Move over Tom Daley, because there's a new diving champ taking flight.
Saturday, 25 July 2015
Thursday, 23 July 2015
Sony Pictures buys rights to make an emoji movie
Sony Pictures Animation has bought the rights to turn emoji icons into a movie.
Emojis, which are symbols that help described feelings or emotions, are used by millions of people around the world in texts, online chats and on social media.
It's not clear yet how Sony will turn the yellow round faces into a blockbuster animation.
Emojis have developed massively over the years from simple faces to a range of different characters
Emojis were developed in Japan in the late 1990s as smiley-faced emoticons.
They have developed from graphics that represent faces to a wider range of things, including pets, objects and poo.
From CBBC Newsround
An airport terminal for animals is being built at JFK
A new luxury airport terminal for animals is being made at John F Kennedy airport in New York.
It will have a swimming pool, kennels, stables and even trees for cats to climb.
Around 70 thousand animals fly in and out of the airport every year, with many of them having to stay for a few days to make sure they're not carrying any diseases.
The building, named the Ark, is costing more than $48 million (£30 million) and is planned to open in 2016.
The ARK will have hay-lined stalls for up to 70 horses and 180 cattle, plus an aviary and holding pens for goats, pigs and sheep.
From CBBC newsround
Monday, 20 July 2015
Dog rides bus alone to the park in Seattle, US
A dog in Seattle takes herself to the local dog park - by riding on the bus by herself!
From CBBC Newsround
Friday, 17 July 2015
The robot footballers hoping for a cup win
Meet the UK's robo-footie team who've been training hard for this year's RoboCup World Championships.
The robots were built by a team at the University of Hertfordshire, and put in a cracking performance last year by grabbing second place in Brazil.
Each robot is programmed with around 50,000 different lines of code to help them to know what to do.
The RoboCup is an annual football competition, which first started in 1997.
Around 500 teams from more than 45 countries will take part in this year's contest, which kicks off in China on 19 July.
From CBBC newsround
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
Meet the star of Oscar nominated animation Song of the Sea.
The movie, which comes out in the UK this week, is based on an Irish folk tale.
It follows the story of a boy called Ben and his little sister who meet selkies, giants and faeries on their adventure.
It was made using traditional drawing techniques, and was nominated for the biggest film awards in the world, the Oscars, earlier this year. (CBBC newsround)
Song of the Sea is a 2014 Irish animated fantasy film by Cartoon Saloon that is directed by Tomm Moore. The traditionally animated film, which began production soon after the release of The Secret of Kells (2009), premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September in the TIFF Kids program The film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards (2015). (in Wikipedia)
Plot
In October of 1981, on an island off the coast of Ireland lives Conor, a lighthouse keeper, his son Ben, his wife Bronagh, who is expecting their second child, and their sheepdog Cú. Bronagh leaves unexpectedly late one night, leaving behind her newborn daughter Saoirse. Six years later, Conor is a depressed alcoholic, Saoirse has yet to utter a single word, and Ben has grown resentful of his sister, associating her with his mother’s disappearance. The family are then visited by Granny for Saoirse's birthday. That night, Ben scares Saorirse with a story of Mac Lir the giant and his mother Macha the Owl Witch, who turned him to stone and stole his feelings. Later that night, Saoirse plays a seashell horn given to Ben by their mother, and it leads her to a white sealskin coat hidden in Conor’s closet. She puts the coat on and is coaxed into the ocean by a group of seals. It is then revealed that she is a beautiful white Selkie. After swimming with the seals, she is found washed up onshore by Granny, who insists upon taking the children back home to the city for their own safety. Conor reluctantly agrees, and throws the chest containing Saoirse's coat and its key into the sea.
The following night on Halloween, Saoirse plays the shell, alerting a group of Faerie creatures to her presence. Ben and Saoirse begin attempting to travel home, but encounter the Faeries who hope that Saoirse will sing the Song of the Sea and allow them and all their brethren to travel home to Tír na nÓg. Unfortunately, they are attacked by Macha's owls, who turn the Faeries to stone. The siblings take a bus into the country, where they run into Cú, who had originally been following them to the city, and come across a sacred well. Unfortunately, without her coat, Saoirse is rapidly growing deathly ill, shown by her hair turning white. She falls into the well, while Ben tries to follow her and meets the Great Seanachai. The Faerie tells Ben his sister has been kidnapped by Macha's owls, and he gives the boy one of his hairs that will lead him to the witch’s house, and in the process sees that the night his mother left, she departed into the sea and left Saoirse with their father, and realizes how unfair he's been to Saoirse all these years. Ben then meets Macha, who is not the villain he imagined. She claims that when her son, Mac Lir, suffered from a broken heart, she took away his suffering, turning him into the small island near Ben's home. She is determined to do the same for everyone, even herself.
