The legendary WCCO radio host died of cancer at age 81.
By NEAL JUSTIN , Star Tribune
Steve Cannon, one of the most unforgettable voices in the history of Twin Cities radio and for years the highest-rated afternoon drive host in the country, died late Monday after a short, fierce battle with cancer.
Cannon's booming baritone voice steered WCCO's drive-time show, "The Cannon Mess," for 26 years -- a national record -- aided only by sportscaster Morgan Mundane, sexpot Ma Linger and the effeminate Backlash LaRue, all voiced by Cannon himself.
Those characters were so beloved that Cannon became the only inductee in the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame with two plaques: one for himself and one for his make-believe trio.
Cannon died just after 10 p.m. Monday at his home near Minneapolis' Lake of the Isles, surrounded by family members. He was 81.
In the 1970s and '80s, when WCCO dominated the airwaves, Cannon held court as the gruffest, most gregarious of the "Good Neighbors," making his voice as recognizable to many Midwesterners as everyone's cantankerous but lovable uncle who never skips the cocktail hour.
"It's awfully tough comparing the 125 people in our hall of fame, but in terms of sheer talent, does anyone stand out above Cannon?" said Steve Raymer, managing director of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in St. Louis Park, which honored the legend in 2002.
Cannon actually attended that ceremony, which was somewhat of a surprise since he was well-known for his insistence on privacy. Dark Star, who has worked at WCCO for decades, recalled the time Cannon was temporarily run out of his intimate studio because of fire damage and was forced to broadcast from the main studio. He refused to go on the air unless staffers covered the windows with newspapers so no one could see him slip in and out of his characters. Dark Star also remembered that the station had prepared a big party for his final show in early October 1997, but Cannon sabotaged the celebration by signing off one day early and slipping out the door.
Selasa, 07 April 2009
BLIND PILOT LANDS SUPPORT SLOT FOR UPCOMING THE DECEMBERISTS TOUR BAND IN THE MIDDLE OF FIRST-EVER U.S. TOUR
The Portland, Oregon based indie-folk-pop outfit Blind Pilot, touring as a six-piece with Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dobrowski (drums), Luke Ydstie (upright bass, backing vocals), Kati Claborn (banjo, dulcimer, backing vocals), Ian Krist (vibraphones), and Dave Jorgensen (keyboards, trumpet), have just landed the support slot for the upcoming The Decemberists tour.
Starting out as a duo, and recording their debut album, 3 Rounds and a Sound with the help of friends (some of who have since joined the band), Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski, friends since college, have traveled many a mile to get to where they are today.
In 2007 and once again in 2008 (in 2008 Kati Claborn and Luke Ydstie joined them), Israel and Ryan embarked on a West Coast bike tour. This wasn't a tour where they road bikes, and had a van hauling the equipment. They hauled everything on their bikes. No gas. One hundred percent leg-powered.
With big signs on the back of their bike trailers that read "BLIND" and "PILOT," a lot of concerned motorists screamed about the "PILOT" leaving the "BLIND" guy behind. Playing little towns that don't often get shows by "touring bands," they were able to share their brand of music with people who weren't particularly familiar with indie pop, or indie anything. But they found that heartfelt lyrics and beautiful music appeal to just about everyone. In fact, they completely sold out of their EPs.
They returned to Portland anxious to complete their first full-length album. The long road to this album has paid off in spades. Blind Pilot sounds something like a wistful mix of The Shins with a bit of Iron & Wine folksiness. But these comparisons don't give a full representation of the unbelievable beauty of this album. As Willamette Week's Casey Jarman proclaimed, "Front man Israel Nebeker sounds like a less theatric version of James Mercer: every bit as sincere and captivating, with vocal control and style to spare. And this band has songs coming out of its ears: deep, clever guitar-driven tunes fleshed out with soaring horn arrangements. Listening to and thinking about these songs has kept me awake at night lately."
www.jambase.com
Starting out as a duo, and recording their debut album, 3 Rounds and a Sound with the help of friends (some of who have since joined the band), Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski, friends since college, have traveled many a mile to get to where they are today.
In 2007 and once again in 2008 (in 2008 Kati Claborn and Luke Ydstie joined them), Israel and Ryan embarked on a West Coast bike tour. This wasn't a tour where they road bikes, and had a van hauling the equipment. They hauled everything on their bikes. No gas. One hundred percent leg-powered.
With big signs on the back of their bike trailers that read "BLIND" and "PILOT," a lot of concerned motorists screamed about the "PILOT" leaving the "BLIND" guy behind. Playing little towns that don't often get shows by "touring bands," they were able to share their brand of music with people who weren't particularly familiar with indie pop, or indie anything. But they found that heartfelt lyrics and beautiful music appeal to just about everyone. In fact, they completely sold out of their EPs.
They returned to Portland anxious to complete their first full-length album. The long road to this album has paid off in spades. Blind Pilot sounds something like a wistful mix of The Shins with a bit of Iron & Wine folksiness. But these comparisons don't give a full representation of the unbelievable beauty of this album. As Willamette Week's Casey Jarman proclaimed, "Front man Israel Nebeker sounds like a less theatric version of James Mercer: every bit as sincere and captivating, with vocal control and style to spare. And this band has songs coming out of its ears: deep, clever guitar-driven tunes fleshed out with soaring horn arrangements. Listening to and thinking about these songs has kept me awake at night lately."
www.jambase.com
School scores perfect SAT score
Published Date: 07 April 2009
A St Helens primary school achieved 100 per cent scores in last year's controversial SATS tests.
League tables published this week show that the borough's test results were well above the national average, with record numbers of local 11-year-olds achieving the grade.The main goal in the Key Stage Two exams is to get as many pupils to achieve a Level Four pass as possible. And of the St Helens class of 2008, one school, Eccleston Lane Ends Primary in Albany Avenue, Eccleston, managed a perfect score.
Headteacher Carol Gowan said: "Eccleston Lane Ends has a long standing excellent reputation built on a strong partnership between pupils, parents, governors and the community.
"We are very proud of our school and achieving such outstanding results is only part of the story for our school. We believe in excellence and enjoyment and our pupils really do enjoy and achieve."
Another school school, Bleak Hill primary, in Hamilton Road, Windle, posted near perfect results, with 99 per cent of pupils achieving level four passes in English and maths.
Overall, 84 per cent of St Helens schools gained Level Four English compared with 81 per cent nationally. Some 82 per cent locally passed with 79 per cent nationally; and 91 per cent made the science grade while the national average is 73.
The combined English and maths score is 77 per cent - up four per cent.
Councillor Shirley Evans, executive member for Children and Young People's Services, said: "This is the result of a lot of hard work by teachers and pupils with the support of governors and parents. We are seeing a year on year improvement across the board which is excellent news as we all strive to improve the attainment and aspirations of our young people."
www.sthelensreporter.co.uk
Sabtu, 21 Maret 2009
The Perfect Man
Interview: IT ALL SEEMS so normal. A long car journey through a winter landscape acquires an element of fun as an American mother encourages her daughters in a guessing game at which the younger child is very good, or so it seems.
The triumphant little girl becomes dangerously excited and in a split second the joy turns into tragedy. Their father, an Englishman, is left to make sense of his own grief as well as the respective resentment and guilt dividing his two daughters. The chance of teaching in Italy presents the family with a year away from the US and the legacy of an accident that should never have happened.
Genova is British director Mike Winterbottom’s first movie in five years. It marks a brilliant return to film and, drawing on his various strengths, including documentary film-making, it is his finest work to date. Either way, it is a remarkable piece, intense, believable, beautifully shot and sufficiently shocking to have a viewer gagging with terror. There are elements of the surreal as a benign presence becomes sinister. It is as much a thriller as it is a faltering romance. And yet again it demonstrates the subtle, persuasive gifts of the most sympathetic, and understated of actors, Colin Firth. Playing the bereaved father Joe, Firth is caught between the contrasting needs of 10-year-old Mary, tormented by nightmares and bedwetting, and the more complex tensions introduced by Kelly, her 16-year-old sister, bored by adolescence. It is a movie of unexpected power.
Firth seems genuinely pleased and admits to being very taken with it. “I keep looking at it and I have to say I’m quite besotted by it. It’s beautiful and it’s real. It’s also quite different, Mike uses a small camera. It’s really opened my eyes to the wonders of working in natural light.” He refers to the contrasts: “The sharp, blinding sunlight and those long, dark alleys.” There is also the contrast between the snow and ice of the opening sequence and the subsequent summer haze of Genoa where most of the film is set.
Firth looks me straight in the eye, and speaks about the new movie with all the enthusiasm of someone who sat in the audience instead of being the star. “It’s about grief and the way people deal with it. It’s also looking at a particular family and how love is tested.” Any parent watching it will experience several pangs of recognition.
A father of a grown son and more recently two younger boys by his Italian wife, Firth is very good with children and his scenes with the little girl who plays his daughter in Genova are convincingly affectionate. Also moving is his growing helplessness in dealing with his angry older daughter played by the assured Willa Holland. One magnificently well shot sequence in which the younger girl attempts to cross a busy street is terrifying.
Having seen Firth in so many movies it is a bit odd to be meeting him in person in a Dublin hotel. There is no affectation, no pretence, no theory; he says acting is about “suspending disbelief”. He is handsome without being sexually intimidating and often smiles that sweet quick little smile that some of his characters use to great effect. Mention him to anyone, male or female, and the response is invariably the same; people like Colin Firth. Some, myself included, went to see Mamma Mia! only because he was in it. The child actors who worked with him on Emma Thompson’s Nanny McPhee consistently remind their own parents of how nice he is, while his performance as Mr Darcy did more for Jane Austen than an army of admiring literary critics.
On a Friday afternoon, he looks more like an off-duty vet or doctor than an actor; in fact he speaks like a lively academic and is decidedly unactorly. This observation makes him laugh. Interested in books, he has always read a lot and likes history, the subject his father studied at Cambridge. “My grandfather went to Oxford, he read theology.” Firth does not belong to that precocious Oxbridge set of British actors. He didn’t go to university and still seems more surprised than regretful about missing out on the experience. “I didn’t do that well at school, I don’t know, I wasn’t focused at the time . . . I don’t really know what happened.” He still seems a bit mystified, but not at all defensive about it, as if he is merely trying to figure out what happened.
His reading has filled many of the gaps and he researches his roles well, often continuing the reading after the shoot is over, such as when he was in Conspiracy (for which he got an Emmy nomination) and became interested in Albert Speer. No, even if the famous Victorian actor/manager Henry Irving is a distant relative by marriage, Firth is not a typical actor, much less a movie star. He laughs on hearing this, and says of acting: “Well, it’s kept me amused”.
It has also kept him in work; Firth is in demand and has never been short of a role. His range is impressive from the obsessed Arsenal supporter in Fever Pitch to the world-weary Roman soldier in The Lost Legion, to a detached Vermeer in Girl with a Pearl Earring, in which he showed how ruthless an artist can be. Few actors can convey the uptight Englishman as well as Firth does; he can look heartbroken as he did in Love, Actually – but is also a good comic actor and is the only saving grace in The Accidental Husband. He has been in two of the most successful British films ever made, The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love.
“I don’t think many people noticed that I was in Shakespeare in Love; there I was, the only one of all my colleagues not winning awards or being nominated and in a film celebrating poetry and language and love and beauty, and I was this miserable fellow with no imagination, no romance in me. I’m rather fond of my Wessex.” His character, Lord Wessex, is the bankrupt aristocrat intent on marrying Gwyneth Paltrow’s Lady Violet De Lesseps, who is secretly in love with Shakespeare. Wessex, says Firth, “can’t even tell her what he admires about her – is it her eyes or her lips? – he is utterly indifferent, and just wants to solve his problem”, which amounts to the funding of his ships heading to the New World.
Being in the film was exciting, and Firth became interested in Elizabethan politics and read widely on the subject. He seems to have the sort of mind that, once it gets drawn to a subject, quickly becomes immersed. “I’ve always liked reading, and when I was approached about The English Patient I was very pleased with myself because I had already discovered Ondaatje and had read Coming Through Slaughter and Running in the Family.” How about In the Skin of the Lion? “Oh yes,” he smiles, “I’d read that. Did you know that some of the characters from that were in The English Patient?” Like a child playing snap, I say: “Caravaggio”. Firth smiles and describes how the late Anthony Minghella had read the novel “and just put it away, left it for a while, and then wrote his version of it, as an impression instead of an adaptation”. In the film, Firth played the doting husband of Katharine who, though only a minor character in the novel, becomes central to the film as the lover of the English patient. “Her character was the one that most struck Anthony. Interesting?” he asks, as much as states.
Interviews promoting new movies are part of an actor’s job, but Firth manages to turn an interview into a conversation. Yet with the clock ticking and the publicist waiting in an alcove off the room, it is a race against time. Asked about one of his earliest roles, that of a young shell-shocked soldier in Pat O’Connor’s crafted A Month in the Country, he says: “I did like that; it is the one film I would like to see again.” Based on JL Carr’s novel, it tells the story of Tom Birkin, who arrives at a Yorkshire village in the summer of 1920.
Hired to uncover a medieval mural known to be painted above the nave in the local church, Birkin is troubled. The war has left him with various twitches and a stammer. Another new arrival is Moon, another war veteran, played by Kenneth Branagh. His job is to locate the burial place of a wealthy woman’s ancestor. While Birkin is falling in love with the vicar’s wife, Moon is greatly taken with the moody, rather beautiful Birkin. Firth gives an inspired performance which also revealed what have become two of his great strengths as an actor: his ability to let his expressive face and eyes convey volumes, and his flair for playing well off his colleagues. Watching that movie now not only makes one conscious of how young they both were, but how good they were at such an early stage of their careers.
“I think good acting makes good acting. I’ve never understood why actors choose to act in solitude, or why they are so competitive. It is more of a team thing. I enjoy having someone to work with rather than against.”
