Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the ring trailer
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the ring (2001) offical theatrical trailer.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Shaq: Heat will be back, LeBron hate was fair
Shaquille O’Neal guarantees that the Miami Heat will return to the NBA Finals and says the harsh treatment of LeBron James was fair.
The next time the Heat compete for a ring? O’Neal will be weighing in from the studio. And one of O’Neal’s first acts after officially signing up to join the TNT crew, the Sun-Sentinelreports, was to guarantee that the Heat will make a return trip to the NBA Finals after losing the 2011 title to the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
Lest you think O’Neal is going to be a homer for his old club, BusinessInsider.com points outthat he also came to the defense of those who criticized LeBron James this season, painting all the hatred as a rite of passage for top-level stars and saying the criticism James absorbed was understandable.
O’Neal will be teaming with former players Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley in his new role. All three have silly sides to their personalities, which could get overwhelming at times. But “Serious Shaq” is not someone we are exposed to all that often, and his experience as a top-flight player, entertainer and celebrity will be invaluable for the casual fan. While Barkley has always kept it completely real, he never won a title and more time has passed since he left the league. In Shaq, the NBA viewer will have a thoroughly modern mega-star who has lived through everything — the good, bad and ugly — that the 21st century athlete/global icons deal with on a daily basis. His treatment of the Heat’s James and Dwyane Wade will be particularly interesting to follow because he will speak from a position of authority and experience that is totally unique in the basketball world. Part Godfather, part older brother, part clown, part mogul, part movie star. Just as Shaq was born to dominate on the basketball court, he was born to commentate off of it.
The last time the Miami Heat won a title, Shaquille O’Neal was playing alongside Dwyane Wade.
The next time the Heat compete for a ring? O’Neal will be weighing in from the studio. And one of O’Neal’s first acts after officially signing up to join the TNT crew, the Sun-Sentinelreports, was to guarantee that the Heat will make a return trip to the NBA Finals after losing the 2011 title to the Dallas Mavericks in six games.“They just came up against a team and it was their turn,” he said. “Dirk played unbelievable. They played together. I just think it was their turn. “Michael Jordan told me a long time ago that before you succeed you must first learn to fail. This was the Big Three’s first time together and they made it very far and they are going to be together for a long time. “I’m guaranteeing they will get back.”
Lest you think O’Neal is going to be a homer for his old club, BusinessInsider.com points outthat he also came to the defense of those who criticized LeBron James this season, painting all the hatred as a rite of passage for top-level stars and saying the criticism James absorbed was understandable.
“I would not characterize it as unfair because, like I said, it happened to everyone,” he said. “It happened to [Michael] Jordan when he went to Atlantic City to get away from the game. It happened to Barkley. It happened to [Dennis] Rodman. It happened to Magic [Johnson]. It happens to everybody. If it just started this year I would call it unfair, but I’ve been in the game for 20 years and I’ve seen similar stories.”
O’Neal will be teaming with former players Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley in his new role. All three have silly sides to their personalities, which could get overwhelming at times. But “Serious Shaq” is not someone we are exposed to all that often, and his experience as a top-flight player, entertainer and celebrity will be invaluable for the casual fan. While Barkley has always kept it completely real, he never won a title and more time has passed since he left the league. In Shaq, the NBA viewer will have a thoroughly modern mega-star who has lived through everything — the good, bad and ugly — that the 21st century athlete/global icons deal with on a daily basis. His treatment of the Heat’s James and Dwyane Wade will be particularly interesting to follow because he will speak from a position of authority and experience that is totally unique in the basketball world. Part Godfather, part older brother, part clown, part mogul, part movie star. Just as Shaq was born to dominate on the basketball court, he was born to commentate off of it.
Menu descriptions that make me salivate
I study menus every night, so I should be immune to their literary charms. However, a few well chosen words can hook me like a fish going after a brightly colored lure.
