All posts tagged: star wars

Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford on Shrinking, Parkinson’s, and Donald Trump

Michael J. Fox and Harrison Ford on Shrinking, Parkinson’s, and Donald Trump

Published by Sam Flores

Last January, Michael J. Fox received a presidential medal of freedom in recognition of his Parkinson’s advocacy work from outgoing president Joe Biden. In USA Today, he wrote about how the incoming Trump administration could help find a cure for the disease he was diagnosed with in 1991 at age 29. They’d be wise to take the actor turned advocate seriously: His Michael J. Fox Foundation has funded more than $2.5 billion in Parkinson’s research over the last 25 years, raising more than $100 million in research annually. “Our foundation directs more money towards Parkinson’s research than the federal government,” Fox tells Vanity Fair. When asked for an update on working with President Donald Trump a year later, Fox retorts, “He’s busy with Greenland. More pressing concerns, I guess.” If all goes to plan, Fox says he’ll soon meet with US Department of Health and Human Services head Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “I’m going to Washington next month and hopefully talk to Kennedy and find out what the government’s game plan is on addressing brain …

Lego’s Smart Brick Gives the Iconic Analog Toy a New Digital Brain

Lego’s Smart Brick Gives the Iconic Analog Toy a New Digital Brain

Published by skeptic

At CES in Las Vegas today, Lego has unveiled its new Smart Play platform, aimed at taking its distinctly analog plastic blocks and figures into a new world of tech-powered interactive play—but crucially one without any reliance on screens. Smart Play revolves around Lego’s patented sensor- and tech-packed brick. It’s the same size as a standard 2×4 Lego brick, but it is capable of connecting to compatible Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags and interacting with then in real time. By pairing these components, kids big and small can create context-appropriate sounds and light effects as they play with the Danish company’s toys. For example, launching on March 1, the $100 Lego Star Wars Smart Play Luke’s Red Five X-Wing 584-piece building set will feature two Smart Minifigs—Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia—plus five Smart Tags that will offer up laser-shooting sounds, engine sounds, and light effects, as well as refueling and repair sounds. All of the sounds are coordinated by the set’s central Smart Brick brain. Two more Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets drop on …