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

[Fuzz]

Everything You Need To Know About Microsoft's Xbox One X

 

 

After more than a year of rumours and teases and dorky Xtreme code names, Microsoft's latest console, the Xbox One X, is finally here. It's not actually here, here, the console will go on sale November 7. But we now have all the details about this new console, which is officially the fastest console built to date.

What is it?

Microsoft's latest console in the Xbox One lineup. This isn't a new generation of console, but an improved version of Microsoft's current 8th generation console, the Xbox One. Like last year's Xbox One S, it can play 4K UHD content, including UHD Blu-rays. It also supports HDR, for expanded detail in areas of extreme brightness and darkness, and wider colour gamut, to reproduce colours closer to the ones we see in the real world.

Unlike the Xbox One S, the Xbox One X will upscale older games to 4K UHD, and produce higher quality images even on 1080p and even lower-resolution displays. Much as the PS4 Pro improves visual quality across the playback spectrum versus the original PS4.

How fast is it?

Really damn fast for a console. According to Microsoft, its Scorpio processor is the fastest processor ever put in a console, which is something we've known since Microsoft announced the specs back in March. What we didn't know is that the processor runs so hot it requires liquid cooling, a first for a console.

Besides a processor with over 7 billion transistors, it has 12GB of DDR5 RAM, a GPU clocked at 1.172 GHz and that's capable of 6 teraflops of performance. For reference, Nvidia's latest top graphics card, the $US800 ($1,060)-plus 1080Ti, does 11.3 teraflops, while the Xbox One X's primary competitor, the PS4 Pro, does 4.12.

The power management system is also so excellent, according to Microsoft, that the company elected to name it after its primary engineer, Bill Hovis.

What kind of games will it play?

Anything currently available on the Xbox One and Xbox One S, plus the 42 games announced at Microsoft's Xbox event, 22 of which are exclusive to the Xbox One console suite, including: State of Decay 2, the new e-sports focused shooter, Darwin Project, and the super pretty The Last Night.

Notably the exclusives announced so far are either "launch" exclusives, which means they will launch on the Xbox One before expanding to the PS4 and Windows, or they're Microsoft-exclusive, launching on the Xbox One and Windows 10 only.

"What the hell is Square Enix doing with this emo shit," my colleague asked. "Making my gaymo dreams come true," I thought.

These are two softer versions of exclusivity, but they can still be super helpful for a console trying to make its mark, as people will buy a console just for a specific game (see the latest Zelda and the Nintendo Switch). But that's not always the case. Rise of the Tomb Raider was an Xbox One launch exclusive title two years ago, and yet, according to VG 24/7, its PC version outsold it three to one when it launched in early 2016.

Also note that anything can happen between a game's announcement and its release, so be careful about getting too excited by the games shown on stage. It could be years before you see them.

Will it VR?

Despite my own extreme hopes, there was zero word on the VR front. That will learn me to get excited about virtual reality ever again.

What else can it do?

It's backwards compatible! Not truly, your Xbox and Xbox 360 discs won't work in the Xbox One X, but select Xbox 360 digital game purchases will. Microsoft also announced a plan to bring a number of original Xbox games to the Xbox One platform, including the major fan favourite aeroplane game, Crimson Skies.

When can I own this thing myself and how much will I have to spend?

The Xbox One X will be available worldwide November 7th. It will retail for $649 in Australia.

[MIKA27]

9 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Everything You Need To Know About Microsoft's Xbox One X

 

 

After more than a year of rumours and teases and dorky Xtreme code names, Microsoft's latest console, the Xbox One X, is finally here. It's not actually here, here, the console will go on sale November 7. But we now have all the details about this new console, which is officially the fastest console built to date.

What is it?

Microsoft's latest console in the Xbox One lineup. This isn't a new generation of console, but an improved version of Microsoft's current 8th generation console, the Xbox One. Like last year's Xbox One S, it can play 4K UHD content, including UHD Blu-rays. It also supports HDR, for expanded detail in areas of extreme brightness and darkness, and wider colour gamut, to reproduce colours closer to the ones we see in the real world.

Unlike the Xbox One S, the Xbox One X will upscale older games to 4K UHD, and produce higher quality images even on 1080p and even lower-resolution displays. Much as the PS4 Pro improves visual quality across the playback spectrum versus the original PS4.

How fast is it?

Really damn fast for a console. According to Microsoft, its Scorpio processor is the fastest processor ever put in a console, which is something we've known since Microsoft announced the specs back in March. What we didn't know is that the processor runs so hot it requires liquid cooling, a first for a console.

