Jared Leto: I was 'food-stamp poor'

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Gael Fashingbauer Cooper TODAY

May 30, 2013 at 3:21 PM ET

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Jared Leto in 2013.

He's a movie star and a rock musician today, but in his childhood, Jared Leto was "food-stamp poor," he tells style catalog and publication Mr. Porter.

Leto and his brother Shannon were raised by a single mom who moved often, but infused her sons with a sense of creativity and the arts.

"It was the 1970s, the age of the artist and the hippy, and my exposure to that shaped me in a really deep way," he said. "I had no concept of the word 'fame'; or a notion of success or money. We grew up very poor, so our world wasn't anywhere near that kind of stuff. You have to do what is important to you and protect that."

Leto is known to many as Angela Chase's crush Jordan Catalano in the 1994-1995 cult TV favorite "My So-Called Life." He's also starred in such films as "American Psycho," "Requiem for a Dream," and "Urban Legend," but his second love is music. Leto and his brother perform together as part of the rock group 30 Seconds to Mars.

The band's latest album, "Love Lust Faith and Dreams," features a song that harks back to Leto's childhood, as "Depuis Le D?but," the final song on the album, closes by featuring a music box playing the theme from "Swan Lake."

"My mother used to put my little brother and me to sleep by playing that exact music box," he said. "And we wanted to put a little bit of our life on there. The whole record is very personal and I hope it is an album that can be transformative."

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/jared-leto-i-was-food-stamp-poor-6C10136195

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Stocks rise as lackluster reports ease Fed concern

NEW YORK (AP) ? A pair of lackluster economic reports eased concern that the Federal Reserve would pull back on its economic stimulus, pushing stocks higher on Wall Street.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose and an initial estimate of first-quarter economic growth was revised slightly lower. That suggests the U.S. economy may still need some time to recover from its funk and that the Fed will keep up its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases.

"The big worry that's been hitting the market lately, that the Fed might step back prematurely, might be fading a little today on the idea that the economy does need a bit more support," Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial, said.

The rise in the Standard & Poor's 500 index was led by banking and insurance stocks.

Utilities stocks also rose on Wall Street after Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican Energy agreed to buy NV Energy, a Nevada-based electric and natural gas company, for $5.6 billion.

The news gave a boost to an industry sector that has been crushed this month after the rich dividend-paying stocks fell out of favor with investors.

NV Energy surged $4.34, or 23 percent, to $23.62, leading a broad advance in utility companies. Northeast Utilities rose 45 cents, or 1 percent, $42.17. Wisconsin Energy climbed 45 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $41.45.

The S&P 500 utilities index climbed 0.7 percent, its first gain in six days. It's still down 8.5 percent this month.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week, a sign layoffs have increased, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims for unemployment aid rose 10,000 last week to 354,000. The government also lowered its estimate for U.S. economic growth in the first three months of the year to 2.4 percent from 2.5 percent.

Trading has been choppy on Wall Street this week as investors wrestle with the question of whether the Fed will ease its economic stimulus. Minutes released last week from the Fed's last policy meeting showed that some central bank officials favored slowing the purchases as early as next month, if the economy improves enough. The program has been a major factor supporting a rally in stocks by encouraging investors to buy riskier assets.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 106 points Tuesday, then fell by the same amount Wednesday, leading some market watchers to ask whether the rally that has pushed the Dow and S&P 500 index to record levels may be fizzling out.

While the prospect of a change in Fed strategy is unsettling investors, ultimately, they should welcome the end of the Fed's stimulus because it means that the economy is strong enough to stand on its own two feet, JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade, said.

"It's the vote of confidence," Kinahan said. "It should mean that the overall economy is healthy."

The Dow was up 57 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,359 points as of 1:12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The S&P 500 index climbed eight points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,657. The Nasdaq composite index rose 26 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,493.

Stock investors have had a good year so far. The Dow is 17.3 percent higher and has set record closing highs on nine days in May. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 16.2 percent and is on track to rise for a seventh straight monthly, its longest winning streak since 2009.

In commodities trading, oil rose half a cent to $93.59 a barrel. Gold rose $20.80, or 1.5 percent, to $1,412.20 an ounce. The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year note was unchanged at 2.12 percent.

Among other stocks making big moves:

? Clearwire, a wireless network operator, surged 86 cents, or 24 percent, to $4.35 after satellite TV operator Dish Network raised its bid for the company to $6.9 billion.

? EMC, a data storage equipment maker, rose $1.25, or 5.3 percent, to $24.91 after the company said it will ramp up its stock buyback program and begin paying a quarterly dividend.

? Big Lots, a discount store chain, fell $3.05, or 8 percent, to $35.35 after the company reported a 21 percent drop in quarterly income and lowered its full-year revenue forecast.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-rise-lackluster-reports-ease-fed-concern-161432723.html

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Maybe Portia de Rossi's "Plastic Surgery" Is Just Makeup?

A year ago, we Arrested Development fans learned that our underrated, unfairly canceled, favorite-comedy-on-TV was going to return to us after seven years off the air. We've been chomping at the bit ever since, waiting to be reunited with those crazy, self-involved Bluths. On Sunday, Season 4 finally arrived. And now that it's here, everyone's talking about ... Portia de Rossi's face.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/arrested-development-maybe-portia-de-rossis-plastic-surgery-just-makeup/1-a-537633?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aarrested-development-maybe-portia-de-rossis-plastic-surgery-just-makeup-537633

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Innovative new nanotechnology stops bed bugs in their tracks - literally

May 30, 2013 ? Bed bugs now need to watch their step. Researchers at Stony Brook University have developed a safe, non-chemical resource that literally stops bed bugs in their tracks. This innovative new technology acts as a human-made web consisting of microfibers 50 times thinner than a human hair which entangle and trap bed bugs and other insects. This patent-pending technology is being commercialized by Fibertrap, a private company that employs non-toxic pest control methods.

The nanotech solution was developed at Stony Brook University's Center for Advanced Technology in Sensor Materials (Sensor CAT), a program funded by NYSTAR, as part of a statewide effort to encourage greater technological and economic collaboration between industry and research universities.

Miriam Rafailovich "Our nanotechnology produces entanglements that are millions of times more dense than woven products such as fabrics or carpets," said lead researcher Miriam Rafailovich, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Co-Director in the Program of Chemical and Molecular Engineering at Stony Brook University. "The microfibers trap them by attaching to microstructures on their legs taking away their ability to move, which stops them from feeding and reproducing."

Successful tests were performed using live bed bugs and termites in Professor Rafailovich's lab with the assistance of Ying Liu, a scientist with Stony Brook University's Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center and Stony Brook graduate students Shan He and Linxi Zhang.

Kevin McAllister, Fibertrap's co-founder added, "We are very excited to move this advancement from the lab to the consumer. Our goal has always been to make a difference for people living in areas where bed bugs are pervasive and difficult to eradicate."

The microfibers are safe for humans and pets and unlike chemical treatments the insects cannot develop a resistance to it.

About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are small, flat, parasitic insects that feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep. Bed bugs are reddish-brown in color, wingless, range from one millimeter (mm) to seven mm (roughly the size of Lincoln's head on a penny), and can live several months without a blood meal.

Infestation

Bed bug infestations usually occur around or near the areas where people sleep. These areas include apartments, shelters, rooming houses, hotels, cruise ships, buses, trains and dorm rooms. They hide during the day in places such as seams of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, headboards, dresser tables, inside cracks or crevices, behind wallpaper or any other clutter or objects around a bed. Bed bugs have been shown to be able to travel over 100 feet in a night but tend to live within eight feet of where people sleep. A bed bug bite affects each person differently. Bite responses can range from an absence of any physical signs of the bite, to a small bite mark, to a serious allergic reaction. Bed bugs are not considered to be dangerous; however, an allergic reaction to several bites may need medical attention. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) For more information please check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Bed Bug FAQs.

