Miss Utah Marissa Powell during Miss USA 2013 Q&A
Credit: NBC video

“A recent report shows that in 40% of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men,” Judge NeNe Leakes said, then she later asked, “What does this say about society?” The question was about the supposed income inequality of men and women in the US.

“I think we can relate this back to education, and how we are continuing to strive to..” Miss Utah replied and paused for a while and continued, “…figure out how to create jobs right now. That is the biggest problem. And I think, especially the men are, um, seen as the leaders of this. And so we need to try to figure out how to create education better so we can solve this problem. Thank you.”

Afterwards, Twitter and Facebook is starting to be filled with criticisms and mockery towards Marissa Powell’s incoherent answer. The hashtag #Miss¬Utah immediately went trending on Twitter. But Miss Utah did not seem to be offended, and even made fun from the embarrassment.

“First rule of an interview — listen to the question before you answer!” Miss Powell was quoted in a statement released by the Miss Utah USA organization via Salt Lake Tribune. Miss Utah USA spokesman Brandon Stauffer noted that she is now more in demand than the Miss USA 2013 winner, Erin Brady.

In fact, Miss Utah allegedly signed an exclusive deal to appear on NBC‘s “Today Show.” She is also being set to guest on syndicated show “Inside Edition,” and later at ABC‘s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

“We don’t have any rules; everybody is trying to figure it out. That’s why the Internet is like the Wild West, the Wild Wild West. We need to write the new rules.” Jay-Z said on the 3-minute ad video, which was shown near the end of the second quarter of the NBA Finals Game 5.

In the ad, Jay-Z can be seen inside a studio, apparently conceptualizing his 12th solo album with producers Rick Rubin, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and Pharrell Williams. Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets are also featured in the ad, along with the tagline, “The Next Big Thing is here.”

As noted in the message at MagnaCartaHolyGrail.com, one million owners of the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note II will get a free “Magna Carta Holy Grail” album, and can be downloaded via a special mobile app on Monday, June 24, 2013. The album will be unlocked on Thursday, July 4, 12:01 a.m. E.T, 72 hours (3 days) before it will be officially released.

According to a report at Wall Street Journal, a person familiar with the matter told them that Samsung paid $5 to Jay-Z for each album copy. This means that the rap icon will earn a cool $5 million even before his new album will be released. In addition, the “Magna Carta Holy Grail” album will instantly be ranked Platinum.

Magna Carta Holy Grail ad by Samsung and Jay-Z
Image Credit: MagnaCartaHolyGrail.com

Read Miss Utah flub: Marissa Powell’s answer during Miss USA 2013 Q&A receives criticisms (Video)

Miss Connecticut Erin Brady wins the Miss USA 2013 title this Sunday, June 16, 2013, beating 50 other gorgeous candidates across the United States, including a candidate from District of Columbia. Miss Alabama Mary-Margaret McCord won as first runner-up, and Miss Illinois Stacie Juris as second runner-up.

Miss USA 2013 winner Miss Connecticut
Erin Brady, after winning the crown
Credit: The Official Miss USA Facebook

As aired live on NBC on Sunday night, Nick Jonas and Giuliana Rancic hosted the 62nd Miss USA pageant, which was held at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nana Meriwether from Maryland is the reigning Miss USA 2012, after Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island won the title and eventually became Miss Universe 2012 last December.

The judges were Bob Harper of “The Biggest Loser,” Jessica Robertson of “Duck Dynasty,” NeNe Leakes of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” actress-model Wendie Malick, NFL star Larry Fitzgerald, fashion designer Betsey Johnson, former WWE Diva Nikki Bella, correspondent Mo Rocca, and singer Christina Milian.

It did not take long and the names of the Top 15 semi-finalists were announced. They are the candidates from Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada, Connecticut, and Utah. They were serenaded by the Jonas Brothers.