Menus that merely list ingredients, and that seems to be a growing trend, are missing out on prime marketing opportunities. The right adjectives can create positive enticements for diners to order a particular dish.
[caption id="attachment_331" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Slow roasted sturgeon at Wexler's Lacy Atkins The San Francisco Chronicle 2009"]
[/caption]Here are some of the words that make me salivate. There are many others, so I’d love for everyone to nominate terms that seduce and tease them. Food related, of course.
Slow-roasted: Every time I see this phrase it conjures up images of a warm, caring kitchen where someone is willing to take the time to create something special. In a fast-paced world, “slow-roasted” feels as relaxing as a 20-minute massage. Example: Slow-roasted smoked salmon with black-eye pea cassoulet. Wexler’s, San Francisco
Butter-poached: Poached is something you expect in a nursing home, but place butter in front and it becomes food for the gods. Olive-oil poached has some allure and will appease those who are obsessed with health. Example: Butter-poached Maine lobster with beet puree, Meyer lemon, braised baby savoy cabbage, black caraway, fines herbs. Fifth Floor, San Francisco
Roasted: Baked may have the same meaning, but it sounds like a technique you’d learn in home ec class, while roasted conjures up thoughts of bold, rustic flavors and succulent textures. Add salt in front of the word — as in “salt-roasted” — and it will have a 100 percent return rate in my book. Or try oak-roasted, spit-roasted or pan-roasted, to name a few variations. Gotta order it. Example: Pan-roasted Alaskan halibut, seared baby artichokes, niçoise olives, marjoram, pepperonata and fava beans. Solbar, Calistoga.
What to Eat to Beat Skin Cancer
You got the pale-is-the-new-tan memo years ago and have the sun smarts to prove it. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and women age 39 and under have a higher probability of developing its most serious form, melanoma, than they do any other invasive cancer except breast cancer. Yep; knew that. Slather on waterproof sunscreen before you exercise, sport floppy broad-brimmed hats at the beach, stay out of midday rays, and steer clear of tanning beds. Check; do all that. Still, despite your savvy and diligence, there’s a new stealth skin saver you may be missing: your diet.“The research is preliminary but promising,” says Karen Collins, RD, clinical dietitian and nutrition adviser for the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. “In addition to limiting your sun exposure, eating certain foods may help reduce your risk.”
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi set to resign after losing confidence
[caption id="attachment_318" align="alignnone" width="650" caption="Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will step down this month. Picture: AP"]
[/caption]
ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign after passage of a key budget bill.
The announcement capped a tumultuous day that saw the crucial budget vote pass parliament but fail to win the support of an absolute majority and thus maintain Mr Berlusconi's legitimacy as leader.
It also followed weeks of political and legal tumult for Mr Berlusconi, leader of a center-right coalition and a prominent figure on the world stage.
The Italian President's office said in a statement following a meeting between Mr Berlusconi and President Giorgio Napolitano: "Once this commitment (to economic reforms) has been carried out, the Prime Minister will submit his resignation to the head of state".
President Napolitano will then "proceed with traditional consultations with maximum attention to the positions and proposals of every political force - those of the majority from the 2008 elections as well as the opposition," it added.
President Napolitano's office said Mr Berlusconi had shown "his awareness of the implications of the results of today's vote" as well as "concern for the urgent need to give prompt answers to the expectations of European partners".
Earlier, leaders of both coalition and opposition parties called on 75-year-old Mr Berlusconi, Italy's longest serving post-war prime minister, to step aside.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Pier Luigi Bersani, said, "The Government no longer has a majority in this chamber".
Directly addressing Mr Berlusconi, he added, "Hand in your resignation."
Mr Berlusconi's main coalition partner - the Northern League party leader Umberto Bossi - also joined the chorus of calls for him to step down.
"We asked him to step aside," Mr Bossi said.
The opposition would like to see an independent figure like former European Commissioner and economist Mario Monti head a national unity government, according to Italy's ANSA News Agency.
