Sunday 31 March 2013

'Game Of Thrones' Fans Will Love This NYC Exhibit


"Game of Thrones" has come to New York. 
HBO and Time Warner Cable partnered to put together a free exhibit of the hit series before its season 3 return. 
The event is part of a five-stop traveling exhibit in five international cities including Toronto, Sao Paulo, Amsterdam, and Belfast. 
From costumes, to set pieces, and the Iron Throne itself, the exhibit features more than 70 original items from seasons one and two, and a few from the upcoming season as well. 
The free event runs from March 28 through April 3.
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... and the Lannisters.

... and the Lannisters.

And, a larger version of Drogon used on set for the new season.

And, a larger version of Drogon used on set for the new season.

'The Walking Dead' And 'Toy Story' Share The Same Plot


Much more than you would imagine.
Just in time for the upcoming season finale Sunday, writer and director John Wray made a convincing mashup connecting the storylines of "The Walking Dead" to the "Toy Story" franchise.
We've run some of the photos with his permission.

Take a look >

Since Wray put up the images, they've been going viral on Reddit, and have been featured everywhere from BuzzFeed to UpRoxx.
Business Insider caught up with Wray to find how he made the connection between the Disney / Pixar favorite and one of the most popular shows on television right now.
According to Wray, the inspiration for the mashup album came after someone online pointed out the common elements between Lotso and the Governor from "Toy Story 3" and "The Walking Dead" respectively.  

'The Walking Dead' And 'Toy Story' Share The Same Plot

   

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Go Inside The Factory That Makes 2 Billion Marshmallow Peeps A Year




Screen Shot 2013 03 26 at 3.43.04 PM

Peeps marshmallow candies are as much a part of Easter as egg hunts and ham.
The sugar-coated chicks and bunnies have been made by Bethlehem, Pa.-based Just Born for decades, and these days, the factory churns out 2 billion Peeps a year.
PBS recently took a tour of the factory as part of its series on seasonal manufacturing. Just Born's plant may look like a standard factory, but it smells a whole lot sweeter.

12 Useful 'Easter Eggs' Hidden In Your iPhone


5th avenue apple store iphone 5 launch

There are so many features packed into the iPhone that one demonstration from Apple couldn't possibly cover them all.
We put together a few of our favorite hidden tips and tricks on the iPhone.

You can teach your iPhone to turn phrases or acronyms into anything you want. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Add New Shortcut to give it a try.

You can teach your iPhone to turn phrases or acronyms into anything you want. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Add New Shortcut to give it a try.

You can enable the Emoji keyboard under Settings > General > Keyboard. Then select "Add new Keyboard." Scroll until you see "Emoji" and tap to add it. To use emoji, tap the button that looks like a globe on your keyboard.

You can enable the Emoji keyboard under Settings > General > Keyboard. Then select


Haunting Images Of Russians Mining For The Gold That Stalin Once Needed


Russia is the world's fourth largest gold producer, and Kolyma in the far north-east of Russia is one of the regions most flush with gold. 
During Stalin's rule, prisoners of the Gulag were sent to Kolyma and forced to mine for gold, which was desperately needed to finance economic development.
Now, many of those in the region choose to mine for gold. The miner settlements have however been decreasing since the 1990s. 
Russia Beyond The Headlines (RBTH) and photographer Sergei Smirnov put together a feature giving us insight into gold mining in Kolyma.
Thanks to Russia Beyond The Headlines for giving us permission to run these images.

Rooftop Swimming Pools For NL Architects' Single-Family Homes Are The Coolest Feature Ever


They say form follows function, but apparently NL Architects are aspiring to achieve the opposite. At the request of a visionary client named Andrew R, the Dutch architecture firm drafted several jaw-dropping design plans to build rooftop swimming pools for single-family homes. And though their would-be patron fell through, the team is still adamant to find another investor to make these personal paradises a reality.
Is this alternative to a backyard swimming hole desirable? Absolutely. Is it sustainable? Well, that's the real question. FastCo. Design raised concerns about leaking and even worse, collapsing (yikes!). After all, constructing this ambitious feature entails a whopping 50,000 gallons of chlorine-bliss suspended overhead. But the firm accounted for this in their plans; and as Archinect assessed, the ceiling conforms to the pool's geometry, creating a "cozy grotto" in the home's interiors
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Counting The Omer: 49 Days Of Jewish Spiritual Reflection


