Metal ions regulate terpenoid metabolism in insects

Feb. 28, 2013 ? Max Planck scientists in Jena, Germany, have discovered an unusual regulation of enzymes that catalyze chain elongation in an important secondary metabolism, the terpenoid pathway. In the horseradish leaf beetle Phaedon cochleariae a single enzyme can trigger the production of two completely different substances depending on whether it is regulated by cobalt, manganese or magnesium ions: iridoids, which are defensive substances the larvae use to repel predators, or juvenile hormones, which control insect's development. Insects unlike plants do not have a large arsenal of the proteins called isoprenyl diphosphate synthases. Therefore they may have developed another efficient option to channel metabolites into the different directions of terpenoid metabolism by using metal ions for control.

Natural products: 40,000 terpenes

Apart from the primary metabolism which produces substances that ensure the survival of the cells, there are additional biosynthetic pathways in all organisms. Their products may be less important for a single cell, but they can nevertheless be essential for the whole organism. These pathways are summarized as secondary metabolism. One of them is the terpenoid pathway: with more than 40,000 different known structures it generates one of the largest classes of natural products. Terpenoid molecules have diverse functions and can act as components in molecular signaling pathways, as toxins, fragrances or hormones.

The basic unit of all terpenes is a simple molecule containing five carbon atoms that can be joined to chains of different length. There are monoterpenes (C10 units, 2 x C5), sesquiterpenes (C15, 3 x C5), and even polymers, such as natural rubber, which comprises several hundred C5 units. Special enzymes mediate chain elongation. These enzymes have attracted the curiosity of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, and the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry in Halle. They studied mechanistic alternatives of how chain elongation is regulated.

Metal ions instead of specialized enzymes

Enzymes involved in chain elongation belong to the group of isoprenyl diphosphate synthases. Such an enzyme was isolated from larvae of the horseradish leaf beetle Phaedon cochleariae. It raised the interest of Antje Burse, project group leader in the Department of Bioorganic Chemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology.

Experiments with larvae in which the enzyme encoding gene was silenced showed that the protein was involved in the formation of the C10 monoterpene chrysomelidial that larvae produce to defend themselves against predators. The larvae accumulate this monoterpene in special glands and release it as a defensive secretion when they are attacked by their enemies, such as ants.

However, surprising results emerged after comprehensive biochemical characterization of the enzyme. "After we had conducted an in vitro analysis of the protein, including measurements of product formation in the presence of different metal ions as co-factors, we were surprised to discover that only geranyl diphosphate (C10), a precursor for the defensive substance chrysomelidial, was produced after addition of cobalt and manganese ions. On the other hand, adding magnesium ions resulted in the formation of farnesyl diphosphate (C15), a potential precursor for juvenile hormones, which is 5 carbon atoms longer," says the scientist. All three metals were found in larval tissue, leading to the assumption that enzyme catalysis is directed by the different metal co-factors in the larvae, whichever is predominant in amount: Towards toxin or hormone ? physiologically a major difference.

Sequence comparisons cannot replace a thorough biochemical analysis

How the different metal ions modify the product range of the enzyme is still unclear. It is very likely that the varying atomic radii of the metal ions involved in the catalysis effect changes in the spatial structure of the enzyme, which prevent or allow the admission of a third C5 unit and hence result in the production of C10 or C15 molecules.

"Our experiments provide two important findings," says Wilhelm Boland, director at the Max Planck Institute. "First, the directing influence of metal ions on the product formation of isoprenyl diphosphate synthases is a novel "control element" in the regulation of the terpene metabolism which should be included in future experimental settings. And secondly: The diversity of terpenoid molecules cannot be attributed solely to the broad substrate specificity of some enzymes in the last steps of the metabolic pathway, but is in fact already inherent in early biosynthetic steps." Nature continues to provide interesting answers to the question how organisms manage to produce tens of thousands of different secondary metabolites.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. S. Frick, R. Nagel, A. Schmidt, R. R. Bodemann, P. Rahfeld, G. Pauls, W. Brandt, J. Gershenzon, W. Boland, A. Burse. Metal ions control product specificity of isoprenyl diphosphate synthases in the insect terpenoid pathway. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1221489110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/ZoYNlp3uNmI/130228103440.htm

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Syria's Assad deluded by his inner circle, U.N. envoy Brahimi says

CAIRO (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been convinced by his inner circle that his country is the victim of a broad conspiracy led by terrorists, U.N./Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said on Thursday.

Brahimi said hope for a solution to the crisis, which began as a peaceful pro-democracy uprising but has turned into a conflict on largely sectarian lines, lay in the hands of Russia and the United States.

More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in almost two years of fighting. Damascus refers to the rebels, who range from local fighters to foreign jihadists, as "armed terrorist groups".

"He (Assad) sees the protests as a universal conspiracy against his country fuelled by terrorists. And his inner circle is the one that convinces him of that," Brahimi said during a visit to the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

Syria's main opposition coalition this month endorsed an initiative by its president, Moaz Alkhatib, offering to talk to Assad's government about a political transition based on his departure after 13 years in power.

Brahimi praised Alkhatib's initiative, saying it had embarrassed the Syrian government, and called on Washington and Moscow to take a lead.

"If Russia and the United States reached a real agreement, it would be easy for an international decision to be taken, but past meetings between the two states' foreign ministers and their aides were disappointing," he said.

Russia, one of Assad's two main foreign backers along with Iran, has recently distanced itself from him and stepped up its calls for dialogue as his prospects of retaining power have decreased. However, it still insists that Assad's departure, a main demand of the opposition, must not be a precondition.

Washington has repeatedly called on Assad to step down and says he has lost his legitimacy.

(Reporting by Ayman Samir; writing by Yasmine Saleh; editing by David Stamp and Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-assad-deluded-inner-circle-u-n-envoy-171035563.html

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Sandstorm pushes Beijing pollution off the charts

Air quality in Beijing and other areas of northern China is reaching dangerous levels due to smog conditions and sandstorms. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

By Ed Flanagan, Producer, NBC News

BEIJING ? Beijing and other parts of northern China were stung by hazardous air pollution levels Thursday as strong winds blew a sandstorm through the region.

Air in the capital turned a yellowish hue as sand from China's arid northwest blew in, turning the sky into a noxious soup of smog and dust.

---

At 6 a.m. local time, the U.S. Embassy's air quality index showed a reading of 516 for particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Known as PM2.5, such particles are considered particularly dangerous because they can lodge deeply in the lungs. On the American air pollution index, the air at that time and throughout much of the morning was classified as "beyond index."

Feng Li / Getty Images

A composite photograph shows Beijing's skyline during Thursday's sandstorm, top, and during good weather on Feb. 19.

The developers of the U.S Embassy's air monitoring station had planned for an index capped at 500. The World Health Organization suggests that 24-hour exposure to PM2.5 should be limited to levels of 25 on that scale.

Beijing's municipal government issued a yellow-haze warning late Wednesday while state media urged citizens to stay indoors or to take precautions such as donning face masks before venturing outside.

Across northern China in provinces including Hebei, Hubei, Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia, air monitoring stations recorded readings over 500, and visibility across the region was severely curtailed. In some places visibility was below 3,200 feet, leading to highway closures, suspension of high-speed train services and the cancellation of flights from Beijing International Airport.

By mid-afternoon, pollution levels had fallen and strong winds had pushed much of the remaining cloud cover from the capital.

