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

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GURKHA CELLAR RESERVE 21 YEAR CIGAR

The fifth installment in their Cellar Reserve line, this cigar from Gurkha uses 21-year-old Dominican filler tobacco. The limited release smoke is the first in the Cellar Reserve series to be wrapped in blonde Connecticut Shade and measures six inches long with a 60 ring gauge and a coiled pigtail cap. The figuardo includes Dominican and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, is mild to medium strength, and is the most complex cigar in Gurka's flagship series to date.

MIKA: Is anyone a fan of Gurkha here? Any good?

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Doomed 19th-Century Arctic Expedition Wasn't Brought Down By Lead Poisoning, Study Finds

The Franklin Expedition, a 19th-century mission to chart a fabled northwest passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, ended in the deaths of all 128 crewmen. A prevailing theory suggests lead poisoning was a major contributor to the sailors’ ultimate demise—a theory that can finally be put to rest, according to new research.

In 1845, two British ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, set sail for the frigid waters of the North American Arctic. The purpose of the mission, led by Sir John Franklin, was to discover and chart a potential corridor through the Northwest Passage, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Tragically, none of the 128 crew members survived the expedition, and the mystery of their deaths has endured for nearly 175 years.

During the first winter, the crew took shelter on Beechey Island, where three sailors died and were buried. The expedition resumed in the spring of 1846, but by September the ships had become hopelessly trapped in ice near King William Island. Incredibly, the crew stayed with their ships until April 1848, at which time the remaining 105 crewmen finally abandoned the Erebus and Terror, heading south on foot in hopes of finding aid. No one survived.

Over the years, some of the gravesites of the sailors have been uncovered, containing well-preserved bodies, and both ships have been discovered by Canadian archaeologists; the wreck of the Erebus was found in 2014 south of King William Island in Nunavut, and the Terror was discovered in 2016 in Terror Bay. Many questions remain about the final months and days of the expedition, including the ways in which the sailors perished.

Previous analyses of the bone, hair, and soft tissue from the recovered bodies, along with oral accounts from indigenous peoples, suggested the crewmen died from an assortment of causes, such as lead poisoning, exposure, starvation, scurvy, botulism, tuberculosis, and Addison’s disease (a form of adrenal insufficiency brought on by tuberculosis).

Lead poisoning, in particular, was seen as a major contributor to the sailors’ deaths, who may have been exposed to lead from tin cans and possibly the ships’ water filtration system. And indeed, previous studies did uncover unusually high levels of lead in some of the skeletal remains, but many questions remained unanswered, such as source of the lead and the level and duration of exposure. To complicate matters, lead exposure was common in the 19th century, so while the lead within the skeletal remains seemed high, it’s not known how these levels compared to other sailors in the British navy during the same period.

New research published today in PLOS One delves further into this particular issue, concluding that lead poisoning did not play a pivotal role in the deaths of the Franklin Expedition sailors. To reach this conclusion, a research team from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and several other Canadian institutions examined three hypotheses.

First, those who survived longer should’ve exhibited more extensive uptake of lead, as evidenced by microstructures found within their bones. Second, the bone that formed during the final days and months of the sailors’ lives should’ve exhibited elevated levels of lead. And lastly, if the lead was a contributing factor, bone samples should contain higher or more sustained levels of lead compared to a contemporaneous and relevant sample group—namely a 19th-century British naval population that was living in Antigua around the same time. Archaeologists recently conducted excavations of this Caribbean site, looking into whether rum and the way it was distilled, may have been a cause of lead poisoning among the members of the British navy. This data made it possible to do a comparative analysis with the Franklin Expedition.

The microscopic details of a crew member’s femur, as seen by confocal X-ray fluorescence imaging. It shows a map of lead concentrations, where the yellow indicates lighter concentrations, and the darker red indicates heavier concentrations. 

To test these conjectures, the researchers used a high-resolution scanning technique known as confocal X-ray fluorescence imaging. This technique produces 3D images of materials, such as bone, down to a resolution of 20 microns.

Looking at the data, the researchers could not find any evidence to support the assertion that those who lived longer had more exposure to lead. The second hypothesis, that bone formed in the final days of the crew’s lives should contain elevated lead levels, “was only partially supported in that evidence indicated [lead] exposure but it was not markedly elevated for most individuals,” as the researchers write in their study. Finally, the comparative analysis with the Royal Navy remains from Antigua “did not support the hypothesis that the Franklin sailors were exposed to an extraordinarily high level of [lead] for the time.”

Taken together, the researchers concluded that “the skeletal microstructural [lead] distribution data do not support the conclusion that [lead] played a pivotal role in the loss of Franklin and his crew.”

Russell Taichman, a professor at the University of Michigan in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine and an expert on the various ailments afflicting the members of the Franklin Expedition, told Gizmodo that the new paper was “very well done,” and the “controls were good and the conclusions justified.” Taichman, who wasn’t involved in the study, found it “very interesting” that “lead poisoning was not ubiquitous as a cause of widespread failure,” but he believes the paper presents some findings “which leave more to be done.” For example, he said, “some of the samples had much higher lead levels than others—why? A clear answer is not known. It leaves room for more investigation.”

