Kisah Penyebar Virus HIV di Dunia Virtual

Seorang pria dengan sengaja terjangkit virus HIV, untuk mendapatkan
sensasi seksual yang menggila dan menakjubkan. Nick namanya. Menurutnya,
ratusan orang di Inggris berkumpul dalam forum online, Facebook dan
Twitter untuk menyebarkan virus mematikan tersebut, melalui hubungan
seks.

Sebelumnya, para ahli juga telah memperingatkan tentang
tren baru di mana orang-orang, mencari dan

WASPADA, Internat Anda Diintai Amerika

Pesawat yang membawa Presiden Bolivia, Evo Morales, dari Moskow, Rusia,
harus turun di Wina, Austria, Selasa 2 Juli 2013. Bahan bakarnya cekak,
dan celakanya tak bisa terbang memutar menghindari wilayah udara
Prancis dan Portugal. Entah apa sebabnya, dua negara Eropa itu tiba-tiba
tak mengizinkan pesawat ini terbang di langit mereka.



Ironis.
Pesawat Morales harus mencium landasan di

Facebook 'Likes' can reveal secrets - including politics, IQ and drug use

Your Facebook page could reveal more about you than you realise - including your sexuality, your IQ and even whether you abuse drugs.

Your Facebook page could reveal more about you than you realise - including your sexuality, your IQ and even whether you abuse drugs.

Simply looking at all of a person's Facebook 'Likes' can reveal everything from a person's race to a person's political views - with up to 95% accuracy.

Distinctive patterns of 'Likes' correspond very strongly to different personality traits, say researchers at the University of Cambridge who studies the patterns of 58,000 volunteers' 'likes'.

Facebook users were warned that this information could be visible even on accounts with high privacy settings - possibly alerting employers to details users might wish to be private.

Users were more likely to have a higher IQ if they liked 'Mozart', 'The Godfather' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

People who liked 'I Like Being a Mom' and 'Harley Davidson' were more likely to have a lower IQ, the research found.

[Related: NASA shows off space telescope which will take over after Hubble]

People in a relationship liked pages including 'Weight Watchers' and 'Scrapbooking' while singletons followed sports stars such as Usain Bolt and Maria Sharapova.

Heavy drinkers tend to like pages such as 'Tattoo Lovers' and 'Getting A Text That Says I Love You'.

The statistical research method proved 88 per cent accurate for determining male sexuality.

It was 95 per cent accurate for distinguishing race and 85 per cent accurate in determining political views.

Christians and Muslims were correctly identified in 82 per cent of cases, and accurate predictions were also achieved for relationship status and substance abuse.

Even personal details such as whether users’ parents separated before that person reached the age of 21 were accurately predicted to 60%.

The researchers were able to work out their conclusions without relying on obvious 'Likes'- for example only five per cent of gay men and women liked a Gay Marriage page.

The researchers said the observation of 'likes' alone was now believed to be as informative as a personality test.

But worryingly they warned all of the information needed for the telling analysis is readily available to the public - even if your profile adopts the highest privacy setting.

Michal Kosinski, Operations Director at Cambridge University's Psychometric Centre, said: "Given the variety of digital traces people leave behind, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to control.

"I am a great fan and active user of new amazing technologies, including Facebook.

"I appreciate automated book recommendations, or Facebook selecting the most relevant stories for my newsfeed. However, I can imagine situations in which the same data and technology is used to predict political views or sexual orientation, posing threats to freedom or even life.

"Just the possibility of this happening could deter people from using digital technologies and diminish trust between individuals and institutions - hampering technological and economic progress.

"Users need to be provided with transparency and control over their information."

David Stillwell from Cambridge University added: "I have used Facebook since 2005, and I will continue to do so. But I might be more careful to use the privacy settings that Facebook provides."

The research was carried out at Cambridge’s Psychometrics Centre in collaboration with Microsoft Research Cambridge and published yesterday (Mon) in the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

Researchers said their findings could signal the beginning of a revolutionary method of psychological assessment.

Thore Graepel from Microsoft Research said he hoped the research would contribute to the on-going discussions about user privacy.

He said: "Consumers rightly expect strong privacy protection to be built into the products and services they use and this research may well serve as a reminder for consumers to take a careful approach to sharing information online, utilising privacy controls and never sharing content with unfamiliar parties." (source)

 

Fire and Ice: Big Freeze at Chicago Warehouse Blaze

This is the incredible scene in the aftermath of a huge warehouse fire in Chicago after sub-zero temperatures turned water into ice. An Arctic blast had sent temperatures tumbling in the past few days, making it feel like -46C in some areas with the wind chill factor added to the mix. The blaze was one of the biggest the city's fire service has ever had to face and the cold made things even more difficult as icicles formed on fire hoses and froze the firefighters' uniforms.

(source news)

Picture perfect: Photographer gets amazing shot of THREE dolphins jumping from the waves at once

"It takes lots of guessing and many attempts to be able to catch one leaping clear of the water"

 It's rare enough to see one flying dolphin, but capturing three in a split second makes for an unforgettable photo.

Lucky photographer Grant Atkinson managed to capture this rare sighting of three dolphins emerging out of the water, leaping and seemingly suspended in mid-air.

The professional wildlife photographer captured the moment while the friendly animals played in the surf off the western cape of South Africa.

But he couldn't believe his luck when three dolphins jumped simultaneously out of the water looking as though they're about to take off, especially as capturing leaping dolphins is so difficult to achieve.

Mr Atkinson, from Cape Town, said: "I was on an outing with an ecotourism boat operator out of Simonstown looking for dolphins to take photos of when we saw a group of them.

