Wednesday, November 30, 2011

LL Cool J preps for Grammy nominations double duty (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Don't call it a comeback. It's a tribute.

"NCIS: Los Angeles" star and rapper LL Cool J is nervously excited to pause from his duties as host of the Grammy nominations concert special Wednesday to perform with a multigenerational group of rappers.

"We're doing a special dedication to `The Message,' which is one of the seminal hip-hop records," a sweaty LL Cool J said during a break from rehearsals Tuesday afternoon. "It launched the genre. I'm getting to perform with Grandmaster Flash, Scorpio, Melle Mel and then we brought in Common and Lupe Fiasco. It's this really cool version of `The Message.'"

The group practiced their rendition of the Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five 1982 classic in the Nokia Theatre lobby Tuesday before taking the stage to rehearse. Under flashing red and white lights, Grandmaster Flash manned the tables, while Furious Five members Melle Mel and Scorpio shared verses with Common, Lupe Fiasco and LL Cool J.

Other musicians set to perform during the concert special include such possible nominees as Lady Gaga, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Sugarland and Rihanna.

Despite hosting and performing at each of the previous three Grammy nominations concerts, LL Cool J said he still feels pressure commanding the show, which is scheduled to air live Wednesday on CBS.

"It's live TV," he said. "I never take it for granted. You gotta be ready for it."

____

CBS is a division of CBS Corp.

___

Online:

http://www.grammy.com

___

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang can be reached at www.twitter.com/derrikjlang/.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_en_tv/us_people_ll_cool_j

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Public identify whale 'dialects'

Members of the public are being asked by scientists at the University of St Andrews to help them investigate the way whales communicate.

So-called "citizen scientists" from across the world are being urged to listen to and help classify sounds made by the mammals.

The St Andrews Sea Mammal Research Unit is part of the Whale Project - a global effort to categorise whale calls.

It aims to establish whether calls vary between different groups of whales.

The Whale Project website site displays calls from both killer whales and pilot whales.

"Citizen scientists" who log on are presented with a whale call and shown where it was recorded on a map of the world's oceans and seas.

Distinctive dialect

After listening to the whale call, members of the public are then asked to listen to a number of potential matching calls from the project's database.

If a match is found the results are stored.

Prof Peter Tyack of the University of St Andrews said: "By asking hundreds of people to make similar judgements, we will learn how reliable the categories are, and they get the fun of hearing these amazing sounds."

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

Killer whales are thought to learn their calls from their group?

End Quote Prof Peter Tyack University of St Andrews

"Only a few researchers have categorised whale calls."

Scientists hope to address a number of questions about whale communication.

Biologists studying killer whales have reported that each group of whales has its own distinctive dialect of calls, with related groups having dialects that are more similar.

The Whale Project asks "citizen scientists" to test these results by making their own judgements of similarity between calls.

Much less is known about the calls of pilot whales than of killer whales.

Researchers from St Andrews and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts want to know the size of the pilot whales' call repertoire and whether call repertoires vary between groups, as in killer whales.

"Most mammals have a fixed species-specific repertoire of calls, but killer whales are thought to learn their calls from their group," said Prof Tyack.

The Whale Project is co-sponsored by science magazine, Scientific American.

Those interested in taking part should go to the Scientific American website to set up a login and password.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-15929295

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Judge blocks Citigroup-SEC settlement (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? A federal judge angrily threw out Citigroup Inc's proposed $285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, excoriating the top U.S. market regulator over how it reaches corporate fraud settlements.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said that in agreeing to the settlement, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appeared uninterested in actually learning what Citigroup did wrong. He also said the regulator erred by asking him to ignore the interests of the public.

"An application of judicial power that does not rest on facts is worse than mindless, it is inherently dangerous," Rakoff wrote in an opinion dated Monday.

"In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth," he added.

Rakoff called the settlement "neither reasonable, nor fair, nor adequate, nor in the public interest," and said it was hard to tell whether by settling the SEC was getting more than "a quick headline." He set a trial date of July 16, 2012.

