text:
BIRTHDAY GUY: Actor Stephen Dorff was born in Atlanta today in 1973. This birthday guy has starred in such films as "Public Enemies," "Backbeat" and "Blade." Dorff worked as a child actor, guest-starring on series such as "The New Leave it to Beaver" and "Diff'rent Strokes" -- as well as starring in the horror movie "The Gate" at age 12. Dorff is the son of music producer Steve Dorff.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Someone could say the magic words that unlock your originality and pep you up just when energies are lagging. There is a tendency to indulge in lavish entertainments or overdo expenditures on luxuries.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Ask favors of your favorites. The boss might be more forgiving of minor errors and more likely to let you leave work early today. However, you might be expected to put in extra hours next week.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Relish a love of personal independence. You may be feeling your amorous oats tonight, but only find pure contentment with the tried and true. Pass up the temptation to make impetuous purchases.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the long run, it might be better to make do, or do without. You could be over confident about income. Gather information and get all the facts, but hold off on purchases that stretch your resources.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Time is the one commodity that can't be replaced if you waste it. The water-cooler crowd may entice you into discussions that distract you from essential business. Prioritize the day so the night is fun.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You may be mired in "the more the merrier." It is possible to go overboard with expenditures on entertainments and amusements. It is easy to gain cooperation from others, but not all promises will be kept.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If some is good, you probably think that more is better. You need to guard against overindulging in the good things in life. Enlist some extra hands to help with a pending project or running errands.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do a balancing act with the bank balance. The money you waste on this and that throughout the day might add up quickly. Your special someone is probably in the mood for extra spoiling and indulgences.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don't buy the whole cow just to drink a glass of milk. It is easy to be enthused by a new hobby and get in over your head. Act sensibly to avoid starting bad habits and use common sense.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The check is in the mail. You might hear what you want to hear from someone who wants to maintain the peace by being creative about the facts. You could hear excuses or rationalizations today.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Less is more. As they say, "You can never be too rich or too thin." It isn't necessary to spend a great deal of money to make a dazzling impression. You might be at odds with an insincere person.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your sense of adventure can make this a fun-filled weekend. It is easy to set off without a destination in mind. You take it for granted that people will overlook mistakes and forgive you for not being on time.
IF JULY 29 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Your sector of the zodiac is free of surprises and unnecessary stress during the year ahead. You can settle down into a pleasant routine and build your strength as ambitions grow. Plan to put your most important plans into motion in October or November when you will have cosmic help. That is a good time to make permanent improvements in the general direction of your life and to find lucrative opportunities. Late January or early February is a good time for wise business decisions, but in March you can successfully start or interview for a new job, or even meet a romantic partner when your popularity hits a high note.
(c) 2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.


text:
cookies and thingsFriday, May 18, 2007
Charlies pick this week for cookie of the week. They don't look so bad, do they?
They stunk! Total flop! I like you all too much to share this recipe! :) I just wanted to post a picture to document that I actually did make my cookies, and Charlie did have a turn!
I also got tagged by tiennie knits, magnusmog and life with, with the 7 random things. I feel like I am a little boring, but I will give it a try.
1. I don't love chocolate. I will eat it, but never have those chocolate cravings. Therefore, I love when my children pick a chocolate cookie for me to make. I know it won't call my name from the cookie jar like the other cookies do.
2. I have known my husband since I was 13. We never "liked" each other in Jr. high school, we were just friends. My family moved away when I was a sophomore in high school and I ran into him years later in San Francisco where I was living.
3. I love to sing, but am terrible! I sing and dance while making dinner and my kids think I am crazy!
4. I could eat chips and salsa all day.
5. I lived in Chicago after graduating from college working for Merrill Lynch. I wanted to be a stock broker, and was studying to take my Series 7 exam when I.......
6. Got hired by United Airlines to become a Flight Attendant. I flew International and Domestic, and was based in San Francisco.
7. All three of my children were born Cesarean section.
O.k, I guess that wasn't that bad. I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to play along.
Thanks so much for all of the compliments on my Hanne Falkenberg. You guys are the best!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
13 comments
Okay, hold on Leslie, I am a bit relieved that your cookies did not turn out, because you do everything so well, you put the rest of us to shame!ReplyDelete
The cookies do look yummy though!!!! Bummer they didn't turn out the way you wanted them too!!!!ReplyDelete
I love your 7 things!!!
Well, these cookies *do* look good - so sorry that they weren't as yummy as they seem! Thanks so much for sharing your list, this was so interesting to read through! My gosh, how much I admire you for not having chocolate cravings! My life would be a lot easier without that ;)))ReplyDelete
Yes terribly sorry about that. But I swear I didn't officially tag you. Peer pressure, arggh!ReplyDelete
Chips + salsa + guacamole = a full meal really.
I keep wondering if the boys my children paly with now will one day be their beaus. What a great thing to have shared childhood memories with your husband.
I love that you sing and dance while cooking, me too!
Thank you for sharing!
Ditto on the chips and salsa obsession...in fact I think I do eat them all day!ReplyDelete

subset: commoncrawl


text:
School of Rock (US - BD RA)
Jonathan revisits one of Jack Black's most endearing movies on Blu-ray..
Note: This Blu-ray is currently a Best Buy exclusive.
I don't have a whole lot to say about School of Rock. Chances are you've seen this popular movie by now. It's a sweet, harmless experience that served as a perfect showcase for Jack Black's wild comedic talents and performing capabilities. The movie doesn't have an unpredictable bone in its body, and the rock edge given to the proceedings does little to mask that fact. It's a by-the-books inspirational movie with rock music, but its blessed by an enthusiastic performance from Jack Black who keeps the film's energy high even when the beats are too familiar. The cast of wonderful child talents are also immensely charming and awe inspiring. Watching them make music together is a blast. I had a good time revisiting the film, but I don't see myself watching it again for another few years. Now onto the technical stuff.
At first glance, this 1080p transfer seems just fine, but on careful inspection it has some strange little inconsistencies. It is much more evident when the transfer is in motion than it is in my screen caps, but there are some jagged edges that pop up from time to time, usually on a characters face. It looks like the result of some mild sharpening effects applied in post. You can see an example of it if you look at the computer monitors to the left in the second screen cap. The transfer mostly maintains a healthy, consistent film grain, but occasionally that over-sharpening effect rears its ugly head and you get sharp little block clusters that aren't attractive. Color looks great for the most part, with good black levels, but there are still a few minor inconsistencies. Certain scenes look more washed out than others, but then some scenes look fantastic (like the stylishly lit concert stage at the end) and much better than standard definition could produce. Add detail to the list of inconsistencies, with some scenes looking overly sharpened and others looking on the blurrier side. This transfer could be much worse. It still has a clear advantage over the old DVD, and most probably won't be bothered by a lot of the things I've described, but picky videophiles will find plenty of frustrating little quirks in this catalog release.
Here is where this Blu-ray release gets to stretch its legs and show a clear advantage over previous releases. With lossless audio comes crisp, more dynamic sounding music. The drums sound appropriately poppy and energetic, string instruments are clear and sharp, and the bass guitar takes to the LFE channel like it should. The music is never particularly loud, even in the opening scene where Jack Black's character is playing a show with his former band in a crowded diner. In the classroom setting it is understandably quieter to allow room for the dialogue. The volume does get more ramped up in the concert finale though, and the music fits well into whatever environment it is being played in. Dialogue clarity is never an issue, even amid musical numbers. Certain environments like a concert show or a busy cafeteria will produce background noises in the surround channels, but there isn't much beyond that. There aren't a lot of surround effects and traveling noises to be found in this mix, but that really isn't necessary. When there isn't music on the soundtrack, its usually just characters exchanging words.
All the extras here are ported from the old DVD release. Things kick off with two Audio Commentary Tracks. The first features director Richard Linklater and actor Jack Black talking over the film. This is the much more informative of the two tracks. It's got plenty of lighthearted, goofy anecdotes, but they also recount a lot of the inspiration for ideas that made it into the movie. The second commentary is labeled the 'Kids' Kommentary', and features a few of the child actors commenting on the film and working with Jack Black.
Lessons Learned on 'School of Rock' (SD, 24:50) is a very encompassing documentary with a variety of on set footage and interviews. There's interviews with the kids, Richard Linklater, Jack Black, and the crew. There's even an amusing interview bit between Jack Black and one of the young actresses in the film. It's fun to watch Jack Black goofing around on set and see the composers working with the kids to give some of their classical music training more rock personality. It's a very entertaining and breezy 25 minutes.
Jack Black's Pitch to Led Zeppelin (SD, 03:35) is exactly what the title suggests. With an audience of extras behind him, Jack Black turned to the camera and begged the members of Led Zeppelin to let them use 'The Immigrant Song' in the film, and it worked. 'School of Rock' Music Video (SD, 3:38) is a promotional music video made for the film using the song 'School of Rock' from the film's soundtrack.
Kid's Video Diary: Toronto Film Festival (SD, 08:13) is a short look at the kid's journey to Toronto for a festival appearance. This is really just a showcase for the awesome kids in the movie, and won't teach you too much about their musical background. It's still enjoyable to see them getting starstruck at all the celebrities around. MTV's Diary of Jack Black (SD, 16:32) is a silly journey through a day in Jack Black's life, intersecting with interview footage of him talking about that day. It's strange and over-the-top goofy, but I'm sure dedicated Jack Black fans will find something to like here. Dewey Finn's History of Rock is a neat interactive feature with a navigational chalkboard that lets you study genres of music and read bios of popular artists. Lastly there is a Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:32).
School of Rock doesn't reinvent inspirational storytelling, but the wonderful cast of talented youngsters and an entertaining performance from Jack Black make it an endearing experience worth revisiting from time to time. This catalog release has some frustrating inconsistencies in the video department, but it is still a nice upgrade from the DVD. Audio sounds great and there are plenty of worthwhile extras ported over from the DVD release.
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray release and resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer.
Review by Jonathan Hogberg
matt86 Member Join Date: March 2008 Location: United States Posts: 868
This movie was only ok to me. Its weird it feels like it goes on forever then u look at the time and only 30 minutes or so have passed
Chris Gould Editor Join Date: May 2001 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,171
I'm going to see Tenacious D in October!
hogaburger Contributor Join Date: April 2007 Location: United States Posts: 1,153
Nice. I missed them when they came through here, but my friends had a blast seeing them.
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13
Disc Details
Release Date: 28th August 2012
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.78:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish, Dolby Digital 5.1 Portuguese
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: Commentary by Jack Black and Richard Linklater, Kid's Commentary, Lessons Learned on 'School of Rock', Jack Black's pitch to Led Zeppelin, 'School of Rock' Music Video, Kids' Video Diary: Toronto Film Festival, MTV's Diary of Jack Black, Dewey Finn's History of rock, Theatrical Trailer HD
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack
Genre: Comedy
Length: 109 minutes
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August 18. 2013 3:08PM
Two injured after jet-ski explosion in Moultonborough
By DAN SEUFERT
Union Leader Correspondent
MOULTONBOROUGH -- An Andover, Mass., man and an 8-year-old girl were taken to a Laconia hospital after the jet ski they were riding on exploded Sunday on Lake Winnipesaukee.
New Hampshire Marine Patrol officials said Steven Mitton, 56, and the girl were thrown from the vessel. Mitton's pelvis was broken and the girl suffered a head laceration.
Deputy Fire Chief Richard Buckler said authorities were still assessing the details of the 1:45 p.m. incident.
"It's a gas engine, it can explode," he said.
The two were taken to Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia. The incident, which is under investigation, happened near Orton Shores off Shaker Jerry Road, Buckler said.


