New gossip

Rachel Mcadams & Michael Sheen are Newest Couple Personal life,Sex,Images,Videos,News

2010-10-07T00:24:00.000-07:00

Rachel McAdams the young actress known for her role in "The Notebook" and "Sherlock Holmes", is dating Michael Sheen, the actor who plays Aro in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." Reports surfaced of the two being spotted out together over the weekend.

According to eTalk.com, the pair was "glued to one another" while "engaged in intense conversation for hours" during a TIFF after-party for Sheen's film, "Beautiful Boy," last month. Personal life,Sex,Images,Videos,News

New pictures of the couple surfaced showing the two holding hands while cruising around town

HOT CELEBRITY GOSSIP

2010-10-06T00:08:00.000-07:00

Amy Winehouse clean for 'almost three years'

Amy Winehouse is adamant she hasn't used drugs "in almost three years" - and the former wild-living singer is determined to stay clean.
The "Back to Black" hitmaker's addiction to narcotics and alcohol has been well documented over the years and the singer has endured several hospitalizations and treatment attempts.
In 2008, she headed to the Caribbean in a bid to finally shake off her demons and returned to her native London eight months later insisting she was clean.
She tells Britain's Glamour magazine, "I'm much healthier now. I used to use drugs and I haven't used drugs in almost three years. It's not a hard thing. I literally woke up one day and was like, 'I don't want to do this anymore.'"

Jennifer Aniston is world's most eligible single woman

Jennifer Aniston has been named the most eligible single woman in the world in a new "60 Minutes"/Vanity Fair poll.
The former "Friends" star is currently living the life of a bachelorette after enjoying romances with singer John Mayer and actor Vince Vaughn, following her divorce from Brad Pitt in 2005.
And her single status has placed her ahead of Halle Berry in the new survey.
Aniston garnered 29 percent of the votes; Berry was second with 21 percent.
Tiger Woods' ex-wife Elin Nordegren, veteran "Golden Girls" star Betty White and Lady Gaga also made the top five.

John Mayer feared Twitter would ruin his career

John Mayer has explained his decision to delete his Twitter account - insisting he feared the social networking site would ruin his career.
The "Daughters" rocker stunned fans last month by suddenly closing down his page on the microblogging site, losing 3.7 million followers in the process.
Mayer has now posted a message on his official website revealing he made the decision because he was worried he wouldn't make any decent music while he was still using Twitter.
He writes, "Since the invocation of Twitter, nobody who has participated in it has created any lasting art. And yes! Yours truly is included in that roundup as well... No artwork created by someone with a healthy grasp of social media thus far has proven to be anything other than disposable...
"I'm not knocking Twitter for those who are trying to make a name for themselves... But for those who have already established themselves it's a slow erosion of the artistic notion."
And Mayer admits he hates the idea of using social media as a marketing tool: "You want to know the best way a musician can start making s**t music? If they start referring to themselves as a 'brand'... Jif peanut butter is a brand. A singer is a soul... When you convert your art into the art of real-time brand management, I suddenly have no more interest in it...
"I'm not a brand, and I don't refer to myself in the third person. I'm a dude who plays guitar and writes songs. When I'm done writing and recording them I will market them."

Lisa Rinna undergoes lip reduction surgery

Actress Lisa Rinna has undergone surgery to reduce the size of her upper lip, after criticism of her plumped-up pout left her feeling "hurt."
The former "Melrose Place" star admits she became a target for nasty comments after she went under the knife to enhance her features and fears she has become more well-known for her surgically-enhanced mouth than her acting career.
Now she has opted for a more natural look after undergoing an operation to fix her lip in August.
She tells People.com, "My lips started to define who I am. That bothered me. I took a big hit for being honest (about surgery). It gave everyone online permission to lambaste me. It hurt my feelings... It doesn't matter what other people think. I did it for myself."
Rinna's mouth is still swollen from the surgery and will take six months to fully heal, but she's pleased with the procedure.
She adds, "My lip has no lumps! It's smooth. It's a work in progress, but I feel fantastic."

Katherine Heigl desperate to stop smoking

Katherine Heigl is sick of her smoking habit and has taken to electronic cigarettes in a desperate bid to quit once and for all.
The former "Grey's Anatomy" star reveals she has been sucking steam for the past six months but fears if she stops she'll pick up cigarettes again.
She tells Parade magazine, "It's (electronic smoking) helping me not to actually smoke real cigarettes. You feel like you are smoking, and you get to exhale but it's just water vapor and not nicotine. I've been doing it for six months.
"Smoking sucks! The one thing I would say to my kid is, 'It's not just that it's bad for you, do you want to spend the rest of your life fighting a stupid addiction to a stupid thing that doesn't even really give you a good buzz?'"

Kelly Osbourne to remove tattoos

Kelly Osbourne is preparing to undergo painful laser surgery to remove her numerous tattoos after realizing the body art was "a mistake."
The reality TV star has inked a series of different images across her body, including a keyboard on her forearm, wings on her back and the name of her brother Jack.
Osbourne has previously admitted she was drunk when she chose most of the tattoos and now wants to remove the permanent markers.
In her weekly column in Britain's Closer magazine she writes, "Some still have special meaning, like the matching ones my brother Jack and I have of each other's names, but I now feel like some were a mistake.
"They covered a few of them with make-up last week for a scene in my new film "Should've Been Romeo" - and I can't say I missed them. I want to get rid of the keyboard on my forearm - I can't even play the piano. And I don't like the heart and bones on my wrist either.
"I met with my dermatologist and I'll start the laser treatment as soon as I have time. I'm not looking forward to the pain but I've heard it hurts less than getting the tattoo. I hope so!"

