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

[helix]

Hey @MIKA27 miss your posts everything ok?

[MIKA27]

1 hour ago, helix said:

Hey @MIKA27 miss your posts everything ok?

Hey @helix all has been well, just a little busy of late with working from home.

I still plan on posting, but doing this for 11 years, I felt I needed a break as it takes a fair bit of time on a daily basis.

One would think I had more time available, but not really. Nice of you to check in though, I appreciate it!  

How are you and the family?

[MIKA27]

A Black Hole Collided With Something That Shouldn’t Exist

Astronomers are puzzling over observations that show a black hole smashing into a mystery object of unusual size.

New research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters describes a collision between a black hole and a yet-to-be identified object. At the time of this celestial tryst, the black hole was 23 times more massive than our Sun, but the unknown object was just 2.6 times the Sun’s mass, which is distinctly weird.

The scientists behind the new paper, co-authored by astrophysicist Vicky Kalogera from Northwestern University, say the smaller object could be a black hole or a neutron star, the latter of which is the super-dense remnant of an exploded star. A black hole of 2.6 solar masses would be the smallest on record (the lightest known black hole is 5 solar masses), while a neutron star of the same mass would be the biggest on record (the heaviest neutron stars are between 2.3 and 2.4 solar masses). So either way, it’s not something astronomers have ever seen before — and in fact, it could represent an entirely new class of dense, compact objects.

“This discovery is shocking because we found an object with a mass we did not expect,” explained Imre Bartos, an astrophysicist at the University of Florida and a co-author of the new study, in an email to Gizmodo. This range of compact objects, between 2 and 2.5 solar masses, was “thought to be uninhabited until now,” he said, in reference to an enigmatic weight class known as the mass gap.

“In my opinion, the most intriguing part of this study is the detection of an object in the ‘mass gap,’ which is a sort of no-man’s-land between the heaviest neutron star and lightest black hole masses we’ve measured,” Thankful Cromartie, an astrophysicist at the University of Virginia and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory who wasn’t involved with the new study, wrote in an email to Gizmodo. “Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say which it is, partially because the ‘tidal deformation,’ or neutron star stretching, that’s usually detectable in neutron star mergers is drowned out by this merger’s asymmetry.”

That said, the available observational evidence and theoretical predictions of acceptable neutron star masses “indicate that this object is most likely to be a very light black hole,” she said. If this turns out to be a bona fide neutron star, “we’d have to very radically reconsider the way matter behaves at extremely high densities.”

Astronomers have previously witnessed black hole on black hole action, and even neutron stars smashing into other neutron stars, but not a black hole colliding with a neutron star. If confirmed, this cosmic merger, designated GW190814, would be the first. Gizmodo wrote about preliminary research into this event last summer.

GW190814 was spotted on August 14, 2019 by the National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo detector. This merger, located 8 million light-years from Earth, was so momentous that it created ripples in the fabric of space-time, which radiated outwards in the form of gravitational waves that eventually reached detectors on Earth (thanks Einstein!). The discrepancy in mass of the two objects, at a ratio of 9:1, represents a new extreme for a gravitational wave event. The prior mass disparity record belonged to GW190412 — a collision involving two black holes — which featured a 4:1 mass ratio.

Previous cosmic mergers involving neutron stars, like GW170817 from August 2017, produced detectable light waves in addition to gravitational waves, but no light was detected from this merger, despite the fact that several observatories around the world were trained on the spot after LIGO and Virgo scientists sent out an alert. It’s possible, the authors say, that the light from GW170817 was too faint given the vast distances involved. Or, the unknown object was a black hole, albeit a surprisingly underweight black hole. The researchers suggest another possibility: It was a neutron star that was gobbled by the black hole in one big gulp, in a rapid merger that produced no light.

A still from a visualisation of the merging objects, depicted as two black holes and emitting gravitational waves. (Image: N. Fischer, S. Ossokine, H. Pfeiffer, A. Buonanno (Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics), Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) Collaboration)

Excitingly, and as Charlie Hoy, a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and a graduate student at Cardiff University, said in a press release: “This is the first glimpse of what could be a whole new population of compact binary objects.”

Cromartie said the lighter object is unlikely to be a neutron star, “despite how exciting that result would be.” We’re not currently able to know either way, “but it’s important not to expend too much energy on considering that possibility,” as the LIGO team has explicitly stated that it’s not likely, she said.

The origin of the lighter object, with its 2.6 solar masses, remains another mystery. Both neutron stars and black holes are born when massive stars collapse under their own gravity, said Bartos, but the new object is “inconsistent with this evolution, so something must have created it other than a dying star.”