text:
Dec. 3, 2009
Acting Dean of School of Library and Information Science Named
Ingrid Hsieh-Yee
Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, C.M., the president of The Catholic University of America, announced today that he has appointed Professor Ingrid Hsieh-Yee acting dean of the School of Library and Information Science.
Hsieh-Yee joined the library and information science faculty as an assistant professor in 1990. She became an associate professor in 1996 and ordinary professor in 2004.
She received a bachelor's degree in foreign languages and literature from National Taiwan University, master's degrees in comparative literature and library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a doctorate in library and information studies, also from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"I am delighted that Professor Hsieh-Yee has agreed to assume this responsibility because it ensures the stability and consistency of leadership as the school progresses toward innovative programming and a rigorous research agenda," says Provost James Brennan.
Hsieh-Yee's research and teaching interests include organization of information, metadata, digital collections, information architecture, library and information science education, information needs and behaviors, human computer interaction, knowledge management and research methods.
She has published numerous articles and books, including two editions of Organizing Audiovisual and Electronic Resources for Access and the National Information Standards Organization document "Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections."
She won research awards from the American Society for Information Science and Technology and the Association for Library and Information Science Education, and won best paper awards for her articles in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology and OCLC Systems and Services. She was on the editorial board of Library Quarterly from 2003 to 2008 and serves on the editorial board of the Chinese American Librarians Association's Occasional Papers Series. At CUA she chairs the Scholarly Communication Project Team that is building an institutional repository for the university community.
Hseih-Yee is also an active member of the American Society for Information Science and Technology and the Association for Library and Information Science Education. She was named American Society for Information Science and Technology SIG Member of the Year in 2009 and elected to its nomination committee in 2009.
Before coming to Catholic University, Hsieh-Yee was a cataloger at the Health Services Library at University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as teaching assistant and lecturer at the same university. She also was a cataloger at the Department of Legislative Reference Library in Annapolis, Md.
Kimberly Kelley, the current dean of CUA's School of Library and Information Science, is stepping down at the end of the fall semester.


text:
I do find it astonishing that Robyn Hitchcock isn't celebrating his 60th birthday with his rock royalty chums at Wembley, rather than with a few hundred diehards at a lovely, but small-ish East London venue. After all what is not to like? He has a voice like Lennon, songs that recall both Barrett and Dylan, jangly guitar episodes that summon up The Byrds and The Smiths, harmonies akin to the Wilson Brothers and surreal excursions influenced by the likes of Captain Beefheart and early Steeleye Span. He is a one man Spotify of all that's great in intelligent pop. And yet he sounds utterly distinctive too. If ever her maj needed to appoint an pop laureate he'd be the perfect person for the gig – though his late 80s track The Veins Of The Queen would probably be enough to ensure he didn't make the shortlist.
Tonight we are treated to a romp through his back catalogue in reverse chronological order. And even from the off the parallel universe pop hits come thick and fast with the stunning Goodnight Oslo from a couple of years back with its mesmeric guitar (originally supplied by one Peter Buck) and the Johnny Marr co-penned uplifting pop gem of Ordinary Millionaire early highlights.
A few songs in and we are transported to his more introspective period of just over a decade or so ago (which I gather was largely a reaction to major label push of a few years before), where gentle pop tunes are fleshed out by a cello and delicate female harmonies. The stunner here is No I Don't Remember Guildford, which soars away on gorgeous vocals and subtle strings.
The first half of the two sets take in Hitchcock's pop years when a cast of minor rock deity – Nick Lowe, Terry Edwards and Green Gartside to name but three of his conspirators, help him run through his very Beatley almost hit So You Think You Are In Love and the psychedelic vaudeville of The Wreck Of The Arthur Lee. Both wonderful songs that should have given the man his big breakthrough.
After a quick break and a poem from John Hegley the man returns with several songs from his mid-80s albums, including the glorious paean to an Isle of Wight beach, Airscpe, and the anti-Thatcher Barrett-esque blast that is Brenda's Iron Sledge.
Finally the time travelling troubadour arrives back in the late 70s with songs from his first band The Soft Boys. From an embarrassment of riches on the classic Underwater Moonlight album to choose Hitchcock, backed by two of the three original members of of the band, opts for a spirited Kingdom of Love rather than the more obvious new wave racket of I Wanna Destroy You or the perfect jangle pop of Queen of Eyes, but then you can't have everything…
Finally the whole cast are back on stage including, bizarrely, publishing guru and all round top bloke Mark Ellen and Adam Buxton of Adam and Joe fame, to climax with a track from the singer's latest album Love from London. That song, The End Of Time might be fresh to most of the people hearing it, but it fits in perfectly as yet another jewel in the career of a singer who hopefully will have many more songs to come.
Robyn and Acapella guests
If you have never heard Hitchcock, probably best to start here.


text: My style pick for this week is this gorgeous Comme Des Garcons wallet from Start London. Mr Start, a past columnist for Brandish, has a great look and I can imagine this item slotting into his vintage chic and classic cool wardrobe quite nicely. The embossed leather is a great cerulean blue, made famous by the brilliant film 'The Devil Wears Prada.' The wallet has a zip around two sides and an "internal pocket to hold either coins, cards or bills."


text:
Bill Gillett: Hari Maya's life here proof of America's commitment to freedomBY BILL GILLETT
July 07. 2013 3:23PM
Hari Maya Acharya passed away in Manchester on Friday, June 21. She died of natural causes at the age of 91. She lived in Manchester for the last four years of her life. She never learned English, did not have a job, and rarely left her home. Her life here in our city, however, was a great gift to her and her family but also to the residents of the Manchester and the citizens of the United States.
Hari Maya grew up in Bhutan. Her family was prosperous. Her husband was a business owner who died at the age of 37. Her son, Hom, and his five brothers established a thriving import business and Hom, a successful entrepreneur, became a leader in their community.
Her life, until 1990, was stable, happy and largely unremarkable. That year though, things changed. Her son was taken away to prison although he had committed no crime. The government had decided that it no longer wanted the ethnic Nepali community, whose history in Bhutan extended back for more than 200 peaceful years, to remain in the country.
There was little news of her son in prison. He was tortured. At one point, she was told her son was dead. After a few years, her family learned that her son was being released but there was little joy as the family understood they had to flee the country immediately with only what they could carry as they journeyed to India on foot. Turned out of her home, denied the citizenship she had held for 70 years from birth, she made her way to a refugee camp in Nepal with more than 100,000 members of her community. She lived there, in a bamboo hut with no running water or electricity for the next 16 years.
In 2009, at the age of 87, Hari Maya and her family were accepted for resettlement to the United States. With no prospect of returning to Bhutan, she and her family had lived with no hope, no future, no country. Now they were given a new home and a new life. For her, it was too late to work in Manchester, to learn the language or to engage in the community, but her presence here mattered. She stayed with her son and daughter-in-law and saw her son recover from the scars of torture through the medical care available in our city. She saw her grandson and his wife become leaders in their community in New Hampshire and begin careers. She moved with her family into a house in the North End of Manchester. A tree-lined street and beautiful home as far from the refugee camp as can be imagined. She also met and lived with her great grandson, the first member of her family born in the United States.
This city, this state, this nation gave her family a home and a future. She died knowing that they were safe and thriving, that their 20-year ordeal was truly over, and that they were now free to chart their own destiny. Despite arriving in Manchester in the last few years of her long life, she gave us a gift of equally great value. Her children are now part of our future and contribute to our community. Her grandchildren are starting businesses and pursuing careers in health care and engineering. Her great-grandchildren are and will be the students who will become the young workers we need to keep our city and state thriving.
But her personal journey is perhaps her greatest gift to us. As a nation, we chose to rescue this 87 year-old woman, affirming both our original democratic ideals and our hope for future generations of Americans.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
Hari Maya allowed these United States to show the world that we understand what it means to be bound to each other by our common humanity. That being a person implies a sense of community that transcends borders, and oceans, and language, and race, transcends class, and creed. Hari Maya's acceptance here proved that we, as Americans, are committed, absolutely, to freedom and justice for all.
Bill Gillett is a member of the board of directors of the International Institute of New England and a Manchester resident.


