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

[Fuzz]

6 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Here's Your Chance to Own Winston Churchill's Watch

 

$18k to $31k seems a little low.

[OZCUBAN]

8 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

thanks. will look for it.

and there is always room for bruce!

I agree there's always room for the boss ?

[Sean3]

On 4/18/2017 at 1:22 AM, MIKA27 said:

THE HANGOVER DRINK

We're always skeptical when we see a new hangover cure hit the market. After all, there are many methods for lessening hangovers, but not many that actually knock one out cold. The Hangover Drink though, sounds incredibly promising. All you need to do is drink it during or after a night of drinking, and you'll wake up hangover-free. It all centers around Dihydromyricetin (DHM) which helps detoxify your body after a ton of booze. It comes in 100ml glass bottles, is made using all natural ingredients, and has a shelf life of up to two years.

I am indeed skeptical.

[MIKA27]

What Caused An Entire Yukon River To Vanish Almost Overnight?

Last summer, a team of geologists set out on an expedition to study Slims River in the Yukon, but when they got there, the once majestic river was nowhere to be seen. The scientists attribute the missing river to a retreating glacier, which caused a dramatic shift in the direction of water flow. It's yet another example of climate change affecting our planet in unexpected ways.

For the past century, the massive Kaskawulsh Glacier in northern Canada has been steadily retreating, but as documented in a study led by the University of Washington Tacoma, this retreat has now resulted in a rare geological phenomenon known as "river piracy".

Until recently, meltwater collected near the toe, or leading tip, of the glacier. It was then directed towards the Slim River, and then into the Bering Sea. But thanks to rising temperatures, the glacier has retreated to such an extent that meltwater is now flowing towards the Kaskaulsh River and into the Gulf of Alaska.

"Geologists have seen river piracy, but nobody to our knowledge has documented it happening in our lifetimes," noted lead author Dan Shugar, a geoscientist at the University of Washington Tacoma, in a statement. "People had looked at the geological record thousands or millions of years ago — not the 21st century, where it's happening under our noses."

The ice-walled canyon at the terminus of the Kaskawulsh Glacier, with recently collapsed ice blocks. This canyon now carries almost all meltwater from the toe of the glacier down the Kaskawulsh Valley and toward the Gulf of Alaska.

Shugar and his team first came across this river theft in August 2016, when they arrived at the banks of the Slims to make observations. "There was barely any flow whatsoever," he said. "It was essentially a long, skinny lake." Gauges set along the river indicated an abrupt drop over four days from 26 to 29 May 2016.

Without a river to study, the researchers did the next logical thing, which was to document the geological changes to the region. The team used space-based images and an aerial drone to create a detailed elevation model, showing recent changes to the Kaskawulsh Glacier, the newly exposed region, and the missing river. The details of this survey now appear in the journal Nature Geoscience.

"For the last 300 years, Slims River flowed out to the Bering Sea, and the smaller Kaskawulsh River flowed to the Gulf of Alaska. What we found was the glacial lake that fed Slims River had actually changed its outlet," Shugar explained. "A 30-meter (100-foot) canyon had been carved through the terminus [the outer edge] of the glacier. Meltwater was flowing through that canyon from one lake into another glacial lake, almost like when you see champagne poured into glasses that are stacked in a pyramid."

Satellite images show a dramatic drop in the Slims River's flow. The receding toe of Kaskawulsh Glacier is seen at the bottom. Kluane Lake can be seen at the top of the 2016 image. Water now flows east and then south via the Kaskawulsh River. 

The absence of flow along this river has affected the local landscape, wildlife and communities. The Slims river used to cross the Alaska Highway, and its banks were once a popular hiking route. With the riverbed exposed, Dall sheep are now making their way down from a national park to eat the vegetation that now grows there, wandering into territory in which they can be legally hunted. The nearby Kluane Lake — the largest lake contained entirely within the Yukon — is no longer being replenished by the river, and dropped about 1m between spring and summer of 2016. Geologists say the lake will continue to drop, eventually becoming an isolated body of water cut off from any outflow. Lakefront land is already farther from shore.

