New DVD releases include 'MIB III' and 'ParaNorman'

Submitted by LauriePerry on 11/25/12 9:02pm
Lots of choices for movie lovers right now.

This week's crop of new DVD and Blu-ray releases looks decidedly better than last week's stinker(s). With so many different genres to choose from, finding a movie you like to rent or stream will be much easier, I guarantee it.

Some of the most notable new DVD releases this week include Men in Black III, ParaNorman and Lawless. I've only seen one of these in the theater, and I can recommend it. Which one?

Men in Black III was a ton of fun. This third installment in the Men in Black franchise as Agent J (Will Smith) going back in time to team up with a much younger Agent K (Josh Brolin) to avert certain disaster. Along the way, J finds out there are a lot of things that K never told him about. It's a safe bet that the older K (Tommy Lee Jones) has some explaining to do! For fans of the franchise, MIB III is a fun ride.

I haven't seen Lawless, but this drama starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Jessica Chastain (among others) intrigues me. I'll see it for the cast alone. How could I not? Gary Oldman is in it!

The stop-motion animated comedy ParaNorman did quite well in theaters, and received pretty rave reviews from most major critics. I wish we'd caught this while it was out over the summer, but at least now we can see it (finally). It's a PG film, so parents, proceed accordingly. The kiddos will probably love it.

Other notable Blu-ray and DVD releases this week include Sparkle (Whitney Houston's final film) and The Apparition, starring Ashley Green and Sebastian Stan. The Apparition looks really silly, and the reviews were simply atrocious, so I might skip that one.

With so many new DVD choices, what will you see this week?

'Liz & Dick' review: One of the worst movies I've ever seen, TV or otherwise

Submitted by LauriePerry on 11/25/12 8:40pm
If this is Lindsay Lohan's comeback, she's in even more trouble than ever.

I should've known better than to have anything but dreadful expectations before watching the new Lifetime movie Liz & Dick. What on earth made me think for one nano second that Lindsay Lohan could possibly pull off playing Elizabeth Taylor? Maybe I was just in some bizarre post-Thanksgiving turkey coma when I changed the channel.

For those of you who viewed this monstrosity, which aired tonight (Sunday), you know this already, but for those who haven't yet seen it, let us give you a clue: It sucks. I mean it really, really sucks. I'd love to say one good thing, I really would, but I can't.

I guess if I sat here and wrote out all of the things that I think are wrong with Liz & Dick, I'd be here all night. Let's hit the high points, shall we? First, Lindsay Lohan: The troubled actress had absolutely no business playing one of the greatest and certainly most beautiful film actresses in history. None.

I could start a (long) list, but let's just say the acting was atrocious and without feeling, and her voice - ugh! Liz Taylor had a beautifully distinct, lilting voice that was mesmerizing on screen and off. With Lindsay all I heard was, well, Lindsay. Her voice was the regular Lindsay I've-smoked-too-many-cigarettes-while-partying-too-late voice. In other words: Awful.

Liz Taylor and Richard Burton had a romance tale for the ages. Their story should be fascinating to anyone who isn't already familiar with it. If someone who had no clue about Taylor and Burton watched Liz & Dick, they'd wonder what the fuss was all about.

If you don't want to just take my word for it, here's a lovely little synopsis of some major critics' reviews of Liz & Dick, and they are far more scathing than mine. Did anyone else tune in to watch Liz & Dick, and if so, did you love it or hate it?

Who were the big box office winners over Thanksgiving?

Submitted by LauriePerry on 11/25/12 6:26pm
Four-day holiday saw big crowds at theaters.

In our family, movies are a tradition during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. It's just a given that most of us will emerge from our turkey coma around mid-afternoon, check the football scores and then head out to the theater for a few precious hours of total escape.

Apparently, many families across America do the same, at least if the early box office numbers are any indication. Who were the biggest winners? With so many great choices, movie goers were sure to find at least one film they wanted to see.

According to the most recent numbers from The Hollywood Reporter, movie fans spent a record $290 million seeing films between Wednesday and Sunday. That's huge people, simply staggering. And why not? I'd mentioned all of the amazing releases, so there really was something for nearly everyone to enjoy.

