Fige Bornu

10 Stars Who Look Better With Age

2011-11-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

10 Stars Who Look Better With Age

Kate Winslet, Age 36

The Contagion star (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) is famous for her anti-plastic surgery stance. Instead, Winslet has said in the Huffington Post that she follows a different approach to beauty: a look that’s au natural.

Vanessa Williams, Age 48

Williams (in 2002, left, and 2011, right) is candid about her occasional use of botox to maintain her youthful look. Another — more natural — tip? The Desperate Housewives star has said in Marie Claire that she regularly practices Pilates and takes dance classes too!

Felicity Huffman, Age 48

Huffman’s anti-aging advice? The Desperate Housewives star (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) recommends taking advantage of the days when you don’t have to wear makeup. “Just let your skin breathe,” she said in a recent interview with Style Goes Strong.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Age 39

To maintain her youthful glow, Paltrow (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) told Us that she doesn’t hesitate when it comes to investing in both her skin and hair. Another tip? In The Boston Herald, she admitted that she always looks her best after a good night’s sleep!

Jennifer Aniston, Age 42

The former Friends star (in 2002, left, and 2011, right) told Marie Claire that yoga is a vital part of her anti-aging efforts.

Cindy Crawford, Age 45

Crawford (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) maintains her youthful look by focusing attention on her hair. “You can get any plastic surgery in the world, but hair color is what enables women to look younger longer,” she said in a recent interview with Allure.

Halle Berry, Age 45

The secret to Berry’s youthful look? The actress (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) has said in Marie Claire that, in addition to exfoliating her skin, she rubs pure Vitamin C on her face before putting on moisturizer.

Oprah Winfrey, Age 57

According to People, Oprah (in 2002, left, and 2011, right) has healthy hair thanks to her stylist Andre Walker, who stays away from styling tools like blow dryers and flat irons at least three days a week. “Lately, I’ve been doing ponytails to stretch the time between blow dries,” he said in a recent interview with O, The Oprah Magazine. “With a little height on the top, a pony can look very polished!”

Demi Moore, Age 48

Moore (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) has said that the secret to her youthful look is simple: she moisturizes regularly and often. “No matter how late it is, when I get home, I take the time to clean and moisturize my face. I’m a big believer in that if you focus on good skin care, you really won’t need a lot of makeup,” she said in a recent interview with Marie Claire.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Age 46

Parker’s anti-aging secret? The former Sex and the City star (in 2001, left, and 2011, right) has said that she applies sunscreen daily to protect her skin. She’s also committed to staying fit and healthy. She told Good Housekeeping: “I do yoga whenever I can.”

Source: Yahoo

Baby Hippo Born in Berlin Zoo - Nice Photos...

2011-11-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Nice Photos from India - Life in India...

2011-11-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

Kids and Pets - Funny Photos...

2011-11-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

Egypt - Nice Photo Collection Part III...

2011-11-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Refraction of Light - Nice Photos...

2011-10-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Kim Sung Jin Lips Paintings Part II...

2011-10-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

John Fulton Photography - Creative Photos...

2011-10-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Egypt - Some Rare Photos Part II...

2011-10-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Breathtaking Photos of Europe

2011-10-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Breathtaking Photos of Europe

Anyone who lives in Europe, has ever been there, or even dreamed of visiting knows the incredible variety, striking characteristics and history driven culture that exists on this continent. We bring you collection of 44 best photos from all over the Europe.

Belgium

Croatia

Czech Republic

England

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Netherland

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Scotland

Spain

Colourful Flowers - Beautiful Destop Wallpapers...

2011-10-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

High Quality Photos - Desktop Wallpapers

2011-10-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

Scott Burdick Beautiful Paintings Part III...

2011-10-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

Egypt - Nice and Rare Photo Collection...

2011-10-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Creative Ideas are all Around Us...

2011-10-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

French Street Artist LUDO Paintings Part III...

2011-10-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Alexander Calder - Awesome American Sculptor Artworks Part III...

2011-10-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

First pilgrims eat thanksgiving

2011-10-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

First pilgrims eat thanksgiving

First pilgrims eat thanksgiving, Most of us remember learning about Thanksgiving in grade school: the Pilgrims and Indians sitting down together after a magnificent harvest to give thanks for their wonderful bounty. While it's true there were Indians and Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving - and even a turkey - things get a little more complicated after that. But we're not here to deliver a long discourse or provide a titillating expose on the way things really happened back in 1621 when America wasn't even a colony.However, we have unearthed a few interesting anecdotes about the history of our national holiday that just might help fill in those long silences around the Thanksgiving dinner table. And if Uncle Ted keeps asking you embarassing questions about your personal life, if you read this article carefully, you can change the subject with a cheerful, "Did you know George Washington declared Thanksgiving to be a February holiday? What's up with that?"And even if your own Thanksgiving holiday is peaceful and idyllic, you can read about a time when things weren't quite so easy. So unpack the canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce, and consider these facts:Although there were other "thanksgivings" celebrated in North America by foreigners , the feast that took place in Plymouth in August of 1621 is the one our modern celebration is most closely aligned with. After arriving in Plymouth in 1620, the Pilgrims had endured hardships but had managed to survive, in a large part due to the help of Squanto, an Indian who taught the Pilgrims how to fish, grow corn, and farm the land. At the end of their first year, the Puritans held a "harvest feast" celebrating the fruits of their farming efforts. The feast honored Squanto and their friends, the Wampanoag Indians. The feast was followed by three days of "thanksgiving" celebrating their good fortune. Although Indians and Pilgrims joined together for a meal of thanksgiving in 1621, the Indians didn't fare so well at other thanksgiving observances. In 1641, a raid against the members of the Pequot tribe in Connecticut was very successful, and the churches declared a day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate. During this feast, the decapitated heads of Natives were kicked through the streets of Manhatten. Many towns in New England held thanksgiving days to celebrate victories over the Natives.The practice of celebrating a fall Thanksgiving was well established in New England by the middle of the 17th century, but the first National Thanksgiving wasn't proclaimed and signed by the President of the Continental Congress until November 1, 1777, by order of Congress. The proclamation designate the third Thursday of December for a solemn day of "thanksgiving and praise". In particular, they were celebrating the surrender of British Major Gen. John Burgoyne, who had surrendered at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. George Washington declared Thursday, the 19th of February, a National Day of Thanksgiving. His proclamation stated that it is "our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue is our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God..." On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and the U.S Congress established the first annual National Day of Thanksgiving "on the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." The images of pilgrims and Indians that define Thanksgiving for us today were not part of the national celebration until the 19th century. Before 1900, you didn't see picutres of Pilgrims sitting down to eat with Indians. There was so much violence out west that the idea of a harmonius celebration between the Indians and Pilgrims was too difficult for most people to imagine.In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to the last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving. All of Lincoln's successors had proclaimed Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November. But in 1939, the National Dry Goods Association had requested Roosevelt move Thanksgiving back one week to allow for a longer Christmas season. This caused considerable controversy, with 23 states celebrating Thanksgiving on the 23rd, and 23 states waiting until the 30th. This Thanksgiving was called "Franksgiving" by many who considered Roosevelt's proclamation an outrage. In 1941, Roosevelt announced that the extending of the Christmas season had caused no increase in retail sales, and on November 26, 1941, he signed a bill that established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving holiday, which it has been ever since.Thanksgiving HistoryThanksgiving is a particularly American holiday. The word evokes images of football, family reunions, roasted turkey with stuffing, pumpkin pie and, of course, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag, the acknowledged founders of the feast. But was it always so? Read on to find out...This article explores the development of our modern holiday. For information on food at the First Thanksgiving, go to Partakers of our Plenty. For additional children's resources on Thanksgiving, you might want to view Scholastic's Virtual Field Trip to Plimoth Plantation, explore our Online Learning Center, or visit our Homework Help page. If you'd like to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, please visit our Thanksgiving Dining and Special Events page.Giving thanks for the Creator’s gifts had always been a part of Wampanoag daily life. From ancient times, Native People of North America have held ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests, for the hope of a good growing season in the early spring, and for other good fortune such as the birth of a child. Giving thanks was, and still is, the primary reason for ceremonies or celebrations.As with Native traditions in America, celebrations - complete with merrymaking and feasting - in England and throughout Europe after a successful crop are as ancient as the harvest-time itself. In 1621, when their labors were rewarded with a bountiful harvest after a year of sickness and scarcity, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God and celebrated His bounty in the Harvest Home tradition with feasting and sport (recreation). To these people of strong Christian faith, this was not merely a revel; it was also a joyous outpouring of gratitude. The arrival of the Pilgrims and Puritans brought new Thanksgiving traditions to the American scene. Today’s national Thanksgiving celebration is a blend of two traditions: the New England custom of rejoicing after a successful harvest, based on ancient English harvest festivals; and the Puritan Thanksgiving, a solemn religious observance combining prayer and feasting.Florida, Texas, Maine and Virginia each declare itself the site of the First Thanksgiving and historical documents support the various claims. Spanish explorers and other English Colonists celebrated religious services of thanksgiving years before Mayflower arrived. However, few people knew about these events until the 20th century. They were isolated celebrations, forgotten long before the establishment of the American holiday, and they played no role in the evolution of Thanksgiving. But as James W. Baker states in his book, Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday, "despite disagreements over the details" the 3-day event in Plymouth in the fall of 1621 was "the historical birth of the American Thanksgiving holiday."So how did the Pilgrims and Wampanoag come to be identified with the First Thanksgiving?HARVEST HOME OR THANKSGIVING?

