First lady to push fitness, healthy diet on Leno
(AP)
BURBANK, Calif. ? Jay Leno better bring a healthy appetite to the "Tonight Show."
Michelle Obama heads to Leno's stage Tuesday to promote fitness and healthy eating, and she's taunting the comedian to overcome his aversion for the green stuff.
Leno once told a magazine he hadn't eaten a vegetable since 1969.
The first lady poked at him in a Twitter post, hinting she'd "get Jay to eat some veggies."
The first lady is on a two-day swing through California where she'll promote her "Let's Move!" campaign to boost healthy food and fitness and help Democrats raise money for the upcoming elections.
Suspect in Iran missile plot to appeal to EU court
(AP)
LONDON ? Lawyers for a retired British businessman accused of plotting to sell missile components to Iran said Tuesday that he will ask European Courts to rule on his appeal against being extradited to the United States.
Christopher Tappin, 64, faces charges in Texas over allegations that he offered in 2006 to sell specialized batteries for Hawk missiles for $25,000. He didn't know then that his contacts were undercover U.S. agents, not Iranians, U.S. authorities say. Two other men have been jailed in Texas in the case.
Tappin faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted in the United States, but he denies the charges and says he was the victim of a sting operation.
He has unsuccessfully fought his extradition in Britain, where a judge ruled against him last year and two High Court judges said Tuesday that he lacked the legal basis to take his fight to the U.K. Supreme Court.
Lawyer Karen Todner said Tappin will instead lodge an application with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, within a few days, and will ask the court to halt extradition proceedings until his case is heard.
Another Tappin lawyer, Edward Fitzgerald, had argued that under European human rights legislation, Tappin should not be extradited because he had to care for his sick wife.
U.K. judges have ruled that the severity of the charges against Tappin outweighed his right to not be extradited, but Todner said that the British government had agreed not to begin extradition proceedings for 14 days, to give Tappin time to lodge the European appeal.
Tappin's case is the latest to expose trans-Atlantic tensions over the exchange of criminal suspects.
Lawyers complain that under "fast track" extradition procedures introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. is not required to offer substantial proof of an allegation when seeking to extradite a suspect from Britain.
But in October 2011, a judge-led review in the U.K. found that extradition agreements between the United States and Britain are fair and unbiased.
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NBC wins the night with pro bowl; CBS most-watched
(Reuters)
LOS ANGELES, Jan 30 (TheWrap.com) ? The Pro Bowl gave NBC a decisive win in the key adults 18-49 demographic Sunday night, though CBS took the win for most-watched network of the evening, according to preliminary numbers.
Though the Pro Bowl numbers are subject to revision, the game, which ran from 7:30 to 11 p.m., drew a 3.6/9 in the demo and 10.5 million total viewers. It was down 18 percent from last year's telecast, which aired on Fox. The pre-game program at 7 was the night's highest-rated program, with a 3.9/11 in the demo and 12.2 million total viewers. Overall, the network averaged a 3.7/9 in the demo to take the night's top ratings.
CBS came in second in the demo but took the night's largest audience, thanks largely to "Undercover Boss," which had the night's most total viewers. "60 Minutes" at 7 posted a 1.5/4 in the demo and 11.2 million total viewers. "Undercover Boss" aired the following hour, growing 30 percent over last week's airing with a 3.0/7 in the demo and 13 million total viewers. "The Good Wife" at 9 received a 2.2/5 in the demo and 10.9 million total viewers, while "CSI: Miami" closed the night at 10, slipping 15 percent from its last original airing three weeks ago with a 2.2/6 in the demo and 10.4 million total viewers. The network averaged 11.4 million total viewers throughout the night.
ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" at 7 grew had a 1.9/5 in the demo and 7.3 million total viewers, while "Once Upon a Time" at 8 received a 3.4/8 in the demo and 10.7 million total viewers. The network finished off the night with the movie "A Smile As Big As the Moon" at 9, which received a 1.5/4 in the demo and 6.8 million total viewers.
Fox's animated shows dipped dramatically since new episodes last aired two weeks ago, when they were boosted by football. Following a "Bob's Burgers" repeat at 7, "The Cleveland Show" at 7:30 posted a 0.7/2 in the demo and 2.7 million total viewers. "The Simpsons" at 8 dropped 56 percent from two weeks ago for a 2.4/6 in the demo and 5.1 million total viewers. "Napoleon Dynamite" at 8:30 was off 52 percent versus two weeks ago for a 2.1/5 in the demo and 4.4 million total viewers, while "Family Guy" at 9 dropped 32 percent for a 3.0/7 in the demo and 5.9 million total viewers. "American Dad" capped the night at 9:30 with a 2.4/5 in the demo and 4.7 million total viewers.
Ask Engadget: Best HD LED Pico Projector for a small room?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Ellio, who fancies switching up his home entertainment kit with a HD LED projector. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
"I'm looking to buy a small HD LED projector to use at home for movies and games etc. I'd prefer it to be small to avoid having another large black box cluttering up the place and LED because of the decent lifetime compared to traditional projectors. I'd be happy with a 720p resolution device, but a lot of pico projectors are under 30 lumens, is this level sufficient for a decent size-display in a dim room? Thanks a bunch!"
