lockout percentage: September 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012

95% The Queen of Versailles

All Critics (96) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (91) | Rotten (5)

Seriously, if this was the American Dream, couldn't we have come up with something better?

"The Queen of Versailles" is funny, sad, infuriating, instructive. It's the American Dream inflated to ridiculous extremes, until it bursts.

More than a social morality tale, this is a character study, with the title well chosen.

"The Queen of Versailles" ought to be required viewing for anyone who blames the rich for yanking the rug out from under America's economy.

By the end, the movie has pulled off a small miracle: You become absorbed in the lives of these people for who they are and not what they own.

What I left with was not hatred. I disapprove of the values they represent, but I also find them fascinating and just slightly lovable.

Documentaries are rarely as hilarious as this one. Well, the first half of it at least

Filmmaker Greenfield has a wonderful eye for the absurd, finding moments of offbeat humanity all the way through this involving documentary

[E]nds up an ever less slightly ungenerous look at the .01 percent than it might have been... But this is still a brutal film from many angles.

One of the great unsayable truths about the American dream is that it is a bit of a Ponzi scheme ... our system admits a glimmer of hope that anyone, no matter how lowborn, can rise to the top.

Extremely funny and revealing ...

[Siegel] is now suing Greenfield for "misrepresentation". Well, I know whose side I'm on.

She epitomises a Western culture struggling to wean itself off debt.

Greenfield's film is bathed in Florida sunshine, adding to the sensation that we're watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with a Marxist punchline.

Never has grotesque wealth looked so unenviable, or its removal been so entertaining, as in this garishly watchable riches-to-rags documentary ...

[Siegel] ultimately emerges as someone who belongs more in The Little House on the Prairie: ever cheerful, and triumphantly unimpeachable.

The temptation to be moralistic must have been overpowering, yet Greenfield finally manages to summon sympathy for people who at first seem vain, selfish and greedy.

Prepare to be shocked, disgusted and compelled.

In the end, these are human beings, not emblems - and it is this that makes this documentary one of the most watchable, for rich and poor alike.

A bizarre and mesmerising journey to the heart of Cloud Cuckoo Land.

It is a comedy that aspires to tragedy, and a metaphor for a nation collapsing beneath the incompatible, intolerable pressures of excess and inequity.

For all their garishness, the Siegels are pretty likable, even if attempts to make you sympathetic to their "plight" fall short.

It scores a lot of laughs at the Siegel's bad taste and odd ways of adapting to their newfound misfortune. Thankfully, Greenfield also makes the Siegels sympathetic.

If you get some kind of sick kick watching the mighty take a fall, The Queen of Versailles will be nothing short of a schadenfreudic ball.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_queen_of_versailles/

hedy lamarr

Home prenatal scans help keep babies safe

KEEPING a close watch on baby and mother during pregnancy is crucial, but the equipment to do this is often found only in hospitals. So mothers who live far from medical centres must make long journeys to receive routine scans.

This could soon change thanks to a portable fetal-monitoring package based around a smartphone. It could provide broader access to cheap monitoring systems for those in remote locations and in countries without access to the most advanced prenatal technologies.

Designed by a team of engineers, computer scientists and obstetricians at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the system uses commercially available sensors to monitor the fetal heartbeat during pregnancy or the mother's contractions during labour. That information is sent via Bluetooth to an Android smartphone, which processes it before relaying it to the main hospital database using whatever connections are available.

Dimitrios Mastrogiannis, the lead physician on the project, says that other health measures such as maternal oxygen saturation or blood-glucose monitors could be integrated into the system.

The work is being presented at the BodyNets conference in Oslo, Norway, this week.

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Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/23f14b3f/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cmg215288450B10A0A0Ehome0Eprenatal0Escans0Ehelp0Ekeep0Ebabies0Esafe0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

safe house

Mayor Greg Davis clears hurdle over city repayment

SOUTHAVEN, MS- (WMC-TV) - Greg Davis cleared a legal hurdle in his fight over spending on city trips, but it is far from over.

A preliminary injunction was signed by Chancellor Dwayne Thomas to stop the state of Mississippi from taking Southaven Mayor Greg Davis' paycheck.

In a statement, the Mississippi auditor's office said it wished the chancellor denied the bond.

Last month, Greg Davis asked a chancellor to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the state from garnishing his paycheck. The state says Davis still owes more than $70,000.

