Saturday, October 30, 2010

Mischief Night


A night of innocent mischief may have been good for a neighborhood's morale, had it not turned into "vandalism night". Harmless mischief can be fun, and it can give the neighbors something to talk and laugh about.
I remember, as I rode the school bus to school on Halloween day, seeing the outhouse on the same bank's lawn on the same day every year. It posed a challenge to the police year after year to prevent this, but somehow the pranksters prevailed in this mischief night tradition. As the years went by, and more and more of the area's farmland was sold off and developed, I suppose that the town's supply of outhouses dried up, and another community tradition died quietly. I do, however, wonder if the local police department took credit for preventing further outhouse misdemeanors.

When I was growing up at home, our windows were "soaped" every year. My parents never seemed to let it bother them. Perhaps the fact that they would have their children clean it off is the reason. Now that I look back, maybe they knew that their kids were doing some "soaping" as well. In fact one night my brother and I soaped our own windows at home in hopes of making us look less likely as suspects. Somehow it did not look like such a good idea the next day as we were cleaning the windows. The best pranks however are the ones that take some real thought. Also they are relatively harmless, as the outhouse gag for example.

My son is a prankster. I suppose he takes after me in that respect. One night, he and I were watching the ball game on TV when my wife came in and told him it was trash night. I told him I would help him. As I got up from the sofa, I sneaked the remote control into my pocket. Just as we thought, my wife looked for the remote and found the universal one. She sat down and switched the station from the baseball game to "Entertainment Tonight" or another show like that. My son and I watched through the window as she got comfortable. I then took the remote control from my pocket, pointed it at the TV and cycled through the stations back to the game. With a curious look, she pointed her controller and changed it back to her show. Before she had placed the remote back on the coffee table, I changed it back. A very puzzled look came over her as she looked around to see if anyone was around doing this to her. She again aimed the remote at the TV and cycled back to her channel. As she let go of the button, I continued to cycle through, right past her station, and stopped it on the PBS station. My son, bless his heart, wanted a turn now. His mother gave the controller a sharp whack, at which point John pressed the power button turning the television off. An infrared battle ensued as now the TV was being switched on and off repeatedly. The idea now came to her that possibly the remote control was shot and she got up to turn the TV on manually. She stood next to the TV for a few moments, and then, satisfied that it was going to stay on, returned to the sofa. They say that you cannot teach timing, and I was a proud dad that day watching my son wait for her to sit down before he turned it off again. Exasperated, she slammed down the TV guide and got up to go over to the TV again and John turned it on..then off .. on.. off.. then on and back to her station. Just then the phone rang. He left the TV on and at her station as she gabbed. John and I turned to each other and we could almost see the idea "light bulbs" over us as we simultaneously said, "cell phone!" So after she finished on the phone, the real fun began. John waited for her to sit down again to watch her how before he turned the TV off. As she walked to the TV, I called and let it ring once and then hung up. This went on for a few minutes, until it dawned on her that she was being had. I will remember that as one of my best pranks, and smile at the knowledge that my son will carry on for me when I'm gone.

Dc Metro Map


Moscow just released its new metro map. We thought it would be interesting to write about the most well-designed maps of various cities’ public transit systems. Moscow’s new map took four years to develop, according to the design firm behind it, Art. Lebedev Studio. Its design is meant to be scalable to various sizes and complexity. A lot attention was paid to graphically representing the intersections of various transit lines.

Graphic designer Cameron Booth, who redesigned Washington, D.C.’s Metro map as a personal project (it’s not publicly in use), answered a few of our questions about mapping. First off, Booth says transit maps are not really maps at all; they are “diagrams that show connections between points and not the accurate geography of an area.” New York City’s subway map is the major exception to this rule.

Excellent Maps Around the World

Design is subjective and people from different cultures and backgrounds interpret maps differently. We asked Booth about his favorite maps or “diagrams.” A well-designed map, according to Booth, should be “understandable across national and cultural boundaries.” Some maps, for example, use iconography to situate the rider in the city itself, as is the case with Haifa’s subway system, called Carmelit, built in 1959 in coastal Israel.

Time Change


Daylight Savings Time 2010: Time Change Fall (Canada & US) – Every six months, the time changes and every six months the same question pops up – do we get one more or one less hour of sleep?

On Sunday, November 7, 2010 at at 7.30 PM IST (6 AM EST) all the clocks will need to fall back again to Standard Time also known as winter time which means you will have an extra 60 minutes of sleep or partying.
But have you ever wondered why do we change the time every 6 months?

The concept of summer time and winter time was introduced in 1975. At the time, the world had just survived the first oil crisis in history.

That is when it was decided to adjust the time once a year for the countries that are in different time zones in order to use less energy.

The decision was a wise one seeing that it is more convenient to have office hours between the rising and setting sun. At the time, the system had been encouraged by the Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME).

Cocoa Beach Air Show


Well it is finally the last weekend of October and aviation enthusiasts from across the nation have come to Florida’s Space Coast for the 2010 Cocoa Beach Air Show. With demonstrations that include the F-15, F-18 and F-22 as well as the C-17 – the military is well represented. To highlight this, the Thunderbirds will be burning the blue skies red as parachutists and civilian performers show their stuff in the clouds and waters of beautiful Cocoa Beach, Florida. While the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery has slipped a day, it is still just a day after the air show’s end – worth the wait.

Halloween Appetizers


Halloween Appetizers: Halloween Drink and Punch Recipes – Halloween event is fast approaching. Have you planned the foods that you will serve on the table? What are some of the foods that are appropriate for the Halloween celebration?

Since Jack-O-Lanterns are one of the symbols representing Halloween, here is a simple Halloween appetizer recipe of a food called Jack-O-Lantern Cheese Ball courtesy of cooksrecipes.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 pineapple preserves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large pretzel rod, broken in half
4-ounces cream cheese, softened
Dark rye bread
Red pepper
Black olive slices
Parsley sprigs
Assorted crackers

How to Prepare:

1. Beat cheeses, pumpkin, preserves and in medium bowl until smooth. Cover refrigerate 2 to 3 hours until cheese is firm enough to shape.

2. Shape mixture into round pumpkin, place on serving plate.Using a knife, score vertical lines down Place pretzel rod in top for stem. Cut bread into triangles for eyes, cut red pepper into triangle for nose, and cut olives in half to make the mouth. Surround with parsley.

3. Serve with assorted crackers

Meanwhile, if you are looking for a Halloween Punch recipe, we can recommend the so-called “Eyeball Potion“. Here’s how to do it:

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) container nondairy whipped topping, partially thawed
24 blueberries
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 (6-ounce) package gelatin, any red flavor
Ice cubes
1 cup cold water

How to Prepare:

1. Using a melon baller or small ice cream scoop, place 2 small scoops (about 2 tablespoons each) of whipped topping into each of 12 dessert dishes for “eyeballs.” Place a blueberry in each scoop for the “pupil”. Freeze 30 minutes or until firm.

2. Meanwhile stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved.

3. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 2 1/2 Add to gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any remaining ice.

4. Spoon gelatin into prepared dishes around each eyeball, leaving the top of the eyeballs exposed.Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until firm and make 12 servings.

Have fun in celebrating Halloween!

