Belfor Restoration: 'Undercover Boss' Sheldon Yellen loses his cover

Disaster recovery company Belfor Restoration isn't exactly a household name, but they serve an important purpose - they help to rebuild and restore property after natural and man-made disasters. CEO Sheldon Yellen did plenty to boost the company's profile when he took his turn on CBS's "Undercover Boss" after his son suggested it.

Thus, the CEO of a company with a presence in 29 countries found himself on the frontlines of disaster recovery work, helping with water removal and rebuilding.

In an emotional moment in Sunday's "Undercover" episode, Yellen breaks character and reveals himself to one employee he's working in the trenches with, promising to get her the long-overdue raise that didn't come with her promotion.

That said, he's not perfect. Like many Undercover Bosses, Yellen does his fair share of whining and longing for his ivory tower. In the epic battle of drywall vs. Yellen, the drywall definitely wins.

Despite the boss showing the usual manual labor incompetence that comes packaged with unrestricted private jet access, we have to hand it to him. Belfor Restoration had a big hand in NBC's gone-too-soon "School Pride", providing time and materials to rebuild schools in need of a makeover.

Belfor has also been particularly successful when it comes to acquiring similar businesses, but unlike your typical business empire, Belfor makes an effort not to squash the little guy. "All the entrepreneurs who sold us their businesses have stayed on our payroll all this time," Yellen tells bnet, "running their local operations. We've had private-equity firms look at Belfor to try to buy our company, and they can't believe it."

Sallie Mae Manage Your Loans Now Update

Let Sallie Mae manage your loansand you could be saving thousands off your student loan. The name of the game is to try to save as much as you can when you get a loan. If you are a student looking to borrow money Sallie Mae might be your best option. The Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan has seen some students could save an average of 20%-30% over traditional 15-year, payment-deferred private student loans, with affordable in-school payments and shorter repayment terms.

The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, achieves its mission to increase access to higher education for America’s students by supporting programs and initiatives that help open doors to higher education, prepare families for their college investment, and bridge the gap when no one else can.

In addition, The Sallie Mae Fund encourages employee volunteerism and community service in the communities where Sallie Mae employees live and work.

Then there’s the popular Sallie Mae 529 College Savings Plans which is one of the most popular ways for American families to save for their kids college education. The Upromise College Fund 529 Plan is a national plan that’s designed to help you save today for college tomorrow. It’s easy to start and flexible to use. With the Sallie Mae 529 Plan you can choose from Age-Based and Custom Portfolios. This is managed by The Vanguard Group, Inc. You can also chose a Savings Portfolio option managed by Sallie Mae Bank. You can start this for as little as $50 per month with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP) or you can make an initial contribution of $250

This is the most important first step in your life or your child’s life and it is important that you make the right decisions when comes times to invests in a college education or when you are ready to take a student loan. Due diligence is the way to go and I hope that this article is a push in the right direction.

St. John's beats No. 9 Notre Dame 72-54

NEW YORK – D.J. Kennedy and Malik Boothe both scored 14 points and St. John's beat No. 9 Notre Dame 72-54 on Sunday, reversing the outcome of their game eight days ago.

The Red Storm (11-5, 4-2 Big East) lost 76-61 at Notre Dame last Saturday, shooting just 38.2 percent from the field while the Fighting Irish (14-4, 3-3) shot 51 percent.

The numbers this time were about as different as they can get in a second meeting.

St. John's, which trailed 45-22 at halftime last Saturday, led this game 26-19 at halftime, holding the Irish to a school-record low four field goals in the opening 20 minutes.

Things didn't change much in the second half as St. John's continued to play strong perimeter defense. They held the Irish, who entered shooting 36.9 percent from beyond the arc, to 3 for 15 (20 percent) for the game.

Ben Hansbrough, who had a career-high 26 points in the first meeting, led Notre Dame with 18 points.

This was the fourth of eight straight games against ranked teams for the Red Storm. They started the run with a win over Georgetown, then lost to Notre Dame and Syracuse.

This is the first time St. John's has beaten two ranked teams in a season since 2005-06, when they defeated Louisville and Pittsburgh.

St. John's, one of the Big East's worst 3-point shooting teams at 30 percent, finished 4 for 9 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range, including one by Kennedy that was the biggest of the game for the Red Storm.

Notre Dame got within 37-31 with 13:18 left on a breakaway dunk by Hansbrough that capped a 6-0 run. The crowd of 8,550 at Madison Square Garden started to sense things were going to turnaround. But Kennedy hit his only 3-point attempt of the game 21 seconds later to restore the lead to nine points.

St. John's biggest lead was 55-36 on a drive by Dwight Hardy with 6:28 to play. Notre Dame went on a 10-2 run to get within 11, but Kennedy hit a hurried bank shot and was fouled for a three-point play with 4:15 remaining.

Notre Dame shot 41 percent for the game (16 of 39), but the Red Storm finished at 48.9 percent.

Dennis Byrd Of Jets Injury Video

Dennis Byrd tackles spinal injury - former New York Jets lineman's rehabilitation from paralyzing injury


In the final night before the AFC Divisional game against the Patriots, Rex Ryan brought in former Jets defensive lineman Dennis Byrd to speak to the team.


With Ryan’s words serving as the backdrop, he said little Saturday, despite his penchant for fiery speeches delivered the night before each game. Instead, Ryan ceded the floor to Dennis Byrd, the former Jet who was initially paralyzed by a career-ending neck injury in 1992.


A few days later, he stood in front of the New York Jets and provided what wide receiver Braylon Edwards called on Twitter "the most inspirational message of my life."


Byrd, who recovered to walk again after breaking his neck in a game, gave a moving speech Saturday night at the team hotel as the Jets prepared for their playoff game against the rival New England Patriots.
The spinal cord and the brain make up the body's central nervous system (CNS)--the place where all body functions, like tackling a quarterback, are coordinated.

Golden Globes Time 2011 | What Time do the Golden Globe Awards 2011 Start ?

Looking for Golden Globe Awards time 2011 information? What time do the Golden Globe Awards 2011 start?

If you’re looking for when the Golden Globes start time is, look no further… Golden Globes red carpet coverage begins soon, but what time do the Golden Globe Awards 2011 start?

Watch the 2011 Golden Globe Awards on NBC at 8 p.m.

ET, hosted by Ricky Gervais.

Golden Globe Awards red carpet coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET on E! and 6 p.m. on NBC.

E! also has a Golden Globes After Party planned at 11 p.m. ET.

TV Crunch will have Golden Globe Awards 2011 live streaming video, so check back soon to watch the Golden Globes online!

Miss America 2011: Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan Winner Video

LAS VEGAS - A 17-year-old from Nebraska became the youngest winner of the Miss America crown in 90 years on Saturday after beating 52 other young women from across the United States.

