- The champion at the box office this weekend is no
surprise. Hugh Jackman and “The Wolverine” slashed the rest of the field with a
$55 million opening-weekend haul to earn back a large chunk of the film’s $120
million budget. “The Conjuring” lost its top spot and finished second with
$22.1 million, which is still more than its budget ($20 million) and elevates
its cumulative domestic tally to $83.8 million. “Despicable Me 2” also dropped
one spot and ranked third with $16 million and has brought in $306.4 million in
one month of release. “Turbo” was the second animated movie with a top-five
finish, placing fourth and adding $13.3 million to its overall total for a
$55.7 million bank roll in two weeks. Somehow, people went to see “Grown Ups 2”
for a third straight weekend and virtually ensured there will be an even
crappier “Grown Ups 3” in a couple of years by padding the film’s total
earnings with $11.5 million for a three-week tally of $101.6 million. The
geezer action heroes of “Red 2” made $9.4 million for the frame and have scored
$35.1 million in the film’s first two weeks. “Pacific Rim” snagged seventh
place with $7.5 million and its run continues to fall short of the mark with
$84 million in domestic earnings through three weeks against the backdrop of a
$190 million budget. “The Heat” hung around the top 10 for another weekend,
bringing in $6.8 million and upping its five-week total to $141.2 million.
“R.I.P.D.” was terrible once more, making a mere $5.8 million and stumbling to
a two-week bank roll of $24.3 million with a $130 million budget hanging over
its head. “Fruitvale
Station” rode plenty of positive buzz to tenth place despite remaining in
limited release. It made $4.6 million even though its showed in a mere 1,064
theaters and has earned $6.3 million in three weeks. “World War Z” (No. 12) and
“Monsters University” tumbled out from last weekend’s top 10………
- So, how is that quest for tolerance and racial
understanding going, world? Before answering that question, take a quick look
at Italy, where the country's first black minister made a speech over the weekend and
had an ass hat in the crowd show an immense amount of class by throwing bananas
at her. Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge is originally from Democratic
Republic of Congo and she spoke at a rally in Cervia in central Italy on Friday.
The bananas came hurtling toward the stage but missed their target. It is a
continuation of the bigotry Kyenge has faced since joining the government. She
has faced almost daily racial slurs and threats and earlier this month, the
anti-immigration Northern League party likened her to an orangutan. Oh, and
there was the enlightened local Northern League councilor who said Kyenge
should be raped so she understands how victims of crimes committed by
immigrants feel. That tool has received a suspended jail sentence and a
temporary ban from public office. Prior to Friday’s event, members of the
far-right Forza Nuova group left mannequins covered in fake blood near the site
of the Democratic Party rally in protest against Kyenge's proposal to make
anyone born on Italian soil a citizen. The group also distributed leaflets with
the slogan “Immigration kills.” Italian police are seeking the banana thrower,
but Forza Nuova has denied responsibility. Kyenge tweeted about the thrown
banana, calling it "sad" and a waste of food. "The courage and
optimism to change things has to come above all from the bottom up to reach the
institutions," she added. Several top government officials expressed
support for Kyenge and condemnation of the incident on Saturday and Environment
Minister Andrea Orlando tweeted that he felt "utmost indignation for this
lowly act" against his fellow minister………
- Every NFL player prepares for the season differently.
Some find a warm climate and work out on the beach, others return to their
hometown to train where they trained growing up and others seek out elite
trainers and follow strict regimens designed to put them a step ahead of their
peers when everyone reports for training camp. Dallas Cowboys receiver Dwayne
Harris chose none of those options, yet he showed up at training camp in
California weighing a svelte 199 pounds, down nine pounds from his playing
weight last season. When Harris showed up shredded and in top shape, he was
asked how he managed to improve his conditioning and odds are that no one
around him would have guessed what he was about to say. Sure, he ate better and
worked out a little more, but that’s as far as the common part of his tale
goes. For the rest of his weight loss, Harris gives credit to the inspiration
of of "Rocky II" with Sylvester Stallone chasing chickens around.
