TH sound

Having problems in communication?

 Maybe, they can be caused by some pronunciation mistakes like the one the boy on the commercial made. He understood “think” instead of “sink”.

Actually, TH is one of the most difficult sounds in English. But with some training we can easily learn and say it naturally.

You know that there are two TH sounds in English.

the voiced (vocal cords vibrate)

represented phonetically by this symbol.

Examples:

THY

CLOTHES

THIS 

the voiceless (vocal cords do not vibrate)

represented phonetically by this symbol.

Examples:

THINK

THANK

THOUGHT

The videos below can help you.

She pronounces the word THOUGHT

She pronounces the word THY

See how the voiced TH is pronounced.

Now see two specific words pronounced: 

THOROUGHLY 

RHYTHMIC

Here follows some parts of films where the actors pronounce words with TH.

If you want to have some more practice watch the video below and do some practice on 

http://international.ouc.bc.ca/Pronunciation/

I hope this post can help.

by Vivian Barone

Wild Crash Seals Indianapolis 500 (BLOG)

INDIANAPOLIS – Rookie JR Hildebrand threw away the 100th anniversary edition of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, crashing on the very last corner of the last lap in the most dramatic, spectacular and heartbreaking finish in the great race’s proud history.

Hildebrand was poised to become the first rookie since Helio Castroneves in 2001 to drink the famous milk as he survived a wild afternoon to enter the final lap clear of Dan Wheldon.

However, heading into the final corner – and with his team officials and pit crew already raising their arms in celebration – Hildebrand lost control of his No.4 National Guard car for Panther Racing and smashed into the wall.

Even then, he nearly won in any case, as his mangled vehicle slid along the wall toward the finish line. But the impact of the crash caused him to slow enough for Wheldon to surge past in the final 200 yards.

While Wheldon celebrated, the result had yet to be made official. In question is whether Hildebrand was still the leader when the caution came out. Technically, the field is frozen when a caution comes out, meaning officials could have ruled Wheldon’s pass of Hildebrand didn’t count. After a review, officials ruled Wheldon passed Hildebrand after the caution lights came on.

“I just felt a lot of relief,” said Wheldon, who won for the second time following his victory in 2005. “I have been the runner-up twice. There are a lot of great storylines today.”

But there was no bigger story than that of Hildebrand, the 23-year-old Californian whose destiny was so cruelly snatched away at the last moment.

Hildebrand was left in stunned silence at the end, hands on his knees in the infield, barely able to comprehend the misfortune which befell him.

“I knew we were really tight on the fuel coming to the end,” Hildebrand explained. “I had the spotters in my ear telling me the guys were coming at us really hard. I was hanging on a bit.

“I caught him [Charlie Kimball] at just the wrong time,” he continued. “I went to the high side because I didn’t want to slow down too much, I got up in the marbles and that was it.

“I didn’t come here expecting to have a chance to win the Indy 500 but we did, and that is why it is frustrating.”

After leaders Scott Dixon and then Danica Patrick were forced to pit for refueling, Hildebrand overtook Dario Franchitti to give himself a shot at victory. But it was not to be.

Danica Patrick led the race with less than 10 laps to go but had to pit for fuel. She wound up 10th.

yahoo

Fire Breaks Out During Pro Baseball Game (BLOG)

Sing it with me: The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!

Thousands might have dusted off that old-school hit at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night as it appeared that the roof literally was on fire in the right-field upper deck. Smoke began billowing into the seating area of the ballpark during the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-1 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Thousands of fans were moved from the affected sections and relocated to another part of the stadium. (As L.A. Times reporter Steve Dilbeck pointed out, there were plenty of empty sections to move to, with an announced crowd of 29,971 on hand.)

No one was evacuated from the park, but some reportedly suffered from smoke irritation. The smoke wafted from the upper tiers of the ballpark down to the lower levels, and eventually reached center field. Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan(notes) definitely noticed something wrong in the air.

From the Palm Beach Post:

"I could smell that smoke and I was like, 'That ain't a hot-dog stand.' Then I saw this huge puff and I said, 'Oh, my God, this place is on fire and we're still playing,' " [he] said.
No, it wasn't a hot dog stand ablaze.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the fire originated from a small warehouse below the reserved level. Officials on the scene said a small fire of paper products was the cause of the smoke, and was put out by firefighters in 20 minutes.

The stadium's public address announcer informed the crowd of the situation during the sixth inning, assuring them that the fire was under control and there was no need to evacuate the ballpark.

Ultimately, it was yet another bizarre incident in a season full of off-the-field embarrassment for the Dodgers.

'Hangover' Biggest Comedy Opening Ever (BLOG)

Shattering numerous records, Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part II grossed $118.1 million in its first four days to help fuel the best Memorial Day weekend in history at the domestic box office. The sequel is expected to gross another $20 million on Monday for a staggering five-day bow of $138.1 million, setting a new benchmark for comedies.

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount’s Kung Fu Panda 2 also contributed to the boom, grossing $62.4 million in its first four days (like Hangover, Panda opened on Thursday). The 3D toon should end Monday with a five-day total of $68.2 million.

Kung Fu Panda impressed overseas, where it grossed a mighty $57 million from 8,023 markets in only 11 territories. In seven territories, it scored the best opening ever for an animated title and in China, scored the biggest opening of all time for a foreign film in grossing $18.5 million.

Hangover’s foreign numbers weren’t immediately available.

In the U.S., the specialty business also soared, thanks to Woody Allen ’s holdover Midnight in Paris and new entry The Tree of Life, from Terrence Malick .

Tree of Life, grossing $352,320 for the weekend proper as it opened in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, posted a per location average of $88,080—an all-time high for a Fox Searchlight title.

Midnight—which debuted last weekend to a per location average of $99,834—grossed $1.9 million as it expanded into a total of 58 theaters for a 10-day cume of $2.8 million, according to Rentrak.

The overall uptick in theater traffic at the domestic box office was a welcome respite for the film business, which has suffered one of the worst box slumps in history. Grosses for Memorial Day weekend are projected to reach $270 million, easily surpassing the $254 million earned in 2007.

From Todd Phillips, Hangover grabbed the best opening ever for a comedy, besting the $85.7 million earned by Bruce Almighty over Memorial Day weekend in 2003, as well as the biggest Saturday ever for a comedy ($29.7 million).

Hangover and Universal’s Bridesmaids set new benchmarks for the playing power of R-rated comedies. Even with competition from Hangover, Bridesmaids held well over the weekend, declining only 27% to an estimated $16.4 million to place No. 4. On Monday, Bridesmaids is expected to earn another $4.4 million for a domestic cume of $89.4 million.

Hangover should grab the largest five-day opening ever for any R-rated pic, comedy or otherwise. Previous best was The Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million) and The Passion of the Christ ($125.2 million).

Hangover is a sizeable victory for Warners and co-financing partner Legendary Pictures, and delivered the studio its best Memorial Weekend ever (Terminator Salvation was the previous crown holder at $65.3 million).

“This blows everything out of the water. It’s pretty amazing stuff,” Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said. “Moviegoers love all the characters, and they love the story.”

Hangover is the first title in months to appeal heavily to younger moviegoers, who represented 54% of the audience.

Moviegoers delivered rave reviews for both Hangover and Kung Fu Panda, which drew an A- CinemaScore and A CinemaScore, respectively.

Families turned out in force for Kung Fu Panda, which return Jack Black , Angelina Jolie , Jackie Chan , Dustin Hoffman , Seth Rogen and Lucy Liu return to lead the voice cast. About 45% of the total gross came 3D screens. If the toon had played in Imax, 3D grosses would have likely repped 55% of the total.

“We’re thrilled to have Kung Fu Panda be part of this record-breaking weekend. We came in at high end of expectations. We played very strong to families and kids, who made up 60% of our audience,” DreamWorks Animation president of marketing Anne Globe said.

