srijeda, 29.08.2012.
ABC Greenlights Joss Whedon’s Marvel TV Series ‘S.H.I.E.LD’
That’s right my fellow geeks – ABC have OFFICIALLY greenlight Joss Whedon’s new Marvel TV series entiteld ‘S.H.I.E.L.D’. Can you say awesomeo?
At the start of the month, I shared with you all the breaking news that Joss Whedon had been officially signed on to write and direct the Avengers sequel. I also broke the news that hed also been signed on to develop the forthcoming TV show. Faboys everywhere fainted. Including myself. In took me an hour from finding out about it all, to writing the article. I mean, as a geekt it’s really difficult NOT to be excited about this right?
Read more: http://www.geekzenith.com/2012/08/29/abc-greenlights-joss-whedons-marvel-tv-series-s-h-e-i-ld/
See Iron Man Kotobukiya figures
- 17:39 -
Fox Could Ban Your Fast-Forwarding Privileges
Controversy is nothing new for Dish Network, with this case being no different. Fox is seeking a preliminary ban against the company's "AutoHop" feature that allows viewers to breeze through commercials, along with recording prime-time shows across major networks. This ban goes hand-in-hand with Fox, CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) current lawsuit against Dish, revolving around the same issue.
This also follows the heavily publicized law passed by President Barack Obama in 2010 allowing the FCC to address volume control on television commercials.
Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/12/08/2861182/fox-could-ban-your-fast-forwarding-privileges
- 17:30 -
Mortgage Monitor: BofA Lags in Modifying Loans Under National Settlement
The five financial institutions that are part of the settlement have provided $10.6 billion in consumer relief from March 1 to June 30, with $8.7 billion in the form of short sales in which customers sell their homes for less than the mortgage's value. Bank of America produced $4.8 billion in short sales, the most of the five banks.
Read more: http://www.banktech.com/regulation-compliance/240006443
- 17:26 -
petak, 24.08.2012.
Kristen Bell Maxim Hot 100 2012
What was previously perceived as nerdy is now viewed as original. What I like about nerdiness, geekiness, is it doesn't really matter what you're into - it just means you're not a follower. -- Kristen Bell
- 20:23 -
Breaking: Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Historic Minimum
Every (northern) summer the sea ice in the Arctic melts to some degree, reaching a minimum around the middle of September. Over the last several years, the amount of ice at this minimal point has been lower than previously recorded. Accurate records go back only a few decades, so this shift in ice cover reflects only the most recent period of Anthropocentric Global Warming (AGW).
Read more: http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2012/08/24/breaking-arctic-sea-ice-reaches-historic-minimum/
- 20:19 -
Forensic test can predict hair and eye colour from DNA
The team that developed the test says it could provide valuable leads in cases where perpetrators cannot be identified through DNA profiling.
The Hirisplex system could allow investigators to narrow down a large group of possible suspects.
Details appear in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.
Predicting phenotypes - outward traits such as hair colour or eye colour - from DNA information is an emerging field in forensics.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19369028
- 20:13 -
U.S. bans sex workers from attending AIDS conference
In front of open sewers, they chat on mobile phones and flirt with customers, who follow them into the dark doorways of decrepit brothels, up winding staircases into tiny rooms with just a bed, television and posters of Hindu gods on the walls.
In the global battle against HIV/AIDS, sex workers like those in Sonagachi are a crucial link in a chain of infection that some 20,000 experts gathered in Washington are debating how to break -- but without having foreign sex workers there.
U.S. travel restrictions on visas for sex workers mean thousands of them have been unable to attend the annual International AIDS Conference (IAC), the world's largest forum to discuss policy on fighting the deadly virus.
Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/india-sexworkers-idINL4E8IQ11520120726. technician license
- 19:57 -
utorak, 21.08.2012.
The first ever national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants.
EPA’s new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) - the first ever national limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants – will improve people’s health by requiring power plants that contribute to air pollution in New Jersey to use widely available, proven pollution control technologies to protect families from pollutants like mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases.