One interesting possibility, said Bartos, is that this object emerged from the collision of two “normal-sized” neutron stars, which tend to weigh around 1.3 solar masses, “so two of those can nicely make up the mass we observe here,” he told Gizmodo. To which he added:

Quote

The fact that such a collision was then followed by the remnant’s collision with a black hole suggests that there is some sort of “assembly line” at play here. This is actually expected in the universe in places where there are a lot of black holes and neutron stars in close proximity. This is the case in the centre of every galaxy where these objects migrate due to the attraction of the central supermassive black hole that is found in basically every galaxy. It can also help if something facilitates the collisions, like a large influx of gas that forms a disk around the supermassive black hole, and then collects and assembles the smaller black holes and neutron stars. Actually, the other big surprise about this event, the very different masses of the two colliding objects, is also pointing towards a violent encounter.

The next step will be to confirm and study more cosmic mergers. The good news is that more detections are expected in the coming months and years, as our astronomical instruments steadily improve.

“The rate of discoveries is accelerating — this was only the third collision published by LIGO and Virgo out of over 50 candidates that we are still analysing,” Bartos told Gizmodo. In the coming years, the rate of discoveries will further increase by a sizable factor, he said, “so we can expect more exciting detections” on a practically daily basis. Which, wow.

[MIKA27]

Watch A Firefighting Airtanker rain Red Death On A FORD Expedition

Forest fires are getting bigger, thanks to climate change, and when it comes to fighting forest fires, bigger fires require bigger planes. This training video was released during the height of the destructive 2019 fire season by folks who know a thing or two about big fires and fighting them: the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

A gif from this video popped up on Reddit this week, and I thought it would be interesting to dive into it a little. It was taken from a training video CAL Fire put together to illustrate the force of a payload delivery from new Large Airtankers (LATs) and Very Large Airtankers (VLATs). They scarified a poor Ford Expedition to illustrate just how intense the forces are during a fire retardant drop (the car-crushing madness starts at 1:20)

The plane dropped 4,082 kg of flame retardant on the Expedition, causing it to rock and crushing in its roof. It never had a chance. That is the payload of a LAT, a Grumman S2-T Tanker. And this is the small plane. A VLAT can drop up to 170,000 pounds over the length of a mile.

The entirety of the training in this video is one loud-and-clear message: Don’t be near this thing when it drops. Which seems like good advice. Firefighters emphasise that these planes can drop retardant in a stream 90 to 130 feet wide and that fire fighters should stay at least 15.24 m beyond the drop site. They definitely should not be in front of or behind the payload.

The last few years have required some big planes indeed. Over 250,000 acres were scorched in California in 2019 and three people lost their lives. The 2017 and 2018 season was even worse, with more than 100 people losing their lives. Smaller fires are already forming in California, as summer heats up and vegetation dries out, the VLATs will soon fly again.

 

[MIKA27]

Minivan Driver Flees Hit-And-Run With Motorcycle Still Attached

I think it’s charitable to say that, for many people, the terrible decision they make deciding to run away from a crash can be best explained by panic. I suspect that’s what’s going on in this insane situation, where sheer panic has made this driver decide to try and haul arse away from a hit-and-run with an entire motorcycle jammed into the front of their minivan. That, or being an unrepentant dick. I’ll hope it’s the former.

This happened Friday evening in Corona, California, on the 91 Freeway. I’ll also mention that, thankfully, the motorcycle rider only sustained minor injuries, with the wreck flinging him off his Honda CBR and onto the shoulder. I can’t decide if that makes him incredibly lucky, or if getting whacked by a Honda Odyssey in the first place negates all the luck?

Video captured by Will Panda shows the whole insane event, which includes a massive, festive plume of sparks as the Odyssey shoves that motorcycle down the highway.

Aside from the sparks, the pair actually seem to be going along remarkably well in their connected state, which I attribute to cross-product-platform compatibility from Honda’s engineers. If Honda was considering making some sort of official Odyssey-as-sidecar mount for their CBRs, this would be a good early test run.

Panda’s video shows the motorcycle ditched by the side of the road, along with the Odyssey’s front bumper:

…and, not far away, the rest of the Odyssey was spotted, abandoned:

KTLA 5 in Los Angeles reports that the suspected hit-and-run driver, 25 year-old George Cesar Valentin, later attempted to report the minivan as stolen, which would seem to be part of an attempted ploy to hide his involvement, especially since Valentin later confessed to driving the van.

Yes, it can make for luridly fascinating video, but running from a crash is never a good idea.

[MIKA27]

Japan’s New Fugaku Supercomputer Is Number One, Ranking in at 415 Petaflops

Japan’s Riken institute has ripped through prior records on computing speed, with its brand-new Fugaku supercomputer performing 2.8 times more calculations per second in a biannual speed ranking than the previous record holder, the IBM system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Summit, the Oak Ridge computer, is now second place. Another IBM system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as well as two Chinese supercomputers also slid one place in the rankings, run by the Top500 project, thanks to Fugaku.