Counting The Omer
Why is this liveblog different from all other liveblogs?
On Passover, perhaps Judaism's most widely observed holiday, secular and religious Jews alike recall the story of the Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt. On Shavuot, perhaps Judaism's most-important-least-observed festival, a smaller contingent of the Jewish people celebrates receiving the Torah.
In between these joyous mile-markers of past desert wanderings, even fewer modern Jews observe the Counting of the Omer, a 49-day period of self-reflection and spiritual renewal.
HuffPost Religion would like to change that. Here, throughout Sefirat HaOmer, as it's called in Hebrew, we offer the opportunity to ascend the 49 levels of renewal as part of a virtual Omer community. Each day, we will update this liveblog with spiritual intentions, prayers, Scripture, poems, art and reflections from our bloggers and readers related to that day's spiritual energy.

Shri Chaitanya: The Golden Avatar of Love


The word "avatar" conjures up images of blue human-like beings with tails from James Cameron's popular science fiction movie. However, "avatar" is a Sanskrit word that describes the Supreme being or God when He descends to Earth. "Ava" means "down" and "tr" refers to "cross over." Thus it refers to God who crosses over the line between the spiritual realm and comes down to the material sphere. In the movie, the consciousness and mind of the human being are linked to their avatar counterparts on the planet Pandora. In the Hindu tradition, God is said to descend in varying forms, at different times, and those forms are known as avatars.
Shri Chaitanya, the most recent avatar of Krishna or God, took birth on this day, in the small town of Navadvip in West Bengal in the year 1486. In the Bengali language, Navadvip means "nine islands." He is known as the golden avatar of love because his skin resembled the color of molten gold and because he came to freely distribute love of God to anyone who was willing to accept it. He didn't consider a person's caste or creed when distributing spiritual knowledge and welcomed all to partake in the spiritual practice of calling out the names of God.

Biological Computer: Stanford Researchers Discover Genetic Transistors That Turn Cells Into Computers


Researchers at Stanford University announced this week that they've created genetic receptors that can act as a sort of "biological computer," potentially revolutionizing how diseases are treated.
In a paper published in the journal "Science" on Friday, the team described their system of genetic transistors, which can be inserted into living cells and turned on and off if certain conditions are met. The researchers hope these transistors could eventually be built into microscopic living computers. Said computers would be able to accomplish tasks like telling if a certain toxin is present inside a cell, seeing how many times a cancerous cell has divided or determining precisely how an administered drug interacts with each individual cell.
Biological Computers

Gay Marriage And The Evolving Language Of Love


English-language experts say how gay couples refer to themselves, and how others refer to same-sex couples, continues to evolve.
In 1982, advice columnist Dear Abby published a letter from someone who'd just moved from a conservative Midwestern town to bohemian Portland, Ore.
Suddenly the advice seeker was interacting with gay couples and wanted to know: Should a letter be addressed to "Mr. John Doe and Friend?'"
Is it proper to say, "This is so-and-so and his lover"?
The writer went on: "'Would it be proper to introduce a gay couple as, 'Mr. Jones and his live-in friend, companion, or partner?' "
Abby advised the writer to ignore labels.
But 30 years later, straight and gay people are still struggling with the same questions.
"Each of these terms has its own problems," says Ben Zimmer, executive producer of the Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com. "For instance, 'partner' sounds very official or contractual. 'Companion' sounds unromantic or even euphemistic. 'Lover' might just be too explicit. 'Boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' are inappropriate for a lot of people, unless they're a teenager."

Italy's Chocolate Easter Eggs: Big, Bold And Full Of Bling


In Italy, elaborate chocolate Easter eggs are considered the food gift of choice this time of year.
In Italy, there are no Easter egg hunts, no marshmallow Peeps and definitely no jelly beans.
Instead, there are chocolate eggs — massive, elaborately decorated, beautifully wrapped chocolate Easter eggs that now fill shop windows across the country. The sweet treats are considered Italians' food gift of choice at this time of year. And each one comes with a surprise tucked inside.
"You want something that really gives a big effect," says Rome-based food writer 

Angry Birds Star Wars gets a new battle ground, adds the Cloud City from the Empire Strikes Back


Earlier we reported about the Angry Birds Space Wars new teaser showing off an all new episode named Cloud City, and today, Rovio has launched the Cloud City for Angry Birds Star Wars fans. The episode is up and ready for download in Google Play Store. The Cloud City was featured in the climax stage of Star Wars: Episode V, the Empire Strikes Back.
To begin with, the  Cloud City episode features 20 new levels for players but gamers can enjoy 10 extra new bonus stages featuring the ruthless bounty hunter Boba Fett who played a pivotal role in fag end of Star Wars Empire Strikes Back.

