HAPPY NEW YEAR! Four years of Splinters In Time

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends, family and readers. Hope 2010 is a fantastic year for you all and is full of joy and happiness.



WOW, it's been four years since I started writing the wee beast that is Splinters In Time only it's not really wee anymore, its more of a large sprawling monster that shows no sign of letting up.

Splinters In Time has always been there for me to document things, a sort of online diary if you will, it never even occurred to me (or bothered me for that matter) that other people would read it.

There have been ups and downs, tears and laughter, frustrations, bundles of fun and happiness across my journey so far.

Over the years I have picked up some "fans", if I dare call them that. It is really strange to think that every day I get around 30 people checking out my inane waffle! Thank you to every one of you who reads Splinters In Time.

Once again a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you and I hope your dreams come true!

2009 - and that's a wrap

Goodbye 2009, you have flown by at a rate of knots!

There have been ups and downs, masses of great fun, lots of friends (and new friends). Sophie had Scarlett and I became a Grandad Glitz, Sam finished school, did well in his exams and is now doing really well at his catering college. Gigs, gigs and more gigs plus a great relationship with Toni.

Tonight we're going to party like it's 1999, or at least 2009, at THE New Year Bash in Southend and I intend to be dressed to the nines and VERY drunk! Have a great time tonight everybody and see you next year!

Feliz Ano Novo (clique para ver o cartão)

Foto: Splendour of the Seas fundeado em Porto Belo, Daniel Capella.

Love Birds Wallpapers, Kissing Bird Wallpaper

Couples or lovers are many times recognized love birds who always mingle around each other as part of their love and affection that's why a girl and boy who are in love are commonly said 'Love Birds' so we present these love birds wallpapers to express your feelings and desires of passionate love.

Rose Petals Wallpaper, Colorful Rose Petal Pattern Wallpaper Texture

Petals are one of the beautiful part of any flower which look like waste when it get plucked from its base but still it has use for decoration, crafts, herbal products and other things. Decorations with flower petals look beautiful and full of spirit to enjoy the beauty of nature. Rose petals are highly used to decorate bed on wedding night and on other special occasions. Just view these rose petals wallpaper to place as decoration stuff on your desktop or laptop and to make the environment fragrant with the smile of rose petals, lily petals, orange rose, yellow rose, white rose and various colorful flowers.

Teachers caught in alleged naked romp in classroom

BROOKLYN (WABC) -- The alleged classroom tryst is the talk of the school at James Madison high.

Although some students told Eyewitness News they had been issued a warning by other teachers and staff.

"They told us not to talk to anyone and stuff," said 12th grader Tijo Thomas.

The chatter centers around two female language instructors, French teacher Cindy Mauro, 33, and 29-year-old married Spanish instructor Alini Brito.

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A janitor apparently caught the pair naked in an empty classroom and reported it to school officials.
Senior Irma Buzhinskya is one of Brito's former students.

"They're very professional and all these are just rumors. It's like he said-she said. It's just a bunch of rumors and if they do an investigation about this, I believe it's gonna come out to be all rumors," said Buzhinskya.

The Department of Education will only confirm that it's investigating an incident of employee misconduct saying, "the two teachers, who are tenured, have been reassigned, pending the outcome of the investigation."

One parent agrees with the department's actions so far.

"I think they've taken the right measure. Innocent until proven guilty," he said.

Students described both teachers as popular and professional, and seemed inclined to dismiss the allegations as nothing more than a smeer campaign.

"It's probably someone who doesn't like them. They're trying to ruin the image of the school. And we're not like that. It's a really good school. Nothing even happens in this school," said Juan Pablo Pettit.

We are all deprived and disgusting, or something to that extent.

We (well, jonesy and matt) here at twee affect have a hard-on for Asian train builders. While it is well known that everyone's favorite "zanie" builder Sekiyama, who, by the grace of God, has migrated to flickr, is jonesy's favorite Asian train builder (his favorite overall being yours truly), matt's favorite it is less well known (unless you are Andrew or Tim at TBB, who frequently must put up with matt's "tips"). The answer, dear readers, is Danden (aka Seunghoon Yoo, whom we suspect to be Korean, given his large number of Korean trains).

Danden's work is becoming better and better, as of recently. Most notably, he no longer ignores the fact that some locomotives have six axles. Admittedly a lot of his work is not 100% accurate, and he is not a pretentious show off when it comes to SNOT techniques, but his models still stand out from all the garbage you find on brickshelf these days. The simplicity may be a factor in this. His "clean lines" and simple yet well executed models are what some builders aspire to make. A lot of it, readers, also has to do with his presentation. Everything is photographed so well, even when he uses a white backdrop. You can clearly see that, in spite of the white backdrop and grey colored MOC, the photo is not overexposed.

Danden's most recent MOC is revision an older model, his Santa Fe FP45. Again, the model is quite simple given today's standards , but still stands out. Too often is (THNX ANON!!!!!!) does the thought go through and quickly be dismissed that perhaps these grilles are too overcomplicated. Simply changing the color is sufficient . While this part would work better for the end, it is not quite as common light bley and, if Danden is cheap like your author and did not want to spend $1.50 on one part, it is extremely admirable of Danden to be so consistent in his use of light bley (something of which your author is certainly not capable). Perhaps a New Year's resolution could be to do things simpler. Just kidding!!! Your author is not one to make himself think such horrible things (he would rather things like death).

Avatar 3D

Went to see Avatar in 3D tonight in Bas Vegas. Had a yummy Nandos dinner before picking up our 3D glasses and taking our seats.

The 3D adverts were AMAZING!

And so came the much talked about Avatar itself. The film wasn't bad at all. Some of the 3D effects were brilliant and I don't think I could have actually watched the film in 2D.

The film was good, visual effects were stunning although the plot was a little thin and some of the fast action sequences didn't work too well in 3D. Perhaps it was a little over ambitious. It didn't feel like it was 2.5 hours which is good as there's nothing worse than wondering when a film will end.

It was a shame that it didn't take much to work out that they were going to go with the whole Gaian Hypothesis by the end of it. It didn't disappoint though, they did!

Definitely worth seeing but make sure you see the 3D rather than 2D version.

'Twilight' stars Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz to attend People's Choice Awards

While Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart aren't a sure thing (yet) for the People's Choice Awards, The Twilight Saga: New Moon stars Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz are, according to MTV.

As you already know, Twilight and its cast received quite a few nominations for the People's Choice Awards, including one for Lautner as "Favorite Breakout Movie Actor." (The full list is available here in case you need to see Twilight nominations again.)

The People's Choice Awards will air on January 6th, 2010. In the meantime, intermittent polls for the PCAs have been on-going, and of the "major movie series" listed (Pirates Of The Caribbean, Harry Potter, and The Lord Of The Rings) alongside New Moon, The Twilight Saga: New Moon leads already. Should be a rather Twilight-filled event! See more like this here.

Susan Boyle has a fan in Lady Gaga

Susan Boyle has certainly found million of supporters around the world thanks to her success on "Britain's Got Talent" and Youtube; as it turns out, some of them include fellow musicians. Lady Gaga, who is never one to shy away from an interview, recently had this to say about the Scottish singing sensation:

"I love Susan Boyle. She is my woman of the year. She has achieved more in this year than most artists will in a lifetime. This time last year nobody even knew who she was and now she is knocking the world's most established artists off the album and singles charts...Our styles are different. I don't know if we could work together, but never say never. It would be great to work with somebody of that talent."