At this point, it appears that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Skyfall were the biggest winners. The final Twilight installment took in an estimated $64 million over the long holiday weekend and Skyfall continued it's amazing run with $51 million.

I suppose this is the part where I confess that we saw the Twilight movie, because I'd already seen Lincoln (loved) and Skyfall (loved loved). It wasn't bad, actually. In fact, I'd venture to say it's the best of the Twilight movie lot overall. Bella, aka Kristen Stewart, aka KStew (ugh, I know right?), is far more interesting as a vampire. She finally got a personality! Still, if Twilight movies aren't your thing, don't bother with Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Confession time, over. Let's get back to the box office now. Lincoln was third at the Thanksgiving weekend box office, taking in an estimated $34.1 million. Hopefully more people will continue to see this film, because it's truly remarkable.

DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians was fourth, with $32.6 million, followed by Ang Lee's Life of Pi (which was sold out here, that's why I got stuck with Twilight, ugh), which earned $30.2 million.

OK fellow movie fans, what did you see this past weekend, if anything? Let's hear your reviews!

Domenica: One of NOLA's best fine dining experiences

Submitted by LauriePerry on 11/25/12 6:17pm
New Orleans restaurant serves up incredible Italian dishes.

As I was perusing some of the New Orleans Thanksgiving restaurant special offerings, I was quickly reminded about one of the best eateries in the 504: Domenica. It's an Italian place, located in the historic Roosevelt Hotel on Baronne Street in the Central Business District (a short walk from the French Quarter, and so worth it).

Domenica is an incredibly beautiful, inviting restaurant. It's also upscale, but not snooty at all. What can you look forward to if you dine at Domenica? Allow me to guide you through it.

First and foremost, I should mention that Domenica is the brainchild of brilliant New Orleans chef John Besh. He's a superstar, and that is no small feat in the Big Easy, where so many incredible chefs are born/get their start. You can't go wrong with a Besh restaurant. He's a true local, born in Mississippi and raised in south Louisiana. The man knows his stuff.

Domenica's vibrant, eclectic menu includes a wide variety of different Italian-style dishes, but my favorite by far is the pizza. Wait, pizza...in New Orleans? Yes! Trust me, you will *not* be disappointed. If you're on a budget, I recommend hitting up Domenica during happy hour, 3-6 p.m., because they do frequently offer discounts on pizza, beer and some wine.

Other notable entrees I've enjoyed at Domenica include the Squid Ink Tagliolini (seriously, it's wonderful and weird) and the Tagliatelle (yes, it's rabbit, pasta and porcini and also weirdly scrumptious). Also, do not skip the Roasted Cauliflower appetizer with whipped goat feta. Dreamy, I tell you!

Domenica is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike, so make reservations or get there early if you want to enjoy one of the best fine dining experiences in the Big Easy. And don't forget about happy hour for half-price pizzas!!

Nuclear Weapons 5 - Manhattan Project 4 - Little Boy

Submitted by phoenix on 11/25/12 5:15pm

         In the summer of 1945, the United States Manhattan Project to create an atomic bomb delivered  one hundred and ten pounds of uranium enriched to 89% U-235 too the Los Alamos testing grounds in New Mexico.

            A design had been developed for a uranium bomb. The bomb consisted of a tube that was ten feet long and about two feet in diameter. At one end of the tube there were bags of cordite explosive behind a hollow cylinder of stacked uranium rings. At the other end of the cylinder, there was another smaller cylinder of uranium rings stacked on a steel rod. The smaller cylinder would fit snugly inside the hollow cylinder and it had a polonium-beryllium neutron initiator behind it.  Both cylinders of uranium were surrounded by tungsten carbide to reflect neutrons.  

           When the explosive was fired, it would propel the hollow uranium cylinder along the tube to engulf the smaller uranium cylinder at the other end of the tube, creating a critical mass of uranium that could undergo fission. The neutron initiator release a burst of neutron when the bomb was triggered. The neutron burst would cause a runaway chain reaction in the uranium and an explosion would result. The actual explosive power of the bomb was highly dependent on the way that the critical mass was configured. If only one percent of the uranium in t he bomb fissioned, it would create an explosion equal to thousands of tons of TNT. On the other hand, if the configuration was off or the impact of the two pieces of uranium too slow, the bomb would just explode with the power of a few tons of TNT.

