Largo, U.S.A - The “end of days” has arrived, a mere six months into 2012, as Six Flags America unleashed its newest roller coaster: Apocalypse – The Last Stand. To celebrate the coaster’s debut, the park launched the inaugural first ride with a train full of zombies. These undead took on two minutes of hairpin turns, pulse-pounding inversions and a swirling corkscrew, careening down 2,900 feet of track at 55 miles per hour – all while standing!

While June 7, 2012 did not bring the end of the world, it did bring Six Flags America’s roller coaster count to eight, adding a completely unique experience that gives passengers an incredible view as they ride standing up.  As guests approach Apocalypse – The Last Stand, they are met with signs of impending doom and mayhem: airplane wreckage, burned out vehicles, evidence of the undead and scorching special effects.

“We selected this ride for Six Flags America, complete with a timely 2012 Apocalypse theme, to broaden our roller coaster collection and give guests a multi-sensory thrill ride experience,” said Rick Howarth, Six Flags America park president. “Zombies, roller coaster enthusiasts and all-around thrill-seekers are invited to stand up to their fear and ride Apocalypse!”

Apocalypse – The Last Stand is located in the heart of the park and is impossible to miss at ten stories high with bright orange and charcoal grey steel set against a backdrop of an enormous, looming skull. Members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) and regional coaster club, the Coaster Zombies, gathered today, many dressed as zombies, to be among the first to ride Apocalypse – The Last Stand.

“ACE members know and love their roller coasters,” said Elizabeth Ringas, Mid-Atlantic ACE regional representative. “Apocalypse was built to deliver the excitement and rush of adrenaline that Six Flags is known for. We are thrilled to have a completely new coaster experience at Six Flags America!”

Apocalypse – The Last Stand was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) of Switzerland. This is Six Flags America’s first B&M coaster and complements the park’s arsenal of world-class roller coasters, thrill rides and Hurricane Harbor Water Park.

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New York, U.S.A - Thirty years after its eponymous debut album, ASIA ascended to the top of the Billboard Top 100 chart (where it remained No.1 for nine consecutive weeks), the legendary British classic rock band (with all original members Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer & John Wetton) returns with a brand new studio album, a 30th Anniversary edition of their debut album, 2 DVDs, and a world tour.

ASIA will release their new studio album “XXX” (pronounced Triple X) on Frontiers Records on July 3, 2012.  The new record, produced by Mike Paxman, is being hailed as ASIA’s best album since its classic early 80s releases, and features original artwork by Roger Dean.

The first single taken from the highly anticipated new album is entitled “Face on The Bridge”, released worldwide on May 14, 2012. The video clip can be seen on YouTube.

“We’re very pleased with, and confident about XXX,” says John Wetton. “It encapsulates, lyrically and instrumentally, the essence of ASIA today.  However, it is the very same four people that gave you the original, iconic album 30 years ago.  If you loved it then, you will love it now.”

“We wanted to recapture the energy of the first album,” adds ASIA’s guitarist, Steve Howe. “ASIA has always been about great songs, and fantastic musicianship. I’m sure fans of the first album, will fall in love with XXX.” In addition ASIA has also completed “Resonance”, a DVD concert film of the group’s 2010/2011 Omega World Tour, captured live in Switzerland which will be released later in the fall.

To celebrate their 30th Anniversary, ASIA will release a collector’s edition box set based on their legendary 1982 eponymous debut album, including 2 audio CDs (a re-mastered edition of the debut album, plus a CD of live rare tracks), an expansive historical booklet, a limited edition ASIA T-shirt, items from ASIA’s 1982 tour, plus a DVD of the new band documentary: ASIA - 30 Years On.  A newly commissioned painting by Roger Dean updates the symbolic dragon and pearl from 1982 to 2012.

2012 North American tour dates so far:

Oct 17 - Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie
Oct 18 - Boston, MA, Wilbur Theater
Oct 19 - Westbury, NY, Westbury Theater
Oct 20 - Philadelphia, PA, Keswick
Oct 21 - Wilmington, DE, Opera House
Oct 23 - Verona, NY, Turning Stone Casino
Oct 25 - Ridgefield, CT, Ridgefield Playhouse
Oct 26 - Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun
Oct 27 – NY, NY, Best Buy Theater
Oct 28 - York, PA, Strand Capital
Oct 30 - Annapolis, MD, Rams Head On Stage
Nov 01 - Royal Oak, MI, Royal Oak
Nov 02 - St. Charles, IL, Arcada Theatre
Nov 03 - Sloan, IA, Winnavegas Casino Showroom
Nov 08 - Santa Ynez, CA, Chumash Casino
Nov 09 - Agoura Hills, CA, Canyon Club
Nov 10 - Las Vegas, NV, Green Valley Casino
Nov 11 - San Juan Capistrano, CA, Coach House
Nov 13 - Scottsdale, AZ, Talking Stick Casino
Nov 16 - Dallas, TX, Granada Theater
Nov 17 - Austin, TX, One World Theatre (2 shows)
Nov 20 - Clearwater, FL , Capitol Theatre
Nov 21 - Orlando, FL, Fl Plaza Theatre
Nov 23 - Manistee, MI, Little River Casino Resort

