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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

'G.I. Joe' commands No. 1 at box office with $41M

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? After a nine-month delay, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" deployed to the top spot at the box office.

The action film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum as the gun-toting military toys brought to life marched into the No. 1 position at the weekend box office, earning $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Retaliation" opened Wednesday at midnight, which helped bring its domestic total to $51.7 million.

Paramount postponed the sequel to 2009's "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" last May from its original June opening date to convert the film to 3-D. The last-minute switcheroo came just weeks after "Battleship," another movie based on a Hasbro toy, sank at the box office. At that time, Paramount already began its advertising campaign for "Retaliation."

"It certainly vindicates the decision," said Don Harris, the studio's head of distribution. "Any time you make those sorts of moves, people always assume the worst. The truth is I'd seen this movie a long time ago in 2-D, and the movie worked in 2-D. It's not trying to be 'Schindler's List.' This movie is intended to be enjoyed as a big, action spectacle."

Internationally, Harris said "Retaliation" earned $80.3 million, making it the biggest international opening of the year. The film opened in 53 markets outside of the U.S. and Canada, including Russia, South Korea and Mexico.

After debuting in the top spot last weekend, the 3-D animated prehistoric comedy "The Croods" from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox slipped to the No. 2 spot with $26.5 million in its second weekend. The film features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener as a cave family on the hunt for a new home.

Among the other new films this weekend, "Tyler Perry's Temptation" starring Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Lance Gross opened above expectations at No. 3 with $22.3 million, while the sci-fi adaptation "The Host" featuring Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel as characters from the Stephenie Meyer novel landed at No. 6 in its debut weekend with a modest $11 million.

Overall, the weekend box office was on par with last year when "The Hunger Games" continued to dominate in its second weekend of release with $58.5 million. After a slow start, Hollywood's year-to-date revenues are still 12 percent behind last year, heading into next month when summer movie season unofficially kicks off with "Iron Man 3" on May 3.

"It's getting us back on track after many weekends of down trending box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "Last weekend was a turning point with the strength of 'The Croods' and 'Olympus Has Fallen' doing better than expected. We're heading toward the summer movie season on solid footing. It's been a tough year so far."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $41.2 million ($80.3 million international).

2. "The Croods," $26.5 million ($52.5 million international).

3. "Tyler Perry's Temptation," $22.3 million.

4. "Olympus Has Fallen," $14 million.

5. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $11.6 million ($22.2 million international).

6. "The Host," $11 million ($6 million international).

7. "The Call," $4.8 million.

8. "Admission," $3.2 million.

9. "Spring Breakers," $2.7 million.

10. "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," $1.3 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $80.3 million.

2. "The Croods," $52.5 million.

3. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $25.2 million.

4. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $22.2 million.

5. "Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami," $7 million.

6. "The Host," $6 million.

7. "Identity Thief," $5.5 million.

8. "Wreck-It Ralph," $4 million.

9. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $3.6 million.

10. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $3.3 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-31-Box%20Office/id-fe8c399e2af8425a97b849fb01c8c934

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Monday, April 1, 2013

Pincam (for iPhone)

When Twitter's video sharing app Vine launched last month to great fanfare, what you often heard was that it was "like Instagram for video." (Around the same time, Twitter actually stopped allowing Instagram photos to show up on users' streams.) But the comparison doesn't flesh out very well, since a big part of Instagram is its ability to enhance your mobile photos with effect filters and retro looks.

Pincam, a recent free iPhone app from the South Korean firm SK Planet, steps in to give us a closer video analog for Instagram, complete with filters and direct uploading to YouTube and Facebook. This is in spite of the app's frequent use of the term "pin," which would suggest a tie-in with Pinterest. Even the app's logo resembles that social network's, but I found no real tie-ins or resemblances. In any case, the video pinning you do with Pincam, though initially somewhat perplexing, can definitely provide moments of enjoyment with your iPhone's video camera.

Interface
Pincam's initial interface is pretty spare. Its most prominent element is a big, universally understood, red Record button. Other controls grace the corners of the screen: At the top you see Settings and Flash on the left, and switch camera on the right.? The most interesting button is at lower-right?Filters. This lets you see effects like Blue Vintage, Vanilla Sky, Dotty, Mozaic, Tooner, and Sketchbook. The last two are pretty impressive, letting you see and record drawing-like versions of your scene in real time. In all, there are a baker's dozen of effects to choose from.

Recording Video
When you hit that big Record button, a progress bar starts running along the bottom and large Pinterest-like button appears in the right side of the screen. Pressing the latter starts an on-screen timer counting down from three seconds, with the word "Highlight!" superimposed on the recording video.