"At times, the dolphins move very fast, and race along just below the water's surface, breaking clear in graceful leaps every few seconds.

"Some days the dolphins actually approach the boat, and then swim alongside.  In such situations I have to photograph whilst the boat is moving along at the same speed as the dolphins.

"I always find it challenging to capture leaping dolphins. This is mainly because they go under the surface before leaping clear, and I lose sight of them.

"It takes lots of guessing and many attempts to be able to catch one leaping clear of the water, and upwards, before they splash back down into the water."

source news

Restaurant Run by Robots Becomes Internationally Renowned

Almost everyone can remember a time when they received bad service at a restaurant. Usually, human error plays a major role in the experience. But what would happen if humans were taken out of the equation? How about making the entire situation a bit more robotic? Well, look no further -- a restaurant known for its service and its food is run almost entirely by a staff of robots.
Robot Restaurant, located in the Heilongjiang province in China, has been open since last June, and it has been successful. When patrons enter, a robot greets them by extending its mechanical arm and saying, "Earth person, hello. Welcome to the Robot Restaurant." However, welcoming guests to the restaurant is not all the robots do. Robots wait the tables, cook the noodles, and even entertain the patrons by singing to them. As meals are prepared, they are brought out on a conveyor belt, and the waiterbots take it from there.
The restaurant has gained international fame and has become increasingly popular since its debut. The owners say they invested about $800,000 in total, with each robot costing around $40,000.
So other than dining in the restaurant, where else do humans come into play? A staff of human technicians work in the back to maintain the robots and keep them charged.
As good as the food and service may be, there is still one thing that the robots will never be able to do: make the food with love. That just cannot be programmed.
source news: news.yahoo.com

NEWS: 100 Year Old Fhotos Found in Antique Camera

By Nicole Gonzales and Monica Garske, NBC San Diego

SAN DIEGO - A local photographer got more than he bargained for when he bought an antique camera unknowingly loaded with vintage photographs of the World War I era.

Anton Orlov – an analog photographer who lives in the University City area in San Diego – recently purchased a 1901 Bellini Jumelle photo camera at an antique shop near Los Angeles.

courtesy NBC San Diego

Orlov says he spent $100 on the vintage gem, but what he found inside was practically priceless.

The photographer brought the camera home and spent hours cleaning it. Then, he decided to look inside.

There, Orlov discovered a series of eight photographs, already developed, taken on the camera more than 100 years ago.

The images, which show WWI airplanes, ruins, soldiers on horses and even a bomb, offer an authentic glimpse into history.

“I was pretty flabbergasted,” said Orlov. “I’ve never seen images like that come out of the camera already developed.”

courtesy NBC San Diego

Orlov says his favorite shot in the series is one that captures a group of soldiers proudly holding up what looks like a bomb.

In his eyes, film photography of this kind is truly unique and special because it stands the test of time.

“Other than fire, very few things can destroy it,” he explained. “A hundred years from now, that SD [digital camera] card is going to be pretty useless.”

courtesy NBC San Diego

The photographer feels very lucky to have purchased the vintage camera.

“When I saw it, something pulled me towards it,” he added.

Eventually, Orlov would like to know if the old snapshots hold any value. But, for now, he’s enjoying his role as the keeper of the pictures – and the fact that they’re finally seeing the light of day.

courtesy NBC San Diego

“I'm just happy to put them out there after them being hidden in a camera for 100 years. I'm just happy to see people enjoying them,” he said.

source news: http://digitallife.today.com/

News: Famous twin dies at 85

Famous Twin Dies

 By: Christian Savoy
Many are now mourning the passing of one of the famous San Francisco twins, Vivian Brown. On Wednesday, Brown died peacefully in her sleep, according to the director of the assisted care facility where she lived. Brown's joyous personality and the fact that she and her twin were never out of unison made them local stars. The inseparable twins did everything together, even walking side-by-side at the same speed, says The San Francisco Chronicle.
For nearly 40 years, the famous Brown twins relentlessly walked the streets of San Francisco greeting everyone they encountered with a contagious smile. Their outgoing and bubbling personalities eventually led them to gain national publicity. Later they appeared in commercials and even had small roles in films.
Vivian Brown will be truly missed by the city of San Francisco and the nation as well. Mayor Ed Lee had this to say about her,

"She was a truly remarkable woman who represented the best of our city."

 source news: http://www.examiner.com/

MOVIE: "Gangster Squad": Reviews are in

By Camille Mann

From left to right, Anthony Mackie as Officer Coleman Harris, Ryan Gosling as Sgt. Jerry Wooters, Michael Pena as Officer Navidad Ramirez, Giovanni Ribisi as Officer Conwell Keeler, Josh Brolin as Sgt. John O'Mara and Robert Patrick as Officer Max Kennard in "Gangster Squad." / Wilson Webb/Warner Bros."Gangster Squad" is finally hitting theaters after its release date was moved back so the studio could re-shoot a scene that mirrored the real-life mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

"Gangster Squad" premieres in Los Angeles

Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone reunite in "Gangster Squad"

