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Puss In Boots

2011-10-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

'Puss in Boots' showcases work by India animators for DreamWorks

When the cat bandit "Puss in Boots" strides onto big screen this weekend, Vanitha Rangaraju and her colleagues in Bangalore, India, will take special pride in the feline's starring role on the global stage.

A spinoff of the hit "Shrek" movies, "Puss in Boots" represents a milestone for DreamWorks Animation and for the fledgling animation industry in the world's second most populous nation.

The film, starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek, marks the first time that the Glendale studio has relied on a crew of Indian animators to help produce a full-length feature film. Until now, DreamWorks Animation had used the studio it operates in Bangalore to produce mainly TV specials and DVD bonus material. But after investing more than $10 million over the last three years, DreamWorks has turned the Bangalore studio into an increasingly important piece of its production pipeline.

The investment underscores how Hollywood is increasingly farming out animation and visual effects work to India, both to capitalize on the country's low labor costs and to tap into a large pool of English-speaking workers with sought-after computer skills. The pace of production also is accelerated because of the 24-hour cycle that can be maintained by pairing the Bangalore workers with their counterparts in Hollywood.

"We're very excited because we've been working toward this for three years,'' said Rangaraju, head of lighting for the India animation unit. "This is the first time this has happened in India, and it's going to encourage a lot of people to move into the industry."

DreamWorks is among several studios tapping into the labor pool in India. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Rhythm & Hues, the Los Angeles animation and visual effects house, each have facilities in India that have done work on such feature films as "Yogi Bear" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks." Walt Disney Studios partnered with Mumbai-based Prana Studios to produce its 2008 computer-animated movie "Tinker Bell." Additionally, several large Indian companies, such as Reliance Group, Tata Elxsi and Prime Focus, have established beachheads in Hollywood to do visual effects and 3-D conversion work on films such as "Spider-Man 3" and "Clash of the Titans."

Traditionally, much of the film and TV work Hollywood has outsourced to India has involved low-skill, labor-intensive tasks such as wire removal — the tedious process of digitally erasing wires used to suspend stunt people and stars in action movies. The animation work has been confined mostly to TV series or made-for-DVD movies. But that's beginning to change, as evidenced by "Puss in Boots."

A team of about 100 animators in Bangalore spent six months animating three major scenes in the feature film — including one complex sequence in which Puss, Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Hayek) enter a giant's castle surrounded by a lush jungle in the clouds. "Except for the story boarding, we did everything from start to finish," said Philippe Gluckman, creative director for the DreamWorks India unit, housed on the eleventh floor of a building in a high-tech park in a suburb of Bangalore. "I would hope nobody would be able to tell which sequences came from India."

DreamWorks launched the India studio in early 2008 as part of a partnership with Technicolor, which acquired the Indian animation company Paprika Animation Studios. Technicolor owns the facility but has tapped DreamWorks to hire and train 220 illustrators who work there. DreamWorks sent staff members to India to train the crews and hold master classes on topics such as how to properly shape mouths.

Before embarking on a full-length feature film, the DreamWorks India unit started with smaller projects, such as holiday TV specials including "Merry Madagascar" and "Scared Shrekless" (a separate unit with the Technicolor studio animated the successful Nickelodeon TV series "The Penguins of Madagascar"). Currently, the group is working on its next film projects, including "Madagascar 3," due out next summer, and is expected to have a role in the upcoming Bollywood-style musical "Monkeys of Mumbai."

"It has been a very steep learning curve for all of them," Gluckman said.

"Puss in Boots" Director Chris Miller said he was impressed with the quality of the work from India. "The work that came out of it was terrific and stands up to anything that was done here," said Miller, who also directed "Shrek the Third."

The ability to farm out even a small portion of the work to India has obvious financial advantages to DreamWorks, given the substantially lower labor costs — about 40% less than in the U.S. — and the increasingly competitive market in the U.S. The typical DreamWorks film costs about $130 million to produce.

But Joe Aguilar, head of the Indian operation for DreamWorks and producer on "Puss in Boots," said the primary rationale for expanding into India was about tapping a scarce resource: people. The studio didn't have enough people to meet its production needs at its two principal centers: in Glendale and at the PDI/DreamWorks facility in Redwood City. That became apparent when the studio began producing as many as three films in a year, he said.

"For us to continue to expand our capacity, we needed to have this facility," Aguilar said. "There is a tremendous amount of talent there."

Aguilar acknowledged some initial concerns within DreamWorks when the studio, which employs 1,561 people in Glendale and 557 in Redwood City, opened its facility in India.

"There has been fear in our studio," he said. "But, if anything, we've just built more space in Glendale to increase our capacity there, and we're moving into a bigger office in Redwood City. We're not reducing jobs in the U.S."

Paul Simon

2011-09-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the singers James Taylor and Paul Simon were among those participating in the Sept. 11 anniversary commemoration at the World Trade Center site.

Ma performed a piece by Bach, while Taylor sang "You Can Close Your Eyes" and Simon performed "The Sound of Silence."

Other musical elements in the commemoration included the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and bagpipers from the Fire Department, Police Department and the Port Authority.

Smc

2011-08-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

Borneo Talent Show to a timely boost for the Sibu

Sibu will be a town of glamour and glitter when the much-anticipated Borneo Talent Show drawn up by Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) is staged in the October and November.

In what is to be a counterpart of world popular shows like “Australia Got Talent” and the like, the talent show hopes to draw Malaysians together in a similar manner.

In a press conference yesterday, organising chairwoman councillor Wong Hie Ping said ever since the show was first announced during the council’s meeting last week, she had already received encouraging response, prompting her to ensure that the show must be something grand and glamourous.

“We are in the initial planning stage now, but, who knows, if the response is so good, we might even consider bringing in professionals in the entertainment industry to boost up the show.”

Will the stars of Sibu and from East Malaysia be born out of the show? Wong keeps her fingers crossed, calling on all undiscovered talent to come out, think outside the box and let creativity flow.

“It can be singing, dancing, musical instrument performance, magic show, mime show, pantomime, acrobatics, etc. We love to see people stepping out.”

Wong said this had been planned as part of SMC’s 30th anniversary celebration, revealing that the people behind the idea had been working hard to think of noble ways to unearth local talents.

She added that the show will recognise various talents, including the glamourous main title of ‘Borneo Talent Award’, and complemented by other titles like ‘The Most Popular Talent’, ‘The Most Creative Talent’, ‘The Most Entertaining Talent’ and ‘The Special Talent’ for which winners will receive a trophy each and a cash prize each.

For the main title – Borneo Talent Award — the winner will walk off with a cash prize of RM5,000.

For the title of Special Talent, five individuals or teams will be selected, and each will receive a cash prize of RM500.

For the rest, the cash prize for each title is RM1,000.

Wong said the competition would be opened to Malaysians of all ages, so long as they are capable of performing.

“Each of the performances can be in a group or from an individual, and each will be given a time of between three to five minutes to perform.

“Judging is based on creativity, artistic skills, presentation, choreography and uniqueness, and there will be three rounds of performances.”

She said there would be three judges for the preliminary round on Oct 29 and 30 at Sibu Public Library Conference Room, five at the semi-final at Sibu Civic Centre on Nov 5 and 11 at the final on Nov 12 at Sibu Civic Centre.

Redskins

2011-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Donte Stallworth sees plenty of the familiar faces on Redskins roster

Donte Stallworth won't be lining up with the Redskins until this weekend, but he's already plenty familiar with his new teammates.

John Beck? The 2 were together in Baltimore last summer.

Santana Moss? Friends.

Fellow receivers Leonard Hankerson and Anthony Armstrong? Worked out with them in Miami.

Jim Haslett? That's who drafted Stallworth into the league in 2002.

In fact, in addition to chatting with Mike and Kyle Shanahan prior to agreeing to a one-year deal Wednesday morning, Stallworth said he called Haslett to get the lay of the land around Redskins Park.

"He knows that I trust him a lot," Stallworth said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "We have a great relationship. We spent 4 or 5 years together. He had nothing but good things to say about the Redskins. I know if there was anything negative, he would've told me."

Stallworth said he looked at the Washington roster and was happy to see some familiar faces, too. "I think I could help out a lot and we could open up some things for each other," he said.

That'd be a departure from recent years. The Redskins mark Stallworth's fifth team in 6 seasons (though he missed 2009 due to a suspension after pleading guilty to felony DUI manslaughter). Since 2008, he has a total of 252 yards on 19 receptions. In Baltimore last year, he was primarily used to run reverses and caught only 2 balls all year.

"I was always telling the guys on my team that I ran more reverses last year than I had the rest of my career combined," Stallworth said. "And I'd never been a big fan of reverses. But yeah, I know what I can do, given the opportunity. At the end of the season, a lot of guys on the other defenses, they were wondering why I wasn't playing, and they had game-plans for me.

"I wasn't given much of an opportunity last year, but just knowing that defensive coordinators still respected me and my speed and the things I could do on the field, it lets me know somebody still feels I could still play. Hopefully, I'll have an opportunity to show it this year."

Stallworth's signing will be official on Friday evening. He said he plans to be at Redskins Park as soon as he's allowed through the doors.

Stallworth is 30 years old but feels like he has football left in him. Considering some of the other players in camp, it's possible the Redskins might represent his best chance in years to contribute. The Redskins missed out on Santonio Holmes, who agreed to terms Wednesday with the Jets, and unless they make a late play for Sidney Rice or talks with Braylon Edwards heat up, Moss and Armstrong could enter camp again as the top two receivers. There are no other proven receivers on the roster.

"Hopefully we can surprise a lot of people this year," Stallworth said. "Not only individually, but obviously as a team. They didn't have the success they wanted last year. People won't be expecting us to come out and have a good year. That's the way I like. I like to be the underdog."

Shannon Tweed

2011-07-26T23:46:00.000-07:00

Gene Simmons proposes to Shannon Tweed, partner split after 28 years

The marriage proposal seen in previews for Tuesday night's finale of the A&E's "Gene Simmons Family Jewels" may be moot, according to rocker Simmons' longtime partner, Shannon Tweed, who says their 28-year relationship is over. "You're seeing this happy family but in my heart, I am dying," Tweed recently told People magazine.

The proposal -- in which Kiss bassist Simmons, 61, told 1982 Playboy Playmate of the Year Tweed, 54, "I come with so much baggage, but you're the only friend I've got, you're the only one I've ever loved" -- was taped months ago. Tweed told People that since then, she has moved from their Los Angeles home and there was "slim chance" for a reconciliation. "I need some sort of commitment," she said.

The show's past season has followed the couple and their children Nick, 22, and Sophie 18, through family therapy that focused on Simmons' infidelity.

Tweed has tweeted frequently about the issue, posting last week that, "he's NOT [a sex] addict! He's a spoiled rockstar who lied about being faithful."

Simmons' manager could not be reached for comment. An A&E spokesman told Newsday: "Gene and Shannon's relationship is a complex one that is constantly evolving with upswings and downswings. We have documented those swings accurately as they occurred."

Blush

2011-07-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Blush expansion can proceed; appeal vowed

An Allegheny County judge's decision will allow expansion of a Downtown strip club to move forward over objections of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Pittsburgh Public Schools as they appeal a zoning decision.

Common Pleas Judge Joseph M. James on Thursday denied a request to stay the June decision of the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment that would allow Blush, 135 Ninth St., to expand into a vacant building at the corner of Ninth Street and Penn Avenue. The Pittsburgh School for the Creative and Performing Arts is near the club.

The agencies filed an appeal two weeks ago of the zoning board's decision and wanted James to block any expansion while the appeal made its way through Common Pleas Court.

The appeal is pending. James' decision means Blush can proceed with the expansion for now, but the judge warned that club owner Albert Bortz "builds at risk." If the appeal of the cultural trust and school district is ultimately successful, Bortz's expansion could be dismantled.

Lawyer Jonathan Kamin, who represents Blush, said he was pleased the judge ruled in the club's favor. Kamin said it likely would advance with expansion plans.

"We're disappointed they appealed, and we're disappointed we haven't been able to work anything out. We're expanding 3,000 square feet. That's it. We're not talking about 100,000 square feet," Kamin said. "Adult entertainment has been there since 1961. It's a little disingenuous to say we're hurting the neighborhood. We've agreed to make it as discreet as possible. We've gone above and beyond what's required to be good neighbors."

The 45-page appeal from the cultural trust and school district states the city's board violated zoning laws and ignored evidence in allowing the strip club to expand.

Lawyer Ira Weiss, who represents the school district, believes the expansion of the strip club will cause problems for CAPA. He said the school puts on hundreds of evening performances there throughout the year.

Regulation of blood flow in the skin

Blood flow in the cutaneous resistance vessels and the subcutaneous venous plexus are both neurally and locally regulated. However, there are some important differences. One is, that cutaneous resistance vessels exhibit a basal tone independently of innervation in reaction to passive stretch induced by blood pressure (Rowell. 1974). This intrinsic basal tone is normally absent in cutaneous capacitance vessels .

Along with this basal tone, all resistance vessels in the skin receive a tonic outflow from sympathetic vasoconstrictor fibers. This tonic outflow is inversely associated with body temperature. Vasodilation therefore occurs passively in resistance vessels the vasoconstrictor tone decreases. Furthermore, an active neurogenic vasodilation must be assumed in the human skin. However, it is not clear if this vasodilation is mediated by specific vasodilator nerve fibers or if neuro-humoral effects are involved that are associated with the sympathetic cholinergic activation of sweat glands. Although some experiments lead to the conclusion that sympathetic outflow is involved in facial vasodilation 40 years of research have not clarified the mechanism behind active vasodilation.

Cutaneous veins also are richly innervated with sympathetic vasoconstrictor fibers. The effect of activation of the outflow of these fibers is reduced by local cooling. In addition, cutaneous veins are temporarily reactive to various other stimuli. Each of the following can cause remarkably intense venoconstriction without obvious value to the organism: emotional stimuli, hyperventilation, deep inspiration, and the Valsalva maneuver.

In resistance vessels, increased pressure mainly increases flow per time unit. In the cutaneous venous plexus with its generally slow flow rate, pressure mainly influences volume. Because of its enormous volume variability and its large potential capacity the venous plexus is believed to determine skin color. Since pronounced blushing is also characterized by a deep reddening of the skin, vasodilation of the venous plexus is probably the physical mechanism underlying it.

Emotional blushing is only visible or apparent in a specific area called the blush region. The area is restricted to the face, ears, neck, and in some rare cases the upper body. 2 main hypotheses to explain this regional restriction have been proposed. One is that vasodilation takes place throughout the entire skin of the body but is only visible in the blush region due to special anatomical structure of that region. The second is that a specific form of vasodilation takes place exclusively in the blush region. It is likely, that a combination of these two factors accounts for blushing.

Delorean

2011-07-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

BACK TO THE FUTURE actors and screen-used Delorean appear at San Diego Comic-Con

The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car that was originally manufactured in Dunmurry, a suburb of the Belfast, Northern Ireland by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company for the American market in 1981–1982. It is most commonly known simply as the DeLorean, as it was the only model ever produced by the company. The DMC-12 features gull-wing doors with a fiberglass "underbody", to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels are affixed. A modified version of the car became iconic for its appearance as a time machine in the Back to the Future film franchise.

The first prototype appeared in March 1976, and production officially began in 1981 (with the first DMC-12 rolling off the production line on January 21) at the DMC factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. During its production, several features of the car were changed, such as the bonnet (hood) style, wheels and interior. Approximately 9,000 DMC-12s were made before production stopped in late 1982. Today, about 6,500 DeLorean Motor cars are believed to still exist.

Texas entrepreneur Stephen Wynne started a separate company in 1995 using the "DeLorean Motor Company" name and shortly thereafter acquired the trademark on the stylized "DMC" logo as well as the remaining parts inventory of the original DeLorean Motor Company. The company, at its suburban Houston, Texas location, completes newly assembled cars from new original stock (NOS) parts, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and reproduction parts on a "made to order" basis using existing Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plates. Technically, there are no "new" DeLoreans, only remanufactured original cars.

The screen used DeLorean from Back to Future III will be at the Profiles in History booth #1605 at Comic-Con the entire week! Actors from the films will be in attendance as well. Claudia Wells will be at the booth on Wednesday beginning at 7pm and Thursday and Friday beginning at 10AM. Jeffrey Wiseman will be there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning at 10 AM and making his first ever appearance at Comic-Con, Billy Zane will be at the booth all day Saturday and Sunday starting at 10 AM.

