Box Office Weekend: G-Force Overruns Potter

Draco Malfoy and the slimy kids of Slytherin couldn’t have wreaked more damage on Harry Potter than a bunch of commando guinea pigs did to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this weekend. G-Force, the live-action and CGI action comedy, earned $32.2 million this weekend at the North American box office, besting the $30 million take of the sixth Potter film, according to the usual movie-studio estimates of the weekend frame. Final numbers are posted Monday.

Share

Can computer software account for climate change?

Microsoft had trouble solving the problems with its Vista operating system, so what are its chances of fixing climate change? The global software firm has created an online tool called Project 2 Degrees for cities across the world to monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, the hope is, then do something about them. While Bill Gates’ company have tailored an online carbon accounting tool for cities, businesses are increasingly turning on to the benefits and need to track their own GHGs, opening up an area for enterprise software companies to provide the best tools for the job

Share

Box Office Wizardry: Harry Potter’s Wand-erful Week

The wise old men and their young colleagues gave the world all the entertainment it needed this weekend. While 59-year-old, self-proclaimed “geezer” golfer Tom Watson mounted a heroic effort to win the British Open, only to fall short in a four-hole playoff against a much younger rival, that great gray sorcerer Albus Dumbledore led Harry Potter to the biggest opening for any film in the series.

Share

Psychics see magic in Michael Jackson’s life

When Glynis McCants looks at Michael Jackson’s life, she sees the number five. Jackson’s talent was discovered when he was 5 years old, he came to fame as a member of the Jackson 5 and he planned a series of 50 concert dates in London, England, as part of a comeback tour before he died on June 25 at the age of 50

Share

Drug-fueled gang wars shake Vancouver

When Canadian cocaine smuggler Charles Lai was being sentenced in a Seattle federal courtroom last month, the judge sending him to prison for 13 years offered a small item of good news. At least behind bars, Judge James Robart said, drug smuggler Lai would not become another fatality in Vancouver’s gang wars

Share

Michael Jackson’s life in the spotlight

Thousands of fans poured in to Los Angeles en route to the public memorial service at the Staples Center arena, while Jackson’s family and closest friends attended a private gathering at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery before going on to the memorial downtown. In Germany, thousands of Jackson fans have been offered the chance to watch events in Los Angeles live at Berlin’s O2 World arena.

Share

World watches Michael Jackson memorial service

As the funeral for Michael Jackson got under way in California Tuesday, fans of the King of Pop gathered in locations across the globe to pay homage to their idol. Thousands of fans poured in to Los Angeles en route to the public memorial service at the Staples Center arena, while Jackson’s family and closest friends attended a private gathering at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery before going on to the memorial downtown.

Share

Radio Host Casey Kasem

On July 4, Casey Kasem counted down the hits one last time. Thirty-nine years to the day after he premiered his American Top 40 program — playing the most popular songs, calling out listeners’ long-distance dedications and paving the way for the American Top 20 and American Top 10 spin-offs — the velvet-throated DJ with the unmistakable voice has turned off his mike for good. “Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it,” Kasem, 77, said in a statement.

Share