STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

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Pond Explodes in Canada While Lakes Disappear in Georgia

There’s something in the water in Canada that made a pond on a golf course suddenly start to bubble, churn and explode muddy water high into the air. There might have been something in the water in two lakes in Georgia in the U.S. but we’ll never know because they both disappeared overnight. What’s happening?

It’s said that nothing stops serious golfers from completing a round, but golfers at Indian Hills Golf Course in Lambton Shores, Ontario, were forced to evacuate after the water hazard on one hole became really hazardous.

Witnesses said the pond’s surface churned, water and mud spouted like geysers and a strong smell like propane filled the air. After the local gas company confirmed there were no pipelines in the area, the blame was placed on a previously unknown methane pocket. An emergency was declared by both the municipality and the golfers as the course was closed until further notice.

Meanwhile, lakes are disappearing in the state of Georgia. Residents of College Park, Georgia, near the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, woke up on June 16 to find that Lake Feldwood had disappeared overnight and nothing was left but dead fish, mud and useless piers.

The mud pit that was once Lake Feldwood

This is eerily similar to what happened on June 1 to Aspen Lake. Just 25 miles from Lake Feldwood, Coweta County residents say Aspen Lake vanished overnight after a period of heavy downpours.

Nothing but mud and dead fish were Aspen Lake once was

Is there a connection?

Dams. Both lakes are man-made and their dams broke under the pressure caused by unusually heavy rains. The dams will have to be replaced to bring the lakes back and residents, government officials and engineers in both locations are assessing the impacts and estimating the costs.

The exploding pond and disappearing lakes occurred because humans created water basins where there were none before which, in the case of the lakes, were destroyed by unusual weather that may have also been influenced by humans. The bodies of water served no useful purpose but entertainment for golfers and homeowners. Meanwhile, areas across the globe suffer from a lack of clean drinking water.

No mysteries here. Just some things to think about.

[MIKA27]

1792 SWEET WHEAT BOURBON

Rye whiskey and rye influenced bourbons are fantastic drinks, but some prefer a sweeter taste when it comes to whiskey. 1792 Sweet Wheat Bourbon replaces the often used rye grain in their bourbon mashbill with wheat, giving it a softer, sweeter flavor profile. The new 1792 expression was distilled in 2007 — and then aged, and bottled at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, KY. Wheated bourbons became famous thanks to the Pappy Van Winkle line — and while this isn't that, it's accessible, affordable and worthy of your booze dollars.

[MIKA27]

Sony's Robotic Dogs Are Dying A Slow And Heartbreaking Death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x36_FAx1_jE

Back in 1999, Sony released a robotic dog called Aibo, a canine companion that didn’t crap everywhere and only ate electricity. It sold pretty well — 150,000 units, despite the $US2,000 price tag. Some owners became remarkably attached, which makes it even more sad that Sony has stopped repairing Aibo. Slowly but surely, they’re all dying.

The New York Times has recorded the plight of current-day Aibo owners in a completely heartbreaking video. They interviewed a series of owners, whose Aibos are a central part of their lives, but are slowly having to come to the fact that their dogs have a life expectancy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DaRXiH5oes

Thanks to a shortage of parts, Sony stopped repairing Aibos in March of last year. Repair work is now left to home-grown technicians, who have to cannibalise some Aibos to fix others. On one level, it’s amazing that the dogs have lasted 16 years, way beyond what I’d ever expect of a gadget these days. But it’s also a sobering reminder that nothing — not even obedient, adorable robot dogs — last forever.

[MIKA27]

This Man Bought So Much Batman Stuff

This is the Batman collection of Somchai Nitimongkolchai. It’s the largest in Thailand, and Nitimongkolchai thinks it might be the biggest in the world.

Ten years ago, he began collecting Batman toys after seeing Batman Begins. According to Coconuts Bangkok, he liked that Batman, unlike Spider-Man, doesn’t have any super powers.

Now, his collection is housed at his BatCat Museum, which is also filled with all sorts of stuff. But the man focus is Batman.

He has some super rare items, like this playset:

Nitimongkolchai’s collection has been featured several times on Thai TV. Below, via the BatCat’s Facebook page, you can see inside his museum and get a look at the memorabilia he’s amassed.

[MIKA27]

25 Minutes Of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Here is Deus Ex: Mankind Divided‘s entire E3 gameplay demo. It is hotter than your significant other and most celebrities.

