Injured Angry Birds After Fighting

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Rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse dims skies

(Reuters) - The sun and moon aligned over the Earth in a rare astronomical event on Sunday - an annular eclipse that dimmed the skies over parts of Asia and North America, briefly turning the sun into a blazing ring of fire.

As the eclipse reached its peak, a crowd of several thousand viewers gathered in a Utah field took a collective gasp and erupted into applause, cheers and even some howling.

"The wonder of it, the sheer coincidence that this can happen, that totally amazes me," said Brent Sorensen, a physics professor at Southern Utah University, who brought a half-dozen telescopes to the rural town of Kanarraville for the public to peek through. "It never ceases to amaze me."

Eclipses of some type occur almost every year, but stargazers have not seen an annular - shaped like a ring -eclipse on U.S. soil since 1994, and the next one is not to occur until 2023. That is because the phenomenon requires a particular set of orbital dynamics, NASA Space Scientist Jeffrey Newmark said.

An annular eclipse occurs when the moon's orbit is at its furthest point from the Earth and closer to the much larger sun. That juxtaposition allows the moon to block more than 90 percent of the sun's rays when the two orbs slide into alignment.

"It's like moving your fist in front of your eyes," Newmark said. "You can block out the view of a whole mountain. It's the same kind of effect."

The eclipse was first visible over southern Asia and then moved across the Pacific. Travelling on a diagonal path, it later crossed parts of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico before disappearing in Texas with the sunset.

Day did not turn into night. But light faded as the moon slid in front of the sun, much like turning down a dimmer switch, and then slowly returned as the moon moved away.

A view of the so-called "ring of fire" spectacle at the eclipse's peak, however, lasted about four minutes, and even then was only visible to viewers positioned along the centreline of the eclipse's path.

UTAH 'SWEET SPOT' FOR VIEWING

In Utah, the "sweet spot" for viewing the full eclipse was Kanarraville, a community of just 355 residents about 230 miles (375 km) south of Salt Lake City. Accessed by an old two-lane highway, the town has just two businesses - a campground and a nursery - plus a church, town hall and tiny post office.

Patrick Wiggins, who is part of the NASA ambassador outreach program, was overcome with emotion once the moon slipped into place. Wiggins had previously seen five total solar eclipses, but had never before witnessed an annular eclipse. He wasn't disappointed.

"I've been planning this since the 1980s," he said, his voice breaking. "You're seeing the solar system in motion."

Robin Kopaunik, 38, of Sandy, Utah, brought four of her children, ages 6 to 16, to see the eclipse in Kanarraville.

"It's so amazing. I think for them it's a chance of a lifetime," said Kopaunik, who home-schools her kids. "The best way to learn is to come out and see it."

A T-shirt salesman said his customers hailed from as far away as Brazil and Japan. Domestically, Edward and Jean Eadurka drove out from Virginia for the eclipse, after Ed's last attempt to see an annular eclipse, in 1994, was thwarted by cloud cover.

Jean said her 66-year-old husband was so enamoured with the skies that he built himself a personal observatory - a backyard shed with a retractable roof - and often spends the whole night looking through his telescope.

"I'm an astronomy geek, I guess," said the retired court administrator, who once took an Atlantic Ocean cruise to see a solar eclipse. "I've been doing this so long it's compulsive."

Area officials said thousands more astro-tourists had been expected to attend so-called "star parties" at other locations across the region, including Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Despite the infrequent nature of an annular eclipse, it was part of the normal astronomical cycle, said Inese Ivans, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Utah. Still, she said it was bound to pique curiosities and inspire awe.

"It reminds us that the Earth is spinning. That everything is constantly in motion," Ivans said. "This sort of gives you a chance to step out and remember 'Oh yeah' there (is) a lot of stuff out there that we don't know anything about."

sources: reuters.com

Annular solar eclipse this weekend: where to see it in the skies, and online

The joint JAXA/NASA Hinode mission captured this image of the January 6, 2011 solar eclipse.

On May 20-21 (this coming Sunday night through this coming Monday morning), sky-watchers in Asia and much of the U.S. will be able to view a “ring of fire” eclipse or a partial eclipse of the Sun, depending on their location. The rest of the world, including our readers along the East Coast of the US, will have to settle for viewing this special celestial event online.

The shadowandsubstance.com astronomy website has a totally awesome animated map showing how the eclipse will look to viewers in each U.S. state. But more importantly, he gives the best eclipse advice you'll get anywhere:

The safest way to view this event is to attend a planetarium, observatory or local astronomy club on May 20th.

