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06 Jan 2012 11:11

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Culture: Spider-Man musical’s troubled production history officially pays off

  • then The Spider-Man musical, the costliest musical in history, couldn’t seem to get a break; between accidents, director changes, music-rewriting and the whole nine yards, it’s surprising this cobweb got off the ground.
  • now The musical is well along to recouping its $75 million cost, with ticket sales at $77 million and the show coming off the best week of ticket sales in Broadway history — $2.9 million. That’ll pay for a lot of pyrotechnics, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2012 10:21

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Offbeat: Sudoku research: Officially the most random number we’ll post today

  • 17 the minimum possible number of clues in a sudoku puzzle source
  • » A mathematical mystery solved via brute force: Ever wonder why 16-digit sudoku clues weren’t possible? (Why aren’t you guys raising your hands?) Well, a bunch of nerdy mathematician types — a guy named Gary McGuire and some fellow sudoku nerds at University College Dublin —spent a year testing every possible 16-clue sudoku combination, and figured out that no, you can’t solve a sudoku puzzle with just 16 clues. Now if it sounds to you like a bunch of researchers just wasted a year of their lives, McGuire might disagree with you. He notes that the research might have implications in gene expression analysis and hardware/software testing.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2012 10:06

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U.S.: Ohio earthquakes may be man-made byproduct of “fracking”

  • These earthquakes were sitting there waiting to happen. We have triggered these earthquakes.
  • Seismologist John Armbruster • Discussing the recent string of earthquakes in Ohio. If you live in that state, you might have noticed up to a dozen small earthquakes since last spring. There hasn’t been a measured earthquake in the area ever until last March. Apparently, the disposing of waste water into the ground (during a energy-releasing process called “fracking”) may have flowed into an earthquake fault line. This same problem has happened in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. In Arkansas alone, 1,000 mini-quakes were measured. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2012 02:38

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Culture: No, you can’t buy Girl Scout cookies online. We just checked.

  • New year means a new cookie: Screw resolutions, y’all. The Girl Scouts have a brand new cookie that represents the sweetness of the South. This year, we’ll be able to buy the new Savannah Smiles — potentially even from a smiling girl named Savannah. It’s to commemorate the 100 years that the Girl Scouts have been with us. Don’t worry: even though the lemon/powdered sugar combo is a powerful one, we’ll still be buying twice as many boxes of Thin Mints. Do you have a different favorite flavor? source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2012 22:53

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Politics: Kennedy comeback? A new generation plans a Congressional run

  • A family legacy continues: A Kennedy has held a high position of power in D.C for 63 years – until the passing of Edward Kennedy in 2009 and the retirement of his son Patrick in 2011. Joseph P. Kennedy III has decided to run for Congress to fill the gap. The Spanish-speaking Stanford and Harvard Law graduate hopes to fill the Congressional seat of Barney Frank. He’ll have some big shoes to fill, in more ways than one. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2012 14:39

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U.S.: U.S. cancer death rates on the decline

  • 1.8% decline in cancer deaths for men in the U.S. from 2004 through 2008
  • 1.6% decline in cancer deaths for women in the U.S. over the same period source
  • » The march of medical advancement: That’s what’s being touted as the cause for this heartening reversal of trend, as reported by the American Cancer Society’s annual report. The news isn’t entirely as rosy as it might be — some less pervasive types of cancer, such as pancreas, kidney, liver and esophageal have seen their incidences rise. The most common types — lung, breast, colon, and prostate — all saw declines, however, with black and Hispanic men demographically showing the most improvement in avoiding the lethal diseases.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2012 14:20

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World: Bloody day in Iraq as sectarian tensions deepen

  • 72 killed in Iraq by bombings in various Shia provinces source
  • » Danger and strife: Provincial government sources suggest grimly conventional tactics being used — a suicide bomber detonated himself amidst a group traveling to Karbala, and in Sadr City a man parked a motorbike near a group of day laborers seeking work, which exploded minutes after he left. The upheaval is both lethal and political; an arrest warrant is out for Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi (a Sunni) on terrorism charges, which he denies. In response, the Sunni bloc of parliament has accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of power monopoly and abuse, and threatens to boycott the assembly.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Jan 2012 10:51

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World: Syria says it has freed political prisoners detained during revolt

  • 552 prisoners freed, according to Syrian state television source
  • » The second round of prisoner releases: Last month, the Arab League made a deal to free 755 detainees as part of a peace plan. Now it seems to have gone further, as the Arab League said on Monday it had secured the release of 3,500 total prisoners. However … it’s possible they may just be getting detained outside of the view of Arab League observers. Last week, Human Rights Watch accused Syria of moving prisoners to military facilities, where observers are not allowed to go. Syria hasn’t proven the most trustworthy government during the conflict.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2012 10:38

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World: Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party can run in elections

Suu Kyi, shown with British Foreign Secretary William Hague, spent most of the past two decades under house arrest. It’s not clear if she will run in the highly-anticipated elections herself, however. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2012 10:13

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U.S.: Iowa judge favors married same-sex couple in birth certificate case

  • cause The Iowa Department of Public Health told a married same-sex couple they couldn’t put both their names on their child’s birth certificate.
  • reaction The couple sued, saying it went against a 2009 decision by the Iowa Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriages.
  • result A district court judge ruled in favor of the couple, scolding officials for not interpreting older laws in light of the 2009 decision. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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