Davis already paid the state almost $100,000 in money the state maintains was misspent city funds.

This injunction prevents the state from asking for the $70,000 from Davis.

Davis' attorney Steve Farese told Action News 5 that he is still in negotiations with the state.

"We're still trying to work a settlement that will make both sides unhappy. That's what a settlement does," said Farese.

It means nobody gets exactly what they wanted.

While the preliminary injunction is in place, Davis does not have to pay the state anything. The chancellor's ruling does require Davis put up a $75,000 bond. The state auditor says that should insure the state gets its money eventually.

The Mississippi state auditor says his office "will continue moving forward to collect money Davis owes to the taxpayers of Southaven".

Farese said he will also continue to work to prove Davis does not owe the city any more money.

Source: http://southaven-hornlake.wmctv.com/news/news/84963-mayor-greg-davis-clears-hurdle-over-city-repayment

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US seeks calm over Asian disputes; won't mediate

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Obama administration on Friday pressed U.S. allies Japan and South Korea to continue their cooperation on North Korea and other key issues despite a dispute over a contested islet. The administration also urged Tokyo and Beijing to make serious diplomatic efforts on an even sharper dispute over maritime borders.

Meeting with the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said "every nation in the region has a responsibility to work to resolve disputes, peacefully lower tensions, promote regional security and stability." She noted the three key countries' cooperation is vital to convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, doing her best to calm their disagreement over the tiny islands known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

The two countries, which both host tens of thousands of American troops, also have been at odds over the historical legacy of Japan's 35-year occupation of South Korea in the early 20th century and its use of Korean women as sex slaves by soldiers. In June, the two countries put on hold an intelligence-sharing pact after it provoked an outcry in South Korea.

"Our alliances with Japan and South Korea are the cornerstones of peace and prosperity in the region," Clinton said at the start of the talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan. "Each of these countries represents an enormous success story about what can happen when nations are focused on peace and stability and giving more opportunities to their own people and developing good relationships with their neighbors. We will maintain close cooperation between the three of us. That is a top priority for the United States."

The dispute between Japan and South Korea is just one of several in Asia, where competing maritime issues are inflaming public sentiment and even provoking violent protests in China. Beijing's battles range from the resource-rich South China Sea to rock outcroppings administered by Japan.

China and Japan traded angry accusations over the islands in a late-night exchange at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

That prompted the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, on Friday to remind the two countries, which have the world's second- and third-largest economies, to recognize the importance of their relationship and resolve their grievances through dialogue. He said each government should set aside the territorial dispute from its other bilateral issues, acknowledging that it would be "extraordinarily difficult" to solve.

The U.S., however, will not play a mediating role in the dispute, Campbell told a news conference.

In her meeting, Clinton told the Japanese and the Koreans the same thing about mediation, a senior U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the private meeting.

At the General Assembly Friday, South Korea made a thinly veiled reference to Japan's wartime record. After decrying sexual violence against women, Kim said "heartfelt soul-searching on past wrongdoings" is required for peace and stability between nations.

"A country's true valor is proven when it confronts the dark side of its past," the foreign minister said. He didn't refer to Japan by name, but his comments follow South Korean complaints that Japan has failed to show true contrition or educate its people over Japanese soldiers' use of Korean sex slaves during World War II.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-seeks-calm-over-asian-disputes-wont-mediate-183829120.html

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THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS: Free advice to filmmakers

THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS: Free advice to filmmakers skip to main | skip to sidebar

Free advice to filmmakers

WES ANDERSON: make a movie with only 3 characters in it
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON: allow your characters the possibility of change
MARTIN SCORSESE: make a (fictional) movie about your parents
STEVEN SPIELBERG: make more star vehicles
ANG LEE: keep doing what you're doing
DAVID O. RUSSELL: ditto
BEN AFFLECK: stop acting in your movies
DAVID FINCHER: act in someone else's movie
SOFIA COPPOLA: adapt a novel from the fifties
DARREN ARONOFSKY: make a big flop, then work on your compassion
QUENTIN TARANTINO: write something that comes in under 100 minutes
STEVEN SODERBERGH: make a biopic of a (closeted) gay film star
JAMES CAMERON: leave Avatars 2 and 3 to someone else
MICHAEL MANN: make a war movie (maybe Napoleonic) involving lots of tactics
STEPHEN FREARS: make another movie set in America
TIM BURTON: ... maybe something for Pixar?
TERRENCE MALICK: collaborate with an Oscar-nominated screenwriter
DAVID LYNCH: just make another goddam movie

Source: http://tomshone.blogspot.com/2012/09/free-advice-to-filmmakers.html

clayton kershaw

Apple CEO Tim Cook apologizes for lousy iPhone Maps app

2 hrs.

