Flexible Cellphone, bracelet wrist idea

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"Simple, non pretentious, the phone is a very basic device that is devoid of the fancy stuff. This makes its cheap to manufacture and market. Another point in its favor is the portability factor; you can simply wrap it around your wrist. Leaving the connectivity issues aside, the phone has the potential to make its mark" (yankodesign)

Designers: Shirley A. Roberts

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Book Review: Runt Farm (Clovis Escapes) by Amanda Lorenzo and Mark Evan Walker

When you go to your mailbox, you expect to find one of three things: bills, things you bought or requested, or garbage. Imagine my surprise when I opened my mailbox and found a package with a book in it that I not only didn't buy, but also didn't request. Who sent it and for what purpose? Such is the story of how I came to read the third book in Amanda Lorenzo's children's series, Runt Farm.

Clovis Escapes (the title of the third book) begins with a precarious situation: Clovis has been imprisoned by the NAARF, an evil organization manned by humans and weasels which takes pleasure in imprisoning the cute and fluffy critters that make up the Runt Farm family. When a letter is smuggled out of NAARF, the Runt Farm family swings into action, sending their trusty bunny companion, Beatrice, to mount a rescue.

Clovis Escapes is less a novel than a collection of short moral tales for children. Upon further investigation, it seems that the mission of the author is to create a series of fun and fantastical books for kids that portray more of the mixed and unique families that make up the world we live in today (at least from a Western viewpoint, but that's my commentary, no hers). With that goal in mind, I think she succeeded. The Runt Farm family is a mixed bag of characters, all with little individual personalities (albeit, undeveloped ones, since this is both a series and a book for kids), and all of different animal species (which some might consider to be a little arbitrary). One of its flaws, however, is that each "chapter" (or story) has some sort of moral to portray and does so a little.

On the one hand, Clovis Escapes' focus on mixed families is a noble mission; on the other, it leaves out a cohesive narrative for a hodgepodge of stories, some of which are related to the initial premise, and some which are not. The focus on morality at the expense of character development, even in a children's book, makes for a novel that is a little too aware of the fact that it is discussing morality. For example, the middle story, which tells about the wrongs of stealing identities (to purchase cheese), is quite point blank about its message, but, in the process, spends far too little time discussing the consequences or the solution in a way that sets right the wrong being committed. I get that it's for kids, but it's not for the age group that reads Dr. Seuss; this novel is for slightly older children (6-10), an audience that isn't all that interested in being preached to.

Having said the above, I do think there are some noticeable positives. First, the characters are, despite the flaw in the storytelling, quite cute and enjoyable. Beatrice, the rabbit, and even Clovis, the initial plot point of the novel, are each easy to engage with and fun to read. Second, the illustrations are gorgeous. Mark Evan Walker provides a series of pencil-style drawings throughout the book; their inclusion makes the interior and the cover come to life in the way picture books do. I sometimes wish more books for younger kids had these kinds of images, and hopefully this is the sort of thing that exists throughout the series.

Seeing how I haven't read the earlier books in the series, I can't say whether there is an overarching narrative or improvement over previous books. I do think that, despite Clovis Escapes' flaws, it would be a fun and silly book to read to your kids, but that all depends on whether you're interested in morality tales or stories with other goals. One thing is for sure: a focus on diverse families in children's literature is a good idea--hopefully we'll see more of it in the future.

The Runt Farm series is available on Amazon or through your local bookseller. If you'd like to learn more about the author, artist, or series, visit their website.

Was "Avatar" Too Successful to Win an Oscar for Best Picture?

Let me just confess up front: I don't watch the Academy Awards. I haven't been interested in years. When I was a kid there was still a certain glamor to the biggest award show in Hollywood. It was also a time in which I had actually heard of most of the films nominated.

Looking back at years past the Academy Awards looked a lot different than they do today. Take 1988-- a year I picked at random-- and you've got "Rain Man," "The Accidental Tourist," Mississippi Burning," "Working Girl" and "Dangerous Liasons;" almost all of which I saw before the awards show. Compare that list with this year: "The Hurt Locker," "Avatar," "Precious," "The Blind Side," "District Nine," "Up," "Up in the Air," "An Education," "A Serious Man," and "Inglourious Basterds;" how many of those titles had you not even heard of prior to this awards season?

Not every year is all about vehicle movies. But more often than not the biggest grossing films are generally not in contention for Hollywood's biggest prizes. And science fiction & fantasy have long been the neglected stepchildren of the movie business despite their huge audience appeal. Just last year "The Dark Knight" was snubbed for an Oscar nomination while being regarded by many as being, far and away, the best movie of the year. When the nominations were announced the oft-repeated meme was that genre films don't get awards; specifically science fiction.

Science fiction and Hollywood do have a strange relationship. Producers and directors know that scifi is the go-to genre if you want to make money. The top ten list of the top grossing movies of all time is virtually all scifi/fantasy-- with the sole exception of "Titanic." In fact, take a look at the top 50 highest grossing films-- there are very few movies on that whole list that don't fit into the scifi/fantasy category. "Avatar" now sits on top of the list with over 2 billion dollars in gross revenue. That's almost 1 billion dollars over the next film on the list-- which just happens to be "Titanic;" another film by James Cameron.

King of the World indeed.

While there are a few top-grossing films that have received award recognition only one, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," took home the award for best picture. Why is that?

It's hard not to feel a bit disgruntled, as a fan of science fiction and fantasy, that the genre I love is so overlooked. It's as if the sheer popularity of the genre is the reason it's so disparaged. One has to wonder if the Hollywood elite recoil from entertainment that has such broad appeal. If you look at the vehicle movies the crop up award awards season you see films that make very little money. "The Hurt Locker," this year's winner is going down as the lowest grossing film to every win for best picture. It seems as if you and I like a movie, well, we must not be that sophisticated.