The film, set in Los Angeles in 1949, follows Brooklyn-born mobster Micky Cohen (Sean Penn) who runs Los Angeles, including the police and politicians. But, a small secret group of the LAPD led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) has it out for him.
"Gangster Squad," which also stars Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie and Emma Stone, isn't being well received by critics. The film scored at 35 percent on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
See what critics had to say:
Ann Hornaday of Washington Post: "Slick, sick, self-consciously stylish and defiantly shallow, Gangster Squad is one of those movies you can't talk about without invoking other (often better) movies."
Claudia Puig of USA Today: "While there is little to recommend this movie -- and the excessive gun violence could put viewers off -- it does evoke a glamorous era, with close attention paid to period costumes, architecture and set design."
Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle: "A movie like this - set in the film noir days of postwar Los Angeles - gains a lot from its historical authenticity (or even the illusion of it). But by the second or third time the gangster squad provokes some insane public gunfight with Cohen's army, you catch on that you're not seeing something real or almost real, but an attempt to ramp up an old story for maximum action. With that realization goes the illusion of this movie's integrity. What's left is nothing terrible, just typical."
Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune: "A triumph of production design but a pretty dull kill-'em-up otherwise, the post-World War II-set 'Gangster Squad' comes from the director of 'Zombieland,' Ruben Fleischer."
Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal: "The second part pays off for a while with audaciously lurid characters and over-the-top action, but there's only so much style can do to spiff up shriveled substance."
source news: http://www.cbsnews.com/

The 10 Most Hated Companies in America

Why are some companies hated? The answer often depends on who is asking. Corporations can anger their customers, fail their shareholders, and mistreat their employees. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed each of these angles to pick the 10 most hated companies in America.

Nothing harms the long-term reputation of a company on Wall St. more than a steep, and often unexpected drop in its share value, particularly one that offers almost no chance of recovery. The stock prices of several companies on this list lost most of their value as they posted high double digits declines. In all of these cases this means a loss of billions of dollars in market capitalization.

[More from 24/7 Wall St.: The Worst Product Flops of 2012]

This has certainly happened at Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), which has been swamped by competition from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung. It also happened at Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), which has been losing money for several quarters and continues to give up market share in the PC industry where it held the No.1 spot globally until recently.

Many of the most hated companies have millions of customers and tens of thousands of workers. With this kind of reach, keeping employees happy is crucial to more than just good office morale. Poor job satisfaction regularly results in low customer satisfaction.

One way to ensure low worker morale is by mass layoffs, which many of the companies on this list also have in common. American Airlines is one example. The airline, which has laid off many employees, has very unhappy workers, according to company and employee rating site Glassdoor. The bankrupt airline was also rated by airline consumer interests website Airfarewatchdog.com as having the rudest workers in the industry.

Many of the most hated companies botched product or service launches. Failures include the new layout and pricing of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) stores and the series of failed product releases by Nokia. As many of the problems at these companies are dependent, such failures hurt revenue, which in turn force management to cut costs — often by way of layoffs.

Several organizations might have made this list, but have had too many good things go their way in recent months. This includes Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), which made our list last year. Several bad decisions that hurt the company’s public relations in 2011, such as the increase in streaming fees, are well in the past. After a sharp drop in 2011, shares are finally recovering and are up more than 30% in the past three months.

It is worth noting that some of the companies on the list may have done very poorly by some measures but well by others. A few of the most hated companies have had good stock performances. Others may have satisfied customers. All of this was taken into account when the decisions for the final list were made.

[More from 24/7 Wall St.: States Doling Out the Best (and Worst) Benefits]

24/7 Wall St. editors reviewed a variety of metrics measuring customer satisfaction, stock performance, and employee satisfaction. This included total return to shareholders compared to the broader market and other companies in the same sector in the last year. We considered customer data from a number of sources, including Consumer Reports, the MSN Money/Zogby customer satisfaction poll, ForeSee’s Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index, and the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index. We also included employee satisfaction based on worker opinion scores recorded by Glassdoor. Finally, we considered management decisions made in the past year that hurt company image and brand value from marketing research firms BrandZ and Interbrand.

1. J.C. Penney

AP Photo/Mark LennihanJ.C. Penney went from being a mediocre national retailer with modest challenges to one of the great public company management disasters of the last few years. Former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson joined as CEO in November 2011, and promptly decided to radically change the chain’s pricing policy. The negative reaction was immediate. Sales fell 20% in the first full quarter after Johnson began to implement his plans, and the company continued to lose sales at a rapid rate. Customers defected in droves as a sign of their dissatisfaction with the new retail model laid out by Johnson. And with its stock falling more than 40% since Johnson joined, shareholder are also livid with the company, which has also completely eliminated its dividend. Durban Capital’s retail analyst Steve Kernkraut recently said, “It’s been a disaster, and it probably will continue to be a disaster. They’ve made every misstep you could imagine.”

2. Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH)

REUTERS/Rick WilkingDish’s remarkably poor customer service ratings show up in more than one survey. Customers knock its record in both the ACSI and in the MSN Money/Zogby poll. In the latter, it makes the “hall of shame” as one of the 10 worst-rated companies. Dish further alienated itself from its customers last May when it dropped several channels, including AMC. Among the shows that went off the satellite service were the highly popular “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad.” Employee ratings of their experiences at the company are as terrible of those of its customers. In a recent BusinessWeek story titled “The Meanest Company in America,” former and current employees called the environment created by the company’s founder as a “culture of condescension and distrust.” Glassdoor’s employee rating for Dish is among the worst in its entire survey that covers thousands of companies. Dish recently made an offer to buy broadband provider Clearwire, which would expand the satellite TV company’s broadband presence.