In a letter from “E.W.” (Edward Winslow) to a friend in England, he says: “And God be praised, we had a good increase…. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling that so we might after a special manner rejoice together….” Winslow continues, “These things I thought good to let you understand… that you might on our behalf give God thanks who hath dealt so favourably with us.”

In 1622, without his approval, Winslow’s letter was printed in a pamphlet that historians commonly call Mourt’s Relation. This published description of the First Thanksgiving was lost during the Colonial period. It was rediscovered in Philadelphia around 1820. Antiquarian Alexander Young included the entire text in his Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers (1841). Reverend Young saw a similarity between his contemporary American Thanksgiving and the 1621 Harvest Feast. In the footnotes that accompanied Winslow’s letter, Young writes, “This was the first Thanksgiving, the harvest festival of New England. On this occasion they no doubt feasted on the wild turkey as well as venison.”

PURITAN HOLIDAY

The American Thanksgiving also has its origin in the faith practices of Puritan New England, where strict Calvinist doctrine sanctioned only the Sabbath, fast days and thanksgivings as religious holidays or “holy days.” To the Puritans, a true “thanksgiving” was a day of prayer and pious humiliation, thanking God for His special Providence. Auspicious events, such as the sudden ending of war, drought or pestilence, might inspire a thanksgiving proclamation. It was like having an extra Sabbath during the week. Fasts and thanksgivings never fell on a Sunday. In the early 1600s, they were not annual events. Simultaneously instituted in Plymouth, Connecticut and Massachusetts, Thanksgiving became a regular event by the middle of the 17th century and it was proclaimed each autumn by the individual Colonies.

The holiday changed as the dogmatic Puritans of the 17th century evolved into the 18th century’s more cosmopolitan Yankees. By the 1700s, the emotional significance of the New England family united around a dinner table overshadowed the civil and religious importance of Thanksgiving. Carried by Yankee emigrants moving westward and the popular press, New England’s holiday traditions would spread to the rest of the nation.

NATIONAL FEAST

The Continental Congress proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving in 1777. A somber event, it specifically recommended “that servile labor and such recreations (although at other times innocent) may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment [and should] be omitted on so solemn an occasion.”

Presidents Washington, Adams and Monroe proclaimed national Thanksgivings, but the custom fell out of use by 1815, after which the celebration of the holiday was limited to individual state observances. By the 1850s, almost every state and territory celebrated Thanksgiving.

Many people felt that this family holiday should be a national celebration, especially Sarah Josepha Hale, the influential editor of the popular women’s magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book. In 1827, she began a campaign to reinstate the holiday after the model of the first Presidents. She publicly petitioned several Presidents to make it an annual event. Sarah Josepha Hale’s efforts finally succeeded in 1863, when she was able to convince President Lincoln that a national Thanksgiving might serve to unite a war-torn country. The President declared two national Thanksgivings that year, one for August 6 celebrating the victory at Gettysburg and a second for the last Thursday in November.

Neither Lincoln nor his successors, however, made the holiday a fixed annual event. A President still had to proclaim Thanksgiving each year, and the last Thursday in November became the customary date. In a controversial move, Franklin Delano Roosevelt lengthened the Christmas shopping season by declaring Thanksgiving for the next-to-the-last Thursday in November. Two years later, in 1941, Congress responded by permanently establishing the holiday as the fourth Thursday in the month.

THE PILGRIM AND WAMPANOAG ROLE

The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag were not particularly identified with Thanksgiving until about 1900, though interest in the Pilgrims as historic figures began shortly before the American Revolution.

With the publication of Longfellow’s best-selling poem The Courtship of Miles Standish (1848) and the recovery of Governor Bradford’s lost manuscript Of Plimoth Plantation (1855), public interest in the Pilgrims and Wampanoag grew just as Thanksgiving became nationally important. Until the third quarter of the 19th century, music, literature and popular art concentrated on the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock and their first encounters with Native People on Cape Cod.

After 1890, representations of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag began to reflect a shift of interest to the 1621 harvest celebration. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Pilgrims and the Thanksgiving holiday were used to teach children about American freedom and how to be good citizens. Each November, in classrooms across the country, students participated in Thanksgiving pageants, sang songs about Thanksgiving, and built log cabins to represent the homes of the Pilgrims. Immigrant children also learned that all Americans ate turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. The last lesson was especially effective with the recollections of most immigrant children in the 20th century including stories of rushing home after school in November to beg their parents to buy and roast a turkey for a holiday dinner.

TURKEY AND ALL THE TRIMMINGS

The classic Thanksgiving menu of turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and root vegetables is based on New England fall harvests. In the 19th century, as the holiday spread across the country, local cooks modified the menu both by choice (“this is what we like to eat”) and by necessity (“this is what we have to eat”). Today, many Americans delight in giving regional produce, recipes and seasonings a place on the Thanksgiving table. In New Mexico, chiles and other southwestern flavors are used in stuffing, while on the Chesapeake Bay, the local favorite, crab, often shows up as a holiday appetizer or as an ingredient in dressing. In Minnesota, the turkey might be stuffed with wild rice, and in Washington State, locally grown hazelnuts are featured in stuffing and desserts. In Indiana, persimmon puddings are a favorite Thanksgiving dessert, and in Key West, key lime pie joins pumpkin pie on the holiday table. Some specialties have even become ubiquitous regional additions to local Thanksgiving menus; in Baltimore, for instance, it is common to find sauerkraut alongside the Thanksgiving turkey.

Most of these regional variations have remained largely a local phenomenon, a means of connecting with local harvests and specialty foods. However this is not true of influential southern Thanksgiving trends that had a tremendous impact on the 20th-century Thanksgiving menu.

Corn, sweet potatoes, and pork form the backbone of traditional southern home cooking, and these staple foods provided the main ingredients in southern Thanksgiving additions like ham, sweet potato casseroles, pies and puddings, and corn bread dressing. Other popular southern contributions include ambrosia (a layered fruit salad traditionally made with citrus fruits and coconut; some more recent recipes use mini-marshmallows and canned fruits), biscuits, a host of vegetable casseroles, and even macaroni and cheese. Unlike the traditional New England menu, with its mince, apple and pumpkin pie dessert course, southerners added a range and selection of desserts unknown in northern dining rooms, including regional cakes, pies, puddings, and numerous cobblers. Many of these Thanksgiving menu additions spread across the country with relocating southerners. Southern cookbooks (of which there are hundreds) and magazines also helped popularize many of these dishes in places far beyond their southern roots. Some, like sweet potato casserole, pecan pie, and corn bread dressing, have become as expected on the Thanksgiving table as turkey and cranberry sauce.

THANKSGIVING

If there is one day each year when food and family take center stage, it is Thanksgiving. It is a holiday about “going home” with all the emotional content those two words imply. The Sunday following Thanksgiving is always the busiest travel day of the year in the United States. Each day of the long Thanksgiving weekend, more than 10 million people take to the skies. Another 40 million Americans drive 100 miles or more to have Thanksgiving dinner. And the nation’s railways teem with travelers going home for the holiday.

Despite modern-age turmoil—and perhaps, even more so, because of it—gathering together in grateful appreciation for a Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family is a deeply meaningful and comforting annual ritual to most Americans. The need to connect with loved ones and to express our gratitude is at the heart of all this feasting, prayerful thanks, recreation, and nostalgia for a simpler time. And somewhere in the bustling activity of every November's Thanksgiving is the abiding National memory of a moment in Plymouth, nearly 400 years ago, when two distinct cultures, on the brink of profound and irrevocable change, shared an autumn feast.

Despite modern-age turmoil—and perhaps, even more so, because of it—gathering together in grateful appreciation for a Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family is a deeply meaningful and comforting annual ritual to most Americans. The need to connect with loved ones and to express our gratitude is at the heart of all this feasting, prayerful thanks, recreation, and nostalgia for a simpler time. And somewhere in the bustling activity of every November's Thanksgiving is the abiding National memory of a moment in Plymouth, nearly 400 years ago, when two distinct cultures, on the brink of profound and irrevocable change, shared an autumn feast.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Very little is known about the 1621 event in Plymouth that is the model for our Thanksgiving. The only references to the event are reprinted below:

“And God be praised we had a good increase… Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

“They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which is place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

Source:plimoth

JLS Marvin Humes to propose

2011-10-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

JLS Marvin Humes to propose

JLS Marvin Humes to propose, Marvin Humes and Rochelle Wiseman’s relationship has been going from strength to strength since they got back together in January, and now it looks like Marvin’s planning to propose!

Rochelle is on holiday in Portugal with her Saturdays’ bandmate Vanessa White at the moment, and Marv’s using the time to find the perfect ring.

“Marvin’s booked an appointment at Tiffany & Co,” a friend of the star tells this week’s heat magazine. “That’s where he bought her the commitment ring when they got back together.”

But don’t hold your breath for a late summer wedding. “They’ll be going to the Maldives on holiday in the New Year, and that’s when friends think Marvin’s going to propose. They’ve been working really hard, so this will be the first chance they’ve had for a holiday.”

Don’t worry, we haven’t spoilt the surprise. Pals assure us that Rochelle has an inkling that Marvin’s going to propose. Better start practising your surprised face, Rochelle!

Source: unrealitytv

Longtime Raiders Owner Al Davis Dies

2011-10-09T12:57:00.001-07:00

Longtime Raiders Owner Al Davis Dies

Longtime Raiders Owner Al Davis Dies, Al Davis was a rebel with a cause — "Just win, baby" he exhorted his beloved Oakland Raiders.
And as the NFL well knows, he was also a rebel with a subpoena.
Davis, who bucked league authority time and again and won three Super Bowl titles during his half-century in professional football, died Saturday. He was 82.

