Up and Coming Reviews

I've just come back from "The Dark Knight," and I'm still trying to marshall my thoughts on it - along with that, I'm working on a "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" review, and I'm going back and taking a fine toothed comb to my "Happy Feet" review (which is the reason for its absence), giving it a more legitimate feel in place of the almost stream-of-rambling-consciousness that sits there at the moment, which will include Yar Habnegnal's analysis.

As far as "The Dark Knight" goes, I can say that none of the buzz has been undeserved. This is a balls-out masterpiece of a film, and along with "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Happy Feet," has currently earned a place in my top five - I'm still kind of giddy.

Addendum to the previous post

"This wasn't what we talked about, man!"

"An Antarctic fur seal has been observed trying to have sex with a king penguin.
The South African-based scientists who witnessed the incident say it is the most unusual case of mammal mating behaviour yet known.

The incident, which lasted for 45 minutes and was caught on camera, is reported in the Journal of Ethology. The bizarre event took place on a beach on Marion Island, a sub-Antarctic island that is home to both fur seals and king penguins.

Why the seal attempted to have sex with the penguin is unclear. But the scientists who photographed the event speculate that it was the behaviour of a frustrated, sexually inexperienced young male seal. Equally, it might have been an aggressive, predatory act; or even a playful one that turned sexual.
"At first glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the penguin," says Nico de Bruyn, of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Pinniped behaviour

The brazenness of the seal's behaviour left those who saw it in no doubt as to what was happening. De Bruyn and a colleague were on Trypot beach at Marion Island to study elephant seals when they noticed a young, adult male Antarctic fur seal, in good condition, attempting to copulate with an adult king penguin of unknown sex. The 100kg seal first subdued the 15kg penguin by lying on it. The penguin flapped its flippers and attempted to stand and escape - but to no avail.

The seal may have been frustrated in its attempts to find a partner
The seal then alternated between resting on the penguin, and thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert itself, unsuccessfully.
After 45 minutes the seal gave up, swam into the water and then completely ignored the bird it had just assaulted, the scientists report. Why a fur seal would indulge in such extreme sexual behaviour is unclear.
Sexual coercion among animals is extremely common: males of many species often harass, coerce or force females of their own kind to mate, while animals are also known occasionally to harass sexually a member of a closely related species.
Harassment is common among pinnipeds, the group of animals that includes seals, fur seals, and sea lions; and occasionally it happens between related species. Male grey seals have been known to harass and mate with female harbour seals, for example, producing hybrids.
"Sexual harassment is often more commonplace in non-monogamous mating systems, and in species where males are physically much larger than the other sex and thus physically capable of coercion or harassment," says de Bruyn.
But this is thought to be the first recorded example of a mammal trying to have sex with a member of another class of vertebrate, such as a bird, fish, reptile, or amphibian.

'Too young'

Chinstrap penguins occasionally indulge in homosexual behaviour, and adelie penguins sometimes "prostitute" themselves to get stones for nest-building; while one in seven emperor penguins will change partners from one year to the next. But generally, king penguins lead straightforward sex lives: males and females pair up for years on end.
Marion Island is the only place in the world where Antarctic fur seals are known to hunt king penguins on land, so the idea that the fur seal was trying to eat the object of its attention made sense.
"But then we realised that the seal's intentions were rather more amorous."
The researchers speculate that the male seal was too young to win access to female seals, and in a state of sexual excitement, looked elsewhere.
But the mating season was nearly over when the incident took place, leading the scientists to also wonder whether the seal's natural predatory aggression toward the bird became redirected into sexual arousal. Equally, the incident may have arisen because the seal was "play-mating".
"It was most certainly a once-off and has never previously or since been recorded anywhere in the world to our knowledge," says de Bruyn.
The penguin did not appear to have been injured by the seal, the scientists report."

After the penguin was sure the seal was out of sight, it dashed towards the water and began scrubbing furiously at its feathers - but, no matter how hard he tried, he could not get the smell of patchouli and ass out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7379554.stm

New findings somewhat validate interspecies sexual relations. Kentuckians and furries everywhere take to the streets.

All silliness aside for a moment - boi-oi-oi-oi-oing.



"The act of mating with a species other than your own may not be as ill advised or peculiar as it seems.
Recent research indicates that hybridization is not only widespread in nature but it might also spawn many more new species than previously thought.

A growing number of studies has been presented as evidence that two animal species can combine to produce a third, sexually viable species in a process known as hybrid speciation. Newly identified examples include both insects and fish.
This evolutionary process, while known to be common in plants, has long been considered extremely rare among animals.
Animals are generally thought to evolve the opposite way, when a single species gradually splits into two over many generations. But some scientists now believe that the behavior that has been called animals' sexual blunders could be an important force in their evolution.
"Given the fact there have been several reported cases of hybrid speciation in animals, I think it's possible that's just the tip of the iceberg," said biologist James Mallet of University College London in the United Kingdom.
Mallet said that advances in technologies for decoding genes are only now giving scientists the opportunity to make such discoveries.
Hybrid-formed species are usually extremely difficult to detect because of their close physical resemblance to their parent species, he said. But today scientists are able to collect the detailed molecular data needed to identify previously unrecognized hybrids.

