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

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Hawaiian Supreme Court Okays Controversial Planned Telescope

The Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled that the Thirty Meter Telescope project can build on Mauna Kea, clearing the legal way for construction despite protests from the Native Hawaiian community.

As we've reported, there's been a bitter battle between the 54.86m-tall telescope's backers and a group of Native Hawaiians. In 2014 and 2015, protesters blocked construction crews on their way up to the mountain.

The Hawaiian Supreme Court then rescinded construction permit so it could hear further opinions on the telescope. Another 2017 permit followed, followed by another appeal from the opposition. The state's Supreme Court has once again sided with the telescope.

The Thirty Meter Telescope would join two other planned extremely large telescopes (that's a technical term for telescopes with mirror diameters of 20-100m), and would be the only such telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. The Giant Magellan Telescope and the European Extremely Large Telescope, are both planned for Chile. "Thirty Meter" refers to the telescope's 30m-diameter mirror.

Astronomers hope these telescopes will be able to directly image rocky exoplanets around distant stars.

Mauna Kea is sacred land for many Native Hawaiians, a place to connect with deities, bury the dead, and learn to navigate. Though it currently hosts 13 other observatories, protesters thought the telescope would further desecrate the mountain — in other words, there's been opposition since telescope development began in the late 1960s.

There's also a 2004 environmental impact assessment that found another telescope project would have significant negative cultural and environmental effects. Astronomers consider Mauna Kea's 4267.20m peak some of the best observing ground in the world, due to the thin atmosphere with low turbulence there that stops the stars from twinkling.

One poll from 2016 found that support for the telescope is split among indigenous Hawaiians, with 46 per cent for and 45 per cent against.

After the previous legal roadblock, researchers found a backup location on the Canary Islands, which also hosts observatories. This would be a less desirable location from an astronomy standpoint, though the science goals could still be achieved. The telescope's planners have also attempted to minimise its visual impact and pay a yearly lease with money designated to maintain the mountain.

The Hawaiian environmental group KAHEA put out a statement on Wednesday that it was disappointed by the court decision, saying they felt that the state Supreme Court was incorrect in its assessment that there were no Hawaiian cultural practices at the specific spot where the telescope will be built.

Though he previously vowed to remove three of the peak's telescopes in the 2020s, Governor David Ige issued a statement in support of the decision.

Should construction continue in Mauna Kea instead of the Canary Islands, the project will likely face more protesters. KAHEA may now instead fight the renewal of the University of Hawaii's lease over the land, which expires in 2033, reports Nature.

You might think of this as a question of religion versus science, but that's probably the wrong way to frame it — it's a sentiment that outsiders have decided they have the right to build on sacred Hawaiian land because it has thin air. As many scientific benefits as the telescope would have, it's a question of whether we're OK with disrupting other people's lives and culture in the name of technological progress.

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ONCE UPON A WHEEL – PAUL NEWMAN’S RACING DOCUMENTARY

Once Upon A Wheel is Paul Newman’s iconic 1971 racing documentary, it’s a fascinating window into the period and it includes appearances by the likes of James Garner, Kirk Douglas, Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss, John Surtees, Richard Petty, Jackie Stewart, Hugh Downs, Dick Smothers, Dean Martin, Denny Hulme, Cesar Romero, Al Unser, Jackie Oliver, Pedro Rodriguez, and many others.

Newman himself was a remarkably accomplished racing driver, he used to joke that he acted to pay for his racing, and he would enter races subtly using the name P.L. Newman so as not to draw attention to himself.

By the time he hung up his racing boots for the last time he had a career that any professional racing driver would be proud of including 4 SCCA National Championship wins, a 2nd place (with fellow drivers Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour) at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, a class win at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona, and a number of other impressive results competing against world class professional drivers.

Once Upon A Wheel starts with a classic-1970s montage before giving a look back to the earliest days of motor racing, it looks into NASCAR and Formula 1, and even the All-American Soap Box Derby and snowmobile racing.

The film has a total running time of 45 minutes and there are links to the songs in the film underneath the YouTube listing. If you’d like to read more about the film you can visit the listing on Rotten Tomatoes here.

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REAL MINERO PECHUGA MEZCAL

Typically produced in small amounts and reserved for personal consumption or special occasions — like Diá de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) — Pechuga is made by redistilling a finished mezcal with a mix of wild fruits, grains, and a raw chicken breast. The chicken is suspended over the percolating distillation, and steam cooks through the bird while fat and juices drip into the mezcal. This unique method, combined with the fruit and grains helps soften the smokiness and provide a mouthfeel and taste typically not found in mezcal. Real Minero makes one of the best you can buy, utilizing Angustifolia Haw agave that has been matured for ten years before being distilled in clay pots.

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Legendary American Whiskey Distiller Dave Pickerell has Passed Away

Famed distiller Dave Pickerell changed the way Americans drink whiskey.

On Wednesday, November 1, he passed away in San Francisco. The cause is still unknown. He was in the city for the annual WhiskyFest event.

After spending 14 years at Maker’s Mark, he left to run his own consulting company and set up or consulted on countless distilleries around the world. He also mentored the new generation of craft distillers.

In recent years, he would spend most of the year on the road splitting time between his main projects, WhistlePig Whiskey in Vermont, Hillrock in Ancram, New York, and the old-fashioned distillery at George Washington’s plantation Mount Vernon. He also served as the distiller for Metallica’s new whiskey brand Blackened. The last time we spoke, while filming a video for a WhistlePig in Vermont for a campaign that the Daily Beast is creating, he was extremely excited to be working with the heavy metal band. Metallica was equally excited to be working with him. In fact, Dave’s name is prominently printed on the bottle of whiskey—not Metallica’s.