The original Kung Fu Panda debuted to $60.2 million in early June 2008 at the domestic box office on its way to cuming $215.4 million.

Coming in third at the domestic box office was Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which grossed $39.3 for the three-day weekend and is projected to earn $50 million through Monday. That will bring the film’s domestic cume to $163.7 million.

Overseas, Pirates continued to thrive, grossing an estimated $122.9 million for the three-day weekend. By Monday, the tentpole’s global cume will be $646.5 million, by far the best showing of the year.


yahoo

VH1 Orders 10 New Episodes Of "Love & Hip Hop" (BLOG)

Fans of the VH1 series "Love & Hip Hop" will be happy to know that they can expect a season 2 of all of the Mama Jones vs. Chrissy and Somaya vs. Olivia drama.

This season the show, created by Mona Scott-Young, was a ratings success drawing nearly 1.3 million total viewers for the reunion special and 1 million viewers per episode for the regular season.

For the cast, Jim Jones' girlfriend Chrissy Lampkin, singer Olivia Longott, Emily Bustamante (what's she going to talk about now that she's "split" from Fabolous?) and rapper Somaya "Boss" Reece are all slated to appear for a second time, sans Mashonda. We told you previously that she decided not to return.

Talking about the renewal, Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President of Original Programming & Production at VH1 said,

"Our viewers have connected passionately with these women and their unique, authentic stories in the realms of pop culture and music," Olde continued. "We're very happy to be able continue those storylines."

theYBF

Jessica White Developing Skin Care Line For Women Of Color (BLOG)

Maybelline spokesmodel Jessica White is developing a skin-care line for women of color, Devise Beauty. The leggy beauty is in the lab with chemist Maria Ash to develop a skin-enhancing mixture that will enhance African-American, Latin and Asian skin tones. White will leave her lab coat at home while she hosts her Angel Wings Foundation charity ball at Georgica in the Hamptons tomorrow. Lisalla Montenegro, Russell Simmons and Miss Universe Albania Angela Martini, Kanye West’s rumored gal pal, are all expected to attend.

Sounds like a good business venture, especially for a woman of Jessica’s stature. Ladies, get your exfoliation game tight.

lipstickalley

It Can Pay to Snoop on Neighbors (BLOG)

Going to the open house of a home for sale down the block may make you feel like a nosy neighbor. But there are good reasons, beyond sheer curiosity, to take a peek inside.

By knowing the selling prices and how properties look inside, homeowners can become more educated about values in their neighborhood, says Karen Goodman, a real-estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in the St. Louis area.

Attending open houses is especially important if you plan to sell soon. But it's also a good idea even if you plan to stay in your home for a while. Eventually, these homes will become the competition, and it's smart to know how your place stacks up, says Ken Shuman, spokesman for Trulia.com, a real-estate website.

"Look at the upgrades they've made, look where they haven't made upgrades," he says. This exercise helps you "find out where your advantage is and you can focus on that when you put [your house] on the market." And you'll know where your home may fall short.

There are other reasons to check out neighborhood open houses:

To prioritize home-improvement projects. Seeing what the neighbors have done can help you decide which projects to take on first. Perhaps you know you need to fix your roof. Noticing that five neighbors have replaced their roofs recently might cause you to put that project at the top of your home-improvement list, Mr. Shuman says.

To avoid over-improving your home. "Make sure [improvements] are in line with what's considered popular in the area," Ms. Goodman says.

In a $150,000 home in the St. Louis area, for example, you may not get a good return on your investment for the installation of a granite countertop in the kitchen, she says. By seeing other homes, you'll know what kind of finishes typical homes in the area have; that can help you make smart decisions when planning projects.

To get remodeling and decorating ideas. "For a lot of people, it's fun to see homes, decorating styles, the layout of furniture," Ms. Goodman says.

If you live in the same subdivision and your home has a similar design, it'll be easy to steal some of the ideas -- from how to arrange the furniture to how the living area would look if, say, a wall were removed to create an open floor plan.

To shop for a real-estate agent. If you want to sell your home soon, open houses are a good way to interview agents. Notice how attentive they are to prospective buyers walking through the property. And make sure they're selling the home they're standing in -- only bringing up other listings when it's clear buyers are definitely not interested in the home, Ms. Goodman says.

One of the reasons agents hold open houses is to meet prospective clients, so it's a good opportunity to assess whether you'd like to work with that agent.

To gather comparables. If you're selling your home, you may want to attend open houses to collect information about the competition in the area, says Joseph C. Magdziarz, president of the Appraisal Institute, a professional association that represents real-estate appraisers.

"Assessor's records don't always include all the improvements to a property," he adds. "Appraisers rely on interviews with sellers and [real estate] brokers." The only party who isn't allowed to speak with an appraiser during the process is the lender or mortgage broker -- whoever is involved in approving the financing, he says.

While it may feel awkward walking through a neighbor's home, sellers and agents typically don't take offense. "In today's market, people understand," says Mr. Magdziarz.

From their perspective, the more foot traffic they can get, the better, and they're hoping you spread information about the home to family and friends who might be interested in buying it.

"You never know where that buyer is going to come from," says Julie Ann Giachetti, a real-estate agent with Lang Realty in the Boca Raton area of Florida.

But be honest and tell the agent that you're not a buyer, just an interested neighbor. "That allows us to gauge how much interest there is," Ms. Goodman says. "Ten people, one buyer is very different than 10 buyers."

Also, sign in with the agent, just as everyone else does -- there's a good chance your neighbor won't see the sign-in sheet anyway, Ms. Goodman says.

Finally, in return for having a look around, give honest feedback about the home. "You can give us an honest opinion without jeopardizing your buying power," Ms. Goodman says. This can help the seller address issues with the property.

yahoo

Talking About Tough Stuff With Your Teen (BLOG)

Let's Chat
Talking to your teen can be quite the challenge, what with competition from the iPod headphones that seem fused to your son's head or the relentless of texts that your daughter absolutely has to answer. Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn, real-life married couple and authors of You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story, as well as parents of a teen themselves, share how they attempt those heart-to-hearts.

Dad's Tips
"My son's 13, but he might as well be 33 for everything he already knows about, thanks to YouTube, Family Guy and South Park. Although he 'knows' plenty, he has experienced precious little of the world's weary ways. That's where I come in, with my few golden nuggets of wisdom that I have painstakingly panned from a lifetime full of dreadful mistakes, terrible decisions and delusional reasoning."

Give Warnings
"Death: It's scary, it's inevitable, it's depressing; best to make light of it! Start with the Woody Allen joke 'I'm not scared of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens.' Teens have a way to think that death is something that only happens to 'older' people, so you need to explain that they, too, have to be careful. I told my son that if I catch him hurdling himself and his skateboard helmet-less off a 'twelve-stair,' I'll kill him."

Use History
"Bad things have happened and might again, but I like to frame the talks about events like terrorist attacks in historic terms so my son can understand how and why they occur. I put frightening topics into context: The chances of being caught in an attack are very rare, unless your idea of a vacation is going to hang in Baghdad, Kabul or, well, anywhere in Pakistan right now."

Lay Down The Law
"I tell my son: Drink and drive and you die. Or, if you just get arrested, you're not Paris Hilton, so there will be major consequences. We're not at the teen driving years yet, but we live in L.A., where driving isn't so much a means to getting around as it is a death-defying hell on wheels. You can never ever take your eyes off the road, or you'll be crushed by lane-changers who don't signal."

Leave Yourself Out
"Talking about sex is not tough for me. I can talk sex anytime, anyplace to anyone, anywhere. I let my son broach the subject of sex, and let me tell you, he knows everything there is to know, in detail. All I will say is, don't brag about your past sexual exploits. Teens won't be impressed, and you'll just be embarrassed by their repulsion."