As to what ultimately killed the sailors, it’s not too difficult to imagine.

“I would suspect that their problems probably multiplied as time went by,” Tamara Varney, a co-author of the new study and a member of Lakehead’s anthropology department, told the CBC. “Their food would have been limited, so they would have been starving. They would have had nutritional deficiencies. And any health problems individuals would have had going into the expedition that maybe weren’t a problem at the time, I imagine as time went on those would have become more magnified and manifest.”

In other words, they died a slow, miserable death. It was certainly a rough time to be a sailor—especially on trips to the Canadian Arctic.

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New Bad Times at the El Royale: Poster, 2 Pictures, and Trailer

20th Century Fox is mostly focused on promoting The Predator right now but that doesn’t mean they’re completely ignoring their other movies. One of the ones to keep an eye on is Bad Times at the El Royale which looks like some weird combination of a Tarantino movie and Cabin in the Woods.

Fox dropped a new trailer, two new images, and a new poster that gives us a better idea of what the plot is. Which is that this movie looks like it’s going to be completely bananas.

Quote

Summary: Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell.

It will be released on October 5th.

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MERCEDES-BENZ EQ SILVER ARROW SHOW CAR

The Mercedes-Benz W125 Silver Arrow Grand Prix car was ahead of its time upon its debut in 1937 and one of the most powerful race cars ever built until the 1960s. Mercedes drew on this racing history for the EQ Silver Arrow concept, an all-electric single-seater that harks back the company's prewar designs. The nearly eighteen-foot-long car has 738 horsepower thanks to electric motors at the front and rear axles. In a nod to the future, the dash screen alerts the driver to which lane features inductive charging — powering the car without the need to stop and charge. While the EQ Silver Arrow won't see production, it is a glimpse into what Mercedes has planned for the future of automobiles.

 

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APPLESTONE MEAT CO. VENDING MACHINES

Joshua Applestone was an important part of the growth of whole-animal butchery. Now he's out to reshape another part of the business: purchasing. His Applestone Meat Co. Vending Machines let you grab quality cuts anytime, not just when the butcher is available. Currently, four of the machines sit at the company's Stone Ridge, NY shop, and are constantly restocked with beef, pork, lamb, and ground meats. The company will soon be expanding to Hudson, Scarsdale, and, eventually, Manhattan, with new, custom machines to make the purchasing process even easier.

 

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Physicists Achieve Incredible Electron-Accelerating Feat At Small Scale

Particle physics experiments are huge—they have to be, in order to accelerate particles with enough energy to properly study them. The Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland is nearly 27km around, while others are closer to the 3km range. But scientists working on a new experiment reported Wednesday that they’ve accelerated electrons to high energies in just 10.06m.

The Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) at CERN in Geneva is a prototype for a new kind of machine that could accelerate electrons over a fraction of the distance needed by other accelerators. AWAKE still relies on protons created in CERN’s large rings, but “wakefield” accelerators like these could become a game-changing technology for the future of particle physics.

“What I think is exciting about wakefield acceleration is the possibility of developing for a future where accelerators will be much shorter with much-reduced costs,” Matthew Wing, professor of physics at University College London in the United Kingdom, told Gizmodo.

Typically, particle physics experiments use oscillating electric fields, called radiofrequency cavities, and high-powered magnets to accelerate particles to high energies. But these experiments must grow quite large if scientists hope to produce the highest-energy particles.

A promising candidate to accelerate particles more efficiently is the wakefield accelerator. Physicists send a beam of either electrons, protons, or a laser through a plasma. Free electrons in the plasma move toward the beam, but overshoot it, then come crashing back, creating a bubble structure behind the beam and intense electric fields. If you inject particles, like more electrons, into the wake, it can accelerate the injected particles in a shorter amount of time with an electric field 10 or more times stronger.

Wing and his colleagues announced that for the first time, using a beam of protons from CERN’s 6km-round Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), they were able to create a beam of electrons with 2 giga-electron volts (GeV) of energy in just 10 meters, or 10.06m, of plasma, according to the paper published in Nature. And they think that they could scale up the device to make a powerful accelerator a fraction the size of present-day electron accelerators.

“We could potentially get an electron beam to the tera-electron volt scale over a relatively short distance—which is almost unfeasible with [other] accelerators,” said Wing. That’s a thousand times more energy than the AWAKE electrons currently have.

For reference, an electron volt is how much energy an electron gains by moving across a single volt of electric potential. A cathode ray tube in an old television might accelerate electrons to 20,000 electron volts, or 20 keV. Two high-powered electron accelerators in the U.S. can accelerate electrons to 6 billion and 50 billion electron volts (6 to 50 GeV), but are around a mile long or more. AWAKE was able to accelerate electrons to 2 GeV in just 10.06m of plasma. According to Wing’s simulations, AWAKE might soon be able to accelerate electrons to 50 GeV in 74.68m of plasma.