3. T-Mobile USA

REUTERS/Fred ProuserLast year, plans were in the works for AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) to buy the U.S. branch of this struggling wireless carrier from its parent company, Deutsche Telekom. In December, AT&T cancelled those plans after the Justice Department sued to block the acquisition, saying the deal would “substantially lessen competition” in the industry. It appears that Deutsche Telekom is is now stuck with what is increasingly becoming the black sheep of the big four U.S. carriers. T-Mobile’s 4G network in the U.S. lags the other three carriers, and customer satisfaction is tied with AT&T mobility as the worst among wireless carriers, according to the ACSI. T-Mobile also rated as one of the worst in customer service according to MSN/Zogby’s annual poll. T-Mobile plans to improve its position through a marriage with smaller wireless company MetroPCS. It also plans to finally offer its customers the iconic iPhone. The fact of the matter is that these changes may be too little, too late. The company had an extraordinary net loss of 1,558,000 subscribers in the first three quarters of last year, out of the roughly 33 million it had at the end of 2011. During the same time, AT&T and Verizon Wireless continued to gain customers.
4. Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)

REUTERS/Beck DiefenbachFacebook alienated its investors in a particularly public fashion, which was played out for days in many major media outlets in the U.S. and abroad. Its IPO was one of the most widely anticipated since the dot-com public offering bubble years of 1999 and 2000, which was immediately followed by a collapse in the value of many of those offerings. From its IPO price of $35, the stock fell to below $20 in less than three months. Facebook has had customer satisfaction issues for some time, but recently did a particularly good job of alienating a portion of its nearly one billion members. According to the ACSI, Facebook is one of the most strongly disliked American companies, beaten out only by three public utilities companies. This comes in part from the company’s continuing user privacy concerns. Mark Zuckerberg’s company did not help itself in this regard in 2012, after it announced that it had the right to republish any and all photos in the accounts of its Instagram users.

5. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidCitigroup sacked CEO Vikram Pandit late last year, after he had shepherded the bank through the financial crisis and then fired thousands of workers as well. That, on its own, would be enough to destroy employee morale, but the bloodletting was not over. Pandit’s successor, Michael Corbat, said he would fire 11,000 more. The bank’s board may have been frustrated with the pace of cost reductions under Pandit, but that was not the only issue that the board apparently believed had hurt long-term shareholder value. Pandit’s mishandling of the sale of its Smith Barney unit caused Citi to write down $2.9 billion, and the action triggered a cut in its credit ratings by Moody’s. Such actions did not endear Citi to investors. The recovery of Citi’s shares since the global financial meltdown has been far worse than its major competitors. Citi’s relationship with its customers has also been awful. It took a place on the MSN Hall of Shame of the 10 worst companies in America based on customer service. Its ACSI ratings, already low, further plunged in 2012. According to Interbrand, Citi’s brand value dipped 12% last year, and is now only two-thirds that of rival J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM).

[More from 24/7 Wall St.: America's Worst Companies to Work For]

6. Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM)

REUTERS/Mark BlinchThe RIM BlackBerry was once the preeminent smartphone in America and around most of the world. According to recently released data from Comscore, its share of the market has dropped to 7.3% in the U.S. and is falling rapidly still. After the launch of the BlackBerry Storm, which was roundly criticized by consumers, RIM was unable to release a consumer product that attracted any meaningful sales. Several service outages further harmed its reputation and angered customers. In 2011, RIM launched a tablet PC — the PlayBook — in an attempt to move into that market. RIM took a $485 million writedown on unsold units. The company’s latest smartphone, the Blackberry 10, has been delayed for months. RIM’s customers have been the lucky ones, actually. The company has fired thousands of employees in an attempt to restore profits. Shareholders have fared very badly as well. RIM’s share price is off by over 20% in the last year, and 80% in the last two years. To top off these troubles, Interbrand reports the BlackBerry lost 39% of its brand value last year.

7. American Airlines

REUTERS/Eduardo MunozAMR, parent of American Airlines, has, in a remarkably short period of time, ruined its relationships with shareholders, bondholders, pilots, customers, suppliers, and most of its other employees. The November 2011 Chapter 11 filings of AMR virtually wiped out shareholders. Recently, American was also able to cut financial obligations to airplane manufacturers and holders of the corporation’s debt, harming the financial status of these. The company has been bickering with its pilots for months over compensation. The mass layoffs that often accompany bankruptcy proceedings began long ago. American’s image with passengers has also taken a beating. It was recently named the U.S. carrier with the rudest employees. It was also ranked the worst carrier in America based on customer service, according to the ACSI.

8. Nokia

REUTERS/Bob StrongNokia recently lost its long-held position as the largest handset company in the world, giving up the spot to Samsung. A greater failure for the company has been its tremendous disaster in the smartphone market, where its brand and distribution muscle should have given it some advantages. But over the last five years, starting with the year the iPhone was released, Nokia has squandered any leverage it might have had and has permanently lost a position in the rapidly growing smartphone sector — mostly to Apple and Samsung. Nokia grabbed at what was probably its only chance to become relevant in smartphones again. It formed an alliance with Microsoft to use the Windows mobile OS in its new line of products. The launch of the resulting Lumia product line was botched. Newer versions of the Lumia line have not caught on. The prices of the most recently released models have already been cut, presumably to help boost flagging demand. As Nokia has fallen behind in the smartphone race, its shareholders have had to contend with a sickening drop in the value of its shares. The stock is down 20% in the last year, and 60% in the last two years. All of these factors have contributed to a loss in one of Nokia’s most important assets — its brand value. In its 2012 report, Interbrand has the company losing 16% of its value.

