Cats Kill Billions of Animals a Year, Study Finds

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/cats-kill-billions-of-animals-study-finds/

gsa keith olbermann andrew bynum the time machine michelin tires michelin tires rett syndrome

Military suicides show signs of spreading in families

Erin Trieb for NBC News

Monica Velez, pictured in Austin, Texas, had two brothers, Jose "Freddy" Velez and Andrew Velez, both of whom served the U.S. military and both are now dead -- Freddy was killed in action in Iraq, and Andrew took his own life.

By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

Before Army Spc. Andrew Velez left Texas for the final time, he asked his fragile sister to write him a promise ? a vow he could carry with him to Afghanistan.

Monica Velez knew she owed him that much. In the horrid weeks after each had lost their beloved brother, Freddy Velez, to enemy fire in Iraq, Monica tried to end her life with pills and alcohol. Now, she put pen to paper: ?I will not hurt myself. I will not do anything crazy. I know that Andrew loves me. I know that Freddy loved me.? Andrew folded her note and slipped it into his pocket.

?Don?t break your word to me,? he told her before heading back to war.

Seven months later, Andrew, 22, sat alone in an Army office at a base in Afghanistan. He put a gun to his head and committed suicide. Back in Texas, word reached Monica Velez who, once again, found herself in a dangerous place. Only now, she was alone. Days of alcohol and anti-depressants. Nights of dark thoughts: ?It would just be better if I was gone.?

---

'The storm' is coming
As the U.S. military suicide rate soared to record heights?during 2012, the families of service members say they, too, are witnessing a silent wave of self-harm occurring within their civilian ranks: spouses, children, parents and siblings.?

Some suicides and suicide attempts ? like those that ravaged the Velez family???are spurred by combat losses.

Others?may be?triggered by exhaustion and despair: As some veterans return debilitated by anxiety, many spouses realize it's now up to them???and will be for decades???to hold the family together.

Specific figures are lacking as no agency tracks civilian suicides within military families.

However, Kristina Kaufmann, a long-time Army wife, knows of three other Army wives, all friends, who took their lives in recent years.

Courtesy Kristina Kaufmann

"When you know that you are the anchor ? and if you go down, the family's going down ? the problem is that you can only do that for so long," said Kristina Kaufmann.

One was Faye Vick, described by Kaufmann as ?the perfect picture of an Army wife???pretty, nice, always with a smile.? Vick and her family lived around the corner from Kaufmann and near Fort Bragg, N.C. In 2006, when Kaufmann?s husband was in Afghanistan and Vick?s husband was deployed overseas, the 39-year-old mother placed herself, her infant and her 2-year-old son in a car inside a closed garage and started the engine, asphyxiating all three with carbon monoxide, according to Kaufmann and to local news reports at the time.

?And I know of too many others through the grapevine,? said Kaufmann, executive director of Code of Support, an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit that seeks to bridge the gap between civilians and military America.

?When you know that you are the anchor???and if you go down, the family?s going down???the problem is that you can only do that for so long,? said Kaufmann. ?That population (of spouses) is at the most risk. Because the storm is going to happen when everybody comes home. That?s where we are, unfortunately, going to see an uptick in lots of negative outcomes, including suicide, including suicide among the spouses.?

On Jan. 14, Department of Defense officials acknowledged that during 2012, service members committed suicide at a record pace as more than 349 people took their own lives across the four branches.?The military suicide rate is slightly lower than that of the general public. However, one active-duty member died by suicide every 25 hours last year.?

The Army sustained the heaviest branch toll at 182 suicides, which ??as NBC News reported Jan. 3?? meant that soldier suicides outpaced combat deaths for the first time, according to Pentagon officials.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta informed Congress last July that American armed forces are in the grip of a suicide "epidemic."?

One of the darkest undercurrents of the glaring statistics is that one suicide in a family boosts future suicide risks for everyone else inside the home.?They can be contagious, say experts like Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a psychologist in the Washington, D.C., area and the founder of Give an Hour, which develops networks of mental-health volunteers who respond to both acute and chronic situations.

Numerous researchers have explored the so-called contagion effect of suicides within families and ?there?s no question the data supports there?s at least a doubling of risk,? among surviving family members, said Dr. Alan L. Berman, Ph.D., executive director of the American Association of Suicidology. The organization strives to better understand and prevent suicide.

?It?s understood that risk, in part, is biological,"?Berman said, given that disorders like depression have a genetic component.?

?But it?s also based on social modeling behavior: The suicide of a parent presents a model (for children in that family) of how to deal with problems, and that?s no less true for a spouse.?

Added Van Dahlen: "The closer that family member is to you, the greater risk you?re at. We believe, psychologically, it opens the possibility and ends a taboo."

?The thousands of service members who have killed themselves,? she added, ?they leave in their wake thousands of family members who are now at risk for that same kind of decision."

'I completely lost myself'
The cascade of Velez family tragedies began with pure valor.

On Nov. 13, 2004, Army Cpl. Jose ?Freddy? Velez, 23, sprayed bullets at insurgent forces???covering fire to allow other U.S. soldiers time to retreat from an enemy strong point in Fallujah, Iraq. After his ammo ran dry, Freddy Velez was shot and killed. The Army awarded him the Bronze Star and Silver Star.

Courtesy Monica Velez

"There are days I'm still overwhelmed. And if I sit and think about it, I feel like I wouldn't have to live through all this pain if I just let myself go," said Monica Velez, who shared family photos of brothers Freddy and Andrew.

Andrew, then serving with another unit in Iraq, told Monica of escorting his brother?s body home to Lubbock, Texas ? a job, he said, that required unzipping his brother?s body bag at every stop to re-verify Freddy?s identity.

During the trip, Andrew called his sister repeatedly while en route home and screamed into the phone for nearly two consecutive hours, ?like somebody was killing him,? she said.

?There was nothing I could do,? Monica Velez recalled. ?The operator kept cutting in (to request additional payment for the call) and I just said, ?Add it to my credit card.? He just wailed. That travel home, I think is what eventually broke him.?

Weeks later, Monica broke.

She doesn?t know how close she came to death the first time she tried to end her life. She never was told how slow her pulse became that night. She just remembers regaining consciousness at a hospital in Killeen, Texas???home to Fort Hood, where Freddy was based. She awoke with an IV plugged into her arm. A doctor handed her a list of local psychiatrists then discharged her.

Velez tried, she said, to seek help for her deepening depression but was told that her health insurance would not cover counseling.

Her grief was rooted in a difficult childhood, she said, that forged "tighter than tight" emotional bonds between Velez and her two brothers, turning the siblings into a mutual support group.

?When Freddy passed away, I went through a really hard depression,? she said. ?I went to the emergency room for anxiety attacks. I couldn?t breathe. But nobody knew how to deal with me so they just gave me Ativan (an anti-anxiety drug) and Hydrocodone (a pain killer).

?I started drinking heavily and taking the prescriptions. And one day, I just felt it would be better off if I wasn?t around and decided to take all of the pills. Grief can bring you to that breaking moment.?

Soon after, in February 2005, Andrew sent his older sister (then 25) an email: ?We need to be stronger. We need to protect each other.?

Though he was the youngest of the siblings, Andrew always was ?the strong one,? his sister said. ?But he and Freddy were inseparable.? Near the end of 2005, Andrew told his sister he was redeploying to Afghanistan because, she said, ?I think he felt closer to Freddy there.?

From March through July of 2006, the two swapped calls and emails. In Afghanistan, Andrew grew increasingly despondent, she said, over the unraveling of his marriage and family in Lubbock. He had three children. But he worried, too, about his sister?s state of mind.

?We could both hear it in each other?s voices. He was scared I was going to do something. I was scared he was going to do something.?

He did. Andrew?s suicide on July 25, 2006, drove Monica, at first, into 20-hour workdays at a domestic violence shelter. She wasn?t sleeping or eating. Eventually, she was drinking again, ?from the morning until I passed out,? she said. ?Then, doing it again the next day.

?I completely lost myself. I resigned my job. I stopped paying my bills. I got evicted. I was prescribed anti-depressants. I noticed taking the pills and drinking got me out of the emotions. So I found myself in a dangerous place very quickly.

?Again???several trips to the ER (for overdoses). I?m not sure why I wasn?t ever held there. In my down periods, I would tell myself it would just be better off if I was gone.?

In 2008, a friend at Fort Hood, Texas, connected Velez with the Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors (TAPS), a resource for anyone who suffers the loss of a military loved one.

?That was the first time anybody had offered to help me with the depression and the grief.? she said.

'Family units breaking down'
Kaufmann, who lost three Army-spouse friends to suicide, argues that military-family suicides should be tracked and researched by the Department of Defense to help mental-health experts begin to slow or stop the problem. She knows, however, such an accounting is not likely.?