Normally in order to view this demo before, like, a week from now, you’d have to go crawling through E3’s vents and stain your sensation-less mechanical arms with the battery acid-infused blood of countless Square Enix employees. But not now, not today. Here’s 25 minutes of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, viewable from the comfort of your living room and/or toilet:

I’m not usually one to go into full-on “get hype” mode, but holy god did you see the thing? And the other thing? And the part where the guy turned invincible and then invisible, presumably to build a tongue twister that only the hardiest of cyber-tongues can conquer?

Seriously though, Mankind Divided is looking excellent. Its predecessor, Human Revolution, did a lot right, but it was also kinda weak in a few departments, most notably combat. While I still plan to play as master of the ancient art of tip-toe-fu, firefights in this one look much more satisfying. Bullets spark and ricochet like they mean business, and augment abilities give you one heck of an upper hand (sometimes literally, if you’re firing part of your arm at someone to pin them to the ceiling). Here are just a few highlights I noticed:

• Remote hacking: You can now hack things (for instance, cameras and robots) from a distance. Handy! There’s nothing quite like silently rallying your own little army and watching confused guards panic as they try to sort out the “malfunction.”
• Long-distance nanoblade: OK, so I already knew this thing could pin baddies to walls, but you can also fire it into walls next to enemies and then make it explode. Oh the possibilities there. Need to do some crowd control? Piece of genetically modified, nutritionally enhanced cake. Is an enemy doing his best impression of a groundhog behind some cover? Perhaps a nanoblade explosion behind his back will give him second thoughts. I still think nanoblade is a dumb name, though.
• Knock-out darts: Line ‘em up, knock ‘em down. Jensen’s new non-lethal darts seem ridiculously useful — maybe… too useful. We’ll see. They sure look awesome, though.

• The titan shield: Pinned down by a pitter patter avalanche of bullets? No problem! Become that one guy from Fullmetal Alchemist. The titan shield gives you a big defence boost, and you get to look cool — like a walking pile of boulders from the fuuuuuuuture — while doing it.
• Icarus dash: Somebody’s been playing a lot of Dishonored. The Icarus dash lets you zip across short distances — even vertical ones — in the blink of an eye. Kind of like, er, blink fromDishonored. It fits super well with Deus Ex‘s “go where you want, however you want” ethos. I can’t wait to see how players use it to break the game.
• Combining all these things mid-combat: There’s a bit near the middle of the demo where the player decides to go in guns-a-blazing, but they seamlessly fuse their late-career-Rambo antics with early-career-Rambo antics (read: slaughter and stealth). One second, they’re an immovable titan shield mountain, giving as good as they get, and the next they dart into cloaked mode, dashing around while guards fire at their non-existent shadow. Then they use the Icarus dash to leap up a whole level, giving them one hell of a vantage point. I can’t say how it all feels just yet (usual disclaimer: I haven’t played; it might be garbage), but that certainly looks like a hell of a good time to me.

But, on the downside:

• Hacking still looks kinda annoying: I didn’t love the hacking minigame in Human Revolution, andMankind Divided looks pretty similar in that department, except with More Stuff .
• Bonus XP for non-lethal takedowns: I usually play Deus Ex non-lethally, but I like all playstyles to be equally viable. Or rather, I’d prefer that the consequences for choosing one playstyle over another come from moments, scenarios, mid-level consequences, enemies telling Jensen that his face is too pointy, etc. I don’t really like that the developers have signposted progression to say, “If you don’t kill people, things will go better.” Duh, I know that. I don’t need underlying game systems — the very fibres of the game’s being — tickling me in one direction or bludgeoning me in another.

• Jensen, punching through walls isn’t stealthy: It’s always jarring to see him do that after moving through a room so silently that a pin drop would sound like a nuclear detonation. Tip-toe-tip-toe-tip-toe-PUNCH A ******* HOLE IN THE ***************** VENT WOO MY BRAIN IS A WINDING LABYRINTH OF SLAYER GUITAR SOLO TABLATURE. Naturally, nobody hears him. Somehow. I know it’s not a big deal, but it still irks me.

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Samsung Wants To Make 'See-Through Trucks That Are Safer To Pass

Here’s a thought: Wouldn’t passing a big truck be an awful lot safer if a video display on the vehicle’s back showed drivers what was happening up front? The “transparent truck” concept isn’t exactly new, but Samsung is now trying to bring the idea to life, with a prototype truck whose display-covered caboose transmits feed from a wireless camera.