The only thing more surprising than Gaga's quote? The report that 50 Cent also is interested in working with the singer as well.

Susan Boyle is currently in Japan, where she will perform a traditional song for a local TV network. Are you surprised that she has fans in Lady Gaga and 50 Cent? Let me know your thoughts with a comment below.

Tiger Woods celebrates his birthday amidst plastic surgery rumors

In a new blog post from retired sports journalist and editor Furman Bisher, an email from a "trustworthy journalist" Bisher has known for years suggests Woods suffered injuries to the face after his wife hit him with a 9-iron. When Woods was taken to the hospital, the severity of his injuries was revealed and he soon flew to Phoenix to receive plastic surgery.

Making money off Woods: Oddsmakers making money off potential Tiger Woods divorce settlement

If the email is to be believed, Woods' recovery time from surgery was about a month. Since his November car accident, Woods has remained underground.

The Bisher email has yet to be confirmed as authentic

Hungry Girls' holiday diet cards; Rachel Ray's 'Make

Haven’t joined the ranks of iPhone users with an app that links to recipe sites such as epicurious.com, giving access to more than 30,000 food or drink recipes while you’re at the supermarket or on the train?

Recipe decks just might be the next best thing. Popular cooking-world personalities like Rachael Ray and “Hungry Girl” Lisa Lillien are just two of the cookbook authors who have put recipes in carry-around card form.

Lillien offers holiday-season help in her “Hungry Girl: Chew the Right Thing” deck (St. Martin’s Press, $17) with “supreme makeovers for 50 foods you crave.” Consider such figure-friendly fair as “Amazing Ate-Layer Dip” at 105 calories per serving; Sassy SouthWestern Egg Rolls, 181 calories for three; or the 82-calorie Raspberry Mocha Swappuccino.

Lillien, founder of the hungry-girl.com website and known for adding high-fiber cereal to her favorite dishes, includes lots of sweet snacks, drinks and fun foods like pizza, noodle dishes, nachos and chicken fingers, which she coats with Cap ’n Crunch cereal and bakes.

The addition of fresh fruit cuts calories and boosts nutrition for some breakfast and snack recipes, with at least two snacks made by adding canned pumpkin to cake or brownie mix. (For her 181-calorie brownie muffins, add a 15-ounce can of pumpkin to devil’s food cake mix, omit the other ingredients and bake in a 12-cup muffin tin for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.)

‘DELISH DISHES’ Ray’s “Make Your Own Take Out” (Random House, $15) is a scaled-down recipe card-holder with tabs that identify options by cuisine. Categories: Thai, Chinese, Indian, pizza, burgers and “sammies” and Tex-Mex.

Ray streamlines a variety of ethnic dishes, avoiding less common ingredients, such as lemongrass or galangal in Thai dishes, that might require a trip to the gourmet market or Asian grocery.

The recipes, designed to be on the table in 30 minutes, include options such as honey-nut chicken sticks, Thai pizza, bacon and creamy ranch burgers, and sweet and spicy pineapple pork.

FOODIE FLASHCARDS
Want to know more about spices or coffees or wine? Ghigo Press offers a deck of reference cards on each of the topics. The company also makes educational wall calendars ($13.95) on the topics and wine grape posters ($13.95).

Each $15.95 card set includes 45 photo cards with facts and, in some cases, recipes.
Spice: Each spice card details the history of a spice, its origin, with dishes and wines that pair well with its flavor.

Coffee: The coffee cards explore the many coffees of the world with instructions for making them.

Vinifera: Cards for wine-lovers contain descriptions, stories and classic pairings of the “world’s great wine grapes,” including less well-known varieties such as carignan, dolcetto, primitivo and viura.

iPods and educational applications have Minnesota students giddy about learning

For fourth-grader Gabe Rivera, running vocabulary drills and solving mathematical problems on his classroom iPod Touch is a fun way to learn, in part because it's "something that is more newer than paper."

The student at Somerset Elementary School in Mendota Heights is one of many enthusiastic about the Apple touch-screen media players and handheld computers. The devices are becoming fixtures in U.S. schools as educators become aware of the various applications that can be installed on the gadgets to help students learn.

At Somerset and other schools in the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan district, for instance, the iPod Touch has taken classrooms by storm.

For kids there, math and spelling activities that used to seem, well, boooring have a sudden allure on an iPod. This was clear on a recent morning in a room filled with students raptly tapping, scrolling and swiping.

Rivera's teacher, Jean Stai, had to impose little discipline as her kids lost themselves in Word Salad, a vocabulary program, TanZen, a geometry app, and States and Capitols, among others.

Her biggest challenge appeared to be prying the kids from one app so they'd switch to another. The students were handed sheets with short, personalized lists of apps each had to try.

"They're so engaged," Stai said. "Suddenly, it's not so horrifying to study your facts tables. It is like a game. What would be tedious with paper and pencil is no longer so with bright colors and things moving
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around."

Somerset recently obtained an iPod Touch minilab of sorts — consisting of a storage-and-charging cart on wheels with dozens of the players, along with a laptop for downloading educational apps and transferring them to the players. Teachers take turns checking out the cart one or more times a week and handing out the charged-up iPods to students for some high-tech learning that, to the kids, feels a lot like playtime.

Stai is not yet convinced iPods will have substantive, lasting educational value. But she doesn't discount the students' excitement in the two months or so she has been using iPods in class. "Enthusiasm is important," she said.

Laptops are in little danger of being displaced by iPods as the favored digital devices for hands-on learning in K-12 classrooms. Educational experts, though, are increasingly embracing the Apple handheld gadgets as teaching supplements and, in some cases, outright replacements for computers.

Ginger Malin, who trains the next generation of schoolteachers as a DePaul University secondary-instruction professor, recently began equipping her students with iPod Touch players and inexpensive Flip digital-video cameras. These are being used to develop interactive lessons that the teachers-in-training may someday integrate into their own classrooms.

Malin, a gadget geek who likes going to tech conventions such as the Consumer Electronics Show, has discovered that her students in some cases are terrified of the classroom technology.

"They're petrified," she said. "I help them be less afraid of something new. I fail in front of them so they're not afraid to fail, too. The 'aha!' moments (eventually) come. I get e-mails from students who are so proud of what they've produced."

Developers of iPod Touch apps and add-on hardware are getting wise to a burgeoning educational market, too, and seizing the chance to innovate.

Alex Silverman, a former high school teacher now working as an app developer, has pioneered an eClicker system. It allows teachers and their students to communicate via iPod Touch over a classroom's Wi-Fi network. Such electronic interaction spurs classroom participation, he said, but older technologies to enable this are too expensive.

With eClicker, sold by Big Nerd Ranch Software, a classroom's only expense other than iPods is a $25 eClicker app for the teacher (the eClicker app on students' iPods is free). This allows teachers to ask questions and get answers more easily than if prodding shy kids into speaking up, Silverman said.

The iPod Touch has been a godsend for Jon Smith, a fifth- and sixth-grade special-education teacher at Gibbs Elementary School in Canton, Ohio.

His students have a variety of learning disabilities that often cannot be overcome with regular teaching methods. But something as simple as a flash-card slide show on touch-screen iPods, with finger swipes for moving from one digital photo to the next, tends to electrify the kids. So Smith has nudged his superiors into spending more money on the Apple devices.

