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Like every other former sci-fi geek in NYC, I (sorry) trekked out to see the Star Trek
movie on Friday night. My assessment? J. J. Abrams has turned out a
well-made B movie: The film moves along at a crisp pace, hits all the
key retro-nostalgia moments, and is designed to be... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)
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io9, the Gawker empire's science/sci-fi blog, is wrapping up its weeklong "Spring Mating Season"
series, and it's pretty awesome. If you find that you need a break this
weekend from those repeat Susan Boyle viewings, I highly suggest checking it out. The io9 editors
highlight sex-related science news—such as a potential end to menopause and the discovery of the world's first all-female ant species*—and they've also put together some awesome top-ten lists, like this not-entirely-safe-for-work one about the all-time most embarrassing alien mating moments. (I vividly, unhappily, remember that Klingon one from when I was 11.) I especially recommend Takashi Murakami's creepy-sweet Inochi videos, about a prepubescent love-sick robot who looks like Eric Stoltz from Mask, and has similar girl problems. Happy Pon Farr, everyone!
*Correction, April 21, 2009: the original post said "all-female species," but the Mycocepurus smithii is actually the world's first all female ant species. Other all-female, non-ant species exist.
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More fun with press releases! We got a bulletin this afternoon announcing that the celebrity spokeswoman for Pantene's new Pro-V Nature Fusion line is none other than Top Chef hostess and beloved dingbat, Padma Lakshmi. With its minty color scheme and promise of "naturally derived" ingredients, Pantene is pushing the green angle pretty hard. (The word "natural" appears eight times in the 12-sentence press release, and that's not even counting the number of times they name-check the product itself.) Forget the fact that words like "natural" and "organic" are bogus when it comes to shampoo. The kicker, for me, was this line:
Because of Padma’s unique natural beauty and strong Indian roots, she is the perfect representative of the Nature Fusion collection, which key active ingredient is the India-derived Cassia seed.
I think it's kind of funny that Padma got the gig because she, like the Cassia seed, is India-derived. (Reminds me of those great Levy's ads from the '70s.) But what exactly do natural and unique mean in this context? Is she natural because she's from India, like yoga? Is it because she's ethnic? Because I'd say Lakshmi—like most gorgeous models—is about as unnatural looking as you can get. And "unique"? She's beautiful in the most classical sense imaginable. (Unlike, say, past spokeswoman Stacy London, who looks like a superhot witch.)
Quibbling with the marketing department aside, I do want hair like hers, so I guess that's what counts. Though I take umbrage at the description of her as "the first international Indian supermodel." Does no one remember Persis Khambatta?
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... if I were 8, these are the dolls I would want. OK, I kind of want them now. Mattel is releasing three Star Trek Barbies as tie-ins to the upcoming J.J. Abrams' remake of the original 1960s series (which features some genius casting: John Cho as Sulu, Simon Pegg as Scotty, and, um, Tyler Perry as the president of Starfleet Academy). The Uhura doll is experiencing some serious head-to-body ratio issues, but I think even Beyoncé would approve of that hot high ponytail. And they actually gave her a phaser!
(h/t to Wired's Underwire blog)
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