Here's an index of astronomy clubs around the world.

For DIYers, a pinhole projector is another option.

Sky and Telescope magazine has a roundup of online viewing spots here, and tips on how to view an eclipse safely for those in the path.

The Slooh Space Camera is likely to be one of your better bets for online viewing—they'll webcast the Solar Annular Eclipse from Japan, starting at 21:30 UTC / 2:30 PM PDT / 5:30 PM EDT.

NASA is, of course, an excellent online source for understanding the eclipse and determining the time of this one at your location.

What, you ask, is a "ring of fire" eclipse? Snipped from NASA:

During an annular eclipse the moon does not block the entirety of the sun, but leaves a bright ring of light visible at the edges. For the May eclipse, the moon will be at the furthest distance from Earth that it ever achieves – meaning that it will block the smallest possible portion of the sun, and leave the largest possible bright ring around the outside.

The joint JAXA/NASA Hinode mission will observe the eclipse and provide images and movies that will be available here on the NASA website.

Due to Hinode’s orbit around the Earth, Hinode will actually observe 4 separate partial eclipses. Scientists often use an eclipse to help calibrate the instruments on the telescope by focusing in on the edge of the moon as it crosses the sun and measuring how sharp it appears in the images. An added bonus: Hinode's X-ray Telescope will be able to provide images of the peaks and valleys of the lunar surface.

Astronomy/photographer buffs: share your photos in the NASA 2012 Annular Solar Eclipse gallery.

More tips on how and where to view, and more stunning photographs, at the NASA Science News blog.

And at the Life, Unbounded blog at Scientific American, astrobiologist Caleb Scharf explains why annular eclipses like Sunday's couldn't have been seen by dinosaurs.

The next solar eclipse will be the total solar eclipse on November 13, 2012.

(Image: Global path of the 2012 Annular Solar Eclipse, from gsfc's photostream)

Sources: BOINGBOING.NET

Men in Black 3 Star in Her Crazy Dress

Photo Sources

Will Smith slaps journalist who tried to kiss him

MOSCOW (AP) – Hollywood star Will Smith has slapped a male television reporter who tried to kiss him before the Moscow premiere of Men in Black III. The reporter from the Ukrainian television channel 1+1 approached Smith on the red carpet, put his hand on the actor's shoulder and tried to kiss him. Smith pushed him away and then slapped him lightly across the cheek with the back of his left hand.It was not clear whether reporter Vitalii Sediuk intended to kiss Smith on the cheek or on the lips. In any case, Smith appeared shocked by the journalist's behavior at Friday night's premiere in the Russian capital.

Sources: usatoday.com

Howard Stern On 'America's Got Talent': The Reviews Are In!

'Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs,' writes one critic about Stern's debut on 'America's Got Talent.'

MTV -- Prepare for the worst and the results can only be better than you expected. That's the lesson naysayers learned on Monday night when radio talker Howard Stern made his long-awaited debut as the new judge
 on "America's Got Talent."

Stern, a huge fan of the show who has been talking up his new gig for months on his SiriusXM satellite radio show did exactly what he promised
: he was a fair, sometimes silly, sometimes harsh judge with a heart of gold and a soft spot for sappy stories. Hell, the notoriously Purell-addicted germaphobe even lumbered up onto the stage to huge a particularly sweaty, not-so-great singer after giving him a second chance at fame.

After dismissing the pre-debut hand-wringing by the Parents Television Council that Stern's penchant for R-rated humor might leak over into the family-friendly show as "a foolish presumption," Los Angeles Times writer Robert Lloyd wrote that such fretting, "sells short the show's producers and misreads Stern, who has shown himself perfectly capable of good behavior on other people's turf."

Despite an introductory montage set to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" that set up his bad-boy reputation and a joke about how NBC execs must be "out of their mind" for taking a risk on him," Lloyd said it was quickly evident that, "like fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, he [Stern] meant to play the game the way the game is meant to be played, because, to a deep degree, he believes in it."

In a headline in which it said the shock jock, "becomes a beloved uncle," the Washington Post's TV reviewer mixed the sweet and sour in offering backhanded praise to the radio veteran. "Somewhere along the way to the collapse of Western civilization, pioneer shock-jock Howard Stern became a sweet old man, perhaps staving off our multimedia Armageddon," wrote critic Hank Stuever. "At least that's the story line presented along with Stern's canny decision to join -- at a reported fee of about $20 million -- NBC's goony amateur performance competition, 'America's Got Talent,' as its newest judge."