So, what's it gonna be dear friends? If you don't know the drill: it's a jump to your left, a step to your right, put your hands on your hips and leave a comment below.
You know the economy is really going to bloody hell when ATMs start to pay bank customers with dead rodents, which is exactly what happened to this guy on the right. He got his cash and the dead Mickey on the left. More »
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, left, talks to an unidentified man after arriving at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, left, talks to an unidentified man after arriving at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, left, and his wife Callista, center, arrive at Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Lutz, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, leaves his campaign bus and boards his campaign plane in Panama City, Fla., as he travels to Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks to members of the news media, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, after arriving at the Chester County Airport in Downingtown, Pa. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)
MIAMI (AP) ? Newt Gingrich slammed GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney for "carpet-bombing" his record ahead of Tuesday's presidential primary in Florida, trying to cut into the resurgent front-runner's lead in the final 48 hours before the vote.
On the defensive after barrage of attacks from Romney and a political committee that supports him, Gingrich said Romney had lied and the GOP establishment had allowed it.
"I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said during appearances on Sunday talk shows. "I think the Republican establishment believes it's OK to say and do virtually anything to stop a genuine insurgency from winning because they are very afraid of losing control of the old order."
Despite Romney's effort to turn positive, the Florida contest has become decidedly bitter and personal. Romney and Gingrich have tangled over policy and character since Gingrich's stunning victory over the well-funded Romney in the South Carolina primary Jan. 21.
Showing no signs of letting up, Gingrich objected to a Romney campaign ad that includes a 1997 NBC News report on the House's decision to discipline the then-House speaker for ethics charges.
"It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all," Gingrich said.
Gingrich acknowledged the possibility that he could lose in Florida and pledged to compete with Romney all the way to the party's national convention this summer.
An NBC/Marist poll showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters and Gingrich slipping to 27 percent.
While Romney had spent the past several days sharply attacking Gingrich, he pivoted over the weekend to refocus his criticism on President Barack Obama, calling the Democratic incumbent "detached from reality." The former Massachusetts governor criticized Obama's plan to cut the size of the military and said the administration had a weak foreign policy.
Gingrich's South Carolina momentum has largely evaporated amid the pounding he has sustained from Romney's campaign and the pro-Romney group called Restore Our Future. They have spent some $6.8 million in ads criticizing Gingrich in the Florida campaign's final week.
Gingrich planned to campaign Sunday in central Florida, while Romney scheduled rallies in the south. He was also looking ahead to the Nevada caucuses Feb. 4, airing ads in that state and citing the endorsement Sunday of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada's largest newspaper.
Gingrich collected the weekend endorsement of Herman Cain, a tea party favorite and former presidential hopeful whose White House effort foundered amid sexual harassment allegations.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, planned to remain in Pennsylvania where his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, was hospitalized, and resume campaigning as soon as possible, according to his campaign. She has a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul has invested little in the Florida race and is looking ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.
Gingrich appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and ABC's "This Week." Paul was on CNN's "State of the Union."
___
Associated Press writer Philip Elliott in Tampa contributed to this report.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? High winds reportedly topping 50 mph forced organizers to temporarily evacuate two tents at the NFL Experience interactive fan exhibit in downtown Indianapolis.
NFL Experience spokesman Noah Gold said visitors were ushered out of sponsor and memorabilia tents Sunday after tent operators read high wind speeds on gauges attached to the tents. The tents reopened about an hour later.
Gold said he wasn't sure how fast the winds were blowing prior to evacuation, but WTHR-TV reported downtown wind gusts up to 51 mph were recorded Sunday afternoon.
Parts of the NFL Experience featuring football games and shopping inside the Indiana Convention Center were not evacuated.
Gold said he didn't know how many people were evacuated.
Need for courtroom artists fade as cameras move in
(AP)
CHICAGO ? One marker in hand and one in his mouth, Lou Chukman glances up and down from a sketchpad to a reputed Chicago mobster across the courtroom ? drawing feverishly to capture the drama of the judge's verdict before the moment passes.
Sketch artists have been the public's eyes at high-profile trials for decades ? a remnant of an age when drawings in broadsheet papers, school books or travel chronicles were how people glimpsed the world beyond their own.
Today, their ranks are thinning swiftly as states move to lift longstanding bans on cameras in courtrooms. As of a year ago, 14 states still had them ? but at least three, including Illinois this month, have taken steps since then to end the prohibitions.
"When people say to me, `Wow, you are a courtroom artist' ? I always say, `One day, you can tell your grandchildren you met a Stegosaurus," Chukman, 56, explained outside court. "We're an anachronism now, like blacksmiths."
Cutbacks in news budgets and shifts in aesthetic sensibilities toward digitized graphics have all contributed to the form's decline, said Maryland-based sketch artist Art Lien.
While the erosion of the job may not be much noticed by people reading and watching the news, Lien says something significant is being lost. Video or photos can't do what sketch artists can, he said, such as compressing hours of court action onto a single drawing that crystallizes the events.
The best courtroom drawings hang in museums or sell to collectors for thousands of dollars.
"I think people should lament the passing of this art form," Lien said.
But while courtroom drawing has a long history ? artists did illustrations of the Salem witch trials in 1692 ? the artistry can sometimes be sketchy. A bald lawyer ends up with a full head of hair. A defendant has two left hands. A portly judge is drawn rail-thin.
