Category: News

First SNL did it and then reader Alex sent us this little bit of text, purportedly from the actual Avatar script. WTF indeed.

Deleted AVATAR Sex Scene

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Filed under: Macworld, Rumors, TUAW Business, Podcasts

Talkcast time again! This week (for the first time) hosting duties will be covered by me, Kelly Guimont. We’ll review this week’s in Apple news, speculate wildly about the upcoming Apple Event, and speculate only slightly less wildly about iPhone 4.0. We’ll be live at 10 pm Eastern, 7 pm Pacific, and various other times around the globe.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the “TalkShoe Web” button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday.

To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. If you’ve got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you then!

TUAWTalkcast reminder: Join Kelly & crew at 10pm ET originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Love to cook Mexican food? Food Network introduces Marcela Valladolid ,a mother and professional chef who has a fresh take on Mexican food and is dedicated to sharing simple and authentic recipes in her series Mexican Made Easy, premiering Saturday, January 23rd at 9:30am ET/PT. Marcela, inspired by her dual Mexican and Southern California upbringing, transforms conventional ideas of the cuisine into healthy and easy-to-prepare Mexican meals. Whether serving a home-cooked dinner to her son or entertaining friends and family, Marcela brings to the table fresh flavors that fit all tastes. Here’s the schedule I have so far:

Premieres: Saturday, January 23rd at 9:30am ET/PT – SERIES PREMIERE!

“Weekend Brunch”

Join Marcela for a brunch worth getting out of bed for including mouth-watering Chilaquiles Casseroles, crispy tortilla chips bathed in a roasted tomatillo sauce, drizzled with sour cream and melted cheese. Then, Marcela delivers the brunch-must menu item, ‘No-Brainer’ Eggs Benedicto with a fast and easy-to-make chipotle hollandaise sauce. Adding a fresh pot of Café Mexicano lightly spiced with brown sugar, cinnamon and a twist of orange peel, Marcela creates a wickedly good weekend brunch.

Premiering Saturday, January 30th at 9:30am ET/PT

“Game Day Grabs”

Marcela has the perfect playbook for putting together Mexican-themed snacks for the big game. First up, Marcela’s classic Game-Winning Guacamole with Fresh-Baked Tortilla Chips. Her Smokin’ Shrimp Skewers marinated in smoky chipotle sauce and her honey glazed Sweet & Spicy Drumettes brushed with a chile ancho and pecan sauce, round out the line-up. Marcela then makes a batch of refreshing Micheladas, cold beer served in chilled mugs with a little salt and lime juice thrown in.

Premiering Saturday, February 6th at 9:30am ET/PT

“Cuddle Cuisine”

With Valentine’s Day approaching, Marcela designs a cozy, romantic, winter meal that is sure to warm up hearts and bellies. Marcela prepares a Butternut Squash Soup that has a kiss of chipotle flavor, followed by a tender Ancho-Crusted Rack of Lamb served with a mint jelly sauce. For dessert, Marcela puts a fresh Mexican spin on a classic strawberry pie with her Sweet Strawberry Tartlets.

Premiering Saturday, February 13th at 9:30am ET/PT

“Family Favorites”

Perfected over a lifetime, Marcela opens the family cookbook and shares some favorites including authentic Baja-Style Beer-Battered Fish Tacos served with a fiery, fresh tequila-infused Drunken Salsa and lemon cream sauce. For dessert, her family’s ultimate Choco-Flan, half chocolate cake and half flan drizzled with a creamy caramel-like topping.

disclosure: information for this post provided by foodnetwork.com

When Electronic Arts announced Dead Space Extraction for the Wii—a follow-up to the million-plus selling PS3, 360, and PC title Dead Space—the company explained that the game would be used as a test case to see whether or not it would develop more Mature-rated Wii games in the future. And according to NPD sales figures, Extraction failed: it sold just 9,200 copies in its first week. So what does this mean for the future of Mature Wii games? Sega has publicly stated that it will “probably not” continue developing this style of game due to the low sales of Extraction. But are things really that bad? Ars digs into the numbers to see whether or not there really is a market for Mature games on the Wii.

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Taking a hint from how the F-35 demon helmet maps multiple video feeds into a 3D space, a Carnegie Mellon University team has created an augmented reality car system to see through any massive obstacle. The objective: Avoid car collisions.

