Strange Particles

BIG NEWS. Very excited to be able to share this. And very excited to be working with Mike again on this simultaneously new and old adventure. Give him a follow too if you haven’t already, as we chronicle this journey: @michaeldantedimartino

Here’s our quote from the press release: “We’re thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can’t wait to realize Aang’s world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone’s great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building. Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we’re incredibly grateful to be partnering with them.” — Bryan Konietzko & Michael DiMartino

Huge thanks to John Staub for this beautiful concept art. https://www.artstation.com/dustsplat

More later, but for now: https://deadline.com/2018/09/avatar-the-last-airbender-live-action-series-netflix-1202467089/

Love, Bryan

This undated photo released by Mexico’s National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH) shows an ancient Maya pictographic text that has been judged authentic by scholars in Mexico City. (INAH via the Associated Press) 

Fifty-four years after it was sold by looters, an ancient Maya pictographic text was judged authentic by scholars Thursday.

Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology said the calendar-style text was made between 1021 and 1154 A.D. and is the oldest known pre-Hispanic document.

The 10 surviving pages of the tree-bark folding “book” will now be known as the Mexico Maya Codex. It had been known as the Grolier Codex. It may have originally had 20 pages, but some were lost after centuries in a cave in southern Chiapas state.

A worker inspects the an ancient Maya pictographic text in Mexico City. The INAH says the text was made between 1021 and 1154 A.D., is the oldest known pre-Hispanic text, and will now be known as the ‘Mexico Maya Codex.’ (INAH via Associated Press) 

It contains a series of observations and predictions related to the astral movement of Venus. Mayan texts are written in a series of syllabic glyphs, in which a stylized painted figure often stands for a syllable.

A Mexican collector bought it in 1964, and it was first exhibited at the Grolier Club in New York in 1971.

Collector Josue Saenz returned the book to Mexican authorities in 1974.

The fact that it was looted and had a simpler design than other surviving texts had led some to doubt its authenticity.

“Its style differs from other Maya codex that are known and proven authentic,” the institute said in a statement. About three other later Maya “books” survived an attempt by Spanish conquerors to destroy Mayan artifacts in the 1500s.

Chemical tests

But the institute said Thursday that because the book was written so early, it had been created in an era of relative poverty compared to the other works. It said a series of chemical tests proved the authenticity of the pages and the pre-Hispanic inks used to write it.

Scroll to see the 10 surviving pages of the tree-bark folding 'book.’ It may have originally had 20 pages, but some were lost after centuries in a cave in southern Chiapas state. (INAH via Associated Press)

While previous studies had supported the authenticity of the text, it was the end of decades of doubts for the book.