While the plasma field is only 10.06m long, it still requires a 6km-round SPS accelerator create the proton beam. But scientists don’t need to use protons to accelerate the electrons. They can also use laser pulses, and physicists have used the building-sized Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator to create GeV-energy electrons with laser pulses.

CERN may one day be able to build a reasonably sized but incredibly powerful electron accelerator powered by proton beams from either the LHC or the SPS. Electrons, being smaller and simpler than protons, make a useful probe for learning more about complex structures like atomic nuclei.

Mark Hogan, a physicist working on accelerator science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California who not involved in the study, expressed excitement at the new results. This was, after all, the first successful wakefield acceleration using protons to create the wake. But he explained that there’s a lot more work for AWAKE on the horizon, including increasing the energy and number of accelerated electrons and focusing the electron beams. He also mentioned that this wouldn’t replace linear colliders like the planned International Linear Collider, but would be a complementary technology.

Five to 10 years from now, Hogan said, we may begin to see the first physics experiments relying on wakefield technology, perhaps wobbling the accelerated electrons to produce high-powered laser beams that would be useful for biological or physics studies.

CERN will soon shut down for a few years for an upgrade, allowing AWAKE to upgrade as well. Wing has loftier goals. “I think we can soon achieve the highest-energy electron beam around.”

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ONE LOOK UP COULD HAVE ENDED THIS PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE

On assignment in a cave teeming with bats and snakes, Joel Sartore thought he knew the dangers. But the real threat came when he stepped outside.

Several years ago, on assignment for National Geographic, I ventured inside a cave in Uganda to photograph a roost of roughly 100,000 Egyptian fruit bats. The bats are common throughout Africa, but this cave was special—shaped like an arch with light shining in at both ends. The rock ceiling was low, which meant the bats would be close and the shooting relatively easy.

I wore a respirator as a precaution. The only real danger, I thought, would come from the pythons and forest cobras slinking across the cave floor as they hunted for downed bats. I would be fine if I just watched my step. Or so I thought.

After working for a few hours, I exited the cave at dusk, packed up my gear, and began the long hike back to the road with my guide. I was filthy and tired but excited about the images I’d just taken and the fact that the bats didn’t seem to mind my being there.

A hundred steps away from the cave, I’d just taken off my respirator and glasses when I heard a tremendous mechanical clamour above my head, the sound of a thousand windup toys all going off at once. Then came an ammonia-laced gust of wind as the bats in the cave poured up and out into the gloaming to begin their nightly foraging.

I looked up, just for a second, and caught a juicy dollop of fresh guano directly in my left eye. It was hot, and it burned. I knew right away this was a “wet contact,” potentially as dangerous as a bite.

I’ve photographed animals for decades, and I know the drill: It’s not the bears or lions that get you; it’s the little stuff. I’ve had botfly larvae bury themselves in my hands and lower back. Then there was mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease caused by a flesh-eating parasite. That one required a month of chemotherapy. My parents, of course, lived in absolute fear every time I went to the tropics.

Back at camp I immediately called the Ugandan arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to see if the agency knew what, if anything, these bats might be carrying. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “You shouldn’t have gone in there,” said the man. “Marburg circulates in that cave.”

The Marburg virus is a terrible, messy death. It causes a hemorrhagic fever (translation: you bleed, everywhere) that’s similar to that from Ebola (only it kills you a little faster sometimes).

There’s no easy way to test for Marburg. If I was infected, the symptoms would arrive in three days to three weeks: severe headache, organ failure, and a raging fever so bad I wouldn’t remember much—if I lived. In some outbreaks the death toll has been as high as 90 percent. My odds of survival would likely improve in the United States. “Go home now,” the man said, “before you have any chance of becoming contagious.”

Once back in Nebraska, I went into quarantine inside my own house, in a small attic bedroom that overlooks the street. For the first time I thought relentlessly about death. I remember it being sunny outside, the birds singing, the garbage truck roaring through the neighborhood. Every day like clockwork my dog barked at the mailman. Indeed the whole world acted as if nothing at all was wrong. I thought, Don’t they know what’s going on in here? Of course not. If they did, it would make national news.

For three weeks I stayed away from my family. I watched my daughter’s birthday party from across the hall. I found my meals on a tray outside my door. I didn’t eat much though. I just sat and thought, Do I feel hot? Does my head hurt? Yes? Maybe? Maybe not? I took my temperature 50 times a day. At the slightest hint of a fever, I was to drive myself immediately to the nearest hospital, just two miles away, where they had a negative-air-pressure room (to keep the virus from getting loose) all set up with my name on it. Inside that room, I imagined, there would be a negative-air-pressure tent surrounding my bed to seal me in even further.

Up until now this assignment on the wildlife of Africa’s Albertine Rift had been a thrilling ride. We’d put camera traps on water holes and carcasses, capturing images of hippos, hyenas, and leopards from just inches away. I’d watched vervet monkeys steal the food right off my dinner plate. I’d been charged by an elephant, a lion, and a mountain gorilla—my fault, of course, for trying to get just a little closer.