Fast Evolving Groups

Plenty of opportunities exist for hybrid species to emerge, especially among diverse and fast-evolving groups of animals, Mallet said. "In the past people have often viewed hybridization as a mistake," Mallet said. "But this is probably not an unnatural phenomenon."
And, he said, "sex with another species may be very occasionally quite a good idea."
Hybridization can increase genetic variability within a population, perhaps offering adaptations particularly suited to new or altered environments.
"It might be worth throwing the dice every now and then to try for something really weird and see if it works out," he said. Occasionally the act produces sexually fertile hybrids that may have the opportunity to evolve into separate species.
This process in animals involves so-called homoploid speciation, in which the hybrid offspring's DNA is packaged into the same number of chromosomes as the parents' (get a genetics overview).
Homoploid speciation has traditionally been seen as unlikely, because the hybrid could easily breed with its parent species and thus not evolve into its own genetically distinct creature.
But recently identified examples suggest how hybrid species might be able to give themselves room to develop separately. Last year a team led by Jesus Mavarez of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute published details about a hybrid butterfly species from Venezuela and Colombia that appears to use several tactics to isolate itself.
The hybrid butterfly, Heliconius heurippa, inherited yellow wing markings from one parent species and red from the other. The study team found that both wing colors where needed to attract a mate, so the butterfly tended to breed only with its own kind.
The hybrid insect was also found to live at a slightly higher altitude than either of its two parent species. And the butterfly's caterpillar appears to prefer different plants as food.
Another study reported in 2005 indicated that a hybrid fruit fly from the northeastern United States had made a distinct niche for itself by basing its lifecycle around a non-native plant, the honeysuckle.
Likewise, a hybrid sculpin fish discovered in Germany appears to have put evolutionary distance between itself and its forebears by inhabiting muddy canal waters that don't suit its parent species. Mallet said such examples suggest that "the weight of evidence is in favor of hybrid speciation being reasonably common."
But as Mallet himself admits other scientists are far more cautious. Critics say that the likelihood of a hybrid establishing in reproductive isolation from its parents is very low, and that hybrids form less than 0.1 percent of animal populations. Given this low number, animal hybrid species are likely to always be rare no matter how sophisticated or exhaustive the genetic analysis is.
More examples may emerge, skeptics add, but these are likely to be the exceptions and not the rule."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/070314-hybrids.html

"Watchmen" trailer finally released - comic book collective breathes a giant sigh of release (as a result, global temperature rises seventy degrees)

I came, repeatedly. Everything just looks so pitch perfect here - every scene is recognizable to those who've read the book. I don't even have a problem with the changes in costumes, as the reason given is actually pretty clever, and there's real meaning behind it. It's not just "Batman would totally need armor, because that's how Batman works - he comes at his enemies like a SWAT team."

Now, my computer is ass. It really is. It's ass-to-mouth-to-ass again. So, I can't embed the video from Youtube, but honestly, it's better that way. This one needs to be seen in high def - so, head over to Apple Trailers, and watch it, 'foo.

Then, when you've changed your pants, watch it again. Repeat.

Christian Bale accused of Assault - Witnesses report hearing him scream "Quiet, or papa spank!" several times

"MAKE ME A SAMMICH, WOMAN!"

COPS allowed Batman star Christian Bale to attend the biggest film premiere of the summer last night — despite him being accused of assault.

Bale, 34, faces questioning over the claim — made by his own mother and sister. But he was able to attend the first European screening of new Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight in London’s West End. He is alleged to have lashed out on Sunday night at Park Lane’s Dorchester Hotel — where he has a suite. Mum Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, who lives in Dorset, went to a police station in Hampshire yesterday to lodge the allegation. The matter was referred to the Met Police. Detectives, well aware of last night’s glittering bash, took the decision not to approach Bale yesterday. But they are expected to make attempts to quiz the Wales-born actor today. A source said: “It was a very difficult situation but it would have been wrong to have wrecked the premiere over a complaint which we don’t yet know is founded in truth. “But Mr Bale will be contacted at the earliest opportunity and be asked to provide an account of anything that happened.” A Met Police spokesman said: “We can confirm we have received allegation from another force in relation to an alleged incident in central London.” The allegation is the latest drama to surround the film. In January Heath Ledger, who plays arch-villain The Joker, died from an accidental drugs overdose aged just 28. And a special-effects technician was killed last September in a stunt car accident.Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1453926.ece

Dr. Jimmy Slyde, 81, passes on

The Tap Heritage Foundation has announced the passing of Dr. Slyde on the 16th of May. I wasn't even aware of his passing until about an hour ago. This man was one of my idols, for his technique, and for his spirit - he will be greatly missed.


Jimmy Slyde dances at the White House, alongside Savion Glover -


Jimmy Slyde alongside Sammy Davis, and (I believe) Fayard Nicholas, among others -

So, the new TDK trailer is out

- and, well, I think I can sum up the collective response from the majority of fans all over the internet. Hold on a sec.





Now, I do have a few contentions - the fact that Batman's cape is apparently stored in some sort of Batpack, and the Joker's makeup is always going to get me a little (my problems with the new Batsuit are well known already), but honestly? I did a backflip after watching this for the first time, a week ago, on a shitty bootleg cam.

Every time The Joker's on-screen, I almost screamed like a schoolgirl, in a completely hetero-way. He's just absolutely perfect, performance wise - and the same goes for the rest of the cast, from what I saw.

I'm kind of glad I didn't see this with Iron Man - the nerdout I would've had right there in the theatre would've been embarrassing.

For those of you who haven't seen it yet (and what's wrong with you?), here it is: