[scifinoir2] Conventions: Another day at the office for celebs
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/09/06/dragoncon.celebrities/ Conventions: Another day at the office for celebs by Suzanne Kelly, CNN September 6, 2010 Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Much of the world got to know her as Col. Wilma Deering on the "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" television series. Though she later played Kate on "Silver Spoons," there was something about that Spandex that was hard to forget. But today, actress Erin Gray has found a way to combine her celebrity with the very real business of fan-based conventions. At events like [ http://dragoncon.org/ ]Dragon*Con in Atlanta, the woman known for playing strong female characters now uses her brains to wrangle issues for her celebrity clients as they prepare for close encounters with fans. Gray runs a company called [ http://www.heroesforhire.info/default.htm ]Heroes for Hire, which represents about 35 celebrity clients at conventions around the world. CNN caught up with her at Dragon*Con in Atlanta (unofficially referred to as "PartyCon"). Dragon*Con is known for being the most "fan-friendly" convention, which, in itself, can pose both unique opportunities and unique challenges. Heading into the weekend, there were 35,000 people expected to attend, primarily to see some of the 400 celebrity guests who sign autographs and mingle with the crowds. Gray knew this meant that there were a lot of things to plan for. "We create 30-page spreadsheets so that we can keep track of where we are in the process," Gray said. "Are the contracts signed? Have the photos and bios been sent? Are the travel details done?" Today, the former space colonel walks a fine line between getting her clients closer to their fans at conventions and keeping them away. "We've had death threats before," she said. "I've had my own personal stalker. I would get nude drawings of my body with a knife and a message saying 'I'm watching you' and 'I'm going to get you.' When you have a baby, you just feel so vulnerable. We couldn't figure it out because it was happening at the studio," Gray said. Incidentally, it turned out to be a security guard. "The other one, I would get these 10-page tiny handwritten letters front and back and perfect penmanship, and he would say things like 'don't tell your husband about our relationship.' And you know how I found out who it was? He said, 'when you waved at me.' I waved to my postman. This is before we had stalking laws. And when something like that happens, you think, 'is being an actress worth it?' " Luckily, Gray doesn't have those terrifying experiences anymore, but now she has clients who do. "I have a couple of clients who give me the names of their stalkers, and I have to let the promoter know who they are and to keep an eye out for them. I have one who is obsessed with a female celebrity, and this guy e-mails me, texts me, and he'll come to a show and stand about 20 feet away and stare at her. We'll hire security, and they will be with security all day long," Gray said. "Every actor has their stalker." But the reality is that conventions like Dragon*Con can help make or break an actor's career. We are no longer living in the age of Hollywood executives determining who the stars will be, Gray said. We are living in an age of social media, where the fans have a louder voice than ever before. For example, Gray has one client whom Hollywood paid no attention to. So she went out on her own and started a webcast, and today has more than 1.7 million followers on Twitter. Ouch! That's gotta hurt all of those people who told Felicia Day, "don't call us; we'll call you." "I think there's been a major shift in grass roots media because of the internet and because the geeks and nerds rule the world. They are in control in so many ways. The comic is today's Western, so many movies, and I think that if actors want to optimize their longevity, it's important for them to meet the fans because those fans are so loyal and will show up at any movie or tune in to any television show they're on," Gray said. The shift in Gray's own career from onscreen heartthrob to celebrity manager was completely unscripted. "As an actress reaching her mid- to late 40s and the number of roles not being there and still having kids in private schools, there came a point when I hit bottom, and I was desperate to get a job and understand that being a model and actress my entire life since the age of 15, I didn't have the qualifications to get a normal job, nor did I want to. I couldn't see myself in a corporate environment under the thumb of some boss," she said. So she started talking to other female actresses in her position, and before long, they were telling her how she could make money at conventions like these. "I went online and started booking myself, and one day Gil Gerard called me up and said, 'what are you doing?' and I told him I was going to a show in Ohio, and he said, "Oh, I want to go, book me, and I'll pay you 10 percent." Then Gil went an
[scifinoir2] 'Mad Men's' January Jones Joins the Cast of 'X-Men: First Class'
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-mad-mens-january-jones-joins-the-cast-of-x-men-first-class.html 'Mad Men's' January Jones Joins the Cast of 'X-Men: First Class' by Mike Ryan · August 18, 2010 Yes, it's official, [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800355887 ]January Jones will be playing a mutant in [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810159061/info ]"X-Men: First Class" who, unlike her character Betty Draper from "Mad Men," isn't afraid to wear white after Labor Day. As [ http://www.deadline.com/2010/08/january-jones-heads-x-men-first-class-mutant-roster/#more-61898 ]Deadline first reported (and a source has confirmed to Yahoo!), Jones will be stepping into the role of Emma Frost. In the comic series, Frost was a onetime foe of the X-Men who eventually joined the team of uncanny mutants. The telepathic Frost, always dressed in white, can read minds, alter memories, and turn her skin into diamonds, granting her incredible strength. Also joining the cast is [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1809753401 ]Zoe Kravitz, daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz, as Angel Salvadore (not to be confused with the majestically winged, original X-Man named Angel), a relatively new character who debuted in 2001. In the comic books, this newer Angel, whose housefly-like physiology allows her to fly, doesn't particularly get along with her fellow X-Men, especially Emma Frost. Jones and Kravitz are being added to an already impressive line-up. They will join [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1808605401 ]Michael Fassbender as Magneto, [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1808470835 ]James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800294837 ]Nicholas Hoult as Beast, [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800026573 ]Rose Byrne (reportedly [ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i4a25a9f106904fc193ec21dafedf2850?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+thr/film+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Film%29 ]still in negotiations for the part) as Moria MacTaggart and [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019553 ]Oliver Platt as The Man in Black. [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019403 ]Kevin Bacon has been cast as the film's main villain. Rumors persist that he will be [ http://screenrant.com/kevin-bacon-xmen-first-class-villain-character-sebastian-shaw-rob-68862/ ]playing the role of Sebastian Shaw, leader of the New York branch of the underground society, the Hellfire Club, whose membership once included Emma Frost. To date, there is still no casting information concerning two staples of the earlier X-Men films, Cyclops and Jean Grey, furthering speculation that these two original members of the mutant team may not be a part of "X-Men: First Class." "X-Men: First Class," which is set before the first "X-Men" film, is scheduled to start production on August 23. It's being produced by the director of the well-received first two "X-Men" films, Bryan Singer. Matthew Vaughn, best known for helming [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808624572/info ]"Layer Cake" and [ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810063108/info ]"Kick-Ass," will be directing, with the film set for a June, 2011, release.
[scifinoir2] Geeks cool off at box office
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/08/17/15051616.html Geeks cool off at box office By CARL DiORIO, Hollywood Reporter LOS ANGELES - Geeks might be less dependable than gals but not necessarily less desirable. Thats the industry consensus after the simultaneous misfire of a fanboy movie and impressive launch of what only can be described as a chick flick last weekend. Eat Pray Love enjoyed a box office feast served up by overwhelmingly older-female audiences during the weekend, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World fought a losing battle to put geek butts in theater seats. Lionsgates older-males magnet The Expendables topped domestic rankings with a $34.8 million opening, but Sonys book-based Love debuted impressively in second place with $23.1 million. The big love for Love followed lucrative outings by 2008s Sex and the City and Mamma Mia! - which fetched $153 million and $144 million in their respective campaigns - and last years Julie & Julia, a $94 million domestic grosser. The trifecta success of such female-targeting films makes it plain there is box office gold in the gender genre. (Opening audiences for Love were 72% female, with 60% of patrons 25 or older.) So niche pics can be lucrative. But whats up with the penny-pinching geek squad? Universals Pilgrim traveled to just $10.6 million in a fifth-place launch. The studio puts the pics negative cost at $60 million after accounting for $25 million in tax credits. If that film had been made for $15 milion-$20 million, nobody would be crying, an executive at a rival studio said Monday. But you have an offbeat movie with an offbeat title starring somebody who is sort of a niche-targeted guy to begin with. Michael Ceras topline turn in the comics-spawned Pilgrim followed his roles in indie fare including this years Youth in Revolt, a $15.3 million domestic performer for Dimension, and Paper Heart, which took in less than $2 million for Overture after unspooling in August 2009. Even Ceras pairing with Jack Black in Sonys $43 million grosser Year One last summer represents mere chump change compared with his $144 million and $122 million outings among the ensemble casts of Fox Searchlights Juno and Sonys Superbad, respectively, in 2007. By contrast, Love boasts the marquee magic of Julia Roberts and is based on a best-seller. But the question remains: If all creative and marketing considerations are equal, is the audience for a geek-seeking pic as big as that for a chick flick? Watchmen opened to $55 million, so I think the answer is yes, a distribution executive mused. Geeks can still rule, no question about it. With a production budget estimated at $130 million, Warner Bros. comics-based Watchmen was considered a disappointment in fetching less than $108 million last year during its domestic run. But its big opening hinted at the enormous potential of fanboy movies that can tap into broader groups of moviegoers via positive word-of-mouth and mount leggy theatrical runs. Warners The Matrix did just that. The 1999 Keanu Reeves starrer rang up $171 million domestically and spawned two sequels. You can get lucky and hit like a Matrix or a Watchmen, or you can get unlucky and have a Scott Pilgrim, one industryite said with a shrug. The latter pic is expected to struggle to get past even $30 million domestically after opening so poorly. Its lack of commercial appeal might be conceptual in part. Directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz), Pilgrim displays a quirky campiness that played well with critics but calls to mind the critically lauded but commercially limited Kick-Ass, the Nicolas Cage starrer that Lionsgate unspooled in April and fetched $48 million in total U.S. and Canadian coin. That put the modestly budgeted actioner into profitability but lagged prerelease expectations for the fanboy romp. Pilgrim is about a teen who must battle his girlfriends seven evil exes to win her heart. The film co-stars include Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans and Jason Schwartzman. One film producer suggested the pic would have been better served offering more of a date-movie vibe and leaning less on geeky, kung fu movie elements. Still, not even the core audience is guaranteed to show up if geek-seeking pics fail to heed fanboy sensitivities in transferring characters and story lines from the comic book page to the silver screen. To wit: Warners Josh Brolin starrer Jonah Hex took in less than $11 million overall domestically after triggering fanboy ire this summer. Promoted heavily at Comic-Con, Pilgrim played well with its core audience but drew few outside the fan base. Opening audiences skewed 64% male, with 58% of patrons under 25. They made a movie that was too niche, too geeky and too hipstery, an exec at a rival studio said. You cant count on the comic to draw the audience. (please visit our entertainment blog via www.reut
[scifinoir2] Anthony Mackie on Working With Hugh Jackman, Robots in Real Steel
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/anthony_mackie_wont_play_with.html Anthony Mackie on Working With Hugh Jackman, Robots in Real Steel At last night's launch of Marc Ecko Cut & Sew's new ad campaign, featuring [ http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/08/lohan_1.html ]a hologram of Lindsay Lohan, longtime Ecko customer Anthony Mackie stayed far away from the computer stations demoing digital Lindsay, preferring to flirt with his many lady admirers in the VIP section. He's been on a roll since The Hurt Locker's Oscar run made him a household name, so Vulture took this opportunity grill him about reading suggestions for Lohan in rehab and his spate of new projects. Have you tried playing with the Lindsay Lohan hologram yet? I haven't. I feel like something about virtual Lindsay Lohan turns me on too much to play with it in front of people. You can give her commands and make her do stuff. What would you have her do? I would have her tell me what I look good in. Guys want to know what looks good to women, so you want a woman who you think is hot to tell you what you look good in. I would like to be able to go on the site and have her sit there and say, "You look good in that." The webcam films her and then projects her into your world. I don't want her in my world! I don't want her, like, in my house. She's in rehab now. Got any reading suggestions for her? I'm on a big David McCullough kick. I'm reading The Johnstown Flood and 1776. I'm a big history buff. So I'd just tell her to pick up some really good history books and check out mistakes other people have made. Every time I think I've done something stupid, I read about something like the Johnstown Flood and I'm like, "You know what? I'm not so bad." You're doing the sci-fi movie Real Steel with Hugh Jackman. You're a promoter of robot boxers? I'm the Don King of the future. It's an amazing movie. Shawn Levy is an amazing director. And Hugh is honestly one of the coolest cats in the business. All of my scenes are with him. He is basically a robot boxing [trainer] and I am the promoter. So he has to come to me to get his fights on. Are there actual robots or is it CGI? They're there! They built eight-foot-tall robots! Yes. You're standing there and a big-ass robot comes by. They got the guy who did all the robots for Jurassic Park and Jaws and all these crazy movies and got him to build mechanical eight-foot-tall robots. What do you do with the robots? I run away from them! No, basically I introduce the robots; I promote the robots; I speak with robots who want to fight other robots. I'm the Don King of it all. Do you have Don King's hair? No, I don't. There are two hairstyles you will never find another man wearing: Don King's and Al Sharpton's. They're done. They're done. Evangeline Lilly retired from acting and then [ http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/05/evangeline_lilly_unretires.html ]unretired eight days later to do this movie. Did you talk about it? No, but that's everyone's goal, to pull an Anthony Hopkins: "You know what? I'm never gonna do this again." After that, you're playing Buddy Bolden, the Cornet King of New Orleans and the guy people think started jazz, and then track star Jesse Owens. Are those skills you possess already? You bet. I run three miles a day and I've been playing trumpet since middle school. I think that's why they cast me. I can't talk about Jesse Owens, but we finished filming Bolden two weeks ago. You play your own trumpet music? No, no, no. Wynton Marsalis played all the music. I just act the fuck out of it. I always get annoyed when people pretend to play musical instruments in movies. Well, as an actor, don't you think I get annoyed when musicians pretend to act? Right back 'atcha. How do you feel about all the rappers getting into acting? A. [Rolls eyes, evading question.] I played the trumpet some. By the end of the movie, I got my chops back up to where I could sort of make it work. I learned all the music. Delfeayo Marsalis was my musical coach, so he made sure everything I did was on point, that I had the right fingering and stuff. So I think, and everyone else thinks it looks like I'm playing the music. Why are you taking so many roles based on real people? Because those are the best stories! If someone came to me and said, "We want you to play Spider-Man," I'd say, "Hell yeah!" But I'd have to get them to change the name to "Brotha-man." That's who I'd be.
Re: [scifinoir2] 5 Greatest Geeks Who Kick Ass
No David (Matthew Broderick) from 'WarGames'? Brent Adrianne Brennan <[ mailto:adrianne.brennan%40gmail.com ]adrianne.bren...@gmail.com> writes: >>Egon should've been higher. :P >> >> >> >> >>[ >>[ >http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/five-greatest-geeks-who-kick-ass-642005.html >]http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/five-greatest-geeks-who-kick-ass-642005.html >>][ >http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/five-greatest-geeks-who-kick-ass-642005.html >]http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/five-greatest-geeks-who-kick-ass-642005.html >> >> >> >> >> >>~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ >>[ [ http://www.adriannebrennan.com ]http://www.adriannebrennan.com ][ >http://www.adriannebrennan.com ]http://www.adriannebrennan.com >>Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: [ >>[ http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon >>][ http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon >>Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: [ >>[ http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath >>][ http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath >>The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): [ >>[ http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html >>][ http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html
Re: [scifinoir2] 5 Greatest Geeks Who Kick Ass
I'm in absolute agreement with you. :-) Brent Adrianne Brennan writes: >Egon should've been higher. :P > > > > >[ >http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/five-greatest-geeks-who-kick-ass-642005.html >]http://www.fandango.com/movieblog/five-greatest-geeks-who-kick-ass-642005.html > > > > > >~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ >[ http://www.adriannebrennan.com ]http://www.adriannebrennan.com >Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: [ >http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon >Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: [ >http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath >The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): [ >http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html >]http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html
[scifinoir2] [FYI] Don't be fooled: the Google-Verizon plan would kill Net Neutrality
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/106645-dont-be-fooled-the-google-verizon-plan-would-kil/ [ http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/106645-dont-be-fooled-the-google-verizon-plan-would-kil/ ]Don't be fooled: the Google-Verizon plan would kill Net Neutrality Evil By [ http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Authors/EDITORIAL/ ]EDITORIAL | August 11, 201 Want evidence that Google is just another avaricious, monopoly-minded corporate behemoth? Consider this: Google has retreated from its long-held support for net neutrality and teamed with Verizon to suggest that new laws allow Internet providers to favor some Web services over others. Google and Verizon also want Congress to exempt mobile devices from net neutrality and to limit the Federal Communications Commission's regulation of the Internet. Google and Verizon have proposed this in a very simple and undeniably clever way, which - unless thoughtfully considered - appears to be eminently reasonable. Under this plan, the Internet as it now exists and is currently understood would remain net neutral. All content would be treated as equal. The Internet as it develops in the future, however, would be different. Tiered service would be allowed. In other words, the giant corporate providers who effectively govern access and regulate traffic would be able to give preferential treatment to certain content or content providers. This is, in and of itself, a nasty piece of snake-oil salesmanship, especially given the speed and unpredictability with which the digital world evolves. But when mobile access is stirred into the brew, it becomes positively toxic. All trends favor more and more mobile access. Morgan Stanley predicts that within five years, the mobile Web will outstrip the desktop Internet. Given the extent to which the Internet governs economic development and the extent to which it is the medium for free speech, it is clear that the Google-Verizon plan is bad news. So much for Google's motto, "Don't be evil." To understand this pledge, it must be considered in context. The pithy slogan appears as the first three words in Google's corporate code of conduct governing relations with investors. Yet no corporation can survive, let alone thrive, without turning a profit. So it stands to reason that Googlers (yes, that's how the company refers to its employees) may have a less restricted view of how to interpret the motto than, say, the world's non-Googlers. If net neutrality were a simple code of conduct, then the FCC last year defined it as follows: providers cannot favor their own content; they need to explain when and why variable Internet speeds are imposed on consumers; and they can not limit access to lawful content. As neat and clean as these principles seem, their implementation could prove to be difficult to impossible, thanks to the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which in April ratified rules adopted by the Bush administration that were intended to derail Internet regulation. The court's decision undoubtedly contributed to the break-up last week of the closed-door discussions the FCC was holding with big Internet corporate players. Whether those talks should have been conducted in secret is now a moot point. But the parallels with former first lady Hillary Clinton's private health-care deliberations and Vice-President Dick Cheney's closed energy sessions are certainly troubling. Power, of course, abhors a vacuum. So while Google's joint proposal with Verizon was a vicious slap in the face to advocates of net neutrality - especially in view of the company's previous admirable support of the concept - under the circumstances it should come as no surprise. Consider the predatory vigor Google displayed when it cornered the digital market on books whose copyright has expired. Vito Corleone would have admired its ruthless elegance. However, Robert Darnton, the historian who heads Harvard's vast system of libraries, has been eloquent in pointing out the intellectual hazards of this development. It would be foolish to expect Congress to unplug the Google-Verizon view of the future. Massachusetts congressman Edward Markey has been foiled in his attempts to do so. But the FCC does have the power to short-circuit it. The FCC must reach back to precedent established since 1910 and declare Internet providers "common carriers" subject to federal regulation. This is not some cute form of legerdemain. It is legal hardball that would no doubt provoke a hotly contested lawsuit. If the FCC will not stand up to Google, who will? It is time that someone establishes that what's good for Google is not necessarily what is good for the United States - or the world. For more information, and to learn what you can do, visit the Save the Internet Coalition at [ http://savetheinternet.com/ ]savetheinternet.com.
[scifinoir2] Entering the extreme-fan universe
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Entering+extreme+universe/3385109/story.html Entering the extreme-fan universe By Kat Angus, Postmedia News August 11, 2010 There's a sense of nervousness that comes before interviewing an actor whose work you admire. What if he/she turns out to be boring? Or rude? Or he/she suddenly starts swearing and declares the interview over? Such were my fears about talking to Warehouse 13 star Allison Scagliotti. It wasn't that I actually expected her to start spouting profanities, but I didn't want anything to tarnish my affection for her work or Warehouse 13 itself. Not only has the sci-fi series quickly proven itself one of the most downright enjoyable shows on television (Secret Service agents investigating mystical artifacts with magic powers? Count me in!), but Scagliotti stands out as one of the most charming members of the cast. As Claudia, the show's resident hacker with the caustic wit, Scagliotti carries herself with a swagger and sense of sardonicism that most adults can only dream of -- and I was terrified that, in real life, she'd turn the conversation into a meditation on honing her craft. Luckily, my fears were entirely unfounded. Not only is 19-year-old Scagliotti every bit as delightful as Claudia, she's not afraid to admit she's just as nerdy as her TV character. "I'm a geek, myself," Scagliotti says. "I just bring my own interpretation of what that means to Claudia. I bring my sarcasm, I bring my desire to fit in and my own insecurities to her. Claudia's a little goofier than I am, but it's fun. It's fun to don a different-coloured hair streak every week and be her." And, Scagliotti claims, she knew she was destined to play Claudia from the moment she first read the script. "I was rehearsing for the audition with my friend, Nolan Gerard Funk -- doesn't his name make your pants want to get up and dance? -- and he looked up at me and said, 'You are this girl,'" she remembers. "He said, 'If you don't get this part, I don't know what that means for the career we have chosen, because this is so you and nobody else should have it.' So, thank God I got the part!" (As luck would have it, Funk was later cast on Warehouse 13's second season, playing -- of course -- Claudia's love interest.) I'm far from the only one to jump on the Scagliotti fangirl train. The actress quickly became a fan favourite when she joined Warehouse 13 part way through Season 1, when Claudia hacked into the warehouse in an attempt to rescue her brother, Joshua, from an inter-dimensional limbo. (Isn't that always the way?) After Joshua was saved, he went off to Switzerland to continue his scientific research, and Claudia remained at the warehouse, living her own life for the first time -- and giving Scagliotti plenty of juicy material for Warehouse 13's second season. "She's coping with having no real romantic experience or any past or even a job that she can really talk about," Scagliotti says of Claudia. "Not only is her job top secret, but the last 12 years of her life were devoted to saving her brother from an inter-dimensional space. That's not exactly light conversation." Warehouse 13 viewers love and identify with Claudia's sarcastic, outspoken nature. To many, she's an incredibly cool personification of their own geekiness. It wasn't long before Scagliotti became aware of her tremendous popularity among the show's fans. "I had no idea they would love Claudia so much. This is my first foray into the extreme-fan universe, and it's overwhelming in the best possible way," she says. "I get this outpouring of love from people who watch the episode and just eat it up. "I love that I can be this liaison to the fanboys and fangirls everywhere. I mean, what a great opportunity I have to connect with the people who make our show possible." So it wasn't a surprise when the Warehouse 13 producers partnered up with another beloved science-fiction series, Eureka, for a special crossover event -- and that they chose Scagliotti as their ambassador. For one episode this season, Eureka's Neil Grayston (Fargo) brought his character to visit Warehouse 13 (the episode will air Aug. 20), and Scagliotti returned the favour with a guest spot of her own (which will air when Space begins airing Eureka's fourth season this fall). Although the two shows have very different approaches to their crazy shenanigans -- Warehouse 13 is based in magic, whereas everything on Eureka has a scientific explanation -- Scagliotti insists the crossover couldn't make more sense. "I think it's totally plausible that these two facilities could exist in the same universe. A top-secret town populated by geniuses and a top-secret warehouse in the middle of nowhere that houses powerful and mysterious artifacts -- they're equally weird," she argues. "The crossover was so easy to do because -- I've decided to hijack this metaphor -- it was like packing a bag and visiting family members. The cast of Eureka is amazin
[scifinoir2] Bam. Kapow. Its supernerd
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/michael-cera-bam-kapow-its-supernerd/article1664725/ Profile Michael Cera: Bam. Kapow. Its supernerd The sweet is still there in Michael Ceras new role as Scott Pilgrim and so is the goofy, but so is a lot of mixed martial arts action combined with some indie cool. The hardest thing for our wispy leading man? All that cardio work Bob Strauss Los Angeles - From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Saturday, Aug. 07, 2010 We know he does sweet. Neurotic and self-deprecating, obviously. But kicks, flips and wire-work? Yes, Brampton geek god Michael Cera finally gets his turn as action hero. Well, sort of. As the lead in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World an adaptation of a cult Canadian comic book hitting screens next Friday Cera plays an unemployed 22-year-old in an indie band who has trouble with women and earning respect. Its the same type hes been spinning (albeit to diminishing box-office returns) from the breakout hits Superbad and Juno to Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist, Year One and Youth in Revolt. Hes still wispy. He still favours a glorified bowl-cut, sloppy jeans and T-shirts. His voice still maintains that trademark near-adolescent croak. Except there's another side to Scott Pilgrim. To win over his new sweetheart, he must defeat her seven evil exes in elaborately staged, video-game-inspired combat. Think mixed martial arts accompanied by swordplay. The hardest part was all the physical stuff that I had no experience doing. The harnesses and, just exertion. I was not used to it at all, Cera says, sitting outside a soundstage at Universal Studios in [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/michael-cera-bam-kapow-its-supernerd/article1664725/# ]Los Angeles[Image] in green corduroys and a black shirt that emphasizes his small frame. I just hope people will buy it, he adds, and I dont distract them from enjoying the movie. Not likely. The training will help. Cera and co-stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jason Schwartzman spent three months on kung fu basics and intense cardio before getting tips from the same fight co-ordinator who worked on Percy Jackson & the Olympians. But the moves only count for so much. What really gives this alt-hero his punch is a sense of irony. To plug the film at Comic-Con the fan convention in San Diego where blockbuster franchises are made (or at least hyped) the slight Cera sported a Captain America costume a little poke at both his own unlikely superhero status and two of the exes he fights in Scott Pilgrim: Chris Evans, starring in the upcoming film Captain America: The First Avenger, and Brandon Routh, whos played Superman. And despite the promotional machine there are Scott Pilgrim plush toys and action figures, as well as an old-school video game the project is steeped in indie cool. Beck wrote the songs for Scott Pilgrims band Sex Bob-Omb. Sloan bassist Chris Murphy was the films musical coach. Metric and Broken Social Scene are on the soundtrack. Plus, of course, theres that source material. Created by cartoonist Bryan Lee OMalley, a London, Ont., kid who spent his early twenties in Toronto, the Scott Pilgrim series combines action with Japanese pop-cultural influences, garage-band emo and romance. Local fans lined up for hours to get signed copies of the sixth and final volume in the series last month. Cera was a fan himself well before English director Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) tapped him to play the slacker hero. Especially being from Canada, you know? They've [the Pilgrim series] got Shoppers Drug Mart and [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/michael-cera-bam-kapow-its-supernerd/article1664725/# ]Tim Hortons[Image] in them, he says, I connected with them, for sure. The movie certainly approximates O'Malley's unique sensibility which makes for a whole lot of wild noise and visuals. It also plays up its local elements. Shot last year in Toronto, clubs such as Sneaky Dees make an appearance, as do Honest Eds and Casa Loma. Toronto Tourism is even getting in on the action with a website, Toronto Loves Scott Pilgrim, that includes clips from the films stars Alison Pill (also from Toronto), Jason Schwartzman and Cera on why they love the city. Mind you, for Cera, the movies long production period was less a homecoming than a revelation. I didn't know the city well because my parents house is an hour and a half away. I hadnt worked there since I was 12, the 22-year-old actor says. It was great filming in Toronto for seven months. I'd go home on the weekends and my family came to the set. I walked around all the time. Michael's all into wandering and driving himself to work, kind of just always on his own, doing his own thing, says Winstead, who plays Ceras love interest Ramona Flowers, an American girl with a gig as an Amazon.ca delivery girl and a romantic history as colourful as her hair. He set
[scifinoir2] 'Spider-Man' musical set to open
http://jam.canoe.ca/Theatre/2010/08/10/14980436-wenn-story.html 'Spider-Man' musical set to open By REUTERS NEW YORK (Reuters) - The long-awaited Spider-Man musical with music by U2 members Bono and The Edge, will open on Broadway in December, the show's producers saidTuesday, after being caught in financial problems. "Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark," which has been in the making for several years and was originally due to open earlier this year, will begin preview performances on November 14 with opening night set for December 21, the show's producer Michael Cohl said in a statement. Inspired by the Marvel Comics hero that has also been turned into a series of Hollywood films, the musical will spin a new take on the story of teenage science geek Peter Parker, who is bitten by a genetically-altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to the ceiling, the producer said. The musical is expected to the most expensive in Broadway history, with local media reporting it to cost up to US$50 million to stage. The title character will be played by actor and singer Reeve Carney, who fronts rock band Carney and appeared in the film, "Snow Falling on Cedars." Jennifer Damiano of the Broadway musical "Next to Normal" has replaced Evan Rachel Wood to play Mary Jane Watson, and Patrick Page from "The Lion King" replaces Alan Cumming to play Normon Osborn/The Green Goblin.