In some ways, I prefer Vine's ability to let you press the screen to choose when recording should happen. That way, you can easily create clever stop-motion effects. But then there's Vine's stingy six-second limit?.Pincam has you start recording, and then pick the best three-second intervals. You can keep the camera rolling as long as you like, but when you stop it by hitting Record again, you'll see an Encoding message and progress bar. When you then watch the final product, you'll see that Pincam has edited your footage to just the Highlighted sections, with one second added to the start, since it's likely that you missed the very beginning of the interesting bits before hitting the button.

You can't do trimming at specific points in the video, but the Highlight button handles that for you. You can open previously recorded video from your Camera Roll, but only to select and edit down to Hightlights in the clip?you can't add one of Pincam's effects.

My results were more impressive if less pithy than what I'd been able to do with Vine. The filters are a definite plus, and it will be interesting to see whether the app can do for mobile video what Instagram did for mobile photos.

Sharing
After signing into a YouTube account and giving permission for Pincam to access it, you'll be able to add a text caption, which by default just says "via Pincam." I didn't appreciate that you can't choose whether the viddy should be public or private, or choose a category before uploading. After a few minutes, a message informed me that my five-second test upload was Successful! The category was set to Entertainment, and the privacy to Public. Again, I wish I'd been able to choose those before uploading. Facebook uploading is even more streamlined, and my video showed up with an HD viewing option.

A Pincam representative told me that SK Planet would be adding its own online sharing service, so the app will become an even more accurate analog to Instagram. The new service will allow private sharing and have a Facebook tie-in.

Stick a Pin in It
Pincam solved the problem of recording video with monotonous sections you want to ditch. And its cool live filter effects go beyond what you get in Vine, as does its longer time limit. But using Pincam is a bit trickier than shooting with Vine or Lightt, and for that reason, I'd be less likely to use it often. I'd probably prefer a post-shooting video editor such as Apple iMovie for iOS, but video editing on phones remains problematic. Pincam's sharing abilities are reasonable, but I look forward to seeing the app's own upcoming online service. For its superior image capabilities, I give Pincam a higher rating than Vine, but for now the PCMag Editors' Choice is still up for grabs in this still emerging category.

Interface

Pincam's initial interface is pretty spare. Its most prominent element is a big, universally understood, red Record button. Other controls grace the corners of the screen: At the top you see Settings and Flash on the left, and switch camera on the right.? The most interesting button is at lower-right?Filters. This lets you see effects like Blue Vintage, Vanilla Sky, Dotty, Mozaic, Tooner, and Sketchbook. The last two are pretty impressive, letting you see and record drawing-like versions of your scene in real time. In all, there are a baker's dozen of effects to choose from.

Hit the Record button again and? another progress bar with the text Encoding

?superimposed on the recording video.

Stick a Pin in it

Pincam solved the problem of recording video with monotonous sections you want to ditch. And its cool live filter effects go beyond what you get in Vine, as does its longer time limit. But using Pincam is a bit trickier than shooting with Vine or Lightt, and for that reason, I'd be less likely to use it often. I'd probably prefer a post-shooting video editor such as Apple iMovie for iOS, but video editing on phones remains problematic. Pincam's sharing abilities are reasonable, but I look forward to seeing the app's own upcoming online service. For its superior image capabilities, I give Pincam a higher rating than Vine, but for now the PCMag Editors' Choice is still up for grabs in this still emerging category.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/8rF7PaHV-1A/0,2817,2417201,00.asp

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Rebel leader appoints new government in CAR

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) ? A rebel leader who proclaimed himself president of the Central African Republic after his fighters invaded the capital has appointed a new cabinet.

New minister of information Christophe Gazam Betty announced the makeup of the new government on national radio late Sunday. It includes both rebels and civilians.

The Seleka rebel movement began its advance on the capital in December before agreeing to peace talks with the government of President Francois Bozize. The deal signed in January allowed Bozize to finish his term in return for a number of concessions.

The deal was broken this month when rebel leader Michel Djotodia led fighters into Bangui, forcing Bozize to flee.

Djotodia named himself president despite an international outcry.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebel-leader-appoints-government-car-224210759.html

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Create a Modern Concrete Stool for $5

Create a Modern Concrete Stool for $5 You don't have to break the bank to furnish an in-home bar. It's easy to create some great looking stools with just a few dollars worth of materials.

You can check out the video above for the full walkthrough, but essentially you're just putting a few inches of wet concrete in a bucket for the stool's seat, then sticking in some thick wooden dowel rods for the legs. Once the concrete sets, you can pull it out of the bucket and smooth it down for a modern, industrial-style stool. The stool shown in the video is pretty short, but you could easily just cut the dowels longer if you need a proper barstool. If you don't have a bar at home, this would also look right at home at a workbench in your garage.

