Thursday, February 28, 2013

Double-jointed adolescents at risk for joint pain

Double-jointed adolescents at risk for joint pain [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
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Contact: Dawn Peters
sciencenewsroom@wiley.com
781-388-8408
Wiley

A prospective study by U.K. researchers found that adolescents who are double-jointedmedically termed joint hypermobilityare at greater risk for developing musculoskeletal pain as they get older, particularly in the shoulders, knees, ankles and feet. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that children with joint hypermobility are approximately twice as likely to develop pain at these joints.

When ligaments are loose (ligamentous laxity) it may cause joints to extend beyond the normal range (hypermobility), with studies showing a possible genetic basis. However, when genetic causes are not found and joint pain is present, doctors may use the term 'benign joint hypermobility syndrome.' Several studies have shown that joint pain is common in children with hypermobility, with some reports as high as 74% of children with joint hypermobility experiencing pain. Yet, other research suggests that while musculoskeletal pain is a frequent complaint in adolescents, it is no more common in those with joint hypermobility.

"With such conflicting evidence we set out to determine whether adolescents with joint hypermobility are at risk of developing musculoskeletal pain," explains lead author Professor Jon Tobias from the University of Bristol, UK. In a study funded by Arthritis Research UK, the team recruited participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s. Joint hypermobility was determined at roughly age 14 by a Beighton score of 6 or more out of a possible 9. Individual joints were determined to be hypermobile if, for example, the knees could be bent backwards or the thumbs could touch the wrist. At nearly age 18, participants were evaluated for joint pain by questionnaire.

Analysis of participants with complete data was conducted, with 1267 boys and 1634 girls evaluated. Approximately 5% of participants were hypermobile at age 14, and at age 18 close to 45% of participants reported any pain lasting one or more days. Joint hypermobility was associated with approximately a two-fold increased risk of moderately severe pain at the shoulder, knee, ankle and foot. Interestingly, this increased risk was particularly marked in obese participants, with over a ten-fold increased risk of knee pain observed in obese participants with hypermobility, possibly reflecting the role of mechanical factors.

Professor Tobias concludes, "Our study provides the first prospective evidence that adolescents who display joint hypermobility are at increased risk of developing musculoskeletal pain as they get older, particularly in the shoulder, knee, ankle or feet. Further investigation of increased joint pain in teens is warranted to determine if the long-term effects of joint hypermobility puts them at risk for developing osteoarthritis later in life."

###

Access the full study on the Wiley Press Room here. (To access PDFs and embargoed stories you must be logged in to the Press Room before clicking the link. Request a login here.)

Full citation: "Hypermobility is a Risk Factor for Musculoskeletal Pain in Adolescence: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study." Jonathan H Tobias, Kevin Deere, Shea Palmer, Emma M Clark, Jacqui Clinch. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: February 28, 2013 (DOI: 10.1002/art.37836).

URL Upon Publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/art.37836

About the Author: Jon Tobias, MD, PhD is professor of rheumatology at the University of Bristol and consultant rheumatologist at North Bristol NHS Trust in the UK. To arrange an interview with Professor Tobias, please contact Jane Tadman, press officer at Arthritis Research UK on j.tadman@arthritisresearchuk.org.

About the Journal

Arthritis & Rheumatism is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and covers all aspects of inflammatory disease. The American College of Rheumatology is the professional organization who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability, and curing the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disabling and sometimes fatal disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Members include practicing physicians, research scientists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. The journal is published by Wiley on behalf of the ACR. For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/art.

About Wiley

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.

Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.


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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Double-jointed adolescents at risk for joint pain [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Dawn Peters
sciencenewsroom@wiley.com
781-388-8408
Wiley

A prospective study by U.K. researchers found that adolescents who are double-jointedmedically termed joint hypermobilityare at greater risk for developing musculoskeletal pain as they get older, particularly in the shoulders, knees, ankles and feet. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that children with joint hypermobility are approximately twice as likely to develop pain at these joints.

When ligaments are loose (ligamentous laxity) it may cause joints to extend beyond the normal range (hypermobility), with studies showing a possible genetic basis. However, when genetic causes are not found and joint pain is present, doctors may use the term 'benign joint hypermobility syndrome.' Several studies have shown that joint pain is common in children with hypermobility, with some reports as high as 74% of children with joint hypermobility experiencing pain. Yet, other research suggests that while musculoskeletal pain is a frequent complaint in adolescents, it is no more common in those with joint hypermobility.

"With such conflicting evidence we set out to determine whether adolescents with joint hypermobility are at risk of developing musculoskeletal pain," explains lead author Professor Jon Tobias from the University of Bristol, UK. In a study funded by Arthritis Research UK, the team recruited participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s. Joint hypermobility was determined at roughly age 14 by a Beighton score of 6 or more out of a possible 9. Individual joints were determined to be hypermobile if, for example, the knees could be bent backwards or the thumbs could touch the wrist. At nearly age 18, participants were evaluated for joint pain by questionnaire.

Analysis of participants with complete data was conducted, with 1267 boys and 1634 girls evaluated. Approximately 5% of participants were hypermobile at age 14, and at age 18 close to 45% of participants reported any pain lasting one or more days. Joint hypermobility was associated with approximately a two-fold increased risk of moderately severe pain at the shoulder, knee, ankle and foot. Interestingly, this increased risk was particularly marked in obese participants, with over a ten-fold increased risk of knee pain observed in obese participants with hypermobility, possibly reflecting the role of mechanical factors.

Professor Tobias concludes, "Our study provides the first prospective evidence that adolescents who display joint hypermobility are at increased risk of developing musculoskeletal pain as they get older, particularly in the shoulder, knee, ankle or feet. Further investigation of increased joint pain in teens is warranted to determine if the long-term effects of joint hypermobility puts them at risk for developing osteoarthritis later in life."

###

Access the full study on the Wiley Press Room here. (To access PDFs and embargoed stories you must be logged in to the Press Room before clicking the link. Request a login here.)

Full citation: "Hypermobility is a Risk Factor for Musculoskeletal Pain in Adolescence: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study." Jonathan H Tobias, Kevin Deere, Shea Palmer, Emma M Clark, Jacqui Clinch. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: February 28, 2013 (DOI: 10.1002/art.37836).

