Humanity is gone and androids and robots are the only ones left. Some believe the great humans are their creators, and others believe they created each other. Horatio and his little robot friend Crispin are just living their lives when their power core is stolen by a destructor robot from the city. Horatio and sarcastic Crispin now have to get the core back or they will no longer be able to charge up, and are forced to go on an adventure that will change them forever. 

Wormwood Studios and Wadjet Eye Games’ Primordia is a point and click adventure game that was previously released on PC and is now available on Switch! It take place many years in the future where technology has taken over and humans are gone. Computers have become sentient beings and are not living closely how humans have lived. You play as the cynical android Horatio who built a small floating robot Cripsin who is super sarcastic and basically the comic relief of the game. In typical P&C fashion, you will be finding and using objects that will help you solve puzzles.

Primordia is a bit dark but interesting sci-fi story. There are lots of places to explore and robots to interact with. The story also has a bit of a religious undertone since some believed in the humans, and some didn’t. 

As you play Primordia, you will be solving tons of puzzles. Some puzzles have multiple solutions and some are cut and dry so try out different things and don’t worry about screwing up because you really can’t. For example, there is a point in the game where a robot will ask you questions, if you get them correct you get the prize, if you get them wrong, you have to do a fetch quest to get the prize, but either way you get the prize. Primordia also has multiple endings, but the endings are not affected by what you do during the game, but rather what you do on the final puzzle, so save beforehand and experiment! Also if you get stuck, Crispin does give clues but they are not always helpful. 

So how is the Switch version different then the PC? The game itself is the same, the only difference is the controls and the fact that it is now on a console! The nice thing about playing it on the Switch is that you can either move the joystick around to find everything, or just use the D pad to move between objects. You can even hit a button to see all the clickable objects on the screen.   

The puzzles can be difficult, and the multiple solutions are both cool and confusing…such as leaving you wondering “well why did I never use this? Why did this aspect look important yet never come into play?” One the other hand, It gives reason for multiple playthroughs so there’s that. 

I must say I absolutely loved Primordia and it was much more enjoyable on the Switch since the controls were nice and I can play it on my TV! The puzzles were hard but logical (for the most part) And Cedric is just delightful! I give it four and half baby dragons 

Primordia is now available on Steam and Nintendo Switch for $14.99. More information is available here https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/primordia-switch/. Now get out there and find that power core!

Actors too old for their roles could be a list with hundreds of names, but I wanted to focus on three specific examples where the actor’s age destroyed any chance the film had at being good. Even if everything else was perfect with these three films it wouldn’t have mattered because the person in the leading role is just too distracting. So you’re not going to see something like Mean Girls or Grease on this list.

Check out the video above for the full breakdown with plenty of clips of fully grown men pretending to be children. All three of these films could have worked if it weren’t for the lead role being twice the age of the character they’re playing.

Better yet, how do we justify our own moral bankruptcy?

Our test is at hand.

Genocide is not too strong of word to describe Russian lunatic Vladimir Putin’s inhuman, brutal and savage attacks on the Ukrainian people. Nor is moral bankruptcy unwarranted hyperbole when it comes to America and Europe turning their backs on the war being waged on innocent civilians.

Thousands have died as Russian forces intentionally bomb homes and apartment buildings. Despite a supposed cease-fire, a mortar barrage killed civilians trying to cross a bridge to flee to safety. Supposed “corridors to safety” to allow civilians to escape to neighboring countries have been closed by direct shelling, Russian troops, in a siege, have shut off water, heat and electricity. The New York Times reports that “thousands could die” in “escalating Russian attacks.”

Evan a captured Russian officer called it genocide. He said that Russian troops hadn’t realized the true nature of their mission; they believed they were going to fight Nazis. He asked for forgiveness.

Exhumed mass grave of Srebrenica massacre victims in 2007

This is slaughter, pure and simple.

And yet, Putin marches on, freezing America, NATO and the European Union in place by threats of nuclear war. Coming from a madman who has lost his marbles, the threat must not be taken lightly. Most nations haven’t , and Putin, singlehandedly and extraordinarily has held an entire continent if not the world at bay. As world that cowers in fear of the possible.

Putin’s war crimes cannot be left standing. If so, any nuclear power (despotic China and possibly Iran, for example) can take over any state they choose. And everyone will do nothing.

So, what is to be done?

Show some cahonies.

Don’t keep telling Putin what we’re not going to do, as we’ve done. Jeez, let him guess, as he’s making us guess. At the least, stop imported Russian crude oil. Shut off all the Russian banks, not just a few. For some inexplicable reason, the Biden administration has left open loopholes in the sanctions. Stop tap dancing around the defeat of democratic principles.

Shut down the skies over Ukraine to Russia. Release those MIGS in Poland for Ukrainian airmen to fly. Deploy “Iron Dome,” the mobile all-weather air defense system deployed in Israel that destroys short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from as 43 miles. The Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) Intercept Land-based Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS) can counter incoming rockets, artillery shells and mortar fire. Not being a expert, I’m guessing that other defensive systems are available.

The Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) Intercept Land-based Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS) (U.S. Army)

Where’s the private sector? Hey, journalists, is anyone bothering to ask? Northrop Grumman says on its web page:

“For decades, Northrop Grumman has protected U.S. forces and our allies by designing, developing and delivering weapons of increasing complexity and capabilities for expanded missions and domains. We continue to build upon that legacy to pioneer weapons that consistently outmatch the range, speed, precision and firepower of fielded enemy weapon systems, with the parameters of current platforms in mind.

