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

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New Particle Could Explain 'Unusual' Antarctic Weather Balloon Detection

A weather balloon in Antarctica spotted what looked like a high-energy particle from outer space striking the ice back in 2006. Except the particle didn’t hit from above — it somehow travelled all the way through the planet. Eight years later, it happened again.

Once is happenstance, but two events like this mean that it’s something to take seriously.

Some scientists think the signal may have come from something unexplained by the currently understood rules of particle physics. That would be a big deal — a new fundamental particle, and of course, a potential explanation for the universe’s dark matter.

“It breaks the Standard Model for a particle with that much energy to travel through the Earth,” Derek Fox, a Penn State physicist who led the most recent analysis, told Gizmodo.

Some celestial objects blast high-energy cosmic rays toward Earth. Their collision with the atmosphere can create a shower of secondary particles or radio signals.

There are experiments set up to observe those signals, such as the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment on a weather balloon. Except, usually these particles ping the antenna after striking the Earth from above, producing a radio signal when they hit the Antarctic ice.

The 2006 and 2014 signals looked wrong, though — they didn’t have the signature of particles that came from above, but rather from ones that travelled through the Earth, according to a March paper.

After ruling out potential radio interference and other sources, ANITA scientists determined they’d spotted something they called “unusual” — perhaps a particle with energies tens of thousands of times higher than the highest-energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.

Fox and his collaborators analysed the properties of the wild events and presented calculations demonstrating that the particle physics rulebook, called the Standard Model, can’t explain how a particle with this much energy could have made it through the Earth.

They published their results on the arXiv physics preprint server, meaning that the paper hasn’t yet been peer reviewed.

The team also found corroborating evidence for these strange particles in the IceCube experiment buried in the Antarctic ice. Perhaps these IceCube events were high-energy muons, a heavier cousin of the electron, but Fox’s team’s analysis found that unlikely.

Instead, they thought they were observing even heavier cousins of the muons, called taus. If the signals were upward-moving taus, they would have been the decay product of some other weakly interacting particle that could travel through the Earth.

That particle would be called the stau (rhymes with cow) particle, Fox proposed. Some scientists predict that every particle in the Standard Model, from the quarks to the Higgs boson, have a corresponding heavier “supersymmetric” particle partner. The tau’s partner would be called the stau.

Some high-energy neutrino could have interacted with the elements below the surface of the opposite side of the planet, creating staus that travelled through the planet and then decayed into the tau. That tau was potentially observed by IceCube and perhaps produced the radio signal observed by ANITA.

Theoretical physicists had previously predicted the possibility of a stau with properties similar to whatever ANITA spotted. A stau with about 500 times the mass of a proton and with the energy observed by ANITA should travel most of the way through the Earth before decaying.

“My simple-minded perspective as an observer is, if I find some bizarre phenomenon and find that it’s predicted by some theorist before the phenomenon was seen, that’s a big deal for me,” said Fox.

One physicist not involved in this analysis, Peter Denton from the University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute, told Gizmodo that Fox’s explanation was reasonable. But he felt more research was needed. “I would hope that such a model will be explored in more detail in the future.”

But given some of the recent angst about the fact that the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland has not found any new particles since the Higgs boson, as well as the continued non-detection of the dark matter that supposedly makes up five-sixths of the universe’s mass, physicists are excited about this paper.

“While I will wait for peer review before getting my hopes up too high, I relish this opportunity to discuss exciting new possibilities with my colleagues,” Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a physics professor at the University of New Hampshire, told Gizmodo.

“Evidence for beyond the Standard Model physics is every particle theorist’s dream, and it could come from anywhere. High-energy astrophysics deserves our attention.”

Denton wanted to see whether other experiments could spot similar results. Additionally, there’s more work to do before one can conclude that ANITA spotted a whole new particle. But it’s a tantalising result at the limits of physics — and if it holds, then it’s almost a gift.

Said Fox: “The universe is doing the experiments for us.”

[MIKA27]

New Daredevil Season 3 Teaser Promises That Wilson Fisk Is Ready To Dance With The Devil

The third season of Netflix’s Daredevil will see a broken, beaten and darker Matt Murdock facing down against Wilson Fisk once more. But when Matt does inevitably come face to face with his nemesis again, Fisk intends to be more than prepared.

While Netflix’s corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been busy weathering undead ninjas, chi warriors, and plots to harvest dragon blood, Fisk’s been chilling out in gaol where he belongs. In the latest teaser for the show’s third season, it’s clear that for Fisk, his time incarcerated is all part of a much larger plan to regain the power he so desperately craves.

Wilson Fisk will be back to knock some heads when Daredevil hits Netflix on October 19.

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Hidden Pyramid Among Thousands Of Ancient Maya Structures Revealed By New Aerial Survey

Using an airborne laser mapping technique called "lidar", an international team of archaeologists has uncovered an astounding number of previously undetected structures belonging to the ancient Maya civilisation — a discovery that's changing what we know of this remarkable society.

As difficult as it is to believe, this mapping effort, which is now the single largest lidar survey in the history of Mesoamerican archaeology, revealed the presence of 61,480 distinct ancient structures hidden within the dense tropical rainforests of Guatemala.

"Even though some earlier lidar studies had prepared us for this, just seeing the sheer quantity of ancient structures across the landscape was mind-boggling," Thomas Garrison, a co-author of the new study and an archaeologist at Ithaca College, told Gizmodo. "I've been walking around the jungles of the Maya area for 20 years, but lidar showed me how much I hadn't seen. There were three to four times as many structures as I had imagined. One site that I work at, El Palmar, is now 40 times larger than we had thought! That's a totally different kind of place than what we had imaged — and it requires a totally new interpretation."

