Children of the ‘80s will fondly recall the "Choose Your Own Adventure" gamebooks, a series of interactive tales that let readers control the direction of the story by periodically choosing one of several plot paths.
Starting with 1979's "The Cave of Time," the prolific series captured imaginations and spawned countless clones over its impressive 20-year run, earning all sorts of pop-culture cred along the way.
And now, it's finding new life in the unlikeliest of places: Youtube.
Thanks to some incredibly creative (and seriously dedicated) users, 'choose your path' movies are cropping up more and more frequently on the online video megasite. Trading pages for page views, the premise is simple: you watch a video, and towards the end have to decide what happens next, which will then take you to a new video that continues the story. That can take a while, too -- some of the larger tales span over 60 options.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Angry birds RIO Due Out in March to be the Next Super Mario
You can’t go a day without hearing someone mention Angry Birds.
Fans on Twitter share pictures of cakes they decorated with the Angry Birds characters. On YouTube, parents post videos of their kids playing Angry Birds in real life. Even talk show hosts like Conan O’Brien can’t resist cracking a joke about the game every night.
Rovio announced a new Angry Birds game based on a movie made by Fox. The game is due out March on multiple game platforms.The game’s creator Rovio on Friday announced a new game, Angry Birds Rio, based on a movie made by Fox.
The game is so ubiquitous it’s almost obnoxious. Some tech observers previously dubbed Angry Birds the new Pac-Man, but that wasn’t enough for the game’s makers.
“What we’re doing is we’re building out the Angry Birds world,” said Peter Vesterbacka, whose business card title reads “Mighty Eagle” of Rovio. “Pac-Man is only one game. Mario is a better benchmark.”
Angry Birds first appeared in Apple’s iPhone App Store in December 2009. Since then, the game has expanded to multiple devices, including the iPad, Android phones and the Sony PlayStation Portable, amassing over 75 million downloads to date, according to Rovio. The majority of sales comes from the App Store, where Angry Birds has consistently ranked a best seller.
Angry Birds accentuates the business opportunity unlocked by the iTunes App Store, Apple’s digital-distribution platform for selling third-party apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Launched in summer of 2008, the App Store’s friction-free business model proved to be a new digital frontier where software programmers big and small had an opportunity to make serious money, whereas before, hobbyist coders were no match to major game studios and their colossal marketing budgets.
In the App Store, some programmers have netted hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales with clever games, software utilities and DIY social marketing. Apple recently announced that iOS customers surpassed 10 billion app downloads.
But Angry Birds was not a small-team effort, nor was its success a lucky strike. Based in Finland, the Rovio game studio that makes Angry Birds has 40 employees and expects to expand to 100 by the end of this year.
Angry Birds was actually the studio’s 52nd published game, and its 16th originally created game, according to Mikael Hed, Rovio’s CEO. He said the game’s success was carefully engineered with physics-based gameplay that made it easy to learn, while creating depth for advanced players in later stages. Add to that very cute characters and sounds, and a polished design, and you have a big hit.
The idea of Angry Birds hatched when a game designer produced a single mock screenshot (below) of an angry-looking bird with no legs and no wings. The designers at Rovio knew they had something special.
“Everybody really liked those game characters, and we figured it was worth taking those characters and making a game with them,” Hed said. “We tried projecting the birds and breaking structures, and that’s how it all started.”
Hed said the company studied the iPhone app ecosystem hard, looking at what worked. A team of 12 at Rovio spent eight months developing and refining Angry Birds before it was released.
(Indeed, another top-selling iPhone game Doodle Jump incorporated similar elements: a sharp design appealing for people of all ages and a physics-based gameplay.)
“It wasn’t completely random that Angry Birds did very well,” Hed said. “We did a lot of homework before we ended up with that concept.”
After producing a viral hit, Rovio kept Angry Birds popular by doing its own marketing with social-networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, and by continually adding new products.
“We try to respond to every question asked on Twitter,” Vesterbacka said. “Sometimes I reply, too.”
The company also regularly issues software updates for the game, adding new levels to keep people talking about Angry Birds.
The company operates an Angry Birds shop, where you can buy toys, T-shirts and iPhone cases. There’s even an Angry Birds board game in the works, through a partnership with Mattel.
To reach Mario status, Angry Birds needs a breakfast cereal and more variants of Angry Birds games. The Angry Birds directors said they were hoping to try out every possibility.
“We were thinking about making Angry Birds eggs,” Hed said. “We’ll do it when we get a good opportunity.”
Fans on Twitter share pictures of cakes they decorated with the Angry Birds characters. On YouTube, parents post videos of their kids playing Angry Birds in real life. Even talk show hosts like Conan O’Brien can’t resist cracking a joke about the game every night.
Rovio announced a new Angry Birds game based on a movie made by Fox. The game is due out March on multiple game platforms.The game’s creator Rovio on Friday announced a new game, Angry Birds Rio, based on a movie made by Fox.
The game is so ubiquitous it’s almost obnoxious. Some tech observers previously dubbed Angry Birds the new Pac-Man, but that wasn’t enough for the game’s makers.
“What we’re doing is we’re building out the Angry Birds world,” said Peter Vesterbacka, whose business card title reads “Mighty Eagle” of Rovio. “Pac-Man is only one game. Mario is a better benchmark.”
