Liberty Newspost Feb-13-10

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12/02/10 - 13/02/10

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Political dynasties shift in election-year tremor

by Tabassum Zakaria (Front Row Washington) Submitted at 2/12/2010 1:49:44 PM

After the November election, there will not be a Kennedy in Congress for the first time in almost half a century because Representative Patrick Kennedy, the son of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, has decided to retire from his Rhode Island seat.

“My life is taking a new direction and I will not be a candidate for re-election this year,” Patrick Kennedy said in a video announcing his decision nearly six months after his father, the “Liberal Lion” of the Senate, died.

Of course there is still time for another Kennedy to step forward and declare intentions to run for office, but we haven’t heard any whispers.

On the other hand, Ben Quayle, 33, the son of former vice

president Dan Quayle, has thrown the gauntlet down and plans to run for the Arizona congressional seat of retiring Republican John Shadegg.

“The big news is my son, Ben Quayle, today filed his papers for congressman of the third Congressional district here in

being watched as possible contenders for national election down the road.

Half of the Cuban-born DiazBalart family representation in Congress has decided not to run again. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Republican, said he would not seek re-election to his Florida seat. He and brother Mario DiazBalart, also a Republican congressman from Florida, have supported taking a political hardline against Cuba.

Which political family would you like to see have a bigger role in national politics?

A r i z o n a , ” D a n Q u a y l e For more Reuters political news, announced on Fox News.“It’s click here the next generation of leadership. Photo credit: Reuters/Brian The Republican Party’s got to Snyder (President Obama and former presidents Bush and move on.”

And while no one from the Bush Clinton attend funeral services family tree has announced for Senator Kennedy) running for office at the moment, there are a couple of branches

24 hours in pictures (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:28:36 AM

13 February 2010: A selection of the best images from around the world

Ooh, ahh: Weather Underground goes full-screen

by Josh Lowensohn (Webware.com) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:54:00 PM

Weather enthusiasts have yet another tool at their disposal with Fullscreenweather, a new fullscreen weather viewer from Weather Underground.

Originally posted at Web Crawler

Watchers hurt by rogue waves at CA surfing contest (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:39:18 AM

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Briton among two killed in huge push in Afghanistan

by Jason Burke (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

towards the town centre while British forces took up positions to the north.

Lieutenant Colonel David Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:49:37 AM Wakefield, spokesman for Task Two allied fighters die in Force Helmand, said: "A British Operation Mushtarak as troops soldier has made the ultimate close on Helmand town sacrifice doing his duty as part of • Datablog: full British casualty this operation to clear the figures insurgents away from the people A British soldier and a US o f N a d - e - A l i ; h i s s e l f l e s s marine have been killed during commitment and courage will t h e l a u n c h o f t h e b i g g e s t not be forgotten." operation against the Taliban in Downing Street said the prime Afghanistan since the war of minister's thoughts were with the 2001. family of the dead soldier.

Hundreds of US marines and Major General Nick Carter, British soldiers earlier reported commander of Nato forces in successes against light resistance southern Afghanistan, said as they advanced into a key Afghan and coalition troops had Taliban-held town in southern made a "successful insertion" A f g h a n i s t a n i n O p e r a t i o n into Marjah.

Mushtarak – meaning "together" Around 4,500 US marines, in the local Dari dialect.

1,500 Afghan troops and 300 US Comrades said the British soldiers are taking part in the soldier, the 258th to die in offensive on the town, which is Afghanistan, was from 1st surrounded by a treacherous Battalion Grenadier Guards. He network of canals and heavily was killed by an explosion while mined fields and roads. Over a in a vehicle patrol. A US official thousand British troops have also confirmed one US Marine was been committed, largely in the k i l l e d i n s m a l l a r m s f i r e . district of Nawd Ali to Marjah's Between five and 20 Taliban north with another 3,000 held in fighters were reported killed and reserve. e i g h t c a p t u r e d s i n c e t h e In Kabul, 360 miles to the north offensive began. of the fighting, defense minister The operation began with a fleet Rahim Wardak told reporters of 60 US helicopters firing most of the resistance was missiles at defensive positions centered around the town's around the town of Marjah in market.

Helmand province before troops The operation, the first since advanced on the town from two President Barack Obama ordered directions. American marines 3 5 , 0 0 0 e x t r a t r o o p s t o were reported to be moving A f g h a n i s t a n i n D e c e m b e r ,

signals the start of what might be a final bid to impose government authority on areas currently under insurgent control.

Obama imposed a 2011 deadline for the pullout of US troops and the success of the battle is as likely to be measured by the degree to which its outcome bolsters waning support for the war in the US and Europe as by casualties inflicted on the Taliban or by the number of communities brought under the control of the administration of President Hamid Karzai.

Though the Taliban have defiantly sworn to resist the offensive and continued to insist they were in full control of Marjah, analysts believe it is unlikely that they will risk a full confrontation with the overwhelming conventional firepower of the coalition forces.

Reporters embedded with the troops reported sporadic but intense exchanges of fire with Taliban fighters once the ground offensive began. Progress has been careful. A bridge over a canal into the town was so heavily mined and boobytrapped that US Marines built substitutes alongside it.

Lance Corporal Ivan Meza, 19, was the first to cross one. "I did get an adrenaline rush, and that bridge is wobbly," Meza, a Marine combat engineer from Pismo Beach, California told Reuters news agency.

According to Abdul Kader, a 44 -year-old shopkeeper, seven or

eight Taliban fighters who had been holding the position where the Marines crossed over fled during the night. "They left with their motorcycles and their guns.

They went deeper into town," Kader said as Marines and Afghan troops searched a poppy field next to his house for mines.

Sensitive to Afghan criticisms of civilian casualties, Nato commanders gave widespread warning of their intentions to ensure villagers have time to flee. But critics said the strategy would have allowed the Taliban to prepare for the attack, which could lead to higher coalition casualties.

The question of whether the Taliban will stay and fight relates to broader strategic issues in the war. Though Marjah is astride key routes for the transport reinforcements and supplies for the Taliban as well as for the smuggling of drugs by groups increasingly closely aligned with the insurgents in Helmand province its importance is more as a test case for the new American-led effort in Afghanistan.

Coalition commanders stress that their intention is not to leave the areas that have been cleared during the fighting – Marjah has been captured once before but was abandoned – but to establish a durable presence to allowing reconstruction, development and the establishment of strong local government structures to go

ahead and to prevent reprisals.

Despite the huge attention deliberately focused on Marjah in recent days by the coalition and governments, the town remains just a tiny piece in a much bigger jigsaw in the province, country and region.

Though much of the violence in Afghanistan is concentrated in the two southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, a much broader swath of territory is under informal control of the insurgents.

Although many military operations meet their immediate objectives, the Taliban continue to be able to exploit the Afghan government's lack of political legitimacy and to convincingly pose as defenders of the Afghan nation against foreigners, of the Islamic faith against unbelievers and of the Pashtun rural conservative tribes of the country against their ethnic and often urban rivals.

Furthermore recent initiatives aimed at "reconciling" low-level Taliban are unlikely to succeed in ending the insurgency while senior insurgent commanders continue to be convinced that they are winning and while their mix of ideological appeal and coercion still works.

There is the regional picture to consider. Strenuous efforts are being made by a variety of actors to convince the Pakistani BRITON page 4

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British dead and wounded in Afghanistan, month by month

Woman charged over Alabama shootings

by Simon Rogers (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

(World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

the family has been informed the wounded person has been "listed" • Then there are the people Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:42:13 AM registered at field hospitalsWhat is the human cost of the which go from the seriously to war in Afghanistan for British the lightly wounded, from all forces? As British troops suffer causes, violent and otherwise more losses in 2010, these are • Lastly there are the personnel the latest figures - including new who've been evacuated by air, wounded statistics which could be serious combat • Get the data injuries or illnesses such as • Afghanistan civilian casualties dysentry • Information is Beautiful This is how the MoD defines it: analysis of the data '"Very Seriously ill/ 2009 was the bloodiest year so Injured/wounded" or VSI is the f a r f o r B r i t i s h t r o o p s i n definition we use where the Afghanistan. As the number of illness or injury is of such British deaths in Afghanistan severity that life or reason is passes 250 - now much higher i m m i n e n t l y e n d a n g e r e d . than Iraq and even the Falklands "Seriously ill/Injured/Wounded" conflict- these are the numbers of or SI is the definition we use British fatalities for Afghanistan where the patient's condition is - and Iraq, too - updated as they of such severity that there is c h a n g e . W e ' v e b r o k e n cause for immediate concern, but Afghanistan down month-by- there is no imminent danger to month. life or reason. The VSI and SI More complicated are the categories are defined by Joint wounded numbers. Rather than Casualty and Compassionate one simple set of statistics, the Policy and Procedures. They are MoD gives us three - all of not strictly medical categories which are included as a sheet in but are designed to give an t h e d a t a s e t b e l o w ( a n d indication of the severity of the summarised down the page). illness to inform what the • Firstly, you have the Noticas individual's next of kin are told.' numbers. These are the most What do you think? Can you do seriously wounded cases, where a n y t h i n g w i t h t h e d a t a ?

(Newsmax - Politics)

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Download the data • DATA: British dead and wounded, month by month as a spreadsheet - including names of dead • DATA: US casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq • DATA: how many troops does each country send to Afghanistan • INTERACTIVE: rollcall of the British dead Search the world's government data • Our world government data gateway Can you do something with this data?

Flickr Please post your visualisations and mash-ups on our Flickr group or mail us at datastore@guardian.co.uk • Get the A-Z of data • More at the Datastore directory • Follow us on Twitter Summary tables • • • •

Afghanistan Military Iraq Government data

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happen. There's no way... They are still alive."

Police said they were also interviewing a man as "a person Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:38:52 AM of interest".

A biology professor has been Three others were wounded in charged with murder after a the gunfire. They were identified shooting spree at the University as department members Joseph of Alabama, Huntsville, left Leahy and Stephanie Monticello, three dead and three wounded. both in a critical condition in Amy Bishop, 42, was charged intensive care, and Luis Cruzyesterday with one count of Vera. capital murder, which means she Sammie Lee Davis, whose wife could face the death penalty if was killed in the shooting, gave a convicted. Three of Bishop's p h o n e i n t e r v i e w t o t h e fellow biology professors were Associated Press in which he killed and three other university said he was told his wife was at a employees were wounded. meeting to discuss the tenure of University spokesman Ray another faculty member who got Garner said the three killed were angry and started shooting. He Gopi K Podila, the chairman of said his wife had mentioned the the Department of Biological suspect before, describing the Sciences, and two other faculty woman as "not being able to deal members, Maria Ragland Davis with reality" and "not as good as and Adriel Johnson. she thought she was".

UAH student Andrew Cole was University police secured the in Bishop's anatomy class building and cleared students yesterday morning and said she from it last night. The university seemed perfectly normal. will remain closed next week.

"She's understanding, and was • United States concerned about students," he • Gun crime said. "I would have never thought it was her." guardian.co.uk© Guardian Bishop, a neurobiologist who News & Media Limited 2010 | studied at Harvard University, Use of this content is subject to was taken in handcuffs to the our Terms & Conditions| More county jail last night and could Feeds be heard saying: "It didn't

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El Bulli to close doors for good (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk)

academy for advanced culinary study, according to the New York Times.

He decided to permanently shut Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:18:20 AM El Bulli, which has won three Catalan chef, famous for dishes Michelin stars and was last year such as foie gras candies, to named the world's best restaurant replace restaurant with academy for the fourth year by Restaurant for advanced culinary study magazine in Britain, because he Food blog: El Bulli to close for and his partner, Juli Soler, had good. For now ... been losing €500,000 (£433,728) Ferran Adrià, the Catalan chef a year on the restaurant and his celebrated for creating such cooking workshop in Barcelona, dishes as turtle dove with the paper's food blog reported. blackberry caviar and duck foie He said he would use his gras candies, has decided to earnings from consultancies and permanently close his famously other businesses to establish his experimental El Bulli restaurant new culinary academy and to in Spain. fund scholarships.

Adrià will replace the restaurant, The restaurant will reopen for which in its deconstruction of six months in June and close for traditional dishes creates as good in December 2011. much bewilderment among Adrià told an international diners as pleasure, with an culinary conference last month

that the restaurant would temporarily shut its doors in 2012 and 2013. He said then that the closure was due to the difficulties of working 15 hours a day.

Tables for the six-month season at El Bulli sell out in a day and two million people – including the world's great and good – have competed for a mere 8,000 settings in the past few years.

• Ferran Adrià • Chefs • Restaurants • Food & drink guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

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security establishment to end its support for some elements within the insurgents but so far with little success. The eventual outcome of Operation Mushtarak is likely be decided far from its booby-trapped canals.

• Afghanistan • Military • US military • Nato • Taliban

Jason Burke guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds

Earnings Highlights: Acer, Baidu, Coca-Cola, Disney, Hasbro, Sprint ...

by Trey Thoelcke (BloggingStocks)

• Biogen Idec Inc.( BIIB) offered an upside surprise as well as full-year earnings above Wall Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:40:00 PM Street estimates.

Filed under: Earnings Reports, • Coinstar Inc.( CSTR) strong Coca-Cola (KO), Walt Disney quarterly results and guidance, as (DIS), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), well as litigation concerns, failed Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), to inspire Wall Street.

Hasbro Inc (HAS), Electronic • Coca-Cola Co.( KO) posted Arts (ERTS) strong Q4 and full-year earnings Here are some highlights from r e s u l t s d u e t o g r o w t h i n this past week's earnings emerging markets. coverage on BloggingStocks: • Abercrombie & Fitch Co.( Continue reading Earnings ANF) received an analyst's Highlights: Acer, Baidu, Cocaupgrade ahead of next week's Q4 Cola, Disney, Hasbro, Sprint ... earnings report.

Earnings Highlights: Acer, • Acer Inc. reported its highest Baidu, Coca-Cola, Disney, quarterly earnings in almost Hasbro, Sprint ... originally three years due in part to growth appeared on BloggingStocks on in shipments.

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:40:00 EST. • Baidu Inc.( BIDU) swung to a Please see our terms for use of better-than-expected Q4 profit, feeds. Permalink| Email this| with strong revenue growth, and Comments offered rosy guidance.

Did global warming cause the Snowpocalypse?

(Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 2/12/2010 10:44:10 PM

Scientific American takes a stab at the question in a 60-second podcast. In short, global warming scientists predicted

extreme weather like this week’s East coast blizzard, but it’s

difficult to peg isolated weather events on climate change.

Listen to the full podcast at Scientific American.

Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink| Leave a comment »

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Happy Valenswine's Day! How to Make a Bacon "Broquet"

by Alissa Walker (Fast Company) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:46:27 PM

You've seen how husband and wife team at UnderConsideration re-envisioned the holiday of love. Now see the other winner of Studio 360's Redesign Valentine's Day challenge, as picked by this week's guest, author and modern love expert Elizabeth Gilbert. And, yes...it's bacon.

First place goes to the Broquet, a bacon bouquet, which was cooked up by Portland-based industrial designer Sarah Tisdale.

Last fall, Tisdale had just fallen for for her next-door neighbor when something brought his spirits down. Tisdale brainstormed an appropriate way to cheer him up. "I wasn't going to get him flowers or anything like that," she remembers, "but I wanted to bring a smile to his face." The two had bonded recently over their love for a winning combination: whiskey and bacon. So Tisdale realized there was really only one option: A bacon bouquet. Her house swirling with smoke, she presented the neighbor with a dozen juicy pork blossoms.

He was thrilled, but the relationship eventually fizzled, much like a grease on a hot skillet. Tisdale has no regrets.

"We're not still dating," she says. "But it was very poetic and beautiful."

In an equally poetic twist,

Tisdale herself was a vegan until bacon became--as it has for many recovering vegans--a gateway meat. "I don't know what it is," she says of the country's current obsession with bacon. "For me it's just this primal, salty thing." Tisdale describes what she calls a "bacon movement" afoot in Portland,

where house-cured meats are the pride of local sandwich shops.

"You know," she confesses. "I'm actually still mostly a vegan...except for bacon."

For Tisdale, the Broquet was a way for her to merge her love of food with her design skills--as well as her incurable inner Cupid. "I'm a hopeless

romantic," admits Tisdale. "I really love Valentine's Day, I love how silly and ridiculous and pretty and funny it is." But she agrees that as a culture, we could all use a reminder about what Valentine's Day really means.

"It's not just about romantic love," she says. "It's about sharing what you love with

someone else."

Sarah Tisdale's Bacon Broquet, Baked From the Heart 1 package delicious bacon (thin or thick both work well)1 package bamboo skewerssome thin skewers you can break1 or 2 mini muffin tins (varies HAPPY page 8

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The Winter Olympics Uniforms: For God, Country, Fashion, and Sport

by Joe Duffy (Fast Company) Submitted at 2/12/2010 9:14:01 PM

The excitement is rising. The games will soon be here. I can't wait. As someone raised in the ice and snow of Minnesota, the Winter Olympics are my favorite spectator event. They are a spectacle that is part world sporting competition, part cultural festival, part global media extravaganza. There are so many fascinating angles to these games.

As a designer, after the competition and the opening/closing ceremonies, what captures my attention is the way the countries present themselves in uniform and the role the uniform takes in projecting national imagery, sporting culture and fashion.

First, of course, is team USA. The 2010 Winter Olympic ceremonial team uniforms are designed by Ralph Lauren, classically American styled with a sense of casual athletic ruggedness.

I think team USA and also the Canadian's team attire (above, by Hudson's Bay Company) do a good job of combining today's fashion, with a competitive athletic feel and a nostalgic look of both countries winter sports cultures.

The freestyle ski and bobsled uniforms, both designed by

The Nike design team is also behind the jackets that will be worn for medal ceremonies.

And then there are the Burton designed uniforms for the snowboarding team. While they've been creating controversy with the casual, distressed denim pants, they undoubtedly reflect the fashion sensibilities of the boarding community and culture. They're my favorite for those individual sport characteristics combined with USA iconography like the colors and crest.

As I consider these uniforms and the many others for each of the sporting teams representing team USA, I feel there's a missed opportunity to find a design expression that can represent the team in a more unified way without compromising the individual needs of each sport.

What a great challenge it would be to find a design language that is broad enough to reflect the various sporting cultures, yet represent a common team character combined with an Under Armour速, are said to be grey and fuchsia plaid graphics into the arms and back of the eclectic representation of our inspired by stuntman's Evel plus Spiderman for downhill garment, featuring elements such country's culture.

Knievel's aesthetic and feature skiing--or not far enough, like as the Statue of Liberty's torch, Once the games are underway it compression and sew-free sonic these two examples. and the date of the signing of the will be interesting to see how the welding technology materials. Nike's hockey sweater designs Declaration of Independence as other countries have approached I'm thinking something beyond have a simple, almost retro look, well as symbols of Celtic, their visual representation. red, white and blue with stars which some say harkens to team African, Native American, and Seems as though a follow-up and stripes is in order here.

USA's golden hockey moments. Hispanic cultures. The third blog is in order. I'd love to hear It seems the individual sports The blue sweater incorporates a j e r s e y o f f e r s a l a c e u p WINTER page 8 team uniforms either go too far-- 'we the people' graphic pattern a l t e r n a t i v e .

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The Vancouver Olympics by the Numbers

by Anne C. Lee (Fast Company) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:51:59 PM

Typography by Julie Teninbaum Infographic: Let the Games Begin!

More than 80 nations and 5,500 athletes and officials will participate in this year's Winter Games.

NBC paid$820 million for the rights to broadcast Vancouver 2010, 34% more than it paid to air Torino 2006.

The Winter Games were first commercial televised in 1960 w h e n C B S p a i d $50,000{$365,000 adjusted for inflation.} Nine companies, including Coca -Cola, Omega, and Visa, have pledged a total of approximately$900 million to the International Olympic Committee to be worldwide sponsors for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.

Vancouver's three Olympic mascots are Miga, a sea bear; Sumi, an animal spirit; and Quatchi, a Sasquatch.

The Royal Canadian Mint used recycled gold, silver, and copper harvested from 6.8 tons of

landfill-bound circuit boards to make the 615 Olympic and 299 paralympic medals.

Vancouver's gold medals are 92.5% silver, plated with 6 grams of gold. The last truly gold Olympic medals were awarded at the 1912 Winter Games in Stockholm.

For Vancouver's gold, silver, and bronze medals, the mining company Tech Resources provided 4.5 pounds of gold from Canada and the U.S.; 4,299 pounds of British Columbian silver; and 1,991 pounds of

copper from Canada, Chile, and Peru.

Canada also hosted the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.

Its gold-medal count from those games: 0{The only other host that didn't win gold was Yugoslavia, at Sarajevo in 1984.} The Vancouver Olympic Committee's official budget for the 2010 Games is$1.6 billion.

That doesn't count nearly$1 billion in government-funded

security costs, construction of new venues($550 million) and the Olympic Village($900 million), and$3.8 billion in related infrastructure, including expansion of mass transit and convention facilities.

The Most Expensive Olympics was Beijing 2008, which cost$40 billion. The rumored cost for the next Winter Games -- in Sochi, Russia -- is$33 billion.

The Most Profitable Olympics was the Los Angeles in 1984, which turned a profit of$223 million-- which would be$464

million today.

The Youngest Winter Olympic gold medalist ever: Korean speed -skater Kim Yoon-mi, who was 13 years, 83 days old when her relay team won gold in 1994.

The Oldest Winter Olympic gold medalist ever: British curler Robin Welsh, who was 54 years, 29 days old when his team triumphed in 1924.

Eat it, Mainland: Hawaii the only state in the US without snow (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:12:28 AM

Could Hawaii folks get any more smug during the harsh winter months? While every

other state in America had snow on Friday, Hawaii was the only state in the country without snow, according to the AP. Though snow-capped slopes are tall volcanoes, the mountains a typical sight on Hawaii’s two

were unusually barren on Friday, leading to the tropical state’s exceptionalism.

Read the full story from the AP at The Honolulu Star Bulletin.

More on Hawaii.

Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink| Leave a comment »

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WINTER

continued from page 5

depending on if you want to make a traditional dozen or go big)slotted broiler panlovehammernailsfoilparchme nt papersome sort of tough ribbonrecipient Start with good intentions. Don't do it if it's not what you feel is right in your heart. Bacon should evoke a visceral reaction within you and within your intended recipient, for greatest maximum impact.

Pick out your bacon. I look for the cuts that have the most meat and less fat.

Prepare your muffin tins. Use the hammer and nail to puncture a hole or two in the bottom of each cup. Then set the pans on top of the broiler pan. This allows the fat to drain out while the rosettes are baking.

Preheat your oven to about 350375 degrees.

Open up your package of bacon and take a moment to bask in its raw beautiful pink glory. Take one strip and roll it up like a scroll and insert it into the mini muffin tin. You can pull the

continued from page 6

center of the bacon roll out slightly here if you want to make it a little more stylin' but no worries, it will look great as is.

Repeat until muffin tin is full.

Put the whole thing in the oven and bake it until it's done. Watch it to make sure it doesn't burn.

When it looks dark pink take it out and let it cool a bit. Be careful: the grease will burn you if you spill it.

Take the roses out of the tins and set them on the broiler pan. if they aren't cooked enough put them back in minus the muffin tin for a few minutes. You dont want to overcook them, or you wont be able to skewer the stems.Use the fatter skewers as the stems and poke one into each rose. next, use the little skewers to poke the roses together in a bouquet style.

Wrap the whole thing in waxed or parchment paper and then foil (to give it structure and hold it together) and tie it off with a ribbon.

Take a photo of your bacon bouquet.

Hand deliver with a card and smile expressing your unconditional love for the boy (or girl) and bacon. Prepare yourself for an instant marriage proposal on the spot and/or to be ignored for 10-30 minutes as the recipient freaks out over how awesome the bouquet is and starts eating.

You can check out hundreds more awesome Valentine's redesigns and hear more about Gilbert's top picks. Thanks so much to Kurt Andersen and Michele Siegel, and everyone at Studio 360 for asking me to be a part of such a fun experiment.

Whether you celebrate it with glistening pig fat or a Love Puppy, have a wonderful Valentine's Day. Love ya!xoxo [ Studio 360]

your thoughts. I'm pretty confident about how a diverse design language could be established for almost every sport...but I'm kind of scared to go anywhere near figure skating.

Update: This post was updated to reflect the correct designers of the Canadian uniforms, it is Hudson's Bay Company, not Roots.

[Images via T Magazine] Read Joe Duffy's blog Duffy Point of View Browse blogs by other Expert Designers Principal and chairman of Duffy & Partners, Joe Duffy is one of the most respected and sought after creative directors and thought leaders on branding and design in the world. Joe's work includes brand and corporate identity development for some of the world's most admired brands, from Aveda to CocaCola to Sony to Jack in the Box

to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. His work is regularly featured in leading marketing and design publications and exhibited around the world. In 2004 he founded Duffy & Partners as a new kind of branding and creativity company, partnering with clients and other firms in all communication disciplines. Also in 2004, he received the Medal from the AIGA for a lifetime of achievement in the field of visual communications. His first book-Brand Apart--was released in July 2005 and in 2006, he was recognized as one of the "Fast 50" most influential people in the future of business by Fast Company.

Valentine's Day Stock #4: Priceline.com (PCLN)

by Louis Navellier (BloggingStocks)

south for a warm vacation or just finding a first-class hotel with a spa for some time alone.

Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:00:00 PM Priceline.com allows buyers to Filed under: Stocks to Buy name their own price for How about a romantic weekend everything from airline tickets to getaway? Priceline.com( PCLN), rental cars to cruises. one of my Top Stocks for You may not think that travel February, has got lovebirds spending is very high right now, conscious consumers really love covered whether they're flying but the bottom line is that value- Priceline's ability to "haggle" on

prices. This has allowed the website to become an oasis for cash-strapped consumers and generate huge numbers even during the recession.

Next: American Greetings (AM) At the time of this writing, Louis Navellier owned shares of PCLN in personal or client portfolios.

Valentine's Day Stock #4: Priceline.com (PCLN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Windows Mobile 7 to Be Unveiled to the World, Except Holidaying Americans

by Kit Eaton (Fast Company) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:12:05 PM

It looks like Microsoft is all set to finally reveal Windows Mobile 7, long-awaited cure to the ills of all the earlier WinMo OSes. The action's due to happen at Mobile World Congress on Monday. When no one in the U.S. will care. Way to go MS! Windows Mobile 7 represents a significant design change over the earlier WinMo issues, which superficially resemble Windows XP, and with their overdependence on button/keypad control and inflexibility were looking extremely jaded.

WinMo7, on the other hand, borrows many a design cue from

the Zune's UI, which is widely praised as being rather good and satisfyingly simple (dare we say "un-Microsofty"?). It's extremely important for MS to maintain a grip on some of the smartphone market, since it's designed to work with large-display

touchscreen devices. And in an iPhone design-dominated cell phone world, that's absolutely vital if WinMo isn't to go the way of the dodo.

WinMo 7 will, of course, end up on a wide array of smartphones in the coming months, from a

variety of manufacturers. So it's pretty fitting that Steve Ballmer himself will unveil the OS at the enormous Mobile World Congress industry fair which is happening in Barcelona next week.

There's just one flaw in the plan:

Steve's keynote is scheduled for Monday 15th February, at 3 p.m.

Central European Time (11 a.m.

EST). That's right--MS is revealing its key element in defending its smartphone marketshare on a holiday day in the U.S., meaning very few people there are going to soak up the news. Hmmm. Obviously there's a collision of timing here, and the European in me cheers "go Europe!" but doesn't this initial stumble just make you worry a little about the entire future of Windows Mobile?

[Via Wall Street Journal]

Size Matters and Twitter's Got It with Tweet Volume

by Tom Johansmeyer (BloggingStocks)

... or relegate it to a history that includes TheGlobe.com and talking sock puppets. The Submitted at 2/13/2010 3:10:00 PM company posted solid growth Filed under: Internet, Google stats in 2009, but most of the (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), upside came in the first half of Media World, Technology the year, leaving the company Twitter is at a crossroads right flat from the beginning of July now. What it does in the next through the end of the year. few months will either solidify it Revenue came into the company as a long-term contributing in October through real-time member of the global economy search deals with Microsoft (

money. Maybe its advertising model will be accelerated as a result. With the user trend flat, however, and the dearth of Twitter use occurring on the website, there are flaws in the advertising model ... unless there's another way to look at the MSFT) and Google ( GOOG), market. but they involved multiyear Continue reading Size Matters deals, which means the company and Twitter's Got It with Tweet needs to find new ways to make Volume

Friday Night Shred: Steve Vai and String Theory (Little Green Footballs)

Here’s a track from Steve Vai’s live concert DVD Where the

Wild Things Are, titled “Now We Run,” featuring Steve trading

licks with two excellent violinists.[Video]

Size Matters and Twitter's Got It with Tweet Volume originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Five Reasons to Watch Art Stocks in 2010

by Tom Johansmeyer (BloggingStocks)

WANTED: Mattel's Puppy Tweets Collar

by Dan Nosowitz (Fast Company) Submitted at 2/12/2010 6:50:20 PM

We love talking dogs. Even more specifically, we love to impose excitable yet simpleminded dialogue on dogs. Who didn't giggle at Dug the talking dog in Pixar's Up, who was prone to moments of dimwitted cuteness with lines like "I was hiding under your porch because I love you"? In the absence of a multilingual translating collar like Dug's, Mattel's Puppy Tweets collar seems like the next best thing. The $30 collar is equipped with a motion and sound sensor to help it select which of the 500 pre-recorded Tweets best describes what your pup is doing. It then beams the

Tweet wirelessly to a USB receiver, which in turn updates the Twitter account you've set up.

It's not really meant to provide deep insight into the mind of your dog--the pre-recorded Tweets include "I finally caught that tail I've been chasing, and...OOUUUCHH!"--and without video, its sensors will likely post some inaccurate Tweets. Oh, and as with all things puppy, your friends are not likely to be as taken with your puppy's Twitter account as you are. But, you know, it's $30, and it has the potential to be incredibly adorable as well as giving a peek at what your dog's up to while you're away.

[Available this fall for $30--via LA Times]

(Yahoo! News: U.S. News) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:26:16 AM

Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:20:00 PM

Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Amer Intl Group (AIG), Sotheby's (BID) The art market spent a year and a half circling the drain. Signs of life at the end of 2009, however, have become a reality, with recent auctions at Sotheby's ( BID) and Christie's ( CRUPF) exceeding expectations and showing triple-digit growth from comparable auctions last year.

Overall, art prices last year were off around 50%, with the contemporary art sector suffering even more severe declines of up to 70%. With prices this low and a recovery taking shape, it's time

Man trapped in burning home; girfriend, 2 kids die (AP)

for investors to get in, and it looks like we'll see an art rally this year.

Continue reading Five Reasons to Watch Art Stocks in 2010 Five Reasons to Watch Art Stocks in 2010 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

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Evangeline buzzed up: Start obesity prevention in the cradle, study urges (AFP) 1 minute ago 2010-0213T12:18:44-08:00 Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Man Training to Be 911 Operator Saves Son's Life (FOXNews.com) Submitted at 2/12/2010 10:40:45 PM

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OLYMPIA, Wash. An Iraq war veteran training to be an emergency operator in Thurston County saved his own son's life when his wife called 911 in a panic as the boy choked on a

small piece of plastic.

Janna Scott says she was "freaking out" when she called 911 from her Lacey home last week to get help. A familiar voice answered the phone. And coolly and calmly, Chris Scott talked his wife through the proper protocols for what to do.

Chris left Iraq in September after a one-year deployment as a tank crew member with the Marine Rserves. He told The

Olympian newspaper it's in his nauture to remain calm under stress.

On Friday, the family brought their healthy son to the 911 center for a visit.

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Valentine's Day Stock Olympics open after luge tragedy #5: American Greetings (AM) (BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

Submitted at 2/12/2010 9:06:03 PM

by Louis Navellier (BloggingStocks) Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:00:00 PM

Filed under: Stocks to Buy A simple card can say so much, and that makes American Greetings( AM) a great choice for investors this Valentine's Day. But don't think this card is a seasonal wonder.

American Greetings has posted dramatic earnings performances lately, including earnings surprises of more than 550% and 245% in the past three quarters.

This stock is a great investment for February and beyond.

