Zero Calories, Zero Clothes: Ashley Greene stripped down to her birthday suit for a new campaign with SoBe Lifewater. The actress — best known for her appearances in the Twilight films — agreed to have a special skinsuit painted onto her body as she modeled in the ad promoting the beverage company’s new zero calorie flavors, Cherimoya Punch and Strawberry Dragonfruit.
The colorful designs featuring amphibian scales were painted directly onto Ashley’s by makeup artist Joanne Gair. The body mask took an insane 12 hours to apply!
“Being a part of the SoBe skinsuit shoot in the Turks and Caicos was amazing. It took the artist 12 hours to paint the SoBe scales on each skinsuit, but it was totally worth it. It’s an experience I’ll never forget,” the 22-year-old gushes.
Photos from the shoot will debut in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Today, the Chevrolet Volt took one step closer to showing up at a dealership near you. Exactly three years since the day the concept Volt made its debut, GM today produced its first advanced lithium-ion battery for the plug-in electric hybrid vehicle.
Last August, GM invested $43 million to prepare its Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant for production of the lithium-ion battery packs for the Volt and other electric-vehicles with range extending capabilities.
GM said that it will start shipping batteries to its Detroit-Hamtramck plant later this spring for the final assembly of the Volt. Regular production at Brownstown and Detroit-Hamtramck will begin in the fourth quarter of 2010. The 160,000 square-foot plant currently employs 25 workers that will assemble the packs.
Hit the jump for the press release and a video of the first Volt battery being produced.
2011 Chevrolet Volt:
2011 Chevrolet Volt:
Press Release:
GM Builds First Lithium-ion Battery for Chevrolet Volt
o GM is the first major automaker to manufacture an advanced lithium-ion battery pack in the U.S.
o Brownstown Township to be first high-volume U.S. automotive lithium-ion battery manufacturing site
o Plant’s battery cell processing, module and pack manufacturing capabilities strengthen GM’s in-house battery expertise
BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Exactly three years since the day the Chevrolet Volt concept car debuted, GM today manufactured the first advanced lithium-ion battery for a mass-marketed electric vehicle at GM’s Brownstown Battery Pack Assembly Plant.
“This is an important milestone for GM – and a critical step in bringing the Chevrolet Volt to market,” said GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre.
GM announced last August a $43-million investment to prepare the 160,000-square-foot, landfill-free facility for production of lithium-ion battery packs for the Volt and other electric vehicles with extended-range capabilities. The plant is part of a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors called GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC.
In just five months, the Brownstown plant was converted from an empty facility to a production-ready battery manufacturing site. New machinery and specialized equipment have been installed and three primary assembly areas have been completed: battery module pre-assembly, final assembly and the battery pack main line.
The Volt’s battery pack is made up of multiple linked battery modules and more than 200 battery cells. The initial assembly area is where the prismatic-shaped cells are processed and installed by state-of-the-art flexible automated equipment into modules, which are then delivered to the battery pack main line.
The battery pack main line area features an Automated Guided Cart (ACG) system that includes operations for thermal and electrical assembly, along with quality and dimensional checks. The main line is also where battery pack final testing, verification and packaging for shipment take place.
Initial battery production at Brownstown will be used to validate the plant’s equipment and processes, and batteries will be sent to GM’s Global Battery Systems lab in Warren, Mich., for testing. This spring, GM will begin shipping batteries to GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the assembly location for the Volt, for use in production validation vehicles.
Regular production at Brownstown and Detroit-Hamtramck is set to begin in the fourth quarter.
GM is investing $700 million in eight Michigan facilities for Volt-related production, including $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which will benefit from battery research conducted at the battery lab in Warren; receive batteries from Brownstown; use tooling from Grand Blanc; take delivery of camshafts and connecting rods from Bay City; and dies, stampings and the Volt’s 1.4L engine-generator from three plants in Flint.
“The development of electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt is creating entire new sectors in the auto industry – an ‘ecosystem’ of battery developers and recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, electric motor suppliers and much more,” Whitacre said. “These companies and universities are creating new jobs in Michigan and across the U.S. – green jobs – and they’re doing it by developing new technology, establishing new manufacturing capability, and strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness.”
In August, the U.S. Dept. of Energy selected 45 companies, universities and organizations, including GM, in 28 states for more than $2 billion in awards for electric drive and battery manufacturing and transportation electrification. Nearly half of that total is designated for cell, battery and materials manufacturing facilities in Michigan.