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal not looking to work together

Hollywood hunk Jake Gyllenhaal has no intention of teaming up with his older sister Maggie on the big screen again, because he'd rather spend quality time with her and her family.
The siblings both appeared in cult 2001 film "Donnie Darko" and they often attend big events like the Academy Awards together.
But the "Brokeback Mountain" star admits they are not actively seeking out more projects to collaborate on.
He tells People.com, "I love her a lot, (but) we don't go around looking for something to work on together. I would rather spend time with my niece and spend time as brother and sister.
However, the actor insists he's not ruling out the idea completely: "It would take something that I love so much... that I would need her to be a part of, and vice versa."
Jake is uncle to Maggie Gyllenhaal's four-year-old daughter Ramona, with husband Peter Sarsgaard.

Usher doubted marriage every time they argued

R&B superstar Usher spent months contemplating divorce from Tameka Foster because he would have serious doubts about the strength of their marriage whenever they argued.
The "Yeah!" hitmaker wed stylist Foster in 2007, despite the disapproval of his mother Jonetta Patton, and the couple went on to have two sons together.
But the relationship soon crumbled and the singer filed for divorce in 2009, claiming they had been living apart for almost a year.
And Usher admits splitting from his wife was always at the back of his mind - especially after seeing how poorly received their union was by his fans and the press.
He tells Vibe magazine, "During our disagreements, that's when I really began to contemplate marriage and if this is someone whom I'm compatible with. Anytime we had a disagreement or an argument, I began to contemplate: Wow, is this really gonna work out? I'm going through hell right now, given the fact that people have an opinion about our relationship.
"I can't be unhappy at home and fighting the wars or the opinions outside... 'You should've handled things this way,' 'I wish you would've said this,' 'You're handling me wrong,' 'I don't like the way I'm feeling about this' - it could be anything, man."

Russell Brand opens up about arrest

Russell Brand has opened up about his recent arrest in Los Angeles, insisting he was fulfilling his "masculine obligation" by "protecting" his fiancee Katy Perry.
The British comic was detained by police at Los Angeles International Airport last month following an alleged clash with a photographer. He was charged with battery and released on $20,000 bail.
The pop star later insisted Brand had become incensed when an over-zealous snapper attempted to take a picture under her skirt, and Brand now reveals he felt compelled to act in Perry's defense.

He tells British TV show Daybreak, "I tried to fulfill my masculine obligation to protect the woman that I love, but it is subject to legal inquiries - I've got to go to court - so I probably have to be careful about what I say in case I land myself into a complicated legal quagmire."

Eva Mendes: 'Angelina Jolie made charity work cool'

Eva Mendes has credited Angelina Jolie with inspiring her celebrity peers to help good causes - because the philanthropic actress has made charity work "cool."
Jolie is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and travels across the world for good causes.
This year alone has she visited refugees in South America, displaced children in Haiti and flood victims in Pakistan.

And Mendes, who has signed up to work with sick kids through the Art of Elysium Foundation, admits she is thoroughly impressed with Jolie's efforts to make the world a better place.
She tells Fox News, "I have to say that Angelina Jolie did something really interesting when she became 'Angelina Jolie.' She took all that light and attention she was getting and she shined that light on important causes. I think that's pretty incredible and she was the one that made it cool to do all that."

Ricky Gervais drops the fat jokes

Funnyman Ricky Gervais has dropped a segment of his stand-up comedy show poking fun at fat people after adopting a healthier lifestyle and shedding more than 20 pounds.
"The Office" creator is known for his heavier frame but he has recently cut down on his food intake and started exercising more regularly with his longtime girlfriend Jane Fallon - and now they're both lighter on their feet.
He tells People.com, "I lost 20 (or) 22 pounds. It wasn't so much about the weight. It was more that I was a fat, lazy, out of shape slob, to be honest.
"I didn't eat differently. I probably just stopped having that second meal at 11:30 at night."
But Gervais, 49, admits there's one drawback to slimming down.
He says, "Now I've got to stop making jokes about fat people, which is annoying. When I was fat, it was OK."

Common & Serena Williams back together?

Rapper Common and tennis ace Serena Williams have reunited after splitting earlier this year, according to U.S. reports.
The couple was spotted sharing kisses and hugs while hanging out at the Shore Club hotel in Miami, Florida over the weekend.
An eyewitness tells Life & Style magazine, "They're 100 percent back together. They were all over each other poolside."
And this time it could be serious - Common recently told one interviewer, "I definitely want to get married... and have kids."

Facebook’s “Like” Button Used To Be The “Awesome” Button

2010-10-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

“The concept of “liking” things is very old, likely older than the words we use to describe it…”
– Facebook Engineer Andrew Bosworth

We can’t get enough of Quora these days, basically because it connects people who have information to people who need it, and especially to those that didn’t think they needed it. One of the things you thought you didn’t need to know? That the Facebook “Like” button started out its life as the “Awesome” button.
In an epic Quora thread, Facebook Engineer Andrew Bosworth delineates the history of the “Awesome”/”Like” button, what eventually turned out to be a way to connect Facebook users with the entire Internet — with the added bonus of rerouting all activity through the Facebook platform.
Other than the whole “Awesome” thing, which Mark Zuckerberg ended up vetoing in favor of the more bland “Like,” other ideas that got tossed aside in the design process were stars and a plus/minus sign.
Attempting to dispell the commentary that Facebook copied Friendfeed’s “Like” feature, Bosworth’s timeline pinpoints the word “Like” being proposed internally to a less than enthusiastic response on on August 22, 2007, in contrast with the Friendfeed’s official launch of their “Like” button on October 30, 2007.
According to the timeline, Facebook was ready to to launch the button by November 12th but Zuckerberg put a kibosh on the plan:

“Final review with Zuck surprisingly doesn’t go well. Concerns about the whether the interaction is public or private, cannibalizing from the share feature, and potential conflict with Beacon. Feature development as originally envisioned basically stops.“

So Friendfeed gets its out first, and it takes Facebook another two years to push its universal “I enjoy this” button out the door launching it on their own platform in February 2008 and then expanding it to all websites in April 2010. Bosworth adds regarding the Friendfeed button launch, tongue in cheek, “As far as I can tell from my email archives, nobody at FB noticed. =/.”
Going by Bosworth’s retelling, it seems like Facebook came up with the concept first but never actually went through with an “Awesome” button, until after Friendfeed launched theirs as the “Like” button. While Facebook engineer Tom Winah states, “the launch of Like on FriendFeed wasn’t on our radar at all, “ in some sense Friendfeed basically did Facebook’s “Like” button quality assurance for two years.
And despite initial lukewarm “Like” response, Facebook ended up going with the same name; “We were all stubbornly insistent that no word could be more awesome than “Awesome” and Zuck was the main person to recognize it wasn’t a good choice,” confirms Facebook engineer Tom Whitnah.
To everyone involved’s credit, people have been both liking and thinking things were awesome since the origin of the species.