URL Upon Publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/art.37836

About the Author: Jon Tobias, MD, PhD is professor of rheumatology at the University of Bristol and consultant rheumatologist at North Bristol NHS Trust in the UK. To arrange an interview with Professor Tobias, please contact Jane Tadman, press officer at Arthritis Research UK on j.tadman@arthritisresearchuk.org.

About the Journal

Arthritis & Rheumatism is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and covers all aspects of inflammatory disease. The American College of Rheumatology is the professional organization who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability, and curing the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disabling and sometimes fatal disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Members include practicing physicians, research scientists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. The journal is published by Wiley on behalf of the ACR. For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/art.

About Wiley

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.

Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.


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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/w-daa022613.php

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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Chicago luxury homes for sale down, sales up in the 4th quarter

The number of listed Chicago homes for sale for $1M or higher in the 4th quarter was down 18.9% from 4th quarter 2011.* There were 908 Chicago luxury homes for sale compared with 1,120 a year earlier. The percent of distressed sales (short sales and foreclosures) dropped from 3.2% of the inventory to 2.3%.

As shown below, the number of Chicago luxury homes for sale in the 4th quarter set a new a 4 year low. Back in December I wrote about how the number of Chicago luxury homes for sale in the 3rd quarter set a new a 4 year low.

Quarterly Inventory of Chicago Luxury Homes For Sale (red) & Sold (green)  4th Qtr. 2009 - 4th Qtr. 2012

Quarterly Inventory of Chicago Luxury Homes For Sale (red) & Sold (green) 4th Qtr. 2009 - 4th Qtr. 2012

The number of Chicago luxury homes sold in the 4th quarter was up a whopping 52.8% from a year earlier! There were 188 sales.

Chicago luxury home pending sales were up 46%, so sales should do well in the 1st quarter. The average days on market for pending sales was down 15%.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LUXURY HOME BUYERS

You don?t have the choices that you had a year ago. You won?t be able to negotiate as much since there aren?t as many sellers competing against each other.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR CHICAGO LUXURY HOME SELLERS

Given that the market appears to be forming a bottom, I don?t recommend selling unless 1. you really need to or 2. you want to move up to a more expensive home. It?s probably come down more in value in the past few years than your current home. As always, if your home is priced right when it goes on market, it will sell in a reasonable amount of time. Luxury homes do take longer to sell on average than lower priced homes since there is a smaller market for them.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email Fran for more information on Chicago luxury homes for sale.

CHICAGO LUXURY HOMES FOR SALE

Click below to see Chicago luxury homes for sale by price range. You can narrow the results by internal and external features. Pending sales are excluded.

*based on MRED (Midwest Real Estate Data)

Source: http://www.chicagometroarearealestate.com/chicago-luxury-homes-for-sale-down-sales-up-in-the-4th-quarter/

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'Blade Runner' accused of 'premeditated' murder

The Olympian and Paralympian was emotional in a South African court this morning, shedding tears and needing to sit down as he was formally charged in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

By Cecile Antonie, Rohit Kachroo and Ian Johnston, NBC News

Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius sobbed as he appeared in a South African court Friday and was accused of the "premeditated" murder of his girlfriend.

The sprinter -- nicknamed "Blade Runner" because he races wearing carbon-fiber prosthetic blades after he was born without a fibula in both legs ? is accused of?killing model Reeva Steenkamp at his home in a Pretoria suburb early Thursday.

Pistorius disputes the accusations in "the strongest terms," according to a statement issued following the court appearance which said the runner sent "his deepest sympathies" to Steenkamp's family.

South African police said Thursday that Pistorius and Steenkamp, 30, were the only people in the house at the time of the shooting.

Oscar Pistorius, the superstar athlete who became the first double amputee sprinter to compete in the Olympics, is the sole suspect in the murder of law school graduate and famous South African model Reeva Steenkamp. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.

Pistorius, 26, arrived at the court about two hours before the hearing that began at about 4:30 a.m. ET Friday.

As the hearing started, Pistorius kept his head down, cried and held his hands to his face. At times, he appeared confused.

"Take it easy. Come, take a seat," Reuters quoted Magistrate Desmond Nair as telling him.

A defense lawyer referred to his client?s ?traumatised state of mind.?

Several of Pistorius? family members were in the courtroom and also appeared emotional; one seemed distraught and others wept.

Prosecutors alleged the Olympic runner had committed "premeditated murder" and he was formally charged.

Pistorius was remanded in custody pending a bail hearing next week. An application by the media for the proceedings to be broadcast was rejected at the start of the hearing.

After the hearing, a statement issued by Pistorius' agent said: "The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms." It added:

"Oscar Pistorius has made history as an Olympic and Paralympic sportsman and has been an inspiration to others the world over. He has made it very clear that he would like to send his deepest sympathies to the family of Reeva. He would also like to express his thanks through us today for all the messages of support he has received - but as stated our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family - regardless of the circumstances."

Citing a neighbor, the Afrikaans-language Beeld newspaper?reported Friday that Pistorius shot his girlfriend four times through a bathroom door. NBC News could not independently verify the report, which was translated by Reuters.

Numerous media outlets reported Thursday that Pistorius may have mistaken the woman for an intruder, but police said neighbors had heard noises before the shots and that there had been previous "domestic" incidents at the house.

The athlete who rose to fame in London last summer as the first amputee runner in the Olympics has reportedly been arrested by South African police after his girlfriend was shot and killed in his home. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports and NBC sports analyst Ato Boldon talks about the case, calling it an "absolute shock."

'Charming, great guy'
The couple had been dating for several months, and??seemed happy,? Steenkamp?s publicist Sarit Tomlinson told TODAY on Thursday. There was no sign of discord between the two, she said.

Tomlinson said that Pistorius was a ?charming, great guy.?

Read more on this story from NBC Sports

According to her Facebook page, Steenkamp was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and raised in Port Elizabeth.

She?earned a law degree at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University before moving to Johannesburg and earning a job as the South African face of cosmetics maker Avon.

Greg Stokell, headmaster of St. Dominic?s Priory school in Port Elizabeth, told South Africa's The Times newspaper that Steenkamp was ?a vibrant, friendly, diligent, and motivated student who was popular with and respected by staff and peers alike.?

From an early age, "Reeva had the full support of her parents who encouraged her to maximize her strengths and abilities to achieve her dreams,? Stokell told the paper. ?She set high goals for herself in everything she did and she consistently converted opportunities into success.?

Phill Magakoe / Pretoria News via AP

A police officer holds a gun that was allegedly used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend.

