Nassau County: State of Emergency Declaration & Mandatory Evacuations [Friday 5:48PM EST]

Nassau County Ed Mangano has signed a state of emergency declaration for the county and is ordering mandatory evacuations.

All Nassau residents who live south of Sunrise Highway from the Queens border to Rockville Centre; south of Merrick Road from Rockville Centre to the Suffolk County line; and in low-lying communities on the north shore to leave their homes and seek shelter on higher ground.

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Will Peyton Manning be ready for season opener?

The speculation about whether or not Peyton Manning will be on the field for the season opener against Houston Texans is one of the big stories leading up to the 2011-12 season. And why wouldn’t it be? Manning has taken every snap (excluding the preseason) for the Colts over the past 13 seasons while being one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the league over that time period. He currently has 208 consecutive starts, which is good for second in NFL history behind Brett Favre’s 297. But Manning’s streak could be in jeopardy come Sept. 11.

It is unknown at this point whether or not Manning will be healthy enough to start the regular season after undergoing surgery to repair a bulging disk in his neck this past May. To add insult to injury, Manning wasn’t able to work with team trainers in the offseason because of the lockout, which has slowed his recovery considerably. But even with the setbacks Manning has encountered, I don’t see any way he doesn’t play in the season opener. I can say this with confidence because, well, he is Peyton Manning.

I emulate the feelings of Manning’s former head coach, Tony Dungy, when he said that Manning will be playing in the season opener “unless he’s dead.” Dungy probably knows Manning better than anyone and I tend to agree with him on this one. History tells us that Manning will be just fine. It seems like he’s had some sort of minor injury or minor procedure done in the offseason for the past few years, but he always ends up being the same old consistent Peyton Manning we have all come to know, even though sometimes it takes him a few games to get back into the swing of things.

The only concern I have with Manning this season as opposed to previous seasons is that he is another year older. And as we all know, with age comes slower recovery time and nagging injuries that don’t go away as quickly as they used to. But Manning is used to playing through pain, neck pain in particular. He had surgery to correct pain in his neck caused by a pinched nerve back in 2010. The so-called injury was something that Manning had been experiencing for a while, but figured out a way to continue playing through the pain. Meanwhile, he was statistically having another great season.

During the 2010-11 regular season, Manning posted career highs in completions (450), attempts (679) and yards (4,700). He also threw 33 touchdowns, which was tied for the second-most in his career. The reason for such gaudy numbers was a result of the Colts’ lack of a consistent running game and the fact they were always playing from behind. But despite not having much help around him, Manning still managed to lead his team to a 10-6 regular season record and yet another playoff appearance.

It will be interesting to see how this season pans out for Manning and the Colts. But as we all know, the Colts are only as good as Manning allows them to be. If something unforeseen happens and he’s not able to play in the season opener or for any length of time after that, the Colts are screwed. They would have to rely on Dan Orlovsky and Curtis Painter to save their season, which could result in a very, very ugly finish. Luckily, for Colts fans, they still have the most reliable, consistent quarterback in the league. Unluckily, for Ravens fans, they don’t play Manning and the Colts until Dec. 11, which means they will almost certainly be seeing No. 18 on the field.

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#FLICKFRIDAYS: Columbiana

The new movie Columbiana finally hits theaters today (8/26/11) its stars Zoe Saldana and directed by Olivier Megaton. Check out the trailer below






Other movies dropping this #FlickFriday:

Redemption Road
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark
Our Idiot Brother

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Hurricane names: Why is it named Hurricane Irene?

Those names have been retired, replaced by Don, Katia, Rina and Whitney. Hurricane names are retired when a storm produces a particularly large amount of death and destruction; it's a sign of respect for victims and a way to reduce confusion years

In the meantime, everyone's talking about Hurricane Irene, which leads to the inevitable sidebars about hurricane names, which are doled out in alphabetical.

A list of Atlantic hurricane names is already available for the coming years. Since 1953, the National Hurricane Center produces and pre-approves this list. Only female names were included in the list before 1979. the sets of lists

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3D Home Theater Sweepstakes

Enter the 3D Home Theater Sweepstakes for a chance to win 1 of 10 $5,000 Visa gift cards that can be used to purchase a 3D TV or 1 of 100 movie ticket packages !http://nestle.promo.eprize.com/confectionssweeps/

Sweepstakes rules :
http://nestle.promo.eprize.com/confectionssweeps/rules.html

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Added on: Sunday, August 14, 2011 2:33
Category: Daily Entry, Gift Cards

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mmsmovietickets.com – M&M’S Brand Movie Cash Instant Win Game

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Six Wildcats Ink NFL Contracts Tiny by mikeschmitz on Jul 28, 2011 11:00 AM PDT in Arizona Wildcats Football

For over three months, six undrafted Wildcats waited in limbo.

Working toward a lifelong goal tainted by uncertainty. No contracts, no workouts, no access to team facilities, no contact with anything NFL.

But when the lockout ended Monday, Nic Grigsby, Colin Baxter, Adam Grant, Travis Cobb, Lolomana Mikaele and Conan Amituanai all joined fellow Wildcats Brooks Reed, D'Aundre Reed and Ricky Elmore in the NFL.

Grigsby was the first Arizona product to officially add NFL to his résumé as the change of pace back signed with the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.

From there the domino effect set in and ironman center Colin Baxter signed with the Chargers, defensive tackle Mikaele with the Bengals, kick returner Travis Cobb with the Bears, offensive tackle Grant with the Broncos and Conan Amituanai joined D'Aundre Reed with the Vikings.

The Arizona Daily Star reported that Baxter chose the Chargers over the Saints, Ravens, Dolphins, Bills and Cardinals, while Grigsby went with the Dolphins instead of the Rams.

How will each player fit in with his respective team? Will he make it past the first cuts? Here's a quick breakdown:
Nic Grigsby

Position: Running Back

Height/Weight: 5'11/206

Team: Dolphins

Strengths: Speed and lateral agility

Weaknesses: Durability, size, dances too much

Projection: Grigsby told The Star, "I'm not a third-down back anymore. They said they want to have me on every down."

But Grigsby is the epitome of a third-down back. He's a great change of pace guy who can stretch the field and develop into a home-run hitter. Remember this is a guy who took the Pac-10 by story his sophomore season with 1,153 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns.

There's no question the talent's always been there, and now that he's bigger and supposedly shaking his injury-prone label, Grigsby could have a chance to be more than a typical third-down back.

But remember, this is also the same player who couldn't get on the field for the better part of his last two seasons. He's also a guy who's battled character issues and could turn into the type of player always bouncing around to look for the right fit.

He's also behind Ronnie Brown and fellow rookie and 2nd round pick Daniel Thomas. When it's all said and done, I see Grigsby turning into a nice back up and possible return man with potential to take it to the house.

It's not out of the question that he develops into an every down back over the course of his career given his talent level, but judging by his UA career, calling Grigsby a life-long third-down back is a safe bet.

Colin Baxter

Position: Center

Height/Weight: 6'3/295

Team: Chargers

Strengths: Toughness and technique

Weaknesses: Size and recent injury

Projection: In the weeks leading up to the 2011 NFL draft Baxter told me, "I think I'm one of the best centers in the draft this year so hopefully I'll go high. Maybe I won't go so high and some team will get a good deal on me, who knows. I think I'm right up there with all the other centers."

The Chargers became that team. Baxter brings a ton of experience, smarts and blue-collar toughness to a San Diego team that indeed did get a "good deal" on him.

