'Highlander' Director Views 'Immortality As A Curse'

In "Intruders," director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo explores the ideas of fear and losing control. For his next film potentially his next film, I should say he'll dive into another form of horror: the possibility of living forever.

Immortality sounds glamorous to most, sure, but not to Fresnadillo not in his vision of "Highlander," at least. The "28 Weeks Later" filmmaker is set to pick up the sword and bring "Highlander" back to the big screen for Summit Entertainment, and in his mind, it's the difficulties of everlasting life that's most interesting about the fantasy franchise.

"The idea about immortality as a curse, you know?" Fresnadillo answered when MTV News asked him about his attraction to "Highlander." "Immortality is a very difficult time in your life, if you become an immortal. If you think about that, it's impossible to be in love with anyone you're growing, you're getting old, as a human, but not as an immortal. I think immortality could be a very lonely feeling [worth exploring]."

Still, Fresnadillo isn't entirely sure that "Highlander" is the next film on his increasingly busy plate. "I'm working hard on that project," he offered. "We'll see if finally it's my next movie."

One thing he definitely won't be working on, however, is "The Crow." Fresnadillo was attached to direct a reboot of the James O'Barr graphic novel at one point in time, before ultimately bowing out in October. It's a shame; anyone who sees "Intruders" will agree that based on the opening scene alone, Fresnadillo would have been an inspired choice to breathe new life into "The Crow," if the legendary film even needs to be remade in the first place. (Hint: it doesn't.)

"It's difficult to explain to you," the director said of what his vision for "The Crow" would have been. "When you're working in this industry, you're dealing with many projects at the same time. 'The Crow' was one of them. It was a very cool concept to make some new approach and new refreshment of the idea, but I didn't have the time to explore it too much. I didn't have time to say, 'Here's the vision of what I think would be fantastic for that.'"

Are you looking forward to Fresnadillo's "Highlander" remake? Are you disappointed that he won't bring "The Crow" to life? Tell us what you think in the comments section or hit us up on Twitter!

Tags Highlander, intruders, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the crow

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'Highlander' Director Views 'Immortality As A Curse'

Stud up or sit down?

ALLAN MAKI AND SEAN GORDON From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published Friday, Mar. 23, 2012 11:56PM EDT Last updated Saturday, Mar. 24, 2012 12:50AM EDT

It is a delicate balance, one many NHL players face as the games grow more meaningful and the playoffs loom: do they play hurt or do they take themselves out of the lineup for the good of the team?

Hockey, after all, celebrates the courageous, transforms players into legendary figures. Think of Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Bob Baun playing on a broken leg. Think of Anaheim Ducks forward Paul Kariya being laid out on the ice by Scott Stevens, only to return minutes later and score a key goal to force a Game 7 for the Stanley Cup. Those images are stitched in time.

What isnt remembered or even known is how many players put themselves or their team at risk by crossing the boundary between bravery and foolishness. Its a quandary with short-term, long-term implications. Playing beyond the usual aches and bruises is an expectation that can inspire teammates, spark a goal, win a game. But Ian Laperriere admitted he went beyond the norm when he hid his postconcussion symptoms from the Philadelphia Flyers for a go at the Stanley Cup.

Regaled for his grit, Laperriere began the 2010 playoffs by taking a puck in the face near his right eye. The force of the shot left him with orbital damage, a reported 70 stitches and a concussion. He sat out the rest of the opening-round series against the New Jersey Devils, missed the second round against the Boston Bruins along with the first three games of the Eastern Conference final against the Montreal Canadiens.

That was as long as Laperriere could bear to sit.

I was in the league for 16 years and never came close to winning the Cup, he said. I saw the team doing so well. I wanted to be part of it.

Laperriere wanted so badly to be part of the Flyers run, he didnt tell anyone he was still experiencing postconcussion symptoms. Before Philadelphia lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, Laperriere was voted the NHLs toughest player by The Hockey News. He tried a comeback in September of 2010, but has yet to play another game.

I really do believe there are guys playing right now with concussions, said Laperriere, who will have problems with his eye for the rest of his life. They dont want to say anything because they dont want to lose their job. Its not like Sidney Crosby who can miss two years and play, especially for the third, fourth liners.

