Buon 1° Maggio

Sarah Geronimo Covers MEGA Magazine May 2010 Issue + MEGA's List of 10 Most Beautiful People in the Philippines

Sarah Geronimo is on the cover of MEGA Magazine's May 2010 issue where she shares her secret on how she has kept her life damage free.

MEGA also reveals in this month's issue their list of 10 Most Beautiful People in the Philippines. They are:

KC Concepcion
Agot Isidro
Maxene Magalona
Timi Gomez
Cris Albert
Mitzi Borromeo
Stephanie Kienle
Chicho Suarez
Joanne Zapanta-Andrada
Stephanie Zubiri

MEGA Magazine May 2010 issue is now available at all magazine stands nationwide.

April Muster

Every month, this blog honors law enforcement officers who have died serving the communities of our nation. The muster is a tradition I learned at Texas A & M University. Once a year, the school turns off most of its lights. Students, alumni, faculty and family attend a huge convocation. Someone calls the name of each departed Aggie from the roll. Another Aggie always answers for their presence: here with us.
.

--Hector Ayala--Chad Pritchard--John Brown--
--Jacob Rayos--Ian Deutch--Kory Dahlvig--
--Rodney Holder--Bryan Durman--Franco Aguilar--

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You can learn more about these officers at the Officer Down Memorial page.

KC Concepcion Covers Preview Magazine May 2010 Issue

KC Concepcion wants you to cast your ballot in the May 2010 issue of Preview Magazine.

Also features in this issue are "Time for Change: Neon-Bright Sportswear, Lingerie Dressing, Pretty Pastels, Navajo Style," "Fashion and the First Lady," "The Best of Haute Couture Shows," "Sex and the City: The Girls Are Back, Get the Look of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda," "Hot New Hairdo: Braids," "31 Ways to Summer-Proof Your Beauty Routine," and "A-Z of Beauty Now!"

Preview Magazine May 2010 issue is now available at all magazine stands nationwide.

MYX VJ Search 2010 is On!

Sa mga gustong sundan ang yapak nina Luis Manzano, Nikki Gil at Iya Villania bilang ilan sa mga pinakasikat na video jocks sa bansa, sali na sa MYX VJ Search 2010!

Kung ikaw ay 18-25 years old, witty, energetic, talkative, outgoing, adventurous, charming, trendy, at mahilig sa music, concerts, travels at crazy adventures, mag-audition na!

Naka-set ang audition para sa MYX VJ Search sa darating na May 7, 14, 21, at 28 sa Studio 12, 4th Floor Talent Center Bldg., ABS-CBN Compound, Quezon City mula 11:00am hanggang 6:00pm.

Sa auditions, huwag kalimutang dalhin ang requirements tulad ng resume, full body photo, close-up photo at kahit alin sa mga sumusunod na IDs: School ID, Passport, Driver's License, SSS o anumang dokumento na nagpapatunay ng iyong birthdate.

Mayroong 12 exclusive spots para sa mga MYX VJ hopefuls at pagdadaan nila ang iba’t ibang challenges na susubok sa kanilang talent at determination na makamit ang big prize—ang maging pinakabagong mukha ng number one music channel sa bansa! Mapapanood ang nasabing challenges sa ilang episodes ng “MYX VJ Search Specials.” Bibigyan din ng chance ang mga MYX VJ hopefuls na mag-host sa ilang MYX shows.

Huwag nang magpahuli! Pagkakataon mo na itong maging sikat na MYX VJ!

Para sa iba pang detalye, mag-log on sa www.myx.com.ph, www.twitter.com/myxphilippines at www.facebook.com/MYX.Philippines.

Panoorin ang mga paboritong music videos sa MYX sa Studio 23 o sa Sky Cable Channel 23. Available din ito sa Sky Cable Gold, Sky Cable Silver at iba pang quality cable operators nationwide.

Kris Aquino Invades ASAP XV This Sunday, May 2

May bagong handog ang Multi-Media Queen na si Kris Aquino ngayong linggo sa ASAP XV. Ilulunsad ang kanyang panibagong album mula sa Star Records.

Soulful acoustic performance naman ang offering nag-iisang Mr. Pure Energy na si Gary Valenciano kasama sina Yeng Constantino at Sam Milby na bibigyan ng kakaibang male version ang hit song ng Pussycat Dolls na "Hush Hush".

Ang hinahangaang ASAP Sessionistas na sina Juris Fernandez, Sitti Navarro, Nina, Princess, Duncan at Aiza Seguerra ay live na aawitin ang kanilang mga current hits.

Sa Full Circle, isang matinding dance number ang hatid ng Empress of Drama kasama ang mga astig sa dancefloor na sina Rayver Cruz at Gerald Anderson.

Magpapakilig din ang Asian Romantic Balladeer na si Christian Bautista kasama si Bea Alonzo sa pag-awit ng number one song sa Indonesia na “Please Be Careful with my Heart.” Ngayon, patuloy na gumagawa ng pangalan si Christian sa Asian music at entertainment scene. Sikat na sikat na ang aktor sa Southeast Asian countries partikular na sa Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia at Thailand.

