Source: http://forums.ferra.ru/index.php?showtopic=54697
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
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Raewyn and her children: How can we help them now? - Home ...
Source: http://hef.org.nz/2013/raewyn-and-her-children-how-can-we-help-them-now/
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Groupon shares dive 24 percent on "underwhelming" forecast
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc lost almost a quarter of its market value on Wednesday after the company began to take a smaller cut of revenue on daily deals, sacrificing revenue and profits to attract and keep merchants.
"This raises questions about how these guys are going to be able to scale the business," said Tom White, an analyst at Macquarie. "The forecast is underwhelming."
Groupon shares fell 22 percent to $4.65 in after hours trading on Wednesday.
The Chicago-based company started sharing more money from its deals with merchants early in the fourth quarter to persuade them to run an offer for the first time or work on another offer.
That dented revenue and profit in the fourth quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jason Child said in an interview.
"We are focused on driving growth," he said. "We will make the investments we feel we need to optimize for growth and merchant profitability."
Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $638.3 million from $492.2 million in the year-ago period. The company also reported a net loss and an operating loss in the latest period.
Groupon was expected to make 3 cents a share on revenue of $638 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company forecast first-quarter revenue of $560 million to $610 million. This is sharply below the $650 million average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Groupon Goods, the company's discounted product sales business, generated a lot of the fourth-quarter revenue growth. However, sales growth will slow in the first quarter, as is typical with other e-commerce businesses, Child said.
The Goods business also has lower margins than Groupon's original daily deals business, he noted.
The cut in its so-called "take rate", which many analysts had speculated was necessary to revive participation among merchants in its Internet offers, contributed to weak fourth-quarter results. That was also partly behind the disappointing first-quarter revenue forecast.
A larger-than-expected seasonal decline in the company's Goods e-commerce business also drove the weaker first-quarter forecast.
(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by David Gregorio and Richard Chang)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/groupon-revenue-climbs-30-percent-forecast-weak-211450103--sector.html
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Today on New Scientist: 27 February 2013
Beppe Grillo: Cronyism has hurt Italian science
In an exclusive interview, the comedian turned politician reveals how celebrating science and technology in his comedy act launched his political career
First private Mars mission aims to launch in 2018
Backed by multi-millionaire space tourist Dennis Tito, the project plans to send two people on a fly-by of the Red Planet on a 501-day round trip
IVF sperm do better in a diamond dish
The polystyrene Petri dishes often used in IVF may react with water to generate reactive oxygen species that kill sperm
Arctic thaw may be first in cascade of tipping points
A record low in Arctic sea ice may have been the first in a series of events that unleash unstoppable climate changes - what will be next?
Live hologram reveals moving people trapped in a fire
Watch how firefighters can now see activity hidden behind flames for the first time thanks to infrared holography
All work and no play: Why Neanderthals were no Picasso
Neanderthals had shorter childhoods than us, which profoundly affected their ability to make symbolic art, argues archaeologist April Nowell
Time is running out for the solar revolution
Project Sunshine by Steve McKevitt and Tony Ryan shows the great promise of solar power, but time is running out for its advocates to make it shine
US research to be put online for free
In a victory for open access, the US government has announced that all major federally funded research will be made available online for anyone to read
Bank's partial passwords are easy to guess
A well-known security scheme that asks you to enter certain letters from your password may not be as secure as it seems
US nuclear dump is leaking toxic waste
Toxic waste from nuclear bomb production is leaking from storage tanks at the Hanford nuclear waste site in Washington, contaminating groundwater
We need a piece of Mars to continue search for life
Curiosity's discovery of weird soil chemistry on the Red Planet makes a sample return mission a priority
Newly spotted comet to buzz Mars in 2014
The icy visitor will cross Mars's orbit and may even get close enough to smack into the planet, based on early estimates of its orbital path
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Wary of crises, Americans tune out budget cut talk
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio wraps up a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, where he and GOP leaders challenged President Obama and the Senate to avoid the automatic spending cuts set to take effect in four days. Boehner complained that the House, with Republicans in the majority, has twice passed bills that would replace the across-the-board cuts known as the "sequester" with more targeted reductions, while the Senate, controlled by the Democrats, has not acted. He is followed by Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kansas is at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio wraps up a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, where he and GOP leaders challenged President Obama and the Senate to avoid the automatic spending cuts set to take effect in four days. Boehner complained that the House, with Republicans in the majority, has twice passed bills that would replace the across-the-board cuts known as the "sequester" with more targeted reductions, while the Senate, controlled by the Democrats, has not acted. He is followed by Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kansas is at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and the Senate GOP leadership, face reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, to answer questions on the looming automatic spending cuts, following the weekly Republican strategy session. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. answers questions on the looming automatic spending cuts following a Democratic strategy session, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Reid also responded to House Speaker John Boehner who used salty language earlier in the day to prod the Senate to act on legislation to replace the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is pulling out all the stops to warn just what could happen if automatic budget cuts kick in. Americans are reacting with a collective yawn.