In Another Country (1984) Firth featured as Judd, the independent idealist at a boarding school apparently based on Eton. His classmate is the openly homosexual Guy, no doubt intended to be Burgess, played by Rupert Everett. The two have a natural rapport and brought this dynamic to a lively film version of The Importance of Being Earnest in 2002. They also appeared in a subversive remake of the British comic classic, St Trinian’s, with Everett playing the headmistress to Firth’s Education Minister with a mission to clean up the bankrupt and anarchic St Trinian’s – his mission was compromised by the minister’s having had a previous relationship with the headmistress. Most recently, Firth played a distressed, confused son to Jim Broadbent’s overbearing Dad in And When Did You Last See Your Father? based on poet Blake Morrison’s memoir of a complex, ambivalent father/son relationship.
Handsome, intelligent, witty, approachable, sincere, manly, soothing voice, looks good on a horse – what more could one possibly ask for? Speaking with Firth is enjoyable, even if the conversation is racing between topics because of the time restraint. Ironically, it had started rather badly. When the hotel receptionist had failed to locate Firth I was given a swipe card and directions to the suite. A strange conversation in the lift with a guest who looked like a spy was interrupted when a tall, slim man and a small woman entered the lift. The man was Firth. He and the woman were having an animated conversation.
When the lift stopped, they got out, and so did I. Their conversation continued; Firth, with his slightly awkward elegance, was gesturing, telling a funny story, and the woman was laughing. Close on their heels, I followed, too awkward to say anything. It is unlikely that the hotel corridor was about a mile long although it seemed so as I lurched along behind them. The woman looked around and asked, “Are you following us?”. Firth took off his glasses, peered like a schoolmaster and muttered, “You could have introduced yourself.”
It was a Mr Darcy moment. My excuse about not wanting to interrupt them sounded feeble even to me. But the ground failed to open. I could hear my words spoken some months earlier announcing that there were only two actors I wanted to interview: Johnny Depp because he is so weird; and Colin Firth because he was so gorgeous . . . I mean, such a fine actor.
“Both of my parents were born in India. I grew up all over England, well, mainly the south, the Home Counties.” His Englishness manages to avoid the stereotypes while also being used to great effect, such as in Genova. There is a terrific scene following his wife’s funeral when Firth the Englishman is having a half-hearted conversation with his American in-laws. The cultural distance seems to echo the sense of shock.
Referring to the part he plays in Atom Egoyan’s dark, unsettling movie, Where the Truth Lies, Firth says, “You know in the book, my character was an Italian American, and I didn’t mind playing that — I can do an American. But Atom decided I should make use of my Englishness, that’s what happened there.” It is a dark, stylish piece, screened amid controversy at Cannes in 2005. Firth is one half of a nightclub act, the other half being Kevin Bacon. Again, the partnership was electric. “Kevin is such a fine actor, you have no choice but to perform well.” It was also a daring role for Firth: “My character was violent, sadistic, sexually deviant, and so on.”
It is strange to be discussing Where The Truth Lies when so many people immediately think of Firth as the attractive, uptight lawyer in the Bridget Jones movies. Yet even those romps which made so much money had certain “Mr Darcy” in-jokes, as did St Trinian’s. Does he mind being asked about Pride and Prejudice? “No, not at all.” Is it not true that Firth is irritated by the way that role continues to stalk him? “No. I know that there is this perception that I’m sick of it, but I never said that, and I’m not. It is odd, though, because it was so successful, but for me it was a five-week shoot and then I went on to do other things. That’s the way it is, you move on from jobs to the next one before the other one is finished; the acting is over, but the other work is still going on.”
Had he read Austen? Was he conscious of portraying a character who is so much part of his tradition? “I had never read Austen. I was conscious of her, that school I was in at Eastleigh, near Chichester cathedral, where she is buried. I’d never read her because I thought she was just for girls,” he laughs at himself, “but also, at that age, I was more interested in reading Sartre and Camus, I wanted to be brooding and existentialist. I never studied Shakespeare either, until I went to drama school. But when I read Pride and Prejudice, I loved it. I couldn’t believe what I had been missing out on and read all the novels.” How about Persuasion? He would be a good Wentworth. “No, I’m probably past it now.” How about playing Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge? “That’s my favourite novel; Henchard is a fascinating character because he has flaws and he has done this terrible thing and had had to live with it,” says Firth, who reckons humans are more interesting than heroes.
In the forthcoming film of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Firth plays Lord Henry Wotton, while Dorian is the young English actor Ben Barnes, who played Firth’s son in Easy Virtue, based on the Noël Coward play. Released last year, it is a stylish period comedy, with Firth as a disillusioned ex-soldier. He was pleased with the movie, and says: “It has done very well in Italy, but got mixed reviews over here.”
How does Firth feel about Mamma Mia!? “That was great fun, I was delighted to be asked to be in it, it wasn’t easy singing and all that . . . but I knew that it was going to be a big hit and fun, and it was great being part of it.” His nostalgic solo in the boat was very good. “Why, thank you,” he says.
He seems a contented person, neither complacent nor smug. He mentions Tennessee Williams’ plays and is intrigued to hear that the short stories are even better. Mention of a German novel that would make a fine film causes him to praise Downfall and The Lives of Others.
In between all the films, the jobs, the reading,Firth is involved in promoting fair trade for producers in Third World countries. Initially, when he was approached by Oxfam in 2003 he was wary of becoming a token celebrity. But he looked at it in a practical way. “I went to Ethiopia to see for myself. You know, we are all complicit in this exploitation, every time you buy something that has been produced for nothing by a person who has no say, no rights. Ethiopia is beautiful and the people are dignified, but the poverty . . . I thought it would really get to me, but in fact it was far worse when I came home and saw us all drinking our cappuccinos and not thinking about the real costs. The farmer you see doesn’t realise how much we pay for his coffee. He gets so little, he thinks we get it for free. My involvement started as symbolic, but it quickly became personal.”
Through his involvement with Progreso, of which he is a director, he has made his celebrity work with a shop in Chiswick (Ecò Age Ltd), which sells a wide range of fair trade goods.
Just one final question: did he do his own riding as Mr Darcy? “I did indeed,” he says proudly. “Recently I was in something else and my character had to ride a horse, and I thought, ‘Oh I’m getting on a bit, get someone else to do it’, but when I watched him, I didn’t think the double was doing that well. So I decided I’d do it myself – and I did.”
www.irishtimes.com
The triumphant little girl becomes dangerously excited and in a split second the joy turns into tragedy. Their father, an Englishman, is left to make sense of his own grief as well as the respective resentment and guilt dividing his two daughters. The chance of teaching in Italy presents the family with a year away from the US and the legacy of an accident that should never have happened.
Genova is British director Mike Winterbottom’s first movie in five years. It marks a brilliant return to film and, drawing on his various strengths, including documentary film-making, it is his finest work to date. Either way, it is a remarkable piece, intense, believable, beautifully shot and sufficiently shocking to have a viewer gagging with terror. There are elements of the surreal as a benign presence becomes sinister. It is as much a thriller as it is a faltering romance. And yet again it demonstrates the subtle, persuasive gifts of the most sympathetic, and understated of actors, Colin Firth. Playing the bereaved father Joe, Firth is caught between the contrasting needs of 10-year-old Mary, tormented by nightmares and bedwetting, and the more complex tensions introduced by Kelly, her 16-year-old sister, bored by adolescence. It is a movie of unexpected power.
Firth seems genuinely pleased and admits to being very taken with it. “I keep looking at it and I have to say I’m quite besotted by it. It’s beautiful and it’s real. It’s also quite different, Mike uses a small camera. It’s really opened my eyes to the wonders of working in natural light.” He refers to the contrasts: “The sharp, blinding sunlight and those long, dark alleys.” There is also the contrast between the snow and ice of the opening sequence and the subsequent summer haze of Genoa where most of the film is set.
Firth looks me straight in the eye, and speaks about the new movie with all the enthusiasm of someone who sat in the audience instead of being the star. “It’s about grief and the way people deal with it. It’s also looking at a particular family and how love is tested.” Any parent watching it will experience several pangs of recognition.
A father of a grown son and more recently two younger boys by his Italian wife, Firth is very good with children and his scenes with the little girl who plays his daughter in Genova are convincingly affectionate. Also moving is his growing helplessness in dealing with his angry older daughter played by the assured Willa Holland. One magnificently well shot sequence in which the younger girl attempts to cross a busy street is terrifying.
Having seen Firth in so many movies it is a bit odd to be meeting him in person in a Dublin hotel. There is no affectation, no pretence, no theory; he says acting is about “suspending disbelief”. He is handsome without being sexually intimidating and often smiles that sweet quick little smile that some of his characters use to great effect. Mention him to anyone, male or female, and the response is invariably the same; people like Colin Firth. Some, myself included, went to see Mamma Mia! only because he was in it. The child actors who worked with him on Emma Thompson’s Nanny McPhee consistently remind their own parents of how nice he is, while his performance as Mr Darcy did more for Jane Austen than an army of admiring literary critics.
On a Friday afternoon, he looks more like an off-duty vet or doctor than an actor; in fact he speaks like a lively academic and is decidedly unactorly. This observation makes him laugh. Interested in books, he has always read a lot and likes history, the subject his father studied at Cambridge. “My grandfather went to Oxford, he read theology.” Firth does not belong to that precocious Oxbridge set of British actors. He didn’t go to university and still seems more surprised than regretful about missing out on the experience. “I didn’t do that well at school, I don’t know, I wasn’t focused at the time . . . I don’t really know what happened.” He still seems a bit mystified, but not at all defensive about it, as if he is merely trying to figure out what happened.
His reading has filled many of the gaps and he researches his roles well, often continuing the reading after the shoot is over, such as when he was in Conspiracy (for which he got an Emmy nomination) and became interested in Albert Speer. No, even if the famous Victorian actor/manager Henry Irving is a distant relative by marriage, Firth is not a typical actor, much less a movie star. He laughs on hearing this, and says of acting: “Well, it’s kept me amused”.
It has also kept him in work; Firth is in demand and has never been short of a role. His range is impressive from the obsessed Arsenal supporter in Fever Pitch to the world-weary Roman soldier in The Lost Legion, to a detached Vermeer in Girl with a Pearl Earring, in which he showed how ruthless an artist can be. Few actors can convey the uptight Englishman as well as Firth does; he can look heartbroken as he did in Love, Actually – but is also a good comic actor and is the only saving grace in The Accidental Husband. He has been in two of the most successful British films ever made, The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love.
“I don’t think many people noticed that I was in Shakespeare in Love; there I was, the only one of all my colleagues not winning awards or being nominated and in a film celebrating poetry and language and love and beauty, and I was this miserable fellow with no imagination, no romance in me. I’m rather fond of my Wessex.” His character, Lord Wessex, is the bankrupt aristocrat intent on marrying Gwyneth Paltrow’s Lady Violet De Lesseps, who is secretly in love with Shakespeare. Wessex, says Firth, “can’t even tell her what he admires about her – is it her eyes or her lips? – he is utterly indifferent, and just wants to solve his problem”, which amounts to the funding of his ships heading to the New World.
Being in the film was exciting, and Firth became interested in Elizabethan politics and read widely on the subject. He seems to have the sort of mind that, once it gets drawn to a subject, quickly becomes immersed. “I’ve always liked reading, and when I was approached about The English Patient I was very pleased with myself because I had already discovered Ondaatje and had read Coming Through Slaughter and Running in the Family.” How about In the Skin of the Lion? “Oh yes,” he smiles, “I’d read that. Did you know that some of the characters from that were in The English Patient?” Like a child playing snap, I say: “Caravaggio”. Firth smiles and describes how the late Anthony Minghella had read the novel “and just put it away, left it for a while, and then wrote his version of it, as an impression instead of an adaptation”. In the film, Firth played the doting husband of Katharine who, though only a minor character in the novel, becomes central to the film as the lover of the English patient. “Her character was the one that most struck Anthony. Interesting?” he asks, as much as states.
Interviews promoting new movies are part of an actor’s job, but Firth manages to turn an interview into a conversation. Yet with the clock ticking and the publicist waiting in an alcove off the room, it is a race against time. Asked about one of his earliest roles, that of a young shell-shocked soldier in Pat O’Connor’s crafted A Month in the Country, he says: “I did like that; it is the one film I would like to see again.” Based on JL Carr’s novel, it tells the story of Tom Birkin, who arrives at a Yorkshire village in the summer of 1920.
Hired to uncover a medieval mural known to be painted above the nave in the local church, Birkin is troubled. The war has left him with various twitches and a stammer. Another new arrival is Moon, another war veteran, played by Kenneth Branagh. His job is to locate the burial place of a wealthy woman’s ancestor. While Birkin is falling in love with the vicar’s wife, Moon is greatly taken with the moody, rather beautiful Birkin. Firth gives an inspired performance which also revealed what have become two of his great strengths as an actor: his ability to let his expressive face and eyes convey volumes, and his flair for playing well off his colleagues. Watching that movie now not only makes one conscious of how young they both were, but how good they were at such an early stage of their careers.
“I think good acting makes good acting. I’ve never understood why actors choose to act in solitude, or why they are so competitive. It is more of a team thing. I enjoy having someone to work with rather than against.”
In Another Country (1984) Firth featured as Judd, the independent idealist at a boarding school apparently based on Eton. His classmate is the openly homosexual Guy, no doubt intended to be Burgess, played by Rupert Everett. The two have a natural rapport and brought this dynamic to a lively film version of The Importance of Being Earnest in 2002. They also appeared in a subversive remake of the British comic classic, St Trinian’s, with Everett playing the headmistress to Firth’s Education Minister with a mission to clean up the bankrupt and anarchic St Trinian’s – his mission was compromised by the minister’s having had a previous relationship with the headmistress. Most recently, Firth played a distressed, confused son to Jim Broadbent’s overbearing Dad in And When Did You Last See Your Father? based on poet Blake Morrison’s memoir of a complex, ambivalent father/son relationship.
Handsome, intelligent, witty, approachable, sincere, manly, soothing voice, looks good on a horse – what more could one possibly ask for? Speaking with Firth is enjoyable, even if the conversation is racing between topics because of the time restraint. Ironically, it had started rather badly. When the hotel receptionist had failed to locate Firth I was given a swipe card and directions to the suite. A strange conversation in the lift with a guest who looked like a spy was interrupted when a tall, slim man and a small woman entered the lift. The man was Firth. He and the woman were having an animated conversation.
