Pinewood Design

BB house for little monsters

HERE’S the first glimpse of the new Big Brother house – and it looks like bosses were inspired by the space cadets preparing to move in.

Big’s in space … all mod cons, including crates

Curved beams with fluorescent lights and futuristic wallpaper mirror designs from a 60s sci-fi movie.

But space is what’s missing this year – the producers have given the BB10 wannabes the smallest pad yet.

Astro turf … shrunken lawn and smoking shack

Gone are the comfy sofas, leaving housemates just a handful of wooden crates to perch on. 

Uncomfortable 

And the smoking area – last year a sit-in giant ashtray – has been replaced with what looks like a bus shelter.

The rest of the garden has also been pruned, leaving the contestants fighting it out for the �100,000 prize little room to sunbathe or exercise.

A show insider said: “This house is going to make housemates really uncomfortable as Big Brother plays more mind games than ever.

“Not only is there less space but there’s hardly any furniture and everything is painted stark white. It’s really minimalist and modern. There’s a kind of space-age feel.”

Big Brother 10 kicks off at 9pm this Thursday on Channel 4.

 

New BB logo’s a real dab hand

BIG Brother has revealed its logo for this summer’s series – featuring what looks like a thumbprint.
The iconic eye gets a makeover each year and has previously featured shattered glass and stars.

It is always seen by housemates as a clue to tasks the Channel 4 show’s bosses have in store.

Ha! brilliant! Bit of an eye sore though…
I have to say 70% of contestants are crazy, but this’ll send them bonkers!!!

written by Pinewood Design \\ tags: 2009, BB10, Big Brother, C4, Channel 4, glimpse, house, logo

May 19, 2009—Meet “Ida,” the small “missing link” found in Germany that’s created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those who study human origins.

In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution (interactive guide to human evolution from National Geographic magazine).

(Among the team members was University of Michigan paleontologist Philip Gingerich, a member of the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)

The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

“This is the first link to all humans,” Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents “the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor.”

Ida, properly known as Darwinius masillae, has a unique anatomy. The lemur-like skeleton features primate-like characteristics, including grasping hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and relatively short limbs.

“This specimen looks like a really early fossil monkey that belongs to the group that includes us,” said Brian Richmond, a biological anthropologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study, published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

But there’s a big gap in the fossil record from this time period, Richmond noted. Researchers are unsure when and where the primate group that includes monkeys, apes, and humans split from the other group of primates that includes lemurs.

“[Ida] is one of the important branching points on the evolutionary tree,” Richmond said, “but it’s not the only branching point.”

At least one aspect of Ida is unquestionably unique: her incredible preservation, unheard of in specimens from the Eocene era, when early primates underwent a period of rapid evolution. (Explore a prehistoric time line.)

“From this time period there are very few fossils, and they tend to be an isolated tooth here or maybe a tailbone there,” Richmond explained. “So you can’t say a whole lot of what that [type of fossil] represents in terms of evolutionary history or biology.”

In Ida’s case, scientists were able to examine fossil evidence of fur and soft tissue and even picked through the remains of her last meal: fruits, seeds, and leaves.

What’s more, the newly described “missing link” was found in Germany’s Messel Pit. Ida’s European origins are intriguing, Richmond said, because they could suggest—contrary to common assumptions—that the continent was an important area for primate evolution.

Read more abt this at

written by Pinewood Design \\ tags: Fossil, Humans, Lemurs, MISSING LINK

 

Norway has emerged as the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Russian capital, Moscow.

Singer and violinist Alexander Rybak, 23, smashed the record for the most points awarded during the competition.

Iceland came second in the vote, followed by Azerbaijan which took the third place.

The UK’s Jade Ewen, singing an Andrew Lloyd Webber song, ended in fifth position – a marked improvement on last year’s finish at the foot of the table.

For the first time, voting in the final was split between televoting and panels of musical experts, which was supposed to reduce the incidence of predictable and neighbourly votes.

A total of 42 countries voted on the 25 songs, with Norway scoring a record 387 points.

Alexander Rybak, who was born in the former Soviet Union, is a well-known musician in Norway.

A classically-trained violinist and pianist, he wrote his country’s winning entry, Fairytale.

The previous biggest points haul was scored by Finland’s Lordi with Hard Rock Hallelujah in Greece in 2006.

No country suffered the indignity of receiving “nul points” this year but Finland finished in last place.

Denmark’s entry – Brinck singing Believe Again – was written by Boyzone’s Ronan Keating and was performed in the Irish singer’s style.

Germany’s act featured US cabaret artist Dita von Teese, who used to be married to rock star Marilyn Manson.

Her costume was slightly more demure than her outfit at the dress rehearsal after she was reportedly told to cover up by the European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, because it was unsuitable for a family audience.

Graham Norton was making his debut as commentator for the BBC, replacing Sir Terry Wogan, who bowed out last year.

‘Greatest talents’

Speaking in the Russian capital, Norton revealed that he had spoken to his predecessor, who commentated on every Eurovision final from 1980.

“Terry rang me to wish me good luck,” said the TV presenter. “He advised me to resist having a drink until the fifth song,” he added.

Jade Ewen was chosen to represent the UK through a TV talent contest, with the winning song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Diane Warren.

Her fifth place was a highlight for the UK, which has had a dismal record in recent years, with 2008′s entry, Andy Abraham, finishing last with 14 points.

It was the second time in five years the UK had finished at the bottom, with Jemini’s 2003 effort famously scoring “nul points”.

Germany’s Alex Swings Oscar Sings! act was joined by burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, who was ordered to cover up for the family audience.

The UK’s entry Jade Ewen was accompanied by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the song. She ended a dismal spell for the UK by finishing fifth.

 

written by Pinewood Design \\ tags: Alexander Rybak, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Azerbaijan, Eurovision, Fairytale, Jade Ewen, Moscow, Norway, pianist, RUSSIAN, Singer, UK, violinist, Winner