Rosa Golijan

After a week filled with complaints about the new Maps app found in iOS 6, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, the?company's CEO, Tim Cook, has issued an apology to customers along with a list of alternative apps.

A link to the apology appears on the?Apple website, plainly labeled as "[a] letter to our customers regarding Maps."

Cook begins the note by explaining that while Apple strives to "make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible," it "fell short on this commitment" with the launch of its new Maps app.

"We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," Cook writes?before explaining that the reason a new version of Maps needed to be created was so that Apple could offer its customer features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, and so on. "The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you," he adds.

While Apple's improving its own Maps app, you can use something else, Cook suggests. "You can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app."

One can only imagine how much it pains Cook to suggest that the over 100 million folks who are using iOS 6 at this time should just try a product made by Apple's competitors for a while.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/apple-ceo-tim-cook-apologizes-lousy-iphone-maps-app-6162210

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Second dog death prompts concerns about pets on planes

Featured

8 hrs.

A. Pawlowski , NBC News contributor

As another dog owner mourns the death of his pet after a?flight, there?s growing concern about the safety of beloved furry companions in?the cargo holds of commercial airlines.

?We all think it?s kind of like us, you get on your plane?and everything is nice and they?re our pets, so they must be taking care of them?too,? said Michael Jarboe, whose dog Bam Bam died after a United Airlines flight?last month.

?But what I found out is, when you check your pet, you run?the exact same risk of them not showing up as you do with your luggage. That?s?kind of sobering.?

Jarboe is sharing his story just days after model Maggie?Rizer said the negligence of United resulted in the death of her two-year-old?golden retriever Bea.

United?expressed condolences in both cases.

?We have?been in contact with Mr. Jarboe and are saddened by the loss of his dog, Bam?Bam. The safety of the animals we transport is always considered first and?foremost when making decisions regarding their routing and carriage,? United?said in a statement to NBC News.

Jarboe and his partner flew from Miami to San Francisco with?Bam?Bam on Aug. 28. The two-and-a-half-year-old Neopolitan Mastiff had flown?four times before ? twice on United ? without any problems, Jarboe said.

There were direct connections available on other airlines,?but Jarboe booked a United flight with a layover in Houston specifically?because he was impressed with the carrier?s PetSafe program.

The service promises plane compartments that are pressurized?in the same way as passenger cabins, climate-controlled facilities and??personal handling in climate-controlled vehicles? for connections in United's?hubs, if the animal is exposed to temperatures greater than 85?F for more than?45 minutes.

?I had such trust in United and everything that they?promised me,? Jarboe, who lives in Miami Beach, Fla., told NBC News.?Bam Bam?s?transport cost $650 each way.

It was 95 degrees when the plane landed in Houston, Jarboe?said. After a layover of about three hours, he and his partner boarded and looked?for the air-conditioned van that they thought would bring their dog, but Bam?Bam arrived instead in a regular metal boxed luggage cart, Jarboe said.

?We had a direct shot, I could see right inside his kennel?and I have never seen him that hot ? ever,? Jarboe recalled. ?His tongue was?hanging out so far, it couldn't have hung out any farther, he just looked?awful. I kept thinking, why is he not on a van??

When they arrived in San Francisco, they were told the dog?didn?t make it, Jarboe recalled. The cause of death was acute cardiovascular?collapse, according to a letter sent to Jarboe by United, which paid for the?dog?s?necropsy.

?The untimely death of Bam Bam was not a result of transit-related handling,? the airline said in the letter signed by Cheryl Ortiz,?United?s cargo claims manager. Writing back to United, Jarboe called the?finding ?naive and absurd? and said Bam Bam?s vet described what Jarboe?witnessed in Houston as a ?recipe for a heat stroke.?

When asked why a climate-controlled vehicle wasn?t used to?transport the dog, United would only say that it brought Bam Bam to a holding?area for greater comfort?during his connection. The holding facilities are USDA Animal?Welfare-approved and provide ample room and air ventilation, as well as regular?monitoring and watering provided by trained PetSafe personnel, United said.