In the crucial vote on Italy's 2010 public accounts, Mr Berlusconi secured 308 votes to pass the measure, but that was fewer than the 316 he needed to maintain his legitimacy as leader in parliament. There were 321 abstentions.
Borrowing rates hit new records after the vote on investor fears, with the yield on 10-year bonds reaching 6.76 percent and the spread between Italian and German benchmark bond yields widening to a new high of nearly five percent.
Mr Berlusconi spoke bitterly of betrayal as he stormed out of parliament, according to newspaper reports, AFP said.
Eight deputies who refused to support him were labeled "traitors" in a scribbled note captured on camera.
[/caption]ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will resign after passage of a key budget bill.
The announcement capped a tumultuous day that saw the crucial budget vote pass parliament but fail to win the support of an absolute majority and thus maintain Mr Berlusconi's legitimacy as leader.
It also followed weeks of political and legal tumult for Mr Berlusconi, leader of a center-right coalition and a prominent figure on the world stage.
The Italian President's office said in a statement following a meeting between Mr Berlusconi and President Giorgio Napolitano: "Once this commitment (to economic reforms) has been carried out, the Prime Minister will submit his resignation to the head of state".
President Napolitano will then "proceed with traditional consultations with maximum attention to the positions and proposals of every political force - those of the majority from the 2008 elections as well as the opposition," it added.
President Napolitano's office said Mr Berlusconi had shown "his awareness of the implications of the results of today's vote" as well as "concern for the urgent need to give prompt answers to the expectations of European partners".
Earlier, leaders of both coalition and opposition parties called on 75-year-old Mr Berlusconi, Italy's longest serving post-war prime minister, to step aside.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, Pier Luigi Bersani, said, "The Government no longer has a majority in this chamber".
Directly addressing Mr Berlusconi, he added, "Hand in your resignation."
Mr Berlusconi's main coalition partner - the Northern League party leader Umberto Bossi - also joined the chorus of calls for him to step down.
"We asked him to step aside," Mr Bossi said.
The opposition would like to see an independent figure like former European Commissioner and economist Mario Monti head a national unity government, according to Italy's ANSA News Agency.
In the crucial vote on Italy's 2010 public accounts, Mr Berlusconi secured 308 votes to pass the measure, but that was fewer than the 316 he needed to maintain his legitimacy as leader in parliament. There were 321 abstentions.
Borrowing rates hit new records after the vote on investor fears, with the yield on 10-year bonds reaching 6.76 percent and the spread between Italian and German benchmark bond yields widening to a new high of nearly five percent.
Mr Berlusconi spoke bitterly of betrayal as he stormed out of parliament, according to newspaper reports, AFP said.
Eight deputies who refused to support him were labeled "traitors" in a scribbled note captured on camera.
Unnatural selection: Zoo splits up gay penguins
[caption id="attachment_314" align="alignnone" width="650" caption="Tough love: Toronto Zoo's gay African penguins, Pedro and Buddy, are to be split up because their snuggling and courtship behaviour is distracting them from preserving the species. Picture: YouTube/xcommunicatednewz"]
[/caption]
A SAME-SEX relationship between two African penguins at a Canadian zoo is to be broken up by keepers who want them to breed.
Pedro, 10, and Buddy, 20, have formed a close bond since their arrival at Toronto Zoo in May as part of a breeding program, the National Post reported.
"The two girls have been following them, we just have to get the boys interested in looking at them," Tom Mason, curator of birds and invertebrates at the zoo, said.
Mason said that if the penguins were not an endangered species the zoo would be happy to "let them do their thing".
Pedro and Buddy's separation will only last as long as they can inseminate their respective female partners -- while incubating eggs, the two may well be back "side by side."
Once breeding season is up, Pedro and Buddy will "probably" ditch their female partners and reunite, according to Bill Rapley, executive director for conservation, education and wildlife at the zoo.
[/caption]A SAME-SEX relationship between two African penguins at a Canadian zoo is to be broken up by keepers who want them to breed.