It's a peculiar event that highlights the unexpected changes wrought by a changing climate.

"So far, a lot of the scientific work surrounding glaciers and climate change has been focused on sea-level rise," said Shugar. "Our study shows there may be other underappreciated, unanticipated effects of glacial retreat."

[MIKA27]

KNOPS ADJUSTABLE VOLUME EARPLUGS

Hearing doesn’t come back once you lose it. That can be an extremely scary prospect when you really start to realize how much we rely on sound in our daily lives. While you can’t regain your hearing, you can protect it. And the Knops adjustable volume earplugs are a pretty killer way to do that.

Based on the shape of a classic gramophone, these clever ear accessories treat sound a little bit differently from other ear plugs. They don’t just block out sound completely or at a set decibel rate – no, they allow you to customize how loud the world around you is with just a twist of a built-in knob. Each pair of Knops comes with 4 leveled steps with appropriate situations for each. Step 1 is completely uninhibited clear sound, Step 2 is appropriate for ambient city noises, Step 3 covers live music, And Step 4 offers full isolation. Best of all, they work completely tech-free. That means no charging, batteries, or wires. Back them on Kickstarter now starting at $62.

 

 

[MIKA27]

NOBU RYOKAN

Modeled after traditional Japanese Ryokan inns, the Nobu Ryokan Malibu is a complete reimagining of a 1950s-era hotel. Its 16 rooms seamlessly blend interior and outdoor spaces, with calming color schemes, private decks and patios, fireplaces, and handmade teak soaking tubs. The rejuvenated structure is clad with glass, steel, and sustainable teak and ipe wood, offers direct access to Carbon Beach, and, of course, is located just steps away from the local outpost of Nobu restaurant.

 

[MIKA27]

What The Hell Is This Beautiful Thing?

Meet Steve, a newly discovered atmospheric phenomenon that's so strange it still doesn't have a formal scientific description, hence the placeholder name. Thanks to the work of aurora enthusiasts and atmospheric scientists, we're now learning more about Steve, but many questions remain.

This stunning feature was first documented by the Facebook group Alberta Aurora Chasers last year. Awareness of the object, in conjunction with the powers of social media, have now resulted in more than 50 observer reports. This ribbon of purple and green light is unlike any other known auroral feature and we're still not sure what causes it.

The Alberta Aurora Chasers decided to call it Steve in honour of the children's movie Over the Hedge, in which a character arbitrarily conjures up the name Steve to describe an object he's not sure about.

The work of these citizen scientists has attracted the attention of space scientists from NASA, the ESA, and University of Calgary, who are now actively trying to figure out what this transient object really is. There's even been a push to turn Steve into an acronym meaning "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement" — a description based on preliminary satellite observations.

As noted at the Aurorasaurus blog, a picture of this feature is starting to emerge. We know that Steve is a 25 to 30 kilometer (15 to 18 miles) wide arc that aligns east-west, and extends for hundreds, possibly thousands, of miles. It can last for as long as an hour or more, and it appears to be seasonal, disappearing from October to February.

It emits light in mostly purple-ish colours, and is often accompanied by green and short-lived "picket fence" structures. It appears in the northern hemisphere along latitudes similar to Calgary, Alberta. At first, the citizen scientists figured it was some kind of proton arc, but proton aurorae aren't visible to the naked eye, so it has to be something else.

Eric Donovan, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, has taken an interest in the feature, and is using data collected by the ESA's Swarm magnetic field mission to learn more about it.

Swarm uses a trio of satellites to take high-precision and high-resolution measurements of the strength, direction and changes in the Earth's magnetic field, which are responsible for triggering auroras. These spectacular features are caused by collisions between electrically-charged particles from the Sun that enter the Earth's atmosphere and collide with gases like oxygen and nitrogen.

Recently, one of Swarm's satellites flew straight through Steve, and data collected by its electric field instrument showed very clear changes. As Donovan noted in an ESA press release, "The temperature 300km above Earth's surface jumped by 3000°C and the data revealed a 25km-wide ribbon of gas flowing westwards at about 6km/s compared to a speed of about 10m/s either side of the ribbon."

