Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi dropped by “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last night to discuss her new book, “Confessions of a Guidette.” While the Mistress of the Smush was talking to Jimmy about the experience of filming “Jersey Shore” in Florence, Italy, she also mentioned that she was looking forward to seeing “Beavis and Butt-Head” come back to MTV, which they will do on Thursday night.
Right on cue, we cut to the familiar scene of Mike Judge’s two malcontent teens, watching the interview. “This is a horrible interview,” Butt-Head says. “Ask her about her boobs!” yells the ever-articulate Beavis. Kimmel, breaking the fourth wall and all the rules of physics, manages to hear them, and busts through their TV to tell them that if they can do it better, they should try it themselves.
The pair do just that, converting the show to “Butt-Head Live,” with Butt-Head as host and Beavis as producer. While Beavis’ producing skills are limited to zooming in on Snooki’s breasts and writing “Ask About Boobs” on a cue card, Butt-Head can only stare at her cleavage and go, “They’re big.” This prompts Snooki to get up and punch Butt-Head square in his animated face.
Video courtesy of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), representing the science center and museum field worldwide. To learn more, visit www.astc.org. Follow us on Twitter: @ScienceCenters.
Tel-Aviv University demos quantum superconductors locked in a magnetic field (www.quantumlevitation.com). For an explanation of the physics behind this demonstration, visit www.quantumlevitation.com/levitation/The_physics.html.
With the theme "Knowledge that Works: From Theory to Practice," the 2011 ASTC Annual Conference featured more than 100 sessions, which highlighted how science centers and museums are putting new ideas to practical use to serve their communities. The conference was hosted by the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, October 15-18.
From http://gigaom.com/
Pretty soon, new AT&T U-verse subscribers won’t have to go through the hassle of having their entire home re-wired with coaxial cable when they sign up for the pay TV service. Instead, all they’ll need is a residential gateway and a set of thin-client wireless receivers to deliver live and on-demand TV throughout the home.
Starting Oct. 31, U-verse customers can order the new wireless receiver, which can be placed anywhere throughout the home or even outside, as long as it’s within Wi-Fi range. By hooking up the wireless receiver, users will no longer have to connect the TV’s set-top box to a coax connection, meaning they have the flexibility to move TVs around the house or to switch out the wireless receiver to rooms that aren’t used as much.
TVs hooked up to the wireless receivers will get all the same features that are available through more traditional wired set-top boxes, such as access to on-demand titles and whole-home DVR functionality. Subscribers are also able to pause a piece of programming and pick up watching it in any other room in the house.
More importantly, the wireless receiver will reduce the need for AT&T technicians to run coaxial cable throughout subscriber homes. That means an easier set-up process for new subscribers, and could drastically reduce the time it takes to get users set up and ready. Existing customers can also request the new wireless receivers, which they can put around the house thanks to a self-install kit.
The news follows a trend of pay TV operators introducing more IP-enabled services and devices. Verizon and Comcast, for instance, have both announced plans to make their content available through the Microsoft Xbox game console, which AT&T subscribers can already use as a set-top box. Comcast and Time Warner Cable are also building TV apps for connected TVs. And any number of operators — including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, and others have rolled out iPad apps that let users stream live or on-demand videos.
While AT&T has always delivered IP-based TV services, these examples show how it and other service providers can use streaming video to deliver new user experiences to users. While today the wireless streams are being delivered exclusively to U-verse receivers, we can imagine AT&T building apps for connected devices that could alleviate the need for the device. In the meantime, however, AT&T’s new wireless receivers are available for a one-time fee of $49, plus a $7 per month receiver rental fee.
The iPad is great for many things — watching movies, reading magazines or playing games. But when it comes to typing, the onscreen keyboard leaves something to be desired.
Engineers Steven Isaac and Brad Melmon are looking to solve that problem withTouchFire, a lightweight, silicone rubber keypad that overlays the iPad’s touchscreen. The idea is to provide typists with the same tactile feel of typing on a laptop or desktop computer — letting them simply enter text without the need to look directly at the screen.
The TouchFire device is slated to ship in December, Isaac said. It’s currently available for preorder via the KickStarter funding site, for a pledge of $45 or more to the company. The Seattle-area startup is looking to raise $10,000 through KickStarter.
Isaac has been tinkering with tablet computers since the early days. He was one of the first employees at GO Corp., an early entrant in the tablet market that crashed in the mid-1990s. He also worked on Microsoft’s Windows CE mobile operating system.
