Entirety of Michael Jackson's Will Leaked

Michael Jackson's Will -

Voice Translator Coming to iPhone and Blackberry [VID]

BY Cliff Kuang

Witness the Real-life (Beta) Version of Star Trek's Universal Translator

Sakhr Mobile develops an iPhone app for troops and diplomats that translates Arabic speech into English, and visa versa--and there's video of it, in action.

Fast Company just got a tip about one of the first products of that effort, an iPhone and Blackberry app, created by Sakhr Software and Dial Directions, that does natural language translation. Check out the video of the app, translating sinister-sounding--but all-too-real--phrases like "The prime minister will form a new government":

This is the first product from Sakhr, which has just announced its acquisition of Dial Directions. Sakhr works on devices that scan Arabic words and then offer machine translations, and its customers already include the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Dial Directions, for its part, creates voice-entry applications.

Creating the app you see above was a matter of combining those technologies--first, the speech recognition part, which transcribes what's being said, and then applying Sakhr's know-how in translating the text that's produced. Zoinks! The future, apparently, is now. And while the military applications are obvious, we can't help but think the commercial applications are far more vast. How cool would it be to have something like this working for you while hiking in the wilds of India, or China, or any other Federation planet?

Of course, who knows how this device might fare in the field--machine language translators are faced with a daunting test, when posed with the sloppiness of real-life language. Just witness how bad Google's translation still is. The field has made tremendous strides in recent years. Will the pace continue?

Michael Jackson: The Last Photos from Rehearsal

time.com — Shortly before his death, the King of Pop was photographed rehearsing for his sold-out London shows. These 6 photos show him in full dress rehearsal and behind the scenes.

Kevin Mazur / AEG / Getty

This Is It
International pop-music icon Michael Jackson rehearses at Los Angeles' Staples Center on June 23, 2009, two days before his death. Photographer Kevin Mazur was given exclusive access to the sessions.

Kevin Mazur / AEG / Getty

Highlight
More than 800,000 tickets, costing upwards of £1,000 (about $1,650), had been sold for the London shows. Fans have been informed that their money will be refunded.

John Shearer / AEG / Concerts West / Getty

Long Reach
Fans will have a chance to purchase a DVD and album of Jackson's last rehearsals, which is presently being compiled. It is expected to be one of his biggest sellers. This photo was taken on May 6, 2009.

John Shearer / AEG / Concerts West / Getty

Behind the Scenes
Jackson works with choreographer/director Kenny Ortega in a photo taken on May 6, 2009.

Kevin Mazur / AEG / WireImage

Smile
Starting this Christmas, Jackson's family will release a series of posthumous albums, including perhaps songs written for Jackson's children and some left over from his last album, Invincible.

A Perfect Japanese WTF Trailer [NSFW Video]

OK! Paid $500,000 For Michael Jackson Death Photo

By Lucia Moses of Mediaweek

© OK! Weekly

OK! Weekly is bracing for some flak over its pick for this week’s cover. While other publications went with feel-good images to commemorate Michael Jackson, OK! chose a grim photo of the dying star being whisked to the hospital June 25.

A knowledgeable source said British parent Northern & Shell paid the equivalent of roughly U.S. $500,000 for exclusive magazine rights to the photo in the U.S. and U.K.

OK! claims that the photo, which is similar to an image that has appeared on Entertainment Tonight’s Web site, is the last one showing Jackson alive. It plans to use the image in a number of its international editions.

News and entertainment weeklies are counting on huge newsstand sales this week due to the public’s huge interest in the pop phenom’s death. OK! in particular could use the help; its single-copy sales, which provide more than half its 909,884 circulation, have been generally weak this year. (The magazine says that sales have improved in the past few weeks but wouldn’t give out those figures.)

OK! also has been under the harsh spotlight lately over financial losses and continual changes at the masthead.

Sarah Ivens, OK!’s editorial director, said she thought the photo of the dying Jackson would differentiate the title from the rash of tribute-style covers that have begun hitting newsstands this week.

“It’s a photo that captures the surprise and the upset and the moment of this breaking news story,” Ivens said. “I hope the cover will provoke readers. It celebrated the man, but it also does expose that he was an eccentric character who lived a very controversial life.”

iPhone 3G speed performance compared in 13 U.S. cities

comparison of 13 eastern, middle and western cities in the United States of America.

click to enlarge

Image and original 6 page Source via ‘A Day in The Life of 3G’ [PC World] found via Lifehacker

Illegal drugs such as Ecstasy showing up as cartoon-shaped pills in KC

By JOE LAMBE
The Kansas City Star

Ecstasy tablets look like children’s vitamins.

Drugs shaped like Snoopy, Transformers and President Barack Obama’s head recently showed up on Kansas City area streets, adding to a trend that worries police and health experts.

Colorful Ecstasy pills started showing up last year shaped as Homer and Bart Simpson, Ninja Turtles and other characters. As more of the pills that look like vitamins or candy go out locally and nationwide, they put children at great risk, police and experts said.

“Someone leaves this around … kids pick them up and boom,” said H. Westley Clark, director of the federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

The result could be seizures, a spiked blood pressure and heart rate and even death, he said.

Last month, Drug Enforcement Administration officials in Nevada sent out warnings that the cartoon pills were in Las Vegas. Dealers there call Ecstasy “Thizz” and market it to minors, the DEA warned. They also said they had found pills shaped like Ninja Turtles, Transformers and other Simpsons characters.