Lars Ulrich, Metallica’s legendary drummer recently told me about how impressed the band was with Dave. “When Dave was presented to us as a potential collaborator, it felt like he was sort of, it may sound cheesy, but the Metallica of that particular world,” Ulrich told me. Last April, Dave even did a whiskey seminar at Ulrich’s house for his friends and family. “All of my intellectual friends are sitting there bombarding him with questions. I was just sitting back in the corner watching this thing unfold and watching the master at play and enjoying it.”

While Dave wasn’t usually subtle—he was prone to wearing a broad-rimmed black felt hat and on occasion a Boss Hog getup, including a three piece white suit, to promote WhistlePig’s Boss Hog bottling—he was very often the smartest person in the room.

He had grown up in what he described as abject poverty and had gone to West Point, since it was free and offered him a chance to study science, which he loved. He played on the school’s football team and later taught there before getting a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville.

Over the years, Dave and I did a number of different panels together at industry events, including a memorable one at Tales of the Cocktail about starting a distillery. While his personality could certainly fill a football stadium and he could have no doubt have handled the panel himself, he allowed the other panelists to speak and share their opinions. But no matter how difficult or technical a question we got from the crowd, Dave would have the answer. He was my go-to guy when the conversation stalled and was always ready with a story or a funny quip. He was the life of the party, which seemed to surround him like a bubble no matter where he went.

He was incredibly generous with his time and his knowledge. His enthusiasm for making spirits was evident immediately from anybody who ever met him. His advice and counsel to craft distillers around the world effectively took a small spark of creativity and created a movement that changed not only what we drink but how we make it. Dave helped refine the craft movement and gave its spirits a professionalism that allowed it to actually compete against and sometimes best the old standards.

While he made bourbon at Maker’s Mark, his real passion was straight rye whiskey. He was one of the few people in America who believed that it could one day be a major category again like it had been during the 1800s. His was proud of the technique he developed for controlling the mountains of foam produced by the fermenting of the notoriously difficult grain.

When we last met we talked about the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame and I could tell he truly desired to be a member. We all knew it was only a matter of time before he was honored. I’m just sorry he won’t be there when it surely happens.

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The Walking Dead: Rick Grimes Movie Confirmed

AMC has announced that it's launching a Walking Dead film series with Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in the lead.

This Walking Dead article contains spoilers.

Well, the mourning period for Rick Grimes was pretty short. That's partially due to the fact that our strapping Walking Dead lead didn't actually die in his final episode. On the contrary, he was whisked away on a helicopter to safety and presumably for a new round of adventures.

Now AMC has officially confirmed that we'll indeed get to see the continuing adventures of Rick Grimes. AMC announced in a press release (literally two minutes after Rick's final episode had aired) that Rick and the actor who portrays him, Andrew Lincoln, will be making the jump to film.

Former Walking Dead showrunner and current Walking Dead universe content officer Scott Gimple will write the script for the first movie and potentially more. The film series will come from AMC Studios Original Films. Production is set to begin in 2019. 

“We have a lot on the horizon – starting with a new epic featuring one of the greatest leading actors in television history and one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Gimple said in a statement. “These films are going to be big evolutions of what we’ve been doing on the show, with the scope and scale of features. We’re starting with the first part of the continuing story of Rick Grimes, and there is much more on the way, featuring yet-unseen worlds of The Walking Dead and faces from the show’s past, as well as new characters we hope to become favorites, told by TWD veterans and emerging voices. We want to break new ground with different, distinct stories, all part of the same world that’s captured our imagination for nearly a decade of the Dead.”

AMC had previously announced that it was looking into bringing The Walking Dead universe into a film, though the timing of this is legitimately shocking. Perhaps we should have seen it coming with Rick's non-death and we almost did! 

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Ramp Found That Was Used in Building the Great Pyramid

It’s another Great Pyramid “This could explain everything!” moment. Researchers digging at an alabaster quarry where the Egyptians carved out the stones used for the massive construction project have uncovered the remains of what appears to be a ramp, stairs and pole holes that helped workers move the huge stones to the surface where they were then transported to the pyramid site at Giza. While similar systems have been found at limestone quarries, this is the first in an alabaster mine and shows that this primitive yet effective technology dates back to Cheops.

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“The mission successfully discovered a unique system to pull and transfer the stone blocks from the bottom of the quarry after removing the debris used to cover it which can be dated to the reign of King Khufu of the 4th Dynasty. The moving system consists of the central ramp surrounded by two set of stairs contain poles holes which help lifting the alabaster stone block through at least 20% coarse ramp.”

Dr. Yannis Gourdon of the Institut Français d’Archéologie orientale is the co-director, with Dr. Roland Enmarch ot the University of Liverpool), of the Hatnub Epigraphic Project whose purpose is “recording texts commemorating pharaonic expeditions to the Egyptian alabaster quarries at Hatnub (in the desert c. 18km south-east of Amarna).” He revealed the new discovery there in the Luxor Times (including photos) and explains in LiveScience that the stones were first placed on a sled before being pulled out at a 20-degree angle. In addition to the ramp system, the researchers also found inscriptions and drawings linking the quarry to Cheops/Khufu.

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“There are at least 100 inscriptions discovered commemorating pharaonic expeditions to the alabaster quarries at Hatnub from the Old Kingdom to the New Kingdom. Studying the inscriptions on the detected construction devices, we came to the conclusion that this ramp belongs, at a minimum, to the reign of Pharaoh Cheops, who ordered the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza. This means that even in the times of Cheops, the ancient Egyptians knew how to move huge stone blocks even on very steep slopes.”

While the outside of the Great Pyramid is made of 2.3 metric ton limestone blocks, some alabaster was also used on the exterior but its primary use was for flooring, statues and coffins. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, confirms that this is the first evidence that shows how heavy blocks were lifted and moved from quarries.