Teresa Scanlan won a $50,000 scholarship and a yearlong run with the crown at the competition Saturday night at the Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas, giving the Cornhusker State its first-ever win at the pageant.

She was the youngest Miss America since the pageant's first competition in 1921, when Margaret Gorman of the District of Columbia won at age 15.

Check out pictures from the competition and scroll down to keep reading.

Teresa Scanlan, Miss Nebraska waves to the audience after being crowned Miss America 2011 during the Miss America pageant, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Astrological Changes For 2011, Ophiuchus Is New Zodiac Sign

Our scientist are personally trying to annoy me now!

In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) declassified Pluto as a planet since its mass was only 0.07 times that of the mass of the other objects in its orbit (Earth’s mass, by contrast, is 1.7 million times the remaining mass in its own orbit).

Now I wake up this morning to find out that some frozen eggheads in Minnesota are claiming that I’m no longer a Taurus, but an Aries. James is getting angry now!

Long story short, according to Minnesota Planetarium Society board member Parke Kunkle the signs of the zodiac have changed because the gravitational force of the Moon has managed to tilt the planet’s axis a bit since the Babylonians determined the dates of the Zodiac five thousand years ago.

It is also learned that not only the way you read horoscope has changed, and they claim to have also discovered that there may be a 13th Zodiac sign called Ophiuchus.

However, Parke Kunkle’s discovery only addresses sidereal zodiac, that is based on constellations. Therefore this change only concerns people in the East. Westerners adhere to tropical zodiac that is fixed to seasons (equinox to equinox). In conclusion, your zodiac sign has not changed.

Yeah, it’s all pretty confusing (the reason for my sub-headline on this article).

For your reference, the following is the list of proposed changes based on yesterday’s findings:

Capricorn: Jan. 20 – Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 – March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18 – May 13
Taurus: May 13 – June 21
Gemini: June 21 – July 20
Cancer: July 20 – Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10 – Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16 – Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30 – Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23 – Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 – Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17 – Jan. 20

In closing, I’m pretty sure I can’t be the only bothered by this, so please feel free to share your thoughts about this article by posting a comment in the section below. Thank you.

Watch The Game Season 4 Episode 1 Online: Plus Video Extras For Tonight’s Premiere!

After the CW Network canceled “The Game” back in 2009, it seemed as if the half-hour dramedy was dead for good. Now almost two years later, the show is back with all new episodes on BET.

The premiere of season four (appropriately) picks up two years after season three ended. To say a lot’s happened with the characters in two years would be short-changing the changes.

Derwin and Melanie, the show’s main characters, are two years married, but now Melanie — who spent the previous three seasons studying to be a doctor — is a housewife and a step-mother to Derwin’s two-year old son. Melanie is suspicious Derwin’s son — who he had with another woman in the middle of a short-lived break-up with Melani — is really his son, so while giving the young boy a bath, Melanie takes a swab of his saliva and goes behind Derwin’s back to get a DNA test.

As for the rest of the cast, there’s still plenty of drama to go around. Tasha Mack, agent to both Derwin and his teammate Malik (who is also Tasha’s son) is dating the much younger Donté (played by BET personality Terrence J). Tasha is doing her best to suppress her true feelings for Donté but when she discovers his ex-girlfriend is none other than Sheree from “Real Housewives of Atlanta” (played as herself) who is also older than Donté, Tasha responds emotionally.

Meanwhile, Tasha’s son Malik, the star of The San Diego Sabers (the fictional football team he and Derwin play on), has let success go to his head. Not only is he sleeping with the girlfriend (played by Meagan Good), of the new majority owner of his team, he is pushing his best friend Terrence (better known in the show as Tee-Tee) to the edge. After Malik pushes one too many of Tee-Tee’s buttons, Tee-Tee takes a stand against Malik. When Tee-Tee goes to Malik’s mansion to patch things up with his best friend, he walks in on Malik sitting in a Jacuzzi with the owner’s girlfriend and another woman, who just so happens to be Tee-Tee’s girlfriend.

Last but not least is the ongoing battle between Jason and Kelly. Fresh out of their divorce, Jason and Kelly spend the entire episode trying to make each other more upset with their shenanigans. Kelly is a cast member of the reality television show “Ex-Football Wives” and Jason attempts to pull her out of the show while salvaging what little career he has left as a member of The Sabers. After Kelly pops up in the middle of Jason’s interview on the sports talk show, “Benched” — hosted by former NBA-player Chris Webber (who plays himself) — Jason gets his revenge near the end of the episode when he drops in on a taping of Kelly’s reality show with a new girl on his arm.

By the end of the hour-long premiere (the show reverts back to it’s original half-hour starting next week), everyone’s hands are dirty. “The Game” is back on, literally and figuratively.

Now available: Google Places with Hotpot for iPhone

We recently released Google Places with Hotpot in Google Maps for Android, and starting now, you can have that same great experience as an iPhone app. We realize the importance of finding places you’ll love while you’re out and about, no matter what mobile device you use. And Places with Hotpot not only helps you find places near where you are, it gives you the best places to go for you by personalizing your search results.

In case you aren’t familiar with Google Places, it lets you quickly search for places nearby and personalizes the results based on places you’ve rated. We get you started with a few popular search categories, but you can also tailor the list by adding your own favorite searches. This makes it fast and easy to find the best places for you with little fuss.

Use a default search category, save your own, or rate the nearest place quickly.

It can be pretty rewarding to discover a new place you love, but we also realize that there are some experiences you just can’t wait to share. So Places makes it super simple to rate a place with your iPhone while you’re there. Just fire up the app and hit “Rate now.” It will use your location to guess your current place and let you post a Hotpot review right from your phone. But it’s not just about getting to say what you think—the more you rate places, the more you’re sharing about your tastes and the more we can give you personally tailored recommendations.

Give your star rating and add optional details or a review so Hotpot knows your taste.

If you want to make things even tastier, just visit google.com/hotpot from your desktop computer. Here you can add friends to the mix and quickly rate all the places you already know. Once you’ve added friends, you’ll find your results seasoned not just with reviews from around the web and recommendations based on your own personal taste, but also with your friends’ opinions too.

Once you start rating and add friends, Places can give you personalized recommendations.

Get the Places app on your iPhone now by searching for Google Places in the App Store or going here.

This first version of Places is available for all iOS devices in English only. However, expect more features and improvements to roll out soon, including localization in many new languages. We’re hard at work to make Places with Hotpot more and more delicious.

Massive Floods Threaten Brisbane, Australia [Video]

Residents of Brisbane, Australia are bracing for what’s expected to be the worst flood to hit the region in over 100 years. Flash flooding caused by weeks of rain has pushed the nearby Wivenhoe Dam to its capacity, and the local government has urged residents not to panic. The local government estimates that as many as 40,000 homes may be affected by the flood, 9,000 “significantly,” and power is being cut for

100,000 city residents due to safety concerns. New Scientist calls the phenomenon occurring in Northern Australia an “inland tsunami.” And it’s not an exaggeration: The video above, taken by a resident of Toowoomba 80 miles to the west of Brisbane, shows floodwater picking up cars in a parking lot like toys.

