tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90902504432205632024-02-19T07:21:54.524-08:00Johny DarkstoreRanveer Ranahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06135872453807858421noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-2501524158976880222012-05-01T04:41:00.000-07:002012-05-01T06:16:43.743-07:00Norah Jones - Live in New Orleans (Full Concert)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj1GDyTipM4endofvid<br />[starttext]<br />Live in New Orleans at the House of Blues features ten tracks from Come Away with Me, as well as the covers "Comes Love" and "Bessie Smith". It also includes an unreleased Jones composition: "What Am I to You," and "Something is Calling You," written by the Grammy-nominated Jesse Harris ("Don't Know Why").<br /><br />With over 4 million copies of her debut album sold in the U.S. Norah Jones has quickly established herself as a major talent. This live performance was filmed at the House of Blues in New Orleans, and features a variety of original material, and cover versions. Tracks include "Something Is Calling You," "Comes Love," "What Am I To You" and many more.<br />[endtext]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-21360398670231165372012-05-01T04:37:00.000-07:002012-05-01T06:16:43.849-07:00Mr Bean - The Ultimate Disasterhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kicDJNvVA10&feature=relatedendofvid<br />[starttext]<br />Bean works as a caretaker at Britain's formidable Royal National Gallery, and his bosses want to fire him because he sleeps at work all the time, but can't because the chairman of the gallery's board defends him. They send him to USA, to the small Los Angeles art gallery instead, where he'll have to officiate at the opening of the greatest US picture ever <br />[endtext]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-17784662969643498202012-05-01T04:34:00.000-07:002012-05-01T06:16:43.878-07:00Mr Bean (Full Movie) Part 1/2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C4GPy296LEendofvid<br />[starttext]<br /><i><b>Mr. Bean</b></i> is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990, with the last television episode, "Goodnight Mr. Bean" broadcast on 31 October 1995.[2] The final episode, "Hair by Mr. Bean of London", was a video exclusive released on 15 November 1995, but not broadcast in the UK until 2006.<br />[endtext]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-5241800987261155512012-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:002012-05-01T06:16:43.901-07:00Tom and Jerry Cartoon Baby Pusshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaYDeze5X0kendofvid<br />[starttext]<br />Tom and Jerry is one of the most famous classic animated silent cartoon duos. Maybe Tom getting spanked is a banned scene from Baby Puss.<br /><br />It looks like Tom getting spanked wasn't scene, the only person that spanked Tom in this cartoon is that girl who punished Tom for running away.<br />[endtext]Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-1816044358300541532012-02-21T00:22:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.364-07:00Speedweeks Open Strong for Nascar at Daytona<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>DAYTONA BEACH</b>, Fla. - Kyle Busch twice appeared destined to destroy his race car, and twice used breathtaking saves to keep on running around Daytona International Speedway.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He probably shouldn't have been in position to race with the leaders. Yet there he was, bearing down on the finish line with a shot at winning Saturday night's exhibition Budweiser Shootout, and with a slingshot pass on the outside of defending NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, Busch pulled off a miraculous win in the first event of 2012.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KSdZrYSEyMI6ePQZEolsSiiL8iaMa_58f3eMhDwUNNZoTrOSmMWDncVxiOSAQ5DbNO76SiIE7wAAefb9uZD1VqAzAAxVi8nlPyawsMRSCYLe3osMBp2kijJ3NpAxP9RrtOgYed5OEQ/s1600/daytona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KSdZrYSEyMI6ePQZEolsSiiL8iaMa_58f3eMhDwUNNZoTrOSmMWDncVxiOSAQ5DbNO76SiIE7wAAefb9uZD1VqAzAAxVi8nlPyawsMRSCYLe3osMBp2kijJ3NpAxP9RrtOgYed5OEQ/s400/daytona.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Not too shabby of a start to the season.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">NASCAR has every right to be giddy about Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500, a pivotal race in sparking interest at the start of a very long season. A rain-shortened event in 2009 set the tone for a rocky year, and two lengthy delays to fix a pesky pothole in the track surface impacted the 2010 season.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then came Trevor Bayne's upset victory last year, and NASCAR never looked back. The 2011 season ranked among the best in years, and ended with a phenomenal race between Stewart and Carl Edwards for the Sprint Cup championship. The two ended the season tied in the standings, with the title going to Stewart on a tiebreaker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All that momentum meant NASCAR could tweak very little during the offseason. Why mess with a good thing, right?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, not everything was sunshine and roses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">NASCAR officials said earlier this month that more than 80 percent of fans polled "hated" the two-car tandem style of racing that had taken over at Daytona and Talladega. Such a strong opinion forced NASCAR to spend a significant chunk of the offseason tinkering with the rules package in an effort to recreate pack racing before the Feb. 26 opener.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Shootout proved NASCAR made the right moves, and the drivers seemed overwhelmingly in favor of the racing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It's pretty wild and crazy, but, I mean, I like this better than what we had last year, definitely," said four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who rolled his car several times and wound up on his roof for what he said was the first time in his NASCAR career.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gordon's night ended seconds after he nudged Busch, triggering a chain-reaction crash that also led to Busch's second save of the race. It was one of three multicar crashes — the wrecks collected 23 total cars, set up a green-white-checkered overtime finish and resulted in the closest finish in race history. Busch's margin of victory was a mere 0.013 seconds, and his driving awed his competitors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I was right behind him ... and he had to catch it three times before he saved it," Stewart said. "When you get 3,400 pounds moving like that, to catch it one time was pretty big. To get away from him and catch it a second time was big. The third time was big. That's three big moments in one corner. He just never quit driving it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There's a lot of guys that wouldn't have caught that. I'm sitting there and the green is still out. I'm going, 'Man, that's the coolest save I've seen in a long time.'"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a redemption of sorts for Busch, who had to fight hard to keep his sponsors intact at the end of last season. Suspended by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in a Truck Series race at Texas, primary sponsor M&M's told Joe Gibbs Racing it didn't want Busch in its car the final two races of the year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His career was at a crossroads, and Busch worked hard during the offseason to repair his reputation. He referenced M&M's, which was back on his car for the first time since the company pulled itself off the No. 18 Toyota for the final two races of last season, during his Victory Lane celebration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"First race back in the M&M's car, and we're back in Victory Lane. Pretty cool," Busch said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are other feel-good stories heading into NASCAR's biggest race of the year.</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Danica Patrick will make her Daytona 500 debut, and the series is thrilled she's made the full-time move to NASCAR.</li><li>Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, had his best season in five years in 2011 and is excited about his chances in the Daytona 500.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">"I like this kind of racing better. At least I know what to expect," Earnhardt said. "I feel like I have a better chance with this style than I did last year for damn sure."</div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Edwards bounced back from his loss to Stewart in the title race by winning the pole for the Daytona 500.</li><li>There's already some controversy, as the car for five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson failed inspection before it ever got on the track. Crew chief Chad Knaus will likely be penalized after the Daytona 500.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">It's all setting the stage for Sunday, which is shaping up to be a strong opener for NASCAR. The race probably won't be 500 miles of three-wide racing, but if it's anything close to the Shootout, it's bound to be entertaining.</div><br />Source : <a href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46457559/ns/sports-motor_sports/" target="_blank">nbcsports.msnbc.