Humanda na sa isa na namang siksik na concert party ngayong Linggo sa ASAP XV, pagkatapos ng Matanglawin sa ABS-CBN.

PBB Says Goodbye to Eslove Briones, Welcomes Jovic Susim

Kung isang housemate ang muling lumabas ng Bahay ni Kuya, isang bagong housemate naman ang pumasok sa kanyang bahay noong Huwebes (Abril 29) at ito ay si Jovic Susim - ang Diplomatic Son ng Albay!

Mula sa isang political family itong si Jovic sa kanyang bayan at tulad ng kanyang ama ay pangarap niya rin ang makapaglingkod sa bayan. Pero dahil siya ay bata pa, ine-enjoy ng tall-dark-and-handsome basketball varsity player na ito ang kanyang kabataan sa sari-saring sports tulad ng basketball at golf. Kasalukuyan siyang nag-aaral ng Consular and Diplomatic affairs sa isang prestihiyosong paaralan.

Noong Miyerkules (Abril 28) ay pinalabas naman ng ng bahay ni Kuya ang ikalawang forced evictee na si Eslove, ang "Sigang Istokwa ng Tawi-Tawi," ilang oras matapos ang kanyang birthday celebration sa loob ng PBB House.

Naging madamdamin ang pamamaalam ni Eslove sa mga Teen Housemates, humingi din ng paumanhin si Tricia na hindi niya ginusto ang nangyari kay Eslove. Sa isang biruan kasi ay tila napikon itong si Eslove at tinutukan ng kutsilyo ang dalaga. Biro man o hindi, ang ginawa ni Eslove ay isang paglabag sa house rules ni Kuya.

Paano makakaapekto ang pagpasok ni Jovic sa susunod na nominasyon? Yan ang dapat abangan sa mga susunod na araw. Samantala, tuloy pa rin ang voting para sa 2nd Eviction night. Sino kina Tricia, Becca at Yen ang susunod na lalabas sa bahay ni Kuya sa darating na Sabado (Mayo 1)?

Makikilala rin natin ang mga bagong bedspacers sa apartment! Sino-sino ang mga ito at ano ang gagawin nila sa loob ng Bahay ni Kuya? Abangan sa "Pinoy Big Brother Teen Clash of 2010" pagkatapos ng "MMK" kasama sina Toni Gonzaga, Mariel Rodriguez, at Bianca Gonzalez sa ABS-CBN.

Iceland-Hera Bjork's 'Je ne sais quoi' Offical Video

We like the NEW video; and the song is one of the best.
As for the Vid- not a Volcano in sight!
Filmed at Sundhöll Reykjavíkur ( Swimming baths ) I am guessing with all that
vocanic ash around, what better way to get rid of it but a nice swim...!

What's in a beanie? Norway's face of Eurovision 2009 & 2010!

Val & The Bitches - Monkey See, Monkey Do

"Look at all that we can be together"

I've been wanting to write about this song for AGES. I heard it several years ago (yes, years) on Swedish radio and that one listen stuck with me. Now, months and months later, I finally tracked the song down and had listen number two. And it's just as I remembered it. Val & The Bitches are a Swedish band--sort of the Scandinavian equivalent to the Noisettes, except punkier. There's also a strong new wave influence in a number of tracks (and in the band's styling). But it's the funkiness of this track that stuck with me for so long. The swaggering chorus is very 80's Prince and that instrumental hook is immensely catchy. Robo-funk. I love it. They're also signed to the same label that the Mo used to be with. Not that that means much sonically, but it was one of the first reasons I stumbled upon this band. Why this song wasn't a huge hit in Sweden, I'll never know. Not all their songs are this immediate, but there are a few other standouts on the album so be sure to check it out.

Val & The Bitches - Monkey See, Monkey Do by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

My Review of Ashes To Ashes 3x05: "Episode 21"

Written by Tom Butterworth And Chris Hurford
Directed by Jamie Payne

Bevan: “The thing about Gene Hunt, it’s not what he did. It’s about what he got other people to do.”
Alex: “And what did he get you to do?”

I complained in my review for the previous episode that we weren’t getting anything with Sam Tyler and here was an episode that teased so much that I’ll be genuinely shocked if John Simm doesn’t appear in the last episode of this series. I mean, we’re three episodes away from the end. Now’s the time for answers, writers.

Bringing back another known Life On Mars character with Litton and his scumbag partner Bevan was certainly a way to throw us more morsels on Sam Tyler than ever before. Litton took an initial similar disdain to Alex that he did with Sam and Bevan certainly knew more than he was letting on.

At one point, Bevan even cornered Alex and promised her that he’d give her information on Gene and Sam if she’d drop Frank Hardwick. Alex didn’t fall for that one but she did get to witness Gene stealing her files and burning them along with Sam’s jacket.

