Search the Community

Winner directed the Death Wish films (apart from one of the sequels) but he also directed quite a few other good flicks: The Mechanic, Chato's Land, Hannibal Brooks, Lawman, The Sentinel, The Stone Killer, The Nightcomers, The Big Sleep. films that featured, Burt Lancaster, Marlon Brando, Robert Mitchum, Christopher Walken, Oliver Reed, Jack Palance, Charles Bronson etc. RIP

At 9:07 to go in Q2, the strains of "The Spirit of Radio" could be heard as the kickoff was launched skyward. Much better than Ged being on HIMYM :) :rush:

http://www.google.co...hp?hl=en&tab=ww

How did we miss that? Astronomers reveal they have found the biggest thing in the universe - and say it would take 4 BILLION years to cross if you were travelling at the speed of light. Large quasar group (LQG) is made up of quasars, galaxies from the early days of the universe Structure is so large that it challenges modern cosmological theory, researchers admit British astronomers have found the biggest structure in the universe - so large that it would take a spacecraft travelling at the speed of light 4 billion years to cross it. The large quasar group (LQG) is made up of quasars, galaxies from the early days of the universe. This particular group is so large that it challenges modern cosmological theory, researchers said. HOW BIG IS IT? Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is separated from its nearest neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, by about 2.5 million light-years. Whole clusters of galaxies can be 6-10 million light years across but LQGs can be 650 million light years or more across. Dr Clowes’ discovery has a typical dimension of 1.6 billion light years. But because it is elongated, its longest dimension is 4 billion light years - that is some 1,650 times larger than the distance from the Milky Way to Andromeda. Dr Roger Clowes from UCLan’s Jeremiah Horrocks Institute led the study. 'While it is difficult to fathom the scale of this LQG, we can say quite definitely it is the largest structure ever seen in the entire universe,' he said. 'This is hugely exciting – not least because it runs counter to our current understanding of the universe. 'The universe doesn't seem to be as uniform as we thought.' Since 1982 it has been know that quasars tend to group together in clumps or ‘structures’ of surprisingly large sizes, forming large quasar groups or LQG - but researchers have not seen one on this scale before. 'Travelling at the speed of light, it would still take 4 billion light years to cross,' he said. 'This is significant not just because of its size but also because it challenges the Cosmological Principle, which has been widely accepted since Einstein. The Sky distribution of the 73 quasars that make up the new giant structure 'Our team has been looking at similar cases which add further weight to this challenge and we will be continuing to investigate these fascinating phenomena.' The modern theory of cosmology is based on the work of Albert Einstein, and depends on the assumption of the Cosmological Principle. The Principle is assumed but has never been demonstrated observationally ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. To give some sense of scale, our galaxy, the Milky Way, is separated from its nearest neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, by about 2.5 million light-years. Whole clusters of galaxies can be 6-10 million light years across but LQGs can be 650 million light years or more across. Although, based on the Cosmological Principle and the modern theory of cosmology, calculations suggest that astrophysicists should not be able to find a structure larger than 1.2 billion light years. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is separated from its nearest neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy, by about 2.5 million light-years - but the new structure measure 4 BILLION light years However, Dr Clowes’ discovery has a typical dimension of 1.6 billion light years. But because it is elongated, its longest dimension is 4 billion light years - that is some 1,650 times larger than the distance from the Milky Way to Andromeda. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2260925/How-did-miss-Astronomers-reveal-biggest-thing-universe--say-4-BILLION-years-cross-travelling-speed-light.html#ixzz2HiLOxD44