Using lidar, archaeologists were able to document a new site north of Tikal. The elongated building at top right is part of a complex that may predate 500 BC. Across the valley is a large acropolis, which is likely a thousand years younger.

This project, the details of which were published today in Science, involved a team of 18 experts from the US, Europe, and Guatemala, and as Garrison points out, it's providing new insights into ancient lowland Maya civilisation, particularly in regards to its demography, agriculture, and political economy.

Lowland Maya civilisation flourished for nearly 2500 years, starting around 1000 BC and ending with the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century AD. The ancient Maya, whose range extended from what is today southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, were known for their sophisticated architecture, art, writing, astronomy, and maths. At its peak, this civilisation had spread across a territory measuring 95,000km² in size, much of it wetlands.

Today, a sizeable portion of this territory is obscured by rainforest, which is difficult to explore on foot. As a result, there are some gaps in our understanding of ancient Maya societies.

And that's where lidar can help. This aerial survey technique works by shining pulsed laser light onto a target area and measuring the reflected light with a sensor. Lidar produces a high-resolution, three-dimensional view of the area below, revealing, as in this case, previously unseen surface features.

The lidar survey was done in 2016, and it covered 2144km² of northern Guatemala. The researchers, led by Marcello A. Canuto from Tulane University, mapped a dozen different areas in Petén, Guatemala, acquiring lidar scans of Maya settlements and infrastructure. As noted, the survey resulted in the identification of 61,480 ancient structures, which were further analysed using pre-existing maps previous excavation work.

Importantly, however, many of these sites were also confirmed by ground-truthing (i.e. visually inspecting the sites from the ground) and by conducting new excavations, both of which were done from August to December 2017.

This study required months of meticulous work, in which researchers had to translate lidar terrain data into meaningful archaeological interpretations. All three images above are of the site of Dos Torres, in the rugged karst hills between the cities of Tikal and Uaxactun. 

"One of the most exciting structures found was a small pyramid complex right in the heart of downtown Tikal," said Garrison, "While we still do not know much about this structure, the fact that lidar revealed a new pyramid in one of the most thoroughly mapped and understood cities is incredible and really highlights how powerful this technology is for archaeologists."

Looking at the lidar data, the researchers estimate that between seven million and 11 million people lived throughout the Maya Lowlands during the Late Classical Period (650 to 800 AD). This ancient population was unevenly distributed across the central lowlands, with varying degrees of urbanisation.

That's a lot of people, and it likely means that a significant portion of wetlands had to be modified for agricultural use to sustain this population. As the authors write in the study:

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Approximately half of the central Lowlands are seasonal wetlands known as bajos. Because permanent settlements tended to avoid these flood-prone and poorly drained areas, they remained largely uninhabited and could then be available, after added investment, to intensive agriculture.

And indeed, of the area scanned, around 1314km² of land was used for agriculture, of which 362km² had to be heavily modified.

The scans also revealed an extensive network of roads (the researchers documented around 106km [106 kilometers] of causeways), which connected cities and towns. Many of these urban centres were heavily fortified, which wasn't expected.

"The causeway networks that we see reflect an earlier time for the Maya — what we call Preclassic — when cities were linked by long roads running through the jungle landscape," said Garrison. "In the Classic period, the Maya were divided into dozens of competing city-states, each with their own local dynasty. It seems that part of maintaining these kingdoms involved investments in substantial infrastructure projects to integrate the population (internal causeways), feed the people (extensive field systems), and protect the kingdom (defensive earthworks)."

Indeed, the Maya did engage in warfare from time to time. Garrison says their own written accounts provide vivid descriptions of war, in one case using hurricanes as a metaphor for the fury of war and, in another describing its aftermath as the "piling of skulls and the pooling of blood." Archaeologists also had knowledge of some defensive earthworks at sites like Tikal, and even at strategic landscape points in the western Maya area.

But the new lidar data is showing that these features were far more common than archaeologists had imagined, reflecting a previously unconsidered level of militarisation.

"As an example, I work at the small kingdom of El Zotz, the closest city to Tikal. Lidar revealed an actual fortress on an escarpment edge between these two cities," Garrison told Gizmodo. "The citadel is protected by walls that are over 7.62m tall, and there is a large artificial reservoir that looks like an Olympic swimming pool. In other words, this place, named La Cuernavilla, was ready for a siege. That is not really the type of conflict that we think about for the ancient Maya."

Garrison admits that lidar isn't perfect, and that it misses some things and occasionally makes natural features appear artificial. Overall, however, he feels "this is an almost complete footprint of the ancient Maya." Which brings up another limitation.

"These images represent the entire duration of the ancient Maya civilisation. It's over 2000 years compressed into the images you are seeing," he said. "Not everything was occupied all at the same time, and it is now our job as archaeologists to sort all of this out. But we're certainly happy to have these new problems!"

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Ancient Bronze Hand Found In Switzerland Mystifies Archaeologists

In October 2017, a pair of treasure-hunting metal detectorists made an extraordinary discovery near a Swiss lake: A sculpted bronze hand with a gold cuff dating back some 3500 years. Archaeologists have never seen anything quite like it, and are at a loss to explain its purpose or function. And in an unfortunate turn, the hand is now at the centre of a criminal investigation.

The bronze hand and its thin gold cuff, along with a bronze dagger and a human rib bone, were discovered by the metal detectorists near Lake Biel in the Bernese Jura, about 45km northwest of Bern, Switzerland, according to a Canton de Bern press release. The items were handed over to specialists at the Ancient History and Roman Archaeology Department in the Bern Archaeological Service one day after the discovery.

