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Monday, November 19, 2012
Pinball wizard puts Facebook users on Yellow Brick Road
San Francisco: Pinball and slot machine wizard Joe Kaminkow is working his magic on the social games scene pioneered by Zynga and taking Facebook users along the yellow-brick road as his opening move. Kaminkow and his small team at startup Spooky Cool Labs got a blessing from Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment to make the ?Wizard of Oz? game for play at the leading social network complete with clips from the classic film.
?We?re proud to have created such an immersive experience based on the greatest, most-watched movie in history,? Kaminkow said.
?Players get to enjoy interacting with Dorothy, Glinda The Good Witch, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and all of the other characters people have loved for years.?
Players land in a 3D world, in the role of the Dorothy character made famous by Judy Garland, to find their virtual farmhouse has crash-landed atop a wicked witch in Munchkinland.The thrust of the game is to build a thriving Munchkin town with happy little residents and then pave a yellow-brick road that leads to Dorothy?s tin and lion cohorts, and the Emerald City of Oz.
?You aren?t just building a city; there is an adventure to go on down the road,? said Spooky Cool Labs chief creative officer Brian Eddy.
?We expect people to be playing this for months and months to get to the Tin Man, then the Lion,? he continued. ?This game could easily go on years.?
Game industry veterans at the Chicago-based start-up wove in winning elements of console play such as side missions and being able to navigate the virtual world from any angle including a first-person perspective called ?munchkin-cam?.
Tower defence game features were added for help repelling attacks by the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys.
?We have great respect for companies like Zynga that pioneered the space, but we wanted to reset the genre and make something more compelling, based on better technology,? Kaminkow said with a nod to titles such as FarmVille.The number of players has climbed quickly since ?The Wizard of Oz? game opened to the public in test mode at the start of November. It had been downloaded more than 100,000 times at Facebook as of Saturday.
Kaminkow?s legacy stretches back decades to the glory days of pinball arcades with a long list of creations that included machines themed after blockbuster films Star Wars and Jurassic Park.
He was inducted into the Pinball Hall of Fame in 2004.
During a long stint at casino game maker IGT, Kaminkow unleashed a flood of popular slot machines including ?Ghostbusters? and ?Sex And The City?.
He holds more than 150 patents and has been ranked among the most important people in the history of slot machines.
?If you?ve ever gone to Las Vegas and used a slot machine, there is a high probability you?ve played a game I invented,? Kaminkow told AFP.
He has produced Broadway plays and reality television shows, and has a stake in a minor league baseball team.
?I am so not the norm in the social games industry,? Kaminkow quipped.
?I don?t come to work on a skateboard,? he continued. ?I feel like I am in a Tom Hanks movie where there are these old guys who get together and say ?Let?s show these young kids how to do it?.?Hearst Corp. early this month announced a minority equity investment in Spooky Cool Labs, but financial terms of the arrangement were not revealed.
The infusion of funds was billed as backing for the start-up?s mission to create social games based on top entertainment brands for play in online communities and on mobile devices.
The launch of The Wizard of Oz online at apps.facebook.com/wozgame was timed to coincide with the celebration of the film?s 75th anniversary.
The game industry reputations of Kaminkow and his Spooky Cool partner Larry DeMar were cited as the reasons Warner trusted them to make a game based on the film.?Joe and Larry are two of the best land-based casino and pinball game developers in the world,? Hearst Entertainment and Syndication president Scott Sassa said when the investment was announced.
?We plan on pairing our intellectual property and access to third-party intellectual property with the game development expertise of Spooky Cool to build a big presence in this space.?
The Oz game is free to play, with Spooky Cool Labs making money from optional in-game transactions such as purchasing decorative buildings, better defenses against the witch, or extended sessions. AFP
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Gay couples hope the more, the merrier at mass Capitol wedding
Making a public statement is part of what weddings are about, but seldom are the statements so loud and clear.
Teresa Guajardo and Tina Roose are getting married in the Capitol Rotunda in Olympia on Saturday, Dec. 15, and they?re signing up as many other gay and lesbian couples as they can to turn the Capitol into one big wedding chapel that day.
Why the Capitol?
?It?s the people?s house,? Roose said. ?It?s where the Senate and House and the governor all supported marriage equality.?
?And,? Guajardo added, ?it?s spectacularly beautiful.?
Roose reserved the Rotunda in February after calculating that, if Referendum 74 were approved, Dec. 15 would be the first Saturday after the law went into effect.
?It was an act of faith in the voters of the state of Washington,? she said.
She said that on election night, in the glow of victory, her idea evolved into a plan to have as many couples as possible get married in the Capitol in simultaneous or consecutive ceremonies.
?We just said, ?Let?s share the joy,?? Guajardo said. ?Let?s share the fun and give everybody an opportunity to have a beautiful event in a way that?s somewhat easy.?
Roose, 67, is a retired librarian. Guajardo, 43, is a mental health counselor. They live in Olympia and have been together for 13 years.
Their wedding will take place at 12:30 p.m.
Others ? however many there turn out to be ? will be conducted from 1-2:30 p.m. on the north, south, east and west balconies on the third floor, with ongoing receptions on the balcony above that.
They?ve ordered wedding cake for 200 and gluten-free cake for 50. And they have a Facebook page: ?Get married with us at the State Capitol.?
Elsewhere in the state, hundreds of same-sex couples will get the jump on Guajardo and Roose with ceremonies earlier in the week.
In Seattle, eight municipal judges have volunteered their time to marry couples in City Hall on Dec. 9, the first day a certificate can be signed.
Couples will be able to pick up their marriage licenses and certificates Dec. 6 ? one full month after the election. But Washington requires a three-day waiting period before couples actually tie the knot.
R-74 asked voters to approve or reject a state law legalizing same-sex marriage. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the law in February, but it was put on hold pending the election.
Statewide, 53 percent of voters approved R-74.
In Thurston County, the referendum passed easily, 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent. It failed in Pierce County, but just barely ? by about 3,000 votes out of approximately 340,000 votes cast, according to unofficial results.
rob.carson@thenewstribune.com
253-597-8693
Source: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/11/17/2371566/gay-couples-hope-the-more-the.html?storylink=rss
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More baseball awards for the holidays
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SEC Football: Bulldogs slam the door on Arkansas' bowl hopes
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Arkansas' 2012 season is officially entering its final week.
The Razorbacks lost 45-14 to Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday to ensure they will not be eligible for a bowl game this year. Arkansas will finish the season on Friday against No. 7 LSU in Fayetteville.
Mississippi State (8-3, 4-3 SEC) overcame an early deficit by scoring the game's final 38 points. Arkansas led 14-7 after two offensive possessions, but things turned when Kaelon Kelleybrew fumbled a punt return midway through the second quarter.
Tyler Russell's 6-yard touchdown pass to Chad Bumphis with 4:48 left before halftime gave the Bulldogs the lead for good. Russell set multiple Mississippi State's single-season passing records in the win, throwing for 274 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bulldogs extended their lead on Dak Prescott's 4-yard touchdown run on fourth down with 5:51 left in the third quarter and added another score later in the period when Russell hit LaDarius Perkins for a 24-yard touchdown pass two plays following a Jonathan Williams fumble.
Perkins rushed for 91 yards Saturday, and added 40 yards and two touchdowns receiving.
Like much of the season, the Razorbacks were undone by their own mistakes. Arkansas committed seven penalties in the second quarter alone and five turnovers overall, repeatedly aiding Mississippi State with good field position.
Arkansas (4-7, 2-5) began the game well offensively behind the play of quarterback Tyler Wilson. The redshirt senior completed 11 of 12 passes on the Razorbacks' first two offensive possessions for 116 yards and a pair of scores.
His 30-yard touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton answered a Mississippi State touchdown on the game's opening possession and a 7-yard pass to Dennis Johnson gave Arkansas a 14-7 lead with 12:17 remaining in the second quarter.
Wilson struggled after halftime, though, throwing two interceptions. He finished the game completing 23 of 29 passes for 225 yards.
The loss was the Razorbacks' worst ever to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs' previous four wins over Arkansas were by a combined 21 points.
Lead early, blown out late
The Razorbacks have only trailed after the first quarter in two games (Alabama and South Carolina), but Arkansas has blown leads acquired in the first half against five of the seven teams to which they have lost.