Police in Utah last month busted a drug ring and found 500 Ecstasy pills stamped in the shape of Obama and Snoopy.

The cartoon character marketing is a ploy by predators to promote a dangerous drug as light fun in order to sell to more teens and young adults, Clark said. The irresponsible marketers also use false advertising, police said, because the tablets often contain no Ecstasy at all but instead a powerful mix of other drugs.

For more than a year, about half the so-called Ecstasy pills tested at labs in Kansas City and Johnson County have turned out not to be Ecstasy. They were a combination of other drugs once used to treat stomach parasites that have effects and dangers similar to Ecstasy.

The shaped tablets are more likely to be fake than flat tablets sold as Ecstasy, drug experts said.

Ecstasy tends to crumble and does not press as easily as the piperazine family of drugs once used to kill stomach worms, said Zachary Skinner, a forensic chemist at the Kansas City Police Department crime lab.

It takes a combination of two variations of piperazine to get the Ecstasy effects, he said. This combination surfaced in New Zealand in the 1990s as “legalX,” but many countries have since criminalized BZP, one of the variations.

In the United States, BZP is illegal under federal law and Missouri law, but it is legal in Kansas.

Balerie Kamb, a supervisor at the Johnson County crime lab, said that should be changed. Her lab started occasionally finding BZP two years ago, but it skyrocketed, she said. “We’re surprised now when we get (Ecstasy) instead of BZP.”

Other state crime labs are starting to report the same. In Ohio, labs first found the worm-killer drugs in January 2008 and within a year they were in more than half the pills tested, according to an Ohio report.

The report also said some users call Ecstasy “a surprise high,” because they never know what they’re getting or how strong it will be. Drugs like caffeine, methamphetamine and even heroin also sometimes get into the pills.

Forget exact dosages and quality control, Clark said, and sloppy manufacturing also can make people sick from bacteria or chemical contamination.

In Australia, more than 60 people have died in the past eight years from Ecstasy or another drug substituted for it, according to media reports.

In the United States, there are no comprehensive numbers on deaths, but reports from cities in eight states found it was involved in 50 deaths in 2005, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Kamb said simply, “You’re playing Russian roulette with these pills.”

---

Ecstasy use rising in Kansas and Missouri
Ecstasy has spread to colleges, high schools and the rap scene since it became popular with rave gatherings in the 1990s.

Although usage has been on the decline nationally, it is up among high school students in Kansas and Missouri, according to government studies.

Americans older than 12 who said they had taken it in the past year dropped from a high of 3.2 million in 2002 to just over 2 million in 2007.

But in the latest surveys from two years ago, Missouri and Kansas are both far above the national average of 5.8 percent of high school students who report they have used Ecstasy.

In Kansas, 8.6 percent of high school students in grades 9 to 12 said they had used the drug, up from 6 percent in 2005.

In Missouri, 6.9 percent of high school students said they had used it, up from 6.1 percent in 2005.

To reach Joe Lambe, call 816-234-7714 or send e-mail to jlambe@kcstar.com. | Joe Lambe, jlambe@kcstar.com

© 2009 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com

The Best Way to Photograph Fireworks

Here's what you need to know to capture the excitement of a summer fireworks display.

Dave Johnson, PC World

For the photographer, winter certainly has its share of iconic subjects, such as Christmas trees, snowmen, and icicles hanging from a roof. But there's nothing quite like the excitement of shooting summertime fireworks. Done right, fireworks photos are dynamic and colorful, and they convey a sense of action better than almost any other kind of still image. Read on to learn how to capture some exciting fireworks photos of your own this summer.

(Photo by foxypar4.)

(Almost) Any Camera Will Do...

Though photos of fireworks look impressive, you don't need specialized gear to get good results. You can use almost any digital camera to capture fireworks, as long as it offers either some degree of manual exposure control (so that you can dial in the right ISO, aperture, and shutter speed settings) or a fireworks scene mode designed to do the work for you.

Even compact digital cameras can meet the challenge. The Fujifilm Finepix F200 EXR shown here, for example, hits the sweet spot for portability and simplicity--it's a superb compact point-and-shoot that, when set to fireworks mode and stabilized to minimize image shake, can take some excellent fireworks shots.

...But a Digital SLR Is Best

Compact cameras eschew features for portability, however. If you like to tinker with your exposure settings, consider an advanced point-and-shoot like the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS. It has a convenient swiveling LCD for shooting unusual angles, such as over the top of a crowd or low down on the ground. A wealth of exposure options let you dial in the one-touch fireworks mode or take more control with shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual exposure settings.

If you have a choice, though, I recommend enlisting a true digital SLR. Digital SLRs tend to generate less noise in the lengthy exposures you'll need to capture fireworks, and they have advanced features such as manual exposure control and external shutter release to minimize shake when you're taking the photo. The Nikon D90 (pictured here), for example, is a favorite not just because it was the first digital SLR to incorporate high-definition video recording, but also because it provides excellent image quality, Live View mode, and face detection for those times when you’re not shooting fireworks.

Stabilize Your Camera

The most important rule for shooting fireworks: Use a slow shutter speed so that you can record those dramatic, colorful light trails as they explode through the sky. But no matter whether you're using a point-and-shoot or a high-end digital SLR, you'll need some sort of support to capture a sharp image, free from the blur that results when you hold a camera in your hands.