I never get bothered by seeing clothes ruined or destroyed but seeing Gene burning Sam’s jacket for some reason got to me. It was like he was burning away the last trace of Sam, even though I still think he’s alive and it was enough to spark Alex into demanding some straight answers on the issue. So, why doesn’t Gene give her any?

Hasn’t Alex proved enough in over twenty episodes that she’s worth trusting? Or did Gene really did have something to do with Sam’s disappearance? He was desperate enough to silence Bevan and whatever he said to Bevan, it freaked the bent copper out enough to tell Alex to stay away from him.

Gene’s doing himself no favours by not confiding in Alex. Every time he pulls away from her is another chance for Keats to try and widen the gap between the pair of them. Keats can see that and he certainly has taken enough delight in undermining Gene at every turn this season. He even rubbed Gene’s nose in it by suspending Litton.

The idea of Gene actually being bothered that Litton’s career could be in tatters is certainly a change for the books. I used to enjoy Gene and Litton’ rivalry and Litton was largely obnoxious for the best part of this episode but if ever there was an episode to redeem an otherwise unlikeable character, it would be this one.

It would’ve been easy for the writers to have taken Litton down the road of corruption. Like Gene, Litton isn’t down with change and certainly couldn’t stand the more progression stances of either Jim or Alex in this episode. He even made a few sexist comments here and there when Frank Hardwick had originally been let go.

But being a sexist, old fashioned brute are his only flaws. He wasn’t anywhere near as bad as Bevan and actually believed that Frank had been stealing from police widows. The moment he realised that Bevan had been duping him saw a different change in his attitude. He even respected Gene at one point and commented on their glaringly obvious similarities.

More importantly though, he noted that both Sam and Alex have affected Gene and you don’t have to be a genius to agree with that. Now, I wish Gene would just bloody open up to Alex about Sam because there is very little time left and if he doesn’t act soon, Alex will end up being swayed by Jim from the looks of it.

As for other mysteries in this episode, we now have three main characters that have seen stars. I didn’t expect Ray to start seeing them as well and it was interesting that it gave him and Shaz something to discuss, even if he denied seeing them in the end. Is this show going to take a similar route to the US version of its predecessor? Something about those stars are significant.

Speaking of significant. Ray’s loyalties seem to be tested a lot recently. First with the army bloke and now with Litton and Bevan. Bevan had some kind of weird control over Ray and even tried to use that when he was trying to escape from Gene, Alex and Litton. I’m glad that Ray managed to snap the hell out of it though. Having friends like Bevan is definitely not worth the hassle.

Another good thing with Ray in this episode was him and Shaz actually getting along for a bit. Shaz asked him if he was lonely and he admitted that he was. Plus there was more dubious comments made about his sexuality. Whatever could that possibly mean? And I loved him and Shaz singing “Danny Boy” at the cop gala more than Chris’s impressive dance moves and those were bloody impressive.

As for Bevan and Frank, well it was a lot more interesting that some of the main cases this season and it helped that a lot of it tied into or related around the Sam mystery and even the stars. It also helped that Bevan was suitably nasty and that Frank (who’d witnessed him beating a black man to death) was reasonably harmless, even if he wasn’t the best comedian in the world.

Finally with Jim – hats off to Daniel Mays because he’s really doing a great job with showing how much of an odious little pencil pusher he really is. I’ve read theories about him possibly being a guardian angel for Alex and if that’s true, I bet she’d happily trade for Castiel off Supernatural. At least he’s likeable and hot.

Also in “Episode 21”

Those clips of Sam from Life On Mars were fantastic but I want a John Simm appearance on this show now please.

Gene (to Alex): “I’m not having two months hard graft blown by you, Sleeping Beauty.”

Jackie Tyler herself Camille Coduri played a prostitute in this episode. Sadly she wasn’t given much to do in this episode but it was nice to see her on TV.

Alex (to Gene, re Litton/Bevan): “I thought you were a throwback. Compared to those two, you’re practically homo erectus.”

Shaz (re porn): “Who watches this filth?”
Alex (to Gene): “You care to share anything with us, guv?”

There was no scarred copper in this episode and there was nothing further on 6-6-20. Bevan was also the police photographer on the day of Sam’s death.

Litton: “Couldn’t have made something up, you stupid woman.”
Alex: “No, because that would be breaking the law, chief inspector.”

Gene (to Alex): “Look at us; we’re like Sapphire And Steel. I’m like him and you’re like ... her. Team work, cop solidarity.”

I think this was the first episode where we weren’t in Alex’s flat, even if we did have some scenes in Luigi’s for this one.

Bevan (to Alex, re Sam/Gene): “I’ll never tell you what happened. The closer you get to it, the more you’ll never know.”

Ray (to Chris): “I just saw stars, like the edge of the world. Can’t you see them?”

Standout music: The Cure’s “Love Cats” won for me.

