Buffalo Chicken Dip

Another popular appetizer is Buffalo Chicken Dip, which combines all the flavors. I am a big fan of buffalo and blue cheese, so this dip is right up my alley! It is creamy, spicy and full of flavor. I love that it has chicken in it so it gives the dip a little more substance than just cheese. This dip is perfect served with crackers.

Here are the recipe:

1 package of cream cheese softened, 1 bottle of spicy ranch salad dressing, 1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 rotisserie chicken and 1 cup of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce.

Spread the cream cheese on the bottom of a baking dish and pour about a quarter bottle of the spicy ranch dressing over the cream cheese and follow with a half cup of Frank's Wing Sauce. Cut the rotisserie chicken in half and shred about a quarter of it and layer in dish, followed by  a half cup of shredded mozzarella. Start all over again with 1 quarter bottle of spicy ranch, a half cup of Frank's, another quarter of the chicken and the shredded mozzarella. Bake at 350 for a half hour. Serve in a warming serving dish.

The warmth of this cheesy dip heightens the flavor of the onion and jalapeno, while the spinach cools it downs. This is best served with a sturdy cracker or pita chip.

I usually serve with corn chips or tortilla chips, but it's great served warm with crackers and celery sticks. It's kinda spicy for some folks, but the delicious flavor keeps'em coming back for more! Buffalo Chicken Dip.

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Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem

The outcome! Brock Lesnar (5-2-0, 266 lbs) vs. Alistair Overeem (35-11-1, 263 lbs) for heavyweight title shot. It was a night of celebration for new UFC heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem after his first-round TKO over the giant Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 on Friday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem  is officially underway inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The preliminary bouts aired on Facebook and Spike TV.

For this 2011, Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem is literally as big as it gets.

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Bill Maher

Earlier in the day, the cast of The Five made a fairly convincing case for caring about Bill Maher tweeting gross things about Tim Tebow and his religion over the weekend. Comedian Bill Maher made fun of football player Tim Tebow. Now some are calling for an HBO boycott. We'll let you know what he said.

After Tebow's Denver Broncos lost to the Bills on Saturday, the 'Real Time with Bill Maher' host tweeted: “Wow, Jesus just f----- #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve!

Tebow has been something of a lightning rod because of his faith, but it was Bill Maher, whose HBO show is in the middle of a three-month hiatus, that seemed to find Tebow's loss amusing.

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, social critic, political commentator, author and actor.

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Mega Millions

Mega Millions Winning Ticket Sold On Long Island. (Wednesday, December 28th, 2011). The winning Mega Millions lottery ticket from Tuesday night's drawing was sold at a supermarket in Middle Island, Long Island.

One Long Island lottery player received a belated holiday gift Tuesday, but it was worth the wait: a $206 million jackpot. The winner nailed the five numbers picked in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing — 23, 32, 33, ...

The reason for the flurry of sales is the $206 Million jackpot. “Lightening's got to strike somewhere,” Larry Stanfill said about buying his ticket. “Somebody's got to win,” said Cathleen Dougherty, “Might as well be me.” Restaurant manager, Terri Mead.

Mega Millions is a large multi-state lottery in the United States. Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m.

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Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Shooting: Shots Fired At Virginia Tech, Gunman Spotted. Gunshots were reported near a parking lot on the Virginia Tech campus on Thursday, according to a Twitter alert issued by the school.

A gunman walked into a parking lot and killed a Virginia Tech police officer who was conducting a traffic stop on campus. Sgt. Robert Carpentieri said it appeared that the shooter was not in the car that had been pulled over.

Two people, including a police officer, were dead after a shooting on Thursday afternoon on the campus of Virginia Tech, the scene of a 2007 massacre in which 33 people were killed, university officials said.

Local SWAT team members congregate near a parking lot on the campus of Virginia Tech to look for an armed man who is suspected of killing two people, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, in Blacksburg, Va.

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Lindsay Lohan Playboy Cover

Lindsay Lohan’s Playboy cover has slipped from its cloak of secrecy. A photo of Lindsay Lohan's Playboy cover surfaced on Wednesday, well ahead of the company's January/February issue release. An image of the alleged January/February issue flooded the Internet Wednesday, a full week before the “Mean Girls” star is scheduled to give a sneak peek on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

The leaked cover shows Lindsay Lohan, 25, straddling the back of a red bunny-shaped chair seemingly stark naked beyond her black stilettos.

According to the Daily Mail, the troubled star is in talks to join the UK show Celebrity Big Brother. When combined with her recent Playboy shoot, they make a rather public attempt at relaunching her career.

A rep for the naughty glossy did not immediately return a call seeking comment, but a spokeswoman earlier said fans had to wait until Dec. 15 to get a preview of the Lindsay Lohan’s Playboy cover and one non-nude image from Lohan’s pictoral.

“The pictorial is absolutely fantastic and very tasteful, and will be accompanied by an interview that will let readers see another side of Lindsay,” the star’s publicist Steve Honig said in a recent statement.

Hugh Hefner, Playboy’s robe-clad mogul, said the layout would have a retro theme.
 

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Sugar Bowl

The Cardinal could end up facing its 2009 Sun Bowl opponent, Oklahoma, if the Sooners win Bedlam. Where is Georgia going to play in a bowl game? Excellent question, and one that's impossible to answer at this point. Now if you couch it to ask, where might. Georgia's only chance to control its bowl destiny slipped away when the Bulldogs blew a halftime lead and allowed LSU to run away with a 42-10 win in Saturday's SEC championship game. Sugar Bowl: Michigan vs. Houston.

Most bowl projections have had Michigan headed to the Sugar Bowl in recent weeks. It does appear the Wolverines will play in a BCS game, but suddenly the Fiesta Bowl is also a possible landing spot.

Going into Saturday, Michigan needed some help to be in a position to land an at-large bid to a BCS bowl game. Thanks to an upset and some blowouts, the Wolverines did get quite a bit of help, but not quite enough to silence all doubt about them ending up in a BCS game. While it certainly looks like Michigan will jump into the top 14 and be one of the at-large teams, there are no guarantees. And even if the Wolverines do make the BCS, right now it's not clear where they would go or who they would play.

As it stands right now, the general consensus among the many bowl projections out there is that Michigan is headed to a BCS game. As has been the case the last few weeks, the most often mentioned destination is the Sugar Bowl, where Michigan was expected to play Houston. Since the Cougars lost on Saturday, there are a few teams that could end up in New Orleans to potentially take on the Wolverines. To say the least, there are a ton of different scenarios out there for Michigan's bowl game, so let's break everything down and take a look at the situation at hand.

Path to the Sugar Bowl
Michigan has been predicted to end up in the Sugar Bowl for weeks based on LSU and Alabama meeting in the BCS National Championship. LSU is for sure going to be in the game and will be ranked No. 1 in the nation, meaning the Sugar Bowl will get the first at-large selection to fill the vacancy created by losing the SEC champion. Normally Alabama would get this spot, but if the Crimson Tide end up playing LSU in the title game, then the Sugar Bowl will have to look elsewhere. This is where Michigan comes in as the most attractive at-large option and becomes one of the teams playing in the Sugar Bowl.

Who will the Wolverines play if this scenario plays out and they end up in the Sugar Bowl? Right now it's not clear. If TCU moves into the top 16 of the final BCS standings and automatically qualifies for an at-large bid, chances are the Horned Frogs would play Michigan. If TCU fails to crack the top 16, however, Michigan could potentially be matched up against Kansas State (at-large bid), Boise State (at-large bid) or even West Virginia (Big East champion). It would come down to which team the Sugar Bowl thinks is the most attractive in terms of the matchup. The consensus seems to be that Kansas State would be selected to play Michigan, but given all that happened with Michigan and West Virginia and Rich Rodriguez, it would not be surprising if the Sugar Bowl went with a Wolverines/Mountaineers matchup.

Prediction

To arrive at a prediction for where Michigan will be playing this upcoming bowl season, some questions need to be answered. For starters, will Michigan crack the top 14 of the BCS standings? If no, pencil Michigan in for the Capital One Bowl. If yes, it's necessary to ask this question: Will Oklahoma State or Alabama play LSU in the BCS National Championship? If you go with the former, Michigan is likely headed to the Fiesta Bowl, whereas the latter likely puts Michigan in the Sugar Bowl.

After sorting through everything, my prediction is that Michigan will take on Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. I do think Michigan will be ranked in the top 14, and I think Oklahoma State will surprisingly jump up to No. 2 in the nation. This scenario would put Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and open up the door for the Fiesta Bowl to put together a matchup between Michigan and Stanford that features Denard Robinson vs. Andrew Luck and the team that wanted Jim Harbaugh a year ago vs. the team that Jim Harbaugh left a year ago.