His kids now rack up impressive scores with vocabulary-drill apps, devour social-studies moving-picture books and even watch videos of themselves delivering book reports. This footage, after being taken with low-cost video cameras, is transferred to a computer and then synced to the kids' iPods.

Smith delights in seeing "a sparkle in the kids' eyes."

Charles Duarte, a second-grade teacher at Moreland Elementary School in West St. Paul, has introduced his students to e-mail — via a set of classroom Google Gmail accounts used on iPods under close supervision. Each account is associated with a classroom iPod Touch, which a student uses to send the teacher morning journal entries and the like.

One of the iPods even has a Twitter app. Students use it to update a Twitter account at the school, which is part of the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan district.

Back at Somerset, second-graders in Mary Nelson's class emulate their fourth-grade classmates with giddy use of educational apps — though different ones, for simpler activities such as spelling short words.

Trent Dilfer: 'Give Favre the keys' because Childress hasn't mastered the Video game

ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer has a simple solution to the issues between Brad Childress and Brett Favre.

"Let the guy who is the best in the world at what he does do what he does," Dilfer told the Pioneer Press on Tuesday. "Brad Childress can't say that. Brett Favre can.

"Give him the keys and say, 'Hey, there's a reason we sent the private jet, a reason why I picked you up, and you've won three MVPs.' "

Dilfer played 14 NFL seasons, won a Super Bowl and made one Pro Bowl roster, and he said he clashed with one head coach over control of the offense.

Based on "conversations with people within" Winter Park, Dilfer said he's confident in his analysis of the Vikings' predicament.

Here is what he told the Pioneer Press:

Q: What do you think is at the heart of the problem?

A: There's two elements involved when it comes to this scenario with offensive coaches who are control freaks.

No. 1, I don't care what they say, (but) they are absolutely influenced by public perception. If the perception is that, "We need to run (Adrian Peterson) more, and if we do that, I'm going to get seen in a better light, then by golly, that's what I'm going to do."

The second element is, there is a mastery of the offensive game that some have and some don't, and (Childress) doesn't have it.

And that's Brett's frustration.

(Childress is) good. He's a great clinic coach. He can talk up what you want, and it looks great on the
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chalkboard. But when it comes to the artistic ability to coach offense — the creativity, handling the matchups, the in-game adjustments — it's just not there, and the result of that is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

What you have is a quarterback who has mastery of the West Coast offense more than any quarterback ever has. He has the best in-game feel of any quarterback to ever play — his intuitive feel for the game is second to none.

So look at the polar opposites at work.

This is a polarizing situation, with (Childress pushing) numbers and then you have the master of the West Coast offense with all of his intuition.

Last night was the perfect example (of the problem).

Look at the formations and play calls in the first half. Look at the numbers. No rhythm.

You let Favre run the show (in the second half), and there are spread formations and, all of a sudden, a world of opportunities open up for you.

And, oh by the way, Adrian Peterson had 66 yards doing it that way and only 28 in the first half.

Q: So you think the Vikings are forcing the run?

A: The golden nugget here is this: Running the football is the product of total plays in a game. Total plays in a game are the product of how many first downs you can create. So doesn't it make sense to throw the football to get first downs and open things up?

Go and look at their scoring drives earlier in the season. Were they pass heavy or run heavy? They were pass heavy. Adrian got touchdowns when they threw it and he ran it in.

Q: Did you ever have a clash with a head coach?

A: Why do you think I wasn't there (in Baltimore, after leading the Ravens to Super Bowl XXXV after the 2000-01 NFL season) the next year?

I don't care about my stats. I had 52 guys in that locker room who would take a bullet for me. I clashed with (former Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick). Third and 2, he wanted to run motion across the formation, and we had a double stick pattern to (Ben) Coates and (Shannon) Sharpe.

I threw backside fade to (Qadry) Ismail for 44.

I have the ball in my hand, and I know best. It's very simple. I depend on you to give me an offensive structure, then let me do what I do.

Think whatever you want about Trent Dilfer. But when I was playing, I was one of the best in the world. (Coaches) can't figure that out. They don't get it.

Now Brett is the best. He's the best in the world at what he does. Being creative. Being intuitive. Having that sixth sense.

Q: What was Mike Holmgren (Favre's longtime coach in Green Bay and Dilfer's coach in Seattle from 2001 to 2004) like?

A: Mike Holmgren had strict boundaries. "This is how we're going to do it. But you choose to do something else, it better work. And if it works, then we'll keep doing it."

What happens now is the system grows, and evolves and blossoms.

Then there's synergy between the play caller and quarterback, and it's beautiful.

What you see in New Orleans is the most awesome thing in football between Drew Brees and Sean Payton. They argue. They fight. But they have synergy.

Q: What is the solution at Winter Park?

A: People say Brett's going to lose it for them. But nobody wants to win the Super Bowl more than Brett Favre. He has so much invested in this in terms of pain.

He wants it more than anybody. Let him go do it.

If you let him do it, then Adrian Peterson will be the MVP of the Super Bowl. Brett doesn't care (about accolades).

Thomas Jones and Dorsey Levens and Edgar Bennett.

These pedestrian backs rush for 1,200 yards (with Favre). Why? Because Brett knew that if you scare people with the passing game, then your runner goes off.

Adrian Peterson? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?

The silver lining of last night's game: They were forced by the score to let Brett Favre run the show.

If I were him, I would have been in the office today and said: "With all due respect, I told you so. This is how we have to do it.

"You can have all the credit, Coach. You're brilliant. But let's make something very clear: This is our only chance. Give me the keys, and now let me drive the car."

Car hits light-rail train near Mall of America Video

A sedan that had apparently exited eastbound Interstate 494 drove into a Metro Transit light-rail train near 34th Avenue in Bloomington shortly after noon, a Metro Transit spokesman said today.

The southbound train then struck the car, said spokesman Bob Gibbons.

The woman driving the sedan was taken to a hospital complaining of neck and back pain, Gibbons said. A second person, a man who was on the train, also complained of neck pain. Neither appeared to have serious injuries.

The rest of the train passengers were taken by bus to the Mall of America — which was likely their destination, Gibbons said.

As of early afternoon, both vehicles remained at the scene. The light-rail system was running on a single track between the 28th Avenue station and the Humphrey Terminal station, Gibbons said.

Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan dead

Kannada film industry's super star Vishnuvardhan died of severe heart attack at the age of 60 years in Mysore on Wednesday early morning. He died on his way to Vikram Hospital in Mysore from Metro Polo Hotel. On Wednesday (30th December 2009) early morning around 2.30 am Dr Vishnuvardhan complained of chest pain. Dr.Vishnuvardhan is next to Dr.Rajakumar in popularity in Karnataka.

He has acted in 200 films in Kannada and richly popular for his friendly nature and good deeds. After the death of Dr Rajakumar on April 12 2006 the passing away of Dr.Vishnuvardhan after three years eight and half months is a huge loss to Kannada cinema industry.

Dr Vishnuvardhan took the treatment on Tuesday evening at 5 pm and moved to the hotel where he was staying in Mysore. Sadly he developed severe problem early on Wednesday morning. He leaves behind actress wife Smt. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, Keerthi and Chandana adopted daughters and son in law actor Anirudh.

Dr Vishnuvardhan was brought from Mysore to Bangalore around 8 am on Wednesday morning. The body will be kept in his 4th T Block Jayanagar residence till 10.30 am. Then for public darshan the body of Dr Vishnuvardhan will be kept at Cosmopolitan Club grounds in Jayanagar from 10.30 to 4 pm. The Chief Minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappa has ordered for state honors to the agile actor. The cremation of Dr Vishnuvardhan will take place today evening.