That’s right, Harris chased animals around and while there aren’t any cheesy
montages scored with ’80s music and him sprinting up the side of a mountain in
Russia wearing a pair of boots, or of him assaulting a side of beef in a meat
packing plant, there damn well could be footage of him trying to run down all
manner of wildlife. "I'd just go out, man, and look for stuff to run after.
All kinds of stuff. Rabbits. Cats. Everything,” Harris said. “Especially when I
was back at home with my mom [in Stone Mountain, Ga.]. We live in the woods, so
there was a lot of stuff running out there." His also chased his dog,
Polo, a pit bull. "I'd chase after him because he doesn't want to come
home," Harris said. His dog has slowed down a bit at 6 years old, but he
was fast enough to keep his owner chasing after him to get into top form for
the NFL season…….
- Ever wanted to hack into one of the most common cars
found on America’s roadways? Now is your chance. Two well-known computer hackers will drop some major knowledge on the
world this week when they release a how-to guide for hijacking and driving a
Toyota Prius and Ford Escape. Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek plan to release
the findings of their own informal study as part of the Def Con hacking
convention in Las Vegas. Their government-funded research unearthed a way to alternately
force a Prius to brake at 80 mph, veer quickly and dramatically, or accelerate,
all without the driver’s prompting. The pair have also figured out a way
to disable a Ford Escape’s brakes while the vehicle is traveling at “very low
speeds,” regardless of how much the driver attempts to stop the vehicle. Sadly,
a hacker would have to be inside the car in order to tamper with its computer
in both instances, so taking control of some poor fool’s vehicle from a
computer hundreds or even thousands of miles away is still a pipe dream. “Imagine
what would happen if you were near a crowd,” Valasek said, adding that his and
Miller’s research exposes weaknesses in automobile security systems so patches
can be applied and criminals’ plots foiled. Their work produced a 100-page
paper they hope will encourage other hackers to uncover additional automobile
security flaws before they can be potentially exposed by malicious parties. “I
trust the eyes of 100 security researchers more than the eyes that are in Ford
and Toyota,” Miller said. A Toyota spokesman confirmed that the company was
reviewing Miller and Valasek’s work, while Ford downplayed the study as
unrealistic in a real-world scenario………
- Turning tragedy into art is rarely easy, but one homeowner along the Atlantic Ocean
shoreline is doing just that in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Milford, Ct.
resident Susan Ashelford lives in a neighborhood that was bludgeoned by the
storm and like so many Americans all along the coast, she returned home to find
debris strewn around her yard and neighborhood. The storm has not dampened her
enthusiasm for living on the coast, but she is using its aftermath to crank out
some very creative artwork that she hopes will expedite the healing process. "You
live on the water because you love it," Ashelford said. "But, it can
be so deadly and destructive at the same time." Her home emerged largely
unscathed from the hurricane, but many of her neighbors had their domiciles
devastated by its high winds and massive deluge of rain. Rebuilding has not
been easy and with government aid and insurance money slow to roll in, residents
of the neighborhood are struggling to get back on their feet. "It takes
time, when you have to get the money yourselves," Ashelford said. Her
backyard was hit heavily and remains in a state of chaos nine months after the
storm, including a shed that was toppled and left on its side and a fence that
is broken down and in need of major repair. After looking at this disheveled
scene for weeks, Ashelford decided to take action. "I was looking at it
and thought: what can I do?" she said. "Is there something I can make
from all the debris, rather than sending it to the landfill?" She turned
her fence posts into a picture frame for her nephew's wedding gift and the
fence itself was converted into towel hooks, key chain holders and yard signs.
Her art is sold at a downtown gift store called Given to Gauche and a portion
of each sale goes to the Milford United Way Sandy Relief Fund………
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