Stuever yawned at Stern's rehashing of old bits about his looks and the size of his manhood, and said he did "dish out a tiny bit of brutal honesty," but mostly came to "bask in the show's trademark combination of awkwardness, ingenuity and love" and delivered "apple-pie pronouncements more typical of presidential candidates."

The embrace was slightly warmer at the New York Daily News, which explained that, "to appreciate Howard Stern's debut as a judge on 'America's Got Talent' Monday night, just remember this: Inviting Stern on 'AGT' is not like inviting the Sex Pistols to crash 'La Traviata' at the Met. 'America's Got Talent' didn't hire Stern to inject outrageous and wacky. It didn't need to. It has 'em already."

Critic David Hinckley said that Stern settled in quickly and comfortably on the show, praising him for being honest and getting caught up in the show's "figurative group hugs and four-handkerchief moments." The question remains of how Stern will deal when the goofy acts are gone and he has to make tough decisions between talented acts with widely differing skills. "There was no indication he can't do it. But all Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs." People magazine seconded those emotions, writing, "Stern showed a lot of heart and proved he's got talent -- for judging!"

After dismissing the pre-debut hand-wringing by the Parents Television Council that Stern's penchant for R-rated humor might leak over into the family-friendly show as "a foolish presumption," Los Angeles Times writer Robert Lloyd wrote that such fretting, "sells short the show's producers and misreads Stern, who has shown himself perfectly capable of good behavior on other people's turf."

Despite an introductory montage set to the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" that set up his bad-boy reputation and a joke about how NBC execs must be "out of their mind" for taking a risk on him," Lloyd said it was quickly evident that, "like fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, he [Stern] meant to play the game the way the game is meant to be played, because, to a deep degree, he believes in it."

In a headline in which it said the shock jock, "becomes a beloved uncle," the Washington Post's TV reviewer mixed the sweet and sour in offering backhanded praise to the radio veteran. "Somewhere along the way to the collapse of Western civilization, pioneer shock-jock Howard Stern became a sweet old man, perhaps staving off our multimedia Armageddon," wrote critic Hank Stuever. "At least that's the story line presented along with Stern's canny decision to join -- at a reported fee of about $20 million -- NBC's goony amateur performance competition, 'America's Got Talent,' as its newest judge."

Stuever yawned at Stern's rehashing of old bits about his looks and the size of his manhood, and said he did "dish out a tiny bit of brutal honesty," but mostly came to "bask in the show's trademark combination of awkwardness, ingenuity and love" and delivered "apple-pie pronouncements more typical of presidential candidates."

The embrace was slightly warmer at the New York Daily News, which explained that, "to appreciate Howard Stern's debut as a judge on 'America's Got Talent' Monday night, just remember this: Inviting Stern on 'AGT' is not like inviting the Sex Pistols to crash 'La Traviata' at the Met. 'America's Got Talent' didn't hire Stern to inject outrageous and wacky. It didn't need to. It has 'em already."

Critic David Hinckley said that Stern settled in quickly and comfortably on the show, praising him for being honest and getting caught up in the show's "figurative group hugs and four-handkerchief moments." The question remains of how Stern will deal when the goofy acts are gone and he has to make tough decisions between talented acts with widely differing skills. "There was no indication he can't do it. But all Monday proved for sure is this is the show where he belongs." People magazine seconded those emotions, writing, "Stern showed a lot of heart and proved he's got talent -- for judging!"

Sources: MTV.COM

Lakers never make it easy, but they escape this Game 7

They show some heart down the stretch to oust the Nuggets, but the Thunder will be even tougher.

Lakers power forward Pau Gasol reacts to a missed shot although he was fouled by Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried during Game 7 on Saturday night at Staples Center. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times / May 12, 2012)

The Lakers pulled a city off a ledge and themselves back into the NBA championship contention Saturday with an energizing, exasperating 96-87 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of a first-round series that should not have lasted this long.

All together now: What were they thinking?


You want to hug them. You want to strangle them. You want to ask them, how much more of this madness do you expect us to watch?


Saturday night should not have been necessary. Saturday night wound up being nuts. It was a Lakers team swinging wildly, a Nuggets team swinging back, 10 bodies flying across a wooden floor for nearly three hours while a Staples Center crowd roared with a gusto reserved for gladiators.


