- There may in fact be an app for just about everything. With NASA winding down its time of shooting human beings into outer space, the agency will send two iPhone 4s on its final shuttle mission next month. A company called Odyssey Space Research says it has developed an iPhone app, called SpaceLab for iOS, that will be used on the International Space Station for several months this year to conduct space research. The iPhones will be equipped with the app and carried aboard the Atlantis space shuttle to the space station, where the astronauts on the mission will conduct four experiments. According to Odyssey Space Research, a "Limb Tracker" experiment will involve taking pictures of the Earth with the iPhone and use those images to “match an arc to the horizon through manipulation of an overlay." The experiment will "yield an estimate of altitude and 'off-axis' angle, a measurement of the angle of the image with respect to the Earth's center." For those who actually understand complicated outer-spacy things, all of that is probably very exciting. Another of the iPhone experiments will be a "sensor calibration experience" that will help to improve the accuracy of future iPhone measurements. The smartphone’s gyroscope and accelerometer will be utilized to determine the latitude and longitude of the spacecraft. Another phone-centric experiment will measure radiation effects on the smartphone while in space. And hey, it wouldn’t truly be an American endeavor if someone wasn’t making money off of it, so Odyssey has launched its application in Apple's App Store. By wasting 99 cents, users can have this worthless app and perform the same experiments with information simulated "to account for the presence of gravity." Sounds like a total rip-off, no? The real space-bound iPhones will be aboard the Atlantis shuttle when it takes off on its final mission on July 8……………
- A recent wave of mega-blockbusters was no match for a highly anticipated indie movie at the box office this weekend. The dream duo of Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams churned out a win with $37 million in the debut of their latest project, besting four big-name, big budget films that have dropped and then dropped like a rock in the past few weeks. Second place went to one of those declining films, X-Men: First Class, which fell off 55 percent and made just $25 million in its second weekend of release. The movie still hasn’t crossed the $100 million mark domestically ($98.8 million and counting) and is on pace to be the lowest-earning of the X-Men movies. The Hangover Part 2 came in third place in its third weekend, falling off 41 percent but adding $18.5 million to its cumulative total for a three-week haul of $216.6 million. Fourth place was owned by Kung Fu Panda 2, earning $16.6 million to elevate its running tally to $126.9 million through its first three weeks in theaters. Last among the top five was a film that still isn't overwhelming anyone but is making a decent amount of money, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It chipped off an additional $10.8 million and through four weeks has made $208.7 million domestically. The latter half of the top 10 was made up of: Bridesmaids (No. 6 and close on Pirates’ heels with $10.1 million and a five-week haul of $123.9 million), newcomer Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer (No. 7 with $6.2 and easily the most successful debuting film for the weekend), Midnight in Paris (No. 8 with $6.1 million and $14.2 million through four weeks of limited release), Thor (No. 8 with $2.370,000 for the weekend and $173.6 for its six-week run in theaters) and Fast Five (running on fumes at No. 10 with $1.7 million and $205.1 million over seven weeks of release). Dropping out of the top 10 from last week were wedding-themed comedies Jumping the Broom (No. 14) and Something Borrowed (No. 15)………….
