Strung Out On A Lazer Harp: Q&A With Radium Audio

by Kevin Holmes
from http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/





Radium Audio are, an audio collective that plays around with sound. They create innovative sonic branding and audio design, always searching for that ever-elusive “sound that stirs emotion.” They have a sound lab in East London where they conduct their musical experiments, make instruments and create interactive designs. They recently notified us of their latest creation: a lazer harp that can control sound and stills. Seeing as how we’re big fans of lazers, the project naturally piqued our interest, so we emailed them to find out some more about this mystical new musical instrument.
The Creators Project: So, obvious question here… how come the lazer harp?

Radium Audio: It’s been on the table for quite a long time. We had often talked about building something beautiful and magical using two of our favorite things: lazers and sound. When we were invited to represent sound at the F5 motiongraphics event in NYC, we decided the time was right to finally get on and build one!
How does your lazer harp differ from other lazer harps?

We did an audit on existing lazer harps, from the first ones built in the 1970s by Geoff Rose and Tim Walsh, via Jean-Michelle Jarre and his followers, up to the modern ones described on internet DIY sites, and we found that all of them were basically showpieces and not designed as a serious musical instrument. They were all monophonic—ours is polyphonic with selectable scales. They were not ergonomically designed for smooth and fast playing, rather for stage show effects. Our design is based on ergonomics and how a player can move his hands in a comfortable way over the beams—like a guitar neck, actually. Our harp is also velocity-sensitive to allow the same dynamics as a traditional piano keyboard.

Can you briefly explain how you built it?

First we made a wood mock-up with strings as beams, testing out sizes and angles to get it right. Then we made a thorough list of features we wanted to put inside it and then the design evolved from that. We passed through a number of prototypes before we got to the design we’ve used.

You’ve said the lazer harp controls video and stills, how does this work?

The lazer harp is basically a MIDI keyboard. We are using the MIDI control signals to control graphics as well as sound. This is a feature of the performance software we have developed for internal use.

Radium Audio Lazer Harp from Kevin Holmes on Vimeo.

What other instruments are you building?

We are currently building a series of hand gesture controllers, some using lazer beams and some using invisible sensors like IR [infrared] and similar. We have also developed middleware that turns “nonartistic” devices—such as bar code readers for example—into controllers for sound and visuals. And we have a number of other solutions up our sleeve that we cannot talk about openly just yet :) Just wait and see.

How dramatically do you see musical instruments evolving over the next 5-10 years?

Imagine the time when humans started to understand how to use—shape and control—wood and the revolution coming from that in terms of instrument making, all the possibilities: guitars, drums, violins and more. Now, consider the fact that it took quite a while from that point in time until we were able to build things like the Stradivarius violins, although it was built from the same material.

We are now at the end of a period in time when electronics and micro-processors have emerged as a major tool in musical instrument design—samplers, synthesizers and much more are all around us. However, we are still waiting for the Stradivariuses. Honestly, there’s quite a lot of bad design going around in the musical instrument world, especially in software-based devices. So, we are moving into the next phase: developing really good designs. It probably means that there will be few new basic technologies but, hopefully, a lot of improvements on designs. We are still waiting for the electronic instruments that you can buy at the age of 17 and live with for a lifetime, still evolving and finding out new things when you are 75. You can do that with a violin, why not with an electronic instrument ?

All images courtesy of Radium Audio

Underwater spider uses air bubble as oxygen tank

The only spider to spend almost all of its life underwater creates a bubble of air in its web, which actually extracts oxygen from the surrounding water. This allows the spiders to stay in their aquatic webs for more than a day at a time.

By LiveScience

From: http://www.mnn.com/

SCUBA SPIDER: A diving bell spider has snagged a water flea and is consuming the prey inside the air-bubble chamber. (Photo: Stefan Hetz)

Like eight-legged scuba divers, some spiders can breathe underwater using an air bubble as an oxygen tank of sorts. Now, scientists have figured out some of the fascinating details of this arachnid diving bell, including that it can give the spiders more than a day's worth of air.

While scientists knew diving bell spiders (Argyroneta aquatica) — spanning just 10 to 15 millimeters in length — used an air bubble to breathe underwater in lakes and ponds, this is the first study that measures exactly how that happens and calculates how long the spider could stay underwater before resurfacing to replenish its bubble with fresh air.

"We were surprised how low the oxygen in the bubble could get before the spiders venture to the surface," study researcher Roger Seymour, of the University of Adelaide, told LiveScience. [See images of the underwater spiders]

Diving bells

Seymour and Stefan Hetz from Humboldt University in Germany, brought diving spiders into the lab, placing them into tanks mimicking conditions of a stagnant pond on a hot summer's day — revealing how the animals fare in extreme, low-oxygen conditions.

Immediately, most of the spiders constructed webs between the pondweeds and aquarium sides. Then each spider came to the surface to collect a large air bubble held between the hydrophobic (water-repelling) hairs on its abdomen and its rear legs. Webbing was placed around the lower sides of this gas chamber, which the spiders entered from the bottom.

