Science Lush

The Lush List: 07/18/10: Summer Entertainment Options

1)INTOXICATING MOVIES: INCEPTION

While not strictly science-related, I saw Inception last night and had to post about this smart, gorgeously shot movie that will satisfy your desire for popcorn action thrills as well as provide some more deeply nourishing food for thought.  If The Matrix, 2001 or Blade Runner hold any fascination for you, get your butt into a theater to check out Christopher Nolan's latest. I won't give away any other details from the film because you should see it without knowing too much about it, but I'll just add that Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento) continues to remain one of my favorite filmmakers. 

2)ONLINE SHOWS: JOE GENIUS

If you don't feel like hoofing it to the theater for your entertainment, check out Joe Genius, the new online show from Revision3. As described by their PR materials, "Joe Genius highlights home-grown Newtons who experiment, tinker, and yes, blow stuff up in the name of science. And it's all caught on tape! Join [comedian] Jonah Ray as he whizzes through these geniuses' most epic failures and thrilling successes -- and of course, the science behind it all."

The show features online vids from citizen scientists and students - some that go well, others which go horribly wrong. The first episode focus on chemistry, and includes such experiments as mixing rubbing alcohol and chlorine, concocting homemade rocket fuel, and an endeavor titled "watermelon versus liquid nitrogen."

Much like G4's new show It's Effin' Science, the show approaches science like an extreme sport, accompanied by comedic commentary. I am curious about the very last line of the show, which states that the show is "brought to you in part by the National Science Foundation"...interesting...will let y'all know when I find out more...

3) PBS'S HISTORY DETECTIVES

The PBS show History Detectives traces the history, mythologies and family legends behind found objects. This year, as part of the 8th season space-themed premiere, the show made a direct interactive pitch to viewers to help solve the mystery of whether or not a miniature piece of collaborative art was snuck aboard the Apollo 12 space mission, possibly created by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and others. It's a story of collaboration between engineers and artists, cryptic telegram messages and the fascination with getting a teeny bit of oneself up into space. The show's producers ask the public to help solve the mystery here and over 170 viewers have already done so. 

Watch the full episode. See more History Detectives.

[Source: Cynopsis Digital]

4)NSA GEEKY AFTER DARK

Many folks get through the hot summer by heading out to the pool club. The folks at the NSA have a different idea of how to blow off steam. A post on Wired's Danger Room blog details how NSA staffers get down & dirty after work. Turns out that hacking at top levels during the day isn't enough for these guys - they continue their exploits in 12 different "Learned Organizations" after the work day is done. From the Wired post:

Most of the clubs revolve around cryptoanalysis, communications analysis and language translation. Which is pretty much what employees at the NSA do from 9 to 5 — and, it seems, still shell out $15 in annual fees to do on evenings and weekends, too. But at least on evenings and weekends, snacks are involved...

The clubs offer more than chips & dip. In addition to the work they do, the Crypto-Linguistics Association (CLA) has an International Cookbook; the KRYPTOS Society has an annual literature contest; and the Crypto-Mathematics Institute (CMI) has a fondness for word puzzles.

I'd love to sit in on a meeting of the Pen & Cursor Society (P&CS), which sponsors “creativity seminars,” where members are invited to “explore childhood memories,” “break rules!” and “fertilize the garden in which you grow ideas.” I'd even bake some killer cupcakes if they'd let me come play, but alas, the clubs are only open to NSA Staff.

The Lush List: 6/17/10 - The LA Film Festival Edition

It's a crazy night in Downtown LA - the Lakers won the NBA championship, E3 continues to generate buzz and the Los Angeles Film Festival kicks off it's 16th edition with a screening of Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right. Luckily, I'm far away from the madness...though I have already seen people lighting off fireworks in celebration of the yellow & purple.

Personally, it's the film festival that gets me all revved up, so in honor of the LAFF, here's a special movie edition of the Lush List, highlighting some of the science-related films that will be playing at this year's fest. You may recognize some of the titles from my Sundance round up, and if you're in LA, make sure to check out the post-screening conversation for One Lucky Elephant. Descriptions courtesy of the 2010 LAFF Film Festival Guide.

1. Cane Toads: The Conquest

Summer Showcase

(Australia, US, 2010, 85 mins, 3D DCP)

Directed By: Mark Lewis; Executive Producers: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Clark Bunting; Producer: Mark Lewis; Cinematographers: Toby Oliver, Kathryn Milliss, Paul Nichola; Editor: Robert Demaio

The cane toad was imported to Australia in the 1930s to save its sugar crop from beetles. Big mistake. Not only did the ugly critter utterly fail at its job, some seven decades later it had multiplied from a hundred to an estimated 1.5 billion, overrunning most of northern Australia in its unstoppable migration. Protected by a poison it secretes through its skin, the cane toad has wreaked havoc everywhere it hops, and every effort to stop it has proven futile.