The Hall of Famer died at his home in Oakland, the team said. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Davis was one of the most important figures in pro football history from his role in the development of the AFL, the merger with the NFL and the success be built on the field with the Raiders.
"Al Davis's passion for football and his influence on the game were extraordinary," Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "He defined the Raiders and contributed to pro football at every level. The respect he commanded was evident in the way that people listened carefully every time he spoke. He is a true legend of the game whose impact and legacy will forever be part of the NFL."
Davis was also a litigious gadfly. That was most evident during the 1980s when he went to court — and won — for the right to move his team from Oakland to Los Angeles. Even after he moved the Raiders back to the Bay Area in 1995, he sued for $1.2 billion to establish that he still owned the rights to the L.A. market.
Before that, though, he was a pivotal figure in hastening the merger between the AFL — where he served as commissioner — and the more established NFL. Davis was not initially in favor of a merger, but his aggressive pursuit of NFL players for his fledgling league and team helped bring about the eventual 1970 combination of the two leagues into what is now the most popular sport in the country.
"Al Davis was a good man, and we were friendly rivals," Steelers chairman emeritus Dan Rooney said in a statement released by the Steelers. "He was a football man and did a lot for the game of football. I had a lot of respect for him, and he will be missed throughout the entire NFL."
But Davis was hardly an NFL company man.
Not in the way he dressed — usually satin running suits, one white, one black, and the occasional black suit, black shirt and silver tie. Not in the way he wore his hair — slicked back with a '50s duck-tail. Not in the way he talked — Brooklynese with Southern inflection. Not in the way he did business — on his own terms, always on his own terms.
"His contributions and expertise were inspiring at every level — coach, general manager, owner and commissioner," Dallas owner Jerry Jones said. "There was no element of the game of professional football for which Al did not enjoy a thorough and complete level of knowledge and passion."
Elected in 1992 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Davis was a trailblazer during his half-century in professional football. He hired the first black head coach of the modern era — Art Shell in 1988. He hired the first Latino coach, Tom Flores; and the first woman CEO, Amy Trask. And he was infallibly loyal to his players and officials: to be a Raider was to be a Raider for life.
"Everybody realizes that sooner or later, you're going to die. You never expected that from him, because he was so tough," said former Raiders Hall of Famer cornerback Willie Brown. "The things he'd gone through over the years, of course. He's meant a lot to this organization, because he's the leader. It's hard to replace a great leader and a legend like Al Davis."
Coach Hue Jackson told the team of Davis' death at a meeting in Houston on Saturday morning. Fans dressed in Raiders jerseys, meanwhile, quickly made their way to team headquarters in Alameda, where a black flag with the team logo flew at half-staff and a makeshift memorial formed at the base of the flag pole.
"Definitely shocking news for us," quarterback Jason Campbell said. "We got here last night and then you wake up this morning and hear we lost our owner, the man who built this team for many, many years, it's tough to take in as a team. We understand what he meant to this organization. He loved his players, and that didn't matter if you were here now, or if you played for him 30 years ago. He still loved all his players."
People carrying flowers, flags, silver and black pompoms and even a football-shaped balloon stopped by to pay tribute on a warm, crystal clear fall day in the Bay Area. A tiny candle burned as well.
"It's like losing a grandfather," said Rob Ybarra of Alameda, who left a bouquet of white flowers shortly after hearing the news of Davis' passing. "He's such an icon. The face of the Raiders. It's hard to put into words how much he meant to everyone."
Davis is survived by his wife, Carol, and son Mark, who Davis had said would run the team after his death.
Davis was charming, cantankerous and compassionate — a man who when his wife suffered a serious heart attack in the 1970s moved into her hospital room. But he was best known as a rebel, a man who established a team whose silver-and-black colors and pirate logo symbolized his attitude toward authority, both on the field and off.
Until the decline of the Raiders into a perennial loser in the first decade of the 21st century he was a winner, the man who as a coach, then owner-general manager-de facto coach, established what he called "the team of the decades" based on another slogan: "commitment to excellence." And the Raiders were excellent, winning three Super Bowls during the 1970s and 1980s and contending almost every other season — an organization filled with castoffs and troublemakers who turned into trouble for opponents.
"Al was a football man — his entire life revolved around the game he loved," said Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams, an original AFL owner of the Houston Oilers. "He worked his way up through the ranks and had a knowledge of all phases of the game. That experience aided him as an owner. He was quite different from every other owner in that way. As an AFL guy, he was in that group of people who pushed our league forward. I didn't get to see him over the last few years and I know many, including myself, will miss him."
Born in Brockton, Mass., on July 4, 1929, Davis grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, a spawning ground in the two decades after World War II for a number of ambitious young people who became renowned in sports, business and entertainment. Davis was perhaps the second most famous after Barbra Streisand.
"We had a reunion in Los Angeles and 500 people showed up, including Bah-bruh," he once told an interviewer in that combination of southern drawl/Brooklynese that was often parodied among his acquaintances within the league and without.
A graduate of Syracuse University, he became an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts at age 24; and was an assistant at The Citadel and then Southern California before joining the Los Angeles Chargers of the new AFL in 1960. Only three years later, he was hired by the Raiders and became the youngest general manager-head coach in pro football history with a team he called "the Raid-uhs" in 1963.
He was a good one, 23-16-3 in three seasons with a franchise that had started its life 9-23.
Then he bought into the failing franchise, which played on a high school field adjacent to the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland, and became managing general partner, a position he held until his death.
But as the many bright young coaches he hired — from John Madden, Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden to Lane Kiffin — found out, he remained the real coach. He ran everything from the sidelines, often calling down with plays, or sending emissaries to the sidelines to make substitutions.
In 1966, he became commissioner of the AFL.
But even before that, he had begun to break an unwritten truce between the young league and its established rivals, which fought over draft choices but did not go after established players.
Although the NFL's New York Giants' signing of Buffalo placekicker Pete Gogolak marked the first break in that rule, it was Davis who began to go after NFL stars — pursuing quarterbacks John Brodie and Roman Gabriel as he tried to establish AFL supremacy.
Davis' war precipitated first talks of merger, although Davis opposed it. But led by Lamar Hunt of Kansas City, the AFL owners agreed that peace was best. A common draft was established, and the first Super Bowl was played following the 1966 season — Green Bay beat Kansas City, then went on to beat Davis' Raiders the next season. By 1970, the leagues were fully merged and the NFL had the basic structure it retains until this day — with Pete Rozelle as commissioner, not Davis, who wanted the job badly.
So he went back to the Raiders, running a team that won Super Bowls after the 1976, 1980 and 1983 seasons — the last one in Los Angeles, where the franchise moved in 1982 after protracted court fights. It was a battling bunch, filled with players such as John Matuszak, Mike Haynes, Jim Plunkett and Lyle Alzado, stars who didn't fit in elsewhere who combined with homegrown stars — Ken Stabler, another rebellious spirit; Gene Upshaw; Shell, Jack Tatum, and dozens of others.
"He was a pioneer," said Plunkett, who won two Super Bowls with the Raiders. "He did so many things. He was a coach, he was the commissioner of the AFL, became the owner of the Raiders and he ran that club the way he saw fit. He brought in players that everyone else was discarding, including me, and he made it work."
After extended lawsuits involving the move to Los Angeles, he went back to Oakland and at one point in the early years of the century was involved in suits in northern and southern California — the one seeking the Los Angeles rights and another suing Oakland for failing to deliver sellouts they promised to get the Raiders back.
"Personally, I was fond of him," Bengals owner and president Mike Brown said. "He battled with the NFL, and a lot of us wished that had not been where things went, but under all that was a person I respected. It saddens me to hear that he is gone."
As Davis aged, his teams declined.
The Raiders got to the Super Bowl after the 2002 season, losing to Tampa Bay. But for a long period after that, they had the worst record in the NFL, at one point with five coaches in six years.
It is fitting that this year's Raiders team is built in typical Raiders fashion with a bevy of speedsters on offense capable of delivering the deep-strike play Davis always coveted, a physically imposing defensive line that can pressure the quarterback and an accomplished man coverage cornerback in Stanford Routt.
Once a constant presence at practice, training camp and in the locker room, Davis was rarely seen in public beyond the bizarre spectacles to fire and hire coaches where he spent more time disparaging his former coach than praising his new one.
He did not appear at a single training camp practice this summer and missed a game in Buffalo last month, believed to be only the third game he missed in 49 seasons with the franchise. Davis did attend Oakland's home game last week against New England.
Although he was no longer as public a figure, he was still integrally involved in the team from the draft to negotiating contracts to discussing strategy with his coaches. Jackson has said Davis was unlike any other owner he had worked for in his ability to understand the ins and outs of the game.
"I've never had the opportunity to sit and talk football, the X's and O's and what it takes to win in this league consistently on a consistent basis, and there's nothing like working for coach Davis," Jackson said.
While other owners and league executives branded Davis a renegade, friends and former players found him the epitome of loyalty.
When his wife was stricken with a heart attack, he moved into her hospital room and lived there for more than a month. And when he heard that even a distant acquaintance was ill, he would offer medical help without worrying about expense.
"Disease is the one thing — boy I tell you, it's tough to lick," he said in 2008, talking about the leg ailments that had restricted him to using a walker. "It's tough to lick those diseases. I don't know why they can't."
A few years earlier, he said: "I can control most things, but I don't seem to be able to control death."

Source:yahoo

Peter Andre: Katie wants me back

2011-10-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Peter Andre: Katie wants me back

Peter Andre: Katie wants me back, Katie Price is reportedly hoping that she can win back her ex-husband Peter Andre and thinks that him buying a house close to hers, means that they still have a chance.