But that was then, and a world away. Here in Lincoln, Nebraska, the time crawled by in my little room. I remember removing a clock because it ticked too loudly, another heartbeat I didn’t need. I wondered if my photos were good enough. I wondered what photos I’d missed by not staying in Uganda until the end of my assignment time. But more than that, I wondered if, once I was out of the woods, I would appreciate all that I’d been given: my family, my life, and the absolute privilege to try to save the last wild places using photographs—something I still can’t believe I’ve been able to do for a living.

On Day 22, with the quarantine over and no sign of sickness, I could finally emerge. I sat down at my own dinner table for the first time since leaving for Africa. My wife, Kathy, and all three of our kids were there, preparing a special meal to celebrate the end of my quarantine. Then someone turned on a blender.

Just for a moment, the room was filled with the sound of a thousand bats taking flight. I closed my eyes tight, just in case.

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Beosound Edge Speaker

Bang & Olufsen has designed fantastic home audio products for almost a century. Whether you’re talking about a smart alarm clock or some of the best noise-cancelling earbuds on the market, B&O always combines cutting edge audio technology with great design—though that does means its products tend to cost more than other options. The new B&O Beosound Edge Speaker is the perfect example. Yes, it costs thousands of dollars; but it’s also a unique speaker and piece of art without a rival. The active bass port opens or closes based on volume level. The circular design makes it look more like a clock without hands than a speaker. Then there’s the unique control mechanism, which allows you to adjust the volume by rolling the speaker, even when it’s mounted to the wall. It looks great. It sounds even better. The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Edge is expected to launch in November with a price of $3,500

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2019 FORD GT HERITAGE EDITION

With the notable exception of Ferrari's famous rosso, there's hardly a more iconic race car livery than the Zenith Blue and Tangerine of the Gulf Oil-sponsored, 1968 Le Mans-winning Ford GT40. In a phenomenon known as equiluminant colors, when two colors side-by-side have an equal luminance, they almost seem to vibrant with tension — an unintended side effect that adds to the mystique of the color scheme. Similar to the 2004 GT, Ford is offering it's new GT supercar in a Heritage Edition featuring the Gulf colors. The interior has ebony Alcantara and blue and orange contrast stitching, with exposed carbon fiber accents inside and out. Orange brake calipers and a serialized number plate identify this as a very limited edition of Ford's already-limited race car for the street.

 

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COMO UMA CANGGU RESORT

Whether you're interested in hanging ten or just hanging out, the Como Uma Canggu Resort is a vacationer's dream. The oceanfront resort is located on Bali's south coast on one of the island's best surfing beaches. For those who have never ridden a wave, Tropicsurf offers lessons to guests of all abilities. Land lovers can hang at the Beach Club and snack on surf shack fare or slip into a holistic on-site spa. Accommodations come in the form of 52 spacious rooms and suites but the most secluded experience comes from their 67 surfside residences. Featuring multiple bedrooms and ocean views, the villas offer rooftop pools, private butler services, balconies, and direct access to the property's massive lagoon pool.

 

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Greek Farmer Discovers 3400 Year-Old Tomb Beneath His Olive Grove

Unbeknownst to a Greek farmer, a 3400-year-old tomb containing two coffins and dozens of artefacts dating back to the Late Minoan era had been lying beneath his olive grove in southeast Crete.

As reported in Cretapost, the unnamed farmer was trying to park his vehicle under the shade of an olive tree when the ground beneath him began to sink. After pulling away, the farmer noticed that a hole, measuring about 1.2m wide, had suddenly appeared. As he gazed into the void from above, he quickly realised he had stumbled upon something important.

The farmer contacted the Lassithi Ephorate of Antiquities — the local heritage ministry — which sent archaeologists to investigate. The farmer, as it turns out, had stumbled upon a Late Minoan era tomb containing a pair of coffins, each containing a single skeleton. Two dozen pots with coloured ornaments were also found inside the tomb, according to the ministry.

The hole.

The hole in the olive grove had opened up on account of a broken irrigation tube, which made the soil soft.

“According to the ceramic typology, and according to the first estimates, the tomb can be dated to the Late Minoan IIIA-B period, approximately from 1400 to 1200 BC,” explained the ministry in a statement. The tomb is located near the village of Kentri in southeast Crete.

The tomb consists of three subsections that were dug into the limestone. 

Importantly, the tomb, at a depth of 2.5m, has never been disturbed by looters. Archaeologists are now in the process of collecting as much information about the chamber and its contents as possible.

Some 3400 years ago, the tomb was dug into the region’s soft limestone, with access made possible by a vertical trench. The tomb is comprised of three carved niches, and the entrance was eventually sealed by stone masonry, according to the ministry.

One of two skeletons found in the tomb.