The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability. It is designed to drive up to 40 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions. When the Volt’s lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, a flex-fuel engine-generator seamlessly operates to extend the total driving range to about 300 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery. Pricing has not been announced.
A few weeks back I submitted a new thread called "Accepted Length of Time" wherein I asked what was the general consensus of opinions on how long I might last without any insulin…should my source be cut off. Existential of the queries I received, the general consensus was like most answers…"it all depends."
You’re gonna like this. It’s taken me 6 months of changes between my care giver and the pharmacy getting my prescriptions correct and an ample amount of refills without having to go back to my PA every 30 days for a new ‘script. New policy with my care giver…no new refill ‘scripts without an office visit, that office visit costing $83.
It’s also taken me 6 months to sync all my prescriptions up so that the pharmacy only has to deliver this stuff once a month. There for awhile the delivery kid was out here at least 5 times a month. We were almost on a first-name basis.
So, yesterday morning I called in my prescription. The pharmacy has a call-in option to where you just punch in your Rx number and press 2 for delivery. Usully, if you call in before 10AM the kid gets here early in the afternoon. Not yesterday. In fact, he never came at all. The pharmacy asks that you give them at least 3 days to deliver…in case they’re really busy or something else comes up. I figured, okay, he’ll be here Thursday.
I got off the computer well after dark last night, around 7 o’clock. I wasn’t off the computer more than 5 minutes when the pharmacy called (I only have one phone line and dial-up).
"Mr. Boone?"
"Yes?"
"This is Denise at Crystal Pharmacy, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all afternoon. In processing your order your Part D carrier, Health Net, has denied your claim. We wanted to inform you that you’ll need a co-pay of $380 when we deliver your prescriptions."
"WHAAAAA? Let me call them and I’ll get back to you, okay?"
Denied my claim? WTF? I didn’t know if Health Net was still open at 7 o’clock at night but I was calling them (they’re in California, as I am). I called and went through the "push-1-for-English-yada-yada-yada" and the voice on the other end said, "We value your call. At the moment all our service representatives are busy. The waiting time for your call will be 180 minutes." NO WAY! 😮
So, I waited. And I waited. And I waited. And both my ears went numb. 2 hours later I got a live voice. It seems that some person at Caremark, Health Net’s claims processor decided to go home early on Monday, marked a glut of files as upgraded for 2010, mine included, and merrily skipped on out the door. That’s why I waited for 2 hours…calls were coming in from everywhere. The fellow on the other end sympathized with my plight of running out of insulin in 2 days and said he was upgrading my account as we spoke–that I should be back in the system by tonight. I thanked him for his efforts and he applauded me for waiting 2 hours on the phone, he could only imagine how many people became frustrated and hung up while waiting.
In retrospect…how fragile this whole thing can become in the twinkle of an eye…:cool:
As the debate over Peter Mandelson’s Digital Economy Bill (which would represent a radical shift in copyright law in the UK) continues, it appears that Lord Lucas continues to propose all sorts of good ideas in response. You may recall that Lucas was quite explicit in questioning why such changes were needed when it was obviously the industry’s inability to adapt that was the problem. Later, he suggested adding a remedy for bogus copyright claims. His latest is to try to add an amendment that would require copyright holders to detail actual damages done by file sharing in their reports to ISPs notifying them of infringement.
This is a very sensible idea for a variety of reasons. Last year, we wrote about a fascinating paper that points out that, realistically, the only way to reconcile free speech with copyright law is to have copyright holders prove what damages were caused by the infringement. Every other limitation on free speech in the US (defamation, for example) has such a requirement. It makes no sense that copyright makes no such requirement. Now, obviously, the UK is different from the US and not bound by the First Amendment, but it’s hard to come up with any compelling reason at all that a copyright holder shouldn’t have to prove actual damages before making a claim of copyright infringement.
San José (Redacción). La Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) adjudicó al consorcio Meco (Costa Rica), FFC (España) e ICA (México) la ampliación del Canal de Panamá.
La información fue confirmada esta tarde por Jorge Quijano, vocero de ACP, y Humberto Fernández, gerente general de Meco.
La adjudicación de esta obra se le conoce como PAC 4, en la que el consorcio deberá ahora excavar y remover 27 millones de metros cúbicos de materiales.
