Monday, November 28, 2011

Video: Holiday shopping breaks records



>>> a few more hours remain for bargain hunters in this opening weekend for holiday shopping. and so far it has been a record breaker. for some insight on that and more, let's bring in cnbc's chief international correspondent michelle caruso-cabrera. michelle, will this news power the markets out of the recent slump?

>> it is certainly going to be very well received by the markets, lester. it confirms a lot of other recent economic data we have seen which shows the economy is getting better. it is not great, but getting bet enand puts to rests the fears we had in late august maybe we would see a second recession. however, at the same time we have to be very worried about europe . last week economically speaking was a dangerous week for europe . we're starting to see things in their financial system that were similar to what we saw in the fall of 2008 that should have served as warning signals for us. so the coming week is going to be critical for europe to see if they can come up with any kind of policy decisions. so that may cause the markets to suffer and the consumer spending we have seen from this weekend may not be good enough to lift it.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45454706/

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Murray throws 4 TDs, leads Georgia past Tech 31-17

Georgia Bulldogs punter Drew Butler, right, and teammate tight end Aaron White (81) celebrate their 31-17 win over Georgia Tech in an NCAA college football game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks)

Georgia Bulldogs punter Drew Butler, right, and teammate tight end Aaron White (81) celebrate their 31-17 win over Georgia Tech in an NCAA college football game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks)

Georgia running back Brandon Boykin (2) and linebacker Christian Robinson (45) celebrate their team's 31-17 win over Georgia Tech by planting the Georgia flag at midfield after their NCAA college football game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks)

Georgia tight end Aaron White (81) celebrates his touchdown with receiver Chris Conley (31) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia Teach at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks)

Georgia center Ben Jones (60) celebrate his team's win 31-17 over Georgia Tech in an NCAA college football game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks)

Georgia running back Brandon Boykin (2) is tackled by Georgia Tech defensive back Jemea Thomas (14) during the first half of an NCAA college football game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Addicks)

(AP) ? The celebration didn't last long. Georgia had not even finished off another win over its state rival when the fans in red and black began to chant, "LSU! LSU! LSU!"

Time for an even bigger game.

Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes and No. 13 Georgia extended its domination over No. 25 Georgia Tech, pulling away for a 31-17 victory Saturday that sent the Bulldogs into the Southeastern Conference championship game on quite a roll.

Next weekend, they'll be back in Atlanta to face the top-ranked Tigers riding a 10-game winning streak.

"This game is over with," Georgia's Branden Smith said. "I'm thinking about LSU right now. This is a good win, but we've got another mission."

The Bulldogs (10-2) have bounced back from losing their first two games and will take plenty of confidence into the title game, even though they'll be a heavy underdog against the unbeaten Tigers, who wrapped up the SEC West with a 41-17 rout of No. 3 Arkansas on Friday.

LSU will be trying to lock up a spot in the national championship game. But the Bulldogs might prove to be pesky, putting together their longest winning streak within a season since 1982.

"We just have to play the way we've been playing," linebacker Jarvis Jones said. "If we don't give away points, there's no way they can beat us."

Murray extended his school record for touchdown passes in a season to 32, hooking up with Michael Bennett and Chris Conley in the first half, and Tavarres King and Aron White in the third quarter as Georgia cruised to its 10th win over the Yellow Jackets in 11 years.

Georgia Tech (8-4) rushed for 243 yards out of the triple-option against the nation's second-ranked run defense, but just 79 came after halftime. Tevin Washington threw a pair of interceptions. The result was all too familiar to the Yellow Jackets: another loss to the Bulldogs.

"I don't like losing to nobody, but when it's in-state, when it's your rival," linebacker Julian Burnett said, his voice trailing off. "We're tired of being the little brothers in the state."

Georgia didn't have much trouble in this one even without freshman star Isaiah Crowell, who was in uniform but didn't play because of an ankle injury.

With its top two tailbacks hurt, the Bulldogs improvised. Defensive backs Smith and Brandon Boykin both lined up in the backfield, with Smith getting five carries. Alexander Ogletree broke off a key 21-yard gain on the first carry by a Georgia fullback this season. Receiver Malcolm Mitchell had a 20-yard run on a reverse.