http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/01/13/polonnaruwa-meteorite-with-evidence-of-life-from-outer-space-described-the-most-important-find-in-500-years/ http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Polonnaruwa-meteorite.pdf METEORITE WITH EVIDENCE OF LIFE FROM OUTER SPACE DESCRIBED THE MOST IMPORTANT FIND IN 500 YEARS January 13th, 2013 by Walter Jayawardhana A meteorite that Landed recently, close to the ancient city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka has been described as the most important scientific discovery in the last 500 years as it carried “compelling evidence of life” from outer space. The scientists who discovered the contents of the meteorite said, “we report here the first compelling evidence for life existing outside the earth.’ Following extensive lab work in the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka four scientists in a paper said , “We report the discovery for the first time of fossilized diatoms in a carbonaceous meteorite that fell on 29 December 2012”. Diatoms are a variety of algae. They very firmly said contamination, a hazard scientists face when examining things fallen from the sky on the ground is excluded in the meteorite they have named Polonnaruwa. The four scientists, Chandra Wickramasinghe, J. Wallis, D.H.Wallis, and Anil Samaranayaka said, there are also structures in the meteorite similar to the red rain cells that fell within days in the area. The team in a paper to be published in the Journal of Cosmology added, “The new data on fossil diatom provide strong evidence to support the theory of Cometary Panspermia” -a theory that says life came to our planet earth and other worlds hitchhiking on comets from far corners of the universe. The leader of the team, Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe from the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology in UK told this correspondent, “”I think the discovery of an unequivocal microbial structure such as a diatom deeply trapped in the rock matrix proves beyond doubt that this life existed in the parent comet from which the meteorite was derived. The highly intricate and woven patterns on the outer shells of diatoms are impossible to generate by any other process than biology. This could ultimately turn out to be the most important scientific discovery in 500 years. The cosmic ancestry of humans becomes ever more securely established.” “People might try to say that what we found were terrestrial contaminants. Contamination after landing on Earth is ruled out absolutely because of the way the diatoms are woven between the rock matrix. In any case we found many diatom types that are not known to be present on the soil where the meteorite landed.” The scientists said minutes after a large fire ball seen by a large number of people in Sri Lanka on 29 December 2012 a large meteorite disintegrated and fell in the village of Araganwila located few miles away from the historic city of Polonnaruwa. At the time of entry into the earth’s atmosphere on 29 December 2012 the parent body of the Polonnaruwa meteorite would have had most of its interior porous volume filled with water , volatile organics and possibly viable living cells. The scientists said a remarkable coincidence was the red rain. They said the red rain analyzed at the Medical Research Insitute in Colombo contained red biological cells that show spontaneous movement and the ability of reproducing. Abnormally high in arsenic and silver they are connected to a non territorial habitat , possibly connected with a cometary asteroidal body. The four scientists said the Polonnaruwa meteorite was a result of a fragmentation of such a body. The electron microscopic studies of the Polonnaruwa meteorite had been done at the School of Earth Sciences of the Cardiff University, in the United Kingdom. The scientists said in the meteorite microfossils rather than living cells were seen . The scientists said in the meteorite the donut shaped structure seen has a striking similarity to Kerala red rain cells and the cells contained in the red rain that followed the meteorite fall in the Polonnaruwa area. The scientists said contamination is decisively ruled out in the meteorite since the structure is deemed to be fossilized and fossil diatoms were not present on the surface of the ground where it fell.The scientists said , contamination is excluded by the circumstance that the elemental abundances within the structures match closely with those of the surrounding matrix. There is also evidence of structures morphologically similar to red rain cells that may have contributed to the episode of red rain that followed within days of the meteorite fall. They said , “We conclude therefore identification of the fossilized diatom of the Polonnaruwa meteorite is firmly established and unimpeachable.” They also said,” Since this meteorite is considered to be an extinct cometary fragment , the idea of microbial life carried within comets and the theory of cometary panspermia is vindicated.” The paper said , “The universe , not humans must have the final say to declare what the world is really like.” Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 1 FOSSIL DIATOMS IN A NEW CARBONACEOUS METEORITE N. C. Wickramasinghe*1, J. Wallis2, D.H. Wallis1 and Anil Samaranayake+3 1Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham, Buckingham, UK 2School of Mathematics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK 3Medical Research Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka ABSTRACT We report the discovery for the first time of diatom frustules in a carbonaceous meteorite that fell in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka on 29 December 2012. Contamination is excluded by the circumstance that the elemental abundances within the structures match closely with those of the surrounding matrix. There is also evidence of structures morphologically similar to red rain cells that may have contributed to the episode of red rain that followed within days of the meteorite fall. The new data on “fossil” diatoms provide strong evidence to support the theory of cometary panspermia. Keywords: Meteorites, Carbonaceous chondrites, Diatoms, Comets, Panspermia Corresponding authors: *Professor N.C. Wickramasinghe, Director, Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham, Buckingham, UK: email – ncwick@gmail.com +Dr Anil Samaranayake, Director, Medical Research Institute, Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka: email – anilsamaranayake@yahoo.com Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 2 1. The Polonnaruwa meteorite Minutes after a large fireball was seen by a large number of people in the skies over