Statistics

New York City consistently ranks in the top 10 or 15 cities with the worst bed bug problem across the nation. An annual list released by Orkin Pest Control based upon bed bug business in U.S. cities, lists Chicago as having the worst bed bug problem for 2012; New York City comes in at #10.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/sHIl_Fgvnhc/130530165850.htm

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Self-Esteem | One-Eighty

Something everyone has struggled with at some point in their lives. But what actually is self-esteem and how does it affect you?

Broken down, the word ?esteem? refers to something or someone that is important, special or has a certain value. For example, if you really admire your friend?s brother because he volunteers at the local hospital, it means you hold him in high esteem. And ?self? simply refers to yourself as the subject. The dictionary defines it as ?a feeling or pride in yourself.? You can?t touch it, smell it, see, taste or hear it and yet it can have a huge impact on how you feel.

Here at One-Eighty, we focus on building up the self-esteem of the young people we work with in addition to maintaining positive self-esteem within our own team. Why? Because it?s important to know who you are, what you are and are not so good at, and the different aspects you can improve on. It?s not about being perfect, because nobody is. Nor is it about comparing yourself to others, but it?s about being confident in who you are and striving to like yourself for that reason. A positive mind-set equals a positive outset. Of course you need to be realistic in your achievements and learn that failure isn?t always a negative thing ? you can learn from mistakes which builds upon your character.

Having high levels of self-esteem enables you to respect yourself and equally gain respect from adults and peers. How do we get this? Well, it begins from childhood where as a baby you are praised for your achievements through verbal encouragement, body language and facial expressions. As you grow older, these become more conscious to you and you are able to understand the praise given to you and therefore channel it towards something. This may be when you?ve completed a piece of work, you?re praised for your efforts which in turn gives you a sense of pride in yourself.

In order to maintain or boost self-esteem it is important to try out the following:

- Make a list of things you are good at.

- Accept compliments given to you by saying ?thank you? and not dismissing them.

- Respect who you are and remember there are some things you cannot change.

- Get involved in a hobby that you enjoy.

- Spend time with people who encourage you and you have fun in their company.

- If you?re a parent or teacher, make a rewards chart with your child to visually praise them for their achievements.

Part of growing up is about learning to accept who you are, focus on the positives and learn from the negatives. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses but it?s about how we channel them that?s important. Below is a link to Gok Wan?s documentary on teenage life and the effects of negative self-esteem on their behaviour. Take a look.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/goks-teens-the-naked-truth/4od#3306650

Source: http://one-eighty.org.uk/self-esteem/

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Customized jet charters for you to Berlin Germany simply just part of ...

When planning a vacation for European countries, an excellent option would most likely be the choice of place as well as destination and having the most effective way to get there. Traveling over Europe isn?t a big issue since there are many choices which an individual may have including personal jet charters.

Berlin Germany is a great Euro city that provides a great deal to visitors being the greatest city in Germany. Trips to the city are carried out over summer and winter as a result of the good climate which is cool and humid. The city has a rich mixture of lifestyle and also architecture which bears streaks of history which can be dated directly back to the challenging and turbulent periods. Today, Berlin is widely known for those activities and events located in the city over summer and winter. Those activities are such as the fashion shows, the sports events, street parties as well as carnivals, concerts and much more. Cultural attractions will certainly revolve all over the music, fashion and design as well as the craft displays. Interesting attractions are the Pergamon art gallery, the Schloss Charlottenburg, the Berlin wall as well as its guardhouses, Jewish Museum as well as the Tiergarten among other locations like the restaurants.

An additional regarding the visitors spots within European countries is Bradford England which is a city famous for its contributions to the film arena. This city is a buzzing cultural area and the galleries, museums as well as theatres are testimony to the abundant cultural roots for the city. This city has recently obtained a UNESCO award as being the city of film. The most visited places within Bradford are the national mass media museum, the Bradford cathedral, the Alhambra theatre, together with the Cartwright hall art gallery certainly one of many other interesting attractions. Some other attractions would be the restaurants which offer dishes from around the world. Shoppers will also be catered for by having a mix of abut anything an individual will be interested in including the best designer and fashion brands, jewelry, bookstores, name it. It will be the ultimate shopping encounter.

One last destination and which gives travelers with unique encounters will be Borysil Ukraine. Borysil is in fact within Kiev the main city of Ukraine. Borysil has become acclaim through the undeniable fact that the international airport in Kiev has been built there. A trip to Ukraine will certainly start with the airline flight to Borysil International Airport prior to further connecting to other parts of the country such as Donetsk as well as Odessa. Kiev on the whole is an additional of the places within europe that have had a extremely rich culture. Architectural pieces, the restaurants, the museums and many more attractions are reason for the large amount of visitors as well as travelers all year long.

Now the private jet charters are the best method possible to reach any of the above mentioned cities. The benefits are immense and most notable would be the convenience and comfort all at reasonable cost.

On the website are the most prestigious private jet charters to Bradford England, Borysil Ukraine and Berlin Germany

Source: http://hotarticledepot.com/customized-jet-charters-for-you-to-berlin-germany-simply-just-part-of-our-euro-itinerary/

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APNewsBreak: OSU head jabs Notre Dame, Catholics

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ? The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten because the university's priests are not good partners, joking that "those damn Catholics" can't be trusted, according to a recording of a meeting he attended late last year.

At the December meeting of the school's Athletic Council, Gordon Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording, obtained by The Associated Press under a public records request.

The university called the statements inappropriate and said Gee is undergoing a "remediation plan" because of the remarks.

Gee apologized in a statement released to the AP.

"The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for," he said. "They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate."

Gee, who has taken heat previously for uncouth remarks, told members of the council that he negotiated with Notre Dame officials during his first term at Ohio State, which began more than two decades ago.

"The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they're holy hell on the rest of the week," Gee said to laughter at the Dec. 5 meeting attended by Athletic Director Gene Smith and several other athletic department members, along with professors and students.

"You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that," said Gee, a Mormon.

The Big Ten had for years courted Notre Dame, but the school resisted, seeking to retain its independent status in college football. The school announced in September that it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football. It also agreed to play five football games each year against ACC teams.

In the recording, Gee referred specifically to dealing with the Rev. Ned Joyce, Notre Dame's longtime chief financial officer, who died in 2004.

"Father Joyce was one of those people who ran the university for many, many years," Gee said.

Gee said the Atlantic Coast Conference added Notre Dame at a time when it was feeling vulnerable.

"Notre Dame wanted to have its cake and eat it, too," Gee said, according to the recording and a copy of the meeting's minutes.

Gee was introduced by Athletic Council then-chairman Charlie Wilson, and Gee's name and introduction are included in written minutes of the meeting. Gee's comments drew laughter, at times loud, occasionally nervous, but no rebukes, according to the audio.

The Athletic Council meets monthly during the fall, winter and spring and makes recommendations on athletic policy including ticket prices. December's meeting was at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State trustees learned of "certain offensive statements" by Gee in January, met with the president at length and created the remediation plan for Gee to "address his behavior," board president Robert Schottenstein said in a statement.

"These statements were inappropriate, were not presidential in nature and do not comport with the core values of the University," Schottenstein said.

Gee has gotten in trouble for his offhand remarks, most recently during a memorabilia-for-cash and tattoos scandal that cost football coach Jim Tressel his job. Tressel had known about allegations that players were trading game paraphernalia for money and tattoos but didn't tell the university in violation of his contract and NCAA regulations.

Gee was asked in March 2011 whether he had considered firing Tressel. He responded: "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me." Tressel stepped down three months later.

