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

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The Girl With All The Gifts Looks Like A New Kind Of Zombie Movie

I am a fan of M.R. Carey’s apocalyptic novel The Girl With All the Gifts since it came out in 2014, but avoided giving too much away about the plot. The UK trailer for Colm McCarthy’s film adaptation, however, doesn’t hold anything back. It’s zombies, guys. ZOMBIES.

Glenn Close plays the mysterious doctor at an isolated British army base, Gemma Arterton plays the kindly teacher who tends to a group of children who are being held there for some reason (the reason is probably zombies) and 12-year-old newcomer Sennia Nanua plays the gifted lead character. Carey penned the script from his own novel. There’s no release date yet, but The Girl With All the Gifts looks unlike any zombie movie we’ve ever seen — and if it’s half as good as the book, it will be a genre standout for sure.

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Aston Martin Has Started Building Its Most Powerful Engine Ever

The first brand new Aston Martin V12 in a long time has just gone into production at the British marque’s engine plant in Cologne, Germany. The new car is Aston’s most powerful ever, and propels the new DB11 to the fastest ever Aston top speed and with the fastest 0-100 time.

The Aston Martin Engine Plant in Cologne can produce up to 8000 engines per year with a permanent staff of 100, and will continue building the naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 and 4.7-litre V8 used in other Aston Martin models, but the new 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 is the most advanced the company has built.

While it uses the same bore as the 6.0-litre and a shorter stroke, the 600bhp (447kW) and 6516lbft (700Nm) engine is Aston’s most powerful, but doesn’t come at a weight disadvantage despite the extra plumbing associated with the twin twin-scroll turbochargers and intercooler — the block itself is lighter, as are the exhaust manifold and crankshaft.

The DB11 is expected to be released in Australia during the final quarter of this year, with a recommended retail price of $428,032.

 

 

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Here's How Many Weapons A B-52 Bomber Can Hold

The US Air Force’s B-52 Bomber has been around since the 1950s and can hold up to 31,750kg of weapons. It’s a legendary beast that stretches 47.5m long, has a wingspan of 56m, and hits 12m tall. Known as the BUFF (that’s for Big Ugly Fat F**ker), it can hold nine weapons on each wing and 27 more inside the weapons bay. More devastatingly, it can also hold eight nukes inside.

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Impossible I-1 Instant Camera

The I-1 is the first new camera for the original Polaroid instant photo format in over 20 years. Developed by Impossible Project, the easy-to-use point and shoot instant camera prints photos using Impossible Project 600-type film (reverse-engineered from Polaroids now-discontinued 600-type offering). The camera is paired to an app where you can take full photographic control of aperture, flash and shutter speed, plus experiment with creative tools like light painting, double exposure and more. The camera also features an uniquely designed ring flash providing a diffused light thats perfect for portraits. A beautiful revival of an analog classic. 

 

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Syfy's Krypton Show Already Sounds Incredibly Goofy

And we mean “sounds” literally. We have the names of the main characters, a few side characters and descriptions for all of them — and they’re all going to be a bit of a problem.

Krypton will be a show about Superman’s grandfather and life on Krypton before, you know, the planet exploded. As a result of that, everyone on the show has Kryptonian names. Everyone. And the result is that Krypton had better just embrace that it’s going to be a little campy, because otherwise it’s doomed. (Much how Gotham quickly went from believing it was giving us the origins of real Batman characters to just being… whatever Gotham is now.)

Anyway, it won’t be a surprise to any fan to know that a show about Superman’s grandfather is going to centre around Seg-El who, according to TV Line, is being seen as “athletic, quietly confident and in his 20s”. Also in the lead are Lyta Zod and Val-El. Lyta has a “familial tie” to General Zod and she’s a “(reluctant) warrior”. She’s also in her 20s, so I put all my money on her being a doomed love interest for Seg-El, because then Zod and Superman’s fights take on the level of family feud.

Val-El, on the other hand, is Seg-El’s grandfather and therefore Superman’s great great grandfather. Seg-El’s “genius grandpa defied death by going into the Phantom Zone, and is a staunch believer in space exploration”. Cool old guy, basically.

If you were wondering why grandpa gets a lead role but Seg-El’s father doesn’t well, continue to wonder, because it doesn’t sound like he’s dead. The show is also casting Superman’s great grandfather, Ter-El, and Lyta also gets a mother in the form of Alura Zod — hmmm, interesting that she shares a name with the mother of Kara Zor-El (AKA Supergirl). Again, I’m seeing soap opera-level family dramas.

Also, Kryptonian juvenile delinquent Dev-Em — last seen as a completely unnoteworthy Zod soldier in Man of Steel — is also going to show up. Excellent. Bet he and Seg-El spend some time talking about the Phantom Zone as an in-joke. He’s 100 per cent going to be wearing the Kryptonian version of a leather jacket if TV Line’s description of him as a “chiselled, twentysomething bad boy” is in any way accurate and not a joke.

The show is supposed to start production this winter, so we should be hearing who is going to have to deliver lines about the Phantom Zone and Zods and Els relatively soon. Best of luck to everyone involved.

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Nissan's Next Leaf EV Could Travel 550km On One Charge

Nissan’s next-generation Leaf all-electric hatchback could be capable of driving well over 500km on a single charge, if indications on a recent concept car shown at the Tokyo Motor Show and an interview with Nissan’s electric vehicle boss are any evidence. The IDS concept’s battery is as twice as large as the current Leaf’s 30kWh setup, and could push the small car to a range beating even the majority of current Tesla vehicles on Aussie roads.

In an interview with Autocar, Nissan’s Gareth Dunsmore said that the company should be able to produce batteries of that capacity by 2018, as long as Nissan can ensure a low enough price and high enough long-term battery durability. The current-generation Nissan Leaf, recently refreshed, has a 30kWh battery capable of a 250km rated range, up somewhat from the original Leaf’s 200km.