Besides a processor with over 7 billion transistors, it has 12GB of DDR5 RAM, a GPU clocked at 1.172 GHz and that's capable of 6 teraflops of performance. For reference, Nvidia's latest top graphics card, the $US800 ($1,060)-plus 1080Ti, does 11.3 teraflops, while the Xbox One X's primary competitor, the PS4 Pro, does 4.12.

The power management system is also so excellent, according to Microsoft, that the company elected to name it after its primary engineer, Bill Hovis.

What kind of games will it play?

Anything currently available on the Xbox One and Xbox One S, plus the 42 games announced at Microsoft's Xbox event, 22 of which are exclusive to the Xbox One console suite, including: State of Decay 2, the new e-sports focused shooter, Darwin Project, and the super pretty The Last Night.

Notably the exclusives announced so far are either "launch" exclusives, which means they will launch on the Xbox One before expanding to the PS4 and Windows, or they're Microsoft-exclusive, launching on the Xbox One and Windows 10 only.

"What the hell is Square Enix doing with this emo shit," my colleague asked. "Making my gaymo dreams come true," I thought.

These are two softer versions of exclusivity, but they can still be super helpful for a console trying to make its mark, as people will buy a console just for a specific game (see the latest Zelda and the Nintendo Switch). But that's not always the case. Rise of the Tomb Raider was an Xbox One launch exclusive title two years ago, and yet, according to VG 24/7, its PC version outsold it three to one when it launched in early 2016.

Also note that anything can happen between a game's announcement and its release, so be careful about getting too excited by the games shown on stage. It could be years before you see them.

Will it VR?

Despite my own extreme hopes, there was zero word on the VR front. That will learn me to get excited about virtual reality ever again.

What else can it do?

It's backwards compatible! Not truly, your Xbox and Xbox 360 discs won't work in the Xbox One X, but select Xbox 360 digital game purchases will. Microsoft also announced a plan to bring a number of original Xbox games to the Xbox One platform, including the major fan favourite aeroplane game, Crimson Skies.

When can I own this thing myself and how much will I have to spend?

The Xbox One X will be available worldwide November 7th. It will retail for $649 in Australia.

I LOVE console gaming, I been an XBOX guy since it's inception, owned every console since ATARI 2600, except PS3.

Having said this, I jumped onto the PS4 PRO on release and haven't looked back as Playstaion offers me th egames that XBOX doesn't have such as JRPG's and they seem to have more exclusive titles on offer.

I wonder if we are now getting to some kind of equilibrium with console gaming mainly because of 4K and HDR?

I'm a console fan boy first and foremost, doesn't matter if its Playstation or XBOX, but saying this, sometimes what seems to be the monster of consoles and the new XBOX sure does look impressive, it doesn't always mean it will beat the competition. Look back at the SEGA DREAMCAST, the console of it's generation and was left for dead because it didn't get the support it deserved from AAA companies and in the end, it flopped.

The new XBOX thus far, doesn't seem to have anything exclusive?

But again, processing power, teraflops, blah, blah, on paper it looks the greatest, but I wonder what's the difference from 4K XBOX X to 4K Playstation PRO if you evenly matched them on an identical 4K screen? I guess there wouldn't be hardly anything different from the human eye, 4K is 4K?

Either way, great article, thanks for posting bud.

 

[polarbear]

35 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

But again, processing power, teraflops, blah, blah, on paper it looks the greatest, but I wonder what's the difference from 4K XBOX X to 4K Playstation PRO if you evenly matched them on an identical 4K screen? I guess there wouldn't be hardly anything different from the human eye, 4K is 4K?

So, Teraflops is an actual word?

Who Knew

[MIKA27]

7 minutes ago, polarbear said:

So, Teraflops is an actual word?

Who Knew

Yeah, something to do with computer performance calculations per second or FLOPS

Not worth reading IMO, well for me anyway. I'll leave that to the mathematicians

[MIKA27]

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Sets Its Main Cast And Creative Team With One Big New Addition

All the rumours you've heard in the past few months are true. Fox has set Simon Kinberg to make his directorial debut with 2018's X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which will return much of the cast from 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse — and possibly add an Oscar nominee too.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Jessica Chastain is in talks to play the villainous Lilandra, who'll face the X-Men in a story that centres on Jean Grey's incredible powers and transition into the Dark Phoenix.

Deadline reports those X-Men will be all familiar faces. Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Alexandra Shipp, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan and Kodi Smit-McPhee will all be back in their mutant roles.

