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It's like Magnetic Poetry, but with words recorded by Captain Kirk. Users of the iPhone app can also program in pauses and control the level of intensity of various words.

iPhone users can now make William Shatneresque poetry, filled with his dramatic pauses and unique inflections, thanks to an app released today.

Called Shatoetry, the app lets users choose from a library of prerecorded words to create what Shatner -- or his marketing people -- has branded "Shatisms," phrases played out in Shatner's voice. It's like making poetry with refrigerator magnets, but with the "Star Trek" icon and Priceline.com spokesman guiding your artistry.

"People all over the world have been listening to my voice for so long, but they've only ever heard what I wanted to say," Shatner said in a press release. "I wanted to give people a means to express their thoughts and ideas, using my voice. It's a fun, creative app that I am certain people will enjoy."

Users can choose the words, the level of drama in Shatner's delivery, and the amount of pauses within the sentence. Once you've decided your masterpiece is complete, you simply hit the "Shat that!" button to hear the spoken word piece.

You can even co-create these Shatisms with other users (Shatner calls these poetic fans "Shatoetists") by collaborating in the app and online. And, of course, you'll be able to share your finished products on your social networks.

The release also hints at more fun features to come, with promises of new word packs for holidays and special occasions, as well as special guest stars and performances. Maybe Shatner will delight fans by bringing in former "Star Trek" co-stars like Leonard Nimov or the social-media savvy George Takei. One can only hope.

The app, created by Blindlight Apps, costs $2.99 in Apple's App Store.

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Channel William Shatner with new 'Shatoetry' spoken word app

Annyong! The Korean word for hello is part of 22-year-old Asian elephant Koshiks five-word vocabulary. He can also utter the words for sit down (anja), lie down (nuo), good (choah) and no (aniya), according to a study published today in the journal Current Biology.

The frequency patterns of Koshiks human-like mutterings were also more similar to his trainers speech than to the calls other Asian elephants make, the scientists claim.

This is remarkable considering the huge size, the long vocal tract, and other anatomical differences between an elephant and a human, lead author and animal behaviorist Angela Stoeger of the University of Vienna said in a press release.

Koshik may have learned to manipulate formants, or the frequency components humans use to discern sounds, in his speech by putting his trunk in his mouth, which is a wholly novel method of vocal production, the authors wrote in the study. By doing that, hes able to make higher-pitched sounds than he would normally, according to the study.

Trainers taught Koshik, who was born in captivity, to respond to these five words, but he started imitating humans on his own, Stoeger told Wired in an email. She and her team think he may have used vocal mimicry to bond with his human companions, especially during the seven years he spent alone at Everland Zoo in South Korea.

Trainers at Everland, where Koshik lives, initially told the researchers he could say six words. Stoeger and her team put the elephants lexicon to the test by playing his speech to human Koreans and asking them to write down what they heard. The researchers didnt tell them what words Koshik was imitating. After analyzing the data, they concluded the big-eared beast had only picked up five words.The study didnt say which word was axed from Koshiks official verbal repertoire.

Mimicry of human speech among other mammals is not very common, but its not unheard of. The researchers mention Hoover the seal, who was raised by a fisherman and could speak a few words of English, a beluga who could say its name, and another male Asian elephant who could mutter some Russian and Kazakh.

Koshik may understand what the words hes speaking mean, but he probably doesnt intend them as commands or feedback, wrote Tecumseh Fitch, one of the studys authors, in an e-mail to Wired.Or at least when he says lie down, he doesnt seem to get upset if you dont.

The researchers also told Wired that Koshik now has a lady friend, Hati, in whom hes showing quite a bit of interest. He has not used the line, Annyong. Nuo, on her yet.

Video:Stoeger et al. /Current Biology.

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Talking Elephant Learns 5-Word Vocabulary

By: Joseph Holandes Ubalde, InterAksyon.com October 27, 2012 5:44 PM

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - A lawyer of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo fired off a gay slur against Press Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III on Twitter, calling him a "faggot".