Esta obra es necesaria para la construcción de la tercera esclusa, que permitirá el paso de los enormes buques pospanamax y que, en la actualidad no pueden cruzar la vía interoceánica.
Quijano, de la ACP, indicó que el consorcio tiene un plazo de 10 días para presentar la fianza de cumplimiento por un monto de $100 millones. Fernández, de Meco, aseguró que su representada y sus dos socios están listos con este trámite.
Desde enero del año pasado, Meco trabaja en el PAC 3, cuyo contrato contempla la excavación, remoción y disposición de ocho millones de metros cúbicos de material.
Estos trabajos nivelarán el cerro Paraíso, ubicado al frente de las esclusas de Pedro Miguel, en el lado del Pacífico, al reducir su altura de 46 a 27,5 metros sobre el nivel del mar. El objetivo es tener listo los trabajos en el 2011. Esta obra tiene un costo cercano a los $40 millones.
Mobinnova announced today that the Mobinnova BeamTM, the world’s first HD Internet smartbook offering beautiful, 3D graphics never available before on an ultra portable device, will connect to AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network. Previously codenamed e?lan, the Mobinnova BeamTM, is the first in a family of products powered by the Next Generation NVIDIA® TegraTM mobile web processor.
At first glance, the Mobinnova Beam looks like a netbook. It’s small, weighs just two pounds, has a keyboard, offers easy access to the Internet and slips easily into a purse, backpack or briefcase. But unlike a netbook, the muscular Mobinnova BeamTM offers stunning capabilities, including the ability to provide hours of full-page web browsing, social networking, HD videos, music and high-end games.
“We like to say the Mobinnova Beam is a ’smartbook on steroids’,” says KC Kuo, CEO of Mobinnova. “The Mobinnova BeamTM meets our company’s goal of providing next generation, ‘cloud ready’ products that allow easy, enjoyable and instant access to content for hours, even days. We look forward to connecting this device to AT&T’s mobile broadband service, the nation’s fastest 3G network.”
“The Mobinnova Beam is a sleek device that will deliver a unique mobile media access experience,” said Glenn Lurie, President, Emerging Devices, Resale and Partnerships, AT&T Mobility. “We look forward to working with Mobinnova to deliver entertainment and social networking over AT&T’s nationwide mobile broadband network.”
Features Include:
NVIDIA Tegra – mobile web processor, which includes the world’s first dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU running up to 1GHz, that provides blazing performance, while maximizing power efficiency and battery life.
Browse more websites, watch streaming HD movies, and check email faster than any mobile device ever before. Enjoy hours of 1080p HD video by connecting it to an HDTV or high quality video “on the go,” along with crystal-clear audio playback.
Roxio CinemaNowTM
Entertainment Platform-Now you can seamlessly access premium entertainment from virtually anywhere. Instantly browse, purchase and enjoy a broad catalog of digital movies and TV shows while on the road.
Adobe Flash 10.1 support gives a superior graphical experience and enhanced browsing compatibility. 3D Interface provides a simple, elegant and engaging way to intuitively access the world of entertainment. With customizable home screen widgets and RSS feeds. Always On, Instant Start-up ensures that no time is wasted booting up. Customized social networking through Facebook**, Twitter**, YellowPages**, and RSS reader widgets, integrated into the 3D interactive home screen interface. Capable of supporting up to 64GB of removable memory, storing music, movies, pictures, games and more.
Full-page web browsing and realistic 3D graphical performance for amazing gaming/ viewing experience on an 8.9 inch screen.
Ultra-light, stylishly slender design at 1.84 lbs (836g), 9.1 inches (232mm) x 7.3 inches (186 mm) x .8 inches (20.5 mm).
Wi-Fi capable and with a qualified AT&T Data Connect plan, you can access AT&T’s 3G and Wi-Fi networks. Check your email, social networking accounts, and search the internet at home and on the go. Webcam and fast, high resolution photo rendering, upload and download.
Hardware Specifications:
Processor Type: NVIDIA® Tegra 250
Display: 8.9″ TFT 1024 x 600 non-touch
Memory: 512MB DDR2-667 system RAM, 512MB NAND OS storage
Storage: 8-64GB SSD with expandable SD memory up to 64GB (sold separately)
USB (USB 2.0, Host) X2 3.5mm jacks X2 for microphone and line-out HDMI for digital video out Extension port for VGA and Ethernet adapter SD/SDHC (SD2.0) card slot SIM card slot
Gamma Two specializes in autonomous mobile robots for the home and office domains. The robots utilize their ‘Cybernetic Brain’, a hierarchical system with multiple processors, including PCs and microcontrollers. The robots use sonars to perceive the world, a motor system to move around, an encoder system to estimate position, and a reactive system to avoid obstacles.