The mischievous maverick Mark Lewis first told this story in his short 1988 classic Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. Now, aided by eye-popping 3D, he updates the horror in his inimitable tongue in cheek style. Documentary and archival footage come together as the toad's victims are interviewed and the elaborate efforts to stomp the interlopers out are demonstrated. But nothing can match Lewis’ recreations. They are in a class by themselves, as Lewis shows us the effects the toad has on any dog who happens to lick it. If you've ever wondered what a canine acid trip looks like, look no further. (David Ansen)

2. Farewell
Documentary Competition
(Netherlands, 2009, 90 mins, DigiBeta (NTSC))
US premiere
Directed By: Ditteke Mensink; Producer: Pieter van Huijstee; Screenwriter: Ditteke Mensink; Editor: Jessica de Koning; Cast: Narrated by Poppy Elliott

In 1929, celebrated journalist Lady Grace Drummond-Hay was invited to take part in the first round-the-world flight of a commercial airship, the LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin. Recently widowed from a man 50 years her senior and bored to tears with covering ladies fashion, Lady Grace leaped at the chance to be the only woman onboard one of the media sensations of the decade. At journey’s end she returned to America a star, thanks to her good looks and gutsy charm. But her reports on the ship’s travels for the front pages of the Hearst press empire only told part of the story. In her diary she recorded a far more intimate journey—her struggle to get over her secret affair with shipmate, mentor, and married man Karl von Wiegand.

Combining spectacular archival footage of the journey across New York, Siberia, Tokyo, and the Pacific with narration drawn from Drummond’s articles and her private journals, this sweeping black and white documentary stands as a vision of technological marvels and global hope in that narrow window between world wars when everything seemed possible except true love. (Amy Nicholson)

3. One Lucky Elephant

Documentary Competition

(USA, 2010, 83 mins, HDCam — Frame Rate 29.97)

World Premiere

Directed By: Lisa Leeman; Writers: Cristina Colissimo, Lisa Leeman; Producers: Cristina Colissimo, Jordana Glick-Franzheim; Co-Producer: Miriam Cutler; Executive Producers: Elizabeth Zox Friedman, Greg Little; Cinematographers: Sandra Chandler, Neil Brown, Shana Hagen, Cristina Colissimo; Editors: Kate Amend, Tchavdar Georgiev; Cast: Flora the elephant, David Balding, Carol Buckley, Laura Balding, Willie Theison

What happens to a circus elephant when it’s time to retire? After 16 years in the spotlight, Flora, an African elephant living in St. Louis, must find a new home, and David, the circus owner who has cared for her all these years, must say goodbye to the animal he thinks of as a “daughter.” The road to Flora’s retirement, however, is a difficult and emotional one. While David finds himself drawn into the current debate in the animal rights community over the ethical treatment of elephants, Flora must adjust to living among other elephants for the first time ever.

Ten years in the making, One Lucky Elephant is a remarkable achievement. Eschewing easy sentimentality, the film beautifully captures the delicate love between David and Flora, but it also doesn’t shy away from examining the problems and mysteries posed by keeping wild animals in captivity. It’s a complicated, fascinating issue, and there are no clear answers for anyone involved, least of all David and Flora, two extraordinary individuals you’ll never forget. (Doug Jones)

To note: A post-screening Q&A and extended conversation to explore the timely issues raised by the film will follow the screening on June 19. Moderated by Charles Siebert, acclaimed New York Times journalist and author of An Elephant Crack Up, Angus, and The Wauchula Woods Accord, with guests Ron Kagan (Director, Detroit Zoo), Dr. Toni Frohoff (behavioral and wildlife biologist; TED Global 2010 conference speaker), Laura Balding (Equestrian Advisor and Co-Founder, Therapeutic Horsemanship), and filmmakers Lisa Leeman (director) and Cristina Colissimo (producer and co-founder of Ahali Elephants).  Additional special guests to be announced.

4. Space Tourists
International Showcase

(Switzerland, 2009, 98 mins, DigiBeta (NTSC))

In English, Russian, Romanian with English subtitles
Directed By: Christian Frei; Producer: Christian Frei; Cinematographer: Peter Indergand; Editors: Christian Frei, Andreas Winterstein; Cast: Anousheh Ansari, Jonas Bendiksen, Dumitru Popescu, Charles Simonyi

In the not so distant past, media outlets gathered excitedly every time the U.S. or Soviet Union launched a flight into space. Today, space flights only receive secondary coverage, leaving many to wonder what happened to the promise that space travel once held. Christian Frei’s dream-like documentary Space Tourists addresses this question as he transports us to the rarely-glimpsed world of Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. With its crumbling edifices, abandoned housing projects, and timeworn artworks, the once-great Baikonur is only a shadow of its former self. With the high price tag of space flight, space tourism—priced at $20 million per journey—has become the only way for Russia to fund their space program.