According to the New York Daily News, river water near Toowoomba hit heights as high as 26 feet. At least ten people in the area are dead and dozens are missing.

Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said that at least 6,500 homes and businesses could be swamped by floodwaters.

With waters of the Brisbane River level going up by nearly five feet on Tuesday, Campbell said: “Today is very significant, tomorrow is bad, and Thursday is going to be devastating for the residents and businesses affected.”

The Brisbane River snakes its way through the center of Brisbane, and in places, it has burst its banks already, the BBC reports.

Cars have been streaming out of the city and office workers have been fleeing the main business district, while lower lying suburbs have already been inundated by water. Sandbags have been given out to residents in the city of two million people, as the flooding is expected to peak on Wednesday and Thursday.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh urged people to prepare themselves.

“For those who are living in some of the lower lying areas and the identified suburbs, now is the time to be making whatever preparations you can, and I would encourage you to be overly cautious,” Bligh said.

Brisbane residents said that supermarkets were already running out of food.

In Toowoomba, just west of Brisbane, flash floods have killed at least nine people with at least 70 missing.

A huge search-and-rescue operation has been mounted, with helicopters taking people to safety, as many residents clinging to trees or railings for their lives, or trapped in cars or on the roofs of buildings.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned that the death toll is likely to rise. (ANI)

WOW: Launcher Cannot Obtain Patching Information for World of Warcrat

World of Warcraft players are experiencing a frustrating ‘launcher cannot obtain patching information‘ error message all over the world. Forums and blogs are abuzz with complaints, fix ideas, suggestions, and lots of venting of frustration. The WOW community is coming together for each other and are helping players who were struck with the inconvenience to get back into the game.

One fix that seems to have worked that I found on a blog suggested this:

* Please remove any custom proxy settings.
* Go into Internet Explorer > Tools > Internet Options> Connections> LAN settings and make sure that you Select Automatically Detect settings.
* And make sure that you have Use Automatic configuration Script and Use a Proxy server not checked.
* If this doesn’t work, renewing your IP address and flushing your DNS cache can often help resolve connection issues.

WOW, the acronym for World of Warcraft is currently the world’s most subscribed MMORPG with over 12 million subscribers as of Oct 2010. The most recent installment of the game, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, sold more than 4.7 million copies in its first month of release. The game’s popularity and success has had such an impact on Blizzard Entertainment that the company is hiring for multiple positions in order to keep up.

With an audience of this size, you can imagine how detrimental a glitch like this can be. My daughter is an avid player and fan of the WOW platform, and considers it to be more than a game, but rather getting together with her friends online. WOW had developed into a social network so to speak that meaningfully contributes to players’ lives. Buy Now at Amazon for 37.54, or visit the Amazon World of Warcraft Store to see all the phenomenal WOW products.

UNDERCOVER BOSS “UniFirst” Season 2 Episode 13

Undercover Boss, Season 2, Episode 13 aired Sunday night on CBS, featuring UniFirst President and CEO Ronald Croatti. The toy train hobbyist puts on a giant wig and mustache to pose as Mike Daniels to check
out his company, which provides and cleans uniforms for such companies like Walmart. Season 2, Episode 13 of Undercover Boss saw Ronald Croatti have a lot of trouble with manual labor. Nonetheless, the nice man was very touched by the efforts of his employees.

Ronald Croatti Works with UniFirst Employee Squeeky on Undercover Boss, Season 2, Episode 13

In Owensboro, Kentucky, the CEO works with Dee Dee of the Sew/Seal Department, whose employees get incentives for their productivity. Croatti really has trouble sewing the name patches on the shirts, and Dee Dee said he "sucked." Dee Dee wants to go to college, but work and raising children interfere. She wants to be a clinical therapist, but is worried about the inflexible six tardies policy per year that are tolerated before one is let go. Family obligations can sometimes cause her to punch in late.

The next job Ronald Croatti does on Season 2, Episode 13 of Undercover Boss is in Sumter, South Carolina. He works with Squeeky, a Shipping Operator, and immediately has trouble folding aprons. When the head honcho tries to put the transparent covering on the uniforms, he's utterly slow, and prefers working at the sorter. Squeeky is about to get married, and like the previous owners (UniFirst took it over years earlier) because she felt more appreciated

Big Save comic books for kids-Golden Collection of Krazy Kool Klassic Kids’ Komics

The first collection of its kind, this huge, luxurious volume lovingly collects the brilliant kids’ comics that such luminaries as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, Walt Kelly, Dr. Seuss, Syd Hoff, Jules Feiffer, George Carlson, John Stanley, Dan deCarlo, Sheldon Mayer, Carl Barks, and myriad other brilliant geniuses created during the heyday of kids comics in the 1940s, ’50s, and beyond. Astute comic book fans and their eager kids alike will love the funny and beautiful full-color storie Read More …

Comics Enriched Their Lives! #19 and #20

Okay, these are both gimmes, basically, but since there are two of them, maybe that’s the equivalent of one solid post. Plus they’re both literary, so you know this is some well thought out bloggery.

First, in the immortal words of Paul Hardcastle: 19.

Rocketman, like comic books, is assembled by the Raketen-Stadt in order to serve Their designs. When he no longer serves Their ends, They dismantle him. But fragments of him survive in Pynchon‘s text. No one who reads Gravity’s Rainbow will forget the legend of Rocketman, the greatest preterite super-hero of the postmodern world. For a moment, he defied Their will and fought for truth, justice, and the Pynchon way.

—H. Brenton Stevens, “‘Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s . . . Rocketman!’: Pynchon’s Comic Book Mythology in Gravity’s Rainbow“

I haven’t actually done more than skim that essay yet, by the way, as I am currently nearing the halfway mark in Gravity’s Rainbow, and don’t want to spoil things for myself. From a cursory perusal, it looks like Stevens may miss or downplay some of the subtler comic-book connections going on, such as the repeated Plastic Man references, but more knowledgeable others (and a future me) are better positioned to determine that. I will say that at this point I better understand why Thomas Pynchon tapped Frank Miller for the cover, a move that no longer seems intentionally perverse, but rather extremely apt—I just wish Miller hadn’t ultimately turned in such a relatively restrained image.

And now, 20:

At first I was read to. My grandfather had taught Greek and Latin at Columbia, and he read to me from a book that had abbreviated versions of The Odyssey and The Iliad—plus a lot of classic fairy tales, which, as you know, are extremely disturbing. Then I began reading on my own. I read mostly Westerns. My parents approved of that, because at least they were books. But when I got into comic books, they disapproved. I would read them by flashlight under the covers. No one realized in those days that 1930s Action Comics and DC Comics, Superman and Batman, would become legendary in American culture. They taught me a great deal about narrative—lots of invention and no pretense of realism.