Steenkamp was featured in men?s magazine FHM in December 2011, and named one of the publication?s 100 Sexiest Women in the World for two years in a row.

Pistorius battled for years to be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes and was the first double amputee to run in the Olympics.

He qualified for the 400-meter semi-finals and 4 x 400-meter final at the London 2012 Summer Games.

His website highlighted that Pistorius ran in 11 races during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralymics and returned home with "two Paralympic gold medals, Paralympic silver, two world records, a Paralympic record, an Olympic individual semi-final and an Olympic final."

NBC's John Newland, Jason Cumming and Matthew DeLuca, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pistorius, a double amputee born without fibulas in his legs, has trained hard to participate in the Olympics despite having to wear prosthetic legs. NBC's Mary Carillo reports.

Related:

Sporting world shocked by charges against inspirational Pistorius

Pistorius lived out dream by running at Olympics

Twitter reacts to Pistorius murder charge

This story was originally published on

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/15/16971021-blade-runner-oscar-pistorius-sobs-in-court-as-he-faces-girlfriend-murder-charge?lite

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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Grad loses in C+ lawsuit against Lehigh University

Lehigh spokesperson speaks about Megan Thode losing in C+ lawsuit against Lehigh University

A Northampton County judge on Thursday rejected the claims of a Lehigh University graduate suing over her C+ grade, a verdict that upheld the school's insistence that she earned the mark she got.

After four days of testimony in a civil trial that captured worldwide attention, Judge Emil Giordano decided that the Bethlehem university neither breached a contract with nor sexually discriminated against Megan Thode, whose lawsuit had sought $1.3 million in damages.

In reaching his conclusions, Giordano said that as a father, he would be unhappy if what happened to Thode at Lehigh had happened to one of his children.

But he said Thode nonetheless failed to prove her grade was based on anything other than "purely academic evaluation" and her professor's conclusion that she "was unprepared to move on to the next level" of her course.

Thode, the daughter of Lehigh finance professor Stephen Thode, was attending the university tuition-free in 2009 when she got the C+ in her master's fieldwork class. She needed a B or higher to take the next course, with her attorney, Richard J. Orloski, arguing that his client's dream of becoming a licensed professional counselor was unfairly scuttled as a result.

The legal fight pitted a university that maintained it must protect its academic standards against a graduate who claimed she was deprived of a career by faculty members with a grudge. It was a bruising battle under a spotlight that shone as far as Australia and the United Kingdom. Both sides lamented that the case had ended up in court.

The verdict upholds that "the university faculty have the responsibility to fairly evaluate the work of their students, and that academic rigor should not be compromised," said Gary Sasso, dean of Lehigh's College of Education.

"We feel very badly for Megan Thode," Sasso said. "We hope that in the future she goes forward and does good things. We remain open to conversations with her about her readmission into that program, into our program, and into that class."

Sasso added: "Nobody really won in this case. We felt like it shouldn't have gotten this far, but it did."

Orloski called the result disappointing, while expressing doubt that Thode will pursue an appeal. Like university officials, he said it was a case that shouldn't have wound up in a courtroom ? though he charged Lehigh brought that about by rejecting his requests to put the dispute before an arbiter.

Orloski said he knew the lawsuit was "an uphill battle" with "little old us against Lehigh."

"Is it worth it to try, and lose?" Orloski asked. "Of course. It keeps the system honest, even by losing."

Thode, 27, of Nazareth appeared to fight tears as she sat near Orloski while he spoke. The lawyer said his client was always more optimistic than he was, having "greater faith in my talents than I did."

"It has been a very difficult 31/2 years for Megan," Stephen Thode said, "and Rick has been marvelous, not only in his official capacity as counsel, but also as someone who Megan saw as understanding of her situation, beyond the legal aspects of it."

At trial, Lehigh lawyers Neil Hamburg and Michael Sacks argued that Thode was simply not academically and emotionally ready to move on to her next fieldwork course. They said she showed unprofessional behavior that included outbursts and swearing in class.

After getting the grade, Thode unsuccessfully filed internal grievances, showed up for meetings with her father, and insisted that her teacher, Amanda Carr, give her a written apology and a "plan for compensating me financially," Lehigh said.

Orloski argued Thode would have received a better grade but for the zero in classroom participation that Carr awarded her. He charged that Carr and Nicholas Ladany ? then director of the degree program ? conspired to hold Thode back because they were unhappy she'd complained after she and three other students were forced to find a supplemental internship partway through the semester.

Orloski also alleged that Carr was biased against Thode because Thode advocated for gay and lesbian rights ? a claim Lehigh's attorneys dismissed as baseless because Carr has a close family member who is a lesbian, and has counseled gay and lesbian people.

Thode ended up graduating from Lehigh with a master's degree in human development and now works as a drug-and-alcohol counselor. The $1.3 million she was seeking represented the difference in her earning power over her career if she had a professional license, according to Orloski.

On Thursday during closing arguments, however, Orloski insisted that the case was never about money. He said Thode would be happy if she was awarded just $1 but got her grade upped to a B.

"My clients will be well satisfied by this, and this will be victory for them," Orloski had promised Giordano, "because this was never intended to be about $1.3 million."

Hamburg, the Lehigh attorney, told Giordano that the courts have long deferred to academic institutions to determine what grades they should award. Hamburg said Thode earned her C+ by showing an inability to self-reflect and take and respond to criticism, which he argued that she proved by pursuing the litigation.

"It is horrible, and we at Lehigh feel horrible that Ms. Thode chose to bring this lawsuit, to subject herself and Lehigh University to the horror of having a court sit to decide her grievances," Hamburg said. "It's tragic."

riley.yates@mcall.com

610-253-5751

Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-lehigh-university-student-sues-over-grade-c-20130214,0,3075382.story?track=rss

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Maggie Smith: I haven't seen 'Downton'

NEW YORK (AP) ? Millions of people have watched Maggie Smith on "Downton Abbey." But she's not one of them.

The 78-year-old actress, who portrays Lady Grantham in the popular PBS series, told "60 Minutes" that she hasn't watched the drama because doing so would only make her agonize over her performance. She said she may watch it someday.

Smith told Steve Kroft, in an interview to be televised Sunday, that what she takes from the role is "the delight of acting."

She has three Oscars, two Emmys and a Tony Award, but said the "Downton Abbey" role has given her more public recognition than anything in her career.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maggie-smith-havent-seen-downton-172810944.html

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Why Would all Organizations Care to Pay Me to Accomplish Online ...