A ramp is so much more elegant

Unfortunately, the discovery is tempered by bad news. The Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale web site points out that the quarry is now known to the general public and is in danger of being turned into a working operation again, eventually destroying this and other evidence of how the pyramids were built. It’s hoped that this can at least be delayed until researchers learn how this ramp system was used to build the Great Pyramid … not to mention what happened in between to get the stones from one location to the other.

As always, money talks louder than preservation.

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Bag Found That May Have Once Held Sir Walter Raleigh’s Head

Sir Walter Raleigh hasn’t been in the news for 400 years since he was beheaded on October 29, 1618. This past week, on the 400th anniversary of that event, he was a news item twice … and one of the stories was again about his beheading. Are we in a Raleigh renaissance? Will gentlemen start wearing capes and looking for ladies about to step in puddles? It’s 2018 … will ladies return the favor?

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“Contemporary accounts record that, after the head had been displayed for the assembled crowd following the execution, it was placed in a red velvet or leather bag and presented to Raleigh’s widow, Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Raleigh (1565 – 1647). Her love for her husband was such that Bess arranged for the head to be embalmed and then kept it by her side until she died 29 years later – at West Horsley Place, where she had come to live with her son and his family.”

Sir Walter first made the news when a drawing found under paint on a wall in the Tower of London looked suspiciously like he did as a prisoner there, which would make it an early selfie. Last week, the curators of West Horsley Place announced that their most resident from the same time period, Raleigh’s widow Bess, kept his disconnected head in a bag after losing its body … and that bag, lost since Bess’ death, may have been found!

The Raleigh bag

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“In 1665, Carew Raleigh sold the estate to Sir Edward Nicholas, First Secretary to Charles I and Charles II. It is known that some of the contents were included in the sale – including a collection of family portraits which remained part of the estate until the early 20thcentury – but, to date, we have been unable to find any further reference to the red bag. It was widely presumed that the bag had been buried with Sir Walter’s head in 1660.”

More like misidentified, says Peter Pearce, Director of the Mary Roxburghe Trust which is restoring West Horsley Place to the glory it had when Henry VIII once dined there on a 35-course lunch. The site alleges that a visiting scholar noticed a red velvet bag discovered after someone cleaned out the attic for repairs. Connecting the dots, the authority on historical dress inspected its design and material and dated the bag to the right century. At that point it was whisked away to be fitted with a model of Wally’s dead head.

Why didn’t they keep it in a labeled container?

Is this the bag that once held Sir Walter’s hat rack? There is some doubt because most folklore refers to it as a “leather” bag – which would make more sense for a head, even though Bess had it embalmed. The photos of the bag don’t show any stains, but they’re only of the outside. Like the traitorous Sir Walter who was also a poet and a gentleman, it’s what’s inside that counts – in the bag’s case that would be hair, skin or other remains which can be DNA tested.

Until tests are done, all we have are a red velvet bag and the story of him laying down his cloak for the queen. OK, that story is a fake so all we have is the bag and the likelihood that Sir Walter Raleigh will be in the news again soon.

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BREITLING X OUTERKNOWN SUPEROCEAN HERITAGE II WATCH

Breitling is no stranger to luxury horology — with an expansive portfolio that outlines tasteful design, meticulous attention to detail, and superb craftsmanship. But it’s their recent collaboration with Kelly Slater’s sustainable outdoor brand Outerknown that’s sure to sweep you away with the tide.

The Superocean Heritage II Chronograph features a cambered sapphire crystal housed in black steel, utilizing a two-gasket, screw locked crown that’s water-resistant to 200 meters. The 44mm watch will also see the introduction of a super strong Nato strap crafted from ECONYL yarn, a groundbreaking material that utilizes nylon waste in its manufacturing process, and a 25 jewel, 28,000 vph movement. With a bold blue colorway drawing significant inspiration from the ocean, this is the perfect eco-friendly companion for a day spent at sea. $7,100

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ASTRO ELROY PASSENGER DRONE

If you could hop into a passenger drone every morning, you might look forward to your daily commute. Astro's Elroy offers a completely autonomous flight and is built with a full carbon body and wide cabin glass for a 360° surround view. Passengers input their destination using a touchscreen interface, and a secure 4G network does the rest. The drone is equipped with 17 rotors that provide a top speed of 43mph, while the electric motor is designed to run quiet and emission-free while you pass all the poor suckers sitting in traffic. Elroy can carry two passengers and is small enough to fit into most garages.

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VINEBOX 12 NIGHTS OF WINE

Advent calendars just got a lot more interesting. Instead of counting down to the holidays with a bunch of boring chocolates, the Vinebox 12 Nights of Wine lets you pop the cork on a dozen different bottles. Whether you've been naughty or nice, each vial holds a glass of red or white from the best regions around the world. The wines come housed in a limited edition box and just 10 will feature a golden bottle that unlocks the key to a free subscription for all of 2019. $129.00

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Earth has two extra, hidden 'moons'

An illustration (not to scale) shows the position of one of the Kordylewski dust clouds in relation to Earth, the moon, and the sun.

First spied in the 1960s, the huge dust clouds have now been confirmed—and may affect plans for future space exploration.

Earth’s moon may not be alone. After more than half a century of speculation and controversy, Hungarian astronomers and physicists say they have finally confirmed the existence of two Earth-orbiting “moons” entirely made of dust.

As they describe in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the team managed to capture snapshots of the mysterious clouds lurking just 250,000 miles away, roughly the same distance as the moon.

Researchers previously inferred the presence of multiple natural companions to Earth, but the dust clouds weren’t actually seen until 1961, when their namesake, Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski, got a glimpse. Even then, their presence was questioned.

“The Kordylewski clouds are two of the toughest objects to find, and though they are as close to Earth as the moon, are largely overlooked by researchers in astronomy,” says study coauthor Judit Slíz-Balogh, an astronomer at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. “It is intriguing to confirm that our planet has dusty pseudo-satellites in orbit alongside our lunar neighbor.”