Geographically close to the Gobi Desert, Beijing and other northern cities are particularly susceptible to sandstorms such as Thursday's. Sandstorms are prevalent in late winter and spring as melting frost frees sand and strong winds kick it up and push it eastward.

The start of 2013 has brought chronic bad air to much of China. In January, air pollution readings were so bad that they were compared to living in an airport smoking lounge. That comparison was underscored by record high levels of PM2.5 on Jan. 12, when readings topped out at 755 on the air quality index.

Frustration over China's continued pollution problems popped up across Chinese social media. But irritation over the long-brewing issue was perhaps best summed up by a viral photo originally posted on popular Web portal QQ.com of an unhappy looking Yao Ming, grimacing at the Beijing sky.

Adrian Bradshaw / EPA

People in Beijing endure a noxious and potentially dangerous mix of sand and fine particulate pollution on Thursday, after a sandstorm blew in from the Gobi Desert.

Yao, the former NBA All-Star and current member of a Communist Party advisory board known as the China People's Political Consultative Conference, is currently in Beijing in the lead-up to next month's National People's Congress.

The congress will mark the final step in China's once-in-a-decade leadership change as party heads Xi Jinping and Le Keqiang formally take over as China's president and prime minister, respectively.

Since taking over China's ruling Communist Party late last year, the new leaders have spoken repeatedly about improving the mainland's environment.

Many China watchers believe that China's environmental degradation -- underscored by severe air pollution, contaminated soil and dirty waterways -- will be a focal point during the congress.

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:46 AM EST

Source: http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17130220-sandstorm-pushes-beijing-pollution-levels-off-the-charts?lite

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Responsible Pet Ownership Blog: How to Massage an Arthritic Dog

By Langley Cornwell

My friend Karen recently adopted a senior dog with general arthritis and hip dysplasia. Good for her, right? It started with a conversation we were having about the high number of senior dogs in shelters, and how sad it was for an older dog to live out his or her days behind bars. In our local shelter, senior dogs make up about 10% of the overall population at any given time. When trying to understand why, a shelter worker told us that oftentimes families surrender their senior dogs when they reach an age where they require extra care. What a shame.

Karen?s goal is to provide her new dog, Goldie Girl, with a safe and comfortable home during her twilight years. Their union is heartwarming; it?s amazing how quickly Goldie Girl and Karen have bonded. And the dog seems to have turned back the clock several years. She holds her head a bit higher and her limp is less pronounced. Karen attributes the quick bonding and Goldie Girl?s improved physical state to massage.

The article I wrote titled The Benefits of Massage Therapy for Pets helped convince Karen that her new dog would get a lot out of regular massages, but she didn?t want to cause Goldie Girl any additional pain. Having no experience with massage, Karen went looking for advice on how to massage an older, arthritic dog. She found what she was looking for on The Dog Channel, where there is a helpful tutorial on massaging a senior dog. Here are some simple pointers.

Why massage an arthritic dog?

Arthritis is a degenerative disease that causes pain and soreness in a dog?s joints, specifically the hips, lower spine and knees, and, less severely, to the elbows and shoulders. Massaging your senior dog?s aching muscles a few minutes every day will help slow down the degenerative process of arthritis. Furthermore, massage can help relieve some of your dog?s arthritis pain and reduce some of the muscle tension associated with the disease.

How do you do it?

Start by lightly petting your dog all over, then slowly concentrate your efforts on the area you are about to massage. Continue to lightly stroke the area with very little pressure ? this is called effleurage ? which helps to increase circulation in the area.

Next, begin lightly kneading the tight muscles. Then rub your hands against your dog?s skin to create light friction which will loosen the tight muscle fibers and encourage deeper circulation. Continue to alternate light kneading with light hand friction. About every 10 seconds, use light effleurage strokes to assist drainage. Avoid putting any direct pressure on the dog?s painful joints, but do work the area around the joints to stimulate circulation and drainage. ?

During the massage, you may want to perform some gentle stretching exercises on your dog, to increase the elasticity of the tissue you are working on. When your massage and stretching session is over, softly stroke your dog?s entire body to help her relax. Then you may want to give your sweet dog a soft and tasty CANIDAE TidNips treat.

How long should the massage last?

The massage should last about 10 minutes for smaller breeds and between 15 - 20 minutes for larger breeds. Start with less time and increase the duration gradually, otherwise you risk overworking a specific part of the dog?s body and exacerbating the inflammatory process often present with an arthritic condition.

Does time of day matter?

If you can manage it, try to massage your dog twice a day: once in the early morning and then again in the evening. A massage first thing in the morning is useful because it helps reduce the soreness and stiffness resulting from the previous night?s inactivity. A second massage in the evening will relieve muscle aches brought about by the day's activities.

While massage isn?t a cure for arthritis, it will certainly help your older canine friend feel better. The added bonus is that the bonding experience will benefit both of you!

Read more articles by Langley Cornwell

Source: http://canidaepetfood.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-massage-arthritic-dog.html

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US futures edge up; Bernanke back before Congress

In this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, photo, Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Futures are rising as Chairman Ben Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill to explain what the Federal Reserve will do to accelerate the economic recovery. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, photo, Trader William Lawrence works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Futures are rising as Chairman Ben Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill to explain what the Federal Reserve will do to accelerate the economic recovery. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is seen on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. The Federal Reserve's low interest-rate policies are giving key support to an economy still burdened by high unemployment, Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday. Bernanke signaled that the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing costs low will continue. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. futures rose Wednesday on reassurances from the U.S. central bank that the low-interest rate policies will continue.

There was also some positive data from the manufacturing sector.

Dow Jones industrial futures rose 17 points to 13,876. The broader S&P futures added 1.5 points to 1,493.90. Nasdaq futures gained 4.25 points to 2,712.

Markets were rattled one week ago when the minutes from the Federal Reserve policy meeting in January left the impression that some bank officials had grown leery of ongoing stimulus programs.

But in subsequent days, Fed officials appeared to walk back from the perception that the minutes had left. On Tuesday, Bernanke said that the bond-buying program that has pumped billions into the economy has been a success and gave no indication that the Fed would release those levers any time soon.

Bernanke is testifying Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee.

Also on Wednesday, a report from the Commerce Department revealed a spike in orders for factory goods in January, suggesting that businesses are growing increasingly optimistic.

Orders for so-called core capital goods, which include machinery, equipment and software, rose 6.3 percent in January from December, the largest increase in more than a year.

Target beat Wall Street profit expectations for the fourth quarter, but shares dipped before the opening bell because its gross margins ? the percent of each dollar of revenue that a company keeps ? are slipping.

Retailers are being watched closely to gauge how a hike in the U.S. payroll tax is affecting consumers.

Dollar Tree also beat expectations for the final quarter of the year and shares jumped 4 percent in premarket trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-27-Wall%20Street-Premarket/id-577262d30c6c453aa94abd8d176e1770

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'Gigantic jet' lightning over China reaches 55 miles high

'Gigantic jet' lightning isn't well understood, but could balance out the electrical charge of thunderstorms. One of the biggest ever observed was documented over China, scientists reported this week.

By Elizabeth Howell,?Our Amazing Planet / February 26, 2013

A 'gigantic jet' captured above a storm in North Carolina in 2009. One of the biggest of these 'gigantic jet' lightning bursts was recorded over China in 2010, scientists report this week.