The IDS Concept’s battery pack is simply significantly larger than the one in the Leaf due to its layout, which is the main reason that Tesla’s Model S and Model X have rated all-electric battery capacities already in the 500km range — the cars’ ‘skateboard’ design places the large, flat battery in the floorpan to maximise the space available to it.

Like the still-in-development Tesla Model 3, the prospective future Leaf could be offered with a range of battery capacities and trim levels, making it initially price competitive with other electric cars but with the potential capacity to match current petrol vehicles for long-distance travel. We’re still a little while off 2018, but this is a good look for the electric cars of the near future.

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Gene-Editing Tool Approved For Use In Humans

Brace yourself for Gattaca comparisons. A powerful gene-editing tool that could pave the way for genetic engineering has been approved for use in humans to fight cancer.

Scientists will use the tool, called CRISPR cas-9, to change immune-system cells. That way, when they’re put back into the patient, the cells attack the tumour cells responsible for myeloma, melanoma and sarcoma. It’s key to note that this experiment, proposed by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, is somatic, meaning it will not create changes that can be inherited.

Still, the approval is a big step forward in the bioethics debate around CRISPR and its potential uses. Many have said that the technology brings us very close to designer babies, and there has been much debate on the pros and cons of being able to genetically engineer our children.

While it’s unlikely US or Australian regulators would want CRISPR to be used for genetic engineering, the worry is that other countries might not be so scrupulous — and if other countries start engineering kids to have higher IQs, we might have to start so we don’t fall behind. (That worry isn’t unfounded, since Chinese scientists have already edited the human genome of an embryo, creating changes that would be heritable though in this case they did not use viable embryos.)

So, CRISPR is an ethical minefield and the worries aren’t as outlandish as they might seem. But for now, no genome changes have happened and the approval is just for a cancer treatment, which is something almost everyone can get behind.

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Brazil Just Shot And Killed Its Own Olympic Mascot

Here we go again: A jaguar that was brought out during an Olympic torch event earlier this week was shot and killed shortly afterwards when it escaped its handlers. The local Games organising committee is now investigating the incident, but animal welfare advocates say the big cat should never have been there in the first place.

The 17-year-old jaguar, named Juma, made an appearance at an event on Monday to commemorate the passing of the Olympic torch in Manus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon. She was photographed in chains alongside assault rifle-wielding soldiers and a runner holding a torch.

Following the event, Juma was taken to a zoo that’s part of a military base in the city. She apparently escaped an enclosure but was not at risk of leaving the confines of the zoo. Military officials said Juma was hit with four tranquilliser darts, but they didn’t slow her down. Once the cat turned on a veterinarian, a soldier was forced to take her down with bullets.

“It escaped and ran off as it was being moved from one area to another in the zoo,” Colonel Luiz Gustavo Evelyn told the press. “To protect the handler, it was sacrificed.”

What the hell was a jaguar doing at an Olympic torch event, you ask? Well, a jaguar named Ginga happens to be the official mascot of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The local Games organising committee obviously thought it would be cute to trot out an actual jaguar for a public event — an idea that has now led to the death of an animal that had been raised in captivity since it was cub.

The Games organising committee said it was “saddened by the outcome” and apologised for the incident, saying that it was a mistake “to allow the Olympic torch, symbol of peace and unity among peoples, to be displayed next to a chained wild animal”. An investigation is now underway. Animal rights groups have already lashed out at the committee, saying “captivity puts animal and human lives at risk”.

The incident comes less than a month after a 17-year old Western lowland gorilla named Harambe was shot and killed, when a young boy accidentally fell into its enclosure. Cincinnati Zoo officials made the decision to shoot the gorilla for fear that it would harm the child. Similar to Harambe, jaguars are an endangered species, prompting the inevitable question: Why are threatened animals still being put into these kinds of situations?

 

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See How Hollywood's Most Iconic Movie Monsters Came To Life In The New Documentary Creature Designers

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex is a new documentary about the artistic wizards who ruled cinema in the pre-CG days. It’s full of big names, including Rick Baker, Jon Landis, Joe Dante and Guillermo del Toro. But the most famous faces that appear in the trailer are far more fantastical.

That’s because they’re the creations of the people who figured out how to bring them to the screen in a convincingly lifelike fashion: Hellboy, the possessed Regan MacNeil from The Exorcist, the Alien, Jurassic Park‘s dinosaurs, the Gremlins, Slimer and Yoda, glimpsed in what looks to be some pretty amazing behind-the-scenes footage.

“I think we need monsters to explain the world, because without them, we cannot explain our place in the universe,” del Toro muses in the preview, and he’s right. (We also need monsters because monster movies are freaking awesome, but that’s understood, of course.)

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex is currently making the festival rounds; check out its Facebook page for updates.

 

 

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Take An Underwater Tour Of The Most Biodiverse Reef On Earth

Coral reefs have been having a rough time of it lately, have you heard? They’re in the midst of the largest, longest and worst mass die-off in history. But there’s a bright spot: When humans take action to protect reefs, they tend to do better. Sometimes, they even thrive.

With seven billion humans and counting putting an ever-increasing pressure on the world’s oceans, it sometimes feels like coral reefs are doomed to become yet another chapter in the history of the sixth mass extinction. But we shouldn’t give up hope for these bastions of marine biodiversity, because we know that we can save them, by improving reef management and reducing our carbon emissions.

Whale shark in Cendrawasih Bay, part of the Bird’s Head Seascape.