The airline has refunded the dog?s transport fare and is?working with Jarboe on additional compensation.

If you?re a pet owner, you should know that The?Humane Society of the United States recommends that you do not transport yourpet by air unless absolutely necessary.?

Excessively hot or cold temperatures, poor ventilation,scarcity of oxygen, and rough handling all contribute to animal deaths, the?group says on its website.

Between?January 2012 and July 2012, 17 pets died and another 17 were injured on?commercial airlines, according to reports issued by the U.S. Department of?Transportation.

In?2011, 35 pets died while flying, but only two of those losses were suffered on?United, which had the lowest number of animal deaths that year.

The DOT is now considering a new rule that would expand how airlines report the number of animals that were lost, injured, or died during air transport.

In the meantime, Jarboe is mourning the loss of Bam Bam.

?It never occurred to me that when he was down in the hold he was dying,? he said.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/second-dog-death-prompts-concerns-about-safety-pets-planes-6169027

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Kodak dropping out of the consumer inkjet printer business in 2013

More gloomy news from Kodak: the company just announced that it will stop selling consumer inkjet printers in 2013 and instead focus its efforts on commercial printing products. This decision hardly comes as a surprise: Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year and attempted to auction off a stockpile of patents valued at up to $2.6 billion. The company stated on Friday that it expects to take a $90 million hit due to its floundering inkjet business. Kodak's garage sale attracted interest from unlikely alliances in the form of Apple and Microsoft versus Google and Samsung, but reportedly only reeled in disappointing offers under the $500 million mark. Hoping to rebound next year as a "lean," mean, successful machine, we'll just have to wait and see what develops for this fallen photography frontrunner.

Continue reading Kodak dropping out of the consumer inkjet printer business in 2013

Filed under: Peripherals

Kodak dropping out of the consumer inkjet printer business in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/28/kodak-dropping-inkjet-printer-business-in-2013/

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Jobmagic: Social Recruiting Platform for Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

Date: Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM ? 3:00 PM Eastern / 11:00 AM ? 12:00 PM Pacific
Cost: Free
Who should attend: Talent Acquisition Directors and Managers, Corporate and Agency Recruiters; HR Vice Presidents, Directors and Managers; Social Media Managers

Register:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/999653250

Currently, over 85% of companies are using social media for recruiting on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. For a successful social recruiting strategy, it?s important to select the right mix of tools that deliver maximum ROI.

Join Jindrich Liska, CEO of Jobmagic, and learn how Jobmagic?s social media recruiting platform saves you time, money and frustration, while filling your positions and reinforcing your brand.

In this webinar you will learn how Jobmagic can help you to:

Tap into 750M+ engaged users on Facebook, the largest social network in the world.
Embed career videos and other interactive brand features in your job postings.
Empower your employees to drive referral hires.
Enable recruiters to efficiently leverage their social networks.
Reach candidates on 300+ social networks with social media optimized job postings.
Automatically publish jobs to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Accelerate the growth of your qualified top talent pool.

Learn how most admired employers such as Walt Disney, VMware and TJX Companies leverage Jobmagic to hire the best talent. Jobmagic all-in-one platform includes referral hiring, talent network management, automated job publishing and crowdsourcing. Jobmagic is used by companies of all sizes from Fortune 500 to startups, across all industries and by direct employers as well as staffing firms.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/999653250

Source: http://blog.jobmagic.com/jobmagic-social-recruiting-platform-for-facebook-linkedin-and-twitter/

supercross

Guinness Pirate, feared the most in the Stadium Bookmakers Sprint ...

Guinness Pirate, feared the most in the Stadium Bookmakers Sprint ?

The three-year-old black and white dog, Guinness Pirate, has the highest of the chances for taking back to the connections the ?150 prize money in the Stadium Bookmakers Sprint on Friday, 28^th September, 2012 at Oxford. Making the trip challenging for the R. Yeates trained are, Lagganmore Diver, Farloe Trueman, Splashanomic, Shilohs Warrior and Doyouwannalift.

Three out of the five outings gave been wins for Premier Fantasy?s son.

He bagged the Grade D1 on 24^th August, 2012 at Oxford over 250 metres. He was quick to draw clear from the rest of the lot, staying prominent throughout, and making it to the other end of the wire in 15.22 seconds.