Miss Oregon wins Miss Congeniality USA and $1000. Miss Utah wins Miss Photogenic USA, and $1000 and a weekend at Donald Trump‘s Vegas hotel. Later, the Top 10 candidates were announced, which include Alabama, Connecticut, South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Nevada, Louisiana, and Utah.

The two other members of the Top 5 finalists are Miss Utah Marissa Powell (3rd runner-up) and Miss South Carolina Megan Pinckney (5th runner-up). Miss Texas Alexandria Nugent earns the 6th spot of the finalists after being chosen by fan votes via Twitter, and eventually won as fourth-runner up.

Facebook hashtags sample
Image Credit: Facebook newsroom

“To date, there has not been a simple way to see the larger view of what’s happening or what people are talking about.” Facebook product manager Greg Lindley wrote in a post this Wednesday, June 12, 2013 in the company’s newsroom page, announcing the availability of the clickable hashtags on Facebook.

“To bring these conversations more to the forefront, we will be rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics. As a first step, we are beginning to roll out hashtags on Facebook.” Lindley added, noting that users can still control its usage.

To be able to use this feature, Facebook hashtags should be denoted with a “#” sign. Users can search for a specific hashtag from their search bar. #NBAFinals was mentioned as a good example of today’s trending topic. Then, they can click on the hashtags that started on other social sites and compose their own messages on their Facebook walls.

Lindley emphasize that hashtags on Facebook is only the first phase to help users to easily discover what others are saying about a certain topic, and to be able to share their thoughts about them. This means that Facebook is still planning to launch more related features in the future, which will include the trending hashtags.

What do you think about this latest Facebook feature? Will it be another source of privacy problem, or will it be a big advantage in expressing our freedom of speech?

Two-faced kitten “Deucy” from Oregon
Credit: KGW-TV video

As shown in the news video below, “Deucy” was born last Tuesday, June 11, 2013 (6/11) at 6:11 a.m. with one healthy body and two faces. Durkee said that the rare kitten has been rejected by her own mother, so she decided to take care of her even brought her to a veterinarian for medical check-up.

That time, the vet said that the two-faced kitten was in good health condition and that she has no problem with her internal organs. But then, Durkee said she was amazed with the series of coincidences related to her birth, considering the time and the date, which also happens to fall on a Gemini astrological sign.

And as neighbors and media flocked to their home to see the cuteness of the kitten, Stephanie noted that she had been feeding “Deucy” with kitten formula milk every two hours using a syringe. The rare “Janus” kitten is being placed in a comfortable and warm drawer, and was even stronger than her two other siblings.

Apparently, there had been earlier reports of almost the same situations. Back in July 2012, a kitten with two faces named Gemini was born in Rhode Island. It also has 24 toes: seven on each of the two front paws and five on each on the back paws. The tiny kitten died, just days after he was was born.

Just last February, a two-faced kitten named Harvey Dent was born in Port Charlotte, Florida, but died two days later. However, there are rare cases when kittens with two faces survive longer. In September 2011, the Guinness World Records awarded ‘Frank and Louie” for being the longest living two-faced cat at the age of 12. Unlike “Deucy,” that cat has two faces, but only one head and brain.

As featured at Apple.com this Monday afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook started the event by saying that the company has already paid $10 billion to developers. He added that there are now 407 Apple stores in 14 countries, and a new store was opened in Berlin, and that 50 billion apps have already been downloaded.

Craig Federighi, head of software engineering, discussed about the updates on the Safari Web browser, which includes a sidebar within the app that will allow users to access to all of their bookmarks. A new feature called “shared links” was introduced, where users can view all of the links shared by people they are following on Twitter and LinkedIn. Facebook is not included, though.

There is also this iCloud Keychain in Safari, which will help users remember their Web site logins, passwords, and credit card numbers as well. It also has an automatic-suggestion feature for a new password for Web sites.

