- Bad news, fans of actual, Jason Bourne-centric movies in
the “Bourne” film franchise. After a truly uninspired and lame fourth
installment in the series with the man who made those movies go on the
sidelines, the release date for the fifth “Bourne” movie has been confirmed and
so has its star. The to-be-named film will hit theaters on Aug. 14, 2015 and
its star will not be Matt Damon, but rather Jeremy Renner. Renner delivered a
serviceable effort in 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy,”
but the film failed on multiple levels with Damon absent. Various references to
Damon’s Jason Bourne character in the movie seemed totally forced and felt like
stilted efforts to connect a movie that had nothing to do with Bourne to his
persona. Renner will reprise his role as trained assassin Aaron Cross, who took
over the mantle as the series’ chief ass-kicker after Damon elected not to
return because he refused to work with any director other than Paul Greengrass
on a “Bourne” movie. Damon said earlier this year that he would consider
returning to the franchise depending on the script and if Greengrass also
returned, but that has not happened yet and doesn’t seem likely to at this
point. Anyone trying to argue that Damon’s absence did not make a difference
needs only to look at the earnings of the last “Bourne” film with him – 2007’s
“The Bourne Ultimatum” – versus those of “The Bourne Legacy.” “Ultimatum” took
in $440 million worldwide, while “Legacy” could manage a relatively modest $275
million five years later. Justin Lin will direct the fifth film and without
Greengrass and Damon, it will be another one to miss……….
- Much of the history of Rome is beneath its modern surface.
A maze of
tunnels and quarries dates back to the very beginning of the city and in order
to protect present-day Rome, geologists are venturing beneath the city into its
underground passageways to prevent modern structures from crumbling into the
voids below. In 2011, there were 44 incidents of streets or portions of
structures collapsing into the quarries, with that number jumping 75 percent to
77 in 2012 and 83 to date in 2013. That trend led George Mason University
geoscientist Giuseppina Kysar Mattietti and scientists from the Center for
Speleoarchaeological Research in Rome to map out high-risk areas of the quarry
system. Mattietti explained that the process is important because over the
years, Roman citizens have attempted patchwork repairs on the quarry systems on
their own, often by filling plastic bags with cement and using them to plug
holes in the walls. When the city was first built, the volcanic land on which
it was based provided an abundance of rocks known as tuff, which were strong
and easy to carve into building blocks. Lighter, less compacted volcanic ash
was used as a main ingredient in mortar. The engineers who built the city were
savvy enough to keep the tunnels under the city so that the ground above was
still supported. Even so, the exposure of the rock used in the quarry system to
the air has resulted in substantial weathering. Additionally, future
generations of Romans widened the tunnels beyond their original size to create
new structures above them. When quarrying ended, citizens took to using the underground
labyrinth as catacombs, for mushroom farming and as an unofficial sewer system.
They also functioned as bomb shelters during World War II. The mapping project
is the first concerted, large-scale effort to determine the layout of the
underground and make Romans aware of what’s under their feet……….
