The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982). David’s health situation has made it difficult for our household to maintain this blog. We don’t want it to fade away, though, so we’ve decided to select previous entries from our backlist to republish. These are items that chime with current developments or that we think might languish […]

“Oh wow this is about to be an even harder reservation to get!!!” one commenter wrote. 

The post ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ spotted filming at local favorite Sarma Restaurant appeared first on Boston.com.

When the world of the moving picture arrived in the early part of the 20th century, it was a revolution. What is often referred to ... Read more

The post The Role of Music in Film and Television appeared first on CMUSE.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson were spotted on the set of "The Drama," a new movie filming in the Boston area this fall.

The post Robert Pattinson and Zendaya are back in Boston filming ‘The Drama’ appeared first on Boston.com.

"The Drama," set to film in Boston throughout the fall, is seeking extras with "distinctive faces" now through the end of November.

The post The new Zendaya and Robert Pattinson movie filming in Boston needs extras appeared first on Boston.com.

On Oct. 7, IIBEC sent a letter to the mayor and city council of Wilmington, North Carolina, recommending that they consider establishing a building façade inspection program in light of two recent building failures.

Awarded to a charity and/or agency that has produced the most inspiring awareness-raising or fundraising film of the year

Washington — House Democrats have introduced legislation that would make changes to “how, when and where” hazardous materials are transported by railroads.

New York — Legislation recently introduced in New York City would establish a database on workplace deaths, and employers could be fined up to $2,500 per violation for not reporting data.

Washington — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a series of recommendations to several entities in a new report on the Feb. 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Washington — Photos, graphics and statistics are included in an illustrated digest recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board detailing the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, OH.

SÜDPACK and industrial printing specialist LEIBINGER have joined forces test the suitability of continuous inkjet (CIJ) inks for printing on recyclable films for packaging food that is sterilized following the packaging process.

Heat seal coating specialist Sappi Rockwell Solutions has launched a recyclable, lightweight, heat seal lidding film designed for the fresh produce market.

Innovia Films latest development is Propacast KF a clear cast polypropylene film that has been specifically designed as a lamination solution for HFFS, VFFS and lidding applications.

Comedian Stef Dag shared her amazement when she found out that the TV show she was watching was actually filmed inside her apartment.

Filmmaker Daren Jannace compiled and animated 10,946 doodles that he made on sticky notes, starting with 30 sticky notes per day in 2016.

While there’s been no shortage of reactions to the recent Joe Rogan interview with former President Donald Trump, filmmaker and Blaze TV host Steve Deace says he believes the podcast will prove to be nothing short of historic. 

Grammy Award-winning artist Lauren Daigle has written and recorded a powerful end-title track for the new film “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin” declaring obedience to God’s calling, even in the face of death. 

In a world fractured by deep ideological divisions, Nicholas Ma’s new documentary, “Leap of Faith,” seeks to answer the question of whether love can bridge seemingly unbridgeable divides. 

University of South Australia PhD student Belinda Lees has explored how screenwriters could create more nuanced and complex child-free women protagonists in biopics, after uncovering the barrage of often negative portrayals in existing media.

[Sports] :
Prosecutors are seeking a four-year prison term for football forward Hwang Ui-jo, who has admitted to filming sexual encounters without his partners’ consent. The 32-year-old footballer, who plays for the Turkish Süper Lig club Alanyaspor, entered the guilty plea Wednesday at the Seoul Central District ...

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[Culture] :
The Busan International Film Festival(BIFF) is set to start its ten-day run Wednesday.  Asia’s largest film festival will kick off with a grand opening ceremony at 7 p.m. at Busan Cinema Center in the southern port city of Busan, featuring 224 films from 63 countries. The 29th BIFF will open with ...

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[Culture] :
KBS hit drama "Winter Sonata" which led the Korean Wave in the 2000s will be released as a theatrical film in Japan next year. Pan Entertainment, which produced the show, announced Monday that it had decided to release a film version after receiving continuous requests from Japanese distributors and ...

[more...]

[Culture] :
Two South Korean films, "Exhuma" and "Handsome Guys," won prizes at the 57th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Spain. According to the South Korean film distributor Showbox on Tuesday, director Jang Jae-hyun's occult thriller "Exhuma," which was invited to the official competition ...

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Direct measurements have been taken of nanoscale domain structure in ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate around a grain boundary. Characterizing the evolution of this structure under an electric field is critical for predicting dielectric and piezoelectric response.

We present a demonstration of high-pressure grazing-incidence small-angle neutron scattering for soft matter thin films. The results suggest changes in water reorganization at different pressures.

Combined 100 ms resolved grazing-incidence small/wide-angle X-ray scattering and optical interferometry reveal that the additive diiodooctane can significantly double the solvent evaporation rate, thereby effectively suppressing the rapid spinodal decomposition process in the early stage of spin-coasting, favouring slow phase segregation kinetics with nucleation and growth.

For the first time, a multimodal reconstruction of a magnetic thin-film structure has been found using polarised neutron reflectivity. This has been achieved by implementing the Bayesian approach in combination with error correction based on the maximum likelihood method and instrument function optimization.