—Harry Mathews, interviewed in the Spring 2007 issue of The Paris Review

Also no real surprise, considering the various Ou-X-Po connections, but there you go.

[Tip of the hat to DB for the latter.]

P.S. I finally got a copy of Neonomicon #3, so anyone interested in the CCCBC should find and read a copy before next week if you want to follow along.

UPDATE: Since I posted this, I found a more up-to-date and comprehensive article about Pynchon/comics connections online at The Walrus, written by Sean Rogers. I recommend it and you can read it here.

Newsflash: New Seth Graphic Novel

Wimbledon Green will be back.

I don’t know why this hasn’t gotten more attention, but a few days ago Bryan Munn reported the happy news that a new Seth graphic novel will be coming out later this year. It’s a prequel to Wimbledon Green, offering a look at the early days of The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists. I suspect that the work Seth has done researching the lives of Jimmy Frise, Doug Wright and other classic Canadian cartoonists might inform this work. In any case, this is certainly a title to add to the growing “books to look forward to” list.

Corned Beef Hash

“Better you look corned beef hash in the face than live in constant expectation of a warm bird and a cold bottle.” So advises Eugene Zimmerman in his recently reissued 1910 how-to book, Cartoons and Caricatures. First, I like this “face facts, you might suck” advice to a young cartoonist, and second I like the idea of Corned Beef Hash (now making a big comeback at old-timey restaurants all over Brooklyn!) having a face. It soothes me somehow.

Anyhow, this reissue is one in a series of books from Lost Art Books focusing on forgotten turn-of-the-century cartoonists, most of whom did caricature, illustration or gags for now-forgotten magazines before these things were avidly reprinted in book form.

Eugene “Zim” Zimmerman was a wildly popular cartoonist of the very old kind: No daily strip, no enduring character — but seriously great Victorian-stylings and a sure way with the absurd. Zim also ran a Cartooning Corrrespondence Course, and it’s these lessons that are distilled in the present book. By the way, it looks like Warren Bernard and Rick Marschall have a book in the works on these courses, due out sometime in 2011 from Fantagraphics. Anyhow, all the DNA is there in these books, spelled out in simple terms. There weren’t exactly divergent schools of thought back then, so you get a damn good feel for how people formally thought about comical drawing at the time.

And Zim, oh Zim. I gotta say, this is a funny book. Like, smirk on the subway funny. Or Dan Pussey funny. There are concrete lessons, but mostly it’s like a book of wisdom on the life of a cartoonist, and for 1910 he sometimes sounds an awful lot like 2010. Have I heard much of this from my friends? Yes, yes I have.

Here’s Zim on “The Caricaturist: Aches and Pains vs. Humor”: “The caricaturist cannot always be funny. He has aches and pains like any other mortal … When you find that he is below his usual standard of funniness, you must make allowance for his conditions which may have deprived him for the time of his drollery”

And here’s a classic:

“Single or Double: I cannot say whether a man, in order to become famous as a caricaturist, should be married or unmarried. I have known both classes to succeed. In the face of the facts before me, it would be safe for me to state that a man, to be successful in any matter he undertakes, should be either married or unmarried.”

Other topics include: Human and Animal Composites; An Outline of the Process of Half-Tone Engraving [still true!]; Safe Transmission of Drawings (“enclose them in cardboard tubes or between heavy sheets of pasteboard” — also still true!); Bible Subjects and Caricature; Reduction of Drawings; Sontaneity [sic]; Be Modest; and so on. It’s basically half-drawing book, half-guide to life. Some of these things I swear I’ve been told by Gary Panter very late at night. Or at least it seemed that way.

Anyhow, this is a fun item — reminding me again that cartooning can be a vocation — and Lost Art Books is filling niche. Check out their site. The books are nicely printed, without the bells and whistles of other contemporary reprints — these are more on the old Dover Books model in terms of content over form — but quite nice and, frankly, very surprising.
Was that a plug? I think it might have been. It’s Friday, I’m feeling generous.

This week I also read NBM/Papercutz’s recent reissue of The Smurf King, though I did not bring it on the subway, having endured enough ribbing about it from my dear Rachel just around home. Well, friends, I liked it very much. Hadn’t ever read a Smurf comic before, and it’s a deeply strange experience. The logic of when the word “Smurf” is used and when not is a topic best left to someone much smarter than me, like Jog, but the cartooning is superb. That lively line carving out now-familiar but really quite stunning landscapes. And of course there is the nice trick of each character looking alike yet possessing distinct voices. Plus, the political message delivered at the end is funny and wise, allowing you to dip back into the book and look at all the foibles on display, as if getting a bird’s-eye view on an abstract thought (human disfunction).

And finally, I have said this elsewhere and I will say it here: Go forth to Kickstarter and support Amy Lockhart’s animated feature, Dizzler in Maskheraid. The comic it’s based on was published in The Ganzfeld 5, and remains one my proudest moments as editor/publisher dude. Amy has an absurdly funny, completely elastic view of life, and this Dizzler a great creation. Plus, this is all hand-done, exquisitely crafted paper animation. Yes, paper. Imagine! So get out there.

Pay Attention: Late-Period Ditko

Over the last few years, there’s been a tremendous upsurge of interest in Steve Ditko’s legacy, thanks in no small part to the various books written and/or edited by Blake Bell and Craig Yoe. This is all to the good: Ditko is, to my mind at least, one of the four or five most imaginative and path breaking visual artists ever to work in the commercial comic book field (the others, for what it’s worth, are Kirby, Kurtzman, and Toth). What tends to get forgotten, though, is the fact that Ditko, unlike the other masters, is still alive and in fact very busy.

Steve Ditko is 83 years old. In the last year he’s produced at least 150 pages of new comics (published by Robin Synder in the series A Ditko Act). By any reasonable measure, this venerable cartoonist much more prolific than many artists 60 years his junior. It’s unfortunate that late-period Ditko tends to be ignored by all but the most hard-core fans. Of course, Ditko himself is partially to blame, since these latest stories follow in the trajectory of his Mr. A work in being both forbiddingly didactic and shorn of any reader-friendly cordiality. As befits a man of his ideological purity, Ditko demands to be taken on his own terms. And increasingly, Ditko’s visual vocabulary has an abstract and hermetic quality that makes it look like an alien script, one without a Rosetta Stone to help us decipher it. Ditko’s dialogue is also unique: more and more it has a telegraphic quality whereby information is conveyed in short phrasal bursts that don’t resemble anything close to human speech.