According to the new findings, each Kordylewski cloud is about 15 by 10 degrees wide, or equal to 30 by 20 lunar disks in the night sky. This translates to an area in space about 65,000 by 45,000 miles in actual size—nearly nine times wider than Earth.

The clouds themselves are enormous, but the individual particles that comprise them are estimated to measure just a micrometer across. Sunlight reflecting off these particles makes them glow ever so slightly—just like the pyramid-shaped glow of the zodiacal light that results from dust scattered between the orbits of the planets.

These satellite clouds, however, have remained hidden in the darkness of space until now simply because they are super faint.

“It is very difficult to detect the Kordylewski clouds against the galactic light, star light, zodiacal light, and sky glow,” says study coauthor Gábor Horváth, a physicist at Eötvös Loránd University. Now, using special polarizing filters on their cameras, the researchers have managed to reveal the scattered light reflecting off the individual particles within the clouds.

Multiple moons

For generations, astronomers have suggested the possibility that Earth may have more than one moon. There are five specific points of stability in deep space where they figured the moons could be located.

These orbital sweet spots, known as Lagrange points, are where the gravitational pull of two orbiting objects—such as Earth and the sun—is balanced out by the centripetal force of their orbits. Here, objects remain trapped in relatively stable positions and at constant distances from both the moon and Earth.

Kordylewski first searched two of these points, L4 and L5, in the hopes of finding solid-body moons in the 1950s. Instead, he ended up revealing our first hints of dust clouds orbiting Earth.

Polarized light around Lagrange point 5 (white dot) helped reveal the presence of a dusty Kordylewski cloud.

From comets to meteor showers to the zodiacal band, our solar system is a dusty place. Clouds of particles strewn between the planets can be seen by keen-eyed sky-watchers under pristine, dark skies. The Kordylewski clouds, however, are not as stable as these other dusty features in deep space. The cloud’s particles are continually swapped out, making them simultaneously ever-changing and ancient.

Dust particles get trapped in the clouds due to the Lagrange balancing act and then later escape due to slight tugs from either Earth or the moon. To replenish their dust supply, the clouds draw from all types of sources for interplanetary particles, including annual events like the Perseid meteor shower. So, while the particles themselves may not reside very long in terms of astronomical time, the clouds may have been a natural fixture since the birth of the Earth-moon system.

Cosmic tumbleweeds

These dusty hazards are a bit like cosmic tumbleweeds and may end up having quite a bit of relevance for future space exploration.

For instance, certain space missions involve parking satellites at the Lagrange points, where they consume minimal fuel to stay in orbit. That includes the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, which is due to unfurl at the Lagrange point L2 sometime in the 2020s. Space agencies have also come up with plans to use Lagrange points as transfer stations on a so-called interplanetary superhighway for missions to Mars, Horváth says.

“The investigation of the dynamics of Kordylewski clouds may very well end up being most important from the point of view of space navigation safety,” he adds.

And if Horváth amd Slíz-Balogh’s hypotheses are right, there may be more of these roving clouds of dust chasing Earth, just waiting to be discovered in neighboring Lagrange points.

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DAVIDOFF WINSTON CHURCHILL THE LATE HOUR CIGAR

The Late Hour is the latest in Davidoff's exclusive line of cigars that honor Winston Churchill, the former UK Prime Minister who is almost as well known for his vices as his political triumphs. Made to be enjoyed at the end of the evening, each cigar is blended with tobacco aged for six months in Scotch single malt whisky casks. Each one is created using two Nicaraguan filler tobaccos grown in the mineral-rich volcanic soils of Condega and Estelì. This adds a spicy note to each smoke while the Condega Visus tobacco aged in the whisky casks adds sweetness and wood. The Robusto is 5" long with a ring gauge of 52 with a near perfect draw and burn.

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Rumoured Breaking Bad Movie Is Probably Happening

After being rumoured for awhile now, it has been been confirmed that a breaking Bad Movie will start filming this month.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, the New Mexico Film Office had announced that a film called Greenbrier would go into production from mid-November to early February.

The film is said to be a Sony Studios production about a kidnapped man's quest for freedom. However, an unnamed source close to the production has allegedly confirmed that the film is in fact Breaking Bad.

The New Mexico Film Office has remained tight-lipped when questioned about the project and is sticking to the 'Greenbrier' project name.

"We are happy to welcome ‘Greenbrier’ and Sony Studios to New Mexico,” said New Mexico State Film Office Director Nick Maniatis. “For years we’ve built up the film industry in New Mexico and strengthened our film incentives, now we’re seeing success after success for the film industry in our state."

We'll have to wait to find out whether this mystery source is actually accurate - but the setting certainly makes sense. As fans will know, both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are set and filmed in New Mexico.

We'll be keeping our eyes peeled on the rumour mill and will keeo you updated.

If you need to catch up on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul (or re-watch them for the 10th time), all of the episodes are streaming on Stan.

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The Director Of Overlord Is OK With You Thinking He Made A Cloverfield Movie

When you hear the words “Bad Robot,” you think of Cloverfield. You think of Lost. You think of J.J. Abrams. What you don’t think of is a hard-R rated World War II movie with zombies. But if director Julius Avery has his way, that’ll all change very soon.

Avery is the director of Overlord, which opens December 6. In the film, a group of American soldiers is shot down over Nazi-occupied France and must complete their mission or the invasion of Normandy won’t happen. What they don’t realise is the mission will include defeating an army of zombies the Nazis have created to take over the world.

“It’s like Indiana Jones on acid,” Avery told Gizmodo at Fantastic Fest after the film’s world premiere. “It has all the intense action and the crazy sci-fi horror stuff, but also these great characters to latch on to.”

Avery himself is a character you can latch on to. Overlord is only his second film, but the journey he undertook to make it is one that makes you believe there’s still good in this world. “I come from Perth, West Australia,” he said. “I’m just a kid from the country and I know it sounds like a complete cliché but, I mean, this is what dreams are made of.”