When the lift stopped, they got out, and so did I. Their conversation continued; Firth, with his slightly awkward elegance, was gesturing, telling a funny story, and the woman was laughing. Close on their heels, I followed, too awkward to say anything. It is unlikely that the hotel corridor was about a mile long although it seemed so as I lurched along behind them. The woman looked around and asked, “Are you following us?”. Firth took off his glasses, peered like a schoolmaster and muttered, “You could have introduced yourself.”
It was a Mr Darcy moment. My excuse about not wanting to interrupt them sounded feeble even to me. But the ground failed to open. I could hear my words spoken some months earlier announcing that there were only two actors I wanted to interview: Johnny Depp because he is so weird; and Colin Firth because he was so gorgeous . . . I mean, such a fine actor.
“Both of my parents were born in India. I grew up all over England, well, mainly the south, the Home Counties.” His Englishness manages to avoid the stereotypes while also being used to great effect, such as in Genova. There is a terrific scene following his wife’s funeral when Firth the Englishman is having a half-hearted conversation with his American in-laws. The cultural distance seems to echo the sense of shock.
Referring to the part he plays in Atom Egoyan’s dark, unsettling movie, Where the Truth Lies, Firth says, “You know in the book, my character was an Italian American, and I didn’t mind playing that — I can do an American. But Atom decided I should make use of my Englishness, that’s what happened there.” It is a dark, stylish piece, screened amid controversy at Cannes in 2005. Firth is one half of a nightclub act, the other half being Kevin Bacon. Again, the partnership was electric. “Kevin is such a fine actor, you have no choice but to perform well.” It was also a daring role for Firth: “My character was violent, sadistic, sexually deviant, and so on.”
It is strange to be discussing Where The Truth Lies when so many people immediately think of Firth as the attractive, uptight lawyer in the Bridget Jones movies. Yet even those romps which made so much money had certain “Mr Darcy” in-jokes, as did St Trinian’s. Does he mind being asked about Pride and Prejudice? “No, not at all.” Is it not true that Firth is irritated by the way that role continues to stalk him? “No. I know that there is this perception that I’m sick of it, but I never said that, and I’m not. It is odd, though, because it was so successful, but for me it was a five-week shoot and then I went on to do other things. That’s the way it is, you move on from jobs to the next one before the other one is finished; the acting is over, but the other work is still going on.”
Had he read Austen? Was he conscious of portraying a character who is so much part of his tradition? “I had never read Austen. I was conscious of her, that school I was in at Eastleigh, near Chichester cathedral, where she is buried. I’d never read her because I thought she was just for girls,” he laughs at himself, “but also, at that age, I was more interested in reading Sartre and Camus, I wanted to be brooding and existentialist. I never studied Shakespeare either, until I went to drama school. But when I read Pride and Prejudice, I loved it. I couldn’t believe what I had been missing out on and read all the novels.” How about Persuasion? He would be a good Wentworth. “No, I’m probably past it now.” How about playing Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge? “That’s my favourite novel; Henchard is a fascinating character because he has flaws and he has done this terrible thing and had had to live with it,” says Firth, who reckons humans are more interesting than heroes.
In the forthcoming film of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Firth plays Lord Henry Wotton, while Dorian is the young English actor Ben Barnes, who played Firth’s son in Easy Virtue, based on the Noël Coward play. Released last year, it is a stylish period comedy, with Firth as a disillusioned ex-soldier. He was pleased with the movie, and says: “It has done very well in Italy, but got mixed reviews over here.”
How does Firth feel about Mamma Mia!? “That was great fun, I was delighted to be asked to be in it, it wasn’t easy singing and all that . . . but I knew that it was going to be a big hit and fun, and it was great being part of it.” His nostalgic solo in the boat was very good. “Why, thank you,” he says.
He seems a contented person, neither complacent nor smug. He mentions Tennessee Williams’ plays and is intrigued to hear that the short stories are even better. Mention of a German novel that would make a fine film causes him to praise Downfall and The Lives of Others.
In between all the films, the jobs, the reading,Firth is involved in promoting fair trade for producers in Third World countries. Initially, when he was approached by Oxfam in 2003 he was wary of becoming a token celebrity. But he looked at it in a practical way. “I went to Ethiopia to see for myself. You know, we are all complicit in this exploitation, every time you buy something that has been produced for nothing by a person who has no say, no rights. Ethiopia is beautiful and the people are dignified, but the poverty . . . I thought it would really get to me, but in fact it was far worse when I came home and saw us all drinking our cappuccinos and not thinking about the real costs. The farmer you see doesn’t realise how much we pay for his coffee. He gets so little, he thinks we get it for free. My involvement started as symbolic, but it quickly became personal.”
Through his involvement with Progreso, of which he is a director, he has made his celebrity work with a shop in Chiswick (Ecò Age Ltd), which sells a wide range of fair trade goods.
Just one final question: did he do his own riding as Mr Darcy? “I did indeed,” he says proudly. “Recently I was in something else and my character had to ride a horse, and I thought, ‘Oh I’m getting on a bit, get someone else to do it’, but when I watched him, I didn’t think the double was doing that well. So I decided I’d do it myself – and I did.”
www.irishtimes.com
Siena Beats Ohio State in 2 Overtimes
DAYTON, Ohio — When it ended, after Siena and Ohio State battled for 40 minutes of regulation and two overtimes, the Saints gathered underneath a tunnel here at the University of Dayton Arena.
Saints fans hung over the railing, their faces painted the school’s colors of green and gold, their voices gone from screaming. They rang cow bells and leaned down, hoping to touch anyone wearing a green jersey.
It was already early Saturday morning. Even though this game started Friday night, it did not end until 12:21 a.m. Fifteen minutes later, the scoreboard remained stuck. The clock read 0:00. On its right, Siena 74. On its left, Ohio State 72.
“Definitely big,” junior guard Ronald Moore said. “We’ve got to get ready for Louisville.”
Indeed, the ninth-seeded Saints will meet the top-seeded Cardinals on Sunday evening in the Midwest Region in the Round of 32 of the N.C.A.A. tournament. The Saints ensured that with their wild, back-and-forth victory over eighth-seeded Ohio State, a team that led during most of regulation and the second overtime.
Siena outlasted Ohio State by the end of the second overtime, thanks to Moore, who not only tied the game at the end of the first overtime with a 3-pointer but won it with another 3-pointer he sank with 3.9 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Moore said he struggled Friday night, and the final statistics show he made only 4 of 13 shots, and only 2 of 6 of his 3-point attempts. Of course, two of those four made shots and both of those made 3-pointers were the most important shots taken in the game. Those shots transformed Moore from a solid, if virtually unknown, player into another N.C.A.A. tournament celebrity, another hero made in March.
Moore appeared near tears after the game ended. Asked what went through his mind before the final shot, he said, simply: “Nothing, really. I needed to knock it down.”
After it went in, Siena players huddled on one side of the court, jumping and hugging and celebrating their advancement. This epic game had taken several twists for them to get here.
At the end of the first overtime, Moore hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 65-65. The Ohio State sophomore guard Jon Diebler missed a potential winning shot at the buzzer.
Near the end of regulation, Kenny Hasbrouck, the Saints senior guard and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year, knocked down a 3-pointer and made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 56-56. Evan Turner, Ohio State’s valuable sophomore swingman, missed a jumper that would have won the game in regulation.
Back and forth it went.
Hasbrouck and Turner are the best players on their teams, and they played as if attached to opposite ends of a fulcrum Friday night.
Turner dominated for most of regulation, while Hasbrouck remained stuck in a shooting slump on the worst possible night. Hasbrouck tied the game, but Turner missed at the end of regulation. Hasbrouck opened the first overtime with a driving lay-up, and Turner scored 7 points in the second overtime, tying the game twice and giving Ohio State a lead that did not last.
Twenty minutes after the game ended, the Siena fans and players and band lingered at the arena, as if they did not want to leave. A band member walked off the court, carrying a trombone, pointing at every person he passed.
“I love you,” he said. “And I love you. And I love you. And I especially love you.”
For Siena, it was that kind of night.
By GREG BISHOP
www.nytimes.com
Saints fans hung over the railing, their faces painted the school’s colors of green and gold, their voices gone from screaming. They rang cow bells and leaned down, hoping to touch anyone wearing a green jersey.
It was already early Saturday morning. Even though this game started Friday night, it did not end until 12:21 a.m. Fifteen minutes later, the scoreboard remained stuck. The clock read 0:00. On its right, Siena 74. On its left, Ohio State 72.
“Definitely big,” junior guard Ronald Moore said. “We’ve got to get ready for Louisville.”
Indeed, the ninth-seeded Saints will meet the top-seeded Cardinals on Sunday evening in the Midwest Region in the Round of 32 of the N.C.A.A. tournament. The Saints ensured that with their wild, back-and-forth victory over eighth-seeded Ohio State, a team that led during most of regulation and the second overtime.
Siena outlasted Ohio State by the end of the second overtime, thanks to Moore, who not only tied the game at the end of the first overtime with a 3-pointer but won it with another 3-pointer he sank with 3.9 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Moore said he struggled Friday night, and the final statistics show he made only 4 of 13 shots, and only 2 of 6 of his 3-point attempts. Of course, two of those four made shots and both of those made 3-pointers were the most important shots taken in the game. Those shots transformed Moore from a solid, if virtually unknown, player into another N.C.A.A. tournament celebrity, another hero made in March.
Moore appeared near tears after the game ended. Asked what went through his mind before the final shot, he said, simply: “Nothing, really. I needed to knock it down.”
After it went in, Siena players huddled on one side of the court, jumping and hugging and celebrating their advancement. This epic game had taken several twists for them to get here.
At the end of the first overtime, Moore hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 65-65. The Ohio State sophomore guard Jon Diebler missed a potential winning shot at the buzzer.
Near the end of regulation, Kenny Hasbrouck, the Saints senior guard and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year, knocked down a 3-pointer and made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 56-56. Evan Turner, Ohio State’s valuable sophomore swingman, missed a jumper that would have won the game in regulation.
Back and forth it went.
Hasbrouck and Turner are the best players on their teams, and they played as if attached to opposite ends of a fulcrum Friday night.
Turner dominated for most of regulation, while Hasbrouck remained stuck in a shooting slump on the worst possible night. Hasbrouck tied the game, but Turner missed at the end of regulation. Hasbrouck opened the first overtime with a driving lay-up, and Turner scored 7 points in the second overtime, tying the game twice and giving Ohio State a lead that did not last.
Twenty minutes after the game ended, the Siena fans and players and band lingered at the arena, as if they did not want to leave. A band member walked off the court, carrying a trombone, pointing at every person he passed.
“I love you,” he said. “And I love you. And I love you. And I especially love you.”
For Siena, it was that kind of night.
By GREG BISHOP
www.nytimes.com
Minggu, 15 Maret 2009
Bill Collectors Target Next-of-Kin When Debtors Die
Dead people are paying their bills like there's no tomorrow.
According to "The New York Times," collection agencies are preying on next-of-kin to collect on the debts of the deceased. That could mean credit cards, utility bills, even medical bills.
Companies like Minneapolis-based DCM can electronically rummage through some three-thousand probate courts around the country.
They use the data to file claims and then deploy bill collectors specially trained to sound compassionate.
While collection agencies can go after money inherited from the estate, most state laws protect the next-of-kin from having to pay out of pocket.
Consumer advocates say that spouses, siblings and adult children often have no idea they're not on the hook for their loved one's debts.
DCM is unapologetic, saying they're doing their part to keep the financial services industry afloat during the credit crunch. CEO Steven Farscht said, quote, "Every dollar we collect improves their profitability."
www.msnbc.msn.com
According to "The New York Times," collection agencies are preying on next-of-kin to collect on the debts of the deceased. That could mean credit cards, utility bills, even medical bills.
Companies like Minneapolis-based DCM can electronically rummage through some three-thousand probate courts around the country.
They use the data to file claims and then deploy bill collectors specially trained to sound compassionate.
While collection agencies can go after money inherited from the estate, most state laws protect the next-of-kin from having to pay out of pocket.
Consumer advocates say that spouses, siblings and adult children often have no idea they're not on the hook for their loved one's debts.
DCM is unapologetic, saying they're doing their part to keep the financial services industry afloat during the credit crunch. CEO Steven Farscht said, quote, "Every dollar we collect improves their profitability."
www.msnbc.msn.com
Boston cops get ready for St. Patrick’s Day parade
BOSTON — Thousands of people dressed in green or wearing shamrocks will fill South Boston for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.
The parade begins Sunday afternoon and travels through Boston’s historically Irish neighborhood. It has been a tradition for more than 100 years.
Boston police hope new measures will reduce the public drinking they say has become increasingly prevalant at the parade. Police say excessive drinking has led to fights and other problems.
The police department will add up to 200 officers to the 400 they had at last year’s parade. Two officers will stand by every liquor store and bar along the route to curb underage drinking.
By Associated Press
Roman’s t-shirt design is finalist for Peachtree Road Race
Model High and Shorter College graduate Hannah Lucas is a finalist to provide the artwork for the 2009 Peachtree Road Race t-shirt. Lucas, currently enrolled at the University of West Georgia, is one of five finalists to provide the artwork for the traditional shirt for the annual race held in Atlanta.
Rome and Floyd County residents will get a chance to help Hannah’s art work make the final cut as the Atlanta Track Club is letting the public participate in the selection process.
The artwork for the five finalists will be printed in the March 15 edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the public will be allowed to vote for their favorite on the ajc.com website.
The winning design will be printed on the t-shirt presented to runners in the traditional Independence Day road race. The four finalists each received a $100 award. The winner will receive $1,000. The winner will not be revealed until race day.
Hannah Lucas is a graduate student art major at the University of West Georgia. She was a 2003 honor graduate at Model High School and a 2007 graduate of Shorter College.
news.mywebpal.com
Reclaim Your Lost Money
Wishing for extra cash? You may be entitled to some of the nearly $33 billion in unclaimed property sitting in state governments' coffers.