The most interesting thing about late-period Ditko how relentlessly stylized it is, achieving a level of cartooning abstraction almost worthy of Sterrett or Rege. To be sure, Ditko has long had a covert passion for abstraction — think of the weird backgrounds in his Doctor Strange stories. But late-period Ditko takes this tendency to a radical extreme. Artists late in life, Irving Howe once suggested, have a tendency to give up all that they no longer need, to offer up art that is unshorn and pure and blunt. I’m not sure if that is generally true but Ditko would make a good case study.

I’m not the writer to do justice to late-period Ditko — it requires someone more steeped in his career and the history of mainstream comics than I am. But I will say that I hope some smart critic – Matt Seneca comes to mind, or my formidable blog-mate Jog – will look at this stuff and try to explain it. It’s too interesting to remain the terra incognito of comics. I have a hunch at in the future there will be a general rediscovery of late-period Ditko, just as there has been an upward reappraisal of late-period Kirby.

Steve Ditko's The Madman (From A Ditko Act)

Over the last few years, there’s been a tremendous upsurge of interest in Steve Ditko’s legacy, thanks in no small part to the various books written and/or edited by Blake Bell and Craig Yoe. This is all to the good: Ditko is, to my mind at least, one of the four or five most imaginative and path breaking visual artists ever to work in the commercial comic book field (the others, for what it’s worth, are Kirby, Kurtzman, and Toth). What tends to get forgotten, though, is the fact that Ditko, unlike the other masters, is still alive and in fact very busy.

Steve Ditko is 83 years old. In the last year he’s produced at least 150 pages of new comics (published by Robin Synder in the series A Ditko Act). By any reasonable measure, this venerable cartoonist much more prolific than many artists 60 years his junior. It’s unfortunate that late-period Ditko tends to be ignored by all but the most hard-core fans. Of course, Ditko himself is partially to blame, since these latest stories follow in the trajectory of his Mr. A work in being both forbiddingly didactic and shorn of any reader-friendly cordiality. As befits a man of his ideological purity, Ditko demands to be taken on his own terms. And increasingly, Ditko’s visual vocabulary has an abstract and hermetic quality that makes it look like an alien script, one without a Rosetta Stone to help us decipher it. Ditko’s dialogue is also unique: more and more it has a telegraphic quality whereby information is conveyed in short phrasal bursts that don’t resemble anything close to human speech.

The most interesting thing about late-period Ditko how relentlessly stylized it is, achieving a level of cartooning abstraction almost worthy of Sterrett or Rege. To be sure, Ditko has long had a covert passion for abstraction — think of the weird backgrounds in his Doctor Strange stories. But late-period Ditko takes this tendency to a radical extreme. Artists late in life, Irving Howe once suggested, have a tendency to give up all that they no longer need, to offer up art that is unshorn and pure and blunt. I’m not sure if that is generally true but Ditko would make a good case study.

I’m not the writer to do justice to late-period Ditko — it requires someone more steeped in his career and the history of mainstream comics than I am. But I will say that I hope some smart critic – Matt Seneca comes to mind, or my formidable blog-mate Jog – will look at this stuff and try to explain it. It’s too interesting to remain the terra incognito of comics. I have a hunch at in the future there will be a general rediscovery of late-period Ditko, just as there has been an upward reappraisal of late-period Kirby.

The Black Keys Rock Saturday Night Live (1/8) Videos

The Black Keys made a celebrated stop on Saturday Night Live this weekend, rocking two tracks off their phenomenal 2010 album Brothers. Enjoy Howlin’ For You: Once again, SNL’s sound guy is the cause of great frustration, though his hackery on the levels was limited to chorus guitar fuzz overload. A forgivable offense

for getting the Keys some solid TV time… though seeds have been planted for a published verbal assault on the man. Cold Open—Mayor Bloomberg offers reassurance to snow-traumatized New Yorkers, advising them not to look out the window, and promising to address such pressing questions as “Where does snow come

from?” and “Will it stay forever?”:The Black Swan—Choreographer Thomas Leroy (Bill Hader) pits uptight ballerina Nina Sayers (Nasim Pedrad) against uninhibited temptress Lily (Jim Carrey) in a dance-off for the role of Black Swan: The Atlantic Home
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sage Stossel – Sage Stossel is articles editor of The Atlantic Online and draws the cartoon feature “Sage, Ink.” Her children’s book, On the Loose in Boston, was published in 2009. Her Facebook parody, Facebook Group: World Leaders appeared in the May Atlantic.

On Election Day in 1996, The Atlantic Online launched a weekly editorial cartoon feature drawn by Sage Stossel and named (aptly enough) “Sage, Ink.” Since then, Stossel’s whimsical work has been featured by the New York Times Week in Review, CNN Headline News, Cartoon Arts International/The New York Times

Syndicate, The Boston Globe, Nieman Reports, Editorial Humor, The Provincetown Banner (for which she received a 2009 New England Press Association Award), and elsewhere. Her work is also included in Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, (2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 editions) and Attack of the Political Cartoonists.

Her children’s book, On the Loose in Boston, will be published in June 2009.
Sage Stossel grew up in a suburb of Boston and attended Harvard University, where she majored in English and American Literature and Languages and did a weekly cartoon strip about college life, called “Jody,” for the Harvard Crimson.

After college she took what was intended to be a temporary summer position securing electronic rights to articles from The Atlantic Monthly’s archive for use online. Intrigued by The Atlantic’s rich history and the creative possibilities in helping to launch a digital edition of the magazine on the Web, she soon joined The

Atlantic full time. Her original focus was on creating Flashbacks packages, a feature she still edits. As a result she is quite familiar with The Atlantic’s archive (and has amassed an amusing collection of OCR scanning errors). As the site’s executive editor, she has since been involved in everything from contributing Web site reviews, author interviews, and illustrations, to hosting message boards and producing the digital edition of The Atlantic on the Web.
She is also the cartoonist for Copy Editor. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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SNL’s Jim Carrey Episode: 5 Funniest Moments
By Sage Stossel Jan 9 2011, 8:19 AM ET
[A characteristically manic and hilarious Jim Carrey appeared in every sketch this week (save for Weekend Update and the cold open), making this one of the funnier episodes in recent memory. The Black Keys performed "Tighten Up" and "Howlin' for You."]
Some highlights…
Cold Open—Mayor Bloomberg offers reassurance to snow-traumatized New Yorkers, advising them not to look out the window, and promising to address such pressing questions as “Where does snow come from?” and “Will it stay forever?”:
The Black Swan—Choreographer Thomas Leroy (Bill Hader) pits uptight ballerina Nina Sayers (Nasim Pedrad) against uninhibited temptress Lily (Jim Carrey) in a dance-off for the role of Black Swan:
The Worst of Soul Train, featuring The Maxwell Family (“We only have one bathroom…”), Diversity (“Can I just see one titty?…”), Triangle Sally, Klamydia, and more…

Beloved Singer and Composer Debbie Friedman Dies in Los Angeles

Debbie Friedman, known for her Mi Sheberach and her special Jewish feminst songs, has died in Los Angeles. Lilith magazine’s board and staff join with Debbie Friedman’s multitude of other friends and fans in grieving her shocking and untimely death today. Debbie’s music –and her presence–helped lead thousands through healing moments and in joyful celebration.

