Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Brother from Siberia - a possible new branch of ancient humans
NEW YORK, N.Y.—In the latest use of DNA to investigate the story of
humankind, scientists have decoded genetic material from an unidentified
human ancestor that lived in Siberia and concluded it might be a new
member of the human family tree.
...
Excavation camp in Southern Siberia in the Altai Mountains.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Texas takes another step backwards into ignorance
Excerpt:
the amendments will overturn a broad array of long-standing tenets and beliefs about U.S. history and society, rejecting the constitutional separation of church and state, promoting a Judeo-Christian interpretation of the motivations that inspired the country's founding fathers, dropping references to Latino heroes and accomplishments, and justifying the red-baiting, anti-Communist extremism that overran large tracts of the U.S. body politic during the 1950s, spearheaded by Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Meanwhile, founding father Thomas Jefferson – unpopular with conservatives because he championed the division between religion and politics – is to be downplayed in classrooms. Conservative heroes such as Schlafly (known for her opposition to feminism) and Gingrich (leader of a Republican renaissance in U.S. politics) will now be promoted to U.S. students for their beliefs and accomplishments.
Jackson, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, is to be singled out as "a role model for effective leadership." But references to Latino heroes are to be played down, a move that would presumably affect the legacy of Cesar Chavez, the late Mexican-American civil rights activist whose birthday is now marked as an official or optional holiday in several U.S. states, including Texas.
Oh, yes – and the mainly black hip-hop musical style will no longer be considered "a significant cultural movement" among Texas youth. Country and Western will be celebrated instead.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Earths may be more common than we think
We are surrounded by dozens of habitable planets. We just can’t see them yet, according to a researcher.
In his new book, How to Find a Habitable Planet, geoscientist Jim Kasting suggests that the chances that each of the stars you see in the sky is being rotated by a planet capable of sustaining life are surprisingly high.
...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monster - movie updates
The advance word (more like hopeful speculation, really) was that this would be the "Mexican District 9," but Monsters is a much more modest and subdued affair, and perhaps its greatest accomplishment is the establishment of its intriguing new mythology.
...
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Killing Joke tour delayed until Fall
Reconstituted postpunk act Killing Joke this week announced it will push back the release of its forthcoming reunion album XIII: Feast of Fools from April until early September, and also will delay its lengthy 30th anniversary tour of Europe and North America until later this year.
...
The delay calls off 24 shows in April, May and June, and, so far, the band only has rescheduled what were to be the first two dates: Edinburgh and London. Ferguson notes that, “Of course, all tickets will be honored to the rescheduled shows.”
Killing Joke tour dates:
April 15: Picture House, Edinburgh, UK
April 16: Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK
April 19: Bataclan, Paris, France
April 20: AB Main Hall, Brussels, Belgium
April 21: Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
April 23: Werkstatt, Cologne, Germany
April 24: Grunspan, Hamburg, Germany
April 26: Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, Czech Republic
April 27: Mega Club, Katowictz, Poland
April 28: Palladium, Warsaw, Poland
April 29: Nosturi, Helsinki, Finland
May 21: Black Cat/9:30 Club, Washington, D.C., USA
May 22: Irving Plaza, New York, NY, USA
May 23: Paradise, Boston, MA, USA
May 25: Cabaret, Montreal, PQ, Canada
May 26: Phoenix, Toronto, ONT, Canada
May 28: Cro Foot, Detroit, MI, USA
May 29: Empty Bottle, Chciago, IL, USA
May 30: Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL, USA
June 2: Venue, Vancuover, BC, Canada
June 3: Shoebox, Seattle, WA, USA
June 4: Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA
June 5: Regency, San Francisco, CA, USA
June 6: Witern, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Oct. 15: Picture House, Edinburgh, UK
Oct. 16: Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The next Planet of the Apes movies series remake is in the works
The prequel to the remake of Planet of the Apes has found a director.
An extened Avatar to be released to theatres in the Fall?
Cameron said,
The wildcard is that we might be re-releasing the movie this fall. It's kind of gotten stomped out (in theaters) because of Alice in Wonderland. The word we're getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple of hundred million dollars on the table as a result. The question is the appetite still going to be there after the summer glut of movies. We're going to assess that. We're talking about maybe adding in additional footage and doing something creative.
Slashfilm speculates that there could be up to 20 minutes of new footage available for the expanded Avatar, since Cameron has said he has five or six minutes of deleted scenes with finished effects, and another 15 minutes for which the effects were never completed — but they could be, if there was money to be made.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Update on the Thor movie - news on plot and list of cast members
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Clark Gregg, Colm Feore
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Ridley Scott's Alien prequel to be in 3D
Excerpt:
Put the rumours to rest as to whether H.R. Giger's metamorph will be truly leaping out of your screen in Ridley Scott's pending Alien prequel:
"Ridley's doing the next Alien in 3D." Christian told me.
When I asked the director if he thought the new prequel could set the Alien franchise straight again, he responded:
"I do. Ridley told me some of his ideas when we were here in Toronto. He has a very clear understanding of where this should go. They kind of stopped dead one of the greatest horror franchises there's ever been, and it had legs to go on. So I'm hoping he'll revive another three. The world certainly wants it, and the fans want it - everybody. "
Christian, who created the 'cannibalisation' technique of using stripped-out WWII bombers to dress SF movie classics Star Wars and Alien, is quite firm about the Alien prequel being in 3D, but less committed about it constituting the start of a new Alien trilogy. But it doesn't seem reasonable to presume that the 'trilogy' comment is completely random. So that's one rumour confirmed, but another springing up in its place, I guess.
Asked if he would have any involvement in Scott's new Alien movie, Christian responded:
"I hope so. I actually met Ridley here at the film festival. We had a chat to catch up, and he was going on about how much I'd 'got it' on the first one. I guess that's because of Star Wars, where I had a trained crew with me...and we learnt how to do it. It's not a technique that's easy to do - it's something I'd learnt. So [Scott] kept saying how I was the one responsible, really."
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