Are you on the list of skeptics who doubt that paid online studies actually pay? Have you been contacted by individuals who are desperately trying to persuade you that doing paid reviews is a waste of time? Then you once for all be confident that finishing paid online surveys is value for your own time and effort, and definitely need to review your views on online surveys by reading the info obtainable in this article.

Companies giving settled web surveys have proliferated tremendously recently. Settled review offers are everywhere in the web space in pop-ups, backed links, and work-at-home sources. You get this type of large selection of survey offers it is understandable you might get confused to inform the legit survey offers from the cons. In fact, there?s a number of fraud sites that not spend earnings or mislead their subscribers in regards to the benefits of membership. However, you?ll find so many legitimate paid survey sites that provide results of web surveys at no cost.

Why would organizations bother to cover money to people for completing internet surveys? Even though it might appear too small a job to sit back at home and get some good $10-$20 an average of for five minutes of your time, paid internet surveys are now actually a billion-dollar business. Paid surveys have been acknowledged by companies as an effective and beneficial general market trends method, as only consumer surveys straight communicate useful customer ideas to the product suppliers. Settled studies are conceived to fundamentally help the merchandise and service industries develop and thrive, while worthwhile people with money and prizes for enough time spend sharing their honest thoughts.

Having such crucial issues at stake the survival and development of a number of small to large-scale companies, it?s now clearer why paid surveys are that important, and why it makes perfect business sense that customers get paid to accomplish surveys. It is true that as a survey taker may very well not get thousands yourself only by completing settled reviews in your free time. However, it?s quite possible that you might make great additional cash that will complement your mainstream income. While the average surveys payout is somewhere between $25 and $5, the highest-pay surveys can provide out as much as $200 for finishing more and longer specific questionnaires or taking part in focus groups. With 2-5 surveys each month by way of a single company, it also makes sense a subscription to as many study companies as you are able to. Like that, you increase your odds of getting more frequent invitations to perform paid reviews, and you get more stable profits.

Be wise enough to prevent the survey scams that are lurking out there, and trust only paid survey organizations that need no upfront investment from you. Some web sites providing online surveys demand membership as a means of funding their internet sites. However, its thoroughly possible to find out these same listings free of charge at other reliable, free paid review sites. Once youve realized that organizations are willing to pay good money for your client opinion, you should know that your participation as a survey taker makes substantial big difference to the entire world of advertising. Consequently, don?t shy away from your opportunity to lead your customer activities to the growing researching the market industry, while getting rewarded with good cash and rewards.

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Source: http://culturapopulara.ro/?p=20288

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Merck to pay $688 million to settle Enhance lawsuits

(Reuters) - Merck & Co has agreed to pay $688 million to settle two U.S. class-action lawsuits by shareholders who said they lost money because the company concealed the poor results of a clinical trial of the anti-cholesterol drug Vytorin.

The federal lawsuits, led by several pension funds, alleged that Merck and Schering-Plough Corp knew more than a year in advance that the trial, known as Enhance, was a failure, but withheld that information from investors.

Shares of Merck fell nearly 15 percent and Schering fell nearly 21 percent on March 31, 2008, the first trading day after full trial results were released at the American Conference of Cardiology in Chicago. The companies merged in November 2009.

Law firms representing some of the plaintiffs said the combined settlements are among the 10 largest in a securities class-action that did not involve a restatement of financial results.

Christopher McDonald, a partner at Labaton Sucharow representing Schering investors, in a telephone interview said the settlements allow a "significant recovery" for shareholders.

He said that while the federal government has been successful in pursuing large fraud cases against some pharmaceutical companies, "it hasn't translated into any significant uptick in settlements of securities cases."

Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, said it has recorded a $493 million after-tax charge for the settlements, reducing the company's previously reported profit per share for the 2012 fourth quarter to 30 cents from 46 cents.

Bruce Kuhlik, Merck's general counsel, in a statement said the settlements avoid the uncertainties of a jury trial, which had been scheduled to begin March 4.

Merck also said it believes both companies acted responsibly in connection with the Enhance trial, and that the settlements include no admission of liability or wrongdoing.

"There's probably some merit (to the claims) or they wouldn't have settled for such a large amount," Judson Clark, a health care analyst with Edward Jones, said in a telephone interview. He has a "buy" rating on Merck.

Shares of Merck fell 26 cents to $40.89 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

LITTLE IMPACT FOUND

The Enhance trial had sought to demonstrate that Vytorin, a combination drug marketed by Merck and Schering, was more effective than a competing drug in combating atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in artery walls.

But the companies announced in January 2008 that Vytorin did not stop plaque any better than an inexpensive statin, Zocor, in high-risk patients with an inherited form of heart disease, though it did significantly reduce cholesterol levels.

Two months later, in announcing full results of the Enhance trial at the Chicago conference, a panel of doctors urged patients to try older cholesterol drugs before Vytorin and Zetia, which Merck and Schering also sold jointly.

Vytorin pairs Zetia with the active ingredient of Zocor. Zetia helps block absorption of "bad" LDL cholesterol in the intestines, and Zocor helps block production by the liver of LDL cholesterol.

Zetia sales totaled $2.57 billion and Vytorin sales totaled $1.75 billion in 2012. Combined sales have fallen 17 percent since 2007, before the Enhance trial results were released. Merck posted total sales of $47.27 billion for 2012.

COURT APPROVAL NEEDED.

Merck said it will pay $215 million to settle a lawsuit brought by investors in its securities, and $473 million to settle a lawsuit by Schering investors.

The class period runs from December 6, 2006, through March 28, 2008, for Merck investors, and from January 3, 2007, to March 28, 2008, for Schering investors, court papers show.

Both settlements require approval by U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh in Newark, New Jersey. He certified both classes of investors in September.

Settlement papers were not immediately available, and it was unclear how much was being set aside to cover legal fees.

Lead plaintiffs in the Merck case include the Netherlands' Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Luxembourg's International Fund Management SA, the Jacksonville Police and Fire Retirement System in Florida, and the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit.

Lead plaintiffs in the Schering case included the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System, Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, and the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi, court papers show.

The law firms Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann and Grant & Eisenhofer represent the Merck class. Bernstein Litowitz and Labaton Sucharow represent the Schering class.