Mom's Tips
"Our son is 13 years old. He’s gone from being an adorable munchkin who sat on my lap eating pancakes in the mornings to greeting me with 'You're a terrible cook. I'll have a breakfast bar.' The last words I hear in the evening might just be 'I've heard enough of your voice for one day.' Here are my strategies for getting my son to talk to me."

Watch Scary Movies
"Nothing sends my son into my arms faster than a terrifying flick, so I scour movie listings for the scariest film possible. Pathetic? Maybe, but it works. The ride home from such a film is also the perfect time to open up the topics of spirituality, free will, the nature of the soul and the importance of never buying a home with an antique-filled attic."

Go Online
"That's right, I read my son's Facebook page. From his friends' postings, I can piece together a de facto narrative about what's actually going on in his life and then later attempt to posit relevant questions. I, of course, have been banned from posting myself, although I did enjoy hearing his anguished cry when he saw I had put 'Get off your computer and go to bed, babe' on his wall for friends to see."

Steer The Talk
"As I enter the chauffer years, I've realized my son prefers to see me in one light only—the one above the driver's seat. While driving him, I've learned what not to do if I want him to continue to speak to me: Don't ask how school is going right before school, don't ask how school is going right after school, don't wear clothes that attract attention in front of his friends. The good news? We listen to the news together and debate world events."

Trick Him
"This is one of my most successful ways to get my teenager to talk. I ask him to accompany me on my nightly run (full disclosure: I do a 15-minute mile). So if we do two miles, that's a good 30 minutes in which I might catch him off-guard. While he's distracted by how slow I am, he doesn't notice me asking questions. It's a magic trick and a weight loss strategy. Win-win."

glo

Innovative New Shapewear (BLOG)

Take Control
If kicking yourself for not hitting the gym is the most exercise you’ve done all season, don’t despair. We've got the skinny on the best new body-slimming shapewear to help hide those trouble spots. You just might be able to blow off that spinning class straight through Labor Day.















Baby Got Back

Bethenny Frankel has just expanded her Skinnygirl franchise to include an expansive collection of shapewear. These padded bikini bottoms create the illusion of a fuller, curvier backside.

Give 'Em The Slip
Not to be outdone, former Housewives co-star Jill Zarin has her own line on the market. This strapless slip helps to suck it all in under a fitted cocktail dress. Catfight not included!

Suiting Up
Not for the claustrophobic, this pair of nearly full-body leggings gives a more streamlined silhouette, from your bust to your ankles.

Do The Wave
The fibers in these arm sleeves contain mango butter and almond oil to help soften skin while creating a sleeker arm silhouette.

Couples Therapy
Alas, the day has come: Spanx for him. This compression crewneck creates a firmer chest, flatter stomach and better posture, while the boxer briefs give enhanced support, well, you know where.

glo

Androids That Could Dethrone the iPhone (BLOG)

Apple's iPhone had a good run atop the smartphone league, but 10 Google Androids aim to bury the tuckered-out leader this year.
Motorola Mobility, Samsung, HTC and LG have promised to deliver supercharged, ultra-thin, 4G Android devices in the coming weeks and months.

But not always. Before the mobile phone industry got all busy with design makeovers and tummy tucks, there were -- and still are -- some delightfully hideous phones that represented the other side of the beauty trend. The Street has gone back through the past decade to dig up some of the best examples of designs that make you wince and stare in disbelief. The clueless stylings, the flights of fancy into odd shapes, the obsession with square versus rounded -- it is a wonderfully colorful history.

The giant Android attack features bigger screens, better cameras, faster processors and speedier 4G connections than the upcoming iPhone.

The Android's phone screens, for example, start at 4 inches and go to 4.5 inches, advancing the size standard for this generation of touchscreens. By comparison, Apple's next iPhone is expected to have a 3.5-inch screen.

The new Androids are 4G phones either on AT&T HSDPA-Plus network or Verizon's LTE network, and four of the 10 will come with dual core processors.

Apple, on the other hand, is expected to upgrade to a dual-core processor this year, but the 4G LTE iPhone has been delayed to 2012, as first reported.

The presumed delay of the next iPhone from June to September, and the decision to wait a year on 4G LTE upgrade highlight just a few of the areas where Apple has been lagging behind the leaders in the Android pack.

"The processor and display quality improvement in the Android camp is proceeding at such a clip that Apple will be under a lot of pressure to deliver a substantial jump in iPhone specs next autumn," MKM Partners' analyst Tero Kuittinen.

"It's not clear how Apple can battle the rapid Android evolution," says Kuittinen, "unless it picks up the pace of its iPhone launches."

Samsung Nexus S, Sprint
This is Google's second run at making its own phone, only this time Samsung is manufacturing the device and Sprint is selling it. Two years ago, the Nexus One was made by HTC and sold online by Google. It was an experiment in retailing that was far less revolutionary than Google hoped.
The Nexus S runs on Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and works on Sprint's WiMax 4G service. Because it is a phone built to Google's specifications, it includes some of Google's favorite projects including NFC or near field communications that may one day allow phones to make purchases with a swipe at a sales counter.

The Nexus phones are big among Android fans who see them as more purely Android than other versions in the market. The Gingerbread system has been a little hard to find and the Nexus S will continue to be among the most advanced Androids until Ice Cream Sandwich arrives as early as year-end.

LG Optimus
The LG Optimus is one of the sleeker members of the new Android class. Even though it has a 4-inch screen, the phone is nearly a third of an inch thick, and at 3.8 ounces, it is a full ounce lighter than the iPhone.

The LG Optimus runs on Android 2.2 or Froyo and is powered by a 1-gigahertz OMAP processor from Texas Instruments, one of the key wins for TI in the most recent round of Androids.

The LG Optimus is expected to debut in Europe this month and arrive in the U.S. later this year. AT&T and possibly T-Mobile will likely get the phone since it is configured for the HSDPA network.

Samsung Droid Charge, Verizon
After a little delay, No. 2 phone maker Samsung finally gets into Verizon's Droid franchise and continues the robotic theme for another year.

The Droid Charge runs on Android 2.2, has a 4.3-inch LED screen and is powered by a 1-gigahertz Samsung Cortex A8 processor. According to analysts, Samsung has built the phone to consume about half as much battery power than its 4G LTE predecessor the HTC Thunderbolt.

Another area where it exceeds the Thunderbolt is on price. Verizon has a $300 price tag on the phone with a two-year contract.

Samsung Function, Verizon
Samsung is pushing hard to get on the 4G LTE bandwagon where Verizon has a speedy lead over the rest of the telco field. The Function is a member of the Samsung Galaxy family and a follow up to the 3G Fascinate, which debuted last year at Verizon.

The Function is a truly muscular phone. It runs on Android Gingerbread, it is powered by a dual-core 1.2-gigahertz processor, with 1-gigabyte of memory and another 32-gigabytes of built-in storage. And the 8-megapixel camera shoots 1080p HD video.

The Function is due later this year, and depending on the timing, may be one of the more formidable opponents to the iPhone next iPhone.

Motorola Mobility Targa, Verizon
Speaking of formidable, Motorola Mobility apparently wasn't happy with how the Bionic was coming together and reworked the phone under the code name Targa. Bionic was expected to be the blockbuster 4G LTE phone for Verizon from Motorola, and aimed not just at the iPhone but at the Android superphones from Samsung and HTC.

There's not much information about what powers the Targa, but the specs are likely to be similar to the Bionic. That list would include a dual-core processor, and an 8-megapixel camera.

Verizon and Motorola were expected to have the Bionic available by the end of June, but a revamped Targa will likely be a pre-holiday fall arrival. This would also pit it squarely against the next iPhone.