Next: Whole Foods (WFMI) At the time of this writing, Louis Navellier did not own shares of AM in personal or client portfolios.

Valentine's Day Stock #5:

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Team GB arrive at the opening ceremony The 2010 Winter Olympics opened in spectacular fashion on Saturday but the ceremony was overshadowed by the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili.

The Georgian team, wearing black armbands, were given a standing ovation at the ceremony and a minute's silence was impeccably observed in American Greetings (AM) V a n c o u v e r . o r i g i n a l l y a p p e a r e d o n The stunning visual ceremony BloggingStocks on Sat, 13 Feb started with a snowboarder 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see jumping through the Olympic our terms for use of feeds. rings.

P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | And, despite the tragedy, there Comments was a festive mood inside BC Place Stadium.

The ceremony was held undercover for the first time and officially opened by Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean.

The Olympic flame was jointly lit by four Canadian sports heroes - all-time hockey great Chromium, the same source for Wayne Gretzky, skier Nancy Google Chrome, Dragon hopes Greene, speed skater Catriona Le t o e m p h a s i z e i n - b r o w s e r May Doan, and basketball Allsecurity.

Star Steve Nash.

O r i g i n a l l y p o s t e d a t T h e However a technical hitch meant Download Blog

Chromium browser remixed as a security Dragon

by Seth Rosenblatt (Webware.com) Submitted at 2/12/2010 3:24:00 PM

Windows security software vendor Comodo introduces a browser called Dragon. Based on

only three of the torchbearers were able to light the flame after one of the ice columns failed to appear.

Gretzky then made his way to the harbour to light a second cauldron outside in the harbour area which will burn for the 17 days of competition.

Snowboarder's entrance opens Vancouver ceremony IOC president Jacques Rogge, wearing a black tie, prefaced the traditional opening speeches by saying: "It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the tragic loss of Nodar Kumaritashvili of the Georgian team, who passed away this morning in a training accident on the luge track.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, team-mates and country."

And John Furlong, chief executive of Vanoc, the organising committee, said: "May you carry his [Kumaritashvili's], Olympic dream on your shoulders and compete with his spirit in your hearts."

More than 60,000 spectators witnessed 2,500 athletes from 82 nations parade - including debutants Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Pakistan and Peru.

The largest cheer was for the host team Canada, with Clara Hughes, defending 5000m speed skating champion waving the flag and clad all in red.

11

Great Britain were led in by skeleton slider Shelley Rudman resplendent in a white jacket and navy blue trousers and a red beret.

She was the team's only medallist at the 2006 Winter Olympics but at the Vancouver Games the British are being tipped for possibly their best medal haul, if they can beat the four medals won in 1924.

The three- hour extravaganza included a cultural segment featuring many of Canada's bestknown musical stars - Bryan Adams, Nelly Furtado and KD Lang.

Georgian team given opening ceremony ovation Canada's aboriginal communities were also highlighted with the four chiefs of the First Nations, whose traditional native territory overlaps the Olympic region, part of the official delegation at the ceremony.

Among the state-of-the-art special effects included a giant, sparkling polar bear rising from the stadium floor and hovering over performers on a simulated ice floe.

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Ala. prof accused of killing 3 was denied tenure (AP) (Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

pending.

She was taken Friday night in handcuffs to the county jail, and Message from fivefilters.org: If said as she got into a police car: you can, please donate to the full "It didn't happen. There's no -text RSS service so we can way. ... They are still alive." continue developing it.

District Attorney Ron Broussard H U N T S V I L L E , A l a . – A said he did not think Bishop has University of Alabama biology a lawyer. Her husband, James professor accused of gunning Anderson, was detained and down three of her colleagues questioned Friday, though he has during a faculty meeting had not been charged. been denied tenure and only had Students' assessments of Bishop months left teaching at the v a r i e d . S o m e r e c a l l e d a n school, a university official said attentive, friendly teacher, while Saturday. others said she was an odd Ray Garner, a spokesman at the woman who couldn't simplify Huntsville campus, said 42-year- difficult subjects for students. old Amy Bishop had been denied Sammie Lee Davis, the husband tenure — a type of job protection of a tenured researcher who was afforded academics — months k i l l e d , s a i d h i s w i f e h a d ago, and this was to be her last described Bishop as "not being semester. Some have said the able to deal with reality" and professor, who students said was "not as good as she thought she b r i g h t b u t h a d d i f f i c u l t y was." explaining difficult concepts, Davis said his wife was a opened fire because of a dispute t e n u r e d r e s e a r c h e r a t t h e over the issue. university. In a brief phone Authorities declined to discuss a interview, Davis said he was told motive at a Saturday news his wife was at a meeting to conference, though Garner said discuss the tenure status of the faculty meeting wasn't another faculty member who got scheduled to discuss tenure angry and started shooting. issues.

Davis' wife, Maria Ragland Three others were wounded in Davis, was among those killed, Friday's shootings — a rare along with Gopi K. Podila, instance of a woman being chairman of the biological accused in such a shooting. The sciences department, and Adriel Harvard-educated neurobiologist Johnson. w h o b e c a m e a n a s s i s t a n t Bishop had created a portable professor at the school in 2003 cell incubator, known as InQ, has been charged with capital that was less expensive than its murder, and other charges are larger counterparts. She and her Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:07:30 AM

husband had won $25,000 in 2007 to market the device.

Andrea Bennett, a sophomore majoring in nursing and an athlete at UAH, said a coach told her team that Bishop had been denied tenure, which the coach said may have led to the shooting.

Bennett described Bishop as being "very weird" and "a really big nerd."

"She's well-known on campus, but I wouldn't say she's a good teacher. I've heard a lot of complaints," Bennett said. "She's a genius, but she really just can't explain things."

Amanda Tucker, a junior nursing major from Alabaster, Ala., had Bishop for anatomy class about a year ago. Tucker said a group of students complained to a dean about Bishop's classroom performance.

"When it came down to tests, and people asked her what was the best way to study, she'd just tell you, 'Read the book.' When the test came, there were just ridiculous questions. No one even knew what she was asking," Tucker said.

However, UAH student Andrew Cole was in Bishop's anatomy class Friday morning and said she seemed perfectly normal.

"She's understanding, and was concerned about students," he said. "I would have never thought it was her."

Nick Lawton, 25, described Bishop as funny and

accommodating with students.

"She seemed like a nice enough professor," Lawton said.

The university will remain closed next week, and all athletic events were canceled. The wounded were still recovering in hospitals early Saturday. Luis Cruz-Vera was in fair condition; Joseph Leahy in critical condition; and staffer Stephanie Monticciolo also was in critical condition.

Authorities said Saturday that the shooting may have been worse if not for the actions of unidentified people inside and outside the building, though they did not elaborate.

The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line. The university is known for its scientific and engineering programs and often works closely with NASA. The space agency has a research center on the school's campus, where many scientists and engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center perform Earth and space science research and development.

It's the second shooting in a week on an area campus. On Feb. 5, a 14-year-old student was killed in a middle school hallway in nearby Madison, allegedly by a fellow student.

Mass shootings are rarely carried out by women, said Dr. Park Dietz, who is president of Threat Assessment Group Inc., a

Newport Beach, Calif.-based violence prevention firm.

A notable exception was a 1985 rampage at a Springfield, Pa., mall in which three people were killed. In June 1986, Sylvia Seegrist was deemed guilty but mentally ill on three counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder in the shooting spree.

Dietz, who interviewed Seegrist after her arrest, said it was possible the suspect in Friday's shooting had a long-standing grudge against colleagues or superiors and felt complaints had not been dealt with fairly.

Gregg McCrary, a retired FBI agent and private criminal profiler based in Fredericksburg, Va., said there is no typical outline of a mass shooter but noted they often share a sense of paranoia, depression or a feeling that they are not appreciated. ___ Associated Press Writers Phillip Rawls and Desiree Hunter in Montgomery, Ala., Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles, and Jacob Jordan and Daniel Yee in Atlanta contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS victim's last name to Monticciolo.)

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Prof. Charged in Ala. Shooting Killed Brother in 1986 (FOXNews.com)

Garner said Saturday that Bishop had been informed months ago that she would not be granted Message from fivefilters.org: If tenure. He said the faculty you can, please donate to the full meeting where she is accused of -text RSS service so we can gunning down colleagues was continue developing it. not called to discuss tenure.

The Alabama biology professor Police said a 9 mm gun was accused of killing three in a found in a restroom in the campus shooting spree Friday s c i e n c e b u i l d i n g o n t h e also reportedly killed her brother U n i v e r s i t y o f A l a b a m a ' s more than 20 years ago in Huntsville campus, where the Massachusetts in an incident that s h o o t i n g s o c c u r r e d F r i d a y police there concluded was an a f t e r n o o n . accidental shooting.

Bishop, a Harvard-educated A m y B i s h o p w a s 2 0 i n neurobiologist who became an December 1986 when she shot assistant professor at the school her 18-year-old brother, Seth M. in 2003, was taken Friday night Bishop, in Braintree, Mass., the in handcuffs to the county jail.

Boston Globe reported. She As she got into a police car, she reportedly had asked her mother said, "It didn't happen. There's no how to unload a round from a way. ... They are still alive." shotgun and fired a bullet while Students' assessments of Bishop handling the gun, hitting her v a r i e d . S o m e r e c a l l e d a n brother in the abdomen. attentive, friendly teacher, while Bishop, now 42, was charged others said she was an odd Friday night with one count of woman who couldn't simplify capital murder in the shooting difficult subjects for students. death of three colleagues on the Sammie Lee Davis, the husband campus of the University of of a tenured researcher who was Alabama in Huntsville, and more k i l l e d , s a i d h i s w i f e h a d charges are pending. She could described Bishop as "not being f a c e t h e d e a t h p e n a l t y i f able to deal with reality" and convicted. "not as good as she thought she Three others were wounded in was." the shooting, and there "may Davis said his wife was a never be a clear answer" as to t e n u r e d r e s e a r c h e r a t t h e why she allegedly shot and killed university. In a brief phone three colleagues and wounded interview, Davis said he was told three others, campus police said his wife was at a meeting to Saturday in a news conference. discuss the tenure status of University spokesman Ray another faculty member who got Submitted at 2/12/2010 11:12:44 PM

angry and started shooting.

University spokesman Ray Garner said that Bishop was up for tenure, but that the faculty meeting was not called to specifically discuss tenure.

Davis' wife, Maria Ragland Davis, was among those killed, along with Gopi K. Podila, chairman of the biological sciences department, and another faculty member, Adriel Johnson.

Bishop had created a portable cell incubator, known as InQ, that was less expensive than its larger counterparts. She and her husband had won $25,000 in 2007 to market the device.

Andrea Bennett, a sophomore majoring in nursing and an athlete at UAH, said a coach told her team that Bishop had been denied tenure, which the coach said may have led to the shooting.

Bennett described Bishop as being "very weird" and "a really big nerd."

"She's well-known on campus, but I wouldn't say she's a good teacher. I've heard a lot of complaints," Bennett said. "She's a genius, but she really just can't explain things."

Amanda Tucker, a junior nursing major from Alabaster, Alabama, had Bishop for anatomy class about a year ago.

Tucker said a group of students complained to a dean about Bishop's classroom performance.

"When it came down to tests,

and people asked her what was the best way to study, she'd just tell you, 'Read the book.' When the test came, there were just ridiculous questions. No one even knew what she was asking," Tucker said.

However, UAH student Andrew Cole was in Bishop's anatomy class Friday morning and said she seemed perfectly normal.

"She's understanding, and was concerned about students," he said. "I would have never thought it was her."

The Huntsville campus has about 7,500 students in northern Alabama, not far from the Tennessee line. The university is known for its scientific and engineering programs and often works closely with NASA. The space agency has a research center on the school's campus, where many scientists and engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center perform Earth and space science research and development.

The university will remain closed next week, and all athletic events were canceled. The wounded were still recovering in hospitals early Saturday. Luis Cruz-Vera was in fair condition; Joseph Leahy in critical condition; and staffer Stephanie Monticello also was in critical condition.

It's the second shooting in a week on an area campus. On Feb. 5, a 14-year-old student was

killed in a middle school hallway in nearby Madison, allegedly by a fellow student.

Mass shootings are rarely carried out by women, said Dr. Park Dietz, who is president of Threat Assessment Group Inc., a Newport Beach, California-based violence prevention firm.

A notable exception was a 1985 rampage at a Springfield, Pennsylvania, mall in which three people were killed. In June 1986, Sylvia Seegrist was deemed guilty but mentally ill on three counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder in the shooting spree.

Dietz, who interviewed Seegrist after her arrest, said it was possible the suspect in Friday's shooting had a long-standing grudge against colleagues or superiors and felt complaints had not been dealt with fairly.

Gregg McCrary, a retired FBI agent and private criminal profiler based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said there is no typical outline of a mass shooter but noted they often share a sense of paranoia, depression or a feeling that they are not appreciated.

The Boston Globe and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Nato hails major Afghanistan operation (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:19:32 AM

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ABC's Miguel Marquez embedded with US Marines in Marjah Nato forces in Afghanistan have hailed as a success the first phase of a major operation to oust the Taliban from two key districts of Helmand in the south.

More than 15,000 US, UK and Afghan troops swept into Marjah and Nad Ali before dawn. The UK defence ministry said key objectives had been met.

Two Nato deaths, including one Briton, have been confirmed.

Afghan forces said 20 militants had been killed.

Operation Moshtarak is the biggest attack since the Taliban fell in 2001.

'Minimal interference' Moshtarak - which means "together" in the local Dari language - is being led by 4,000 US Marines, supported by 4,000 British troops, with Canadians, Danes and Estonians.

It was the largest helicopterborne assault ever undertaken in Afghanistan and it was almost unopposed. Sixty coalition helicopters took off before dawn to insert thousands of US, British and Afghan troops. But the real

challenge is following this military manoeuvre with lasting security for the residents of central Helmand.

The Taliban and other insurgents have kept a relatively low profile during this offensive but intelligence officers here at operation headquarters in Kandahar believe they are likely to try to exploit any opportunity to reverse the gains made by Nato and the Afghan government forces.

This operation is the first major test for President Obama's new strategy in Afghanistan. Its success or failure depends on whether it can be swiftly followed by security and good governance.

The offensive began with waves

of helicopters ferrying US Marines into Marjah.

British troops then flew into Nad Ali district, to the north, followed by tanks and combat units.

More than 1,000 British troops took part in trying to secure the Chah-e Anjir Triangle north-east of Marjah.

Maj-Gen Gordon Messenger told a briefing in London there had been "sporadic fighting" and the Taliban were unable to "put up a coherent response".

He said: "The key objectives have been secured and have been done so with minimal interference."

However, one British soldier, from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was killed by an

explosion in Nad Ali. Gen Messenger said that "low numbers" of insurgents had been killed during the attack.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the UK forces for their action.

He said: "This day will be long remembered as the day when a new phase of the campaign to win the support of the people of Afghanistan was initiated. And I'm very proud of the exceptional role that British forces have played in that."

An Reuters correspondent in Marjah said US Marines engaged militants who were firing rockets and there was still a firefight in the area after several hours.

Lt Col Brian Christmas told the Associated Press there were

sustained gun battles in four parts of Marjah.

AP reported Marjah residents as saying Taliban insurgents had fallen back into the centre of the town.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, spoke to a number of news agencies, saying insurgents were still resisting in Marjah and were engaged in hitand-run tactics.

Another Taliban spokesman, Mullah Mohammed, had earlier told ABC News that his men were pulling back to spare any civilian casualties.

Mohammad Zazai, commander of Afghan troops in the operation, said that 20 militants had been killed and 11 detained.

It was estimated there were between 400 and 1,000 militants based in the region before Operation Moshtarak was launched.

Nato's aim is to secure Marjah a town of 80,000 - and surrounding areas as soon as possible and then bring in aid and public services.

'Civilian support' In Kabul, Nato civilian representative Mark Sedwill said the news of the Nato-led attack "appeared to be positive" although he stressed it was still early.

He said it was vital to bring in "civilian support from the Afghan government" as soon as NATO page 18

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Accused Jaycee Kidnapper's Parole File Released (FOXNews.com)

They were made available after several news organizations sued to have them made public. The Message from fivefilters.org: If parole file had previously been you can, please donate to the full turned over to the Office of the -text RSS service so we can Inspector General, which issued continue developing it. a report last fall blasting SAN FRANCISCO Newly corrections officials for lapses in released parole records show that oversight and missing chances to a c c u s e d k i d n a p p e r P h i l l i p catch Garrido sooner.

Garrido complained in 2008 The paperwork shows that in a b o u t h a v i n g t o w e a r a recent years, agents thought monitoring device because he Garrido sometimes acted oddly. had not been in trouble with the At least one agent saw a girl, law for 19 years — nearly as who Garrido said was his niece, long as he allegedly held Jaycee at the home. An agent also wrote Dugard captive in his backyard. notes about "cursory" visual The 120 pages of records inspections of the house. released Friday by California "(Garrido) was acting very corrections officials paint a strange, weird to say the least by portrait of a convicted rapist ranting on about God and loudly who, once he was released from saying songs, other than that, federal and Nevada state prisons, nothing out of the ordinary," an appeared to grudgingly comply agent wrote in June 2008. with the conditions set by parole When he was ordered to meet agents. The parole followed his with his parole agent in April i m p r i s o n m e n t f o r a 1 9 7 7 2008 to receive an ankle monitor conviction in the rape and t o c h e c k h i s w h e r e a b o u t s , kidnapping of a Nevada casino Garrido submitted a one-page worker. letter arguing that he should not Numerous details on Garrido's have to wear it in part because he b a c k g r o u n d a n d D u g a r d ' s had founded a church and captivity have emerged since he wanted to travel to the University was arrested in August, but the of California, Berkeley to discuss new documents that cover the his religion. The presentation, he period from June 1999 to the claimed, "will gain the attention arrest shed more light on his of world leaders." activities and the approach taken "Be informed if you so choose to by law enforcement. He and his place me on this program I am wife, Nancy Garrido, have advised to have an attorney pleaded not guilty. present. The reasoning here is Submitted at 2/13/2010 8:46:14 AM

simple it concerns the continued progress and perfectly clean record I have with the State of California and the fact that I have nineteen years behind me.

The program is as stated for: High Risk Sex offenders. The Sheriff's office has me at low risk and as a continued cooperative indivudal."

Earlier documents provided by Garrido to the FBI shortly before his arrest showed he believed that God spoke to him through an electronic device he had built and claimed cured sex offenders.

The documents also show that less than a month before he was arrested, the 58-year-old Garrido initialed papers promising not to have contact with girls between the ages of 14 and 18 or to have a social or romantic relationship with anyone who had custody of a child.

Garrido was living at the time with the daughters he sired with Dugard, who were 11 and 14.

In granting Garrido early release from his federal parole in May 1999, his U.S. government parole agent based in Nevada wrote Garrido to "thank you for your cooperation over this period of supervision and I hope that you will continue to do well."

Because he was also convicted of the same rape in Nevada, state parole officials decided to keep Garrido on life parole. But they wanted him supervised in

California, where he had been living since he got out of prison.

When he had his first encounter with California parole in 1999, the agent's opinion of Garrido also seemed high, writing: "He is stable and the prognosis of success is good."

Only months later, the same parole agent, Al Fulbright, recommended that Nevada terminate Garrido's parole, a bid that apparently failed.

The documents released Friday also outline the events leading up to the Garridos arrest, including some details not mentioned before about the conversations Garrido had with law enforcement.

Dugard, for example, seemed to be aware that her parents had moved from Northern California, where she was abducted, to the southern part of the state.

"A long, long, long long time ago, I kidnapped and raped her," Garrido told his parole agent the day he was arrested, according to the documents.

"I asked him if Jaycee knew where her parents were, and he said, somewhere in Los Angeles," the agent wrote in the report.

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5 vitamins you should be taking (Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:21:38 AM

Want to improve your health?

The Times Online shares five supplements you should consider incorporating into your diet.

These includes supplements, such as: • Vitamin D • Fish oil Read the full story at the Times Online.

Photo credit: Fotolia Permalink| Leave a comment »

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Haiti marks quake one month on (BBC News | Americas | World Edition) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:06:13 PM

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Thousands have gathered to pray for the earthquake victims Haiti has held ceremonies for the victims of the devastating earthquake which hit the country a month ago, killing at least 217,000 people.

Thousands prayed at the exact time the quake struck, on 12 January.

Earlier, Catholic and Voodoo leaders joined other religious figures for a service near the ruined National Palace in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

More than a million Haitians remain homeless, just as the rainy season is due to begin.

Haiti's President Rene Preval has vowed that his country will live on.

"Haiti will not die, Haiti must not die," he told mourners at the main service in Port-au-Prince.

"Wipe away your tears to rebuild Haiti.

"Today, allow me as citizen Rene Preval, the man, the father of a family, to address you to say

that I cannot find the words to speak of this immense pain.

"It is in your courage that we will find the strength to go on."

Other prayer services were held across the country, including one at the site of a mass grave north of the capital, in Titanyen, which is believed to hold tens of thousands of victims.

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge says the act of national reflection comes as one of the largest humanitarian operations ever mounted grapples with challenges on many fronts.

He says a heavy downpour on

the eve of the anniversary provided a foretaste of the misery that lies ahead for the many people who still have only the flimsiest shelter in impromptu camps, if the pace of getting out more tents and stronger shelter materials is not stepped up before the start of the rainy season.

Amid scrub-covered hills to the north of Port-au-Prince, some 50 worshippers led by a Haitian bishop celebrated mass on the graves where tens of thousands of the earthquake victims lie buried.

A small wooden table atop one of the mass graves in the scrubcovered low hills served as the altar.

Swinging incense above the graves and sprinkling water on them, the bishop said he aimed to give dignity to their hasty burial.

"Tend to your brothers and sisters, calling out from under the ground," he said.

In the biggest of the camps that sprang up in the capital after the earthquake, people are still living under sheeting strung across wooden poles.

The government says the

avocado, in a post-apocalyptic refrigerated nightmare

landscape.[Video]

Overnight Vegetable Video (Little Green Footballs)

The last tomato battles for survival against a very rotten

seasonal rains could be the biggest threat now to the nation's attempts at recovery.

The European Union has proposed a military mission to step up the provision of shelter before the rains worsen.

The UN aid co-ordinator for Haiti, former-US President Bill Clinton, said Haiti could get through the crisis with the help of international donors.

"Though conditions are improving each day, countless people remain in urgent need of shelter and building materials, water and sanitation, food and clothing, and essential medical supplies," he said in a statement.

The White House warned that the situation in Haiti "remains dire", but added that the US "continues to stand with our Haitian friends as they recover".

This week's Haitian government figures suggesting up to 230,000 dead means the quake toll is approaching that of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed 250,000 people.

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Hurricane warning canceled for American Samoa (AP)

Toyota recalls 8,000 US vehicles

(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)

(BBC News | Americas | World Edition)

measures due to the strong winds," Akapo said, adding that the high surf will continue, with Message from fivefilters.org: If waves of 15 to 18 feet expected you can, please donate to the full through Saturday evening.

-text RSS service so we can "We are still faced with high continue developing it. waves," he said.

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa Heavy rain fell on parts of – Forecasters in American Tutuila, the territory's most Samoa canceled a hurricane populous island, early Saturday warning for the U.S. territory morning, and some low-lying early Saturday morning after a areas were flooded. strong Pacific storm passed Rene never made landfall on nearby without making landfall either Tutuila or the Manu'a on the area still recovering from island group, but the government a deadly autumn tsunami. planned to conduct an Tropical Cyclone Rene was 70 assessment on Saturday to find miles southeast of the main out if any damage was cause by island of Tutuila and moving the storm. southwest at 8 mph on a track Several Manu'a residents away from the islands, said reached earlier by phone by The Meteorologist Mase Akapo Jr. Associated Press said the winds with the National Weather had been extremely strong but Service in Pago Pago. they have not heard of any Strong winds from the storm reports of injuries or major were still expected to batter the d a m a g e . T e l e p h o n e l i n k s , t e r r i t o r y , w h i c h p r o m p t e d however, have been intermittent, f o r e c a s t e r s t o r e p l a c e t h e and it was difficult to assess hurricane warning with a gale damage because it was still dark. warning that predicted winds of Emergency officials in the 30 to 45 mph, he said. capital of Pago Pago said there "The public still needs to were reports that high winds had continue to take precautionary downed some trees and electrical Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:37:42 AM

lines. The officials also said there was one death indirectly caused by Rene — a 50-year-old man died Friday morning after falling from a two-story building while boarding it up to protect it from the storm.

Territorial Gov. Togiola Tulafono called for calm, urging residents to "be aware and be safe."

Referring to the tsunami that killed more than 200 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga in September, Gulafono said "as we recover from the events of last September 29th, it is a good feeling that we have placed high priority to help ourselves by preparing and spreading the emergency awareness message." ___ Associated Press Writers Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand, and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.

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The cracks could lead to the front driveshaft separating and falling from the truck, causing Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:44:38 PM drivers to lose control of the Message from fivefilters.org: If vehicle. you can, please donate to the full Toyota said it would start -text RSS service so we can notifying owners by mail in midcontinue developing it.

March.

Toyota is to recall 8,000 The shafts were built by Tacoma pick-up trucks in the engineering firm Dana.

US, over fears about defective The latest recall will come as a front drive shafts. blow to Toyota as it seeks to The recall involves four-wheel revive trust in its vehicles. drive Tacomas built from mid- Since October, the firm has had D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 9 t o e a r l y to recall millions of vehicles February 2010. worldwide because of various The move is the latest in a string safety concerns, relating to sticky of recalls in the past few months, accelerators, brake faults and totalling more than 8.5 million problems with floormats.

Toyota vehicles around the Toyota President Akio Toyoda world. has previously apologised for the Previous recalls - including the global recalls and pledged to set flagship hybrid Prius - were due u p a n e w q u a l i t y c o n t r o l to accelerator and brake committee. problems.

The Kyodo news agency in Toyota said it was voluntarily Tokyo reported that Mr Toyoda recalling "a small production run is prepared to testify at US of certain 2010 model-year congressional hearings if he is Tacoma 4WD trucks". formally asked to do so.

"The front shaft in these vehicles Print Sponsor may include a component that Five Filters featured article: contains cracks that developed Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: d u r i n g t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, process," the company said in a Term Extraction. statement.

More Google Buzz tweaks, separate version coming?

by Tom Krazit (Webware.com) Submitted at 2/12/2010 3:09:00 PM

Privacy concerns again forced Google to tweak a few settings on Google Buzz, and the

company is apparently considering offering an additional version separate from

Gmail.

Originally posted at Relevant Results

18

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Huge Wave Sweeps Away, Injures Calif. Surfing Spectators (FOXNews.com)

He estimated "a couple hundred" people were on the seawall when the waves struck.

Message from fivefilters.org: If Witnesses said the wave you can, please donate to the full knocked out a large scaffold -text RSS service so we can holding speakers broadcasting continue developing it. the Mavericks Surf Contest, held HALF MOON BAY, Calif. in this tiny harbor town 25 miles Two huge waves swept away south of San Francisco along spectators watching a Northern Highway 1.

C a l i f o r n i a s u r f i n g c o n t e s t "It just came out of nowhere and Saturday morning, causing wiped us all out," said Pamela broken bones and other injuries Massette of Corte Madera. Her to people standing on a seawall. left hand and left knee were Thirteen people were injured, scraped and bleeding and she w i t h t w o i m m e d i a t e l y was wet from head to toe. She transported to area hospitals. was heading home minutes after Eleven others were being treated arriving. a t t h e b e a c h f o r i n j u r i e s Brandon Snider also was hurt. including "a couple broken legs He said everyone's concentration and broken hands and so forth," was on the contest when a 5-foot a c c o r d i n g t o C a l i f o r n i a to 6-foot wave "wiped out the Department of Forestry and Fire entire seawall."

Protection Battalion Chief Scott Snider was getting his knee Jalbert. taped up by a contest volunteer "They're being treated here and if as he spoke to an Associated necessary they'll be transported" Press reporter. to hospitals, he said.

Authorities moved bystanders Submitted at 2/12/2010 11:20:32 PM

from the sea wall and about 100 yards back from the water, but spectators were still able to watch the surf contest, he said.

"Nobody was swept away into the water. They were just swept onto the beach area pretty hard," Jalbert said. "It's pretty rocky.

We've cleared the beach area so this doesn't happen again."

The surfing contest offers a $150,000 purse, making it the most lucrative big-wave contest in the world.

The contest is not held every year and is called only when conditions are prime.

Competitors voted to hold the contest because forecasts called for record-breaking tall waves, despite warnings that strong winds could make those breakers dangerously unpredictable.

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NATO continued from page 14

possible.

Afghan Defence Minister Gen Rahim Wardak also said it was important to bring in local security forces quickly.

He said there had been "sporadic resistance" and there was a threat from booby-traps left by the Taliban.

"The area has been heavily mined, that's why we are moving so slowly," he said in Kabul.

One canal bridge into Marjah was particularly heavily mined.

US Marine ordnance units advanced through the town exploding bombs when located.

One other Nato fatality - from small-arms fire - in Operation Moshtarak was confirmed on Saturday, although no other details were given.

Three US soldiers were also killed by an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan, Nato said, although was unclear if it was related to

Moshtarak.

Marjah has also long been regarded as a linchpin of the lucrative network for smuggling opium - the raw ingredient used to make heroin - harvested from Helmand's poppy fields.

Nato had distributed leaflets in the area warning of the planned offensive in a bid to limit civilian casualties.

The operation is part of an effort to secure a 320-km (200-mile) horseshoe-shaped string of towns that runs along the Helmand River, through Kandahar and on to the Pakistani border.

Print Sponsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Could "crowdfunding" sustain narrative nonfiction?

(Holy Kaw!)

Paige Williams, an awardwinning magazine writer who Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:35:00 AM crowdfunded a long-form As funding for newspapers and investigave piece. Paige had magazines shrink, one genre that difficulty finding a publication to slips through the cracks is long- fund her piece, so she set up a f o r m n a r r a t i v e n o n f i c t i o n . Web site that offered her story to MediaShift tells the story of readers for free or for a voluntary

fee determined by the reader. In

just 10 days she drew some 6000 nonfiction online? visitors and raised about $900.

Read the full story at The article ponders whether M e d i a S h i f t . crowdfunding could be the More on journalism. s a v i n g g r a c e o f n a r r a t i v e Photo credit: Fotolia nonfiction.

Permalink| Leave a comment Âť Would you voluntarily pay to read a piece of narrative

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19

Teen Remixes The Works Of Others Into Best Selling Novel... And Critics Love It

by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 2/12/2010 6:44:26 PM

Valentines for journalists: "Let's go on the record."

(Holy Kaw!) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:45:00 AM

They say you know you’re a journalist when your mother says she loves you, and you check it out. Here’s to more factchecked love with Valentines for

journasts at the blog 10,000 Words. A sampling: See more fun journalist Valentines at 10,000 Words here and here.

More journalism love.

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Google's Brin offers no hint at China resolution

by Tom Krazit (Webware.com) Submitted at 2/12/2010 2:20:00 PM

A month after Google declared that it might leave China, if it is not allowed to offer uncensored

search results, co-founder Sergey Brin sheds no new light on those talks.

Originally posted at Relevant Results

Here's a story that will get traditionalists up in arms about "stealing" and "laziness," but they'll all be missing the point.

We've see for decades how remix culture works in music.

The ability to take the works of someone else, mix them up with others, change them around and create something new and powerful, is a wonderful expression of culture, that shows how artistic culture is often about shared experiences and sharing works of art. But what about in the literary world?

There has been some exploration of this concept in the past, such as when author Jonathan Lethem wrote a very eloquent defense of plagiarism that was entirely plagiarized.

Separately, we've discussed how many (especially younger people) who have grown up on things like Wikipedia often point out that they don't view it as plagiarism so much as collaborative writing. And they have a point (even if there's one patent lawyer in particular who links back to that article every few weeks to mock Techdirt).

There will always be those who don't recognize how this is, in

fact, collaboration and does create new and unique pieces of artwork and culture -- but they're the same sorts of people who have decried every new artform from the Waltz ("The indecent foreign dance called the Waltz was introduced... we feel it a duty to warn every parent against exposing his daughter to so fatal a contagion") to romance novels and plays ("The free access which many young people have to romances, novels, and plays has poisoned the mind and corrupted the morals of many a promising youth; and prevented others from improving their minds in useful knowledge") to comic books ("All child drug addicts, and all children drawn into the narcotics traffic as messengers, with whom we have had contact, were inveterate comic-book readers This kind of thing is not good mental nourishment for children!").

