Valleys and Troughs

Exotic Woman of the Day: Francesca Chillemi.

Italian Francesca Chillemi. Model, actual actress, Awesome.

Sadly we are unable today to provide a full set of posts, but that's no excuse for us to deprive our public of an Exotic Woman of the Day. And what a woman. According to what we could perceive form her wikipedia page, which is in Italian, she has had a bunch of TV and movie roles over there. Though really it could say anything and our opinion of her wouldn't change. Also she apparently really lies strawberries. Bravo.

VALLEY, of course.

Scientists announce finding new "super-earth" for the win.

It always astonishes us when we come across news like this and find that it hasn't resulted in mass hysteria or the founding of new religions. Or at least more media coverage than is devoted to how many women Tiger Woods has had sex with. A super-earth! Have we not collectively dreamed of finding something like this since the dawning realization that the universe did not, in fact, revolve around our own planet? We have. The details:

Astronomers have discovered a new Earth-like planet that is larger than our own and may be more than half covered with water, according to a study published Wednesday in the science journal Nature.
The so-called "super Earth" is about 42 light years away in another solar system and has a radius nearly 2.7 times larger than that of our planet, according to the study by the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.
The discovery of the planet, called GJ 1214b, represents a "major step forward" in the search for worlds similar to the Earth, added the University of California's Geoffrey Marcy in a commentary also in Nature.

Jaysus. There are all sorts of reasons why researchers are hesitant to imagine that life may exist on the euphoniously named GJ 1214b, including estimates that the surface temperature ranges upwards of 500 degrees fahrenheit. Yet the density of the planet suggests that it is made up of about 75% water, which is encouraging. The research also points to "tantalising hints that the planet has a gaseous atmosphere." Man. That actually is pretty tantalizing. We certainly aren't alone in believing that nothing represents all the glorious possibilities of our existence more than finding life somewhere outside of earth, and findings like this are encouraging at the least. Now pardon us while we take to the streets to indiscriminately set cars on fire.

VALLEY for all mankind.

via yahoonews

Avatar is shaping up to not suck, if you can believe it.

We've been following the discussion surrounding James Cameron's Avatar for a while now, on a personal if not a public level, and in the past few days a surprising trend has taken shape: amazingly, people are reporting that - despite reasonable assumptions otherwise - it's actually pretty good. It's held up with an 84% on rottentomatoes, maintaining its lofty rating well after the oft-skewed early sample-size period has passed. And a couple days ago the people at Defamer went so far as to issue an apology for all the Avatar-bashing they've done over the past few weeks:

Hollywood goes for epic in just about every tentpole it churns out, but somehow the ginormity of a Transformers 2 or a 2012 production, leave them feeling small — with a shrunken spirit and core that quashes their monstrous pretensions. Avatar, while certainly not without flaws, manages to create a sense of true epic scope in which the journey becomes greater than the sum of its effects.

They go on to say that Avatar is not without a certain cheese-factor, but it is overshadowed by the magnificent spectacle of the film. Which defense we can probably get behind. And so we will see it, and approach it with an open mind, as we attempt to do with all things. If nothing else, it will probably be an entertaining diversion, which is something we can all use in times like these.

VALLEY, it seems.

via Defamer, as we said.

Exotic Woman of the Day: India Reynolds.

England's India Reynolds. British, eighteen. Awesome.

We couldn't say what it is exactly, but there is just something about English girls. Maybe it's the accent or the haughty air of implicit superiority. Regardless, we find ourselves infinitely thankful for the 'special relationship.' As for India Reynolds, there isn't much to say other than... well done. We continue to be astounded by what the United Kingdom offers the world.

VALLEY

via uncoached

Iron Man 2 trailer released, and man does it look awesome.

