Gary Oldman Joins RoboCop

RoboCop, Jose Padilha's remake of the classic sci-fi action film, has added a genuine heavyweight to its cast with the announcement that Gary Oldman has signed on to play one of the leads.

Oldman will play Norton, the scientist responsible for creating RoboCop, who finds himself conflicted by the demands of his employers, and the struggle of a former human to rediscover his old self.

Oldman will be joining new RoboCop Joel Kinnaman (star of the US version of The Killing), who spoke recently about how adult a version of the story audiences will be treated to.

"I sincerely hope they?re going for an R rating, because I can?t imagine how RoboCop could be PG-13," he said. "That would be a huge mistake. If I have any say in it, I will fight very hard for it. It has to be violent."

Production has yet to begin on the film, but with RoboCop currently scheduled to open on 9 August 2013, expect some more casting announcements sooner rather than later...

Source: THR

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Construction Factoring To Aid Small Business Improvements ...

U.S. construction actually bottomed out in 2009 with just modest improvement during this last year of 2010. But like the entire economy, market projections are already showing signs of improvements for the year 2011. The analysts believe that single-family home construction will definitely increase. But what is new is that consumers are demanding that builders focus on energy efficiency. The real reason is because they also know it is a strategy so that they can reduce their costs.

Starts in construction this next year edged up by about two percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.8 billion. Much of this was due to public works with an added lift in housing growth. Following improved contracting a month earlier, nonresidential building retreated in October. Through the first ten months of 2010, total construction on an unadjusted basis was 0.4 billion, down three percent. (Source: McGraw-Hill Construction is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies.) Public works got a bit of a lift, from the federal stimulus act, which helped with the building of bridges and highways and bridges to include more environmental construction work.

contractors are discovering that age old financial strategies and tactics like construction factoring can help them pay their bills and make payroll, plus it helps when it comes to preparing for the next job, a the cash from factoring helps them stock up on supplies.The construction industry is one of several sectors that can benefit tremendously from invoice factoring. Sub-contractor, or construction companies are no longer required to wait for payment before starting on the next phase of a project, or begin construction on a new project.

With invoice factoring, the sub-contractor or construction firm can realize quick turnaround (often within 24 hours) on accounts receivable due for completed stages of a construction project. Construction factoring offers sub-contractors with immediate payment of accounts receivable invoices. This can help a builder come up with cash immediately on the next phase of construction on any given project any time.Few factoring companies are willing to provide construction factoring. if you, or your construction firm is in need of, short term financing just remember that immediate working capital is available now by searching online.In 2011 however, tight bank lending and the eroding fiscal health of states will affect the construction of buildings such as offices and schools.

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Kazakh socialite "Lady Goga" bags Vionnet

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Getting hands on with Microsoft's new So.cl network

Niall Firth, technology editor

Whatever you do, just don't call it a new social network.

Microsoft opened up So.cl (pronounced "social") to the general public over the weekend. Dubbed "an experiment in open search", the lack of fanfare over its launch seemed designed to dampen expectations - the opposite of the carnival that accompanied the launch of Google+ last year. Initially only open to students at invited universities, So.cl is now open to everyone. So we've decided to give it a test drive.

They might not be calling it a social network but, in reality, So.cl appears to work as a mash-up between Facebook, web search and Pinterest. You sign in via Windows Live ID or Facebook and any friends of yours that are online are displayed - none in my case, but it's still early days. The results that appear when you search for a word, whether they are pictures, weblinks or documents, can then be added to a post and displayed in your feed. So.cl's search function is carried out by Microsoft's own Bing, of course.

Despite protestations to the contrary, So.cl feels very much like Microsoft's punt at a social network. Hitting "riff" lets you carry out the same search as someone else, limiting it to images or video, for example, and you can comment on posts and indicate your approval with a little smiley face - So.cl's version of the "Like". Parties let users share a chatroom to watch a video on a subject - popping in and out of rooms and commenting as it plays. My search for parties on "cheese" came to nothing, sadly.

Like Pinterest, you decide who you want to follow based upon subject matter: Siamese cats, burritos, F Scott Fitzgerald, whatever you're into. Once you've narrowed it down, each post on your timeline (the design of which looks rather similar to Google+) is the result of someone's search on those items.

Developed by the Microsoft Research's FUSE labs, the network is currently aimed at students and is supposed to aid in collaborative work on group projects. Web pages and images that your own search throws up can then be seen by people working on a similar project. That's the theory, in any case.

The idea is that anyone who searches for a particular term can then hand-pick the links/images that are most useful, decluttering the search for people who are interested in the same thing. Users can tag searches with keywords - but this seems pretty random at the moment. A search for "science" gave me a user named Adam's photo of a semi-naked woman on a tropical beach. Like other social networks, So.cl also relies on user opinion to decide what counts as an interesting post. The search for "funny" seemed to cover a rather broad spectrum of humour, to put it mildly.