The system takes video from two cameras and mixes them into one, creating the illusion of being able to see through any object. A video processing system compares the feed from one of the cameras—installed in the car—to the other camera—installed on a street. By identifying common points between the two sources, the software can distort the street camera’s video feed to match the driver’s view. The matching perspective video gets projected onto the windshield, allowing the driver to see through walls in a natural, seamless way.

The Carnegie Mellon team, lead by Yaser Sheikh, thinks that the system could be easily implemented by tapping into the CCTV camera networks available in most major cities.

I’m glad to see that someone is thinking about making CCTV useful for everyone. On the other side, I wonder why people spend time creating these absurdly useful, accident-preventing augmented reality systems, instead of working in making a software like iNaked (NSFW) a reality. Get on the with the program, people. You need to get your preferences right. [New Scientist—Thanks Jimmy Flores]

FOXSports reports: Free-agent infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. is closing on a one-year contract with the Padres, according to a major-league source.

The deal is expected to pay Hairston more than $2 million.

The former Cub will be united with his brother Scott, 29, who was re-acquired by the Padres in a trade with the A’s this week.

Jerry Hairston spent last season with the Reds and Yankees.

Get the full story at foxsports.com.

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Another ho-hum week is upon us in this iteration of On Shelves This Week. We do have a couple of headturners, though. The creepy kid from Silent Hill is back to haunt you on your PSPs and

NEW YORK — Justin Burrell scored 11 points and 11 St. John’s players scored as the Red Storm routed DePaul 67-47.

Justin Brownlee added 10 points and leading scorer D.J. Kennedy (15.8 points a game) had eight points in 25 minutes as St. John’s (12-5, 2-3 Big East) won its second straight game.

The Red Storm used a 10-0 first-half run to take a 27-15 lead on Brownlee’s layup with 3:23 left and shot 50 percent from the field (11-for-22) to take a 31-20 halftime lead.

St. John’s scored the first two baskets of the second half for a 35-20 lead, and after DePaul (7-10, 0-5) scored, the Red Storm put the game away with an 18-2 run and a 53-24 lead with 10:20 to play.

Anthony Mason Jr. had eight points and 10 rebounds for St. John’s, which outrebounded DePaul 46-26.

Will Walker led DePaul with 14 points and Mike Stovall added 11 points.

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Misc. Auto Shows, Celebrities, Event Alert

“Supercar Sunday is back and is here to stay!” That’s the first sentence of a long-awaited announcement from Dustin Troyan, one of Southern California’s most passionate, selfless and determined car guys. Dusty started the Supercar Sunday show in front of the Village Coffee Roaster coffee shop he managed in Woodland Hills several years ago. The idea was to invite car people out to the empty lot on Sunday mornings to meet up and hopefully buy some java.

The show was a smashing success, as hundreds of car guys and gals from all over the Southland gathered once a week to share their love of classic and exotic automobiles. The last Sunday of the month was the big show, attracting thousands of folks, including a few local celebrities. Businesses often brought in several extra staffers on Sundays to handle all of the extra customers.

As good as that sounds for gearheads and the businesses in that strip mall, the show got too big for the lot. Under intense pressure and threatened legal action from the landlord, the show was shut down late last year. With the huge car community in the Los Angeles area we knew it couldn’t be the end of the road for the weekly Sunday meet, but all was a little too quiet on the Western front until today.

Seems Dustin has been working tirelessly these past several weeks to secure a new venue for the show. Troyan is the same guy behind the immensely successful Motor4Toys charity toy drive so we knew he would be able to make it happen – and make it happen in a way that would make us forget all about the unpleasantness of a few months ago.

Well, now we can look forward to a revived Supercar Sunday in an even better locale, with a bigger parking lot, full cooperation from the local merchants and landlord, and a Corner Bakery to handle breakfast needs. So if you’re in the area, if you’ve attended or wanted to attend Supercar Sunday in the past or just want to get your weekly collectible car fix again, check out the new venue.

The show kicked off this morning at the Topanga Westfield Promenade. It’s just off the 101, 8 miles West of the 405 at the corner of Topanga Canyon and Erwin. Hope to see you there in the weeks to come.

Supercar Sunday exotic car meet revived in SoCal originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Europe, GM, Saab, Earnings/Financials, Spyker

To paraphrase the once great weekend update anchor Chevy Chase, “Generalissimo Saab is still dead” and appears likely to stay that way. Bloomberg reports that Spyker is the last bidder standing to pick up the Swedish brand from General Motors, although Genii Capital and partner Bernie Eccelstone apparently haven’t given up yet. At this point, according to the news service, Spyker is the only party in active talks with The General as the process of shutting down Saab has already begun. Genii hopes to reopen talks with GM this week.