text:
By Ashley King
Ubisoft had their quarterly investors call last week, during which CEO Yves Guillemot had some interesting things to say about the Wii U. He mentioned that the company is currently satisfied with the launch of the Wii U and happy with the market share the company holds in both North America and Europe. He does mention that low tie-in ratios" for software has impacted sales.
basically what they saying wii u owners dont buy wii u games.
The developers have recently protested Ubisoft's decision, though Ubisoft has not released a statement on this.
Explain yourself, Ubi' illin! Even your developers think so.
Actually, besides greed, I don't get why they're releasing the game on all platforms at the same time. They could have just as well put it out on the WiiU first then the other systems a few months later. Its not like the game is system seller or that the wait would really sell fewer copies of the game.
Of course Ubisoft is 'satisfied'. They have invested heavily into the hardware, more so than most if not all 3rd party publishers. They don't want to admit it's not selling well already.
why wouldnt they be , considering all lies and hate articles and some misteps by nintendo the wiiu is doing good


text:
Animal Species:Bronze Flat Butterfly
The Bronze Flat rests with its wings flat, which is unusual as most butterflies rest with their wings held vertically.
Standard Common Name
Bronze Flat
Alternative Name/s
Eastern Flat
Size range
5 cm
The Bronze Flat lives in urban areas, forests and woodlands.
Feeding and Diet
The Bronze Flat feeds on a variety of plants and its larvae are known to feed on at least 20 native plant species.
Other behaviours and adaptations
The caterpillars of the Bronze Flat protect themselves by hiding inside leaves. They cut a circular 'lid' from a leaf, attach it to the rest of the leaf with a 'hinge', and hide inside. When they pupate, they make a simpler shelter by rolling up a leaf.
- Species:
- repanda
- Genus:
- Netrocoryne
- Subfamily:
- Pyrginae
- Family:
- Hesperiidae
- Superfamily:
- Hesperioidea
- Order:
- Lepidoptera
- Class:
- Insecta
- Subphylum:
- Uniramia
- Phylum:
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
Last Updated:
Tags butterflies, insects, arthropods, invertebrates, identification, wildlife of sydney,


text:
With the endless possibilities that the internet now delivers to the end user of a product, it's no marvel to see so many titles in this current generation of games receive post content support.
Whilst both the Halo and Call of Duty franchise receive Map Packs, racers such as Forza receives new tracks and cars for players to drive, there's one particular title that seems to get a plethora of new post content support, stacking on countless hours of entertainment.
That said game is, Borderlands 2.
It's amazing how much post-publication DLC this game is getting
This game is TOO addictive - and a little hard work at times, for us single player types.


text:
Member Login
Member Login
About Us
WHO WE ARE We are the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN), Inc. We help make possible the delivery of free legal services to low-income Pennsylvanians. We are the corporate entity that provides strategic leadership and coordination for ten independent, regional legal aid programs and six specialized legal resource programs that together comprise the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network. By providing an administrative framework and strategic oversight, we help guide member legal aid programs that collectively offer free legal advice and representation in civil cases to more than 100,000 low-income clients per year, that deliver self-help information and community education services to another 400,000-plus people in need, and that provide countless referrals to other service providers and pro bono lawyers.
HOW WE WORK PLAN, Inc. funds the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network of programs providing direct client services. The programs in the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network strive to make good on the promise of "Justice for All." Legal aid services are, in fact, vital, providing recourse for those who have nowhere else to turn. For example, legal aid advocates frequently represent victims of domestic violence and abused or neglected children. They may help an impoverished family win life-sustaining benefits or find a way for a low-income worker to avoid unfair eviction. They often seek system-wide change as they take on challenges to increase the availability of affordable housing, make health care more accessible to working families, or improve services to the elderly. We at PLAN, Inc. support the efforts of our member legal aid programs so they in turn can promote and protect fairness and equality for all.
For more information about PLAN, Inc, please view the following sections:


text:
Welcome to DentalXChange, the leader in EDI solutions for the dental industry.
Our goal at DentalXChange is to help the business side of your practice run more efficiently. Our products and services improve productivity, lower costs and make your job easier. Dental is our sole focus so you can be sure that our services have been specifically designed to improve the interaction between Dentists, Patients, and Insurance Companies.
With Electronic Claims, Real-Time Eligibility, EOB Services, Merchant Services, Patient Services and Web Portal Solutions, DentalXChange has the expertise and resources to help your practice grow.
Please click on the links above for details on all of the products we offer and see why more than 12,000 dental offices across the country have entrusted their practices to DentalXChange.


text:
Jon & Kate Gosselin made their widely anticipated appearance in a Pennsylvania courthouse this morning to battle over allegations that Jon withdrew $230,000 from the couple's shared banking account.
Jon had also filed court papers of his own against Kate — claiming she withdrew over $60,000 from their joint account this year without permission … and that there's over $1 million that hasn't been properly accounted for.
According to TMZ, the judge failed to make a ruling today, instead ordering the estranged couple to settle up and work it out with the arbitrator. The judge declared he will go along with anything the arbitrator decides under one condition — it has to be in the best interests of the children.
The judge also said any monies taken improperly from the joint account should be returned, but he didn't get specific. He also suggested Jon and Kate keep things "private" and "amicable" from here on out. Highly doubt that will be happening anytime soon.
The couple is due back in court on Oct. 26th.


text:
Can you hear that? No? No wonder. The buzz around honeybees, which began when they started disappearing in alarming numbers has been dwindling, even as the rate of their disappearance has not.
In the age of natural disasters and their pop-culture counterparts, natural disaster films, it's often difficult to make a "deep impact" (get it?) on the public. However, in Vanishing of the Bees, filmmakers George Langworthy and Maryam Henein address a topic as fascinating as it is frightening, and get the viewer involved as both detective and victim in the who-done-it thriller.
The documentary, narrated by Ellen Page (Juno, Inception), follows the story of American beekeepers, who in 2006 began noticing that their bees were disappearing in staggering numbers. Honey bees, whose hard work holds up some $15 billion in food sales in the U.S. alone, are dying at a rate of 60 percent in some countries. Commercial beekeepers David Hackenburg and Dave Mendes provide devastating firsthand accounts of the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In what certainly could be the plot of a horror movie, bees seem to evaporate into thin air, leaving few if any corpses behind. Although their involvement in monoculture is (spoiler alert!) questionably the cause of CCD, it was the activism of both Hackenburg and Mendes that led to national recognition of CCD, and spurred subsequent studies that left scientists baffled. They lead the filmmakers through their farms, with row after row of empty hives, and through tears both men explain why CCD isn't only destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of American beekeepers—but is also symptomatic of larger ecological problems.
The health of bees, Hackenburg explains, is an indicator of the health of the environment, and it's likely that CCD has everything to do with modern farming practices. Both Hackenburg and Mendes describe how honeybees are used extensively for the pollination of monocrops, and are shipped around the country as pollinators for hire. Through the eyes of the filmmakers, we become privy to some bizarre and off-putting commercial beekeeping practices. In one scene, a scientist artificially inseminates a sedated queen. In another, we watch as a commercial beekeeper murders a queen by pinching off her head, to be replaced with someone younger and supposedly more fertile.
As you might suspect, the film does eventually come around to pin pesticide use as the most likely culprit—and the evidence is mighty convincing. In 2003 farms began using systemic pesticides, such as neonicotinoid, clothianidin and imidacloprid. Beekeepers and scientists who examined the bees contracted out to monoculture farms that use systemic pesticides noticed the bees often appeared confused and disoriented. This led them to believe that the accumulation of pesticides in the honey bees might be acting as neurotoxins, interfering with their nervous or immune systems.
Now you might be saying, "Aren't there government agencies set up to conduct studies ensuring these chemicals are safe?" Well, this wouldn't be a politically charged documentary if it didn't point out some alarming holes in the regulatory process. Bayer, the company that produces the most widely used systemic pesticide Gaucho, is the company that provides the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the studies and data considered when approving the pesticide. The EPA approved the use of Clothianidin in 2003, despite the fact that the EPA's own report acknowledges clothianidin is highly toxic to honeybees. The absurdity doesn't stop there—all of the studies conducted by Bayer focused on the short-term affects of the chemicals, not the long-term affects that worry beekeepers and experts alike.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation in Vanishing of the Beesis that CCD is not a previously undocumented occurrence. In 1997 when beekeepers in France began noticing a rapid decrease in their honey bee population, they took action by protesting and demanding an investigation into whether Gauchowas killing their bees. The use of Gauchowas suspended for the whole French Territory while the effects of Gauchowere tested between 1999 and 2000. In 2008, France finally completely rejected the use of clothianidin and Germany, whose agricultural groups have been protesting the use of the clothianidin since 2004, followed suit.
A 2008 presentation at the American Chemical Society's national meeting verified that dozens of pesticides—including some neonicotinoids – are linked to CCD. In the same year, with U.S. honeybee deaths climbing to more than 36 percent nationally and up to 70 percent in Texas, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a suit against the EPA, demanding the release of documentation the EPA used to approve Bayer's clothianidin submission in 2003 under the Freedom of Information Act. The EPA ignored the suit entirely. The NRDC continues to believe that the EPA does have evidence linking neonicotinoid pesticides and honey bee deaths, and has failed to make that evidence public.
In 2007, Congress recognized CCD as a potential disaster and gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) an undisclosed budget to study the problem. The USDA also gets an additional $20 million a year under the 2008 Farm Bill to pursue solutions. However, the USDA has not been able to account for the funds, nor has it arrived at any consensus.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to today. Systemic pesticides are still being used in monoculture crops, and honeybee populations continue to plummet. However, some beekeepers and scientists interviewed in the documentary believe CCD may be a blessing in disguise. There is hope that more attention focused on this disaster could reveal the true nature of our farming practices, eventually leading to more meaningful regulations and support for more sustainable methods. There are signs that efforts to promote honey bee and CCD awareness have not gone unnoticed—in March of 2010 New York City's board of health voted unanimously to lift a ban against beekeeping, legalizing the hives of hundreds of residents who have kept hives of Apis mellifera, the common, nonaggressive honeybee, in defiance of the law.
On August 20th 2010, the filmmakers of Vanishing of the Bees held a summit including concerned nonprofits, for-profits and beekeepers (including GRACE, PANNA, Beyond Pesticides, The James Beard Foundation, Burt's Bees and the NRDC) to discuss how the film could be used to educate the public and move towards legal reform. While there is no immediate fix to this problem, one thing is for sure: you do not have to wait for the government to act to save the honey bee. Following the suggestions in the movie, you can take action NOW – find the actions on the Vanishing of the Bees websiteunder "Take Action." Educate yourself and your friends and family by attending a screening of the film, and, as always, vote with your fork!
As a part of the film's Bee the Change campaign, "Vanishing of the Bees" will be playing across the U.S. in theaters, libraries, schools, parks, churches and homes. You can also register on the websiteto host your own screening. Contributions to this film will help to raise awareness about the bees and their vital role in our ecology and provide solutions to the public to improve bee health and better our environment. Funds will also go towards creating an educational version of the documentary and building honeybee sanctuaries to preserve bee health.