Steven Cummer / LiveScience.com

Enlarge

A rare glimpse of a "gigantic jet" ? a huge and mysterious burst of lightning that connects a thunderstorm with the upper atmosphere ? was made over China in 2010 and was recently described by scientists.

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The gigantic jet took place in eastern China on Aug. 12, 2010 ? the farthest a ground-based one has ever been observed from the equator, according to the research team.

Previous jets were mainly seen in tropical or subtropical regions, but this one took place around 35 degrees latitude, about the same as the southern part of Tennessee in the United States.

"This is the first report from mainland China," lead researcher Jing Yang, an atmospheric scientist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, told OurAmazingPlanet. The results were recently published in the Chinese Science Bulletin.

Researchers got a good look at the storm using a variety of tools, including Doppler radar data and weather pictures in the infrared band of radiation.

The gigantic jet peaked at about 55 miles (89 kilometers) above the ground, far above the cloudtops that were measured with Doppler radar at an altitude of 11 miles (17 km).?

Yang added that her team had possibly seen another gigantic jet in the same area during a different thunderstorm, but said they needed to recheck the data to confirm.

"It's not as clear as this one if it is a gigantic jet or not," she said.

It wasn't until the last century that electrical activity above thunderclouds was scientifically proven, although rumors based on undocumented observations circulated long before that time.

These electrical discharges can take several forms, such as sprites (orange-red flashes) and blue jets, which appear as blue cones.

The first confirmed gigantic jet was reported in 2001, after American researchers saw a blue jet reaching 44 miles (70 km) above the clouds at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This was nearly double the 26-mile (42 km) limit for jets that was previously observed.

Two years later, researchers described shapes such as "tree jets" and "carrot jets" that they spotted during a 2002 thunderstorm over the South China Sea near the Philippines.

While scientists are still trying to understand how these gigantic jets work, they believe the jets balance out the electrical charge during thunderstorms by discharging the ionosphere ? a part of the upper atmosphere filled with charged particles.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/mDv51QQcEUA/Gigantic-jet-lightning-over-China-reaches-55-miles-high

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'Missing' Calif. couple found safe in Peru

LIMA (Reuters) - A young California couple feared by family to have been abducted while on a cycling trip through Peru have safely surfaced on a river boat headed for Ecuador, surprised to learn they were subjects of an international search, the Peruvian government said on Tuesday.

"The American tourists are continuing to enjoy their trip in the Peruvian Amazon," the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism said in a statement, adding that a national police official had spoken with the couple and found them to be "in good health."

Garrett Hand and his girlfriend, Jamie Neal, both 25, had last been heard from by friends and relatives about a month ago, according to co-workers and a statement issued on Monday by the U.S. Embassy in Lima, the Peruvian capital.

The embassy said then that Peruvian authorities had mounted a search for the pair, who are residents of Oakland, California.

The couple were said to have vanished while en route to Lima from Cusco, in the mountainous southeastern Peruvian interior near the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, an area where U.S. citizens have been warned by the embassy of kidnapping risks.

That advisory last month was widely interpreted as linked to efforts by a remnant band of Maoist Shining Path rebels to repel a government push to regain control of jungle valleys that are rife with coca cultivation and cocaine trafficking.

Friends and family of Hand and Neal said they worried the pair had been abducted and that their bank accounts had remained idle since they disappeared.

But a day after relatives and co-workers went public with efforts to organize a search for the couple, the Peruvian government said national police had caught up with the duo in the northern village of Angoteros along the Napo River.

SURPRISED BY CONCERN

The tourism ministry said the couple were passengers on a boat headed up the river, a tributary of the Amazon, to a town on the border with Ecuador.

The couple "were surprised by the concern generated by family, friends and the international community after the cessation of their communications in late January," a ministry statement said.

It added that the pair had been traveling overland by bicycle, bus and river boat through remote areas where access to telephones and the Internet was limited.

Meanwhile, Hand's mother, Francine Fitzgerald, posted a message on Facebook saying she had been informed by U.S. Embassy and Peruvian authorities that the couple were spotted in a remote village and were now on a river boat.

She gave few other details but said she would not be satisfied until receiving "proof of life" from her son.

"Proof of life is my son's voice on the phone and a picture of him holding the missing poster," she wrote.

ABC News reported on Tuesday that the tourism ministry was sending a crew with video cameras to the location where the couple's boat is scheduled to dock on Wednesday to show they are alive and well.

The U.S. Embassy issued a separate statement saying it was aware of "reports that the missing U.S. citizens have been located," adding, "we are working with local authorities to confirm those reports."

The location of the couple in northern Peru was reinforced by previous accounts from police and officials of an ecological community in the Amazonian region of Iquitos. They had told Reuters earlier this week that Hand and Neal were seen embarking on an upriver boat trip toward Ecuador on February 16, three weeks after their families had last heard from them.

(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in San Francisco; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Bernard Orr and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/california-couple-feared-missing-peru-turn-safe-river-032218405.html

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Google Glass is an all-knowing virtual assistant ? is your head ready?

Rosa Golijan , NBC News ? ? ? 6 hrs.

You may have recently spotted some goofy-looking headgear gracing the brows of the Google founders ? and a few supermodels, too. While it may seem like a cyberpunk fashion statement that just got too literal, Google's Project Glass, a wearable camera/display combo, may well be the future of human-machine interaction.

"One thing that we're really excited about and working hard on is transforming the way that people interact with Google," said Scott Huffman, Google's vice president of engineering for Search, showing off a video demonstrating the search engine giant's new sensation. "From the stilted one-keyword-at-a-time conversation, to more of a natural conversation ? like a human assistant."

Make no mistake, Huffman isn't talking about a virtual assistant along the lines of Apple's Siri, which responds to your questions. He's talking about a way to interact with a search engine ? and all its associated products ? that includes it gathering so much data about your life and habits, it will start anticipating your needs. Cool? Yes. Creepy? Maybe that, too.

"If you think about a good assistant," Huffman told me, pausing to correct himself, "a great assistant ? they don't interrupt you every few minutes." He described his own assistant, someone who doesn't interrupt him often, but certainly knows when she should give him a gentle reminder or a sharp kick.

"It's the opposite of the experience on your phone today," Huffman pointed out, referencing how disruptive our smartphones can be. Not only are they not capable of prioritizing our notifications, but they're mostly incapable of anticipating how the priorities themselves change depending on where we are ? or what time it is.

Though Google's improved experience will span all manner of devices ? "We're trying to think of it as ... your assistant is ubiquitously with you," said Huffman ? it's Google Glass that has everyone talking.

Under development in the Google X Lab ? that mysterious skunkworks where self-driving cars, neural networks, and other quirky yet ambitious projects are being dreamed up ? Glass is the most provocative way in which this assistant, your main touchpoint with Google, might interact with you.

A small display lives on a frame that resembles eyeglasses. It is connected to a camera, microphone, bone-conducting speaker, and more. Thanks to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, the device communicates with other gadgets, such as your smartphone, as well as the good ol' Web.

"OK, Glass!" ? with a command like that, you can prompt the device to take pictures, record video, initiate video chats, provide directions, send messages, search, translate and more. Cards resembling those seen in Google Now ? Google's response to Apple's Siri ? may occasionally appear in the tiny display, meant to remind you of a dentist appointment, provide updates on an upcoming flight, and so on.

A concept video released by Google about a year ago left some people under the misconception that Glass provides an augmented reality experience, where information is overlaid across a field of vision. Instead, as a new demo video confirms, Glass is significantly less disruptive. You actually have to glance up at the display.