Angry Birds first appeared in Apple’s iPhone App Store in December 2009. Since then, the game has expanded to multiple devices, including the iPad, Android phones and the Sony PlayStation Portable, amassing over 75 million downloads to date, according to Rovio. The majority of sales comes from the App Store, where Angry Birds has consistently ranked a best seller.
Angry Birds accentuates the business opportunity unlocked by the iTunes App Store, Apple’s digital-distribution platform for selling third-party apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Launched in summer of 2008, the App Store’s friction-free business model proved to be a new digital frontier where software programmers big and small had an opportunity to make serious money, whereas before, hobbyist coders were no match to major game studios and their colossal marketing budgets.
In the App Store, some programmers have netted hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales with clever games, software utilities and DIY social marketing. Apple recently announced that iOS customers surpassed 10 billion app downloads.
But Angry Birds was not a small-team effort, nor was its success a lucky strike. Based in Finland, the Rovio game studio that makes Angry Birds has 40 employees and expects to expand to 100 by the end of this year.
Angry Birds was actually the studio’s 52nd published game, and its 16th originally created game, according to Mikael Hed, Rovio’s CEO. He said the game’s success was carefully engineered with physics-based gameplay that made it easy to learn, while creating depth for advanced players in later stages. Add to that very cute characters and sounds, and a polished design, and you have a big hit.
The idea of Angry Birds hatched when a game designer produced a single mock screenshot (below) of an angry-looking bird with no legs and no wings. The designers at Rovio knew they had something special.
“Everybody really liked those game characters, and we figured it was worth taking those characters and making a game with them,” Hed said. “We tried projecting the birds and breaking structures, and that’s how it all started.”
Hed said the company studied the iPhone app ecosystem hard, looking at what worked. A team of 12 at Rovio spent eight months developing and refining Angry Birds before it was released.
(Indeed, another top-selling iPhone game Doodle Jump incorporated similar elements: a sharp design appealing for people of all ages and a physics-based gameplay.)
“It wasn’t completely random that Angry Birds did very well,” Hed said. “We did a lot of homework before we ended up with that concept.”
After producing a viral hit, Rovio kept Angry Birds popular by doing its own marketing with social-networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, and by continually adding new products.
“We try to respond to every question asked on Twitter,” Vesterbacka said. “Sometimes I reply, too.”
The company also regularly issues software updates for the game, adding new levels to keep people talking about Angry Birds.
The company operates an Angry Birds shop, where you can buy toys, T-shirts and iPhone cases. There’s even an Angry Birds board game in the works, through a partnership with Mattel.
To reach Mario status, Angry Birds needs a breakfast cereal and more variants of Angry Birds games. The Angry Birds directors said they were hoping to try out every possibility.
“We were thinking about making Angry Birds eggs,” Hed said. “We’ll do it when we get a good opportunity.”
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Touchscreen Interactive Bus Stops Keep People Busy While Waiting for Rid
Yahoo has introduced its Interactive Touchscreen Bus Stops installing them on variouse places. The screen is huge and people can keep busy while waiting for the bus to arrive.
Runaway Star Zeta Ophiuchi Could toast Any alien Civilization on its Path
Faster than a speeding bullet? More like faster than a supernova-propelled, hot blue supergiant!
In this stunning image fresh from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a bright star can be seen in the center of the shot. This star is called Zeta Ophiuchi, located 458 light-years from Earth (and 20-times the mass of our sun) in the constellation of Ophiuchus (yes, that Ophiuchus).
Why is Zeta Ophiuchi so special? It's a runaway star, traveling at a breakneck speed of 87,000 kilometers per hour (or 24 kilometers per second). And how did it get accelerated to that speed? After all, stars don't just careen around the galaxy -- eventually being ejected from the Milky Way all together -- for no reason.
The massive Zeta Ophiuchi probably used to have an even larger binary partner that exploded as a supernova. So, like a hammer thrower spinning quickly at the Olympic Games, the blue supergiant star was treated like the hammer, released from the gravitational embrace of its exploding sibling in an instant. At the moment of detonation, it's orbital momentum shot it off into space at high speed.
With the power of WISE's infrared eyes, a consequence of the star blasting through interstellar dust and gas can be seen. The reddish arc folding around the star is a bow shock; strong stellar winds from Zeta Ophiuchi colliding with the interstellar medium, causing heating, thus infrared light WISE can see.
Seeing the position of the bow shock, you can easily deduce the direction the star is headed -- toward the top-left of the image.
If there are any alien civilizations directly in the path of Zeta Ophiuchi, they're in trouble, this stellar juggernaut isn't slowing down any time soon.
Although any nearby alien civilization might get lucky. As it's a blue supergiant, it will likely explode as a supernova pretty soon in cosmic timescales. This "live fast, die young" star is estimated to be half-way through its 8 million year lifespan.
We know how fast it's traveling and we know (approximately) how long it'll be until the star explodes, therefore, after a rough calculation, we can work how much further it will travel: another 317 light-years before it reaches the end of the road. Any alien civilization in the path of Zeta Ophiuchi will need to be at least 317 light-years from the star's current position. Otherwise they'll be toast.
In this stunning image fresh from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a bright star can be seen in the center of the shot. This star is called Zeta Ophiuchi, located 458 light-years from Earth (and 20-times the mass of our sun) in the constellation of Ophiuchus (yes, that Ophiuchus).