          The components of the bomb were assembled in the winter of 1945 before the uranium was available. It was decided that the design was so reliable that it was not necessary to actual blow up such a bomb to test it. There was a lot of work in the laboratory however to verify that the design concepts were correct. When the uranium arrived in the summer of 1945, the bomb was assembled and ready for use. It was named “Little Boy”. The name was in contrast to a “Thin Man” alternative design which would have been seventeen feet long. The “Thin Man” name came from the detective novels of Dashiell Hammett. It turned out that it was not necessary to make such a long bomb.

         The Little Boy gun design was only used once as a weapon. It was a very reliable design from the point of view of detonation but was not very safe. If the plane crashed, the two uranium charges could be driven together and explode. An electrical short circuit could trigger it. If a plane crashed in water, it could be triggered by water getting into the detonator. And, in water, the uranium charges would be subjected to a moderator effect leading to fission. Later nuclear bombs incorporated more safety features.

Permission denied!

Submitted by twrites80 on 11/25/12 2:26pm
A school memoir

During my time spent in the pilot program named “Family Focus” based at Southwood Elementary in Bloomington, MN, back in the 1980s, they sometimes would make an announcement right in the middle of the school day that would spin things 180 degrees as to how the rest of the day would go before we would assemble in the gym prior to going home.

One such incident occurred on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.   My class was humming along when all of a sudden our teacher, Mrs. Baileyan, made an announcement: later in the day we had to go to a MLK-related program at nearby Westwood Elementary School.

At that, an emotion ripped through me from head to toe that fairly screamed oh no! I’ve got to get out of this one.

Being in school had exacerbated an intense dislike of having to sit in an audience I had developed after going to see Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird at a now-gone movie theater located in the vicinity of Southdale  Shopping Center in Edina, Minnesota. 

The waves of laughter that swept through the theater as I tried to concentrate on a big screen version of one of my most favorite kiddie TV shows tore me out of the movie so much it left me an extremely unhappy camper. Alas, it was a situation I ran into all too often in school at various events or movie screenings about things I could have cared less about, and by now I had had it with such stuff.

During a break I got up my nerve and walked up went to where Mrs. Baileyan sat at her desk with an impassive look on her face. Her expression did not change as I meekly requested to sit out the MLK Day event. “I’ll think about it,” she said, a dismissive hint in her voice.

Grasping at even this tiny straw, my apprehension momentarily abated. But when departure time neared and I went and asked her about my request, I found out it had been denied! She soon found out it was folly to have done so.

After going to Westwood by carpool (not by bus, for some reason), I dutifully filed into the vast school gymnasium where a white male member of the school staff introduced a black entertainer all dressed in black complete with a cape and a floppy brim hat.  

The name of the entertainer flew over my head because the staff member talked like he was on fast-forward. The entertainer slowly broke into song right after Mr. Fast Forward was done speaking. I could not make out his words all that clearly because he sang in a low tone that got lost towards the back of the gym, where I sat in tense anticipation of an explosion of loud noise.  

It came a millisecond after the entertainer began singing in the form of a loud laugh from the kids which swept from front to back like a fierce gust of wind.   The noise killed any hope I had of following along with the entertainer, and sent me into a sensory overload that made me slam my face into my hands and scream with tears.

As a result, I first got me sent to a nearby equipment storage closet, where I ran into an old gym teacher from Southwood who recognized me and treated me with kindness. Then I got to wait in the hall outside until the program was over. Mrs. Bailyan would have been better advised to let me stay at Southwood so the MLK program could have gone off without a hitch.

 

Slate disavows the existence of Sasquatch

Submitted by erika on 11/25/12 12:32pm
Party poopers!

A recent Slate article by Brian Switek makes some excellent points about the likely non-existence of Sasquatch, although its tone seems needlessly scathing. 

Switek, a well-respected published science author currently writing for the Smithsonian, starts from the perspective that "if it existed, we would have found it by now." And there is certainly some basis for this claim, given the volume of sasquatch hunting which occurs throughout the United States. Of course, sasquatch hunters would counter this with the claim that we HAVE found sasquatch, in the form of prints, recorded calls, blurry photographs, and shaky videos. 
 