Per the New York Times, the total bill for the Riken institute’s six-year plan for Fugaku came in at around $US1 ($1) billion. It is based on the ARM architecture more commonly associated with cell phones and other mobile devices, the first time an ARM-derived system has hit the number one slot and a notable divergence from prior supercomputers that have mostly relied on chips derived from Intel or AMD designs. According to Anandtech, Fugaku has 7.3 million cores, consumes 28 megawatts of power, and was able to perform at 415 petaflops, the unit of measurement for a quadrillion floating point operations per second. (Fugaku has a maximum theoretical maximum performance of nearly 514 petaflops.)

While Fugaku dominated in raw computing speed, it also took the top three slots in tests designed to rank its capacity applications for industrial, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, according to Kyodo News. That’s another record, Riken told the network, as no prior system has held all four spots at once. It is expected to be operational by April 2021 though it is already assisting some medical research on the novel coronavirus pandemic, Kyodo News reported.

Fugaku “is the culmination of almost 10 years of investment and work,” Arm senior vice president Christopher Bergey told the Times. “It’s a pretty exciting time.”

Fugaku may not rule for long, however. The Department of Energy is building another supercomputer named Frontier with Cray Inc., which the agency says will be able to process 1.5 exaflops per second. As of May 2019 that would have made it as powerful as the next 160 fastest supercomputers combined (a number that may no longer be accurate, as Top500 says Fugaku was responsible for the majority of a roughly 35 per cent increase in global supercomputing capacity in the last six months on its own). Frontier is scheduled to go online in 2021. The DOE is also building another supercomputer, Aurora, in partnership with Intel, which is slated to beat Frontier into service and will be the first exascale unit.

China has three exascale projects of its own. University of Tennessee electrical engineering and computer science professor Jack Dongarra told IEEE Spectrum he didn’t expect either the U.S. or Chinese exascale projects to actually go online in 2021, but that Chinese rivals may give the competition a run for its money.

“China is very aggressive in high-performance computing,” Dongarra told the magazine. “Back in 2001, the Top 500 list had no Chinese machines. Today they’re dominant.”

[MIKA27]

A Special Effects Company Built a Robotic Dolphin so Aquariums Won’t Have to Keep Real Ones in Captivity

You don’t need to have seen documentaries like The Cove to feel uneasy about whales, sharks, and dolphins being held captive in tiny tanks at aquariums and theme parks. But instead of eliminating those experiences completely, which can help educate the public about these creatures, robots, like this self-contained swimming dolphin, could instead be the star attractions.

Theme parks like SeaWorld have always posed ethical concerns because, unlike zoos, the captive creatures are often trained and required to perform for visitors several times a day. And while zoos raise similar ethical concerns, there have been efforts to make outdoor exhibits larger so they can more closely resemble an animal’s natural habitat. Recreating the vast scale of the ocean just isn’t possible in a theme park where aquatic exhibits are competing for real estate with rides and other attractions.

But an idea that was first tested over 20 years ago might be the solution. At The Living Seas exhibit at Disneyworld’s Epcot centre, which features a six million gallon aquarium, a robotic dolphin (also known as the Dolphin Robotic Unit, or DRU) would swim around the tank and interact with real divers and real sea life as part of a scripted performance for guests. It didn’t fool anyone until the robotic dolphin was used as part of an interactive experience at Castaway Cay, a private island Disney owns in the Bahamas used as a stop for its various cruise ships. Guests were able to get in the water and interact with the dolphin, and despite knowing it was a robot, the experience felt far more real given how close they were able to get to it.

Twenty decades of robotics innovation later, special effects technicians from San Francisco-based Edge Innovations, working with Walt Conti and Roger Holzberg, the former Creative Director/Vice-President at Walt Disney Imagineering, have designed and built a new robotic dolphin that moves and swims with an almost eery level of realism. Weighing in at a hefty 270 kg, the robot has a battery life of about 10 hours, depending on its level of activity, and can survive in a saltwater environment for about 10 years, at which point new and improved models will presumably eventually replace it.

The robotic dolphin was designed to not only simulate the movements and appearance of an actual adolescent-aged bottlenose dolphin, but to feel like one too with a realistic skeletal and muscle structure underneath its outer skin, and accurate weight distribution that helps make its swimming motions look like the creative is actually alive. But it’s not. The one thing missing from the robot dolphin are cameras, sensors, and intelligence to make it autonomous. Its essentially a self-contained puppet, with its movements controlled by a nearby operator so that the dolphin appears to respond in real-time to commands, or interactions with people.

This upgraded robotic dolphin isn’t headed for a Disney theme park or resort, instead, it’s being developed and tested for a series of attractions at a new Chinese aquarium where the government has put a stop to the wildlife trade as part of its efforts to slow and eventually stop the spread of Covid-19. But even when the pandemic is eventually over, with robots that look and move as realistically as this dolphin does, there’s really no good reason to use live creatures in the popular ‘swim with dolphins’ experiences around the world. It doesn’t need to eat, it doesn’t require veterinary services, and aside from also being an ethical alternative to animals in captivity, the robot isn’t autonomous and doesn’t pose a potential safety risk to guests. The worst that could happen is its batteries die at which point you just tell kids it’s taking a nap.