"I'm here to help the team win," Smith said. "It doesn't matter what position I play. If they need me to play center, I'm ready."

The Bulldogs didn't need much of a ground game, not the way Murray carved up the Georgia Tech secondary. The third-year sophomore overcame an early interception ? when he was hit on the elbow as he threw ? to complete 19 of 29 passes for 252 yards. He's thrown 14 touchdown passes in the last four games, breezing past the old school record of 25 TDs in a season set by Matthew Stafford, who went on to be the top pick in the NFL draft.

"The offensive line has been lights out. Our receivers have been making great catches," Murray said. "It's easy being a quarterback when you can sit back in the pocket with plenty of time and just hit open receivers."

Murray got off to an ominous start. On Georgia's first possession, he was hammered as he threw by linebacker Steve Sylvester, the ball fluttering into the arms of Louis Young for the interception.

That was about the only miscue.

Murray connected with Bennett on a 15-yard touchdown that gave Georgia an early lead. After Georgia Tech responded by driving nearly the length of the field to set up a short field goal than made it 7-3, the Bulldogs took it right back the other way. Murray completed five of six attempts to account for all but 3 yards on an eight-play, 80-yard drive, the last of his completions a 14-yarder to Conley in the corner of the end zone.

Georgia Tech's last gasp was an 80-yard drive of its own. David Sims finished it off with a 5-yard run, breaking a tackle at the line of scrimmage and diving into the end zone.

Georgia tacked on a field goal with just 3 seconds left in the half, getting a second chance when Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson called a timeout just before the snap trying to mess up the Bulldogs. If only he had known they would make a bad snap, leading to an ugly miss by a Blair Walsh. On the do-over, Walsh knocked through a 41-yarder.

The Bulldogs didn't have to punt until their sixth possession, with nearly 5 minutes gone in the third quarter.

"That's deflating. That's deflates the whole team," Johnson said. "The other thing that's deflating is when they score right before halftime."

The Yellow Jackets had done some of their best work in the third quarter, but that period belonged to the Bulldogs on this day. Boykin got it started with a 60-yard kickoff return, and three plays later Murray went to King for a 3-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead.

The Georgia Tech defense finally stiffened, forcing a couple of punts even after Washington threw the first of his interceptions. But the Yellow Jackets couldn't overcome a second pick, this one snatched away by Shawn Williams at the Georgia Tech 23. Even though Williams was penalized 15 yards for spiking the ball, the Bulldogs punched it in.

Ogletree had the biggest play, a third-and-2 carry all the way to Georgia Tech 9. Then it was Murray to White for the TD that put it away.

Georgia Tech yanked Washington and scored a meaningless touchdown on Orwin Smith's 16-yard run with 6 1-2 minutes to go. That wasn't much of a salve for this familiar wound.

"We definitely don't like losing to these guys," Washington said.

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-26-T25-Georgia-Ga%20Tech/id-afa90a2e2b2442988e1e364650e5c19a

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Ford Christmas past and present


Published on Sun Nov 27 21:58:23 GMT 2011

Quite often, if we get a few minutes of quiet at the Old Dairy, I like to cross the road and click open the wrought-iron gate of the pretty churchyard at Ford and walk down the path towards the entrance of the church.

It?s like throwing open a great window, for the unchanging scene of Glendale and the backdrop of the Cheviot Hills are spread out before you.

A little further round from the church door, facing west and taking full advantage of the tranquil views, is the gravestone of Lady Waterford, a masterpiece of stone carving.

She has lain here for 120 years, after dying in Ford Castle, but she had three glorious decades at Ford, during which time she left an astonishing legacy for us all to enjoy.

Close by her grave is a group of corpulent yew trees that shelter the spot from the northerly winds and beyond them the honey-coloured sandstone walls of the castle.

Louisa Ann Marchioness of Waterford came to Ford following the death of her immensely wealthy husband in 1859.

He was the third Marquis of Waterford and master of Curraghmore, a grand country estate in Ireland. His undoing was chasing foxes and on the last day of the season his horse fell and threw him on to his head, which broke his neck.

For the grief-stricken Louisa, coming to Ford was a new beginning. She had no children so her brother-in-law became the fourth Marquis, and to withdraw to one of their smaller estates in the wilds of Northumberland may have been a wise move.