?I get the sense that people in the military think that by including families into this kind of discussion ? particularly when you?re talking about the (broader) mental-health impacts on family members ? they look at that as something that will only add to the problem. Whereas, we believe that it would prove to be a solution,? Kauffman said.

?We?ve approached this very myopically. More than half of soldiers are married. Soldiers come with families. And the military has a maddening way of both dismissing families and holding them accountable at the same time. It?s frustrating for us, not only when we?re trying to get our husbands help, but also when you have the family units breaking down,? she added.?

NBC News requested to speak with officials at the newly formed Department of Defense suicide-prevention office about the issue of suicides within military families and whether tracking is needed. A DOD spokeswoman said, however, that the office is only working to address active-duty suicides. The interview request was not granted.

Van Dahlen, meanwhile, believes that asking DOD to track military families is an unreasonable expectation to place on the agency when it already is facing budget cuts.

Even if the DOD wants to ? and many of my colleagues there desperately would want to devote resources to this???those resources are not going to be there,? she said. Rather than putting "the screws to DOD" and doing "even more with even less," Van Dahlen believes public-private partnerships should be encouraged "to figure out how we can (address) this together."

'Like an airborne disease'
More than eight years after Freddy?s combat death, and more than six years removed from Andrew?s suicide, Monica Velez annually runs the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., in honor of her fallen brothers.

Matt Slocum / AP file

Monica Velez cleans her brother's name, engraved in a memorial at Fort Hood, Texas.

But, now living in Austin, she acknowledges she still struggles with what she calls, ?those thoughts.?

?There are days I?m still overwhelmed. And if I sit and think about it, I feel like I wouldn?t have to live through all this pain if I just let myself go. It doesn?t just go away. But you learn how to cope. You learn better coping skills,? she said, adding she gained those tools from TAPS.

Army officers at Fort Hood have occasionally asked her, she said, for ideas to help them prevent the rising military suicide rate. She watches that tally, too.

?The numbers take my breath away. I know it can be overwhelming for the Army generals on the other end of the table trying to figure this problem out. Because it?s like an airborne disease going through the building and you?re trying to figure out how to stop it before it gets to you," she said.?

?But it?s coming at a really fast rate, and it?s inevitable.?

Related stories:
Military suicide rate set record high in 2012
The enemy within: Soldier suicides outpace combat deaths in 2012
Some wounded vets shine on 'Alive Day,' others wear black?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/16/16540098-like-an-airborne-disease-concern-grows-about-military-suicides-spreading-within-families?lite

Kitty Wells Marissa Mayer Jon Lord Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes

Stan Musial remembered during funeral Mass

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Stan Musial was remembered during a funeral and memorial outside Busch Stadium on Saturday as a Hall of Famer and a St. Louis icon embraced by generations of fans who never had the privilege of watching him play.

Broadcaster Bob Costas, his voice cracking with emotion at times, pointed out during a two-hour Mass that in 92 years of life, Stan the Man never let anyone down.

Costas noted that even though Musial, who died Jan. 19, was a three-time NL MVP and seven-time batting champion, the pride of Donora, Pa., lacked a singular achievement. Joe DiMaggio had a 56-game hitting streak, Ted Williams was the last major leaguer to hit .400, and Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle soared to stardom in the New York spotlight. Musial didn't quite reach the 500-homer club - he finished with 475 - and played in his final World Series in 1946, ''wouldn't you know it, the year before they started televising the Fall Classic!''

''What was the hook with Stan Musial other than the distinctive stance and the role of one of baseball's best hitters?'' Costas said. ''It seems that all Stan had going for him was more than two decades of sustained excellence as a ballplayer and more than nine decades as a thoroughly decent human being.

''Where is the single person to truthfully say a bad word about him?''

There was enough room in the large Roman Catholic church for a handful of fans. One of them wore a vintage, No. 6 Musial jersey. Another clapped softly as pallbearers carried the casket from the church to the hearse to the tune of bagpipes.

Among those in attendance were baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, former St. Louis standout Albert Pujols and Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Whitey Herzog and 90-year-old Red Schoendienst, who once roomed with Musial. Joe Torre, a former MVP and manager in St. Louis, and Tony La Russa, who became close with Musial during his 16 seasons managing the Cardinals, sat near the front along with current manager Mike Matheny.

Pujols, who had been on track to challenge many of Musial's franchise records before signing with the Angels 13 months ago, exchanged hugs with Fred Hanser, a member of the Cardinals ownership team, before taking his seat.

Jim Edmonds, a star center fielder for two World Series teams in the 2000s, has the same last name as one of Musial's sons-in-law. He said Musial informed him that they were distant relatives, and greeted him as ''Hey, Cuz!''

''I thought he was kidding at first,'' Edmonds said. ''That's pretty cool.''

Jack Clark, a slugging first baseman for the Cardinals during the 1980s, said he perhaps respected Musial most for his decency during baseball's sometimes difficult period of integration in the 1940s and 1950s.

''Stan kind of crossed that color barrier. When people were getting on the African-American players, he stuck up for them. It was a time when you could kind of get your finger pointed at you for that stuff,'' Clark said. ''People loved him, and he loved them right back.''

Bishop Richard Stika, pastor at Musial's' church in suburban St. Louis for several years, speculated during the homily about why Musial was never ejected from a game during his career: ''I think deep down, that was because he didn't want to go home and face Lil.''

Musial's wife of nearly 72 years, Lillian, died last year.

Grandson Andrew Edmonds said the public Musial was no different from the private Musial, the grandpa who bought McDonalds for the family every Sunday. He recalled a fan telling him, ''Your grandpa's best attribute is he made nobodies feel like somebodies.''

Pallbearers included Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III, Musial grandsons Andrew Edmonds and Brian Schwarze, and the retired star's longtime business partner in Stan the Man Inc., Dick Zitzmann.

After the service, the hearse and vans filled with the Cardinals' delegation drove to Busch Stadium, where Musial's family laid flowers at the base of one of his statues - the one that made the move across the street from the old Busch - while being serenaded by ''Take Me Out to the Ball Game.'' Color guards from the city's fire and police departments flanked the statue, along with more than a dozen ballpark ushers. A single Clydesdale walked slowly down the street.

Cardinals closer Jason Motte shook his head.

''This is nothing like I've ever seen,'' he said.

During a funeral that was almost entirely upbeat, son-in-law Martin Schwarze got the biggest laugh when he recounted a 1995 radio interview with Jack Buck during which Musial was asked how good of a hitter he'd have been had he played in the modern era. Musial, who finished with a .331 career batting average, replied he probably would have batted about .275, and Buck said ''Whoa, whoa, whoa,'' that's way too low.

Then Musial added with a chuckle, ''Hey, Jack, I'm 75!''

Thousands filed through the Cathedral Basilica at Musial's six-hour public visitation on Thursday, and hundreds more attended the service.

Hundreds more were waiting at the more prominent of the two Musial statues outside Busch Stadium, where fans have gathered since Musial died after several years of declining health. Next to the statues were flowers, balloons, teddy bears, helmets, autographed items and a homemade sign that read ''Thanks for the memories. You live in our hearts, No. 6.''

''He's been a hero to us for four generations,'' Kathy Noorman of Wentzville, Mo., said, speaking near the statue. ''He was such a good man, somebody you can hold up to grandkids and your own kids as an example of who they should be.''

Mark Springman, 57, of Alton, Ill., brought a bottle of champagne to the statue shrine. He saw Musial play in 1963, Stan the Man's final season, and has been a season-ticket holder for about 15 years.

''He was more than a ballplayer,'' Springman said. ''He was the man.''

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/mlb/SIG=12q7h360r/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/stan-musial-remembered-during-funeral-194847869--mlb.html

albert pujols the shining mariano rivera mariano rivera jobs report tiger woods masters 2012 nikki haley

Public Speaking Tips: It's OK to Use Notes | BulletProof Presentations

Remember the minor scandal that erupted when President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the lines of the Oath of Office in 2009? Afterward I suggested that it would have been wise for Roberts to have used a script or at least had some notes handy if he needed to consult them. The problem with reciting legalistic language like an oath?or wedding vows, for that matter?is that?you have to get it exactly right, even though it doesn?t exactly sound or feel natural. Otherwise you run the risk of having to redo the ceremony (like they did at the White House in 2009), just to make sure it takes.

So I was excited to see that the official swearing on Sunday went off without a hitch, and that Roberts had come to his senses and used notes. Too bad they didn?t leave it at that. Unfortunately, the big ceremonial oath that was televised on Monday didn?t go quite as smoothly. Obama gets a little lost and swallows his words on the phrase ?the office of President of the United States.? It wasn?t a disaster, but I?m sure it wasn?t the performance he wanted to give. Especially after what happened four years ago. At least this time they had the sense to hold the legal ceremony the day before.

