Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Weezer Reveal Ridiculous Album Cover
From: http://pitchfork.com/
Hurley means Hurley.
Hurley means Hurley.
At this point, Weezer may be better at creating WTF internet memes than making songs. Here they go again with the cover for their upcoming record Hurley, due out on Epitaph September 14. As Spinner reports, the cover is a close-up photo of Jorge Garcia-- aka Hurley from "Lost"-- as you can see. He looks happy to be off the island.
In an e-mail interview, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo told us the rationale behind the sleeve: "We just wanted to use that picture of Jorge Garcia's face on the cover. It's such an amazing album cover, and we didn't want to have any other words on it, so we just figured everyone was going to call it Hurley, so that's what we call it."
In other Hurley news, the record features a track called "Run Away" that's co-written by none other than Ryan Adams. Listen to the new Weezer single "Memories" here and click on to read the rest of our brief e-mail Q&A with Rivers about Hurley:
'Weird Science' vs. 'Real Genius': 25th Anniversary Geek-Off
On August 2, 1985, the John Hughes movie 'Weird Science' hit theaters with stars Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Garry and Wyatt -- two high school losers who use their computer to build Lisa, the perfect woman (Kelly LeBrock). Just five days later on August 7, the very nerdy 'Real Genius' also premiered on movie screens across the country, with Val Kilmer starring as Chris Knight, the smartest and most sarcastic student at Pacific Tech. When he finds out his senior project is being covertly used as a military weapon, he and the other students team up to exact revenge.
Yes, two of the 1980s' most memorable portrayals of geek culture arrived at the same time to fight for your attention. 25 years later, the debate rages on over which is the superior geek movie. With the Geek Awards fast approaching, we thought now was the perfect time to finally answer this conundrum -- with a series of very scientific analyses. What is the better geek film?
EXPERIMENTS
The 5-Megawatt Laser ('Real Genius') vs. Lisa, the Living Barbie Doll ('Weird Science')
The project at the heart of 'Real Genius' -- the development of a five-megawatt laser -- brings Chris together with freshman prodigy Mitch Taylor (Gabriel Jarret). They don't know it will be used as a weapon of destruction, but the laser is the perfect demonstration of why they are the two smartest students in school. And that's just the tip of the iceberg: Chris also builds a remote-controlled flying gyroscope, while the fast-talking Jordan creates an oxygen-retrieving scuba system and an automatic page turner for convenient study purposes, and turns Kent's braces into a messianic radio transceiver. Not to mention whatever Lazlo was working on in the basement. Lastly, we can't forget Ick, who develops rapid-evaporating ice -- perfect for an impromptu hallway skating party.
Meanwhile, Garry and Wyatt hook up a Barbie doll to a computer that's loaded with information and statistics on the ideal woman. After a lightning bolt strikes the house in 'Frankenstein'-like fashion, the doll is transformed into Lisa, an insanely beautiful woman gifted with magical powers.
WINNER: 'Real Genius.' Scientifically speaking, Garry and Wyatt lose control of their experiment almost immediately. On those grounds, we have to give this to the genius students of 'Real Genius,' who have taken their talents and devoted them to an important cause -- throwing awesome parties.
THE BAD GUYS
Dr. Hathaway and Kent ('Real Genius') vs. Chet, Ian, and Max ('Weird Science')
At the head of the laser project is Dr. Jerry Hathaway, played by William Atherton. If you don't remember him from this film, perhaps you remember him as the arrogant news reporter from 'Die Hard' or the dreaded Walter Peck from 'Ghostbusters' -- roles that made Atherton the king of '80s blowhards. Right behind Hathaway is the sniveling Kent (Robert Prescott), who embarrasses Mitch, tries to steal Chris's job, sabotages their experiment, and will gladly pick up Dr. Hathaway's dry cleaning for him.
In 'Weird Science,' the boys get abuse on two fronts. At home, they deal with Wyatt's older brother Chet, who has just returned from military school and plans to abuse and blackmail them while the parents are out of town. At school, Garry and Wyatt are troubled by Ian and Max, who embarass our protagonists in the first minutes of the movie. They proceed to further humiliate them in front of an entire shopping mall, and then try to trade their girlfriends in exchange for a date with Lisa.
WINNER: 'Real Genius.' It goes God, then Jerry, then Kent.