Google's intent with Glass is to provide you with all the information you need, before you even think of a question, but without being a nag. Sound too crazy? Not for Google, says ... Google.

What people want ... and what they don't know they want
"Our role is to understand user needs in terms of our search products and make sure that we're developing a search experience that meets and exceeds expectations," Jon Wiley, Google's lead user experience designer for Search, told me in mid-December. To get a sense of how that was going, Wiley said, the company conducted a little human-nature study.

Wiley's team gathered up a group of folks "from all walks of life" and installed specialized software on their mobile devices. Throughout the day, this software prompted the study participants with a very open-ended question: "What was the last bit of information you needed?" The point of the study wasn't to trace the flow of data through the participants' handsets. Wiley's team just wanted to know what sort of information ? simple or complicated, mundane or exciting ? people were hunting for at any given moment.

The study not only allowed Wiley's team to better capture the sorts of queries that people don't ask a search engine ? "Why is my daughter being mean to me?" ? but also the context in which all these questions arose. Where were people when they needed to know these things? What time was it? What were they doing? By gathering these details, the team could attempt to understand the contexts of searches (even the helpless ones) in our day-to-day, human trudge.

One day, Google could perhaps provide all that information without prompting. After all, a diligent user of Google Now already gets flight information, traffic alerts, and other details automatically ? just based on itineraries, daily travel patterns, etc. But with Glass that information could always be front-and-center at the very moment it's needed. What if you're late for a flight? Checking for its gate information by reaching for a boarding pass, pulling your phone out of your pocket, or finding an airport information board wastes precious seconds. Glass could put the information right in front of you without delay.

The more information we share with Google, even just so that Google can better understand our data needs, the more privacy concerns will be raised. Google is already no stranger to privacy lawsuits and legislation, so how much more heated will things get when the company introduces eyeglasses that know as much ? or more ? about you than you know yourself?

Perhaps even more importantly, Google Glass is one of the first digital technologies capable of recording the world around you constantly: Will that cause discomfort for others? Will they start to avoid you once you're wearing a device that allows you to take photos or record video without even the slightest warning? And when will Google Glass data be brought into the courtroom for a divorce case, a robbery, or worse?

Despite its magical promises (and ominous portents), Google's creation may remain out of reach for a while ? until late 2013, at the very earliest. Google's currently only allowing select individuals to participate in the Google Glass Explorer program. This first publicly available Glass edition costs $1,500, and comes with an invite to a special pick-up event and more. In order to be part of the Glass Explorer program, you had to pre-order during Google I/O 2012 conference last June or make it through the recently announced #IfIHadGlass application process.

Nerd alert!
While the general public waits for the latest Google gadget to become available though, there's been plenty of criticism of Glass' appearance ? "these specs look like the freaky science fiction concept they are," Gizmodo's Mario Aguilar declared.

And the behoodied Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, not exactly a fashion icon himself, is among those concerned about how he'll look wearing Glass on his face, reports Ryan Mac. The Forbes' writer witnessed an exchange between Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin after an event at the University of California on Wednesday.

"How do you look out from this without looking awkward?" Zuckerberg reportedly asked. "You know, how are you supposed to use these this without breaking eye contact?" (Neither Facebook nor Google chose to confirm that this conversation occurred.)

Still, Google seems to be working hard to ditch the belief that only the nerdiest of nerds will don Glass. The New York Times' Claire Cain Miller reports that Google may be in negotiations with eyewear seller Warby Parker "to help it design more fashionable frames" for Glass.

The company also collaborated with designer Diane von Furstenberg during last year's New York Fashion Week and brought Glass onto the runway.

?I am so excited to introduce Glass to the fashion world and use this revolutionary technology to give everyone a unique perspective into fashion," von Furstenberg was quoted as remarking, while Google co-founder Sergey Brin added that "beauty, style and comfort are as important to Glass as the latest technology."

Until Glass is publicly available ? and until we discover whether this groundbreaking virtual personal assistant is worth bending a fashion rule or two ? the last words on the subject go to actor LeVar Burton. Speaking for Geordi La Forge, a character he played in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Burton tweets: "#ifihadglass It would be a downgrade."

Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/google-glass-all-knowing-virtual-assistant-your-head-ready-1C8479651

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Video: Sequester scuffle: Washington remains gridlocked

>>> gridlock and that's where we stand tonight. no closer to a deal to avoid the automatic spending cuts set to take effect this friday. just like democrats and republicans in washington, the public has mixed views on just what to do about the deficit and the budget. let me show you some new numbers from our own nbc/" wall street journal " poll just out tonight. we asked how americans feel about the president's budget negotiations with republicans in congress. do they make people feel more or less confident about the economy. 51% said it made them less confident. it's hurting people's confidence in the economy and it could have a real impact on our lives. on the spending cuts scheduled to take effect on friday, 52% said they are a bad idea, but 53% think congress should deal with the deficit with friday's scheduled cuts or plan even more cuts. in other words, they're complicated on this. the public doesn't like the idea of automatic spending cuts but if they had to choose, these spending cuts but more spending cuts. and when asked which statement is more in line with their thoughts on the cuts, the country looks pretty evenly divided. 50% say the cuts are too severe. 46% say it's time for dramatic measures to reduce the deficit. those numbers if you look at them reflect the whole numbers, 50% being obama and 46% being roughly romney. with numbers like that, what do you do if you're president obama or speaker bonn janer. i have two former mex of the house of representatives . republican steve latourette , thank you. congresswoman thank you so much. i'm going to put you in a difficult position to be president obama right now. he's given so many speeches. his wife is all over the police. mrs. obama is on every show including the academy awards . they're getting a lot of popularity but it's kind of thin. it's nice, good, it's happy but what does that have to do with getting a deal with the republicans who are insistent on no new revenues?

>> you know, i think -- i think actually let me add on to what you were saying. 27% of the public says that they're not even interested in it anymore. i don't know. i don't know where to go. if i were doing it i would say let's look at bowles simpson, simpson/bowles a and b. what are we doing? where should the cuts be? the military says of that cuts can be had with a scalpel, not with a cleaver. 20 years ago when i was in congress, i said let's talk about entitlements. we've never really debt with entitlements except on the margins. that's what i would be doing if i were president.

>> okay.

>> i would --

>> the president says he will do it after the republicans do their thing on tax reform and raise some revenues. then he says i'll look at reforming medicare and medicaid. so it's a sequence thing. sure, i'll do. it's like i say in this terrible metaphor, it's like there's been a kidnapping and you wan the baby back and you have to give the money to the kidnappers. where do you do the drop? how do you make it xhult because nobody trusts anybody? congressman, your thoughts. you're now mr. boehner . cries occasionally. you have to play him. your friend. can he cut a deal?

>> yes, he can.

>> what would be the deal he'd cut with the president?

>> he was close to a deal a year ago august in 2011 on the debt ceiling limit, and he was pulled back by his folks more conservative folks and the president was pulled off the cliff, too, if you look at bob woodward 's book as to how that thing unraveled. they both have to channel. he needs to channel tip o'neill and the prids needs to channel ronald reagan and they have to do things. people talk about it it was wonderful, it was bliss, it was euphoria. but they made tough choices. they raise the age of social security , and they raised revenues and the only way you solve this problem is through the big deal .

>> don't you have to be big to do a big deal .

