foregoing amsterdam: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

The answer to your desperate request of Help me sleep! How to take ...

Stress is one of the most popular things you will find in people?s lives and it is also one of the main causes that can keep you from sleeping. The less time you spend sleeping, the more stress you will accumulate and it will be a lot harder to get back on track. The shout of ?help me sleep!? will become more often verbalized and, without the right advice, the problem will be difficult to solve. This is why we came up with solutions for you: a website where you will learn how to get over insomnia fast and easy.

Stress can come from work or from issues you have with money or in any other aspect of your life. The more you think of the things you are worried about, the less time you will allow your mind to rest and this is how you allow the state of insomnia to be a part of your life. Even if they may seem like an answer, pills are not able to solve this issue.

The issues you have to face need to be solved in order to get over this state. If you need to finish a project at work, if you have issues in your marriage, if you let all the other things in your life take over, you first need to take care of it so you can be sure you are on the right track. This is the first thing you need to think of so you can fight insomnia.

If this is the start, you also need to know how to go on in order to learn how to sleep better at night. One battle may be won, but the war is still in play and you need to know what the aspects you need to take care of are to make it a lot better. This is why you need to think of all the things you do before you go to bed and think of adding a few more.

Stop thinking about your sleep deprivation and try to relax. When I wanted someone to help me sleep, I was advised to take a hot shower as this can be helpful. In fact this is what is recommended as a first advice in teaching you how to sleep better. This will allow the body to relax and it will show you the way to a better state of mind. After it you do not have to watch TV, because it brings you back to the original state of mind, but instead you can try a warm glass of milk or some chamomile tea to relax.

If you clear your mind of all the things you are worried about and if you try these things in order to ready your body for sleep, you can be sure it will be a lot easier to get the rest you need for the next day. If you want to learn a few more tips and tricks that will teach you how to sleep better at night, you can turn to the web in order to find all the answers you need. The site of helpmesleep.us is the place where you will find a lot of articles to help with this issue. I know it is always there to help me sleep!

If you have trouble with insomnia and desperately want someone to answer your desperate call of help me sleep !, then do visit our website and lean about how to sleep better at night. This is the place where you will find out a lot of things you did not know until now, tips and tricks that will guide you in getting more rest.

Source: http://articlepdq.com/health-fitness/alternative-medicine/the-answer-to-your-desperate-request-of-help-me-sleep-how-to-take-care-of-insomnia/

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Amid unrest, African Union chief arrives in Central African Republic

By Nana Karikari-apau, CNN

updated 11:56 AM EST, Sun December 30, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi meets with the Central African Republic's president
NEW: France deploys 180 troops into the inland African nation's capital to protect French citizens there
Rebels, angry with the government, have staged attacks in recent days
The C.A.R. president has urged international intervention to stave off rebel advances

(CNN) -- The head of the African Union arrived in the Central African Republic Sunday as tensions mounted between the government and rebels there, an official said.

Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi, who chairs the regional body, met with the Central African Republic's president, said Margaret Vogt, a U.N. special representative.

The talks come amid lingering unrest in the inland African nation.

Rebels, angry with the government, have staged attacks in recent days. And the volatile situation has spurred demonstrations in Bangui, the country's capital and largest city.

Government authorities set an 8 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) curfew Sunday, said Josue Binoua, the minister of territorial administration and decentralization.

Rebels and government officials are scheduled to meet early this week for talks in Gabon, on Africa's western coast, Binoua said. He did not specify the date when the discussions would begin.

Amid fears of more violence, officials from various nations take steps to protect their citizens and interests in the Central African Republic.

France deployed 180 troops from Gabon to Bangui overnight to protect French citizens in the Central African Republic's capital, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a spokesman for France's defense ministry.

U.S. President Barack Obama wrote a letter Saturday to Congress informing them that about 50 U.S. troops were sent to Chad on Thursday "to support the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel and U.S. citizens from the Central African Republic."

Rebels were reported earlier last week to be about 190 miles from Bangui. But there's been a lull in rebel attacks in recent days.

Demonstrators in Bangui have urged foreign intervention to stop rebels from entering the city.

The unrest has prompted the United Nations to relocate dependents and nonessential staff from the country and the U.S. Embassy in Bangui to shut down operations. The U.S. State Department said Thursday -- the same day U.S. troops were sent to Chad -- its ambassador and diplomatic team left the capital, but that the United States is not cutting off diplomatic relations with the turbulent African nation.

Read more: U.S. diplomats leave Central African Republic

President Francois Bozize on Thursday asked for other nations' help in staving off rebel advances that threaten his rule.

Bozize specifically called on France -- which ruled his country, then as a colony known as Ubangi-Shari, until it gained independence in 1960 -- and the United States to help ensure "the rebels return home ... instead of destroying and killing Central Africans."

France has a permanent presence of 200 to 300 military personnel at Bangui's airport under the mandate of the Economic Community of Central African States, and French President Francois Hollande ordered them to safeguard his nation's embassy earlier this week.

But Hollande said Thursday that his nation's troops are not there to "protect a regime," but instead protect French nationals and interests. France will not "interfere in the internal affairs of a country, in this case, CAR," Hollande said, adding, "That time is over."

Nobel scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini dies in Rome

ROME (AP) ? Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died at her home in Rome on Sunday. She was 103 and had worked well into her final years.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, announcing her death in a statement, called it a great loss ??for all of humanity.?? He praised her as someone who represented ??civic conscience, culture and the spirit of research of our time.??

Italy?s so-called ??Lady of the Cells,?? a Jew who lived through anti-Semitic discrimination and the Nazi invasion, became one of her country?s leading scientists and shared the Nobel medicine prize in 1986 with American biochemist Stanley Cohen for their groundbreaking research carried out in the United States. Her research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.

Italy honored Levi-Montalcini in 2001 by making her a senator-for-life.

A petite woman with upswept white hair, she kept an intensive work schedule well into old age. ??At 100, I have a mind that is superior ? thanks to experience ? than when I was 20,?? she said in 2009.

??A beacon of life is extinguished?? with her death, said a niece, Piera Levi-Montalcini, who is a city councilwoman in Turin. She told the Turin daily newspaper La Stampa that her aunt passed away peacefully ??as if sleeping?? after lunch and that the scientist had kept up her research studies several hours a day ??right up until the end.??

Levi-Montalcini was born April 22, 1909, to a Jewish family in the northern city of Turin. At age 20 she overcame her father?s objections that women should not study and obtained a degree in medicine and surgery from Turin University in 1936.

She studied under top anatomist Giuseppe Levi, whom she often credited for her own success and for that of two fellow students and close friends, Salvador Luria and Renato Dulbecco, who also became separate Nobel Prize winners. Levi and Levi-Montalcini were not related.

After graduating, Levi-Montalcini began working as a research assistant in neurobiology but lost her job in 1938 when Italy?s Fascist regime passed laws barring Jews from universities and major professions.

Her family decided to stay in Italy and, as World War II neared, Levi-Montalcini created a makeshift lab in her bedroom where she began studying the development of chicken embryos, which would later lead to her major discovery of mechanisms that regulate growth of cells and organs.

With eggs becoming a rarity due to the war, the young scientist biked around the countryside to buy them from farmers. She was soon joined in her secret research by Levi, her university mentor, who was also Jewish and who became her assistant.

??She worked in primitive conditions,?? Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack told Sky TG24 TV in a tribute to her fellow scientist. ??She is really someone to be admired.??

Italy?s premier, Mario Monti, paid tribute to Levi-Montalcini?s ??charismatic and tenacious?? character and for her lifelong battle to ??defend the battles in which she believed.??