In November 2010, Gee boasted that Ohio State's football schedule didn't include teams on par with the "Little Sisters of the Poor." An apologetic Gee later sent a personal check to the real Little Sisters of the Poor in northwest Ohio and followed up with a visit to the nuns months later.

Last year, Gee apologized for comparing the problem of coordinating the school's many divisions to the Polish army, an off-the-cuff remark that a Polish-American group called a "slanderous" display of bigotry and ignorance.

Gee has one of the highest-profile resumes of any college president in recent history. He has held the top job at West Virginia University, the University of Colorado, Brown University and Vanderbilt University. He was Ohio State president from 1990 to 1997, and returned in 2007. He earns about $1.9 million annually in base pay, deferred and performance compensation and retirement benefits.

He is a prolific fundraiser and is leading a $2.5 billion campaign at Ohio State. He is omnipresent on campus, attending everything from faculty awards events to dormitory pizza parties. He is known for his bow ties ? he has hundreds ? and his horn-rimmed glasses.

During his comments to the Athletic Council, Gee also questioned the academic integrity of schools in the Southeastern Conference, and the University of Louisville.

The top goal of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity," Gee said. "So you won't see us adding Louisville," a member of the Big East conference that is also joining the ACC.

After a pause followed by laughter from the audience, Gee added that the Big Ten wouldn't add the University of Kentucky, either.

During the meeting, Gee also said he thought it was a mistake not to include Missouri and Kansas in earlier Big Ten expansion plans. Missouri has since joined the SEC.

"You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing," Gee said, when asked by a questioner how to respond to SEC fans who say the Big Ten can't count because it now has 14 members.

Gee noted he was chairman of the SEC during his time as Vanderbilt University chancellor. He also told his audience that speculation about the SEC "remains right here," according to the recording.

Gee took a swipe at Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney, one of the most powerful leaders in college athletics, when he answered a question about preserving Ohio State's financial interests in light of Big Ten revenue-sharing plans.

"No one admires Jim Delaney more than I do ? I chaired the committee that brought him here," Gee said. "Jim is very aggressive, and we need to make certain he keeps his hands out of our pockets while we support him."

___

Associated Press writer John Seewer in Toledo contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-osu-head-jabs-notre-dame-catholics-163933402.html

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Warhol lawsuit settled in NY

NEW YORK (AP) ? A legal fight between the legendary rock band The Velvet Underground and the Andy Warhol Foundation is over.

Court papers made public on Wednesday said that a lawsuit brought by the band had been settled. The terms weren't disclosed.

The Velvet Underground sued last year after the foundation sold rights to the iconic banana design created by Warhol for its 1967 debut album for use on iPhone and iPad products.

The suit argued that the banana design had become a symbol of the band, and that the foundation had no right to license it.

Velvet Underground founders John Cale and Lou Reed were named as plaintiffs in the case.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/warhol-lawsuit-settled-ny-043735560.html

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Boy, 10, finds $10,000 in Kansas City hotel room

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? A 10-year-old boy who found $10,000 in a drawer at a Kansas City hotel where he was staying with his dad turned the money over to police.

Tyler Schaefer found the neatly stacked bills Saturday in the room where he and his father, Cody Schaefer, were staying at a hotel near the airport, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/16sloUJ). Cody Schaefer, a truck driver and mechanic from Rapid City, S.D., meets his former wife in Kansas City every year to get his three children for summer vacation.

Cody Schaefer said Tyler, a Cub Scout, is always on the lookout for clues and treasure.

"He looks for stuff at random," Schaefer said of his son. "He's very observant."

Schaefer said after they checked into their room Saturday, Tyler began opening all the drawers, and it wasn't too long before Tyler announced: "I found money!"

Schaefer thought maybe his son had found a forgotten $10 bill, but when he looked closer he saw the stack of bills totaling $10,000. He wondered if the bills were fake, but saw they had the appropriate watermarks and seemed legitimate.

"We didn't know what to do at first," Schaefer said.

Schaefer told his son they couldn't keep the cash because they didn't know who it belonged to. They handed the money over to two off-duty police officers working security at the hotel. The officers contacted Sgt. Randy Francis, a property and evidence supervisor, who stored the cash at a police facility.

Police said it's unclear how long the money had been there, and they can't track down every guest who stayed in that room recently. Police spokesman Capt. Tye Grant said Thursday no one had claimed the money yet.

According to a Missouri statute, lost money could revert to a finder after about seven months if no one can prove ownership. But the owner then has another year to prove the money is his or hers and claim it from the finder.

"I didn't come there with $10,000 and I didn't leave with $10,000," Cody Schaefer said. "So it was a wash."

___

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-05-30-Boy-Found%20Money/id-6bdf30c6a37d4ef282f4b440a80b0b3b

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Foreclosure sales tumble in first quarter: RealtyTrac

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sales of U.S. homes in foreclosure fell in the first quarter, a report from RealtyTrac showed on Thursday, the latest data to suggest the housing market is on the mend.

There were 190,121 properties sold that were in the foreclosure process or already seized by lenders, down 18 percent from the last quarter of 2012 and a decrease of 22 percent from the first quarter the year before.

That accounted for 21 percent of all home sales, down from 25 percent in the first quarter of 2012. It was also well off the peak of 45 percent seen during the first quarter of 2009 as the housing market was still reeling from its collapse and the global financial crisis.

"We're on our way back to a normal housing market when it comes to foreclosures," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

Rising home prices, improved sales, tighter inventory and low mortgage rates have all combined to help the housing market get back to its feet over the past year.

While default and foreclosure rates have also improved, they still remain historically elevated. Foreclosure sales averaged less than 5 percent of all sales in 2005 and 2006 before the housing bubble burst, said Blomquist.

"This is kind of like an iceberg that's shrinking on the surface but there's still a lot of distress in the market that's probably under the surface and not so obvious," he said.

Sales of homes seized by lenders totaled 101,371 properties, down 16 percent from the previous quarter. Sales of homes in default but not yet foreclosed on were down 20 percent to 88,750.

Short sales of properties not in foreclosure, where the home is sold for less than the outstanding loan, also decreased. This suggests some underwater homeowners may be anticipating an increase in home prices will get them back above water.

After increasing last year, short sales fell 10 percent in the first quarter.

The top five states with the biggest percentage of foreclosure sales were Georgia, Illinois, California, Arizona and Michigan. Foreclosure sales accounted for less than 10 percent of all sales in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/foreclosure-sales-tumble-first-quarter-realtytrac-040651735.html

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Big brothers and sisters pay off for nature's social spiders

May 29, 2013 ? The behavior of social spiders may settle debates over the benefits of older siblings. Cornell University researchers studying Australian social huntsman spiders discovered that younger siblings thrive when raised in nests with older siblings. Bigger brothers and sisters capture bigger, juicier prey, which they share with their younger siblings.

The researchers found that younger siblings weighed substantially more when they shared the prey of their elder brethren. Since smaller spiders eat relatively little, there is little to no cost to the older siblings. The study, published online in the journal Animal Behavior, describes how prey sharing can directly benefit spiders living as a group. Australian social huntsman spiders (Delena cancerides) are fairly common throughout the southern half of Australia, living as family groups with a single mother and multiple clutches of her offspring in retreats under the loose bark of dead trees.

"One of the most unusual things about Delena colonies is that there are siblings of a huge range of ages and sizes, in the colonies together at the same time," said Linda Rayor, a Cornell entomologist and co-author of the study. "It's common to have tiny spiderlings mingling with older siblings that are almost a year old. So what is totally cool about Delena is that mix of siblings of different ages and how they interact around prey brought into their retreat." Rayor describes such social sharing in a Cornell video.

"If you are small, the number of things you can capture may be quite limited," said Eric Yip, the paper's lead author who conducted the research while a graduate student in Rayor's lab.