According to The Verge, Samsung is currently seeking regulatory approval for the so-called “Safety Truck.” While I’ll give Samsung props for creativity, it’s hard to see the transportation sector adopting this idea en masse, for the obvious reason that plastering a bunch of big displays on the backs of trucks will cost money. I’d also worry about people having a little too much fun with screen-covered vehicles. Imagine, for instance, being stuck behind a truck that somebody had switched from street view to e-sports.

Now, that would take distracted driving to a whole new level.

[MIKA27]

Parbunkells: The Word The Internet Didn't Know

Ever heard of the word in this image? Probably not, because, until this month, that word didn’t exist on the Internet.

That’s right: A 17th century English word that means “coming together through the binding of two ropes,” according to a 1627 publication housed at the New York Public Library’s Rare Book Division, was, until this month, dead to the digital world — and to almost every living person.

But the cat’s out of the bag now, because two Fridays ago, Julia Weist, the Brooklyn-based artist who unearthed the strange word, managed to get it posted on an empty billboard in Forest Hills, Queens. For the naturally curious folks who’d immediately look it up online, Weist posted about the word on her website in a project she calls “Reach.” But so that we could all experience this odd moment of internet silence, she asked others not to do the same.

Of course, the internet is anything but a tame beast. On Thursday, an article on DNAinfo set the digital world aflame over a term nobody had cared about for nearly 400 years. Now, the analogue word has gone fully digital, with its very own Reddit thread and Twitter handle. And Weist is kinda ok with that.

“The word has also become a shortcut to a portrait of meaning making and content production on the Internet, both human and non-human, in the sense that you can search for it and see spools of information, reaction, conversation, re-contextualization and response,” Weist told Gizmodo in an email. “In that sense it’s all or nothing, and now that word has been used, the more usage the better.”

Weist herself has found an interesting way to keep up with her unusual vocable’s digital debut. Every time someone visits her site, a PHP script makes a log in a text file. A Raspberry Pi in her apartment checks the server hosting that log every second, and when a visit occurs, runs a bash script to a WeMo that turns on a lamp. Apparently, the lamp has been flickering like crazy lately.

It’s easy to fall into the trapping of thinking the internet knows everything, but it doesn’t. Oddities like this makes you wonder how much other knowledge is lying on dusty shelves, waiting to be rediscovered.

[MIKA27]

Goujian: The Ancient Chinese Sword that Defied Time

Fifty year ago, a rare and unusual sword was found in a tomb in China. Despite being well over 2,000 years old, the sword, known as the Goujian, did not have a single trace of rust. The blade drew blood when an archeologist tested his finger on its edge, seemingly unaffected by the passage of time. Besides this strange quality, the craftsmanship was highly detailed for a sword made such a long time ago. Regarded as a state treasure in China today, the sword is as legendary to the Chinese people as King Arthur's Excalibur in the West.

In 1965, archaeologists were carrying out a survey in Hubei province, just 7 km (4 miles) from the ruins of Jinan, capital of the ancient Chu state, when they discovered fifty ancient tombs. During the excavations of the tombs, researchers unearthed the sword of Goujian alongside 2,000 other artifacts.

Discovery of the Goujian

According to the leader of the archeological team responsible for the excavation, it was discovered in a tomb, in a near air-tight wooden box next to a skeleton. The team was stunned when the perfectly preserved bronze sword with scabbard was removed from the box. When it was unsheathed, the blade was revealed to be untarnished despite being buried in damp conditions for two millennia. A test conducted by the archaeologists showed that the blade could easily cut a stack of twenty pieces of paper.

Sword of Goujian, Hubei Provincial Museum

Jian swords

The Sword of Goujian is one of the earliest known Jian swords, a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. Jian swords are among the earliest sword types in China and are closely associated with Chinese mythology. In Chinese folklore, it is known as "The Gentleman of Weapons" and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the staff, spear, and the sabre.

One iron and two bronze Jian swords from the Chinese Warring states period

Relatively short compared to similar historical pieces, the Gouijan sword is a bronze sword with a high concentration of copper, making it more pliant and less likely to shatter. The edges are made of tin, making them harder and capable of retaining a sharper edge. There are also small amounts of iron, lead and sulfur in the sword, and research has revealed a high proportion of sulfur and sulfide cuprum, which gives the sword its rustproof quality. Black rhombic etchings cover both sides of the blade and blue glaze and turquoise is imbedded on the sword handle. The grip of the sword is bound by silk while the pommel is composed of 11 concentric circles. The sword measures 55.7 cm long (21.9 in), including an 8.4 cm (3.3 in) handle hilt, and has a 4.6 cm (1.8 in) wide blade. It weighs 875 grams (30.9) oz.