It can be hard to remember why something so removed from our hectic, urbanised lives is worth saving. Thankfully, technology can help jog our memories. A new VR film, “Valen’s Reef“, takes viewers through the restoration of Bird’s Head Seascape, a vast reef system that weaves its way through the island archipelago of Raja Ampat off the remote coastline of West Paupa, Indonesia. Teeming with coral species, fish found nowhere else on Earth, sharks and manta rays, it’s the most biodiverse reef on the planet and a remarkable success story for conservation.

Sunset in Bird’s Head Peninsula.

But as the video’s narrator, local marine scientist Ronald Mambrasar, explains, things weren’t always so bright at Bird’s Head Seascape. In fact, a little over a decade ago, the reef was decimated by the unregulated use of destructive practices like blast fishing. It took a concerted effort on the part of local communities and international organisations to bring the ecosystem back.

Produced by Conservation International in partnership Vrse.works and with support from The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, Valen’s Reef is being showcased at the Cannes festival this week. You can check it out right here, or on YouTube in 360 degrees and VR.

 

 

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Gamevice Makes Your iPhone a Portable Gaming Powerhouse

In the years since Apple introduced the specs for iPhone-compliant game controllers in 2013, you’ve had no shortage of options for adding buttons to your iOS bleep-bloop. Good options are another story.

Some controllers embraced Bluetooth. Others resembled Xbox controllers with a cradle for your phone. A few stumbled onto the best layout, adding the buttons and such to the sides and turning the iPhone into something akin to the PlayStation Vita. But most of them felt cheap or imprecise. The Gamevice controller gives the idea a sheen of quality.

You can get the Gamevice controller in iPhone, iPad mini, and iPad Air sizes, and the plastic construction doesn’t feel out of step with Apple’s anodized aesthetic. It offers four action buttons, a D-Pad, dual analog joysticks, and four front-triggers just like you favorite console controller. It connects to your iPhone with a Lightning connector, and recharges its 400mAh battery via microUSB. And it weighs about one-third of a pound, minimizing fatigue during epic sessions.

It ain’t cheap at $100, especially since you could always, you know, just use the on-screen controls. And you run the risk that the iPhone 7 expected this fall won’t fit. It’s compatible with at over 800 games, which means it’s not compatible with many, many more games. You’ll want to download the Gamevice Live app first to make sure your favorites are on there.

If they are, and if you’re the type who wishes your phone were more like a Vita (it practically is, in terms of game quality) Gamevice deserves a look. For what it’s worth, it’s the only gaming controller in the Apple Store, which is a pretty big power-up. At the very least, it beats swiping your way through another lonely, thumb curling NBA Jam session.

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SEABREACHER X

There is a reason that people will pay good money to go out on a boat in all kinds of weather just for the chance of seeing a whale breach through the water. It’s captivating to watch whales and dolphins zip around in their natural habitat – and it’s even more impressive to see them flying through the air. Of course, where there is admiration there will be imitation. Meet the Seabreacher X.

Not quite boat, not quite submarine, not exactly an aircraft either, this underwater vehicle is designed to zip around underwater and shoot high up into the air. Powered by a 1500cc 4 stroke Rotax engine that can pump out 260 horsepower, this semisubmersible can hit up to 25 miles per hour underwater and 50 on the surface. As if the specs aren’t enough, the boat (?) is modeled after a shark and comes with made-to-order graphics on the body. Step inside this 1350 pound two seater, and you’ll find a slick control panel, a pumping audio system, and an LCD screen that provides a live feed so you can get a good sense of your surroundings. If you want to be the guy with the coolest vessel on the lake this summer, this is not a bad way to go. Prices are available on request. [Purchase]

 

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On The Set Of Justice League, the Movie That Wants To Save The DC Cinematic Universe

Last Friday, we were among a group of journalists invited to the London set of Justice League. There director Zack Snyder, star/executive producer Ben Affleck and everyone involved all had one, simple message for us: We know. And we’re trying.

They know mistakes were made with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Lessons have been learned. And as we watched filming on day 31 of the film’s 111-day shoot, with the fate of DC’s entire cinematic universe seemingly in the balance, those lessons were certainly being put into action.

“The main thing we learned [on Batman v Superman] is that people don’t like to see their heroes deconstructed,” said producer Deborah Snyder. “They like seeing them in all their glory… I think what’s really great is where we’re going is kind of what the audience is wanting. We just had to take the characters from somewhere to bring them up to where they are and that was our journey.”

For those who may need a refresher, this year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was one of the most highly anticipated superhero films ever. The second film in a massive DC Universe. Upon release, however, fans were divided over Snyder’s dark vision of DC superheroes. Critics savaged the film and its $US873 million ($1.1 billion) worldwide gross was considered a disappointment. “It did catch me off-guard,” said Snyder. “I have had to, in my mind, make an adjustment… The nice thing about working on Justice League is that it is an opportunity to really blow the doors off of the scale and the bad guys and team-building and all the stuff that I think I could justify as a big, modern comic book movie.”

While Batman v Superman had to “dig down into the darker parts of them to make them fight each other,” according to Snyder, the Justice League story is lighter in numerous ways. “With Justice League, [Batman and Superman] have both been freed of the shackles of the responsibility to be in a place where they would fight each other,” the director explained. “That is liberating for us in making the movie because really now we have a single enemy with a single objective, and it’s really about uniting the team. That, to me, is a fun activity.”

Here’s Batman’s upgraded Batmobile in Justice League, on display in Bruce Wayne’s new hanger. It’s the only new image that was released

At the end of the last film, Bruce Wayne told Diana Price he wanted to round up a group of metahumans discovered in Lex Luthor’s files to defend against a looming, unknown danger. That danger arrives at the very beginning of Justice League, and both Snyder and Affleck made that aspect of Justice League sound a little like Ocean’s Eleven. “It’s about multilateralism, and it’s about hope and about working together and the kind of conflicts of trying to work together with others,” said Affleck. “It’s a world where superheroes exist, so there’s comedy in trying to work with other people. People trying to accomplish goals together is the root of all great comedy in my view. So there’s, hopefully, some fun in it. But it’s not unrecognisably these characters or these stories. It’s not turning it upside down.”