The two clay burial coffins, called larnakes, were in excellent condition, and embossed with ornamentations. The coffins each held a single male skeleton, the identities of which aren’t known, but the quality of the pottery suggest they were high-status individuals. Larnakes are small, closed coffins that were often used in Minoan culture. Bodies had to be placed in tight crouching positions to make them fit inside.

Larnakes debuted in Minoan times during the Aegean Bronze Age. They were initially made from ceramic materials and made to look like wooden chests. These coffins were often decorated with abstract patterns, or scenes depicting hunting and religious rituals.

The archaeologists now plan to study the skeletons in more detail, so hopefully we’ll learn more about these ancient Minoan individuals.

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The Most Powerful Storm Of 2018 Is Headed Toward Japan

The Atlantic hurricane season may be slipping by to little fanfare (so far), but it’s a different story in the northwest Pacific. A dangerous super typhoon currently packing 274km/h winds could make landfall in Japan early next week.

Typhoon Jebi, which started getting organised east of Guam on August 27, exploded to life over the last few days, intensifying from a Category 1 to a Category 5-equivalent storm in less than 48 hours between August 29-30.

Colorado State University tropical storm expert Philip Klotzbach told us that based on its central pressure and maximum windspeeds, Jebi has achieved the dubious distinction of most powerful cyclone to date this year.

Currently located 585km northwest of Saipan, Jebi is moving west-northwest at 22km/h, continuing its trek over open ocean into the weekend before making an expected northward veer early next week.

That turn will place it on a direct course for mainland Japan. Recent model runs show a high chance of the storm making landfall near Kyoto, potentially as a powerful typhoon.

“Jebi was in a fairly classic environment for rapid strengthening,” Weather Underground meteorologist Bob Henson told us via email, citing warm ocean waters and favourable upper level wind conditions. “Its forecast track is also a textbook case of recurvature”, with initial movement toward the west or northwest before curving around to the north at mid-latitudes.

Henson added that because Japan’s islands run southwest to northeast, “a small change in the track could have a big impact on exactly where Jebi makes landfall”.

East of Shioku and south of Honshu, the storm could kick up waves up to 10m high as it approaches Japan, creating a hazard for ships, according to AccuWeather. But the real concern is the impact on the heavily populated areas within the storm’s forecast cone of uncertainty, including Tokyo. Flooding, mudslides and destructive winds are all possible impacts.

If this feels familiar, it is because we’ve been here before. Japan has already seen heavy rainfall associated with two typhoons, a tropical depression and a tropical storm this month, AccuWeather notes. In July, western and central Japan experienced historic rainfall and deadly landslides brought on in part with Typhoon Prapiroon, with Typhoon Maria following closely on its heels and delivering even more rain to the nation’s southern Ryukyu islands.

With northern hemisphere tropical cyclone activity often peaking in September and lasting through November, Japan may not be out of the woods for a while.

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Look At This Wacky Smartphone Watch

With Samsung working on bendy displays to put in flexible phones and even providing those screens to Chinese phonemakers to help grow the ecosystem, it’s clear a new era for smartphones is just around the corner. However, it seems as though Nubia couldn’t wait that long. At IFA 2018, the company released a frankly outrageous flexible screen device that looks like smartwatch, but promises even more.

But what may be the most ambitious thing about the Nubia-α — which the team behind it says was inspired by sci-fi — is that it isn’t just a concept. Nubia actually has plans to put this thing on sale sometime before the end of the year.

The highlight feature of the Nubia-α is obviously its massive flexible display that wraps nearly halfway around its chunky segmented band. Nubia says this proprietary display was created to help reduce gadget fatigue by making available “all essential functions of a smartphone to the user at their fingertips”.

And in keeping with that idea, the Nubia-α includes a built-in 4G modem for true standalone wireless connectivity and even an onboard camera, which presumably you’d use for making video calls. But essentially that’s all we know because any other details about the Nubia-α are incredibly sparse.

Nubia hasn’t said what chip is powering the device, which manufacturer made that funky display, what OS the thing is running, or even anything about an expected price. But what’s even more troubling is that while these product renders look pretty slick, photos of the actual device from Nubia’s IFA booth paint a somewhat different story.

To start, just peep how wide that band is. I’ve seen bicycle tyres thinner than that. Next, check out how thick the Nubia-α looks from the side. This thing could be massive. But the most ridiculous thing about the Nubia-α is that rounded square in the middle where I assume its components are stored. It looks like a techy snake alien swallowed an Apple Watch.

Edgar Allan Poe once said, “There is no exquisite beauty… without some strangeness in the proportion,” and even though there’s no way he ever had something like the Nubia-a in mind when he thought that up, I feel as though it works quite well here.

OK, enough wild reactions, because as far out as the this thing is, you’ve got to give some Nubia some credit for even trying. Though if upcoming bendy phones are anything like the Nubia-α, we better prepare ourselves for some growing pains as people try to make the whole flexible phone idea happen.

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The Space Race Continues in This New Trailer for First Man

First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle, stars Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Pablo Schreiber, Kyle Chandler, Jon Bernthal, and Jason Clarke. It will be released on October 12th.