"Manuel Quezon III is a faggot of the worst kind," Ferdinand Topacio said on his Twitter account.

Interviewed by InterAksyon.com, Topacio said he was standing by his statement and refused to take the tweet down.

"Eh, hindi ba totoo yun? I used faggot not in the sense of his sexual orientation, I meant it in regards to his personality as a spineless person, Topacio said.

The lawyer said his tweet was in response to his being described as a Hitler-lover in a blog by Quezon.

In a February 22 blog post, "The Seventh Charge: The Story of the Great Escape," Quezon mentioned Topacio while discussing the foiled attempt of Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel, to leave the country, ostensibly to seek treatment for the former president.

Quezon wrote: The Arroyos had, on the surface, complied with the conditions imposed by the Supreme Court: theyd posted a 2 million peso bond, and given their lawyer, Hitler-loving Ferdinand Topacio, a special power of attorney.

Topacio said: "I'm a student of Hitler's life. I do not idolize him."

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Arroyo lawyer tweets gay slur vs Manuel Quezon III but Press Usec 'unconcerned'

QHow can I convert some Word documents into an e-book to download and use on my iPad?

AYou can do it several ways, including buying a word-processing app for the iPad that opens Microsoft Word files. Apples Pages or DataVizs Documents to Go are two of the many options in the App Store. If you want to view the documents and not edit them, uploading them to a free Google Drive or Microsoft SkyDrive account online is another way to go and both sites have free apps for tapping into your online files if you dont want to use the iPads Web browser.

If you prefer to keep things between your iPad and computer, combining the files into one and converting the Word document to a format that works with the iBooks app (or other e-book app) is another method. Most apps can display files in the ePub or PDF formats, and it is not too difficult to convert a Word document to either. Microsoft has instructions for Windows users with Word 2007 and later at bit.ly/rm7QBf. Mac OS X users can open each document, press Command-P to summon the Print box and choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu.

Saving the documents as ePub files lets them function more like e-books, with the ability to adjust text size and font. An e-book utility program to convert Word documents to ePub files can do the job; Calibre is one such program and has instructions at bit.ly/STwVoU.

Once you convert the files, you need to sync them to iBooks or your e-reader app. Apple has instructions for syncing content at support.apple.com/kb/HT1296 and PDFs in particular at support.apple.com/kb/HT4227.

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Converting word files to e-books

Arizonas gigantic defensive end Calais Campbell talked this week about how he hates the 49ers with a passion.

That kind of remark might provide bulletin board material if this was some college showdown. These NFC West rivals have played each other enough to know what feelings are and arent involved, and that talk is usually just talk.

Besides, Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson noted, Campbell doesnt have a filter on his mouth.

Hate is a strong word, San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith said. I mean, theyre a division opponent.

Obviously theres a lot of history there, we play them twice a year. Great rivalry; hate is a word I wouldnt use.

Hate-speak aside, what matters Monday night is what happens when two of the best defenses in the NFL take the field, the 49ers (5-2) looking to widen their lead in the division, the Cardinals (4-3) trying to end a three-game skid and move into a tie with San Francisco atop whats become one of the leagues toughest divisions.

We have some bad blood between the two teams with the success that theyve had in recent years and we had before that, Arizona quarterback John Skelton said.

Wilson has a hard time calling this a rivalry when the 49ers have won five of the last six in the series. That victory, though, came in their last meeting, 21-19 in Glendale on Dec. 11. It was one of only three regular-season losses for San Francisco. In that game, Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb took a knee to the head in the first series and was replaced by Skelton, who finished out the season at the position.

With Kolb now out for the second game in a row with rib and chest injuries, Skelton will be at the controls again Monday.

He threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted twice against San Francisco last year.

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Cardinals take ‘hatred’ of 49ers to Monday night