It seemed like lots of the tone and humour will come from the film’s new heroes, especially Cyborg played by Ray Fisher and the Flash played by Ezra Miller. Both actors were on set last Friday, filming with Batman, Wonder Woman and Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons, in his first day on set). Here’s what we saw:

Gordon has used the Bat-Signal to call Batman and he’s arrived on the roof of the Gotham Police Department along with Wonder Woman and Flash. The set takes up half a stage, including a huge veranda with terrifying skeleton/gargoyles surrounding it (gargoyles that, oddly, look like a something out of concept art we saw earlier that day of Aquaman’s Atlantis).

“How many of you are there?” asks Gordon.

“Not enough,” says Batman. Gordon explains dozens of witnesses saw something in Gotham. “A bad guy with flying monkeys,” deadpans Batman. Apparently eight scientists are missing. Someone then yells from the other side of the rooftop.

“Nine,” says Cyborg as he walks towards the group. “The head of Star Labs was abducted last night.” As this happens, Wonder Woman smiles, suggesting that despite the additional bad news, she’s happy to see him. (On set, there was speculation she probably tried to recruit him but he turned her down; now that his scientist father Silas has been abducted, he has decided to join them.)

Gordon continues to explain that there doesn’t seem to be a pattern to all of this destruction, but the team realises the pattern is actually underground. There’s a convergence in an old tunnel that was abandoned in the ’30s, which was supposed to link Gotham City and Metropolis. The League decide they have to see what’s doing on down there. “If he’s joining us, there won’t be enough room in the car,” says Flash, referring to Cyborg.

“I’ve got something bigger,” hints Batman. Gordon then turns around and, in classic Batman fashion, Wonder Woman, Batman and Cyborg disappear, leaving the Flash alone.

“Wow, did they just do that?” wonders the fastest man alive. “How rude.”

As you can tell, the scene has a subtle amount of levity to it that was almost completely absent from Batman v Superman. “It’s fun, it’s funny. It’s different,” said Gadot when asked about the dynamic between the Justice League members now and in BvS. “Each and every character brings their own flavour and colour to the team.” That was even doubly the case in a roughly edited scene Snyder showed the press of Bruce Wayne (Affleck) recruiting Barry Allen (Miller). It played like Tony Stark meeting Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, with a dash of Quicksilver from X-Men: Apocalypse:

In BvS, Bruce Wayne learns about the metahumans he’ll hunt down in Justice League.

Allen returns to his home. It’s a huge warehouse with graffiti all over the walls and a basketball rim over the door. He turns on the lights, revealing a huge cache of TVs, monitors, and Bruce Wayne sitting in a chair. Allen wants to know how he got there, but Wayne ignores him and hands Allen a photo of the surveillance video we saw in Batman v Superman. “That’s a person who looks exactly like me but is definitely not,” says Allen. “Hippie, long hair, very attractive Jewish boy. He drinks milk, I don’t drink milk,” he jokes as Wayne starts to walk over to a red suit standing in the apartment.

“I know you have abilities, I just don’t know what they are,” says Wayne.

“My special skills include viola, web design…” Allen rambles as Wayne examines the suit and notes it’s made of a very specific heat resistant material. “Yeah, I do competitive ice dancing,” Allen says.

“This is the stuff the space shuttle uses to prevent from burning up on reentry.”

“…Very competitive ice dancing?”

Just then, the film turns to slow-motion as Bruce Wayne hurls one of the razor-sharp, bat-logo-shaped throwing stars he used in BvS at Allen. Allen looks at it inquisitively as it passes him in slow motion then, with a profound realisation, grabs it out of the air. Silence, surprise, and then: “You’re the Batman?”

“And you’re fast.”

“That feels like an oversimplification.”

Bruce tells Allen he’s putting together a team of people with special abilities because he believes enemies are coming. Barry immediately wants to be part of it, and Batman can’t help but ask why he’s agreed so quickly. “I need friends,” says Barry, just before holding up the throwing-bat/star. “Can I keep this?”

It’s a really good scene, and Ezra Miller is utterly charming in it. He brings a real energy to the DC universe that it’s lacked from the beginning. It’s — for lack of a better term — almost a Marvel-esque energy, and it’s prevalent behind the cameras as well.

But a sense of fun isn’t the only the only new arrival. We got to see the Flash’s costume, a version of which was only briefly glimpsed in Batman v Superman. Designed by Michael Wilkinson, this new suit is comprised of 148 pieces, and takes eight days just to assemble. (But only five minutes to get on and off.) Think of a red piece of shattered glass, loosely separated and connected with wires, which will generate CGI electricity as he’s running.

Cyborg is the only Justice League member whose costume is completely CG instead of practical. On set, Fisher wears a grey body suit with a red laser over his eye and another on his chest. According to the concept art, the finished version looks like a mix between the T-800 Terminator and Ultron, featuring empty sections which his human body should be taking up… if he still had a body. He’ll have his traditional a gun arm, and Wilkinson even hinted that he can change his size.

Batman’s main suit for Justice League is basically the same as in Batman v Superman. However, by the end of the film he gets what Wilkinson called a “Tactical Batsuit”, which will have carbon fibre overlays for a more protective (and cooler) look.