Chris: “Shaz, I’m cacking it.”
Shaz: “You’ll be fine. Now go break a leg.”
Chris: “That’s not very supportive.”

Gene: “Not many of us left, Litton, good old day. Now bugger off back to Manchester.”

Chronology: Still in 1983, though nothing further on that.

While there’s a lot of teasing in this episode, at least we’re back to things getting exciting. Now with three episodes left, let’s just hope the answers will be worth it because we’ve waited long enough.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

TOTALLY SCARY

A research team at Stanford University is pursuing a project that would allow small flying drones to meander around, identify targets, land on walls and sit there (aka hide) . Such devices deployed by a government -- or by anyone else --would facilitate surreptitious espionage, surveillance, and physical attack on ordinary citizens -- that is, on everyone.

(For example, in Arizona, legal citizens could be able to get RF tags that would wave these drones away, while anyone not possessing a working tag -- battery's dead, too bad -- would find themself in a scene out of Hitchcock's "Birds," attacked from the air, from nearby walls, and even have these things land on their backs and hang there.)

As it says in their white paper: these devices could "identify suitable locations, execute controlled, low-speed landing maneuvers on arbitrary surfaces, cling and crawl to save power while conducting surveillance, and jump to regain airborne mobility".

Surveillance...They could also murder.



Here's their white paper:
http://bdml.stanford.edu/twiki/pub/Main/PerchingProject/SU-perching.pd

To be "fair" to these particular researchers, this kind of development is inevitable.

New technology creates new opportunities. Politics must shape and control whether these are opportunities for good or evil, opportunities to "serve mankind" for good or for supper.

39 STEPS STEPS ACROSS TOWN

(l-r) Jamie Jackson, Cameron Fulmar, Kate MacCluggage, John Behlmann
Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS
Phot Credit: Carol Rosegg 2010

Alfred Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS, one of the most entertaining shows in NY has just moved to New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street Between 8th and 9th Avenues.

With just 4 actors, lots of wit, and frantic physical comedy, the play, 39 Steps, re-creates the classic film, Hitchcock's spy thriller, 39 Steps.

The play stands on its own, a tour de force of live comedy techniques. It's not necessary to have seen the movie to enjoy the play, but for the most fun, my recommendation is, if possible, to rent/watch the movie a day or two before going to the play.

Louis Jordan: Is You Is, or Is you Ain't My Baby . . .

This is dedicated to the 96th Engineers (Colored) who rebuilt Port Moresby and several extemporaneous jungle/swamp airfields to save pilots and aircraft during World War II. Running out of gas over the jungle was no joke. There's no telling how important their work was to the overall effort.

I found this gem looking for the song itself. Louis Jordan singing for a film Follow the Boys (1944). This is the only Hollywood film I have seen showing black military men in World War II.

However, I do know there were films and newsreels specifically targeting black-patronized movie theatres. Many of those have been lost, but the remainder have become the object of intense historical interest and preservation work.

Consiglio Provinciale: ok al bilancio consuntivo

Con i voti favorevoli della maggioranza, e l’astensione di quelli di minoranza è stato approvato il bilancio consuntivo per il 2009 della provincia del VCO. È quanto emerso dal dibattito odierno a Villa San Remigio. All’inizio del dibattito consiliare, il presidente della provincia, Massimo Nobili, ha relazionato sui recenti incontri avuti in Regione ed al Ministero sulle vertenze occupazionali che interessano le aziende del VCO. Nobili ha annunciato la creazione di una cabina di regia a livello provinciale per seguire da vicino le vicende occupazionali del territorio ed ha presentato
la volontà, da parte del neo assessore all’industria della Regione Piemonte, Massimo Giordano, di avviare un piano strategico per il VCO in grado di attrarre nuove realtà produttive, partendo dalla costituzione del distretto per l’energia.
(VcoAzzurraTv)

Maria Haukaas Storeng feat. Måns Zelmerlöw "Precious To Me"

Norway mets Sweden as the Fantastic Maria Haukaas Storeng
has a wonderful new single featuring the likes of Måns now this is
one perfect combination- we wanna see something like this in Oslo,
pleeease?

check out a Norsk Breaky TV version of 'Precious to Me'

Rant #246: May Day Go Away

Tomorrow, May 1, is May Day.

This holiday isn't even listed in my desk calendar. All that is listed is Labor Day in Mexico.

But at one time, May Day was a big holiday here in the U.S.

I remember as a kid, maybe in kindergarten or first grade, that May 1 featured a big celebration at our school. We actually have film of myself and my class in the schoolyard doing some type of dance, and then dancing around a maypole.

I think the whole thing dated back to much earlier times. This was some type of fertility rite (egads!) or something to do with welcoming a good harvest, or something like that.

But May Day took on negative connotations toward the mid to late 1960s, and that's while nobody in this country even bats an eye at the day anymore.

I think it became linked to the then U.S.S.R. and became a "communist" holiday. It was a "workers" day or a "labor" day, and well, that even sounds un-American, doesn't it?