Some spiders created chambers just large enough to enclose their abdomens, leaving their rears and rear legs hanging out; others had larger bubbles that enclosed their entire bodies. For instance, the spiders would enlarge the bubble by laying down more web and adding air before pulling just-snagged prey into the chamber.

Tiny sensors measured oxygen levels inside the bubbles and in the surrounding water, finding that the spiders extracted oxygen from the water as if it were a gill; the sensors also showed that the spiders could survive on very low oxygen levels.

Shrinking bubbles

Even so, the bubble shrinks over time and forces the spider to resurface for a fresh one. Like the atmosphere, the bubble contains primarily both oxygen and nitrogen, and as the spider takes oxygen from the bell, the nitrogen must increase. That increase pushes nitrogen out of the bubble by diffusion. Eventually, the lab spiders had to resurface.

The tiny spiders still were able to sit tight for more than a day, much longer than previous estimates suggesting a 20-minute underwater stint.

"It is advantageous for the spiders to stay still for so long without having to go to the surface to renew the bubble, not only to protect themselves from predation, but also so they don't alert potential prey that come near," Seymour said.

The research is detailed in the current issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology.

This article was reprinted with permission from LiveScience.

Porsche Design Watch Is Yours For $270,000

By Viknesh Vijayenthiran
From http://www.motorauthority.com/

Porsche Design Indicator watch

While it’s not quite as expensive as the diamond-encrusted $2.9 million Hublot BB, $270,000 for a watch is still mighty expensive when you consider what else can be bought for the money. But then again, the people buying such lavish items don’t normally think in the same way that you or I do when it comes to spending their cash.

We’re talking about the Porsche Design Indicator, a limited edition watch made from a mix of 18 karat gold, titanium and rubber, and is available today at the Porsche Design store in the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai Mall.

Only 50 of the Indicator series of watches will be built, and of these only 11 will be the range-topping variant you see here.

Special features of the watch include its titanium face and rubber straps designed to resemble the tires on an actual Porsche car. The face includes a stop watch and second timer, and a dial turns from green to red when the watch runs low on power.

According to its sellers, the watches appeal to wealthy individuals who want to look unique. For them, the worst thing would be to walk down the street and see someone with the same watch.

[The National]

Life Moves Pretty Fast: The 15 Best Ferris Bueller Moments To Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary

Author: Eric Eisenberg
From: http://www.cinemablend.com/

On June 11, 1986, director John Hughes premiered his newest film. The fourth entry from the filmmaker, the story was about a popular teen who decides to fake sick one day and tour the city of Chicago with his best friend and his sweetheart. The end result was a movie jam-packed with charm and hilarity, securing it as a modern classic. That movie was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and tomorrow it turns 25.

In order to celebrate the momentous anniversary, I’ve scoured the internet for hours trying to track down the best moments from this wonderful film. While I ended up with 15 entries, I could have easily come up with 50, as nearly every line in the movie is perfect, every character is delightful and the overall message (Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it) is something we should all take to heart. Without further ado, I present the 15 Best Moments From Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Cameron Needs To Make A Decision

Ferris may get the coveted title position, but I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that Cameron is the most interesting character in the film. Constantly at war with himself, he is filled to the brim with angst, and when he’s not stressing about his strict father he’s trying to convince himself that he shouldn’t let Ferris make him do things he doesn’t want to do. The best part of all this? Alan Ruck’s performance is absolutely hysterical.

The Call

I’ve never met anyone who can operate a phone quite like Ferris Bueller. The man has such brilliant timing and strategy that you’d think he could put an end to the Cold War by himself. He is only a high school student, though, so why not use those incredible phone powers to get your girlfriend out of class? He can deal with world diplomacy when it’s not his day off.

Bueller? Bueller?

This is easily the most quoted line from the film and everyone has tried their own impersonation, but nobody beats Ben Stein when it comes to being the most boring economics teacher of all time. Cap it off with a young Kristy Swanson summarizing the rumor mill into one incredibly complex list of sources and you have a truly classic scene.

Visiting The Art Institute of Chicago

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is best known for its laughs and teenage philosophy, but this scene is just stunning and demonstrates that John Hughes wasn’t just a great writer but director as well. While I love the kiss that Sloane and Ferris share in front of the stained glass window, I will never get sick of Cameron analyzing Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.”

Rooney vs. Jeanie

There’s an ancient proverb that says, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Apparently Jeanie Bueller should spend less time worrying about what her brother does and more time focusing in class because this lesson went way over her head. Sure, she doesn’t know that it’s actually Principal Rooney in the kitchen and she unleashes quite the impressive kick, but imagine what would have happened if they decided to team up?

The Nurse

This is a pretty quick scene, but certainly an amazing one. It’s not just that the nurse at the door is singing a poem about screwing sick kids, but the fact that someone actually thought that it was a good idea to hire a prostitute to entertain Ferris while he’s bedridden. Also, who are all those other guys? Are they going to watch? That’s disturbing on so many levels (and not just because of the guy in the creepy mask).

Twist And Shout

If only we all had the balls of Ferris Bueller then we could be just as happy as he is. I would guess that 99% of people wouldn’t even dream of getting onto a float in the middle of Chicago’s Von Steuben Day Parade, but Ferris not only does it, but sings two songs that gets every spectator in the street jumping and dancing. Also: God bless The Beatles.