Comedy Central


Comedy Central announced its 2010-2011 development slate which includes new series Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time, Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at the El Rey, and a third season renewal for Tosh.0. The network has also acquired several high-profile world television premiere stand-up hours from comedians such as Lisa Lampanelli, Lewis Black, Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings and Bill Burr.
The 2010-2011 Comedy Central development slate includes:
Russell Simmons Presents: Stand-Up at the El Rey – premieres Sunday, July 11
The stand-up show, hosted by JB Smoove, will reflect the urban culture of today’s youth through stand-up comedy. Each episode will consist of three up-and-coming comics and will feature music created by DJ Cassidy.
Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time – premieres October TBD
From Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions and Sony Pictures Television, Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time is sketch show filtered through the twisted point-of-view of stand-up comedian Nick Swardson.
Patrice Oneal’s Guide to White People
Remarkably adept at pinpointing the details of whiteness, Patrice Oneal schools us on race relations from his unique point of view, offering hilarious lessons both in the classroom and on the street.
Untitled Bill Burr/Kevin Hart Pilot
Top stand-ups Kevin Hart and Bill Burr star in a half-hour hour comedy scripted series featuring a modern day take on The Odd Couple.
Intercourse with Whitney Cummings
Intercourse with Whitney Cummings is a half-hour scripted narrative comedy that follows comedian Whitney Cumming’s adventures in dating and sex.
The Jim Jeffries Show
From the twisted yet completely relatable mind of Australian stand up comedian Jim Jeffries, this is a half-hour narrative about Jim’s new life in the US.

Alexandria Mills


Alexandria Mills (photos below) has won Miss World 2010 today. Alexandria Mills of the U.S. won the 2010 Miss World competition beating out Emma Wareus of Botswana, and Adriana Vasini of Venezuela. Mills, a statuesque blond beauty, is 18 and from Louisville, Kentucky.

“I intend to travel the world and pursue a career in landscape and architectural photography while study at college for a degree in photography” said Mills coming into Saturday’s competition. Mills showed off an incredible body; she told news that her shape is the result of being a vegetarian since a young age. And with her beauty outside, news reports commented about Mills’ positive energy. Mills adds that she is “positive, spontaneous, open minded and outgoing person. I’ve never met a stranger and enjoy meeting new people.”

Jon Stewart Rally


Welcome to POLITICO CLICK's live blog from the scene of Stewart and Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.” We'll be on the Mall delivering you the latest sightings and scoops throughout the day. To watch a livestream of the event, click here. For more up to the minute coverage, check out our Twitter feed.

***

Comedy meets a sporting event: A couple of guys from "Mythbusters" have taken the stage. And they're asking the crowd to start doing the wave. (12:42)

It appears to be working.

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Daily Show writer Tim Carvell tweets: "I'm told we're now at 150K attendees, and they've closed 7th St. Our apologies to 7th St.—we know it had a busy day planned." #rally4sanity

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A critical observation from the Mall: Singing a song by Bill Withers about the Vietnam War, John Legend tactfully evokes the sentiment of a political rally without getting political.

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Check out Patrick Gavin's Twitter feed for lots of rally pics.

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Surprise, surprise: Singer John Legend is at the rally and on stage (12:20 p.m.).

Legend has basically been living in D.C. lately. He's been inside the Beltway recently for the "Waiting for Superman" screening and at a Capitol File party celebrating his appearance on the cover. And, earlier this year, he was in town to meet with administration officials.

And he's coming back for a Gucci event at Tyson's in a couple of weeks..

***

Whatever this event might be, music festival it is not. The Roots are blasting bass heavy tunes, but the crowd is barely moving!

***

The Rally, by the numbers:

The Huffington Post Twitter feed reports that more than 10,000 people piled on to more than 200 buses from New York to attend the rally.


Oprah Winfrey also said she would be sending approximately 200 members of her studio audience to attend the rally.

And on Facebook, more than 226,000 people said they would attend on a page for the rally.

***

A roundup of rally sign slogans:

"I obviously don't work for NPR."

"I like my tea with sugar not hate."

"In Satire We Trust"

"Real tea parties involve scones"

"I hate crowds"

***

12:02 p.m.: The Roots just started performing.

***

"If only people would put their damn signs down," someone says, struggling to see over the crowd. Nearby, a person holds a sign reading "The person behind me can't see!"

***

Spotted: A group of rally goers, dressed as clowns, holding a sign which reads "Sane Clown Posse."

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11:41 a.m.: To entertain the crowds, huge screens are playing musical performances from previous "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" shows.

***

A group of Rutgers students who came down from Jersey last night told POLITICO they had thought more people would be in Halloween costumes.

Standing next to his friend in a skimpy "Ghostbusters" get up, one student dressed as Slash from Guns N' Roses said, "We thought everyone would dress up. Oh well".

***

A girl is limping onto the Mall with a leg cast... Showing some commitment!

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Some on the rally front-line told POLITICO they had arrived in the dawn hours to get their front row spots.

"I don't even know how long we've been here, but we got to DC at 4 am," said Kati Sorenson from Massachusetts, whose beaming smile belied her sleep deprivation.

***

Daily Show writer Tim Carvell is obviously done with the writing portion of today's rally. And now he's taking pics backstage—and tweeting, of course.

Through the morning, Carvell has been playing the roll of spoiler, taking snaps of the podium Jon Stewart will use for the rally, showing Tweeps the view from the stage and a familiar face or two. (Ahem, Aasif Mandvi.)

On Friday night, Carvell tweeted: "Being in Washington makes me really wish I collected small statues of eagles holding flags, because I could get a lot of shopping done here."

***

The New York Times' Brian Stelter tweeted a good take on how packed the Mall started to become early Saturday. "Mark Endsley, 42, from Raleigh, says he arrived on the mall w/ 14-year-old son at 5am. There were already '400-500 people' there, he says."

***

Check out our video montage of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and others talking about the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Also, our Rally Rundown with POLITICO's Patrick Gavin and Natasha Lennard, and TBD.com's Ryan Kearney.

***

A roundup of rally sign slogans:

"I spell check my political signs"

"Rally to ignore Hannity"

"Mama Grizzlies for Climate Change: Spill, baby, spill"

"Fox News: fair and balanced my ass!"

"My taxes aren't as high as I am"

"Don't make me pull this country over"

"Stephen - I wanna hold you until the fear inside me subsides"

"Somewhat irritated about extreme outrage"

"This sign is heavy"

"I tolerate tolerance"

***

Not from the Mall: Porta-potty concerns were justified. Queues already outside grey cabins neatly lining Madison Place.

***

A report from the Metro: "Every platform on the Green Line, from Columbia Heights down, is lined with rally goers. There are lines to even reach the platforms. Every third person has a rally sign."

***

Today's schedule, from Playbook:

"10:00 a.m.: The pre-pre-show begins with videos and music on the jumbotron ... Noon: The pre-show starts with a performance from The Roots. ... 12:40: A comedian ... warms up the audience. ... 12:57: A video countdown with a show introduction. ... 1:00: The show kicks off with the national anthem ... 1:20: Mr. Colbert enters, and two actors ... Don Novello and Sam Waterston ... perform readings. ... 1:40: Jeff Tweedy and Mavis Staple perform for 10 minutes, followed by Stewart and Colbert until 2 p.m. ... 2:15: Sheryl Crow performs for five minutes, followed by speakers and guests ... 2:30: Musical guests ... come on. ... 2:40: The show turns to a pre-taped sequence ... The Sanity and Fear Awards ... Stewart and Colbert ... final statements."

Stewart is anticipated onstage at 1:05 p.m., and Colbert will join shortly thereafter. The two, who are expected to have roughly equal time during the show, will meet with select reporters at 4 p.m. Today's rally has the same physical footprint as April's 40th Earth Day concert, which drew an estimated 200,000.