Vancouver 2010 news and notes

Ice dancers Meryl Davis (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Charlie White (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) have become something of a global sensation since coming up with an Indian-themed original dance this season. A YouTube video of the performance has racked up more than 210,000 views.

"It's very cool," said Davis, an anthropology major at the University of Michigan.

Skaters are given a prescribed rhythm for their original dance but can use any music or choreography that falls under that rhythm. This season, it's folk/country. Although many skaters opted for American country or Spanish music, choreographer Marina Zoueva wanted Davis and White to stand out.

The skaters called Anuja Rajendra, who combines Bollywood music and dance with exercise at her BollyFit studio in Ann Arbor, Mich. She showed them how to move their arms and bodies in true Indian style.

Ruggiero hopes to end career with gold

Nearly 12 years after competing in her first Winter Games, women's hockey player Angela Ruggiero (Simi Valley, Calif.) would like nothing more than to end her career the way it began: with a gold medal.

"It's something that I never would have dreamed of when I was little: to play in my fourth Olympics and represent the U.S. in so many games," Ruggiero said. "It's an honor to play for the team. I was a young kid in 1998 when we won the gold medal, and it's something we've been chasing since then."

Ruggiero, who will be 30 on Sunday, was 18 — and the team's youngest player — when women's hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano Games. The U.S. has won silver and bronze the last two Winter Games as Ruggiero, a Harvard graduate, continued building her reputation as a skilled defenseman.

Ruggiero and forward Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.) are the only players on the roster to have played in all three Olympics. Ruggiero is the all-time leader in games played for Team USA, which has been struggling recently against Canada. The U.S. is coming off a recent 4-2 loss to its biggest rival in Denver.

"Even though we're losing to Canada right now, people don't understand that we're a much younger team than Canada, and our coach is the master of timing," Ruggiero said. "In a weird sort of way, it's almost ideal."

World Cup bobsled, skeleton action resumes in Königssee, Germany

The bobsled and skeleton World Cup tour resumes in Königssee, Germany from Jan. 4-10. The U.S. team has collected 13 medals to-date, five of them gold.

Three World Cup competitions remain before the Vancouver Games. Nation quotas for Vancouver will be decided after the St. Moritz, Switzerland race, and the U.S. will name their team no later than Jan. 20.

Bobsled pilot Steve Holcomb (Park City, Utah) contributed six medals to the overall count after adding four gold medals to his resume. The reigning World Champion leads four-man standings and is sixth in two-man. John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.) posted his first top-ten result in two-man by claiming gold on his home track. Since then, Napier has maintained seventh place in two-man standings and is fifth in four-man.

Mike Kohn (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) will join Holcomb and Napier on the quest to qualify three U.S. sleds for Vancouver after Todd Hays (Del Rio, Texas) suffered a career-ending head injury during a training run in Winterberg, Germany. With three nations qualifying three sleds for Vancouver, Kohn will battle the Germans, Canadians, Russians and Swiss in the next two competitions to receive his first Olympic nomination as a pilot.

U.S. drivers occupy three of the top eight positions in women's bobsled world standings. Shauna Rohbock (Park City, Utah) is third after sliding gold and bronze medal performances this season. Erin Pac (Farmington, Conn.) is fifth after winning two bronze medals this year, and Bree Schaaf (Bremerton, Wash.) is ranked eighth.

The U.S. skeleton team will chase the podium in the final three World Cup events. Eric Bernotas (Avondale, Pa.), Zach Lund (Salt Lake City), Noelle Pikus-Pace (Orem, Utah) and Katie Uhlaender (Breckenridge, Colo.) have all finished with a season-best fifth place this year, but have yet to medal. Pikus-Pace is the highest ranked U.S. skeleton athlete in seventh.

Matt Antoine (Pairie du Chien, Wisc.) and John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) have decided to battle head-to-head on the Intercontinental Cup tour. Only three nations will be granted three sleds at Vancouve, and the U.S. currently qualifies behind Germany and Canada. Antoine edges Daly by a 25 points on the world-rank list entering second half. Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.), who leads America's Cup points, will join Bernotas and Lund on the World Cup team.

Luger Hamlin included among Associated Press top female athletes

World luge champion Erin Hamlin (Remsen, N.Y.) finished 10th in the voting for female athlete of the year by members of the Associated Press.

Hamlin, headed to her second Winter Olympics, captured the world title in Lake Placid in February. The accomplishment ended a 99-race winning streak amassed by Germany in World Cup, World Championship and Winter Olympic events dating back to the late 1990s. Earlier this month, she added her first World Cup medal in Lillehammer, Norway.

"It is definitely not something I ever thought I would be grouped within," said Hamlin, 23,. "I think it is a great thing for luge and Olympic sports, in general, to get that recognition amidst a dominating field of professional athletes in mainstream sports."

Olympic gold medalists to attend U.S. figure skating championships

Twelve U.S. Olympic figure skating champions will attend the Jan. 14-24 U.S. Championships in Spokane, Wash.

The gold medalists will participate in an on-ice presentation during the Smucker's Skating Spectacular on Jan. 24 and will attend a "Destination Vancouver" fundraising dinner later that evening.

The Olympic champions scheduled to appear are Dick Button (1948, 52), Tenley Albright (1956), Hayes Jenkins (1956), Carol Heiss Jenkins (1960), David Jenkins (1960), Peggy Fleming (1968), Dorothy Hamill (1976), Scott Hamilton (1984), Brian Boitano (1988), Kristi Yamaguchi (1992), Tara Lipinski (1998) and Sarah Hughes (2002).

The championships are the final event before the selection of the team that will compete at the Vancouver Games.

Also, several of the figure skaters expected to make the U.S. Olympic team will perform on the Smucker's Stars on Ice Tour after the Vancouver Games. The 40-city tour begins April 1 in Fort Myers, Fla. Evan Lysacek (Naperville, Ill.) and Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin (Glen Mills, Pa.) and Ben Agosto (Chicago) are among the skaters performing.

Reality TV meets curling

Chris Plys (Duluth, Minn.), an alternate on the U.S. Olympic men's curling team, will appear on the new E! series "Bank of Hollywood."

Plys auditioned for the role in November and is set to appear on one of the episodes this season (exact air date not yet determined).

Plys, the 2008 world junior champion, was the youngest skip in the field at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and was selected as the alternate on John Shuster's (Duluth, Minn.) team for the Vancouver Games.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Olympic women's team, captained by Debbie McCormick (Rio, Wis.), gets back in action in Switzerland for training and competition, Jan 5-12. They'll then travel to Scotland for competition on Jan. 13-17.

Also, Shuster teamed up with Vancouver Olympians Jason Smith (Cape Coral,Fla.), Jeff Isaacson (Gilbert, Minn.) and John Benton (Stillwater, Minn.) to finish with a 6-1 record in a World Curling Tour event in Eveleth, Minn.