9. Sears Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD)

AP Photo/Alan DiazEarlier this month, Sears CEO Lou D’Ambrosio stepped down due to “family health matters.” His legacy is one of unsuccessfully attempting to give two iconic American brands — Sears and Kmart — some stability. He leaves the company with chairman and founder Eddie Lampert, who will become the fifth CEO in seven years for the faltering retail giant. Over the past five years, Sears shares have dropped by roughly 60%. In the most recent reported quarter, the company lost nearly $500 million in the most recent quarter, and more than more than $2.8 billion in the most recent reported 12 months. Meanwhile, main competitors Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) have both handily outperformed the S&P 500. According to the ACSI, the company has the second worst score of any large discount retailer, better only than Walmart. Employees of both Sears and Kmart stores also rate their experience at the company as poor.

10. Hewlett-Packard

REUTERS/Denis BalibouseThe case against Hewlett-Packard is devastating. According to the ACSI, HP was the second worst-ranked personal computer brand in 2012. HP may also be the most mismanaged major company in the U.S., which gives shareholders a reason to turn on it as well. Five years ago, the company had annual net income of more than $8 billion. In the 12 months ending in October, HP lost $12.6 billion. The company shares are down more than 40% in the past year. Further complicating matter is HP’s acquisition in October 2011 of British data company Autonomy, which is now under investigation for fraud for misrepresenting its value. HP may have lost billions in the deal. Last year, in an attempt to restructure and stop the bleeding, the company laid off 27,000 employees, more than double any other company in 2012. Employee research firm Glassdoor reports HP is also disliked by its employees.
source news: http://finance.yahoo.com/

Aerial Image of NYC As You’ve Never Seen It Before

Sergey Semonov - New York City

New York City is easily one of the most-photographed places in the United States, and an unusual new photograph is showing why. The picture, taken by Russian photographer Sergey Semonov, is a stitched-together panorama, a flattened version of the type of photographs that Semonov takes for the company he works for, AirPano.

The AirPano team collects its pictures by shooting from helicopters and then stitching the images together to create spherical panoramas. The company travels the world and calls its creations 360-degree virtual tours. New York is not the only place to make it to panoramic status. AirPano has also created 360-degree virtual tours of Brazil, India, Egypt, San Francisco, Peru, Toronto, and other locations. The images appear almost 3D but are not in perfect scale. Still, they're amazing.
Semonov wrote about his work on the AirPano site: "I shoot landscapes, spheres from helicopters, gig-pixel panoramas as well as manipulate Photoshop and prepare the photos to be printed in a huge size and organize photo-exhibitions. I like new, progressive, and unique things."
He's not the only one; others like his work, too. In fact, his panorama of New York City took first place in the Epson International Photographic Pano Awards in the amateur category.
source news: yahoo.com

MOVIES: ‘Lincoln’ leads pack with 12 Oscar nominations

By Ty Burr

Lincoln

Heavy favorites were snubbed, independent visions celebrated, and Oscar history made with the naming of the youngest- and oldest-ever candidates for best actress when the nominees for the 85th annual Academy Awards were announced this morning.
The line-up both confirms and muddies this year’s race. Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” as expected, picked up the most nominations, with 12 nods including best picture, director, actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), supporting actor (Tommy Lee Jones), supporting actress (Sally Field), and adapted screenplay (Tony Kushner). But another heavily-lauded, if more controversial film, Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden-hunt drama “Zero Dark Thirty,” was nominated for only five -- including best picture and for Jessica Chastain’s leading role -- while the filmmaker herself was snubbed for best director after winning directing awards and nominations from many industry and critics’ groups.
Nor was that the only upset in the category. Ben Affleck, Tom Hooper, and Quentin Tarantino were passed over for “Argo,” “Les Miserables,” and “Django Unchained” respectively, while the directors of two critically praised but much less commercial films, Michael Haneke of “Amour” and Benh Zeitlin of “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” scored nods for their work.

“Amour” was nominated for five Oscars, including best picture, director, actress, original screenplay, and foreign language film, a remarkable run for an austere French-language drama about an aging woman’s decline and death. The film’s star, Emmanuelle Riva, is at 85 the oldest actress ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. Quvenzhane Wallis, by contrast, is the youngest in that category: She was 6 when she filmed “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and is 9 now.
The nominees for best picture are: “Amour,” “Argo,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” The nominations were announced Thursday morning by actress Emma Stone and writer-director Seth McFarlane (“Ted”); the latter is the first Oscar host since Charlton Heston in 1972 to present the nominations as well, and his spry sense of humor boded well for the upcoming ceremonies.
Overall, the nominations seemed to favor humanist statements big and small while avoiding politics and messy matters. “Lincoln” is now officially the season’s frontrunner, and Daniel Day-Lewis is considered nearly a lock for best actor. The second-most nominated film, with 11 nods, is Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi,” a fantastical but fundamentally serious drama of imagination and survival adapted from a much-loved book. “Silver Linings Playbook,” written and directed by David O. Russell (“The Fighter”) -- and based on a novel by Holden native Matthew Quick -- picked up eight nominations on the strength of its seriocomic portrait of characters coping with mental illness and fractious families; it is the only film with nominations in all four acting categories: actor (Bradley Cooper), actress (Jennifer Lawrence), supporting actor (Robert DeNiro), and supporting actress (Jacki Weaver).
By contrast, some major year-end contenders came up short. Anne Hathaway’s intense supporting performance as the doomed Fantine in “Les Miserables” was nominated, as expected, and Hugh Jackman has a shot at best actor, but the film’s seven total nominations didn’t include director Hooper (who won in 2011 for “The King’s Speech”) or the screenplay. “Argo,” Ben Affleck’s critical and commercial hit about a daring hostage rescue in 1970s Iran, scored nominations in seven categories, including picture, adapted screenplay, and for Alan Arkin’s supporting role as a seedy Hollywood producer, but was snubbed in other acting categories. And the minimal showing by “Zero Dark Thirty” has to come as a disappointment to the film’s creative team and fans.
It’s possible to read the tea leaves of the nominations as a kind of mission statement by the 6,000-plus members of the Academy, a body of industry professionals that tends to skew older. Clearly, the powerful depiction of an aging couple’s final months in “Amour” resonated with these voters. Just as clearly, the over-the-top violence of “Django Unchained” (five nominations, including picture, original screenplay, and supporting actor) played less well following a year of real-life tragedies. The Academy seemed to carefully pick and choose, with “The Master,” an exquisitely made but hard-to-love drama, receiving nods for best actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and best supporting actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and nothing else.
That directing category is especially fluky, and there has been speculation that the Academy’s introduction of online balloting may have asked too much of a notoriously stodgy voting body. But while some omissions can obviously be read as snubs -- Bigelow and Hooper, the complete shut-out of ambitious blockbusters like “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Cloud Atlas” -- others are more ambiguous. Ben Affleck’s career rehabilitation is complete and “Argo” is both admired and a hit; that he’s not nominated for best director this year is less a slight against him and more a sign that the Academy wanted to single out other kinds of movies and moviemakers. Oscar voters like him. This year, they just didn’t like him enough.
source news: http://bostonglobe.com/