The turquoise can be seen embedded in the sword’s handle

Deciphering the inscription

On one side of the blade, two columns of text are visible with eight characters, near the hilt, that are in ancient Chinese script. The script, known as "鸟虫文" (literally "'birds and worms' characters") is characterized by intricate decorations to the defining strokes, and is a variant of zhuan that is very difficult to read. Initial analyses deciphered six of these eight characters. They read, "越王" (King of Yue) and "自作用剑" ("made this sword for (his) personal use"). The remaining two characters are likely the name of the king.

Deciphering the scripts on the Sword of Goujian

From its birth in 510 BC to its demise at the hands of Chu in 334 BC, nine kings ruled Yue, including Goujian, Lu Cheng, Bu Shou, and Zhu Gou, among others. The identity of the king that owned the sword sparked debate among archaeologists and Chinese language scholar. After more than two months, the experts formed a consensus that the original owner of the sword was Goujian (496 – 465 BC), making the sword around 2,500 years old.

King Goujian of Yue

Goujian was a famous emperor in Chinese history who reigned over the Yue State during the Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BC). This was a time marked by chaos within the Zhou Dynasty and takes its name from the Spring and Autumn Annals, which chronicled this period. The Spring and Autumn Period was renowned for military expeditions; these conflicts led to the perfecting of weapons to the point that they were incredibly resistant and deadly, taking years to forge and lasting for centuries. The story of Goujian and Fuchai, King of the Wu state, contending for hegemony is famous throughout China. Although Goujian’s kingdom was initially defeated by the State of Wu, Goujian would lead his army to victory 10 years later.

Unique properties

Besides its historic value, many scholars have wondered how this sword could have remained rust-free in a humid environment, for more than 2,000 years, and how the delicate decorations were carved into the sword. The sword of Goujian is still as sharp today as when it was originally crafted, and not a single spot of rust can be found on the body today.

The Goujian sword is as sharp today as it was over two millennia ago

Researchers analyzed ancient bronze shards in the hope of finding a way to replicate the technology used to create the sword. They found that the sword is resistance to oxidation as a result of sulphation on the surface of the sword. This, combined with an air-tight scabbard, allowed the legendary sword to be found in such pristine condition.

Tests also show that the sword-smiths of the Wu and Yue regions in Southern China during the Spring and Autumn Period reached such a high level of metallurgy that they were able to incorporate rust-proof alloys into their blades, helping them survive the ages relatively unblemished. The sword was lent to the National Palace Museum in Taipei where it was on display until 2011, along with various other bronze pieces from the excavation. It is currently in the possession of the Hubei Provincial Museum.

[MIKA27]

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond And James May Are 'Very Close' To Signing A Deal With Netflix

Millions of former Top Gear fans may be about to have their prayers answered, as former host Jeremy Clarkson hints that a new show involving Richard Hammond, James May and Netflix may be just weeks away from being official.

The Mirror in the UK reports that Hammond and May will turn down £4 million from the BBC to launch the new show with Clarkson and Netflix. It’s being hinted that long-time producer Andy Wilman will also head over with the three hosts to anchor the new show.

Clarkson has also confirmed that he’ll front a show with his partners in crime, and added that the announcement will take place within weeks.

Ever since their departure from the BBC’s biggest motoring show in March, fans have been crying out to restore the original Top Gear trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May to their roles so the car-based nonsense can continue unabashed.

However, a BBC investigation found that Clarkson had in fact thrown punches at a producer, landing him in hospital. That left them no choice but to fire the long-time host.

The BBC has since replaced Clarkson with BBC Radio 1 DJ, Chris Evans, promising more new faces in the line-up to be announced.

From the looks of things, the original Top Gear trio will live on Netflix under a new name, while the show’s existing brand is retained by the BBC.

[MIKA27]

Here's Your New Spiderman

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of "Cop Car," the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in "The Impossible," “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming "In the Heart of the Sea," and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige commented, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

We’ll get more webslinging action in our cinemas come-2017.

[MIKA27]

The Military Is Building A Hoverbike

Marty McFly’s hoverboard is a cool piece of scifi fantasy, but I’m more excited for this hoverbike to hit the skies. And there’s a good chance that will happen now the US military is getting involved.