Wait, full stop. A temperature spike of 3000 degrees?! That didn't seem right, so we contacted Donovan directly for confirmation.

"The temperature spike number is correct," he told Gizmodo.

Whoa. OK, then. We also asked Donovan if he knows what causes the feature.

"With my colleague Bea Gallardo-Lacourt, we are working on the conditions under which it occurs, and we have an idea, but are not sharing that right now," he said. "We plan on publishing the idea shortly."

Donovan said that a surprising aspect of Steve is how frequently it appears. It's been under our noses for quite some time, but we're only now recognising it as a distinct atmospheric phenomenon. It has an unusual spectral mix, so the colour looks "off" compared to normal aurora.

"I saw it a few months ago in Calgary, so it's quite bright," he said. "A colleague of mine suggested it might be the most seen type of aurora — because it is equator-ward — and also the least studied, because we didn't know it existed, really."

Exciting! We asked Donovan to give us the head's up when his new paper is ready for prime time.

[MIKA27]

The Airwaves Are Haunted In The Creepy Dark Signal Trailer

The trailer for Dark Signal piqued our interest for two reasons: One, it's produced by Neil Marshall (The Descent, Game of Thrones). And two, we can't resist horror movies that are set in and/or around radio stations. The Fog! Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2! Pontypool! And now... Dark Signal.

Directed by Edward Evers-Swindell, who co-wrote with Antony Jones, Dark Signal's only official plot description is: "The spirit of a murdered girl returns with a message for the staff of a local radio station." That doesn't even mention the serial killer, the creepy-yet-beautiful isolated setting, the haunted house or what appears to be an on-air séance — all of which offer further intrigue, especially since there's nobody immediately recognisable among the cast. Dark Signal is in US theatres June 2, and on VOD and iTunes in the US starting June 6. An Australian release has not yet been announced.

 

[MIKA27]

Watch This Talented Carver Turn A Lincoln Penny Into A Morbid Masterpiece

Michelangelo's David is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but would the artist have been as adept with a chisel if he was working on a tiny copper coin instead of a giant slab of marble? Using a magnifying scope, artist Shaun Hughes managed to skillfully turn Lincoln's head into a remarkably detailed skull.

Hughes has an entire YouTube channel dedicated to his carving prowess, where he turns coins of various sizes and denominations into something far more valuable to art aficionados. When is the US treasury going to give this guy a job designing currency?

 

[MIKA27]

The X-Files Is Coming Back To TV For An 11th Season

The X-Files is coming back yet again. After its limited 10th season last year, the show will return for another limited season either later this year or early in 2018. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny will both reprise their roles for the show, which will run 10 episodes.

This was more or less expected by fans of the show, with the biggest issue being scheduling and other behind-the-scenes issues. Everyone said they wanted to come back, but the executives didn't exactly pass that information along to the stars. Nevertheless, all that is in the past now and Chris Carter's signature show is a go.

"Iconic characters, rich storytelling, bold creators — these are the hallmarks of great TV shows. And they are some of the reasons why The X-Files has had such a profound impact on millions of fans worldwide," said Fox Broadcasting Company Prez David Madden in a press release. "Chris' creativity, along with the brilliant work of David and Gillian, continue to propel this pop culture phenomenon, and we can't wait to see what fresh mysteries Mulder and Scully uncover in this next chapter of The X-Files."

[MIKA27]

Sony Will Bring The Wheel Of Time to TV

Is the long, weird saga of Wheel of Time's journey to television is seemingly over? After that bizarro pilot that lead to legal troubles and the final but very vague announcement the legendary fantasy series would come to TV properly after all, we now know it will be Sony who will be responsible for bringing Robert Jordan's world to life.

Both IGN and Variety released reports last night stating that Sony will be adapting the 14-novel series, as part of a deal with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures, while Rafe Judkins, who has credits on Agents of SHIELD, Chuck and Hemlock Grove, will write and produce. This is the first update since roughly this time last year when Jordan's widow, Harriet McDougal, confirmed that the series had landed at "a major studio".