Eighth Annual Midwest Energy Solutions Conference Explores Energy Technology, Policy and Innovation
Can policies that promote energy efficiency spur economic growth in a sluggish economy?
How will Midwestern states invest the $2.86 billion in federal stimulus funds directed toward energy efficiency projects?
Hundreds of energy leaders from throughout the Midwest will gather next week in Chicago to discuss these and many other pertinent issues at the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance’s (MEEA) eighth annual 2010 Midwest Energy Solutions Opportunity Now! Conference and Inspiring Efficiency Awards dinner and gala.
The three-day conference kicks off Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m. at the Chicago Hotel InterContinental with a keynote address from Dr. Kathleen Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Highlights of the 2010 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference include:
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010
Keynote address from Dr. Kathleen Hogan about priorities for the U.S. Department of Energy, the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and support for energy efficiency at the federal level.
National Energy Efficiency Policy Debate: Representatives from various energy sectors review important national energy efficiency policies, such as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and what the bill’s proposed cap and trade system means to the energy industry. They’ll also discuss the status of energy efficiency legislation and building codes and appliance standards across the country.
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010
Keynote addresses from Kris Bowring, Sr. of Best Buy about the company’s new green initiatives and Kurt Yeager of Galvin Electricity Initiative about priorities for the future on smart grid and integration of efficiency.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – One Year Later: The federal government’s stimulus bill tripled funding for energy efficiency initiatives in the Midwest to $2.86 billion, and you can find out where the money might go. State leaders from Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri will discuss their current and future projects and programs.
2010 Inspiring Efficiency Awards dinner and gala.
Friday, Jan. 15, 2010
Financing Energy Efficiency: Learn about efforts to develop financing mechanisms for energy efficiency projects. Legislative, administrative and other challenges will be discussed as well as strategies for surmounting them.
Community Development and Energy Efficiency: Business and state government leaders review plans to leverage energy efficiency policies to propel economic growth and development through job creation, tax incentives and industry expansion for efficient technologies.
MEEA also will honor eight Midwest leaders who deliver groundbreaking advancements for energy efficiency at the Inspiring Efficiency Awards dinner and gala the evening of Thursday, Jan. 14.
The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the gala dinner and awards presentation from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This year’s award recipients include:
Leadership Award: Janine Migden-Ostrander, Ohio Consumers’ Counsel for her role in creating the Ohio Consumer and Environmental Advocates, demonstrating that consumer and environmental groups can work together; and Tom Casten, Recycled Energy Development in Illinois for his expertise in industrial energy recycling and efforts to advance industrial energy efficiency.
Education Award: Commonwealth Edison for its partnership with the Chicago Urban League to create a program that provides energy efficiency information and money management training to first-time homebuyers and for building local awareness for a national energy efficiency campaign; and Smart Energy Design Assistance Center in Illinois for its efforts to assist commercial and municipal entities in identifying energy and money saving opportunities and minimizing pollution.
Impact Award: Interstate Power & Light Company, an Alliant Energy Company based in Iowa for launching a post-flood rebate program that helped customers affected by the catastrophic flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to rebuild their homes with energy efficient features.
Innovation Award: Ameren Illinois Utilities for developing a Watt Solutions kit that allows customers to learn the cost of operating appliances. These kits were given away at several public library systems throughout Ameren’s service territory.
Marketing Award: Interstate Power & Light Company, an Alliant Energy Company based in Iowa, for its development of the “Being Green” calendar for customers that highlighted energy efficiency programs and best practices; and R.L. Just & associates, p.c. in St. Louis for the creation of The St. Louis Green Building Guide, which increased awareness of sustainable and efficient building practices and included tips for building green.
About Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance – The Source on Energy Efficiency
The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (mwalliance.org) is a collaborative network advancing energy efficiency in the Midwest to support sustainable economic development and environmental preservation.
MEEA bridges the gap between policy adoption and program implementation.
MEEA promotes the market transformation of energy efficiency technologies, processes and best practices within a 13-state area, through policy advocacy, program design and facilitation and piloting of energy technologies.