The hand of Prêles, as it’s now called, is slightly smaller than an adult hand and was cast from about half a kilogram of bronze, according to National Geographic. Radiocarbon dating of the organic, vegetable-based glue used to adhere the gold band to the hand’s wrist places the artefact to between 1400 and 1500 BC, back during Europe’s Middle Bronze Age.

The archaeologists studying the hand, a team led by Andrea Schae, say it’s doubtful the hand was worn; a socket inside the hand suggests it was mounted on a staff of some kind.

The bronze hand and gold cuff. 

Schae’s team returned to the site in the Bernese Jura to conduct further excavations. They discovered that a grave, possibly a tomb, that unfortunately “had suffered significant damage as a result of recent work,” write the researchers in the release.

Indeed, there may be something untoward going on here. SwissInfo reports that there are indications that some objects were stolen from the site. A spokesperson for the Canton Archaeological Service of Bern confirmed to Gizmodo that “a criminal investigation is currently underway in this matter”, and that because of this, they “cannot give more detailed information”.

The site where the bronze hand and other artifacts were found.

Despite this, the researchers managed to uncover more items at the site, including the bones of a middle-aged male, a long bronze pin, a bronze spiral likely worn as a hair ornament, more bits of gold foil (likely from the hand), and one of the sculpture’s missing fingers. The archaeologists say the hand was likely buried with the man, of whom we know virtually nothing.

Beneath the grave, the researchers uncovered a stone-based structure. Apparently, “the man and the bronze hand were deliberately buried over this older construction,” write the researchers in the press release. “He must have been a high-ranking character.” This is an exceptional Swiss Bronze Age burial, one with no precedent. As far as the archaeologists can tell, the bronze hand is unique.

“To the knowledge of Swiss, German and French specialists, there has never been a comparable sculpture dating from the Bronze Age in Central Europe,” according to the press release. “The hand of Prêles is now the oldest bronze piece representing a part of the human body. It is therefore a unique and remarkable object.”

A formal research paper to describe the findings is forthcoming, but the researchers are still trying to figure out if the items were manufactured nearby or imported from afar. They’re also struggling to understand the purpose of the sculpted bronze hand.

“We do not know either the meaning and the function attributed to it,” the authors write in the press release. “Its gold ornament suggests that it is an emblem of power, a distinctive sign of the social elite, even of a deity. The hand is extended by a hollow form that suggests that it was originally mounted on another object: It was perhaps part of a scepter or a statue.”

Sadly, this analysis is being complicated by the disturbed condition of the site; the researchers never had an opportunity to observe the grave in situ, that is, in its original, unperturbed state.

There’s a lesson here: If you’re a so-called treasure hunter, or a person who’s accidentally stumbled upon something of archaeological significance, stop what you’re doing and call in the experts. Failure to do so means you’re just looting — and destroying history.

[MIKA27]

Shockwaves From WWII Bombing Raids Reached The Edge Of Space, Scientists Report

As if the devastating effects of bombs dropped on European cities during the Second World War weren’t terrible enough, a surprising new study shows that the shockwaves produced by these bombing raids reached the edge of space, temporarily weakening the Earth’s ionosphere.

Large Allied bombing raids during World War II produced shockwaves powerful enough to briefly reduce the concentration of electrons in our planet’s ionosphere, according to new research published today in the science journal Annales Geophysicae.

This weakening occurred above the bombing sites, and as far as 1000km away, according to the new research. The effect was both temporary and not dangerous, but a weakened ionosphere — the layer of the Earth’s atmosphere that is ionised by solar and cosmic radiation — could have interfered with low-frequency radio transmissions during the war.

“The images of neighbourhoods across Europe reduced to rubble due to wartime air raids are a lasting reminder of the destruction that can be caused by man-made explosions,” Chris Scott, the lead author of the new study and a professor of space and atmospheric physics at Reading University, said in a statement. “But the impact of these bombs way up in the Earth’s atmosphere has never been realised until now.”

Artist’s depiction of the ionosphere, shown in purple (it’s invisible to the naked eye)

The integrity of our ionosphere, a thick band that sits 80 to 580km above Earth’s surface, is heavily influenced by solar activity, including phenomena such as coronal mass ejections, high-speed solar wind streams and energetic particle events. Today, disturbances to the ionosphere affect technology such as radio and GPS. But the effects of bombing raids on radio communications made during WWII remain poorly understood.

The purpose of the new study was to “examine unique ionospheric measurements” made above the Radio Research Center in Slough, United Kingdom, from 1943 to 1945, in order to “determine whether any of the observed variability could be attributed to the major bombing campaigns across Europe,” the authors write in the new study.

Hunting for a signature in the UK’s ionospheric records may seem strange given that the bombings took place on the European continent (primarily in Nazi Germany), but there were some good reasons for this, as the authors make clear in their study:

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While the bombing of London by the Luftwaffe between September 1940 and May 1941 (popularly known as the “London Blitz”) would have generated explosions at a closer proximity to the ionospheric measurements being made above Slough, this bombing was more or less continuous, making it difficult to separate the impact of wartime raids from those of natural seasonal variability.

At the same time, the four-engine planes used by the Allies could drop much heavier bombs than the twin-engine German planes. Thus, the Allied bombing raids were both stronger and more discernible, making them a more useful variable to study.

Bombing of a factory at Marienburg, Germany, on 9 October 1943.

Looking at the daily reports collected by the Slough station, Scott was able to document a series of frequent radio pulses over a range of shortwave frequencies. These reached as high as 100 to 300km above the Earth’s surface. In addition to height, the data also revealed the electron concentration of ionisation within the upper atmosphere.

