Beautiful and Creative Paper Art Creations

Beautiful and creative paper art creations from all over the world.

BTTF Delorean Paper Model

Back to the Future Delorean paper model by Cláudio Dias. [link]

Origamic Architecture

Paper works selected and realized by Annelies Smit. [link]

Papercraft Models

Paper models of motorcycles, cars and planes. [link]

Paper Cut Sculptures by Peter Callesen

The paper cut sculptures explore the probable and magical transformation of the flat sheet of paper into figures that expand into the space surrounding them. [link]

Star Wars Paper Models

Paper models for Star Wars fans. [link]

Arctic Paper by Shaz Madani

Creative “Arctic Paper” project by Shaz Madani [link]

Paper Toys by Shin Tanaka

Shin Tanaka creates remarkable toys from regular paper. [link]

Dollar Bill Origami

Dollar Bill Origami is a type of paper folding art that uses money instead of paper. [link]

Zombiefie Six

A set of six papercraft Zombies for you to print and make yourself. [link]

Paper Wars

An exhibition of the Death Machines series of paper reproductions of classic weapons systems at Portobello Road’s Craze Gallery. [link]

Paper Miniatures by Dan McPharlin

Incredible hand-made cardboard models by Dan McPharlin. [link]

Paper Forms by Richard Sweeney

All the objects produced are simply one stage in an ongoing process of exploration. This involves investigating the medium itself and the methods by which it can be manipulated. [link]

Transformers Bumblebee Paper Model

Amazing Transformers Bumblebee paper model by Cláudio Dias. [link]

New drug may put jet lag to rest

The experimental medication, called tasimelteon, works like melatonin and restores normal sleep patterns, researchers say.

By Thomas H. Maugh II

December 2, 2008

An experimental drug that mimics the effects of the hormone melatonin can reset the body's circadian rhythms, bringing relief to jet-lagged travelers and night-shift workers, researchers reported Monday.

In a study of 450 people who were subjected to simulated jet lag in a sleep laboratory, a team from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that the drug restored near normal sleep the first night it was used.

There were no aftereffects from the drug, minimal side effects, and people who took it performed normally the next day, said Dr. Elizabeth B. Klerman, one of the co-authors of the study published online in the journal Lancet.

And unlike conventional sleeping aids such as Ambien or Lunesta, she added, the new drug, called tasimelteon, has no potential for addiction or abuse.

The main limitations of the study were the relatively small size and the researchers' inability to measure performance and mood after the drug was used, experts said.

The study was designed and funded by Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Rockville, Md., which developed tasimelteon, and all of the researchers reported receiving funds from Vanda or other pharmaceutical companies.

"This is a very promising first step," said Dr. Jay Udani, who runs the integrative medicine program at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and who was not involved in the study. But the research "does not prove that it works for jet lag or shift workers," he added. "That needs controlled studies in the field."

The body's sleep-wake cycle is controlled by melatonin, which is produced by the pineal gland in response to patterns of light and darkness. Higher concentrations of melatonin in the blood are associated with greater sleepiness.

Some research has shown that administering melatonin can adjust sleep cycles in travelers and workers, but the results have been mixed.

Because melatonin can't be patented, drug companies have been interested in developing melatonin mimics, such as tasimelteon, which can be patented.

In the first part of the study, 39 patients' normal sleep habits were monitored for three nights in the laboratory before they were sent to bed five hours early.

They were then given one of four different doses of tasimelteon or a placebo 30 minutes before bedtime.

Researchers monitored their sleep efficiency -- the percentage of time in bed they actually slept -- and the amount of time required for them to fall asleep.

Although all the subjects benefited from the drug, those receiving the highest dose had a sleep efficiency of 89% the first night, virtually the same as the 90% efficiency before the trail started. Those receiving a placebo had an efficiency of 71%.

Patients taking the highest doses slept for an average of about 428 minutes, compared with 430 minutes before the trial and 324 minutes for those taking a placebo. It took an average of seven minutes for them to go to sleep, compared with 11 minutes before the trial and 22 minutes for those receiving a placebo.

Blood analysis showed that the melatonin cycle of those receiving the drug was altered to match the new conditions.

"They would be expected to sleep better because their internal clock is on the right time," Klerman said.

Maugh is a Times staff writer.

thomas.maugh@latimes.com

Keanu Might Be Addicted To Speed

By Katey Rich

Something tells me that, no matter how good or well-liked The Day the Earth Stood Still winds up being, it's not going to inspire some national desire to see more of Keanu Reeves. But Fox, ever hopeful, is hoping to trot their star back out for the role that made him famous-- well, famous as someone other than an airhead traveling in a phone booth.