Kinberg was rumoured to be Fox's choice to direct back in February, but it wasn't official until now. He's written several of the previous X-films and produced almost all of them since X-Men: First Class rebooted the franchise. He's hoping this film will be more in line with the original Dark Phoenix stories than its previous on-screen adaptation in X-Men: The Last Stand.

As for Lilandra, it's unclear if her comic book origins and powers, which are much more cosmic than the X-Men films have been to date, will be true to form.

The film has a scheduled US release date of 2 November 2018, which puts it third on the list of upcoming X-movies. First will be Josh Boone's New Mutants on 13 April 2018. Then there's David Leitch's Deadpool 2 on 1 June 2018, followed by Dark Phoenix.

[MIKA27]

How Aluminium Cladding May Have Factored Into London's Deadly Tower Fire

Experts and politicians are pointing fingers in an effort to explain what caused the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed at least 12 and injured dozens more on Wednesday. Quite unfortunately, all fingers appear to be pointing in the same direction, at a new aluminium rainscreen cladding installed, in part, to make the building more attractive to wealthy neighbours in luxury flats nearby.

Grenfell Tower is part of an estate housing complex — that's the British term for public housing project — in the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This area of London is famous for its tremendous disparity in wealth, since it's home to some of the most valuable real estate in the world as well as some of the city's poorest residents. Grenfell is where many of those poverty-stricken Londoners called home, and a group of residents now say their warnings of dangerous conditions "fell on deaf ears" for years leading up to the fire. A £8.6 million ($14.5 million) renovation wrapped up in May 2016, and now, it appears that some decisions made during that facelift may have fuelled this week's fire in a very deadly way.

Part of the motivation for Grenfell's renovation, planning documents suggest, was to make the tower look better to its neighbours. That document, obtained by The Independent, claims the addition of new aluminium cladding "will improve its appearance especially when viewed from the surrounding area". It justified the choice of materials "to accord with the development plan by ensuring that the character and appearance of the area are preserved and living conditions of those living near the development suitably protected". Those living nearby, of course, are some of the richest people in London. You'll probably recognise the neighbourhood just to the south of Grenfell Tower from the '90s Hugh Grant movie:

Installing aluminium cladding isn't inherently bad. The renovation detail was not only aimed at improving Grenfell's appearance but also the building's insulation. The space between the aluminium façade and the structure itself appears to have been stuffed with insulation. Fireproof insulation is expensive, and so some experts suggest that Rydon, the company responsible for the renovation, may have used cheap, non-fireproof insulation instead. This would have been a big mistake.

"[Cladding] produces a wind tunnel and also traps any burning material between the rain cladding and the building," fire expert and surveyor Arnold Tarling told The Independent. "So had it been insulated per se, the insulation could fall off and fall away from the building, but this is all contained inside."

Mike Penning, a member of Parliament and former fire minister, similarly said, "The cladding was clearly spreading the fire."

Grenfell Tower's scorched cladding and what appears to be insulation material. 

Another fire safety expert, Angus Law from the University of Edinburgh, told the press that reports of the Grenfell Tower bore "similarities with other fires that have occurred recently around the world". One such fire was the New Year's Eve skyscraper fire in Dubai, when flames spread up the side of the Address Downtown hotel at breakneck pace as debris rained down onto the streets below. It was later determined that the cladding used on the hotel "did not meet fire safety standards". The misuse of aluminium cladding has also been named as a major cause for other, similar tower fires in Dubai.

It's too soon to say what caused the deadly Grenfell Tower fire with any certainty. Rydon released a statement saying their work "met all required building control, fire regulation and health & safety standards". The residents' group that had complained for years about dangerous conditions — including "continuous power surges", faulty wiring, and the lack of proper safety instructions — said in a blog post they had "predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time".

Some reports say the fire started with the explosion of an electrical appliance. But towers are generally designed to contain fires to small areas. They shouldn't light up "like a nightdress," as one bystander put it.

Nevertheless, the notion that the management company installed the aluminium cladding, in part, for cosmetic reasons is more than unsettling. There is a distinct possibility that improper installation and flammable insulation played a part in the loss of homes and lives.

[MIKA27]

Watch A Porsche 919 Hybrid Lap Le Mans In 360 Degrees

Le Mans is this weekend. Get yourself hyped by watching this hotlap, done at full power and high speed, in Porsche's latest 919 Hybrid.

There's not much that needs to be said, really; Porsche team driver Marc Lieb pushes the 919 to north of 200mph over the 13.6km Circuit de la Sarthe, and it's every bit as awesome and immersive in 360 as you'd expect.