Examining both the idealism and the reality behind space exploration today, Frei’s documentary launches us into space with the first woman space tourist, an Iranian-American Texas millionaire, while on the ground a motley crew of “space junk” collectors make their living off what comes tumbling to earth. (Jennifer Wilson)

5. Gasland
Special Screenings
(USA, 2010, 104 mins, HDCam Frame Rate 23.98)
Directed By: Josh Fox; Executive Producers: Debra Winger, Hunter Gray; Producers: Trish Adlesic, Josh Fox, Molly Gandour; Screenwriter: Josh Fox; Cinematographers: Josh Fox, Matthew Sanchez; Editor: Matthew Sanchez; Cast: Josh Fox, Theo Coburn, Dr. Al Almendariz, John & Kathy Fenton, Mike & Marsha Markhan, Amee & Jesse Ellsworth, Debbie Mae, Pat Farnelli, Renee McClure, Jeff & Rhonda Locker, Lewis Meek, Lisa Bracken, Weston Wilson, Calvin Tilman, Scott Stinger, James Gennaro

We all know about the recent and well-publicized environmental risks of oil, coal, and nuclear energy, but what about natural gas‾ When banjo-picking everyman Josh Fox is offered big bucks to lease his property to a natural gas company, he decides to investigate the industry’s dubious safety claims. Armed with a camcorder, a cellphone, and an inquisitive mind, Fox sets out on a harrowing journey across the heartland, where he uncovers damning evidence of contaminated water, polluted air, and corporate bullying.

In a down-to-earth and unassuming style, Fox explains the complicated and costly process of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” and exposes its environmental impact on our air, soil, water, and livestock. Meanwhile, the citizens of “Gasland” testify to the health hazards posed by the industry, including an unforgettable demonstration of flammable tap water. In this time of energy handwringing and green initiatives, Fox’s extraordinary example of DIY muckraking is a vibrant testament to the vitality of citizen journalism and a must-see for every American who is concerned about the environment. (Matt Cornell)

6. Climate Refugees
Free Screenings
(Bangladesh, Chad, China, Kenya, Tuvalu, USA, 2010, 89 mins, HD - CAM 1080I 59.94)
In English, Bengali, Chinese, Sudanese with English subtitles
Directed By: Michael P. Nash; Executive Producers: Pat McConathy, Stephen Nemeth; Producers: Michael P. Nash, Justin Hogan; Screenwriter: Michael P. Nash; Cinematographer: Michael P. Nash; Editors: Michael P. Nash, Bret Langefels, Nancy Frazen; Cast: Rajendra K Pachauri Ipcc, Dr.Stephen Schneider, Gov. Bill Ritter Jr., Lester R. Brown, Newt Gingrich, Prof. Wangari Maathai, Secretary Ken Salazar, Senator John Kerry, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Tino Cuellar, Yvo De Boer; Music: Michael Mollura

“Climate Refugees” is a term few people outside the U.S. military and U.N. circles were familiar with outside the US military and UN circles…until now. As alarming as it is prescient, Michael Nash’s illuminating documentary examines the facts behind the phrase and exposes what is being called the biggest challenge facing mankind.

Climate refugees are populations who are being displaced by the effects of extreme climate change, both natural and manmade. Through intimate interviews, expert testimony, and unforgettable images, Nash and his dedicated team convey the disastrous political, social, and ecological effects this migration could cause. While Congressional and U.N. leaders attest on-screen that the situation is critical, the fact remains that there is no contingency plan or multi-national accord addressing the issue.

Capturing a world that is distressingly unaware of this aspect of the global warming crisis, Nash’s film is an urgent call for action. To sustain life as we know it, and to guarantee a future for the next generation, we must mobilize to find solutions now. (Christine Davila)

The Lush List: 4/30/10 - Cape Wind, BP Oil Spill, Iron Man Science and Music for the Lab

1. CAPE WIND
After nine years of regulatory review, the federal government has finally approved the nation's first offshore wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod. According to an article in The New York Times, the approval is just the first step in launching the the project, dubbed Cape Wind, which has been the subject of great debate. Those supporting it include the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Governor Deval Patrick. Benefits cited include the creation of a renewable source of clean energy, as well as the jobs the project would bring to the area.

Those on the other side include Senator Scott Brown (R), environmental groups such as the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound and the coastal Wampanoag tribe, which requires unobstructed views of the sunrise for sacred ceremonies. Reasons for opposition include increased energy costs to consumers, possible violations of current environmental regulations and concerns about how the farm will affect the beauty of the area and the tourism market. Others are not thrilled that the a private developer, Cape Wind Associates, is in charge of the project.