- The eyes of the college football world will be on Atlanta
this weekend – minus one very curious pair of eyes. PGA Tour golfer Jason
Dufner, winner of the 2013 PGA Championship, is an Auburn alumnus and badly
wants to watch his beloved Tigers take on Missouri in the SEC Championship at the
Georgia Dome on Saturday. The problem for Dufner is that he is one of 18
players in this week’s Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, the no-cut tournament that Tiger Woods hosts each year. Dufner’s
job will preclude him from watching much of the Auburn-Missouri game like
millions of other fans will, which inspired him to solicit the tournament’s
host to make a change in the weekend’s schedule. “Dear Mr
@TigerWoods I petition the event this week to play 36 holes Thurs and Friday,so
I can watch my beloved Auburn play for SEC champ thx,” Dufner tweeted. It
seemed like a reasonable request, given that Auburn finished 3-9 one season ago
and didn’t win a conference game. On top of that, kickoff for the SEC title
game is 4 p.m. and the third round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand
Oaks, Calif., is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. EST. Dufner will be able to catch
part of the second half, but he wants to see the whole game. Woods isn't even
willing to consider a revised schedule. “@JasonDufner Petition denied,” Woods
replied. Dufner, unwilling to let the subject go, tongue-in-cheekedly
responded, “@TigerWoods total B.S. It was worth a try tho.” Dufner later
tweeted out a picture of PGA Tour icon and fan favorite John Daly once playing
a round with his caddy carrying a bag with a built-in TV and asked Daly if he
could use the bag for his round on Saturday………
- Amazon can be useful for people who want discounted goods
without the hassle of actually going to the store, but there is always the
hassle of not having that new Blu-Ray copy of “Skyfall” or that bitchin’ case for
your new iPhone right away when you order from the online retailer. Amazon CEO
Jeff Bezos wants to address this issue and rather than simply open an actual,
phyiscal store, he’s jumping on the drone bandwagon with both feet. Bezos said
Sunday that his company would, in the future, deliver packages by quadcopter.
The drone delivery program isn't imminent, but many experts believe it could
happen within a few years. Amazon already employs robots in its warehouses, so
it is clearly AI-friendly. The Marine Corps have been using two
remote-controlled K-MAX helicopters to deliver supplies in Afghanistan for
several years, but other supposed drove delivery programs in recent years have
been lame hoaxes with no payoff. Domino’s Pizza pies, tasty tacos and French
newspapers are among the items involved in faux drone delivery schemes.
Dropping supplies for troops in a Third World country is one thing, but delivery
drones flying through tightly regulated skies over the world's biggest cities
is something else entirely. Federal Aviation Administration regulations would
make such deliveries dicey at best, even with Amazon’s supposed launch date of
2015 looming out in the distant future. The FAA has so far been
non-enthusiastic on the kind of autonomous long-range flight that Bezos is
seeking. Piloted drones are the more likely option at this point and that would
require an amount of manpower that would rob Amazon’s delivery plan of much of
its appeal. If Amazon ever does get its program off the ground, the cost for
drone deliveries and the priority for which buyers get a drone dropping off
their new sweater or e-reader would both be hotly debated issues. In its
current guidelines for drones, the FAA has indicated an interest in "sense
and avoid" technology before automated flights would be allowed. There is
also the issue of weight, as Amazon admits its drones are limited to five
pounds of cargo at present. Still, the dream is alive………
- Not all of the men and women who serve in the United
States military are so honorable and decent as the public would like to think.
Most of them are, but every now and then the story of a person like 17-year
Army veteran Master Sgt. Brad Grimes pops up. Grimes is currently on trial for
allegedly coercing young, cash-strapped female soldiers at Fort Hood into a
prostitution ring in which he was a major player. This pimp in camouflage sat
by Monday as female soldiers at Fort Hood testified that they were recruited
for the prostitution ring set up by Grimes, who was – no kidding - involved in
the sexual assault and harassment program at the Central Texas post. The female
soldiers’ testimony came as the court-martial began for another Fort Hood
soldier accused of using the service. Grimes, who served in Iraq and
Afghanistan, was allegedly one of the leaders for the ring, which prosecutors
said was set up by another Fort Hood sergeant not yet charged but still under
Army investigation. The case stemmed from an investigation of a lower-level
coordinator of Fort Hood's sexual assault and harassment prevention program. The
Army claimed a noncommissioned officer involved in the program recruited female
soldiers for the prostitution ring and Grimes is being court-martialed because
he refused a deal to testify against the other soldier. Defense attorney Daniel
Conway was adamant that Grimes denied the charges of adultery and conspiring to
pay for sex from a Fort Hood private. "At the end of the day, Master Sgt.
Grimes chose to do the right thing and not have sex with that young lady,"
Conway said. "This is really a case about sex parties, and Master Sgt.
Grimes had nothing to do with that." Good luck arguing that, counselor………
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