Porsche's video has racked up a couple of thousand views so far — and I can understand why.

[MIKA27]

Watching A Daredevil Pilot Fly This Low Is Absolutely Amazing

If you're a nervous flyer, you're probably going to want to skip this video, because after watching YouTube's Linkerius fly so low to the ground that it looks like he's perpetually going to crash, you'll be terrified of ever stepping foot on a plane again.

As dangerous as skimming the earth at hundreds of kilometres per hour seems, it's an actual technique used by military aircraft to help avoid threats. A nap-of-the-earth, or NOE, course allows a pilot to use natural geographical features such as hills and valleys to avoid radar, and make it harder for an enemy to spot the aircraft since it isn't silhouetted against the bright blue sky.

[Fuzz]

4 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

I LOVE console gaming, I been an XBOX guy since it's inception, owned every console since ATARI 2600, except PS3.

Having said this, I jumped onto the PS4 PRO on release and haven't looked back as Playstaion offers me th egames that XBOX doesn't have such as JRPG's and they seem to have more exclusive titles on offer.

I wonder if we are now getting to some kind of equilibrium with console gaming mainly because of 4K and HDR?

I'm a console fan boy first and foremost, doesn't matter if its Playstation or XBOX, but saying this, sometimes what seems to be the monster of consoles and the new XBOX sure does look impressive, it doesn't always mean it will beat the competition. Look back at the SEGA DREAMCAST, the console of it's generation and was left for dead because it didn't get the support it deserved from AAA companies and in the end, it flopped.

The new XBOX thus far, doesn't seem to have anything exclusive?

But again, processing power, teraflops, blah, blah, on paper it looks the greatest, but I wonder what's the difference from 4K XBOX X to 4K Playstation PRO if you evenly matched them on an identical 4K screen? I guess there wouldn't be hardly anything different from the human eye, 4K is 4K?

Either way, great article, thanks for posting bud.

 

I'm an Xbox guy, through and through. I used to be a PC gamer, but got tired of constantly having to upgrade my gear. Bought the original Xbox to play Halo, all those years ago and never looked back. My bro was originally a Playstation guy (PS, PS2), mainly because of Gran Turismo, but he changed over to a 360 then the One.

From my understanding, there will be nothing exclusive to the One X. The One X will run all One games, but as a bonus, will give better performance. Kinda like a Merc C63 compared to a C350. Both are really good cars, but the AMG will give you that extra oomph.

Would I upgrade my One S (just upgraded my One to a One S at a fairly good price)? Not right away. Will give it a year when the price drops and any kinks have been worked out.

As for the Q about the difference, again it comes down to performance. A C350 will hit 150kph, but the C63 will do it easier and with less effort. As games get more immersive and more processing power is needed, performance will eventually suffer on the lower end models.

Then again, maybe some people just want to brag that they have more teraflops than you.

"Yo dude! Check out my new One X! It's got 12Gb of RAM and the GPU can do 6 teraflops!!"

"What's a teraflop?"

"I don't know, but I've got two more than a PS4 Pro!!!"

[MIKA27]

Sleep at the Base of Hawaii’s Most Active Volcano

There are some pretty great off-the-grid Airbnb rentals on the market. Phoenix House might take the cake in terms of sheer bucket list status because it gives you the opportunity to sleep at the base of Hawaii’s most active volcano. Phoenix House is a 450-square-foot tiny home situated just miles away from Kilauea, Hawaii’s most active volcano and close neighbor to Mauna Loa, the world’s largest volcano. The fully equipped tiny house includes electric, WiFi, a bedroom loft, living area, bathroom and everything else you’d expect from a world class space built by Artistree homes, Phoenix house just so happens to be situated on the 1990 Kalapana lava flow. Yes, you’re surrounded by lava and, of course, the ocean. You can even look out your window to see the smoke where the combination of active lava flow meets ocean to create new landmass. Who wouldn’t want to stay in a tiny house surrounded by lava at the base of a volcano?

 

[MIKA27]

How to Make Freddy’s Ribs from ‘House of Cards’

Maybe it’s the fact we finally finished the latest season, but we’re pretty much clamoring for anything House of Cards at this point. That’s why we’re excited for the latest Binging with Babish. This episode of the popular YouTube series tackles Freddy’s Ribs from House of Cards. The chef / filmmaker whips up three separate versions of those iconic ribs from House of Cards using a combination of oak and hickory for smoking, a dry rub and and a Carolina style barbecue sauce with vinegar, tomato and mustard. Watch the full video to learn how to make the dry rub and two different variations of the barbecue sauce from scratch, along with how to prepare the ribs in an actual smoker or two different, more city-friendly ways to prepare them with the oven. A word of caution: don’t watch this video if you haven’t just eaten, because it will leave you craving ribs even at 10:00 in the morning.

