Ole Bornedal’s The Possession

I’m not sure if it’s an aging thing or just a thing, as I get older I’m finding a greater liking for Horror Films. Ole Bornedal’s The Possession is a refreshing exploration of the darker side of Jewish folklore – the original film was titled The Dibbuk Box - rather than a rehashing of done to death Catholic mythos.

In Bornedal’s upcoming horror, a young girl buys an antique box at a yard sale, unaware that inside the collectible lives a malicious ancient spirit. The girl’s father teams with his ex-wife to find a way to end the curse upon their child :: Read the full article »»»»

Australia: Doctors Weigh Into Gay Marriage Debate

With the same-sex vote looking like it counts in the upcoming US elections, and Australia’s absolutely less than empathetic view of the entire thought. It  was no surprise when around 150 medical practitioners from the group Doctors For The Family signed a submission to the Senate inquiry into marriage equality opposing same-sex marriage. The group says it believes heterosexual marriage is healthier for children.

Doctors for the Family’s Lachlan Dunjey told ABC News Radio that the organisation is concerned about the health consequences for children of same-sex marriages.

“It’s well proven that children who grow up with a mother and a father in a biological mother and father family do better than children who don’t have the opportunity to grow up in that kind of family,” Dunjey said.

The organisations website is blunt about it’s beliefs, stating: There are many organisations in Australia and internationally that support marriage – the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others – as the basis for family and a healthy society.

Doctors for the Family is a supporting medical organisation to highlight the health aspects of marriage and family and ensure a healthy future for our children.

Its purpose is to be a source of information and at times make representation to parliament or appropriate organisations to ensure policies that enhance and preserve the health and future of our nation :: Read the full article »»»»

Where Are Your Children?

The internet is an integral part of our lives, it takes up a substantial amount of our time, we work through it, spend leisure time on it. It’s an ease to forget that this place is unreal, that all is not what it seems.

For those with children, it’s a huge concern

There is no way of telling who your children are conversing with, not for you nor for them, that your children are secretive is a given. Those who are intent on doing your children harm are also secretive, this is the daunting prospect all parents must cope with.

National Family Week “Families Make All the Difference” kicks off on May 15 this year , coinciding with the United Nations “International Day of the Families” also May 15. So what does this have to do with Online Security? Everything! Families are THE best security system for you to protect your children from online harm, from nefarious internet predators. Families enable us to create a safe, enjoyable and educational place for children to be  :: Read the full article »»»»

9th Wonder INFINISKI!

NOT BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE…

BUT BECAUSE I’VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO LEAVE FOOD ON MY PLATE!

James & Mau Architecture + Infiniski = WOW! James & Mau have teamed up with eco builders Infiniski to create the most outlandishly superb dwellings. The Manifesto House in Curacavi, Chile hides a dark past, a former life that one would never pick :: Read the full article »»»»

Facebooks Share Price Proposal

Facebook plans to raise as much as $12 billion from its initial public share offering, dwarfing the coming-out parties of tech companies like Google.

The eight-year-old social network that began as Mark Zuckerberg’s college dorm room project has priced its initial public offering at between $28 and $35 a share.

This will see Facebook attain a valuation of as much as $95.9 billion at the high end and grant the world’s largest social network a market value close to Amazon.

If an over-allotment or “greenshoe” option is triggered, Facebook could end up raising close to $13.6 billion, according to a prospectus. Investors are expected to flock to the highly anticipated IPO, though some have voiced concerns about Facebook’s longer-term growth.

Last week, the company reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign its sizzling growth may be cooling just as it prepares to go public :: Read the full article »»»»

AUSTRALIA: RBA CUTS INTEREST RATE

The Reserve Bank of Australia – RBA -has cut interest rates by 0.5 of a per cent. The 50 basis point fall comes on the back of evidence the economy is begining to labor with weaker-than-expected inflation figures released in late April. Australia’s official interest rate is now 3.75 per cent. The cut is the first significant movement by the RBA since the global financial crisis, the central bank indicated that the size of the cut is related to it’s belief that commercial lenders wouldn’t pass on the full reduction.

“A reduction of 50 basis points in the cash rate was in this instance judged to be necassary… in order to deliver the appropriate level of borrowing rates” RBA govenor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.

The Australian dollar took an immediate dive on the news, instantly dropping half a US cent to a little above $US1.035 ::Read the full article »»»»

The Impact of Carnivory on Human Evolution

Adopting an opportunistic diet may have contributed to the evolutionary success of our ancestors by allowing them to have more children.

It seems that our diet as well as our large brain, long life span and high fertility are key elements that made humans an evolutionary success. In a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers have now shown that by becoming omnivores, our ancestors were able to give birth to a greater number of offspring.

The specific impact of carnivory on human evolution, life history and development remains controversial. Researchers say they have shown in quantitative terms that dietary profile is a key factor influencing time to weaning across a wide taxonomic range of mammals, including humans ::Read the full article »»»»

New Alienware MX14,17+18 Ivy Bridge

Hot on the heels of last week’s preview of Intel’s 3rd-generation Core i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge mobile processors, Dell’s Alienware has announced Ivy Bridge availability in its refreshed M14x, M17x, and M18x gaming laptops. The three units also get new GPU and storage options, dedicated Creative Sound Blaster chip, as well as THX TruStudio.