So they play hurt and they lie about it. Canadiens forward Mathieu Darche did for as long as he could with what was later treated as a concussion. Asked about his injury, he replied with a laugh: You mean my really bad flu?

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Stud up or sit down?

Michael Young claims immortality, but hasn’t seen Chipper Jones lately

Jones (left) sounds like a man ready to hang 'em up and go fishing. Young does not. (AP)

Five years must make a great amount of difference in a Major League Baseball career.

To read the post Tuesday about 35-year-old Michael Young in the Dallas Morning News, you'd swear he was giving reporter Evan Grant the lowdown on where theTexas Rangers kept the Fountain of Youth. It's somewhere in his locker. Young might just play forever, his "competitive drive" is so superior.

Conversely, to read the post about almost-40-year-old Chipper Jones in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, you'd swear reporter Dave O'Brien had just interviewed a thoroughbred race horse who broke his leg and was begging to be put down. Chipper is just so darned beaten up, heck, "tomorrow" might be his last day wearing an Atlanta Braves uniform.

First, Young:

"Father Time doesn't mean anything to me.People who lose their competitive edge or their drive, those are the ones when age starts creeping up. There are a lot of people who have beaten Father Time I feel like I'm competing with myself and my own expectations As far as age or anybody thinking about any magic numbers, that means nothing to me."

Nothing, huh? Jones, 0 for 8 so far this spring and troubled by a sore knee and legs, sounds like he's about to turn 80:

"Tomorrow might be my last day," he said "I don't know. I don't really focus on it that much. The body is starting to tell me every morning when I wake up that it's getting close. I'm signed through the end of this year. If I play in a certain amount of games, I got an option for next year. I don't know what next year entails.

"I don't know if I can make it through this year."

All right, that's enough. In their own way, each of these guy is full of baloney. Enough with the lionizing of Michael Young, who is such a hard worker (and weaker players aren't) that the law of physics don't apply to him. OK, Mike. We all get older, as Larry Wayne Jones will tell you. And tell you. And tell you.

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Michael Young claims immortality, but hasn’t seen Chipper Jones lately

Tiger Woods Faces Tough Task with Achilles’ Injury: Fan Take

The Achilles' tendon is so named after the Greek legend of Achilles. When he was blessed with immortality upon being dipped into the river Styx, Achilles' one weak spot was on his heel. His mother, the goddess Thetis, had to hold on to her son in some fashion.

Now Tiger Woods's Achilles' heel is literally his Achilles' heel. He withdrew from the Cadillac Championship during the final round March 11. Golf Digest reports unlike other times in his career, Woods withdrew instead of playing through the pain. His victory at the 2008 U.S. Open was legendary in that his leg was broken in not one but two places.

Age has final worn down the Tiger. He's in his mid-30s, hardly a spring chicken anymore. Even though he plays golf as opposed to football, decades of practicing the same sport over and over take its toll eventually.

Even though golf involves swinging with the arms, an Achilles' tendon is vital to mobility no matter what you do in everyday life. Walking is impossible without that tendon. WebMD states the Achilles' tendon connects your calf muscle to the heel bone. Even swelling of the tendon can make walking difficult. PGA Tour pros are not allowed to use golf carts and must walk the 7,500 yards per day. Adding practice rounds earlier in the week and the miles literally add up.

Considering there are 1,760 yards in a mile, a golfer can walk a mile in five holes. At 7,500 yards per round, a PGA pro walks over four miles per round. If you practice a round per day on Tuesday and Wednesday, golfers walk a minimum of 16 miles if they don't make the cut. That's a lot of traction on an Achilles' tendon.

Woods became single-minded in his practice habits as he conquered golf. The strain and wear on his body has made recovering from his previous surgeries more problematic. The die-hard and everyday practice regarding golf has given Woods something that may be akin to a permanent pain in his leg.

All of the earlier glory in his career is finally showing. Even though he's just 36, just like any other elite athlete the body wears out. If Woods can't come back from this latest injury, his PGA days may be done.

William Browning has covered sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network including golf and local golf courses in southwest Missouri. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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Tiger Woods Faces Tough Task with Achilles’ Injury: Fan Take

'Invincible' Tendulkar's incredible milestone may never be matched: Report

London, Mar 17(ANI): Sachin Tendulkar achieved immortality after he finally scored his long awaited 100th century against Bangladesh in an Asia Cup match in the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on Friday.

