NASA discovers Tatooine

In a press conference today that included John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor from Industrial Light and Magic, NASA announced the discovery of a planet (named Kepler 16b) orbiting a binary star system.

This is the first time an exo planet has been found around such a system, and in a stable orbit!

While it may be a first for NASA, such a planetary system has long been imagined, and one of the first places something like this was seen by a large number of the public was in a little film called Star Wars.  The planet was Tatooine, home of Luke Skywalker.

Here is a NY Times article discussing the find (with animation).

No more MacBook

Apple has just taken the MacBook out of it's product line.  Now people have 5 choices of Appley goodness to choose from for their computing needs instead of 6.  Here's an article on Engadget about it.

Apple has also just updated the MacBook Air and Mac Mini, and released the new operating system, Lion.

MineCraft

I started "playing" the game MineCraft recently.  I put 'playing' in quotes because it's an open, sandbox kind of world, so you don't really play it.  Even so, it's pretty addicting.

Some friends of mine started playing on a closed server, so I thought I'd try it out.  It's cheap (about $20), so if it was as fun as they were saying, it would be worth it.  And it is.

The graphics appear to be quite crude.  All blocky, and whatnot.  But some of the interactions are quite sophisticated.  There's more than meets the eye, as it were.

And now I can't wait to get home and build a lava trap underneath my drawbridge to kill some monsters!  I guess I'm hooked.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 opened this weekend (July 15th) and has broken box office records.  It pulled in $168.55 million to top the previous record the Dark Knight had set by $10 million.  And adding in the foreign box office, Potter has taken in over $475 million.  That'll buy a lot of Butterbeers.

I saw the movie last night and liked it quite a bit.  I thought it was a good ending to the series.  Now the question is, will JK Rowling continue on with Harry's kids in some fashion?

NetFlix is changing it's pricing plans

If you're a NetFlix subscriber, you should read this article on Engadget.  The short of it is, NetFlix is changing it's pricing plans starting August 1st.  So if, like me, you were subscribed to unlimited streaming and DVD's, your plan will go from $9.99 to $15.98 (on Sept 1st).  I never used streaming, so I'm switching to just DVD's, which will be $7.99.

Mini Space Invaders cabinet

I thought this was super-cute.  Makes me want one.  Link to Engadget article (with video).

Transfomers: Dark of the Moon

Did everyone go see the 3rd Transformers movie over the July 4th weekend?  Seems like most people did, if the box office numbers are anything to go by.

I gotta say the story is a bit of a mess.  There are some HUGE plot holes.  But if you can shut your mind off, it's a good summer popcorn flick.  And what's not to love about giant robot explodey action?  The effects are pretty good, too, if I do say so myself.  ;)

Oh, I saw it in glorious 2D, by the way.  I am not fond of the 3D fad, and even less fond of paying the larger ticket prices they charge for a 3D film.

Rango Title Design

One thing I really liked about the Rango movie were the beginning and ending credits (or titles).  They were very cool.

Here's a good story (with videos) on watchthetitles.com about the design of the credits.

Cast your vote! (for Rango)

3D World Magazine is having an awards thing where people can vote for their favorite films, games, and technology.  Rango is up for CG Animation of the Year (feature film).

Link to the awards contest.  Vote for your favorites!

Nook Color E-Reader

Every time I've moved in the past, it's been a big pain moving the numerous boxes of books I've got.  So I have been following the development of e-readers since they first came out.

I wasn't happy with the grayscale screens, slow refresh, and sometimes clunky designs.  So I was pleased to see Barnes and Noble come out with their Nook Color at the end of last year (2010), and with their recent update, it's become a big contender in the e-reader market.  And finally, something I was willing to purchase.

I had been considering an Apple iPad 2, but wasn't happy with how large they are and their prices.  And since I was mostly interested in using it for reading, thought it was overkill.  Those 2 things (size and price) are a couple of the things I like about the Nook Color.  It has a 7" screen, and sells for $250.  Less than half that of an iPad.  It has a beautiful, LCD touch-screen, and since it's basically an Android tablet, can play music, video, run apps, browse the web, send email, and on and on...  It's storage can also be expanded since it has a mini-USB port that can take up to a 32gb card.  AND it supports the EPUB format, unlike a little something from Amazon.

Now my expanding library fits in the palm of my hand.  I love it!

Dozer the Frenchie

We got a French Bulldog puppy almost 3 months ago and named him Dozer (short for bulldozer).  He's adorable!

Here he is in all his ridiculous cuteness.

He came to us from a breeder in Texas, and with a fun, little present known as Giardia.  Parasites in any form are not fun, but Giardia is ridiculously common, so can be difficult to get rid of.  We're still fighting it after almost 3 months.  But we think it's almost gone (if not gone already).  So if any of you pet owners out there have questions about Giardia, and/or how to fight it, ask away (people can get it, too!).  I know a lot about it now.

Paramount to launch it's own Animation Division

It seems Rango was a big enough of a hit that Paramount has decided to launch it's own Animation Division.  For those that don't know, I worked on the Rango movie as a Sequence Supervisor for a year and a half.  You're welcome, Paramount.

Here's a link to the story:  Paramount Animation

Welcome to BDP's Blog!

I decided to give blogging a bit of a try.  Seems all the cool kids are doing it, and I'm cool, right Mom?

I'm not sure if I'll stick with this much since I get bored easily, but if you're lucky, I'll post some juicy nuggets when I have time.  I'll probably post mainly about movie-related things, gadgets and technology, and my Frenchie puppy, Dozer.  He's rad!

Happy reading!

-BDP