Why is Zeta Ophiuchi so special? It's a runaway star, traveling at a breakneck speed of 87,000 kilometers per hour (or 24 kilometers per second). And how did it get accelerated to that speed? After all, stars don't just careen around the galaxy -- eventually being ejected from the Milky Way all together -- for no reason.
The massive Zeta Ophiuchi probably used to have an even larger binary partner that exploded as a supernova. So, like a hammer thrower spinning quickly at the Olympic Games, the blue supergiant star was treated like the hammer, released from the gravitational embrace of its exploding sibling in an instant. At the moment of detonation, it's orbital momentum shot it off into space at high speed.
With the power of WISE's infrared eyes, a consequence of the star blasting through interstellar dust and gas can be seen. The reddish arc folding around the star is a bow shock; strong stellar winds from Zeta Ophiuchi colliding with the interstellar medium, causing heating, thus infrared light WISE can see.
Seeing the position of the bow shock, you can easily deduce the direction the star is headed -- toward the top-left of the image.
If there are any alien civilizations directly in the path of Zeta Ophiuchi, they're in trouble, this stellar juggernaut isn't slowing down any time soon.
Although any nearby alien civilization might get lucky. As it's a blue supergiant, it will likely explode as a supernova pretty soon in cosmic timescales. This "live fast, die young" star is estimated to be half-way through its 8 million year lifespan.
We know how fast it's traveling and we know (approximately) how long it'll be until the star explodes, therefore, after a rough calculation, we can work how much further it will travel: another 317 light-years before it reaches the end of the road. Any alien civilization in the path of Zeta Ophiuchi will need to be at least 317 light-years from the star's current position. Otherwise they'll be toast.
Friday, January 28, 2011
The King Is Dead by 'The Decemberists'
The Decemberists have announced their new album The King Is Dead (Capitol Records, EMI). The album--a set of 10 concise, country-based songs--marks a deliberate turn towards simplicity after the band's wildly ambitious and widely acclaimed 2009 song-cycle The Hazards of Love. Produced once again by Tucker Martine, The King Is Dead features special guest appearances by Americana luminary Gillian Welch on seven tracks and legendary R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck on three tracks.
The King Is Dead showcases the ways in which The Decemberists--Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen--sound just as glorious in simple, stripped-down compositions as they do on the elaborate structures that have defined their work for years.
Meloy points out, however, that creating straightforward, unadorned songs can be at least as hard as building complicated musical epics. "For all my talk about how complex those records were, this one may have been harder to do," he says. "It's a real challenge to make simple music, and lot of times we had to deliberately hold off and keep more space. This record is an exercise in restraint."
The album was recorded in a converted barn at Pendarvis Farm, an 80-acre estate of lush meadows, forest, and Mt. Hood views outside of Portland, and it was the concept of the barn--as recording space and as attitude--that informed the making of The King Is Dead. "We wanted that ethos," he says. "That was the color we wanted the record to have."
To Meloy, in some ways The King Is Dead also represents his own musical journey coming full circle. "Over the last eleven years or so, since I moved to Portland, I feel like I've been mining mostly English traditions for influence", he says. "I guess I've kind of come back to a lot of the more American music that got me going in the first place - R.E.M. and Camper Van Beethoven and all these bands that borrowed from more American traditions like Neil Young and the Byrds."
"Sometimes I kind of miss the epic-ness of the other albums," he continues, "but it's nice to get all of the information across in three minutes. It's like going from reading a novel to reading a bunch of short stories."
The King Is Dead showcases the ways in which The Decemberists--Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen--sound just as glorious in simple, stripped-down compositions as they do on the elaborate structures that have defined their work for years.
Meloy points out, however, that creating straightforward, unadorned songs can be at least as hard as building complicated musical epics. "For all my talk about how complex those records were, this one may have been harder to do," he says. "It's a real challenge to make simple music, and lot of times we had to deliberately hold off and keep more space. This record is an exercise in restraint."
The album was recorded in a converted barn at Pendarvis Farm, an 80-acre estate of lush meadows, forest, and Mt. Hood views outside of Portland, and it was the concept of the barn--as recording space and as attitude--that informed the making of The King Is Dead. "We wanted that ethos," he says. "That was the color we wanted the record to have."
To Meloy, in some ways The King Is Dead also represents his own musical journey coming full circle. "Over the last eleven years or so, since I moved to Portland, I feel like I've been mining mostly English traditions for influence", he says. "I guess I've kind of come back to a lot of the more American music that got me going in the first place - R.E.M. and Camper Van Beethoven and all these bands that borrowed from more American traditions like Neil Young and the Byrds."
"Sometimes I kind of miss the epic-ness of the other albums," he continues, "but it's nice to get all of the information across in three minutes. It's like going from reading a novel to reading a bunch of short stories."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Voyager Pro UC Bluetooth Answers Calls Automatically with Smart Sensors
Plantronics formally announced the Voyager Pro UC today, a Bluetooth headset with smart sensor technology.
Among other things, the Voyager Pro UC "knows" when the headset is being worn or not. This is designed to let users answer telephone calls from their headsets or phones without worrying about the two being paired.
Jan Caldarella, Plantronics' senior Bluetooth product manager says "A problem that Bluetooth users have is that you don't know where your headset is. You pick up the phone to answer the phone call, and the headset is still connected to the phone and the audio is still on the headset. With Smart Call Transfer, we're going to be able to rout the audio to the appropriate device. So if the headset is not being worn, the call will route to your phone."