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CrunchBase Information

Andrew Bosworth

Website:	facebook.com/boz
Birthplace:	Saratoga, CA
Companies:	Facebook

After graduating from Harvard Andrew, or Boz as most know him, worked as a developer on Microsoft Visio for almost two years before joining former student Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook in January of 2006 where he created News Feed along with Chris Cox…. Learn More

Facebook

Website:	facebook.com
Location:	Palo Alto, California, United States
Founded:	February 1, 2004
Funding:	$836M

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users.
Facebook was founded by… Learn More

Lil Wayne Put in Solitary Confinement in Jail

2010-10-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

Lil Wayne is facing the music after being accused of breaking jail rules by having gear for listening to tunes: He can expect to go solo for the rest of his time behind bars in a gun case.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper was moved Monday (Oct. 4) into what city jail officials call "punitive segregation" for a month, until his expected November release date, Correction Department spokesman Stephen Morello said. It's his punishment for stashing a charger and headphones for a digital music player in his cell earlier this year, officials said.
Lil Wayne generally will now be confined to his new cell 23 hours a day, with such exceptions as visits and showers, instead of being allowed to mingle with other inmates most of the day. He'll eat in his cell and won't get to socialize even during his hour a day of recreation, Morello said.
Lil Wayne also will have to forego TV, and he'll be limited to one phone call a week instead of a chat a day or more, except for calls to his lawyer, Morello said.
The lawyer, Stacey Richman, had no immediate comment.
The 28-year-old rapper has been held since March in the Rikers Island jail complex. He pleaded guilty in October 2009 to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, admitting he had a loaded semiautomatic gun on his bus in 2007.
He got a one-year sentence but is expected to serve eight months because of time off for good behavior, despite the music-player gear episode.
Officials said the headphones and charger were found in May, tucked in a potato chip bag in a garbage can in the rapper's cell.
The items are considered contraband, as inmates can listen to music only on radios and headphones sold at the jail commissary. Officers said the music player itself turned up in another inmate's nearby cell.
Both men were charged with infractions that weren't crimes and were subject to a jail disciplinary process, not a court. Information on the other inmate's punishment wasn't immediately available Monday.
Lil Wayne's penalty was within norms for his infraction, Morello said.
"Possession of contraband is serious," he said, though not as grave as violent offenses or being caught with a weapon, for example.
Born Dwayne Carter, Lil Wayne had the best-selling album of 2008 with "Tha Carter III," which won a best rap album Grammy. As he faced incarceration, he told Rolling Stone he planned to keep up the beat behind bars.
"I'll have an iPod, and I'll make sure they keep sending me beats," he told the magazine for a February story.

Facebook Spammer Tries to Cash in on $873 Million Fine

2010-10-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

Facebook calls him a spammer and a U.S. court has fined him US$873 million. But Montreal's Adam Guerbuez doesn't seem to care; he calls himself the US$873 million man and says he won't pay a cent.
Last week, Quebec Superior Court reportedly upheld a November 2008 U.S. judgment against Guerbuez after he was found guilty of sending out more than 4 million penis-enlargement, marijuana and pornographic spam messages via Facebook. It was the largest-ever award under the U.S.'s federal antispam law.
Guerbuez did not respond to a request for comment -- on his blog he said he is being bombarded with media requests -- but earlier this week he told the Canadian Press that he has filed for bankruptcy and doesn't have to pay anything to Facebook.
Instead, he hopes to convert his notoriety into a book or movie deal.
In its court filings, Facebook said Guerbuez stole passwords through phishing attacks and used a botnet of hacked computers to access Facebook accounts without authorization. If true, that would make his actions subject to a criminal prosecution in addition to the civil judgment against him.
But he seems happy with the attention. He has called a press conference for Wednesday and filled his blog with posts that show him living the high life in Las Vegas and Beverly Hills, and dining out at pricey restaurants such as Montreal's Queue De Cheval.
Facebook asked the Canadian court to uphold the U.S. judgment against Guerbuez after he failed to show to fight the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
After the U.S. judgment was upheld, Guerbuez wrote on his website: "I look forward to some solid press as history has been made, yet once again."
Guerbuez seems to be obsessed with his status as the U.S.'s most heavily fined spammer. There is an eerie video on his website of a trophy with a hologram of Guerbuez's head inside it, and a celebratory blog post encouraging media to contact him following his listing in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest fine under the CAN SPAM act. "If you wish to discuss a book deal or film project, you can contact me as well," he wrote.
Robert McMillan covers computer security and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Robert on Twitter at @bobmcmillan. Robert's e-mail address is robert_mcmillan@idg.com

Nobel Prize honors super-strong, super-thin carbon

2010-10-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – It is the thinnest and strongest material known to mankind — no thicker than a single atom and 100 times tougher than steel. Could graphene be the next plastic? Maybe so, says one of two scientists who won a Nobel Prize on Tuesday for isolating and studying it.
Faster computers, lighter airplanes, transparent touch screens — the list of potential uses runs on. Some scientists say we can't even imagine what kinds of products might be possible with the substance, which hides in ordinary pencil lead and first was extracted using a piece of Scotch tape.
Two Russian-born researchers shared the physics Nobel for their groundbreaking experiments with graphene, which is a sheet of carbon atoms joined together in a pattern that resembles chicken wire.
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of the University of Manchester in England used Scotch tape to rip off flakes of graphene from a chunk of graphite, the stuff of pencil leads. That achievement, reported just six years ago, opened the door to studying what scientists say should be a versatile building block for electronics and strong materials.
"It has all the potential to change your life in the same way that plastics did," Geim, 51, a Dutch citizen, told The Associated Press. "It is really exciting."
Michael Strano, a chemist at MIT, said trying to predict its uses would be "folly ... We can't even imagine the uses we're going to find."
But he and others have some ideas. Graphene's electrical properties mean it might make for faster transistors, key components of electronic circuits, and so lead to better computers, the Nobel committee says. As a single layer of carbon atoms it's tiny, which could pay off in more powerful cell phones, several scientists said.
And since it's practically transparent, it could lead to see-through touch screens and maybe solar cells, the committee says. It might also pay off for big TV screens.