- Unless something has changed in the past few weeks, the smell of oppression is still the official scent of Iran. Has anything changed? Nope. Not if Iranian security forces are attacking and arresting pro-reform demonstrators gathering in Tehran on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the country's 2009 disputed election, which is exactly what Iran opposition websites reported later in the day. Reports of security guards with electric batons beating down demonstrators spread quickly and early estimated put the number of arrested protestors in the hundreds. Witnesses told tales of thousands of security personnel descending on the scene to sniff out any revival of anti-government protests that followed dictator/despot/all-around bad guy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's shady re-election in 2009. Opposition websites suggested a "silent rally" to mark the vote, which dissidents still believe was rigged to guarantee a win for Ahmadinejad. The dictator and his sycophants have maintained that the election was the most legitimate since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Protests also took place in other areas of the city and shopkeepers were reportedly ordered to close down their shops prior to the protests. Not present for any of the gatherings were opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, who have been under house arrest since calling for a rally on Feb. 14. That rally attracted thousands and two fatalities occurred when security forces opened fire on protestors. Tolerance for any anti-government protests remains extremely low in Iran, where the über-paranoid and oppressive government claims to be worried about revival of anti-government unrest but has ironically condemned military deployment by Saudi Arabia to quell unrest in Bahrain. Keep oppressing, Iran, but realize that there will continue to be blowback for as long as you do…………
- American sports fans, this is undoubtedly a devastating day for you. No, the Miami Heat didn’t ruin your sporting universe by arrogantly waltzing to the NBA championship, nor was any prominent athlete accused of a crime or revealed to be a user of performance-enhancing drugs (yet). No, today is the day after a staggering, crushing loss in a sport so many Americans feel so, so passionately about: soccer. Hey…..stop laughing. America is huge on soccer……right? Okay, so maybe not. In fact, most Americans probably didn’t even realize their national soccer team was playing in an event called the CONCACAF Gold Cup - or even that something called the CONCACAF Gold Cup existed at all. But exist is does and the U.S. isn't faring very well in it. Well, unless you consider a 2-1 loss to soccer powerhouse Panama as success. That was the result Saturday night as the underdog Panamanians guaranteed themselves a spot in the next round of the tournament with a 2-1 victory over the favored U.S. "Sometimes you just come out flat for whatever reason. At this level, and against a good team, you can't do that," U.S. star Landon Donovan said of his team allowing two first-half goals. "Some nights you come out flat and you don't get punished, but other nights you do. We learned a valuable lesson." It was the dynamic (?) duo of Luis Tejada and Gabriel Gomez who found the back of the net for Panama, which won for the first time in nine meetings with the Americans. Sure, the U.S. can still clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the tournament that determines the champion for North and Central America and the Caribbean by beating Guadaloupe in its final Group C stage match Tuesday night in Kansas City, but the embarrassment of losing to Panama has to be immense, or at least it would be if this country gave a damn about soccer. Thankfully, we don’t and so the loss will slide quietly by as the focus remains on the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Major League Baseball season, U.S. Open and just about every sport other than soccer. So advance to the next round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup or don’t, win the CONCACAF Gold Cup or not, just realize it doesn’t much matter…………
- It was quite the scene outside the state capitol in Wisconsin on Thursday, when Gov. Scott Walker did one of the many things politicians are known for: presided over a public ceremony that he probably had little or no interest in. This particular ceremony was actually for a very worthwhile organization, the Special Olympics, with some Special Olympics athletes on hand to be recognized by the controversial governor. Walker has become a polarizing figure across the state and even the nation for pushing through legislation that would strip public employees and their unions of nearly all of their collective bargaining rights. But on this occasion, he was merely there to recognize the Special Olympians when an, um, interesting group came marching by to stage a unique protest. The protestors walked in front of the Special Olympics athletes while Walker was talking and held up their fists - and the protestors were dressed up as zombies, which for some reason was supposed to show their displeasure with the governor’s proposed budget. A video of the incident was posted online by the conservative MacIver Institute and Walker was quick to denounce the demonstration. "I think it was appalling," Walker said. "People who believe that somehow the way to win the debate is to cause destruction and distress is unfortunate." A cynic might suggest that the state’s Democratic Party had something to do with the protest, as Walker is a staunch conservative. Not so, claims Graeme Zielinski, spokesman for the state Democratic Party. "It was totally inappropriate behavior that distracts from the good work the Special Olympics does," Zielinski said. So, let’s hear from one of the protestors and find out why they were apparently upstaging a group of Special Olympians and cashing in on their event for selfish purposes. "I think what is problematic is Scott Walker is speaking at an event for the Special Olympics while at the same time turning his back on those people in his policies and in his budget," said zombie protestor Harriett Rowan. Hmm……a solid enough line of reasoning, so no issues there. At this point, the only party not heard from in this case is The Special Olympics Wisconsin, which did have its event temporarily hijacked. What did they have to say about what went on and how upset were they? Christina Harris, public relations manager for Special Olympics Wisconsin, said the protesters were completely respectful. "They didn't diminish the event," Harris stated. In other words, case closed…………
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