The headset is designed with two sensors: one in the back spine and one in the speaker housing. Should users not wish to answer calls by simply placing the headset on their head, they can also do so in the traditional manner of pressing a button.
Other features include Auto Call Button Lock, which locks the call button when the headset isn't being worn. This was implemented to prevent the embarrassment of "pocket dialing," Caldarella said.
Beyond the customary uses for Bluetooth headsets, the Voyager Pro UC headset is also engineered to bridge the gap between Bluetooth headsets and PC communications. The company has developed software to use with the Voyager Pro UC that enables integration with such VoIP platforms as Skype and Microsoft Lync.
For example, users can switch from instant messaging to a phone call by putting on the headset. When a user is on a call, his online presence is switched to "busy."
The Voyager Pro UC also supports A2DP technology to allow for the streaming of music and turn-by-turn directions. The smart sensors will automatically pause music when the headset is taken off, Caldarella said, the act of which has become a common courtesy when talking face-to-face with someone. "When you put the headset back on, the music automatically begins." She noted that this feature was somewhat application dependent.
The Voyager Pro UC is currently available for a $199 suggested retail. It comes with a mini-USB adapter for use with PC conversations.
Among other things, the Voyager Pro UC "knows" when the headset is being worn or not. This is designed to let users answer telephone calls from their headsets or phones without worrying about the two being paired.
Jan Caldarella, Plantronics' senior Bluetooth product manager says "A problem that Bluetooth users have is that you don't know where your headset is. You pick up the phone to answer the phone call, and the headset is still connected to the phone and the audio is still on the headset. With Smart Call Transfer, we're going to be able to rout the audio to the appropriate device. So if the headset is not being worn, the call will route to your phone."
The headset is designed with two sensors: one in the back spine and one in the speaker housing. Should users not wish to answer calls by simply placing the headset on their head, they can also do so in the traditional manner of pressing a button.
Other features include Auto Call Button Lock, which locks the call button when the headset isn't being worn. This was implemented to prevent the embarrassment of "pocket dialing," Caldarella said.
Beyond the customary uses for Bluetooth headsets, the Voyager Pro UC headset is also engineered to bridge the gap between Bluetooth headsets and PC communications. The company has developed software to use with the Voyager Pro UC that enables integration with such VoIP platforms as Skype and Microsoft Lync.
For example, users can switch from instant messaging to a phone call by putting on the headset. When a user is on a call, his online presence is switched to "busy."
The Voyager Pro UC also supports A2DP technology to allow for the streaming of music and turn-by-turn directions. The smart sensors will automatically pause music when the headset is taken off, Caldarella said, the act of which has become a common courtesy when talking face-to-face with someone. "When you put the headset back on, the music automatically begins." She noted that this feature was somewhat application dependent.
The Voyager Pro UC is currently available for a $199 suggested retail. It comes with a mini-USB adapter for use with PC conversations.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Bruce Willis in "RED" on DVD - Blu-ray
You can take the agent out of the CIA, but you can't take the CIA out of the agent--or so discovers Frank Moses, to his chagrin.
Frank, played by Bruce Willis, simply wants to live his simple life with his government pension. But when a troop of black-ops guys descends on his house one night and blows it to smithereens, Frank realizes he needs to get a few of his old colleagues together and find out what's what.
That's the premise of Red, a jolly action flick based on a rather more serious graphic novel. Because Frank's old posse includes kicky roles for Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and a tea-pouring, hot-lead-spraying Helen Mirren, the movie boasts a certain appeal just at the "Holy cow, can you believe who's in this thing?" level. Actually, the rest of the cast is pretty sweet as well: Mary-Louise Parker steals much of the film as Frank's unsuspecting civilian date (swept into the action because she might innocently become a CIA target, too), Brian Cox hams it up as Frank's former Soviet adversary (wistfully recalling how he always wanted to assassinate a US president), and Karl Urban (Star Trek) supplies brawn and brains as the current CIA agent in charge of bringing the hammer down on Frank.
The breezy tone barely pauses to notice the semi-serious story point at the heart of the plot (a hazily recalled disaster in Guatemala many years earlier), nor the dead bodies that pile up around the edges of the action. Flightplan director Robert Schwentke lets his actors act up, which is not a capital crime given the skills of the cast list, and he shoves the plot along with fitting speed. It's not art, but as a multiplex diversion, Red scatters a decent share of legitimate jolts and rim-shot one-liners. --Robert Horton
Frank (Willis) is a former black-ops CIA agent living a quiet life alone... until the day a hit squad shows up to kill him. With his identity compromised, Frank reassembles his old team Joe (Freeman), Marvin (Malkovich) and Victoria (Mirren) and sets out to prove that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Stand back and watch the bullets fly in this explosive action-comedy that critics call a rip-roaring good time.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Universal Translator on Android by Google
If you are a Star Trek serieus fan, you should know about the universal translator. It is a device that goes with officers' communicator and as they speak, the listener will hear spoken words in his or her own language.
Well, upto now you would have though that we are years (and maybe centuries) away from such technology.
Not true.
It seems now, smart devices runing on android can have an application called "Translate app" that will turn them into a universal translator. at least that is the goal. You type or say the initial phrase in whatever language you choose and it will spell out and give the option to allow it to say the phrase itself.