Having the final two lengths in his favour set Ballymac Kitty as the runner-up.

The third position behind the winner was taken by, Mild Steel.

He struck a back-to-back by winning the Grade D1 250 metres flat race on 1^st September, 2012 at Oxford. He once again raced in black, picking up an early pace and leading from the second position, making it to the other end in 15.31 seconds.

Compromising on success by half-length was, Ballymac Kitty.

The first trap, Geneva Robbie, ended third behind the winner.

A fifth and then sixth position down the line had Guinness Pirate timing the track distance in 15.20 seconds after leashing out of the third trap. Winning by the margin of a mark meant a second position for Flying Guard.

Coming at terms with the third position was, Barnagrane Clark.

The three-year-old entry is backed by 2 to 1 odds for the race tonight, and will race in black due to the fourth trap. He has won from the same number twice before, but at a different level, altering the tactic a bit can make the trip smooth and successive.

The joint favourite, Splashanomic, has been drilled rigorously recently, and it is being expected that he will deliver and perform in the open race debut. Shilohs Warrior is feared too due to the strong comeback that he will make after the break.

Some have not raced at Oxford recently, and have the chance to prove themselves tonight.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent bettor.com?s official editorial policy.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Guinness-Pirate,-feared-the-most-in-the-Stadium-Bookmakers-Sprint-a190969

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Friday, September 7, 2012

Is CMS will kill genral SEO - UK Business Forums

Quote:

You need to optimise the content, get it shared socially and recognised (via backlinks) from authority sites.

Normal offline businesses aren't content-driven, its not what they do. They can't get away with plonking a load of content into their sites, as it will look stupid - they aren't info resources, and adding minimal pages of product info isn't enough to do the job SEO-wise.

Seen a few attempt this - quite large sites too, but after adding 30 pages or so, it looked rubbish and was soon clear to me that this extra content wasn't what its searchers wanted. The bulk of its searches was the main education content eg: videos of students, training providers and unis - large adverts of course dates etc.

I can't see these authority sites being interested myself, unless you happen to own an authority site that matches that sector in the first place. This is about levels and status - some 25 page disco service website cannot compete with the traffic of a 20k page disco resource, so again why should the disco authority site deliver their traffic to you.

I get these silly SEO link approaches all the time - 185 emails yesterday! About 30 were link swaps from rediculous sites, wanting...... well its obvious what they were after - they didn't succeed because they weren't good enough - doh

On-site SEO content must be the right content - to attract social mentions/links in quantity.

Last edited by eventdomain; Yesterday at 14:42.

Source: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=269785

will kopelman

Buy Stocks When Romney Grabs the Lead ... - Yahoo! Finance

Forget the applause lines, balloons and video tributes, the most striking thing about the GOP and Democratic conventions is the preternatural pep of the delegates. It's all but impossible to understand how anyone without a dog in the fight can possibly take the words of politicians at face value. Somewhere in the wake of 9/11 the country lost it's way. Since then there's been little in the way of tangible progress towards regaining national momentum. The blame belongs to both parties; anyone who says otherwise is deluded or sitting under a stovepipe American flag hat in Charlotte.

Todd Schoenberger of the Black Bay Group thinks a Romney victory could soothe an economy paralyzed by fiscal uncertainty, helping corporate America get back on track.

"If you have the GOP that takes over the White House you're going to have companies that are going to feel a little more secure," says Schoenberger in the attached clip. Once a fiscal plan is in place, particularly if it's pro-business, companies will put their cash-heavy balance sheets to work. "If that's the case, that's good for stocks."

Not really. The palaver being spouted this week and last isn't about finding solutions. It's about blaming someone else for everything bad that's ever happened and vowing to never give an inch to the other side. Bombast makes for a great speech but it isn't policy. There's been no tangible, realistic, fiscal plan offered by either side. Just muckraking and noise. Former President Clinton made the first real mention of cooperation of the season in his speech last night. Alas, ex-Chief Executives have no more power in Washington than they do on Wall St.

Returning to the now, Schoenberger thinks the picture for Americans will get a little clearer with the first debate on October 3rd. Over the course of 90 minutes with hard-hitting Jim Lehrer as moderator, either President Obama or Governor Romney will have to offer specifics, as Schoenberger sees it. That's when he thinks Romney gains the advantage that will give Americans a glimpse of our economic future.

