That's the official Iron Man 2 poster, with War Machine in the background, released today to set the collective crotch of the internets ablaze with anticipation. We actually can't remember the last time we were anywhere near this excited for a movie poster, so well done, gentlemen.
via OliviaMunn
In these uncertain financial times, we all need to be able to think outside the box to some extent. Officials in Stockholm, Sweden have certainly done that, developing a pretty novel solution to deal with both rising energy costs and the explosive growth of a non-native rabbit population: shoot them and use their little bodies to heat homes. The rabbits that are evidently taking the city by storm are the consequence of citizens releasing their no-longer-wanted pets, because everyone thinks a rabbit is a fun animal to own until they are struck with the dawning realization that it mainly entails shoveling out boatloads of urine-logged wood shavings that have been sitting for about five days too long while the rabbit stares at you with cold hateful eyes and tries to bite your finger every time you touch it. Thus the Swedes have devised a method to kill two rabbits with one blistering inferno:
It's not just rabbits that are being used to heat homes. Reindeer, moose, horses, pigs and cows are all thrown into an incinerator run by a firm called Konvex near Lake Vanem, southeast of Stockholm. Using a new method that was developed with the help of E.U. funding, raw animal material is crushed, ground and then pumped into a boiler where it is burned together with wood chips, peat or other waste to produce heat.
The impetus behind this particularly pleasant municipal operation is a relatively new E.U. law forbidding the disposal of raw meat or animal carcasses in landfills. Thus, we have rabbits - and whatever else can be found, apparently - heating homes. We want to be able to intellectualize this to the point that we can appreciate the good sense in letting nothing go to waste, that these animals were going to be destroyed anyway, and that now they are at least (unwittingly) providing a valuable service. And technically this counts as an alternative fuel source, which we've been led to believe is always a good thing. But still, the karmic implications of setting rabbits on fire seem pretty staggering. We are all about the future here, but it seems like there almost has to be a better way. We expect better from you, Europe.
via Time
Fans of the Man of Steel will have to keep waiting for another big-screen portrayal of their favorite costumed hero. Due to an ongoing legal dispute between Warner Bros. and the Siegel and Shuster families (Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster having created Superman in the thirties -Ed.) the details of which we can only imagine are obscenely boring to anyone not personally involved, any further installment of the franchise has been indefinitely delayed:
The debate continues to rage about what Warner Bros. should do with the DC Comics super-hero. Fans have been clamoring all over the web for a complete reboot. Warner Bros. execs believe that the last movie didn’t break the mold and wound up in some kind of middle limbo. They want to start over from scratch. While
Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar did pitch himself (to scant interest), WB in-house faves the Wachowski brothers and their protege James McTeigue were never approached. (It’s hard to imagine such hard-R types taking on what one blogger described as the “Big Blue Boy Scout.”)
It's no surprise that this process has staggered along, legal purgatory or no. The last time we saw the son of Jor-El in theaters was the 2006 Superman Returns, written and directed by Bryan Singer - the man responsible for the first two X-Men films (the good ones). Reception was mixed, to say the least, and though not a disaster the movie woefully underperformed as far as Warner Bros. was concerned. We happened to enjoy the film, going so far as to purchase it on DVD when people still did that sort of thing, and thought the acting especially was pretty solid all-around (especially Jimmy Marsden - can't get enough of that guy). And though Superman has never been our favorite character, we find ourselves looking forward a little anxiously to the next theater appearance of Clark Kent. Superman represents nothing if not the glorious and blinding embodiment of brilliant excess in every way, the spectacle of which lends itself so naturally to film. So in a way we hope that this process isn't rushed, and that the final product reflects some care and discretion. There have been some horrendous blockbuster superhero movies in the fairly recent past (read: Spiderman 3, which Christ isn't actually that recent now that we think about it. where does the time go?) and we'd hate to see the same happen to the prodigal son. He is, ultimately, too good.
via: toh!
As a postscript, those in need of a Superman fix are directed to All-Star Superman (named recently by The Onion AV Club as one of the best comics of the aughts), written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quietly - a fantastic team.
American Meagan Good. Actress, model. Awesome.
Californian Meagan Monique Good (this is her birth name, and let us point out that having Monique in there is more exotic, and thus we think far superior, than just Meagan, but we digress), first caught our attention with her small role in Brick, in which she was excellent. Since then she's largely stuck to... less critically acclaimed pieces. Stomp the Yard we actually applaud, but we can't say the same for Saw V or - God help us - The Love Guru. Hopefully the future has some better things in store for her; regardless, we feel pretty confident she'll do alright for herself.
It's official. After leading the Yankees through the World Series and restoring to New York that glory which is rightfully hers alone, Mr. November himself has been named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. We imagine Derek prefers the ring as far as accolades go, but this can't hurt his pride too much. For those of you with an appreciation for the numbers, these are pretty outstanding:
In 2009 Jeter led the American League by reaching base 289 times, finished second in the league in hits (212), third in batting average and on-base percentage (.406), fourth in runs (107) and eighth in stolen bases (30). He was named an All-Star for the 10th time, including the sixth time as a starter, while winning his fourth AL Silver Slugger as the best hitting shortstop in the league and his fourth Gold Glove as the league's top defensive shortstop.
