Author: John Bliss

Israel’s Antiquities Authority has confirmed a nearly 1,850-year-old coin was discovered off the coast of Haifa. The coin bears a symbol of the zodiac sign Cancer, beneath a depiction of the Roman moon goddess Luna on one side. On the other, a relief of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 138-161 CE, on the other. Experts say the coin was minted in Alexandria, Egypt. It was likely part of a larger series of coins that were produced in sets of 13, depicting each of the 12 zodiac signs and one of the entire zodiac wheel.…

Dev Patel was one of several witnesses who successfully intervened to break up an altercation in the star’s home town of Adelaide, Australia. According to police reports, a man and a woman were fighting in the streets of the city’s business district when Patel and a group of other patrons of a nearby convenience store rushed to break them apart. The woman allegedly stabbed the man in the chest before the group could reach them. She was later arrested on the scene and charged with aggravated assault, while the man was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Patel, having most recently starred…

It’s not unusual for steaming platforms to change and update artwork for their content. New images draw in new viewers, and gives those of us who idly scroll through homepages a sense of what a particular title might be about. That said, its probably best if the artwork doesn’t feature someone else. That’s what happened with Amazon Prime’s update on their 2020 Mötley Crüe documentary, “Rock ‘n Roll Icon: Mötley Crüe.” Perhaps hoping to capture some the new audiences recently exposed to the iconic rock band, the streaming platform update the splash art to a full-band picture…of Steel Panther. For…

Researchers from Cornell University and the Far Western Anthropological Research group reportedly uncovered a series of ‘ghost tracks’ when driving through the salt flats at the United States Air Force’s Utah Testing and Training Range. These ghost tracks only appear when moisture conditions are just right, disappearing from view at all other times. After returning with ground-penetrating radar, researchers discovered 88 distinct footprints from adults and children, dating back 12,000 years. The footprints were found at a site called Trackway, just half a mile from where a likely 12,300 year-old fire pit, charcoal, charred bird bones, projectile points, stone tool…

After the explosively entertaining panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the cast of the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” sat down discuss the first season in more detail. Ismael Cruz Cordova, who plays Arondir, noted the Lord of the Rings has such an emotional resonance with its audience that conversations about budgets were less about “what can you do with these resources?” and more about “what resources do you need to bring this vision to life?” Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who plays Queen Regent Míriel, concurred, stating no one would really want the low…

A Spanish prosecutor is seeking a prison term of up to eight years for Colombian superstar Shakira over a €14.5 million tax fraud case. The singer is accused of failing to pay taxes between 2012 and 2014. While Shakira denies that she was living in Spain during that period, court documents assert that she was in residence in Spain at that time. In May 2012, she bought a house in Barcelona, which became a family home for herself, her partner, and their son, who was born in Spain in 2013. The prosecutor has asked for an eight-year prison sentence, and…

Oscar winner Troy Kotsur will star in an upcoming series based on real life football team from the California School for the Deaf Riverside (CSDR) for Disney+. The show will tell the true story of the CSDR Cubs’ 2021 football season, when the team went undefeated and got all the way to the California State Championship. Kotsur, who starred in 2022’s Best Picture “Coda” and won our hearts signing along to famous movie scenes, will be playing the team’s coach as well as acting as an executive producer. Since Disney has noted that the series will portray the students, teachers,…

Looks like we’re one step closer to the techno-punk apocalypse. Researchers at Rice University in Texas have successfully reanimated dead spiders to serve as mechanical grippers. According to the study published by the team, researchers often draw inspiration from how living animals move, either on land or through the water, to guide the design of robots and actuators. Like those robot dogs that will probably turn evil at some point. This is called bioinspired or biomimetic design. The team, lead by Faye Yap, hopes that their new experiment, which uses the dead body of a spider as a ready-to-use biotic…

Universal Studios has released the first official teaser trailer for “Oppenheimer.” The latest film from Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer” stars Cillian Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”) as the eponymous J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb. While it’s only a teaser, it delivers on the tension and suspense we have come to expect from Nolan’s films. Large blasts of fire punctuate the steadily rising rhythm of a train. Black and white footage of Murphy as Oppenheimer accompanies a countdown to the film’s release. As the sounds of the train builds, the numbers become more precise, down to the rapidly departing seconds. We…

A strange kind of shake-up is happening behind the scenes of the “Quantum Leap” reboot slated to premiere this fall. Martin Gero (“Blindspot”), who has been acting as an executive producer of the new series since early development, will now be taking over as showrunner. Steven Lilien and Brian Wynbrandt, who wrote the pilot and were previously sharing showrunning duties, will be shifting into executive producer positions. Dean Georgaris (“The Meg”, “The Manchurian Candidate”) will also be joining as an executive producer. There’s a lot of speculation as to why this change happened, especially since three episodes have already been…