In this Mostly-Movies edition of “Light Friday,” there are news items on Pirates, Ewok Construction, Techie Theaters with Weird Smells and MORE.

Movie Theaters to Offer Weird Smells…on Purpose
A new service from a major telecommunications company, NTT Communications Corp., will synchronize seven different smells to parts of the Colin Farrell/Christian Bale movie “The New World” in two Japanese theaters later this month.

(The movie, about American colonial leader John Smith and North American Indian princess Pocahontas, opened in U.S. theaters in December and lasted all of about three hours in said theaters. Just so’s you know.)

The smells will waft from machines under the seats in the back rows of two movie theaters, which create different fragrances by controlling the mix of oils stored in the machines.

Reports the Associated Press:

A floral scent accompanies a love scene, while a mix of peppermint and rosemary is emitted during a tear-jerking scene. Joy is a citrus mix of orange and grapefruit, while anger is enhanced by a herb-like concoction with a hint of eucalyptus and tea tree.

For other films, theaters will be able to download different scent sequences from the Internet.

Of Disney & a Pirate
Despite the suggestion of the above headline, this news item has absolutely nothing to do with the Johnny Depp sequel to the Johnny Depp hit, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Savvy?

Mike Padgett was sued this week in U.S. District Court in Evansville by Disney and Warner Brothers for copyright infringement. The suit states that Padgett allegedly downloaded two movies (i.e., piracy), reports the Washington Time Herald.

The program Padgett used was Kazaa, a “controversial” file-sharing program that eventually was shut down.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America’s Web site, damages from copyright infringement have ranged from $30,000 to $150,000, depending on the severity of the case.

Your Own Ewok House in the Trees
Made of two laminations of wood strips over laminated wood frames, Free Spirit Spheres can be hung from the trees as shown below, making a tree house. Or you can hang them from any other solid objects or place them in cradles on the ground.

According to the Free Spirit Spheres Web site, “There are four attachment points on the top of each sphere and another four anchor points on the bottom. Each of the attachment points is strong enough to carry the weight of the entire sphere and contents.”

The outside surface is finished and covered with a clear fiberglass. The skin is waterproof and strong enough to take the impacts that come with life in a dynamic environment such as the forest.

Pricing starts at $45,000.

(pic via Free Spirit Spheres)

According to Gizmodo, creator Tom Chudleigh’s plans are evolving to include a separate bathroom sphere, and he’s adding plumbing, electricity and other amenities.

Pooh Gets Hollywood Star; Reacts with, Oh Bother.
Winnie the Pooh has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yeah, we are not even kidding.

The children’s character, created in the 1920s by British author A.A. Milne, debuted as a cartoon character in the 1966 Disney featurette, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, and went on to star in dozens of films, specials and several cartoon series.

Pooh was joined Tuesday at the star’s unveiling by his Hundred Acre Wood pals Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit, reports AP.

Piglet’s whereabouts during the ceremony were not made known.

Change-Counting Coinstar Changing Its tune
Coinstar, the coin-counting machine company, now lets customers exchange coins for an iTunes gift card or a Virgin Digital eCertificate at 5,000 Coinstar machines in the U.S., reports CNN/MONEY.

Unlike standard coins-to-cash transactions — which have a fee — the “Coin to Card” program enables customers to forgo the standard 8.9 percent processing fee to get credit for digital downloads. Coinstar offers iTunes gift cards for as little as $5 dollars in change, a denomination previously unavailable through Apple.

The coin counter has processed more than $12 billion dollars in change in more than 350 million transactions since 1992.

Remainders:

Tribute to Nazi-Era Engineers Postponed
A German town has postponed plans to honor two German aviation engineers — Willy Messerschmitt and Claude Dornier — known for their aircraft production in the Nazi era.

This after protests by Jewish groups and local leaders.

Munich suburb Garching planned to honor the two late engineers along with 24 scientists with plaques in a new underground station near Munich’s Technical University. But the Jewish community protested against the proposal, saying the firms of Messerschmitt and Dornier served the Nazi regime by developing planes for the Luftwaffe in World War II and exploited thousands of forced laborers in their plants.

Reports Reuters:

Historians say both aircraft engineers had close ties to the Nazi regime. The Luftwaffe used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the “Battle of Britain” while later models were used at the Eastern front against the Soviet Union.

Dornier died in 1969, Messerschmitt in 1978.

‘Best Jobs in America’
MONEY Magazine and Salary.com together have released their “Best Jobs in America” list. The list was decided based on a number of factors.

Of the list of top 50, here are the top 10 “best jobs in America.”

1. Software engineer
2. College professor
3. Financial advisor
4. Human resources manager
5. Physician assistant
6. Market research analyst
7. Computer/IT analyst
8. Real estate appraiser
9. Pharmacist
10. Psychologist

“Engineer” ranked No. 17. (“Editor” was No. 19, “writer” No. 25. Note to self: It is better to actually be an engineer rather than often write/edit for them.)

We’re left to wonder: Where would “human cannonball” rank on the list?

Cheers.