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18 Nov 2011 00:50

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Culture: BuzzFeed: Trendsetters or plain ol’ geniuses?

  • Surprisingly, this isn’t an Occupy post: Do you think Ryan Gosling was robbed of People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” title this year? Well, these protesters do, too. Our pals at BuzzFeed started a whole petition to promote Gosling to his rightful place. Today, protesters met outside of People’s NY HQ with chants, signs and masks. We are the 99%, indeed. source

15 Nov 2011 00:06

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World: Two words you don’t normally hear together: “Whale cemetery.”

  • 15 whales found in a “graveyard”: Over the span of 15 days, paleontologists have found the remains of 15 whales, in just one area of Chile. Some of the fossils date back seven million years. Not only that, but the scientists have also discovered new species, too. “The whale discovery is a discovery of global importance,” said Sol Squire, one of the paleontologists on the project. source

14 Nov 2011 23:58

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Culture: “The Hunger Games” trailer launches, internet collectively can’t wait

  • We’re not sorry about how excited we are for this movie. The long-anticipated trailer for the popular book trilogy was released today. Take a look at it. This “young adult” series touches on some very gruesome subjects. 24 enter, but only one will survive the Hunger Games of Panem. The movie is slated to premiere March 23, so mark your calendars and start planning your midnight release parties. source

14 Nov 2011 23:21

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World: Just in case we needed another reminder to exercise once in a while

  • 552 million people could have diabetes by the year 2030 source
  • » That’s 1 in 10 people worldwide. The World Health Organization says that the rise in diabetic adults will most likely be due to an aging world population, not the increasing rate of obesity. Most cases are Type 2 and come from “weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle.” Count this number as inspiration for 2012’s resolutions.

11 Nov 2011 11:17

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Tech: Listen, let’s make a pact to not tell magicians about this, okay?

  • We really can hide objects. … We can switch for a short moment and make it disappear.
  • Ali Aliev, a physicist at the University of Texas at Dallas, about his “invisibility cloak” technology • Right now, the “cloak” is only as big as a few threads. Those threads are made of carbon nanotubes which light bends around when heat is applied to the strands. Aliev said that the technology could “easily hide large objects, such as military tankers” eventually. Anyone else get a tremor of terror when they read that? See it in action at the source — it’s pretty freaking crazy. source

11 Nov 2011 11:13

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World: The world’s youngest island: Born kinda like a wittle baby!

  • More island for your buck: Due to recent underwater volcano activity, another Canary Island has been added to the chain. Islanders are already trying to think up names for the new piece of land, built from magma that spewed over 65 feet high. On Saturday, the area was hit by a 4.3-magnitude earthquake, which is when the underwater volcano started erupting. What would you name the new island? Does it have to be a bird? Tweety Island would be too obvious, right? source

10 Nov 2011 23:25

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World: Who will protect the rhinoceros, much less harness its power?

  • Some rhinos aren’t long for this world: “A lack of political support and willpower for conservation efforts in many rhino habitats, international organized crime groups targeting rhinos and increasing illegal demand for rhino horns and commercial poaching are the main threats faced by rhinos,” said the International Union for Conservation of Nature in their latest update to their list of endangered species with the Western Black Rhino of Africa. It is possible for endangered species to bounce back but not without effort and rehabilitation programs. source
 

08 Nov 2011 10:52

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World: So, humans could be going to Mars soon. That would be a truly giant leap.

  • Over a period of 17 months, everything was strictly regimented. Now they are returning to a life where they must deal with family and professional problems.
  • Mars500 project director Boris Morukov • Talking about the crew of “astronauts” after a 520 day simulated mission to Mars. The mission intended to answer the question: ” can people stay healthy and sane during six months rocketing to the Red Planet?” The participants, from countries like Europe, Russia and China, are expected to have problems adjusting to the “noise and activity of ordinary life.” Still, it seemed to go much better than this experiment in 2000, which ended “in drunken disaster when two participants got into a fistfight and a third tried to forcibly kiss a female crew member.” We would be a little frazzled, too, after hundreds of days of isolation and terrible food. source

08 Nov 2011 10:47

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Tech: iPhone sales: Hong Kong really wants to try out Siri, apparently

  • 10 minutes to sell out iPhone 4S pre-orders in Hong Kong source
  • » Want to pre-order the iPhone 4s in Hong Kong? Too late. You’re stuck waiting in line. The phone will be available in stores this Friday and analysts are expecting “long lines and serial stock outs.” It’s a good sign for when the phone hits mainland China — a date for which has not been announced. It’s led to a black-market Apple-smuggling industry between Hong Kong and China, which is likely to only continue with the iPhone 4S

07 Nov 2011 23:22

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Music: Don’t wait to listen to “Camp”. You’ll be out of the cool loop.

  • Childish Gambino’s “Camp” is streaming already: You should have heard about “rap’s stepfather” by now. Childish Gambino, who you might know better as actor and writer Donald Glover, is releasing his latest album this month. Entitled “Camp,” it’s set to drop on November 15 … but if you’re cool, you can listen to it today. Thanks to NPR’s First Listen, you can listen to the entire album for free. It’s not safe for work due to explicit lyrics, but if we had our way, this would be mandatory listening material in every workplace. Take him seriously, though, as “few hip-hop artists have blurred the boundaries of rap and humor more subversively — or for a more serious end — than Childish Gambino.” source