Click image to see photos of the Nobel Prize in physics winners

AP/Jon Super

Its tremendous strength could produce new composite materials that are super-strong and lightweight, for use in building airplanes, cars and satellites, the committee says.
So why aren't pencil leads super strong, if they contain graphene? Breaking a lead generally involves a shearing off between graphene sheets rather than breaking the sheets themselves, explained James Tour of Rice University. And while a person can tear up a single sheet of graphene, it's still stronger than a one-atom-thick sheet of anything else.
"There's nothing stronger," Tour said.
Graphene has not made its mark in ordinary consumer products yet, although some prototype electronic display screens and composite materials have been created, Strano said.
Lots of scientists are studying it, in some cases to learn about basic physics, Strano said. Researchers are still trying to find a practical way to make large quantities of pure graphene, something more amenable to large-scale use than the Scotch-tape approach, he said.
"The field is still very new," he said, and the awarding of the $1.5 million prize to Geim and Novoselov is "absolutely marvelous."
Joseph Stroscio, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said he had thought it would take a few more years of scientific appraisal before graphene would win a Nobel. But its potential applications and the brand-new behavior it presents for basic physics have drawn strong interest since the 2004 breakthrough, and the prize is well-deserved, he said.
It might take five or 10 years before graphene shows up in products like cell phones, he said.
Novoselov, 36, is the youngest Nobel winner since 1973 of a prize that normally goes to scientists with decades of experience. He holds both British and Russian citizenship.
Paolo Radaelli, a physics professor at the University of Oxford, marveled at the simple methods the winners used.
"In this age of complexity, with machines like the super collider, they managed to get the Nobel using Scotch tape," Radaelli said.
The 2010 Nobel Prize announcements began Monday with the medicine award going to British researcher Robert Edwards, 85, for in vitro fertilization. Unlike the physics prize, which came just six years after the graphene breakthrough, the medicine award came more than 30 years after the birth of the first test tube baby. The prize committee ignores the provision in Alfred Nobel's will that the award honor discoveries made the preceding year because it takes time to measure the benefits.
The chemistry prize will be announced Wednesday, followed by literature on Thursday, the peace prize on Friday and economics on Monday, Oct. 11.
The awards were created by Nobel, a Swedish industrialist, and first given in 1901. The prizes are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
There have been no Americans among this year's Nobel laureates so far, but that could change Wednesday with chemistry, a prize that has been dominated by U.S. scientists. Only once in the past decade, in 2007, did the prize not include a U.S. citizen.
Harvard researchers George Whitesides and Charles Lieber frequently figure in Nobel speculation. So do Scottish chemist Sir Fraser Stoddart at Northwestern University and Japan's Sumio Iijima, who discovered carbon nanotubes in 1991.
Thomson Reuters, which analyzes high-impact scientific papers to make predictions, suggested Stanford University biochemistry professor Patrick Brown for his work on DNA microarrays. It said Japan's Susumu Kitagawa and American Omar Yaghi could also share the award for designing porous metal-organic frameworks.

Apple faces $600m damages claim

2010-10-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

The row covers technology used in iTunes, Time Machine and Spotlight

Apple has asked a court to reconsider an impending decision that could cost it more than $600m (£379m) in damages.

On 1 October, a US jury found in favour of Mirror Worlds in a patent wrangle over technology to display documents on computer screens.
Mirror Worlds alleged that Apple had infringed four of its patents.
After weighing evidence the jury said three had been infringed and awarded the company $208.5m damages for each one.
Apple is asking for a delay to the judge's final decision saying there were unresolved issues with two of the three remaining patents in the case. If the court agrees damages will be reduced to $208.5m.
However, if the judge decides three patents have been infringed the damages award of $625.2m would be among the largest in US legal history.
In closing arguments made in the court and reported by the Bloomberg news agency, Apple said there were grounds for believing the patents were not valid and therefore whether they had been infringed.
It added that the patents had been sold and any damages awarded should reflect that market value. The patent package is believed to have been sold for $5m.
The row revolves around technology Apple has used in three products; Spotlight, Time Machine and Cover Flow. Two of the patents cover ways to display similar documents in a pile that users can then flick through.
Both Apple and Mirror Worlds have been asked to submit documents to the court concerning the damages ruling.
Mirror Worlds founder David Gelertner said he was "tremendously grateful" to his lawyers after hearing the verdict.
Apple has yet to respond to a request for comment on the case.

Chelsea Handler And 50 Cent Dating?

2010-10-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

While Lil Jon, Rick Ross and Pharrell Williams have all tried unsuccessfully to seduce the queen of lake night, Chelsea Handler, it seems 50 Cent has succeeded where others have failed.
The site TMZ has just published a photo showing 50 Cent with the beautiful blonde, enjoying each others company in a bar on New Orleans. Those present at Blue Nile Jazz tell the site the two seemed very comfortable.
For several weeks, 50 Cent began his outreach work, with humor, on Twitter
“I love me some chelsea handler yal see her show tonight she is so funny to me,” he wrote on his Twitter last month.
“I think @chelseahandler is beautiful I wanta see what that dog lookin at on her page.”
“They haven’t hooked up, but she’s open to it,” an inside source tells E!

Chelsea Handler And 50 Cent Dating?