Katie and Peter split last May and were divorced just months later. Katie has since married cage fighter Alex Reid but their marriage is said to be in such bad shape that they haven’t had sex in weeks. Add to this the fact that she and Pete are on speaking terms again and Katie is reportedly getting her hopes up in her usual dramatic style.

‘Jordan’s so happy that things are better with her and Pete and there’s a worry that she may be getting a bit carried away,’ an insider tells Now.
‘His main motivation for moving closer to her home is so he can spend less time commuting to see his kids.

‘His new home’s also closer to Junior’s school, so it’s not about seeing more of Katie.’

‘Jordan’s over the moon,’ says a friend.

‘She thinks that they’ll get back together.’

Alex is said to be ‘worried sick’ at the thought of Peter moving in nearby.

Source: unrealitytv

John Wayne auction corrals $5.4 million

2011-10-09T12:56:00.001-07:00

John Wayne auction corrals $5.4 million

John Wayne auction corrals $5.4 million, Organizers say a two-day auction of more than 700 costumes, scripts, awards and memorabilia from the estate of film star John Wayne brought in $5.4 million.

Heritage Auctions said Friday that the auction included items such as Wayne's last driver's license, a holster and gun belt from the film "El Dorado" and an eye patch from the 1969 movie, "True Grit."

The green wool beret Wayne wore in "The Green Berets," went for $179,250 and a cowboy hat worn in "Big Jake" and "The Cowboys" fetched $119,500.

The items had been kept by Wayne's family since his 1979 death from cancer.

A portion of the proceeds will be used by the John Wayne Cancer Foundation to help fund cancer research, treatment and education.

A dog food TV ad is released that dogs supposedly can hear

2011-10-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

A dog food TV ad is released that dogs supposedly can hear

A dog food TV ad is released that dogs supposedly can hear , Beneful brand dog food TV ad is released that contains a high-pitched sound that dogs supposedly can hear. The message to pups: Bark if you want your owner to buy this brand of dog food.

Nestle, the company that owns Beneful brand dog food, is unleashing a commercial in Europe that supposedly contains a high-pitched sound that only dogs can hear, reports The Wall Street Journal. The brand claims its attempt to ‘talk’ directly to dogs really works – dogs hear the sound and wag their tails.

The ad, which the company hopes will get the owners to roll over and buy the product, was tested this summer in Germany. Before attempting to woo dogs based on what they hear, Nestle attempted to seduce dogs based on their sense of smell.

Earlier this year, Beneful launched a campaign in Germany where dogs could sniff the doggie chow’s scent from special posters.

Suspected thief posts photo to victim's Facebook

2011-10-09T12:55:00.002-07:00

Suspected thief posts photo to victim's Facebook

Suspected thief posts photo to victim's Facebook, Suspected thief posts photo to victim's Facebook. Police: Cell phone thief posts photo of himself on victim's Facebook page. Henry County investigators looking for a man suspected of breaking into a car got some unexpected help when the alleged thief inadvertently posted a photo of himself on his victim's Facebook page.

The victim's vehicle was broken into on Sept. 26 at East Lake Academy daycare in McDonough and her purse was taken, according to Henry police Major Jason Bolton. "The suspect apparently took a picture of himself on the victim's phone, and due to her settings, it automatically uploaded to her Facebook page," Bolton said. purse suspect posts photo to facebook, purse suspect posts photo to facebook, Georgia thief photo facebook, thief photo facebook police potential suspect own picture use in the investigation,

Bolton said that the victim had pulled up at the daycare around 5:30 p.m. to pick up her child, and parked next to a black Toyota RAV 4 with tinted windows, but thought that the driver of the SUV was a female because of the long braids.

He said the victim did not lock her car when she went inside to get her child. “It wasn’t until she got home that she realized, ‘oh, no, someone took my purse,’” Bolton said.

He said that at some point in the next 12 hours or so, the victim pulled up her Facebook page “and she notices this picture that has been automatically uploaded, and she thinks, when she sees it, ‘oh, this is the person that I saw right next to me, but it’s a guy, not a girl.’”

“Obviously, this individual had no idea that her phone had these settings on it that caused it to automatically upload to Facebook,” Bolton told the AJC.

“I’m thinking he’s going to be pretty surprised,” Bolton said. He asked that anyone recognizing the suspect call investigators at 770-288-8266.

“We don’t normally get pictures with this sort of clarity, and it’s just real exciting to have a picture that the quality is this good that we can put out there,” Bolton said. “We feel confident that he’s definitely going to be recognizable.”

Source: ajc

U.S. ambassador apologizes for tourism remark

2011-10-09T12:55:00.001-07:00

U.S. ambassador apologizes for tourism remark

U.S. ambassador apologizes for tourism remark, The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines has apologized for his recent statement that 40 percent of male tourists visit the country for enjoy, a government spokesman said Saturday.

Ambassador Harry Thomas sent a cellphone text message Friday to Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who was on a visit to Vietnam, expressing regret for his comments, foreign affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

U.S. ambassador apologizes for sex tourism remark. "I should not have used the 40 percent statistic without the ability to back it up. I regret any harm that I may have caused," Thomas said in the text message, which Hernandez forwarded to journalists. us ambassor apologizes for sex tourism remark,

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Tina Malone said Saturday that Thomas "offered his deep regret" for his comment. She said the United States would continue to be a "strong and dedicated partner of the Filipino people in combating the global scourges of human trafficking and sexual tourism."

Thomas' remark last month angered some officials who questioned its basis and said it tarnished the country's image. United States ambassador harry thomas jr. biography,

After addressing a discussion on human trafficking in the Philippines on Sept. 22, Thomas also told journalists that the tourists included Americans and that it was "something I'm not proud of." He urged Philippine authorities to prosecute all foreign tourists, including Americans.

The Philippines is trying to revive its tourism industry and erase its 1980s reputation as a major destination for tourists. 40% of male foreigners go to philippines , +US envoy to philippines won't apologize,

As a former U.S. colony, the Philippines hosted American bases until the early 1990s, and communities around the military facilities became liberty towns and havens for prostitution that catered to American service members.

Earlier this past week, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima wrote Thomas seeking data to back up his remarks after the ambassador said the Justice Department was the source of his information.

De Lima told reporters such comments from a diplomat were offensive and demeaning since they portrayed the Philippines as a "country of *ex workers."

Source: dailyamerican

Researchers warn of "text neck"

2011-10-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

Researchers warn of "text neck"

"Text Neck" Symptoms, Researchers warn of "text neck", A NEW condition dubbed "text neck" is on the increase in the UK, with health professionals blaming the amount of time people spend hunched over their mobile devices, Sky News reported today. The condition is caused by phone users flexing their necks for extended periods of time and can cause permanent arthritic damage if not treated.
In some cases, patients can adapt to the flexed position and it becomes painful to straighten the neck out properly. text neck,
Cases of the condition, and other types of repetitive strain injury, have been on the rise as smartphones and tablet computers become increasingly popular.

Rachel Lancaster, of Freedom Back Clinic in Leeds, said she had treated thousands of patients for text neck.

"Text neck is caused by the neck being flexed for a prolonged period of time," she said. "Sufferers are increasing as the use of smartphones and tablet computers become more popular."

She added, "If people continue to put their necks in these positions the body will gradually adapt to the stresses."

Tips for warding off text neck include rotating the shoulders with your arms by your sides, taking regular screen breaks and sitting up straight while texting. "text neck" symptoms,

"text neck" symptoms, When to see a doctor

Neck pain doesn't always require medical care. But in rare cases, it can be a sign of an emergency. Seek immediate medical care if you experience:

* Shooting pain into your shoulder or down your arm
* Numbness or loss of strength in your arms or hands
* Change in bladder or bowel habits
* Inability to touch your chin to your chest

How to Improve Forward Head Posture

Forward head posture occurs when the head rests a few inches forward of the rest of the body. Forward head posture can lead to head, neck and shoulder pain. Long-term problems can include muscle strain, disc herniation, arthritis and pinched nerves. Luckily, you can prevent and reverse forward head posture through posture management and exercise. forward head posture, prevent forward head posture,

Instructions

* 1 Keep your head directly over your shoulders, and keep your spine straight. Stand with your back and head against a wall for a good idea of how your posture should look.

* 2 Perform simple and light neck exercises to increase the strength of your neck muscles. Place your finger on your chin, then move your head away from the finger without tilting up or down. Do this a couple of times every 20 or 30 minutes to improve your neck's muscular strength.

*3 Place your computer monitor even with your line of sight. This prevents you from staring down at a monitor and will help you maintain correct posture while working or playing video games.

* 4 Place a back support pillow in your car seat or your chair at work. When your lower back is properly supported, your head and neck will naturally rest in the correct position over the shoulders.

Source: ehow and couriermail

Heroine & horse Tonk to appear on national TV

2011-10-09T12:53:00.001-07:00

Heroine & horse Tonk to appear on national TV

Heroine & horse Tonk to appear on national TV, One of the joys of frequent opera-going is the chance now and then to hear an artist take on a role for the first time and score a memorable success.
The Teatro Real of Madrid is offering that opportunity right now with its production of Richard Strauss's one-act tragedy "Elektra," starring the American soprano Christine Goerke in one of the most daunting roles ever written.
Goerke, heard at her third performance of the run on Thursday night, is simply thrilling as the vengeance-obsessed daughter of the slain Agamemnon and his murderous wife, Klytemnestra.
Her supple voice combines a warm, velvety lower and middle register with a shining top that rises easily to high C. Her sound, while not huge, has no difficulty penetrating the 110-piece orchestra — an ensemble so big the theater had to remove the first two rows of seats for this production.
Above all, Goerke brings a vocal bloom to the role that few sopranos today could match. That quality paid off especially in the gorgeous music that follows her recognition of her long-lost brother Orest, a passage she sings with melting tenderness, complete with ravishing, soft high notes.