A simple, inexpensive, and lightweight tripod is all you need. Keep the tripod head loose so that you can quickly move it around to frame the exploding fireworks, while the tripod legs prevent jiggling.

If you don't want to haul even a compact tripod around, consider using a monopod--since it has just one leg instead of three, it won't be as steady as a tripod, but it can be a reasonable compromise. You could also prop your camera on a solid surface. Some photographers like gadgets such as The Pod (essentially a bean bag with a tripod mount in the top) for steadying the camera on rocks, fences, and other platforms.

Hands Off

You should also avoid touching the camera when the exposure starts, so you don't jiggle it and blur the photo. You could try to use the camera's self-timer to trigger the exposure, but you would have to trigger your exposure in advance to anticipate the best fireworks moment. A better solution is to invest in a wireless remote or a shutter release cable, both of which let you take the photo without touching the camera.

Go Automatic

If your compact camera or advanced point-and-shoot has a fireworks mode, enable it. This mode automatically adjusts the camera's settings for a nighttime exposure. Want to know what's going on behind the scenes? On most cameras, the fireworks mode will turn the flash off, set focus to infinity, disable exposure compensation, and lower the ISO. For the most part, I find that a preset fireworks mode achieves good results for simple shots.

No Fireworks Mode? No Problem

Some point-and-shoots that lack a fireworks mode may still permit you to adjust the settings. Here are some good settings to try, if your camera allows.

Low ISO: Set the camera to its lowest ISO setting to minimize digital noise.

Focus on infinity: Turn off automatic focus and set the camera's focus to infinity so that it doesn't search helplessly for a subject in the dark. Don't have a manual focus control? Use the camera's landscape mode, which also sets the focus to infinity; the low light will encourage the camera to shoot at a slow shutter speed and capture the light trails.

Set the aperture: Dial in an f/stop somewhere between f/8 and f/16. That will help prevent overexposing the scene and avoid light "blooms" coming from the explosions in the sky.

Slow down the shutter: Pick a value between 1 second and 16 seconds for your shutter speed. The longer the exposure, the more fireworks you'll capture in the same frame, and the longer your light trails will be. For really long exposures try covering the lens with your hand or the lens cap between bursts to avoid overexposing the picture.

(Photo by Howard Meyer.)

Shooting With a Digital SLR

If you have a digital SLR, you'll have an easier time--and more options--when setting up your camera for fireworks.

In a nutshell, you'll want to dial in the lowest ISO, throw the camera into full manual mode, choose a small aperture opening (try starting at f/8), and pick a slow shutter speed with an exposure time of between 1 and 4 seconds. After you take your first few pictures, review them to see if you're getting realistic color. If the bright blue, orange, and red fireworks all look kind of white, you should use the same exposure time but close the aperture a bit and try again. That means changing your f/8 setting to f/11 or perhaps f/16. If the fireworks are too dim, open the aperture to f/5.6 or f/4.

Most SLRs have a bulb mode that leaves the shutter open for as long as you hold down the shutter release, giving you total control over the exposure. When the fireworks launch, press the shutter release to start the exposure. Hold the button down until after the fireworks have bloomed, several seconds later. If you go for superlong exposures, you should cover the lens between fireworks.

(Photo by *etoile.)

Get a Wide Angle on the Scene

While you might be tempted to zoom in to get close-ups of the action, I recommend that you use the wider end of your lens's range--or, if you're using a digital SLR, switch to your wide-angle lens. You'll be able to capture more fireworks in a shot and even frame the action against a skyline or other recognizable objects in the foreground.

Of course, you can experiment by changing your zoom range throughout the evening. Just remember that if you zoom in too tightly, you'll have trouble knowing exactly when and where the fireworks are going to do their thing, and you'll end up missing the action.

(Photo by stage88.)

Experimentation Is Key

As you prepare for summer fireworks, remember that capturing the action is often more art than science. Experiment with a range of shutter speeds and aperture settings over the course of the event. If the weather is uncooperative, take advantage by incorporating umbrella-covered spectators into the scene. And don't forget that your photo editing program's cropping tool can sometimes bring a distant fireworks blast front and center, turning a mediocre shot into a keeper.

(For more expert advice on digital photography, cameras, and image editing, see our Digital Focus blog.)

1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.

Insane skateboarder from 1984: Rodney Mullen

Insane skateboarder from 1984: Rodney Mullen.

wimp.com — All time great Skateboarder Rodney Mullen puts on a clinic as he does amazing things with only his feet and a skateboard

Top 10: The World's Weirdest Festivals

From cow painting to tomato throwing, check out 10 festivals you need to experience to believe.

By Salvatore Mann, Travel Specialist

Page 1: Top 10: World's Weirdest Festivals

Forget Lollapalooza. Mardi Gras is for the birds. St. Patty's? Bugger off! Let the dull and unoriginal flock to these busted gatherings. If you want to have a real great time, if plunging into the world's odd and wacky is your flavor, then check out these bizarre celebrations around the world. You wouldn't believe what some people do en masse for fun. Find out and join in.

Number 10

Garlic Festival

Gilroy, California -- July

It started with a true visionary: Dr. Rudy Melone, a college president, was shocked to learn that a small French town considered itself the Garlic Capital of the World. His dream was to prove to the world that Gilroy, an even smaller California village, should hold that honor.

Behold the largest event in the world featuring everything garlic. Garlic soup, garlic pie, garlic kebabs, and garlic sandwiches await brave souls for whom halitosis is not an issue. Musicians sing odes to garlic while artists sell their garlic masterpieces. It's a truly unique and pungent event.