[MIKA27]

Michael Keaton Could Play Bruce Wayne Again for The Flash Movie

Funny thing about Infinite Earths to have crises on. Anyone could show up.

The Wrap and the Hollywood Reporter are reporting Michael Keaton is in talks with Warner Bros. to potentially reprise his role as the Dark Knight himself for the upcoming, long-in-the-works Flash movie starring Ezra Miller’s version of Barry Allen. The Wrap notes that Keaton’s involvement is still in very early stages, and could go “either way;” it also specifies that Keaton would be playing Bruce Wayne specifically, rather than both the billionaire playboy and his vigilante alter-ego, the Batman, while THR’s report simply states Keaton would be reprising the role he played in the early ‘90s Bat-classics.

THR’s updated report adds that the deal could see Keaton not just return for The Flash, but be part of a multi-film deal that sees him become a mentor in the DC cinematic universe, including a potential appearance in Batgirl.

We’ve known for a while that at least some form of Warner Bros.’ current plans for the Flash movie would involve the DC Comics multiverse in some fashion. It was first revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that the film, then still directorless, was going to be an adaptation of Flashpoint, the 2011 comic book event that set the stage for the radical overhaul of continuity that established the “New 52” era of DC Comics.

Since then, whether or not Flash was still Flashpoint — and who exactly going to direct it, it is currently It’s Andy Muschietti — has been a point of contention, although Muschietti did address earlier this year that the movie will tell a “different version” of Flashpoint. One that seemingly brings back a different kind of older Batman than the comic did, apparently.

We’ll bring you more on Warner Bros.’ plans for the Flash movie as and when we learn them. The Flash is currently set to hit U.S. theatres June 3, 2022.

[MIKA27]

Gigantic Circular Structure Found Near Stonehenge

A surprisingly large pit structure has been discovered around Durrington Walls Henge, which is less than 3 km away from Stonehenge. Dated at 4,500 years old, it’s the biggest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.

Located on Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom, the circular structure consists of at least 20 carefully positioned pits. Now buried, these pits were huge, at more than 5.03 m deep and 10 to 20 metres wide. Together, these pits formed a circle measuring more than 1.3 km in diameter. At the centre of this circle is Durrington Walls Henge, one of Britain’s largest henge monuments. The pits are, on average, around 864 metres from the centre point. Details of this incredible discovery were published today in the scientific journal Internet Archaeology.

Nine distinct pits, as revealed by magnetograph remote sensing technology. (Image: V. Gaffney et al., 2020)

“The numbers and the layout of these features is unique as far as I am aware, and they constitute the largest prehistoric structure in Britain,” Vincent Gaffney, a co-author of the new study and an archaeologist at the University of Bradford, wrote in an email to Gizmodo. The entire structure encloses an area measuring 300 hectares, he said.

The pits were previously thought to be a series of dew ponds or sink holes, which is why they were ignored for so long. Several remote sensing tools were used to detect and characterise these “massive geophysical anomalies,” as they’re described in the paper, including ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry. These surveys were undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP), with help from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, St. Andrews University, and other institutions.

“This discovery was made possible by the increased use of remote sensing surveys over very large areas,” said Gaffney. “We can see things invisible to past archaeologists, and this is allowing us to join up the dots in a way we could never have previously imagined.”

Indeed, remote sensing tools are revolutionising archaeology, allowing scientists to investigate buried or hidden spaces without having to lift a shovel.

The site was not formally excavated, but a series of core samples were extracted for radiocarbon dating. This structure was built some 4,500 years ago during Britain’s Neolithic period, when farming was spreading in the region. The core samples also yielded bits of flint and bone.

Gaffney said Neolithic people would have used “antler picks, scapula shovels, stone tools, sweat, and tears” to excavate the pits. Given the tremendous size of the pits, it’s fair to say a tremendous amount of social coordination was also required. These people “moved a vast amount of earth, but the same society also built Stonehenge, so we know that they were capable of immense community efforts,” Gaffney told Gizmodo. As to what this structure looked like at the time, “we have no idea,” he said, adding that “without excavation we cannot tell.” It’s possible, for example, that the pits were covered.

Aerial view of the area, showing the Durrington Walls, in red, and the surrounding circular structure, as indicated by yellow dots. (Image: University of St. Andrews)

In terms of its purpose, the structure may have designated a boundary to a sacred space, either guiding or warning people that they were approaching the Durrington ritual site, according to the researchers. The data also suggests this structure was maintained into the Middle Bronze Age (1400 to 900 BCE), which, if true, “would have significant implications for our understanding of the history and development of monumental structures across the Stonehenge landscape.,” the authors wrote in the paper.