Her acting, which seemed slightly self-conscious at first, gained strength through the nearly two-hour-long performance until she became completely absorbed in the conflicting emotions of rage, despair and, finally, frenzied jubilation that ends in her death.
Goerke, who is alternating with veteran Elektra Deborah Polaski in the Madrid production that runs through Oct. 15, has been moving gradually into dramatic soprano territory. She has previously sung the lighter role of Elektra's sister, Chrysothemis, in this opera, and has also performed in operas by Mozart, Handel and Gluck.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether she will be able to preserve her freshness after repeated performances, or whether she will develop the worn, strident top one often hears in other Elektras. Much is riding on it, for Goerke has plans to add some other famously difficult roles in coming years, including the Dyer's Wife in Strauss's "Die Frau ohne Schatten" and Bruennhilde in Wagner's "Ring" cycle.
The Teatro Real's production, by the late director Klaus Michael Grueber, was staged initially for the Teatro San Carlos in Naples, and imported to Madrid by Gerard Mortier in his second season running the company.
It features a stupendous, monumental set by the German artist Anselm Kiefer, representing the courtyard of a decaying palace rising four stories, its walls made of rough, whitish stone with fluted columns and doorways along the sides and rear at every level. In the opening scene, maids are feverishly scrubbing the walls and floors, but one large stain that looks like blood resists all their efforts.
The cast, well-directed by Ellen Hammer, a Grueber colleague, includes soprano Manuela Uhl, as a bright-voiced, urgent Chrysothemis, and mezzo-soprano Jane Henschel as a scarily stentorian Klytemnestra.
Bass-baritone Samuel Youn sings fervently as Orest, and Chris Merritt, a one-time specialist in Rossini tenor roles, lends elegance to the small part of Aegisth, Klytemnestra's paramour.
Much of the evening's success is due to conductor Semyon Bychkov, who makes the orchestra sound like a world-class ensemble, capturing every nuance of Strauss's amazingly varied score, from the crashing dissonances to the most delicate moments of lyricism.

Venus yields a surprise – an ozone layer

2011-10-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

Venus yields a surprise – an ozone layer

Venus yields a surprise – an ozone layer. Venus springs ozone layer surprise. Scientists have discovered that Venus has an ozone layer.The thin layer, which is hundred of times less dense than the Earth's, was discovered by the European Space Agency's Venus Express craft, researchers report in the journal Icarus. Until now, ozone layers have only been detected in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. The find could help astronomers refine their hunt for life on other planets.

The European spacecraft spied the ozone layer when focusing on stars through Venus' atmosphere. The distant stars appeared fainter than expected, because the ozone layer absorbed some of their ultraviolet light. The paper's lead author Franck Montmessin, of the LATMOS atmospheric research centre in France, explained that Venus' ozone layer sits 100km up; about three times the height of our own. venus ozone layer, planet venus, what is ozone, european space agency venus express, scientific search for life on other planets,

The ozone - a molecule containing three oxygen atoms - formed when sunlight broke down carbon dioxide in the Venusian atmosphere to form oxygen molecules.

On Earth, ozone, which absorbs much of the Sun's harmful UV-rays preventing them reaching the surface, is formed in a similar way.

However, this process is supplemented by oxygen released by carbon dioxide-munching microbes.
Ozoning in

Speaking of the international team's find, Hakan Svedhem, ESA project scientist for the Venus Express mission, said: "This ozone detection tells us a lot about the circulation and the chemistry of Venus's atmosphere.

"Beyond that, it is yet more evidence of the fundamental similarity between the rocky planets, and shows the importance of studying Venus to understand them all."

Some astrobiologists assume that the presence of oxygen, carbon, and ozone in an atmosphere indicates that life exists on a planet's surface.

The new results negate that assumption - the mere presence of oxygen in an atmosphere is now not enough evidence to start looking for life.

However, the presence of large quantities of these gases, as in the Earth's atmosphere, is probably still a good lead, the scientists said.

"We can use these new observations to test and refine the scenarios for the detection of life on other worlds," said Dr Montmessin.

Source:bbc

Virus infects US drones?

2011-10-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

Virus infects US drones

Virus infects US drones, A virus that keeps a log of what people type has found a persistent foothold in the computers that pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada use to remotely control the U.S. military's unmanned drone aircraft, Wired reported today.

It's not clear whether the virus was deliberately aimed at the military computers or whether it got there through the general spread of infectious malware, but "the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech's computers," Wired reported, citing three unnamed sources.

Also unclear is whether the keylogger software has revealed any secure data. But it is running on classified computer networks, Wired said.

The Defense Department declined to comment on the matter, reports CNET's Stephen Shankland.

The virus has not grounded the drones. They are operated remotely from an air force base in Nevada.

Wired reported that the virus was discovered two weeks ago and that the virtual pilots continue to run missions from the Air Force base.

Source: cbsnews

Dutch coffee shops barred from selling 'strong' or 'skunk' cannabis

2011-10-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dutch coffee shops barred from selling 'strong' or 'skunk' cannabis

Dutch coffee shops barred from selling 'strong' or 'skunk' cannabis, Coffee shops in the Netherlands were left wondering on Saturday how to comply with restrictions announced by the Dutch government on the sale of "strong" cannabis, saying enforcement would be difficult given the laws on production.
The Netherlands is famous for its liberal soft drugs policies. A Dutch citizen can grow a maximum of five cannabis plants at home for personal use but large-scale production and transport is a crime.
On Friday, the coalition government said it would seek to ban what it considered to be highly potent forms of cannabis -- known as "skunk" -- placing them in the same category as hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
But the industry said the guidelines were not clear enough.
"Commercial cannabis growers are already breaking the law so how can testing be legal? It's not clear what coffee shops need to do," said Maurice Veldman, a lawyer from the Dutch cannabis retailers association who represents coffee shops in court.
A pioneer of liberal drug policies, the Netherlands has backtracked on its tolerance in the last few years, announcing plans in May to ban tourists from coffee shops, which are popular attractions in cities such as Amsterdam.
The government said it would now outlaw the sale of cannabis whose concentration of THC, seen as the main psychoactive substance, exceeds 15 percent.
The average THC concentration in cannabis sold by Dutch coffee shops is between 16 and 18 percent, according to the Trimbos Institute.
"All this will do is lead to people smoking more joints and me selling more grams. But as it's used with tobacco it will damage their health more," said Marc Josemans, who owns a coffee shop in the city of Maastricht.
The Dutch government says high THC content is detrimental to mental health, particularly when used at a young age, and that it wants to send a clear signal that strong cannabis poses an unacceptable risk to users.

Source: yahoo

Tiger Woods:Follow Tiger Woods at the Frys

2011-10-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods:Follow Tiger Woods at the Frys

Tiger Woods:Follow Tiger Woods at the Frys, Tiger Woods made six birdies in a second-round 68 at the Frys.com Open on Friday, moving him into a share for 37th at the time of his finish.

"Today I didn't hit the ball as good as I did yesterday, but I putted good," he said. "I hit one bad putt today (on the eighth hole). Other than that, I hit it pure on every line."

Woods did have a few hiccups at the turn – a drive in the hazard at the 18th (his ninth) and a snap-hooked drive at the first – both of which led to bogeys.

"Sometimes I have these lulls out there where I don't feel comfortable and I have to battle through it," he said. "But I battled through it and got it back."

A look at his round:

•••

Hole 9, Par 5, 555 yards

Woods finds the fairway at his finishing hole – Step 1 completed.

Tiger is going for the green in two and has 247 yards to the front of the green and about 240 to carry the water hazard in front.

His 3-wood is caught well and Woods finds the front of the green and will have a long look at eagle.

Woods leaves his eagle putt 5 feet short and will have a big birdie putt upcoming.

Tiger sinks the birdie and finishes the day at 3 under (1 under for the tournament). The projected cut right now is 1 over par, so it appears CordeValle will have two more days of Tiger Woods.

Hole 8, Par 4, 478 yards

Tiger takes a confident swing at the difficult par-4 8th, finding the left side of the fairway.

With 208 yards remaining, Woods hits a perfect 5-iron that releases to 6 feet for an easy birdie chance.

Woods misses the birdie putt high and the putting woes continue. A birdie at the par-5 ninth will give him a much-needed cushion with regard to the cutline, which currently stands at 1 over.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Hole 7, Par 3, 166 yards

Woods will be disappointed with his approach at the short par-3 seventh, which came up about 25 feet short.

His birdie attempt hits the hole, but carries far too much pace, running a good 7 feet past the cup.

Woods sinks the come-backer for par and remains at even par. The cutline is currently 1 over.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Tiger's stats

Tiger Woods is 32 holes into the Frys.Com Open. Here's a quick look at his stats. He's hit 20 of 33 greens (9/18 in the first round, 11/15 today) and 11 of 26 fairways. (7/14 in the first round, 4/12). That's 60.6 percent of his greens and 42.3 percent of his fairways. He's averaged 265.7 yards in driving distance and 1.63 putts per greens in regulation. Putts per GIR is his best stat thus far this week. He's currently 10th in the field in that stat.

– Sean Martin

Hole 6, Par 4, 480 yards

Tiger pulls his tee shot at the sixth well left and will have an interesting second shot upcoming. . .