At the moment, every search defaults to "public" and you can't upload your own photos (this is not a social network after all, remember!). And how it sits alongside Bing's recent personalised search results, which pull in data from Facebook, remains to be seen.

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Superstars in the making

They're not even 21 yet, but the Angel and National are both making rapid progress

/ Photos by AP

Los Angeles Angels' outfielder Mike Trout, left, and Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, right.

ASK THE BASEBALL EXPERT

updated 3:54 p.m. ET May 22, 2012

Tony DeMarco

Baseball Expert Tony DeMarco has been covering the big leagues since 1987, and been casting Hall of Fame ballots for the last 14 years. He answers questions weekly here:

Q: Who is going to be a better major league player, Bryce Harper or Mike Trout? Are there any young players more exciting than these two?
? Danny Bender, New York

A. You can't go wrong here. At this point, there is every reason to believe both will be superstars soon enough.

Trout, born Aug. 7, 1991, is a bit more experienced and ready not only to be an everyday player, but to carry the load for his team. His time in the majors last season helped, as many players say that once you go back to the minors and return to the majors, everything is more familiar and easier.

Look at Trout's improvement from 2011 to 2012:

2011
40 games, 135 plate appearances: .220 BA/.281 OBP/.390 SP, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 4 SB.

2012 (through Monday)
21 games, 92 plate appearances: .350/.413/.600, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 6 SB.

The prevailing opinion on Trout projects him as a .300 hitter/20-25 homer/40-50 steal player who could be a Gold Glove-caliber defender.

Trout's blazing speed could keep him leadoff for a long time, ala Rickey Henderson. But as he gets older, Trout also could drop to third in the order. But either way, he should be among the league leaders in runs scored.

As long as defensive whiz Peter Bourjos stays with the Angels, Trout will be a corner outfielder. And when the Trout LF-Bourjos CF-Mark Trumbo RF combination debuted Monday, the "outfield of the future" label quickly was attached. But Trout certainly has the speed and ability to be an outstanding center fielder.

Harper, born Oct. 16, 1992, has one less year of professional experience than Trout, so he's more of a work in progress ? especially defensively, as he hasn't played much outfield. Remember, he was a catcher for much of his amateur career.

Harper's power potential projects as a No. 3-4 hitter, and in fact, he recently joined this illustrious group of teenagers who hit big-league homers on back-to-back days: Mickey Mantle, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Conigliaro, Gary Sheffield and Ken Griffey Jr.

But what has been equally impressive about Harper's early big-league experience is how well-rounded his game is ? speed, powerful throwing arm, aggressive base-running, etc. Harper projects as more of a .300 hitter/40-45 homer/25-30 steal type.

Nobody really knows what these two are capable of doing in the future. But it's sure going to be fun to watch and see how they develop.

Q: Since the Orioles still are in first place in the AL East, should they look to push stud pitcher Dylan Bundy to the majors sooner rather than later?
? Mike, Baltimore

A: We're talking about separate issues here. No prospect ever should be rushed just because of the big-league team's place in the standings. And that's certainly not going to be the case here, as Bundy is in low-A ball, far from the majors at this point.

For the uninitiated, Bundy ? born Nov. 15, 1992 ? was the fourth-overall pick in the June 2011 draft, behind fellow pitchers Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen and Trevor Bauer.

Bundy's numbers for the Dalmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League are among the most eye-popping I can remember: 30 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 2 HBP, 40 strikeouts. Ridiculous, right?

But again, he was pitching in high school a year ago at this time, and a likely promotion or two still will top him out at the Double-A level this season. Maybe we'll see Bundy in an Orioles uniform in 2013 at the earliest, but only if his success continues as he rises through their system.

As for the Orioles' early success this season, most signs are pointing to an upcoming regression, especially considering their AL East competition. A run differential of +12 through Monday points to a 23-20 record, rather than the Orioles' 27-16 mark.

The staff's ERA of 3.58 also is on the rise. We're already seeing hot April starters Jason Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen take a few lumps of late, and five relievers currently have ERAs of well under 2.00 ? unlikely to continue.

The good news is the offense should continue to be productive, led by AL MVP contender Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis, so a winning season certainly is a possibility. And given pre-season expectations, that should be considered a great step forward for the organization if it happens.

Q. Derek Lowe is pitching out of his mind and the Cleveland Indians are in first place. Can either keep it up?
? John Lawson, Cleveland

A. Probably not in either case. But that doesn't mean Lowe won't have a solid season, or the Tribe won't stay in the AL Central race ? at least as long as the Tigers keep stumbling around .500.