Eighth in stolen bases! Does the Captain's greatness know no bounds? We imagine him lounging on a white sand beach in St. Bart's staring at Minka Kelly's glistening body and stifling a yawn as he deletes a text message telling him he was just named Sportsman of the Year and thinking to himself, "sounds about right." Well Derek, let us be one in a very long line to congratulate you. Nobody deserves it more.
via SI.com
As an aside, and because we are now feeling rather festive, how about a picture of Minka Kelly - solely for the purposes of establishing context:
That's an image of a post-apocalyptic Times Square, produced by Studio Lindfors. While the idea of idyllic gondola rides down 42nd street is certainly appealing, we find the partially-submerged buildings sporting blaring neon billboards a bit incongruous. Of course, with something like this one really needs to suspend disbelief, so we really shouldn't nitpick. Pretty good stuff all around.
via gizmodo
Manhattan
3 oz. Scotch
Splash sweet vermouth
As the overconsumptive malaise of Thanksgiving begins to mercifully wear away, we find we need something of a palate cleanser. And what better way to eradicate the lingering residue of shame and gastrointestinal duress that comes with about five thousand calories too many than with that most stately and reserved of cocktails: the Manhattan (being named after the greatest city in the world doesn't hurt). The important thing here is the Scotch, and there's really only one suitable option for those of us with limited means - Johnny Walker Black. For about $30 one gets a singular Scotch well-regarded even by the kinds of people who generally make you feel bad about what you're drinking (which people's opinions we wish we didn't respect, but find we sort of do, though grudgingly) and you won't be disappointed with the finished product. So loosen up, throw a cherry in there, and sidle up by the fireplace, if you happen to have one. The holidays are officially upon us; we could all use a little lifting of spirits.
Leave it to the Scots to conjure up the world's strongest beer. Bottled by BrewDog and dubbed "Tactical Nuclear Penguin," it boasts a stool-softening 32% alcohol - at over 60 proof, stronger than most liqueurs but not quite reaching the 80 proof benchmark of most hard liquor.
The otherworldly strength of the brew has birthed quite a few skeptics, especially in a country renowned for its, shall we say, abundance of affection for spirits. BrewDog, though, is unapologetic:
In a posting on the company's website, James Watt, the managing director said: "This beer is bold, irreverent and uncompromising, a beer with a soul and a purpose, a statement of intent."
He added: "Beer has a terrible reputation in Britain, it’s ignorant to assume that a beer can’t be enjoyed responsibly like a nice dram or a glass of fine wine."
We tend to agree with this line of thinking. If one can buy 100 proof whiskey for $10 a handle, we can't see bottles of beer - only 500 of which have actually been produced, the article notes, and which are being sold for £30 each (that's a lot more, in American) - really making a difference in the habits of inveterate drinkers. So we applaud BrewDog's efforts, and hope that in the future more than a few bottles of the stuff make their way across the Atlantic.
via telegraph.co.uk
Vientam's Elly Tran Ha. Model, Asian. Awesome.
Despite her obvious charm and the propensity of the internet to make famous people with such charms, it's not terribly easy to track down much solid info about Elly, save the fact that she took to the internet, like so many of us, with the deliberate intention of becoming famous. We wish her the best of luck in this endeavor, not that she appears to need it.
Intel scientists are hellbent on integrating the human mind with computer chips, and they plan to do it by 2020. While we long for a world more akin to the one we were promised in our youth (ie: flying cars, jet packs, pretty much anything revolving around personal flight) we are still pretty unsettled by this. Seems like there's potential for a lot to go wrong. And Intel isn't the only group pursuing this avenue:
Plenty of other researchers have also tinkered in this area. Toyota recently demoed a wheelchair controlled with brainwaves, and University of Utah researchers have created a wireless brain transmitter that allows monkeys to control robotic arms.
There are still more implications to creating a seamless brain interface, besides having more cyborgs running around. If scientists can translate brain waves into specific actions, there's no reason they could not create a virtual world with a full spectrum of activity tied to those brain waves. That's right -- we're seeing Matrix creep.
Let us reiterate that we fully support mankind's efforts to realize a world in which, for starters, we're not driving cars that operate on the same basic principle on which the Model T was conceived. But monkeys controlling robotic arms? Have we lost all sense of perspective regarding our own self-preservation? We hate to sound like alarmists, but this is disconcerting at best. We are essentially ensuring that the advent of an apocalyptic future be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It would be great to do away with the tedium of actually having to move one's hand in order to waste time on the internet, but this smacks of flying too close to the sun. We, at least, will spend the next decade stocking up on canned foods and small-arms ordnance.