MOST OUTLANDISH MOMENT
Jesus Lives in Kent's Braces ('Real Genius') vs. Mutants, Missiles, and a Monster ('Weird Science')
In their path of revenge against Hathaway, the students of 'Real Genius' turn Kent's braces into a radio transceiver/voice of Jesus. The poor henchman is driven insane following the voice until it leads him to a rapture-like explosion of popcorn.
'
As for 'Weird Science' ... where to begin? Even if we accept Lisa and her digital origins, there's still the matter of Wyatt's frozen grandparents in the closet, Garry's father's sudden amnesia and the nuclear missile that grows out of the kitchen. Not to mention, their party is crashed by a band of mutant outlaw bikers who only back down when Gary threatens them with a
Oh, and this happens to Chet, too.
WINNER: 'Weird Science' The whole movie is a freak show.
FUTURE STARS
Val Kilmer and Jon Gries ('Real Genius') vs. Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Paxton ('Weird Science')
After 'Real Genius,' Kilmer went on to become one of the biggest stars of the '90s, in films like 'The Doors' and 'Heat'; he even played the Caped Crusader in 'Batman Forever.' He still appears in many memorable character roles, but has also earned a reputation as one of Hollywood's most intense -- and sometimes difficult -- actors. Outside of Val, the film's most notable cast member is Jon Gries, a.k.a. Lazlo Hollyfield, a.k.a. Uncle Rico in 'Napoleon Dynamite.'
'Weird Science' was another feather in the cap for Anthony Michael Hall on his quest to become king of the '80s geeks. The bullying Chet is played by none other than Bill Paxton, and of course, the jerky Ian is mega-star Robert Downey Jr.
WINNER: 'Weird Science.' As if having Iron Man in the cast weren't enough, 'Weird Science' has Bill Paxton, the only man in Hollywood to be killed by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator.
THE GIRL
Spastic Scientist ('Real Genius') vs. The Perfect Woman ('Weird Science')
Young Mitch gets with the older Jordan (Michelle Meyrink), who seems like the perfect fit -- 19, brilliant, hyper-kinetic. She just needs to remember to knock first.
Lisa was designed to be the perfect woman, and who better to portray her than international supermodel Kelly LeBrock?
WINNER: 'Weird Science.' This is a tough one to call; it's down to super-model versus girl-next-door. But ultimately, we have to give it to Lisa, for her genie-like talents.
SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY
Prestigious Sci-Tech School ('Real Genius') vs. Sex-Obsessed Teens ('Weird Science')
'Real Genius' director Martha Coolidge researched laser technology and the practices of the CIA for months before filming, and she interviewed students at Cal Tech. TriStar Pictures also held what they claim was the first "computer press conference,' when Coolidge answered press questions, relayed over the CompuServe network. In 2009, 'Mythbusters' devoted an episode to finding out if the popcorn finale was scientifically possible. They did determine that it is possible to pop corn with a laser, but not on the scale used in the film.
''Weird Science,' the film, was inspired by 'Weird Science,' the old E.C. Comics magazine of the 1950s; and it's the last of John Hughes' 'National Lampoon'-style comedies before he moved into teen dramedies and holiday family films. Accuracy was sacrificed in the name of pulp sci-fi fun. But we did learn one important laboratory lesson: if you ever decide to build a woman using a lightning storm and a computer, you must never forget to hook up the doll.
WINNER: 'Real Genius' Any movie where we have to replay what they just explained must be smart.
GEEK VICTORY
Popcorn Revenge ('Real Genius') vs. Shedding the Loser Image ('Weird Science')
Chris and Mitch break into an Air Force base, re-program the laser's tracking co-ordinates and get Hathaway to fire the weaponized laser at his own newly, re-furnished house which explodes in an avalanche of popcorn.
Garry and Wyatt save the partygoers from mutant destruction and are no longer social misfits. More importantly, Lisa manages to instill them with the confidence they need to finally snag their real-life dream girls, Deb and Hilly.
WINNER: 'Real Genius.' Sure, Garry and Wyatt improve their self-esteem, and that's a great lesson. But on the other hand -- popcorn explosion. 'Real Genius' takes it.
POPULAR QUOTES
'Real Genius'Kent: "You're all a bunch of degenerates.
Chris: "We are? What about that time I found you naked with that bowl of Jell-O?"
Kent: "You did not."
Chris: "This is true."
Kent: "Look, it was hot and I was hungry, OK?"
Bodie: "He said he didn't feel like it. And I said, you'd better! And he said, or what? And I said, or else you're gonna be in trouble. And he said jam it."
