Europe

This is Saturday. We did not feel the need to get up early. We slept in then had a leisurely breakfast the hotel offers on the roof patio. This is where we quickly learned that coffee in Europe labeled American Coffee is not what we consider American Coffee We found the coffee machine and pressed for American Coffee. Out came Nescafe instant with hot water. Gary quickly learned to like Cappuccino

Woolwich terror attack: Rapper Boya Dee tweets how two men 'chopped a man's head off with a machete'

PRESS RELEASE Terence Blanchard: MagneticMay 22, 2013(Los Angeles, CA): Accompanying the release of Magnetic, Terence Blanchard’s stunning new album set for release May 28 on Blue Note Records, will be an unprecedented schedule of worldwide tour dates kicking off with a five-night run at The Jazz Standard in New York City on May 29th and hitting cities across the United States, Europe, Tokyo, South Africa and Brazil. The tour will feature Terence, Brice Winston on sax, Fabian Almazan on piano, Robert Hurst III on bass, Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums and Lionel Loueke on guitar and will take-in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Denver, The Newport Jazz Festival, Boston, Washington D.C., London, Paris, the Czech Republic, Tokyo, Johannesburg and the Choro Festival in Brazil. A complete list of dates can be seen at terenceblanchard.com.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd will recall about 841,000 vehicles worldwide including the Micra compact car, also known as the March, as a result of a steering wheel glitch, Japan's No.2 automaker said on Thursday. Nissan is recalling certain models of the Micra compact car produced in Britain and Japan between 2002 and 2006, as well as the Cube, produced in Japan around the same period. It is pulling back vehicles in Japan, Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. ...

Fast and Furious 6The Fast and Furious circus jets over to London for another mindlessly fun hot-rod ride.According to producers, Fast and Furious 6 is the first of the franchise entries to not feature underground road racing as a major plot point. They felt they'd reached a "ceiling" in audience appeal, thinking that tuned Suburus and scantily clad race girls dancing to hip-hop weren't enough.But there's still plenty of thrills as gravel-voiced Vin Diesel and his gang drive their musclecars on the wrong side of the road in England.Franchise regular Paul Walker also returns, as do Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Sung Kang. And, surprise, Michelle Rodriguez is back. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reprises his role from Fast Five. Joining the cast this time around is Welsh actor Luke Evans as the chief villain, plus MMA fighter Gina Carano from Haywire. And stick around for a post-credits scene to see the star of another car-chase franchise.Director Justin Lin, who's steered The Fast and the Furious series since the third entry Tokyo Drift, is back in the drivers's seat one more time. He's moving aside to concentrate on other projects as Saw director James Wan takes over on the already-in-production Fast and Furious 7.Following their big caper in Rio de Janeiro, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his crew of street-racing high-stakes thieves have retired but remain wanted fugitives. Diplomatic Security Service agent Hobbs (Johnson) gives them a chance for a clean slate when he asks for Dom's help in bringing down a British ex-special forces soldier (Evans) who is leading a team of mercenaries in daring highway heists across Europe. Among the team of criminals is Dom's supposedly dead girlfriend Letty.Critical reception is mostly positive, so far. Rated 15+.Also openingEpic – A teenage girl is shrunken down and discovers an incredible secret realm right in her own backyard. While trying to figure out a way to contact her nutty professor father and return to her normal size, she is caught up in a battle between the Leaf Men and their mortal enemies the Boggans. This animated feature is from Blue Sky Studios and is directed by Chris Wedge, the helmer of Ice Age and Robots. It is based on William Joyce's children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. The voice cast is headed by Amanda Seyfried, along with Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler and Beyoncé Knowles. Critical reception, so far, is generally positive. In 3D. Rated G.Crush – A shy lonely high-school girl (Crystal Reed) turns into a psycho when she experiences her first feelings of love, making life a living hell for a hunky sports star (Lucas Till from X-Men: First Class). Sarah Bolger also stars. This went direct-to-DVD in the States and critical reception somewhat mixed. Rated 15+.Also showingEuropean Union Film Festival – Wrapping up this weekend, tonight's feature is the Spanish drama Don't Be Afraid. Tomorrow, there are three movies: the Danish World War II drama This Life, the Polish black comedy Wonderful Summer and Julien Temple's documentary London – The Modern Babylon. Saturday's offerings are Stars Above from Finland, Goethe! from (where else?) Germany and Portugal's The Death of Carlos Gardel. And the fest closes on Sunday with Sweden's Beyond, starring Noomi Rapace, Cool Kids Don't Cry from the Netherlands and the Luxembourgish crime thriller Blind Spot. It's all at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. As always, tickets are free but you have to queue up to get them 30 minutes before showtime. This is a very popular festival, especially with the culture-starved expats, so be prepared for long lines. Check the festival website for the schedule.Baara (Work) – The Alliance Française screens free movies with English subtitles at 7.30pm every Wednesday. Next week's offering is this 1978 African workplace comedy-drama by Souleymane Cissé. It's set in a factory in Bamak