Baxter should get a solid opportunity with San Diego as well. The Chargers have establish veteran and former Pro Bowler (2006) Nick Hardwick under center, but he's entering his ninth year in the NFL and there's minimal talent behind him.

Baxter ends up in a good situation, but if he never went down with a torn meniscus near the end of last season, he certainly wouldn't have had to spend the last few months stressing over his employment status. Over the course of his four years Baxter earned ironman status as he started 48 consecutive games and reportedly never missed a practice before the injury.

He was one the Pac-10's best centers and arguably a top 5 center in the country. The injury (that led to surgery) killed his stock, but all he needs is a chance to show his skills and he. If there's one player out of this group with a chance to become a longtime NFL starter its Baxter.

He may be a bit undersized, but he knows how to play the center position and if he can stay healthy, he'll compete for a starting job at one point in his career before it's all said and done.

Adam Grant

Position: Offensive Tackle

Height/Weight: 6'6/325

Team: Broncos

Strengths: Size and Experience

Weaknesses: Age and Quickness

Projection: Grant has a solid chance at NFL longevity, for an offensive lineman anyway. He'll most likely be a career-long backup, but if he can stay healthy, his size and tremendous technique will always land him a job somewhere. The 26-year-old tackle put together an impressive senior season that earned him second-team All-Pac-10 honors. He protected Nick Foles' blind side extremely well and earned a combine invite because of it. I remember when Arizona played (and defeated) Iowa last season Grant did a number on defensive end and Tamba Bay Buccaneer (20th overall pick) Adrian Clayborn. The explosive defensive end finished the game with only three tackles (none for a loss) and no sacks. Aside from Grigsby and Baxter, Grant has the best chance to stand out from this group and make a career for himself in the league.

Lolomana Mikaele

Position: Defensive Tackle

Height/Weight: 6'1/300

Team: Bengals

Strengths: NFL size and good run-stopper

Weaknesses: Lacks explosion and pass rush

Projection: Mikaele was a solid starter for the Wildcats as the co-captain finished with 32 tackles and 7.5 TFLs his senior season. His ceiling isn't super high due to his below-average athleticism, but he is a productive player who specializes in stopping the run. His NFL career will most likely be uneventful, but he's solid enough to stay on a roster, especially the Bengals who need defense in the worst way. They finished 19th against the run last year, so there's opportunity within the organization for Mikaele to contribute.

Travis Cobb

Position: Wide Receiver/Kick Returner

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 180

Team: Bears

Strengths: Speed

Weaknesses: Nothing more than a return man

Projection: Cobb may never catch a pass in the NFL because of his mediocre receiver skills, but his straight-line speed gives him an outside shot at making an impact as a return man.

He'll certainly have a great one to learn from in Devin Hester. It's a mystery if Cobb will even make it out of training camp with a roster spot, however. If he doesn't prove himself in the return game, there's no need for the speedster.

Landing a special teams job can also be extremely hit or miss, as a lot of things have to go right in order to stand out as a return man. Cobb certainly has the ability.

He took a kickoff 100 yards to the house against Iowa on national TV last year, which is most likely the one play that earned him an NFL check.

Other than that he was fairly non existent and I expect Cobb to find how hard it is to make it as a return man, and bounce out of the league in a few years.

Conan Amituanai

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6'3/332

Team: Vikings

Strengths: Versatility

Weaknesses: Limited experience

Projection: Conan has the worst chance of the six to stick in the league. He'll have the support of D'Aundre Reed in Minnesota, but there's not much that separates him as a guard.

His biggest positive is that he can play both sides of the ball, as he came to Arizona as a defensive tackle. But other than that, I don't see Conan sticking in the NFL for long.

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Dane Sanzenbacher and Chicago Bears Reach An Agreement, Other Rookies Also Signed

Soldier Field - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears and Ohio State Receiver Dane Sanzenbacher agreed to terms on Tuesday, immediately following the end of the NFL Lockout which witnessed all player to owner negotiations stall for 136 days.

The move is a big one for the team as Sanzenbacher was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2010 after he led the conference in receiving yards (948) and touchdown catches (11).

Other new contract agreements for the Bears were reached with the following players:

Kris Adams, WR, UTEP
Kyle Adams, Purdue, TE
Mario Addison, DE, Troy
Tanner Antle, LB, Tulsa
Tressor Baptiste, Texas A&M, LB
JC Brignone, Mississippi State, C
Antareis Bryan, Baylor, CB
Corbin Bryant, Northwestern, DL
Travis Cobb, Arizona, WR
Josh Davis, Georgia, T
Dom DeCicco, LB, Pittsburgh
Ricky Henry, Nebraska, G
Mike Holmes, Syracuse, CB
Robert Hughes, Notre Dame, RB
Ryan Jones, NW Missouri State, CB
Spencer Lanning, P, South Carolina
Alex Linnenkohl, Oregon State, C
Jordan Miller, Southern, DT
Deron Minor, McNeese State, LB
Sean Murnane, Central Michigan, DT
Dane Sanzenbacker, WR, Ohio State
Andre Smith, Virginia Tech, TE
Winston Venable, Boise State, S
Trevor Vittatoe, QB, UTEP
Anthony Walters, Delaware, S
Jimmy Young, TCU, WR

Per lockout regulations teams were able to commence rookie signings at 9 a.m. CT on Tuesday.

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New Orleans Saints players, officials easing back into the business of football

Tuesday at New Orleans Saints camp felt an awful lot like the calm before the storm.
The team didn't complete any major roster moves on the first day of business after the NFL lockout, although General Manager Mickey Loomis and his staff were no doubt running up the phone bill with endless calls to players and agents late into the night.

And only a handful of Saints players trickled into the practice facility after being allowed full access to the building for the first time in nearly five months.

The Saints plan to release their training-camp schedule today,
Players are scheduled to report to the official start of camp Thursday for a team meeting and activities such as physicals and conditioning tests. And the first practice is expected to be held Friday, although the team has not confirmed that.

It's not clear when the first practices will be open to the public. Those early practices could be very basic, with the Saints still working with an incomplete roster. They had only 47 players under contract as of Monday, barely more than half of the 90 players they're allowed to have on their training-camp roster.

They've been adding to that total by agreeing to deals with several undrafted free agents since Monday night. But they cannot officially sign any deals with veteran free agents until Friday afternoon, even if they're re-signing their own players.

And those veteran free agents won't be allowed to practice or work out until August 4, which is the official start of the new league year, since their contracts won't go into effect until that date.

NFL teams were allowed to begin negotiations with veteran free agents Tuesday morning, however, and a handful of "verbal agreements" were announced around the league as the day went on.

Many NFL observers have speculated that the slow pace of contract announcements is because players can still change their minds -- or be wooed elsewhere between now and Friday.

Very little news surfaced Tuesday concerning the Saints' 28 unrestricted free agents. And there was nothing new to report on the future of Saints tailback Reggie Bush, whose contract will need to be restructured if he is to remain in New Orleans.

The earliest the Saints could release Bush is Thursday afternoon, although they likely will attempt to work out a new deal with Bush before they make such a decision. Bush is scheduled to receive an $11.8 million salary in the final year of his deal, with a $16 million salary-cap hit.

One of the Saints' veteran free agents, linebacker Scott Shanle, shared the details of his day. He was contacted immediately by the St. Louis Rams. He spoke to their general manager and linebackers coach about their interest in him. He also spoke with Saints linebackers coach Joe Vitt for the first time in months and later spoke with Saints officials about their interest in re-signing him. He said the Cincinnati Bengals also expressed interest in him, among other teams, and he was working toward setting up at least one free-agent visit.

