Box Office Report: 'Avatar' is No. 1 again, soars past $1 billion worldwide

by Adam B. Vary

from: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/

Thanks to astronomic word-of-mouth, inflated 3-D ticket prices, and consecutive holiday weekends that began on a Friday, Avatar continued its seemingly unstoppable climb to the Hallelujah Mountains of U.S. and global box office. According to estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office, James Cameron’s sci-fi opus grossed $68.3 million over New Years weekend, a tiny 10 percent drop from Christmas weekend for a $352.1 million domestic total — easily the biggest third weekend in the U.S. ever (2002’s Spider-Man had held the record with $45 million). Much more impressively, in just 17 days, Avatar has surpassed $1 billion in global box office. To put that in perspective, it took The Dark Knight pretty much its entire theatrical run just to make it to that milestone. (Another landmark: $66.4 million of Avatar’s worldwide total is from IMAX theaters, a record for the mega-screen format.)

Avatar wasn’t the only film to ring in the new year with serious box-office bounty, either. Sherlock Holmes sleuthed out an elementary $38.4 million for second place, a 41 percent drop for $140 million total. Hot on its heels, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel chirped to $36.6 million, dropping just 25 percent for $157 million total and third place. (So what will the inevitable third film be called? The Second Squeakquel? The Threakquel?) It’s Complicated fell a bite-sized 15 percent, cooking up $18.7 million for fourth place and $59.1 million total. And in fifth place, The Blind Side actually improved upon its total last week, rising 8 percent for $12.7 million and $209.1 million total. (As EW noted yesterday, this means star Sandra Bullock is the only actress ever to have a film marketed on her star power alone pass $200 million in U.S. box office.)

In fact, with no major debuts to steal away fresh audiences, it was simply a fabulous weekend to be in movie theaters, period. Up in the Air pitched down an imperceptible 3 percent with $11.3 million and $45 million total. The Princess and the Frog hopped up 11 percent with $10 million and $86 million total. Even certified turkey Did You Hear About the Morgans? was up 4 percent, bringing in $5.2 million for a (still woeful) $25.6 million total.

Overall, the top ten box office was up 70 percent from last year, when Marley and Me was barking its way into filmgoers’ hearts.

Image credit: WETA

Box Office Report: 'Avatar' is No. 1 again, soars past $1 billion worldwide

by: Adam B. Vary

from: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/

Thanks to astronomic word-of-mouth, inflated 3-D ticket prices, and consecutive holiday weekends that began on a Friday, Avatar continued its seemingly unstoppable climb to the Hallelujah Mountains of U.S. and global box office. According to estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office, James Cameron’s sci-fi opus grossed $68.3 million over New Years weekend, a tiny 10 percent drop from Christmas weekend for a $352.1 million domestic total — easily the biggest third weekend in the U.S. ever (2002’s Spider-Man had held the record with $45 million). Much more impressively, in just 17 days, Avatar has surpassed $1 billion in global box office. To put that in perspective, it took The Dark Knight pretty much its entire theatrical run just to make it to that milestone. (Another landmark: $66.4 million of Avatar’s worldwide total is from IMAX theaters, a record for the mega-screen format.)

Avatar wasn’t the only film to ring in the new year with serious box-office bounty, either. Sherlock Holmes sleuthed out an elementary $38.4 million for second place, a 41 percent drop for $140 million total. Hot on its heels, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel chirped to $36.6 million, dropping just 25 percent for $157 million total and third place. (So what will the inevitable third film be called? The Second Squeakquel? The Threakquel?) It’s Complicated fell a bite-sized 15 percent, cooking up $18.7 million for fourth place and $59.1 million total. And in fifth place, The Blind Side actually improved upon its total last week, rising 8 percent for $12.7 million and $209.1 million total. (As EW noted yesterday, this means star Sandra Bullock is the only actress ever to have a film marketed on her star power alone pass $200 million in U.S. box office.)

In fact, with no major debuts to steal away fresh audiences, it was simply a fabulous weekend to be in movie theaters, period. Up in the Air pitched down an imperceptible 3 percent with $11.3 million and $45 million total. The Princess and the Frog hopped up 11 percent with $10 million and $86 million total. Even certified turkey Did You Hear About the Morgans? was up 4 percent, bringing in $5.2 million for a (still woeful) $25.6 million total.

Overall, the top ten box office was up 70 percent from last year, when Marley and Me was barking its way into filmgoers’ hearts.
Image credit: WETA

Is blue the new black? Why some people think Avatar is racist

By: Mark Mardell |

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

****Spoilers Alert****

 

I am back after the holidays. Christmas day was bracketed by breaking news on health care on Christmas Eve and the underpants bomber on Boxing Day, but for the last few days I have been enjoying some time with the family.

One of the best things we did was see Avatar. Stupendous. Exhilarating. Extraordinary. I never thought 3D could work. The technology is stunning. I admit I am something of a science fiction buff, but I think most people are going to be blown away by this film. Predictably, columnists who live to attack whatever is successful and put the counter-intuitive point of view are having a field day.

But the criticism that has intrigued me is the charge that the film is racist.

I have tried in writing this not to blow the plot, but inevitably there are some spoilers. For those who don't know already, the story centres on a conflict between greedy corporate human invaders and the planet's inhabitants, 10-foot tall, blue-skinned people with rather feline features and tails. One of many such blogs argues that "Avatar is a fantasy about ceasing to be white, giving up the old human meatsack to join the blue people, but never losing white privilege."