Only a few months ago, she helped sponsor an appeal to the government for more attention of fund-strapped young scientists in Italy.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi praised Levi-Montalcini?s civil and moral efforts, saying she was an ??inspiring?? example for Italy and the world, the ANSA news agency said.

An Italian scientist, who worked for some 40 years with Levi-Montalcini, including in the United States, said the work the Nobel laureate did on nerve growth factor was continuing. The protein assists portions of the central nervous system that have been damaged by disease or injury.

??Over the years, this field of investigation has become ever more important in the world of neuroscience,?? Pietro Calissano was quoted by ANSA as saying. Calissano began studying under Levi-Montalcini in 1965 and recalled her ability to relate to students on a very human level, with none of the elite airs that often characterize Italian professors.

??I remember we were in a closet with cell cultures when she offered me a fellowship,?? Calissano said. He added that research building on Levi-Montalcini?s pioneering achievements continues. ??We are working on a possible application in the treatment of Alzheimer's,?? he added.

The 1943 German invasion of Italy forced the Levi-Montalcini family to flee to Florence and live underground. After the Allies liberated the city, she worked as a doctor at a center for refugees.Continued...

Source: http://feeds.boston.com/click.phdo?i=6ccdfec772254671ad53a1e2f3fd7af3

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Syrian rebels capture oil pumping station

BEIRUT (AP) ? Activists say Syrian rebels have captured an oil pumping station in the north of the country after days of fighting.

The Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say the rebels captured the station in the province of Raqqa on Sunday.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said the station receives crude oil from the nearby province of Hassakha then pumps it to the central region of Homs, home to one of Syria's two oil refineries.

Rebels have captured in the past months several oil fields in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour that borders Iraq.

The Observatory said the rebels also captured a military post that used to protect the station.

Syria's conflict which began in March last year has killed more than 40,000 people.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-capture-oil-pumping-station-102932939.html

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NO. 4 STORY 2012: Sylvan Township solves debt repayment, but many issues still linger

In a township saddled with roughly $13 million of bond debt and no way to pay it, 2012 began with an infamous past for Sylvan, marking our No. 4 story of the year.

Beginning 12 years ago, Sylvan Township entered an agreement with two developers to provide water and sewer service for their housing projects. To satisfy that agreement, the township set out to build a system designed for 1,000 customers, forecasting the amount needed. The township, having neither the funds nor credit rating needed to carry out such a plan, entered an agreement with Washtenaw County for $12.5 million in bonds to pay for the construction costs.

Then the bottom dropped out. The housing bubble burst, and the developers vacated their project and never paid special assessments.

The township was left with $12.5 million debt, plus interest after a 2010 circuit court ruling found the developers were not obligated to make any payments.

The bulk of the debt remained in limbo throughout 2011 as the township and the county brainstormed repayment options. The government bodies found the only option was a taxpayer-approved millage, which was set at 4.75 mills for 20 years. It was turned down in November 2011.

County cuts a check

Despite being able to make an interest-only payment on bond debt in November 2011, the township defaulted on its May payment. In a May County Commissioner's meeting, the county administrator's office cut a $175,000 check, which covered an interest-only payment. At the meeting, the township's county liaison and county commissioner, Rob Turner, discussed the options for placing a millage on the ballot again. Turner hoped for a better outcome the second time around.

"I think as far as a sentiment of those people who voted against it, I know there are a few who have changed their minds after checking out all the figures that I shared with them," Turner said.

Millage option goes back on ballot

The millage officially made its way onto the August primary ballot with a lower millage rate than last year's attempt. At 4.4 mills instead of 4.75, the payments would still last 20 years. The lower rate, however, would be a smoother transition, Turner said. Continued...

"I have looked for over a year now for any other way for the people of the township to dodge this bullet," Turner told Heritage Media. "But I just have not been able to find anywhere at any level - local, county or state - to give the people any relief from paying off this debt that's owned.

'My feeling is that this millage is the best instrument to get this debt paid off."

By an exceptionally narrow margin, the 20-year, 4.4-mill levy passed. With a 62 percent voter turnout, 953 people voted on the millage, with 480 voting for it and 473 opposing it.

Recount requested

The seven-vote margin brewed doubt about the millage's validity among many Sylvan Township residents, and after the mandatory waiting period, a recount request was filed. Township resident Janice Carr made the request after the county's Board of Canvassers certified the vote.

Less than two weeks after the request was filed, the Board of Canvassers denied a potential recount due to what they called "improperly sealed" ballot bags.

Township Clerk LuAnn Koch objected to the recount denial in the township's meeting minutes, stating that the bags have been sealed in the same manner for eight years with no issues.

"All seals are provided by Washtenaw County and are State approved," Koch said. "There were several other precincts in Washtenaw County at this recount that were also determined unrecountable due to the method of sealing ballot bags."

Soon after the ruling, township resident Patrick Zieske took the issue to circuit court, where Judge Archie Brown granted a motion to show just cause for the recount denial.

Brown held a hearing on Oct. 3 with Zieske and the defendant, the Board of Canvassers. Koch, the township's clerk, as well as Peter Flintoft, the township's attorney, were also in attendance to provide testimony. Continued...

In less than two weeks, a recount was performed, and the millage vote stood. As stated in the ballot language, taxpayers will begin paying the additional 4.4 mills on their winter 2013 tax bills.

Water issues remain

Though the method for paying back the debt was solved, another looming issue remained: How can a wastewater treatment plant built for more than 1,000 customers continue to operate while serving 110?

Officials from Sylvan Township and nearby Chelsea began brainstorming the options in October. Ideas included shutting down the water tower and piping current customers to the city, selling bottled water or sharing capacity with the city in some way.

With the water tower reaching its 10th anniversary and requiring significant maintenance to continue operations, Sylvan Township is heading toward a deadline with no money in hand for repairs.

While the two municipalities discussed a variety of options with state Rep. Mark Ouimet and state Sen. Rebekah Warren, no definitive plan was formulated.

The lack of concrete options frustrated some, including Chelsea City Councilmember Cheri Albertson.

"This is the ninth time we've been at a table trying to hammer this out," she said at the meeting. "I'm wondering now that it's at the legislative level, at what point do decisions start to get made? Is today the date? The first steps are to draw up what are all of the options, the real options. So when are we going to do that?"

Accusations fly

Not long after that hopeful meeting, Sylvan Township's board sent the city a letter stating the city was legally responsible for 41 percent of the township's $12.5 million water and sewer facility debt. Written by attorney Ga?tan Gerville-R?ache, the letter claimed the city owed the debt because it incorporated 41 percent of the township when it became a city in 2004. Continued...

In a township saddled with roughly $13 million of bond debt and no way to pay it, 2012 began with an infamous past for Sylvan, marking our No. 4 story of the year.

Then the bottom dropped out. The housing bubble burst, and the developers vacated their project and never paid special assessments.

The township was left with $12.5 million debt, plus interest after a 2010 circuit court ruling found the developers were not obligated to make any payments.

County cuts a check

"I think as far as a sentiment of those people who voted against it, I know there are a few who have changed their minds after checking out all the figures that I shared with them," Turner said.

Millage option goes back on ballot

'My feeling is that this millage is the best instrument to get this debt paid off."

By an exceptionally narrow margin, the 20-year, 4.4-mill levy passed. With a 62 percent voter turnout, 953 people voted on the millage, with 480 voting for it and 473 opposing it.

Recount requested

Less than two weeks after the request was filed, the Board of Canvassers denied a potential recount due to what they called "improperly sealed" ballot bags.