Monday's decision throws into question the SEC's policies toward settlements with publicly traded companies, at a time when the regulator is trying to burnish its reputation for tough enforcement amid skeptics in Congress and elsewhere.

Many SEC cases against Wall Street banks and investment firms are settled out of court, without any admission or denial of wrongdoing. The absence of agreed-upon facts can make it harder for shareholders, bondholders and others to bring their own civil lawsuits against those same defendants.

THORN

Both the SEC and Citigroup on Monday maintained that the settlement was reasonable.

Robert Khuzami, the SEC director of enforcement, said the $285 million sum "reasonably reflects the scope of relief that would be obtained after a successful trial," but without the "risks, delay and resources" required.

He also said Rakoff ignored "decades of established practice throughout federal agencies and decisions of the federal courts."

Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos called the settlement "a fair and reasonable resolution to the SEC's allegation of negligence." She said if a trial occurred, the bank would present "substantial factual and legal defenses."

The SEC and Citigroup did not in their statements address whether they might be able to reach a revised settlement that could win court approval.

In its complaint, the SEC accused Citigroup of selling a $1 billion mortgage-linked collateralized debt obligation, Class V Funding III, in 2007 as the housing market was beginning to collapse, and then betting against the transaction.

The SEC said the CDO caused more than $700 million of investor losses. One Citigroup employee, director Brian Stoker, was charged by the SEC, and is contesting those charges.

Rakoff has been a thorn in the side of the SEC. In 2009 he rejected its initial proposed settlement with Bank of America Corp over its takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.

Bradley Bondi, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and former counsel to two SEC commissioners, said the decision will hamper the regulator's ability to settle cases in the Manhattan court.

"But the judge's decision to probe the settlement to ensure it is in the best interest of shareholders - and requiring the SEC to show the facts in support ... are in the best interests of process," Bondi said in an email.

'POCKET CHANGE'

Rakoff called the Citigroup accord too lenient, and noted that the bank was charged only with negligence. Private investors cannot bring securities claims based on negligence.

"If the allegations of the complaint are true, this is a very good deal for Citigroup; and, even if they are untrue, it is a mild and modest cost of doing business," the judge wrote.

The settlement would have required the third-largest U.S. bank to give up $160 million of alleged ill-gotten profit, plus $30 million of interest.

It also would have imposed a $95 million fine for the alleged negligence, less than one-fifth what Goldman Sachs Group Inc paid last year in a $550 million SEC settlement over a different CDO.

Rakoff called the $95 million fine "pocket change" for Citigroup and said investors were being "short-changed."

Khuzami said the regulator will review the ruling and "take those steps that best serve the interests of investors."

In striking down the SEC's $33 million settlement with Bank of America over Merrill, Rakoff said it unfairly punished shareholders. He later approved a $150 million accord.

Citigroup shares closed 6 percent higher at $25.05 on Monday. Stocks rose broadly on optimism that leaders in Europe might take steps to address the region's debt crisis.

The case is SEC v Citigroup Global Markets Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-07387.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis, Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111128/bs_nm/us_citigroup_sec

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Kate Gosselin Milks, Denies Facelift Rumor


Speculation over whether Kate Gosselin recently got plastic surgery - namely a facelift - started brewing last week, and the reality mom recently addressed them directly.

Any attention's good attention at this point, right?

Like any good D-list celebrity would, she managed to not only milk the scandal a bit, but parlay the PR into a shameless plug for her day job. Gotta hand it to her there.

Kate Gosselin Facelift

Evidently last week's Kate Gosselin face lift rumor was just that - a rumor. She does look awfully well rested and youthful for having eight kids, so you can kinda see it, no?

Anyway, "With all the buzz about me having had a facelift, I will confirm I have not had one (I am only 36!!!)," she wrote on CouponCabin (dot) com, where she now works.

"But, I take all of the talk about how rested and young I look as a compliment! So thanks! Having said that, it brings me to some great skin care deals below! Enjoy!"