Although the thechnology is at its begining, it will definitly come in handy for alot of travelers and business people.
Google's official blog says:
Well, upto now you would have though that we are years (and maybe centuries) away from such technology.
Not true.
It seems now, smart devices runing on android can have an application called "Translate app" that will turn them into a universal translator. at least that is the goal. You type or say the initial phrase in whatever language you choose and it will spell out and give the option to allow it to say the phrase itself.
Although the thechnology is at its begining, it will definitly come in handy for alot of travelers and business people.
Google's official blog says:
When we launched the first version of Google Translate for Android in January 2010, we were excited about the year ahead. For the first time, we were bringing the capabilities supported on Google Translate—like machine translation, romanization of non-Roman scripts and spoken translations—to the Android platform. We also offered voice input to let you speak the word or phrase you wanted to translate instead of typing it in, and SMS translation so you could translate SMS messages sent to you in foreign languages.
Today, we’re refreshing Translate for Android with several updates to make the app easier to interact with. Among other improvements, we’ve created better dropdown boxes to help select the languages you want to translate from and into, an improved input box, and cleaner icons and layout.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Disney's True Story of a Horse Named 'Secretariat' : Released on DVD and blu-ray
The "greatest racehorse of all time" mantle fits easily around the neck of the movie 'Secretariat', the 1973 Triple Crown winner. So why not a movie version of this champion's life?
'Secretariat' begins in the late '60s, with some good behind-the-scenes material on how thoroughbreds come to be (there's flavorful atmosphere inside the horsey world, including an account of Secretariat's ownership being decided by a coin flip as part of an old-school agreement).
A highly lacquered Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery, the inheritor of her father's stables, who segues from being an all-American mom to running a major horse-racing franchise; reliable character-actor support comes in the form of John Malkovich, as a gaudily outfitted trainer, and Margo Martindale, as Chenery's assistant.
Screenwriter Mike Rich and director Randall Wallace must do some heavy lifting to make Lane's privileged millionaire into some sort of underdog--luckily, the hidebound traditions of the male-dominated racing scene provide some sources of outrage.
The need to stack the deck even more leads the movie into its more contrived scenes, unfortunately, as though we needed dastardly villains in order to root for Penny and her horse.
Meanwhile, attempts to reach for a little Seabiscuit-style social relevance don't come off, and a curious religious undertone might make you wonder whether we're meant to assume that God chose Secretariat over some less-deserving equine.
The actual excitement of the races can't be denied, however, and Secretariat's awe-inspiring win at the Belmont Stakes remains a jaw-dropping, still-unequaled display of domination in that event. And maybe in sports
Synopsis
A housewife with little knowledge of horse-racing fosters one of the greatest race horses of all time as the story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner comes to the screen in this inspirational underdog drama based on the novel Secretariat:
The Making of a Champion by William Nack and starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich. Penny Chenery (Lane) is a devoted mother and housewife whose ailing father is the proprietor of Meadow Stables in Virginia. When her father becomes too ill to tend to his horses, Penny agrees to take over the stables despite her inexperience. Desperate, she turns to veteran horse trainer Lucien Laurin (Malkovich) to help show her the ropes. Up to this point, horse racing has been a decidedly male-dominated sport. But with Lucien's help, Penny prepares to prove that gender has no bearing on one's ability to breed a fast race horse. As Secretariat blasts out of the gates to leave his competition in the dust, the whole world watches in amazement, and a legend is born.
'Secretariat' begins in the late '60s, with some good behind-the-scenes material on how thoroughbreds come to be (there's flavorful atmosphere inside the horsey world, including an account of Secretariat's ownership being decided by a coin flip as part of an old-school agreement).
A highly lacquered Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery, the inheritor of her father's stables, who segues from being an all-American mom to running a major horse-racing franchise; reliable character-actor support comes in the form of John Malkovich, as a gaudily outfitted trainer, and Margo Martindale, as Chenery's assistant.
Screenwriter Mike Rich and director Randall Wallace must do some heavy lifting to make Lane's privileged millionaire into some sort of underdog--luckily, the hidebound traditions of the male-dominated racing scene provide some sources of outrage.
The need to stack the deck even more leads the movie into its more contrived scenes, unfortunately, as though we needed dastardly villains in order to root for Penny and her horse.
Meanwhile, attempts to reach for a little Seabiscuit-style social relevance don't come off, and a curious religious undertone might make you wonder whether we're meant to assume that God chose Secretariat over some less-deserving equine.
The actual excitement of the races can't be denied, however, and Secretariat's awe-inspiring win at the Belmont Stakes remains a jaw-dropping, still-unequaled display of domination in that event. And maybe in sports
Synopsis
A housewife with little knowledge of horse-racing fosters one of the greatest race horses of all time as the story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner comes to the screen in this inspirational underdog drama based on the novel Secretariat:
The Making of a Champion by William Nack and starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich. Penny Chenery (Lane) is a devoted mother and housewife whose ailing father is the proprietor of Meadow Stables in Virginia. When her father becomes too ill to tend to his horses, Penny agrees to take over the stables despite her inexperience. Desperate, she turns to veteran horse trainer Lucien Laurin (Malkovich) to help show her the ropes. Up to this point, horse racing has been a decidedly male-dominated sport. But with Lucien's help, Penny prepares to prove that gender has no bearing on one's ability to breed a fast race horse. As Secretariat blasts out of the gates to leave his competition in the dust, the whole world watches in amazement, and a legend is born.