Energy efficiency is the critical first step in meeting our nation’s myriad energy challenges due to low entry costs, proven and emerging technologies, ease of implementation, fast return on investment and measurable results.
Through our diverse network of members and regional allies, MEEA possesses the practical experience and informed vision to effect positive change today by supporting the region’s stakeholders to achieve their efficiency goals for the future.
First the good news. Confidence in Osama bin Laden collapsed from 2003 to 2009 as shown by Pew Research.
This is impressive progress, and quite meaningful economically.
In the market for minds, Brand Bin Laden is dying fast in countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, Jordan, and even Palestine where ‘only’ 52% have confidence in Osama bin laden versus 72% previously (down 20%).
Yet Osama bin Laden has gained substantial strength in one peculiar nation — Nigeria. Telling, given the recent ‘panty bomber’ air travel scare. Hopefully future economic growth of this massive African nation will change things for the better in the long-run. See more about Nigeria at MAVINS: The New BRICS.
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As the sale deadline grows near, Saab has postponed a board meeting and bidders such as Spyker Cars NV make last-ditch efforts to acquire the Swedish automaker before GM once and for all decides its fate.
On the agenda will be a strategizing session examining how the company can re-start production after a four-week break, and discussions regarding the bid process. Genii Capital, a private-equity firm that agreed to purchase a majority stake in Renault’s Formula One team last month, intends to hand in a cash offer some point today, according to an investor close to the process.
Spyker plans to submit a plan before today’s 5:00 p.m. deadline in New York, and Genii will be using the business plan of former bidder Koenigsegg Group. Genii says that they could make Saab a profitable company by 2012.
Saab board member Haakan Danielsson has said that unless directly instructed to do otherwise, the company plans to produce cars to fill the orders it has on the books as of right now. A delegation from the Swedish government has also made their way to Detroit so that GM is fully aware of the willingness of the EU and Swedish government to offer certain assistance to keep the company running.
It’s been just over three years since ESPN officially pulled the plug on Mobile ESPN (NYSE: DIS), its MVNO (service shut down on Dec 31, 2006), and it’s clear that the company has learned much about what it takes to sustain a successful mobile presence since then.
How successful? Find a rundown of the company’s mobile performance—everything from iPhone apps and games, to mobile video shows—in 2009.
—Mobile apps: ESPN launched a slew of paid iPhone apps in 2009. No details on how much revenue the company has brought in, but its ESPN ScoreCenter app ranked as the top free app in the App Store, and has been downloaded over 4.5 million times. (That’s up from 2.2 million in September).
—Mobile TV and video: Unique viewers of video clips (on-demand) from ESPN Mobile increased 87 percent vs. 2008; total minutes spent increased by 106 percent across all carriers.
Meanwhile, people watched nearly 850 live events on ESPN Mobile TV, the non-stop streaming video network that runs on FLO TV and MobiTV. Total minutes spent viewing ESPN Mobile TV were up 186 percent year-over-year.
—Mobile web: ESPN’s mobile site was the 8th most-trafficked site on the mobile web for the year. It averaged over 8.9 million uniques per month—up 35 percent vs. 2009—per Nielsen Mobile.
ESPN gained mobile traction both in the U.S. and abroad, with unique visits to its ESPNSoccernet site up 379 percent, and visits to ESPNCricinfo up by 113 percent (per Omniture). Meanwhile, its ESPN Deportes Mobile averaged nearly 360,000 uniques per month.
El proyecto de esta impresionante obra corresponde al arquitecto Peter Albert, y fue ejecutada por el ingeniero Leopoldo Janh, comenzando su construcción el 15 de Mayo de 1.967. En el vaciado del concreto se trabajó día y noche durante tres meses; se utilizaron 120 toneladas de cable de tensar, equivalentes a 70 kilómetros, mil metros cúbicos de arena para el ruedo, cuyo diámetro a 45 metros origina el redondel compacto. Excepto pórticos y vigas, todo en la Monumental está prefabricado. La grada más alta se encuentra a una altura de 25 metros, y su diseño original es para un aforo de 26.620 espectadores.
Tan solo 9 meses después el 9 de Febrero de 1968, se realiza la inauguración oficial de esta colosal obra y un día después el Sábado 10, se lanza al ruedo los primeros 6 toros de la ganadería mexicana Puebla.
