Small Talk: ‘Avatar’ in 4-D

March 01, 2010|By Rob Manker, Tribune reporter

Blue heaven

Think "Avatar" is good in 3-D? A Seoul, South Korea, movie theater is going one better: 4-D. The first of its kind CJ CGV multiplex has enhanced the viewing experience by adding nearly 30 special effects like blowing wind, moving seats, sprinkling water and the smell of explosives. Tickets for the theater's 88 seats cost $15.80, rather than the average $6.90 elsewhere, but routinely sell out. Up next: 5-D, where they paint you to look like a giant blue cat.

What day is it?

Tuesday doesn't have a really good theme, but Monday was Beer Day. So that must make today Hangover Day, right?

Sign here, please

A group of South Carolina legislators wants to repeal the 1951 "Subversive Activities Registration Act," which requires groups to register with the state — and pay a $5 fee — before overthrowing any government in the U.S. The statute, carrying penalties of up to $25,000 and 10 years in prison, had drawn no applications until recent publicity prompted 10 submissions.

Land Down Under

Roughly 5,200 people appeared in a Spencer Tunick photo shoot Sunday on the steps of the Sydney Opera House — all naked.

The number

2,200

Blocks of ice in a Buffalo, N.Y., record-breaking ice maze. The 300-pound blocks formed a 12,855.68-square-foot maze at the 2010 Buffalo Powder Keg Winter Festival, breaking the record 8,280-square-foot structure made of 1,940 blocks five years ago in Toronto.