You’re Abe Froman, The Sausage King Of Chicago?

While I won’t go into details, I have actually used the alias “Abe Froman” in order to get out of trouble before (and fortunately the person I was talking to wasn’t a Ferris Bueller fanatic. From the snooty (or is it snotty?) waiter to Ferris employing his wonderful phone magic again, this scene is pure awesomeness. Important lesson: every lie, no matter how ridiculous, requires total commitment.

Ferrari In Flight

I drive an ordinary Volkswagen Jetta, but if I owned a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California I’d be just as worried as Cameron is about these two valet guys. Sure, these guys can definitely be classified as assholes, but it’s really hard to blame them for this. The Star Wars theme is just icing on the cake. Thank you, John Williams.

Ferris Bueller, You’re My Hero

I’ll admit that this clip is a slight failure on my part. I wanted the whole scene at the pool, with Cameron in a full-on catatonic state before taking a nose-dive into the water, but at least I was able to find the best line. Cameron, you are not alone. He’s our hero too.

Charlie Sheen

Before he turned into a drug addict that had constant run ins with the police, Charlie Sheen played…a drug addict that had a run in with the police. One of the actor’s earliest roles (the movie came out a few months before Oliver Stone’s Platoon), it’s amazing how quickly he manages to step on Jeanie’s nerves. “Oh, you know him?”

Cameron Needs To Take A Stand

Remember how I said at the beginning that Cameron is a much more interesting character than Ferris? This is the scene that proves I am right. Finally releasing all of his pent up anger and aggression towards his father, Cameron finally decides that he needs to stand up to his father and stop being afraid. Will his father probably kill him when the precious automobile-turned scrap metal is discovered in the woods behind the house? Most definitely, but at least Cameron is finally growing up and deciding to become an individual.

Run Ferris Run!

How do you make a fun movie like Ferris Bueller even more fun? You throw in an incredible race sequence. The scene succeeds in being both intense and hilarious, as you laugh at Ferris hitting on the two sunbathers while wanting him to hurry the hell up and get home before his family. I’ve seen entire action films less compelling than this moment.

Life Moves Pretty Fast

True, he actually says this line earlier in the movie, but by the end you know exactly what he means. Ferris Bueller is not only a teacher of a philosophy, but also a student. Of course, one can’t imagine he’s advocating that everyone skip work to party around Chicago, but the idea of taking life a little less seriously is something we all should learn.

Go Home!

Decades before Nick Fury informed Tony Stark about the Avenger Initiative, Ferris arrived after the movie credits to tell us all to stop waiting around and to just go home. An added bonus from the film’s penchant to break the fourth wall, this is just a funny, silly tag that helps you walk away from the movie with an even bigger smile on your face. I am proud to say that I’ve never watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off without staying all the way through the credits.

How To Be a Person: A Guide to Life for the Recent Graduate Read more: How To Be a Person: A Guide to Life for the Recent Graduate | Cracked.com http

By: Lindy West
From: http://www.cracked.com/

Greetings, graduating classes of 2011! Congratulations on accomplishing all you have accomplished to get here, and pre-congratulations on all the accomplishments you will surely accomplish in your accomplishful futures. And pre-condolences on all the shit you will fail at. You should be very proud. Except for those of you who shouldn't. Because some of you are failures and you shame your families. God, you make me sick. But anyway, thanks for electing me valedictorian of the Internet, and allowing me to come here today and explain to you how life works! As a person who owns several living houseplants, once changed her own tire without crying (sort of) and even does her taxes at least every other year, I think it's pretty obvious that I am a high-functioning adult human who is qualified to say stuff. To you. Right now. Listen up.

Getty
Open your ears. Open your mind. Rip out your heart and give it to me.

Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring. What's that? Ring ring. Do you hear that? Ring ring. It's a phone. Ring ring. ANSWER IT -- WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? Yeah, that's the real world calling, buckos. And it's calling collect. Collect? Oh, it's a thing that used to happen back when we had real phones that plugged into the wall and people called each other instead of just texting, and -- look, just stop asking questions. We'll have a period for that at the end. Dude, you totally derailed my super meaningful phone call role-play. Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Ring ring. Oh good, the real world's calling back. Here we go.

Getty
Will you answer the call, or will you *69 the world?

"Heyyy, Kevin," (for the purposes of this speech your name is Kevin). "It's the real world calling. COLLECT. Yeah. It's this thing we had before cell phones. It's just- listen, shut up. I just wanted to call and let you know that this isn't Playpen 101 at Babies Academy anymore -- this is the real world, and in the real world, we play hardball. And fastball. And we take it to the limit, and also I'm not here to make friends. Look to your left. Look to your right. One of those people thinks that I am joking right now about taking fastball to the limit without making friends. Now, decide which one you think it is and punch that person in the junk-bag. Congratulations. You just passed your first pop quiz." CUH-LICK.

Getty
Unless you're actually still at Babies Academy, in which case just knock this douche right over.