Should Alabama make the BCS National Championship, I expect Michigan to be matched up against West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl. I do not think TCU will be in the top 16, and I don't see the Sugar Bowl going with Kansas State as Michigan's opponent. Michigan/West Virginia is the more appealing matchup, as it would almost certainly be dubbed the "Rich Rodriguez Bowl." There are storylines galore with this matchup, and that can't be said about Michigan/Kansas State.

To sum this all up, Michigan seems to be in good shape as far as the BCS is concerned. Where specifically Michigan will end up depends on what happens with the BCS National Championship.

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Brooke Mueller

Brooke Mueller faces cocaine, assault charges in Aspen, Colo., police found cocaine in the possession of Brooke Mueller, the ex-wife of Charlie Sheen, when she was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman at a local bar. She was booked on assault and drug charges and released on $11000 bail.

As you all know, it has become known largely for her addictions and criminal record. Brooke Jaye Mueller (born August 19, 1977) is an American actress and a real estate agent.

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Hunger Games Trailer

Much to the relief of "Hunger Games" fans worldwide, On Monday, the official trailer for Lionsgate's rendition of the first novel in Suzanne Collins' popular Hunger Games trilogy was released.

The new full trailer for "Hunger Games" is bright, clean, and full of introductory exposition. Basically you're looking at the first act of the film and nothing else -- brief teases of what most of the supporting characters look like, plus an emotional.

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Google X

It's called Google X, and many of us are wondering what in the world Google might be up to, given the company's rich history of technological innovation and quirkiness. Google X has a top-secret lab on the search giant's campus in Mountain View, California.

According to the report, Google is tackling a list of 100 “shoot-for-the-stars ideas.” If Google already has self-driving cars, what kinds of things could this mean? A few things mentioned in the piece include: web-connected refrigerator and plates, robots, and space elevators. Apparently, many of the projects involve robots.

Google X is the place where Google works on the driverless car and New York Times reports that Google is considering manufacturing the cars in the US. Many projects are related to Android at home, an initiative announced this year that tries to make everyday objects smarter. "We want to think of every appliance in your home as a potential I/O device," said Google's Joe Britt. Google tries to build the "Web of things" by connecting home accessories, wearable objects to the Internet.

But who knows just what is going on inside Google X? The company is reportedly pretty hush hush about it even internally. Of course, who can blame them with incidents like "before", where Google employees share messages intended for internal eyes only with the whole world?

Who knows what Google is working on that is “top secret” and wouldn’t want to get leaked, and with robots? A company of this magnitude, with the resources it has, and the thinking out of the box attitude displayed repeatedly throughout its history could be up to just about anything.
I don’t want to sound like a paranoid Sci-Fi nut here, butit does reminds me of Terminator.
Haha... :p

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iTunes Match Release

iTunes Match will set you back $24.99 per year. As expected, the launch of iTunes Match is now upon us, with today's release of iTunes 10.5.1. iTunes Match is available from the iTunes website. For those living under the proverbial rock, iTunes Match is the new service from Apple that gives you legal access to store all your music in iCloud, even those songs you didn’t originally purchase from iTunes.

In theory, iTunes Match is meant to pair up the songs in your library you ripped from CDs, but in reality, it means your pirated tunes can now be made legal for a mere $25/year. And if you have an extensive collection of indie artists, local bands or DJs that live outside the i-Universe, iTunes Match will upload those MP3′s to iCloud, too. Once in iCloud, music can b.e streamed to any device and stored at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality – even if the original song was pirated purchased at lower quality.

The new service is just one of the features in iTunes 10.5.1, which also includes baked-in iCloud support, enabling you to access your songs, apps and books across all your Apple devices, without having to manually re-download the purchases on each additional device you own. The iCloud service lets you access and download past purchases, too, on whichever device you want.

The update to iTunes is out now, but iTunes Match is available only for U.S. users only

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College Basketball

Here are Preseason College Basketball Top 10 For 2011-2012;

10. Michigan – I think next year’s when they’ll be a legit Final Four contender.
9. Louisville - Good guard play.
8. Duke –
7. Vanderbilt –
6. Memphis –
5. Syracuse –
4. Connecticut – Didn’t have the Huskies Top 10 until Andre Drummond showed up in August.
3. Kentucky – Calipari’s last 3 seasons coaching.
2. Ohio State –
1. North Carolina – If they’ve discovered a legit 3-pointer or two by March

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Kentucky Basketball

With Kentucky Basketball best player on the bench to start the game and Marist shooting lights-out for most of the first half, the second-ranked University of Kentucky men’s basketball team had a bit of a soft opening Friday night.

The Wildcats trailed after 6½ minutes and led by just four points late in the first half before thoroughly dominating the final 20 minutes to beat the Red Foxes 108-58 in both teams’ first game.

That improved coach John Calipari’s record at Rupp Arena to 34-0, breaking the record for consecutive victories in the building.

Jones gave the Wildcats a lift late in the first half with a three-pointer and violent, two-hand dunk after an offensive rebound on consecutive plays to give UK some cushion at the break. He finished with eight points but grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a shot in 25 minutes.

After Marist hit 50 percent of its first-half shots — including four of its first five three-point attempts — the Red Foxes shot just 17.1 percent in the final 20 minutes, in part because of Kentucky’s 13 blocked shots.

Davis led the Cats with 23 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three assists. Teague had 16 points, four assists and three turnovers. Lamb and the Wildcats’ fourth freshman, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, had 15 points apiece.

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UNC Basketball

One of the most entertaining sub-plots will be to chart the play at point guard. UNC Basketball’s Kendall Marshall has the keys to the machine for the Tar Heels, while Michigan State will turn to Keith Appling. Appling played in the US under-19 championships and impressed many, but he needs to realize the role of a point guard and adhere to it, deferring to his teammates often, despite his skill set individually.

What it is going to boil down to is that Michigan State’s strengths will be mitigated by the Tarheels. MSU’s best player Draymond Green will be pestered by John Henson all night, and at 6’10″ Henson has the length to frustrate Green.

Tonight’s game should be interesting to see to get some kind of gauge on just how good UNC Basketball is. The aircraft carrier will add a whole new “element of danger,” of sorts, but the real story will be on the court and whether Michigan State can manage to cover a 9.5 point spread that at this point actually looks conservative.

The game was part of an expanded Maui Invitational tournament. The Volunteers travel to Maui to face No. 6 Duke on Nov. 21, while the Spartans face Middle Tennessee at Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the regional field of the tournament.

So much about Tennessee (1-0) basketball has changed from a season ago.
Gone is Bruce Pearl, the animated coach that led the Vols to their first No. 1 ranking and first trip to the NCAA regional finals in his six seasons. The Vols are no longer concerned with the NCAA investigation of Pearl and his staff that lingered all last season.

Forward Tobias Harris and guard Scotty Hopson left early to enter the NBA draft and four other seniors who saw regular playing time have graduated, leaving Cameron Tatum as the lone returning starter.

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Rick Perry

A quote from Rick Perry website "Together, we can get America working again! Show your support and join the Rick Perry 2012 campaign today".
Are you, his voter?

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. Rick Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010. With a tenure in office to date of 10 years and 325 days, Perry is the longest continuously serving current U.S. governor,

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry drew a massive blank Wednesday night during CNBC's “Your Money, Your Vote” GOP debate, and the memory lapse is now getting the meme treatment on the web.

"I think the Perry campaign is over. I regret saying that and I do not say it easily," said one prominent Perry bundler, who spoke anonymously to preserve relations with the candidates and other Republicans. "I like him, I admire him … but the reality is he is consistently the weakest performer in these debates and does not, unfortunately, pass the test of presidential acceptability. Close your eyes and think of Rick Perry and Barack Obama on a debate platform, and I don't think you have to say much more."

Perry campaign staff attended what one official described as "an upbeat meeting" in the campaign's Austin headquarters Thursday morning. "Everyone was reminded not to get distracted," the official said. Some employees circulated emails from Perry supporters designed to fire up the base. But the buoyant message from Austin masked deep concern among some of the campaign's most ardent allies.

The tumult stemmed from an exchange at Wednesday's debate in Michigan. Perry said that once elected president he would eradicate three departments to shrink the federal government. After naming two — Education and Commerce — he drew a blank on the third. After an agonizing period of time, during which his rivals tried to help him out, a dazed-looking Perry finally gave up.

"I can't," Perry replied. "The third one, I can't. Sorry. Oops."

(Later in the debate, he remembered the department — Energy — which governs an issue he talks about constantly at campaign events.)

The exchange was especially devastating because it reinforced growing perceptions among Republicans that Perry lacks the deftness and discipline required to serve in the Oval Office.

"It still makes my skin crawl, and I've watched it 37 times since last night. It was just an unbelievable mental collapse," said Rich Galen, a veteran GOP strategist watching the primaries from the sidelines. "One of the things about being presidential is being able to react properly in a crisis.... For Perry last night that debate was a crisis mode. It was a big moment and he couldn't do it. I don't see how he comes back."