Where are all the real DeLorean Time Machines that were used in the Back to the Futuremovies? Sadly, some of them no longer exist and others are in need of extensive work. Of the seven cars used over the three movies, only three original cars are thought to still exist. Presented by Profiles in History, the famed auction house that represented the Debbie Reynolds Collection this summer, the screen used DeLorean from Back to the Future III will be at Comic-Con 2011 for public viewing in conjunction with Team Fox benefitting The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The main goal is to give fans the opportunity to see and be photographed in the car. For a $20 donation to the Foundation you can be photographed in the DeLorean with all proceeds going to Team Fox.

Profiles in History is proud to present the original DeLorean Time Machine driven by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future III. It will be presented at booth 1605, along with several original artifacts from all three Back to the Future movies with the hopes of creating a Back To The Future “museum” experience. Along with the Time Machine will be original costumes, the Tales From Space comic, Doc’s burned toy Cadillac, Clock Tower cables, Gray’s Almanac, the Doc Brown committed/commended newspapers, a full set of all five types of hoverboards, and other rarely seen pieces of cinematic history.

The Time Machine has been in private hands for the past 8 years, and was recently featured on the Hollywood Treasure television show hosted by Joe Maddalena. Joe and his staff will be at the booth in person to greet fans, and share these rare pieces of history. In conjunction with Team Fox, this is a rare opportunity to get your pictures taken with the original Time Machine.

The Time Machine will be available for viewing during advertised Comic-Con show hours, and will be in a future Profiles in History auction later this year, with a portion of the proceeds going to Team Fox benefiting The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Previously it could be seen at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation
As the world’s largest private funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson’s patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding almost $251 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson’s research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases Parkinson’s awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world.

About Joe Maddalena and Profiles in History
Founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, Profiles in History is the nation’s leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts. Born into a family of antiques dealers in Rhode Island, Joseph “Joe” Maddalena learned early on how to turn his passion of collecting historical autographs into a career. Needing to support himself, Joe turned to his hobby of buying and selling historical documents as a potential way to earn revenue. On weekends he scoured old Hollywood bookstores for letters and rare books. Upon graduation from Pepperdine, Joe pursued his passion to become a full-time dealer of historical documents, and opened his first office in 1985. A lifetime member of the Manuscript Society, Joe is widely recognized as the nation’s leading authority on entertainment memorabilia and historical documents.

Profiles in History has held some of the most prestigious and successful auctions of Hollywood memorabilia, establishing itself as the world’s largest auctioneer of original Hollywood memorabilia. With an extensive network of dealers, collectors, and institutions, they are proud to play an important role in the preservation of motion picture history. Profiles in History recently broke several world records with the sale of Marilyn Monroe’s Subway Dress from The Seven Year Itch, for $5.52 Million. It was a part of the Debbie Reynolds Collection and part two of the auction will be on December 3. Prior Profiles in History Hollywood auctions highlights include the “Cowardly Lion” costume from The Wizard of Oz ($805,000); a full-scale model T-800 Endoskeleton from Terminator 2: Judgment Day ($488,750); Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds” dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ($356,500); Luke Skywalker’s light saber from Star Wars($240,000); Margaret Hamilton’s “Wicked Witch” hat from The Wizard Of Oz ($230,000); andThe Invisible Man 1933 one-sheet movie poster ($230,000).

Apocalypse Now

2011-07-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Apocalypse Now on TCM

“Apocalypse Now is not about Vietnam; it is Vietnam,” writer-director Francis Ford Coppola said of his infamous war epic in 1979, year of the film’s original release. “And the way we made it was very much like the way the Americans were in Vietnam. We had access to too much money, too much equipment; and little by little we went insane.”

After a trouble-plagued production described as a “nightmare” by its participants, and despite charges of overreaching self-indulgence on the part of its creator, Coppola’s film is considered by many to be one of the greatest — if not the greatest — of all anti-war movies. Inspired by Joseph Conrad’s 1902 novella Heart of Darkness, it depicts war as a descent into madness, as the anguished Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is assigned to find and execute Lt. Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), an AWOL Special Forces officer who has set himself up as an all-powerful avenging angel among head-hunting villagers in a Cambodian jungle. As he heads upriver in his search, Willard encounters various horrors of combat, not the least of which is the supermacho, semi-psychotic Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall).

One of several movies about Vietnam released in the late 1970s, Apocalypse Now has a sense of extravagance and daring unusual even for that decade of dynamic filmmaking. In retrospect, its dark vision and polarizing effect among viewers make it one of the most emblematic works of its era.

The project began with George Lucas’s plans to direct a script written by John Milius in 1969 entitled The Psychedelic Soldier, with Coppola as executive producer. Lucas had planned to shoot his film as a faux documentary on location in South Vietnam while the war was still underway. But a production deal with Warner Bros. fell through, and Coppola moved on to co-write and direct The Godfather (1972). The huge success of this Oscar®-winning film gave him the clout to reintroduce the idea of Apocalypse Now, which would be filmed by Coppola’s own American Zoetrope Studios for United Artists, on location in the Philippines.

By this time Saigon had fallen, making the idea of a “documentary” approach obsolete and redefining the story as a reflection on what many saw as the futility and horror of the Vietnam War, as well as Coppola’s own conflicted emotions. Screenwriter Milius had no desire to direct the film himself, and Lucas, busy now with Star Wars (1977), gave Coppola his blessing to direct Apocalypse Now.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2011-07-11T00:28:00.000-07:00

Monterey Bay Aquarium Exhibits New Ocean Species in the California

California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium reopened its Outer Bay galleries as The Open Sea exhibit early in July that showcases migrations of ocean animals across the Pacific and constant motion of life in the open ocean.

“The Open Sea galleries bring our visitors into the heart of this extraordinary environment through transformed live exhibits, new multimedia experiences and surprising artistic elements,” Senior Exhibit Developer Jaci Tomulonis, said in a statement.

The new exhibit, which is on through July 2011, has schooling fishes, pulsing jellies, skilled predators such as sharks and tunas, and seasoned travelers like sea turtles and seabirds share this wild territory, the aquarium authority added.

The new species at the aquarium include yellowfin and bluefin tuna, brown shark (sandbar shark), ocean sunfish (Mola mola), puffins (Parrots of the sea), green sea turtles, great white shark and more.

Horrible Bosses Trailer

2011-07-09T01:02:00.000-07:00

The Horrible Bosses is a 2011 black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein based on a script by Michael Markowitz. The film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx and follows three friends (Bateman, Day and Sudekis) who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses (Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell) who they believe are standing in the way of their happiness. Horrible Bosses premiered in Los Angeles on June 30, 2011 and received a wide release on July 8, 2011.

The film opened to positive critical reception with several critics praising the ensemble cast with each lead being singled out for their performances across reviews.

In ”Horrible Bosses”, the new film by director Seth Gordon (”The King of King: A Fistful of Quarters”), Kevin Spacey is a total. fucking. asshole. Spacey plays Dave Harken, a man who makes it his personal mission to ruin the lives of the employees under him.

One of those employees is Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman), an executive who is passed over for a promotion when Harken promotes himself instead. After being screwed over for the last time, Nick and friends Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) conspire to murder their respective bosses.

Kurt’s boss, Bobby Pellitt, (Colin Farrell) is a cocaine-addicted, immoral chemical company manager who makes Kurt’s life a living Hell. Recently-engaged Dale is a dental hygienist who spends his work day being sexually harassed by boss Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston).

The trio enlists the help of “Motherfucker Jones” (Jamie Foxx), who brands himself as a murder consultant. Together they hatch a preposterous plan to make the deaths of their bosses look like complete accidents.

While Paul Feig’s ”Bridesmaids” set the comedy bar extremely high for 2011, ”Horrible Bosses” is easily the second-funniest movie you’ll see this year. Whereas ”The Hangover: Part II” felt like more of the same, Gordon’s film takes the best of ”Arrested Development”, ”It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and ”Saturday Night Live” and makes a film that feels like a spiritual successor to ”Office Space” and Hitchcock’s ”Strangers on a Train”.

Several actors including Jeff Bridges, Tom Cruise, and Philip Seymour Hoffman were approached for the role of Dave Harken, but Kevin Spacey proves he’s the man for the job. He’s a mean son of a bitch whose threats are legitimate.

Colin Farrell deserves more screen time as coked-up Bobby Pellitt. If you’ve seen ”In Bruges”, then you know Farrell has some serious comedy chops – and he shines in ”Horrible Bosses” as the insensitive douchebag with a flair for Asian culture (and cocaine).

Perhaps the most surprising is Jennifer Aniston, who sheds her girl next door persona and revels in the aggressive, raunchy Dr. Julia. Some of the biggest laughs in the movie are a result of her foul-mouthed conversations with Charlie Day’s Dale.

Horrible Bosses is a 2011 black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein based on a script by Michael Markowitz. The film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx and follows three friends (Bateman, Day and Sudekis) who decide to murder their respective overbearing, abusive bosses (Spacey, Aniston, and Farrell) who they believe are standing in the way of their happiness. Horrible Bosses premiered in Los Angeles on June 30, 2011 and received a wide release on July 8, 2011.

The film opened to positive critical reception with several critics praising the ensemble cast with each lead being singled out for their performances across reviews.
Bottom Line: One of the more successful bromance comedies as of late, Horrible Bosses benefits from the chemistry between Bateman, Day and Sudeikis as well as brilliant casting and a smart, quirky script.

Final Thoughts: I know what you’re saying, “How many comedies is Jason Bateman going to make this summer?” With ”Paul”, ”Horrible Bosses” and ”The Change-Up”, it’s looking like a great summer for the former ”Arrested Development” star. I can only hope his continued success leads to an ”Arrested Development” movie becoming a reality.

Oh, and be sure to look out for a cameo by Steve Wiebe, one of the stars of Gordon’s 2007 documentary, ”The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”. While you’re at it, watch out for Isaiah Mustafa, otherwise known as The Old Spice Guy.

Facebook Video Call

2011-07-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Facebook Video chat: Initial Impressions
Facebook has today announced Video Calling in the partnership with Skype. We’ve put it through its paces and have developed a few initial impressions and observations for you.

Weve tested out Facebook Video Calling feature and it works very simply and with minimal fuss. The overall quality is not as good as a native Skype session, although Facebook has stated that the Video calling app is essentially a mini-Skype client. The window that launches when you begin a video session is a standalone application and can be moved, resized and made full-screen. You can also use the Video Calling application after closing Facebook, it really is its own app.

The setup of Facebook Video Calling is extremely simple, when you visit the setup site on Facebook, you’ll be greeted with a Get Started button. You can follow our guide here to get started on your first call.

If you’re on a Windows PC, then you’re going to need to download and install an executable file to get the service up and running. On a Mac, the process is even simpler as Facebook just installs directly in the browser, at least on Safari.

During our testing, we found that the video quality varied significantly throughout our conversations. The quality is most likely differing based on the amount of network traffic and we expect that the service is under fairly heavy load as users log on to try it out for the first time.

At times during our testing, the video and audio also got fairly choppy, cutting the sound and making it difficult to make out conversations. It definitely doesn’t hold a candle to Skype’s normally amazing quality. Since the client is basically a mini-Skype client, we would have expected a bit better. Note that you do not have to create a Skype account to use the Video Calling feature.

There was very little noise reduction or cancellation and a fairly large amount of environmental noise is audible during chat.

The window that launches when you fire up Video Calling is resizable and can be made full screen. There is a small preview window inside the app that gets smaller when your mouse is not hovering over the window and grows larger when it is. This gives you the ability to check your appearance briefly and then let the window get smaller to give the person you’re calling more real-estate.

During the call there is no mute, in-call or hold buttons. In fact, there are very few controls at all. Because the application is stand-alone, it’s possible that Facebook will add more features to it in the future, requiring an update. As stated above, you can use video chat even after closing the Facebook window.

Although the service seemed to work fairly well for us overall, we did get an error that the ‘software that powers Facebook Video Calling was unavailable’ at least once. Hopefully this is just launch day jitters.

We’ve only had time to perform a few calls on the service so far but we found it to be very simple to install and very easy to initiate a call. We wish that the call quality was better but we’re glad to see what should be a massively helpful and convenient feature finally arrive in Facebook.

Secretariat

2011-07-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in 2 of the 3 events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby (1:592⁄5), and the Belmont Stakes (2:24)—records that still stand today.

Secretariat was sired by Bold Ruler out of Somethingroyal, by Princequillo. He was foaled at Meadow Farm in Caroline County, Virginia. Like his famous predecessor Man o' War, Secretariat was a large chestnut colt and was given same nickname, "Big Red." Secretariat's Grand Sire Nasrullah is also the Great-Great Grand Sire of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.

Owned by Penny Chenery, he was trained by Lucien Laurin and mainly ridden by fellow Canadian jockey Ron Turcotte, along with apprentice jockey Paul Feliciano first 2 races, and veteran Eddie Maple (last race). He raced in Penny Chenery's Meadow Stable's blue and white checkered colors and his groom was Eddie Sweat. Secretariat stood approximately 16.2 hands 66 inches, 168 cm tall, and weighed 533 kg, with a 75 inch girth, in his racing prime.

The story of Secretariat began with the toss of a coin in 1968 between Christopher Chenery of Meadow Stables and Ogden Phipps of Wheatley Stable. The idea of a coin toss came from Phipps, the owner of Bold Ruler, and Bull Hancock of Claiborne Farms as a way to get the very best mares for Bold Ruler, and when the toss went their way, to add well-bred fillies to their own broodmare band. Bold Ruler was considered one of the important stallions of his time. He had a fine balance between speed and stamina, having had a frontrunning style but the stamina to go 11⁄4 miles; he finished fourth in the 1957 Kentucky Derby. After his racing career, Bold Ruler was retired to Claiborne Farms but still was controlled by the Phipps family.

This meant he would be bred to mainly Phipps' mares and not many of his offspring would find their way to the auction ring. Phipps and Hancock agreed to forgo a stud fee for Bold Ruler in exchange for getting to keep one of 2 foals produced by the mare he bred in successive seasons or 2 mares he bred in the same season. Who obtained which foal or even received first pick would be decided by a flip of a coin.

In 1968, Chenery sent 2 mares named Hasty Matelda and Somethingroyal to Bold Ruler, and in 1969, a colt and filly were the result. In 1969, Hasty Matelda was replaced by Cicada, but she did not conceive. Only one foal resulted between Bold Ruler and Somethingroyal. As stated in the original agreement, the winner of the coin toss could pick the foal he wanted but could only take one, while the loser would get the other two. Both parties assumed Somethingroyal would deliver a healthy foal in the spring of 1970. The coin toss between Penny Chenery and Ogden Phipps was held in the fall of 1969 in the office of NY Racing Association Chairman Alfred Vanderbilt II, with Hancock as witness. Phipps won the toss and took the weanling filly out of Somethingroyal, leaving Chenery with the colt out of Hasty Matelda and the unborn foal of Somethingroyal.

On March 30, at 12:10 a.m., Somethingroyal foaled a bright red chestnut colt with three white socks and a star with a narrow blaze. By the time the colt was a yearling, he was still unnamed. Meadow Stables' secretary, Elizabeth Ham, had submitted ten names to the Jockey Club, all of which were denied for various reasons. Approval finally came with the 11th submission, a name Ham herself picked from a previous career association, Secretariat.

As part of his first crop at stud, Secretariat sired Canadian Bound, who was the first Thoroughbred yearling racehorse ever sold for more than US$1 million. At the 1976 Keeneland July sale, the auction bidding for Canadian Bound not only broke the $1 million barrier, but the colt ended up being sold for $1.5 million. Canadian Bound was a complete failure in racing and for several years, the value of Secretariat's offspring declined considerably. However, he eventually sired a number of major stakes winners, including 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret, 1988 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Risen Star, 1991 Melbourne Cup winner Kingston Rule, who broke the course record in Australia's richest race, and the 1994, 1995 winner of the G1 Pacific Classic, Tinners Way, born in 1990 to Secretariat's last crop.

He also sired General Assembly, who won the 1979 Travers Stakes at Saratoga while setting a still-standing race record of 2:00 flat. Andrew Beyer has said that General Assembly's speed figure in that race was one of the fastest in history. Like Secretariat in the Belmont, General Assembly never duplicated that performance in another race.