Wow, Kevin, it sounds like the real world is pretty serious! Lucky for you you've got a pretty cool tutor to guide you through everything you need to know about surviving the real world. Me. I mean me. I'm the cool tutor. Seriously, Kevin, if you actually existed I would just crush your junk-bag right now. OK, here we go.

LESSON #1:

EMPLOYMENT

Before you do or think or touch anything else, check craigslist for any openings under "millionaire," "oil baron" or "childbride to a sultan." If it comes up empty, you're going to have to settle for a regular job. Shoot. Get ready.

Wikipedia
Polish up your Nobel Prize, this is about to get messy.

My first job after high school was at a famous museum devoted to Jimi Hendrix's underpants. People came from far and wide to visit the museum -- which, from the outside, looks like a gigantic bundt cake made out of unicorn dung at the end of the hottest day at Unicorn Burning Man -- where they would sigh and weep and gnash their teeth at the sight of Hendrix's psychedelic man-panties. Some of the people would play public air-guitar so tender it was almost a prayer. My job was to stand in the entry hall of the museum and hand out heavy, confusing computer backpacks to angry tourists who just wanted to get to the freaking underpants already. The computers were always broken. The tourists hated the computers and, by extension, they hated me. The museum entry hall played Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" on a constant loop. I worked nights and I got paid $8 an hour and this was the third-best job that I have ever had (right above hose duty at Unicorn Burning Man).

Via Pinky Perdue
Hey, free spirit? How about a hose right to the face.

What I'm trying to say is that all jobs are terrible except for the jobs that are double-terrible, and you are destined to be miserable for the rest of your life. Kudos!

LESSON #2:

ROMANCE

When you're trying to "seal the deal" with a "fly mammy" or a "drunk guy walking past your apartment," it's a good idea to have a list of super alluring catchphrases in your back pocket (mine is laminated for maritime seductions). Stuff like, "Guess what? I'm about to blow your mind." And "Hold still while I put this in there." And "Don't look doooooooown (because I'm fingering you)!" That way, whoever you're trying to put it in knows you're a classy, serious lover who is not to be kept waiting. And also that you will finger on the first date.

Getty
"I think I must be the prosecuting witness on your murder trial, because I'm being taken into protective custody."

LESSON #3:

MONEY

I don't know what this is. I'm a writer whose previous job was "underpants guard." Try to keep up.

LESSON #4:

PETS

When you're out in the world meeting new people, it's important to keep an eye on your image. The type of dirty animals you let live in your home says a lot about you. Having a cat says, "I am high-maintenance and covered with silky fur." Having a dog says, "I am not interesting or memorable in any way." Having an iguana says, "Let's never have sex." Having a tarantula says, "I wear a leather top hat not as a joke." Having a fish says, "My heart really isn't in this." Having a chimpanzee says, "I don't care if my face and genitals get bitten off by a chimpanzee." Having a rat says, "I am a degenerate who was raised by bugs." Having a cow says, "I am a farmer." Having a parrot says, "Fuck you." Pro tip: Print this section out for a handy "cheat sheet" the next time you go to the pet store!

Getty
Ideally, you want a pet that says, "I have a shark."

LESSON #5:

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

These are magic tools that you'll need to get through some of adulthood's "sticky situations," such as family reunions, office Christmas parties, wedding receptions, funeral buffets, flute recitals, book clubs, drag races, late nights, early mornings, mid-afternoons, early evenings, Sundays, Saturdays, Mondays through Fridays and just any time you need a li'l pick-me-up (you've earned it, champ!). If some yahoo tries to take your drugs and/or alcohol away from you, just yell, "IT'S MY MEDICINE!" and roll around on the ground for a while. Then they're legally obligated to leave you alone because doctor-patient confidentiality. It's in the Constitution.

Getty
My doctor prescribed me freedom, asshole!

And that's all there is to it, newly minted graduates! Congratulations! Those five things are literally everything you need to know about being a person in the real world. Now go spread your wings or whatever. Seriously, Kevin -- I'm bored of talking to you. Jesus Christ, I need my medicine.

Two iPhones to fly on last space shuttle mission

From: http://www.electronista.com/

First iPhone in space will test guidance software

The final shuttle mission will be a first for the iPhone. When Atlantis flies to the International Space Station this summer it will carry two iPhones to test an app, SpaceLab for iOS from Odyssey Space Research. The Houston company makes spacecraft guidance software. When the iPhone 4 came out, the company's programmers realized it could be used for a space-based experiment to test a vehicle's positioning and orientation with the smartphone's new internal gyroscope, camera, and other sensors.

Odyssey CEO Brian Rishikof is fairly certain that these will be the first iPhones in space.

Astronauts will use the two iPhones in four experiments. The "limb tracker" makes an altitude estimate using a picture of the curved edge of the Earth. A sensor calibration test uses the iPhone's camera and other sensors to adjust the gyroscope and accelerometers. A spatial recognition test will attempt to match pictures of the earth with a database of wireframe images of national borders. Finally, the iPhone will be used to test for the effects of radiation on computers by checking for changes to single bits in the phones' memory.

The company emphasized that all of their experiments were being conducted and paid for as private research. The iPhones will not be used for navigation or any other NASA mission.

The public version of the app sells for $1. Rishikof noted that most iPhone users do not have access to space travel, so some of the features will be simulated.

