Mind your own gap?

Steve Jackson Games Daily Illuminator - December 2, 2008:

In the vein of the missile silos we've seen for sale over the past couple years, about 77,000 square feet of London Underground tunnels are for sale. They were built as air raid shelters in the 40's, and have been used by spies, telephone operators, and librarians during the Cold War.

Now these tunnels, attached to the surface by unmarked access points on High Holborn Street, can be yours for a couple million pounds. It's already hooked up for wather and electricity -- but what about broadband?

Now if only New York would do the same with all their unused rail. I'd love to put together Lex Luthor's Park Avenue flat...

once again, "Hollywood" shows no imagination...

And has decided that something 25+ years old will always be better than anything anybody might come up with today...so they'll clone it.

Russell Brand developing "Arthur" remake - Yahoo! News UK:

The controversial comedian is developing a remake of "Arthur," the 1981 comedy that starred Dudley Moore, as a potential starring vehicle. He is meeting with scribes to write the screenplay for Warner Bros.

The original movie followed a boozy playboy rascal who is set to inherit a fortune if he marries an heiress his family thinks will make something out of him. However, he falls in love with a working-class woman and turns to his valet for help when his family makes him choose between money and love.

ok, so we won't pay for a home or a car, but we'll pay for a movie?

Recession-hit Americans flocking to movies - Yahoo! News:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – True to form and in keeping with past recessions, Americans are flocking to the movies, the chief executive of the largest U.S. theater chain said on Wednesday.

"We're approximately two-thirds of the way through the quarter, and we are having a very good fourth quarter this year compared to last year as an industry," Regal Entertainment Group's CEO Mike Campbell told Reuters.

Movie theaters are seeing double-digit growth in box office revenue and high single-digit growth in attendance so far this quarter on the appeal of films like "Twilight," "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," and "Bolt," according to Campbell.

He said the movie industry has done well during all the recessions in the past 50 years. "It is still the most affordable out of home entertainment option," he said.

In light of these self-admitted facts, I fully expect the theater owners and movie studios to appear before congress expecting their bailout within a week.  That's pretty much what they are begging for every time there's a new restriction added to the DMCA bullshit...

well, *somebody* has been updating icons recently...

...but I'm not naming names.

Sciencebloggers Sound Off on CNN

Pharyngula: CNN screws the pooch:

As part of an ongoing program of reducing their relevance and demolishing their credibility, CNN has just completely shut down their Science, Space and Technology unit. Who needs good science coverage, after all, since nothing important happens in that area…and as the US continues to dumb down its educational system, the number of interested viewers is probably dropping, too.

The media knows where the profits lie, and it's not in that expensive journalism stuff — it's in the cheap and popular domain of opinionated airheads shouting at each other. This is symptomatic of a deep intellectual rot in this country.

The Island of Doubt : Another one bites the dust: CNN axes science team:

Another one bites the dust: CNN axes science team

Category: Sci-culture
Posted on: December 4, 2008 12:44 PM, by James Hrynyshyn

So last month its was the Forecast Earth gang at the Weather Channel. This week it's the science and technology team at CNN that gets the axe.

I know that times are tough all over. I know it's hard to sell ads for science sections and programs. But it sure would be nice to see the corporate robber barons that run the most popular media in the country do what's right for a change. I mean, come on: does anyone really believe that scientific issues are going to diminish in importance in the months and years ahead?

Pure Pedantry : Boo on you, CNN:

Boo on you, CNN

Category: TV
Posted on: December 4, 2008 1:36 PM, by Jake Young

CNN is shutting down their science-and-technology unit. Not that it was much of a unit considering there was only one reporter...

[...]

As for the reason "being editorial, not economic," I call bullshit. This is only editorial in the sense that CNN has chosen not to prioritize good science reporting. And that absence of priorities shows because if you have ever watched CNN science reporting, it was pretty piss poor already. Whether it is Sanjay Gupta and Larry King giving the antivax crowd a mic or their complete aversion to any complexity, CNN has repeatedly dropped the ball on science issues.

The economy is rough all-over, but it a shame to see a major network throwing in the towel.

Today's Collage

Was of Tomorrowland (both U.S. parks), so I posted it in disneypictures instead.