Stadium made of 1 Million Legos

Stadium made of 1 Million Legos

Perseverance and love for LEGO blocks are made a masterpiece of replicas. Ohio State University physiology and professor Paul Jannsen has created a Lego replica of Ohio State’s horseshoe-shaped football stadium, complete with a decorated archway and scoreboard made of the small, interlocking blocks.

For this masterpiece he needed one million LEGOs. If we know that all LEGOs are mostly rectangular, we don`t have to be surprised because he spent 2 years to build and 1,000 hours to finish a 1:100 scale replica. The stadium itself can be divided into 10 pieces, each weighing up to 50 pounds. He only used blocks from his personal collection. Had Janssen bought all new parts, he figures the project would have cost $50,000 to $75,000. Paul hopes to have this unique structure displayed at the University.

Cannes film festival unveils line-up

Cannes film festival unveils line-up

PARIS: The Cannes film festival on Thursday unveils its pick of Hollywood giants and arthouse newcomers to compete at the world's top movie showcase on the French Riviera next month.

Organisers will announce the 50-odd films awarded a slot at the May 16-27 event at a press conference in Paris, half of them in the official race for the Palme d'Or and half in the parallel new talent section, Un Certain Regard.

Cannes' general delegate Thierry Fremaux selected the line-up from among some 1,700 submissions, from the biggest names in film right down to first-time directors from North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America or Africa.

Star-wise, Nicole Kidman is tipped to make a double appearance after Fremaux warned in an interview the Australian actress was "going to surprise us."

Kidman holds lead roles this year in two very different thrillers: "Stoker" by South Korea's Park Chan-wook, and the 1960s-set "The Paperboy" by US director Lee Daniels.

The French press is betting on Marion Cotillard, star of three Cannes-tipped films: "Of Rust and Bone" by Frenchman Jacques Audiard, "Low Life" by US director James Gray about an immigrant woman tricked into a life of burlesque, and Christopher Nolan's new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises".

"On the Road" by the Brazilian Walter Salles is all-but-assured of a slot: based on the Jack Kerouac novel the movie stars Kirsten Dunst, Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen.

David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis", starring Robert Pattinson as a billionaire asset manager, is seen as a strong contender, as is Australia's Andrew Dominik with the gangster flick "Killing Them Softly" starring Brad Pitt.

Austrian director Michael Haneke - whose "The White Ribbon" won the 2009 Palme d'Or - is seen as a likely choice with "Amour" (Love), starring Isabelle Huppert as a woman hit by a stroke.

Veteran Frenchman Alain Resnais, who will shortly turn 90, is expected to bring his new film "Vous n'avez encore rien vu" (You Haven't Seen Nothing Yet).

And from Britain, Ken Loach - who has brought 16 films to Cannes in the past - could be in with "The Angel's Share", about an ex-offender on the mend.

\This year's jury is headed up by Italian director Nanni Moretti, who scooped a Palme d'Or for "La stanza del figlio" ("The Son's Room") in 2001 and who told he would be "looking for films that are still able to surprise me."

The jury for Un Certain Regard is to be chaired by the British actor and director Tim Roth.

Berenice Bejo, co-star of the hit French silent movie "The Artist", is to host the festival's opening and closing ceremonies.

Wes Anderson's 1960s teen love story "Moonrise Kingdom" will open the festival, while Claude Miller's "Therese Desqueyroux" will close it, in a tribute to the French filmmaker who had barely finished editing the movie when he died this month aged 70.

Julia Roberts eyes Bollywood, home in India

Julia Roberts eyes Bollywood, home in India

MUMBAI: According to Indian media, Hollywood actress Julia Robert is set to buy a house in India as well take a shot in the kaleidoscopic tinsel town called Bollywood.

Julia’s fascination for India is not new. The ‘Pretty woman’ fell in love with the sub-continent while she was here to shoot for her movie ‘Eat, Pray, Love’.

The 44-year-old, who converted to Hinduism in 2009 confirmed this report saying, “I can see something like that (buying a house here) happening in the future. I would love to live near Haridwar or Varanasi, since they are such holy spots for Hinduism. I’ve heard land prices are astronomical there, though.”

Interestingly, it’s not just Julia who is in awe with India, the love is shared by her entire family. In her last interview with a daily she said that her daughter Hazel wants to live in India when she grows up.

So is her plan to book a property in India a step towards materializing her daughters dream? She said, “I wish I could give a concrete answer to that, since I really enjoyed my first visit here. But, unfortunately, given my line of work, I can’t promise anything. However, whenever I come to India, I’ll bring my kids along.”

Asked if she is teaching her kids about Indian culture? “Right now, they’re too young to grasp the nuances of culture and religion. However, as they grow up, I’d like them to be knowledgeable and respectful towards all cultures. I’ll make sure they know about India.”