The phones and the shuttle Atlantis are scheduled for launch on STS-135, tentatively set for July 8. This will be the last flight into space for Atlantis and the last mission for the space shuttle program. [via Venture Beat]

Samsung Series 5 is the First Chromebook

From: http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/



The Samsung Series 5 is the first ever Chromebook, featuring a 12.1 inch screen and an Atom N570 dual core processor. In many ways, this is the first ever true netbook, because going on the Internet is pretty much all it can do.

Initial reviews of the Series 5 have been mixed, although I think it is fair to say that most people are pretty unimpressed. While there is nothing wrong with the “browser in a box” philosophy per se, I think most of us were expecting a much smaller and lighter box for a computer that can basically only run a browser.

The Samsung Series 5 netbook features 2GB of RAM, a 16GB solid state drive, a couple of USB ports, a VGA dongle, a SIM card slot, an SD card reader, and a standard mic/headset port. This is pretty much as basic as it gets, and there is no HDMI, no Ethernet, and no Bluetooth to spice things up.

However, Google are talking up the user experience of this netbook more than the spec sheet, and it is here where this computer has a chance to redeem itself. Google are promising a very fast boot time, with the netbook said to be ready in under 12 seconds. The battery is also being reported to go for at least 8 hours, and the entire file system is encrypted to avoid virus infections.

The Chrome browser lies at the heart of the Series 5 Chromebook, although Google have thrown in a basic file browser and media player. However, basic functionality like listening to music is all dependent on the browser, the cloud, and a WiFi connection, because you can’t store much on the small internal flash memory.

As many analysts have been predicting and many reviewers are now saying, these Chromebooks feel a little like an experiment. Users are simply not used to living entirely on the Internet, and depend on their desktop for a variety of things. While the first ever commercial “Internet OS” netbook may be a great item in computing museums in years to come, this first Chromebook appears to make much less sense as a practical option in 2011.

The Schumacher Mi3: The Fastest Remote-Controlled Car in the World - Goes 161.76 MPH

You’re looking at the fastest radio-controlled model car in the world: a Schumacher Mi3 that currently holds the world record of 161.76 mph.

It’s not easy getting an electric vehicle that small to go that fast. According to Generation Concept, this $4,000 mini road rocket is a marvel of technology, consisting of an ultra-light carbon fiber chassis zipping along at blistering speeds thanks to an 11 hp electric motor powered by a 12-cell battery pack.

Shaped like those full-sized rocket cars that break land speed records, the Mi3′s insides resemble a skateboard packed with batteries and electronics.

You think 161.76 mph is fast? So does its owner, Nick Case. But his need for speed is great, and he’s currently working on the “Streamliner,” another electric radio-controlled car that he says will break the 200 MPH barrier. Don’t forget to shoot some video for us, Nick.

What would it take to break the land speed record for a full-sized car? The little car would have to travel at a speed of 763 mph to beat Royal Air Force fighter pilot Andy Green’s jet-powered “Thrust SSC” (supersonic car), which set the world land speed record way back in October 1997.

[via Technabob]

Uploaded by GenCept on Jun 5, 2011

More on: http://gencept.com/the-schumacher-mi3-the-fastest-remote-controlled-car-in-th...

Sick Days, Then and Now

by Alex Watt and Caldwell Tanner
from: http://www.collegehumor.com/

See More then and now 6

12 Incredible Fan Catches At Baseball Games

From: http://clutch.mtv.com/

Sometimes it's the folks in the stands who make the greatest catches at a baseball game. And that's more impressive because many of the greatest fan grabs were made by people with a beer or a baby in the other hand. We'll be massively impressed, though concerned for the child, if we ever see a parent pull down a foul ball holding both at the same time.

As the dog days of summer get ready to seize professional ballplayers and turn them into overheated zombies, fans need to ready themselves too. A foul ball is not just a souvenir but a threat. Just ask the dude from the Astros game last year who dodged a ball and let it hit his girlfriend, who rightfully dumped him. Some fans have made incredible barehanded catches on line drives; others have snagged sharp grounders that reached the walls; and one fella who we truly admire scooped a ball while returning to his seat with a tray of food (above, left). Baseball really is America's pastime. Enjoy these videos.

1. Phillies fan catches one while returning to his seat with a tray of food (and doesn't spill anything)

2. Guy catches a homer with his hat

3. Nonchalant barehanded catch by a Giants fan

4. Supermom made this amazing grab with her baby in her arm

5. Young girl snags one over the rail

6. Great barehanded catch on a home-run ball

7. Another outstanding catch by a Phillies fan, with baby in hand

8. Woman at a Rays game gets drilled in the chin, then snags not one but two foul balls in the same inning

9. '80s dude nearly falls over the rail and incredibly catches himself from disaster below

10. Impressive home-run ball catch by a fan over the rail

11. Guy uses a bucket of popcorn

12. Fan nearly crushes woman at a spring training game in pursuit

And last, for illustrative purposes, we had to include:

Dodgers fan who dropped his kid to try for a ball but didn't even make the grab

Photos: YouTube; MLB.com; Photo: Mark Gormus / Times-Dispatch (Supermom)

