Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/happy-birthday-harry-styles/
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Saturday, February 2, 2013
Beyonce admits Inauguration Day pre-recording
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Beyonce answered critics of her Inauguration Day performance the best way she could ? with another sterling performance of the national anthem.
The difference?
On Thursday, it was live: She admitted during her Super Bowl news conference that when she performed for President Barack Obama and the nation, she decided to sing to a prerecorded track because she didn't have time to practice. Calling herself a self-proclaimed "perfectionist," she said wanted the day to go off without a hitch.
"I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra," she said, adding that she was also emotional that day. "Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I'm very proud of my performance."
It was the superstar's first public comments on what has become known as "Beyonce-gate."
Her rendition of the anthem was critically praised, but was scrutinized less than a day later when a representative from the U.S. Marine Band said Beyonce was lip-syncing ? merely mouthing the words to a pre-recorded track ? and the band's accompanying performance was taped. Shortly after, the group backed off its initial statement and said no one could tell if she was singing live or not.
With the controversy growing each day, and everyone from politicians to other entertainers weighing in, the inauguration performance threatened to overshadow her planned Super Bowl halftime show. So the 31-year-old, wearing a tight, cream mini-dress, addressed the issue as soon as she took to the podium Thursday afternoon.
She asked everyone to stand, and, with an image of the American flag behind her, performed a live rendition of the national anthem that mirrored the one on Inauguration Day. After, she said with a laugh: "Any questions?"
Despite her performance, there were.
When pressed about whether any sound was coming from her voice when she sang for the president, she said she was singing along to the track and not mimicking (though it's unclear how audible her voice was). And when asked if she would be singing live at the Super Bowl, she said: "I will absolutely be singing live.
"This is what I was born to do."
She added later: "I always sing live. ... The inauguration was unfortunately a time where I could not rehearse with the orchestra, actually because I was rehearsing for the Super Bowl. So that was always the plan."
Beyonce also got a chance to talk more in detail about the reason why she was in New Orleans ? to perform at the halftime show. Calling it one of her career aspirations, she said when she arrived at the Superdome, she was so moved by the experience she took her shoes off and ran on the field, taking in the history at the famed venue.
"It really makes me emotional," she said. "When I am no longer here, it's what they're gonna show."
Beyonce has teased photos and video of herself preparing for the show, which will perhaps be the biggest audience of her career. Last year, Madonna's halftime performance was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance ever, with an average of 114 million viewers. It garnered more viewers than the game itself, which was the most-watched U.S. TV event in history.
But she would not give anything more away about the performance. While a Destiny's Child reunion was shot down by Michelle Williams, who is starring in a production of "Fela!", the third Destiny's Child member, Kelly Rowland, is in town. Beyonce laughed off questions of whether Rowland or Beyonce's husband, Jay-Z, would join her on stage.
"I can't give you any details, sorry," she said.
She also would not reveal her set list, though acknowledged she was having a hard time trying to "condense a career into 12 minutes."
Before the news conference, Beyonce's "Life is But A Dream" was shown to the media. The documentary about the star's life features her talking in-depth about intimate details of her life, including suffering a miscarriage; it will air on HBO on Feb. 16.
In it, she also reveals more of her 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, whom she called her inspiration.
"I feel like my daughter changed me and changed my life and has given me so much purpose," she said. She added that she was counting down until 9 p.m. Sunday, when her performance would be over ? and she could be reunited with Blue Ivy.
___
Follow Nekesa Mumbi Moody at http://www.twitter.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beyonce-admits-inauguration-day-pre-recording-213034359--spt.html
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New video brings Webb Telescope's third mirror to light
Feb. 1, 2013 ? There are four types of mirrors that will fly on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. They're called the "primary, secondary, tertiary" and fine steering mirrors. Although the 18 primary mirror segments make the biggest splash, the other mirrors are equally as important. A new video takes viewers behind the scenes for a special look at the tertiary mirror.
The video called, "Third Light's the Charm" is part of an on-going video series about the Webb telescope called "Behind the Webb" (http://webbtelescope.org/webb_telescope/behind_the_webb/17). The video, produced by Mary Estacion from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., takes viewers behind the scenes with scientists and engineers who are creating the Webb telescope's components.
The 2 minute, 41 second video takes viewers to Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colo., where Koby Smith, Aft Optics Subsystem Integrated Product Team lead, explains how light is manipulated with the Webb mirrors to get a clearer understanding of the object being focused upon.