Sri Lanka on 29 December 2012, a large meteorite disintegrated and fell in the village of Araganwila, which is located a few miles away from the historic ancient city of Polonnaruwa. Fig 1a shows the location of the fall. Fig 1b shows a photograph of a small piece of the meteorite that was sent by one of us (AS) for study at the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology and Cardiff University. The meteorite when examined under a light microscope exhibits a highly porous and composite structure characteristic of a carbonaceous chondrite, with fine-grained olivine aggregates connected with mineral intergrowths. A few percent carbon as revealed by EDX analysis confirms the status of a carbonaceous meteorite. The general characteristics of the new meteorite bear a striking similarity to those of the unusual Maribo CM chondrite that fell over Denmark on January 17, 2009 (Haach et al, 2011), although its porosity appears to be significantly lower. This meteorite was identified as arising from an extinct cometary fragment in the Taurid complex associated with comet Encke. In view of the proximity of occurrence within the calendar year between the Maribo and Polonnaruwa events we provisionally identify the latter as arising from an extinct cometary fragment belonging to the Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 3 same Taurid complex. We shall henceforth refer to this meteorite as the Polonnaruwa CM chondrite or the Polonnaruwa meteorite. At the time of entry into the Earth’s atmosphere on 29 December 2012, the parent body of the Polonnaruwa meteorite would have had most of its interior porous volume filled with water, volatile organics and possibly viable living cells. A remarkable coincidence that should be noted is that within several days of the meteorite fall, an extensive region around the site of the fall experienced an episode of red rain. The red rain analysed at the MRI in Colombo has been shown to contain red biological cells that show viability as well as motility. Preliminary studies from EDX analysis show that these cells are similar to the cells found in the red rain of Kerala that fell in 2001, cells that have not yet been identified with any known terrestrial organism (Louis and Kumar, 2006; Gangappa et al, 2010). Abnormally high abundances of As and Ag in the Sri Lankan red rain cells have been provisionally reported, thus favouring a non-terrestrial habitat, possibly connected with a cometary/asteroidal body, the fragmentation of which led to the Polonnaruwa meteorite fall (Samaranayake and Wickramasinghe, 2012). 2. Meteorite analysis Fragments from a freshly cleaved interior surface of the Polonnaruwa meteorite were mounted on aluminium stubs and examined under an environmental scanning electron microscope at the School of Earth Sciences at Cardiff University. Images of the sample at low magnification displayed a wide range of structures that were distributed and enmeshed within a fine-grained matrix, of which Fig.2 is an example. EDX studies on all the larger putative biological structures showed only minor differentials in elemental abundances between the structures themselves and the surrounding material, implying that the larger objects represent microfossils rather than living or recently living cells. For the smallest structures, however, such a distinction could not be easily made from EDX studies alone. Other criteria will be required. The donut-shaped structure seen in the bottom left corner of Fig.2 is one of many that were found in the Polonnaruwa meteorite that bears a striking similarity to the SEM images of the Kerala red rain cells (Louis and Kumar, 2004; Gangappa et al, 2010). We discuss elsewhere the possible link between these structures and the red rain that followed the meteorite fall. Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 4 Fig 2. SEM of a wide field showing putative fossil structures chosen for further study Other structures of various shapes, including large numbers of slender cylinders of lengths 5 - 10μm, and a few micrometres in diameter are seen to be distributed extensively throughout the sample. It is of interest to note that precisely such types of dielectric particles, which may have a pre-solar origin, have been invoked to explain both the linear and circular polarization of starlight (Wickramasinghe, 1967). As early as 1976 the presence of clumps of biogenic material in carbonaceous chondrites was inferred from spectroscopic studies at ultraviolet wavelengths (Hoyle and Wickramasinghe, 1976). The identification of infrared spectroscopic features of interstellar and cometary dust with the spectra of diatoms has also been discussed (Hoover, Hoyle, Wickramasinghe et al 1986). The discovery of diatoms in a carbonaceous chondrite therefore comes as no surprise. The larger ovoidal object in Fig 2 possesses a microstructure and morphology characteristic of a wide class of terrestrial diatoms. Diatoms are unicellular phytoplankton characterised by elaborately sculptured frustules comprised of a hydrated silicon dioxide polymer. The intricately woven microstructure of these frustules would be impossible to generate abiotically, so the presence of structures of this kind in any extraterrestrial setting could be construed as unequivocal proof of biology. Diatom fossils of a wide range of types are found marine sediments dating back to the Cretaceous Tertiary boundary 65 million years ago. Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 5 Fig.3 Ovoidal-shaped ribbed structure embedded in the rock matrix. In the higher resolution image of Fig3 we can unambiguously identify an object as being a diatom from its complex and highly ordered microstructure and morphology, a structure that cannot result from any conceivable mineralisation or crystallisation process. The mineralised fossil structure of the original diatom has been preserved intact and displays close similarities in elemental abundances with the surrounding material. This is shown in the EDX maps in Fig.4, that compares the distribution of elements inside and outside the fossilised object. One of the many slender cylinders seen in Fig.2 is examined under higher magnification in Fig.5. The intricacy of the regular patterns of “holes”, ridges and indentations are again unquestionably biological, and this is impossible to interpret rationally as arising from an inorganic crystallisation process. Here too the near identity of elements inside and outside the structures point to a mineralised fossil rather than a recent diatom. Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 6 Fig 4 EDX plots showing relative abundances within and immediately outside structure in Fig 3. Fig 5 Filamentous fossil diatoms with frustules displaying intricate microstructure. Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 7 Fig 6. Field of putative red rain cells. The “donuts” seen in Fig6 are uncannily similar to scanning electron microscope images of the red rain cells. On account of the smallness of their size it is difficult to determine whether they are fossilised cells, like the diatoms, or viable red rain cells. It is probable that they are a sample of the viable cells that served to nucleate the red rain that followed days after the meteorite fall. Further work on this problem is in progress. The Appendix at the end of this communication gives a further sample of diatom structures that were indigenous to the meteorite, now scanned with gold coating and hence yielding a higher image resolution. 3. Microfossil identifications Reports of microfossil discoveries in meteorites have a long and tangled history stretching over half a century. Early claims of microfossils in carbonaceous chondrites by Claus and Nagy (1961) were quickly dismissed as arising from contaminants because there were indeed some instances in which contaminants (eg pollen grains) were mistakenly attributed to microfossils (Anders, 1962; Anders and Fitch, 1962). H.D. Pflug’s more careful studies in the 1980’s provided much stronger evidence of microfossils (Pflug, 1984; Hoyle and Wickramasinghe, 1982). Richard Hoover at NASA Marshall Space Flight Centre has continued to discover structures in carbonaceous meteorites that he identified as fossils of cyanobacteria (Hoover, 2005,2011). Despite the growing strength of Pflug’s and Hoover’s Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 8 evidence counter claims that they are most likely to be crystallographic artefacts still dominate the literature, and the matter is seen at best as being unresolved. Whilst cyanobacterial filaments of the type found by Hoover may, by stretching credulity to a limit, be perceived as possible mineralogical artefacts, the highly characteristic diatom morphologies and microstructure seen in Figures 3 and 5 cannot be remotely construed as anything other than biologically defined structures that have undergone a high degree of fossilisation. Fig.7. Comparison of a Polonnaruwa meteorite structure with a well-known terrestrial diatom Comparison of the SEM images of another fossil diatom in the Polonnaruwa meteorite with a modern diatom Sellaphora blackfordensis (Mann, 1989,1999) is shown in Fig 7 and leaves scarcely any room to doubt the identity of the former. Again we stress that contamination is decisively ruled out because the structure in the meteorite is deemed to be a fossilised object, and fossils diatoms were not present near the surface of the Earth to contaminate a new fall of meteorites. We conclude therefore that the identification of fossilised diatoms in the Polonnaruwa meteorite is firmly established and unimpeachable. Since this meteorite is considered to be an extinct cometary fragment, the idea of microbial life carried within comets and the theory of cometary panspermia is thus vindicated (Hoyle and Wickramasinghe, 1981,.1982, 2000; Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 9 Wickramasinghe, Wickramasinghe and Napier, 2010). The universe, not humans, must have the final say to declare what the world is really like. Acknowledgement: The sample preparation for SEM and the electron microscopy was conducted by one of us (JW) using the FEI-XL30 FEG ESEM at the School of Earth Sciences at Cardiff University. We are also grateful to Brig Klyce of the Astrobiology Research Trust for his continued support of this project. REFERENCES Anders, E. and Fitch, F., 1962. "Search for organized elements in carbonaceous chondrites", Science 138, 1392 Claus, G. and Nagy, B., 1961. "A microbiological examination of some carbonaceous chondrites”, Nature 192, 594 Fitch, F.W., Schwarz, H.P. and Anders, E., 1962. "Organized elements in carbonaceous chondrites", Nature, 193, 1123 Gangappa, R., Wickramasinghe, C., Wainwright, M. and Louis, G., 2010. “ Growth and replication of red rain cells at 121oC and their red flourescence“, Proc. SPIE, 7819,78190N-1 Haach, H., Michelson, R., Stober, G. et al, 2011. “CM Chondrites from comets – new constraints from the orbit of the Maribo CM chondrite fall, Am.Met.Soc., 74th meeting Hoover, R.B., 2005. In R.B. Hoover, A.Y. Rozanov and R.R. Paepe (eds) “Perspectives in Astrobiology”, (IOS Press Amsterdam) Hoover, R.B., 2011, "Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites: Implications to Life on Comets, Europa, and Enceladus", Journal of Cosmology 13: (http://www.panspermia.org/hoovermeteorites.pdf) Hoover, R.B., Hoyle, F., Wickramasinghe, N.C., Hoover, M.J. and Al-Mufti, S., 1986. “Diatoms on Earth, Comets, Europa and in interstellar space”, Earth Moon and Planets, 35, 19 Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1976. “Primitive grain clumps and organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites”, Nature, 264, 45 Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, C., “Proofs that Life is Cosmic”, Memoirs of the Institute of Fundamental Studies, Sri Lanka, No. 1, Dec 1982 (Free download at http://www.panspermia.org/proofslifeiscosmic.pdf) Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 1981. “Comets - a vehicle for panspermia”, in Comets and the Origin of Life, ed. C. Ponnamperuma, D. Reidel Publishing Co. Dordrecht Hoyle, F. and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 2000. “Astronomical Origins of Life – Steps towards panspermia” (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht) Louis, G. and Kumar, S., 2006. “The red rain phenomenon of Kerala and its possible extraterrestrial origin”, Astrophys.Space Sci. 302, 175-187 Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 10 Mann, D.G., 1989. “The diatom genus Sellaphora: separation from Navicula”, British Phycological Journal, 24, 1-20. Mann, D.G., 1999. “The species concept in diatoms”, Phycologia, 38: 437-495 Pflug, H.D., 1984. “Ultrafine structure of organic matter in meteorites”, in Fundamental Studies and the Future of Science, C. Wickramasinghe (ed.), (University College Cardiff Press, Cardiff) Samaranayake, A and Wickramasinghe, N.C., 2012. Letter to New Scientist in press Wickramasinghe, N.C. 1967. “Interstellar Grains”, (Chapman & Hall, Lond.) Wickramasinghe, J.T., Wickramasinghe, N.C.. and Napier, W.M. 2010. “Comets and the Origin of Life”, (World Scientific Press, Singapore) Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013 11 APPENDIX 1 SEM IMAGES OF DIATOM “FOSSILS” AT HIGHER RESOLUTION WITH GOLD COATED SAMPLES OF THE POLONNARUWA METEORITE (Jamie Wallis, 10, January 2013) Journal of Cosmology, Vol,21, No,37 published, 10 January 2013