Ben manages to rescue Saoirse and the shell’s song releases Macha's feelings back into her, which helps her recognize the gravity of her actions. The witch helps Ben, Saoirse, Cú fly back home with the spirits of Mac Lir's dogs. The children arrive home during a storm, and Conor attempts to take them back to the mainland to get Saoirse to a hospital; at the same time, Granny is on her way to their island in search of her missing grandchildren. Ben dives into the sea in search of Saoirse's coat, which he recovers with help from the seals and his father. The group is then washed up on Mac Lir's island, where Saoirse, reunited with her coat, is restored to health and sings her song. Faerie creatures from across Ireland rise and travel to Mac Lir's island, and Mac Lir himself emerges with Macha and his dogs as they head to Tír na nÓg. Bronagh appears with the sad news that she and Saoirse must depart as well. However, since Saoirse is part human, Bronagh is able to take her coat and leave her behind to live as a human while she departs. After a tearful goodbye, the Faeries depart across the sea, and Ben and his family happily return home to their island, where Granny finally arrives, and decides the children can stay with their father. (in Wikipedia)
| Song of the Sea | |
|---|---|
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Theatrical release poster
Facts File | |
Directed by
| Tomm Moore |
Produced by
|
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Written by
| Will Collins |
Story by
| Tomm Moore |
Starring
|
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Music by
|
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Edited by
| Darragh Byrne |
Production
company
|
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Distributed by
|
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Release dates
|
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Running time
| 93 minutes |
Country
|
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Language
| English |
Box office
| $841,122 (US) |
Saturday, 11 July 2015
Princess Charlotte: Norfolk church creates knitted christening
Knitters have recreated Princess Charlotte's christening in wool as part of a church fundraising festival.
The replica royal event is at St Peter and St Paul's church in Norfolk - one of six churches taking part in a Blossom and Yarn Festival.
Over 11,000 squares were used to create themed scenes for the six churches.
The christening scene has been recreated in wool at the church in Griston
Woolen Prince George even has a knitted teddy bear.
The Bishop of Norwich said he was full of admiration because he "couldn't knit a bishop".
Prince Harry - who was unable to attend the event at Church of St Mary Magdalene at the Queen's Sandringham estate last Sunday - is in attendance at the knitted version.
Most of the figures and many other items, including roses, small animals and cakes, were made from 10cm knitted squares.
More than 31 human figures were created by more than 100 knitters.
From CBNBC Newsround
Friday, 10 July 2015
Could Microdave be the UK's smallest horse?
Measuring in around 45cm tall, Microdave is the newest contender for the title of Britain's smallest horse.
So cuuute!
Born in Kent, in the south-east of England, the American miniature stallion is half the size of a regular foal of the same breed.
Microdave got his unusual name from his dad, who is called Littledave.
His owner Jen Baldwin-Murphy, says that Microdave is very cheeky, and has become really popular with visitors.
From CBBC Newsround
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Minecraft global gathering comes to London
Heaven was a place on earth for the biggest fans of Minecraft this weekend as Minecon - the global gathering for players of the hugely popular game - came to London.
It was the first Minecon held for 18 months during which time the 70 millionth copy of the game was sold and Mojang itself was sold to Microsoft for $2.5bn (£1.6bn).
In total, 10,000 fans visited the Excel convention centre in London's Docklands for Minecon and, in doing so, set a Guinness world record for an event dedicated to one video game.
The convention drew attendees from more than 73 countries, with some coming from as far away as New Zealand just to join in.
Minecon filled every hall at the sprawling Excel exhibition centre. The main presentation stage hosted the opening ceremony, a Minecraft game show, costume competition and a dance show celebrating the game. Another hall was given over to an expo involving a tournament area, Minecraft-themed funfair booths, statues of blocky Minecraft animals and merchandise stalls.
The show floor featured statues of many familiar Minecraft creatures such as this creeper
As well as being a hit with many individual players, the game's success has made stars of many people who make Minecraft-themed videos - day in, day out. This year Minecraft became the most watched game of all time on video-sharing site YouTube.
Any vlogger or YouTuber recognised as they walked around the show was mobbed by fans who waylaid them to get an autograph or take a selfie with their idols.
One of the most popular sessions at the show was with a Q&A on Saturday on the show floor with a group of of popular vloggers and YouTubers known as The Pack. Between them the members of The Pack - Mr Woofless, PrestonPlayz, JeromeASF, BajanCanadian, Vikstarr123HD and Lachlan - have an average age of 20, and more than 15 million subscribers.
Future features
At the convention, Mojang also talked about features in forthcoming versions of the game which will include letting characters carry and use objects in both hands. In addition, some elements of the game, an area known as The End and its final boss - the Ender dragon - are also getting updates.
An exhibition of Minecraft-themed art was on show at Minecon
The first trailer for Minecraft: Story Mode - which turns the game into an episodic adventure - was aired at the show and gave people a glimpse of the story that will be played out in that.
Mojang owner Microsoft also took the opportunity to give attendees a glimpse of the version of Minecraft it is preparing for the Hololens augmented reality system. Microsoft staged a competition to pick 50 convention goers who were able to don the helmet and get a look at the invention.
But despite the enthusiasm and creativity on show, not everyone who attended was sold on Minecraft's appeal.
adapted and abridged fro BBC news/Technology
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