With a certain accuracy critics have pointed out that all the "human" characters are played by white actors and all the blue, cat-like Na'vi are played by non-whites. With a degree of American insularity they also say that because they use bows and arrows and wear feathers they are "really" native Americans. This ignores tribal indigenous people from New Guinea to Brazil, so deliberately misses a wider point.

The debate in the US is conditioned by the long-running argument among sci-fi writers and fans about the "magical negro". It is a term coined by black critics who noted white authors often featured non-white characters possessed of a certain sort of natural wisdom, mystic powers, who play sidekick to the white hero and often sacrifice themselves for the central character. They are a variant on the much-older ideal of the "noble savage".

If I have understood correctly, the critics say this is demeaning because the character, who need not actually be black, but native American or some other ethnic group, acts only to help the whites central to the story, and isn't part of a racial group, doesn't have a back story, or a fully developed character but is essentially a plot device. I'd note that American fiction has quite often featured a "magic janitor" and I think the key is what the author perceives on a very basic level as otherness as much as race.

The term surfaced in the political arena during the last presidential elections when in the LA times David Ehrenstein suggested Barack Obama was a magical negro: "Like a comic-book superhero, Obama is there to help, out of the sheer goodness of a heart we need not know or understand. For as with all Magic Negroes, the less real he seems, the more desirable he becomes."

It is a thoughtful article, disturbing for its unspoken assumption that Obama is a self-constructed stereotype, not a real person and that "authentic" black people behave in a certain way.

In any case the term was gleefully taken up by Obama's opponents and set to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon. You might guess their purpose was not to advance post-structuralist criticism but to earn the licence to repeat the naughty word "negro" and make fun of the candidate.

Thank the powers, of whatever race, that no-one has suggested that any character in Avatar is "really" the president. Although I thought I spotted Donald Rumsfeld on the big screen. The criticism of Avatar is an extension of the "magical Negro" idea. Indeed at one level it is an inversion of it: "the magical Caucasian" who turns out to be an even nobler savage than the common and garden, bred-to-it variety. Tarzan, Lord of Greystokes, Lord of the Jungle has to be top of the tree in this game. The central complaint is that in Avatar it takes a white hero to lead the natives.

This seems to miss two points. The first is simply about the way narrative works. The critics' version of the film would be very dull. Bad people land on planet. Good people defeat them - virtuous but not much of a story arc. An emotional journey, learning and changing are better narrative. Raising age-old questions about whether it is better to be true to your values and your friends rather than your country (species) is more thought-provoking than most Hollywood blockbusters manage.

My second objection is more profound. I strongly believe the racial divide has been the driving force in American history, and continues to play a huge, and often under-discussed role in its politics. I am not one to underestimate its power.

But that doesn't mean everything is about that debate. One of the reasons I like sci-fi, apart from the escapism, is the way it explores political ideas, old and new. The film is actually a rather old-fashioned, liberal, morality tale. As in many futures imagined by authors over the last several decades the company has replaced the state as the agent of colonialism and greedy conquest. Then there is the mainstay of Hollywood morality, the underdog mounting a ferocious fight-back. Added to the mix is a healthy dose of new age Gaia-ism (Pandoraism?). The idea of weaker opponents fighting back against a military force with an apparently overwhelming technological superiority, aided by the enemy within, surely echoes not only Vietnam but conflicts much closer to us in time and space. Perhaps it is easier for American critics to think it is about race.

Oddly enough I read a rather subtler take on the idea of technology versus nature just a few days after seeing the film. My wife bought me Peter F Hamilton's Fallen Dragon for Christmas. It is much more compact and better written than his past sprawling space operas but equally packed with ideas. One chapter sees the company's military defeated in a way very familiar to viewers of Avatar. The twist is, the planetary defenders of Santa Chico are not aboriginal but come from elsewhere, post-humans genetically mutated into a state of harmony with the local flora and fauna, which are themselves itself genetically uplifted into a state of scientifically ennobled post savagery. The natives are originally from California. I always thought the West Coast was magic.

Guy Makes His Own Iron Man 2 War Suit - It's Amazing

http://digg.com/d31EWXx?f

There's Cosplay and then there's Cosplay. This is beyond Cosplay

First Look: New Clip from 'Toy Story 3' (Video)

Toy Story 3 at IGN.com

TVs are getting brighter, thinner -- and cheaper

Irvine's Vizio Inc. is getting ready to release its LED-backlit TV for $1,500 less than its competitors' sets.

By: David Colker

From: http://articles.latimes.com/

The future of television could be sitting in an Irvine laboratory.

To illuminate images, these sets use light-emitting diodes behind the screen, resulting in TVs that can be far thinner, brighter and more eco-friendly than other flat-panel models.


LED-backlit TVs -- an evolution of the standard LCD set -- have been on the market since 2004. But the sets in this lab have something that could catapult the technology into the mainstream.

A far lower price.

This lab is deep inside the headquarters of Vizio Inc., the discount electronics company that became the biggest supplier of LCD TVs in North America through its aggressive pricing. When it lowers prices, other manufacturers often have to follow, even if they don't go quite so low.

"When Vizio announces its prices," said consumer electronics analyst Richard Doherty, "people in the rest of the industry don't go home early that night."

This year, LED-backlit televisions have accounted for less than 3% of world TV shipments from manufacturers, according to market researcher DisplaySearch. That's because they so recently came on the scene and usually cost double or more compared with standard LCD sets.

Vizio's first LED-backlit set, which will hit the market in about a month, will be a 55-inch model priced at a relative bargain price of about $2,000. Other manufacturers have LED-backlit sets in that size for about $3,500.

The adoption of big-screen LED-backlit sets, however, probably will be slowed by economic hard times.
"Right now the sweet spot is 32-inch televisions, which can be found for $500," DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon said.