How to Make a Sweet $5 Bar Stool Using Wooden Dowels & Concrete | WonderHowTo

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/hY87VsNOFRI/create-a-modern-concrete-stool-for-5

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'Fairy circles' mysery solved? Tiny creators discovered.

'Fairy circles' dot deserts in southern Africa, but the mystery behind their origin may have been solved.

By Tanya Lewis,?Live Science / March 28, 2013

Oryx antelope tracks cross 'fairy circles' in Namibrand, Namibia.

N. Juergens / Live Science

Enlarge

The "artists" behind bizarre, barren, grassless rings dotting the desert of Southwest Africa have been found lurking right at scientists' feet: termites.

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Known as fairy circles, these patches crop up in regular patterns along a narrow strip of the Namib Desert between mid-Angola and northwestern South Africa, and can persist for decades. The cause of these desert pockmarks has been widely debated, but a species of sand termite, Psammotermes allocerus, could be behind the mysterious dirt rings, suggests a study published today (March 28) in the journal Science.

Scientists have offered many ideas about the circles' origin, ranging from "self-organizing vegetation dynamics" to carnivorous ants. Termites have been proposed before, but there wasn't much evidence to support that theory.

Finding patterns in circles

While studying the strange patterns, biologist Norbert Juergens of the University of Hamburg noticed that wherever he found the dirt patches (the barren centers inside fairy circles), he also found sand termites. [See Photos of the Bizarre Fairy Circles]

Juergens measured the water content of the soil in the circles from 2006 to 2012. More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of water was stored in the top 39 inches (100 cm) of soil, even during the driest period of the year, Juergens found. The soil humidity below about 16 inches (40 cm) was 5 percent or more over a four-year stretch.

Without grass to?absorb rainwater and then release it back into the air via evaporation, any water available would collect in the porous, sandy soil, Juergens proposed. That water supply could be enough to keep the termites alive and active during the harsh dry season, while letting the grass survive at the circles' rims.

Juergens conducted surveys of the organisms found at fairy circles. The sand termite was the only creature he found consistently at the majority of patches. He also discovered that most patches contained layers of cemented sand, foraged plant material and underground tunnels ? telltale signs of sand termites.

?The scientist found a few other termite species, as well as three ant species, at fairy circles in areas that get rain during the summer or during the winter, but not at all the sites he studied.

Teensy engineers

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/OEsoWR2ilgI/Fairy-circles-mysery-solved-Tiny-creators-discovered

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Rebel leader appoints new government in CAR

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) ? A rebel leader who proclaimed himself president of the Central African Republic after his fighters invaded the capital has appointed a new cabinet.

New minister of information Christophe Gazam Betty announced the makeup of the new government on national radio late Sunday. It includes both rebels and civilians.

The deal was broken this month when rebel leader Michel Djotodia led fighters into Bangui, forcing Bozize to flee.

Djotodia named himself president despite an international outcry.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rebel-leader-appoints-government-car-224210759.html

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Louisville upsets Griner and No. 1 Baylor 82-81

Louisville's bench, including Bria Smith (21) and Shoni Schimmel (23), celebrates the winning free throws against Baylor during the second half of a regional semifinal in the women's NCAA college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Louisville won 82-81. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Louisville's bench celebrates after defeating Baylor 82-81 in a regional semifinal in the women's NCAA college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, Sunday, March 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Baylor 's Brittney Griner (42) shoots as Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel (23) defends in the first half of a regional semifinal game in the women's NCAA college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, Sunday, March 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel, left, and guard Antonita Slaughter, top, pressure Baylor guard Jordan Madden (3) as she looks for a teammate to pass to in the first half of a regional semifinal game in the women's NCAA college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, Sunday, March 31, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball player Kevin Durant poses for photos with Baylor players during a timeout in the second half of a regional semifinal game between Oklahoma and Tennessee in the women's NCAA college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City, Sunday, March 31, 2013. Tennessee won 74-59. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? From the opening tip of the season, there was only one question in women's college basketball: How do you stop Brittney Griner?

Louisville found the answer Sunday night, pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.

Considered a lock for the Final Four ? and prohibitive favorites to win a second straight championship ? Griner and her Lady Bears got bounced 82-81 by fifth-seeded Louisville in an NCAA regional semifinal.

"I'm just sad," Griner said. "I didn't do what I needed to do to get my team to the Elite Eight and just disappointment in myself."