— A Comedy Central source tells Playbook: "In terms of crowd estimate, the official estimate of the show is 400 million people. and in terms of talent, you can also say, 'Hendrix, Presley and Morrison will not be performing — together.' "

Alliance Air Show


FORT WORTH -- It is Sean Tucker's last performance of the season this weekend at Alliance Airport.
It is also one of his perennial favorites.
"This show is buttoned-up," said Tucker, who flies the Oracle Challenger, a cherry-red high-performance biplane. "There are not many air shows that put so much care and thought into enhancing the visitor experience. And this area has such a great aviation history and culture that the fans are sophisticated about what you do."
The Fort Worth Alliance Air Show, on Saturday and Sunday, typically attracts more than 100,000 people a weekend. Mother Nature appears ready to give organizers and performers ideal conditions, which isn't always the case for an outdoor event in late October.
"It's going to be absolutely perfect weather -- cool mornings, warm afternoons," said Dave Pelletier, a spokesman for Hillwood Development, which developed and manages the airport.
Since much of North Texas has caught Texas Rangers fever, Pelletier made sure to note that the air show won't conflict with Games 3 and 4 of the World Series in Arlington.
"You can come out with the family and spend the day and still get home for first pitch," he said.
Proceeds from the show benefit local charities, including the USO.
The headliner is the Navy's Blue Angels flight team in one of its final performances of 2010, although Lockheed Martin employees might suggest that the headliner is a flight demonstration of the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force's most prized jet and one partly produced in Fort Worth.
Other military acts include an F-16 Viper demonstration team, the Army Golden Knights parachute team and numerous warbirds from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison.
Tucker, a veteran of air shows since 1976, will be one of the civilian acts, along with longtime Dallas resident Jan Collmer in the Fina Extra 300L.
"This show is like the Indy 500, the Fourth of July and Top Gun all rolled into one," Tucker said.
Greg Poe, flying the ethanol-powered Fagen MX2 aircraft, is also performing this weekend after a busy few days of flying essay-winning middle-schoolers over the North Texas prairie.
Poe visited middle schools in the Keller and Northwest school districts, speaking to them about green energy, aviation and drug addiction. He lost a teenage son to heroin several years ago and sponsors an essay contest to motivate children.
"The air show has become a means for him to tell his story to young people," said Greg Gibson, team coordinator for Poe.

Trick Or Treating 2010


Trick-or-treating last night was better than expected, given LittleBrother had an ear infection and it was crazy cold and windy. I learned my lesson last year and took the car with us. The Good, too.And one more. And then a big wind blew, turned his head to one side the head of foreigners and it did. He was in the car for the rest of the trip. From time to time has turned the heads of Alien in the right way when we hear his little voice, I do not see.

BigBrother, however, was a professional, as evidenced by the serious Super Trick-or-treat Face.He made three quarters of the way into the big circuit, in general this year, the race to keep up a nearly seven year girlfriend of ours. Only he did halfway last year before starting to complain, it was a great improvement. In addition, the car! Win. We have a lot of praise for his costume.

Had a great time. I think that’s too LittleBrother, despite the sore ear infection. BigBrother offered to share their candy, sweets because people LittleBrother near the road as was the style of driving. A man accused of “spoiling” him. Hello, who is ill. In addition, it is Halloween. Why not indulge a little? Also, be quiet. Also, be careful.

Rally To Restore Sanity Schedule


Rally To Restore Sanity Schedule To restore mental health Rally Schedule Saturday March in Washington organized by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will have musicians like Sheryl Crow and roots and a video of “Sanity and the fear of price,a report from the media revealed.This rally Tea Party satirized demonstrations conducted by Glenn Beck, who also took place in Washington.Stewart not disclosed who else will make a special appearance at the event, told the National Journal, “We’ll have surprises, we’ll have a good time.

Some people hope that Oprah Winfrey is now one of the speakers, even if it has not been officially announced. Also on hand were performer Staples.Here Rally Mavis is to restore mental health todayJon Calendar Stewart, introduces himself and welcomes the crowd at the Rally event.The restore health events were to overlap others and became known the television network Comedy Central and the Rally To restore reason and / or fear.

On the record: Proceedings of The Roots, Sheryl Crow, “reason and the fear of prices,” the mystery and incredibly promising comedians and guest musicians, the event has already more than 227,000 people on Facebook to attend RSVP’ed , although organizers not really sure how many will appear in the morning, the National Mall on Saturday.Stewart did not reveal who else will make a special appearance at the event, says the National Journal, “We’ll have surprises, we’ll have a good time.

Abim


Abim You write a sales letter to convince your target market for your product. But at the same time, it is necessary to demonstrate that your product does what it says. You can do this by providing evidence of past satisfied customers in the form testimonials.We can not avoid that there will be parts of the food in the fridge that will be exposed to bad bacteria that has accumulated in the refrigerator. If this happens, our refrigerator mold can develop and you become an unhealthy place for storing food.

It is a basic editor. The copy must be fundamental and not too difficult. Do not use a rich vocabulary or set too many technical terms in your copy. Never be too complicated for follow.From this important railway junction, trains come and go regularly to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Mthatha, Kimberley, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

paving the way for a three-way battle with Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and Ali Azmina. The former president of a group of Muslim students, PKPIM, is considered the leader of a faction within the party formed by former leaders The new version of iTunes, 10, arrived. Think Apple sells its products as Christmas gifts and back to school supplies, many are likely to be sold.

Web2mail


Web2Mail: this is a free service that works as follows: send a blank email to send[at]web2mail.co.cc with your desired site URL as the subject. After less than a minute the Web2Mail service will send you an email that contains the web page you requested in HTML format, which you can read in your email client.
As you might imagine, “browsing” your desired site using this service involves receiving the initial email, clicking on a link on that page that most likely be blocked in your browser but that you would use as the subject line in another email to Web2Mail, and repeating. Not the highest quality surfing experience, but will work in a pinch.

One thing I might add: the Web2mail servers are at times unresponsive and there was a point when I was testing it a few days ago and having my emails sent back to me. Since then the issue seems to have been fixed and it is working just fine.

Dean Martin


Dean Martin had both style and grace, not to mention a rather quick wit. This is an incredible video montage of him, put together to his famed song, Sway. It also features some clips of performances with Frank Sinatra. The beauty I find in this is the interaction with the crowd and how the performers of this era were not only great singers but had a stage presence and conversational piece to them that you don’t see as much today. True gentlemen and showmen at the same time.

Margaret Hoover


Those who accuse the once libertarian Bill Maher of becoming too much of a liberal apologist might want to clean their ears. Maher made a Juan Williams-esque confession on his program when he apprehensively noted that Mohammed has just become the most popular baby name in Britain. “Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that?” Maher asked his panel. “Because I am. And it’s not because of the race, it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years?”

His normally boisterous crowd fell silent as the panel responded to Maher’s admission.

“If you’re with NPR,” the conservative Margaret Hoover chimed, “You’d be fired.”

“It’s worse,” Lawrence O’Donnell told Maher. “It’s way worse than what Juan Williams said.” Hoover seemed to agree with this sentiment.

Reihan Salam, a conservative analyst with a Muslim name, also seemed irked by Maher’s comments, noting that he “has some uncles named Mohammed” that are “pretty decent guys.”

Of course, it’s not the name that Maher fears, but the religion. (Any of them, in fact — Maher’s qualms with religion of any sort, Islam or not, are long-standing and well-documented.) Hoover further stoked Maher by claiming that the U.K is saddled with a “far bigger problem” than baby names: Sharia Law, which she said is creeping into England.

“Then I’m right,” Maher said, taking her for her word. “I should be alarmed. And I don’t apologize for it.”

And we believe him there. After all, this is the same man who got his previous show Politically Incorrect cancelled when he asserted that the 9/11 attackers were “not cowardly.”

Hurricane Tomas


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Forecasters said Shary has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane overnight, but it is headed out to the open Atlantic.

Forecasters are also watching newly formed Tropical Storm Tomas, with is almost at hurricane strength as it passes near Barbados.

Tomas is about 20 miles south of Barbados. It's expected to become a hurricane sometime Saturday and grow into a Category 3 storm south of Puerto Rico by Tuesday.

Channel 4 hurricane expert George Winterling said a cold front will turn Tomas north over eastern Cuba by Thursday and the system could be east of Florida by next weekend.
It has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Forecasters said it's moving west-northwest at about 15 mph.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Shary is about 325 miles east-northeast of Bermuda. It's moving to the northeast over the central Atlantic Ocean at about 35 mph. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.

Powerbot


The PowerBot is a high-payload differential-drive robot for research and rapid prototyping. Featuring the same intelligence and maneuverability of our smaller platforms, PowerBot moves up to 1.6 m/s with a payload of up to 100 kg. It is an ideal platform for laboratory and research tasks involving delivery, navigation, and manipulation.