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-16041545821078482732012-02-21T00:13:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.378-07:00New-look Knicks a work in progress as team falls in Carmelo's return<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-y3ggSztoLzCMWGEwKiRTaIVB7mJPqdIGaBQ9oK-wtR-NBIQ7df-m44VkrkSInN00AdgDg-mwMwjsin1u4OjL6rRv7hd_TqslFrFyZJKywSQc-yVztnbO-BQvsqqLOu2zoTKHV2VDg/s1600/jeremy+lin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-y3ggSztoLzCMWGEwKiRTaIVB7mJPqdIGaBQ9oK-wtR-NBIQ7df-m44VkrkSInN00AdgDg-mwMwjsin1u4OjL6rRv7hd_TqslFrFyZJKywSQc-yVztnbO-BQvsqqLOu2zoTKHV2VDg/s400/jeremy+lin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEW YORK</b> -- Two and a half weeks ago, the Knicks and Nets clashed in Madison Square Garden. It was a meeting between the 10th and 11th best teams in the East, two floundering franchises seemingly destined for failure. The Knicks had lost of 11 of 13 games when Jeremy Lin, a twice-released point guard out of Harvard, unassumingly checked into the action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rest is history. Lin scored 25 points in that Feb. 4 game to spark a 99-92 victory over New Jersey. He averaged 25 points and 9.5 assists over his next eight starts, improbably lifting the Knicks to .500. His story captivated the world -- a refreshingly genuine nobody-believed-in-me tale that dominated headlines from Brooklyn to Beijing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday, however, that script was flipped. Despite Lin's best efforts (21 points, nine assists, seven rebounds), the Nets upset the surging Knicks at home, 100-92. And with it, New York's roller coaster of a home stand (beat Sacramento, lost to New Orleans, beat Dallas, lost to New Jersey) took another surprising twist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The whole team was out of sync," said Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni. "We lost what we were doing the last eight or nine games."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That much was clear, with the Knicks displaying a carelessness that was absent against the defending champ Mavericks. It prompts the inevitable question: Will the newfound allegiance between Lin and Carmelo Anthony -- who scored just 11 points in his first game back since suffering a strained groin on Feb. 6 -- develop into the perfect union that New York so fiercely hopes?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Any time you have new players coming back, your identity as a team is going to change," said Lin. "That's what we need to figure out, what our identity is gonna be."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At times, the nightmares concocted by talking heads -- issues with spacing; a lack of offensive concentration -- were realized. After racing to a 13-3 lead to open the game, the Knicks were outscored 39-20 over the next 14:41, shooting a paltry 8 of 24 during that span. Anthony was particularly sloppy, finishing with a game-high six turnovers, three more than the error-prone Lin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most representative play occurred with 6:47 left in the third quarter. Anthony tried to juke DeShawn Stevenson, attempting a stop-and-go toward the basket. The ball slipped out of his hands and sailed harmlessly out of bounds. Whether it was a result of a lay-off or him pressing, he, and the Knicks, appeared discernibly flat.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I felt a little rusty," said Anthony. "I wasn't trying to overdo it. Get this game under my belt."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, credit is due to the Nets. The vilified Kris Humphries notched another double-double (finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds), and Deron Williams was unstoppable. He netted a game-high 38 points, shot a prolific 8-of-14 from distance -- including three in a span of 45 seconds -- and nearly outscored the Knicks by himself (18 to 22) in the third quarter. He cemented his reputation as one of the league's best point guards.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Williams played out of his mind tonight," said Amar'e Stoudemire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Williams also left a friendly reminder for Lin: The second time around, the league won't come so easy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I think he's becoming a marked man a little bit," said D'Antoni. "But I think we make too much out of individual matchups."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After electrifying the Garden on Sunday, the Knicks lulled it to sleep. And with a grueling schedule on the horizon -- 10 of their next 14 opponents boast winning records -- things are about to get undoubtedly tougher.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We have to get some things sorted out," said D'Antoni. "We have to figure out the type of team we have."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But here's thing about this Knicks' season, unlike any in recent memory: Each game seems to take on colossal significance. Each loss forebodes future doom. Each win amplifies expectations. Similar to the Heat last season, the Lin-era Knicks have become the definitive story in sports. They're under a media microscope: Anything -- good or bad -- seems possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But we only know so much. Lin remains a revelation, his heroics outweighing his turnovers. Anthony and Stoudemire can still produce like All-Stars, and New York's role players (Steve Novak, Tyson Chandler, Landry Fields, J.R. Smith) are learning to adjust. The maturation period will take time and growing pains.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Monday's loss at Madison Square Garden was part of that process. And while certainly disappointing, it's not catastrophic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Obviously we're not happy with how it went," said Lin. "But sometimes you need to go through times likes these to become a better team."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the back wall of the Knicks' locker room, adjacent to a massive plasma TV, a dry-erase board lists the team's season notes. Each bullet is penned in blue, emphasizing fundamentals stressed since AAU. But above the X's and O's, a separate message is written in caps: Keep Building Our Great Team Chemistry.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's the test moving forward. Anthony is back. Baron Davis is back (he scored three points in 9:40 of playing time). Now it's up to the Knicks -- and their transcendent point guard -- to continue defying the odds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If nothing else, Melo is fully on board.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I want Jeremy to have the ball," he said. "I want him to create for me. I want him to create for Amar'e. There are gonna be times where I'm the distributor, but for the most part, I want Jeremy having the ball in his hands."</div><br />Source : <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/ben_glicksman/02/21/melo.knicks.nets/index.html?xid=si_topstories" target="_blank">sportsillustrated.cnn.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-17562663614468198772012-02-20T23:56:00.000-08:002012-04-21T09:25:12.604-07:00McLaren extend support for young driver Magnussen<div style="text-align: justify;">McLaren have confirmed that Kevin Magnussen will undertake additional challenges over the coming year, after he reached the next stage of the British team’s young driver programme. Magnussen will carry out work in McLaren’s simulator and will also be given the opportunity to drive the MP4-27 during this year’s young driver test.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I’m really pleased by this new agreement with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” said the 19 year-old. “The team has shown great faith in me so far and I feel that this is an important step in my career.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"F1 is a highly pressured, data-driven environment, and anyone who wants to get there and succeed within it has to master all the technical aspects of the discipline. This is a great opportunity and I look forward to working with the team and playing a part in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ future.”</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpVrm8O9d6wp1PeDejwSqUihtqa4DemWk9lPpVAI2Gj7YQIR8GoBzVKnWjvcfpJxyfuerd-aGRYdhE745zqGcZD42kd47QdJPz6Txi5v1DaY9nLOj-SKmGoaP-6olG1GGxzegtOavWA/s1600/Kevin-Magnussen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpVrm8O9d6wp1PeDejwSqUihtqa4DemWk9lPpVAI2Gj7YQIR8GoBzVKnWjvcfpJxyfuerd-aGRYdhE745zqGcZD42kd47QdJPz6Txi5v1DaY9nLOj-SKmGoaP-6olG1GGxzegtOavWA/s400/Kevin-Magnussen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Magnussen is the son of former McLaren test and race driver Jan Magnussen. Last year he finished runner-up in the British Formula Three championship, claiming eight pole positions and winning seven races. In 2012 he will combine his role at McLaren with a full-time drive in World Series by Renault.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Racing is the core business of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” concluded team principal Martin Whitmarsh. “By enabling talented drivers to fulfil their potential, our Driver Development Programme is a strategic investment in the future of that business and the sport as a whole.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We’ve been delighted by Kevin’s progress, aptitude and work ethic thus far. The time was right for him to take the next step and we look forward to helping him gain the experience he requires.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The young Danish driver joined the entry level of the team’s young driver programme back in 2010.</div><br />Source : <a href="http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/2/13017.html" target="_blank">www.formula1.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-50131107164808090922012-02-20T23:50:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.403-07:00Chelsea hierarchy must back me, says manager Andre Villas-Boas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafe5CniBjka9JmvXdLlgZexNxc7c1aup9-BWSMn8qBUwrUfezWKNOs1uKGHNZJF4n40PfKpHKWrhISBn8MH9d1RA3e7xkmas2FT_ncEkCwjbEigdByeYLf3yaNNwVH61vheE9bngx0Q/s1600/boas+villa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhafe5CniBjka9JmvXdLlgZexNxc7c1aup9-BWSMn8qBUwrUfezWKNOs1uKGHNZJF4n40PfKpHKWrhISBn8MH9d1RA3e7xkmas2FT_ncEkCwjbEigdByeYLf3yaNNwVH61vheE9bngx0Q/s400/boas+villa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas says the club's hierarchy should make it clear they back his vision for the Blues' long-term future. Speaking on the day before the club meets Napoli in the Champions League, Villas-Boas insists he is restructuring the club to "sustain" their success.