Roberts confessed that she is herself on a learning mode. “My Hindi is terrible! The only things I can manage are basic greetings like ‘Namaste’.” That, though, doesn’t stop her from loving Bollywood. “I’m fascinated by Bollywood ... I don’t know much about it, but I’d love to give it a try,” she said.

Julia’s new film ‘Snow White’ directed by Tarsem Singh, an American of Indian origin is set to release in India on 20th April.

Doctors save life of baby with six legs

Doctors save life of baby with six legs

KARACHI: Doctors at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) have successfully operated on a baby boy born with six legs, Geo News reported.

The operation which lasted more than two hours, ended successfully during which the doctors removed the extra limbs and the baby is now said to be in stable condition.

The baby, who was born in Sukkur, was brought to Karachi on Monday for treatment. The infant was born to the wife of an X-ray technician a week ago, Jamal Raza, the director of the NICH in Karachi told reporters.

"It is not one baby actually. They are two, one of them is premature," he said. A doctor at the institute who did not wish to be named said the extra limbs were the result of a genetic disease which would affect only one in a million or more babies.

"The doctors are examining the infant to plan for necessary treatment to save the baby's life and ensure he lives a normal life," said a statement from the provincial health department.

Imran Shaikh, the baby's father who lives in Sukkur, said he was grateful his son was being treated. "We are a poor family. I am thankful to the government for helping us treating my baby," he told the media.

Prominent gynaecologist and President Pakistan Medical Association Dr Samrina Hashmi said the abnormality in the baby could be because of several factors, including improper medicines taken by the pregnant mother and contaminated water.

"In every 10,000 child births one baby is born with an abnormality such as a hole in the heart," she said. "Then there is a possibility that several eggs were fertilised instead of one

US museum welcomes space shuttle Discovery

US museum welcomes space shuttle Discovery

CHANTILLY: Discovery on Thursday becomes the first spaceship of the retired US shuttle fleet to enter its permanent home as a museum artifact, marking a solemn end to the 30-year manned spaceflight program.

A few thousand tourists eager to see the shuttle up close streamed into a branch of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum outside the US capital, where volunteers handed out miniature American flags.

"I feel like a little kid today," said aerospace engineer Kelly Scroggs, 24, passing a pair of young boys dressed as astronauts as she walked toward the shuttle Enterprise which sat outside the museum awaiting the arrival of Discovery.

A team of about 20 veteran astronauts who flew to space aboard Discovery are to surround the celebrated spacecraft and escort it to the the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in suburban Virginia.

Famous space travelers, including astronaut John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and later returned to space aboard Discovery in 1998, were to speak.

For several hours on Thursday, the shuttle will rest nose-to-nose on the tarmac with the prototype Enterprise, which has been on display at the same museum but will soon move to New York.

Discovery is the first of the three remaining shuttles that flew in space to enter a museum, where it will serve as a tourist attraction. The others, Endeavour and Atlantis, will follow in the coming months.

Two other shuttles, Challenger and Columbia, were destroyed in accidents. Challenger disintegrated shortly after liftoff in 1986 and Columbia broke apart on re-entry to Earth in 2003. Both disasters killed everyone on board.

The oldest surviving US shuttle, Discovery flew 39 missions to space beginning in 1984.

It drew cheering crowds and some tears from onlookers earlier this week when it toured the skies over Washington one last time, piggybacking atop a Boeing 747 that NASA keeps specifically for transporting the shuttles.

"It will be pretty humbling to see the space shuttle," said Andrew Manning, 15, who came from Connecticut with his Boy Scout group for the Discovery ceremony.

"To think that it was in space, and to think of all the people who risked their lives to go there."

Discovery ended its last mission to space in March 2011, and the return to Earth of Atlantis in July 2011 marked the end of the US shuttle program, leaving Russia as the only nation capable of sending astronauts to space.

Several private companies are competing to be the first to build a space capsule that would replace the US shuttles operated by NASA for three decades.

While a test cargo mission by SpaceX to the International Space Station is planned for April 30, the prospect of US-driven human space flight remains several years away.

To Loretta McHugh, a 35-year-old engineer, the end of the shuttle program is "disappointing."

"I went into engineering because of the space shuttle program. I grew up with the space shuttle since I was five years old," she said, standing near a group of tables where private companies handed out flyers about their aims for returning Americans to space.

"We need to be able to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists. I know the commercial efforts are taking off literally, but I also think there needs to be a federal program too. Hopefully this is just a short break for us."

A host of dignitaries were on hand to say farewell to Discovery, headlined by John Glenn but also including NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and museum director Jack Dailey.

Other artifacts on display at the museum include the Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay," which in 1945 dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan.