The Spyker bid reportedly includes having GM continue to hold a stake in Saab – a stipulation that the U.S. company will probably be averse to. Another problem could still revolve around handing over intellectual property to Russia, just as it did with the aborted attempt to sell Opel to Magna (the largest shareholder in Spyker is Russian chairman Vladimir Antonov). Given Saab’s continued lack of financial success over the years, it’s hard to see how Spyker (which has had its own problems to sort through) could make a go of it. With any luck, we’ll know the outcome of this sad saga this week, although we’d be less-than-surprised to see things drag on for a while yet.

[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Joe Raedle/Getty]

Report: Spyker last bidder GM considering for Saab… or is it? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lemon balm

MICRO FARMING HOW-TO — SEEDS/ANIMAL SOURCES
For a bee source from your own neighborhood, here’s an old beekeepers’ folk method for attracting a new swarm of local honeybees to the bee skep or hive. Rub lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) on the inside of the skep or hive you’ve built for honeybees right before the summer honeybee swarming time. This has been known to attract your own new colony of local wild honeybees. An essential oil in the herb mimics a bee pheromone that attracts them. Nurseries usually sell this herb in springtime. Grow it in a pot or a spot in the garden until needed to attract the bees.

Contact your local cooperative extension service for a local beekeepers’ association to get information on the precise summertime date bees tend to swarm in your area. Most beekeepers agree that local acclimated bees are the best honeybees you can get. You can also purchase the pheromone from a beekeeping supply company to attract local honeybees. A second choice would be purchasing a queen and colony from a local or regional bee supplier. Third choice would be ordering from a distant bee supplier. Before ordering, read up on the different types of honeybees you can purchase to make an informed choice (we’ll be uploading an article on that topic soon), and purchase from a reputable bee supplier that screens for disease. – www.MicroEcoFarming.com

Did you know that the paint companies follow trends to create the colors they make? This helps consumers find paints that match all the great new accessories and to easily create the look they want to see. I was able to talk to two color experts from Valspar the other day and got a lot of wonderful tips about paint trends and how to use paint colors in our homes. I thought I’d start with the heart of the home – our kitchens. Valspar color consultant Ann McGuire and Valspar color trends and forecast specialist Sue Kim both had some great advice for painting your kitchen.

Sue says that in today’s homes, the kitchen is seen as a second living room. People spend three or more hours in their kitchens. Because of this change, colors are changing, too and colors that are more common in master suites or living rooms are being pulled into the kitchen. This means that traditional reds and greens are being replaced by more tranquil colors, like Brushed Lavender or Baked Scone. Besides creating a relaxing atmosphere, these new colors harmonize well with stainless materials.

“We’re also seeing more open spaces that lead into family areas. People are asking how you transition from the kitchen to the family room. One option is to bring chalky, calming colors into the kitchen and have a transition wall into family areas. For example, you could have a scallion color in most of the kitchen and then transition to a bolder color on the wall leading into the family room space.”

Ann also stressed the importance of thinking about using color to transition from space to space. “Being able to experiment a little with an accent wall is fun. People will take a palette and put their own signature on it by using a bolder color on an accent wall.”

For people who are looking for a fresh, soothing color for kitchen walls, here’s Valspar’s spring palette that includes the colors these experts suggest for the kitchen:

Peaceful Optimism: This palette draws on the continued trend of purples/lavenders and yellows.

·         Brushed Lavender

·         Midsummer Twilight

·         Baked Scone

·         Churchill Hotel Ivory

·         Lovely Bluff

Photo: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Painting Tips for Your Kitchen

The earthquake that left Haiti in ruins last week is an unspeakable tragedy that calls for the support of humanitarians around the world to rescue and rebuild. But some “charities” may not have the most honest of goals. Human rights journalist Anai Rhoads writes that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other groups are engaging in deceptive fundraising by overstating the number of animals in need:

HSUS also claimed that there are companion animals. “…a large stray dog population, an untold number of companion animals.” This is really tough sell, in an area so poor that scanning trash for food was the norm. It would be utter suicide for the more than 80 percent of those are poor in the country to house and feed a companion animal.

Rhoads also points out that also much of the livestock and pet populations in Haiti were ravaged following strong storms in 2008. Another observer in Haiti reports that he didn’t notice any stray cats just six days before the quake. As Rhoads puts it, HSUS is raising money to help “a mass number of animals, which don’t seem to exist.”