The team behind the much-lauded restaurant Septime (which featured again this year on the World’s Best Restaurant list) has opened a wine shop-cum-wine bar just around the corner from its main address in the 11th arrondissement. Pop into the charming Septime La Cave to pick up a bottle from their vast selection from not just France, but also Italy and elsewhere in Europe, no matter what your budget (prices start from around just €6) or take a seat at the small bar in the retro-feeling shop, complete with metro-style tiles and cinema-type lettering on the wall menus, to sample some of the wines by the glass, soaked up with fresh and simple small plates. On the seasonally changing menu are tapas-sized portions of high-quality olives, cheeses and cold meats and simple fish (we had delicious sardines served with herbed butter, and peppered goat’s cheese on our visit) of between around €4-14 each, to go with a superb selection of wines from by the glass from between €5-7. >more

HTC's Desire line of mid-range Android smartphones have typically used the alphabet to denote different models, but the company is now switching to numerals. At least according to a Taiwanese certification page, we can expect a Desire 200. Some leaked benchmark results also indicate that a Desire 600 will head to market. We don't know much about the Desire 200 apart from its name. It's listed as the HTC 102e on the certification page, and there's plenty of speculation that this handset is the G2 we heard about earlier this year. It's a different story for the Desire 600: the benchmark results indicate this device sports a 960 x 540 (qHD) display with an unspecified 1.2GHz chip. The benchmark sheet also reveals this is a dual-SIM model destined for Europe. That's it for now, but more details are sure to follow shortly. Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC Comments Via: Pocketnow Source: GFXBench, VR-Zone

Redditor Hika-Tamari asked "Americans of Reddit, what surprised you when you visited Europe?" Here are some of the more interesting answers:Chippedcoffeemug:The Italian's way of driving. Never in anytime of my life was I more paranoid of being hit by a moped.RandomWomanNo2:I first went to Europe as a twelve-year-old kid, and I was shocked by how OLD everything was. Here, a church that's a hundred years old seems ancient, but in Europe you really do have ancient structures. The sense of centuries and millennia of well-recorded history having played out everywhere I went was sort of crazy. Obviously, we have ancient Native American history, but where I'm from that part of our culture isn't always evident.And nudity! It was often no big thing in advertisements and television. Not so in America, where a single stray nipple can practically bring down the whole television system.I also also surprised how much of the landscape reminded me of home. I'm from the American midwest and sections of Germany and Ireland looked just like I was driving through home. But then I'd see some small stone wall that had been around for centuries and I'd be reminded how different the landscape is!yunith:how everyone uses normal speaking voices, and how loud i am as an American._I_might_be_naked:People in Scotland (Specifically Glasgow) are the nicest I've ever met, seriously. People would have friendly conversations with you at bus stops, and one person even lent me £2 spare cash at a gas station for petrol. It seems to be 90% of people there are like that. Very unusual.Neatoramanauts, if you've traveled in Europe, what surprised you about it?Link(Photo: We All Have Baggage luggage tag, now on sale in the NeatoShop.)