If you like your story told in images, for more background on the endeavor from a pro-farm p.o.v., take a look at "Cape Wind Project: Everything You Need to Know," on The Huffington Post. If you're a text fan, read the NY Times editorial supporting the project. For a look back at some of the history of the opposition to Cape Wind, read this piece from GRIST, which focuses on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s problems with the project.

2. EARTH DAY OIL SPILL
While the benefits for Cape Wind have stirred debate, no one can argue that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico resulting from the explosion on a BP offshore oil rig last week is a tragedy. The estimated rate of spill was originally estimated at 1,000 barrels a day, but has now been upgraded to 5,000 barrels (more than 200,000 gallons). Here's an update from Democracy NOW! on the situation. One of the saddest lines from the report: "The clean ocean has become a thing of the past in that region for the future."

3. SCIENCE OF IRON MAN
We could really use a superhero right about now to help with the situation in the Gulf, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen. Perhaps the closest we can get at the moment is heading to the multi-plex to catch IRON MAN 2, the latest installment of the Marvel franchise. For a look at the science behind the suit, check out Marvel.com's piece by Ryan Haupt, who holds two Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Geology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-hosts the podcast "Science...sort of."

Shameless plug: I also did some looking into the story of Iron Man, though my exploration was decided less scientific. I had the verrry fun job of hosting Marvel's Red Carpet coverage of the Hollywood premiere of the film. You can check out my interviews with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, ScarJo, Don Cheadle and more here.  

4. 10 SONGS FOR SCIENCE NERDS
This week for your listening pleasure, Flavorwire has compiled a virtual mixtape for, in their words, "those of you who maybe spent a little too much time in the chem lab, who cheered for Weird Science’s Anthony Michael Hall as if he were one of your own, and who still might have a poster of the periodic table on your bedroom walls." The collection is a mix of usual suspects such as "She Blinded Me With Science" (Thomas Dolby) and "Weird Science" (Oingo Boingo), as well as more obscure choices like performance artist Laurie Anderson's "O Superman (For Massenet)."

Science Online 2010: Am Amazing Experience + Science & Entertainment Panel Review

Finally catching up on some long overdue blogging!

I spent a big chunk of January on the road, first in North Carolina at Science Online 2010, then at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. To read about my festival adventures, head on over to the News on the Doc blog at Documentary.org, where I chronicled my daily dose of movies and events and posted filmmaker interviews for the International Documentary Association.

While I'm a bit embarrassed that it's taken me so long to get something up about Science Online, aka scio10,  it's also been useful to have some time to reflect on the experience (multiple plane rides = good thinking time). A huge thank-you to conference organizers Bora Zivkovic and Anton Zuiker, the masterminds behind the 4th annual event.

I must admit, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into when I agreed to head out to the Research Triangle. Compared to the rest of the attendees, I'm relatively new to the science blogging community, though I've had a lot of experience in the online space. But something about the participatory nature of the way the conference was put together (and the exuberant nature of Bora's Tweets!) gave me a good feeling, and now I'm so glad I followed my gut and made the trip. I knew it would be a weekend full interesting discussions about science; what I never expected was that there would be so many wonderful conversations about writing as well. Indeed, Science Online is just as much a conference about 21st century communication as it is about what happens in the lab.

Another unexpected delight at Scio10 was the diverse group of panelists and attendees. In addition to the expected authors, bloggers and scientists, there were museum outreach directors, high school students, teachers, science pranksters, iPhone app developers, underwater cinematographers, librarians, software developers, and more. The connective tissue amongst the group was a love for science and an interest in how it's being explored in the online space.

To that end, the event and its attendees made excellent use of Web 2.0 tools. Conference tweets, tagged with #scio10, were projected onto screens at the event venues. While you were in one session, you could see what you were missing in the others by keeping an eye on your phone's Twitter feed. Several panels were streamed into Second Life and live streamed on U-Stream, and those observing from afar could submit questions to the room. The wireless during the sessions, provided by SignalShare, rocked - it was robust enough to allow me to Skype in a guest speaker during my session. Almost everything was videotaped, and Bora & Anton & Co. are in the process of getting the vids online. You can find them here on Science in the Triangle's YouTube channel.

Science & Entertainment Session
I co-hosted a panel on Science and Entertainment with the lovely Jennifer Ouellette, author and science blogger extraordinaire. I presented several examples of cutting edge online campaigns and content pieces that either made use of or were inspired by real-life science, and Jennifer talked about her work with the Science & Entertainment Exchange, a program of the National Academy of Sciences.  In true UnConference model, we then posed several questions to the audience and opened it up to the whimsy of the room.