Chelsea hit by Alex blow

2010-10-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Chelsea defender Alex ruled out for three weeks!!!

Alex celebrates scoring Chelsea's second against Arsenal

Chelsea defender Alex is facing about three weeks out of action after picking up a thigh injury in the final stages of Sunday's 2-0 win over Arsenal.

The 28-year-old, who scored a spectacular 85th-minute free-kick, managed to complete the match.
But the Brazilian has withdrawn from his country's matches against Iran on Thursday and Ukraine on Monday.
He is also likely to be absent for Chelsea's visits to Aston Villa and Spartak Moscow on 16 and 19 October.
Signed from PSV Eindhoven in 2007, the centre-back has become manager Carlo Ancelotti's first-choice partner for John Terry at the heart of Chelsea's defence.
So far this season he has played every league game as the champions have begun their title defence in impressively miserly form - conceding only two goals in seven games.
Alex missed a month of pre-season training with a thigh injury, although it is not known if his latest setback is a recurrence of the same injury.

Twitter CEO Steps Down Amid Profit Focus

2010-10-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

The head of Twitter has announced he is stepping down, as the company focuses its energy on making money from its widespread microblogging service.

Evan Williams said he wanted to work on strategy rather than marketing

Evan Williams, a co-founder who has led the San Francisco-based company for the past two years, said he would be working solely on product strategy from now on.
He added that had asked the company's chief operating officer Dick Costolo to take over the helm.
Twitter has seen rapid growth since its creation in 2006, but is yet to announce that it has generate a profit.
"We're making money but we have a long way to go before we're putting money in the bank," Mr Williams' co-founder Biz Stone told Bloomberg in June.
Mr Williams has overseen a recent redesign of Twitter's website to attract new users and give advertisers a better platform to showcase photos or videos.
But as the company has grown to employ 300 people there is "less and less time" for him to focus on strategy, Mr Costolo said.
Writing on the Twitter blog, Mr Williams said: "Building things is my passion, and I’ve never been more excited or optimistic about what we have to build.
"This is why I have decided to ask our COO, Dick Costolo, to become Twitter’s CEO.

Dick Costolo has been leading advertising initiatives since he joined Twitter last year

"During his year at Twitter, he has been a critical leader in devising and executing our revenue efforts, while simultaneously and effectively making the trains run on time in the office."
In the two years that Mr Williams has been in charge, Twitter has seen the number of users rise from 3m to 165m.
Yet the rapid expansion has led to frequent technical problems, which sometimes stop users accessing the service or cause problems presenting a user's timeline of tweets.
"The challenges of growing an organization so quickly are numerous," wrote Mr Williams.
"Growing big is not success, in itself. Success to us means meeting our potential as a profitable company that can retain its culture and user focus while having a positive impact on the world. This is no small task."
Twitter's growing popularity has fuelled expectations that marketers could use the messaging service to target ads to consumers interested in real-time information about breaking events and other topics.

UFO Sightings: Chinese Airport Closes Over Latest Incident

2010-10-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

UFO sightings have increased in China in recent months, but one such sighting recently prompted an airport to shut down to prevent aircraft from crashing into the object, media reports say.
The airport is located in Baotou in Inner Mongolia, and three flights that were arriving had to circle around the airport to wait until the UFO disappeared, according to UK newspaper The Sun.
Two other flights were diverted away to nearby cities.

This incident was the eighth report of a UFO sighting in China in the past four months.
The object was said to be “flat and tubular” and hovered near the airport before disappearing, a source told The Sun.
There have been two other UFO sightings that have prompted the closure of Chinese airports.

Circus lion tamer attack

2010-10-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

Circus lion tamer attack caught on video Play video

Circus lion tamer attack caught on video Play video

The footage shows a lion lunging and striking, before being joned by another and then biting down on the trainer's left arm.

Tamer Oleksie Pinko is knocked to the ground as he desperately tries to herd the big cats out of the ring.
At one point, one of the lions almost leaps out of the net surrounding the ring and into the crowd.
Mr Pinko was taken to hospital to undergo emergency surgery and is said to be in a stable condition.
The footage was shot by US tourist Doug Sheperd, who was at the show in the Ukrainian city of Lviv with his wife and two children.

Mark Zuckerberg Taking Facebook Employees to See “The Social Network”

2010-10-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

Mark Zuckerberg has said in the past that he has no intentions of seeing the Hollywood movie about the scandal behind the foundation of his billion dollar company, but now it seems like the Facebook CEO has had a change of heart. Zuckerberg is reportedly taking the Facebook staff to a rented out theater to see “The Social Network.”

New York Times reported David Carr tweeted:

“Heard from gd source Zuckerberg rented out theater and is taking FB staff to see #SocialNetwork. Prolly realized film is great for FB/him” (Source)

“The Social Network” is in theaters as of this past Friday (Oct 1)!!

Filed: News & Gossip | Tags: Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg

After plenty of games, finally Sports begin....

2010-10-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

Vibrant, breathtaking, Stunning, electrifying, " Olympian in scope and ambition", vividly memorable, an Indian wedding... ok now I am tired, but trust you me, the list is endless. Oh in case you are wondering what I am talking about... its the opening ceremony of Delhi-2010.
When the world's biggest blimp, costing Rs 40 Crs, or $8million, rose to touch the roof of of Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium, every Indian's head also rose with satisfaction, pride, and above all, patriotism. Somewhere close to 65000 strong spectators, 6000 athletes, 3000 performers, and thousands of other staff somehow pulled every string right which was a surprise TBH considering the run up to the event.