[scifinoir2] Re: Is Being a Geek a Personality Trait or Way of Life
No, we're a geeky/nerdful lot, my family. Descended from a long line of geeks/nerds, if truth be told. I cannot say outright we've any 'dum-dums' ancestrally or in the extended family. Ruthless, arrogant bastards, yes; but no idiots. :-) Brent Martin Baxter writes: >Brent, to answer, I think it's a personality trait. Growing up, very few >of my friends or family were inclined in that direction. Now, save for my >niece, nephews and a few younger cousins, most of my family are D-U-M >DUM. I had to have been born with it. > >On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 4:29 PM, brent wodehouse <[ >mailto:brent_wodeho...@thefence.us ]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> wrote: > > > > > > >[ >http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/08/is-being-a-geek-a-personality-trait-or-way-of-life/ >]http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/08/is-being-a-geek-a-personality-trait-or-way-of-life/ > >Is Being a Geek a Personality Trait or Way of Life? > >By [ [ http://www.wired.com/geekdad/author/cebsilver/ >]http://www.wired.com/geekdad/author/cebsilver/ ]Curtis Silver > >August 9, 2010 > >I have a confession to make to you, dear readers. While I am a geek by >most qualifying standards of the definition, my children so far do not >share similar interests. > >Some progress has been made on the older one as he enjoys Anime, but >thats just because its less to read than a novel for which he has little >interest. The middle one - he likes Star Wars but that is about it. Hes a >sportsman at heart, playing football and baseball. While I did play >baseball myself for many years, the geek side eventually won out over >that. The youngest, my daughter, is my final hope in raising a true geek. > >Not withstanding, whatever they choose to do that makes them happy, makes >me happy and I will not take that away from them because of my own selfish >motives. > >It leads me to think though, what makes a geek? That is, when is that >personality trait truly indoctrinated in the brain? When did I become a >geek and set upon my own path in geekdom? While I do tend to think I >embody the true sense of being a geekdad, I have to wonder what we are >doing to raise the next generation of geeks to replace us and when in >their lives does that training begin and stop. > >I suppose its sort of like Jedi training, perhaps it never stops. For >myself, my father was an engineer, a total math and logic geek. I started >out early with logic puzzles and Lego blocks. Of course I was into Star >Wars, Star Trek and my fathers expansive science fiction book collection. >To that end, anything geeky you can think of, comics and so on, I was into >and throughly enjoyed. > >So in searching my memory, when was the day that the switch in my >personality clicked and I was destined to be a geek for life? I dont >think I can pinpoint the day, or the year, but when I [ >[ >http://www.livescience.com/culture/children-personality-adults-100804.html >]http://www.livescience.com/culture/children-personality-adults-100804.html >]read an article that claims that age seven is the cutoff for personality >development I almost have to agree. > >The study shows that as early as first grade the personality traits >exhibited by children are precursors to adult personality traits. Clearly >this doesnt mean the age appropriate behavior, like whining about having >to go to bed and believing there are monsters in the closet. Which there >are of course, but as long as you keep the closet doors closed and dont >look at them they cant get out. Unless they are [ >[ http://terrortube.com/images/articles/aliens_3.jpg >]http://terrortube.com/images/articles/aliens_3.jpg ]Aliens or [ >[ http://astro.ic.ac.uk/%7Emortlock/remnants/2009/3006/morlocks.jpg >]http://astro.ic.ac.uk/%7Emortlock/remnants/2009/3006/morlocks.jpg >]Morlocks, in which case you are screwed. > >We remain recognizably the same person, said study author Christopher >Nave, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside. >This speaks to the importance of understanding personality because it >does follow us wherever we go across time and contexts. > >The study looked at about 2,400 ethnically diverse children in grade >school in Hawaii. I find this statistic of the study to be very >interesting. Why Hawaii? In the 1960s when the study began how racially >diverse was Hawaii? Frankly, I dont think race is as important as >environment. More on that in a moment. The researchers compared >personality ratings of the children with video taped interviews 40 years >later. While not looking at geek as a specific personality trait, some >of the traits they did study do carry into certain geek behaviors. > >They looked at both s
[scifinoir2] Is Being a Geek a Personality Trait or Way of Life?
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/08/is-being-a-geek-a-personality-trait-or-way-of-life/ Is Being a Geek a Personality Trait or Way of Life? By [ http://www.wired.com/geekdad/author/cebsilver/ ]Curtis Silver August 9, 2010 I have a confession to make to you, dear readers. While I am a geek by most qualifying standards of the definition, my children so far do not share similar interests. Some progress has been made on the older one as he enjoys Anime, but thats just because its less to read than a novel for which he has little interest. The middle one - he likes Star Wars but that is about it. Hes a sportsman at heart, playing football and baseball. While I did play baseball myself for many years, the geek side eventually won out over that. The youngest, my daughter, is my final hope in raising a true geek. Not withstanding, whatever they choose to do that makes them happy, makes me happy and I will not take that away from them because of my own selfish motives. It leads me to think though, what makes a geek? That is, when is that personality trait truly indoctrinated in the brain? When did I become a geek and set upon my own path in geekdom? While I do tend to think I embody the true sense of being a geekdad, I have to wonder what we are doing to raise the next generation of geeks to replace us and when in their lives does that training begin and stop. I suppose its sort of like Jedi training, perhaps it never stops. For myself, my father was an engineer, a total math and logic geek. I started out early with logic puzzles and Lego blocks. Of course I was into Star Wars, Star Trek and my fathers expansive science fiction book collection. To that end, anything geeky you can think of, comics and so on, I was into and throughly enjoyed. So in searching my memory, when was the day that the switch in my personality clicked and I was destined to be a geek for life? I dont think I can pinpoint the day, or the year, but when I [ http://www.livescience.com/culture/children-personality-adults-100804.html ]read an article that claims that age seven is the cutoff for personality development I almost have to agree. The study shows that as early as first grade the personality traits exhibited by children are precursors to adult personality traits. Clearly this doesnt mean the age appropriate behavior, like whining about having to go to bed and believing there are monsters in the closet. Which there are of course, but as long as you keep the closet doors closed and dont look at them they cant get out. Unless they are [ http://terrortube.com/images/articles/aliens_3.jpg ]Aliens or [ http://astro.ic.ac.uk/%7Emortlock/remnants/2009/3006/morlocks.jpg ]Morlocks, in which case you are screwed. We remain recognizably the same person, said study author Christopher Nave, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside. This speaks to the importance of understanding personality because it does follow us wherever we go across time and contexts. The study looked at about 2,400 ethnically diverse children in grade school in Hawaii. I find this statistic of the study to be very interesting. Why Hawaii? In the 1960s when the study began how racially diverse was Hawaii? Frankly, I dont think race is as important as environment. More on that in a moment. The researchers compared personality ratings of the children with video taped interviews 40 years later. While not looking at geek as a specific personality trait, some of the traits they did study do carry into certain geek behaviors. They looked at both sides of the following personality traits; talkativeness (verbal fluency), adaptability (coping with new situations), impulsiveness and self-minimizing behavior (humility.) What they found, and what is going to be argued when this study is published in an upcoming issue of the journal [ http://www.sagepub.com/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal201952 ]Social Psychological and Personality Science, is that the traits as they were exhibited by children directly translated to similar traits in adults. The challenge there is that these are pretty basic traits of general psychology. I learned about these behaviors in Psychology 101, and either side of any of these traits could be applied to almost anyone. Also, starting a study in the 1960s to now could be something that could challenge the validity of the study. A lot has changed since the 1960s. The 70s were turbulent times. The 80s had [ http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CDkQtwIwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdQw4w9WgXcQ&ei=r1xfTIaOLcKAlAfV36GVCA&usg=AFQjCNG7el8GOsX8SUPmhUksMRzOa9FzwQ ]questionable taste in music and way too many [ http://www.blendfashions.com/blog/image.axd?picture=2009%2F5%2Fmullet.jpg ]pastel suits. The grunge movement in the 90s would have hit those in their early 30s pretty hard, not to mention a country pretty much at war ever since. There were plenty of environmental
[scifinoir2] International Space Station: By the Numbers
http://www.space.com/news/international-space-station-by-the-numbers-100803.html International Space Station: By the Numbers By Remy Melina posted: 03 August 2010 A major cooling system failure on the International Space Station has thrust the 12-year-old orbiting laboratory into the limelight. NASA plans two emergency spacewalks, Friday and Monday, to replace a pump in one of the two U.S. cooling system loops attached to the station's exterior. The ISS is the [ http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/how-big-is-the-international-space-station-0776/ ]largest spacecraft ever built, and its assembly has been ongoing for more than a decade. Its first component, the Zarya control module that provided the station's initial propulsion and power, was launched Nov. 20, 1998. As NASA works to [ http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/space-station-spacewalk-repair-delay-100803.html ]repair the space station, SPACE.com has rounded up some interesting facts about it. Here's a look at the International Space Station by the numbers according to NASA: 100 billion: Estimated cost of the ISS in U.S. dollars. This gives the space station the grandiose title of being the world's most expensive single object. 816,000: How much the ISS currently weighs in pounds (370,131 kilograms). Once completed, the ISS will have a mass that on Earth would weigh almost 925,000 lb. (419,600 kg), the equivalent of more than 330 cars. 220: The average distance in miles above Earth's surface the ISS orbits (250 kilometers). On a clear day, the ISS is [ http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?gid=393 ]easily visible to the naked eye from the ground. 147: The [ http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?gid=57 ]number of spacewalks taken so far to build, maintain or repair the space station. 135: How many times you would have to cross North America to travel a distance equal that traveled by the ISS in one day (about the distance to the moon and back). 110: The number of kilowatts of power that the ISS will be supplied with by an acre of solar panels. 99: The percentage of the ISS structure that has been completed. 90: The number of minutes it takes the ISS to circle the Earth as it travels at 4.8 miles (7.7 km) per second. 52: The number of computers aboard the ISS to control its systems. 14: The number of pounds of crew-expelled air that the ISS systems recycle each day (6.4 kg). Of this, 6 pounds (2.7 kg) comes from the U.S. members of the ISS crew. The water produced by this recycling is used for technical or drinking purposes. 13: The number of rooms on the station, including a small, seven-window lookout dome that provides [ http://.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=5257&gid=385&index=0 ]stunning views of Earth from orbit. 8: The total length, in miles, of wire that will connect the electrical power system (12.9 km). 6: The number of months that an astronaut typically lives and works on the ISS during a mission. Six is also the size of the crew currently aboard the ISS. 5: The number of unmanned spacecraft currently used to haul supplies to the space station or contracted to do so in the future. Current robotic spacecraft include Russia's Progress vehicle, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle and Japan's H-2 Transfer Vehicle. NASA also has contracts with the company SpaceX to provide cargo flights using its unmanned Dragon spacecraft, and with Orbital Sciences in Virginia to do the same on its planned Cygnus spacecraft. These private spaceships are slated for test flights in the next year or so. 4: The tons of food required to support a crew of three for about six months (3,630 kg). The ISS crews' favorites include shrimp cocktail, tortillas, barbecue beef brisket, breakfast sausage links, chicken fajitas, vegetable quiche, macaroni and cheese, candy-coated chocolates and cherry blueberry cobbler. Lemonade is the most popular drink. 3: The size of the ISS' first crew in 2000, and the number of astronauts or cosmonauts ferried to the station on a single Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 2: The size of the smallest crew ever aboard the ISS since long-duration missions began. 1.5: The number of 747s that would provide the equivalent volume of space that is pressurized within the ISS, allowing the crew to work without spacesuits. Of the 33,023 cubic feet (935 cubic meters) of pressurized volume, about 15,000 (425 cubic meters) is habitable volume where astronauts can live - more room than a conventional three-bedroom house.
Re: [scifinoir2] An Invisibility Cloak Made Of Glass
Absolutely brilliant! I love these sorts of posts.Really. Keep them coming, please. Brent "Mr. Worf" writes: > >An Invisibility Cloak Made Of Glass > > >July 27, 2010 > >[ >http://www.photonicsonline.com/article.mvc/An-Invisibility-Cloak-Made-Of-Glass-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO# >] [Image] > > >From Tolkien's ring of power in The Lord of the Rings to Star Trek's >Romulans, who could make their warships disappear from view, from Harry >Potter's magical cloak to the garment that makes players vanish in the >video game classic "Dungeons and Dragons, the power to turn someone or >something invisible has fascinated mankind. But who ever thought that a >scientist at Michigan Technological University would be serious about >building a working invisibility cloak? > >That's exactly what Elena Semouchkina, an associate professor of >electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, is doing. She has >found ways to use magnetic resonance to capture rays of visible light and >route them around objects, rendering those objects invisible to the human >eye. > >Semouchkina and colleagues at the Pennsylvania State University, where >she is also an adjunct professor, recently reported on their research in >the journal Applied Physics Letters, published by the American Institute >of Physics. Her co-authors were Douglas Werner and Carlo Pantano of Penn >State and George Semouchkin, who works at Michigan Tech and Penn State. > >They describe developing a nonmetallic cloak that uses identical glass >resonators made of chalcogenide glass, a type of dielectric material (one >that does not conduct electricity). In computer simulations, the cloak >made objects hit by infrared wavesapproximately one micron or >one-millionth of a meter longdisappear from view. > >Earlier attempts by other researchers used metal rings and wires. "Ours >is the first to do the cloaking of cylindrical objects with glass," >Semouchkina said. > >Her invisibility cloak uses metamaterials, which are artificial materials >having properties that do not exist in nature, made of tiny glass >resonators arranged in a concentric pattern in the shape of a cylinder. >The "spokes" of the concentric configuration produce the magnetic >resonance required to bend light waves around an object, making it >invisible. > >Metamaterials, which use small resonators instead of atoms or molecules >of natural materials, straddle the boundary between materials science and >electrical engineering. They were named one of the top three physics >discoveries of the decade by the American Physical Society. A new >researcher specializing in metamaterials is joining Michigan Tech's >faculty this fall. > >Semouchkina and her team now are testing an invisibility cloak re-scaled >to work at microwave frequencies and made of ceramic resonators. They're >using Michigan Tech's anechoic chamber, a cave-like compartment in an >Electrical Energy Resources Center lab, lined with highly absorbent >charcoal-gray foam cones. There, antennas transmit and receive >microwaves, which are much longer than infrared light, up to several >centimeters long. They have cloaked metal cylinders two to three inches >in diameter and three to four inches high. > >"Starting from these experiments, we want to move to higher frequencies >and smaller wavelengths," the researcher said. "The most exciting >applications will be at the frequencies of visible light." > >So one day, could the police cloak a swat team or the Army, a tank? "It >is possible in principle, but not at this time," Semouchkina said. > >Her work is supported in part by a grant from the National Science >Foundation. > >Michigan Technological University ([ http://mtu.edu ]mtu.edu) is a >leading public research university developing new technologies and >preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable >world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate >degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; >business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; >humanities; and social sciences. > >SOURCE: Michigan Technological University > > > >-- >Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >Mahogany at: [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > > > > >[ mailto:hellomahog...@gmail.com?subject=an Invisibility Cloak Made Of >Glass ] Reply to sender | [ mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com?subject=an >Invisibility Cloak Made Of Glass ] Reply to group | [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJycW5ncjhmBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MTYxMDYwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAzNDgyNwRtc2dJZAM0ODc4MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEyODA5NzQ1OTg-?act=reply&messageNum=48781 >]Reply via web post | [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmYTJxMzFuBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MTYxMDYwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAzNDgyNwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyODA5Nz
Re: [scifinoir2] Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels'
The Martian Chronicles? May I ask: In what sense does it reveal Mr Bradbury's leanings (I'm assuming political)? Brent "Mr. Worf" writes: > >I think Martian Chronicles kind of shows his leanings. > >On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 12:33 PM, Martin Baxter <[ >mailto:martinbaxt...@gmail.com ]martinbaxt...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > >I'd love to be able to sit him down and ask him why at length. I've >always held the notion in my head that anyone with more than a HS >education could think well enough to see the holes in whatever >Faux/Fixed/Fox churns out. I have a couple of his books somewhere in my >files, and I intend to fish them out, when time allows, to see if there's >any indication of his political leanings. > > >On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 2:14 PM, brent wodehouse <[ >mailto:brent_wodeho...@thefence.us ]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> wrote: > > > > > > >Yes. I found that fact somewhat disturbing, too. :-\ > >Brent > > > > >Martin Baxter <[ mailto:martinbaxter7%40gmail.com >]martinbaxt...@gmail.com> writes: > > >> >>Is anyone else cringing at the thought that he watches Faux/Fixed/Fox by >>day? >> > >>On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 10:03 PM, brent wodehouse <[ >>mailto:[ mailto:brent_wodehouse%40thefence.us >]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us ][ mailto:brent_wodehouse%40thefence.us >]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> wrote: >> >> >> >> >> >> >>[ [ http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/ >]http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/ > >>][ http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/ >]http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/ > >> >>Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels' >> >>By John Blake, CNN >> >>August 2, 2010 >> >>(CNN) -- Ray Bradbury lives in a rambling Los Angeles home full of >stuffed >>dinosaurs, a tin robot pushing an ice cream cart, and a life-sized >>Bullwinkle the Moose doll lounging in a cushioned chair. >> >>The 89-year-old science fiction author watches Fox News Channel by day, >>Turner Classic Movies by night. He spends the rest of his time summoning >>"the monsters and angels" of his imagination for his enchanting tales. >> >>Bradbury's imagination has yielded classic books such as "Fahrenheit >451," >>"The Martian Chronicles" and 600 short stories that predicted everything >>from the emergence of ATMs to live broadcasts of fugitive car chases. >> >>Bradbury, who turns 90 this month, says he will sometimes open one of his >>books late at night and cry out thanks to God. >> >>"I sit there and cry because I haven't done any of this," he told Sam >>Weller, his biographer and friend. "It's a God-given thing, and I'm so >>grateful, so, so grateful. The best description of my career as a writer >>is, 'At play in the fields of the Lord.' " >> >>Bradbury's stories are filled with references to God and faith, but he's >>rarely talked at length about his religious beliefs, until now. >> >>'Joy is the grace we say to God' >> >>He describes himself as a "delicatessen religionist." He's inspired by >>Eastern and Western religions. >> >>The center of his faith, though, is love. Everything -- the reason he >>decided to write his first short story at 12; his 56-year marriage to his >>muse and late wife, Maggie; his friendships with everyone from Walt >Disney >>to Alfred Hitchcock -- is based on love. >> >>Bradbury is in love with love. >> >>Once, when he saw Walt Disney, architect of the Magic Kingdom, Christmas >>shopping in Los Angeles, Bradbury approached him and said: "Mr. Disney, >my >>name is Ray Bradbury and I love you." >> >>Bradbury's favorite book in the Bible is the Gospel of John, which is >>filled with references to love. >> >>"At the center of religion is love," Bradbury says from his home, which >is >>painted dandelion yellow in honor of his favorite book, "Dandelion Wine." >> >>"I love you and I forgive you. I am like you and you are like me. I love >>all people. I love the world. I love creating. ... Everything in our life >>should be based on love." >> >>Bradbury's voice booms with enthusiasm over the phone. He now uses a >>wheelchair. His hearing has deteriorated. But he talks like an excitable >>kid with an old man's voice. (Each Christmas, Bradbury aske
[scifinoir2] FX orders Star Trek spoof pilot, renews Louie
http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/08/fx-renews-louie-orders-sci-fi-comedy-pilot.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+live_feed+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Live+Feed%29 [ http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/08/fx-renews-louie-orders-sci-fi-comedy-pilot.html ]FX orders Star Trek spoof pilot, renews Louie by [ http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/author/jhibberd/ ]James Hibberd | August 3, 2010 FX has ordered a comedy pilot from the makers of "Reno 911" whose logline makes it sound like an unofficial "Star Trek" parody. Set a thousand years in the future, "Alabama" follows the crew of the space ship USS Alabama as they continue a seven-year mission to maintain interplanetary peace. "The show will follow the heart-pounding action as our crew visits hostile planets, meets alien life-forms, and tries to have sex with each other in their tiny, metal bunk beds," FX said. "Alabama" is created by and stars "Reno 911" veterans Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant and, just like the former Comedy Central series, will be part-scripted and part-improvised. Garant and Lennon are executive producers along with Peter Principato and Paul Young. In addition, FX has renewed the Louis C.K. comedy "Louie" for a 13-episode second season. The pickup comes about five weeks into the show's run, with the comedy performing fairly modestly -- averaging about 1 million viewers per week. The announcements were made at the Television Critics Association's press tour, where FX had the longest presentation in the network's history, scheduling nearly a full day of panels. FX's entertainment president John Landgraf said he hopes to expand the network's burgeoning lineup to a dozen shows, including 6-8 comedies. After that, Landgraf said, the network will reach a saturation point, unable to expand further due to the marketing costs associated with promoting so many shows. FX has already hit its goal to get on the comedy map, with veteran "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" steadily improving in the ratings and freshman animated series "Archer" becoming a surprise breakout. Along with "Louie" and "The League," the network has four functioning half-hour comedies. Critics noted FX's paucity of Emmy nominations, and Landgraf noted that TV Academy favorite "Damages," which is shifting to DirecTV, is set in the upper echelons of elite Manhattan society compared to the network's array of blue collar protagonists. "Emmys live in their own separate universe," he said. "Of the shows that qualified for an Emmy, 'Rescue Me,' 'Justified,' 'Sons of Anarcy' and 'Damages' all accured as much acclaim universal acclaim based on their Metacritic scores ... We the tendency to do the literature of the common man and common woman I don't think there's a lesson in personal grooming to be taken from 'Sons' ... Does that effect the Emmys? I don't know." Landgraf also said that, for actors, in recent years it has become more prestigious to land a cable show. "It's become a status symbol for an actor to have a cable show," Landgraf said. "A lot of being a movie star is being in a latex costume in front of a green screen wearing guide-wires and learning to do karate." Wrapping up the session, Landgraf noted, "I haven't said anything Tweet-worthy," then announced: "Peter Rice told me I could deny that Steve McPherson is becoming a judge on 'American Idol.'"
Re: [scifinoir2] Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels'
Yes. I found that fact somewhat disturbing, too. :-\ Brent Martin Baxter writes: > >Is anyone else cringing at the thought that he watches Faux/Fixed/Fox by >day? > >On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 10:03 PM, brent wodehouse <[ >mailto:brent_wodeho...@thefence.us ]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> wrote: > > > > > > >[ http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/ >]http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/ > >Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels' > >By John Blake, CNN > >August 2, 2010 > >(CNN) -- Ray Bradbury lives in a rambling Los Angeles home full of stuffed >dinosaurs, a tin robot pushing an ice cream cart, and a life-sized >Bullwinkle the Moose doll lounging in a cushioned chair. > >The 89-year-old science fiction author watches Fox News Channel by day, >Turner Classic Movies by night. He spends the rest of his time summoning >"the monsters and angels" of his imagination for his enchanting tales. > >Bradbury's imagination has yielded classic books such as "Fahrenheit 451," >"The Martian Chronicles" and 600 short stories that predicted everything >from the emergence of ATMs to live broadcasts of fugitive car chases. > >Bradbury, who turns 90 this month, says he will sometimes open one of his >books late at night and cry out thanks to God. > >"I sit there and cry because I haven't done any of this," he told Sam >Weller, his biographer and friend. "It's a God-given thing, and I'm so >grateful, so, so grateful. The best description of my career as a writer >is, 'At play in the fields of the Lord.' " > >Bradbury's stories are filled with references to God and faith, but he's >rarely talked at length about his religious beliefs, until now. > >'Joy is the grace we say to God' > >He describes himself as a "delicatessen religionist." He's inspired by >Eastern and Western religions. > >The center of his faith, though, is love. Everything -- the reason he >decided to write his first short story at 12; his 56-year marriage to his >muse and late wife, Maggie; his friendships with everyone from Walt Disney >to Alfred Hitchcock -- is based on love. > >Bradbury is in love with love. > >Once, when he saw Walt Disney, architect of the Magic Kingdom, Christmas >shopping in Los Angeles, Bradbury approached him and said: "Mr. Disney, my >name is Ray Bradbury and I love you." > >Bradbury's favorite book in the Bible is the Gospel of John, which is >filled with references to love. > >"At the center of religion is love," Bradbury says from his home, which is >painted dandelion yellow in honor of his favorite book, "Dandelion Wine." > >"I love you and I forgive you. I am like you and you are like me. I love >all people. I love the world. I love creating. ... Everything in our life >should be based on love." > >Bradbury's voice booms with enthusiasm over the phone. He now uses a >wheelchair. His hearing has deteriorated. But he talks like an excitable >kid with an old man's voice. (Each Christmas, Bradbury asked his wife to >give him toys in place of any other gifts.) > >Weller, author of "[ [ http://listentotheechoes.com/ >]http://listentotheechoes.com/ ]Listen to The Echoes: >The Ray Bradbury Interviews," says Bradbury ends many conversations with >"God bless." Weller's book devotes an entire chapter to Bradbury's faith. > >"I once asked him if he prayed, and he said, 'Joy is the grace we say to >God,' '' Weller says. > >Bradbury was raised as a Baptist in Waukegan, Illinois, by his father, a >utility lineman, and his mother, a housewife. Both were infrequent >churchgoers. > >His family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression to look for >work. When he turned 14, Bradbury began visiting Catholic churches, >synagogues and charismatic churches on his own to figure out his faith. > >Bradbury has been called a Unitarian, but he rejects that term. He >dislikes labels of any kind. > >"I'm a Zen Buddhist if I would describe myself," he says. "I don't think >about what I do. I do it. That's Buddhism. I jump off the cliff and build >my wings on the way down." > >Examples of faith in Bradbury's stories > >Bradbury started writing for pulp magazines like "Weird Tales" and >"Thrilling Wonder Stories" at the beginning of his career. But even then, >faith was an important theme. > >In his 1949 story "The Man," Bradbury tells the story of a rocket crew >landing on Mars, only to see t
[scifinoir2] Captain Jack As a Digital Weapon: Launching Torchwood Comic #1
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/128580-captain-jack-as-a-digital-weapon-launching-torchwood-comic-1/ Captain Jack As a Digital Weapon: Launching Torchwood Comic #1 By [ http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/697 ]Lynnette Porter 2 August 2010 During his travels with the Doctor through space and time, not to mention his long tenure with Torchwood Three, Captain Jack Harkness has had to be many things to many people (and aliens). This summer he tackles one of his most crucial roles yet - as Torchwoods digital weapon. His mission: Keep fans of the original TV series happy while attracting a new audience of comic book readers - and then keep them hooked until new radio dramas and TV episodes arrive next year. Sound daunting? Not for the Doctor Who and Torchwood veteran who has successfully defeated long hiatuses before. The launch of Torchwood comic #1 (10 August in stores after a Comic-Con debut) seems to be the next step in what TV series creator Russell T. Davies once termed the digital weaponry of Torchwood. During interviews with Entertainment Weekly in July 2009, Davies noted that Torchwood could become anything it needed to be, and indeed the series has been malleable in the past. The comics timely entry into the marketplace reminds future-thinking fans that the TV series will return, albeit in a new location and from American cable network Starz, by this time next summer. The comic, however, also woos fans of the original Cardiff-based TV show by providing the familiar context of the series first three seasons. As such, Torchwood the Comic is an interesting way to expand the franchise by attracting new readers who might not have seen Torchwood prior to all its media attention for critically acclaimed but fandom-divisive episode, Children of Earth. The comic also can placate long-time fans dissatisfied with the ending of the miniseries and anxious about the next seasons direction. Because the comic book straddles the line between the familiar and the unexplored, the sale of this first issue is particularly important to the comics and the series future. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. This old rhyme is strangely appropriate for the happy marriage of the TV series characters with the comic book format. In the premiere issue, one story is something old, a tale published a year earlier in Torchwood magazine. The something new is TV script editor Gary Russells adventure, Broken. One character, Ianto Jones, has been borrowed from earlier in the series canon to join his compatriots in Broken as they battle a villain from the TV show. Of course, the most famous something blue (other than Captain Jacks eyes) is his trademark grey-blue RAF coat. All the familiar, comfortable elements long-time TV fans have come to expect are present and accounted for, sir - but are they enough to keep the franchise going until new episodes arrive next year? More importantly, can the new Torchwood comic book generate its own audience separate from the TV series? Is Torchwood the true digital weapon that can successfully market its stories in any medium - not just TV episodes, but also novels, radio plays, and now a comic book? Cover Story The two collectible covers clearly indicate where the comic series is headed. (Two additional black-and-white art covers are Comic-Con exclusives.) Front and center on every cover is Captain Jack Harkness. The photo cover presents him as fans strongest TV memory - sexy, action hero Jack in the moment before all hell breaks loose, gun raised as he looks toward an off-camera source of danger. He wears his trademark RAF coat - about as quintessential a Torchwood photo of its lead hero as possible. The illustrated cover also portrays Jack, with coat, front and center as he strides toward danger, framed against an ominously violent red-orange sky. Jacks coat billows behind him, effectively creating a visual lead-in to the two characters in the background. Fans of the TV series easily recognize Ianto Jones, sans jacket but nevertheless in a suit (and red tie, a detail hardcore fans will be sure to notice), this time with his sleeves rolled up to get to work. Gwen Cooper wears her traditional red blouse and leather jacket, but her curves have been accentuated in true comic-book style. The covers play up the familiar aspects of characters at the beginning of Children of Earth, the Torchwood teams previous adventure. Of course, since 2008 several writers and artists have told Torchwoods story as serialized comics in Torchwood magazine. The official magazine, however, most likely is read by Torchwoods TV fans, not the wider comic-book audience who will see Torchwood> #1 on the shelves of their favorite comic store. The magazine has included stories written by Gareth David-Lloyd or John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman, whose Selkie is featured in Torchwood Comic #1. As might be expected, the Barro
[scifinoir2] Comic book buff selling rare copy of Batman No. 1
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2012509132_apuscomicbookauction.html?prmid=head_main Comic book buff selling rare copy of Batman No. 1 A longtime Alaska comic book buff is selling one of the gems in his vast collection, a rare copy of Batman No. 1 published 70 years ago. The Associated Press FAIRBANKS, Alaska - A longtime Alaska comic book buff is selling one of the gems in his vast collection, a rare copy of Batman No. 1 published 70 years ago. Mike Wheat of Fairbanks has put the 1940 comic book on the auction block through Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, where it's expected to fetch more than $40,000. Online bids already have climbed to $35,000 for the book, believed to be one of fewer than 300 still in existence. Online bids will compete with a live auction set for Thursday. The second and fourth Batman issues also will be part of Thursday's auction. They are expected to bring more than $5,000 combined. Wheat, a retired city wastewater treatment plant operator, said he considers the Batman comics an investment. He said it feels like the right time to sell. "I just decided it's time for someone else to have it," he said. The Batman No. 1 comic book was discovered after local businessman Ron Jaeger bought an old dresser at a garage sale in the early 1970s, then kept it in storage for a few years. When Jaeger finally brought it out, he noticed one of the drawers didn't slide easily. Three comic books and a few old issues of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner were tucked beneath the drawer and a quarter-inch piece of plywood. The haul included a copy of Batman No. 1, Superman No. 17 and an old issue of a Red Ryder Western comic. Wheat already had a reputation as an avid comic collector in 1974, and Jaeger sold him the comic books for $300. The auction house has handled many copies of Batman No. 1, but Wheat's copy is notable because the low humidity and cool temperatures in Fairbanks have kept the paper in excellent condition, said Barry Sandoval, director of comic auctions and operations at Heritage. Old comics were printed on cheap newsprint, but the pages in Wheat's copy remain white and crisp. "If we got a Batman No. 1 from Texas or Louisiana, if you opened it up after 70 years the pages would start to crumble," Sandoval said. The condition of comics is graded on a scale of one to 10. Wheat's copy has been graded a 5.5. That's a middling score for a newer comic, but impressive for a vintage copy. "I see how most comics from that era look," Sandoval said. "Most 70-year-old comics are in pretty rough shape." Batman No. 1 was the first solo spin-off for the character, who made his first appearance in 1939 as a character in Detective Comics No. 27. The debut includes the original appearances by two of Batman's key foes, the Joker and Catwoman. --- Online: http://www.ha.com --- Information from: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com
[scifinoir2] Voice of 'Speed Racer' dies
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2010/07/18/14751546-wenn-story.html Voice of 'Speed Racer' dies By WENN.COM Child Broadway star and celebrated American voiceover actor Peter Fernandez has lost his battle with lung cancer. He was 83. Fernandez died at his home in Pomona, New York on Thursday. He appeared in Broadway play Whiteoaks when he was 11 and went on to act on childrens radio shows. However, he was perhaps best-known for providing the voice of the title character in hit U.S. 1960's animated TV series Speed Racer, an adaptation of Japanese anime series Mach Go Go Go. He also provided the voice of the title character's brother Racer X, wrote the American lyrics for the shows theme song and directed the dubbing cast. His voice can be heard in other titles including Astro Boy, Gigantor, Marine Boy, Star Blazers: The Bolar Wars and Superbook. In 2008, he made a cameo appearance as an announcer in the live-action Speed Racer film. Fernandez is survived by his wife, Noel Smith, three children, nine grandchildren, a sister and a brother.