What was planned as a healing service for Debbie Friedman will now, sadly, be a memorial service, at 8 PM tonight at the JCC in Manhattan; it will be available live-streamed. We will be posting it on all Lilith’s platforms.

In 1988, asked to share a “sacred moment” she had experienced, the beloved late singer and composer Debbie Friedman wrote in Lilith magazine:

“My confrontation with death and my acceptance of aloneness freed me to incorporate spiritual consciousness into my life. For me, there is no separation between spirituality and living. Spirituality is at the core of all that is.”I read it on Twitter, that Debbie Friedman had died. The Jewish world lost one of the leading lights in Jewish music. I am heartbroken. Debbie Friedman opened up my heart and soul to holiness and the Holy One. And now she is gone.

To understand the depth of the grief sweeping across the Jewish community, one might recall the profound sense of loss that permeated our world upon the news of the death of John Lennon. When Lennon died, the world lost one of the greats – a singer, composer, poet, visionary, and serene commentator on the excesses of his world. Similarly, Debbie’s death removes from our midst one of gedolei hador (the great of the generation).

Debbie Friedman has touched more lives and brought more people into Judaism through her music than – I would argue – any rabbi who has ever opened his or her mouth. She has connected people to their Jewish spirituality more than any composer around the world. Debbie was not just a singer/songleader; she was poet and liturgist. She was an inspiring artist, who was uniquely able to translate the ancient words of our Jewish tradition into engaging musical pieces which spoke anew to a generation alienated from the inherited formal melodies of their parents.

Debbie taught us Lechi Lach, a song based upon the Divine call to Abram to leave his birthplace and home to venture forth to an unknown land. In this one simple piece, she accomplished multiple goals. She taught a primary Torah narrative about God’s eternal promise to people who had forgotten our ancestor’s heroic journey. She recast the story as the egalitarian tale that the Zohar mystically hints at – as a call to both Abram and to his wife Sarai. Then she reminded us that this story was our story; that God’s pledge to Abram and Sarai continues for us today. As such, Debbie Friedman renewed the Divine promise: that we all would be, could be, and are a blessing!

Debbie Friedman got her start in Jewish summer camps, especially at Camp Swig in Saratoga, CA, and in the NFTY youth movement. There Debbie married the hopefulness of the 1960’s and 1970’s with the abiding values of Torah and tradition. She helped us “Sing unto God a New Song,” while reminding us, like the prophets before her, that “Not by might, not by power, but by spirit alone, shall we all live in peace.”

Given the radical nature of everything connected to the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, Debbie’s transformation from a youth songleader into a – the? – central Jewish musical figure of our time was not easy. But it was complete. Debbie went from being shunned by many cantors as the epitome of everything that was wrong with the then-current state of new Jewish music, to being embraced by synagogues around the world and invited to join the Cantorial faculty at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and Los Angeles.

Debbie’s true beauty is that she gave voice to so many people because her music and melodies were accessible and extremely peaceful. This led her to become the champion of the nascent Jewish healing movement. Her Mi Shebeirach healing prayer-song combined Hebrew and English to inspire for those struggling with illness. Rituals of naming those seeking healing grew up around her prayer-song, allowing people to bring their anxiety and worry back into the synagogue.

Yet the quiet power of her musical genius can be found in how she engaged every Jew in the pews (and beyond) to sing out for holiness. Suddenly, she flattened the liturgical hierarchy, enabling each one of us to give voice to our aching hearts. In her concerts she repeatedly instructed her audience remain quiet and receive blessings of healing, yet those gathered often sang aloud nonetheless. All because Debbie had already placed the ability to pray for healing back in our mouths, and we refused to sit back to allow another – even the composer herself – to speak for us.

Or as Debbie wrote on her website: “We are not just the recipients of blessings, but the messengers of blessings as well. Remember, out of what emerges from life’s painful challenges will come our healing. And ultimately, our greatest healing will come when we use our suffering to heal another’s pain – to release another from their confinement.”

I twice led retreats in Malibu, CA with Debbie for Jews recovering from alcoholism and addictions. Few Jewish leaders seemed to intrinsically understand the unique challenges faced by people trying to recover from the constant pull of an addiction. But Debbie walked confidently into the retreat, and with openness and vulnerability, listened to stories of struggle and failure. Then, with hope and quiet strength, she began to speak and teach and sing. She lifted each participant up, out of the morass that consumed them. Her music painted a picture of courage and peace. How easily we were lulled into a place of healing and serenity with seemingly little effort on our part!

There are plenty of people who do not even know that the melodies that they love and cherish were written by Debbie Friedman. But they know how wonderfully spiritual her melodies make them feel. And that explains why her music is widespread and her legacy will be abiding.

Now Debbie Friedman has died. We join our light and our prayers together, wishing strength and love for her family. May her memory be for a blessing.

Jared Laughner, Gabrielle Giffords Shooter – Full Video

Laughner apparently shot Giffords and 12 others at a public event at a Safeway grocery store in Tucscon. He reportedly shot the congresswoman “point blank” in the head and may have come from inside the store. After shooting Giffords, he allegedly fired 20-30 rounds and hit “a number of people,” including a child. He attempted
to flee after running out of ammunition and was tackled by one of Giffords’ staffers.

Watch Jersey Shore Season 3 full video

THIS IS IT! Watch Jersey Shore Season 3 full video now! Just click the link below in order to start watching for free!

This show is one of the best if we are talking about wonderful shows. Watching this episode for free is very easy, just click the link below and you will be there. While it’s getting cooler and cooler, Jersey Shore Season 3 is always giving us great episode that we really enjoy. Start enjoying the episode by clicking the link now. Don’t waste your time guys!



The season 3 premiere of the show has fans waiting for the show.many spoilers and sneak peeks relating to the show have already been released by MTV. Deena arrives and everybody is shocked to see a new person in the house.She then drinks too much and flashes Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino. Sammy laughs at her and this leads to a big blow up in the kitchen.Deena Nicole Cortese is a long time friend of Snooki and a New Jersey native. Deena auditioned for season one of Jersey Shore but didn’t make the cut. Now MTV is bringing her in to replace Angelina.

Deena will have a tough time bonding with the group at first as they have been together for two seasons and she is a newcomer. She gets involved in a fight with Sammi and Ronnie on the very first episode.Snooki’s ex-boyfriend Emilio is also in Seaside Heights . . . stalking Snooki! Ideally season three will focus less on Sammi and Ronnie. Their relationship is both irritating and predictable. It would be nice to see more of Snooki, Pauly D and Vinnie. Also J-Wow is single this season so it will be interesting to see what she gets up to.