Behind every legend lies an impossible dream. Witness the spectacular journey of an incredible horse named Secretariat and the moving story of his unlikely owner, a housewife who risked everything to make him a champion. Out of the gate with never-before-seen bonus features, Secretariat is hours of pulse-pounding entertainment for the whole family!In 'Secretariat' Disney presents an astonishing true story bursting with hope, heart, and courage. Diane Lane and John Malkovich lead a celebrated cast in this inspirational motion picture from the producers of Miracle, Invincible and The Rookie.
Movie "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"
In 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,' Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between Edward and Jacob -- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.
Synopsis
The "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" story opens with the revelation that Seattle, Washington is being plagued by a string of murders, which Edward suspects is caused by a new vampire that is unable to control its thirst for human blood.
As Edward and Bella apply to colleges, Bella explains to Edward her desire to see her friend, Jacob Black, a werewolf. Although Edward fears for her safety, Bella insists that neither Jacob nor his wolf pack would ever harm her, and she begins visiting him occasionally.
On one of these visits, Jacob tells Bella that he is in love with her and wants her to choose him instead of Edward, but Bella says she just sees him as a friend. To that, Jacob forcibly kisses her and she reacts by punching him in the face, spraining her hand while not even leaving a scratch on him.
Meanwhile, Alice Cullen has a vision that Victoria, a vampire who is hunting Bella for revenge, has returned to Forks. A few days later, Edward proposes to Bella and, despite harboring an aversion to marriage, she accepts.
Bella and the Cullens soon realize that the Seattle murders are being committed by an "army" of newborn vampires, controlled by Victoria.
The Cullens join forces with the wolf pack to combat this threat. As everyone else prepares for battle, Edward, Bella and Jacob camp in the mountains, hidden during the battle, where they are later joined by Seth Clearwater, a young wolf pack member, to wait out the fight.
In the morning, Jacob becomes upset when he overhears Edward and Bella discussing their engagement and threatens to join the fight and get himself killed. Bella stops Jacob by kissing him, and she comes to realize that she is in love with him as well.
During the battle, Victoria tracks Edward's scent to Bella's forest hiding place, and Edward is forced to fight. Edward manages to kill Victoria and her vampire army is destroyed. Afterwards, Bella explains to Jacob that while she loves him, her love for Edward is greater. After receiving a wedding invitation from Edward, Jacob runs away in his wolf form to escape his heartbreak over Bella's decision to become a vampire.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a great Vampire movie to watch.
Synopsis
The "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" story opens with the revelation that Seattle, Washington is being plagued by a string of murders, which Edward suspects is caused by a new vampire that is unable to control its thirst for human blood.
As Edward and Bella apply to colleges, Bella explains to Edward her desire to see her friend, Jacob Black, a werewolf. Although Edward fears for her safety, Bella insists that neither Jacob nor his wolf pack would ever harm her, and she begins visiting him occasionally.
On one of these visits, Jacob tells Bella that he is in love with her and wants her to choose him instead of Edward, but Bella says she just sees him as a friend. To that, Jacob forcibly kisses her and she reacts by punching him in the face, spraining her hand while not even leaving a scratch on him.
Meanwhile, Alice Cullen has a vision that Victoria, a vampire who is hunting Bella for revenge, has returned to Forks. A few days later, Edward proposes to Bella and, despite harboring an aversion to marriage, she accepts.
Bella and the Cullens soon realize that the Seattle murders are being committed by an "army" of newborn vampires, controlled by Victoria.
The Cullens join forces with the wolf pack to combat this threat. As everyone else prepares for battle, Edward, Bella and Jacob camp in the mountains, hidden during the battle, where they are later joined by Seth Clearwater, a young wolf pack member, to wait out the fight.
In the morning, Jacob becomes upset when he overhears Edward and Bella discussing their engagement and threatens to join the fight and get himself killed. Bella stops Jacob by kissing him, and she comes to realize that she is in love with him as well.
During the battle, Victoria tracks Edward's scent to Bella's forest hiding place, and Edward is forced to fight. Edward manages to kill Victoria and her vampire army is destroyed. Afterwards, Bella explains to Jacob that while she loves him, her love for Edward is greater. After receiving a wedding invitation from Edward, Jacob runs away in his wolf form to escape his heartbreak over Bella's decision to become a vampire.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a great Vampire movie to watch.
Kiddy Movie "Alpha and Omega" Released on DVD
(PG, 2010, 88 minutes)In the animated kiddie movie "Alpha and Omega," sometimes the wolves look like wolves and sometimes they look and move like humans; some bear an uncanny resemblance to Dora the Explorer. That should tip you off to the target audience for this unexceptional 3-D offering, which is also available in 2-D. But the movie's visual flatness would work best at home on the small screen, where young girls (and maybe their big sisters) would enjoy the film's gentle, romantic shadings.
"Alpha and Omega" tells the story of the emerging love between Humphrey (voiced by Justin Long), a goofball omega wolf, and Kate (Hayden Panettiere), the foxy alpha wolf that he's been crushing on since he was a pup. Alphas and omegas can't marry, though, and, besides, Kate has been promised to an alpha wolf from another pack in order to settle a turf war.