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Villas-Boas maintains that he has the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich. But the Blues boss said: "These words would be more valuable coming from the top. I cannot keep saying them."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Chelsea have been made aware of the alleged racist abuse of members of their squad when they arrived at the team hotel in Naples.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If any members of our team or staff are subjected to racist abuse we would find that wholly unacceptable and it would be reflected in our conversations with Uefa," a Chelsea spokesman said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Villas-Boas has presided over the club's least successful period since Russian billionaire Abramovich took control of the club in 2003, having not won a Premier League game since 14 January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The West London side currently lie fifth in the top tier, out of the League Cup and facing an FA Cup fifth round replay at St Andrew's after being held 1-1 by Championship side Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But, despite having enjoyed just one win in six matches, Villas-Boas has issued a reminder that he is on a 'three-year project' at Stamford Bridge. He has already spent around £76m on seven players in his first season with five of those signings aged under 24.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"In terms of the results this year," added Villas-Boas. "The speculation is normal given the cultural past of this football club, but you have to understand that there's a different perspective now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We had a three-year project to change not only the team, but the culture and structure of the club.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There's a lot we needed to do, a lot of plans. That's why I'm excited about the future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Having said that, we have to build a team to win trophies.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We're no longer in the Carling Cup and don't have a chance to win the title. But we are still confident we can do well in the Champions League and the FA Cup." The club's joint top marksman Daniel Sturridge had insisted earlier in the day that they are not "a divided unit".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are a family and we've got a good unit going," the 22-year-old told Chelsea TV. "Maybe we will see that in the next few games."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahead of Tuesday night's last 16 first-leg tie against Napoli, Sturridge added: "They have some great individuals, as well as a good team. "But we have the same and we are not going to worry about what they have got.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We have to go out there with the attitude that they have got to worry about what we have got." Fellow Blues striker Didier Drogba said: "We feel that no one really believes in us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are going to show we deserve to be here. It's a top game and we are going to have to get a good result." Drogba denied that he gave a half-time "team talk" to Chelsea when they were a goal down in Saturday's FA Cup tie against Birmingham before coming back to draw, thanks to a Sturridge header.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The manager made the speech at half-time," said the Ivory Coast international. "He has leaders in the squad and we are here to help him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We wanted to gee the team up at half-time and nothing more." Napoli will have to do without coach Walter Mazzarri, who must serve a two-match touchline ban for pushing over Villarreal's Brazilian striker Nilmar in a touchline spat in the group stages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mazzarri predicts that Chelsea's European experience makes the Italian side underdogs. "We will face a team who have played more than 100 Champions League matches," said the 50-year-old Napoli coach.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are proud to play this match but I don't want to hear anyone saying we are the favourite. We can find a result only if we play a great match.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"All the team has to play not only a special game, but the perfect game. It will be important for us that Chelsea will not score any goals at the Stadio San Paolo." </div><br />Source : <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17102665" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-54036617964556031682012-02-20T23:42:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.417-07:00Federer beats Davydenko to book Del Potro final<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE_1FFhB0HJaKHXLGXLhmKUhUQx07rrCAJrdz8rDBFYwzouK4lArludXZLY16A7DlgwEp97ODFjfRwTjfwtd0HVmKHlqobmjo4DbZlTEB5lew-YmJciy7t4e8ph92US_Vf0J09RDBrA/s1600/federer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE_1FFhB0HJaKHXLGXLhmKUhUQx07rrCAJrdz8rDBFYwzouK4lArludXZLY16A7DlgwEp97ODFjfRwTjfwtd0HVmKHlqobmjo4DbZlTEB5lew-YmJciy7t4e8ph92US_Vf0J09RDBrA/s400/federer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">ROTTERDAM - Top seed Roger Federer battled past Russian Nikolay Davydenko in an entertaining 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph on Saturday to reach the World Indoor Tournament final.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Swiss former world number one now faces third seed Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina who brushed aside second-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-1 in Saturday's first semi-final.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Federer, who has admitted struggling with the surface and his rhythm, recovered after losing the first set having been broken in the ninth game and early in the second set.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Davydenko dominated from the baseline using his powerful forehand but dropped his serve in the sixth game of the second with Federer taking four straight games to force a decider.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Davydenko wasted four break points in the third set while Federer, whose serve was never convicning, failed to take six chances before finally breaking to love to settle the match.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We often played big matches and today again," said Federer. "It is good so see him performing so well again."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Asked about his previous showdowns with Del Potro ahead of Sunday's final, the Swiss added: "He beat me in the 2009 US Open final in a tough five setter, while our last match at the Australian Open was my 1,000th match on the tour." </div><br />Source : <a href="http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2012-02/19/content_14641232.htm" target="_blank">chinadaily.com.cn</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-10545318977280405082011-12-30T08:28:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.441-07:00SXSW: The Strokes show how it’s done<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7fbq5iCK1GwjNYDPCFg8ZN8C80Wjj952l2hCojvTNW3Odjg4ev-Wvnj3RKan0sKeQf0Phu5dTuKatzfUXOE0u4m3FSaA1Iz29ixRColBmcZ0g5GWWYXrg7KaekEPB2OTnmr6VFhAcA/s1600/Julian-Casablancas-and-The-Strokes-perform-at-SXSW-PhotoAP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix7fbq5iCK1GwjNYDPCFg8ZN8C80Wjj952l2hCojvTNW3Odjg4ev-Wvnj3RKan0sKeQf0Phu5dTuKatzfUXOE0u4m3FSaA1Iz29ixRColBmcZ0g5GWWYXrg7KaekEPB2OTnmr6VFhAcA/s1600/Julian-Casablancas-and-The-Strokes-perform-at-SXSW-PhotoAP.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The main strip in <b>South by Southwest (SXSW)</b>, the musical festival held in Austin, Texas, teems with small, dingy dive bars hosting the most important musical acts of 2011. On any corner you could run into Bob Geldof – the festival’s keynote speaker this year – Simon Le Bon, Jack White or Odd Future, the most exciting act in the world at the moment.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Guitar rock rules here. After many pale imitations, the talking point was the Strokes, who played in a riverside park outside the main area. The band, who are releasing their fourth album, Angles, today, performed at twilight before a backdrop of sci-fi skyscrapers and flitting bats. They sounded fresher and crisper than any of the indie bands playing at the festival. <br /><br />Julian Casablancas’s molasses-slicked voice and rock-star presence showed up many of the pretender bands and even the poorer songs from the new album were enjoyable. Most of the crowd stopped tearing into their enormous turkey legs as soon as they started. The fireworks at the end of the set provided an apt finale.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Legends of synthpop Duran Duran headlined on the first evening and, again, showed their progeny how it’s done. A synth (and a tattoo) in Austin is a standard accessory and the carbon new wave copies can get tiresome. But the lengthy queues for the Brummie band were deserved. They proved why they’ve been so popular for decades.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The highlight, the show that was talked about for the entire weekend, was Odd Future. They’re a macabre, lyrically knifesharp hip-hop collective in their late teens. They played in a skate park in the blazing sun and climbed on top of the speakers and the roof, rapping over the crowd before launching themselves like flying squirrels into the pit and continuing their songs, held up by their loyal fans.