With the ball well below his feet and from 199 yards, Woods catches his approach clean and hits it pin-high with a little club twirl. Instead of laying up and scrambling for par, he will have a 50-footer for birdie.

Up and over a ridge in the green, Woods nestles his lag putt in close and will have a tap-in par.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Cauley making a run

Patrick Cantlay isn't the only youngster playing well at the Frys.Com Open. Bud Cauley just made the turn in 3-under 33 and is 5 under par for the tournament, just one shot off the lead. Cauley, 21, turned pro at the U.S. Open after three seasons at Alabama. He's earned $331,150 in six PGA Tour starts, highlighted by a T-4 at the Viking and T-13 at the Canadian Open. A two-way tie for second this week is worth $440,000. That would give Cauley a total of $771,150 and leave Cauley in contention for a spot among the top 125 players on the money list, which would earn him a 2012 PGA Tour card. Last year, Troy Merritt finished 125th on the money with $786,977. The Frys.com Open is Cauley's last scheduled start on the PGA Tour, but that could change. A top-10 this week would earn him a start at next week's McGladrey Classic. Cauley already has clinched Nationwide Tour status for 2012 because he will finish in the top 200 on the PGA Tour money list. Cauley would currently rank 160th on the PGA Tour money list, but non-members do not appear in the standings.

– Sean Martin

Hole 5, Par 4, 454 yards

Tiger has a long approach after hitting the fairway – 193 yards. His approach catches the back fringe and leaves him a little over 20 feet for his birdie.

With his ball resting up against the first cut, Woods rolls his uphill birdie attempt within inches and taps in for par.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Hole 4, Par 4, 418 yards

With hazards on both sides, Tiger hits a high 282-yard fade that splits the fairway at the fourth.

Woods hits a spinning 9-iron to 16 feet and will have a good look at birdie.

With good pace, Tiger's birdie putt burns the high edge and he taps in for par.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Hole 3, Par 3, 230 yards

Woods hits a 7-iron inside 30 feet at the par-3, which is playing about 180 yards today. Tiger misses well-left and will tap in for par.

Meanwhile, Cantlay has made birdies at Nos. 15 and 18 and is back to even par for the day and 2 under for the tournament.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Hole 2, Par 4, 434 yards

Woods splits the fairway with a 297-yard drive, leaving 115 yards to the pin.

Tiger hits a tidy approach that lands inside 10 feet and he will have a good chance to erase one of his mistakes from the previous two holes.

Woods rolls in the birdie, his fifth in 11 holes.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Hole 1, Par 4, 422 yards

Uh, oh.

After flashes of brilliance on the back nine, Woods started the front side with a smother-hook off the first tee. He followed the swing by tossing his driver down the tee box. Woods' tee shot went only 160 yards.

Woods is left with an awkward second shot that he makes good contact on, but he loses his footing and falls over. The ball advances 221 yards to the right first cut. Woods pitches to 25 feet and will have a long one to save par.

Tiger's par attempt just misses and he taps in for his second consecutive bogey.

1 under for the day; 1 over total

Hole 18, Par 4, 425 yards

Tiger has found some trouble on the 18th, pulling the ball into a hazard off the tee. A small team of people are trying to find his ball to see if he can advance it at all.

The search party was unsuccessful and Woods was forced to take a drop. His approach misses the green left and Woods makes up and down for bogey.

Tiger turns in 2-under 34 after making four birdies and two bogeys.

2 under for the day; Even par total

Hole 17, Par 4, 358 yards

Tiger has another shot at birdie, hitting another green in regulation and has nine feet left to go to 2 under. He missed another fairway (he is 1 of 6 for the day), but is managing to get out of trouble.

His birdie putt just misses and he settles for par.

3 under for the day; 1 under total

Hole 16, Par 3, 210 yards

Looking for his third straight birdie, Woods sticks it to 3 feet 5 inches at the par-3 16th. Woods' shot is the closest at the 16th today; George McNeil put it to 3 feet 7 inches.

Woods makes the putt to move to 3 under for the day.

3 under for the day; 1 under total

Hole 15, Par 5, 568 yards

Woods finds another fairway bunker with his tee shot at the 15th, this time on the left side, leaving 237 to the hole. Woods lays up his second shot to 153.

From the left side of the fairway, Woods sticks his approach inside 10 feet and will try to make it two straight birdies at the 15th.

Woods rolls in his second straight birdie of the day, this one from 8 1/2 feet.

2 under for the day; Even total

Hole 14, Par 4, 497 yards

After just missing the fairway with his tee shot, Woods puts his approach to 23 feet and sinks the birdie putt.

He'll head to the par-5 15th, where he made birdie yesterday.

Meanwhile, Cantlay struggles at the 14th, three-putting from 8 feet and making double bogey. He moves back to even par for the tournament.

1 under for the day; 1 over total

Hole 13, Par 4, 407 yards

Tiger finds his first bunker of the day, the left fairway bunker off the 13th. After a 273-yard drive, he'll have 142 to the pin.

Tiger follows his first bunker with his second bunker, landing in the left greenside trap. He hits his third shot to 6 feet, but misses the putt and makes his first bogey of the day.

Even for the day; 2 over total

Hole 12, Par 5, 605 yards

The 12th was responsible for Woods' over-par total yesterday, as he made a double bogey after pulling his second shot in the hazard.

At the three-shot hole, Woods lays back and just misses the fairway with a 3-wood (268 yards). His layup today hits the right side of the fairway, leaving 156 yards to the pin.

Woods' approach hits the center of the green and leaves a putt from just over 23 feet, which he misses. Tiger taps in the par to erase the bad memories of yesterday's double.

In Patrick Cantlay news: The sophomore from UCLA has made three pars and sits at 2 under, three shots off the lead of Garrett Willis and Matt Bettencourt.

1 under for the day; 1 over total

Hole 11, Par 3, 236 yards

At the par-3, Woods stuffs his tee shot inside 5 feet. His ballstriking was not the problem in Thursday's round – it was these short putts. In fact, he missed three putts inside 6 feet.

Woods also stuck it close at the 11th in yesterday's round, but missed the putt.

Here's his first attempt at a short confidence-builder today. . .

He makes the putt to move back to 1 over for the tournament.

1 under for the day; 1 over total

Hole 10, Par 4, 425 yards

We're underway!

After a 2 hour and 20 minute fog delay, Woods splits the fairway with his opening tee shot, a 302-yard tee ball that leaves 102 yards to the hole.

Woods' second shot goes 12 feet past pin high, giving him a chance for birdie.

He runs his birdie attempt two feet past the hole and taps in for par.

Even for the day; 2 over total

•••

Did you know?

• In 2011, Tiger has played in only eight tournaments prior to the Frys.com Open, earning $629,863 (more than half of which came from his T-4 finish at the Masters).

• Tiger's low round for 2011 is a 66 at both the WGC-Cadillac and his second-round 66 at the Masters. Check out his photo gallery from his career at the Masters.

• Tiger's first-round, 2-over 73 on Thursday wasn't surprising in 2011 terms, as he has seven over-par rounds for the year. (He has played 23 rounds this season)

• For the year, Tiger is only 7-under-par.

• While 2011 is a smaller sample size, his performance on par 3s is better this year than in 2010 (3rd in birdie percentage at 18.18 percent in 2011; 11.63 percent and 157th in 2010), but has dropped off on his par-5 performance year-over-year (66th in birdie percentage at 43.42 percent; 32nd in birdie percentage at 45 percent in 2010).

• Tiger has, by far, earned the most money on the PGA Tour in his career, making an eye-opening $94,787,167.

• Tiger is 11-1 in his career in PGA Tour playoffs.

• In 2011, Tiger is well off-the-pace with driving accuracy, hitting the fairway only 52.23 percent of the time, compared to the Tour average of 60.72 percent.

• Since his second-place finish at the TOUR Championship in 2009, Tiger has finished no better than T-4 (the Masters twice and the 2010 U.S. Open).

• Tiger will next play in the Australian Open, followed by being a member of the U.S. Presidents Cup squad. He is 18-11-1 in eight previous appearances at the Presidents Cup. Check out full profiles of the American team here.

•••

Have you seen this?

We spent a full day with Tiger a few weeks ago as he filmed segments for the upcoming 2013 version of his EA Sports game. Check out our video, where he talks about how the game can change "real" golf. Also, check out our story about the day and some eye-opening stories that Tiger revealed during our session.

Read More: golfweek

Baywatch actor Chokachi has child

2011-10-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

Baywatch actor Chokachi has child

Baywatch actor Chokachi has child, Actor David Chokachi is a dad!
David Chokachi, who starred on the hit show “Baywatch,” and his wife Susan recently welcomed their first child, a daughter named Brit Madison.
Daughter Brit Madison arrived at 3:24 p.m. and weighed in at 6 lbs., 14 oz.
"I thought surfing the perfect wave was the coolest feeling in the world, until my baby daughter Brit was born," Chokachi, 43, tells PEOPLE. "She's a total game changer."
Following his recent role in "Soul Surfer," Chokachi will next star in "Rage of the Yeti," premiering November 12 on SyFy.

See the full article at PEOPLE.com.