A golfing goose (Larry Miller) and his British caddy (Eric Price) add a little humor, and the late Dennis Hopper turns up, voicing the menacing leader of the rival pack.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
David Fincher's "The Social Network" on DVD & Blu-ray
David Fincher's "The Social Network" is hitting Blu-ray and standard DVD this week.
Before it hit theaters in October, "The Social Network" was already being heralded as an Oscar contender. "The Social Network" tells the story of Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is currently the youngest billionaire in the world. Backed by overwhelming critical support, "The Social Network" racked up nearly $200 million in theaters worldwide.
"The Social Network" was also voted the top movie of the year by the National Board of Review, joining recent films like "Up in the Air," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "No Country for Old Men." The David Fincher film is currently up for a bevy of Golden Globes as well, including Best Director, Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and Best Picture (Drama).
Before it hit theaters in October, "The Social Network" was already being heralded as an Oscar contender. "The Social Network" tells the story of Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is currently the youngest billionaire in the world. Backed by overwhelming critical support, "The Social Network" racked up nearly $200 million in theaters worldwide.
"The Social Network" was also voted the top movie of the year by the National Board of Review, joining recent films like "Up in the Air," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "No Country for Old Men." The David Fincher film is currently up for a bevy of Golden Globes as well, including Best Director, Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and Best Picture (Drama).
Sunday, January 2, 2011
What is Gold?
Ever wonder why gold is so rare and so expensive? I have. Here is a definition of gold for those interested.Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (Latin: aurum) and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable and ductile pure metal known. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Gold is one of the coinage metals and has served as a symbol of wealth and a store of value throughout history. Gold standards have provided a basis for monetary policies. It also has been linked to a variety of symbolisms and ideologies. Read More
A total of 161,000 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, as of 2009. Modern industrial uses include dentistry and electronics, where gold has traditionally found use because of its good resistance to oxidative corrosion and excellent quality as a conductor of electricity.
Chemically, gold is a transition metal and can form trivalent and univalent cations in solutions. Compared with other metals, pure gold is more chemically unreactive, but it is attacked by aqua regia (a mixture of acids), forming chloroauric acid, and by alkaline solutions of cyanide but not by single acids such as hydrochloric, nitric or sulfuric acids. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but does not react with it. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals. This property is exploited in the gold refining technique known as "inquartation and parting". Nitric acid has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, and this is the origin of the colloquial term "acid test", referring to a gold standard test for genuine value
1950 Battery Still Produces Energy After Sixty Years
Here is a revolutionary idea to built a battery that works for ever. It was build back in the 50's and ever since then, it is still working producing the same as much energy as it did then.The "Dimitrie Leonida" National Technical Museum from Romania hosts a weird kind of battery. Built by Vasile Karpen, the pile has been working uninterrupted for 60 years. "I admit it's also hard for me to advance the idea of an overunity generator without sounding ridiculous, even if the object exists," says Nicolae Diaconescu, engineer and director of the museum.
Half a century ago, the pile's inventor had said it will work forever, and so far it looks like he was right. Karpen's perpetual motion machine now sits secured right in the director's office. It has been called "the uniform-temperature thermoelectric pile," and the first prototype has been built in the 1950s. Although it should have stopped working decades ago, it didn't.
The scientists can't explain how the contraption, patented in 1922, works. The fact that still puzzles them is how a man of such a scientific stature such as Karpen's could have started building something "that crazy."
The prototype has been assembled in 1950 and consists of two series-connected electric piles moving a small galvanometric motor. The motor moves a blade that is connected to a switch. With every half rotation, the blade opens the circuit and closes it at the the start of the second half. The blade's rotation time had been calculated so that the piles have time to recharge and that they can rebuild their polarity during the time that the circuit is open.
The purpose of the motor and the blades was to show that the piles actually generate electricity, but they're not needed anymore, since current technology allows us to measure all the parameters and outline all of them in a more proper way.
A Romanian newspaper, ZIUA (The Day), went to the museum for an interview with director Diaconescu. He took the system our of its secured shelf and allowed the specialists to measure its output with a digital multimeter. This happened on Feb. 27, 2006, and the batteries had indicated the same 1 Volt as back in 1950.
They had mentioned that "unlike the lessons they teach you in the 7th grade physics class, the 'Karpen's Pile' has one of its electrodes made of gold, the other of platinum, and the electrolyte (the liquid that the two electrodes are immersed in), is high-purity sulfuric acid." Karpen's device could be scaled up to harvest more power, adds Diaconescu.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Facebook Visitors Top Google in 2010
Facebook has dethroned Google as the top-visited Web sites in 2010, as well as the most searched term of the year, a report says. Into 2011, it is to be seen whether the search engine giant can regain ground.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg listens to a question from the audience after unveiling a new messaging system during a news conference in San Francisco, California.
According to a report from Internet analytics company Experian Hitwise, Facebook accounted for 8.93 percent of all U.S. visits between January and November 2010. Google.com ranked second with 7.19 percent of visits, followed by Yahoo! Mail with 3.52 percent, Yahoo! with 3.30 percent and YouTube with 2.65 percent.
The Experian analysis found that the most frequently searched term this year was "facebook."
"Facebook" was the top-searched term overall for the second straight year, followed by "Facebook login" and "YouTube", says Experian.
Facebook, a site launched in 2004, has over 500 millon users and its rise marks a shift from search engines and Internet portals.