In the long run, the research group is bullish on LED-backlit TVs. In a report issued Wednesday, DisplaySearch predicted that by 2014, shipments of LED-backlit sets would surpass standard LCDs.

"The future is LED, there is no doubt about it," said Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies Corp., which sells optimization software for video displays.

The television manufacturing industry could use the shot in the arm that a new technology can provide.

"When the industry went from analog to digital and from tube to flat-panel, it drove a lot of growth because it was very exciting," Gagnon said. "That's what the industry needs, something to drive excitement."

LED-backlit TVs can put on a dramatic show, even when just sitting there. Samsung's 46-inch model is only 1.2-inches thick, giving it a startlingly thin profile.

The colors an LED-backlit TV displays can be turned up brighter, making the sets stand out in a store.
But not all experts agree that the flashiness of LED-backlit sets are worth the extra money.

"Right now," Soneira said, "I think it's a marketing gimmick."

The LEDs use less energy and, perhaps most important, don't contain mercury like the florescent bulbs that light up standard LCD TVs.

The eco-advantages are a key to the future of LED-backlit TVs, Soneira said.

"The government hates mercury," he said.

There are two basic types of LED-backlighting -- multicolored (sometimes called RGB for red, green, blue) and white.

The multicolored setup allows for more vivid colors on the screen. "It's more true to life," Doherty said.

It also is much more expensive. Sony has a 46-inch model that sells for about $4,000.

The industry is concentrating on white-light models, which also produce bright colors. LG, Samsung and Toshiba have TVs using that technology on the market, and Sharp and Vizio sets are coming soon.

There are two other variations on LED-backlit TVs -- direct and edgelit -- that determine the thickness of the sets.

Direct has the LEDs spread across the entire back of the screen. This type of illumination gives better image quality, experts say, but the sets end up nearly as thick as standard LCDs.

The edgelit models group the LEDs on the edges, allowing the sets to be very thin. But quality can suffer, at least slightly.

Thinness could be a big selling point. "People will have their friends over to impress them," Soneira said.

In fact, he thinks a lot of the aspects of LED-backlit TVs are just for showing off, not for producing a truly accurate image.

Soneira said that most people couldn't tell the difference between a perfectly adjusted LCD set with fluorescent backlighting and one that uses LEDs.

But without LEDs, you wouldn't be joining the future.

"With a standard LCD TV," he said, "there are no bragging rights."

--

david.colker@latimes.com

Source says Wes Welker tears ACL, MCL

ESPN.com news services

Patriots enter playoffs without Welker

ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss on Wes Welker's injury against the Texans Tags: New England Patriots

Patriots enter playoffs without Welker

VIDEO PLAYLIST

HOUSTON -- Initial tests show that New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker tore both the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans, but he is scheduled to undergo more testing Monday, a source close to the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Dave EinselWes Welker is carted into the locker room after hurting his left knee.

The injury will presumably end Welker's season just as the Patriots' prepare for next Sunday's AFC wild-card game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick indicated Monday that he had no update on Welker, other than to confirm that the injured wide receiver was scheduled to undergo tests Monday morning.

"I felt badly for him," said Belichick. "He had a great year. It's unfortunate to see any player have an injury. Wes is a great competitor and I'm sure that he'll do whatever it is -- he'll work hard as he always does to bounce back."

Welker was injured in the first quarter when he tried to plant his left foot after making a catch. He was helped to the sideline by members of the Patriots' medical staff, then buried his head in a towel while sitting on the bench. Welker was later carted to the locker room.

"You can't replace him, there's no doubt about that," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Monday on WEEI radio. "There's nobody that can substitute in for Wes and think that they're going to be Wes. He is everything you ask for.

"We've got to move on and we've got to go out there and play and everyone I think in different areas has to pick it up. I have to play better, Julian [Edelman] has to play better, Randy [Moss] has to play better, the offensive line, running backs, tight ends, we all have to do more. I think that's the commitment we have to make to one another."

Cornerback Shawn Springs said the likely loss of Welker hurts.

"It's no secret around the whole NFL how important Wes is to us," Springs said. "My prayers are with him, because I know Wes is one of those guys who wants to be out there all the time. We are going to miss him."

Welker caught a pass from Brady on New England's first possession and his knee appeared to buckle as he turned upfield. When Welker went down, a nearby player immediately called for medical help. Brady and receiver Randy Moss kneeled over Welker, and Belichick also walked out from the sideline to check on Welker.

"You're heartbroken for Wes because he's so important to our team, he's probably the heart and soul of our team," Springs said.

The Patriots locker room was somber after the loss in Houston and Brady, who has been as accessible as ever this season, was presumably so frustrated at the turn of events that he declined to answer questions from reporters. A chair was placed in his empty locker and he was long gone by the time reporters entered the room after a lengthy delay.

Welker finished the season with a franchise record 123 catches (despite missing two games), 1,348 yards and four touchdowns.

"We've been going through that all year -- people up, people down," linebacker Adalius Thomas said of the playoff-bound Patriots. "Will we miss [Welker]? Yes we will. But the guys behind him have to step up and make plays."

Rookie receiver Julian Edelman, who projects to take on the bulk of Welker's responsibilities in the playoffs, played well Sunday after Welker was hurt. He set career highs with 10 catches and 103 yards receiving.

"I'm going to have to do a lot of studying and prepare like I have prepared all year," Edelman said. "All I can do is work hard and take the coaching that we have had and go with it."

Edelman, a seventh-round draft choice out of Kent State, has been one of the Patriots' surprise performers this season. He previously filled in for Welker in the second and third weeks of the season, and plays with a similar style.