It should be noted that Switek sticks to the topic of sasquatch in America, particularly from Washington to northern California. (Which, as he points out, also neatly overlaps the territory of the black bear, which is most likely the source of many of these sightings of large, dark, shaggy creatures in the woods.)
 
I personally, and I think a lot of sasquatch researchers, think that there is a far better case to be made for the Yeti. The Pacific Northwest is nothing compared to the Himalayas in terms of remoteness, habitat, and lack of human presence.
 
One of the best points Switek makes is that there is no existing fossil record to support the existence of a non-human ape in North America. Many sasquatch hunters believe that big foot is the descendent of Australopithecus, but this hominid was restricted to the African continent. There is no fossil evidence that Australopithecus ever traveled through Europe, across Asia, to cross the land bridge into North America.
 
The same is true for the Neanderthal, which limited themselves to Europe and never traveled farther east than India. Certainly not all the way across Russia and into North America.
 
The best thing any would-be sasquatch researcher can do is memorize the appearance of this, the most popular big foot costume. This particular costume turns up in all sorts of sasquatch hoaxes both new and old. It gets to the point where you can spot one just by the distinctive "muttonchop" pattern of facial hair on the cheeks.
 
Switek calls sasquatch hunting "more science-ish than science," and insinuates that it's actually wasting the possibility of true scientific discovery. I doubt many sasquatch researchers would turn their attention to hunting out unknown beetle species if they gave up the hunt for big foot.
 
Personally I think most North American "sasquatch" sightings are actually just sightings of crazy hermits and transients, dudes who read Walden too many times and decided to take to the woods, so to speak. But hey, at least it gets people outdoors and interacting with nature. That's more than I can say for a lot of hobbies, my own included.
 

Manatee rider arrested

Submitted by erika on 11/25/12 11:48am
Surely she's the least of the manatees' worries?

Florida police have arrested Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez, 53, for a high-profile incident which took place two months ago in the waters off St. Petersburg, Florida. Gutierrez was photographed by several bystanders as she rode a manatee through the surf "like a bodyboard."

Gutierrez claims that she is new to Florida, and was unaware that it is a violation of state law to "intentionally or negligently molest, harass, or disturb any manatee." After state authorities publicized the photos and asked for the public's help in identifying the woman seen riding the manatees, Gutierrez turned herself in.
 
At first, state authorities held off making the arrest, because "they thought that they needed to have witnessed the incident." However, the case was kicked up to the State Attorneys Office, which apparently felt that the photographic evidence, coupled with Gutierrez's admission of guilt, was sufficient to make the arrest. Gutierrez was arrested without incident on Saturday at her job at Sears.
 
Gutierrez was released that afternoon on $1,500 bail. She faces either a fine of $500 or up to 60 days in jail. Many feel that the penalties are unnecessarily harsh for a 53 year-old woman who turned herself in and admitted ignorance of the law. 
 
On the other hand, Gutierrez was probably not the first person to ride a manatee in Florida's tourist-packed water; she was just the first one to be photographed doing it, by people who then turned their photos in to the police. Maybe it's best to make an example out of her, although $500 for a manatee ride hardly seems like much of a deterrent.
 
And although Gutierrez's manatee ride may have been upsetting to the manatee, it certainly was nothing compared to the damage wrought by the combination of habitat destruction and outboard motors. The manatee never really had a predator until humans showed up and started draining Florida's wetlands, destroying the shorefront with construction and pollution, and tearing these peaceful animals apart with spinning propeller blades.
 
Granted, it's a lot easier to prosecute a 53 year-old woman who works at Sears, versus the entire maritime industry. According to a USGS report released in 2003, boat strikes are the leading cause of manatee death, accounting for up to 25 percent of all manatee deaths in Florida. Manatees which survive being struck by boats can die from infection from their cuts, or struggle to survive with "gruesome wounding" and mutilations.
 
But hey, Florida, if you want to jail Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez instead of actually doing something useful to protect the manatee, you go right ahead.

Illuminated vs. backlit eReaders

Submitted by erika on 11/25/12 11:12am
Should you buy a Kindle or an iPad?