But the good news is that this form of collaborative creation is gaining a bit of acceptance.

Duane alerts us to the story of a 17-year-old German woman whose critically acclaimed book has been found to have large chunks plagiarized from other sources. A few years back, when a similar situation arose in the US, the author Kaavya

Viswanathan, was shunned -even if some of us thought that was ridiculous and unfair. In this case, however, the author, Helene Hegemann, readily admits that she was "remixing" other works into her book -- and the critics still love it. Her book was nominated for the $20,000 prize of the Leipzig Book Fair even though the judges already knew about the plagiarism.

And, really, what's the problem here? Some might claim that it's unfair to the original authors whose work she used -- but the author of the largest segments, named Airen, is getting a ton of attention for Airen's own book, which received little actual attention when originally published. In fact, Amazon now notes that "customers who bought" Hegemann's book also ended up buying Airen's book.

In the same way that remixes and mashups often drive people to buy the original music, it seems like remixed/mashedup books can do the same. It may be a big cultural leap for those who think there is "a way things must be done," but it seems that the younger generation has other ideas.

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Justice Dept. defends warrantless cell phone tracking (CNET News.com)

questioned Eckenwiler, saying that location data can reveal whether people "have been at a Message from fivefilters.org: If protest, or at a meeting, or at a you can, please donate to the full political meeting" and that rogue -text RSS service so we can governments could misuse that continue developing it. information. (See transcript The FBI and other police excerpts below.) agencies don't need to obtain a Just a few years ago, tracking search warrant to learn the phones was the stuff of thrillers locations of Americans' cell like "Enemy of the State" or phones, the U.S. Department of "Live Free or Die Hard." Now, Justice told a federal appeals even though police are tapping court in Philadelphia on Friday. into the locations of mobile A Justice Department attorney phones thousands of times a told the Third Circuit Court of year, the legal ground rules A p p e a l s t h a t t h e r e i s n o remain unclear, and federal constitutional problem with privacy laws written a generation obtaining records from cellular ago are ambiguous at best. providers that can reveal the "When the government acquires approximate locations of h i s t o r i c a l c e l l l o c a t i o n handheld and mobile devices. i n f o r m a t i o n , i t e f f e c t i v e l y (See CNET's previous article.) commandeers our cell phones There "is no constitutional bar" and turns them into electronic to acquiring "routine business trackers that report, without our records held by a knowledge or consent, where we c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s e r v i c e have been and how long we have provider," said Mark Eckenwiler, spent there," Susan Freiwald, a a senior attorney in the criminal law professor at the University d i v i s i o n o f t h e J u s t i c e of San Francisco, told the court Department. He added, "The on Friday. "We should be able to government is not required to use our cell phones without them use a warrant when it uses a creating a virtual map of our tracking device." every movement and This is the first federal appeals a s s o c i a t i o n . " court to address warrantless Freiwald, the ACLU, the location tracking, which raises Electronic Frontier Foundation, novel issues of government and the Center for Democracy s u r v e i l l a n c e a n d w h e t h e r and Technology filed briefs Americans have a reasonable s a y i n g t h a t t h e U . S . expectation of privacy in their-- C o n s t i t u t i o n ' s F o u r t h or at least their cell phones' -- Amendment provides Americans whereabouts. with at least some privacy Judge Dolores Sloviter sharply protections that shield their Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:25:00 AM

whereabouts from police not armed with search warrants. The civil liberties groups also said that current law gives judges the flexibility to require search warrants based on probable cause.

EFF attorney Jennifer Granick said one possibility is for the Third Circuit to order the district judge to hold hearings to learn the more about the technology of cell tracking, including how accurately stored records can pinpoint the location of a phone.

The judges "had a lot of factual questions about accuracy that haven't been answered," Granick said after the hearing.

Besides Sloviter, the other judges on the panel are Atsushi Tashima, who is visiting from the Ninth Circuit, and Jane Roth, who was not present on Friday but is expected to review the transcript.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is asking the court for an order divulging historical (meaning stored, not future) phone location information because a set of suspects "use their wireless telephones to arrange meetings and transactions in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities."

It's unclear how detailed this stored information is; there's some evidence that the FBI can use it to narrow down the location to a city block but perhaps not an individual house.

The Obama administration

argues that no search warrant is necessary; it says what's needed is only a 2703(d) order, which requires law enforcement to show that the records are "relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation."

Because that standard is easier to meet than that of a search warrant, it is less privacyprotective.

Cell phone tracking comes in two forms: police obtaining retrospective historical data kept by mobile providers for their own billing purposes that is typically not very detailed, or prospective tracking--which CNET was the first to report in a 2005 article--that reveals the minute-by-minute location of a handset or mobile device.

Tracking cell phones can be useful for law enforcement.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration in Arizona tracked a tractor trailer with a drug shipment through a GPS-equipped Nextel phone owned by the suspect. Texas DEA agents have used cell site information in real time to locate a Chrysler 300M driving from Rio Grande City to a ranch about 50 miles away. Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile logs showing the location of mobile phones at the time calls were placed became evidence in a Los Angeles murder trial.

The civil liberties say they're not opposed to the government obtaining that information for legitimate purposes -- as long as

the Fourth Amendment and federal privacy laws are being followed. This is, said Freiwald "a truly novel technology that can invade the privacy of all Americans who carry cell phones in their pockets or purses."

Excerpts from Friday's oral arguments before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Department's Eckenwiler: That is what has come to be known in the vernacular as triangulation, where various measurements have been made from the towers in proximity to the phone to calculate a rough position to the phone?

Judge Sloviter: How close can you get ?

Eckenwiler: Well, what the regulations require is 50 meters of precision for a handset solution, essentially for all cases, 95 percent, it needs to be accurate within 150 meters... But that's a class of information that's separate and apart from what the government has requested here.

Sloviter: But can you get it?

Does the statute permit it?

Irrespective of what the government has asked for here, does the statute permit the government to request -- and according to the government to demand, if they make the requisite showing -- information that would let them know where the cell phone user is within 150 JUSTICE page 23

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How the Fashion Industry is Embracing Social Media

by Hitha Prabhakar (Mashable!)

conversation. Journalists, fashion incubators, retail gurus and people who were just plain Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:11:40 AM interested in the industry were Hitha Prabhakar is a retail weighing in on a topic that has industry expert and principal of notoriously shut its doors to The Style File Group, a retail anyone deemed an outsider. Why consulting firm based in New the transparency now? Social York City. She has also written Success about fashion for Forbes.com, “People want to feel connected,” T i m e m a g a z i n e , P e o p l e says Kelly Cutrone, owner of magazine, People.com, ELLE P e o p l e ’ s R e v o l u t i o n a n d India, Metro Newspapers, and is executive producer of reality TV a contributor on CNBC. Follow series on Bravo Kell on Earth. h e r o n T w i t t e r Cutrone has orchestrated the a t @ h i t h a p r a b h a k a r campaigns of hundreds of o r @ s t y l e f i l e m e d i a . clients, including Donna Karan What’s the hottest trend in and Lisa Marie, and has always fashion right now? Social media incorporated a digital strategy of course. when working with them. “It’s As part of fashion week prep on one thing if you are a luxury Wednesday, I decided to do a brand and have been around for quick search for#nyfw(New 60 years and can weather the York Fashion Week, going on retail storm we’ve had, but if you right now in New York) on are a new brand that’s just T w i t t e r . T o m y s u r p r i s e , starting out — whether you are a conversations ran the gamut — writer or a retailer — innovating some Tweeters chimed in about through social media is crucial. the pending snow storm waiting Those that are hidden and to blanket the city, and others guarded will not progress.” w e r e b u z z i n g a b o u t t h e In the past six months, the Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs amount of fashion insiders a n d R o d a r t e s h o w s b e i n g embracing social media has streamed online. When I turned skyrocketed. On any given day away for half a second (literally) (depending on who you are to grab my coffee, I was met following) you can learn that with the words “43 more tweets Marc Jacobs president Robert since you started searching.” 43 Duffy is still pondering locations more tweets? Really? for their rapidly approaching What was most shocking wasn’t fashion show. You might know the sheer volume of people that designer Rachel Roy had an talking about the week-long interview with a media outlet, or event, but the actual people who that designer Tory Burch is w e r e p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e hoping to see models with “

followers Ashton Kutcher has, von Furstenberg’s followers are loyal key influencers whose voices hold a certain amount of authority not only in the fashion industry but also in high-tech social circles.

The viral marketing capabilities of re-tweeting by this targeted some meat on their bones” in her g r o u p i s s o m e t h i n g a n show. By letting the public advertising budget cannot buy. behind the fashion influencer Within the last year of having a curtain, stalwarts and luminaries major online and social media have created and connected to an presence, von Furstenberg’s entirely new audience, and online traffic has increased by capitalized on the 400 million 13% and sales “have been great” Facebook users and more than according to a source in the 22 million Twitter users. Social corporate offices of DvF. media, it seems, has become the “Brands are learning how to hottest trend since skinny jeans humanize without killing their and stiletto heels. mystique,” says Shiv Singh, VP “Ignoring the Internet [and social and global social media lead at m e d i a ] i s m a d n e s s , ” s a y s Razorfish and author of Social designer Diane von Furstenberg Media Marketing for Dummies. who has been advocating for “You look at brands like Chanel, transparency in the fashion who have pushed designer Karl industry for years. “We decided Largerfeld into the social media to have a presence because it was sphere to further connect with a very organic way for us to their customers, or Victoria’s communicate online. And yes, Secret, who has 2.63 million fans we think about [transparency] on Facebook and 1.7 million for but don’t worry too much. We Pink— you are able to see how try to keep the focus on the these brands are able to connect clothes that are in the store, or w i t h t h e i r c u s t o m e r s a n d buy now and wear now, not what m o n e t i z e o n i t t h r o u g h is on the runway. But people a w a r e n e s s , l o y a l t y a n d will always get access to that as e n g a g e m e n t . ” well.”

Likewise, Burberry who With her following at over launched the “ Art of the 22,000, von Furstenberg is one Trench” campaign last summer of the most beloved and popular shot by photographer Scott designers on Twitter. And while Schuman saw incredible success that number doesn’t seem high by having fans comment on the compared to the 4.5 million pictures. Schuman, who has

launched himself into the fashion stratosphere with his photography blog “ The Sartorialist” says he has never updated his Twitter account(he claims it is someone he doesn’t know who is posting) but has upwards of 34,000 followers.

“The Burberry campaign was the first of its kind to not use a large budget for hair, makeup and models. They got me, and my style of taking photos, and it allowed us to communicate with the customer on a whole new and very real level.” Not Everyone is Ready to Take the Plunge Wesley R. Card, CEO of Jones Apparel Group explained at the WWD CEO Summit last November that transparency and lack of control over what is being said online is a worrisome issue. “As a chief executive, you want to think that you have complete control over what is being said about you or your company, and you want to make sure what you are saying isn’t getting misconstrued. Even though I know we need to embrace it as a corporation, I am a little apprehensive.”

Even with those who are tentative or might not understand social media completely, the Fashion Week gods, i.e. the CFDA(Council of Fashion Designers of America) and IMG(who produce the shows at the tents in Bryant Park), have HOW page 27

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HOW TO: Make a Google Buzz Desktop App

by Christina Warren (Mashable!)

add-ons (meaning you see the web page and not the toolbar and navigation components), keeping Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:37:39 AM the focus just on a singular app Whether you’re using it on your or app suite. So why would phone or your desktop, Google anyone want something like this?

Buzz is quickly becoming an Well, it makes it easy to keep a interesting and popular way to certain website or web app share content with your Gmail separate and distinguishable friends. However, because it’s from other tabs. It also keeps the tied to Gmail, Google Buzz is focus on just that app. Plus, if also tied to your web browser. your main browser crashes or That can be fine for lots of you accidentally close it, your instances, but what if you what if SSB isn’t affected. your primary Gmail account and It can also be good for users that the account you use Buzz with w a n t t o l o g i n t o m u l t i p l e aren’t the same? What if you accounts of the same service, want to have Buzz act like more depending on what type of SSB of a regular application than a tool you use. Plus, for the browser tab? advanced user, some SSBs While we’re sure that plenty of support different scripting Buzz-specific application clients extensions that can add in extra are in the works, we’re going to o r c u s t o m f u n c t i o n a l i t y show you how you can create specifically to that SSB — your own Buzz Application for functions that might not be Windows, Mac or Linux. As a a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e s t a n d a r d side benefit, you can utilize this browser. Choosing the Right technique with practically any Tool web application out there!

There are a number of different The Rundown on SSBs (Site- programs for creating your own Specific Browsers) SSB. To create our stand-alone copy Bubbles for Windows was one of Gmail (and by extension, of the first general purpose SSB Google Buzz), we’re going to tools. It uses Internet Explorer’s create what is known as a site- rendering engine, meaning that it specific browser(SSB). An SSB will display sites the same same is a web browser instance that is way as Internet Explorer does on created specifically for a certain your PC. With Bubbles you can website or web application. It see your app from the system has its own desktop shortcut and tray and get desktop notifications c a n a p p e a r a s i t s o w n and drag and drop local files to application. your app.

Most SSBs will eschew more Bubbles shares cookies with advanced browser features and Internet Explorer, meaning that

browser has the ability to create an SSB from any browser tab.

Google calls this Application Shortcuts. To create an Application Shortcut, navigate to the page you want to access and then click on the Control this Page button (the icon that looks like a document) and select logging into two Gmail accounts “Create Application Shortcut.” at once is not the easiest thing to Then designate where you want a do. However, if that’s not what shortcut to be created. Now, you need and you just want a when you launch that shortcut, good separate Gmail and Google you’ll be taken to that page. Like Buzz client for Windows, you other SSBs, the address bar and can download the free Bubbles navigation bar won’t be visible. for Gmail SSB. Sadly, like Bubbles and Fluid Fluid for Mac is easy to use and for Mac, Google Chrome’s SSB customize, plus you can add in tool still shares cookies with the scripts and other additions if you Google Chrome browser. Again, want to get really geeky. It uses if you want to login to the same Safari’s WebKit rendering service under multiple accounts, engine — so it’s fast — and you this isn’t the option for you. But can take advantage of any of the it is a darn easy way to create an Safari add-ons (like Agile Web SSB. Solutions’ 1Password), which Mozilla Prism is a standalone makes it really slick. app or a Firefox extension that However, like Bubbles, Fluid creates site-specific browsers shares cookies with Safari for that are rendered using Firefox’s Mac. Again, this means that Gecko engine. If you use the logging into multiple accounts of standalone app, you just need to the same service is pretty much e n t e r i n a n a d d r e s s , a n out of the question. We expect application name, and designate this to be fixed in the future, but where you want the app to be as for right now, it’s not really an located. If you use the Firefox option. For developers that want Extension, you can turn any to have customize an SSB and website into an SSB just by also distribute it to other users, clicking Tools, “Convert to check out the open source Website Application.”

Fluidium project. Fluidium is in Unlike Fluid, Chrome and many ways the successor to Bubbles, Prism stores cookies Fluid. for Prism apps separately from Google Chrome (Windows and Firefox. This is fantastic for Linux Only) Google’s Chrome anyone with multiple accounts

with the same service (like Gmail) who don’t like to shuffle between logins day in and day out.

For us, this is a killer feature — because one of the downsides of Google Buzz is that it is explicitly linked with a particular Gmail account. For teams or small businesses that want to use Buzz from a main account (like we do at Mashable), this is a way for multiple users to share an account, without having to giveup access to their personal mail or personal Buzz messages.

Creating a Google Buzz App in Prism The process is pretty simple, but we’ll walk you through it step-by -step.

Step 1: Download Prism either as an extension or stand-alone app. Both options are virtually the same, so which one you use really just depends on your preference.

Step 2: Either double-click on the Prism application or go to Tools -> Convert Website to Application in Firefox.

In the address bar, you want to f i l l i n : https://mail.google.com/mail/?sh va=1#buzz Choose whether you want the app to be on your Desktop or in your Applications folder (or in the Start Menu for Windows) or both. You can choose to have a navigation window or not (we’d HOW page 25

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JUSTICE continued from page 20

meters?

Eckenwiler: As to historical records, your honor.

Sloviter: Yes Eckenwiler: The answer is if the carriers retain such information, yes, it would allow-Sloviter: Suppose the information is last week?

Eckenwiler: The statute would allow the government to obtain that information.

Sloviter: There are governments in the world that would like to know where some of their people are, or have been. For example, have been at what may be happening today in Iran, have been at a protest, or at a meeting, or at a political meeting. Now, can the government assure us that -- one, it will never try to find out that information, and two, whether that information would not be covered by (d).

[Ed. Note: Sloviter seems to be referring to a 2703(d) order.]

Eckenwiler: Your honor, I can't speak to future hypotheticals in terms of what might happen.

Sloviter: But don't we have to be concerned about that? If the statute would permit the government -- not this government right now but a government -- to get information as to where... Wouldn't the government -- a government -find it useful if it could get that information without showing

probable cause?

Eckenwiler: Your honor, the information at issue in this case certainly is useful, that's why the government's applying for it here.

Sloviter: But without showing probable cause. Because it's relevant. Your papers admit that the showing that needs to be made for a subsection (d) order is less than the showing that needs to be made for a warrant.

Eckenwiler: That's correct, your honor.

Sloviter: So the question is, can (d) be used for that purpose?

Eckenwiler: Yes, your honor. It can be used constitutionally for that purpose. And the reason I understand your honor's concern about those future cases, those hypotheticals. But I think it is clear from the Supreme Court's caselaw that Fourth Amendment issues must be measured on the basis of the facts before the court.

Sloviter: The question is, really, what can the government get?

[Refers to a log of cell phone tracking.] They can get, here's 4:33 on the same day, 4:39 pm on the same day, 4:40 on the same day. That's pretty close.

Eckenwiler: And your honor, the calling records, the numbers that are being called, from whom calls are being received by the same user, we can compel them

with a subpoena.

Sloviter: That's right. And as I read this, you can compel a lot of information that it looks like you wanted with a warrant. I don't understand -- I've been on this court for 30 years, more than 30 years. The magistrate judges that I have seen are not very grudging about granting warrants. If you could have gotten a probable cause warrant, why do you want to make the point that you don't have to show probable cause?

Eckenwiler: Well, it's interesting, your honor, because the rationale that was adopted in this case by the lower court wouldn't limit the reviewing court, the court to whom the application was presented to probable cause. Under the rationale that was articulated below, the court could demand proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Judge Lenihan's opinion said it's up to the court to decide, in effect, what showing could be made. It vests the trial court, the magistrate judge, with what's essentially unlimited discretion to decide what showing should be made. And the government submits, your honor, that that's an inappropriate exercise in judicial discretion.

Sloviter: You're concerned that the magistrates will give you the warrants even if they don't have

Video: Tea Party Convention Attendees Speak (Little Green Footballs)

A little slice of tea party life, Convention in Nashville.[Video] from the National Tea Party

enough basis? Is that really the government's concern? I mean, that's backwards.

Eckenwiler: Your honor, I'm saying the magistrate could demand an even showing higher than probable cause.

Sloviter: Then they'd go up on appeal and the district judge wouldn't accept that.

Eckenwiler: That's why we're here today. The magistrate demanded a higher showing than what's required under the statute.

Sloviter: But didn't require more than probable cause.

Eckenwiler: Your honor, that's true.

Sloviter: The five magistrates signed -- five! -- I've never seen that before. Did you ever see that before?

Eckenwiler: I have not, your honor.

Sloviter: Neither have I. Five magistrate judges signed on to this opinion affirmed by the district court. They didn't demand more than probable cause. They demanded just probable cause. A constitutional standard.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

23

Olympics Using Bogus Copyright Claims To Take Down All Videos Of Fatal Luge Crash

by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:06:55 PM

As you probably heard today, just as reports warning about the luge track at the Olympics were coming out, a Georgian luger crashed and died while on a training run. It's a horrible situation all around, but it looks like the International Olympic Committee is trying to stifle the whole thing by using copyright claims to take down videos on YouTube, saying that only those who paid for broadcast rights can show the video. Now, this could be part of a pre-arranged effort by the Olympics to try to stop any Olympics videos from hitting YouTube, but it shows the problem with such a blanket policy. In discussing news like this -- no matter how horrific -- it seems you could make a good case for fair use, but that's not even being allowed here, as the videos are getting taken down very quickly. And, even if the Olympic Committee thinks that it's about "protecting" its copyright, it certainly feels like it's trying to suppress the news of the crash and death.

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Skype coming to Verizon Wireless phones?

(CNET News.com)

data services to boost revenue.

And applications, such as Skype, could help them sell more data Message from fivefilters.org: If packages and get subscribers to you can, please donate to the full use the data services more.

-text RSS service so we can Verizon and AT&T have each continue developing it. lowered their unlimited voice BARCELONA -- Verizon plans to $70 a month from $100 Wireless could soon be adding a month. Meanwhile, these Skype software to some of its companies have also tweaked phones, according to recent news their data services plans to force reports. more customers to subscribe to Verizon, the largest wireless data services. Initially, the company in the U.S., announced companies only required data Friday that it is scheduling a services for their smartphones. press conference with Skype on Now they are starting to require Tuesday at the Mobile World customers with quick-messaging C o n g r e s s t r a d e s h o w a n d devices to get data plans, too. conference here. Verizon isn't Skype has become popular commenting publicly on the throughout the world as a way to announcement, b u t make cheap International calls Bloomberg/BusinessWeek is using a flat-rate broadband citing unnamed sources who say service. It's unclear if the the company is planning to application will offer a similar include Skype's Internet calling value to wireless customers, who software directly onto some of its may not have unlimited data phones. services on their mobile phones.

The service will let customers Because voice minutes are make Skype calls over Verizon's already bundled into cheap 3G data network. packages in the U.S., subscribers For years, wireless operators w h o a r e o n l y c a l l i n g have feared voice over IP domestically would likely not services, such a Skype, would save any money using Skype to kill their traditional and lucrative m a k e p h o n e c a l l s . B u t voice businesses. As the price of subscribers could save money if voice services steadily declines, they use Skype from the U.S. to operators are looking toward call people in other countries, so Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:11:56 AM

long as they have an unlimited data package.

Some wireless data plans are unlimited in a similar way that home broadband service is unlimited. But in wireless, Verizon also offers plans with only a certain amount of data.

When subscribers exceed their monthly allotted data they are charged by the megabyte. This means that when wireless subscribers use Skype, they are eating up their monthly allotted data service. And if they go over their limit, they pay more.

Skype can also be used to make low-cost calls while traveling abroad. But consumers must be careful. Making voice calls while roaming on a foreign carrier's network is expensive. But using a data service is even more expensive, especially without a special data roaming package.

This means that using VoIP to make phone calls while roaming on a foreign carrier's network may not be cheaper than simply calling from a cell phone.

If the Skype-enabled handset has Wi-Fi built-in, subscribers can use the Skype application to make calls from a Wi-Fi hotspot, using the Wi-Fi for the data connection instead of the 3G network.

Even though consumers have to be careful how they use Skype on a mobile phone to get the best value, the service is likely to be popular. A wireless company called 3, which is owned by Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa, has been selling phones with preloaded Skype software since 2007. And it credits the Skypephone with attracting hundreds of thousands of new subscribers.

Verizon isn't the only U.S. operator looking to include Skype on its phone lineup.

AT&T announced in October that it is opening the popular Apple iPhone to VoIP services, and Skype is expected to launch a new application for the iPhone in the next month or so.

Stay tuned for more news on this announcement. Verizon and Skype will provide more details about their partnership at a press conference at the show on Tuesday. Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest annual tradeshow and conferences in the world for the mobile phone industry.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

standing ovation, an honor not lightly given. He frames the arc of his work from the point of view of his own discovery of

how complicated things grow from simple rules and quickly compresses decades of work into a few minutes.

How to Ace a TED Talk

by Stephen Levy (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:00:00 PM

The TED talk is a unique form: 18 minutes to win over an audience which has already seen it all. Stephen Wolfram gets a

Macworld 2010: TUAW livestream from the show floor

by Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:51:00 PM

Filed under: Macworld, Video, Internet, TUAW Business TUAW is broadcasting live from the show floor of Macworld 2010. Stay tuned all day long for live video from the show floor, including interviews, demos, and hands-on with vendors, friends, and luminaries.

On the schedule today: Blue Microphones, the makers of the Gorillapod, Telltale Games, Shawn King of Your Mac Life, and many more.

TUAW Macworld 2010: TUAW livestream from the show floor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reporters' Roundtable Podcast: HTML 5 vs. Flash

by Rafe Needleman (Webware.com)

To discuss this topic on the Roundtable, our guests include CNET's Stephen Shankland.

Submitted at 2/12/2010 3:35:00 PM Shankland is author of the Deep One of the biggest criticisms of Tech blog on CNET News, and Apple's new iPad, and of the covers technology now from iPhone, is that it does not support London. He recently wrote about Adobe's Flash, a system that lets this very subject. See HTML vs.

Web developers code streaming F l a s h : C a n a t u r f w a r b e videos and interactivity into Web avoided? And from the New pages. Steve Jobs is reported to York office of Gizmodo, John be a big booster for HTML 5, a Herrman, who recently wrote a new extension of the HTML great story, Why HTML 5 Isn't standard that all Web pages are going to save the Internet. encoded in. HTML 5 will allow Listen now: Download today's Flash-like features without podcast relying on Flash, which is a Subscribe with iTunes (audio) proprietary system. Meantime, Subscribe with iTunes (video) users are caught in the middle. Subscribe with RSS (audio) Only a few browsers support Subscribe with RSS (video) HTML 5, and there are countless Reporters' Roundtable #20: Web pages, videos, and games HTML 5 vs. Flash written in Flash already. Not to The battle for the future of the mention a legion of developers Web accustomed to creating media in Show notes and talking points Flash. At stake in this battle: the First, some background. How future of interactive content on goes the war? Stephen, what's the Web. the latest news in this battle?

How pervasive is Flash?

And explain to me: Flash is on 98 percent of computers, right?

Why is Flash not in the iPhone?

It's in Android.

And it's closed--owned completely by Adobe?

How about HTML 5? Where is it?

How did that happen? Did the open standard, HTML, lose its way?

What happens to Adobe if Flash loses prominence?

Is the standard even done?

Benefits of HTML5 media interactivity native resource/storage access location Within HTML 5 itself, there's yet another battle going on, for video formats (OGG vs. H.264).

Explain?

What's wrong with HTML 5?

What is Google's position?

Oh yeah...Silverlight. What's up there? What does MS say?

Discuss DRM and these platforms Discuss mobility/mobile Web What's next in Flash? HTML? Advice? Best browsers to experiment with?

Wrap That's it for this week's Roundtable. Thanks for watching or listening. And thanks to my guests Stephen Shankland (CNET Deep Tech) and John Herrman (Gizmodo), and to producer Lynn Fu. Next week, I hope, we'll be tackling privacy and social networks, in light of the brouhaha over Google's Buzz. For updates on guests, watch my Twitter feed. E-mail c o m m e n t s t o roundtable@cnet.com, and get all the show notes as well as replays and downloads of the podcast on the blog. We'll see you next week!

Originally posted at Reporters' Roundtable Podcast

This will be your Buzz icon.

Click OK. Step 3: Double-click on your Buzz icon to launch you new Buzz app.

That’s it! Now you can use Buzz in a stand-alone browser window without distractions and you can remain logged into a different Gmail account in Firefox, Chrome or Safari.

Make Other Sites into SSBs You can use Prism (or Fluid, or

Bubbles or Chrome) to create single-site browsers for other websites. Just follow the steps outlined above, replacing the Gmail URL with the site of your choice. Keep in mind that if you are dealing with a site that uses cookies for login info and you have or want to simultaneously access multiple accounts of the same service, Prism is the best option to use. Otherwise, it all comes down to a matter of

25

Wired for the iPad to Launch

by Summer

by Kim Zetter (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:01:00 AM

LONG Beach, California — Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson announces at the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference that the publication would be releasing its content for the iPad by summer.

HOW continued from page 22

rather not have it), if you want status updates and notifications, and if you want to enable navigation keys.

By default, Prism will select the website’s favicon, in this case, a small Google logo, but we’ll want to replace that with something that looks better at a larger size.

Zandog and deviantART created a great PSD of the Google Buzz logo. I made just a couple of tiny

modifications and resized it to 512×512 and saved it as a transparent PNG file. You can download it and use it for you own Buzz icon if you want something that will look nice in your task bar or Mac dock.

Here’s the image: Right click on this image and select Save As. Then, in the icon dropdown box, select “Choose Image” and find the PNG file you’ve saved to your hard drive.

preference!

Do you ever create site-specific browsers? What features would you like to see in a full-blown Buzz client? let us know!

Tags: applications, Bubbles, buzz, chrome, fluid, Google, google buzz, google chrome, prizm

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Macworld 2010: Solar Walk and Geo Walk from Vito Technology

by Mike Schramm (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:00:00 AM

Filed under: Macworld, Software, iPhone Our own Mel Martin is a big fan of Vito Technology's Star Walk iPhone app, so when the company's rep stopped by our booth at Macworld this week to show us two apps that they're working on right now, we couldn't refuse.

The first app we saw was called Solar Walk, and while Star Walk will help you find and explore information about the stars, Solar Walk is designed to do the same with planets. The app features a beautiful (and accurate) simulation of the solar system, complete with all of the planets orbiting trails, and an adjustable clock so that you can see where Mars will be in 2029, if you so choose.

The app, which should be out in about a month, we were told, lets you pinch and zoom down on any planet, so that you can even see any moons -- one zoom in to Jupiter, and we could see each of the separate moons placed in

their own rings around it. And finally, press play on the clock, and you can see the heavenly bodies zipping around their orbits. If you like Star Walk but want to do a little more planetary exploration, keep an eye out for Solar Walk.

And we were also shown an app called Geo Walk, though it was in a much rougher form, and the Vito rep said it was a little farther out for release -- at least a few months yet. Geo Walk is also an educational app, and

features a rotatable model of Earth, with various landmarks and places touchable on it. You can zoom down into any given place while rotating around, and you'll instantly get information about it -- click on the Eiffel Tower, and you'll get a picture, as well as a quick blurb about the structure.

The app was far from done, but we were told that it would eventually be full of information, with layers that you could turn on and off -- look just for

landmarks, for example, or just for local food, or just for local history or famous citizens. The design seems to be the same as the other Vito apps -- create an interface that's fun and easy to navigate around, and then fill it with as much information as possible.

Truth be told, the Vito apps were very charming -- the interface is simple, but in each case it was fun to move the model around and explore it, looking for little nuggets of

information and insight on patterns. If you have enjoyed using Star Walk, be sure to keep an eye out for their two new apps, both coming soon.

TUAW Macworld 2010: Solar Walk and Geo Walk from Vito Technology originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Story Behind the Legendary Magnum Archive Sale Death on Vancouver's Fast Track

by Pete Brook (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:15:00 PM

The famous Magnum photo Elliott Erwitt, Ernst Haas and archive, including prints from Eve Arnold, finds a new home in seminal talent such as Henri Texas.

Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa,

by Marty Cortinas (Wired Top Stories) Submitted at 2/12/2010 3:45:00 PM

Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili gets killed on a training run.

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HOW continued from page 21

also decided to let bloggers populate the front rows, and have established WiFi areas instead of putting the kibosh on their coverage. The Blogosphere is Getting Access Nichelle Pace, blogger and owner of the site STYLEMOM, who has been covering the runway shows for three seasons, noticed a significant change in tone of responses when requesting coverage of the shows this season. “The ice has definitely thawed,” she notes. “I have a lot more [invites] to shows this year and publicists are more willing to float me images post-show if by chance they are over capacity and I can’t cover it.”

Another major change is that the dialog between designers, bloggers and social media gurus has opened up. Designers understand their customers are consuming media at mach-5 speeds. Likewise, magazines realize it’s not about printing

information three months after fashion weekends. “I think it’s going to be more and more important to get stuff up on the web — images, reviews, interviews, etc. — as quickly as humanly possible,” says Lauren Sherman co-editor of Fashionista.com. “People read what they see first. I think magazines in particular need to figure out a way to cover the shows more uniquely in print because by the time the September issue comes out, no one cares anymore.”