Topics of discussion included:

• If science's responsibility is to accuracy and Hollywood's responsibility is to good storytelling, where and how - or should - the two meet in the middle?
• How can science bloggers pursue relationships with Hollywood studios? Does Hollywood really care about what they have to say?
• Studio films such as Angels & Demons, Terminator, Star Trek and Avatar have the budgets to create innovative online content as part of their marketing campaigns. How can science adapt what they've created in the fictional realm and use it to explore real science online in new, attention-grabbing ways?
• With rich media experiences becoming more common online and drawing more eyeballs, how can good ol' fashioned blogging evolve so that it doesn't become the print media of the Internet?
• Currently, it's common for bloggers to point out the errors in the science contained in movies and television. Yet, film and TV have proven to be sources of inspiration for students, as good storytelling stokes the curiosity that eventually leads kids to pursue careers in science. With this in mind, is there a way to establish a more cooperative relationship between the the worlds of science and entertainment?
• As entertainment consumers move from a lean back experience to a more participatory role, how should science on the web adapt? 

Thanks to all who joined in the robust conversation; this sampling of Tweets from our panel will give you a sense of it...

@f1000 talks about scientific consulting on films like Avatar, TV shows like CSI and video games at #scio10 http://bit.ly/5PYlLn

@thegarbagegirl  Love this! http://www.thesoulstoragecompany.com/ Presented at #scio10 session on science and entertainment

@abelpharmboy  Alastair Jeffs: Have to be able to tell a good story; the science is great but...people want a story. Work w/a classical writer

@abelpharmboy  @tamarakrinsky noted that some networks have diversity mandates #scio10 12:09 PM Jan 16th from TweetDeck

@abelpharmboy @edyong209 @docfreeride So if one convinces a filmmaker that a young black girl discovering a drug would be a money-making story...#scio10

@edyong209  Passive consumers of entertainment are becoming active consumers. Want to take part. #scio10

@thegarbagegirl  @tamarakrinsky said something I've believed all along: people want to be involved in the story telling process

@abelpharmboy Hrynyshyn: why aren't there more "normal" people on Bones or House - Jen-Luc says normal does not make compelling characters

Janet D. Stemwedel (@docfreeride) has archived her extensive tweets from the session on a post on her blog Adventures from Ethics in Science - a great collection of observations! 

Another thing I'm digging about Scio10 is the continuation of conversations begun in North Carolina via blogs and tweets. Over on The Intersection, Chris Mooney posts: 

Science and Entertainment: Beyond Blogging – Tamara Krinsky and Jennifer Ouellette: Hollywood getting into science = definitely cool. But will Hollywood’s ace marketers ever see a real need to court science bloggers to get the word out about films, given the relatively small size of our audiences and the vastness of their ad budgets? Not clear to me how much *we* matter, at least so far.

My response to Chris is that Hollywood will care as long as they think there's money to be made. And when I say Hollywood, I'm talking about the studios and the marketing engines...individual creatives like directors and writers usually have much more genuine interests in the science that's inspired them. Increasingly, bloggers fit into that revenue-generating equation. As audiences become more and more fragmented, finding ways to catch hold of the individual shards who may have interest in a film becomes increasingly important. For example, the online campaign for Coraline was built on identifying and generating interest from several different niche audiences. They buzz created by these early fans bubbled up to larger outlets, feeding the campaign and driving coverage by more mainstream media, thus helping the film to attract a wider audience.

LINKS
If you want to take a peek at some of the projects we showcased during the panel, here are some handy-dandy links for ya'...

Star Trek
This is an example of the innovative banner ad campaign designed for the film which allows users to rotate through the bridge (this one appeared on MySpace). At various places, hidden features allow you to launch a picture gallery and videos. Museums and labs take note: this could serve as inspiration for a virtual tours.
Agency Credit: Avatar Labs

Terminator: Salvation
[Note: the title link takes you to images used in the application, which is no longer available]
This Skynet Adobe Air Application developed for the Terminator: Salvation domestic movie release campaign featured a faux information processor. The sinister Skynet Corporation invited users to download the app to their desktops to help process information.  It mysteriously “broke” the day the film was released. This kind of app is an engaging way to distribute new video and text information to fans.

The designers were inspired by “SETI at Home,” a distributed computer programm  where users can download and analyze radio telescope data to help with SETI. Agency credit: Crew Creative

Cold Souls
This film stars Paul Giamatti as a man who puts his soul in storage for awhile so he can deal with some of his issues. As part of the marketing campaign, they created a humorous site for the fictional "Soul Storage Company," which allows customers to store their souls online. Site features include the ability to browse the soul catalog and take an office tour, complete with some lovely B-movie-esque video.

Angels & Demons
The “On Location” section of the movie site is an interactive map that contains factual information about the various historical locations used in the film. Hotspots open images, video, models and behind-the-scenes commentary to bring to light the fact behind the fiction. It's an engaging example of the way that a sci-fi film could potentially showcase real science, differentiating between movie and theory in a way that celebrates both the truth of the science and the imagination of the storytellers.

Avatar
The site for the film features an Adobe Air application which allows users to download an interactive trailer to their desktops that includes regularly updated newsfeeds and links to external content on sites such as YouTube and Twitter. The site creates a community by incorporating social networking tools such as the Typepad community and Facebook Connect.  