At this month’s Paris Air Show, UK startup Malloy Aeronautics and the US Department of Defence announced plans to make this drone-like bike, a vehicle we’ve waited for many years, a reality.

Malloy Aeronautics has been working on this bike for a few years, and describes its many advantages in combat: The rotors are shielded for extra safety, it’s more agile than a helicopter, and can be folded up making transcontinental shipping a cinch. It can also carry supplies in unmanned flights.

Oh, and it basically looks like a speeder bike zipping around the forest moon of Endor.

There doesn’t seem to be set timetable for when we’ll see these floating wonders in action, but development is set to begin soon in Maryland, according to Malloy. These wheel-free bikes will most likely act as reconnaissance vehicles (for now), but man I’d love one to ride to work.

[polarbear]

Here's Your New Spiderman

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of "Cop Car," the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in "The Impossible," “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming "In the Heart of the Sea," and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige commented, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

We’ll get more webslinging action in our cinemas come-2017.

That's the youngest looking mid 20's Peter Parker I've ever seen

Put him next to the Avengers and he'll look like the work experience kid

[MIKA27]

That's the youngest looking mid 20's Peter Parker I've ever seen

Put him next to the Avengers and he'll look like the work experience kid

Mate thats exactly what I thought!

IMO - purely just looking at this guy face value, HE's not Peter Parker material... Next to the avengers especially.

[MIKA27]

How The Star Wars Logo Got Confused With Nazi Typography

The history of the Star Wars logo has long been controversial for its purported connection to fascist or even Nazi typography. After all, the Star Wars saga is an apparent analogy for World War II, where the Empire is the Third Reich and Darth Vader represents Adolf Hitler.

So it wouldn’t be a surprise if elements of the film, like its logo, were pulled from fascist sources, right? Not so fast.

In a terrific Hopes&Fears feature on fonts and movie posters, Garbriella Garcia revisits the controversy over the Star Wars logo’s origin. Garcia explains how George Lucas originally told designer Suzy Rice to create a logo that looked “very fascist.” Rice’s recollection of her process later appeared in The Star Wars Poster Book, where she chose what she says she “reckoned to be the most ‘fascist’ typeface I could think of: Helvetica Black.”

Rice used Helvetica Black as her inspiration for the original version of the Star Wars logo — though of course, she altered elements of the logo drastically as you can see when you look at “STAR WARS” rendered in Helvetica Black without any alterations:

So why did Rice reckon Helvetica Black to be the most fascist-looking font? Apparently she’d been reading a book about German typeface design the night before Lucas asked her to design something that would have “an intimidating impact” on the audience, and thought she remembered the book saying something about how Helvetica grew out of typefaces Joseph Goebbels had selected for Nazi propaganda.

“Apparently, the book established Helvetica Black as the inevitable evolutionary product of a typeface design that Joseph Goebbels had ordered to represent the German Nationalist party on all of its signage,” Garcia explains.

Over the years, Rice has been sharply criticised for implying that Helvetica is a fascist typeface, and that it had any connection to Nazi typography. She responded to this criticism in multiple blog posts clarifying the issue.

“‘Helvetica came much later but was described in this book I’d been reading as somewhat similar visually to that earlier signage,” Rice clarified.

Rice wrote in 2011 — emphasis hers:

My original statement that Helvetica Black “was the most fascist font I could think of” was as to the ENVIRONMENT FROM WHENCE THE FONT ORIGINATED, the “general environment” of culture and time prior to, during and directly after World War II, and, as to the severity in appearance of the font itself. It was “fascist” based upon what I’d learned about how that font was developed and within what history epoch it originated — not “a fascist font” in and of itself but from a period of human, political history born of certain severe conditions WHICH ATMOSPHERE PROVIDED ME WITH AN INSPIRATION FOR THE DESIGN.

As she alludes to in the caps-heavy text above, it wasn’t the provenance of the Helvetica typeface itself that seemed fascist to her, but rather the “severity in appearance.” In another post, she explains that Helvetica wasn’t inspired by Nazi typography — it was just visually similar to some of those poster typefaces:

To state the obvious — contrary to bizarre gossip as if I’d stated otherwise — Helvetica wasn’t used by Goebbels nor was Miedinger, to my knowledge, associated with Goebbels. Meidinger’s ‘Helvetica’ came much later but was described in this book I’d been reading as somewhat similar visually to that earlier signage.