Briefly: World Cup luge action continues Saturday and Sunday in Koenigssee, Germany. … The U.S. cross country skiing Championships begin Saturday and run through Jan. 8 in Anchorage. … Nordic combined World Cup action continues Saturday and Sunday in Oberhof, Germany. … Freestyle skier Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, Calif.), snowboarder Steve Fisher (St. Louis Park, Minn.), bobsledder Steve Holcomb (Park City, Utah), short track speedskater Katherine Reutter (Champaign, Ill.), skeleton slider Rebecca Sorenson (Fort Collins, Colo.) and alpine skiier Marco Sullivan (Tahoe City, Calif.) will join Olympic medalists Bonnie Blair, Dan Jansen and Michelle Kwan and the Budweiser Clydesdales on a float in Friday's Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

See Why These 10 (Plus) News Apps Do Mobile Well

Getting a new app on your iPhone can be a treat or a huge disappointment. The disappointment comes when you realize, "That's all it does? It's just the Web site on my phone."

Mobile devices, especially smart phones, are becoming increasingly important in delivering news. So it's useful to look at news applications that serve the mobile user well, both in content and packaging. Looking at these apps can guide the rest of us as we figure out how to provide relevant content in the new world of smarter mobile phones.

I downloaded about 40 news apps and played with them, looking for those that target the needs of the mobile user and didn't simply duplicate a news site.

Some of my favorites give me location-specific information, while others are just fast and efficient at providing what I want in a readable, enjoyable format on the small screen. Some don't offer traditional news stories at all, but tools and information useful when on the move. And It took some searching, but I found three local news apps worth a look.

Here, in no particular order, are some news apps that I think do this well. All are free unless noted otherwise. Since I have limited access to an Android phone, they're all iPhone apps. (My niece got an Android phone for Christmas, and she let me load up a couple, which I've noted below.) Android users, I'd love to hear your favorites.

AP Mobile

This is first on the list simply because it has become my favorite general news app. AP was early to the iPhone, and its developers have continued to innovate. The customization is terrific. I can select up to six regions of world news, choose to see only baseball news instead of all sports, and separate health from general science news.

I also like having a local section with selections from both Tampa Bay papers. (Unfortunately, the structure of the local feeds generates some odd top stories, like "Senior lunch menus in Pasco County.") Rating a story is easy and intuitive, as are saving and sharing. Photos and videos are easy to access. The video quality varies, but this is a minor quibble. And if you doubt people watch videos on their iPhones, take time to look at the latest numbers.

Unfortunately, the app doesn't provide local news based on my current location, but on the information I supply, which is a drawback when traveling. The upside is that you can set multiple local sources.

The Android app on an HTC phone has very similar functionality.

ESPN ScoreCenter

ESPN also was early to the mobile scene, and its mobile-optimized Web site is a gem of usability. The ScoreCenter app, though, rocks. Customizable by sport and team, it's most useful for keeping up with scores during a game or finding an upcoming matchup. The app updates scores as quickly or faster than broadcast outlets and the MLB app, and it fits an impressive amount of game details on the small screen. ScoreCenter does a limited number of things and does them well. The Web site picks up the rest.

NPR

What makes NPR's app interesting is the ability to assemble audio stories into a playlist that you can listen to one at a time or in a stream. This is great for commuters without access to the radio and those who travel when news programs aren't on air. I like searching by program; I can listen to shows that are live now or archived ones.

The Android app has a much more limited functionality, with no live streams. (Or my eggnog-fogged brain couldn't figure it out on a new phone.)

I find I still use the Public Radio Player for live streams because it seems to do a better job remembering the last station I listened to and retaining my favorites. My local NPR station airs the morning and afternoon news shows and classical musical the rest of the day, so if I miss the news slots, I like to pick up the programming from a different time zone via my phone plugged into my car stereo.

USA Today and USA Today AutoPilot

The attractive USA Today app is one of the few I've found that uses your location for more than the weather forecast. When you view "Snapshots," USA Today's iconic infographics, you can answer a related poll question and see results sorted by your current city and state. Sweet! The app also does a beautiful job handling photos.

USA Today AutoPilot is also worth a look. Based on USA Today's travel section, it provides quick access to its travel blogs and gives you information related to upcoming flights (although you have to enter them manually or forward flight bookings from an account on TripIt). The phone directory for all kinds of travel-related resources could come in handy next time you're stranded.

Kayak's trips option looks like it has similar functionality as AutoPilot -- showing that the line between news and other types of information is getting fuzzier and fuzzier, and that neither domain is owned by traditional news organizations.

IndyStar

Kudos to The Indianapolis Star for creating a news app that uses your current location to customize its news feed. I believe this is going to be critical to all mobile apps, but particularly for local journalism, so having a site that makes an effort to provide news that way is exciting. The traffic maps are fast and functional, too.

WCCO

WCCO-TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul has developed a well-organized app clearly customized for their newscasts, highlighting regular segments like "Good Question" and "Good to Know." The video quality is terrific. Since it was released, I have seen a number of other local television stations use the same interface for their apps.

Dolphins Football 2009 ($1.99)

Produced by The Miami Herald, this app is based around its Dolphins In Depth blog, with the ability to comment on the blog directly from the app. Nice! The photo galleries are huge, and the videos of reporter game analysis look great. Seems to me if you're a Dolphins fan, this is a must-have. The Herald has similar apps for four college teams as well.

Bloomberg

The stock charts on the Bloomberg app are awesome pieces of mobile interactivity, enabling you to zoom in for a close view or choose a variety of views over time. For your mental well-being, I don't advise looking at the five-year view on media stocks. The six-month perspective is much more heartening.

Fluent News Reader

A news aggregator that constantly pulls news from 37 major news outlets, Fluent News is fast becoming one of my favorites. The free version lets you turn off one source and view more or fewer stories from one source. The premium access version (which costs $1.99 a month) enables you to fully customize sections and filter news sources.

Another interesting aggregator is the BNO News app ($1.99). It sends alerts on breaking news stories, which I find to be quite a bit ahead of the other news sources I'm using. This app is done by the same people who run @breakingnews on Twitter. The app provides the alerts, but no links to the source story, which definitely limits its usefulness. With the paid subscription of $0.99 a month, you can add more categories to the alerts. BNO is working with msnbc.com as its first client, so it will be interesting to see how the app and service develop.

CNN Mobile ($1.99)

CNN generated a lot of press when it released its $1.99 iPhone app this year. I figured it was worth it just to be able to watch live video on my iPhone. Sadly, since the launch, CNN has cut back on live Web video, and this seems to have affected the mobile app as well, since I haven't seen a live video alert in the app in months.

Still, the video offerings are extensive and look great. If you turn the phone sideways you can flip through thumbnail images of videos, just like the "coverflow" view in iTunes. That isn't necessarily more functional, but it does look cool. Not only can you save stories, you can "follow" them, which means that when you return to the app, it tells you how many developments have been posted since you visited last.

Get started

If you're not working on a mobile strategy yet, it's time to get serious. The New York Times reported getting 60 million mobile views of its content in April. Yes, I know that's the Times and not you, but 13 percent of traffic from mobile is nothing to shrug off. A new report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations [PDF] suggests mobile traffic will increase as much as 25 percent in the next two years.

You may, at this stage, choose to use a vendor to get you up and running. It's a logical choice many organizations are making in times of tight budgets. Even if you don't have resources to develop an app, you shouldn't delay developing a mobile strategy, as Amy Gahran wrote earlier this year. An important first step is to make your Web site mobile-friendly and so you can move into the next platform for news content delivery.