Professor Hathaway: "That's a wonderful story, Bodie. I noticed you've stopped stuttering."
Bodie: "I've been giving myself shock treatments."
Professor Hathaway: "Up the voltage."
Chris Knight: "So, if there's anything I can do for you, or, more to the point, to you, you just let me know."
Susan: "Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?"
Chris Knight: "Not right now."
Susan: "A girl's gotta have her standards."
Student: "Dr. Hathaway? Are you wearing makeup?"
Chris: "Kent puts his name on his license plate."
Mitch: "My mom does the same thing to my underwear."
Chris: "Your mom puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?"
Mitch (as Jesus): "And Kent -- stop playing with yourself."
Kent: "It is Jesus!"
Chris: "You get even with Kent. It's a moral imperative."
'Weird Science'Lisa: "So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?"
Chet: "You're stewed, buttwad!"
Garry: "It can't be a dream! How can 2 people have the same dream? OK, let's analyze this. In the middle of the night ... did I get up ... and yak in your sink? Didn't throw up? No? Maybe it was a dream then, you know ... a very weird ... bizarre ... vivid ... erotic ... wet ... detailed dream. Maybe we had malaria."
Lisa: "You know, there's going to be sex, drugs, rock-n-roll ... chips, dips, chains, whips ... You know, your basic high school orgy type of thing. I mean, uh, I'm not talking candle wax on the nipples, or witchcraft or anything like that, no, no, no. Just a couple of hundred kids running around in their underwear, acting like complete animals."
Garry: "Mom, I never toss off to anything!"
Garry's Mom: "You told me you were combing your hair!"
Garry: "But I was! I was!"
Chet: "How 'bout a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?"
Garry: "You know, I can't believe this, Wyatt. I'm so disappointed in us. I mean, all our lives we've been saying how great it would be if we went to parties, right? And now it's our party and we're in the john. We're in the john!"
Mutant Biker: "Can we keep this ... between us? I'd hate to lose my teaching job ..."
WINNER: 'Real Genius.' While it's hard to pass up Hughes, he wrote more memorable dialogue in other movies. Meanwhile, few movies remain as quotable as 'Real Genius.'
CONCLUSION: After a 25 years of debate, it has been decided -- according to our tests, with a score of 5 to 3, 'Real Genius' is the superior geek film.
Celebrate 25 years of Geekdom by adding these movies to your collection.
'Real Genius' (Rent | Buy) | 'Weird Science' (Rent | Buy)
U.K. Woman with Four Transplanted Organs Gets Her M.D.
With Donor Heart, Lungs, Kidney, and Liver, She'll Now Be Doing Rounds
By COURTNEY HUTCHISON, ABC News Medical Unit
From: http://abcnews.go.com/
The first woman in the United Kingdom to have all her major organs transplanted has now signed on to a lifetime of hospital visits -- but this time as the doctor.
Allison John, 32, made medical history in 2006 after she received her fourth organ transplant -- a kidney from her father, 61-year-old David John, to add to her previous heart, lung and liver transplants.
Mutliple organ transplants are rare, but with conditions such as cystic fibrosis in which multiple organs can fail, they can be necessary. One U.K. woman has needed and received a new heart, lung, kidney and liver as a result of her cystic fibrosis.(The Image Bank/Getty Images)
A life plagued by illness and frequent hospital visits has not deterred John from her dream of becoming a doctor, however. After 14 years of interrupted study, she finally received her medical degree from Cardiff University last month, according to the U.K. press.
John will begin rounds as a junior doctor at Neville Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, England.
Considering that her combined heart-lung transplant alone has only a 40 percent survival rate in the first five years, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, John is extremely fortunate to have survived three separate transplant operations.
"At the moment, I feel I'm in the best shape physically that I've ever been and I'm so excited about the future," John told the U.K. press.
Doctor-to-Be Survives Full Major Organ Transplant
Why would one person need so many organ transplants?
Just weeks after her birth, John was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an incurable genetic condition that results in the formation of thick mucus that plugs up the tubes leading to the lungs and liver -- though other organs also can be affected by it.
"Cystic fibrosis can result in lung and liver damage, as the thick mucus causes inflammation and infection that destroys [organ] tissue," said Dr. David Cronin, associate professor of transplant surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
According to the U.K. press, John's liver was transplanted first, at age 15, but just a year later, doctors told her she would also need a lung transplant and she received a combined heart/lung transplant less than a year later.