Township Clerk LuAnn Koch objected to the recount denial in the township's meeting minutes, stating that the bags have been sealed in the same manner for eight years with no issues.

Soon after the ruling, township resident Patrick Zieske took the issue to circuit court, where Judge Archie Brown granted a motion to show just cause for the recount denial.

In less than two weeks, a recount was performed, and the millage vote stood. As stated in the ballot language, taxpayers will begin paying the additional 4.4 mills on their winter 2013 tax bills.

Water issues remain

With the water tower reaching its 10th anniversary and requiring significant maintenance to continue operations, Sylvan Township is heading toward a deadline with no money in hand for repairs.

While the two municipalities discussed a variety of options with state Rep. Mark Ouimet and state Sen. Rebekah Warren, no definitive plan was formulated.

The lack of concrete options frustrated some, including Chelsea City Councilmember Cheri Albertson.

Accusations fly

Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan called the letter outlandish during a council meeting, but many city officials believed the letter had been conjured by angry members of the Sylvan Township Board who were not re-elected.

New faces take on a familiar problem

With both the August primary and the November election completed, all except one member of the Sylvan Township Board had been replaced.

Trustee Scott Cooper was elected as the township's supervisor. Voters elected newcomers Roy Schmidt and Kurt Koseck as trustees, Doug Smith as clerk and Rod Branham as their township treasurer.

Soon after the officials assumed office they held a meet-and-greet with township residents, Chelsea City officials and other government figures. Many from the Chelsea City Council reportedly attended the gathering, which gave hope to the township's future potential partnership.

No. 1 STORY 2012: Dexter community unites, works together after tornado rips through town

No. 2 STORY 2012: President Obama visits Southeast Michigan twice

No. 3 STORY 2012: Ypsilanti, Willow Run school districts merge

Source: http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/12/29/chelsea_standard/news/doc50df3596dae4c158434063.txt

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Why New Year is the worst time to judge your relationship | Andrew ...

??New Year is the busiest time of the year for two polar opposite organisations. Lawyers have their annual rush of clients who put their divorce proceedings on hold before Christmas ? hoping for the best ? but decide to press ahead after all. Meanwhile Relate, the UK?s largest counselling charity, reports peak demand for their services from couples seeking to save their relationships. So if you had a miserable Christmas with your nearest, but no longer dearest, which route should you take? Should you stay or should you go?

My advice is to do nothing. In the same way that animal charities campaign against buying a pet at Christmas, I believe that marital therapists should campaign against judging your relationship at Christmas. The connection might seem far fetched but both puppies and unhappy couples need similar things: a settled routine, not to get over excited and plenty of patience. All of these things are at short supply over the holiday season.

Jackie and Carl, in their mid thirties, had staked their future on a good Christmas. ?We kept snapping at each other but then we?d been incredibly busy,? explained Jackie, ?so I thought some extended time to unwind together would be the answer. Except, Carl was either asleep or building railway layouts with our son. I felt completely ignored.? Carl was equally disappointed: ?All she did was criticise me. Is it any wonder, I kept out of her way?? Rather than un-picking what happened over Christmas, I was more interested in their normal routine. Jackie and Carl were surprised but a relationship needs good communication on a daily basis ? rather than expecting a Christmas miracle. I discovered that their evenings together often got off to bad start. Jackie would be bathing the kids when Carl returned home, so he would switch on the TV and engrossed in something when she came downstairs. Carl would feel taken for granted and Jackie felt ignored. After some negotiation, Carl agreed to come home earlier and Jackie to rearrange bath-time. This allowed them to spend five minutes chatting over their days when Carl returned home and to establish a good settled communication routine.

The forced jollity ? and the desire to bury the hatchet ? is another reason why Christmas is not a reliable indication of whether a relationship is working or not. The ?season of goodwill? had actually increased the tension between Jackie and Carl, as neither had felt able to express their true feelings. Not surprising, they had a nasty and very personal fight on Boxing Day. My next task in counselling was to help them argue properly, rather than trade insults. ?The more agitated Jackie gets, the faster my heart beats and the more anxious I become,? explained Carl, ?I sort of shut down and either go silent or leave the room.? ?This makes me angrier and angrier until I explode,? added Jackie. Without the added pressure of Christmas, Carl started to experiment and recognise when he felt in danger of being flooded with anxiety. This allowed him to either tell Jackie ? and ask for five minutes time-out ? or to say his piece and relieve the pressure before it became unbearable.

Another common trap, that Christmas lures unhappy couples into, is the secret test. Isabelle?s marriage had been so miserable that she doubted that her husband still loved her: ?I thought Christmas would be a chance for him to show he still cared. I went to a lot of trouble on his presents and even dropped a few clues about what I wanted ? in case it inspired him. But on Christmas morning, I got the usual perfume and scarf. I was devastated. Had he actually thought of me once?? Unfortunately, Isabelle said nothing to her husband, Toby. When he went on to forget to lay the table, plus countless other minor failings, Isabelle considered this further evidence of her his lack of caring. Instead of asking Toby for help or even telling him she was disappointed, Isabelle still kept her thoughts to herself and built up a head of righteous indignation. On New Year?s Eve, the dam burst and Isabelle asked for a divorce. Toby was nonplussed, but he had neither been aware of the test nor that his wife had been gathering evidence to prove their marriage was terminal.

So if New Year is not a good time to judge the health or otherwise of your relationship, what is the alternative? One client vowed: ?if things are not better by this time next year then we?ll split.? Unfortunately, his partner felt she had the sword of Damocles hanging over her. A more constructive approach is to commit to trying to improve your regular day-to-day relationship and build in small and repeatable changes ? like eating an evening meal together. (There are more good habits in the box that can help kick start the healing process.) Three months should provide enough time before reviewing your options again. Remember, there is no ticking clock, even if the drama of New Year suggests otherwise. If, however, the pain seems unbearable, contact an organisation like Relate or Relationship Counselling for London who will help you and your partner communicate better. Even if ultimately you decide to separate, it is better to make the decision based on your normal relationship rather than the one that has been artificially stuffed and slaughtered by Christmas.

Source: http://www.andrewgmarshall.com/2012/12/29/why-new-year-is-the-worst-time-to-judge-your-relationship/

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Eckhart Tolle on How to Find God (VIDEO)

Looking for God? According to spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, your search may be over. God, he says, is really "the power of life itself."

In this clip from a recent episode of "Super Soul Sunday," Eckhart tells Oprah Winfrey that believing in your personal concept of God is no substitute for the reality of God. "When you take your attention into the present moment, a certain alertness arises," he says. "You become more conscious of what's around you, but also, strangely, a sense of presence that is both within and without."

To feel that presence, Eckhart advises that you try a simple exercise that he devised to help you quiet your mind. Hold your hands out in front of you. One hand symbolizes the past, the other the future. Focus on the space between your hands. That is the present. "It can be a little reminder to help you behold that sense of presence," he says. "The only thing you ever have is now."

"Super Soul Sunday" airs Sundays at 11 a.m. ET on OWN.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/eckhart-tolle-how-to-find-god_n_2324408.html

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In 2012, we turned to Wikipedia to learn about ... Facebook?

19 hrs.

Rosa Golijan , NBC News

Unlike most major Internet brands, Wikipedia had no year-end top-10 list to share. But that's not to say there isn't a list of most viewed Wikipedia articles of 2012. It took a software engineer with a bit of spare time to gather up the data, and share the results, equal parts predictable and off-the-wall.?What does this list say about us?