The cases are In re: Schering-Plough Corp/Enhance Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 08-00397; and In re: Merck & Co Inc Vytorin/Zetia Securities Litigation in the same court, No. 08-02177.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson in New York; Editing by Jim Marshall and John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merck-says-pay-688-million-settle-enhance-lawsuits-131532192--finance.html

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Still snow-buried Northeast seeks help from residents

BOSTON (AP) -- With schools still closed, cars still buried and streets still blocked by the widespread weekend snowstorm, officials around southern New England are asking people to pick up a shovel and help out.

In Boston, a "snow angel" campaign is using social media to encourage neighbors and friends to be an angel and help dig out the stranded.

Hundreds of volunteers carried shovels to downtown Waterbury, Conn., after the mayor promised to pay minimum wage to anyone who helped clear the City Hall area and the schools Tuesday.

In Rhode Island, dozens of volunteers responded to a call by the volunteer advocacy group Serve Rhode Island to help clear snow.

Pedro Gonzalez of Cranston, R.I., had done three shoveling jobs for elderly residents by mid-afternoon Tuesday, fueled only by a few sports drinks and the satisfaction he said the work gives him.

"You feel full, you know?" he said, speaking after his most recent job in Providence. "You feel real good and you sleep better."

The snowfall Friday and Saturday buried the region in 1 to 3 feet of snow, and communities still are struggling to get back to normal.

The storm, blamed for at least 18 deaths across the U.S. and Canada, caused flooding that forced coastal evacuations in Massachusetts and carried high winds that downed trees and power lines.

By early Wednesday, more than 6,800 utility customers still were without power, including 5,539 in Massachusetts, which was hardest hit with outages. More than 650,000 homes and businesses in eight states were without electricity at one point.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's office has encouraged neighbors to help out neighbors after other storms, but this time it's using social media to create a "buzz" and spread the word more broadly, said Emily Shea, the city's Elderly Affairs commissioner.

Shea said most people who call the mayor's hotline for help clearing snow end up figuring things out themselves. But others don't, and the snow angel campaign aims to make sure they aren't forgotten.

"We're still just a couple days after the storm, and we still want to make sure folks are looking out for each other," she said.

The new workforce in Waterbury was formed after Mayor Neil O'Leary took a friend's suggestion to hire kids who are off from school ? and possibly getting bored ? to clear out City Hall and the schools, which are closed at least until Wednesday.

O'Leary put the word out, offering Connecticut's $8.25 hourly minimum wage. He said about 500 people, most between ages 14 and 18 with some adults mixed in, showed up at City Hall at noon Tuesday.

The offer is good again Wednesday, and O'Leary figures the workers will cost the city about $50,000. But he hopes the teens will get more than money in return, he said.

"We're giving them a little sense of community, a sense of pride," O'Leary said.

The Providence volunteers were rounded up by Serve Rhode Island in partnership with the United Way. The group recently deployed hundreds of people to help with Rhode Island's Superstorm Sandy cleanup, so it had a list of possible volunteers to alert. It also requested snow-clearing volunteers on its website.

Share Rhode Island Executive Director Bernie Beaudreau said the group has had some worries over whether people would pose as volunteers and victimize those they were supposed to help. But he said the much larger Sandy operation went well and he expected no problems this time.

"We're banking on the good will of others," he said,

Gonzalez, 40, said he's anticipating some aches for his efforts, but added he's glad to offer his time.

"Personally, I really love it," said Gonzalez, who helps manage his family's convenience store. "I believe that a blessing is useless if you don't share it."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/snow-buried-communities-seek-help-132217882.html

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Guppies hang around ugly friends to look more attractive

LONDON (AP) ? When it comes to mating, guppies treasure their ugly friends - because they look so good by comparison.

An article published Wednesday by Britain's Royal Society says that male guppies prefer to associate with their drab-colored counterparts when females are around.

"Males actively choose the social context that maximizes their relative attractiveness," the article said. Or, as lead author Clelia Gasparini put it, "If you are surrounded by ugly friends, you look better."

Gasparini and her colleagues at Italy's University of Padua built their theory on a kind of guppy dating game. An aquarium was set up with one female in partition on either end. Guppy bachelorette No. 1 had two attractive, brightly-colored males placed on either side of her. Guppy bachelorette No. 2 was stuck with uglier, drab-colored fish.

When a male guppy was put in the middle of the tank, and given the choice of which female to sidle up to, Bachelorette No. 2 was the more popular pick, with male guppies spending about 62 percent of their time hanging around her side of the aquarium.

What's more, the researchers found that the time guppies spent with bachelorette No. 2 correlated with their unattractiveness. The uglier the guppy, the less likely it was that he would hang around the brightly colored fish placed next to bachelorette No. 1.

Because it could be argued that that guppies avoided their brightly colored pals because attractive fish were more aggressive, or because predators were more likely to spot them, the experiment was repeated. Researchers ran it without any females, and again with the lights in the male enclosures turned down so that the test guppies couldn't see them.

Gasparini, who's now a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Western Australia, said the extra experiments showed that aggression or predators weren't a factor.

But a big question remained: Could results from the aquarium be applied to a night out at the bar?

"As a researcher I cannot compare human mating systems with the guppy's one," she said. "But if you ask me as a person, sure ... I saw this tactic working pretty well with humans.

"If you want to impress someone, do you think you will look more attractive in comparison with Mr. Bean or George Clooney?"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/guppies-ugly-friends-seem-more-attractive-114930178.html

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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Buffett, Brazil's 3G team up for $23 billion Heinz buyout

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett and Brazilian financier Jorge Paulo Lemann are teaming up to buy ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co for $23.2 billion, in what could be the first step of a wave of mergers for the food and beverage industry.

Analysts and people close to the deal said Heinz could be a good starting point to consolidate similar staple food companies, particularly given the larger ambitions of Lemann's private equity firm 3G Capital.

Including debt assumption, Heinz valued the transaction, which it called the largest in its industry's history, at $28 billion. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G will pay $72.50 per share, a 19 percent premium to the stock's previous all-time high.

Heinz shares initially rose slightly above the offer price, although Buffett cautioned he had no intention of raising his bid and the stock fell back below that mark by midday. The stock has been on a tear, almost doubling over the last four years, though analysts said the price seemed fair.

They also said the deal could be the first step in a broader wave of mergers for the food and beverage industry.

"Maybe for the consumer staples group in general this may start some talk about consolidation. Even corporate entities are flush with cash, interest rates are low, it would seemingly make sense," Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said.

Companies like General Mills and Campbell Soup - itself long seen as a potential Heinz merge partner - rose on the news.