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/tools/full/165862 Who's your daddy now then?? :dweez: :haz: :guitar: :nya nya:

Let's here it you TRF maniacs! :smoke: :madra: :guitar:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/01/07/how-i-met-your-mother-james-van-der-beek-alan-thicke-guest-star/ How I Met Your Mother': James Van Der Beek among guest stars for final Robin Sparkles installment by Sandra Gonzalez After the last new episode of How I Met Your Mother, executive producer Craig Thomas promised EW a star-studded fourth and final installment of the Robin Sparkles saga, and today, CBS announced the huge list of expected guest stars. Scheduled to appear in the Feb. 4 episode are: Alan Thicke, James Van Der Beek, Paul Shaffer, Jason Priestley, Alex Trebek, K. D. Lang, former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page, Rush frontman Geddy Lee, and former Canadian hockey player Luc Robitaille. The appearance will mark Thicke’s fourth time making a cameo in a Robin Sparkles-centric episode, and this will be Van Der Beek’s second time on the show. In past episodes, Thicke has played himself while Beek portrayed Simon, Robin’s first boyfriend who also appeared in her “Sandcastles in the Sand” music video. Trebek has also previously appeared on the show. How I Met Your Mother, which recently was rumored to be returning for a ninth season, returns with new episodes Jan. 14.