Routes Project
This groundbreaking multi-platform exploration of genetics and bio-ethics used a variety of platforms to engage a young audience. The science underpinning Routes was developed in partnership with the Wellcome Trust as part of the Darwin200 program celebrating the bicentenary of Darwin's birth. It included the following elements:

• An eight-part online mini series called ROUTES in which Katherine Ryan, a Canadian stand up comic, submits herself to a series of genetic tests by 23andme. The Routes website tracked Katherine's progress as a video documentary.
• The site featured community challenges and flash based games based on genetics. Taking part allowed users to amass points. The highest scorers each week were entered into a prize drawing for a chance to win a gaming console.
• A corresponding fictional murder mystery intertwined with the documentary. Eight 4-5 minute episodes aired online and on Channel 4. The audience could delve deeper into the mystery through character video blogs, images from the "investigation" on Flickr, and SMS/text clues.
• Live promotional events included a launch event and comedy show.

**A special thanks to Alistair Jeffs from Oil whom we Skyped in during the panel to talk about the details of the Routes project.

Agency Credit: Oil

The Lush List: January 13, 2010 - The Sundance Edition

Right now I'm consumed with all things film, as I get ready for the Sundance Film Fest. So here's a special movie edition of the Lush List, highlighting some of the science-related films that will be playing at this year's fest (descriptions courtesy of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Guide).

1. Splice
The classic monster film gets a deliciously sadistic twist in Vincenzo Natali's contemporary dissection of the genetic-engineering dilemma. Clive and Elsa are young, brilliant, and ambitious. The new animal species they engineered has made them rebel superstars of the scientific world. In secret, they introduce human DNA into the experiment. The result is something that is greater than the sum of its parts: a female animal/human hybrid that may be a step up on the evolutionary ladder. They think they may have created the perfect organism—until she makes a final, shocking metamorphosis that could destroy them—and the rest of humanity.

In an age where creating life is a near-scientific possibility, the terrifying premise of Splice takes on hauntingly powerful implications. Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody deliver nuanced performances, and Natali's lurid special effects and dazzling visual design create a modern-day horror film that will make you scream, squirm, and think.

2. Climate Refugees
If global warming is our planet’s most pressing issue, large-scale population displacement is the human consequence. Massive continental migration is already under way, and diminished natural resources continue to threaten the lives of millions. The quickly submerging islands of Tuvalu in the South Pacific, drought-affected regions of Sudan, storm-susceptible coastlines of Bangladesh, and rapidly expanding deserts in China are forcing millions to relocate beyond their borders. Who will accept these refugees, and how will they impact their adopted homeland?

Filmmaker Michael Nash spent two years traversing the globe, visiting these and other hot spots where rising sea levels are threatening millions of people’s survival. Strong visuals and potent testimony from the victims of climate change, politicians, scientists, relief organizations, and authors help sound the alarm for instituting new policies and working together to create solutions to cope with this imminent crisis. Climate Refugees fervently captures the human fallout of climate change.

3. Space Tourists
Anousheh Ansari has dreamt of going into outer space since she was a child. A number of years and $20 million later, with the help of the Russian space program, her dream is realized—Ansari becomes the first female space tourist. In recent years, a number of private citizens like Ansari have been willing to endure rigorous training in Star City, Kazakhstan, and part with significant funds to spend time aboard the International Space Station.

Director Christian Frei (The Giant Buddhas, Sundance Film Festival 2006) explores the impact of space tourism in the heavens and on Earth by adeptly weaving together multiple strands: Ansari’s joyous experience in orbit; the efforts of local villagers to claim black-market rocket debris; the observations of photographer Jonas Bendiksen; and the training of the next space tourist in line. Space Tourists examines the intersections of human enterprise and commerce in the final frontier.

4. Cane Toads: The Conquest
The cane toads are ba-a-a-ck! But this time those pesky varmints are coming at you in glorious 3-D. In 1988, filmmaker Mark Lewis had tongues wagging when he unleashed his celebrated documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, exposing a bizarre biological blunder. Here, Lewis takes a giant leap forward as he revs up the technology, once again tracking the unstoppable march of the cane toad across the Australian continent. Reviled by many, adored by a few, the toad has gripped Australia's consciousness, achieving both cult and criminal status. Imported to save the sugar cane crop, the toad’s spread is considered one of Australia’s greatest environmental catastrophes. Yet for a world awakening to the daunting prospect that we have forever altered our ecosystem, this is a story of global implication. With its tongue not so firmly in its cheek, Cane Toads: The Conquest is a comic, yet provocative, journey of a species that has already invaded planet Earth.