HTC Sensation
When and if it arrives at T-Mobile, the HTC Sensation promises to be a big step up from the HTC Thunderbolt. And that's no small feat. The Sensation is expected to have one of the first dual-core 1.2-gigahertz Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, which holds big promise for Qualcomm.

The Sensation has a 4.3-inch display, a 8-megapixel camera and it runs on Android's Gingerbread operating system. The phone has an aluminum unibody structure, a trend Apple started with its laptops.

The Sensation runs on the HSDPA network that AT&T and T-Mobile call 4G. The phone is expected to arrive as early as next month.

LG Revolution, Verizon
LG's focus on feature phones made it a weak player in the smartphone game, but the Korean electronics giant now wants to make up for lost ground in the super-phone category.

The LG Revolution is the heaviest of the five Androids, weighing 6 ounces. But it carries the weight well in a sleek half-inch-thick form with a large 4.3-inch display screen.

The phone runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 1-gigahertz processor and has a whopping 16 gigabytes of storage. It has two cameras, one front-facing for video chats and the rear a less-than-robust 5-megapixel shooter.

The Revolution is a 4G LTE phone that was expected to start selling at Verizon in the first quarter.

Samsung Infuse, AT&T
Samsung seems to be trying extra hard to be the iPhone replacement for AT&T. By appearances, the Samsung Infuse looks very much like a large version of the iPhone 4, at least from the front.

Samsung had reasonable success with Android phones in its Galaxy series; with the Infuse, it hopes to take that one more step higher. The phone has a massive 4.5-inch super-AMOLED-plus screen that is designed to provide better resolution and easier daylight viewing.

The Infuse runs on a speedy 1.2-gigahertz Hummingbird single-core processor. Its front-facing camera is a wimpy 1.3-megapixels, but the rear camera captures 8-megapixels. The Infuse runs on the HSDPA-Plus wireless technology, which AT&T started calling 4G.

The Infuse, sort of like the 5-inch Dell Streak, attempts to push the limits of super-phone sizes in an effort to skirt the fringes of the larger tablet market.

AT&T starts selling the Infuse this spring.

HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon
We got our hands on the HTC Thunderbolt when it arrived in March. Its speed is astonishing, but its battery life is terrible.

The Thunderbolt has the best name of the new crop of 4G devices that Verizon has introduced so far. The Thunderbolt looks very much like HTC's popular EVO at Sprint, with the same convex back and kickstand.

The Thunderbolt runs on Qualcomm's 1-gigahertz Snapdragon processor, has a 4.3-inch screen and a front-facing camera as well as an 8-megapixel rear camera. All those specs, by the way, are identical to its 4G WiMax brother, the EVO at Sprint.

The difference with the Thunderbolt is that it runs on Verizon's 4G LTE network. The Thunderbolt arrived in March quarter and was hailed as the first Verizon 4G LTE phone.

Motorola Atrix, AT&T
If there was one phone that caught the most attention at CES, it was the Motorola Atrix, which AT&T had been promoting like crazy.

This Atrix uses a dual-core Nvidia processor like its sister phone the Bionic, and has similar specs. But it also features 1-gigabyte of RAM, the same deployed by small laptops. And curiously, that's how Motorola is pitching this device -- as a pocket computer.

During the Motorola demonstration, the Atrix was docked in an empty laptop shell, which, powered by a keyboard and big screen, made the Atrix the core of a notebook computer. The Atrix is designed to serve as both your super-phone and through a docking system, your PC.

With processing power and memory comparable to a netbook, the Atrix may help push Motorola devices further into the workplace, bumping up against Research In Motion and Hewlett-Packard's Palm business.

Storms Slam Eastern Seaboard, More Coming (BLOG)

Violent weather swept across the Eastern seaboard, dropping heavy rains that flooded towns from New England to Georgia, knocking out power and killing at least three people in the Atlanta area.

Caroline Floyd, lead meteorologist at The Weather Channel, wrote on its website that Saturday would be "another day of thunderstorms in the Northeast."

She said they could occur across central and eastern Upstate New York, Vermont, central and eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.

Thunderstorms were also expected on the Southeast coast "from the Carolinas to South Florida," Floyd said.

However she added that much of New England would have a dry but cloudy day and temperatures were expected to warm up Sunday in the Northeast.

Intense thunderstorms stalled over central Vermont, pushing rivers over their banks and ripping up streets. About 200 people were forced from their homes Friday.

Churning brown water from the rising Winooski River and a tributary flooded into the streets of Vermont's capital city, Montpelier, sending business owners with inundated basements scurrying to move merchandise to higher ground.

"It looked like the river was right there on my porch," said Darlene Colby, 47, who was woken up by police around 1 a.m. Friday.

She gathered a bag for belongings for herself and 25-year-old son and spent the rest of the night at a shelter.

School was canceled for the day in Montpelier and a number of other communities in central Vermont, and state workers were given a delayed opening.

Plainfield, just east of the capital city of Montpelier, got 5.22 inches of rain, St. Johnsbury got 4.74 inches, and Montpelier got 3.89 inches, the National Weather Service said.

There was also flash-flooding in parts of northern New Hampshire, with some homes evacuated in the Littleton area and a few roads washed out.

In Georgia, two Decatur women were killed in Atlanta when a tree fell on a truck, police said. Atlanta station WSB-TV reported that a 19-year-old man was killed in Mableton when a tree fell on him while he cleared debris from a driveway.

Power was knocked out to more than 200,000 customers statewide, utilities said. High winds toppled trees in the Macon and Columbus areas. A flash flood warning was issued for portions of Fulton and DeKalb counties in the Atlanta area.

The storms delayed flights leaving Atlanta, home to one of the world's busiest airports, for more than two hours.

Twisters strike
In eastern Pennsylvania, a tornado that touched down Thursday in Schuylkill County was the second twister to hit the area this week, the National Weather Service said.

Another tornado hit Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania. The weather service said the twister had top winds of 90 mph and traveled 200 yards, but no one was injured.


A third twister, also an EF-1, hit Crawford County, bringing down trees and wires and damaging about 10 buildings north of Springboro, county emergency officials told the Erie Times-News.
In the western Pennsylvania town of Seward, high winds toppled a circus tent, injuring five people, including three children.

About 120,000 customers of PPL Electric Utilities lost power across the state. Power was restored to about 72,000 by Friday evening, but the company said the hardest-hit areas might not see electricity until Sunday.

In eastern New York, about 65,000 utility customers lacked power. Most of the New York outages Friday were in the Binghamton area.

Toppled trees and flooded roads were reported Thursday in the Lake Champlain community of Willsboro, and a lightning strike was blamed for setting a home on fire Thursday evening. No one was injured.

AP

Erykah Badu - @fatbellybella - Out My Mind, Just In Time (Video)

Erykah Badu has released the video for "Out My Mind, Just In Time" (Movement One), the love opus off her New AmErykah Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh LP:

OUT MY MIND JUST IN TIME from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Erykah Badu, who studied dance at Grambling University, gave a dramatic interpretation of her own lyrics in her latest vdeo. Shot in black and white, she dances solo to express the words. I love this song, by the way! Your thoughts?

Alicia Keys Does "W" Magazine

In the latest issue of W Magazine, Alicia Keys reflects on her entry into the music business saying,

“I just wanted to be who I was, which was like so many other girls I knew. We grew up in the city, had a hard edge and obstacles to overcome, but we were still young and beautiful. I didn’t want to be all dressed up, all made up—I wanted to be myself, which hadn’t been done before.”



So that explains why the Alicia Keys we met in the "Fallin'" video looked like the girl next door.

Alicia also said she didn't want to be controlled by the opinions of her handlers. She continued,

“I was a young girl with very strong ideas but no experience. I just knew that everything else I was doing was wrong—that all the suggestions weren’t what was in my mind, they weren’t what it was meant to be.”

But she trusted her gut instincts and with 10 million records sold, it all paid off.