The really fun stuff when it comes to Batman, though, is all the new tech he’ll be sporting. Not only has the Batmobile been rebuilt since it was destroyed in the last film, it’s been upgraded with new armour and lots of new weaponry, as you can see above. (One piece of concept art even showed it screwed into the ground, transforming itself into heavy artillery.) The Dark Knight also has what was referred to on the set as “The Flying Fox”, a huge, modern jet that can carry around not just the Justice League, but other vehicles and maybe even soldiers, too. In addition, he and Alfred will store the vehicles in a large, new hanger near the harbour, sort of a second Batcave.

But that’s still not all. Batman also has what they’re calling a Nightcrawler, which looks like the Bat from The Dark Knight Rises, but if it had four legs, and those legs also looked like the treads of a tank. The Nightcrawler is the “something bigger” Batman referred to on the aforementioned rooftop scene and it will feature prominently in an underground action scene. We saw concept art from it, which showed parademons — AKA those “flying monkeys” — attacking the Justice League in a tunnel as the Nightcrawler tries to both fight them and evade their attack, smashing into and crawling up and down the walls. The tunnel was an immense practical set; when we walked through it,it was hard not to be impressed.

Steppenwolf in a deleted scene from Batman v Superman

Although the parademons have just begun their assault on Earth, the scope of the Justice League movie stretches all the way back into prehistory — a time when humans, Amazonians and Atlantians were at peace. Each group guards an important device known as a Mother Box (briefly glimpsed in BvS) and now, eons later, a creature named Steppenwolf is after them. “[He’s] a bad guy that would justify the Justice League,” explained Snyder. “I think you have to have a good threat that’s fun and kinda crazy. And the Mother Boxes are always fun DC weird tech, you know?”

As of press time, Steppenwolf had not been cast yet, but Deborah Snyder said the character would be performance capture. No concept images of the villain were revealed, though we did catch a glimpse of him communicating with Lex Luthor in a deleted scene from Batman v Superman, shown above. (While Snyder wouldn’t confirm Luthor is in the movie, he did say that “Prisons in the comic book world are pretty porous places.”)

This early image of Jason Momoa as Aquaman has a costume that’s different from the one in Justice League.

Despite all the mentions of Atlantis, Aquaman actor Jason Momoa wasn’t on set. And although we weren’t told how he comes into the story, we did see a lot of the concept art of him and his people, along with his wife Mera (played by Amber Heard) and his advisor Volko (played by Willem Dafoe). The costumes have a very scaly, fish-like quality, but are also form-fitting and covered in armour. If you get close to them, they’re almost iridescent.

So that’s Batman, Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Woman and Aquaman; what about Superman? As we know, the Man of Steel died at the end of Batman v Superman, but that won’t last. The makers of Justice League don’t even bother to deny it. “There wouldn’t be a Justice League without Superman,” said Deborah Snyder. “But I think his way back to us [is something] we don’t want to really spoil. But he’s here.”

Zack Snyder also commented that Superman’s arc in this film will be a direct result of what he went through in the last one. “[With Batman v Superman] I wanted to get to a Superman that had a reason to be Superman,” he said. “A reason to feel the way he felt about humanity, that we all understand from the comic books… But I feel like he had to go through something to be that. And if he does appear, I think that that would be a big part of the story, right?”

This is also a story that Zack and Deborah Snyder emphasise that will begin and end with Justice League. Despite there already being a Justice League: Part 2 on the release schedule, this movie is standalone. “We’re only ever planning and we are only doing Justice League, just Justice League,” said Deborah Snyder. “One movie.”

On the other hand, Zack Snyder teased: “The movie doesn’t end and you go, ‘OK, well that’s the DC Universe!'”

Zack Snyder and Superman (Henry Cavill) on the set of BvS. Cavill is back this time, but his part in the story is a mystery.

Whether the Snyders’ new approach will actually rescue Superman, Batman and the rest of the DC superhero movie slate is difficult to say. This film is still so far from competition, and two additional DC movies, Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, will be released before it. Much was left mysterious during the visit and the same creative team from BvS is largely in place.

But there’s absolutely no doubt the people making Justice League want to please as many people as possible. They’re trying to make a movie that not only works on its own, but works as part of a larger universe. They know lots of people didn’t love Batman v Superman and in response, they’re embracing a lighter, more adventurous tone — while still trying to keep some sort of edge on the characters and their world.

There are still some red flags, though. The Batmobile still has huge guns on it (bigger guns, in fact). Many pieces of the production still seemed to be in flux as cameras were rolling next door (which is common, but never ideal). Steppenwolf feels like a step back from Doomsday. And the question of how the influx of Marvel-style humour will fit into the world that Zack Snyder established in Man of Steel and BvS remains unanswered.

It’s simply too soon to say anything for certain. I may have walked away from the Leavesden set of Justice League encouraged by what I saw — but that was the point, right? You don’t invite three dozen journalists to the set of your huge movie, only a quarter of the way into filming, and let them write about it a full 17 months before the movie’s release without wanting to send some sort of message.

The message was clear: We know. And we’re trying.

Now we wait until it is released 17 November 2017 in the US to see if Snyder, Affleck and everyone involved in Justice League can actually deliver on that promise.

[MIKA27]

BOURBON EMPIRE

The bourbon industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds. But the spirit's history isn't as documented as you might expect. Even the stories and facts you think you know are often fiercly debated or just plain wrong. Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey by Reid Mitenbuler shows how America's Whiskey started, and the long, strange trip it's taken since the early days of distilling. From 1794's Whiskey Rebellion to Prohibition bootleggers to the current craft distilling movement, Bourbon Empire provides a fresh look at some of the tales behind America's favorite spirit.

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The Rock Is Turning a Kung-Fu Graphic Novel Into a Movie (and Might Play the Wolfman?)

These days, you can’t go three clicks on the internet without finding cat pictures, pornography, or a new project for Dwayne Johnson. Now, a new one has been added to the overflowing mountain of movies. It’s called Son of Shaolin, based on a yet-to-be-published graphic novel.