Ultimately, Secretariat sired as many as 600 foals. There has been some criticism of Secretariat as a stallion, due in part to his perceived inability to produce male offspring of his same caliber. However, he turned out to be a noted broodmare sire, being the maternal grandsire (aka "damsire") of 1992 Horse of the Year and successful sire A.P. Indy, Secretariat's grandson through his daughter Weekend Surprise, and sired by another Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. AP Indy is the sire of 2007 Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, the first filly to win at Belmont since 1905.

Secretariat is also the damsire of the great stallions Storm Cat, through his daughter Terlingua, herself an excellent racemare, and of Gone West, through his daughter Secrettame. Secretariat is also the great-grandsire of Giant's Causeway through his grandson Storm Cat and daughter Terlingua. Secretariat's genetic legacy may be linked in part to the likelihood that he carried the "x-factor", a trait linked to a large heart, carried only on the x-chromosome, and thus, a trait that Secretariat could only pass on via his daughters.

Independence Day

2011-07-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

Appreciate What We Have Here On the Independence Day

Today is Independence Day, another great day that celebrates our the history and this great country.

Many of us have written about this but I thought it might be good to just review the reason we celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July. This is another one of those very significant holidays that brings great celebration. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that provided for the legal separation of our 13 colonies from Great Britain - this occurred during the American Revolution.

After the Congress voted for independence the next step was to write the Declaration of Independence. This document was an explanation of the reason for the Colonies separation from Great Britain. As I understand it this was prepared by a committee of 5 with Thomas Jefferson as the principal author. Then, of course, it was presented to Congress, where there were some alterations after some debate and it was approved on July 4, 1776.

Now John Adams is a relative of mine through my mother's side of our family and I am pretty proud of that. Last year I provided a copy of a note written by John Adams to his wife and I wanted to rewrite it for you this year as it truly helps you feel the significance and feeling surrounding Independence Day. Mr. Adams wrote the following note to his wife: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward and forever more.''

I think this says it all. I think we, here in Jamestown and Chautauqua County fulfills all of these forecasts and for that we can be proud.

An interesting fact I did not know is that a salute of one gun for each state in the United States, called a "salute to the union," is fired on Independence Day at noon by any capable military base. Fireworks shows are very prominent on Independence Day. Many fireworks displays are accompanied by the patriotic songs revolving around our independence. "The Star Spangled Banner," "God Bless America," "American the Beautiful," "My Country, Tis of Thee," "This Land is Your Land," "Stars and Stripes Forever," and regionally "Yankee Doodle" in the northeastern states and "Dixie" in the southern states. The importance of these songs is that the lyrics bring to mind and recall images of the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and the significance of each of these wars.

As we are all having our picnics, parties, fireworks let's take a moment to close our eyes and relive what this day is all about. Take a moment to appreciate what we really have here in the US of America! We, here at DJDC, wish you all the very best on this Independence Day 2011.

North Dakota

2011-07-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

North Dakota’s delegation at odds on the federal deficit

North Dakota’s congressional delegation agrees that the country needs a comprehensive plan to slash deficits and get a grip on national debt to stave off the looming fiscal crisis.

But Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad and Republicans Sen. John Hoeven and Rep. Rick Berg are just as divided as the rest of Congress when it comes to what should be included in that plan. And time’s running out for Washington leaders to strike a deal before the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a potentially catastrophic federal default.

Berg said dealing with the country’s growing debt and deficits – which will likely require entitlement reforms, spending cuts and new revenue through changes to the tax system – is kind of like “turning a big battleship around.”

“Congress never does anything suddenly,” he said. “We need to move now, and we need to move aggressively.”

Berg said it’s been “reassuring” to watch the debate over America’s economic course change “180 degrees” since January, and there now is nearly unanimous agreement on both sides of the aisle that Congress needs to do something to address the fiscal problems.

But all along, the effort to deal with the looming crisis has remained split between two different sides with two very different approaches.

“What Republicans are saying is we have got to reduce spending and we’ve got to get economic growth,” Hoeven said. “Our feeling is that by raising taxes, you hurt economic growth. Democrats want to raise taxes – that is a difference, and that’s something we have to come to grips with.”

Bipartisan talks

Hoeven said it’s vital for Washington leaders to take a bipartisan approach as they negotiate entitlement reforms, changes to the tax code and spending cuts to reach a plan both parties can accept.

“We’ve got to find a way to bring this stuff forward together so one side or the other doesn’t just beat up on whatever concepts are put out there,” he said. “It’s got to be brought forward in a bipartisan way in order for the president and the House and Senate to agree.”

But high-profile bipartisan efforts to develop a comprehensive deficit reduction strategy have fizzled out. Negotiations helmed by Vice President Joe Biden came to a halt last month when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., pulled out of the talks, declaring an “impasse” over the tax increase issue.

The so-called Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of senators including Conrad who met for months to strike up a deal, came “extremely close” to a final package of recommendations. But the group suffered a fatal blow in May when Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., declared he was on “sabbatical” from the effort after the senators hit a roadblock over Medicare cuts.

Conrad said the Gang of Six isn’t prepared to report its recommendations on how to achieve more than $4.5 trillion in deficit reductions over the next 10 years. And other group members now want to wait and see what happens with top-level leadership negotiations between Democrats, Republicans and President Barack Obama that started last week.

“This is ultimately where it always had to get,” he said. “Decisions of this magnitude have to be made by the top leadership and then be brought back to the two chambers to see if it can receive the necessary support.”

But Conrad said he’s pursued “multiple efforts” all year to address the nation’s fiscal problems, and he doesn’t want to take any chances the new negotiations will result in something that can be passed before the debt limit comes up for a vote.

Conrad, the Senate Budget Committee chairman, said committee Democrats agreed last Wednesday on a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases to reach an “essential”

$4 trillion deficit reduction over the next decade.

Democratic leaders will be briefed on the new plan Tuesday, and Obama is expected to meet with Senate Democrats on Wednesday to discuss deficit reduction proposals.

Conrad said he still believes a bipartisan agreement will be the only way to get the necessary votes to enact a tough new approach to reducing the deficit and curbing the federal debt.

But laying out the plan could be another tool in negotiating the final fiscal roadmap that Congress will have to approve, he said.

“I don’t see any reason to wait now,” he said. “It may be useful to the top-level negotiation that’s going on to have another comprehensive plan that’s out there for their consideration.”

Canada Day

2011-06-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

The Approach Canada Day fireworks shows with extreme caution, experts warn

For Fort Saskatchewan Fire Chief James Clark, Canada Day marks anniversary of a terrible fireworks explosion that blew off 5 fingers on his left hand along with the thumb and index finger on his right.

On July 1, 1997 Clark, who was a volunteer firefighter at the time, was helping set off fireworks at Turner Park when 1 exploded prematurely.

It would take him a year and endless hours of physical therapy to get back to work full time. Opening a can of pop or grabbing a coffee on his own became huge accomplishments. The incident turned his life around, he said.

Clark was using professional grade fireworks that day but, he said family fireworks are just as dangerous. No matter how much preparatory work you do, things can still go wrong. Clark himself had done the Canada Day fireworks show several time before the accident.

Adam Loria, public education officer with Emergency Medical Services in Calgary, said fireworks injuries don’t happen often, but when they do, they can be quite severe.

“I can almost guarantee that we have seen from one end of the spectrum to another,” he said.

Emergency services and the fire department recommend people who have their own fireworks show stay safe by wearing safety glasses, gloves, flame-retardant clothing, ear covers and by having a water source nearby. Clark was clad head to toe in his firefighter’s gear when he was injured.

It’s important to read the instructions on the device. Also, they said to make sure that the nearby grass too dry and it isn’t too windy.

John Adria, owner of Uncle John’s Fireworks, expects fewer fireworks will be set off by the public on Canada Day because of stricter screening process for permit applicants.

A firework permit is needed to legally buy the explosive devices. This year, the process of acquiring a permit changed. Edmontonians seeking permits now have to go through a fire prevention officer. As a result, the Edmonton Fire Department has reduced the number of fire halls issuing fireworks permits to 5 from 25. Also, permits could be picked up at any time of day, but now are available only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“We wanted to get a better control on how they’re being issued,” assistant fire marshal Rusty Foerger.

In the past “permits would be given to people and then they were shooting off at public spaces like playgrounds and schools. That is not what we’re giving permits for,” he said.

Since the switch, Adria said he has seen some customers who haven’t been able to find the time to get a permit.

Drew Tannahill, who has been setting off fireworks for years, said the permit form was the same and he didn’t receive any extra guidance. The only difference was the location and the hours he could pick up the permit.

“For myself, it was no more difficult,” he said.

Foerger said there is a more stringent screening process in place and he hopes it keeps Edmontonians safer.

“We have been watching each year more and more fireworks being sold and shot off in all sorts of dangerous and unwarranted ways and we want to get on top of that,” he said.

Clark said he thinks people should leave fireworks up to the professionals like those working at Kinsmen Park on Canada Day.

“If you’re going to do it for a little family function or something like that, is the benefit of what you are going to look at for that couple seconds up in the sky worth the risk that could last a lifetime? Or do you go out to a professionally done show where you become a spectator and get to sit back and enjoy it?”

Inspire

2011-06-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tevez lines up with the Messi in Argentina's Copa opener

Carlos Tevez will line up alongside Lionel Messi in Argentina's attack when hosts open the Copa America against Bolivia in La Plata on Friday (0045 GMT Saturday), coach Sergio Batista said.

He said the decision was part of the tactics he had devised for Messi to have a brilliant tournament and inspire Argentina to clinch the South American title they last won in 1993.

Less than a month ago, Tevez appeared out of the running for a place in Argentina's squad but he and Batista cleared air over issues that had kept the striker out of the reckoning and he has impressed the coach in training.

"Carlos will play because he can link much more with Lionel and the idea is not to have players of such speed as we would have if (Angel) Di Maria and (Ezequiel) Lavezzi played (either side of Messi) ... With Carlos we have more play," he told reporters on Thursday.

Batista, who has dropped Di Maria to the bench to make way for Tevez, denied he had bowed to popular demand and media pressure to include the Manchester City captain.

"I don't go by popular clamour. If I say Tevez must play it's because that's best for the national team. He has earned his place on his own," Batista said.

Batista said he had alternative tactics if Messi were suffocated by Bolivian marking.

"We discussed Messi getting man-to-man marking and we have a plan B, someone who will take control of the team and the ball," he said.

"Lionel must enjoy what he's doing, he's a great player, the world's best, and we'll take maximum advantage of that. We built a team for him and let's hope it's his Copa America."

Argentina team (4-3-3): Sergio Romero; Javier Zanetti, Nicolas Burdisso, Gabriel Milito, Marcos Rojo; Javier Mascherano, Ever Banega, Esteban Cambiasso; Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez.

Absinthe

2011-06-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

The Drinking Absinthe Frappe

Back in the fall, I expressed some interest in the learning to make cocktails, and my sister even bought me a cocktail shaker and measure for Christmas. I made a few Bloody Marys using the last of a bottle of vodka that my friend Yuri gave me years ago, but soon forgot about my newfound hobby. That is, until last week, when the New York Times ran a summer cocktail story. I flipped to the inside pages, which featured colorful pictures of mouth-watering summer cocktails, including something called the Absinthe Frappe.

The Absinthe Frappe appealed to me because I happen to have a bottle of absinthe, which I bought in 2008, shortly after the long-banned liquor became available in the U.S. The drink’s notoriety stemmed from the mistaken belief that it caused hallucinations; these hallucinations were believed to be caused by thujone, a chemical found in the herb wormwood. But a New Orleans-based chemist named Ted Breaux proved that absinthe’s thujone content was tiny — less than 10 parts per million. And since the US had never banned absinthe outright — the law simply prohibited food and beverages containing more than 10 parts per million of thujone — Breaux was able to bring a brand of absinthe called Lucid to market.

Traditionally, drinking absinthe is a multi-step process that utilizes special equipment: a slotted absinthe spoon. Typically, drinkers pour 1.25 to 1.5 ounces of the liquor into a glass, then place a sugar cube on top of the slotted spoon, which rests on the rim of the glass. They then slowly drip 4 to 5 ounces of cold water onto the sugar cube, which dissolves into the absinthe. The cold water releases the oils in the mixture and brings out the flavors, causing a milky cloud, known as the louche, to form.

This multi-step process is a lot of fun, but I never came to truly love absinthe, which might explain why the bottle of Lucid has gathered dust on my kitchen counter. However, the Absinthe Frappe recipe in the Times revived my interest in the liquor, partly because it sounded unusual — an absinthe frappe? — and partly because it only required 3 ingredients: heavy cream, lime juice and simple syrup. I wasn’t sure exactly what simple syrup was, but a friend assured me that it was easy to make — “They call it simple syrup for a reason,” she said — and that all I needed to was combine equal amounts sugar and water. In any case, here’s the recipe:

1 1/2 ounces absinthe

1 ounce heavy cream

3/4 ounce lime juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add cracked ice and shake hard for 20 seconds. Pour it all into a highball glass and serve with a straw.

Anyway, I did all this and, sure enough, the result was a frothy, frappe-like drink. I loved the texture, but I wasn’t sure about the taste: absinthe is quite strong, and I wondered if maybe I should have put in more simple sugar, or more cream, to soften the liquor’s harsh edges. I made the Absinthe Frappe a couple nights ago, adjusting the ingredients, but I still didn’t like the drink all that much. Which was unfortunate, because I loved the idea of it. Of course, maybe I just loved the idea of an alcoholic frappe, which I could make at home and drink on a hot summer night. In any case, my interest in cocktail making has been revived, and I plan to try out more summer cocktail recipes.

Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (45–74% ABV / 90-148 proof) beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the "green fairy" in French).

Although it is sometimes mistakenly called a liqueur, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar and is therefore classified as a spirit. Absinthe has a very high level of alcohol by volume but is normally diluted with water when consumed.

Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It achieved great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Owing in part to its association with bohemian culture, consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley and Alfred Jarry were all known drinkers of absinthe.

Absinthe has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug. The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the US and in most European countries including France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although absinthe was vilified, it has not been shown that it is any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Its psychoactive properties, apart from those of alcohol, have been much exaggerated.

A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale. As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

Google Circles

2011-06-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Google has just revealed an update to it’s new software, Google+ Unveils Google Circles

The most interesting feature of the Google+ has got to be Google Circles. It features a personalized newsfeed that allows users to keep people to certain groups ranging from family to best friends to acquaintances to co-workers. The program also features group chat called “Huddle”, group video, photo uploading and more.

The idea is that people use the same thing, circles, in their real-life and Google decided to bring that online as the latest in social media.

“In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it,” stated Google’s Blog. “Not all relationships are created equal. So in life we share one thing with college buddies, another with parents, and almost nothing with our boss.”

“Sparks” is an online sharing engine that delivers a feed of content on whatever topic a user chooses. A user can add their interests and then have something to watch read and share.

“Hangouts” is a feature that Google intends to be fun and “serendipitous” with a live multi-person video. “Mobile” is a feature for phones to share information. “Location” allows Google users to add location to every post. “Instant Upload” allows snapping pictures on a phone to be included in a private album in the cloud. Lastly, “Huddle” is a feature that allows group messaging.

Reportedly, according to KRQE, Google+ is undergoing what the company calls a “field trial,” and accessible by invitation only and not yet available to the public.

Katharine Mcphee

2011-06-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Katharine McPhee gets a record deal tied to NBC’s ‘Smash’

Katharine McPhee, the star of the upcoming NBC show “Smash,” is getting her own record deal with Columbia Records, network revealed Thursday.

NBC and Columbia Records have agreed to a recording rights deal for the soundtrack of NBC’s new musical series “Smash” and series star Katharine McPhee also signed a solo recording deal with Columbia Records.

The announcements were made by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment, and Rob Stringer, Chairman, Columbia/Epic Label Group.

The arrangement guarantees worldwide, digital and physical rights to the first season of “Smash” with successive options to subsequent seasons.

“A musical series should naturally be accompanied by a soundtrack deal, and NBC is very excited to be working with the best. Our Columbia Records partners will guide the soundtrack of ‘Smash’ into a big component of show’s success,” said Greenblatt. “The music will be a driving force of what promises to make a tremendous impact for NBC in January and we couldn’t have asked for better expertise and strategy than this company will provide.”