[scifinoir2] Brilliant 'Being Human' hits DVD
http://jam.canoe.ca/Video/DVD_Column/2010/07/19/14757351.html Brilliant 'Being Human' hits DVD By BRUCE KIRKLAND, QMI Agency Blood and sex, fangs and full moons, humour and heartache: What's not to like about Being Human? This supernatural television series from Britain looks like a fully formed, high-concept, sure-fire success. But looks are deceiving. The brilliance of Being Human is both an accident -- and the result of years of hard slogging. "I think if we had been approached in the beginning to write a supernatural show, we would have ended up with something far less satisfying," affable series creator Toby Whithouse says from London. Whithouse is on the telephone to Canada because Being Human: Season 1 debuts Tuesday on DVD and Blu-ray. Both are two-disc sets. They share identical extras, including helpful character profiles and a Whithouse session reminding us how tenuous success really is -- especially because the first fanbase was inspired by social media, not conventional ratings. You wouldn't think so, not today, not in the era of Twilight and True Blood. Like them, Being Human plumbs the public's obsessive interest in the intoxicating world of vampires, werewolves and ghosts, combining them intelligently. Whithouse put a vampire, werewolf and ghost into a Bristol house as flatmates. They are all twentysomethings (sort of). They are all likeable and complicated. They are all cursed. "I flatter us," Whithouse says with a chuckle. "We were, I hope, a bit ahead of the curve." Being Human did pre-date the Twilight phenomenon and the True Blood fangdom. So much so that Whithouse assumed they were doomed. "When we delivered what would ultimately become Being Human to the BBC, at the time we thought: 'We haven't got a hope in hell! Who on earth wants to watch anything about vampires?' Then, of course, all the other shows took off. So I like to think we were there at the spearhead." Originally, actor-turned-screenwriter Whithouse was approached by a production company to write a series about all-human housemates: "A show about a group of college graduates who decide to buy a house together, with the stresses and strains that puts on their friendships. I thought, well, it's not really the most scintillating idea that I've ever heard. I was about to turn it down when, completely unbidden, I had these ideas for three characters. At this stage they were completely human. Mitchell was a recovering sex addict, Annie was a kind of borderline agoraphobic and George was this guy who had anger issues and was kind of anal and repressed. I wrote pages and pages and pages of biog for these characters." The production team was pleased. But they still did not have a first-episode story. "We spent months pretty much banging our heads against a brick wall and we couldn't come up with anything." At the final all-or-nothing meeting, Whithouse jokingly suggested George should be a werewolf. Eureka! George's anger issues obviously could be linked to the werewolf curse. "We had nothing to lose and, from there, it seemed like a very natural progression that Mitchell the sex addict was a bit like a vampire and Annie the agoraphobic was a bit like a ghost rooted to a house. Suddenly, by the end of the meeting, we were doing a show about a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. But the bedrock of the show is character." At first, Whithouse admits, "I was kind of apologizing for the idea because it is such a ridiculous idea." Yet those characters -- now played by Aidan Turner (Mitchell), Russell Tovey (George) and Lenora Crichlow (Annie) -- are based in reality, not in horror movie cliche. "While I know it is bizarre, given the concept, I've always wanted to do a show that is as realistic as possible," Whithouse says. They are, after all, Being Human. CREATOR AMAZED BY SUCCESS Being Human creator Toby Whithouse is gobsmacked that his hit series from Britain is making an impression in North America. "We were just amazed to get the show on U.K. television in the first place," Whithouse says from London. "Reaching such a wide audience now is such an extraordinarily wonderful surprise -- but a surprise nonetheless! And we are just absolutely thrilled." Being Human is broadcast on BBC America. Season 1 is being released Tuesday on DVD and Blu-ray. The series originally launched its overseas invasion with a rousing debut at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego. "The response that we got from the audience over there was just phenomenal," Whitehouse remembers. "I mean, obviously we're quite British and anal and repressed. To have this kind of unexpurgated euphoria and enthusiasm was just an absolute delight!" I remind Whithouse that Canadians are poised between British reserve and American excess. Laughing, he says: "I think you are then the perfect audience. And you're more likely to get all the tea references." This would have been impossible without British fans who backed Being Human in its infancy, after the pilot broadcas
Re: [scifinoir2] 3D Newspapers Are the Hottest Thing in China (5 Photos)
Brilliant! Brent "Mr. Worf" writes: >3D Newspapers Are the Hottest Thing in China (5 Photos) > > >Ever since ChinaÕs first 3D newspaper was released, back in April, the >public has been asking for more. And theyÕre about to get it, as a >limited number of the Hangzhou-based Daily Business editions are about to >be issued, in 3D format. > >British tabloid, The Sun, has announced it will be launching the first 3D >newspaper today, a few days before the Soccer World Cup kicks off, in an >attempt to raise awareness to the 3D broadcast of the sports event, by >Sky News. Sorry guys, but youÕre almost two months late, in China, 3D >newspapers are already yesterdayÕs news. > > > >Read more: [ >http://funzu.com/index.php/crazy-pics/3d-newspapers-are-the-hottest-thing-in-china-05062010.html#ixzz0u9sjTtWS >]http://funzu.com/index.php/crazy-pics/3d-newspapers-are-the-hottest-thing-in-china-05062010.html#ixzz0u9sjTtWS > > > >
[scifinoir2] Smart gadgets may one day anticipate our needs
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15450492?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&nclick_check=1 Smart gadgets may one day anticipate our needs By Steve Johnson sjohn...@mercurynews.com Don't be surprised if one day your refrigerator nags you to lose weight, your phone blocks calls it figures you're too stressed to handle and your wisecracking car entertains you with pun-filled one-liners. Within a decade or two, researchers at Silicon Valley companies and elsewhere predict, consumer gadgets will be functioning like hyper-attentive butlers, anticipating and fulfilling people's needs without having to be told. Life would not only be more convenient, it might even last longer: Devices could monitor people's health and step in when needed to help them get better. "I think it's inevitable," said Michael Freed, an artificial intelligence specialist and program director at the Menlo Park think tank, SRI International, which has been studying the concept for the military. Noting that some of these gadgets already are being developed, he added, "I expect we'll see more soon - a trickle and then a flood.'' The technology propelling this new generation of personal assistants is a combination of sophisticated sensors and carefully tailored computer software. As envisioned, the machines would adjust their own actions to the preferences and needs of an individual, by analyzing data on the person's past actions and monitoring current behavior with cameras, audio recorders and other sensors. Santa Clara chipmaker Intel, which has been studying the technology for several years, believes that one day soon the gadgets will have the ability to read their owner's emotions. Detecting mood swings While some experts have proposed that face- and voice-recognition gear be used to detect a person's disposition, Intel has been experimenting with heart monitors and galvanic skin-response sensors. A study it did last year envisioned the gadgets detecting mood swings "while people are driving, singing, chatting with friends, attending a boring meeting and even while going to the dentist." Others expect that household appliances eventually will be designed with humanlike personalities. In a study this year that was partly financed by Nissan Motor, researchers at Japan's Hokkaido University experimented with cheery-sounding devices that they imagined one day could serve as "artificial companions for elderly and lonely people" or as pun-spouting car navigation equipment that could "entertain drivers by talking and possibly by joking." Although some gadgets already make assumptions about what people want, such as word processing software that automatically corrects grammar, the devices contemplated by Intel, Hewlett-Packard and other companies would be capable of much more sophisticated judgments about a broader array of human needs. That's a complex task - so difficult that some experts are skeptical the technology will be ready in the near future. "My guess is that we will get there in time, but it's a little further off than the most ambitious announcements from a lot of companies have indicated," said Bob Sloan, who heads the computer science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "There are a lot of hard problems to solve." But other experts say the idea recently has become more practical because of the proliferation of computerized devices, from universal remote controls, MP3 players, air-conditioning equipment and microwave ovens to security systems, lawn-sprinkler controllers, exercise equipment and toys. Because many of these devices come with cameras, global positioning systems and other sensors to monitor what's around them, these experts say, it's not hard to imagine them gathering enough data about people to act autonomously on their behalf, assuming the individuals let the gizmos have that authority. One product that already claims to partly think for its owner is a "personal assistant" app for the iPhone and iPod developed by Siri, a San Jose company Apple bought in April. Besides being able to recommend a good play, book a taxi and offer helpful reminders, the app - which responds to verbal queries - "adapts to your preferences over time," Siri claims. For example, ask it about a good place to eat nearby and it might suggest a certain type of restaurant you have picked before, a company spokesman said. He added that the app also can learn to recognize a person's voice and speaking style, which might make it easier for it to understand what the person is saying on a noisy street. Other products could be on the way soon, said Diane Cook, a researcher at Washington State University, which has an experimental smart house filled with such devices. "We have companies large and small and in between visiting us monthly - IBM, Bosch, Qualcomm - all wanting to commercialize it, all trying to decide what that first step is, that first niche," she said. Stanford University operates a simila
[scifinoir2] Klingon and other "crazy ideas" in book about invented tongues
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/96646229.html Klingon and other "crazy ideas" in book about invented tongues By John Timpane Inquirer Staff Writer Arika Okrent was studying languages at the University of Chicago. The languages people use and how they work. The rules, the changes, the charts. She was in the library, poking around. "And then," says Okrent, relaxing in her Germantown home recently, "I drifted down to the shelves with all the books on invented languages. It was a sad little collection. I felt sorry for it." But something called to her. Tales of made-up languages and their makers. Esperanto, the most widely spoken of all; Volapük, once the most popular; Klingon, the bark of space invaders. She learned artificial tongues, then wrote about going to a 2003 Esperanto conference for the American Scholar - and the seed of a book was planted. That book is the delightful In the Land of Invented Languages (published last month in paperback), which tells tales - often sad, often hilarious - of made-up tongues, Okrent's forays into the realms of Esperanto, Klingon, and Blissymbolics, and the personalities, political battles, and fates of linguistic makers-up. Niece of the journalist Daniel Okrent, Arika met her husband, research linguist Derrick Higgins, at Chicago. They came east when Higgins got a job at Educational Testing Service in Princeton. Okrent says, "I did almost all the research for the book before I had kids" - Leo, 5, and Louisa, 1. "As I got further and further into this world," says Okrent, 40, "at first, I'd say, 'Look at all these crazy ideas,' but I'd also find touching clues about the lives of the inventors." Her book "reflects the humor and the craziness, but also has compassion and understanding, since I'm a language person myself." A graveyard of flops Land of Invented Languages is a history of a "vast graveyard," brilliant projects that failed. Some inventors, such as James Cooke Brown, become famous for other things (he created the board game Careers), but not for their pet languages. We meet Suzette Haden Elgin, who in the early 1980s created Láadan, a "woman's language" ("the only language textbook I know of," Okrent writes, "that gives the word for menstruate in Lesson 1"). We visit the nutty, simpatico world of Esperanto, and the gestural world of sign languages. There's the occasional success, as with Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who fought in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to resurrect a near-dead priestly language (Hebrew), and retrofit it for a modern age; it is now the national language of Israel. Or Lazar Ludwik Zamenhof, who grew up in the 1860s and '70s in the Russian Empire town of Bialystok, a Babel of Russian, Polish, German, and Yiddish. He dreamed of a language that cut through the tangle - and his brainchild, Esperanto, is still the most widely practiced made-up tongue. Rage for order has led many to remake language. In the late 1940s, Austrian engineer Charles Bliss invented Blissymbolics, which he hoped could become a writing system for all languages, "logical writing for an illogical world." And Brown invented Loglan, a language that followed the rules of logic. In one of her saddest stories, Okrent recounts how Brown fell into a long-running feud over rights, egos, and direction. A project titled Lojban carried on his vision, despite him. Why fix what isn't broken? Language makes us human. So - why mess with it? "Well, there is a lot of messiness and ambiguity in language," Okrent says. "We need it. We need that wiggle room. But if you have an engineering mind, you'll see irritating things. Why do words have more than one meaning?" (Look up the word set in Webster's: Its very first entry lists 25 possible meanings.) "Why do we have irregular verbs? Why are pronouns in English so messed up?" Problem is, language probably isn't fixable. "When you try to fix the world of ideas, fix the meanings of words," Okrent says, "it's hard to keep it steady. Times change, words change, and besides, we tend to mean what we mean not by strict rules, but by agreement." That won't keep people from trying. One motive is the altruistic dream of tearing down the linguistic walls that divide us. "It's the dream of oneness," says Okrent, "the idea that if everyone could communicate with one another, we could eliminate strife - an idea that is, unfortunately, easy to disprove." Ludwick invented Esperanto with that idea. Bliss of Blissymbolics grew up in the many-languaged Austro-Hungarian Empire and dreamed of unifying the world through a common system. Even the names for these languages hint at the dream of one, perfect world: Esperanto ("one who hopes"), Volapük ("world language"), Lingua Komun ("common language"), Unilingue, Unita, Universel. "One of my favorite figures in the book," says Okrent, "is Fuishiki Okamoto, inventor of a language he called Babm. It's a ridiculous language he claims is perfect, and of course it's not - but he is so humb
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Fwd: Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doe
I believe the thrust of the arguments of his peers described in the article is that his idea be given a fair hearing. Maybe we are talking here about something more in keeping with a phenomenon measured in billions of years rather than mere human-thousands. Of course, I haven't seen the maths (and mightn't understand them if I did :-), so he could be pulling the idea out of his proverbial a***. But it does lead one to wonder... Brent Martin Baxter writes: >To this "genius", Brent, I ask this. > >Why, in the entirety of human history, hasn't there been a "bad hair >day", when gravity kicks out and sends thousands soaring off into space? > >Maybe, MAYBE, in a hundred years or so, something may walk in the door to >support this hare-brained chicanery. I haven't been involved in the >physics community for close to fifteen years, and it's stuff like this >that makes me happy that I estranged myself. > >On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 6:41 PM, brent wodehouse <[ >mailto:brent_wodeho...@thefence.us ]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> wrote: > > > >Ê > > >Yes. The 'bad hair day' theory of gravity. > >'It goes something like this: your hair frizzles in the heat and humidity, >because there are more ways for your hair to be curled than to be >straight, and nature likes options. So it takes a force to pull hair >straight and eliminate natureÕs options. Forget curved space or the spooky >attraction at a distance described by Isaac NewtonÕs equations well enough >to let us navigate the rings of Saturn, the force we call gravity is >simply a byproduct of natureÕs propensity to maximize disorder.' > >From: [ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13gravity.html?src=mv >]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13gravity.html?src=mv > >Brent > > > > >[ mailto:martinbaxter7%40gmail.com ]martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: > >>-- Forwarded message -- >>From: Martin Baxter <[ mailto:martin.baxter.013%40gmail.com >]martin.baxter@gmail.com> >>Date: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:54 PM >>Subject: Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist >>To: [ mailto:martinbaxter7%40gmail.com ]martinbaxt...@gmail.com >> >> >>Even as I post this, I feel compelled to say that this is a post from a >>new Siffy-powered site and that, IMO, that association renders this and >>all other things reported that as null and void, being too far divorced >>from reality... >> >>== >> >>Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist > >>Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist >>Stephen Hawking experiences weightlessness in a jet >>7Share >> >>I know that something is keeping me from floating off as I type away at >>this keyboard, but thanks to Erik Verlinde, a string theorist and >>professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam, I no longer know >>what. But I'm not the only one feeling a little, well, adrift right now. >> >>According to an article in the NY Times, "Some of the best physicists in >>the world say they don't understand Dr. Verlinde's paper." Which makes us >>feel a little better that we don't either. >> >>That paper, "On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton," claims >>that gravity is an illusion. >> >> >>More at: [ http://blastr.com/2010/07/eccentric-but-brilliant-p.php >]http://blastr.com/2010/07/eccentric-but-brilliant-p.php >> >> >>-- >>"Between getsumei no michi and the Zero...no better place to live." >> >>(About little moments of happiness) "If this isn't nice, I don't know >>what is." -- Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" >> > > > > > > > > > > > >-- >"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody >hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > >[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik >]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
[scifinoir2] Re: Fwd: Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist
Yes. The 'bad hair day' theory of gravity. 'It goes something like this: your hair frizzles in the heat and humidity, because there are more ways for your hair to be curled than to be straight, and nature likes options. So it takes a force to pull hair straight and eliminate natures options. Forget curved space or the spooky attraction at a distance described by Isaac Newtons equations well enough to let us navigate the rings of Saturn, the force we call gravity is simply a byproduct of natures propensity to maximize disorder.' From: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13gravity.html?src=mv Brent martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: >-- Forwarded message -- >From: Martin Baxter >Date: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:54 PM >Subject: Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist >To: martinbaxt...@gmail.com > > >Even as I post this, I feel compelled to say that this is a post from a >new Siffy-powered site and that, IMO, that association renders this and >all other things reported that as null and void, being too far divorced >from reality... > >== > >Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist >Eccentric but brilliant physicist claims gravity doesn't exist >Stephen Hawking experiences weightlessness in a jet >7Share > >I know that something is keeping me from floating off as I type away at >this keyboard, but thanks to Erik Verlinde, a string theorist and >professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam, I no longer know >what. But I'm not the only one feeling a little, well, adrift right now. > >According to an article in the NY Times, "Some of the best physicists in >the world say they don't understand Dr. Verlinde's paper." Which makes us >feel a little better that we don't either. > >That paper, "On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton," claims >that gravity is an illusion. > > >More at: http://blastr.com/2010/07/eccentric-but-brilliant-p.php > > >-- >"Between getsumei no michi and the Zero...no better place to live." > >(About little moments of happiness) "If this isn't nice, I don't know >what is." -- Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" >
[scifinoir2] It's official: 'Thor' and 'Captain America' will be 3-D films
Hero Complex For your inner fanboy It's official: 'Thor' and 'Captain America' will be 3-D films July 14, 2010 EXCLUSIVE FIRST-LOOK PHOTO: THE GODS OF"THOR" http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/07/thor-3d-captain-america-3d-comiccon-marvel-studios.html
[scifinoir2] 11 biggest sci-fi blockbusters that still managed to LOSE money
http://blastr.com/2010/07/11-biggest-sci-fi-blockbu.php 11 biggest sci-fi blockbusters that still managed to LOSE money The fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, made more than $938 million worldwide at the box office yet still lost $167 million. How is that even possible? Well, it's all thanks to the magic of what is commonly known as "Hollywood accounting" a creative way of crunching numbers said to be used by all the studios to make even the biggest blockbusters look like losers. The reason they do this is to minimize, if not outright eliminate, the percentage of net profits they are obligated to dole out in profit participation deals and royalties. After all, how can a studio pay Tom Cruise that 20 percent of the back end that they owe him if the movie has theoretically not made a dime? This is why Peter Jackson had to sue New Line Cinema to get his contractually obligated fair share of the billions of dollars generated by The Lord of the Rings. Yeah, we're guessing those three movies were deemed losers too in the studios' funny way of calculating such things. We thought we'd look into this further and find out which other sci-fi and fantasy favorites have yet to turn a profit despite raking in gazillions. The answers may surprise you. But since this is SCI FI Wire and not Accounting 101, you can do the math yourself ... just don't let the studios do it for you. --- The Lord of the Rings Budget: $285 million (all three movies combined) Worldwide box office: $2.9 billion (all three movies combined) As noted above, Peter Jackson had to sue to force New Line Cinema to allow its books to be audited and get Jackson his proper share of the Rings trilogy's box office and DVD sales. The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and 15 of the trilogy's actors also sued the studio for their cuts of the movies' profits. -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Budget: $315 million Worldwide box office: $937 million According to a net profit statement obtained by Deadline, the movie cost around $315 million to make (if we're reading it right), while the official budget is listed at imdb.com as $150 million. A big difference for sure, but either way the studio claims the movie has generated a loss. So why keep making them if no one's earning any money? - Batman Budget: $48 million Worldwide box office: $411 million The first modern Batman movie cost $48 million to make (relative peanuts compared to today) and raked in hundreds of millions. Yet as reported in Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters' 1997 book Hit & Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony For A Ride In Hollywood, producers Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan sued Warner Bros. Pictures, claiming they had not seen a penny of the net profits. - Spider-Man Budget: $139 million Worldwide box office: $807 million Spidey's creator, Stan LeeStan Lee, for Pete's sake!had to sue Marvel and the producers of the first movie for his share of the movie's profits. Iron Man Budget: $140 million Worldwide box office: $572 million While director Jon Favreau took home a not-too-shabby $4 million paycheck to direct Shellhead's first movie, Favreau has said that he's also due 10 percent of the movie's net profitsmoney he doesn't expect to see for years, if ever. -- Alice in Wonderland Budget: $200 million Worldwide box office: $1.02 billion According to Showbiz Management Advisors, Disney has not shown a profit on Tim Burton's surprise 3D hit despite it making five times its budget at the box office. Net profit participants have yet to earn a penny. -- Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Budget: $70 million Worldwide box office: $349 million Gary Wolf, the science fiction writer on whose novel this alternate reality animated classic was based, is still waiting for his share of "gross receipts" from the movie22 years after it came out. According to AllBusiness.com, Wolf claimed as late as 2005 that the studio owed him $7 millionwhile Disney alleged that Wolf owed it anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million because of an accounting error! -- The Last Unicorn Budget: N/A Domestic box office: $6.5 million (worldwide box office not available) Peter S. Beagle, who wrote the beloved novel on which this 1982 animated film was based (he also wrote the screenplay), has to date not received his contractual share of any revenues or profits derived from the movie, including home video and merchandise sales. While Beagle has not filed a lawsuit, a public campaign on his behalf was launched in 2005 (Beagle also has his own Lord of The Rings issues, which can be checked out at the above link). - Babylon 5 Budget: $110 million (all five seasons combined) Earnings: More than $1 billion (estimated) Apparently "Hollywood accounting" is done for TV show
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Goldberg: "Mel Gibson is Not a Racist"
No harm, no foul. I post, you comment. Fair play. :-) Brent Keith Johnson writes: > >Brent, > >I owe you an apology for high-mindedly saying I don't like being privy to >people's private thoughts and utterances, odious though they may be. I >still feel that way. I hate knowing that Gibson is such a racist on this >level. I don't get why his girlfriend chose to release this crap to Radar >Online instead of just the cops. I think, like the other topics we've >discussed recently of media coverage, we are becoming way too much of a >nation where everyone wants to get their stuff out in the media for a >variety of reasons.Ê But, for all that I wish and think this stuff should >never have been released this way, I must admit I've listened to it, and >it sickens me.Ê The only question I have is, why is *anyone* still >surprised at Gibson's racism? The drunken rants when he was arrested were >enough evidence, the disturbing anti-Semitic tones of "The Passion of the >Christ" were troublesome as well. > >As for Whoopi Goldberg saying he's not a racist, I have no idea what the >hell her definition is, but I'm not surprised. She's dealt with >self-hatred and hatred of black people for a long time. I've noticed over >the years how she attacks people who use the term "African-American", >saying she's "just an American", as if the term were insulting. I note >how refused to wear a ribbon against racism for the Oscars one year, and >even did a riff on it, but curiously, she wore things supporting >everything from gay rights to women's rights. And I note that, the same >lady who gives people like Gibson a pass is very quick to attack other >blacks. years ago she was given an Essence award I believe. (Might have >been NAACP...) When she got the award, Goldberg proceeded to thank the >audience, then tell them "Y'all have made it hard on me--very hard". She >berated the audience for all the years that blacks had laughed at her >looks, not supported her, and made her feel ugly. Odd that she was so >quick to attack blacks publicly, takes offense at "black" labels,Ê yet >can be so forgiving and understanding of racism like this. > >Oh yeah: I bet Danny Glover is saying, "What the fu**, Mel?!" > > >http://www.examiner.com/x-15166-Comedy-Examiner~y2010m7d13-Whoopi-Goldberg-defends-Mel-Gibson-Mel-Gibson-is-not-a-racist > > > >We've been following the goings-on over at the "Mel Gibson >Meltdownapalooza" for the past few weeks.Ê By now, you've probably heard >one or more of the audio tapes that Gibson's ex has leaked to the press, >so we don't need to reiterate the blatant hate-speech, misogyny, and-- >let's face it-- flat-out threats that Gibson spits out during these >tapes.Ê This is the sorta situation that any reasonable, intelligent, >rational thinking-person could look at and say, "You know, I think that >Mel Gibson's a bit of a racist, and probably a few other things".Ê With >that said, Whoopi Goldberg has sprung into action to defend Mel Gibson as >decidedly un-racist.Ê Read all about it below, my gentle Examiner >readers... > >This Mel Gibson thing's really getting out of hand.Ê The current news on >the situation is that authorities are now looking into the Gibson/Oksana >(that'd be his ex-wife) debacle for a multitude of reasons.Ê On one side >of the fence, you've got Gibson's camp accusing Oksana of trying to extor >Gibson by releasing the tapes to the media.Ê This side claims that Gibson >was set-up and provoked into making the several audio tapes that have now >leaked to the press.Ê On the other side of the debate, you've got >Gibson's ex's people, who claim that Gibson beat her up, threatened to >"plant her in (his) rose garden", and that Gibson's a flaming racist.Ê >Now, just because there aren't enough cooks in this particular kitchen, >Whoopi [ >http://wonderwall.msn.com/tv/whoopi-goldberg-mel-gibson-is-not-a-racist-1560886.story?GT1=28135 >]Goldberg's got a few things to say: > > > >I have had a long friendship with Mel. You can say he's being a bonehead, >but I can't sit and say that he's a racist having spent time with him in >my house with my kids," added Goldberg, 54."I don't like what he's done, >make no mistake," she went on. "I'm not defending Mel. I'm simply saying >I don't see him as [a racist] because that's not been my experience with >him." > > > > >That's Whoopi Goldberg speaking to MSN.com.Ê She's apparently taken the >stance that, while Gibson's behavior is certainly "boneheaded", it's not >necessarily racist.Ê Goldberg's careful to add that she doesn't support >Gibson's behavior or the things that he's said that might be construed as >threatening to Gibson's ex or children, but that whole "pack of n---gers" >thing definitely wasn't racist.Ê With that in mind, let's take a trip >down memory lane for the other non-racist and tolerant things that >Gibson's been caught saying on camera, on tape, or by police officers >with glorious breasts: > > > >Y
Re: [scifinoir2] [Far, Far Away Off Topic] Is 2010 New York City, America's "Summ
Ah, sadly, we are somewhat at odds then, Martin. You see, it's fiendishly difficult to describe, but... Words fail me. The sight when one encounters... when the vision of... ineffable. I guess the feeling... beyond the ken of mere mortals (certainly this mortal :-). It pushes one out of acceptable comportment into a sort of glassy-eyed delirium. You see, there; it makes one confused and exhilarated at the same time. Bother. I've ceased making sense. All I can be certain of is that the effect is total. :-) Brent Martin Baxter wrote: Brent, as a Leg Man for Life, I am bereft. On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 11:29 PM, brent wodehouse wrote: :-) http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/07/is_2010_new_yor.php Badonkadonk Is 2010 New York City, America's "Summer of Ass"? By Foster Kamer Mon., Jul. 12 2010 The times, they change. The ebb and flow of the universe is simply something to be gerneally understood as such, and nothing more. For every action, there's an equal reaction. And for every physics law, there's a metaphysical plane to apply it to that generally shows its face when you look at it from the right direction at a certain point. Like this one. From behind. In other words: In 2009, New York City, and the rest of America had the Summer of Death. In 2010, New York City, and the rest of America has the Summer of Ass. Because 2009 was the Summer, when, like, every celebrity died! And that's sad. So America must be rewarded with something. The revitalized popularity emerging for big derrieres -- an easily-achievable physical feat, one may argue -- is, of course, society's natural karmic award for bearing the pain of all those dead celebrities last year. The New York Daily News didn't note this in their piece of the Summer of Ass -- which, by the way, Runnin' Scared Dot Com would like to officially get behind (heh) in a big way (heh, that's another big ass joke, right there) -- but after much looking, and looking, and looking, and talking to impressively-assed celebrities like Kim Kardashian, they think they've unlocked the secret of the reemergence of the ample back-asset [http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/07/12/2010-07-12_rearing_to_go_big_butts_are_summer_2010s_hottest_trend.html?page=1#ixzz0tTz6zgoG]: 'Gone are the days of being ashamed of a wider bottom, with America becoming more diverse amid shifting standards, according to Stylesight trend analyst Sharon Graubard. "I think it's about the diversity of our population and more accepted beauty, and a wider range of accepted beauty," Graubard explains.' Realize what a win-win situation this is for everyone: * The Big-Bottomed: Pleased. * The "Ass Men": Pleased. * The Workout Industry: Pleased. * The Food Industry: Pleased. * The Ass-Accentuating Denim Industry: Pleased. * Pat Kiernan: Pleased [http://www.patspapers.com/story_stack/item/everybody_likes_big_butts/]. Of all of society's ills, will the large-ass trend work to heal any of them? Only time will tell. In the mean time, there's certainly one marginalized group that may -- nay, must -- see something good yielded by all of this: * The "Booty Jam" Nostalgists. Lest you not understand what a "Booty Jam" is, all you need to know is: It is a song created for hyper-utilization by those with, um, big asses. And hopefully, these songs will come back, because they are amazing. Certainly, you can have your Sir Mix-A-Lot, you may have your "Apple Bottom Jeans" and your Nelly, but ah, you don't know anything about Luke, 69 Boyz, and 2 Live Crew's heyday, until you experience it. Like this.