 

Man, 70, marries 15-year-old in Saudi Arabia after paying $20,000

By: Rachel Dillin

A 70-year-old man married a 15-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia, according to a Jan. 8 Fox 8 report. The girl's family sold her to the 70-year-old for $20,000. Of course this child bride situation has brought a lot of criticism from human rights activists around the world.
Apparently, the 70-year-old complained after he paid $20,000 to the girl's family, and then some time after their wedding, they took their 15-year-old daughter back to her hometown of Al-Hurath village in Jizan province. He felt ripped off.
However, human rights authorities believe that the 15-year-old girl and the 70-year-old man had a fight, and the child bride ran back to her family. Dr. Suhaila Zein al-Abedin, a member of the Saudi National Association for Human Rights, said,

"When you consider the very large difference in age, it looks more like this was not a marriage, but like the girl was sold. The girl’s parents need to be held responsible for this."

This is absolutely true. This is not even a situation where the girl may have felt like she was in love with the older man and wanted to get married. Her parents sold her to him, and that is completely inappropriate.
Can you believe that a man as old as 70 married a 15-year-old girl that he paid $20,000 for in Saudi Arabia? Thankfully human rights organizations are working to help this unwilling child bride out with legal assistance and anything else she may need.
source news: http://www.examiner.com/

Pokemon is Finally Evolving with Versions X and Y

A Nintendo handheld without a Pokemon title is like Ash without Pikachu, as the two have been inseparable for years, resulting in millions upon millions of sales. Pokemon titles are the lifeblood of Nintendo’s portable systems, and it was obviously only going to be a matter of time before one was announced for the 3DS.
And now that’s finally come to pass. Nintendo President Saturo Iwata gave a short presentation on Nintendo Direct detailing the next two games in the series, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. It marks the first time the games have ditched the color theme, and also the first time the games have truly been in three dimensions. I expect we may see a Pokemon Z at some pointing, rounding out the three axes.
There’s a short debut trailer below, and it’s something that will likely get many fans excited, myself included. No, we’re still leagues away from a console Pokemon game that has us roaming Skyrim-esque wilds in search of monsters, but this is a big step up over past games, and shows that they’re at least trying to move the game forward in meaningful ways.
The two titles will release simultaneously worldwide sometime this year, rather than Japan getting an early release as always tends to happen. The pair of games will now be the sixth generation of Pokemon titles, though no word on exactly how many new monsters are being added to the ever growing pile.
Simply put, it looks great, and it’s probably a safe bet that the games will end up being the best-selling titles for the system after release. Again, it seems obvious that a further evolution of the series would be a title for the WiiU, you know, the system where you’re literally holding a Pokedex, but if Nintendo hasn’t figured out that fans want an open world console Pokemon game by now, perhaps they never will.
Check out Pokemon X and Y in the debut video below:

source news: forbes.com

This New American Artist Matthew Schultz Is On Fire!!!!

Jim Jones Teams Up With Matthew Schultz On His Hot New Single "Money Or Me"

It is official "Money or Me"
Matthew Schultz feat. Jim Jones. VH1's Love and hip hop star and rap
legend Jim Jones teams up with the #1 indie artist Matthew Schultz on
his new hit single "Money or Me." Release date coming soon!"Money or Me" was written and recorded by Matthew Schultz originally
featuring King Dave. This original track  was produced by his long time
Executive Producer Armando Guarnera. This song mixes Hip-hop and Rock
and is a fresh new sound for Urban Music. Schultz is currently recording
the new version of "Money or Me" with Hip-hop legend Jim Jones.

Matthew
Schultz had a good relationship with Jim Jones after they met on the
set of “Dancing on Me”. Schultz helped Jim with the video production and
was featured as the limo driver in the beginning of the video. Matthew
Schultz considers Jim one of the most talented artists in the game. Jim
is currently the star of 2 Reality TV Shows "Love & Hip-Hop" &
"Chrissy & Mr. Jones." Both series based on his life and experiences
in the music industry. He also started a clothing line called "Vampire
Life." "To have him as a feature on my new track Money or Me is a huge
accomplishment."

states Schultz.