"Our guys stood together,'' Coach Mike Brown said. ''Our guys fought and fought.''


The Lakers blew them out. Then they were blown out. Then they hung on, somehow, some way, finishing the night as if fighting to maintain the very greatness of the franchise, which they were.


In a game that was typical of a series, the Lakers muscled to a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter, then allowed the Nuggets to sprint back into an early fourth-quarter lead as a city's jaws dropped and its hands were thrown into the air.


But when it counted, finally, the Lakers wore their desperation well. When it mattered, finally, the Lakers acted like a franchise that had won 10 consecutive Game 7s at home.


In the final furious minutes, with Steve Blake throwing in bombs and Pau Gasol soaring over the middle and Kobe Bryant exhaustedly clawing for everything, the Lakers were again the Lakers … whatever the heck that is anymore. They outscored the Nuggets by 10 points in the final 10 minutes, leaving their younger opponents flat on their backs and rubbing their eyes.


"The way they were playing, I asked Kobe if he was making a statement to the Los Angeles Kings,'' Brown said.


The only thing crazier about the Lakers effort was the name of the Laker hero. Yeah, you guessed it, let's make some elbow room in this column for -- who else? -- Metta World Peace.


Face it, that he could return from a seven-game suspension in a decisive Game 7 wasn't fair. George Karl, Nuggets coach, complained that Peace's elbow to the head of Oklahoma City's James Harden should have caused him to miss the entire first-round series, and he's right.


But you know what? Commissioner David Stern probably cost the Lakers an NBA title before the season when he denied their trade for Chris Paul. Let's just say he owed them one, and, while one game won't compensate for a franchise's future, this was one heckuva payback.


World Peace not only scored 15 points, but his constant warring with Danilo Gallinari and Andre Miller -- they shot a combined two for 19 --- inspired the Lakers to duel the Nuggets at every level in seemingly ever minute.


"He was monstrous for us…monstrous,'' Brown said in an exceedingly poor choice of words, given the memory of Peace whacking Harden, but you get the point.


World Peace nailed a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. World Peace blocked a Miller shot midway through the fourth quarter. World Peace went flying into the courtside seats to epitomize the fourth quarter. And that was just the stuff we saw.


"He made plays tonight that won't show up on the stat sheet,'' said Brown. ''He was absolutely freaking amazing.''


As usual in postgame interview situations, World Peace was absolutely freakishly calm.

''It's hard to talk about me, it's about what I can do to help the team,'' he said with a soft smile. ''But yeah, I guess I can provide a spark.''


Those sparks will be flying around World Peace when the Lakers fly to Oklahoma City to begin a Western Conference semifinal series Monday against Harden and the rested, running Thunder. As if the situation needed more heat, World Peace is already stoking the flames.

World Peace has yet to apologize to Harden for the hit, and said Saturday he wouldn't even seek him out before the game to shake his hand. Starters often bump fists or hug before the tipoff, but because Harden doesn't start, World Peace would need to make a special effort to find him, and he won't.


"I don't shake substitute's hands,'' he said.


What about finding him during warmups?


''I've never done that in my life,'' he said.


The Thunder crowd is more like a rowdy college crowd than a typical NBA crowd, which means World Peace will be faced with some serious and open hostility, yet he said that doesn't bother him either.


''It's America, we have freedom of speech, they can say what they want,'' he said.


The Lakers could be too out of breath to talk back. This series was tougher than it should have been, but the Thunder series will be exactly as tough as everyone imagines.


The Thunder will be heavily favored. The Lakers will be sorely tested. The Thunder is the Nuggets, only more athletic and talented. The Thunder is the Nuggets in beast mode.


How will Ramon Sessions handle Russell Westbrook if he couldn't stay in front of Denver's Ty Lawson? How will Bynum handle big men Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka when he struggled with the Nuggets' much flimsier bigs?


The last time the two teams met in the postseason, two years ago, the Lakers clinched a first-round win in Oklahoma City with a last-second tip by Gasol in Game 6. But is this the same Gasol? He didn't look like it against Denver until Saturday, when he amazingly had six offensive rebounds on one possession and wound up with 23 points and 17 rebounds.


And, oh yeah, in case the Lakers need somebody to bail them out with point-four seconds remaining, that guy, Derek Fisher, now plays for the Thunder.


Those are all worries for another day, even if that day will show up in a few hours. For now, Lakers fans can celebrate a scintillating survival. Maybe. I think.

Sources: latimes.com