Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto
Paul Giamatti, Brian Posehn, Rosario Dawson, Danny Trejo, Daniel Roebuck, Tom Kenny, Tom Papa, and, of course, Sheri Moon Zombie all lend their voices to director Rob Zombie’s animated tale of a washed-up luchador who makes it his mission to battle the forces of the supernatural. As the heroic El Superbeasto (voice of Papa) advances ever closer to his ultimate confrontation with the diabolical Dr. Satan (Giamatti), each adventure becomes more surreal and terrifying than the last.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Desert dust storm chokes Sydney
kes Sydney | ||||
| Advertisement Sydney's red dust has been blown from the outback A large stretch of Australia's east coast, including the largest city Sydney, has been shrouded in red dust blown in from the desert outback. Visibility in Sydney was so bad that flights were diverted and harbour ferry traffic disrupted. Landmarks such as the Opera House were obscured, and many residents took to wearing masks. Emergency services reported a surge in calls from people with breathing problems. Dust storms are common in the arid "red centre" of Australia, but they rarely reach the populated coastal regions. The storm crippled the transportation system, with long delays to flights and bumper-to-bumper traffic on major roads. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems were told to stay indoors until the dust had cleared later on Wednesday. It was blown out to sea and up the coast by the strong winds.
On Wednesday morning, the dust storm stretched hundreds of kilometres along the coast of Australia, a scientist with the New South Wales (NSW) government told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. Powerful winds generated by a major cold front took tons of topsoil from the drought-ravaged outback. Officials said air pollution levels from the dust were the highest recorded since records began in the 1970s, with 15,500 micrograms of particles per cubic metre. "On a clear day the readings for particulate matter or PM10 is around 10-20 micrograms per cubic metre," said Chris Eiser of the NSW department of the environment. "During a bushfire, when there is heavy smoke around, we might see readings of around 300 to 500 micrograms per cubic metre." Other experts described the dust storm as the worst in Australia since the 1940s. 'Life on Mars' Sydney resident Andrew Hawkins said "it was like waking up to see that Armageddon is upon us. The sky was bathed in a red hue, and I must say that the thought did cross my mind that either my eyes were playing up on me, that something catastrophic had occurred... or that it was something meteorological," he told the BBC.
Tanya Ferguson described the dust storm as the weirdest thing she has ever seen in her life. "It was like being on Mars," she told the BBC, "I haven't been there, obviously, but I imagine that's what the sky would look like." The Australian Bureau of Meteorology warned of "widespread damaging winds" in Sydney and other areas, as gusts of 65km/h (40mph) hit the city. International flights to Sydney were diverted to other cities and there were long delays at the airport throughout Wednesday. Doctors warned that children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with heart and lung diseases were particularly at risk and should stay indoors or take precautions to avoid the dust. "Dust storms are particularly hazardous for anyone with chronic lung disease or sinus disease. Once the particles per cubic metre are above 300, dust storms pose a risk to lung health," said Dr Phillip Thompson of the University of Western Australia. The dust cloud in Brisbane, about 730km (450 miles) north of Sydney, was also reported to be thinning on Wednesday afternoon, but forecasters warned that further storms are likely over the coming days. The BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney says it has been a difficult 24 hours for Australia, which has been hit by earthquakes, hail storms and bushfires. In parts of New South Wales, huge hailstones whipped up by thunderstorms smashed windows and sent residents running for cover. Further north in Queensland, officials banned open fires in many areas when bushfires sprang up after a spell of hot, dry weather. Two minor earthquakes hit Victoria state on Tuesday, and heavy rains that followed led officials to issue a warning of flash floods. | ||||
It was like waking up to see that Armageddon is upon us 
Microsoft Acquisition Adds to Parallel Computing Focus
Owen Fletcher, IDG News Service
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Microsoft has purchased assets in a company that specializes in parallel computing, a function used mainly in supercomputing that Microsoft aims to develop for a broader audience, the company said Tuesday.
Microsoft has acquired the technology assets of Interactive Supercomputing (ISC), a company that specializes in desktop tools for parallel computing, Microsoft said in a blog post. Parallel computing refers to the execution of a task on multiple process cores and threads simultaneously.
Microsoft will explain in coming months how it plans to integrate the company's technologies into its own products, it said. The CEO and other staff from ISC will join Microsoft, it said. It did not give the price of the purchase, which was announced by its server division.
Microsoft said ISC will no longer sell its main product, a software platform that helps users work with parallel setups for complex computations on array or matrix-based data. But Microsoft will provide support for current users until the end of next year or until their contracts expire, it said.
Microsoft has said it and partners are working to develop software architecture and applications to correspond with parallel computing hardware.
Microsoft’s Secret Courier Tablet Info Leaked
According to a recent report from Gizmodo on Tuesday, Microsoft is confirming rumors that it actually does have a new dual-screen tablet in the works, codenamed Courier. According to the article and a short demo video, the Courier is a real thing and is more like a “booklet” than a tablet as it folds together and has two interactive touch screens side-by-side with loads of fast functionality.
The project has apparently been kept under pretty tight wraps with very few, both inside and outside of Microsoft, with knowledge about it. In fact, rumors are that the team working on the project, led by J. Allard (a designer involved in the Zune and the Xbox) has been kept away from the main Redmond campus to help keep it secret.
It’s unclear if the Courier is the actual tablet-type product that Microsoft will bring to market as it sounds like they are working on a number of prototypes to find the right one that may give Apple’s rumored tablet a run for its money.
Photos via Gizmodo
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Jiminy Glick Interviews 'Ronald McDonald'
Check out this footage of "Ronald McDonald" talking about killing chickens and the cruelty behind Unhappy Meals during an interview with the legendary Jiminy Glick.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Addicted To Plastic 2009
ADDICTED TO PLASTIC is a feature-length documentary about solutions to plastic pollution. The point-of-view style documentary encompasses three years of filming in 12 countries on 5 continents, including two trips to the middle of the Pacific Ocean where plastic debris accumulates. The film details plastic’s path over the last 100 years and provides a wealth of expert interviews on practical and cutting edge solutions to recycling, toxicity and biodegradability. These solutions - which include plastic made from plants - will provide viewers with a hopeful perspective about our future with plastic.
Documentary / Environmentalism
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Directed by : Ian Connacher
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Starring: Ian Connacher, Gad Reichman, and many more.
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Runtime: >/< (85 Minutes)
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Links: - Trailer