A saving grace is Perry's flush war chest, which will give him some money to attempt a resurrection — if he can convince his fundraisers to remain aboard.

"He's still sitting on a mountain of cash, so he's not going anywhere anytime soon. But if he doesn't find a way to start looking and sounding more presidential and prepared for the job, he may as well return all that cash because it's just going to be wasted," said D. Todd Harris, a GOP strategist who also is neutral in the race.

On Thursday, Perry tried to contain the damage by jocularly casting his gaffe as an understandable, if unfortunate, human error.

"Anytime you're standing up in front of how many million people we were and you have a loss of a train of thought, sure it impacts you. But the fact is, one error is not going to make or break a campaign," he said on CBS' "The Early Show."

He said he would participate in Saturday's debate — on foreign policy, a weak spot — but declined to commit to others.

Perry's campaign had been sputtering even before the latest implosion. He entered the race with the resume of a formidable contender — a decadelong tenure governing a state that is a rare economic bright spot, and a folksy charm that plays well among voters in states such as Iowa. But after rising to front-runner status weeks after his campaign began, he has recently been mired in the single digits.

During previous debates, he called Social Security a Ponzi scheme and said those who disagreed with in-state college tuition rates for illegal immigrants "don't have a heart." While campaigning, he implied that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was edging toward treason and would be dealt with violently in Texas. He suggested the American military get involved in Mexico's drug war. After a supporter denigrated Mormonism — Romney's faith — as a cult, Perry had to answer for it for days.

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Penn State Riot

A Penn State riot broke out Wednesday in State College, Pa., following the news that football coach Joe Paterno had been fired amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach. After Penn State's Board of Trustees announced coach Joe Paterno would be relieved of duty, students began shouting.

The morning after the streets of State College, Pa., were filled with those protesting the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno, Penn State senior Terell Dudley called the demonstrations outrageous.

Police in riot gear dispersed about 2000 Penn State students who took to the streets after the ouster of football coach Joe Paterno. Crowds toppled a television news van and at least one photographer was pelted with.

Is the Penn State riot an acceptable response to Joe Paterno being fired? He was much more than a football coach, but some say the violent reaction points to a deeper problem for colleges.

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Veterans Day

93rd Annual Veterans Day Parade in San Jose. Mayor Chuck Reed will participate in the annual Veterans Day Parade hosted by The United Veterans Council of Santa Clara County. The Staging Area will be located at the parking lot next to the San Jose Water.

Veterans Day started, in the United States, 11 November 1919, as Armistice Day, on the one year anniversary of the end of the Great War (World War I).

Every Veterans Day, some American businesses offer special deals as a show of appreciation for the Military. Applebee's is again offering a free meal to military veterans and active-duty service members on Veteran's Day, this Friday.

Veterans Day will be observed Friday in several ceremonies and memorials throughout the county. The Butler County Veterans Service Commission will hold both its Veterans Day.

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Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of American Revolution is a war memorial located in Washington Square. It honors the thousands of soldiers who died during the American Revolutionary War.

During the First World War, the British and French armies jointly decided to bury soldiers themselves in the form normally associated with religion. In Britain, under the Imperial War Graves Commission, Reverend David Railton had seen a grave marked by a rough cross while serving in the British Army as a chaplain on the Western Front, which bore the pencil-written legend "An Unknown British Soldier". He suggested (together with the French in their own country) the creation at a national level of a symbolic funeral and burial of an "Unknown Warrior", proposing that the grave should in Britain include a national monument in the form of what is usually, but not in this particular case, a headstone. The idea received the support of the Dean of Westminster and later from King George V, responding to a wave of public support. At the same time, there was a similar undertaking in France, where the idea was debated and agreed upon in Parliament.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was completed and the area opened to the public 9:15 a.m. April 9, 1932, without any ceremony.
Cost of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: $48,000
Sculptor: Thomas Hudson Jones
Architect: Lorimer Rich
Contractors: Hagerman & Harris, New York City

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CMA Awards

Country Music Awards updates.
Carrie Underwood attends the 45th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena1 in Nashville, Tenn. See CMA Awards live performance streaming here.

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood went topical with a song poking fun at comments by Williams last month in which he compared a golf game between President Barack Obama and Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner to Adolf Hitler playing golf with Israel's prime minister.

"You can drink and start carrying on, but you can't compare the president to Hitler," sang Paisley. Williams, 62, a rare face at awards shows, appeared midway to join in the joke, winning cheers and applause from the audience.


Single of the year went to The Band Perry for "If I Die Young," which also won song of the year.

Fans will also see performances during the 45th annual CMA awards show from veteran singer Faith Hill -- returning after a five-year absence -- while teen "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery will make his CMA debut.

The biggest prize, entertainer of the year, is expected to be announced at the end of the three-hour show broadcast live on U.S. television.

Jason Aldean has his first shot at the prestigious award after a stellar year that saw him headlining his own tour for the first time and hits like "Dirt Road Anthem." Aldean has four other nominations, including album of the year for "My Kinda Party."

Keith Urban, Paisley and Shelton -- who is a judge on TV contest "The Voice" -- are also in the running for entertainer of the year, with Taylor Swift the sole female nominee for the top honor.

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Family Circus

Bil Keane, the man behind the iconic comic strip "Family Circus" died yesterday in the age of 89. Keane died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his longtime home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., according to King Features Syndicate, which distributes the comic.

"The Family Circus" appears in nearly 1,500 papers around the world today, making it the most widely read syndicated panel, according to King Features.

"He was so marvelous. I always felt that he had a great sense of truth," said Mell Lazarus, creator of the "Momma" strip. "He had a vivid imagination. It's one of those cannot-miss features."

Like many humorists, Keane mined his family for material. He admitted to modeling the bespectacled and often befuddled Daddy on himself. His wife, Thelma, was the inspiration for the always-loving and ever-patient mother, also named Thel.

"When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy," Keane told The Associated Press after his wife died in 2008, "that if she was in the supermarket pushing her cart, people would come up to her and say, "Aren't you the Mommy in 'Family Circus?'"

The children in the strip were largely composites of his own five children but PJ "is the best of all my children: cute, usually smiling, once in a while naughty," Keane told the San Jose Mercury News in 2004.

In 1954, he launched a syndicated comic strip, "Channel Chuckles" that lampooned the burgeoning medium of television. In one strip, a mother holds a bawling baby in front of the TV as she explains to the father: "She slept through two gun fights and a barroom brawl - then the commercial woke her up."

At its peak, "Channel Chuckles" was syndicated in more than 200 papers before Keane retired the strip in 1976.

After a decade in Roslyn, Pa., the Keane family moved to Arizona in 1958 because of Bil's allergies. Working at home as a freelance cartoonist, he realized that most of his humor revolved around family life and small children, he later said.

Among fellow cartoonists, Keane was known to display a hard-edged sense of humor that Lazarus described as "sardonic." Keane softened his approach for the comic strip, aided by a "tremendous memory" that made it easy to come up with ideas, he later said, and perhaps to continue to see the world through the eyes of a child.

In one panel of "The Family Circus", Jeffy holds a snapshot of his father as a boy and asks, "Mommy, when did Daddy get little?"

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Toyota Recall

Potential steering problems on Toyota vehicles made Toyota Motor Corp. recalling more than 420,000 vehicles in the U.S. This step is being taken by Toyota Motor Corp.

Since September 2009, Toyota has issued recalls covering more than 13 million vehicles in the United States With the company facing hundreds of lawsuits, safety experts and industry analysts contend that quality problems could haunt the world's largest automaker.

The safety recall to replace the crankshaft pulley on the V-6 engine affects 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles in the U.S., the company said. Worldwide it covers 550,000 cars.

There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, Toyota said in a news release from its American headquarters in Torrance.

If not corrected, the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or a warning signal to light up. The belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley, making it suddenly more difficult to turn the driving wheel, the release said.

The latest Toyota Recall includes these Toyota models: the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara; the 2004 Avalon; and the 2006 Highlander HV. The affected Lexus models are the 2004 and 2005 ES 330 and RX 330 and the 2006 RX 400h, the company said.

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Christmas Tree Tax

The 15-cent tax on Christmas trees was announced Tuesday in the Federal Register and was meant to pay for a new board tasked with promoting the Christmas tree industry. It was supported by Christmas tree growers, who wanted a stable source of revenue to fund a new marketing campaign.

Do you belive that, A Tax on Christmas Trees?
Sceptics name it, "It's like a fee on Christmas trees".

The change quickly drew complaints from Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and others. Scalise described the fee as a "Grinch" move by the Obama administration and vowed to fight it.

The new program was set to go into effect Wednesday. According to the Agriculture Department announcement, the government would have imposed a 15-cent-per-tree charge on "producers and importers" of fresh Christmas trees, provided they sell or import more than 500 trees a year.