There is also a supersonic Concorde airliner donated to the museum by France and a single-seat Kugisho MXY7 Ohka (Cherry Blossom) 22 bomber used for attacks on Allied warships, which was captured from Japan in 1945.

Later this year, Endeavour will move from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

The shuttle Atlantis, also still in Florida, will make just a short hop to a new exhibit at the Kennedy Center's visitor complex.

Enterprise, a prototype shuttle that never flew in space, will head to New York City on April 23 to go on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

Dramatic last flight for Discovery space shuttle

Dramatic last flight for Discovery space shuttle

WASHINGTON: Piggybacking aboard a Boeing 747, the space shuttle Discovery made a dramatic flyover of Washington Tuesday before touching down near its final resting place, a museum outside the US capital.


Riding atop a modified plane kept by NASA specifically for transporting space shuttles, Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, just after sunrise for its last journey in the skies.
Then the shuttle, which first flew in 1984, circled over the US capital for about an hour before landing at Dulles International Airport as crowds whistled and cheered, and some onlookers fought back tears.
Tourists wearing shorts on a sunny spring day gathered along the National Mall near the Washington Monument, staring skyward to catch a glimpse of the storied white and black shuttle, which appeared scuffed and grubby from its 39 journeys into space.
Office workers clustered at windows or climbed onto rooftops to see the aircraft and shuttle as they soared low over the US capital's historic landmarks.
Outside the Pentagon, a throng of military officers and civilian employees watched the shuttle fly a final time, reveling and applauding as it made two low passes over the building, escorted by a T-38 fighter jet.
Traffic slowed on some of Washington's major roadways as drivers pulled over to gape at the skies, according to some shuttle spotters who reported what they were seeing on the microblogging site Twitter.
"It's like sending someone from your family to go live somewhere else," said NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, a mission specialist on Discovery's final flight, STS-133.
"Discovery's leaving home and starting a new life."

A ceremony to mark the official induction of the Discovery will be held on Thursday at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, outside the US capital in suburban Chantilly, Virginia.
Discovery flew its last mission to space in February and March of last year, on a 13-day trip to the International Space Station.
It is the oldest and most traveled craft in the US collection of three space-flying shuttles -- also including Endeavour and Atlantis -- and one prototype, the Enterprise, which never flew in space.
Two other shuttles were destroyed in flight. Challenger disintegrated shortly after liftoff in 1986 and Columbia broke apart on re-entry to Earth in 2003. Both disasters killed everyone on board.
Discovery spent a total of 365 days in space, and flew nearly 149 million miles (241 million kilometers), NASA's mission control said.
Discovery was the first of the three shuttles to retire last year. Endeavour began its final trip to space in April and the 30-year US program ended after Atlantis returned to Earth for the last time in July 2011.
Russia is now the only nation capable of sending astronauts to space aboard its Soyuz capsules.
Private US companies are competing to be the first to fill the gap left by the shuttles' retirement, with SpaceX set to attempt its first unmanned cargo mission to the ISS on April 30.
A flyover by the shuttle Enterprise is set for April 23 over New York City, NASA said.
The Enterprise, which had been a centerpiece attraction at the Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian museums, until Discovery was assigned to take its place, will pass by the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks, NASA said.
Enterprise is to go on display at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Japan to live without nuclear power after May 5

Japan to live without nuclear power after May 5

TOKYO: Japan will within weeks have no nuclear power for the first time in more than 40 years, after the trade minister said two reactors idled after the Fukushima disaster would not be back online before the last one currently operating is shut down.

Trade Minister Yukio Edano signaled it would take at least several weeks before the government, keen to avoid a power crunch, can give a final go-ahead to restarts, meaning Japan is set on May 6 to mark its first nuclear power-free day since 1970.

"If we thoroughly go through the procedure, it would be (on or) after May 6 even if we could restart them," Edano told a news conference, adding that whether they can actually be brought back online is still up to ongoing discussions.

The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where a huge earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered radiation leaks, has hammered public faith in nuclear power and prevented the restart of reactors shut down for regular maintenance checks, with all but one of 54 reactors now offline.

Nuclear power accounted for about 30 percent of Japan's electricity demand before the Fukushima crisis.

In discussing restarts of the No.3 and No.4 reactors at Kansai Electric's Ohi nuclear power plant, in western Japan, the first to clear the government's technical review on resilience against a severe event, Tokyo has said it wants local backing even though it is not legally required.

The hosts of the Ohi plant - the governor of Fukui prefecture and mayor of Ohi town, some 360 km (225 miles) southwest of Tokyo - told Edano on Saturday that some conditions should be met before they can make a decision.