It just goes to show you that even talented people who are used to speaking in public can get flustered by the stress of important events. If you have to make a public statement that you have to get exactly right, if the stakes are high or if the words you have to say are complicated or hard to remember because they aren?t your own, there?s no shame in using notes to help you keep your place. If you?re introducing someone and there?s even a remote chance that you?ll get their name wrong, please just write it somewhere that you?ll have it in front of you. I can?t tell you how many times I?ve been introduced as ?Corey.?

You certainly don?t want to read an entire speech to an audience without ever making eye contact with them, but notes, an outline, or a short text that you want to quote verbatim can be very helpful. Just try to use them unobtrusively and naturally. Chances are people won?t even think twice about it, and using a few notes are definitely better than potentially provoking a constitutional crisis.

2013 Inaugural Oath of Office

Source: http://bulletproofcommunicationstraining.com/2013/01/23/public-speaking-tips-its-ok-to-use-notes/

channel 3 news j lo j lo sacha baron cohen ryan seacrest octavia spencer meryl streep oscars school shooting ohio

Small businesses face tax certainty, political uncertainty

3 hrs.

Allison Linn , NBC News

Jeff Schneider recently had his busiest November and December ever, as the tax preparer?s small business clients clamored for information about how the fiscal cliff negotiations could impact their taxes.

?It was unbelievable,? said Schneider, who runs SFS Tax and Accounting in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The last-minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff left clients at least knowing what their tax bills would look like.

But Schneider said he?s still hearing some gripes amid the continued political bickering over the debt ceiling, spending cuts and other issues. That?s despite the fact that some also are talking about expanding their businesses or opening new locations.

??When you talk to people they tell you face to face that the economy stinks, but they?re talking more politically than economically,? said Schneider, whose clients include doctors, dentists, a pawn shop and even an oxygen bar.

It?s no secret that Americans are fed up with all the political squabbles over taxes, spending and the federal debt load. For some small-business owners, the frustration is also tinged with fear: They?re worried that Congress?s inability to find common ground will hurt the economic recovery, and cut into their business.

Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist with the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said one in four businesses told the small business trade group in December that it was a bad time to expand because of political uncertainty. That?s despite other signs that the economy is slowly improving in areas like housing and employment.

He said many small businesses also reported that their top problems involved issues like uncertainty about government policy and health care costs.

?The things you think businesses should worry about were way down on the list,? he said. ?Government dominates the top part of the list.?

Taxes aren?t the only issue it says has the potential to hurt small businesses. The small business trade group has been a staunch opponent of President Barack Obama?s health care plan, the Affordable Care Act. The group was a lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court lawsuit that sought to halt the plan.

Dunkelberg said it?s too early to say whether concerns about political and government issues will ease in January, now that the fiscal cliff issues are resolved. Congress is still wrangling over other issues, such as the nation?s borrowing limit and possible federal spending cuts. Both could hurt small businesses owners who contract with the government or otherwise rely on government spending.

But some say that for many small business owners they work with, the fiscal cliff negotiations were the major potential distraction because it most directly impacted their taxes.

??When finally the compromise was struck, I think there was an overall sigh of relief that at least there was something that had happened,? said Kim Loewer, a tax practitioner who runs Loewer and Associates in Weyridge, Vt. ?The uncertainty had gone away.?

Now that many of the mom and pop shops he works with know what their tax liabilities are, Loewer said they are able to better plan for things like hiring and expansion.

?In general, Loewer said his clients ? who run the gamut from consultants to retailers ? are mostly reporting that business is going well.

?I don?t hear as much about where the economy is heading anymore,? he said. ?I think that right now, from my clients? point of view, we have seen an uptick in the economy (and) their businesses are doing better this year.?

Schneider, the tax preparer in Florida, said he is expanding the advertising and social media efforts for his own small accounting and bookkeeping business. That?s on the theory that spending more on marketing will draw in more clients even when the economy isn?t as strong.

He?s even called in his wife, an interior designer, to help fight the effects of the recession and weak economic recovery.

?I made her feng shui my office so I could get rid of the bad vibes,? he said.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/small-businesses-face-tax-certainty-political-uncertainty-1B8035042

Amy Weber Happy Halloween! Star Wars Episode 7 miranda lambert luke bryan NBA jfk airport

Gay Australian Wants Gay Australians To Be Monogomous ? No ...

danielhg.blogspot.com

Monogamous Gay Australia is a not-for-profit support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, celebrating and promoting monogamous, loving and faithful gay relationships. ?We encourage singles to take a stand, go beyond one night and hold out for ?the one?,? he says. ?We support new couples in getting to know each other before intimacy.? It?s early days yet for the fledgling group, but Andy hopes he?ll find many like-minded people out there. He invites all interested people to join him ? take a look at his introductory letter below. ?Hold off, don?t sleep with him on the first date. If you want a lasting relationship get to know each other first.? It?s the advice my Mum Suzie provided to my four straight sisters and all the more importantly to her only son ? even though I?m gay, it?s all the same, she insists. ?Mum,? I used to say, ?it doesn?t work like that in the gay world.? While it?s confronting, she?s right. I never had a role model as a kid, teenager nor adult as to how I should live my life as a gay man. Instead it?s something we kept quiet about, yet I felt embarrassed. My love for a man is as worthy as my best friend?s love for her husband.
Why do gay men have such difficulty with monogamy, yet yearn to be loved in a relationship? Can?t a man give them all the love they need or are we greedy? Or is there just too much temptation out there?

READ THE REST HERE.

Well this seems a strange waste of energy. Not that I do not think monogamy has worth. Oh, right, obviously, like any thinking human, monogamy has no worth. It is not a moral, or a sin, or any thing with worth. Just think this is a silly thing for gay Australian gay press to even cover. Australian gays have zero rights.
And this is the ?stuff? Same/Same post on their site? This is what they think needs to be shared? This is worth making people aware of in a country where gay people are on a par with Aborigines in relation to rights. They think this is worth covering?

Organize rights for yourselves, and keep heteronormative lifestyle choices for gay blogs from America. You should be fighting and demanding rights. Not pissing around covering this shit. Sort your shit out. I feel ashamed to think an Australian website would cover this kind of total shit. Just foul.

But then, Australia is a little backwards. I always think of them like an episode of ?Fast, Forward?.

Source: http://www.therealstevegray.com/2013/01/gay-australian-wants-gay-australians-to-be-monogomous-no-word-on-wanting-gay-men-to-fight-for-equality/

Barbara Palvin Yahoo Fantasy Football Nick Foles Auguste Rodin Breaking Amish Indianapolis explosion mike brown

Batmobile on Trial for Copyright, Trademark Infringement ...

There?s something to be said for old school cool. The original Batmobile from the 60?s television show, with sleek design and red detailing, is going up for auction later this month. Unfortunately, in the midst of this superhero coolness, the Batmobile namesake owners are doing battle over replicas of this very car.

DC Comics, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., is pushing a lawsuit against California custom paint and auto body shop, Gotham Garage. Owned and operated by Mark Towle of Santa Ana, Gotham Garage specializes in customizing replicas of the various Batman vehicles. To date, Towle has sold two replicas of the original Batmobile, which was designed by a legend in the custom car business, George Barris. The cars have sold for $80,000 and $90,000, and Towle has also sold another replica that was based off the Batmobile version that was featured in the 1989 movie.

This lawsuit started nearly 2 years ago, when Warner Bros. claimed that Towle?s business was violating copyrights and trademarks that are owned by DC Comics. Both sides have been arguing their case, with DC Comics claiming that the copyright protection includes not only the actual Batmobile, but also the overall look and feel of the car.

Backing up his business, Towle refuses to give in claiming that, ?this is a very important case that has far-reaching implications. While it is true that this case is ostensibly about the Batmobile, which some may find to be trivial, the fact is that the issues that will be decided will have a significant impact on automobile makers and manufacturers.?

Batman was introduced to the world in 1939 in a comic books series called Detective Comics. In 1940, he earned his own comic book title; and a year later, acquired his gadget-filled ride. Since the induction of the first Batmobile, the vehicle has gone through numerous transformations. In the 1960s, Barris built the now-famous real-life model for the TV series. Over the years, Batman and his car have gone through different looks, but remain fan favorites. Live-action movies produced by Warner Bros. have contributed to the continuing popularity of the character.

In official legal papers, DC Comics? Vice President and deputy general for counsel for intellectual property Jay Kogan stated that the DC Comics has reserved trademark, copyright and merchandising rights to the aforementioned car.

DC Comics attorney J. Andrew Coombs argues that the Batmobile includes trademarks that have secondary meanings, and by Towle selling an unauthorized replica, he is likely to confuse consumers as to whether his cars are DC Comics products or not.

