Wednesday, December 21, 2011

CURRENTBLIPS

CURRENTBLIPS

December 21, 2012

Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:03 PM PST


MEXICO CITY (AP) — Seize the day. Only 52 weeks [] are left before Dec. 21, 2012, when some believe the Maya predicted the end of the world. Unlike enthusiasts of other doomsday theories who suggest putting together survival kits, southeastern Mexico, the heart of Maya territory, plans a yearlong celebration.

Mexico's tourism agency expects to draw 52 million visitors by next year only to the regions of Chiapas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Campeche. All of Mexico usually lures about 22 million foreigners in a year.

It's selling the date, the Winter Solstice in the coming year, as a time of renewal. Many archeologists argue that the 2012 reference on a 1,300-year-old stone tablet only marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan calendar.

"The world will not end. It is an era," said Yeanet Zaldo, a tourism spokeswoman for the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun. "For us, it is a message of hope." *

‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ Review

Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:03 PM PST


The first installment in Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Series," The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo made its English debut in 2008 (the original Swedish novel was published in 2005). As the book was gaining momentum in America, production on a Swedish film adaptation from director Niels Arden Oplev and starring Noomi Rapace (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) as leading lady Lisbeth Salander, was nearing completion – and would open to critical acclaim from international and American critics alike.

As a result, it came as somewhat of a surprise that despite the success of the series, fan-favorite director, David Fincher (The Social Network) was gearing-up for his own adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Fans of Oplev's film quickly dismissed Fincher's attempt as an unnecessary American cash grab – while other moviegoers anxiously awaited what the celebrated auteur would bring to his own interpretation. Now that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is officially available in theaters – can film fans just dismiss the American version or has Fincher managed to deliver yet another critical and commercial darling?

Source
http://screenrant.com

The Shroud of Turin Wasn’t Faked, Italian Experts Say

Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:02 PM PST


Has the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin finally been proven?
A new study by Italian scientists may not be definitive on its origins, but it does refute the popular notion that it was faked during the Middle Ages.
Experts at Italy's National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Development have concluded in a report that the famed purported burial cloth of Jesus Christ could not have been faked.
According to the Vatican Insider, a project by La Stampa newspaper that closely follows the Catholic church, the experts' report says, "The double image (front and back) of a scourged and crucified man, barely visible on the linen cloth of the Shroud of Turin has many physical and chemical characteristics that are so particular that the staining which is identical in all its facets, would be impossible to obtain today in a laboratory … This inability to repeat (and therefore falsify) the image on the Shroud makes it impossible to formulate a reliable hypothesis on how the impression was made."
The centuries-old shroud contains a faint impression of the front and back of a human body, along with blood, dirt and water stains from age.
Many have long questioned the shroud's authenticity, and others have suggested that it was faked during medieval times.

Source
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/12/the-shroud-of-turin-wasnt-faked-italian-experts-say/

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is sentenced to 90 days in jail

Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:02 PM PST


A Las Vegas judge Wednesday sentenced boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to 90 days in jail for his role in a 2010 domestic violence case involving two of his children and their mother.

Mayweather pleaded guilty to a reduced domestic-violence misdemeanor charge and no contest to two harassment misdemeanor charges in the Clark County (Nev.) courthouse.

The jail sentence complicates, and perhaps scraps, plans for a late-spring fight between Mayweather (42-0) and Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.

"You don't need to be a genius to count the days," said a person in Pacquiao's camp, who was unauthorized to speak publicly.

Source
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-boxing-floyd-mayweather-20111222,0,5891430.story

With Mayweather scheduled to report to jail Jan. 6, his 90-day term would expire in early April. Clark County Court spokeswoman Mary Ann Price said, "He will likely spend approximately 65 days in custody," based on receiving 22 days of "good-time [behavior] credit," in addition to three other days of credit for time served.

'The Hobbit' movie trailer: what it tells us, what it leaves a mystery (VIDEO)

Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:01 PM PST


For a video clip that's only about 153 seconds long, it's sure getting lots of attention. And for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien or Peter Jackson – well, it should.

The movie trailer (see below) for the long-awaited movie about an unexpected journey arrived Wednesday. And it reveals a lot for those fans to chew over, tantalizing footage from a film that's still a year away from arrival in movie theaters.

For now, here's a discussion of three of the more interesting bits.

IN PICTURES: Hobbits around the world

1. How non-"Hobbit" material fits in

Mr. Jackson and the team behind the movie seized the opportunity to stretch a single book by Mr. Tolkien into two cinematic parts. In doing so, the director is bringing in some material that was outside Tolkein's book, but is a part of the broader Tolkien canon – appendices and other works that explain what was going on in other parts of Middle Earth during the events of "The Hobbit."

But it has been a mystery as to how he would accomplish this. The trailer provides clues.

For one, a key character seen in the trailer is the elf Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), who figured prominently the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, but isn't in Tolkien's "Hobbit" book at all. Her presence in the film points to the inclusion of the so-called White Council and its battle of good versus evil.

Source
http://www.csmonitor.com

NBA's Monta Ellis sued for alleged lewd texts

Posted: 21 Dec 2011 07:00 PM PST


(AP) OAKLAND, Calif. - A former Golden State Warriors employee filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against star guard Monta Ellis on Wednesday, alleging Ellis sent her unwanted texts that included a photo of his genitals.
In her lawsuit, which also names the team, Erika Ross Smith alleges Ellis began sending her several dozen explicit messages, sometimes several times a day, starting in November 2010 while she worked for the team's community relations department.

The messages included lines such as, "I want to be with you," and "Hey Sexy," and periodically asked her what she was wearing or doing, according to the lawsuit.

Smith would often reply with "What do you want?" or "I am sleeping," the lawsuit claims.

"On a micro level, my client has endured unwanted harassment, has suffered and continues to suffer emotional distress and trauma," her attorney, Burt Boltuch, said at a news conference in his Oakland office. "On a macro level, this type of conduct, especially in the sports world, must stop.

"She was embarrassed. She was intimidated. She felt scared and helpless."

Source
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57346215/nbas-monta-ellis-sued-for-alleged-lewd-texts/
Posted by Suresh at 11:10 PM

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