Many have already touted Tendulkar's magical feat as unmatchable, a record, which might stay forever.

His 100th century is 29 more centuries than his nearest challenger on the all-time list, Australia's Ricky Ponting.

According to the Wall Street Journal, it has been a long wait of a year and four days, but Sachin Tendulkar, the Little Master, has finally done it. He has scored 100 centuries in international cricket, which is an incredible sporting feat that may never be matched.

Tendulkar won't care a bit about the venue or opposition since any international century is special, and he's just scored 100 of them. This latest one is perhaps the sweetest, as it came when Tendulkar was facing an unfamiliar and unfair amount of criticism, it said.

It's difficult to play down this sporting achievement as scoring a century of centuries was deemed unthinkable even before Tendulkar came along, making his debut in 1989 as a mere 16-year-old, the youngest cricketer ever to represent India, it added.

The report said no other batsman in history has come close to achieving what Tendulkar has as he is the top scorer in Test cricket by a country mile, with over 15,000 runs to his name.

Tendulkar is also the top scorer in One-Day Internationals with more than 18,000 runs, streets ahead of Ponting, who is second on the list with 13,704, it added. (ANI)

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'Invincible' Tendulkar's incredible milestone may never be matched: Report

Immortality Could Soon Be Reality? 2012 – Video

15-02-2012 19:06 Technologies today could allow the next generation to live up to 150, but how far should scientists go to allow people to live this long? More than just possible as some aging experts believe scientific breakthroughs will mean babies born today will live more than 100 years. Geriatrician Dr. Joyce Fogel says medical advances have already made a huge difference. "There was a time when people didn't live to older age because they died from the flu. We're doing much better. In 1900, when somebody was born, they were expected to live to the age of 50," she said. Scientists are making huge advances in the lab, growing new organs from adult human stem cells, creating body parts with 3D printers, and using gene therapy to successfully treat diseases like blindness and leukemia. And that's not all. Doctors have already doubled the lifespan of a worm. "The hope is that we could make a drug that would replicate in humans so that it would allow humans to stay young longer as well," Dr. Cynthia Kenyon said. ADG Facebook: http://www.facebook.com Follow ADG on Twitter: twitter.com

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Immortality beckoning for Big Buck's

As our Olympians may well appreciate later in the year, the only thing better than winning a gold medal is winning a gold medal with a bit of history attached to it. The biggest stage is the best place to rewrite the record books so, at this week's annual jump-racing championshipfest in Gloucestershire, step forward Big Buck's.

The nine-year-old gelding is odds-on to set a unique mark at the Cheltenham Festival and equal a record winning streak that has lasted for 59 years. Yet this is a horse with none of the popular acclaim of his Paul Nicholls stablemate Kauto Star, a Desert Orchid or a Red Rum; he has not yet leapt the fence that divides his sport from a wider public.

He is one of the best and classiest jumpers ever to have leapt an obstacle, and is peerless in his own specialist sphere. But there's the rub. Big Buck's is not a steeplechaser,with all that job's implied boldness and glamour. He's a hurdler, plying his trade over three-foot-six of flattenable, gorse-packed timber panels rather than four-foot-six of close-packed, unyielding birch. And even among hurdlers he's not one of the perceived elite, those who skim over the minimum distance of two miles. Big Buck's operates over the long distances that are jump racing's least fashionable division.

But he has made being a marathon man sexy. On ratings, which can be used to assess horses of different talents and eras, he is currently the best hurdler in training, better even than the two-mile king Hurricane Fly, due to defend his Champion Hurdle crown on Tuesday and himself judged the best of his ilk since the magnificent Istabraq.

On Thursday Big Buck's, unbeaten in his past 15 races, will go for an unprecedented fourth Ladbrokes World Hurdle, the Grade One stayer's crown. Victory would also enable him to equal the record sequence for a jumper set by Sir Ken, the last of whose 16 serial successes came with the second of his three Champion Hurdles, at the 1953 Festival.

The first step of Big Buck's road to immortality was almost accidental; he reverted to hurdles as a confidence-booster after a clumsy series of efforts over fences. And since he started his winning run in January 2009 he has galloped relentlessly into the hearts of those closest to him and of regular racegoers alike.