>> yeah, but these are the leaders --

>> is your leader your leader? i don't think boehner is your leader?

>> he is my leader. but not anymore i'm retired.

>> i don't think he calls the shots.

>> i don't agree with that. he calls the shots. he has 20 or 30 that came in in 2010 and that are going to vote no. it's final to forget those guys.

>> has he done that.

>> he did it at the end of the year. when they rejected plan b he broke the hastert rule and put it on the floor.

>> we heard some harsh words from speaker boehner and nancy pelosi this morning. let's hear what they had to say on the latest.

>> i don't think the president's focused on trying to find a solution to the sequester. for 16 months the president has been troofling all over the country holding rallies instead of sitting down with senate leaders in order to try to forge an agreement over there in order to move the bill. we have moved the bill in the house twice. we should not have to move a third bill before the senate gets off their [ bleep ] and begins to do something.

>> the republican leadership says let the senate begin. i remind them the constitution says appropriations and revenue bills must begin in the house. so we have important work to do, the american people want us to work together. most people don't even know what the word sequester means. sequestration equals unemployment. sequestration we don't want it.

>> you know what i think, marjorie, and this is my big concern, that both parties no longer competitive with each other. there's no common group of voters like there used to be reagan democrats , conservative people, a lot of catholics and conservative jewish people that switched back and forth, and therefore you could compete for that clump of voters. therefore, smart politician would say let's try to get that center. today the democrats -- and the republicans play to the conservatives and the districts are all gerrymanders and nobody wants to go to the middle. and i don't hear boehner going to the middle and i don't hear the president and that is a problem because i like the president.

>> and there's huge frustration even with members. bob brady , children of the city committee and head of the house administrations committee says that he is absolutely -- it's more than frustrated. he's revolted. he can't believe -- he cannot believe that nothing -- he said it's tied up with leadership and members of congress are walking around saying what the hell is going on? frustration is all around. the sequestration would almost be comical if it were not affecting to many people. kind of like patriot deucers. let's do it, nobody will like it, the show will never open, and it's there. and i think the public has crisis fatigue. what are we going to do with it? the cr is coming in a month. they have the debt crisis in the wings. people are just frustrated, and i think members of congress , members are extremely frustrated, too.

>> well, i think the president went out there campaigning thinking that the republican party would never go along with defense cuts because it's a hawkish party, and what do you know you're seeing people like buck mckoen saying i'll take the cuts if i can get some domestic cuts. miscalculation by the president? ?

>> miscalculation to put sequester in place. if this is the wake-up call and it sobers people up, you can make the big deal still and get it done. to your point on the districts in marjorie's state a guy name tim holden , a great guy, he lost because he wasn't a good enough democrat. and the same thing happens in my party. the biggest challenge we face now are primaries on the right or left. it's not november anymore.

>> that's a problem.

>> it is.

>> thank you very much, congressman. thanks for coming. congresswoman margolis, i have always respected you.

>>> up next, how did first lady michelle obama end up announcing the academy award winner for best picture . how oscar's biggest secret stayed that way. he was surprised at the very moment of it. and this is "hardball," the place

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50963271/

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Video: Gates, Zuckerberg urge kids to code

NEW YORK (AP) ? Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter creator Jack Dorsey are among the tech luminaries appearing in a new video promoting the teaching and learning of computer coding in schools.

Titled "What most schools don't teach," the video released online Tuesday begins with Zuckerberg, Gates and other tech icons recalling the time they got their start in coding. For some, that was in sixth grade. For others, such as Ruchi Sanghvi, Facebook's first female engineer, that happened in college. Freshman year, first semester, intro to computer science, to be exact.

Dorsey, who also founded and runs the mobile payments startup Square, said in an interview that he didn't grow up being a programmer.

"I wanted to work on ideas. In order to see them grow, I had to learn how to code," Dorsey told The Associated Press. "I think there is a lack of desire, there is a lack of push to teach people how to program and how to code. It's not all that dissimilar to learning a foreign language. It's just a way to instruct a machine on what to do. It empowers people to start a business, to start a project, to really speak to a daily issue that they are having or other people are having."

Running less than six minutes, the video promotes Code.org, a nonprofit foundation created last year to help computer programming education grow.

"The first time I actually had something come up and say 'hello world,' and I made a computer do that, that was just astonishing," Gabe Newell, president of video game studio Valve, recalls in the video.

But it's not just tech leaders promoting programming in the video. Chris Bosh, of the Miami Heat basketball team, says about coding: "I know it can be intimidating, a lot of things are intimidating, but, you know, what isn't?"

Code.org was founded by tech entrepreneur Hadi Partovi, an early investor in Facebook, Dropbox and the vacation rental site Airbnb. The nonprofit wants to address an oft-cited problem among technology companies ? not enough computer science graduates to fill a growing number of programming jobs. The group laments that many schools don't even offer classes in programming.

"Our policy is literally to hire as many talented engineers as we can find," Zuckerberg says in the video. "The whole limit of the system is just the there just aren't enough people who are trained and have these skills today."

___

AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this story.

___

Online:

The video: http://bit.ly/ZGiDeP

The nonprofit: http://www.code.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-02-26-US-TEC-Computer-Coding-Tech-Leaders/id-99c282a54f0545f18d199b4f7ae42c00

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To Beat Back Pain?Strengthen Your Core | Jes Reynolds...Your ...

I recently received this question which I thought reflected a general consensus among most people whether postpartum, amateur athlete, or the average joe who spends most of his time in an office chair?

Since being pregnant, breast feeding, and now carrying my baby around all the time I have a lot of lower back pain.? I know it?s important to strengthen my core in order to strengthen my back, but am not sure the best ways to go about actually doing this without needing a heating pad every night.

I can relate to back pain!!! ?When I was 19 years old I ran 6 miles about 3 times a week,?worked out almost every day, and played in?competitive?volleyball tournaments on weekends. ?One day during a tournament I jumped up to hit the ball, landed, and felt this horrendous pain shooting through my lower back. ?I could not stand up straight or lie down without excruciating pain. ?I had to go to the emergency room! ?I was given muscle?relaxers?and pain killers but no explanation as to what this pain was! ?Later I learned that I had extremely weak core muscles causing extreme stress on my lower back which eventually lead to severe muscles spasms and soft tissue damage.? I?m telling you?back pain is NO JOKE!!!! ?Whether an athlete, new mother, or moderately active person? you should aim to have a strong core and learn to engage it properly, protect your back, and keep you on your feet!

An article from Web MD states: About 25% of Americans are affected by back pain in a given year, and they spend more time at the doctor?s office for back pain than for any other medical condition except high blood pressure and diabetes.

Instead of jumping for pills or surgery, says Kelly, people with chronic back pain should first seek out a thorough functional assessment from a qualified trainer with experience in sports medicine.

Some main causes of back pain are:

• Poor posture and alignment
• Weak core muscles
• Improper use of core muscles
• Structural damage like a herniated or ruptured disk

If there is no structural damage, the keys to alleviating lower back pain are:

• Posture (during all exercise and during regular life)
• Core Strength Exercises
• Training the Nervous system to fire muscles correctly

Why does core strength matter: Your core is made up of muscles ligaments and tendons.? The structure of the back & core is made up of bone, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves.? There are a multitude of factors that can impact these elements to cause lower back pain.