These are sums that businesses were required to turn over to the states after no activity or contact with the owner after a period of a year or more.
Items can include dividend or payroll checks that haven't been cashed, refunds, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders, insurance payments or refunds, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments and the contents of safe-deposit boxes.
To find out if a state has any of your money, visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators' Web site, unclaimed.org. From there, you can access individual states' records or the centralized MissingMoney.com (which includes records from most states, but not New York and California), all free.
You also can search for the names of deceased relatives who may have unclaimed property. If you can prove that you are the legal heir, you can claim those accounts.
If a match pops up, you'll need to fill out a claim form and submit it to the state's claim office along with the proper documentation.
Be patient -- depending on your state and type of claim, it can take a while to be verified and for the state to put your check in the mail.
By ANNA PRIOR
online.wsj.com
These are sums that businesses were required to turn over to the states after no activity or contact with the owner after a period of a year or more.
Items can include dividend or payroll checks that haven't been cashed, refunds, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders, insurance payments or refunds, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments and the contents of safe-deposit boxes.
To find out if a state has any of your money, visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators' Web site, unclaimed.org. From there, you can access individual states' records or the centralized MissingMoney.com (which includes records from most states, but not New York and California), all free.
You also can search for the names of deceased relatives who may have unclaimed property. If you can prove that you are the legal heir, you can claim those accounts.
If a match pops up, you'll need to fill out a claim form and submit it to the state's claim office along with the proper documentation.
Be patient -- depending on your state and type of claim, it can take a while to be verified and for the state to put your check in the mail.
By ANNA PRIOR
online.wsj.com
Sabtu, 07 Maret 2009
4 arrested in Nev. probe of anti-government group
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Four members of an anti-government group have been arrested on charges that include money laundering, tax evasion and weapons possession, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Authorities said the four men are members of the Sovereign Movement, a group that attempts to overthrow the government and defy authority with "paper terrorism." The arrests in Las Vegas on Thursday capped a three-year investigation into the group's activities led by the Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Attorney for Nevada Greg Brower said.
A grand jury indictment in federal court in Las Vegas names Samuel Davis, 54, of Council, Idaho; Shawn Rice, 46, of Seligman, Ariz.; Harold Call, 67, of Las Vegas; and Jan Lindsey, of Henderson.
Davis and Rice are accused of laundering roughly $1.3 million for undercover FBI agents, who described the money as loot from a bank fraud scheme. Davis and Rice are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 30 counts of money laundering. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on each count.
Davis was described by prosecutors as a national leader in the Sovereign Movement, whose members believe government licenses, taxes and currency are invalid. Rice described himself as a lawyer and rabbi devoted to anti-government teaching, authorities said.
Davis and Rice pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas late Friday. Call and Lindsey also were due to appear in court. Authorities did not know if the four had lawyers.
Brower's office said Call and Lindsey, a retired FBI agent, are leaders of the Nevada Lawmen Group for Public Awareness, a group affiliated with the Sovereign Movement.
Call is accused of possessing an unregistered machine gun, as well as parts designed to convert manual firearms into automatic weapons.
He faces two counts of possession and transfer of a machine gun and three counts of possession of an unregistered machine gun. If convicted, he could get up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
Lindsey is charged with one count of evasion of payment of tax and four counts of evasion of assessment of tax. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press
Re-thinking our education system a necessity
Privatizing education is the best way to ensure quality
With Gov. Jim Gibbons’ proposed budget cuts to Nevada’s education system being debated within the chambers of the state legislature, everyone is cowering in the corner wondering whether or not we will have a recognizable education system in the future.
Managing and cutting the budget for useless and wasteful programs is what might determine our future. Does a UNLV coach deserve to get paid millions of dollars? Does President David B. Ashley really need a $15,000 desk with matching $3600 leather chairs? Most people don’t care enough to notice this wasteful spending or assume that these benefits are predetermined in contracts. But, when we catch corporate CEOs and other executives flying in private jets or building huge corporate offices, we criticize them openly.
Outrageously expensive desks aside, raising taxes is not the solution. Some suggest raising the room tax because the burden falls on tourists. This mentality is careless because I can’t imagine a tourist who would spend a night in a hotel room with artificially inflated prices due to higher room taxes. As we have seen recently, they are more likely to take their business elsewhere.
More than enough tax money already goes to an already failing public school system. This past election, voters passed yet another room tax to further support the failing public education system in the state.
Every election cycle the schools claim they are in dire need of money, the voters fall for the sob stories and consequentially tax businesses more and throw money at the failing schools without demanding accountability. Soon after, the schools ask for more money claiming the original allocation wasn’t enough.
With tax revenue to the state of Nevada dwindling, schools are obviously feeling a little bit of a pinch. What’s the solution? More money! I’m sorry folks, but as much as your professors like to make you believe, throwing money at a problem isn’t going to fix it. For too long we’ve done just that with Nevada’s education system.
Our public schools are in a severe crisis and this crisis extends beyond financial problems. The big problem plaguing public schools is that they’re public. That’s right, they are owned and run by your government. The reason the budget crisis is affecting K-12 a lot harder than higher education is because they’re dependent on government funds.
The reason the country and our state are failing in educating our youth is because the government controls the education system.
Problem number one: the Department of Education. States and school boards have become so addicted to federal money for their schools that they’ll meet whatever standard the law-makers dictate to them.
This usually doesn’t require much more than mandatory increased attendance. So, schools don’t enforce discipline or academic standards on their students to focus on filling more seats and getting more money. There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the federal government has to fund education.
The only way to cure the problems associated with the Department of Education is to get rid of it and eliminate federal funding for all schools. Once schools rid themselves of the addiction to federal money, they can finally get back to actually teaching their students. Many private schools, especially parochial schools do without federal money and still have a higher success rate.
Problem number two: the government runs a monopoly on education.
Government-run schools fail primarily because parents don’t have a choice in where their children get educated. Could you imagine if the government chose what TV you could have in your home, what car you could drive, what shoes you have to wear and the food you ate? Well, we’re not that far off from some of those things, but essentially you would be stuck with whatever the government dealt you. It would probably not be the optimal choice.
The solution is to give the power to choose schools back to parents. Free-market principles prove to be successful in private schools. When you have choice, you choose better. For some, private schools are out of reach due to tuition fees and other associated costs. One private school here in Las Vegas charges a reasonable $3,600 a year and they have an exceptionally better and higher quality education system most public schools which Nevada spends $7,355 annually. Still, there should be vouchers and public-private ventures to help those who cannot afford a private education by themselves.
What makes many private schools better, as stated earlier, is their rejection of federal money and ineffective federal regulations. Privatizing the education system would mean more leeway determining teaching methods. Also, this would allow schools to enforce more appropriate academic and disciplinary standards.
Another benefit to a private system is that parents get to see the real cost of their child’s education, and so, they will probably care more about it. Why would anyone want to pay $3,500 a year for their child to get an F? Paying for education might force careless parents to have an interest in their child’s education. Return the choice to people and they’ll choose better.
One in nine mortgages in Provo-Orem 'underwater'
Falling home values in the wake of a deepening housing crisis have resulted in a rising number of homes with upside down mortgages nationwide, with one local analyst warning that the problem could be especially serious for some homeowners and investors in Utah County.
Nearly 11 percent of all homes with a mortgage in the Provo-Orem area are in negative equity in the fourth quarter of 2008, and that number is likely to grow, according to a report released Wednesday by First American CoreLogic, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based seller of mortgage and economic data. In the third quarter, 7.9 percent were upside down.Negative equity, also referred to as underwater or upside down, means borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth.
Of a total of 72,522 Provo-Orem properties with a mortgage in the fourth quarter, 7,713 were underwater. In Salt Lake City, 27,031, or 15.2 percent, of all properties with a mortgage were in negative equity in the fourth quarter.
"Being underwater is a necessary but not sufficient condition for default and foreclosure," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for First American in Washington, D.C. "The other necessary condition is inability to make your mortgage payment due to job loss, divorce, a significant change in the payment because of an adjustable loan. The problem occurs when those two combine."
Those who didn't put any money down for high-end homes (above $400,000) bought during the boom years of 2006 and 2007 in Utah County are most likely at risk of going underwater, said Jason Eldredge, vice president of sales with Newreach. The Salt Lake City company tracks pre-foreclosure statistics in Utah.
"If you've got a 100 percent-funded loan, and the market depreciates just a few years after you purchased at the peak, you may find yourself in a negative equity situation, if you didn't put any money down," he said.
In Utah, as in most areas nationwide, higher-end homes are seeing the biggest price drops as rising foreclosures and unemployment take their toll.
"A lot of new construction over the $400,000 price range in Utah County could be in negative equity," Eldredge said. "Much of the new home inventory in this price range was built in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Many of these homes were also funded at 100 percent. Now that the upper-end homes are seeing the biggest price declines, they are turning into negative equity homes."
Increasingly, he is seeing more homeowners having difficulty refinancing loans of more than $400,000 despite having good credit and secure jobs, because their loan-to-home values have dropped sharply.
"People who did 100 percent financing, where the first 80 percent is on a fixed rate, and the second 20 percent loan on a variable rate, could have some problems if the 20 percent rate starts to adjust upward. That could mean a couple hundred dollars per month increase," he said.
Still, the situation in Utah isn't as dire compared with what's happening nationally.
Across the nation, households with negative equity or near it account for a quarter of all mortgage holders. More than 8.3 million or 20 percent of all U.S. mortgage holders are now underwater as the recession cut home values by $2.4 trillion last year, the report said. Three months ago, 18 percent were underwater.
New negative equity borrowers may rise to 250,000 a month in the first half of the year if prices continue falling, the CoreLogic report said.
But Eldredge maintains the problem in Utah isn't anywhere as serious as in Las Vegas, Arizona, California and Florida.
"How serious the negative equity situation becomes depends on how and when you bought the home. Did you put money down on your home? Did you buy in markets that are now depreciating faster than others? If you put 20 percent or more down, you will be fine because you came to the table with some equity," he said.
Also, most of the investor speculation in Utah's housing market began in 2005, at least two years after the market started heating up in states like Nevada and California, he said.
"We didn't have as much time to get as deep in trouble as some states like Nevada, which began heating up in 2003. We were lucky we did not start earlier in the boom like those markets," he said.
Still, the number of default notices, or notices issued to homeowners who are at least 60 days late on their mortgage payments in Utah County, has jumped to 252 in February, up from 45 a year ago, Eldredge said.
"Once a homeowner goes into default, nine times out of 10, their homes will have a new owner within 12 to 14 months," he said. Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs, located in the former fast-growing north Utah County area, had the highest number of default notices in 2008, he said.
The CoreLogic report also found an additional 2,951 mortgages, or 4.1 percent, of all mortgages in the Provo-Orem area are nearly underwater, bringing the total to 14.7 percent of all outstanding mortgages that are now underwater or nearing it.
These borrowers, analysts say, may be prime candidates for refinancing under President Barack Obama's foreclosure prevention plan announced Wednesday
President Obama's plan aims to help as many as 9 million troubled borrowers refinance or restructure their loans. About $75 billion would be used to rescue homeowners by agreeing to pay lenders for altering troubled mortgages while reducing borrowers' interest rates as low as 2 percent, according to an Associated Press report Wednesday.
Obama also supports revising U.S. bankruptcy rules that would let judges reduce mortgages on primary residences to fair-market value, if borrowers pay their debts under a court-ordered plan.
But, here's the rub.
At least 7.6 million mortgage holders won't qualify because they are underwater by more than the 5 percent threshold allowed in Obama's proposals, according to an estimate by online valuation service Zillow.com.
More than 2.2 million U.S. borrowers have "severe negative equity," or loans worth 125 percent or more of the property's value, according to CoreLogic.
Some analysts say the plan also focuses mainly on owner-occupied homes and not investors, which account for as much as 40 percent of home sales during the housing bubble.
"The real worry is that we may have a Catch-22 position, where if you help the owner-occupieds and not the investors, you run the risk of these homes going back to the banks, and home values tanking further when these homes are reintroduced into the market at much lower prices in short sales or foreclosure sales," Eldredge said.
Grace Leong - DAILY HERALD
Rabu, 25 Februari 2009
Mega Millions Lottery Growing
A Solution to Your Problems?
The present jackpot in the nation-wide Mega Millions lottery drawing has raised to astounding $171,000,000 (or $171 million). I could write the amount of the Mega Millions lottery without all these zeros, but written this way, the amount seems more impressive.
Last Friday, no player got the 5 numbers plus the Mega Ball right at the drawing. The prize rolled over to this huge amount because last Tuesday, there was also no jackpot winner. And that was combined with the jackpot of Friday.
There are no other high-stake lotteries around at this time, so if you dream to be a multi-millionaire. There are also smaller prizes for $2, $3, $7 and $10 if you got only a couple of white balls right or the Mega ball is right. Take a loot at it, the next drawing is Friday, the 27th of February. Share the prize with me, if you decided to play after reading this article.
I hope I didn't give you too much hope to earn the main prize ($171 millions) since the chances of winning are 1 in 175,711,536. Winning $2, on the other hand, is kind of easier. In this case, you have 1 change in 75. Winning the Mega Millions lottery is still easier than winning the Powerball lottery, which has 1 chance in 195 millions (ok, 195.000.000).
You may be thinking if your chances are higher or lower to win during the economical downturn. The answer is clear - matching the 5 numbers and the Mega Ball is equally difficult any time. On the other hand, the chances that many player play this game is higher, so a jackpot can accumulate, like this time and roll over to the next drawing.
If you play, remember to check your results with the official sources. Mostly the seller of the lottery is the best source. The drawing takes place in Atlanta at 11:00 PM, ET.
I personally enjoy checking my number as the drawing is taking place. At least, I get emotion going through me.
Robert Gandalf
The present jackpot in the nation-wide Mega Millions lottery drawing has raised to astounding $171,000,000 (or $171 million). I could write the amount of the Mega Millions lottery without all these zeros, but written this way, the amount seems more impressive.