Terry Wohlers fears U.S. losing its edge in additive manufacturing, from 3ders.org: Terry Wohlers, an industry consultant, analyst, and speaker, president of independent consulting firm Wohlers Associates, provided some impressive insights into the market of Additive Manufacturing during their preparation for the publication of Wohlers Report 2013. He revealed some interesting data: “16 companies in Europe, 7 in China, 5 in the U.S., and 2 in Japan now manufacture and sell professional-grade, industrial additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing systems. This is a dramatic change from a decade ago when the mix was 10 in the U.S., 7 in Europe, 7 in Japan, and 3 in China.” Last year, the Obama Administration announced the launch of the new National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) to be housed in renovated industrial space in Youngstown, aiming to help lead a renaissance in U.S. manufacturing. “This institute will help make sure that the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow take root not in places like China or India, but right here in the United States,” Obama said. Is the U.S. losing its edge in AM? This data on AM systems manufacturing and sales suggests that it is. Notes Wohlers: What’s more, all of the metal powder bed fusion systems are manufactured outside the U.S. Seven manufacturers of these systems are in Europe and two are in China. Together, China, Singapore, many countries in Europe, and even South Africa, have committed hundreds of millions of dollars in AM development and commercialization over the next few years. The U.S. continues to lead the world with the largest installed base of AM users. When Wohlers Report 2013 becomes available soon, it will report that 38% of all industrial AM installations are in the U.S. Japan is second with 9.7%, followed by Germany with 9.4% and China with 8.7%. With such a large number of systems, one could argue that the U.S. has the most experience, expertise, and know-how in AM. The NAMII was launched by the White House with the support of several agencies, including the Department of Defense. This initiative seeks to accelerate the position of the U.S. in the development and use of AM technology. It will not be easy, given what organizations in China and other regions of the world have planned. My recommendation to key leaders in the U.S. is to focus on the big picture with big goals, such as the development of metal-based powder bed fusion systems and other advanced AM system technology. Market forces and competitive pressures will take care of the smaller challenges and incremental technology improvements. Read more. Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers! Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D! The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY" I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S AUDIO BOOK CHOICE.... LET'S EXPLORE DIABETESWITH OWLSESSAYS, ETC.BY DAVID SEDARISREAD BY DAVID SEDARISABOUT THE BOOK:A guy walks into a bar car and...From here the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved. Sedaris remembers his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants), his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant), and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered Pygmy. With Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris shows once again why his work has been called "hilarious, elegant, and surprisingly moving" (Washington Post).ABOUT THE AUTHOR:David Sedaris is a playwright and a regular commentator for National Public Radio. He is also the author of the bestselling Barrel Fever, Naked, Holidays on Ice, Dress Your Family in Corduroy, Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames and Me Talk Pretty One Day. He travels extensively though Europe and the United States on lecture tours and lives in France. PRAISE FOR LET'S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS:"Sedaris is a remarkably skilled storyteller and savvy essayist. He weaves together vivid images and sensations into a coherent whole that packs a serious emotional punch....Yes, David Sedaris is really that good. And, based on this latest collection, he's getting only better."---Heather Havrilesky, Los Angeles Times"Artfully milked embarrassing personal incidents for literary laughs...There are plenty of well-cut gems, including one about an ill-fated adoption of some sea turtles that's both hilarious and touching."---Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly"If you are a David Sedaris fan, any new book from the humorist is cause for celebration. His newest offering, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, is no exception. It's quintessential Sedaris....There's always a laugh-out-loud moment just around the corner."---Craig Wilson, USA Today"The funniest writer in America....Sedaris is thoughtful and sweet in addition to being slyly hilarious."---Leigh Haber, Oprah"David Sedaris has become a signifier of taste and intelligence....Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls was the kind of book that I finished and just immediately wanted to start reading again."---Anna Peele, Esquire"David Sedaris still talks pretty."---Kathryn Schulz, New York Magazine"Fresh....funny, whimsical, unexpected, and never obvious....Who would anticipate that an encounter with an Australian bird could be so damn touching?"---Sherryl Connelly, New York Daily News"Ridiculously funny....A find for the reader who appreciates a sense of humor....Sedaris, like the great humorists before him, hits a nerve with his wit, which brings the reader into intimate contact with the human condition."---John Henry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram"An acute observer and master of the quick, excoriating takedown, Sedaris claims new territory in this exceptionally gutsy and unnerving collection."---Donna Seamn, Booklist"Hilarious....Winning....Sedaris's experiences are an endless source of good material."---Danielle Trussoni, People SOME OTHER BOOKS BY DAVID SEDARIS: MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:For those not familiar with David Sedaris, his latest book, LET’S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS, is not a medical reference book! Far from it. Rather, Sedaris is back with another incredibly witty commentary on life that to some extent, is a bit more cultured and urbane than ever before. Taking topics from ordinary scenarios in life even including some based on family members (his father is his prime target-as well he should be!), Sedaris uses satire in a way that few others can. His comedic presentations of how hard his father always is on him has given the author so much material as he strives continually to prove his father wrong. Mo