Any acquisition could help Heinz further diversify and broaden its international profile. It already dominates the ketchup business, with a nearly 26 percent share of the global market and a 59 percent share domestically, according to Euromonitor International.

The company actually generates the largest portion of its sales in Europe, though its traditional North American consumer products business is the most profitable.

But its real growth engine has been the Asia/Pacific region, where sales increased nearly 11 percent in the last fiscal year, in part on demand for sauces and infant foods in China.

BUFFETT HUNTING GROWTH

The surprise purchase satisfies, at least in part, Buffett's hunt for growth through acquisition. He was frustrated in 2012 by the collapse of at least two unnamed deals in excess of $20 billion and said he might have to do a $30 billion deal this year to help fuel Berkshire's growth engine.

In a regulatory filing late on Thursday, Berkshire said it was providing $12.12 billion in equity, including common stock, warrants and preferred shares with a liquidation preference of $8 billion and a 9 percent dividend.

Barclays Capital's Jay Gelb the deal's valuation appeared high at 19 times Heinz's expected 2014 earnings per share, but that it would enhance Berkshire's consumer portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway already has a variety of food assets, including Dairy Queen ice cream chain, chocolatier See's Candies and food distributor McLane. Buffett, famed for a love of cheeseburgers, joked he was well acquainted with Heinz's products already and that this was "my kind of deal."

It does represent an unusual teaming of Berkshire with private equity, though; historically, Buffett's purchases have been outright his own. He and 3G founder Jorge Paulo Lemann have known each other for years, and Buffett said Lemann approached him with the Heinz idea in December.

One Berkshire investor said he had mixed feelings about the deal because of the limited growth prospects domestically.

"We're a little hesitant on the staple companies because they don't have any leverage in the United States," said Bill Smead, chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management in Seattle. But at the same time, he said, Buffett was likely willing to accept a bond-like steady return even if it was not necessarily a "home run."

A second investor, Michael Yoshikami of Destination Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, California, said he liked the purchase because it provided cash flow for other deals.

"This is a better use of cash than current money market instruments," said Yoshikami, the firm's CEO and chairman of its investment committee.

3G EXPANDS

For 3G, a little-known firm with Brazilian roots, the purchase is something of a natural complement to its investment in fast-food chain Burger King, which it acquired in late 2010 and in which it still holds a major stake.

Historically, 3G was more of an investor than an acquirer. Its biggest shareholdings include Delphi Automotive, Newell Rubbermaid and Anadarko Petroleum.

Lemann, a globe-trotting financier with Swiss roots, made his money in banking and gained notoriety for helping to pull together the deals that ultimately formed the beer brewing giant AB InBev. Forbes ranks him as the world's 69th-richest billionaire, with a fortune of $12 billion.

3G's Alex Behring runs the fund out of New York. He appeared at a Pittsburgh news conference on Thursday with Heinz management to discuss the deal - and to reassure anxious local crowds that the company will remain based there and will continue to support local philanthropy.

But at the same time, Behring said it was too soon to talk about cost cuts at the company. Unlike Berkshire, which is a hands-off operator, 3G is known for aggressively controlling costs at its operations.

PITTSBURGH ROOTS

Also to be determined is whether CEO Bill Johnson would stay on. Only the fifth chairman in the company's history, Johnson is widely credited with Heinz's recent strong growth.

"I am way too young to retire," he told the news conference, adding that discussions had not yet started with 3G over the details of Heinz's future management.

The company, known for its iconic ketchup bottles, Heinz 57 sauces as well as other brands including Ore-Ida frozen potatoes, has increased net sales for the last eight fiscal years in a row.

Heinz said the transaction would be financed with cash from Berkshire and 3G, debt rollover and debt financing from J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo. Buffett told CNBC that Berkshire and 3G would be equal equity partners.

That would imply roughly $6 billion to $7 billion of new debt needs to be raised.

Heinz shares soared 19.9 percent, or $12.02, to $72.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

A week ago the stock hit a long-term high of $61 a share - near records it set in 1998 - having risen almost 5 percent this year and nearly 12 percent since the beginning of 2012.

The Heinz Endowments, a pillar in Pennsylvania philanthropy, said the sale of the company would have virtually no impact on their work. Heinz shares represent just over 1 percent of the endowment's $1.4 billion in holdings.

The deal is also a potential boon for new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whose wife, Teresa, is the widow of H.J. Heinz Co heir John Heinz. Kerry's most recent financial disclosures from his time in the U.S. Senate show a position in Heinz shares of more than $1 million, although the precise size is unclear.

Centerview Partners and BofA Merrill Lynch were financial advisers to Heinz, with Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP the legal adviser. Moelis & Company was financial adviser to the transaction committee of Heinz's board and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as its legal adviser.

Lazard served as lead financial adviser. J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo also served as financial advisers to the investment consortium. Kirkland & Ellis LLP was legal adviser to 3G Capital, and Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP was legal adviser to Berkshire Hathaway.

(Additional reporting by Olivia Oran and IFR's Stephen Carter in New York and Drew Singer in Pittsburgh; Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berkshire-hathaway-3g-capital-buy-heinz-28-billion-125430088--sector.html

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Fact checking the 2013 State of the Union speech (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/284488035?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Google Now has widgets for Android home screen and lock screen!

Google has just rolled out an updated version of Google Search app for Android devices.

The update comes loaded with a bunch of new features and a brand new widget for Google Now. This widget can be used on home screens as well as the lock screen (on compatible devices).

Google Now has widgets for Android home screen and lock screen!

Changelog:

- Google Now widget for home screen or lock screen
- Movie passes from Fandango
- Movies now includes ratings from Rotten Tomatoes
- Real estate listings from Zillow when in the market for a home
- Music button when a song is playing in voice mode (US only)
- Support for US college sports

  • TypeMobile / embedded OS
  • Source modelOpen
  • ReleasedJuly 9, 2012
see all specs ?

9.4 average user rating

  • Ease of use9.2
  • Speed9.6
  • Configurability9.5
  • Ecosystem (apps, drivers, etc.)9.1
  • Openness9.6

Get better reviews from people who actually have this product!

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This entry was posted in News and tagged Fandango, Google, Google Android, Google Now, Google Search, Rotten Tomatoes, Zillow on by Sushubh Mittal.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechWhackBlog/~3/1Pvk4t-RMf8/

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Signs of unity in a divided Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night produced fleeting moments of bipartisanship in a divided Congress.