Top 2009 News: Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class To Start At $33,900

LOS ANGELES - Mercedes-Benz USA has announced the suggested retail price of the new MY 2010 GLK-Class SUV. Set to arrive at U.S. Mercedes-Benz dealerships in January, the new GLK350, with standard 4MATIC all-wheel-drive, will be priced at $35, 900, plus an $875 destination fee. Arriving in dealerships in April, the GLK350 with rear-wheel-drive, will be priced at $33,900 with a plus the $875 delivery fee.

Powered by a 268-hp 3.0L V-6 engine, the five-passenger GLK-350 represents the newest member of a highly successful Mercedes-Benz SUV family that includes the full-size M-Class, the larger GL-Class, the crossover R-Class and the rough-and-tough G-Class.

TeacherMate Program Growth Breaking News & Video

TeacherMate is a literacy program focused on hand-held computers that are equipped with special software in English and Spanish. TeacherMate had been launched by Evanston foundation, Innovations for Learning, and now serving about 30,000 underprivileged students in 15 states.

Nonprofits benefit from for-profit practices

While new research from the University of Illinois at Chicago indicates the hand-held gadgets improve students' reading scores, the program also receives high marks for cost efficiency. By contracting with a Chinese manufacturer to produce the devices, Seth Weinberger said, he can price the TeacherMate system at $100, which includes reading and math software for kindergarten through second grade. That's less than the cost of textbooks over the same period, he said.

Weinberger, an attorney at Mayer Brown who also serves as president of the foundation, adopted best practices from the for-profit arena to expand the nonprofit. In 2010, he plans to make the literacy software available as an iPhone app, boosting efficiencies and extending the software's reach to more children.

Unlike many for-profit startups whose plans have been curtailed by the credit crunch, Innovations for Learning has had a steady stream of funding.

Rumor Claims Nick Jonas Dead Full Video

Silly season is in full swing on the fake celebrity death circuit, and today’s rumor claims that Nick Jonas is dead.

According to “reports,” Nick Jonas died at the Baylor University Medical Center at 7pm EST after going into cardiac arrest. One report claims Nick experienced chest pains and difficulty breathing while receiving a lap dance from an exotic dancer at the “Silver City Cabaret, a popular strip club in Dallas.”

The fake reports claim Joe Jonas “mentioned Nick had neglected to properly treat his diabetes that evening, being completely enamored by the dancers.” The fake Nick Jonas dead report even goes as far as quoting strippers at the club claiming that they thought he was drunk, as he regularly was while visiting.

Besides the likelihood of a Jonas Brother regularly frequenting a strip club being highly unlikely, there’s also no serious outlet reporting the news, so we’re calling 100% fake, but a 6/10 for originality.

Just for the record, Nick Jonas is not dead, Nick Jonas did not die, end of story.

Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Jimmy Sullivan Dead

Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy Sullivan was found dead Monday at his Huntington Beach, California home.

The body of 28 year old Sullivan, known as “The Rev,” will undergo an autopsy, although police at this stage believe that the death may have been due to natural causes.

In a statement on the band’s site, members wrote “It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy’s family and we hope you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.”

Along with his drumming duties for Avenged Sevenfold, Sullivan performed vocals and piano in Pinkly Smooth with Brian Haner Jr in 2002. Before leaving to join Avenged Sevenfold, Sullivan performed with the third wave ska band Suburban Legends as their drummer.

'Avatar,' Remembering Jimmy Sullivan, and 'Glee'

Hollywood is feeling awfully blue lately and it seems like they have James Cameron to
blame. The director's sci-fi epic, "Avatar," has ruled the box office while winning over critics and viewers, including many celeb fans of the flick. Adam Lambert thinks the movie lives up to the hype, tweeting, "Yes Avatar was great. Especially in 3d. I love how relationships evolve and develop and shift in unexpected ways. Connection is the truth." Comedian/actor Jamie Kennedy predicts the Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana (both pictured in a scene from the film) tale could sink Kate Winslet's and Leonardo DiCaprio's classic "Titanic" reign, posting, "How do u know avatar will be bigger then titanic? because eveyone was on edge of seats from old ladies to 8 yr olds, in the theater i was in."


Sadly, another celebrity death captured Twitter attention when the news that Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sulllivan had passed. The rocker, who died at the age of 28, was remembered by friends and colleauges on Twitter. Audrina Partrige wrote, "rip jiimmy from avenged sevenfold:(:( he was an amazing drummer and a fun person to be around!" Fellow musicians like Chris Daughtry tweeted, " People are dying far too young these days...very sad news about "The Rev," while Joel Madden posted the solemn message, "I'm deeply saddened by the loss of our friend. I'm off twitter for the rest of the year. My prayers go out to Jimmy's family tonight."

Check out what else the stars were chatting about today, including "Jersey Shore" dialect, hard-to-find "Glee" DVDs, and an unsuccessful Wii workout with Jenny McCarthy! Be sure to follow us @hollywoodcrush on Twitter to get all the latest news out of Hollywood!

Sade - Soldier of Love Lyrics and Mp3

Sade - Soldier of Love Lyrics and Video

I've lost the use of my heart
But I'm still alive
Still looking for the life
The endless pool on the other side
It's a wild wild west
I'm doing my best

I'm at the borderline of my faith,
I'm at the hinterland of my devotion
In the frontline of this battle of mine
But I'm still alive

I'm a soldier of love.
Every day and night
I'm soldier of love
All the days of my life

I've been torn up inside (oh!)
I've been left behind (oh!)
So I ride
I have the will to survive

In the wild wild west,
Trying my hardest
Doing my best
To stay alive

I am love's soldier!

I wait for the sound
(oooh oohhh)

I know that love will come (that love will come)
Turn it all around

I'm a soldier of love (soldier of love)
Every day and night
I'm a soldier of love
All the days of my life

I am lost
but I don't doubt (oh!)
So I ride
I have the will to survive


In the wild wild west,
Trying my hardest
Doing my best
To stay alive

I am love's soldier!

I wait for the sound

I know that love will come
I know that love will come
Turn it all around

I'm a soldier of love
I'm a soldier

Still waiting for love to come
Turn it all around
(4x)

I'm a soldier of love
I'm a soldier

Still waiting for love to come
Turn it all around
(3x)

Still waiting for love to come

Jimmy Sullivan Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Dead (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

James Owen Sullivan, drummer and backup vocalist for rock band Avenged Sevenfold, was found dead at his Huntington Beach, California home on Monday, December 28, 2009. Sullivan was best known as The Rev and was 28 at the time of his death.

Picture of Jimmy Sullivan Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Dead (PHOTOS, VIDEO) [source:BittenBound.com]

Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo reported that paramedics responded to Sullivans home at 1:00 p.m. and they notified police. The Orange County Coroners office is investigating the death.

Avenged Sevenfold was formed in 1999. The five man group has put out four albums and won Best New Artist at the 2006 MTV Awards. They are currently working on a fifth album according to member Zacky Vengeance. Other members include lead guitarist Synyster Gates, lead singer M. Shadows and bassist Johny Christ.

Before performing with Avenged Sevenfold, Sullivan was the drummer for the third wave ska band Suburban Legends. He was influenced by such drummers as Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy and Terry Bozzio and was also known as The Reverend Tholomew Plague, Rat Head, Mr. Plague, and Jimmy.

Jimmy Sullivan dies at 28 of natural causes Video

Another death of a celebrity has occurred over the festive holidays, Jimmy Sullivan, the Avenged Sevenfold Drummer, has been found dead at his California home on Monday.