Powerbot:

PowerBot is a brand new addition in the world of robots. The robot has been made in order to carry goods and it has the capability to go through difficult paths. The robot is quite strong in its built. It has a strong metal body which protects its inner delicate parts and the motor is strong enough to make the robot run with a pace of five and a half kilometers per hour. As this robot is designed to work within an organization so its speed is perfect. PowerBot has the capacity to carry goods having a weight of up to a hundred kilos. The computer present in the computer which makes it plan its path is quite intelligent.
The technological masterpiece requires a simple blueprint of the building in order to perform its tasks. It has been built in order to serve in places like science labs and educational institutes where the items are required to be sent form place to place. The work


load on humans shall be reduced with the help of this robot. The computer chip that has been installed in the PowerBot has proved to be quite intelligent as the robot can work more efficiently than a human.
There are a number of accessories that can be bought in order to improve the functions of the robot. Some of the accessories include gyroscope detectors and a three dimensional image detector. The modern world is full of robots and as the world is progressing computers with artificial intelligence are being formed.

La Boheme


This is one of the better DVD releases of the Met’s unique enormously accepted live HD moviecasts. The cast sings well, the production is one of Franco Zefferelli’s less tacky creations, and La Boheme remains one of the singer-proof operas. Puccini’s music is so affecting that even rather average singers can build the experience animated.
Fortunately this La Boheme has assembled a cast that is far from average. I saw the production in its opening night with the same cast. I found both Vargas and Gheorghiu’s deny to be a tad itsy-bitsy for the colossal cavernous Met, but one cannot argue with the beauty of their voices. Gheorghiu’s declare in particular has a sad, husky, fragile sounding timbre that gives us the illusion of a consumptive. Her snow-white skin and dismal murky hair also adds to the appearance of someone who has been sick for quite awhile, although for my money no one was ever able to eye as believably consumptive as Teresa Stratas in the earlier Met video with Jose Carreras. She has some current phrasing during “Si mi chiamano Mimi” — she seems certain to lift the aria at a slower plod than the conductor, and she also eschews the former portamenti. Vargas’s reveal is shining, ardent, and he’s a sensitive musician. He hits the high C in “Che gelida manina” delicately and if his divulge is a bit too cramped and lyric for the role he level-headed always sounds radiant. Ainhoa Arteta makes no particular impression as Musetta but she is great better than the screechy, over-the-hill Scotto in the Stratas/Carreras video.

Buy,Download, Or Stream Puccini: La Boheme! Click Here
Dramatically, this Boheme does not work as well. Ramon Vargas is another in a long line of pleasantly chunky and somewhat phlegmatic Rodolfos. (Caruso, Bjoerling, Tucker, Pavarotti all were plot too pudgy to be entirely believable as a starving poet.) But he makes Rodolfo sweet and likable, which is more crucial than looks. More problematic is Angela Gheorghiu’s Mimi. Her stage persona has a definite hardness, and she makes Mimi a rather aggressive pursuer of Rodolfo. She says backstage that Mimi “is not innocent” but she goes too far in the other direction, in my understanding. The small she enters the garret, swaying her hips knowingly and with a somewhat smug smile, you know that this Mimi probably blew out her candle on purpose to meet Rodolfo. There is no reason Mimi should be a wilting innocent flower (after all, she does supposedly hurry off with a rich count, and early reviews of La Boheme upbraided Puccini for celebrating loose morals), but to fabricate her so openly seductive kind of ruins the charm of the opening scene between Rodolfo and Mimi. At its best, it suggests two young people falling in adore unexpectedly. These complaints are mostly in the first two acts. By the third act, Gheorghiu’s Mimi has turned believably tragic. She is less fussy, and exclaim to let her state and the music scream for itself. The Act 3 quartet is very affecting.
So in other words, another pleasurable addition to the Boheme video collection. Of the videos I have I like the Australian Opera production, and the Scotto/Pavarotti video. But as usual, Puccini’s opera is the true winner. There is a reason why audiences all over the world never tire of this simple epic of boy meets girl, boy loses girl. It’s a perfect opera.
Note: to retort to the review above, I did abet opening night but I also watched the moviecast. This review is I guess based on a mix of my enjoy memories of opening night AND the moviecast.

Jim Reeves


Jim Reeves has a column up at ESPN Dallas, comparing the work Ron Washington has done in his role as what appears to be the second manager in Texas Ranger history to get the Rangers to the post-season with what Johnny Oates did as the first Ranger manager to get the Rangers to the post-season.

Reeves talks about Washington keeping the team confident, and expresses his opinion that this Rangers team can play with anyone in the league...

Fairy Tail 208


Fairy Tail 208, Erza While the battle ends with the final killer Trinity Raven, Ikaruga, is that Simon Natsu, who is unconscious, go find her. If Natsu wakes up, Simon tells him what happened and asks him to Erza to rescue her former boyfriend, Jellal! At first, Natsu refuses, but then Simon reveals a tidbit of information that sends Natsu runs to help her.
Erza Jellal reaches, and begins its attack, dressed in cloth. Jellal revealed a very powerful magician, fighting at super high speed and throwing spells there and yon. If it seems Erza going to be sacrificed, Natsu emerges spectacularly, as usual. He fights to the best of his ability, but he seems to lose! He takes a lot of punishment, the high speed attacks.
After a sacrifice made by Simon, Natsu doing something that could cost him his life. Both Erza Jellal and think he’s a little more than ridiculous, but lo and behold, it makes him a lot stronger! After a very intense fight of the Crystal Tower in the R system destroys Erza wonders whether this is the true power of a Dragon Slayer.
In the struggle for the R system, Juvia, Gray, Lucy, Wally and Millia see everything done from a rowboat. After Etherion hit, the canoe was destroyed, but Juvia was awake enough to make a bubble that floats. All of them are really worried about the outcome. And the result means and potential loss.
This is a very intense volume. It shows where Erza comes from her life before Fairy Tail. It is no wonder why they have such strong and determined person. The volume also shows how powerful Natsu can get it. This is a volume not to be missed!
Extras include: an afterword, d’Art Guild, questions and answers, and translation notes.

Pumpkin Designs


I was forwarded this from my cousin Craig (Sarge) Severence, and I wanted to share it with you! I have always been interested in art & creativity, and these are completely mind boggling!

All of the awesome pumpkins were done by a man named Ray Villafane and he's going to be on the "Food Network Challenge: Outrageous Pumpkins" soon.

Vivek Oberoi Wedding Pics


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Anchorage


Tomorrow, a blossoming of rallies will take place across the country, nay, the world. The purpose of these rallies will not be to protest. They will not be to incite a revolution. They will be a call for sanity…or at least a break from shouting.

When John Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced their event a few weeks ago, I don’t know if they could have anticipated the wildfire effect that would take place. Soon, announcements for satellite rallies cropped up in big cities small towns. We have a friend who will be attending a satellite rally in Finland. While it may not seem like a novel idea, the message put forward resonated; people who shout and scream should not be the only ones who have a voice in our society.

In that spirit, the Anchorage Rally to Restore Sanity will take place tomorrow afternoon. While it will be a small event by Washington D.C. standards, if even half of the people who say they will come do show up, it will be epic by Alaskan proportions. The Anchorage Rally to Restore Sanity will start at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon in the quad area in front of UAA’s Cuddy Hall. Yes, it will be outside. But we’re Alaskans, damn it, we can handle it. The Cuddy Hall is on the west end of campus, and a map of the UAA campus can be viewed here.

The call for organization was first put out by a student, Alex Maslow, who submitted an op-ed to the Northern Light a couple of weeks ago.