Grazing-incidence small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS) under pressure (HP-GISANS) at the solid (Si)–liquid (D2O) interface is demonstrated for the pressure-induced lateral morphological characterization of the nanostructure in thin (<100 nm) soft matter films. We demonstrate feasibility by investigating a hydrophobic {poly[(2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoro)pentyl methacrylate]} (POFPMA)–hydrophilic {poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate]} (PDMAEMA) brush mixture of strong incompatibility between the homopolymers, anchored on Si, at T = 45°C for two pressures, P = 1 bar and P = 800 bar. Our GISANS results reveal nanostructural rearrangements with increasing P, underlining P-induced effects in tethered polymer brush layers swollen with bulk solvent.

The effect of an electric field on local domain structure near a 24° tilt grain boundary in a 200 nm-thick Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 bi-crystal ferroelectric film was probed using synchrotron nanodiffraction. The bi-crystal film was grown epitaxially on SrRuO3-coated (001) SrTiO3 24° tilt bi-crystal substrates. From the nanodiffraction data, real-space maps of the ferroelectric domain structure around the grain boundary prior to and during application of a 200 kV cm−1 electric field were reconstructed. In the vicinity of the tilt grain boundary, the distributions of densities of c-type tetragonal domains with the c axis aligned with the film normal were calculated on the basis of diffracted intensity ratios of c- and a-type domains and reference powder diffraction data. Diffracted intensity was averaged along the grain boundary, and it was shown that the density of c-type tetragonal domains dropped to ∼50% of that of the bulk of the film over a range ±150 nm from the grain boundary. This work complements previous results acquired by band excitation piezoresponse force microscopy, suggesting that reduced nonlinear piezoelectric response around grain boundaries may be related to the change in domain structure, as well as to the possibility of increased pinning of domain wall motion. The implications of the results and analysis in terms of understanding the role of grain boundaries in affecting the nonlinear piezoelectric and dielectric responses of ferroelectric materials are discussed.

The use of hard X-ray transmission nano- and microdiffraction to perform in situ stress and strain measurements during deformation has recently been demonstrated and used to investigate many thin film systems. Here a newly commissioned sample environment based on a commercially available nanoindenter is presented, which is available at the NanoMAX beamline at the MAX IV synchrotron. Using X-ray nanoprobes of around 60–70 nm at 14–16 keV and a scanning step size of 100 nm, we map the strains, stresses, plastic deformation and fracture during nanoindentation of industrial coatings with thicknesses in the range of several micrometres, relatively strong texture and large grains. The successful measurements of such challenging samples illustrate broad applicability. The sample environment is openly accessible for NanoMAX beamline users through the MAX IV sample environment pool, and its capability can be further extended for specific purposes through additional available modules.

The damage threshold of an Au-coated flat mirror, one of the reflective optics installed on the FEL-2 beamline of the Dalian Coherent Light Source, China, upon far-UV free-electron laser irradiation is evaluated. The surface of the coating is characterized by profilometer and optical microscope. A theoretical approach of the phenomenon is also presented, by application of conventional single-pulse damage threshold calculations, a one-dimensional thermal diffusion model, as well as finite-element analysis with ANSYS.

Errors in variable subscripts, equations and Fig. 8 in Section 3.2 of the article by Lotze et al. [(2024). J. Synchrotron Rad. 31, 42–52] are corrected.

Na2(Fe2/3Te4/3)O6 (Z = 3) or Na3(FeTe2)O9 (Z = 2), tris­odium iron(III) ditellurium(VI) nona­oxide, adopts the ilmenite (FeTiO3, Z = 6) structure type with the Ti site (site symmetry 3.) replaced by Na and the Fe site (site symmetry 3.) replaced by a mixed-occupied (FeIII,TeVI) site in a Fe:Te ratio of 1:2. Whereas the [(Fe,Te)O6] octa­hedron is only slightly distorted, the [NaO6] octa­hedron shows much stronger distortions, as revealed by a larger spread of the bond lengths and some distortion parameters.

Historically, knowledge of the mol­ecular packing within the crystal structures of organic semi­con­duc­tors has been instrumental in understanding their solid-state electronic properties. Nowadays, crystal structures are thus becoming increasingly important for enabling engineering properties, understanding poly­mor­phism in bulk and in thin films, exploring dynamics and elucidating phase-transition mech­a­nisms. This review article introduces the most salient and recent results of the field.

The formation of a vitrified thin film embedded with randomly oriented macromolecules is an essential prerequisite for cryogenic sample electron microscopy. Most commonly, this is achieved using the plunge-freeze method first described nearly 40 years ago. Although this is a robust method, the behaviour of different macromolecules shows great variation upon freezing and often needs to be optimized to obtain an isotropic, high-resolution reconstruction. For a macromolecule in such a film, the probability of encountering the air–water interface in the time between blotting and freezing and adopting preferred orientations is very high. 3D reconstruction using preferentially oriented particles often leads to anisotropic and uninterpretable maps. Currently, there are no general solutions to this prevalent issue, but several approaches largely focusing on sample preparation with the use of additives and novel grid modifications have been attempted. In this study, the effect of physical and chemical factors on the orientations of macromolecules was investigated through an analysis of selected well studied macromolecules, and important parameters that determine the behaviour of proteins on cryo-EM grids were revealed. These insights highlight the nature of the interactions that cause preferred orientations and can be utilized to systematically address orientation bias for any given macromolecule and to provide a framework to design small-molecule additives to enhance sample stability and behaviour.