Indeed, Helvetica was decades away from being designed when fascism drove Europe to war. It was designed by Zurich type designer Max Miedinger and renamed “Helvetica,” which is Latin for “Swiss.” The Haas Type Foundry, where Miedinger designed Helvetica, didn’t release the typeface until 1957.

And ironically enough, despite its distinctly timeless appearance, Helvetica was actually a throwback design — a throwback to, you guessed it, a German typeface from decades before the war. In the late 19th century, so-called Grotesk fonts became fashionable. (Grotesk means “sans serif” in German.) Berthold, the biggest type foundry in Germany, released the Aksidenz Grotesk family in 1896 for use as a display type.

Futura is the main typeface on the first poster that would bear Rice’s logo. The more familiar logo to the right, as you can see, as been slightly adjusted.

It’s widely accepted that Helvetica is largely based on Aksidenz Grotesk, with little details borrowed from other German and Swiss typefaces of that era. In fact, when you look at the two side-by-side, it’s hard to tell the difference. To the left is a handy comparison chart between Aksidenz Grotezk and other popular san serif fonts, made by Wikipedian Geared Bull. This is all to say that none of these fonts are really fascist — they’re derivative of a period that dates back decades before fascism rose in Europe.

The Grotesk tradition kicked off over a century’s worth of sans serif typeface designs. These typefaces were originally designed to appear in titles and on signs, so there’s an inherent emphasis on legibility. That doesn’t necessarily translate into the typefaces seeming intimidating. It would even make some sense that Goebbels used san serif typefaces on his posters — because these typefaces are designed to appear on posters.

So no, the Star Wars logo nor the Helvetica font that inspired it do not have actual origins despite the pervasive myth. If you want to get even deeper in the controversy over the Star Wars logo and Nazism, there’s an excellent and in depth blog post on the issue over at Star Wars Modern. (The TL;DR version is basically that the Nazis actually favoured Gothic typefaces, though some sans serif and modernist stuff did pop up here and there.)

If you want to nerd out a little harder on movie poster design, you should definitely check out Hopes&Fears’ feature “From Psycho to Jurassic Park: exploring iconic movie poster typography.” (It even includes the story on the historically awesome Back to the Future poster.) You’d be surprised what a ruckus a movie poster can cause.

[polarbear]

If they were planning on doing another origin story *moan* then this guy would make sense but I thought they were gonna do a mid twenties/early thirties peter parker

[MIKA27]

The Real-Life Fall of Anakin Skywalker: Jake Lloyd’s Journey From ‘Star Wars’ to the Slammer

The star of ‘The Phantom Menace’ was arrested after getting into a high-speed chase with cops and crashing into a tree. But there’s more to the story of Jake Lloyd than meets the eye.

In today’s flashback to the ’90s news, former child star Jake Lloyd, the Turbo-Man fanatic from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas movie Jingle All The Way and the infamous first Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace, was arrested on charges including resisting arrest and failing to stop for a police officer in South Carolina this weekend. Police saw Lloyd speeding, and began to follow him, but rather than slow down, Lloyd sped up and according to TMZ eventually reached 117 miles per hour as he led police on a chase that ended with Lloyd crashing into a tree.

Lloyd has released no statement as he was kept in custody for the day after his arrest. But even upon his eventual release, it seems unlikely that Lloyd, now 26, will have much to offer by way of the podracer and Darth Vader jokes that greeted the news of his arrest. After his sojourn as the young Anakin Skywalker, neé baby Darth Vader, Lloyd quit the entertainment business and since then he has surfaced only rarely—usually with nothing but bad things to say about his time in Hollywood and his time working on the Star Wars films.

According to interviews that Lloyd did several years ago at science fictionconventions and with magazines, his time working on the Star Wars films led to bullying in school that he described as a “living hell” exacerbated by having to do upwards of 60 interviews a day. “I’ve learned to hate it when the cameras are pointed at me,” said Lloyd. “When you have something like that there’s a lot of expectations for it to meet the standards of the public and I don’t think George [Lucas] did that.”

After his turn in the famously hated first prequel, Lloyd reportedly destroyed all of his Star Wars memorabilia and quit acting—and true to his word, he has not appeared in a film since. Instead, Lloyd pursued college and film school with hopes of becoming an editor or a documentary filmmaker. When he was arrested this weekend, he gave a false name, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the inevitable media storm (media drizzle?) that news of his arrest would provoke.