When the iPad came out, Isaac said he was amazed with nearly every aspect of the device, except for the keypad.
"Typing on the iPad was certainly much better than anything that had come before, but it still wasn’t great," Isaac tells GeekWire. "But I wanted typing to be great, so I could use my iPad for everything. So I started thinking about a way to add the missing tactile features needed to have a true high performance typing experience on the iPad."
He started prototyping concepts, which he said proved challenging because he's "basically a software guy." After the initial concepts penciled out, Isaac partnered with Melmon to come up with a patent-pending design.
"We needed to provide the right sort of force resistance for typing to feel really good, and at the same time make the device be thin, lightweight and flexible enough to basically disappear in the cover when not in use," Isaac explained. "Brad had an amazing conceptual breakthrough that allowed us to meet all of these requirements, and TouchFire is the result."
Nest Labs has come up with the Learning Thermostat. You use it like an old school thermostat, turning the dial up or down depending on your preference at that time. It immediately begins learning your habits, from when you wake up to when you go to sleep, when you are away from the home and when the seasons shift, and it remembers which temperatures you like at which time then programs itself.
You never have to actually program it -- eventually, it just knows. It learns a fairly solid schedule within the first week, and one-off changes won't throw it. If you make a change several times, then it will learn that new preference and adjust the schedule. It even senses lighting levels so it knows when you're away and turns down the temperature.
It can help you save energy -- as long as you start off on the right foot. If you remember to turn the thermostat down when you go to bed or leave the house, and keep it at a reasonable temperature during the day then it will remember and also learn these good habits.
And how do you know if you've done a good job teaching it, and it is doing a good job remembering? Well, by the little green leaf icon, of course. From the site: "The Nest Leaf appears when you set a temperature that saves you energy–and money. The Leaf guides you in the right direction and helps you be energy-efficient."
So how does it learn? This video explains:
This is a fantastic device -- the design is incredibly simple, and it does the work for you. It's easier than any programmable thermostat, and does the same job. Heating and cooling your home can comprise as much as half your energy bill, so having a thermostat that works for you pays off.
Nest states, "The programmable thermostat, developed in the 1970s, promised to help people conserve energy, but 89 percent of owners rarely or never set a program (source: ACEEE, 2010). The devices are simply too complicated. In fact, Energy Star revoked its certification of all thermostats in 2009 when it became apparent that people weren’t actually engaging with programmable thermostats to reach their proper functionality."
Nest claims that it can save users $173 in the first 12 months, $347 after 24 months, and $520 after 36 months of use (of course this depends on factors like cost of energy, your home, and your habits in the first place). And this savings -- or at least some amount of savings -- can come with a tool that is not hard to program. You simply use it for awhile, then let it keep up the good work (and it reminds you to do the same, what with the green leaf icon).
Amazing touchdown on an Apopka reverse diving 5 yds into the end zone
It’s hard to watch that video of Dillon and not admit that, for at least a split second, he is literally flying towards the end zone.
By the way, if you wondering, Dillon is a 3-Star recruit and his official position isn’t even running back. It’s safety. Regardless, he has an offer from Indiana, where they don’t have a whole lot of football history, but they do have some pretty good safeties (Mike Dumas) and running backs in their past (Anthony Thompson, Vaughn Dunbar).
I’ve been the owner of an Android smartphone since February 2010. Admittedly, I got the phone because I am a Verizon Wireless customer and the Apple iPhone wasn’t available at the time. Based on my experience, I can honestly say that when I am eligible for a phone upgrade I’m getting an iPhone. Here are top reasons why I’m switching:
1. Upgrading the Android OS depends on the phone’s model and manufacturer
I can’t tell you how annoying it was to buy an Android phone with the promise of an OS upgrade around the corner only to find out later that Motorola decided not to move forward with it. iPhone owners have at least some promise of upgrades for iOS, though, admittedly as iPhones get older it is understandable there won’t be further upgrades for earlier generations.
The lack of an Android OS upgrade for your phone means you won’t be able to download certain Android Market applications because they don’t support earlier versions of the operating system. So, once your manufacturer decides they’re done, so are you when it comes to getting certain Android apps. In my case (Motorola Devour), I can’t even download the Twitter client for Android.