Later, Phil Schiller, Apple‘s SVP for marketing, announced the new line of MacBook Air devices: an 11-inch MacBook Air with 128 GB that promises 9 hours of battery life and will cost $999, and a 13-inch MacBook Air that has 11 hours of battery life and will start at $1,100. Shipping of these devices is set to start within that day.

The new OS X Mavericks offers fresh features, including tabbed Finder window, new Tag support that is useful for powerful search. Also included is the ability of users to get the menus across multiple displays, and will be available from the Mac App Store.

Finally, Apple announced the much-awaited iOS 7, which will be available for free for iPhone 4 and later, and iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation) this fall. It was introduced as completely redesigned software with an entirely new user interface.

Among its features include Control Center, which allows users to swipe up with their thumb on the bottom of the screen. Here, users will able to view the phone’s settings, which include adjustment of brightness, access controls for Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and to apps such as Clock, Flashlight, Calculator and Camera.

The iOS 7 also has Notification Center, improved Multitasking, and AirDrop, which is an entirely new way to share content fast and easy. The new Camera app includes a square camera option, while the redesigned Photos app introduces Moments. FaceTime audio and Message blocking are also included.

Nonetheless, the most applauded iOS 7 feature is the Activation Lock, which disables phone even when a thief turns it off. This requires users their Apple IDs and passwords before someone can do anything with it. This is to avoid people stealing the phone.

Meanwhile, Siri now has a male voice and new female voices, and includes Twitter search integration and Wikipedia integration. It also offers Bing web search within the app and can change device settings and play back voicemail.

iOS7 in action
Credit: Apple.com

Neil Patrick Harris (center) and cast of Kinky Boots
during Tony Awards 2013 night (June 9, 2013)
Credit: TonyAwards.com

As aired live on CBS on Sunday night, the 67th Annual Tony Awards was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Kinky Boots, which is based on the 2005 British movie with the same title, won six awards. This includes Best Musical award and Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) for Cyndi Lauper.

“I want to thank Harvey Fierstein for calling me up. I’m so glad I was done with the dishes and answered the phone. I want to thank Broadway for welcoming me. I understand how hard you work…your hard work inspires me.” Cyndi Lauper said, while accepting her trophy for her Broadway debut for the 15-song score.

On the other hand, Cicely Tyson won her first ever Tony Award at 79. She won the Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role award in a play for her role as Carrie Watts in “The Trip To Bountiful.” This is her Broadway comeback after 30 years; her last stage performance was in 1983, for “The Corn is Green.”

Meanwhile, “Pippin” and “Matilda the Musical” shared four awards each. “The Nance” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” won three awards each. Below is the full list of Tony Awards 2013 winners, which were chosen by 868 Tony voters, including members of The Broadway League and American Theatre Wing.

* Best Musical: Kinky Boots

* Best Play: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

* Best Book of a Musical: Matilda The Musical

* Best Musical Revival: Pippin

* Best Revival of a Play: Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play: Cicely Tyson, The Trip To
Bountiful

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: Tracy Letts, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Patina Miller, Pippin

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Billy Porter, Kinky Boots

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Andrea Martin, Pippin

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Gabriel Ebert, Matilda The Musical

* Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Judith Light, The Assembled Parties

* Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Courtney B. Vance, Lucky Guy

* Best Direction of a Play: Pam MacKinnon, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

* Best Direction of a Musical: Diane Paulus, Pippin

* Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theater: Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots

* Best Choreography: Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots

* Best Scenic Design of a Play: John Lee Beatty, The Nance

* Best Scenic Design of a Musical: Rob Howell, Matilda The Musical

* Best Costume Design of a Play: Ann Roth, The Nance

* Best Costume Design of a Musical: William Ivey Long, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

* Best Lighting Design of a Play: Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Lucky Guy

* Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Hugh Vanstone, Matilda The Musical

* Best Sound Design of a Play: Leon Rothenberg, The Nance

* Best Sound Design of a Musical: John Shivers, Kinky Boots

* Best Orchestrations: Stephen Oremus, Kinky Boots

The Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers game 7 Eastern Conference Finals turned into another big surprise. Ironically, the last game of the best-of-seven series turned into a lopsided contest with the Heat clobbering the Pacers.