Scott and his colleagues then analysed the ionosphere response records that corresponded to the timing of 152 large Allied raids in Europe, in which 100 to 900 tonnes of explosives were dropped onto cities, factories and other military targets.

Looking at the data, Scott could see that electron concentration in the ionosphere “significantly decreased” due to the shockwaves caused by the bombs. The powerful shockwaves heated the upper atmosphere, causing the loss of ionisation, the researchers say.

Normally, a temporary reduction in the concentration of electrons is caused by the Sun, but it can also be caused from below, namely from lightning, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The new study shows how modern warfare is a force of nature unto itself. As the researchers point out, one metric tonne of TNT has an explosive energy equivalent to a single lightning strike.

“It is astonishing to see how the ripples caused by man-made explosions can affect the edge of space,” said Scott. “Each raid released the energy of at least 300 lightning strikes. The sheer power involved has allowed us to quantify how events on the Earth’s surface can also affect the ionosphere.”

Patrick Major, a co-author of the study and a historian at the University of Reading, said the strength of these bombs wasn’t lost on those who were there to witness it.

“Aircrew involved in the raids reported having their aircraft damaged by the bomb shockwaves, despite being above the recommended height,” he said.

“Residents under the bombs would routinely recall being thrown through the air by the pressure waves of air mines exploding, and window casements and doors would be blown off their hinges. There were even rumours that wrapping wet towels around the face might save those in shelters from having their lungs collapsed by blast waves, which would leave victims otherwise externally untouched.”

This pioneering work is just the beginning, and it hints at the kinds of WWII research that might still be possible. Scott and Major are now asking the public to help with the digitisation of early atmospheric data, which would allow them to assess the impact of the hundreds of smaller raids that transpired during the war.

Using these “less extreme examples”, the researchers say they’ll be able to “determine the minimum explosive energy required to generate a detectable ionospheric response”.

At a more philosophical level, this study presents a potent reminder of how powerful our military technologies have become. War, as it has been said so many times, is hell.

[MIKA27]

This Is A Real Plane And It's Called The Beluga XL

What you're looking at was not made in Photoshop. It's not a plane with a horrible, disfiguring growth that nobody likes to talk about. This is the Airbus Beluga XL, and it's supposed to look exactly like that, because it's real.

Airbus didn't design it just to be weird and so that everyone could laugh at it (you cruel monsters, what's wrong with you?), it's a specially-designed cargo aircraft based on the regular Airbus A330 used for carrying things that are especially, well, large. Airbus already has a fleet of similar aircraft, the regular Airbus Belugas, but as you may have surmised from the name already, the XL has been built for things even more large.

That's because Airbus discovered that they really needed a plane to carry two wings internally for its new A350 XWB airliner, and the regular Belugas, small shrimps that they are, couldn't do the job.

Production of the BelugaXLs is pretty weird, too, starting with taking the heads off of what should be a regular plane as it's still in the factory, Flight Global explains:

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Once the upper fuselage has been cut away, three months and some 8000 new parts are needed to prepare the junction line on which the enlarged freight hold will be mounted. The hold has a payload capability of 51t, up from the 47t of the -600ST.

The XL hold, which is unpressurised, is constructed from the rear, beginning with installation of an adapted tail section from Spain's Aernnova before progressively building up the upper fuselage by fitting two side panels and a crown to complete each section.

Stelia Aerospace produces the nose section, including the cockpit, which is mated with the A330 platform. Airbus supplies a four-seat courier section which, along with two pilots and a jump-seat, increases the accommodation of the XL to seven personnel. The -600ST could carry five: two pilots and three individuals on jump-seats.

 

And just in case you don't believe me that this thing really does fly, here it is on a test flight back in July:

The whole thing is great and all, painted like a whale as it is and featured with flag-waving Europeans, but this is my favourite part of the video:

Just look how big its fivehead is! And it opens up all the way!

Planes are cool.

[MIKA27]

Rockstar Releases a New Action Trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar Games released a brand new trailer this morning, giving you was is essentially an action walk-through of Red Dead Redemption 2. With a narrator’s voice over top of what’s happening in the nearly four and a half minute video, you’re introduced to the world, the mechanics, and the overall gameplay for the game. Enjoy the video!

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First Teaser for Taron Egerton as Elton John in “Rocketman’ is Here

 

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Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly Are Back as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

The last thing Hollywood needs is another remake. The last thing remakes need is another Sherlock Holmes film. But anyone who loved Step Brothers or Talladega Nights will be at least a little tempted by the trailer for Holmes and Watson, which reunites Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as the iconic sleuth and his doctor pal.

In the trailer the pair battle killer bees, blow up an ocean liner, and take a 19th century “self-photograph” with Queen Victoria before accidentally knocking her out with the giant camera. In other words, it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly movie. With explosions, gunfire, and a scene that appears to take place at a bare-knuckle boxing match, the film clearly pokes fun at the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes franchise, films of dubious relevance even in 2010. Yes, it looks stupid, but hopefully it's the fun kind of stupid.

Rounding out the cast is Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Moriarty, with Hugh Laurie, Rebecca Hall, Lauren Lapkus, Steve Coogan, and Rob Brydon

[MIKA27]

BRABUS ADD GIRTH TO THE MERCEDES-AMG G63 FOR THEIR MONSTROUS 700 WIDESTAR

When in doubt, just add girth. That’s definitely not what your surgeon said, but it’s what Mercedes’ high performance tuning arm Brabus has done.

The 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class which debuted earlier this year has finally been given the Brabus treatment and the result is the 700 Widestar – and it’s as subtle as an eggplant on human growth hormones.