Shanle, like most of the Saints' free agents, said he would love to remain in New Orleans if the offers are similar. But he needs to explore all of his options.

"I think they want me back. But it's a matter of how much they want you back," Shanle said, pointing to what happened with fellow linebacker Scott Fujita last year as an example.

The Saints wanted to re-sign Fujita as a free agent but couldn't compete with the financial offer of the Cleveland Browns.

The most highly coveted of the Saints' free agents are expected to be left tackle Jermon Bushrod, receiver Lance Moore and safety Roman Harper.

Moore addressed his situation on Twitter, saying, "I'm waiting patiently for the right deal tweeps. (I don't know) where its going to be yet, but I will let everyone know as soon as I do. Thanks for all of your support."

About 10 to 15 players showed up at Saints camp Tuesday morning for voluntary workouts and some long-overdue quality time with the coaching staff.

Among the players seen driving in and out of the Saints' facility were safety Malcolm Jenkins, cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Johnny Patrick, kicker Garrett Hartley, quarterback Chase Daniel, tailback Lynell Hamilton, tight end Tyler Lorenzen and long snapper Justin Drescher.

"It was awesome," Daniel said of being back in the building for the first time since the lockout began in March. "For us last night, we were just (champing) at the bit to get in this morning. It was like Christmas Eve last night. Just waiting to be back around people that you know, that you trust, that you love here.

"I came in, did a workout, threw some passes to Tyler, got in the cold tub, hot tub, just used the amenities. Got our free lunch, which was awesome. But it was good to see all the coaches. That's the main thing. And to see everyone, all the support staff here, they all missed us like crazy. You know, we're like their kids. That's what (equipment manager Silky Powell) said. It's good to be back."

Saints quarterback Drew Brees wasn't at camp Tuesday. He wrapped up his final workout in his offseason home base in San Diego. But he expressed his relief and excitement in a radio interview with WWL on Tuesday night.

"It's been a long time coming," said Brees, who was instrumental in the labor negotiations as part of the players association's executive council. "Obviously, this was a wild offseason for all of us. This was uncharted territory, something none of us was used to. ... And there was just a lot of uncertainty as to how long this would last.

"It came down to the wire, but we got a deal done that we're all very happy with. We feel like it was a fair deal for both sides."

Asked what his message to Saints fans would be, Brees said, "I can't tell you how excited we are to see all the fans out at camp."

"I know how excited they've been in years past about the start of the season, and I think this one maybe even moreso than years past because there's been so much uncertainty and so much doubt as to whether there was going to be football this year," Brees said. "So I know it freaked everybody out. It scared everybody. But here we are, football's started, and I know everybody's pumped up and ready for it."

Brees' own contract will become an issue soon. He's heading into the final year of his six-year deal with the Saints and eventually will become one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. But he said that's not the most immediate priority for himself or the team.

"When the time comes to talk about extending the contract, we're ready to do that," Brees said. "But after this (lengthy) process to get back to football, that's really all I'm looking forward to right now. Establishing an identity as a team and trying to win another championship."

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Albert Haynesworth Traded To The Patriots

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots may have just made a splash. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Washington Redskins traded DT Albert Haynesworth to Belichick's Patriots for the whopping price of a...2013 fifth round pick.

We'll see how it works out. Here are four thoughts on the Haynesworth trade.

-Our Pats blog makes a good point: A 2013 fifth rounder is equivalent to a 2012 sixth rounder which is equivalent to a 2011 seventh rounder. Peanuts.

-He's only going to make $5 million this season.

-I thought Haynesworth hated playing in the 3-4? Last year he wouldn't even line up at the nose so Belichick has some work in front of him but he must feel comfortable with Haynesworth (or agent Chad Speck must've done a hell of a recruiting job for Belichick to buy in). Also, keep in mind: the Pats only ran a 3-4 40 percent of the time last year so they're not in it full-time.

-Somehow, and you know it will happen, Haynesworth will turn his career around in New England. I don't know how. I don't even know what position. But this is such a Patriots move. I don't know how they do it, but they will. The rise of Haynesworth, sort of like WR Randy Moss.

-Dec. 11, Pats at Skins. Should be a good one.

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David Beckham Scores Incredible Goal Off Corner Kick In Galaxy-Fire Game

David Beckham had quite the eventful weekend. One night before his wife Victoria gave birth to a baby girl, the soccer star recorded an assist and a very impressive game-winning goal against the Chicago Fire on Saturday. Landon Donovan scored early in the second half off Beckham's assist and Chicago quickly tied the game after Cristian Nazarith's goal. Four minutes later, Beckham scored an incredible goal off a corner kick. The ball somehow didn't touch anyone, bounced through the goalkeeper's legs and into the net. The Galaxy went on to win 2-1.

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NCAA Football 12’s Ultimate Conference Call

In NCAA Football 12 players have an extraordinary amount of control over the college football landscape. Many diehards and purists have pursed their lips and grumbled over a wave conference realignments that forsake traditions and regional sensibilities for television contracts. NCAA 12 is their chance to put things right in the world. Their world.

Under previous versions you could swap conference memberships but the size of their ranks could neither increase nor decrease. Now, you may expand or shrink conferences anywhere from 16 to four members. You may not delete or rename conferences or give them new logos. Theoretically, I think, you could have 11 four-team conferences and a pool of 76 independents.

Once you set your conference memberships, the game allows you to designate whether the league is an automatic BCS qualifier and, if so, to which of the four games it sends its conference champion (or second choice, assuming its champion is a BCS No. 1 or 2.) You may even control for days of the week in which that league plays (Saturday only, Thursdays permitted, or any day), and whether night games in November are permitted, two scheduling rules peculiar to the Big Ten.

Finally, if you have 12 or more teams, you then sort the divisional membership, rename the divisions, and then set aside interdivisional matchups that the schedule will guarantee every year, to protect rivalries such as Alabama and Tennesse, or Auburn and Georgia.

When my review copy arrived, and after I first plunged into Dynasty and began altering the conferences, I figured I would just restore the ACC to its original membership and have a charming what-if trip back to Tobacco Road. I spent the next five hours completely remaking each conference, puzzling out which protected matchups had the most tradition, whose bowl tie-ins made the most sense, and where title games in my new mega-conferences should be played. It was a perfectly
perfectly hallucinated reality, one I’m delighted to share with you below.
I really want to create a 16-team Land Grant Superconference, with divisions named the Farmers and the Mechanics, but maybe I’ll do that for Online Dynasty. For now, in my perfect model-railroad world of college football, here’s who plays where:

Atlantic Coast Conference
Members: Clemson, South Carolina, North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland and Virginia.

BCS Automatic? Yes, the champion gets an automatic BCS berth, but it is not tied to a specific bowl.

Scheduling: Saturday games only, with night games permissible in November.

In my game, the ACC is essentially unchanged over its entire lifespan. (Though Virginia joined the league in 1953, it was not a charter member and did not play the first football season).

The final Saturday sees the great rivalries in full bloom: Clemson and South Carolina’s all-out warfare; Maryland and Virginia’s border skirmish, Duke and North Carolina’s classic private-public rivalry, and State vs. Wake Forest, the farmers and the Baptists, forming the allegory of this conference’s home state.

Big XVI
Big Eight Division: Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Southwest Division: Arkansas, Baylor, Houston, Rice, Texas Christian, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech

BCS Automatic? Yes, the champion gets a bid to the Orange Bowl, the Big Eight’s original tie-in. The conference title game is played between the champions of each division and is held at Mile High Stadium, Denver.