Subjects often complain as they see the drawings during court recesses, said Chicago artist Carol Renaud.
"They'll say, `Hey! My nose is too big.' And sometimes they're right," she conceded. "We do the drawings so fast."
Courtroom drawing doesn't attract most aspiring artists because it doesn't afford the luxury of laboring over a work for days until it's just right, said Andy Austin, who has drawn Chicago's biggest trials over 40 years, including that of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
"You have to put your work on the air or in a newspaper whether you like it or not," she said.
The job also involves long stretches of tedium punctuated by bursts of action as a witness sobs or defendant faint. It can also get downright creepy.
At Gacy's trial, a client asked Austin for an image of him smiling. So, she sought to catch the eye of the man accused of killing 33 people. When she finally did, she beamed. He beamed back.
"The two of us smiled at each other like the two happiest people in the world until the sketch was finished," Austin recalled in her memoirs, titled "Rule 53," after the directive that bars cameras in U.S. courts.
There's no school specifically for courtroom artists. Many slipped or were nudged into it by circumstance.
Renaud drew fashion illustrations for Marshall Field's commercials into the `90s but lost that job when the department store starting relying on photographers. That led her to courtroom drawing.
Artists sometime get to court early and sketch the empty room. But coming in with a drawing fully finished in advance is seen as unethical.
Some artists use charcoal, water colors or pungent markers, which can leave those sitting nearby queasy. Most start with a quick pencil sketch, then fill it in. Austin draws right off the bat with her color pencils.
"If I overthink it, I get lost," she said. "I have a visceral reaction. I just hope what I feel is conveyed to my pen."
These days, Chukman and Renaud fear for their livelihoods. They make the bulk of their annual income off their court work. Working for a TV station or a newspaper can bring in about $300 a day. A trial lasting a month can mean a $6,000 paycheck. Chukman does other work on the side, including drawing caricatures as gifts.
Austin is semiretired and so she says she worries less. She also notes that federal courts ? where some of the most notorious trials take place, like the two corruption trials of impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich ? seem more adamant about not allowing cameras.
Still, though Rule 53 remains in place, federal courts are experimenting with cameras in very limited cases.
"If federal courts do follow, that will be the end of us," Austin said.
Renaud holds out hope that, even if the worst happens, there will still be demand from lawyers for courtroom drawings they can hang in their offices. Lien plans to bolster his income by launching a website selling work from historic trials he covered, including of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Chukman, a courtroom artist for around 30 years, jokes that if asked for his opinion, he'd have told state-court authorities to keep the ban in place a few more years until he retires.
"I recognize my profession exists simply because of gaps in the law ? and I've been grateful for them," he said wistfully. "This line of work has been good to me."
Obama pokes fun during dinner for capital elites
(AP)
WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama told some jokes and poked a little fun at himself as he addressed the Alfalfa Club dinner, an exclusive annual black-tie get-together of some of the capital's movers and shakers.
The club's sole mission is to put on a steak-and-lobster feast while giving high-powered politicians and business leaders another opportunity to rub elbows and share some laughs. Saturday night's dinner was, as in years past, off limits to reporters.
"It is great to be here tonight, because I have about 45 more minutes on the State of the Union that I'd like to deliver tonight," the president told the gathering, according to excerpts released by the White House.
Among those attending were current and former senators, including John Kerry of Massachusetts and Pat Leahy of Vermont. Former President George H.W. Bush and his son Jeb, a former governor of Florida, were also on the guest list.
"You've heard it from the pundits: `Obama is cloistered in the White House.' `He's aloof.' `He's in the bubble.' `He's not connecting,'" the president said. "And that's why one of my big goals this year was to get out and be among everyday, ordinary Americans -- like the men and women of the Alfalfa Club."
His appearance at the dinner came at the end of a high profile week for the president, beginning with his address to a joint session of Congress and ending with a three-day tour of five states that included an exchange of words with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.
According to club history, the club is named after the alfalfa because the plant extends its roots far for a drink.
Obama was joined at the dinner, at a hotel near the White House, by his wife, Michelle.
It was the second club dinner the president addressed in four years. He last spoke at the dinner in 2009 but skipped the soiree last year and in 2010.
FILE - This March 14, 2011 file photo released by the Connecticut Department of Correction shows Joshua Komisarjevsky, convicted Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 on several counts related to the beating of Dr. William Petit Jr., and killing his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit and their two daughters in a July 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, Conn. Komisarjevsky will be formally sentenced to death Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Connecticut Department of Correction, File)
FILE - This March 14, 2011 file photo released by the Connecticut Department of Correction shows Joshua Komisarjevsky, convicted Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 on several counts related to the beating of Dr. William Petit Jr., and killing his wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit and their two daughters in a July 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, Conn. Komisarjevsky will be formally sentenced to death Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Connecticut Department of Correction, File)
Dr. William Petit Jr. arrives at Superior Court in New Haven for the formal sentencing of Joshua Komisarjevsky in New Haven, Conn., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Komisarjevsky is joining co-defendent Steven Hayes on death row for the 2007 killings of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, in their Cheshire home. Petit is the sole survivor of the crime. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
FILE - This June 2007 file photo provided by Dr. William Petit Jr., shows Dr. Petit, left, with his daughters Michaela, front, Hayley, center rear, and his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, on Cape Cod, Mass. Dr. Petit was severely beaten and his wife and two daughters were killed during a home invasion in Cheshire, Conn., July 23, 2007. Joshua Komisarjevsky was convicted Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 for the crimes, and will be formally sentenced to death Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/William Petit, File)
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) ? A U.S. man was sentenced Friday to die for killing a woman and her two daughters during a night of terror in their suburban home, a crime that halted momentum to abolish the death penalty in the state of Connecticut.