According to Deadline, Johnson’s production company has acquired the rights to the project, which is described as “a contemporary Kung-Fu story that intertwines Shaolin mythology with many of the current issues faced by teens growing up in a gentrifying neighborhood like Harlem.” It’s by Jay Longino, who’ll also adapt the screenplay. And while Johnson is currently NOT attached to star in the project, Deadline says it’s always a possibility.

Also buried in the piece is this fascinating nugget:

There are persistent rumors Universal wants him howling at the moon when it gets around to the Wolf Man movie that is part of its classic monsters franchise revival plans.

Now that’s something. We know Universal has been quietly working behind the scenes on their larger Universal Monsters universe, which kicks off next year with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy. Several major stars, such as Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, have been rumored as part of the discussions, but this is the first we’ve heard of Johnson’s potential involvement.

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First trailer for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back shows Tom Cruise teaming up with Marvel's Cobie Smulders

Paramount have officially unveiled the first full trailer for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and it features some more footage of Tom Cruise punching people, shooting people, and generally being a badass. If that's the sort of thing you enjoy, hit play.

Directed by Edward Zwick and starring Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh, Aldis Hodge, Patrick Heusinger, Holt McCallany, and Billy Slaugher, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back hits cinemas on October 21, 2016.

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Michigan Sues Two Companies Over Flint's Poisoned Water Crisis

Michigan’s Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed charges against two companies over the public health disaster that has unfolded in Flint’s water supply over the last few years. The charges include negligence, public nuisance and fraud.

Flint’s water has been in trouble since 2014 when the state switched the city’s source to the Flint River. The water from the polluted river was made even worse by Flint’s ageing and corroded pipe system, which leached lead into people’s drinking water. The city eventually switched back to Detroit’s water supply last year, but by then several health problems and even deaths had been linked to the poisoned water.

The suit, which you can read in its entirety here, was filed in Michigan’s Genesee County on Wednesday morning. The state of Michigan alleges that two water services and engineering companies, Veolia and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN), were negligent in their oversight of Flint’s water pipe infrastructure. They failed to foresee the problems that could occur, and failed to address the public health crisis in a timely fashion.

In a statement, the Michigan AG said that the two companies “either knew or should have known” that the lead pipes, combined with Flint River’s unusually high chloride levels would cause the pipes to corrode and leak lead into the water. The AG goes on to say that these leaky lead pipes now “pose a threat to drinking water, [that] is ongoing with no end in sight”.

In the case of Veolia, the state is lobbing the additional charge of fraud. According to the Michigan AG:

The suit alleges fraud against Veolia for its false and misleading statements to the public regarding the safety of Flint’s drinking water and compliance with state and federal standards, in its taxpayer-funded analysis of the Flint water system.

Michigan wants compensation for the current catastrophe as well as for the public health problems that will continue to crop up for years into future. If Michigan’s suit is successful, the state says the companies could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars.

The state also left the door open to further charges, saying that “additional claims” against Veolia and LAN, and perhaps even more companies, could be forthcoming.

[Michigan Attorney General via AP]

A LAN spokesperson emailed us responding to Michigan’s lawsuit, which they describe as having “blatantly mischaracterized the role of LAN’s service”.

Notably, they deny having been in charge of operating Flint’s water plant at all, saying that the city had been the one to refuse to add anti-corrosives to the water flowing through Flint’s lead-pipes:

The Attorney General specifically referred to a decision not to provide appropriate corrosion control, which resulted in a significant decline in water quality, a decision that was made by the City and the MDEQ, not by LAN. Contrary to statements by the Attorney General, LAN was not hired to operate the plant and had no responsibility for water quality, but, and although LAN was not asked, LAN had regularly advised that corrosion control should be added and that the system needed to be fully tested before going online.

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Unprecedented Number Of Tree Deaths In California Points To A Catastrophic Fire Season

One more horrific prediction has come to pass for California’s drought-ravaged forests. According to the US Forest Service, trees are dying at an even more astonishing rate than they were last summer (Australia’s winter), creating fuel for what will almost certainly be the worst wildfire season in memory.

Last year, a comprehensive US Forest Service survey estimated that about 40 million trees had been killed in California since the start of the drought in 2010. Now that number has been upped to 66 million total, with about 26 million trees killed over the last eight months. The highest density of tree deaths have been recorded in the Southern Sierras where snowpack is already depleted and the drought remains “exceptional.”

Beetles take down trees from the inside

It’s not just a lack of water that’s killing California’s trees. When trees become stressed they’re not able to produce the thick resin that keeps out bark beetles, which can consume the tree from the inside out. Even in places with low fire risk, beetle-killed trees can easily topple, poising danger to hikers and campers.

In a statement, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urged for drastic preventative measures. “Tree die-offs of this magnitude are unprecedented and increase the risk of catastrophic wildfires that puts property and lives at risk,” he said. “We must fund wildfire suppression like other natural disasters in the country.”

Fire suppression, also called “fuel reduction”, is itself a controversial and expensive endeavour. Some California forests plan to use incinerators that will turn the trees into biomass before they become tinder. Beetle-killed pine is also popular for furniture makers.

Fire’s a natural part of forest regeneration, of course, but with a fire season that’s about 20 per cent longer than it was just 30 years ago, that makes forests much more vulnerable to human-set fires. Case in point, a car crash high in the mountains northeast of LA which is now responsible for burning over 4500 acres.

Smoke from two fires in the LA foothills. 

It’s gonna be a long summer.

