Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Two More Actors Join the Cast of Kenneth Branagh's Thor - Colm Feore (seen in Season 7 of "24") and Jaimie Alexander (seen in ABC Family's "Kyle XY")
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Some Stuff: Friday, September 18, 2009
On this date in 1985, "Late Night with David Letterman" presented its first "Top Ten List," Things That Almost Rhyme With Peas
This morning I have a potential 2010 start date for X-Men: First Class this according to actor Tim Pocock, who played the young Scott Summers/Cyclops in Wolverine, after a recent twitter posting. You might remember back in April, producer Lauren Schuler Donner (X-Men Trilogy, Wolverine) told us that X-Men: First Class would be like a whole new beginning of the franchise
Clint Eastwood's all set to follow up last year's Gran Torino, and this year's Invictus, with the supernatural thriller Hereafter, and his first foray into the genre world has found its lead, Matt Damon. The most they'll say is that Hereafter is "a thriller in the vein of The Sixth Sense.
Disney will release the long-awaited "Tron" sequel, "Tron: Legacy", on December 17th, 2010. It's in 3D, if that makes a difference to you. (--And it's STILL in 3D, even if it DOESN'T make a difference to you.)
Melanie already told us about HBO developing a True Blood video game.
In other Vampire news The "Twilight" sequel, "New Moon", doesn't open until November 20th. That's a full TWO MONTHS from now.
But online ticket sellers like Fandango and MovieTickets.com say that screenings are already selling out. I still don’t get it.
Some Stuff: Thursday, September 17, 2009
On this date in 1920, the NFL was founded
The trailer for JIM CARREY'S new, animated version of "A Christmas Carol" The movie comes out November 6th. It was directed by ROBERT ZEMECKIS, who also did "The Polar Express" . . . and it uses the same kind of "motion capture" animation technology that that flick used.
Nick Cage just laid it out on the table yesterday on why he dropped out o Seth Rogens “Green Hornet” he said, "wasn't interested in just being just a straight up bad guy who was killing people willy-nilly. I had to have some humanity and to try to give it something where you could understand why the character was the way he was but I don't think there was enough time to develop it."
"Up until now, holograms have been for the eyes only, and if you'd try to touch it, your hand would go right through," Hiro-yuki Shinoda, professor at Tokyo university and one of the developers of the technology, says
"But now we have a technology that also adds the sensation of touch to holograms."
Holograms -- three-dimensional images -- are commonly found on credit cards, DVDs and CDs to prevent forgery, and larger scale holograms have been used in entertainment. Like Will.I.Am during the democratic convention last year.
By using ultrasonic waves, the scientists have developed software that creates pressure when a user's hand "touches" a hologram that is projected. The technology has so far been tested with relatively simple objects, although the researchers have more practical plans, including virtual switches at hospitals, for example, and other places where contamination by touch is an issue.
Games have long played a role in classrooms, but next month marks the launch of the first U.S. public school curriculum based entirely on game-inspired learning. Select sixth graders can look forward to playing video games such as "Little Big Planet" and "Civilization," as well as non-digital games ranging from role-playing scenarios to board games and card games. The Quest to Learn (Q2L) school, based in Manhattan, hopes its guided approach can help students take on the role of explorers, mathematicians, historians, writers and evolutionary biologists.
JJ’s review of the U2 360 Tour in Toronto September 16, 2009
First of all let me just say that the last time I was at a stadium concert was back in 1987 when INXS played the old exhibition stadium when I was 13, so this was a probably the biggest show I’ve seen in a 8 years??? I was lucky enough to have a standing spot right under the big “claw” stage, which looking up at the CN Tower from underneath with the open dome really resembled a rocket ship… says the geek in me. The show started with David Bowie’s Major Tom playing while smoke billowed from the 360 screen… a lot like a rocket ship….
Alright, U2 came out and opened with music from the new album “No line on the Horizon” which honestly I am not too familiar with. I’m pretty sure everyone including me was waiting for anything from the Joshua Tree, and when “I Still Haven’t Found what I’m Looking For” happened and 60,000 people joined in on the chorus it was as I always dreamed, I get chills thinking about it. The set included most of the biggies from the “Joshua Tree”, with an “Amazing Grace” intro to “Where the Streets Have no Name.” There were other hits like “Vertigo” “One” Stuck in a Moment” and I had heard that they performed “Sunday Bloody Sunday" on the European leg of the tour and was stoked to hear it at the Rogers Centre.
Lots of running, prancing and strutting from the band, but nothing overly choreographed
Theatrically it was all the 360 stage, which was exactly that, 360 degrees with two outer cat walks circling the main stage attached by two bridges. There must have been tons of cameras because the real show was the 360 screen flashing video of the concert interspersed with lighting patterns and social messages.