In 10 games prior to Sunday, he had totaled 27 receptions for 256 yards. Edelman's numbers spiked against the Texans, and the Patriots will need more of the same in the playoffs.

"He's not a rookie any more," Springs said. "He needs to be ready to step up."

Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss and The Associated Press was used in this report.

Burj Dubai sets records and makes profits

By Malcolm Borthwick Editor, Middle East Business Report, BBC World, Dubai From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Towering ambition: the Burj dwarfs its neighbours - and all other world towers

In recent years Dubai has grabbed the headlines with audacious offshore islands, rotating buildings and a seven star hotel. On Monday it opened the world's tallest building, Burj Dubai.

At more than 800m, Burj Dubai smashed the previous world record, which was held by Taiwan's 508m Taipei 101.

It's about twice the height of the Empire State Building, you can see its spire from 95km away and the exterior is covered in about 26,000 glass panels, which glisten in the midday desert sun.

The design of the building posed unprecedented technical and logistical challenges, not just because of its height, but also because Dubai is susceptible to high winds and is close to a geological fault line.

"You have the solutions for it but you always wonder how it will really work," Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar, the developer behind Burj Dubai told the BBC.

"We have been hit with lightning twice, there was a big earthquake last year that came across from Iran, and we have had all types of wind which has hit us when we were building. The results have been good and I salute the designers and professionals who helped build it."

West to East shift

One of the companies behind the Burj was the Canadian-based wind engineering firm RWDI. Extreme wind speeds on the ground in Dubai can reach 50km an hour. At the top of the building it can be three times as fast.

Wayne Boulton, general manager of RWDI's wind engineering team in the Middle East, explains how they tested the building for wind resistance.

"We constructed a scale model and put it in a wind tunnel," he says. "In the wind tunnel we are able to test a number of different wind speeds and directions. We can test the pressure you would get on the surface of the building under normal conditions and also under more extreme events."

The last couple of decades have seen a shift in the building of skyscrapers from the West to the East. Four out of five of the world's tallest buildings are in Asia and the Middle East.

Burj Dubai amid the Dubai skyline

"It comes down to confidence," says Andrew Charlesworth from property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle. "A lot of these emerging economies see themselves as important players in the world and want to show they can deliver these sort of projects.

"The wealth of the world is shifting from the West to the East and emerging economies want to highlight their future expectations in terms of where they are gong to be positioning themselves globally."

White elephant?

Dubai is a city of superlatives, where everything has to be the biggest and the boldest. But like many of the world's past tallest buildings, Burj Dubai was planned and built during the boom years, and finished during a property crash. The Empire State Building was completed during the Great Depression in the 1930s and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia during the 1990s Asian financial crisis.

This has led many to question whether this latest record breaker is a white elephant. Though Mohamed Ali Alabbar argues it is anything but.

"As of today we have sold 90% of the building and we expect it to be 90%-occupied," he says. "We were lucky to make more than a 10% return. Originally we thought we'd be lucky to break even, because we can make so much money from the land around Burj Dubai which is a 500-acre site."

BURJ DUBAI IN NUMBERS 95: distance in km at which its spire can be seen 504: rise in metres of its main service lift 57: number of lifts 49: number of office floors 1,044: number of residential apartments 900: length in feet of the fountain at the foot of the tower, the world's tallest performing fountain 28,261: number of glass panels on the exterior of the tower Dubai opens world's tallest tower In pictures: Building the Burj Dubai

The fact that the developer has made a profit on its $1.5bn (£928m) investment has been helped by the fact that it bought the land with equity and not cash, and that it pre-sold most of the apartments and offices before the property crash.

Investors have already handed over 80% of the value of the apartments and offices, and will pay the remaining 20% on moving in. And in contrast to many unfinished developments in Dubai, the default rate among investors has been low.

But for investors, it has been a mixed picture. Fortunes have been won and lost on the Dubai property market, which has collapsed in spectacular fashion. Like many properties here, Burj Dubai was sold "off-plan" or before the building was completed. Offices and apartments went on sale in 2004 and most were snapped up by both local and international investors in just two days.

Mohamed Abdul Hadi is one local investor who made millions out of Burj Dubai long before the building was completed. "In 2007 we bought three floors on Burj Dubai," he told the BBC. "The first investor paid 2,500 UAE dirhams ($680; £420) per square foot. We bought at AED 3,500 and one year later we sold at around AED 5,000. Look at the profit, where else can you have this but Dubai? And with no taxes."

Oversupply

But those who invested late will be nursing large losses, according to Saud Masud, a real estate analyst at Swiss investment bank UBS. "Late stage investors may find this a lot more challenging because property prices in Dubai have come down by 50% and we think prices are likely to go down another 30%," he says.

"We have an oversupply in the property market today. We think it will reach 25% to 30% vacancy rates for residential property in a year's time, and for commercial property it's already 40%. Burj Dubai is not immune to that."

The landscape of Dubai has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Sheikh Zayed Road is the 12-lane super-highway which runs through the city and is named after the UAE's founding father. Twenty years ago there were just a few tall buildings here, now there are hundreds, all jostling for space. But in the three years that I've been here, the frenzied pace of construction has slowed down and many cranes now stand idle.

Developers are holding back on new multi-billion dollar flagship projects and focusing on finishing existing projects instead. About $190bn worth of Dubai real estate projects are currently on hold, according to Middle East Economic Digest. As in many parts of the world, banks are reluctant to lend and investors are reluctant to spend. Burj Dubai could mark the end of an era for skyscrapers in the Gulf - at least in the short term.