It's a day of political demonstrations and these events are organized by socialist groups, so we certainly can't celebrate a holiday like that here, that's for sure!

That's why, in a democracy, we don't celebrate it anymore.

Believe me, I can understand that entirely.

But I know that at one time we did celebrate it.

And I have the film to prove it.

Andre Hnatyszak and Michael Fredo

Andre Hnatyszak and Michael Fredo

COVET
April 27, ‎2010
Celebrity Nightlife Photo

Auguri Vco! Diciotto anni fa l’addio dal Novarese

La Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola compie oggi diciotto anni. Era il 30 aprile del 1992 quando venne approvato il decreto legislativo numero 277. Con le firme del presidente supplente della Repubblica Spadolini, del presidente del Consiglio Andreotti. E poi Scotti, ministro dell’Interno, Carli del Tesoro, Formica alla Finanze, Gaspari alla Funzione pubblica, Martinazzoli alle riforme istituzionali e con il visto di Martelli, il Guardasigilli. Un altro mondo, sembrano trascorsi secoli. Settantasette comuni, da Antrona a Vogogna, elencati in rigoroso ordine
alfabetico, poi le condizioni della separazione dalla madre-Novara, a partire dai beni, sotto la vigilanza del commissario inviato dal ministero dell’Interno. Nel decreto era già indicata un’altra data fondamentale: il 1995, l’anno delle elezioni.
A traghettare la nuova provincia al voto fu l’Assemblea costituente presieduta da Gianni Motetta. Toccò proprio a lui passare le consegne ad un altro cusiano, l’avvocato Giuseppe Ravasio. Il primo presidente votato dagli elettori del Vco, sostenuto dal centrosinistra, morì prima di terminare il mandato.
Motetta nello storico passaggio di consegne di quindici anni fa richiamava con forza l’aspirazione di questa terra all’autonomia. Oggi il discorso torna prepotentemente su quel tema, perché il percorso non è compiuto: «La provincia - dice l’ex parlamentare comunista - è utile se si realizza lo scopo per cui è stata voluta. Ho sempre detto che volevo una provincia di tipo nuovo. Siamo in una zona dell’arco alpino svantaggiata, l’autonomia è uno strumento che consente di avere maggiore spesa, di tenere le popolazioni in montagna». Non tutto, in questi anni è andato come i padri della provincia avevano sperato. Motetta: «Ho visto poca capacità di incidere sul territorio. Avrei voluto vedere un atteggiamento più unitario, non quello rivendicativo della politica del cappello in mano ma di lotta per il diritto a tenere la nostra gente in montagna».
Ma il Vco è diventata anche una provincia percepita in modo positivo dalla sua gente? «C’è ancora molto da fare - risponde Motetta - . Lo diventerà nella misura in cui saprà rispondere alle esigenze dei cittadini. E’ un territorio con poca gente e molti problemi. Ma ci sono anche tante ricchezze (dal turismo all’energia) che non sono abbastanza valorizzate. Manca un investimento deciso su questa zona che è uno dei punti di forza del Piemonte. Con una certezza: senza senza l’autonomia questa Provincia finisce».
(La Stampa)

Imprenditoria Giovanile VCO: Si cercano aziende per tirocini

Anche quest’anno la Regione Piemonte ha assegnato alla Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola risorse per la realizzazione di azioni di politiche giovanile, all’interno delle quali, con parere unanime e condiviso dei soggetti coinvolti, si è deciso di proseguire il progetto denominato Imprenditoria Giovanile. Il progetto, teso a favorire lo start up di imprese di giovani, viene consolidato in un momento di particolare crisi occupazionale, mirando ad incentivare un atteggiamento attivo nella ricerca e
costruzione di opportunità lavorative.

“Alla luce dell’esperienza maturata con l’attuazione progettuale dello scorso anno, – spiega l’Assessore alle Politiche Giovanili Alberto Preioni – si è verificato come sia più efficace individuare possibilità di tirocini presso aziende del territorio, chiedendo che siano esse stesse a indicare agli organizzatori e attori del progetto i profili professionali più in sintonia con le proprie esigenze“. “Abbiamo quindi voluto partire – prosegue Preioni – dal contattare le imprese e ora stiamo attendendo di capire quali siano le competenze e ruoli sui quali puntare nello strutturare il percorso formativo proposto con questo nostro progetto, che si basa molto sull’imparare facendo”.

In queste settimane sono state contattate società, consorzi, cooperative per capire quale sia la loro disponibilità ad accogliere nella seconda parte dell’anno – dove aver esaurito una prima fase propedeutica – una ventina di giovani dai 18 ai 26 anni con diploma superiore per quattro mesi, con un impegno settimanale di 20 ore.