“How terrible would it have been if I had come out with some watered-down version of who I am? People fell in love with the real me, and I still feel blessed that that was how the journey began.”


theYBF

Gimmie Dat Throwback - Faith Evans - @MissDunaway - Soon As I Get Home

Faith is the debut album by American R&B singer Faith Evans, released by Bad Boy Records on August 29, 1995 in the United States. Featuring main production by The Hitmen members Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Chucky Thompson, as well as Mark Ledford, Herb Middleton, and Jean-Claude Olivier, among others.
The album, which spawned the gold-certified hits "You Used to Love Me" and "Soon As I Get Home", was certified Platinum by the RIAA in March 1996. Faith contains a cover of the Rose Royce's single "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" featuring Mary J. Blige.

The 'Godfather Of Rap', Gil Scott-Heron Passes At 62 (BLOG, LINK, VIDEO)

Legendary jazz/soul musician Gil Scott-Heron died Friday in New York City at age 62. The genius inspired a generation of rappers and other musicians with his song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

The music world was mourning Gil Scott-Heron, the troubled poet and musician whose ground-breaking The Revolution Will Not Be Televised became a beacon for emerging rap and hip-hop culture.

Scott-Heron, who last year released his first album in 16 years to critical acclaim, died in a New York hospital after returning from a European trip. He was 62.



Richard Russell, founder of the British label XL Recordings, who produced and published Heron's final work, said: "Gil was not perfect in his own life. But neither is anyone else. And he judged no one. He had a fierce intelligence, and a way with words which was untouchable; an incredible sense of humour and a gentleness and humanity that was unique to him."

Russell added that the Chicago-born artist, who never achieved chart success in spite of a loyal global audience for songs including the dance-floor favourite The Bottle, had shunned all the trappings of fame and success.

"He could have had all those things. But he was greater than that. He seemed wholly uninterested in money. His talent was immense. He was a master lyricist, singer, orator and keyboard player. His spirit was immense. He channelled something that people derived huge benefit from."

Scott-Heron was a gifted child, raised in Tennessee by his maternal grandmother, Lillie Scott, after his parents – a Jamaican father who became the first black footballer to play for Celtic and a talented teacher mother – separated.

His grandmother bought a beaten-up piano from the funeral parlour next door and paid a neighbour to teach eight-year-old Gil how to play hymns for her sewing circle, including Rock of Ages and What a Friend We Have in Jesus. When at the age of 12 he discovered his grandmother dead one morning he moved to New York to be reunited with his mother.

His intelligence propelled him into an academy and from there to Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, where he met his long-term collaborator Brian Jackson. He published his first novel at 19 and by 23 his output had swollen to three books, a volume of poetry and three albums.

From his inner-city viewpoint Scott-Heron took the news of the day and spun it into hard-edged social commentary on issues as diverse as apartheid and nuclear energy. But the acid observational wit was sweetened by jazz-tinged soul and funk. His most famous composition, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, has been heralded as the birth of rap – a claim the artist himself rejected.

"If there was any individual initiative that I was responsible for it might have been that there was music in certain poems of mine, with complete progression and repeating 'hooks', which made them more like songs than just recitations with percussion," Scott-Heron wrote in the introduction to his 1990 Now and Then collection of poems. In fact a contemporary of Scott-Heron at university recalls how he was mesmerised by a performance by the Last Poets, a group inspired by the civil rights movement who performed their poems to a sparse drum backing.

Borrowing from their style he recorded The Revolution Will Not Be Televised in 1971 with Brian Jackson. It was a fiery critique of the role of race in the mass media age. "The revolution will not be right back after a message about a white tornado, white lightning or white people," he recited.

He preferred to describe what he did as "bluesology". "I had an affinity for jazz and syncopation, and the poetry came from the music," he explained in a 1998 interview. "We made the poems into songs, and we wanted the music to sound like the words, and Brian's arrangements very often shaped and moulded them."

Scott-Heron's prodigious output – he recorded 13 albums between 1972 and 1980 – succumbed to a growing crack cocaine habit. In 1999, he was convicted of assaulting his partner Monique de Latour and he was twice found guilty of possession, serving time in the notorious Rikers Island prison in New York. With the success of his recent collaboration with Russell on the album I'm New Here, there was renewed optimism that Scott-Heron was finally back on track.

Ofiicial Site HERE

guardian

What May be in Store for Philly Gas Prices (BLOG)

Memorial Day is May 30, this coming Monday. Lots of people will get a three-day weekend, and some of them will want to spend it driving somewhere. AAA predicts that 34.9 million Americans will go on a trip that takes them at least 50 miles from home this weekend.

Traditionally, gas prices tend to rise in advance of Memorial Day. This year, it's been reported that prices are trending downward in a lot of places--oil inventories are high, and when that happens, gas prices fall. But the effect isn't uniform, and in a lot of major markets gas still costs a considerable amount. Here's a look at the prices in different regions as the holiday draws near.

Where Prices Are High
In Philadelphia, gas is "teetering at nearly $4 a gallon." A casual survey by The Philadelphia Inquirer found that while some Philly residents are staying home due to cost concerns, others plan to do some driving and economize elsewhere, visiting more modest hotels and restaurants. Some people, itchy of foot and light of pocket, will use public transportation to move around the Delaware Valley.

In Los Angeles, prices were at $4.12 a gallon this week--nothing to sneeze at. But SoCal residents are still planning to make the most of the weekend, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some are planning to fly instead of drive; some have strategies for where to find cheaper gas. "Southern Californians... are still planning to hit the road at about the same rate as last year," reports Hugo Martín for the Times.

In the Washington, D.C. region, gas costs an average of $3.93--nine cents higher than the national average, according to The Washington Post. But that won't stop Beltway residents from hitting the road. The Post reports that there's "a slight uptick in the number of the region's residents who say they plan to drive 50 miles or more this year over last, though a gallon of gas costs $1.10 more than it did a year ago."

You see something similar in Chicago, where gas costs over a dollar more than it did last year, but the Illinois Tollway still "expects about 7 million vehicles on tollways over the weekend," according to NBC Chicago. A TripAdvisor survey found that only about 20 percent of Chicago residents, "lower than the national average," had changed their plans based on fuel prices.
In Houston, prices have dropped appreciably--13 cents this week, to $3.73--but they're still high, locals agree. One woman told the Houston Chronicle that she wouldn't feel comfortable until gas was back below $3 a gallon. "It still costs $100" a week to fill her Pontiac G6, she said.

Bad news for Cincinnati and Detroit: Prices are expected to climb this weekend as repair work continues at a refinery in Joliet, Illinois. Spikes will occur across the Great Lakes region--The Detroit News reports that gas could cost as much as $4.15 a gallon this week. However, prices aren't expected to stay high for long--an oil analyst quoted in the News called it a matter of "days and not weeks."

Where Prices Are Low
In Massachusetts, gas is going for an average of $3.89 a gallon, according to The Boston Globe. Thus, Bay Staters are travel-happy heading into the weekend. "Whatever we do will involve driving," one Braintree resident told the Globe.

In Atlanta, gas is at $3.83 a gallon, says the Atlanta Business Chronicle. In the coming weeks, it might fall to $3.50 or even $3.25 in some areas. It's not clear how Atlanta residents will factor gas prices into their weekend plans.

In Louisville, and the greater Kentuckiana region, prices are falling--a local news station reports $3.83 gallons for Louisville, and prices as low as $3.65 elsewhere in the area. But there are also reports of $4.19 gallons in the region, and the price anticipator GasBuddy predicts that prices will jump before the weekend.

In Hawaii--actually prices are super-high in Hawaii, which is nothing new. Hawaii has been a price outlier for months, and a few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Times reported that the scenic Hawaiian town of Hana had the most expensive gas in the country. However, the Associated Press noted yesterday that Hawaii finally doesn't have the highest average prices of any state--that honor now belongs to Alaska, where gas sells for $4.28 a gallon, compared to Hawaii's $4.24. Take your silver linings where you can get them, we guess.