After playing guitar in
Chris Daughtry's first band, Matthew developed a passion for not only
music but performing. Although his path slightly diverged into
financing, becoming Vice President of Business Development for
Residential Finance Corp. and partnering up with Mortgage expert Barry
Habib (Producer of hit Broadway play Rock orf Ages). He has not strayed
far from the industry. Matthew had a role in an award-winning short
Redemptio, and was cast for a role in the new Batman film, The Dark
Knight Rises. Adding on top of it a role in the anticipated comedy
Sleeping Around and being featured in DJ Webstar's 'Dancing on Me'
video, Matthew has a promising future ahead of him. Behind the camera
Matthew is partners with Ali Abouomar in producing and financing a
multitude of films over the next five years. These range from
independent to Hollywood films.

"Money Or Me" is climbing up the
Indy Artist charts in the Hip Hop and Rock fusion categories. He is
creating a serious buzz in the industry & is currently ranked #1 on
Reverbnation for singer/songwriter in Northeast, #4 in the US and #6 in
the world. (http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/14407969).
Matthew Schultz has a suave look and a smooth sound. His deep full
voice has been associated to a new age “Johnny Cash” with a Hollywood
look. He has a James Dean type demeanor with a little bit of a rock star
edge.

With a full on marketing campaign and the buzz growing,
Matthew Schultz, is fast dominating the scene. Matthew is also working
on recording another single "Right heart, wrong time" and "Agent Man".
Matthew is currently recording with Legendary Armando Guarnera, one of
the industry's most brilliant musician/producers. Armando has been such a
positive role model and inspiration in Matthew's music career.

Follow Matthew Schultz on Twitter https://twitter.com/mschultz33 and join his Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/matthewbschultz
--

source news: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/

Lindsay Lohan a No-Show in Court Over Club Fight

Lindsay Lohan at London's Nozomi restaurant on Jan. 2, 2013. (Credit: Michael Jaworski/FilmMagic/Getty Images.)

Lindsay Lohan did not show up in court today for a hearing involving her altercation at a NYC nightclub in which she allegedly punched a Palm Beach psychic, and Lohan’s lawyer doubts that the case against her will proceed.
Attorney Mark Jay Heller told reporters the 26-year-old “Liz & Dick” actress “never made any physical contact with the alleged victim,” Tiffany Ava Mitchell, who he said was trying to read Lohan’s fortune at the time of the incident.
“From my understanding, Lindsay was being approached by a fortune teller who sought to provide a reading to her and she politely said ‘I don’t want to participate’ and declined,” Heller said. “You would think if [Mitchell] was a fortune teller, she would have been able to see this happening in advance. But obviously her skills weren’t that honed.”
Heller said that after Lohan asked to be left alone, “other individuals became very aggressive. Lindsay Lohan did not commit any crime, she did not assault anyone, all she did is verbally request her privacy.”
Heller said Lohan will only appear in court when there is an accusatory document, which has not yet been filed. He signed required paperwork in her behalf today.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said the investigation into the case is continuing.
TIMELINE: Lindsay Lohan’s Courtroom Drama and Comeback Attempts
Lohan was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor assault on Nov. 29 after allegedly punching Mitchell at a brawl at the Manhattan nightclub Avenue. Mitchell did not seek out medical attention. At the time of Lohan’s arrest, her attorney said the actress was “a victim of someone trying to capture their 15 minutes of fame.”
Mitchell’s husband Wayne Stevens spoke to ABC News after the incident and said he didn’t know what caused the fight. “I don’t even know why [Lohan] pushed her,” he said. “And we didn’t realize who it even was. Five minutes later, she comes around and tells my wife, ‘If I need space,’ and then she just punched her.”
That same day, Lohan was charged with three additional misdemeanors for lying to Santa Monica, Calif., police about a June car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway. Because of that, in December, a California judge revoked Lohan’s informal probation stemming from a 2011 necklace theft case. Lohan is due back in court for a probation violation hearing on Jan. 15.
Despite all of this, Lohan has been a regular on the party circuit. Last week, she was spotted leaving a London nightclub at 5 a.m. And she’s maintaining a positive outlook. On New Year’s Eve, she tweeted, “i feel very blessed to be able to spend time w/ my mom, family&very wonderful friends. Very grateful.. May only good things come this year.”

source news: abcnews.go.com

'Downton Abbey' Season 3: Hugh Bonneville on Shirley MacLaine and the show as a drama versus soap

By Andrea Reiher

 "Downton Abbey" returns for its third season Sunday evening (Jan. 6) and it brings with it a wonderful new character in the form of Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson, Lady Cora's American mother. Star Hugh Bonneville dishes to Zap2it about how his character gets on with his mother-in-law.

"Any married man who hears the words your mother-in-law is coming to stay, that does strike an arrow of dread into the heart," laughs Bonneville. "In character terms, she's the mother of her daughter. Cora, relative to a character like Robert, is a complete free spirit. Martha Levinson is very much the mother of her daughter. She has forward-thinking values, relative to the Downton stock."

Those forward-thinking ways definitely cause a stir within the household.

RELATED: "Downton" Season 3 character wish list

"She's like a little hurricane," says Bonneville. "But ultimately, one of my favorite scenes of the series is one I do with her where you realize she's far shrewder than you may think. Much like Maggie Smith's character -- underneath the grandeur, there's a very smart, thinking woman."

"On a professional level," Bonneville continues, "it was just amazing to have her and Maggie side by side. Two great dames of our industry."

It is things like the inclusion of such acting giants that fuel the debate as to whether "Downton" is a drama or a soap opera. Some of that may be the U.K. to U.S. translation, as Bonneville and Zap2it discuss whether or not "soap opera" is a derogatory term.