Baylor (34-2) had won 32 straight games and 74 of 75 behind Griner, among the greatest players ever in her sport. But the 6-foot-8 star didn't make a basket until the second half, then committed a foul with 2.6 seconds left that gave Louisville a chance to win.

Monique Reid made those two foul shots, rescuing the Cardinals (27-8) after they squandered a 17-point lead in the last 7? minutes.

The win made it quite a day for the school ? hours earlier, the men's team from Louisville beat Duke 85-63 to reach the Final Four.

Reid and the Cardinals will play Tennessee in the regional final on Tuesday for a berth in the Final Four.

Odyssey Sims scored 29 points, including two free throws with 9.1 seconds to go that put Baylor ahead 81-80. Sims had one more chance to save the season, but she was off-target and late on a desperation heave.

Sims dropped to the floor after her miss, pulling her jersey over her face and kicking her legs as she lay flat on her back.

Griner squatted near her and slapped the floor with both hands before pulling Sims up to her feet.

It was a stunning end of a remarkable college career for Griner, the second-highest scoring player in NCAA history. She also holds the career records for blocks and dunks.

"It's a tough way to lose," coach Kim Mulkey said. "It's hard to lose when it's your last game, but it's even harder the way that game ended. Makes it a little tougher."

Griner, who had averaged 33 points in Baylor's first two games in the tournament, didn't make a basket until she converted a putback with 15:20 left in the second half. She wound up with 14 points and 10 rebounds, making only four of her 10 shots and being a relative non-factor for her considerable stature.

Louisville surrounded Griner as she has been most of her career, using a zone defense Louisville coach Jeff Walz called the "claw and one." He put one player in front of Griner and another behind her, and often another one in the vicinity.

"I think I could smell what toothpaste she used," Antonita Slaughter said. "I was in her face the whole time with my hands up."

Unusually, Griner's teammates were unable to hit outside shots and relieve the pressure.

That wasn't a problem for the Cardinals, who scored 11 more points than anyone else against Baylor this season. They tied the NCAA tournament mark for 3-pointers reached by four other teams and made the most ever in the regional semifinals or beyond.

"Our goal was to score, score and score. I told our kids if we had to take 40 to 50 3s we would," Walz said. "I don't know if we could go out there right now 5-on-0 and go 16 of 25, but we did it in the biggest game of the year for us and now we're going to hopefully keep our momentum going and see what we can do on Tuesday."

The Lady Bears had been practically invincible for the past four months since losing to Stanford on Nov. 16. Baylor, which went 40-0 last season, had won the next 32 straight games mostly by double digits.

It's no surprise that the Louisville women were a 24-point underdog to Baylor in Las Vegas casinos, according to gambling expert R.J. Bell of Pregame.com. Odds on Louisville to win outright were 75-1, paying $7,500 on a $100 wager, Bell said.

It was Sims who eventually led Baylor's attempted comeback from a 17-point deficit in the final 7? minutes, after Louisville's barrage of 3-pointers finally came to an end.

Sims hit a pair of free throws and then got a steal in the backcourt for a layup that got Baylor back within a dozen, and the Lady Bears put together a 19-4 run to get within striking distance in the final 2 minutes.

Walz was called for a technical foul for arguing after he watched a scoreboard replay of an offensive foul whistled against Bria Smith, with a Baylor defender sliding under her after she took off.

Sims hit the resulting free throws and then a runner to get the Lady Bears within 78-76 with 1:49 to play.

After a Megan Deines layup off a baseline inbounds play, Sims answered with a 3-pointer to cut it to one with 35.8 seconds left. She then hit two free throws to put Baylor ahead after Jude Schimmel fumbled an inbounds pass under her own basket, Griner picked it up and passed it to Sims.

The Lady Bears still couldn't close it out.

"That's pretty remarkable," Mulkey said. "You're supposed to get blown out if you get 16 3s, and we didn't get blown out."

Mulkey criticized the game officials, saying she didn't care if she got fined, even after Louisville was called for 23 fouls compared to 14 for the Lady Bears. The Cardinals also had three starters foul out. Griner said she thought she got all ball on Reid's final drive.

"I thought the game started out way too physical, way too physical," Mulkey said. "I thought that all three of them, if they go past this round of officiating, it will be sad for the game."

Slaughter hit seven 3-pointers for 21 points and Shoni Schimmel had five 3s.

"Every 3 that they hit when we would cut the lead made it that much tougher. You keep thinking through the course of the game that they're going to start missing some," Mulkey said. "But they never did."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-31-BKW-NCAA-Louisville-Baylor/id-ad3e7323929547f69970e2f313a7d0c8

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