2. Lack of standard DRM solution
Netflix has been offered for iPhone for some time now. So, many have been wondering why a Netflix client for Android hasn’t come along yet. The simple answer has been that there is no standard implementation in Android to handle digital rights management (DRM) which would allow Netflix to stream movies and television shows with the confidence that they won’t somehow be copied. Netflix is contractually obligated to secure its streams with DRM by content providers. We reported on this issue in November of last year, and the best Netflix could offer was that some Android phones would get a Netflix client this year, but that was going to depend on the manufacturer.
3. iPhone offers better OS stability
Macs have earned the reputation of being reliable and not as vulnerable to lock-ups and crashes. There’s a simple reason for this: When Apple updates the Mac OS X operating system it knows what hardware configuration it is going to run on because it controls the hardware as well. As much grief as Microsoft gets over Windows instability, that instability is understandable when you consider the numerous variations of hardware that could run the OS.
The iPhone shares the same benefit as the Mac in that Apple produces both the OS and the hardware. My experience with Android has been similar to my experience with Windows. I feel I shouldn’t have to deal with reboots and lock-ups on my mobile phone, especially if I might need it in an emergency situation. Undoubtedly, since Android must work on a number of hardware configurations your OS experience is going to be tied to the phone you purchase. I’d prefer a safer bet in which the creator of the OS and the hardware is the same company.
4. The iPhone gets applications first
As an Android user I am sick and tired of playing second fiddle to the iPhone. It seems the iPhone is always getting applications before they eventually end up on Android OS. There’s a simple reason for this that I previously alluded to. When creating applications for the iPhone developers know that there are a limited number of hardware configurations they have to consider. When it comes to Android there are countless configurations which could interfere with the performance of the app.
A great example of what a headache it is to deal with developing for Android is the experience the creators of Angry Birds had. As with other applications, they launched on the iPhone first and eventually ported it over to Android. They did their best to offer the app for as many Android devices as possible, but in the end they ran into performance issues which had to be addressed. Having an Android phone is no guarantee you are going to be able to run an Android app. It seems when it comes to the iPhone you are going to be less likely to run into such a situation.
5. The iPhone leads and everyone follows
Besides being first to receive apps, the iPhone also seems to lead the way when it comes to functionality for smartphones. The iPhone 4, for example, was launched with dual cameras to allow for the use of FaceTime video conferencing app. It wasn’t the first phone to do this, but it made video calling something people expect from a phone and something people actually use. The iPhone 4 also brought things like a high pixel density display and HDR images.
While the iPhone isn’t always the first to put out features or technology, it’s often the first to do things well and the device that everyone else has to catch up with.
In Summary
With all that being said, I will be the first to admit that the iPhone isn’t for everyone, especially folks that like more freedom in what applications they run on their smartphone. Android’s ability to install applications not downloaded via the Android Market has been great, and I can see where some people wouldn’t want to give this up only to be locked into the App Store. I will also say that I am sure there are folks out there with Android phones that don’t get lock-ups and don’t need to reboot often. Some phone have offered an update to Android OS and pack better specs than I (and many other Android users) have experienced.
For me personally, it comes down to the fact that I want to simplify my life when it comes to my smartphone. I prefer the hardware and the OS to be created by the same company because logically the performance should be better. I also prefer not to have to wait for applications to come out–I’d like to get them on the iPhone first.
Ultimately, everyone will have to make their own decision in regards to what smartphone is right for them. For me, there’s an iPhone in my future.
[Android image - laihu]
In an event that literally everyone predicted starting about 5 years ago, Lindsay Lohan posed naked for Playboy this weekend.
There’s no word on when the pictures will be released, and TMZ says this was just the first of a few planned shoots. For the record, after some negotiating, she was paid somewhere between $750,000 and $1,000,000.
She’s already posed naked before of course, in New York magazine (see those pictures here), but this should be even nakeder. Or at least it better be. It beter not that bullshit some celebrities pull where they giggle and cover everything good with sheets or their hands or by standing behind something like this is a god damn Austin Powers movie.
Alexa and I love this song! Adele is truly amazing! Im so proud of Alexa dude. She has so much passion! Enjoy- Jorge (and btw, its a tattoo on Alexa's arm as a reward for going to the doctors! haha...and i just realized my mustache look weird!
