Takashi Miike's brand of horror can be described as visceral and deeply disturbing, often verging on lurid depictions of violence and gore. While the prolific Japanese director possesses the gift to tackle a wide range of genres, Miike's horror offerings stand out for their transgressive and (subjectively) taboo subject-matters. His horror series, "Connect," is yet another grisly story that features sadistic killers and perverse truths, but also lacks the telltale gore that characterizes Miike's horror oeuvre. While Miike's "Connect" plates up unsavory themes in a palatable manner, his contribution to the anthology series "Masters of Horror," which was scheduled to air on Showtime in 2006, was ultimately shelved after being considered too extreme for American viewers.I'm talking about Miike's "Imprint,"...
The newly-revised American National Standard ANSI Z80.28-2022: Ophthalmics – Methods of Reporting Optical Aberrations of Eyes contains the following scope: “This standard specifies standardized methods for reporting the optical aberrations of eyes.” Scope of ANSI Z80.28-2022: Ophthalmics – Methods of Reporting Optical Aberrations of Eyes This purpose is clear and succinct, yet it orients the standard guidelines that ANSI Z80.28 sets forth around a vast, complex topic. What Are Optical Aberrations? Optical aberrations refer to the influences that cause different rays to converge at varying points in an optical system, as, in an ideal system, all rays of light would converge to the same point in the image plane. Technology for wavefront mapping, which measures and diagrams the imperfections of...
Groundhog Day has a fascination for elementary students. They love watching Punxsutawney Phil predict the early spring or more snow. Actually, I think students like the thought of more snow days! If you want some engaging resources for late January or February, I have resources for Groundhog Day! In this post, for your convenience, you may find Amazon Affiliate links to resources. This means that Amazon will pass on small percentages to me with your purchase of items. This will not create extra costs for you at all! It will help me keep this blog running! Let’s Get Started with A Groundhog Day Flip Book These little mini-flip books are so fun to make. It’s easy for you, too, since...
Cognitive scientists have long sought to understand what makes some sentences more difficult to comprehend than others. Any account of language comprehension, researchers believe, would benefit from understanding difficulties in comprehension. In recent years researchers successfully developed two models explaining two significant types of difficulty in understanding and producing sentences. While these models successfully predict specific patterns of comprehension difficulties, their predictions are limited and don't fully match results from behavioral experiments. Moreover, until recently researchers couldn't integrate these two models into a coherent account. A new study led by researchers from MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) now provides such a unified account for difficulties in language comprehension. Building on recent advances in machine learning, the researchers...
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)The Movie: "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" (2007)Where You Can Stream It: Apple TV+The Pitch: Earnest whimsy is both precious and rare. Conversely, sarcastic whimsy is readily available but that particular subgenre, while thoroughly enjoyable, is sufficiently saturated. Until such a time that the pendulum of popular preference swings the other way, some of the best options for a fantastical romp that's unafraid to romp fantastically are to be found a little further back in Hollywood's cinematic catalog. Enter "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," a 2007 family film from 20th Century Studios about a magical toy store...