Re: [scifinoir2] Top 10 Evil Human Experiments
Gruesome. :-\ Brent Mr. Worf wrote: >http://listverse.com/2008/03/14/top-10-evil-human-experiments/ > >Top 10 Evil Human Experiments > >Share This- Published March 14, 2008 - 343 Comments > >[WARNING] This list contains descriptions and images of human >experimentation which may cause offense to some readers.] Human >experimentation and research ethics evolved over time. On occasion, the >subjects of human experimentation have been prisoners, slaves, or even >family members. In some notable cases, doctors have performed experiments >on themselves when they have been unwilling to risk the lives of others. >This is known as self-experimentation. This is a list of the 10 most evil >and unethical experiments carried out on humans.
[scifinoir2] Wide-eyed Beauty Seyfried to star in 'I'm.mortal'
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118021636.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Posted: Mon., Jul. 12, 2010 Seyfried to star in 'I'm.mortal' New Regency sci-fi pic to be distributed by Fox By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK Amanda Seyfried is seeking immortality, starring in New Regency's sci-fi action thriller, "I'm.mortal," from writer-director Andrew Niccol. Twentieth Century Fox will distribute the film, which also has romance elements. "I'm.mortal" centers on a society in which aging stops at 25 -- meaning that every role will be played by actors in their mid-20s. New Regency picked up the high-priority project this spring. Niccol is expected to begin lensing this year. Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing via their Strike Entertainment. Strike's Kristel Laiblin is exec producing. Time is the currency in the world of "I'm.mortal," where citizens must buy and bank time when their aging gene turns off at age 25. The rich can live forever, but those who run out of time are engineered to die automatically. When a rebel from the ghetto is falsely accused of murdering a wealthy man for his time, he is forced to go on the run with a beautiful, rich hostage (Seyfried). Seyfried stars in Warner Bros.' upcoming "Red Riding Hood," from director Catherine Hardwicke. She was last in theaters with "Letters to Juliet," "Dear John" and "Mamma Mia!"The male lead hasn't yet been cast. "It's a strange casting process. Even for a small role like a priest or a pawnbroker, where you would normally cast a 75-year-old character actor, I have to find a 75-year-old character actor in a 25-year old body," Niccol told Daily Variety. Niccol's previous directing/writing credits include "Gattaca" and "Lord of War." He also wrote "The Truman Show." "I'm.mortal" isn't the only sci-fi film project broaching the subject of a future where people don't age. A remake of "Logan's Run" has been in the works for more than a decade at Warner Bros., with Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman producing. That film focuses on a man trying to escape a mandatory death sentence on his 30th birthday. Seyfried is repped by Innovative Artists. Contact Pamela McClintock at pamela.mcclint...@variety.com.
[scifinoir2] [Far, Far Away Off Topic] Is 2010 New York City, America's "Summer of Ass"?
:-) http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/07/is_2010_new_yor.php Badonkadonk Is 2010 New York City, America's "Summer of Ass"? By Foster Kamer Mon., Jul. 12 2010 The times, they change. The ebb and flow of the universe is simply something to be gerneally understood as such, and nothing more. For every action, there's an equal reaction. And for every physics law, there's a metaphysical plane to apply it to that generally shows its face when you look at it from the right direction at a certain point. Like this one. >From behind. In other words: In 2009, New York City, and the rest of America had the Summer of Death. In 2010, New York City, and the rest of America has the Summer of Ass. Because 2009 was the Summer, when, like, every celebrity died! And that's sad. So America must be rewarded with something. The revitalized popularity emerging for big derrieres -- an easily-achievable physical feat, one may argue -- is, of course, society's natural karmic award for bearing the pain of all those dead celebrities last year. The New York Daily News didn't note this in their piece of the Summer of Ass -- which, by the way, Runnin' Scared Dot Com would like to officially get behind (heh) in a big way (heh, that's another big ass joke, right there) -- but after much looking, and looking, and looking, and talking to impressively-assed celebrities like Kim Kardashian, they think they've unlocked the secret of the reemergence of the ample back-asset [http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2010/07/12/2010-07-12_rearing_to_go_big_butts_are_summer_2010s_hottest_trend.html?page=1#ixzz0tTz6zgoG]: 'Gone are the days of being ashamed of a wider bottom, with America becoming more diverse amid shifting standards, according to Stylesight trend analyst Sharon Graubard. "I think it's about the diversity of our population and more accepted beauty, and a wider range of accepted beauty," Graubard explains.' Realize what a win-win situation this is for everyone: * The Big-Bottomed: Pleased. * The "Ass Men": Pleased. * The Workout Industry: Pleased. * The Food Industry: Pleased. * The Ass-Accentuating Denim Industry: Pleased. * Pat Kiernan: Pleased [http://www.patspapers.com/story_stack/item/everybody_likes_big_butts/]. Of all of society's ills, will the large-ass trend work to heal any of them? Only time will tell. In the mean time, there's certainly one marginalized group that may -- nay, must -- see something good yielded by all of this: * The "Booty Jam" Nostalgists. Lest you not understand what a "Booty Jam" is, all you need to know is: It is a song created for hyper-utilization by those with, um, big asses. And hopefully, these songs will come back, because they are amazing. Certainly, you can have your Sir Mix-A-Lot, you may have your "Apple Bottom Jeans" and your Nelly, but ah, you don't know anything about Luke, 69 Boyz, and 2 Live Crew's heyday, until you experience it. Like this.
[scifinoir2] Feature Version of Robert Heinlein's "Have Space Suit, Will Travel"
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118021311.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Jupiter 9 'Travels' to sci fi Indie to develop tome with Gotham Group By DAVE MCNARY Harry Kloor's Jupiter 9 Prods. is developing a feature version of Robert Heinlein's "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" with Gotham Group's Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Peter McHugh attached as producers. Kloor, who founded Jupiter 9 to promote science literacy, obtained film rights after presenting a finished script to the Heinlein estate. "I was inspired to become a scientist and science fiction writer in part by reading the works of grand master Robert Heinlein," Kloor said. "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" was originally serialized in 1958 in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published later that year in hardcover by Scribner's. Set in 2040, "Space Suit" tells the story of a teenager who loses a contest for a free trip to the Moon, but wins a broken-down space suit -- which contains properties that lead to humanity's first contact with aliens. Kloor's credits include writing for such TV series as "Star Trek: Voyager," the animated series "Godzilla" and the syndie drama "Earth: Final Conflict," and the upcoming animated feature "Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey," which will be released in large-format theaters in the fall. "Quantum Quest" interweaves animated sequences rendered by Digimax with space imagery captured from seven ongoing space missions. Gotham Group was a producer on "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and is in preproduction on "Abduction," starring Taylor Lautner and directed by John Singleton. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcn...@variety.com
[scifinoir2] Tiny Satellites for Big Science
http://www.physorg.com/news198173326.html Tiny Satellites for Big Science July 12, 2010 by Prachi Patel The shrinking technology of cell phones, laptops and cameras are now leading to palm-sized satellites. Easy to build and affordable, these small satellites offer a new way to conduct astrobiology research. They also could change the way we explore the universe. When it comes to laptop computers and cell phones, bigger isnt better. The same logic applies to satellites: the bulkier the satellite, the more time it takes to design and build, and the more expensive it is to put into orbit. Researchers are now taking advantage of the electronics technologies that have made personal gizmos compact and affordable to make satellites that weigh and cost a fraction of their predecessors. These pocket- and backpack-sized satellites are changing the way astrobiology research is done. Conventional satellites used for communications, navigation or research can be as large as a school bus and weigh between 100 and 500 kilograms. Universities, companies and NASA are now building small satellites that weigh less than one kilogram (picosatellites) or up to 10 kilograms (nanosatellites). These small satellites can be considered miniature versions of full-size counterparts. They contain the same components - battery, orbital control and positioning systems, radio communication systems, and analytical instruments - except everything is smaller, less expensive and sometimes less complicated. Thats the beauty of this technology, says Orlando Santos, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center. We can make these things small and still get meaningful science out of them. The Rise of the Cube Two decades ago, Bob Twiggs and his students at Stanford University developed the first picosatellite the size of a Klondike ice cream bar. The Aerospace Corporation launched these picosatellites as part of a mission to demonstrate the feasibility of building little satellites that communicate with each other. Twiggs then worked on CubeSat, a 10-centimeter cube. I got a 4-inch beanie baby box and tacked on some solar cells to see how many would fit on the surface, Twiggs says. I had enough voltage for what I needed so I decided that would be the size. Jordi Puig-Suari at California Polytechnic State University built a deployment mechanism called the poly picosatellite orbital deployer, or P-POD, that could pack up to three CubeSats. One of these is typically the satellite bus, the brains of the satellite containing positioning and radio equipment, while the other cubes carry the scientific experiments. In 2004, the researchers sent the first three-cube nanosatellite into orbit. Six years later, CubeSats have become the world-wide standard for small satellites. They are being used for everything from environmental sensing and fundamental biology research to testing new space flight systems. Over 60 universities and high schools are part of the CubeSat Project based at Cal Poly. The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Air Force have programs that funds CubeSats for atmospheric and space weather research. Aerospace companies such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing have also built and flown CubeSats. Kentucky-based NanoRacks LLC provides a platform to take CubeSat experiments as cargo aboard the Space Shuttles to the International Space Station for periods of 30 or 60 days, after which they bring the cubes back. The goal of NASAs new CubeSat Launch Initiative is to radically open up the flight opportunities for nanosatellites. This Initiative should also make it easier for universities to compete for launch access on NASA launch vehicles. There are probably between 35 and 40 small satellites orbiting the Earth right now, of which about a quarter might still be working, says Twiggs, now a professor at Morehead State Universitys Space Science Center in Kentucky. Cutting Costs The biggest advantage of nano- and pico-satellites is that they are a bargain. Most of the cost saving comes at the launch stage. Unlike conventional satellites, they dont need a dedicated launch vehicle where they are the primary payload. Theyre so small they can hitch a ride on somebody elses rocket, Santos says. NASAs nanosatellite missions cost two million a piece as opposed to the tens of millions needed for a conventional satellite. Their affordability also comes from being built with off-the-shelf electronic circuit chips such as microprocessors and radio frequency transmitters and receivers. These are the same components that are inside smart phones, hand-held Global Positioning System units, and digital cameras. In fact, the miniaturization of electronics has been the driving force behind small satellite technology, making it affordable, says Twiggs. Electronics today are much more power-efficient than electronics of the past; that helps us, he says. Ten or fifteen years ago we couldnt have found the components for the
[scifinoir2] Nolan won't replace Ledger as Joker in 'Batman 3'
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2012336593_apusfilmbatmansequel.html?prmid=head_main Nolan won't replace Ledger as Joker in 'Batman 3' Batman is returning, but he won't have the Joker to contend with next time. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Batman is returning, but he won't have the Joker to contend with next time. Director Christopher Nolan says he will not bring back the Joker, the villain played so maniacally in "The Dark Knight" by the late Heath Ledger that the role earned him an Academy Award a year after his death. Nolan would not disclose what villain or villains might take on Batman in the next film, due out July 20, 2012, the same weekend that brought the record-breaking $158.4 million debut of "The Dark Knight" in 2008. "For me, Heath was the definitive Joker," Nolan said in an interview to promote "Inception," his sci-fi thriller opening Friday. "It wouldn't feel appropriate to readdress that character." Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January 2008. His death stoked fan interest in "The Dark Knight," which topped $1 billion at the box office worldwide. With his supporting-actor win, Ledger became only the second performer ever to earn an Oscar posthumously. The next "Batman" film will be the third in the current Warner Bros. incarnation of the franchise, which stars Christian Bale as the vigilante superhero.
[scifinoir2] 'Tron's' digital revolution began 28 years ago today and continues in San Diego
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/07/comiccon-tron-digitial-revolution-comic-con.html Hero Complex For your inner fanboy COMIC-CON 2010: 'Tron's' digital revolution began 28 years ago today and continues in San Diego July 9, 2010 GUEST ESSAY Jay West is a devoted fan and student of the 1982 film "Tron" and he has written a series of guest columns on the viral marketing for the film's sequel, "Tron: Legacy," due this December. Today, on the 28th anniversary of the original film's release, West talks about the legacy of the film, looking both forward and back, with emphasis on Comic-Con International 2010. Twenty-eight years ago today, "Tron" arrived in movie theaters and made movie history -- not that everybody actually noticed. Like "Blade Runner" and John Carpenter's "The Thing," "Tron" was overshadowed that summer by media frenzy surrounding Steven Spielberg's "E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial" and its mega-success with moviegoers. Still, "Tron" did connect with a devoted core audience and its influence continued to echo through the years as it was "rediscovered" by subsequent generations. The original "Tron" film was groundbreaking in its use of computer generated imagery and, while today's fans might chuckle at the Reagan-era visuals, they set the stage for today's movie marvels. "Without 'Tron,"' Pixar guru John Lasseter has said, "there would be no 'Toy Story.'" This December, moviegoers go back into the machine with "Tron: Legacy,"the sequel from Disney that will be one of the major projects-to-watch at this month's Comic-Con International [http://www.comic-con.org/]. At 11:15 a.m. on July 22, the film will be promoted with a star-studded panel in Hall H, the 6,500-seat room that is the standing-room-only hub of Comic-Con's Hollywood programming. The panel will consist of director Joe Kosinski, producers Sean Bailey and Steven Lisberger as well as cast members Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen and Bruce Boxleitner. Patton Oswalt will moderate and there will be new footage from the film and, according to Disney, some special surprises. It was at the 2008 convention that the vision of a 21st century "Tron" film was born. When test footage was shown to a packed hall of incredibly surprised convention attendees, it was met with such an overwhelmingly positive response the it moment of the convention that the studio gave the still-tentative film a bright green light to move forward. Director Kosinski recalls: When we made the teaser, we envisioned it as a sneak peek at the potential of this project. We set out to stay true to the characters, the vehicles, and the world established in the first film then show its evolution. When it took off with the fans, we knew we were in the right place. Because theyve been key to getting this story told, were back to keep them involved, and excited to finally present actual footage from the film to the audience that made it all possible. This year the San Diego expo will provide the latest chapter of the "Flynn Lives" [http://www.flynnlives.com/] ARG (alternate reality game) for "Tron: Legacy" that has been the centerpiece of Disney's ambitious viral marketing campaign for the sequel. (You can check out my guest-contributor coverage [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/jay-west/] of the ARG, which will continue through Comic-Con, right here at Hero Complex.) Disney will also showcase an interactive "Tron" booth on the convention floor (Booth No. 3712), giving fans a first look at the all new Tron: Legacy merchandise launching this fall. The display will spotlight toys, electronics, collectibles, apparel, accessories, publishing and the Tron: Evolution video game from Disney Interactive Studios [http://disney.go.com/disneyinteractivestudios/]. Comic-Con exclusive products will also be on sale. Disney will also revealing tie-in mobile content at the event. Expect a lot more "Tron" in the months to come. The acclaimed music duo Daft Punk [http://www.daftpunk.com/], for instance, is not only providing the musical backbeat of the digital world on screen, there are rumblings about major music events that will take the "Tron" universe to new live-event frontiers. Today, on the 28th anniversary of "Tron," the digital fantasy's glow has not faded at all -- far from it,"Tron" and its future are becoming brighter every week. -- Jay West
Re: [scifinoir2] Star Trek in the Park
(((Swet!))) Brent On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 5:48 PM, Kelwyn wrote: >http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/08/trek-in-the-park-cla.html > >Classic Star Trek episodes performed outdoors > >An amazingly awesome small theater group in Portland, OR called Atomic >Arts is about to launch its second season/episode of Trek in the Park -- >a live action recreation of a classic Star Trek episode from start to >finish, free and open to the public and staged at Woodlawn Park. The >group launched Trek last summer with weekend performances of the bizarre >episode 'Amok Time', and it was insanely awesome! Local band Fast >Computers provides the live soundtrack (including a great rendition of >the theme song to get things off to a spacey start), and the entire >staging, from the actors to the live-on-set sound effect, is just . . . >fascinating. And hilarious
Re: [scifinoir2] Frequency Rotation: Jermaine Jackson, Escape From The Planet
I REMEMBER. (Eerie synthesiser noises) More please. :-) robo-funk Brent Martin Baxter writes: >Have I been living under a rock, to have missed this? > >=== > > >Frequency Rotation: Jermaine Jackson, ÒEscape From The Planet Of The Ant >MenÓ > >[ http://www.tor.com/community/users/JasonHeller ]Jason Heller > >[Image] > > >Each week, Frequency Rotation probes a different song with a >speculative-fiction theme. Genre, musical quality, and overall >seriousness may vary. > >ÒRemember Michael Jackson,Ó the headlines have been screaming over the >past couple weeks. The anniversary of the pop iconÕs death is upon us, >and fan and hater alike had better get used to the exhaustive media >tributes (and fresh rounds of reissues, lawsuits, and Jackson family >drama) that will be popping up every summer from now until the end of >existence. > >Personally, I donÕt mind. I love spectacle, and I love Michael >JacksonÑand the two, after all, go hand in hand. His video for ÒThrillerÓ >fricasseed my tender brain when I was a kid, and his revamping of trashy >genre tropes was uncannily in sync with my own warped development at the >time. Michael, though, isnÕt the only Jackson with geek cred: Behold the >secret science-fiction life of Jermaine Jackson. > > > > >More at: [ >http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/07/frequency-rotation-jermaine-jackson-escape-from-the-planet-of-the-ant-men?j=24116312&e=truthseeker_...@yahoo.com&l=15162145_HTML&u=276428062&mid=83886&jb=0 >]http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/07/frequency-rotation-jermaine-jackson-escape-from-the-planet-of-the-ant-men?j=24116312&e=truthseeker_...@yahoo.com&l=15162145_HTML&u=276428062&mid=83886&jb=0 > > > > >-- >"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody >hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > >[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik >]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik
[scifinoir2] Some Ancient Stars In Milky Way Were Born Elsewhere
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/milky-way-ancient-stars-collisions-100701.html Some Ancient Stars In Milky Way Were Born Elsewhere By Zoe Macintosh SPACE.com Staff Writer posted: 01 July 2010 Our Milky Way galaxy snatched up many of its most ancient stars from smaller galaxies that shredded each other in violent collisions, a new study suggests. Using new supercomputer simulations, researchers found that some ancient Milky Way stars did not form natively with the rest of the galaxy about 10 billion years ago. Instead, they are actually the leftovers from other galaxies that collided about 5 billion years ago. These stars make up some of the residents in the Milky Way's stellar halo, which extends above and below the spiral galaxy's main disk, researchers said. "Effectively we became galactic archaeologists, hunting out the likely sites where ancient stars could be scattered around the galaxy," said researcher and post graduate student Andrew Cooper of the Institute of Computational Cosmology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. "Like ancient rock strata that reveal the history of Earth, the stellar halo preserves a record of a dramatic primeval period in the life of the Milky Way which ended long before the sun was born," he added. The new simulations began about 13 billion years ago, just after the universe began, and then used universal laws of physics to chart how the gravitational attraction of the galaxies' dark matter halos accumulated stars over time. Dark matter halos are regions of invisible matter around a galaxy which astronomers only infer exist because of their gravitational effects on visible matter. "The simulations are a blueprint for galaxy formation," said researcher Carlos Frenk, director of the Institute of Computational Cosmology at Durham. Frenk said the simulations reveal clues into the "early, violent history" of the Milky Way galaxy. Researchers credited the unusually high resolution of the new simulation for its results. Capable of zooming in on the fine details of galaxy unraveling, the simulations showed streams of stars being pulled from clusters due to the gravity of hidden dark matter. Most surprising was the similarity between the simulated results and real observations, said Cooper. "This shows that the cold dark matter model gives a convincing match to the real universe not just on very large scales, but also for individual Milky Way-like galaxies," he told SPACE.com. The cold dark matter model is the current "standard model" of cosmology, which depicts galaxy formation in the universe as a process primarily arising from the clumping of dark matter. The research is detailed in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
[scifinoir2] [Somewhat OT] Apatow plans new 'Pee-wee' movie
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/07/02/14583651-wenn-story.html Apatow plans new 'Pee-wee' movie By WENN.COM Paul Reubens' man-child alter-ego Pee-wee Herman is set for the big screen again - the actor has signed a movie deal with producer Judd Apatow. The Knocked Up director set the project in motion after seeing Reubens' zany revival of the Pee-wee Herman Show, which ran in Los Angeles from January to February. The show was a revamp of Reubens' 1981 stage production that landed the actor and his beloved character a TV show and a film franchise. Paul Rust, whose credits include Inglourious Basterds and I Love You, Beth Cooper, will reportedly pen the new screenplay, which will take Pee-wee on "a gigantic adventure". Apatow tells Daily Variety, "Let's face it, the world needs more Pee-wee Herman. I am so excited to be working with Paul Reubens - who is an extraordinary and ground-breaking actor and writer. It's so great to watch him return with such relevance." The movie deal follows Reubens' announcement he will take his smash stage revival to Broadway, for a six-week New York run in November. The actor previously took the character to the big screen with Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985 and Big Top Pee-wee in 1988. He retired the character in 1990 after 13 episodes of Emmy Award-winning children's TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse.
[scifinoir2] Complex, Multicellular Life from Over Two Billion Years Ago Discovered
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100630171711.htm Complex, Multicellular Life from Over Two Billion Years Ago Discovered ScienceDaily (July 1, 2010) - The discovery in Gabon of more than 250 fossils in an excellent state of conservation has provided proof, for the first time, of the existence of multicellular organisms 2.1 billion years ago. This finding represents a major breakthrough: until now, the first complex life forms (made up of several cells) dated from around 600 million years ago. These new fossils, of various shapes and sizes, imply that the origin of organized life is a lot older than is generally admitted, thus challenging current knowledge on the beginning of life. These specimens were discovered and studied by an international (1) multidisciplinary team of researchers led by Abderrazak El Albani of the Laboratoire "Hydrogéologie, Argiles, Sols et Altérations" (CNRS/Université de Poitiers) (2). Their work, due to be published in Nature on 1st July, will feature on the cover of the journal. The first traces of life appeared in the form of prokaryotic organisms, in other words organisms without a nucleus, around three and a half billion years ago. Another major event in the history of life, the "Cambrian explosion" some 600 million years ago, marked a proliferation in the number of living species. It was accompanied by a sudden rise in oxygen concentration in the atmosphere. What happened between 3.5 billion and 600 million years ago though? Scientists have very little information about this era, known as the Proterozoic. Yet, it is during this crucial period that life diversified: to the prokaryotes were added the eukaryotes, single or multicelled organisms endowed with a more complex organization and metabolism. These large-sized living beings differ from prokaryotes by the presence of cells possessing a nucleus containing DNA. While studying the paleo-environment of a fossil-bearing site situated near Franceville in Gabon in 2008, El Albani and his team unexpectedly discovered perfectly preserved fossil remains in the 2.1 billion-year-old sediments. They have collected more than 250 fossils to date, of which one hundred or so have been studied in detail. Their morphology cannot be explained by purely chemical or physical mechanisms. These specimens, which have various shapes and can reach 10 to 12 centimeters, are too big and too complex to be single-celled prokaryotes or eukaryotes. This establishes that different life forms co-existed at the start of the Proterozoic, as the specimens are well and truly fossilized living material. To demonstrate this, the researchers employed cutting-edge techniques that allowed them to define the nature of the samples and to reconstruct their environment. An ion probe capable of measuring the content of sulfur isotopes made it possible to map the relative distribution of organic matter precisely. This matter is what remains of the living organism, which has been transformed into pyrite (a mineral formed of iron disulfide) during fossilization. This helped the researchers to distinguish the fossils from the Gabonese sediment (made of clay). In addition, using an ultra-sophisticated, high-resolution 3D scanner (also known as X-ray microtomograph), they were able to reconstitute the samples in three dimensions and, in particular, assess their degree of internal organization in great detail, without compromising the integrity of the fossils, since the method is non-invasive. The clearly defined and regular shape of these fossils points to a degree of multicellular organization. These organisms lived in colonies: more than 40 specimens per half square meter were sometimes collected. Consequently, they constitute the oldest multicellular eukaryotes ever described to date. By studying the sedimentary structures of this site, which is remarkable both for its richness and quality of conservation, the scientists have shown that these organisms lived in a shallow marine environment (20 to 30 meters), often calm but periodically subjected to the combined influence of tides, waves and storms. In order to be able to develop 2.1 billion years ago and become differentiated to a degree never attained previously, the authors suggest that these life forms probably benefited from the significant but temporary increase in oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, which occurred between 2.45 and 2 billion years ago. Then, 1.9 billion years ago, the level of oxygen in the atmosphere fell suddenly. Until now, it has been assumed that organized multicellular life appeared around 0.6 billion years ago and that before then the Earth was mainly populated by microbes (viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc.). This new discovery moves the cursor of the origin of multicellular life back by 1.5 billion years and reveals that cells had begun to cooperate with each other to form more complex and larger structures than single-celled organisms. Several research avenues now ne
[scifinoir2] Victorian Star Wars Portraits Paint Characters in New Light
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101634-Victorian-Star-Wars-Portraits-Paint-Characters-in-New-Light (Please note also: http://www.sillof.com/C-Steampunk-SW2.htm)
[scifinoir2] [Fairly Well OT] Mel Gibson and the N-Word
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2010/07/mel-gibsons-outrageous-new-rant-is-it-time-for-anger-management.html Mel Gibson's outrageous new rant: Is it time for more anger management? July 1, 2010 We all know that Mel Gibson is a very, very angry guy, something that seems to surface at the most inopportune times, as when the WGN-TV reporter Dean Richards had the temerity to ask the actor, on camera, about the fallout from his 2006 drunk driving arrest and Gibson called him a profane name that we can't repeat here. After that incident, Gibson acknowledged that "I have a short fuse. I'm trying to work on it." But judging from this explosive new story that just broke at RadarOnline.com, Gibson needs to put a little more time into anger management. Maybe a lot more time. Radar reporters say they have heard a tape made by Oksana Grigorieva, Gibson's ex-girlfriend and mother of his baby daughter, Lucia, who have been battling in court over custody issues. In an e-mail to The Times, Gibson representative Alan Nierob said that he had not yet confirmed the report's accuracy "due to legal matters." According to Radar, Gibson is heard yelling insults at Grigorieva, including a nasty racial epithet known in polite society as the N-word. In one of his rants, Gibson reportedly says, "You look like a ... pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of ..., it will be your fault." In addition to a string of derogatory words referring to Grigorieva's womanhood, Gibson also is said to have threatened her, saying "I am going to come and burn the ... house down," adding, "but you will [perform oral sex on] me first." There's much, much more, but I'll spare you the gory details. You'll undoubtedly hear all about them in the media uproar that is sure to follow. If Gibson has an explanation for his racial epithets, which of course echo the vile anti-Semitic remarks he made after his DUI arrest, it is sure to be a doozy. So far, according to Radar, Gibson has not denied having a confrontation with Grigorieva but has simply described it, through his lawyer, as a loud argument. It's way too early to start talking about the career fallout from his latest tirade, except to say that if these tapes are authentic, Gibson should be figuring out not whether to make an apology, but when and where. It's a sad thing to realize that the actor who was so gifted at playing bitter, violent men on screen is apparently drawing all too easily on a store of bitterness and anger from deep inside his own psyche. It sounds to me as if it's time for Gibson's friends to get this man some help. Fast.
[scifinoir2] Andrew Garfield cast as the new Spider-Man
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/07/01/andrew-garfield-cast-as-the-new-spider-man/ Andrew Garfield cast as the new Spider-Man by Nicole Sperling We have a new friendly neighborhood Spider-Man - and hes British. Columbia Pictures confirms that Andrew Garfield, 26, has nabbed the highly sought-after role of Peter Parker after a worldwide search. Garfield, while largely unknown in the states, is one of the U.K.s most highly regarded up-and-comers. He appeared in Terry Gilliams The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus as well as John Crowleys Boy A, for which he received a best actor BAFTA in 2008. Hes been getting heat in the U.S., too. This year the young Brit will be starring opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake in the Facebook movie Social Network, directed by David Fincher, and will star in the Oscar-bait drama Never Let Me Go opposite Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Keira Knightley. As recently as yesterday, web speculation was high that 17-year-old Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) would land the webslinger role, which was originated on the big screen by Tobey Maguire.