Joe Zee, creative director at ELLE Magazine says that just like in most give-and-take relationships, it’s a compromise.

“I’ve always been about what the ‘next big thing’ is. Please, I was the one that would help my grandmother put the VCR together when I was little and got a Tivo 15 years ago. People fear what they don’t understand, but trust me, magazines, designers and retailers are getting to

understand what social media is faster than they can say ‘that’s fabulous.’” More social media resources from Mashable: - 5 Ways Social Media Changed Fashion in 2009 - 9 Fantastic Facebook Pages for Fashion - Zen and the Art of Twitter: 4 Tips for Productive Tweeting - The Tao of Tweeting - How Social Media Has Changed Us - 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships - 4 Steps for Effective Online Networking Image courtesy of iStockphoto, webphotographeer Tags: blogosphere, BLOGS, entertainment, facebook, fashion, fashion week, social media, style, twitter, Victoria's Secret

Glenn Reynolds in Fantasyland (Little Green Footballs) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:00:14 AM

Amazingly, Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) manages to write a puff piece about the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville without even mentioning Tom Tancredo’s racist call to bring

back literacy tests or Joseph Farah’s Birther/theocrat speech and resulting standing ovation.

How is it possible to be that blind to the huge elephant of bad craziness in the room? Like this: Glenn Harlan Reynolds: What I Saw at the Tea Party Convention.

This is why the extremists have had such an easy time taking over the tea party movement — shills like Glenn Reynolds are determined to pretend they don’t even exist.

Entertainment Industry Get Their Own 'Piracy Police' In The Justice Department

by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:43:27 PM

Remember back in December when Vice President Joe Biden hosted a one-sided"piracy summit", ridiculously declaring that "all of the stakeholders" were present (despite there not being a single representative from the technology industry, nor anyone representing consumer interests or ISPs). The "stakeholders" were entirely the entertainment industry. And, even better, despite promises of openness and transparency, the press was kicked out so top execs from most of the major entertainment industry companies could collude talk directly with many of the top administration officials, including Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and others.

You knew that this wasn't just a random meet and greet and that something would come out of it.

And, indeed, less than two months later, we have Eric

Holder announcing a special "IP task force" within the Justice Department designed to take on "the rise in intellectual property crime." Given how many former RIAA/MPAA lawyers ended up at the Justice Department, perhaps this is no surprise. But given that it now appears that the entertainment industry was able to create their own private enforcement division within the Justice Department without a single ounce of public discussion or transparency, and no input from those concerned about consumer rights or technology innovation, shouldn't someone be asking why the Justice Department is now functioning as a private police force to prop up the business models of a group of companies who refuse to adapt, even as plenty of upstarts have figured out how to make new business models work?

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Macworld 2010: ScreenGuardz Privacy film keeps prying eyes off your iPhone

Massive Star Blows Hourglass Nebula

by David Winograd (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

by Alexis Madrigal (Wired Top Stories)

Submitted at 2/12/2010 9:00:00 PM

Filed under: Macworld, Accessories, Interviews, iPhone NLU Products makes a very large line of screen and computer protection products. I got a chance to speak with Kirk Feller the President and CEO of the company about their newest product ScreenGuardz Privacy(US$19.95), that was released last month at the Consumer Electronics Show.

With the iPhone gaining more functionality seemingly every day through third party apps, privacy has become a concern. I really don't think I want someone looking over my shoulder when I'm doing online banking or reading private email. Kirk told me that there is a large demand for products that not only provide screen protection, but also increase privacy protection.

ScreenGuardz Privacy is a very sturdy screen protector for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The film used to cover the screen adheres

using static electricity making it easy to put on and take off. But there are a lot of screen protectors out there, some offering privacy protection. This does it a bit differently.

Using tiny louvers built into the film, ScreenGuardz Privacy uses four way privacy protection.

This means that whether you are using your iPhone in portrait or

landscape mode, anyone to your side will see a dark screen. It also helps reduce the amount of light put out by the display which may be distracting in some situations. According to Kirk, other privacy protection products are fine under normal use, but turn the phone to landscape mode and your screen will be visible to any prying

eyes. This is the first screen protection product that gives you full privacy protection, I played with it for a few minutes and it worked exactly as advertised. The iPhone felt just as responsive as ever, but unless you were looking directly at the display, the screen appeared dark and this was true any way I held the device. This is a very simple idea, but the implementation is perfect. It's easy to install, and gives you some peace of mind.

For anyone concerned with sensitive data, it seems well worth the price.

Click the 'Read More' link to see a short video of ScreenGuardz Privacy in action.

TUAW Macworld 2010: ScreenGuardz Privacy film keeps prying eyes off your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Madonna To Appear On 'The Marriage Ref' (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:47:00 PM

Madonna is heading to the small screen to judge warring couples

on NBC's upcoming reality series, "The Marriage Ref." The Material Mom, who was previously married to Guy Ritchie and Sean Penn, will

appear on a celebrity panel to judge other people's domestic disputes on the Jerry Seinfeldcreated show, reports People.com.

The show premieres February 28 on NBC.

Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:00:00 PM

A new high-resolution image of an odd-shaped nebula 2,000 light -years away reveals that it's been created by a very young, very massive star.

New 'We Are the World' Makes World Premiere (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 2/13/2010 8:14:00 AM

A sneak peek at the star-studded re-recording of "We Are the World" debuted Friday night during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony.

A three-minute version of the remade charity anthem aired during NBC's coverage of the opening ceremony last night. The full, seven minute version is expected to beam out to televisions around the world on Saturday.

"We Are the World: 25 For Haiti" features the vocals of stars such as Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Wyclef Jean, Jennifer Hudson, and, thanks to the power of technology, Michael Jackson performing his solo from the original anthem alongside sister Janet.

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Australian Court Says You Can't Copyright Facts; Books Not Protected Google Music Blog Mess Highlights Phone

by Mike Masnick (Techdirt) the exercise of the requisite 'skill

Why Three Strikes Will Not Work

by Mike Masnick (Techdirt)

that some third party can "just know" when something is infringing. It's why we saw that We already wrote about how the Viacom sent takedowns to big mess with Google taking YouTube on around 100 videos down some music blogs showed that it had uploaded itself. As many of the serious problems the judge properly pointed out in with the DMCA, but it also the iiNet case down in Australia, highlights some other important copyright infringement isn't points. It's also a perfect something that you can just example of why asking third know when you see it: copyright parties to stop infringement, or infringement is not a straight setting up a three strikes policy, 'yes' or 'no' question. The Court makes no sense at all. Why? has had to examine a very Because much of the furor over significant quantity of technical this was that the takedown and legal detail over dozens of notices were sent to music pages in this judgment in order bloggers who had been given the to determine whether iiNet users, tracks and given authorization by and how often iiNet users, the very same labels that were infringe copyright In effect, issuing the takedowns. It was a Google's takedown system for case of the legal left hand not music blogs is very much like a knowing what the marketing three strikes policy (though, it's right hand was doing. not clear how many strikes there And this is a major, major really were). But even when problem with anyone who claims people were posting legitimate Submitted at 2/12/2010 7:39:00 PM

music, sent to them directly by the label itself for the purpose of being posted to blogs, after enough strikes were made, the sites were taken down. That would be happening all the time in a world with mandated three strikes policies -- and it's the exact reason why such policies make no sense. They're based on the false belief that copyright infringement is an easy "yes" or "no" decision that can be determined upon seeing it. But what we're discovering in both this situation and in the Viacom situation is that even the copyright holders are really bad at figuring out if something is infringing or not. So why should anyone expect third parties to be able to do a better job?

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and judgment'." There are some places that do allow copyrights sinsi is the first of a few to alert on aggregated facts, but a us to another good copyright growing body of research has ruling in Australia (following the found that such "database rights" recent iiNet ruling-- though the or copyrights on aggregated facts Kookaburra ruling is still pretty tends to hinder innovation rather bad), finding that (as in the US) a than encourage it -- and if the collection of facts alone is not purpose of copyright law is to copyrightable. The specific case create incentives for new works involved a telephone book, and and for innovation, allowing whether or not the collection of copyrights on collections of n u m b e r s w a s c o v e r e d b y factual information is a bad idea. copyright. The court, smartly, So, congrats to Australia on rejected copyright on such a another good copyright ruling. c o l l e c t i o n o f f a c t u a l Of course, this one will likely be information:"None of the Works appealed as well, and with were original," Justice Gordon lobbyists already pushing to said in her judgement this week. amend copyright law following "None of the people said to be t h e i i N e t r u l i n g , I ' m s u r e authors of the Works exercised someone will try to change 'independent intellectual effort' copyright law to include a or 'sufficient effort of a literary database right as well, despite all n a t u r e ' i n c r e a t i n g t h e the evidence of how harmful it is (directories).' overall.

"Further, if necessary, the Permalink| Comments| Email creation of the Works did not This Story involve some 'creative spark' or Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:46:10 PM

Artist creates horse-drawn Hummer H2 (it’s a statement)

by Devin Coldewey (CrunchGear) Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:02:59 PM

Most artist’s statements are pretentious garbage — much like

their art. But this deconstructed Hummer project makes a statement that’s as straightforward as it is true: “Keep it up and you’ll be driving one of these.”

Unfortunately, the statement

about over-consumption is back and sip Mimosas. somewhat compromised by the [via Treehugger] fact that he’s leaving the GPS, DVD player, and so on intact. So it’ll be a carriage and four, but you can still watch Lost in the

30

Tech/ Entertainment/

Want to argue about Global Warming? There's an app for that

by Mel Martin (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)) Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:00:00 PM

Filed under: Odds and ends, Freeware, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review I'm not sympathetic to the Global Warming skeptics.

There's plenty of scientific evidence to contradict them. The trouble is, when you get into arguments about the subject, you're likely to be without facts and the arguments become emotional rather than rational.

Now, at least, you'll have some science to buttress your arguments. All you have to do is whip out your iPhone or iPod touch and tap a free app called Skeptical Science, and from there you can quickly navigate to the various arguments that are offered by the skeptics. 'It's the sun', or 'it's cooling', or 'there is no consensus.'

You tap on the argument, and up comes some scientific info along with links to more information,

own scientists and graphs and quotes, so nothing really gets settled.

On the other hand, this is a really good idea, and I learned some things reading the assembled material. The app is free, and worth a look if you spend a bit of time arguing about this subject. Actually, it would be nice to see apps dealing with other topics people argue about, like the death penalty, legalizing drugs, or UFOs. Now excuse me while I turn up the thermostat.

Here's a look at some of the screens the app offers: Gallery: Skeptical Science graphs, definitions and more. No TUAW Want to argue about matter what side you take on this Global Warming? There's an app subject, there is a lot of useful for that originally appeared on information. The app is updated The Unofficial Apple Weblog on a regular basis to reflect new (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our data as it's available.

Now the truth is, apps like this terms for use of feeds. aren't likely to change minds. Read| Permalink| Email this| They reinforce your own beliefs, Comments and the skeptics will just remain skeptics. They can drag out their

E-reader News Edition

We Are the World 25 For Haiti Debuts on YouTube [VIDEO]

by Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)

Submitted at 2/12/2010 8:42:19 PM

Following up on the success of the star studded TV and Internet streamed “ Hope for Haiti Now” event last month, a new version of “We Are the World” has premiered on YouTube, featuring more than 75 artists.

The video was directed by Paul Haggis, produced by Quincy Jones, and features a diverse array of artists including Mary J. Blige, Tony Bennett, YouTube phenom Justin Bieber, and a flashback to Michael and Janet Jackson performing the song 25 years ago in a similar fundraiser for Africa.

The charitable connection here is a digital download – all proceeds from sales of the song on iTunes go to Haiti relief. The We Are the World Foundation website also offers other ways to donate, as well as more information about the song.

On choosing to use YouTube for

Buzz Makers: Robert Pattinson, Brad & Angelina, 'American Idol' & More!

(ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 2/13/2010 3:00:00 AM

Plus, John Mayer ignites details, and Leonardo DiCaprio controversy with a racial slur, gets candid. Click the pictures Kate Gosselin dishes new book for all the key star happenings

through Friday!

distribution, the legendary Jones says in a Q&A that “… with the stroke of a key on your keyboard or cell phone, images and messages can be transferred all around the world to hundreds of millions of people in seconds.

That’s an enormous amount of power. How can you not try and harness that resource to help people in need?”

We imagine the results here will indeed be huge. In addition to the YouTube premiere, the song played during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics earlier this evening.

Tags: haiti, video, youtube

Tech/ Gadgets/

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Top-rated reviews of the Hard-drivin' 'Rods and week (photos) Mods' on display (photos) (CNET News.com)

Submitted at 2/13/2010 6:00:00 AM

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full -text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Here's our weekly roundup of the new products CNET reviewers liked best.

Klipsch Image X10i headphones Editors' rating: 4 out of 5 The good: The Klipsch Image X10i headphones are extremely comfortable and feature superslim, tiny earpieces. They offer exceptionally clear and balanced audio, with good bass response and a reasonable amount of passive sound isolation. A module integrated into the cable includes an inline mic and a call answer button that

doubles as a playback control for the iPod. There are other useful extras in the package, too, such as a case and a quarter-inch adapter.

The bad: The Klipsch Image X10i headphones are expensive and the wire is thin and tangleprone.

The bottom line: The Klipsch Image X10i headphones are a great option for iPhone and iPod owners who listen mainly to lossless audio.

Read CNET's full review Price: $349.99 Photo by Josh Miller/CNET Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

(CNET News.com) Submitted at 2/13/2010 8:00:00 AM

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full -text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

This weekend at the Exploratorium in San Francisco hackers and artists are showcasing their personal styles at an exhibit of modded-out computers.

Designers have crammed speedy hardware into some very interesting shells--from Star Wars to beavers to game consoles to even ant farms-redefining what a computer can be.

This "Sandcrawler" case mod by David "artoodeeto" Benjamin is

a relatively accurate representation of the model used in Star Wars, and is nearly the same size. With 143 LED lights and a tiny R2-D2 in the cockpit, the model houses an AMD Phenom II quad core with Zalman 9500 heatsink/fan, 4GB of dual channel RAM, and an OCZ Vertex 120GB solid-state hard drive. " Rods & Mods: The Kustom Kulture of Radical Computer Modification" opened Friday at the Exploratorium and continues through the weekend.

Photo by James Martin/CNET Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

small "Tuff & Tiny" USB drives, which deliver capacities between 2 and 16 GB in a size more appropriate to a fake fingernail Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:00:00 AM than a portable flash drive.

F i l e d u n d e r : M a c w o r l d , The company is also offering Hardware The products on several portable hard drive display at the Verbatim booth, models, including the SureFire not surprisingly, all centered with Firewire 800 connectivity around storage: both solid-state for best Mac performance. The been extended to 7 years-- by and magnetic devices were w a r r a n t y o n m o s t n e w l y - then, a 500 GB drive will featured, including the wicked purchased Verbatim drives has undoubtedly seem very small.

How many oranges does it take to charge an Apple? (video)

by Darren Murph (Engadget) Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:27:00 PM

We've seen lemons power a digital clock, and we've seen an Orange tent energize a gaggle of Apples. But have you ever wondered how many oranges it would take to charge just a single Apple? Name games aside, we have to hand it to Imperial Leisure, the company that executed a new iPhone-centered advertisement aimed at raising awareness for Jaffa oranges. We won't spoil the whole thing for you, but we will say that you'll be far hungrier after watching than you are right now. Video's past the break, per usual.

[Thanks, forumz] Catch the video below for a Continue reading How many oranges does it take to charge an brief tour.

T U A W M a c w o r l d 2 0 1 0 : Apple? (video) Visiting with Verbatim originally How many oranges does it take appeared on The Unofficial to charge an Apple? (video) Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, originally appeared on Engadget 13 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:27:00 Please see our terms for use of EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Daily feeds.

Read| Permalink| Email this| iPhone Blog| Imperial Leisure| Email this| Comments Comments

Macworld 2010: Visiting with Verbatim

by Michael Rose (The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW))

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Google Pulls Olympic Luge Logo After Backlash

What Happens in Vegas, Goes on Foursquare [PIC]

by Samuel Axon (Mashable!)

by Samuel Axon (Mashable!)

Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:07:26 PM

Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:21:59 AM

Google posted a Vancouver Winter Olympics-themed search page logo featuring a luge athlete this morning just one day after 21-year old Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili died while practicing on the world’s longest luge drop.

The logo was replaced with a similar one depicting a snowboarder instead of a luger.

The New York Daily News managed to find a picture of the logo that was pulled; you can see both the new graphic and the original one below.

After Google posted the logo, many people called it poor taste on Twitter. User jennytondera tweeted, “google luge logo.

You’ve probably heard a dozen times now about people getting fired for what they posted on their blogs or their social networks. A web comic from Status THIS makes a good and really, google? not okay.” On the humorous point that you should other hand, some other folks be just as careful if not more so took it to be a fitting tribute. w i t h F o u r s q u a r e ’ s p u b l i c Individual sensibilities differ l o c a t i o n c h e c k - i n s . regarding this, but Google 8% of U.S. companies say apparently decided to play it safe they’ve fired an employee for by replacing the logo. What do u n a c c e p t a b l e s o c i a l m e d i a you think — fitting tribute or bad a c t i v i t y . T h a t c a n b e f o r taste? Original Logo: Luge something like sharing private New Logo: Snowboarding company information, but it can [ Thanks, Shauna] also be for admitting misconduct Tags: Google, olympics — for example, foolishly

Jane After Dark: I Believe in the Power of 'Supernatural'

by Jane Boursaw (TV Squad) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:00:00 AM

sending out a tweet saying that you called in “sick” to work in order to play volleyball Tuesday afternoon.

With Foursquare’s check-ins, you can give too much info about your wild nightlife to your boss. Read the comic below and enjoy a little laugh.

Tags: comic, foursquare, status this

'Supernatural' is one of those shows I've been hearing about since it first premiered in 2005. I was never a fan of shows with demons and ghosts and the like until I finally watched'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' Now I'm sort of hooked on them.

I'm not gonna lie, though. I'm just a few episodes into 'Supernatural,' and so far, it's terrifying. It could be a good long while before I'm able to swim in a lake ('Dead in the Water'), go camping ('Wendigo'), fly on a plane ('Phantom Traveler'), or look in a mirror

by Consumer Reports this time last year. Diesel fuel is A t l a n t i c $ 2 . 6 2 . 0 3 get the best gas mileage and ( ' B l o o d y M a r y ' ) . A n d I ' m Shopping Blog (Consumer $.55 above this time last year. M i d w e s t $ 2 . 5 7 . 0 1 G u l f where to find the cheapest gas. convinced that my husband is Reports) probably a shape-shifter ('Skin').

National regular gasoline prices C o a s t $ 2 . 5 2 . 0 3 R o c k y Subscribe now!

Continue reading Jane After Price Change from last week M o u n t a i n $ 2 .

6 2 0 W e s t S u b s c r i b e t o Submitted at 2/13/2010 5:52:55 AM R e g u l a r Coast$2.90.02—California$2.96. ConsumerReports.org for expert Dark: I Believe in the Power of Average gas prices--February 8, gasoline/gallon$2.65.01 Diesel 01 Ratings, buying advice and 'Supernatural' Filed under: TV on DVD, 2010 fuel/gallon$2.77.01 Regional Source: Energy Information r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f Gasoline prices are down in all regular gasoline prices East Administration, 2/8/10. Figures products. Update your feed OpEd, Supernatural, RealityFree, Jane After Dark regions compared to the week C o a s t $ 2 . 6 7 . 0 2 — N e w rounded to the nearest cent. preferences Permalink| Email this| | before. The national gasoline E n g l a n d $ 2 . 7 2 . 0 2 — C e n t r a l For more information on saving Comments average is $.73 above the price A t l a n t i c $ 2 . 7 0 . 0 1 — L o w e r fuel see our reports on how to

Average gas prices--February 8, 2010

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33

The Religious Right's Battle Against We're Still Not Hate Crime Laws Facebook: Lessons from Late Adopters (Little Green Footballs)

Center — which bills itself as the religious answer to the American Civil Liberties Union — [and] Are hate crime laws that give t h e c o m p l a i n t c l a i m s t h a t gay people special protections protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual against violent crimes a sneaky and transgendered people “is an c o n s p i r a c y t o p e r s e c u t e effort to eradicate religious Christians? beliefs opposing the homosexual The short answer is no. agenda from the marketplace of Jodi Jacobson at RH Reality ideas by demonizing, vilifying, Check has the longer answer: and criminalizing such beliefs as H a t e C r i m e s L a w s : A a matter of federal law and Conspiracy to ‘Eradicate’ the policy.”

Christian Right?

The suit was placed on behalf of Did you know that the passage American Family Association of of hate crimes laws is actually a Michigan president Gary Glenn, conspiracy to squelch religious a l o n g w i t h p a s t o r s R e n e freedom?

Ouellette, Levon Yuille and Yes….that weak and long- James Combs. suffering entity known as the Matthew Shepard was a 21-year Christian Right is claiming that -old gay man from Wyoming efforts to outlaw targeted hate who was tied to a fence and crimes against homosexual beaten to death in 1998. A persons through legislation foundation carrying his name constitute “a guarded effort to played an important role in ‘eradicate’ their beliefs.” helping to broaden hate crimes Stephen Webster of The Raw definitions to cover LGBT Story reports that: people. President Obama signed A Christian group in Michigan the Matthew Shepard and James has filed a lawsuit alleging that a Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention package of hate crimes laws Act in 2009. The Thomas More named after murder victim lawsuit, filed in a U.S. district Matthew Shepard is an affront to c o u r t i n M i c h i g a n , n a m e s their religious freedom.

Attorney General Eric Holder as Webster reports that the suit a defendant. was: Claiming “there is no need” to “filed by the Thomas More Law extend hate crimes definitions, Submitted at 2/12/2010 6:49:58 PM

Thomas More chief counsel Richard Thompson attempted to minimize the impact of violent crimes against homosexuals. “Of the 1.38 million violent crimes reported in the U.S. by the FBI in 2008, only 243 were considered as motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation,” Thompson wrote on the group’s Web site.

“The sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.”

Let me get this straight: The Christian Right is arguing that basic principles of humanity, and the rights to freedom from violence and discrimination should be decided on the basis of numbers of crimes against a minority group?

The Thomas More Law Center is notorious for representing the defendants in the Dover Pennsylvania “intelligent design” creationism trial, and for receiving an epic judicial spanking from the judge (a George W. Bush appointee).

by Dana Oshiro (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 2/12/2010 3:02:15 PM

This week thousands of visitors arrived at ReadWriteWeb thinking we were the new Facebook and asking us how to login. The phenomenon came about as mainstream audiences were directed to our story via Google search for "Facebook login". While RWW's regular tech readers found the mistake amusing, it perhaps speaks to the fact that there are huge variables in user interaction.

Sponsor A few months ago Betaworks' Andrew Weissman wrote an article entitled, Don't Get High On Your Own Supply where he tells entrepreneurs to step outside of their insular worlds. He writes, "[It] can mean not believing what other people say or write about your service good or bad - it is the use case that matters, not the chatter."

In our world of tech media, it's easy to forget that there is a large group of users who type terms like "Facebook login" into Google search. Could you

imagine if we'd written an article entitled, "Bank of America Wants to Be Your One True Password"? We might all be sipping margaritas in the Grand Cayman right now.

If a huge audience can't understand the difference between a blog and a social networking site, how are we supposed to explain the concepts of OAuth and OpenID? If you're a startup entrepreneur, step outside of your own world of early adopters and look at your product through the eyes of a n00b. While we didn't mean to confuse Facebook users, the traffic on this week's login post is proof that the late adoption audience is a valuable group to consider.

Photo Credit: Dave Olson Discuss

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For the weekend: How about some sexual healing? by rss@consumerreports.org (Consumer Reports) Submitted at 2/12/2010 1:29:59 PM

For the weekend: How about some sexual healing?

This Valentine’s Day, you could share a bottle of wine or box of chocolates with someone special.

And those can be good options, since wine(both red and white) and dark chocolate have some health benefits. But don’t overlook one of the best choices of all: Good sex. It can help keep your heart healthy in more ways than one."A satisfying sex life can foster good emotional health, which in turn can promote good physical health," says Julia Heiman, Ph.D., director of The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University.

The physical act of sex itself may have direct health benefits.

sexual problems— lack of desire in women and premature ejaculation in men. Even with largely physical problems, such as vaginal dryness or erectile difficulties, certain nondrug steps may be worth trying.

On the other hand, if you and your partner are keeping the For example, orgasm or any spark alive, we'd love for you to loving touch may cause your share your romance secret below body to release substances that in our comments section.— Sue ease pain, bolster immunity, or Byrne, senior editor elevate your mood. In addition, Learn more about healthy sex any form of exercise burns for him and her and find out if a calories and strengthens the heart particular drug or disease could muscle. And, of course, as with b e h u r t i n g y o u r s e x l i f e . all forms of physical activity, the S u b s c r i b e n o w ! longer and more often you do it, S u b s c r i b e t o the better. So if you or your ConsumerReports.org for expert partner seem to have lost that Ratings, buying advice and lovin’ feeling, regardless of your r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f a g e , l o o k i n t o w h y i t ’ s products. Update your feed happening. Psychological issues, preferences not physical ones, are the major culprits in the two most common

Tops & Flops: A Week in Fashion (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 2/13/2010 5:00:00 AM

From the star-studded bashes to glittering premieres, Hollywood's hottest donned their

most daring duds. Who's outfit was super lame and who's got game?

You Rate!

Google Maps Labs Adds Experimental Features to Maps [Maps]

by Adam Pash (Lifehacker)

on a specific spot), Aerial Imagery ("gives you rotatable, high-resolution overhead Virtually every Google service imagery presented in a new has a Labs section devoted to perspective"), a Where in the implementing experimental W o r l d g a m e ( t o t e s t y o u r features. There's Gmail Labs, geography chops), Rotatable Google (Search) Labs, Google Maps (if you're sick of North Calendar Labs, and now, Google always being up), What's Around Maps Labs.

Here (always highlight top So what can you expect from search results in a view using Google Maps Labs? small blips), and several more.

Google Maps Labs is a testing Just hit the link below to broser ground for experimental features you options, turn a few on, and that aren't quite ready for get experimental with your maps. primetime. They may change, Thanks dedobleve! Google Maps break or disappear at any time. Labs Current features include Drag 'n' Zoom (for quickly zooming in Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:00:00 PM

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35

Top 10 Google Settings You Should Know About [Lifehacker Top 10]

by Kevin Purdy (Lifehacker)

venture into all the goodies on occasion.

6. Disable SafeSearch (or lock it As the outcry over Google in semi-permanently) Buzz's privacy has shown us, it's Google's SafeSearch isn't an smart to explore settings in entirely comprehensive solution Gmail, along with other places to preventing impressionable you're sharing data with the eyes from the worst realms of the search giant. Let's take a look at internet. It is, however, a good 10 privacy, convenience, and stopgap until they learn to grow annoyance fixers you should up and install other browsers, know. 10. Turn off autowipe out cookies, and customize displayed pictures from Gmail user scripts. Whether you don't contacts have any young ones in the By default, Gmail hides images house and want to turn embedded into emails from chain SafeSearch off altogether or you letters and unknown want a complete SafeSearch sources—and that's a smart lockdown on your computer, move, given spammers' tracking head to your search preferences, tactics and malware tendencies. of goodies tucked inside it for That's because Talk can sit in the ish? You can kill all of them, if scroll down to the SafeSearch But it still shows images from anyone who owns their own site, background upon launching, you'd like, and get back just a section, and find the setting that contacts you've previously sent runs a family name domain, or ready to pick up messages. That's plain vanilla inbox. Scroll all the fits you. (In Google Image mail to, which can be a pain if operates a small business. Unlike fine if that's what you want, but way to the bottom of any page Search, they've helpfully placed you've got relatives who just G m a i l , h o w e v e r , t h e n e w if you want a choice in the inside Gmail, and at the bottom, the control right under the search love hi- larious forwards. Head features and disabled offerings matter, head to the Google Talk you'll see two links to turn box on your first result.) If you to your Settings page, and look aren't as apparent (or blogged app, hit your Menu key, and Gmail's chat sidebar and Buzz want to permanently enable for the "external content" setting, about). Gina gave us a great tour choose Settings. Un-check the inbox on or off. Actually, you SafeSearch, click the "Lock which you can switch off to of Google Apps, showing how "Automatically sign in" option, don't really "turn off Buzz" so SafeSearch" link—and repeat for always ask you to confirm you can control privacy and hit your back button, and then hit much as remove it from your any browsers the little ones use. showing images in any email. If access, choose which Labs Menu and sign out of Google inbox, so be sure and check your Now when they're performing a you've got just a handful of features make it into your Talk. You'll need to sign back in Buzz settings at your Google Google search, you should see offenders, open up one of the domain's email, and otherwise if you're downloading apps from Profile, if you have a Google some giant Google-colored balls egregious emails, hit the "Show set up your site to your liking. the Market (odd pairing, indeed), Profile. If Labs features seem to in the upper-right corner—or details" link near the bottom of 8 . P r e v e n t A n d r o i d f r o m but you're otherwise free to chat be slowing down, or even else they've gotten too smart. the to/from/subject details, and automatically signing into Gchat when you want to. ( Original breaking, your Gmail experience, 5. Set your default SMS location click the "don't display from now Simple and easy, but also easy post) For those without webyou can turn them off entirely by on" link. ( Original post) to miss: If you've got an Android 7. Turn off Buzz, Chat, and loading Gmail from this URL: connected smartphones, or at 9. Fine-tune Google Apps for phone and have launched Google Labs in Gmail https://mail.google.com/mail/?la least a decent data connection, your domain Talk from it just once, you might Not big on Buzz? Chat more bs=0#. Bookmark it as your main G o o g l e ' s S M S s e r v i c e i s Google Apps, formerly know as notice that you seem to catch any distracting than useful? Gmail Gmail link, or title it "Gmail TOP page 40 Apps for Your Domain, has a lot and all chats throughout the day. Labs making your inbox feel lag- (Safe Mode)" if you'd like to still Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:00:00 AM

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From the Tips Box: Workplace Workouts, Wall Hooks, and Tea Bags [From The Tips Box]

by Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:00:00 PM

Readers offer their best tips for working out at the office, using hooks throughout the house, and keeping the bag from slapping you in the face while drinking tea.

Don't like the gallery layout?

Click here to view everything on one page.

About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they're a bit too niche, maybe we couldn't find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn't fit it in—the tip didn't make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

Discreetly Work Out at the Office Photo by Fuyoh!

Rustopholous shares a few workout routines that can be done throughout the day: I work at a job where I am sitting in front of the computer 8+ hours a day. When I get home I'm usually tired and use it as an excuse to relax instead of doing some much needed physical activity.

Now at work I make a point of taking breaks at certain intervals so I can squeeze in a workout throughout the day. Here are a few ways to discreetly work out in your office: Tricep dips on your office chair - hold on to the arms of your chair while sitting and lift your body out of the chair, then lower your body to the point just before you touch the chair.

you there are always other options like going into a storage room to get in a set of pushups, or take advantage of a 15 minute "smoke break" to go for a quick jog (don't over-do it though, pit stains can make co-workers uncomfortable).

Not only will this improve your health but also your overall awareness and productivity. I often feel refreshed and alert after a quick workout break.

Use Hooks to Store Things on the Wall Nic shows us how to use the surface area of the wall as an organizational space: I use small 1" household hooks that you can screw into anything.

First: i use one to hold my toothbrush, it works great and is barely noticeable with the toothbrush in place. I like clean uncluttered spaces, and buying a toothbrush holder seemed like a waste and throwing it in the drawer or leaving it out would result in something getting on it Quads - I can see this making out in front of you for a few or it getting in the way. It should people uncomfortable, but it seconds, then lower them. be noted that I did take a pair of w o r k s f o r m e . T a k e f u l l Repeat. Reverse sit-ups can also wire snips and cut off the very advantage of a bathroom break to be done rather easily by leaning tip of the hook to allow the bust out a series of squats (no, back in your chair and lifting toothbrush neck to fit in easily Second(my main and favorite n o t t h a t k i n d o f s q u a t ) . your knees. [twohundredsquats.com] has a These exercises are quite "hack"): screwing a row of these good plan. discreet and you can usually do on the wall to use as a charger Abs - You can easily work out them without anyone noticing, station. It works great set up by your abs while sitting in your that is unless they are sitting in a the front door (this one happens office chair. Simply stretch out desk (or stall) right beside you. If FROM page 43 your legs and hold them straight there is someone right beside

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37

The Cloud, Activity Streams and Applications That Cut Across the Home and the Office

by Alex Williams (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 2/12/2010 6:29:04 PM

Recently, SAP showed us its new, cloud-based enterprise collaboration service called 12Sprints. It embraces consumer services and activity streams correlating to the context of the business use, in particular collaboration among teams and groups.