The program and fee were supported by some in the Christmas tree industry. The money was not meant to pay down the debt or fund any other program, but designed to go back into the new Christmas Tree Promotion Board.

The board, proposed earlier this year, is the culmination of a years-long effort by the fresh Christmas tree industry to promote itself, according to background information provided in the Federal Register. The industry has faced increasing competition from producers of artificial trees, but efforts to collect voluntary contributions for a fresh-tree marketing campaign have repeatedly run out of funding. So the government stepped in to mandate a fee to support the promotion board.

What do you think about Christmas Tree Tax?

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Election Results 2011

The vote in Mississippi on "personhood." As said, "voters in Colorado had twice rejected similar amendments to declare that life begins legally at fertilization ... but Mississippi, with its far more conservative bent, was considered much friendlier territory." They adds that "supporters ... aren't giving up. Efforts are already underway to get similar constitutional amendments on the ballot in another half dozen states next year and to pass personhood legislation in at least two more." Election Results 2011 in United States.

The Washington Post, says "legislative elections in Virginia appeared likely to add more evidence — as if national Democrats needed it — that the terrain of the political map will be significantly more rugged for President Obama next year." With one Virginia Senate race still too close to call, Democrats were on the brink of losing control of that chamber.

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Nome Alaska

Nome Alaska is expected to be one of the hardest hit communities. In Kotzebue, Wendy Schaefer is the community incident commander. She says winds are picking up, but currently there are no evacuation orders for any communities within the Northwest Arctic (Alaska Weather).

Stores in Nome, Alaska were pretty well stocked, but some businesses closed early. The bigger concern was for Alaska Natives in the 18 villages in the region, where the brunt of the storm was supposed to hit.

This is one of the storms to ever develop in the Bering Sea and it's bearing down on Alaska. This storm is comparable to the November 11th-12th 1974 storm, which remains as the most severe Bering Sea storm to ever hit Nome, Alaska.

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Alaska Weather

Latest updates on Alaska Weather, the city of Nome, one of the largest in western Alaska with 3,600 residents, issued an evacuation order late Tuesday with the storm, moving inland from the Aleutian Islands, expected to bring hurricane-force winds with gusts up to 100 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service said that an "epic" storm is bearing down on western Alaska, warning that it could be one of the worst on record for the state.

By late Tuesday night, the storm had reached Nome, bringing 60 mph winds and snow, reducing visibility to just a quarter mile, Kearney said. Phone circuits to Nome rang busy late Tuesday.

Scott Johnson, 28, a Nome banker, said he loaded a couple of bags into his truck and got gas so he's ready to go. "If there are 30-foot waves, A, they might be coming over the sea and B, they might be coming into my apartment," he said.

"The general view out here is we get storms like this on a fairly regular basis," Johnson said. "We kind of shrug it off. But when the National Weather Service is trying to sound an alarm with 30-foot seas and this is a rare storm, take it seriously. I think they're taking it seriously with a grain of salt."

Officials in Nome issued the evacuation order for people living along Front Street, a beachside avenue that serves as the finish line for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and for other low-lying areas in town.

Nome and the rest of the Seward Peninsula, a section of land that juts out toward Siberia, were expected to be the hardest-hit areas, according to the National Weather Service in Anchorage.

Residents in shelters
At least three other communities were housing residents in local shelters as of Tuesday afternoon, said Bryan Fisher, chief of operations for the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

But long-distance evacuations from the remote region were not considered feasible, Fisher told a media briefing in Anchorage.

"Air traffic will not be flying in the weather that we're expecting in the next 24 to 48 hours," he said.

The communities spread along the Alaska coastline are mostly traditional Native settlements, with a few hundred to a few thousand inhabitants, and no roads linking communities.

The last time forecasters saw something similar was in November 1974, when Nome also took the brunt of the storm. That surge measured more than 13 feet, pushing beach driftwood above the level of the previous storm of its type in 1913.

Wednesday's storm surge is expected to cause beach erosion and flooding and may push Norton Bay ice on shore, forecasters said.

The village of Point Hope, which sits on the tip of a peninsula with the Arctic Ocean on one side and the Bering Sea on the other, is particularly vulnerable at just 7 to 8 feet above sea level.

The Inupiat Eskimo village of about 700 people has no sea wall and no evacuation road. If evacuation becomes necessary, everyone will go to the school because it sits on higher ground and is big enough to accommodate everyone, Mayor Steve Oomittuk said.

Posing an additional threat is the lack of sea ice off northwestern Alaska, forecasters said.

In the 1974 storm, the sea surface was much more frozen.

"History tells that the sea ice helps subdue the storm surge," Andy Brown, lead forecaster for the NWS, said. "With no sea ice there, we could see the full brunt of that 6- to 9-foot storm surge."

Arctic sea ice this year reached the second-lowest coverage since satellite records began in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Federal, state and local agencies were making emergency preparations in advance of the storm. The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management set up an incident command, with numerous agencies coordinating responses.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has staged helicopters in the region and sent a cutter to prepare for emergency responses, with a special focus on the crab-fishing fleet.

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Election Results

Ohio's bill went further than a similar one in Wisconsin by including police officers and firefighters, and was considered by many observers to be a barometer of the national mood on the political conundrum of the day: what is the appropriate size and role of government and who should pay for it.

Its defeat is anticipated to energise the labour movement, which largely supports the Democrats, ahead of Barack Obama's re-election effort.

The result indicated that voters in the industrial mid-west may be growing disenchanted with the Tea Party-backed Republicans voted into office in 2010 who have advocated deep spending cuts and opposed tax increases.

Faced with budget gaps and Tea Party pressure to curb spending, Republican governors around the country have sought to limit unions' influence. The new law repealed in Ohio would have severely limited the bargaining rights of more than 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees.

The law had not taken effect yet. It would have permitted workers to negotiate wages but not pensions or healthcare benefits. It banned strikes for public sector workers, scrapped binding arbitration and dropped promotions based solely on seniority.

With about a third of the vote tallied the repeal effort was leading 61% to 39%.

The vote is a blow to the state's new Republican governor, John Kasich, who pushed strongly for the legislation after Republicans gained a firm hold on the Ohio legislature in 2010.

Labour and business interests poured more than $30m into the nationally watched campaign and turnout was high for an off-year election.

Kasich and supporters in the business community promoted the law as a means for local governments to save money and keep workers. The largely union-funded opponent coalition painted the issue as a threat to public safety and middle-class workers, running TV ads filled with images of firefighters, police officers, teachers and nurses.

Ohio voters also approved a proposal to prohibit people from being required to buy health insurance as part of the national health care overhaul supported by Obama. The vote was mostly symbolic but Republicans hope to use it as part of a legal challenge.

In Maine voters repealed a new state law supported by the state's new Tea Party-backed Republican governor that requires voters to register at least two days before an election.

The elections also include governors' races in Mississippi and Kentucky. Kentucky's Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, was re-elected, becoming the second Democrat to win a governorship in 2011. He won despite high unemployment, budget shortfalls and an onslaught of third-party attack ads.

In Mississippi the lieutenant governor, Phil Bryant, appeared poised to keep the governor's mansion in Republican hands, succeeding Haley Barbour, who toyed briefly with a run for president. The Hattiesburg mayor, Johnny Dupree, is the first black major-party nominee for governor in Mississippi, but an upset win for him is not in the cards.

In Arizona the Republican state senator Russell Pearce, architect of the tough immigration law cracking down on illegal immigrantst that thrust the issue into the national political debate, faces a recall election that could throw him out of office. The Republican attempting to defeat him has made immigration a constant theme but Pearce enjoyed a 3-1 fundraising advantage.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant comfortably disposed of Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree in the campaign to succeed popular outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

Beshear led Williams, the state senate president, by 23 points with more than 75 percent of all precincts reporting — a resounding result that was never really in question since the Democrat locked a double-digit lead last spring.

Independent Gatewood Galbraith, an attorney who has run for governor five times, was holding just under 10 percent of the vote.

Bolstered by a $10 million war chest, the 67-year-old Beshear never really had a competitive race, with the campaign concentrated on steadily pushing up the numbers from Beshear’s first internal poll in January that showed him with just an eight point lead, 50 percent to 42 percent.

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Duggar Family

The Duggar family, of TLC's "18 Kids and Counting," pose on the steps of the Capitol with their congressman, Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.), during a trip to Washington.

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of TLC's 19 Kids & Counting, are expecting their 20th child! Yes, their 20th child it is. I don't know about you, but I really do love their show and their sweet family! I am very happy for them!

The 45-year-old mom told the "Today" show, that Michelle Duggar was surprised to discover she was expecting at her age. "I was not thinking that God would give us another one, and we are just so grateful."

The couple's children have typically been 16 to 18 months apart, but with their last child born in December 2009 this is the longest the family has gone without a new addition, according to MSNBC.