RELATED: Famous Fans of "Downton Abbey"

"I think it's certainly got elements of soap," says Bonneville, acknowledging that soaps in the U.K. are a bit different from the U.S. "Soaps are the biggest watched shows in Britain, I don't think 'soap' is a derogatory term at all. If 'Downton' is a soap, it's a good one. It's an expensive one! [laughs]."

"I think what it's done, whether consciously or unconsciously, is combine the very best elements of long-form drama format and a soap," Bonneville concludes. "There is a sense of it being something for everyone. This show is made with a huge amount of love and I think that comes across on screen. If it's got an element of soap in it, that's terrific."

"Downton Abbey" returns to the U.S. airwaves Sunday, Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on PBS.

Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz

Photo/Video credit: Getty Images
source news: http://blog.zap2it.com/ 

Alleged drug photos show Justin Bieber starting the year off on a high note (Photos)

Justin Bieber alleged drug photos show that the teenage star started his year off with all smiles. The 18-year-old teenage idol was caught holding what appears to be a blunt of marijuana on Jan. 2. Sources at TMZ are allegedly responsible for releasing the photos on Jan. 4.
The photos were taken at a party inside a Newport Beach hotel room and they show Bieber living it up despite a paparazzo being killed while trying to take photos of Bieber's Ferrari the previous day.

View slideshow:Bieber alleged drug photos

After the photos were leaked online Bieber gave the following statement to fans via Twitter:

"Everyday growing and learning. Trying to be better. U get knocked down, u get up”, the teen idol posted on Twitter Jan. 5. “I see all of u. I hear all of u. I never want to let any of you down. I love u.

The "Boyfriend" singer then went on to say:

“I'm ready. We are ready. See u all tomorrow and everyday after that. Back on tour tomorrow. Ready to see u all smile. Time to do what I'm supposed to be doing. Performing.”

What's really shocking is the fact that Bieber would allow photos of him holding a blunt to be taken at a party, knowing the potential backlash he could face. Anyhow, at least he started the New Year off on a high note.
source news: examiner.com

Alaska Gets All Clear After Quake and Tsunami Alert

Residents waited at a high school in Sitka, Alaska, early Saturday after a magnitude-7.5 temblor struck around midnight.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: January 5, 2013

 JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A powerful earthquake early Saturday set off a tsunami warning for hundreds of miles of Alaskan and Canadian coastline, but the alert was canceled after no damaging waves were generated.

The magnitude-7.5 quake and the tsunami warning caused concern in some coastal communities, with people rushing to higher ground as alarms sounded.

But the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center later said the waves were too small to pose a threat, at just six inches above normal sea level in places like Sitka and Port Alexander.

“Initially, in the first 15 to 20 minutes, there might have been a bit of panic,” Chief Sheldon Schmitt of the Sitka Police Department said. Residents calmed down, he said, as the town waited for the all clear.

The temblor struck around midnight local time and was centered about 60 miles west of Craig, the United States Geological Survey said.

Jana Pursley, a seismologist with the agency, said the quake was followed by six aftershocks, the strongest of which registered at magnitude 5.1 and came nearly four hours later.

“Houses shook,” said Chief Robert Ely of the Craig Police Department. “Mine had things tossed from the wall.”

But, he added, there were “no reports of any injuries, no wave, no tidal movement seen.”

The initial tsunami warning had been expanded to include coastal areas from Cape Fairweather, Alaska, to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada — an area extending more than 700 miles.

The warning center had said that “significant widespread inundation of land is expected,” adding that dangerous coastal flooding was possible.

In its cancellation statement, the center said some areas were seeing just small changes in sea level.

“A tsunami was generated during this event but no longer poses a threat,” the center said.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said that the quake had been widely felt, but that there were no reports of any damage.

“It was the most intense earthquake I’ve felt in my 10 years here — I’m pretty sure there was stuff falling off of shelves,” Chief Schmitt said. “There is no report of any wave activity here.”

Chief Schmitt said evacuation sirens and announcements in Sitka came shortly after the quake, prompting the temporary rush by residents to higher ground.

Some people in Craig also moved to safer territory.

“Several citizens elected on their own to move to higher ground,” Chief Ely said. Several sites had been set up for staging and shelter, he said, although no evacuation was ordered.

In addition to the warning, a tsunami advisory was briefly in effect for some coastal areas north and south of the warning zone, including a stretch from the Washington State border to the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

A tsunami warning means that an area is likely to be hit by a wave, while an advisory means that there may be strong currents but that widespread inundation is not expected. 

source news: http://www.nytimes.com/

Twilight Star Bronson Pelletier Pees at Airport Before Getting Arrested

 

by Alexis L. Loinaz 
To pee or not to pee: That clearly wasn't the question for Bronson Pelletier.
The Twilight star was arrested in mid-December for public drunkenness after he showed up sloshed at Los Angeles International Airport and then purportedly proceeded to urinate at the terminal.
Well, now we know how everything actually went down: A video has surfaced showing the 26-year-old committing the act in question.
Bronson Pelletier arrested for public drunkenness
In the YouTube clip, the actor is seen stumbling around the terminal looking dazed and disheveled.
After an airport official approaches Pelletier, the actor moseys around for a bit before urinating in the passenger waiting area.
The official stands behind the actor as Pelletier relieves himself fully, only to be tackled by a police officer who eventually comes in to cuff the star.

Bronson Pelletier charged with public intoxication
Pelletier, who plays a member of Twilight's shape-shifting wolf pack, was later charged with public intoxication, and his arraignment is set for Jan. 7. If convicted, he could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Guess Pelletier really took his lupine character to heart: It's obvious the guy knows how to, um, mark his turf.
source: http://www.eonline.com/