There you go, people. Kate Gosselin, pro's pro.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/kate-gosselin-milks-denies-facelift-rumor/

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Is Kelly Rowland Coming Stateside for 'The X Factor'?

It seems Simon Cowell is at it again. According to some media rumors, he's thinking of making some changes on his judging panel for The X Factor (Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET, on Fox) once again. Back in May, when the show was only weeks into filming, Cowell swapped out British singer Cheryl Cole, 28, for Nicole Scherzinger, 33. This week, according to the U.K. tabloid, Now, he's considering trading Scherzinger for one of the British X Factor judges, R&B singer Kelly Rowland, 30. The two would simply switch places, with Scherzinger going to the British version, and Rowland joining the stateside one.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/nicole-scherzinger-kelly-rowland-trade-x-factor-gig/1-a-406380?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Anicole-scherzinger-kelly-rowland-trade-x-factor-gig-406380

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

For The Record (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166903186?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Christmas shopping is easy. Buy books. (hamptonroads)

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97% Hugo

All Critics (116) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (112) | Rotten (4)

I have seen the future of 3-D moviemaking, and it belongs to Martin Scorsese, unlikely as that may sound.

It's a fairy tale for mature viewers, but the airy exterior hides emotional depth.

One of the most magical viewing experiences of the decade so far.

Aside from being one of Scorsese's most personal films, it's also one of the least cynical films of this or any other year.

Hugo is a mixed bag but one well worth rummaging through.

For all my cavils, this is one of those wonders of the world you need to see.

Scorsese uses 3D to submerge viewers into a glittering storybook world, but all of Hugo's beauty can't make up for the sidetracking of the tale of the orphaned boy living in the train station in favor of a film preservation PSA.

If however, you are not a film scholar or a fan of the period, Scorsese will skillfully turn you into one without you even knowing it.

Scorcese does not mess around. This is a magnificent film.

The movie itself runs a bit long at 127 minutes, but "Hugo" is worth every minute for the visual feast it provides.

Hugo is a love affair -- palpable and personal -- between director Marty Scorsese and cinema. It sputters, floats, and soars.

An infectious ode to the early days of cinema. Scorsese's use of 3D is inspired, although it might be more interesting for parents than their children.

A powerful reminder of the magic of cinema and Martin Scorsese's astounding versatility...

"Hugo" is a movie that children will enjoy, adults will admire and film buffs will cheer. It is a movie that will surprise and delight you with its wonder and awe.

Exquisite - Definitely Oscar Worthy

... a phantasmagorical fusion of 'Oliver Twist' and 'Edward Scissorhands' ... but in the end it feels pedantic and, like M?li?s' robot, proves a wondrous contraption motorized by a spring-driven heart.

Hugo is a work steeped in cinema lore, drunk on the fumes of a bygone era yet canny enough to channel its nostalgia through modern innovations.

Please, please, please don't think you need to be a child to see this incredible movie. Indeed, "Hugo," a smart, classy film that deserves to be watched on the big screen in 3-D, will find a special place with grownups who love movie art and history.

A deeply felt, hugely personal, glorious and heart-swelling ode to the magic of cinema and stories: the way they bring us together, allow us to understand each other, allow us to see our dreams come true.

Probably the first kids film in history to double as a propaganda film for the cause of classic film preservation. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

It has its sluggish moments, but Hugo is mostly a delightful tribute to the magic of early cinema, and boasts excellent use of 3-D.

Martin Scorsese's affecting, gorgeously rendered 3-D debut is one of the best films of this year and any other year.