At Nicholls' Somerset base Big Buck's is regarded with the same awe and respect accorded to Kauto Star. "He perhaps doesn't get the credit outside the sport that he deserves," said the trainer, "but we're very privileged to have a horse like him, and we know it. Every season I've kept thinking something will come out of the woodwork and give him a real fright, but he just keeps beating them all. What he has done already is quite remarkable; four World Hurdles and equalling that record would be phenomenal."

For his trainer, Big Buck's is a challenge. His ability is beyond doubt, but his personality would keep a convention of psychiatrists happy. He hates being alone, he paces incessantly round his stable, has a tantrum if he is not first of the Manor Farm inmates to be fed in the morning and, as he does not always put it all in on the training gallops, is tricky to bring to peak fitness. "Whatever it takes," added Nicholls, "we'll indulge him."

In his races, Big Buck's is no longer the recidivist he once appeared to be, but can still toy with his supporters' faith with an indolent style and the finishing burst that has to be delivered as late as possible. But for rider Ruby Walsh, whose velvet-fisted horseman's style suits the quirky gelding perfectly, what we see is not what he gets. "Stayers are not supposed to be able to quicken and win on the bridle like he does," he said, "that's why they have to be stayers. But this one has got such an engine, just pricks his ears and goes. He doesn't do flashy, but he'll keep running for you."

For the owner, Andy Stewart, and his family, particularly son Paul during his recovery from a serious spinal injury, Big Buck's has become an inspiration. "Going back over hurdles with the horse after he's been chasing was a bit of a bonkers idea hatched by a mad genius [Nicholls]," said Stewart, "but it doesn't look so bonkers now. It is all a bit of a nervous responsibility and he's bound to be beaten sometime. But win, lose or draw on Thursday, he'll always be special."

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Immortality beckoning for Big Buck's

France is a Nation of Wizards, Bestows Immortality Upon Scientist [The French]

Nobel Prize winner Jules Hoffman was recently selected to become an immortal, beating out eight other fancy French candidates in a secret vote held last week.

Unfortunately, the "immortal" thing is neither as cool nor as insane as it appears at first glance. That's just the term used to describe members of L'Acadmie franaise, the body officially charged with defining and maintaining the standards of the French language.

Hoffman, whose Nobel Prize win was the subject of some controversy after a colleague claimed Hoffman took credit for much of his work, was awarded a much-coveted seat in the Academy upon the death of scholar and author Jacqueline de Romilly. De Romilly died this past December either of old age (she was 97) or of a stake through the heart (she was an immortal).

Previous members of the Academy have included scientist Louis Pasteur and Vichy France's Chief of State Philippe Ptain. (Though most immortals hold their seats for life, Ptain was forced to relinquish his following the whole cooperating-with-Nazis dbcle.)

While the Academy's rulings on what is and is not considered kosher within the confines of the French language are not binding on either the public or the government, it does publish a definitive dictionary and give 40 (mostly elderly) French citizens something to do with their time.

In honor of this story, here is a fun linguistic fact: The letter "w" appears in French only in foreign words that have been borrowed into the language. Par exemple: "le week-end" (in English: "the weekend").

[Image via Shutterstock]

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France is a Nation of Wizards, Bestows Immortality Upon Scientist [The French]

Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not Lego immortality

MONTREAL - A quirky Montreal landmark has won an international competition among Lego enthusiasts but the thrill of victory has been tempered by the sting of rejection.

The Habitat 67 housing complex won an Internet vote, beating out iconic structures like Paris' Eiffel Tower, Rome's Coliseum and the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

The Lego company had, without making any promises, had said it would consider creating a toy set inspired by the winning entry.

But the company has announced there won't be a toy version of Montreal's Habitat 67, at least not for now. Lego says it will consider such a project in the future.

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67 is a unique project built for the city's world fair in 1967. It's an integrated series of blocks of housing units near downtown Montreal's waterfront. It was declared a historic site by Quebec in 2009.

The company says it can't commit to building something just because it won a contest.

"It takes more than popularity to make the grade as a Lego Architecture icon," the company noted on its website.

The company has moved on to its next architectural contest. Ten new choices have appeared on Lego's website including San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Saint-Basil's Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow.