The most noticeable aspect is the SUV’s brutish wide body kit which sees a redesigned front and rear end paired to widened and vented wheel arches that add a total of 100mm to the stock body’s width. If that’s not enough to help you stand out, Brabus also offers a vented hood, an aggressive rear spoiler and a roof-mounted LED front light bar.

Wheel size options range from 20-inch to 23-inches to accommodate for the big Brabus brakes but it’s the interior which will really impress. A sports steering wheel complete with centre marker strip is flanked with aluminium paddle shifters and beautifully stitched diamond leather with Brabus insignia just about everywhere.

Under the bonnet resides an engine that’s pretty much a reference to its name – a boosted 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 which now makes 700hp (520kW) and 950Nm of torque. These figures are enough to see the 700 Widestar complete the 0-100km.h sprint in 4.3 seconds.

A revised exhaust which has two modes of loudness will ensure your neighbours know when you’re home – or not depending on if you like them.

 

[MIKA27]

MASTER & DYNAMIC TRUE WIRELESS EARPHONES

It’s quite the task to craft something beautiful with impressive functionality, but the development team at Master and Dynamic was up for the challenge. Mixing a luxurious style with unrivaled sound, Master and Dynamic’s MW07 wireless earbuds are a work of art in both aesthetic design and technology.

Made with a combination of handcrafted acetate and stainless steel, these wireless earphones use custom 10mm Beryllium drivers for rich sound, proprietary silicone ‘Fit Wings,’ impressive antenna technology, and optical sensors, allowing them to detect in-ear placement for automatic play and pause. Because of the hand finish and the material used, each set of earphones has a unique pattern. The advanced antenna also has quick pairing technology and over 20 meters of range with Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity. To top it off, the wireless earphones come with a stainless steel charge case able to hold three additional charges, racking up a total of 14 hours of audio. You can choose from several colorways, including grey terrazzo and steel blue acetate. $299

 

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FOUR ROSES 130TH ANNIVERSARY BOURBON

Crafted from a blend of four of their ten unique bourbon recipes, this year's limited edition small batch release from Four Roses celebrates their 130th anniversary. Included in this year's special blend is 13-year-old bourbon from the distilleries OBSF recipe, a 14-year-old OESV, a 10-year-old OBSV, and a 16-year-old OESK. Master Distiller Brent Elliot and the team dumped 100 barrels and mingled them all together to create one uniform barrel strength blend that was bottled at 108.3 proof.

[MIKA27]

The Long-Awaited Wheel Of Time TV Series Is Heading To Amazon

After a long and winding journey that’s spawned a rejected pilot and close calls after close calls, Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time book series is finally coming to television, thanks to a deal between Sony and Amazon Studios.

In a press release, Amazon announced that it was picking up Sony’s adaptation of the 14-novel series, over a year after reports of Sony’s acquisition of the books had surfaced.

Based on Jordan’s fantasy saga, the show will be helmed by Rafe Judkins, who previously brought us Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. In a statement, Amazon and Sony commented on how Judkins’ personal love of the series is what led them to pick him as the showrunner and executive producer.

“For so many people, including me, this book series has served as a world to escape to, to lose yourself in, to devour and inhabit completely,” Judkins said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more honored to be the one finally bringing that world to life on screen, for old fans to lose themselves in all over again and new fans to discover for the very first time.”

The Wheel of Time is a much-beloved, often frustrating series set in a world where magic exists, but only women can use it. A woman named Moiraine embarks on a dangerous journey with a group of young people, believing one of them in the reincarnation of a powerful person who could bring about the salvation or destruction of humanity.

“The Wheel of Time is endlessly fascinating and resonates hugely with fans as one of the best-selling global properties, and we were drawn to its timely narrative featuring powerful women at the core,” Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, added. 

Different people and production companies have been trying to bring the series to the small screen for years, often with disastrous results.

The most famous is a baffling instance in 2015, where FXX secretly aired a pilot for the series, under the name Winter Dragon, supposedly because Red Eagle Entertainment (which is a producer on this new series) needed to air something to keep the rights to the franchise. Jordan’s widow later dismissed it as an unauthorised production.

MIKA: One of my all time book series, loved reading each and every book. I hope they do the series justice, much like Game Of Thrones

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Scientists Aren't Sure What Triggered Indonesia's Deadly Tsunami

Late on Friday, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck near Sulawesi, Indonesia, quickly followed by a highly localised, intense and devastating tsunami. Waves up to 5.5m high inundated Palu Bay, drowning a beach festival, destroying buildings, and claiming over 800 lives.

The tsunami caught the region tragically off guard in part due to a failed early warning system. But the mechanics behind what happened were also unusual, undercutting the standard wisdom about how tsunamis are produced.

Tsunamis are typically generated by earthquakes that have vertical motion on a submarine fault: A sudden jolt displaces the seafloor, spawning massive waves that propagate across the ocean. But most of the earthquakes around this part of Sulawesi, including the recent magnitude 7.5 quake, are strike-slip ruptures where faults slide sideways with very little vertical motion.

So, what could have triggered the tsunami?

“Strike-slip earthquakes can generate tsunami by triggering landslides or by displacing seafloor with very steep slopes,” Jean-Paul Ampuero, a seismologist with Géoazur at Université Côte d’Azur in France, told us.

As Ampuero notes, a submarine landslide or sideways shift of an underwater hillside can sometimes displace enough water quickly enough to trigger the start of a tsunami. Unlike their larger kin spawned when a megathrust earthquake shoves the seafloor up or down, these kinds of tsunamis are unable to cross entire oceans. But the enormous waves can be deadly nearby.

