How Far Would You Be Willing to Drive If It Meant Avoiding Airport Security? [Just Me?]

The TSA is quickly becoming America's most hated agency (you're welcome meter maids) and for damn good reason—stealing from veterans, hassling kids, hassling handicapped kids, and stealing from everybody else. They've become a greater threat than whatever they're supposed to be protecting us from. More »


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TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons

Last month, TED announced its new education initiative -- fittingly named TED-Ed -- with a YouTube channel showcasing teachers' lessons presented as animated videos. Today, the program moved forward, as TED opened up a beta version of a website meant to complement those lessons. Though there are plenty of study aides here, ed.ted.com is really about the grown-ups on the other side of the classroom. The site lets teachers with a TED account "flip" videos from TED-Ed and YouTube -- i.e., customize them to include multiple-choice and open-answer questions and links to additional info on a topic. Currently there are 62 videos and 238 "flips" available for viewing, but TED is gearing up for a full launch to be timed with the new school year in September.

Continue reading TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons

TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thai censors say out, damned spot, out to Macbeth film adaptation

The maker of 'Shakespeare Must Die' is appealing the decision, but Thai bureaucrats are nervous about the movie's political overtones.

The banning of a Thai cinema adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' is causing a stir in Thailand. The censors ruled that the movie ?has content that causes divisiveness among the people of the nation."

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In a country where the royal family is protected from criticism by possibly the world's strictest lese-majeste laws (designed to prevent public criticism or ridicule of royals), any drama featuring regicide might be deemed taboo. But?Shakespeare Must Die?seems also to have touched a raw nerve with its depiction of Shakespeare's ambitious but guilt-ridden usurper blended in with scenes of protest and violence redolent of Thailand's recent past.

The country has been beset by on again, off again street protests since 2005. To some, the Macbeth character in the movie is reminiscent of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose apparent vaulting ambition prompted royalist suspicions that he had a real-life anti-monarchy agenda.

Thailand's Culture Ministry told director Samanrat Kanjanavanit that she could only proceed with a bowdlerized version of the government-funded movie, but the filmmakers held their ground.

A red-clad Grim Reaper in the movie was deemed too evocative of the red-shirt demonstrators who took to Bangkok's streets in 2010, in protests that turned violent with more than 90 killed. Another scene inspired by a gruesome massacre of student demonstrators in 1976 was also deemed unacceptable.

Director Samanrat, better known as Ing K., says the censorship makes little sense. "Why do they (the censors) find a 400-year-dead poet so threatening?,? she told the Monitor.? The original Macbeth was penned during a fractious period in English history, probably shortly after the 1605 "Gunpowder Plot," when Catholics aggrieved at religious discrimination sought to assassinate England's King James I, a Scot.

Now, four centuries later, Thailand's volatile politics could hold the key to the censors' anxiety over a now-archetypal tale about how power corrupts man. Mr. Thaksin was ousted from office in a 2006 coup backed by royalist street protestors and faces jail on corruption charges. But his sister Yingluck is the country's prime minister, after her Peua Thai party routed the royalist-leaning Democrats in a 2011 election.

Thailand's 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's longest-sitting monarch and remains popular, drawing vast crowds onto Bangkok's streets last December for his birthday celebrations. But the combination of color-coded antagonism ("red-shirts" for pro-Thaksin demonstrators, "yellow-shirts" for royalists)? and the King's age makes for nervy bureaucrats, and the censors' actions on the movie come after several recent high-profile jailings for lese-majeste.

While Ms. Yingluck's government has sparked renewed royalist ire by hinting that Thaksin could return to Thailand without having to do jail time, her administration simultaneously pledged not to amend Thailand's lese-majeste laws and to tighten censorship of websites containing allegedly offensive content.

Now it seems even The Bard of Avon is caught up in Thailand's censorship dragnet. Southeast Asia-based documentary filmmaker Bradley Cox saw his?Who Killed Chea Vichea? ? about a Cambodian trade unionist who was murdered in 2004 ? banned in Cambodia. Discussing?Shakespeare Must Die, Mr. Cox told the Monitor that ?it makes one think that the censors must not think that highly of the Thai people, if they feel that they cannot handle the imagery and messages contained in this movie.?

For Ing K., the censors' reaction to the movie says a lot about Thailand, where the government and the opposition are at odds over a reconciliation proposal that, to some, could mean impunity for those involved in recent political violence. ?We don't want to look at ourselves," she lamented, ?we want to forget about painful events in our history."

The trailer for "Shakespeare Must Die:"

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Apple Continues Record Streak in Q2: 35M iPhones, 12M iPads Sold

Apple started off the year with a bang, and that momentum has continued through its second fiscal quarter of 2012. In fact, Apple saw its strongest March quarter ever. Sales for the iPhone and iPad continue to lead Apple's fiscal success, delivering a combined revenue of $29.2 billion out of Apple's total $39.2 billion in revenue this Q2 2012.

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Wife's Breast Cancer Can Hurt Husband's Health Too: Study

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'Dark Knight Rises,' 'Hobbit' Footage Screens At CinemaCon

While fans and critics called Nolan's footage 'explosive and awesome,' many were not as enthusiastic about Peter Jackson's.
By Kevin P. Sullivan


Tom Hardy as Bane in "Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Warner Bros/EW

The Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon was among one of the most highly anticipated of the gatherings of film fans, journalists and theater owners. Rumors of footage from Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" at a revolutionary 48 frames per second and potential appearance from Christopher Nolan and "The Dark Knight Rises" made the panel a can't-miss event.

Soon after the conclusion of the panel, bloggers and journalists from across the industry shared their immediate reactions with the world, and the results spell good things for Batman fans, but could mean doom for those awaiting a return to Middle Earth.