Happy Birthday Ceej! :cheers: At last you can drink legally and legally dance in Texas! (that's what they call it anyway) :clap: :clap: :clap: :ebert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkEXrqD5GU8 http://www.plovdivmetalforum.net/smf/Smileys/pmf/126619168243dd2ce3789fa.gifhttp://www.plovdivmetalforum.net/smf/Smileys/pmf/126619168243dd2ce3789fa.gifhttp://www.plovdivmetalforum.net/smf/Smileys/pmf/126619168243dd2ce3789fa.gifhttp://www.plovdivmetalforum.net/smf/Smileys/pmf/126619168243dd2ce3789fa.gif http://www.70000tons.com/forum/images/smilies/guitarheadbang.gifhttp://www.70000tons.com/forum/images/smilies/guitarheadbang.gif

Happy Birthday mate! :givebeer: :givebeer: :givebeer: :givebeer: :givebeer: :givebeer: :guitar: :guitar: :guitar: :guitar: :banana: :hi: :cheers:

Twenty albums in, you have to ask: what’s left for Rush to prove? A band that have already been through and gotten over their ‘questionable’ period, characterised by excessive synthesizers and the sudden mastery of levitation, in record time and returned to that driving proggy rock that defined classics like 2112 and Moving Pictures. Since the hiatus and return of legendary drummer Neil Peart after a huge personal tragedy, the band has cautiously returned to recording music, in the form of 2002′s Vapor Trails and Snakes And Arrows five years later. Both albums were distinctly Rush and both contained some great tracks, but they weren’t quite the return to form that fans had been waiting for. The build up to Clockwork Angels was taken at a leisurely stroll as well. Five years have passed since their previous release, with the only real murmur of new material coming in the form of the Caravan EP which featured slightly differing versions of the opening two tracks here. With time came impatience and with impatience came expectation — but the most glorious or cynical thing (depending on your outlook) about being a band as a big as Rush is that even if Clockwork Angels was sub-par, enough fans would champion it as the second coming just because of the name on the front. Thankfully, Clockwork… is nothing of the sort. In fact, it marks the return of the kings of prog-rock, giving them another album to really act as a jewel in their crown. Based around the story of a young man and his changing attitude towards life and the infamous Watchmaker who keeps track on all that happens in this steampunk world, Clockwork‘s concept isn’t an essential part of enjoying it, each and every track can also be enjoyed as a standalone piece outside of the context. For instance, ‘BU2B‘, on the surface, tells only of the upbringing of the main protagonist but can also be taken as an interesting insight into the subjects of fate and karmic retribution, only cementing Neil Peart’s status as a legendary lyricist. However, it’s the music that makes the biggest impression. Whether it be the obnoxious grooving stride of ‘Seven Cities Of Gold‘, the pulsing rock of ‘Caravan‘ or the relatively straight-forward anthem in ‘The Wreckers‘ — the band’s bass driven prog never becomes anything less than stunning. Every nuance and rhythmic flourish is measured and thought out, with each member bouncing off each other perfectly and showing the kind of unspoken teamwork that can only come about from nearly 30 years of playing together. ‘Headlong Flight‘ is a perfect example that brings to mind some of the bands early 80′s, lengthier material, while maintaining an uptempo feel and still providing plenty of moments for instrumental wizardry. Other highlights include ‘Carnies‘, a track that could’ve gone horribly wrong considering it’s unfortunate and cheesy ‘carnival’ theme. Instead, barring the unnecessary introduction, Rush manage to create one of the biggest riff driven tracks on the album, that switches seamlessly between surging, bluesy riffs and tasteful, delicate leads courtesy of the oft-neglected Alex Lifeson. Also, the version of ‘BU2B‘ contained here isn’t far removed from it’s original, only containing an additional acoustic intro, but it is by far the stand out track. The main riff sounds monstrous and when completed by the relatively frantic guitar playing and Geddy Lee’s distinctive vocals, it’s compelling in a way that urges you to reach for the repeat button the moment that last vocal harmonies fade away. Clockwork Angels is nothing short of a masterpiece — a real tour de force of what progressive rock is and how it should be done. Anyone who would call themselves a fan of Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Primus or any number of progressive bands would do themselves well to get immerse in the latest release of a band that arguably inspired them all. So what do Rush have left to prove? Well, nothing to anyone but themselves. To prove that, even with an average age of 59, they can still outdo many of those bands that call themselves fans and they can still exceed expectations when needed. Rush’s Clockwork Angels gets… 5/5 http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2012/07/03/rush-clockwork-angels/#more-29821 :smoke: :clap: :guitar: :haz: :rush:

Obama administration 'considering' building a Death Star: Petition forces White House to assess the feasibility of moon-sized weapon Online petition signed by 27,000 calls on U.S. to begin building by 2016 Huge space station was the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon in Star Wars It was capable of destroying entire planets with a single energy beam blast Petition says construction will create jobs and strengthen national defence By Damien Gayle PUBLISHED: 14:03, 14 December 2012 The Obama administration is 'considering' building a Death Star after an online petition reached the 25,000 signatures it needed to be accepted by the White House. The online petition, which calls for the U.S. government to 'secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016' now has more than 27,000 signatures. First seen in the sci-fi classic Star Wars, the Death Star is a spherical, moon-sized space station that is capable of destroying entire planets with a single energy beam blast. The Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon: Now the White House is 'considering' building its own Death Star after an online petition calling for its construction passed 25,000 signatures within 30 days Commanded by Grand Moff Tarkin, played in Star Wars by Peter Cushing, it is the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon, and is used to obliterate Princess Leia's home planet of Alderaan. The petition on the White House's We The People website for the U.S. to build its own Death Star was started by a Colorado man identified only as John D. A statement reads: 'By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.' The We The People website claims that any petition which attracts 25,000 signatures within 30 days will be guaranteed as assessment by White House staff. 'If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response,' it says. Students from Lehigh University of Pennsylvania in February calculated that, in today's economy, it would cost $852quadrillion to build a 140m diameter Death Star. At current production rates, it would take 833,315 years to mine enough steel to begin work on such a weapon, they estimated. The Galactic Empire's Death Star was eventually destroyed by Luke Skywalker leading a squadron of fighter pilots from the Rebel Alliance.

Black Sabbath 'six tracks' into recording new album - without Bill Ward The metal legends will release their comeback album in April next year Black Sabbath have revealed that they are six tracks into recording their new album. Tony Iommi has said that the final album will consist of 15 tracks. The Guardian quotes the guitarist as saying: "We've written the 15 songs and we've played them all, but now at the moment we're recording them. We're about six tracks in at the moment." Iommi also confirmed that the legendary metal band are working on the new album, which is due for release in April of next year, without original drummer Bill Ward. "We'll always have a heart for Bill, but I think it's gone past that now, because it's gone on so long I don't see that happening at the moment," he said. Last month, Ward said to Eagles Of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes in On The Road - Black Sabbath and the Birth of Heavy Metal - which you can view at Vice.com - that he hoped to make amends with the band. Ward said: "If there is some longevity with Black Sabbath, then I'd like to be part of it." He added: "I wanna play hard rock music. I wanna play loud drums. I love playing with Terry [Geezer Butler, bass]. I love playing with Oz [Osbourne, vocals]. And I love playing with Tony [iommi, guitar]." http://www.nme.com/news/black-sabbath/67059

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm_jga7jWv8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbz-IPTTeDI