Re: [scifinoir2] Hulu starts paid subscription TV service
:-( Brent "Mr. Worf" writes: >As the prediction foretold, it has been done... > > >Hulu starts paid subscription TV service > >Jennifer Saba >NEW YORK >Tue Jun 29, 2010 6:39pm EDT > >Related News > >[ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65O07S20100625 ]Sony's >PlayStation near deal with Hulu: report >Thu, Jun 24 2010 >[ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2423075420100625 ]Sony >'s PlayStation near deal with Hulu-report >Thu, Jun 24 2010 >[ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65M0OU20100623 ]Hulu in talks >with CBS, others for paid TV shows: report >Wed, Jun 23 2010 >[ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE65M04L20100623 ]Hulu in talks >with CBS, others for paid TV shows - Bloomberg >Wed, Jun 23 2010 >[ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65D4XP20100616 ]Microsoft Kinect >arrives November 4th >Tue, Jun 15 2010 > > >NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hulu introduced a new paid subscription service for >watching TV shows and movies on mobile devices, game consoles, television >sets and computers, and joined other media companies trying to strike a >balance between paid and ad supported models. > > > >[ http://www.reuters.com/news/entertainment ]EntertainmentÊÊ|ÊÊ[ >http://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipad ]ipadÊÊ|ÊÊ[ >http://www.reuters.com/news/technology ]TechnologyÊÊ|ÊÊ[ >http://www.reuters.com/news/entertainment/television ]TelevisionÊÊ|ÊÊ[ >http://www.reuters.com/news/media ]Media > > > >Until now, Hulu has been free over the web supported by advertisements, >but offered only selected TV shows and movies. That service will continue >to exist after the launch of Hulu Plus. > > > >Hulu's subscription service, called Hulu Plus, gives users access to more >than 45 full programs of everything from "Glee" to "The Office" for $9.99 >a month. > > > >Like all media companies, Hulu has its work cut out in trying to get >people to pay for programing they are used to watching for free from the >broadcast networks. > > > >Hulu Plus is hoping to lure consumers to pay a monthly fee for the >convenience of watching shows whenever they want. > > > >Hulu has the backing of some of the most powerful media brands, with Fox >owner News Corp, General Electric Co's NBC Universal, ABC owner Walt >Disney Co holding equity stakes in the company. Providence Equity >Partners also is a stakeholder. > > > >Hulu said it is making its service available on Apple Inc's iPhone, [ >http://www.reuters.com/subjects/ipad ]iPad and iTouch, Samsung >Electronics Co Ltd's television sets and Blu-ray players. Soon, Hulu Plus >will be available on Sony Corp's PlayStation 3. > > > >Next year, the service will be available on Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360, >Hulu said in its announcement on Tuesday. > > > >Netflix Inc already runs a subscription service, while Comcast Corp and >Time Warner Inc are developing "TV Everywhere," which will allow people >to watch shows on demand for free and on any device provided they are >already paying customers. > > > >In another case, Time Warner's HBO service Go lets subscribers download >episodes of "True Blood" or "Big Love" as a free ad-on. > > > >The Hulu subscription plan and partnership with device makers was a >widely anticipated move, reported by Reuters and others earlier this >month. > > > >In a blog post, Hulu chief executive Jason Kilar described Hulu Plus as >"incremental and complementary" to the existing Hulu service. He said the >subscription plan would make available full seasons of current TV shows, >as well as back seasons of hit programs like "Arrested Development" and >"The X-Files." > > > >"We believe that any lasting solution to the challenge of making TV show >discovery and viewing dramatically easier has to work for all three of >our customers, and those are our end users, our advertisers, and our >content suppliers," Kilar wrote. > > > >CBS Corp is the only major broadcast network without an ownership stake >in Hulu and currently does not make any of its programs available on the >video website. The company declined to comment on whether it would >participate in the paid service. > > > >(Reporting by Jennifer Saba, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Carol >Bishopric) > > > >-- >Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >Mahogany at: [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Williams wants crack at 'Batman'
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/06/30/14565671-wenn-story.html Williams wants crack at 'Batman' By WENN.COM Robin Williams is urging movie bosses to cast him in the next Batman movie - because he has twice been turned down for parts in the superhero franchise. Rumours over casting for Christopher Nolan's upcoming third superhero film have been rife ever since The Dark Knight, starring Heath Ledger as The Joker, hit cinemas in 2008 - with fans speculating over which characters will be re-introduced. Nolan is said to be considering bringing feline femme fatale Catwoman back for the new movie, along with The Riddler. Williams is adamant he would make a good replacement for Jim Carrey, who played the fiendish puzzler in 1995's Batman Forever, because the part was originally offered to him. The funnyman also reveals he was lined up to play The Joker in the original 1989 Batman movie before the role was later handed to Jack Nicholson - and the snubs have made him determined to secure a part in the next installment of the hit franchise. He tells Empire magazine, "I would do Batman in a second. I'd play The Riddler in the next one, although it would be hard to top Heath Ledger as the villain and I'm a little hairy for tights. "The Batman films have screwed me twice before: years ago they offered me The Joker and then gave it to Jack Nicholson, then they offered me The Riddler and gave it to Jim Carrey. I'd be like, 'OK, is this a real offer? If it is, then the answer's yes. Don't pump me again motherf**kers'."
[scifinoir2] Muslims, Asians and others protest casting of white actors in ethnic parts
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100628_Muslims__Asians_and_others_protest_casting_of_white_actors_in_ethnic_parts.html Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2010 Muslims, Asians and others protest casting of white actors in ethnic parts By CHRIS LEE Philadelphia Daily News Los Angeles Times SINCE ITS RELEASE, the video-game franchise "Prince of Persia" has become notable for the acrobatic grace of its dagger-wielding, balloon pants-wearing hero as well as for what the games didn't do: affront gamers of Middle-Eastern and Muslim descent with stereotypical depictions of people from the region as terrorists or religious zealots. Independent filmmaker and blogger Jehanzeb Dar, to name one such player, remembers his favorable first reaction to the swashbuckling action game, which is set amid the sands and ancient cities of Persia (as ancient Iran is known) and follows a hero with a magic sword caught between forces of good and evil. "You could see clearly the protagonist had distinct Middle-Eastern features and darker skin," said Dar, 26, who pens the blog, Muslim Reverie, from Langhorne. "People could develop some respect for that culture instead of seeing it vilified." So when Disney Studios announced plans for a live-action adaptation of "Prince," Dar held out hope it would be a "serious story that would dispel a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions." Then came the bad news regarding "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." None of its principal cast members are of Iranian, Middle-Eastern or Muslim descent. And playing Dastan, the hero and titular heir to the Persian throne in the $200 million tent-pole film, is none other than Swedish-Jewish-American prince Jake Gyllenhaal. "My first reaction was, 'Really?!' " said Dar. "It's insulting that people of color - especially Middle Easterners or South Asians - are not allowed to portray ourselves in these roles. That's a big problem a lot of people in the community are having with this film." Of course, Hollywood has a rich history with this kind of thing. Think: John Wayne playing Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror," Peter Sellers' bumbling Indian character in "The Party" or even more notoriously, Mickey Rooney's bucktoothed Mr. Yunioshi character from "Breakfast at Tiffany's," the grandfather of all "yellowface" stereotypes. Although these portrayals took place decades ago, their legacy lives on. Even now, in the age of Barack Obama - when the newly crowned Miss USA Rima Fakih is Lebanese American, Will Smith is the biggest movie star in the world and Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina to sit on the Supreme Court - the movie industry can still seem woefully behind the times when it comes to matters of race. Consider the latest evidence. This summer, two of the season's biggest-budgeted films have sparked controversy by installing white actors in decidedly "ethnic" parts. And some early fan reactions have varied from indignation to righteous fury to organized revolt over a perceived "whitewashing" of multi-culti characters, a practice that is known as "racebending." Besides Gyllenhaal and British actress Gemma Arterton's portrayal of Iranian characters in the swords-and-sandals action epic "Prince of Persia," Paramount has come under attack for its live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Directed by "Sixth Sense" auteur M. Night Shyamalan, "The Last Airbender" (as the movie is called to distinguish it from a certain James Cameron-directed 3-D blockbuster) has enraged some of the show's aficionados by casting white actors in three of four principle roles - characters that fans of the original insist are Asian and Native American. And with just days until the movie's Friday release - after an 18-month-long letter-writing campaign to the film's producers and a correspondence with Paramount President Adam Goodman to underscore the importance of casting Asian actors in designated Asian roles - members of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans and an organization called www.racebending.com are urging fans to boycott "Airbender." The movie's detractors have spoken against the film at six college campuses, including MIT , New York University and University of California, Los Angeles, also setting up booths at events such as San Francisco's WonderCon pop-culture expo to publicize their discontent. At last count, the group's Facebook group had 7,125 supporters and attracted petitioners against the movie's casting in 55 countries. The stated goal: to prevent "Airbender" from blooming into a lucrative three-part franchise via negative word of mouth. "It's unfortunate that it's come to this," said Racebending.com spokesman Michael Le. "They've constructed a film that is contrary not only to what fans expected to see but is also contrary to what America expects to see in a film released in 2010 featuring Asian culture and Asian and Native-American characters as heroes. "We want to raise awareness of the dis
[scifinoir2] Supermans walk across America starting in Philadelphia
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/arts_culture/view/20100623supermans_walk_across_america_starting_in_philadelphia/srvc=edge&position=also Supermans walk across America starting in Philadelphia By Associated Press PHILADELPHIA - The Man of Steel will hoof it across America to reconnect with everyday people in a story that will feature actual cities, towns and neighborhoods submitted by readers. Superman, one of DC Comics flagship fictional heroes, begins his journey next month in Philadelphia, where hell embark on a 12-issue, cross-country walk - no flying, thank you - through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. Not on the travel itinerary is a swing through the Deep South. Dan DiDio, DCs co-publisher, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Krypton-born, Kansas-bred hero had lost touch "with the people he grew up with, his adopted home on earth" and hell "take a walk across America to reconnect." In a bid to keep the story arc fresh in the age of instant communication and social media, readers of the comic who live within 50 miles of the cities of Chicago, Des Moines, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle can submit essays of up 1,000 words touting why their city or neighborhood should be included in the story titled "Grounded." DC will select nine winners. DiDio said DC is "looking to hear what people have to say, how the character affected their lives" and, he added, "more importantly, what the character means to them." Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, first appeared in 1938 in Action Comics No. 1. The story, scripted by veteran film, television and comic writer J. Michael Straczynski, whose previous work includes DCs "The Red Circle" books and Marvels Thor and Fantastic Four, has its roots in the current issue, No. 700. In it, Superman asks The Flash whether he actually sees the people hes protecting as he barrels across the country at supersonic speeds. "When Im running flat-out, I see what I figure you see when youre flying up there at several bazillion times the speed of sound," the speedster replies. "I see a blur. Unless I make an effort to see the details." Supermans decidedly slower-than-a-speeding-bullet walkabout officially starts with issue 701, which goes on sale next month, and lasts through issue 712.
[scifinoir2] Top secret Dr. Who script missing
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/06/27/14537476-wenn-story.html Top secret Dr. Who script missing By WENN.com Filming for the Doctor Who Christmas special has been thrown into jeopardy after the top-secret script reportedly went missing. Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat is facing a race against time to create a new draft before filming commences next month, according to Britain's Daily Star Sunday. The writer reveals, "It's a flashback Christmas special." Matt Smith currently stars as the Time Lord in the popular British sci-fi show.
[scifinoir2] Sci-fi romantic epic in works
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/06/25/14511636.html Sci-fi romantic epic in works By Borys Kit, REUTERS LOS ANGELES - Thank "Avatar" for Hollywood's resurgent interest in sci-fi. Fox is getting ready to bet on sci-fi again and is the lead contender to pick up an original spec script titled "Ion." Channing Tatum ("Dear John") is attached to star in the project, which is labeled a sci-fi romantic epic, with Ridley and Tony Scott attached to produce. Tatum will also serve as a producer. The plot revolves around a man who travels to different Earths and dimensions in order to find his reincarnated lover. Execs are using the magic word -- "Avatar" -- to describe the scope and otherworldly elements of the script. "Ion" actually made the rounds last year but didn't take. In the post-"Avatar" Hollywood, however, the script is generating renewed interest. It attracted the Scott brothers, who helped develop British writer Will Dunn's script further, which led to Tatum's involvement. But credit "Avatar," with its record-breaking $2.7 billion worldwide take and envelope-pushing technology, as well as the strong critical and commercial showing of last year's "Star Trek" and "District 9," for opening the door for sci-fi projects like never before. Since "Avatar" introduced the Navi'i to Hollywood, a slew of projects have been set up. Among them: "All You Need is Kill" - Warner Bros. plunked seven figures for Dante Harper-scripted adaptation of a Japanese novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The story follows a new recruit in a war against aliens who finds himself caught in a time loop where he wakes up one day in the past after having been killed on the battlefield. Doug Liman is now circling to direct the movie. "Mass Effect" - In May, WB-based producer Legendary picked up the rights to the the Electronic Arts-BioWare video game. Mark Protosevich, the scribe who wrote "I Am Legend" and worked on "Thor," is writing the script. "Mass" is an epic sci-fi action game set in the year 2183, focusing on a human soldier and his starship, the SSV Normandy. The galaxy-spanning story involves a long-extinct race of aliens, dormant beacons and more alien species than you can shake a box of Unobtanium at. "Pacific Rim" - Also in May, Legendary picked up a 25-page treatment from "Clash of the Titans" scribe Travis Beacham. The story is reportedly set in a future in which malevolent creatures threaten the earth, and the planet must band together and use highly advanced technology to eradicate the growing menace. "Logan's Run" - The title had been at Warners for years, but is benefiting from the sci-fi wave. Carl Rinsch is now on board to direct and "28 Days Later..." writer Alex Garland is penning the script.
[scifinoir2] 'Futurama' makes welcome return
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2010/06/24/14496826.html 'Futurama' makes welcome return By Barry Garron, REUTERS LOS ANGELES - There's good news in the future, a thousand years in the future. The resumption of new "Futurama" episodes on Comedy Central, beginning Thursday, once more demonstrates the power of a truly dedicated fan base. More importantly, it brings new life to a show that brilliantly mixes satire, sex and sentimentality. Based on the first couple of episodes, executive producers Matt Groening, David X. Cohen and Ken Keeler waste no time picking up from where the series left off. "Futurama," set in the 31st century, ran on Fox from 1999-2003. Except for a couple of months, the show was part of the Sunday animation block. Now, just like "Family Guy," which also premiered in 1999 on Fox and survived cancellation, "Futurama" is back, the beneficiary of a loyal following and impressive DVD sales. In a sense, the show was like one of its main characters, Fry (Billy West), the pizza-delivery guy who was inadvertently frozen during a delivery to a cryogenics lab. "Futurama" never really died. After Fox dropped it, reruns ran on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Starting in 2007, "Futurama" made four direct-to-DVD movies, the last of which came out last year. As early as 2006, Comedy Central said it planned to revive the series, and it began showing reruns in 2008. The premiere of the revived "Futurama" tries mightily, if somewhat circuitously, to account for the time between new episodes. Appropriately called "Rebirth," Professor Hubert Farnsworth explains how the entire Planet Express delivery crew nearly was destroyed in a space battle. However, by dunking the preserved heads and skeletal remains in a vat of stem-cell soup, the unintentionally cynical professor regenerates each character, one by one. All except sexy, one-eyed Leela (Katey Sagal), the Planet Express ship captain whose ultimate recovery becomes a tale of robotics and romance, very much in keeping with the tone of earlier episodes. For sharper satire (and lots of sexual innuendo), stay tuned for the second episode, which will air following the premiere. Part fantasy, part allegory, it recounts how the Earth was threatened by a Puritanical satellite while Leela and pompous space captain Zapp Brannigan relive the moment when Adam and Eve committed their original sin, fig leaves and all. No doubt about it, "Futurama" and its entire splendid voice cast is back, sly wit, social satire and all. So, too, are the disembodied heads of celebrated figures, starting in the second episode with Richard Nixon. In this new season of 12 episodes, the guest list includes Chris Elliot, Craig Ferguson, George Takei, Katee Sackhoff as well as executive producers Groening and Cohen. Following the two-episode premiere, succeeding episodes will air 10 p.m. Thursdays.
[scifinoir2] 7th-Graders Discover Mysterious Cave on Mars
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/students-discover-mars-cave-100621.html 7th-Graders Discover Mysterious Cave on Mars By Clara Moskowitz Senior Writer posted: 21 June 2010 A group of seventh-graders in California has discovered a mysterious cave on Mars as part of a research project to study images taken by a NASA spacecraft orbiting the red planet. The 16 students from teacher Dennis Mitchell's 7th-grade science class at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, Calif., found what looks to be a Martian skylight - a hole in the roof of a cave on Mars [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/091026-mm-mars-caves.html]. The intrepid students were participating in the Mars Student Imaging Program at the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. The program allows students to frame a research question and then commission a Mars-orbiting camera to take an image to answer their question. The newfound hole on Mars [http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=students-discover-mars-cave-100621-02.jpg&cap=California+7th+graders+discovered+this+Martian+pit+feature+at+the+center+of+the+superimposed+red+square+in+this+image+while+participat ing+in+a+program+that+enables+students+to+use+the+camera+on+NASA%27s+Mars+Odyssey+orbiter.+The+feature%2C+on+the+slope+of+an+equatorial+volcano+named+Pavonis+Mons%2C+appears+to+be+a+skylight+in+an+underground+lava+tube.+%3Ca+href%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.s pace.com%2Fscienceastronomy%2Fstudents-discover-mars-cave-100621.html%3EFull+Story%3C%2Fa%3E.+Credit%3A+NASA%2FJPL-Caltech%2FASU] resembled features seen on other parts of Mars in a 2007 study by Glen Cushing, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist. Cushing suggested that these anomalous pit craters [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070605_mars_hole.html ] are like skylights - places where a small part of the roof of a cave or a lava tube had collapsed, opening the area below the surface to the sky. The caves are thought to result from volcanic activity on the red planet. At some point lava channels likely carved out caverns in the rock, and then left behind tunnel, or "lava tubes," when the eruptions were over. They would have been covered when a solid ceiling of cooled material settled on top, and then sections of the ceiling likely collapsed at some point to form the skylight entrances. Scientists aren't sure what type of materials or deposits could be stored inside. "This pit is certainly new to us," Cushing told the students. "And it is only the second one known to be associated with Pavonis Mons." He estimated the pit to be approximately 620 by 520 feet (190 by 160 meters) wide and 380 feet (115 meters) deep at least. The young researchers had initially set out to hunt for lava tubes, a common volcanic feature on Earth and Mars. "The students developed a research project focused on finding the most common locations of lava tubes on Mars," Mitchell said. "Do they occur most often near the summit of a volcano, on its flanks, or the plains surrounding it?" The class commissioned a main photo and a backup image of Mars' Pavonis Monsvolcano [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_daily_020507.html], targeted on a region that hadn't been imaged up close. The pictures were taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter [http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/090312-odyssey-reboot.html ] using its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument. Both images showed lava tubes, as the students had hoped. But the backup photo provided another surprise: a small, round black spot. It was a hole on Mars leading into the buried cave, researchers said. The students have submitted their site to be further imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which could reveal enough detail to see inside the hole in the ground. "The Mars Student Imaging Program is certainly one of the greatest educational programs ever developed," Mitchell said. "It gives the students a good understanding of the way research is conducted and how that research can be important for the scientific community. This has been a wonderful experience."
[scifinoir2] Space telescope finds evidence of planets around hundreds of stars
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/60302/title/Kepler_craft_reports_apparent_planetary_bonanza Kepler craft reports apparent planetary bonanza Space telescope finds evidence of planets around hundreds of stars By Ron Cowen Surveying thousands of stars for telltale twinkles that signal the passage of an orbiting planet, NASAs Kepler spacecraft has discovered a whopping 706 candidate planets beyond the solar system. If confirmed, that motherlode would boost the number of known extrasolar planets, now estimated at 460, to well over a thousand. The trove, announced June 15, includes evidence of five stars that have full-fledged planetary systems. These exoplanet systems, if verified, would be the first known in which each planet creates a minieclipse as it transits, or passes in front, of its parent star. The amount of dimming and the duration of a transit offer information about planets, including their size, that cannot be gleaned by less direct methods of detection. A team including Kepler lead scientist William Borucki of NASAs Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., has posted the findings online (at lanl.arxiv.org/abs/1006.2799 and at lanl.arxiv.org/abs/1006.2763) at arXiv.org. The discoveries were made by analyzing Keplers first few months of data, recorded in the spring of 2009 when the telescope examined 156,000 stars. This is a massively historic discovery, says study coauthor Sara Seager, a theorist at MIT. This is showing how the Kepler mission will revolutionize exoplanets and change the way we do exoplanet science. The newly reported findings dont include details about the most interesting 400 of the 706 candidate planets, which orbit the brightest stars Kepler has surveyed. These cases may offer the most promise for finding planets with masses close to Earths own. Information on these 400 planets wont be made public until next February. Although the five planetary systems still have to be verified, they show that Kepler will find dozens and likely over a hundred stars having multiple planets that all transit in front of their host star, says veteran planet hunter and study coauthor Geoffrey Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley. Apparently, stars commonly house multiple planets. One candidate system consists of three orbs, while the other four contain two. The orbiting objects range in size from twice Earths diameter to slightly larger than that of Jupiter. They reside relatively close to their stars, at distances ranging from roughly one-quarter to one-half Mercurys average separation from the sun. They are not yet confirmed planets, however, because their masses have yet to be determined. Astronomers are already attempting to measure those masses, using ground-based telescopes to discern the tiny wobble induced in the motion of a parent star due to the tug of orbiting bodies. We're using the Keck telescope [atop Hawaiis Mauna Kea] 20 nights per year just to follow up the Kepler planets, Marcy says. Because these stars are dim and the expected wobble signal weak, researchers may have to weigh the bodies using another method variations in the timing and duration of transits due to the gravitational interplay among the planets in each system, says study coauthor Jason Steffen of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill. Even though the masses of the candidate planets remain unknown, the team says it has already ruled out that the bodies are companion stars that might be mimicking the minieclipses generated by transiting planets. It would be particularly unlikely that a companion star could create the pattern of eclipses seen in the candidate multiple planet systems, notes Steffen. The main confounding source that the team hasnt entirely excluded would be a planet orbiting a neighboring star. Once the masses of the candidates are measured and combined with their diameters from the transit observations, researchers can determine the average densities of the bodies. From those densities, we can distinguish rocky planets from gas giants and water worlds, says Marcy. Kepler is opening a future for planet hunting in which the orbits, masses, densities and architectures of full planetary systems will be captured as a quantitative family portrait. The findings may also bode well for finding systems similar to the Earths solar system and for hunting habitable planets, comments Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., who is not a member of the Kepler team. The fact that multiple transiting planets are seen means that they must all orbit more or less in the same plane, like our solar system, he says. In contrast, some recently identified planets dont all lie in the same plane (SN Online: 5/14/10 [http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/59211/title/Planets_in_nearby_system_are_off-kilter%2C_measurements_show]) and have probably been thrown around by gravitational interactions with
[scifinoir2] Jackson fans will moonwalk in motion-sensing game
http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/1403ap_us_games_michael_jackson.html Last updated June 14, 2010 Jackson fans will moonwalk in motion-sensing game By DERRIK J. LANG AP ENTERTAINMENT WRITER LOS ANGELES -- Gamers will have the opportunity to moonwalk alongside The King of Pop. Video game developer Ubisoft announced Monday it would release a new dancing-and-singing game featuring Michael Jackson this holiday season. The as-yet-unnamed game will be among the first to use Kinect and Move, the respective motion-detecting camera systems for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 due out later this year. "Your goal is to dance like Michael," said Tony Key, Ubisoft's marketing vice president. "Do what the guy on the screen is doing and you're there. It'll score you based on the quality of your performance." The game's launch will roughly coincide with the November debut of a new album containing unreleased Jackson recordings. Versions of the game, which will feature songs from Jackson's catalog, including "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," will also be available for Nintendo's Wii and the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable handheld consoles. The announcement was made during Ubisoft's Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference at the Los Angeles Theater. No footage from the game was shown, but dancers from Jackson's "This Is It" tour took to the stage to perform a routine set to "Beat It" at the conclusion of Monday's event. "With the technology that is available today, you will be able to learn how to be as good as those guys are and even better," said Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's CEO. It won't be Jackson's first appearance in a game. He starred in 1989's action game "Michael Jackson's Moonwalker." Ubisoft has already found the right moves with the dancing game genre. The game maker's "Just Dance," released for the Wii last year, has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. "Rock Band" developers Harmonix are also choreographing their own dancing title, unveiled at Microsoft's press conference Monday with a routine set to Gwen Stefani's "Keep On Dancing." "Dance Central" uses Kinect to detect players' movements and translate them to a flashy avatar on screen. --- AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima contributed to this report. --- Online: http://www.ubi.com/
Re: [scifinoir2] I don't normally post this sort of thing to this list, but...
Fantastic! Congratulations, Adrianne. (((smile))) Brent Adrianne Brennan wrote: > > > ...it's very topical. Honest. > > I am very pleased to announce at last that I have accepted the offer of a contract for my short story, "Love Under Will", a paranormal/interracial erotic romance, for the Mammoth Book of Hot Romance antholog y. > > It will be released in Spring '11 and yes, it's a print work. Google Amazon.com for "Mammoth Book of" and you'll find a lot of them. This will be the latest one to come out. Needless to say, I am extremely honored, delighted, and excited and any new news and information I can pass along about it as time goes on, I most certainly will. > > I am especially sharing with this list because the main character is an angel in addition to being a very feisty and sexy woman of color. I sincerely hope that when it comes out, people on this list will enjoy the tale. I thought of you all when I wrote it. :) > > > > > Love & Magic, > Adrianne > > > > ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ > http://www.adriannebrennan.com > Experience the magic of the D ark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon > Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath > The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html
[scifinoir2] Hewitt eyes Wonder Woman role (Move over, Beyonce)
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/06/09/14322861-wenn-story.html Hewitt eyes Wonder Woman role By WENN.COM Jennifer Love Hewitt is fighting "hard" to land the coveted role of Wonder Woman on the big screen, confessing she is "obsessed" with playing the TV heroine. Hollywood stars Megan Fox, Eliza Dushku, Sandra Bullock and Beyonce Knowles have all been tipped to take over the role Lynda Carter made famous in the 1970s for Joss Whedon's big screen remake. But Hewitt is pleading with movie studio bosses at Warner Bros. to hire her for the part. She says, "I'm fighting so hard. I think Warner Bros. is getting ready to make Wonder Woman and I really want to play Wonder Woman. I am obsessed with Wonder Woman."
[scifinoir2] Strange Discovery on Titan Leads to Speculation of Alien Life
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/titan-life-methane-speculation-100607.html Strange Discovery on Titan Leads to Speculation of Alien Life By Charles Q. Choi SPACE.com Contributor posted: 07 June 2010 New findings have roused a great deal of hoopla over the possibility of life on Saturn's moon Titan, which some news reports have further hyped up as hints of extraterrestrials. However, scientists also caution that aliens might have nothing to do with these findings. All this excitement is rooted in analyses of chemical data returned by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. One study suggested that hydrogen was flowing down through Titan's atmosphere and disappearing at the surface. Astrobiologist Chris McKay at NASA Ames Research Center speculated this could be a tantalizing hint that hydrogen is getting consumed by life. "It's the obvious gas for life to consume on Titan [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/asphalt-lake-life-on-titan-100505.html], similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth," McKay said. Another study investigating hydrocarbons on Titan's surface found a lack of acetylene, a compound that could be consumed as food by life that relies on liquid methane instead of liquid water to live. "If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life [http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/070806_GM_life_universe.html], it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth," McKay said. However, NASA scientists caution that aliens might not be involved at all. "Scientific conservatism suggests that a biological explanation should be the last choice after all non-biological explanations are addressed," said Mark Allen, principal investigator with the NASA Astrobiology Institute Titan team. "We have a lot of work to do to rule out possible non-biological explanations. It is more likely that a chemical process, without biology, can explain these results." "Both results are still preliminary," McKay told SPACE.com. To date, methane-based life forms [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090625-am-titan-chemistry.html] are only speculative, with McKay proposing a set of conditions necessary for these kinds of organisms on Titan in 2005. Scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere, although there are liquid-water-based microbes on Earth that thrive on methane or produce it as a waste product. On Titan, where temperatures are around minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 179 degrees Celsius), any organisms would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes. Water itself cannot do, because it is frozen solid on Titan's surface. The list of liquid candidates is very short -- liquid methane and related molecules such as ethane. Previous studies have found Titan to have lakes of liquid methane [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/091221-titan-flash-lake.html]. Missing hydrogen? The dearth of hydrogen Cassini detected is consistent with conditions that could produce methane-based life, but do not conclusively prove its existence, cautioned researcher Darrell Strobel, a Cassini interdisciplinary scientist based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., who authored the paper on hydrogen appearing online in the journal Icarus. Strobel looked at densities of hydrogen in different parts of the atmosphere and the surface. Previous models from scientists had predicted that hydrogen molecules, a byproduct of ultraviolet sunlight breaking apart acetylene and methane molecules in the upper atmosphere, should be distributed fairly evenly throughout the atmospheric layers. Strobel's computer simulations suggest a hydrogen flow down to the surface at a rate of about 10,000 trillion trillion molecules per second. "It's as if you have a hose and you're squirting hydrogen onto the ground, but it's disappearing," Strobel said. "I didn't expect this result, because molecular hydrogen is extremely chemically inert in the atmosphere, very light and buoyant. It should 'float' to the top of the atmosphere and escape." Strobel said it is not likely that hydrogen is being stored in a cave or underground space on Titan. An unknown mineral could be acting as a catalyst on Titan's surface to help convert hydrogen molecules and acetylene back to methane. Although Allen commended Strobel, he noted "a more sophisticated model might be needed to look into what the flow of hydrogen is." Consumed acetylene? Scientists had expected the sun's interactions with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce acetylene that falls down to coat the Titan surface. But Cassini mapped hydrocarbons on Titan's surface, it detected no acetylene on the surface, findings appearing online in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Instead of alien life on Titan [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090625-am-titan-chemistry.html], Allen said one possibility is that sunlight or cosmic rays are transforming the acetylene in icy aerosols in the
Re: [scifinoir2] Fwd: Rosie Huntington-Whitely Confirmed for Transformers 3
Keith Johnson writes: >It's all in who makes the rules and pays the dough, which is why people >of all ethnic types need to fight to have our own cinema. Rosie Perez has >said that she was always told by directors that her butt was too big. >They'd ask her if she could spot-reduce it, to which she always replied, >"My 'ghetto booty' is part of me and ain't going anywhere". >Although Jennifer Lopez gets all the credit for making a round butt more >acceptable--somethign I as a black person find offensive given that >Sisters have had them for decades-- For *ages*, surely. Lord bless 'em. :-) Brent >I love that Perez has always been so proud of her physique. She is very >open to say that as a Puerto Rican she has African heritage, and >specifically states that it's that heritage that gives her the round >behind. > >- Original Message - >From: "Mr. Worf" >To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com >Sent: Saturday, June 5, 2010 6:34:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern >Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Fwd: Rosie Huntington-Whitely Confirmed for >ÊTransformers 3 > >Ê > > >She looks like a teenager and that's why they picked her. I don't know if >the beauty standards will ever shift back. Not without a collective stand >on it. They have pretty much brainwashed the actresses into "loosing that >last 20lbs" Even Beyonce doesn't have a booty anymore. > > > > >On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 7:33 AM, Keith Johnson <[ >mailto:keithbjohn...@comcast.net ]keithbjohn...@comcast.net> wrote: > > > > > > > >This is so funny. They have to confront head on the complete lack of >acting ability required to star in a film like this. Has the girl ever >acted in anything? > >Man, I'll be glad when the standard of beauty shifts back to voluptuous >women and not these skinny, girlish looking models. Meagan Fox is >prettier than most models, but I always laugh when guys talk about her >great body. She's slim as heck.Ê > > > > > >- Original Message - >From: "Mr. Worf" <[ mailto:hellomahog...@gmail.com >]hellomahog...@gmail.com> >To: [ mailto:scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com ]scifino...@yahoogroups.com >Sent: Saturday, June 5, 2010 8:20:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern >Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Fwd: Rosie Huntington-Whitely Confirmed for >ÊTransformers 3 > >Ê > > > > > > > >Here's the credits that she has. > >[Marker] >[ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1552637/ ]The Victoria's Secret Fashion >Show (2009) (TV) Herself >[ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481440/ ]"Britain's Next Top Model" >Herself (1 episode, 2009) >- [ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1468433/ ]Episode #5.13 (2009) TV >episode Herself >[ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1328650/ ]The Victoria's Secret Fashion >Show (2008) (TV) Herself - Model >[ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179303/ ]The Victoria's Secret Fashion >Show (2007) (TV) Herself/Model >[ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926417/ ]The Victoria's Secret Fashion >Show (2006) (TV) Herself/Model >Ummm do you think she is going to be eye candy? > >On Sat, Jun 5, 2010 at 3:58 AM, Martin Baxter <[ >mailto:martinbaxt...@gmail.com ]martinbaxt...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > >-- Forwarded message -- >From: Martin Baxter <[ mailto:martin.baxter@gmail.com >]martin.baxter@gmail.com> >Date: Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 4:51 PM >Subject: Rosie Huntington-Whitely Confirmed for Transformers 3 >To: [ mailto:martinbaxt...@gmail.com ]martinbaxt...@gmail.com > > >Alright, ladies and gents, with me, on three. > >One... > >Two... > >Three... > >WHO > >[ >http://english.ohmygore.com/rosie-huntington-whiteley-confirmed-for-transformers-3-news-uk-7209.html >]http://english.ohmygore.com/rosie-huntington-whiteley-confirmed-for-transformers-3-news-uk-7209.html > >Mind you, I've never HEARD of this site before today, so here's something >to go with the story. > > > >-- >"Between getsumei no michi and the Zero...no better place to live." > >(About little moments of happiness) "If this isn't nice, I don't know >what is." -- Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without A Country" > > > > >-- >"If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody >hell wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > >[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik >]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > > > > > > > >-- >Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >Mahogany at: [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > > > > > > > > > > > > >-- >Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! >Mahogany at: [ >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Science-Fictional Music
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/125708-janelle-monae-the-archandroid Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid By Quentin B. Huff 21 May 2010 Lady Stardust Theres a perfectly good reason why I never thought of Michael Jackson as the King of Pop. Its not because Im a hater. Its not that I thought he was undeserving of the title. Its that I always thought of Michael Jackson as an entire category unto himself. How, I wondered, could he be of anything? He was his own genre. Same thing with the Beatles. James Brown. Ella Fitzgerald. Aretha. Im not saying Janelle Monáe Robinson has reached the status of Michael Jackson. Nor am I suggesting that she can lay claim to an entire genre - at least not yet. If, however, youre looking for the total package, this little lady from the state of Kansas comes awfully close. Perhaps more importantly, shes got all the makings of a genuine 70s and 80s rock star, and they sure dont make a lot of those anymore. These days, its about the everyman and everywoman singing relatable tunes, not some rock god or goddess belting out larger-than-life stadium anthems. This is the age of the familiar, not the foreign. Janelle Monáes rock star bona fides are all intact. Shes got vocals for days, wielding a voice that can be as gentle as a ballad in a Disney movie or so big and thunderous her five foot (1.524 meter) frame hardly seems fit to contain it. A rock star needs an iconic look, and her outfit of choice is timeless and appropriate: a tuxedo, black and perfectly pressed. Her hairstyle includes a gravity-defying pompadour. She makes songs like Neon Gumbo, composed with backwards lyrics and a reversed sample of her older tune Many Moons, like the stuff Prince added to the end of Darling Nikki. Like any self-respecting rock star, shes fabulous and glam and entertainingly weird, traits you could easily pick up from her interviews. When it comes to music, though, shes focused, message-oriented, and dedicated to uplifting her listeners. Better still, she absolutely brings the hotness to her live show. Hyperactive, to the point of appearing possessed, Janelle Monáe is a firecracker, a combination of James Brown and David Bowie, among others. Shes undulating, twisting, gyrating, the embodiment of constant motion. Theres no lip synching here, folks, and did I mention that she moonwalks like nobodys business? The sista can dance. Musically, shes a live wire, a genre-hopper who touches R&B and prog rock with as much verve as she handles jazz, cabaret, rap, doo-wop, and disco. Shes chic with a rockabilly lean, smart yet fun, and a gleeful student of Pink Floyd, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, and Grace Jones. She ought to be a member of OutKast, but instead of shaking it like a Polaroid picture, she shakes it like a schizo. Shes the daughter of George Clinton and Parliaments Star Child who occasionally borrows the mothership and takes it out for a spin. Shes Cinderella, but she wears James Browns dress shoes (without socks!) in lieu of slippers. Shes Lady Stardust. She is, quite honestly, the best signee to Sean Diddy Combss Bad Boy label since the Notorious B.I.G., and signing her was certainly Diddys most interesting choice since he made those kids on Making the Band walk all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn, New York to secure him some cheesecake. Still not convinced? Nothing gives you rock star cred like having the necessary self-indulgence to craft a concept album or rock opera. Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon, Willie Nelsons Red Headed Stranger, Green Days American Idiot, and Marvin Gayes Whats Going On are among those often cited as examples of the concept album phenomenon. Throw your favorite album by the Who in there somewhere too (I pick Tommy), and Ill add MF Dooms Mm..Food. Such albums are exciting, sprawling, and ambitious, but also given to excess. Where theres a concept, it seems that metaphor and symbolism cannot be far behind. No wonder the English word conceit means vanity or arrogance and, in literary circles, also refers to an extended metaphor. Janelle Monáes concept began with Suite I of a IV-suite series in 2007s Metropolis: The Chase Suite. There, Ms. Monáe was an alien from outer space, inhabiting the persona of Cindi Mayweather, female android #57821 living in the year 2719. Mayweather falls in love with a human named Anthony Greendown. Unfortunately, such fraternizing with humans is a major faux pas, so the powers that be have designated Android #57821 for immediately disassembly. Its a little like the 1986 film Short Circuit, except this robot is an unbelievable singer, dancer, and performer. Likewise, Janelle Monáes fictional world of 2719 owes a few nods to Fritz Langs 1927 sci-fi dystopian film, Metropolis. With smooth crooning, and music that couldve come straight out of a James Bond flick, Suite I chronicled Cindi Mayweathers plight and her experience on the
Re: [scifinoir2] Frank Frazetta, fantasy illustrator, dies at 82
:-( Brent Kelwyn wrote: >http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/frank-frazetta-fantasy-illustrator-dies-at-82/ > >Frank Frazetta, an illustrator whose vivid colors and striking >brushstrokes conjured up fantastic worlds of musclebound heroes fighting >with broad swords and battle axes to defend helpless women from horrible >beasts, died on Monday in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 82.