Apple looking for ground truth managers to improve quality of maps


Apple has been highly criticized for its Maps app which launched last year replacing Google Maps, and ever since then it has been trying to improve its mapping service in some or the other way. After it recently took overa location-based service provider WiFiSLAM, the company has now posted job briefs on its website for hiring managers specialized in mapping solutions according to a job posting on Apple’s website.
Apple is seeking as many as seven specialists in several regions to work on what it referred to as ‘ground truth’ managers to improve the quality of maps in their specific regions. The ground truth managers will basically be updating maps on the basis of analyzing the satellite image and information about a place with the information and pictures gathered by visiting the respective place. As it suggests, the company clearly wants to develop and update its maps in accordance to satellite information, known truth and local expertise about a particular area

Steve King Blasts Obama Daughters For Going On Spring Break



Steve King Obama Daughters
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on a local Iowa radio show on Wednesday was critical of the First Daughters spring break trip to the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
 image advice for the first family on a local Iowa radio show Wednesday, criticizing first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama's recent spring break vacation to the Bahamas during the federal budget belt-tightening of sequestration.
"You’re on point and on the mark all the way through," King told a caller named Carla after she said she found the Obama girls' vacation "really hard to stomach" and "not acceptable."
Accusations about the Obamas' lavish lifestyle have become common from certain members of the GOP. During her recent address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) riled the crowd with allegations that American taxpayers were footing the bill for such luxuries as a dog walker for the first family's dog, Bo. The charge was later revealed to be unfounded and led to an awkward encounter for Bachmann with a CNN reporter.

J.Lo's Demands: Jennifer Lopez' Insane Rider Reportedly Costs Her Huge Cricket Gig


J.Lo's demands have cost her -- big time. The singer and actress was in the running for the opening ceremonies of India's Premier League cricket tournament, an event the New York Post says comes with a viewing audience of 60 million people.
The massive opportunity, however, seems to have evaporated when organizers received Lopez' rider. Among the big asks that reportedly came through manager Benny Medina: a private plane and a host of hotel rooms for her cadre of stylists and handlers.
Celebrity riders are the stuff of legend. Lady Gaga and J.Lo are both said to have demanded white couches (J.Lo also likes white candles and white foods, such as fish) and plenty of flowers at previous events, while Mariah Carey has reportedly asked for kittens and doves at prior events. Rihanna's rider, on the other hand, seems like a simple stoner's paradise: Haribo candie, Oreos, Baybel cheese and Red Bull. Katy Perry is said to have asked for a fridge with a glass door, and Kanye supposedly once asked for Versace towels. Jay-Z is taking a cigar roller on tour with him this summer and Iggy Pop allegedly asked for a Bob Hope impersonator at every show.
Jlos Demands Jennifer Lopez

Saturday 30 March 2013

10 Of The World's Most Delicious Breakfasts

Maple-bacon biscuits. Chocolate-dipped donuts. A lavish spread of eggs. Is there any meal more comforting than breakfast?
Whatever time zone you wake up in, the best breakfasts will brighten your mood, fortify you for the day, and give you a taste of daily life in that destination.

Maple-bacon biscuits. Chocolate-dipped donuts. A lavish spread of eggs. Is there any meal more comforting than breakfast?
Whatever time zone you wake up in, the best breakfasts will brighten your mood, fortify you for the day, and give you a taste of daily life in that destination.

Sushi Dai: Tokyo
Join vendors and tuna auctioneers from the neighboring Tsukiji Fish Market queuing up at dawn for a post-shift sushi breakfast at this 13-seat spot. You won’t find fresher toro in all of Tokyo.


Café Central: Vienna
Though it’s welcomed plenty of tourists over its 137 years—not to mention habitués like Freud, Lenin, and Trotsky—the utterly grand café inside the majestic Palais Ferstel is known among pastry-obsessed Wieners for serving the best, flakiest strudel in town.



Cadillac Has An Unusual Problem In China


2014 Cadillac CTS sedan
The longer, leaner, lighter 2014 Cadillac CTS.
Cadillac has an aggressive plan for China, where it wants to triple its sales by 2015.
But it has an unusual challenge to deal with.
The brand "is almost too aspirational," says Cadillac Global Marketing Director Jim Vurpillat: Chinese car shoppers don't realize they can afford the cars, so they don't buy them.
The good news, Vurpillat told Business Insider, is that Cadillac's brand image is still very strong in China, unlike in the US, where the common view is of a once iconic mark that lost its edge long ago.
GM's plan for China involves moving production to the country, to avoid the costs of importing its cars. It will open about 100 new dealerships and has hired Brad Pitt to hawk its products, advertising its sedans as luxury products within reach.