There are 18 hexagonal mirror segments that, when combined, make up the large primary mirror with a collecting area of 25 meters squared (269.1 square feet).The secondary mirror is perfectly rounded and convex, so the reflective surface bulges toward the light source. The tertiary mirror is the third stop for light coming into the telescope and is the only fixed mirror in the system -- all of the other mirrors align to it.
"The tertiary mirror is approximately a meter wide and is designed to accept the light from many field points and relay them through the fine steering mirror to the instruments," said Lee Feinberg, NASA Optical Telescope Element Manager for the Webb telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Smith explained, "The light from an object reflects off the primary mirror, the secondary mirror, into the Aft Optics Subsystem's aperture, and off the tertiary and fine steering mirrors, before entering the science instruments in the back of the telescope." The Aft Optics Subsystem sits in the middle of all of those mirrors.
All the mirrors are made of a light metal called beryllium which is very strong for its weight and holds its shape across a range of temperatures.
Estacion also takes viewers into the optical test tent within a clean room for a look at the tertiary mirror. She and Smith explain the process it still needs to go through to be ready for flight on the Webb telescope.
The optical test tent is used for testing the secondary and tertiary mirrors. Smith shows viewers an interferometer that's used to measure the surface quality of the optics. It sends out a wavefront of light and compares it to a known reference, and any deviations on that surface will appear as fringes on a camera screen.
Estacion explains that there are more steps in the preparation of the tertiary mirror including vibration and thermal testing before being integrated with the rest of the telescope.
The James Webb Space Telescope will be the world's next-generation space observatory and successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. As the most powerful space telescope ever built, Webb will observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies ever formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
The "Behind the Webb" video series is available in HQ, large and small Quicktime formats, HD, Large and Small WMV formats, and HD, Large and Small Xvid formats.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/JUrzafyFA5k/130201092514.htm
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Denver International Airport 'Mustang' Sculpture Eligible For Removal This Month
The controversial and attention-grabbing blue mustang sculpture at Denver International Airport is eligible for removal soon, 9News reports.
The sculpture titled simply, "Mustang," turns five years old on February 11, meaning the city can start accepting petitions to remove the art piece.
"People's view of public art changes as they look at it," Erin Trapp, director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs told 5280 after the mustang was installed. Trapp then said that the city would not consider removing it until 2013.
Greeting visitors and returning residents of Colorado with its fiery yellow-red eyes, the sculpture has been an icon both beloved and hated. It has even been unofficially known by such names as the "Denver Demon Mustang," "Bluecifer," "DIAblo," and "Satan's Stallion."
A Denver art panel commissioned $300,000 to sculptor Luis Jimenez to create the 32-foot fiberglass horse before DIA was opened, according to Westword. After Jimenez missed completion deadlines, the city filed a lawsuit to push its completion.
In 2006 while completing the mustang, an unsecured piece of the 9,000 pound sculpture fell on 66-year-old Jimenez killing him. The sculpture was installed two years later posthumously, and the city ended up paying $650,000 -- or more than double -- what it had originally intended.
"It will forever incite dialogue, promote dialogue and discussion," said then-President of Denver City Council Michael Hancock at the mustang's dedication event four years ago.
Then-Mayor of Denver John Hickenlooper insisted he liked it.
"Not only is it (Jimenez's) largest sculpture, but I think it's also his most powerful sculpture in that sense that it has so much energy that is controlled within it," Hickenlooper said at the dedication ceremony.
Since Jimenez's death, the sculpture has often been called "cursed." Others however, just hate it.
"It's definitely achieved its purpose of being memorable," Rachel Hultin told The New York Times the year after the horse was installed at DIA. At the time she created byebyebluemustang.com, a website that no longer exists but expressed a common desire to see the mustang go.
Today there are Facebook pages that express support for the mustang. But on Feb. 11, "Mustang" turns five and public comment has reopened the discussion about the sculpture's fate.
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Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet's Hybrid Grill - Business Insider
This is the Hybrid Fire Grill by Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.
Why We Love It: Most grills allow you to cook with gas, wood, or charcoal, but not all three at the same time. That's where the Hybrid Fire Grill comes in. With its deep firebox, it enhances the heat of conventional grilling, and can slow cook at 150 degrees, or sear meat at 1,200 degrees.
The grill grates are customized with patterns designed specifically for grilling vegetables, fish, and meat, and the grill comes with a deep clean-out bin to capture the grease and debris from cooking that's much easier to handle than the standard, cookie-tray designs.
The grills are formed, welded, finished, and assembled in the Michigan-based factory, and each grill is custom-made to your specifications.
?
Where To Buy: Order through the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet website.