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-42719484024182560992011-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:002012-04-21T09:25:12.604-07:00Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona in Santiago Bernabéu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NvXQLTTKYGxZQtqSFzK_ocDFsRzvxwmwqOmEwQEJvIdBGfiBnOTHqlznbY_PoRwbPaMNtjZXdVGryIThsYi7ZQjkJOcILSgKnyiDOXkf9HneqlQGNLyJURg4fvK7ZEKcj2kLIgYeTQ/s1600/barca-beat-madrid-in-santiago-bernabue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NvXQLTTKYGxZQtqSFzK_ocDFsRzvxwmwqOmEwQEJvIdBGfiBnOTHqlznbY_PoRwbPaMNtjZXdVGryIThsYi7ZQjkJOcILSgKnyiDOXkf9HneqlQGNLyJURg4fvK7ZEKcj2kLIgYeTQ/s1600/barca-beat-madrid-in-santiago-bernabue.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Barcelona were the comeback kings at the Santiago Bernabeu as the champions recovered from conceding within the first minute to defeat bitter rivals Real Madrid 3-1 in the seventh and final Clasico of 2011. Jose Mourinho’s men took the lead after only 22 seconds when Karim Benzema grabbed the quickest goal in Clasico history. The home side were pegged back on the half hour mark when Alexis Sanchez grabbed an equaliser in his first league appearance against Madrid.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A Xavi volley took a fortuitous deflection off Marcelo to give the visitors the lead, before Cesc Fabregas’ header finished off a wonderful team move in the 66th minute in what proved to be the fixture’s final strike. The victory sends Barcelona level on points with Jose Mourinho’s men and to the top of the Liga table due to their superior head-to-head record against Madrid, who have a game in hand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In one of the most astonishing starts in the history of the Clasico, Real Madrid were a goal to the good within 22 seconds. Victor Valdes’ poor clearance fell to the feet of Angel Di Maria who drilled the ball into the penalty area only for Sergio Busquets to block its progress. Mesut Ozil’s attempted volley deflected off Busquets into the path of <b>Benzema</b> to fire home six yards from goal.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Madrid were left to rue opportunities to double their lead when Barcelona drew level on the half hour mark with Messi on hand to turn provider. The 24-year-old bypassed several challenges before sliding a weighted through ball to <b>Alexis Sanchez,</b> who calmly slotted past Casillas from the edge of the area to bring his side back into the game and all square at the break.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After a edgy opening to the second period, Barcelona were handed the lead thanks to a large slice of fortune on 53 minutes. Xavi’s speculative volley 25 yards from goal took a massive deflection off <b>Marcelo</b>, fooling a wrong-footed Casillas with the ball spinning off the post and into the back of the net.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Cristiano Ronaldo, who had in the first half skewed a shot wide of the target when Di Maria was perhaps better placed to his right, then squandered a golden opportunity to level the contest. Xabi Alonso’s cross found the Portuguese completely unmarked inside the area, but his header drifted wide of the post.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Madrid were made to pay, as Barca extended their lead in the 66th minute after a breathtaking counterattacking move. Messi slid the ball out to the right for Dani Alves to whip a beautiful cross towards the back post where an unmarked <b>Cesc Fabregas</b> was on cue to coolly head the ball into the far corner in what was to be the final goal of a pulsating encounter.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Next up for Real Madrid is a trip to Ponferradina on Tuesday as they look to defend their Copa del Rey title. Barcelona now head to Japan where they will feature in the Club World Cup. Their first task will be a semi-final meeting against either Esperance or Al Sadd on Thursday.</div><br />Source : <a href="http://www.goal.com/en/match/63067/real-madrid-cf-vs-fc-barcelona/report" target="_blank">goal.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-41750401323656576512011-12-30T08:22:00.000-08:002012-04-21T09:25:12.605-07:00Julian Pavone is World’s Youngest Professional Drummer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBkawhl4CRlolSncI0MYK7qabXHjBDL-8gslAdwJGECsLw1rc4zitC4iLJ4UHdeReVs6ugZhK0kZ7GNLi74eEzVkwAy_liXhzPvUh05zA_U1NALlWpzZfVlsJzyN0orc_zQAgqU3Z8sk/s1600/Julian-Pavone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBkawhl4CRlolSncI0MYK7qabXHjBDL-8gslAdwJGECsLw1rc4zitC4iLJ4UHdeReVs6ugZhK0kZ7GNLi74eEzVkwAy_liXhzPvUh05zA_U1NALlWpzZfVlsJzyN0orc_zQAgqU3Z8sk/s1600/Julian-Pavone.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Guinness World Records has recognized a U.S. boy as the youngest professional drummer. Julian Pavone was certified as of March 21, 2010, when he was 5 years 10 months and 3 days old, Guinness announced Tuesday.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The rules for London-based Guinness say a drummer must play on at least one commercial record and be paid for the work. The drummer also must have given at least 20 concerts of 45 minutes or longer within five years. Julian is 7 and lives outside Detroit.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">His drummer-father, Bernie Pavone, said Julian’s percussion background dates back before birth. “I used to play music on my wife’s stomach all the time when she was pregnant with Julian,” Guinness quoted the father as saying.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Julian has appeared on about 150 television and news shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Martha Stewart,” “The Maury Show,” “FOX News Dayside” and “Inside Edition.”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The previous record holder was Tiger Onitsuka of Japan, who was recognized at age 9 years, 9 months.</div><br />Source : <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/13/national/main20079116.shtml" target="_blank">cbsnews.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-31298018595512487052011-12-30T08:02:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.491-07:00Boxing Legend ‘Smokin’ Joe’ Frazier Dead at 67<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3g_twM7XDqNUCH2iyHI5Zolv_elTEZvHqMqwfLXN_JAf0JBVhMdP_HJH46FvlUosHb4BktPd0b4L5r34rHoh4n_vbKtBRH-8sov9vt7HfTizPBTgYoYH2GnWXzNMtcEt7V6PTylaPA/s1600/Joe-Frazier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="joe frazier" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3g_twM7XDqNUCH2iyHI5Zolv_elTEZvHqMqwfLXN_JAf0JBVhMdP_HJH46FvlUosHb4BktPd0b4L5r34rHoh4n_vbKtBRH-8sov9vt7HfTizPBTgYoYH2GnWXzNMtcEt7V6PTylaPA/s1600/Joe-Frazier.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier, who was known for his personal and professional battles with Muhammad Ali, has died at the age of 67 after a brief fight with cancer.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The youngest of 12 children, Frazier was born in 1944 into a working-class family on a farm in the racially-segregated southeastern U.S. town of Beaufort, South Carolina. Frazier dreamed of becoming a prize fighter from an early age, watching boxing matches on his family’s black-and-white television.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After fighting as an amateur for several years, Frazier won a gold medal for the United States at the 1964 Olympic Games. But “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier really made his name in the 1970s during his epic rivalry with boxing legend Muhammad Ali.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Frazier became the first man to beat Ali, winning the heavyweight title in 1971 in a dramatic, 15-round unanimous decision at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Dubbed the “fight of the century,” an estimated 300 million people worldwide viewed the match, which left both men hospitalized.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After Ali responded with a 12-round victory in 1974, the two men met in the Philippines for the famed “Thrilla in Manila,” considered as one of the most famous sporting events in history. After battering each other for 14 rounds, Frazier was forcibly held back by his trainer after nearly being blinded by Ali’s punches. Ali later said the match was the “closest thing to dying” that he had ever experienced.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The no-nonsense Frazier was often overshadowed by Ali’s more aggressive and charismatic personality. Frazier resented being verbally attacked by Ali, who referred to him as a “gorilla” and accused Frazier of being too accommodating to the white-dominated society.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The two men remained bitter enemies for decades. But in later years, Frazier came to forgive Ali, saying he felt no bitterness against him for his attacks outside the ring. Ali also later apologized, saying the insults were only meant to promote the fights. Ali said in a statement late Monday that “the world has lost a great champion,” and that he will always remember Joe with “respect and admiration.”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Frazier’s aggressiveness, close-range style and devastating left hook compensated for his relative small size. He weighed just 93 kilograms – considered small for a heavyweight boxer. Frazier retired in 1976 with a record of 32 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw. The boxing icon’s family said late Monday that he died in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia – one month after being diagnosed with an advanced form of liver cancer.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Source : <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15632665" target="_blank">www.bbc.co.uk</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-82844775292573316912011-12-29T06:10:00.000-08:002012-04-21T09:25:12.605-07:00Drinking 8 Glasses Of Water A Day Is ‘Nonsense,’ Doc Says<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwY5w-283ifmabdnDOdpFTIRhxcar9XdgQPC8dS70phCBKpRqVg7Ix32g7HsTRUmVDsXJ9HQ4yZPXyfKOxeYT4vzP_b4ncJBK8xWczMrD95qbQDkF_kVMl62A3Gq5ScCkxqR6Uc_Cg1Q/s1600/woman-drinking-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwY5w-283ifmabdnDOdpFTIRhxcar9XdgQPC8dS70phCBKpRqVg7Ix32g7HsTRUmVDsXJ9HQ4yZPXyfKOxeYT4vzP_b4ncJBK8xWczMrD95qbQDkF_kVMl62A3Gq5ScCkxqR6Uc_Cg1Q/s1600/woman-drinking-water.