“We are thrilled and proud to be chosen by NBC to work on their amazing new show,” said Rob Stringer, Chairman, Columbia/Epic Label Group. “Music is at the heart of ‘Smash,’ and with our wonderfully creative broadcast partners, we will develop innovative strategies to present this music to a huge audience.”

“Smash” is a musical drama that celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater as it follows a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire — to be a “Smash.” The soundtrack will be both original compositions by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the Tony and Grammy Award-winning songwriters of Broadway blockbusters such as “Hairspray” and “Catch Me If You Can,” as well as covers of a variety of existing hits that will combine to tell the narrative of this musical series.

McPhee’s career launched with her renowned run on “American Idol” in 2006 in which she was the runner-up on the 5th season. Her self-titled debut album “Katharine McPhee” was released in January 2007 and premiered at the 2 spot on the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, “Over It,” was a Pop Top 30 hit and was certified gold in 2008.

“Unbroken,” McPhee’s second album, was released in January 2010 and debuted at 27 on the Billboard 200. The album included the single “Had It All,” which crested at 22 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. McPhee has already had success with Christmas releases from her 2007 single “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” in 2009.

In addition, she has appeared frequently on tv around the holidays, including a guest appearance on the annual “Christmas in Washington” tv special as she performed for the First Family, and the “My Christmas” concert starring Andrea Bocelli. Last year, the sensational singer released some of her favorite Christmas songs for her third album, “Christmas Is the Time…To Say I Love You.” The single “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was a huge hit, and was downloaded over 500,000 times exclusively on iTunes. McPhee also has co-starred in the feature film “The House Bunny” and has guest-starred in NBC’s “Community” and “CSI: New York.” She co-stars in the upcoming films “Shark Night 3D” and “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” with Jane Fonda.

“Smash” centers on a desire to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe — written by the successful songwriting duo of Tom Tony Award nominee Christian Borle, “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and Julia (Emmy Award winner Messing).

Julia recently began the process of adopting a child with her husband of many years, but her focus is torn when she has the opportunity to write another Broadway hit. A rivalry soon forms for the lead role between a youthful, inexperienced Midwestern beauty — who is trying to find fame in the big city against all odds — and stage veteran (Megan Hilty, “9 to 5: The Musical”), who’s determined to leave the chorus line and finally get her big break. A tenacious producer Eileen (Huston) discovers the “Marilyn” project and jumps on board with a brilliant director (Jack Davenport, “Pirates of the Caribbean” films) — whose talent is matched by his cunning and egocentric amorality. The series stemmed from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg (”ER,” “Schindler’s List”).

The pilot was written by acclaimed playwright/screenwriter Theresa Rebeck (“Mauritius,” “NYPD Blue”). David Marshall Grant (”Brothers & Sisters”), Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Oscar-winning “Chicago,” “Hairspray”) and Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey (”United States of Tara,” “The Borgias”) will also serve as executive producers. Shaiman and Wittman also serve as executive producers. “Smash” is a production of Universal Media Studios in association with DreamWorks in association with Madwoman in the Attic. The pilot was directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer.

Karen Gillan

2011-06-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

Karen Sheila Gillan born 28 November 1987 is a Scottish actress and former model who is best known for her current portrayal of Amy Pond in the British science fiction series Doctor Who.

Gillan was born and brought up in Inverness, Scotland. Her father, Raymond John, a Day Centre Manager, and mother, Marie, live in Kinmylies. At age 16, she decided to pursue her interest in acting, studying the craft at Edinburgh's Telford College. Later, she secured a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts drama school in London on the BA Acting degree course. Her cousin Caitlin Blackwood has portrayed the young Amy Pond in 3 episodes of Doctor Who.

Gillan has taken part in numerous modelling events including 2007's London Fashion Week for designer Allegra Hicks' autumn/winter catwalk show. She has also modelled for the launch party of Nicola Roberts' Dainty Doll Make-Up Range. This was shown in Nicola's episode of the documentary, The Passions of Girls Aloud which premiered on the 4 April 2008.

Gillan's early TV acting career included guest appearances on several TV drama series, with her first ongoing role being a 2-year stint as a member of the ensemble cast of the sketch comedy series The Kevin Bishop Show in which she played multiple characters, as well as celebrities such as Katy Perry and Angelina Jolie. Gillan also appeared on TV in a leading role in a horror project entitled The Well, which was broadcast as episodic short films on BBC 2, Part of the BBC's multimedia "switch" programming, the short episodes interconnect with online games that further explore the environments presented in the series.

She was cast for the role of the Eleventh Doctor's first companion, Amy Pond, on the British sci-fi series Doctor Who in early 2009. She made her first on-screen appearance as Amy Pond in "The 11th Hour", which first aired on 3 April 2010. She was confirmed in Issue 420 of the Doctor Who Magazine to be appearing in the 2011 series. Gillan had appeared in Doctor Who once before in the episode "The Fires of Pompeii" in the role of a Soothsayer.

Lido

2011-06-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

A lido in the UK and some other countries, refers to a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun or participate in water sports.

On a cruise ship, outdoor pools and the surrounding facilities are referred to as the lido deck.

The term lido is the Italian word for beach and forms part of the place name of several Italian seaside towns known for their beach, e.g. Lido di Venezia, the barrier beach enclosing the Lagoon of Venice. Possibly the term found its way into English from returning English visitors to Lido di Venezia, where sea-bathing took place from the late 19th century. The word was first used for a public outdoor swimming pool in the United Kingdom in July 1935, in London.

Asteroid

2011-06-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Asteroid Passes Earth Closer Than The Moon

An asteroid zoomed past Earth this morning, coming within 7,500 miles above Earth's surface over the southern Atlantic Ocean.

2011 MD, as the asteroid is named, did not come as close to Earth as a smaller asteroid, 2011 CQ1, which avoided an impact with the planet by just 3,405 miles in February.

Even so, 2011 MD flew closer to Earth than the moon.

The latest asteroid is 33 feet long and was discovered this week by telescopes in New Mexico, the AP reports.

According to the IBTimes, 2011 MD is the 5th-closest asteroid to zip past Earth.

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones. These terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not show the disk of a planet and was not observed to have the characteristics of an active comet, but as small objects in the outer Solar System were discovered, their volatile-based surfaces were found to more closely resemble comets, and so were often distinguished from traditional asteroids.

Thus the term asteroid has come increasingly to refer specifically to the small rocky–icy and metallic bodies of the inner Solar System out to the orbit of Jupiter. These are grouped with those outer bodies—centaurs, Neptune trojans, and trans-Neptunian objects—as minor planets, which is the term preferred in astronomical circles. This article will restrict the word 'asteroid' to the minor planets of the inner Solar System.

There are millions of asteroids, and like most other small Solar System bodies, asteroids are thought to be the often shattered remnants of planetesimals, bodies within the young Sun’s solar nebula that never grew large enough to become planets. A large majority of known asteroids orbit in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter or co-orbital with Jupiter. However, other orbital families exist with significant populations, including the near-Earth asteroids. Individual asteroids are classified by their characteristic spectra, with the majority falling into 3 main groups: C-type, S-type, and M-type. These were named after and are generally identified with carbon-rich, stony, and metallic compositions, respectively.

California Gay Marriage

2011-06-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

New York legalizes gay marriage 42 years after Stonewall

Champagne corks popped, rainbow flags flapped and crowds embraced and danced in the streets of Manhattan's Greenwich Village as NY became the 6th and largest state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill shortly before midnight Friday, almost 42 years to the day that the modern-day gay rights movement was born amid violent encounters between police and gay activists at the Stonewall Inn.

Hundreds who gathered inside and outside the landmark bar erupted in celebration after the Republican-led state Senate cast the decisive vote. Scott Redstone and his partner of 29 years, Steven Knittweis, hugged. And Redstone popped the question. "I said, 'Will you marry me?' And he said, 'Of course!'"

Queens teacher Eugene Lovendusky, 26, who is gay, said he hopes to marry someday.

"I am spellbound. I'm so exhausted and so proud that the New York state Senate finally stood on the right side of history," he said.

He then repeated a chant he had screamed during a protest at a fundraiser for President Barack Obama the previous night: "I am somebody. I deserve full equality." Alex Kelston, 26, who works in finance in Manhattan, said he hopped in a cab and rushed to the bar when he heard the news. "This is the place where the movement started, and it's a way to close the loop and celebrate the full equality of gay people in New York," he said.

The so-called Stonewall riots of June 28, 1969, helped spark the equal rights movement for homosexuals. Gay activists had pinned their hopes on a positive vote this week in NY to help regain momentum in other states in light of recent failed attempts.

Amid Friday's celebration, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and bishops around the state released a statement condemning the passage of the law by the Legislature, saying they were deeply disappointed and troubled. "Our society must regain what it appears to have lost — a true understanding of the meaning and the place of marriage, as revealed by God, grounded in nature, and respected by America's foundational principles," the statement from the Roman Catholic leader read.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who lobbied for the bill, was mid-sentence at a press conference on the city budget when City Council Speaker Christine Quinn interrupted him to announce it had passed.

The room exploded in cheers from other lawmakers and staff, as Quinn — the first gay person to hold the job — embraced her colleagues and smiled, tears welling in her eyes. "It's hard to describe the feeling of having the law of your state changed to say that you ... are a full member of the state and that your family is as good as any other family," she said.

In a way, the decision will change everything for her and her partner, Quinn said.

"Tomorrow, my family will gather for my niece's college graduation party, and that'll be a totally different day because we'll get to talk about when our wedding will be and what it'll look like, and what dress Jordan, our grand-niece, will wear as the flower girl. And that's a moment I really thought would never come," she said. "I really can't really describe what this feels like, but it is one of the best feelings I have ever had in my life," she said.

Bloomberg called the vote "a historic triumph for equality and freedom."

He said he would support the Republicans who voted for the measure Friday, and that he believed their actions were consistent with GOP ideals of liberty and freedom.

"The Republicans who stood up today for those principles I think will long be remembered for their courage, foresight and wisdom," said the mayor, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent. "Ten, 20, 30 years from now, I believe they will look back on this vote as one of the finest and most proud moments in their life."

Bloomberg, a billionaire who had lobbied in Albany for the measure along with Quinn, has the personal resources to help the Republicans withstand any backlash from their own party. Celebrities also responded, with Lady Gaga posting on Twitter that she "can't stop crying." The pop star has been urging her 11 million followers to call New York senators in support of the bill.

"The revolution is ours to fight for love, justice+equality. Rejoice NY, and propose. We did it!!!" she also posted. Talk show host Wendy Williams posted to her Twitter followers as well, saying: "Yay for Gay Marriage! NY, it's about time... jersey we're next! How you doin?"

Meanwhile, the city's official tourism marking agency said the bill was "good news" for the $31 billion industry that it represents. "Now, more gay couples — and their families and friends — will have an opportunity to celebrate their special day here," said George Fertitta, the CEO of NYC & Co.

In San Francisco, where a march kicked off the city's pride weekend, participants said they were just hearing about what had happened across the country. "What happened tonight in New York is great, is wonderful, so long as we pick up and keep moving beyond this because a lot more needs to get done," said 26-year-old Kate Lubeck of San Jose.

Pete Weiss of Oakland said he has a lot of good friends in NY who he thinks will take advantage of the new law. "You'd think California would have been first, but maybe this will spread and we'll be next," the 42-year-old said.

Legalization of gay marriage comes as NY City celebrates gay pride, culminating in a parade on Sunday. Michael Musto, a columnist for the Village Voice, an alternative weekly, said the timing of the vote "could not be more fortuitous."

"It's definitely going to be the most exuberant gay pride parade in history," he said.

North Dakota Flood

2011-06-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

Looming flood prompts North Dakota evacuations

About 12,500 people are told to leave their homes, most of them in the city of Minot, as the Souris River swells to record levels. It is expected to rise eight feet more before cresting.

As the Souris River reached record heights, the North Dakota city of Minot abruptly evacuated more than one-quarter of its population Wednesday, telling residents that the floodwaters would inevitably overwhelm the network of levees and dikes protecting the core of the city.

About 11,000 people were evacuated from Minot and 1,000 from a neighboring town as Minot officials turned despondent about the chances of the city escaping a devastating flood.

The last time Minot, population 40,000, was hit by a major flood was in 1969. On Wednesday, the Souris, also known as the Mouse River, was slightly higher than it was then, and it is expected to rise another 8 feet before it crests next week.

"A lot of people are devastated," said city Fire Capt. Dean Lenertz. "They know they're going to have some severe damage to their houses."

The midsection of the country has been soggy for months as snowpack melt and heavy spring rains have swollen rivers from the Mississippi to the Missouri. The Souris' headwaters are to the north, in Canada, and the river loops down into North Dakota before doubling back across the border.

This is the 3rd straight year North Dakota has faced floods. Its ground and aquifers were already saturated before the torrential downpours of recent months. This year the swollen Missouri River threatens the capital of Bismarck, as well as South Dakota's capital, Pierre, and Omaha farther downstream.

Minot evacuated its downtown earlier this month as the Souris rose, but then rescinded the evacuations, confident that the danger had passed.

Then record rain hit the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the last two weeks. Suddenly the Souris was rising again. The water gauge on the river at the Canadian border usually records 100 cubic feet flowing past every second. On Wednesday it recorded 33,000

In Minot, which lies in a deep river valley, the Souris was already lapping at the top of the levees. City and county workers and National Guard troops were hurriedly trying to erect dikes around key buildings, such as schools, libraries and City Hall.

"It's a ton of water," said Cecily Fong, a spokeswoman for the state's department of emergency services. "It just kind of got squirrely because of major precipitation events that we weren't anticipating."

"We're trying to protect as much infrastructure as we can," Lenertz said.

He marveled at the amount of natural disasters that his region and the nation have seen this year.

Takashi Murakami

2011-06-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Takashi Murakami is a prolific contemporary Japanese artist who works in both fine arts media—such as painting—as well as digital and commercial media. He blurs the boundaries between high and low art. He appropriates popular themes from mass media and pop culture, then turns them into 30-foot sculptures, "Superflat" paintings, or marketable commercial goods such as figurines or phone caddies.

Takashi Murakami attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, initially studying more traditional Japanese art. He pursued a doctorate in Nihonga, a traditional style of Japanese painting. However, due to the popularity of anime and manga Japanese styles of animation and comic graphic stories, Murakami became disillusioned with Nihonga. He became passionate about otaku culture, which he felt was more representative of modern-day Japanese life.

This resulted in Superflat, the style that Murakami is credited with inventing. It developed from Poku. Murakami has written that he aims to represent Poku culture because he expects that animation and otaku might create a new culture. This new culture is a rejuvenation of the contemporary Japanese art scene. In interviews, Murakami has expressed a frustration with the lack of a reliable and sustainable art market in post-war Japan, and the general view of Japanese art as having a low art status. He is quoted as saying that the market is nothing but "a shallow appropriation of Western trends". His first reaction was to make art in non-fine arts media. Then he decided to focus on the market sustainability of art and promote himself first overseas. This marks the birth of KaiKai Kiki, LLC.

In 2008, Takashi Murakami made Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list, the only visual artist included.

Sega

2011-06-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sega Database Breached – Hackers Inside

You must be already fed up with all the hacking news and victims of the hack attacks but today it has been announced that the database of the largest video game developer Sega was hacked.

The company did all the possible to inform customers on the hack attack and warned them that such private information as that email addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords was stolen.

But at the same time the company stressed that no financial information was at risk and they started a probe to fix the breach. However, it is still unknown how many users were affected by the breach. Sega also stated that it uses external payment providers to exclude the risk of its being hacked.

It all seems that there were the same hackers that compromised Sony Corp. and Nintendo user databases. As you remember that Sony put at risk about 100 million online accounts and the security breach is considered to be the largest ever.

This hackers’ group called Lulz Security took all the responsibility for hacking Sony. Moreover, they appeared to be involved into the recent breaches of the U.S. Senate computer system and the CIA website.

Sega Corporation

Sega Corporation, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Sega previously developed and manufactured its own brand of home video game consoles from 1983 to 2001, but a restructure was announced on January 31, 2001 that ceased continued production of its existing home console, effectively exiting the company from the home console business. While arcade development would continue unchanged, the restructure shifted the focus of the company's home video game software development to consoles developed by various third-party manufacturers.