Number Of Early Childhood Vaccines Not Linked To Autism


A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no link between the number of vaccinations a young child receives and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no link between the number of vaccinations a young child receives and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders.

A large new government study should reassure parents who are afraid that kids are getting autism because they receive too many vaccines too early in life.
The study, by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, found no connection between the number of vaccines a child received and his or her risk of autism spectrum disorder. It also found that even though kids are getting more vaccines these days, those vaccines contain many fewer of the substances that provoke an immune response.
The study offers a response to vaccine skeptics who have suggested that getting too many vaccines on one day or in the first two years of life may lead to autism, says Frank DeStefano, director of the Immunization Safety Office of the CDC.
To find out if that was happening, DeStefano led a team that compared the vaccine histories of about 250 children who had autism spectrum disorder with those of 750 typical kids. Specifically, the researchers looked at what scientists call antigens. An antigen is a substance in a vaccine that causes the body to produce antibodies, proteins that help fight off infections.
The team looked at medical records to see how many antigens each child received and whether that affected the risk of autism. The results, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, were unequivocal.
"The amount of antigens from vaccines received on one day of vaccination or in total during the first two years of life is not related to the development of autism spectrum disorder in children," DeStefano says.

Number Of Early Childhood Vaccines Not Linked To Autism


A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no link between the number of vaccinations a young child receives and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no link between the number of vaccinations a young child receives and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders.

A large new government study should reassure parents who are afraid that kids are getting autism because they receive too many vaccines too early in life.
The study, by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, found no connection between the number of vaccines a child received and his or her risk of autism spectrum disorder. It also found that even though kids are getting more vaccines these days, those vaccines contain many fewer of the substances that provoke an immune response.
The study offers a response to vaccine skeptics who have suggested that getting too many vaccines on one day or in the first two years of life may lead to autism, says Frank DeStefano, director of the Immunization Safety Office of the CDC.
To find out if that was happening, DeStefano led a team that compared the vaccine histories of about 250 children who had autism spectrum disorder with those of 750 typical kids. Specifically, the researchers looked at what scientists call antigens. An antigen is a substance in a vaccine that causes the body to produce antibodies, proteins that help fight off infections.
The team looked at medical records to see how many antigens each child received and whether that affected the risk of autism. The results, published in The Journal of Pediatrics, were unequivocal.
"The amount of antigens from vaccines received on one day of vaccination or in total during the first two years of life is not related to the development of autism spectrum disorder in children," DeStefano says.

'Renoir': Impressionism, Rapturously Realized


The aging Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet) immortalizes his young admirers on canvas — though his gifts are fading in the latter days portrayed in Gilles Bourdos' biographical drama.
The aging Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet) immortalizes his young admirers on canvas — though his gifts are fading in the latter days portrayed in Gilles Bourdos' biographical drama.
"A girl out of nowhere, sent by a dead woman." That description of its catalyst makes Renoirsound like a thriller. But this film is actually a relaxed, visually lush tribute to Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and his son Jean, who was to become one of France's most esteemed filmmakers.
The "girl out of nowhere" is aspiring actress Andree Heuschling (Christa Theret), a red-haired, orange-clad gamine who bicycles through the opening scene like a creature from another world. The women she passes as she rides are dressed mostly in black, while the men are generally in uniform and often horribly wounded. It's 1915, and wartime France is not the happiest of places.
Renoir's estate on the French Riviera is a refuge from all that. Indeed, the colorful, sun-dappled property seems like Andree's natural habitat. No wonder Renoir's wife, who has recently died, had encouraged the young woman to visit.
In a matter of minutes, the new arrival is nude and posing, as Renoir (the venerable actor Michel Bouquet) paints.
"What interests me is skin," says the artist, and of course his gaze is partly erotic. But Andree, who in real life was just 15, also represents youth and vitality to the 76-year-old painter. He's hobbled by arthritis and, it seems, by a touch of hypochondria.
The older man isn't the only injured Renoir, we'll discover; two of his three sons have been wounded in the war, and 21-year-old Jean (Vincent Rottiers) soon returns home to convalesce. He has a nasty gash in his leg, and so becomes the second patient in a chateau full of women who devoutly cater to the artist.