Avery’s first feature was 2014's Son of a Gun, starring Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaites, and Alicia Vikander. That may sound impressive, but despite the cast, it didn’t find much of an audience and just barely holds a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Among the film’s fans, however, was J.J. Abrams. As the story goes, one day Avery got a call from Bad Robot telling him that Abrams saw Son of a Gun and wanted to meet him. “[At first] you feel really nervous,” Avery said. “This is someone you put on a pedestal but he quickly sweeps it away. He’s very casual and very disarming.”

He and Abrams talked over a bunch of different ideas and scripts, and finally landed on Overlord, written by Billy Ray. Avery was drawn to the film’s wild mix of genres and thought he could get them all perfectly balanced. “I spent a lot of time trying to thread the emotion and action,” Avery said. “I wanted to keep it tense and moving, but still take moments to have time with the characters—it makes for a more well-rounded experience.”

Part of that experience involved making Overlord Bad Robot’s first R-rated film ever, a decision that literally wasn’t made until everyone was on set. “The studio always agreed for us to shoot R-rated footage,” Avery said. “But it wasn’t until like the first day of shooting that everyone agreed this can be hard R. So we didn’t have to do coverage. Everyone realised this is the best version of the movie.”

As the movie was being made, people on the outside began to speculate Overlord may be another one of Bad Robot’s Cloverfield movies. The assumption made sense. Since that 2008 hit, Bad Robot has made two small genre movies (10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox that filmed under different titles and were, very late in the process, revealed to be part of this burgeoning, fan-favourite shared universe. Overlord, with its mysterious genre plot and uneventful title, seemed to follow the same pattern — but, in fact, it never had anything to do with Cloverfield. Still, Avery didn’t mind the speculation.

“Not everything that that comes out of [Bad Robot] is going to be a Cloverfield movie,” Avery said. “The Cloverfield franchise is really cool and because it’s so cool, [people] see the Bad Robot logo, they see J.J. Abrams’ name, and they put two and two together. This is its own beast but it’s great that everyone was showing a lot of interest in it.”

Once filming was complete, Abrams had his own beast to tackle, in the form of Star Wars: Episode IX. Both Abrams and Avery were working on their films in the same building at the same time — and despite Abrams working on one of the biggest films of all time, Avery still found his producer and mentor completely accessible. “What I love about him is that he workshops an idea until it’s right and if it isn’t right, we workshop it some more,” Avery said. “And that can be completely challenging at times but I learned a lot from that. You’ve got to get it right.”

If early reviews (including ours) are any indication, Avery did get it right. Another clue is that the director is already attached to make a new Flash Gordon movie, and Overlord hasn’t even opened yet. It seems that kid from Western Australia is well on his way, and the only monsters he needed were a few Nazi zombies.

Overlord opens November 9.

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2020 HARLEY-DAVIDSON LIVEWIRE ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE

Five years ago, Harley-Davidson first unveiled their LiveWire all-electric motorcycle. And it has been so long since that first concept, we were starting to think it would never come to fruition. Then, just a few months ago, the brand unveiled another new look at the bike — again, with vague details on when to expect the official unveiling. Now, we’ve finally gotten our first peek at what the actual production version will look like.

Remarkably, the production bike actually looks quite a bit like the one we saw earlier this year — save a couple very subtle tweaks (like a lower handlebar stance and matte-finished exposed steel, as opposed to polished). And many of the features we loved remain intact, like the Brembo brake system, Showa suspension, and clutch-less “twist-and-go” throttle. The brand has also offered up a bit of a closer look at some other features we didn’t get to see before. For instance, it’s said to have compatibility with a wide array of electric chargers, a full-color touchscreen cockpit display, and Bluetooth compatibility. Harley-Davidson is still saying that the bike will be available in 2019, but release details outside of that are tenuous, at best.

 

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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT TALIESIN 1 CHAIR

The Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin 1 Chair doesn't just look like origami, it actually is. Its sculpted form is constructed from a single piece of folded plywood. First created in 1949, the iconic seat is being re-released by former manufacturer Cassina in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation after a nearly 30-year hiatus. This version offers a few minor tweaks like a more reclined backrest and thicker padding that will be appreciated by the modern lounger. Along with a variety of finishes, the piece is also available in three limited edition colors with matching short-haired leather upholstery.

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Cassian Andor Is Getting His Own Star Wars Series

First was The Mandalorian and next is Cassian Andor.

Disney just announced that Diego Luna will star in a Rogue One prequel series about his character, Cassian Andor, that will premiere on Disney’s streaming service, now officially called Disney+. The show will go into production next year and “follows the adventures of rebel spy Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion and prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

“Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” Luna said in a press release. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”

Obviously, this is incredible news. Andor was one of the best parts of Rogue One, his relationship with K-2SO obviously had a lot more to it, and Luna’s performance seemed to just scratch the surface of Cassian’s past. It certainly felt there were a lot more story to tell about his role as a spy in the Rebellion, and it was just a matter of how it would be told. We’d hoped for a book or maybe a comic (and got one of those), but now we’re getting this series and it’s simply awesome.

There’s no release date for this show or The Mandalorian, or even a launch date for Disney+, to be frank. But look toward 2020 or 2021 on your calendars.

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STEVE MCQUEEN PERSOL 714 SUNGLASSES

Steve McQueen was a man who could step into a room and instantly command the attention of everybody in it without saying a word. He was a tremendous actor with endless style and class, which is why people still try to emulate his look today. His famous sunglasses from The Thomas Crown Affair have to be one of his most iconic accessories. Persol is re-releasing the 714 model shades dipped in a retro-honey colorway.