Protected Matchups: Texas-Oklahoma; Arkansas-Missouri; Texas A&M-Nebraska; Baylor-Colorado; TCU-Kansas; Rice-Iowa State; Texas Tech-Oklahoma State; Houston-Kansas State.

Scheduling: Thursday games permitted; night games in November permitted.

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jaycee dugard, abc iview, jaycee dugard book, jaycee dugard daughters, iview

Diane Sawyer began Tweeting Friday ahead of tonight’s live tweet of her Jaycee Dugard special. (Sawyer’s second Tweet was about the death of former First Lady Betty Ford). It was Dugard’s first interview since being set free from 18 years of captivity at the hands of a deranged, convicted rapist and his complicit wife.

Sawyer has spent the last 12 days working on the special, including two days of interviews with Dugard late last month. Sawyer, along with Chris Cuomo, who investigated the inaction by local, state and federal authorities, taped their on camera portions this weekend. Sawyer watched the special at ABC News headquarters tonight along with ABC News newsmagazine EP David Sloan (below).

The special leaned heavily on passages from Dugard’s book, “A Stolen Life” which comes out Tuesday. In it, Dugard describes her last feeling of freedom along a South Lake Tahoe road on that June morning in 1991 — a pine cone, which, 20 years later is a symbol of the hope that kept her alive. (Video of Dugard talking about the day she was kidnapped, after the jump.)

Dugard now wears a pine cone charm necklace, and presented Sawyer with one of her own, which Sawyer showed at the close of the show, and Tweeted later (above). Sawyer (@dianesawyer) had about 7,000 followers at the start of her special and more than 10,000 by its end in the Eastern and Central time zones.

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chord overstreet

ews.

Bad news first, obviously. Chord Overstreet's option to stay with the show as a series regular has not been picked up. As TVLine was first to report, there is a chance that Overstreet could return on a guest-star basis. Overstreet expressed rather cryptic disappointment on Friday afternoon when he tweeted, "well its been a good yr too bad its over, time for summer and starting fresh."

Luckily, Overstreet won't be twiddling his thumbs for long. Once he finishes up the "Glee" tour, he's gung-ho to start working on his solo album.


We have to admit, we're pretty bummed about this news. Overstreet's character was frequently comedic relief, but Sam developed some depth toward the end of the season as his family and background were further explored. Plus, in a rather cliffhanger-y moment in the season finale, it was revealed that he and Mercedes (Amber Riley) were secretly in a relationship.

Okay, ready for the good news? As was to be expected, everyone's favorite Warbler, Darren Criss, has been upgraded to series regular status. Could this mean that he'll be leaving Dalton Academy and joining the New Directions? Hmmm.

Harry Shum has also been upgraded to series regular, which is definitely great for those of us who love the something extra that his slick dance moves bring to the performance numbers.

Still... we'll miss you, Sam Evans. Especially your hair.

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Play Mega Millions online and pay with Paypal?

I want to play Mega Millions but its not in my state so I have to play online but I don't trust those sites so I want to pay with Paypal. I've tried a lot of sites and one told me to get a Netteller account but they're not available to U.S. citizens and another website had the same thing. The other ones just want your credit card number straight but I want to use paypal so I feel safe.
i doubt that you can pay with a credit card . i just bought some tickets and i had to pay cash.

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HOW TO BUY... Roxy Music And Family

Releasing their debut, self-titled LP in June 1972 - about a week after Bowie's ...Ziggy Stardust... came out - Roxy Music would open the brains of Morrissey, Madness, Depeche Mode and more with their pop-experimental sophistication and stylish visuals.

They'd carry on as a recording entity for another eleven years, making another seven albums; but which of them do you need? For Your Pleasure and Stranded? Country Life? Who's liking later works Avalon and Flesh + Blood? Then there's the solo joints; which of Bryan Ferry's LPs are required listening? What about Eno's Here Come The Warm Jets? And is anyone feeling Andy MacKay's In Search Of Eddie Riff?

Post your comments and recommendations below, please, and the best will appear in the magazine. Thanks!

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Red Bulls vs. FC New York: Post Match

Hans Backe, Corey Hertzog, John Rooney and Tim Ream speak following the Red Bulls 2-1 win over FC New York in a US Open Cup Third Round match at Red Bull Arena. With the win, New York advances to the Quarterfinals and will play Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on July 12. Share your thoughts on the match in the comments section.

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Bank Of America CEO Brian Moynihan Subpoenaed By New York

NEW YORK -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is not backing off a civil fraud probe into whether Bank of America deliberately misled shareholders about the massive losses on Merrill Lynch's books before its 2008 purchase of ...
The New York Post sheds a tad more light on this Urban Outfitters-under-the-High Line rumor today. Amongst a bunch of real estate jargon and numbers thrown about (plus a mention of Diane Von Furstenberg's husband Barry Diller), the paper reports that corporate offices for Theory/Helmet Lang and Alice + Olivia moving into 450 W. 14th Street. All in all, this could be an indication that this Urban speculation may come to fruition, plus we might be trekking to the MPD for Theory, Helmut Lang and Alice + Olivia sample sales in the near future

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Five NKOTB Songs Justin Bieber Should Cover - Daily Inklings ...

Justin Bieber Names his New Album “Believe”?
Justin tweeted that he has been working on a new album that is slated for a November release. However, the big deal was not the fact that he thinks it will be his best work to date-but the hash tag that he tweeted (see above).

This started a frenzy that his new album (we’re not sure) will be called BELIEVE, which Justin did not deny nor confirm.

Are you excited for JB’s new album?

Read more: Justin Bieber Names his New Album “Believe”? — JUSTIN BIEBER ZONE http://www.justinbieberzone.com/2011/07/justin-bieber-names-his-new-album/#ixzz0lAGK62oy

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Boxing Notebook: More Mayweather, Showtime, Tyson, and Miguel Cotto

So Floyd Maywether Jr. at the Los Angeles press conference to promote his fight with WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz topped what he said about Manny Pacquiao the day before in New York City. He called out Pacquiao and said, “Victor will be now, then Pacquiao is next.”

Mayweather definitely upstaged and out-performed himself from the day before. The steroid testing issue is over and supposedly passed on. Now it is about Mayweather and Ortiz, and hopefully Pacquiao after that. But as stated here previously, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum may have the final say. And until then, who is to know where Mayweather stands after the Ortiz fight.

Again Mayweather catered to his many fans, as he did in New York signing as many autographs as he could outside the Staples Center. It is part of the Floyd Mayweather publicity campaign to put him back in the good graces of boxing fans. However, on the same day more legal issues surrounded the talented, yet troubled, as they say, best pound-for-pound fighter.

A United States District Court judge denied Maywetaher an emergency appeal to prevent his court ordered regarding defamation statements about Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather is refusing to show up for his side of the story. But there is one sign of hope and it comes from Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, co-promoter of the Maywether-Oriz fight.

And Schaefer did say Tuesday to this observer, “The fight has to get done and it will,” regarding Mayweather and Pacquiao in the next year. He can influence Floyd to stop the nonsense, and Schaefer, who apologized to Pacquiao about the drug testing war of words, is finally at peace with Arum. Stay tuned…

Undefeated WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (27-0-1, 19 KO’s) defends his title against Urbano Antillon next Saturday on Showtime. He is another of the upcoming and rising stars in the sport that Arum has in his stable, along with undefeated welterweight Mike Jones who is often in discussion with the Pacquiao mix.

He will be fighting in California for the first time since 2005 and is looking forward to his homecoming. “We were supposed to fight a year ago and unfortunately I got hurt in sparring,” said Rios in a Thursday conference call with the media. This was an anticipated fight because both Rios and Antillon can punch with the best. Now it will finally happen, but Rios does have his problems with the challenger.