Yes it’s true U2 doesn’t put out ground breaking, landscape changing albums like Joshua tree anymore, but they do still rally for change through all their humanitarian work which definitely had a presence at the show, with “the One” campaign, Aung San Suu Kyi masks and a video featuring Bishop Desmon Tutu.
So let me sum up, Rocket ship-esque stage, all my favorite tunes, social commentary, open stadium and 60,000 + in attendance for me equals a very rare 6 out of 5. A little much some might say and I’ll agree, I had some great seats right up close so I didn’t feel the disconnect that some have mentioned about the show. That said this is JJ’s review of the U2 360 Toronto concert.
Some Stuff: September 16, 2009
1955: Play-Doh was introduced.
IDEAS FOR TRANSFORMERS 3 _ Michael Bay says he'll meet this week with producer Steven Spielberg to discuss ideas for Transformers 3. By the end of the week he will probably have a better idea if a third film will hit theaters in the summer of 2011 or 2012.
PETER BERG TO DIRECT BATTLESHIP _ Universal has officially signed filmmaker Peter Berg to direct a big screen adaptation of Hasbro’s board game Battleship. It'll be a live action project that should hit theaters in July, 2011.
JESSICA BIEL has joined the cast of the "A-Team" movie. She'll play an ex-girlfriend of "Face" . . . who's being played by BRADLEY COOPER.
Facebook has hit the 300 million user mark. The announcement yesterday means that Facebook grew from 200 million users to 300 million in just over 5 months.
Guys . . . if you prefer plastic ladies as opposed to human ladies, well a German company called First Androids has just come out with the perfect partner for
--Introducing "Andy," a lifelike sex doll that actually BREATHES and has a PULSE. (!!!) But that's not all Andy can do . . .
--According to the company, Andy can also:
--Hold several different sex positions
--Perform ORAL FAVORS
--And, if you like, Andy can even come equipped with a G-SPOT that responds to stimulation by causing her to climax.
She’ll do everything, Everything but love you with all her heart
Does anyone remember the short-lived reality show called Battle Bots? It was this show where engineers would create robots and have them battle in an a small arena, well now director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) helming a project called Real Steel, a film about a father and son who take a robot to the Bot Boxing Championship.
Some Stuff Sept 15, 2009
On this date in 1949, The Lone Ranger premiered on ABC
-- On this date in 1965, Green Acres debuted on CBS
-- On this date in 1977, CHiPs premiered
"The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form this according to, Harrison Ford, he says , "Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I'll be very happy to put the costume on again.
Video footage has been released of a robot that can leap over obstacles more than 7.5m (25ft) high.
Most of the time, the shoebox-sized robot - which is being developed for the US military - uses its four wheels to get around.
But the Precision Urban Hopper can use a piston-actuated "leg" to launch it over obstacles such as walls or fences.
The robot could boost the capabilities of troops and special forces engaged in urban warfare, say researchers.
In other robot news an unmanned “Hunter-Killer Predator drone” had to be shot down by a manned jet after in Afganistan after its failsafe failed. According to US Miltary, Apparently this is a common occurance . EVERYBODY PANIC
Printing the entire Internet is a ridiculous idea, but in the event that you actually wanted a printout of the entire Internet today, then you would have to have started printing back in 1800 BC to get it done by now. And if you wanted to read it all it would take 57,000 years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, non-stop.
Fresh off his sure-to-be-nominated performance as Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds Christoph Waltz, has just been cast to play the villain in Seth Rogens Green Hornet this instead of Cage
Sources say that UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has landed the mohawked and bejeweled role made famous in the TV series The A-Team by Mr. T. Jackson has been spotted on the Vancouver,. To back up the rumors, a number of UFC websites are claiming Jackson has postponed a December fight because of the new gig.
WORLD'S NEW TALLEST SKYSCRAPER BEING PLANNED _ A California architect (Tommy Landau) is developing plans for what would be the world’s tallest building –- a 224-story, eco-conscious skyscraper in Abu Dhabi. The current record holder –- the Burj Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates –- will reach 162 stories when completed.
The Stuff - September 13
1994: The Major League Baseball season was canceled due to strike.
Lots of big news coming out of Disneys D23 Expo from this weekend: including the announcement of a new Muppet movie, and new animation label for Guillermo Del Toro. Prince of Persia is NOT going to be released as a 3-D feature.
Disney has announced the official title for the 4th "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. It's called "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" . . . and it'll be out in the summer of 2011.
This is bad news if you dig those "Ocean's" movies: Director STEVEN SODERBERGH says there will never be another one . . . because BERNIE MAC . . . one of the original crew . . . is dead
My source caught up with Bruce Campbell and found out from him that not only is his role in Spider-Man 4 considered to be a "major one," but apparently the sequel will begin shooting in January of 2010.