Persol’s classic McQueen sunglasses will be made with the Italian eyewear brand’s signature Meflecto technology, acetate frames, and pristine crystal lenses for superb clarity. And, just like the rest of the 714 models, these shades are foldable. These limited edition sunglasses have light blue lenses and a Miele colorway for the frames, providing a slight twist to the darker 714 shades McQueen sported in the classic crime film. If you’re looking to grab a pair of these dapper sun blockers, pull the trigger fast because there will only be 100 examples available. $350

[MIKA27]

Cheval Blanc Randheli Private Island

Cheval Blanc Randheli is the ultimate retreat, an exclusive private island resort that offers ultimate privacy and 5-star service. Located north from Male, within the constellation of islands that form the Noonu Atoll, in the Maldives, the four-bedroom villa offers sumptuous lodgings sleeping a total of 8 people and features exceptional private spaces, a dedicated team and exclusive facilities including its own spa, oversized outdoor pool, pristine beaches, exotic gardens and private fleet of dhonis. Concealed by lush foliage is a separate guest house complete with private cinema and a breezy dining pergola; beyond that, white sands, shady terraces and exotic gardens are yours to enjoy in complete seclusion. 

 

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New Research Claims ‘Oumuamua Could Be an Alien Probe After All

One of the most intriguing astronomy stories of the past year has been the discovery of ‘Oumuamua, the first-known interstellar object to visit our solar system. The object was first discovered around a year ago and has since been the source of endless speculation and study. While there are still those both within and without the astronomical community who believe ‘Oumuamua could be an alien probe, the prevailing theory states that ‘Oumuamua is likely an asteroid, comet, or possibly even a sliver of a planet blown apart by its dying host star.

Our first glimpse at ‘Oumuamua, the small dot in the center of this image.

‘Oumuamua is back in the headlines this week as Harvard researchers have published a study claiming that the strange object exhibited anomalous behavior as it approached our Sun which could bolster the theory that the object could be artificial in nature after all. According to Shmuel Bialy and Abraham Loeb of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the object increased in velocity as it passed our Sun without changing its spin, something abnormal for a comet.

Comets often experience a process known as outgassing when they warm and release gases trapped inside their icy bodies. When this occurs, the sudden release of gasses causes comets’ spins to change in either speed or direction. ‘Oumuamua, on the other hand, did neither. The researchers claim this could be due to the fact that the interstellar object might actually be a light sail, a spacecraft which uses solar radiation as its primary mode of propulsion:

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We explain the excess acceleration of `Oumuamua away from the sun as the result of the force that the sunlight exerts on its surface. For this force to explain measured excess acceleration, the object needs to be extremely thin, of order a fraction of a millimeter in thickness but tens of meters in size. This makes the object lightweight for its surface area and allows it to act as a light-sail. Its origin could be either natural (in the interstellar medium or proto-planetary disks) or artificial (as a probe sent for a reconnaissance mission into the inner region of the solar system).

Of course, other astronomers and scientists have raised objections to this new study, arguing that these two astronomers have “taken advantage of [their] institution’s brand to over-amplify results that are unverified or highly speculative.” Still, given that scientists here on Earth are looking into the same technology as a means of exploring distant areas of the universe, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

‘Oumuamua’s path through our Solar System.

Ultimately, while this new study is far from conclusive, it shows that ‘Oumuamua still presents one of the most fascinating astronomical mysteries of our time. Have we witnessed the first signs of extraterrestrial life? Could future generations look back on this discovery as first contact?

Let’s hope so.

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The Mysterious Prussian Army of Giants

Throughout recorded time there have been those rulers who have been eccentric to say the least. They have tried all manner of strange schemes, experiments, and pure off-the-wall oddness, adding some color to history, to say the least. The stories of these rulers run the gamut from genius to folly, and they never cease to entertain and enthrall. One such case is a great king of Prussia, who went about creating a bizarre army of super-sized giants the likes of which the world has never seen.

In 1713, Frederick William I of Prussia ascended to the throne to take the place of his father, Frederick I, and immediately made an impression with his sweeping changes and overall oddness. Under Frederick William there was much economic and military progress made, with mandatory military service eliminated in place of a tax, and the establishment of many public institutions such as schools and hospitals, and he was mostly seen as a competent and effective ruler, despite his notoriously short temper and hatred of the French. He was also certainly known to be quite eccentric, and in addition to his hair-trigger hot temper he was rather well-known as being a hopeless germaphobe, often bathing dozens of times per day and compulsively washing his hands, and this and his many other eccentricities have become the stuff of legend, cementing him as a very colorful historic character indeed, almost like something out of a comic book.

During his time as King, Frederick William I was perhaps most famous for his rather rapid expansion of the Prussian military, which despite his abolition of mandatory military service he nevertheless managed to blow up from around 30,000 men up to more than 80,000, many of them hired mercenaries. In addition to this filling of the ranks, the military minded king also stepped up training for his troops and improved their gear, transforming and molding them from a ragtag group of filthy, poorly equipped farmers into a well-oiled, disciplined and ferocious professional army. It was partly due to this complete overhaul of the Prussian military that Prussia’s territories expanded and their standing as a major power in Europe was cemented, and Frederick William I became widely known as “The Soldier King.”

Frederick William I

Even in his military affairs Frederick William I’s eccentricities came to the fore, as he became gradually more obsessed with tall soldiers, which may or may not have stemmed from the fact that he himself only stood 5’5”. They at first merely caught his eye, but he grew more and more absorbed in the idea that these tall men could be gathered into a separate regiment, and he would once say, “The most beautiful girl or woman in the world would be a matter of indifference to me, but tall soldiers, they are my weakness.” He went about forming what would go on to be called variously “The Potsdam Giants,” “The Grand Grenadiers of Potsdam,” and “The Long Guys,” which no matter what you call them are every bit as bizarre as you might expect.