Sega's head offices, as well as the main office of its domestic division, Sega Corporation (Japan), are located in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Sega's European division, Sega Europe Ltd., is headquartered in the Brentford area of London in the United Kingdom. Sega's North American division, Sega of America Inc., is headquartered in San Francisco, California; having moved there from Redwood City, California in 1999. Sega Australia is headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, and Sega Publishing Korea is headquartered in Jongno, Seoul, Korea. The company also has smaller offices in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.

Golf Courses

2011-06-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

A golf course consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and the other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes. Some, however, only have 9 holes and the course is played twice per round, while others have 27 or 36 and choose 2 groups of 9 holes at a time for novelty and maintenance reasons. Additionally, par-3 courses also exist, consisting of 9 or 18 holes, all of which are a Par 3. Many older golf courses, often coastal, are golf links, of a different style to others. For non-municipal courses, there is usually a golf club based at each course, and may include a pro shop.

The first section of every hole consists of what is known as the teeing ground, or tee-box. There is usually more than one available box for a player to place their ball, each one a different distance from the hole. They are generally as level as feasible, and most are slightly raised from the surrounding fairway. The most common tee areas, in increasing order of length from the hole, are the ladies' tee, the men's tee, and the championship tee. Other common tee-boxes include the junior tee, closer to the hole than the ladies' tee, and the senior tee, generally between the ladies' tee and the men's tee. In tournaments, golfers generally tee off from the box one level further from the "normal" box for their class (men use the championship tee, ladies use the senior or men's tee, and juniors use the ladies' tee).

Each tee box has 2 markers showing the bounds of the legal tee area. The teeing area spans the distance between the markers, and extends from 2-club lengths behind the markers up to the markers themselves. A golfer may play the ball from outside the teeing area, but the ball itself must be shot from within the area. A golfer may place his ball directly on the teeing ground (called hitting it "off the deck"), a manufactured support known as a tee, or any natural substance such as sand placed on the teeing surface.

Par

Most courses have only par three, 4, and 5 holes, though some courses include par 6 holes. Typical distances for the various holes from standard tees are as follows.

Men

    Par 3 – 250 yards (230 m) and below
    Par 4 – 251 to 450 yards (410 m)
    Par 5 – 451 to 690 yards (630 m)
    Par 6 – 691 yards (632 m) or more

Women

    Par 3 – 210 yards (190 m) and below
    Par 4 – 211 to 400 yards (370 m)
    Par 5 – 401 to 575 yards (526 m)
    Par 6 – 575 yards (526 m) or more

Harder or easier courses may have longer or shorter distances, respectively. Terrain can also be a factor, where a long downhill hole might be rated a par 4, but a shorter uphill or treacherous hole might be rated a par 5. Professional tournament players will often encounter longer Par 3 holes (up to 290 yards) and longer Par 4 holes (up to 520 yards).

Weightwatchers

2011-06-17T03:18:00.000-07:00

Weight Watchers is an international company that offers various dieting products and services to assist weight loss and maintenance. Founded in 1963 by Brooklyn homemaker Jean Nidetch, it now operates in about 30 countries around the world, generally under names that are local translations of “Weight Watchers”. The core philosophy behind Weight Watchers programs is to use a science-driven approach to help participants lose weight by forming helpful habits, eating smarter, getting more exercise and providing support.

The term weight-watcher, in the same sense, had circulated publicly for several years before the company was formed.

Weight loss plans

The primary, current plan offered in the US starting in November 2010 is called "PointsPlus". Touted by Weight Watchers as incorporating a decade of science compared to the prior Points-based plans, the focus remains on assisting members in creating a calorie deficit to lose weight using a reformulated calculation approach for computing target daily points (e.g. approximately how many calories per day should be eaten) and the costs of food.

The calculation of the daily points targets is based on creating a 1,000 calorie/day deficit. This in turn means that members are assigned a daily point target in the range of 29-71 PointsPlus to consume each day. Additionally, members are allowed 49 PointsPlus each week, or weekly points, that they can spend how they wish throughout the week. Physical activity earns activity points that, like weekly points, can be used to supplement the daily points allowance.

As compared to prior Points-based plans, the main change is the direct computation of PointsPlus-values from macronutrients (fat, protein, carbohydrates) vs. calories and fat. Both formulas used dietary fiber information when it was available. The formulas are country specific based on the information on nutrition labels in a given country. The patent provides equations for different country labeling techniques.

This change allowed Weight Watchers to change the relative cost of the different macronutrients. Specifically, the relative weight of fat appears to be unchanged vs. the Momentum calculation; however, carbohydrates are "more expensive" and fiber is "less beneficial" and protein is only modestly changed. This increases the PointsPlus cost vs. the Point cost of a number of foods that were specially designed to take advantage of the old formula, e.g. muffins loaded with fiber to stay at 1 Point.

The range of calories for one PointsPlus point is approximately in the range of 35-45 calories, in contrast one Point had a broader range of approximately 25-80 calories. However, because the approach for computing the daily points target has been refined and accompanying equations 16 (male) and 17 (female)), most people have significantly more PointsPlus available as part of their daily points target than on the prior Momentum plan. For example, under the Momentum plan 18 was the minimum number of points, now 29 is the minimum number of points. Additionally, irrespective of the underlying nutritional information, on the PointsPlus plan, fruits and most vegetables are considered to have a PointsPlus value of 0.

As an alternative to the PointsPlus plan, participants can use the Simply Filling Technique. On the Simply Filling Technique, participants are intended to eat from a designated list of foods without the requirement to track. Categories of foods on the list include: most fruits and vegetables, whole grains, non-fat dairy and dairy substitutes, lean proteins,and a handful of other items. For items that a person eats that are not on the list, a weekly points allowance of PointsPlus points is available to be used and the value of that item must be tracked. Because the plan does not require tracking, participants must be mindful to "[e]at portions that feel right for them. Not so much that feel too full, and not too little that still feel hungry."

Green Lantern

2011-06-16T03:52:00.000-07:00

The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern (Alan Scott) was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics 16 (July 1940).

Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and power lantern that gives the user great control over the physical world as long as the wielder has sufficient willpower and strength to wield it. The ring is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, and can be very dangerous. While the ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) was magically powered, the rings worn by all subsequent Lanterns were technological creations of the Guardians of the Universe, who granted such rings to worthy candidates. These individuals made up the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.

After World War II, when sales of superhero comic books generally declined, DC ceased publishing new adventures of Alan Scott as the Green Lantern. In 1959, at the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books, DC editor Julius Schwartz assigned writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane to revive the Green Lantern character, this time as test pilot Hal Jordan, who became a founding member of the Justice League of America. In 1970, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams teamed Green Lantern with archer Green Arrow in groundbreaking, socially conscious, and award-winning stories that pitted the sensibilities of the law-and-order-oriented Lantern with the populist Green Arrow. Several cosmically themed series followed, as did occasional different individuals in the role of Earth's Green Lantern. Most prominent of these are John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner.

Each of the Earth's Green Lanterns has been a member of either the Justice Society of America or the Justice League of America, and John Stewart was featured as one of the main characters in both the Justice League and the Justice League Unlimited animated series. The Green Lanterns are often depicted as being close friends of the various men who have been the Flash, the most notable friendships having been between Alan Scott and Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Green Lantern and Flash), Hal Jordan and Barry Allen (the Silver Age Green Lantern and Flash), and Kyle Rayner and Wally West, as well as Jordan being friends with West.

Joss Stone

2011-06-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Joss Stone is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone emerged to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist. Her second album, the equally multiplatinum Mind Body & Soul, topped the UK Albums Chart for one week and spawned the top ten hit "You Had Me", Stone's most successful single on the UK Singles Chart to date. Both album and single each received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards, while Stone herself was nominated for Best New Artist, and in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2004 was ranked 5th as a predicted breakthrough act of 2004.

She became the youngest British female singer to top the UK Albums Chart in history to have her first album at number one. Stone's third album, Introducing Joss Stone, released in March 2007, achieved gold record status by the RIAA and yielded the second-ever highest debut for a British female solo artist on the Billboard 200. Stone released her fourth album, Colour Me Free!, on 20 October 2009, which did reach Top 10 on Billboard, but was her least selling album in her career.

Throughout her career, Stone has sold over 11 million albums worldwide. Her first three albums have sold over 2,722,000 copies in the United States, while her first 2 albums have sold over 2,000,000 copies in UK. Stone has won 2 BRIT Awards and one Grammy Award. She also made her film acting debut in late 2006 with the fantasy adventure film Eragon, and made her tv debut portraying Anne of Cleves in the Showtime series The Tudors in 2009.

In 2004, Stone began dating Beau Dozier, with whom she co-wrote the song "Spoiled". Dozier is the son of Motown producer Lamont Dozier, who is best known as part of Holland-Dozier-Holland. She moved from her native England into Dozier's villa in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino the following year. The 2 split up in November 2005.

Stone was the youngest woman on the 2006 Sunday Times Rich List—an annual list of the UK's wealthiest people—with £6 million, and was also ranked number seventy-eight on Maxim's 2007 Hot 100.

Joss Stone is a friend of HRH Prince William of Wales and she was invited to his wedding with Catherine Middleton on 29th April 2011.

On Tuesday, June 14th, 2011, she was the intended subject of a possible planned, but thwarted murder/kidnap/robbery attempt, after police arrested two males in East Devon, England.

Netflix

2011-06-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

Netflix is an American-based provider of on-demand internet streaming video in the US and Canada, and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. It started its subscription service in 1999 and by 2009 it was offering a collection of 100,000 titles on DVD, surpassing 10 million subscribers. On February 25, 2007, Netflix announced the billionth DVD delivery. In the Summer of 2011 Netflix announced they will expand into the international maket, starting in Spain by 2012.

Hardware supported

List of Netflix-ready devices:

    * Boxee Box set-top box
    * Insignia Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems
    * LG Electronics Blu-ray Disc players, TVs (LH50 series LCD and PS80 plasma), and home theater systems
    * Logitech Revue Google TV Buddy Box
    * Microsoft Xbox 360
    * Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS
    * Panasonic Some Blu-ray Disc players, televisions and home theater systems
    * Philips Some Blu-ray Disc players and TVs
    * Popbox set-top box (announced)
    * Roku set-top box
    * Samsung Some Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems
    * Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ HD Media Players
    * Sharp Some Blu-ray Disc players
    * Sony Blu-ray Disc players, TVs, Google TV devices, and PlayStation 3
    * TiVo DVRs (HD, HD XL, Series3™, Premiere and Premiere XL boxes)
    * Viewsonic VMP75
    * Vizio Some Blu-ray Disc players and TVs
    * Western Digital WD Live plus Media Player

Software support

Supported Web Browsers by Platform:

    * Microsoft Windows: Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, Windows 7 running Internet Explorer 6 (or higher), Firefox 2 (or higher) or Google Chrome 6 (or higher). New viewer requires use of the Microsoft Silverlight technology and a 1.2 GHz CPU.
    * Mac OS X.: An Intel-based Mac with OS 10.4.8 or later. Browser support is Safari 3 (or higher), Firefox 2 (or higher) or Google Chrome. Mac Netflix was added October 27, 2008, which requires use of the Microsoft Silverlight technology.

Other software options:

    * Android including the HTC Incredible (2.2), Nexus One (2.2/3), EVO 4G (2.2) and G2 (2.2), Samsung Nexus S (2.3), Motorola Droid (2.2), LG Revolution (2.2), Casio G'zOne Commando C771 (2.2). May be limited due to DRM issues Now with device check removed it will work on various devices
    * Boxee OS X and Windows versions only (beta)
    * iOS iPad,[60] iPhone,[61] iPod Touch, Apple TV
    * MediaPortal Windows using the My Netflix plug-in.
    * PlayOn Windows, from MediaMall, used with UPnP clients such as PlayStation 3, Wii and     XBMC Media Center
    * Plex media center for Mac OS X only, using the Netflix plug-in from their App Store.
    * Windows Media Center Vista and Windows 7 Media Center capable versions only
    * Windows Phone 7

Last Friday Night

2011-06-12T02:19:00.000-07:00

"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song was written by Perry, Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Bonnie McKee, and was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin. It is the 5th single from Perry's 3rd studio album, Teenage Dream by Capitol. Prior to its single release, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 49 on the Canadian Hot 100 because of digital sales.

Perry has revealed that she was inspired to write the track, after running naked through a park. According to Music Rooms, Perry claims that after a wild night of partying and streaking, she wrote the song about her antics the next day. Perry revealed: “There’s nothing better than an impromptu dance party with my friends. My track Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) is a song about debauchery because I had one of those nights in Santa Barbara.

We went out to this place called Wildcat and got crazy,” Perry admitted: “We had a couple of beers and danced until we died, then brought the party back to the hotel room.” She added: “Most of that song is actual truth, apart from the ménage à trois… unfortunately! But, yes, streaking in the park, that’s what we did, so we had to write a song about it the next day!” Bonnie McKee, the co-witer of the song stated "TGIF is pretty much a word for word description of our trip to Santa Barbara, so I love that one. It’s really kitschy and fun and makes me nostalgic."

Pentecost

2011-06-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

Pentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection. The feast is also called Whit Sunday, Whitsun, or Whit especially in the UK, where the following Monday was traditionally a holiday. Pentecost is celebrated 7 weeks after Easter Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost falls on the 10th day after Ascension Thursday.

Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai 50 days after the Exodus. Among Christians, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the New Testament Acts of the Apostles 2:1-31. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described as the "Birthday of the Church".

The Pentecostal movement of Christianity derives its name from this biblical event.

The Lutheran church of the Baroque observed three days of Pentecost. Some composers wrote sacred cantatas to be performed in the church services of these days. Johann Sebastian Bach composed several cantatas for days of Pentecost, including Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 in 1714. Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel wrote cantatas such as Werdet voll Geistes

in 1737.

Olivier Messiaen composed an organ mass Messe de la Pentecôte in 1949/50. In 1964 Fritz Werner wrote an oratorio for Pentecost Veni, sancte spiritus on the sequence Veni sancte spiritus, and Jani Christou wrote Tongues of Fire, a Pentecost oratorio. Richard Hillert wrote a Motet for the Day of Pentecost for choir, vibraphone, and prepared electronic tape in 1969. Violeta Dinescu composed Pfingstoratorium, an oratorio for Pentecost for 5 soloists, mixed chorus and small orchestra in 1993.

Sheryl Crow

2011-06-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop. She has won 9 Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

She has performed with The Rolling Stones and has sung duets with Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti, John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, Michelle Branch, and Sting among others. She has performed backing vocals for Tina Turner, Don Henley and Belinda Carlisle, on her 1991 hit Little Black Book. Crow has released 7 studio albums, 2 compilations, and a live album, and has contributed to film soundtracks. She has sold 16 million albums in the US and 35 million albums worldwide and her newest album, 100 Miles from Memphis, was released on July 20, 2010. Recently she appeared on NBC's 30 Rock, ABC's Cougar Town, Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever and Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Discography
Main article: Sheryl Crow discography

    1993: Tuesday Night Music Club
    1996: Sheryl Crow
    1998: The Globe Sessions
    2002: C'mon C'mon
    2005: Wildflower
    2008: Detours
    2010: 100 Miles from Memphis

Filmography

    1996: Live From London
    1998: The Minus Man
    1999: Rockin' the Globe Live
    2003: C'mon America 2003
    2003: The Very Best of Sheryl Crow: The Videos
    2006: Wildlower Tour: Live from New York
    2008: Sheryl Crow - Live
    2009: 30 Rock 3x22 - Kidney Now!
    2010: Cougar Town 1x18; 1x19; 1x20
    2010: Hannah Montana 4x5
    2011: Miles From Memphis - Live At The Pantages Theatre

I Love You Man

2011-06-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

I Love You, Man is a 2009 American comedy film originally titled Let's be Friends and the written by Larry Levin before John Hamburg rewrote and directed the film. Starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, and Rashida Jones the film focuses on Peter's (Rudd) lack of male friends and the bond that forms between him and Sydney (Segel).

The film was released theatrically in North America on March 20, 2009, to mostly positive reviews and took second spot in the box office during its opening week. The film was released on home video on August 11, 2009.