Five Reasons Avatar Still Won’t Win Best Picture

I hate to post this article, after seeing the movie last night in IMAX 3D. Which i have to say deserves best picture. I agree if Lane Brown.

• By: Lane Brown
• From: http://nymag.com/

Photo: Courtesy of Fox

We go on vacation for a few measly days, and look what happens: James Cameron's ecstatically reviewed, box-office-conquering Avatar is suddenly, improbably, the front-runner in this year's Best Picture race. Far be it from us to tell the HMFIC what he can and can't do, but we still don't see the King of the World reigning on another Oscar night. After the jump, we count down the five biggest reasons why Avatar can't win the Academy's top award (or at least the five reasons we'll be surprised when Cameron swaggers up to the Oscar podium, spikes his award, and tells his haters to suck it in Na'vi).

1. The Special Effects.
When it was released in 1997, Titanic, too, had CGI impressive enough to distract from Cameron's tin-eared dialogue — but the film's clear focus was its sweeping, tragic, human-based love story (not that this helped Cameron get a nomination for his screenplay, of course). Avatar's script is serviceable, we guess, but have you heard a single person raving about anything but the movie's special effects? We have not.

2. The Academy: still snobby.
While it may be true that only whiny snobs are still complaining about Avatar's extravisual shortcomings, it's worth noting that the Academy's current membership is comprised primarily of whiny snobs. Remember last year, when they snubbed The Dark Knight in favor of The Reader? Or the year before that, in which the cumulative gross of the five Best Picture nominees was approximately half of what it costs to see Avatar in IMAX? Not since 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King have popcorn-allergic Oscar voters rewarded anything crowd-pleasing and blockbusting in the top category.

3. Screeners.
Another thing Academy members are snobby about is sharing recirculated movie-theater air with mouth-breathing non-Oscar-voting plebeians. Studios interested in winning awards generally have to furnish agoraphobic, non-theater-visiting voters with DVD copies of their movies — standard-definition, 2-D DVDs obviously incapable of showcasing the three-dimensional, IMAX-def glory that is Avatar.

4. Oscar still hates science fiction.
Like comedy, animation, and movies featuring brown people, science fiction has historically been ignored by the Academy Awards. No space-based movie has ever won Best Picture, and none have been nominated since E.T. in 1982 (it lost to Gandhi, which featured not a single alien).

5. Actors.
One argument for Avatar's Best Picture chances is that 3-D movies (and higher ticket prices) are the film industry's current best hope for longevity, and that the Academy might cast a vote for its own survival. Fat chance, we say: The organization's biggest contingent, by far, is actors, the very same people replaced by blue pixels on James Cameron's computer-generated, thespian-free Pandora. Sure, one could correctly argue that Avatar features the motion-captured performances of real human beings, but just try explaining that to technophobic ballot-wielding elderlies like Mickey Rooney and Dame Judi Dench.

Being Obama’s Brother

Stephen Morrison / Corbis

George Obama sits in front of his home in a slum in Nairobi, Kenya

By George Obama | NEWSWEEK

In November 2008, I stood in a bar in Kenya watching Barack Obama give his victory speech. From the wild cheering of the crowd on TV, and his repeated appeals to them personally—"You said," "You heard," "You called"—I felt as if the people of America knew this man far better than I, even though we shared the same father. If there was a leading light in the Obama clan, he was it; and if there was a shadowed place that no one liked to talk about, then that, I guess, was me.

After a relatively privileged childhood, I crashed and burned in my teenage years. I had migrated from the plush suburbs of Nairobi, Kenya, to the wild chaos of the ghetto. I lost myself in drink and drugs and became a gun-toting gangster. In my early 20s, I spent a year in a Nairobi prison on robbery charges. My imprisonment included a starvation diet and 24/7 lockdowns in overcrowded, airless cells. But I came out a different man, resolved to turn my life around and find a different path.

Along with some fellow slum dwellers, I set up a youth group for ghetto kids. My passion was football (soccer), which is followed religiously throughout Africa. When we first established the Huruma Centre Football Club, none of our kids had so much as a pair of football boots, let alone any uniform. Some were so hungry when they turned up that they had no energy to play. At other times, the team had to trek for miles to matches because we couldn't afford any transportation. In spite of all that, our players were passionate, and we started winning. Then, as my brother's profile grew in America and around the world, the media came looking for his African relatives.

Eventually the press found me in my slum. My new notoriety was a blessing and a curse. Many people presume I have a direct line to the White House, but I don't. I've only met my big brother twice and have spoken to him just once since the election, to say congratulations. Still, because of our connection, I managed to pull in funds from philanthropists to support the work of the youth group. I raised enough money to buy the team gold and green uniforms—with their own numbers on the back. Last fall, Obama's Champs won the Nairobi Super League—a feat that, just a couple of years back, would have been unthinkable for a team from the slums. With the sponsorship I've attracted because of my last name, we can now afford to take buses all across Kenya for matches.

I still live in one of Africa's biggest slums, along with some 4.5 million others. We have little or no access to health care, no welfare, and no free schooling. The average income is less than $5 a day—and that's for those who find work as servants, taxi drivers, or garbage collectors. For the rest, there is nothing. My brother has risen to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world. In Kenya I hope to be a leader among the poorest, most powerless people on earth—the people of the ghetto.

Hope—it's an idea my brother talked about a lot. But it was only recently that I learned again what it means to feel the true spirit of that word. Here, a little goes a long way.

Obama's memoir, Homeland, was co-written with Damien Lewis.

© 2010

Could scientists resurrect the dodo bird?

by Jacob Silverman

From: http://animals.howstuffworks.com/
Browse the article Could scientists resurrect the dodo bird?