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, I have had several people ask for my input on their eReader shopping dilemmas. And it's certainly true that this can be a confusing time for anyone who is in the market for something you can use to read eBooks with.

The main difference to consider is the issue of illuminated versus backlit eReader. It all started with the original Kindle, with its Pearl e-ink technology. The original Kindles are very much like the experience of reading a physical book; text on a page. This technology is a real marvel for those of us who dislike doing a lot of reading on a computer monitor. 
 
However, one downfall of the original Kindle models is that they are impossible to read in the dark. And can be difficult to read in low-light conditions. You can get a little clip-on light to shine on the Kindle's screen. Because the screen is so non-reflective, this works pretty well. But you might get tired of having a little clip-on dingle dangle hanging from the top of your Kindle. And they can be annoying to pack and travel with, which is a big problem, since the more someone travels, the more they want a Kindle.
 
There are two different ways to address this problem. You can use something with a backlit screen (like a tablet) or you can get an illuminated eReader.
 
Illuminated eReaders like the new Kindle Paperwhite are basically the original Kindle with a tiny light inside the case. This tiny light shines on the page without getting in your eyes. It's an elegant solution to the problem of reading a Kindle in the dark.
 
Backlit tablets, like the Kindle Fire and the iPad, have the down side of making you read on a computer screen. For a lot of people, this isn't such a big deal. Personally after spending a whole day staring at a computer screen, the last thing I want to do is try to read off one. 
 
But if you don't mind reading off a computer screen, then the up side is that the Kindle Fire and the iPad can do a lot more than just let you read a book. These tablets are miniature computers, and if you want to bundle all of your needs into one convenient device, this is the way to go. 
 
If you already have an iPad and are hesitant to get a Kindle, you can start with the Kindle app. See what you think. It may well be enough for your needs, and it's convenient not to juggle multiple devices. However, personally I find that the benefits of reading e-ink rather than pixels far outweigh the inconvenience of having a separate Kindle device.

Building around elves in Iceland

Submitted by erika on 11/25/12 10:48am
Mess with an elf stone at your peril!

In Iceland, there is a strong - if somewhat sheepish and not-exactly-talked-about - national belief in elves. Elves are linked to Iceland's Celtic heritage, and in the Celtic tradition, elves are creatures which are not to be trifled with. 

Elves live in stones, and prefer some stones to others. Large, craggy, "interesting" stones are much more likely to appeal to an elf. But any stone may become an elf's home. Because elves are able to control their size, even a small stone can harbor an elf.
 
Elves are a force of nature in Iceland, connected to the powers of wind and sun and storms. Mess with an elf and you can find yourself being perpetually dogged by a string of bad luck, or worse. Elves are particularly protective of their homes. Any disturbance to an elf rock will be, in local lore, met with disaster. 
 
Elf stones are often identified when they refuse to be budged. If a stone cannot be moved by a bulldozer, if jackhammers break when trying to crack it, then most likely that stone is protected by an elf. In these cases it is almost always simply left in place, with the rest of the construction amended to accommodate it.
 
A wise construction company will frequently bring on a folklorist early in the process, to ensure that no local elves or fairies will be disrupted by the project. Even if the company doesn't (officially) believe in elves, it is always wise to work with local custom rather than against it. In the Iceland town of Kopavogur, one particular elf stone had so much local legend behind it that a new road construction project had to be routed around the stone. 
 
This may all sound silly to some readers. But consider that many Western buildings lack a 13th floor. Or that in America, real estate agents are required by law to disclose whether a house is haunted, or if a death has occurred in the house. And even if a Western construction company doesn't believe in feng shui, you learn to take it into consideration when working on projects for China-based businesses.
 
In this interesting New York Times article, one bit in particular caught my eye. A woman explained that "some elves borrowed her kitchen scissors, only to return them a week later to a place she had repeatedly searched." If that happened elsewhere in the world, she probably would have blamed poltergeists, or the ghost of her dead grandmother, or feng shui, or aliens.
 
Perhaps, by talking about fairies or elves or ghosts or aliens, we are all simply attempting to construct a framework to explain the same strange phenomena that happens everywhere. (And if so, what is it, really?)

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