In this cause, Palu Bay’s geometry could have amplified the tsunami, akin to how a child scooting in a bathtub can quickly create a wave that splashes onto the floor. The tsunami may have resonated within the narrow space, quickly building into larger waves.

Researchers are currently modelling scenarios to explain the disaster, Ampuero said, and were able to simulate the observed tsunami both with a submarine landslide and a horizontal shift in a submarine hillside.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, supported the landslide theory, citing it during a press conference and tweeting out a video of the simulation.

But Ampuero doesn’t think it’s totally clear just yet. “From the current analysis, a landslide doesn’t seem necessary,” he said. “There’s going have to be a search for evidence of a submarine landslide.”

Researchers are turning to viral videos of the tsunami for more clues. (Given the understandable prioritising of saving lives, the videos are currently unverified.) Hamzah Latief, tsunami modeller at Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology, told Tempo that in a video recorded from a ship in the bay, the water is turbulent and cloudy, indicative of submarine landslides.

After spotting what he thinks are the initial ripples of the tsunami filmed from an aeroplane over the bay, Ampuero said it looked as though “waves were produced by the motion of the terrain itself, not necessarily with a landslide”, reinforcing that the tsunami may have been produced entirely by submarine slope motion.

None of the tsunami modellers at Bandung Institute of Technology responded to us as of publication, but researchers elsewhere are hoping Latief and the rest of the team will get support to keep investigating once the chaos calms.

They’ll need to conduct a bathymetric survey to spot any changes in the bay’s seafloor topography. If they identify any new submarine landslide deposits, the next step will be to model if those landslides were sufficiently large to trigger the tsunami.

To predict tsunamis, Indonesia currently relies on seismographs, global positioning stations and tide gages, with warnings distributed by beach sirens and text messages. Unfortunately, that system didn’t help prevent the recent disaster.

A former network of buoys that could have provided more advance warning has been been abandoned after a combination of vandalism and neglect left them inoperable, according to reporting by the Associated Press. And international efforts to upgrade the defunct buoys with seafloor sensors have stalled due to inter-agency bickering.

Even if the early warning system had been upgraded, it may not have helped much. With only seven of over 200 electrical substations operating after the earthquake, warning sirens lost power, failing to blare evacuation alerts.

Instead of relying on warnings that may not come, Ampuero had an important safety message for everyone: “If you ever feel shaking and you’re on the beach, run for higher ground.”

[MIKA27]

Google Announces Project Stream, Which Lets You Stream Games In Chrome

Google’s long-rumoured Yeti streaming service is now official, as the company today announced Project Stream, a service that will allow users to stream games to the Google Chrome internet browser. The first game supported will be Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which launches on Friday.
“We’ve been working on Project Stream, a technical test to solve some of the biggest challenges of streaming,” Google said in a blog post today. “For this test, we’re going to push the limits with one of the most demanding applications for streaming — a blockbuster video game.”

Anyone who’s accepted into the beta test will be able to play Odyssey in their browsers on a laptop or desktop starting Friday, Google said. They’re looking for people with internet speeds of 25Mb/s or higher. It is also unfortunately restricted to people in the US.

As reported earlier this year, this is the first part of a broader Google initiative to enter gaming in a big way. 

The question is, what about input lag? Latency? Will this work as delivered or will it be destined to go the way of OnLive? We’ll be able to see for ourselves starting Friday.

[MIKA27]

A Mind-Blowing Into The Spider-Verse Trailer Introduces Spider-Ham And Peni Parker

The most curious thing about Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the potential to weave every single one of the studio’s previous Spider-Man films into one loosely-connected multiverse with Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker at the centre of it.

In the latest trailer for the animated feature, Peter takes a minute to explain to you just how popular his, well, no, Spider-Man’s brand is.
But once the web-headed hero’s done humblebragging, he makes a point of reminding you that this movie isn’t really about him, it’s definitely Miles’ movie. Well Miles’ movie. And Peni Parker’s. And Spider-Ham’s. And Spider-Man Noir’s.

Together, the cadre of Spider-Heroes will team up to save the very fabric of the multiverse in what’s probably the biggest adventure of their lives, but not before taking on a handful of classic villains such as the Kingpin, Green Goblin and Scorpion.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings into cinemas December 13.

[MIKA27]

Christopher McQuarrie Comments on Possible Man of Steel 2

Christopher McQuarrie has done some amazing things with the Mission: Impossible franchise, and he’s still getting questions about possibly continuing the Man Of Steel franchise with MI: Fallout star Henry Cavill.

In an interview with our friends over at Collider (that took place during the press junket for MI: Fallout), McQuarrie spoke a bit about the possibility of the Superman sequel, and what it may be like, in large part to Cavill’s desires for a more optimistic friend from another star:

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““Many, many people have asked, many, many, many times. I had an awesome conversation with Henry Cavill about an awesome version of Superman while we were on set. You’re sitting around of hours, waiting for stuff to be built so I can put Henry in it, and throw him off a cliff, or freeze him to death. And we talked about a really awesome version of Superman.

[That’s] the movie Henry wants. There’s a really, really beautiful version of that, and I honestly can’t speak for the people who are responsible for making those decisions, except to say it’s part of a giant corporate mechanism. I’m one guy. I can stand up and turn around, turn my back to you instantly, a giant corporation that’s in the middle of a merger with another giant corporation is an aircraft carrier in a broom closet being asked to turn around. Part of my job, and what’s made my being a director so much more easy in this business, was ultimately coming to terms with the fact that the people that I’m sitting across from have much bigger problems than I do. They just do. And I sympathize with those problems, ’cause before I used to just view them as incredibly obtuse, and they don’t know what movies are about. Of course they do. They all love movies.