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METALLICA ‘BLACKENED’ AMERICAN WHISKEY

Providing a personal account of earth’s dismal future in Blackened — an apocalyptic thrash metal track on Metallica’s fourth studio album titled …And Justice for All — James Hetfield laid it all on the line in a meaningful manner that still rings true today. And while the late-80s harbinger of our current state remains relevant, at least now we’ll have some killer whiskey to sip on to ease the pain.

What’s left is Metallica’s Blackened American Whiskey, a direct result of their partnership with legendary distiller Dave Pickerell of WhistlePig that not only features a fine blend of hand-selected ryes and bourbon whiskeys but also incorporates selected Metallica tracks using a proprietary sonic enhancement method dubbed Black Noise™. Here, during the aging process in black brandy casks, the spirit is jolted with sound so it seeps deeper into the wood yielding a darker character and more balanced mouthfeel. We’re talking notes of burnt caramel, honey, and oak complemented with hints of cinnamon, allspice, clove, and mint on the palate. All in good taste and available now for pre-order.

 

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A Collection of Old Bond Posters Is Up for Auction

A humongous collection of vintage movie posters is up for sale through RM Sotheby’s, and while you can dig through and find plenty of gems on your own, we’re taking you right to the good stuff. Fifteen old James Bond movie posters will see the gavel drop, meaning this is your chance to score an original print for Dr. No (U.S. or Spanish version), From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, and many more. These aren’t modern-day prints in honor of Bond’s escapades; these are the actual posters that lined the walls of cinemas decades ago. Most of the highest bids are in the $1,000–$2,000 range, and there’s only five days remaining. If you want one, go make an offer.

 

 

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FOURSQUARE 2005 RUM

The legend of Foursquare Distilling continues to grow with the release of this cask strength rum. 2005 is a no frills, exceptional blend that recently took home the Supreme Champion award at the International Spirits Challenge, an honor given to the top overall spirit. The rum is a blend of distillates from pot stills and column stills that was aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels in the tropical climate of Barbados. No sugar or additives are included in this 118 proof standout, and just 12,000 bottles were released worldwide.

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MOLTENI&C GIO PONTI ARMCHAIR

Designed by the famed Italian architect, the Molteni&C Gio Ponti Armchair is a midcentury revival you'll be glad to see make the rounds again. The 1957 piece sports clean lines provided by a wood frame. Elastic straps support an upholstered cushion, giving the back and seat a just enough flexibility for a comfortable lounge. Each chair is hand assemble and comes in a variety of colors and finishes.

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The Insane Experience of Riding the World's Highest Tidal Wave

Navigating moguls of water from the highest tides in the world on Canada’s Shubenacadie River is an unforgettable experience.

“Don’t white knuckle this part,” our guide says from behind the wheel of the red zodiac as we bomb along the brown river. “Save that for when the tidal bore comes.” We’re on the Shubenacadie River (Shubie for short) in Nova Scotia, Canada, waiting for the highest tides in world to come barreling back into the Bay of Fundy and up the river.  

We’ve already been well briefed that we will get very wet. Our boat will fill with water. And if we like our sunglasses and hats, we should stash them because they are unlikely to stay on our heads. We’re also told to cinch up our life jackets nice ’n’ tight in case our guide has to grab the handle at the neck and pull us out of the river. Kim Artz has fished out more than a few rafters in her 18 years of guiding on the Shubenacadie. “Ninety-nine percent of them are laughing when I get them,” she assures us with a grin, her blonde ponytail flying.

Artz and her colleagues at Tidal Bore Rafting Resort study the tide tables and know exactly when the tide comes in to the Bay of Fundy—all 53 feet of it—and when the action will start and stop on the river. They’ve been taking guests out on the river since the ’80s, and in the years since a handful of other outfitters have joined the fun, loading zodiacs with up to eight people (plus a guide) to motor on the river for a few hours.

Dozens of rivers around the world experience tidal bores. It’s the first wave of water that rushes back into a river as the tides rise in the adjacent ocean. Tidal bores from Alaska to India attract hard core surfers. Others are too dangerous to play with. Some only happen a couple of times a year. But here on the sandy Shubenacadie, the tidal bore reverses the flow of the river twice a day, every day, creating the only place on Earth that’s ideal for up-river rafting. (If you’re a really keen on tidal bores, you can learn more dropping by the free Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre a few miles up the road).

Before the tidal bore arrives on the river, rafters enjoy a gentle float off a sandbar.

As we wait for the tide to do its thing, our flotilla of zodiacs pulls up to a sandbar to kill a little time. We get out and wander around. We write our names in the sand and wade into the shallow water to cool off, floating on our backs for a while. Then we hop back into the zodiacs and motor past red cliffs of mud while trying to keep count of dozens of bald eagles flying in and out of the tree tops. It’s all very peaceful as we wait for 160 billion metric tons of tidal water to come sloshing back our way.