Based on?Johan Gunnarsson's analysis of Wikipedia logs, it seems that?the most viewed articles on the English version of Wikipedia are lined up as follows:

1. Facebook - 32,647,942 views
2.?Wiki -?29,613,759?views
3.?Deaths in 2012 -?25,418,587?views
4.?One Direction -?22,351,637?views
5.?The Avengers (2012 film) -?22,268,644?views
6.?Fifty Shades of Grey -?21,779,423?views
7.?2012 phenomenon -?20,619,920?views
8.?The Dark Knight Rises -?18,882,885?views
9.?Google -?18,508,719?views
10.?The Hunger Games -?18,431,626?views

While we're not surprised to see iconic pop culture phenomena like musical sensation One Direction, the all-star movie?"The?Avengers," the risque literary?trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey" and of course the?inescapable "Hunger Games" series?appear,?we did scratch our heads about Facebook and Google, and ... "Wiki"?

Wikimedia spokesman Jay Walsh explained the popularity of these items to All Things D's Liz Gannes as likely being due to users who might type "Facebook" or similar into a search engine built into "their browsers intending to go to the site and end up on Wikipedia."?Either that, he says, or there's simply "general, high-level interest and curiosity" about the history of some of these websites and services.

We'll buy the accidental typing explanation over the "high-level of?interest" one.

While most of the top 100 most-viewed?English Wikipedia articles centered around pop culture and current events, some articles raise eyebrows for feeling a bit out of place. Entries on the Illuminati (No. 33), elocution (No. 34)?and g-forces (No. 83)?cropped up on the heels of expected entries like Mitt Romney (No. 22) and?Justin Bieber (No. 25).

The more immature individuals among us may find it amusing that entries on sex (No. 18) and human penis size (No. 82) made it into the list of 100?most viewed.?Android fanboys may flaunt the fact that an article about the mobile operating system hit the list at No. 70, while no entries about iOS made it into the top 100. (Though Steve Jobs did come in at No. 64.)

At least some people were using Wikipedia for its intended purpose, to cheat on homework assignments: Historical topics from?Albert Einstein (No. 98)?to the Hatfield-McCoy feud (No. 91) pepper the list.

When looking at the?most viewed articles in languages other than English, we find that the obsession with major Web properties and pop culture extends beyond their idiom of origin. Facebook led the Spanish top 10, which also includes One Direction. German language readers were particularly interested in the?TV shows "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory," "Two And A Half Men," and "Game Of Thrones" ? all which made it into their top 10.

And speaking of Bieber,?those with an irrational dislike for the teen?heartthrob may find it comforting to know that he?only made the top 10 in Norwegian and Danish. He failed to reach single digits in any other language, and sits at No. 25 on the list of the most viewed English Wikipedia articles.

"Gangnam Style," the ear-worm that beat Bieber's "Baby" to?a billion views on YouTube, appears to have only made it onto one top-100 list?? the English one ? taking the No. 21 spot with a mere?13,129,876 views.

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

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/2012-we-turned-wikipedia-learn-about-facebook-1C7753895

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Video: Leaders aim to make fiscal cliff deal as deadline nears

Why do some men get grouchier as they age?

Some call it ?grumpy old man complex.? Other experts label it: ?irritable male syndrome,? a spike in the outward crankiness of guys of a certain age. As more baby boomers hit 60? be ready for more grouchy outbursts, like a Donald Trump rant set to explode.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50315408/

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6 must-have foods and drinks for 2013 ? Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs

Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

What do you want to be eating more of in 2013? Right now, in the midst of my post-holiday food hangover, my answer is ?nothing.? My follow-up answer is ?anything that?s associated with the word cleanse.? But I?ll get over that.

So I looked in the crystal ball we have lying around at Food & Wine in anticipation of moments like this, and I discovered five foods and one kind of drink that will be on fire in 2013. So get out your soup spoons and Sex on the Beach glasses.

Happy New Year everyone!
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?
Wacky Ramen
It?s not like ramen joints haven't been popping up everywhere. But now, experts - who generally obsess over the broth - are throwing non-traditional ingredients into their ramen bowls. At Dassara in Brooklyn, chef Marc Giroux celebrates the borough?s Jewish heritage with Deli Ramen, filled with matzo balls and Montreal-style smoked pastrami. In Baltimore, at PABU, Ken Tominaga serves Michael?s Chicken Noodle Ramen (it?s named for his business partner, Michael Mina).

Rabbit
Last year, I promoted squirrel as the great new sustainable meat (thanks to chef Ren? Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen for the idea). This year, in lieu of meat from trees, I?ll call out rabbit, on menus all over the place. SPQR in San Francisco makes a luscious rabbit roulade (if you?d rather eat rabbit at home, the recipe is in the new SPQR cookbook). Chicago?s The Purple Pig turns rabbit into salad with pickled beans and crispy capers; on the small plates menu at Contigo in Austin, rabbit livers are served over Anson Mills grits.

Genius Tacos
If you could eat only one food in 2013, tacos would be a good bet. For one thing, they?re ubiquitous. They?re also becoming increasingly creative. At Manhattan?s El Toro Blanco, chef Josh Capon adds chipotle queso to his roast-chicken tacos (he goes old school, too, with the seasoned ground beef?filled Escuela Vieja).

New York City?s Salvation Taco offers non-traditional braised lamb tacos in naan bread. Comal in Berkeley serves wood-grilled rock-cod tacos with spicy pickled cabbage and avocado aioli; at Copita in Sausalito, the tortillas are house-made for tacos like oyster mushroom with pickled onions and epazote. Copita also boasts that its entire lunch and dinner menus are gluten-free?something else you?ll see ever more of in 2013.

?
Pasta Everywhere
Right now, every chef?s favorite new toy is his or her pasta extruder (one chef likened it to the joy you got as a kid with your super-deluxe Play-Doh set). At Nellc?te in Chicago, chef Jared van Camp mills his own flour in-house daily and makes over a dozen fresh pastas. In St. Louis, Gerard Craft has become such a pasta expert at Pastaria that he?s even making alphabet pasta (the kind you usually see in canned soups). At Manhattan?s new L?Apicio, chef Gabe Thompson is tweaking classic sauces for his house pastas, like adding pepperoni slivers to linguine with clam sauce.

Chocolate Cake 2.0
If there?s anything I love more than a Cake Wreck, it?s a really great version of an old-school chocolate cake. Battersby in Brooklyn has a tiny dessert menu that includes a superb version of Black Forest Cake, with brandied cherries on top. The Bakery at Cakes & Ale in Decatur, Georgia, is serving Marble Blackout Cake: vanilla, citrus and chocolate marbled cake with chocolate buttercream. (That?s just one of its many excellent retooled classics?Hummingbird Cake is another.) And at Sugar and Plumm in Manhattan, the Brooklyn Blackout Cake is currently served as part of the "Earthquake in a Fishbowl." That earthquake also includes key lime pie; butterscotch pudding; vanilla, chocolate and salted caramel ice creams; and whipped cream. Wow.

?
Kitschy Cocktails
If there?s anything I love more than a great old-school chocolate cake, it?s a great tacky cocktail. In Manhattan, Mission Chinese Food just got its liquor license; one of the first drinks they?ll serve is Sex on the Beach. In Washington, DC, Firefly has a new drinks menu, and they?re bringing back that 1980s classic, the Cosmopolitan.
?

More from Food & Wine:

Top 50 Cocktail Bars in America

2013 Cocktail Trends

Best Mac and Cheese in the U.S.

Best Fried Chicken in the U.S.

Best Taco Spots in the U.S.