[AP]

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Daredevils Just Rescued Someone From The South Pole In The Middle Of Winter

A team of pilots and a medical worker are in the midst of evacuating a sick staff member from a science base near the South Pole. The rescue attempt is considered treacherous given the extreme midwinter temperatures and distances involved.
An unnamed staff worker at the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has become seriously ill. The medical situation is serious enough to facilitate a perilous midwinter rescue — a time of year when dark and cold conditions make routine flights treacherous. This is apparently just the third time this has ever happened.

For privacy reasons, the nature of the medical emergency has not been made public. What we do know, however, is that the patient is seasonally employed through the Lockheed Martin Antarctic Support Contract, and that their illness could not be managed at the station. After consulting with outside medical professionals, the team decided that an emergency rescue was required to get the patient to a hospital in South America.

Easier said than done. This isolated base is located near the South Pole, about 2400km from Rothera, a British Antarctic Survey Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. It takes about nine hours to get from Rothera to the NSF base. And as already noted, it’s now winter in Antarctica, where temperatures can drop to -60C.

For the rescue, a pair of Twin Otter aircraft were deployed to Rothera. These are the only planes in the world capable of withstanding midwinter Antarctic temperatures. Prior to taking off, the fuel, batteries and hydraulics need to be warmed. Importantly, these bad boys don’t require a runway for landing.

Earlier today, one of these planes landed at the South Pole base and evacuated the patient (the other plane is there strictly as a backup). It’s now airborne once again, making its way back to Rothera. From there, the plane’s three-person crew and one medical team member will rest before embarking to South America.

No word yet on the health of the patient, but according to an NSF spokesman, “It went all according to plan.” It also appears that, in addition to the patient, two support crew employees were also evacuated, but this still needs to be confirmed.

 

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George R.R. Martin To Stephen King: 'How Do You Write So Fast?'

This entire nearly hour-long conversation between writing luminaries George R.R. Martin and Stephen King is well worth listening to in its entirety, but before that: Skip to around 50:08 and hear Martin ask the one question he’s always wanted to put to King. It’s worth it.

The interview comes from a recent event in Albuquerque, New Mexico that’s been recently made available online, and Martin’s demand to know how King writes “so many books, so fast” isn’t just cute — especially considering Martin’s own infamous writing pace when it comes to A Song of Ice and Fire — but a really interesting insight into how the two writers approach their work ethic. King just writes and writes and writes, regardless of if it will end up being cut or not. Martin, on the other hand, prefers to take his time.

 

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Fiat Chrysler Starts Scheduling Jeep Fixes As Probe Continues Into Yelchin Death

Fiat Chrysler will begin sending final notices to customers affected by the recall of 1.1 million vehicles worldwide with confusing gear shifters tomorrow, the company said this week. The news comes on the heels of the death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin, who was crushed by his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, one of the models affected by the recall.

The notices concern a software update, which will “automatically shift the cars into park if the driver’s door opens while the engine is running,” the Associated Press reported. The car company began sending out the software updates to car dealers last week, which was prior to Yelchin’s death. However, car owners only receive final notices “when the service [the software update] becomes available,” the company said.

The rollout of the software update represents an acceleration in the recall timeline; the company said earlier that the update would be available “no later than July or August,” Reuters reported. (The company says that the acceleration began in May.)

The software update affects most of the recalled cars, though an update for the remaining vehicles is “imminent”. The recalled vehicles include 2012 through 2014 Dodge Chargers and Chrysler 300s, as well as 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees.

The gear shifter had raised concerns because some drivers weren’t clear whether their cars were in “drive” or “park”. The confusion was connected to 41 reported injuries, many of which involved roll-away incidents.

Fiat Chrysler has stressed that it’s unclear at this point what caused the crash involved in Yelchin’s death, though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that it was “the first fatality we’re aware of that may be related to this safety defect and vehicle recall”. The LAPD is still investigating, and Fiat Chrysler confirmed that it, too, was looking into the crash.

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Schools Can Soon Use Civilization V To Teach Kids History

This is not a drill. A modified version of Sid Meier’s Civilization V is being brought to high schools as of next year.

Civilization EDU will provide students with the opportunity to think critically and create historical events, consider and evaluate the geographical ramifications of their economic and technological decisions, and to engage in systems thinking and experiment with the causal/correlative relationships between military, technology, political and socioeconomic development.

Developed by Firaxis Games, Sid Meier’s Civilization has sold-in more than 34 million units worldwide, and is recognised as one of the greatest strategy franchises of all-time.

In Civilization V, players strive to become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilisation from the dawn of man into the space age, waging war, conducting diplomacy, discovering new technologies, going head-to-head with some of history’s greatest leaders and building the most powerful empire the world has ever known.

Nonprofit learning company GlassLab says it is “thrilled” to offer Civilization EDU as part of its collection of games for next generation learning, stating “This beloved game is an important addition to the rich learning resources the LRNG ecosystem offers online, in classrooms, and through the communities that are participating in the LRNG Cities movement.”

GlassLab will add a learning analytics engine to Civilization EDU to capture students’ progress and assess their problem-solving skills — harnessing the popularity and innovation of interactive entertainment and turning it into a powerful tool for the classroom and alternative to standardised tests.

Teachers who use Civilization EDU will have access to an online dashboard that will provide reports on students’ progress, demonstrating how in-game accomplishments relate to problem solving; developer diaries; gameplay tutorial videos, and instructional resources, including an in-depth gameplay guide and lesson plans aligned to academic and 21st century standards.

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Civilization EDU publisher, developer, and distributor Take-Two says the company is incredibly proud to lend one of the industry’s most beloved series to educators to use as a resource to inspire and engage students further.

“Civilization has challenged millions of people around the world to revisit and experience history, pursue boldly exploration, and create their own societies based on their passions and freedom of choice,” Zelnick said. “I can’t think of a better interactive experience to help challenge and shape the minds of tomorrow’s leaders.”