Last Friday, no player got the 5 numbers plus the Mega Ball right at the drawing. The prize rolled over to this huge amount because last Tuesday, there was also no jackpot winner. And that was combined with the jackpot of Friday.
There are no other high-stake lotteries around at this time, so if you dream to be a multi-millionaire. There are also smaller prizes for $2, $3, $7 and $10 if you got only a couple of white balls right or the Mega ball is right. Take a loot at it, the next drawing is Friday, the 27th of February. Share the prize with me, if you decided to play after reading this article.
I hope I didn't give you too much hope to earn the main prize ($171 millions) since the chances of winning are 1 in 175,711,536. Winning $2, on the other hand, is kind of easier. In this case, you have 1 change in 75. Winning the Mega Millions lottery is still easier than winning the Powerball lottery, which has 1 chance in 195 millions (ok, 195.000.000).
You may be thinking if your chances are higher or lower to win during the economical downturn. The answer is clear - matching the 5 numbers and the Mega Ball is equally difficult any time. On the other hand, the chances that many player play this game is higher, so a jackpot can accumulate, like this time and roll over to the next drawing.
If you play, remember to check your results with the official sources. Mostly the seller of the lottery is the best source. The drawing takes place in Atlanta at 11:00 PM, ET.
I personally enjoy checking my number as the drawing is taking place. At least, I get emotion going through me.
Robert Gandalf
Lenten church services today
Ash Wednesday services will be conducted at a variety of churches today, marking the beginning of the Lenten period. 7 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 6 p.m. - St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 4100 S. Coulter St. 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7 p.m. - St. Mary's Catholic Church, 1200 S. Washington St. 8:30 a.m., 7 p.m. - St. Joseph Catholic Church, 4122 S. Bonham St. Noon - Covenant Fellowship Church, 1731 S. Avondale St. Sandwich lunch follows. Noon - Mass, J.A. Hill Chapel, West Texas A&M University, Canyon. 6 p.m. - Polk Street United Methodist Church, 1401 S. Polk St. 6:30 p.m. - St. Stephen United Methodist Church, 4600 S. Western St. Nursery. 6:30 p.m. - Westminster Presbyterian, 2525 Wimberly Road. 7 p.m. - Trinity Lutheran Church, 5005 W. Interstate 40. Nursery. 7 p.m. - St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 4714 N.W. Fourth Ave. 7 p.m.
Lent is the 40 days before Easter when the Christian church reflects on its sinfulness and Christ's sacrifice, said Brian Hesse, senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church.
"The church has traditionally used ashes, which are placed in the sign of the cross on a person's forehead, and that symbolizes the fact that Scriptures say, 'We are dust and to dust we will return,' " Hesse said, citing Genesis 3:19.
Ashes, an Old Testament sign of repentance for sin, are made from the burned palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday service and mixed with olive oil, which is what the early church would have used, he said.
Ash Wednesday Services
- Staff Writer Cheryl Berzanskis
Ash Wednesday has local Catholics preparing to enjoy fish on Fridays
Like many Catholics of a similar age, The Rev. Josef Wagenhoffer, 67, pastor of Saint Joseph's parish in Somers Point has fond memories of the Lenten traditions of his youth.
As a child, it was always fish that graced the dinner table for his family on Friday. He remembers especially the fried fillet of flounder coming to the table. Father Joe said his favorite dish, however, was "a tuna fish salad with some egg and some celery served cold along with warm stewed tomatoes and home-fried potatoes." That's a meal he still enjoys today, with a combination of ingredients and a comforting taste that "tickles his fancy."
While growing up, the church required both fasting and abstinence at times during Lent, meaning the one meal permitted had to provide enough protein to carry you through the day. Fish, in some form, was the perfect medium.
The requirement to eat fish on certain days was relaxed around 1966 when Father Joe was a young priest. His pastor at the time announced that even though the rules had changed, they would continue to eat fish in the rectory on Fridays during Lent. The young priest, not wanting his pastor to have too much control over his life, then announced he could do that since he liked fish, but he would first always have a big slice of ham. And that was exactly what he did at the first Friday meal. The next Friday meal, the pastor served steak. Father Joe now eats fish two or three times per week, especially on Fridays.
Lydia Saburn, 78, a parishioner at St. Joseph's, prefers to cook traditional dishes such as clam pie, oyster fritters and cod chowder. Saburn makes her clam pie by simmering "potatoes that are diced pretty carefully" along with onion and celery in some clam juice for the broth. She thickens it by adding some flour. Saburn uses a store bought pie shell for the crust. Her husband just said the other night that Saburn hadn't made a clam pie in a long time. Saburn is now on the hook for an Ash Wednesday clam pie.
Dominic Alcaro, owner of Barbera Seafood &Produce in Atlantic City, knows which fish sells best during Lent and how to cook each one. "Fluke, red snapper fillets and Chilean sea bass are our big sellers, while the Italians prefer fish like whiting. And of course, salmon is always popular." You would expect him to have a recipe or two for a good way to cook fish for your family. Alcaro explains his favorite method, "Take a piece of fluke fillet and coat it with some olive oil, dice up some garlic, dice up some onion, chop some fresh parsley and squeeze a tomato over the top. Wrap it in some aluminum foil and finish in the oven 15 minutes. It's one of the healthiest, good eating fish there is." It's hard to argue with Alcaro's technique. Oyster Stew 1 ounce unsalted butter 12 oysters, shucked, reserve oyster liquor 16 ounces light cream or milk Dash of Worcestershire sauce Dash of Tabasco (or to taste) Salt and white pepper Pinch of cayenne Directions: Melt butter in small sauce pan. Add oysters to butter and cook for 1 minute, just until the edges begin to curl. Add remaining ingredients including oyster liquor and bring to simmer for 2 minutes. Add some crumbled oyster crackers for texture. By MICHAEL HUBER For The Press
Jumat, 20 Februari 2009
Say YES to the Stimulus
The stimulus package has some bad parts. That much I won’t argue. And the way in which Democrats have executed its passage seems a bit ruthless and unkind, but only because we’ve forgotten how the Republicans did things before the 2006 elections. What’s more, there actually has been a good deal of compromise on the legislation. Despite the faults of the stimulus package, there are a lot of things right with it. And the benefits by far outweigh the detriments.
I’ve never understood those who live solely in the short term (see: Mission Accomplished in Iraq and Britney Spears’ marriages). Yes, the economy needs a pretty effective jolt right now, but what’s wrong with having that jolt come with supportive wires to keep the machine working in the long term? The banks are getting their money — 2.5 trillion dollars’ worth — from Geithner’s bailout plan. Personally, that’s more than I’d like banks to get without hardball strings attached, like, say, not to use it to throw corporate parties to congratulate themselves on receiving a bailout (I’m no Andrew Jackson, but I’m also not a fan of the Wall Street atmosphere).
To then turn around and attack the stimulus package because it has appropriations for such long-term recipients as education, energy infrastructure and health care is absolutely ridiculous. For one, there are provisions, like tax cuts and public works projects, that are certainly geared towards short-term recovery. The projects are reminiscent of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which created thousands of new jobs while increasing government spending. If my Ec10 memory serves me correctly, government spending, used in conjunction with tax cuts, can ameliorate a sour economy. For another thing, this “pork” is more than just Democrats taking revenge on Republican spending during the Bush years. The pork includes money to deliver clean and safe drinking water to areas in the West that have been devastated by drought, among other worthy projects.
From a political standpoint, the Democrats really only have the first two years to get major legislation through. The Republicans could always achieve a midterm election victory. So the Democrats are working to get their “sissy liberal reforms” in, even if it means squeezing them into a stimulus package.
The “sissy liberals” are requiring that medical records become electronic before they go extinct, to eliminate the headaches that patients have to go through; administrative failures that can cost lives. They’re helping states pay for Medicaid, because as more people become unemployed and poor, more people qualify for the already-burdened program. They also put in 1.2 billion dollars to increase the quality of care for veterans, a largely forgotten population whose experiences in war should not be punished with mediocre care.
The Democrats want to work on infrastructure projects such as increasing broadband access across America. This doesn’t seem very important to those of us who sit comfortably in our wireless-enabled dorms, but today’s communications network is just as important as the rail network was in the 19th century. There’s money to repair the nation’s highways, which not only creates jobs, but actually is quite important to public safety (remember the bridge collapse in Minnesota?). There’s also money for our public transportation, which, to anyone who has ever been to Europe, seems an antediluvian sham. The economy isn’t just about banks and Wall Street. It’s about developing the infrastructure and technology to support the entire country and promote long-term growth.
The Dems are also giving money to schools for repairs and renovation. What does construction have to do with the economy, you ask? Well, let’s not even look at the creation of construction jobs, that’s a little too obvious. Last year, in Gov 1368, “The Politics of American Education,” Mayor Bill Purcell, now the Director of the IOP, gave a guest lecture. As mayor of Nashville, he had given schools money for repairs and renovations. Why? Because if students are cold in school, if they have rainwater dripping on their heads, if they generally have to learn in a miserable environment on top of everything else they have to go through, then their education isn’t as effective as it could be. Seriously.
The package also seeks to provide money for Pell grants, the under-funded federal program that allows poor students to attend college; for IDEA and special education programs; and for Title I grants. In the long term, as Harvard’s own Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz wrote, it’s the “education gap” between the US and its competitors that has been a significant factor in our country’s economic success. As the economists argue, America only reached its eminence due to emphasis on educating the masses at a time when other great powers were still busy pillaging for short-term gains and educating only the crème de la crème.
The stimulus package has already been negotiated, and compromises have been made. The state governors wanted billions of dollars more than they’re getting to stabilize their states’ economies. Obama’s own planned tax cuts had to be slashed down to a smaller number. Schools saw billions in repairs and grants taken away. In this economy, everyone has to make sacrifices. It’s time the Republicans learn that.
As the Obama administration has already said, economic recovery won’t happen fast. The economy, they said, still has yet to reach rock bottom; is not on an upward path at the moment. But in the meantime, in the face of media criticism, the stimulus package is on its way. It has short-term provisions for quick job creation, tax cuts, and government sending.
Just as important, though, the stimulus package gives money to long-term causes that will guarantee America’s economic growth. There’s no way you can expect an economy to survive if it can’t grow in the long-term.
By Susan Zhu
www.harvardindependent.com
I’ve never understood those who live solely in the short term (see: Mission Accomplished in Iraq and Britney Spears’ marriages). Yes, the economy needs a pretty effective jolt right now, but what’s wrong with having that jolt come with supportive wires to keep the machine working in the long term? The banks are getting their money — 2.5 trillion dollars’ worth — from Geithner’s bailout plan. Personally, that’s more than I’d like banks to get without hardball strings attached, like, say, not to use it to throw corporate parties to congratulate themselves on receiving a bailout (I’m no Andrew Jackson, but I’m also not a fan of the Wall Street atmosphere).
To then turn around and attack the stimulus package because it has appropriations for such long-term recipients as education, energy infrastructure and health care is absolutely ridiculous. For one, there are provisions, like tax cuts and public works projects, that are certainly geared towards short-term recovery. The projects are reminiscent of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which created thousands of new jobs while increasing government spending. If my Ec10 memory serves me correctly, government spending, used in conjunction with tax cuts, can ameliorate a sour economy. For another thing, this “pork” is more than just Democrats taking revenge on Republican spending during the Bush years. The pork includes money to deliver clean and safe drinking water to areas in the West that have been devastated by drought, among other worthy projects.
From a political standpoint, the Democrats really only have the first two years to get major legislation through. The Republicans could always achieve a midterm election victory. So the Democrats are working to get their “sissy liberal reforms” in, even if it means squeezing them into a stimulus package.
The “sissy liberals” are requiring that medical records become electronic before they go extinct, to eliminate the headaches that patients have to go through; administrative failures that can cost lives. They’re helping states pay for Medicaid, because as more people become unemployed and poor, more people qualify for the already-burdened program. They also put in 1.2 billion dollars to increase the quality of care for veterans, a largely forgotten population whose experiences in war should not be punished with mediocre care.
The Democrats want to work on infrastructure projects such as increasing broadband access across America. This doesn’t seem very important to those of us who sit comfortably in our wireless-enabled dorms, but today’s communications network is just as important as the rail network was in the 19th century. There’s money to repair the nation’s highways, which not only creates jobs, but actually is quite important to public safety (remember the bridge collapse in Minnesota?). There’s also money for our public transportation, which, to anyone who has ever been to Europe, seems an antediluvian sham. The economy isn’t just about banks and Wall Street. It’s about developing the infrastructure and technology to support the entire country and promote long-term growth.
The Dems are also giving money to schools for repairs and renovation. What does construction have to do with the economy, you ask? Well, let’s not even look at the creation of construction jobs, that’s a little too obvious. Last year, in Gov 1368, “The Politics of American Education,” Mayor Bill Purcell, now the Director of the IOP, gave a guest lecture. As mayor of Nashville, he had given schools money for repairs and renovations. Why? Because if students are cold in school, if they have rainwater dripping on their heads, if they generally have to learn in a miserable environment on top of everything else they have to go through, then their education isn’t as effective as it could be. Seriously.
The package also seeks to provide money for Pell grants, the under-funded federal program that allows poor students to attend college; for IDEA and special education programs; and for Title I grants. In the long term, as Harvard’s own Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz wrote, it’s the “education gap” between the US and its competitors that has been a significant factor in our country’s economic success. As the economists argue, America only reached its eminence due to emphasis on educating the masses at a time when other great powers were still busy pillaging for short-term gains and educating only the crème de la crème.
The stimulus package has already been negotiated, and compromises have been made. The state governors wanted billions of dollars more than they’re getting to stabilize their states’ economies. Obama’s own planned tax cuts had to be slashed down to a smaller number. Schools saw billions in repairs and grants taken away. In this economy, everyone has to make sacrifices. It’s time the Republicans learn that.
As the Obama administration has already said, economic recovery won’t happen fast. The economy, they said, still has yet to reach rock bottom; is not on an upward path at the moment. But in the meantime, in the face of media criticism, the stimulus package is on its way. It has short-term provisions for quick job creation, tax cuts, and government sending.