“He was running around saying I didn’t want to fight him,” said Rios, “and that I was chicken. He was just running his mouth and after a while he just started to get to me. And then when this, fight started he was doing it again, just running his mouth and taking all types of smack.”

There were derogatory references to Rios’ wife. “Fighters shouldn’t bring families into it,” he said. But those comments motivated Rios, as he said, “I love it when I have a beef with an opponent. I needed something in the gym because lately it’s gotten a little boring. I have to have that little excitement.”

Said Antillon, (28-2, 20 KO’s) about his remarks: “It’s kind of mine boggling the way he’s taken it. I did mention his wife but never in a way that should upset him. I know what I said and I know my intentions behind it. He could take it personal be he’s nothing special.” Fighting words that will no doubt carry into the ring next week, or does it add to what can be a fight of the year candidate?…

Another sad day for boxing as we get news about the passing of legendary trainer James “Bouie” Fisher best known for being a major part in the career of current light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. In Philadelphia, Bouie was a father to one or more fighters. Old school at its best and during a week when boxing said goodbye to Nick Charles and former champion Bill Costello, we toll the 10-count again…

Where has the time gone? Belated birthday wishes to the champion,”Iron” Mike Tyson who turned 45 the other day. Was that a heavyweight division when Tyson was King, as we reflect and see how the most prominent division in the sport has become the mediocre laughing stock of the sport…

Showbox, celebrates 10-years of memories and great fights this week. Now, how many fighters have gone on to super stardom with a concept that at one time had many fight experts doubting if there would be enough juice to survive? And it all started with the late Nick Charles at ringside calling the fights, in what he said recently was a highlight of his broadcast career…

Make it official. Miguel Cotto looks like he has his redemption fight with Antonio Margarito, defending his WBA junior middleweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York City, December 3rd. We hear Cotto asked his promoter Bob Arum to stage the fight at the Garden, a place where Cotto has had much success. Arum would have preferred Dallas and Cowboys Stadium due to the tax structure and it is more economical for the fighters…

Tomorrow what to expect as David Haye tries to dethrone Wladimir Klitschko and make some sense of the heavyweight title picture.

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The Toaster, A Crispy Bread Mosaic Made From 3,053 Pieces of Toast

Swedish husband and wife team, artists Gustavo Aguerre and Ingrid Falk created The Toaster, a mural of a common household toaster that is over 22 feet wide and made with thousands of pieces of toast. This crispy mosaic was built on site in 1999 for the First International Art Biennial in Buenos Aires, Argentina but holds a permanent spot at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Buenos Aires.
The Toaster is a large picture, seven metres long and four and a half metres high, totally made from bread toasted in different temperatures and for different lengths of time to reach the different nuances that occur between black and white, ochre and rust. It took seven days of work and several friends and their toasters to prepare the 3,053 pieces of toast necessary to build the gigantic mosaic, which viewed up close, resembles a beautiful abstract picture but when viewed from a distance most closely resembles a photograph of a toaster.

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$2 off 2 American Greeting Cards = FREE Cards!

Hurry and print out the $2/2 American Greetings cards coupon and score free cards or really cheap cards that you can use for graduation or Father’s day.

Here are 2 scenarios that will get you get you most for your coupon:

Walmart

American Greeting Cards, $1
$2/2 American Greeting Cards printable
= FREE wyb 2 after coupon!

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Obama & Father's Day: Dad-In-Chief & First Daughters' Cutest Moments (PHOTOS, POLL)

Happy Father's Day!

To celebrate dads across America, we're bringing you a slew of pictures of President Barack Obama and his adorable daughters.

From carrying tiny Malia in his arms and hugging it out with Sasha on the campaign trail to snowball fights on the White House lawn and their more recent jaunts around the world, photographers have captured countless heartwarming moments between the president and his girls.

Check out our favorites below and tell us which you think are the cutest!

March 2004 winning the U.S. Senate Democratic primary

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Sega Pass system hacked

Sega has confirmed that hackers have stolen users' personal data from its Sega Pass system, which is designed to deliver community members information on the publisher’s upcoming games

Data obtained from the system includes passwords, e-mail addresses and dates of birth.

Sega said in an email to members: “As you may be aware, the SEGA Pass system has been offline since yesterday, Thursday 16 June.

"Over the last 24 hours we have identified that unauthorised entry was gained to our SEGA Pass database.

"We immediately took the appropriate action to protect our consumers' data and isolate the location of the breach. We have launched an investigation into the extent of the breach of our public systems.

"We have identified that a subset of SEGA Pass members emails addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords were obtained. To stress, none of the passwords obtained were stored in plain text.

"Please note that no personal payment information was stored by SEGA as we use external payment providers, meaning your payment details were not at risk from this intrusion.

"If you use the same login information for other websites and/or services as you do for SEGA Pass, you should change that information immediately."

A message on the Sega Pass website reads: “SEGA Pass is going through some improvements so is currently unavailable for new members to join or existing members to modify their details including resetting passwords. We hope to be back up and running very soon. Thank you for your patience.”

Sega becomes the latest in a long line of games industry firms and services to be targeted by hackers since April’s PlayStation Network breach. In the past week alone, BioWare, Eve Online and Minecraft have all suffered from cyber attacks

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Elizabeth Hurley, Arun Nayar: Divorce Granted

LONDON -- Actress Elizabeth Hurley and businessman Arun Nayar were divorced Wednesday after four years of marriage.

The divorce decree was granted at a brief hearing in London Wednesday by District Judge Penny Cushing.

Neither Hurley nor Nayar was in court to hear their names read out along with those of 27 other divorcing couples.

The grounds given for the divorce was Nayar's "unreasonable behavior."

The British actress and Indian businessman married in 2007 at an English castle, with singer Elton John giving the bride away. They followed up the private civil ceremony with a lavish and traditional Hindu wedding in Jodphur, India.

Hurley announced last December that the couple had separated. She has since been romantically linked to Australian cricket star Shane Warne.

Hurley, 46-years old, dated actor Hugh Grant for more than a decade and has a nine-year-old son, Damian, from a relationship with film producer Steve Bing.

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Natalie Portman, Benjamin Millepied: It’s A Boy!

Natalie Portman, Benjamin Millepied: It’s A Boy!

Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman and her French fiance Benjamin Millepied have welcomed a newborn son, their first child.

The specific details are still sketchy, but the ‘It’s a Boy!’ banner, shown above, under the caption ‘Natalie is a Mom!’, appeared suddenly and is prominently displayed on her website, natalieportman.com.

The Black Swan Best Actress winner, 30, paid tribute to her partner during her acceptance speech on February 27, 2011: “My beautiful love, Benjamin, who has now given me my most important role of my life.”

Portman met Millepied, 34, on the set of Black Swan, where he worked with her to perfect her portrayal of a ballerina and also served as her co-star. He is a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, and a ballet choreographer of international reputation.

Check out a photo of the couple prior to the delivery:

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agenda 21

Is the Soros-Sponsored ‘Agenda 21’ a Hidden Plan for World Government? (Yes, Only it Is Not Hidden)


What is Agenda 21? If you do not know about it, you should.
Agenda 21 is a two-decade old, grand plan for global ’Sustainable Development,’ brought to you from the United Nations. George H.W. Bush (and 177 other world leaders) agreed to it back in 1992, and in 1995, Bill Clinton signed Executive Order #12858, creating a Presidential Council on ‘Sustainable Development.’ This effectively pushed the UN plan into America’s large, churning government machine without the need for any review or discussion by Congress or the American people.