Eventually Artz announces nonchalantly, “Here comes the tidal bore.” We look up to see a big white wave bearing down in the distance. It’s moving at a pretty good clip, about seven miles an hour. Artz hits the gas in the zodiac and hugs the shoreline as we head toward the wave. I tuck my hat into my life jacket, double check the straps are tight, and reach behind me to start white knuckling the ropes tethered to the zodiac.

We overshoot the tidal bore, turn around to “go with the flow” and head straight into four or maybe five foot waves. The first one washes over us and, as promised, drenches us to the bone. The second wave fills the boat to the brim before draining out the back. As we gear up for the third wave, the woman across from me starts laughing, maybe manically. I’m laughing too, but I’ve learned very quickly to keep my mouth shut as we crash into the moguls of water.

Unlike white-water rafting, where the river rushes over rocks, this water is “taking the shape of waves” as it rushes over the sand, says Artz. I don’t understand the physics of standing waves, but I do get that it’s a good idea to brace my legs against the side of the zodiac as we circle back for another go. Artz moves fast to get in as many runs as we can before the roller coaster ride ends. “As the water gets higher, you lose the friction from the sand that causes the waves, and the river goes flat,” she says.  

We get in six or seven trips in about 20 minutes before heading to a narrower part of the river where the brown water is churning violently and looks, I think, the way things will appear at end times. This is the “washing machine” and we go through the cycle a few times. Finally, thoroughly washed, rinsed and spun out, the zodiacs take us to the river bank where we ditch our life jackets to go mud sliding.

“You guys are always our entertainment at the mud slides,” says Artz. It’s hard to decide which is more fun: climbing up the banks looking for footholds in the thick gobs of chocolate mousse-like mud or sliding down and landing in the river with a splash. Regardless of our ages, and there’s a big range, we’re all behaving like we’re eight years old. “The adults are always the last ones back in the zodiacs,” says Artz. Sure enough, the guides have to tell us more than once to climb back in. We do, eventually, and a little reluctantly, and we arrive back at the resort wet, muddy, and happy.

After a day on the water, guests at the Tidal Bore Rafting Resort enjoy a rum tasting as they relax around the campfire.

And maybe a little more curious about the magic of tides. There’s nothing like learning about the gravitational pull of a celestial body than slamming into a wave or two. But as opposed to white water rafting, where you have to wear a helmet and know what you’re doing, on this river trip (which costs about $45 to $73 [$60 to $95 CDN]) grade school kids to grandmas just need to know how to hang on in this real-life water park.  

After a couple of showers, I hang my once-blue-now-brown bathing suit on the deck at my cabin in the woods and walk to the campfire to swap muddy stories over samples of local beers and ciders. We eat dinner on a giant deck overlooking the now-gently flowing river. We feast on lobster, rolls, and salad. After a little bowl of ice cream and berries, we head back to the campfire for a few samples of rum and a few more stories. As we settle in for the night on the quiet banks of the Shubenacadie, lunar forces are at work pulling the water out again.

 

[MIKA27]

In The New Halloween Trailer, Michael Myers Might Meet His Maker

You might have recently heard that Michael Myers, the madman who stalked Laurie Strode and solidified his status as a horror icon in John Carpenter’s original Halloween, is on his way back to finish what he started.

While this is true, the latest Halloween trailer suggests that when Michael and Laurie reunite, she’s going to be packing and ready to send him straight to Hell.

The entire appeal of the Halloween reboot and the film’s decision to ignore all of the subsequent Halloween sequels after the original is that this franchise has always been about Laurie’s drive and desire to survive.

Halloween doesn’t need a gimmick because in this grounded reality all that matters is the fact that Laurie survived, Michael’s coming for her, and they’re going to duke it out for good in the film.

Of course, this is a Halloween movie, so there’s plenty of Michael stomping around, dropping fistfuls of teeth on the floor, terrifying unsuspecting people who’re simply trying to enjoy their Halloweens. So gather your wits and steady your aim because Halloween is coming to cinemas October 25.

[MIKA27]

DIESEL ON FULL GUARD 2.5 SMARTWATCH

Diesel is known for their intriguing, distinctive large watch designs, and they’ve caught our attention again with a neon-infused timepiece. Their On Full Guard 2.5 smartwatch will literally light your wrist up, allowing it to stand out like the infamous Vegas strip at night.

Improving on their previous iteration, the On Full Guard 2.5 timepiece skips 2.0 to express how much more is packed into this smartwatch. The watch has a 454 x 454-pixel resolution, runs on Google’s Wear OS operation system, and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 with 512 MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. This time around, the watch is also packing a heart rate sensor, onboard GPS, and NFC while being water-resistant up to 50 meters. Despite all that tech, this fashion-forward timepiece’s main attraction is its neon Flicker dial, which allows it to change colors automatically throughout the day, and its heart rate dial that ripples when tapped. The 45.5mm smartwatch comes in matte steel with a black strap, a gunmetal case with a brown strap, a matte black steel case with a silicone strap, and a gunmetal steel case with a three-link bracelet. All styles will be available in October.