One hard part of the series' journey to TV may be over, but the monumental task of bringing this sprawling epic to life on the small screen is just beginning. God knows how long it will be until we start to see the fruits of Sony's labour, but we'll bring you more on the Wheel of Time TV series when we learn it.

MIKA: I've read all these books and the lore and sheer size hulks over the likes of Game of Thrones and Lord Of The Rings.

I truly hope they have top quality production value invested in this to give it the justice it deserves. If they can have the same quality of production like Game of Thrones, this will be epic to say the least.

[MIKA27]

Why Did These Lions Eat So Many People?

In 1898, a pair of lions feasted on the most fearsome of predators: Humans. Some think they could have killed 135 people constructing a railroad bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya, though research lowered that number down to 35 human lunches between the pair.

But what could drive these lions to play a round of The Most Dangerous Game?

Today, man-eating lion expert Bruce Patterson at the Field Museum is still analysing these cruel cats' skulls and teeth to understand what could have turned them into human hunters. Lions don't normally eat humans — we're sort of a last resort meal. But various factors make lions behave abnormally and seek different prey, and Patterson thinks the answer is far stranger than just famine. He thinks that maybe the cats just had a case of toothache.

"Lions kill with their teeth," Patterson told Gizmodo. "One of the man eaters had a root tip abscess on the lower canine tooth that would have rendered excruciating pain from pressure." Lions kill large prey, like wildebeest, by clamping down on their windpipes with their teeth. "But if you can't kill a buffalo, you better not grab it because it can kill you. The arrival of 3000 railway workers [would have been] met with considerable excitement by the lions."

Examining the microscopic wear on the lions' teeth, everything looked pretty much normal — which was a surprise to Patterson. Had the teeth been scuffed up, this might have signified that these lions had eaten a lot of bone and that they were hungry scavengers feeding on humans as a last resort. Instead, the Tsavo lions had the chompers of cats with a healthy diet, information Patterson and his coauthor published in the journal Scientific Reports today. But abscesses at the bottom of the teeth cued the authors into their theory of dental disease.

There are plenty of other reasons a lion might eat something unusual, however. Researcher Craig Packer, director of the Lion Research Center at the University of Minnesota, told Gizmodo he wasn't convinced that toothache drove lions to kill humans. Instead, "that man eating outbreak coincided with a very severe episode of rinderpest," a viral cattle disease, "that killed most of the natural prey for the lions. This was a period of time when there would be some very hungry carnivores without their normal prey."

This doesn't explain the lack of significant wear on the man-eating lions' teeth, but it might cast doubt on the tooth decay theory. Packer noted that plenty of lions that have eaten people didn't some sort of tooth disease. "It may look like an association but it's just a correlation," he said.

There are other theories that both Packer and Patterson point to, including the fact that humans have long been encroaching on lion territory. "I don't think there's a lion in Africa that doesn't come into contact with people on a daily or weekly basis," said Patterson. Humans had long been building (and dying) on the shortest routes between watering holes, leaving their bodies as a free meal. And as Packer pointed out, the 1898 case certainly wasn't the only time lions munched on man — in 1991 a lion in Mfuwe, Zambia ate six people, for example.

We've long been surprised by and tried to understand the predatory behaviour of lions — but why? Us humans eat other animals all the time, and if cows wandered into your town, it's likely someone would eat them. You're going to die anyway, why not at the hands of a hungry lion?

[MIKA27]

WELCOME TO THE WILDEST SPORT EVER INVENTED BY A SOFT DRINK

The four skaters stand poised at the starting gates, fidgeting with their gauntlets as the crowd counts down from ten. The blasting music—mostly dance remixes of pop songs and Linkin Park-inspired rocktronica—that provided the soundtrack to previous heats and half of downtown Ottawa is gone. After all, the championship is on the line.