La scadenza per l’inoltro delle candidature delle aziende interessate ad accogliere i tirocinanti (1 fino a 5 dipendenti, 2 dai 6 ai 19 dipendenti, fino al 10% dei dipendenti in aziende con più di 20 addetti) è domani 30 aprile. Il numero ad oggi pervenuto è al di sotto della ventina richiesta per poter garantire a tutti i tirocinanti previsti dal progetto questa esperienza che è un’occasione di scambio reciproco tra giovani ‘apprendisti imprenditori’ e le imprese del territorio. Le candidature che perverranno oltre la scadenza di domani saranno prese in considerazione per coprire i posti ancora disponibili.

Una volta acquisite le candidature delle aziende, si provvederà a pubblicare un avviso per selezionare i giovani tirocinanti in possesso dei requisiti richiesti.

Le informazioni relative al progetto ‘Imprenditoria Giovanile’ sono reperibili sul sito www.provincia.verbania.it, sezione ALBO oppure telefonando al numero 0323-4950.357.

Intel gains market share in Q1

Intel Corp. gained ground on rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in first-quarter personal computer processor shipments, according to a report by the IDC market research firm.

Intel’s overall market share totaled 81 percent for the quarter, up 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter, while AMD’s share dropped 0.6 percent to 18.8 percent. Taiwan’s Via Technologies had a share of 0.2 percent, up 0.1 percent.

Worldwide shipments declined by 5.6 percent from the fourth quarter, which IDC described as a typical seasonal decline. The market research firm says it expects global processor shipments will grow by 15.1 percent this year.

For desktop computers Intel had a 71.7 percent share compared with AMD’s 28.0 percent. In mobile processors, Intel had a 87.8 percent share, compared with AMD’s 12.1 percent. In server chips, Intel had a 90.2 percent, and AMD had 9.8 percent.

Miss Ellen Bops w/o Direction, & No Wonder

My Toolbox
I needed a Wrench. Swear I used to have a whole darn set.
But that was before my Mom reorganized my tools Her Way. Her way is to get rid of the case that sorts drill bits by size, and throw them all in the Tupperware you usually use for celery sticks.

"You have plenty of Tupperware," she said. "Hmm. Let me try this one."
I don't have a lot of Tupperware. Furthermore, I don't want to buy any Tupperware.

She took socks and cut off the feet, then twisted them around to keep my extension cords nicely untangled..

"Mom, couldn't we just use a twist tie?"
"No, this will work. You'll see."
"That was a perfectly good sock, you know."

She does this for a living--use tools, I mean. She's actually really good--measure twice, cut once, careful on the job, everything. But I don't see how this works. It doesn't work for me.

Miss Ellen, Miss-Directed
So, I need a Wrench. Miss Ellen's handlebars are suddenly headed West when I want to go North. It is possible to steer like this, but only to Eventual Disaster.

Our HotWind Tax Dollars Are At Work, along with the Federal Re-Build America Act, re-doing the streets in my neighborhood. So far they have sliced a lot of pavement and laid down a lot of metal sheets on the road, then torn up the sidewalks and put in fancy brick stripes and granite curbing. They look great. When this project is done, no doubt I will be very pleased. But there's a lot of gravel and Pitfalls now, and every time Miss Ellen swerves to avoid one-----

-------her handlebars are suddenly headed SouthEast when I want to go West.

She was Always a loose cannon. Now she's a loose cannon with a loose nut, and I don't mean me.

I took Miss Ellen back to a place where direction is not so important, i.e. my living room. I tore up my closet for a nonexistent wrench. Finally I proceeded on half-finished state-of-the-art sidewalks to the neighborhood hardware store. I had a tracing of the nut and was measuring wrenches against it.

The guy behind the counter is a short, wiry caramel-colored man with a grey Afro hairstyle and a grey plaid flannel shirt. He's worked there forever.
"Why don't you get an adjustable wrench?"
"Sounds good."
"Right behind you," he points out. "Look up, above your eye level."

I pick a small one I can leave in my bag. "I've been needing a weapon, too," I tell the hardware guy.
He pokers up. "Need a bigger one then."
"I'm not going to hit anybody with it particularly," I tell him back. "I'm going to sling the bag."
"Yeah, that'll work," he says, still straight-faced. "Like David and Goliath. A course, I got a pipe wrench for $29.95 if you think about it." He hands me the receipt. "Come back anytime."

He probably thinks I am one of those candidates for a floral-print screwdriver. Hah! That is completely untrue.

Anyway, one of Miss Ellen's nuts is all right and tight. The other one still needs some adjustments.

Gravitonas - Kites

"All we want is to be heard"

I feel like Alexander Bard (of BWO, Army Of Lovers, Vacuum fame) really only has a few song templates that he keeps reshuffling and releasing. There's certainly a Bard "sound." I think I could spot one of his songs without even knowing who the artist was. So, it's not surprising that his first single with his new project Gravitonas sounds like it could have been on the latest BWO album. The only real difference is the vocals (though new vocalist Andreas Öhrn even sounds a little like BWO's Martin Rolinski). Luckily, Kites would have been a great BWO song and is, in fact, a great Gravitonas song. It's hardly the rock music some of us were expecting, though there is a catchy guitar hook throughout. More importantly, the track builds into somewhat of an anthem. The chorus is pretty silly, but delivered with the total straight-faced drama that seems to be a bit of a Bard trademark. Best part? About a third of the way through when the beat well and truly drops. It's nice to know that the pop world has someone like Alexander Bard (even though I'd prefer another BWO album!).