Turn a Family Reunion Into a Family Vacation (BLOG)

Skip the picnic in Grandma's backyard & pack the whole family off to a destination that's both fun & relaxing for all ages. We visit 12 locations, from affordable to exotic.

Gulf Shores, Alabama
Sure, you could all head to your aunt’s house once again. Or you could give her a break and pick a neutral yet exciting spot, certain to please even the pickiest sibling, and turn the standard reunion into a real vacation for all. Here are 12 choices ranging from deluxe to super-affordable, including several that offer options at different price points.

Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, Stanley, Idaho
Ideal settings for family reunions, dude ranches offer a multitude of adventures in a family-friendly atmosphere. With its spectacular perch in Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains, this handsome one, on the National Register of Historic Places, is a particularly good bet. “Rocky Mountain’s unique a la carte program means it will work for diverse groups,” explains Gene Kilgore, founder of Ranchweb.com. “Guests do as they please. If they want to hike, that’s fine. If they want to fish, the ranch sets that up. Horseback riding is, obviously, available too, along with mountain biking, whitewater rafting and swimming in the on-site, natural hot-springs pool."

Walt Disney World, Florida
Watching a 5-year-old’s first encounter with her favorite princess can be a magical moment not just for mom and dad, but also for the grandparents, aunts and uncles. That’s one of the reasons many families choose to have reunions at Disney World in Orlando. Another factor: Disney has a dedicated staff available to help iron out reunion details from meals to park tickets — ask for Grand Gatherings or the Group Department if your family will need more than 10 rooms. To save a bit, consider sharing a house in one of the vacation rental communities near the parks.

Wildflower Inn, Lyndonville, Vt.
If your family reunion must include Fido, head to this dog-friendly collection of refurbished farmhouses and barns. Wildflower is set in “the area of the state that Vermonters go to when they want to experience the real, untouched Vermont,” says Mel Allen, editor of Yankee Magazine. “It’s near gorgeous Lake Willoughby, which looks like Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne, with soaring mountains rising on all sides of it.” Activities? They’re numerous and include the on-site spa, kids program, petting zoo and, nearby, 100 miles of mountain-biking trails. Need to work out long-simmering sibling rivalry issues? One barn holds a batting cage and pitching machine.

House boating on Lake Amistad, Texas
Renting a houseboat is about as far from roughing it as you can get. Many now come with multiple bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens, flat-screen TVs, whirlpool baths and wet bars. Despite these cushy trappings, this sort of travel can be a real adventure for families, especially on this spectacular lake with its severe limestone cliffs, sandy beaches and 850 miles worth of coastline. History buffs will enjoy viewing the 4,000-year-old cave art at the top of the Amistad Reservoir; anglers love the lake for its abundance of striped bass.

Acadia National Park, Maine
Whether you pitch tents or head to a hotel near the park’s entrance, Acadia is an ideal setting for family time together. “It’s a beautiful park,” enthuses Kurt Repanshek, founder of NationalParksTraveler.com. “And it’s doable for all ages and really varied groups. You’ve got a great loop road for a windshield tour, perfect for those who can’t walk too far; alternatively, one half of the family can drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain while the others hike to the top. It also has carriage paths for bicycling, and tide pools which young kids just love.”

Royal Caribbean Cruises
With all manner of price points on cabins, from cheap inside ones perfect for the stingiest cousin to verandah suites where grandma and grandpa can splash out, cruises on Royal Caribbean generally please the whole family, notes CruiseCritic.com’s Editor Carolyn Spencer Brown. “There’s a lot of variety on board these ships,” she says. “You have all sorts of food choices, spas, onboard activities. Family reunions at sea tend to be really successful because there are many things the families can do together, and also ways they can escape one another.” Really large families may snag group discounts.

YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colo.
Hosting close to 1,000 family reunions a year, this choice is both affordable — with facilities ranging from single rooms to eight-bedroom retreat cabins — and wildly scenic. Families can use the Y’s conference facilities to powwow over family trees, or head over to nearby Rocky Mountain National Park to see forests, elk, bighorn sheep and soaring mountains vistas. The center boasts tennis courts, a swimming pool, ice skating, fishing, mini and disc golf, sand volleyball courts, barbecue pits and an arts and crafts center. If that isn't enough to keep your family busy, there’s a zipline nearby.

Azul Fives Hotel by Karisma, Mayan Riviera, Mexico
How’s this for simplifying the booking process? An Azul Fives Hotel staffer dedicated to reunion travel coordinates with all family members and sets up special events for your group. Have little ones along? The resort has a loaner program for baby gear and toys. Those are just the initial bells and whistles at this cushy, all-inclusive beachfront resort, which also features a huge spa, swank décor, a kids club and multiple restaurants. “Foodie families will love it,” says Sally Black of VacationKids.com. “They have an organic garden which stocks the kitchens. I also like the fact that they have multiple suite configurations from studios to three bedrooms, most with lots of common space for hanging out.”

West Yellowstone, Montana
While you can lodge in Yellowstone National Park, Kurt Repanshek, founder of NationalParksTraveler.com advises groups to look at this bedroom community instead. “In Yellowstone Park, the lodgings don’t have kitchens. Here you can rent affordable units — there are many, many options — in which you can cook up family meals, a real money-saver.” Most who stay in West Yellowstone take day hikes into the park and into the Targhee and Gallatin national forests. It’s also a top area for fishing and rafting.

Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
Tops for active families, this Missouri resort keep groups hopping when the weather is lovely or ugly. On fine days, check out the tennis, golf and mini-golf courses, or go out on the lake for water skiing, wave running, paddle boats, parasailing, fishing and more. In bad weather, try the indoor water park and pool, video arcade and bowling alley. Frequent sales mean that if you hit it right, your family could score a deal; be sure to look at several websites before booking.

Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, Olympic National Park, Washington
“You get three national parks in one here,” says Kurt Repanshek, founder of NationalParksTraveler.com. “There’s the high alpine areas with glaciers, the beach coast and the temperate rain forest. Having so much in such a relatively compact area is ideal for groups who want to experience a lot.” He also appreciates that Olympic National Park's Sol Duc Hot Spring Resorts offers units with kitchenettes. “And the kids will get a kick out of the hot spring-fed swimming pools — actually the adults love those, too!”

bing

NFL Hall of Famer Angry at Punk Rock Band (BLOG)

With the NFL lockout in full swing, John Elway must really be bored.

Somehow Elway -- the Denver Broncos vice president and Hall-of-Fame quarterback -- became aware of the Fort Collins, Colo., punk band "Elway," and decided he's just not cool with the group using his surname.

The Broncos legend’s lawyer has requested that the band change its name, but stopped short of suing or issuing a cease and desist order.

The band, to its credit, was mostly amused. In a statement released via punknews.org, the band acknowledged the letter and suggested Elway had better things to do in the wake of the Broncos' disastrous 2010 season.

"We have no intention of changing the name again. We love the name, regardless of what connotations are inferred by the listener. Surely, if the Dead Kennedys could become one of punk's most popular bands without incurring litigation, Elway can keep their moniker and continue making so-so music for our dozens of fans to enjoy."

Score a point for Elway -- the band, that is. And now the group has now received more press than it ever would have had Elway minded his own business. There have to be quite a few people perusing the band's MySpace site, rocking out to songs like "Wolf Shirt," which to be honest, isn't a bad little jam.

Anyway, it's better than anything Elway or his team have produced in the last year. Maybe he's jealous.

thepostgame

Iran’s Largest Lake Northwest Of Tehran Turning To Salt (BLOG)

Oroumieh Lake, some 370 miles (600 kilometers) northwest of Tehran, Iran is turning to salt, according to several news sites reported on May 25, 2011. It was said to be the third largest saltwater lake in the world and a popular lake to migrating flamigos, gulls and pelicans.