Cost: Range in price from $9,995 to $20,195 (depending on customer specifications).
Want to nominate a cool product for?Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/kalamazoo-outdoor-gourmets-hybrid-grill-2013-2
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Friday, February 1, 2013
Rubio?s Amnesty: A Path To Oblivion For The GOP
Written By : Ann Coulter
January 31, 2013
Apart from finding out that Barack Obama did far worse in his re-election than nearly any other incumbent who won re-election, the only thing that perked me up after Nov. 6 was coming across a Time magazine published after the 2004 election, when George W. Bush won a second term.
In the mirror image of all the 2012 post-election analyses, the Democrats were said to be finished, out of ideas, hopelessly unpopular. It?s like watching MSNBC, with the word ?Democrats? replaced with ?Republicans.?
Democrats had thrown everything they had into beating Bush, crushing the Howard Dean wing of their party and running a moderate ? a Vietnam veteran, no less! They had George Soros, Michael Moore and Code Pink working like fiends to topple Bush.
Still, they lost to an incumbent. As Time noted, the Democrats had ?lost five of the past seven presidential elections.?
But the pendulum swings. The Democrats came roaring back in 2006 and again in 2008. There?s no reason Republicans can?t do the same, unburdened by having to run against an incumbent in 2016.
Unless Marco Rubio has his way.
The Democrats never change their ideas; they change the voters. For decades, Democrats have been working feverishly to create more Democrats by encouraging divorce (another Democratic voter!), illegitimacy (another Democratic voter!) and Third World immigration (another Democratic voter!).
Strangely, some Republicans seem determined to create more Democratic voters, too. That will be the primary result of Sen. Marco Rubio?s amnesty plan.
IT?S NOT AMNESTY! Rubio?s proponents cry. They seem to think they can bully Republicans the way the Democrats do, by controlling the language.
Rubio?s bill is nothing but amnesty. It isn?t even ?amnesty thinly disguised as border enforcement.? This is a wolf in wolf?s clothing.
Despite all the blather about how Rubio demands ?Enforcement First!? the very first thing his proposal does is make illegal aliens legal. (Don?t call them ?illegal aliens?!)
The ability to live and work legally in America is the most valuable commodity in the world; it?s the Hope Diamond of the universe. I know young, well-educated Canadians who waited a decade for that privilege.
Step One of Marco Rubio?s plan is: Grant illegal aliens the right to live and work in America legally. (Rubio?s first move in poker: Fold.)
People who have broken our laws will thus leap ahead of millions of foreigners dying to immigrate here, but ? unwilling to enter illegally ? waiting patiently in their own countries.
The only thing the newly legalized illegal immigrants won?t get immediately is citizenship. Rubio claims that under his plan, they won?t be able to vote or go on welfare. But in practice, they?ll have to wait only until the ACLU finds a judge to say otherwise.
Even under Rubio?s scheme, all the children born to the 11 million newly legalized illegals will be instant citizens, able to collect welfare for their whole families and vote as soon as they are old enough.
Which won?t be long: The vast majority of illegal aliens are Hispanic, and Hispanics have a higher teen birthrate than any other ethnic group. In California, a majority of all Hispanic births are illegitimate. That?s a lot of Democratic voters coming.
And look how great that?s turned out! With Hispanics on track to become the largest ethnic group in California this year, the state that gave us Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan is incapable of electing any Republican statewide anymore. Taxes keep going up, and there?s no one left to pay the bill.
That will be our entire country if Republicans fall for Rubio?s phony ?Enforcement First!? plan. Perplexingly, some Republicans seem determined to turn the whole nation into California, in the foolish hope of winning one last election.
No border can be secure when the pot of gold on the other side is an American green card. (Again playing games with language, Rubio doesn?t call the right to legally live and work here a ?green card,? but in practical effect, that?s what it is.)
So when exactly does the enforcement part of Rubio?s ?Enforcement First!? plan kick in? Answer: Never.
Or rather, enforcement becomes both impossible ? because nothing will stop them if legalization is the lure ? and irrelevant ? because there?s no penalty for leaving the border wide open.
Even if enforcement ?fails,? are the 11 million illegals already legalized by Rubio going to be asked to leave? Of course not.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is a Republican who ? as a Princeton and Harvard Law graduate ? does not yearn for ?strange new respect? from the elites. This week, he said of Rubio?s amnesty plan: ?To allow those who came here illegally to be placed on such a path is both inconsistent with rule of law and profoundly unfair to the millions of legal immigrants who waited years, if not decades, to come to America legally.?