The Duggars have said before that they leave their family planning to God, reports MSNBC.

Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar have 19 children range in age from 23 years to 23 months. The announcement of their 20th child coincides with the show's finale tonight, Nov. 8.

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The Best Anti Aging Cream

The best anti-aging skin creams you provide the right blend of all natural compounds proven to produce positive results you seek. You would not use anything but the safest and most effective anti-aging cream for the skin on your quest to increase firmness and elasticity of your skin. However, it seems that millions of people use formulas ineffective and potentially dangerous to the skin daily.

A lot of products regularly introduced as the best anti-creams for skin aging are not even good for your skin, and most contain known toxins and carcinogens. Many cosmetics manufacturers not to use more expensive ingredients they can find to make their cosmetics, and that includes the major manufacturers we all know. Never buy a product of skin care based strictly on the familiarity or popularity of a society.

If you do not really know what goes into a cream for skin anti-aging (and most people do not), you can put in place for a lot of trouble. These toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in these formulas never completely leave your body, like traces of them are absorbed by your soft tissues. It is the accumulation of these substances on a number of years that can lead to quite serious consequences for your health.

It is well known in some circles that the toxins in the products said to be the best anti-aging skin creams can cause a myriad of very serious medical problems. People experience problems such as kidney damage and liver failure, neurological problems, anemia, decreased blood cell counts, convulsions, paralysis and death due to respiratory failure and collapse of the circulatory system. You should be aware of what you use on your skin.

You will want to ensure that any skin cream anti-aging you buy contains only natural compounds, which provide your skin with valuable nutrients. Compounds such as grapeseed oil, extracted from Wakame seaweed Phytessence, avocado oil, and active Manuka honey easily penetrate the skin, and have unique healing properties. They also have properties that make them unique anti-aging compounds.

The best skin creams contain anti-aging really Phytessence Wakame seaweed extract and grape seed oil because they can disrupt the activity of enzymes that cause loss of tissue and polymer. This means you lose collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid and a much slower pace. Avocado oil and Active Manuka help produce collagen stronger and more durable.

Two of the most effective ingredients in an anti-aging skin cream when it comes to the production of collagen are Xtend TK, and Nano-H lipobelle QE10. These compounds are proteins and enzymes unique, and molecularly changing the form of nutrients. Both compounds have been proven to significantly increase collagen production, and they increase the creation of elastin as well.

By knowing what health, effective ingredients to look for, you can find the best skin creams anti-aging. These formulas all individuals are not only safe but extremely effective. They are exactly what you need to erase lines and wrinkles of the skin, and greatly improves your appearance.

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Ipod Recovery Software Tips

The Apple iPod is a revolutionary gadget, next only to the cell phone which created waves after it was introduced. Though the iPod initially had a slow start, it has now become one of the hottest selling gadgets. The very fact that it acts as a multipurpose tool by acting as an audio playback device, video player and photo viewer makes it stand apart from other media players like the mp3 players or the walkman for that matter. The top quality sound and the innovative user interface have made it even more popular not only among music lovers, but also gadget freaks.

However, the iPod does carry with it some disadvantages, like any other gadget. A major problem has been the freezing of the iPod when the iTunes application is being accessed, or when transfer of data is taking place between the iPod and a storage medium like a computer's hard drive. This freezing of the iPod can render the tracks inaccessible and could also result in deletion of all the audio tracks. This issue can however be fixed by the help of a good iPod Recovery Software. This method can be successful only if you avoid using the iPod any further until the recovery process is complete.

IPod recovery software is a software customized to recover music from iPod. This powerful software provides an easy-to-use interface to the user, so that he can perform data recovery with the least effort. This software is also capable of recovering photos and videos of various formats from the iPod.

Ipod recovery software recovers many files like photos, videos, images and music which are either unintentionally deleted or formatted. The ipod recovery software is the ultimate tool for your ipod video and ipod photo to restore your lost or deleted music files from ipod shuffle, ipod touch and ipod nano and ipod fifth generation series. This ipod recovery software proves to be the very good option then sending your ipod for repair to any data recovery service.

Some of the key features of the ipod data recovery software are as follows-

Easy to operate with no technical software skills.
Recovers data even if ipod partition volume is not recognized by the system.
Retrieves corrupted files and folders from the ipod storage disk.
Ensure music recovery when updated or restored using itunes software.
Restores lost photos, music and deleted songs from logically damaged or formatted ipod memory.

The system requirements for ipod data recovery are very less. It requires minimum64 MB of ram and 20 MB of free space hard disk space. Ipod recovery software supports all latest operating system like windows vista/2000/2003/XP. You can download and can buy online the ipod data recovery software. So now you are more secured with your ipod data because now ipod data recovery is possible with ipod recovery software.

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World Series Game 1

The World Series Game 1 expected to be held in Philadelphia since winning the National League All-Star Game. But of course, the Phillies fell early, and now their fans - like me - we have to look at St. Louis Cardinals of all teams welcome the beginning of the World Series instead.

Game 1 is usually the only vulnerable Cardinals in the postseason. Both the Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers have false hopes when they beat St. Louis to start the Division Series and Championship Series and won only once more. This is to do the Texas Rangers is more misunderstood than actually lost the World Series Game 1 3-2 on October 19.

Losing the first game is the kiss of death in 19 of the last 23 Fall Classics - although the Phillies are one of four teams to blow a 1-0 lead the Yankees in New York in 2009. In any case, this possibility is less disruptive in which teams have a number of deficiencies in the last month it was really the driving seat now.

Maybe the Cardinals are so used to return from the end of August did not know what to do with profits. Of course, stick to advantage when the game has not been a problem lately, thanks to the sudden dominance of the St. Louis bullpen.

For once, the experts seem appropriate to call Cardinals games and Rangers in the World Series enemy. Both teams had two hits and two runs have the opportunity to push ahead run with a pinch-hitter late in Game 1. But the election of Tony La Russa Craig Allen (notes) as a pinch hitter pay off down the sixth, with the success of Nelson Cruz (notes) falls under the catch inches. If not, trust Ron Washington Esteban German (notes) to tie in the seventh inning and did not pay - then, instead of St. Louis bullpen gave a real chance of a new Texas.

Texas knows the risk of losing the World Series game since Cliff Lee (notes) does not come by the Rangers against the Giants in San Francisco and put them into a hole that never leaves. As the Rangers and Cardinals were separated by only a few moves in Game 1, it probably means that things that can still be so close for the rest of the series. But if St. Louis to take Game 2 and go up 2-0, which seems out of balance can close very quickly, like most Fall Classic over the past decade.

Considering that St. Louis has been struggling with his back against the wall for nearly two months, won the final oblique ironic - and somewhat disappointing. However, this is a familiar position that the Cardinals will soon, unless the Rangers can fight back from the familiar position after losing the last World Series Game 1.

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Daylight Savings 2011

Next spring, why don't we just set the clocks ahead half an hour and then leave them there PERMANENTL­Y? Daylight Saving Time is nothing more than a semi-annua­l problem that serves no real purpose and in fact causes more harm than it solves. Studies have shown that the risk of heart attack and other health problems rises after the time switches, and many people complain about how it disrupts their circadian rhythms for days, if not weeks, afterwards­. It doesn't do any good for animals either; pet owners have to deal with animals who expect to be fed at a certain time and make life hell if they're not, and farmers have to deal with livestock that act the same way.

Parents' lives are no easier; they have to deal with the "But it's still light out!' arguments at bedtime and sluggish kids in the mornings.

No, it's not your imagination. You really have to wait long to get an extra hour of sleep this year.

In fact, Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends the morning of Sunday, November 6 when moving the clock one hour back. Or, you forget to move your clocks an hour and work an hour early before the light still in office.

Extending Daylight Saving Time started in 2007, after the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 came into force at the clock back an hour on the first Sunday in November, not the last Sunday in October, the International Business Times reported. They also began to change the daylight saving time for the second Sunday in March from the first Sunday in April.

There are a number of conflicting reports about how much energy is saved from Daylight Saving Time. Back in 1970, studies show that it saves 1% of national energy, which is a big motivation for adoption of Daylight Saving Time. On the one hand, states such as California argues that the energy savings are negligible. However, another report published in 2008 by U. S. Department of Energy completed four additional weeks of daylight saving time will save 1300000000000 watt-hours per day, enough to power 100,000 homes for a year, reports Scientific American.

Even Benjamin Franklin came up with idea in 1784, explains Time and Date, summer time is not used until World War I to conserve energy. The U.S. observed year-round daylight saving during World War II and carried out during the energy crisis in the early 1970s, notes the magazine Scientific American.

Not all Daylight Saving Time observed throughout the United States, including Hawaii, mostly in Arizona, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana.