Lloyd is far from the first former child star to struggle with life after fame, and in truth, perhaps because there have been so many people to publicly grapple with this aspect of celebrity culture, it is hard to drum up sympathy every time another kid we saw in a movie once goes off the rails. The world is full of suffering. In any given day, there might be stories about mass incarceration, mass deportation, mass murder, and mass destruction. Why does Jake Lloyd matter?

In some ways, the complaints that child stars make of their lives are a sign of fatal entitlement. There are thousands of doors that remain open to Jake Lloyd, regardless of what he does in his car, that will never be opened to the average person. Certainly Lloyd has done himself no favors, describing his traumatic bullying as kids making “lightsaber noises” at him in the halls—a taunt that sounds similar to the many Hermione jokes fellow child star Emma Watson has described as part of her own school experience at Brown, but which did little to derail her from an impressive film career and an ambitious partnership with the UN as an activist. But at the same time, with a new weaponized white boy making the news what feels like every day, maybe it’s time to start taking the seemingly trivial cases like Lloyd seriously.

This weekend, Pixar’s Inside Out opened to $90 million, the second-highest in the studio’s storied history, all based on the premise of understanding the fragility and the complexity of a child’s emotions. Sometimes we forget that the ability to cope with our emotions is something that we have to learn. Pixar has built their reputation on the theory that being a child isn’t easy, and the feelings of children are no less complex than adults’. So as wonderful as it is that Pixar has found a way to make a film about how hard it is to be a young girl, one hopes that parents take their sons as well as their daughters to see Pixar’s film this weekend. Too often young boys are left to fend for themselves emotionally—entitlement and bitterness are products of an emotional life that has been neglected.

Jake Lloyd in 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

That there are so many stories surfacing every day of men taking their feelings of alienation out against others is a sign that boys across the globe are struggling to have their feelings taken seriously. That there is nary a child star in 20 years—from Corey Haim to Macaulay Culkin to Justin Bieber—who has been able to avoid catastrophe, is a sign that Hollywood is doing a particularly bad job of protecting the children among its ranks.

Does Jake Lloyd’s allegedly “stolen childhood” justify his reckless risk of his life and others for the sake of a speeding ticket? No. Absolutely not. Millions of people who have a terrible time as a 10-year-old manage to walk away from that time and mature into responsible adults. But at the same time, does Lloyd’s entitlement retroactively absolve the filmmakers behind the Star Wars films of their responsibility to care for the child who was going to be the face of their hundred-million-dollar franchise film?

A couple years ago in The Toronto Star, there was an open letter published from one genius filmmaker to another, as director Sarah Polley took the opportunity to address her former boss, Terry Gilliam, about the time that she spent as a child actress working on his film The Adventures Of Baron Von Munchausen. Her letter is plain, and though not accusatory, she pinpoints the ethical issues at the heart of working with children on film sets.

“The adults who should have been there to protect me were my parents, not you…[but] you can’t underestimate how in awe of you people like them can be. They didn’t want to be an annoyance or an inconvenience to anyone, and it must have been daunting to imagine holding up 100 people for your kid.”

It’s not a filmmaker’s responsibility to parent the children who work on their films, but at the same time, wouldn’t it be for the best if Hollywood gave the child actors something to hold on to besides just money? Wouldn’t it be nice if we took care of boys before we had to worry about what they’ll do as men?

[MIKA27]

If they were planning on doing another origin story *moan* then this guy would make sense but I thought they were gonna do a mid twenties/early thirties peter parker

I myself was hoping it would be the Miles Morales Spiderman

[MIKA27]

GARMIN D2 BRAVO PILOT WATCH

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Wearers can assign customizable data fields to display GPS groundspeed, GPS track, distance from waypoints or airports, estimated time en route, and other useful flight paramaters. The D2 Bravo’s ease of use is an important feature in today’s busy cockpit environments, and when you pair that with its stylish design, it’s one of the best pilot watches available; functionality has never looked this sharp. [Purchase]

[polarbear]

I myself was hoping it would be the Miles Morales Spiderman

Same

#Donaldgloverforspiderman

[MIKA27]

DUNTON HOT SPRINGS

If you've ever wondered what it would have been like to live in a small village in the 1800s, head to Dunton Hot Springs. Just over the ridge from Telluride, Dunton is a reclaimed ghost town that's been transformed into a serene upscale getaway. The accommodations include 13 restored log cabins built in a circle around a saloon — itself restored, serving up fantastic food — a dance hall, and a bath house. Just down the river are eight luxurious canvas tents, and there's also an open-air chapel, library, and, of course, natural hot springs on site.

