Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch and Luke Evansjoining join the cast of The Hobbit

Sir Peter Jackson has added a new entry to his official Facebook page confirming the casting of two actors and announcing the addition of two more. To sum, he confirms the casting of Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock in the BBC TV series Sherlock) as Smaug (but not the Necromancer). As for the new additions, Lost's Evangeline Lilly has joined as Tauriel a Woodland Elf (not a character in the book) while Barry Humphries (Finding Nemo) will do the motion capture and voice for the CGI Goblin King.

From Peter Jackson: 

I'm thrilled to announce two new cast members who will be joining us for our second block of shooting.

Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.

I'm also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum. Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage. He has also been an ardent supporter of the rather misunderstood and unfairly maligned Australian politician, Sir Les Patterson. However, in his spare time, Barry is also a fine actor, and we're looking forward to seeing him invest the Goblin King with the delicate sensitivity and emotional depth this character deserves.

Evangeline and Barry, along with Welsh actor Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, just about rounds out the major casting. I cannot wait to get stuck into these new scenes!
More soon, including a flurry of answers to your questions. Sorry for the delay!

Cheers,
Peter J

Source:  The Hobbit Movie Blog: Jackson Announces Two More Cast Members

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Wind Tunnel Skydiving

Indoor skydiving* wind tunnel in Skydive Arena in Prague,  Czech Republic.



4 way Routine with Havard (Skywalkers), Raph and Ju (Team4Speed) and Alberto (Volare) at Skydive Arena (Praha)


*Indoor Skydiving (or outdoor "Vertical Wind Tunnel Skydiving") is a unique way to experience the fun of real skydiving without jumping out of an airplane! Wind tunnels, similar to those normally used to test race cars and other vehicles, make a jet of heavy air powerful enough to support the human body and lift it as much as 90 feet above the ground.

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Jamie Beck’s Cinemagraphy

45 amazing animated GIFs created by New York City-based fashion photographer Jamie Beck, in collaboration with Kevin Burg, a web designer with a background in video and motion graphics. 

These photographs are more than a photo, but not quite a video. Jamie Beck calls her work “cinemagraphs”. She says:

We feel there are many exciting applications for this type of moving image. There's movement in everything and by capturing that plus the great things about a still photograph you get to experience what a video has to offer without the time commitment a video requires.

Sources: fromme-toyou, amusingplanet