Bad Movies We Love: Steven Spielberg’s Hook

by Louis Virtel
from: http://www.movieline.com/

By now, Super 8 has either rekindled your fondness for Steven Spielberg’s whimsy or — well, it hasn’t. Either you embrace nostalgia and the comforts of epic, innocent fantasy, or you’re purposely done with them until another Toy Story comes out. I sympathize with the latter option, especially if you think the keywords “Steven Spielberg” and “innocence” call to mind Hook, the 1991 kiddie blockbuster that asks, “What if we took the story of Peter Pan, threw it out, and invented an unrelated story about a grumpy man who begrudgingly saves his kidnapped children?” Tah-dah! Yuck. And yet, I found a few reasons to love this troubling movie. Chortle with me as I rank them!

Let’s start with some gentle hatred: Hook is way too mopey and 1991-riffic (synonyms) to be considered a sequel to or variation on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Not even close. That’s like if Katy Perry released a squawky, gawky cover of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” and credited Emily Bronte as an active co-writer. My god, please! No literary cred for you, Katy! Similarly, we’re bearing witness as Spielberg straps a cupcake bra to a children’s classic and plunges roman candles thereon to guarantee a nine-figure explosion at the box office. Taste flies right out the window with the frosting.

Hook is based on an idea Barrie had to write a story about Peter Pan’s adulthood. It never came to fruition for undisclosed reasons, but I imagine one of them is that the story of Peter Pan is just too timeless for a foray into middle age. You don’t need to update something that’s chronically relevant (or chronically chronic). I forgive Spielberg for the error in judgment because there are five giant reasons this 140-minute movie is worthy of love in 2011, and I’m prepared to recite them like wee ole Smee.

5. Strange, unnecessary, excellent cameos

Hook gives us Robin Williams as a grown Peter Pan who has officially mutated into a corporate schmuck. When he takes his family to visit his childhood orphanage run by the now-80-year-old Wendy (played by 56-year-old Maggie Smith), a hook-handed vandal kidnaps the children and whisks them off to what appears to be a well-embellished miniature golf course called Neverland. Peter must reconcile his long-buried past, venture to Neverland with the just-arrived Tinker Bell (Julia Roberts), and save his spawn from Captain Hook’s (Dustin Hoffman) grasp. Do we need more characters? Spielberg insists we need not just an Emerald City’s worth of walk-ons, but enough celebrity appearances for a few seasons of ABC’s Hotel (‘83-‘88). Phil Collins plays a police inspector; sci-fi vet Nick Tate turns up as a dueling pirate; George Lucas and Carrie Fisher appear as a canoodling couple; Spielberg godchild Gwyneth Paltrow debuts as young Wendy; David Crosby and Jimmy Buffett join Hook’s crew and wear their everyday clothes to blend in. And before you can wonder whether one of the Lost Boys is a growth-stunted Goonie, you see Glenn Close playing a male pirate (pictured) who Hook jettisons in the first 45 minutes. Patty Hewes would’ve argued her way out of that phony beard.





4. Aw, the delightful torture of children

You have to wonder why Spielberg sensed mass audience appeal in a movie that repeatedly shows Peter’s kids getting kidnapped, hauled off, suspended in a pirate net, or begging for mercy. Ah, juvenile torture. Reminds me of other kiddie classics like Ransom or Halloween III: Season of the Witch.



3. Julia Roberts as Marsha Mason as Zac Efron as Tinker Bell

Reportedly, Spielberg found Julia Roberts difficult to direct because she’d just broken up with her Steel Magnolias paramour Dylan McDermott. Factually, I find Julia Roberts difficult to resist because her spin on Tinker Bell is a boyish coquette in a shag wig. Look at her! The Goodbye Girl subsumes Charlie St. Cloud. Ashton Kutcher mates with Laura Prepon and delivers Topher Grace! Tatum O’Neal gives birth to Kristy McNichol, who is pregnant with Tatum O’Neal! Something! You (shouldn’t) understand.



2. The skateboarding, Happy Meal-consuming Lost Boys

Kudos must go to Leonard Maltin, who once said of the ’90s-updated Lost Boys in Hook, “[They] look as if they’d be at home in a McDonald’s commercial.” Indeed, these leather-togged, feather-banded scamps are the most annoying, camera-ready freaks at the skate park. First of all, they really skateboard. There’s a ramp and everything, like they’re hanging out in the weird kid underground from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Second, the Lost Boys community is a wildly depressing refuge, a Newsies bunkhouse without the songs, dances, or general productivity, let alone commitment to journalism. I give the producers credit for chasing the zeitgeist of ‘91, but in a better film, some of these kids would wear Zubaz and listen to C+C Music Factory.



