OBAMA IMPERSONATOR lAUNCHES MOVIE CAREER
In China’s Guangzhou City, Xiao Jiguo is hoping to hit the silver screen as a low-ranking gangster who looks like Barack Obama. The only problem is — for some, at least — he doesn’t actually resemble the American President. Xiao, who first gained fame after appearing on the TV talent contest Chinese Dream Show in 2012, has been cast in a detective comedy called Huo Bao, scheduled for release next summer, which translates as ‘Funny Fellows’.
His character ‘Black Prince Charming’ punches the main character in a fight scene. Xiao says: “My character is not the real Obama, but a low-level gangster. “So when my boss tells me to beat people up, I’d do it.” The movie’s producer, screenwriter and actor Wang Xijin said: “All he has to do is to just stand there, and his looks will already leave a deep impression on the audience.
Xiao has made appearances as an Obama impersonator, giving speeches, even though his English is minimal.
(Mirror)
INVISIBIlITY ClOAK NEARS REAlITY, SAY RESEARCHERS
A cloak of invisibility may be common in science fiction but it is not so easy in the real world. New research suggests such a device may be moving closer to reality. Scientists say they have successfully tested an ultra-thin invisibility cloak made of microscopic rectangular gold blocks that, like skin, conform to the shape of an object and can render it undetectable with visible light.
The researchers said while their experiments involved cloaking a miniscule object, they believe the technology could be made to conceal larger objects, with military and other possible applications.
The cloak, 80 nanometers in thickness, was wrapped around a three-dimensional object shaped with bumps and dents. The cloak’s surface rerouted light waves scattered from the object to make it invisible to optical detection.
It may take five to 10 years to make the technology practical to use, according to Xiang Zhang, director of the Materials Sciences Division of the US Department of Energy’s lawrence Berkeley National laboratory and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “We do not see fundamental roadblocks. But much more work needs to be done,” said Zhang, whose research was published in the journal Science.
(Reuters)
CROCODIlE USES TAIl TO PROPEl ITSElF OUT OF THE WATER
A nature photographer shared video of an Australian crocodile using its muscular tail to propel itself out of the water to grab some food hanging from a rope. Trevor Frost shared a video clip on Instagram of a crocodile off the coast of Darwin, Australia, jumping out of the water to grab some bait Frost and his colleagues placed at the end of the rope.
The slow-motion footage shows how the crocodile swipes its muscular tail back and forth to propel it upward.
“Crocodiles have incredibly strong tails. Their tails propel them in the water like torpedoes from a submarine. In fact, as you see here, their tails are so strong that they can propel their entire body out of the water. Crocodiles are so cool,” Frost wrote.
(UPI)
CHINESE SPERM BANKS USING IPHONE 6S TO ATTRACT DONORS
A Chinese sperm bank is attempting to draw in donors with the promise of funds for one of the country’s most hotly anticipated items: iPhone 6s.
Renji Hospital in Shanghai is advertising online that donors who pass the health examination and make regular sperm donations can earn up to $940, more than enough to purchase an iPhone 6s, which starts at $649.
“No need to sell your kidneys — you can easily have a 6s,” the hospital said in an online post referencing reports of Chinese men selling their kidneys to raise iPhone money.
The Changjiang Times reports other Chinese sperm banks, including the Hubei Province sperm bank, have been using the iPhone 6s in promotional materials to attract donors.
Chinese iPhone customers have made headlines in the past for the lengths they were willing to go to raise money. A Shanghai student advertised last year that he was willing to rent out his girlfriend for iPhone 6 money, but he specified “no funny business” would be allowed.
(UPI)
SWIFT’S FACE ETCHED IN 12-ACRE CORN MAZE
A Maryland farm unveiled a 12-acre corn maze in the shape of Taylor Swift’s face that officials said takes about two hours to complete. Teresa and Jeff Greenwood, owners of Summers Farm in Frederick County, said they chose Swift as the subject of their corn maze because they consider her to be a positive role model.
“We chose Taylor Swift because we feel she represents great people. She’s a good, honest person; she treats people amazingly and that’s what we are all about,” Jeff Greenwood told WJZ-TV.
He said the slogan above the pop star’s face, ‘Dare to be different’, was chosen to accompany Swift because “that’s what she is”.
The Greenwoods say the maze takes about two hours to finish and contains several clues in the form of Taylor Swift trivia questions. “The clues are about her. If you answer the clue the right way, you go the right direction in the maze. If you answer it the wrong way, you get lost more,” Jeff Greenwood said.
Swift posted an image of the corn maze to Instagram with the caption, “lawn goals.” The maze opened to the public on September 26 and will close after November 1. Admission costs $8 on weekdays and $12 on weekends.
(UPI)