There are more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices. People who use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
Advertising contributes most of Facebook's revenue, one area it is yet to exceed compared with Google, which reported sales of about $24 billion in 2009. Facebook is reportedly expected to rake in about $2 billion in 2010, significantly up from $800 million in 2009.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who was chosen as Time’s Person of the Year for 2010, had early last year said the hugely popular social networking site is in no rush to go public. S&P Equity Research, in a company-specific predictions report for the Internet industry for 2011, said major social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are in no rush to become publicly traded entities despite the IPO market warming up somewhat in the second half of 2010.
"Facebook would benefit from another year of growth absent the added scrutiny that comes with a public listing," Business Week reported in 2010.
On exchanges for privately held companies, Facebook is worth more than $45 billion, about four times less than Google's.
Analyst Greg Sterling of SearchEngineLand.com says the Hitwise study does not track website visits via mobile devices and the number of searches on Google's Chrome browser was uncertain.
"This is right now more symbolic than anything" to see Facebook overtake Google in the United States, Sterling told AFP.
"Google is a very utilitarian site, where people go to make a decision, whereas Facebook is for entertainment," Sterling said. But if Facebook "were to concentrate on search, they could do something that stands to really hurt Google."
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg listens to a question from the audience after unveiling a new messaging system during a news conference in San Francisco, California.
According to a report from Internet analytics company Experian Hitwise, Facebook accounted for 8.93 percent of all U.S. visits between January and November 2010. Google.com ranked second with 7.19 percent of visits, followed by Yahoo! Mail with 3.52 percent, Yahoo! with 3.30 percent and YouTube with 2.65 percent.
The Experian analysis found that the most frequently searched term this year was "facebook."
"Facebook" was the top-searched term overall for the second straight year, followed by "Facebook login" and "YouTube", says Experian.
Facebook, a site launched in 2004, has over 500 millon users and its rise marks a shift from search engines and Internet portals.
There are more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices. People who use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.
Advertising contributes most of Facebook's revenue, one area it is yet to exceed compared with Google, which reported sales of about $24 billion in 2009. Facebook is reportedly expected to rake in about $2 billion in 2010, significantly up from $800 million in 2009.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who was chosen as Time’s Person of the Year for 2010, had early last year said the hugely popular social networking site is in no rush to go public. S&P Equity Research, in a company-specific predictions report for the Internet industry for 2011, said major social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are in no rush to become publicly traded entities despite the IPO market warming up somewhat in the second half of 2010.
"Facebook would benefit from another year of growth absent the added scrutiny that comes with a public listing," Business Week reported in 2010.
On exchanges for privately held companies, Facebook is worth more than $45 billion, about four times less than Google's.
Analyst Greg Sterling of SearchEngineLand.com says the Hitwise study does not track website visits via mobile devices and the number of searches on Google's Chrome browser was uncertain.
"This is right now more symbolic than anything" to see Facebook overtake Google in the United States, Sterling told AFP.
"Google is a very utilitarian site, where people go to make a decision, whereas Facebook is for entertainment," Sterling said. But if Facebook "were to concentrate on search, they could do something that stands to really hurt Google."
Christopher Nolan’s Inception Movie
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a thief who steals corporate secrets from sleeping minds. Now he must be the first to pull off the reverse: planting an idea in exchange for his freedom.
- Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Ken Watanabe
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan
- Runtime: 2 hours 29 minutes
- Release year: 2010
- Studio: Warner Bros.
Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine
Nook is best-selling item in Barnes & Noble’s history
Nook is best-selling item in Barnes & Noble’s history:
"Following on the heels of triumphant sales announcements from the likes of Amazon and Kobo, bookseller Barnes & Noble has declared its Nook ereader is the “biggest bestseller” in the company’s history. Barnes & Nobile says its latest LCD-based Nookcolor tablet was the company’s top-selling gift of the holiday season—a good sign, since the device launched just eight weeks ago—and the company now sells more digital books via its Web site than physical books."
Xbox 360 sold over 50 Million Units Worldwide Ahead of Nintendo
Gamrfeed says XBox has come first in sales after the New Year sales come to a conclusion. With over 50 million in sales worldwide, XBox sold twice as much as the Super Nintendo. See below:
With our figures for the Americas now in, and getting processed for upload, VGChartz can confirm that Microsoft's Xbox 360 is the fifth biggest home console of all time as of Christmas Day 2010. The X360 has topped 50 million units worldwide this week, putting it ahead of the Super Nintendo, the former fifth place home console. X360 sales are more than double the sales of the original Xbox. The original Xbox was Microsoft's first console and was the second place system of the PS2 era.
Microsoft's latest system launched in November 2005. Thus the average sales per year are just under 10 million units, as the system has topped 50 million in 61 months. Notable systems such as Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Xbox 1, Gamecube, Dreamcast, and many others all spent equal or far more time on the market and failed to reach the totals attained by X360.
To date, the X360 is behind only PS2, PS1, Wii, and NES on a worldwide basis. Sony's PS3, launched a year later, with sales of 46 million is not too far behind X360, but ultimately Microsoft has reached 50 million units before Sony this generation. With Kinect pushing X360 to record levels, the system is likely to move even further up the list of biggest userbases ever.
While X360 has yet to pass the top two home consoles from Sony and Nintendo on a worldwide basis, X360 is already the fourth biggest base in the West.
Overall, the X360 is doing quite well as the 50m mark is rarified air. The only question now is how much bigger the X360 can get.
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