Coombs also claims that the Batmobile is a part of the entire Batman franchise, which in itself is protected by copyright. In legal papers, Coombs states:

?These are not merely vehicles with customized paint and trimmings; these are interactive, highly advanced automobiles equipped with futuristic gadgetry and aesthetics uncommon to vehicles of their time. The Batmobile Vehicles are never referred to simply as ?cars? but rather always by name ? BATMOBILE. They interact with the Batman and Robin characters and serve as integral parts of the stories being told by the respective comic books, television programs and motion pictures in which they appear.?

Towle?s stands strong in his position that the vehicles aren?t subject to copyrighting. According to his argument:

?It is black letter law that useful articles, such as automobiles, do not qualify as ?sculptural works? and are thus not eligible for copyright protection. However, despite this clear, bright line standard, DC believes that there is an exception to this rule. The exception being that if a different version of the vehicle (not even the same version that Defendant sells) once appeared in a comic book, then the rule does not apply. The implications of a ruling upholding this standard are easy to imagine. Ford, Toyota, Ferrari and Honda would start publishing comic books, so that they could protect what, up until now, was unprotectable.?

The judge must decide whether or not the design elements that Towle is mimicking are more than just elements of any automobile. Just as you can?t copyright a basic car hood but you can possibly copyright a unique pattern on that hood, the question here is whether the Batmobile has elements than can be conceptually separated from the functionality of the car.

DC Comics argues that they answer is yes, and of course, Towle argues no. Towle claims that:

?DC may argue that they are not seeking protection for the entire design of the vehicle, only the separable, non-functional, artistic elements. This is a lie. Because when asked which parts of the car it considered to be separable, non-functional and artistic, it did not limit its? answers to one or two design features. Instead, DC listed every visible part of the car from the design of the front grill, to the fenders, to the wheels, to the fins, the cockpit, and the exhaust pipe. DC even claims that the color of the Batmobile is copyrightable.?

A hearing scheduled for January 30th could possibly end this battle. Both Warner Bros. and DC Comics have made millions of the Batman franchise and are understandably protective of it. On the other hand, Towle is standing his ground against them and doesn?t seem to want to back down. This case could possibly end with a decision in favor of either side, or the case could go to trial. We shall have to wait to see what the judge says.

Source: http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2013/01/19/replica-batmobile-on-trial-for-copyright-trademark-infringement/id=33173/

sofia vergara American Horror Story Patti Page anonymous texas chainsaw massacre nfl playoffs crystal harris

Rolling Stone comes to Newsstand

Clue's in the title, really. If you're craving Rolling Stone's eclectic mix of reviews and journalism but didn't fancy the trip to your local dead-tree merchant, it's now available on Newsstand. Each critique will come with a button straight to iTunes, so you can instantly download that amazing album that only garnered 3.5 stars. Annual subscriptions will set you back $19.99 a year, while standalone editions are $4.99 -- but be warned, it might try to sell you a Thunderbolt every now and again.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple

Comments

Via: Paidcontent

Source: iTunes

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2inmZRs4B_E/

trailblazers michael beasley jermaine jones hbo luck unc asheville stephen jackson nba trade deadline

Researchers see surprising twist to protein misfolding

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

An effort to develop software that unravels the complexities of how proteins fold is paying dividends in new findings on how they misfold, according to researchers at Rice University.

The study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by chemist Peter Wolynes and his team at Rice's BioScience Research Collaborative should be of particular interest to those who probe the roots of degenerative diseases associated with the aggregation of amyloid fibers in the body. These include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and Type 2 diabetes.

The molecular dynamics software to predict how strands of residues bend and twist into their functional shapes is designed to follow Wolynes' and his colleagues' groundbreaking "principle of minimal frustration." These residues, the molecular beads that make up proteins, follow the path of least resistance as they fold into their native states. The principle describes how evolution has shaped the path a protein takes toward stability.

The software, called AWSEM-MD (for associative memory, water-mediated structure and energy model) simulates the possible ways beads in a strand should fold, based on the energies at play down to the submolecular level, and accurately predicts the final structure. Two developers of the current version, Weihua Zheng, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice, and Nicholas Schafer, a graduate student, are co-authors of the new paper, the latest in a series on folding dynamics dependent on the software.

The researchers set out to confirm that a process seen by experimentalists called domain swapping is one cause of protein misfolding. Domains are conserved parts of protein chains. Occasionally, a domain in one chain may encounter its doppelg?nger in a nearby chain and become entangled with it via interactions similar to those in the correctly folded state.

The result is often a dimer ? a kind of protein Siamese twin ? that probably won't be able to perform its intended biological task and may become part of a damaging amyloid fibril. "Experimentalists had some strong laboratory evidence that dimerization is a consequence of minimal frustration, an idea proposed earlier by our group on more general grounds," Wolynes said. "So we figured it would be nice to do a simulation to check it."

The team did indeed see domain swapping in their models of human cardiac titin, a muscle protein. But they were surprised to see something they weren't looking for: evidence that identical sequences in neighboring chains, as short as five to seven residues, had the unfortunate tendency to find each other and stick together.

They found instances of such "self-recognition" tipped the balance of energies that dictated whether a protein would fold properly. Replacing just a few residues in one fragment eliminated self-recognition and lowered the incidence of domain swapping, Wolynes said.

"We weren't the people who thought of this as a possibility," he said. "It had been suggested by others, although I never really believed it because it doesn't have an obvious connection to the principle of minimal frustration." But the simulations showed instances where sticky self-recognition in one segment of a chain could affect the energy of residues down the line and effectively introduce "frustration" that keeps the rest of the protein from folding at all and results in high disorder, or entropy.

While the models don't directly connect to the formation of amyloid fibrils, Wolynes said, anecdotal evidence indicates protein-folding diseases have some correlation with fevers that allow the extra entropy to stabilize the misfolded forms. "Our results would provide a new explanation," he said, for how a disordered part of the chain can contribute to the stability of these misfolded states at high temperature.

"When you hear 'take two aspirins and call me in the morning,' your doctor is doing you a bigger favor than you know," Wolynes said.

The discovery could open paths for researchers to design drugs that inhibit specific interactions. "Very minor changes seem to destroy this self-recognition in the computer simulation, and that's what we want the experimentalists to do: Make those changes to see if they decrease the self-recognition effect," he said.

"Our simulations provide structural details of misfolded proteins at the molecular level that are difficult for experiments to probe," Zheng said. "These can generate specific hypotheses they can test."

The researchers hope their work will be useful to both experimentalists and other computational protein-folding researchers.

"AWSEM is hosted on Google Code, which requires all code to be open-source," Schafer said. "So it's available to anyone who wants to use it. What we're seeing with these studies is that the values we get by applying the principle of minimal frustration are appropriate globally, not just for predicting the native structures of proteins. It can predict bound structures (like dimers) and misfolded structures as well.

"You always have to be careful about using models that 'rig the deck' in favor of a particular anticipated result," he said. "But what's interesting is that our model doesn't have any information a priori about these specific types of misfolded structures. Our model is parameterized using as input only experimental data for properly folded structures and then applying the principle of minimal frustration. The wide range of successes we've had this year tells me that we have a decent method for deriving the strengths of the interactions."

"We never really thought about specific kinds of misfolding or the aggregation process when we built our model around the principle of minimal frustration," Zheng said. "But they all fall into place."

###

Rice University: http://media.rice.edu

Thanks to Rice University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 42 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126288/Researchers_see_surprising_twist_to_protein_misfolding

Little Things One Direction Bob Ross Hurricane Categories Hurricane Sandy new jersey atlantic city ocean city maryland

Building An Email List - James Winsoar

It is often said that the most valuable thing in a business is the list. If this is true shouldn?t building your list be your number one priority?

You may be in an internet-only business, or you might have a real world business so to speak. List building is equally as important in both. Your business probably is a mixture of both offline and online to some extent.

Collecting customers details

A burger restaurant could give cards out with the bill, asking for feedback, and asking customers for their name, telephone number, and email address for a future discount, or a prize draw entry. That way it is possible to regularly follow up with special offers to tempt customers back and encourage repeat custom.

Sites like Groupon are extremely popular today, and it is entirely possible for individual retailers and businesses to set up a similar system of their own, without sharing data, or providing huge commissions out to the daily deals operator.

Individuals in business can also benefit from list building. Professionals, speakers, consultants,?advisers,?etc. can all build their own valuable lists of clients, prospects, or contacts, who they can add value to on a consistent basis by sending out useful tips, articles, trainings, and offers.

The larger your list grows, and the more responsive your subscribers become, the more market share you will get in your sector.

In fact, if I lost everything and had to start again, my number one priority would be building a list. Every day I try to engage in one or more forms of list building activity.