Source: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/12/27/6-must-have-foods-and-drinks-for-2013/

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frenchstewarter: Passels55A: Christmas Craft Supplies 6 Inch Sisal ...

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Source: http://frenchstewarter.blogspot.com/2012/12/passels55a-christmas-craft-supplies-6.html

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children into law and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans.

In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations.

"There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. So what, are we going to send all our children there? Maybe we should move there ourselves?" he said, with sarcasm.

Parliament gave its final approval on Wednesday to the bill, which would also introduce other measures in retaliation for new U.S. legislation which is designed to punish Russians accused of human rights violations.

For it to become law Putin needs to sign it.

"So far I see no reason not to sign it, although I have to review the final text and weigh everything," Putin said at a meeting of senior federal and regional officials that was shown live on the state's 24-hour news channel.

"I intend to sign not only the law ... but also a presidential decree that will modify the support mechanisms for orphaned children ... especially those who are in a difficult situation, by that I mean in poor health," Putin said.

Critics of the bill say the Russian authorities are playing political games with the lives of children.

Children in Russia's crowded and troubled orphanage system - particularly those with serious illnesses or disabilities - will have less of a chance of finding homes, and of even surviving, if it becomes law, child rights advocates say.

They point to people like Jessica Long, who was given up shortly after birth by her parents in Siberia but was raised by adoptive parents in the United States and became a Paralympic swimming champion.

However, the Russian authorities point to the deaths of 19 Russian-born children adopted by American parents in the past decade, and lawmakers named the bill after a boy who died of heat stroke in Virginia after his adoptive father left him locked in a car for hours.

Putin reiterated Russian complaints that U.S. courts have been too lenient on parents in such cases, saying Russia has inadequate access to Russian-born children in the United States despite a bilateral agreement that entered into force on November 1.

NATIONAL IDENTITY

But Putin, who began a new six-year term in May and has searched for ways to unite the country during 13 years in power, suggested there were deeper motives for such a ban.

"For centuries, neither spiritual nor state leaders sent anyone abroad," he said, indicating he was not speaking specifically about Russia but about many societies.

"They always fight for their national identities - they gather themselves together in a fist, they fight for their language, culture," he said.

The bid to ban American adoptions plays on sensitivity in Russia about adoptions by foreigners, which skyrocketed as the social safety net unraveled with the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Families from the United States adopt more Russian children than those of any other country.

Putin had earlier described the Russian bill as an emotional but appropriate response to the Magnitsky Act, legislation signed by President Barack Obama this month as part of a law granting Russia "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) status.

The U.S. law imposes visa bans and asset freezes on Russians accused of human rights violations, including those linked to the death in a Moscow jail of Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-graft lawyer, in 2009.

The Russian bill would impose similar measures against Americans accused of violating the rights of Russian abroad and outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental groups.

(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Steve Gutterman; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russias-putin-suggests-sign-ban-u-adoptions-121936243.html

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Online Ink Cartridges Buying Guide

Buying ink cartridges online can help you save your money and time. Ordering such products online is quite simple as you can acquire great things on the internet just by visiting different websites. We all know that internet is the most popular thing worldwide. This article will act as a great online ink cartridges buying guide that will help you in saving your hard earned money. All you need to do is to pay proper attention towards this article.

Ink cartridges
Before the advent of internet and technology, people had to physically visit a hardware store in order to acquire these kinds of cartridges. But once internet became popular, online shopping got in to the groove and helped people order almost anything by sitting back at home. You need to ensure that you research hard before purchasing suitable cartridges online. You got to keep a track on what type of products you are going to purchase online. As far as, my knowledge is concerned, buying ink cartridges online is a very good option for you to consider. However, you seriously need to keep your options open and order the right products online so that you don't end up losing all the money.

Ordering the appropriate cartridge
The most important thing for you to do is to order the right and appropriate cartridge for yourself. You should know the exact name of the product you are looking for. You can even check out the model of the printer that you have for further information. This is the most significant thing that you must do in order to generate some huge results on the go.

Saving money with online ink cartridges is really simple and straightforward. You just need to place your order and wait for the products. They will be delivered to you in double quick time. The most important thing for you to do is to seek some professional guidance on the internet. There are plenty of tips and guidelines that you got to follow. If you want you can even consider buying such items from a reputed online store. This will help you save your money and time no matter what it takes.

In case you wish to know more about this topic, then you can easily seek some professional guidance on the go. Follow the above mentioned article and tips to save your time and monetary resources. Buy online ink cartridges as they are great fun!

Source: http://www.readingprinters.co.uk/computer-hardware-articles/2698-online-ink-cartridges-buying-guide

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Soprano Bartoli: My voice has more colors, shadow

LONDON (Reuters) - Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli has released a year-end blockbuster that is part mystery story, part research project and shows off a voice which only seems to improve with age.

Bartoli's latest deluxe-packaged album "Mission" (Decca) is devoted to the music of the late 17th-century Italian composer, diplomat and perhaps spy, Agostino Steffani.

Steffani may have been a bit overlooked as a result of his appearance at the end of the Renaissance and at the beginning of the Baroque periods - until Bartoli's interest alighted on him.

"The variety is amazing in the music of Steffani, the slow arias have very beautiful melodic lines, they are unbelievable, it's quite hypnotic music," Bartoli said in a telephone interview from Paris.

Since she burst upon the world in the 1990s, specializing mostly in Mozart and Rossini, Bartoli has gone from strength to strength, not only in digging up unusual repertoires, including another deluxe compilation in 2009 devoted to music sung by castrati, but also vocally.

Here's what else Bartoli had to say about Steffani and his possible career as a spy, why she goes for the anti-diva look on her recent album covers, and what she calls a Fellini-esque experience at La Scala with conductor Daniel Barenboim:

Q: Is it true, then, that the voice improves with time?

A: "I think this is a very good time because of the maturity of the technique. When you are young, of course, you have to have a beautiful voice. This is a gift you receive, but you don't have enough technique or experience. So this is a very good time because I can really paint with my voice with so many colors, like a painter. I love painting with the voice and I'm of an age when I do this definitely better than 20 years ago."

Q: So this bit about Steffani being a spy, surely that was dreamt up by the Decca marketing department?

A: "He had an incredible life as a priest, a missionary and a diplomatic mission to arranging weddings between the royal princes of that period. And also he was a kind of spy, in fact he was a Catholic priest in the north of Germany, in the Protestant area, and he spent lots of years in that area - it was very unusual, very strange. Maybe he also had the mission to convert (people) to Catholicism, who knows? We have lots of speculation about him, all the mysterious things about this man. There's still mystery."

Q: There's no mystery though that the cover for this album, showing you bald-headed and wielding a crucifix, is "non-diva" - like the cover on the "Sacrificium" album of castrati music, with your head superimposed on the torso of a male statue.

A: "The idea was to have a cover related to the project and it was a bit against the cliche of a diva who has to look beautiful all the time. In a project like 'Sacrificium', when at the beginning of the 18th century 3,000-4,000 boys were castrated every year in Italy...how can I make a CD project about this and make a cover with a beautiful, glamorous Vanity Fair picture? This would be more embarrassing...People realize there is a real story here to tell, it's not a compilation of arias which you do for Christmas. And 'Sacrificium' was a huge success."

Q: Your concert recital earlier this month singing Handel, Rossini and Mozart with Daniel Barenboim conducting at La Scala in Milan, with a chorus of boos and whistles in the second half, was perhaps less of a success?