"The concessions that an essentially solitary hunter like a spider makes in order to live in groups I think is really interesting," Rayor said. "What we're seeing is these huntsman spiders, by living in groups, end up having many benefits in many ways."

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, Australian-American Fulbright Commission and the President's Council of Cornell Women.

Video: video/preying-together-older-siblings-aid-younger-social-spiders" href="http://www.cornell.edu/video/preying-together-older-siblings-aid-younger-social-spiders">www.cornell.edu/video/preying-together-older-siblings-aid-younger-social-spiders

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cornell University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Eric C. Yip, Linda S. Rayor. The influence of siblings on body condition in a social spider: is prey sharing cooperation or competition? Animal Behaviour, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.03.016

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/wZfWmKg_PeQ/130529133235.htm

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New single virus detection techniques for faster disease diagnosis

May 30, 2013 ? To test the severity of a viral infection, clinicians try to gauge how many viruses are packed into a certain volume of blood or other bodily fluid. This measurement, called viral load, helps doctors diagnose or monitor chronic viral diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. However, the standard methods used for these tests are only able to estimate the number of viruses in a given volume of fluid. Now two independent teams have developed new optics-based methods for determining the exact viral load of a sample by counting individual virus particles. These new methods are faster and cheaper than standard tests and they offer the potential to conduct the measurements in a medical office or hospital instead of a laboratory.

The teams will present their latest results at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO: 2013), to be held June 9-14, in San Jose, Calif.

One research group, led by electrical engineer and bioengineer Aydogan Ozcan of UCLA, is working to directly image single virus particles using holographic microscopy. The other, led by electrical engineer Holger Schmidt of the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), is detecting single particles tagged with fluorescent labels on a microfluidic chip. Both teams expect to use their work to develop commercial instruments useful for on-site diagnosis and monitoring with rapid results and fast turnaround.

Ozcan's UCLA team has demonstrated the ability to capture optical images of single viruses and nanoparticles over a comparatively large field of view -- about the size of a postage stamp -- using nanolenses that self-assemble around the virus particles like little magnifying glasses.

"Because viruses are very small--less than 100 billionths of a meter--compared to the wavelength of light, conventional light microscopy has difficulty producing an image due to weak scattering of sub-wavelength particles," Ozcan says. When lighted, the team's new nanolens-nanoparticle assembly projects a hologram that can be recorded using a CMOS imager chip (a type of semiconductor-based light detector) and digitally reconstructed to form an optical image of the particle. "The resulting image improves the field-of-view of a conventional optical microscope by two orders of magnitude," says Ozcan.

This wide field of view allows the device to form images of many nanoparticles in a single photograph and provides a high-throughput platform for a direct and accurate viral load count. The instrument can be made sufficiently compact and lightweight for field applications and, attached to a cell phone, could become useful even in remote locations.

The UCSC researchers will present the results of a collaborative effort between UCSC, Liquilume Diagnostics Inc., and the groups of infectious disease clinician and virologist Charles Chiu at University of California, San Francisco, and engineer Aaron Hawkins at Brigham Young. While Ozcan's group visually counts individual viruses, Schmidt's counts them by detecting their nucleic acids--the genetic makeup of the viruses. The nucleic acids are labeled with a fluorescent dye, and light from the fluorescence is detected as they pass through a channel in a microfluidic chip about the size of a thumbnail.

Current tests for determining viral load generally rely on a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which amplifies a small sample of nucleic acid, such as DNA, and makes it easier to detect. "The gold standard for viral load detection is PCR, due to its sensitivity and specificity," Schmidt says, but PCR is limited to merely estimating the number of viruses. In contrast, the new method counts real particles as they pass through the fluorescence detector on the chip. "We have demonstrated actual virus counts of specific nucleic acids in less than 30 minutes with minimal sample workup," Schmidt says. So far, the group has collected reliable data on samples diluted to a point well within the range required for clinical detection.

Unlike direct visualization techniques, Schmidt's chip-based method requires that the targeted virus particles be labeled. The labeling technique would allow clinicians to target specific viruses while ignoring unlabeled background material. This makes the process potentially useful in situations where clinicians already know what they are looking for -- often the case for viral load tests.

The chip is currently housed in an instrument about one foot square, making the device portable. Along with rapid analysis turnaround, this portability should make the technique useful for point-of-treatment tests. In addition to detecting viruses, the device may also find uses as a sensor for cancer biomarkers, for environmental analyses of chemicals, and even in industrial production monitoring.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/gOLFsMitdtY/130530111309.htm

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Iraq says it averted al Qaeda tanker truck attack on major oil site

By Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq foiled an al Qaeda plot to use tanker trucks packed with explosives to attack a key Baghdad oil facility, a senior security official and oil sources said.

The security official declined to name the facility because the investigation was underway but oil ministry officials said the security forces were on high alert following a spate of attacks on a northern pipeline.

Protecting infrastructure for the world's fourth largest oil reserves is crucial for Iraq as it rebuilds an industry battered by years of war following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and sanctions against former ruler Saddam Hussein.

"We have arrested a key local leader of al Qaeda who organised the plan to launch a major attack against a large oil facility in Baghdad," a senior anti-terrorism official said.

The security source said insurgents planned to pack explosives into tankers transporting crude oil from southern Basra oilfields to the main oil storage depots inside the major oil facility of Baghdad, where the bombs would be detonated.

"They were planning to put in explosives and booby-trap more than one oil tanker," he said.

Baghdad oil facilities include the large Doura refinery, East Baghdad oilfield, which currently has limited production of around 10,000 barrels per day to feed Doura, and a gas facility just north of the capital.

Militants often target security forces, and Shi'ite and Sunni mosques, but attacks on major oil sites beyond pipeline bombings are rarer.

A key pipeline from Iraq's northern oilfields around Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan has been repeatedly attacked by militants over the last month.

Gunmen attacked a gas field operated by Korea Gas Company in April, killing three local contractors.

Violence has spiked since the start of the year as al Qaeda's local wing, the Islamic State of Iraq, and other Sunni Islamist insurgents stepped up attacks to try to stoke a widescale sectarian conflict.

Iraq expects to boost its oil output to rival the level of top producer Saudi Arabia after awarding some of its most attractive oilfields to global oil companies, including BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil.

(Editing by Patrick Markey and Jon Boyle)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-says-averted-al-qaeda-tanker-truck-attack-133112150.html

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J.C. Penney Billboard Controversy: Is That Hitler?!?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/jc-penney-billboard-controversy-is-that-hitler/

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New buyers for cards to benefit cancer charity

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? A 7-year-old cancer patient who had a trading card issued in his honor after he ran roughshod over the Nebraska Cornhuskers has found new buyers for cards set aside for his charity.

Among those stepping up: actor James Denton, who was on "Desperate Housewives."

Video of Jack Hoffman's run during Nebraska's spring football game was an Internet hit. The Upper Deck Co. issued a card for Jack, with signed blow-ups for his foundation to auction off.

The winning bidder for the first card declined to pay, saying he hadn't authorized the $6,100 bid. Jack's father, Andy Hoffman, says news coverage prompted three buyers to offer $10,000 each for a signed card.

Denton lives in suburban Minneapolis, and the Hoffmans traveled there to meet him Tuesday. They are from Atkinson, Neb.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/buyers-cards-benefit-cancer-charity-202923920.html

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Charred micro-bunny sculpture shows promise of new material for 3-D shaping

May 29, 2013 ? Though its surface has been turned to carbon, the bunny-like features can still be easily observed with a microscope. This rabbit sculpture, the size of a typical bacterium, is one of several whimsical shapes created by a team of Japanese scientists using a new material that can be molded into complex, highly conductive 3-D structures with features just a few micrometers across. Combined with state-of-the-art micro-sculpting techniques, the new resin holds promise for making customized electrodes for fuel cells or batteries, as well as biosensor interfaces for medical uses. The research team, which includes physicists and chemists from Yokohama National University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and the company C-MET, Inc., presents its results in a paper published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Optical Materials Express.