5. And one final piece of film news that's not Sundance related...Leonardo DiCaprio Gets Spacey

Leonardo DiCaprio will narrate Hubble 3-D, a new Imax film set to be released in theaters on March 19th. According to Variety, the film includes spacewalks by astronauts required to service the telescope. The project brings back the Space Station 3D filmmaking team, led by producer/director Toni Myers; James Neihouse is director of photography and the astronaut crew trainer.

[Source: Variety.com]

 

'Transcendent Man' at AFI FEST: A Profile of Futurist Ray Kurzweil

I spent last week frolicking at AFI FEST, the annual film festival produced by the American Film Institute. Normally, I see a ton of movies, but this year I was tasked with covering AFI's DigiFest, a two-day event that showcases the work occurring at the Digital Content Lab, along with a curated presentation of cutting-edge sites, mobile applications and creative experiments in the digital space. For more on that, keep an eye out for my upcoming article on www.documentary.org.

Fortunately, I was able to make some time for movies, including Barry Ptolemy's TRANSCENDENT MAN, a documentary about inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil. Made with Kurzweil's cooperation, the film examines the theories of the acclaimed author of THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR (2005), as well as his personal history. In addition to lots of featured screen time for Kurzweil, director Ptolemy has included interviews with a number of scientists, writers and futurists. He's included thoughts from both detractors and supporters of Kurzweil's ideas, including inventor Dean Kamen; Robert Metcalfe, Co-Inventor of the Ethernet; and Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading.

The film opens with a primer on Kurzweil's background and accomplishments. At the age of 17, he appeared on the show I'VE GOT A SECRET, playing music written by a computer he built. Among other devices, he was the chief inventor of the flat bed scanner, a reading machine for the blind and the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano. He holds numerous patents, as well as 16 honorary Doctorates, and received the National Medal of Technology from President Clinton in 1999.

TRANSCENDENT MAN explores Kurzweil's belief that there will be a "singularity," a future period when the pace of technological change is so rapid that humanity will not be able to handle it unless we borrow from the technology we are creating. Kurzweil's basis for this idea comes from mathematical models he constructed of the rates at which technology has evolved over the years, and the observation that information technology is advancing in an exponential – as opposed to linear – fashion. He predicts that the singularity will take place in 2045.

NEWSWEEK did a piece on the film in May 2009 after it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and does a lovely job of explaining exponential growth.

Kurzweil makes predictions based on a notion that he calls "the law of accelerating returns," which holds that technology does not advance in a linear fashion but rather at an exponential rate. It's the difference between 1-2-3-4-5 and 1-2-4-8-16. Go out 10 steps and the linear string has reached 10, while the exponential string is hitting 512. With an exponential progression, at first, when the numbers are small, the progress doesn't look like much. But each new breakthrough enables the next breakthrough to occur more quickly, so the rate of change accelerates. Represented on a graph, the line of progress looks like a hockey stick—it's flat for some years, and then there's a sudden rise, which gets misinterpreted as a sudden breakthrough when really it's just the continuation of an exponential progression, Kurzweil says.

In the film, Kurzweil states that the most important phenomenon in the universe is intelligence, and that developments in three key areas will bring about the singularity. Advances in genetics and biotech will allow us to reprogram our biology away from disease and aging. Developments in nanotechnology will lead to microscopic machines, smaller than blood cells, which will enhance our health from within our own bodies. Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) will allow us to go beyond the limits of human intelligence and do li'l things like back up our brains.

Kurzweil makes no secret of the fact that he doesn't accept death, and that he believes that technology is the road to a form of immortality. This is where the film goes beyond being just another talking heads science program. Ptolemy delves into Kurzweil's family history, suggesting that his father's early death is partially responsible for the scientist's fascination with eternal life. Kurzweil was just 22 when his father passed away in 1970. He fully expects to be able to bring his dad – or a very close facsimile – back to "life" one day using a variety of technological advances, DNA information and artifacts from his father's life. Kurzweil may be a genius, but he's also a pack rat, and has boxes and boxes of letters, music, and artifacts from his father's life packed away until they can be applied to Dad 2.0.

So is Kurzweil a crackpot, brilliant...or both? He's got his fair share of supporters, such as Peter Diamandis, chairman and founder of the X Prize Foundation. Diamandis has signed on as Kurzweil's partner in Singularity University, a nine-week summer program which describes itself as an "interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges."

Others, however, take issue with Kurzweil on a number of different fronts. In the film, Dr. Hugo de Garis, a professor at Xiamen University under contract to build China's first artificial brain, says that neuroscience is still determining what intelligence actually is. He doesn't think Kurzweil takes into account the potential negative impact of these developments (something the fans of the The Terminator would probably agree with). This doom-and-gloom attitude doesn't faze Kurzweil; he responds to this criticism that the challenge of the 21st century will be to keep AI's "friendly," reflecting human values.