On the web: http://architecture.lego.com/en-us/inspire-us/

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Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not Lego immortality

Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not immortality

Home : Canada : Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not immortality

The Canadian Press

Date: Wednesday Mar. 7, 2012 1:21 PM ET

MONTREAL A quirky Montreal landmark has won an international competition among Lego enthusiasts -- but the thrill of victory has been tempered by the sting of rejection.

The Habitat 67 housing complex won an Internet vote, beating out iconic structures like Paris' Eiffel Tower, Rome's Coliseum and the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

The Lego company, without making any promises, had said it would consider creating a toy set inspired by the winning entry.

But the company has announced there won't be a toy version of Montreal's Habitat 67, at least not for now. Lego says it will consider such a project in the future.

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67 is a unique project built for the city's world fair in 1967. It's an integrated series of blocks of housing units near downtown Montreal's waterfront. It was declared a historic site by Quebec in 2009.

The company says it can't commit to building something just because it won a contest.

"It takes more than popularity to make the grade as a Lego Architecture icon," the company noted on its website.

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Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not immortality

59 Watch! Brian Harman flirts with immortality at Honda Classic

Brian Harman / Getty ImagesGolf tends to toss up great out-of-nowhere stories about once a month, and March's version arrived on the second day: Brian Harman, the second alternate coming into this week's Honda Classic, stood on the tee at 18 with a chance at achieving golf nirvana: the fabled sub-60 round.

Alas, it wasn't to be; he needed an eagle to pull off a 59, and "only" managed a par. Still, Harman's 61, a 9-under round, was good enough to set the course record at PGA National by three strokes. He sat just two strokes off the lead with players still on the course Friday afternoon.

"I walked off 16 and I was like, man, if I birdie these last two holes, I'm going to shoot 59," he said afterward. "I hit a great drive on 18 and had a chance I mean, I had a chance." His approach on 18 found the bunker, he wasn't able to get up and down, and he missed a 5-footer that would have left him at 60. Still, not a bad afternoon's work.

Making Harman's achievement far more impressive is the difficulty of the PGA National course. "This is probably one of the hardest golf courses we play all year, and just to have a chance to do something special like that is really humbling and it's really cool," he said. "I saw where Davis [Love III] had shot 64 yesterday ... I'm like, How did he shoot 64 out here? This place is so hard."

He got some key advice from a former U.S. Open champ that may well have helped. "I really tried to slow myself down," he said. "Exchanged some text messages with Lucas Glover last night. He's been a really good friend to me, and every time that I've needed any help, he's always given me some advice. I asked him, I said, 'Man, how do you get out there and take your time?' He goes, 'Well, try to walk a little slower.' I did that today."

While we hope for the best for Mr. Harman in his future endeavors, we can say with authority that if this leads to even slower play on the course? Apocalypse.

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59 Watch! Brian Harman flirts with immortality at Honda Classic

The Search for Immortality

Researchers may have found a protein that can extend the lifespan of mammals

During ancient times, alchemists sought the elixir of life; a legendary potion believed to bestow eternal life upon its drinker. Alchemy has since given way to modern-day chemistry, but the quest for eternal lifeor at least longer lifepersists. While science has proven that the secret to longevity is not a potion, research has suggested that a protein might hold the answer.

A study published in Nature Journal of Science details the latest research on aging proteins, called sirtuins. A team led by Haim Cohen, a molecular biologist at Bar-llan University in Ramat-Gan Israel, has found that increased levels of SIRT6, one of the seven sirtuin proteins, can extend the maximum lifespan of male mice by about 15.8 percent.

Earlier research on the link between sirtuins and longevity focused on another member of the protein family. Researchers theorized that SIRT1, a protein in mammals closely related to a gene that promotes longevity in yeast, could extend the lifespan of mammals.

In 2001, a study published in Nature Journal of Science reported that SIRT1 increased the longevity in nematodes and fruit flies. The interest in this research was so high that in 2008, GlaxoSmirthKline, a drug company in London, invested $720 million in research targeting SIRT1 as a potential treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Later research found the SIRT1 study to be incorrect. The increased longevity was not an effect of SIRT1 but a result of unrelated mutations in the studied species.

PROTEINS WITH POTENTIAL

The hype surrounding SIRT1 was just the encouragement Cohen needed to begin his study of SIRT6.

People were mostly interested in SIRT1, Cohen said in Nature Journal of Science. So I thought it might be better for us as a new lab to work on something that is less crowded.