[MIKA27]

Producer Says Spider-Man: Homecoming, Venom, And Silver And Black Will Exist In Same World

Sony's Spider-Man spinoffs, Venom and Silver and Black, may not exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe... but Sony has plans for all of their Spider-Man films to share the same universe. And, contrary to reports, the door isn't closed on Tom Holland showing up in them.

In a recent interview, Spider-Man: Homecoming producer Amy Pascal revealed that all three movies will exist in the same world... even if Spider-Man: Homecoming is connected to the MCU in a way the other films will not be. The relationship between the films in Sony's Marvel Universe (still a weird name) has been up in the air, especially since director Kevin Feige confirmed that Venom (played by Tom Hardy) would not be part of the MCU. Here's what Pascal said:

Quote

Both movies will all take place in the world that we're now creating for Peter Parker. I mean, they will be adjuncts to it, there may be different locations, but it will still all be in the same world and they will be connected to each other.

Pascal was then asked if Holland would appear as Spider-Man in one or both of those films, to which Pascal replied: "There's a chance... there's always a chance." I mean, I'm not a linguistics expert... but that sounds like they're trying to make it happen. This is a bit surprising, as it was previously implied that Holland's Spider-Man would not appear in the films at all, and it's not certain how it would even work. Holland is contracted for at least six movies with Disney and Marvel, including three solo films.

It's unclear what this will mean for the relationship between Sony and Marvel, which is complicated enough with Spider-Man alone. If these characters exist in the same universe as Spider-Man: Homecoming, but not in the MCU itself, that could open a big wide hole of complications and contradictions in the normally controlled cinematic universe.

 

 

[MIKA27]

One Of The Oldest And Rarest GI Joe Playsets Is Returning As A San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive

Before the toy line became a runaway hit and an iconic part of the '80s, Hasbro's GI Joe playsets weren't quite as elaborate as an aircraft carrier. One of the earliest and rarest sets, dating back to 1982 and which Hasbro is reviving as a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive this year, was actually made almost entirely of cardboard.

The GI Joe Cobra Missile Command Headquarters seems out of place when compared to the massive plastic creations available later in the GI Joe toy line, including the USS Flagg, and The Defiant space shuttle. But Hasbro clearly wasn't quite ready to spend a load of money developing elaborate playsets for the reborn toy line until it was sure it would be a success.

According to Yo Joe!, the Cobra Missile Command Headquarters was only available as a Sears exclusive in late 1982, and then on into 1983, which partly explains why it's so rare these days. The other reason there are so few left is that cardboard is nowhere near as durable as plastic is. Just think back to the elaborate battles your action figures waged, and you can understand why a cardboard playset wouldn't have stood the test of time.

Hasbro's recreation of the set, which will be available at its San Diego Comic-Con booth (#3329) and later on HasbroToyShop.com for $US50 ($66), still uses cardboard, but with recreated graphics. Hasbro's even gone to the trouble of making the box look weathered so it appears as if it's been sitting in your parent's attic for decades.

The new GI Joe Cobra Missile Command Headquarters also comes with reproductions of the three figures sold with the original 1982 playset, including a Cobra Officer, a Cobra Trooper and Cobra Commander. The originals were lacking the articulated elbows of these reproductions, but otherwise Hasbro has clearly worked hard to make this set the perfect nostalgia trip for kids who grew up fighting alongside GI Joe in the '80s.

[MIKA27]

Archaeologists Uncover Secret Message On Bible-Era Pottery

Those who live vicariously through Indiana Jones will be glad to know that a team of Israeli archaeologists has uncovered a cryptic message left on a 3000-year-old pottery shard. The ink-on-clay piece of pottery — called an ostracon — was originally discovered in the 1960s, in a city west of the Dead Sea called Tel Arad. Now, using new technology in multispectral imaging, researchers at Tel Aviv University have been able to illuminate text that's been hiding on the ostracon all these years.

Thousands of years ago, Tel Arad was a military outpost, so it makes sense that the "front" of this particular ostracon detailed military finances. The back, however, appeared blank. But after revisiting the ostracon using experimental multispectral imaging techniques, the team at Tel Aviv University was able to show the reverse was full of text — and like all good messages, it was about wine.