Could scientists resurrect the dodo bird?

The dodo -- an extinct bird made famous in traveling exhibitions and works of fiction -- may be ready for a comeback. In early July 2007, scientists working on the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar off of the coast of Africa, announced the discovery of the best preserved dodo skeleton ever found. It appears complete and is one of only two of the extinct bird that's been unearthed. The find, which was kept secret for several weeks while the site was examined and the skeleton collected, may provide valuable DNA samples.

Image courtesy Taco van der Eb/ Associated Press The 2007 discovery of a complete dodo skeleton may reveal valuable information about the extinct bird.

The new dodo skeleton is particularly exciting because it was found in a cave, which helped to preserve the specimen and, scientists hope, its DNA. Many dodo bones have been discovered in Mauritius' swamps, but the swamp environment has a corrosive effect on the bones. The only other dodo DNA came from a 15th-century skeleton brought to Britain from Mauritius. That sample allowed scientists to determine the bird's relationship with other birds. The study revealed that dodos are related to many types of pigeons and doves. The new skeleton may reveal even more information about the dodo, including a more complete version of the animal's genetic code. This find raises the question: Could scientists resurrect the dodo bird?

First, let's get to know the dodo, an animal that continues to live quite a life in popular culture and our lexicon, even after its extinction more than 300 years ago. Dutch and Portuguese explorers discovered dodos in 1598, and the bird went extinct about 80 years later. Living in the forests of Mauritius, dodos grew to about one meter (three feet, three inches) in length and weighed up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds) [Source: Peter Maas]. Their feathers varied from white to shades of gray and black, and they had a large beak that was almost swollen in appearance. Recent analyses show that, contrary to common belief, dodos probably weren't excessively fat, round birds. Instead they were thinner and more proportionate to other birds, though their short legs may have made their bodies seem larger than they were.

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­Beth Shapiro, a scientist at Oxford University, told National Geographic that "dodos were essentially fat pigeons" [Source: National Geographic]. But many explorers' accounts of the birds as stupid or clumsy are colored by the fact that dodos had no natural predators on Mauritius. Because they lived without fear of attack, dodos had no reason to fear people and sometimes approached them. Eating lots of low-lying food -- dodos had an omnivorous diet of fish, seeds and fruit -- made them plump and also removed the evolutionary imperative to fly. Over time, dodos' wings became shortened and they lost the ability to fly. The lack of flight combined with other strange actions, such as eating small rocks (which scientists now believe aided in diges­tion), contributed to dodos' appearance as stupid, lazy birds. Instead, they hunted fish, had a strong bite and kept the same partner throughout life, with both animals helping to raise the couple's young.

The dodo went extinct because of one reason: humans. Portuguese and Dutch explorers introduced dogs, rats, pigs, monkeys, cats and other animals to Mauritius. These animals ate the birds' eggs, which were laid on the ground. Humans hunted the dodos for food, even though the meat reportedly wasn't very flavorful, and took many dodos abroad to be displayed in exhibits. Eventually, the bird and its eggs were hunted to extinction.

On the next page, we'll look at whether the dodo can be brought back to life -- and if it's ethical to do so.

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Resurrecting the Dodo and Other Extinct Creatures

Though some experts contend that it will never be possible, a great debate is underway in science about whether it's ethical to bring an extinct species back to life. Some animals are driven to extinction by human action, but others simply can't survive in their natural habitat or because of a major change in climate. Earth has gone through several mass extinctions, and bringing back many of these creatures could throw the world's ecosystem into chaos.

There's the question of where these creatures would go, especially since many extinct creatures would have no natural predators, except for humans. Would putting a saber-tooth tiger in the Siberian tundra disrupt the local food chain (in addition to terrorizing locals)? The alternative is keeping recreated species in a "Jurassic Park"-like zoo or nature preserve, which is exactly what a group of Japanese scientists proposed in 2005.

Image courtesy Andreas Meyer | Dreamstime Scientists believe that up to 10 million mammoths may be buried under the permafrost of the vast Siberian tundra. Some scientists to advocate cloning the animals.

In July 2007, a very well preserved woolly mammoth carcass was discovered in Siberia, reinvigorating debate about trying to resurrect the species. Some scientists contend that resurrecting extinct species may be easier with frozen animals. Sperm from mice frozen for 15 years have been used to inseminate living mice. The contention is that a female elephant could be inseminated with recovered mammoth sperm to create an elephant-mammoth hybrid. But dodos only lived in the warm climate of Mauritius and the surrounding islands -- the likelihood of finding a frozen one is slim to say the least -- so scientists would have to turn to other means to bring them back to life.

Another possibility proposed for mammoths is to remove DNA from an elephant egg and fuse it with the cell of a mammoth. That would create a creature that's 100 percent mammoth. A similar technique could conceivably be tried with a dodo, perhaps using a Nicobar pigeon, the dodo's closest non-extinct relative. But the cloned embryo would still have to be implanted into a living creature that can carry it to term (or until the egg is laid, in the case of the pigeon).

And yet another proposed method would be to use DNA from an extinct animal, like a dodo or mammoth, as a model. A living relative would then be genetically engineered to give birth to offspring that are essentially the model animal.

Extracting and decoding the DNA is the fundamental challenge. Cells break down over time, even in well preserved or frozen specimens. Gaps in DNA mean that piecing together the full genetic map of a creature may be impossible. Gaps can lead to birth defects or unviable offspring. Some scientists also believe that sperm frozen for tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of years won't be usable. Yet things that seemed impossible a decade or two ago are now happening thanks to the rapid pace of genetics research. Scientists have produced full genetic maps of several living species, including humans and dogs, and have even recreated the 1918 influenza virus that killed millions.

