Douglas Rain, the Canadian actor who provided the voice to the HAL 9000 computer in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, died Sunday at the age of 90.
The Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, which Rain co-founded in 1952, announced the actor’s death Sunday, adding that Rain died of natural causes, CTV News reports.
“Canadian theatre has lost one of its greatest talents and a guiding light in its development,” Stratford Festival’s artistic director Antoni Cimolino said in a statement. “Douglas Rain was that rare artist: an actor deeply admired by other actors.”
Read more here:  Rolling Stone

This is Brian and HAL. Brian and HAL are happy because we are having a Collector's Christmas Showcase. We like happy Brian and HAL. Brian will be sad and HAL will be mad if you don't come. We know you don't want Brian to be sad and we definitely know you don't want HAL to be mad! :)
When: Saturday, December 1, 2018
Time: 9:00 - 5:00
Where: Quality Inn & Suites
943 South High Street
West Chester, Pa. 19382

Archaeopteryx is one of the most famous fossils ever discovered. Its significance is that it demonstrates birds are likely descended from dinosaurs. But it was once accused of being a forgery. Modern scanning techniques, though, show no fakery was involved. Lorraine Cornish, the head of conservation at London's Natural History Museum, spoke with our science correspondent Jonathan Amos.
Source:  BBC.com
Check out our new Master Replicas Collection Fossils here:  Fossils

Don't miss out on the opportunity to have this rare Keir Dullea (David Bowman) and Gary Lockwood signed photo!  This would make a great holiday gift for the 2001: A Space Odyssey fans in your life!
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Click here to purchase: https://www.masterreplicasgroup.com/shop.html​

Fossils and other remnants from the prehistoric past can usually be only seen in museums. There are, however, some unique sites where visitors can see them in nature and one of these remarkable areas is Joggins Fossil Cliff. Here you can see the impressions of plants and animals that are over 300 million years. This site is so unique that it was named as a UNESCO Heritage site, one of only fifteen in Canada. These cliffs also played a very important role in the history of geology and the location has arguably the most complete fossil record from the Coal Age.
In most cases fossils are deep underground and hidden in rocks. Here however, the elements have eroded the cliffs over millennia and exposed a large number of impressions of prehistoric plants and animals. They are able to be seen by the naked eye and there is a range of fossils from hundreds of millions of years ago as well as a fossil forest .
Read more here:  Ancient-Origins.net

"My mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm afraid." Fifty years after audiences first saw, or rather, heard, HAL 9000, the homicidal artificial intelligence in "2001: A Space Odyssey," its melancholy end still evokes a pang of empathy. Thanks, in part, to the film's much-vaunted accuracy in depicting the peculiarities of space travel, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece ranks among the greatest science fiction films ever made. Unlike most sci-fi flicks, which are typically crammed full of action and noise, Kubrick was unafraid to let his audience experience the slowness and silence of space.
But speaking of accuracy, where are we with HAL? In the movie, it demonstrates mastery of, among other things, space travel, chess, chitchat, art appreciation and, with disastrous results, lip-reading. Never mind the half-century since Kubrick co-invented this miraculous machine with author, Arthur C. Clarke, it's been 17 years since the eponymous space-odyssey was supposed to take place. Are we there yet with AI?
Read more here:  Science

Zieglerville, PA. October 12, 2018 - Master Replicas Group, a specialty retail brand
specializing in licensed paleontological, aerospace, and science fiction collectibles, has entered into a licensing agreement with the steward of the world’s biggest fossil collection and authority on space exploration, the Smithsonian Institution. The range will include collectible items that replicate some of their most exciting prehistoric fossils, housed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, as well as assets from the collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Master Replicas Group will begin manufacturing immediately and expect to release their first replicas around the time of the opening of the National Museum of Natural History’s new Deep Time exhibit, scheduled for June 8, 2019.  The product line will range from hand-sized dinosaur teeth and claws, up to a four-foot replica of the skull of the nation’s T-rex. 
Master Replicas Group shares in the Smithsonian’s passion for detail and authenticity and hopes to inspire a new generation of dinosaur lovers and future scientists.

About the Smithsonian Institution
Since its founding in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution has been committed to inspiring generations through knowledge and discovery.  It is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, consisting of 19 museums, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities.  There are 6,500 Smithsonian employees and 6,300 volunteers.  There were 30 million visits to the Smithsonian in 2017.  The total number of objects, works of art and specimens at the Smithsonian is estimated at 155 million, of which 146 million are scientific specimens at the National Museum of Natural History.
www.smithsonian.org
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