Joshua Komisarjevsky, 31, blamed his accomplice for much of the crime but spoke of the devastating consequences of his decisions. He said he has family and supporters who don't want him to die and said being sentenced to death was a "surreal experience."
"I know my responsibilities, but what I cannot do is carry the responsibilities of the actions of another," Komisarjevsky said. "I did not want those innocent women to die."
Komisarjevsky joins accomplice Steven Hayes and nine other men on Connecticut's death row. The state's last execution in 2005 was the first since 1960, and Komisarjevsky will likely spend years, if not decades, in prison.
The two paroled burglars tormented a family of four in an affluent suburb before killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and leaving her daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, to die in a fire.
The only survivor, Dr. William Petit, was beaten with a baseball bat and tied up but escaped.
Hayes was convicted in 2010 of raping and strangling Hawke-Petit and killing the girls. The girls were tied to their beds and doused in gasoline before the house was set ablaze; they died of smoke inhalation. Komisarjevsky was convicted of the killings and of sexually assaulting Michaela.
Petit called the crime a "personal holocaust" as he testified during the sentencing hearing.
"I lost my family and my home," he said. "They were three special people. Your children are your jewels."
The 2007 attack led to the defeat of a bill to outlaw the death penalty in Connecticut and sparked tougher state laws for repeat offenders and home invasions.
In arguing for a life sentence, his lawyers said he was repeatedly sexually abused as a child by his foster brother and he never got proper psychological help as his problems worsened.
Prosecutors said the rape claims emerged years later when Komisarjevsky faced prison time for 19 nighttime residential burglaries committed a decade ago.
Komisarjevsky admitted in an audiotaped confession played for the jury that he spotted Hawke-Petit and Michaela at a supermarket and followed them to their house. After going home and putting his own daughter to bed, he and Hayes returned to the Petit house in the middle of the night to rob it.
The men, who blamed each other for escalating the crime, were caught fleeing in the family's car.
Komisarjevsky did not testify during his trial but objected unsuccessfully to an effort by his attorneys to play a videotaped interview of his 9-year-old daughter. Speaking outside the presence of the jury, he said he didn't want his daughter to feel compelled to help "one of the most hated people in America."
Mind over matter: Patients' perceptions of illness make a difference
ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2012) ? Whenever we fall ill, there are many different factors that come together to influence the course of our illness. Additional medical conditions, stress levels, and social support all have an impact on our health and well-being, especially when we are ill. But a new report suggests that what you think about your illness matters just as much, if not more, in determining your health outcomes.
In the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Keith Petrie, of the University of Auckland, and John Weinman, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, review the existing literature on patients' perceptions of illness. The authors find that people's illness perceptions bear a direct relationship to several important health outcomes, including their level of functioning and ability, utilization of health care, adherence to treatment plans laid out by health care professionals, and even overall mortality.
In fact, some research suggests that how a person views his illness may play a bigger role in determining his health outcomes than the actual severity of his disease.
In general, our illness perceptions emerge out of our beliefs about illness and what illness means in the context of our lives. So, we might have beliefs about how an illness is caused, how long it will last, how it will impact us or our family members, and how we can control or cure it. The bottom line, says Petrie, is that "patients' perceptions of their illness guide their decisions about health." If, for example, we feel like a prescribed treatment isn't making us feel better we might stop that treatment.
Research on illness perceptions suggest that effective health care treatment plans are about much more than having a competent physician. According to Petrie, "a doctor can make accurate diagnoses and have excellent treatments but if the therapy doesn't fit with the patient's view of their illness, they are unlikely to keep taking it." A treatment that does not consider the patient's view is likely to fail, he argues.
The authors conclude that understanding illness perceptions and incorporating them into health care is critical to effective treatment. Asking patients about how they view their illness gives physicians the opportunity to identify and correct any inaccurate beliefs patients may have. Once a patient's illness perceptions are clearly laid out, a physician can try to nudge those beliefs in a direction that is more compatible with treatment or better health outcomes. Such conversations can help practitioners identify patients that are at particular risk of coping poorly with the demands of their illness.
Research confirms that brief, straightforward psychoeducational interventions can modify negative illness beliefs and lead to improvements over a range of different health outcomes. But this research is still new and scientists don't know much about how our illness perceptions develop in the first place. With mounting pressure to lower the costs of healthcare, continued research on illness perceptions will help practitioners design effective interventions that are able to reach a large number of patients.
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Keith Petrie and John Weinman. Patients? Perceptions of Their Illness: The Dynamo of Volition in Health Care. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2012
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All Critics (169) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (162) | Rotten (6)
It may not entirely work as a movie, but The Muppets shines as a piece of touching pop nostalgia.
