Bumblebee

Recruits on the new Transformers ride opening at Universal Studios Hollywood in spring 2012 will join the heroic Autobots in an intergalactic battle against the villainous Decepticons. The five-minute Transformers motion simulator dark ride with high-definition 3-D images, special effects and animatronics will feature an original storyline starring the shape-shifting robots capable of changing into cars, trucks and planes. > Photos: Transformers ride at Universal Studios Hollywood Hyperbolic Universal officials are already calling the new Transformers attraction "the greatest ride in theme park history.

The new Transformers ride has been generating positive early reviews from theme park enthusiasts and hard-core fans of the shape-shifting robots during a soft-opening preview at Universal Studios Singapore. > Photos: Transformers ride at Universal Studios Set to officially debut on Saturday, the five-minute Transformers motion-simulator dark ride , with high-definition 3-D images and special effects, will feature an original story line starring the heroic Autobots and villainous Decepticons -- anthropomorphic robots capable of changing into cars, trucks and planes.

The new Transformers ride has been generating positive early reviews from theme park enthusiasts and hard-core fans of the shape-shifting robots during a soft-opening preview at Universal Studios Singapore. > Photos: Transformers ride at Universal Studios Set to officially debut on Saturday, the five-minute Transformers motion-simulator dark ride , with high-definition 3-D images and special effects, will feature an original story line starring the heroic Autobots and villainous Decepticons -- anthropomorphic robots capable of changing into cars, trucks and planes.

Recruits on the new Transformers ride opening at Universal Studios Hollywood in spring 2012 will join the heroic Autobots in an intergalactic battle against the villainous Decepticons. The five-minute Transformers motion simulator dark ride with high-definition 3-D images, special effects and animatronics will feature an original storyline starring the shape-shifting robots capable of changing into cars, trucks and planes. > Photos: Transformers ride at Universal Studios Hollywood Hyperbolic Universal officials are already calling the new Transformers attraction "the greatest ride in theme park history.

[ BOMBUS VOSNESENSKII ] On warm spring days big hairy bees meander in heavy flight. Though bulky and apparently clumsy, bumblebees have a rather swift survival strategy. Unlike smaller bees, which wait to come out until late in the season, bumblebees take advantage of early blooming wildflowers. Many of these flowers have evolved anthers that release pollen to only the larger bees.

Westminster firefighters, trying to cut a critically injured woman from a crumpled car beside the San Diego Freeway early Monday, had to withstand wave after wave of attacks from two nests of bumblebees disturbed by the wreck. The early morning accident--in which the car sailed off the freeway and out of sight down a freeway embankment, killing its driver--lay undiscovered for more than an hour, officers estimated.

I caught my son combing his hair the other day. That's new. For 12 years, the way his hair was when he woke up in the morning--matted down like wet grass or sticking out like pine needles--that's how he left it. But now, he wets his hair very carefully. Then he takes a brush and combs it forward, making it flat and even. Then he parts it in the middle and swirls it out to the sides. I am dating myself horribly here, but he looks exactly like a character Ernie Kovacs played, Percy Dovetonsils.

NO CREATURE UNDER the sun--not the ant, not the honeybee, not the Type-A personality--is busier than the big, fuzzy, black-and-yellow bumblebee. Compared to the bumblebee, those other creatures are so lazy and indolent as not to deserve mention in the same sentence. That is because of one key fact: The bumblebee heats its body through exercise. A bumblebee cannot fly until its wing muscles reach about 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It does best at about 95 degrees.

Dr. Charles L. Pincus, a pioneer in the art of cosmetic dentistry and known as "Dentist of the Stars," died Thursday at his Beverly Hills home after an illness of several weeks. He was 82. He was founder and first president of the American Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry. He published numerous articles and was a contributor to Dr. Ronald Goldstein's book on aesthetic dentistry.

Can lessons about life be learned in a childhood hobby? The answer is emphatically affirmative, if you take note of the life of George T. Scharffenberger, the recently elected chairman of the University of Southern California's board of trustees and an internationally known businessman and financier. What he observed, as a youngster raising bees, is that "their efforts are disciplined and cooperative. No bee wanders off aimlessly on its own.

Bumblebees act like copycats, following another bee's lead when foraging for food in unfamiliar flowers, according to a study in this week's issue of the journal Current Biology. This research on the "bumblebee mind" may offer insight into the survival and growth of plant species that depend on bees for pollination. The insects' social interactions, such as "bee dances," are among the most complex systems of communication in the animal kingdom.

[ BOMBUS VOSNESENSKII ] On warm spring days big hairy bees meander in heavy flight. Though bulky and apparently clumsy, bumblebees have a rather swift survival strategy. Unlike smaller bees, which wait to come out until late in the season, bumblebees take advantage of early blooming wildflowers. Many of these flowers have evolved anthers that release pollen to only the larger bees.

I caught my son combing his hair the other day. That's new. For 12 years, the way his hair was when he woke up in the morning--matted down like wet grass or sticking out like pine needles--that's how he left it. But now, he wets his hair very carefully. Then he takes a brush and combs it forward, making it flat and even. Then he parts it in the middle and swirls it out to the sides. I am dating myself horribly here, but he looks exactly like a character Ernie Kovacs played, Percy Dovetonsils.

NO CREATURE UNDER the sun--not the ant, not the honeybee, not the Type-A personality--is busier than the big, fuzzy, black-and-yellow bumblebee. Compared to the bumblebee, those other creatures are so lazy and indolent as not to deserve mention in the same sentence. That is because of one key fact: The bumblebee heats its body through exercise. A bumblebee cannot fly until its wing muscles reach about 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It does best at about 95 degrees.

Westminster firefighters, trying to cut a critically injured woman from a crumpled car beside the San Diego Freeway early Monday, had to withstand wave after wave of attacks from two nests of bumblebees disturbed by the wreck. The early morning accident--in which the car sailed off the freeway and out of sight down a freeway embankment, killing its driver--lay undiscovered for more than an hour, officers estimated.

Can lessons about life be learned in a childhood hobby? The answer is emphatically affirmative, if you take note of the life of George T. Scharffenberger, the recently elected chairman of the University of Southern California's board of trustees and an internationally known businessman and financier. What he observed, as a youngster raising bees, is that "their efforts are disciplined and cooperative. No bee wanders off aimlessly on its own.

In a dim and dingy London apartment, Bridget Jones is huddled on a ratty, paisley couch in rattier-than-couch pajamas, swigging wine from a bottle and sniffling as she morosely sucks on cigarettes. And just when it seems this scene in "Bridget Jones's Diary" couldn't get more depressing, Jones starts belting out the ultimate anthem of loneliness: "All by myself. Don't wanna be . . . All by myself. Anymore." Ain't it great to be a single woman in the 21st century?

Bumblebees act like copycats, following another bee's lead when foraging for food in unfamiliar flowers, according to a study in this week's issue of the journal Current Biology. This research on the "bumblebee mind" may offer insight into the survival and growth of plant species that depend on bees for pollination. The insects' social interactions, such as "bee dances," are among the most complex systems of communication in the animal kingdom.