Just as important, though, the stimulus package gives money to long-term causes that will guarantee America’s economic growth. There’s no way you can expect an economy to survive if it can’t grow in the long-term.
By Susan Zhu
www.harvardindependent.com
TMZ Rihanna Photo Shows Her Beaten and Bruised
TMZ has posted a picture of a beaten up and bruised Rihanna. You can see the TMZ Rihanna photo
The TMZ Rihanna photo comes with an attached statement from the police; they want to know who leaked the TMZ Rihanna photo. The statement says that "the photograph has the appearance of one taken during an official Domestic Violence investigation."
At the time of this writing, the TMZ Rihanna photo has received 1,518 comments. The substance of the comments run the gamut - from the usual obnoxious comments you oftentimes find on such websites to those that reflect a heartfelt concern for Rihanna and battered women in general. Some question whether the TMZ Rihanna photo was photo shopped; some condemn the TMZ Rihanna photo as an invasion of privacy.
That the police would attach a statement to the TMZ Rihanna photo, however, suggests in no uncertain terms that they, at the very least, suspect that it is authentic. And, that, in turn, is troubling, for the bruises and injuries shown in the picture are quite extensive. Rihanna was beaten up pretty viciously.
One commenter on the TMZ website notes that the picture is the face of domestic violence. And if the leaking of this picture raises awareness of this terribly serious and pervasive crime, than it has done some good. It might inspire someone who is the victim of domestic violence - or knows someone who is - to get help.
It is no secret that the perpetrator of the brutal beating of Rihanna is allegedly her boyfriend, singer-songwriter Chris Brown. On February 8, after he allegedly got into an argument with Rihanna, Chris Brown turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department where he was subsequently arrested and charged with domestic assault.
As a result of the allegations noted above, Wrigley suspended all advertisements featuring Chris Brown, and will not reinstate them until his legal issues are resolved. According to the Los Angeles Times, Brown has since hired high-profile defense attorney Mark Geragos (some of his most famous clients include Winona Ryder and Michael Jackson).
by Hartley Engel
www.associatedcontent.com
The TMZ Rihanna photo comes with an attached statement from the police; they want to know who leaked the TMZ Rihanna photo. The statement says that "the photograph has the appearance of one taken during an official Domestic Violence investigation."
At the time of this writing, the TMZ Rihanna photo has received 1,518 comments. The substance of the comments run the gamut - from the usual obnoxious comments you oftentimes find on such websites to those that reflect a heartfelt concern for Rihanna and battered women in general. Some question whether the TMZ Rihanna photo was photo shopped; some condemn the TMZ Rihanna photo as an invasion of privacy.
That the police would attach a statement to the TMZ Rihanna photo, however, suggests in no uncertain terms that they, at the very least, suspect that it is authentic. And, that, in turn, is troubling, for the bruises and injuries shown in the picture are quite extensive. Rihanna was beaten up pretty viciously.
One commenter on the TMZ website notes that the picture is the face of domestic violence. And if the leaking of this picture raises awareness of this terribly serious and pervasive crime, than it has done some good. It might inspire someone who is the victim of domestic violence - or knows someone who is - to get help.
It is no secret that the perpetrator of the brutal beating of Rihanna is allegedly her boyfriend, singer-songwriter Chris Brown. On February 8, after he allegedly got into an argument with Rihanna, Chris Brown turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department where he was subsequently arrested and charged with domestic assault.
As a result of the allegations noted above, Wrigley suspended all advertisements featuring Chris Brown, and will not reinstate them until his legal issues are resolved. According to the Los Angeles Times, Brown has since hired high-profile defense attorney Mark Geragos (some of his most famous clients include Winona Ryder and Michael Jackson).
by Hartley Engel
www.associatedcontent.com
Friday Sports Roundup; Tiger Woods Returns, Bracketbuster Weekend Is Here
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: Chris Paul and the Hornets take on Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, the Mavs battle the Rockets, and the Ducks travel up to Detroit.
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The Hornets will be in Los Angeles to meet the Lakers in the top NBA matchup on a busy Friday slate for the league that features 11 games. The Hornets dealt center Tyson Chandler to the Thunder on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox, then beat Oklahoma City 100-98 that night. However, Chandler failed a physical on Wednesday and the trade was reversed.
The struggling Thunder will be in Phoenix to play the Suns on Friday; Alvin Gentry guided his team to a 140-100 spanking of the Clippers in his debut as the Suns’ interim head coach on Tuesday night. As well, it’ll be Orlando at Charlotte, Toronto at New York, Sacramento at Memphis, Washington at New Jersey, Indiana at Minnesota, Denver at Chicago, and Atlanta at Portland, while LeBron James and his Cavaliers will hit the road for a game in Milwaukee vs. the Bucks.
Finally, the Mavericks will meet the Rockets in Houston in a big Western clash on Friday. The Rockets knocked off New Jersey 114-88 on Tuesday night thanks to 20 points and 12 boards from Yao Ming. However, Houston swingman Tracy McGrady is expected to miss the rest of the year thanks to a chronic knee injury.
Best Betting Events
The sportsbooks are the ultimate pawn shop symbol thanks to the world’s top sports handicappers led by the greatest ever, GodsTips.
GodsTips sweeps the board yesterday and is now 12-3 recently. Wise Guy plays are 23-11 in college basketball and remember with the Bracket Busters, those phenomenal non-conference systems jump back to the forefront.
We’d say we are heating up for March Madness, but we are always winning long-term so it’s just another (long) day at the office.
Friday GodsTips has three winners including two Wise Guy winners. Click now to purchase If only the Barbie Bandits knew how easy it is to make money honestly.
The march toward Madness . . .
None of the big conferences are in action on the college hoops schedule on Friday night; smaller matchups of note include Illinois State at Niagara, and VCU at Nevada. As well, Ivy League leaders Cornell will be on the road to take on Yale; the Big Red sit at 17-7 SU and 11-7 ATS through 24 games on the season.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The National Hockey League offers up just three games on Friday night, including Anaheim on the road in Detroit. Those two teams last met January 14 in Southern California, with the Wings winning 4-3. Niklas Kronwall had a pair of assists for Detroit in that game, while Ryan Getzlaf had three points for Anaheim. Also on the NHL schedule: Tampa Bay at Carolina, and Colorado at Washington.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
The Sprint Cup Series will run its second race of the season, the Auto Club 500, this weekend, with Jimmie Johnson looking to pick up a Top-10 result after a disappointing finish in last week’s Daytona 500 (31st place). The defending Cup champion, though, is still pegged as the big 3/1 favorite to take the series title again this year, with Kyle Busch the closest to him on the Vegas list at 4/1 odds.
Carl Edwards is listed at 5/1 odds to win the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship on the Vegas lines, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 8/1, Denny Hamlin at 10/1, and each of Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth at 12/1. Rookie driver Joey Logano finished dead last in the Daytona 500, and he’s at 75/1 odds to get the Cup win.
Sports Headlines
The Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs are making the biggest rises in the odds to win the World Series…Tiger Woods will return from ACL surgery at next week’s World Golf Championships….Reports are that Boston Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett is heading back to Boston for an MRI
www.offshoreinsiders.com
Tipping off on the hardwood . . .
The Hornets will be in Los Angeles to meet the Lakers in the top NBA matchup on a busy Friday slate for the league that features 11 games. The Hornets dealt center Tyson Chandler to the Thunder on Tuesday afternoon in exchange for forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox, then beat Oklahoma City 100-98 that night. However, Chandler failed a physical on Wednesday and the trade was reversed.
The struggling Thunder will be in Phoenix to play the Suns on Friday; Alvin Gentry guided his team to a 140-100 spanking of the Clippers in his debut as the Suns’ interim head coach on Tuesday night. As well, it’ll be Orlando at Charlotte, Toronto at New York, Sacramento at Memphis, Washington at New Jersey, Indiana at Minnesota, Denver at Chicago, and Atlanta at Portland, while LeBron James and his Cavaliers will hit the road for a game in Milwaukee vs. the Bucks.
Finally, the Mavericks will meet the Rockets in Houston in a big Western clash on Friday. The Rockets knocked off New Jersey 114-88 on Tuesday night thanks to 20 points and 12 boards from Yao Ming. However, Houston swingman Tracy McGrady is expected to miss the rest of the year thanks to a chronic knee injury.
Best Betting Events
The sportsbooks are the ultimate pawn shop symbol thanks to the world’s top sports handicappers led by the greatest ever, GodsTips.
GodsTips sweeps the board yesterday and is now 12-3 recently. Wise Guy plays are 23-11 in college basketball and remember with the Bracket Busters, those phenomenal non-conference systems jump back to the forefront.
We’d say we are heating up for March Madness, but we are always winning long-term so it’s just another (long) day at the office.
Friday GodsTips has three winners including two Wise Guy winners. Click now to purchase If only the Barbie Bandits knew how easy it is to make money honestly.
The march toward Madness . . .
None of the big conferences are in action on the college hoops schedule on Friday night; smaller matchups of note include Illinois State at Niagara, and VCU at Nevada. As well, Ivy League leaders Cornell will be on the road to take on Yale; the Big Red sit at 17-7 SU and 11-7 ATS through 24 games on the season.
Taking a trip around the rink . . .
The National Hockey League offers up just three games on Friday night, including Anaheim on the road in Detroit. Those two teams last met January 14 in Southern California, with the Wings winning 4-3. Niklas Kronwall had a pair of assists for Detroit in that game, while Ryan Getzlaf had three points for Anaheim. Also on the NHL schedule: Tampa Bay at Carolina, and Colorado at Washington.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
The Sprint Cup Series will run its second race of the season, the Auto Club 500, this weekend, with Jimmie Johnson looking to pick up a Top-10 result after a disappointing finish in last week’s Daytona 500 (31st place). The defending Cup champion, though, is still pegged as the big 3/1 favorite to take the series title again this year, with Kyle Busch the closest to him on the Vegas list at 4/1 odds.
Carl Edwards is listed at 5/1 odds to win the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship on the Vegas lines, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 8/1, Denny Hamlin at 10/1, and each of Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth at 12/1. Rookie driver Joey Logano finished dead last in the Daytona 500, and he’s at 75/1 odds to get the Cup win.
Sports Headlines
The Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs are making the biggest rises in the odds to win the World Series…Tiger Woods will return from ACL surgery at next week’s World Golf Championships….Reports are that Boston Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett is heading back to Boston for an MRI
www.offshoreinsiders.com
Minggu, 15 Februari 2009
Not playing favorites at the Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – So who is the favorite to win today's 51st Daytona 500?
Just like the expected crowded restrictor-plate racing this afternoon, the field of potential winners is jam-packed. Too many favorites and an even field that had testing reduced in the off-season to cut costs might level the competition at Daytona International Speedway.
Nearly 20 drivers seem to be contenders.
"There's just no way you can pick anyone to be the favorite," said Jeff Gordon, a three-time 500 champion. "I think there's just so many opportunities to pass; there's opportunities to move from the back to the front."
The race is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. and could be at the mercy of the weather – there is a 50 percent chance of rain.
Interference from Mother Nature aside, here are five things to watch in today's Daytona 500:
1. Jimmie Johnson starts chase for record fourth consecutive championship.
Johnson has dominated NASCAR in recent years, winning three consecutive Cup championships, tying legend Cale Yarborough for the series record. But Johnson enters the year looking for respect because Carl Edwards is the hot pick to take the crown.
In his seven Daytona starts, Johnson's average finish is 13.6, the best among full-time drivers with more than one 500 start.
2. Can Mark Martin finally win at Daytona?
The ageless driver may have found a late-career revival with Hendrick Motorsports. Martin, 50, will start on the front row with Martin Truex Jr. and has the horsepower to find Victory Lane.
Martin was heartbroken in 2007, when Kevin Harvick passed and edged him at the finish line.
"I think this is the year of opportunity for him to do things that he's never done before," said Jeff Gordon, his teammate.
3. Super-hyped Joey Logano makes his Daytona 500 debut.
Even Gordon wasn't as hyped as Logano, NASCAR's next phenom. Logano has been on the radar for years and was cast as the can't-miss kid. His potential showed over the week, when he made his first appearance at the track.
Logano, 18, will start ninth and drive a familiar car – Stewart's old No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. But Logano doesn't have it all figured out; teammate Kyle Busch took over his car in practice to help with the set-up.
4. Tony Stewart's new team makes its debut.
Saturday flipped Stewart's new Stewart-Haas Racing team upside down. Stewart wrecked into teammate Ryan Newman, who blew a tire in practice ahead of him. Newman went to a third car for the weekend, and Stewart will use his Bud Shootout car.
His attempt to win his first 500 got a lot tougher, but Stewart (using Hendrick motors) is showing he has a special start-up team. Stewart's best Daytona 500 finish was second in 2004, and he has five top-10 finishes in his last six starts in the race. He'll also have A.J. Foyt offering advice in the pits.
5. Winless drivers look for fast start to 2009.
Gordon has lost his way to Victory Lane as well as his status as an intimidator. He hasn't won a points race since October 2007, but he did win a Gatorade Duel on Thursday. A four-time Cup champion, Gordon will start third. He has won three times at Daytona.
Matt Kenseth, who will start 39th with a backup car, is another former series champion who went winless last season. Kenseth will fight against his 500 history, which includes only two career top-10 finishes.
Table Fare: Italian wine and food tasting
La Tavola Ristorante Italiano ( www.la-tavola.com) in Little Italy is holding a casual wine and food tasting Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
Chef-owner Carlo Vignotto will prepare special dishes such as fritto misto and risotto that have been paired with wines from Sicily and Sardinia. Tickets are $50 per person, plus gratuity. Tax is included in the ticket price.
Reservations are required and will not be accepted through Open Table for this event. Call 410-685-1859.
Grains of paradise
Commonly used as a substitute for black pepper in Europe during the Middle Ages, when peppercorns were hard to come by, Grains of Paradise are currently most popular in North Africa and the West Indies, but little known in the United States.