The purity of the nostalgia turns this franchise film into a love letter to childhood.
You can rest easy - if you have previously loved the Muppets, you will likely currently love The Muppets.
The chorus of one of the songs declares, 'I've got everything that I need, right in front of me.' For 120 minutes, that's precisely how I felt.
[Filmmakers] hew close to the essential innocence informing the Muppets' silliness.
The Muppets is a triumph of simplicity, innocence and goofy jokes. It's a triumph of felt.
It's never cloying or too knowing. Cynicism and wariness are real world concerns that have no place among the foam and felt.
Brushing aside decades of nostalgia, this is a whip-smart postmodern romp with a warm heart to boot, and as such, it should please both life-long fans and new initiates to the Muppet universe.
invites viewers to become a bit like the dreamer Walter and, in (re)discovering and embracing their inner child (not to mention their inner muppet), to join a fantastic, funny family that never grows old, no matter how times may have changed.
The innocence is slightly twisted, the harmonious camaraderie is slightly corrosive and the characters are slightly eccentric
I smiled throughout this madcap joyous adventure in which the Muppets are funny, silly, colourful and totally endearing in what must be the happiest film of the New Year
MY inner child - the one who loved The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper - really wants to give this film five stars.
By focusing on the Muppets of The Muppet Show (1976-1981) rather than the independent Muppets of prior films, the writers open up an unexplored aspect of Muppet lore ripe for revival.
A nice throwback to the good old days of the Muppets.
Under James Bobin's direction, however, the outing feels cheap and strangely small-screen.
An altogether charming, smart and strangely moving little movie.
The Muppets may be one of the best films of the year, not judged as a children's film, or a family film, but instead, simply as a film.
The Muppets is really two movies. And one of those movies is quite good, albeit awfully similar to previous films.
Even balcony critics Waldorf and Statler would have a hard time faulting this Wonkaful delight.
I am a fan of The Muppets and I'm glad to see them making a comeback. Maybe if this movie is a hit, they'll make a sequel where they'll actually get to be the stars of their own film.
A good imitation of the Muppet style.
The Muppets is a celebration of all things Muppets -- filled with fun, laughter and moments of pure joy.
The Muppets heralds the return of Jim Henson's beloved furry creations, resurrected from pop-culture irrelevance and lovingly restored to their former greatness in a vibrant comedy-musical.
The film's success is owed to the fact that the living, breathing actors understand the show belongs to the Muppets. In their capable paws, claws, and flippers, the fun, kindness, and total, unadulterated wackiness of The Muppet Show is finally back.
The expansion pack is a direct update to the original app, and brings with it 4 whole new levels among a bunch of other cool new features. We're not going to bore you with details, because we know you'd rather be playing this. Hit the break for download links, and a trailer for "The Leftover."
Apple to offer employees a $500 discount on Macs, $250 off of an iPad
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly said during an Apple Town Hall meeting on Wednesday that Apple employees will receive a generous discount on Apple products in return for their hard work. Employees typically receive a 25% discount off of hardware, but they will soon be able to purchase a new Mac computer at a $500 discount or an iPad with a $250 discount, 9to5Mac?reported. Employees must have worked with the company for a minimum of 30 days and can only take advantage of the deal once every three years, and they should be able to take advantage of the new deals beginning this June.
The Winter of Morocco's Discontent: Will the Arab Spring Arrive?
(Time.com)
Could Morocco be next? For nearly a year, Moroccans have clashed with riot police in near-weekly protests, as they take to the streets to demand more political freedom and better economic opportunities. Yet even so, it had seemed that the country would avoid the kind of upheaval that has rocked Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria, thanks largely to timely reforms of its monarch, King Mohammed VI, who moved quickly to try to placate unrest when it began in February 2011. Through months of turmoil in the Arab world, Morocco's 32 million people have voted in a new constitution, unseated the governing party and installed a new Islamist government.
But something is still missing. Having promised true democracy, the King may find himself increasingly the target of people's frustrations. It is a conundrum for Mohammed VI the reformer: he remains the unchallenged ruler-for-life, whose authority cannot be questioned under Moroccan law. Moroccans increasingly believe that to win far-reaching democratic changes, an all-out confrontation with royal authority might be needed. "If the government and King don't react really fast, people will be asking for other things in the street," says Reda Oulamine, an attorney who heads the Association of Law and Justice, a pro-democracy organization in Casablanca. "As we've seen in the Arab Spring, things can move fast." (See TIME's photoessay "Deadly Explosion Rocks a Moroccan Cafe.")
The clearest sign yet that Morocco's stability might be at risk came last Wednesday, when five university graduates set themselves on fire in the capital Rabat, as part of nationwide protests against unemployment. Three of the men were hospitalized with severe burns. Though the protests by jobless graduates began months ago, the images on YouTube of young men aflame still shocked many people, in part because it echoed the start of the Arab Spring in December, 2010 with the self-immolation of a Tunisian fruit vendor. His death brought hundreds of thousands of Tunisians into the streets, within weeks driving President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power after 23 years, and helping to inspire the Egyptian and Libyan revolutions.
