Being good-looking has its perks.

Machine Girl - Might be the best trailer you'll ever see.

David Lynch on iPhone

Britney Spears Out of Hospital!!!

Back home, Britney Spears spent the early part of Saturday with dad Jamie after being released from Cedars-Sinai hospital, PEOPLE has confirmed.

Spears's mom Lynne, who yesterday called for prayers for the embattled singer, remains in their hometown of Kentwood, LA.

Spears left the Los Angeles medical facility Saturday via an underground tunnel and was accompanied by TV therapist Dr. Phil, according to etonline.com, who first reported the news.

A Cedars-Sinai spokesperson declined to comment, but Dr. Phil released a statement to ET saying: "My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention.

"She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the room. We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car."

Spears had been committed early Friday morning under California's "5150 Hold," in which Spears was deemed a danger to herself and could be held for 72 hours. Patients however can be released early if doctors determine they are no longer a threat to themselves.

"The 5150 legality is very loose," says Dr. Nathan Kuemmerle, a West Hollywood psychiatrist. "The 72 hours are not firm. All it requires is an ER psychiatrist to release the patient. ... If Britney isn't suicidal or homicidal, she doesn't need to be hospitalized."

Horizon to Horizon

Click on image to see much larger version.

Journey from horizon to horizon as your gaze sweeps through the zenith in the night sky over Beg-Meil, France. Recorded on December 13th, the entertaining panorama (image key) covers 210 degrees in 21 separate exposures, beginning on the beach with bright star Sirius rising in the southeast. Look up (pan right) to encounter the nebula rich constellation of Orion and continue on to find the lovely Pleiades star cluster. Farther along, higher in the sky, is the famous Comet Holmes, still gracing the northern hemisphere's night with its remarkable expanding coma. Finally, just before diving into the urban glow from city lights along the northwestern horizon (far right), check out the double star cluster in Perseus and take in the cosmic streak of a bright Geminid Meteor. Click on image to get a hi-res version.

Smooth Skin

This simple little Photoshop tutorial will show you how to edit people's faces to smooth out their skins, just like how models are edited in magazines.


To start off, lets open up the picture you want to edit. I'm working from an Angelina Jolie photo of course.

First, we need to duplicate the layer, so lets go ahead and right click on the layer in the layers palette and select "Duplicate Layer".


Now we need to select the area we want to smooth out, in this case, we want to smooth out the face, but we want to leave the eyes, nose and mouth intact so it looks genuine. So start by switching to the quick mask mode by clicking on the "Edit in Quick Mask Mode" button in the tool box.

Then select the Brush Tool, and set the brush size to 35 soft edge. (brush size will depend on your image).

Press "D" to reset your colors. Now use your brush and paint over the face, the painted area will become your selected area. The painted area will be red as you can see below. Continue and paint around her face until its covered like mine. You may need to change your brush size to a smaller size to cover the tighter areas.


Tip: If you accidentally paint outside the area you want, press "X" (switches colors), then just go over the area you want to erase, then press "X" again to go back to painting your selection.

Now that you have selected your area in quick mask mode, exit the quick mask mode by pressing "Q" or clicking on the "Standard Mode" button (Next to the Edit in Quick Mask Mode button)


Now you should have a selection, around the face.

Now, go to Select->Inverse, then Select->Feather, and enter about 10px.
Tip: You can hide the "Marching Ants" lines so you can have a better view of the image by pressing "CTRL+H"

Now go to Filter->Blur->Guassian Blur. Set radius to about 3 pixels.


That is looking too smooth, which make it look rather unrealistic, so lets put some texture back into the skin. Go to Filter->Noise->Add Noise. For amount, put about 2.5%, Uniformed and Monochromatic selected.

That's it. Here are the original and edited version side by side.















I see a million of these simple tricks executed in print when I'm waiting in line at the grocery store staring at dozens of magazines, all fake faces and fake bodies, all displaying totally false versions of the actresses on the covers. Here's another sample of Nicollette Sheridan, Before and After:
































So have fun doing this to your own photos, it's a quick and easy way to make yourself look younger!

Tutorial found at: http://www.tutorialwiz.com/smooth_skin/

Bel-Air

Darwin’s Surprise

Why are evolutionary biologists bringing back extinct deadly viruses? Click here to read the fascinating article.

Polar Bears

Cat Passing Out:

Snickers!

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Beatboxing Puppets

Peter Jackson Will Executive Produce 'The Hobbit'

After months of litigation over money, kingship of Middle Earth, and whether Aragorn or Legolas is the dreamier warrior (come on, Jackson, did you not see Legolas slide down stairs on a shield?), Peter Jackson and New Line have finally come to an agreement that will allow him to executive produce the two planned Hobbit films.

Los Angeles, CA (Tuesday, December 18, 2007) Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:

MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, “The Hobbit” and a sequel to “The Hobbit.” New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on “The Hobbit.” New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the “Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) Trilogy.

Said Peter Jackson, “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”

“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making ‘The Hobbit,’” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO. “Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.”

Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, “We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with ‘The Hobbit’ movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy.”

So do you think he'll direct, too? Maybe his friend Sam Raimi? Let Michael Bay throw in more explosions and Will Smith shouting "Welcome to Middle Earth!"?

Via iwatchstuff

Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Photos