The layout appears to include the Larkhill Causewayed Enclosure, an older prehistoric monument built 1,500 years before Durrington. Fascinatingly, this culture appears to have developed a type of counting system, as the circular structure couldn’t have been built without it.

“To create a notional circle over [1.3 km] in diameter and over variable topography suggests it was laid out by pacing — but that would require the capacity to count and tally — and that is a new insight into how these communities worked,” said Gaffney.

This past Saturday, June 21, marked the summer solstice, but no mass gatherings were allowed at Stonehenge owing to the covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the sunrise was live-streamed on English Heritage’s Facebook page.

[MIKA27]

This Trailer for The King’s Man Takes Super Spy Action to the Early 20th Century

When shadowy masterminds threaten to descend the world into chaos, the Kingsman steps in. Even if his agency was only just created. It’s prequel time.

Set in the early 20th century, The King’s Man is the newest film in the Kingsmen series of raunchy super spy flicks helmed by Matthew Vaughn, based on a comic book series by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. Starring Ralph Fiennes alongside Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, and Djimon Hounsou, this prequel shows the origins of the spy agency, amidst a global war and an evil plot apparently led by… Rasputin?

Well, if you’re going to pick a historical figure to be a supervillain, Rasputin’s definitely one of the best you’ve got to choose from. Majorly influential, maybe a wizard, and notoriously strange, he’s definitely the sort of guy an imaginary spy agency would be interested in. Also it looks like he’s a real fiend in a knife fight.

The King’s Man, produced by 20th Century Studios, is slated for release September 18 in the U.S., though, in these days, all theatrical dates are tenuous. Disney also released a new poster for the film, which you can find below.

[MIKA27]

In the First Trailer for The Rental, Terrors Both High-Tech and Creepy-Human Ruin a Seaside Getaway

Two couples travel to a gorgeous, totally isolated beach home. That sounds like the makings of a peaceful escape… or the set-up for a horror movie.

There’s a timely twist in The Rental, the debut feature from actor turned director Dave Franco (who co-wrote with indie all-star Joe Swanberg), when one of the guests spots a spy camera in the shower, but the brand-new trailer also gives a strong indication that’s just the beginning of their vacation-turned-nightmare.

The Rental, which stars Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, and Toby Huss, opens in select theatres, drive-ins, and on demand on July 24.

[MIKA27]

The Force Is With This Stunning Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Poster

By now, you’re surely well aware that 2020 is the 40th anniversary of one of the best films of all time: The Empire Strikes Back. We here on Gizmodo have been celebrating, as has Lucasfilm, which released an official poster to commemorate the event.

That poster, by artist Matt Ferguson, may have caught your eye over the past few weeks. It’s been everywhere. You can already buy it on a t-shirt, a mug, as a cheap lithograph like you’d get in Spencer Gifts, you name it. But today, Lucasfilm has teamed up with Bottleneck Gallery and Acme Archives to release the poster as a limited edition screenprint in multiple variants.

Variant editions, limited to only 475 each, sold out earlier today. But timed editions are still on sale and will remain so until Sunday, June 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Here are the two editions to choose from. Both are 24 x 36-inch screen prints and cost $US65 ($94) each or $US125 ($181) for the set

Ferguson, whose work has been featured many times before, did a long interview with StarWars.com about his poster so we urge you to read that if you’re curious. However, we did ask him a few additional questions over email about the work, which you can read below.

 

[MIKA27]

In Warrior Nun’s First Trailer, the World’s Salvation Is a Badass Sister Act

In Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Ben Dunn’s Warrior Nun Areala, a young girl living in modern times is shocked to learn that she’s actually the latest in a long line of reincarnated holy warriors who ultimately turned to the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to find spiritual salvation. Cut to a thousand or so years in the future, though, things have changed.

But in Warrior Nun’s first trailer, you can see that the story’s changed ever so slightly. Rather than being straight-up destined to become the Warrior Nun, Ava (Alba Baptista) finds herself being chosen by Mother Superion (Sylvia De Fanti) and Father Vincent (Tristan Ulloa) — the two heads of a secret Catholic academy — to become one of many warriors, where young nuns (and at least one young priest) are trained in the martial arts in order to fight demons.

Though Superion and Vincent find Ava quite dead, when they use an ancient relic to embed the halo of an angel into Ava’s back, resurrecting her and imbuing her with all sorts of supernatural abilities that make her the Order of the Cruciform Sword’s best hope at winning the war against Hell. Overlaid in religious ideology as the plot sounds, you really don’t get the sense that Warrior Nun’s all that concerned about blasphemy. Case in point: child nuns shooting at people with machine guns.

It’s interesting to note that Warrior Nun seems to be shifting away from some of the more manga-inspired narrative directions the original comic book went in, though the show’s focus on slick action suggests it’s not fully deviating from the source material. Warrior Nun has a solid chance at being Netflix’s next big hit if it doesn’t pull its punches, but we’ll have to see how it’s all going to turn out later this summer.