Yes, the real test will start from Monday, but if 90 minutes of opening ceremony is anything to go by,, man you are in for a treat. After the formalities of speeches, marching of athletes, announcement of games to begin by Prince Charles (since Queen of England somehow missed the first CWG in last 44 years) and Indian President, Pratibha Patil, and Indian army putting up the CWG flag, the show started. First was showcase of of value of teacher in a man's life, and the tree of knowledge rose from the center stage. And then the showcase of 5000 year history of India started. Every color you can ever imagine was there, every emotion you can ever come up was on the faces of every Indian inside the stadium, in front of the TV screen. As the show was wrapped up by Rahman's performance, we all took a breath of releif, there was no BW, there was no goof up, it was just an India vying to burst out on the worl stage. We were like the new kid of the class, the one which throws the biggest party he/she can, just so people accept him as one of their own. And yes, if papers are anything to go by, they already have started whispering that this kid might actually be better than them.

Anyhow, the show is over, sports will start now. We will put an effort to keep everyone updated of the events and scores. Hopefully, on 16th of October we all will be as proud as we are today.
Some highlights:
- 7 year old Keshav on tabla with thousands of drummers
- OFC $8 mil blimp
- Australia entering first in the stadium, being host nation of last olympics, their colorful attire was awesome.
- England athletes wearing KURTAS, yes, the Indian wear.
- Some nations I never know actually existed, some with a population of few thousands.
- Indian athletes, in traditional red and golden clothes
- As Indian athletes entered, that you must watch if you can, thousands of drums started rolling, and every athlete from other nations stood up to give standing ovation to Indian contingent, FIRST TIME EVER in CWGs
- Ok now this was really funny, when Kalmadi stood up, he was actually greeted by BOOS, yep, awesome Delhi :D
- Mere mention of the names of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Azad, former president of India, OMG the way crowd reacted with cheers and applause.
- When Kalmadi thanked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Delhi gave its loudest cheer for the big man's big plans unfolding right in front of their eyes.
- Indian railways' tribute to India, sorry, Incredible India. With Chaiyya Chaiyya song, the steam engine rolled in the stadium showcasing the Indians from every part of the nation, from every class of the society.
- Fireworks.
- When Kalmadi said "We are ready, India has arrived" and the 65000 people in stadium, 1 billion in front of their TV screens went berserk.
- And yeah, the BIGGEST CHEER, second only to Indian team was reserved for PAKISTAN TEAM. It was fantastic to see crowd giving such a warm reception to our traditional rivals.

Kelly Ripa Says She Looks Like Peter Pan When She’s Working Out!

2010-10-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

Kelly Ripa may be a hottie on T.V., but don’t expect to see her looking all sexy when she works out!
On a recent episode of “Live with Regis and Kelly“, Ripa told guest co-host Bryant Gumbel about her exercise routine and looking like Peter Pan while bike riding.

“You would love it. This is different [from cycling], this is really different, this is essentially yoga, weights, pilates, dancing all on a bike. I prefer a group mentality. I think there’s power in a group, I think the group motivates everybody. I think everybody really pulls together, and there’s something sexy about the sound and look of a unified group of people working out.”

But when Bryant added that most guys in a group with Kelly would be checking her out the whole time…….she assured to him that she isn’t worried about that. She says that without the make-up and padded bra……she looks just like Peter Pan!

“No, never! You’ve never seen me work out. I look like Peter Pan,” she said. “The makeup comes off, the hair goes into a bun and the padded bra comes off, and Peter Pan is floating next to you on a bike. I bet you I could spin next to you and you would not know it was me.”

Gotta love Kel’s sense of humor!!! Watch the interview below (discussion on “exercise” starts at 3:30):

Filed: Celebrity Quotes, News & Gossip | Tags: Kelly Ripa

Drogba shatters Arsenal again

2010-10-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

Drogba has now scored 13 goals in 13 matches against Arsenal

By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer at Stamford Bridge

Didier Drogba was Arsenal's tormentor again as Chelsea tightened their grip at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal paid the price for their failure to take the chances they created in periods of domination at Stamford Bridge - and for their continuing inability to contain Drogba as Carlo Ancelotti's champions stretched out a four-point lead over their title rivals.
Arsene Wenger's side came close through Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny, while Andrey Arshavin brought a superb save from Petr Cech before Drogba struck his 13th goal against The Gunners in as many games as the interval approach.
He applied a clever finish to Ashley Cole's cross to give Chelsea a lead against the run of play that they would protect in trademark fashion.

Click to play

Players won it for Ancelotti - Wilkins

And for all Arsenal's pretty passing and intricate patterns in the second half, it was Chelsea who applied the killer blow five minutes from time when Alex concluded a fast bowler's run-up with a true touch of Brazil as he lashed a long-range free-kick high beyond Lukasz Fabianski.
Wenger may take heart from the fact that Arsenal were not swept aside in the manner they were against Chelsea last season, although there were moments of slackness at the back, but there was no consolation in a familiar scoreline as they were once again beaten by their fierce London rivals.
For Chelsea boss Ancelotti, attending the game despite the recent death of his father, there was satisfaction in the manner in which his side responded to their first Premier League defeat of the season at Manchester City.
Arsenal, on the receiving end of comprehensive defeats against Chelsea at home and away in the Premier League last season, showed no inferiority complex as they almost scored twice inside the first 60 seconds.

606: DEBATE

Gutted, but Chelsea once again have shown that they are more efficient than we are

goonerdick

Chamakh's header from Bacary Sagna's cross was only inches away with Cech beaten, before Koscielny somehow headed the resulting corner over the top, despite standing almost on the goalline.
And as Arsenal continued to dominate the opening exchanges, Arshavin forced a fine save from Cech and Samir Nasri was narrowly off target with a low drive.
The threat of Drogba hung over Arsenal like a cloud, however, and he posted the warning signs by forcing a desperate block from Fabianski with an angled drive. Almost inevitably, for all Arsenal's superiority, it was Drogba who made the first-half's decisive contribution as Chelsea went ahead after 39 minutes.
Ramires did well to win possession before feeding Cole, whose near-post cross was met with a subtle flick from Drogba that flew in via the near post. It was very much against the run of play - and Wenger's frustration was plain to see on the touchline.
Arsenal refused to be discouraged by the setback and pressed forward with urgency, but another moment of defensive frailty almost saw Chelsea double their advantage on the hour.