A post on ABC15.com Chris Kline explains why most of Arizona do not observe the time change. " According to an Arizona Republic editorial from 1969, because the extreme heat of Arizona Daylight Saving Time If you have to watch the sun stays out until 9:00 in the summer (instead of 20 o'clock, as is currently). "

NOTE: The technical term for the event is not time to daylight savings, but Daylight Saving Time.

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich

Under the count of 24 hours, right after Motorola unveiled its latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) phone, Google and Samsung unveiled a smartphone running the next-generation Android 4.0 OS (named Android Ice Cream Sandwich) in New York City is officially going to come out.

The first mobile phone to get Ice Cream Sandwich is the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which will come with Google's operating system is installed natively. Nexus Galaxy will be launched in the United States in November, but no information about pricing or carrier.

Google has confirmed that the Ice Cream Sandwich will also attend the Nexus S, according to Engadget. Two Google executives said the company's website is "currently in the process to release Ice Cream Sandwich Nexus S. In theory [which] should work for every device 2.3 ".

The phones that run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) are: HTC's Desire, Desire Z, Desire HD, Droid Incredible, Droid Incredible 2, Evo 4G, Incredible S, and ThunderBolt; LG's Optimus 2X and Optimus One; Motorola's Atrix 4G, Droid 2, Droid Pro, and Droid X; Google's Nexus One and Nexus S; Samsung's Galaxy S; Sony's Xperia X10; and T-Mobile's G2 and myTouch 4G.

Whats new on Android Ice Cream Sandwich?
Android Ice Cream Sandwich completely redesigns and refreshes Android.

A big feature update is the addition of nonphysical navigation buttons. Google hasn't yet explained how or if this will work with phones that currently have physical navigation buttons (such as the Droid X), so if your phone has physical navigation buttons you may not want to get too excited.

Some of the other things you can look forward to include: folder creation, recent apps, improved notifications, as well as updates to Gmail, the calendar app, the browser (which now supports tabbed browsing), and the speech-to-text software.

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Emma Stone

Everybody knows who's Jim Carrey, a comedian. It give me some of the movies he's been on. Crazy guy isn't it.
Well, we just don't get enough from this guy.
Recently, he made a video for Emma Stone:
'Emma, I think you're all the way beautiful. Not just pretty, but smart and kind-hearted'

Jim Carrey may have taken the name "Crazy, Stupid, Love" a little bit too literally. The 49-year old actor just released a video in which he declares his love to 22-year old It Girl actress Emma Stone, in which he day dreams about.
Although her new film isn't getting love from everyone, actress Emma Stone apparently has one devoted admirer: Jim Carrey.

Looks like Ryan Gosling—not to mention movie audiences who have flocked to see "Crazy, Stupid, Love" and "The Help"—isn't the only one to fall for Emma Stone this summer! Jim Carrey used his website to post a video for Emma Stone. The 49-year-old comedian says to the 22-year-old 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' actress, 'I think you're all the way beautiful'.

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Travel to Chiapas Mexico and Found the Magic

Have you ever fly to Mexico?
Mexico is an exotic and a magical place to visit for your next holiday.

They have a wonderful beach, nice people and many festival to see.
If you doubt on travelling to Mexico, well don't. Just take your luggage and prepare yourself for an adventure.

One of my favourite place is Chiapas. If your wandering whats magical about that, well you just have to find out yourself.

And if you're confused about finding a good hotel, just go to the Best Hotel at Tapachula, Chiapas, MEXICO.

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Handmade Rug Buying Tips

Here are some guidelines to use for purchasing a handmade rug. I know, finding a handmade rug can be daunting, yet those who succeed in buying beautiful rugs are richly rewarded. So how can you choose well? Here are some checklist to do:

1. The Portrait of Excellence
a good rug lies flat and straight on the floor and is reasonably regular in its shape. It has lively, lustrous wool or fiber. Its colors are in balance, having neither faded nor bled. It has been intelligently "finished" so that it is not washed out, unnaturally shiny, or unpleasantly bright and harsh. Above all, the rug has a certain sophisticated quality, an elan that speaks of its having been designed and woven by skilled artisans.

2. How to Find a Good Rug
Perhaps the single most important step in buying a good rug is to find a rug dealer you can trust. Some of the finest, most ethical dealers in the country can be located on this site. The best rug dealers are born educators who love to share their knowledge with you and guide you without bullying. They will encourage you to take rugs home on approval without obligation. They are very concerned about child labor in the rug industry and carefully avoid rugs made under suspect conditions. Trust yourself. If you feel uncomfortable with a dealer, move on.

3. Do Prep Work
First, measure the area the rug will cover. Remember, you should probably have a border of flooring all the way around the rug. Allow for a range of sizes; the greater the range, the more choices you will have. Consider whether you prefer traditional rugs or those with contemporary designs. To guide your decision, one option is to retain an interior designer. Designers can be wonderful allies in finding the right rugs. But remember, their focus is likely to be on "the look." The rug dealer’s focus will be on quality. Yours will be on what you like. Listen to all, but mostly to yourself.

Read more about Handmade Rugs

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Ecstasy Offers Blood Cancer a New Hope

Scientists have claimed, a modified version ecstasy (MDMA) - could help with treatment for blood cancer.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham shows significant success in "redesigning the designer drug" for potential use as a cancer-killing agent in the treatment of leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

"They started to look more lipophilic, that is, they were attracted to the lipids that make up cell walls. This would make them more 'soapy' so they would end up getting into the cancer cells more easily and possibly even start dissolving them.

The new work builds on the scientists' discovery six years ago that more than half of the cancers in white blood cells they looked at responded in the test tube to the growth-suppressing properties of psychotropic drugs.

He added: "This is an exciting next step towards using a modified form of MDMA to help people suffering from blood cancer.

"While we would not wish to give people false hope, the results of this research hold the potential for improvement in treatments in years to come."

Dr David Grant, of the national charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research , which part-funded the research, said: "The prospect of being able to target blood cancer with a drug derived from ecstasy is a genuinely exciting proposition.

"Many types of lymphoma remain hard to treat and non-toxic drugs which are both effective and have few side effects are desperately needed. Further work is required but this research is a significant step forward in developing a potential new cancer drug."

The team now hopes to go on to develop pre-clinical studies.

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Diabetes Needle Disposal

Needle is a little thing that is sharp enough to puncture through our skin.
Diabetes needles refer to syringes used to deliver insulin that gently puncture the skin for blood glucose checks.
According to Diabetes Monitor, more than 1 billion needles are used in the U.S. annually for diabetic-related health care, that's is quite a number if you count it one by one. Proper disposal of these needles or "sharps" is very important to protect yourself and others from potential harm and infection.

Little tips on Needle disposal:

1. Place used insulin needles in a sturdy plastic or metal container.
2. Secure the lid of your container down with duct tape when it's full if you're using a makeshift container like a coffee can to prevents any accidental needle contact for whoever handles your disposed insulin needles..
3. Use the Safe Needle Disposal search engine for disposal centers.
4. When traveling away from home, an alternative to carrying a sharps container is a needle cutter. The needle cutter safely clips the syringe needle near the base and stores it until you can deposit the clipped needles in an appropriate sharps container. These needle cutters can also be purchased at most drug stores.

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Suicide Bombers Hit UK Offices

Suicide bombers have attacked the British Council offices in Kabul on the public holiday marking Afghanistan's independence from Britain.

At least three people were killed in an initial attack.

"Eight people, mostly police, are killed and 10 others injured," Siddiq Siddiqui of Afghanistan's interior ministry said.
"Apache helicopters have been circling around the building and the battle is still ongoing."

It is unclear if any Britons have been killed or injured in the attack.

The Taliban has claimed it launched the attack on the British cultural institution in Kabul to mark the country's independence from Britain in 1919.

 

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Access BBC iplayer

BBC iPlayer (or just iPlayer) is an internet television developed by the BBC to extend its content to include whole TV shows. The streaming version of iPlayer offers replays of programmes broadcast on all BBC TV channels during the last seven days.

From a webmaster point of view, streaming a video means a big load on the server. Considerably, if it was watched by a millions of viewer. To be able to watch it you need a good profesional VPN services. If you are searching for a pro VPN hosting, there's one in mind, VPNMaster.com is the best way to access the BBC iPlayer. They have a reliable service with 30 clients per server. You will get full broadband speed!

If you're in UK, then lucky you. There's uk vpn.

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Photo on Canvas

I have many photos that i've taken with my 10 mega pixel digital camera in my Toshiba netbook. I was always want to print it on a bigger frame and put it in the living room just to showcase it.
Several days ago i have an idea to print the photo on canvas. After a while on Google, i've found that, yes! there are services for printing photos on canvas.
Voilla...
After a few days, they print it on canvas. And now, the photos is in my bedroom wall.
The printing result was good, the print quality quite amaze me.