Sending out your emails

The first thing you need to build a list and communicate with your subscribers is an auto-responder.

It would be impractical to add everyone to a group in Outlook, and try to email them manually. Say for example you want to send an email out instantly the moment someone subscribes, then a series of timed emails days or weeks apart, and a monthly newsletter to everyone. Trying to do that in a standard email program would be an administrative nightmare!

I have tried many autoresponders in the past, and the one I?ve settled on and recommend now is called Talk Fusion. They provide world-class support, an intuitive interface, very nicely designed email capture form templates (like the one above right), and the ability to embed video into email without any file attachments or downloads.

Whichever autoresponder you use, remember, once you start building your list, look after it. Never over-sell to your list, or send out any spam. Personally, I would never promote anyone else?s product unless I?d tested it and fully believe in it.

Be consistent with your communication

Consistency is essential. If you are going to email your list once a week, keep to that frequency. If it?s twice a day, stick to it. If you miss a month, then suddenly start emailing weekly again you?re going to get un-subscribe requests or a low response rate. By being consistent you can build relationships with you list.

Above all, always aim to add value!

Talk Fusion?also has an excellent business opportunity. If you are considering joining please ensure that you sign up through my link. Call me on +44 (0)1332 898879 for further information, or skype me: winsoar2.

Source: http://www.jameswinsoar.com/building-an-email-list/

varez ward solar storms uganda the parent trap invisible children kony 2012 space weather sunspots

Work From Home Business Tips | www.SponsorDirectory.com

In these tough times, it?s hard to make a buck. With a tough labor market, jobs are difficult to obtain. Things may appear bleak now, but you can work through it. Read on to learn how to handle the current bad economic news.

Follow workplace safety requirements for your home office. You should make sure you have a fire extinguisher and smoke detector in your office. Also create an ergonomic work environment, be it at a work table or your computer desk. This protection will help keep you safe and reduce the costs that you will have to pay.

A picture board that represents your goals and dreams can help keep you motivated. You can include photographs of items you would like to purchase when the money is rolling in, or an exotic holiday that you would like to take. My vision board includes a gorgeous kitchen renovation, Niagara Falls and a favorite restaurant. )

Before starting a home business, check out your target audience. Though you may be well versed in your services and products, knowing what your market is and where their needs lie, will help you create the right sales and marketing plan that will bring them to your site. When you design your website, keep in mind how customers usually buy your product or service. There may be unwritten rules you do not know about.

Visit with a CPA to discuss business expenses which could be eligible write-offs. Make sure to talk to them prior to starting your business so that you can keep track of your expenses in those areas. Mileage, gas and work area expenses are just a few things that are deductible.

When you want to open your own business and are searching for a field to enter, check online. However, be aware of the many home business scams advertised on the Internet. Do not purchase guides, e-books and other items that contain information you can easily get for free. Some scams are more convoluted and ask you to pay for access to high paying jobs, or tuition for classes online that are irrelevant. As you have heard many times, if something sounds impossibly awesome, then it is likely to be a scam.

This sort of business can require hard work; however, it does not have to. Making money while sleeping is the ultimate goal that anyone who has a home business should reach for. Having your bills covered by a passive income means that while you are working, you?re going to have extra income for luxuries. Consider how you can create work that makes you money so you can vacation and still make a profit!

Don?t forget to give yourself breaks now and then! You want to further your business every chance you get, but you can?t burn yourself out or make yourself sick. It?s vital that you give yourself proper break times, and take a short vacation each year so that you can revitalize your thoughts and come back even stronger.

Thanks to the Internet, anyone can learn more about their chosen field easily. Read blogs by experts and information in news outlets, to keep an eye on your competition.

Be sure and order a separate line for your home business communications. Using the same phone line for both is unprofessional. Your business calls may be answered by your family, who know nothing about the customer. In addition, you should have a message on your answering machine that is specific to your business.

Be sure to include your office space as a deduction when doing your taxes. Many home businesses don?t realize the things they can write off. Other business-related expenses, like utilities and rent, may be partially deductible.

One decision that is important is the name of your business. When picking a name, don?t just think of marketing potential. You will see the business? name more often than anyone else. The name you opt for should be one that has meaning to you, one that you like and are proud of it.

While our country?s economy is failing, that doesn?t mean yours has to. Are you asking yourself ?How will I get through it?? Hopefully this article has given you some helpful tips to help you survive this ?Second Great Depression.?

Howard Z. Douglass writes about online systems that help you make more money. Learn how to work from home by Clicking Here today. Get your Free Report on How to Make $10,000 Per Month Online:

Source: http://www.sponsordirectory.com/work-from-home-business-tips/

portland trail blazers nba trade blagojevich new mexico state kevin rose sessions march madness scores

No. 3 Louisville rips South Florida, 64-38

LOUISVILLE, KY (AP) - Peyton Siva scored 17 points and No. 3 Louisville held South Florida to a season-low 27 percent shooting for an easy 64-38 victory on Saturday.

Center Gorgui Dieng added 12 points and 16 rebounds while forward Chane Behanan had 12 rebounds and seven points for the Cardinals (15-1, 3-0 Big East), who won their 10th in a row. Behanan played just five days after injuring his left ankle in practice and missing Wednesday's victory against Seton Hall.

Siva meanwhile bounced back from a 2-of-6 shooting effort against the Pirates to hit seven shots, including three 3-pointers. The Big East Conference preseason player of the year also surpassed 1,000 career points.

The Cardinals dominated the boards 49-24 including a 19-6 edge in offensive rebounds.

Victor Rudd came off the bench to score 10 points for South Florida (9-6, 0-3).

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://www.wave3.com/story/20572050/no-3-louisville-rips-south-florida-64-38

clayton kershaw tyler perry face transplant maundy thursday fab melo google glasses kim kardashian and kanye west

A sizzling start to the new year | Ottawa Citizen Style

by Laura Robin Jan 10, 2013 in Food & Drink | 0 comments

Viktoriya Melenteva and Jean-Francois Maranda have just moved their Proven?al food, bath and kitchen store from Ste Jovite to Westboro. Starting this weekend, they will begin offering even more take-home foods, such as quiches and pasta sauces. (Photo: Bruno Schlumberger)

Forecast for the food scene in Ottawa in 2013: starting at a sizzle, then quickly building to a boil.

The year is starting with a flurry of restaurant openings and food finds: Steve Wall?s much-anticipated seafood-centric Supply and Demand, a Callebaut chocolate shop and an underground bar at Union 613 are all expected to open in the next few weeks.

In February, watch for Richard Nigro to open his Hintonburg Kitchen and warm up at a couple of outstanding Winterlude food events.

By March, the Elmdale House Tavern will have reopened with sustainable sustenance from The Whalesbone, while the Smoque Shack?s Warren Sutherland will open a new pizza place on Elgin, more or less across the street from star-chef Matthew Carmichael?s much-anticipated new digs, El Camino.

And by the time the tulips shoot up in May, as many as 20 new food trucks and carts will have rolled out on Ottawa streets, offering hot tastes as diverse as braised meat sandwiches and Thai tacos.

?The selection committee is pleased and amazed at the full range of applications,? Philip Powell, manager of licensing for the City of Ottawa, said Wednesday.

While 2012 saw Atelier?s Marc L?pine win the Canadian Culinary Championships and a bunch of great new restaurants and food trucks open their doors and windows, ?absolutely, totally,? 2013 will be even better for eating in Ottawa, says Carmichael, the former executive chef at Social, E18hteen and Sidedoor.

?I think the depth of food that Ottawa is offering is getting a lot better and I think the chefs are just getting better and better.?

Here, in no particular order, are 13 top things to whet your appetite just in the first months of 2013.

1. Seafood and Demand

?I think 2013 is going to be an exciting year ? there?s just so much going on in the Ottawa food scene,? says Steve Wall, who is opening Supply and Demand soon. (Photo: Julie Oliver)

Steve Wall, 28, is one of Ottawa?s most celebrated young chefs, having cooked at Beckta with Stephen Vardy, The Whalesbone Oyster House, Town and Luxe. Now the East Coast lad is opening his own spot, Supply and Demand, on food-centric Wellington Street West (in the former bank that last housed Santorini.)

?It will be seafood-focused, with a large raw component ? oysters, tuna crudo, razor clams and duck tartare,? Wall said. ?We?ll also have a couple of pastas, small plates and vegetable composed plates. As opposed to just slapping a couple of vegetables onto plates, they?ll be more ? la carte and prepared, like Brussels sprouts with bacon and anchovy.?

Seafood will come from everywhere from The Whalesbone in Ottawa to a fisherman?s co-operative on Vancouver Island and an oyster place Wall knows about in Nova Scotia. ?We?ll go to the airport and pick it up ourselves if we have to,? says Wall.