Cast

   * Paul Rudd as Peter Klaven
   * Jason Segel as Sydney Fife
   * Rashida Jones as Zooey Rice
   * Jaime Pressly as Denise McLean
   * Sarah Burns as Hailey
   * Andy Samberg as Robbie Klaven
   * J. K. Simmons as Oswald Klaven
   * Jane Curtin as Joyce Klaven
   * Jon Favreau as Barry McLean
   * Lou Ferrigno as Himself
   * Rob Huebel as Tevin Downey
   * Aziz Ansari as Eugene
   * Nick Kroll as Larry
   * Mather Zickel as Gil
   * Thomas Lennon as Doug Evans
   * Murray Gershenz as Mel
   * Joe Lo Truglio as Lonnie
   * Josh Cooke as Alan
   * Jay Chandrasekhar as Party Guest
   * David Krumholtz as Sydney's Buddy
   * Larry Wilmore as Minister
   * Brennan Reynolds as Shirt
   * Carla Gallo as Zooey's friend
   * Rush as themselves
   * OK Go as The Wedding Band "Tastes Like Chicken"
   * Matthew Thurmon as Carter

Release

I Love You, Man received largely positive reviews that mostly centered on the chemistry between Rudd and Segel, as well as the supporting performances.

The film review website Rotten Tomatoes gave it an overall approval rating of 83%, with selected critics giving it an 86% approval rating. Metacritic gave it a critic average score of 70. Giving the film 3 out of 4 stars, Peter Travers with Rolling Stone said that despite the formulaic plot, "It's the variations that Rudd and Segel spin on this theme that make the movie hugely enjoyable." He also praised the supporting cast. Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A, and said that "Paul Rudd gives a startlingly funny and original performance." USA Today gave the film a glowing review, stating "the movie works because everything hinges on the camaraderie and undeniable chemistry between Rudd and Segel." More conservatively, People magazine said the movie "sails along on goodwill and blush-worthy bawdiness," but concluded that "like instant chocolate pudding, it goes down easy — even if it isn't especially good for you."

The film was not without its critics, however. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor was not impressed with the film, and after noting that the character Sydney seemed to be written for Owen Wilson, Rainer remarked, "Maybe Wilson was busy. Lucky him." The Colorado Daily described the relationship between the male leads as a "watered-down false bromance", noting that the pace of their relationship seemed "rushed", and that Peter was looking out for his wife rather than his best friend.

In its U.S. opening weekend, the film made $17,810,270 in 2,711 theaters, ranking number 2 at the box office. The film grossed $71,440,011 domestically and $20,196,975 internationally making $91,636,986 worldwide. I Love You, Man was able to stay in the box office top 10 for 5 weeks. This places it at number 27 of films released in 2009.

The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 11, 2009 in the US and August 24, 2009 in Europe and as of November 2009 generated more than $22 million in DVD sales. I Love You, Man was ranked number 2 in sales during its opening week and declined from there. The DVD extras contains an hour and a half of content including a full performance of "Limelight."

Awards

The film has been nominated for Best Kiss for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards for the smooch between Thomas Lennon's character Doug and Rudd's Peter, but lost to Twilight. It was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Film - Wide Release" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards, even though the movie does not contain any homosexual content.

Yosemite National Park

2011-06-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

Yosemite National Park is a US National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the east central California, United States. The park covers an area of 3,080.74 km2 and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend their time in the 7 square miles (18 km2) of Yosemite Valley. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity.

Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Although not the first designated national park, Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea, largely owing to the work of people like Galen Clark and John Muir.

Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m) and contains 5 major vegetation zones: chaparral/oak woodland, lower montane, upper montane, subalpine, and alpine. Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite. There is suitable habitat or documentation for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy.

The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in formation of deep, narrow canyons. About 1 million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today.

The Hangover Part ii

2011-05-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

Cha-ching! The Hangover Part II makes best comedy debut ever after raking in $118 million at the box office this weekend
The Hangover: Part II is a 2011 American comedy film and sequel to 2009's The Hangover. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. Justin Bartha and the Ken Jeong also reprise their roles. Todd Phillips directed a script written by him, Craig Mazin and Scot Armstrong.

The film was produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Production began in October 2010 and the film was released in the United States on May 26, 2011.

Cast

   * Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck
   * Ed Helms as Dr. Stuart "Stu" Price
   * Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner
   * Justin Bartha as Doug Billings
   * Ken Jeong as Leslie Chow
   * Jeffrey Tambor as Sid Garner
   * Jamie Chung as Lauren, Stu's fiancée
   * Bryan Callen as Samir, strip club owner
   * Mason Lee as Teddy, Lauren's brother
   * Paul Giamatti as Kingsley, an undercover Interpol agent
   * Sasha Barrese as Tracy Billings, Doug's wife
   * Gillian Vigman as Stephanie Wenneck, Phil's wife
   * Yasmin Lee as Kimmy

Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis, Bartha, Jeong, Barrese and Tambor reprise their roles from the first film. Mike Tyson also reprises his role as himself and sings a cover of the 1984 Murray Head song "One Night in Bangkok" for the movie. The film is the Hollywood debut of Mason Lee, son of director Ang Lee. Nick Cassavetes has a cameo appearance as a Bangkok tattoo artist. Liam Neeson was initially cast in that role, which was originally envisioned for Mel Gibson.

Fedora

2011-05-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

Fedora operating system

Fedora is an RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat. The Fedora Project's mission is to lead the advancement of free and open source software and content as a collaborative community.

One of Fedora's main objectives is not only to contain software distributed under a free and open source license, but also to be on the leading edge of such technologies. Fedora developers prefer to make upstream changes instead of applying fixes specifically for Fedora—this ensures that their updates are available to all Linux distributions.

Fedora has a comparatively short life cycle: version X is maintained until one month after version X+2 is released. With six months between releases, the maintenance period is a very short 13 months for each version. This can lead to trouble should one wish to use a particular version of Fedora for product development (i.e., embedded systems) where long term support is more important than maintaining leading edge revisions of software.

In 2008, Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux kernel, stated that he used Fedora because it had fairly good support for the PowerPC processor architecture, which he favored at the time.

According to DistroWatch, Fedora is the fourth most popular Linux-based operating system as of May 2011, behind Ubuntu and Mint and Debian and it is the most popular RPM-based Linux distribution.

The Fedora Project was created in late 2003, when Red Hat Linux was discontinued. Red Hat Enterprise Linux was to be Red Hat's only officially supported Linux distribution, while Fedora was to be a community distribution. Red Hat Enterprise Linux branches its releases from versions of Fedora.

The name of Fedora derives from Fedora Linux, a volunteer project that provided extra software for the Red Hat Linux distribution, and from the characteristic fedora used in Red Hat's "Shadowman" logo. Warren Togami began Fedora Linux in 2002 as an undergraduate project, intended to provide a single repository for well-tested 3rd-party software packages so that non-Red Hat software would be easier to find, develop, and use.

The key difference between the approaches of Fedora Linux and Red Hat Linux was that Fedora's repository development would be collaborative with the global volunteer community. Fedora Linux was eventually absorbed into the Fedora Project, carrying with it this collaborative approach. Fedora is a trademark of Red Hat, and although this had previously been disputed by the creators of the unrelated Fedora repository management software, the issue has now been resolved.

The Mentalist

2011-05-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Mentalist, Sunday, 8.30pm, Nine

The Mentalist is an American police procedural tv series which debuted on the September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer. It follows the story of Patrick Jane, who, as a paid consultant, uses unorthodox methods to aid the fictional California Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in homicide investigations.

On May 18, 2011, CBS announced that The Mentalist had been renewed for a 4th season.

Tim Roth has edge, Simon Baker has smooth charm and incidentally both have found their stride in their respective and related shows Lie To Me and The Mentalist.

This week Cameron Daddo guest stars as David Vance, bereaved gay hubby - but you don't want to blink.

So: ambitious Dr Quick heads his hospital's transplant program after his predecessor gets his head smashed in by a 9 iron - that's iron not irony.
CBI consultant Patrick Jane (Baker) navigates his way through deceit and intrigue with relaxed charm. Note: this won an award last year for scientific and critical thinking.

Phoenix

2011-05-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

The phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and (according to Sanchuniathon) Phoenicians.

A phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet. It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis. It is said that the bird's cry is that of a beautiful song. The Phoenix's ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one. In very few stories they are able to change into people.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus gave the following account of the phoenix in the 5th century BC while describing the animals of Egypt:

Another sacred bird is the one called the phoenix. Now, I have not actually seen a phoenix, except in a painting, because they are quite infrequent visitors to the country; in fact, I was told in Heliopolis that they appear only at 500-year intervals. They say that it is the death of a phoenix's father which prompts its visit to Egypt. Anyway, if the painting was reliable, I can tell you something about the phoenix's size and qualities, namely that its feathers are partly gold but mostly red, and that in appearance and size it is most like an eagle. There is a particular feat they say the phoenix performs; I do not believe it myself, but they say that the bird sets out from its homeland in Arabia on a journey to the sanctuary of the sun, bringing its father sealed in myrrh, and buries its father there.

The Roman poet Ovid wrote the following about the phoenix:

Most beings spring from other individuals; but there is a certain kind which reproduces itself. The Assyrians call it the Phoenix. It does not live on fruit or flowers, but on frankincense and odoriferous gums. When it has lived five hundred years, it builds itself a nest in the branches of an oak, or on the top of a palm tree. In this it collects cinnamon, and spikenard, and myrrh, and of these materials builds a pile on which it deposits itself, and dying, breathes out its last breath amidst odors. From the body of the parent bird, a young Phoenix issues forth, destined to live as long a life as its predecessor. When this has grown up and gained sufficient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree (its own cradle and its parent's sepulchre), and carries it to the city of Heliopolis in Egypt, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun.

French author Voltaire thus described the phoenix:

It was of the size of an eagle, but its eyes were as mild and tender as those of the eagle are fierce and threatening. Its beak was the color of a rose, and seemed to resemble, in some measure, the beautiful mouth of Formosante. Its neck resembled all the colors of the rainbow, but more brilliant and lively. A thousand shades of gold glistened on its plumage. Its feet seemed a mixture of purple and silver; and the tail of those beautiful birds which were afterwards fixed to the car of Juno, did not come near the beauty of its tail.

The phoenix or firebird originated in ancient mythology and has gone through a variety of representations in art/literature, ranging from being fully birdlike to having the head of a dog and suckling its young. Typically, it is considered benevolent, but some tales suggest that humans are not always safe around it. Further, many tales share elements with those of the phoenix.

Flavius Philostratus (c. AD 170), who wrote the biography Life of Apollonius of Tyana, refers to the phoenix as a bird living in India, but sometimes migrating to Egypt every 500 years. His account is clearly inspired by Garuda, the bird of the Hindu god Vishnu. He considered the bird as an emanation of sunlight, being in appearance and size much like an eagle. His contemporary Lactantius is probably the author who wrote the longest poem on the famous bird. Although descriptions (and life-span) vary, the Egyptian phoenix became popular in early Catholic art, literature and Catholic symbolism, as a symbol of Christ representing his resurrection, immortality, and life-after-death. One of the Early Catholic Church Fathers, Clement, related the following regarding the Phoenix in chapter 25 of the First Epistle of Clement:

Let us consider that wonderful sign which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives 500 years. And when the time of its dissolution draws near that it must die, it builds itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices, into which, when the time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But as the flesh decays a certain kind of worm is produced, which, being nourished by the juices of the dead bird, brings forth feathers. Then, when it has acquired strength, it takes up that nest in which are the bones of its parent, and bearing these it passes from the land of Arabia into Egypt, to the city called Heliopolis. And, in open day, flying in the sight of all men, it places them on the altar of the sun, and having done this, hastens back to its former abode. The priests then inspect the registers of the dates, and find that it has returned exactly as the 500th year was completed.

Michael W. Holmes points out that early Christian writers justified their use of this myth because the word appears in Psalm 92:12 (LXX Psalm 91:13), but in that passage it actually refers to a palm tree, not a mythological bird. However, it was the flourishing of Christian Hebraist interpretations of Job 29:18 that brought the Joban phoenix to life for Christian readers of the 17th century. At the heart of these interpretations is the proliferation of richly complementary meanings that turn upon 3 translations of the word chol — as phoenix, palm tree, or sand — in Job 29:18.

In critical editions of English translations of I Clement, it is also noted that the story of the phoenix, with variations, is also found in Herodotus (ii. 73), Pliny (Nat. Hist. x.2), and used as above by Tertullian (De Resurrectione Carnis, §13) and other Church Fathers.

Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or heron-like bird called a benu, known from the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god Ra.

The Greeks subsequently pictured the bird more like a peacock or an eagle and identified it with their own word phoenix, meaning the color purple-red or crimson (cf. Phoenicia) or a palm tree. According to the Greek mythology the phoenix lived in Phoenicia next to a well. At dawn, it bathed in the water of the well, and the Greek sun-god Helios stopped his chariot (the sun) in order to listen to its song. Featured in the painting Heracles Strangles Snakes (House of the Vettii, Pompeii Italy) as Zeus, the king of the gods. Herodotus spoke about the unique capability of the bird to be consumed in the flames and be reborn from the ashes.

According to many, the flamingo of East Africa might have contributed to the myth of phoenix. This bright pink or white bird nests on salt flats that are too hot for its eggs or chicks to survive; it builds a mound several inches tall and large enough to support its egg, which it lays in that marginally cooler location. The convection currents around these mounds resembles the turbulence of a flame. In zoology, flamingos are part of the family Phoenicopteridae, from the generic name Phoenicopterus or "phoenix-winged."

Madhuri Dixit

2011-05-15T03:25:00.000-07:00

Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit, who is once again seen entertaining his huge fans with her TV presence, turned 44 on Sunday.

After a long break, the 'Dhak Dhak' girl of B-town had been back again this time in a new avatar as she was seen as a judge in dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhla Jaa season 4'.

Madhuri Dixit was seen judging the participants in the show.

Bollywood heart-throb of the 1990s Madhuri Dixit, has always been recognised by her fans for her mind blowing performances in films like 'Hum Apke Hain Kaun', 'Lajja', 'Devdas', 'Beta', 'Dil To Pagal Hai', 'Saajan', 'Tezaab'.

After her long dominance in the Bollywood, Madhuri finally took a break from films in 2002 after the success of her film 'Devdas' where she charmed her fans by portraying the character of 'Chandramukhi'.

Prior to that she got married in 1999 to US-based doctor Shriram Madhav Nene and cut her film industry commitment.

In 2007 she made a much awaited comeback with the film 'Aaja Nachle', but the film did not make significant impact at the box office.

Her every dance, every expression, every movement, to me, is very aspirational ; especially expressions, which is very essential for an actor, where one can only try, try and try to get the perfect take,"Bollywood's leading lady, Katrina Kaif, who is also a huge fan of Dixit had once said about the Bollywood beauty.

"I don’t think there’s anybody like her. She is the most beautiful actress ever to come on screen," she said.

Early life

Madhuri Dixit is a native of Mumbai, India. She was born Madhuri Shankar Dixit to Shankar and the Snehlata Dixit, of a Marathi Brahmin family. Dixit attended Divine Child High School and Mumbai University and wanted to be a microbiologist. She is a trained Kathak dancer.

Personal life

In 1999, Madhuri Dixit married Shriram Madhav Nene, a UCLA-trained cardiovascular surgeon who practices in Denver. Nene is also from a Marathi Brahmin family. They have 2 sons, Arin born in March 2003 in Colorado and Raayan born in March 2005 in Colorado.

She has 2 elder sisters, Rupa and Bharati, and an elder brother, Ajit. Madhuri and her family currently reside in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Heart Attack Grill

2011-05-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

The Heart Attack Grill is a fast food hamburger restaurant in the Chandler, Arizona, US. It has courted controversy by serving high-calorie menu items with deliberately provocative names. The establishment is a hospital theme restaurant: waitresses (nurses) take orders (prescriptions) from the customers (patients). A tag is wrapped on the patient's wrist showing which foods they order and a "doctor" examines the "patients" with a stethoscope.

The menu includes "Single", "Double", "Triple", and "Quadruple Bypass" hamburgers, ranging from 0.5 to 2 lb (0.23 to 0.91 kg) of beef (up to about 8,000 Calories), all-you-can-eat "Flatliner Fries" (cooked in pure lard), beer and tequila, and soft drinks such as Jolt cola and Mexican-bottled Coca-Cola made with real sugar. Customers over 350 lb (160 kg) in weight eat for free if they weigh in with a doctor or nurse before each burger. Beverages and to-go orders are excluded and sharing food is also not allowed for the free food deal.