Since that demo a few weeks ago, our views about the SAP service have changed a bit. In particular now that Google Buzz is part of the picture and conversations we have had recently with companies like Jive Software.

It's evident that the landscape is changing. 12Sprints, Jive Software and a host of other enterprise services have solidified the belief that the enterprise expects applications to be social. Enterprise vendors are hearing that pretty clearly from their customers.

Sponsor We stopped by the Jive Software office in Portland this week to talk with CEO Dave Hersh and Co-Founder and CTO Matt Tucker about the company and the technology direction in

the market.

Hersh said Buzz is interesting as it reinforces to customers that activity streams are effective ways to get the right information to the right people. Now, enterprise customers want all of their applications to be social.

"Every application they have in house is getting buzzy," Hersh said.

Bets are on for how to apply activity streams to the enterprise while at the same time developing open architectures so they may continually adapt to market changes.

For instance, Jive sees its "Social Business Software," platform as reaching across the enterprise. It has invested heavily in the social, customer facing environments. The company recently acquired FiltrBox to track and analyze information from the social stream. The next step is to create activity streams for all applications, deeper in the enterprise. Integrate, for instance, an activity stream into an ERP or CRM environment.

Hersh said Jive now has 200 employees. He expects employee head count to be 300 by the end of the year. Resources will go to R&SD with a concentration in developing activity stream

API's, initially integrating with Evernote and Scribd. That's a smart approach. Innovation in the market is coming from technology and mobile services.

In the meantime, the focus services that are fit for the across the market is how to bring consumer or the professional. universality to consumer and F o r e x a m p l e , d o c t o r s u s e enterprise applications. These are Evernote to keep notes and for services built upon cloud-based their own personal use. infrastructures that use APIs to The SAP team looks like they i n t e g r a t e c o n s u m e r - b a s e d have no hesitation in developing applications that are as popular 12Sprints as a service that is much like a consumer offering. for the office as the home.

SAP's 12Sprints is illustrative of It uses activity streams that this trend. In December, we a l l o w p e o p l e t o f o l l o w w r o t e a b o u t t h e s e r v i c e , individuals, groups, updates or describing it as a competitor to search terms.

Google Wave. Now it seems But it is not a rival, as of yet, to more like Google Buzz. It has Microsoft Sharepoint. 12Sprints t h e e l e m e n t s o f a f u l l y takes a more focused approach collaborative environment where than Sharepoint. Hinchcliffe people add to a stream of points out that this may be its i n f o r m a t i o n , e d i t i n g best attribute. It's not like the rest simultaneously in real time. of the pack in that it tries to do It's a competitor to any number everything:"It's important to note of enterprise collaboration that 12Sprints doesn't try to be services, including Saleforce the best at everything, a fault Chatter, PBWorks, MindTouch that's endemic to large enterprise and I BM's Project Vulcan. Other application suites and which is services that come to mind wisely avoided here. It does include Tibco's Tibbr, as Dion however integrate with best-ofHinchliffe points out in his post breed services where it makes recently about the 12Sprints sense, whether they're from SAP or not. This includes WebEx, service.

The service is designed to Evernote, and Scribd, with the integrate with consumer-based first two custom-integrated and the latter as part of their

extensions program. With extensions any developer can onboard their functionality to 12Sprints, which offers users an experience not dissimilar to an app store and makes it possible for anyone to enhance the platform.

Who will find 12Sprints compelling? Those who have traditional, non-collaborative desktop and communication tools. E-mail and instant messaging is an obvious competitor for many of the tasks that 12Sprints targets, while Microsoft Project, Web conferencing, and knowledge/document management tools are as well in terms of more directed and less open-ended apps."

SAP, Jive and even Google have a shared interest in developing applications built upon open architectures. The consumer facing aspects of these applications will continue to unfold, especially as cloud computing grows in acceptance.

And with this all, activity streams will be the standard for how the social stream flows.

Discuss

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Tech News/ Entertainment/

E-reader News Edition

Weekend Reading: Blogging to Drive Business,

by Butow and Bollwitt

by Chris Cameron (ReadWriteWeb)

based blogger and podcaster at Miss604.com, and Eric Butow, CEO of a Web design and eSubmitted at 2/12/2010 4:45:00 PM marketing firm and author of In last week's installment of twelve books like User Interface Weekend Reading we discussed Design for Mere Mortals and the engaging social media How to Succed in Business m a r k e t i n g a n d b r a n d Using LinkedIn. This 162 page development A-to-Z guide Crush book is broken into nine easily It! from Gary Vaynerchuk. From digestible chapters; the longest that we learned that blogging is c h a p t e r a t 2 6 p a g e s i s just one of many ways to reach a p p r o p r i a t e l y d e v o t e d t o your customers, but the subject is "Creating a Blogging Stategy," so important itself that it which includes descriptions of deserves its own book; that's popular blogging platforms, the exactly what we've got this various media used in blogging, week. From Eric Butow and and integrating your blog with Rebecca Bollwitt, this week's the top social networks. The selection is Blogging to Drive book also includes an index, Business: Create and Maintain which is handy for finding Valuable Customer Connections, specific topics and issues. an overview of the tips and Besides covering the common techniques needed to excel at s u b j e c t s a r o u n d c o r p o r a t e business blogging. blogging, such as why its Sponsor important and how to market it Earlier this week we provided correctly, Butow and Bollwitt our own 6 Approaches to Your provide lesser heard tips, like Company Blog and mentioned how to use internal corporate that "corporate blogging" is blogging and how to decide who m o v i n g u p t h e " s l o p e o f will actually be authoring the enlightenment" to the "plateau of blog. Another intriguing issue productivity" on the 2009 the book chronicles is how to Gartner Hype Cycle. Basically deal with blog commenters, what this means is if you have a especially the negative ones. business that isn't blogging, "Negative comments might not you're about to miss the boat, so necessarily need to be deleted you'd better hop on before it unless they are defamatory, leaves dock. libelous, or anything similarly The book is co-authored by malicious," the book says.

Rebecca Bollwitt, a Vancouver- "However, if comments contain

negative but productive feedback, you should respond in a courteous manner."

It's tempting to begin moderating negative comments and banning users, but this should really only be done in the most extreme of situations. It's important that your readers (who are most likely also your customers) be able to trust your public voice on the blog. If nonmalicious but negative comments are continuously deleted, readers will lose this trust. The best thing a business can do with negative comments is to respond to them promptly and politely.

The best bloggers are avid blog readers, so make sure whoever is writing your business' blog is following what other businesses are writing about. This will also help someone new to blogging develop a writing style that is native to the Web and not full or jargon and business-speak. They can also take the next step and leave a comment on the other blogs, which not only helps spread the word about your brand, but increases your

reputation as an active participant in the community just be careful how you do it.

"Only leave a comment when you genuinely have an interest in the post and can contribute something productive," the book says. "Simply leaving a link to your site and saying you also wrote about a certain topic can easily get your comment flagged as spam."

All the important bases are covered in the remainder of the book, including how to create a blog with an appealing design, finding topics to write about, monitoring the Web for when people talk about your brand or blog, and how to optimize your blog for search engines and blog lists. The cover price is $21.99 but discounters like Amazon have the book listed at under $16 for the paperback, and $9.99 for the Kindle version. The paperback version also includes a free e-book accessible online for 45 days after purchase.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book Blogging to Drive Business: Create and Maintain Valuable Customer Connections was provided to ReadWriteWeb

by Pearson Education, Inc. Photo by Flickr user racheocity.

Discuss

Late Athlete Honored at Olympics Opening Ceremony (ETonline - Breaking News) Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:26:00 AM

Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21year-old athlete who died in a high-speed luge crash on Friday, was remembered last night during the 2010 Winter Games' opening ceremony in Vancouver, and ET has details on the ensuing death investigation.

The deadly crash occurred during a training session at the Whistler Sliding Centre yesterday morning.

Kumaritashvili was taking a curve in the track and traveling close to 90 mph when he collided with an unpadded steel support pole, says the Associated Press. Luge officials have delayed the reopening of the track.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games tells ET the investigation on Kumaritashvili’s cause of death is being led by the Coroners Service of British Columbia and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A second investigation is underway by the Federation International de Luge.

Tech News/ Entertainment/

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39

Weekly Wrap-up: The Week in Web Technology

by Richard MacManus (ReadWriteWeb) Submitted at 2/13/2010 5:00:00 AM

The big news of the week was Google launching its FriendFeed clone, Google Buzz - read on for our extensive coverage and analysis of this news. We also continued our exploration of the significant Internet trends of 2010, including Real-Time Web, Mobile Web, Internet of Things and Augmented Reality.

New! We've refreshed the format for our longest running feature, the Weekly Wrapup. It now focuses more explicitly on the key trends that ReadWriteWeb is tracking in 2010, as well as giving you the highlights from the leading story of the week. Let us know your thoughts on the new format.

Sponsor Story of the Week: Google Buzz • Live Blog From Announcement • Analysis: Open Data Standards • Analysis: Geo-Social Network • Comparison to FriendFeed • Buzz Hacks& Tips for the Advanced User • The Missing Features • Google Makes Changes to Buzz More Google Buzz coverage

and analysis Mobile Web • Android Market Share Doubles - Will Overtake Palm Soon • What's Next For Geolocation?

Apps, Apps, Apps • Mobile Data Traffic Surge: 40 Exabytes by 2014 More Mobile Web coverage Check Out The ReadWriteWeb iPhone App We recently launched the official ReadWriteWeb iPhone app. As well as enabling you to read ReadWriteWeb while on the go or lying on the couch, we've made it easy to share ReadWriteWeb posts directly from your iPhone, on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the RWW team on Twitter, directly from the app.

We invite you to download it now from iTunes.

Facebook • Facebook Shows Its Cards With Bing on Ad Strategy: Full House • Facebook Debuts XHP: More PHP Enhancement • Facebook Wants to Be Your One True Login More Facebook coverage Real-Time Web • Feedtrace: Personalized Link

Nurture Startups

Aggregation for Twitter • Confirmed: Google has Acquired Aardvark

ReadWriteEnterprise O u r c h a n n e l ReadWriteEnterprise is devoted to 'enterprise 2.0' and using social software inside organizations.

• Google Buzz in Enterprise Will Need to Overcome Google Apps Limitations • SAP's CEO Resigns: Delays in Launching Online Business Software Cited as One Reason for Downfall

Olympic-Style Bad Timing: Google's "Translate=Sensitivity" Command Still a Little Wonky [Bad Ideas]

by Foster Kamer (Gawker) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:15:00 PM

It's pretty fair to say at this point that the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili has More Real-Time Web coverage. ReadWriteCloud dampened the "Olympic mood" Our channel ReadWriteCloud, Don't miss the next wave of around the world, especially o p p o r t u n i t y o n t h e W e b sponsored by VMware and Intel, because track officials are s u p p o r t e d b y r e a l - t i m e IS dedicated to Virtualization b l a m i n g h i m . S o m e i n f o t e c h n o l o g y !

G e t and Cloud Computing. hoarding search monoliths didn't ReadWriteWeb's report, The • IBM Gives Students A Cloud exactly get the message.

Real-Time Web and its Future. Filled With Its Tech - Now Via BlackBook's Chris That's Smart ReadWriteStart M ohney—hi weekday Our channel ReadWriteStart, • Amazon Simple Storage boss!—sometime between last s p o n s o r e d b y M i c r o s o f t S e r v i c e - N o t S o S i m p l e night and this morning, Google BizSpark, is dedicated to Anymore had the above image up. As p r o f i l i n g s t a r t u p s a n d • Loving the iPad: A Real blogger Zach Everson noted, "at Computer for Virtualizing entrepreneurs. least he's on the track." The • Startup Priorities: Is Design E n t e r p r i s e A p p s kinda Gothic illustration was—if More Important Than That's a wrap for another week! you haven't been to Google in Engineering? the last few seconds—changed • 6 A p p r o a c h e s t o Y o u r Enjoy your weekend everyone. since then.

Discuss Company Blog Kind of related: the Men's • Where is Entrepreneurship downhill was postponed because Really Taught? of slush on the course after one • How Colleges Can Better skier crashed (they're okay).

Basically, the Canadian Olympics can't catch a break.

40

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TOP continued from page 35

seriously helpful—it's how I (used to) get by with just an iPod touch and a standard phone. To make it even more helful, text set location, followed by the city and state or ZIP code where you spend the most time. Now you can just text "weather" or "pet store" to get the skinny on what's happening. ( Original post) 4. Link and integrate your apps Taking off the privacy and preference hat for a moment, Google's apps have a lot of neat settings just beneath their surface that make using them all together a tight experience. You can turn emails into tasks, and then map those tasks on your calendar.

You can send voice messages and SMS from Google Voice to Gmail, and mark them as read when you open them there. Gina previously ran down seven easy ways to integrate your Google apps, and even more seem to come along every week.

3. Turn off Search History, logged in or not If you're logged into Google for Gmail or any other service, there's a good chance Google's keeping tabs on all your

searches, months after you made them. If you aren't logged in, Google's probably still tracking and personalizing your searches based on what you previously typed in. This one-stop solution that should work for most users, but if it doesn't, log into Google and head to google.com/history.

A notice at the top will tell you if you've "paused" or otherwise stopped your search history, or else you'll see your recent searches listed with dates and times. You can clear out this history by hitting the "Remove items" link on the left. If you aren't logged in, look for the "Web History" link in the upperright corner. From there, you can choose whether Google tracks your searches via cookie and IP address and customizes your results.

2. Back up Google apps' data For all you've heard about Buzz, privacy, and Google this week, you still can't fault them too much for their efforts to let you take your data with you if you decide to leave their app ecosystem. The Data Liberation Front site, a pet project from

Google's engineers, explains how you can pull your information, documents, and other data out of nearly any Google product.

Gina's also covered some of Google's apps in a cloud backup feature, and Adam tackled the best-at-that-time tools for Google backups in 2007. ( Original Data Liberation Front post) 1. Control what Buzz says about you on the web Google's new social service Buzz showed up suddenly in everyone's Gmail accounts this week, and right away it wanted to get you connected with the people you contact over email and chat the most. Before you let it turn you loose, though, consider whether you want the world to see exactly who you "follow." Google has since improved the on/off visibility, but if you want to make sure you're not broadcasting your inbox to the web at large, we suggest visiting your profile and checking your follower counts. If you don't see a profile at all, or don't see the followed/following numbers, you're likely in the clear, but as with many aspects

of Buzz in this early stage, you can't be too careful. And when you actually start using the thing, be careful not to broadcast private email addresses yourself.

(Original posts: Buzz update, private emails).

Bonus item: Open search results in new tabs Lifehacker copy consigliere Dustin Luck mentions yet another reason to hit up your search preferences from time to time. With a single click, you can choose to open the results you click on in new windows. If you've set up your browser the right way, those new windows become new tabs, and little research projects on Google just became far more convenient.

What settings do you always make sure are set in your own personal Google universe? What settings do you wish existed for better control and privacy? Tell us about them both in the comments.

Weather Causes More Schedule Changes at Vancouver Olympics (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:23:28 AM

The International Ski Federation says the men's downhill race at the Vancouver Olympics has been rescheduled for 10:30 a.m.

Monday. The event originally was slated for Saturday, but officials postponed the race due to slushy conditions hours before it was scheduled to begin.

Rather than take a chance Saturday and try to see if the weather improved, organizers called off the first Alpine race at the Olympics shortly after 4 a.m. local time. The Women's Super Combined Downhill, originally scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 14, is to be rescheduled. The Womens Super Combined Slalom, originally scheduled for 1 p.m.

Feb. 14, is also to be rescheduled. In addition, the Mens and Womens Snowboard Cross training scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 13 has been cancelled.

Engadget is live from MWC 2010!

by Thomas Ricker (Engadget)

Weary? No way, we're staring Mobile World Congress 2010 in the face, and if you're a That's right, we just arrived in smartphone nerd (and really, Barcelona fattened up on airline what modern gadget fan isn't?) food and as rested as 8 hours of then this is the event that will recirculated oxygen consumed at reveal our future handheld going to happen? Windows a 30-degree incline can provide. device purchases. So what's Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:51:00 AM

Mobile 7 seems like a lock as is a Samsung Bada debut with the Wave handset. But what are HTC, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and the rest of the industry up? We'll find out soon enough -- press events begin tomorrow.

Engadget is live from MWC

2010! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink| | Email this| Comments

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Is Virtualization to Windows what Windows was to DOS?

by Mike Kirkwood (ReadWriteWeb)

example: In May 2007 for example Gartner predicted that virtualization will be part of Submitted at 2/12/2010 2:20:00 PM nearly every aspect of IT by Evolution happens.

2015.

When Windows first arrived on In April 2008 Gartner also said the scene, there were lots of that 4 million virtual machines questions in the industry, like were expected by 2009, while we "Will people use it?", or "I prefer w o u l d h a v e 6 1 1 m i l l i o n command line", or "Does it take v i r t u a l i z e d P C s b y 2 0 1 1 . up too much processor?".

Gartner released a press Similar questions have been announcement in October 2009 asked to the virtual server. "Is it disclosing that only 16% of secure?" and "Is it easy to workloads run inside virtual manage?" are common questions machines. for IT leaders considering Recently, Gartner predicted that virtualization today. this amount is going to reach With the constant state of around 50% by 2012, which is technology evolution in mind, equal to 58 million deployed will the virtual server win the virtual machines. day and become de-facto pattern The analysis firm suggests for software to run in the starting small and growing as datacenter? your team gains experience.

Sponsor "Gartner advocates a 'start small, Taking the Pulse of the Industry think big' approach to virtualized Virtualization.info is a site that server deployments that begins has been aggregating news and with a specific project but builds trends for the last several years towards a wider strategic plan and keeping track of the industry that includes management and predictions, especially as they process changes." change from year to year. For However, once that is behind

Group can just lease those extra resources from a vCloud provider once a month for a day.

This makes computing resources much more like a utility where when you want more, turn it on, and when you don't, turn it off.

We wonder what it would be like you, sometimes it is best to just if it were that easy to manage go all the way. One Company people resources. The Future With companies going full-on Goes End-to-End H a y G r o u p i s a g l o b a l virtual, it seems like a new management consulting firm pattern will emerge as the with 85 locations in 47 countries. dominant path in the next several The company has partnered with years. We'll see companies stand Forbes Magazine to help craft up virtualization-powered data the "World's Most Admired" list. centers for each computing Hay Group's lifeblood is its IT resource with private cloud infrastructure. It has adopted r e s o u r c e s s t a n d i n g b y t o vSphere 4 to build an internal handling the extra load when cloud where users can get access needed. to infrastructure and provision If you had the budget and time servers as needed, and then to start fresh with a new data extend the cloud by leveraging center architecture, would you VMware vCloud providers - v i r t u a l i z e y o u r c o m p u t i n g t a p p i n g i n t o a d d i t i o n a l resources end-to-end? computing resources when Photo credit: slworking Discuss needed. For instance, if its business processes require additional resources, but only require them every 30 days, Hay

41

UConn falters as Cincy spoils Calhoun's return

by Associated Press (ESPN.com) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:45:07 AM

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full -text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Top Performers Cincinnati: L. Stephenson 14 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl Connecticut: G. Edwards 10 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Stl, 3 Blk Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Probe: Olympic Track Didn't Cause Luger's Death

by FanHouse Newswire (FanHouse Main)

and frightening, yes. Responsible for the death of a luger, no.

Olympic officials decided late Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:32:00 AM Friday night against any major Filed under: Luge WHISTLER, changes in the track or any British Columbia (AP) -- Fast delays in competition and even

doubled up on the schedule in

the wake of the horrifying accident that claimed the life of a 21-year-old luger from the republic of Georgia.

They said they would raise the wall where the slider flew off the

track and make an unspecified "change in the ice profile" -- but only as a preventative measure "to avoid that such an extremely exceptional accident could occur again."

42

Tech News/ Sports/

E-reader News Edition

This Week's Most Popular Posts [Highlights]

by Adam Pash (Lifehacker)

Swanky Cups Dropping off your bottles to be recycled is great and all, but with this DIY solution This week we helped protect you'll be able to recycle them inyou from the big bad Buzz, house into decorative cups and showed you a few tools for organizers. finding cool stuff nearby, and • Today Is National PC Cleanup rolled up our sleeves to clean up Day, So Let's Tidy Up Your your PC. System The Web Worker Daily • Stop Google Buzz From blog reminds us that today is Showing the World Your National Clean Out Your Contacts Whether you call it a Computer Day. Want to do some huge privacy flaw or just an serious PC cleaning but not sure annoyance, Google Buzz can put where to start? We've got your the contacts you automatically back, so let's get with the follow—a.k.a. those you most purging. frequently email or chat—on a • How to Open a Locked public profile page. Here's how Interior Door When You've Lost to undo that. the Key If you have a lot of • Hide/Remove Google Buzz interior doorknobs with key Updates from Your Gmail Inbox locks on them, sooner or later If you just don't have the rest of the Google-sphere. eats, picture-worthy sights, and troubleshooting a PC without it. you're bound to lose the key or bandwidth to manage one more Whether or not you're big on much more. Start with this list of I'm not kidding. lock them inside the room. s e t o f s o c i a l n o t i f i c a t i o n s social networking sites like in-the-know apps.

• TVGorge Brings Dozens of Here's what to do to get back in. automatically hitting your Gmail Twitter or Facebook, Buzz offers • LookInMyPC Is a Must-Have Location-Blocked TV Shows to • Build Good Credit Without inbox, you may not be all that a somewhat new and intriguing T o o l for C o m p u t e r Users Around the World If Credit Cards When you're trying excited about this morning's approach.

Troubleshooting Windows only: you're outside of the US and sick to build a good credit history, Google Buzz announcement. • Top 10 Tools for Finding Cool L o o k I n M y P C g e n e r a t e s a of not being able to see good TV one oft-repeated piece of advice Luckily banishing Buzz from Stuff Nearby Sometimes the complete report of what's going online or just tired of waiting for is to get a couple of credit cards your inbox is easy. most interesting stuff in an o n i n a c o m p u t e r — f r o m Hulu to get your favorite shows, and pay them off on time. Credit • Google Buzz Explained unfamiliar city is hiding in plain hardware to software, and y o u ' l l w a n t t o c h e c k o u t cards aren't the only way to skin Google today announced a new sight. With the right location- everything in between. After TVGorge and its huge archive of the credit cat, though. service, Google Buzz, that aware and map-friendly web playing around with it, this shows. automatically brings social tools, you can find the best cheap w r i t e r w o u l d n ' t s t a r t • Recycle Wine Bottles into networking into Gmail and the Submitted at 2/12/2010 4:00:00 PM

Olympic Snapshot: And the First Gold Goes To… (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:58:16 AM

Reuters Simon Ammann of Switzerland won the first gold medal of the

normal hill ski jump.

Vancouver Olympics in the

Tech News/ Sports/ Fashion/

E-reader News Edition

FROM continued from page 36

to be by my desk) or anywhere you need to charge your devices and don't have/want them taking up usable and valuable surface space—looks great to boot! I always get compliments on the idea and even give these hooks away to anyone that comes over and mentions it, they were super cheap and work great in the workshop and kitchen too! also catching keys, etc...

Use Binder Clips to Keep Tea Bags Out of the Way If you like to keep your tea bag in the mug while you drink, you probably know the annoyance of having it hit you in the face and drip tea up your nose while you're drinking—Lifehacker reader Jennifer uses a binder clip to keep it in the tea but out of the way of your face.

Use Categories to Send Delayed Email Now axma55 has a default delay on his sent emails, with one convenient caveat: This is an add-on to the tip on delaying the sending of emails for a specified time in Outlook. I have a rule set to delay all emails from being sent for 2 minutes.

It's so that I can stop an email from going out if I need to because of things like forgetting someone on the distribution, forgetting the attachment, or if I felt the email had the wrong tone. It's worked wonders, but sometimes I wish the rule wasn't in place, like when I send that final email right before I leave the office. I can't shut down until it's sent because I work on a laptop. Or, when I need to get

something to a co-worker right away. Those 2 minutes can seem like an eternity. What I did was alter the rule to include an exception. Now, if an email has the category "Send now," Outlook doesn't wait the 2 minutes to send it. You can create whatever category you want to apply this exception. I just figured "Send now" is pretty easy to remember, and it's the first "S" category on my categories list, so it's just a few keystrokes to tag the email with that category.

43

NBA All-Star Al Horford Talks Rebounding, Reading and the Hawks

by Matt Moore (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 2/13/2010 5:42:00 AM

Filed under: Celtics, Hawks, NBA All-Star Game DALLAS -Al Horford was the quiet man at All-Star media availability, as he often is on the Hawks. Most people wondered why Josh Smith was omitted over the third year man out of Florida. But Horford has proven to be one of the most consistent, craftiest big men in the NBA. I caught up with Horford at

NBA Media Availability to talk to him about the Hawks' success over the Celtics, what it takes to be a great rebounder, and you know, what he's reading now.

How Do You Overcome Creative Blocks? [Ask The Readers]

Runway Beauty Face-Off: Costello Tagliapietra

by Adam Pash (Lifehacker)

by ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog)

The block breakers these creatives use vary quite a bit, but we really like the simplicity of Artist and blogger Scott Hansen t h e s o l u t i o n J a s o n K o t t k e deals with creative blocks all the h i g h l i g h t e d : time, like any of us do, whether Slice and chop 2 medium onions we're in an artistic field or not. into small pieces.

So he asked 25 of "today's most Put a medium sized pan on a exciting creators what they do medium heat with a few glugs of when the ideas aren't flowing." Olive oil.

Photo by Rennett Stowe.

Add the onions to the pan, and a Submitted at 2/13/2010 8:00:00 AM

pinch of salt and pepper.

(It goes on for a full recipe, a

glass of wine, and washing the dishes.) The entire post is worth a read, but it also piqued our curiosity, so we want to know: How do you overcome creative blocks? Share you best methods in the comments. Overcoming Creative Block[ISO50 via Kottke.org]

Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:47:39 AM

Which Costello Tagliapietra look wins first place?( surveys) —Emily Hebert, ELLE.com Associate Beauty Editor Photo: Imaxtree Follow ELLE on Twitter Become our Facebook fan

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How many of you would pay a monthly fee to play Call of Duty?

by Nicholas Deleon (CrunchGear)

player mode already has some of the aspects that make MMOs so popular: by playing the game Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:00:12 AM more and more, your character N o b o d y h a s c o n f i r m e d grows stronger and gets access to anything, but let’s assume power-ups. People would be s o m e o n e o n A c t i v i s i o n motivated to play the MMO so Blizzard’s payroll is currently their toy soldier could be decked creating a massively multi-player out in the military equivalent of C a l l o f D u t y g a m e . T h e Tier 10 plate. Then all you’d company’s CEO, Bobby Kotick, need is a world or setting and recently expressed enthusiasm some sort of “story.” The toward subscription-based games developers could try to re-create during the company’s fourth W o W ’ s sense of quarter conference call. “If you struggle—Horde v. Alliance, think about the success that r o a r — b y p i t t i n g , s a y , t h e we’ve had in other product combined US+UK forces against categories on subscription u l t r a - n a t i o n a l i s t s f r o m [presumably World of Warcraft, somewhere Over There. Nobody which had as much to do with likes an ultra-nationalist.

Activision as I did with the But those are details, and we Manhattan Project], you can get don’t want to get lost in details a sense of the direction that we over something that might not want to take that franchise [ Call even exist. All we need to of Duty],” he said. Or translated envision is a persistent, growing f r o m c o r p o r a t e - s p e a k i n t o (new maps/areas every so often) English: “You’re damn right we world wherein you take your want to make a Call of Duty character on some sort of MMO. Monthly fees to have calculable progression while people play pew-pew-pew? Yes, filling your enemies with manly please.” But is that a wise move? bullet holes.

First, what would a Call of Duty Now let’s talk price. Let’s MMO look like? Would it be, as assume the game is amazing. its detractors claim, nothing Somehow, by the grace of God more than WoW with guns? The and all his little helper gods, the fact is, the game’s online multi- developers actually make a game

point of this little exercise—, they’d have to find a monthly fee that people would be willing to pay. WoW costs $15 per month—do you really think the average person who plays Call of Duty is willing to pay $15 to play it? What about $10? Maybe $5? I’d say right around the $5$7 mark would be the sweet spot—is anyone really going to miss $7 from their bank account each month? I should rephrase that so as not to sound so crass: will enough people be cool with spending $7 per month to play a game they enjoy? I’d be OK with that both fans and cynics can say that. I mean, $7 is the cost of two without hesitation, “Yeah, it’s large coffees in New York; it’s pretty good, actually.” Where is not going to put me in the poor most of the Call of Duty fan base house. (Well, I’m already in the these days? I’m going to guess, poor house, so I can’t, like, go generally, on consoles, and, there twice or anything.) more specifically, on Xbox 360. But still, is that wise? It’s not as That presents a bit of a problem if Call of Duty is without its for Activision. Xbox 360 gamers flaws. Yes, Modern Warfare 2 already pay $50 per year to play sold a boatload of copies, with games online (with nary a more than $1 billion in sales to dedicated server in sight!), so date, but how many of those Activision would have to first people are still dedicated multiconvince these people that player mode players, a mere paying to play Call of Duty isn’t three months after its release? as ridiculous as it sounds. And The game’s multi-player mode is since Bobby Kotick is all about r i d d l e d w i t h b u g s a n d monthly fees—it’s the whole glitches—imagine how many an MMO would have! How many

people soured on the franchise after suffering through its singleplayer campaign? By the end I was like, “You know, Russia is totally in the right here…”

I don’t know, it just seems like the rush to a Call of Duty MMO, based on the broad, consolebased success of Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2, may be a little crazy.

It really does come down to this: would you be willing to pay a monthly fee to play pew-pewpew over and over again?

Considering how broad Call of Duty’s audience is—not all of these people are comfortable with the idea of a subscriptionbased game, surely—I really do wonder. Well, “wonder”—I m pretty sure I’ll forget all of this as soon as I hit “publish.”

Never mind that MMOs tend to be giant time-sinks in order to for you to “get good.” A quick round or two or two of multiplayer before going to work?

Sure. $XX + many hours required per month, every month (lest your character disappear into the void)? Not too sure.

Image swiped from NeoGAF

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NSFW: Is Porn Movie Merchandising the Next Big Money Maker?

by Lydia Leavitt (CrunchGear) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:13:41 AM

The right merchandise can turn a movie into a mega movie franchise. A movie licensing industry that accounts for 25% of all toys sold in a typical year, the right toys, video games, clothing, accessories, iPhone apps, and action figures can rake in the serious bucks. Numbers released last week for“Transformers 2 show that the movie led to toy sales worth $592 million only six months after its release. Other movies like Star Wars have seen 8 billion in merchandise sales since 1977, with newer movies like Harry Potter rivaling that number only a few years after their release. But what about the adult industry? They make movies, but do they sell merch beyond the typical posters and hats? Do they plan on tapping into the multi billion dollar industry?

One company taking the mainstream movie approach to merchandising is Digital Playground, a high budget porn purveyor that recently launched a 22 product line inspired by their“Pirates” movies. The “Pirates 1 and 2“ porns, have weighed in as the world’s most expensive porns complete with CGI and serious plots. The product line focuses on pirate inspired vibrators that range

from the discreet to the extreme, all based on characters from the movie. For example, the Katsuni vibrator, modeled after the half Asian bad girl in the “Pirates” flicks, is designed with Asian elements and features and Octopus tickler that draws from elements in the film. Digital Playground’s Vice President of Novelties and New Media F

arley Cahen stated, “We developed a pirate inspired line of 22 different products and we expect to grow that number. No one has ever done pirate themed products on any level in adult and we’re the perfect company to capitalize on that opportunity.”