These included a safety review by an expert panel formed by the prefecture and backing from areas neighboring Fukui that are becoming increasingly vocal about possible radiation damage in the event of an accident at any of the 13 reactors in Fukui.

Exactly when Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa and Ohi Mayor Shinobu Tokioka will make decisions is unclear.

Members of the expert panel will be visiting the Ohi plant on Wednesday and are likely to meet several more times before they reach a conclusion, while the Fukui assembly may meet as early as next week to discuss whether they can back the restarts, Masao Sato, a member of the assembly, told Reuters.

Ohi town told Reuters in March that it conditionally backed the restart. Fukui governor Nishikawa told Edano on Saturday that, while the government has addressed some of Fukui's concerns, more discussions were needed on safety.

While a looming summertime power crunch is a headache throughout Japan, Kansai Electric's service region, including Japan's second biggest metropolitan area of Osaka, is particularly vulnerable as nuclear power met more than 40 percent of power needs prior to the Fukushima crisis.

Electricity generated by the Ohi No.3 and 4 reactors accounted for around 1.8 percent of the total amount of electricity generated in Japan in the business year 2009/10, data from the trade ministry and the Federation of Electric Power Companies in Japan showed.

Edano said that the government may have to protectively come up with plans for rolling blackouts.

"We absolutely cannot let power go out suddenly," he said.

The governors of Shiga and Kyoto prefectures, bordering Fukui, on Tuesday outlined recommendations for the central government on restarting reactors, including publicizing views from independent organizations on reactor safety.

The last time Japan saw a nuclear power-free period was the five days ended on May 4, 1970, when the two reactors then existing were both shut for maintenance, according to the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan.

Uncertain future for Japan's cat cafes

Uncertain future for Japan's cat cafes

TOKYO: For the young women whiling away their evenings with a cappuccino in hand and a cat on their lap, Tokyo's "neko cafes" are the ideal place to unwind and soothe their stresses.

"After a long day at work, I just want to stroke cats and relax," said saleswoman Akiko Harada.

"I love cats, but I can't have one at home because I live in a small apartment. I started coming here because I really missed having fun with cats and touching them."

For Harada and others like her, the "neko cafes" of the Japanese capital are a harmless institution where customers pay a premium for their coffee in exchange for the chance to pet the cats that stroll among them.

But for animal rights activists, these cafes are exploitative places where animals are subjected to unnatural stress.

They welcome a new ordinance, coming into force later this year, that will ban the display of animals after 8:00 pm.

The rules were drawn up by the environment ministry after it received more than 155,000 requests for action from the public -- an unusually high number in politically ambivalent Japan.

The law is primarily aimed at the pet shops in Tokyo's entertainment districts that regularly raise the eyebrows of Western visitors with their brightly-lit windows displaying dogs and cats in cramped glass tanks late into the night.

But cat cafe manager Shinji Yoshida says he will also be snared by the law and will have to close in the evenings -- his busiest time.

Yoshida's cat cafe in Ikebukuro, a busy commercial and commuter hub in Tokyo, keeps 13 cats in a carpeted room where they have the freedom to jump around and climb all over the large fake tree.

"It is a huge blow to us cat cafes, and it's nothing to do with protecting cats' health," said Yoshida, 32.

"As you see, cats can walk and play freely. I ask customers not to touch them if they are sleeping. At night, we dim the room light," he said. "And cats can rest during daylight."

He says about 80 percent of his customers are salaried workers who drop in for a welcome change from the daily grind of work and long commutes.

"If I close this cafe at 8:00 pm, I'll see red ink," he said.

Yoshida's customers definitely want the cafe to be allowed to stay open.

Office worker Ayako Kanzaki, 22, began visiting cat cafes three years ago because she loves cats but her apartment is too small to keep one.

"I like to do things at my own pace, and I must say I am not a very social person. So I come here alone, because I want to focus on the cats," she said.

"During the day, cats are mostly sleeping, and if they are awake, they often don't pay attention to the people. In the evening they are very lively, it's more enjoyable."

Saleswoman Harada agrees.

"If cat cafes are shut down at night, I won't have many opportunities to come any more," she said.

Animal welfare campaigner Chizuko Yamaguchi says the sheer number of customers in cat cafes can make life difficult for the animals.

"From morning to night these cats are being stroked by people they do not know. For the animals, that is a real source of stress," she said.

Fusako Nogami, head of animal rights group ALIVE, said the rule change banning the display of animals in the evening was a good thing, but acknowledges the cat cafes are not the target.

Nogami said the commodification of animals in Japan was a real problem, with many people looking at them purely as fashion accessories, and not as lives in their own right.

"What deserves more public attention is the way pets are sold in Japan," she said.

"We need to ban the trade of newborn kittens and puppies just because they are pretty and sell well."