Best feature: The "Garlic Festival Queen Pageant" crowns the loveliest garlic waif, the wet dream of all Gilroy guys. Just don't kiss her.

Number 9

Cow Painting Festival

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg -- April to September

The country that everyone forgets is a country can take credit for exploiting the most overlooked canvas for artistic creation: fake cows. Every summer this capital city comes alive with metal, wooden, concrete, and fiberglass cows sporting the wildest whims of its artists. There are cows with zebra udders, and others with painted on Alpine landscapes and paisley swirls, which join naked women on the streets and squares. Some even moo.

There are no prizes and no winners. It's just a whole whack of art on cows. You gotta wonder how exciting the people who live among them are...

Best feature: Being seen deeply contemplating with a local, about the artistic merits of a cow painting... preferably after several beers.

Number 8

Ivrea Orange Festival

Piemonte, Italy -- February

Centuries ago, the people in this town rebelled against an evil count who dragged virgin brides from their homes and deflowered them before their weddings. Not only was he beheaded, even his guards were stoned to death.

Fast forward to the 21st century, an era of strict EU agricultural regulations, where Italy has to destroy its yearly surplus of oranges. Replace stones with the excess fruit and the guards with clowns on chariots, and you've got a very juicy celebration indeed.

This is quite possibly the wackiest and funniest way to observe a historical milestone. We're talking tons of oranges launched by 10,000 partiers!

Best feature: At the end of the festival, a newlywed woman dressed in white -- representing the virgin who led the insurrection -- showers the people with candy.

Number 7

Songkran Festival

Chiang Mai, Thailand -- April 13 to 15

The Thai New Year includes no silly paper hats, no fireworks show, and no champagne. The Thai know that a real party begins when 100,000 people show up with massive water guns, water balloons and colored sprinkles.

Just imagine getting soaked five times over and then walking around encased in a rainbow-colored batter. The festival's roots are quite serious, as the water symbolizes one's inner cleansing into the next year, but organizers know that a festival is no good if it doesn't get messy.

Best feature: The "Miss Songkran Contest" caps a fun week featuring beautiful Thai women in traditional dresses.

Number 6

Moose Dropping Festival

Talkeetna, Alaska -- second weekend in July

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When nature gives you moose poop, drop it on people from hot-air balloons. And that's what happens in this subarctic town. Craftsmen hawk art and jewelry made from moose dung, and in the end, people in balloons drop big ol' droppings on numbered targets. Whoever holds the same number as the target, wins.

Shockingly, no one has taken credit for this July event. There's something oddly fascinating about a town that takes a day to observe the digestive waste of a funny animal. If you go, watch your step... and your head.

Best feature: It's the only situation where you can win $1,000 for having crap land on something of yours.

You ain't seen nothing yet...

Page 2: Weird festivals

Number 5

Golden Shears Sheep Shearing Festival

Masterton, New Zealand -- early March

In a country that has three sheep for every citizen, there's got to be some kind of party involving the wooly critters. It's a four-day event where sheep shearers and wool handlers of different ilk and skill levels compete for the most glorious honor in the nation.

In America there's American Idol . Japan has Iron Chef . But in New Zealand, sheep shearing is the battleground for those seeking fame and fortune. Since it began in 1961, the festival has gotten so huge that sometimes the army is called in to control the crowd.

Best feature: The Wearable Wool Arts Competition, where all creations by New Zealand's (and therefore the world's) best sheep shearers are modeled.

Number 4

Sao Joao Festival

Porto, Portugal -- June 23

One of Europe's liveliest festivals, yet one of the least known, is in Portugal's second largest city of Porto. Saint John, the patron saint of lovers, watches over as the town gets all lit up, decked out, and the good food flows like sweet Port wine.

Then the hammers come out. No one knows why, but should you meet a member of the opposite sex who stirs your instincts, just whack her in the head with a big plastic hammer.

Best feature: Enjoying some delicious grilled sardines on the street with your newly-whacked babe by your side.

Number 3

Frog Festival

Rayne, Louisiana -- Labor Day weekend

To quote from the festival website: "You can bring your own frog or rent one." That's right. The progressive Cajun town of Rayne doesn't like to see anyone left behind. For those too destitute to own their own frog, the city's Chamber of Commerce will gladly lend them one for a small fee.

But what more could you expect from the Frog Capital of the World? It's where 50,000 people gather to honor frogs with races, concerts, festival rides... and then eat some. There's no better place to find out that frog legs really are quite tasty.

Best feature: The picture of you in a frog suit dancing the swamp pop with a bottle of moonshine in your hand is the heirloom of a lifetime.

Number 2

Cooper's Hill Annual Cheese Rolling

Gloucester, England -- last Monday in May

No radical sport can be truly radical unless the injuries are caused by cheese. We're talking manly broken bones, brawny sprains and macho bruises as the rewards for chasing a huge block of cheese (about 8 pounds of double Gloucester) down a hill. Now those Brits, they are radical .

Its origins unknown, this Gloucester festival sees about 20 contestants at a time try to beat a rolling cheese 30 yards downhill. Tumbles and trips ensue, and the cheese always wins.

Best feature: If you muster all your strength, your athletic finesse and your unshakeable optimism, and you manage to beat the cheese... you get to keep it.