"You've got to have some type of strategy moving forward to get this country moving again," he says. "We haven't had it but I think we will on October 3rd."

After a decade of flailing about, both America and the equity markets would welcome the certitude.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/buy-stocks-romney-grabs-lead-schoenberger-131029952.html

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Selena Gomez breaks type in 'Spring Breakers'

Actress Selena Gomez poses at the photo call for the film 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)

From left, actresses Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Rachel Korine and Ashley Benson pose at the photo call for the film 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

From left, actors Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Rachel Korine, Ashley Benson and director Harmony Korine pose at the photo call for the film 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

VENICE, Italy (AP) ? Selena Gomez's younger fans may not fully appreciate her latest role.

Gomez stars in Harmony Korine's film "Spring Breakers" about four female college students who rob a fast food shack to pay for spring break. They get into trouble when they get arrested on drug charges, and after being bailed out by a local thug, played by James Franco, they embark on a wild spring break trip.

Gomez ? who is best known as Alex Russo on Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" ? acknowledges the role is "a little shocking" for her younger audiences. But, she said, "I think this was right for me."

Gomez stars with Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine, the director's wife. The film made its world premiere Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-09-05--Italy-Venice%20Film%20Festival-Gomez/id-589d27711d964bfa86fc534c7b6fc9cb

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Thursday, September 6, 2012

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gty-jill-biden-dnc-dm-120905-ssh-jpg-125929786--abc-news-politics.html

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September is Personal Finance Month | NY Creative Interns

Money money money...MONEY!

????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Image Courtesy of Thinkstock

Do you have a savings account which you?ve been adding to? Do you have student loans you have to deal with??Are you planning on getting a small business loan? Are you going to quit your job to work full time on your new project, and if so, how are you going to pay your bills while not generating an income from the start? Do you plan on investing assets once they start coming in? Do you pay with print checks or electronic checks; and just how safe are e-checks and online banking services? And how can I keep some of that extra money for myself to use for books, beer, and entertainment?

Don?t know the answer to these questions? It?s all right, most people don?t, and these questions can be quite dizzying if you don?t know where to start.

That?s why NY Creative Interns has deemed September our Personal Finance Month. During the month of September, we?ll show you the best books for understanding investments, teach you the difference between banks and credit unions, explain the best way to go about getting a small business loan in New York, show you how to make a little extra moola, and answer any and all questions that you have about finance for personal or business use.

It?s time to cash in on September and get down to the business of money.

Do you have any questions about Personal Finance? Ask us in the comments and we?ll be happy to answer them for you ourselves or find someone to answer them.

Receive Our Weekly Opportunities Newsletter!

Source: http://nycreativeinterns.com/2012/09/04/september-is-personal-finance-month/

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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Neil Armstrong's public memorial service set for Sept. 13

A public memorial service for late astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon, will take place Sept. 13 at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

The event offers a chance for the nation to pay its respects to the iconic astronaut, who died Aug. 25 following complications from a recent heart surgery. A previous ceremony was held for Armstrong on Aug. 31 in Cincinnati, but that one was limited to friends and family.

The Sept. 13 service is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). It will be broadcast live on NASA TV and streamed by the websites of both NASA and the National Cathedral.

Many dignitaries are expected to attend, including NASA chief Charles Bolden and other NASA officials, political leaders and members of the Armstrong family, space agency officials said.

A select few regular folks will make it into the service as well. A "very limited" number of seats will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis, according to a NASA media advisory. People interested in attending should contact Christine Peterson at christine.peterson@nasa.gov.

Neil Armstrong rose to international fame when he stepped onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. He and Buzz Aldrin spent more than 21 hours on the moon, while fellow Apollo 11 crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in their command module Columbia.

The words Armstrong uttered as his boots crunched into the gray lunar dirt ? "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind" ? are among the most famous ever spoken.