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The health recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day is “thoroughly debunked nonsense,” a doctor wrote this week in a commentary in the British Medical Journal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many health departments and organizations tout the need to drink that much water every day, but there is no high-quality scientific evidence to support the recommendation, wrote Dr. Margaret McCartney, a general practitioner based in Scotland.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some organizations backed by bottled-water makers — such as Hydration for Health, created by the makers of Volvic and Evian — say that it’s important to drink 1.5 to 2 liters (about 6 to 8 cups) of water a day, and that being even mildly dehydrated plays a role in disease development, McCartney wrote.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, no such claims have ever been confirmed in studies, she said, and drinking too much water can actually be dangerous by causing low blood sodium levels (a condition called hyponatraemia) and exposing people to pollutants in the water.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“People still think that we’re all going to die or our kidneys will shrivel up if we don’t drink eight cups of water a day,” McCartney told Postmedia News. “From what I can see, there’s never been any evidence in the medical literature about it.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day has been traced back to a 1945 U.S. research paper, but even that isn’t for certain, Postmedia News reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Guardian reported that humans’ thirst mechanisms are so sophisticated that if our bodies are in need of water, they’ll let us know by making us thirsty.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-33512879807273887712011-12-29T06:08:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.524-07:00What to Eat to Beat Skin Cancer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJYA8SS_SMaY0mrj_ssCi6TDWRnHW3AS8llR10hg3yLFPwf_2kWVgjzacyfyfT7PqD6M1eiIGcSGukrVKbY-6CgZUd8aB2jlVODZ-73L2SQVcyUxCqzClZt5K5bpwt73hqqz65WITeQ/s1600/watermelon_slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJYA8SS_SMaY0mrj_ssCi6TDWRnHW3AS8llR10hg3yLFPwf_2kWVgjzacyfyfT7PqD6M1eiIGcSGukrVKbY-6CgZUd8aB2jlVODZ-73L2SQVcyUxCqzClZt5K5bpwt73hqqz65WITeQ/s1600/watermelon_slice.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You got the pale-is-the-new-tan memo years ago and have the sun smarts to prove it. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and women age 39 and under have a higher probability of developing its most serious form, melanoma, than they do any other invasive cancer except breast cancer. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yep; knew that. Slather on waterproof sunscreen before you exercise, sport floppy broad-brimmed hats at the beach, stay out of midday rays, and steer clear of tanning beds. Check; do all that. Still, despite your savvy and diligence, there’s a new stealth skin saver you may be missing: your diet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The research is preliminary but promising,” says Karen Collins, RD, clinical dietitian and nutrition adviser for the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. “In addition to limiting your sun exposure, eating certain foods may help reduce your risk.”</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-36716650533028925842011-12-29T06:06:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.539-07:00Get in Fighting Shape with Mayweather and Mosley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpiq_r_u4f_iiqT44NWU95-usqYc3O_zGgwcI2HY7pYj-AcOXuOrZxgFuhdutoc5xlDi7Zv8yCgf__TtD8kdIsfNy7GcL4kj7gNnCFkYuBLINkdFkmxcSEs9CQCSloZCljR0w9GFEqA/s1600/floyd-money-mayweather-415x301-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpiq_r_u4f_iiqT44NWU95-usqYc3O_zGgwcI2HY7pYj-AcOXuOrZxgFuhdutoc5xlDi7Zv8yCgf__TtD8kdIsfNy7GcL4kj7gNnCFkYuBLINkdFkmxcSEs9CQCSloZCljR0w9GFEqA/s1600/floyd-money-mayweather-415x301-1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Floyd Mayweather was dressed in a nice suit, standing on a stage in Manhattan in front of journalists and fans. His soon-to-be opponent, Shane Mosley, was equally dapper and only a few feet away. The press conference to announce their May 1 fight had just had just ended, but Mayweather was already pumped. Already competing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We asked him for his favorite workout, the one he’ll turn to as the fight day draws near, and he said, “Every day I go to the gym, the first thing I do is shadowbox. I probably shadowbox, I don’t know, 10 minutes.” He paused. Thought about what makes him a champion. Then he withdrew: “If I give my own gameplan, I’m giving the world my remedy on how I train. I can’t give the world my remedy.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn’t it? Floyd Mayweather is a hell of a boxer. A fierce talent. Could his workout be that important to his success? You’d be surprised at the answer. A smart plan separates a strong body from an imbalanced one, and a top athlete from an injured one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These guys may be protective of their secrets, but we snagged a few from them anyway. We spoke with Mayweather, his trainer, and Mosley’s trainer, to give you the six keys to getting in top condition. Use them to succeed in any sport.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-3082851073488715232011-12-29T06:03:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.551-07:003 US ships in Vietnam to train with former foe<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipyjQxh8XA9GTP__LeVX7dBOX7HjT6BpeFbUH_vh_ckwxgKoJ36svtDLkj_DF5wEByZ1xo66Oj2_DyPbwmMVoAhiTfb17bvjaBfpS1bbzlKslKHVEqM-f5CMDGn9rMhZDXcoOfAciLA/s1600/3-US-ships-in-Vietnam-to-train-with-former-foe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipyjQxh8XA9GTP__LeVX7dBOX7HjT6BpeFbUH_vh_ckwxgKoJ36svtDLkj_DF5wEByZ1xo66Oj2_DyPbwmMVoAhiTfb17bvjaBfpS1bbzlKslKHVEqM-f5CMDGn9rMhZDXcoOfAciLA/s1600/3-US-ships-in-Vietnam-to-train-with-former-foe.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b>DANANG, Vietnam</b> (AP) — Three U.S. Navy ships were welcomed Friday by former foe Vietnam for joint training, despite China’s irritation following weeks of fiery exchanges between the communist neighbors over disputed areas of the South China Sea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">U.S. and Vietnamese officials have stressed that the seven-day ship visit and naval training are part of routine exchanges planned long before tensions began flaring between China and Vietnam in late May. China has criticized the port call as inappropriate, saying it should have been rescheduled due to the ongoing squabble.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The U.S. visit, however, did send a message that the Navy remains a formidable maritime force in the region and is determined to build stronger military ties with smaller Southeast Asian countries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We’ve had a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea for 50 to 60 years, even going back before World War II,” Rear Adm. Tom Carney, who’s leading the naval exchange, told reporters. “We will maintain a presence in the Western Pacific and the South China Sea as we have for decades, and we have no intention of departing from that kind of activity.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He spoke on the pier in central Danang, once home to a bustling U.S. military base during the Vietnam War, in front of the diving and salvage ship USNS Safeguard. American and Vietnamese flags flapped in the steamy air from the ship, and two guided missile destroyers — USS Chung-Hoon and USS Preble — were visible off the coast.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two navies will hold exchanges involving navigation and damage control along with dive and salvage training. No live-fire drills will be conducted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Vietnam and China last month both announced their navies held such maneuvers individually in the South China Sea after relations hit a low point when Hanoi twice accused Beijing of hindering oil exploration within Vietnam’s economic exclusive zone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">China responded that Vietnamese boats had endangered Chinese fishermen in a different area near the contested resource-rich Spratly islands, claimed all or in part by both nations and several others.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tempers appeared to be cooling after Chinese and Vietnamese officials met last month and announced they would work to negotiate a peaceful resolution. But Vietnamese state-run media and a border official on Wednesday accused armed Chinese soldiers of attacking and chasing a Vietnamese fishing boat near the disputed Paracel islands claimed by both countries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Philippines has also recently sparred with China, alleging similar interference with its energy exploration efforts in the South China Sea. The U.S. last month conducted similar joint naval exercises that included live-fire drills with the Philippines, a treaty ally.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Monday in Beijing, top Chinese Gen. Chen Bingde criticized his U.S. counterpart for going forward with the exercises in Vietnam and the Philippines, calling it bad timing in light of the ongoing spats. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the decision saying the exchanges were pre-planned.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I don’t know when an appropriate time would be for these kind of activities, which are designed to promote friendship and cooperation,” Carney said from the Vietnam pier. “But I don’t think there’s ever a bad time to do those kind of activities.