As everyone knows, MEGAN FOX talks a lot of crap. And over the summer, one of the people she talked crap about was her "Transformers" director, MICHAEL BAY. She even compared him to HITLER, and said he's a nightmare to work for.
Well, three anonymous crew members who've worked with Michael Bay for years posted a letter on Bay's website, tearing into Megan. Big time.
It's pretty long and involved, but this quote from the end of the letter sums it up pretty well . . . quote, "Megan really is a thankless, classless, graceless, and shall we say unfriendly (B-word).
"It's sad how fame can twist people, and even sadder that young girls look up to her. If only they knew who they're really looking up to."
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Some Stuff: Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The very talented astrophotographer Ralf Vandebergh has captured an astonishing view of the International Space Station: The image was taken on August 29, before the current Discovery mission, and shows the station gleaming in sunlight.
Rumours are circulating this moring that Marvel is looking at converting Jon Favreau's Iron Man 2 into 3D. On top of that, they're considering converting Iron Man 1 to 3D and re-releasing it a bit earlier. Favreau and Downey are teaming up again for a movie called "Cowboys and Aliens".
IMAX has booked J.J. Abrams' Star Trek for a re-release this weekend in 85 theaters around the US and Canada. Star Trek will run for another two weeks until Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs opens on September 18th.
In a recent interview with Sam Worthington on the set of the forth coming “Clash of the Titans” he offered these tidbits…"What these guys and Louis [Leterrier] have set out to do is raise the richter [scale] to 11, in the sense of, the scorpions are the size of dump trucks, Medusa is a lot quicker and a lot more scarier, and the whole world itself is… big and epic in scope."
Is there a scientific way o tell how bad a fart is?
Oh yes! Now there is…For their senior project, two Cornell University computer-engineering whizzes recently built a machine that does just that. After learning in class how breathalyzers work, Robert Clain and Miguel Salas assembled a fart detector from a sensitive hydrogen sulfide monitor, a thermometer and a microphone and wrote the software that would rate the emission. A “slight perturbance in the air” near the detector sets it to work measuring the three pillars of fart quality: stench, temperature and sound. Temperature, Clain explains, is critical. The hotter a fart, the faster it spreads. “It beeps faster if it’s a high ranker, and a voice rates it on a scale of zero to nine,” he says. “If it ranks a nine, a fan comes on to blow it away. It even records the noise so you can play it back later
Want to know if there’s been an outbreak of H1N1 in the neighborhood? There’s an app for that. Outbreaks Near Me is a location-aware application for the iPhone based on the free HealthMap epidemiological web service, which allows users to access disease-outbreak information. Unlike the web-based service, users can contribute signs that public health trouble is afoot in what the organization is calling "participatory epidemiology." The founder of HealthMap says what he's envisioning with Outbreaks Near me is "...say you're in a clinical setting as a patient or clinician and seeing lots of unusual cases of something. You’d be able to note that down and submit it into the system."
Some Stuff: Tuesday, September 1, 2009
1972: American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Iceland, defeating Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
The Walt Disney Company is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4-billion (U.S.) in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E. Marvel shares jumped 26 per cent, shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 1.8 per cent. In all, Disney now owns some 5,000 Marvel characters Marvel will still remain in creative control over their own company. But now have some great resources like PIXAR and the incredible pool of Disney artists available to them. On the down side this could mean less graphicness.
Fox has announced that they're moving forward on rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise . The producer behind Poseidon, I Am Legend and Hancock has been hired to oversee the reboot as producer. The studio has also hired Michael Green a co-executive producer on "Heroes" who also co-wrote the Green Lantern movie, to write the new screenplay.
Sly Stallone has signed on for another Rambo movie that will chronicle John Rambo's battle against human traffickers and drug lords near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Yesterday, officials in Uganda announced that they're launching a new social networking website later this month. It's called FriendAGorilla.org, and it'll allow users to track to the movements of MOUNTAIN GORILLAS.
According to Ugandan officials, once users pay the $1 fee to sign up, they'll be able to watch live video feeds of mountain gorillas in the wild, and they'll even be able to track the gorillas' movements by GPS.
Plus, they'll receive weekly updates alerting them of new births, and other gorilla-related info. --"Once you befriend a gorilla, you will be interacting with your gorilla friend on a weekly basis, and you will get updates on the movement of your gorilla friend."
I told you about this back in April, but given it’s back to school time I thought I’d bring it up again. AT&T's Family Map plan, allows users to see their child's location on a detailed map with the street address via computer or cell phone. Parents also can receive text messages or e-mail updates at certain times of the day to ensure their child has made it home from school,
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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