"The Dark Knight Rises" was an expected but unannounced feature of the panel, and the reaction so far on Twitter has been unanimously positive.

"THE DARK KNIGHT RISES footage was as awesome as you'd expect. Saw footage of 'The Bat' in action. IMAX stuff looks sick. Nolan is amazing" — Steven Weintraub, Collider

"Also of note: Bane's voice has been seriously amplified & clarified in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and I don't care what anyone says. "— Josh Dickey, Variety

"The Dark Knight Rises footage was explosive and awesome. #CinemaCon" — Peter Sciretta, /Film

The reactions to the 48-fps footage from 'The Hobbit,' however, were less than stellar. Many complained that the faster frame rate did not look like a film, but most agreed that the bump improved the quality of the 3-D. The footage included several scenes, including the famous sequence of Bilbo challenging Gollum to a series of riddles.

"Listening to Cinemacon people - theater owners - this 48fps demo sold NOBODY," — Devin Faraci, Badass Digest

"Great Scott, THE HOBBIT in 48 frames-per-second is a thing to behold. Totally different experience. Not all will like the change." — Dickey

"Saw ten minutes of Hobbit in 48fps 3D. Very exciting, but I'm now very unsure about higher framerates #CinemaCon" — Peter Sciretta, /Film

It's likely this will only be the beginning of the 48 fps date, as several films, including James Cameron's proposed "Avatar" sequels, are planning to utilize the technology.

Baz Luhrmann's "Great Gatsby" also showed off footage for the first time to the public, but its 3-D was received much more warmly.

"Also saw ~5 mins of The Great Gatsby raw 3D footage and WOW. Baz has made a beautiful, 3D drama, really enhances the experience. Whoa." — Alex Billington, First Showing

"Writing up THE HOBBIT. Drinking while doing it. GREAT GATSBY was gorgeous, though." — Faraci

Check out everything we've got on "The Hobbit" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Ian Somerhalder on Fifty Shades of Grey Movie Casting: Bring It On!


Ian Somerhalder is one of several stars talked about as a potentially great fit for Christian Grey in the upcoming film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.

He's leading THG's poll on the subject (below), as a matter of fact.

Asked about it on Ryan Seacrest's radio show Monday, The Vampire Diaries heart throb admitted he's heard the speculation about his casting, and approves.

Asked if he's interested in starring in the film, Ian said: “Potentially. I absolutely would be up for that. I have the book and I just started reading it."

"That would be a pretty incredible thing, and hopefully that could pan out. Yes, beyond the shadow of a doubt I think that would be a phenomenal opportunity!”

The best-selling book's protagonist, Anastasia Steele, and her troubled, controlling man, 27-year-old millionaire Christian Grey, will surely be sought-after roles.

What do you think? Should Ian play Christian?

Who would be the best fit among these stars?

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Peter Chernin?s Media Group Picks Up $200M From Providence, Others; Will Announce First Deals ?Within Weeks? [Yahoo Won't Be Among Them]

moneyA sign of more big money being poured into the tech sector, by way of a new development for the Chernin Group, the digital media company founded by ex-News Corp. executive Peter Chernin: it has sold a minority stake to a group of investors led by Providence Equity Partners, reportedly for $200 million. The Chernin Group, which has invested in a number of hot online properties including Tumblr and Flipboard, says that the deal gives it the financial muscle to go after "any deal of any size" anywhere in the world, according to a report in the FT. The deals will focus on media assets, and will span the range from incubator investments through to later-stage funding rounds. The first investments will be announced "within weeks."

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Italian fans force loser players to remove jerseys

This one?s going to be hard for you to believe, but here we go. A group of Italian Serie A soccer fans were so disgusted with the way their team was playing that they began throwing fireworks onto the field, saying that they would not stop until their team removed their jerseys and handed them over. And the team complied.

It happened at Genoa?s Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Sunday, as Genoa was getting clobbered, 4-0, by Siena in the 53rd minute. That?s when Genoa ?ultras? began throwing flares onto the pitch and climbing tunnels and barriers, causing a stoppage of play. As police in riot gear stood by, spokesmen for the fans demanded that the Genoa team remove their jerseys, because they were ?unworthy? of wearing the colors.

Captain Marco Rossi went to negotiate with the ultras ? After some time, the players accepted and there were tears from Giandomenico Mesto as he handed over his shirt.

Rossi was walking around the pitch with a pile of jerseys to show the fans, but Giuseppe Sculli refused to co-operate.

Sculli went over to speak to the fans himself and insisted with great passion that he was giving his all for Genoa, so would not take off the shirt.

He too was in tears and comforted by the head ultra. This proved a breakthrough and the game was allowed to resume.

Yep, the match resumed only after the ?head ultra? pulled back his troops. After a 45-minute delay, Siena went on to win 4-1.

I have a hard time picturing a Kansas City Chiefs game being stopped by rowdy fans in the third quarter, demanding that players turn over their jerseys. For one thing, there would be a stampede to the parking lot as fans rushed home to get the garments on eBay. For another, Nike makes them so tight now that some linemen wouldn?t be able to get them off. Roger Goodell would really be pleased with something like that, wouldn?t he?

Italian soccer officials were similarly unamused.

?This violence is unacceptable,? Italian soccer federation President Giancarlo Abete said. ?These are not fans. I hope these people are found and condemned. They shouldn?t ever be allowed to enter stadiums again.?

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi said ?it?s upsetting that 60 or 100 people have the impunity to do and say what they feel like without being stopped and sent home.?

?It?s not possible that they take over the stadium and impose their laws,? he said.

The whole things sounds like a deleted scene from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

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