Click to play

Wenger 'massively disappointed' after defeat

Anelka robbed the hesitant Sebastien Squillaci, and even though the striker rounded Fabianski the angle was too acute and the finish rolled agonisingly wide for Chelsea.
Arsenal were being punished for their wastefulness in front of goal, and Chamakh was the culprit again with 10 minutes left as he headed substitute Tomas Rosicky's cross wide.
Chelsea's greater cutting edge was crucial, and they clinched the victory in spectacular fashion with five minutes left. Alex ripped a 25-yard free-kick high past the despairing grasp of Fabianski after Koscielny had been booked for a foul on Anelka.
Arsenal were instantly deflated, and Fabianski had to make fine saves from Michael Essien and Cole as Chelsea threatened to extend the victory margin.

WWE Hell in a Cell (2010)

2010-10-03T22:53:00.000-07:00

This October 3, 2010 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, USA, the second annual Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) will take place.

There will be five wrestling matches where the ring and ringside area surrounded by a 20-foot-high roofed caged cell structure, hence the name of the event.

The main rivalry from the Raw brand features the new champion Randy Orton against former champion Sheamus in a Hell in a Cell for the WWE Championship.

The main rivalry from the Smackdown brand features champion Kane against The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship.

You can watch WWE Hell in a Cell (2010) LIVE stream FREE on Justin TV, Freedocast, LiveStream and UStream. You just have to look for them patiently.

You can also watch it on your WWE Hell in a Cell (2010) Sopcast channel.

The WWE Hell in a Cell (2010) LIVE stream FREE will start LIVE at 8pm EST / 1am GMT.

=======================================================

UPDATE: WWE Hell in a Cell has wrapped up!

Check out the WWE Hell in Cell (2010) results.
If you missed it, catch the WWE Hell in a Cell (2010) REPLAY highlights below:

Michael Douglas Visited by Zeta-Jones Over Weekend

2010-10-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones attend the The 2009 Women of the Year at Carnegie Hall on November 9, 2009 in New York City. Zeta-Jones recently visited Douglas, who is battling throat cancer. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Glamour Magazine)

Michael Douglas got a visit from his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, who traveled from Wales to New York, this past weekend as he continues his fight with throat cancer, according to media reports this weekend.

41-year-old Zeta-Jones was watching the Ryder Cup golf tournament in Cardiff and was driven to London, and flew to the US on Thursday.

Zeta-Jones’ parents Pat and Dai reportedly flew into New York the day or so after her.

A source told UK newspaper The Sun that Zeta-Jones "was emotional. She cried but was very brave."

The day before Zeta-Jones' trip, she said Douglas was doing well, adding that he is brave to face cancer in the way that he has.

"He's holding up very, very well and everyone could not be happier with the progress. He's doing fine," Zeta-Jones said.

Douglas, 66, has been combating throat cancer since he was diagnosed with the condition in August. Since then, he has been getting chemotherapy treatment.

The Sun reported that Zeta-Jones recently turned down a role to play Vivien Leigh, the actress who played Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind, in a biopic film. The report said that she wanted to spend more time with Douglas.

Meanwhile, Douglas has been actively promoting his new movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, which topped the box offices last week and has made more than $35 million in the US.
Douglas, in media reports, has continually remained optimistic about his battle.
"The doctors' prognosis is for a full recovery, and with this type of cancer there's a 70 to 80 percent chance that it will happen," Douglas said.
"It doesn't seem to have spread to anywhere else in my body, so however difficult the next few months of treatment will be, I'm ready for it and will take things day by day."

Andrea Pirlo Incredible Goal vs Parma 0-1 AC Milan

2010-10-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

What a goal!

CELEBRITY GOSSIP

2010-10-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

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Facebook movie underscores cultural phenomenon

2010-10-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

Stars of the film ''The Social Network'' (L-R) Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake present an award at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California September 12, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook now counts one of every two Americans as a user, would rank behind only China and India in population if it were a country and has an estimated value of more than $30 billion, larger than that of Starbucks.
What could possibly be next for a website that was created in a Harvard dorm room six years ago? Try a Hollywood film, "The Social Network," that opens nationally on Friday and is already prompting discussion of Academy Awards.
Many of the film's details are contested. But the very notion that average moviegoers will go to a film built around the history of a tech company underscores the extent to which Facebook has become a cultural mainstay.
"Facebook is more than just a geek phenomenon. It's very mainstream," said Dave McClure, a former executive at Web payment company PayPal and now an investor in tech start-ups.
The world's largest social network, Facebook allows people to connect with their real-world friends and acquaintances online and do everything from sharing baby photos and personal news to playing electronic versions of Scrabble.
Grandmothers, politicians and rock stars are among the more than 500 million people using the service worldwide. That helped it surpass Google Inc as the website on which Americans spend the most time every month.
Facebook taps into a basic need that people have to connect with each other, said David Weinberger, a researcher at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
"Humans are an innately social species," said Weinberger. "We flock to social networking sites as it if was natural, because it is natural."
Under the direction of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's 26-year-old co-founder, the company has grown from a service available only to college students into a Web powerhouse, navigating a series of sticky privacy issues along the way.
It has become so big and popular, say industry analysts, that it poses a financial threat to established Internet businesses like Google and Yahoo Inc.
Still privately held, the company will not sell stock to the public any sooner than 2012, Facebook board member Peter Thiel said recently. A brisk market in private shares of Facebook already exists, with the company valued at more than $30 billion, according to recent trades on Sharespost, one such secondary market.
Thiel believes the new movie -- which he said "contains a lot of inaccuracies and petty lies and distortions" -- will nonetheless add to Facebook's influence.
"It is actually going to encourage young Americans to move to Silicon Valley and to try to start great new companies. So I think the movie will do a lot more good than evil," he said.