Locally, cnet reported, Dell has officially refreshed its Alienware gaming laptop lineup in parts of Asia Pacific with Ivy Bridge processors. Countries getting the update: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore. Unlike the US and UK, those in this region (with the exception of Australia and New Zealand) won’t be seeing the M18x. This means that consumers only get to choose between the M14x and the M17x.x

The 11-inch M11x didn’t make the transition to Ivy Bridge, the company is discontinuing it :: Read the full article »»»»

OFFICIAL :: Kazakhstan Thanks Borat For First Tourist

Kazakhstan’s foreign minister has thanked Borat, the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy that the Central Asian nation once banned for lampooning its people, for massively boosting its tourism.

“With the release of this film, the number of visas issued by Kazakhstan grew tenfold,” local news agencies quoted foreign minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov as telling a session of parliament :: Read the full article »»»»

Antivirus Software That Works :: Bitdefender 2012

CLOUD INTEGRATION GOOGLE STYLE

Google yesterday announced its DropBox killer, Google Drive, pledging every user 5GB of free storage. That’s a pretty good deal, combined with other Google products – Google Docs, soon to be Picassa and Gmail –  as well as some comprehensive search capabilities, Google Drive  appears to be a pretty close to taking over the galaxy that is cloud, for the personal user at least.

But there’s another story here. Products such as Google Drive and DropBox are becoming more frequently released, more importantly, cheap. It costs less than $10 to back up 100GB. Punters truly have no excuse, the concept of accidentally deleting a file should be a thing of the past. Expect to see a DropBox Teams competitor any day now. Google truly seems to have our online world stitched :: :: Read the full article »»»»

CULT OF MAC :: SPACEBAR

The Space Bar is a simple, elegantly-designed desk accessory that minimizes clutter while providing additional USB ports for your computer. After a long day of work, simply slide your keyboard into the designated space below the shelf and store your office miscellany — keys, digital camera, etc — up top :: Read the full article »»»»

Russians Hunt Worlds Only Known White Orca

A team of Russian scientists say they will embark on a quest next week to observe the only all-white, adult killer whale ever spotted, a majestic and elusive bull they have named Iceberg. The researchers from theuniversities of Moscow and Saint Petersburgfirst spotted the orca’s towering two-metre dorsal fin break the surface near the Commander Islands in the North Pacific in August 2010.

Living in a pod with 12 other family members, Iceberg was deemed to be at least 16 years old, given the size of his dorsal fin, said Erich Hoyt, co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project – FEROP – “This is the first time we have ever seen an all-white, mature male orca, it is a breathtakingly beautiful animal.” The scientists decided to hold back on releasing photographs of Iceberg until they were able to study him further “but we have been looking for him ever since” Mr Hoyt said :: Read the full article »»»»

The Avengers 2012

142 min  -  Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Release Date: 25 April 2012 (Australia)

PROMO [Australia Only] Thanks to The Avengers, you can win a trip to London! 

The Avengeres is nearly here, enter Churp Churp’s very own Fury Code at theavengers.com.au for your chance to win a trip to London, among other things!

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The Film :: Read the full article »»»»

Australia: Google Loses ACCC Court Case

The Australian Federal Court has ruled against Google, stating the search behomoth breached the law by displaying misleading sponsored links at the top of its search results. Last Year the court found that Google wasn’t liable for ads that appeared as search results. Consumers who used Google to search for Harvey World Travel, Honda, Just 4X4  Magazine and Alpha Dog Training were presented with ads that led to rival websites.

In appealing the Federal Court’s decision, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission - ACCC – took the view that Google’s key word insertion system, plus the role of Google staff, were fundamental to the false representations being made. In a statement the ACCC said It was significant that the previous Federal Court decisions considered by Justice Nicholas related to publishers of advertisements in traditional forms of media, such as print and television. The reasoning in those cases is not easily translated to the practices of search engine providers such as Google in publishing sponsored entries as part of search results.

The ACCC appealed last year after Justice Nicholas ruled Google’s conduct had not been in breach of the Trade Practices Act. Justice Nicholas found that although a number of the advertisements were misleading or deceptive, Google had not made those representations. Read the full article »»»»

RUPERT MURDOCH: Piling on with lies & libels

Rupert Murdoch, has indicated he is preparing to “hit back” at what he describes as the “lies” directed towards his business. Both the BBC and the Australian Financial Review have made serious allegations that News Corp has been involved in sabotaging its pay television competitors.

BBCs Panorama reported that a News subsidiary, NDS, had recruited a hacker to acquire the smart card codes of ITV’s ONdigital, the major pay TV rival to News Corp’s Sky TV network.

The Fairfax newspaper The Financial Review reports, meanwhile, suggested News Corp’s Australian targets were Optus and Austar, the subject of a takeover bid from Foxtel. While Mr Murdoch didn’t refer directly to the BBC or the Financial Review, he hit back via Twitter. Read the full article »»»»