Gravitonas - Kites by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

My Review of True Blood's 2x12: "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"

Written by Alexander Woo
Directed by Michael Cuesta

Maryann (to Sam): “Was there no god?”

The amount of debates that particular question raises would have my head in a spin but to answer Maryann’s question, there was no god. Or if there was, he couldn’t be arsed to show up, even with all the big fuss that Maryann had set out.

She had the entire town under her control and even Sookie as maid of honour (so this whole debacle was treated as a union and a rebirth of sorts) and Bill was even kind enough to hand her Sam in exchange for Sookie. Heck, Sam was even bound and gagged to that meat pile and Eggs stabbed him but it wasn’t enough.

For one thing, Maryann’s probably been doing this for a while now which means that Dionysius had no intention of actually showing up and given that Maryann was supposed to be so savvy, she should’ve realised that she was being duped in a way.

Sookie smashing the ostrich and trashing the altar aside, it should have been clear that Bill and Sam had their own little plan to shaft the maenad once and for all. Both men desperately wanted her out of town and both of them knew that she needed to be her most vulnerable in order to do it.

The moment where Maryann thought she saw her god in bull form was the moment where she was undone. I’ve seen gorier death scenes on television but having Sam literally rip her heart out was enough to make me glad that I hadn’t been eating anything when watching this episode.

I know there was some disappointment with fandom over this episode’s quick resolving of Maryann’s plot but I thought it was perfectly fine. The character had been so radically different from “Living Dead In Dallas” that there was no way the character was going to make it out of the season alive. She had to die.

Sure, I’ll miss Michelle Forbes but we had her for fifteen episodes and she did a wonderful job with Maryann. And there’s also the fact that Maryann’s time on the show had serious consequences for nearly every character in some capacity as well.

Eggs for instance couldn’t deal with the fact that large chunks of his memory were gone and freaked out when he saw blood on his hands. Even Tara was no use in trying to reassure him and when Sookie did end up helping him fill in the gaps, Eggs did not react well at all. You can say what you like about the character but he did care about he’d done.

He freaked out over murdering both Miss Jeanette and Daphne and nearly causing Sam’s death and even tried to attack Andy in his guilt and confusion. While I didn’t exactly cry over his death, I did feel incredibly bad for Tara and for Jason, who was the one that inadvertently caused Eggs to die.

Eggs might not have been the most ideal of boyfriends but for Tara, she loved him and was hoping to have a relationship with him that didn’t consist of Maryann controlling either one of them. And if this series adheres to future books, then Tara’s abysmal track record is going to get worse.

I did love that Sookie reassured her about the family and I’m sure there will be scene in the third season that will see the pair of them bond over their losses but I also really feel bad for Jason and Andy. Covering up the truth behind how Eggs really died isn’t going to be successful for either one of them.

Andy didn’t need to actually lie for Jason. Jason did shoot Eggs because he thought that Andy was in danger, so it’s accidental. Still in some ways, this cover up might even cement or eradicate their newfound friendship. Jason had encouraged that heroes do things for good rather than glory. There might be a possible chance that Andy’s covering up of this murder could be his way of honouring that way of thinking.

As for the townspeople themselves – it’s amazing what a lot of self-denial can do. This is a community that have had to embrace the supernatural or at least acknowledge its existence and now they’re pretending that it never happened. I can understand why Andy was annoyed with them. I think I would be too.

Arlene in particular might not have remembered everything but she felt guilt about not being there for her kids and Terry was just awesomeness personified with the way he bonded with Coby and Lisa and Lafayette was just glad not to remember everything. Maxine, well she was less awesome but her venomous tongue finally got Hoyt to man up and choose Jessica over her.

And that would’ve been a brilliant thing but then we had to go and see Jessica sink her teeth into some trucker. I get that she’s young, immature and unable to deal with an adult relationship (hey, most adults are like that too) but perhaps she should’ve just faced Hoyt instead of snacking on some pervert trucker. I’m just saying.

As for Sam, it seemed that he got some lessons in people accepting his true nature. I loved that Sookie told him that he was special and while I never want to see a romantic entanglement with these two, it’s nice to see them more friendly with each other than they have been. Also the fact that they were some scenes together as well given how little interaction they’ve had this season.

Sam’s quest to learn about his true nature however was probably much needed for him but I can’t help but think that maybe he should’ve heeded Mrs Merlotte’s advice about his real family being bad people. And there’s Sookie’s own feelings of identity.