"HOME" NOW AVAILABLE ON ITUNES: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/home-feat.-alexa-narvaez-single/id448955222
— These two Berkley Performing Arts students not only did Adele’s hit justice, they owned the song. Someone get them a recording deal! For a cover song contest, two incredibly talented and relatively obscure singers named Charlie Puth and Emily Luther got together to perform a cover of Adele‘s beloved — no, make that revered — ballad ‘Someone Like You.’ With this simple cover, the pair let their voices make the most impact
I've paid for precisely two Apple iPhone apps out of my own pocket… and one was a fat-finger mistake (my pudgy paws slipped on the "buy" button, and I entered my password without realizing what I was doing). "Free" is the magic word for me. When I hear about a fantastic app for the iPhone, I always check to see if I can find a free alternative that's just as good. Every so often, I'll even find a free one that beats the tar out of the paid app.
Apps are what transform the iPhone from mobile phone to pocket PC. Without them, you might as well be carrying around that old flip phone you had in 2004 that could play an 8-bit knock off version of Tetris. Okay, it would still be better in many ways, but you get the point. We at PCMag spend thousands of hours each year scouring iTunes, speaking with developers, reviewing the best apps we find, and hunting for hidden gems. If there's an app that makes owning the iPhone more worthwhile, we find out about it. And if they're free—hey, even better.
The 35 apps that made the cut for this list are the ones that have shown outstanding performance, have been well received by a variety of technology users, and are free. And "free" means free. No gimmicks, no "membership required." Free. Period.
Missing from this list are apps and features (like Siri) that come pre-installed on the iPhone, although they are certainly not to be overlooked. The YouTube, Maps, and Clocks apps in particular should not be ignored, while the iTunes, Music (formerly called iPod app), and App Store apps typically see a fair share of well-deserved usage, but I suppose you technically paid for them because you bought the phone, so they're not really free. In any case, you don't need to choose to download them, so we're not listing them here.
If you have more recommendations for more free apps that we at PCMag need to check out, post your suggestions in the comments.—Next: Apps 1-10 >
When you carve your Jack-o'-lantern this Halloween, try and keep it simple. Because no matter how good you are at carving, shaving and hollowing, you won't be able to match this epically designed pumpkin carving. Demons, ghouls, zombies, guts—all artistically sculpted from this 1,818.5 pound pumpkin.
Yes. one thousand eight hundred eighteen and a half pounds of orangey orange goo, seeds and slime. That makes the pumpkin the world's largest pumpkin and the carving the world's largest pumpkin carving. The giganto pumpkin carving was made by Ray Villafane and the detail is delicious. It's also shit your pants scary too—the walking dead look like they're climbing out of hell. Villafane is carving more pumpkins like this at the New York Botanical Garden and they'll all be on showcase through Halloween. See more of the pictures at Inhabitat. [INHABITAT]
Watching the official trailer, I get the feeling that not even Lucasfilm is convinced that a third dimension is going to improve The Phantom Menace. So they've instead they've opted for Plan B in the trailer for the 3D re-release: the eradication of Jar Jar Binks.
Can we finally agree that likes 3D? The effect doesn't enhance the moviegoing experience even when originally shot with fancy 3D technology, but the Phantom Menace was released well before the 3D fad ruined our Friday nights. So it has to be manually converted to leap from the screen, with results that Ebert has lambasted far more eloquently than we could.
But we see through you, Lucasfilm! You can hide Jar Jar Binks in this trailer all you want, and the movie actually looks kind of decent without him. But you and I both know know he's still out there, lurking, waiting to shove his particularly awful brand of terribleness that even more in our faces, floppy ears jangling wildly as he jumps out of the screen and into our nightmares. [YouTube via TheForce.net]
This Catholic man holds one of the most incredible concentration camp escape stories of World War Two, after he sneaked his Jewish girlfriend out of Auschwitz in 1944 by dressing up as an S.S. officer.
But it took Jerzy Bielecki, a German-speaking Polish inmate at the same Nazi death camp, 39 years to be reunited with Cyla Cybulska after a chance conversation she had with her cleaner in the 1980s.
On Thursday Mr Bielecki - who was brought to Auschwitz aged just 19 on the false suspicion he was a resistance fighter - died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Nowy Targ, Poland, aged 90.
Amazing story: Jerzy Bielecki, left, a Polish inmate who led his Jewish girlfriend Cyla Cybulska, right, out of Auschwitz in 1944, before they were later reunited 39 years on, died on Thursday aged 90
Mr Bielecki was 19 when the Germans seized him and brought him to the notorious Auschwitz in April 1940 in the first transport of inmates, who were all Poles. He was given number 243.