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The quick response of firefighters out of Station 2 on West Street saved a single-family home on Phoenix Road Sunday night, Fire Lt. Christopher P. Cavan said.
The two-alarm fire started outside 22 Phoenix Road in the grass, and high winds caused it to spread to mopeds in the backyard, causing an explosion from the gas tanks and tires. The fire then spread to a deck under construction and the exterior siding, he said.
Several people called the Fire Department around 5 p.m. about visible fire and explosions, he said.
�The initial call was for an explosion,� he said. �There was a large volume of visible fire and explosions. There was a two-minute response and they had it knocked down in seven to eight minutes. They got there in short order and prevented it from damaging the inside of the home, thanks to the engine company�s timely and appropriate response. Five minutes longer and we would have had full-structural involvement.�
The fire chief prohibited outside burning at 1 p.m. Sunday because of high-wind conditions, he said.
�It was considered a high fire hazard day by the state, and we only allowed burning in the morning,� he said.
However, there was no burn permit issued for 22 Phoenix Road, Lt. Cavan said.
There was an elderly man in the home, but it did not appear that he was outside burning, he said. The cause of the fire appears accidental, he said.
No one was injured and the home is still habitable, he said.
The fire is still under investigation.


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Hi there I'm new to the forums and pretty much new to everything else. I really want to get into climbing and mountaineering, but i have absolutely NO experience. What I've seen and read about mountaineering, climbing to the top of the world seems amazing. I'm not even a very active person, but i want to make big changes to my life. But i have no idea where to start! At the moment I'm a student with very little money to spare, I'm also quite busy. However i feel determined to become a decent climber, to see the world. I'm 20 years old, although I'm not that old i feel time is running out for me, i need to start making changes and getting involved as soon as possible.
So could anyone push me in the right direction? like I've said i have no experience what so ever and need to know exactly where to start. Do i join a climbing club and work my way up and advance my skills from there? do i go off on my own? How did any of you get into climbing/mountaineering and at what age did you start? how many years was it before you started pushing yourself to new limits?
If anyone could get back to me with some information that would be great.
Regards, Will B


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Whether you are a graduate student or an elementary school teacher, VFS can help you!
We have resources for elementary and secondary students who want to learn more about vertical flight.
If you are a college student, find out about our Student Design Competition, where you can compete against other schools in what may be the biggest challenge of your academic career! Find out if there's an VFS Student Chapter at your university – or if there isn't one, start your own!
We also have scholarships available for undergraduate and graduate studies. $50,000 or more in scholarships are awarded each year!
Universities are also eligible for special membership benefits, and can subscribe to the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Helicopter Society. Find out also about the VFS Education Committee.


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The accident immediately sent Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community into mourning and sparked action from elected officials.
Six-months pregnant with her first child, Raizel Glauber and her husband, Nachman Glauber, were in a livery cab on Wilson Street approaching Kent Avenue when the northbound-traveling BMW sedan slammed into their vehicle.
According to police, the driver was traveling at 60 mph before hitting their car, which injured the cab driver and killed the family in the backseat.
Raizel was thrown from the car, across the street and under a parked trailer while her husband was pinned in the twisted metal of the cab. Both husband and wife were 21 years old, and both were pronounced dead upon arrival at nearby hospitals.
The couple's unborn boy son was delivered by C-section, but the tiny baby died the next day.
Police now believe the driver of the vehicle was Acevedo, an ex-con with a long rap sheet that includes shooting and killing a man in Brooklyn, for which he served eight years in prison.
Acevedo was arrested for drunk driving just two weeks ago with a blood-alcohol content of .13.
According to published reports, friends of Acevedo say he is trying to raise the money to hire a lawyer and then will turn himself in. Those same friends also told reporters that Acevedo was driving in Brooklyn when a nemesis spotted him and began a high-speed chase.
In interviews while on the lam, Acevedo said that he was being shot at, the reason he was driving so fast and the reason he fled the scene.
In the meantime, police have offered a $2,000 reward for information leading them to Acevedo. Two City Council members and members of the Orthodox Jewish community are also offering rewards totaling $15,000.
If caught, Acevedo could face vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide charges, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in jail. However, in order to do that, prosecutors must first prove Acevedo was intoxicated, difficult to do since he fled the scene.
Otherwise, Acevedo could get off with the misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
On Monday, Assemblyman David Weprin and State Senator Eric Adams announced they will push for harsher legislation changing the misdemeanor charge for leaving the scene of an accident to a class C felony.
"We are coming together as a unified body to do everything we can to ensure the person responsible for this issue is brought to justice," Adams said. "We want this person brought in."
Under the statutes of the new proposal, anyone who leaves the scene of an accident resulting in an injury will be charged with aggravated vehicular assault, facing a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.
If the incident results in a death, the driver will be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and face up to 20 years in jail.
"This is a terrible tragedy and those responsible should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Weprin. "In New York State, there will no longer be a legal incentive to leave the scene of an accident. Closing this loophole in our state laws won't bring this young couple back, but it may prevent future accidents from ending this way."
Rabbi Meyer Berger, director of operations at Chesed Shel Emes, was there on the night of the tragedy, traveled in the ambulance with Raizel to the hospital and watched as the frenzied events unraveled. March 4 would have been her 22nd birthday.
"For a coward like that to create this tragedy, leave the scene, he has seen everything and watched everything on TV and he still hasn't come forward, this is unbelievable," Berger said.
Elected officials are also pushing the Department of Transportation to inspect the intersection and install a traffic light to slow traffic on Kent Avenue and prevent this from ever happening again.
"What is heartwarming for the community is to see the elected officials take immediate action," Berger said. "In the name of the community, to ask legislators to support this legislation we'll make sure that criminals like this will not do this ever again."