The decor, by Shannon Smithers-Gay who also did Union 613 and who is doing the new Savoy to open in the old Newport Restaurant spot, ?is a really classic look that?s comfortable,? says Wall.

?One wall has sea horse wallpaper, the floor has hexagon tile and there?s a chef?s bar with seating for about four.?

Wall hopes to have Supply and Demand open later this month.

Watch for: The old logo?d plates Wall picked up from the iconic Le Cafe Henry Burger.

2. A speakeasy on Somerset West

As if Union 613 isn?t already one of Ottawa?s hippest spots, it?s opening a space in its basement later this month that promises to increase its cool quotient even more.

?When I was in Manhattan I kept coming across these places that were employees only, please don?t tell, with no signage,? says owner Ivan Gedz. ?We thought it would be kind of a cool thing to do.?

The 20-seat space doesn?t have a name yet, it won?t have a sign and you?ll enter through the side door, in the alley.

?We?ll have just one beer on tap, one red, one white and a minimal selection of alcohol,? says Gedz. ?We haven?t decided what the food will be, but we?re going to serve just one thing, so it better be good.?

Watch for: Gedz is contemplating holding special nights when bartenders will converge in the speakeasy and come up with new cocktails.

3. The Elmdale, but with oysters

Hintonburg residents and would-be Hintonburgers are fiercely protective of the pickled-eggs-and-quarts ambience of the old Elmdale Tavern. But, really, what could be better than the gritty atmosphere plus good food?

The new owners of the business, Joshua Bishop and Pete McCallum from The Whalesbone, promise to keep the old Elmdale intact, with live music, likely some live theatre, more or less the same decor (or lack thereof) and even the pickled eggs, brined cheese and beer by quart. What they?re adding is a kitchen, which will turn out creations from their chef Chloe Berlanga, who will oversee both operations.

?We?re still hashing out the menu,? said Bishop last week, the day after he got the keys to the Elmdale. ?What we?re looking at is lots of shared plates, platters of rustic food and family-style serving, things like pot roasts and iron skillets of food that will go right on the table. We want to do a respectful job of paying homage to the place.? With oysters, of course.

They hope to have a soft opening March 1, with a grand opening on St. Paddy?s Day (March 17).

Watch for: Bishop says they?re entertaining the idea of offering dinner theatre as well as opening the upstairs apartment for catered parties.

4. El Camino on Elgin

Keep your appetite keen until late March or early April when award-winning chef Matthew Carmichael, who has worked with top chefs such as Susur Lee, will start offering high-end food in a literally low-end (as in below street level) locale on Elgin at Gladstone.

His much-anticipated new resto is to be called El Camino (mostly as in the early ?70s car Carmichael loved as a kid, but also ?The Way? in Spain) and will open complete with vintage style (but newly made) diner stools, a couple of booths, a pinball machine and a takeout window.

?Most chefs get a truck to pick up food,? says Carmichael. ?If all goes right, we?ll see if we can get a ?71 or ?72 El Camino from down below the salt line and drive it back by spring to use as our go-round car.?

Food will include tacos made with sustainable seafood (?April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman just opened Salvation Taco in New York ? it?s still going on,? says Carmichael), Thai curry, shrimp dumplings, papaya salad, Tijuana-style Caesar salads, charred pieces of O?Brien?s beef, a queso blanco (white cheese) dip, what he hopes will be the city?s best guacamole and raw seafood dishes such as spot prawns tartare and scallops ceviche.

?I think it?s important that everyone should have access to good-quality food, like good art or music,? says Carmichael. ?It came to me that, as good as Social, E18hteen and Sidedoor are, they?re not the kind of places I?d go on my nights off. I want a place where anyone would feel comfortable.?

Watch for: You?ll be able to peer down from the sidewalk into the kitchen and see the machine, imported from the U.S., turning out fresh-made taco shells. You might also be able to spot the barrels where they?ll be aging bourbon and mescal.

5. A slice on Elgin

Chef Warren Sutherland (Photo: Wayne Cuddington)

Warren Sutherland, the chef formerly at Sweetgrass and still behind the highly successful Smoque Shack and Piggy Market, is opening another new restaurant in February or March. It will be on Elgin, in the former premises of the Second Cup, across the street from Carmichael?s new spot, promising to make that section of Elgin ? with the Manx pub and the Elgin Street Diner ? a go-to gustatory destination.

Sutherland?s new spot is to be called Slice & Co. and feature pizza and sandwiches ? with a difference.

?Pizzerias are a dime a dozen, but really good ones are not,? says Sutherland. ?Now so many places are doing wood-burning pizza ovens, which is great, but it?s either that or poor-quality pizza. We want to step up the quality and offer four different kinds of pizza.?

Types will include Italian hand-tossed pizzas, Chicago deep-dish pizzas, Brooklyn-style pan pizzas and California thin-crust pizzas. Sandwiches are to include ?ones you know and love,? says Sutherland, such as steak and cheese, as well as more unusual ones such as muffulettas and banh mi.

Sutherland says the atmosphere will be casual at the 40- to 50-seat restaurant.

?We?ll have communal tables. It will be a place to stop in and eat with a group of people.?

Watch for: Slice & Co. will start with dinner and late-night service, but come patio season, it will expand outside and start offering lunch as well.

6. Smothered in chocolate

Celine Levo?s new store, Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, will sell all things chocolate, even hot chocolate and chocolate soft-serve ice cream. (Photo: Chris Mikula)

When C?line Levo lived in Calgary, she worked for Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut and came to love and respect the company?s high-quality, handcrafted chocolate. Fortunately for Ottawans, she moved east three years ago and has struck a deal to open Eastern Ontario?s first Bernard Callebaut outlet.

She?s planning a grand opening Feb. 1, in time for Valentine?s Day, but, if the equipment arrives in time, her shop at 256 Dalhousie St. may open in the weeks before.

The shop will become a go-to source for big chunks of baking chocolate, baking drops, filled chocolates and even hot chocolate.

?It will be everything chocolate, all about chocolate,? says Levo.

Watch for: Soft-serve cones of dark- and white-chocolate ice cream come summer.

7. Style and stylish food

At this Winterlude event, you will not only get to see a fashion show, featuring the creations of Toronto designer Lucian Matis, you?ll get to eat food that?s sure to be every bit as creative. Atelier chef Marc L?pine, who won the 2012 Canadian Culinary Championships, will be presenting a five-course menu at the American Express Winterlude Food and Fashion Evening, to be held at the Ottawa Convention Centre.

?It will be our food, but in larger portions,? says Lepine, whose regular menu, featuring molecular gastronomy, includes 12 small courses.

The Winterlude meal will be served in the ballroom with a panoramic view, with a catwalk running between the tables and fashions presented between courses as well as at the end of the meal. Dishes will include lightly cured pork belly that?s been cooked sous vide for 36 hours.

?It gets this awesome texture ? everyone always exclaims on the first bite,? says Lepine. ?The meat becomes so rich and delicious.?

The pork will be served surrounded with crispy shards of root vegetables and black truffles.

?It?s a fun way to eat root vegetables,? says Lepine.

The event is Friday, Feb. 1; tickets are $165, which includes the fashion show, five courses and wine. Call 613-599-3267 to reserve.

Watch for: Dessert will have an all-white snowstorm theme, with meringue crumbs, white edible rocks and a white spun sweet that?s the texture of cotton candy.

8. Lumberjacks and lardons

Another meal linked to Winterlude, this brunch promises to be beyond hearty: deep dish tourti?re made with bison and pork belly, baked beans with Seed to Sausage bacon lardons, apple cinnamon waffles, and duck-fat roasted potatoes with curds and gravy are just some of the nearly dozen dishes on the menu for the Red Apron?s Lumberjack Brunch, Sunday, Feb. 3 at 11:30 a.m. at the Gladstone Avenue shop.

You know that if it?s made at the Red Apron it?s going to good, so the limited spaces ($35 per person) are likely to be snapped up quickly: go to redapron.ca to book.

Watch for: ?We?re going to wear plaid, tuques and moustaches,? says co-owner Jennifer Heagle.

9. Richard?s Hintonburg Kitchen

?Balls of the day,? are just one of many food offerings Richard Nigro plans for his new business to open in Hintonburg in early February.

?I?ll have a different kind of meatball every day,? says the chef who worked at Domus and was one of the founding chefs at Juniper. ?They could be traditional Italian meatballs or North African lamb ones, with couscous, goat?s cheese and harissa-scented yogurt.?

He also plans to have a patty of the day ? everything from Caribbean ones to samosas and Cornish pasties ? aimed at the lunch crowd in a rush, as well as a ?roaster of the day? ? a roast chicken with side dishes, suitable to take home for a family dinner.