Ah. Nothing like a good movie trailer. Especially two in two days! And while we're sort of excited about Robin Hood, we have to say that the Iron Man 2 trailer is... it's just unbelievable. You can download a bigger version from apple if you so desire, and we suggest you do. There are almost no words to describe how awesome it is. We won't provide you with a play-by-play, but some highlights include Tony Stark yukking it up at what appears to be a congressional hearing, a brief appearance by Scarlett Johannson, and Iron Man and War Machine brawling back-to-back a the end. Man. Our eyes are glazing over just thinking about it. We have a feeling this is going to be a good one, and there will almost certainly be some cameos setting up the next films in Marvel's arsenal (Thor and then the Avengers, specifically). Yeah, not a bad day for comics fans. Big things are on the horizon.

VALLEY.

Morning Marginalia: the oldest Santa.

Because we love Christmas so damn much, we thought we'd share with you a little something of it's history: the oldest santa ever:

Known as the "Blue Santa," the object was made circa 1884 by The American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company, which burned to the ground in 1904. The figurine is 2.5 inches tall.

We weren't kidding, by the way. We believe Christmas to be the single-greatest concept ever engendered by Man, and are glad to celebrate its heritage in any way we can. Eight more days!

Xmas VALLEY.

via discoverynews

UPDATE: Norwegian mystery light show still unexplained.

Not all that long ago we posted about the mystery light spiral that has captured (some) global attention since it appeared inexplicably in the night sky.

A blue light first appeared from behind a mountain, and created a giant spiral in the sky within seconds. Perhaps even more baffling, a green-blue beam of light appeared to shoot from the center. The entire display remained in the sky for a good ten to twelve minutes--enough time for photographers across Norway to shoot hundreds of images and capture video.

At the time it was explained away by some news agencies as a failed Russian missile test, but the Russians, who we're sure are perfectly trustworthy in situations such as these, have denied conducting any such tests. And while that's still the most likely scenario according to most opinions held by the sorts of people who sit around trying to figure these things out, other possibilities include a falling meteor or perhaps the first sign of the apocalypse. Either way, we'll continue to monitor the situation with as much attention as we can spare. Which, believe it or not, is not as much as you might think. Check out the incredibly poor-quality yet still marginally-disturbing video below for an idea of what the beginning of the end of the world will look like, when filmed with a handheld digital camera.

via popsci

TROUGH

Exotic Woman of the Day: Rianne Ten Haken.

Netherlands' own Rianne Ten Haken. Fashion model, Dutch. Awesome.

Rianne is a fashion model from Lelystad, Netherlands, if the internet is to be believed. If one is so inclined, one can find her measurements in centimeters floating around, but we are mainly blown away by her eyes. They almost qualify as being not safe for work. Good times.

VALLEY.

Australian man fends off Great White with oar. No big deal.

It seems that a day can't go by without us posting something about the horrors one is likely to encounter in and around the ocean, and nothing epitomizes said horrors more clearly than the Great White. And, you know, the thing about a shark... he's got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll's eyes. You know the rest. Turns out a volunteer lifeguard in Australia had a run-in with a Great White while rowing a boat, and managed to... row away from it:

"Its head was pointing towards the sky and you could see its eyes and its gob open with these big red lips wrapped around the oar," Greg Ross told Australia's Herald Sun.
"It was there for a good minute before it must have thought it didn't taste too good and then it turned around and was gone."

That must have been one interesting minute. By Ross's account the fish was between 7 and 10 feet, making it a young and small shark, relatively speaking. Still, a Great White is a Great White, and 10 feet of shark is nothing to laugh about. There is something primordially terrifying about sharks and the environment that they occupy, and if something like this ever happened to us we would literally never step foot in the ocean again. Unlike this guy, who was back out rowing his boat later that same day. Though to be fair in Australia this sort of thing probably happens all the time.

VALLEY, we guess?

via DailyNews

Morning Marginalia: Robin Hood trailer.

It's been a long time since Ridley Scott's Robin Hood - starring Russell Crowe - was announced, and we remember reading somewhere that it was delayed for the usual reasons (read: dead hooker in Ben Affleck's trailer). Pretty standard role for Crowe, who's joins up once more with Scott after the pair worked together on Gladiator all those years ago. Cate Blanchett plays Maid Marion, which is an interesting choice. If nothing else, we know that Russell Crowe has the ability to carry a period-fiction piece. It is what the man does.

VALLEY