The countdown ends, replaced with another countdown. "Five second warning!" comes the voice over the speakers, and the athletes tense up visibly.

Suddenly, the gates fly open and the skaters push off in the unlikely direction of down. It's the Men's Final in the 2017 Red Bull Crashed Ice season, the young competition for a thoroughly unlikely sport that's part speed skating, part puck-less hockey, part downhill skiing, and many parts marketing gimmick.

The crowd is packed alongside the rolling hills of the 300-meter track nestled between Canada's stately parliament building and the luxurious, 105-year-old Chateau Laurier hotel. Thousands, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are braving a March cold that's uncharacteristic even for Canada—the type where the tuques and the scarves come out for survival purposes and the frost sets an ache in your gums. The crowd spills out onto Rideau St., where those who haven't pushed for a better view watch via two big-screen monitors.

Within seconds of dropping into the first icy valley, the four skaters are all bunched up. They hit the first turn. American Cameron Naasz holds a slight lead over Canadian rival Scott Croxall. Suddenly, Croxall's skate snags an edge, and he's sent tumbling into the boards, nearly taking out his countryman Dean Moriarty and the Swiss Jim De Paoli. He picks himself up, but the pack has already pulled way ahead.

Crashed Ice (or ice cross downhill, as it's formally known) is insane—and insanely dangerous. It's now a bona fide sport—albeit one almost wholly owned by an energy drink company—that requires bona fide athletes. Competitors can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour as they navigate the sharp turns, and your quads burn just watching them power up the steep hills and then stick the landing as gracefully as any figure skater as they go flying off the other side.

Like NASCAR, things happen so fast you can only catch a glimpse as the skaters zoom by any point along the track. And like NASCAR, the crashes are a major draw. During time trials the day before the final, Jack Schram, an Austin, Texas, native who decided to try out for Crashed after seeing the competition on TV, recalled the time he broke his back during a race.

"I didn't realize it at the time," he said. "I just took a really big spill. Some medics came out on the ice to take me off it—I guess it was a crowd pleaser. But I pushed them off me and finished the race. I didn't know until the next morning, after I went out to the after-party and partied all night."

They come from all over the U.S. and Canada, as well as European outposts including France, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Russia. The races have gone international, too: This past season saw events in North America, France, and Finland. Most skaters come from the rough-and-tumble world of lower-level hockey, while fewer have a background in motocross or BMX racing and are looking for a winter sport that offers the same adrenaline kick. Some, like repeat women's champion Jacqueline Legere, have a background even farther afield: She has worked as a stuntwoman in films like Suicide Squad.

They're attracted to the sport's extreme element, and the notion they can make a few bucks outside a day job or school. After all, a race winner can earn more than $3,500.

With Croxall no longer a threat, the American Naasz cruises through the rest of the course's wicked twists and sheer drops. At one point, he falls to his stomach on an incline and body surfs for a moment but quickly regains his feet. Moriarty and De Paoli aren't far behind as he crosses the finish line, but Naasz is the clear winner. He's swarmed by other skaters, who immediately shower him in what is either beer or, more likely, highly-caffeinated energy drink. He is Crashed Ice's first ever two-time season champion, and he's done it back to back.

The crowd goes wild for the St. Cloud, Minnesota, native whose name almost none of them had known before today. Like everyone else who took to the track over the last few days, he risks life and limb for the sheer thrill of it—and, ultimately, for the greater glory of Red Bull.

Races are unrepentant in their marketing for the company. Attractive young women with backpacks in the shape of the beverage's cans hand out free samples throughout the event. The crimson bovine logo is ubiquitous. (Crashed Ice officials declined to comment on the event's relationship to Red Bull's formidable marketing apparatus.)

However they might feel about the commercial element, racers certainly don't do it for the fame. In the crowd, friends and family of hometown racer Daniel Guolla hold signs proclaiming him number one on the ice, as well as in their hearts. For his brother, Nick, it's a thrill to see him skate in person, but he's under no illusions about his sibling's budding stardom.

"Probably not, to be honest," he says, when asked if his brother has fans. "[But] when I mention his sport, people actually know what it is and are impressed that he's an athlete on the world tour."