Halloween Pumpkins


Best Halloween Pumpkins for Halloween 2010
For the design, you can choose to either draw the design on a piece of paper first and then transfer it to the pumpkin, or draw directly. After you've finished drawing the design, start applying tape to the pumpkin's surface - the longer the strips the better, covering your marker's lines as you go. To emphasize lights you can use mirrors or to give a gloomy look to things you can dim the lights or use bulbs that give less light. Whatever design (or combinations of designs) you choose, you can have colorful, unique pumpkins for Halloween this year without the muss and fuss of carving! ). Growing your own pumpkin is not as difficult as you think. Nowdays its the time when devils, ghosts, orks, witches, and other creatures will be walking in the darkness in your neighborhood in search of Tricks or Treats.
Just use a plunger-type apple corer to punch through the rind of a pumpkin to create a perfectly round hold. There are some complicated equations to describe the motion, he said. You will be able to carve as much as you want without having to worry too much. That's why you should know the different steps when creating a jack o' lantern. Others like them carved into goblin faces and illuminated with candles.
But if you want a unique and distinctly different design, then you will have to select some pumpkin stencils and free pumpkin carving templates. You can even pull some inspiration from online websites or magazines and even books. Either way, with the Halloween costumes and last minute Halloween costume shopping is also the pumpkin carving and Jack-O-Lantern stencils. Most of the time, gallon jugs of water are used for ammunition. You can make the follow-the-dots trail in the pumpkin for easy carving. Or, as Donald Totman of Daisi Hill Farm in Millerton, N.Y., said, Were doing the entertainment to sell the pumpkins. Decorating a house for Halloween doesn't mean you turn every room of the house into something right out of the Adam's family.
It should be reasonably moist but not overly wet once you complete the scraping. Bring a jack-o-lanternno bigger than a basketballand you can turn it into pumpkin pure. Second Halloween GFX Freebie - Vector Halloween pumpkins clipart! If you want attractive templates and/or need guidance regarding making different Halloween pumpkin patterns, you can visit various online tutorial sites. Try varying the width of the stripes for a more unusual plaid design.

Goldeneye


Activision sent out a few character renders of classic James Bond villains in high resolution with a ton of detail, basically letting gamers know how the characters were intended to look but how they won't look on the Wii.

As stated in the press release…
GoldenEye 007 gives players the chance to use the lethal, gritty style of Daniel Craig’s James Bond to outwit, outmaneuver and overtake an arms syndicate that threatens the world in an innovative, modern take on the legendary GoldenEye movie. GoldenEye 007 features an unprecedented lineup of four-player split-screen multiplayer options that encourage social gaming,

There are also online modes for up to eight players (although that statement alone is almost yawn inducing compared to some of the 32 and 64 player games out there), more than 50 playable characters, and 17 different game modifiers to tweak, twist, turn and flip the multiplayer game modes around to suit various playing styles and methods.

You can check out the new renders for the characters below, or visit the Official Website to learn more about this reinvented remake of the classic N64 first-person shooter. Goldeneye 007 is due out exclusively for the Nintendo Wii this November.

Halloween H20


Halloween H20: Welcome back to Junkfood Cinema: where the tricks and the treats are indistinguishable. This is the internet’s spookiest of bad movie columns dedicated to digging up the corpses of long-dead schlock. I’m tempted to do a Vincent Price laugh, but that doesn’t come through in text too well.

Every week I slash a bad movie down to size and then, through a seance of praise, invite its spirit into my own heart. The result is truly terrifying. I will then pair the film with a supernaturally tasty junkfood item to haunt your waistline as the movie haunts your brain!

So, as it turns out, horror sequels win the month of October here at JFC. And being that we are just two days removed from my favorite holiday, I thought it best to wrap up the year’s creepiest month with another film in the Halloween franchise. Today’s film is Halloween H20.

Quick premise rundown. Laurie Strode, sister of mass murderer Michael Meyers, survives not one but two attempts on her life by her sibling on Halloween night in 1978. Shortly thereafter, not convinced that her brother actually died in that hospital fire, she fakes her own death and moves out to California. Twenty years later, under an assumed name, she is the head mistress of a prestigious preparatory school which her own son attends. She struggles to put the past behind her and just when she thinks she has made strides toward recovery, an unexpected family reunion opens the door to her worst nightmare.

What Makes It Bad?

I think, more than anything, Halloween H20‘s biggest setback is its title. Yes, I understand that this film was released twenty years after John Carpenter’s immortal classic and there is a momentousness there worthy of celebration. But perhaps it would have served the film better to not have employed 6th grade chemistry to bestow a catchy label on this sequel. Halloween H20 sounds as if Michael Meyers will be squaring off against Aquaman and spooks the trick-or-treaters of Atlantis. Actually, that might sell. I’m going to write up a treatment of that. Dibs!

Remember how amazing the 90′s were for cinema? Me neither! But unfortunately, the 1990′s went and threw up all over Halloween H20. Unlike most films that make the mistake of dating themselves, fashion disasters are not the chief violations of timelessness in H20. While the hopelessly unwashed hockey hoodlums at the beginning do reek of Kevin Smith runoff, the majority of the film takes place at a preparatory school so the uniforms do their part to conceal any potential decade-influenced apparel nightmares. But all the hard work the costuming department did to not seal the film in a 90′s time capsule is undone by the radio blasting Creed…you know, to set the mood for a horror film? Oh, and the words “introducing Josh Hartnett” solidly cement this film in the 90′s as does the inclusion of then 3rd Rock from the Sun star Joseph Gordon-Levitt; wonder if we’ll ever hear from that kid again. Ironically, he does get Inceptioned in this film, but instead of an idea, Meyers incepts a hockey skate into his brain.

The other element that painfully dates H20 is the fact that, structurally, it’s a carbon copy of Scream. Originally, the script for H20 was to be written by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson and, though that didn’t pan out, much of his treatment made it into the final film; explaining the similarities. There is of course the famous Williamson opening kill sequence that became his trademark in the Scream franchise. The music in this film sound familiar by any chance? That’s because H20 composer John Ottman’s score was rejected late in post so instead they just recycled the music cues from the first two Screams. There is something insulting in the assumption that a Halloween film in the 90′s couldn’t stand on its own without a Scream influence when if not for the former, the latter wouldn’t even freaking exist!

But beyond all the petty, fanboy needling, H20‘s real failure as a horror film is that the kills just aren’t that great or near plentiful enough. By the time we reach the climax, we are dealing with a victim pool of seven people. This may seem mathematically nitpicky, but for my money there is no reason more than half of those people should survive! Would American really have been that heartbroken if L.L. Cool J. had died? Seriously, does that guy have the Fred “The Hammer” Williamson you-can’t-kill-me clause in his contract? Because there is also no reason he should have survived Deep Blue Sea. In the film’s entirety, there are six kills and three of them are off screen. I think they had to intentionally drop a few more f-bombs lest the film had earned a PG-13 rating. Super lame!

I don’t like that the film almost completely ignores Halloweens 4-6. While I’m fairly certain none of those films appear on AFI’s Top 100 list, a little more research is needed to confirm, it muddies the chronology not to acknowledge them. More specifically, the problem is that Halloween 4 is the film that introduces the plot device that Laurie Strode died in a car accident which justifies her not being around to raise her own daughter Jamie. But when H20 uses the same car accident device, it makes us wonder if Laurie didn’t just abandon her daughter to move out to California and start a better life. What a bitch!

Why I love It!

About a year ago, (I gushed obsessively over Halloween and my love for it. It is a film that defined my movie geekdom and this was the first sequel to come out in theaters while I was old enough that my parents would let me see it. I remember liking it then, but even revisiting it as a critic now I still enjoy it. I honestly think it’s the best love letter in cinematic form ever written to the original. Especially in hindsight of Rob Zombie’s butchering of the film he claims to love so much, H20 is a monument to Halloween fandom.

From the moment the film opens, you get the sense that the filmmakers just plain get it. Not only does it begin with an eerie chorus of Mr. Sandman-the opening song of Halloween II that became almost as indelible to the franchise as the Carpenter theme-but the prologue also centers on Nurse Chambers. Why does this matter? This seemingly insignificant character is actually the same nurse who was in the car with Dr. Loomis the night that Michael first escaped. I dig the fact that they brought back a character so connected with the original mythology and yet one to whom most viewers probably never gave a second thought. There are also bits of dialogue and the framing of shots that either subtly allude to the original film or wholesale steal from it…lovingly so.