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Image used in Public Domain The dodo is commonly found in popular culture, sometimes representing stupidity or something going extinct or out of fashion. However, it’s also used on the official coat of arms for Mauritius.

However, even if better DNA samples, improved genome-decoding techniques and more knowledge of cloning eventually make it possible, do we want revived dodos or woolly mammoths lumbering around? Proponents of the process contend that much could be learned from bringing back these animals, while critics say that the process could quickly get out of control. For example, researchers believe that it's possible to fully map the Neanderthal genome, which should teach us more about the relationship between modern humans and our ancient forebears. But is it ethical and wise to take the next great leap by cloning a Neanderthal? Perhaps they learned nothing from the movie "Encino Man."

For more information about dodos, cloning, animal extinction and related topics, please check out the links on the next page.

Lots More Information

Sources

• Inman, Mason. "Mammoths to Return? DNA Advances Spur Resurrection Debate." National Geographic News. June 25, 2007. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070625-
  dna-resurrection.html
• Lovgren, Stefan. "Woolly Mammoth Resurrection, "Jurassic Park" Planned." National Geographic News. April 8, 2005. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/0408_050408_
  woollymammoth.html
• Maas, Peter. "Dodo." The Extinction Website. Jan. 29, 2007. http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/dodobird.htm
• Mayell, Hillary. "Extinct Dodo Related to Pigeons, DNA Shows." National Geographic News. Feb. 28, 2002. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0227_0228_dodo.html
• Ravilious, Kate. "Dodo Skeleton Found on Island, May Yield Extinct Bird's DNA." National Geographic News. July 3, 2007. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070703-dodo.html
• Rincon, Paul. "Baby mammoth discovered." BBC News. July 10, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6284214.stm
• Schmid, Randolph E. "Japanese Researcher Ponders Reviving Woolly Mammoth." The Associated Press. Live Science. Aug. 14, 2006. http://www.livescience.com/animals/ap_060814_woolly_mammoth.html
• Schmid, Randolph E. "Study: Neanderthal Genome Map Possible." The Associated Press. Discovery News. June 26, 2007. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/06/26/neanderthal_arc.html?
  category=archaeology&guid=20070626100000&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000
• "Alice in Wonderland dodos." The Dodo Blog. June 17, 2006. http://dodo.bibi.org/alice-in-wonderland-dodos/

Highlights from NHL’s Outdoor Winter Classic 2010 – Flyers vs. Bruins

January 2, 2010 – Dr. Rush
From: http://thepuckdoctors.com/

Outdoor hockey is all about bringing fans and players back to their roots. Shinny games on an outdoor rink is where pretty much all NHL players developed their love for the game, and where they played countless hours with family and friends. So everyone here at The Puck Doctors thinks the idea of playing NHL games outdoors should be more than just an annual ritual and more like a requisite for each team at least once. The conditions may not be perfect and are weather dependant, but management should recognize the value in having their players take part in an outdoor game.

In more cases than not, the outdoor classic games rejuvenate the spark and passion for the game in the players that take part. On the first day of the New Year for 2010, it was the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins that played the winter classic at Fenway Park in Boston (Home of the Red Sox). Here are the highlights from the game for those of you that missed it:

Star Wars mahed up with popular TV Shows Of The 1980s

swtorstrategies.com — This is what Star Wars would look like if it was a 80's low budget TV show.

Author: mmorpgguide |

Join other STAR WARS fans at the SW:TOR Facebook Page

To day we give you not one, but two instalments of "While we wait for The Old Republic". This time we will look at what Star Wars would look like if it was a 80'ies low budget TV show.

Dallas opening
What the Star Wars would look like if it was the Dallas TV-series



Airwolf Rebels opening
Airwolf theme. Good series, godd intro, good music. The Imperial version is next.. so enjoy!



Airwolf Imperial opening
Well.. since I've done Rebels, I had to do the Imperial side as well. Here it is, with a little twist in the cast, sort of ran out of bad guys ;)



Macgyver opening
This time it's Macgyver that gets to be Star Wars.


A-Team opening
I'll guess there will be a lot of discussions about which characters that should be in the opening - theese where my chioces.

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Counting down to who will land a retired shuttle

photo credit: http://www.wallpaperbase.com/wallpapers/space/spaceshuttle/space_shuttle_13.jpg

20 agencies show interest, but NASA says it’s in ‘a holding pattern’

By ERIC BERGER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

With space shuttles still launching and landing, NASA isn't keen to talk about what will happen to the iconic vehicles after they're retired.

But the competition among institutions to land a space shuttle for public display is heating up.

Last December, NASA issued a “request for information” to educational institutions, science museums and other organizations about their interest in acquiring a space shuttle. The space agency estimated it would cost about $42 million to prepare the vehicle and deliver it via a modified 747 Boeing aircraft carrier.

About 20 institutions — including a group of bidders led by Space Center Houston — responded. Since then, however, the space agency has been mum.

“We're still in a holding pattern,” said Robert Pearlman, editor of collectSPACE.com, a Web site for space history enthusiasts. “I don't think anyone in the program really wants to talk about retiring the orbiters while they're still flying them.”

With the recent safe return of space shuttle Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center, NASA now has five shuttle missions scheduled during the next year before it retires the vehicles.

The retirement date could be extended by President Barack Obama, who is expected to decide on the future of NASA's human spaceflight program during the next few months, but the shuttle's end is coming.