Not that such technicalities have historically mattered to HSUS. If a boatload of donations is left over when it leaves Haiti, the money can be commingled with the other tens of millions in assets HSUS already has in the bank. From there, it can be spent on anything HSUS wants, from PETA-inspired lobbying to putting farmers out of business. Just don’t expect too much of it to go to hands-on dog and cat shhelters.

This latest situation is another chapter in HSUS’s history of questionable fundraising ploys. You might recall that after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005, HSUS head Wayne Pacelle went on national television and pledged to reunite pets with their owners. An investigation of the post-Katrina money trail by Atlanta’s WSB-TV found that public documents accounted for just $7 million of the $34 million that HSUS raised in the wake of the storm. (HSUS claims otherwise, of course.)

Louisiana’s Attorney General conducted an 18-month investigation into this fundraising, only closing it after HSUS announced its plan to contribute $600,000toward the construction of an animal shelter on the grounds of a state prison. And natural disasters aside, HSUS doesn’t exactly have a great record of caring for the animals it does rescue.

Watchdog groups have been warning readers to avoid deceptive charities trying to cash in on the disaster in Haiti. We have to wonder: Should HSUS be added to the list?

Setting the stage for Week 13 of the fantasy basketball season.

Schedule Breakdown

Four-game teams: CHA, CHI, DAL, DET, GSW, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJN, NOR, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHO, POR, SAC, TOR, WAS

Three-game teams: ATL, BOS, CLE, DEN, HOU, MEM, NYK, SAS

Two-game teams: UTH

Also see: Basketball Monster’s ease rankings and Rotowire’s value meter

Pickups/Plug-ins – Players owned in fewer than 40% of Yahoo! leagues

• Matt Barnes(notes) – Barnes should be universally rostered in standard leagues. While his ups and downs as a starter have mirrored his team’s inconsistencies, his overall numbers in 17 games have been very useful for fantasy: 13 points on 51-percent shooting, 1.3 threes, 7.4 boards, and 1.6 steals-plus-blocks in 31 minutes. Week 13: @LAL, IND, SAC, @CHA

• Luke Ridnour(notes) – Ridnour has quietly put together an 11-game streak of scoring in double figures, and his averages in five games since Michael Redd(notes) was lost for the season include 13 points, 1.2 threes, 6.4 assists, 1.6 turnovers, and 1.4 steals in 29 minutes. And speaking of quietly, Ridnour’s per-game rank on the season is 83rd, despite just 23 minutes per game to this point. Week 13: @HOU, TOR, @TOR, MIN

• Francisco Garcia(notes) – Considering Garcia for a roster add at this point requires some forward thinking and is a calculated risk. He isn’t likely to return to the active roster much before the end of the month, and Omri Casspi’s(notes) emergence muddies the rotational waters. Garcia remains a key cog for the team and has never needed significant minutes to make a fantasy impact – in 29 games as a reserve last season, his averages in 26 minutes included 12 points, 1.3 threes, 1 steal, and 1 block. The forward thinking is that you’ll have to deal with an inactive player for at least the next two weeks, and the calculated risk is the over/under on 25 minutes per game once he’s back in the mix. But ask yourself what is the better gamble: taking a chance on some good numbers down the stretch from Garcia or hoping for a sustained spike in production from players like Peja Stojakovic(notes) (66% owned), Grant Hill(notes) (61%), and/or Al Thornton(notes) (43%)?

• Corey Brewer(notes) – Brewer has suddenly gotten hot from long-range, making
10 of 21 attempts over the past six games (48%). The dead-eye shooting
has helped him accumulate averages of 16.8 points on 46-percent
shooting, 1.7 threes, 4 boards, and 1.5 steals-plus-blocks in 28
minutes over that stretch. Brewer made 11 of his first 54 3-point
attempts (20%) before his recent binge, but his fantasy impact takes on
a whole new dimension with a reasonable shooting percentage and some
threes. Week 13: PHI, OKC, NOR, @MIL

• Arron Afflalo(notes) – The least mentioned aspect of Afflalo’s game when he
was acquired by the Nuggets was that he made 40 percent of his threes
during the 2008-09 season. That has carried over to Denver, where he’s
made 43 percent of his attempts during the current season. He’s been
picking up the pace on offense of late, scoring in double figures in
six of the past seven games and posting averages of 12.1 points on
50-percent shooting, 2.1 threes, and 1.4 steals-plus-blocks in 29
minutes over the past seven games. His role is very secure and
deep-leaguers should be all over this guy. Week 13: @GSW, LAC, NOR

• Kris Humphries(notes) – Humphries played 27 minutes in his second
game with the Nets (15 points, 8 boards, 2 steals, 1 block) and should
see steady minutes as the sole backup big for the Nets. Deep-leaguers should take note
here, as his per-25 minute averages over the past four seasons include
10 points, 7 boards, and 1.4 steals-plus-blocks and Yi Jianlian(notes) hasn’t
exactly been the picture of health during his three NBA seasons.