So I just sit quietly off to the side, and people say, ‘Hey, would you make Superman?’ And I just keep responding, ‘Well, they know where to find me. They know where to call me,’ but I don’t expect the phone to ring. I don’t expect that to happen.”

 

Hey Warner Bros., there you go.

[MIKA27]

Into The Dark Film ‘The Body’ Gets a Trailer, Debuts Friday on Hulu

Into the Dark, the new Hulu horror series produced by Blumhouse, debuts its first film on October 5th. ‘The Body’ will follow a hitman trying to transport a body on Halloween night. Following this one, Into the Dark will debut a new film every month for an entire year, each focusing on a different holiday. It is an ambitious idea, but if any studio could pull it off it would be Blumhouse.

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A sophisticated hitman with a cynical view on modern society finds his work made more difficult when he has to transport a body on Halloween night, but everyone is enamored by what they think is his killer costume.

In partnership with Blumhouse Television, Into The Dark is a horror event series from prolific, award-winning producer, Jason Blum’s independent TV studio. The series includes 12 super-sized episodes, with a new installment released each month inspired by a holiday and will feature Blumhouse’s signature genre/thriller spin on the story.

 

The Body, directed by Paul Davis and starring Tom Bateman, Rebecca Rittenhouse, David Hull, Aurora Perrineau and Ray Santiago debuts on Hulu This Friday, October 5th. Each additional film will debut the first Friday of every month after.

[MIKA27]

What You Need to Know About the Real Russian Romanov Family Mystery Before Watching The Romanoffs

Matthew Weiner's first post-Mad Men show isn't a period piece, but you still need to know a little history.

In the early morning of July 17, 1918, Bolshevik troops led the Russian imperial Romanov family to the basement of a Yekaterinburg house. There, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children—Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei—were murdered, allegedly at the command of Vladimir Lenin (though no paper trail exists). This marked the end of a 300-year family dynasty in Russia, and the beginning of a century of conspiracy theories, scandals, and mystery.

It’s also the event around which Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has built his new anthology series The Romanoffs. That’s not to say The Romanoffs is a faithful historical recreation of world events. Quite the opposite, in fact. Though we do see the murders in the opening credits of the first episode, this isn’t a series about any known living or dead Romanov family members—or even any of the many imposters over the years.

Instead, The Romanoffs is more inspired by the mystery of the Romanov family and follows a collection of fictional, modern-day individuals who claim to be related to the the Russian Imperial Family. Even though one doesn’t need a historical knowledge of Russian history to understand The Romanoffs, knowing the basics provide context to the Amazon show and helps to expand on the themes explored throughout the series.

What events led to the assassination of the Romanov family?

There are decades of history building up to this moment, but the TL;DR story is that in the wake of WWI, Russia was slow to industrialize, the country was reeling from economic decline, and faith in the Royal Family was at an all-time low. In February 1917, Russians were revolting against the monarchy, protesting starvation and food rationing and the inept monarchy (during this time, Princess Alexandra and Nicholas II had been seeking the council of Grigori Rasputin, a holy man who the people of Russia greatly distrusted). These protests ended in bloody conflicts between revolutionaries and the Russian Army. This ended with Tsar Nicholas II abdicating and a Russian Provisional Government placed in his stead. The Romanov family was placed under house arrest and eventually moved out of the then-Russian capital of St. Petersburg.

Why was the slaughter of the Romanov family shrouded in such mystery?

The murder of the Romanov family was carried out in secrecy, likely because the slaughter of innocent children would not reflect well on Lenin, who came to power after the Russian Revolution. He wisely never connected himself via a paper trail to the order. But the events of the actual slaughter were strange as well. It’s often believed that the guards charged with carrying out the orders were drunk at the time and had difficulty bringing themselves to murder the children. Each guard was supposed to shoot a different family member, although they all aimed their guns elsewhere and began firing wildly. After the first shots, the family was still alive, mostly because they had sewn their jewels into their clothing, which had stopped some of the bullets. They then were forced to walk through and stab the wounded family members with their bayonets. The whole thing lasted 20 minutes.

What happened after the massacre?

Well, the soldiers bungled this, too. Two of the daughters were supposedly still alive when the bodies were being carried out, which is one detail that has inspired the legend that the youngest daughter, Anastasia, had survived. To insure that no one would ever discover what happened to the family, the bodies were stripped naked, burned with acid and fire, and then buried in unmarked graves. Throughout the last century, the identity and location of these bodies have been a global controversy. The new government released the news that Nicholas II had died, but it refused to confirm the status of the wife and children.

Were there any surviving Romanovs after the massacre?

About a dozen Romanovs were able to flee Russia as the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917. These included Nicholas’s mother, Maria Feodorovna; his sister, Xenia; and her husband, Alexandr. They were evacuated on warships from their Crimean estate by George V of England. By 1920, only 35 Romanovs remained alive.

What’s the deal with Romanov imposters?

Given the mystery and debacle of the assassination of the Romanov family (and the missing bodies), people have held out hope for years that some of the children might have escaped. The identity of Anastasia, in particular, has been subject to the most fascination. Famously, Anna Anderson (whose real name was Franziska Schanzkowska) claimed in 1920 to be Anastasia. Some surviving members of the Romaov family even visited Anderson and confirmed that she was indeed an imposter. Others have claimed to be the youngest Romanov daughter, including Natalya Bilikhodze, who traveled to Russia in 2000 to claim the Romanov fortune. There have also been imposters of Alexei, Olga, Tatiana, and Maria. But Anastasia has become the stuff of legend and fantasy, even becoming the subject of a popular animated movie in 1997 (which is pretty dark, when you consider the real life events).