Pedro, 10, and Buddy, 20, have formed a close bond since their arrival at Toronto Zoo in May as part of a breeding program, the National Post reported.
"The two girls have been following them, we just have to get the boys interested in looking at them," Tom Mason, curator of birds and invertebrates at the zoo, said.
Mason said that if the penguins were not an endangered species the zoo would be happy to "let them do their thing".
Pedro and Buddy's separation will only last as long as they can inseminate their respective female partners -- while incubating eggs, the two may well be back "side by side."
Once breeding season is up, Pedro and Buddy will "probably" ditch their female partners and reunite, according to Bill Rapley, executive director for conservation, education and wildlife at the zoo.
UN atomic agency has 'serious concerns' on Iran's nuclear activities
[caption id="attachment_310" align="alignnone" width="650" caption="The UN says credible information suggests Iran may be developing nuclear weapons. Picture: AFP"]
[/caption]
THE UN atomic agency has "serious concerns" about Iran's nuclear activities amid "credible" information Tehran may have worked on developing nuclear weapons.
"The agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the keenly awaited International Atomic Energy Agency report said.
"After assessing carefully and critically the extensive information available to it, the agency finds the information to be, overall, credible.
"This information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."
It added, "The information also indicates that prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured program, and that some activities may still be ongoing.
"Given the concerns identified above, Iran is requested to engage substantively with the agency without delay for the purpose of providing clarifications."
The Vienna-based agency said some of its more than 1,000 pages of information indicated Iran has done work "on the development of an indigenous design of a nuclear weapon including the testing of components."
Previous IAEA assessments have centered on Iran's efforts to produce fissile material -- uranium and plutonium -- which can be put to peaceful uses like power generation, or be used to make a nuclear bomb.
But the new update focuses on Iran's alleged efforts towards putting the radioactive material in a warhead and developing missiles.
It comes amid rising speculation that Israel might launch a pre-emptive military strike in an attempt to knock out its arch foe's nuclear facilities.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful and has been hit by four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions, dismissed the new IAEA report prior to its publication, saying it was based on falsified information.
Russia and China had meanwhile pressured the IAEA not to even publish the report, diplomats said, and as a result it is unclear what action the agency's board will take when it meets next week.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned Tuesday that Israeli threats to attack Iran over its nuclear program were "extremely dangerous rhetoric" that could result in a "catastrophe".
[/caption]THE UN atomic agency has "serious concerns" about Iran's nuclear activities amid "credible" information Tehran may have worked on developing nuclear weapons.
"The agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," the keenly awaited International Atomic Energy Agency report said.
"After assessing carefully and critically the extensive information available to it, the agency finds the information to be, overall, credible.
"This information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."
It added, "The information also indicates that prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured program, and that some activities may still be ongoing.
"Given the concerns identified above, Iran is requested to engage substantively with the agency without delay for the purpose of providing clarifications."
The Vienna-based agency said some of its more than 1,000 pages of information indicated Iran has done work "on the development of an indigenous design of a nuclear weapon including the testing of components."
Previous IAEA assessments have centered on Iran's efforts to produce fissile material -- uranium and plutonium -- which can be put to peaceful uses like power generation, or be used to make a nuclear bomb.
But the new update focuses on Iran's alleged efforts towards putting the radioactive material in a warhead and developing missiles.
It comes amid rising speculation that Israel might launch a pre-emptive military strike in an attempt to knock out its arch foe's nuclear facilities.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful and has been hit by four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions, dismissed the new IAEA report prior to its publication, saying it was based on falsified information.
Russia and China had meanwhile pressured the IAEA not to even publish the report, diplomats said, and as a result it is unclear what action the agency's board will take when it meets next week.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned Tuesday that Israeli threats to attack Iran over its nuclear program were "extremely dangerous rhetoric" that could result in a "catastrophe".
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