Number 1

La Tomatina

Buol, Spain -- last Wednesday of August

The world's biggest food fight draws thousands to this small Spanish town, where in the last day of a weeklong festival, trucks unload 90,000 pounds of tomatoes on a drunken crowd. For one hour, all bets are off, and people merrily pelt each other with the ripe red fruit.

Forget what your parents told you about playing with your food. La Tomatina is the messiest, gooiest regression into childhood around. Once the tomatoes are gone and everyone is bloody red, special showers and hoses wash down the revelers.

Best feature: What, throwing tomatoes unabashedly at strangers isn't enough?

get your groove on, wacky style

Just when you thought your local yearly festival couldn't be better -- or worse, couldn't be more clich -- the world proves just how far people are willing to go to have a good time. Join the fun. They did.

Resources:
www.gilroygarlicfestival.com
www.pilotguides.com - Orange Festival
www.theage.com.au
http://sunsite.au.ac.th
www.ncbuy.com
www.pilotguides.com - Golden Shears Festival
http://travel.guardian.co.uk
http://rayne.org
www.2camels.com - Cow Painting
www.2camels.com - Cheese Rolling
www.2camels.com - La Tomatina
Airline Tickets

Best Volcano Footage in the World

by Larry O'Hanlon

This is the most insanely interesting volcanic footage I have ever seen! Watch it all the way through because it gets closer up and more intense towards the end. Amazing stuff!
-Larry O'Hanlon

Aston Martin delivers a car to the masses with £20,000 Cygnet

Aston Martin says the Cygnet will be engineered to the highest standards, economical and very safe

Kevin Hackett

James Bond screeches around hairpin bends in them with a beautiful woman at his side, while they are the car of choice for European royalty in which to parade themselves around the Continent’s more opulent capitals.

Now, at last, the opportunity to pop out to the supermarket behind the wheel of an Aston Martin will be opened to the more conventional motorist.

The Aston Martin Cygnet — a new “luxury commuter concept” car, according to its marketeers — is to be built on the base of Toyota’s existing iQ city car and is likely to be available for less than £20,000.

“Small is beautiful these days,” Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin’s chief executive, said yesterday. “We have to move on from the preconceived ideas regarding what Aston Martin is about.”

What the company has been about is high-end performance cars that sell for upwards of £100,000. Even its wristwatches sell for more than the proposed price of the Cygnet.

Mr Bez said that Aston Martin needed to diversify to cope with a sharp fall in demand for its sports cars. “For decades we have seen the big US car manufacturers stick to what they have always done and now they’re on the brink of extinction,” he said.

“This concept will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.”

It is thought that between 4,000 and 5,000 Cygnets will be built each year. Toyota, attracted by the cachet of Aston Martin, said that it would be the only car that it would make for another manufacturer.

The two companies began their unlikely friendship at the Nürburgring 24-hour race, where they shared garage facilities.

Akio Toyoda, the new president of Toyota and the grandson of the company founder, had raced a Lexus while Dr Bez was behind the wheel of an Aston Martin. Dr Bez said that their friendship grew into a business opportunity.

“When I saw the iQ,” Dr Bez said, “I immediately saw potential for our two companies to work together. Two days after I called Akio Toyoda to discuss this, Toyota’s people were visiting our factory at Gaydon. Just a few months later and we are making public our intentions.”

The chief executive said that he had initially encountered great resistance in his attempts to reform the luxury carmaker when he took over the helm in July 2000. The company, then owned by Ford, was sold in 2007 to a consortium of Kuwaiti and British investors.

He added that the company had finally adapted to the philosophies of car buying in a new greener age. “Aston Martin has reduced the CO2 emissions of its cars by 15 per cent in the past year but it has no real impact on anything,” he said.

“What the Cygnet will do is allow our customers to drive a car with all the hallmarks of Aston Martin’s design philosophy but one that is cheap to run, is environmentally friendly and, above all, extremely safe.”

One question does remain, however — would James Bond be seen in one? Time will tell.

Thousands of miles apart

Aston Martin

Founded 1913 in London

Employees 1,250

Vehicles made each year 7,000

Most famous for DB5, driven by James Bond in Goldfinger

The name Derived from that of the founder Lionel Martin and the Aston Hill speed climb track in Buckinghamshire

Toyota

Founded 1937 in Toyota City, Japan

Employees 320,000

Vehicles made each year 7 million

Most famous for Prius, one of the first mass-market hybrids

The name “Toyoda” became Toyota after a Japanese designer left two lines out of the design in order to use eight “lucky” brush strokes

Michael Jackson Fans are Committing Suicide

According to Michael Jackson's largest online fan club, MJ fanatics have been recently committing suicide because of the pop star's tragic death.

The Sun is reporting that up to 12 die-hard Jackson followers have taken their own lives since his passing on Thursday.

Gary Taylor, who runs MJJcommunity.com, recently said, "I know there has been an increase, I now believe the figure is 12. I believe there may have been one Briton who has taken their life. It is a serious situation that these people are going through but Michael Jackson would never want this. He would want them to live."

This crazy news came to light when it was revealed that a Jackson lookalike in Russia cut his wrists after Michael's death was announced last week. The fan, Pável Talaláyev, was found bleeding heavily at his home in Moscow just hours after it was announced that Jackson had died. Luckily for him, an ambulance crew found him in time and managed to save his life. Apparently others have not been so fortunate.

The most insane aspect of this story has to be the conversation that took place in the ambulance after the paramedics had saved Talaláyev from death.