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Washington has said that the South China Sea, home to major shipping lanes, is in its national interest. China, which has an expanding maritime influence, has designated the area as a core interest — essentially something it could go to war over. Worried smaller neighboring countries have looked to the U.S. to maintain a strong presence in the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The U.S. has made its point and will continue to do so if pressed, but does not appear to be looking for a fight with Beijing on this issue,” said Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank. “It is not likely to heed or back down as a result of Chinese ‘warnings,’ however, which will likely make Washington feel more compelled to respond.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The current U.S. visit to Vietnam involves about 700 sailors and builds on the first postwar port call in 2003 made to the former Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, military relations have continued to grow with high-level defense visits and exchanges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two sides recently began working together to clean up dioxin contamination from the defoliant Agent Orange. It was mixed and stored at the U.S. air base in Danang and remains one of the lasting legacies of the Vietnam War that killed some 58,000 Americans and an estimated 3 million Vietnamese.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The war ended in 1975 when U.S.-backed South Vietnam fell to northern communist forces and the country was reunified. The U.S. and Vietnam shook hands in 1995 and established diplomatic relations, signing a landmark trade deal six years later. Today, the U.S. is Vietnam’s top export market, while Americans are among the country’s leading foreign investors.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-86012541462471534092011-12-29T06:02:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.570-07:00India doesn’t let blasts derail Pakistan talks<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>NEW DELHI </b>(AP) — India brushed off speculation tying the Mumbai bombings to Pakistan and said Friday it remained committed to recently renewed peace talks with its rival neighbor. The moves showed how little appetite New Delhi has for escalating tensions in the region while it focuses on maintaining economic growth in the South Asian nation of 1.2 billion people.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXzH_E1q5YGEfMnQQGJAyCkPtNJnUD1ysIvs5yYjWm8TL5xq6JI9Plh4rkaUVSFzMN1G9UpuSC59TiE8pJT4YZH6gWXyJmadRRYLRLtL2oMc6QBbxBcD-jMP1DOOTCY-g5it_9HwuNQ/s1600/India-doesnt-let-blasts-derail-Pakistan-talks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXzH_E1q5YGEfMnQQGJAyCkPtNJnUD1ysIvs5yYjWm8TL5xq6JI9Plh4rkaUVSFzMN1G9UpuSC59TiE8pJT4YZH6gWXyJmadRRYLRLtL2oMc6QBbxBcD-jMP1DOOTCY-g5it_9HwuNQ/s1600/India-doesnt-let-blasts-derail-Pakistan-talks.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While future revelations about the culprits in the blasts that killed 17 people Wednesday could still sabotage relations between the countries, the Indian government so far has rejected opposition demands for a heavy response against Pakistan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday, India said it was working out dates for the next round of negotiations expected this month between top officials from both countries. India doesn't let blasts derail Pakistan talks “The talks with Pakistan are on schedule,” foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan’s leaders had quickly condemned the blasts and have welcomed India’s measured response. In a statement Friday, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani “expressed satisfaction at the resolve of both Pakistan and India to continue with their bilateral dialogue, and not get deterred by terrorists’ designs to derail the dialogue once again.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The coordinated triple bombings were the worst terror attack in India since 10 Pakistan-based militants rampaged through the city in November 2008, killing 166 people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Investigators examined forensic evidence and footage from closed circuit cameras Friday for clues about who orchestrated the blasts. “People are being questioned on the basis of our previous database and known linkages. We also have identified the scooter in which one of the bombs was planted,” India’s Home Secretary R.K. Singh told reporters in New Delhi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also said investigators had intercepted an email sent from outside Mumbai but declined to give details. Intelligence analysts say the attack bore the hallmarks of the Indian Mujahideen, a shadowy Islamic militant group.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A former top Indian intelligence official told The Associated Press that Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group has been providing ideological and physical training to the Indian Mujahedeen since 2004. Leaders of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party strongly criticized the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not taking a harder line with Pakistan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Manmohan Singh, sir, what is the nature of your relationship with Pakistan?” BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad asked angrily at a news conference Friday. Government officials have refused to take the bait. Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said Thursday that investigators were not ruling out the possibility the attacks were aimed at scuttling the talks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">G. Parthasarthy, a former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, said it would have been counterproductive for the government to overreact, especially on something as important as peace talks, before a culprit was named. “If concrete proof emerges, I have no idea what the government will do,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The talks, though unlikely to produce concrete results because of political weakness on both sides, at least will lower the temperature between the nations, said Ashok Mehta, a retired Indian army general and leading strategic analyst.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“They’ve tried both talking and not talking, and the experience has been that talking is the most viable option,” he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition, cutting off talks would be a politically damaging admission of failure for Singh, who is already fighting off a raft of corruption allegations against his government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The prime minister has staked his reputation and his political fortune on being able to change Pakistan’s behavior and get them to live as peaceful and friendly neighbors,” Mehta said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">India and Pakistan, nuclear powers that have fought three wars since independence in 1947, had been engaged in reportedly fruitful negotiations before the Mumbai siege nearly three years ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">India quickly broke off the peace talks, demanding Pakistan crack down on those accused in the attack, including Lashkar-e-Taiba. Last month, a Pakistani-American testified in a trial in Chicago that Pakistani intelligence was directly involved in plotting and funding the Mumbai siege, a charge denied by Islamabad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Though India remained unsatisfied with Islamabad’s tepid effort to bring those responsible for the attack to justice, the two countries decided in February to restart a full-fledged peace process and have since held talks about the disputed region of Kashmir and the continuing threat posed by terrorism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistani political analyst Khaled Mahmood said India has in the past been quick to suspend talks or consider military options, but that they “didn’t gain anything out of it.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This time, “the government’s approach has been more mature,” he said. “It’s a good development. The process is already on. If this would be interrupted, then it would take a lot of time and effort to resume it.” But Parthasarthy, the former ambassador to Pakistan, said India’s patience has limits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Tensions will flare if there is one more terrorist attack,” he said. “I don’t think next time around our response will be as Gandhian as it was in the past.”</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-44130296095584176662011-12-29T05:59:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.584-07:00Mexican authorities find massive marijuana plantation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlh-STR6gndWi-pdMWlobpQuOZXWtEoGtayU3lY7zWDnF60-qzQLUidJeW43Dsl0Ri4xFrbsch8cjLvIIXRNF6aHpRtGL9faVEDEL5go6uriLu6G3BLIm6qm1wHKVRzdxqaRNbic3_Q/s1600/Mexican-authorities-find-massive-marijuana-plantation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlh-STR6gndWi-pdMWlobpQuOZXWtEoGtayU3lY7zWDnF60-qzQLUidJeW43Dsl0Ri4xFrbsch8cjLvIIXRNF6aHpRtGL9faVEDEL5go6uriLu6G3BLIm6qm1wHKVRzdxqaRNbic3_Q/s1600/Mexican-authorities-find-massive-marijuana-plantation.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Tijuana, Mexico</b> (CNN) — Hidden between tomato stalks, the Mexican army found what officials describe as the largest marijuana plantation in the nation, a top military official announced Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mugica said the plantation six hours south of Tijuana is 168 times larger than the soccer field in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium. It spans for 120 hectares (about 300 acres), he said.Mexican authorities find massive marijuana plantation</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tomatoes growing there hid marijuana plants that were up to 2.5 meters (8.2. feet) tall, Duarte said. Authorities detained six people this week during the operation to seize the field, which is located in the area of Ensenada, Baja California.