"The new inscription begins with a request for wine, as well as a guarantee for assistance if the addressee has any requests of his own," the study's co-author Arie Shaus, of the university of Tel Aviv's applied maths department, told Breaking Israel News. "It concludes with a request for the provision of a certain commodity to an unnamed person, and a note regarding a 'bath', an ancient measurement of wine, carried by a man named Ge'alyahu."

The team's research, which has been published in PLOS One, details their unique method. They used a modified Canon SLR 450D digital camera and a Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens to photograph the ostracon in a dark room.

"The internal Canon IR cut filter was removed by Lifepixel and replaced with transparent glass having the same refractive index," the group wrote. Using an array of filters, the team was finally able to reveal the hidden message.

Hopefully, this new technique can be used to read the hidden messages on other ostraca. Who knows what good biblical gossip we've been missing out on after thousands of years.

 

[MIKA27]

The Conjuring Series Is Getting Yet Another Spin-Off Movie

James Wan's The Conjuring was a huge hit, bringing forth The Conjuring 2 and spin-off Annabelle — as well as spin-off sequel Annabelle: Creation (due in August) and Conjuring 2 spin-off The Nun (due in 2018). And now, yet another movie inspired by the series is on the way.

Can you guess what it is? If you've seen The Conjuring 2, you certainly can. With the film's most memorable villain — demonic nun Valak — already getting her own origin story, and haunted toys a proven commodity thanks to Annabelle, it has to be the lanky creep who emerges from an eerie wind-up music box to add secondary terror to the storyline: The Crooked Man.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, we more or less only know the title and the writer, Mike Van Waes (the same guy who wrote a horror movie set in the world of The Wizard of Oz), who'll craft the script for producer Wan. So far, there's no word on who will direct, when or where the film might be set, and whether or not any familiar faces from the Conjuring series will factor into the story.

As THR points out, the Crooked Man is actually an old nursery-rhyme character ("There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile..."), though his appearance in The Conjuring 2 has no doubt helped raised his pop culture profile. Eagle-eyed horror fans will recall that another film entitled The Crooked Man, not affiliated with but no doubt inspired by the Conjure-verse, was already out On Demand earlier this year. Wan is just a little busy these days — what with directing Aquaman and producing the next entries in his other horror series, Saw and Insidious — but you can't help but wonder when plans for a rumoured Conjuring 3 will be formally announced. How else will this ever-growing spooky cinematic universe keep spawning spin-offs and sequels?

[MIKA27]

STUNNING 200 YEAR OLD LIBRARY DISCOVERED FOR THE FIRST TIME

Admittedly it's not every day you stumble upon a treasure trove of literature and art, that serves as a modern day time capsule from a by-gone era. But that's exactly what happened just a few days ago in Bouillon, a small town in southern Belgium.

Estate agent Henri Godts was informed of a small secretive library by close relatives of the original owner during a proposed auction of the property.

The original owner of the library was a French intellectual who allegedly fled the French Revolution by taking refuge in Bouillon. The library had been untouched for 200 years, a perfectly preserved snapshot of an era long forgotten by many.

"It is extremely rare to find such an authentic library, it is as if I had been catapulted in the 18th century in a time machine, the books are all perfectly preserved and seem to have come straight out of the printing press. " admits Godts .

Inside it contained 182 extremely rare books dating back from the 18th to the 19th century, along with the original furniture and fittings from that time.

The vast majority of the books document and describe exotic countries, far away regions and different civilisations. But perhaps most interestingly of all, in among these literary gems was an old atlas by Antwerp Abraham Ortelius.

During his life, he was considered the greatest cartographer of his time. The atlas which was discovered in the library dates from 1575 - it's widely considered the very first modern atlas. Only a hundred copies were printed at the time and many have been lost or damaged in the proceeding years.

This exceptional atlas is estimated to be worth around 40,000-45,000 euros, but in terms of its cultural significance, it's simply priceless.

As for the library itself, the auction will take place on June 20th - with the final price estimated to be somewhere between 32,500 to 41,000 euros. There's already significant interest from local residents and foreign buyers - each hoping to own this remarkable piece of history.

[JohnS]

This library is an amazing find!

[polarbear]

I really hope it was hidden behind a secret door or bookshelf

[MIKA27]

Mark Wahlberg Is Probably Done With The Transformers Movies

Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox left after three films. And now it seems like it's possible the latest Transformers star, Mark Wahlberg, won't even make it that far.