Hope you can turn your favorite photo into canvas art too, just like me :D

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Fight Cholesterol With Anti-Oxidants

The past few years there has been an excellent deal debate regards anti-oxidants and healthy consuming and just how it might play a massive role on cutting your cholesterol and toxins. ORAC means Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and it's a measurement program that offers fruit and berries a specific score depending on their anti-oxidants activity and also to subdue toxins in your body.

The higher the total amount the greater effective the anti-oxidants characteristics of given fruit.

It's suggested that we eat between 3000 and 5000 ORAC values per day, but unfortunately around 80% of the US population eat less than a 1000 per day, which means they put themselves in a high risk of obtaining age related diseases in a young age.

Bananas has a value of 220 ORAC units, blueberries contains around 2400 units per grams. But Acai and Maqui berries contain more than 5500 ORAC units which will be the highest ever recorded in any fruits or berries.

This means that if you take Acai and Maqui berries as a every day supplement in a item like Slimberry or any other juices or supplements available on the market, you will provide your body with a lot of anti oxidants to fight of cholesterol and lower the amount of free radicals in your body.

Taking anti-oxidants just like a supplement is really a much better technique to offer the every day recommendation of 3000 to 5000 ORAC models every day, compared to consuming between 15 and 256 bananas or apples every day only to achieve the identical level of models compared to Acai berry and Magui berries.

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Getting Rid of Age Spots

Know any brownish or even purplish spots on your skin? Some people like to call them sun spots, brown spots or liver spots. Call them anything you want, but for the most of us the fact remains: we see the spots as unsightly and we most likely want to do what you can to get rid of age spots.

These spots are most often associated with high age and getting older, and that's why a lot of people think that only people beyond their middle age years can get them. That's not completely true, however. These ugly blemishes can indeed be caused by for example genetics or excessive tanning and too much exposure to the sun. That's why it's possible for people in their thirties, twenties, and sometimes even younger to get them.

Whatever your age, most likely you are looking for a way to get rid of the age spots.

My suggestion is that you should first try natural, yet effective solutions for getting rid of these spots.

To lighten the existing spots and to avoid the appearance of new ones, you first need to understand that age spots are actually a build up of melanin, a pigment in the human body that participates in giving our skin, our hair and our eyes color.

There are natural ways you can try at home which might help you naturally lighten the pigmentation the areas of your skin where age spots appear. You can try applying lemon juice or apple cider vinegar on your brown spots regularly, and over time you could see some lightening of the age spots.

There are also many creams on the market that offer to get rid of your age spots. Some promise wonderful results, but in fact most of the real results on actual users and not advertisement staff end up being meager. Keep a keen eye for hoax products when it comes to getting rid of sun spots!

My advice is that you always should take time to read the ingredients list of any products you are planning to use. In addition, I suggest you avoid applying synthetic ingredients or harsh chemicals like bleach on your skin and on your sun spots.

There are natural substances that are known for their effective yet not harmful skin lightening effect, like extrapone nutgrass. Look it up, it really is a great ingredient when it comes to getting rid of age spots. If you can, try to find a lightening cream with it.

In addition to reading the ingredients list, it is usually useful to read reviews of products to see what experiences other users have had with the creams you are thinking of using. Keep in mind, though, that different users will get different results based on their skin types, but also on factors like how precisely they followed the instructions. There are many variables that can differ, and that's why even though reviews are useful, they should always be read with caution.

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Getting Rid of Stretch Marks

When the skin stretches too quickly, the connective tissue underneath the skin become weak and eventually tear. Usually it happens when you gain weight or become pregnant. Collagen and elastin fibers located in the dermis are torn, causing the appearance of stretch marks.

Stretch marks are like webs or underground scars that don't look good on the skin. This is the reason why a lot of people are wondering how to get rid of stretch marks.

When it comes to getting rid of stretch marks, it is very important to start as early as possible. The earlier you treat the stretch marks, the better the results.

Generally speaking, you can't completely eliminate stretch marks unless you will undergo surgery. However, there are also some ways to improve the appearance of stretch marks until it becomes less visible.

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Running a Weight Loss Diet

Planning to loose weight and stay fit and healthy?
There are several things to consider achieving this objective. If you are already overweight you need to find a quick solution you could put your health at risk. The market is flooded with variety of food and pills all promising instant results. Some may even engaged in operational procedures which is very expensive and risky. These options listed are only part of the wide selection of weight loss procedures.
How about involving you to a natural way of losing weight, examples of this are workout, diet, and fitness programs. This is really effective though not instant but rather a healthy means of losing weight. If you're a busy person and can not enrolled yourself to workout sessions on the gym, diet and home based fitness programs is best for you. There are a lot of selections you can choose from on the net. Some provides personal training session while others prefer DVD guides and e-books which you can use anytime conveniently. You may also have to consider three aspects how to lose weight effectively.

1. Lose Weight permanently if possible- avoid lose now and gain later attitude.
On losing weight avoid slowing down your metabolism-improper diet and exercise may result to slowing down you metabolism.
2. Keep away from diet pills- the effect is only temporary, later on your body will get used to it and you won't see changed anymore
3. Keep track of your weight- have a record with your daily weight whether increasing or decreasing this is really important to see if changes really occur.

There are a lot of fitness programs made from well known coaches like Craig Woods who created the Elite Weight Loss Package which offers a diet plan that would substitute all your unnecessary foods that you eat. The diet plan also comes with a weight loss program that will keep you maintain your weight and prevent you to gain again. Plus the whole program doesn't require you to go to the gym, its absolutely home base weight loss session and can be done daily with out mixing up your daily routine. It's all natural and very beneficial to your health.

How will you be able to maintain your ideal weight?
1. Watch what you eat- normally during the time that you are losing weight you suddenly forget to maintain it. 2. This makes your daily food consumption to increase and forget to monitor about it.
3. Keep weight loss program part of your daily habit.
4. Few walks in the morning will keep your metabolism up.
5. Learn to live a greener life (adopt fruits and vegetables as part of your daily meal.)
6. Be involve on social and environmental activities- this will keep you busy and moving.

If you are really determined to lose weight and keep your body fit and healthy these steps will be easy for you to follow. Don't just hopped into conclusions and avoid getting scammed by fake advertisements that flood in the net and on the market, Doing it in your own with a little guidance and help will be much safer and effective than those instant weight loss products.

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Healthy Aging Skin

Why is skin so important? Coz, it literally cover all your body. There is a lot one can do to remove the effects of aging skin. Beauty products especially made to reduce the effects of aging are very useful for such people. The most efficient beauty products for aging skin offer better complexion, nutrients and better skin health. There are a lot of onlinesorters where you can buy these products. Most of the beauty products take six weeks to show results. The cost of these beauty products shouldn't be the deciding factor in choosing the one for you because the expensive products don't necessarily mean better results.

Beauty Products with Active Ingredients:

All beauty products must contain active ingredients, because only one product containing these ingredients can give you the desired results. There are only a few ingredients that can give this result. These active ingredients are listed on the labels of products you should read them carefully before making your purchase. One of these is known as retinol, which is a compound of vitamin A. The agent is highly effective anti-wrinkle. It is also known as retinoids, retinoic acid and retinol. Other active ingredients include copper peptides, alpha-hydroxy acid, salicylic acid, cojic. The promotional code is a great way to save big money on your orders of beauty products.

Sunscreen:
Sun exposure can cause skin damage and is the main cause of most skin problems. You can be considered the main enemy of your skin.As we all know, the sun is the main cause of skin aging and sun protection can be considered the most beautiful cosmetic skin aging. Sunscreens are very useful to protect your skin against harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Harmful rays can cause wrinkles, skin texture and compromised skin discoloration irregular. There are all factors to consider before buying a sunscreen and one of the most important is sun protection factor (SPF), which should be at least 30 years. The sunscreen should also provide UVB / UVA protection. You can use your sunscreen in a variety of ways, like on bare skin or your makeup. There are a variety of products from skin care that gives you protection against the sun such as sunscreens, etc.

Moisturizing Products:
Our skin loses its moisture as we get old. This natural process can put sign of aging on your face. Low skin moisture level can also cause lusterless, dull complexion tone. A good moisturizer is a great thing that can give you a fresh and younger look. Moisturizers are regarded as one of the essential anti-aging skin product. They can fill fine skin lines and it's recommended to use a good moisturizer before going to bed. This practice is helpful in repairing skin damage. There are a lot of beauty products that provide moisture to skin like day and/or night creams, serums, eye make-up, lipsticks, foundations, lotions and gels. Buying so many beauty products can be very expensive but there are websites that are offering promotional codes that can save you lot of money. EzCouponsearch.com is one of these sites that are offering coupons and promotion of lots of online stores including HSN Promo Code that let you to buy wide array of beauty products and other stuffs at affordable price.

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Facebook Like

There's a lot of content in Facebook, either in someone's Facebook profile, page or notes. For instance, a few days ago I've seen photos from a friend's birthday and status updates from a friend traveling in China.