Status Updates

• Kevin Garnett(notes) – KG (knee) has been a limited participant in recent practices and his current target for a return is Friday versus Portland.

• Ben Gordon(notes) – Gordon is hopeful to return from his groin injury sometime this week.

• Chris Kaman(notes) – Kaman has missed four consecutive games because of back issues, and he recently had an epidural to help him deal with the pain. His status will be evaluated on a game-to-game basis.

• Mike Miller(notes) – Miller was expected to miss a week or so after aggravating his calf injury this past Tuesday, although the team is expected to be particularly cautious with him this time around.

• Anthony Morrow(notes) – Morrow could miss two to four weeks because of a sprained right MCL. The team is expected to announce the results of an MRI sometime Sunday. 

• Jameer Nelson(notes) – Nelson has struggled since returning and admits that his knee still isn’t 100 percent, but there are no plans for him to sit any games as of yet. 

• Paul Pierce(notes) – Pierce left Sunday’s practice after bumping knees with Shelden Williams(notes). It was the same knee that caused him to miss five games and the hit was "in the exact same spot" that give him problems earlier, so be looking for an update on Monday.

• Tayshaun Prince(notes) – Prince (knee) was a participant in pre-game shooting drills Saturday but sat out his fourth consecutive game. He’s day-to-day and could return sometime this week.

• Anthony Randolph(notes) – Randolph’s multiple left ankle injuries are expected to sideline him for about two months, a timeframe Don Nelson called "pretty close" to season-ending.

• Brandon Roy(notes) – Roy took the advice of Blazers’ doctors and sat Friday’s game in an effort to rest his injured right hamstring. His availability could be tenuous over the next few weeks, depending on how his hamstring responds. The team has consecutive days off just once before the All-Star break and plays four sets of back-to-backs over the same stretch.

• Al Thornton – Thornton is day-to-day after sitting out Saturday’s game with a sprained left ankle.

• Rasheed Wallace(notes) – Sheed has missed the past four games because of a foot sprain, but has returned to practice and is expected to be active Monday. 

—

Photos via Getty Images

To Mike Mitchell, Conan “Coco” O’Brien is an orange-haired, smart-alecky everyman.

Now, courtesy of Mitchell’s social networking, O’Brien’s biggest Chicago supporters will hold a rally at 4:30 p.m. Monday on NBC’s Michigan Avenue doorstep to deliver a message to the network.

“NBC, I think, has already made their mind up,” said Mitchell, 27, a Los Angeles-based freelance illustrator. “Maybe (the protest) is more of a thing to show that there’s a lot of Conan fans.”

O’Brien publicly refused to push back the start of “The Tonight Show,” which he hosts, so that NBC could rescue former host Jay Leno’s prime-time ratings bomb. It seems O’Brien will leave the network, and Mitchell said he thinks the comic’s problems have touched a nerve.

“A lot of people have really crappy bosses,” Mitchell said. “They can really relate.”

Mitchell administers the “I’m With Coco” Facebook page — at 276,000 fans and climbing — and has other rallies planned for Monday in L.A., New York and Seattle.

He also illustrated the seminal image for the “I’m With Coco” movement, a black-and-white portrait of a grim O’Brien, the only color the bright orange in his hair and in the nickname, “Coco,” which originates from a skit on the late-night show. Other Facebook users have appropriated the image for similar groups, but Mitchell’s has the most followers.

Mitchell, who lived in Chicago from 2004 to 2006, will be attending the Los Angeles rally.

About 1,400 RSVP’d yes for the California rally and, as of Sunday afternoon, about 400 promised to attend the Chicago gathering at Pioneer Court in front of the NBC building downtown. Mitchell wants rally attendees to wear orange, bring signs and be civil.

Fans will be “there to kind of have fun and support somebody who’s kind of being (dumped) on publicly,” he said.