Image Courtesy of   Original Asia

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Kyiv, Ukraine – “Ukraine is a safe country. In this regard, the situation is alike to that in Germany or Switzerland. Everything is going to be okay,” said Martin Kallen, UEFA operations director, in his interview with German sports magazine Kicker, reports SID. The official noted that safety level of EURO 2012 would be top notch.

As part of EURO 2012 preparations, Ukrainian authorities have taken a number of measures aimed at providing safety during the upcoming football championship.

On April 17, 2012, Ukraine opened the Headquarters for international cooperation concerning safety during EURO 2012 in Kyiv. Rapid response and analytical teams at the Headquarters will resolve any pending emergencies during the championship.

In February 2012, Ukrainian delegation visited London to take safety tips from the British as they were preparing for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs created the lists of football hooligans (persons, previously charged with public offence at football matches), particularly ultras, in order to prevent possible clashes between the fans.

Moreover, Ukraine adopted a law that stipulates the persons ruled ineligible to visit football matches in their country of residence might be declined the right to enter Ukraine. Consequently, some fans will not be allowed to visit the country during June of 2012.

Curiously, over the last three years French gendarmerie has been providing training for the Ukrainian internal troops in order to enable them to assist the local police during EURO 2012.

The representatives of law enforcement agencies of the countries participating in EURO 2012 will come to Ukraine to assist Ukrainian police in ensuring safety during the matches. Besides the actual police forces, more than 4,000 stewards will maintain safety at the stadiums.

28 aircrafts, 16 helicopters, and 10 surface-to-air missile systems will guard EURO 2012 host cities, as well as the borders of the country.

UEFA will take charge of the stadiums hosting EURO 2012 on May 11th.

Image Courtesy of  Peter Scholz / Shutterstock.com

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Last week, particle physicists at CERN came closer to finding the Higgs boson (otherwise inaptly known as “the god particle”), a hypothetical elementary particle that would explain the origin of mass.

Named after British physicist, Peter Higgs, who first hypothesized that mass came from elementary particles, the Higgs boson is believed to have existed during the few seconds after the Big Bang when particles first obtained mass. Not only is it the missing piece of the Standard Model, which explains how subatomic particles and the universal forces are related and how they interact with one other, but it will be able to fill in some of the inconsistencies within the model.

Located between the border of Switzerland and France, CERN – Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, or European Council for Nuclear Research – is a particle physics laboratory composed of particle accelerators. One of these particle accelerators is the largest in the world, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and consists of an underground circular tunnel.

The LHC’s purpose is to figure out what the universe was like on a subatomic level one second after the Big Bang by smashing together protons – a type of subatomic particle – at nearly the speed of light. ATLAS and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) are two of the six major experiments at the LHC that are simultaneously, yet separately, determining the existence of the Higgs boson.

Proving the existence of the Higgs boson would be tricky. Because it is a hypothetical particle, the Higgs has to be created, which is also difficult. For one, its life span would be short because of its rapid decay, and it could only be detected by special instruments. ATLAS and CMS are looking to detect the Higgs, not by the state of it existing, but rather, by its decaying state.

To do so, these two experiments have to create the particle. Thereafter, they look for the Higgs by detecting the energy it has released upon its decay. The energy, which should ideally read around 116-130 GeV, is then recorded on graphs. While recording the data of the energy from the decaying, ATLAS and CMS have seen spikes at similar energies on their respective graphs at like times. However, some particle physicists believe that these spikes may be energy fluctuations.

“The excess is most compatible with a Standard Model Higgs in the vicinity of 124 GeV and below,” says Guido Tonelli, a particle physicist working as the spokesperson for CMS, “but the statistical significance is not large enough to say anything conclusive. As of today, what we see is consistent either with a background fluctuation or with the presence of the boson.”

To actually confirm the Higgs’ existence, ATLAS and CMS have to find more spikes in the same places at even greater energies to make sure that they are not merely fluctuations.

If scientists were truly able to confirm the Higgs’ existence, they would essentially discover a new basic understanding of the foundation of the universe and its origin – and possibly explain the elusive nature of dark matter and dark energy. Results, however, will have to wait. Tonelli further states, “Refined analyses and additional data delivered in 2012 by this magnificent machine will definitely give an answer.”

homeros / Shutterstock.com

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