Is there anything in production that can be useful? One hopes.

Clandestine operations ought to be deployed. (If they’re not already, it’s unforgivable.) There’s too much talk about a “resistance” after Russia adsorbs Ukraine. No waiting around; resistance already should be underway. Perhaps it is, and we’re not hearing about it, as we shouldn’t.

Flood Russia with anti-Putin propaganda. Too many Russians buy into the lie that their country is driving out Nazi forces. RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty have been forced to close its Moscow bureau by Putin’s threat of 15 years for spreading “false information” that challenges the charade. Flood Russia with the truth; Russians must be made to understand that Putin has threatened to bring on thermonuclear war. The possibility is scaring the crab out of us; Russians deserve to be similarly frightened. Maybe they’ be frightened enough to do something about the madman running their country.

Putin has “tactical” nuclear weapons that can be used on the battlefield. If he does, if he escalates the war, the response must be swift, commensurate and unambiguous.

Putin must be stopped, NOW. The consequences of allowing him to absorb Ukraine are much too great. A victory of autocracy over democracy. There have been too many lately, giving autocrats evidence that their system of governance is superior. If it comes to that, the United States can no longer pretend this is a limited, regional war.

It’s delicate. I recommend  David Leonhardts’ “Preventing This War: What might have done it?” in the New York Times. It’s an intelligent discussion that reviews our actions and non-actions that might have stopped this bloodbath and what paths are ahead,

History is replete with genocides: the Armenian genocide, the Assyrian genocide, the Greek genocide, and the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon,] The Holocaust. Millions killed in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda and Darfur.

From high on the mountain of hindsight, we clearly see that these atrocities should have been stopped in their tracks. What, we wonder, stopped anyone from doing it? How could anyone with any sense of compassion and justice allow that to happen? Didn’t they have a moral obligation? History condemns them.

Our test is at hand.

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Actress Erika Alexander graced our TV screens in the 90’s playing the hard-nosed, witty, and successful lawyer, Maxine Shaw, on Living Single. Today Erika wears many hats, including actress, trailblazing activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer and director—one of the country’s boldest, most daring, and powerful voices. As co-founder of Color Farm Media, she is on a mission to bring greater equity and inclusion to both media and electoral politics.

Her latest mission is bringing awareness to the the media’s lack of significant coverage of cases of missing or murdered Black women. The numbers of missing black women and girls are staggering compared to the media coverage they receive.   

Alexander teamed up with Audible, Kevin Hart, and Charlamagne Tha God’s SBH productions to present their debut Audible Original Finding Tamika. In it, host Erika Alexander summons a new generation to help raise the dead, expose a hidden past, and give a dark warning for our future. In Finding Tamika, what we’ll actually discover is the awful truth that a Black girl does not have to go missing for us not to see her. No matter the cost, though, we must look for Tamika, because until she is found, we are all lost. 

Erika chatted with us about how she got to be apart of this true crime series, the importance of telling this story, and what others can do to help.

The Chicago real estate market keeps setting new records even when I think it’s not possible. Last month I thought I saw early evidence that the sales strength was weakening a bit. However, February Chicago home sales were up 15.4% over last year, which was already a multi-year record. So, comparing the numbers to 2020, which was basically pre-pandemic, sales were up 25.4%, which is a huge number. It was the highest sales level in 17 years.

You can see this in the monthly sales graph below which flags all the February numbers in red and also has a green moving average line. The increase was driven by increases in both attached and detached home sales but detached home sales were the stronger of the two.

Note that when the Illinois Association of Realtors reports these results in a couple of weeks they will only report a 13.1% increase due to their methodology.

Chicago Home Contract Activity

Once again the contract numbers look weak compared to last year, down 8.9%. But if you look at the graph below you’ll see that February beat all other years. In particular, contracts written last month were 12.8% higher than in 2020.

Nevertheless, given the decline in contracts written, I would expect a softening in future closings relative to last year. In fact, February was the third consecutive month with an expected decline in contract activity.

Pending Chicago Home Sales

The graph below shows a continued trend of lower pending home sales. February dropped by 650 units from a year ago and is now more in line with the pre-pandemic lower values. This drop helped fuel the sales gains in February.

A lower pipeline of closings also does not bode well for future closings.

Distressed Chicago Home Sales

We remain near the bottom of the downward trend in the percentage of home sales that are distressed, without much room for further declines. Only 2.4% of February’s sales were distressed compared to 3.1% a year ago. Initially it was believed that the pandemic foreclosure moratorium was keeping a lid on these percentages but even with the moratorium lifted we are not seeing an increase in foreclosure activity.

Chicago Home Inventory

The home inventory levels have just gotten ridiculously low. New records were set in both attached and detached homes. We are now down to only a 2.1 month supply of attached homes and a mere 1.8 month supply of detached homes. Both of these numbers are well into “sellers’ market” territory.

Chicago Home Sale Market Times

It’s pretty obvious from the graph below that detached homes are selling like hotcakes – on average in only 61 days, down from 89 days last year. That looks like a record. Attached homes actually took a bit longer to sell than last year – 111 days on average vs. 105. However, the median time to sell an attached home actually dropped to 77 days from 83 days. What that means is that the average market time is being inflated by a lot of condos that are sitting on the market for too long.

In case you are wondering…the median time to sell a detached home dropped to 29 days from 35 days.

#ChicagoHomePrices #CaseShiller #HomePrices

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.