In July 1944 the 23-year-old Bielecki used his relatively privileged position at the concentration camp to orchestrate a daring escape for both of them.
Ms Cybulska, her parents, two brothers and a younger sister were rounded up in January 1943 in the Lomza ghetto in northern Poland and taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Her parents and sister were immediately killed in the gas chambers, but she was sent to work with her brothers. By September, 22-year-old Cybulska was the only one left alive.
Hero: Mr Bielecki - who was brought to Auschwitz aged just 19 on the false suspicion he was a resistance fighter - died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Nowy Targ, Poland, aged 90. He is pictured in May 2010
She had inmate number 29558 tattooed on her left forearm. Ms Cybulska met Mr Bielecki and their love blossomed, making him determined to find a way to escape.
'I felt pain in my backbone, where I was expecting to be shot'
Jerzy Bielecki
From a fellow Polish inmate working at a uniform warehouse, Mr Bielecki secretly got a complete S.S. uniform and a pass.
Then dressed as an S.S. officer, he pretended he was taking a Jewish inmate out of the camp for interrogation. He led Ms Cybulska to a side gate, where a sleepy S.S.-man let them go through.
The fear of being gunned down himself reverberated through his first steps of freedom. ‘I felt pain in my backbone, where I was expecting to be shot,’ he said last year in an interview.
Concentration camp: Mr Bielecki was 19 when the Germans seized him and brought him to the notorious Auschwitz in April 1940 in the first transport of inmates, who were all Poles
For more than a week they hid in the fields during the day and marched during the night, until they reached the house of Mr Bielecki's uncle.
RECOGNISED FOR HIS BRAVERY
The Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem awarded Mr Bielecki the Righteous Among the Nations title in 1985 for saving Ms Cybulska.
This is a title awarded by the Holocaust memorial group on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people to non-Jews who risked their own lives to save those of Jews.
They were separated there, as the family wanted Mr Bielecki back home in Krakow, and Ms Cybulska was sent to hide with a farm family. They failed to meet back up after the war.
Mr Bielecki stayed in Poland and settled in Nowy Targ, where he raised a family and worked as the director of a school for bus and car mechanics.
Ms Cybulska married a Jewish man, David Zacharowitz, with whom she went to Sweden and then to New York.
Sheer chance allowed them to meet again - in a story almost as amazing as their escape in 1944.
Escape: Dressed as an SS officer, Mr Bielecki pretended he was taking a Jewish inmate out of the camp for interrogation. He led Ms Cybulska to a side gate, where a sleepy SS-man let them go through
While talking with her Polish cleaning woman in 1982, Ms Cybulska related her Auschwitz escape story. The stunned woman said she had heard Mr Bielecki tell the same story on Polish TV.
'He did not think he was a hero, but he was. He will be missed'
Stanlee Stahl
Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
She then helped Ms Cybulska find Mr Bielecki in Poland. In the summer of 1983, they met at the Krakow airport. He brought 39 red roses, one for each year they had spent apart.
Ms Cybulska died in New York in 2002. Mr Bielecki is survived by his wife, two daughters, four grand-children and a great-grandson. His daughter Alicja Januchowski, of New York, confirmed his death to the media on Saturday.
‘He did not think he was a hero, but he was,’ Stanlee Stahl, a vice president at the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. ‘He will be missed.’
A Catholic funeral and burial are to be held in Nowy Targ on Monday to remember Mr Bielecki's life.
When you go to the restroom to take care of business, you might not be thinking about the room itself, unless it's bad. Well lucky for you, there are people who care about restrooms. Like many rooms, the comfort of a restroom is in the details, this years top water closets offer toilets for toddlers, and color coded water. BLOG: 'Toylet' Turns Bathroom into an Arcade
1. Field Museum Chicago
This year's top restroom is located in the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago museum's restroom ceiling has a night sky decor that is said to be, "soothing" and as an added bonus it absorbs sound. The restrooms have 3,500 visitors per day and are cleaned every hour. They offer nursing rooms with their own sink and sofa and family restrooms with toddler-sized toilets . Picture at top 2. Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel
The second best place to answer the call of nature in 2011, is in Arlington, Virginia at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel. This toilet is very different from the one in the Windy City. Created by an architect and interior designer the restroom plays with light and special effects to secure second place. The restroom features, "walls ablaze with sunset tones of orange and gold and the mirrors above feature lit bird silhouettes," says BestRestroom.com. The cleverest feature are the faucets. They're no-touch automatic, and light the water red or blue to indicate hot or cold water.
