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Thursday, June 30, 2011
WTF? FASHION MINUTE! June 30th, 2011
Love Nina Dobrev ("Vampire Diaries"). Hate that she has a penchant for cheap-looking dresses, such as this Georges Chakra mini. Abhor her hideous Aldo heels. |
Kardashian family friend and former Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon opted to wear this garish getup to a recent liquor-fueled fete in NYC. Are you a fan of her belly-baring outfit? |
Is it just me, or is Fergie starting to look a little rough around the edges? Regardless, the head-to-toe Louis Vuitton ensemble she donned for the amfAR Inspiration Gala wasn't doing her any favors. |
Nicki Minaj, 'nuff said. |
Presenting Erykah Badu ... |
pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne, who made the mistake of pairing a tattered tank with lace-paneled leather pants and spike-adorned booties. |
Kourtney Kardashian, There is a problem when all of your accessories are bigger than your skirt ... and your head. |
La Toya Jackson, who wore not one, but two, over-sized brooches and a massive hairpiece to her "book" signing in Ridgewood, New Jersey. |
Are you green with envy over Lady Gaga's Valentino trench, Louboutin platform pumps, or undersea-inspired coif? |
True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard
Alexander Skarsgard hits the red carpet where he talks with Access about what lies ahead in Season 4 for his "True Blood" character, Eric Northman. Will viewers see a very different side of the vampire? MadOne
Air Jordan 11 Low IE Black/Varsity Red-White Release Date
Jordan Brand is also scheduled to unleash the Air Jordan 11 Low IE Black/Varsity Red-White during next month. Specifically, the Air Jordan 11 Low IE Black/Varsity Red-White will officially release on July 16, 2011, for $120. If you recall, this Air Jordan 11 Low IE originally released in 1996 and retroed for the first time in 2003. Although the IE version does not intrigue as many as a regular Air Jordan 11 would, it is still expected to garner a lot of interest. As stated earlier, the Air Jordan 11 Low IE Black/Varsity Red-White will hit retailers on July 16, 2011. NiceKicks
Jordan Fly Wade “South Beach” Release Date
Although the Miami Heat lost the championship this year, the joining of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh proved to be a great influence for everything including jokes and sneakers. Nike and Jordan Brand used this Miami gathering as inspiration for a number of releases such as this Jordan Fly Wade “South Beach”. We have now learned that this shoe will officially hit retailers on July 23, 2011, for $140. Inspired by the ever-so-popular Miami Vice show, this shoe features a mainly black glossy finish, along with contrasting Copa Blue and University Blue accents. Perfect Pink hints further connect with the Miami Vice theme. Nice Kicks
Brain Implant Lets Thoughts Control Prosthetic Limbs
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a noninvasive, low-power brain implant that could lead to several new technologies in the future, including the neural manipulation of prosthetic limbs. This could allow amputees and paralysis victims to move plastic or metal arms and legs with their minds.
The implant, titled BioBolt after its boltlike shape, can be inserted directly into the skull without penetrating the brain's cortex. Unlike other neural implants, which typically require a patient's skull to remain open during use, the BioBolt is designed for realistic applications – the implant fits above the skull and is completely covered by a layer of skin, keeping it completely unobtrusive and practical for everyday use. In addition to allowing people to move prosthetic or plastic arms using their brains, the BioBolt could help doctors diagnose diseases such as epilepsy, according to Euisik Yoon, a Michigan professor and the principal investigator on this project. Because the procedure it uses is minimally invasive, Yoon says the BioBolt will be far safer and more efficient than other technologies that are currently available.
Still, Yoon admits the BioBolt is still in its infancy stages. The team still has a lot of testing ahead of them before they start using the device for practical purposes. Yoon said the team plans to experiment with BioBolt on primates in the near future. Technews Daily/ MadOne
Google+ Challenges Facebook With Social Network
Google Buzz and Google Wave were strikes one and two, so Google has to get it right with Google+, the search giant’s ambitious new social network. The Google+ Project goes right after Facebook by offering multiple ways of connecting with your friends and family, including a Circles feature that lets users be more choosy about what they decide to share with specific friends. The project is currently invite-only, but we snagged a few invites and will have our first impressions soon. So what exactly is Google+? It’s comprised of four different components, Circles, Sparks, Hangouts, and Mobile. Technews Daily/ MadOne
Circles
Sparks
Hangouts
Mobile
Circles
Sparks
Hangouts
Mobile
Justin Timberlake buys ownership stake in MySpace
The actor and singer has reportedly purchased an ownership stake in MySpace, along with fellow buyer Specific Media. The former N’SNYC member, who played Facebook president and Napster co-founder Sean Parker in The Social Network, will help revamp the diminished website, which the pair just purchased for a mere $35 million from News Corp. According to the Associated Press, Timberlake will take an office at the MySpace headquarters in Beverly Hills, and have a staff of about six people working for him “around the clock,” as Specific Media CEO Tim Vanderhook put it. Specific Media hopes that Timberlake’s celebrity and sway in the music community can help MySpace build upon its success with musicians.
MySpace has been on a downward spiral for years, driven deeper as Facebook skyrocketed in popularity. The $35 million deal is a bargain compared to the $580 million News Corp paid for the site in 2005. (Facebook first launched in 2004.) That’s a loss of $545 million, or 94 percent of the company’s investment. Despite this, News Corp will retain a 5 percent stake in MySpace.