Republicans sat with Democrats. Republicans hugged Democrats. Republicans even warmly greeted a Democratic president.

After Obama slowly walked down the center aisle, he made a special effort to talk to Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who only returned to Washington last month after suffering a massive stroke. Their handshake looked a bit like a fist bump; the president gave Kirk a thumbs-up.

The tradition of the president's address to the joint session of Congress packs the House chamber, with lawmakers rising in unison to cheer and applaud on issues all can agree on such as support for Mideast ally Israel, or sitting silently in opposition.

The six Supreme Court justices in attendance along with the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff neither applauded nor stood. It was their way of showing nonpartisanship in a highly partisan Washington. Skipping the speech were Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Kirk sat with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and joining the two was freshman Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost both legs and use of her arm during the Iraq war. Congress' two tax writers, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., also sat side by side, as did Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down after four years as CIA director and Pentagon chief, got a hug from McCain when he entered the chamber. Secretary of State John Kerry also was got smiles and pats on the back when he saw his former Senate colleagues.

But for all the friendly displays, lawmakers and their offices churned out a steady stream of criticism, with Republicans questioning where was Obama action on the Keystone XL pipeline or House Speaker John Boehner's criticism that the president's "so-called green-energy agenda has wasted millions and shipped jobs overseas."

The most boisterous moment of the night came when Obama pressed for votes on tougher gun control legislation to honor the memory of the fallen.

"Each of these proposals deserve a vote in Congress," the president said. "If you want to vote no, that's your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote."

Many Democrats chanted loudly, "vote, vote."

In the audience was former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in a deadly 2011 attack during an event in her Arizona district. Kaitlin Roig, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was among two dozen White House guests.

Several lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, wore green lapel ribbons to remember the victims of the deadly shooting last year at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Like college basketball fans camping out overnight for tickets to the game, lawmakers arrived hours before the speech to secure seats on the aisle that would give them a chance to greet the president ? and be seen on television during the slow walk into the House chamber. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., got a prime aisle seat.

The speech is part pep rally, part celebrity-watching and turns lawmakers into gleeful viewers, snapping photos of the president with cell phones.

In the House visitors' galleries, an American lineup of guests listened intently, from rocker Ted Nugent to crooner Tony Bennett.

Among those in attendance was Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Washington Archdiocese. His presence was a reminder of an upcoming vote of major significance ? for the next pope.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/signs-unity-divided-congress-031303256--politics.html

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What's better, the book or the movie?

?

When it comes to book/film adaptations, ?One should start with the original work,? Life of Pi's Yann Martel tells The Canadian Press.

TORONTO ? As Ang Lee?s striking film ?Life of Pi? rides a wave of awards season glory, with 11 Oscar nominations and many other honours, the boy-tiger shipwreck story it?s based on is also enjoying a boost.

Saskatoon-based author Yann Martel?s Man Booker Prize-winning 2001 novel ?Life of Pi? has been in the Top 20 on the New York Times Best Sellers list (and in the Top 10 several times) every week since the film came out in November.

The question is, are readers taking in the book before seeing the film, or vice versa?

If Martel had his way, it would be the former.

When it comes to book/film adaptations, ?One should start with the original work,? Martel wrote in a recent email to The Canadian Press, via his publicist.

?So read the novel if it came first (so read ?Life of Pi? the book before seeing the movie) or see the movie first if it was done first (so ?2001: A Space Odyssey,? which was a movie and then became a book).

?That way you get the originating artist?s work in its first format rather than an adaptation.?

CBC Radio ?Writers & Company? host Eleanor Wachtel agrees, noting ?movies colonize your imagination.?

?If you see the movie first and then read the novel, it?s virtually impossible to block out the actors who play the characters that you?re now reading about,? says Wachtel, who also hosts TIFF Bell Lightbox?s ?Books on Film? subscription series.

?So if you want to have that primary, intimate experience with a novel, it?s much, much better I think to read a book first and then see the film.?

In some cases, moviegoers might even have a better understanding or appreciation of a film if they?ve read the book first, she adds.

?Something like ?Cloud Atlas,? which is quite a stupendous adaptation, I think it?s much better to read the novel first,? says Wachtel.

?The movie jump-cuts a lot ... but the novel is like six nesting bowls cut in half, each written in a different style, and if you don?t read the novel first you won?t really be able to appreciate that.?

Stieg Larsson?s bestselling thriller ?The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? is another example of a novel that should be read before seeing its cinema version, says Brandy Dean, a board member of the Toronto Film Society.

?I saw the David Fincher adaptation of it and I think that there was a lot of shorthand there, and if you hadn?t read the book, the plot was a little confusing,? says Dean, who also writes the blog Pretty Clever Films.

?So in that case it?s almost like the user?s manual for the movie. I watched it with a friend who hadn?t read the book and I found myself doing a lot of explaining on just the plot points.?

And with literary awards, social media platforms, book blogs and websites like Goodreads creating much buzz around books these days, it?s hard to put off reading a story before its film release, notes Viveca Gretton of the Toronto Public Library.

?People want to be part of that reading community,? says the librarian.

?One of the good things about reading the book is that it?s going to take you to other books as well. It might start you on a path of reading similar books or books that interest you.?

That?s especially true when it comes to readers of fantasy and science fiction, adds Gretton, noting they?re voracious readers who usually embrace film adaptations.

?If you?re part of a fan site or participating in fan fiction or something like that, if you haven?t read the book, you?re seen as a bit of a poser, you?re fake,? she says.

?There?s a certain cachet to having read the book.?

Of course, when a book is read first and beloved, it can lead to high expectations for its big-screen adaptation ? and then crushing disappointment when the film doesn?t deliver.

?The directors are working in a visual medium and they?re going to compress and eliminate elements from the book, so you might be distracted when you?re watching a film saying, ?Well, that wasn?t in the book,?? concedes Gretton.

The blow can be worse when casting doesn?t jive with readers? vision of a beloved book hero/heroine. Just look at the recent backlash over Tom Cruise being cast as Jack Reacher in the feature adaptation of Lee Child?s books (the Facebook page ?Tom Cruise is not Jack Reacher? has over 9,000 ?likes?).

?My mother has said she?s never going to read Lee Child again after that (casting),? says Caroline Walker of McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon.

That?s why Walker prefers to read a novel after seeing its film.

?My personal opinion is that the book is always better, so I think if you liked the movie, you?ll love the book,? says the inventory manager, who has seen a spike in sales of ?Life of Pi? recently.