A: "This story is repeating what happened to Carlos Kleiber, one of the greatest conductors of our lives, also to (Maria) Callas, (Luciano) Pavarotti. The concert was magnificent - Handel, Mozart, Rossini - and then I believe at the very end there was a very Fellinian situation. You think these things don't happen anymore, that they only happen in the movies of (Federico) Fellini but actually, no, this is happening. And it seemed like a parody but the next morning I opened the newspaper and (Silvio) Berlusconi is back (in Italian politics). And so I said, 'Yes, of course.'

I think living in Italy is difficult but living without Italy is impossible."

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soprano-bartoli-voice-more-colors-shadow-144223404.html

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Top 10 Cocktails For Any Occasion Review | A Girl Has to Eat ...

If you love experimenting with a cocktail shaker, muddler and strainer, buy spirits online and learn to prepare 10 of the best cocktails perfect for any occasion.

1. Mojito

The mojito, the national drink of Cuba and one of Ernest Hemingway?s favourites, is a winner, no matter which recipe you choose. The traditional Cuban recipe includes white sugar, white rum, mint leaves, lime, club soda, and ice. Golden rum may give the cocktail a stronger taste.

2. Cosmopolitan

The Cosmo is very popular among ladies, especially since Sex and the City became a TV sensation. The cocktail is prepared with citron vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, lime juice, and ice.

3. Margarita

The national cocktail of Mexico is one of the most refreshing and easy-to-make drinks. The classic version is based on tequila ? you can use silver or golden tequila ? as well as orange liqueur, lemon or lime juice, syrup, and ice.

4. Apple Martini
The delicious cocktail suits any occasion, from weddings to corporate events. Apple martinis should contain at least one ingredient with an apple flavour, be it plain apple juice, puree, or liqueur. You can try mixing apple flavoured vodka, sour apple liqueur, pineapple juice, and apple juice.

5. Caipirinha

The basic ingredient is Cachasa but adding limes, lime juice and brown sugar is essential for giving the cocktail a unique honey taste.

6. Mint Julep
To prepare the cocktail, you can use all the bartending elements from stirring to muddling to straining to shaking. You need bourbon, white sugar, mint leaves, bitters, club soda, lime juice and ice.

7. Bellini
The classic bellini was invented in the favourite bar of Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway opened in 1931. It?s based on chilled champagne or sparkling wine and peach puree or juice.

8. Mimosa
The recipe is probably the easiest one. By mixing chilled sparkling wine and orange juice, you get a light drink perfect for brunch.

9. Manhattan

The cocktail contains Italian vermouth, whiskey, and dash angostura. Rye whiskey may be substituted for bourbon if you like.

10. Rum Swizzle
This rum-based cocktail is often called Bermuda?s national drink. It contains rum, angostura bitters, pineapple juice, orange juice, and sweet syrup.

Stick to classic recipes or experiment, but use only quality spirits for the cocktails. To make them really avant-garde, use ice in different shapes, sizes and flavours.

This is a paid for advertorial.

Source: http://agirlhastoeat.com/top-10-cocktails-for-any-occasion-spirits-online-cellarvie-wines/

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Russia parliament passes anti-US adoption bill

Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

A protester argues with police officers outside the Federation Council in Moscow on Wednesday. The poster held by the protester reads: "Children get frozen in the Cold War."

By Reuters

MOSCOW --?Russia's upper house of parliament approved a bill on Wednesday that would prohibit Americans from adopting Russian children and impose other measures in retaliation for a U.S. law designed to punish Russians accused of human rights violations.?

The bill would also outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental organizations and impose visa bans and asset freezes on Americans accused of violating the rights of Russians abroad.?

The bill was endorsed by the lower house last week and is now expected to be sent to President Vladimir Putin to sign.

Putin hasn't committed to signing the bill, but referred to it as a legitimate response to the new U.S. law.

It is one part of a larger measure by angry lawmakers retaliating against a recently signed U.S. law that calls for sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators.?

The U.S. law is primarily intended to end Cold War-era trade restrictions and was hailed by U.S. businesses worried about falling behind in the race to win shares of Russia's more open market, but its human rights part has outraged Putin's government.

Dubbed the Magnitsky act, the U.S. legislation is named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested by officials he accused of a $230-million tax fraud.

He?was repeatedly denied medical treatment and in 2009 died after almost a year in jail after being severely beaten by guards.

Opportunity denied
Some top Russian officials, including the foreign minister, have spoken flatly against the Russian bill, arguing that the measure would be in violation with Russia's constitution and international obligations.

Earlier Wednesday, several protesters were detained outside the upper house as it prepared to make its decision.

Boy's Christmas wish: Adoption of little brother caught in US-Russia spat

"Children get frozen in the Cold War," one poster read.

Critics of the bill say it victimizes orphans by depriving them of an opportunity to escape often-dismal Russian orphanages.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims the U.S. is "poisoning ties" between the two countries with a law that bans Russians who abuse human rights and is backing a Russian draft law banning adoption by Americans. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

Americans may lose right to adopt Russian kids

There are about 740,000 children without parental custody in Russia, according to UNICEF. More than 60,000 Russian children have been adopted in the United States in the past 20 years.

The Russian bill is named in honor of Dima Yakovlev, a Russian toddler who was adopted by Americans and then died in 2008 after his father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours.

See the US Action Plan on Children in Adversity

The father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Russian lawmakers argue that by banning adoptions to the U.S. they would be protecting children and encouraging adoptions inside Russia.

Russian children?s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov told the Interfax news agency that 46 children who were about to be adopted by U.S. citizens would stay in Russia ? despite court rulings in some of these cases authorizing the adoptions.

Astakhov also insisted that all adoptions would be halted once the bill is signed by Putin, but a senior lawmaker at the Federation Council insisted it cannot be enacted immediately.

Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Council's foreign affairs committee, said that a bilateral Russian-U.S. agreement binds Russia to notify of a halt in adoptions 12 months in advance.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/26/16158938-russia-parliament-passes-anti-us-adoption-bill?lite

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Twister record leaves South in the dark

After sweeping through the Midwest with blinding snow, a major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to parts of the South and set off damaging tornadoes. The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reports.

By Tracy Connor, NBC News

Crews scrambled to restore power Wednesday after a string of Christmas tornadoes tore across the South, toppling trees, ripping off roofs, and dropping one-inch hailstones.

The National Weather Service said there were a record 34 tornadoes reported in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and?Alabama on Tuesday.

A state of emergency was declared in?Mississippi, where homes, roads and businesses were damaged in at least nine counties. Eight people were injured but expected to survive, officials said.

A tornado watch was issued Wednesday for the eastern Carolinas until 5:00 p.m. ET.

At one point late Tuesday, holiday celebrations went dark for at least 150,000 customers in Alabama; electricity had been restored to all but 8,500 by the next morning, according to Alabama Power.

The worst of the tornadoes hit Tuesday afternoon in Mobile, Ala.

Rick Cauley, who was hosting relatives for Christmas, got everyone in the house to a shelter at the high school down the block.

"As luck would have it, that's where the tornado hit," Cauley told The Associated Press. "The pressure dropped and the ears started popping and it got crazy for a second."

The school was damaged, but the family was fine.

Mobile Press-Register reporter John Sharp wrote that he hunkered down in his bathtub in the fetal position while the power flickered off and the twister roared around his building.

When he walked outside, he was stunned. The roof of a small shopping center had caved in, and several cars in a restaurant parking lot were destroyed.

Hundreds more flights canceled as Christmas storm moves east

?Visibly, it was like a bomb has gone off at The Loop,? he wrote. ?A one-way street sign was literally sawed into half. The Dauphin Island Parkway/Airport Boulevard sign was flattened. Power lines were lying on the ground.