They know the shtick: Obama raises the alarm, Democrats and Republicans accuse each other of holding a deal hostage, there's a lot of yelling on cable news, and then finally, when everyone has made their points, a deal is struck and the day is saved.
Maybe not this time. Two days before $85 billion in cuts are set to hit federal programs with all the precision of a wrecking ball, there are no signs that the White House and Republicans in Congress are even negotiating. Both sides appear quietly resigned to the prospect that this is one bullet we just may not dodge.
Still, for all the grim predictions, Americans seem to be flipping the channel to something a little less, well, boring. They wonder, haven't we been here before?
It's like deja vu, says Patrick Naylon, who runs an audiovisual firm in San Francisco: "The same stuff, over and over again."
Texas native Corby Biddle, 53, isn't losing sleep over the cuts. No way the government will let vital services collapse, he said as he visited tourist attractions this week in downtown Atlanta.
"It will get resolved. They will kick the can down the road," Biddle said.
Usually, that's exactly what happens. Even the cuts behind the current panic were originally supposed to kick in on Jan. 1 ? part of the fiscal-cliff combo of spending cuts and tax hikes that economists warned could nudge the nation back into recession. For all the high drama, lawmakers finally acted on New Year's Day, compromising on taxes and punting the spending cuts to March 1.
And the blunt instrument known as the "sequester" that's set to deliver the cuts? That too was the progeny of another moment of government-by-brinksmanship, a concession that in 2011 made possible the grand bargain that saved the U.S. from a first-ever default on its debt.
Even if the current cuts go through, the impact won't be immediate. Federal workers would be notified next week that they will have to take up to a day every week off without pay, but the furloughs won't start for a month due to notification requirements. That will give negotiators some breathing room to keep working on a deal.
But you can only cry wolf so many times before people just stop paying attention.
"I know you guys must get tired of it," Obama told a crowd in Virginia on Tuesday. "Didn't we just solve this thing? Now we've got another thing coming up?"
Three out of 4 Americans say they aren't following the spending cuts issue very closely, according to a Pew Research Center poll released this week. It's a significant drop from the nearly 4 in 10 who in December said they were closely following the fiscal-cliff debate.
Public data from Google's search engine shows that at its peak in December, the search term "fiscal cliff" was about 10 times as popular as "sequestration" has been in recent days. Even "debt ceiling," not a huge thriller for the web-surfing crowd, maxed out in July 2011 at about three times the searches the sequester is now getting.
"We're now approaching the next alleged deadline of doom. And voters, having been told previously that the world might end, found it did not in the past and are becoming more skeptical that it will in the future," said Peter Brown of the nonpartisan Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
And let's face it: When it comes to policy issues that can really put an audience to sleep, "sequestration" is right up there with filibuster reform, chained CPI and carried interest.
For all the angst about layoffs, furloughs and slashes to government contracts, the markets don't seem to be rattled, either. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, after falling below 13,000 at the height of the fiscal cliff debacle, has been buoyant ever since, spending the last month hovering just below 14,000.
"I shrug my shoulders because I don't believe any of those severe cuts will go through," said Karen Jensen, a retired hospital administrator who stopped to talk in New York's Times Square. "Life goes on as it has before."
But if the Obama administration hasn't managed to convince Americans these spending cuts could be the real deal, it's not for lack of trying.
Each day the cuts grow nearer sees a new dire warning from the White House about another government function that will take a hit if they go into effect ? what White House chief of staff Denis McDonough has called a "devastating list of horribles." Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned Monday that her agency will be forced to furlough 5,000 border patrol agents. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said 70,000 preschool kids could be removed from Head Start. Fewer air traffic controllers could mean 90-minute delays or longer in major cities, and visiting hours at all 398 national parks are likely to be cut, the administration has said.
The White House has circulated 51 reports ? one for each state, plus the District of Columbia ? localizing the effects of the cuts. On Tuesday, Obama took his cautionary tale to a shipbuilding site in Newport News, Va., calling attention to how the cuts could impede the military. The White House says in Virginia alone, about 90,000 civilians working for the Defense Department would be furloughed, for a nearly $650 million reduction in gross pay.
"The president needs to stop campaigning, stop trying to scare the American people, stop trying to scare the states," Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana said Monday after governors from both parties met with Obama behind closed doors. "Now's the time to cut spending. It can be done without jeopardizing the economy. It can be done without jeopardizing critical services."
The age-old Republican desire for a scaled-back federal government makes it clear why, on the one hand, the GOP isn't scrambling to avert the cuts ? especially when Obama insists on more tax revenues in any deal to turn them off. On the other hand, Obama is banking on polls that show if the cuts go through, Republicans are likely to bear most of the blame.
Both parties agree that if you're going to cut spending, an indiscriminate mechanism like the sequester is the wrong way to do it. After all, the whole point of the endeavor was to set in motion ramifications so unbearable that lawmakers would be forced to come together and hash out a better plan before the deadline.