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Peak Lists
Log In
Ascent of Mount Adams-West Slope on 2009-07-05
Dennis Poulin
Others in Party:
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ascent Type:
Successful Summit Attained
Mount Adams-West Slope
8920 ft / 2718 m
Ascent Trip Report
I had been delaying climbing to the Skamania County Highpoint for a couple of years because it was a long difficult hike and it is not the summit of anything except Skamania County. I guess I am more of a peakbagger than a "liner" tagger. I was fortunate enough to be invited along on a group attempt on Bonanza Peak for early July and we were fortunate enough to tag that summit on July 3, 2009. One of my hiking companions on that trip was Adam Helman the webmaster for the County Highpoint Organization and he had an interest in tackling Skamania County with me afterward. I was fortunate enough to have hiked with Adam previously on Mount Olympus and Grand Teton, so I had great confidence in his abilities.
We took a day of rest on July 4th after Bonanza Peak and just drove to the Divide Camp Trailhead, ate well and hydrated for our next attempt on Skamania County. We planned an early start so that when ascending the snow slopes it would still be firm instead of post holing in slush.
Our car alarms went off way too early and we hit the trail at 4:30AM using our headlamps to find the route. The trail was covered with snow and it was nice and firm at this early hour. We made good progress up the hill. A couple of times we lost the trail and had to fan out and look carefully by headlamp for old boot prints in the snow to find the trail again. When we finally reached the PCT it was fully daylight and time for a break and a snack. We saw that the PCT was completely covered with a couple feet of snow. The snow was still firm, so we just headed directly towards the west ridge of Mt Adams about 2.5 miles as the crow flies.
We found that the snow up here was really just ice and we found it easier to stay on the rocky moraines whenever possible. We were carrying our crampons and ice axes, but didn't want to put them on and take them off every time we came on a patch of ice. There is nothing technical about this route, just negotiating ice patches and rocky slopes. We made good progress across the west side of Mt Adams, enjoying the views, and gaining elevation as we hiked.
When we reached the Pinnacle Glacier, we put on our crampons and headed up towards the west ridge of Mt Adams. The glacier is not very steep and there are no crevasses on the lower glacier. It is a good hiking surface and we just kept following the contours and slopes of the glacier until we reached the west ridge. It was time for another break and we dropped our crampons and ice axes here. The wind was blowing pretty good across the ridge so we didn't rest too long. We could see that the ridge was an ice free rocky slope and wouldn't need the crampons higher up.
Climbing the last 1,000 ft up the west ridge was tedious. Very rocky with lots of rock hopping trying not to break a leg or twist an ankle. Adam is a much faster hiker than I am and he quickly gained ground ahead of me. It was just as well because we each were kicking loose rocks down once in a while. It was good that we were separated on the mountain. We climbed up above the Skamania highpoint on the ridge so that we were sure we went high enough. It was lunchtime now because we started so early. We found a depression in a rocky area that was almost out of the wind but it was difficult to get real comfortable.
After lunch we headed back down the ridge. Adam stayed right behind me as I led the way down. I don't think he wanted me to kick rocks down on him. When we reached the glacier, we put our crampons back on and headed down. The snow had softened now and it was great hiking down, we stayed on the snow as long as we could because the footing was so good. Our route down was lower on the mountain than the one we took going up, so we had to search around a little to find the Divide Camp Trail. Fortunately, we had set waypoints in our GPS units. Once on the Divide Camp Trail, we made good time back to the trailhead and our trucks. In retrospect, I enjoyed this hike in a beautiful area. I don't know why I had put it off for a couple years.
Total hike was 13.4 miles, gained 4,300 ft in elevation, and took just under 10 hours.
Summary Total Data
Elevation Gain:
4300 ft / 1310 m
Elevation Loss:
4300 ft / 1310 m
13.4 mi / 21.6 km
Route Conditions:
Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail, Open Country, Snow on Ground, Snow Climb, Glacier Climb
Gear Used:
Ice Axe, Crampons
Ascent Statistics
Elevation Gain:
4300 ft / 1310 m
6.7 mi / 10.8 km
4620 ft / 1408 m
Descent Statistics
Elevation Loss:
4300 ft / 1310 m
6.7 mi / 10.8 km
4620 ft / 1408 m
This page has been served 798 times since 2005-01-15.
Copyright © 1987-2018 by Peakbagger.com. All Rights Reserved.
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text:
30 June 2008 12:00
Docs/Installing Mandriva Linux/Writing CD and DVD images
eu aqui com o mandriva linux
1 (1 marks)
Founded in late 2003 and heartquartered in France, we are non-profit and independant.
We believe in the open web, think internet services should be sustainable, build for the long term.
While we are re-launching the service, we only accept new members through invitation.


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Welcome to the Virus Encyclopedia of Panda Security.
Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT/ME/98/95
Lowzones.TG is a Trojan, which although seemingly inoffensive, can actually carry out attacks and intrusions.
It reduces the security level of the computer:
it terminates processes belonging to security tools, such as antivirus programs and firewalls, leaving the computer defenseless against attacks from other malware; it changes the security settings of Internet Explorer, decreasing its security level.
It uses stealth techniques to avoid being detected by the user:
Lowzones.TG uses the following propagation or distribution methods:


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Parent Directory | Revision Log
|Links to HEAD:
|(view) (download) (annotate)
|Links to MAIN:
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Summer cleaning (Portage version: 184.108.40.206/cvs/Linux x86_64, signed Manifest commit with key 0xCDBA2FDB)
Update to EAPI=4. (Portage version: 2.2.0_alpha131/cvs/Linux x86_64)
Stabilization (Portage version: 188.8.131.52/cvs/Linux x86_64)
Updating SELinux userspace utilities to support pending 2.20120215 policies (Portage version: 184.108.40.206/cvs/Linux x86_64)
This form allows you to request diffs between any two revisions of this file. For each of the two "sides" of the diff, select a symbolic revision name using the selection box, or choose 'Use Text Field' and enter a numeric revision.
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More drama to come.
Denise Vasi joined the VH1 series "Single Ladies" during its second season, which ends on August 27. Luckily, any cliffhangers presented in the love lives of main characters Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy), Raquel (Vasi) and April (Charity Shea) will be answered, as a season three was just announced by the network.
Season two of "Single Ladies," saw Vasi's socialite Raquel, leave her "perfect" fiancé in search of fulfillment and passion. She went on to romance characters played by William Levy ("Dancing with the Stars"), Ricky Whittle ("Hollyoaks") and other hot men.
"Single Ladies" averaged 3.2 million total viewers during premiere episodes plus encores. Season three will debut in 2013.
For more on "All My Children" alum, like Walt Willey, go to Soaps.com's After the Soap Finales: Where Are They Now? Who was Katie Holmes recently spotted with? Find out in Soap Opera Fan's Star Gazing.
Join us on Twitter @soapoperafan, and Facebook. Come tweet and Facebook with us about "All My Children," all the other soap operas, "Dallas," "Glee," "Grey's Anatomy," "Vampire Diaries," and "Venice The Series."
- Lori Wilson


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Rochester woman under arrest in underage party
June 19. 2013 6:45AM
ROCHESTER – A local woman is under arrest, accused of hosting a drug and underage drinking party at her Sarah Court home last May.
Jessica Chamberlain, 33, of 7a Sarah Court, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging her with facilitating an underage drinking party; facilitating a drug house party; four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, criminal contempt, and body art on a minor.
Police discovered the party on May 18 when they were called to Chamberlain's home for a disturbance.
What's next:Chamberlain refused bail and is being held pending arraignment Wednesday in 7th Circuit Court, Rochester District Division.


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Style # 208024
With pleating around neckline, lightweight fabric and drop waist design, this bebe romper is a lovely way to give your wardrobe a colorful lift.
- 100% lyocell
- Center back to waist: 16" (41 cm)
- Rise: 11" (28 cm)
- Inseam: 3" (8 cm)
- Leg opening: 24" (61 cm)
- Slit pockets
- Dry clean
- Imported
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Pleated Neck Romper is rated out of 5 by 1.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Lucy610 from Adorable!! This model doesn't do this romper justice. Bought this yesterday, paired with Kayla peep toe booties. Hot look!! Its cinched at the waist and has a key hole on top. Shorts arent too short but definitely shows off legs n butt! Love it.
Date published: 2012-12-30


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
As part of ongoing enforcement efforts, attorney general will operate hotline to address language access, polling place barriers and other problems on Election Day
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced an Election Day hotline to help ensure that minority-language voters, people with disabilities and all eligible voters are able to cast an effective ballot during the Sept. 10 primary election. The attorney general urges voters to call the office's hotline at 800-771-7755 or email [email protected] at any time between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. to report issues or problems at the polls.
"My office is committed to full enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and other federal and state laws that require equal access to the ballot box. Our Election Day hotline will help ensure that all eligible voters across our state are able to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote on Election Day," Schneiderman said.
During the Office's 2012 Election Day monitoring effort, the office fielded hundreds of complaints from voters across the state and worked with local election officials and others to help troubleshoot and resolve many issues and barriers faced by voters at the polls. This year's 2013 monitoring efforts comes on the heels of recent agreements secured with Schenectady, Sullivan, Ulster, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam and Chautauqua counties pursuant to Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act, which requires that certain Spanish-speaking voters be provided bilingual ballots, bilingual election-related materials and language assistance at the polls. The Election Day hotline is part of Schneiderman's ongoing statewide initiative to ensure that these and other voters have equal access to the political process and do not encounter language barriers on Election Day.
In addition, the attorney general's office will be focused on barriers impacting voters with disabilities and other issues faced by minority voters. The office will receive and respond to election-related complaints relating to any of the statutes that the office enforces. Attorneys within the office's civil rights bureau will work with election officials across the state to respond to and address problems as they arise.
To report a complaint about discriminatory voting practices on Election Day, call the OAG's hotline at 800-771-7755 or email [email protected] at any time between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Click here for more information about voting in New York state.


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A man was killed after speeding through evening rush-hour traffic on a motorcycle Wednesday on Interstate 95 near the Baltimore northern city/county line, Maryland Transportation Authority officials said.
The man was racing with another motorcyclist about 6:30 p.m., and witnesses said the two were performing wheelies as they sped along, an MdTA spokesman said. The man struck a Buick and was badly injured in the crash, while the other motorcyclist left the scene.
The man has not been identified pending notification of his next of kin. He was medevaced to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver of the Buick was not injured.


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How we think men feel about penis size is so embedded in popular culture that a Lamborghini can rarely drive by fast enough to evade the ensuing punch line. But new research out of King's College in London reveals that actual size might have nothing to do with whether or not a man feel's "penis shame."
Some well-endowed men feel shameful and dissatisfied in relation to their size, while others with others who are smaller than average express genuine confidence and satisfaction, according to the study. "It's an emotional feeling" not based whatsoever on a measuring tape, says the study's lead author David Veale.
To reach their findings, researchers recruited 173 men online and at the university to answer a battery of questions about body image, erectile function, and other concerns about their sexual parts, LiveScience reports. In addition, 46 men agreed to having their penises measured in both flaccid and erect states.
Results showed that 30 percent of the subjects reported dissatisfaction with their genitals, with only 35 percent saying that they were very happy with their penis size. Older men and gay and bisexual men reported higher levels of anxiety regarding their penis size, the findings showed.
LiveScience added that "big or small didn't matter as much as the fears men carried in their heads." Veale said: "Quite a few of them have been teased about their size either by an ex-partner or in the showers as an adolescent."
So, though one can still landscape the bush to provide an illusion of size, it seems the grass might not be as greener on the other side as folks imagine.
As studies go, this is hardly groundbreaking. We've known for ever that it isn't simply men with small penises = lacking in confidence. It's a perception issue, and it happens to men of all sizes. If this helps to breakdown the stereotypes though then it's not a bad thing. The presumption that "big" brings confidence creates way more problems than actual size because people are ridiculously unaware of what the average penis size is in their country.