Valencia posee la segunda plaza de toros más grande de latino América y tercera más grande del mundo, sólo puede ser superada en tamaño por las plazas de Madrid (Plaza de toros las Ventas) y Ciudad de México (La plaza México) que es la mas grande del mundo.
En 1.998, después de 30 años de su inauguración, la plaza fué remodelada y en la misma se dio nuevo rostro al coso taurino instalándole sillas numeradas haciendo que su capacidad sea de de 18 mil 708 personas, distribuidas por localidades de esta forma: 8 mil en gradas, 3 mil en tendido de sombra, 3 mil en el tendido de sol, 870 en barrera de sombra, 805 en barrera de sol, un mil 420 en palcos de barrera de sombra, y un mil 613 en palcos de barrera de sol.
Se construyó el Puente de los Taurinos, una obra arquitectónica de gran uso y ornato; así como el Museo Taurino y el Quirófano Monumental, considerado uno de los mejores de las plazas del mundo, por su amplitud y capacidad para atender cualquier tipo de emergencia
Otra de las obras que la engalanan, es una estupenda fisiocromía que consiste en una gama de colores en aluminio de 145 metros de recorrido que refleja los colores a su encuentro con los rayos solares, original del artista Carlos Cruz Diez, y situada en el frontal de la plaza. Se creó la Plaza Cruz Diez, una estructura de más de 800 metros cuadrados que constituye una hermosa antesala al coso. Además se agregó el Toro Monumental, una imponente escultura del artista valenciano Wladimir Zabaleta.
El 30 de enero de 1998 es reinaugurada la Monumental. Como parte de la ceremonia, fueron develados en el nuevo Paseo de los Taurinos, diez bustos de personajes involucrados en la tradición taurina regional. El artista falconiano Alexis Mujica, es el hacedor de estas obras, en cuyas piezas están representados los toreros Alí Gómez Toro "El León de Camoruco", César Girón, Adolfo Rojas, Francisco Camino Sánchez "Paco Camino", y Yimer Trossell Esteves "Bernardo Valencia"; al igual que los banderilleros Gustavo Pedroza y Salvador "Loco" Muñoz; el aficionado Francisco Polo Castellano; el Cronista Taurino, César Abraham Dao Colina; y el novillero, Aurelio Díaz.
Previo a la gran corrida, se inauguró el Museo taurino, con la apertura a la exposición colectiva de artistas y aficionados al tema de la fiesta brava Pintura, Fotografía y Filatelia Taurina.
Valencia cuenta con una plaza digna no sólo para las tardes taurinas sino para diversas actividades culturales que le dan un atractivo no sólo regional, sino nacional e internacional. La Plaza de Toros Monumental de Valencia, desde su reinauguración a la fecha, ha sido el escenario de grandes artistas. Se ha convertido en el espacio a cielo abierto más importante que tiene la ciudad para recibir a importantes exponentes del folklore nacional, de la música hecha en Venezuela, y también de grandes clásicos y artistas internacionales.
Grandes famosos como el desaparecido Luciano Pavarotti, el salsero Cheo Feliciano, El potrilloAlejandro Fernández, Simón Díaz, Soledad Bravo, Juan Luís Guerra y su 4.40, Carlos Vives, Gilberto Santa Rosa, El Sonero del Mundo, Oscar de León, Los Adolescentes, Juanes, entre muchos otros, han deleitado a sus seguidores con sus contagiantes y exquisitos géneros musicales en este escenario La magia de Marcel Marceau también ha brillado en la Monumental, la cual cada año es visitada en noviembre por cientos de miles de personas, que disfrutan de los programas culturales, taurinos y musicales que ofrece la Alcaldía de Valencia durante la Feria Internacional que se celebra en honor a la patrona de la ciudad, la Virgen del Socorro.
Stephanie Pratt has been sentenced to three years probation over her Oct. 18 arrest for driving under the influence. Pratt was living an L.A. birthday party for pal Holly Montag when she was pulled over and booked for drunk driving last fall.
She pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor “exhibition of speed,” with her DUI charges dropped. The 23-year-old star must also complete a 12-week alcohol education program, pay a fine and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for eight weeks.
“Ms. Pratt voluntarily sought help from a doctor regarding substance issues but the doctor recommended that she didn’t need rehab,” a lawyer for The Hills star told PEOPLE Thursday.