Count James Ford of Louisville, Ky., among those still holding out hope.
"They'll come up with something to keep the thing going," he said. "They always do."
___
Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Jake Pearson in New York and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report.
___
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
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TripIt Founders Launch Chairish, A Consignment Marketplace To Sell Pre-Owned Home Furniture
After selling travel itinerary startup TripIt to Concur for $120 million, the startup's co-founders, Gregg Brockway and his team are launching their newest venture?Chairish. Chairish is an online consignment marketplace for people to buy and sell pre-owned home furnishings.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/jJV8OKpfWLg/
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EA preps 'single identity' system to bridge gaming experiences across platforms
Now that EA has gotten Origin for both Windows and Mac under its belt, it's clued GamesBeat into its plans for a cross-platform account system that's taken 1,500 engineers 18 months to build. With the "single identity" solution, gamers can play games tied to their accounts, find friends currently online and join up for multiplayer, message fellow users and access save states across platforms ranging from consoles and smartphones to tablets and social networks. Of course, the business side comes into play too: by keeping tabs on users, Electronic Arts could make better game recommendations and boost its marketing's effectiveness. As of now, there's no word on when the system will find its way into your gaming.
Filed under: Gaming
Source: GamesBeat
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/ea-prepping-single-identity-system-crossplatform/
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Senate ends Hagel filibuster, moving defense pick toward confirmation
By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News
?
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., moved a step closer to becoming the nation's next defense secretary after the Senate voted Tuesday to end debate on his nomination, and move toward a final confirmation vote.?
Hagel's nomination cleared a key threshold in a midday vote on Tuesday, ending a week-and-a-half-long delay forced by Republicans who object to their former colleague's nomination.?
The Senate voted 71 to 27 to move forward with Hagel's nomination, clearing the 60-vote threshold needed to end the GOP filibuster. Several Republicans who'd previously voted to block Hagel reversed their votes, and allowed him to move toward confirmation.
The vote all but ensures Hagel's confirmation, since only a simple majority of senators are needed in that vote, and Democrats ??who all backed the former Republican senator ??all support Hagel. That vote on final confirmation could come as soon as Tuesday evening.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Former Senator Chuck Hagel testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this January 31, 2013, file photo.
Tuesday's vote brings the bruising fight over Hagel's nomination near to its conclusion.?
Republicans had fought strenuously to defeat Hagel, accusing him at points of harboring hostilities toward Israel, and sympathies for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Tied into Hagel's nomination as well have been Republicans' long-running effort to ding President Barack Obama and his administration over their handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.?
"What has their filibuster gained my Republican colleagues?" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked on the Senate floor. "Twelve days later, Senator Hagel's exemplary record of service to his country remains untarnished."
Reid added: "Senate Republicans have delayed for the better part of two weeks for one reason and one reason only: partisanship."
Hagel didn't necessarily help his cause during a combative confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Republicans aggressively questioned Hagel on a variety of matters during the Jan. 31 hearing.?
Even still, Democrats held firm in their backing for the former Nebraska senator, helping to move his nomination forward. Republicans, though, managed to buy themselves more time ? they said, to more fully investigate Hagel's background ??by waging a filibuster against the nomination on Feb. 14.?
Democrats angrily protested the delay, especially as current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta planned to leave the job, as dangerous and unprecedented. Republican opponents of Hagel, though, said at that time that they would drop their objections to holding a confirmation vote after last week's recess.
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Barnes & Noble leader wants to buy out stores - Spokesman.com ...
NEW YORK ? The last remaining national bookstore chain is being taken off the shelf and dusted off for?sale.
Barnes & Noble?s founder Leonard Riggio disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that he wants to acquire the company?s stores and website, but not the business that makes the Nook e-reader or the company?s college bookstores. No price was?disclosed.
It?s the latest attempt by a company founder to take back control of all or part of a company he started. Best Buy?s co-founder Richard Schulze is mulling a bid for the electronics retailer, and Michael Dell??
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Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes & Noble, disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that he wants to acquire the company?s stores and website, but not the business that makes the Nook e-reader or the company?s college?bookstores.
(Full-size photo)
What?s?next
Barnes & Noble said the offer will be considered by a committee of three independent directors. But there is no set timetable for the?process.
NEW YORK ? The last remaining national bookstore chain is being taken off the shelf and dusted off for?sale.
Barnes & Noble?s founder Leonard Riggio disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that he wants to acquire the company?s stores and website, but not the business that makes the Nook e-reader or the company?s college bookstores. No price was?disclosed.
It?s the latest attempt by a company founder to take back control of all or part of a company he started. Best Buy?s co-founder Richard Schulze is mulling a bid for the electronics retailer, and Michael Dell earlier this month announced a $24.4 billion deal to take the namesake computer company he founded?private.