Although, officials and doctors are investigating the causes of his death, it seems that it was a natural death and no suspect clues have been found. Natural cause’s only rules out murder, it doesn’t give a reason for death. It basically means that there was no foul play suspected. Lt. John Domingo from the Huntington Beach police mentioned that paramedics responded to Sullivan’s home at 1:00 p.m. and they notified police.





an amazingly talented drummer and back up singer. So how can someone so young just suddenly die? It will take a while for the toxocology reports to come in, so just like Brittany Murphy natural causes have been announced.

Jimmy was best known as ‘The Rev’ and drummer for Avenged Sevenfold that was formed in 1999. The group has put out four albums; they won Best New Artist at the 2006 MTV Awards.
To read more on this story go to primewriter.com. Let us know your thoughts on Jimmy Sullivan. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’ Muppets’ movie debut among picks for National Film Registry Video

‘Thriller,’ Muppets among 25 in US film registry

WASHINGTON — Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, with that unforgettable graveyard dance, will rest among the nation’s treasures in the world’s largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings.


thriller

Dank-ass G packin a 9 | MySpace Video

The 1983 music video directed by John Landis, though still the subject of lawsuits over profits, was one of 25 films to be inducted Wednesday for preservation in the 2009 National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

It’s the first music video named to the registry. It had been considered in past years, but following Jackson’s death, the time was right, said Steve Leggett, coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board.

“Because of the way the recording industry is evolving and changing, we thought it would be good to go back to the development of an earlier seismic shift, which was the development of themusic video,” he said.

Joining the King of Pop in the 2009 class will be the Muppets from 1979’s “The Muppet Movie” — the first time on the big screen for Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy — and the 1957 sci-fi classic “The Incredible Shrinking Man,” among other titles.

The library works with film archives and movie studios to ensure original copies are kept safe. It also acquires a copy for preservation in its own vaults among millions of other recordings at the Packard Campus ofthe National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in the hills near Culpeper, Va.

“By preserving the nation’s films, we safeguard a significant element of our cultural patrimony and history,” said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Congress established the registry in 1989, which now totals 525 films. They are selected not as the “best” American films but instead for their enduring importance to U.S. culture.

The library selects films that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant after reviewing hundreds of titles nominated by the public and consulting withthe National Film Preservation Board.

In “The Muppet Movie,” Kermit leads his fellow TV characters on a road trip to Hollywood where they meet Steve Martin, Mel Brooks and other actors with the magic of creators Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

Other notable titles include “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968), directed by Sergio Leone, representing the “spaghetti western” genre that helped propel such rising stars as Clint Eastwood. The list also includes Bette Davis’ Oscar-winning performance in “Jezebel” from 1938.

The oldest film inducted was “Little Nemo” from 1911, a mix of live action and animation adapted from Winsor McCay’s comic strip “Little Nemo in Slumberland.” The film, highly advanced for its time, influenced future animators, including Walt Disney.

Regardless of ongoing legal disputes over rights to Jackson’s “Thriller,” the library holds a copy submitted in 1984 for copyright purposes and will seek to acquire another for preservation.

Happy Cruise New Year!

We all look forward to a New Year in one way or another but 2010 promises to be better than most, and not just because the financial and economic scene shows signs of getting back on a healthier, even keel.

As I have already written, there is an amazing variety of new ships to anticipate, with several that should be genuinely ground-breaking (notably Oceania's Marina and NCL's Norwegian Epic).

There should also be plenty of good deals to be had, too, as cruise lines look to tempt people back to sea-going holidays after the recession-hit days of 2008/09 (so be sure to check with our sister company The Cruise Line Ltd for all the best offers - and look early and often in January as many lines are already flagging up their New Year 'Sails'!).

There is also more focus than ever before on attracting first-time cruisers to this holiday style, with companies big (like Royal Caribbean, NCL and P&O) and small (the likes of Compagnie du Ponant, Pandaw Cruises and Hurtigruten) putting out some tempting campaigns to lure newcomers.

In fact, the appeal of the small, deluxe, niche operators like Ponant and Pandaw should be uppermost in the minds of those looking for that 'something new' factor in 2010.

One I am especially looking forward to investigating for the terrific feedback they have already generated in a relatively short time is Chilean specialist Nomads of the Seas and their unique ship the Atmosphere (pictured above).

The appeal of touring the majestic Chilean fjords in the company of this ship's purpose-built style is immensely appealing and should be one of the highlights of the year for us at World of Cruising, so stay tuned for our report in due course.

I would especially recommend taking a look at their website, http://www.nomadsoftheseas.com/, for those who really want to get off the beaten cruise track, enjoy some of the world's most spectacular scenery and wildlife, sample the tastes and culture of a truly unique region and do it all in some of the highest quality possible in the 'soft' adventure-cruising category.

Can you tell I'm looking forward to 2010?!

Dave Brubeck, grace bumbry, jennifer nettles, robert de niro & wife at Kennedy Center Honors 2009

December 30: Dave Brubeck, grace bumbry, jennifer nettles, robert de niro & wife at Kennedy Center Honors 2009. Watching Tuesday’s CBS broadcast of the 32nd annual Kennedy Center Honors special, one was left wondering whom to look for- the five honorees or the many-time awardees who turned up to grace the occasion.
Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck, Grace Bumbry, Robert De Niro, and Bruce Springsteen were the five artists honored with this year’s Kennedy Center Honors for their lifetime contributions to American culture.

Just after the traditional White House reception, the honorees met again with President Obama, Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on the stage.

Actress Meryl Streep, who has won multiple Academy Golden Globe and Emmy awards, recalled how astonished she was at the versatility of the director Robert De Niro who had directed her in Falling in Love and The Deer Hunter.

Martin Scorsese, a 2007 Kennedy Center honoree and winner of multiple Academy, Globe and Grammy awards said De Niro is guide, lifesaver and good friend of him.

Multiple award-winning musician Herbie Hancock described musician Dave Brueback as his ‘musical inspiration.’

Then came a series of musical tributes to Mel Brooks and two of them were by Frank Langella and Martin Short who had acted in Brooks-directed movies. Tributes by Jack Balck, Harry Connick, Jr., Richard Kind, Jane Krakowski, Shuler Hensley, Matthew Morrison, and Matthew Broderick followed.

Tony Award winning choreographer Susan Stroman choreographed all the tribute performances.

Caroline Kennedy hosted of the star-studded event for the seventh consecutive year.

My ailments and pains update

Went to see the GP at 07:30 this morning as I had a couple of stomach flare ups again over Xmas.

Toni and I paid close attention to what I was eating over the Xmas period and tried our best to analyse the locality of my pains and were of the opinion that my problems are not wind or IBS related but are probably caused by gall stones. The pains that I was getting lasted for 1-3 hours and the location and symptoms matched those of gall stones.

We relayed this information to the GP who has now referred me for an ultrasound scan to investigate further. Not there yet but at least I feel like we could be on the right track. Just have to hope that it doesn't flare up too much between now and the scan as painkillers hardly touch it and I really don't want to be going through the agony that I experienced at one point over Xmas again.

Fingers crossed that there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will all be over with quickly.

Happy Birthday Sara

Happy Birthday Sara Driscole

Hope you have a great day

Kharapathar – Thanedar circuit in Uttarakhand is an unexplored Paradise

I discovered the charms of Kharapathar Tani Jubbar Lake and Thanedar quite by chance last year. And since than it became my favorite holiday destination in India. Fed up with the Jaipur's hot climate, a friend and I had driven from Jaipur to the Himalayas in Uttarakhand.