A member of the ginger family, the Melegueta pepper, as Grains of Paradise is officially known, is aromatic and spicy, with a flavor suggestive of ginger and cardamom, and more subtle than black pepper. Grains of Paradise is an interesting substitute for black pepper and works well with vegetable dishes, in mulled wine, and to flavor braised meats.
The seeds must be ground before using. Frontier, a producer of natural products including spices, packages Grains of Paradise in a grinder bottle. Frontier organic herbs and spices are sold at Whole Foods. Grains of paradise are also packaged by Vanns Spices, available at Eddie's of Roland Park.
Foodies trek to D.C's Firefly
The Baltimore Foodies are planning their first foray into the D.C. dining scene with an evening at the acclaimed Firefly restaurant in Dupont Circle, at 7 p.m. on March 19.
Chefs Danny Bortnick and Tip Carter, formerly of The Brewer's Art, will serve a special local and seasonal menu. In addition, Baltimoreans who wish to stay overnight will be offered reduced rates at the Madera Hotel. (Firefly is located in the lobby.)
By Christine Stutz
Examiner Correspondent
An American In Paris
“This is a start for me,” Serena Williams would say after winning the 1999 Paris final, her first tournament title.
at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a tournament which has since relocated to Memphis, Tennessee.
“This is a start for me,” Serena would say after winning the Paris final.
And what a start it would be. After winning her first grand slam that September at the US Open, Williams last month claimed her 10th grand slam title at the Australian Open while also reclaiming the world's top ranking.
Williams won tennis' greatest prize, Wimbledon in 2002 and 2003 and has also won the Australian Open and the US Open multiple times. However Williams has been victorious only once at the French Open, in 2002.
And in yet another stunning record and rare accomplishment for Williams, she would become the last player female or male to hold the four grand slam titles all at once, beginning with her championship win on the clay at Paris. Over the course 52 weeks from the 2002 French Open though the 2003 Australian Open, Williams went 28-0 in grand slam matches.
Favoring playing first strike tennis, Williams has enjoyed more success on the indoor hardcourts of the Paris Open than she has outdoors on the slower red clay of the French Open. Williams is 13-1 at the Paris Open, having also taken the title in 2003.
And after competing at the Paris Open this week, the American visits Paris again in late May for the French Open.
“It would be great to win more than one, two, more than two grand slams this year. More than three!” she said.
“That would be awesome. Obviously my sights are on doing well in Paris.”
By Tripp Mateschitz, Lawn Tennis Correspondent
Austin Marathon preview
Scouting the field
In order to cut costs, the Austin Marathon decided not to offer prize money to elite runners this year. The change means a local marathoner could be the first across the finish line on Sunday.
In the men's field, three former Statesman Capitol 10,000 champions could duke it out.
Gilbert Tuhabonye, the Cap 10K champ in 2002, has a marathon best of 2 hours, 22 minutes and 7 seconds. He's well-known in Austin as the coach of the Gilbert's Gazelles training group.
Steve Sisson, who helps coach women's distance runners at the University of Texas, held the school's 5,000-meter indoor record for a number of years. The Cap 10K champ in 1992, he finished 12th at the Pike's Peak Marathon a few years back.
Austin's Jean-Marie Ndikumana does not race often, but when he does, look out. In 2004, he won the Congress Avenue Mile in 3:56.7. That same year, he also won the Capitol 10,000. This will be his first marathon.
On the women's side, Austinites Desiree Ficker and Cassie Henkiel both qualified for the 2008 Olympic marathon trials. They will be going up against Elva Dryerof Albuquerque, N.M., who was sixth at the New York Marathon in 2007 with a time of 2:35:15.
Sentimental favorite
Andrzej Krzyscin of Poland won the Austin Marathon three straight times from 2002-04, and he holds four of the fastest times in the event. Now 41, he has returned with the goal of picking up a fourth victory.
His top time in the race, 2:11:41, came in 2001, when he finished second to Mohamed Nazipov of Russia.
Hopefuls in the Half
Yet another former Cap 10K winner, Bernard Manirakiza, will try for a victory in the men's half marathon. Manirakiza won the Nike Human Race 10K in August and has run 1:04:58 for the half.
Nebraskans Chris Stifflerand John Nichols have been training through the winter and plan to challenge Manirakiza.
Both have run in the 1:06 range for the 13.1-mile half marathon distance.
Austin Marathon and Half Marathon
When: 6:55 a.m. Sunday Start: Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge Finish: Congress Avenue and Ninth Street Registration: The half marathon field is full. Entries for the marathon will be taken from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at the race expo inside Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Rd. Cost is $125.
Sabtu, 14 Februari 2009
Myspace Valentine Comments
Myspace Valentine’s day graphics and layouts are all the rage today. Check out some of the best places to get unique graphics and animations to drop comments on all your friends’ pages. Photos of our favorites here!
Myspace graphics and layouts are the hot commodity today. Everyone wants to change their layout and leave Valentine’s Day comments on all their friends’ pages. Myspace is definitely recession friendly, especially during any kind of holiday. You can post a sexy glitter graphic or comment on a friend’s page and let them know you are thinking of them with out spending a dime. You can also be festive by getting a Valentine’s Day layout, also free.
One of the tiny problems is stumbling across all those places that take you 1000 other places, and have either 15 crappy comments and graphics, or nothing at all. I have selected my favorite Myspace graphic, animation, and layout sites that are legit and awesome. Check them out below! I gotta go change my layout now!
The best animated graphics. Everything from sweet and sappy to sexy and raunchy.
This site has tons of large, glitter comments and graphics. Very pretty.
This site has graphics with Valentines Day poems, and sweet sayings. It also has fantastic flash layouts, which are super fun.
This site has everything from sweet to funny, and has quite a large selection - 43 pages of comment graphics alone!!
By Jen
Showcase Cinema de Lux Cabot Circus Brings Live Entertainment In-Cinema to Bristol
Bristol, England-9th February, 2009- Live stand-up comedy in a cinema? U.S. based National Amusements, owners of the Showcase and Showcase Cinema de Lux brands, has created a unique new programme, Showcase Live, that brings the fun and excitement of live comedy, music and other alternative programming to the cinema. Already successful at the cinemas in Coventry and Leicester, the programme
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Showcase Live kicks-off with comedy programming featuring some of the freshest UK talent, provided by Bottle Rocket Comedy. The programme begins on Thursday, 19th February with Charlie Baker, James Dowdeswell, Tom Craine and Matt Kirshen, recognized for his success in America on NBC's Last Comic Standing. BBC 6 Music's Jon Richardson, one of UK comedy's brightest talents is featured on Thursday 2nd April. The shows are on alternate Thursdays and each one includes a compere and three stand-up comics.
Guests will enjoy performances in the luxurious environment of the Directors Hall, a premium auditorium featuring Ultra Leather seats, and reserved seating. The intimate setting allows guests to enjoy full view of centre stage, as well as conversation and interaction with the talent, family and friends.
Guests will also enjoy exclusive access to the Directors Lounge where they can indulge in a wide variety of hot snacks and a full service bar featuring specialty cocktails, during the pre-show and at intervals. View our bar and food menus at www.cinemadelux.co.uk/amenities/directors.php.
The doors, bar and food service open at 7:15pm, the show begins at 8:00pm. General admission is £10, with Student admission £7, and Showcase Insider admission £7
The schedule for Showcase Live Comedy is as follows:
19th February
Charlie Baker
James Dowdeswell
Matt Kirshen
Tom Craine
5th March
Dougie Dunlop
John Robins
Lloyd Langford
Nat Luurtesma
19th March
Joe Bor
Nick Revell
Tony Law
Carey Marx
2nd April
Tommy Campbell
Mark Olver
Carl Donnelly
Jon Richardson
Tickets for all performances may be purchased at the cinema box office, by telephone via the 24-hour phone number 0871 220 1000 or online at www.cinemadelux.co.uk/live. Customers who purchase their tickets online may also take advantage of the print at-home ticketing option at no extra charge. Group sales and special showings may be coordinated by emailing ukcs@nationalamusements.com. For more information about this and other programmes at Cinema de Lux and Showcase please visit www.cinemadelux.co.uk and www.showcasecinemas.co.uk.
###
About National Amusements, Inc.
National Amusements, Inc., is a world leader in the motion picture exhibition industry operating more than 1,500 screens in the U.S., U.K., Latin America and Russia. National Amusements delivers a superior entertainment experience in theatres around the world under its Showcase, Multiplex, Cinema de Lux, and KinoStar brands. Based in Dedham, Massachusetts, National Amusements is a closely held company operating under the third generation of leadership by the Redstone family. National Amusements is also an equal partner in the online ticketing service, MovieTickets.com, and is the parent company of both Viacom and CBS Corporation.
About Bottle Rocket Comedy
Bottle Rocket Comedy launched in Leicester in April 2005 and has since gone from strength to strength. The club, which started with shows at Firebug on Millstone Lane, has grown to run regular shows at Loughborough Town Hall as well as Leicester's Y Theatre. Bottle Rocket has established itself on the comedy circuit and shown an uncanny knack for spotting rising stars, booking in the past three years acts including; Alan Carr, Russell Howard, Michael McIntyre, Stephen K. Amos and Josie Long as well as more established favourites such as Stewart Lee, Daniel Kitson, Phil Kay and Richard Herring.
Author:
Wanda Whitson
Web: www.nationalamusements.com
Phone: 781-461-1600 x336
Days of Wine and Roses Are Over This Valentine’s
Long-stemmed roses are being replaced by homemade cards. Theater tickets are being replaced by Netflix. Personal jewelry is being replaced by personal poems.
And even some preparing to propose on Saturday are seeking a bargain approach: on Yahoo, searches for “cheap engagement rings” are “off the charts” compared with a year ago, according to Vera Chan, a trend analyst for the company. Other searches that are up over last year include “cheap lingerie,” “free Valentine’s Day cards” and “homemade Valentine’s Day gifts.”
Valentine’s Day, a more discretionary holiday compared with birthdays and Christmas, is proving particularly vulnerable to the bursting of the economic bubble. Diamond jewelry sales are down 20 percent to 30 percent. Flower sales are likely to tighten as well, in part because the day falls on a Saturday.
In the current economic climate, many men say it comes as a great relief not to have to produce a material manifestation of an intangible emotion.
“It has become such an ingrained part of our culture that women expect it and men expect they need to do such things,” said Marc Matsumoto, 31, a New York marketing manager who was laid off in December.
For Mr. Matsumoto, Valentine’s Days past meant splurging on $700 to $1,000 dinners, $400 and $500 dresses from Theory and Eli Tahari, and jewelry from Tiffany’s. This year, he and his wife are planning a meal at home. The menu includes foie gras with persimmon port and lobster sous vide with yuzu butter, but they will split the $125 cost.
Angeline Close, a business professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who has studied consumer attitudes toward Valentine’s Day, says the reassessment of the day is forcing it back to its roots. It started out as an intimate card-giving occasion in the mid-1800s but then grew into the second-most-marketed holiday after Christmas.
“It became a card and chocolate,” Professor Close said. “Then card, chocolate and roses, and then card, chocolate, roses and a lavish night out.”
Last year, consumers spent an average of $122.98 on Valentine’s Day gifts and merchandise, up from $80 in 2003, according to the National Retail Federation. With men, Professor Close said, “a lot of it had to do with the whole one-upmanship.” This year, however, the average expense is expected to drop 17 percent, to $102.50 this year, the federation said.
Tim Rhodes, 23, of Snellville, Ga., said he never wanted his wife to feel left out when other men doted on their partners; it seemed like “you don’t love your significant other as much as they love theirs.” This year, Mr. Rhodes and his wife, Beth, are planning to exchange practical gifts, like boots or a coat, and save their money for their move to Russia to teach English.
Creative, personal and experiential have become the key words. Chadd Bennett, 30, of Seattle, and his wife are forgoing their traditional getaways and jewelry this year, and will instead camp out in their living room and build a fort, harking back to their childhood.
“We can still keep that ritual together,” Mr. Bennett said. “It will save us a few hundred bucks, and be a heck of a lot more fun.”
Some men say they are reflecting a perceived shift in women’s thinking that they not spend a “stupid gluttonous amount of money,” said Brad Wilson, 28, of Chicago, the editor in chief of BradsDeals.com, which offers online shopping deals.
Indeed, Candace Lindemann, 31, an educational consultant from Miller Place, N.Y., pre-emptively drew the line, telling her husband, “No cut flowers.”
“I think they are expensive for what they are,” Ms. Lindemann said.
Even if plans include going out, many are finding creative ways to cut corners. Some are using restaurant gift certificates. Others are avoiding the pricey prix fixe dinners and going out for lunch, or dinner during the week.
Susan Jennings, 44, an artist from Manhattan, did both, using a gift certificate for Craft restaurant on Thursday. “We have zero income,” Ms. Jennings said. “We are just living on savings.”
Businesses are adapting in subtle ways. Roses are being sold in bundles of 10 instead of a dozen for a few dollars less. Jewelry companies are pushing less expensive items, like colored stones. Budget restaurants, which have not traditionally been hot spots for lovers, are offering Valentine’s Day specials.
The Internet abounds with ideas for frugal options, like playlists burned onto CDs and coupons for household chores. Sheryl P. Kurland, a relationship counselor, had another suggestion: do whatever it is that you did on your first date. The emphasis “recalls falling in love and nostalgia that’s often filled with humor,” Ms. Kurland said.
Susan Ji-Young Park, 39, of Los Angeles, has seen her income from teaching cooking classes fall sharply lately, so she prepared truffles to send to friends and family, in lieu of $100 orchid arrangements.
The holiday, Professor Close said, may be coming full circle.
“It started as a very pure romantic holiday, until capitalism and marketing spiked it,” she said. “We are retreating back a little bit to the original meaning behind the day.”
By JENNIFER 8. LEE
And even some preparing to propose on Saturday are seeking a bargain approach: on Yahoo, searches for “cheap engagement rings” are “off the charts” compared with a year ago, according to Vera Chan, a trend analyst for the company. Other searches that are up over last year include “cheap lingerie,” “free Valentine’s Day cards” and “homemade Valentine’s Day gifts.”