The work opens a door for researchers trying to create conductive materials in almost any complex shape at the microscopic or cellular level. "One of the most promising applications is 3-D microelectrodes that could interface with the brain," says Yuya Daicho, graduate student at Yokohama National University and lead author of the paper. These brain interfaces, rows of needle-shaped electrodes pointing in the same direction like teeth on combs, can send or receive electrical signals from neurons and can be used for deep brain stimulation and other therapeutic interventions to treat disorders such as epilepsy, depression, and Parkinson's disease. "Although current microelectrodes are simple 2-D needle arrays," Daicho says, "our method can provide complex 3-D electrode arrays" in which the needles of a single device have different lengths and tip shapes, giving researchers more flexibility in designing electrodes for specialized purposes. The authors also envision making microscopic 3-D coils for heating applications.

Currently, researchers have access to materials that can be used to make complex 3-D structures. But the commercially available resins that work best with modern 3-D shaping techniques do not respond to carbonization, a necessary part of the electrode preparation process. In this stage, a structure is baked at a temperature high enough to turn its surface to carbon. The process of "carbonizing," or charring, increases the conductivity of the resin and also increases its surface area, both of which make it a good electrode. Unfortunately, this process also destroys the resin's shape; a sphere becomes an unrecognizable charred blob. What researchers needed were new materials that could be crafted using 3-D shaping techniques but that would also survive the charring process.

The Japanese team, led by Daicho and his advisor Shoji Maruo, sought to develop materials that would fit these needs. Trained as a chemist, Daicho developed a light-sensitive resin that included a material called Resorcinol Diglycidyl Ether (RDGE), typically used to dilute other resins but never before used in 3-D sculpting. The new mixture had a unique advantage over other compounds -- it was a liquid, and therefore potentially suitable for manipulation using the preferred 3-D sculpting methods.

Daicho, Maruo, and colleagues tested three different concentrations of RDGE in their new compounds. Though there was shrinkage, the materials held their shapes during the charring process (controlled shrinkage of a microstructure can be a good thing in cases where miniaturization of a structure is desired). The resin with the lowest concentration of RDGE shrank 30 percent, while that with the highest concentration shrank 20 percent.

The researchers also tested their new resin's ability to be manipulated using techniques specifically suited for 3-D shaping. In one technique, called microtransfer molding, the light-sensitive liquid was molded into a desired shape and then hardened by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. The other technique, preferred because of its versatility, made use of the liquid resin's property of solidifying when exposed to a laser beam. In this process, called two-photon polymerization, researchers used the laser to "draw" a shape onto the liquid resin and build it up layer by layer. Once the objects were shaped, they were carbonized and viewed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

In addition to crafting pyramids and discs, the researchers reproduced the well-known "Stanford bunny," a shape commonly used in 3-D modeling and computer graphics. Maruo says that when he first saw a picture of the rabbit structure taken with the SEM, he was delighted at how well it had held up during the charring process.

"When we got the carbon bunny structure, we were very surprised," Maruo says. It was exciting, he continues, to see that "even with a very simple experimental structure, we could get this complicated 3-D carbon microstructure." The rabbit's shape would be much more difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to create using any of the existing processes compatible with carbonization, he adds.

Next steps for the team include fabricating usable carbon microstructures, as well as charring the resins at temperatures above the 800 degrees Celsius tested in this study. Moving to higher temperatures may destroy the microstructures, Maruo says, but there is a chance they will turn the surfaces into graphite, a higher-quality conductor than the carbonized surfaces they have created so far.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/P6ZPU6m0K-w/130529111341.htm

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UFC 160?s Three Stars: T.J. Grant, Junior dos Santos, Glover Teixeira and some boxer

UFC 160 was one of the year's best cards. Who stood out among even these great fights?

No. 1 star -- T.J. Grant: All he needed to do to earn a title shot was perform impressively at UFC 160. However, this is no small feat when you consider he was up against Gray Maynard. Grant came through by wrecking Maynard in the first round and earning a $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.

No. 2 star -- Junior dos Santos: He threw everything his hands could offer at Mark Hunt, but Hunt somehow withstood them. JDS was winning, but he wasn't content to just take the decision. Instead, he involved his legs and gave us a third-round knockout kick of Hunt to remember. He also pocketed an extra $50,000 as he and Hunt won Fight of the Night honors.

No. 3 star -- Glover Teixeira: He extended his winning streak to 19 by running through James Te Huna like a tractor-trailer. Teixeira owned every second of the short fight, right up until he submitted him with a guillotine halfway through the first round. Like the other stars, he also walked away with $50,000 extra, earning a bonus for Submission of the Night.

Honorable mention -- Mike Tyson: The boxing legend played a big part at UFC 160. He cheered on a weigh-in scuffle, congratulated Teixeira in the cage after his big win, plus helped UFC president Dana White decide to give the Knockout of the Night bonus to T.J. Grant.

Who stood out for you? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.

Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? How Mike Tyson helped T.J. Grant become $50K richer at UFC 160
? Fan thwarts carjacker after watching UFC 160
? UFC president Dana White Wants B.J. Penn to retire

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-160-three-stars-t-j-grant-junior-133512838.html

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Marshall Monitor

Rawk-themed headphones have been popping up more and more lately?we recently had the Mot?rheadphones Mot?rizer storm into our labs, and now we have the Marshall Monitor. At $200, the Monitor is a classy homage to the legendary guitar amps. But it's more than just a cool-looking headphone pair?it also offers powerful, distortion-free audio, and the ability to remove a filter if you prefer your sound brighter rather than warmer. It's hard to find many flaws with the exceedingly comfortable, solid performance of the Marshall Monitor, so we've awarded it our Editors' Choice. In the $200 headphone realm, it's a stand-out option worthy of your attention.

Design
From a design standpoint, the Marshall Monitor is a solid product. Unlike recent rock-inspired headphones that were lacking in this department (we're looking at you, Mot?rheadphones Mot?rizer), Marshall gets the important things right?the headphones not only sound good, but feel good.

Visually, the headphones are a home run?a striking homage to Marshall guitar amps, without getting cheesy. The familiar white, cursive logo appears on each ear, atop a black vinyl, fake grain leather base?just as it does on the classic amplifiers. The earpads and leather-lined headband are amply cushioned and remain exceedingly comfortable over long listening periods, while the cable is detachable and can be plugged into a jack on either earcup.?

Brass hinges that allow the headphones to fold down flat, along with brass details on the inside of the headband and along the cable, make the Monitor feel special and not like some tacky knock-off. It's hard to style headphones after an iconic amp and not end up with a silly-looking product only die-hard fans would consider wearing. But Marshall has instead made new use of their classy logo and design motifs?you needn't worship at the altar of Jimi Hendrix and Slash to be drawn to them.

There are also removable audio filters beneath the cloth grille covers inside the earcups. Removing them is easy?as is replacing the earpads, which are attached magnetically. (More on the filters in a bit.)

The inline remote is of the one-button variety?not ideal, especially on a $200 pair, but it works. You can answer calls, play and pause, skip tracks, but there's no way to adjust volume. (And thus no way to make these go to 11.) Call clarity through the inline microphone is clear enough for your partner to hear you on the other line.

A black canvas drawstring carrying pouch is included, but of all the headphones I'd expect to decide against including a ?-inch adapter for larger jacks, a company basing its designs on amps for guitars (with ?-inch inputs) isn't one of them. It would've been nice to have, but they are cheap and easy to procure at Radio Shack and elsewhere.