Previous studies had demonstrated that the aging process in mice lacking SIRT6 was accelerated. Cohen and his team decided to study the effects of higher than normal levels of SIRT6 in mice. While their results showed no effect on the maximum lifespan of the female mice, the male mice experienced an increase by as much as 15.8 percent.

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The Search for Immortality

Bunker Mentality: Harman flirts with immortality

Sat, 03 Mar 02:41:00 2012

Golf tends to toss up great out-of-nowhere stories about once a month, and March's version arrived on the second day.

Brian Harman, the second alternate coming into this week's Honda Classic, stood on the tee at 18 with a chance at achieving golf nirvana: the fabled sub-60 round.

Alas, it wasn't to be; he needed an eagle to pull off a 59, and "only" managed a par. Still, Harman's 61, a 9-under round, was good enough to set the course record at PGA National by three strokes. He sat just two strokes off the lead with players still on the course Friday afternoon.

"I walked off 16 and I was like, man, if I birdie these last two holes, I'm going to shoot 59," he said afterward. "I hit a great drive on 18 and had a chance I mean, I had a chance." His approach on 18 found the bunker, he wasn't able to get up and down, and he missed a 5-footer that would have left him at 60. Still, not a bad afternoon's work.

Making Harman's achievement far more impressive is the difficulty of the PGA National course. "This is probably one of the hardest golf courses we play all year, and just to have a chance to do something special like that is really humbling and it's really cool," he said. "I saw where Davis [Love III] had shot 64 yesterday ... I'm like, How did he shoot 64 out here? This place is so hard."

He got some key advice from a former U.S. Open champ that may well have helped. "I really tried to slow myself down," he said. "Exchanged some text messages with Lucas Glover last night. He's been a really good friend to me, and every time that I've needed any help, he's always given me some advice. I asked him, I said, 'Man, how do you get out there and take your time?' He goes, 'Well, try to walk a little slower.' I did that today."

While we hope for the best for Mr. Harman in his future endeavours, we can say with authority that if this leads to even slower play on the course? Apocalypse.

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Bunker Mentality: Harman flirts with immortality

Harman flirts with immortality

Golf tends to toss up great out-of-nowhere stories about once a month, and March's version arrived on the second day: Brian Harman, the second alternate coming into this week's Honda Classic, stood on the tee at 18 with a chance at achieving golf nirvana: the fabled sub-60 round.

Brian Harman of the US tees off at the Honda Classic

Alas, it wasn't to be; he needed an eagle to pull off a 59, and "only" managed a par. Still, Harman's 61, a 9-under round, was good enough to set the course record at PGA National by three strokes. He sat just two strokes off the lead with players still on the course Friday afternoon.

"I walked off 16 and I was like, man, if I birdie these last two holes, I'm going to shoot 59," he said afterwards. "I hit a great drive on 18 and had a chance I mean, I had a chance." His approach on 18 found the bunker, he wasn't able to get up and down, and he missed a 5-footer that would have left him at 60. Still, not a bad afternoon's work.

Making Harman's achievement far more impressive is the difficulty of the PGA National course. "This is probably one of the hardest golf courses we play all year, and just to have a chance to do something special like that is really humbling and it's really cool," he said. "I saw where Davis [Love III] had shot 64 yesterday ... I'm like, How did he shoot 64 out here? This place is so hard."

He got some key advice from a former U.S. Open champ that may well have helped. "I really tried to slow myself down," he said. "Exchanged some text messages with Lucas Glover last night. He's been a really good friend to me, and every time that I've needed any help, he's always given me some advice. I asked him, I said, 'Man, how do you get out there and take your time?' He goes, 'Well, try to walk a little slower.' I did that today."

While we hope for the best for Mr. Harman in his future endeavours, we can say with authority that if this leads to even slower play on the course? Apocalypse.

Jay Busbee, Yahoo! Sports

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Harman flirts with immortality

Flowers are plants’ shot at immortality

Posted: Friday, March 2, 2012 7:32 pm | Updated: 7:53 pm, Fri Mar 2, 2012.

YUCCA VALLEY Hes a little nerdy about flowers, Stefanie Ritter, Hi-Desert Nature Museum biologist said as she introduced the speaker at Wednesdays lecture.