...the best children's movie of the century so far

Believe it or not, the director of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and The Departed has made family adventure for the ages.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hugo/

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Internal Affairs: Gov. Jerry Brown may be incommunicado, but he's not out of touch (San Jose Mercury News)

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  1. #1 sony ericcisson xperia play?
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    but it only 5 or 6 games just wondering if any hackers are working on this phone or if someone
    knows good sites for the phone because i can't even find out how to root the phone either

  2. Last edited by -Sander; Today at 04:31 PM. Reason: double http.



Source: http://psx-scene.com/forums/f118/sony-ericcisson-xperia-play-98756/

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Monday, November 28, 2011

British film director Ken Russell dies at 84 (AP)

LONDON ? Ken Russell, an iconoclastic British director whose daring films blended music, sex and violence in a potent brew seemingly drawn straight from his subconscious, has died at age 84.

Russell died in a hospital on Sunday following a series of strokes, his son Alex Verney-Elliott said Monday.

"My father died peacefully," Verney-Elliott said. "He died with a smile on his face."

Russell was a fiercely original director whose vision occasionally brought mainstream success, but often tested the patience of audiences and critics. He had one of his biggest hits in 1969 with "Women in Love," based on the book by D.H. Lawrence, which earned Academy Award nominations for the director and for writer Larry Kramer, and a "Best Actress" Oscar for the star, Glenda Jackson.

It included one of the decade's most famous scenes ? a nude wrestling bout between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed.

Reed said at the time that the director was "starting to go crazy."

"Before that he was a sane, likable TV director," Reed said. "Now he's an insane, likable film director."

Born in the English port of Southampton in 1927, Russell was attracted by the romance of the sea and attended Pangbourne Nautical College before joining the Merchant Navy at 17 as a junior crew member on a cargo ship bound for the Pacific. He became seasick, soon realized he hated naval life and was discharged after a nervous breakdown.

Desperate to avoid joining the family's shoe business, he studied ballet and tried his hand at acting before accepting he was not much good at either. He then studied photography, for which he did have a talent, and became a fashion photographer before being hired to work on BBC arts programs, including profiles of the poet John Betjeman, comedian Spike Milligan and playwright Shelagh Delaney.

"When there were no more live artists left, we turned to making somewhat longer films about dead artists such as Prokofiev," Russell once said.

These quickly evolved from conventional documentaries into something more interesting.

"At first we were only allowed to use still photographs and newsreel footage of these subjects, but eventually we sneaked in the odd hand playing the piano (in `Prokofiev') and the odd back walking through a door," Russell said. "By the time a couple of years had gone by, those boring little factual accounts of the artists had evolved into evocative films of an hour or more which used real actors to impersonate the historical figures."

Music played a central role in many of Russell's films, including "The Music Lovers" in 1970 ? about Tchaikovsky ? and 1975's "Lisztomania," which starred Roger Daltrey of The Who as 19th-century heartthrob Franz Liszt.

"The Boy Friend," a 1971 homage to 1930s Hollywood musicals starring supermodel Twiggy, and Russell's 1975 adaptation of The Who's psychedelic rock opera "Tommy," were musicals of a different sort, both marked by the director's characteristic visual excess.

Russell's darker side was rarely far away. "Dante's Inferno," a 1967 movie about the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, played up the differences between Rossetti's idealized view of his wife and her reality as a drug addict.

Russell was even more provocative in his 1970 film "The Dance of the Seven Veils: A Comic Strip in Seven Episodes." It presented the composer Richard Strauss as a crypto-Nazi, and showed him conducting Rosenkavalier waltzes while SS men tortured a Jew.

"The Devils," a 1971 film starring Vanessa Redgrave as a 17th-century nun in the grip of demonic possession, was heavily cut for its U.S. release and is due to be released on DVD in Britain for the first time in 2012.

Russell told The Associated Press in 1987 that he found such censorship "so tedious and boring." He called the American print of "The Devils" `'just a butchered nonsense."

Critics were often unimpressed by Russell's work. Alexander Walker called him a master of "the porno-biography which is not quite pornography but is far from being biography." Pauline Kael said his films "cheapen everything they touch."

But admirers luxuriated in his Gothic sensibility ? on display once again in "Gothic," a 1987 film about the genesis of Mary Shelley's horror tale "Frankenstein" replete with such hallucinatory visuals as breasts with eyes and mouths spewing cockroaches.