1. The peerless Dustin Hoffman

While Robin Williams saunters through Hook as the maddened misanthrope Peter, Dustin Hoffman absolutely relishes his role as the original drag king of pirate culture. Take note, Gore Verbinski: Hoffman’s flair and flamboyance imbue the last half of this film with enough magic to compensate for the overly ornate, underwritten fairy tale and comprise his best single performance outside of his Oscar-nominated roles. He is better here than he is in All the President’s Men and Marathon Man, easily. And he crows “Good form!” and “Bad form!” like a maniacal gymnastics coach throughout, which at least deserves a Saturn Award nomination and a club sandwich. Though Bob Hoskins is also enjoyable as the henchman Smee, he merely contributes to Hoffman’s gusto with straight-man setups. Enjoy below; if you haven’t seen the movie in 20 years, you’ll be shocked to see how well this performance has aged. Unlike Zubaz. :(

Get Blown Away By This Architectural Music Light Show

Kelly Hodgkins

From: http://gizmodo.com/

— I love what happens when you put technology in the hands of very creative people like André Chocron. Using only time-lapse photography, the Norwegian director created one of the best music light shows I've seen.

Chorcon filmed old apartment buildings in Oslo, Norway and used the lights in each room as the medium for his light show. He captured each building using time-lapse photography taken at night. Using this technique, he was able to get pictures of each room with the lights on and off. He then used a computer to map the lights in a pattern to the tune "Time is of the essence" by Cold Mailman. If you have no idea what this means, watch the video and it will all make sense. The results are simply amazing. [Fast Company]

Cold mailman - Time is of the essence from André Chocron on Vimeo.

Official music video for Cold Mailman - "Time is of the essence". This is a shortened version of the song. The original song is available on their critically acclaimed second album "Relax; the mountain will come to you" . For more info about Cold Mailman, visit coldmailman.com/​

-
Director and animator: André Chocron
Director of photography: Audun Magnæs
Colorist: Camilla Holst Vea at Storyline Studios
Conform: Raymond Gangstad

Cast:
Haugenstua brl
Vestlitoppen brl
Tveita brl
Solfjellet brl
Ammerudlia brl

Supported by Groruddalssatsningen: prosjekt-groruddalen.oslo.kommune.no/​

Thank you:
Roy Tjomsland, Hallvar Witzø, Raymond Gangstad, Johannes Dahl, Kari Andresen, Jon Erik Berger, Gunnar Paulsen, Veronica Skaret

Apple’s Spaceship Office Complex to Land in Cupertino

By Daniel Ionescu, PCWorld

Cupertino City Council is likely to approve Apple's plans to build a new four-story spaceship-like HQ in the city, which would house around 12,000 staff. In response to Apple CEO Steve Jobs' presentation to the council, Cupertino Mayor Gilbert Wong said: "There is no chance that we're saying no [to Apple]. The Mothership has landed in Cupertino."

Jobs on Tuesday unveiled plans to build a new campus near Apple's existing headquarters in Cupertino, in a circular shape that looks like a spaceship. The new space would be used to accommodate Apple's growing staff numbers. "Apple's grown like a weed and as you know, Apple's always been in Cupertino," Jobs said in his presentation. "The campus we'd like to build there is one building that holds 12,000 people."

Cupertino City Council reacted positively to Apple's plans for a new HQ. Wong said: "Every time that we have a large company that has a large sales tax produced we are very accommodating to that company."

The four-story Apple mothership is expected to be completed in 2015, and would use self-generate energy, with the grid only used for backup power. In his presentation, Jobs empasized the green credentials of the upcoming campus, which will be built on land Apple originally bought from Hewlett-Packard while downsizing.

Parking at the Apple spaceship HQ will be underground, and 80 percent of the area currently used for parking will be landscaped, from currently 3700 trees to around 6000. A new research and development center will also be built, along with a new auditorium, so that Apple won't have to go to San Francisco for big k eynote events.

Follow Daniel Ionescu and Today @ PCWorld on Twitter

Sacha Baron Cohen's 'The Dictator' (First Look)

The Paramount Pictures project is loosely based on the novel "Zabibah and the King" - by Saddam Hussein.

by THR staf
from: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

Paramount

Paramount Pictures has released the first images of Sacha Baron Cohen as The Dictator.

The film, due out May 11, 2012, tells the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed, the studio said earlier this year.

It is inspired by the novel Zabibah and The King by Saddam Hussein.

Producing alongside Baron Cohen are Scott Rudin, Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel.

Movie Theater Kicks Customer Out for Texting, Turns Her Angry Voicemail Into PSA (Video)

The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, now airs her expletive-filled rant before all R-rated movies that it shows.

by Kimberly Nordyke
from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

You might want to think twice before texting the next time you are at the movies.

A movie theater in Austin, Texas, has gotten its revenge on a customer who insisted on doing that very thing.

In a blog post on the Alamo Drafthouse's website, the theater claims it has a strict no-talking policy that was adopted in 1997.

"Recently, we had a situation where a customer persisted in texting in the theater despite two warnings to stop," the blog post reads. "Our policy at that point is to eject the customer without a refund, which is exactly what went down that night. Luckily, this former patron was so incensed at being kicked out, she quickly called the office and left us the raw ingredients for our latest 'Don't Talk or Text' PSA."

That's right: The customer not only got kicked out of the movie without her money, but her angry, expletive-filled voicemail is now being played as part of a video airing before all the R-rated movies shown at the theater.

Watch the video -- and listen to her rant -- below.