The Heart Attack Grill was founded in 2005 by "Dr." Jon Basso with the declared intent of serving "nutritional pornography", food "so bad for you it's shocking". The idea came when writing a marketing thesis about fitness training studios, as he became inspired by stories about his clients cheating on their diets.

One of the restaurant's gimmicks is an unusual reward for customers who finish a Triple or Quadruple Bypass Burger, wherein they are placed on a wheelchair and wheeled out to their vehicle by their "personal nurse".

The restaurant was featured on an episode of Extreme Pig-outs.

The restaurant's previous spokesman, 575-pound Blair River, died on March 1, 2011 at the age of 29 due to complications from pneumonia.

Heart Attack Grill has deliberately courted controversy as a marketing strategy. The restaurant has been criticized and drawn official complaints for its portrayal of nurses.

The Quadruple Bypass Burger with 8,000 Calories (33,000 kJ) has been identified as one of the "world's worst junk foods". It consists of 4 half-pound beef patties, eight slices of American cheese, a whole tomato and half an onion served in a bun coated with lard.

Casey Anthony

2011-05-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

Casey Anthony was offered a limited immunity deal

Casey Anthony was offered a limited immunity deal by the prosecutors until Sept 2, 2008, but did not take it.

Casey Anthony was arrested for the 3rd time on September 15, 2008, on new charges of theft, and was released shortly afterward.

On October 14, 2008, Casey Anthony was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and was arrested for the 4th time. She entered a plea of not-guilty to the charges that she killed Caylee.

On October 21, 2008, the charges of child neglect were dropped against Casey. In a statement that morning, the State Attorney's Office explained: "The neglect charges were premised on the theory that her child, Caylee Marie, was still alive. As the investigation progressed and it became clear that the evidence proved that the child was deceased, the State sought an indictment on the legally appropriate charges." On April 14, 2009, prosecutors announced that they plan to seek the death penalty in this case. Casey Anthony and her family maintain that she is innocent of all charges.

Anthony told investigators that she had left 2-year-old Caylee on June 17 with a baby sitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez also known as "Zanny" at a specific Orlando apartment complex. A woman named Zenaida Gonzalez who was on the apartment records as having visited apartments on that date was questioned by police but she said she did not know Casey or Caylee Anthony. The 38-year-old Kissimmee mother of six has since sued Anthony for defamation and for damages including punitive. It was reported that Anthony would be exercising her rights under the 5th Amendment in response to written questions in the civil case. The civil trial is set for August 29, 2011. Casey's former fiance Jesse Grund said he had trouble believing that Casey would kill Caylee. He stated "I don't believe Casey would have hurt her on purpose.

Casey Marie Anthony born March 19, 1986, Caylee's mother, has been charged with the first degree murder of her daughter.

She was first arrested on July 16, 2008, for giving false statements, neglect of a child, and obstruction of a criminal investigation with a request that she be held on a no bond status until Caylee Anthony was located.

On August 21, 2008, Casey Anthony was released after the one month of incarceration. She was released from the Orange County jail after her $500,200 bond was posted by California bail bondsman Leonard Padilla.

She was arrested again on August 29, 2008, on charges of forgery, fraudulent use of personal information, and petty theft for forging $700 worth of checks and using her friend's credit cards without permission. Leonard Padilla subsequently rescinded the $500,200 in bail due to a lack of cooperation from Casey Anthony.

On September 5, 2008, Casey Anthony was released again on bail after being fitted with an electronic tracking device. Her $500,000 bond was posted anonymously, and it was later revealed that her parents, Cindy and George Anthony, signed a promissory note for the bond.

On October 14, 2008, Casey Anthony was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and was arrested for the 4th time. She is currently in the Orange County Jail awaiting her expected May 16, 2011, trial date, jury selection will start on May 9, 2011, in an undisclosed location. The Florida state attorney's office in April 2009 announced that it intended to seek the death penalty.

The case is detailed in a 2009 book by true crime author and novelist Diane Fanning titled Mommy's Little Girl. According to a jail source she spends her days reading the Bible and writing letters. She is housed in a 12 X 7 cell in the Protective Custody wing of the Orange County jail, only emerging to take a shower and exercise. She has weekly meetings with her lawyers and apparently has had no visitors since 2008. The Florida law is that all inmates visits and phone calls are videotaped and is public record.

Lord of The Rings

2011-05-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

Lord of the Rings is a film trilogy consisting of fantasy adventure films based on the 3-volume book of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring 2001, The 2 Towers 2002 and The Return of the King 2003.

The films were directed by Peter Jackson and distributed by New Line Cinema. Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious movie projects ever undertaken, with an overall budget of $285 million, the entire project took eight years, with the filming for all 3 films done simultaneously and entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand. Each film in the trilogy also had Special Extended Editions, released on DVD a year after the theatrical releases. While the films follow the book's general storyline, they do omit some of the plot elements from the novel and include some additions to and other deviations from the source material.

Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the three films follow the hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) as he and a Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, and thus ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. The Fellowship becomes divided and Frodo continues the quest together with his loyal companion Sam and the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis). Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), heir in exile to the throne of Gondor, unite and rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, who are ultimately victorious in the War of the Ring.

The trilogy was a great financial success, with the films collectively being the 5th highest-grossing film series of all-time (behind Harry Potter, James Bond, Star Wars, and Shrek). The films were critically acclaimed and heavily awarded, winning 17 out of 30 Academy Awards nominated in total. The final film in the trilogy, The Return of the King, won all 11 of the Academy Awards for which it was nominated, tying it with Ben-Hur and Titanic for most Academy Awards received for a film. The trilogy received wide praise for the cast and for the innovative practical and digital special effects.

Jackson began storyboarding the trilogy with Christian Rivers in August 1997 and assigned his crew to begin designing Middle-earth at the same time. Jackson hired long-time collaborator Richard Taylor to lead Weta Workshop on 5 major design elements: armour, weapons, prosthetics/make-up, creatures, and miniatures. In November 1997, famed Tolkien illustrators Alan Lee and John Howe joined the project. Most of the imagery in the films is based on their various illustrations. Grant Major, production designer was charged with the task of converting Lee and Howe's designs into architecture, creating models of the sets, while Dan Hennah worked as art director, scouting locations and organising the building of sets.

Jackson's vision of Middle-earth was described as being "Ray Harryhausen meets David Lean" by Randy Cook. Jackson wanted a gritty realism and historical regard for the fantasy, and attempted to make the world rational and believable. For example, the New Zealand Army helped build Hobbiton months before filming began so the plants could really grow. Creatures were designed to be biologically believable, such as the enormous wings of the fell beast to help it fly. In total, 48,000 pieces of armour, 500 bows, and 10,000 arrows were created by Weta Workshop.

They also created many prosthetics, such as 1,800 pairs of Hobbit feet for the lead actors, as well as many ears, noses, and heads for the cast, and around 19,000 costumes were woven and aged. Every prop was specially designed by the Art Department, taking the different scales into account.

Principal photography for all 3 films was conducted concurrently in many locations within New Zealand's conservation areas and national parks between 11 October 1999, and 22 December 2000, a period of 438 days. Pick-up shoots were conducted annually from 2001 to 2004. The trilogy was shot at over 150 different locations, with seven different units shooting, as well as soundstages around Wellington and Queenstown. As well as Jackson directing the whole production, other unit directors included John Mahaffie, Geoff Murphy, Fran Walsh, Barrie Osbourne, Rick Porras, and any other assistant director, producer, or writer available.

Jackson monitored these units with live satellite feeds, and with the added pressure of constant script re-writes and the multiple units interpreting his envisioned result, he only got around 4 hours of sleep a night. Due to the remoteness of some of the locations, the crew would also bring survival kits in case helicopters could not reach the location to bring them home in time. The New Zealand Department of Conservation was criticised for approving the filming within national parks without adequate consideration of the adverse environmental effects and without public notification. The adverse effects of filming battle scenes in Tongariro National Park later required restoration work.

Belgian Malinois

2011-05-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Belgian Shepherd Dog Malinois is a breed of the dog, sometimes classified as a variety of the Belgian Shepherd Dog rather than as a separate breed. The Malinois is recognized in the United States under the name Belgian Malinois. Its name is the French word for Mechlinian, which is in Dutch either Mechelse herdershond (shepherd dog from Mechelen) or Mechelaar (one from Mechelen). These dogs are popular in the use of police departments, as well as German Shepherds.

Like all Belgian Shepherds, the Malinois is a medium-sized and square-proportioned dog in the sheepdog family. The Malinois has a short mahogany coat with black overlay. It has black erect ears and a black muzzle. It has a square build in comparison to the German Shepherd.

Due to its history as a working dog (i.e., being bred for function over form), the Malinois can vary greatly in appearance. The acceptable colors of the pure-bred Malinois are a base color fawn to mahogany with a black mask and black ears with some degree of black tipping on the hairs, giving an overlay appearance. The color tends to be lighter with less black agouti or overlay on the dog's underside, breeching, and inner leg. There used to be dogs with grey and black shorthairs but they no longer meet the breed standard

The other varieties of Belgian Shepherd are distinguished by their coats and colors: the Tervuren is the same color as the Malinois but has long hair, the wire-coated Laekenois is fawn and lacks the black mask and ears, and the Groenendael registered as Belgian Sheepdog by the American Kennel Club has long hair and is solid black. There are (occasionally and historically) solid black, black-and-tan (as with Dobermans and German Shepherds), or other colored short-haired Belgian Shepherds, but these are not technically Malinois.

If a dog represented as a Malinois is brindle (clear stripes of different colored hair) it is probably a Dutch Shepherd Dog or a mixed breed, although the possibility exists that it is a throwback, this is a common misconception with the appearance of the breed.

Malinois dogs are about 24–26 in 61–66 cm, while Females are about 22–24 in 56–61 cm at the withers. Female Malinois are said to average 25–30 kg (55–65 lb), while sires are heavier at 29–34 kg (65–75 lb). They are squarely built.

In Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia, the Malinois is bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sport work (Belgian Ring, Schutzhund, French Ring, Mondio Ring). The US Secret Service and Royal Australian Air Force use the breed exclusively.

The dog is also used extensively by Unit Oketz of the Israel Defense Forces. Oketz favors the slighter build of the Malinois over that of the German Shepherd and Rottweiler which were employed formerly. Malinois are the perfect size to be picked up by their handlers, while still being able to attack their enemies and for their shorter coats and fair and neutral colors making them less prone to heatstroke, all these are advantages over the previously used dog breeds.

Malinois can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding events, and are one of the most popular breeds used in protection sports such as schutzhund, French Ring, and Mondio Ring. In America, herding instincts can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Belgian Shepherds exhibiting basic herding instincts can then be trained to compete in herding trials.

Geronimo

2011-05-04T04:14:00.000-07:00

Geronimo June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909 was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and US for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Geronimo was the nickname which Mexicans used but his real name in the Chiricahua language was Goyaałé meaning "one who yawns"; often spelled Goyathlay or Goyahkla in English.

After an attack by a company of Mexican soldiers killed many members of his family in 1858, Geronimo joined revenge attacks on the Mexicans and later against the United States. He became known for bravery and daring feats and was revered by the Apaches as a warrior with spiritual powers. In 1886 Geronimo was eventually tracked down by U.S. authorities and surrendered. As a prisoner of war in old age he became a celebrity but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed the conditions he made had been ignored. Geronimo died in 1909 after being thrown from his horse.

Geronimo and other Apaches, including the Apache scouts who had helped the army track him down, were sent as prisoners to Fort Pickens, in Pensacola, Florida, and his family was sent to Fort Marion. They were reunited in May 1887, when they were transferred to Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama for 7 years. In 1894, they were moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In his old age, Geronimo became a celebrity. He appeared at fairs, including the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, where he reportedly rode a ferris wheel and sold souvenirs and photographs of himself. However, he was not allowed to return to the land of his birth. He rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade.

In 1905, Geronimo agreed to tell his story to S. M. Barrett, Superintendent of Education in the Lawton, Oklahoma. Barrett had to appeal to President Roosevelt to gain permission to publish the book. Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to say. He refused to answer questions or alter his narrative. Barrett did not seem to take many liberties with Geronimo's story as translated by Asa Daklugie. Frederick Turner re-edited this autobiography by removing some of Barrett's footnotes and writing an introduction for the non-Apache readers. Turner notes the book is in the style of an Apache reciting part of his oral history.

In February 1909, Geronimo was thrown from his horse while riding home, and had to lie in the cold all night before a friend found him extremely ill. He died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909, as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. On his deathbed, he confessed to his nephew that he regretted his decision to surrender. He was buried at Fort Sill in the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery.

Geronimo was raised with the traditional religious views of the Bedonkohe. When questioned about his views on life after death, he wrote in his 1905 autobiography, "As to the future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific, that is, we had no definite idea of our relations and surroundings in after life. We believed that there is a life after this one, but no one ever told me as to what part of man lived after death ... We held that the discharge of one's duty would make his future life more pleasant, but whether that future life was worse than this life or better, we did not know, and no one was able to tell us. We hoped that in the future life, family and tribal relations would be resumed. In a way we believed this, but we did not know it."

Later in life, Geronimo embraced Christianity, and stated, "Since my life as a prisoner has begun I have heard the teachings of the white man's religion, and in many respects believe it to be better than the religion of my fathers ... Believing that in a wise way it is good to go to church, and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I have adopted the Christian religion. I believe that the church has helped me much during the short time I have been a member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian, and I am glad to know that the President of the United States is a Christian, for without the help of the Almighty I do not think he could rightly judge in ruling so many people.

I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right." He joined the Dutch Reformed Church in 1903 but four years later was expelled for gambling. To the end of his life, he seemed to harbor ambivalent religious feelings, telling the Christian missionaries at a summer camp meeting in 1908 that he wanted to start over, while at the same time telling his tribesmen that he held to the old Apache religion.

Royal Wedding Coverage

2011-04-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Royal Wedding Coverage is the Overblown

Everything is way too focused on Royal Wedding right now. The coverage by outlets like CBS News, ABC and NBC is off the charts ridiculous. They’re analyzing Kate Middleton’s dress, talking about the crazy hats and how beautiful everyone looks. Except here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter at all.

Technology has helped make the Royal Wedding one of the most talked about events of the recent memory. You can just follow along on Twitter without watching a second of it and know what’s going on. You can get visuals on what Kate’s dress and the crazy hats look like. But does America really care?

No they don’t. England and the UK shouldn’t even care. These are just a bunch of inbred rich people who decide to indulge and spend lavish amounts of money on useless things like this. Sure this guy may eventually be King or something I don’t know but do I care? No. What impact on world policy does Elizabeth have? Oh right none.

Technology has made it even more infuriating as you can go stream the Royal Wedding while also following Twitter while also going on Facebook and seeing real time feedback on Kate’s dress and every other move they make. It’s infuriating. There are few things I could care less about.

Thankfully I’m currently distracted by the NFL Draft, NHL Playoffs and this site to have it fully take over but if I was really bored and Twitter was my livelihood, I would not be happy right now.

Nobody cares about the Royal Wedding. And if they do, they shouldn’t. The big news outlets are covering this like it’s actually newsworthy. It’s not. William and Kate are just a couple of rich people getting married.

Ron Paul

2011-04-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ron Paul: Donald Trump is ‘desperate’

Rep. Ron Paul said Monday that Donald Trump is the ‘desperate’ for attention.

Mr. Paul, who is expected to announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Tuesday, said Monday that Mr. Trump’s pursuit of the President Barack Obama’s birth certificate shows how “desperate” he is for attention.

“I understand he has sent out some detectives to find out,” Mr. Paul said. “I haven’t invested in any of that, so I guess I’ll have to see what he does.” Mr. Paul added that Mr. Trump’s speculation over Mr. Obama’s birth certificate is likely a bid for attention as the NY Republican considers a run for president.

The Texas Republican’s comment comes as Mr. Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he thinks Mr. Obama’s birth certificate is missing. “Well I’ve been told very recently…that the birth certificate is missing,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ve been told that it’s not there or it doesn’t exist. And if that’s the case it’s a big problem.”

Mr. Paul is the latest public figure to challenge Mr. Trump’s allegations. A number of celebrities have chimed in on the issues, which has drawn public responses from Mr. Trump. The real estate mogul slammed Robert De Niro Monday, saying the actor is “not the brightest bulb” after Mr. De Niro said Mr. Trump should tone down the political rhetoric.