These new standards will prevent up to 320 premature deaths in New Jersey while creating up to $2.6 billion in health benefits in 2016.
Read full story: http://www.epa.gov/mats/whereyoulive/nj.html
- 03:41 -
The Truth About the World Trade Center
On this September 11th, 2012, for the first time, no public official will speak at the ceremony at Ground Zero. This may be due to last year's tenth-anniversary event, when the crowd offered George W. Bush a brief yet rousing huzzah and gave Barack Obama the silent treatment. It may be that like the Oscars, the 9/11 commemoration tends to run long, what with the reading of nearly three thousand victims' names, and stilling the pols will save time while offending absolutely no one. New York's mayor, Mike Bloomberg, suggested the names need not be read, since each is etched into the parapets surrounding the memorial pools, but those names, read aloud by friends and family, will echo again across the sixteen acres where they died.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/world-trade-center-rebuilding-0912#ixzz248mLt600
- 03:36 -
Video captures Michigan man's shooting by police
Three days before Independence Day, Milton Hall died in a fusillade of police gunfire outside a strip mall.
He had been arguing with officers in a parking lot next to a shuttered Chinese restaurant when he was shot, in full view of passing motorists and while he was holding some sort of knife. Saginaw County Prosecutor Michael Thomas said later that the squad of police confronting him opened fire "because apparently, at this point in time, he was threatening to assault police."
Thomas' office and the Michigan State Police are investigating Hall's death. Saginaw Police Chief Gerald Cliff said Hall was "known to be an assaultive person" with "a long history" of contacts with law enforcement, "not only with police from our department but with the county."
Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/16/us/michigan-police-shooting/index.html
- 03:31 -
utorak, 14.08.2012.
Robinson: Global warming here to stay
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, July was indeed the hottest month in the contiguous United States since record-keeping began more than a century ago. That distinction was previously held by July 1936, which came at the height of the Dust Bowl calamity that devastated the American heartland.
The average temperature last month was 77.6 degrees -- a full 3.3 degrees warmer than the 20th-century norm for July. This follows the warmest 12-month period ever recorded in the United States, and it continues a long-term trend that is obvious to all except those who stubbornly close their eyes: Of the 10 hottest years on record, nine have occurred since 2000.
Full story: http://www.goerie.com/article/20120814/OPINION09/308149993/Robinson%3A-Global-warming-here-to-stay
- 17:49 -
subota, 11.08.2012.
So long, silicon: Researchers create solar panels from cheap copper oxide
Researchers from the University of California and Berkeley Lab have discovered a way of making photovoltaic cells out of any semiconducting material, not just beautiful, expensive crystals of silicon. In principle, this could open the doors to much cheaper solar power.
Almost every solar panel on the market is made by cutting off two thin (200 micron, 0.2mm) slices from a large crystal of silicon, and then doping them with impurities to enhance the photovoltaic effect — phosphorous to make n-type silicon, and boron to make p-type silicon. These slices are layered together, electrodes are added to the top and bottom, the whole thing is framed in protective glass — and voila, a standard photovoltaic cell.
Full story: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134305-so-long-silicon-researchers-create-solar-panels-from-cheap-copper-oxide
- 06:32 -
In Super Rich, Clues to What Might Be in Romney’s Returns
On the face of it, Senator Harry Reid’s explosive but flimsily sourced claim that Mitt Romney paid no income tax seems preposterous. Mr. Romney has denied it, and without his returns no one can say for sure. But for someone who makes millions of dollars a year, would it even be possible?
Evidently it is.
It so happens that this summer the Internal Revenue Service released data from the 400 individual income tax returns reporting the highest adjusted gross income. This elite ultrarich group earned on average $202 million in 2009, the latest year available. And buried in the data is the startling disclosure that six of the 400 paid no federal income tax.
Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/business/in-the-superrich-clues-to-romneys-tax-returns-common-sense.html. how to improve memory.