Performance
At top volumes on tracks with serious sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the Marshall Monitor flirts with distortion but never gives in. The headphones can feel as though they are vibrating tremendously, but the audio delivery is still clean, and quite powerful. The intense kick drum loop on this track is given some serious low-frequency boost. At high volumes, it sounds like the Monitor is packing a club-size subwoofer inside. At moderate volumes, it's merely a powerful low frequency response curve?not over-the-top, but certainly not the kind of flat response the typical audio purist seeks.

But the Monitor has a trick up its sleeve?or, to be literal, in its earpad. The headphones are delivered with filters beneath the clothe grilles for the drivers. The filters dampen the high frequencies somewhat, and Marshall makes these filters intentionally removable. With them in, Bill Callahan's voice on "Drover" still has a bit of treble edge to it, but it's the low frequencies in his baritone delivery that standout most?and the same goes for the heavy background drumming, which moves closer to the forefront of the mix with the bass boosting.

The kick drum loop on Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" lacks the crunchy attack that helps it stand out in the mix, ceding much of the airspace to the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat. The vocals on this track are also less crisp and upfront than I tend to prefer.

That's with the filters in, though?remove them, and we have a brand new sound signature! The deep bass is still there, but now vocals are brighter, crisper, and the attack of the kick drum loop has much more high-mid presence. Bill Callahan's voice on the previous track also gets clearer and brighter, as does the guitar strumming and the drumming. I think you can tell which mode I prefer?sans filters is a brighter, but still bass-boosted sound.

On classical tracks like John Adams "The Chairman Dances," it's more of a toss-up. Without filters, the higher register strings and percussion shine in the mix, unbridled, while the lower register instruments take on less of the bass boost than do instruments in the previous genres. Put the filters in, and the growl of the brass is less bright and intense, and the lower register instruments seem to take a more prominent place in the mix, or at least stand closer to the higher register strings and percussion. The drum hits at the end are boosted pretty heavily in the deep lows?but they manage to avoid sounding too unnatural, and they sound this way with the filters in or out. I probably still prefer the filters out, but which is truly better comes down to your own personal preference.

The Marshall Monitor is in no way a flat-response pair of accurate headphones. It's also not so intensely bass-heavy that low-frequency fiends only need consider them. For those of you who enjoy rich, articulate, clean bass, all the way down into the sub-bass realm, the Monitor delivers. Take the filters out, and it also makes things crisp and bright. In this price range, if you're looking for something a bit less bass-heavy, the TDK ST750 is on the brighter side, but is still quite powerful. The Sennheiser HD 558?offers a more standard approach to its sound signature?there's still plenty of low-end, but things are a bit more balanced than they are with the Monitor. And if all of these options are out of your budget, the Skullcandy Hesh 2?delivers decent, clean audio at a low price?and looks cool.

But the Marshall Monitor looks cooler than most headphones, and I must admit I was surprised?I partially expected these rock stars to be all style, no substance. Instead, I found a well-crafted, cleverly designed, comfortable pair of powerful headphones,? worthy of their iconic logo and solid enough to garner our Editors' Choice award.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/FwEpcEcX2so/0,2817,2419476,00.asp

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Best May ever at the box office - are we in for a record summer, too?

By Todd Cunningham

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Maybe this summer movie season isn't too crowded, after all. "Fast & Furious 6," "Iron Man 3" and a handful of hits have made this a record-breaking May, and the summer box office is off to its best start ever.

With more than $1.04 billion in grosses already, the month has topped May 2011's previous record of $1.03 billion, according to BoxOffice.com. Universal's "Fast & Furious 6" provided a huge boost, racing to $120 million in its debut and leading the overall box office past $315 million, which shattered the Memorial Day weekend record.

But the depth in the marketplace made a big difference, too. And we're talking about depth rather than the nasty traffic jam some feared because together, the top six films brought in more than $300 million.

"What this means is that the marketplace is not just handling the volume," Exhibitor Relations vice-president and senior analysts Jeff Bock told TheWrap, "it's embracing it.

"That was the question going into the summer - were there enough moviegoers to sustain so many big movies at a reasonable level? So far the answer is yes, in a big way," Bock said.

There's no denying it's crowded. "The Hangover Part III" almost surely would have done better had it not gone head-to-head with "Fast 6,"and it probably won't do half the domestic business that "Hangover II" ultimately did, but $63 million over five days isn't a disaster. And Fox opened its animated "Epic" to a better-than-expected $42 million over the holiday.

The movies already in the marketplace held their own, despite all the competition.

"Star Trek Into Darkness" dropped just 47 percent in its second week, and wound up with $47 million, raising hopes that the Paramount-Skydance space sequel can at least get close to the $257 million total the first film did.

Disney's blockbuster Marvel sequel "Iron Man 3" is still going strong, dropping just 43 percent as it added another $24 million to its $1.14 billion worldwide total in its fourth week. And Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' "The Great Gatsby" fell off just 43 percent and brought in $17 million in its third week.

"You typically don't see three wide openers on Memorial Day like we had - last year there was pretty much just ?Men In Black III' - and the fact that we saw the weekend we did is a really positive sign for the rest of the summer."

Another good sign is that June - often relatively soft at the box office - looks particularly strong. Warner Bros.' "Man of Steel" (June 14), Disney's animated "Monsters University" (June 21 ) and Fox's Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy comedy "Heat" all look like sure things. Paramount's Brad Pitt zombie epic "World War Z" (June 21) and Sony's Roland Emmerich thriller "White House Down" (June 28) could do significant business, too.

July will bring "Despicable Me 2," which is tracking extremely well for Universal, Warner Bros. Guillermo del Toro sci-fi fantasy "Pacific Rim" and Disney's "The Lone Ranger."

That all adds up to a summer that should top last year's $4.30 billion haul, which was dominated by "The Avengers," and could beat the all-time high from 2011 of $4.32 billion.

The crowded summer slate still creates some issues, for theater owners if not moviegoers.

On Friday, Sony is opening its Will and Jaden Smith sci-fi thriller "After Earth" on about 3,000 screens and Lionsgate and Summit are rolling out the Jessie Eisenberg thriller "Now You See Me" in roughly 2,800 theaters. Both might have wound up on more screens in a different, less competitive summer.

"But if you were a theater owner, would you move ?Fast & Furious 6' out?" Bock asked.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/best-may-ever-box-office-record-summer-too-004744837.html

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Drones Aren't For Delivering Tacos: UVS Avia Builds Quadcopters For Nuclear Sites, Search-And-Rescue

A wellspring of interest in quadcopters for commercial applications is advancing globally. From Airware’s recent $10.7 million round from Andreessen Horowitz to the launch of AngelPad’s DroneDeploy, quadcopters are one of the hot, hardware trends that founders and VCs are latching onto. This experimentation is also happening on the other side of the world. Russia’s UVS Avia is building higher-end microdrones to examine nuclear reactors and waste sites, along with doing search-and-rescue in remote areas. They built a quadcopter that weighs about 1 kilogram, can fly above 100 meters and has at least 1 hour of battery life. It costs a hefty $40,000, but that’s because local Russian taxes effectively double the price and because they target government and military clients. Commercial drones for hobbyists cost a few hundred dollars, but often only have about 15 minutes of battery life. So far, UVS Avia has sold a “few dozen” drones. It can be equipped with infrared vision, night vision or radiation protection to fly over sites like nuclear reactors or to monitor nuclear waste. “Civilian versions weigh about 100 grams, while this is a kilo, which is a lot,” said CIO Maxim Shaposhnikov. “Everything is stronger and better.” While the hardware for these drones is being commoditized, Shaposhnikov says the real advantage in the future will come from software. “Normally, even for military use, all drones are managed by humans,” he said. “But our idea is to make the drones completely automatic, like maybe they could fly for months and charge automatically.” The other thing they want to add is the ability for drones to communicate with each other. He said, you could eventually get 100 or more drones to monitor an entire city in a completely automated process. “We think the whole industry is going in the same direction,” he said. “In five years, it will be really cheap to make drones, but the intelligence should be really advanced. New batteries are being developed that will allow a five hours of battery life. Everything is moving ahead, so software will be the key.” The company has raised about 3 million euros in funding from private angels.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TlPYih-RHKo/

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'Teen Mom' couple, Joe Francis join 'Therapy'

TV

Ashley Majeski TODAY contributor

5 hours ago

MTV

Tyler Baltierra and Catelynn Lowell question their relationship during the new season of "Couples Therapy."