But in an industry where the average low budget porn company is happy to sell a

thousand units, the question that remains is whether major movie merchandising is a viable option for the adult industry. Cahen says no.“[To create this line], I spent 9 months of R&D to create the highest quality/uniquely designed products at reasonable prices, at least five iterations of each design, hired two full-time designers and two new

marketing professionals, met with every large distributor worldwide and a multitude of retailers, interviewed and tested 4 different packaging manufactures, hired over 50 test marketers to give us product feedback, spent untold hours NSFW: page 46

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NSFW: continued from page 45

planning sales and marketing and spent a significant amount of money to develop the line. Not many companies have the willingness to go through all that especially if there movies have only sold the industry average of 1500-3000 pieces.”

And movie merchandising doesn’t even work for every mainstream movie. When it comes to partnering with major movies, there is a high level of risk involved even with movies that you think would be successful like 1988’s Roger Rabbit. The animated movie flopped royally when it came to merchandising. That’s why Cahen says DP is taking a stab at lifestyle products, rather than movie fan merchandise: “W e feel the pirate ‘theme’ transcends the movies and actually stands on it’s own as a lifestyle theme.”

The entirely female oriented line of products targets an audience that may have never even see the “Pirates” movies, but identifies with the product through function and design rather than the movie itself. These aren’t products saturated in movie branding, rather, they are loosely based on the movies theme.

But movie merchandising may become a bigger trend in the adult industry than you think. In an industry where pirated content is the norm, many studios are moving towards higher quality productions to set themselves apart and to get people to actually pay for content. This is partly because the people that are actually willing to pay for porn want HD, high quality porn.

What this implies is that studios are going to have to try harder to create quality content to actually

make money on their investment.

And higher budget porns can make it more worthwhile to create merchandise apart from the hats, t-shirts, and giveaways.

So perhaps movie merchandising will become a viable channel for making money in an industry struggling to create content and products that people will actually pay for.

For reviews and pictures of the Digital Playground Pirates Novelties, please click through.

Guest columnist Lydia Leavitt writes about sex and, oddly enough, social media. For more information on the latest intimate technology, check out 69adget.com.

Fall 2010 Model Hot Seat: Anja Rubik

by ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 2/13/2010 6:00:00 AM

Spotted at: Jason Wu Birthplace: Poland Age: 24 Fresh-Faced Secret: I use a gentle scrub every night—it’s really, really important. It unclogs all the pores. I use the Clinique one—the 7 Day Scrub Cream. I just massage it in and use a lot of moisturizer afterward. Massaging is especially important because it increases circulation.

Hair Saver: I like this intensive mask from Wella Professionals—it’s been working really well.

Fitness Routine: I run every other day and I do yoga. I get very tense during Fashion Week—it can be stressful and sometimes you just want to let it all out. Running is the best way for me. And even between shows I’ll go for an hour to do yoga. I go to the Jivamukti Yoga Center on Broadway.

Post-Fashion Week Plans: I’m going to spend a week in Turks and Caicos. I want to rest and take it easy.

—Emily Hebert, ELLE.com Associate Beauty Editor Follow ELLE on Twitter Become our Facebook fan

Windows Phone 7 Series: that's the name

by Chris Ziegler (Engadget) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:26:00 PM

So we were just casually strolling through Plaça d'Espanya today in front of Fira de Barcelona -- better known as the site of MWC 2010 this coming week -- and we couldn't help but notice that Microsoft's digs at the Hotel Catalonia across the street had white stickers obviously covering something important underneath the Windows Phone logo that we'd seen a few days ago. The

ensuing conversation went something like this: Chris: Dude, I think I see something there underneath the sticker. I think it says "SEVEN" in all caps.

Thomas (staring intently): No way.

Chris: Yes, I'm telling you, "SEVEN." It's there!

Thomas: Fanboy. It's official, I'm covering MWC with an insane person... looks like I'm bouncing back to Amsterdam.

Peace. Well, turns out we were both wrong -- a little Photoshop magic (okay, a lot of Photoshop

magic) reveals "7 Series" underneath the decal, just waiting to be torn off after Monday's big press event. The "7" is certainly no surprise, but

the "Series" part of this is cause for some last-minute speculation -- are we actually going to see consumer and professional breakouts of the platform as we'd

heard rumored a few times in the past? We'll know in less than two days. Follow the break for the full retouched image.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 Series: that's the name Windows Phone 7 Series: that's the name originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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47

OMG I Did Not Text That [Bad Valentine]

by Joel Johnson (Gizmodo) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:00:00 PM

It's the worst feeling: Waking up completely wrecked from the night before, only to realize with a dull sweat that you pressed 'Send'. Fortunately for the rest of us, what you drunkenly texted is often hilarious.

And now there's even a whole website dedicated to collecting your stupidest text messages: Texts From Last Night (dot com), which has upped the ante with a book and the now obligatory iPhone app. (You can, of course, just text them.)

Here are some of our favorites.

Just because this came from California I'm not going to judge (707) he doesn't care that i have a boyfriend so why should i?

Strategy: Indisputable; Tactics: Perhaps Less So Are they still out there making out on the couch? How can we get them to leave? I'm gonna go stand naked in the kitchen with a knife.

Modern love is hard, but Google is not (314) I woke up next to her this morning and couldn't remember her name. Luckily, she had written it on my hand so that I could add her on facebook.

Mooning Over My Hammies Don't feel obligated to get back to me but I think I just fell in love with a middle-aged waitress

Ricoh CX3 reviewed, just marginally better than CX2

by Darren Murph (Engadget)

deem the image quality to be "excellent" and noted that newcomers shouldn't hesitate to Ricoh's CX2 seemed to impress give this one a whirl. Still, we a - m a n y r e v i e w e r w h e n i t were disappointed to hear that launched last autumn, so it's sort the low-light performance was of odd to see the camera's underwhelming despite promises successor hitting the market so that it had been improved, and soon after. The appropriately for $400, you've got a lot of named CX3 recent sat down on other options in the point-andt h e t e s t b e n c h o v e r a t shoot realm.

Photography BLOG, and while Ricoh CX3 reviewed, just critics were quick to point out marginally better than CX2 how appreciative they were of originally appeared on Engadget the extras (a 720p movie mode, on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:07:00 namely), they couldn't help but EST. Please see our terms for notice what a small step forward u s e o f f e e d s . P e r m a l i n k | this was from the prior model. In Photography BLOG| Email this| fact, they found little to no good Comments reason for existing CX2 owners to upgrade, though they did Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:07:00 AM

at the Denny's in Waco. She's used but in good condition.

No, you're good. Just set your desk on fire.

She said I could do whatever I wanted to her. I pumped for 20 seconds, apologized, rolled over and passed out. I sit directly across from her at work.

Awkward?

But where's the remote? dude I woke up laying next to some guy. I don't have my bra or his name. he has a nice TV though.

Unfortunately all I ever watched was "The A-Team", so I just got

in my van and drove away.

I just crawled out of a second story window using a sheet and his clothes for rope so he wouldn't wake up. I am so glad I watched MacGyver as a kid.

Finally: Everyone here wins (949) Babe, the 4 years we've been together have been amazing. Will you marry me?

(1-949) are you seriously doing this over text message (949) hahaha no, but i am dumping you.

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In Defense of the Letter [Valentine's Day] by matt buchanan (Gizmodo) Submitted at 2/13/2010 3:00:00 PM

Analog means more than digital.

It's real, for one thing.

Something real is maimed in the process of recording. And it's slow. Pulp doesn't teleport, like bits. If you write somebody a letter, you mean it.

Bits are circumspect, at best.

They're alterable. Transient.

Intangible. Destructible.

A letter that's typed is smashed onto paper, one character at a time. The ink left behind by each key is its own tiny little memory, a record of the process as it happened. There is no going back, no forgetting at the command of another key, there is

A typewriter is a machine, it requires a connection. An intimacy of operation. Lines and margins and ribbons need require care. I do not know how to love them. So I do not type.

Perfection is a minor miracle, or a lot of care.

Celio's Redfly It's much easier to tell a lie with smartphone dock gets a typewriter. The truth of the paper and the ink make it easy to real enough for a demo hide lies behind it. Everything reel digital is already a lie.

by Darren Murph (Engadget) only progress and memory. free-wheeling, instruments in You can burn a letter, but it Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:16:00 PM Holding a typed letter isn't unsteady hands spill ink or smear leaves behind ashes.

Bad Valentine is our own You know, it's sort of crazy to simply grasping whatever it's graphite in jots of uneven loops reporting, it's possessing a record and crooked lines. The paper special take on the beauty—and look back at what companies did of the act of reporting itself. bears no scars, simply stains. awkwardness—of geek love. and didn't survive the Great Handwriting is for pussies. S t a i n s c a n b e w a s h e d o r CELIO'S page 49 Anyone can write. Free-form and s m u d g e d a w a y .

The Flaming Lips' Crib Is Even More Psychedelic Than Their Music [Architecture]

by Kyle VanHemert (Gizmodo)

was, naturally, sitting in a bathtub on Google Street View.

If you thought that was the Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:00:00 PM weirdest place he bathes, wait Wayne Coyne, frontman of the until you see his bathroom. Its acclaimed rock band The G a u d i e s q u e d r i p - c a s t l e Flaming Lips, recently renovated design—Coyne refers to it as the his Oklahoma compound, and "drug damaged, artist element of the new space gives the group's [his] home"—is certainly one of music a run for its money in the highlights of his new pad, terms of psychedelic flair, r e a l i z e d b y F i t z S i m m o n s playful construction, and sheer A r c h i t e c t s . imagination.

An adjoining alcove, accessed The last we saw of Coyne, he b y a g l i t t e r i n g c i r c u l a r

passageway, scores serious bonus points for including the Giz-featured world's most beautiful object: the Gyrofocus

fireplace.

Having seen Coyne's appropriately trippy poop cave, it's got me wondering if other

musicians' homes reflect their sensibilities as closely. Is John Mayer's house ordinary and forgettable on the outside but chaotically and impenetrably decorated on the inside? Does Prince's Minneapolis home have a bunch of sex swings? Yes, yes, I'm sure it does. [ Fitzsimmons Architects via Design Milk via Geekosystem]

Gadgets/ Sports/ Economy/

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CELIO'S continued from page 48

Recession of 2009. Ugobe, Veoh, SGI, TZero and Circuit City all folded within the last year, yet Celio-- of all firms -- is still alive and well kicking. If you'll recall, we spotted a " proof of concept" smartphone dock from the outfit 13 months ago, and apparently that very device has shifted out of the R&D lab and into a working product. Now sporting the codename "Moab," the dock essentially brings a keyboard and mouse of your choosing to your smartphone, and it channels the video on your mobile's display onto a bona fide external monitor. The best use of this doohickey is when you need to bang out a long email on your phone, and reaching for a spare

LCD, keyboard and mouse is easier than just plugging away on that miniaturized QWERTY. Which happens... when?

Anywho, video of the completely and utterly thrilling action is just past the break.

Continue reading Celio's Redfly smartphone dock gets real enough for a demo reel Celio's Redfly smartphone dock gets real enough for a demo reel originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Recombu| Email this| Comments

Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:36:58 PM

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President Barack Obama will announce next week loan guarantees for two new nuclear reactors, setting the stage for the first nuclear power plant to be

by Brett Pollakoff (FanHouse Main)

Nanodiscs Shake Brain Cancer Into Remission [Science]

Submitted at 2/13/2010 3:45:00 AM

Filed under: Lakers, NBA AllStar Game, NBA Videos DALLAS -- The Lakers' Shannon Brown has managed to throw down some amazing ingame dunks this season, and as

by Kyle VanHemert end up getting tagged with the such, was a no-brainer selection (Gizmodo) discs, and when a light magnetic to this year's field of Slam Dunk field is applied, the oscillation Contest participants.

Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:00:00 PM causes the cells to self-destruct. In the following video, Brown Conventional treatments are Surrounding healthy cells are left talks about what it might take to often ineffective for treating undamaged. win it, and tells us about some of built in the US in three decades. brain cancer, but scientists have The scientists working on the A c c o r d i n g t o a n O b a m a developed a novel new method project emphasize that it's still in his favorite dunks of all time. administration official, the of destroying cancer cells in the the early, experimental phases, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol financial commitment will be brain: they tag them with metal though they hope to begin testing talked about their teammate's made for the construction and nanodiscs and shake them to on animals soon. But even if it dunking ability, and what they think his chances are to take operation of the two new reactors death with magnets. takes several years to determine at a Southern Company plant in Scientists at the University of if this unique approach is viable home the trophy in what is unquestionably All-Star Burke, Georgia.

C h i c a g o a n d t h e U . S . for use on humans, it's always Five Filters featured article: Department of Energy have heartening to see nanomaterials S a t u r d a y ' s m a i n e v e n t .

Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: developed a process by which being applied to the difficult PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, t i n y i r o n - p l a t e d d i s c s a r e problems of today. [ Science Term Extraction. attached to antibodies that seek Daily via Kottke] out cancerous cells. Those cells

Obama offers nuclear plant loan guarantee (Financial Times - US homepage)

Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol Talk About Shannon Brown's Dunk Contest Chances

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Samsung: Yep, we’re working on a Chrome OS netbook

Borg soon assimilating Star Trek Online in upcoming content update

by Devin Coldewey (CrunchGear)

by Griffin McElroy (Joystiq)

Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:55:30 PM

In not-too-surprising, yet goodto-know-for-sure news, it seems that Samsung is indeed working on a netbook designed around Chrome OS. Now, what exactly that comprises I can’t tell you — my guess is they’re really just getting a cheap netbook ready to go with whatever Google announces when Chrome OS hits prime time. Or maybe they’ll use one of those neat (useless)

transparent ones?

The specs are nothing crazy: 3G, 2GB of RAM to start, 64GB or more of SSD storage, probably a 10.1 screen, and a nice long battery life. The chipset and

processor weren’t disclosed, but the source is suggesting a 1.5GHz Snapdragon. I wonder about that — I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some curveballs in there. Dual

Snapdragons, for instance, or a dedicated GPU like the iPad. It’s actually very similar to this speculative post here, except without a price, which makes it much easier to swallow.

Guess we’ll find out… not soon.

It’s not clear when they’ll be making the real announcement, and at any rate we’ll probably hear from Google first. [via Tom's Hardware]

Verizon To Announce Skype Phones at MWC? [Rumors]

by Kyle VanHemert (Gizmodo) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:42:59 AM

Verizon has officially stated that they will be holding a joint press conference with Skype at MWC on Tuesday, and now Business Week is reporting that Verizon will announce new phones preloaded with Skype for use with their 3G network.

Well yes, that seems like a

pretty reasonable guess for what the two companies will be announcing come Tuesday.

Despite constant rumors of such,

there's no iPhone or iPad on the Verizon horizon, and adding Skype to their stable would be an attractive option for customers

who are making fewer and fewer calls but are already plunking down considerable cash for beefy data plans.

With Skype tinkering away on the 3G functionality of their iPhone app—3G Skype calls are already possible with Fring—it seems like as good a time as ever for Verizon to make a strong push for 3G data calling and the more flexible plans it will engender. [ Business Week]

Submitted at 2/13/2010 6:00:00 AM

A recently added hub page on the official Star Trek Online site has revealed that the nefarious Borg will soon make first contact with the MMO's players in an upcoming free content update, which will be rolled out over the next two months. The patch will add a series of high-level episodes (that's STO-speak for "quests") to the game which will throw players into a number of ground and space conflicts with the cybernetic species, leading up to a climactic raid encounter with the Borg Queen.

You can get an idea of the formidable foe you'll be facing off against in the video above and the gallery below. As a special protip from us to you, here's an instructional video which reminds prospective Borgfighters exactly where the line must be drawn.

Gallery: Star Trek Online - Borg Update Borg soon assimilating Star Trek Online in upcoming content update originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA giving away free What's On Tonight: copies of classic Command 'Cops,' 'Elevator Girl,' & Conquer games 'Survivors,' 'The Dish'

by Dave Freeman (CrunchGear)

by Bob Sassone (TV Squad) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:03:00 PM

Submitted at 2/13/2010 7:30:50 AM

We’re huge fans of Command & Conquer here at CrunchGear, and we just got a great tip sent in. EA is giving away away free downloads of some of the great classic C&C games that made the franchise such a long standing favorite. This is most likely to draw attention to the upcoming release of C&C 4: Tiberian Twilight, (which I’ve been playing in beta, and it’s a whole lot of fun).

You can download Tiberian Sun (with the Firestorm expansion), Tiberian Dawn, and the best of the old ones, Red Alert. If

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern).

• Bravo has a'House' marathon all night.

• Travel Channel has Samantha Brown specials all night.

• At 7, TNT has the basketball H.O.R.S.E. Contest, then'NBA Tip-Off' and'The 2010 All-Star you’ve got a hankering for some Skills Competition.' classic RTS gaming, just head • At 8, NBC has The Olympics. over to EA’s download page and • FOX has a new'Cops' at 8. pick them up. Maybe I’ll see you • HGTV has a new'Divine online.

Design' at 8, followed by new Thanks to Ian for the tip. episodes of'The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie' and'Curb Appeal: The Block.'

• At 9, FOX has a new'America's Most Wanted.' they pledged support for the • BBC America has the premiere country’s crisis-hit government. of'Survivors' at 9.

George Papandreou, Greek • Hallmark has'Elevator Girl' at prime minister, said that, in the 9. eurozone’s first big test, Greece • The Weather Channel has a had become “a laboratory animal new'Weather Proof' at 9. in the battle between Europe and • At 9:45, Disney HD has a new'Kick Buttkowski: Suburban the markets”.

Five Filters featured article: Daredevil.'

Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Greece turns on EU critics (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 2/12/2010 12:50:04 PM

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full -text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Greece on Friday unleashed a fierce attack on its European Union partners, accusing them of creating a “psychology of looming collapse” a day after

51

Indie games bundled on the cheap for V-Day

by Ben Gilbert (Joystiq) Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:30:00 PM

So what if Sophie/Samuel didn't return your request for a weekend getaway to that little bed and breakfast in New Hampshire? Wouldn't you rather spend your weekend falling in love with a handful of indie games -- And Yet it Moves, Auditorium, Aztaka, Eufloria, Machinarium, and Osmos-- from • At 10, CBS has a new'48 an all-star list of developers? We knew you'd see our point!

Hours Mystery.'

• HBO has'Bill Maher ... But I'm Besides, it's only $20 -- that's way less than the price of two Not Wrong' at 10.

• Also at 10: Style has a new nights for two people at The Buttonwood Inn, not to mention episode of'The Dish.' a steal considering each game Check your local TV listings for individually purchased would add up to 85 buckaroos. And more.

Filed under: Programming, hey, now you can spoil yourself What To Watch Tonight, Reality with an extra large box of tissues and a matching ice cream tub.

-Free P e r m a l i n k | E m a i l t h i s | | Indie games bundled on the cheap for V-Day originally Comments appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square: Hands On

by David Klein (TheAppleBlog) Submitted at 2/12/2010 12:50:37 PM

The first guest during Guy Kawasaki’s feature presentation at Macworld was Jack Dorsey, who has recently changed his focus from Twitter to his new startup, Square.

Square’s goal is to allow anyone to easily accept credit card payments on their iPhone or iPod touch using a tiny dongle that fits into the device’s audio input.

Imagine how easy it will be to buy or sell items through Craigslist using a credit card.

What if your friend owes you money but he doesn’t have any cash? Plug in the dongle, which Dorsey claims will be initially free (although I can’t imagine that strategy lasting forever), launch the Square app, swipe

your friend’s credit card, and you’re done.

Dorsey and Square are trying to improve the experience around credit card transactions. Instead of paper receipts, Square users can receive receipts via email.

The image below is an example of one from when I visited Sightclass Coffee, a coffee shop in San Francisco that Dorsey often visits and was even mentioned during Kawasaki’s presentation (their coffee is delicious but the shop is still under construction so there’s nowhere to sit!).

Have you ever seen such a gorgeous receipt? It was immediately emailed to me after I signed using my finger on the iPod touch’s screen. Innovation at its finest. The merchant’s logo, email address, Twitter account, and location are included. Note:

$7.00 for two lattes…

Before today I had several questions about the service.

Fortunately I received some answers: Is Square getting around traditional credit card security?

Square is actually working closely with banks and is in full compliance with all credit card security regulations.

Is the iPhone/iPod touch the only device that can be used with Square?

WWE Will Have Its Own Network Soon

by Brad Trechak (TV Squad)

Or maybe they do and my information is outdated.

This makes sense. WWE owns World Wrestling Entertainment millions of hours of wrestling will soon have their own cable footage from the last six or so network. That's what you do d e c a d e s f r o m t h e v a r i o u s when you own one of the hottest properties it's acquired. They properties on cable television. could have all kinds of wrestling Ask Oprah. Of course, Vince s h o w s o n t h e i r n e t w o r k , McMahon has been wanting this i n c l u d i n g e i t h e r ' R a w ' , since last year. Given their 'Smackdown', WCW, ECW ... dominance of pay-per-view, it's the list goes on. They could even television, they could show surprising that they don't have have retro 80's shows for old reruns of'WWE Tough Enough', their own PPV network as well. fogies like myself. For reality or have new seasons of the show.

Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:00:00 AM

Eventually Channel Drift will kick in and they'll have shows like Doctor Phil but with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Whatever happens, I can rest in the comfort that my cable company will never have this network. It's too good for them.

Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, RealityFree Permalink| Email this| | Comments

The dongle is designed to work with any device that has an audio input jack. That means a lack of software is the problem for now.

Dorsey mentioned Android, Blackberry, and even the Mac as devices that will accept payments in the future.

How difficult is it to sign up for Square?

Go to the website. 10 second process. We’re just waiting for the dongle to become available to those who aren’t lucky enough to be in the beta program.

Below is a picture of Square in action at Sightglass.

Note: The iPod touch’s audio input jack is on the bottom of the device, so the Square dongle is covered by the employee’s fingers.

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Kim Kardashian 'Smallville' - 'Warrior' Becoming a Documentary Recap Filmmaker?

by Brad Trechak (TV Squad) Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:23:00 AM

by Allison Waldman (TV Squad)

(S09E12) Tonight's episode provided a reason towards why Submitted at 2/12/2010 7:08:00 PM Clark eventually puts on the costume. Ironically, it revolves Is there more to Kim Kardashian around George Lucas. than meets the eye? We're about Apparently, despite having to find out. The model who's one superheroes, the'Smallville' of the stars of E! universe has the Metropolis channel's'Keeping Up with the Comic Con (to go along with Kardashians' has always been such ones as the San Diego famous for... being famous.

Comic Con and the New York Now she's stepping behind the Comic Con). The episode takes camera (a bit) as the producer of the opposing opinion of Alan a E! half-hour documentary Moore and Dave Gibbons from called 'The SPINdustry,' their 'Watchmen' comic that a chronicling the world of universe populated with actual entertainment public relations. heroes would lose interest in Yes, that sounds like Bravo's heroic comic books.

'Kel on Earth,' but that's just a big coincidence. The press Huck, who are FOK. Friends of When one thinks about it, the 'Star Wars' references make release actually makes it sound Kim. Get it? like Kim's picking up the camera C o n t i n u e r e a d i n g K i m sense. It was the success of the and shooting footage herself.

K a r d a s h i a n B e c o m i n g a first' Star Wars' movie that led to Kim's involvement as producer D o c u m e n t a r y F i l m m a k e r ? Hollywood's interest in science of 'The SPINdustry' likely has a Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, fiction and fantasy that led to the lot to do with the fact that it's on Documentary, Celebreality E! and the subject of the show is Permalink| Email this| | the launch of a new product by C o m m e n t s Command PR. Comprising Command PR two publicists, Jonathan Cheban and Simon

Reloading! New Left 4 Dead Valentine cards

by Alexander Sliwinski (Joystiq) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:30:00 AM

first 'Superman' movie. Irony of ironies.

Continue reading'Smallville' 'Warrior' Recap Filed under: Smallville, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free Permalink| Email this| | Comments

Ellis: So, this one time, me and my buddy, Keith, we saw these infected Valentine cards on the internet. And Keith was like, "Hey, we could make some money selling those." So he got out his little sister's box of crayons and made a couple.

Then, I was like, "Keith, we ain't gonna make no money selling five cards." So he spent a whole year drawing, like, a thousand cards or something. Then we saw new versions of those cards, like, to download the next year and ...

Rochelle: Ellis, sweetie. Not now.

Ellis: Okay.

[Thanks for the tip, Jesse!]

Source- Valve Valentine 2010 [PDF] Reloading! New Left 4 Dead Valentine cards originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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University of Alabama-Huntsville Shooting Suspect Dr. Amy Bishop: A Politicized, Tragic History Emerges [Shootings]

by Foster Kamer (Gawker) Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:15:00 PM

Yesterday afternoon at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, a suspect was detained on a capital murder charge after a shooting that left three dead and three injured: Dr. Amy Bishop. A portrait of her is emerging. Update: Bishop's violent past.

Our J-School Embed, Gawker contributor Hunter Walker, did some digging around, and found the following on Dr. Amy Bishop: • Bishop's a Harvard-educated biologist who's an assistant professor at UAH. The three dead victims were all working in the Biology department, including the department's chairman. Via the New York Times, Bishop's denial of tenure is what supposedly triggered her violent rampage:"She began to talk about her problems getting tenure in a very forceful and animated way, saying it was unfair," the associate said, referring to a conversation in which she blamed specific colleagues for her problems.

"She seemed to be one of these persons who was just very open with her feelings," he said. "A very smart, intense person who had a variety of opinions on issues."

• Her profile on the university's site shows that she specialized in "Molecular Biology of Oxidative Stress, Neurobiology, Neuroengineering, and Induced Adaptive Resistance." Her most notable achievement in her field was the invention of InQ, a "cell growth incubator," which was assisted by her husband, Jim Anderson. She was profiled by the Huntsville Times in 2006, to whom she boasted that her colleagues think the InQ will "change the face of tissue culture."

• Whether or not it did is far less notable than the fact, that, as the teacher of "Anatomy and Physiology," she wasn't necessarily notable.

• Walker checked out her Rate My Professors profile, and found t h e f o l l o w i n g : RateMyProfessors.com has 34 reviews of Bishop's class dating back to April, 2004. On a scale of one to five, Bishop received ratings of 2.3 for "average easiness," 3.7 for "average helpfulness," 3.4 for "average clarity," and a "hotness total" of 0. Her "overall quality" was a 3.6. None of the postings describe Bishop as the kind of angry or mean person from whom we might have expected some sort of violent outburst.

Several of the online reviews of her class say Bishop was "fair," however not all of her students

seem to have enjoyed her class.

Multiple reviewers described Bishop as "brilliant" a smart teacher, who was eager to help out with extra study sessions, and taught an excellent class.

There are also several reviews indicating that she is a "boring" teacher who "reads straight from the book" and "highlight[s] the book word for word."

• Even more, Walker notes that she might have been a "fish out of water" on the UAH campus given her Ivy-League roots and her fairly liberal ideologies.

More from her students: After classes ended last spring, a RateMyProfessors.com user said Bishop "is hot but she tries to hide it.And she is a socalist but she only talks about it after class." In 2008, someone described her on the site by saying: "she's a liberal from ‘Hahvahd' and let's you know exactly how she feels about particular subjects."

• Finally, Walker found that she was a member of the "Clergy Letter Project," which is devoted to connecting scientists with clergy members who "have questions about the science associated with all aspects of evolution."

For what it's worth, Walker also recorded her outgoing voicemail message. Meanwhile, over at Media Elites, Steve Huff found

that right-wing groups have already jumped on Bishop and her husband—who has also been detained, but not charged—and are using political views as put on display by Rate My Professors to fuel their rhetoric.

Huff notes: Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, pointed this RateMyProfessors comment out and it was immediately picked up by other historically conservative bloggers. Because you know all the comments on "Rate My Professor" are true and valid reflections of a teacher's personality, style and ability to do their job and not student perceptions and biases, right?

Huff also dug up a complaint to the FTC by Bishop's husband, which ends: "By the people … for the people …" not "Buy the people … for the Corporations …"

Does a liberal ideology, an Ivy League education, and a husband who writes letters to the FTC make a rage-prone shooter? Not necessarily, but as we've learned, ideological extremities almost always definitely do. The extent of Bishop's politics, ideas behind them, and the lifestyle to which Bishop and her husband inhibited them have yet to be fully fleshed out, but one thing—as each instance of

breaking violence of this stripe happens proves without fail—is for sure: the pictures that can come together from aggregated information is hitting people faster and is colored deeper than each time before it, every time, as are the assumptions and projections they yield.

Update: Whether or not certain political ideologies are factors in determining any remote possibility of Bishop being a violent person probably now look a little different in light of the fact that she fatally shot her brother in 1986. Via the Boston Globe: Amy Bishop had shot her 18year-old brother, Seth M. Bishop, an accomplished violinist who had won a number of science awards. John Polio, chief of police at the time, said Amy Bishop, who was 20 at the time, had asked her mother, Judith, in the presence of her brother how to unload a round from the chamber of a 12-gauge shotgun.

Polio told the Globe that while Amy Bishop was handling the weapon, it fired, wounding Seth Bishop in the abdomen. He was pronounced dead at a hospital 46 minutes after the Dec. 6, 1986 shooting. "Every indication at this point in time leads us to believe it was an accidental shooting," Polio said at the time.

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The Brangelina Tree of Triumph: Shrubbery at its Finest [Gossip Roundup]

by Foster Kamer (Gawker) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:30:00 AM

Brangelina's Tree of Triumph.

Tila Tequila's new "head" problems. Carnie Wilson: still fat. Fashion week: still sucks.

John Mayer: still accused of being a racist. A nekkied Snooki picture. A point for Axl Rose.

Presenting your Saturday Morning Gossip Roundup: • Angelina Jolie bought Brad an $18,500 tree for Valentine's Day. Now, you're probably asking yourself: what kind of "tree" costs $18,500 that anybody would want to have in their backyard? Possibilities:(A) A California Redwood.(B) The Na'vi Headquarters of the Dicktail Tribe.(C) A harvestprimed hydroponic transplant of California's finest Sour Diesel Orange Crush Kush.(D) A 200 year-old olive tree. If you guessed A, B, or C, you're wrong. Because Angelina Jolie sucks. You know what Jennifer Aniston would buy him? Yeah, the weed. Just so you know.

Which you now do. [ NYDN] • So, wait, the breaking point is now an appearance on that ridiculous Dr. Oz show to convince Carnie Wilson she can afford to drop a few? The Power of Oprah-Designation, everyone. you know it's time to head to the [ NYDN] • When the Hamptons have North Fork? [ Page Six] become too lame for Billy Joel, • Wow. Jason the White Power

Ranger wants to kick Jean Claude Van Damme's ass. Who are we to stop him? [ TMZ]

should, but honestly, I've only known one good market editor, and he was fired for being good at his job, and replaced with an asshole. Fashion people aren't really so bad, it's the fashion press people (and publicists, lord knows) who are just the worst: they're a bunch of professional succubi who think the fact that they work in "fashion"—which has now become dependent on designers getting deals with H & M and Target to maintain their ability to throw stupid shit like Fashion Week—gives them the right to be insufferable, whiny assholes with mammoth power insecurity complexes of extraordinary proportions.

Anyway. Fashion press people are so desperate they put up with the Kardashians. Here's an item about them supposedly doing something about Haiti. [ Page Six] • Tila Tequila was rushed to the hospital because she "dented" her head. If you didn't think she could get any stupider, on, like, nine levels: you were wrong. [ TMZ] • It's like the A-Team meets Zoolander: Naomi Campbell's bringing in her Super Beautiful Rescue Squad to raise relief money for Haiti. Please, for the love of god, keep the relief • God, I hate Fashion Week. efforts confined within domestic Fashion Week makes me hate BRANGELINA page 58 Fashion People more than I

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The Fiercest, Fabulousest, Glitteriest Olympian Johnny Weir's Battle Against "Crazy Fur People" [Fabulouslness]

by Foster Kamer (Gawker)

you trust? Weir's actually switched to faux before after Submitted at 2/13/2010 3:00:00 PM receiving death threats and the ...has produced the best wire like, but never renounced the report maybe ever. Johnny Weir Real McCoy, and now appears to has to stay in the Olympic have crossed the threshold again.