That isn't to say that "Avatar" should have won this year simply due to it's tremendous success. As I have said before, I am one of the very few people out there who still has not seen the film. I have probably read too many reviews that say "Avatar" is little more than a visual spectacle. I've seen, and posted, parodies of "Avatar" that compare it to "Pocahontas" and "Fern Gully." So maybe it wasn't the best film on the list of nominees. But how could I know for sure?

I'm biased. I get that. But I suppose most moviegoers are biased as well since the films we like rarely match up with films the movie industry recognizes. Sure science fiction is good for awards in costuming, cinematography and art direction, but it is seldom recognized beyond that.

I could get further into the nitty-gritty behind the reasons "Avatar" lost to "The Hurt Locker." Heaven knows there has been a plethora of articles on the subject today. But I wonder if "Avatar" was doomed from the get-go due to the genre and the final nail in the coffin was its huge popularity?

Or maybe I'm just bitter "The Dark Knight" never got the recognition it deserved.

"How to Train Your Dragon" Trailer

"Iron Man 2" Trailer (Newest Edition)

Hummingbird robot

Biomimicry be not new story, even if Hummingbird robot to advise this time. But, the works of research and development team from Chiba University in Japan, make think of the project develops Nano Air Vehicle of DARPA. Which, must be regarded as Hummingbird robot miniature this can copy flapping for float middle the air has great very much

Hummingbird robot miniature this weigh 2.6 g only and control the work with infrared sensor, with four-wings small-sized can spread with high-speed until born the air is enough, to make it has drifted middle the air is like Hummingbird really. It can fly 10 foot high, and can fly long continual to 6 minute. Which, if compare with DARPA, still develop a robot has light 10 g

Which, the advantage from the development a hummingbird-style flying robot that could be used to find people trapped in collapsed buildings, search for criminals, or even explore other planets.

The Chiba University project cost has already topped $2.1 million.

Developer: Chiba University

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Movie Review: "Alice in Wonderland"

I was never a fan of the original "Alice in Wonderland." It wasn't as psychedelic as "Fantasia," but it still never fit my perception of what Disney animation was supposed to look like. I suppose I was too busy looking for the singing princess and the forest-animal companions to appreciate the Cheshire Cat.

But when I heard that Tim Burton had decided to remake the old classic, I began to rethink my prejudices toward the strange tale. I thought Burton's colorful, twisted vision just might be a good fit.

Taking a chance on the PG-rating, I decided to take my kids, with a couple of their friends to a 3D showing of the film-- and promptly discovered that I am not a fan of 3D. But more on that in a minute.

Opting for a continuation of the original story, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland takes place well after Alice's original trip down the rabbit hole. Now a young woman of 19, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is still haunted by dreams of her trip to Underland as a child. Convinced she is suffering delusions, Alice is often sleep deprived and somewhat sickly. But that doesn't stop the unwanted attention from a rich suitor who corners Alice in front of a crowd of high-society types as he proposes marriage.

Seeking a distraction from her predicament, Alice chases after a white rabbit she has seen lurking on the fringes of the party she is attending. And just as she did when she was a little girl, Alice falls down the rabbit hole into another world. Soon after she arrives in Underland Alice discovers that the world's inhabitants have been awaiting her return because it has been foretold that Alice will slay the Jabberwocky and defeat the Red Queen once and for all. Alice is quick to assure the inhabitants of Underland that she is not "that" Alice but she is swept up in the battle between the White and Red Queens against her will.

The story is really very straightforward. The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) is tyrant who repeatedly reassures herself that it's better to be feared than loved and rules accordingly. Fond of yelling "off with their head!" she is quick to take offense at any slight and is rather sensitive when it comes to her own very, very large head. The White Queen (Anne Hathaway) is the benevolent ruler who vows to never hurt a living creature and seeks a champion to fight for her and return the kingdom to her control.

The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp--looking like a deranged Elijah Wood) is the narrator of the film in a sense as we learn what happened between the two Queens through his eyes. But it's tough to grab a hold of the narrative when the voice that delivers it often mutters incoherently.

And that's ultimately the problem with Burton's film. Despite a simple plot, the film still darts here and there. The 3D, rather than enhancing the film, adds to the sense of confusion and creatures shoot across the screen in a headache inducing blur. The characters have very distinct characteristics superficially (Anne Hathaway is a hoot as the goth White Queen and seems to have a great deal of fun twirling her way through all her scenes) but are completely lacking in any kind of backstory. We end up knowing more about a bloodhound named Bayard than we ever do about The Mad Hatter.

I'm reminded of a description I read about "Avatar" that seems accurate to describe "Alice in Wonderland;" it's a supermodel of a movie: beautiful but not deep.

"Alice" is recognizably a Tim Burton film. Stylistically it's hard to fault and it's far less graphic than bloodier films like "Sleepy Hollow;" though some kids might find the loud, charging animals to be alarming (my kids loved it). I enjoyed this version of "Alice in Wonderland" more than the original, but it's hard not to wonder why Burton opted for another remake when his own films have had far more depth to them. As it stands right now, his films seem like little more than vehicles for Johnny Depp to try on new costumes and adopt even stranger speech patterns.

Whether you enjoy "Alice" or not will likely depend on what you expect to get out of it. If you're content with a visual spectacle, you won't be disappointed (though I think the 3D is entirely unnecessary). But don't come into the film with high expectations of plot or character development. That's not what "this" Alice is all about.