Within days of Ben Ali's downfall last January, the King of Morocco scrambled to stave off a similar explosion in his country, ordering police to crack down hard on protesters but also promising Moroccans serious reforms. Last June, he signed a new constitution, ensuring freedom of speech and expanding the parliament's powers, including giving the majority political party the right to name the Prime Minister, who until then had been a royal appointee. (See "Morocco's Revolutionaries: The Crazy Kids Have Grown Up.")
In some ways, the King's actions have been a success: Moroccans overwhelmingly approved the new constitution in a July referendum, and ousted the ruling party in November elections, bringing in the Islamist Justice and Development Party -- hardly an ally of royalty.
Yet the newly elected politicians have found themselves hemmed in by the entrenched interests of the King and his advisors, as they try to implement meaningful changes. Having won their election on an anti-poverty campaign, the new government wants to raise taxes on the rich, and cut fuel subsidies to businesses, especially the powerful state-run phosphate industry, which is controlled by close associates to the King. "The new Islamist-led government and the monarchy are on a collision course," Riccardo Fabiani, North Africa analyst for the Eurasia Group, wrote in a briefing note on Monday. Without serious reforms, he says, people's frustrations will boil over in "a wave of unrest across the country."
Until now, the opposition, led by the youth organization called "February 20," has remained too divided to confront the monarch. But some believe that could change. "Contrary to what many people abroad have thought, Morocco is no exception from the Arab world," Oulamine says. "There is a lack of prospects and a lack of hope."
The issues in Morocco are similar to those that sparked the region's revolts: High unemployment and a wide gulf between rich and poor. Perhaps not surprisingly, the King opposes the new government's economic plans, and has the power to block them under Moroccan law. The new Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, who leads of the majority Justice and Development party and is the first with the title not to be appointed by the king, is nevertheless dependent on the monarch to ratify laws that the parliament passes. Royal approval is proving to be difficult. Benkirane "remains bound hand and foot to the royal palace," says Ahmed Benchemsi, the former publisher of Morocco's popular news magazine TelQuel, who is a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. "The King can still block any law he dislikes," he wrote in an article in this month's Journal of Democracy, which is published by Johns Hopkins University. "He alone convenes, presides over, and sets the agenda for the Council of Ministers -- a body whose approval is needed before Parliament can even consider a bill."
Press freedoms remain limited too, despite the new constitution. One of Morocco's best-known newspaper columnists, Rachid Nini, was sentenced to a year in jail last July for offending public officials and disparaging the courts; he has since become a cause celebre for activists. Much like Egyptians and Tunisians, Moroccans have long accepted the limits to their freedom, perhaps out of genuine affection for their King, and also because their economy was growing. That patience is now fraying.
The recession has hit Morocco hard, especially since the country depends heavily on its trade with the European Union; about 70% of Morocco's exports head to Europe, and the economy has long relied on remittances from 3 million Moroccans working in Europe. Those remittances dropped about 12.5% during the first year after the 2008 recession hit, according to the World Bank, as Moroccans have lost their jobs. There are also few jobs for those Moroccans who return home. Unemployment stands at about 10% and is about double that rate for youth, according to the World Bank.
Even with a major jobs plan, Morocco could take years to overcome problems like poor-quality schools, few of which teach English or French. Oulimane says the education system leaves Moroccans ill-prepared for the job market. "If you join any modern company or administration and you only speak Arabic, they will say, 'would you like to wash the dishes or sweep the floor?'" he says. "Ninety-nine percent of schools are worthless factories producing unemployed people." Now, those unemployed people are taking to the streets.
As senior education specialist at the Region One Education Service Center, the student testing expert frequenftly attends education seminars across the state and travels throughout the Rio Grande Valley, assisting 37 school districts from Laredo to Brownsville.
At the same time, Buchanan, 52, struggled to make room for her own professional development.
?I always wanted to get a doctorate. It was just a matter of how and ? more importantly ? when,? she said. ?I can?t commit to a class where I need to be there every Tuesday and Thursday.
?That?s just not my lifestyle,? Buchanan added, ?but online, I can do that in the office, at home in pajamas, at an airport, anywhere.?
Inspired by her supervisor, she enrolled in the University of Phoenix in 2008 and within three years, she had earned her doctorate through a dissertation on special education in the Valley.
Buchanan recently offered her praise of the for-profit, online university, which operates more than 200 locations across the country and opened its first physical campus south of San Antonio in Mission this month.
?It?s more rigorous, more demanding than I imagined,? she said. ?So many people dropped out who started in my same (doctoral program) cohort. Those of us who made it to the end have taken ourselves to the next level of our careers.?
?
?TODAY?S STUDENT?
Earlier this month, local mayors, workforce development officials and university alumni attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Mikal Powers, the first director the McAllen campus, which is located at 4201 S. Shary Road in Missionf.
A Phoenix graduate himself, Powers said the Valley location has been in the works for at least two years and follows a growing demand from border residents hoping to expand their horizons. Across the Valley, the university currently counts 550 students and nearly 700 graduates.
?Today?s student has broken out of the old model,? Powers said. ?They can juggle one to two jobs, a family (and) community responsibilities. All they want is a flexible schedule.
?We offer that,? he said. ?And sometimes it?s better to sit in classes with peers that are like you, rather than thousands of fresh high school graduates on a traditional university campus.?
With nearly 100 academic programs available online, the university will offer the new campus to Valley residents who still prefer an in-class approach to higher education.