The deals are a way for executives to exert more control over companies without the need to run everything by shareholders. In all of these cases, the founders have devoted decades to the businesses, and the companies are struggling to survive in a changing retail?landscape.
?When you?ve got control outside public eye or public market, you can invest and translate your strategy at your own pace,? said Peter Wahlstrom, analyst at Morningstar. ?It?s him believing he can run it better by himself without the distraction of the digital side. He believes the brand has value that?s not being recognized by?investors.?
Barnes & Noble, based in New York, has been struggling to find its place as more readers have shifted to electronic books and competition has grown from discount stores and online competitors. The company, which has 689 bookstores in 50 states and 674 college bookstores, has been trying to avoid the fate of its former rival Borders Group, which did not adapt to the growing threat of the Internet and e-books and went out of business in?2011.
Technically, Riggio, who is chairman of the chain, didn?t found the original Barnes & Noble store in New York when it opened in 1917. But he bought the store and brand name in the 1970s. Under his leadership, Barnes & Noble became one of the pioneers of the ?big box? format in which national chains would set up large stores that offer a wide selection of merchandise under one?roof.
The company also pioneered bookselling in general. In 1975 it began offering 40 percent off New York Times best sellers, which was then unheard of in the bookselling?business.
Throughout the 1980s, the company expanded through acquisitions. It bought B Dalton Bookseller in 1987 and BookStop in 1989. Then it went public in 1993 and established its website in?1997.
But the company was hurt by Internet retailers like Amazon.com and discounters such as Wal-Mart and Costco expanding their book selections. Barnes & Noble has been proactive, investing heavily in its Nook e-book readers and a digital library. It struck a deal with Microsoft last April to create a Nook subsidiary. But the Nook faces competition from other devices like Apple?s iPad Mini, Amazon?s Kindle and Google?s Nexus tablet. And the unit is far from profitable. Earlier this month, the company said it expects Nook media revenue of less than $3 billion in fiscal 2013. It also anticipates a loss for the unit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to exceed the $262 million loss recorded in its 2012 fiscal?year.
This follows a report from the retailer in January that its Nook unit revenue fell 12.6 percent to $311 million during the critical holiday period. Overall sales during the holiday period fell 10.9 percent at bookstores and online compared with a year ago. Barnes & Noble is scheduled to report third-quarter results?Thursday.
Barnes & Noble bookstores, though, have been profitable even though they?re facing falling sales. The company has broadened its offerings in stores and sells more high-margin games, educational toys and other nonbook items to improve?results.
In its fiscal second recent quarter ended Oct. 27, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the retail segment ? which includes the stores and the website that Riggio wants to buy ? doubled to $28 million, helped by selling higher-margin products. Revenue from that segment fell 3 percent to $996 million. Overall, the company?s net income totaled $2.2 million, up from a prior-year loss of $6.6 million. Revenue was nearly flat at $1.88?billion.
Monday?s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that Riggio, who is Barnes & Noble?s largest shareholder with nearly 30 percent of the company?s shares, will seek to negotiate a price with the company?s board and pay for the deal with cash and debt. Riggio is making the offer in order to facilitate the company?s review of its strategic options for separating its Nook business, according to the?filing.
? Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/feb/26/barnes-noble-leader-wants-to-buy-out-stores/
Monday, February 25, 2013
Reflected light
A Christian Science perspective.
At sunrise one morning, a tall vase of hydrangeas in a west-facing Victorian parlor caught shafts of light that brought out all the colors and threw entrancing shadows across a cherry-wood table.
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Later that day, the top of a cypress in a planter facing east in a row of elegant brownstone houses that the sun had long since left, glowed gold ? revealing what looked suspiciously like a smile.
Reflection from high windows opposite those grateful recipients had transformed their appearance, along with those of other windows all the way down that avenue to the house where the founder of the Monitor, Mary Baker Eddy, taught many classes. For those windows, sunrise and sunset had momentarily been reversed ? freed of the restraints of time ? confirming that there are no holds on beauty or goodness! City canyons that normally would never see the sun glowed in reflected light.
Humanly speaking, clouds and the revolution of the earth would sometimes interrupt such activity, but those remarkable moments do point us toward deeper consideration of the role of reflection ? not sun-made or man-made, but God-made. At any time we are flawless reflectors, inseparable from our source, divine light, Truth. As the Apostle Paul wrote in the eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans: ?Nothing in all creation can separate us from God?s love for us? (verse 39, Contemporary English Version).
Mrs. Eddy explained further: ?Few there are who comprehend what Christian Science means by the word reflection. God is seen only in that which reflects good, Life, Truth, Love ? yea, which manifests all His attributes and power, even as the human likeness thrown upon the mirror repeats precisely the looks and actions of the object in front of it? (?Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,? p. 23).