BLOG: Who Invented the Toilet? 3. Scottsdale Center for Performing Art
Third is a restroom in Scottsdale, Arizona and the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts. "The loo is sleek and modern with terrazzo flooring, glass-tiled walls and spacious, stainless steel stalls," says BestRestroom. As with the Virginian lavatory, this one has an intricate lighting system continuously shifting the colors of the space from, "cool blues and greens to warm golds and reds."
In fourth and fifth places are Don's Johns luxury washroom trailer and a pot in Huntsville, Utah at the Snowbasin Ski Resort. The luxury trailer is a fully mobile commode, commissioned for the 2009 inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama. It contains hardwood floors, recessed lighting and an HDTV! It's quite the porta-potty. Though, not one to be outdone by other powder rooms, Snowbasin's water closet's feature, "Italian Carrera marble, Barovier, Tosso & Moscatelli chandeliers crafted from bronze and crystal, floor-to-ceiling commodes, beautifully inlaid African Anegre wood and hand-painted walls," according to BestRestroom.com.
Cintas, sponsors America’s Best Restroom, holds this contest annually. Each year, restrooms are nominated and voted upon online. Any public restroom is eligible. Once nominees are reviewed, a committee announces the ten finalists and online voting begins. The winners are announced in September at which time they are presented with, "the coveted America's Best Restroom plaque of recognition," according to Cintas. Photos & Content: AFP, Cintas' BestRestroom.com
Dense foliage and an abundance of species means that the Northwest of America has seen increasing numbers of tree houses popping up in its canopies.
Far from being the projects of adventurous children, these structures are breathtaking works of architectural beauty in their own right.
Many of the lofty homes have been created by Pete Nelson a renowned tree house builder who lives in Fall City, Washington and has written several books on the subject.
Temple of the Blue Moon: Tree house expert Pete Nelson built this structure on his land in Fall City, Washington
Most of the tree houses are complete with running water, flushing toilets and electricity. There are also special touches including hot tubs, zip lines, spiral slides, lookout towers and even an iron bridge.
Although tree houses often function as workshops, studios or places for entertaining, there are some people who live their lives permanently above solid ground.
Gus Guenther, 28, lives all year round in a one-room tree house, 12ft by 16ft, in a small community in south-central Alaska.
It's hardly luxurious with a propane lamp and wood stove but is perfect for those who enjoy a simple lifestyle.
House of imagination: Trillium, another structure at Nelson's Treehouse Point, perches on a giant western red cedar and can be reached by a spiral staircase
Luxurious decor: The inside of a tree house near Seattle mirrors its surroundings with plenty of light and natural products
Walk this way: This tree house in Washington state has a full-scale steel bridge and is supported by two Douglas fir trees
Mr Guenther, who is originally from Pennsylvania, has said: 'Why wait until you're 65 to retire when you can live this way all your life?'
Earlier this year a film entitled Out On A Limb was made about David 'Squirrelman' Csaky, a homeless man who came to global attention after Seattle authorities evicted him from the elaborate tree house he had been living in on city property for two years.
After he was evicted from his self-constructed, 300 sq ft home, 52-year-old Mr Csaky's neighbours were so outraged by his treatment that they clubbed together to buy him a motor home to live in.
There are several construction methods when it comes to crafting a home in the trees. Some can be supported by stilts and don't need the tree to take any of the stress of building materials.
Rope and cable are the most common methods of suspension tree houses but these are among the most difficult to construct and access.
Thinking outside the box: The Treehotel, which recently opened 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden is almost invisible among the trunks
Perfect hideaway: The glass cube is constructed from sustainably harvested wood and have underfloor heating
Not so square: The six trendy units in Sweden have been created by uber cool architects Tham & Videgard
Cute cabin: This Issaquah treehouse has a long staircase which descend to a hot tub deck and zip line platform
Alpine living: The 450 sq ft house was designed in a Swiss chalet style, with a ramp for older people, instead of the usual stairs or ladder
In Europe and the U.S., recreational tree houses, for entertaining and as workshops and studios, have become increasingly popular thanks to higher disposable incomes, better technology for builders and growing interest in eco-friendly lifestyles. In other parts of the world, tree houses are part of a more traditional way of life. Stilt houses line the banks of many tropical river valleys in South America, particularly in the Amazon and Orinoco.