However, 60% of the lake was said to have shrunken and may disappear entirely in just few years, according to reports.

Business near the area and the tourism activities were said to have weakend because of this situation.

Reports said that the lake’s lack of water was caused by misguided irrigation policies, development and the damming of rivers that feed it. Drought is also one of the reasons that drained the lake.

batangastoday

How to Not Fight About Your Finances (BLOG)

We’ve recently tightened our budget and had a throwdown about what to cut back on. That was not our favorite moment in our marriage. While talking about money can drive couples crazy, not talking about it is worse. Here’s what we’ve learned.

Send Out a Warning
He says: Don’t bring up the subject of money without proper notice. If you say, “Hey, hon, we need to talk about our finances,” the response should be, “OK, let’s meet and do it in an hour.” Then you can both use the hour to get to the higher “moral ground” you’ll each need when the argument hits.

Timing is Everything
She says: I truly believe regular talks are important, but I've learned it’s best not to bring things up when you or your spouse is, say, heading to a job interview. And late at night can lead to tossing and turning. I’ve found the least risky time is early in the day. That way the anger/denial/mourning/acceptance of your finances can work through your system.

Don't Be Rash
He says: Do not sell your house, buy an RV Winnebago and drive around the country together. Instead, watch Albert Brooks' Lost in America and have a laugh together before you go back to fighting and crying about the state of your financial reality.

Watch What You Cut
She says: One of the last luxuries people are willing to relinquish is haircuts. I think that is wise. While I've abandoned ship on my super-pricey cut-and-color, now spending half as much as I used to, I once attempted to cut my own hair, and while the first side came out pretty damn good, the second side…looked like I'd a fight with a juicer. (And the juicer won.) I ended up spending twice as much to have it fixed.

Forget About It
He says: Don’t dwell on the memory of money-spent past. Sure, if you didn’t fritter away all that cash on a nanny for your kid until he was 25 or had instead bought the house in the once-decrepit crack neighborhood that’s now the most expensive area in town and is worth 500 times more than the one you bought and can’t rid of, you’d be rich…but you didn’t. So stop bringing it up

Compare and Despair
She says: Making comparisons really is a tried-and-true method for unhappiness. Works every time. I remind myself of this each time Jeff and I sit down to review our bank statements. Bringing up other people’s net worth can only lead to more angst. Stick to what’s in front of you.

Keep Your Cool
He says: When talking about money do not get emotional or hotheaded. (We do all the time—and it never ends well.) Take a deep breath, count to ten, and pop a couple Valiums. And try not to get too competitive when discussing who earns more than whom. Remember, you’re supposed to be on the same team playing together and not a couple of gladiators trying to rip each other to shreds.

Take It Slow
She says: I always make the mistake of trying to figure out the rest of our lives at one sitting. This is a recipe for disaster. My new goal every time we talk about the sexy subject of money is to slowly chip away at each item on our list.

Keep Sex Separate
He says: Never talk about money before you have sex. And try not to suggest—no matter how bad things get financially—that since your spouse is still hot and you’re not half bad at videotaping, she should star in her own online adult site. Especially if you ever hope to be intimate with her again.

Keep Others Out
He says: Unless your spouse’s parents are named Soros, Buffett or Gates, I’d advise against talking to your in-laws about your financial concerns. It’s like taking up smoking to cure cancer. Also, don’t have your money chats in front of the kids unless you want to end up telling a tearful child, “Daddy was just kidding when he told Mommy that he was going to sell the house, the car, his kidney and prostitute himself as a cheap male hustler just to make ends meet."



glo

Aussie Student Finds Universe's 'Missing Mass' (BLOG)

SYDNEY (AFP) – A 22-year-old Australian university student has solved a problem which has puzzled astrophysicists for decades, discovering part of the so-called "missing mass" of the universe during her summer break.

Undergraduate Amelia Fraser-McKelvie made the breakthrough during a holiday internship with a team at Monash University's School of Physics, locating the mystery material within vast structures called "filaments of galaxies".

Monash astrophysicist Dr Kevin Pimbblet explained that scientists had previously detected matter that was present in the early history of the universe but that could not now be located.

"There is missing mass, ordinary mass not dark mass ... It's missing to the present day," Pimbblet told AFP.
"We don't know where it went. Now we do know where it went because that's what Amelia found."
Fraser-McKelvie, an aerospace engineering and science student, was able to confirm after a targeted X-ray search for the mystery mass that it had moved to the "filaments of galaxies", which stretch across enormous expanses of space.

Pimbblet's earlier work had suggested the filaments as a possible location for the "missing" matter, thought to be low in density but high in temperature.

Pimbblet said astrophysicists had known about the "missing" mass for the past two decades, but the technology needed to pinpoint its location had only become available in recent years.

He said the discovery could drive the construction of new telescopes designed to specifically study the mass.
Pimbblet admitted the discovery was primarily academic, but he said previous physics research had led to the development of diverse other technologies.

"Whenever I speak to people who have influence, politicians and so on, they sometimes ask me 'Why should I invest in physics pure research?'. And I sometimes say to them: 'Do you use a mobile phone? Some of that technology came about by black hole research'.

"The pure research has knock-on effects to the whole society which are sometimes difficult to anticipate."

Gil Scott-Heron - Remembering The Music

Today, there will be no birthday celebration. Instead, we will pay a tribute to the legendary Gil Scott-Heron by sharing some of his amazing works. Listen, I mean really LISTEN and DIGEST what this man was trying to tell us and, see if it doesn't change your life:



Comment #1 (Who Will Survive In America):


Your Daddy Loves You:


Home Is Where The Hatred Is:


Angel Dust:


Winter In America:


Lovely Day:

Gimmie Dat Throwback - Gil Scott-Heron - The Bottle

"The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "The Bottle" was written by Scott-Heron and produced by audio engineer Jose Williams, Jackson, and Scott-Heron. The song serves is a social commentary on alcohol abuse, and it features a Caribbean beat and notable flute solo by Jackson, with Scott-Heron playing keyboards.



The song was issued as the first and only single for Scott-Heron's and Jackson's album Winter in America (1974). It became an underground and cult hit upon its release, and the single peaked at number 15 on the R&B Singles Chart. Cited by music critics as the album's best recording, the commercial success of "The Bottle" helped lead to Jackson's and Scott-Heron's next recording contract with Arista Records. Similar to other compositions by Scott-Heron, the song has been sampled extensively by hip hop artists.

R.I.P. to the legendary...



"The Bottle" is a social commentary on alcohol abuse with a Caribbean beat. The song also became a popular song played at parties at the time. French music critic Pierre Jean-Critin later described it as "an epic song ... whose infectious groove can still set dance floors alight over thirty years later." The song's pop/dance sensibilities and social message engendered its appeal to listeners following its release as a single. Scott-Heron later said of the single's success and style, "Pop music doesn't necessarily have to be shit."

Cited by critics and music writers as Winter in America's best recording, "The Bottle" also addresses problems of drug addiction, abortion, and incarceration, while featuring Jackson on flute and Scott-Heron on keyboards.
Scott-Heron's high tempo vocal style and rhythmic lyricism shows similarity to later hip hop music, while the song's theme uses alcohol, or "the bottle", as a metaphor for ghetto life and alcoholism's long-term effects on its users.

See that black boy over there, runnin' scared
his ol' man's in a bottle.
He done quit his 9 to 5, he drink full time
so now he's livin' in the bottle.
See that black boy over there, runnin' scared
his ol' man got a problem, and it's a bad one
He done pawned off damn near everything,
his ol'woman's weddin' ring for a bottle.
And don't you think it's a crime
when time after time after time, people in the bottle.