Our inseparability from our divine source was further clarified when Mrs. Eddy wrote that as images of Love we have not ?a single quality underived from Deity? and possess ?no life, intelligence, nor creative power of [our] own,? but reflect ?spiritually all that belongs to [our] Maker? (?Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,? p. 475). And this, we learn, includes good health, harmonious relationships, and peace of mind.
It doesn?t matter where and when the sun rises and sets, or whether clouds blow our way or not. God remains the source of our light and life, and our ability to reflect His goodness cannot be impaired or interrupted. All we need are open arms, a clear surface, stillness, and the wisdom to look in the right direction to become aware of it. As willing reflectors, we are reached by the light wherever we are.
Given the richness and abundance of God?s resources, just think of the scope we all have to live lives that stretch way beyond that analogy of sunlight on tall buildings. It?s our union with the Christ ? ?the spiritual idea of divine Love? (Science and Health, p. 38) ? that makes the difference. It allows us to mentally step inside God?s embrace and draw all those around us into the warmth and security of a permanently sunlit place.
From an editorial in the Christian Science Sentinel.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/pTkZ3uMnKcM/Reflected-light
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Y Combinator-Backed Thalmic Labs Introduces MYO, A $149 Armband For Gesture Control
Y Combinator-backed startup Thalmic Labs believes it has a better way of determining user intent when using gesture control. To do so, it?s developed a new device, called MYO, which is an armband worn around the forearm. Using Bluetooth, the armband can wirelessly connect to other devices, such as PCs and mobile phones, to enable user control based on their movements.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/nlCbXMSq4_Q/
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Sunday, February 24, 2013
Waltz wins supporting-actor prize for 'Django'
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Christoph Waltz really owes Quentin Tarantino. Waltz won his second supporting-actor Academy Award on Sunday for a Tarantino film, this time as a genteel bounty hunter in the slave-revenge saga "Django Unchained."
In a choked voice, Waltz offered thanks to his character and "to his creator and the creator of his awe-inspiring world, Quentin Tarantino."
Waltz also offered gracious thanks to his supporting-actor competitors, who included two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro and Oscar recipient Tommy Lee Jones, who had been considered a slim favorite over Waltz for the prize.
A veteran performer in Germany and his native Austria, Waltz had been a virtual unknown in Hollywood when Tarantino cast him as a gleefully evil Nazi in 2009's "Inglourious Basterds," which won him his first Oscar.
Waltz has since done a handful of other Hollywood movies, but it's Tarantino who has given him his two choicest roles. Backstage, Waltz had a simple explanation for why the collaboration works.
"Quentin writes poetry, and I like poetry," Waltz said.
The Scottish adventure "Brave," from Disney's Pixar Animation unit, was named best animated feature. Pixar films have won seven of the 12 Oscars since the category was added.
The story of an dauntless princess (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) who balks at her parents' attempts to marry her off, "Brave" won out over a strong field that included Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Frankenweenie."
"I just happen to be wearing the kilt," said "Brave" co-director Mark Andrews, who took the stage in his trademark Scottish garment.
Oscar host Seth MacFarlane opened with a mildly edgy monologue that offered the usual polite jabs at the academy, the stars and the industry. He took a poke at academy voters over the snub of Ben Affleck, who missed out on a directing nomination for best-picture favorite "Argo," a thriller about the CIA's plot to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis.
"The story was so top secret that the film's director is unknown to the academy," MacFarlane said. "They know they screwed up. Ben, it's not your fault."
William Shatner made a guest appearance as his "Star Trek" character Capt. James Kirk, appearing on a giant screen above the stage during MacFarlane's monologue, saying he came back in time to stop the host from ruining the Oscars.
"Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate, and everyone ends up hating you," said Shatner, who revealed a headline supposedly from the next day's newspaper that read, "Seth MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever."
The performance-heavy Oscars also included an opening number featuring Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum, who did a classy dance while MacFarlane crooned "Just the Way You Look Tonight." Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt then joined MacFarlane for an elegant musical rendition of "High Hopes."
Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron lined up a top-notch cast of stars as presenters, including "The Avengers" co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner. They presented two prizes that went to the shipwreck tale "Life of Pi," cinematography and visual effects.
"This movie was quite a beast to make," said cinematographer Claudio Miranda, who shot dazzling images for the story of a youth adrift on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.
Miranda's win marked another round of Oscar futility for revered cinematographer Roger Deakins, who was nominated for the James Bond adventure "Skyfall." Deakins has been nominated 10 times but has yet to win.
Halle Berry introduced a tribute to the James Bond franchise in which she has co-starred as the British super-spy celebrated his 50th anniversary on the big-screen last year with the latest adventure "Skyfall." Shirley Bassey sang her theme song to the 1960s Bond tale "Goldfinger."
Fans have pondered how far MacFarlane the impudent creator of "Family Guy," might push the normally prim and proper Oscars. An hour into the show, the answer was, not that far. MacFarlane was generally polite and respectful, showcasing his charm, wit and vocal gifts.