[scifinoir2] Countdown to the summer movie season
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2011728574_summermovies02.html?prmid=head_main Countdown to the summer movie season Ten indies, nine action movies, eight sequels ... blast off to another summer filled with movie thrills. Titles to come this season: "Iron Man 2," "Robin Hood," "Sex and the City 2," "Get Him to the Greek," "The Secret of Kells" and more. By Moira Macdonald Seattle Times movie critic Summer already? Really? As the popcorn season kicks off with "Iron Man 2" this Friday, here's a look at some of the titles we'll soon be seeing at the multiplexes and arthouses. And remember, the summer movie season has its own fizzy-lemonade personality; if you're looking for hard-hitting drama, for the most part you'll need to hang on until fall. Here we go, divided into 10 easy categories (and note that release dates are tentative and as changeable as 3D pricing): 10 intriguing indies Let's start with a few that aren't household words, shall we? The Argentine thriller "The Secret in Their Eyes," which won the Oscar this year for best foreign-language film, turns up May 7; the Italian drama "I Am Love," which may well be a contender next year, arrives in July. (Tilda Swinton, who stars in the latter, learned to speak Russian and Russian-accent Italian for her role. So what are you doing on your summer vacation?) Other international offerings include "Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky" (July 2) - you can guess who it's about - from France, and "Ondine" (June 18), about an Irish fisherman (Colin Farrell) and a woman who just may be a mermaid, from director Neil Jordan. On U.S. shores, "The Kids are All Right" (July 7), starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple, got raves at Sundance, as did "Get Low" (Aug. 13), with Robert Duvall as a 1930s Tennessee hermit who stages his own funeral, at SXSW. Writer/director Nicole Holofcener ("Lovely & Amazing," "Friends with Money") returns with her latest Catherine Keener-starring comedy, "Please Give" (June 18). Jeff Daniels plays a writer (as he did last year in "The Answer Man") with an imaginary superhero (Ryan Reynolds) in "Paper Man" (May 7). James Ivory makes his first film without longtime filmmaking partner Ismail Merchant (who died in 2005, after such classics as "Howards End" and "The Remains of the Day"): "The City of Your Final Destination" (June 18), starring Anthony Hopkins and Laura Linney. And local filmmaker Linas Phillips will see his Seattle-to-East-Coast road movie "Bass Ackwards" on the big screen June 11. 9 action-filled adventures Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and no tights: That's Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood," buckling its swashes in theaters everywhere May 14. Angelina Jolie plays a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy in "Salt" (July 23), directed by Philip Noyce ("The Quiet American"). Tom Cruise (to whom, as it happens, Jolie's role was originally offered - back when it was written as a man) and Cameron Diaz play a fugitive couple on the run in the action/comedy "Knight and Day," opening June 25. "The Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan returns, sans the Batcape, with "Inception" (July 16), a cerebral adventure about dream invasion starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard. Josh Brolin plays a troubled drifter and bounty hunter in the adventure thriller "Jonah Hex" (June 18), based on DC Comics characters; John Malkovich and Megan Fox co-star. An avatar - but not the James Cameron kind - tries to save the world in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender," based on the Nickelodeon series and opening July 2. (Late-breaking news: "Last Airbender" will be shown in 3D.) A video-game series inspired "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (May 28), an action/fantasy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and, reportedly, some serious sand effects. Sylvester Stallone directs himself, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke in the no-doubt extremely manly adventure "The Expendables" (Aug. 13) in which a team travels to South America to overthrow a dictator. (You just know Rocky could do this if he wanted to.) And a gang of bank robbers try to pull off the ever-popular One Last Heist as a veteran detective (Matt Dillon) attempts to thwart them in "Takers" (Aug. 20). 8 sequels, remakes and otherwise familiar endeavors No movie this summer is likely to inspire as much squealing as "Eclipse" (June 30), the continuing "Twilight" saga of girl (Kristen Stewart), vampire (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf (Taylor Lautner). Me, I'm a little more excited for Robert Downey Jr.'s suavely sardonic superhero in "Iron Man 2" (May 7) or - on an entirely different note - Emma Thompson's hilariously proper British nanny in "Nanny McPhee Returns" (Aug. 20). In the important subcategory of Animated Franchises We All Thought Were Over By Now, "Shrek Forever After" turns up May 21 and "Toy Story 3" on June 18, complete with, respectively, greenish ogres and chatty cowboy dolls. "Sex & the City 2," another franchise seemingly unwilling
[scifinoir2] Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/02/food-fear-mystery-beehives-collapse Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter Alison Benjamin The Observer, Sunday 2 May 2010 Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter. The decline of the country's estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies. Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers. The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops. It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy. Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods. The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed "Mary Celeste syndrome" due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives. US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem. "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory. A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the "irresponsible use" of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases. Bernard Vallat, the OIE's director-general, warned: "Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster." Dave Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries, the Pennsylvania-based commercial beekeeper who first raised the alarm about CCD, said that last year had been the worst yet for bee losses, with 62% of his 2,600 hives dying between May 2009 and April 2010. "It's getting worse," he said. "The AIA survey doesn't give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter. In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides. Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be." Pettis agreed that losses in some commercial operations are running at 50% or greater. "Continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers," he said, adding that a solution may be years away. "Look at Aids, they have billions in research dollars and a causative agent and still no cure. Research takes time and beehives are complex organisms." In the UK it is still too early to judge how Britain's estimated 250,000 honeybee colonies have fared during the long winter. Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers' Association, said: "Anecdotally, it is hugely variable. There are reports of some beekeepers losing almost a third of their hives and others losing none." Results from a survey of the association's 15,000 members are expected this month. John Chapple, chairman of the London Beekeepers' Association, put losses among his 150 members at between a fifth and a quarter. Eight of his 36 hives across the capital did not survive. "There are still a lot of mysterious disappearances," he said. "We are no nearer to knowing what is causing them." Bee farmers in Scotland have reported losses on the American scale for the past three years. Andrew Scarlett, a Perthshire-based bee farmer and honey packer, lost 80% of his 1,200 hives this winter. But he attributed the massive decline to a virulent bacterial infection that quickly spread because of a lack of bee inspectors, coupled with sustained poor weather that prevented honeybees from building up sufficient pollen and nectar stores. The government's National Bee Unit has always denied the existence of CCD in Britain, despite honeybee losses of 20% during the winter of 2008-09 and close to a third the previous year. It attributes the demise to the varroa mite - which is found in almost every UK hive - and rainy summers that stop bees foraging for food. In a hard-hitting report last year, the National Audit Office suggested that amateur beekeepers who failed to spot diseases in bees we
[scifinoir2] 3-D movies scheduled to come out in 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movies+scheduled+come+2010/2971901/story.html 3-D movies scheduled to come out in 2010 By Brendan Kelly, The Gazette April 30, 2010 Shrek Forever After: May 21 Toy Story 3: June 18 The Last Airbender: July 2 Despicable Me: July 9 Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore: July 30 Step Up 3D: Aug. 6 Friday the 13th Part 2: Aug. 13 Piranha 3D: Aug. 27 Resident Evil: Afterlife: Sept. 10 Legends of the Guardians: Owls of Gahoole: Sept. 24 Alpha and Omega: Oct. 1 Jackass 3D: Oct. 15 Saw VII: Oct. 22 Megamind: Nov. 5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1): Nov. 19 Tangled: Nov. 24 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: Dec. 10 Tron Legacy: Dec. 17 Yogi Bear: Dec. 17 Gullivers Travels: Dec. 22 © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
[scifinoir2] DC and Dynamite Reboot Classic Characters With Divergent Results
http://www.metropulse.com/news/2010/apr/07/dc-and-dynamite-reboot-classic-characters-divergen/ DC and Dynamite Reboot Classic Characters With Divergent Results By April Snellings Its probably not much of a coincidence that three of the pulp eras most iconic characters are getting affectionate reboots in a time that bears marked similarities to the age that created them in the first place. Doc Savage and the Green Hornet both made their debuts in the 1930s, with Will Eisners Spirit coming along shortly afterward in 1940. Americans needed them; the radio plays, dime novels, and Sunday comic strips those characters patrolled were a welcome escape from some pretty ugly realities. They kept their heads above existential angst, they always came out on top, and it was easy to tell the good guys from the bad ones. Stories like that are in short supply these days. Screenwriters are falling over themselves to out-grim one another, and even the Big Two are filling their pages with so-called superhero tragedy porn. (Have you been following what Green Arrow and Roy have gone through lately? Jeez.) Its not bad; some of it is actually quite good. Its just depressing. So its a perfect time for DCs First Wave and Dynamite Entertainments Green Hornet. One is very good and one is rather forgettable, but both are fun throwbacks that revel in their pulpy roots. By leaps and bounds, First Wave is the better of the two. Brian Azzarellos script establishes an entirely new continuity that puts Doc Savage, the Spirit, and Batman on the same playing field. From its opening jungle chase scene to its final urban fisticuffs, First Wave #1 embraces every pulp convention it can squeeze into 30 pages. You get giant robots, mad scientists, villainous Russians, dirty cops, a masked crimefighter, and a cracking good mystery. The first issue is light on story, but strong on set-up: Doc Savage has returned home to New York City to confront the mysterious circumstances surrounding his fathers death, while the Spirit is tracking a truck with strange cargo though Central City; theres also some eye-gouging jungle action with the aforementioned giant robot. The heroes paths dont cross yet. This issue is all about laying the groundwork for a multi-plot storyline that will play out over six issues and lead into two new ongoing series. Batman is also notably absent; after all, he tends to throw his weight around a bit, so its best to give Doc and the Spirit a chance to play without him for a while. Azzarello does a bang-up job making each character his own while being true to their original creators visions. He has a great sense of pacing, and his dialogue has a classic film noir feel that meshes beautifully with First Waves pulp characters. Rags Morales gorgeous art, complemented by Nei Ruffinos earthy color palette, does what good comic-book art should do: It becomes an active part of the storytelling process, rather than just illustrations that accompany the script. Morales uses body language to reveal character in every panel; classic Doc Savage villain John Sunlight exudes menace as he slouches on a park bench, and the way the Spirit clutches his fedora as hes leaping onto a moving truck tells us more about Denny Colt than two pages of exposition ever could. The shiny new continuity makes First Wave an ideal read for someone whos never picked up a comic book in his life, but Azzarello packs the book with sly references to and cameos from a small cadre of Golden Age characters. Its a must-read for fans of classic pulp or vintage comic-book heroes. Kevin Smiths Green Hornet isnt nearly as successful, but it still fosters a fair share of good will for its nostalgic take on newspaper publisher Britt Reid and his badass sidekick, Kato. Based on Smiths rejected movie script, the series picks up at the end of Reids campaign to clean up the mean streets of Century City. After a fast-paced opener finds Reid and Kato dusting off the last of the citys crime families, Reid hangs up the green fedora and swears off crimefighting. Fast forward a bunch of years, and its time for Reids playboy son to pick up where his dad left off. Some fans might be disappointed to see Britt Sr. pass the baton, but masked crimefighting runs in the Reid family. (In case your pulp genealogy is a little rusty, Britt Reid Sr. is the great-nephew of creator George W. Trendles other star do-gooder, the Lone Ranger.) Much of the first issue falls flat, thanks to Smiths self-conscious attempt at witty one-liners. The poorly written action sequences at the beginning dont work at all, but the book finds its legs when it turns its attention to the characters. The exchanges between Reid and his wife about the heros dangerous career feel honest and candid, and the final page is a great set-up for the rest of the 10-issue series. The breakdowns by veteran artist Phil Hester make for a dynamic read, while Ivan Nunes candy colors evoke a wonderful se
Re: [scifinoir2] Happy Birthday Gina Torres
Martin Baxter writes: > > >So THAT'S why I've been drooling continuously... Oh, I say! >Happy Natal Day, Gina! Call me for your present! Yes. Happy Birthday you lovely, lovely creature... :-) Brent >On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 12:33 PM, Kelwyn <[ mailto:ravena...@yahoo.com >]ravena...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > >The lovely Gina Torres is 41 today. > > > > > > > > > >
[scifinoir2] Dont talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article7107207.ece >From The Sunday Times April 25, 2010 Dont talk to aliens, warns Stephen Hawking Jonathan Leake THE aliens are out there and Earth had better watch out, at least according to Stephen Hawking. He has suggested that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist - but that instead of seeking them out, humanity should be doing all it that can to avoid any contact. The suggestions come in a new documentary series in which Hawking, one of the worlds leading scientists, will set out his latest thinking on some of the universes greatest mysteries. Alien life, he will suggest, is almost certain to exist in many other parts of the universe: not just in planets, but perhaps in the centre of stars or even floating in interplanetary space. Hawkings logic on aliens is, for him, unusually simple. The universe, he points out, has 100 billion galaxies, each containing hundreds of millions of stars. In such a big place, Earth is unlikely to be the only planet where life has evolved. To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational, he said. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like. The answer, he suggests, is that most of it will be the equivalent of microbes or simple animals - the sort of life that has dominated Earth for most of its history. One scene in his documentary for the Discovery Channel shows herds of two-legged herbivores browsing on an alien cliff-face where they are picked off by flying, yellow lizard-like predators. Another shows glowing fluorescent aquatic animals forming vast shoals in the oceans thought to underlie the thick ice coating Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. Such scenes are speculative, but Hawking uses them to lead on to a serious point: that a few life forms could be intelligent and pose a threat. Hawking believes that contact with such a species could be devastating for humanity. He suggests that aliens might simply raid Earth for its resources and then move on: We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldnt want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach. He concludes that trying to make contact with alien races is a little too risky. He said: If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didnt turn out very well for the Native Americans. The completion of the documentary marks a triumph for Hawking, now 68, who is paralysed by motor neurone disease and has very limited powers of communication. The project took him and his producers three years, during which he insisted on rewriting large chunks of the script and checking the filming. John Smithson, executive producer for Discovery, said: He wanted to make a programme that was entertaining for a general audience as well as scientific and thats a tough job, given the complexity of the ideas involved. Hawking has suggested the possibility of alien life before but his views have been clarified by a series of scientific breakthroughs, such as the discovery, since 1995, of more than 450 planets orbiting distant stars, showing that planets are a common phenomenon. So far, all the new planets found have been far larger than Earth, but only because the telescopes used to detect them are not sensitive enough to detect Earth-sized bodies at such distances. Another breakthrough is the discovery that life on Earth has proven able to colonise its most extreme environments. If life can survive and evolve there, scientists reason, then perhaps nowhere is out of bounds. Hawkings belief in aliens places him in good scientific company. In his recent Wonders of the Solar System BBC series, Professor Brian Cox backed the idea, too, suggesting Mars, Europa and Titan, a moon of Saturn, as likely places to look. Similarly, Lord Rees, the astronomer royal, warned in a lecture earlier this year that aliens might prove to be beyond human understanding. I suspect there could be life and intelligence out there in forms we cant conceive, he said. Just as a chimpanzee cant understand quantum theory, it could be there are aspects of reality that are beyond the capacity of our brains. Stephen Hawking's Universe begins on the Discovery Channel on Sunday May 9 at 9pm
[scifinoir2] Brains, Worms and Computer Chips Have Striking Similarities
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100422184049.htm Brains, Worms and Computer Chips Have Striking Similarities ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2010) - An international team of scientists has discovered striking similarities between the human brain, the nervous system of a worm, and a computer chip. The finding is reported in the journal PLoS Computational Biology. "Brains are often compared to computers, but apart from the trivial fact that both process information using a complex pattern of connections in a physical space, it has been unclear whether this is more than just a metaphor," said Danielle Bassett, first author and a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Physics at UC Santa Barbara. The team of scientists from the U.S., the U.K., and Germany has uncovered novel quantitative organizational principles that underlie the network organizations of the human brain, high performance computer circuits, and the nervous system of the worm, known as nematode C. elegans. Using data that is largely in the public domain, including magnetic resonance imaging data from human brains, a map of the nematode's nervous system, and a standard computer chip, they examined how the elements in each system are networked together. They found that all three shared two basic properties. First, the human brain, the nematode's nervous system, and the computer chip all have a Russian doll-like architecture, with the same patterns repeating over and over again at different scales. Second, all three showed what is known as Rent's scaling, a rule used to describe the relationship between the number of elements in a given area and the number of links between them. Worm brains may seem to have very little in common with human brains and even less in common with computer circuits, explained Bassett. In fact, each of these systems contains a pattern of connections that are locked solidly in a physical space, similar to how the tracks in a railway system are locked solidly to the ground, forming traffic paths that have fixed GPS coordinates. A computer chip starts out as an abstract connectivity pattern, which can perform a specific function. Stage two involves mapping that connectivity pattern onto the two-dimensional surface of the chip. This mapping is a key step and must be done carefully in order to minimize the total length of wires -- a powerful predictor of the cost of manufacturing a chip -- while maintaining the abstract connectivity or function. "Brains are similarly characterized by a precise connectivity which allows the organism to function, but are constrained by the metabolic costs associated with the development and maintenance of long 'wires,' or neurons," said Bassett. She explained that, given the similar constraints in brains and chips, it seems that both evolution and technological innovation have developed the same solutions to optimal mapping patterns. She explained that this scaling result may further explain a well-known but little-understood relationship between the processing elements (neuronal cell bodies, or gray matter) and wiring (axons, or white matter) in the brains of a wide range of differently sized mammals -- from mouse to opossum to sea lion -- further suggesting that these principles of nervous system design are highly conserved across species. This work suggests that market-driven human invention and natural selection have negotiated trade-offs between cost and complexity in designing both types of information processing network: brains and computer circuits. Bassett worked closely with Edward Bullmore, professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. He explained: "These striking similarities can probably be explained because they represent the most efficient way of wiring a complex network in a confined physical space -- be that a three-dimensional human brain or a two-dimensional computer chip."
[scifinoir2] Top Ten Space Weapons
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/top10_space_weapons.html
[scifinoir2] Doctor Strange and more getting thrifty?
A Dr. Strange feature wouldn't be amiss. Brent -- http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=27664 23 April 2010 Marvel Plans Low-Budget Pics Doctor Strange and more getting thrifty? Source: CHUD [http://chud.com/articles/articles/23473/1/EXCLUSIVE-MARVEL039S-EXCITING-SMALL-MOVIE-PLANS/Page1.html] Marvel Studios has been eager to keep us all up to date with the films it has in the works for the next couple of years, and featuring some of its biggest names (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America etc). But according to Devin over at CHUD, it has also been quietly plotting an idea to fill its production pipeline after the likes of The Avengers are in cinemas. But while that Joss Whedon-helmed (probably) film will be their biggest project to date, their future plans also include them thinking small. And thinking creatively. The company is busy taking meetings with writers and directors to figure out films based on lesser-known, third-tier characters like Dr Strange, Luke Cage, Dazzler and Power Pack. The idea is that the filmmakers will work from a much lower budget than Iron Man and co between $20 - $40 million but in return will be given more creative freedom to take risks. Theres no word yet on when the first film might start gearing up, or even whether anything will come from it, but this news does at least prove that the top bods at Marvel are ready to experiment with ideas and have solid plans ahead for their universe outside of the heavy hitters. So come on then, people which lower-level Marvel characters would you want to see on screen, and which leftfield filmmaker should have a crack at them? James White
[scifinoir2] Third Degree Burns
I find this piece not unrelated to the scifi genre. What are your thoughts? Brent http://www.guernicamag.com/features/1688/third_degree_burns/ Third Degree Burns by Jay Baron Nicorvo, April 2010 Its not navel-gazing MFA graduates who are killing literary fiction, says Jay Nicorvo. Its blockbuster-hungry book editors and their habit of anticipating anticipations. A response to Ted Genoways in Mother Jones. In January, in an article published in Mother Jones, Virginia Quarterly Review editor Ted Genoways warned that struggling literary magazines were a harbinger for the demise of literary fiction. In The Death of Fiction? [http://motherjones.com/media/2010/01/death-of-literary-fiction-magazines-journals] he writes, Once strongholds of literature and learned discussion in our country, university-based quarterlies have seen steadily declining subscriber bases since their heyday a half-century ago - and an even greater dent in their cultural relevance. The reason for this? Creative writing programs, and the glut of solipsistic writers they produce. The expansion of the guild system - academic, institutional - he says has bogged down editorial offices and bored readers with work that is insular, self-centered and often unreadable, when fictions should be concerned with big issues, radiant and reflecting the larger world. This is the same basic point Dana Gioia made about poetry nearly twenty years ago in Can Poetry Matter? but the point applied to fiction is a little wide-right. If fiction is indeed faltering, the university system isnt at fault, nor are the navel-gazing writers who come out of it. The purpose of a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing might be to produce professional writers, but most dont - a hundred or so books have been published by Emerson College MFA alumni in the twenty-four year history of the program; compare that to the three thousand plus books published by Iowa Writers Workshop grads during its seventy-five years cited by Edward J. Delaney in his 07 Atlantic article, Where Great Writers are Made. What MFA programs do graduate are people who have mastered some of the uses of written English. And while this mastery might not be the most lucrative skill set, I would argue that it is the skill most widely applicable to making an honest living. Words are everywhere. If you can manage them well, chances are theres a job for you, even in this economy. An MFA in creative writing, more often than it leads to authors whove published books, leads to lawyering, teaching, editing, librarian-ing, agenting, advertising, speech-writing, nursing, you name it. More than one quarter of the attendees of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs 2008 Conference in New York City listed Other for their vocation, but its safe to assume these professionals continue reading even if they no longer write. Theres no guarantee that a graduate of an MFA program will go on to publish a book, but theres no doubt that MFA programs produce more proficient readers. According to the 2007 NEA survey To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence, prose readers with graduate degrees are on average 10 percent more proficient. And readers read books. Almost as an afterthought in The Death of Fiction? - one thats overshadowed by the easy generalization that academically trained writers ignore the larger world - is the following: the blockbuster mentality of book publishing in the age of corporate conglomeration (to the point of nearly exterminating the midlist) has conspired to squash the market for new fiction. Here, Ted lights upon the real reason to be concerned for the health and well-being of literary fiction. Id like to take this time to ask a rhetorical question that sounds at first like a bad joke: What do acquiring editors at large publishing houses and investment bankers at big banks have in common? In The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936, (incidentally, the same year the Writers Workshop began) John Maynard Keynes, in trying to make sense of the forces at work during the Great Depression, says that financiers are required to keep a close watch on the mass psychology of the market, which could change at any moment. This is an attention to the mentality of the mob, rather than to the value of the individual. These days, editors at commercial publishing houses are required to do the same. They attempt to herd the mob because they no longer know how to reach the reader. Old media had a direct line to the audience that bought books, newspapers, and magazines. Publicity and marketing departments knew where to effectively (if not cheaply) spread the word about forthcoming titles and upcoming issues, expecting to get out what they put in. Theyd print a few hundred or a few thousand galleys, mail them first-class to reviewers, watch the reviews roll in, and count the sal
[scifinoir2] Lawsuit against Lee, Marvel tossed
http://jam.canoe.ca/Books/2010/04/05/13472016-wenn-story.html Lawsuit against Lee, Marvel tossed By WENN.COM Comic book icon Stan Lee is breathing a sigh of relief after a New York judge dismissed a $750 million suit filed against him and Marvel Entertainment bosses challenging the copyright of his most famous superhero characters. Lee was taken to court last year by Jose Abadin and Christopher Belland, the shareholders of Stan Lee Media Inc. (SLMI), which was declared bankrupt in 2001. They claimed Lee had harmed their interests when he signed away all his rights in the Marvel Entertainment brand and the copyright to characters like Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four and X-Men to the company in 1998 - a year before they acquired their shares in SLMI. Representatives for Lee and Marvel executives denied the allegations in the lawsuit, stating it was filled with "ridiculous claims", and a Manhattan federal judge ruled in their favour last week. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty decided Abadin and Belland had no legal standing to sue because they were not shareholders at the time of Lee's Marvel deal. They were also criticized for only filing their lawsuit 10 years after acquiring their company shares, insisting they "cannot wait a decade to enforce their rights". Marvel Entertainment was taken over by Disney in December.