Red Bull has sunk its teeth into sports culture—particularly the extreme variety. The company owns or sponsors teams in car racing, soccer, basketball, and tons of X Games fodder, like motocross. But ice cross downhill is a different proposition in that, for all intents and purposes, the company owns the sport.

In the early 2000s, two Austrian Red Bull executives, inspired by downhill inline skating races, came up with the idea of holding a downhill ice skating competition. After experimenting with the idea on bobsled tracks, the first Red Bull Crashed Ice race was held in 2001 in a Stockholm fish market as a one-off promotional stunt. Athletes from downhill skiing, hockey leagues, and bandy—a sport that resembles a combination of ice hockey, field hockey, and soccer—were recruited to take part in the inaugural event.

"You can imagine it was nothing compared to the elevation and obstacles we have now on the track," says former Crashed Ice skater Christian Papillon, who now serves as the league's sports director. "The guys showed up, they all travelled from Europe, they showed up in Stockholm and said 'We're not going down this thing. It's crazy.'"

More individual races followed, and the tracks grew more elaborate. In 2010, the world championship circuit was founded. Athletes still mostly had their roots in other sports, but some began to devote themselves solely to their ice cross downhill careers. Now, downhill ice cross could be poised to outgrow its origins as a marketing ploy.

"It's starting to become a real sport, and we're working on it as a real sport with specific rules and organizations from different leagues—not only what Red Bull is supporting," says Papillon.

The sport's top competitor believes there's a wider future looming. Still wearing his skates and the orange jersey emblazoned with the logo of the Minnesota-based Chevy dealership that sponsors him, the newly victorious Naasz dreams of one day seeing ice cross downhill in the Olympics. It's far-fetched until you examine the sport's growth in the last decade and a half. Now televised, the sport introduced a women's division last year, and junior competitions in 2017. Independent organizations like the All Terrain Skate Cross Federation are steadily gaining recognition, and the athletes even organized so-called Riders Cup events in conjunction with ski resorts and other venues.

"It takes people that are motivated and dedicated to the sport to do it," Naasz says. "It's hard to find those people right now. They need a background in the sport as well. It needs to be guys like myself in a couple years, that have time on their hands, that aren't going to compete but are going to put on events."

He walks away, ready for a shower and a celebration. It's time for the after-party—brought to you by Red Bull.

 

[MIKA27]

RAY-BAN BLAZE SHOOTER

In preparation for the coming US summer season, Ray-Ban has been updating and re-releasing some of their more classic frames onto the market. While most boast only a slight update in the style, the Blaze Shooter has gotten a much more substantial reworking of its classic aviator look.

This revived pair of shades eschews the old school teardrop lenses in favor of one that sits over the top of the frame and sports a hole right along the nose. And while the lens design is substantially different, the frame itself hasn’t changed much – still boasting the oversized look with the bar along the top. While these differences may be worth noting, it is important to say that the effect these have are still the same. They’re big, they make a statement, and they look great in the summer sun. You can get yourself a pair of these sunglasses in one of six different colors.

[MIKA27]

Toast Ale Is Brewed With Surplus Bread

In an effort to combat food waste and make delicious beer in the process, Toast Ale is brewed with surplus bread. Founded in the UK by author and international food waste activist Tristram Stuart, Toast Ale takes fresh, surplus bread and uses it to create an incredibly drinkable Pale Ale that even professional chefs ranging from Dan Barber to Jamie Oliver find delicious. Why make beer with surplus bread? 44% of all bread produced goes directly from the oven to the landfill. In addition to being a tragedy for anyone that needs something to eat or just loves carbs, this creates additional transportation, labor and fuel costs for tons of bread that no one gets to eat. Toast Ale also pours 100% of profits from the beer into charities fighting food waste. Toast Ale is currently raising funds on Indiegogo to bring their operation to the United States. They’re slated to start brewing an American Pale Ale on July 4 if everything goes according to plan.