[MIKA27]

TAGG GPS PET TRACKER

Man's best friend is exactly that, until they bolt out the front door or wiggle through a busted fence. 10 million pets are lost per year, and Whistle wants to lower that significantly with the Tagg GPS Tracker. It attaches easily to your dog's collar, and then tracks their location using GPS technology. It also monitors your pet's activity levels and sends you an alert via text, email, or push when they wander outside of the designated home base that you've set. And through it all, Tagg is waterproof and has a battery life of 7+ days. Even the most mischievous pets are no match for this simple yet genius tracking tool.

[MIKA27]

KLEAN KANTEEN GROWLER

The next time you head out for a growler fill of your favorite craft beer, consider aKlean Kanteen Growler instead of one of the glass growlers collecting dust at your place. Available in brushed stainless or dark amber, these 32oz. growlers feature a durable, double wall construction to keep your beer — or any beverage — cold for as long as 24 hours. They're also shatterproof and have a removable, stainless steel swing lock cap so not even a drop of that prized double IPA escapes.

[MIKA27]

POLAROID SLR670M CAMERA

Polaroid stopped making the legendary SX-70 in 1981. Yet here it is over 30 years later, gaining new features for your photographic enjoyment.

The Polaroid SLR670m Camera is an SX-70 that's been completely restored by the caring hands at MiNT in Hong Kong, and equipped with what they call the Time Machine. The add-on gives you control over the shutter, so you can take photos at speeds up to 1/2000th of a second or as slow as you'd like, along with an improved auto mode, and an off mode that will help save your film. Film that you're going to want to stock up on at Impossible.

[MIKA27]

GERVASUTTI HUT

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It's made from pre-fabricated, modular pieces, so it can be easily transported to the build site by helicopter, and assembled quickly. It includes a kitchen and living space, sleeping quarters with adjustable bunks, an insulated entryway with drying racks, and a transparent end that lets in light, lets you enjoy the view, and is made from scratch-resistant acrylic.

And since power lines aren't a common occurrence on mountaintops, it has solar panels on the roof that provide enough power to run the entire operation.

[MIKA27]

Scientists Found a Baby Hidden In a 350-Year-Old Swedish Bishop's Coffin

The body of Bishop Peder Winstrup, laid to rest at the cathedral in Lund almost 350 years ago, has revealed more than ever before. Scientists were hoping to use modern science to learn from an unusually well-preserved body, but they found a hidden child under the bishop’s feet.

A CT scan revealed a small child buried under layers of herbs in Winstrup’s coffin. Explains Per Karsten, director of the historical museum at Lund University:

One of the main discoveries when we conducted the CT scanning was that Mr. Winstrup is not alone in the coffin. Actually, he has a companion, a small child, a five- to six-month-old fetus of a human child, and it has been deliberately concealed under his feet at the bottom of the coffin – so maybe there is a connection between Winstrup and this child. But I think it’s more appropriate to think that he’s been concealed by some other members of the bishop’s staff when organizing his funeral.

Per Karsten added that they hoped DNA testing would determine if the child was related to the bishop or if someone with access to Winstrup’s coffin merely took the opportunity to have an illegitimate child buried in sanctified ground.

In addition to this unique find, Winstrup’s body is interesting to scientists because it was not embalmed, but mummified naturally. The clothes are preserved and his face is even still recognizable when compared to existing portraits. A perfect storm of factors contributed to the preservation: conditions of the cathedral, constant air flow to the body and coffin, a layer of plants in the coffin, Winstrup’s lean body, and Winstrup’s death and burial happening in the winter. If Winstrup’s body had not been so well preserved, it would not have been chosen for a CT scan and his companion might never have been found.

Karsten says of Winstrup’s continuing historical importance:

We can now observe that Winstrup’s mummy is one of the best-preserved bodies from Europe in the 1600s, with an information potential well in line with that offered by Ötzi the ice man or Egyptian mummies. His remains constitute a unique archive of medical history on the living conditions and health of people living in the 1600s.

The scans have shown that Winstrup had gallstones, which could indicate a diet of fatty foods, and tooth decay possibly resulting from sugar. Along with DNA testing of the child’s body, tissue samples from the bishop’s organs will be examined, as will the herbs and clothing. Then both the bishop and his small companion will be re-buried.