pearl in League of Legends, and many more.
Rafa, the Exo-Soldier – Alejandro Saab
Rafa is voiced by Alejandro Saab.
Rafa, the Exo-Soldier is voiced by Alejandro Saab. Players might recognize his voice from Borderlands 3 where he played Dental Dan, Sylestro, and Promethea Male. His other video game credtis include Jules from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Aguilar Nubiola from Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Dunk from Date Everything!, Jun Oda from Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, and Robo-Ky from Guilty Gear Strive, among many other credits.
The Timekeeper – Dave Fennoy
The Timekeeper is voiced by Dave Fennoy.
The Timekeeper is voiced by Dave Fennoy. This voice actors is known for his work in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 as Howard, Bayonetta 3 as Rodin, Reggie from Remnant: From the Ashes, and many other games like Too Human, Mass Effect 2, Dota 2, and many more.
Rush – Delbert Hunt
Rush is voiced by Delbert Hunt.
Rush is voiced by Delbert Hunt, a voice actor with a few credits in previous video games. His work includes Rook in Redfall, Hassian in Palia, and Cyborg in Justice League: Cosmic Chaos. Hunt has other credits in shows like Monster Hunter, Into the Wild Frontier, and Super Giant Robot Brothers.
Levaine – Erica Luttrell
Levaine is voiced by Erica Luttrell.
Levaine is voiced by Erica Luttrell. This voice actor has appeared in many video games throughout the years including Diablo 3 where she voiced the female Witch Doctor, Zo in Horizon Forbidden West, Bangalore in Apex Legends, and Emily Kaldwin in Dishonored 2.
Defiant Calder – Trevor Devall
Defiant Calder is voiced by Trevor Devall.
Defiant Calder is voiced by Trevor Devall. Devall has worked on a few others video games as a voice actor including Mars in Dota 2, Andrea Rhodea in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, PA-D0 and TEC-78 in Hi-Fi Rush, along with many additional voices in the likes of Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Mafia 3.
Moxxi – Brina Palencia
Moxxi is voiced by Brina Palencia.
Mad Moxxi is voiced by Brina Palencia. Players will be familiar with Palencia, as she has voiced Mad Moxxi in the previous Borderlands games. She’s also performed as Nyotengu in Dead or Alive 6, Chiaotzu in a few Dragon Ball games, as well as Artemis and Cupid in Smite.
Claptrap – Jim Foronda
Claptrap is voiced by Jim Foronda.
Claptrap is voiced by Jim Foronda. As another returning voice actor, players will be intimately familiar with Foronda’s work as Claptrap, the always loveable, rambling companion to the Vault Hunters. Foronda has a long list of credits across video games and TV, having lent their voice work to the likes of Branford in Battleborn, Trader Joe in 7 Days to Die, and Janempa in numerous Dragon Ball games.
Zane – Cian Barry
Zane is voiced by Cian Barry.
Zane is voiced by Cian Barry. Players will be familiar with Barry’s work as he is reprising his role from Borderlands 3. Outside of Borderlands, he also voiced King Arthur in LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2. Barry is also known for his work in TV series including The A List, Casualty, and The Bill.
Amara – Zehra Fazal
Amara is voiced by Zehra Fazal.
Amara is voiced by Zehra Fazal. Reprising her role from Borderlands 3, Fazal is back at the helm of the punch-a-lot Amara. Fazal’s voice acting credits extend through such titles as Destiny 2: Lightfall and The Final Shape where she voiced the player Guardian, Terryl in Psychonauts 2, Kayle in League of Legends, and even the Lifeboat and Systems AI in the beloved Titanfall 2.
The Borderlands 4 voice actors and performers are just a handful of the people that work hard to bring this game to life. To learn more about the team behind the game, check out our Gearbox Software page. Find more guides on our Borderlands 4 page.
Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he’s found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There’s nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler
JAKARTA: Indonesian students will stage protests at the parliament building in the capital Jakarta on Thursday, a student group said, as a proposed meeting with the government on massive demonstrations that have left 10 people dead was yet to materialise.
Led by students, workers and rights groups, last week’s protests over police violence and state spending priorities spread across the world’s third-largest democracy after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver.
The demonstrations have at times turned violent. Rights groups said 10 people have died and over 1,000 people were injured in incidents of looting and rioting.
Rights groups have condemned the use of force by security forces.
The coalition of student bodies, known locally as BEM SI, said ahead of Thursday’s protest that “the people’s anxiety isn’t due to protests on the street, but it’s due to corruption and the politicisation of the law.”
Ten student unions met with parliamentarians on Wednesday.
They called for an independent investigation into police violence, while drawing a contrast between generous benefits for lawmakers and the economic hardship faced by most Indonesians.
The deputy house speaker offered them a chance to meet with the government on Thursday but BEM SI leader Muzammil Ihsan said there had been no follow-up on the invitation.
The protests have been called for by several Indonesian student bodies with varying and at times unaligned interests.
Workers with the union Gebrak will also stage a demonstration in Jakarta on Thursday against the heavy-handed security response and demand the release of those detained.
Indonesian authorities have detained over 3,000 people in a nationwide crackdown, New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
“Indonesian authorities should not respond to protests over government policies by using excessive force and wrongfully locking up demonstrators,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director of the group.
President Prabowo Subianto has said the military and police would stand firm against violent mobs, and that some of the unrest bore the signs of terrorism and treason.