MacFarlane may be a wild card, but as for the show itself, predictability could be the Academy Awards' middle name. This time looks the same, with clear favorites in the main categories.
Affleck's "Argo" looks like it will be an uncommon film to claim best picture without a directing nomination, while "Lincoln" filmmaker Steven Spielberg and star Daniel Day-Lewis are favored to join exclusive lists of three-time Oscar winners.
Affleck was not counting on anything, though.
"We don't expect to depart with anything but our integrity," Affleck said on the Oscar red carpet before the show.
"Argo" has won winning practically every top prize at earlier honors. Hollywood was shocked that Affleck was snubbed for a directing nomination, possibly earning the film some sympathy votes, particularly from actors, who love it when one of their own succeeds behind the camera.
The story of how Hollywood, Canada and the CIA teamed up to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis, "Argo" would become just the fourth film in 85 years to claim the top prize without a best-directing nomination and the first since 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy."
The best-picture prize typically ends the Oscar show, but this time, MacFarlane and Kristin Chenoweth will perform a closing number on the Dolby Theatre stage that producers Zadan and Meron called a "'can't miss' moment."
___
Online: http://www.oscars.org
___
AP writers Christy Lemire, Sandy Cohen, Beth Harris and Anthony McCartney contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/waltz-wins-supporting-actor-prize-django-020404313.html
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Lyoto Machida pulls out split-decision win over Dan Henderson at UFC 157
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Lyoto Machida took a split decision over Dan Henderson in the co-main event at UFC 157 on Saturday. The judges saw it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for Machida.
Machida was elusive as usual in the first round, but Henderson was able to sneak in and land a few kicks and punches. At the end of the round, Machida took Henderson down with a leg trip and landed strikes.
The second round showed Machida still being elusive and keeping his distance from Henderson. Machida tried for a front kick several times, but couldn't land it. Meanwhile, Henderson couldn't land much.
[Also: Ronda Rousey survives UFC debut, wins via first-round arm bar]
Henderson is known for his big, overhand punches. Most of the time, when he throws it, it can mean the end of a fight. However, he had trouble getting close enough to Machida for the overhand to work.
In the third round, Machida moved in for a takedown but ended up with Henderson on top. Henderson used elbows from the top, but Machida was able to get out with less than two minutes left in the fight.
Before the fight, UFC president Dana White said that the winner of this bout will get the next title shot. UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will put the title up against Chael Sonnen in April, but the next fight will likely go to Machida.
[Also: Josh Koscheck suffers upset loss]
Machida was once the UFC light heavyweight champion, but lost the title to Rua in 2010. Since then, he has wins over Randy Couture and Ryan Bader, but losses to current champion Jon Jones and Quinton Jackson. It will be his third chance at the light heavyweight title. He won it with a knockout of Rashad Evans in 2009, but lost to Jones in 2011.
Henderson had a long layoff between fights. His last bout was one of the best in MMA history. In November of 2011, Henderson defeated Mauricio Rua in a five-round decision. Since then, Henderson had a fight lined up with Jones in September, but had to pull out at the last minute because of a knee injury. His record falls to 29-9. He's 42 years old, and against Machida, looked slow and old for the first time in his career.
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93% Amour
All Critics (174) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (162) | Rotten (12)
Trintignant perfectly captures the resolve that eventually borders on obsession, as the woman he loves gradually, maddeningly, disappears before his eyes, and he does whatever he can to prevent it, though he knows it's impossible.
Many viewers will find echoes of their grandparents, parents, or even themselves in these characters.
A movie that is utterly worthy of its all-encompassing title.
The resulting interplay of ruthless restraint and unavoidable passion, plus the film's refusal to shrink from depicting the inevitable horrors of physical deterioration, is devastating.
In many ways it's the best horror film I've ever seen. At the same time, it's hard to recommend; I believe I will be struggling to forget this film as long as I live. I doubt I'll succeed.
As remarkable as Haneke's films are, not a one has been as transcendently generous as Amour, which is nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best foreign-language film.
This is a profound look at love about a couple who have lived with each other for so many years, know each other so well and this terrible thing that is facing them and there's a serenity there which makes it even more moving, I think.
It's Haneke's searing honesty and lack of sentimentality, and his talent as a writer-filmmaker that lifts this film to the heights of achievement. I know that the storyline may sound gloomy, the film is not. It is beyond wonderful.
Ultimately, the title of the film demands to be taken as a question: is this truly what love looks like? A little smugly, Haneke refuses to answer.
A multiple award winner at film festivals around the globe, and it is easy to see why. Highly recommended.
Michael Haneke's most intimate and painfully truthful film - an exploration of what love means at the far end of life.
This is a movie almost too painful to watch at times, yet so masterfully composed and acted - Riva absolutely deserves her Oscar nomination, while Trintignant was robbed - that it's impossible to turn away.
Georges' irreversible decision may be courageous, but it requires no sacrifice on the part of his creator: for Haneke, it's business as usual.