Valentine’s Day, a more discretionary holiday compared with birthdays and Christmas, is proving particularly vulnerable to the bursting of the economic bubble. Diamond jewelry sales are down 20 percent to 30 percent. Flower sales are likely to tighten as well, in part because the day falls on a Saturday.
In the current economic climate, many men say it comes as a great relief not to have to produce a material manifestation of an intangible emotion.
“It has become such an ingrained part of our culture that women expect it and men expect they need to do such things,” said Marc Matsumoto, 31, a New York marketing manager who was laid off in December.
For Mr. Matsumoto, Valentine’s Days past meant splurging on $700 to $1,000 dinners, $400 and $500 dresses from Theory and Eli Tahari, and jewelry from Tiffany’s. This year, he and his wife are planning a meal at home. The menu includes foie gras with persimmon port and lobster sous vide with yuzu butter, but they will split the $125 cost.
Angeline Close, a business professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who has studied consumer attitudes toward Valentine’s Day, says the reassessment of the day is forcing it back to its roots. It started out as an intimate card-giving occasion in the mid-1800s but then grew into the second-most-marketed holiday after Christmas.
“It became a card and chocolate,” Professor Close said. “Then card, chocolate and roses, and then card, chocolate, roses and a lavish night out.”
Last year, consumers spent an average of $122.98 on Valentine’s Day gifts and merchandise, up from $80 in 2003, according to the National Retail Federation. With men, Professor Close said, “a lot of it had to do with the whole one-upmanship.” This year, however, the average expense is expected to drop 17 percent, to $102.50 this year, the federation said.
Tim Rhodes, 23, of Snellville, Ga., said he never wanted his wife to feel left out when other men doted on their partners; it seemed like “you don’t love your significant other as much as they love theirs.” This year, Mr. Rhodes and his wife, Beth, are planning to exchange practical gifts, like boots or a coat, and save their money for their move to Russia to teach English.
Creative, personal and experiential have become the key words. Chadd Bennett, 30, of Seattle, and his wife are forgoing their traditional getaways and jewelry this year, and will instead camp out in their living room and build a fort, harking back to their childhood.
“We can still keep that ritual together,” Mr. Bennett said. “It will save us a few hundred bucks, and be a heck of a lot more fun.”
Some men say they are reflecting a perceived shift in women’s thinking that they not spend a “stupid gluttonous amount of money,” said Brad Wilson, 28, of Chicago, the editor in chief of BradsDeals.com, which offers online shopping deals.
Indeed, Candace Lindemann, 31, an educational consultant from Miller Place, N.Y., pre-emptively drew the line, telling her husband, “No cut flowers.”
“I think they are expensive for what they are,” Ms. Lindemann said.
Even if plans include going out, many are finding creative ways to cut corners. Some are using restaurant gift certificates. Others are avoiding the pricey prix fixe dinners and going out for lunch, or dinner during the week.
Susan Jennings, 44, an artist from Manhattan, did both, using a gift certificate for Craft restaurant on Thursday. “We have zero income,” Ms. Jennings said. “We are just living on savings.”
Businesses are adapting in subtle ways. Roses are being sold in bundles of 10 instead of a dozen for a few dollars less. Jewelry companies are pushing less expensive items, like colored stones. Budget restaurants, which have not traditionally been hot spots for lovers, are offering Valentine’s Day specials.
The Internet abounds with ideas for frugal options, like playlists burned onto CDs and coupons for household chores. Sheryl P. Kurland, a relationship counselor, had another suggestion: do whatever it is that you did on your first date. The emphasis “recalls falling in love and nostalgia that’s often filled with humor,” Ms. Kurland said.
Susan Ji-Young Park, 39, of Los Angeles, has seen her income from teaching cooking classes fall sharply lately, so she prepared truffles to send to friends and family, in lieu of $100 orchid arrangements.
The holiday, Professor Close said, may be coming full circle.
“It started as a very pure romantic holiday, until capitalism and marketing spiked it,” she said. “We are retreating back a little bit to the original meaning behind the day.”
By JENNIFER 8. LEE
Crew saw ice on wings minutes before crash
BUFFALO, N.Y. – As the wind kicked up snow around the modest suburban homes of Clarence on Thursday night, a metallic roar hurtled overhead.
Twelve-year-old Tomasita Trujillo cut short her iTunes download to look out the window. Then there was a boom, which immobilized her mother, JaimeeLynn, on the couch watching a movie. "I said to my daughter: `Come look out the window' – I was too scared."
Tomasita stared at the fireball, then prodded her mother to action. They called 911 and ran outside.
At the heart of the fireball was Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Dash-8 with 49 passengers and crew – all dead, along with Clarence resident Doug Wielinski, 61, killed in his house.
He and his wife Karen and daughter Jill were at home when the Toronto-built turboprop scored a direct hit on their home, exploding in a sea of flames that neighbours said raged past the treetops as Karen and Jill Wielinski fought their way out of the shattered dwelling.
Also among the dead was Don McDonald of Fort Erie, a project manager for the pharmaceutical firm Pharmetics, who was flying home after a business trip to be with his wife and young daughter.
Other victims included prominent human rights researcher Alison Des Forges, who documented the 1994 genocide in Rwanda; Beverly Eckert, whose husband was killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and two members of Chuck Mangione's band, Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett.
The flight, bound from Newark, N.J. to Buffalo, went down in light snow and mist – ideal conditions for ice to form, say aviation experts.
Steve Chealander, speaking yesterday on behalf of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the crew had discussed a "significant ice build-up" on the wings and windshield.
The landing gear was lowered one minute before the end of the flight, at an altitude of more than 600 metres, Chealander said, and 20 seconds later the wing flaps were set to slow the plane down.
But instead of coming down in the usual controlled descent, the twin-engine aircraft went through "severe pitch and roll," he said, meaning that the nose pointed up and down and the wings wagged from side to side.
The crew raised the landing gear at the last moment, just before data was lost; there was no mayday call.
"Icing, if a significant build-up, is an aerodynamic impediment, if you will," Chealander told a post-crash news conference. "Airplanes are built with wings that are shaped a certain way. If you have too much ice, the shape of the wing can change, requiring different airspeeds."
But stopping short of a definite cause, Chealander added, "We are not ruling anything in or anything out at this time."
Medical device salesman Tony Tatro was on his way home from the gym when he saw a plane in the usual approach path above his house, but going in the wrong direction. He kept moving as the 74-passenger turboprop – a Dash-8 Q400 built by Bombardier in Toronto and launched just last April – sped to the ground before his eyes.
Air traffic controllers, who just minutes earlier had been calmly communicating with first officer Rebecca Shaw with no urgent concerns apparent, were baffled.
About the time of the crash one controller had tried to contact the plane but received no response; he tried again before asking another plane for help.
"Delta 1998, look off your right side about five miles for a Dash 8 about 2,300 (feet) (700 metres). You see anything there?" he asked.
"Negative," the Delta pilot said.
The controller then broadcast, "contact state police or the sheriff's department. You need to find out if anything is on the ground. The aircraft was five miles (eight kilometres) out and all of a sudden, we have no response from the aircraft."
At about the same time, in Clarence, a bell rang in the centre of town, and the volunteer fire department rushed down the street to join a tight-knit community of neighbours trying to protect their own.
To hear them tell it, it was galvanizing. Having measured the local mood hours after the crash of Flight 3407, New York Governor David Paterson said: "There's a silver lining around a very dark tragedy: We find how connected we are on days like this."
As local emergency official David Bissonette reminded reporters, had the plane not crashed so narrowly into one house, it "could have easily taken out the whole neighbourhood."
Yet, though a neighbourhood might have been spared, it will never be the same. You could see it on Bissonette's drawn face as he briefed reporters on the cleanup.
Witnesses to the crash, alerted by the noise of sputtering aircraft engines, couldn't believe the scene awaiting them.
"The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives about a kilometre away. "There was a big bang, and the house shook. It looked like the house just got destroyed the instant it got hit."
Tomasita, Tatro, volunteer firefighter Patrick Casilio – all they could do was wait for the flames to weaken. "The nose was pointing down, the left wing was a little lower than the right," recalled Tatro. "I saw (the) impact and called 911. It was a huge ball of flames – 30, 40, 50 feet (15 metres), easy.
"We were only a block and a half from the volunteer fire department, so they were there pretty quickly. But there was nothing they could do."
After 10 years in the neighbourhood, Diane Trigilio, 57, has grown accustomed to the sound of a plane heading for Buffalo Niagara International Airport. But yesterday she struggled to describe a new sound she'll never forget: "It was like heavy machinery dragging."
Casilio, a firefighter for 34 years who also serves as an area supervisor, marvelled at what he saw at the scene Thursday night: how the plane's impact had pushed Karen and Jill Wielinski through their stricken house, from the first floor to the basement, but did not take their lives.
For hours, nine firefighting units rotated through the wreck scene, battling a fire fuelled by a natural gas leak.
As remnants of the plane still burned yesterday morning, a tearful JaimeeLynn Trujillo recalled, "We ran to see if there was anything we could do to help. But there was nothing we could do."
Twelve-year-old Tomasita Trujillo cut short her iTunes download to look out the window. Then there was a boom, which immobilized her mother, JaimeeLynn, on the couch watching a movie. "I said to my daughter: `Come look out the window' – I was too scared."
Tomasita stared at the fireball, then prodded her mother to action. They called 911 and ran outside.
At the heart of the fireball was Continental Connection Flight 3407, a Dash-8 with 49 passengers and crew – all dead, along with Clarence resident Doug Wielinski, 61, killed in his house.
He and his wife Karen and daughter Jill were at home when the Toronto-built turboprop scored a direct hit on their home, exploding in a sea of flames that neighbours said raged past the treetops as Karen and Jill Wielinski fought their way out of the shattered dwelling.
Also among the dead was Don McDonald of Fort Erie, a project manager for the pharmaceutical firm Pharmetics, who was flying home after a business trip to be with his wife and young daughter.
Other victims included prominent human rights researcher Alison Des Forges, who documented the 1994 genocide in Rwanda; Beverly Eckert, whose husband was killed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and two members of Chuck Mangione's band, Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett.
The flight, bound from Newark, N.J. to Buffalo, went down in light snow and mist – ideal conditions for ice to form, say aviation experts.
Steve Chealander, speaking yesterday on behalf of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said the crew had discussed a "significant ice build-up" on the wings and windshield.
The landing gear was lowered one minute before the end of the flight, at an altitude of more than 600 metres, Chealander said, and 20 seconds later the wing flaps were set to slow the plane down.
But instead of coming down in the usual controlled descent, the twin-engine aircraft went through "severe pitch and roll," he said, meaning that the nose pointed up and down and the wings wagged from side to side.
The crew raised the landing gear at the last moment, just before data was lost; there was no mayday call.
"Icing, if a significant build-up, is an aerodynamic impediment, if you will," Chealander told a post-crash news conference. "Airplanes are built with wings that are shaped a certain way. If you have too much ice, the shape of the wing can change, requiring different airspeeds."
But stopping short of a definite cause, Chealander added, "We are not ruling anything in or anything out at this time."
Medical device salesman Tony Tatro was on his way home from the gym when he saw a plane in the usual approach path above his house, but going in the wrong direction. He kept moving as the 74-passenger turboprop – a Dash-8 Q400 built by Bombardier in Toronto and launched just last April – sped to the ground before his eyes.
Air traffic controllers, who just minutes earlier had been calmly communicating with first officer Rebecca Shaw with no urgent concerns apparent, were baffled.
About the time of the crash one controller had tried to contact the plane but received no response; he tried again before asking another plane for help.
"Delta 1998, look off your right side about five miles for a Dash 8 about 2,300 (feet) (700 metres). You see anything there?" he asked.
"Negative," the Delta pilot said.
The controller then broadcast, "contact state police or the sheriff's department. You need to find out if anything is on the ground. The aircraft was five miles (eight kilometres) out and all of a sudden, we have no response from the aircraft."
At about the same time, in Clarence, a bell rang in the centre of town, and the volunteer fire department rushed down the street to join a tight-knit community of neighbours trying to protect their own.
To hear them tell it, it was galvanizing. Having measured the local mood hours after the crash of Flight 3407, New York Governor David Paterson said: "There's a silver lining around a very dark tragedy: We find how connected we are on days like this."
As local emergency official David Bissonette reminded reporters, had the plane not crashed so narrowly into one house, it "could have easily taken out the whole neighbourhood."
Yet, though a neighbourhood might have been spared, it will never be the same. You could see it on Bissonette's drawn face as he briefed reporters on the cleanup.
Witnesses to the crash, alerted by the noise of sputtering aircraft engines, couldn't believe the scene awaiting them.
"The whole sky was lit up orange," said Bob Dworak, who lives about a kilometre away. "There was a big bang, and the house shook. It looked like the house just got destroyed the instant it got hit."
Tomasita, Tatro, volunteer firefighter Patrick Casilio – all they could do was wait for the flames to weaken. "The nose was pointing down, the left wing was a little lower than the right," recalled Tatro. "I saw (the) impact and called 911. It was a huge ball of flames – 30, 40, 50 feet (15 metres), easy.
"We were only a block and a half from the volunteer fire department, so they were there pretty quickly. But there was nothing they could do."
After 10 years in the neighbourhood, Diane Trigilio, 57, has grown accustomed to the sound of a plane heading for Buffalo Niagara International Airport. But yesterday she struggled to describe a new sound she'll never forget: "It was like heavy machinery dragging."
Casilio, a firefighter for 34 years who also serves as an area supervisor, marvelled at what he saw at the scene Thursday night: how the plane's impact had pushed Karen and Jill Wielinski through their stricken house, from the first floor to the basement, but did not take their lives.
For hours, nine firefighting units rotated through the wreck scene, battling a fire fuelled by a natural gas leak.
As remnants of the plane still burned yesterday morning, a tearful JaimeeLynn Trujillo recalled, "We ran to see if there was anything we could do to help. But there was nothing we could do."
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