News Roundup

There are many great blog posts out there today, so it's time for a Talk Wisdom News Roundup.


Hot off the wires, we have Gateway Pundit revealing what many conservative Christians already knew, deep down in their hearts:

Shocker! Leftist Jews Agree With Obama’s Plan to Turn Holy Land Over to Hamas-Fatah Alliance

posted by Jim Hoft at The Gateway Pundit - 10 minutes ago

Of course they do… A few leftist Jewish democrats agree with Barack Obama’s plan to hand over half of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall, The Temple Mount, Old Jerusalem, and the tomb of Jesus Christ to the Hamas...

One might ask, why would leftist Jewish democrats do such a thing?  It has to be because they are anti-Zionist; do not believe that the Bible is God's Word, and have been brain-dirtied to be stuck in the liberal leftist mindset that continues to drink Obama's poisonous Kool-Aid.  Gateway Pundit sums it up simply as this:   "Politics always trumps religious belief with these leftists."


One typical democrat sycophant had the usual tripe to spew (see at link).  But the first commenter came right back at 'em!!

#1 May 28, 2011 at 9:09 am
Sickofobama commented:
Hey Ackerman is right!


Obama is an alien, illegitimate and untrustworthy.


I think he is from another planet.


He is illegitimate because America only knows he’s a Marxist who is destroying America.


And talk about untrustworthy! He’s trying to get all the Jews in Israel exterminated.


Hmmm, what other monster in history tried to annihilate the Jews?


Oh yeah, the leader of the National SOCIALIST Party in Germany.

*******

A blog called A Time For Choosing has some really good posts about Sarah Palin.

Glenn Beck: Palin 2012 Just Got More Likely

I love Sarah's style. She tells it like it is and doesn't care who hates her and/or doesn't like her policies or what she has to say.


Recently, someone told me that he thinks she is a "polarizing figure" and doesn't think she should run for president. That truly disappointed me. But who could possibly be more polarizing that our current pResident in the White House? Trouble is, Obamafraud outrightly lied during his campaign!  We have the videotapes!   Unfortunately, many people (even Christians) were fooled by his untrustworthy rhetoric. We The People won't get fooled again, and no matter who the Republican nominee turns out to be, he or she will win handedly over Obama. The nation now knows how much of a fraudster, cheater, liar, socialist, and Islamo-fascist dictator Obama really is and except for a few leftists who still are falling for his dangerous demagoguery, the following he once owned and enjoyed has diminished quite substantially.


You don't need to take my word for it. Just view this video (HT: A Time For Choosing) to see how badly Obama's terrible policies have hurt our nation:



Sarah does not mince words when she finds the policies of Barack Hussein Obama dangerous and troubling:

Sarah's Facebook Page:

Obama’s Strange Strategy: Borrow Foreign Money to Give to Foreign Countries
.by Sarah Palin on Friday, May 27, 2011 at 4:23pm.Should we be borrowing money from China to turn around and give it to the Muslim Brotherhood?


Given that we are running massive deficits and are drowning in more than $14 trillion in debt, and despite not knowing who will rule Egypt until its election this fall, this strange strategy may be the end result given President Obama’s announcement that he is committing $2 billion to Egypt’s “new government.” It’s part of a $20 billion foreign aid package laid out with the Group of 8 countries in Europe today.


Now, given that Egypt has a history of corruption when it comes to utilizing American aid, it is doubtful that the money will really help needy Egyptian people. Couple that with the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is organized to have a real shot at taking control of Egypt’s government, and one has to ask why we would send money (that we don’t have) into unknown Egyptian hands?


Throwing borrowed money around is not sound economic policy. And throwing borrowed money around the developing world is not sound foreign policy. Foreign assistance should go to American allies that need it and appreciate it, and for humanitarian purposes when it can truly make a difference.


Considering the Obama Administration’s continued strange strategies on the economy and foreign policy has us counting down the days to the next election. November 2012 can’t come soon enough.




- Sarah Palin

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If Obama's strange decisions regarding the "Arab Spring" uprisings and throwing money at Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood does not disturb you, then you are either not paying attention or are an ideologue that would back Obama no matter what he does.


There are more good posts to read over at "A Time For Choosing," including a transcript of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speech To Congress.

Even if you already heard the speech, please take a moment and go to above link to read it. THAT is how a true leader who loves his nation and thinks of America as a best friend speaks! It was such a breath of fresh air to read that transcript and view the video and hear Congress (most of them, anyway) CHEERING and CLAPPING about the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu!  It was especially gratifying to hear these two very important points:


1. Hamas must say the following words in order for the peace process to move forward: "We recognize Israel's right to exist."


2. Prime Minister Netanyahu rebuffed Obama's  ill-gotten plan to force Israel to go back to the 1967 lines.  Netanyahu's response?  IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!


Because Hamas has the call for the destruction of Israel in its written charter, we know that they most likely would NEVER say those six words in point #1. Therefore, it is unlikely that the peace process would move forward with that terrorist organization in charge of the Palestinian territories.


Back to Sarah and the Republican candidates for president.


No matter who becomes the Republican nominee for president, the media of mass deception with do their best to ruin any Republican candidacy during the upcoming campaign. They are so in bed with Obama and pregnant with his awful policies, that we can expect them to never be objective during the 2012 race.  Luckily, the new media (blogs, facebook pages, Internet forums and chat rooms) have already alerted WE THE PEOPLE about the lamestream media schemes, and a majority of those who are wary and paying attention to all that is going on will not fall for their lies anymore!


I liked how author Sonny Palermo put it in his essay at American Thinker.

Liberal Media Chicken Littles: 'The Republican Sky Is Falling!'

posted by null at American Thinker - 8 hours ago

The Obama game plan for 2012 is revealed.

The Obama game plan for 2012 is revealed. It will not be to run on his record, because a speech listing the meritorious accomplishments of his first four years could be delivered by a mute, sans teleprompter. The goal will be to attack conservatives with cries of "racist" and "granny killers" in a campaign built upon subterfuge, slander, and misdirection, fueled by desperation and demagoguery. And the regime will be aided and abetted by a complicit, sycophantic media, Judas Goats posing as Bellwether Rams, bereft of journalistic integrity, derelict in duty and unashamedly open and unapologetic about it in these increasingly dangerous times.

Hat Tips to all links.

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Update!! One more late entry - "The Cure For Liberalism":

Missy8s commented:
Becoming a survivor of liberal indoctrination requires will and backbone, some have it and some never will…

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the liberals I cannot change, the courage to change the liberals I can and wisdom to know the difference.”

~Friends of John Q.

The 12 Steps To Recovering From Liberalism:

1. We admitted we were powerless over our envious and slothful ways and that our lives had become unsustainable through the coercive appropriation of the fruits of others labors.

2. We came to believe that a power greater than government could restore us to self determination and fiscal sanity.

3. We made the decision to turn our future and our lives over to the care of our own success and hard work.

4. We made a searching and moral inventory of ourselves.

5. We admitted to ourselves and our brothers that our salvation comes from the grace of God and our personal relationship with him.

6. We came to know that strength in spirit and character are not sustained by the gifts of government or collective reliance upon them.

7. We humbly asked God our creator to remove our shortcomings and to unshackle our brothers and sisters from slavery of the mind to the promises of the corrupt and powerful.

8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed through our complicity in wresting their liberty from them and became willing to make amends to them all through our works.

9. We made direct amends to such people as were enslaved to this progressive disease of interdependent mediocrity wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. We continued to take personal inventory our lives and when we were wrong promptly admitted it to ourselves before God.

11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and to share his word with others still searching in the darkness for the liberty and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to other recovering liberals and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The first step to recovery from liberalism is acknowledging you have a problem and learning to conquer it.

That is TERRIFIC!! Pass it on!!