Village with all the funky This man's safety must be Eastern Europeans and people protected. w h o d o n ' t s p e a k a w e s o m e "I decided to stay in the village because he is being threatened by and my team has made it as fur activists for being fierce. comfortable as possible. I don't Johnny Weir is terrified of the want any outside influences to same passionate furpeople who hurt my chances here. Even like to throw paint on catwalks t h o u g h I ' m n o t a l w a y s and pie Michael Kors because c o m f o r t a b l e r o o m i n g w i t h Canada's full of crazies who s o m e b o d y o r b e i n g i n a show up to the Olympics that c o m m u n a l v i l l a g e s o r t o f might wild out or something and situation, it's what I've got to who definitely send him crazy deal with." The American figure angry letters. Vogued Weir: skater had talked about staying in All these crazy fur people a hotel because he didn't enjoy definitely changed my mind. his experience in the Olympic Security wise, staying in a hotel village four years ago. would be very difficult," Weir Your passe, pedestrian, protie told reporters after turning up for Olympic Villages simply aren't a n 0 8 0 0 n e w s c o n f e r e n c e fab enough for Johnny Weir, sporting a striking red and white bottom line. So instead Johnny silk scarf looped around his neck Weir is rooming with Olympic and with his nails manicured.

Ice Dancer Tanith Belbin, who That's an actual quote, with will help Weir do Weir things, actual context ("a striking red like, I don't know, eat brunch? and white silk scarf," Reuters?), H e ' s a l s o s p r u c e d u p h i s from a wire report. And if you previously underwhelming pad: can't trust an Olympian whose The self-styled diva makes no style icons include Dr. Frank N. secret of liking his own space Furter and Liberace, who can and creature comforts but for the

Johnny. But all of this begs the question: What the fuck is the big deal on either side that this warrants death threats and/or standing your ground like Weir?

Weir notes that fur activists find the Olympics prime time to get their cause out in the spotlight, and are capitalizing on Weir for their cause.

Well, yes. Exactly.

But on the other hand, Weir's got a significant bone to pick, and we're not talking about Lady Gaga's penis: "There are humans dying everyday. There are thousands if not millions of homeless people in New York City. Look at what just happened in Haiti. I tend to focus my energy, if there is a second Winter Games in cause, on humans. While that succession, he has been forced to may be callous and bad of me, "rough it" — albeit in a room lit it's my choice." with scented candles and Well, yes. Exactly. No, Johnny. decorated with pink bath mats.

They can't read your Poker Face.

Also, via the AP, this: Tell 'em, girl. Requisite video of Weir is sharing a room with Johnny Walker/Lady Gaga American ice dancer Tanith fabulousness in action: Belbin, which will feature "our How can you not like this icon," Lady Gaga, on the wall. person?

"She needs to be there watching Previously: That Dude Geigh? over us, protecting us," Weir said.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Penis will indeed protect you,

Fall 2010 Model Hot Seat: Anastasija Kondratjeva

by ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:10:22 AM

Spotted at: Preen Hometown: Riga, Latvia Age: 17 Fresh-Faced Secret:“I always wash off my makeup with makeup remover before I go to sleep. Then I use Chanel cleansing milk and moisturize with a cream from La RochePosay.”

Hair Saver:“I use Frédéric Fekkai’s conditioner and shampoo for dry hair. I don’t use conditioning masks, just regular conditioner.”

Fashion Week Must-Have:“Eye cream. I use the one from Nars.

Because of all the eye makeup I wear during the day, I need it. I also need my Blackberry so that I can play games while getting my hair done backstage.”

Favorite Part About Fashion Week:“I love the shows. I feel so much positive energy when I walk on the runway.”

Post-Fashion Week Plans:“I’m just going to relax—I’m going to go home and take one day off to sleep.”

Follow ELLE on Twitter Become our Facebook fan

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The Week It Snowed [Week In Review]

by Pareene (Gawker) Submitted at 2/12/2010 6:55:28 PM

This week was the usual mix of death, TV, weather, and tax evasion. Plus, the governor didn't resign! Let's relive it together.

Imperialist Nial Ferguson shacked up with infidel filmmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The New Orleans Saints had the power of Voodoo on their side.

Steve Jobs angrily broke an iPad over the head of a Wall Street Journal editor, because said editor Tweeted about Tweeting on an iPad, a useless product that Steve Jobs is attempting to convince people to purchase.

Richard tried to help the forgotten actors of our distant past. Brian hated on Valentine's Day haters.(And then we solicited your worst Valentine's stories.) Hamilton examined celebrated advertainment.

We met Yale's pretty, pretty princesses. And America's newest annoying college protesters: old white guys in Tricorner hats! Jay Leno explained the bizarre series of events that led to his participation in an actually funny joke. Then The Jay Leno Show

died.

The New York Times mostemailed list was explained, with science. The Prop 8 lawsuit judge is apparently gay, which should not actually matter, but you know how people are.

(People are terrible.)

Don't ruin your perfect trend story! Also don't take pictures are your stripper party if you don't want people to see them.

It's the '90s, Google, come on.

ChatRoulette kind of broke us.

Just like Goldman Sachs broke the country while adding to their townhouses. Meanwhile YouTube is still a window into the rot at the heart of the American Dream.

Sarah Palin will never be president, but she has an outside shot at a nomination. If that makes you sad for America, try thinking about how wonderful Betty White is, instead. Do not

think of the severely disturbed Washington Press Corps.

Real Housewives ladies need to keep their husbands busy. Idiotic trend pieces keep us busy debunking them. Luke Russert keeps busy wasting everyone's time. Then it snowed.

We toured John Edwards' new love den. We asked everyone to stop polling people about Sarah Palin. What the world needs more of is Betty White's breasts.

Coalition forces launch Taliban offensive (Financial Times - US homepage) Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:23:35 AM

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-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Some 15,000 US, Nato and Afghan forces launched a long awaited offensive against the Taliban’s biggest remaining

stronghold in Afghanistan late on Friday night.

A Nato official in Kabul confirmed the attack on the town of Marjah, the first large scale offensive since President Barack

Obama approved a 30,000-strong troop surge to the country.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Tina Brown runs a website in the most hilarious fashion possible. A Radio Shack blew up. Marc Jacobs is married and has a penis. Cornell was attacked by hippies. Lindsay Lohan lost a job. Financial reporters live in fear.

Alexander McQueen killed himself. There were tributes.

Someone fell down a hole in Anderson Cooper's house.

Does Harold Ford pay New York taxes? No. He does not.

But what the hell does he care, he's going to Bermuda!

As of Monday, David Paterson had not yet resigned, and we still didn't know what was in the supposed New York Times article that still hadn't run. We were so innocent, then! After that, Paterson went on Larry King.

On TV, this week: Big Love, RuPaul's Drag Race, Kell on Earth, The Real World, Project Runway(with finale show spoilers!), Real Housewives of Orange County, and American Idol.( Group night!)

We are kind of excited for the Winter Olympics!

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soil, though. Haitians have enough to sort through right now without having to work around Campbell's preferred management style of FREF.O.T.S. ("Freaking the Fuck Out and Throwing Shit"). [ Page Six] • If you want to see Snooki kinda naked, here. If—like me—you're brain damaged enough to know what I'm talking about when I say "Snooki," you can't be any more hurt by this.

But you will be surprised at how dark that tan is. Dear lord. I'm surprised all that Hawaiian Tropic hasn't had some kind of embalming effect on her organs.

Poor thing. Poor, poor thing. [ HuffPo] • Again, only during Fashion Week can Axl Rose look like a decent guy for being his typical asshole self. God bless 'im. [ Page Six] • Madonna's going to appear on some show Jerry Seinfeld created about warring married couples. This is funny because Madonna sucks at marriage, I guess. [ People] • Holly Robinson Peete, who John Mayer called "gorgeous" in his now-infamous Playboy

interview, doesn't think Mayer's apology was sufficient, and was "disgusted and offended" by what Mayer said. Listen, people.

People, people, people, and daughters, and daughters of daughters: this is the man who wrote "Your Body Is a Wonderland," not "Your Body Is a Wonderland (of Aryan Pride)."

John Mayer said some dumbassed shit, but John Mayer isn't a racist. You're a bigger dumbass than John Mayer if you think so. [ People] • Dolly Parton was sad over not having kids. Instead she had Dollywood. Not really, but still, Dollywood is, from what I hear, a pretty decent experience. [ NYDN] • That Jewish kid from Maroon 5 gets more hot ass than the LTrain in July. Damn. Note to self: Learn how to warble. [ Page Six] • Jennifer Garner thinks guys need to be smart about what they choose to do with their ladies for Valentine's Day, and don't need money to impress a date. One thrifty idea: don't spend your money seeing any recent Jennifer Garner movies. That said, that's really (A) no fault of her own,

and (B) she is a pretty likable person, no? [ People] • The guy who had sex with Stiffler's mom who's now in some HBO show that prolly sucks was at Meatpacking District club SL which is attached to Abe & Arthur's which a friend of mine tried to masturbate in. Also, they've got pretty decent food. And now you know! [ Page Six]

Source: Cleveland Cavaliers not alone in bid for Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire

by ESPN.com news services (ESPN.com) Submitted at 2/13/2010 9:54:26 AM

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The Cavaliers have been in So! How 'bout those crafty t o u c h f o r w e e k s w i t h t h e Jewish kids? Good on 'em. Phoenix Suns about a possible Here's this. And off we go! deal that would bring Amare Happy weekend, hope you all Stoudemire to Cleveland, but have plans for tomorrow lest several other teams' chances of y o u r H a l l m a r k - H o l i d a y - landing the five-time All-Star Obsessed loved ones freaks out forward are just as good, a on you. Time to get it together! person close to the talks told This weekend's for lovers, not ESPN The Magazine's Chris for fighters. And sometimes, Broussard on Saturday. love is pain! Other times, it's Phoenix is seeking legitimate awesome. And sometimes, it's talent in return for Stoudemire just the guy from Maroon 5's and won't trade him strictly as a presumably big dick, I guess. means for dumping salary, the L'chayim? source told Broussard. [ Photo via Getty Images] The Suns aren't totally committed to trading Stoudemire, and he could easily remain with them past the Feb.

18 trade deadline.

In fact, the Suns are insisting they get back a young player and a first-round pick in any deal for Stoudemire, so Cavaliers power forward J.J. Hickson would almost certainly have to be part of the deal, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported Friday that the Cavaliers were in negotiations to acquire Stoudemire, citing multiple league sources.

The report confirmed a Friday afternoon meeting between Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and Suns GM Steve Kerr in Dallas.

Stoudemire is averaging 21.2 points and 8.6 rebounds on the season for the 31-22 Suns.

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Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Diary (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 2/12/2010 5:08:47 PM

Associated Press A snowboarder sails through the Olympic rings during tonight’s opening ceremony in Vancouver.

The Journal provides minute-byminute analysis of tonight’s opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Journal staffers will be at BC Place to offer commentary, while Speakeasy editor Christopher Farley and Fixer emeritus Jason Gay add their thoughts.

8:08 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Weâre inside Vancouverâs BC Place stadium arena for this live blog of the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

On this day set aside for celebration, a pall has been cast on the proceedings by the death earlier today of Nodar Kumaritashvili, an athlete from the Republic of Georgia.

Yet the crowds -â many decked out in Canadian team gear -â seem in high spirits as they flood into the arena. This is the firstever indoor opening ceremony for the Games. So far, Vancouver appears to be overcompensating for its lack of frost, with giant faux icicles, a dusting of fake snow on the main floor, and a turquoise blue shade to almost everything else.

Organizers say 3.5 billion people are likely to watch tonight.

Some questions weâll be waiting to discover answers to tonight: Will the show change to include

a memorial to the fallen Georgian? Will Wayne Gretzky light the cauldron? What role will Canadaâs first-nations people play in the show? How many Canadian stereotypes will we revisit? And will we be able to get through the night without having to listen to Celine Dion?

8:12 pm | by Ian Johnson It's an hour before the opening and the crowd is sparse -- only about half the seats are filled now. The crowd is being entertained by a weathercaster and entertainer. The feeling is uncharacteristicly selfcongratulatory. One of the hosts, Ben Mulroney, said it's the the third time "this great nation" has hosted the Olympics.

8:15 pm | by Phred Dvorak The pre ceremony starts, with

instructions to the audience. As always in Canada, all explanations are in English and French.

"This is a reintroduction of Canada to the world," says Mulroney, as he urges everyone to wave props at the right time.

8:17 pm | by Phred Dvorak Props in the audience kit include a Canadian flag, a big plastic stick that looks like a enlarged cocktail stirrer, a big paper poncho and a flashlight for creating Northern Lights.

8:34 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Instructions continue for the audience in how to use its box of lights, drums and other tools during tonightâs show. Now weâre testing a sea of (batterypowered) candles. Volunteers mixed in the audience wearing

white jackets and oversized red toques (Canadian for winter hat) are lending a hand.

8:47 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler With 10 minutes to go, the crowd is getting lively. Camera flashes are going off across the stadium like twinkling stars.

8:49 pm | by Phred Dvorak The audience is exhorted to wear their ponchos. It creates a sea of white, reminiscent of the snow that's been so absent.

Except that in this light it looks acquamarine.

8:51 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler So close to the countdown, there are still curious chunks of the audience missing (beyond where the athletes will sit). The preshow hosts just asked audience members to fill in their late neighbors on how to

participate with the drums, flags and lights.

8:59 pm | by Christopher Farley They're showing the video for the re-make of "We Are The World."

It's great they made this remake to benefit Haiti. But the star power isn't as great as the original.

9:01 pm | by Ian Johnson Two minute warning. The seats are filled, people clothed in white. The white spot lights make it feel wintry and chilly -so unlike outside.

9:01 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Annoucer says that tonight's ceremony is dedicated to the memory of the Georgian luger who died. Now the countdown WINTER page 60

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WINTER continued from page 59

begins.

9:02 pm | by Christopher Farley Finally, we begin.

9:03 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler The post-coundown images of Canada look almost computer generated. Are they? Beijing got in trouble for using computer generated fireworks during its countdown.

9:04 pm | by Christopher Farley Beijing set a high bar for opening ceremonies.

9:05 pm | by Phred Dvorak A snowboarder slides into the stadium on fake snow. Just like they'll have to at Cypress Mountain.

9:06 pm | by Ian Johnson Confounding skeptics that it couldn't be done in a closed stadium, a snowboarder glides down a ramp from the rafters, jumps the rings and enters the stadium.

9:06 pm | by Ian Johnson Enter the bureaucrats: IOC President Jacques Rogge and Canadian functionaries.

9:08 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Rogge and the other dignitaries seems to be sitting in a kind of ice palace. Stand for God Save The Queen!

9:09 pm | by Ian Johnson The national anthem is being played--a source of controversy.

It's a slightly punchier, orchestrated take on "O, Canada." Radio talk shows this morning were debating the merits of changing the anthem.

Most seemed to think it was okay to change the traditions a

bit in the name of artistry.

9:09 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler The Mounties are carrying the Canadian flag. Shouldn't they be ... mounted?

9:10 pm | by Phred Dvorak In the center Michaelle Jean, the governor-general of Canada and representative of the Queen. She gained notoriety last spring for eating raw seal in Nunavut, then again in the fall for saying she was head of government.

9:12 pm | by Ian Johnson The anthem has been transformed into a soft, Vangelis -style song with a breathy singer named Nikki Yanofsky giving it a slightly lovey-dovey feel that breaks into a soul version. Not sure what Dudley Do-Right would say.

9:12 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Even though we're indoors, they've added a wind machine to the flag pole to make the Canadian flag flap proudly. The woman singing the anthem isn't Celine Dion, but she's trying to sound like her.

9:17 pm | by Ian Johnson Now four giant totem poles rise from the ground. Each of the poles has members of the four host First Nations -- the peoples who lived in this part of the world before European settlers pushed many of them to the fringes of society.

9:18 pm | by Phred Dvorak Now the part where representatives of the four host First Nations welcome everyone.

It's their land the Olympics are

being held on. As each speaker speaks, the arms of those eerie looking giant statues raise. Kinda spooky.

9:19 pm | by Reed Albergotti The Canadians are honoring their Native American citizens with Mike "The Situation" from the show "Jersey Shore" who is donning native garb. He is everywhere these days.

9:19 pm | by Christopher Farley Alanis Morissette is an American citizen now, and sang at the World Series. But I would liked to have heard her sing the Canadian National Anthem.

9:25 pm | by Ian Johnson The emphasis on aboriginal culture is a change for Canada, which has touted its success in integrating immigrants from the four corners of the world but until relatively recently stayed silent on the plight of native peoples. Purists might argue that tonight's show is a bit kitschy -some sort of drum-track ethno pop -- but at least it recognizes that the games are held on land forcibly taken from others.

9:25 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler As members of Canada's First Nation tribe enter, I'm reminded of the opening ceremony in Beijing, where children representing China's ethnic minorities were welcomed -though we learned after the fact that some of the children weren't actually from the groups they purported to represent. At least here, we hope they're authentic representatives.

9:26 pm | by Christopher Farley The inclusion of aboriginal people in the opening ceremonies has certainly helped broaden the cultural canvas of these games. I wonder if this is something that Olympic organizers will copy for the next time the games are held in the U.S.?

9:26 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler The parade of nations begins, as always, with Greece. The introductory portion of the show was much shorter here than in Beijing, which didn't bring in the athletes until around the halfway point.

9:29 pm | by Phred Dvorak And an emailed comment from Drew Hayden Taylor, an Ojibway author-comedian who's watching the ceremony from a friends house on a reserve in Ontario: "Truly amazing that we Native people get acknowledged right off the bat. A truly amazing opening.Ă‚ Though I find it odd the four local chiefs that were given dignitary status were late for the opening. I guess its what you call being on "Indian time...A truly awesome beginning."

"All that was missing was a game of bingo (Native joke).''

9:30 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler In a quote released by the Olympic News Service, American cross-country skier Kikkan Randall said she felt "hot right now, I'm wearing all these clothes." Blame Ralph Lauren --

he outfitted the team.

9:30 pm | by Reed Albergotti So far, the Australians get the biggest cheers. They have also purchased the majority of the beer here tonight.

9:31 pm | by Christopher Farley The announcers just said that no South American country has ever won a medal at the Winter Olympics, which I guess I shouldn't find shocking, but I do.

9:31 pm | by Ian Johnson Listening to the list of countries entering -- Algeria, Angola and Australia, for example -- is a reminder of how the natural conditions for winter sports are really not that common in most parts of the world. Most of the athletes from these smaller countries are probably living abroad and have the chance to practice winter sports, but some are probably backed by national sports machines, eager for glory no matter how cut off the sport is from their countries' natural conditions.

9:33 pm | by Ian Johnson The Chinese team's entry shows the awesome power of its sports machine. It has 90 athletes competing in 60% of the events.

China competed for the first time in a Winter Games in 1980 and won its first medals -- two silvers in speed skating -- in 1992. Its gold breakthrough took places in 2002, with two golds in speed skating. This in a country (according to official figures) WINTER page 61

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wih just 30 regulation-sized skating rinks. And now it hopes to rise up the medal table, with free-style skiing, curling and snowboarding are among its gold hopes.

Is it the most efficient sport machine since East Germany?

9:34 pm | by Phred Dvorak Some countries not bringing teams to these games: Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam...

9:34 pm | by Reed Albergotti The Chinese team looks completely CGI. No way they're real.

9:37 pm | by Phred Dvorak Another astute observation from Drew: "Do you realize those those Native dancers will have to continue dancing for this entire entrance... for a good hour at least. All that leather and feather will no doubt begin to droop."

9:38 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Eagle-eyed viewers: Are some athletes wearing black arm bands? The Georgian sports minister earlier today said that his contingent would wear black.

9:39 pm | by Ian Johnson The Finns enter wearing coats that look like snow camouflage - given the quasi-militaristic nature of some of the disciplines , not a bad choice.

9:39 pm | by Reed Albergotti Finland brought its entire country, and just like in Torino, they didn't even bring a bottle of wine.

9:40 pm | by Ian Johnson Big hand for Georgia. People on

their feet in honor of the dead luger. A truly spontaneous, Olympic-spirited moment.

9:42 pm | by Ian Johnson The Georgian members are subdued, sad looking. No wonder.

9:42 pm | by Reed Albergotti The Native dancers are starting to slow down now. Thank god, I bet the the under on how long they could go. The ones who are still dancing with all that stuff on should be tested for EPO. 9:43 pm | by Ian Johnson The Germans -- no team has won more gold in the winter games. One of the largest contingents. The outfits are turquoise, pink and yellow -meant to show a kinder, cuddlier side of the sporting giant?

9:43 pm | by Christopher Farley Watching the team from Georgia walk in is a sad moment.

But it seems in keeping with the Olympic spirit that they decided to march.

9:44 pm | by Phred Dvorak From Drew: "Geez, if all those native people would stop dancing, maybe it would stop raining there... of course I can say this, being native.''

9:45 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Hong Kong's delegation has just four people -- but figure skating is surprisingly popular in the sub -tropical city's malls.

9:45 pm | by Christopher Farley Icepartners.com, after getting a shout-out from NBC's announcers, is likely to get more

traffic.

9:50 pm | by Christopher Farley How could it be that Iceland has never won an Olympic winter medal? That may be one of the more interesting bits of trivia to come out of the parade of nations.

9:51 pm | by Phred Dvorak More from Drew. What exactly is up with those people in white?

"So far, it all looks great. speaking as a theatre person, the costumes and production values are amazing, except for those guys in white that are lining the path, and they occasionally break out into what looks like bad disco dancing."

9:52 pm | by Reed Albergotti Can't wait for the United Arab Emirates team to come out. Best.

Indoor. Ski team. Ever.

9:52 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Jamaica has only four athletes walking, but they get a big cheer from the crowd.

9:53 pm | by Phred Dvorak Japan enters. The big focus there is on figure skating -- especially the women's competition. A TV crew from Tokyo was running around the other day asking a bunch of Western journalists (who only care about hockey) who they thought would win the gold.

9:54 pm | by Reed Albergotti Team Kazakhstan comes out.

This is perfect weather for one of those neon green mankinis they all love so much.

9:54 pm | by Phred Dvorak Been watching all this time and

can't tell whether the palms of those huge statues are up in welcome, or down, like zombies...

9:55 pm | by Reed Albergotti Jamaica just got a cheer because Canadian John Candy played their bobsledding coach in that movie.

9:55 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Yu-na Kim from South Korea, the famed figure skater, wasnât expected to join tonightâs parade of nations. She probably didnât want to deal with the media overload.

9:56 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Are we there yet? Time for a stretch.

9:58 pm | by Reed Albergotti Liechtenstein averages three Olympic athletes per square foot.

9:58 pm | by Christopher Farley Bummer that the Jamaican bobsled team didn't qualify for this year's Olympics. Given the Jamaican sprint team's dominance in the summer Olympics, the country certainly has the speed. In fact, the country has a culture of speed, and now expects to win the short races on the track. Perhaps after Usain Bolt retires from sprinting, he can focus on the bobsled. As a Jamaican, I can only hope.

9:59 pm | by Phred Dvorak Drew: "I still love the irony of (McDonald's) sponsoring a lot of these athelets... much like (Israel) following Iran, I love the sense of irony that occasionally pops up in these games.''

10:01 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler

Here comes Nepal. Now thereâs a country that should know how to ski. Even their flag is shaped like mountains.

10:01 pm | by Phred Dvorak Plenty cold in Mongolia and Nepal. But such small teams...

10:04 pm | by Ian Johnson Roar from the crowd for the Russians. In ice hockey, it's door-die when the Canucks taken on the Russians, but there's grudging respect -- and a lot of immigrants from the only other country larger in size than Canada.

10:06 pm | by Ian Johnson I wonder if Al Gore is going to show up -- with all the rain and warm weather, this is a perfect stage for him to sell his book.

Maybe an Olympic sequel: An Unpleasant Oylmpics.

10:06 pm | by Reed Albergotti Russian hockey player Alex Ovechkin just drove in on a Mercedes and is doing doughnuts in the fake snow.

Sidney Crosby is shaking his fist.

10:10 pm | by Ian Johnson Hockey star Peter Forsberg carries Sweden's flag. He's been fighting a foot injury for three years and dramatically announced he'd participate in Vancouver, giving a boost to the defending gold-medal champs.

10:10 pm | by Phred Dvorak Pretty big cheer for Sweden.

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skating powers?

10:11 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Carrying the flag for Switzerland is famous figure skater Stephane Lambiel. He won the silver in 2006, and came out of retirement to participate in Vancouver.

10:13 pm | by Reed Albergotti Swiss team just walked out. I can only dream about the multitools those guys are packing under those poofy jackets.

10:13 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Huge cheer for the U.S. team even before it is announced.

10:14 pm | by Ian Johnson Americans enter to a roar.

Buses, trains and planes have been full heading north to Vancouver for today.

10:15 pm | by Ian Johnson Roof blows off with the Canadian team's entry. Crowd awakes from its torpor. It's showtime.

10:16 pm | by Phred Dvorak No question who the home crowd is cheering for here.

Deafening as Canada comes in.

10:16 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Canadian flags are flying all over the arena, including some that stretch across a whole row of people.

10:17 pm | by Phred Dvorak It's a sea of toques!

10:18 pm | by Ian Johnson Canadian team: Can you spot the curlers? They're the ones drinking beer and wearing Rockports.

But seriously folks, they ARE athletes. Skipper Kevin Martin

says he goes to the gym almost daily. Might be the gym's sauna, but he's sweating for gold.

And with this series of gratuitous insults, we promise all curling readers an end to snide curling comments.

10:19 pm | by Reed Albergotti Is that Don Cherry wearing a Mountie outfit?

10:21 pm | by Phred Dvorak More from Drew as the camera zooms in on Canadian dignitaries: "Looking at the VIP box, its not surprising that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has his back to the the native people -- the four local chiefs! A little political commentary from the Curve Lake First nation.''

10:21 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler What is that fake snow made of?

More than 2000 people have walked across it, and it still looks fresh.

10:23 pm | by Phred Dvorak All the teams are in. And the winners are.... the First Nations dancers! Amazing stamina!

10:23 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Nelly Furtado comes out as Canadian tonight.

10:25 pm | by Ian Johnson Bryan Adam enters. Does anyone remember the first South Park movie when the Canadian ambassador says "now now, the Canadian people have long since apologized for Bryan Adams."

Or was it Anne Murray?

Anyway, Neil Young might have been better or William Shatner.

(Remember his immortal version

of "Rocket Man"? For selfflagellators, it's viewable here.)

10:26 pm | by Phred Dvorak From Drew: "How unusual...

Nelly and Bryan singing away, completely surrounded by a hundred native people... I wonder if they were expecting this. It looks great but very different.''

10:26 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler I wouldn't normally think of Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado as a good match for a duet.

Maybe I still wouldn't.

10:27 pm | by Phred Dvorak It's so loud in here, how could anyone tell?

10:28 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Whoa, I hope one of those falling poles doesnât land on Nelly. Sheâs a national treasure.

10:28 pm | by Reed Albergotti Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams dancing -- even more awkward than my sixth-grade cotillion.

10:29 pm | by Phred Dvorak Drew again. I still don't know whether the palms were up or down. Did they have thumbs?

"Early on, it was stated that for those big totem poles, if the arms are down, don't come in. But if they are up, welcome. I think I just saw the arms on the four giant psuedo totem poles go down, I guess that means everybody get out.''

10:30 pm | by Reed Albergotti Nelly Furtado and Bryan Adams just fell through the ice. That sort of thing happens up here, eh?

10:31 pm | by Ian Johnson A strange eerie voice is reading

poetry now. Who else but Donald Sutherland. Snow falls.

A man enters through the lights....is it Sutherland with a pickaxe? We're now in Disney's Haunted Mansion.

10:31 pm | by Phred Dvorak People in white, looking lost on the white ground. O Canada.

10:32 pm | by Reed Albergotti Even if the details of this show had leaked, who would have believed it? How the heck did they get Donald Sutherland?

10:32 pm | by Phred Dvorak "I came to Canada as a refugee.

Canada is a refuge still" says Sutherland. Canada takes in around 1% of its population every year as immigrants. The only country not to slow immigration during the downturn (they say.)

10:33 pm | by Reed Albergotti Now, a scene from the movie Avatar.

10:34 pm | by Ian Johnson Actually it's a somewhat interesting creation myth. The snow, the poetry: it's a story of how the first peoples came here, through the snow. They gather together, a shaman-type figure calls forth the earth's energy and we see in the air the spirits of bears, bisons and wolves -sacred to the native people.

10:35 pm | by Phred Dvorak Northern lights, starry skies. A giant polar bear emerging from the floor. The Vancouver organizers came under criticism for playing up northern stereotypes at a show to

introduce Vancouver's games in Turin. Doesn't seem to have crimped their style⦠10:36 pm | by Ian Johnson A giant bear appears, left over from the Richmond Mall's Christmas decorations? No, it's nice and tells a sweet, respectful story -- on a budget. Hey, they don't have a billion to toss around like the Mandarins in Beijing (and if the local politicians had tried it, they would have been voted out). It's a flavor of the London games in 2012: spectacle on a budget. Get used to it.

10:37 pm | by Phred Dvorak From Drew, a much better explanation: "Amazing stuff. Who ever did this really did their research. I know some first nations have some issues with the Olympics, but I sense nothing but respect.

And look at that spirit bear... this is taking my breath away, all the way out here in Curve Lake.''

10:37 pm | by Ian Johnson Now a whale breaks through the floor. Cool. But when does Wayne Gretzky and the flame arrive? The natives are getting restless.

10:39 pm | by Phred Dvorak Drew on the Canadian TV commentary, which we can't hear in the stadium: "Unfortunately the commentators are being a little broad regarding the native people when talking about them. They just said WINTER page 63

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someting about "Native people regard the bear as ...", but at time of contact, there were over 50 separate languages and dialects spoken, so there is no one "native people", any more then there are just one type of european persepctive.''

10:40 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Sarah McLachlan, at a piano, wins the award for the best song of the night, so far.

10:41 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler There are people dancing around the trees in the faux-snow. It looks nice, but I can창t help but feel they ought to be skating.

10:42 pm | by Reed Albergotti If you're wondering why Gretzky hasn't shown up, he was traded to the Sochi Olympics.

10:44 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler And we have flying!

10:45 pm | by Ian Johnson Now Elgar's "Enigma Variations," provide a haunting backdrop to the dancers ascending to the sky, the moon rises and...still no Wayne Gretzky.

10:45 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Wait, where did those flying people go? Are they going to come back?

10:46 pm | by Phred Dvorak Drew: "Somebody really earned their per diem with tonight's light show. That's for sure...''

10:47 pm | by Phred Dvorak Haven't the quotations so far been from native authors? Nice touch.

10:48 pm | by Reed Albergotti It's fall inside the arena, with

maple leaves falling. Too bad outside the arena, it's early spring.

10:50 pm | by Ian Johnson Two violinists symbolize the French and British settlers, albeit with an electric twist. The dancers break into Celtic dance.

Gretzky is closer, we can feel it.

10:51 pm | by Phred Dvorak Which is which, Ian? 10:52 pm | by Ian Johnson The ethnicity of the music changes along with the country's immigration patterns. Now more Slavic dancing, bring us up to a man of Slavic descent...Wayne Gretzky. (not yet, but sooooon)...

10:52 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Celtic punk tap-dancing. Now that says Vancouver.

10:53 pm | by Reed Albergotti Janet Jones auditioned for the role of Celtic dancer #123, but never got a callback.

10:53 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler If we're going by wave of ethnicity, I hope the Chinese come in soon. Vancouver is more than 30% Asian.

10:54 pm | by Phred Dvorak AND we're coming up on Chinese New Year!

10:58 pm | by Phred Dvorak Now we've moved to from the east to the middle grasslands of Canada.

11:00 pm | by Adam Thompson Want to try something trippy?

Try watching with the sound off during this digital square of wheat segment.

11:01 pm | by Reed Albergotti In Canada, people have enough

space for 500-foot treadmills made of grain.

11:01 pm | by Ian Johnson Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now (Clouds)." Not too sure about the guy on the wire bouncing off the prairies, but we've upgraded on Bryan Adams. Are we moving toward the end of messages and toward the flame, the game, the man: Gretzky?