‘Sustainable Development’ sounds like a nice idea, right? It sounds nice, until you scratch the surface and find that Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development are really cloaked plans to impose the tenets of Social Justice/Socialism on the world.

At risk from Agenda 21;

Private Property ownership
Single-Family homes
Private car ownership and individual travel choices
Privately owned farms

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Gene Simmons Meets Estranged Siblings in Israel, Battles Relationship Woes

They're back: The "Demon," Gene Simmons, his longtime soul mate Shannon Tweed and the kids, Nick and Sophie. The A&E hit reality series 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels,' season six, premieres Tuesday, June 14 at 10PM ET with a special one-hour episode.

In the spirit of perhaps a Kiss show, it starts off loud and with lots of fireworks as Shannon decides she needs to reevaluate her relationship with Simmons, so she leaves. Shocking perhaps, but judging from how playful and supportive the couple seem during their interview with Spinner, things worked out as they often do on TV, especially when you're dealing with a "normal, pretty conventional, loving family" as Tweed describes she and her brood.

Since hitting the airwaves in 2006, the show built around the Simmons clan has proven to be a formidable force, and Tweed thinks it's because the family is so disarmingly down to earth.

"People always expected a car wreck," she says with a knowing, bemused chuckle. "But it's not. We're just normal, grounded people. So that ends up being the thing that you stare at -- the 'normal.'"

Tweed also says that while the show capture the family in fairly everyday settings, it also pushes them to come up with interesting things to do so that the audience will have something to follow.

"We talk about it all the time: What can we do, where can we go, what helps the show?" she says. "In that sense, the show has been good for our family because it had led us to do things we probably would never have done. It inspires us. You think I would have ever gone skydiving?" she asks with another laugh.

On a more serious note, Tweed adds that the while she and Simmons have essentially enjoyed the complete, overall experience of doing of the show, the kids have had their ups and downs.

"It's a roller coaster for them," she says. "Like any normal teenagers, they wanted their privacy or sometimes just wanted to blend in. And of course that's fine. We've just worked around that. They can do whatever they want on whatever level they want. That's always been our attitude. They're marvelous, grounded kids, but they go through stages like anyone would."

The new season features Sophie's first year in college, which prevented her from being as involved as she has been. "Nick was free and clear after getting out of college, but Sophie was having a hard time when she had exams and couldn't travel to Israel with us," Tweed says.

Simmons picks up the story from the statuesque blonde, whom he calls "The absolute love of my life, for 28 years."

"I was born in Israel, and in the show this season we visit there; the first time for me since I left when I was about 8," he says. "My parents had divorced; I came to America with my mom and never saw my dad again. He was married at least six times, as I understand it. Anyway, the trip was Shannon's idea. She thought it would be good for the show. So we get to a restaurant for dinner and a man approaches, a big, good-looking guy I thought was the waiter. Then they spring it on me: It's a brother I never met. Then two sisters, then another sister. Shannon arranged for all of my relatives from my father's side to surprise me. Her master plan."

Simmons goes on to explain that since Tweed comes from a big family, she felt it was important to bring Simmons together with extended family members. "Without the show, again, I may not have inspired to do that," she says.

Simmons sees Tweed as a sort of "fulcrum" of the show, the main support. "On the show, especially this new season, I see my kids through Shannon's eyes. As a father, watching the kids evolve through her viewpoint, it's been a good wakeup call -- a time for me to grow up and act like an adult. We men are like 12-year-old boys. The great wisdom in a household comes from women, in my opinion."

This season, Simmons says, viewers will not only get to watch his family in Israel but also in Belize and a place that was instantly near and dear to his heart: Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas

"Aside from my kids, nothing makes me cry except the United States military," he reveals. "The episode at Fort Hood is as inspirational as anything you will ever see. You meet men and woman there who are going overseas on their fourth or fifth deployment, risking their lives for an idea called America. It wakes you up. We've been to other bases before but to be at Fort Hood on the day when they are leaving, it was unforgettable. Their gaze is unwavering, the look you in the eye address you as 'sir' -- they are amazing."

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Joss Stone Possible Target of 'Murder Plot,' Police Say

Joss Stone is believed to have been the target of a possible "murder plot" this week following the arrest of two men near her home in Devon.

Police apprehended the suspects on Tuesday morning after they were spotted driving around the village of Cullompton by residents. Both men, who are in their early 30s, were arrested for possession of an offensive weapon and going equipped to burgle/steal, while one was also accused of driving while disqualified.

But according to reports in the British media, the two are thought to have been planning to rob and murder the 24-year-old multi-millionaire. A source was quoted in a number of outlets, including The Telegraph, saying it was thought the pair planned to cause the singer "really serious harm."

The report quotes claims that the items recovered from the suspects' Fiat Punto included a body bag, swords and maps of Stone's country home.

A Devon and Cornwall police spokesperson confirmed that the two people, who remain in custody, "had in their possession information relating to an individual in the Cullompton area and items that lead us to suspect that they may have intended to commit a criminal offence." He added that the offices were carrying out "reassurance patrols" in the village and said that it was "important to stress that no properties have been burgled and no individuals have been harmed".

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Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament: Which Teams Reached The Next Round

The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament are over and low seeds like No. 11 VCU and No. 12 Richmond are still alive. Each day had something special. Buzzer beaters, game-winning shots, upsets - you name it. Now it's on to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. Here are the teams that reached the next round.

The third-seeded BYU Cougars will take on the Florida Gators on Thursday. Also in the Southeast region, No. 8 Butler will play the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers.

Teams from the West region will play on Thursday as well. No. 1 Duke will square off against No. 5 Arizona and No. 2 San Diego State will play No. 3 UConn.

Teams from the Southwest and East regions play on Friday. The top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will face the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats and the No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles, who stunned No. 3 Syracuse on Sunday, will play the second-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels.

In the Southwest region, No. 1 Kansas plays the lowest seed left in the tournament, No. 12 Richmond. No. 11 VCU will take on No. 10 Florida State.

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'Big Love' Season 5, Episode 10 (Series Finale) Recap

What do you look for in a series finale? Resolution? Closure? Drama? Suspense? A twist? The return of a lost character? Death? Birth? Pro-polygamy legislation? If you answered "yes" to any, or all, of those scenarios you would have been mildly amused by the 'Big Love' series finale.

I say that because, while the episode did hit all those major finale highlights, it didn't really hit any of them with much force, leaving the show's legacy somewhat up for grabs. I'm not going to let a great series be sullied with a mediocre finale; I will continue to pretend that it all ended with a three-way wifely mud-wrestling contest -- which is what we were all expecting, I'm sure.

Bill emerged from prison with the fire in his belly and the stench in his hair that only two nights in county lock-up can adequately provide. With his wives on his arms he set the tone for the finale. He was coming for all those who stood against him, even possibly his own wives.

Margene, so inspired if not brainwashed by Gogi's Michael Saint, started talking with Bill about her aspirations, which included philanthropic cruises to foreign lands for months at a time, to which Bill was not necessarily opposed. It was always precarious how Bill handled each wife differently, but in the case of Barb and Margene in this situation it was straight-up hypocritical.

Things with Barb were contentious as a result of that and countless other things, and she chose Easter church service as a perfect occasion to be baptized into the Reform church that would allow her to hold the priesthood, and to stick it to Bill in the process.

With the responsibility -- or the threat, depending on how you interpret Nicki -- of being first, and only, wife becoming ever more real for Nicki, she started to crack as fast as you can say, "be careful what you wish for." Her manipulative nature may have been as much of a contributing factor to Barb and Margene's flightiness, as well.