One of the paramedics stated, "He was in a terrible state and kept on saying: 'It's all the same to me. I'm going to kill myself. It's the worst tragedy of my life and I don't want to live any more. I don't know why you saved my life, I want to be with him'."

Pável is supposedly Russia's most famous Jacko lookalike and apparently modeled himself after MJ from the age of nine.

Hot damn.

Source: Ben Stansall/Getty Images

Guinness offers drinkers chance to win space flight

Guinness has launched a competition offering drinkers the chance to win a trip into space aboard Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

Guinness is offering the chance to fly to space with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spaceline. Photo: EPA

The brewer is putting three once-in-a-lifetime experiences up for grabs themed on the colour of its famous black stout beer.

To mark its 250 years in business, the company is sending one winner into space, another to the depths of the ocean, and a third to an exclusive Black Eyed Peas concert.

A Guinness spokeswoman said: "Since 1759, Arthur Guinness and the Guinness brand have been behind some remarkable and hugely momentous achievements.

"To continue this legacy and as part of the 250 celebrations, Guinness is giving something back to supporters around the world."

The competition is open to adults in 28 countries at its website www.guinness.com until the 250-year anniversary on September 24 – dubbed Arthur's Day.

The Guinness space experience gives one person the chance to become one of the first non-professional astronauts to venture into space with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline.

After training in New Mexico at the Virgin Galactic's home at Spaceport America, the winner will take a flight through the Earth's atmosphere at almost 2,500mph – three times the speed of sound.

Sitting 68 miles above the Earth's surface, they will experience the feeling of weightlessness before they view Earth from the blackness of space.

The winner of the Guinness sea experience will travel to the Lofoten Islands in Norway with two friends where they will venture to the depths of the sea and plunge into the black stuff in the first ever Guinness deep sea bar.

There the group will be surrounded by a breathtaking seascape to depths of up to 70m below sea level.

The final winner and two friends will get an exclusive live performance by The Black Eyed Peas at an intimate recording studio as part of their forthcoming world tour.

World's first ever 'self-watering' plant discovered in Israel

Scientists have discovered the world's first 'self-watering' plant in Israel's Negev desert – one of the driest regions on earth.

By Murray Wardrop

The Desert Rhubarb can hold 16 times more water than its rivals and has developed a unique ability to effectively water itself in its barren habitat.

Researchers were confounded by the metre-wide plant's giant leaves, compared to its desert counterparts, whose tiny leaves stop dangerous moisture loss.

But they found the plant's large leaves are the key to its success, because they are covered in microscopic streams through which water can be channelled.

Scientists claim ridges in the leaves act like mountain valleys, funnelling the water slowly and directly into the plant while stopping it evaporating.

A team from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim, in Israel, said the leaves act like a mini irrigation system.

Lead researcher Professor Gidi Ne'eman said "We know of no other plant in the deserts of the world that functions in this manner.

"We have managed to make out the 'self-irrigating' mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert.

"These deep and wide depressions in the leaves create a "channelling" mountain-like system by which the rain water is channelled toward the ground surrounding the plant's deep root.

"Other desert plants simply suffice with the rain water that penetrates the ground in its immediate surroundings."

Results of experiments and analysis of the plant's growth – in an area with an average annual rainfall of 75mm – showed that the desert rhubarb is able to harvest quantities of water that are closer to that of Mediterranean plants, reaching up to 426mm per year.

That is 16 times the amount of water harvested by the small-leafed plants of the Negev desert region.

The Negev makes up more than 50 per cent of Israel's land area to the south of the country near it's border with Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.

Marijuana and cocaine should be legalised, says Latin American drugs commission

Duncan Campbell

Marijuana and cocaine for personal use should be decriminalised because the "war on drugs" has been a disaster, according to some of Latin America's most powerful politicians and writers.

The current international policy on drugs encourages corruption and violence that is threatening democracy throughout the continent, according to the former president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who is a co-president of the Latin American commission on drugs and democracy. As well as politicians, the commission includes the writers Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru, and Paulo Coelho of Brazil.

The election of Barack Obama has opened up the best opportunity for decades to address the failure of the "so-called drugs war", Cardoso told the Guardian today on a visit to London. He said he was hopeful that the international community would acknowledge that the time had come for a "paradigm shift" in the debate on drugs. "The war on drugs has failed in spite of enormous efforts in places like Colombia – the area of coca crops is not reducing," he said.

The current system of prohibition encouraged corruption among police officers, politicians and even judges. "It poisons the whole system, it undermines democracy," Cardoso said. "The war on drugs is based on repression … How can people believe in democracy if the rule of law doesn't work?" Users should be offered treatment rather than jail, he said.

"The starting point has to be the United States," he said. "Now we have a new American administration, which is much more open-minded than before." He said he had held talks with the US state department in the later years of the Bush administration and found that, privately, many of the officials there shared his views.

Cardoso said that the changes would have to be co-ordinated. "We need an international convention, otherwise you will have different countries doing different things," he said. "But the climate is changing for the first time for many years. Even in the US, they recognise we are in deadlock now." Obama had already made it clear that the idea of a "war on drugs" was not workable. The need for change is urgent, said Cardoso, because of what is happening in Latin America. "There is a very grave situation in Mexico," he said. "More people are being killed there (through the drugs war) than in Iraq." He said that it was easier for former presidents who were no longer in office or running for election to speak out on such a controversial issue. He added that ending the war on drugs would be not be a signal that drugs were acceptable but a recognition that current policies had failed.