Sid Meier himself, Founder and Director of Creative Development at Firaxis Games weighed in on the move, stating although the focus for Civilization has always been on entertainment first, he believes players — young and old — enjoy learning, even if they don’t always enjoy education.

“For the past 25 years, we’ve found that one of the fun secrets of Civilization is learning while you play,” Meyer added. “Civilization players find fun in discovering new civilizations, running into famous historical leaders, and charting their own version of human history.”

“Along the way, players learn valuable lessons from their success and failures and are able to try again, employing different choices and strategies. We’re absolutely thrilled to be partnering with GlassLab and I am excited to see Civilization EDU in classrooms next year.”

Connie Yowell, CEO of Collective Shift and its global learning movement LRNG, which is merging with GlassLab says that education today too often focuses on what can be measured, rather than what young people need to know, and Civilization EDU is “a perfect example of how games can be used to teach and assess key 21st century skills that are hard to measure on multiple-choice tests”.

Michael D. Gallagher, President and CEO of Entertainment Software Association pointed out that video games are today’s most dynamic and compelling art form in the world, and its ability to captivate and engage audiences of all ages is unparalleled.

“Our industry defines the intersection of creativity and technology,” Gallagher says, “and we are increasingly finding unique ways in which we can transcend entertainment to enhance our society for the long-term.”

Civilization EDU will be available for download in 2017 from specialised partners Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, SMS Tech Solutions, Edmodo and Learning.com, in addition to other distributors.

 

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Russian Lake Vanishes Overnight; Oregon Lake Drains Annually

A lake in Russia vanished overnight and all that’s left is a little hole in the ground. Locals are hoping the water comes back and stays, not like a lake in Oregon that just had its annual disappearance. Where is all of this water going and why?

According to local news reports, Lake Peschёra is – or was – a 200 meters (656 feet) wide, 9 meters (30 feet) deep body of water in a forested area of Ostashata, a village in the Perm region of Russia near the Ural Mountains. Residents reported the fishing lake unexpectedly disappearing overnight, with nothing left in the morning but puddles and a hole – not even any fish. They fear the same fate may be in store for nearby Lake Lyubimov.

What opened the hole and where did the water, fish and anything else floating in Lake Peschёra go once it drained into it? One theory is that a recent 4.1 earthquake in nearby Sverdlovsk opened it. Another is that fracking or drilling in the area caused the lake to collapse. The area is also known for caverns and one of those events could have cracked a hole in the ceiling of one. Whatever the cause, the final resting spot of the water had to be big to drain the entire lake so quickly. So far, no one has reported find finding the water or fish.

Last known location of Lake Peschёra

Will it come back? If the area is like Linn County, Oregon, it might. That’s the home for most of the year of Lost Lake, an 85-acre, 9-foot (3 meter) deep lake 75 miles east of Albany that disappears every summer down a 6-foot hole, only to reappear in the fall. This has been going on for at least 12,000 years due to volcanic activity and summer dryness. The summer heat upsets the delicate balance of inflow and outflow, causing the lake and its trout to drain down the hole, where it joins up with groundwater flowing 11 miles into Clear Lake and eventually into the McKenzie River.

Lost Lake on the way to its annual disappearance

In the fall, wet weather tips the balance in favor of filling and Lost Lake returns, along with nearby Fish Lake, which also disappears annually. In these cases, underground caverns are the most likely reservoirs for the vanishing lakes. Everything is fine until some fool tries to plug the hole with car parts or trash, causing local flooding.
There’s a good chance Lake Peschёra will return just like Lost Lake. Will it get on an annual disappearance schedule? That depends on climate change and broken-down Russian cars.

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Chris Evans Steps Down From BBC's Top Gear

After just a single season of the new series of Top Gear, new host and studio anchor Chris Evans has announced he won’t be sticking around for any longer. Evans was criticised throughout the new series’ six-episode run for a number of reasons, including claims of on-set bullying and constant attacks from the British media.

Evans was hired to anchor Top Gear almost a year ago today, and was the centrepiece of a seven-person team — including The Stig — that had the difficult job of reinventing the most popular show ever on British television and one of the most widely-broadcast shows around the world.

Evans’ brash and loud presenting style came under fire from viewers through the series’ early episodes, with the first three the lowest rated ever on IMDB. The show consistently dropped in viewership over its six-episode run, falling from a 4.4 million UK broadcast audience to just 1.9 million by the time the final episode aired.

With Evans stepping aside, it’s likely co-star Matt LeBlanc — of Friends and Episodes fame — will take over the majority of in-studio presenting for the series, if it is renewed for a second restarted season by the BBC.

The Grand Tour, the Amazon Prime show that former Top Gear hosts Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May were poached from the British national broadcaster with, has a $280 million budget and will start filming studio segments in July, although the show’s start date is unknown.

The team also has a new motoring-focused social network called DriveTribe, set to launch in the last three months of this year. Clarkson’s quote describes it best: “I didn’t understand DriveTribe until Richard Hammond said it was like YouPorn, only with cars.”

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Bose's New Speaker Only Costs $US150 But You Have To Build It Yourself

Every company wants kids to build stuff — not in an illegal child labour kind of way but in a fun, educational kind of way. Ball robots are teaching kids code and Google’s new modular blocks work towards a similar goal. But Bose’s BOSEbuild speaker is more interested in teaching the ins and outs of sound and speaker design. It also looks cool as hell.

The $US150 ($204) speaker comes with its own companion app (iOS only) with step-by-step instructions that explore frequency, waveforms, magnets, electromagnets and the general physics of sound. The included lights and faceplates are completely customisable and assuming everything is put together correctly, the BOSEbuild is also a fully functional Bluetooth speaker that can connect to whatever device for music-streaming goodness.