Warrior Nun hits Netflix on July 2.

[MIKA27]

Netflix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Revival Gets a Chilling Official Trailer

Netflix has released the official trailer for its Unsolved Mysteries revival; prepare to be intrigued. It’s been well over a year since we last reported on the Unsolved Mysteries revival. As such, it’s exciting to get a preview of the fruits of this revival, with mysteries running the gamut from very human to very supernatural teased during the minute-and-a-half trailer.

The official Unsolved Mysteries revival trailer reveals excerpts from the first six mysteries. It looks like this new Unsolved Mysteries will investigate  cases both here in the U.S. and abroad. In a very on-brand move, there will also be a mix of mysteries which range from very human in their scope to some which cross over into supernatural territory, as evidenced by the title of one episode: “Berkshire’s UFO.” All of these elements seem to align with the original Unsolved Mysteries‘ approach to storytelling, right down to the music and what appears to be re-enactments. The first six episodes — what Netflix is calling “Volume 1” — are set to debut on Wednesday, July 1. This mention of a “Volume 1” seems to hint at the show’s plan to bring us even more new mysteries in the future, however near or far away that might be.

The original Unsolved Mysteries series aired from 1987 to 2010, ending its 23-year run with more than 600 episodes under its belt. The Netflix revival of Unsolved Mysteries  comes from executive producers Terry Dunn Meurer, John Cosgrove, Robert M. Wise under the Cosgrove/Meurer banner as well as 21 Laps Entertainment’s Shawn Levy and Josh Barry. The episode directors on Volume 1 are: Marcus A. Clarke (“Mystery on the Rooftop,” “No Ride Home,” and “Berkshire’s UFO”), Jimmy Goldblum (“13 Minutes”), and Clay Jeter (“House of Terror”, “Missing Witness”).

The first six episodes of Unsolved Mysteries arrive on Netflix on Wednesday, July 1.

 

[helix]

1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

Hey @helix all has been well, just a little busy of late with working from home.

I still plan on posting, but doing this for 11 years, I felt I needed a break as it takes a fair bit of time on a daily basis.

One would think I had more time available, but not really. Nice of you to check in though, I appreciate it!  

How are you and the family?

Good to find you well as are we. Fortunate to be able to stay/work from home. 

[Fuzz]

6 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Netflix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ Revival Gets a Chilling Official Trailer

Netflix has released the official trailer for its Unsolved Mysteries revival; prepare to be intrigued. It’s been well over a year since we last reported on the Unsolved Mysteries revival. As such, it’s exciting to get a preview of the fruits of this revival, with mysteries running the gamut from very human to very supernatural teased during the minute-and-a-half trailer.

The official Unsolved Mysteries revival trailer reveals excerpts from the first six mysteries. It looks like this new Unsolved Mysteries will investigate  cases both here in the U.S. and abroad. In a very on-brand move, there will also be a mix of mysteries which range from very human in their scope to some which cross over into supernatural territory, as evidenced by the title of one episode: “Berkshire’s UFO.” All of these elements seem to align with the original Unsolved Mysteries‘ approach to storytelling, right down to the music and what appears to be re-enactments. The first six episodes — what Netflix is calling “Volume 1” — are set to debut on Wednesday, July 1. This mention of a “Volume 1” seems to hint at the show’s plan to bring us even more new mysteries in the future, however near or far away that might be.

The original Unsolved Mysteries series aired from 1987 to 2010, ending its 23-year run with more than 600 episodes under its belt. The Netflix revival of Unsolved Mysteries  comes from executive producers Terry Dunn Meurer, John Cosgrove, Robert M. Wise under the Cosgrove/Meurer banner as well as 21 Laps Entertainment’s Shawn Levy and Josh Barry. The episode directors on Volume 1 are: Marcus A. Clarke (“Mystery on the Rooftop,” “No Ride Home,” and “Berkshire’s UFO”), Jimmy Goldblum (“13 Minutes”), and Clay Jeter (“House of Terror”, “Missing Witness”).

The first six episodes of Unsolved Mysteries arrive on Netflix on Wednesday, July 1.

 

Yeah, but without Robert Stack, it just won't sound right.

[MIKA27]

16 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Yeah, but without Robert Stack, it just won't sound right.

Agree mate but Robert Stack don't sound right these days  Still, it looks like they'll get the spook factor right.

The original used to scare the crap out of me as a kid. The music.... 

[MIKA27]

Last Trailer For Horror Film Antebellum Before August 21st Opening

 

[Fuzz]

26 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

Agree mate but Robert Stack don't sound right these days  Still, it looks like they'll get the spook factor right.

The original used to scare the crap out of me as a kid. The music.... 

Yeah, I have to admit, it did give me the heebie jeebies when it first aired in the late '80s. Then I got a morbid fascination with the show.