The Miracle of Multiple Transplants
Given she already had undergone a liver transplant, it might sound strange that doctors would give John a lung and heart transplant once her lungs failed, but there are advantages to adding the heart into the mix, Cronin said.
"At the time that transplant was done, doing heart and lung transplants together was much safer and easier than doing an individual lung transplant," he said. "When you do both, you take the heart and lung out as one unit from the donor and put it into the recipient. Basically, you're doing a heart transplant and the lungs come along for the ride."
Also, the liver failure experienced by those with cystic fibrosis can put extra stress on the heart, so transplanting the heart, as well can be beneficial to survival, said Dr. Fredric Gordon, medical director of liver transplantation at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Massachusetts.
Would each successive transplant surgery be riskier than that last?
Not necessarily, Cronin said. While risk of infection would be there with each operation, the past transplants, once established, would not necessarily increase the risk of the next ones.
She also already would be on immunosuppressive drugs, so she wouldn't have to start those or increase the dosage for the subsequent surgeries, Gordon said.
Ironically, but not surprisingly, John's final organ transplant actually was a product of her first three. Organ recipients must be on a lifetime regimen of drugs to suppress their immune system in order to stave off the body's rejection of the new organ. The drugs however, have side effects that can slowly weaken the kidney.
"John had what 30 percent of liver transplant patients and 40 to 50 percent of heart transplant patients develop in the five years after transplant: kidney failure as a side effect of the immunosuppressive drugs," said Cronin.
Given that John will have to remain on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life, her donor kidney may suffer the same fate as her original one because of the drugs, Gordon said.
It is a problem that transplant surgeons only have been able to detect in more recent years, as patients survive long enough to experience that particular side effect five, 10, 20 years down the road, Cronin said.
"[John] has done miraculous[ly]," Cronin said. "It's more than 10 years and it looks like she's full steam ahead."
Robot to explore mysterious tunnels in Great Pyramid
From: http://www.independent.co.uk/
By Andrew Johnson
For 4,500 years, no one has known what lies beyond two stone doors deep inside the monument
For 4,500 years, the Great Pyramid at Giza has enthralled, fascinated and ultimately frustrated everyone who has attempted to penetrate its secrets.
Now a robotics team from Leeds University, working with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, is preparing a machine which they hope will solve one of its enduring mysteries.
The pyramid, known as the Pyramid of Khufu after the king who built it around 2,560BC, is the only wonder of the ancient world still standing. At its heart are two rooms known as the King's Chamber and the Queen's Chamber. Two shafts rise from the King's Chamber at 45-degree angles and lead to the exterior of the monument. They are believed to be a passageway designed to fire the king's spirit into the firmament so that he can take his place among the stars.
In the Queen's Chamber, there are two further shafts, discovered in 1872. Unlike those in the King's Chamber, these do not lead to the outer face of the pyramid
No one knows what the shafts are for. In 1992, a camera sent up the shaft leading from the south wall of the Queen's Chamber discovered it was blocked after 60 metres by a limestone door with two copper handles. In 2002, a further expedition drilled through this door and revealed, 20 centimetres behind it, a second door.
"The second door is unlike the first. It looks as if it is screening or covering something," said Dr Zahi Hawass, the head of the Supreme Council who is in charge of the expedition. The north shaft bends by 45 degrees after 18 metres but, after 60 metres, is also blocked by a limestone door.
Now technicians at Leeds University are putting the finishing touches to a robot which, they hope, will follow the shaft to its end. Known as the Djedi project, after the magician whom Khufu consulted when planning the pyramid, the robot will be able to drill through the second set of doors to see what lies beyond.
afp/getty images
The Pyramid of Khufu is the only wonder of the ancient world still standing
Incredible Miniature Sculptures Carved From Pencil Tips
by Rebecca Paul
Here at Inhabitat we are often impressed by innovative new applications for everyday materials, but artist Dalton Ghetti's tiny sculptures carved out of the fragile tips of pencils have truly knocked our socks off! From a miniature bust of Elvis Presley wearing shades to tiny hammers and old boots, his work is mind boggling. Check it out in our gallery below, and get ready to be amazed by this unbelievable artwork!
Ghetti, who is originally from Brazil, uses his little lead canvases to explore all types of subjects. The image above depicts a part of his 26 pencil letter series – one pencil tip for each letter of the alphabet.