"You have to show that drugs are harmful, even light drugs, like marijuana - it is better not to use drugs - but tobacco is harmful also yet its use is being reduced by education," said Cardoso. He added that the vast quantities of money being used to enforce "repressive" policies on drugs could be put into treatment and education. Hundreds of thousands of people were being unnecessarily criminalised and sent to prison, "which are schools of crime."

The previous UN drugs policy that aimed to eliminate all drug use by this year was ill-conceived, he said. "You can never stop drugs use," he said, likening it to some of the failed policies in the past over HIV/Aids. "You can't have zero drugs any more than you can have a zero sex policy but you can have a safe sex policy." He said that Brazil's success in halting the HIV/Aids epidemic, which meant promoting the use of condoms in a Catholic country, was an example of how people's behaviour could be changed by education rather than repression.

Lost wallet returns after 63 years behind school bleachers, rekindling memories for Oregon man

By Associated Press
4:16 AM PDT, June 30, 2009

BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) — Bill Fulton doesn't remember losing his wallet, but getting it back more than 60 years later helped him remember the past.

The leather stayed smooth and the zipper moved as easily as it did in 1946, when he apparently dropped the wallet behind the balcony bleachers in the Baker Middle School gym while cheering for the Baker High basketball team.

Fulton's Social Security card and a bicycle license for his job as a drugstore delivery boy were positioned in their respective compartments, apparently untouched since the year after World War II ended.

"After that long, my gosh, it stayed in good shape," Fulton, 78, told the Baker City Herald. "It's hard to believe."

A worker found the wallet — along with old homework, lost library books and a 1964 talent show program — while removing the bleachers for renovations on June 17. It was brought to Fulton's door the following day by Melanie Trindle, the Baker Middle School secretary.

"He was pretty much amazed," Trindle said. "He just kept saying, 'Thank you. Thank you so much.' "

The brown pine bleachers had been in place since the school opened in 1936.

Fulton said the recovery has led him to reflect on a life that took him to the Korean War and Berlin before a return to Baker City. He worked at Ellingson Lumber Company for 30 years until 1994.

"Where did all the time go?" Fulton said with a deep sigh. "It's hard to believe that the times have gone so fast."

___

Information from: Baker City Herald, http://www.bakercityherald.com/

Hybrid Electric Scooter Runs On Anything That Burns

Written by Jerry James Stone

Segway inventor Dean Kamen is developing a hybrid electric scooter that can run on almost anything that burns.

According to the patent, the bike has a small two-piston Stirling engine right under the seat. Though with an engine of that size, it really isn’t going to provide much juice - not much more than 5bhp.

A Stirling engine is based on tech which predates internal combustion engines by almost 100 years. It’s kinda like a steam engine in the sense that it uses external combustion. They use pistons for the crankshaft, but unlike the alternatives they have no valves for no gas ever enters or leaves the cylinders.

Since there is no need for a fuel to be injected, it can run on almost anything that burns - everything from wood chips to old Barbies. This really opens the door for renewable fuel technologies and the standards they would have to meet.

With the engine’s low output, it won’t provide much of the bike’s performance on its own. But it can keep the rechargeable battery packs, which are located in the floor of the bike, topped off. Those reserves can be used for an extra kick in the pants!

Multimillionaire Kamen has already sunk more than $50 million into developing the Stirling engine technology.

A prototype of the bike has yet to be seen unlike Kamen’s Stirling-engined car. Though, rumor has it that Kamen rides one around his own estate.

A version of the Th!ink City also uses a Stirling Engine

But Kamen isn’t the only one looking at the Stirling as a viable solution. Honda has patented concepts using the Stirling to extract more power from a conventional internal combustion engine. Yah, say that three times fast. Other applications include autonomous robots for the US military that can “feed” themselves to remain active for years.

Um, anyone else thinking…SkyNet?

Source: Gizmag

Woman Kills Self to Avoid Eviction, Tweets Just Before Death

By Eric Barton

Heather Newnam's photo from her Twitter account.

Here's a story that brings home just how morbid this housing crisis can be: Heather Newnam of Tamarac shot herself yesterday instead of letting cops evict her for failing to pay her rent.

It's a depressing tale, but perhaps what's more depressing is reading what amounts to Newnam's final public words on her Twitter account. Writing under the name rsangel04, bits of Newnam's life played out in her posts. Then she seemed to foretell her own death in this final post at 7:04 p.m. on June 24. She sent this from her cell phone:

Rich get richer, poor get poorer, families on the street, govt doesn't care. God bless the usa, but can He save it?

What's even sadder is that previous posts seem to show Newnam in a better place, talking about going to the tattoo convention and watching the TV show Rescue Me. The day before that last message, she wrote:

five minutes til Rescue Me, Woo Hoo! then bed, Im beat

Newnam's photo from Facebook.

A few days before that, she tweets about having a tooth pulled and using tequila to kill the pain. She writes about hating Florida, wonders what tattoo she should get next, and talks about watching her husband play a videogame.

The site gives only a few clues about the financial state she's in, like this post from June 3:

this working shit sucks! When do I get to hit the lotto?

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, Newnam shot herself at 1 p.m. yesterday when a real estate agent, a locksmith, and movers showed up at the home at 6902 NW 79th St. in Tamarac. Newnam told them she needed to secure her dogs before they could come in. Then they heard a gunshot. The SWAT team showed up, and at 4 p.m., they found her dead.