Wahlberg, who came onto the Transformers franchise with 2014's Age of Extinction, has suggested in two interviews that the fifth film in the series, The Last Knight, will be his second and last. Speaking on The Graham Norton Show, the actor said the new film is "the last one" for him and that he looks forward to "[getting] my life back".

That seems pretty definitive but, speaking to Collider, the actor was a little less certain.

Quote

I am [contracted for more] but look, I signed on to make these movies with Michael. After Pain and Gain I was like, "Whatever you want to do. Anytime anywhere just let me know." So we'll see. But usually I'm going with Bay.

Wahlberg is referring to the fact that his director Michael Bay has (once again) stated The Last Knight will be his final Transformers movie. However, it's something he's said before multiple times, and with many more Transformers movie in the works, I wouldn't bet on Bay or Wahlberg never returning.

We've reached out to Paramount for comment on Wahlberg's status but haven't heard back as of writing.

All of this leads to a bigger question, though. Do the human characters matter in this franchise? The pattern will seemingly continue with the next film, the Bumblebee spin-off, starring Haliee Steinfeld. Her casting once again suggests the movie will focus less on the robots and more on the humans. And yes, that's always been the case and it's always worked on for the bottom line. So maybe it doesn't matter if 80 per cent of the movie features Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg or Daffy Duck. As long as there are some giant robots, the cash will keep rolling in.

[MIKA27]

Yes, The Dark Tower Movie Is A Sequel To The Books

Ever since a tweet of a very important prop was posted to Twitter last winter, fans have assumed that the upcoming Dark Tower movie is a sequel to the books. And now, the film's director has confirmed that.

"It is, in fact, a continuation," director Nik Arcel told IGN. "It is a canon continuation. That's exactly what we intended and what Stephen King has signed off on."

The tweet in question is the one below which, if you're read the books, speaks volumes.

To explain why that horn and text is so important, it's necessary to spoil the ending of King's series. So if you are planning on reading the books before The Dark Tower is out in August (which I recently did) you may want to go away. But if not, keep reading. Just know that the movie has been structured and conceived so it's not necessary to have any knowledge of the books, which also fits in with the world.

OK, so at the end of the seventh book, The Dark Tower, Roland makes it to the top of the Dark Tower. Finally. And there he realises that though he's saved the world, it's his destiny to repeat his journey again and again and again. The book then ends just as the first book began... with one very small but very crucial difference. We realise that Roland now has the Horn of Eld, a relic from his past that he discarded in the book version of the story.

Since the Roland at the end of the books now has the Horn, it suggests that this time, the story of Roland's journey to the Dark Tower will be different. And the text "Last Time Around" makes it sound like, finally, after thousands of years, the story we see in the movie (or movies, if it all works out) will be his final trip.

So no. The Dark Tower movie is not a 1:1 adaptation of the books. It's a sequel to the books and a pseudo-reboot as well. Which, according to Arcel, King was happy about. After seeing the film for the first time, the author wrote to the director. "He said 'This is not exactly my novel but this is very much the spirt and the tone and I'm very happy.'"

The Dark Tower opens August 17. 

[MIKA27]

Killer Tsunami In Greenland Possibly Triggered By Landslide

Four people are missing and nearly a dozen homes were flooded after a rare tsunami struck the west coast of Greenland on Saturday. Initial reports attributed the giant wave to a magnitude four earthquake, but speculation is emerging that the highly-localised tsunami was actually produced by a massive landslide.

The tsunami, which struck on Saturday night local time, has left two people seriously injured, many homes damaged, and a small, isolated community in shock. "It's hard to believe what happened last night," noted Greenland's Prime Minister Kim Kielsen in a Facebook post. "After the earthquake in Nuugaatsiaq we were made aware that the forces of nature can suddenly change... what happened is tragic and my thoughts are with everyone from Nuugaatsiaq."

A video captured by Olina Angie K. Nielsen shows the panicked moment when the wave hit the village. In classic tsunami fashion, the ocean appears to move inland, flooding dwellings and damaging structures, and then receding back into the ocean. Helicopters and medical staff were dispatched to the village, and some 39 residents have been evacuated. At least four people are missing, but concerns of aftershocks have delayed attempts to recover the bodies.

Initially, the tsunami was attributed to a magnitude four earthquake, but as geologist Dave Petley points out at the Landslide Blog, the large — but highly isolated — tsunami may have been caused by a landslide:

Quote

It appears that the local seismological bureau recorded the event as a magnitude 4.0 earthquake, with the tsunami striking a few minutes later. Greenland is not a particularly seismically-active area, and as far as I can tell this earthquake has not been recorded more widely. This, combined with the localised nature of the tsunami, suggest that the cause is most likely to have been a very large landslide, either from the fjord walls or under the water (or maybe both).