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The takeover means drug traffickers will not receive 1.8 billion pesos ($153 million), he said, apparently referring to an estimated sales value of the crop. Duarte said 250 soldiers will destroy the drugs seized within the next week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s administration began in December 2006, officials have destroyed more than 83,251 hectares (206,000 acres) of marijuana, according to a report from the country’s defense department.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-33653637150315934302011-12-29T05:57:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.600-07:00Bridesmaids Movie Review by Anna Smith at Empire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0T_KLO5nnbscMI9GkXw6qQdgfvvGYzdYy-pgZijb1JFqhYEPb-_UjnTUigz-aKovOHLL3AM1F2mI4_m2UCxRNH07svSU_Im7Lep1KtFMb0A3FCV4Ah2RJYG14mWL8pZdyilY_UxVzi8Y/s1600/Bridesmaids-Movie-Review-by-Anna-Smith-at-Empire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0T_KLO5nnbscMI9GkXw6qQdgfvvGYzdYy-pgZijb1JFqhYEPb-_UjnTUigz-aKovOHLL3AM1F2mI4_m2UCxRNH07svSU_Im7Lep1KtFMb0A3FCV4Ah2RJYG14mWL8pZdyilY_UxVzi8Y/s1600/Bridesmaids-Movie-Review-by-Anna-Smith-at-Empire.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Anchorman, Superbad, The 40 Year-Old Virgin… Producer Judd Apatow has helped make the last seven years a lot funnier. Meanwhile, fans of mainstream female-focused comedies have mostly been offered insipid J-Lo vehicles and Sex And The City movies. Thankfully, Apatow has turned his attention to the fairer sex, although most members of this bridal party are far from coy. Kristen Wiig’s Annie has a blunt wit, a regular fuck-buddy (Mad Men’s Jon Hamm) and could drink Bridget Jones right under the table. She also has a tendency for self-doubt and a problem with organisation, both of which come to the fore when she’s asked to play Maid Of Honour for Maya Rudolph’s Lillian.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Co-writer Wiig has created a heroine with bitterly funny, relatable character observations and a genial, down-to-earth performance. Annie is no clotheshorse tripping in her heels, nor is she man-obsessed. She may go for the wrong kind of guys but her main concern is a female friendship, and it’s this that makes Bridesmaids stand out from the regular chick-flick crowd.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lillian’s engagement is a wake-up call for Annie, casting a spotlight on her singledom. The last thing Annie needs is an immaculate rich bitch upstaging her at every opportunity. Enter Rose Byrne as Helen. The mistress of the backhanded compliment, Helen’s always on hand with a patronising comment about Annie’s bridal party preparations. She also gives the nervous flyer something to calm her down on a plane, leading to the film’s funniest scenes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At its best, Bridesmaids is proper, laugh-out-loud, sides-clutching, grin-at- your-mates funny. The airplane scenes see a sky-high Annie trying to sneak into first class to join her friends, even failing in her attempts to insult the air hostess. Meanwhile, each character has a subplot building, including Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who’s confidently cracking onto a man she’s convinced is an air marshal. When these strands come together, it’s explosively hilarious — just like the bridal shop scene where the girls get sudden, debilitating food poisoning. Like many a guys’ comedy, the film isn’t afraid to flirt with gross-out, but doesn’t throw in toilet humour for the sake of it. It makes it relevant to both plot and character and, just possibly, funny to women who normally hate that kind of thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regular Apatow fans will be on the floor at this point, and that’s another thing that makes Bridesmaids unusual: it appeals to men too. Yes, a lot of the humour revolves around female rituals and neuroses, but the writing’s strong enough to bridge the gender gap. It’s no surprise this has been compared to The Hangover, a buddy-wedding-comedy that drew fans from both sexes. Bridesmaids even has its very own Alan in Megan, the outspoken, overweight and somewhat deluded sibling of the groom.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s a shame, then, when Bridesmaids shoehorns in a romance, even if it is with the lovable Chris O’Dowd. Playing a kindly cop, O’Dowd provides a shoulder for Wiig’s character to cry on but their scenes cost the film its pace. Even Matt Lucas (Annie’s flatmate) feels like he’s wandered in from another film, albeit a very funny one. Still, while Bridesmaids isn’t perfect, it does have moments of comedy perfection. And precious little in the way of Manolos.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-84876420006812382032011-12-29T05:55:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.616-07:00The Tree Of Life Movie Review by Ian Nathan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbpc8EkEDbKPTCleKbnl-WoWtfcCOWQiJErPezAr4BEsM0ZwaBz7Afcul2bBfortcBBfP8DCNWf_tz1kr-lP8VLv6iwjykv8veRcD_V-2LKZScDABQYQVGVs73EF2nLS8Cobtc_ZnGg/s1600/The-Tree-Of-Life-Movie-Review-by-Ian-Nathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbpc8EkEDbKPTCleKbnl-WoWtfcCOWQiJErPezAr4BEsM0ZwaBz7Afcul2bBfortcBBfP8DCNWf_tz1kr-lP8VLv6iwjykv8veRcD_V-2LKZScDABQYQVGVs73EF2nLS8Cobtc_ZnGg/s1600/The-Tree-Of-Life-Movie-Review-by-Ian-Nathan.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For his fifth film in 40 years, you wonder whether magisterial slowcoach Terrence Malick took stock of his recent output — such abstruse meditations on war, colonialism, and the ineffable fabric of nature as The Thin Red Line and The New World — and felt it was high time he brought a halt to this worrying slide into crass commercialism. After six years chewing over a bit of Heidegger with his Weetabix, and smothering his intentions in a blanket of secrecy like an impenetrable hybrid of J. J. Abrams and J. D. Salinger, he has summoned forth a dizzyingly impressionistic study of family life that doubles as a vaulting enquiry into the very nature of the universe and the possibility of God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kubrick’s 2001 comes close, but Malick’s philosophy pines for the salve of love and spirit, and comes light on psychotic super-computers. Even the hardy concept of dialogue falls prey to his exquisitely aloof vision. Against the constant murmurings of nature, we catch only odd lines and whispered voiceovers querulously calling to a hard-of-hearing deity: “Where were you?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In other words, the kind of highly personal filmmaking where we must first pass though the dawning of time — literally nebulous bodies billowing cloudlike against the black veil of the universe; raw planets spewing gas and lava, primordial pools fecund with boiling matter; sparks of life in the nuclei of swarming cells, dancing proto-fish spinning lightwards, and a wounded plesiosaur on a desolate beach as a meteor strike scours the surface clear for the birth of mankind — before we get to what is commonly referred to as a scene. Cycles of life and death on a cosmic scale contrasted with the intricate dynamics of family.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Actually, instead of beginning at the very beginning, the film kicks off in the mid-1960s with news of the death of R. L. (Laramie Eppler), our protagonist Jack’s (Hunter McCracken) brother, aged only 19. How he died remains elusive, but Malick’s younger brother is reputed to have committed suicide at 19. This shudder of grief will reverberate like a meteor crash through the film, stirring the first of so many questions: what does the loss of a loved one mean against the backdrop of eternity? Much, it transpires.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is this unshakable heartache, as bitter as the taste of a madeleine is sweet, that casts Sean Penn’s grown-up Jack down a Proustian time tunnel from the metallic canyons of present day Houston, by way of the aforementioned Creation, to the sun-softened enchantment of his childhood. Jack and his two brothers (all three actors wonderfully naturalistic unknowns) are nurtured in an Edenic youth recalled via an organic pulse of ‘memories’: fragments of story, grace notes, wisps of emotion, the odd flicker of Lynchian weirdness. Together an uncanny distillation of how human memory stirs its keeper, awash in Malick’s transcendent imagery: light cascading through leaves, the kiss of a breeze on wild grass, filigree curtains billowing through window frames, dogs running wild.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Theirs is a harmony held in balance by the opposing poles of their parents. A luminous, angelic mother (Jessica Chastain), made holy by the exaltation of Jack’s recollection, bestows a lilting ideology: “The way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you follow.” She is exemplified as grace. While the astonishingly mature Brad Pitt as Jack’s terse patriarch — a soul damped down by quashed aspiration, veering between brutal discipline and astringent love — espouses the doctrine of nature: nothing can be achieved without will. Even without the scaffolding of story, this is a sublime evocation of the tides of ecstasy and torment flowing through an American boyhood.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Malick conducts his five editors the way great composers conjure art from thin air, creating an unforgettable symphony of beauty, introspection, and wells of unabashed feeling. And to accompany such cinematic inspiration, not for this director the dreadnought snarls of Nickelback, but extracts of Couperin, Berlioz, Brahms, Mahler and Bach, interposed with Alexandre Desplat’s yearning score. The very execution poses its own spiritual enquiry — how can such beauty be created in a meaningless void?