?I want to keep things fairly mixed up as far as the menu is concerned, so you won?t come in and see the same thing,? says Nigro. ?There will be a lot of Asian influences and a number of Korean beef and pork dishes.?

Richard?s Hintonburg Kitchen, at 1200 Wellington St. (former home of the Emerald Pastry & Food Shop) will also feature his line of condiments and preserves and barbecue-ready products, such as smoked ribs that just need a final grilling with sauce. Feb. 4 is the planned opening day, but Nigro says ?maybe I?ll do an early soft opening with platters and dinners for Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 3.?

Watch for: Nigro plans to have the chef?s table in the kitchen for cooking classes and special dinners.

10. Provence in Westboro

This place, like the next one, actually opened in late 2012, but chances are, with the holiday rush, you haven?t had time yet to check it out.

Stepping into the new Chez Fran?ois shop in Westboro feels like stepping into a food shop in the south of France. Behind the cash is a selection of breads and pastries baked fresh that day. In the fridges, you?ll find foie gras and what the staff say is the best cheese in the world: a brie with a slather of black truffle in the middle. On the shelves are custom-made pastas (such as one made with walnuts), 10 types of house-made vinegars and house-brand tapenades, mustards and jams.

This fully realized shop ? complete with kitchen wares, Proven?al fabrics and its own line of bath products ? opened at 427 Richmond Rd. on Dec. 2, but the business came with a loyal following from its 20 years in St Jovite.

?We wanted to move into the city,? says owner Jean-Fran?ois Maranda.

Watch for: This weekend, with the rush of opening and the holidays behind them, Maranda says they will begin to offer even more take-home foods, all made on the premises.

?We?re going to have quiches and salads and increase the number of our sauces and other foods in jars, such as beef bourguignon, from two to a 12.?

11.? Oaxaca in Vanier

'The idea that Mexican food is burritos and fajitas is pretty erronous.' ? Ana Collins, Mitla

The small bright blue house stands out at the corner of Barrette and Loyer streets, luring you in with its vibrant colours and exotic aromas.

Mitla is primarily a catering business, devoted to the authentic foods of the Oaxacan region of Mexico, but it?s also a great place to pick up dinner to take home, or, as long as there?s room at the two tables in the tiny front room, to stop for a simple lunch.

?The idea that Mexican food is burritos and fajitas is pretty erroneous,? says Ana Collins, who opened Mitla Dec. 8, four years after moving back to Ottawa from Mexico.

In Mexico, she worked with a group devoted to preserving indigenous plants that are crucial to Oaxacan cuisine, such as dozens of types of non-GMO corn and chili peppers.

Now she?s bringing those authentic flavours to Ottawa. Each day at lunch, there is a soup of the day, memelas (corn tortillas topped with seasoned black bean sauce and fresh cheese) and a type of quesadilla. For dinner, you can take home whatever dish is being prepared, perhaps venison in a red mole or chili rellenos. And the Oaxacan hot chocolate ? made with cocoa beans, cinnamon and almonds ? is worth crossing town for.

?I think you can taste that the food is healthy,? says Collins. ?It?s whole beans, grains, salsas made with specific chilies and whole ingredients.?

Watch for: Collins plans to expand her business in interesting ways.

?I want to be part of the neighbourhood: Vanier needs something a little bit funky. I?d like to bring in people to speak on Thursday nights or maybe be a place to stop for some music and coffee on Friday evenings.?

12.? Art-Is-In all the time

Is there anything we don?t love about Art-Is-In Bakery? Oh, yes, right. It?s driving up on a Monday morning and finding it closed.

No more this year. The bakery in the industrial-hip City Centre has taken over the bay next door and is currently closed for renovations and expansion, moving all the baking equipment into the new space and expanding the eating and cooking area. And, salvation for those dependent on its dynamite loaves and sensational sweets, it will soon be open seven days a week.

The owners had hoped to reopen Jan. 12, but? tweeted Wednesday that they will now reopen Tuesday, January 15.

Watch for: Even more savoury brunch and lunch options once the bread operation moves out of the original space.

13. Street food will roll out

Last Friday was the deadline for applications for 20 new spots for food carts and trucks, the first new City-sanctioned street food on Ottawa?s streets in 18 years.

?We had a great response,? says Philip Powell, the City of Ottawa?s manager of licensing, permits and markets. ?We got 61 applications in total, 45 for trucks and 16 for carts.

?The range of the food is really quite amazing: Indian, Thai, Mexican, Greek, seafood, Vietnamese, Cuban and Cajun ? and ice cream and frozen yogurt on carts. It?s the full range of everything you can imagine in street food and really quite exciting.?

We won?t know until February who is approved and for where, but one chef who has publicly declared his interest is the Urban Pear?s Ben Baird, who has already bought his truck, to be called Ottawa Streat Gourmet.

?I want to do international food with 100-mile ingredients,? says Baird. ?I want to do tacos, shawarmas, Thai food and Indian food and I hope to be near Queen or Sparks street.?

Downtown Ottawa promises to get some much needed flavour.

Watch for: Powell says he expects most of the new trucks and carts to roll out in time for the May tulip festival.

Source: http://www.ottawacitizenstyle.com/category/food-and-drink/a-sizzling-start-to-the-new-year/

carlina white Sam Champion Engaged Infield fly rule Taken 2 Venezuela Elections Skyfall Chicago Marathon 2012

Getting and Staying Fit and Healthy

?Good health is easier to maintain than to regain, once lost.? ? Dr. Ken Cooper

Since it?s the New Year, and I just KNOW you?re on a path to better health, fitness and overall wellness, I?m going to tell you in just 5 steps the cold hard truth about everything you need to know to get and stay fit and healthy for the coming year, as well as the rest of your life.

Ready? Here we go?

Step #1 ? Eat & Drink Well

If you?re really serious about making some long term changes to the quality of your overall health, fitness, wellness and life, stop eating and drinking garbage, to include junk food, sweets, processed crap and calorie laden drinks.

If you?re not serious, keep it up.

Step #2 ? Exercise Some

I?m going to let you in on a little secret?I?m not really a fan of regular kick butt, knock your socks off, heart pounding, on the edge of puking workouts.

?Uncle Steve?surely you jest!?

Nope. It?s true?and here?s why: you can?t maintain that level of intensity for any appreciable length of time and remain healthy and well. Yea, you may be somewhat physically fit, but if your joints ache, or you?re constantly sore, or mentally drained?what good is it?

And, let?s be honest, if you?re not willing to follow through with Step #1 and eat a clean diet, why exercise hard to begin with? Remember my mantra?

You cannot out train a crappy diet!

Smarter and shorter training sessions (think HIIT), performed more consistently with greater intensity will take you further down the road in terms of a lean physique, longetivity, freedom from pain and good overall physical fitness anyway.

Step #3 ? Recovery

In order to train smarter and harder of a consistent basis, you must recover from the previous training session(s). That is accomplished through several methods, to include:

• Good nutrition (sound familiar?)
• Sleep
• Stretching
• Massage/Foam Rolling
• Other hands on modalities like chiropractic or acupuncture

Of all of these recovery techniques, the first two are primary to overall success. Food is the fuel for recovery, and sleep is the vehicle which makes the transition successful. Do your level best to get the most from both.

Daily stretching and foam rolling are excellent tools for keeping the body supple, lithe and mobile. A ?hands on? massage is also a great recovery tool, but because of the expenditure is often not sought and/or utilized as often as it should be.

Step #4 ? Relaxation

Relaxation is a form of recovery, but is geared more to the mental aspect of good overall health and wellness. Relaxation can take many forms like:

• Reading
• Watching a movie
• Listening to music
• A drive through the country
• Spending time talking with friends

Basically it is anything you think of when the term ?relaxation? is used.

Step #5 ? Fun

You may not be a kid anymore, but that doesn?t mean you can?t, or shouldn?t, have fun.

Fun is an essential part of a healthy life. Fun is just what it says it is?stuff that is fun for YOU to do.

For me, fun is fishing or hunting with my wife, family or outdoor buddies. It?s working with my hands on a lathe making something from a piece of wood. It?s writing an article.

What do you consider fun?

Is it a hobby? An activity? Time with family?

Whatever it is, spend a little more time doing that. That is, if you?re serious about being truly fit, healthy and well.

Wishing you a great 2013, and beyond.

Steve

Tag: 5 Steps, Better Health, Cold Hard Truth, Consistent Basis, Dr Ken, Fitness Wellness, Freedom From Pain, Good Health, Good Nutrition, Health Fitness, Junk Food, Ken Cooper, Lean Physique, Modalities, Physical Fitness, Rest Of Your Life, Staying Fit, Term Changes, Training Session, Workouts

Source: http://www.firestormfitcamps.com/2013/01/09/getting-and-staying-fit-and-healthy/

the voice season 2 ron paul maine safe house jay z and beyonce baby cpac powell the last lecture

Stocks sink, pulling S&P 500 down from 5-year high

NEW YORK (AP) ? Investors started the week on a cautious note, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 index down from the five-year high it reached Friday.