Ford was rundown and neglected, and dedicating herself to rebuilding the village and remodelling the castle certainly kept her mind occupied.

Louisa began by erecting a bold and rather splendid fountain in her husband?s honour, not in the castle grounds but at the west end of the village.

It has a pillar of red granite, topped with a winged angel holding a sword. Alas, no water cascades through it any more, and I don?t think she would have liked that.

But I do think she would have approved of a Christmas market at Ford where artisan food producers cluster around the fountain and up the village street towards Lady Waterford Hall, the schoolroom she built and painted with extraordinary murals.

It takes place this Sunday and if the weather is kind it will attract a mix of people from far and wide.

Meanwhile, we are ready with our own Christmas preparations at The Old Dairy; Christmas lights and greenery are dotted about and we have some special items that will make delightful and unusual Christmas presents.

The Christmas cakes are baked and we have plenty of mince pies on tap to go with our award- winning coffee, and pots of tea served in bone china cups.

But I must admit we pale into insignificance compared with Lady Waterford?s Christmas decorations. Apparently she hated bare stone walls so her gardeners spent a week at nearby St Michael?s Church festooning the pillars, windows and walls with ivy and fir branches.

She had special wreaths made and shipped in vast quantities of berried holly and mistletoe from the New Forest.

It follows that this aristocratic and well-connected lady would throw one hell of a Christmas at the castle, but not so. She chose to spend her Christmases alone and much enjoyed the custom.

But the church choir always took pity on her and every Christmas Eve gathered outside her window to sing carols. After the final carol she would exchange greetings with everyone, and Lady Waterford being Lady Waterford, would call them into the castle for refreshments.

?Keith and Lynne Allan run the Restoration Coffee Shop at The Old Dairy in Ford (opposite Ford Castle) where you can browse a range of architectural antiques, vintage and interior pieces of all kinds, including their range of Lady Waterford jams, Christmas cakes and home-made mincemeat for Christmas. They specialise in Artisan Roast coffee, freshly made scones and afternoon teas. Enquiries: 01890 820325/01289 302658.


Source: http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/ford_christmas_past_and_present_1_1987560

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Mayor: Occupy LA must leave City Hall camp Monday (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave a lengthy tribute to Occupy LA protesters on Friday before telling them they must leave their encampment on the lawn of City Hall by 12:01 a.m. Monday, citing public health and safety concerns.

Villaraigosa, who has expressed sympathy for the protest's aims from its beginning seven weeks ago, announced the ouster at an afternoon news conference with police Chief Charlie Beck. He said the movement that has spread in two months from New York to numerous other U.S. cities has "awakened the country's conscience" ? but also trampled grass at City Hall that must be restored.

"The movement is at a crossroads," the mayor said. "It is time for Occupy LA to move from holding a particular patch of park land to spreading the message of economic justice and signing more people up for the push to restore the balance to American society."

The camp of about 485 tents was unsustainable because public health and safety could not be maintained, and the park had to be cleared, cleaned and restored for the public's access, he said.

Outside City Hall, Occupy LA protester Opamago Casciani, 20, said he found the Mayor's priorities insulting, and he intends to continue demonstrating peacefully through the deadline.

In response to the Mayor's comments, Casciani said "What I got from it is `I value grass more than the people.'"

Immediately after the mayor announced the deadline, protester Jeremy Rothe-Kushel who was in the audience among the reporters, interrupted him, shouting that the group would not obey the order.

"As a collective, Occupy Los Angeles would like to express their rejection of the city of Los Angeles's alleged proposal that we leave City Hall," said Jeremy Rothe-Kushel, who said he represented the general assembly of Occupy LA and interrupted both Villaraigosa and Beck throughout the news conference.

It was not clear how much of the camp Rothe-Kushel spoke for, but the group issued a statement Thursday expressing the same sentiment.

Villaraigosa told campers to start packing up their tents and said he believed the move would be peaceful, unlike some of the tumult other cities have seen.

"I'm proud of the fact that this has been a peaceful, non-violent protest," he said. "I trust that we can manage the closure of City Hall Park in the same spirit of cooperation."

The mayor said in hopes of keeping the peace, social workers will begin walking through the camp offering help to protesters, 50 shelter beds will be made available for campers who are homeless, and special parking will be set aside to facilitate the exit.