The Alby situation was what really made everything fizzle. Bill's only rivals in the finale were his wives (barely) and his mother's Alzheimer's. It wasn't like he and Alby -- the principal conflict throughout the last few seasons, and one of the creepiest villains in TV history -- had a fight to the death in the penultimate episode either. They didn't even get gay married. Alby was in prison and sent Adaleen as his proxy for the episode. For someone as ruthless and watchable as Alby to not appear in the finale is borderline criminal, but at the same time, it helped make it all about Bill and the wives.

I thought the episode was more about Barb's triumph than anything else. Until now, her strength had always been relative to the family, never herself. Just when it seemed like the sister wives were pushing her away harder than even Bill, Barb really sought that inner strength and spirituality and used it to embrace the changes she had been resisting exclusively for appearances' sake, causing Nicki to comment, "it's good to keep an open mind, but no so open that your brains fall out."

It was interesting to watch the different characters come to grips with the implications of Bill's future, and everyone but Barb seemed to go against character. Margene was at peace with whatever happened since she'd found an inner peace and embraced her regrets rather than fighting them. Nicki did a double-take, thriving in an area of weakness (motherhood), finally connecting with Cara Lynn, and choking in an area of strength (first wife).

The Lois storyline, while saccharine sweet, was a bit much, and another thing to add to a show that was already loaded with angles not getting enough attention. After watching her fade before his eyes, he had a vision of a young Lois that kind of set up her eerily emotional assisted suicide with Frank. A lot of people looked at their relationship as the back end of Mormonism, an intimate connection cauterized by a mutual respect for surviving the fire.

All the goings-on only made Bill act with more of a sense of urgency. He defiantly continued to push his legislative pursuits in the face of adversity and resistance from his superiors, and when his voice was finally heard, he went rogue and with the kind of brazen disregard that only a man with nothing to lose can muster. On top of his campaign against the compound, he forced a bill to re-open the discussion on the legalization of plural marriage.

Bill was simply planting seeds. Seeds that would hopefully mature while he was away. More often than not, the glory goes to the man who solves the problem, not the man who started the discussion that made the solution possible.

Things with Barb and her priesthood needs became so bad that Bill went to stay at Nicki's for an indeterminate amount of time. It felt like Bill wanted to let Barb go, but fought it because of how it would look to the public in the time of crisis they were facing.

It was no surprise that once everyone stopped hiding behind fear, and self-interest, and deception, and began to speak freely about their feelings and ideas, everything started to work itself out. It may not have produced the by-products that made everyone happy, but it put everyone on the same page. It all gave way to Barb buying a new mid-life crisis mobile, and a scene right out of 'Thelma and Louise ... and Nicki,' with the three wives tearing down the freeway.

The news about the car coincided with the news that Home Plus was shutting down, and Bill couldn't have used the situation as a metaphor for his relationship with Barb any quicker or more obviously. Like a hungry rat backed into a corner by an even hungrier rat, Bill was ready to fight for the things he believed in. Spite can be a terrific motivator.

Nicki's biggest challenge as the show drew to a close was trying not to revert to the compound ethics that she fought so hard against. Her relationship with Cara Lynn and her sister wives illustrated that, fending for herself when the people she loved needed her most. She began to back away from those ideals, however, owning up to Cara Lynn and hugging it out with Barb.

With the Henricksons now fully out in the open, and Bill's Capitol Hill diatribe reigniting the debate over plural marriage for legitimacy, the compound-ites came out for Easter service at Bill's humble little church, much to his surprise. The wicked witch was dead and Bill was the Mormon Dorothy clicking his heels three times to take them all back to a simpler time.

The service ran concurrent with Barb's baptism, and I started to figure out where it was headed. An overwhelmed Bill began a humbled address to his now rapidly multiplying congregation. As Barb stepped into the baptism pool, she backed out at the last minute, arriving just in time for Bill to nod to her at the doorway to the future of Mormonism.

What seemed like a defining moment, however, quickly vanished as Barb's decision didn't really change her ideas about where she stood within the family. It wasn't going to be that simple. You can't just flip a switch and not want spiritual equality anymore.

It was then that the show kind of went off the rails. Carl, the disgruntled neighbor and minor grudge holder approached Bill outside, playing a great hand of cards: Pity, jealousy, "you think you're better than me?" and gun. The camera cut away to the wives and the shots went off. Bill was shot and lying in the street.

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Spring Equinox Celebrations

Despite the fact that we have snow showers predicted for four out of the next ten days (Oh, Montreal...), we are mentally plowing right into spring. The chicks were with their dad for the weekend, so in between working (both on editing and on a fun, upcoming project), a bit of socializing, and some cleaning, I got us ready for spring, starting with a super easy sewing project--a spring bunting:
I'm a little on the fence about the colors; I can't decide if it says "spring," or if it says "Easter," which is not exactly what I was going for. Maybe I'll leave this up until Easter and then switch it out for something else.

After the chicks returned, I sent them on a treasure hunt, using these clues:
Do you ever make treasure hunts? I love them. I always accidentally call them "scavenger hunts," but I don't think that's what I mean. I mean the type of hunt during which you read a clue that leads you to the next clue, and so on, until you find the treasure. I set them up for the kids every so often. I secretly have fun writing and hiding the clues, and the chicks, particularly Ninna, really love looking for them. Ninna still very much loves any kind of game that involves hiding and seeking/searching, so a treasure hunt is right up her alley.

When one of the clues sent them over to the kitchen table, Ninna excitedly asked if the new spring tablecloth was the prize. I thought smugly about how appreciative my children are, but then when the next clue sent them to their clothesline, she excitedly asked "oh, did you wash our pajamas?" I try not to laugh out loud at my children unless they're intentionally being funny, but I couldn't hold it in. Are my cleaning skills really that bad that she would get that excited about clean pajamas? I think I'd prefer not to hear the answer.

The treasure was neither a tablecloth nor clean laundry; it was a couple of new spring books I had been saving for this occasion. I put away the winter books from our seasonal book basket and replaced them with the spring ones, which now includes the "treasure" books:

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Guns N' Roses Set to Play Rock in Rio Festival

Guns N' Roses are set to headline Brazil's 2011 Rock in Rio festival, according to local reports. Newspaper O Globo has revealed event organizer Roberto Medina has been in talks with frontman Axl Rose and he's ready to make an announcement about the super gig. If the report is true, it'll be Guns N' Roses' third appearance at the festival - the band played Rock in Rio in 1991 and 2001.

Sir Elton John, Katy Perry, Metallica, Motorhead, Coldplay, Shakira, Sepultura, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Slipknot have already been confirmed for the festival, scheduled for September 23 to October 2 in Rio de Janeiro.

On another news, addressing to rumor of original Guns N' Roses lineup's reunion for years, Slash has pointed the lead singer's unwillingness as the reason for the unrealized gathering. He says,"It's all about Axl [Rose]. The reason that everybody left was because in the back of his mind I think that's the way he wanted it. So the reason why there's no Guns N' Roses was because of him. I've got nothing to do with it. I quit for the same reason that everybody did. So it's really his problem.'

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Blogger Buzz: What’s New With Blogger

Blogger Buzz: What’s New With Blogger

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The Dugout: Minnesota Twins Spring Training 2011

For those of you who are new to The Dugout, each year we spend March writing “The Dugout: Spring Training.” We cover 30 teams in 30 days, and fans of the Pirates or the Astros get their one strip a year before we start calling Alex Rodriguez gay and Manny Ramirez stupid for seven months. With a March 15 end date set for FanHouse, I started 2011′s Spring Training in the middle of February, thinking it would give me time to get to everyone before I was outsourced. Out of nowhere, the Sporting News decided they wanted FanHouse to be incomprehensible and awful RIGHT AWAY, and March 15 became March 1.