Jamie Lee Curtis rocks the house in H20. Having her come back to the series is nothing short of inspired. The destinations to which the franchise sailed without her are unique, but it is a concentrated commitment to the series’ roots to bring her back and complete her story. What’s really interesting to me is the shift in her character between the first two films and H20. She goes from being a weak, put-upon victim to a powerful heroine in full control of her destiny. The transition is very similar to the change in Linda Hamilton from Terminator to Terminator 2. When she locks herself into the campus, when it’s just she and Michael, and she marches toward a final showdown with axe in hand, I got chills.

The ending of the film is triumphant and puts the perfect punctuation on the entire franchise. When she refuses to believe Michael is dead and hijacks the morgue van, you already know shit is about to get real…again. In that final moment, when Michael is pinned by the wrecked van and reaches out to Laurie, there is a hint, a glimmer of compassion in both their gazes. But Laurie is smart enough to know that the evil inside him can never be quelled and makes the smart, albeit brutal, choice to end his life forever. The jarring squeal of the theme starting up again as she severs his head from his body is breathtaking. She breathes heavily for a moment and the credits roll. Few horror franchises ever have a conclusion that satisfying. That is it, the denouement of their entire relationship and conclusion of one of the greatest horror sagas ever written. I will now stick my fingers in my ears as you remind me of the existence of Halloween: Resurrection.

Takeshi Shudo


Takeshi Shudo was known for the series 'Pokemon'
Died on Thursday (28) in the city of Nara, Japan, Takeshi Shudo writer, known as the creator of the animated series Pokémon.

Shudo was in the smoking area of the local train station when he suffered a fainting due to a hemorrhage. Rushed to the hospital, Takeshi succumbed and died at age 61.
Son of a Japanese politician, Shudo was born in Fukuoka in 1949, spending his childhood, among other cities, in Nara. At 19, he managed to sell his first screenplay, which was ridiculed shortly after the excess of emotion.

After working as a novelist and written several books, such as Fairy Princess Minky Momo, Takeshi created the series Pokémon, which soon became known around the world.

20/20


the 20/20 headphones make use of buckminster fuller's tensegrity structure to create a flexible, yet rigid pair of high end
headphones. tensegrity is a physical structure that balance elements in tension and compression to give these elements
strength and flexibility. the 20/20 headphones utilize this structure to help the headphone conform the wearer’s head.
the structure adjusts with no moving parts making them silent as they comfort to the head more organically that more
rigid alternatives. once plugged into a portable device, the headphones can be adjusted through their own application.

Voice Of Spongebob Died


Voice Of Spongebob Died: Tim Conway as the bumbling self-numbing "Dentist."

That role is often named as the funniest skit on the Carol Burnett Show that was on tv from 1967 -1978.

He was in Charleston today at the PAC (Performing Arts Center)presenting Tim Conway and Friends.

The dental chair was there and he stabbed himself repeatedly with Novocaine just as we remembered. His long time partner on Burnett's show was Harvey Korman who died in 2008.

He knows his (older) audience. It was a 3:00 pm matinee

After the show, we still could make the Early Bird Special at a restaurant.

The Burnett Show ended 32 years ago but this funny fellow has kept busy, pleasing his fans across the country with live performances.

Many know him from hilarious "sports" video spoofs featuring DORF.

The diminutive athlete first showed us his special secrets of the game of golf about 20 years ago.

Short in stature but tall in comedy.

He was joined onstage by his traveling talented cohorts Chuck McCann and Louise DuArt.

Canon s95


I thought that when the Micro 4/3 systems came out, small-sensor cameras would no longer be of interest to serious photographers. I haven’t taken a photo with my Canon Powershot G10 since I purchased my Panasonic GF1. But recently, some of my photographer friends have been carrying around a Canon S90 or S95. Why?

Although I have been an avid and sometimes professional photographer since the age of 11, my sons have always taken a much more utilitarian approach to photography. They took pictures not as a form of art, but to save memories and for posting on Facebook. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when my younger son called me and said that he was ready for a better, more versatile camera. (His birthday was coming up.) The tiny little Sony he had been using for years just wasn’t cutting it for him anymore.

I immediately thought about handing over my Canon 5D to him. I also started gathering information for him about the latest sub-$1000 DSLRs. When he got to my house, before breaking out the 5D, I showed him my Panasonic GF1 and started to explain that it was my carry-around camera.

He said, "that looks like a great camera, but it's way too big."

"Too big?" I asked with a puzzled look. "This is my small camera. I thought you wanted a really good camera."

"I do. What do they make that I can put in my pocket so I won't even know it's there?"

I was completely unprepared for that question, but after thinking for a moment I said that Canon had recently produced a small camera called the S90. He asked how big it was, as though that was all that mattered. I thought about telling him about pixel density and sensor size and depth of field, but figured what's the use, and just said, "It's small, but not as small as your little Sony."

"Well, as long as it can fit in my pocket so I won't notice it," was his reply.

I didn't want to get an S90, because the S95 had been announced but was not available yet. So I preordered it, hoping it would come before my son and his wife left for a trip to Barcelona. A few days before they were to leave, I received an email from Amazon telling me that the camera should arrive in a few weeks. I was disappointed for only a minute or two, because just then the doorbell rang—it was UPS, with the camera. I think I must have used up some of my good Karma that day.

Anyway, my son returned from Barcelona and came by to show me his photos. He actually brought the SD card from the camera and I transferred all 1000 or so photos to my computer. As we flipped through them on a 30" monitor, I was amazed at the quality. Even at that size, the photos looked like they could have been taken with a DSLR. I told my son I was impressed, and he said that the camera was just set to Program as he snapped away—all JPEGs too, no RAW. Deep down, I knew my 5D could have done even better, but I was genuinely surprised at his images.

Ron Artest


Ron Artest considered doing something goofy and decided against it.

No boxer shorts. No fake beards. No nonsense.

He played it straight on "Larry King Live," unlike his other appearances on nighttime talk shows. He did the right thing, it turned out.

The Lakers forward said his website attracted 1.7 million page views during his time on Larry King's show Wednesday to promote the fact he was raffling off his championship ring to benefit mental health.

In fact, Artest had too many visitors to the website, ronartest.com. It crashed temporarily.

"What he did for me was unbelievable," Artest said Friday. "The fans too, but what he did was unbelievable. He just boosted it up."

Artest said $120,000 was raised the day he went on King's show. He plans on raising enough money before the raffle's deadline (Dec. 25) to pay partial salaries of mental-health specialists in big cities throughout the U.S., including Detroit, Cleveland and Los Angeles.

"Hopefully, I can get to where I want to get, about $2 million," he said. "It's about trying to get ahold of every city we can touch, in schools and in community centers."

The appearance wasn't without its share of comedy after King announced publicly that Artest's site had crashed because of the extra attention.

"We have destroyed your site," King said.

Artest replied quickly.

"Nobody destroys Ron Artest," he said.

Raffle tickets are $2 each, with a minimum of five purchased. In addition to the ring, the winner receives two tickets to a Lakers game, a two-night stay at a luxury Beverly Hills hotel, round-trip airfare from any airport in the world ($2,000 maximum), a $1,000 spending allowance and a $13,007 payment directly to the IRS to offset the tax liability from winning the raffle.

Technical time

Players have definitely adjusted their attitudes in reaction to the NBA's decision to call more technical fouls when players complain on the court.

"When we watch tape, the players are all laughing at the genuflections that the other players are doing when they get a look from a referee like 'I'm going to 'T' you up,'" Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "They start bowing and genuflecting right away. It's had its effect."