The multifaith Washington National Cathedral is a historic landmark, and it already has a connection with Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission. In 1974, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins presented the cathedral with a moon rock they had collected on their historic journey, as part of a ceremony commemorating the fifth anniversary of humanity's first steps on the moon.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcomand on Facebook.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/neil-armstrongs-public-memorial-set-sept-13-235512004.html

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Microsoft is Allegedly Working on a Windows Phone Group Chat App Called Room [Windows Phone 8]

Click here to read Microsoft is Allegedly Working on a Windows Phone Group Chat App Called Room

If you've been keeping your eyes on Windows Phone, but have been holding off on switching over until it gets a few more crucial features and/or apps, here's an interesting rumor: WMPowerUser says that Microsoft is working on a new group chat feature called Room, which apparently works in a similar manner as BlackBerry Instant Messenger or the group message feature in Apple's iMessage. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4ZmlIXv0w2Q/microsoft-is-allegedly-working-on-a-windows-phone-group-chat-app-called-room

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Sunday, September 2, 2012

What type of health and fitness holiday is the best choice for you ...

Diverse health and fitness demands have led to the development of an array of health and fitness holiday choices for different people and groups. Choices include health and wellness programmes in luxury retreat settings and body building boot camps.

Types of health and fitness holidays and programmes
Health and fitness holidays may be relaxation-oriented or performance-driven. The types of health and fitness holidays may include:

De-stress holidays are designed to relax the mind and body, releasing the strain of daily pressures so that a state of serenity and well-being may be achieved. Yoga holidays engage the mind and body in holistic harmony. Detox holidays aim to cleanse the body systems for improved health.

Other health and fitness holidays may be geared towards specific results, such as weight-loss or muscle building, which combine physical exercise with nutrition programmes to manage weight.

Sports holidays may cater to the needs of aspiring and professional athletes to develop performance potential in large facilities for sports such as for swimming, tennis, and other athletics.

Endurance and boot camp holidays cater for building body strength and stamina through strenuous outdoor exercises. The best choice of health and fitness holiday should match personal health and fitness goals.

Choices in health and fitness holiday destinations
Destination preference and affordability play a role in selecting any health and fitness holiday.
The environment of the facility could add or detract from commitment to health and fitness programmes. Climate may be another influence. The warm Mediterranean or hot tropics may inspire some while cold and damp de-motivates others. Some people function well in heat and others receive a boost in energy from chillier weather.

If climate preference does not dictate, the sporting event may. Certain sporting activities necessarily take place in cold climates, such as snowboarding, skiing, and bobsledding. Yoga and de-stress holidays are more likely to take place in warmer surroundings.

The type of health and fitness holiday selected may depend on affordability, proximity to home, and personal health and fitness agendas. For instance, boot camp holidays may be less costly, be run closer to home, and often enable individuals to be motivated by team fitness dynamics.

With so many health and fitness programmes and destinations to choose from, there is a fitness holiday to suit any wellness plan. The best choice is personal and starts with identifying a fitness purpose and holiday preference.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 2nd, 2012 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.qinzhou.info/what-type-of-health-and-fitness-holiday-is-the-best-choice-for-you/

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Health and fitness Products to acquire you in shape | Life Insurance

Due to the fact I initial commenced private training in 1985 folks have said basically a similar aims: To lose body fat and attain muscle mass, increase athleticism, mend the human body,boost motion competencies, devote very little dollars and coach every time and wherever they wanted. I?m fairly certain you wish the same, but you will find a challenge. Probably you vacation, it is really hard to reach the gymnasium, or perhaps you do not similar to the health club and/or you cannot afford to create your own private device laden health club at your home? Just what exactly would you do? Nicely the answer has been the following for over thirty ages. The solution to accurate physical physical fitness is portable conditioning equipment within the Monkey Bar Health club! Portable health and fitness devices has evolved in the gentle resistance bands and ankle weights they use in cardio classes. Nowadays portable health tools is pretty much all you must enter into the greatest shape of your life. No matter whether your goal is simple general exercise, power, conditioning OR significant stage sports activities effectiveness it is possible to get everything with portable physical fitness machines.

How do I do know this? It?s all I have ever performed and all that my father Bobby Hinds has ever performed. My Father started the beginnings of moveable physical fitness machines along with the beaded soar rope and training system in 1973, which sparked the Leap Rope for Coronary heart plan. He adopted it up in 1976 together with the to begin with at any time Moveable Health and fitness center. Back while in the day folks thought my father was nuts?nonetheless do , but he was way in advance of his time. He observed a huge need for people today to remain in shape although on the road, traveling, doing the job out at your home or outside the house. He understood that not all people desired to training on devices, or experienced the money, time or travel to exercise inside of a fitness center or inside for that matter. So, he took it upon himself to vary it and the health and fitness globe has not been a similar.