?It's a Christmas miracle no one was killed,? he added.

Mobile?s Trinity Episcopal Church lost a large section of its roof and a wall, but officials were looking on the bright side. Hours before the tornado touched down, there were 500 people in the church for Christmas Eve services.

"Thank God this didn't happen last night," senior warden Scott Rye said.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley released a statement thanking first responders for their holiday efforts.

Christmas storms spread snow, tornadoes across US, snarling travel

"The people of Alabama are strong," he said. "We will recover together.?

Yuletide twisters are unusual, but they happen. Ten storm systems in the last 50 years have spawned a holiday tornado, National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro told the AP.

In 1982, 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32 over Christmas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More content from NBCNews.com:

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on?Twitter?and?Facebook

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/26/16166853-power-crews-scramble-after-record-number-of-tornadoes-tear-through-south?lite

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VYSUALYZE: Arts & Entertainment | "The Website for the Up ...

Posted by C.Jay McGruder on Dec 24, 2012 in People On The Move | 1 comment

?I took a few years off of doing photography and graphic art. When I started again recently, everything seemed a bit weird. My artistic vision was still there, but it all took a while to get back into place?? ~CRUZ

MEET CRUZ LEACOCK PHOTOGRAPHER/CREATOR OF WWW.VYSUALYZE.COM??

?I am an artist living in Philadelphia, PA! My chosen mediums are photography and graphics arts. I was educated in both fields from several different outlets including classroom training and self teachings. After I learned all the technical aspects I could, I threw them away and began creating art only the way I visualized. Growing up in the Philadelphia school system, I felt uncultured as a student and completely unprepared for life, much less college. I was desperately looking for something to inspire and fill me with passion. I took several different courses in college including communications, education, computer science and business but nothing could hold my attention until I started taking art classes. My first two being Photography and Art History. It opened a new world to me and I became engulfed in photography and graphic design. My photos have been featured in several local papers and a few exhibits but the majority was personal work for myself and others.?

Cruz takes a pause to?sip his hot Starbucks coffee on?this raining Saturday?morning at Philadelphia International Airport .? He sits?next to?me dressed comfortably with his black hoodie over?his head as I only have a?breif time to chat with him?before my plane boards. Happy he?agreed to meet with me on such?short notice and time constraint he continues to speak articulately in a fluent manor about himself?

?My purpose? To be able to spread the gift of artistic expression to youth and individuals who are trying to find a greater purpose and beauty in their everyday lives. As children in school and even adults of all ages, society portrays an image of absolute success; a doctor, an entertainer, a lawyer, an athlete. Being an artist, a world changer, a self expressionist is just as important. When you share your gift of art with others, you change lives. I believe through art and self expression you find the person you want to be and discover how you want to change the world. I plan to spread my word by creating local art galleries and a foundation that supports art programs catered to my purpose. Most importantly, by continuing to create my art because that?s my way of changing the world.?

Cruz makes the above statement while I was?on?a recent layover in Philly, PA.? This ?Photogragher & Website Creator met up with me for a quick coffee chat in between my planes.? You can read the bulk of?our conversation below:

CJM: Congratulations on the lanching of www.vysualyze.com

CRUZ: Thanks CeeJ!?The site is?finally?up and open for the business of sharing art and culture online. Everything is a bit bare so far but definitely check out my site. Thank you in advance for the support and?I hope?everyone reading this will?become a frequent viewer of??www.vysualyze.com?community.

CJM: Do you consider yourself a trend setter?

CRUZ: No, I don?t! I think when someone is a true artist, being a trend setter should be the last thing on their minds. I think it jeopardizes complete artistry. I know that my work is a reflection of myself and my visions. When you are lucky enough to find your passion and you give yourself completely to it, it becomes greater than a trend but a movement. Movements lasts forever!?

CJM: When did you decide you wanted to be a photographer?

CRUZ: I decided to become a photographer after the first image I produced in the dark room back in 2000. When I saw that image, which is my photograph of the street on a rainy day, I was blown away. The fact that I could take this picture of a moment in time I thought was beautiful and make it ?come to life? again made me feel alive. I was searching in my life for something I could connect with. This felt right in my heart. I knew I had to give it my all.

CJM: Are there any black photographers who specifically has an influence on your work?

CJM: What inspires you to take pictures?

CRUZ: Darkness, sorrow and everyday life. To me, these three things go hand and hand. I see darkness and sorrow in my everyday life. It may sound negative to some people but it?s a thing of beauty and truly inspiring to me. I can see so clearly in darkness and sorrow; my visions, other people, reality, my subjects. My job after that is to interpret it so others can see it through my art.

?
??Beauty can be found anywhere. Even in puddles on the streets of New York. Photographer Ira Fox shows just how beautiful they can be with his series Reflections.? CLICK HERE

CJM: How do you find your subjects to photograph?

CRUZ: My subjects always start in my head. I visual a theme, a person or object very abstractly most times. I take that foundation of my thought and when I get in front of it with my camera, that?s when my mind starts to race and that subject and idea in my head become clear and I capture what was there from the beginning but never saw completely.

CRUZ: Main main focus right now is www.vysualyze.com?now but I can never say specifically until it is actually happening because things always start out not so very clear to me until I am in front my found target with my?camera. One thing I do want to work on is a self connecting portrait series. I have this vision of the way people see themselves when they aren?t self aware. Its a developing idea that I want to really soak up a lot of my time doing because I feel like its going to be something that is defining for me artistically and personally.

I looked at the time on my cell phone and realize it was very close to time for me boarding my plane back to Houston. I finish up with this question as we stood and I before I turned off my portable tape recorder?

Just as quickly as this chat had started it was summed up in the words of true Photographer?

??In a FLASH!? ~C.JAY

Source: http://www.cjmcgruder.com/2012/12/24/vysualyze-arts-entertainment/

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Phone, Black 16GB (Verizon ...

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One of the thinnest 4G LTE smartphones
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The Samsung Galaxy S III enables you to share smarter, interact more intelligently and experience great performance, all powered by Verizon 4G LTE.

The Samsung Galaxy S III features a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, packaged into a sleek, slim and lightweight design with an ergonomic grip, smooth lines and gentle curves. A 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 2 GB of RAM allows seamless multitasking without delay.

Share Smarter

S Beam

One-touch sharing, or S Beam, allows you to share multimedia files like photos, videos and presentations between two Galaxy S III devices by simply touching the backs together to ?Beam? content from one device to the other.

Share Shot

Share Shot allows you to establish a temporary photo sharing network with other Samsung Galaxy S III users who are nearby. Once your group is established over Wi-Fi Direct (multi-connect), photos taken by any member of the group will be shared instantly with everyone else in the photo sharing network.

AllShare Play

With the Samsung Galaxy S III, you can enjoy your media untethered. AllShare Play allows you to stream multimedia content to your compatible Samsung SmartTV or compatible home audio systems, tablets and laptops when connected to the same Wi-Fi Access Point.

Color

The Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III is exclusively pre-loaded with the Color app, allowing users to broadcast up to 60 seconds of live video with full audio and photos to their Facebook friends instantly.

Interact More Intelligently

Motion Gestures

Motion gestures integrated with the Samsung Galaxy S III allow you to interact with your phone in new ways. Shake the device to refresh, turn it over to mute the ring during a meeting, or swipe to capture a screenshot. If you need to call someone you?re already texting, simply raise the phone to your head and the device will dial. Other gestures include quick access to the camera, quick rotate, quick pause, missed event alerts, and tap to the top of a list.