[scifinoir2] Lando a fave with 'Star Wars' fans
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/W/Williams_Billy_Dee/2010/04/23/13690026-qmi.html Artist: Williams, Billy Dee Lando a fave with 'Star Wars' fans By LISA WILTON - QMI Agency CALGARY - As far as Stars Wars characters go, Lando Calrissian is a relatively minor one. But he is also considered one of the more memorable characters, thanks to the cool-as-a-cucumber performance of Billy Dee Williams. The actor also has another theory as to why Lando is a favourite with Star Wars fans. "He was cute," the 73-year-old says with a laugh. "There was a roguish kind of thing about him that people liked." Sure, fans may have been slightly peeved when Lando stabbed hero Han Solo in the back, handing him over to intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back. But they couldn't stay mad at the handsome Rebel Alliance general for long. "I think I succeeded in making him a kind of palatable, likable character. A character needs a certain amount of vulnerability that people can relate to." Williams says he didn't realize the Star Wars films would have such a lasting influence on popular culture, although he knew right away he was working with a very talented director and cast. "I knew that with George Lucas I was working with someone very special," he recalls. "I was a little bit familiar with some of the work he had done before the Star Wars saga. But one never really knows how a film is going to turn out. When you're an actor, you're just happy to be working. And if you're working for people who have the kind of reputation that George Lucas has then you're very lucky." Williams, who's appearing this weekend at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, doesn't mind he regularly gets called upon to revive Lando Calrissian. "It's fun for me," he says. "At this point in my life, I'm just enjoying myself." lisa.wil...@sunmedia.ca
[scifinoir2] Leonard Nimoy set to retire
http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/tv/2010/04/19/13639516.html Entertainment TV Leonard Nimoy set to retire By KEVIN WILLIAMSON, QMI Agency Last Updated: April 19, 2010 Just when he thinks hes out, they beam him back in. How else to describe Leonard Nimoys enduring, at times conflicted relationship with Star Trek, the franchise thats defined his career for more than four decades - regardless of how many times he swore it off or believed it was finished? Countless times, I thought it was done, he admits on the phone from Los Angeles. But this time, says the 79-year-old actor-director-photographer, there are no more possibilities. Spock, his pointy-eared alter-ego, will live long and prosper. But it will be without Nimoy. I want to get off the stage. Also, I dont think it would be fair to Zachary Quinto, he says, referring to the actor who portrayed a youthful Spock in last summers smash Star Trek relaunch. Hes a terrific actor, he looks the part, and its time to give him some space. And Im very flattered the character will continue. In other words, dont expect to see Nimoy in the next Trek sequel, scheduled for 2012. And dont expect to see him anywhere else, either. Having just shot what will be his final appearance as enigmatic genius Dr. William Bell in TVs Fringe, he says hes retiring from acting altogether. Ive been doing this professionally for 60 years, he says with a laugh. I love the idea of going out on a positive note. Ive had a great, great time. After all, his involvement with Fringe was never intended to be permanent. Rather, hed only agreed to appear in a few episodes as a favour to J.J. Abrams, who produces Fringe and, of course, directed Star Trek. I was away from acting for 12 years, so I guess I was seducable, Nimoy says. But since J.J. Abrams revived the Star Trek franchise, I felt I owed him something. And Im glad I did it because he promised me a good story, and it was. Also in question? How many more science-fiction conventions he has in his future. Hell be at this weekends Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo which could be the last go-round for that too, he says, noting he only has a few more public appearances planned. Not that he doesnt enjoy them. He describes each one as a love fest. Im so grateful to the fans. I call these kind of experiences a victory lap ... Its like having a family meeting - a family reunion. That goodwill mirrors how his own emotions about Trek have mellowed. Famously, his 1975 autobiography was entitled I Am Not Spock. By 1995, when he published his second autobiography, the title had been modified to I Am Spock. He explains he made peace with the iconic series during the 1980s and particularly with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which he directed. I felt like Star Trek IV was my personal statement on Star Trek. Now, typecasting be damned, he feels no regrets about donning the ears that made him famous. Since Star Trek began in 1966, Ive never had to worry about where the next job was. Rather, with his acting and filmmaking career behind him, he wants to concentrate on photography, citing an exhibition he has coming up in Massachusetts. He acknowledges he was met with skepticism initially about this latest creative venture, but Ive built credibility now in the art world. And among the general population, too. He recalls an incident in which he and Tom Hanks were approached by a young man who wanted his picture taken with Hanks. When Hanks asked who would take the photo, the man turned to the now former Mr. Spock. He said, Mr. Nimoy, youre a wonderful photographer. Would you take our picture? Spock headed to Vulcan, Alt. If Leonard Nimoy is going to be in Calgary, it only seems logical that he pays a visit to Vulcan too. I couldnt resist, he says with a very un-Spock-like laugh. I thought, Since Im coming to Calgary, why not Vulcan? Thus the Southern Alberta community of about 1,900 will get its long-awaited chance to host Nimoy on Friday, ahead of his scheduled appearance at this weekends Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Nimoys fondness for the town is well-documented. Vulcan generated worldwide headlines last spring when Nimoy backed its bid to host the premiere of 2009s Star Trek film. Ultimately, Paramount bused about 300 residents of Vulcan - which has long capitalized on the fact it shares the name of Spocks home planet - to Calgary for a private screening. Not surprisingly, news of Nimoys visit has again put Vulcan in the spotlight. In addition to touring the towns Trek museum, Nimoy will have his iconic Vulcan salute canonized in a handprint ceremony. Hell also be there for the unveiling of a bronze Spock bust. What message does he plan to convey to the townsfolk? How wonderful it is to be home in Vulcan. kevin.william...@sunmedia.ca
[scifinoir2] 'Trek' fans, want a Starfleet uniform? It's for sale
http://www.komonews.com/news/entertainment/90380669.html 'Trek' fans, want a Starfleet uniform? It's for sale By OSKAR GARCIA Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) - "Star Trek" lovers looking for Enterprise chairs, Starfleet uniforms or a model Klingon Bird of Prey can seek out new life for the dismantled pieces of a closed Las Vegas attraction based on the famous franchise. Auctioneer Propworx Inc. plans to sell roughly 1,000 items large and small from Star Trek: The Experience at a warehouse sale Saturday in Las Vegas, CEO Alec Peters said. The attraction, based on the beloved television series and movies, closed in 2008 after a 10-year run. "Anything like this, you're sad to see it go, but on the other hand it's an opportunity for fans to preserve the stuff," Peters said. "It's an opportunity for the studio to get it in the hands of people who made it great. "I think it is bittersweet - we try to make it fun," Peters said. Among the items for sale are three large models of spaceships in need of repair or restoration - the U.S.S. Enterprise A, the U.S.S. Voyager and the Bird of Prey - as well as a replica of the Enterprise bridge from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Peters said a Borg alcove - where members of the synthetically enhanced drone race recharge and synch with a hive mind - is on sale for $800. Also on sale are costumes and knickknacks, starting at $10, Peters said. The attraction folded in "Star Trek" mythology, billing itself as a "21st-century time station" used to transport personnel and equipment to and from the late 24th century. The story was that the Experience let folks of the future meet and study many human cultures in a single place where they often converge - Sin City. The attraction included two rides where visitors were transported to the U.S.S. Enterprise, rode in a shuttle or faced a Borg encounter. Mike Cornwell, the executive officer of a local Star Trek fan club that helped set up the memorabilia sale, said Friday that members of the club have been sad about the immersive experience going away. "We see it as such a waste that they closed it down," Cornwell said. "It's really a blow to all Star Trek fans everywhere." Cornwell, 47, said he hopes to buy a certain piece of the exhibit's History of the Future, which chronicled the history of the Star Trek universe. CBS Television Distribution, which owns the rights to the franchise, has a licensing deal in place for a Star Trek exhibit in downtown Las Vegas through its consumer products division. No timeline for that attraction has been announced. CBS Consumer has a deal with Kennedy Space Center on a live 30-minute live stage show based on the universe from the 2009 "Star Trek" movie. The show is to debut in June.
[scifinoir2] Freaky Physics Proves Parallel Universes Exist
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/04/05/freaky-physics-proves-parallel-universes/ Freaky Physics Proves Parallel Universes Exist By John Brandon - FOXNews.com Look past the details of a wonky discovery by a group of California scientists -- that a quantum state is now observable with the human eye -- and consider its implications: Time travel may be feasible. Look past the details of a wonky discovery by a group of California scientists -- that a quantum state is now observable with the human eye -- and consider its implications: Time travel may be feasible. Doc Brown would be proud. The strange discovery by quantum physicists at the University of California Santa Barbara means that an object you can see in front of you may exist simultaneously in a parallel universe -- a multi-state condition that has scientists theorizing that traveling through time may be much more than just the plaything of science fiction writers. And it's all because of a tiny bit of metal -- a "paddle" about the width of a human hair, an item that is incredibly small but still something you can see with the naked eye. UC Santa Barbara's Andrew Cleland cooled that paddle in a refrigerator, dimmed the lights and, under a special bell jar, sucked out all the air to eliminate vibrations. He then plucked it like a tuning fork and noted that it moved and stood still at the same time. That sounds contradictory, and it's nearly impossible to understand if your last name isn't Einstein. But it actually happened. It's a freaky fact that's at the heart of quantum mechanics. How Is That Possible? To even try to understand it, you have to think really, really small. Smaller than an atom. Electrons, which circle the nucleus of an atom, are swirling around in multiple states at the same time -- they're hard to pin down. It's only when we measure the position of an electron that we force it to have a specific location. Cleland's breakthrough lies in taking that hard-to-grasp yet true fact about the atomic particle and applying it to something visible with the naked eye. What does it all mean? Let's say you're in Oklahoma visiting your aunt. But in another universe, where your atomic particles just can't keep up, you're actually at home watching "The Simpsons." That may sound far-fetched, but it's based on real science. "When you observe something in one state, one theory is it split the universe into two parts," Cleland told FoxNews.com, trying to explain how there can be multiple universes and we can see only one of them. The multi-verse theory says the entire universe "freezes" during observation, and we see only one reality. You see a soccer ball flying through the air, but maybe in a second universe the ball has dropped already. Or you were looking the other way. Or they don't even play soccer over there. Sean Carroll, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology and a popular author, accepts the scientific basis for the multi-verse -- even if it cannot be proven. "Unless you can imagine some super-advanced alien civilization that has figured this out, we aren't affected by the possible existence of other universes," Carroll said. But he does think "someone could devise a machine that lets one universe communicate with another." It all comes down to how we understand time. Carroll suggests that we don't exactly feel time -- we perceive its passing. For example, time moves fast on a rollercoaster and very slowly during a dull college lecture. It races when you're late for work . . . but the last few minutes before quitting time seem like hours. Back to the Future "Time seems to be a one-way street that runs from the past to the present," says Fred Alan Wolf, a.k.a. Dr. Quantum, a physicist and author. "But take into consideration theories that look at the level of quantum fields ... particles that travel both forward and backward in time. If we leave out the forward-and-backwards-in-time part, we miss out on some of the physics." Wolf says that time -- at least in quantum mechanics -- doesn't move straight like an arrow. It zig-zags, and he thinks it may be possible to build a machine that lets you bend time. Consider Sergei Krikalev, the Russian astronaut who flew six space missions. Richard Gott, a physicist at Princeton University, says Krikalev aged 1/48th of a second less than the rest of us because he orbited at very high speeds. And to age less than someone means you've jumped into the future -- you did not experience the same present. In a sense, he says, Krikalev time-traveled to the future -- and back again! "Newton said all time is universal and all clocks tick the same way," Gott says. "Now with Einstein's theory of Special Relativity we know that travel into the future is possible. With Einstein's theory of gravity, the laws of physics as we understand them today suggest that even time travel to the past is possible in principle. But to see whether time travel to the past can actually be r
[scifinoir2] Lucasfilm developing 'Star Wars' comedy series
http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/04/lucasfilm-developing-star-wars-comedy-series.html April 05, 2010 Lucasfilm developing 'Star Wars' comedy series I have a bad feeling about this... Lucasfilm Animation is developing a "Star Wars" animated comedy series. Better to have fans laughing with you than at you, I guess. After three unintentionally funny prequels, Lucasfilm is teaming with Seth Green and Matthew Senreich ("Robot Chicken") for a comedic look at the "Star Wars" universe. In a statement, Green said: The Star Wars universe is so dense and rich; its crazy to think that there arent normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined. And its even crazier to think of what those problems might be, since its all set in a galaxy far, far away. What do these characters do when theyre not overthrowing Empires? No network yet. And really, how about making some progress on that live action series instead? The show will be produced by Jennifer Hill, with "Simpsons" writer Brendan Hay also on board.
Re: [scifinoir2] Missing link between man and apes found
Martin Baxter writes: >Basically, a modern-day nobleman revisiting his pirate days in order to >help a friend and save his own life (through the injudicious use of time >travel). This comes in because I have a character whose species evolved >from a primitive offshoot of mankind . Do you have plans to post it once you've completed it? It sounds an interesting read. Good luck with it. :-) Brent >On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 6:38 PM, brent wodehouse <[ >mailto:brent_wodeho...@thefence.us ]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> wrote: > > > >>Martin Baxter <[ mailto:martinbaxter7%40gmail.com >]martinbaxt...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>The screaming you hear is from every fire-and-brimstone preacher south of >>the Mason-Dixon, lest anyone wonder... >> >>Seriously, this is amazing stuff. Fuel for part of the story I'm working >>on. Thanks again, Brent! > > >Story? Of what variety? Inquiring minds... > > >Brent > >>On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 2:49 PM, brent wodehouse >><[ mailto:brent_wodehouse%40thefence.us ]brent_wodeho...@thefence.us> >wrote: >> >>[ >http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/7550033/Missing-link-between-man-and-apes-found.html >]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/7550033/Missing-link-between-man-and-apes-found.html >> >>Missing link between man and apes found. >> >>A "missing link" between humans and their apelike ancestors has been >>discovered > > > > > >
[scifinoir2] 2009 Nebula Nominees
2009 Nebula, Bradbury, and Andre Norton Award Nominees * Short Story * Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela, Saladin Ahmed I Remember the Future, Michael A. Burstein Non-Zero Probabilities, N. K. Jemisin Spar, Kij Johnson Going Deep, James Patrick Kelly Bridesicle, Will McIntosh * Novelette * The Gambler, Paolo Bacigalupi Vinegar Peace, or the Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage, Michael Bishop I Needs Must Part, The Policeman Said, Richard Bowes Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast, Eugie Foster Divining Light, Ted Kosmatka A Memory of Wind, Rachel Swirsky * Novella * The Women of Nell Gwynnes, Kage Baker Arkfall, Carolyn Ives Gilman Act One, Nancy Kress Shambling Towards Hiroshima, James Morrow Sublimation Angels, Jason Sanford The God Engines, John Scalzi * Novel * The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi The Love We Share Without Knowing, Christopher Barzak Flesh and Fire, Laura Anne Gilman The City & The City, China Miéville Boneshaker, Cherie Priest Finch, Jeff VanderMeer * Bradbury Award Best Dramatic Production * Star Trek, JJ Abrams District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell Avatar, James Cameron Moon, Duncan Jones and Nathan Parker Up, Bob Peterson and Pete Docter Coraline, Henry Selick * Andre Norton Award * Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker Ice, Sarah Beth Durst Ash, by Malinda Lo Eyes Like Stars, Lisa Mantchev Zoes Tale, John Scalzi When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld And this year's Nebula Awards are being presented in Cocoa Beach on May 15, to coincide with a shuttle launch on May 14. If you are interested in attending the Nebulas, rates go up in a couple of days. You can get more information at http://www.nebulaawards.com/index.php/nebula_weekend/registration
[scifinoir2] You Are Not a Gadget
http://www.straight.com/article-301207/vancouver/q-jaron-lanier-author-you-are-not-gadget Q & A: Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget By Brian Lynch Theres plenty of people raising warning flags about adverse cultural effects of the Internet, but few of them have the credentials of Jaron Lanier. Back in the digital eras Cretaceous period, in the 1980s, the New Mexicoborn Lanier was one of a small group of pioneering Silicon Valley programmers working on virtual reality and other technologies that bordered on science fiction. He was also a founding contributing editor of the hugely influential tech magazine Wired. Hes worked in the field ever since, designing sophisticated applications for university networks, as well as computer simulations for medical training and research. But as the years have passed and computers have shaped more and more of our lives, Lanier has become increasingly wary. His new book, You Are Not a Gadget (Knopf, 209 pp), is a manifesto that sets out a searing critique of Web idealism. Much of it is aimed squarely at whats sometimes called Web 2.0 - Wikipedia, Facebook, Youtube, and the like, to name just a few of the most famous and widely used sites that rely on user interaction and information-sharing. Lanier argues that the effect of these Web-based phenomena on who we are and how we see ourselves is often dehumanizing. Anonymous blog comments, vapid video pranks, and lightweight mashups may seem trivial and harmless, he writes, but as a whole, this widespread practice of fragmentary, impersonal communication has demeaned interpersonal interaction. The Straight caught up with Lanier by phone, during a brief visit he made recently to Toronto. Georgia Straight: You argue in the book that the design of the information systems we now use constantly - especially the design of social networks and other examples of whats called Web 2.0 - alters basic things about us as humans, and not always for the better. Jaron Lanier: What Ive observed is that slight changes in technology can really change the way people behave and the way they conceive of themselves. For instance, if in Facebook youre given a set of categories to choose from that describes something about you or your life, like romantic status or something like that, you tend to start thinking of your life in terms of that system, because youre interacting with everybody via it, youre planning things via it. So at a certain point it just becomes real for you, even if otherwise you might have thought about things slightly differently. And the slight differences are really where the core of meaning is. So these slight adjustments shouldnt be discounted. If I can give you one other example, one of the ways that behaviour modification is being most effectively offered on-line is that we dole out little dollops of useability or ease of use. So, for instance, right now, if youre a programmer, if youre digitally skilled, then you do have a shot at controlling your privacy settings on Facebook. But if youre a normal person, if youre not technical, you really dont . And so people change their ideas about privacy rather than having to learn to be programmers, given that choice. In other words, if you just tell somebody, Hey, why dont you give up privacy so this company thats operating like a spy agency can gather all the information about your life in order to help advertisers reach you better? youd say, Are you kidding? No way. But if its given to you as a choice - like, Either learn to be a programmer, so you can control it, or just accept that youre going to have less privacy, and that youre going to grant all this power to this other company - you know, if its put as a choice that way, people say, Well, I dont want to learn to program. So all of a sudden their standards change. GS: This is a gradual process, then, as if you dont really notice your own attitudes shifting in these ways. JL: Right. Well, actually, more to the point, its as young people come up - its a generational process. And were presenting a set of choices to a younger generation as if theyre normal. Furthermore, were telling that younger generation that they should identify with them, so that anybody who disagrees with it should be treated as an old fogey, when in fact the people pushing those choices on them are as old or older than anyone who might criticize them. In my case, theyre the same age, because the people who are pushing it are my old friends. Its like one circle of people who are both opposing it and pushing it. GS: One way you sum up your argument about Facebook is in the idea that information underrepresents reality by turning us into these fields of factoids. But isnt that underestimating the services users? Isnt there enough of the old, personal part of their identity that they recognize theres a difference between who they are and these lists of facts? JL: It depends how old th
[scifinoir2] Movies that make you love them
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/movies-that-make-you-love-them/article1521282/ Movies that make you love them Filmmakers are searching out new ways to mine your celluloid sweet spot Liam Lacey >From Saturday's Globe and Mail In the future, instead of going to movie theatres and staring at giant screens, perhaps we will attach a cable to our computers, plug it into the sides of our skulls - and get lost. That could be the eventual outcome of neurocinema, an emerging technology that promises to shape films to maximize brain excitement, allowing Hollywood studios to know exactly what you want better than you do. As columnist Scott Brown sardonically noted in Wired magazine last month: Movie houses will become crack dens with cup holders, and Ill lie there mainlining pure viewing pleasure for hours. The concern that movies may take over our brains goes back at least to 1931 and Aldous Huxleys Brave New World, which featured an entertainment system called the feelies inspired by Huxleys horror at watching his first sound movie. Novels made into such movies as The Parallax View and A Clockwork Orange show heroes brainwashed by film. But could brain research also make films better? Neurocinema is an offshoot of neuromarketing, a term coined by Dutch marketing expert Ale Smidts in 2002. It, in turn, is a branch of advertising research that uses brain-imaging techniques, including the functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (or fMRI, which measures blood flow to parts of the brain) and electroencephalography (EEG, which measures electrical activity) to peer into our brains - and, more specifically, into the subconscious thoughts, feelings and desires that drive purchasing decisions as branding guru Martin Lindstrom writes in Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy. Its no longer the stuff of science fiction: Coca-Cola, Unilever, Campbells Soup and Levi Strauss have used brain scanning to develop advertising strategies, and marketing jargon is full of excited talk about finding the buy button in consumers heads. Neuromarketing buzz has influenced the move industry, too. More than a year before Avatar hit screens, James Cameron boasted that fMRI machines would show the brain was much more active while watching his 3-D film than while taking in a conventional movie. This months South by Southwest festival in Austin played to the film-geek crowd with a panel called Big Brother in Your Brain: Neuroscience and Marketing. And last fall, such media outlets as Wired, CNN and National Public Radio carried the story of a San Diego company called Mindsign Neuromarketing, which announced it was revolutionizing films by using an fMRI machine to test scenes from a horror movie called Pop Skull. But on closer inspection, it didnt take a brain scientist to diagnose a bad case of neuro hype. The test involved only one subject, a 24-year-old woman who watched two scenes from the movie, three times. According to film producer Peter Katz, this was the first step in a brave new filmmaking world where filmmakers will be able to track precisely which sequences/scenes excite, emotionally engage or lose the viewers interest based on what regions of the brain are activated. From that info, a director can edit, reshoot an actors bad performance, adjust a score, pump up visual effects and apply any other changes to improve or replace the least compelling scenes. Most brain-movie research to date makes more modest claims. For example, in 2004, Professor Uri Hasson and his New York University colleagues showed five subjects different scenes, lasting about 30 minutes, of the Sergio Leone 1966 western, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and discovered the brains of different individuals show a highly significant tendency to act in unison. No big surprise there. But later, in a 2008 test, the same researchers looked into how moviegoers experience different films. This time, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly aroused about 45-per-cent similar brain reaction among the subjects. By contrast, the loosely structured TV comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm hit only 18-per-cent common brain activity, while an episode of the vintage television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents scored a whopping 65-per-cent uniformity, confirming the Master of Suspenses claim that he played his audience like an instrument. After Hassons initial experiment, Hollywood executives commissioned Steven Quartz, a neuroscientist at the California Institute of Technology, to try to improve the effectiveness of movie trailers. Quartz claimed to have discovered an area of the brain, at the base of the orbitofrontal cortex, that indicates how much people are anticipating a movie when they are watching a trailer or how much liking they have. Other researchers are dubious. Neurologist Richard Restak, author of The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love, points out that a large area of the brain n
Re: [scifinoir2] Missing link between man and apes found
>Martin Baxter wrote: > >The screaming you hear is from every fire-and-brimstone preacher south of >the Mason-Dixon, lest anyone wonder... > >Seriously, this is amazing stuff. Fuel for part of the story I'm working >on. Thanks again, Brent! Story? Of what variety? Inquiring minds... Brent >On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 2:49 PM, brent wodehouse > wrote: > >http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/7550033/Missing-link-between-man-and-apes-found.html > >Missing link between man and apes found. > >A "missing link" between humans and their apelike ancestors has been >discovered
[scifinoir2] Missing link between man and apes found
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/evolution/7550033/Missing-link-between-man-and-apes-found.html Missing link between man and apes found A "missing link" between humans and their apelike ancestors has been discovered. By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent Published: 9:00PM BST 03 Apr 2010 The new species of hominid, the evolutionary branch of primates that includes humans, is to be revealed when the two-million-year-old skeleton of a child is unveiled this week. Scientists believe the almost-complete fossilised skeleton belonged to a previously-unknown type of early human ancestor that may have been a intermediate stage as ape-men evolved into the first species of advanced humans, Homo habilis. Experts who have seen the skeleton say it shares characteristics with Homo habilis, whose emergence 2.5 million years ago is seen as a key stage in the evolution of our species. The new discovery could help to rewrite the history of human evolution by filling in crucial gaps in the scientific knowledge. Most fossilised hominid remains are little more than scattered fragments of bone, so the discovery of an almost-complete skeleton will allow scientists to answer key questions about what our early ancestors looked like and when they began walking upright on two legs. Palaeontologists and human evolutionary experts behind the discovery have remained silent about the exact details of what they have uncovered, but the scientific community is already abuzz with anticipation of the announcement of the find when it is made on Thursday. The skeleton was found by Professor Lee Berger, from the University of the Witwatersrand, while exploring cave systems in the Sterkfontein region of South Africa, near Johannesburg, an area known as "the Cradle of Humanity". The find is deemed to be so significant that Jacob Zuma, the South African president, has visited the university to view the fossils and a major media campaign with television documentaries is planned. Professor Phillip Tobias, an eminent human anatomist and anthropologist at the university who was one of three experts to first identify Homo habilis as a new species of human in 1964, described the latest discovery as "wonderful" and "exciting". Although not directly involved in the excavation and subsequent research on the fossils, he is one of the select few scientists outside the research group who have been able to see the skeletons. He said: "To find a skeleton as opposed to a couple of teeth or an arm bone is a rarity. "It is one thing to find a lower jaw with a couple of teeth, but it is another thing to find the jaw joined onto the skull, and those in turn uniting further down with the spinal column, pelvis and the limb bones. "It is not a single find, but several specimens representing several individuals. The remains now being brought to light by Dr Berger and his team are wonderful." The new fossil skeleton was found along with a number of other partially-complete fossils, encased within breccia sedimentary rock inside a limestone cave known as Malapa cave. The protection from the elements provided by the cave is thought to have played a large part in keeping the fossils so well preserved. The fossil record of early humans is notoriously patchy and scientists now hope that the that the new remains will provide fresh clues about how our species evolved. Scientists believe that a group of apelike hominids known as Australopithicus, which first emerged in Africa around 3.9 million years ago, gradually evolved into the first Homo species. Over time the Australopithicus species lost their more apelike features as they started to stand upright and their brain capacity increased. Around 2.5 million years ago Homo habilis, the first species to be described as distinctly human, began to appear, although only a handful of specimens have ever been found. It is thought that the new fossil to be unveiled this week will be identified as a new species that fits somewhere between Australopithicus and Homo habilis. If it is confirmed as a missing link between the two groups, it would be of immense scientific importance, helping to fill in a gap in the evolutionary history of modern man. Dr Simon Underdown, an expert on human evolution at Oxford Brookes University, said the new find could help scientists gain a better understanding of our evolutionary tree. He said: "A find like this could really increase our understanding of our early ancestors at a time when they first started to become recognisable as human." The discovery is the most important find from Sterkfontein since an almost-complete fossil of a 3.3 million year old Australopithecus, nicknamed Little Foot, was found in 1994. Another major discovery was the well-preserved skull of a 2.15 million year old Australopithecus africanus, nicknamed Mrs Ples, in 1947. Finding almost complete fossilised skeletons of human ancestors is particularly prized by the scientific community. The presenc
[scifinoir2] A Primer on the Great Proton Smashup
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/weekinreview/04overbye.html A Primer on the Great Proton Smashup By DENNIS OVERBYE Published: April 2, 2010 For those whose physics knowledge was a bit rusty, the news about the Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest physics machine, might have been puzzling. Yes, the collider finally crashed subatomic particles into one another last week, but why, exactly, is that important? Here is a primer on the collider - with just enough information, hopefully, to impress guests at your next cocktail party. Lets be basic. What does a particle physicist do? Particle physicists have one trick that they do over and over again, which is to smash things together and watch what comes tumbling out. What does it mean to say that the collider will allow physicists to go back to the Big Bang? Is the collider a time machine? Physicists suspect that the laws of physics evolved as the universe cooled from billions or trillions of degrees in the first moments of the Big Bang to superfrigid temperatures today (3 degrees Kelvin) - the way water changes from steam to liquid to ice as temperatures decline. As the Earth cooled, physicists suspect, everything became more complicated. Particles and forces once indistinguishable developed their own identities, the way Spanish, French and Italian diverged from the original Latin. By crashing together subatomic particles - protons - physicists create little fireballs that revisit the conditions of these earlier times and see what might have gone on back then, sort of like the scientists in Jurassic Park reincarnating dinosaurs. The collider, which is outside Geneva, is 17 miles around. Why is it so big? Einstein taught us that energy and mass are equivalent. So, the more energy packed into a fireball, the more massive it becomes. The collider has to be big and powerful enough to pack tremendous amounts of energy into a proton. Moreover, the faster the particles travel, the harder it is to bend their paths in a circle, so that they come back around and bang into each other. The collider is designed so that protons travel down the centers of powerful electromagnets that are the size of redwood trunks, which bend the particles paths into circles, creating a collision. Although the electromagnets are among the strongest ever built, they still cant achieve a turning radius for the protons of less than 2.7 miles. All in all, the bigger the accelerator, the bigger the crash, and the better chance of seeing what is on natures menu. What are physicists hoping to see? According to some theories, a whole list of items that havent been seen yet - with names like gluinos, photinos, squarks and winos - because we havent had enough energy to create a big enough collision. Any one of these particles, if they exist, could constitute the clouds of dark matter, which, astronomers tell us, produce the gravity that holds galaxies and other cosmic structures together. Another missing link of physics is a particle known as the Higgs boson, after Peter Higgs of the University of Edinburgh, which imbues other particles with mass by creating a cosmic molasses that sticks to them and bulks them up as they travel along, not unlike the way an entourage forms around a rock star when they walk into a club. Have scientists ever seen dark matter? Its invisible, but astronomers have deduced from their measurements of galactic motions that the visible elements of the cosmos, like galaxies, are embedded in huge clouds of it. Will physicists see these gluinos, photinos, squarks and winos? There is no guarantee that any will be discovered, which is what makes science fun, as well as nerve-racking. So how much energy do you need to create these fireballs? At the Large Hadron Collider, that energy is now 3.5 trillion electron volts per proton - about as much energy as a flea requires to do a pushup. That may not sound like much, but for a tiny proton, it is a lot of energy. It is the equivalent of a 200-pound man bulking up by 700,000 pounds. Whats an electron volt? An electron volt is the amount of energy an electron would gain passing from the negative to the positive side of a one-volt battery. It is the basic unit of energy and of mass preferred by physicists. When protons collide, is there a big bang? There is no sound. Its not like a bomb exploding. In previous trials, there was an actual explosion. All that current is dangerous. During the testing of the collider in September 2008, the electrical connection between a pair of the giant magnets vaporized. There are thousands of such connections in the collider, many of which are now believed to be defective. As a result the collider can only run at half-power for the next two years. Could the collider make a black hole and destroy the Earth? The collider is not going to do anything that high-energy cosmic rays have not done repeatedly on Earth and elsewhere in the universe. There is no evidence
[scifinoir2] Without Shuttles, Astronauts' Careers May Stall
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125523014 Without Shuttles, Astronauts' Careers May Stall by Nell Greenfieldboyce April 4, 2010 Chris Ferguson is a former space shuttle commander. Now he moonlights as a drummer for a Houston-based astronaut rock band. "Perhaps we'll have some more time to practice here once the shuttle program comes to a slow end," he says. It's unclear what else the future may bring for NASA's elite astronaut corps after the agency mothballs its aging space shuttles in the coming months. Ferguson's day job is deputy chief of NASA's astronaut office. He says that about a half-dozen astronauts typically leave the agency each year to do things like teach, work for the government or take aerospace industry jobs. After the shuttles stop flying, Ferguson says, "I would anticipate we'll see a few extra folks over and above our normal attrition rate might seek employment elsewhere." The Countdown's Begun Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch early Monday. After this mission, NASA will have just three flights left before the shuttles are slated to become museum exhibits. Though the agency won't have spaceships, it will still have a lot of astronauts. NASA currently has about 80 active astronauts, as well as nine new astronaut candidates hired last year. There will be fewer missions after the shuttle program ends, and those will be long-duration stays at the space station. The only way to get up to the station will be in a cramped Russian Soyuz capsule. NASA had been designing and building a new system of rockets and space capsules, called Constellation, which intended to take astronauts up to the station and eventually on to the moon. But the Obama administration wants to cancel that program, saying it was behind schedule and had been too underfunded to meet its goals. Instead, the administration would rely on private companies to build new astronaut taxis to low Earth orbit, while NASA focused on developing technologies for going far out into the solar system. Many in Congress are fighting that plan. "It's a very tenuous time for everybody here," Ferguson says. "This is a very large organization and it doesn't turn very quickly, kind of like a large ship. It just takes awhile to make a 180-degree turn." He says "there's a little apprehension" as people wonder about their future. But they also are concerned about what will happen to all the expertise at NASA that's allowed America to put people into space. "It's certainly not an easy thing to do, and we want to make sure that we preserve that capability and that knowledge, you know, for future generations and whoever ultimately does take us up to the international space station and hopefully beyond low-Earth orbit one day," Ferguson says. Astronauts For Hire? This isn't the first time NASA has had to make a big break with the past. When the Apollo program ended, astronauts had to wait years before the brand new space shuttles were ready to fly. But the whole situation was different back then, according to Roger Launius, a space historian at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. "There's uncertainty that's in the system today that wasn't necessarily there in the 1970s," Launius explains. "Even before the end of the Apollo program, NASA had an approved, follow-on program - the space shuttle - and a firm schedule for getting it completed." These days, no one knows what NASA will be doing next. Meanwhile, private companies are moving forward with their efforts - raising the possibility of not just commercial space taxis, but also astronauts for hire. NASA administrator and former astronaut Charlie Bolden talked about that prospect when he visited Kennedy Space Center in Florida earlier this year, saying it would be a different approach for NASA to rent not just the space vehicle, but also a private crew of astronauts to go with it. "We need to have the discussion of how important is it to have a career astronaut contingent, as opposed to none," Bolden said. He said that NASA's international partners like the idea of an elite corps, and that he doubted some random person could quickly be trained to perform at the same level as NASA astronauts, who have devoted their lives to preparing for work in space. "We need to have the discussion of what the future - the next generation of astronauts - will be like," Bolden said.