Woman gets 152 Facebook friends tattooed on herself

By Ysolt Usigan
From: http://www.cbsnews.com/



(CBS) - This woman gives Facebook friendships a whole new meaning - the permanent kind that you can't delete because someone's constant, stupid status updates are annoying you.

She gets her 152 friends' Facebook default profile pics inked on her arm.

"After months of work I want to show you all my social Tattoo. Pretty amazing right?" says YouTube user susyj87. "I'm really proud of it. Hope you like it too!"

We do! The idea is really cool. Just one question: What happens if someone unfriends you?

Scare Tactics Babysitter Prank is Amazing

Hilarious! I don’t know why Scare Tactics isn’t the number one show in television. This one is a close second to the Rat Boy clip. That might be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Where do they find these dudes.

Chinese GM Cows Make Human Breast Milk

Holly Williams, Beijing correspondent

Chinese scientists say human breast milk produced by cows is more nutritious than normal milk. Picture: AFP

Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.



The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety and has the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing say.

The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows.

The technology was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep.

The milk is still undergoing safety tests but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.

Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk, and say it is sweeter and stronger than the usual bovine variety.

There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat. It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions.

Professor Li Ning, director of the research project

"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."

The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.

The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, says Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.

"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back.

"We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."

In contrast to Europe, China has eagerly embraced genetically modified food.

GM cooking oil, papayas, tomatoes and potatoes are already widely available.

Insect-resistant rice and corn modified to help pigs absorb more nutrients were both recently approved by the government.

New Captain America: The First Avenger Teaser Features Plenty of Shield Play

From: http://www.movieline.com/
By: Julie Miller

On the heels of the Captain America: The First Avenger character posters unveiled last week, Paramount Pictures has debuted the first TV spot for the Marvel film. And unlike the Nazi-hating trailer, the new 30-second clip teases plenty of shield play.

Watch Chris Evans leap through the air with his shield, knock out Hitler’s henchmen with his shield, throw his shield, catch his shield, ride his custom motorcycle with his shield and ask for your feedback on his shield. Be warned though: You may have to sit through 30 seconds of ads for the 30 second clip. Apologies!

Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger hits theaters July 22.

A bug's life: Photographer captures flies in exquisite detail by snapping each one 687 times through a microscope

By Daily Mail Reporter
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

If you are scared of creepy crawlies you might want to look away now.

These are the remarkable close-up photographs of flies composed by stitching together up to 687 separate images taken through a microscope.

Tomas Rak photographs a tiny area of the fly under a microscope before moving it a mere five hundredth of a millimetre and taking another snap.

It can take a staggering 687 movements and 'micro-photographs' to capture every part of the fly in such stunning detail.

Brilliant lustre: Astonishing colours gleam on the head of a dung beetle, Anoplotrupes Stercorosus. Its entire body is only 10mm long

Fuzzy-face: The whiskery head of a Vespula Vulgaris, the common wasp. The photographs are the result of an ingenious photography technique using a microscope

Are you looking at me? The Ichneumon wasp which is just 3mm long. Most of it appears to be made of bulging eyes

He then uploads the images to a computer and 'stitches' them together to create a larger whole.
They show the furry insects' bizarre facial expressions, bright colours and bulging eyes in an extraordinary new way.

Mr Rak, from Wandsworth, south-west London, said: 'I put the flies on a special microslider which can be moved as little as one five hundredth of a millimetre.

'I then place this under a camera and microscope and take a photo.

'I get a really sharp picture but over a small area so I move the microslider across a tiny bit and take another shot.

Golden glow: The delicate hairs and amber-like pincer of the tiny sawfly which is just 3mm long

Jewel-like: The shimmering and exquisite head of a wasp, measuring just 2mm. Even the hairs on its antennae are clear

In miniature: A common fruit fly, left, showing its actual size, just three mm in length. Right, a tiny sawfly beside a normal match head

'This has to be repeated many times before I have photographed the whole fly. My record is 687 shots to make up a single insect.

'I look for insects everywhere, I always have a pot with me in case I see something interesting.

'Most of my insect are not larger than 3mm so I have to look very carefully for small black "dots" on walls.'


Mr Rak, 29, added: 'Microphotography can teach other people what these insects really look like.

'My photos are pretty artistic. I particularly like to take shots of insects because I like their shape and they have so many invisible details which you don't usually see.


'I have had a very positive reaction to these images. People who see them keep asking me how photos on a scale such as this could even be possible!'


The vivid backgrounds in the images are real flowers which are then carefully boosted by the editing software.

Mr Rak has only been practising microphotography for eight months.

He had previously become a dab hand at macrophotography, a technique which also examines the smallest of objects, but not to a microscopic level.


He said: 'Microphotography is more difficult and more time consuming than macrophotography because with such huge magnifications, the depth of field has to be very small.


'It is actually the computer editing which is the most time consuming part.'

Bad case of red eye: The Drosophilia Melanogaster, or common fuit fly. Photographer Tomas Rak uploads the images to a computer and 'stitches' them together to create a whole

Wide eyed: A front view of the fruit fly. Mr Rak said it can take 687 movements and 'microphotographs' to capture every part of the fly in such stunning detail

Van Damme Friday - Pics from the Set of Universal Solider IV