The move lower on Monday is likely the result of traders taking some winnings off the table after the stock market's surge last week, said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.

Investors are also preparing for corporate America's seasonal parade of earnings reports, which starts Tuesday.

"You can summarize it as profit-taking and preparation," Stovall said. "Investors are digesting some of those gains from last week and positioning themselves so they're not too far extended if fourth-quarter earnings slip a bit."

The S&P 500 fell 4.58 points to close at 1,461.89.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 50.92 points to 13,384.29, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 2.84 points to 3,098.81.

The S&P 500 soared 4.6 percent last week, ending Friday at a five-year high. The government reported that hiring held up in December during the tense budget negotiations in Washington, with employers adding 155,000 jobs during the month.

Investors celebrated to start the year as lawmakers passed a bill to avoid a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases that came to be known as the "fiscal cliff." The law passed late Tuesday night avoided the full force of the budget cuts, which could have dragged the economy into a recession.

Investors are now shifting their focus to corporate profits. Aluminum producer Alcoa launches the reporting season for the fourth quarter of 2012 after the market closes on Tuesday.

Analysts forecast that companies in the S&P 500 will report that quarterly earnings increased 3.3 percent compared with the same period the year before, according to S&P Capital IQ. But all the events that took place in the last three months of 2012 -- Superstorm Sandy, the presidential election, and worries about the narrowly avoided "fiscal cliff" -- could make for some surprises.

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and others banks agreed to pay $8.5 billion to settle federal complaints that they foreclosed on people who should have been allowed to stay in their homes. Bank stocks ended the day little changed.

In a separate agreement, Bank of America settled with the government-owned mortgage finance company Fannie Mae over mortgage investments that lost value during the real-estate crash. BofA's stock fell 2 cents to $12.09.

In other trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.90 percent. The yield on the note hit an eight-month high of 1.97 percent in intraday trading Friday, according to prices from Tradeweb, an operator of fixed-income markets.

Among other stocks making big moves:

? Archer Daniels Midland dropped 4 percent. Analysts at JP Morgan Chase said the ongoing drought in the Midwest will likely squeeze the crop-processing company's profit margins. The analysts also started coverage on ADM's stock with a price target of $28, below where it opened for trading Monday. ADM fell $1.21 to $28.01.

? Lowe's Cos. fell 82 cents to $34.76 after analysts at the money-management firm Canaccord cut their rating on the company to "sell" from "hold," saying that the home improvement company's efforts to improve stores and sales won't be successful.

? Walgreen Co. gained 85 cents to $38.03 after Jefferies analyst Scott A. Mushkin raised his rating on the drugstore chain to "buy" from "hold," saying the company's profits may get a boost from the flu season, Medicare drug plans and President Obama's health-care overhaul.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-sink-pulling-p-500-down-5-high-211609583--finance.html

Butch Jones thursday night football japan earthquake Star Trek Into Darkness Heisman watch John McAfee Jenny Rivera

Huge gadget show gears up in Vegas

FILE - This undated publicity image provided by Sony shows an ultra-HD 4K TV set. At the biggest trade show in the Americas, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, TV makers will be doing their best to convince you that HDTVs are old hat, and should make room for "Ultra HDTV." (AP Photo/Sony, File)

FILE - This undated publicity image provided by Sony shows an ultra-HD 4K TV set. At the biggest trade show in the Americas, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, TV makers will be doing their best to convince you that HDTVs are old hat, and should make room for "Ultra HDTV." (AP Photo/Sony, File)

Think your high-definition TV is hot stuff ? as sharp as it gets? At the biggest trade show in the Americas, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas, TV makers will be doing their best to convince you that HDTVs are old hat, and should make room for "Ultra HDTV."

It's the latest gambit from an industry struggling with a shift in consumer spending from TVs, PCs and single-purpose devices such as camcorders to small, portable do-it-all gadgets: smartphones and tablets. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that device shipments to U.S. buyers fell 5 percent in dollar terms last year excluding smartphones and tablets, but rose 6 percent to $207 billion if you include those categories.

The trends suggest that the International CES (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) is losing its stature as a start-of-the-year showcase for the gadgets that consumers will buy over the next 12 months. It started out as a venue for the TV and stereo industries. Later, PCs joined the party.

But over the last few years, TVs and PCs have declined in importance as portable gadgets have risen and CES hasn't kept pace. It's not a major venue for phone and tablet launches, though some new models will likely see the light of day there when the show floor opens on Tuesday. The biggest trendsetter in mobile gadgets industry, Apple Inc., stays away, as it shuns all events it doesn't organize itself.

Apple rival Microsoft Corp. has also scaled back its patronage of the show. For the first time since 1999, Microsoft's CEO won't be delivering the kick-off keynote. Qualcomm Inc. has taken over the podium. It's an important maker of chips that go into cellphones, but not a household name.

None of this seems to matter much to the industry people who go to the show, which is set to be bigger than ever, at least in terms of floor space.

Gary Shapiro the CEO of the organizing Consumer Electronics Association, expects attendance close to the 156,000 people who turned out last year. That's pretty much at capacity for Las Vegas, which has about 150,000 hotel rooms. The show doesn't welcome gawkers: the attendees are executives, purchasing managers, engineers, marketers, journalists and others with connections to the industry.

"We don't want to be over 160,000," Shapiro said in an interview. "We do everything we can not to be too crowded."

Nor do the shifting winds of the technology industry seem to matter much to exhibitors. Though some big names are scaling back or missing, there are many smaller companies clamoring for booth space and a spot in the limelight for a few days. For example, while Apple doesn't have an official presence at the show, there will be 500 companies displaying Apple accessories in the "iLounge Pavilion."

Overall, the CEA sold a record 1.9 million square feet of floor space (the equivalent of 33 football fields) for this year's show.

These are some of the themes that will be in evidence next week:

___ SHARPER TVs

Ultra HDTVs have four times the resolution of HDTVs. While this sounds extreme and unnecessary, you've probably already been exposed to projections at this resolution, because it's used in digital movie theaters. Sony, LG, Westinghouse and others will be at the show with huge flat-panel TVs that bring that experience home, if you have a spare $20,000 or so.

While the sets are eye-catching, they will likely be niche products for years to come, if they ever catch on. They have to be really big ? more than 60 inches, measured diagonally ? to make the extra resolution really count. Also, there's no easy way to get movies in UHDTV resolution.

"While there's going to be a lot of buzz around Ultra HDTV, we really think what's going to be relevant to consumers at the show is the continued evolution of 3D TVs and Internet-connected TVs," said Kumu Puri, senior executive with consulting firm Accenture's Electronics & High-Tech group.

___ BIGGER PHONES

Unlike TVs, new phones are launched throughout the year, so CES isn't much of a bellwether for phone trends. But this year, reports point to several super-sized smartphones, with screen bigger than five inches diagonally, making their debut at the show. These phones are so big they can be awkward to hold to the ear, but Samsung's Galaxy Note series has shown that there's a market for them. Wags call them "phablets" because they're almost tablet-sized.

___ ACROBATIC PCs

Microsoft launched Windows 8 in October, in an attempt to make the PC work more like a tablet. PC makers obliged, with a slew of machines that blend the boundaries. They have touch screens that twist, fold back or detach from the keyboard. None of these seems to be a standout hit so far, but we can expect more experiments to be revealed at the show.

"All the PC manufacturers recognize that they have to do things differently," Accenture's Puri said.

___ ATTENTIVE COMPUTING

CES has been a showcase in recent years for technologies that free users from keyboards, mice and buttons. Instead, they rely on cameras and other sophisticated sensors to track the user and interpret gestures and eye movements. Microsoft's motion-tracking add-on for the Xbox 360 console, the Kinect, has introduced this type of technology to the living room. Startups and big TV makers are now looking to take it further.

For example, Tobii Technology, a Swedish company, will be at the show to demonstrate "the world's first gaze interaction computer peripheral" ? basically a camera that tracks where the user is looking on the screen, potentially replacing the mouse.

PointGrab, an Israeli startup, will be showing off software that lets a regular laptop webcam interpret hand movements in the air in front of it.

Assaf Gad, head of marketing at PointGrab, said that CES is usually full of hopeful companies with speculative interaction technologies, "but this year, you can actually see real devices."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-03-Gadget%20Show-Preview/id-9b386f2739a84224999ded3984df8691

dog the bounty hunter tacoma narrows bridge weather nyc open marriage department of justice doj dept of justice