THE CITY DARK chronicles the disappearance of darkness. When filmmaker Ian Cheney moves to New York City and discovers skies almost completely devoid of stars, a simple question — what do we lose, when we lost the night? — spawns a journey to America’s brightest and darkest corners. Astronomers, cancer researchers, ecologists and philosophers provide glimpses of what is lost in the glare of city lights; blending a humorous, searching tone with poetic footage of the night sky, what unravels is an introduction to the science of the dark, and an exploration of the human relationship to the stars.
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The Love Story That Started With a Typo [Video]
In January 2007, Rachel P. Salazar and Ruben P. Salazar were living 9,000 miles apart and completely unaware of each other’s existence. But when an email meant for Rachel accidentally went to Ruben, it wasn’t long before an ordinary mistake began to look like an extraordinary stroke of luck.
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Sonic Waves as Male Contraception?
A new breakthrough in the wonderful world of forced infertility has Sonic Waves reducing the sperm count of men. The only problem is that it is not known if this technique could be reversed so it is still in the works.
Scientists from the University of North Carolina say a non-oral form of male contraception is on the horizon. According to researchers, all it takes to be effective is a couple blasts of high frequency sound waves…delivered straight to the testicles.
Using ultrasound equipment typically used for physical therapy, a team of researchers led by UNC’s James Tsuruta showed that exposing the testes of rats to two 15-minute “doses” of ultrasonic radiation could reduce sperm counts in the rats to levels that, in humans, would result in infertility. If the effects prove reversible, and the treatment is deemed safe, ultrasonic contraception could soon become a common form of male birth control.
So some SuperBass to your super bits could save you and your partner from a very stessful “pee on a stick” date.
The danger is that the onset of a miracle cure to baby-daddy-itis will likely require these brilliant scientists to invent a sonic blast that cures a whole multitude of sexually transmitted diseases. The fear of impregnating a woman might have been the last bastion of logic to resist impulsive hookups.
I also wonder… if this becomes mainstream, will people start saying “you sound infertile”? Just a thought.
IRL – In Real Life: A Short Documentary About Online Game Addiction [Video]
After losing six years of his life on World of Warcraft, third year film student Anthony Rosner decided that enough was enough and started living in the real world. His documentary, IRL, takes a look at the effects MMORPGs can have on people and show that there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
“IRL – In Real Life” is a short, light-hearted documentary looking at the effects of World of Warcraft addiction, produced as part of a 3rd Year Film Production project.
Thanks Darth Roxanne!
Evolution Takes A Leap: The Boy Who Will Begin A New World Order
The time for reading comics is done. It’s time to live the marvel of mutated human beings, to realize that superpowers are real. And they’re here.
This report on YouTube reports that a child in China has blue cat-like eyes, reflecting light back at us in the night. He’s able to do written tests in the dark and is terribly uncomfortable in the bright sunshine.
Who knew, the elves of legend come from Chinese stock!
Apparently he was even able to catch crickets in the dark. Bet he can catch bad guys too. I wonder what his superhero name is going to be?
So the evolution begins. Whose side will you be on, who will you follow? Xavier or Magneto?
Samsung patent lawsuits may be unlawful
We’re well used to tech companies suing one another for patent violations (and likely passing the legal bills on to us in higher prices.) But now the tables may have turned, with the European Union investigating whether Samsung misuses its own patents.
In recent years, Samsung and Apple in particular have been engaged in a patent war of attrition, both suing one another in several countries, as well as using the newer tactic of trying to get the United States International Trade Commission to block imports of the relevant devices.
It’s only fair to note that the legal action has been far from one-sided. One lawsuit by Apple over the Galaxy Tab effectively argued that if you produce a tablet, you need to make it a colorful pyramid with dozens of buttons to avoid infringement.
However, the formal EU investigation covers events dating back to the development of the 3G standard. While helping set up the standard in Europe — a standard that allowed Samsung, like other companies, to benefit from the smartphone boom — manufacturers agreed to license the patented technologies they developed relating to the standards.
That agreement recognizes the rights held by companies in their patents, but says they must license them to rival companies in a “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” manner. These rules only apply to patents specifically linked to the 3G standards.
After a preliminary investigation, the EU now believes Samsung may have breached those rules: indeed, that rather than licensing the patents as required, it’s used them as a weapon in lawsuits. Officials believe this may constitute an unfair attempt to distort the market by making it harder for the rival firms to compete.
Patent expert Florian Mueller notes that the opening of a formal investigation likely means the EU has received hard evidence of potential abuse during its initial probe. Mueller also notes that Apple shouldn’t fear a similar investigation for the simple reason that it rarely if ever takes part in standards development, let alone agrees to related licensing terms.
It appears the investigation is being made a priority to avoid the risk that Samsung prevails in one of the lawsuits, only for EU officials to decide too late that such lawsuits should never have been brought.
VIDEO: What Happens When 500 People Trace the Same Line?
Clement Valla asked 500 people to consecutively trace what was, at first, a single line. As each person traces the last person’s line, the result becomes more and more jumbled and complex.
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