If only other Republicans didn?t ride the tea party to victory before realizing they really just want to be John McCain.
Source: http://www.rightwingnews.com/column-2/rubios-amnesty-a-path-to-oblivion-for-the-gop/
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Good Reads: Mexico City cleans up, avoiding 'truth,' and a rare visit to North Korea
This week's good reads include Mexico City's bike-sharing and walkways, the gap between information and understanding, outsourcing personal chores, and a young American's insights on the 'hermit kingdom.'
New metrobus lines in Mexico City have helped to ease traffic congestion.
Bernardo Montoya/Reuters/File
EnlargeMexico City has long had a dark cloud hovering over it ? both literally and figuratively ? when it comes to traffic woes and vehicle emissions. As recently as 2011, residents of Mexico?s vibrant capital city reported ?enduring the most painful commute,? according to a report in National Geographic. ?Based on factors such as roadway traffic, stress levels, and commute times, the city scored worse than 19 cities, including Beijing, China, and Nairobi, Kenya.?
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So it might come as a surprise that this megacity, home to 20 million people and more than 4 million vehicles, was recently selected to receive the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy?s Sustainable Transport Award.
National Geographic describes Mexico City?s progress, noting that over the past two years the city has taken great strides to become more pedestrian-friendly with car-free walkways and plazas, new bus lines, a bike-sharing program, and a system of parking meters.
Sure, traffic still exists and air quality isn?t perfect, but anyone who has been to the bustling metropolis knows the hurdles the city has had to confront and what great progress must have been made to entitle it to an award of this sort.
Avoiding the truth
?In the three or four decades after 1490, the human experience on planet Earth arguably changed more than it had since the Year One,? writes Todd S. Purdum in Vanity Fair. And the life-altering changes that took place ? from international exploration connecting the Eastern and Western Hemispheres for the first time to the creation of movable type ? may have been the most revolutionary years civilization has seen. Until now.
?[W]e know almost everything? today, Mr. Purdum notes. That?s thanks in part to a second round of radical change that started a few short decades ago and continues in full force. Changes such as the ?ricochets? of money and people around the world, and the simplification of information sharing via the Internet. But our newfound knowledge and interconnectivity doesn?t necessarily mean we understand our environment or ?The Truths? that confront us.
Unlike our forefathers ? who may not have had enough information to understand that the ?sweating sickness? (malaria) that suddenly plagued coastal England was linked to the slave trade, or who couldn?t foresee that the printing press might also launch freethinking and religious wars ? we aren?t in the dark. We have overwhelming amounts of information that wash over us daily that we can?t seem to process.
Consider the lasting debate over global warming, despite the volumes of real-time proof.
?Fixed cameras can capture the melting of glaciers through time-lapse photography, but they can?t quell the doubts of climate-change deniers,? Purdum offers as one example.
The chore of no more chores
Have you ever dreamed of coming home from work and having that pile of dirty laundry miraculously washed and folded? Or of having that book that?s been taunting you from your bedside table read in time for your next book club meeting? You, dear reader, are not alone.
?Oh, to be rich and powerful,? Patricia Marx writes in the opening of her New Yorker article ?Outsource yourself: The online way to delegate your chores.? Ms. Marx takes her readers through a humorous journey of ?test driving? the world of online services. There, ?Task Rabbits? (errand runners) and ?virtual personal assistants? can be hired to do everything from writing a brief history of outsourcing in the US for an article (hers) or even to read Proust and come up with insightful musings to impress book club friends (hers again).
There are numerous websites and Internet communities dedicated to outsourced work. But, as you might imagine, Marx?s adventures reveal that after spending time soliciting errand runners for simple tasks and then sifting through bids on these chores, it might just be quicker to do them yourself.
Turn up the heat, North Korea
Sophie Schmidt, daughter of Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, tagged along in January when her father took part in a nine-person US delegation to North Korea, organized by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Ms. Schmidt, a grad school student, made a number of enlightening observations about the ?hermit kingdom? on her blog, Sophie in North Korea.
In a post titled ?It might not get weirder than this,? Schmidt writes, ?Our trip was a mixture of highly staged encounters, tightly-orchestrated viewings and what seemed like genuine human moments.? She notes under ?Top Level Take-aways? that ?Nothing I?d read or heard beforehand really prepared me for what we saw.? It was also extremely cold and none of the sites they toured ? schools, malls, and government buildings ? were heated, despite frigid temperatures.?
?It is quite extraordinary to have the Honored Guest Experience in such conditions: they?re proudly showing you their latest technology or best library, and you can see your breath. A clue to how much is really in their control.?
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