11:02 pm | by Phred Dvorak Aerial choreography worthy of Cirque du Soleil (another great Canadian export.)

11:03 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Though, it should be noted that the Cirque folks had nothing to do with tonight창s show.

11:04 pm | by Reed Albergotti I am beginning to understand why so many great comedians come out of Canada.

11:04 pm | by Phred Dvorak And now we come to the rainy section of Canada. (This one, of course.)

11:05 pm | by Reed Albergotti A giant storm on stage. Yeah, we get it. Canada has bad weather most of the year.

11:05 pm | by Phred Dvorak If only the mountains around here looked like that now...

11:06 pm | by Ian Johnson Back to reality: the sound system is busting with a thunderstorm (appropriate given today's weather), clouds hug the ground, lightning, thunder and... a flame projected outward. Could it be? Now snowboarders down on wires. The present is drawing near...

11:09 pm | by Reed Albergotti Oh. My. God. Canada has cloned 15 Shaun Whites and they are hanging from the ceiling. We've got no chance now.

11:09 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler This snowy mountain portion of the show is the first real reference we've had to sports since the starting snowboarder.

11:10 pm | by Adam Thompson Now we move to the part of Canada창s history where it entered The Matrix.

11:11 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Those folks on skates must actually be using rollerblades.

11:12 pm | by Reed Albergotti Do they do this big of a production for every "Hockey Night in Canada"?

11:13 pm | by Jason Gay Besides absence of Rush, Olympics missing major ratings grab by not signing on sugary teen idol Justin Bieber of Stratford, Ontario. He's easily the biggest pop star from Canada right now. Of course, it's not like any tweenage or teenage girls watch the Winter Olympics (figure skating, Shaun White, endless heartstring pageantry) or anything.....they're probably all watching the NBA All Star Skills Competition.

11:14 pm | by Reed Albergotti These rollerblades are all lit up to promote safe rollerblade commuting, which is how Canadians get around during their three weeks of summer.

11:14 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler

"Yes, we say Zed instead of Zee" wins wild applause from the audience.

11:15 pm | by Phred Dvorak As well, the line about being defined by things as simple as trees and "thank you."

11:15 pm | by Reed Albergotti Please cut Canada some slack.

It's just now getting into beat poetry.

11:16 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler We are more than just a maple leaf, Canada says, as they make a giant maple leaf.

11:16 pm | by Phred Dvorak I think we're through the multicultural part of the show, and no Asians. Too young an immigrant population? Maybe next games.

11:17 pm | by Ian Johnson The torch is 27 minutes away but first we get some speeches by various sports functionaries.

They'll have to mention today's tragedy on the luge run.

11:17 pm | by Reed Albergotti The torch is "only" 27 minutes away? Can someone get Ben Johnson to carry the thing? My BlackBerry's running out of juice.

11:19 pm | by Ian Johnson IOC President Jacques Rogge says before opening the games he has a "very solemn duty to perform:" acknowledging the death of the Georgian luge athlete. Vanoc chair John Furlong puts his hand on Rogge's shoulder in sympathy.

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Furlong says the young man who died is in their hearts but the athletes will deliver "the performance of a lifetime."

11:21 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Furlong's speech brings up an old Olympic theme: It's not just a sporting event, but also a peace movement. Still, this is the kind of rhetoric that opens up the IOC to criticisms over issues like human rights.

11:22 pm | by Phred Dvorak From Drew: "Has everybody in the audience been given a drum and drumstick!??! Very interesting. And a poncho too I'm told. I'm surprised it wasn't a bottle of maple syrup and a toy inukshuk.''

And the answer is: Yes, everyone's got a drum in an octagonal shape with aboriginal designs on it.

11:27 pm | by Reed Albergotti Hey Furlong, nice speech, now how about you give me the fifteen bucks in tariffs you charged me for a FedEx package that was sent to my hotel?

11:29 pm | by Ian Johnson Rogge looks exhausted; no wonder after today's tragedies.

Overall the message seems to be: we hold the dead athlete in our hearts but the games are going forward. Only the bad weather is going to delay the start of the competition tomorrow.

11:32 pm | by Jason Gay Well, if you weren't riveted before the speeches, you're clinging on by your nails now.

11:33 pm | by Reed Albergotti

Saw the craziest thing while walking in here -- Barack Obama trying to buy some tickets to the opening ceremonies off of a scalper. Rogge called security and had him escorted out. Didn't even trade pins with the guy.

11:33 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Some people in the audience have started ringing cowbells.

This show could definitely use more cowbell.

11:34 pm | by Phred Dvorak The beating of all those hollow "drum" boxes instead of applause makes a disturbing sound. Like an approaching thunderstorm. Maybe too appropriate to the current weather.

11:35 pm | by Ian Johnson Gretzky is singing the "Song of Peace!" No, it's K.D. Lang. Same hair.

11:35 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Hallelujah that the boring speeches are over!

11:36 pm | by Phred Dvorak Drew too, feels Rogge's lack of energy: ``This is like that boring speech they have at the Oscars, talking about the voting procedures. The enthusiasm and adrenaline just fades..."

11:37 pm | by Adam Thompson k.d. lang? She can carry a tune, but who wants to bet that before Vanoc got her, Leonard Cohen declined to sing his own song atop a giant, starry cake?

11:37 pm | by Jason Gay Would have been nice to see the actual Leonard Cohen do this.

Not exactly his cup of tea,

probably.

11:38 pm | by Ian Johnson These games are a revelation for ole Reed next to me: k.d. lang is a Canucklehead too!

Too bad William Shatner can't make it, however. Maybe he could beam us up until Gretzky gets here.

11:39 pm | by Reed Albergotti Looks like the Gretzky rumors must have been just that -rumors. k.d. lang is wearing number 99.

11:40 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler k.d. lang sounds amazing, complimented by a breathtaking sea of candles in the crowd.

11:40 pm | by Phred Dvorak Incredible pipes to sound so good in such a huge hall. The ultimate torch singer.

11:41 pm | by Reed Albergotti Uh, this looks way cooler on TV. 11:45 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Was that a laugh from the audience about it taking 12 more minutes for the torch?

11:45 pm | by Ian Johnson Torch will be here 12 minutes from now. Was 27 minutes really 15 minutes ago? Rogge's speech made it seem an eternity ago.

But at least the flag is here, carried by a bunch of Canadian celebs like hockey legend Bobby Orr, singer Anne Murray, former Formula One champion driver Jacques Villeneuve and actor Donald Sutherland.

11:46 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler The automatic flag-flapping mechanism on the Canadian flag

seems to be broken â- only one edge of it is flapping.

11:46 pm | by Reed Albergotti Get you copy of the book "Famous, AND Canadian" at the gift shop on the way out. (Now available on the Kindle).

11:47 pm | by Ian Johnson Orr's flag-carrying is key for the Gretzky Watch. Maybe only Orr is ranked as greater than the Great One. He revolutionized the role of the defenseman, one year even winning the scoring title at a position that used to be reserved for more defensive specialists (Doug Harvey excluded).

Gretzky's presence is palpable.

11:47 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Reed, in fact the Kindle only became available in Canada in November -- a source of anguish for Canucks for months.

11:48 pm | by Phred Dvorak And another bit of technoannoyance for us up here in the north: Skype still doesn't sell Canadian numbers here, even though it's now partly owned by a big Canadian pension fund.

11:48 pm | by Reed Albergotti The Canadian Olympians drew straws and the speed skaters got stuck with raking up all these paper maple leaves. They look seriously pissed.

11:48 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler The auto-flag flapper isn't working on the Olympic flag either. This is creating a nightmare for photojournalists.

11:49 pm | by Jason Gay Sorry Reed, Gretzky's not doing

the torch -- he just got traded for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million and a first-round pick.

11:49 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler One minute of silence for the Georgian athlete. Even a screaming kid got quiet.

11:50 pm | by Ian Johnson Flags at half mast.

11:50 pm | by Ian Johnson Hayley Wickenheiser, probably the greatest Canadian woman's ice hockey player ever, just took an oath on behalf of all competitors to clean, drug-free games. Let's hope she's not embarrassed by some of her colleagues...

11:52 pm | by Reed Albergotti The torch bearer is clearly lost.

They are just grabbing people out of the audience to sing now. I think this guy is on the French curling squad.

11:55 pm | by Ian Johnson The flame is carried in by one of Canada's most inspirational figures, Rick Hansen. Inspired by cancer-striken runner Terry Fox's efforts to run across Canada, Hansen decided to circle the world in a wheelchair. His 26 -month tour raised millions and he's since morphed into a philanthropist dedicated to spinal -cord reseach, having raised more than $200 million (Canadian).

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2010 Vancouver Olympics: Luge track adds wooden wall, adjusted curves

2010 Vancouver Olympics: Men's downhill postponed because of slushy course

by Associated Press (ESPN.com)

by Associated Press (ESPN.com)

into a steel pole.

The decision to change the start's location seemed to have Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:58:21 AM the desired effect. None of the 36 Message from fivefilters.org: If sliders who took a sixth practice you can, please donate to the full run broke 90 mph after speeds -text RSS service so we can routinely surpassed 95 mph continue developing it. Winter earlier in the week. Russia's Olympics Day 2 Latest Winter A l b e r t D e m t s c h e n k o w a s Olympics Day 2 Latest clocked at 88.1 mph after WHISTLER, British Columbia - topping at 94.6 mph in his fifth - The start of men's Olympic practice run. luge competition was moved Other changes were made f a r t h e r d o w n t h e t r a c k , overnight, including raising the international luge officials said wall at Curve 16, the area where Saturday, a decision made with Kumaritashvili crashed. Some the "emotional component" of modifications also were made to athletes in mind following the the surface of the ice itself. death of a Georgian competitor. When training resumed from the The officials reiterated that the lower start, American Tony lightning-fast track was safe for Benshoof -- the first man to slide c o m p e t i t i o n , a n d O l y m p i c in the session -- navigated the o f f i c i a l s s a i d t h e y w e r e track without incident. "completely satisfied" with the "For me, personally, and for the adjustments.

International Luge Federation, "We never said it is too fast," yesterday was the worst day," International Luge Federation Fendt said. "The saddest day." president Josef Fendt said.

However, Kumaritashvili's An extra session of men's teammate, Levan Gureshidze, training, as well as all four runs did not take his sixth run down of the men's event -- two on the course. There was no official Saturday, two on Sunday -- will word on why he did not slide or begin from the women's start if he has withdrawn from the ramp. field.

It means speeds, at least for the Also declining was Argentina's men, will be a bit lower at the Ruben Gonzalez, the first person Whistler Sliding Track, where 21 to compete in four Winter -year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili Olympics in four different crashed and died in a training run decades. on Friday after his body flew "We're confident it will be a over the track wall and smashed successful competition," said

Mark Adams, spokesman for the International Olympic Committee.

Kumaritashvili's death was believed to be the first on a sanctioned luge track since December 1975, the federation said.

After taking a deep breath, Benshoof, a three-time Olympian exhaled, dropped his visor and headed down the world's fastest track. Even to the naked eye, he wasn't moving with nearly the speed he managed during practice this week. TV cameras were even behind while trying to adjust to the slower sleds.

Because of the alteration to the women's start, Benshoof's time of 49.260 seconds was more than two seconds slower than the time recorded by Germany's Felix Loch on Friday. Benshoof, who has at least three herniated discs and was dealing with an injured foot Friday, needed help lifting his sled off the ice but was otherwise fine.

None of the early riders had any trouble on the speedy track, though some wrestled with the emotion of returning to competition.

"It's really difficult to start," Slovenia's Domen Pociecha said.

"Everybody's thinking the same thing. You can see it in their faces."

It remains unknown if the start positions will be changed for

upcoming bobsled and skeleton competitions, a decision that will be made in consultation with the governing body for those sports and not the International Luge Federation.

"That will be really up to them," Vancouver organizing committee vice president Tim Gayda said.

Luge federation secretary general Svein Romstad said the G-forces generated by Kumaritashvili exiting the 15th curve and entering the 16th and final curve "literally collapsed his body, rendering it difficult to control the sled, which in this case he was not able to do."

"Once this happened, he was literally at the mercy of the path of the sled," Romstad said.

Including past training sessions starting last November, Kumaritashvili had 26 runs down the icy chute in all, and data distributed by the federation indicated that he crashed at least three times around the area of the final curve.

From the men's luge start, which won't be used going forward during these Olympics, Kumaritashvili crashed four times in 16 tries.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Submitted at 2/13/2010 10:30:03 AM

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full -text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Winter Olympics Day 2 Latest Winter Olympics Day 2 Latest VIDEO PLAYLIST • Winter Olympics Day 2 Latest Winter Olympics Day 2 Latest • DayQuil Winter Games Preview: Day 2 DayQuil Winter Games Preview: Day 2 WHISTLER, British Columbia - The men's downhill event at the Vancouver Olympics has been rescheduled for Monday after officials postponed the race due to slushy conditions hours before it was scheduled to begin.

Rather than take a chance Saturday and try to see if the weather improved, organizers called off the first Alpine race at the Olympics shortly after 4 a.m. local time, about 7½ hours before it was scheduled to start.

The race will now be held at 10:30 a.m. PT Monday.

Repeated snow, rain, fog and too-warm temperatures have turned the Olympic slopes into a soft, mushy mess too dangerous to be used for high-speed skiing.

The first women's event, the 2010 page 66

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WINTER

continued from page 65

super-combined, was supposed to be Sunday, and the decision to postpone that was made Friday.

FIS, the governing body for skiing, said snow and rain throughout Friday night, along with expected mild temperatures during the day Saturday, made for poor skiing conditions. Highs on the course were expected to be in the 40s, and a mix of rain, sleet and snow was likely.

Officials likely will try to get women's training in Sunday.

With its location close to the Pacific Ocean, bad weather has always been an issue in Whistler.

For three consecutive years in the mid-1990s, the World Cup ski circuit came to the Canadian resort and failed to get a single race off. It wasn't just a case of calling off a particular downhill or super-G; entire weekends had to be scrapped. Eventually, Whistler was removed from the World Cup circuit.

Mother Nature proved to be a problem again this time. Only one of six training runs for men

continued from page 64

and women has been completed as planned.

The opening men's downhill training session on Wednesday was abandoned after thick fog prevented half the field from starting their runs. Then a shortened men's session was completed Thursday and Friday's session called off.

Only two skiers -- one of whom crashed -- started the opening women's training on Thursday before it too was abandoned.

Lucia Recchia of Italy made it safely down Franz's Run but the No. 2 starter, Stacey Cook of Mammoth Calif., lost control and slammed into the safety netting at high speed.

Women's training sessions on Friday and Saturday also were called off.

Rules require that at least one complete training session be held before any downhill or supercombined race, meaning the women still need to get a practice run in.

Weather problems are nothing

new to Alpine events at the Olympics -- or skiing in general - which is why off-days are built into the program to accommodate rescheduling.

At the 2006 Turin Games, the women's combined was split over two days and the women's super-G was postponed by 24 hours. The men's super-G in Sestriere was delayed for hours due to heavy snowfall. Back at the 1984 Sarajevo Games, the men's and women's downhill races were postponed until after the giant slalom events, and some events were postponed at the 1998 Nagano Games, too.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

evening.

11:55 pm | by Ian Johnson I can feel it, High Gretzky Alert.

11:56 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Is that real snow coming down now? The stadium just got cold.

But wait, why would they waste the snow here when they need it for competition.

11:57 pm | by Ian Johnson Ski champion Nancy Greene onpasses it to.....The Great One, Wayne Gretzky. The games have begun.....

11:58 pm | by Jason Gay Amazing to remember the uproar over Gretzky's trade to Los Angeles 22 years ago. Here's Gretzky post-game after LA played in Edmonton in 1988: "I'm still proud to be a Canadian.

I didn't desert my country. I moved because I was traded, and that's where my job is. But I'm Canadian to the core. I hope Canadians understand that."

11:59 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler That snow ... I think it is soap.

11:59 pm | by Phred Dvorak Whatever it is, it's getting all over my computer screen...

11:59 pm | by Geoffrey Fowler Olympic foam party!

12:00 am | by Ian Johnson I think there's been an attack by some zealous Amway salespeople. The air is aflutter with something like soap -- very odd smell in the air (seriously).

Yuk. Whose idea was this? The anti-H1N1 crowd?

12:00 am | by Reed Albergotti Hey, is that the former coach of

the Phoenix Coyotes?

12:01 am | by Jason Gay On TV, Bob Costas is saying there appear to be tech difficulties with Ă‚ t h e t o r c h cauldron...............hmmmmm...

12:01 am | by Geoffrey Fowler New poles are coming out of the ground. These look like the ice crystals in Superman's wintry abode.

12:02 am | by Phred Dvorak And now the kryptonite crystal!

12:02 am | by Reed Albergotti I sure hope they rehearsed this ... If Canada"s greatest athletes go up in flames, heads are gonna roll.

12:03 am | by Geoffrey Fowler It's a sparkly four-part cauldron.

12:03 am | by Phred Dvorak A... classic ending, shall we say.

12:03 am | by Reed Albergotti Oh great! They melted the last bit of ice left at the Olympics!

12:04 am | by Jason Gay Eh, three for four isn't bad. If the Grizzlies had done that, they'd have never moved to Memphis.....

12:08 am | by Reed Albergotti Outside the stadium, people are yelling and screaming with excitement.

12:14 am | by Jason Gay Gretzky riding on back of a white Chevy truck, heading to Tim Hortons for Timbits.......

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The Count: Mr. Smith Doesn’t Go To Dallas (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix) Submitted at 2/12/2010 3:26:10 PM

Poor Josh Smith. The Atlanta Hawks forward is posting career highs in field-goal percentage and assists, is just off his careerbest rebound average and is a crucial reason for Atlanta’s surprising status as the team with the fifth-best record in the NBA. And yet he’ll have to watch as his teammates Joe Johnson and Al Horford play in the All-Star Game this weekend — Smith didn’t make the cut. Associated Press All-Star selectors rewarded Josh Smith’s fine first half with a weekend off.

As far as snubs go, this is a particularly egregious one.

Before the All-Star reserves were announced, Kevin Pelton wrote at Basketball Prospectus, “By taking the three out of his game, making better decisions and improving his defensive focus, Smith has reached the next level and the All-Star Game.”

Afterwards, when Smith was snubbed, Pelton pointed out that

the actual team, according to Berri’s stats.

Elsewhere in NBA numbers analysis: Pelton defends the selection of Jason Kidd to fill out the West roster. Kidd’s steals, assists, three-point shooting and low Smith was clearly among the turnover rate all justify his NBA’s best 20 players in the selection. league in the season’s first half. Basketball Reference’s Neil Pelton also examined the best Paine finds that players in the All players to never make an All- - S t a r w e e k e n d t h r e e - p o i n t Star roster. Marcus Camby, also shooting contest are more snubbed this year, is on the a c c u r a t e t h a n i n a c t u a l career list. Smith didn’t make competition; apparently having a that cut, but he was one of the hand in the face is a bigger five best, per season, to not be obstacle than having to hoist selected. (One of the other five, shots quickly as a clock ticks David Lee, was chosen over him down. to fill a slot for the Eastern Jeremy Greenhouse dips into basketball analysis at Baseball Conference.)

Hoops analysts Wayne Winston Analysts, delivering charts and and David Berri agree that Smith graphs of shooter accuracy by should have made the team. zone on the court. His numbers Smith headlines an alternate offer solid backup for Pelton’s roster of East All-Stars almost as comment that Smith has helped good as the actual team, while his game by taking the three out Camby headlines a roster of of it.

West alternates who would beat

67

Slushy Conditions Postpone Men's Downhill Event

by FanHouse Newswire (FanHouse Main) Submitted at 2/13/2010 2:45:00 AM

Filed under: Alpine Skiing, Canada Update: The men's downhill event has been rescheduled for Monday at 10:30 a.m. PST. WHISTLER, British Columbia - Officials postponed the men's downhill event at the Vancouver Olympics Saturday hours before it was set to begin, saying slushy conditions made it impossible to race.

Rather than take a chance and try to see if the weather improved, organizers called off the race shortly after 4 a.m. local time, about 7 1/2 hours before it was scheduled to start. With no replacement date set, it isn't clear when the Alpine events might begin.

Repeated snow, rain, fog and too-warm temperatures have turned the Olympic slopes into a soft, mushy mess too dangerous to be used for high-speed skiing.

The first women's event, the super-combined, was supposed to be Sunday, and the decision to postpone that was made Friday.

The International Ski Federation

said snow and rain throughout the night, along with expected mild temperatures during the day, made for poor skiing conditions. Highs on the course were only supposed to be in the low 40s, and a mix of rain, sleet and snow was likely.

The next men's team captains' meeting was scheduled for Sunday evening, virtually guaranteeing that the men's downhill will not be raced Sunday. Officials will likely try to get women's training in Sunday, and hold the men's downhill Monday at the earliest.

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After Investigation, Luge to Continue Saturday (WSJ.com: The Daily Fix)

Georgia’s minister of sport, Nikoloz Rurua, disputed the notion that Kumaritashvili was O l y m p i c o r g a n i z e r s i n inexperienced, saying it would Vancouver announced that the be “unfair and misleading” to luge competition would continue make that assertion.) begin Saturday as scheduled The officials added that they despite the death of a Georgian w o u l d “ r e o p e n t h e t r a c k athlete during a training run. following a raising of the walls T h e d e a t h o f N o d a r at the exit of curve 16 and a Kumaritashvili overshadowed change in the ice profile. This the Opening Ceremony of the was done as a preventative Games as the International Luge measure, in order to avoid that Federation spent Friday evening such an extremely exceptional i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e c r a s h . accident could occur again.” By Afterward, Federation officials raising the walls, the federation said they concluded the crash hopes to prevent another luger was caused by Kumaritashvili’s from crashing into the steel posts inability to control the sled that killed the Georgian on during the final two turns rather impact. than a fault in the design of the track. (Earlier in the day, Submitted at 2/12/2010 11:10:07 PM

Men's Lugers to Start Lower on Track

by FanHouse Newswire (FanHouse Main)

of the men's event later in the day, will begin from the women's start ramp.

Submitted at 2/13/2010 5:30:00 AM It means speeds, at least for the Filed under: Luge men, will be a bit lower at the WHISTLER, British Columbia - Whistler Sliding Track, where 21 - The start of men's Olympic -year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili luge competition was moved crashed and died in a training run f a r t h e r d o w n t h e t r a c k , on Friday after his body flew international luge officials said over the track wall and smashed Saturday, a decision made with into a steel pole. the "emotional component" of Other changes were made athletes in mind following the overnight, including raising the death of a Georgian competitor. wall at Curve 16, the area where The officials reiterated that the Kumaritashvili crashed; some lightning-fast track was safe for modifications were also made to competition. the surface of the ice itself.

"We never said it is too fast," When training resumed from the International Luge Federation lower start, American Tony president Josef Fendt said.

Benshoof -- the first man to slide An extra session of men's in the session -- navigated the training, as well as all four runs track without incident.

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Must Be a Fun Job

by ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 2/13/2010 11:22:49 AM

Complete your pick-up line with Tetris Jewelry PSA: Download flOw for free until midnight EST

by Richard Mitchell (Joystiq)

than with the gift of an L block?

Why not get multiple pieces and fit them together? Just be sure If you've been sitting around not to connect too many pieces wondering how you can manage t o g e t h e r o r t h e y m i g h t to wedge video games into your d i s i n t e g r a t e .

Valentine's Day plans, then 1) Also, never give that special Tread very carefully and 2) We someone a line piece as their first think we have your answer. romantic gift. You really need to Behold, Tetris jewelry. Sold by save that for when the time is TetrisGems-- apparently the right. official provider of Tetris Complete your pick-up line with jewelry -- the pieces feature real T e t r i s J e w e l r y o r i g i n a l l y gemstones or cubic zirconia set appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 in either gold or silver.

Feb 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please This is real jewelry, folks, with see our terms for use of feeds. the cheapest pieces running $130 Read| Permalink| Email this| and the most expensive capping Comments out at $450. And honestly, what better way to say "I love you" Submitted at 2/13/2010 5:00:00 AM

by Griffin McElroy (Joystiq) Submitted at 2/13/2010 1:00:00 PM

Listen, we know how hard Valentine's Day can be on some of you jilted lovers out there, so we went ahead and got you a little something to keep you occupied tomorrow: A copy of ThatGameCompany's microbiotic PS3 title, flOw. You can download it right now from the PSN for free, without having to deal with any cumbersome coupon codes. Our generosity only extends so far, however -the free download will stop being offered at midnight EST

tonight. Hurry up and grab it -and don't say we never gave you nothin'!

(Fine, we're not the party responsible for the game's freeness. We suppose you can say we never gave you nothin' to your heart's content.)

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

PSA: Download flOw for free until midnight EST originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read| Permalink| Email this| Comments

You know the fun thought about who is the lucky person whose job it is to come up with color names for cosmetics that say absolutely nothing about the actual color, but, somehow, it makes the product even more desirable? (See M.A.C’s Lady Danger, Speed Dial, or Snob.)

It’s a thought that comes to mind when I am trying to keep track of my place in the run of a show.

The look description says “Rosemary.” So, I try to think what rose-color look might have recently past, but no! Rosemary would be a green color! Some designers give it to you straight (Rag and Bone: “Black wool and leather hooded coat”), while others go all out to try and reach the synesthete in us. Generally, I appreciate these descriptions and think they do bring something to the way you feel about a look.

But sometimes, they just make me hungry.

See below for some of the creative color names that I’ve seen so far in the fall 2010 run of shows.

Ports 1961 Ginger MUST page 70

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Anne Slowey's Fashion Week Twitter

by ELLE.com (ELLE News Blog) Submitted at 2/13/2010 12:02:23 PM

February 13 Purple haze of feathers at Som http://ping.fm/p/uZ39s Som's london waif http://ping.fm/p/85KP1 Boho cookie monster cute at P e t e r S o m http://ping.fm/p/HqxxM Som's forest green shimmer dress http://ping.fm/p/MFr0A Ohne Titel: Being Beige and Draped http://ping.fm/p/V5jXv Ohne Titel's cool chic http://ping.fm/p/9fIqP

February 12 The new uber-coat from Preen http://ping.fm/p/BVZiY Preen's body-con bitch. Sweet. http://ping.fm/p/B9kBW More Wu night magic http://ping.fm/p/Zq3KW Alice in Wonderland evening at J a s o n W u http://ping.fm/p/oETIV February 11 Vena Cava's country chic femme fatale. Killer. http://ping.fm/p/mbK5L Love Richard Chai Love http://ping.fm/p/KBxNp Richard Chai's Love child is all

MUST continued from page 69

Pepper Chicory Wood Freesia Licorice Clover Tobacco BCBG Opal Cigar Carbon Yigal Azrouël Chestnut Rouge (yep, it’s red!)

Lumber Anthracite

Butterscotch Jason Wu Cornflower Dandelion Bone Parchment Foxglove — Alexis Bryan Morgan, Fashion Director Photo: Rag & Bone, Imaxtree

military and boho girl http://ping.fm/p/SZhed Devastating news about Alexander McQueen.

To heel or not to heel...No, not a question from my doggies.

Rather an ice vs alex wang boot dilemma...

February 10 Celebrity meeting. Day two.

Katie Holmes. Who tomorrow?

The Pope?

Meeting Vanessa Paradis at the uber-chic Chanel dinner last night at The Mark was not a bad way to kick off fashion week.

Google's Liquid Galaxy Machine Sends Users on Immersive Tour of Earth, Moon, and Mars

by Jeremy Hsu (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)

seamlessly explore a virtual environment of the Earth, moon, and Mars -- an experience that Google has dubbed "Liquid Galaxy."

Submitted at 2/12/2010 1:48:42 PM This TED 2010 video Kirk would approve showcases Holt running his Someone at Google apparently demo on eight Linux machines took pity on the poor users who and navigating with a six-axis can only explore Google Earth mouse. He also makes use of on their laptops. Jason Holt used voice-issued commands to zoom his 20 percent project time to o u t f r o m S a n F r a n c i s c o , create a wraparound view of a California and travel across the modified Google Earth engine, globe to check out India's Taj and splashed it across 8 LCD Mahal. We personally can't wait screens in an immersive viewing to see the same display with an booth. The result provides a view augmented Google Earth that not unlike that from a starship's includes people, cars and clouds. bridge, and allows users to

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The Wild World of DIY Synthetic Biology

by Jeremy Hsu (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 2/12/2010 12:55:33 PM

Get your designer life forms here!

A new generation of scientists hope to become genome hackers who redesign organisms to become living tools, capable of creating diesel fuel or producing anti-malarial drugs. That synthetic biology revolution has led to a can-do spirit of innovation that has fueled MIT's International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, known as iGEM for short. The New York Times has traced the route to iGEM by following a community-college team from the City College of San Francisco, as the group tries to build a bacteria-based battery powered entirely by the sun for iGEM. It's a great overview of one of the more exciting scientific fields today.

Genetic engineering has traditionally focused on swapping out single genes at a time. But synthetic biology represents something much wilder and more radical. Rather than cut-and-paste, synthetic biologists hope to create entirely new genetic code assembled from an open-source repository of snippets of working genes called "BioBricks." Assembling

Next Year, Give Your Valentine CustomEngineered Flowers With Bespoke Scents

by Jeremy Hsu (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) Submitted at 2/12/2010 2:51:17 PM

them like legos, the new sets of custom genetic code can then be re-inserted into bacteria or other organisms, modifying their fundamental behaviors and life cycles. This opens the door for scientists to engineer entirely new living organisms.

This redesign approach need not only take place in large private or government labs, as iGEM's student participation shows.

Another example comes from DIYbio NYC, a group founded

by NYU students that aims to make synthetic biology accessible to "citizen scientists, amateur biologists, and DIY biological engineers."

Synthetic biologists of all stripes already have a large set of

genetic parts to work with. MIT has assembled an open-source library, called the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, that holds more than 5,000 BioBricks. iGEM teams have contributed the BioBricks from their projects, but they can also make use of the library for future work.

Scientists from Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley have also launched their own open-source genetic lab called Biofab. They hope to identify thousands of molecules and processes that would allow them to efficiently assemble DNA parts in the lab, which would then become available for free to any would-

be visionaries.

There's hardly any limit to the early ambitions of synthetic biologists. Even the Pentagon's mad scientists at DARPA have expressed the wish to immortal living organisms with genetically encoded kill-switches. But iGEM teams seem intent on more practical or at least achievable goals for now, including a seizure-inducing fluorescent Mario based on glow-in-the-dark bacteria.

Head over to the NYT for a great read: [ New York Times]

A root-beer bouquet, anyone?

Future guys and gals looking for a sweet-smelling bouquet for Valentine's Day might consider the root-beer-scented variety. Or they could opt for a fouler odor, if they want to send a different message. That's all in the coming future, according to Discovery News.

Following centuries of humans breeding for bigger and prettier varieties, scientists at the University of Florida in Gainesville accidentally discovered the genes to make flowers smell nicer. They found the 12 or 13 unknown genes after sequencing the genome for petunias.

Some tweaking and amplification eventually showed that the genes allow petunias to create scents ranging from rose NEXT page 72

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to wintergreen. And yes, root beer showed up in the batch.

Enhanced fragrances could also lead to better-tasting fruits and vegetables, given the link between scent and taste. Such genetically-engineered varieties won't arrive for perhaps years, and only after the Food and Drug Administration gives its seal of approval.

Scientists have already engineered flowers to help

The Best of This Week in the Future

by John Mahoney (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)

review-of-the-week-in-review gallery. Enjoy!

Each week I feel like I have a new favorite, but, I keep coming back to this one as my most Submitted at 2/12/2010 2:09:30 PM beloved TWITF. There's just Our prolific future-reviewer something about smoking mole Baarbarian has been illustrating rats... our fevered future dreams into Which is your favorite? And reality for several months now-- remember, you can still order creating a closet-full of fine T- that favorite of yours on a T-shirt shirts in his wake. This week he's if you so desire. Enjoy the taking a well-deserved breather, weekend everyone--we'll be back so we figured it was a good time next week with a new drawing. to take things a few notches up Check out the gallery here. the meta-chain and round up his excellent work thus far into a

produce insulin for diabetics and offset carbon emissions. But sometimes people just want to stop and smell the GM blossoms. [via Discovery News]