In this video, shown before Ballmer took the stage at last night’s keynote, SNL head writer and Weekend Update host Seth Meyers introduced him with this little video about all the ways technology has, uh, improved our lives. [CNET]
I decided to create this thread to post pictures I toke in Bishops Stortford when I visited a friends of mine living in this town. The visit was in October 2008.
Is there room in the world of Egyptology for an online magazine written by talented amateur Egyptologists, Egyptology society members, undergraduates and informal students? Kate Phizackerley (www.kv64.info) and I are doing market research into the possibility of setting one up.
Kate and I both receive articles for review for both popular and academic publication, and are often impressed by some of the quality of the amateur writing. Similarly, I have lectured at a number of UK Egyptology socieities where I have been impressed at the number of society members who have done research so detailed that they are more than qualified to lecture at their societies themselves (and attract sizeable and well informed audiences when they do so). It has become quite clear that there are many talented researchers who have done a lot of work into areas of particular interest, have some excellent content and ideas to impart, but who are unlikely to get published due to a lack of formal qualifications in the subject. That seems a shame.
So, in a chilly pub in London a few weeks ago, Kate and I discussed the idea of setting up a website which would give that research a platform. Our top level aim would be to try to attract pieces which are well researched and have a good reading list. We would not be looking for the sort of articles that appear in coffee-break magazines or on any amateur website that you can visit, and we would not want articles informed exclusively by Wikipedia or other informal (and unverifiable) sources. We are looking for good quality and well written contributions by writers who have real knowledge to impart and who have done their research using recognized sources. That doesn’t mean to say that we would want everything to be dull and lifeless – we would want the magazine to be entertaining. But we would like the contributions to be of a sufficiently high standard to inspire the confidence of readers who might like to reference the articles in their own research.
Does all this sound like something that would interest you as a writer or a reader? Would you like to contribute with articles, book reviews, exhibition reviews, photo-stories, and conference and lecture notes?
And do you have any ideas that might help us to narrow down the end product? We are only in the early stages of the thinking at the moment so any feedback would be very welcome. We will keep anyone who emails/comments updated on our progress as we decide if/how to proceed.
Police have identified a woman found dead and burned beyond recognition in a Miami dumpster on Sunday
as former Playboy model Paula Sladewski.
The charred body of the 26-year-old blonde was found Sunday night after firefighters extinguished flames in a large trash bin near a propane business. Police were able to identify the body using dental records.
Paula and her boyfriend, Kevin Klym, 34, arrived in Miami on Thursday New Year Eve’s with Fontainebleu headliner Lady Gaga. Police are considering him a person of interest, but Paula’s family insists Klym knows more about the model’s disappearance than he has revealed.
“They had a horrible relationship,” says Richard Watkins, Paula’s stepfather. “I have told them from the start that they shouldn’t be together.”
Watkins said the couple, who had been together for two years, argued often. Klym broke Sladewski’s nose during an argument just last month and was arrested.
In anticipation of the expected snowfall forecast for the area this afternoon, CTA is reminding customers to allow extra travel time.
“We recommend customers allow extra travel time as buses travel in the same traffic as other vehicles and can be impacted by adverse weather conditions.
Rail service also can be impacted by snow, ice and extremely cold temperatures,” said CTA President Richard L. Rodriguez.
“During inclement weather, more travelers opt for public transit making buses, platforms and trains more crowded.”
Trains are equipped with sleet scrapers and snowplow blades to remove ice and snow from the third rail. In addition, CTA has four snow fighter locomotives to clear tracks of ice and snow.
Crews also inspect and activate overhead heating fixtures on platforms at all 125 outdoor rail stations so that customers can stay warm, and restock sand boxes so there are supplies at the ready to keep stairs, platforms and bus areas safe for customers and employees.
As snow continued to blanket the area this morning, the morning commute operated without significant impact from the weather. All CTA buses and trains operated on their regular weekday schedules with only a few minor delays.
CTA staff will monitor the weather throughout the day and determine if deployment of additional staff or snow clearing equipment is needed for the evening commute.
The CTA’s Bus Tracker is a useful tool for planning the evening commute with the estimated arrival time of buses along a route. All 150 CTA routes are available on the Web site at ctabustracker.com.
In addition, customers can log onto the CTA’s Web site at transitchicago.com, or call Customer Service at 1-888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282), to find out if CTA service is impacted by the weather.
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In anticipation of the expected snowfall forecast for the area this afternoon, CTA is reminding customers to allow extra travel time.