UPDATE: Romney Tax Returns Show Strategy for Moving Money
The couple created trusts as early as 1995, when Romney was building wealth as chief executive officer of Bain Capital LLC. They packed one for their children with investments that stood to appreciate and set up another for charity that provides a tax deduction and income. The candidate’s retirement account, valued at as much as $87.4 million, may benefit his heirs for decades.
“It’s beneficial for your kids and grandkids to push the money downstream,” said David Scott Sloan, chairman of the national private wealth services estate-planning practice at the law firm Holland & Knight LLP in Boston. “The Romneys appear to be doing things that are similar to what other high-net-worth families do.”
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-26/romney-tax-returns-show-strategy-for-moving-money-to-kids
UPDATE: Romney: Releasing My Tax Returns Would Violate My Religious Privacy
This guy. This guy … is unbelievable. There has never been a more dishonest politician in modern American history than Mitt Romney. I mean – he has ZERO shame in his game. He will look at you directly in the face … eye to eye … and tell you whatever sounds good at the moment.
Read more: http://www.classwarfareexists.com/romney-releasing-my-tax-returns-would-violate-my-religious-privacy/#ixzz24wstXD2a
UPDATE: Romney is hiding Bain abortion profits in his tax returns, says Tampa foe
Steve Baldwin, former Republican Whip of the California State Assembly, said recent journalism about the actual date of Romney's departure from Bain Capital "has almost certainly revealed the real reason Romney refuses to release any more than two years of personal IRS data: Bain's craven investment in Stericycle corporation — a vendor to Planned Parenthood — lined Romney's pockets with profits from the incineration of aborted human fetuses. Mitt, it's time to disclose your tax returns and everything else about Stericycle."
Baldwin, also former Executive Director of the Council for National Policy (CNP), an influential conservative organization in Washington, said, "Tampa's GOP delegates will shame themselves if they don't conscientiously abstain from Romney on the first ballot to derail the worst nominee in our party's history. We're convinced Mitt Romney is hiding Bain abortion profits in his tax returns."
Read more: http://www.renewamerica.com/article/120822
- 06:22 -
četvrtak, 09.08.2012.
Internet's Cat Obsession Justifies Itself In Cancer Ward
We're not sure it's ever been studied, but we're willing to bet that the glut of cute animal photos on the Internet is a testament to their soothing effect on the human mind.
So imagine you're a cat lover who can't see your own cat because you're in an isolated hospital ward for an unknown duration. Sure, you could look at cat photos on your computer, but maybe you get tired of staring at the screen.
Imagine, then, a private four-hour screening of thousands of cat photos sent in by strangers projected on sheets draped over your bed. You lie back, relax, and watch the cats flash above you; there's even a purring sound to bring them alive.
Read full story: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/08/08/158418566/internets-cat-obsession-justifies-itself-in-cancer-ward
- 01:49 -
Romney Spokeswoman Promoted Climate Change Denial on Behalf of Exxon
Andrea Saul is the press secretary and chief spokesperson for Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. But before Romney hired her, Saul worked for a DC-based public affairs and lobbying firm that worked to undermine climate science on behalf of corporations like ExxonMobil, according to a detailed new report from Greenpeace's Polluter Watch project.
While working for DCI Group, Saul worked on anti-climate-science campaigns on behalf of Exxon. That included creating the faux news site Tech Central Station, which was used to promote columns from climate deniers like Willie Soon and Pat Michaels. Saul is listed as the contact person on the archived version of the Tech Central page.
Full story: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/romney-flack-promoted-climate-denial-behalf-exxon
- 01:42 -
Katy Perry Smurfette
I sacrifice in my love life and my social life, but those things will be there in three or four years. This is a really important time in my life. I can't just be the girl who sang 'I Kissed a Girl.' I have to leave a legacy. -- Katy Perry
- 01:35 -
Robert Downey Jr.: Burger King saved my life
While smart Juice* readers caught the Burger King product placement in Iron Man, what you may not know is the deal was a wink to the fast food chain for its role in Robert Downey Jr.'s rehab. The actor tells the U.K.'s Empire movie mag that in 2003 he was driving a car full of "tons of f---ing dope" when he decided to get a chee from the chain.