[MIKA27]

Take a Virtual Reality Tour of the Playboy Mansion

You can now take a virtual reality tour of the Playboy Mansion. Led by Cooper Hefner, Playboy’s Chief Creative Officer and son of the infamous Hugh, you’ll get as up close and personal as possible without actually being there as you explore all the cool areas of the house that aren’t the grotto. The tour covers quite a few rooms in the mansion, including the great hall, the theater room, the game room and the van room. There are also plenty of stories along the way. With bits of humor and quite a few interesting asides, this VR tour from the man that grew up there is probably the closest most of us will get to going inside the Playboy Mansion. (And yes, there are girls around.) Check it out.

[MIKA27]

Trees Knees Coffee Maple Syrup

Bushwick Kitchen is all about simplicity, beautiful ingredients and the handmade process that infuses each of their products with love. The Bushwick Kitchen Trees Knees Coffee Maple Syrup is the perfect example of all those ideals. Produced with a combination of Stumptown Coffee Roasters Hair Bender Blend and rich maple syrup from the Catskill Mountains, each bottle of Trees Knees Coffee Maple is made in Brooklyn, NY, and has a multi-faceted flavor profile with tastes of dark chocolate, cherry, toffee and fudge.

Whether you’re using Trees Knees as a part of a cocktail, over a bowl of ice cream or on top of a stack of pancakes, this syrup is gluten-free, Paleo-friendly and vegan so that everyone can enjoy it regardless of dietary restrictions. If you thought your morning or evening ritual was complete without a little more coffee or maple syrup, you were wrong. Trees Knees Coffee Maple will fix that problem in an instant.

[MIKA27]

Oris Chronoris Date

Our latest timepiece crush comes from Swiss watch manufacturer Oris. The stunning new Chronoris Date is a modern reinterpretation of the vintage watch, of the same name, released by Oris in the 70s. It features a 39mm brushed stainless steel tonneau-shaped case. The dial features several chapter rings in varying shades of silver, grey, and black with bright orange accents on the hands and indexes. Additionally there is a date window at three o´clock that stands out due to the white disc. Two large crowns can be used to set the time and to set the inner rotating bezel. This bezel can be used to time seconds, minutes or hours. The watch is available on a nato, rubber or leather strap, or a steel bracelet. Price starts at $1,750.

 

[MIKA27]

GLEN GRANT 1954 SCOTCH WHISKY

The latest release in the exclusive Rare Vintage collection from Gordon & MacPhail has arrived, and it's from one of the most famous distilleries in Scotland. Glen Grant was one of the first distilleries to bottle a single malt, and laid down Glen Grant 1954 Scotch Whisky at their headquarters in the heart of Speyside. The whisky matured for a full 59 years before being bottled in 2014, and 610 bottles are available now for consumption. A full bodied dram with a light, gentle character and plenty of fruity notes, it's a special whisky that will not only be one of the oldest you've ever had but also one of the best.

[MIKA27]

ELK

Keeping track of how much things really cost can be difficult when you're dealing with a different currency. Elk makes it simple. Using your location, it automatically selects the correct currency, then displays a table of common values and their USD equivalents. On the Watch, it lets you use the digital crown to get a conversion for a specific amount quickly. It's also free to download, with a one-time Pro upgrade available after two weeks.

 

[Sean3]

3 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Sony Will Bring The Wheel Of Time to TV

Is the long, weird saga of Wheel of Time's journey to television is seemingly over? After that bizarro pilot that lead to legal troubles and the final but very vague announcement the legendary fantasy series would come to TV properly after all, we now know it will be Sony who will be responsible for bringing Robert Jordan's world to life.

Both IGN and Variety released reports last night stating that Sony will be adapting the 14-novel series, as part of a deal with Red Eagle Entertainment and Radar Pictures, while Rafe Judkins, who has credits on Agents of SHIELD, Chuck and Hemlock Grove, will write and produce. This is the first update since roughly this time last year when Jordan's widow, Harriet McDougal, confirmed that the series had landed at "a major studio".