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Shoot The Breeze / Re: My Friend FRANK« on: November 14, 2015, 09:19:20 AM »
Sounds good, we need trees, going to look empty pretty soon, they got hole 4, soon 14 I would imagine. Going to be a long winter.Happy Veterans Day Frankie and to all the Veterans!Thanks Randy, it means a lot! I was in a Veterans Day parade. I've been thinking, maybe we could do another bench next year.


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|San Jose, Calif.
As a senior (2013): Sat in the three seat with the second varsity eight in the boat's first four races of the season, but missed the remainder of the year with injury…also sat in the three seat in one race with the second varsity four.
As a junior (2012): Competed with the second varsity eight, novice eight, varsity four and novice four during the spring…sat at two with the varsity four in the boat's final six races of the season…won a silver medal with the varsity four at the WIRA Championships, and a bronze with the boat at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships…sat in the three seat with the JV8 at the San Diego Crew Classic…competed with the novice eight in the two seat (once) and the six seat (once).
Personal: A criminal justice major…has a 7:27.7 time on the 2,000-meter erg test.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Onstage, Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham, stars of Broadway's "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," are in a death struggle. Literally. Pinkham's character, ambitious social climber Monty Navarro, kills Mays' character — make that multiple characters — repeatedly.
Offstage, well, they still could be in a death struggle, because they're pitted against each other at Sunday's Tonys, for best actor in a musical.
But any murderous intention is well hidden. In fact, it seems the only physical danger these gents might be in comes from laughing too hard — they rather enjoy cracking each other up.
In a recent pre-show chat, Mays was munching on a salad, and Pinkham was literally bouncing off his seat with adrenaline. Both marveled at the show's renewed buzz, due to its haul of 10 Tony nods (many predict the show will win best musical.) They revealed how they peek out the curtain at faces in the audience — and discussed the level of, um, expectoration — i.e., spit — in the show.
(The conversation has been edited and condensed — these guys are talkers!)
AP: How does the Tony buzz feel?
Pinkham: Like a renewed stamp of approval. I mean, we're 'the little show that could.' We're not a revival, not a star vehicle. It's a hard sell. My character's a serial killer! And the show has a title that's not a single word.
Mays: You know, often, out-of-town shows bloom and flourish like little mountain flowers behind a boulder, seen by some solitary hikers, and then wither and die. But here we're on Broadway, with this glorious future! Extraordinary.
AP: It looks exhausting. How do you do eight shows a week?
Mays: That's something we're still discovering!
Pinkham: One of the reasons Tony season has been so great for us is that the resurgence of energy in the house really sort of feeds you. And we're thinking, gosh, this audience is seeing this joke for the first time! That's really exciting, because we KNOW it's funny!
Mays: I'm a curtain peeker too, which isn't professional at all, but before the lights go down I look out at faces and think, who are you? And I sort of do it for them.
AP: Yikes, you can see us that closely?
Mays: Well, my eyesight isn't that good, to be honest.
AP: Can you tell how people are reacting?
Pinkham: About 15 minutes into the show I have a chance to look into the front row, and then I check in again at the end of the first act. By then, they're smiling ear to ear. My favorite reaction is when there's pain associated with laughter. Tears are streaming down faces.
AP: Wow. So you're getting different energy from audience now?
Mays: Well, there's more of them! In the winter you could sort of hunt deer in the mezzanine. Now, it's packed.
Pinkham: And I love how people really thank us at the end. There's no better feeling.
Mays: They've had a really good laugh. That's just the sweetest thing to hear.
AP: There's a lot of, shall we say, expectoration in this show.
Mays: It's an occupational hazard. It's the language. The songs go so fast and they require such hyper-articulation that you're bound to spit.
(Around this point, comparing the language to Gilbert and Sullivan, the actors break into "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General.")
Mays: This is our audition tape! Bryce, you could be the pirate king! And I could be the general.
AP: Back to the spitting: does it happen naturally?
Mays: Yes. It's nothing we're doing to deliberately gross out the audience (well, except for one scene.) There's nothing worse than doing a student matinee of a serious play, and you expectorate, and everyone goes, "Ewwww!"
Pinkham, laughing: Yeah, "EWWWWW! "
AP: Do you have pre-show routines?
Pinkham: Jefferson goes around and says hello to our entire company. It's team-building.
Mays: It's just nice to touch base with everybody. My part is kind of lonely actually. I'm always onstage or running to change.
AP: Are you nervous?
Pinkham: We look out there, and there's a moment of fear, translated back into excitement. That's how we get energy — it's the rush, the adrenaline.
Mays: And you suck it vampirically from the audience.
AP: Vampirically! Bryce, have you ever had a co-star with such a great vocabulary?
Pinkham: Never, and I never will again.
Mays: Aw, shucks.
AP: What's Tony night going to be like?
Mays: We're going to be so busy. We have a matinee that day, too.
Pinkham: You know, it's Jefferson's birthday.
AP: You should get the Tony for that reason.
Mays: Yes, it's the least they can do. Otherwise, it's just bad manners.
Online: http://www.agentlemansguidebroadway.com


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HIS name was Conrad Miller, and he would be our chocolate sommelier for the afternoon.
So it has come to this. Chocolate, a comfortable world that for many people exists between the downscale joy of a Kit Kat bar and the exhilaration of a well-made ganache, now requires a sommelier.
It is no longer enough to understand the difference between milk and bittersweet. Even the know-it-all chocolate cowboys who brag about eating nothing less than 85 percent cocoa bars are out of their league.
Now, the game is all about origin. As with olive oil or coffee, knowing where one's chocolate came from is starting to matter. Even the most casual wine drinker can name a preferred varietal, and the neophyte cheese fan understands that Brie is French and good Cheddar comes from England.
Terroir, it turns out, matters in chocolate, too.
That's where Mr. Miller comes in. He's a part-time musician with Midwest Mennonite roots, but he looks perfectly at home in the Flatiron district, where the French chocolate maker Michel Cluizel opened a shop in November at ABC Carpet and Home. It is Mr. Cluizel's only shop in America and much of the chocolate reflects the specific piece of land where the cacao beans were grown.
Mr. Miller's job is to help the baffled but curious make sense of it all. His tools are a tray of foil-wrapped chocolate wafers from several countries, a glass of water and a little bowl of tortilla chips — he prefers unsalted — to provide a palate scrub.Continue reading the main story
One day last week, he walked me through a $35 tasting. We pondered the snappy break and acidic finish of chocolate from the African island of São Tomé and discussed how growing cacao trees in the soil of a former mango grove might result in chocolate with a faint flash of the fruit. We contemplated the raisiny ways of a bar from Papua New Guinea, which Mr. Miller suggested would go well with port.
Each chocolate wafer had its story, which Mr. Miller was happy to tell. "It's like reading a novel and eating a novel all at the same time," he said.
But when it comes down to it, can he really discern Ghana from Grenada? Ecuador from Colombia?
"Regions I can tell. Continents, at least," he said. "I'm still working on the countries."
If our chocolate sommelier can't understand it all, is there hope for the rest of us?
Even those who turn cacao pods into artisanal chocolate haven't quite settled on a lexicon for this new way of contemplating chocolate. Maricel E. Presilla, in her book "The New Taste of Chocolate," refers to it as one broad category — "exclusive-derivation" chocolate. Some chocolatiers use simpler phrases like single origin, single bean or varietal. Others have gotten more extreme, naming bars after one of the three main varieties of cacao, like the rare criollo, and labeling chocolate made from beans grown on one farm "plantation" or "estate" chocolate.
Harvests believed to be particularly special might even be deemed "grand cru," a term borrowed from winemakers.
"That doesn't mean much more than the chocolatier thought enough of his chocolate to give it a fancy name," said Bill Yosses, the pastry chef at Josephs Citarella restaurant.
He is among several pastry chefs and chocolate makers who have been cultivating a quiet, intense relationship with varietal chocolates since the late 1980's, when Valrhona, Lindt and others began producing chocolates identified by both the percentage of cocoa and the beans' origins.
By 2000, chocolate makers like Mr. Cluizel and Gary Guittard in San Francisco were selling chocolate from small plantations, and the first bars marketed to consumers rather than pastry chefs began to show up regularly at specialty stores and upscale groceries.
"It sits right on the fence between hedonism and intellectual pursuit," said the chef Mario Batali. He offers a tasting of three different origin chocolates that vary in intensity at his new Manhattan restaurant, Del Posto.
For those more interested in politics than hedonism, eating chocolate according to country makes it a little easier to figure out the environmental and labor practices behind each bar.
The use of child slave labor in cocoa production is of particular concern. In the late 1990's, reports of large numbers of child slaves being used in cocoa production in Ivory Coast began to surface. Since then, the world's major chocolate producers and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association have vowed to work to end child slavery in the cocoa business.
So has TransFair USA, the fair trade certifying group, but less than 1 percent of chocolate sold in the United States meets the group's standards for safe labor practices, fair wages and social responsibility, said Ella Silverman, cocoa accounts manager.
Some companies are producing bars that are designated both organic and single-origin chocolate. But cacao pods are highly susceptible to pests, especially when the dried beans are shipped. And the nature of cacao production doesn't lend itself easily to organic certification. As a result, the number of organic, single-origin chocolate bars is small and most are not well-regarded by the world's top chocolate experts.
"Every time I eat organic chocolate a little voice in my head says: Just let me give a cheque to the co-operative, but please don't make me eat this!" Chloé Doutre-Roussel, the chocolate buyer and consultant, wrote in her book "The Chocolate Connoisseur." (Tarcher, 2006)
For someone who just wants a good piece of eating chocolate, trying to sort out the politics from the percentages is akin to trying to drink from a fire hose. At the Whole Foods in Union Square in Manhattan, the chocolate bar section holds more than 120 choices. The descriptions and naming conventions range from the simple — Newman's Own Organic Sweet Dark Chocolate, for example — to something so complex it is virtually meaningless to anyone but the most educated chocolate connoisseur. What is a Valrhona Grand Cru Caraïbe 66 percent dark chocolate supposed to taste like, anyway?
To help consumers sort it out, or perhaps to jump on new marketing opportunities, chocolate makers and grocers have begun selling tasting kits with samples of single-origin varietals and encouraging home tasting parties.
Guittard, the San Francisco specialty chocolate maker, sells a $15.95 pocket-size tasting kit for four, with slim bars of single-origin chocolates all made with same ratio of cocoa to sugar, 65 percent to 35 percent. A pamphlet provides a tidy tutorial on varieties, tasting protocols and growing regions.
For $62, La Maison du Chocolat, which does not make its own chocolate but uses Valrhona as a base, provides a kit with five single-origin chocolates expressed in ganache, a mixture of chocolate and cream. At the shop, in Rockefeller Center, experts will walk customers through a tasting.
Jacques Torres offers big bars of chocolate from Ghana, Peru and Costa Rica for $5. Pralus, the French chocolate maker known for its intensely aromatic chocolate, offers an ambitious tasting stack of 10 single-origin wafers, each a little smaller than a matchbook.
Even Trader Joe's, the California-based grocer, is in the game, selling a $7.99 kit with chocolate from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Madagascar.
Of course, not every chocolate maker is buying the hype. Deciding which chocolate to eat based on where it is from is essentially eating blind, says Robert Steinberg, a founder of Scharffen Berger chocolate in Berkeley, Calif. The company, respected by top chocolate makers for its consistent dark blends, was purchased by Hershey last year.
"To say, here we have single-origin Madagascar or Trinidad, and leave people with the impression that this is what beans from Madagascar or Trinidad taste like, is misleading," Mr. Steinberg said.
So many factors affect a piece of chocolate: not only where the beans were grown, but the skill of whoever dried, fermented and roasted them, the amount of cocoa butter that was mixed back into the crushed beans, the two- or three-day process of mixing, heating and cooling (called conching and tempering), and the touch of the chocolatier.
"What you find over time is that the name of the beans is not very representative of the flavor," he said. "The art of chocolate-making is in blending. People who think just about percentage or just about origin stop tasting and just focus on some kind of concept that is constantly changing."
Michael Recchiuti, the San Francisco chocolatier known for a line of dipped chocolate ganache infused with flavors like green apple, star anise and pink peppercorn, offers a small tasting package featuring four varietal chocolates. He has cartons of Guittard Madagascar criollo chocolate stacked along the walls of his small chocolate plant because he likes the delicate flavor. He even uses a little earthy El Rey, from the Venezuelan grower and chocolate maker who in the mid-1990's championed the concept of single-origin chocolate.
But he's a blend man at heart. And he thinks the real beauty of chocolate lies beneath the label.
"So much of it is just marketing," Mr. Recchiuti said. "I have to literally not listen to all this chatter about percentage and where it comes from, and listen to my palate."Continue reading the main story