The requirements for inclusion into this exclusive regiment were simple. You didn’t need any particular training or physical fitness, there was no real age standard or need for you to have any military experience whatsoever, you merely had to be over 6 feet tall, which in and of itself was exceptionally tall for the era. That was literally it. If you were tall enough, you were in, and in Frederick William I’s opinion, the taller the better, with his tallest soldier reputed as being 7’2”. They would have made a formidable site for sure, and were often paraded in front of visiting dignitaries in order to shock and impress. One Thomas Carlyle once said of the regiment upon seeing them in all of their glory:

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A Potsdam Giant Regiment, such as the world never saw, before or since. Sublime enough, hugely perfect to the royal eye, such a mass of shining giants, in their long-drawn regularities and mathematical maneuverings—like some streak of Promethean lightning, realized here at last, in the vulgar dusk of things! Truly they are men supreme in discipline, in beauty of equipment; and the shortest man of them rises, I think, towards seven feet, some are nearly nine feet high. Men from all countries; a hundred and odd come annually, as we saw, from Russia. The rest have been collected, crimped, purchased out of every European country, at enormous expense, not to speak of other trouble to his majesty.

These giant soldiers were apparently recruited from all over, and decked out in the finest uniforms and hats that soared upwards to around 1 foot, further adding to the illusion of height, and they carried the best equipment. In addition, the giant regiment were treated somewhat akin to rock stars, enjoying the finest meals and higher salaries compared to their more vertically challenged brethren, with more pay dealt out the taller the soldier was. They were pampered and preened, and it seemed like a rather easy life, but they were actually not intended for actual combat, more of a collection of toy soldiers commandeered by their eccentric master, and mostly just for show.

These towering soldiers lived the good life, but they were far from free, more like the King’s playthings. Frederick would often order several hundred of his giant regiment to march, along with “tall, turbaned Moors with cymbals and trumpets and the grenadiers mascot, an enormous bear,” just to cheer him up, and they were often used in such humiliating displays such as dancing about and for posing for the King’s portraits. In a more sinister twist, Frederick is said to have often experimenting with trying to make his soldiers even taller by splaying them out on racks and trying to stretch them out even more. One might be asking oneself right about now where the King got all of these super tall men, and that is interesting in and of itself.

Some of these soldiers volunteered willingly, with King Frederick putting out word of the kind of pay and benefits they would be getting, and with many thinking it would help to further their military careers. There were also rules put in place to tax farmers for not relinquishing their tall farmhands, and some Prussian allies were known to offer up tall men as well as gifts. Still others were tricked or cajoled into service. Even this was often not enough for the King, and in his growing obsession with tall soldiers he resorted to arranging actual abductions of any men or even children who were deemed to be taller than usual, and babies were often marked with red scarves if it was thought they were potentially taller than ordinary. Such was his relentless quest for tall soldiers to add to his regiment that Fredrick William I is said to have dabbled in controlled breeding experiments, a sort of precursor to eugenics, in which he sought to breed the tallest soldiers possible through pairing up tall men with tall women.

By the time the King died in 1740 he had amassed an impressive army of around between 2,500 and 3,200 extremely tall men for his legion of giants. Through all of this, the Potsdam Giants, despite all of their equipment and the massive amounts of money spent on them, they never were used for battle under the King’s rule, mostly serving just as a showcase and as playthings for the off-the-rails Kind Frederick William I, who did not dare risk losing any of his precious tall men to war. When he died they were taken over by his son, Frederick the Great, split off to other regiments, and sent into battle during the War of the Austrian Succession at Hohenfriedberg in 1745, as well as at Rossbach, Leuthen, Hochkirch, Liegnitz, and Torgau throughout the Seven Years’ War, but they proved to be woefully ineffective, and after many defeats were disbanded in 1806 shortly after the Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena. The Potsdam Giants have since been credited with perhaps being the seed for Adolph Hitler’s own selective breeding eugenics program, and this unconventional regiment has made its mark upon history.

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Remnants Of Earth's Oldest Dirt May Have Been Found In Greenland

Earth's oldest soil could be tucked away in an ancient rock outcrop in Greenland, according to new research. Dating back some 3.7 billion years, the suspected soil — exposed underneath a retreating ice cap — could potentially contain fossilised traces of primordial life.

The new study, published this week in the awkwardly named science journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, opens with: "Soil formation is a combination of physical, chemical, or biological processes important for regulating planetary atmospheres, and the ultimate source of essential nutrients such as phosphorus for the nutrition and origin of life."

Indeed, soil — unlike sterile bits of rock or sand — serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants. Identifying our planet's oldest soils, therefore, is of critical importance to scientists who study Earth's formative period and the emergence of our planet's first organisms.

The new study, led by University of Oregon geologist Greg Retallack and Old Dominion University geologist Nora Noffke, describes a tantalising new rock outcrop in the Isua Greenstone Belt of southwestern Greenland that, quite possibly, contains our planet's oldest dirt, and by consequence, the oldest traces of life on the planet.

It's not actually dirt — it's a substance known as palaeosol, former soil that's been packed tightly into solid rock. During a recent helicopter survey, Noffke saw the outcrop sticking out from underneath a receding ice cap. After collecting the rocks and analysing them in the lab, the researchers dated the samples at 3.7 billion years old — which, if confirmed, would make it the oldest known dirt on the planet.

Prior, the oldest known palaeosol was found in Australia's 3.5 billion-year-old Panorama Formation.

"This area of Greenland keeps throwing up new outcrops as the ice sheets retreat — I guess global warming isn't all bad," said Matthew Dodd, a geologist from University College, London, who was not involved with the new study. "They make a good first case for rocks being ancient soils. As for ancient life, if true then it trumps the current record for oldest life on land, which is around 3.5 billion years ago. This is interesting because the surface world would have been a nasty place to live on the early Earth without protection from UV radiation."