By now it’s no secret that Jersey Shore Season 3 includes a new housemate – Deena Nicole Cortese – but today MTV confirms the other housemates were shocked by her arrival when they returned to Seaside Heights. Examiner.com has learned, with the exception of Snooki, producers of the hugely popular reality show didn’t tell the other housemates that Deena was gonna be moving in. “None of them know Snooki has invited her BFF Deena Nicole Cortese to fill the void (left by Angelina’s departure),” MTV confirms.

Deena actually submitted a Jersey Shore audition tape before the first series ever premiered in 2009, but was passed over by Jersey Shore casting directors. But when Angelina stormed out of the shore house in Miami, that opened the door for Deena, who got her second chance.

So if you were one of those people who felt like all the show needed was more Snooki, you just might get it. There will, no doubt, be more of the real Snooki this season. She and “The Situation” aka Mike Sorrentino are the real breakout stars of the show and MTV has never been one to let a good thing go to waste. In the trailer alone we see Snooki lost and looking for the beach . . . while she is actually standing on the beach. We also see her drunk as hell and getting arrested at said beach.

It seems all the booze, fist pumping, and craziness might just be getting to a few of the cast members. At one point Vinny looks at the camera and says, “Hell has to be just like this.” All of this happens in a the matter of a 2 minute trailer, the highlight of which finds a drunk Snooki face planting into the sand at the beach then getting hauled away by the police as she yells, “I’m a fucking good person!” Jersey Shore Season 3 should be one train wreck you won’t want to miss.

Motorola Xoom Tablet Unveiled At CES 2011 (PHOTOS) (Update: Video!) -- Engadget

(RACHEL METZ, AP/Huffington Post) LAS VEGAS — Motorola Mobility Inc. is rolling out to roll out a tablet computer that will run on Verizon Wireless' new next-generation wireless network and use an upcoming version of Google Inc.'s Android software designed for such devices.

CEO Sanjay Jha showed off the Xoom along with several upcoming smart phones during a news conference Wednesday in advance of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The tablet will come with a 10.1-inch high-definition screen, dual-core processor, front-facing camera for video chatting and a 5-megapixel camera that can take high-definition videos. It will support Flash video content – something Apple Inc.'s iPad does not do – and can work as a Wi-Fi hotspot to connect up to five more gadgets to the Internet.

It will also have Honeycomb, a version of Android that has been designed for the larger touch screens on tablets. Current versions of Android are meant more for the smaller touch screens on smart phones.

In a demo of the software, the Xoom's screen appeared to look more like a computer desktop than a smart phone screen, and Web surfing looked more as it does on a full-sized computer than on a mobile device. Jha said Honeycomb will include a redesigned version of YouTube and the ability to make video calls through Google Talk.

"The user interface, the whole interactive model is designed for the tablet," he said.

The Xoom will begin selling in the first quarter. Initially it will work with Verizon's 3G network and will be upgradeable so it can work on its new 4G network in the second quarter.

Peoples Choice Awards Winners 2011

Eminem might not attend the recently-wrapped People Choice's Awards, but he was the victorious musician who won the most nods in music list at the January 5 ceremony. The rapper collected four trophies for Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Song, Favorite Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Music Video.

The Slim Shady beat the likes of Enrique Iglesias, Michael Buble, Tim McGraw and Usher in the Favorite Male Artist. He, meanwhile, knocked off fellow rappers Drake, Jay-Z, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg in the Favorite Hip-Hop Artist.

His hit single "Love the Way You Lie" got the most votes over B.o.B's "Airplanes", Katy Perry's "California Gurls", Usher's "OMG" and Lady GaGa's "Telephone". Its music video is fans' favorite, pushing aside Justin Bieber's "Baby", Perry's "Teenage Dream", GaGa's "Telephone" and Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)".

Losing twice to Eminem, Katy Perry still managed to walk home with double prizes out of her five nominations. She won Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Online Sensation. "I'll see you on tour this year, summer U.S. California Dreams tour," she told the crowd when proudly accepting the trophies on stage. On Twitter, she gushed, "Thank you SO much! I really appreciate all ur continuous love & support! Remember u have the POWER!"

The other winners included young singers Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift. Gomez, who performed "A Year Without Rain" that night, took home Favorite Breakout Artist with her band The Scene, while her best pal Swift was voted Favorite Country Artist. The country music cutie was presented the title by Elton John.

Usually bringing home at least one gong at similar fans-voted awards show, Bieber who got two nominations did not receive any prize at the Wednesday night event. Beside losing Favorite Music Video to Eminem, the Canadian singer also lost Favorite Breakout Artist to his rumored girlfriend Gomez.

Also honoring fans' favorites in TV and movie, the People's Choice Awards took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Serving as a host was Queen Latifah. Also singing live that evening were Diddy-Dirty Money and Kid Rock.

• FAVORITE MALE ARTIST: Eminem
• FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST: Katy Perry
• FAVORITE SONG: "Love the Way You Lie" - Eminem ft. Rihanna
• FAVORITE ROCK BAND: Paramore
• FAVORITE BREAKOUT ARTIST: Selena Gomez & The Scene
• FAVORITE POP ARTIST: Rihanna
• FAVORITE COUNTRY ARTIST: Taylor Swift
• FAVORITE R&B ARTIST: Usher
• FAVORITE HIP-HOP ARTIST: Eminem
• FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO: "Love the Way You Lie" - Eminem ft. Rihanna
• FAVORITE ONLINE SENSATION: Katy Perry
• FAVORITE VIRAL VIDEO STAR: "Single Ladies" Devastation

Homeless man w/golden radio voice in Columbus, OH [VIDEO]

UPDATE2: I just spoke with Doral Chenoweth, the photographer/videographer who shot this piece for The Columbus Dispatch. He informed me that Ted can usually be found at the Hudson ramp off of I-71 South (for those of you who live in Columbus). If anyone in the Columbus area can check him out, hopefully we can find a way to contact him (Doral said he did not learn where Ted lives, but Doral knows there are no nearby homeless shelters). Also, Doral was an awesome guy on the phone, he told me his wife is carrying around a restaurant gift certificate in her car for Ted in hopes she’ll see him again. If anyone needs any photography/videography work, look him up Doral on the internets here or here.

UPDATE3: I received an e-mail from the the radio jocks who featured the sound-byte from this video on their show 1/4/11. They are considering hiring Ted using the $15K donation one of the listeners said they would donate for his salary. If they choose to hire Ted, they will e-mail me. They asked that I not release their e-mail account.

UPDATE4: joshfitz posted a tweet by the radio jocks, they’ll have Ted’s story featured on their radio show Thursday! I am going to contact the RJs again to see if they were able to get contact information for Ted that they can share!