[scifinoir2] ebook prices going up soon
http://jam.canoe.ca/Books/2010/03/30/13414016-cp.html ebook prices going up soon By Michael Oliveira, THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - If you were thinking about buying an ebook, you may want to do it now. The prices of most new releases will soon be hiked by as much as 30 to 50 per cent. A major upheaval in the ebook world is coming Thursday, with five of the six biggest publishers in North America implementing a new pricing regime that will do away with discounting and the need for comparison shopping. Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, MacMillan, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster are moving to the so-called agency model, which means they will dictate the price their ebooks are sold at and retailers will be forced to follow. It's expected to result in price increases for new releases, which consumers will definitely notice, said Mike Serbinis, chief executive of Kobo, the online ebook retailer owned 58 per cent by Indigo Books & Music Inc. (TSX:IDG). The days of new releases usually priced at US$9.99 are numbered and readers can think of $12.99 or $14.99 as the new normal. "I think what you're going to see is a lack of discounts, so consumers will notice that. So far, they've seen list prices of $29.99 and 60 per cent discounts, with the actual selling prices around 10 bucks - that will go away in general," he said. However, there's still one major publisher that hasn't switched over to the new pricing model, Random House, and Serbinis expects its books will be discounted aggressively by retailers. The launch of Thursday's new pricing regime was a last-minute change imposed by the publishers and retailers are scrambling to adapt by the deadline. As a result, some titles may disappear temporarily, if all the logistics aren't sorted out in time. "We're working feverishly, like all the other major players in this space, to get ready for Thursday, the change - I would say like all things in this space right now - has happened very fast," said Serbinis. "There's legal stuff to do, there's IT things to do to get the new pricing and the new approach and the new rules in place in time." Macmillan CEO John Sargent said in a blog post that its new releases generally will be priced between $12.99 and $14.99, although there might be some exceptions. When books go into paperback, the ebook price typically will be reduced to a range of $6.99 to $9.99, he added.
Re: [scifinoir2] Chris Evans Wins the Role of 'Captain America'
Oops... pardon the duplication. :-\ Brent "brent wodehouse" writes: >[ >http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-chris-evans-wins-captain-america.html >]http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-chris-evans-wins-captain-america.html > >Chris Evans Wins the Role of 'Captain America' > >by Matt McDaniel > >March 22, 2010 > >After nearly two years of speculation, The Hollywood Reporter broke the >news on Monday that Chris Evans will be playing Marvel Comics' iconic hero >Captain America in the big-screen adaptation. > >The movie, titled "The First Avenger: Captain America," was announced in >2008 after Marvel Studio's first production, "Iron Man," became a >box-office hit. The names of many actors -- from established stars to >mostly unknowns -- have been rumored to be up for the role for months. >Action movie veterans Channing Tatum ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra") and >Garrett Hedlund (the upcoming "Tron Legacy") were reportedly considered, >as were TV regulars Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl") and Scott Porter >("Friday Night Lights"). Even wild-cards like "The Office" funnyman John >Krasinski tested for the part. > >Chris Evans was a late addition to the roster of potential leads, but he >had already established himself as a comic-book hero by playing the Human >Torch in the two "Fantastic Four" movies. This goes against director Joe >Johnston's stated intention to use an unknown actor for the role. But >Evans is an American, which was Johnston's other requirement (and left out >foreigners like Australian "Avatar" star Sam Worthington). > >Finding the right actor to play Captain America has been pivotal for >Marvel Studios because they have grander plans for the character beyond >the one film. According to Johnston, "The First Avenger" is an origin >story set predominantly during the 1940s, when the red-white-and-blue >suited hero first appeared in comics. But the movie will also set up "The >Avengers" -- based on Marvel's long-running team series -- where Captain >America will lead a group of superheroes that will include Robert Downey >Jr.'s Iron Man. > >While fans of the comics have expressed their doubts at some of the >candidates for the role, response to Evans has been uniformly positive. >His performance as Johnny Storm in "Fantastic Four" and "Rise of the >Silver Surfer" were widely considered to be the best parts of those >movies. It's been said that Evans will sign a nine-picture contract that >could see him appear as Captain America in multiple films, both on his own >and with the Avengers. > >Production on "The First Avenger" will begin in the U.K. in June. Hugo >Weaving ("The Matrix") is in talks to play Captain America's nemesis, the >Red Skull. It is the third movie in Marvel Studio's pipeline, following >"Iron Man 2," which is coming to theaters on May 7th of this year, and >"Thor," currently filming for a May 2011 release. "Captain America" is >scheduled to open on July 22, 2011. > >In the meantime, Chris Evans has two films set to open this year, both of >which also happen to be based on comic books. Next month, he'll play a >Special Forces operative in the adaptation of Vertigo Comics' "The >Losers." Then in August he will appear in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," >based on the graphic novel series. > > > > >
[scifinoir2] Chris Evans Wins the Role of 'Captain America'
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-chris-evans-wins-captain-america.html Chris Evans Wins the Role of 'Captain America' by Matt McDaniel March 22, 2010 After nearly two years of speculation, The Hollywood Reporter broke the news on Monday that Chris Evans will be playing Marvel Comics' iconic hero Captain America in the big-screen adaptation. The movie, titled "The First Avenger: Captain America," was announced in 2008 after Marvel Studio's first production, "Iron Man," became a box-office hit. The names of many actors -- from established stars to mostly unknowns -- have been rumored to be up for the role for months. Action movie veterans Channing Tatum ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra") and Garrett Hedlund (the upcoming "Tron Legacy") were reportedly considered, as were TV regulars Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl") and Scott Porter ("Friday Night Lights"). Even wild-cards like "The Office" funnyman John Krasinski tested for the part. Chris Evans was a late addition to the roster of potential leads, but he had already established himself as a comic-book hero by playing the Human Torch in the two "Fantastic Four" movies. This goes against director Joe Johnston's stated intention to use an unknown actor for the role. But Evans is an American, which was Johnston's other requirement (and left out foreigners like Australian "Avatar" star Sam Worthington). Finding the right actor to play Captain America has been pivotal for Marvel Studios because they have grander plans for the character beyond the one film. According to Johnston, "The First Avenger" is an origin story set predominantly during the 1940s, when the red-white-and-blue suited hero first appeared in comics. But the movie will also set up "The Avengers" -- based on Marvel's long-running team series -- where Captain America will lead a group of superheroes that will include Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. While fans of the comics have expressed their doubts at some of the candidates for the role, response to Evans has been uniformly positive. His performance as Johnny Storm in "Fantastic Four" and "Rise of the Silver Surfer" were widely considered to be the best parts of those movies. It's been said that Evans will sign a nine-picture contract that could see him appear as Captain America in multiple films, both on his own and with the Avengers. Production on "The First Avenger" will begin in the U.K. in June. Hugo Weaving ("The Matrix") is in talks to play Captain America's nemesis, the Red Skull. It is the third movie in Marvel Studio's pipeline, following "Iron Man 2," which is coming to theaters on May 7th of this year, and "Thor," currently filming for a May 2011 release. "Captain America" is scheduled to open on July 22, 2011. In the meantime, Chris Evans has two films set to open this year, both of which also happen to be based on comic books. Next month, he'll play a Special Forces operative in the adaptation of Vertigo Comics' "The Losers." Then in August he will appear in "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," based on the graphic novel series.
[scifinoir2] Repo Men bloody but funny
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Reviews/R/Repo_Men/2010/03/18/13275526.html Repo Men bloody but funny By LIZ BRAUN, QMI Agency Here in the future, you can have any body part replaced with a man-made gizmo. Theres no waiting list and no hoping someone will die for the organ you need to be donated - its all man-made, its all available and its just a matter of paying for it. Ah - paying for it. Theres the rub. Repo Men is a bloody, violent and blackly funny movie about the men who turn up to reclaim your organs if you dont pay the bill. Armed with large knives and sanitary plastic suits to keep the blood off their clothes, these guys taser you, open you up, remove your high-tech heart or liver and take it back to headquarters to collect the bounty. You? You die quietly. Jude Law and Forest Whitaker star in Repo Men as a tag team of organ-retrieval specialists. Theres no case too tough for these two, and they spend their working days seeking out those who cant pay the bill and snatching back the debt-causing organ. Neither man flinches at removing anything from anybody, and they trade quips as they go. They have no sympathy. Slice, dice, yank out kidney, move on. Yerghh. Its all in a wildly bloody days work. Then Laws character has an accident at work and requires a heart transplant. Funny thing is, once he has a newfangled organ, he just doesnt have the, well, heart to do his job any more. He cant bring himself to stun people and rip out their unpaid-for organs. Furthermore, he can no more afford payments on his own new heart than fly to the moon, so in a matter of months hes in the same position as his former prey: Running for his life from repo men. For company, hes on the run with a jazz singer (Alicia Braga), a woman who is almost completely man-made. Shes got custom lungs, liver, kidney, knees, you name it. What it takes to bring Repo Men to a close is plenty of running, hiding and fighting, and in scenes that are a bit like Blade Runner if it had been a slasher film. There is so much cartoonish bloodletting here - involving guns, knives, hacksaws, axes, mallets and hammers - that after a while becomes a spurting blur of opening arteries and severed limbs. The movie, which gets really bogged down in unlikely events (such as romance) in the third act, has a nifty ending that makes up for a lot that came before it. Theres no denying, however, that the movie is too long and too short on story. Repo Men is full of bad language, bad behaviour and really over-the-top violence, but it can still make you laugh out loud on several occasions. Its a subversive little outing with a terrific soundtrack and a do-unto-others moral, and it might appeal - just a hunch - to a young male audience. (This film is rated 18A) liz.br...@sunmedia.ca
[scifinoir2] Nolan hanging up 'Batman' cape?
http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/2010/03/12/13205261-wenn-story.html Nolan hanging up 'Batman' cape? By WENN.COM Christopher Nolan has fuelled speculation the next Batman movie will be his last by confirming the new film will be a "conclusion" to the Caped Crusader's story. The moviemaker revived the Batman franchise with Christian Bale taking the lead role in Batman Begins in 2005 and returned for 2008's The Dark Knight. He is now preparing to take charge of his third movie in the series which will complete his trilogy. And although Nolan admits his screenwriter brother, Jonathan Nolan, is "struggling" to write the script, he's looking forward to concluding the movie series. He tells the Los Angeles Times, "(Jonathan is) now doing the hard work. My brother is writing a script for me and we'll wait to see how it turns out... He's struggling to put it together into the epic story that you want it to be. "Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story. We have a great ensemble, that's one of the attractions of doing another film, since we've been having a great time for years. "I'm very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we've done with the characters. My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these things don't go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we're telling. And it harkens back to that priority of trying to find the reality in these fantastic stories. That's what we do."
[scifinoir2] '80s Movie Gadgets You Know You Wanted
http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/22750028/detail.html
[scifinoir2] Has Logan Lerman been cast as Spiderman?
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/433136/has_logan_lerman_been_cast_as_spiderman.html Has Logan Lerman been cast as Spiderman? Simon Brew Could the new Spider-Man have been found, and is Percy Jackson star Logan Lerman the brand new webslinger? Published on Mar 4, 2010 Rumours are flying around the Internet that the successor to Tobey Maguire in the Spider-Man movies has been found. The new Peter Parker/Spider-Man? The current runes are pointing in the direction of Logan Lerman, the star of Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief. Given that Percy Jackson hasnt set the box office alight in the manner that Fox presumably hoped, Lermans commitment to that franchise may have been relaxed, and opened the door to the Spider-Man reboot. He was first linked with the role last month, although naturally enough when we sat next to him at the Percy Jackson round-table just before that, he was keeping mum, save for saying lots of nice things about Percy Jackson director Chris Columbus. Most of the reports at the moment are suggesting the story has emanated from sources close to Lerman himself, and weve seen that one or two sites have since ripped the story down. This leads us to think that either a) its bullshit, or b) its the real deal, and some PR strong-arm tactics are at work. Which doesnt actually help in the context of things a great deal. Lerman would certainly fit Sonys bill for the new Spider-Man, though. The film is going to have a focus on Peter Parkers school days, and thus a young actor - ideally under 20 - was always on the wishlist. Lerman firmly fits that criteria, and hes also cheap for Sony to hire. Itll presumably look to sign him for three pictures, and given that the budget for the Spider-Man reboot is set to be in the $80m range, its fair to say that large actor salaries arent prevalent on the production accounts. As we said, theres no confirmation of this yet, and it may all turn out to be baloney. We suspect that the casting of Lerman may be close to the mark, however, and that hell be joining director Marc Webb in returning Spider-Man to the big screen in 2012. Spider-Man: The Reboot is due out in the summer of 2012. Well keep you posted how this story develops. More at The Cinema Source here [http://www.thecinemasource.com/blog/25540/news/exclusive-news-the-new-spider-man-has-been-cast/].
Re: [scifinoir2] Dwayne McDuffie: Race, Sci-Fi and Comics
Excellent read. Thanks rave. :-) Brent Kelwyn did write: >http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/03/race-sci-fi-and-comics-a-talk-with-dwayne-mcduffie/37063/
[scifinoir2] Batman's debut comic sold for $1M
http://jam.canoe.ca/Books/2010/02/25/13031036-ap.html Batman's debut comic sold for $1M By Jamie Stengle, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS - A 1939 comic book in which Batman makes his debut sold at auction Thursday for more than $1 million, breaking a record set just three days earlier by a Superman comic, Heritage Auction Galleries said. The Dallas-based auction house said the rare copy of Detective Comics No. 27 sold for a total of $1,075,500, which includes the buyer's premium, to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. The consigner wanted to remain anonymous as well. "It pretty much blew away all of our expectations and now it's the highest price ever raised for a comic book," said Barry Sandoval, director of operations of Heritage's comics division. A copy of the first comic book featuring Superman, a 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1, sold Monday for $1 million in a sale between a private seller and a private buyer, with the transaction conducted by the New York City auction site ComicConnect.com. "We can really say that Batman has nosed out Superman, at least for now," Sandoval said. He said the consigner had bought the Batman comic in the late 1960s for $100. With a bright yellow background, the comic features Batman swinging on a rope above city rooftops. "That cover is just one of the most famous of all comic book covers," Sandoval said. J.C. Vaughn, associate publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, said most people had predicted it would be the comics with the first appearance of Superman and Batman that broke the $1 million barrier. Both comics that sold this week were in great condition - scoring an 8.0 on a scale that goes up to 10, he said. "I think that you can greenly ascribe this to a real comfort with the liquidity of rare, high grade vintage collectibles," Vaughn said. George Pantela, owner of Melbourne, Australia-based GP Analysis, which tracks sales of certified comics from more than 20 auction houses and dealers, said the previous record was about $317,000 paid a year ago for a lesser grade Action Comics No. 1 than the one sold this week. Vincent Zurzolo, chief operating officer of Comicconnect.com, took the breaking of their record in stride. "It's an exciting week in comic books when you have two comics selling for $1 million," he said. - On the Net: Heritage Auction Galleries: http://www.ha.com
RE: [scifinoir2] (fwd): Request for Info: Subj: College Student Writing a Term Pa
I do know that it can be quite difficult to discover the perfect gateway YA science fiction series as so many are very poor entertainment. Have you considered the group of YA Alexander Key novels (of which 'Escape to Witch Mountain' is a stand-out example)? I recall them fondly for their engaging escapism; great fun for the young reader. They do tend to the paranormal sci-fi element somewhat, I'm afraid, but not overmuch. Besides, in my case, it's this very aspect that, at the outset, appealed to me immensely. So, give them a go and see what results. You can't go wrong for trying. And good luck.:-) Brent Martin Baxter did write: >Brent, I'd love to help the young man, but I'm still trying to draw all >of the young minds I can access (younger cousins and my youngest nephew) >into SF, unsuccessfully so far. > >"If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in >bloody hell hired the director?" -- Charles L Grant > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > >--- > >To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com; scifinoir_...@yahoogroups.com; >carlbran...@yahoogroups.com >From: brent_wodeho...@thefence.us >Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:26:29 -0500 >Subject: [scifinoir2] (fwd): Request for Info: Subj: College Student >Writing a Term Paper > > >Subj: College Student Writing a Term Paper >From: Jared Guild >Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 8:15 am > >Greetings, > >My name is Jared Guild and I attend a California college by the name of >Chapman University (Brandman University) which I am currently in my last >quarter and will graduate in May with my Bachelors Degree in Liberal >Studies. I am writing a term paper on the affects of Science Fiction and >Fantasy books on the imagination of children. I am writing you this email >because I got your name from an author by the name of Julie E. Czerneda. I >am looking for information that is in the area of Science Fiction and >Fantasy with regard to stimulating children's imagination. If you have any >information that would be useful I am looking for any kind of case study >that has been done or any publications with regard to my paper. If you >have >any books that have been published with information I could always make a >trip to a library. If you know of anybody else I should contact who might >be able to help me out as well that would be appreciated. Thank you for >your time and any help that you might provide. > >A Young Mind, > >Jared Guild >
[scifinoir2] (fwd): Request for Info: Subj: College Student Writing a Term Paper
Subj: College Student Writing a Term Paper From: Jared Guild Date: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 8:15 am Greetings, My name is Jared Guild and I attend a California college by the name of Chapman University (Brandman University) which I am currently in my last quarter and will graduate in May with my Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies. I am writing a term paper on the affects of Science Fiction and Fantasy books on the imagination of children. I am writing you this email because I got your name from an author by the name of Julie E. Czerneda. I am looking for information that is in the area of Science Fiction and Fantasy with regard to stimulating children's imagination. If you have any information that would be useful I am looking for any kind of case study that has been done or any publications with regard to my paper. If you have any books that have been published with information I could always make a trip to a library. If you know of anybody else I should contact who might be able to help me out as well that would be appreciated. Thank you for your time and any help that you might provide. A Young Mind, Jared Guild
Re: [scifinoir2] Spelman's Robocup Team Making History
Absolutely inspirational (in true nerd fashion, no less :-). Thanks for this. Brent Keith Johnson writes: >Kewl! Over the holidays I watched a PBS special about a robot >competition. In this one, teams built all kind of devices to shoot a >bunch of balls into a net. Some teams built really nimble shooters, >others built bulky beasts. And some built good defensive systems. The >show detailed how the high school teams had to learn about project >management, deadlines, how to recover from problems in crisis situations, >etc. and just like any exciting sporting event, the final competition was >actually quite thrilling. I'd like to see the Spelman team compete... > >*** > >http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_state_of_black_america_news/16558 > >Living Black History: Spelman's SpelBots Amaze > > >Date: Monday, February 22, 2010, 6:32 am >By: Patrice Gaines, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com > > > >EDITORÕS NOTE: As part of our ÒLiving Black HistoryÓ series in observance >of Black History Month, this week, BlackAmericaWeb.com will celebrate >blacks in education. > >Andrew Williams had a vision. Spelman College believed in it. And the >result is a team of fierce young women who are earning an international >reputation by going toe-to-toe with more experienced graduate level teams >in games of high technology. They are the SpelBots, first all-female and >all-African-American team to qualify for the prestigious senior league of >Robocup. > >Not quite six years after founding the group, Williams, their founder and >coach, says the SpelBots are Òbreaking barriers and paving the way for >other black women and for Spelman to one day win the international >championship.Ó > >Members of the team, mostly computer science and engineering majors, >conduct research and education projects in robotics and compete >internationally in robot soccer competition. The team is attracting young >women to Spelman who were pleased to find that the college offers an >innovative way to learn cutting edge technology. > >ÒI had been on the robotics team in high school,Ó said Jazmine Miller, >the teamÕs co-captain and a junior who is a dual computer science and >computer engineering major. ÒI was always interested in computer science >and love video games. I found robotics very interesting.Ó > >Jonecia Keels, the teamÕs other co-captain and also a computer science >and computer engineering major, said, ÒI saw (the SpelBots) give a >presentation during freshman convocation, and I thought about how they >were breaking stereotypes. By being a part of SpelBots, I thought it >would show the world that minorities can bring a lot to the table in >technology.Ó > >Coach Williams is the first and only African-American thus far to receive >a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas. He was >teaching at the University of Iowa, where he had just two black students >in five years, when he read the popular best-selling Rick Warren book, >"The Purpose Driven Life." The book made Williams start to ponder what he >wanted to accomplish with his own life. > >ÒI realized my purpose was to help African-American students reach their >potential,Ó he said. > >He had already returned to school to get his PhD. because he wanted to be >a role model for students. ÒAt the time, during the mid Ô90s, we were >having the big dot-com boom, but I didnÕt see many African-Americans >becoming instant millionaires,Ó he said. So Williams and his wife and >their children moved from Iowa to Atlanta so he could fulfill his purpose. > >First, Williams introduced students to four-legged robots that looked >like cute little puppies. > >ÒI thought they could spark interest in students because they were cute,Ó >he said. ÒStudents could get visual and tactile feedback on programming. >I was concerned that sometimes our students arenÕt taught in ways that >cater to their learning style.Ó > >Team members spend some 10 hours a week on projects. But when preparing >for competition, that time can triple. The first year of competition, >they discovered most of their opponents were graduate schools. The >SpelBots qualified to participate in the international contests in Japan, >but they didnÕt win any matches. > >Last year, the team had a controversial first place tie in the RoboCup >Japan 2009 Standard Platform Nao League humanoid soccer championship in >Osaka, Japan. It was a well-earned honor to even be invited by the >RoboCup Japan organization to participate in its first humanoid robot >competition. In these contests, teams play their opponents in soccer with >robots programmed with artificial intelligence and operated without the >use of remote controls. > >The SpelBots tied five matches and were playing the championship round >against Fukuoka Institute of Japan. They tied and had to > >. go into a penalty kick situation. Williams said, ÒIf we could have >done sudden death, we would have won. But th
Re: [scifinoir2] Intro Tracy, Madison, WI
Welcome aboard! (Please don't mind the horsey chat, lack of decorum, or laddish behaviour. It's just our way of saying hello. :-) Brent Tracy Curtis did write: > >Hello Everyone, >I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before. My name is Tracy. (I'm a >female Tracy) I'm currently living in Madison, WI where I have a >university job. I joined initially because one of my students is working >on a project that involves science fiction, speculative fiction and >revisions of high school curriculum. I'm teaching a class right now that >involves some science fiction along with some speculative fiction, >horror, and philosophy. I've been enjoying your talks, but hadn't joined >in at all because I had not properly introduced myself. Sorry about the >delay. Things have been (and remain) a bit hectic. > > >So here's my template! > >Tracy > >1. Name: Tracy Curtis >2. Location: Madison, WI >3. Nickname/ Alias: >4. To which Speculative Fiction Character do you relate or identify When >I was a kid, I really identified with the girl from Escape to Witch >Mountain because I wanted to be able to move things with my mind. >Alexander Key, author, yes? I was struck by Dana's predicament in >Octavia Butler's Kindred. >5. Favorite SciFi Genres: near future speculation >6. Favorite Scifi Movies Event Horizon, Brother from Another Planet, >Tank Girl,Aliens, Last Angel of History >7. Favorite SciFi TV or Online Shows ((canceled shows ok) X-Files, >Warehouse 13 >8. Favorite SciFi Producers and Directors >9. Favorite SciFi Characters >10. Favorite SciFi Villain: >11. Favorite SciFi Comics and Graphic Novels I'm not good at reading >these. I'm trying more. >12. Favorite SciFi Film or TV Adaptation of a Book: >13. Favorite SciFi Film or TV Adaptation of a Comic or Graphic Novel: >14. Favorite SciFi Film movie (s) that flopped: >15. Your SciFi Favorite TVShow (s)that was/were canceled unfairly: >Freaky Links, Invasion >16. Favorite Speculative Fiction Books: >17. Favorite Speculative Fiction Authors: >18. List speculative fiction stereotyped scenarios or characters that irk >you: >19. Other topics of importance to you: With my class, I've been curious >about how readers of various backgrounds take in works with no white >characters. >20. List your own published works, if any: - nothing related >21. Your web site: >22. Favorite Scifi Web Sites: >
[scifinoir2] LOTR prequel made by a fanatic using her £25,000 life savings scor
Hey Astro... :-) Brent C.W. Badie wrote: >Hello, Brent... > >"Such music flows on the Fringe, and no one can resist singing to Scarlet" >From "THE SIDE STREET CHRONICLES" by C.W. Badie > >--- On Sat, 2/13/10, brent wodehouse wrote: >>From: brent wodehouse >> Subject: [scifinoir2] LOTR prequel made by a fanatic using her £25,000 life savings scores 500,000 vie >>To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com >>Date: Saturday, February 13, 2010, 9:28 PM >> >> >>http://www.dailymai l.co.uk/news/ article-1249966/ Lord-Rings- fanatic-reaps- fruit-labour- self-funded- prequel-Born- Of-Hope-scores- 500-000-views- internet. html >> >> Lord Of The Rings prequel made by a fanatic using her £25,000 life savings >>scores 500,000 views on the internet
[scifinoir2] LOTR prequel made by a fanatic using her £25,000 life savings scores 500,000 vie
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249966/Lord-Rings-fanatic-reaps-fruit-labour-self-funded-prequel-Born-Of-Hope-scores-500-000-views-internet.html Lord Of The Rings prequel made by a fanatic using her £25,000 life savings scores 500,000 views on the internet By Andrew Levy 12th February 2010 She didn't have Peter Jackson's £200million budget, eight years of filming time or the spectacular scenery of New Zealand to work with. But Kate Madison could match his boundless passion - and with it managed to make her own Lord Of The Rings film. The amateur actress was so inspired by the blockbuster Rings trilogy created by Jackson she wrote, directed and produced a prequel based on material from the original JRR Tolkien books. Her hour-long movie Born Of Hope, made on a budget of just £25,000, is already a success, with more than 500,000 people viewing it for free on the internet. Miss Madison, 31, from Cambridge, said that watching the trilogy had blown her mind. 'The battle scenes and the array of incredible characters really inspired me and I was desperate to have a go at making an epic myself,' she said. She put her £8,000 life savings into the project, worked as an office temp to gain extra cash and raised a further £17,000 by posting a trailer on YouTube appealing for donations. She convinced more than 400 cast and crew to give their time for free, and played the part of Elgarain the forest ranger herself. And over a year, starting in mid-2008, she filmed Born Of Hope in locations around England. Miss Madison said: 'There were times when it was cold and wet and we were up to our eyes in mud standing in the middle of a forest wondering if we could make this a success. 'But now it's all done it's an amazing feeling.' Her story was based on two paragraphs Tolkien included in the appendix to his books, which mentioned the adventures of Arathorn and Gilraen, the parents of Aragorn, who was played in the Jackson films by Viggo Mortensen. It was shot in Epping Forest, Essex, and West Stow, Suffolk, after seeking permission from local authorities. Christopher Dane, who plays Arathorn in the film alongside Beth Aynsley as his wife Gilraen, said the experience had been 'exhilarating'. The 45-year-old actor from Muswell Hill, north London, added: 'It was brilliant fun and we have produced an entire film for less than Peter Jackson spent on breakfast for his cast while he was filming the original in New Zealand.' Jackson's first Lord Of The Rings film, The Fellowship Of The Ring, was released in 2001, followed by The Two Towers in 2002 and The Return Of The King in 2003. They became among the most successful films of all time, grossing almost $3billion between them. Jackson is now collaborating with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro on a two-part adaptation of Tolkien's The Hobbit, due for release in 2011 and 2012.