4 exercises to strengthen your core:

Side Plank: The side plank requires alignment and core activation to be done correctly. Lineup ear, shoulder, hip, knee & ankle, draw navel in, and hold the position for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Side Angle Pose: Side angle pose is a yoga pose requiring balance, leg strength, and core activation. I am not a yoga teacher or expert, just a participant so I have included a link? with instructions to help you do this pose.
Plank Using Exercise Ball: Plank using an exercise ball requires shoulder strength and core activation. Line up ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle, draw navel in, and hold for 30 -60 seconds.
Chest Press Using Exercise Ball: Chest press using an exercise ball requires core stability, upper body strength, and balance. ?It?s a great exercise to help you learn to activate the core during strength training.

You should not feel lower back pain during any of these exercises. ?If you do, they are too advanced or you are holding them too long. ?If you have chronic back pain, I recommend scheduling a session or two with a qualified exercise specialist just to focus on core strengthening exercises, flexibility, and posture. ?With the right professional, it can dramatically improve your core strength and reduce lower back pain. ?Let me know if you would like more information about this by sending an email to: Jes@jesreynolds.com!

Source: http://jesreynolds.com/to-beat-back-pain-strengthen-your-core/

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Senate ends Hagel filibuster, moving defense pick toward confirmation

By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News

?

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., moved a step closer to becoming the nation's next defense secretary after the Senate voted Tuesday to end debate on his nomination, and move toward a final confirmation vote.?

Hagel's nomination cleared a key threshold in a midday vote on Tuesday, ending a week-and-a-half-long delay forced by Republicans who object to their former colleague's nomination.?

The Senate voted 71 to 27 to move forward with Hagel's nomination, clearing the 60-vote threshold needed to end the GOP filibuster. Several Republicans who'd previously voted to block Hagel reversed their votes, and allowed him to move toward confirmation.

The vote all but ensures Hagel's confirmation, since only a simple majority of senators are needed in that vote, and Democrats ??who all backed the former Republican senator ??all support Hagel. That vote on final confirmation could come as soon as Tuesday evening.

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Former Senator Chuck Hagel testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be Defense Secretary, on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this January 31, 2013, file photo.

Tuesday's vote brings the bruising fight over Hagel's nomination near to its conclusion.?

Republicans had fought strenuously to defeat Hagel, accusing him at points of harboring hostilities toward Israel, and sympathies for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Tied into Hagel's nomination as well have been Republicans' long-running effort to ding President Barack Obama and his administration over their handling of the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.?

"What has their filibuster gained my Republican colleagues?" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., asked on the Senate floor. "Twelve days later, Senator Hagel's exemplary record of service to his country remains untarnished."

Reid added: "Senate Republicans have delayed for the better part of two weeks for one reason and one reason only: partisanship."

Hagel didn't necessarily help his cause during a combative confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Republicans aggressively questioned Hagel on a variety of matters during the Jan. 31 hearing.?

Even still, Democrats held firm in their backing for the former Nebraska senator, helping to move his nomination forward. Republicans, though, managed to buy themselves more time ? they said, to more fully investigate Hagel's background ??by waging a filibuster against the nomination on Feb. 14.?

Democrats angrily protested the delay, especially as current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta planned to leave the job, as dangerous and unprecedented. Republican opponents of Hagel, though, said at that time that they would drop their objections to holding a confirmation vote after last week's recess.

Source: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17103336-senate-ends-hagel-filibuster-moving-defense-pick-toward-confirmation?lite

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Samsung to hold Galaxy S IV event March 14 in New York

According to a Samsung representative, Samsung will hold a Galaxy S IV inspired event March 14 in New York city. This will be the first Galaxy S event in the U.S. since the first round of Galaxy S phones were announced at CTIA in 2010, and Samsung mobile division chief JK Shin says the venue was moved because they were "bombarded with requests" from US carriers to hold the show in their own country.

Nobody knows exactly what to expect from Samsung's latest, but we are sure it will give us plenty to talk about. Expected with everything stronger, faster, and higher resolution that the current Galaxy S3, the handset is sure to be a hit amongst consumers.

All the details aren't known just yet, but you'll be able to count on Android Central to deliver you all the news about Samsung's next. 

Source: e. daily (Korean); via: Reuters

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/oX_nlao_j-c/story01.htm

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SHOW BITS: Oscar is a trip for Jennifer Lawrence

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Show Bits brings you the 85th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

___

OSCAR IS TRIP FOR LAWRENCE

Jennifer Lawrence's performance in "Silver Linings Playbook" was flawless enough to capture the best actress Oscar. She wasn't so adroit in claiming the trophy.

Lawrence stumbled as she took the steps to the Oscar stage, falling to her knees in her flowing Dior gown. That drew a sympathetic ovation from the auditorium.

She remained endearingly flustered during her acceptance speech, thanking her family, those who worked with her on the film and wishing a "Happy Birthday" to a fellow nominee, Emmanuelle Riva of "Amour," who turned 86.

"Look at this dress. I tried to walk up stairs in this dress," Lawrence said of her white, floor-length gown. "I think I stepped on the fabric and they wax the stairs."

Lawrence said she thought of a "bad word" to say when she tumbled but kept it to herself.

She had already been bleeped by ABC when she let loose with a four-letter word while joking with Kristin Chenoweth on the red carpet.

Asked how she got ready for the day, Lawrence said it was "chaotic" from the start, with her family taking over the house to prepare for the big evening.

After fumbling for a more descriptive answer, she apologized: "I'm sorry. I did a shot."

? Lynn Elber ? Twitter http://twitter.com/lynnelber

___

QUICKQUOTE: BEN AFFLECK

"I want to thank you for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases. It's good, it is work, but it's the best kind of work. There's no one I'd rather work with." ? Ben Affleck, thanking his wife, Jennifer Garner, as he accepted the best picture Oscar for "Argo."

? Christina Hoag.

___

ACTING GODS, TOGETHER

For a moment, it looked the Oscar stage had turned into the Mount Olympus of acting.

There stood the two reigning gods of the art, the man and the woman generally considered to be at the very top in the field today: Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep.

Though he's not known for comedy, Day-Lewis got a big laugh when he turned to Streep, who had just presented him his third best-actor trophy, and said he'd actually originally been slated to play Margaret Thatcher, the role Streep won the Oscar for last year in "The Iron Lady."

And, he added, Streep had actually been director Steven Spielberg's original choice for Abraham Lincoln.

"I'd like to see that version," Day-Lewis quipped.

With his win for "Lincoln," Day-Lewis became the first person to win three best-actor Oscars. Streep has won three Oscars too, one of them as supporting actress.

? Jocelyn Noveck ? Twitter http://twitter.com/JocelynNoveckAP

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QUICKQUOTE: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS

"I love it when people are completely inarticulate giving speeches because it says the same thing in a different way"? Daniel Day-Lewis backstage, discussing the unpolished thank you's he gave after winning the lead actor award for "Lincoln."

? Hannah Dreier ? http://www.twitter.com/hannahdreier

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ONION CRITICIZED FOR JOKE

A tweet from The Onion about the 9-year-old star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is drawing criticism for being tasteless, even amid the constant social media satire of the Oscars.

The satirical newspaper called Quvenzhane (kwuh-VEHN'-juh-nay) Wallis an expletive intended to denigrate women. The joke was meant to parody how beloved Quvenzhane is, but many thought the language inappropriate for discussing a child.

The Onion deleted the tweet about an hour after it was posted. Still, that was enough time to create a firestorm online, with many saying the remark crossed a line.