One hard part of the series' journey to TV may be over, but the monumental task of bringing this sprawling epic to life on the small screen is just beginning. God knows how long it will be until we start to see the fruits of Sony's labour, but we'll bring you more on the Wheel of Time TV series when we learn it.

MIKA: I've read all these books and the lore and sheer size hulks over the likes of Game of Thrones and Lord Of The Rings.

I truly hope they have top quality production value invested in this to give it the justice it deserves. If they can have the same quality of production like Game of Thrones, this will be epic to say the least.

I've read the entire series also, and agree, it's going to be a monumental task to do the series justice of any kind.

[MIKA27]

Life Finds A Way As Jeff Goldblum Returns For Jurassic World 2

Did you watch the first Jurassic World and think, "This needs more Jeff Goldblum?" Well, you're in luck for the sequel. Life found a way.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Goldblum will return to the franchise in 2018's Jurassic World 2. It will be his first time back since 1997's The Lost World.

Goldblum will once again play Dr Ian Malcolm, the mathematician and proponent of Chaos Theory who survived the first film and returned in the sequel, this time as the island's biggest critic. What the character has been doing since then, and what he thinks of the fact Jurassic World was so successful for a while, are just a few of the many, many questions we have now that we know he's returning.

Almost nothing is known about the sequel, which is currently filming. All we do know is Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are returning, J.A. Bayona is directing, and a few new actors have been added. Now they will be dealing with the world's foremost expert on dinosaur theme park survival.

Jurassic World 2, which won't be called that, opens in the US 22 June 2018.

 

[MIKA27]

New Documentary Explores Mystery Behind Batman's Secret Co-Creator

If there's one name that is synonymous with Batman, it's Bob Kane. As the series' original creator, he's long been seen as the genius behind the Dark Knight. One documentary is shining a Bat Signal on the other man behind Bruce Wayne.

Batman and Bill is all about Bill Finger, a man long (un)credited as the co-creator of Batman and many of its key characters. Accounts of what happened differ, but the biography that inspired the documentary claims Finger was responsible for 98-per cent of the creative work, which was based on Kane's original character concept. However, Kane took credit for the entire operation.

The story of Bill Finger isn't unknown nowadays, but for decades it was somewhat of an open secret in Hollywood. Finger died in 1974, and his family spent years fighting for DC to acknowledge his key contribution to the Batman story. Finally, in 2015, DC started crediting him as co-creator on some Batman covers, as well as for Batman TV and film projects. He's also been inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. Batman and Bill debuts on Hulu May 6. You can watch the first trailer below.

 

[MIKA27]

The First Trailer For Kingsman: The Golden Circle Is More Fun Than A Spy Should Have

Director Matthew Vaughn has made some very good movies, but none of them come close to 2014's Kingsman: The Secret Service for pure fun. So it makes perfect sense that the first sequel he's ever directed is Kingsman: The Golden Circle. The world of impeccably tailored British secret agents is so much fun, who wouldn't want more?

Here's the first trailer for the sequel, which looks so, so good.

If it isn't immediately obvious from this trailer, after the events of the first movie, the Kingsman is exposed, leading to an attack on the secret spy organisation. Kingsman is forced to go to America and team up with the US version of the organisation, the Statesman, including Jeff Daniels, Channing Tatum and Halle Berry. Also, it seems Colin Firth's Galahad is hanging out with them, which is impressive, seeing as he died in the first movie. But again, that's Kingsman for you. It's so much fun even dead people want to come back for more.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle opens September 21.

[MIKA27]

At Last, A Crucial Fact About The Age Of Knights Can Be Revealed (Hilariously)

Sure, you think you know medieval history. But Jake Mahaffy's A.D. 1363, the End of Chivalry offers an illuminating glimpse at the precise moment knights decided to throw in the towel and stop a) rescuing people and B wearing so much goddamn metal all over their bodies. Have a look.

Makes total sense, right? What happened to their horses, anyway? This short would pair perfectly with a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail — what it lacks in length and dialogue, it more than makes up for in sound design, striking photography, and hilarious imagery.