Facebook introduced an easy way to tell friends that you like what they're sharing on Facebook with one easy click. Wherever you can add a comment on your friends' content, you'll also have the option to click "Like" to tell your friends exactly that: "I like this."

You can 'Like' someone's status, and if he read yours, he'll probably 'Like' yours back.

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Driving in France

France is a wonderful country. There are many things to see in France.
Beside the Eiffel ower and the suburban area that has beautiful area, the view on mountains is also beautiful and would be a shame to miss.

One way to enjoy France is by driving a car. Buy or rent a car if you don't have one.
If you're planning on driving in France, you have to know French driving laws and the best routes to enjoy the view there.

France has everything that you could ever want to see. It has natural beauty, great beaches, beautiful mountains, a dazzling nightlife, and Paris. The alluring French culture, the famous architecture, one of the world’s best cuisines, and of course the French wine, all of this makes you holidays in France an unforgettable trip.

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Bahamas Homes

Bahamas is one of the most exotic places where you can forget your stress of daily job and get on the best pleasure ever.

Bahamas Homes are mostly small remote villages and have a simple way of life. Here you will get the chance to enjoy the most beautiful beaches, diving sites and fishing sites.

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New York Jets

As the country marks the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks - annual Bowl-or-bust Decision super arrogant Rex Ryan seem empty words. Before Sunday night, the franchise of the Dallas Cowboys have a record of 241-0-1, when you drive at least 14 points - he never lost the advantage of two landings and 15 minutes from the end of the game. Signal back to the home team in 1960, but the plane from New York do not care about the sanctity of the recording. And as expected of a team of Rex Ryan, the aircraft was the first enemy that comes from the lack of beating the Cowboys by a series of not thinking, sloppy offensive play by their opponents, a big special teams, the defense and transcendent.

New York Jets was defeated Ryan to both sides of the head of the Dallas Cowboys. And to make matters worse, his sin is taken to the woodshed by Rob Ryan's defense, which limited to 48 yards on the final stage of the first half.

It got so bad that a bunch of fans started pouring out of MetLife Stadium when Mark Sanchez, who started the night by rushing onto the field carrying an American flag, fired an interception that left his team down two touchdowns with 14:50 remaining.

Few suspected at that point that the Jets were on their way to an improbable 27-24 victory.

The Cowboys self-destructed with crucial turnovers and penalties.

After playing splendidly most of the night, quarterback Tony Romo, in his first regular-season game back following shoulder surgery, was ruined by a fumble deep in the red zone, then a careless interception that set the stage for ex-Cowboy Nick Folk's 50-yard game-winning field goal with 27 seconds left.

"We were in a dogfight," Rex Ryan said. "It shows you the resolve of our football team. It might have been the best team effort that I've ever been a part of. We kept hanging in there and believed that we could get it done."

And the Jets? After looking feeble and disinterested at both ends of the field most of the way, Rex got the last laugh on big brother, while Papa Buddy Ryan -- battling cancer -- watched from a luxury suite.

Things began to change for the Jets once Sanchez, who'd been held in check to that point, mounted an 87-yard scoring drive before halftime to narrow Dallas' lead to 10-7.

From there the Jets, fueled by the energy of the crowd were a different team.

"This was for our community," Rex Ryan said.

"We told our team before the game that whoever plays the hardest the longest will win," Rex Ryan said after the game. "You've always heard me talk about it — they're not in there until they're in there, and we saw that today. It looked bleak, there's no question about it — that's an explosive team, both on offense and defense. That stat about them being 241-0-1 when they have a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter … I mean, it just shows you the resolve of our football team. It was a team effort, there's no doubt about that. From the blocked punt, to Nick Folk nailing a 50-yard field goal, out offense just needed a little more time to throw the football — Mark did a great job and Plax was huge for us. You saw those captains — you saw how Sione gets the fumble around the goal line, and how Revis gets the pick.

"We lean on our captains, and they did a great job for us."

Revis agreed. "We showed a lot of heart, We were down, 24-10 at one point, and we just kept telling guys on the sideline to push it and push it so that we could get back up and get into the game and win it.

"It's the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, and we did it for New York City."

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Yankee’s History Book

Before the 1996 season found no long-term relationship between the Yankees and Joe Torre. 1000° earns Torre as manager of the Yankees, Hideki Matsui hit a three-run homer in a 8-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday extended winning streak to New York in a time-high five games.

Torre has a 1,000-645 record with New York, before him we find Joe McCarthy (1,460), Casey Stengel (1,149) and Miller Huggins (1,067). Torre has the longest uninterrupted term among Yankees managers since Stengel from 1949-60. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and all Yankees fans should be proud of him for the decisions he is making are the right moves and he is a true leader to he team.

Players credit Torre for his even-tempered disposition and ability to handle different personalities, besides he has done just about everything that needed to be done to get the organization back to where it should be.

Torre's road to a thousand Yankees victories has been glorious at times, with six pennants and four World Series titles. Well 1,000 victories are a lot of wins, especially when you sign a two-year contract back in '96 and think about what's happened since then. The Yankees history book is a special place to be for Joe Torre and very well deserved one.

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Andy Whitfield

Andy Whitfield, who starred in the television series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” died because of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma illness on Sunday in Sydney, Australia. He was 39 said Whitfield's wife Vashti in a statement.

In the field of Spartacus, Andy Whitfield was invincible. But in real life, the former Spartacus: Blood and Sand Andy Whitfield star has lost his battle with NHL. Welsh-born actor, who is loved by fans of the Starz drama of the battle, died today in Sydney, Australia, where Andy Whitfield lived since 1999. In a statement, Andy Whitfield wife Vashti Whitfield said the actor died in "Sydney sunny morning" with him 37 "arms of his beloved wife". "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield," said President and CEO Chris Albrecht Starz in a statement. "We are fortunate to have worked with Andy in Spartacus and know people who play the champions on the screen is also a champion in his own life. Andy inspiration to us all, facing a personal battle with courage, strength and grace. Thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. Andy Whitfield lives in the hearts of family, friends and fans. "

Andy Whitfield get a big break when he was chosen as the title character in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. But during a routine inspection in March 2010 just before the production season 2 to start, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated stage. Production was suspended during treatment of Whitfield. Finally, he went into remission and days out of season 2 of the movie, when the cancer returned and he continued his aggressive treatment. However, Andy Whitfield remained positive, while the paper is then recast Spatracus with Liam McIntyre.

Mr. McIntyre said then: “Andy’s such a wonderful actor. I don’t want to follow that guy, and everybody hurts that he’s had to give up the role, myself included.”
Chris Albrecht, president and chief executive of Starz, said in a statement, “The man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life.” Mr. Andy Whitfield faced cancer with “courage, strength and grace,” he said.

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Better Foods for Faster Weight Loss

Experts say there are two main categories of foods that could be considered "keeping off superfoods" because they fill the stomach, there is no accumulation calories: fruits and vegetables. And nutrients that provide fruits and vegetables of power 'lives? Fiber. So, if fruits and vegetables are the "maintenance of the most lethal group", the fibers can also be a "maintenance that comes out of most nutrients." Protein is the nutrient most others. It is becoming more scientifically accepted that protein may help reduce appetite. Protein also offers resistance, and may slightly increase the metabolism in the process. But it is important that you choose wisely proteins, because like all other foods, if you eat more than your body needs, which appears on the scale as an advantage rather than disadvantage.

Here is a super intelligent, low-calorie choices that benefit their weight loss efforts:

Green Tea - Researchers suspect that the catechins (helpful phytochemicals) in green tea can cause weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and reduce body fat lighter. So enjoy, either a cup or a glass of green tea ice cream.

Broth or tomato-based soup - Soups can help reduce hunger before meals and increase satiety.

Low-calorie green salads - Having a low-calorie salad - which is defined as one that is loaded with croutons, high fat dressings and cheese - as a first course can help you feel full, thus reducing the amount you eat the main course. Wisely choosing high-fiber material and can be key to help fight the cravings during the day.

Yogurt - including dairy products as part of a healthy diet can promote their weight loss efforts. Choosing a light yogurt may help fight hunger, the combination of protein and carbohydrates.

Beans - The combination of fiber and protein, beans help you feel full, which means that you can do to curb your appetite between meals.

Water - Water is an important part of your body, and you should drink during the day. This is a great calorie-free beverages, and can be reached by taking tea without sugar, mineral water, sugar-free flavors, regular water with lime or lemon, or even zucchini. Besides helping to eliminate toxins from the body, can also help you feel full. So, when the pain of hunger strike, try drinking a glass of water before taking a snack.

High fiber, whole grains - grains common fiber and help boost the nutritional value of foods. One of the easiest ways to give your diet a boost wheat is to have a bowl of high fiber cereal for breakfast or a snack.

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