A spokeswoman for The Onion didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Not everyone thought the tweet went too far: It was retweeted more than 500 times and favorited by some 400 before being deleted.

? Jake Coyle ? http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

___

MASTER-FUL EXIT

In recent years, everyone would head for the door as soon as the best picture winner ? the last Oscar category in the show ? was announced, leaving the winner with an empty room to thank.

This year, organizers hoped to get attendees to stick around until the end of the show for a closing performance from Seth MacFarlane and Kristin Chenoweth, which was dedicated to all the evening's Oscar losers.

"Ladies and gentleman, we ask that you remain in your seats after the last award for a very special closing number," a female announcer calmly announced during the show's final commercial break.

Well, one pair of "losers" weren't interested. "The Master" stars Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman bolted for the door at the beginning of the song.

? Derrik J. Lang ? Twitter http://twitter.com/derrikjlang

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THANKING THE 'MOVIE GOD'

Ang Lee had his priorities in order when he gave one of his first thank you's to the "movie god."

The Taiwanese director pulled off a huge upset when he won an Academy Award for directing "Life of Pi." He beat out front-runner and two-time Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.

Lee also gave a shoutout to the shipwreck story's lead actor, Suraj Sharma, but didn't thank the rest of the cast by name.

"I cannot waste this time talking about them," he said sheepishly.

He did slip in a quick mention of his agent, his lawyer and of course his wife.

"I have to do that," he said.

? Hannah Dreier ? Twitter http://twitter.com/hannahdreier

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THE AVENGERS REUNITE

Just like the superheroes they played in the movie, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson huddled together backstage to get a plan together and of course joke around.

Downey suggested the stars of "The Avengers" bow as they headed onstage to make Oscar presentations. Or perhaps curtsy.

When a show worker asked Jackson to stand still so he could be wired with a microphone, the actor faced a backstage wall and pretended he was being frisked by police.

To pass the time, the superheroes watched Melissa McCarthy and Paul Rudd from a backstage monitor.

Suddenly Ruffalo asked, "Did we miss our cue?"

"You want to go out there with them?" asked Jackson.

After presenting two awards, the actors returned backstage, where Downey quipped, "Avengers disassemble."

? Sandy Cohen ? http://www.twitter.com/apsandy

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QUICKQUOTE: QUENTIN TARANTINO

"I'm not an American filmmaker. I'm American and I'm a filmmaker, but I make movies for planet Earth"? Quentin Tarantino, tie loosened, talking with his hands and, at one point, drifting into an Australian accent while speaking with reporters backstage after winning the Oscar for original screenplay for "Django Unchained."

? Hannah Dreier ? http://www.twitter.com/hannahdreier

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KRISTEN STEWART HOBBLED

Kristen Stewart ditched her crutches to hobble onstage as an Oscar presenter, appearing bored and disheveled in the process.

She and Daniel Radcliffe handled one of the less glamorous awards for production design. Stewart read her lines with a slouchy insouciance.

Just before going on, Stewart left a pair of crutches in the wings and apparently the backstage hairstylists didn't get ahold of her for a brushing. Her long brunette hair looked stringy.

The reaction on Twitter was swift and severe.

"Kristen stewart are you ok? And by that I mean where were the hash brownies before u got hit by bus (hash)bruise (hash)limp," tweeted comedian-actor David Spade.

Actor Joel McHale tweeted, "Kristen Stewart is limping because she sprained her ankle from being excessively disinterested."

Backstage, Stewart ran into supporting actress winner Anne Hathaway, who noted her crutches.

"I know, I'm an idiot," Stewart replied. "But congratulations!"

"Please tell me you're going on stage with those," Hathaway said, pointing to the crutches.

"Nope. I'm gonna hobble," said Stewart, explaining that she had stepped on glass.

? Beth Harris ? http://www.twitter.com/bethharrisap

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TONYS OR OSCARS?

Did the Oscars intentionally turn into the Tonys?

All those song-and-dance numbers weren't lost on Twitter.

"Sucks for the actors at the Oscars who can't sing ... (hash)TONYS? (hash)HollywoodGoesBroadway," Nylon magazine tweeted after a tribute to the musical "Chicago."

"Am I watching the (hash)Oscars or the (hash)Tonys? Either way I'm happy:) lol," tweeted a belter herself, Lea Michele.

? Leanne Italie ? Twitter http://twitter.com/litalie

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NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON

As soon as Adele stepped off the stage after singing the Oscar-winning theme from "Skyfall," she kicked off her sparkly Louboutin platforms.

"I'm sorry. (Forget) that," she said, flinging the shoes onto the floor. A stagehand quickly swooped them up.

"I'd pick them up but I can't bend over," she said, motioning toward her tight beaded dress.

? Sandy Cohen ? http://www.twitter.com/APSandy .

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CELEBRITY SCHMOOZING

It was maybe the next best thing to being there.

Down the road from the Academy Awards, musicians and models found common schmoozing ground at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscar viewing dinner in West Hollywood.

Lithe supermodel Naomi Campbell sat next to music mogul Quincy Jones then gripped hands and chatted with Steven Tyler and the party host himself, Elton John.

Bono, wearing his customary tinted shades, gleefully kissed Jones on the top of his head, then hugged statuesque model Petra Nemcova.

"Elton's a warrior on the HIV, AIDS scourge, since before anyone can remember," Bono told The Associated Press. "Like Bruce Springsteen is 'the Boss', Quincy is 'the President.' He is so unique. And Elton is both 'the king' AND 'the queen.'"

? Solvej Schou ? Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Solvej_Schou

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BASSEY HITS IT OUTTA THE PARK

For all the sparkling young starlets and the edgy new host, it was none other than Dame Shirley Bassey who truly set the joint on fire early in the Oscar telecast.

The 76-year-old singer's rendition of the theme from "Goldfinger" ? or, as she sang so memorably, "GoldfinGAH" ? was a feel-good moment that won what was at the time the biggest ovation of the night.

Bassey, who recorded the song in the '60s to great acclaim, reprised it as part of the Academy's 50th anniversary tribute to the James Bond franchise.

On social networks, as people were debating vigorously how the telecast was going, there was no question as to how Bassey did: She was an unqualified hit.

Minutes after the performance, the singer and her song were trending on Twitter.

? Jocelyn Noveck ? Twitter http://twitter.com/JocelynNoveckAP

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QUICKQUOTE: CHRISTOPH WALTZ

"Quentin writes poetry and I like poetry." ? Supporting actor winner Christoph Waltz of "Django Unchained" about working with writer-director Quentin Tarantino.

? Beth Harris ? http://www.twitter.com/bethharrisap

___

MAYBE IT LOOKED EASY ...

Charlize Theron, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were one big bundle of nerves before they took the stage for their opening song-and-dance numbers.

Radcliffe danced by himself. Theron dabbed at her eyes and Gordon-Levitt stood silently as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane delivered the Oscar show's opening monologue.

Then it was time to hit the stage.

"Thank God!" Theron said afterward as she let out a sigh of relief.

"You stepped on my dress," she told Tatum.

Radcliffe and Gordon-Levitt bear-hugged after their dance routine.

"We did all right! We did all right," they told each other.

"It felt good! How did it look?" Gordon-Levitt asked.

"Well done," Radcliffe told him.

? Sandy Cohen ? http://www.twittermcom/APSandy

___

AMY ADAMS SITTING PRETTY

To slide, plop or shimmy?