The unorthodox intro drew titters of laughter from the audience. Most of the crowd knew Mark Wheeler and his knowledge and affinity for botany. They also knew Ritter and Wheeler are married and the biologists German-accented ebullience provides the perfect foil to Wheelers low-key, fact-filled delivery style.

The plant expert provided a primer on spring wildflowers and how to read the desert bloom from the big picture overview with its miles and miles of color to the beauty of the smallest bloom, best appreciated through a magnifying glass.

The beauty is there, Wheeler said as he projected an image of a colorful carpet of annual blooms, accompanied by oohs and aahs of the people present. The intensely vivid photo was from the bloom of 1998, reverently referred to as a 100-year bloom.

As a contrast to the image showing the sea of colors, Wheeler projected a shot of a gilia plant with 35 blooms. For scale, the botanist had placed his pocket knife in the photo. The plant easily fit within the length of the closed-blade knife.

Famously low tech, Wheeler briefly attempted to operate a laser pointer to highlight the points on a chia bloom before declaring, I dont like all this high-tech stuff, and used his finger to make his point on the screen.

Among the many mind-bogglers of desert bloomology are how many seeds are produced. A very patient scientist counted 63,800 seeds in a square meter of sand in the Colorado Desert.

These guys produce a lot of seeds, Wheeler said with obvious understatement as he worked through his slide show.

Annuals make the big blooms, filling the space between shrubs each spring, Wheeler explained. Annual blooms are more affected by heat, wind, floods and other environmental extremes than the perennial blooms of shrubs and trees.

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Flowers are plants’ shot at immortality

Minecraft Maps – Fountain of Immortality w/ ChimneySwift11 – Pt. 4 – Video

12-02-2012 21:09 Ratings are Appreciated! ChimneySwift's Channel: youtube.com Map Download: bit.ly My Texture Pack: bit.ly Secondary Channel: youtube.com Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: tinyurl.com Twitch.TV: twitch.tv The music comes from the in-game Minecraft soundtrack. If you would like to listen without having Minecraft playing, you can download it here: c418.bandcamp.com

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Minecraft Maps - Fountain of Immortality w/ ChimneySwift11 - Pt. 4 - Video

Fountain of Immortality w/ AntVenom #3 (HD) – Video

12-02-2012 14:34 Swifters be sure to leave a LIKE if you enjoyed the video! AntVenom's Channel: http://www.youtube.com Map Download: bit.ly My Twitter: http://www.twitter.com My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com 2nd Channel: http://www.youtube.com Special thanks to the map creator for putting me on his list of people he wanted to play this map!

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Children show life's meaning

You could say that a young child is one of the most convincing lenses through which man can glimpse immortality.

What parent doesnt feel a mysterious dj vu in looking at their infant and sensing that the childs returning gaze is reaching far beyond the present, spanning time immemorial.

What parent isnt comforted and made whole by an infants sudden smile, a smile in which acceptance, love and forgiveness are as palpable as the anguish of that infants tears.

What parent, whose child is at the point of experimenting with language, isnt startled by the childs unorthodox arrangement of words, arrangements that sometimes touch at the universality of life with stunning and refreshing simplicity.

Parents Kelley and Richard Van Der Meer, friends of Rachel Gaillard Smook, a psychologist living in Shrewsbury, have come to understand that a young childs timeless gaze, cherished smile and simple erudition are among the universal and lasting manifestations that tell us, or should tell us, that life is much more than our physical and vulnerable form.

For the Van Der Meers, who live in Holland, but with roots in Missouri, such a realization was affirmed when their 2-year old daughter, Isabelle, passed away unexpectedly last year, after a brain seizure.

She went from being a perfectly healthy child, to dying unexpectedly in a matter of a couple of days, Ms. Smook said.

That is a mothers worse nightmare.

It is, but the Van Der Meers are being consoled by the universality of Isabelles life, like the joy she would get from blowing bubbles, from the reading of her favorite books and from cuddling with her favorite blanket.

Since the loss of their child, they have established a pay-it-forward program, Bubbles for Isabelle, through which more than 500 children in Joplin, Mo., have received blankets, the same type as that of Isabelles favorite. The tornado that ripped through Joplin following Isabelles death brought home the universality of loss and suffering, according to the Van Der Meers.

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Children show life's meaning