Supporter Diamandis expresses the idea that people who resist the process of being "upgraded" are actually resisting evolution, and won't survive. For me, this brings up the more philosophical question: at what point do we evolve into something completely different than that which we currently define as human? And is that "different thing" necessarily a bad thing?

After the film, there was a Q&A with Kurzweil and AFI programmer Lane Kneedler. An audience member asked Kurzweil his thoughts about immortality, posing the question: what is the point of creation once there is no death to frame meaning? The futurist answered that all limitations will not be thrown away, as there will always be a boundary of ignorance that we will aspire to conquer. He said, "I think death is a tragedy because it's a great loss. It robs us of what gives life meaning: having relationships...and creating."

Another audience member questioned Kurzweil about the where creativity fits in to his vision of the future, citing the example that an iPhone can download Shakespeare, but can't appreciate it. Intelligence and interpretation are not the same thing.

Kurzweil responded confidently, stating that while emotional intelligence is at the cutting edge of human intelligence, ultimately it's still a process that takes place in the brain. This means that when we complete the reverse engineering of the brain – which Kurzweil believes will happen within the next 20 years – we'll understand how emotional intelligence works just as we will every other activity that takes place in the brain. And once we comprehend those basic principles, we'll then be able to create systems that amplify them. Thus, the fusion of man and machine won't make us less human...we'll just understand much more about the processes that we currently define as human.

Upcoming: MOON w/Sam Rockwell

Just stumbled across this Wall Street Journal article on the film MOON, a  new low-budget sci-fi film from British filmmaker Duncan Jones. MOON, which stars Sam Rockwell, premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to see it while there, as I was on a strict non-fiction diary covering the festival for DOCUMENTARY Magazine. 

Based on what I've read -- and I'm trying not to read too much so I don't spoil it for myself -- Rockwell plays an astronaut on a lunar mining base who begins to unravel after a li'l accident on his lunar rover. Seems there's a bit of cloning at work. Or is there? 

Over on the SpoutBlog, Karina Longworth says: 

Moon challeneges the viewer to confront what they think they know about space movies and lonely-man-in-existential-crisis movies equally. 

I love the sci-fi films that make you think, and I'm very much looking forward to catching the film when Sony Pictures Classics releases it on June 12th in NY and LA. 

FOR MORE: 

Official MOON website

Sundance Festival Guide write up

SpoutBlog interview w/Sam Rockwell & Duncan Jones

The Lush List: 5/10/09

The Lush List
An irregularly, erratically posted list of things that catch my eye...

1. Sound of Music train station
This vid has been circulating for awhile, but just came across my screen. Had I been there, I would have been hard-pressed to keep from joining in. The Huffington Post has an analysis of why the video went viral, but to me it's pretty obvious: nostalgia + people doing unexpected things in unexpected places.

video:

Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

2. Wall Street Journal Micropayments
According to an article in the Financial Times, News Corp is planning on introducing micropayments for individual articles on the WSJ's website later this year. Usually, a yearly subscription fee of $100 is required to read articles on the site. The micropayment model would provide a solution for those like myself who just want to read an article once in awhile. It's incredibly frustrating to see a piece from the Journal referenced somewhere online, and then not to be able to read it when I actually click on it!
  
If they can find the right price point, it seems like a win-win situation. News Corp. could start to make some $$ off of folks who aren't regular readers and those of us who find our way Journal articles via links would be happy. The key is making the cost something that doesn't cause readers to pause when they click on the "purchase" button. Hmm, that $.99 song pricing seemed to work for a li'l service called iTunes...


3. Ode to the Vulcan Nerve Pinch
Saw the new movie. Loved it. I could quibble with a few details, but really, what's the point? I pretty much grinned through the whole damn thing. So in honor of all things Trek, here's a li'l compilation from the original.

'Wolverine' Red Carpet premiere

Last week I flew to Tempe, AZ to host Marvel.com's red carpet coverage of the X-MEN: ORIGINS: WOLVERINE premiere. Fun interviews with Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber and more!

Margins X-Post: Earth Day Docs Online

As most of you know, I'm the founder of a grassroots environmental campaign called Change The Margins. Occasionally, I post stuff on the Margins site that's of interest here. And yes, I could just copy over the whole post to Science Lush, but why do extra work when I don't have to?

Here's the skinny: Cinetic Rights Management is putting five docs online in celebration of Earth Day on 4/22. They're available on a variety of platforms, both for streaming and download. Titles include:

THE GREEN CHAIN (loggers vs environmentalists)
GREASY RIDER (greasecar drivers)
THE UNFORESEEN (real estate development vs. preservation)
BLIND SPOT (oil and energy crisis)
GARBAGE! THE REVOLUTION STARTS AT HOME (how much garbage does one family produce?)

For full descriptions & more details about where to find the films, read the Margins post:
http://sciencelush.typepad.com/change_the_margins/2009/04/5-docs-online-for-earth-day-.html