Rally To Restore Sanity Schedule

It has been made official and confirmed that the Rally to Restore Sanity Schedule for Seattle is finally out. The demonstartion in washington DC is expected to be as successful as the Rally to Restore Sanity today. This Rally to Restore Sanity has just released its recent details during the weekend event in Washington DC. There has already been a permit issued by the National Park Service, making the Rally to Restore Sanity A Go for the event of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

There is a question that has been risen about Jon Stewart, This 10:00am Pre show will be showing huge entertainment with Music and fun. Well anyway, as for the Rally to Restore Sanity Schedule here it is with Rally to Restore Sanity Schedule in Seattle Revealed .

Pre-Pre Show - 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Video montages and music will play on Jumbotrons to entertain the audience


Pre Show - 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

12:00-12:40 - The Roots will play for the crowd

12:40-12:57 - A comedian (TBA) will warm up the crowd

12:57-1:00 - Video countdown and intros


Main Show 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

1:00-1:05 - Singing of the National Anthem by special musical guest (TBA)

1:05-1:20 - Jon Stewart welcomes the crowd

1:20-1:30 - Stephen Colbert enters

1:30-1:35 - Benediction by actor Don Novello ("Father Guido Sarducci")

1:35-1:40 - Poem reading by actor Sam Waterston ("Law and Order")

1:40-1:50 - Performance by Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and Mavis Staples

1:50-2:15 - Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert perform together

2:15-2:20 - Performance by Sheryl Crow

2:20-2:30 - Brief statements from special guests (TBA), both live and taped

2:30-2:40 - Performance by special musical guest (TBA)

2:40-2:50 - Sanity and Fear Awards

2:50-3:00 - Final statements by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

Check out more updates soon as we find out what the highlights of the Rally to Restore Sanity event is.

Tom Kenny


Tom Kenny: Talladega is the big unknown in the Chase. It’s the wildcard of the series. That’s why I love it. I know most of the drivers hate restrictor plate racing, but as a fan, I enjoy it. Do you know why Jimmie Johnson hates Talladega? Because nothing is in his control. Look for him to ride around in back to avoid “The Big One.” As Johnson’s learned in the past, that seemingly safe strategy can backfire.

The Cup title won’t be won this weekend, but it will be a big factor. For argument’s sake, the Chase is a three man race…Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

I also predicted how Johnson will approach Talladega, cautiously. Denny Hamlin isn’t known as a great restrictor plate racer, but he’s better than many people give him credit for…if he avoids the wrecks, he could be there at the end.

Third place driver Kevin Harvick won at Talladega in April. He could really tighten things up with a sweep at the super speedway.

It will be interesting to see what kind of help Harvick gets from teammate Jeff Burton. He really angered Burton the way he drove him at Martinsville last weekend.

I do expect Kyle Busch to help Hamlin if he can. You know “Rowdy” will never lift the entire race and should be a factor upfront…so he could help Hamlin when it’s go time.

On this Halloween weekend, I’m anxious to see just how spooky things get at one of NASCAR’s most competitive tracks.

Brian Kelly


There are some mistakes coaches can’t survive. Brian Kelly made one Wednesday.
Before Notre Dame reaches a financial settlement with the family of Declan Sullivan, the 20-year-old videographer who died in a tragic practice accident, the school must sever ties with its first-year head football coach.

Kelly should not coach the Irish on Saturday when they take on Tulsa.

We don’t need a thorough and exhaustive investigation to recognize Kelly’s negligence. A coach’s most important job, particularly at the amateur level, is to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the safety of the young people under his control.

Kelly failed in the worst way possible.

In recent years, Notre Dame dismissed Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis for failing to win enough games. The school canned George O’Leary for exaggerating on his resume.

Those "crimes" pale in comparison to allowing student managers to go up in 50-foot-tall lifts to film practice in hazardous wind conditions.

Mitigating circumstances do not matter. Notre Dame’s video coordinator should not be held responsible. Declan Sullivan, who tweeted before and during practice the weather conditions were terrifying and life threatening, certainly isn’t to blame.

The head football coach has final say over everything that transpires on the practice field. Everything. That’s why Ohio State’s Jim Tressel moved the Buckeyes’ practice inside on Tuesday when wind gusts made conditions unsafe.

“I don’t know if we’ll be inside or out,” Tressel told Ohio reporters 24 hours before the Notre Dame tragedy. “It looks a little nasty. I worry about our cameramen, their well-being up there 50 feet in the air.”

That’s the proper mindset of a head football coach. He’s paranoid about everything.

On Tuesday, Kelly and the Irish practiced indoors because of tornado warnings. On Wednesday, Kelly chose to take the Irish out into the elements. Coaches love to say, “If we’re going to play in the North Pole, we’re going to practice in the North Pole.”

That’s fine for the players. Student videographers don’t film games from 50-foot lifts on Saturdays. Not to mention lifts of the kind that aren’t recommended for use in winds above 25 mph.

Brian Kelly: Kelly’s negligence is inexcusable. He ignored the risks. Notre Dame should treat Kelly like a drunk driver whose negligent behavior killed a passenger or another driver. An apology and a financial settlement are not enough.

James Wall


James Wall, better known as Jimmy Wall, a veteran actor and longtime CBS stage manager, has died at 92, AP reports.

Wall is best known for his role as Mr. Baxter, the first African American character on "Captain Kangaroo," a role he played for more than 10 years. He was also a stage manager for the “CBS Evening News” and other CBS productions.

Wall had been working on "Captain Kangaroo" for six years, starting in 1962, before he convinced the producers to add an African American character to reflect the diversity of the children's show’s viewership. Wall was offered the role and began playing Mr. Baxter in 1968.

Wall, who stage managed "60 Minutes," "Face the Nation," the US Open Tennis Championships and other productions, continued those duties until he was 90.

Daylight Savings Time 2010


Don’t Forget to Adjust Your Clocks
On Sunday, November 7, 2010, America leaves Daylight Saving Time and returns to Standard Time. At 2:00 am, clocks must be turned back one hour, marking the end of Daylight Saving Time.

The adjusting of clocks is not some random crazy law, but, instead an attempt to save energy by taking advantage of the sun and light during the 8 month period from March through October. The practice began back during World War I as an effort to save energy for the War effort.

In 2005, the Energy Policy Act set the official time and dates for Daylight Saving Time. Each year, at 2:00 am on the second Sunday of March, the clock is set forward one hour. On the first Sunday in November, at 2:00 am, the clock is turned back one hour.

Actual energy savings are very difficult to calculate, but the historical practice of adjusting your clock twice per year continues.

Unforgivable


The Supreme Court (SC) decision on a case of plagiarism involving one of its own has triggered waves of protest across the legal and academic community, which said the High Court's stand and consequent show cause order to UP law professors may send the wrong signal to teachers and students.

"It's either a case of outright plagiarism or a case of outright carelessness, which is equally unforgivable in this particular case," UP College of Law Prof. Ibarra Gutierrez told ANC’s The Rundown on Friday.

"Justice [Maria Lourdes] Sereno raised the point in her dissenting opinion to the show cause order. Essentially, what the Supreme Court did was add to the requirements as to when a person can be deemed to have committed plagiarism, and the requirement they added was the presence of malicious intent to pass off another's work as one's own. The problem with that characterization is that now, even if you can demonstrate there was clear, verbatim, word for word lifting of passages belonging to another work without attribution, quotation, that will not be enough to convict a person of plagiarism,” he explained.

"There were no less than 23 instances of word for word reproduction of the work of 3 legal scholars from abroad, even copying the footnotes. It defies imagination how that can be construed as inadvertence. It opens the floodgates towards other persons engaged in academic work from making the same claim," Gutierrez said.

Online petition to support faculty launched

An online petition seeking support for the UP College of Law faculty has been initiated. It says:

"We are proud alumni of the University of the Philippines College of Law, who have been taught well by our teachers not to pass off the work of others as ours. In the University, intellectual achievement is so important that claiming credit for someone else’s idea or creation is one of the most serious offenses that one could commit.