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The Pig flies again.
After a two-year break, the Savannah Tire Flyin' Pig BBQ & Music Festival returns Oct. 6 to the Oglethorpe Speedway in Pooler.
The festival includes a barbecue contest, kids' area with face painting, pony rides, games, rock climbing, zip line and lots more. Liquid Ginger kicks off the music lineup at 7 p.m., and a fireworks presentation celebrating 105 years of the city of Pooler wraps up the show.
It's $5 to attend -- kids 10 and younger get in free -- and the parking's free, too.
For more info, go to www.flyinpigfestival.com.
What: Savannah Tire Flyin' Pig BBQ & Music Festival
When: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Oct. 6
Where: Oglethorpe Speedway Park, Pooler
Cost: $5; kids 10 and younger free; no pets
Info: www.flyinpigfestival.com


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About Spencer Locke(Click Here To Hide)
Spencer Locke (born September 20, 1991) is an American actress who has had various appearances as the role of "Candida" on Disney Channel's Phil of the Future. Prior to that, she had a recurring role as "Bitsy" on season one of the Nickelodeon series Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.
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Travelers (or anyone) can get free inflight Wi-Fi, free music, movies and extra data from Verizon to celebrate Connection Day on Wednesday.
Everyone, not just Verizon customers, can get a host of digital freebies, including:
Free iTunes Radio on Apple iTunes all day Wednesday.
10 free songs and 10 free games and apps for Android and iOS from Amazon.com, as well as two books and two months Audible.com with free $10 Audible.com credit for current customers.
Free TV shows and movies on the Verizon FiOS Preview app for


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This Isn't Your Traditional Meet & Greet
More than famous landmarks or photo-worthy sights, people make places unique and lend destinations a sense of character. You might not always remember every museum you visited, but personal connections with engaging locals will stay with you long after your voyage comes to an end.
With our Cruise Global, Meet Local tour collection, we open the door to family farms, private homes, and other exclusive venues where you'll learn about local life from the people that call these destinations home.
Get to know your welcoming hosts and share in their life experiences that offer a deeper appreciation and understanding of your destination. Traditions come to life in these intimate settings that bring you to the living heart of local culture.
More Intimate
Enjoy a more personal connection with the destination and more individual interaction with your guides.
More Local
Every excursion is designed and delivered by independent local operators who are committed to bringing you a uniquely immersive experience and authentic perspective.
More Peace-of-Mind
There are never any hidden costs, and you can explore with confidence knowing the ship will wait if your tour is delayed for any reason.* Plus, you'll receive a full refund on your excursion in the case of a port or itinerary change if you book with Azamara.
*In the unlikely event that your tour is significantly delayed, we'll make all the arrangements for you to return to the ship at the earliest opportunity at no expense to you.
Featured Tours
Li Mountain Farm & Otterness
The joys of Norwegian farm life are yours to discover. Meet the farmers at Li Mountain farm and relax in a beautiful orchard. Later, a farm host leads you on a walking tour to Otterness, an ancient farmyard turned outdoor museum.
Travel to the Li Mountain Farm in Aurland to discover the joys of Norwegian farm life. Farming in this part of Norway is relatively new. Until about 2,000 years ago, natives hunted and fished only. Now, Aurland is known for its fine goat herds and their delicious, creamy cheese. Meet the farmers who live at Li and enjoy a few snacks while relaxing in the beautiful orchard.
Afterwards, walk natural historic paths to the hamlet of Otternes with one of the farm hosts guiding the way. In Otternes, a collective farmyard turned outdoor museum, tuck into a lunch of Norwegian specialties in a peaceful picnic area. This land was originally settled in approximately 300 A.D. before buildings were constructed over a thousand years later. Today, exhibits of rural crafts and lifestyle artifacts highlight the rustic charms of the former collective. Soak up the placid outdoor ambience of this gorgeous fjord region.
Mozzarella from Farm to Table
Tour a dairy farm in Campania and learn to make mozzarella by hand from a family that has carried out the tradition for generations. Enjoy an exclusive tasting and storytelling at a private villa with sweeping views of the Italian countryside.
Travel to a private farm in Campania, a region acclaimed for its dairy heritage and renowned for producing Italy's finest mozzarella cheese. For more than three centuries, water buffalo have fed on the rich patches of grass nestled in this land between the Amalfi Coast and the mountainous interior. At a dairy farm in the town of Pontecagnano, embark on a delicious and insightful journey into the timeless art of cheese making. Begin with a tour of the farm where a herd of 600 buffalo amble through the sweeping landscape.
Enjoy a demonstration of techniques passed down for generations as spheres of mozzarella are formed in the hands of skilled culinary artisans. Afterwards, join the owners of the farm in their private villa for an exclusive tasting and plenty of stories about farm life, cheese making and the allure of the Italian countryside.
Batik Making Process
Journey to a village known as a haven for traditional batik cloth design. Watch as local artisans create colorful patterns and motifs, then try your hand at batik making for a one-of-a-kind souvenir.
Follow the intricacies of batik making with a chance to try the techniques under the guidance of a traditional Javanese cloth maker. An exciting ride through the bustle of Semarang opens up into countryside on the way to the village of Mateseh. A tiny place known for its kingly tribal lineage, the village today is the home to Kampoeng Batik, a cloth-making haven known for its colorful artisanal batik. Watch a demonstration by local craftspeople. A series of waxen silhouettes and multi-colored dye baths imbue the once-white fabric with gorgeous designs ranging from soft, geometric patterns to animal motifs.
After the demonstration, enjoy the option of making a batik alongside one of Kampoeng Batik's experts for a beautiful, personalized souvenir of this marvelous day. Relax into the afternoon with locally authentic snacks, coffee and tea while the Batik's owner shares conversation about his business and leads a tour of the batik gallery.
Colombian Coffee Experience
Travel through the old city of Cartagena to a colonial house and take part in a coffee cupping ritual with all the hallmarks of a wine tasting. Along the way view the imposing San Felipe fortress overlooking land and sea.
Delight in the rituals of Colombian coffee on this journey to a colonial house. Traveling through the old city of Cartagena, view the majesty of the San Felipe Fortress, a 15th century castle on the Hill of San Lázaro overlooking both land and sea. At the colonial house, learn the history of this essential drink loved the world over.
Awaken the senses to the joys of Colombian coffee with a ritual tasting called a cupping that focuses on aroma, sweetness, acidity and body, much like a wine tasting. Afterwards, enjoy refreshments on the hacienda's colonial-styled patio before a scenic return through Cartagena.