Say it ain't so! Is the most seemingly stable couple ever to come out of the "Teen Mom" franchise ready to call it quits?

According to the trailer for the new season of VH1's "Couples Therapy," sweethearts Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra are reconsidering their plans to walk down the aisle this July. The couple, who have been together since middle school, will appear alongside "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, rapper Flava Flav, Chingy and their significant others. Another MTV reality couple Dustin Zito and Heather Marter of "Real World" will also be featured when the show's third season kicks off on June 12.

"In order to have a healthy relationship, you have to be able to say things that are scary to say," host Dr. Jenn Berman tells the couples in the trailer, sparking some deep conversation between the troubled lovers.

"I don't know if I'm ready to be married," Baltierra admits in one scene, causing both him and fiancee Lowell to break down in tears.

While the young couple's relationship seemed to be in peril during the taping of "Couples Therapy," it appears that appearing on the show has helped them work through some their issues (not to mention garner them an extra 15 minutes of reality TV fame). Baltierra and Lowell have been praising Berman on their Twitter accounts for saving their relationship, but have remained mum on whether or not they still plan to walk down the aisle.

In another dramatic scene from the teaser, Francis tells Berman and his girlfriend, model Abbey Wilson, that the wild videos that made him millions (and may end up getting him thrown back in the slammer for up to five years) weren't as bad as everyone made them out to be.

"If the girls in 'Girls Gone Wild' felt exploited, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night," Francis insists in the trailer.

From the crazy confessions, intense counseling sessions (that include baseball bats!) and an apparent medical emergency, it looks like viewers are in for the most dramatic season of "Couples Therapy" yet.

The show premieres June 12 at 10 p.m. on VH1.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/teen-mom-pair-joe-francis-try-save-their-relationships-new-6C10103170

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Ethics in Business - Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Upstanding Rules ...

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Business ethics is sometimes thought to be one of the top oxymoron?s out there. For anyone in business you know this isn?t the case most of the time. There are sharks and there are dolphins out in the world of business. Having an ethical standpoint as an entrepreneur not only makes you feel good but it also may help your business out exponentially. Recently the trend of social consciousnesses is everywhere you look and being both an ethical person and having ethical rules you follow in business goes perfectly with the recent changes. While business can?t always be an ethical place, there are those with some ethical rules they stick by no matter what. Below we asked several entrepreneurs what their most important ethical rules were.

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Photo Credit: Reed Ameden

Always put the clients best interests first

I am an advisor specializing in working with sponsors of retirement plans. As an acknowledged fiduciary being paid a fee for advice, I have a duty to put the client?s interests above all other interests and make recommendations accordingly. In some situations, this relationship has enabled me to separate myself from advisors who are only obligated to make ?suitable? recommendations. When making a ?suitable? recommendation, one does not have to disclose whether the recommendation they are making pays them more than other ?suitable? recommendations they could make. In our field, many clients do not fully understand fees and expenses and can end up with inferior products and or services which can put them at risk for failing to meet their duties and responsibilities under ERISA [the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974].

Thanks to Reed Ameden, Alpha Partners

Related Post: What Qualities Make a Leader Great

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Photo Credit: Jeffrey Burnett

Having respect

Respect. As the country?s oldest and largest, privately held industrial labor staffing company in the United States, Labor Finders firmly believes that respect is the cornerstone of our core values (along with Appreciation and Safety), as it has been since 1975. We believe in respecting not only our clients, but our internal staff and our temporary associates deserve and command our respect daily!

Thanks to Jeffrey Burnett, Labor Finders International

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Photo Credit: Marcy J. Maslov

Defining clearly what ethics means to me

Ethics is a very positive thing for me ? it can make or break my reputation and business. It has real dollars-and-sense value. But not everyone has the same definition I do. My most important ethical rule is to define clearly what ethics means to me and what I consider to be appropriate ethical behavior. If I fail to do this, I leave the decision-making and results to everyone else but myself, and I may not like the consequences. For me, phrases like ?doing the right thing? are vague and open to interpretation. Each of us decides what is ?right? based on our own unique upbringing, background, experience, and culture. This means each of us will understand a situation differently and make their decisions and outcomes from these interpretations. In a crisis or real-life ethical dilemma, people will react based on their own values, not necessarily what is best for my business. Creating definitions and parameters reduces risk and provides greater satisfaction for everyone associated with my business.

Thanks to Marcy J. Maslov, e-Factor!

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Photo Credit: Steve Wetterling

Being trustworthy

Trustworthy means that your employees, your customers and your board of directors/owners/investors trust what you as the business leader say to be the truth about the business and about the past, present and future path for the business. If people trust you, you can be an effective business leader even when things go wrong. If they don?t, then you and the business that you are supposed to be leading are likely to land in significant difficulty.

Thanks to Steve Wetterling, Servenger

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Photo Credit: Carey Smith

Be transparent with your customers

Be transparent with your customers. I know that sounds really trite, but what sets a good company apart is not only listening to customers but doing something about problems when they come up. It?s very, very difficult to admit that mistakes can happen, but you have to do that. Fixing a problem can be very expensive, but worse than that, it can be incredibly embarrassing. You have to do that, though. You owe it to your customers because they?re your customers. It also teaches you a lesson that if you do it again, it?s going to cost you again. It?s like getting slapped on the nose if you?re a dog. You recognize you made a mistake, and you know you want to avoid thinking or doing anything like that ever again.

Thanks to Carey Smith, Big Ass Fans

Related Post: Entrepreneurs Share Their Most Memorable Mistakes

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Photo Credit: Joshua Zampech

Keep promises and never lie

Most important ethical rule: Keep your promises and never lie (it?s two that go hand in hand) It is imperative you keep your promise to your client. If you tell them you?ll deliver a certain product or outcome, you need to keep the promise. In the unlikely event you are unable to deliver, come clean! Be upfront and honest with the client about why you can?t deliver. Apologize and rectify the situation to the clients satisfaction. Nine times out of ten the relationship will remain positive and both parties will reach an agreeable and beneficial outcome.

Thanks to Joshua Zampech, Black Ops Marketing

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Photo Credit: Amanda Bracks

Do what you say you do

In business the most important ethical rule is: DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU DO. So many businesses overpromise and under deliver leaving customers feeling like they did not get what they paid for. this can apply to the actual products they purchase not doing what they are meant to, products being delivered after they were promised and services not fulfilling the clients entire needs. It also applies to something small such as a cup of coffee or a meal at a restaurant to larger purchases of products or services. Simply put, do what you say you do should be the first rule of every business and this applies to both how you treat the employees as well as the customers of the business.

Thanks to Amanda Bracks

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Photo Credit: Nick Simard

If you would not buy it, do not sell it

If you would not buy it, do not sell it! This is relevant whether you sell widgets, advice or experiences. Believe in what you represent and make the most responsible recommendation that you would appreciate yourself if the tables were turned and you were the prospective client. This is the key to building long term relationships in that you will become a trusted advisor. Your relationships will grow, grow, grow. If you consider the life time value of building a partnership with your clients, rather than view the opportunity from a transactional perspective, you will have a much less tumultuous existence and your business will thrive on recommendations.