[MIKA27]

Robert Pattinson and Johnny Depp Are ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ in New Trailer

Samuel Goldwyn Films has released a trailer for its starry period piece Waiting for the Barbarians, which marks the English-language debut of Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra (Embrace of the Serpent).

Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) stars in this thoughtful adaptation of J.M. Coetzee‘s acclaimed 1980 novel, which finds him playing the nameless magistrate of an isolated frontier settlement on the border of an unnamed empire. The Magistrate looks forward to an easy retirement, that is, until Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) arrives to report on the security of the border and the activities of the so-called ‘barbarians,’ who are rumored to be planning an attack against the regime. As commander of the regime’s army, Joll conducts a series of ruthless interrogations, which leads the Magistrate to question his loyalty to the empire.

Robert Pattinson co-stars as an officer, and the rest of the cast includes Greta Scacchi, David Dencik, Sam Reid, Harry Melling, Bill Milner, and Gana Bayarsaikhan as a character known simply as “The Girl.”

Coetzee is a South African author whose novel can be read as an allegory for apartheid, and Waiting for the Barbarians ultimately argues on behalf of peace, understanding and inclusivity. It’s a noble effort about a man who uses his power to push back against intolerance, and though it’s unlikely to draw the same audience as Pattinson’s next movie Tenet or any of Depp’s recent blockbusters, here’s hoping that those who do give this film a chance heed its message.

Waiting for the Barbarians will be released on VOD on Aug. 7

[MIKA27]

Watch Jessica Chastain Play an Assassin on the Run from Colin Farrell in ‘Ava’ Trailer

Nearly two years ago, we got our first look at Jessica Chastain as a deadly assassin in Eve, an action thriller that doubled as an unlikely reunion between the actress and The Help director Tate Taylor. The film hasn’t been heard from since… until today, that is.

Vertical Entertainment has released the first trailer for Ava, which is the film’s new title. I bet there’s a really juicy backstory about that switcheroo, but I don’t have the time or inclination to run it down. Perhaps they changed it because the script was written by the original director, Matthew Newton, who left the project when past domestic violence incidents resurfaced online.

Anyway, Chastain plays the title character, an assassin who works for a black ops organization that sends her all over the world to carry out high-profile hits. When a job goes dangerously wrong, she is forced to fight for her own survival.

Judging from this trailer, Ava’s handlers are played by Colin Farrell and John Malkovich, who end up coming to blows themselves. I take it Farrell wins that battle, seeing as he and Chastain have their own hand-to-hand battle later in the trailer, which deserves some kind of award for showing the entire movie in just 2.5 minutes.

The supporting cast is pretty decent for a movie like Ava, which co-stars Geena Davis, Ioan Gruffudd, Diana Silvers, Jess Weixler, and Common as Chastain’s love interest who hasn’t seen her in eight years and quickly picks up where the two of them left off.

While it’s unclear when this movie will arrive on VOD, later this summer feels like a safe bet, though Ava will likely be made available early to DirecTV subscribers.

[MIKA27]

The 830HP SCV12 Track-Only Hypercar Boasts Lambo’s Most Powerful V12

In May, Lamborghini teased an upcoming project that would send a ripple through the automotive world. What the company didn’t reveal, however, was that the high-profile racing circuit would also be affected by its impending release. Now, the Italian automaker has revealed its newest platform, the SCV12: a monstrous, track-only hypercar that boasts the most powerful V12 engine the company has ever produced.

The Lamborghini SCV12 makes its debut as the first-ever release developed by its Squadra Corse racing division, capturing the eyes, and ears, of the genre’s most influential figures. Thanks to its naturally aspirated V12 powerplant, cutting-edge aerodynamics, and a featherweight carbon-fiber chassis, the car has been touted to produce around 830 horsepower. In order to counteract the engine’s immense power, as well as keep the car on the roadway, Lamborghini has employed a unique system that translates dynamic air pressure and directs it into the SCV12’s intake manifold, increasing static air pressure and promoting greater airflow. The hypercar retains the brand’s lauded rear-wheel-drive layout and sequential six-speed gearbox. As a bonus, the few drivers who get their hands on the ultra-limited model will gain admission to Lamborghini’s advanced driving program, where they’ll be tutored by five-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Emanuele Pirro, on the world’s most prestigious circuits. Head to the company’s website to learn more.

[MIKA27]

Bremont’s Latest Pilot Watches Come With The Chance To Fly In A Spitfire

The Battle Of Britain was one of history’s most well-recorded happenings, and while it might have taken place all the way back in 1940, its relevance lives on in the hearts and minds of those willing and able to remember. To honor the 80th anniversary of the operation, Bremont has released a one-of-a-kind watch capsule dubbed the ‘Battle Of Britain,’ commemorating the lauded military aircraft that helped to turn the tide of war.