Remember, the Tribe finished 80-82 last season, so a jump to the 90-win mark isn't a huge stretch, especially with one of the game's underrated managers in Manny Acta in charge.

However, through Monday, the Indians had a run differential of -4 despite being five games over .500. Occasionally, a team can win a division with a negative run differential ? the 2007 Diamondbacks (90-72, -20 run differential) are a recent example ? but it's very difficult. The 2005 Padres also did it, but won the NL West with an 82-80 mark and a hard-to-believe -42 run differential.

At this point, the Indians are middle-of-the-AL-pack in terms of team offense and pitching, and besides Lowe, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jason Kipnis and closer Chris Perez, the individual numbers are nothing special.

But they are fourth in the majors in on-base percentage, and they're staying healthy ? with only one use of the disabled list (Rafael Perez) since Grady Sizemore's spring loss.

A series this week against the Tigers ? the teams' first meeting in 2012 ? isn't crucial, but could indicate how that very important season series will go.

As for Lowe, give him credit for rebounding from a terrible (9-17-5.05) 2011 season in Atlanta and doing what he's done ? first in the AL wins, second in ERA ? as his 39th birthday approaches on June 1.

However, Lowe's strikeout rate is alarmingly low even for an extreme sinkerball pitcher ? only 15 Ks in his first 58.2 innings (as opposed to 18 walks), and that doesn't bode well. But you can be sure Acta will be satisfied if Lowe amasses close to 200 innings with anything lower than a 4.00 ERA.

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More news

Superstars in the making

DeMarco's Mailbag: They're not even 21 years old yet, but Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are both making rapid progress in the bigs.

Nats win at Philly for 6th straight time

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jordan Zimmermann pitched six solid innings, and Ian Desmond and Rick Ankiel homered to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

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Ban on advertising new and old property price ... - Real Estate Japan

Moves are underway to lift the ban that prohibits advertising the former price of a secondhand property or land alongside it?s new and reduced price.

Currently, this form of advertising can only be used on brand new construction less than two years old, and which has never been occupied.? Certain terms relating to the length of time advertised also apply. It is expected that the law will change this summer to allow advertisements for secondhand properties and land to use the same method.

The ban on ?double pricing? for brand new properties was only lifted after the crash of the bubble economy when developers were left with an enormous stock of unsold apartments.

Following the Lehman Shock in 2008, developers were often seen advertising 5 million Yen discounts on unsold units, which gave rise to the term ?outlet mansions?. This gave consumers a sense of bargain and sales were positive.

Meanwhile, the secondary property market remains in a slump. While one might assume that allowing double pricing advertisements would help the secondary market as well, property brokers, however, are not so eager to see the ban lifted.

Why?

?The advertised price on secondary properties is considered to be the reference point for the start of negotiations. It is the price at which the vendor wants to sell, but the listing price is only the final selling price in very rare cases.? ? Major real estate brokerage.

President Yuki Kazuto of Urinushi-no-mikata sales brokerage said that the average difference between the listed price and final selling price is as much as 10%.? According to research by Tokyo Kantei, the average difference between the listing and selling price for secondary properties in greater Tokyo for the last three years has ranged from 6.6 to 10.2%.

Tokyo Kantei believes that ?double price? advertising may lead buyers to think that the seller will lower their price even further and could cause restrained buying or further demands of price reductions.

However, advertising the old and new prices can spur some movement in the market. Kazuto believes that by showing the amount of the price reduction, buyers may feel that they still have some room for negotiation.

The future effects are uncertain and many major real estate brokerages are taking a wait-and-see stance.

Source: Shukan Diamond, May 9, 2012.

Editor?s Note: Zoe Ward is the publisher of Japan Property Central and has extensive experience in the Tokyo real estate market, working for some of the advertising agents on Real Estate Japan. Photos courtesy of Zoe Ward.

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Are you looking to buy property in Japan? Search Tokyo real estate for sale. Property for sale in Japan.

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Agent: 'OMG' diet book subject of 7-figure deal

NEW YORK (AP) ? The author of a self-published diet book that advocates skipping breakfast and taking cold baths has agreed to lucrative deals with British and U.S. publishers.

Grand Central Publishing announced Tuesday it has acquired Venice A. Fulton's "Six Weeks to OMG," the object of a multi-day auction. Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin UK, won rights for the book in Britain, where "Six Weeks" has been a word-of-mouth hit.

Literary agent Richard Pine, who represented Fulton, said in a statement that the Grand Central deal was worth seven figures and that terms with Michael Joseph were "equally spectacular."

The book, coming out in July, is known for its tagline "Get skinnier than all your friends" and for such unorthodox advice as being careful about eating broccoli.

Associated Press

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