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The result is so disarmingly unironic, and therefore open to mockery, it’s easy to see why it was met with a chorus of boos from Cannes’ sincerity-phobic critics. Sure, at times it lifts off too far, becoming too remote and self-involved to fully grasp. And the closing images of Sean Penn blundering across a metaphorical beach in his sodden Armani suggest a potential afterlife as drunkenly off-kilter as that rum-do at the end of Lost. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is equally clear why The Tree Of Life landed the Palme D’or — against the brute attack of modern cinema it feels heaven-sent. A film awestruck by life: why are we here? What are we for? Where did it all go wrong? And where could it yet go right? Malick doesn’t pretend to have actual answers. But then neither, one suspects, does Transformers 3.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-45113919190483815682011-12-29T05:53:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.631-07:00Craig Ferguson Gives Rose Byrne a Lap Dance on ‘The Tonight’We kind of think Craig Ferguson was just waiting for an invitation on ‘The Tonight Show’ (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on CBS). He was sitting on the couch while Jay Leno was talking to Rose Byrne about her experience working on ‘Bridesmaids.’<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUml7L3cMniqrT8IapGU8UVF8pxCdD90Ht6lamHe6i2aOHMMIHhZJKsBTRJghqw_NVpa6-S7CHPA0O28T6e0wDKD9eQvH6ZV6o9Z9hZAdSGERF4pqL1uyXADzMC0hyphenhyphensgQIfQytJRTug/s1600/Craig-Ferguson-Gives-Rose-Byrne-a-Lap-Dance-on-The-Tonight-Show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUml7L3cMniqrT8IapGU8UVF8pxCdD90Ht6lamHe6i2aOHMMIHhZJKsBTRJghqw_NVpa6-S7CHPA0O28T6e0wDKD9eQvH6ZV6o9Z9hZAdSGERF4pqL1uyXADzMC0hyphenhyphensgQIfQytJRTug/s1600/Craig-Ferguson-Gives-Rose-Byrne-a-Lap-Dance-on-The-Tonight-Show.jpg" /></a></div>When Byrne started talking about how Kristen Wiig took the ladies out for a night of bonding, that wound up at a male strip club, Leno started really probing her for details.<br /><br />“Oh, don’t act like you’ve never been there,” Ferguson said to him.Craig Ferguson Gives Rose Byrne a Lap Dance on 'The Tonight Show'<br /><br />Leno was asking if they were facing toward her or away from her, wanting an idea of how they straddled her. When Byrne started trying to explain, Leno asked Ferguson to demonstrate, and ‘The Late Late Show’ host was more than happy to oblige.<br /><br />He Tweeted about it shortly afterward. “Aw crap. I just gave Rose Byrne a lap dance on the Tonight Show. I may have gone too far,” he wrote, adding the hashtag #creepyscotsman.<br /><br />Well, Ferguson is okay with being kind of creepy on his own show, so why not ‘The Tonight Show’ as well?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-74713678204934157012011-12-29T05:50:00.000-08:002012-04-21T09:25:12.605-07:00‘Rescue Me’ Items Head to Smithsonian, Callie Thorne Talks Final Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTAvrD0YIKdlewXRWrdS5MSyuuSJSkzefoOyhdsYzqlyNo1nVRYnXJlildWvJFq2rqwxEI62x2U2PmJjGg0Z3JuKXgbC_DwXzTEpauQkGIbSzUFYq1IMWHEtY2Lj8thoCgjzdl-gjaw/s1600/Rescue-Me-Items-Head-to-Smithsonian-Callie-Thorne-Talks-Final-Season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxTAvrD0YIKdlewXRWrdS5MSyuuSJSkzefoOyhdsYzqlyNo1nVRYnXJlildWvJFq2rqwxEI62x2U2PmJjGg0Z3JuKXgbC_DwXzTEpauQkGIbSzUFYq1IMWHEtY2Lj8thoCgjzdl-gjaw/s1600/Rescue-Me-Items-Head-to-Smithsonian-Callie-Thorne-Talks-Final-Season.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">‘Rescue Me’ is fast approaching its swansong. As the cast, crew and fans start to ponder life without the drama, it’s been revealed that creator Denis Leary is giving items — including his firefighter costume and tools — to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Executive producer Peter Tolan and actor Lenny Clarke (Teddy Gavin) will join Leary for a donation ceremony at 2PM ET Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The objects will join the museum’s popular culture history collections. The Smithsonian says today’s ceremony is the first in a series of events to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 and examine how it will be remembered and how life has changed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">‘Rescue Me’ focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62/Engine 99 firehouse as they deal with the grief of losing friends and relatives at Ground Zero. It tackles the daily drama of the life-and-death situations associated with being a firefighter while exploring the ways the men use dark humor to protect their true emotions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'Rescue Me' Items Head to Smithsonian, Callie Thorne Talks Final Season</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Series Finale of ‘Rescue Me’ is due to air on Wednesday Sept. 7th, a few days ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Leary’s co-star Callie Thorne, who’s played Shelia Keefe since the beginning, has spoken about the sadness of filming the final scenes after seven years of working with the same cast and crew.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She told ‘People’ that “The final days of ‘Rescue Me’ were terrible. There were a lot of tears. Especially when people heard, ‘That’s a series wrap on Denis Leary.’ A lot of the guys got really choked up.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Denis didn’t cry,” she added. “But he was very quiet. Which is a big deal for Denis Leary.”</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-20147581853662581222011-12-29T05:49:00.000-08:002012-04-21T05:07:39.658-07:00News Corp. Reports $125K In 2011 Political Donations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx7zscTThX22jB4CANCZL4J8MhRuLIpWy1b6IpQilkxr-qx5itByffq8uhedh37_LwlGdf4eEe5w2sB3HwovK13ScnDnjCs6fiTjoBl_XROs2OjeE-vO69HEf9VYOx36rdgvSFzpnZg/s1600/News-Corp.-Reports-125K-In-2011-Political-Donations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx7zscTThX22jB4CANCZL4J8MhRuLIpWy1b6IpQilkxr-qx5itByffq8uhedh37_LwlGdf4eEe5w2sB3HwovK13ScnDnjCs6fiTjoBl_XROs2OjeE-vO69HEf9VYOx36rdgvSFzpnZg/s1600/News-Corp.-Reports-125K-In-2011-Political-Donations.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>COLUMBUS, Ohio</b> — Under assault in a phone hacking scandal, News Corp. has met a self-imposed deadline for reporting its 2011 political contributions online.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday, the media company reported a little more than $125,000 in donations, with the biggest single gift of $25,000 going to the Democratic Governors Association.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The company’s board approved a new disclosure policy for its political giving in April after two donations by Rupert Murdoch, the Australian mogul who controls the company, raised concern among shareholders. Murdoch gave $1 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and $1.25 million to the Republican Governors Association. He said the RGA contribution was intended to help Republican John Kasich (KAY’-sik), a former commentator on News Corp.’s Fox News. Kasich won the governorship.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9090250443220563.post-44057179167009237052011-12-29T05:47:00.000-08:002012-04-21T09:25:12.606-07:00A Texas Two-Step: When Rick Perry Backed Al Gore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHEdUdB851lgZXFwar5L88LSZEFAYD-E6AwlvMk9rVz2RdBx-NAjFgHJGt4CNY2y5BlRaviTuNYK3UFwjvyBaauuBHm4WYzVtMkxLfI4aGCMm_lUJeY8pWejeHWfPN9ugpN_lnTBtLw/s1600/Rick-Perry-Backed-Al-Gore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHEdUdB851lgZXFwar5L88LSZEFAYD-E6AwlvMk9rVz2RdBx-NAjFgHJGt4CNY2y5BlRaviTuNYK3UFwjvyBaauuBHm4WYzVtMkxLfI4aGCMm_lUJeY8pWejeHWfPN9ugpN_lnTBtLw/s1600/Rick-Perry-Backed-Al-Gore.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There’s an inconvenient political truth for Texas Governor Rick Perry: he was his state’s 1988 campaign chairman for then U.S. Senator Al Gore’s first run at the presidency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The way their partnership has dissolved and their paths diverged in the past three decades speaks eloquently to the way American politics has been reshaped. Gore has sailed left, while Perry’s political odyssey has seen him tack in the other direction — and to the opposing party. The two men opted for different paths across a dynamic, changing political landscape, and while one man fell short of the White House, the other now contemplates that prize. (See the top 10 debate flubs.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tale begins in 1984, four years before Perry took the helm of Gore’s Texas campaign, when Gore, then 36 and a congressional wunderkind from Tennessee, followed in his father’s footsteps by winning a U.S. Senate seat. That same year, Perry, who was 34 and from much humbler roots as the son of a Texas Rolling Plains cotton farmer, won a seat in the Texas house of representatives. Both young men were handsome sons of the South and proudly touted their philosophical bearings in the regionally dominant conservative wing of the Democratic Party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1988, seizing on the opportunity afforded by a lineup of southern primaries on Super Tuesday, Gore announced his bid for the Democratic nomination for President. Ronald Reagan’s second term was drawing to a close, and Republicans were set to nominate the next in line, then Vice President George H.W. Bush. The Democratic field was wide open, with a raft of candidates to the left of Gore, who was dubbed the “southern centrist” by the press. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The young Senator, described by the New York Times as “solidly built, dark and indisputably handsome,” lined up a list of conservative Democratic big-name supporters, including Senators Howard Heflin of Alabama, Terry Sanford of North Carolina, Bennett Johnson of Louisiana and Sam Nunn of Georgia and Governors Jim Hunt of North Carolina and Buddy Roemer of Louisiana. (In 1991 Roemer, like Perry, left the Democratic Party for the GOP; he is now also reportedly considering a Republican presidential run.)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0