The application of grazing-incidence total X-ray scattering (GITXS) for pair distribution function (PDF) analysis using >50 keV X-rays from synchrotron light sources has created new opportunities for structural characterization of supported thin films with high resolution. Compared with grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, which is only useful for highly ordered materials, GITXS/PDFs expand such analysis to largely disordered or nanostructured materials by examining the atomic pair correlations dependent on the direction relative to the surface of the supporting substrate. A characterization of nanocrystalline In2O3-derived thin films is presented here with in-plane-isotropic and out-of-plane-anisotropic orientational ordering of the atomic structure, each synthesized using different techniques. The atomic orientations of such films are known to vary based on the synthetic conditions. Here, an azimuthal orientational analysis of these films using GITXS with a single incident angle is shown to resolve the markedly different orientations of the atomic structures with respect to the planar support and the different degrees of long-range order, and hence, the terminal surface chemistries. It is anticipated that orientational analysis of GITXS/PDF data will offer opportunities to extend structural analyses of thin films by providing a means to qualitatively determine the major atomic orientation within nanocrystalline and, eventually, non-crystalline films.

Time-resolved high-energy X-ray diffraction was used during growth of ultrathin NixFe3−xO4 films with varying Ni content (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5) deposited on MgO(001) substrates by reactive molecular beam epitaxy, providing an insight into the growth dynamics of these films. In order to obtain structural information, reciprocal-space maps were recorded and the temporal evolution of the Bragg peaks specific to the octahedral and tetrahedral lattice sites of the inverse spinel structure of NixFe3−xO4 was observed during growth of the films. A time delay, corresponding to a coverage of 1.2–1.8 nm, between the appearance of the Bragg reflections originating from octahedral sites and reflections originating exclusively from tetrahedral sites indicates that the ferrite films grow in two stages. In the initial growth phase, a rock salt interface layer is formed. Afterwards, a structural transition occurs and the films grow in an inverse spinel structure. The thickness of the initial rock salt phase was found to increase with Ni content and to be responsible for atypical strain in the thin films. Films with Ni contents x > 1 do not show a structural transition. These films remain in a (deficient) rock salt structure consisting of a mixed Ni–Fe oxide and do not form a spinel structure at all. They show an increased number of NiO clusters as detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the valence band, accompanied by a significant roughening of the films.

X-ray diffraction from dislocation half-loops consisting of a misfit segment with two threading arms extending from it to the surface is calculated by the Monte Carlo method. The diffraction profiles and reciprocal space maps are controlled by the ratio of the total lengths of the misfit and the threading segments of the half-loops. A continuous transformation from the diffraction characteristic of misfit dislocations to that of threading dislocations with increasing thickness of epitaxial film is studied. Diffraction from dislocations with edge- and screw-type threading arms is considered and the contributions of the two types of dislocations are compared.

This article demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining accurate pair distribution functions of thin amorphous films down to 80 nm, using modern laboratory-based X-ray sources. The pair distribution functions are obtained using a single diffraction scan without the requirement of additional scans of the substrate or of the air. By using a crystalline substrate combined with an oblique scattering geometry, most of the Bragg scattering of the substrate is avoided, rendering the substrate Compton scattering the primary contribution. By utilizing a discriminating energy filter, available in the latest generation of modern detectors, it is demonstrated that the Compton intensity can further be reduced to negligible levels at higher wavevector values. Scattering from the sample holder and the air is minimized by the systematic selection of pixels in the detector image based on the projected detection footprint of the sample and the use of a 3D-printed sample holder. Finally, X-ray optical effects in the absorption factors and the ratios between the Compton intensity of the substrate and film are taken into account by using a theoretical tool that simulates the electric field inside the film and the substrate, which aids in planning both the sample design and the measurement protocol.

Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Courier”; Credit: LIAM DANIEL / LIONSGATE / ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

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Tina Turner performing, used in the documentary "Tina." ; Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images/HBO

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Still from "Godzilla vs. Kong"; Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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MELISSA MCCARTHY and OCTAVIA SPENCER in "Thunder Force."; Credit: HOPPER STONE/NETFLIX © 2021 

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William Jackson Harper and Aya Cash in “We Broke Up.”; Credit: Vertical Entertainment

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Archival still from the documentary "Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street"; Credit: HBO

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Tadanobu Asano (L) and Chin Han (R) in "Mortal Kombat."; Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

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Jason Statham's character H in the film "Wrath of Man"; Credit: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

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Chris Rock as Detective Zeke Banks in the film "Spiral."; Credit: Lionsgate

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Toni Collette (center) in the film "Dream Horse."

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