Students can select from 29 different bachelor?s and master?s degree options, mostly in business and criminal justice studies, with local professionals teaching those on-campus classes.
?The No. 1 benefit of being in class with people from professional backgrounds is hearing their perspectives, building a post-graduation network, knowing the faculty all work in the real world and maintain a relevancy in their courses,? Powers said.
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PROS AND CONS
Though students can switch as they please between online and physical classes, the price and success rate of the University of Phoenix could play a larger factor than convenience.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, estimated tuition for the online university can top $11,520 per academic year. In contrast, Texas residents attending the University of Texas-Pan American or South Texas College would only pay about $4,795 and $2,678, respectively.
But echoing Powers, Keith Patridge, CEO and president of the McAllen Economic Development Corp., said students will benefit from having an alternative and individually weigh the pros and cons.
?I don?t even begin to profess what?s the best selection for them,? he said. ?When you start looking at population size and look at other metropolitan areas around the country ? tell me how many have just one four-year and graduate-level institution and one two-year community college institution?
?There is such a demand and opportunity that we haven?t even begun to fill the educational needs in our community,? Patridge added. ?Consumers ? students in this case ? benefit from more competition.?
However, competition has bred mixed results.
The NCES says UTPA has a 19 percent student loan default. But the University of Phoenix?s online students have a 93 percent default rate, and students who attend the San Antonio campus have an 85 percent default rate.
That may occur because for-profit students are more likely to be unemployed six years after entering college and make on average between $1,800 and $2,000 less than their peers, the National Bureau of Economic Research reports.
However, graduation rates are nearly identical for UTPA and the University of Phoenix: 35 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
Though Powers could not speak to national studies or statistics, he said his university has revamped its academic and graduate support services to enhance students? employability and success.
He highlighted new online resources that provide financial consultants, career guidance, national and local networks and even daily services, such as daycare and counseling services.
?Take me as a prime example of the transition services offered to re-enter the workforce and apply your new skills,? Powers said. ?If you asked around, you?d be surprised how many University of Phoenix graduates lead McAllen businesses and services.
?We?re dedicated to connecting the goals you want to achieve, the education you need to get there and the people who want to hire you.?
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Neal Morton covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at nmorton@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4472.
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TWITTER Follow Neal Morton on Twitter: @nealtmorton
Kim Kardashian Donates $50,000 to The Trevor Project
(omg!)
Kim Kardashian is giving back.
The Kourtney and Kim Take New York reality star recently donated the $50,000 she raised during a September 2011 fundraiser to The Trevor Project, an organization that provides suicide prevention services to LGBT teens.
PHOTOS: A-list LGBT allies
Kardashian, 31, raised the funds during a trip to the Cantor Fitzgerald offices in New York City, where she was put to work on the trading floor.
PHOTOS: Kim and sister Kourtney explore New York City
"The firm lost more than 600 employees in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, they donated all revenues from their trades to charities around the world," she wrote on her blog at the time. "I was honored to take part!"
PHOTOS: Celebrities' good deeds
Kardashian joins celebrities including Glee's Kevin McHale, Daniel Radcliffe, Adam Lambert and Kathy Griffin in supporting The Trevor Project, which aims to end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people.
Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Subscribe to Us Weekly
iPhone, iPad app rewards being a couch potato
(AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Want to earn stuff by watching TV? A free app for that is set to debut Wednesday.
When you tap the screen, Viggle's software for iPhones and iPads listens to what's on, recognizes what you're watching and gives you credit at roughly two points per minute. It even works for shows you've saved on a digital video recorder.
Rack up 7,500 points, and you'll be rewarded with a $5 gift card from retailers such as Burger King, Starbucks, Apple's iTunes, Best Buy and CVS, which you can redeem directly from your device.
With some back-of-the-napkin math, you can figure that it would take three weeks of watching TV every night for three hours to earn enough for a latte at Starbucks.
But the company plans to offer bonus points for checking into certain shows such as "American Idol" and 1,500 points for signing up. You can also get extra points for watching an ad on your device. The beta version awarded 100 points for watching a 15-second ad from Verizon Wireless.
"Viggle is the first loyalty program for TV," said Chris Stephenson, president of the company behind Viggle, Function (X) Inc. "We're basically allowing people to get rewards for doing something they're doing already and that they love to do."
The idea behind Viggle is that by giving people an added reason to watch TV, the size of the audience will increase, thereby allowing makers of shows to earn more money from advertisers. Advertisers such as Burger King, Pepsi and Gatorade have also agreed to pay to have point-hungry users watch their ads on a mobile device.
In exchange, users earn points, which Viggle converts into real value by buying gift cards at a slight discount from retailers.
If the company gets the point-count economy right, it can end up making more money from advertisers and networks than it gives away in rewards.
The app will also give the company valuable insight into who is watching what, as redeeming rewards requires putting in your age, gender, email address and ZIP code.
"It really shows what social TV is going to evolve into," said Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst at research firm Gartner. "For folks behind the scenes, this is a great way of seeing who really is watching."
The company hopes that user activity will grow by word of mouth, especially by offering a 200-point bonus to people who successfully get their friends to try out the service.
The app makes its debut in Apple Inc.'s app store on Wednesday. Versions for Android devices and computers are in the works.