[MIKA27]

This Luxury Resort Is Built Inside a Cave

We’ve wanted our own cave since we first read a Batman comic book. Here we are now, many moons later, and still no cave. WTF? Well, finally, we’re about to get a little of that sweet, sweet cave action, because we’re booking a night at Beckham Creek Cave, a luxurious hotel built into a cliff. And this isn’t some lame-o tourist trap; this thing is worthy of Bruce Wayne. The 4-bedroom, 4-bath rocky abode offer guests up to 6,000 square feet of space to enjoy. There’s a front patio and firepit outside for the times when you need to escape from inside your cave, but that probably won’t happen often. The kitchen is filled with high-end gas appliances, the living area has a 75-inch LED TV, and the master suite has a spa-like private bath. There’s also plenty of hiking, fishing, and canoeing possibilities in the surrounding areas. Pricing starts at $1,200 a night and goes up to $1,600 a night for the busier season. We think it’s worth every penny, Mr. Wayne.

[MIKA27]

Starbucks Just Opened Its Most Gorgeous Shop Yet

Pop into any Starbucks and your surroundings will feel immediately familiar. There’s the glass display case with baked goods and lollipops that are actually cake. Underneath that you have your array of packaged salads and juices. There’s the little station off to the side where you can add extra sugar and creamer to your coffee. Every Starbucks is the same… well, not every Starbucks. The Starbucks that just opened in Milan is nothing like your neighborhood one. Designed to pay homage to one of Milan’s gifts to the world, espresso, this Starbucks Reserve Roastery has a marble bar, back patio, palladiana floor, and beautiful exposed piping. You can talk to a Coffee Master at the scooping bar to help select the perfect coffee for you, and you can purchase unique gifts from the Handpicked at the Roastery shop that’s filled with more than mugs and thermoses. Sip on a flight of coffee brewed one of five different ways while you enjoy the lovely view from the terrace. We never thought we’d book a trip to see a Starbucks, but now we’re reconsidering.

[MIKA27]

Oh My God Look At The Atlantic Ocean Right Now

Hurricane Florence is the biggest threat in the Atlantic right now, but it’s hardly the only storm. The tropics have gone wild, with three hurricanes spinning at the same time, as you can see for yourself in satellite imagery captured as the sun rose on the Atlantic yesterday.

In addition to rapidly-strengthening Florence (which just hit Category 3 status), Helene and Isaac became hurricanes on Sunday local time. More than 3220km separates the three hurricanes so the only way to view them all together is from space. Luckily, there’s a way to do that thanks to GOES 16.

The next generation satellite was launched last year with the express intent of improving our view of hurricanes to improve forecasts. But it also provides one hell of a view to the public, showing what our planet is capable of from a vantage point of more than 35,400km above the Earth’s surface.

GOES 16 also has the ability to zoom in on specific hurricanes, providing close-up views that are equal parts beautiful and harrowing. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration released imagery on Monday showing the sun rise over the eye of hurricane Florence. The swirl of clouds around the hurricane’s centre, which is starting to clear out, are a sign it’s strengthening as expected.

A view of Florence’s eye at sunrise.

If robots in space aren’t enough, may I offer you one last view courtesy of astronauts? The International Space Station passed over the Atlantic last night (morning in the Atlantic), and astronaut Ricky Arnold shared the absolutely wild images of Florence in a tweet.

Hurricane Florence is no joke.

This the eleventh time on record that three hurricanes have been active at the same time in the Atlantic. The most recent time was last year, when Irma, Jose and Maria all reached hurricane status at the same time. The scars of Irma and Maria are still clear in the Caribbean and Florida.

The forecasts for Florence and Isaac are disconcerting as well, making it hard to really savour the views from space.

While Helene is likely to steer off into the central Atlantic and poses no immediate risk to land, Florence is rapidly strengthening and is likely to reach the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic by Thursday local time as a very strong hurricane with a major storm surge risk. It’s quite possible it could stall out over land and dump copious rainfall inland, creating the potential for historic flooding.

Meanwhile, Isaac is ploughing toward the Caribbean and the Lesser Antilles. While it’s a small hurricane, it could still bring rain and storm surge to a number of islands from Barbados to Antigua. Puerto Rico is also within the storm’s forecast cone, though there’s a lot that can happen between now and this weekend to change its exact track. Still, it’s a storm that bears watching.

[MIKA27]

‘The Beach Bum’ Trailer

Matthew McConaughey’s next project is a departure from serious films like Dallas Buyers Club and Mud. The Beach Bum see McConaughey take on the roll of Moondog, a drug-loving rogue careening through life. Picture The Dude with a penchant for adventure and you’re on the right track to understanding Moondog. The film also stars Zac Efron, Isla Fisher, and Snoop Dog. Yes, Snoop Dog. We were sold on this within 10 seconds, and we think you will be too. Unfortunately, it won’t hit theaters until next March.