Currently, transportable physical fitness equipment can do anything you need within your fitness schooling: You could get much better, leaner, improve athletic effectiveness, recover & prevent injuries, increase movement competencies, expend little revenue and train anywhere you?d like, anytime you need!!! Portable conditioning devices can also allow you to follow an online coaching program, almost like having your own personal individual trainer! Because of all of these tremendous benefits, portable physical fitness devices is a common term within the health and fitness industry. I feel my Dad and his company, Lifeline USA, are a huge reason for transportable conditioning machines being such an integral part of the physical fitness industry at this time. I have always believed in moveable health and fitness tools, so much that I opened up my Monkey Bar Gymnasium in 2001. It?s the very first hard core power and conditioning instruction facility from the country that uses ONLY transportable conditioning machines!

?Full overall body anywhere, anytime schooling is all we do and all we?ve ever done? says Monkey Bar Gymnasium, Certified Natural Trainer, Jessica Rucker. ?We teach movement mastery initially and then add resistance via moveable health tools. Using Resistance cables, Kettlebells, Jungle Gyms, Med & D-balls, Jump Ropes, Power Push ups, Power Jumpers, Vertical Jumpers and Power Wheels all add more challenge to standard bodyweight movements, thus taking them into the next stage. It truly is clearly the main reason everyone who trains with us either online or at the Monkey Bar Gymnasium is incredibly fit?.

Fitness Equipment

Source: http://www.cheaplifeinsurancenews.info/health-and-fitness-products-to-acquire-you-in-shape/

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Customer Service ? the art of doing business ? Northern Arizona ...

Not only is customer service vitally important, but indeed it is the art of customer service that dictates the success and longevity of a business.

Here?s the hot potato issue. Over the 4^th of July holiday an acquaintance had two occasions to eat out. One was a birthday celebration for which he had reservations. It took a long time for the food to arrive and when the meals were brought to the table they were told that they had run out of baked potatoes. They only got a, ?sorry we ran out and pick something else,? and no other compensation or explanation.

Also over the holiday my acquaintance and a companion went to a much smaller restaurant and ordered sandwiches and fries. A mistake was made and the companion was given coleslaw. As the restaurant was exceptionally busy, it was quite a while before this was corrected. They were given an apology from the waiter and the owner and were charged for only one of the meals.

Does my acquaintance have any inclination to revisit the first restaurant? Don?t bet on it. And all over a hot potato and a glaring lack of customer service. And will he and the others with him tell people about their experiences with the two restaurants? Of course!

The lesson in this story for a business person, whether you are a service provider, a retailer or an on-line company, is that customer service is the sustaining force for your business.

Charles Hannabarger, Frederick Buchman, and Peter Economy (www.dummies.com) write in their article, Mastering the Art of Customer Service, ?The modern customer is a pretty savvy consumer. He or she hears what you say and promise and then watches closely to see if you deliver. You?ve probably had some experiences as a customer in which a company?s walk didn?t match its talk, and you probably took your business elsewhere. In your business, you have to continually find out whether you?re delivering the things you promise to your customers. It?s natural to want to promise your customers the world, but you can?t do so unless you know that you can deliver the world.?

In an article for www.voices.yahoo.com D.J. Schwab says, ?Without customers you really don?t have a business. If this is the case, why is it mostly everyone as consumers can easily cite examples of poor customer service in their daily lives? I believe every company either has or thinks it has good customer service. However, if certain steps are not taken to ensure this, the reality of their situation is often far worse than their current perceptions.?

Schwab continues, ?In any organization the commitment to customer service begins at the top. The company?s leaders must buy into the fact that they not only need to meet their customer?s expectations, but actually strive to exceed them. They must develop a company culture that understands this concept. In today?s world competition is tougher than ever. If you can?t provide goods or services when somebody wants them, there are often four or five other companies ready to fill this void. You rarely get a second chance once you drop the ball. If the company?s leaders do not accept this fact, or are not willing to provide the necessary resources to meet their customer?s needs, they will soon find themselves scrambling for business.?

In today?s high tech world statistics show that customers give their repeat business to companies that provide top notch customer service and this shows in the success and prominence of the businesses that excel in service.

Ask your SCORE counselor to work with you on a good customer service policy. If you have employees, make sure they are aware of what you expect for your clients and be sure to emphasize the importance of this policy.