Rick Sanchez Fired From CNN

2010-10-02T00:28:00.000-07:00

CNN released this statement today:
“Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well.“
They will broadcast CNN Newsroom from 3-5pm for the foreseeable future.
Here’s more from the story earlier today:

CNN’s Rick Sanchez is not happy with being made fun of constantly on The Daily Show and Colbert Report. It is from this jumping off point that he absolutely unleashed on Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and at times his own network, on Pete Dominick’s satellite radio show yesterday.
The big takeaway – Sanchez calls Stewart “a bigot,” then walks it back a bit, and he implies CNN is run by Jews.
Dominick was not just a radio show host – he is a CNN contributor who has a regular gig on John King, USA (more on that below), and he formerly was the warm up comic at The Daily Show. Which is why when Sanchez says “I think Jon Stewart’s a bigot” early in the interview, Dominick pushed back:
Dominick: How is he a bigot?
Sanchez: I think he looks at the world through, his mom, who was a school teacher, and his dad, who was a physicist or something like that. Great, I’m so happy that he grew up in a suburban middle class New Jersey home with everything you could ever imagine.
Dominick: What group is he bigoted towards?
Sanchez: Everybody else who’s not like him. Look at his show, I mean, what does he surround himself with?

Anna Nicole Smith Estate Granted Supreme Court Hearing Update Personal life,Sex tape,Activism,Images Videos,News,more

2010-10-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Anna Nicole Smith might get a piece of her late husbands fortune after all.

The Supreme Court said it would decide whether Anna Nicole Smith's estate should get some of her late Texas oil baron husband fortune. Smith’s estate argues that her late husband promised her $300 million in addition to the $7 million in cash and gifts she received during their brief marriage.

Maybe this the the supreme courts will give Anna Nicole Smith's estate what she deserved.Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007, twelve years after her husband who died in 1995. Personal life,Sex tape,Activism,Images Videos,News,more

Mandela aide charged over Naomi Campbell diamonds

2010-10-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Naomi Campbell gave the diamonds to Jeremy Ractliffe in 1997

The former head of Nelson Mandela's charity fund has been charged with illegally keeping uncut diamonds given to him by supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Jeremy Ractliffe admitted he had the gems only when Ms Campbell mentioned him ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor's war crimes trial in August.
He then handed the gems to police and resigned as a trustee of the fund.
Prosecutors say the stones are "blood diamonds" which Mr Taylor gave to Ms Campbell at a dinner in 1997.

Charles Taylor

Ms Campbell gave evidence at Mr Taylor's trial before a UN special court in The Hague in August.

'Dirty-looking stones' South African prosecutors have now charged Mr Ractliffe, the former chief executive of the Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund (NMCF), under the Diamonds Act of 1956.
His case has been adjourned until 27 October.
At the trial, Ms Campbell said she was given some "dirty-looking stones" after a 1997 charity dinner hosted by South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela where Mr Taylor was also a guest.
She said two unidentified men appeared at her room and gave her the stones.
She told the court she did not have proof they came from Mr Taylor and had given them to Mr Ractliffe because she wanted the stones to go to charity.
In a statement at the time of his resignation, Mr Ractliffe said he took the diamonds as he thought it might be illegal for her to take them out of the country.
However, he did not want to involve the NMCF in anything illegal, he said.
"In the end I decided I should just keep them," he added.
Mr Taylor is accused of using illegally mined diamonds to secure weapons for Sierra Leone's RUF rebels during the 1991-2001 civil war - a charge he denies.
He said he kept them to shield the reputations of Mr Mandela and his fund.
Prosecutors say that from his seat of power in Liberia, Mr Taylor also trained and commanded the rebels.
The rebels were notoriously brutal, frequently hacking off the hands and legs of civilians.

New Google instant search

2010-09-30T01:22:00.000-07:00

Fly through your Instant search results with keyboard nav

Our aim with Google Instant is to make search faster and easier, and this week we’re rolling out two enhancements to take that a step further. First, we’ve introduced keyboard navigation to help you explore your Instant search results using just your keyboard, with no need for a mouse or touchpad. We’re also making Instant available within many of the search features in the left panel of the results page including Videos, News, Books, Blogs, Updates and Discussions

Google Instant is already available in domains for seven countries and today we’re excited to announce that it’s rolling out in the domains for 12 new countries, for signed-in users in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine. We’ll keep improving your search experience and make Instant available in more places internationally in the weeks ahead.
The implications of Google Instant are fairly exciting, but still somewhat hazy at this point for marketers. Google explains, "If everyone uses Google Instant globally, we estimate this will save more than 3.5 billion seconds a day. That's 11 hours saved every second."
Does this mean these searchers will use those 3.5 billion seconds to search more? Or does it mean these searches will be shifted to other channels?
Google claims this to be a "fundamental shift" in search. Let's remove the term "fundamental" and change it to "progressive," considering the 15+ new technologies and adjustments associated with the September 8 release.
As usual, Google leads and many follow -- or at least try. That being said, should we expect the same "progressive" shift in other search supported channels?
Comparison Shopping Engines
As comparison shopping continues to change and/or find its foothold again in the marketplace, is it beneficial for these engines to make a delivery change? Google will surely add Instant Product Search as their recent release carried over these in-line results for regular search.
Consumers will continue to become more visually aware and impatient, so how do we load product, prices and descriptions in a fashion that keeps the consumer motivated? Google's trend will change speed expectations for many (70 percent of the search market).

As marketers, we also need to be thinking about these changes for the query overlap from search to comparison search. Will it condense the way consumers search on CSEs?
News & Editorial Content
Could this change the way we search for editorial content? Currently, I search for [Tea Party] and the syndicated results include an assortment of timely results; however it strangely seems outdated.
If CNN began syndicating their dynamic image, editorial, and video content (similar to Google), I would be more likely to consume and research within that particular channel. This type of editorial interaction seems organized or at least more consumable.
My hope may come true. CNN on-site search is powered by Google already. Interesting.
Binghoo
I'm not going to touch this one quite yet.
As mentioned, "...many follow or at least try." This won't be top of their priority list, considering the potential 6-12 month strain of Yahoo integration. That being said, would it be worth Bing creating instant search syndication for some of their top content channels, such as entertainment and health?On-site Search Changes