That's the dilemma that faced Amy Adams in her flowing Oscar de la Renta gown when she approached her front-row seat inside the Dolby Theatre before the Oscars began.

After greeting fellow nominee Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the row behind her with a big hug, "The Master" co-star tilted to her right side and sort of shimmied down into her seat.

While Jennifer Aniston and Samuel L. Jackson mingled with attendees nearby, Adams held court in her fluffy dove grey fabric cloud.

Across the aisle, Bradley Cooper rushed his mother to meet Jean Dujardin, who took home the best actor Oscar last year.

? Derrik J. Lang ? Twitter http://twitter.com/derrikjlang

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/show-bits-oscar-trip-jennifer-lawrence-062129754.html

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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/googlemoneyscam

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Jodi Arias set to be grilled on stand in murder trial

Tom Tingle / The Arizona Republic via AP

Prosecutor Juan Martinez asks defendant Jodi Arias a question about her diary during cross examination testimony in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix.

By Brian Skoloff, The Associated Press

Jodi Arias resumes testimony Monday in her Arizona murder trial after the start of a withering cross-examination last week by a prosecutor working to poke holes in her numerous stories.

She is charged in the June 2008 stabbing and shooting death of her lover in his suburban Phoenix home. Arias claims self-defense, while authorities say she planned the attack on Travis Alexander in a jealous rage. Testimony has been ongoing since early January.

Arias, 32, lost a bid last week aimed at getting a reprieve from a potential death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder after the Arizona Supreme Court swiftly denied her motion that claimed a detective committed perjury in the case. Her attorneys have filed multiple motions for mistrials, all of which have been denied.

She was set to resume testimony Monday for her 10th day on the witness stand.

Last week, prosecutor Juan Martinez hammered Arias with intense questioning about her inability to recall crucial details in the case, yet noted it was puzzling that she can remember "what kind of coffee you bought at Starbucks sometime back in 2008."

Arias smirked at times while Martinez stammered in frustration, and the judge admonished both to stop talking over each other as the questioning grew heated and the two traded barbs.

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Martinez resumes his cross-examination Monday likely continuing to focus on Arias' repeated lies.

Arias first told authorities she knew nothing about Alexander's death, then later blamed it on masked intruders before eventually settling on self-defense.

She said she was scared of being arrested, had been contemplating suicide and didn't want to sully Alexander's name with accounts of his violent behavior and lurid details of their sexual relationship, given his public persona as a devout Mormon who was saving himself for marriage.

Of the day she killed Alexander, Arias says she remembers him in a rage, body slamming her and chasing her around his home.

She said she grabbed a gun from his closet, and fired it as they tussled, but didn't know if she hit him. She had no explanation for the 27 stab and slash wounds he suffered, or his slit throat, or how he ended up stuffed in his shower.

According to court records, however, she previously told police before her trial began that Alexander was unconscious after she shot him, but then "crawled around and was stabbed."

She says she remembers putting a knife in the dishwasher and disposing of the gun in the desert as she drove from Arizona on her way to Utah. And she immediately began planning an alibi.

Arias' grandparents reported a .25 caliber handgun stolen from their Northern California house about a week before the killing ? the same caliber used to shoot Alexander ? but Arias claims to know nothing about the burglary. She says she brought no weapons to Alexander's home on the day she killed him, undercutting the prosecution's theory of premeditation.

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17087098-jodi-arias-set-to-be-grilled-on-stand-in-murder-trial?lite

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"Argo" storms to Oscar victory on night of surprises

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Argo" stormed to Best Picture victory at the Oscars on Sunday on a night of surprises that ended in disappointment for frontrunner "Lincoln" and handed the most overall wins - four - to "Life of Pi."

It was the first time since "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1990 that a film won the top prize at the Oscars without its director also being nominated.

The honors for the Iran hostage drama marked a triumphant comeback into Hollywood's mainstream for director Ben Affleck, who failed to get a nomination in the directing category six weeks ago, and who struggled for years to rebuild his reputation after tabloid ridicule over his 2002-2004 romance with Jennifer Lopez.

"Argo" also won best film editing and best adapted screenplay for its gripping and often comedic tale of the CIA mission to rescue six U.S. diplomats from Tehran shortly after the Islamic Revolution.

"So many wonderful people extended their help to me when they had nothing to benefit from it ... you can't hold grudges. It's hard, but you can't hold grudges. It doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life, because it happens. All that matters is that you get up," the 40-year-old Affleck, who also produced the film, said in an emotional acceptance speech.

Ang Lee was an upset choice for Best Director for his lavish shipwreck tale "Life of Pi," beating the respected Steven Spielberg, whose presidential drama "Lincoln" took home just two Oscars from a leading 12 nominations.

The other three wins for "Life of Pi" came for original score, visual effects and cinematography."

The Best Picture Oscar for "Argo" was announced in one of the best kept secrets in the history of Oscar telecasts when first lady Michelle Obama made an unprecedented video appearance from the White House to open the winning envelope.

Daniel Day-Lewis, as expected, made Oscar history and won a long standing ovation on becoming the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars. He collected the golden statuette for his intense performance as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln battling to abolish slavery and end the U.S. civil war in "Lincoln."

"I really don't know how any of this happened," said Day-Lewis, who has dual Anglo-Irish citizenship.

Jennifer Lawrence was named Best Actress for playing a feisty young widow in comedy "Silver Linings Playbook", tripping up on her Dior dress while was going up on the stage.

BAD NIGHT FOR 'ZERO DARK THIRTY'

She beat "Zero Dark Thirty" actress Jessica Chastain and France's Emmanuelle Riva, 86, the star of Austrian foreign-language winner "Amour," in one of the closest Oscar contests this year.

The 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who chose the Oscar winners in secret ballots, dealt a stinging blow to "Zero Dark Thirty."

The movie about the 10-year-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, which has been attacked by Washington politicians and some human rights groups for its depiction of torture, came away with just one Academy Award out of five nominations.

Even that Oscar - for sound editing - had to be shared as it was a tie with James Bond blockbuster "Skyfall."

Sunday's show will also be remembered for the provocative performance given by Seth MacFarlane, creator of animated television series "Family Guy," in his debut as Oscars host.

MacFarlane, 39, pushed the envelope with cheeky songs like "We Saw Your Boobs" about actresses who have stripped down for movie roles, and jokes about Hollywood's large Jewish and gay communities.

He also turned the telecast into a running joke about whether he would be deemed the worst Oscar host ever by the media on Monday.

Anne Hathaway was a popular first time Oscar winner for her supporting turn in musical "Les Miserables."

"It came true," she said, cradling the golden statuette. Hathaway starved herself and chopped off her long brown locks to play the musical's tragic heroine Fantine in "Les Miserables" where she showed off hitherto little known talents as a singer.

Austrian, Christoph Waltz, seemed shocked to win the closest contest going into the ceremony. He took Best Supporting Actor honors for his turn as an eccentric dentist turned bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino's slavery revenge fantasy "Django Unchained."

It was Waltz's second Oscar, after winning for the Tarantino movie "Inglourious Basterds" in 2010.

A jubilant Tarantino also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and credited the actors who brought the characters in all his films to life. "And boy this time, did I do it!," he said.

"Brave," the Pixar movie about a feisty Scottish princess, took home the golden statuette for Best Animated Feature.

(Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hollywoods-finest-pose-red-carpet-ahead-oscars-show-000807261.html

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