Yes, dear God, they're considering a Speed 3-- sorta. Ain't It Cool has it from a trusted source that Fox wants another go-round on the speedy bus, except it wouldn't be a sequel or remake so much as a kind of prequel. 'There's a scriptment floating around that reintroduces Jack Traven. So the studios are hoping to get Keanu back on board." So maybe earlier in his career he had to slow down a parade? A horde of excitable Christmas shoppers?

Regardless of your feelings on Keanu Reeves or the original Speed (let's leave Speed 2 out of this for now), can we all agree that Keanu was not what made that movie great? Do they really think that just bringing back the character, a big bland blank slate if there ever was one, will recapture the magic? I know I'm just getting myself worked up over nothing, and i can't keep this from happening if' it's for real, but some part of my 10-year-old self who loved Speed feels betrayed by the world right now.

UPDATE! - Oddly enough we got a similar scoop email last night, long before AICN posted theirs with above information. Since AICN can't give their source's name (and we can't either), we have no way to know if it’s the same person or if this is a second, independent confirmation. But from the way they describe the email, it sounds similar. The big difference is that when he emailed us, the kindhearted scooper in question dropped this tidbit: Jan de Bont, director of the original Speed, is out. He says, “Jan won't touch it with a five foot pole though - they offered it to him a while ago.” That’s particularly important because according to our scooper that is “going to make it harder for the studio to get Keanu Reeves back.”

It’s all just rumor of course, literally anyone could have sent those emails to us or AICN. We’ll let you know when there’s some sort of official confirmation. - JT

Five New Wolverine Photos

by: Peter Sciretta

SpoilerTV has five new photos from 20th Century Fox’s X-Men spin-off film Wolverine. I’m not sure where these originated. As always, click to enlarge. Wolverine hits theaters on May 1st 2009. Four more photos after the jump.

Director: Gavin Hood
Screenplay by: David Benioff
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, will.i.am, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Dominic Monaghan, and Ryan Reynolds
Plot Synopsis: Hugh Jackman reprises the role that made him a superstar – as the fierce fighting machine who possesses amazing healing powers, retractable claws and a primal fury. Leading up to the events of X-MEN, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE tells the story of Wolverine’s epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe whose appearances in the film series have long been anticipated.

Nokia unveils flagship N97 phone [update: video!]

by Thomas Ricker, posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 3:16AM

Details are in, Nokia has a new flagship phone. The N97 packs a 3.5-inch, 640 x 360 pixel (that's a 16:9 aspect ratio) resistive touchscreen display with tactile feedback and QWERTY keyboard into this sliding communicator with an "always open" window to favorite internet or social networking sites. Nokia calls it the "world's most advanced mobile computer." To back up the claim they've dropped in HSDPA, WiFi, and Bluetooth radios, A-GPS, a 3.5-mm headjack, 32GB of onboard memory with microSD expansion (for up to 48GB total capacity), and a battery capable of up to 1.5 days of continuous audio playback or 4.5-hours video. 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss glass and "DVD quality" video capture at 30fps, too. The specs are certainly impressive, let's see if the S60 5th Edition OS can support it. The N97 will launch with a retail price set at around €550 ($693) excluding subsidies and taxes, phone to ship in H1 2009.

Update: Hah, Nokia just boasted on stage at Nokia World that the N97 was the scoop "Engadget didn't get." O RLY??? Sure looks like the device codenamed Eitri that we broke to the world last month.

Update 2: Video demonstration after the break.

Update 3: Thanks for the widget love, Nokia (pic after the break, and thanks Eric).

Gallery: Nokia unveils flagship N97 phone

4,000 Electric Vehicles To Be Leased by US Army

by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 12. 1.08

photo: Native American Biofuels

Considering that many of its higher profile vehicles really suck fuel like there’s no tomorrow, you may not think that the US military concerned itself much with reducing fuel usage, but based on a recent announcement that’s apparently not the case.

According to Army Times, the Army will be deploying 800 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles next year for on-base transportation. That will be expanded to 4,000 over the next three years with “at least 10,000 vehicles overall” to be deployed eventually. So, just how much fuel will this save? Read on:

11.5 Million Gallons of Fuel Saved
According to deputy assistant Army secretary for energy and partnerships Paul Bollinger, the 4,000 35 mph electric NEVs will save some 11.5 million gallons of fuel annually. And instead of spending on average $2400 per year on fuel for the vehicles the NEV will be replacing, it will have to spend only $400 for the electricity to power the NEVs.

The electric NEVs will be supplied by E-Z-Go, Native American Biofuels International , and other unspecified sources. The first of the vehicles will be leased on an annual basis from Native American Biofuels. At some point the Army may purchase the vehicles outright. The first of the vehicles are expected to be deployed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia by December 15th of this year.