Russell said his depiction of a drug-addled Percy Bysshe Shelley was an accurate depiction of the time.

"Everyone in England in the 19th century was on a permanent trip. He must have been stoned out of his mind for years," Russell said. "I know I am."

Russell's fascination with changing mental states also surfaced in 1980 film "Altered States," a rare Hollywood foray for him, starring William Hurt as a scientist experimenting with hallucinogens. It was poorly received.

Later films included the comic horror thriller "The Lair of the White Worm" in 1989, which gave an atypical early role to Hugh Grant as a vampire worm-battling lord of the manor.

Russell also directed operas and made the video for Elton John's "Nikita."

Married four times, Russell is survived by his wife Elise Tribble and his children.

Funeral details were not immediately announced.

___

Associated Press writer Meera Selva contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_en_mo/eu_britain_obit_russell

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Rodney Harrison: NFL should suspend Suh

Ryan Mathews,  Nick RoachAP

We handle the biggest injury news all day in the rumor mill.?

The rest goes right here, in America?s most popular injury segment that always listens to the National Anthem.

1. Kevin Kolb is officially questionable after being limited in practice all week with his toe injury. ?We won?t know his status until gametime, but signs are pointing towards Kolb playing.

2. The Rams? two best defenders are questionable.?Linebacker James Laurinaitis (foot) and defensive end Chris Long (ankle) practiced in a limited fashion during the week, so they should play.

3. The Bills have a sadly big list of starters that are out this week. Some of the players are already on injured reserve, but we?ll reprint here: Running back?Fred Jackson (fibula), wideout Donald Jones (ankle), kicker Rian Lindell (shoulder), cornerback Terrence McGee (knee), and safety George Wilson (neck) are out. ?Backup wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt (shoulder) is also out.

4. The Jets are healthy, with the exception of kick returner?Jeremy Kerley (knee) and running back LaDainian Tomlinson (knee). Both are questionable, but they didn?t practice all week.

5. Tight end Dallas Clark (fibula) is out once again. Running back Joseph Addai (hamstring) should be back after practicing fully all week.

6. The Raiders will be without?wide receiver Jacoby Ford (foot), running back Darren McFadden (foot), and defensive end Jarvis Moss (hamstring). ?Half the team is questionable, including two players that didn?t practice all week: running back?Taiwan Jones (hamstring) and wide receiver Denarius Moore (foot).

7. A few extra days off did the Broncos some good. The entire active roster should be available to face San Diego.

8. The Chargers got some good news on Friday. Running back Ryan Mathews (knee) is probable despite missing practice Thursday, and their best pass rusher Shaun Phillips (foot) was upgraded to questionable this week.

The bad news:?Defensive end Luis Castillo (tibia), wideout Malcom Floyd (hip), and tackle Marcus McNeill (neck) are all still out. Two other guards are doubtful. The offensive line is in bad shape.

9. Andre Johnson (hamstring) is officially probable as he returns from his lengthy injury. ?He should be happy about his matchup with Jacksonville because . . .

10. The Jaguars defense is banged up. Cornerback Derek Cox went on injured reserve Friday. Fellow starter Rashean Mathis is already there. Defensive line starters?Terrance Knighton (ankle) and Matt Roth (concussion) are both out.

11. The Falcons will be short in the secondary. Luckily, they are playing the Vikings. ?Cornerback Kelvin Hayden (toe) is out and cornerback Brent Grimes (knee)?is questionable despite not practicing all week.

12. Patriots wideout?Chad Ochocinco (hamstring) is officially questionable after missing practice Friday. There are nine other Patriots that are questionable, but they all practiced in a limited fashion during the week. Linebacker Brandon Spikes (knee) remains out.

13. Redskins receiver Santana Moss (hand) is back in the mix. He?s probable.

14. The Steelers list linebacker?LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) as questionable, but there is doubt locally that he?ll suit up.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/25/rodney-harrison-says-suspending-suh-will-get-his-attention/related/

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