Smart Stay

No need to tap the screen every few seconds to keep it lit while you?re watching a video or reading a book ? Smart Stay keeps the Samsung Galaxy S III?s display on as long as you?re looking at the screen. The device detects when you?re looking at the phone, maintaining a bright display so you can enjoy your content uninterrupted.

S Voice

S Voice is your personal assistant, responding to voice commands with accurate, helpful information pulled from the Wolfram Alpha database. Whether you want to make a call, play a particular song or find a place to eat, S Voice can help.

Experience Great Performance and Content

Camera

With an 8 MP rear camera, 1.9 MP front-facing camera and LED flash, the Samsung Galaxy S III records HD video and offers zero shutter lag so you can capture the action without delay. The Burst Shot function helps you take pictures like a professional, with the ability to instantly capture 20 continuous shots, while the Best Photo function takes eight pictures and chooses the best one for you.

Pop Up Play

Pop Up Play on the Samsung Galaxy S III lets you watch HD videos while you browse, e-mail or text. The picture-in-picture window works on any screen and even on third-party apps. Drag the window where you want it, and you won?t miss a moment of your movies or videos while multitasking.

Viewdini

Viewdini brings the power of Verizon Wireless? 4G LTE network to the screen by streamlining access to videos from a wide range of content providers, including cable operators, websites and other popular video sources.

Vital Statistics

The Samsung Galaxy S III weighs 4.7 ounces and measures 5.4 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches. It comes with a 2100 mAh battery that offers up to 15 hours of usage time and up to 200 hours of standby time.

What?s in the box

Samsung Galaxy S III handset, standard lithium ion battery, wall/USB charger, stereo headset, product safety and warranty brochure, quick reference guide

Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network

The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network allows you to download photos, apps, and games in seconds and entire movies in minutes. LTE (or Long Term Evolution) provides significantly increased upload and download speeds over 3G networks, as well as significantly reduced latency (or lag time). Verizon Wireless expects 4G LTE average data rates to be 5-12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world, loaded network environments.

With these blazing fast speeds, you?ll be able to stream HD movies without the annoyance of constant pauses to buffer the video stream?as well as quickly download HD-quality movies right to your phone in minutes. Additionally, you?ll be able to download a new song file in about 4 seconds or upload a photo to your favorite social networking site in about 6 seconds.

The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE mobile broadband network will also redefine the mobile office for business users. Business applications that used to require wired networks will be untethered forever, allowing you maximized productivity and efficiency while you?re out of the confines of your office. Enhanced security lets you tap into most VPN networks with less waiting, and faster responsiveness enables you to upload 10 MB presentations back to your team in less than 25 seconds.

In areas serviced only by 3G, you can expect download speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 500 to 800 Kbps in Mobile Broadband coverage area.

Verizon Wireless Services

Backup Assistant: This complimentary service automatically back up your mobile contacts to your online address book. If your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged, or you decide to upgrade, easily restore your saved address book to your new phone. You can also add, delete, edit, and print your contacts online and send the changes to your mobile phone. There are no subscription fees for the service.

VZ Navigator Capable: With this GPS-enabled phone, you?ll be able to access the Verizon Wireless VZ Navigator service (additional charges applicable) for voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, heads-up alerts, local search of nearly 14 million points of interest in the US (such as landmarks, restaurants and ATMs), and detailed color maps.

V CAST Video: Enjoy unlimited, on-demand access to full episodes of your favorite television shows from all of the major networks, plus the latest in local and national news, live and recorded sports and entertainment and weather. You will receive over 100 channels with over 250 full episode shows and an impressive list of live sporting events each month.

Visual Voice Mail: This innovative service enables you to delete, reply, and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions. Visual Voice Mail is the ideal tool for the busy mobile professional who may need to prioritize which messages he or she listens to first. Features include on-screen access to voice mail message status, save up to 40 messages for 40 days (or archive permanently), create up to 10 different caller ID-based greetings, and reply via call back, text or even voice mail.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System

The Galaxy S III runs the Android 4.0 operating system (dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich), which adds powerful new ways of communicating and sharing while improving on the best Android features: easy multitasking, rich notifications, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, and more.

Compatible with Google Wallet
(view larger).

The new Ice Cream Sandwich interface features an onscreen navigation bar that replaces the hardware buttons for Back, Home, and Menu found with older Android-powered phones. And with Google+ integration, you can video chat with groups of up to 9 friends as well as easily upload and share photos and videos. Other features include:

Face Unlock

You can now unlock your phone with just your face using the Face Unlock option. It takes advantage of the front-facing camera and state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to register a face during setup and then to recognize it again when unlocking the device. Just hold your phone in front of your face to unlock (or use a backup PIN).

And the lock screen now lets you do more without unlocking. From the slide lock screen, you can jump directly to the camera for a picture or pull down the notifications window to check for messages. When listening to music, you can even manage music tracks and see album art.

Home Screen Folders

Quickly access related apps right from the home screen by organizing apps and shortcuts into folders?just drag one app onto another to create a folder.

Multitasking

Multitasking is even easier and more visual in Android 4.0. The Recent Apps button lets you jump instantly from one task to another using the list in the System Bar. The list pops up to show thumbnail images of apps used recently?tapping a thumbnail switches to the app.

Voice Input

The new voice engine in Android 4.0 lets you dictate the text you want, for as long as you want, using the language you want. You can speak continuously for a prolonged time, even pausing for intervals if needed, and dictate punctuation to create correct sentences. As the voice input engine enters text, it underlines possible dictation errors in gray. After dictating, you can tap the underlined words to quickly replace them from a list of suggestions.

Near Field Communications

A short-range wireless technology similar to Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (or NFC) allows enabled devices to share information in close proximity. For example, you can ?touch? or ?swipe? an NFC tag that might be embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement, then act on the data read from the tag.

You can also utilize NFC for contactless payment via Google Wallet. Instead of using cash or swiping a credit card, just touch your phone to an NFC payment reader and have your purchase deducted automatically. Store virtual versions of credit, loyalty and gift cards securely in Google Wallet, as well as coupons and offers that can be redeemed when you make a payment. You can make payments at hundreds thousands of locations nationwide where MasterCard PayPass is accepted.

Connectivity

Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Wi-Fi Direct, DNLA
Built-in mobile hotspot functionality
Next-generation Bluetooth 4.0 backward compatible with older Bluetooth-enabled peripherals and includes stereo audio streaming
Near Field Communication (NFC) for sharing contacts, web pages, directions, and more to compatible phones as well as payments via Google Wallet
GPS for navigation and location services
Integrated Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views

Communications & Internet

Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging
Full HTML browser with Adobe Flash Support
Personal and corporate e-mail access with support for Exchange ActiveSync as well as mobile e-mail accounts (Google push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP)

Hardware

Dual-core 1.5 GHz processor capable of opening web pages twice as fast as most other smartphones
4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED multi-touch screen (1280 x 720 pixels)
MicroUSB port
3.5mm headphone jack

Memory

16 GB internal memory (non-expandable)
microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 64 GB
2 GB RAM for improved multitasking

Camera

8-megapixel camera with continuous auto focus, zero shutter lag, face detection, high dynamic range mode, burst mode, and more
Full HD 1080p video capture (30 fps)
Front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera for HD video chats and self portraits

Multimedia

Music player compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC/AAC+, eAAC+, MIDI amd WAV
Video player compatible with MPEG4, H.264, H.263and DivX

Source: http://newsp.com/home-based-business-news/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-4g-android-phone-black-16gb-verizon-wireless

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