The Battle Of Britain Collection features two unique, aircraft-inspired silhouettes. The first, an homage to the recognizable Spitfire variants flown by the country’s valiant pilots, draws heavy influence from the Smiths clocks found within. It adopts a beautifully-realized 43mm DLC coated stainless steel case, a Trip-Tick multi-piece construction, and a black DLC coating to give it a more contemporary appeal. On its rear, an etched illustration of the Supermarine Spitfire platform makes its debut. The second watch in the collection, the Hurricane, seeks to embody the essence of iconic, World War II-era design, taking on a 40mm stainless steel case, a scratch-resistant DLC-treated case barrel, and a vintage brown leather bund strap. At $18,995, the collection might cost a pretty penny, but buyers will also be eligible for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, allowing them a unique Spitfire flight experience and a personalized engraving of the date of the flight afterward. Head to Bremont’s website for more info. $18,995

 

[Fuzz]

10 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

Bremont’s Latest Pilot Watches Come With The Chance To Fly In A Spitfire

 

The Battle Of Britain was one of history’s most well-recorded happenings, and while it might have taken place all the way back in 1940, its relevance lives on in the hearts and minds of those willing and able to remember. To honor the 80th anniversary of the operation, Bremont has released a one-of-a-kind watch capsule dubbed the ‘Battle Of Britain,’ commemorating the lauded military aircraft that helped to turn the tide of war.

The Battle Of Britain Collection features two unique, aircraft-inspired silhouettes. The first, an homage to the recognizable Spitfire variants flown by the country’s valiant pilots, draws heavy influence from the Smiths clocks found within. It adopts a beautifully-realized 43mm DLC coated stainless steel case, a Trip-Tick multi-piece construction, and a black DLC coating to give it a more contemporary appeal. On its rear, an etched illustration of the Supermarine Spitfire platform makes its debut. The second watch in the collection, the Hurricane, seeks to embody the essence of iconic, World War II-era design, taking on a 40mm stainless steel case, a scratch-resistant DLC-treated case barrel, and a vintage brown leather bund strap. At $18,995, the collection might cost a pretty penny, but buyers will also be eligible for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, allowing them a unique Spitfire flight experience and a personalized engraving of the date of the flight afterward. Head to Bremont’s website for more info. $18,995

 

 

While the Supermarine Spitfire was a fantastic aircraft and often lauded as the plane that won the Battle of Britain, it was actually the Hawker Hurricane that was the true hero. There were more Hurricane squadrons than Spitfires during the period, and they accounted for more downed German aircraft. The Hurricane was older and slightly slower than both the Spitfire and BF-109, but was more robust, durable and easier to fly.

[MIKA27]

Andean Condor Soared for 161 km Without Flapping Its Wings

The world’s largest soaring bird — the Andean condor — can stay aloft for 5 hours and cover more than 161 km of real estate without flapping its wings, according to new research.

Weighing upwards of 15 kg and with a wingspan reaching 3 metres, Andean condors are a physically impressive species. New research published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows the dramatic extent to which these scavengers can stay aloft and conserve energy as they patiently search for carrion on the ground.

Gliding from one air current to another, Andean condors spend nearly all of their flying time in this soaring mode, flapping their wings a mere 1.3% of the time, according to the new research, co-authored by Swansea University biologist Emily Shepard.

From 2013 to 2018, Shepard and her colleagues tracked eight Andean condors near Bariloche, Argentina, which they did by attaching flight-recorders capable of logging every wingbeat made by the birds during flight. The purpose of this exercise was to measure the effects of different weather conditions on condor flight. In total, the scientists managed to chronicle some 250 hours of data.

In the most extreme example, an Andean Condor spent five hours in the air without having to flap, during which time the bird covered 172 km. David Lentink, a biologist from Stanford University who wasn’t involved in the new study, described the results as “mind-blowing,” as he told The Guardian.

As the data showed, around 75% of the flapping that did occur happened as the condors were taking off. This points to a big physical cost to the birds and a good reason for them to avoid unnecessary landings and takeoffs.

“Soaring birds fly under weather conditions that allow them to stay airborne with the absolute minimum of movement costs, but there are times when these birds must resort to extremely costly flapping flight,” explained Hannah Williams, a co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour, in a press release.

These near-flapless soaring sessions occurred when the conditions were both calm and windy, but flapping happened more often in the early morning as gusts of warm wind, or thermal updrafts, were starting to form and rise very slowly.

“Our findings suggest that in-flight decisions of when and where to land and when to move between airflows are crucial, as not only do condors need to be able to take off again after landing, but unnecessary landings will add significantly to their overall flight costs,” said Williams.

Looking ahead, the researchers would like to understand the inflight decision-making of the condors and how they’re able to bounce so effortlessly from one thermal updraft to the next. At the same time, the new research could explain how early avian dinosaurs like Archaeopteryx, which were also quite large, might have flown without having to expend too much energy.