Now that The Dugout is back in full swing on With Leather, we can pick back up where we left off. Today’s Spring Training is about the Twins, and it has nothing to do with Jim Thome being a member of the team and me wanting people to like these right away, swear to God.

So read, enjoy, and drop a comment. I love The Dugout fan community more than I love baseball itself (which is not a lot, apparently), so make your voices heard. Dugout got, after the break.

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How To Remove Vocals From Music Tracks Using Audacity

How It Works

Vocals are normally placed in the “center channel.” Stereo tracks have two channels, but not all of the instruments are balanced evenly. Sometimes the bass is pushed more towards the right channel, rhythm guitar might be found more towards the left, and so on. Usually the vocals are put dead center, so we can split the stereo track and invert one channel. This cancels out the vocals but leaves the rest in tact. Primus often has extremely unbalanced channels. These kinds of tracks usually work well because the vocals are left evenly balanced between the two channels and that makes them easier to remove accurately. Songs with a lot of vocal effects may end up being mangled by the process, and songs with reverb may leave an echo despite vocals being gone.

On the whole, however this process works really well if you start with good quality audio. One of the most well known adages of audio editing is “garbage in equals garbage out.” If you start with CD audio and work from there, the end result will be cleaner and clearer than if you start with a compressed mp3. In HTG Explains: What Are the Differences Between All Those Audio Formats?, we went over different lossless and lossy formats, so make sure you start from a lossless audio file for best results. This isn’t to say that mp3 and the like won’t work, just that lossless audio works much better.

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Greenbelt Alliance backs Napa Pipe plan

NAPA – Napa Pipe, the 2,580-unit proposed mixed-use development in the county of Napa, has gained the support of Greenbelt Alliance, a group that focuses on smart growth in the nine-county Bay Area.

The project is in a comment period for its supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report and hearings on the EIR are taking place today. The comment period ends March 31.

“We are releasing a letter during the comment period,” said Marla Wilson, sustainable development associate at the Greenbelt Alliance. “We have concluded that mixed use development is the best way to fulfill Napa County’s housing needs.”

The alliance was to officially announce its support at a public meeting this morning.

The alliance has determined the project is consistent with its vision for how the Bay Area can grow in a sustainable way and is consistent with Measure P and the general plan update, Ms. Wilson said.

“We’ve always been committed to develop a special project, one that reduces commuter traffic, protects rural land, adheres to the highest environmental standards and solves water problems for our community,” said Keith Rogal, developer of the project. “The public process of EIR review is for concerns to be raised and addressed, and the input of the Greenbelt Alliance in that process, will undoubtedly benefit the plan. We’re very pleased and honored to receive their support.”

One aspect of the project that the Greenbelt Alliance specifically supports is the more than 500 affordable homes it includes. Mr. Rogal said in the current plan there are 516 housing units permanently held at prices affordable for households of low and very low incomes, and 2,084 market-rate residential units, with size, character and pricing oriented to” younger Napans, starting out, the commuting workforce, and local empty-nesters.”

The alliance backs the affordable homes because the project is located in the county’s job center where there are roughly 35,000 jobs, hoping it would help cut down commute time.

“A third of the workforce commutes in,” she said.

The Napa Pipe site is also attractive to the Greenbelt Alliance because of there are mp other areas in Napa that could be developed at this scale that are not greenfields, the group said. The alliance works to promote “open spaces and vibrant places,” she said.

The alliance said that while it supports the project, it still has concerns.

First concern is water.

“We want to make sure any solution to bringing water should not have the consequence of sprawl elsewhere. We have been talking to the developer about how that would look,” she said.

Transportation has been a concern as well and the lack of available public transit. However, said Ms. Wilson, currently there is not a need for transit, so there isn’t much available. Once there are people there, however it will be important to have it available. “It is kind of a Catch 22,” she said.

Also, the group wants to see projects that focus on whole communities.

“Our plan includes all those elements which give a neighborhood cohesion, reduce unnecessary car trips, and allow for healthy mix of incomes and ages,” said Mr. Rogal.

The Greenbelt Alliance has supported a number of projects in the North Bay, including Sonoma Mountain Village and Larkspur Landing. This is the first to get support this year.

“It has not been easy arriving at this decision,” said Ms. Wilson.

She said they have been working with the developer for five years on this project and have visited the site numerous times. They have also met with advocates, elected officials, stakeholders and local residents with a wide range of viewpoints on the project.

“It has been countless hours of effort. I am happy we have arrived. It is the right position for the organization. We understand this project is a big deal for Napa County and this is the moment for us to make our position public if we are going to have our position.”

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NCAA Tournament Scores: Kansas State Hangs On, Beats Utah State

I feel even much better about this Kansas State team following they escaped Utah State, 73-68. The Aggies just wouldn’t go away and seemed to be that pesky opponent that you can’t very get a comfy lead on. As the game went on, they had been hanging around making you wonder if this would come down to…totally free throws.

A dreaded word for the Wildcats who shoot just 64 percent from the line. Instead, the free throws had been a position. K-State hit 11-of-14 from the line within the last minute-plus and 24-of-28 for the game. Incredible.

Jacob Pullen had 22 points in the victory and hit 9-of-12 totally free throws.

“It was just understanding that our last game of the season could come if we do not shoot the ball well from the free throw line,” said Pullen, who produced 6 of 8 free throws in the final stretch. “It’s about focusing and I believe we did a great job of that.”

If someone wasn’t hitting free throws, head coach Frank Martin was going to blow a gasket. He was fuming, as expected, on the sidelines. I said prior to the game that Pullen
and someone else, like Curtis Kelly, would need to step up, As it turns out, Kelly did step up ending with 15 points and six boards.

Kansas State moves onto play fourth seed Wisconsin, who beat Belmont on Thursday.

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Aristide's Haiti Return Anticipated With Joy

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has returned home after seven years in exile.

The ousted former leader arrived in the capital Friday on a jet from South Africa. Aristide waved from a window at journalists, airport workers and dignitaries who had gathered at the entrance to the plane on the runway.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Joy filled Jean-Bertrand Aristide's most ardent followers early Friday as they waited the last few hours until the former president considered by many a champion of the poor returned from seven years of exile.

Thousands were expected to throng the airport to greet the chartered jet carrying Aristide from South Africa, where the government assisted his departure despite a request from U.S. President Barack Obama that the homecoming be postponed until after Haiti's presidential runoff election Sunday.

"We are going to party," said 36-year-old mechanic Assey Woy, discussing the news of the ousted leader's return with friends on a street corner downtown. "It will be like New Year's Day."

During a refueling stopover early Friday in Dakar, Senegal, Aristide reiterated that he wants to work in education. His comments also reflected his awareness of his huge popularity and influence among Haiti's majority poor.

"I think that the Haitian people are very happy," Aristide told Democracy Now!, a U.S.-based independent news program. "Happy to know that we are on our way heading to Haiti. Happy to know that finally their dream will be fulfilled by things on the ground because they fought hard for democracy. They always wanted the return to happen and now it is happening."

Energy spread through Aristide's followers Thursday as word spread across Haiti that he was heading home. Some joined in a raucous, horn-blaring victory procession. Others decorated the courtyard of his foundation headquarters with Haitian flags and photos of the former president. One woman waited with a bouquet of flowers.

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