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Seychelles holidays
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Accommodation rating: Superior
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Capture the spirit of Seychelles in true Banyan Tree style as you explore the 43 inner...
Banyan Tree Seychelles is located on the south eastern coast line of Mahé about 30...
Bliss hotel is a small, 8-room guesthouse located on the north coast of Mahe, near to...


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Fortunately I've still got plenty of profit to play with and I like the look of two selections including one from Sunday's Premier League finale on Sunday afternoon in north London.
Sheffield Wednesday v Wolverhampton Wanderers: Away win at 2/1 with Paddy Power
This pick might raise a few eyebrows because of how poor Wolves have been in recent weeks and months but I think they could turn a corner with the appointment of Dean Saunders. Their squad isn't as bad as the league position reflects and if Saunders can get them organised and playing a more effective style of football they should begin to climb up the table. A 1-1 draw against Blackburn was a solid start but in earnest, Saunders' job starts here.
One thing Wolves have always been able to do this season is beat the sides around them, especially on the road.
They've managed to win five out of their six away games against bottom-half clubs and three of those have been to nil. With a new manager installed they should have a good chance of continuing to beat these kinds of teams.
Sheffield Wednesday on the other hand, had a midweek FA Cup replay against League One side MK Dons, which they lost 2-0, and Dave Jones is under some serious pressure to make sure thier bad run changes, and quickly.
Wednesday have lost four of their last five matches at home in the Championship and it seems the expectation of performing in front of their own fans could be showing on the pitch which makes it an ideal chance for Wolves to extend their impressive run of results against the bottom-half clubs.
The extra rest time for the visitors and the pressure the home side are under could prove vital here and I'll have a £10 stake on Wolves at 2/1 (3.0) with Paddy Power.
Tottenham v Manchester United: Over 3.5 goals at 13/8 (2.63) with Paddy Power
Manchester United will be out for revenge after Tottenham shocked them at Old Trafford earlier in the season, winning 3-2 and although the match odds look about right for this match, I'm going to stake £10 on there being four or more goals at White Hart Lane.
The loss of Sandro through injury is key for Spurs. He gives them defensive steel and stability in the middle of the park and without him they'll be more liable to concede goals and I'm still not convinced by Manchester United's defence either.
United's recent away games have been high scoring, 4-0 against Wigan, 3-2 at Manchester City and the 4-3 win at Reading would all have seen this bet come in.
What's more, Tottenham's games against the top six this season have been high-scoring affairs too. They haven't kept a clean sheet in the five matches they've played against the Premier League's top six and those five games have seen 24 goals, that's 4.8 per game.
It's not the safest of bets but with both sides having enough firepower to hurt the other and with problems defensively, we could be in for another high scoring match on Sunday afternoon. I'll back over 3.5 goals at 13/8 (2.63) with Paddy Power.
Balance at the start of the week: £552.30
Profit for the season: £52.30
|Wolverhampton Wanderers to win: £10 at 2/1 (3.00) with Paddy Power
|Tottenham v Manchester United (Over 3.5 goals): £10 at 13/8 (2.63) with Paddy Power
|Total staked this week: £20
Sign up with Paddy Power for up to £250 in free bets
Jim Knight is Betting Editor at Goal.com and has been tipping football games since he was old enough to place a bet. He is a Leicester City fan, writer and member of the We Are Going Up Podcast


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Actor and television personality Mario Lopez will return as the host of "The X Factor." He joins judges Simon Cowell and Demi Lovato on the hit singing competition series, which launches its third season this fall on FOX.
Lopez first joined "The X Factor" last season as a host. He began his career in entertainment as a young actor and has appeared in TV, film and on Broadway. He currently hosts the entertainment news magazine show "Extra."
"I'm looking forward to returning to 'The X Factor' team," Lopez said. "We're coming back stronger and better than ever and I'm excited to check out all the new talent."
"I'm thrilled Mario is back for season three of 'The X Factor,' " Cowell said. "Hosting a live show and keeping the judges - especially Demi - in line, is not an easy job, but Mario is a pro and we are glad he's coming back."
Open auditions for season three of "The X Factor" continue on Long Island, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on April 25; and in Denver, at the Denver Coliseum on May 14. For details, visit www.TheXFactorUSA.com.
Lopez is the host of the nationally syndicated entertainment news show, "Extra."He also is the host of the nationwide Clear Channel radio show "On with Mario Lopez." An avid boxing fan, he is a recurring commentator on HBO's boxing programs and he recently produced a documentary based on the sport, titled "Champ."
Lopez is a New York Times best-selling author for his healthy eating guide, "Extra Lean." In May 2011, he released the follow-up to "Extra Lean," titled "Extra Lean Family." Additionally, Lopez wrote "Mario Lopez's Knockout Fitness," a best-selling fitness book that offers readers a look into his impressive workout regime, and "Mud Tacos," a children's' book he co-authored with his sister, Marissa. As a follow-up to "Mud Tacos," Lopez released "Mario & Baby Gia," a children's book he wrote for his daughter Gia.
Last year, Tate Stevens was crowned "The X Factor" season two winner and was awarded a recording contract, as well as production and creative support to develop, create, record and shoot his first original track and music video. Tate's video debuted as a Pepsi commercial during the live telecast of the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, and he recently released his first single, "Power of a Love Song." His self-titled debut album will be released on April 23.
Along with Stevens, "The X Factor" discovered diverse recording artists such as finalists Carly Rose Sonenclar, Fifth Harmony and Emblem3, all of whom also are working on their debut albums. Emblem3 has just released their debut single, "Chloe (You're The One I Want)" and are on a "Goin' Back 2 Cali" fan road trip with stops in nine cities across the U.S., including Philadelphia, Houston, Phoenix and Las Vegas. "The X Factor" brand has created global superstars, such as Leona Lewis, One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Olly Murs and JLS. Artists discovered by the competition series have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with 110 No. 1's, 270 Top 10 records and 500 Top 50 releases. "The X Factor" (USA) is now aired in 191 countries, and local versions of "The X Factor" are now commissioned in 41 territories.


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Watch films and find your way home
Cowon has officially unveiled its latest portable media player: the super-sexy L3.
Cowon's L3: part PMP, part satnav
The svelte beauty has a 7in, 800 x 480 touchscreen and is based around a "dual-core" CPU running Windows CE 5.0. There's 4GB of on-board memory and an SD memory card slot for more.
A whole range of video formats are supported, including AVI, WMV and ASF. All the usual audio formats are catered for too. It's equipped with a USB port and a line-out link.
Video and audio support, but no mention of Wi-Fi
Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any mention of Wi-Fi connectivity or a web browser. But the L3 does have an FM transmitter and an FM tuner too.
On the plus side, the L3 has its own GPS pick-up and so can be used as a sat-nav. Much like the recently unveiled Econav, the Cowon L3 has a mode for guiding you down when it calculates to be the most fuel-efficient route. Traditional mapping functions are included too.
WTF's "Extreme Navigation"?
So far the Cowon L3 has only shown up in Korea. It's not known if the PMP will make it to the UK. ®


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Skechers, the Manhattan Beach footwear maker, has a new line of shoes targeted at teen girls, retailing at stores such as DSW and Dillard's.
Sounds normal, until this: The collection is called "Daddy'$ Money." The sneakers have hidden 2-inch wedges. Designs include animal prints and lips, with names such as "Gimme Megabucks," "Gimme Wicked" and "Gimme Mucho Dinero." An accompanying video features singers crooning about "daddy's girls" with sound effects like a cash register's "cha-ching."
The pitch on the brand's Facebook page: "Get spoiled with Daddy'$ Money, ultra-cool shoes that will put you in the spotlight with a dose of swag…"
Skechers did not immediately return requests for comment. But how are mothers responding?
"My brain exploded," wrote Babble blog contributor JoslynGray.
"It's so bad that if it were a Saturday Night Live sketch -- it would be hilarious," wrote Rants from Mommyland blogger Lydia. "But it's not. It's real. And I had to watch it all the way through twice before it started to sink in that people were seriously trying to sell this garbage to my daughter."
Some other complaints and accusations from various parenting blog posts:
- It's sexist: "Obviously moms don't ever make the money, right?" JoslynGray writes sarcastically. "Do they mean 'Daddy' or do they mean 'Sugar Daddy'?"
- Heels aren't good for young girls with growing bones: "Injuries? Yes. Back and leg pain? Yes. And those things lead to a subsequent decline in the ability to focus on school or participate in sports or physical activities," Lydia wrote.
- The takeaway for impressionable teens: That manipulation of males is the way to go. "We don't want them thinking that instead of working for things, they just go ask Daddy (or whatever other man they have in their life in the future)," wrote blogger Jeanne Sager on the Stir.
"This ad campaign is wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to begin!" wrote Barbara Wills Lyon on Daddy'$ Money's Facebook page. "The wonderful dads I know provide much more than money for their children."
JCPenney pulls 'I'm too pretty to do homework' shirt
Girl, 13, gets Hasbro to make gender-neutral Easy-Bake oven
Skechers, in wake of FTC settlement, defends toning shoe claims