UPDATE5: Dave and Jimmy (the RJ’s that played an audio clip from this video on their radio talk show 1/4/11 where I heard this in the first place) gave the “OK” to share their information. Their show airs live from 6:00 am-10:00 am EST and can be listened to at daveandjimmy.com. They are trying to contact Ted to have him on the show on Thursday.

UPDATE6: dj1200techniques has set up a website for Ted Williams. dj1200techniques has been a redditor for over 2 years now with a fair amount of activity and karma, so I feel he’s trustworthy. Once we have contact with Ted, I will personally see to it that all funds get to him. Ladyfingers has offered to buy Ted a phone, is there anyone in Columbus who can PM with Ladyfingers to get that phone to Ted?

UPDATE7: [The Morning Zoo](daveandjimmy.com) tracked down Ted! They’ll be hosting Ted on their radio show tomorrow, Wednesday January 5th at 7:15am EST! The link above has a “listen live” section, so we can all tune in then!

UPDATE8: jhietter has offered to sponsor Ted through this transition and oxytechx would like to get Ted work in the UK

UPDATE9: dj1200techniques’ fundraiser for Ted was an AMAZING success. We already hit the goal of $500 by a huge amount ($826 at last glance). Thank you so much for those of you who donated, but please don’t donate anymore, its probably prudent to not overwhelm Ted and instead give him a fair amount to get himself established again. Everyone who donated is AMAZING!

Stoke City vs Manchester United : RESULT Highlights

Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Stoke City vs Manchester United : RESULT Highlights
Premier League - Manchester United vs Stoke City
Manchester United vs Stoke City live online
Match date: 4 January, 2011
Venue: Old Trafford, England

The result is out and the match is over with a huge round of applause to Manchester who wins against Stoke City. Well that was the guess from outsides, and undoubtedly the best man wins. the highlights are in the blog as well as will be in the hearts of the soccer lovers forever. today match created a history for more read the rest of the story which speaks the truth and nothing else but the truth itself.

On Tuesday, Stoke City visit Manchester United for an evening match at Old Tr afford.United are currently leading the chasing pack and also have couple of games in hand which would mean that they would go into this as the favorites to win and if they do get all three points in the league that would put them in a such a good position which would enhance their chances of winning the title this season and making it to the top of the table.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side top the table in the new year, with games in hand versus their title contending rivals. In their previous match this season at Brittania Stadium, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez bagged a brace, including a late winner in the 86th minute. Chicharito's winner was especially uplifting as it came shortly after the Wayne Rooney contract saga was put to bed. It also marked United's first away victory, which would remain the only one until the fortunate 2-1 victory at West Brom this past Saturday.

In the Premier League match up on Tuesday we will have United who will be hosting Stoke City for the English Premier league match. United are currently leading the chasing pack and also have couple of games in hand which would mean that they would go into this as the favorites to win and if they do get all three points in the league that would put them in a such a good position which would enhance their chances of winning the title this season and making it to the top of the table.

They have been playing a real good football at the moment, and they will be hoping to continue to play at the top level which would enhance their chance of getting all three points and put real pressure on the chasing pack in the league.

The Premier League leader Manchester United (still unbeaten with 41 points and two games in hand) face the 8th placed Stoke City (27 points) at The Theater of Dreams.

Manchester United are playing some real football at the moment and they will be hoping to keep the run going and beat Stoke City. You can watch this match here, as live streaming links will be available closer to start of the match.

Match Result and Goals Video
[ Manchester United 2-1 Stoke City ]
27' [1 - 0] J. Hernandez
50' [1 - 1] D. Whitehead
62' [2 - 1] Nani

US Navy ship information video mimics masturbation and gay shower scenes?

It sounds like the naval officer on the USS Enterprise, who was in charge of making the ships safety and rules informational video for the crew, has spiced the generic material up a little too much. This once boring subject matter now has people really paying attention to it, as the Navy has it under investigation, according to Yahoo News.

The ships public service video has girls with girls in the shower and men with men in the shower, along with profanity, gay slurs, and images of men pretending to masturbate. This appears to have been done in a humorous way to bring some comedy into the picture.

Captain Owen Honors, the ships second ranking officer, is the man who allegedly put this video together and he appeared in the videos in 2006 and 2007, according to Yahoo News. The videos were shown throughout the ship on closed circuit Tvs. Captain Owen Honors was made the ships commander in May, according to the article on Yahoo News.

The videos were an attempt by Honors at getting the crews attention as it instructed them on ship board safety and rules, which that it did. The Navy does not like its depictions of what is thought to be humorous by the officer who made the video. Navy Commander Chris Sims gave a statement to the media saying “this was not acceptable then (when the videos were made) and it is not acceptable in today’s Navy.”

The Navy will continue with its investigation and it is most likely safe to say the videos are no longer used for passing on the mundane information that everyone must learn.

While Groton Connecticut is home port for big Naval ships such as the USS Annapolis, USS Hartford, USS Alexandria, and a dozen more, the USS Enterprise is based out of Norfolk Virginia, according to the US Navy home port list. Some of these ships resemble floating cities in their size and length.

Mega Millions Winner: Winning Numbers

Are you looking for the Mega Millions Winner? We have the Winning Numbers for you! January 04, 2011 Mega Millions drawing has taken place, and you can now find out if you have won! Can you believe that the jackpot is 355 million dollars? Now that is a huge number! What would you do if you were the winner of the Mega Millions? Would you pay off your debt or spend it?

Local Mega Millions winner could mean windfall for ailing governments

Tonight, some lucky person might win the $355 million Mega Million multi-state lottery jackpot, which is sold in the District, Maryland and Virginia, among other states. And while thousands of people across the region are lining up to buy tickets, there's a reason to root for an area resident even if you don't personally win: A local winner could mean a serious windfall for government treasuries in dire need of help these days.

In the District, a sole winner who accepts the lump cash payment of $224.2 million would pump a full $19 million into the coffers of a city anticipating a fiscal 2012 shortfall of $400 million or more, via an 8.5 percent withholding for income tax. (That's after the feds take 25 percent, or $76.8 million.)

In Maryland, where lawmakers must close a $1.6 billion gap, a sole winner opting for up-front cash would send $20.7 million into the state treasury, via a 9.25 percent withholding.

And in Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) needs to find $191 million in savings, a 4 percent withholding would raise just shy of $9 million.

"We could definitely use it," said Buddy Roogow, executive director of the D.C. Lottery.

Unfortunately the chances aren't great: Mega Millions is sold by 40 other jurisdictions besides the three in the Washington area. And the high interest in the record jackpots means more players are playing more numbers, increasing the chances of a split pot.

But Roogow said that even if a D.C. resident doesn't hit it big, the jackpot has been good for city coffers. "People are buying other things [at lottery agents]; it's good for the retailers," he said.


New year brings hope for a new big winner



Area residents are making their last-minute purchases with hopes of becoming the next Mega Millions winner after the drawing today.

The jackpot, which has been growing since November, now sits comfortably at $330 million.