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American Medical Doctor and Republican U.S. Congressman for the 14th congressional district of Texas. Paul serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, the Committee on Financial Services and is Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy where he has been an outspoken critic of current American foreign policy and the monetary policy. He has gained prominence for his libertarian positions on many political issues, often clashing with both Republican and Democratic Party leaders.

Paul has run for President of the US twice, first in 1988 as the nominee of the Libertarian Party and again in 2008 as a candidate for the Republican nomination. It is widely expected that he will run again in 2012 as a Republican. A 2010 scientific poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports among likely voters found Ron Paul and President Obama to be statistically tied in a hypothetical 2012 presidential election contest.

Paul is the founder of the advocacy group Campaign for Liberty and his ideas have been expressed in numerous published articles and books, including"Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom"(2011), End The Fed (2009), The Revolution: A Manifesto (2008), Pillars of Prosperity (2008), A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship (2007), and The Case for Gold (1982). According to a 1998 study published in the American Journal of Political Science, Paul had the most conservative voting record of any member of the Congress since 1937. His son Rand Paul was elected to the US Senate for Kentucky in 2011, making the elder Paul the first Representative in history to serve alongside a son or daughter in the Senate.

No Strings Attached

2011-04-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

No Strings Attached is a 2011 American romantic comedy film starring Academy Award winner Natalie Portman and the Ashton Kutcher. The film is directed by Ivan Reitman. Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) are friends who have sex one morning and worry about their friendship being ruined. They make a pact to have "no strings attached", to have casual sex without falling in love with each other. The film was released in the US and Canada on January 21, 2011.

Cast

1. Natalie Portman as Dr. Emma K. Kurtzman
2. Ashton Kutcher as Adam Franklin

3. Greta Gerwig as Patrice (Emma's friend)
4. Jake M. Johnson as Eli (Adam's friend)
5. Cary Elwes as Dr. Metzner

6. Mindy Kaling as Shira (Emma's friend)
7.    Kevin Kline as Alvin Franklin
8.    Ludacris as Wallace (Adam's friend)
9.    Olivia Thirlby as Katie Kurtzman

10. Lake Bell as Lucy
11. Ophelia Lovibond as Vanessa (Alvin's girlfriend)

12. Talia Balsam as Sandra Kurtzman
13.   Guy Branum as Guy (Emma's friend)
14.   Phil LaMarr as Police Officer
15.   Adhir Kalyan as Kevin (Olivia's boyfriend)
16.   Ben Lawson as Sam
17.   Matthew Moy as Chuck (guy taking pictures on his cellphone)
18.   Jennifer Irwin as Megan (Adam's boss)
19.   Abby Elliot as Joy

Peeps

2011-04-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Peeps are marshmallow candies, sold in the US and Canada, that are shaped into chicks, bunnies, and the other animals. There are also different shapes used for various holidays. Peeps are used primarily to fill Easter baskets, though recent ad campaigns tout the candy as "Peeps - Always in Season". They are made from marshmallow, corn syrup, gelatin, and carnauba wax.

Peeps are produced by Just Born, a candy manufacturer founded in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania by Russian immigrant Sam Born. In 1953, Just Born acquired the Rodda Candy Company and its marshmallow chick line, then turned the tedious process of hand-forming the chicks to mass production. The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy — hence their name — but then the company introduced other colors and, eventually, the myriad shapes in which they are now produced.

In 2009, Just Born expanded the Peeps product line further by introducing Peeps Lip Balm in 4 flavors: grape, strawberry, vanilla, and cotton candy. The first Peeps & Co. store opened in November 2009 in Prince George's County.

An annual "Peep Off" competition is held in Maryland on the first Saturday after Easter, when Peeps are greatly discounted, to see who can eat the most in 30 minutes. The first such event was arranged by Shawn Sparks in 1994, and had only 6 participants. Dave Smith started Sacramento's record-holding 102 eaten annual Peep Off after contacting Jack Eidsness, a participant in the first Peep Off, with a question about it.

The Seattle Times has an annual contest of Peeps used in photos. The St. Paul Pioneer Press was the first newspaper to hold an annual Peeps diorama contest and receives hundreds of entries every year. The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and other newspapers also hold a Peeps diorama contest every Easter. MIT has held Peeps contests.

The Universal Record Database has a number of world records that involve Peeps.

The Racine Art Museum is sponsoring the International Peeps Competition from April 1–28. Anyone can enter the contest, centered around the theme 'peep-powered work of art.

Peeps are sometimes jokingly described as "indestructible". In 1999, scientists at Emory University performed experiments on batches of Peeps to see how easily they could be dissolved, burned or otherwise disintegrated, using such agents as cigarette smoke, boiling water and liquid nitrogen.

They claimed that the eyes of the confectionery "would not dissolve in anything". Furthermore, Peeps are insoluble in acetone, water, diluted sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide.

Concentrated sulfuric acid seems to have effects similar to the expected effects of sulfuric acid on sugar. This debate was featured in an episode of the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle where Francis insisting the "Quacks" would dissolve in his stomach rather than expand, takes up the dare to eat 100 of them, doing so, but getting very sick in the process.

Nola

2011-04-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Nola is a city and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is served by the Circumvesuviana railway from Naples.

Nola in Bronze Age times was the site of a settlement that has yielded evidence of the destructive power of an eruption by the Mount Vesuvius between 1700 BC and 1600 BC the Avellino eruption. Excavations revealed extensive evidence of a small village abandoned quickly by its occupants at the time of the eruption so that a wide range of pottery and other artifacts were left behind to survive with the imprint of buildings in the mud from the eruption.

Called Nuvlana on the most ancient coins, it was one of the oldest cities of Campania: it is said to have been founded by the Ausones. The latter were certainly in Nola about 560 BC. When it sent assistance to Naples against the Roman invasion (328 BC) it was probably occupied by the Oscans in alliance with the Samnites. In the Samnite War (311 BC) the town was taken by the Romans, while in the 2nd Punic War it thrice offered defiance to Hannibal (first, second, and third Battle of Nola) and on 2 occasions (215 and 214) it was defended by Marcellus. In the Social War it was given by treason into the hands of the Samnites, who kept it until Marius, with whom they had sided, was defeated by Sulla, who in 80 BC subjected it together with the rest of Samnium. 7 years later it was stormed by Spartacus, for which reason Augustus and Vespasian sent colonies there.

Nola, though losing much of its importance, remained a municipium with its own institutions and the use of the Oscan language. It became a Roman colony under Augustus, who died there in 14 AD. Later it became an important site of Christian pilgrimage and hospitality, after the Christian senator Paulinus relocated to the town, eventually becoming bishop.

Nola lay on the Via Popilia from Capua to Nocera Inferiore and the south, and a branch road ran from it to Abella and Avellino. Mommsen (Corp. inscr. Lat. X. 142) further states that roads must have run direct from Nola to Neapolis and Pompeii, but Kiepert's map annexed to the volume does not indicate this.

Two fairs are held in Nola, on June 14 and November 12. June 22 or the first Sunday after is devoted to a great festival ("La Festa Dei Gigli" or "The Festival of the Lillies") in honor of St. Paulinus.

Hard Boiled Eggs

2011-04-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Boiled eggs are eggs cooked by immersion in boiling water with their shells unbroken. Eggs cooked in water without their shells are known as poached eggs, while eggs cooked below the boiling temperature, either with or without the shell, are known as coddled eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are either boiled long enough for the egg white and then the egg yolk to solidify, or they are left in hot water to cool down, which will gradually solidify them, while a soft-boiled egg yolk, and sometimes even the white, remains at least partially liquid.

The egg timer was so-named due to its common usage in timing the boiling of eggs. Boiled eggs are a popular breakfast food in many countries around the world.

Soft-boiled eggs are not recommended for people who may be susceptible to salmonella, such as very young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.

Soft-boiled eggs are commonly served in egg cups, where the top of the egg is cut off with a knife, spoon or egg scissors, using a teaspoon to scoop the egg out. Other methods include breaking the eggshell by tapping gently around the top of the shell with a spoon. Soft-boiled eggs can be eaten with buttered toast cut into strips, which are then dipped into the runny yolk. In the United Kingdom, these strips of toast are known as "soldiers".

In Southeast Asia, especially countries like Malaysia and Singapore, soft-boiled eggs are also known as half-boiled eggs and are commonly eaten at breakfast. The major difference is that, instead of the egg being served in an egg cup, it is cracked into a bowl to which soy sauce and/or pepper is added. This variation is usually eaten with Kaya toast.

Hard-boiled eggs are boiled for longer than soft-boiled eggs, long enough for the yolk to solidify. They can be eaten warm or cold. Hard-boiled eggs are the basis for many dishes, such as egg salad, Cobb salad and Scotch eggs, and may be further prepared as deviled eggs.

Hard-boiled eggs are commonly sliced, particularly for use in sandwiches. For this purpose specialized egg slicers exist, to ease slicing and yield even slices.

There are several theories as to the proper technique of hard-boiling an egg. One method is to bring water to a boil and cook for 8 minutes. Another method is to bring the water to a boil, but then remove the pan from the heat and allow eggs to cook in the gradually cooling water. Others prescribe cooking in continually boiling water over heat for a shorter period of time.

Over-cooking eggs will typically result in a thin green iron II sulfide coating on the yolk. This reaction occurs more rapidly in older eggs as the whites are more alkaline. Immersing the egg in cold water after boiling is a common method of halting the cooking process to prevent this effect. It also causes a slight shrinking of the contents of the egg, easing the removal of the shell.

Hard-boiled eggs in their shells can be stored in the refrigerator for days to weeks.

Carol Burnett

2011-04-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

Carol Burnett born April 26, 1933 is an American actress, comedienne, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in NY. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her tv debut. After successful appearances on The Garry Moore Show, Carol moved to Los Angeles and began an eleven-year run on The Carol Burnett Show which was aired on CBS television from 1967 to 1978. With roots in vaudeville, The Carol Burnett Show was a variety show which combined comedy sketches, song, and dance.

The comedy sketches ranged from film parodies to character pieces. Burnett created many endearing characters during the show's television run.

The first house Burnett lived in was the Beverly Hills house formerly owned by Harry James and Betty Grable. Growing up in rented rooms, an actual house was "a luxury", as "A Murphy bed was idea of spacious."

She married Don Saroyan on December 15, 1955; the couple divorced in 1962. On May 4, 1963, Burnett married television producer Joe Hamilton, a divorced father of 8, with whom she had 3 daughters: actress and writer Carrie Hamilton, Jody Hamilton, and singer Erin Hamilton. The marriage ended in divorce in 1984, and Joe Hamilton later died of cancer. On November 24, 2001, she married Brian Miller (principal drummer in and contractor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra), who is 23 years her junior.

In January 2002, Carrie Hamilton died of lung and brain cancer at the age of 38. She had become addicted to drugs as a teenager. Burnett and Carrie wrote a play together called Hollywood Arms, which was adapted from Burnett's bestselling memoir, One More Time. The Broadway production featured Linda Lavin as Burnett's character's beloved grandmother, and Michele Pawk as Burnett's mother Louise. Pawk went on to receive the 2003 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.

Dukan Diet

2011-04-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

'Dukan Diet': Eat Meat The Lose Weight

The new diet craze -- the Dukan Diet -- claims dramatic results without requiring dieters to the count calories or go hungry. In fact, the diet is so promising it may be fit for a future queen.

Kate Middleton -- who will marry Britain's Prince William on April 29 -- has lost so much weight, tabloids speculate she's been shrinking not from pre-wedding jitters, but the Dukan Diet. Buckingham Palace denies the report.

Her mother, Carole Middleton, told a reporter she herself had lost weight on the Dukan Diet. The plan grew quietly in popularity in France until those comments. Now, it's one of the world's hottest diets and it's headed for the U.S.

Dukan's bestselling book, The Dukan Diet, is being released across the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday. The creator of this hot new diet is a mild-mannered French doctor who say's it's not a fad diet. The soft-spoken nutritionist stumbled onto high-protein, quick weight loss plan 35 years ago, but it took him decades to perfect his weight loss plan.

Similar to the Atkins diet, the Dukan plan allows dieters to eat meats but puts some limits on other kinds of food. The Dukan Diet is comprised of 4 phases.

The attack phase encourages speedy weight loss with nothing but lean protein and Dukan's special ingredient, oat bran culled from the husks - not rolled oats or oatmeal.

The cruise phase allows the diet to add vegetables, but not starchy potatoes or fatty avocadoes.

The 3rd, or consolidation, phase, is the most critical. Dieters are allowed to add one serving of fruit and two slices of whole wheat bread per day.

The final phase, called stabilization, last the rest of one's life. Dieters can eat whatever they want as long as they return to eating only pure protein for one day a week.

There are other requirements. Each day, dieters must drink 6 glasses of water, walk for 20 minutes and eat at least one-and-a-half tablespoons of the oat bran.

The Diet Plan

The diet is based on a 100+ allowed foods list, as well as 4 specific ground pillars also known as phases.

1. Attack,
2. Cruise,
3. Consolidation, and
4. Stabilisation.

Phase 1: The Attack phase will enable dieter to rapid lose 2 to 3 kilos in 2–7 days by kick starting his/hers metabolism. The dieter is allowed to eat as much as he or she wants of 72 protein-rich foods.

Phase 2: The Cruise phase, allows to achieve more gradually the true weight you aim for by eating protein-rich foods with the addition of 28 specific vegetables. The length of this phase is usually calculated as 1 kg weight loss per week but this is based on specific personal conditions. Tolerated foods are also allowed as per the program but any weight gain will ban some of these.

Phase 3: The consolidation phase helps in preventing any future massive weight gain. During this phase, fruit, bread, cheese and starchy foods are being reintroduced into a normal diet 5 days a week leaving 2 days for celebratory meals as directed by the plan. The consolidation phase helps in preventing any future massive weight gain.

Phase 4: The Stabilisation phase is when the dieter can basically eat what he or she wants without gaining weight by following a few rules, including a protein day once a week as well as eating oat bran a couple of times a week. According to Dukan, one shall follow this last phase for the rest of oneís life to prevent regaining weight.

Gonorrhea

2011-04-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are burning with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain. In both men and women if gonorrhea is left untreated, it may spread locally causing epididymitis or pelvic inflammatory disease or throughout the body, affecting joints and heart valves.

Treatment is commonly with ceftriaxone as antibiotic resistance has developed to many previously used medications.

Gonorrhea if left untreated may last for weeks or months with higher risks of complications. As of 2010 injectable ceftriaxone appear to be one of the few effective antibiotics. Because of increasing rates of antibiotic resistance local susceptibility patterns need to be taken into account when deciding on treatment. Many antibiotics that were once effective including penicillin, tetracycline and fluoroquinolones are no longer recommended because of high rates of resistance. Cases of resistance to ceftriaxone have been reported but are still rare.

It has been suggested that mercury was used as a treatment for gonorrhea. Surgeons tools on board the recovered English warship the Mary Rose included a syringe that, according to some, was used to inject the mercury via the urinary meatus into any unfortunate crewman suffering from gonorrhea. The name "the clap", in reference to the disease, is recorded as early as the sixteen century.

Silver nitrate was one of the widely used drugs in the 19th century, but it became replaced by Protargol. Arthur Eichengrün invented this type of colloidal silver, which was marketed by Bayer from 1897 on. The silver-based treatment was used until the 1st antibiotics came into use in the 1940.

The exact time of onset of gonorrhea as prevalent disease or epidemic cannot be accurately determined from the historical record. One of the first reliable notations occur in the Acts of the (English) Parliament. In 1161 this body passed a law to reduce the spread of "...the perilous infirmity of burning." The symptoms described are consistent with, but not diagnostic of, gonorrhea. A similar decree was passed by Louis IX in France in 1256, replacing regulation with banishment. Similar symptoms were noted at the siege of Acre[disambiguation needed] by Crusaders.

Coincidental to, or dependent on, the appearance of a gonorrhea epidemic, several changes occurred in European medieval society. Cities hired public health doctors to treat afflicted patients without right of refusal. Pope Boniface[disambiguation needed] rescinded the requirement that physicians complete studies for the lower orders of the Catholic priesthood.

Medieval public health physicians in the employ of their cities were required to treat prostitutes infected with the "burning", as well as lepers and other epidemic victims. After Pope Boniface completely secularized the practice of medicine, physicians were more willing to treat a sexually transmitted disease.