Thai stilt houses are built on freshwater, for example lotus ponds. In Vietnam, the homes are built in a similar style expect with a smaller front door due to religious reasons.
Steep climb: Flat shoes are advisable when it comes to living in the canopies
Having a ball: Free Spirit Spheres on Vancouver Island, Canada are suspended with webs of rope and can be rented by visitors
Free as a bird: The spheres sway gently in the breeze and are suspended 10 ft above the forest floor
Cabin fever: Inside one of the Free Spirit Spheres on Vancouver Island
Kelong, are primarily fishing huts, but can double as offshore homes in other parts of Asia like the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Although tree houses appeal to many people's childhood dreams, they have also been used effectively by protest communities.
Tree sitting is often employed by environmentalists against big corporations to prevent road building or the destruction of forests.
Julia Butterfly Hill is a particularly well-known tree sitter who occupied a Californian Redwood for 738 days in 1997, saving the tree and others in the immediate area.
At the New York Comic Con screening for ABC'sOnce Upon a Time, we were shown an intriguing fantasy comprised of equal parts promise and problems.
But the panel with creators Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis, late ofLost, convinced us that the show will be worth sticking with, post-shaky pilot. These guys are masters of the flashback, and they hinted at the intriguing trips to fairy tale land in that are in store forOnce, along with the familiar faces who will be stopping by to play your favorite heroine or nightmare of old. Spoilers for the pilot ahead.
Once Upon A Timeis fun, quick-paced, uneven, and utterly, wonderfully bizarre. You have to be willing to accept from the get-go that some of our favorite storybook characters have come alive, transported by a curse to modern-day Storybrooke, Maine (yup), "a truly horrible place" in the words of Snow White's Evil Queen, who sends them there. The pilot veers between highs and lows: it can be rollicking and clever, or else veering too Disney or over-the-top.Onceis family-friendly to a point — there's violence enough, both physical and psychological, which rightly fits to fairy tales, though in the pilot it's mostly low-rent Ringwraith terrors.
Many beloved characters and actors are to be found in both Maine and the Enchanted Forest: there's the aforementioned Snow White, whose tale seems central (a lovely Ginnifer Goodwin, totally transported fromBig Love), her hunk of a Prince Charming (Thor's Josh Dallas, whoisrather radiant), Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen, owning every scene she's in (you'll find yourself waiting for her), and28 Weeks LaterandTranspotting's Robert Carlyle as a standout slithery Rumpelstiltskin.
We'll also be hearing from Jiminy Cricket (Raphael Sbarge, when not a cricket), Gepetto (Tony Amendola) and his Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood and her Granny, select Dwarves (includingPoTC's Lee Arenberg as Grumpy), The Magic Mirror (Giancarlo Esposito), Cinderella (Falling Skies' Jessy Schram), and many more, ifOnceruns for the full 13 episode-season it has been allotted.
Special guest appearances by fan favorites likeTrue Blood's Kristin Bauer as Maleficent andBuffy's Emma Caulfield as Hansel & Gretel's Blind Witch, as well as episodes penned by genre favorite Jane Espenson (Buffy, Caprica, Torchwood, Game of Thrones) provide further incentive to tune in in coming weeks, even if the pilot doesn't initially bowl you over.
Jennifer Morrison (House) plays Emma Swan, a tough-as-nails knockout bailbonds "person" with the ability to always tell when people are lying and the potential to develop into a more multi-faceted character. Emma is confronted by the son she gave up ten years ago, the preternaturally brilliant and troubled Henry (Jared Gilmore, preternaturally brilliant), who begs that she return with him to save his hometown of Storybrooke, where his hateful adoptive mother reigns over a cowed populace...as mayor.
Henry is convinced that Emma is the prophesied daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming that he read about in his book of magical stories, sent by her parents to another world in order to save the good people of fairy tales from the curse that has cast them into a sleepy town in Maine that time forgot.
Running parallel to their roles in the Enchanted Forest, the modern-day Snow White is a kindly teacher named Mary Margaret, her Prince Charming is a John Doe in a coma, and the Evil Queen is both the mayor and Henry's icy-hearted guardian, Regina. Here Rumpelstiltskin is pawnshop proprietor Mr. Gold, who "owns the town," at least where money is concerned, a vamped-up Red Riding Hood is portrayed as trying to "sleep her way around the Eastern Seaboard," and Jiminy Cricket, a.k.a. Archie Hopper, is a bookish child psychologist.