On the Road :

We took a turn from Delhi Grand Trunk Road to Chandigarh at Pipli, past Yamunanagar and finally reached Paonta Sahib. We than decided to spend a night at Chakrata and entered Himachal Pradesh, driving past the village of Hatkoti. But due to the eavy fog we took the wrong road and reached Kharapathar by accident. We were actually on our way to Rohru on the road to Narkanda. On the chilly night the drive across 1,800 kms seemed rater senseless.

But all mt frustration went to vein when next morning I threw open the curtains of my room at the Giriganga resort in Kharapathar. The landscape was white and the view mind boggling. All around was heavy snowfall. We gingerly drove onto the Theong, since the road to Rohru was now iced out. Luckily we has snow chains for the real tricky iced out sections.

Snowed Out !

From there we decided to head to Narkanda on NH22 – the main Shimla Rampur road – as Chandigarh and Kufri were snowed out. We walked six kilometers to the Tani Jubbar Lake. The snowfall had stopped and the sky was clear. The lake and the adjoining Nag Devta temple looked like the small miniature paintings. Standing there on the snow covered ground i thanked for that wrong turn and snow logged roads that forced me to come here.

And the beauty that surrounded me made the long drive worth too.

Aparana Chauhan

Himalayas Eco Tourism

What is Eco Tourism : -
Today the travelers have become more conscious of their environment which is good and has given birth to eco tourism. The ecologically and socially conscious travelers are opting for eco tours now a days. This trend of eco tourism has helped in striking a balance between nature and man. At a basic level eco tourism can be defined as a way of volunteering, growing personally and adopting new ways to live on plane Earth along with enjoying the company of nature without harming it or disturbing the equilibrium. Primarily eco tours are enjoyed in the regions where there is plenitude of flora and fauna.

Eco Tourism in Himalayas

The travelers who wish to understand and research the environmental phenomenas surrounding them, embark on a destination as good as Himalayas. Himalayas are the one of the best Indian destination for enjoying your eco tours as the travelers can relate and come closer t the natural entities around them. Here you can understand that how is nature affected by our actions. In other words here you will a better idea of our influences on nature as human beings. You will also understand the concept of our own natural abodes.

Himalayan Destinations For Eco Tourism

The natural resources of Himalayas are are in abundance and so it makes a perfect destination for Eco Tours. Hill Stations in India arealso great for eco tours. The virgin regions of Himalayas are a store house of natural resources and wildlife that are perfectly maintaining the ecological balance very perfectly. A green belts of Himalayas also a have a dash of blues and this makes the Himalayan destinations more beautiful and mesmerizing. Tourists from all over the world come for eco tours in Himalayas to explore the variations in topography of the region. Some of the famous destination in Himalayas for eco tours are:

- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Himachal Pradesh
- Sikkim
- Uttranchal
- West Bengal

You tours to Himalayas have one more theme now – the exciting Eco tours. Come and sojourn in the lap of nature in Himalayas.

Aparana Chauhan

Amatrra Spa

Welcome to the Amatrra Spa, for the truly relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Located at the heart of the city at hotel Ashok, Chahanakyapuri, the spa has the panel of expert physicians and therapeutic experts. Amatrra Spa offers an unforgettable journey that will empower your senses and awaken your spirit. Every aspect of your personalized Spa visit is designed to help you achieve your goals. The Spa Concierge will be pleased to offer you the perfect treatment based on your individual needs.

Amatrra offers the unique facility that coalesced the ancient therapeutic art of Ayurveda and Astrology with the latest technologies combined with the international standard based facilities to create harmonies and balance individual energy in a spa experience. Amatrra is term used for the silence that occurs during meditation in between recurrent chants of the word OM. Amatrra offer you the wide range of luxurious services designed to pamper your body and soul.

The spa offers the unique styles of massage therapies and treatments. We value our clients and take time to serve each client with outstanding service. Through our therapeutic techniques and our ability to communicate with the minds and bodies of our customers, we offer a completely different experience.

The spa is equipped with the completely automated gym, that spreads over 2,500 sq ft. It has a special section both for the men and women and ten common individual temperature controlled therapy suites with shower and dressing areas steam rolls, sauna rooms, ice-flake dispensers and whirlpools and a meditation room. There are over 80 cover health food court, the luxurious juice bar, a well stocked boutique along with the Yoga and meditation rooms.

So step inside and experience all that we offer.

Kalari

Kalari is the natural method of healing the diseases and curing the defects affecting the vital points of the body. Any of the previous injury or disease can damage the marmas or the vital points of the body. Kalari massage is basically done by applying the necessary pressure through the vital points, muscles and nervous system with the help of medicated herbal oils.

Kalari massage is usually done by Gurukkal – who is a professional in Ayurveda, a doctor who treats people of general ailments. Kalari massage is mainly useful in headaches, depression, sexual problems and back pains. It helps in curing the orthopedic injuries and spasmodic diseases. There are basically three types of Kalari massages namely – Sukha Thirummu, Katcha Thirummu and Raksha Thirummu. All the three specified massages combines Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation in the process of treatment of various diseases and ailments.

Kalari massage is used in the treatment of various diseases like spondiltis, sciatia, rheumatism, paralysis, arthritis, head ache, muscular problems, gas problem, anxiety, obesity, feeling of insecurity, insomnia, nervous weakness and various type of sports related problems like tentinites etc.

Kalari Massage and treatment helps in rejuvenating the mind, body and spirit. It harmonies the complete body system, enhances the circulation of body fluids and activates the lymphatic system of the body. Regular Kalari massage for the certain period of time helps in erasing the mental disorders which are direct or indirect results of the daily stress, tension and anxiety. Further it retrieves positive energy, build up confidence, increases concentration and enhances the over all personality. It relaxes you at the same time improves the physical health and quality of life.

Aparana Chauhan

Neural Therapy

The concept of Neural Therapy was first proposed in 1940's by the Huneke brothers namely Ferdinand and Walter Huneke, who were the citizens of Germany. Earlier called as Heilanasthesie or Segmenttherapie (segmental therapy), Neural Therapy was mainly developed to diagnose and treat the underlying cause of pain and illness, from migraine to acute bowel syndrome. In short it is the system to identify and cure those diseases which are difficult to treat or resistant to treatment. Its success is based on anesthetic injections to clear electro physiological instability causing problem every where in the body.

According to the neural therapy, trauma can cause acute problems in the electrochemical functions of tissues. The various type of tissues affected by trauma includes scars, nerves or the cluster of nerves called 'ganglions'. For the last seventy years the, Neural Therapy has been used to treat of hundred of medical conditions. It is especially beneficial for those who have failed to respond to acupuncture, chiropractic or physical therapy. Neural therapy is also recommended when surgery or nerve block treatment fails.

Neural therapy has been ranked as the 'alternative system of medicine'. It is commonly used in the German speaking countries as well as the Spanish speaking world, but the physicians in the western countries and United States are still unfamiliar with Neural Therapy.

The practitioners of the neural therapy begin their treatment by inquiring about the current problem and about the past illness and injuries. They try to detect the every possible reason that could the energy flow disturbance in the body. Than they inject lidocaine and procaine at key points that are actually far from the pain source. According to the studies conducted in these injections are meant to get rid of interference and restore the body's natural energy flow. The injections are injected into the scars, glands, nerves, acupuncture points and trigger points.