Miami coasted to victory against Indiana, 99-76, at the American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL on Monday night, June 4.

With the game 7 victory, the Heat secured their third straight NBA Finals appearance since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in South Beach. They will next face the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven 2013 NBA Finals series.

James had a game high 32 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished off four assists. Wade scored 21 points for the Heat as he recovered from his dismal game 6 performance.

The Heat defended the paint well on Monday night and denied a good offensive position for Roy Hibbert. Paul George was also taken out of his rhythm as James defended him well.

In contrast to the last six games, Miami led by as many as 28 points after trailing by six points early in the game.

Miami‘s game seven win is their 78th victory of the season. According to reports, the total single season win by the Heat is the 11th-best in NBA history.

In a show of confidence, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra took out James with 5:08 left in the game.

Hibbert top scored again for the Pacers with 18 points. David West added 14, George Hill contributed 13, and Lance Stephenson had 10.

George fouled out with over seven minutes remaining in the final quarter. He went out of the game in single digits with seven points on 2-for-9 shooting.

Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs will be played on Thursday, June 6.

Warrior Princess book by Kristin Beck,
a transgender Navy SEAL
Credit: Amazon.com

“Chris Beck played high school football. He bought a motorcycle, much to his mother’s dismay, at age 17. He grew up to become a U.S. Navy SEAL, serving our country for twenty years on thirteen deployments, including seven combat deployments, and ultimately earned a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. To everyone who saw him, he was a hero. A warrior. A man.” A statement reads on the book description at Amazon.

“But underneath his burly beard, Chris had a secret, one that had been buried deep inside his heart since he was a little boy—one as hidden as the panty hose in the back of his drawer. He was transgender and the woman inside needed to get out…It is about a fight to be free inside one’s own body, a fight that requires the strength of a Warrior Princess.” The statement added.

As reported at ABC News this Monday, June 3, Anne Speckhard told them that Beck kept her identity as secret throughout the years. She managed to pass the trials of SEAL training, and fought in some of the most dangerous battlefields in the world. This was supported by Brandon Webb, a former SEAL who served on a different SEAL team than Beck.

Speckhard added that Beck first told her friends online about her coming out, noting that the transgender Navy SEAL now wears women’s clothes, make-up, and enjoying her long hair. She is also now in the process of hormone therapy, as part of her preparation for the completion of her sexual transformation.

Several 400-year-old plants that have been found by researchers from the University of Alberta reportedly resurrected back to life.

These icy plants called bryophytes were discovered at the Teardrop Glacier in the Canadian Arctic.

Bryophytes are plant species that “dried-out during long, cold winters and then come back to life after a time.” They were “extremophiles that survive in places where other plants don’t.”

The unusual thing about these plants was that they have endured 400 years under the icy Arctic environment and have shown signs of growing.

Catherine La Farge, researcher from the University of Alberta, revealed that they saw the 400-year-old plants with intact structures and green coloration.

The researcher explained that about four species were regenerated out of the 24 samples.

According to La Farge, “We know that bryophytes can remain dormant for many years (for example, in deserts) and then are reactivated, but nobody expected them to rejuvenate after nearly 400 years beneath a glacier. These simple, efficient plants, which have been around for more than 400 million years, have evolved a unique biology for optimal resilience. Any bryophyte cell can reprogram itself to initiate the development of an entire new plant. This is equivalent to stem cells in faunal systems.”

La Farge‘s team used radiocarbon dating to conclude that the plants were living from 400 to 600 years old.

The May 27th issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reportedly features the bryophyte research.

Below is a video of the 400-year-old plants.