"50 beds? There are at least 300 of us," said Casciani. "I personally plan to stay and stand my ground."

Villaraigosa added that City Hall's Spring Street steps ? a traditional protest site ? will remain open during the park restoration so Occupy LA or any other group can exercise free speech rights.

Protester Stephanie Lopez, 18, was sitting on those steps Friday evening after the announcement. Surveying the tent city below her and looking back on the 400-square-foot mezzanine where protesters would have to stand, she shook her head and said "that's ridiculous."

Lopez has been living at City Hall Park since Oct. 2, when there were only a handful of tents, and plans to stay through the deadline.

"It's a complete offense to us ? this grass isn't even good for the environment," said Lopez.

If the movement has to move, Lopez hopes occupiers will take over an abandoned building somewhere downtown.

Beck said police will be patient with laggards who were still packing belongings and working to leave at the time of the deadline ? but said the city's law enforcement will no longer look the other way.

"After 56 days of not enforcing three city laws that prohibit the use of that park, the time is now," said Beck.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111126/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_la

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Why Haven?t We Seen A Rollup Yet in Online Video?

rollingOnline video is booming and the are tons of small video companies across production, advertising, distribution, and technology. ?Yet we have yet to see a serious attempt to roll up the industry. ?The reasons, I submit, boil down to egos and greed. What is a Rollup? Historically, large private equity firms have ?rolled up? various small companies in a given market through mergers or acquisitions in order to reach economies of scale.? A rollup is different than a simple merger in that it involves multiple parties, oftentimes taking place in a mature industry where growth can?t occur organically, but rather, through financial engineering or cost cutting. This is partially why we haven?t seen that many rollups of Internet companies, because usually a merger is all it takes to reach considerable market dominance.? Sometimes rollups make sense because building a product or business would take too long to build internally and grow organically.? Ask Jeeves bought Interactive Search Holdings for $343M in March 2004 to double market share and then sold to IAC a year later for $1.8 billion.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Xn7NXto9bZU/

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Boston Offers Free Metered Parking For Small Business Saturday ...

Boston Parking Meters are free on Small Business Saturday.

Boston Parking Meters are free on Small Business Saturday.

BOSTON (AP) ? Boston city officials have offered two hours of free metered parking to encourage people to shop at local businesses during Small Business Saturday.

American Express started the marketing initiative for the Saturday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday ? two of the busiest shopping days of the year.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030?s Kim Tunnicliffe reports

U.S. Small Business Administration head Karen Mills was scheduled to join Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at the city?s Roslindale neighborhood Saturday to discuss how shopping at local businesses is critical to the health of the American economy.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030?s Doug Cope reports on Mills? visit

AmEx says a survey shows 89 million consumers plan to ?shop small? on Small Business Saturday.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/11/26/boston-offers-free-metered-parking-for-small-business-saturday/

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Vehicle Finance Guidelines on How to Get It | Watch My Gear

There is a whole lot you have to place into consideration when you make the selection to buy a automobile. Most people do not have all the funds needed to purchase a single so they opt for the vehicle finance. You ought to do some research prior to you settle for a particular form of funding. It is important to keep your specific demands and circumstance in mind when you are looking to get a vehicle. You will also be capable to get a deal that is best suited for you. There are several avenues to source funding.

You can get finance via direct lending whereby you would get a bank loan from a bank, lending establishment or credit score union. There are distinct specifications that the loan companies search at to figure out if they will extend the bank loan. Your credit score report is reviewed so that the lenders can asses the threat and choose if you will be in a placement to repay them. If you qualify for the loan, you can use the income to make payments to the dealership.

There is normally an arrangement between the customer and the dealership, whereby the customer is apt to make the needed payments plus fees. This agreement is offered to the financial institution who then collects the payments from the buyer. It is essential that you comprehend that until you have produced all the essential payments, the lender will hold onto the title of the automobile. You can also search into acquiring a secured loan to finance your car obtain.

If you have no asset in certain to use as collateral, you can pledge the motor vehicle with the financial institution getting an further set of keys right up until you distinct the mortgage. The edge of this is that you will have low month to month repayments and curiosity charges. If you have no collateral, you can go for the unsecured alternative but you have to be well prepared to shell out high fascination rates.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged vehicle finance. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://watchmygear.com/2011/vehicle-finance-guidelines-on-how-to-get-it/

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Newt Gingrich: Does he have a path to the GOP nomination?