Michael Jackson tribute concert

2011-10-09T12:47:00.001-07:00

Michael Jackson tribute concert

Michael Jackson tribute concert, Three generations of Michael Jackson's family — with a few notable absentees — joined an eclectic roster of entertainers Saturday to pay tribute to the King of Pop, a celebration of the late star's life overshadowed by the Los Angeles manslaughter trial of his doctor.
Several Jacksons were due onstage for the "Michael Forever" show at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, alongside Christina Aguilera, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Leona Lewis, British boyband JLS, Cee Lo Green — and, via video, Beyonce.
The concert has divided the King of Pop's family and followers. Brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie — three of the original Jackson 5 — and sister La Toya are scheduled to perform, while the audience will include Michael Jackson's mother Katherine and his children Prince, 14, Paris, 13, and 9-year-old Michael Joseph Jr., known as Blanket.
But brothers Jermaine and Randy and sister Janet have stayed away, saying it is wrong to hold the show at the same time as the manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray.
Before the show, Marlon Jackson said he respected his siblings' decision.
"Each one of us grieves differently," he said. "We want to celebrate the positive side of his life, the positive things that he did."
Jackson died in June 2009, at age 50, as he was preparing for a string of comeback concerts in London.
His last hours are being relived in graphic detail at the trial of Murray, accused of giving Jackson a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives in the bedroom of his rented mansion on June 25, 2009.
Some fans have said it's inappropriate to hold the tribute show during the trial, but those who came to Cardiff said it was a fitting antidote to the grim courtroom spectacle.
"There's a lot of negativity in that courtroom," said Ronnie Lee, a 32-year-old truck driver from Pembroke, Wales, sporting a "Thriller" T-shirt. "This is a chance to say, 'Thank you Michael' and celebrate the music."
Fans from across Europe gathered outside the stadium, where vendors did a brisk trade in King of Pop T-shirts and fedora hats like those once worn by Jackson.
"Whatever happens in that court, we'll never get Michael back," said Karin Kiewiet, 40, a local government worker from Emmen, Netherlands. "This is a good opportunity for us to begin grieving."
The show has suffered teething problems, with producers struggling to line up top-name acts for the tribute, hosted by actor Jamie Foxx and British TV host Fearne Cotton.
The Black Eyed Peas pulled out of the lineup this week, citing "unavoidable circumstances" amid reports the chart-topping band is splitting up.
Organizer Chris Hunt said that despite the last-minute loss, fans could expect "a very, very spectacular show."
"Everything we've done has been governed by one criterion — would Michael have done it this way, would he approve, would he like it?" said Hunt, chief executive of Global Live Events. "We're trying to do something worthy of one of the greatest showmen of modern times."

Several fan groups around the world have criticized the event, not just for its timing, but for ticket prices that started at about $100 and for what some regard as an out-of-the-way location in Cardiff, 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of London.

Organizers also outraged many fans by inviting the rock band Kiss, whose bassist Gene Simmons told a magazine last year that there was "no doubt in my mind" that Jackson, who was acquitted of molestation charges in 2005, had abused children.

The invitation was hastily rescinded, but many fans remain angry.

"The fans are not happy that the Jackson estate is not involved," said Wesley Noorhoff, president of a Dutch Michael Jackson fan club. "It seemed like they wanted to build a concert soon, to get money.

"I believe it should wait, not only because of the Murray trial. If you do a tribute to Michael, it has to be the best there is, just like Michael."

Hunt insisted the show would be a success. He said more than 40,000 tickets had been sold by Friday, and he was confident of reaching the venue's 50,000 capacity.

Some of the proceeds will go to the AIDS Project Los Angeles and Prince's Trust charities, and a portion will be placed in a trust fund for Jackson's children, though organizers did not give an exact breakdown.

Hunt said 13 Jackson family members were scheduled to attend the concert, many of them appearing onstage.

"It's a family's tribute to their own," he said. "I'm expecting it to be a hugely emotional evening."

Marlon Jackson, 54, said he wanted dissenters to know that Michael would have approved of the show.

"I want the world to understand that my brother was more than just an entertainer," he said. "There was a human side to him as well."

Source:yahoo

Zsa Zsa Gabor Rushed to the Hospital

2011-10-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Zsa Zsa Gabor Rushed to the Hospital

Zsa Zsa Gabor Rushed to the Hospital, Zsa Zsa Gabor has been hospitalized after slipping out of consciousness at her Los Angeles-area home.

Gabor's husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, said Saturday that the actress had a high fever and was bleeding from a tube in her stomach.
Paramedics rushed Gabor from her Bel Air mansion to UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
The 94-year-old Gabor has been hospitalized repeatedly since July 2010, when she broke her hip falling from bed. Most of Gabor's right leg was amputated in January because of gangrene.
She appeared in films ranging from "Moulin Rouge" in 1952 to "Queen of Outer Space" in 1958. She also appeared on TV specials, game shows, and guest-starred on various TV series, often playing herself.

Source:yahoo

Will.I.AM split black eyed peas

2011-10-09T12:46:00.000-07:00

Will.I.AM split black eyed peas

Will.I.AM split black eyed peas, Will.i.am has denied that the Black Eyed Peas are splitting up, despite intense speculation claiming they are no longer together.

Rumours began circulating after the Peas cancelled their scheduled appearance at the Michael Jackson Tribute Concert this weekend, citing "unavoidable circumstances." Now, Will has been forced to shoot down the rumours via his Twitter. "Why do people listen to rumours... Me and @apl_de created the peas...so...from the creators mouth...We are not breaking up...stop the rumours."

Earlier this year, the group announced that they would taking a break from performing and recording once they had finished their tour, to allow them to concentrate on their individual projects.

Did you think the Peas were splitting up?

Source: yahoo

Two sent to hospital after World's Hottest Chilli contest

2011-10-09T12:45:00.001-07:00

Two sent to hospital after World's Hottest Chilli contest

Two sent to hospital after World's Hottest Chilli contest_

It was a chili eating contest and the ‘Kismot Killer’ left a number of the participants gasping for breath and, literally floored. They had not reckoned with the ‘heat’ factor of the chillies and it left them bewildered. Some of them were seen writhing on the floor, vomiting and even fainting and had to be hospitalized.

The contest was organized by a curry house in Scotland in aid of charities and Abdul Ali, the owner of the joint admitted that although the collection of pounds was good, many participants left after witnessing the ‘chilli factor’.
The crown of ‘Curry Queen’ was bagged by Beverly Jones of Newington – she managed to down nine spoonfuls of the chili-filled dish; Curie, an exchange student of Korea came second.

source:allvoices

Imagine if you bought Apple stock in 1997

2011-10-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Imagine if you bought Apple stock in 1997

Imagine if you bought Apple stock in 1997, Here´s a very interesting read... I should have done it ! We all feel the same way I´m sure.
Who are the suckers here ? Us fundis...we never learn !

Let us pretend for a moment that the year is 1997 and you’re in the market for a new laptop computer. You want the top-of-the-line product at the time, so you opt for the newly released Apple Computer PowerBook G3 250 laptop. This revolutionary piece of technology, which comes with a 250-megahertz processor and a whopping 5 gigabytes of storage, will set you back $5,700.

If you held onto that laptop until today you would probably be able to sell it on eBay for about $50.

Now imagine that instead of buying the Apple PowerBook in 1997, you decided to spend $5,700 on Apple stock. You would have done a little better. Indeed, today your Apple stock would be worth $330,563. Probably makes you think twice buying about that laptop.

Kyle Conroy, a computer science student at University of California, Berkeley, has hundreds of other examples on his personal Web site that show what would have happened if you had decided to purchase Apple stock, which is at around $350 a share Thursday, instead of buying the company’s products when they were announced.

Of course some purchases were more fruitful than others. The iPod Shuffle, which was released in 2008, would have netted you only a $40 profit. But if you go back to 2001 and, instead of paying $400 for the first generation iPod with the now-iconic scroll wheel, and instead decided to buy the company stock, you would have made a profit of over $11,500.

You can see the full list of products sold by Apple and a comparison of stock worth today on Mr. Conroy’s blog.

Now if you had spent $3,500 for Hewlett-Packard stock in 1997 instead of an H-P laptop, you’d have shares worth $4,560.

Source:pinstack

United States ambassador harry thomas jr. biography

2011-10-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

United States ambassador harry thomas jr. biography

United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. Biography. Harry K. Thomas, Jr. (June 3, 1956 in the Harlem section of New York City) is the United States Ambassador to the Philippines. A former United States Ambassador to Bangladesh (serving from 2003 to 2005) and Director General of the United States Foreign Service (serving from 2007 to 2009), Thomas was designated by US President Barack Obama on November 19, 2009 to replace Kristie Kenney as Ambassador to the Philippines—the first African
American to serve at that post. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 19, 2010 and presented his credentials to Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on April 27, 2010
Thomas joined the Foreign Service in 1984. In addition to his tenure as Ambassador in Bangladesh, his earlier postings included service in the US embassies in New Delhi, India; Harare, Zimbabwe; Kaduna, Nigeria; and Lima, Peru. He also served as executive secretary of the US State Department, director of the Department’s Operations Center, and special assistant to the then-U.S.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Foreign languages

Thomas speaks Spanish, Hindi, Urdu and Bangla and is learning Tagalog.

Education

Thomas is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and pursued further study at Columbia University.
On May 15, 2010 Thomas gave the commencement address at Loyola UniversityMaryland.
On April 2, 2011 Thomas gave the commencement address at Angeles UniversityFoundation College of Nursing during it's commencement exercises.

Family

Thomas is married to Ericka Ovette, a jazz singer; they have one daughter, Casey Merie.

Controversy

In September 2011 Thomas sparked outrage - while in post as Ambassador to the Philippines - by making the remark that 40% of male tourists to the Philippines go there for sex tourism - without having the slightest evidence for this remark. He was subsequently obliged to make a full and unconditional public apology to the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines. It is not known how this remark may affect his future diplomatic career.

Source:wikipedia

Creative Shower Curtains Part IV...