Trintignant and Riva are unforgettably brilliant as the aging couple we can all identify with.
Haneke's startling film stands in stark contrast with other recent, comedic fare that seemingly addresses similar issues.
My review is categorized as 'favourable' not because I enjoyed the film (that's not Michael Haneke's intent) but because I recognise what he is trying to say and that he says it with a unique cinematic voice
Debilitation and loss of control is a harsh topic, yet Haneke's film is surprisingly gentle, exploring the constraints and options faced, as old age delivers its ultimate blow - the loss of self and ability to function with dignity
Amour is a pure depiction of love, in all its many forms.
The furthest thing from sweet sorrow imaginable, Amour gets real about the pain of parting in every sense of the word.
This subject matter is ripe for sentimentalization, but Haneke resists it at every turn, opting instead for unflinching honesty. It is the economy of theme paired with the subtle richness of character that make Amour so powerful.
Clearly, Amour, Michael Haneke and Emmanuelle Riva don't really need me to additionally sing their praises (although praise is indeed all I have), so let's discuss Jean-Louis Trintignant for a moment.
All is presented in Haneke's exacting style, one that I find controlling and a bit, well, smothering.
An insightful, memorable film about what it means to love.
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/771307454/
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Saturday, February 23, 2013
Rich David will not run for Binghamton Mayor
Rich David will not run for Binghamton Mayor
February 23, 2013 Updated Feb 23, 2013 at 10:11 AM ESTBinghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Richard David announced he will not seek the Republican nomination for Binghamton Mayor in November.
David attributes problems paying property taxes for his commercial buildings in Binghamton as the reason he will not seek office.
In a statement sent on Friday David said, ?I worked hard to pay off the balance, with interest, as soon as possible, and am current on all my tax obligations. However, I believe those seeking higher office should be held to a higher standard.?
David is a real estate and business owner and works as public information officer at Broome Community College.
He ran against Mayor Matthew Ryan in the 2009 election.
Source: http://www.wbng.com/news/local/David-will-not-run-192705211.html
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Boeing proposing long-term fix for 787 batteries
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Boeing is proposing a long-term fix for the 787 Dreamliner's troubled batteries that will keep them grounded until April at the earliest, congressional officials said Friday.
A Boeing Commercial Airplanes team led by CEO Ray Conner was scheduled to present the plan in a meeting Friday with Michael Huerta, head of the Federal Aviation Administration. The airliners, Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced, have not been allowed to fly since mid-January following a battery fire in one plane and a smoking battery in another.
The plan calls for revamping the aircraft's two kinds of lithium ion batteries to ensure that any short-circuiting that could lead to a fire won't spread from one battery cell to the others, officials said. That would be achieved by placing more robust ceramic insulation between each of the battery's eight cells. The aim is to contain not only the short-circuiting, but any thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that leads to progressively hotter temperatures.
The additional spacers will enlarge the battery, requiring a bigger battery box to hold the eight cells. That new box would also be more robust, with greater insulation along its sides to prevent any fire from escaping, officials said.
The plan will require testing and partially recertifying the safety of the plane's batteries, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.
The testing and recertification will take time, with engineers currently estimating completion sometime in April, they said.
It's up to Huerta to decide whether to approve the plan. But Boeing's plan is not a surprise, since the company has kept regulators closely informed, the officials said.
Boeing, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board still have not identified the root cause of a Jan. 7 fire that erupted in an auxiliary power unit battery of a Japan Airlines 787 about a half hour after the plane landed at Boston's Logan International Airport. The safety board is investigating that incident.
Engineers and battery experts gathered by Boeing developed a list of possible causes for the fire and a plan to modify the batteries to address the spread of a fire created by any of those causes, officials said.
After the Jan. 7 fire and an emergency landing by an All Nippon Airways 787 in Japan, the FAA and aviation authorities overseas ordered the planes grounded. There are a total of 50 of the planes in the fleets of seven airlines in six countries.
On Thursday, United Airlines cut its six 787s from its flying plans at least until June and postponed its new Denver-to-Tokyo flights as airlines continued to tear up their schedules while the plane is out of service. United is the only U.S. carrier with 787s in its fleet.
Among the many unanswered questions is how the 787 battery problems will affect Boeing's effort to win FAA permission for the planes to make flights that venture further from the nearest airport, such as those that travel over wide expanses of ocean. The FAA has tighter requirements for such flights in twin-engine planes because it wants to make sure the plane can keep flying if it loses an engine or encounters other problems far away from a safe landing.
Until it was grounded, the 787 could fly up to three hours away from the nearest airport. That's far enough for flights between the U.S. and Europe and some flights over the Arctic, for instance. But Boeing wants permission for flights up to 5.5 hours from the nearest airport. Its 777 is already certified for such flights.
Boeing said last month that it was close to submitting a plan for those longer flights.
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Freed reported from Minneapolis.