Newt Gingrich is nosing ahead of Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination, according to polls. But it could be hard for him to translate that support into primary victories.?

Underlying the frenzied coverage of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich?s ascendance to front-runner status is a practical question: Is there a path for him to win the Republican presidential nomination?

Skip to next paragraph

Yes, but it would be challenging, and experts call it unlikely. Here?s why.

Until now, many campaign watchers viewed his bid as a vanity effort designed to help sell his books and a new documentary made with wife, Callista. The campaign would also keep him relevant as an elder statesman of national politics, influential in Washington circles, and available for top Cabinet posts should a Republican win the White House.

What his campaign had not done, however, is raise the money or create the extensive infrastructure required in key early states to advertise and ultimately get residents to caucus sites or polls. Meanwhile, the front-loaded GOP primary calendar makes it difficult for anyone who fails to finish first or second in Iowa or New Hampshire to regain momentum.

?Iowa is absolutely critical to Gingrich,? says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. ?He simply has to win or come in achingly close to first. Why? He needs a bounce from Iowa to have any real chance of dethroning Romney in New Hampshire. South Carolina is a toss-up.?

Mr. Sabato says all news out of Iowa indicates that Mr. Gingrich?s newfound strength might be coming too late for that state?s Jan. 3 selection process. A Quinnipiac University national poll released Tuesday shows him leading Mitt Romney, 26 percent to 22 percent. Buzz would have to help him carry the day, and that?s a tall order, Sabato says.

?Caucuses are all about organization, and Newt only has a month to make up a lot of ground,? Sabato says. ?Did you notice he didn't even qualify for the Missouri primary? And it was easy to do. If that isn't an indication of poor organization, I don't know what is.?

Still, Gingrich is a social conservative, and Iowa Republicans tend to herald candidates with solid credentials on matters of faith and family. In a stunner, Mike Huckabee toppled Mr. Romney there in 2008. Meanwhile, one influential Iowa group ? The Family Leader ? announced yesterday that Romney would not be its endorsement pick. Board members are instead weighing Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Dj0Y-_XAtR0/Newt-Gingrich-Does-he-have-a-path-to-the-GOP-nomination

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Vera Lynn appeals for lost "Monty" brooch (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? British World War Two forces' sweetheart Vera Lynn has appealed for help in tracing a lost brooch that had been given her by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery more than 35 years ago.

The brooch was lost during a Remembrance Day service at the Royal Albert Hall in London earlier this month.

The 94-year-old singer, whose wartime classics include "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover," said the brooch was of great sentimental value, the BBC reported.

Lynn said she wore it to every military function, along with her medals. Her family has offered a 150-pound ($230) reward for its return and the opportunity to have tea with her.

The brooch is the Africa Star ribbon bar in enamel with the clasp of Montgomery's 8th Army. It was presented to Lynn at the Royal Albert Hall as a gesture of thanks for her support during the war.

"It means an awful lot to me," the BBC reported Lynn as saying.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111125/people_nm/us_britain_brooch

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Friday, November 25, 2011

WGN Radio Petcast: Help Feed Pets in Need; John O'Hurley ...

By Steve Dale, Wednesday at 9:45 pm

WGN Radio Petcast: Help Feed Pets in Need; John O'Hurley Wonders Which End of the Dog; Andrea Arden's Dog Training Bible; 2011 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines

CLICK HERE TO LIST TO THIS WGN PETCAST - it's fun, it's easy and it's free....

More people are having trouble feeding families than in decades...that includes people who truly can barely afford to feed their animals. Banfield Charitable Trust is doing something about that with a pet food campaign called Season of Summers. Diane McGill, executive director and CEO of explains how easy it is for you to make a difference, with a donation or even a click on Facebook's Banfield Charitable Trust page- and 'like it.'

John O'Hurley stars on Broadway in Chicago, played J. Peterman on Seinfeld, was the first season winner on Dancing with the Stars, and he announces dog shows on TV -- including the Thanksgiving Day National Dog Show presented by Purina.