Electrical stuff aside, Maryann went to great lengths to point out that Sookie wasn’t entirely human and the words stuck with her. It was why Sookie had reservations to Bill’s marriage proposal and while it was predictable that she would change her mind and agree, I actually liked the fact that she did have some initial doubts.

With Bill being missing, it would seem that the obvious culprit would have to be Eric acting on Sophie-Anne’s behalf but knowing the books, Eric properly didn’t get the opportunity to keep Bill quiet on the V supply situation. Sophie-Anne was slightly more threatening in this one as well but even I know damn well that she’s not responsible for Bill’s disappearance.

Also in “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’”

Sookie Stackhouse creator Charlaine Harris guest starred in this episode as a customer talking briefly to Sam in Merlotte’s.

Maryann: “That’s hitting me. You’re not committing to this at all.”
Sookie: “I don’t have electrical powers. I’m a human being.”

And Sookie was literally the only human in Bon Temps, apart from Hoyt who didn’t succumb to Maryann’s power. Even Jason and Andy did in this one.

Maryann: “Come on, it’ll be our little secret. What are you?”
Sookie: “I’m a waitress. What the fuck are you?”

Eric might have many talents but it turned out that Yahtzee is not one of them. Hadley on the other hand looked worried/threatened when Sophie-Anne talked of Sookie and bored during the rest of the time.

Sophie-Anne (re Bill/Sookie): “Of course he would be with her. You probably are too.”
Eric: “I do not love humans.”
Sophie-Anne: “She’s not entirely human. Have you tasted her?”

Andy: “I never killed nobody before.”
Jason: “You see that house? It’s been in my family for 150 years. What kind of man would stand by while his grandmother’s house gets torn to the ground?”
Andy: “Not my grandmother’s house.”

I loved the deliberate contrast that Bill and Jessica had with each other during this finale. They’ve come a reasonably long way from disliking each other.

Bill: “I need you. Sookie needs you to make this right.”
Sam: “If I thought it was easy as giving myself up to Maryann, I’d have done that by now. What’s to say she’s gonna stop with me? Killers just don’t suddenly quit, you ought to know that.”

Maryann: “You’re lucky Sam. It’s everyone’s wish to have their life mean something. So few ever get to realise it.”

One of the patrons in Merlotte’s thought that Maryann Forrester meant Martian Foreigner and that the water had given them an LSD trip. Some people do have selective memory.

Jane: “Andy, whatever you’re drinking, we all want some of that.”
Andy: “It’s diet coke with lime.”

Sookie: “I don’t have the words to thank you for what you did.”
Sam: “Probably best you don’t.”

Standout music: “Beyond Here Lies Nothing” by Bob Dylan, which was also used in the main trailer for this season.

Sookie: “Yes, yes, Bill Compton, I will marry you. Bill?”

Chronology: From where “Frenzy” left off.

As a finale goes, I liked “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” a freaking lot. It tied all the loose ends of the season together nice enough and it set up a lot of very interesting storylines for the third season. It might have killed Maryann halfway through the episode but it certainly didn’t lack in keeping me interested. And I bet I know exactly who kidnapped Bill too.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

BRITISH DEBATE LIVE ON WEB NOW

The British candidates for Prime Minister are now debating live in England. Here is a live webcast of the debate:


http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/live-video-and-analysis-of-the-british-debate/

The candidates are:

David Cameron - Conservative
Gordon Brown - Labour - (current Prime Minister)
Nick Clegg - Liberal Democrats - (the upstart, lately a new "star" for his performance in earlier debates)

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall
"GET LOW"
April 27, ‎2010

Red Carpet Photo

Alan Mulally and Funk Flex

Alan Mulally and Funk Flex
March 31, ‎2010
2010 New York International Auto Show Photo

Alan Mulally

Alan Mulally
Microsofts Hybrid with Hohm consumer energy management software by Microsoft which determines the best times to recharge their vehicles at home

March 31, ‎2010
2010 New York International Auto Show Photo

Dot Com and Funk Flex

Kevin Brown AKA Dot Com and Funk Flex
March 31, ‎2010
2010 New York International Auto Show Photo

Tara Reids Engagement Ring

Tara Reids Engagement Ring

Bill Murray

Bill Murray
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April 27, ‎2010

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Stresa: Sabato la Funivia riprende le sue corse

La Funivia del Mottarone, sabato 1° maggio, con la prima corsa delle 9.30 in partenza dal Lido di Carciano, riprende la propria attività. E' stato infatti completato l'intervento di sostituzione delle funi di sicurezza dell'impianto. Ancora da risolvere, però, la questione relativa alla possibile proroga del ciclo vitale della struttura che, dopo 40 anni di servizio, necessita di una revisione completa. Proprietaria della Funivia è la Regione, ma un primo incontro in merito è stato convocato in provincia dall'assessore Blardone per
il prossimo 3 maggio. Intorno al tavolo, i principali soggetti istituzionali interessati al servizio dell'impianto.
(VcoAzzurraTv)

Sissy Spacek

Sissy Spacek
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April 27, ‎2010

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