Vanderhook says that, with Timberlake’s help, they can breath new life into the website by focusing on video content, including original shows. The new MySpace will also involve a major upgrade in technology, as well as the an effort to maintain the rights to music that was posted to the site through its partnership venture with major record labels, MySpace Music. MadOne
Human Hand Controlled by Cyborg Attachment
Since early man banged out the first sharp rock, our hands have served as humanity's primary means for controlling technology. Thanks to some robotics researchers in Japan, it seems the tables have turned. By attaching electrodes and a computer to precise points on the wrist, scientists at the University of Tokyo have crafted a device that controls a human hand well enough for the hand's owner to play an instrument far better than their natural skill level would otherwise allow.
Eerily named "PossessedHand," the project began as a way to teach people how to play a Japanese harp called the koto. Electrodes attach to muscles in the arm, and force those muscles to flex. The PossessedHand doesn't produce enough force to totally control the hand, but instead prods the user to make the correct finger motion needed to play the koto.
The PossessedHand isn't the first device of this kind, but it is the most precise. Physical therapists already use cruder non-invasive electrodes for general muscle stimulation, but none of the devices currently in use can produce the coordinated fine motor work needed to play an instrument. As one would expect, test subjects were not altogether thrilled with abdicating control of their hands to a machine, according to New Scientist. However, once that initial fear of robot control subsides, the PossessedHand could find use in a number of muscle-learning situations. Obviously, the device could teach people how to play an instrument, but it could also speed up physical therapy and rehab, helping people who have sustained debilitating injuries relearn how to use their altered bodies. Technews Daily
H&M coming to India
The Swedish retailer is in talks with the country's leading mall developers, planning to open its first local store within the next year, Times of India reports. "Sources said H&M has had recent meetings with mall developers...," the paper writes. "These discussions were informal as H&M is keen on firming up a viable business model for a key growth market like India."
H&M Forum Shops Caesars Palace, Las Vegas |
The chain's main competitor, Spanish retailer Zara, already has four stores in the country, and plans to add more, according to ToI. Moving into India seems a smart move for any clothing brand: according to a new study by market research company Harris Interactive, more than 90 percent of Indians like shopping for clothes, compared to only around 40 percent in the US or France. MadOne
Bright galaxy sheds light on early Universe
This NASA image obtained in February 2011 shows black holes. |
Light from a bright, ancient galaxy with a super-massive black hole at its core, a finding that would help explain aspects of the young Universe. The phenomenon is called a quasar, which are very bright but very distant galaxies with a mighty black hole at their heart.
Measurements show the quasar's black hole has a mass about two billion times that of the Sun, a size hard to reconcile with current theories. Super-massive black holes, according to a common hypothesis, should take billions of years to build up as they gradually suck in matter from their surroundings.
AFP
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Air Jordan 14 Light Graphite/Midnight Navy-Black
Extreme Weather On the Horizon
Epic floods, massive wildfires, drought and the deadliest tornado season in 60 years are ravaging the United States, with scientists warning that climate change will bring even more extreme weather. The human and economic toll over just the past few months has been staggering: hundreds of people have died, and thousands of homes and millions of acres have been lost at a cost estimated at more than $20 billion. And the United States has not even entered peak hurricane season.
Climate change could bring less tornadoes, because while a warmer atmosphere will absorb more precipitation, causing more storms, it could also reduce the wind shear that builds storm intensity when cold and warm fronts collide. However, the intensity of future droughts, heat waves, storms and floods is expected to rise drastically if greenhouse gas emissions don't stabilize soon, said Michael Mann, a scientist at Penn State University. "Even a couple degree warming can make a 100-year event a three-year event," Mann, the head of the university's earth systems science center, told AFP.
More extreme weather is expected in the coming months, said Jon Gottschalck, head of forecast operations at NOAA's climate prediction center.
Mira Oberman | AFP
High court to rule on GPS tracking
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has added a couple of high-profile constitutional challenges to its lineup of cases for next term: One looking at governmental regulation of television content and the other dealing with the authority of police to use a GPS device to track a suspect's movements without a warrant.
In the GPS case, the court will decide whether the police need a warrant before using the device to track a suspect's movements. The justices agreed to hear the Obama administration's appeal of a court ruling that favored a criminal defendant. The federal appeals court in Washington overturned a criminal conviction because the police had no warrant for the GPS device they secretly installed on a man's car. Other appeals courts have ruled that search warrants aren't necessary for GPS tracking. The Justice Department argued that warrantless use of GPS devices does not violate the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches. It also said prompt resolution of the divergent court opinions is critically important to law enforcement.
A three-judge panel of Democratic and Republican appointees unanimously threw out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones of Washington, D.C., a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring. The Justice Department said GPS devices are especially useful in early stages of an investigation, when they can eliminate the use of time-consuming stakeouts as officers seek to gather evidence.
Hitachi to join Toshiba-Sony LCD panel merger
(Reuters) - Hitachi Ltd wants to join the ongoing talks between Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp to combine their units that make small and mid-size LCD panels, the Nikkei business daily reported. Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi aim to reach an agreement in July and the newly created LCD unit could be launched as early as this year, the paper said.
On June 7, Reuters reported citing sources that Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp are in talks to combine their units that make small and mid-size LCD panels for smartphones and tablet computers and may sell a stake in the new entity to the Japanese government for about $1.2 billion. The public-private partnership Innovation Network Corp of Japan, or INCJ, is likely to invest about 200 billion yen ($2.47 billion)for about a 70 percent stake consisting of preferred and common shares, Nikkei said, adding that the three companies would then split the remaining interest.