Getting familiar with Dalton’s technique makes the work even more interesting, as he refuses to work with a magnifying glass, and only uses three tools – a razor blade, sewing needle and sculpting knife. He explains his process: “I use the sewing needle to make holes or dig into the graphite. I scratch and create lines and turn the graphite around slowly in my hand”
Read more: Amazing Miniature Sculptures Carved From Pencil Tips | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World
Wyclef Jean Details His Run for President of Haiti
Aug 10, 2010 1:50 PM EDT
Just days after announcing his intention to run for president of Haiti, Wyclef Jean stopped by the Rolling Stone offices to discuss this "new chapter" in his life. Jean outlined the main issues facing Haiti as it recovers from the devastating earthquake that struck earlier this year, how his presidential bid was inspired by Nelson Mandela and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, and why his lack of political experience might work to his advantage in office. Watch video of Wyclef's visit above.
Jean says "the number one problem in Haiti is corruption," and in addition to repairing the nation's infrastructure, he would make it a priority to move all of the earthquake-displaced citizens out of their makeshift tent cities and into "agrarian villages" that will provide basic necessities like food, water and shelter. Jean also foresees a solution for the unemployment problem. "With everything going on in Haiti right now, the contracts that will be coming in within the next six months to a year, you should be able to put a population to work right now."
Jean tells RS that his non-partisan Viv Ansamn ("Live Together")party would allow him to hear suggestions from all sides before makingdecisions. "What I learned from Nelson Mandela is [the need for] dialogue," he explains. "In order to do this, you need to be coming from a neutral perspective, you need to be willing to listen to everyone's point of view."
Jean says the presidential term would allow him to "give five years of service" to the country he lived in as a boy, likening it to Haitians who come to America and serve in our military. For much more on Wyclef Jean and his run, look for our feature in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone.
The Power of Color: a cool blog with regard to Design & Architecture
Black and white are the safe choices in the design world. The color of luxury is elegant and subdued. Yet, at the same time, even top-tier designers, artists and luxury brands have always used bright colors as well. It is not about either or. It is not black-and-white or color.
Just try telling those who love Dale Chihuly’s art, Versace interiors, Karim Rashid’s Corian eco-house or Renzo Piano’s Central St Giles facades in London that the “designer look” is always predominantly black and white.
And although bright color is often associated with being a sort of primitive, wild, folk-art aesthetic, and therefore black and white would seem the serious and civilized alternative, color is not just wild, frivolous, and primitive.
Just think of your favorite brand’s logo and you will most likely visualize some color. Imagine a weekly market at a Peruvian mountain town, an Indian wedding party, a Norwegian fishing town, Marimekko fabrics, a Cirque du Soleil show or Avatar, and you cannot avoid feeling uplifted and happy because of the colors.
Click here to explore: http://www.thecoolhunter.net/design/
AUTOMATED UNDERGROUND GARAGE DEBUTS
By Andrew Ganz
From: http://www.leftlanenews.com/video-automated-underground-garage-debuts.html
More info here : http://www.woehr.de/en/projekte/budapest_m730/index.htm
From: http://www.leftlanenews.com/video-automated-underground-garage-debuts.html
Faced with an eyesore of a parking lot fronting one of its main cultural attractions, the city of Budapest contracted with a German parking solution company to create an innovativeautomated underground parking garage.
The result? A computer-controlled system that seems like it’s out of a 1960s whiz-bang futuristic sitcom.
With four parking levels capable of holding a total of 404 vehicles, the Woehr Multiparker 730 is an efficient solution to a problem facing most urban areas all over the world. We can’t find an estimate of the system’s cost – which was no doubt substantial – but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying the video.
Check it out below.
More info here : http://www.woehr.de/en/projekte/budapest_m730/index.htm
Girl quits her job on dry erase board, emails entire office (33 Photos)
We received the following photos last night from a person who works with this girl. Her name is Jenny (not confirmed) - we're working our contact for Jenny's last name. Yesterday morning, Jenny quit her job with a (flash)bang by emailing these photos to the entire office, about 20 employees we're told. Awesome doesn't begin to describe this office heroine. Check back as we will be updating if we get more details.
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18 Incredible Examples of Graffiti Art
By Kristi Harrison
From: http://designcrave.com/
From: http://designcrave.com/
Once just associated with street hoods and breakdancers, graffiti has taken on a whole new fan base in the past few years. Artists like banksy and Alexandre Orion have garnered international acclaim for their work, and their street art is recognized the world over. And some even say they’re making money while they’re at it.
Here are some amazing examples of graffiti art found all over the world.
