Author: The UTD Mercury
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The Mercury’s Summer Wrap-up
MALAYSIAN FLIGHT MH17 CRASHES On July 17, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over Ukrainian air space, killing 298 passengers and crew. As investigators and medical experts struggled to reach the crash site in pro-separatist eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, pro-Russian separatists and Russian president Vladimir Putin denied…
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‘Lucy’ underwhelms with predictable plot, unimpressive action
SPOILER ALERT Scarlett Johansson escapes from the Marvel universe and gets to play her own superhero in “Lucy.” Unfortunately, the result is unintentionally cheesy and dumb. Directed by Luc Besson, “Lucy” stars Johansson as a 25-year-old American in Taiwan. She isn’t given much of a description before her newfound boyfriend forces her to deliver a briefcase to…
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‘Purge’ sequel disappoints
“The Purge: Anarchy” is a surprising step forward in the franchise but only because the first one was so poor. James DeMonaco returns after directing last year’s “The Purge,” a critically panned, but financially successful, film (on a $3 million production budget it grossed $89 million worldwide). So, of course, Universal pictures created a sequel…
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UTD hosts week-long camp for underprivileged children
A crowd of kids, chattering and giggling, hold on to white balloons with the words “Let Go” scrawled on them. They wait for the go-ahead and, then, release the fear and self-doubt filling the balloon. From June 24 to June 27, they spent their time on campus instead of at the shelters they call home.…
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Bus schedule goes awry
In the world of business, clients and profits are lost when deadlines and time schedules are unmet. For NASA, a delay in a shuttle launch can cost millions of dollars. Yet, for all this talk of time being money, UTD’s 883 Comet Cruiser runs with a mind of its own. Time for this shuttle isn’t…
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Robots charm onlookers at ‘Transformers’ premiere
Moviegoers were treated to a display of mechanical savvy on June 27 as the premier of “Transformers: Age of Extincition” at Alamo Drafthouse doubled as an exhibition for UTD robotics. Hosted by the Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, the event featured students and their mechanical creations, including robotic chess pieces, a mechanized mini-arm…