Details of her life are also played out on her Facebook page, where she writes that she worked in sales for Success Resource Group in Oakland Park. Her profile describes a woman who lived a happy life before Monday. In the line for her favorite quote, she wrote:

""I live to love, and laugh alot, and that's all I need"

11 Fantastic Fireworks Celebrations

Observe this Independence Day with one of these epic displays

By Olivia Putnal

In the “land of the free,” nothing says Independence Day like an exciting fireworks display—a tradition since 1777, the first time our nation celebrated the Fourth of July. Just in time for this year’s festivities, WD has rounded up the most spectacularly patriotic events across the country for you and your family to enjoy—all guaranteeing an explosive holiday weekend.

A Capitol Fourth in Washington, DC

Beginning at dusk on July 4, the West Lawn of the Capitol building will be open to the public so citizens can celebrate our nation’s freedom with the first family. Performances by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Choral Arts Society of Washington are always part of the festivities, as well as celebrity appearances—this year’s host is Jimmy Smits and musical performers include Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin and Natasha Bedingfield. Photo courtesy of Capitol Concerts

Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular in Boston

One of the most anticipated shows in the country, this event will be hosted by Craig Ferguson and includes performances by Neil Diamond and, of course, the world-renowned Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. At this year’s 36th annual celebration, the 104th Fighter Wing will fly over the area as the Boston Pops perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks will display a choreographed show with over 20,000 pounds of fireworks, including large shells that climb up to 1,500 feet in the air. Photo courtesy of Rich Moffitt via Flickr.com

Fireworks Display at Mount Rushmore in Keystone, SD

On July 3, the famous monument of our greatest presidents will be the scenic setting for this fireworks show. Only at Mount Rushmore’s Independence Day celebration will you travel down the Avenue of Flags from the Concession Building to the Presidential trail—a half-mile path that will put you in one of the prime viewing spots for all of the fireworks action, including the Grandview Terrace or the memorial’s amphitheater. Photo courtesy of TravelSD.com

Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks in New York City

America’s favorite department store will host the Big Apple’s most spectacular display for the 33rd time with over 120,000 fireworks from around the world. In the past, the celebration has been over the East River, but this year, the action will take place over the Hudson River, where six barges, positioned between West 23rd and 50th Streets, will be setting off the pyrotechnics. Prior to the show, there will be a FDNY Fireboat water show and an Air National Guard jet flyover. Photo courtesy of C et C via Flickr.com

A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky in Orlando, FL

The festivities at Walt Disney World begin on July 3 with a fireworks display followed by the SpectroMagic parade, a standard at the theme park. On July 4, the celebrations kick off at 10 a.m. with a parade, and then, come nighttime, the sky over the Magic Kingdom will radiate for miles, allowing you to enjoy this truly magical commemoration alongside Mickey Mouse and other beloved Disney characters. Photo courtesy of Johnny9s via Flickr.com

LIVE on the Levee in St. Louis

Soaring above the Mississippi River on July 4 will be St. Louis’ fireworks display, which creates a gorgeous backdrop for the Gateway Arch. For this year’s celebration, the Counting Crows and Train will rock the main stage, while Nat and Alex Wolff perform on the side stage and kid-friendly bands perform on the Buster Brown Kids Stage. Photo courtesy of CelebrateStLouis.org

Lights on the Lake at Lake Tahoe

Rated one of the top five shows in the nation, Lights on the Lake is best viewed, well, on the lake, aboard boats like the Tahoe Queen and M.S. Dixie. Depending on where you are situated—Lake Tahoe is on the border of Nevada and California—Regan and El Dorado Beaches are also great viewing points for the Pyro Spectaculars Inc. fireworks show, which features an array of patterns, designs, lights and shapes. Photo courtesy of LTVA.org

Big Bay Boom in San Diego

Port San Diego’s 9th annual event—a.k.a. The Big Kahuna of fireworks displays—is best seen from a boat or on land around Shelter Island, Harbor Island, the North Embarcadero area and Seaport Village. The San Diego Symphony Pops perform their “A Star-Spangled Pops” show, while four barges dispersed throughout the San Diego Bay release 8,000 fireworks into the sky. Photo courtesy of Wendyness via Flickr.com

July 4th Fireworks Spectacular in Los Angeles

The Hollywood Bowl hosted its first fireworks celebration in 1969 and has since become one of the best venues for firework shows in the country. The combination of perfectly timed lights and corresponding sounds—this year, John Fogerty and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing—create a night you won’t soon forget. Photo courtesy of Scarlet Lark via Flickr.com

Go 4th on the River in New Orleans

For 19 years now, the Southern coastal city of New Orleans has been the home to this much-anticipated night. At 9 p.m., the Dueling Barges Extravaganza will begin, with fireworks shooting from two barges strategically placed on the Mississippi River. Earlier in the day, take in the sights and sounds of the bayou at various events along the waterway. Photo courtesy of Max Sparber via Flickr.com

Tempe 4th in Phoenix

From the Mill Avenue bridge, hundreds of fireworks, designed by ProTix Fireworks, will be launched into the night sky. Before and after the show, a variety of bands will hit the stage, performing everything from high-energy blues and Top 40s to indie pop and Arizona rock. And, before finding your fireworks viewing spot on the lawn, you can get your fill of hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ and more. Photo courtesy of Tempe4th.com