?If you love the book, you don?t always like the movie, because they can?t do justice to a book in a movie. Even a really excellent movie doesn?t always really do justice to the author?s original conception of the story.

?So I think it?s usually better to read the book afterwards.?

Some readers come to love a book so much they refuse to see its film adaptation for fear of not liking it.

Dean, for instance, never wants to see the recent big-screen version of Jack Kerouac?s seminal novel ?On the Road.?

?That?s a book that to me, personally, was really, really important,? she says.

?I read it at the exact right moment ? I was 15 ? it had a giant impact on my life and on my writing, and I just feel like it means so much to me and I will never like the movie and it will make me mad.?

Walker feels the same way about Louis de Berni?res? ?Captain Corelli?s Mandolin.?

?I actually avoided the movie because I didn?t want to have it spoil my feelings for the story, because I knew the book was so wonderful,? she says.

Wachtel says she?s never avoided a film just because she loved the novel so much.

?The book is still there. It?s not damaged in any way, it?s not tainted,? she notes.

And how do actors feel about the issue?

?It depends,? says Julianne Hough, who?s in the upcoming romantic feature ?Safe Haven? that?s based on the Nicholas Sparks novel.

?Because there are so many twists in this film and surprises I would rather, as an audience member, I?d rather go see the movie first and then go read it.?

?Yeah. I would say: See the movie first,? adds co-star Josh Duhamel. ?But for Nicholas?s sake I would rather them read the book and see the movie.?

Actor Jay Baruchel thinks it?s better to read the book first ?because most adaptations are dreadful.?

?I?ve had my heart broken plenty of times by seeing books that were dear to me just ruined, and having people then equate that title and those characters and those themes with something that (bad) when the book is so much better,? he says, citing Alan Moore?s comic book limited series ?The Watchmen? as an example.

?That being said, there are a bunch of movies and TV shows that are better than their source material. ... I don?t know that there?s a rule. I think it depends who you are, it depends which book we?re talking about.?

There are some cases where both the book and film are equally enjoyable.

Dean says she thinks ?The Maltese Falcon? 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart is just as brilliant as the book by Dashiell Hammett.

?I find both the novel and that adaptation equally pleasurable and kind of distinct things, even though it?s the same story and the same character,? she says.

Gretton feels the same way about Stephen King horror novel ?The Shining? and Stanley Kubrick?s film version starring Jack Nicholson.

?So for people who loved ?The Shining? and said they refuse to see the film, they?re missing a very interesting Kubrick film.?

Keeping an open mind and not clinging to every plot point seems to be the key to making the film and book experiences equally pleasurable.

?I think it?s just much better to be open to change or imagination and the fact that it?s a different medium, it?s a different art form, and it can be a different experience but not necessarily an inferior one,? says Wachtel.

? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/What+better+book+movie/7952619/story.html

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This Latest Google Now Ad Has Me Hating Siri

Google?s ad campaigns haven?t always been the best. Remember that silly Google+ ad that tried to put a romantic spin on Circles, only to make it look like a whole lot of work?

Well, the search firm has stepped up their game for the latest Nexus 4/Google Now ad, which shows users around the globe using the best new feature on Android.

Google Now is Google?s answer to Siri, only Google Now is less concerned with voice and more concerned with actually providing useful information. Google Now takes everything it knows about you ? your schedule, location, the weather, etc. ? and provides relevant information based on the time and place.

For example, if Google Now sees in my calendar that I plan on working out at noon today, but also sees that the train I usually take to the gym is experiencing delays, Google Now will let me know that I need to leave a bit earlier to make it there on time.

That?s just the beginning of it, as Google Now also shows you shopping and food nearby, helps you translate words when you?re in a faraway land, and generally makes you slightly more aware of the world around you. This latest TV ad makes that perfectly clear, while still showing off the excellent UI Google has crafted for its big digital assistant service.

The ad ends on a heartfelt note, with a traveling father connecting with his son on a Google Hangout, reminding us that our smartphones are first and foremost about connecting with the people we love.

sirisucksThough Google shows no voice interaction with the service throughout the entire ad, it?s hard not to liken the service to Apple?s Siri. That said, I tried to do everything in this commercial using Siri, the operative word there being ?tried.?

Siri had no trouble locating nearby restaurants, and she translated the word ?vegetable? to French fairly easily. However, Siri (and Apple, for that matter) doesn?t seem to understand the value of time, namely the time it takes to get from point A to point B.

I can ask Siri when my next appointment is, but she can?t help me plan the best time to leave for that appointment. She can?t even tell me if the train is delayed. And if I ask for the fastest train route to Union Square, I?m sent to Maps, and then directly into the App Store to buy some transit apps.

Remember, Apple?s new Maps doesn?t have built-in transit directions, so to use public transportation with Apple Maps you must first download a third-party application to deliver that info.

I personally don?t see too much value in going straight into a Google Hangout from Google Now, but it?s worth noting that Siri can?t handle FaceTime calls either. I asked three or four times for her to connect me with various friends on FaceTime, and she kept looking for ?FaceTime? in my address book.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/11/this-latest-google-now-ad-has-me-hating-siri/

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Obama to go on wreath-laying expedition in Israel

President Barack Obama?s March trip to Israel will feature the laying of not one, not two, but three wreaths, according to a preview of his?itinerary?by YnetNews.com

In what may be the most packed wreath-laying expedition in American presidential history, President Obama will land in Israel around noon on March 20, according to the report by the Israeli online news site.

After a reception at which he will deliver a speech and a ceremony at Israeli President Shimon Peres? house, the president will proceed to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, where he will lay his first wreath in the Hall of?Remembrance.

He will then visit Mount Herzl, where he will lay his second wreath at the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionist movement.

Afterward, President Obama will lay his final wreath in Israel. at the tomb of late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.

Once President Obama dispatches with his wreath-laying duties, he is slated to attend more meetings, be hosted for more ceremonies and give more speeches over the next two days. He will also visit with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on the morning of March 21.

On Friday afternoon, President Obama will depart Israel for Jordan, where he will meet with Jordanian King Abdullah.

During November?s presidential campaign, President Obama was criticized by conservative pro-Israel groups for not visiting Israel during his first term in office.

It is unclear if the president plans to lay any more wreaths outside outside of Israel during his Middle East tour.

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Source: http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/12/obama-to-go-on-wreath-laying-expedition-in-israel/

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