2011-10-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

Virus infects US drones

2011-10-09T04:52:00.000-07:00

Virus infects US drones

Virus infects US drones, A virus that keeps a log of what people type has found a persistent foothold in the computers that pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada use to remotely control the U.S. military's unmanned drone aircraft, Wired reported today.It's not clear whether the virus was deliberately aimed at the military computers or whether it got there through the general spread of infectious malware, but "the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech's computers," Wired reported, citing three unnamed sources.

Also unclear is whether the keylogger software has revealed any secure data. But it is running on classified computer networks, Wired said.

The Defense Department declined to comment on the matter, reports CNET's Stephen Shankland.

The virus has not grounded the drones. They are operated remotely from an air force base in Nevada.

Wired reported that the virus was discovered two weeks ago and that the virtual pilots continue to run missions from the Air Force base.

Source: cbsnews

Michael Jackson's Daughter Dresses Like Dad

2011-10-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson's Daughter Dresses Like Dad

Chart-toppers, soul singers and three generations of Michael Jackson's family – including his children – celebrated the King of Pop at an energetic tribute concert Saturday, urging fans to focus on the late star's music rather than his death.

The run-up to the "Michael Forever" concert was overshadowed by the Los Angeles manslaughter trial of Jackson's doctor, and marred by fan criticism, sluggish ticket sales and dissension within the Jackson family. But once the four-hour show started, Jackson's musical genius, and the warm tributes of friends and family, carried the night.

"We're very happy to be here on this special night to honor our father," said Jackson's 13-year-old daughter Paris, who made a brief onstage appearance alongside brothers Prince, 14, and 9-year-old Michael Joseph Jr., known as Blanket.

The children wore outfits evoking their father's famous styles – Paris most strikingly, in a red and black "Thriller"-style jacket. Blanket stood stoic and shy, but the older children smiled and appeared confident in the spotlight.

On a stage shaped like a giant glove, musicians including Christina Aguilera, Gladys Knight and Cee Lo Green performed songs from across Jackson's career – from his childhood with the Jackson 5 through monster solo albums like "Thriller" and "Bad."

The Black Eyed Peas, probably the biggest act on the bill, pulled out of the lineup this week, citing "unavoidable circumstances."

Participants urged fans to ignore the criticism and controversy, and to revel in the celebration of Jackson's musical legacy.

"It's not about the controversy," said R&B star Ne-Yo, who kicked off the show with a rendition of "Billie Jean," complete with some passable moonwalking. "It's not about the trial. It's not about his death. It's about celebrating his life. It's about celebrating his music."

The 50,000-strong crowd at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium did just that, roaring with approval as Jackson's brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie – three-fifths of the original Jackson 5 – took the stage to perform "Blame It On the Boogie" with British boyband JLS.

"Can you feel his spirit in the house tonight?" asked Marlon. Judging by the cheers, the fedora hats and the sequined gloves in the audience, many could.

Jackson died in June 2009, at age 50, as he was preparing for a string of comeback concerts in London.

His last hours are being relived in graphic detail at the manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of giving Jackson a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives in the bedroom of his rented mansion on June 25, 2009.

"This is a great counter-act to that," said Motown great Smokey Robinson, who gave a soulful rendition of "She's Out of My Life." "And it gives people something happy to do, rather than thinking about what's going on in the trial."

The show mined a rich trove of Jackson hits. Leona Lewis crooned "I'll Be There," Beyonce delivered the early single "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and Jamie Foxx performed "Rock With You." Aguilera sang Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" – one of Jackson's favorite songs.

"Tonight is a history lesson," Foxx told the crowd. "We're going to cover five decades of greatness."

The show reached a climax with Knight performing the poignant "Gone Too Soon" before a rousing finale that brought most of the performers – and the Jackson children – back onstage for the exuberant "Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough."

The concert has divided the King of Pop's family and followers. The three brothers, sister La Toya and vocal group 3T – composed of three of Michael's nephews – all performed, while 81-year-old matriarch Katherine was in the audience.

But Michael's brothers Jermaine and Randy and sister Janet have stayed away, saying it is wrong to hold the show at the same time as Murray's trial.

Before the show, Marlon Jackson said he respected his siblings' decision, but said he was sure Michael would have approved.

"Each one of us grieves differently," he said. "We want to celebrate the positive side of his life, the positive things that he did."

Some fan groups around also criticized the show for ticket prices that started at about $100 and for what some regard as an out-of-the-way location in Cardiff, 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of London.

"I believe it should wait, not only because of the Murray trial," said Wesley Noorhoff, president of a Dutch Michael Jackson fan club. "If you do a tribute to Michael, it has to be the best there is, just like Michael."

But those who came to Cardiff said it was a fitting antidote to the grim courtroom spectacle in Los Angeles.

"There's a lot of negativity in that courtroom," said Ronnie Lee, a 32-year-old truck driver from Pembroke, Wales, sporting a "Thriller" T-shirt. "This is a chance to say, 'Thank you Michael' and celebrate the music."

As the crowd poured out of the stadium, opinion was divided.

TV's Highest Paid Child Star Turns 18

2011-10-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

TV's Highest Paid Child Star Turns 18

Two and a Half Men will technically become three men on Saturday, Oct. 8 when Angus T. Jones turns 18. Jones, who's been playing Jon Cryer's underachieving son, Jake, since he was 9, has been one of the most successful, not to mention loaded, young stars in the biz. Here are eight things to know about the low-key actor:

1. Jones was born in Austin, Texas. His middle name is Turner and he has a younger brother named Otto.

What's on your Watchlist? Create one and add your favorites, like Two and a Half Men

2. Last year, Jones became the highest-paid child TV actor after signing a $300,000-per-episode contract, guaranteeing him $7.8 million over two seasons. Oh yeah, there's also that hefty $500,000 signing bonus. Under his previous contract, he earned $250,000 an episode. The next highest-paid minor on the list: iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove ($180,000 per episode).

3. Jones and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 4, but he never wanted to be an actor. Instead, his mom took him to auditions hoping he could make some money for his college savings. Jones started doing commercials and had a small part in the 1999 film Simpatico. He landed his first major film role, See Spot Run opposite David Arquette, when he was 6.

4. Jones was the only child actor Chuck Lorre and Men producers saw for the part of Jake. Lorre asked Jones to audition after seeing his turn as Dennis Quaid's son in The Rookie and immediately offered him offered the job afterward. Jones learned he was cast as he was leaving the audition.

Exclusive: Ashton Kutcher, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones on the new Two and a Half Men

5. Men is notorious for its racy jokes and sexual innuendoes, but when he was younger, Jones never asked his castmates or producers to explain the adult humor to him — even if they wanted to. "At one point I asked him if he wanted to know and he said no," Cryer told the Los Angeles Times in 2009. "He doesn't bring it up with me. He's not like a lot of boys."

6. In his spare time, Jones enjoys snowboarding and playing video games, including Rock Band 2 and Call of Duty: World at War.

7. Had Men ended after the Sheen debacle earlier this year, Jones, now a high school senior, would've been perfectly fine with it as he would've returned to school for a full regular year, which he's never done before. Education has always been a main focus of the actor and he plans to go to college. After that? Who knows? Jones has said he's not sure if he wants to continue acting.

8. While Cryer told TV Guide Magazine in September that he has not heard from Sheen at all and does not have his number, Jones and Sheen have been keeping in touch. "I talk to him every now and then," Jones told E! "I still want to hang out with him and stuff. We're still friends. There's no hard feelings at all."

Source: Yahoo

David Beckham gets a sweet new tattoo

2011-10-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

David Beckham gets a sweet new tattoo

With a stunning wife, three boys and a 3-month-old baby girl, David Beckham is feeling the love - so much so that he had his happiness inked on his hand.

The soccer star, 36, tattooed the word "Love" in large cursive across his left hand, and wife Victoria says the couple's infant daughter, Harper Seven, more than approves of her dad's latest work of body art.

"Harper loves Daddy's new tattoo of love. X VB," Victoria Tweeted on Friday, along with a photo of Harper's tiny fingers gripping her dad's freshly-inked hand.

The "Love" tatt is David's second since Harper's birth in July.

In August, the proud father had her name inked along his collarbone and debuted the tattoo on the soccer field after his L.A Galaxy vs. FC Dallas game.

David also has the names of his three sons - Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn - tattooed on his back, along with a guardian angel, as well as Victoria's name in Sanskrit on his left arm.

Source: Yahoo

Moon Light - Cool Photos Part III...

2011-10-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

Motor Vehicle Spare Parts - Creative Photos...

2011-10-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Ernesto Che Guevara - Rare Photo Collection Part III...

2011-10-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies

2011-10-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56.

Jobs died "peacefully" surrounded by family members, his family said in a statement.

Neither Jobs' family nor Apple revealed where Jobs died or from what cause, though in recent years he had fought a form of pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant.

"We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," read a statement by Apple's board of directors. "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

The homepage of Apple's website switched to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, "Steve Jobs 1955-2011."

Clicking on the image revealed additional text, credited in a separate memo to Apple employees to current Apple CEO Tim Cook.

"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," the text read. "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

Reaction to Jobs' death came far and wide -- even from the White House.

"Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs," President Obama said in a written statement. "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it."

Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II.

Shortly after learning of Jobs' death, Wozniak told ABC News, "I'm shocked and disturbed."

Industry watchers called Jobs a master innovator -- perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison -- changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications.

Jobs' rivals in the development of personal computers, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, immediately reacted to his death and highlighted his importance to their industry.

Allen called him "a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products."

Source: Yahoo

Vhils's Chipped Wall Portraits - Creators Working on it...

2011-10-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Alexander Calder - Awesome American Sculptor Artworks...

2011-10-05T00:07:00.000-07:00