No doubt, the rock sample is providing a fascinating glimpse back into time. Chemical, microscopic, and physical analyses of the twisted metamorphic rock and the graphite tucked within it suggests a climate with moderate humidity and temperatures averaging around 12C. The topographic setting where this soil formed (if that's indeed what it is) was a narrow coastal plain with braided streams tucked between a continental shelf and some mountains, the authors write in the study.

The palaeosols "accumulated sulphate and sand crystals, of a size found in modern well-drained soils over periods of several thousand years," the authors write. Fragments taken from the outcrop display distinctly soil-like characteristics, including mudcracks and sand crystals.

Retallack said the sample provided an unprecedented view of the conditions on land at the time.

"The Earth would have been uninhabitable by humans or other animals, because the minerals in the soil show that there was very little oxygen in the air," he said in a statement. "Weathering back then was also odd, because it was more like acid-sulphate weathering of desert crusts than modern weathering by rain and plants. Such acid sulphate palaeosols have also been found on Mars, where they are also about 3.7 billion years old."

In all, eight different tests were done on the samples, none of which, the authors claim, were able to decisively rule out the palaeosol hypothesis. As for the claim that this soil may have harboured early microbial life, the researchers say this evidence comes in the form of light carbon isotopes with signatures consistent with photosynthesis. Obviously, where there's photosynthesis, there's life.

"The characteristic isotopic ratios of carbon throughout the palaeosol are tantalising indications of life on land much further back in time than previously thought," said Retallack. "Although the origin of life has been envisaged in warm little ponds or scalding hot submarine springs, this discovery encourages those who think that life originated in soil."

The discovery of specific carbon isotopes within the samples is great, but as Retallack himself admitted, the "evidence for life is circumstantial." Further evidence would be required to pull more conclusive biosignatures from the rock.

"A lot more work is needed to convince me that the graphite is biomass," Dodd told Gizmodo. "There are very small amounts of graphite, and it is tricky to rule out a meteoritic origin for the graphite at present."

To be clear, Retallack and Noffke are not saying the samples are most definitely chunks of palaeosol. And in fact, these researchers went so far to express their trepidation by phrasing the title of the study in the form of a question: "Are there ancient soils in the 3.7 [billion year old] Isua Greenstone Belt, Greenland?" But what Retallack and Noffke are saying is that they've found something super interesting, and that further investigations of this outcrop are most definitely warranted.

[MIKA27]

The New Trailer For The Alien Invasion Film Captive State Feels Eerily Close To Real Life

In an alternate universe, Captive State is basically a sequel to every alien invasion movie ever. In our universe, humans always win in the end — but in this universe, they didn't. Humans were beaten. The film picks up a decade later.

Directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Captive State stars John Goodman and Vera Farmiga, neither of whom make much of an impression in this new trailer.

What does make an impression though are the ideas of an oppressive government, the public being lied to, and a band of people trying to rise up against it, including Moonlight star Ashton Sanders.

It's a short, powerful teaser trailer to go along with the first one. Just enough to pique our interest for March, when the film will be released. Plus, that alien at the end looked pretty interesting, huh?

[MIKA27]

Report: NASA And Yuri Milner Working Together On Life-Hunting Mission To Enceladus

It looks like NASA will offer billionaire entrepreneur and physicist Yuri Milner help on the first private deep-space mission: a journey designed to detect life, if it exists, on Saturn's moon Enceladus, according to documents acquired by New Scientist.

New Scientist's Mark Harris reports:

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Agreements signed by NASA and Milner's non-profit Breakthrough Starshot Foundation in September show that the organisations are working on scientific, technical and financial plans for the ambitious mission. NASA has committed over $70,000 [$96,070] to help produce a concept study for a flyby mission. The funds won't be paid to Breakthrough but represent the agency's own staffing costs on the project.

The teams will be working in the project plan and concepts through next year, New Scientist reports.

Icy moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter are intriguing candidates for alien life. Jupiter's moon Europa has evidence of water in the form of plumes spewing water vapour out of cracks in its icy surface. Representative John Culberson (R-Texas), who was recently voted out of office, was a strong proponent for a NASA mission to this icy world.

Enceladus specifically has evidence of a warm ocean and complex organic molecules, according to Cassini data, though it orbits Saturn, which is farther from Earth and Jupiter. Perhaps life has evolved beneath the ice around heat spewed from volcanic vents, as some animals have done in Earth's deep oceans.

The Breakthrough Initiatives project seeks to answer the deepest questions about space, including whether we're alone in the universe. Its board includes billionaires Yuri Milner and Mark Zuckerberg, and formerly physicist Stephen Hawking, who passed away in March.

It lists mission concepts like a solar sail to reach nearby stars, developing the technology to find Earth-like exoplanets, and sending out a message meant for aliens, similar to the Arecibo message.

New Scientist reports that Breakthrough Initiatives would lead and pay for an Enceladus fly-by mission, with consulting from NASA.

Gizmodo has reached out to NASA and Breakthrough Initiatives for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

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The First Trailer For Netflix's Korean Zombie Epic Kingdom Teases Ancient Horrors

We've known for a while that Netflix has been working with Korean studio Astory to help bring a fantastical zombie series to life — and now we've got our first look at its creepy, gorgeous take on zombie horror.

Set at an unspecified point in the five centuries that make up Korea's Joseon Dynasty — one of the most culturally influential periods of Korean history — Kingdom, directed by Kim Seong-hun, follows a young prince struggling to deal with the passing of his father.

Except his father hasn't exactly passed...because he's risen from the dead — something being kept secret from the prince and Korea at large until the inevitable happens, throwing the kingdom into chaos as it deals with the startlingly rapid hordes of the walking dead.

The courtly intrigue that frames all the zombie horror seems to be what will set Kingdom apart from its zombie contemporaries — well, beyond its unique setting, at least. But that's not to say there won't be some wild-looking historical zombie action to go with it, by the looks of it. Kingdom is set to hit Netflix in January.