"I have to thank Burger King," he said. "It was such a disgusting burger I ordered. I had that, and this big soda, and I thought something really bad was going to happen." So he threw all the drugs into the ocean and decided to clean up his act.
Read full story: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/juice/content/robert-downey-jr-burger-king-saved-my-life. Also, http://www.squidoo.com/flower-rose-tattoo-designs-girls-women
UPDATE: Robert Downey Jr. injures ankle on set of 'Iron Man 3'
Robert Downey Jr. injured his ankle on the set of Iron Man 3 today, which will force a brief delay in production, Marvel Studios announced.
The company released a statement saying the 47-year-old actor hurt himself while performing a stunt.
The film has been in production since late May, and the accident occurred in Wilmington, North Carolina. No other details were released.
Downey previously told EW he is eager to push the limits with this film. “I feel like I don’t know where you go after Iron Man 3. Leave it all on the field, you know?” he said. In keeping with those ambitions, it sounds like he sustained a good football injury.
Read more: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/08/16/robert-downey-jr-injures-iron-man-3/
UPDATE: Why Robert Downey Jr is 'godfather of the Avengers'
AS part of the countdown to the arrival of Marvel's Avengers Assemble in stores, the spotlight has been shone on Robert Downey Jr's central role in the superhero franchise.
The latest clip to promote the Blu-ray and DVD is called Leader of the Band and is embedded below.
It sees director Joss Whedon and co-stars including Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth talk about how Robert helped bring Avengers to life.
Hemsworth, who plays Thor, describes the actor as the 'godfather of The Avengers.'
Read more: http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2012/08/why-robert-downey-jr-is-godfather-of-the-avengers.html
- 01:25 -
srijeda, 08.08.2012.
X-Ray Scans at Airports Leave Lingering Worries
Even before she was pregnant, Yolanda Marin-Czachor tried to avoid the full-body X-ray scanners that security officers use to screen airport passengers. Now she’s adamant about it: She’ll take a radiation-free pat-down instead any day.
“I had two miscarriages before this pregnancy,” Ms. Marin-Czachor, a 34-year-old mother and teacher from Green Bay, Wis., recalled, “and one of the first things my doctor said was: ‘Do not go through one of those machines. There have not been any long-term studies. I would prefer you stay away from it.’ ”
Full story: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/x-ray-scans-at-airports-leave-lingering-worries/
- 04:15 -
The Devil Still Has Us Death-Dancing at Fukushima
Our lives still hang by a Devil’s thread at Fukushima.
The molten cores at Units 1, 2 & 3 have threatened all life on Earth. The flood of liquid radiation has poisoned the Pacific. Fukushima’s cesium and other airborne emissions have already dwarfed Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and all nuclear explosions including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Children throughout Japan carry radioactive burdens in their thyroids and throughout their bodies. Hot spots in Tokyo demand evacuation. Radioactive tuna has been caught off San Diego. Fallout carried across the Pacific may have caused spikes in cancer and infant mortality rates here in the United States.
Full story: http://www.truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/11645-the-devil-still-has-us-death-dancing-at-fukushima
- 04:09 -
Kate Beckinsale Very Hot!
Everybody likes the underdog, because everybody feels like the underdog. No matter how successful you are, you always think, No one's being nice enough to me! -- Kate Beckinsale
- 04:03 -
Joss Whedon Signed for ‘The Avengers 22 and Marvel Live-Action TV Series
Breaking news: It was just announced on the Walt Disney Investors Conference Call that Joss Whedon will return for The Avengers sequel. Whedon is signed to both write and direct the upcoming sequel. Disney confirmed that Whedon is also involved in the development of the previously-rumored long-lead ABC live-action television series which will be set inside the Marvel cinematic universe.
Full story: http://www.slashfilm.com/joss-whedon-signed-the-avengers-2/
- 03:49 -
