Technology Slice Blog

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln - DreamWorks Studios just announced that Daniel Day-Lewis will take on the role of President Abraham Lincoln in the long-in-development biopic to be directed by Steven Spielberg. Lincoln, which playwright Tony Kushner has adapted from the Doris Kearns Goodwin book Team of Rivals, has been on Spielberg's docket for years, with Liam Neeson once attached to star as the 16th president. Kushner also co-wrote Spielberg's Munich, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Kathleen Kennedy and Spielberg are producing the project, which the director will begin filming next fall. “Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future," said Spielberg. "I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln." DreamWorks expects to have the film in theaters late in 2012 through Disney...

Amish Staggering Growth in Midwest - The Amish are one of the fastest-growing religious groups in North America, according to a new census by researchers at Ohio State University. The study, released July 27 at the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, suggests a new community sprouting every three and a half weeks. Nearly 250,000 Amish live in the U.S. and Canada, and the population is expected to exceed 1 million around 2050. The growth may not be visible outside Amish country, but the rural settlements definitely see the boom. “This place has grown,” said Daniel Miller, 52, who has spent his life on an Amish settlement here. “It’s because all of the kids.” Many Amish families have multiple children, Miller said, adding that those children often stay in the community and eventually sprout families of their own. There are currently 99 church districts, or communities, in Middlefield, which is east of Cleveland in central Northeast Ohio. Miller said he remembers when...