___
Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-proposing-long-term-fix-787-batteries-155748083.html
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USU softball: Aggies set for weekend action in Texas Invitational
Utah State softball prepares for weekend action in the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas.
USU will open tournament action on Friday, Feb. 15, against Southland Conference opponent Lamar at 10 a.m. (MT). The second game of the day on Friday for the Aggies, will be a matchup with Conference-USA foe, Tulsa at 1:30 p.m. (MT).
Utah State will square off with No. 6 and host-Texas on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m. (MT). USU will not know its next opponent until tournament standings are finalized and semifinal games are set.
Fans can follow all of the weekend actions through GameTracker links that will be available on the USU website, as well as live streaming audio for a subscription fee.
Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.
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Cold snaps trigger Monarch butterfly migrations
Monarch Watch
Migrant monarch butterflies are captured in midair as they travel south.
By Elizabeth Howell
LiveScience
Cold weather in the Mexico mountaintops, where monarchs spend the winter, triggers the butterflies' migration northward, according to new research.
The finding raises troubling implications, researchers said, for how the approximately half-billion migratory butterflies will find their way if climate change unduly warms the mountains.
Monarch Watch
Migrant monarch butterflies tanking up on nectar as they migrate south.
"What we're most struck by is that this is an area of vulnerability for the butterflies," said Steven Reppert, a butterfly migration specialist with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Reppert co-authored a paper on the research, which will appear in the March 4 edition of the journal Current Biology.
Simulating migration
Two large populations of monarchs live in the United States ? one on the West Coast, and the other in eastern North America.
Reppert and lead author Patrick Guerra zeroed in on the eastern butterflies to see how they make the 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) journey south to a small overwintering site in central Mexico. The researchers determined that the butterflies navigate by the sun, compensating for the time of day as they go. [Images: Monarchs' Butterfly Forest in Central Mexico]
To track the monarchs' flight, Guerra and Reppert put most of the butterflies in a flight simulator. The team placed the enclosure, a plastic barrel, outdoors and suspended the butterflies inside on a short wire above a fan. The butterflies' flight is recorded on video and with a directional recording device.
The scientists ran one experiment during the fall, when migrants usually head south. For 24 days, the researchers kept the butterflies in a controlled environment that mimicked cold temperatures experienced in the Mexico mountains in the spring. Then, the researchers put the butterflies inside the simulator to see what they would do.
Current Biology, Guerra et al.
A migrant monarch butterfly returning north often looks a bit worse for wear after the long journey south.
"Instead of going south, they went north. We said, 'Wow,'" Reppert told OurAmazingPlanet.
North and south
After performing experiments to discount the effects of light and other factors, the researchers captured older migrant monarch butterflies in the southern United States as a last control. The scientists kept the monarchs in a controlled environment for four months.
During the early spring, these butterflies are usually in the midst of a northward migration, having experienced cold temperatures in Mexico. That's not what these migrants did, however, after they were exposed to the cold in the controlled environment. The butterflies flew south in the simulator instead of north.
This means that cold is the major impetus for monarchs to choose their direction of migration in the spring and fall, Reppert said.
"We think it?s a pretty compelling story in terms of the importance of this cold temperature for this change in migratory patterns," Reppert said.
Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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PFT: For teams, Combine all about medical tests
APFor media purposes, the NFL Scouting Combine is a whirl of interviews and player availability.
For television watchers, the 40-yard dashes and drills take center stage.
But for the teams that come to Indianapolis to scout, the priority isn?t anything that happens on the field, but rather behind the scenes at the hospital.
The medical checks shared by 32 teams are the primary benefit for most teams.
National Football Scouting president Jeff Foster asked teams years ago to list their priorities, and the results were loud and clear.
?All 32 teams, medicals were No. 1,? Foster told Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star. ?All 32 teams, interviews were No. 2. Then there was a mix between the on-field stuff and the psychological testing.?
So for the seven-day duration, players are poked and prodded and tested and quizzed on their medical histories, with no detail to minute.
?This will be the most comprehensive exam they can ever hope to get,? said Dr. Arthur Rettig, one of the Colts team doctors. ?If possible, you want to save [a team] from investing a few million dollars in someone who may play one year and then he?s done.
?It?s our job to try and predict that.?
Retting said he expected to order up 350 MRI scans, using 17 machines they have on hand, including three mobile ones at Lucas Oil Stadium. In the past, they?ve found tumors in players while looking at other injuries.
Colts tackle Anthony Castonzo said he was amazed by the thoroughness of the process, going through six orthopedic stations, X-rays, MRIs, along with heart tests, baseline concussion tests and drug scans.
?You basically lay on a table in the middle of the room and you?ve got people coming over and poking and prodding on you, fiddling with your ankle or your knee or whatever it is you possibly had wrong,? Castonzo said. ?You kind of feel like a corpse at the morgue. Everyone is trying to figure out what?s wrong.?
For NFL teams trying to avoid investing millions in a bunch of stiffs, the process is worth it.
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