Mississippi State became the fourth team to beat the Razorbacks by three or more scores on Saturday. Arkansas has been outscored by its opponents 175-84 in the second half this season.
Notable
Cobi Hamilton passed Joe Adams for second on Arkansas' career receptions list (165) and is four receptions shy of breaking Jarius Wright's school record. Hamilton, who has set school records for receptions and receiving yards this season, also extended his games with a catch streak to 33, which is the longest active streak in the SEC.
Tyler Russell broke three school records, recording his seventh 200-yard passing game of season. Russell broke Mississippi State's season completions record and the Bulldogs' record for passing yards in a season.
Next Up
Arkansas will play LSU in Fayetteville on Friday, Nov. 23 for the first time since 1992. The Tigers are 9-2 and 5-2 in the SEC following a 41-35 win over Ole Miss on Saturday. Kickoff between the Razorbacks and the Tigers is set for 1:30 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving and the game will be televised by CBS.
Source: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/nov/17/arkansas-bowl-hopes-blown-away-bulldogs/
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Coastal wins Big South and earns post-season bid : Sports - WPDE
Pat Williams and his teammates celebrate a Big South Conference title.
The Coastal Carolina football secured its third post-season berth in the program's history and won its fifth Big South championship with a 41-20 win over Charleston Southern on Saturday at Brooks Stadium. Coastal Carolina will learn its opponent in the FCS playoffs on Sunday afternoon. Coastal raced out to a 21-0 lead on short TD runs by Lorenzo Taliaferro, Aramis Hillary and Jeremy Height. The Chanticleers took a 21-7 lead in the locker room. Senior Marcus Whitener added a pair of short TD runs in the second half in a comfortable victory.
The day started with Liberty beating VMI 33-14. The Chanticleers victory coupled with the Flames triumph created a three way tie atop the Big South Standings with Stony Brook, Liberty and Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers won the tiebreaker to earn the Big South's automatic bid. For Coastal Carolina, it is the school's fifth Big South Championship on the gridiron. Coastal has won two outright Big South titles (2004 and 2006) and has now shared the Big South championship three times (2005, 2010, 2012).
Aramis Hillary had 14 carries for 155 yards and a score and was 12 of 22 for 102 yards passing. Coastal Carolina finishes the regular season on a five game win streak and stands at 7-4.
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Friday, November 16, 2012
Bad air means bad news for seniors' brainpower
ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2012) ? Living in areas of high air pollution can lead to decreased cognitive function in older adults, according to new research presented in San Diego at The Gerontological Society of America's (GSA) 65th Annual Scientific Meeting.
This finding is based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Health and Retirement Study. The analysis was conducted by Jennifer Ailshire, PhD, a National Institute on Aging postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Biodemography and Population Health and the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California.
"As a result of age-related declines in health and functioning, older adults are particularly vulnerable to the hazards of exposure to unhealthy air," Ailshire said. "Air pollution has been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory problems, and even premature death, in older populations, and there is emerging evidence that exposure to particulate air pollution may have adverse effects on brain health and functioning as well."
This is the first study to show how exposure to air pollution influences cognitive function in a national sample of older men and women. It suggests that fine air particulate matter -- composed of particles that are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller, thought to be sufficiently small that if inhaled they can deposit deep in the lung and possibly the brain -- may be an important environmental risk factor for reduced cognitive function.
The study sample included 14,793 white, black, and Hispanic men and women aged 50 and older who participated in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (a nationally representative survey of older adults). Individual data were linked with data on 2004 annual average levels of fine air particulate matter from the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality System monitors across the country. Cognitive function was measured on a scale of 1 to 35 and consisted of tests assessing word recall, knowledge, language, and orientation.
Ailshire discovered that those living in areas with high levels of fine air particulate matter scored poorer on the cognitive function tests. The association even remained after accounting for several factors, including age, race/ethnicity, education, smoking behavior, and respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.
Fine air particulate matter exposures ranged from 4.1 to 20.7 micrograms per cubic meter, and every ten point increase was associated with a 0.36 point drop in cognitive function score. In comparison, this effect was roughly equal to that of aging three years; among all study subjects, a one-year increase in age was associated with a drop 0.13 in cognitive function score.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Gerontological Society of America, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/up7P2osEsYM/121116161021.htm
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