Peter Voss, a geologist with the National Geological Surveys for Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), told the Greenland Broadcasting Corporation that his team detected a signal suggestive of an earthquake, but that a landslide can't be ruled out. He theorises that a major slope from a mountain triggered the waves. "The slump has made a large part of the mountain collapse into the fjord and has created this wave," he told GBC.

Allison Bent, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, told the CBC that, "Based on the magnitude, we suspect it wasn't the earthquake itself that triggered the tsunami, but in all likelihood, the earthquake triggered an underwater landslide, and that is what triggered the tsunami," she said.

Michael MacFerrin from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Copenhagen, Denmark, says the landslide theory makes sense given Greenland's geology.

"For the most part, Greenland is not a very seismically active area," he told Gizmodo. "Its geology is composed primarily of old, metamorphic rocks and as far as I know is typically very stable (compared to, say, Iceland). Earthquakes in Baffin Bay (off the coast of NW Greenland) are quite rare, and it isn't a region known to have tsunami warning systems anywhere. So this would likely have come as a rather large surprise to anyone there. From initial reports it seems very plausible it was caused by a landslide (either into the water somewhere in the fjord, or subsurface under the water), but I really don't know without any data."

The recent disaster is a reminder that Greenland is not immune to tsunamis. Back in 2000, a tsunami slammed into Disco Bay, also on Greenland's west coast.

MIKA: Is it just me, but this footage doesn't look much more than a flood versus Tsunami.

[MIKA27]

Could This Be the Greatest Nut Shot Montage Ever Compiled?

The dick joke is among the oldest forms of human comedy and that's precisely why seeing a man get hit in the nuts is an equally reliable branch of comedy. A single clip of a guy getting a ball to the balls is always hilarious. And a montage just makes for a sustained combination of joy and sympathy.

But what makes a nut-shot video better than others? It comes down to curation of clips and also production. This video, compiled by Stefan Heck of Real Good Show, hits both criteria perfectly with a blend of modern and classic nut-shots set to Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill".

 

[MIKA27]

Who Knew Lumber Could Be So Mesmerizing?

Brett Foxwell, an engineer/animator based in Oakland, California, recently released a video to accompany the musician bedtimes' new single, WoodSwimmer. Using a milling machine and animation camera, Foxwell photographically scanned cross-sections of new and old wood samples.

What's achieved is a mesmerizing display. The growth rings, viewed in rapid sequence, appear to literally swim and melt and seamlessly mesh. Seen through the camera's lens, the milling process takes on a supernatural quality. The wavy images on-screen intensify the experience of listening to bedtimes' electronic beats.

The abstract imagery Foxwell creates with WoodSwimmer takes viewers on a deep dive into both the materiality of the wood and the time inbeded in its shape.

Some of his other work includes stop-motion animation "Fabricated," which took him ten years to make, and animations for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Here's the vids as a bonus:

Fabricated:

Star Wars 

 

[MIKA27]

This Guitar Is Built from Old Whiskey Casks

Music and whiskey have gone together for as long as the two have existed, and for the Irish, Lowden and Bushmills have made a significant impact on each, respectively.

George Lowden has been building guitars in Ireland since 1974 and Bushmills has been distilling for about ten times as long and a teamup was almost inevitable. Using barrel wood from the Bushmills whiskey casks, Ancient Bog Oak, and reclaimed redwood, Lowden is crafting a guitar to honor the legacies of both the distillery and his contribution to Irish guitar making. The barrel wood makes up the back inlay, soundbox bevel, bindings, rosette, head facings, and 12th fret inlay, while bog oak is used for the back and sides and reclaimed redwood for the soundboard. These are beautiful guitars that are built to be played and mark Lowden’s passing on of his skills, just as the Kane family does with coopering for Bushmills.

[MIKA27]

SMITH CABIN

Set on the backside of Aspen Mountain, the Smith Cabin is a rustic getaway with unparalleled views. Thanks to its location, you get a unique perspective of the surrounding mountains and the ghost town of Ashcroft. The house itself sleeps up to nine people in three bedrooms, has an inviting, open kitchen/living area with fireplace, and extends outside onto a spacious deck. Depending on the season, there are plenty of outdoor activities like hiking and skiing nearby, and downtown Aspen is just a 35-minute drive away.