Throughout Emma's initial reluctant interactions with Henry and Storybrooke's population, we see via flashback how the curse came upon the realm of the Enchanted Forest. The primary problem of the pilot — save for having to swallow some clunky dialogue like "[the Forrest] animals are abuzz with the Queen's plans" — is where to go onwards, since fairy tale land has been laid to ruin in the first episode and its occupants expelled to Maine. But hints from the creators on what's in store laid out a far more twistily interesting path for what we'll see in the realm of fantasy than the pilot suggests.
Once Upon a Timecreators and writers Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis told the audience at the NYCC panel that there's a lot more to come in both worlds, with the storylines veering from modern-day to magical mythos and back on a weekly basis. Coming from theirLostbackground, there may also be hidden plot-points in numbers and other encoded messages, sure to please the conspiracy aficionados.
What interested me most was their revelation that future episodes will explore both the primary and background characters' motivations in the Enchanted Forest — "what made them who they are" by the time we meet them as recognizable archetypes. So while in the pilot characters are often writ in uncompromising shades of black-and-white — selfless shiny good versus vindictively cruel evil, which can be heavy-handed at times — that may lessen as we learn what really shaped their lives.
Why did Jiminy become a cricket? How did imp-like Rumpelstiltskin become a prophecy-spouting ambiguous villain? What so damaged the Evil Queen that she would try to fatally poison her step-daughter for being prettier than her? In contrast, the same characters in Storybrooke will be facing "the voids in their modern lives," the needful things they have lost by being transported from a place of everlasting love, faerie, dragons and towering castles.
It does not appear that the show is interested in retelling the fairy tales in terms of their often harsh origin stories out of non-Disney folklore (in the original Cinderella, for example, her stepsisters cut off their toes and heels to fit the magic slipper; in the original Sleeping Beauty, the prince does a lot more than kiss the princess upon discovery and she only awakens when she gives birth to twins). Rather it seems that the creators and writers have established their own mythology with nods to the timeless yarns we were read at night, but are keen to add a modern twist of pop psychology and deeper character exploration.
This idea was further emphasized: Horowitz and Kitsis said that ifLostwas ultimately about redemption,Onceis about hope, a word we hear bandied about a lot in the pilot. When asked why we're seeing such a glut of fairy-tales-in-the-modern day coming to the screen — NBC'sGrimmis also on the fall schedule and an adaptation of the comic seriesFablesis potentially in the works — the current uncertainties of the global economic climate were cited as a driving force.
They pointed out that Disney released its wildly popular animatedSnow Whiteat the height of the Great Depression; fairy tales have ever been about escapism from unkind reality as much as moralistic lessons. "There's something comforting about the stories," we were told. And at a time when many could use their own dose of comfort and "happily ever after,"Onceseeks to provide storylines that particularly click with today's audience, i.e. noting that Cinderella's tale is the ultimate kiss-off and triumph over a vicious and exacting boss.
I don't want to curse Horowitz and Kitsis, who have worked together on many other projects (Tron: Legacy,Birds of Prey,PopularandFelicityare amongst their credits) with some of the pitfalls that would befall later seasons ofLost; I'm all for giving them the benefit of the doubt. But it remains to be seen whether they can sustain the enchanted flashback momentum while further developing Storybrooke's citizens.
It's also worth entertaining the notion that the fantastical sights we see are merely the production of young Henry's imaginative brain; he's a miserable kid, in therapy at ten, in search of his birth mother; why not cast her as the destined saviour out of his favorite book?Oncecould inspireTaming of The Shrew-like debates as to whether the supernatural elements afoot are actually "real" or are the fabrications of an overwrought mind.
It's clear that a lot of time, plotting, energy and money has gone into the show. The visuals are striking for a weekly series, and where they are cheesy and overdone it still works for both comedic and dramatic effect. The creators insist that their take-away fromLostwas that "character has to trump technology," and they've certainly drawn some colorful ones.
The pilot probably won't dazzle you, but the talented cast and roster of upcoming guest stars and scribes is a good reason to give the show support in order to see if they can pull off the twistier upcoming developments we heard about at NYCC. If you ever wondered why a man turns cricket, how an Evil Queen earned her name, or if there's more to Snow White than meets the dewy eye,Once Upon a Timewould like to tell you a story.
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All you art collectors out there. Here is a chance to get a Giclee copy of some of Ian M Sherwin work. Ian is planning on doing a whole series of Marblehead, Massachusetts paintings. His work is amazing.
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