What actually happened to the bodies then?

The Russian government spent decades attempting to erase the murder of the Romanov family from history. But it wasn’t until 1991, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, that nine bodies were recovered during an investigation launched by President Boris Yeltsin. Using modern-day DNA testing of the Romanov family, scientists were able to confirm that these bodies belonged to Nicholas II and his family. Eighty years later, the Romanov family was finally put to rest in St. Petersburg.

Who are the known Romanov descendants alive today?

The modern descendants of the Romanov family include Prince Philip, Prince Michael of Kent, Duke of Westminster Hugh Grosvenor, King Constantine II of Greece, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, Olga Andreevna Romanoff, Francis-Alexander Mathew, Nicoletta Romanoff, Olga Andreevna Romanoff, and Prince Rostislav Romanov.

Why does any of this matter today?

We humans have a pretty unhealthy obsession with royalty of any type. Just look at the fervor surrounding the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Add to that the mystery and drama of the end of the Romanov family, and it makes for a pretty incredible narrative. But, in a time where we’re also becoming more and more infatuated with our roots—given the rise of DNA testing services—it’s only natural that we’d return to one of the most famous family lineage stories of all time.

It’s historically pertinent now, given the unstable relationship between the United States and Russia. You can draw a direct line from the events of 1917 and the Russian Revolution to the rise of Vladimir Putin and our adversarial relationship with the country. Putin himself has even become involved in the story, having rejected the previous findings to appease the skeptical Russian Orthodox.

[MIKA27]

THE BALVENIE BAR CART

An essential for any armchair mixologist, the bar cart is a much-needed mid-century home decor piece for either the office study or entertainment area. And as far as spirits are concerned, fine whisky needs a premier spot reserved at all times. If you’re Mats Christeen, however, your appreciation for the spirit takes center stage just like the bar cart itself.

Cue the Balvenie Bar Cart — transformed from reclaimed Balvenie whisky barrels and finished exquisitely by the former pro hockey player turned artisan furniture craftsmen. Each bar cart hosts enough space for all the essential spirits inside the barrel, a sturdy platform up top to house the frequently used items, and even room to hang your favorite whiskey glasses in a non-intrusive yet attractive manner. A handsome showcase item without a doubt. Available now at the Todd Snyder Madison Square location.

 

[MIKA27]

Johnnie Walker ‘White Walker’ Scotch

Winter is coming. No, really, it is. It’s already October and the last month flew by. That means you’ll need a pour of the good stuff to warm you up on a cold night. Let us suggest the latest bottle from Johnnie Walker. Done in collaboration with Game of Thrones, White Walker Blended Scotch is made in honor of the coming final season of the hit show. The bottle is rather clever, too, as it boasts thermochromic ink, allowing a surprise message to appear when frozen. You’ll find notes of vanilla, caramelized sugar, and fresh red berries in every sniff and sip. A perfect toast to the demise of your enemies. Look for it on shelves this month.

[MIKA27]

2019 PORSCHE 911 SPEEDSTER

With the 2020 redesign just over the horizon, Porsche is pushing out incredible special-edition 911 models before the car is replaced. The extremely limited-production GT2-based 959 was just announced, and Porsche has followed that up with a production version of the 911 Speedster concept. The concept Speedster looked ready to hit the assembly line and the one that will roll out to 1,948 — the year the original launched — hard-core Porsche fanatics is identical. The first 911 Speedster since 1989, the latest version is based on the current Cabriolet, with a shortened window frame, vintage-style exterior mirrors, an exposed gas cap, 21-inch center lock wheels, and the iconic double-bubble cover. The car has no roof, but for a Speedster, that's the selling point.

 

[MIKA27]

SAN LUIS HOTEL

The alpine lodge undergoes a modern makeover at the San Luis Hotel. Nestled on 40 hectors in the Italian Alps, the resort consists of 22 chalets and 6 treehouses situated around a manmade lakeshore. Timber lined interiors are adorned with warm linens, neutral hues, and dark stone floors and feature fireplaces, kitchens, dining areas, and expansive views of the mountainous setting. The centerpiece of the property is the clubhouse. The two-story hub houses a lounge, a spa, and an indoor swimming pool that extends to the lake outside. There's also a restaurant. Overlooking the water, the eatery serves both local fare and Mediterranean-inspired dishes prepared around a wood-fire grill.

[MIKA27]

LONDOLOZI GAME RESERVE

Bathe with elephants and hang with leopards at the Londolozi Game Reserve. The South African resort is located on the Sand River and is part of the 6-million acre Greater Kruger National Park. Wildlife freely roams throughout the property making it a prime location for encounters with the Big Five. The property consists of five camps each with their own unique experience and luxury accommodations ranging from treetop villas with private swimming pools to Granite Suites with soaking tubs overlooking the river bank. With over 90 years of Safari experience, a trip wouldn't be complete without taking advantage of one of their guided tours through the African bush.

[MIKA27]

MB&F HM9 FLOW WATCH

Inspired by the streamlined bodies of mid-century automobiles and planes, the MB&F HM9 Flow Watch is a retrofuturistic timepiece. Its manually wound movement, developed in-house, consists of twin balance wheels on each flank, joined by a planetary differential that averages their output to provide an accurate reading on the vertical dial display. Its case is made of titanium, with five sapphire crystal windows providing views onto the dial and key movement components. Two launch editions will be available: the Road edition with a speedo-inspired dial and rose gold-plated movement and the Air edition with a darkened movement and aviation-style dial. Each is limited to just 33 examples.