"We are members of a profession that believes in the importance of the freedom of speech. We believe that the sub judice rule should never be used to stifle public discussion or to prohibit public exercise of the constitutional right to free speech. The courts should allow and never intervene in the free discussion of views by the public at large on various aspects of an ongoing trial, no matter how potentially socially volatile the issues may be.

"We are lawyers and law graduates who, as professionals, make it a point to cite our sources whenever an idea is not originally ours. Contrary to the majority opinion of the Supreme Court, we are not being hypocrites when we expect nothing less from the Court. Its members are supposed to set the standards of honesty, honor, integrity, and competence; we are supposed to look up to them as our examples, and anything short of that diminishes their credibility.

"We are making this statement to express our full support for the faculty of the UP College of Law. We feel personally aggrieved by the show-cause order issued by the Court against them because it runs contrary to everything that the law stands for. It concerns us because it concerns the honor, integrity, and competence of the members of the judiciary, whom we are supposed to emulate.

"We are appalled by the turn of events—that the perpetrators/plagiarists are being absolved, while those who simply made a stand are the ones that stand to be penalized. Is this what has become of our judicial system?”

Support in Facebook page

A separate campaign, "I support the UP College of Law Faculty," has generated more than 2,600 likes, with expressions of support from many citizens.

(Editor's note: The first version of this article mistakenly said that the online petition mentioned in the previous paragphs is the same as the "I support the UP College of Law Faculty" campaign on Facebook. It was a mistake by the editor, not the writer. Our apologies.)

Cruzette P. Dela Cruz said: "i support this site, it's a sad day for lady justice when one is given a legal right to plagiarize unless the accuser can prove 'malicious intent'."

Pistong Melliza said: "The SC missed a rare opportunity to cleanse it tarnished image by weeding it of members who have been exposed for plagiarism. Instead, the High Court threatens, well just like GMA has done, the whistle blowers, not the real culprits."

Emmanuel San Andres wrote, "Lawyers and scholars of the world, unite!"

No prejudgment vs. law professors

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court spokesman has insisted there is no prejudgment against 37 UP law professors whom it has ordered to show cause for saying Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo should be punished for alleged plagiarism.

Speaking on ANC's "The Rundown" also on Friday, Supreme Court administrator and spokesman Midas Marquez said it was not possible for the High Court to have prejudged the professors or they would not have been given the chance to explain their side.

The High Court has asked the UP professors to explain why they should not be sanctioned for issuing the statement pending hearings on the case before the ethics committee.

"Statements were given to the media while the ethics was conducting its hearing. There is a provision in the code of professional responsibility that lawyers should not issue public statements regarding pending cases which can arouse public opinion for or against a particular party. The ethics committee has submitted its recommendation to the court, that's why the court came out with this resolution. If there would be any motion for reconsideration, it should be addressed to the Court in its decision to absolve Justice del Castillo."

But, Marquez said the lengthy show cause order is intended to serve as a guide for the professors to know how to respond. He, however, added that sanctions would not be forthcoming if there is no violation of the legal code to speak of.

"The Court is only issuing a resolution directing the UP professors to show cause why they shouldn't be sanctioned for violation of certain provisions of the code of professional responsibility. There is no sanction yet. They're being given an opportunity to present their side. If they are able to present their side and there is no violation and the court sees merit to that explanation, then there may be no sanction after all. If there's an indiscretion, it will depend on how they would explain themselves and the gravity if there was transgression."

"While many won't agree with the decision, it will have to be respected," Marquez added.

"The Supreme Court has said plagiarism needs to show intent and says, in this particular case, they did not see any intent on the part of Justice del Castillo or even the researcher. The ponencia is 35 pages long, with almost 80 citations. That alone shows there was every intention to cite authors. It does not make sense to intentionally omit attribution of 3 authors when it cites an abundance of other sources," Marquez explained. "If at all, the failure to mention these authors was a result of inadvertence or pure oversight."

Show cause unnecessary

University of the East College of Law Dean Amado Valdez believes the show cause order is unnecessary. While it was not necessarily considered a judgment, he added it may give the impression the High Court was already passing judgment against the UP professors.

"There's already a telling effect on lawyers, that's why there's a kind of fallout from some sectors of the legal community on the action of the Supreme court in calling to task the UP professors to explain or show cause order on the steps they took," Valdez said.

"As far as we lawyers are concerned, when we receive a show cause, it would cause us sleepless nights," he said. "That in itself would already be punishment. While it is the prerogative of the Supreme Court to ask the UP law professors to explain, I also believe there's nothing wrong with the UP professors making a stand on what they perceive is an act which they think does not speak well of the justices of the Supreme Court."

Dean Valdez added the UP professors had every right as academics to issue an opinion on the matter.

"Although I accept the findings of the committee about the fact that perhaps there was an accident in the failure to attribute the authorship of the comment made in that decision, from an academic standpoint, that could have ended the matter because I believe the UP professors or any other lawyer for that matter has the right to make that kind of commentary specially coming from the academe," Valdez said. "Action can be considered part of their advocacy and it does not trample upon the reputation of the SC."

University of the Philippines College of Law Prof. Ibarra Gutierrez pointed to the "unusual" way the show cause order was framed.

"While it is gratifying to hear Atty. Marquez say there is no prejudgment and this is a show cause order and that the faculty will be given ample opportunity to answer, I find the phraseology and actual format of the show cause order somewhat strange," Gutierrez said, citing how the 7-page-long show cause order included a list of professors, discussed the conduct of faculty members in issuing the statement, and a detailed enumeration of the canons that were violated.

"It's the longest show cause order I've seen," Gutierrez said. "There was in fact some kind of finding already made by the Supreme Court. That's why we're worried in the UP faculty that there was already an opinion reached by the Court on this matter. After all, 10 out of 15 justices of the court signed on to the 7-page opinion. It's strange that a show cause order will already have dissenting opinions."

Three justices issued dissenting opinions. Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales had called it "nothing but an abrasive flexing of the judicial muscle that can hardly be characterized as judicious."

Sense of duty

Despite a pending the case before the ethics committee, Gutierrez believes there was nothing reckless about the professors' statement, which was done in the interest of legal opinion and their academic duty.

"We can't allow something this serious to pass without comment. The allegations of plagiarism and intellectual dishonesty contained in the Vinuya ponencia were very serious and would have grave implications not only on the concept of plagiarism and intellectual integrity insofar as writing legal opinions are concerned but also on the integrity of the Supreme Court as an institution," he said.

Gutierrez, who was not among the 37 faculty members who signed the statement transmitted to the Supreme Court, said it will be difficult for the faculty to ignore the show cause order. He added that 5 deans and 4 past deans, including senior faculty members, a substantial portion of full-time faculty, had signed on, and even members of the regular faculty, including those who didn't sign, agreed with most of the points raised in the statement.

"They weren't relieved to have a full-blown opinion. In fact, they were bothered and worried by the fact, in the show cause order there was already a discussion of the liability, [of] what they were supposed to have violated, which was indicative of a mindset already adopted by the majority," he said.

Gutierrez said they stand by their position and are prepared to take the consequences of their action.

"We feel we discharged our duty here and welcome the opportunity this incident has given us to further discuss the more important issue in this entire affair, which is the issue of plagiarism, intellectual honesty and the implications of these practices on the integrity of the Supreme Court as an institution. That was our intention for raising this, and if the price for generating public interest on this key issue and hopefully moving towards a better resolution of this matter is a citation for contempt or a show cause order, then it's a price the faculty of the College of Law will gladly pay."

Dean Valdez said the incident paves the way for a more exhaustive discussion on the role and responsibility of researchers given the growing demand for judicial decisions.

"This development is welcome. It will tell the court what would be the role researchers should follow because of the number of cases where justices can no longer cope with constitutional deadlines. In resolving cases, we are now starting to be dependent on researchers to be able to come up with prompt decisions, and this is perhaps why the researcher in the case of Justice del Castillo had the luxury of having quoted this kind of decisions or writing abroad to support the decision."

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