Thanks to Nick Simard, InspiriaMedia

Related Post: Thinking Outside the Box in Business

Photo Credit: Heidi Burkhart

Accountability is important

Accountability. Simply. All are accountable of their own actions. If a mistake has been made, be sure to address immediately. Time only makes all worse. Be an adult. Own up. Demand others do too. And grow. No use to look back as it just wastes time. Honor your mistake. Recognize your mistake. Grow from your mistake. And, again, demand of all working with you the same respect and to do the same.

Thanks to?Heidi Burkhart, Dane Professional Consulting Group

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Photo Credit: Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Jim Melin

Put all your effort in to doing your best in the job you have today

Through the years I have had the pleasure of working with many true professionals that put the need of the day, what the mission really needed to be successful, ahead of what their concern for negative reaction or potential long term career impacts.? In every case, those people were ultimately rewarded with job satisfaction, recognition for creativity and productivity and ultimately advancement to positions they enjoyed.? I have also had the dubious distinction of working with people that were so career oriented that every decision they made was a calculated assessment of what would benefit them in their effort to be promoted.? Some were so motivated by becoming ?the king? that they readily ignored what they instinctively knew was the best choice for the job at hand.? Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on which side of the coin you were on, in most cases these people would ultimately make a bad decision for all the wrong reasons and then wondered how their blossoming career fell on hard times.

Thanks to Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Jim Melin, AF Village West

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Source: http://hear.ceoblognation.com/2013/05/29/ethics-in-business-entrepreneurs-reveal-their-upstanding-rules-2/

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President Serzh Sargsyan?s address on Republic Day

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today Sardarapat Memorial Complex to attend a Republic Day-dated festive event and deliver congratulatory remarks on the Republic Day.

Address by President Serzh Sargsyan on Republic Day

Your Holiness!
Generals, officers and soldiers!
Dear brothers and sisters!
I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of the Republic Day!
95 years ago at Gharakilisa, Bash-Aparan and particularly here, in Sardarapat, we were put to a fatal test. It was a nationwide test for old and young, clergy and military, Dashnaks and Communists, officials and peasantry. All of us. In the last patch of historic Armenia, the last handful of Armenians living in their Fatherland were combating.

Here we stopped and forced back the enemy; and the world had neither illusions nor doubts about the adversary?s racist and anti-Armenian intentions. Here the Armenians of Eastern Armenia averted the impending calamity. The Genocide that originated in the Ottoman Turkey and was consistently perpetrated and proliferated was stopped here owing to our spirit of unity.

For many nations declaration of independence was a political act and even a grand ceremony whereas for us it was an ordeal. We did not even know that one or two days after the courageous May battles we would declare independece. We created Armenia?s statehood right in the battle field at the expense of enormous casualties and losses, thanks to blood and faith, standing behind each other, looking forward. United!

May 28, 1918 heralded our physical deliverance and political rebirth; consequently, our people?s valor and vigor were superbly manifested during the Great Patriotic War and in the battle of Artsakh. Today, here at Sardarapat, the Armenian soldier?s firm tread and victorious spirit testify in the best possible way that we know the formula of survival and victory.

Dear compatriots!
Why did we erect this monument and regularly come here? As the poet Paruyr Sevak said: ?You, generations, get to know yourself through Sardarapat.? We need to remember and remind and convey to the younger generations the important message left by the ones who prepared and made May 28 a reality.

Be united!
Be consolidated by statehood!
Rely on your own strength!

Thus we are capable not only to restore our statehood and independence disrupted for centuries but make considerable achievements. Their foundations were laid here and today we are standing here proudly as citizens of a free and independent country, the heirs of heroic grandfathers.
Dear compatriots!

Once again, I congratulate all of us on the occasion of this magnificent holiday. I wish happiness and success to our people, and peace and progress to our nation.

Glory to the Armenian people who fought the heroic May 28 battle!
Glory to the Republic of Armenia!
Glory to the armed forces of the Republic Armenia!
Hurrah!
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Source: http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2013/05/28/president-address/

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Australian spy HQ plans stolen by Chinese hackers: report

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Chinese hackers have stolen the blueprints of a new multi-million-dollar Australian spy headquarters as part of a growing wave of cyber attacks against business and military targets in the close U.S. ally, a Australian news report said.

The hackers also stole confidential information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which houses the overseas spy agency the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, Australia's ABC Television said late on Monday.

The ABC report, which did not name sources, said Chinese hackers had targeted Australia-based companies more aggressively than previously thought, including steel-manufacturer Bluescope Steel, and military and civilian communications manufacturer Codan Ltd.

The influential Greens party on Tuesday said the reported hacking was a "security blunder of epic proportions" and called for an inquiry, but the government refused to confirm the security breach.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the report would not damage Canberra's ties with its biggest trade partner China.

"We have enormous areas of cooperation with China. I won't comment on whether the Chinese have done what is being alleged or not," Carr told reporters on Tuesday.

Hackers using a computer server traced to China had stolen floorplans of a new A$630 million headquarters for the Australia Security Intelligence Organisation, the country's domestic spy agency, said the ABC report.

The attack through the computers of a construction contractor exposed not only building layouts, but also the location of communication and computer networks, said the ABC.

Australia security analyst Des Ball told the ABC in the report that such information made the yet to be completed spy headquarters vulnerable to future cyber attacks.

"You can start constructing your own wiring diagrams, where the linkages are through telephone connections, through wi-fi connections, which rooms are likely to be the ones that are used for sensitive conversations, how to surreptitiously put devices into the walls of those rooms," said Ball.

The ASIO building, being built near the location of Australia's top secret Defence Signals Directorate, is supposed to have some of the most sophisticated hacking defenses in the country, which is part of a global electronic intelligence gathering network including the United States and the UK.

But its construction had been plagued by delays and cost blowouts, with some builders blaming late changes made to the internal design in response to cyber attacks.

Australian officials, like those in the United States and other Western nations, have made cyber attacks a security priority following a growing number of attacks of the resource rich country, mostly blamed on China.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei was last year barred from bidding for construction contracts on a new Australian high-speed broadband network amid fears of cyber espionage.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said in March that it had been targeted by cyber attacks, but no data had been lost or systems compromised amid reports the hackers had tried to access intelligence on Group of 20 wealthy nations negotiations.

In the United States, the Pentagon's latest annual report on Chinese military developments accused Beijing for the first time of trying to break into U.S. defense networks, calling it "a serious concern".

China has dismissed as groundless both the Pentagon report and a February report by the U.S. computer security company Mandiant, which said a secretive Chinese military unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks targeting the United States that had stolen data from 100 companies.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Michael Perry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-spy-hq-plans-stolen-chinese-hackers-report-034230440.html

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Running Blind ? Sports & Recreation | eBook Safari

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Source: http://www.ebooksafari.com/running-blind-sports-recreation/

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TV chat replay: Fall predictions - Montreal Gazette

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Jonathan Rhys Meyers, left, and Victoria Smurfit in NBC?s new take on the Dracula story.

Photograph by: NBC , Jonathon Hession/NBC

TV may seem like a feast of season finales right now, but our critics are already casting their eyes forward to the fall season as the major networks announce which pilots are getting the green light. Get the inside track on new shows and hear about all the previews in our weekly TV chat. On our panel: Alex Strachan, Postmedia's national TV columnist, Jonathan Dekel, entertainment editor for canada.com, Denise Duguay, a digital editor and TV blogger at montrealgazette.com, Eric Volmers, entertainment and arts reporter for the Calgary Herald and television critic Brian Tallerico, the content director for?HollywoodChicago.com?who has provided TV commentary to multiple news organizations for the past decade. Be a part of our discussion, Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

(App readers, please click on the link at the end of this story.)

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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/television/Chat+Fall+preview/8440092/story.html

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