As part of NASA's conditions on receiving a shuttle, institutions must promise to display the vehicle indoors and commit to ongoing costs for its upkeep and care.

It will take time to raise funds to acquire the shuttle and prepare a facility in which to house it, but so far NASA headquarters in Washington has not indicated when it will make a decision.

“NASA's primary focus is to ensure that the space shuttle safely and successfully completes its mission — finishing the assembly of the International Space Station by the end 2010,” said NASA spokesman John Yembrick. “It is premature to speculate on when a final decision will be made.”

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is guaranteed one of the vehicles. The institution already has space shuttle Enterprise — which was used as a test vehicle in atmospheric flights but never flew in space — on display at its Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Discovery is Smithsonian's

NASA has confirmed that it will give the Smithsonian space shuttle Discovery, which the institution prizes for its role as the return-to-flight orbiter after both the Challenger and Columbia tragedies as well as its role in launching the Hubble Space Telescope.

That leaves Atlantis and Endeavour as the two remaining orbiters that have flown in space. And once it receives Discovery, Pearlman said the Smithsonian is likely to loan out Enterprise to another institution.

Pearlman said Kennedy Space Center — where the shuttles are launched from and serviced — seems a highly likely choice given that transporting the vehicle there would be no problem.

And he believes Houston has a very good chance as well, given its role as the space shuttle program's headquarters, home of mission control and the place where most astronauts live.

“I actually think that as long as we can raise the money to assure there will be a facility and support it, I think Johnson has a terrific chance of getting it,” Pearlman said.

Photo Credit: https://www.magellanmodels.com/repository/product/KYNASAOCR_2.jpg

The 20 bids came from a varied group of institutions around the country, from Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Oklahoma.

The 20 bids came from a varied group of institutions around the country, from Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in Oregon to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Oklahoma.

Houston's bid is led by Space Center Houston, which wants to house the vehicle on its property adjacent to Johnson Space Center, said the center's chief executive officer, Richard E. Allen Jr.

“Space Center Houston is working along with Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and other partners in Houston and the state because we think it's going to take a broad-reaching effort to make it happen,” he said.

“You have to raise all the money to prepare a shuttle, and you also have to raise the cost for a building. Any time you're trying to raise money in those amounts, it's a big undertaking.”

eric.berger@chron.com

Inside South Africa's World Cup final stadium

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8388971.stm

Delegates from football associations around the world are gathering in South Africa ahead of Friday's draw for next year's World Cup Finals.

The centrepiece stadium for the tournament is Soccer City in Johannesburg. Jonah Fisher was given a tour.

Stuntman's record breaking car jump in California

A stuntman has beaten the record for the longest distance jumped in a car.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Stuntman's record breaking car jump in California

A stuntman has beaten the record for the longest distance jumped in a car.

Travis Pastrana took a 269-foot (82m) flying leap off Long Beach Pier, over open water, and landed on a floating barge in the harbour.

It's the longest jump ever in a car, shattering the previous world record of 171 feet.

Pedal-powered submarine to go on the market

A pedal-powered submarine capable of diving up to 30 metres has been developed by a Russian company.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Peda-powered submarine the alternative to the traditional holiday pedalo ride Photo: SOLENT NEWS

The craft can be powered by two people with no specialist training and moves at about walking pace.

The pedallers sit side by side in the craft, most of which is made from a special acrylic glass.

Its designers say this will give occupants "spectacular underwater views".

Apart from two sets of pedals, controls are limited to a steering wheel and a few buttons to make operating the submarine as simple as possible.

The sub was developed by Russian company called Marine Innovative Technologies Ltd (MIT) and is expected to cost £50,000 pounds although prices could drop to around £15,000 for bulk buyers.

MIT expect to sell to private buyers as well as companies hiring out the subs to tourists in popular resorts.

At 11ft long and 6ft 6in wide it is possible to transport the craft on the back of a car trailer. MIT will also offer a model with a low-power electric drive unit as well.

Safety features include an automatic system to release ballast for surfacing in an emergency.

MIT, based in St Petersburg, says the vehicle boasts a high degree of manoeuvrability and can go forwards, backwards, up and down, hover and rotate about its vertical axis.

Scientists at MIT say that no one has previously built an enclosed, pedal-powered submarine for tourists because they could not generate the required power.

However, MIT has patented an innovative design - utilising a phenomenon called the Coanda effect - which enables two people to create enough thrust.

Subaru WRX Pulls Semi-truck Out of Snow with Ease (Video)

From: http://www.totalprosports.com/

Subaru's are good cars in a lot of ways. They can be raced at high speeds and have had some success. On a personal use level, they are affordable and quality automobiles. And this crazy guy can probably imitate the sounds they make. None of that really fully allows us to appreciate what they can do. This clip will help in that department.

This video takes place somewhere in Europe. The Subaru Legacy is hooked to the stalled semi, which by the way is monstrously large in terms of how difficult it would be to tow. Not only that, but it is completely stuck in the snow. Now the first thing I would think of is to get a tow truck, maybe even a pick-up truck with some 4x4 action. Its a good thing I wasn't there to waste everyone's time. The driver of this Subaru WRX STI took care of the problem quickly. Not only does this little car have power, but it had great traction as well to be able to drag all that weight and get moving when it was sitting on the slippery snow as well.

A Subaru isn't exactly the first car I would think of buying or driving when it came to racing or especially towing. Hard to argue with the evidence though, and this crazy tow job proves the high quality of the vehicle. On a side note, it's also nice to see people helping each other out instead of flipping each other off.

Hat Tip Video - [Jalopnik]

Man Solves 3 Rubik’s Cubes Faster Than Anchor Can Explain NFL Playoff Scenarios