The company has put in some safeguards. You must watch a show at least 10 minutes to earn bonus points. And you can't watch the same ad over and over again to earn more points; there's a one-ad-view-per-person rule.
Function (X) is owned and led by entertainment entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman, who once owned a big stake in "American Idol" owner CKx Inc. That gives the company deep and broad connections in the entertainment business.
Function (X) has brought in $100 million in investment capital, and its stock trades on the Pink Sheets, a platform that allows people to buy shares but doesn't require the company release its financial results. Function (X) currently has a market value of about $1 billion.
Contact: Neal Devaraj scinews@ucsd.edu University of California - San Diego
A novel reaction using a simple metal catalyst creates molecules that self-assemble into biomimetic membranes
Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life.
Neal Devaraj, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and Itay Budin, a graduate student at Harvard University, report their success in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
"One of our long term, very ambitious goals is to try to make an artificial cell, a synthetic living unit from the bottom up to make a living organism from non-living molecules that have never been through or touched a living organism," Devaraj said. "Presumably this occurred at some point in the past. Otherwise life wouldn't exist."
By assembling an essential component of earthly life with no biological precursors, they hope to illuminate life's origins.
"We don't understand this really fundamental step in our existence, which is how non-living matter went to living matter," Devaraj said. "So this is a really ripe area to try to understand what knowledge we lack about how that transition might have occurred. That could teach us a lot even the basic chemical, biological principles that are necessary for life."
Molecules that make up cell membranes have heads that mix easily with water and tails that repel it. In water, they form a double layer with heads out and tails in, a barrier that sequesters the contents of the cell.
Devaraj and Budin created similar molecules with a novel reaction that joins two chains of lipids. Nature uses complex enzymes that are themselves embedded in membranes to accomplish this, making it hard to understand how the very first membranes came to be.
"In our system, we use a sort of primitive catalyst, a very simple metal ion," Devaraj said. "The reaction itself is completely artificial. There's no biological equivalent of this chemical reaction. This is how you could have a de novo formation of membranes."
They created the synthetic membranes from a watery emulsion of an oil and a detergent. Alone it's stable. Add copper ions and sturdy vesicles and tubules begin to bud off the oil droplets. After 24 hours, the oil droplets are gone, "consumed" by the self-assembling membranes.
Although other scientists recently announced the creation of a "synthetic cell," only its genome was artificial. The rest was a hijacked bacterial cell. Fully artificial life will require the union of both an information-carrying genome and a three-dimensional structure to house it.
The real value of this discovery might reside in its simplicity. From commercially available precursors, the scientists needed just one preparatory step to create each starting lipid chain.
"It's trivial and can be done in a day," Devaraj said. "New people who join the lab can make membranes from day one."
###
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering supported this work. UC San Diego has filed a patent application on this discovery. Anyone with commercial interest in the research or application should contact senior licensing officer Eric Gosink in the technology transfer office at egosink@ucsd.edu.
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Contact: Neal Devaraj scinews@ucsd.edu University of California - San Diego
A novel reaction using a simple metal catalyst creates molecules that self-assemble into biomimetic membranes
Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life.
Neal Devaraj, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, and Itay Budin, a graduate student at Harvard University, report their success in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
"One of our long term, very ambitious goals is to try to make an artificial cell, a synthetic living unit from the bottom up to make a living organism from non-living molecules that have never been through or touched a living organism," Devaraj said. "Presumably this occurred at some point in the past. Otherwise life wouldn't exist."
By assembling an essential component of earthly life with no biological precursors, they hope to illuminate life's origins.
"We don't understand this really fundamental step in our existence, which is how non-living matter went to living matter," Devaraj said. "So this is a really ripe area to try to understand what knowledge we lack about how that transition might have occurred. That could teach us a lot even the basic chemical, biological principles that are necessary for life."
Molecules that make up cell membranes have heads that mix easily with water and tails that repel it. In water, they form a double layer with heads out and tails in, a barrier that sequesters the contents of the cell.
Devaraj and Budin created similar molecules with a novel reaction that joins two chains of lipids. Nature uses complex enzymes that are themselves embedded in membranes to accomplish this, making it hard to understand how the very first membranes came to be.
"In our system, we use a sort of primitive catalyst, a very simple metal ion," Devaraj said. "The reaction itself is completely artificial. There's no biological equivalent of this chemical reaction. This is how you could have a de novo formation of membranes."
They created the synthetic membranes from a watery emulsion of an oil and a detergent. Alone it's stable. Add copper ions and sturdy vesicles and tubules begin to bud off the oil droplets. After 24 hours, the oil droplets are gone, "consumed" by the self-assembling membranes.
Although other scientists recently announced the creation of a "synthetic cell," only its genome was artificial. The rest was a hijacked bacterial cell. Fully artificial life will require the union of both an information-carrying genome and a three-dimensional structure to house it.
The real value of this discovery might reside in its simplicity. From commercially available precursors, the scientists needed just one preparatory step to create each starting lipid chain.
"It's trivial and can be done in a day," Devaraj said. "New people who join the lab can make membranes from day one."
###
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering supported this work. UC San Diego has filed a patent application on this discovery. Anyone with commercial interest in the research or application should contact senior licensing officer Eric Gosink in the technology transfer office at egosink@ucsd.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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