That’s Less Than a Day’s Fuel Consumption
Good on the Army for thinking about electric vehicles, but to put some perspective on the amount of fuel saved by this move consider this: The yearly savings of all these electric vehicles is less than one day’s overall fuel consumption of 340,000 barrels of oil.

via: Army Times

Guillermo Del Toro Dances With Roald Dahl's Witches

By Meredith Woerner,

Now, here's an idea that will give me nightmares for years: Guillermo Del Toro is going to direct the stop-motion feature adaptation of Roald Dahl's fantastic novel The Witches, where a small boy gets trapped in a hotel while the annual convention of witches is taking place.

The brilliant Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), was the original front runner for the director spot. But Cuaron told Empire Magazine he's stepped up to produce the feature, and Del Toro is now the director. Apparently the two started chatting about adapting about Dahl's story "Uncle Oswald" when they got on the subject of The Witches.

"The pair were discussing the potential of adapting the much naughtier Dahl story Uncle Oswald, when the conversation turned to The Witches. Cuaron told us: 'Guillermo wrote this amazing screenplay really quickly."

Well, of course he did. I can't imagine that Del Toro has even one foot in the realm of reality, which is why he can probably churn this stuff out so fast, and so well. While I'm nervous that GDT is now currently directing everything I have some sort of personal interest in, I'm not terribly nervous. It's going to be stop motion, which means it will take 10 years to make anyways if they're going to create a world of witchy creatures to stand up to the likes of Del Toro's mind. Plus, his initials are practically GTD.

I'm glad they're not going down the live-action route out of respect to Nicolas Roeg's amazing live adaptation, but I have a terrible feeling these bald scratchy scalp witches will also leave me shaking under the dining room table.

Guitarist Satriani sues Coldplay

Coldplay's song Viva La Vida is on the Grammys shortlist

Grammy nominees Coldplay have been sued by rock guitarist Joe Satriani, who claims the band's song Viva La Vida uses one of his riffs.

In court papers filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, he said the song used "substantial original portions" of his 2004 instrumental If I Could Fly.

Satriani, 52, wants a jury trial and is seeking damages and "any and all profits" for the alleged plagiarism.

Coldplay are shortlisted for seven Grammys, including song of the year.

Viva La Vida is credited to the band's four members - singer Chris Martin, bass player Guy Berryman, guitarist Johnny Buckland and drummer Will Champion.

The song's title was inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

It appeared on the album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - which was released in June and went to number one in 36 countries - and was also one of their hit singles.

Satriani's track appears on his album Is There Love in Space?

Holland Puts a New Spin on Old Technology to Combat Climate Change

A cafe in the Dutch town of Zeist has installed a revolving door which generates electricity as you pass through.

Written by Ben Robinson

Holland has led the way in wind power for centuries. With a quarter of the country lying below sea level they have traditionally used windmills to pump out the water. They currently have the world’s largest offshore wind farm, generating enough power to supply more than 100,000 homes. They are also famous in harnessing human power for transport. Anyone who has been to Amsterdam has seen the millions of bicycles on the streets. So what are they up to now?

• » Read more on Netherlands

Well, it would seem that this forward thinking country is ahead of the game once again. A new restaurant situated at the train station in the town of Zeist has been working with the design company Rau in order to reduce their carbon footprint. They’ve come up with an innovative idea in the form of a power generation system fuelled by their own customers - They have installed a generator in their revolving door which converts the energy of people passing through into electricity. Each time you pass through the door you generate enough power to make a cup of coffee. The owners estimate that the door will generate approximately 4600 KWH per year. They are also investing in other ways to reduce their energy requirements such as a special low energy cooling system, a sun collector, and of course the obligatory Dutch windmill.

As a low lying country, the Netherlands is potentially one of the countries to be most affected by sea level rise. As usual they are leading the way in developing ingenious means to reduce their need for fossil fuels. Imagine how much power we could produce if every revolving door or turnstile was equipped with this kind of energy capture technology? One small cafe in Holland may not produce much of an impact on its own, but just think how much power could be generated by such a system in a busy subway station in London or New York?

Image credit: Frank Za’atar at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Bruins Continue their Winning Ways

The Bruins continue to lead the Eastern Conference with the second best record of the entire NHL. They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning last night 3 to 1, however the score does not reflect how close the game actually was. It was an ugly win, but a win nevertheless. The Lightning scored first, 1 minute 12 seconds into the first period. It took the Bruins a period and a half to wake up and then tie the game. After that it was all Bruins.

Van Damme Friday...classic Mentos Moment