Andrea Arden, host of Animal Planet's Underdog to Wonderdog, is a frequent guest on the Today Show; if those accolades aren't enough -- she's now authored a bible, "Barron's Dog Training Bible." Rarely do I get to speak with the author of a bible.

Vaccines have become nearly as controversial in medicine for pets as they've become for children. Dr. Link Welborn, chair of the American Animal Hospital Association Task Force which just revised canine vaccines recommendations, explains what's new and we also talked about some misconceptions that people have concerning vaccines for dogs. Also, if you're interested in vaccines - check out the 2011 Canine Vaccine Guidelines yourself; they're free to download.

Filed under: dogs, pets, Podcast, veterinary health

Tags: 2011 Caine Vaccine Guidelines, American Animal Hospital Association, Andrea Arden, Animal Planet, Banfield Charitable Trust, Barron's Dog Training Bible, Diane McGill, Dr. Link Wleborn, John O'Hurley, National Dog Show, Steve Dale, Steve Dale archives, Steve Dale arcives, Underdog to Wonderdog

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2011/11/wgn-radio-petcast-help-feed-pets-in-need-john-ohurley-wonders-which-end-of-the-dog-adrea-ardens-dog-training-bible-2011-aaha-canine-vaccine-guidelines/

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Good Reads: Congress's failure, China's looming crisis, and sarcasm explained

Today's Good Reads include a look at the good in Congress's looming budget failure, how China's bubble may burst, and why sarcasm could make you smarter.?

There?s something about an abyss that tends to attract daredevils in Washington.

Skip to next paragraph

Most people would likely do everything they could to avoid defaulting on their loans ? as the US government came close to doing this summer. Most also bring, or attempt to bring, their spending in line with their revenue ? something Congress seems to be unable to do ahead of their deadline this week.

Yet the seasoned leaders of Washington are throwing caution to the wind, and pressing the accelerator for a Thelma-and-Louise finale.

Bless their hearts, they keep the news industry alive.

Toward the end of last week, the members of Congress?s ?super committee? ? do they wear capes? ? started sending out signals that they would fail to reach a compromise to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade. Unlike past budget impasses, where Congress?s failure to pass a budget meant that government literally had to shut down for a few weeks until Congress could rediscover the spirit of compromise, there appear to be automatic spending cuts built into the process in both defense and domestic budgets.

But the Monitor?s Mark Trumbull writes that there are some pundits who believe this seemingly messy affair might actually be good for democracy.?The new view in Washington is that failure might be good, he writes:

"That view: Don't get hot and bothered if the panel fails to deliver. The battles will just be fought again after the next election ? and maybe on that day the side with the best ideas will have more political clout."

Most economists assume that the current bad economic times will turn around for the better, driven by the economic engine of all those thriving emerging nations like Brazil, China, India, and parts of Africa. But what if China ends up having the same kind of overheated economy that the West has had, and goes into a tailspin? Well, that would be bad.

The Atlantic magazine?s Max Fisher writes that China?s leaders never anticipated that the West ? their biggest customer ? would suddenly have difficulty buying its cheap goods. And now, China will have to adjust its economic model quickly in order to keep that officially-ordained 8 percent growth rate going, and to prevent unrest.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/KrMNh9bFaSM/Good-Reads-Congress-s-failure-China-s-looming-crisis-and-sarcasm-explained

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Many Kindergarteners Already on Road to Obesity, Study Finds (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Today's kindergarteners are heavier than kids brought up in the 1970s and 1980s and appear to be on the road to becoming overweight and obese in the years to come, a new study finds.

"It's not just kids who are already overweight getting more and more so, there is an entire shift. Even those who are normal weight are gaining weight," said lead study author Ashlesha Datar, senior economist at RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif.

Researchers analyzed data on nearly 6,000 white, black and Hispanic children who participated in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- a nationally representative sample -- and had their height and weight measured over nine years, in kindergarten, first, third, fifth and eighth grades.

The study found nearly 40 percent of kindergarteners had a body mass index (BMI) in the 75th percentile or above, up from 25 percent in the 1970s and 1980s, when the growth charts were developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While a BMI in the 75th percentile is still in the normal range, that child may be headed for being overweight or obese, Datar said. And if they're already at the 75th percentile in kindergarten, they don't have far to go before they tip into the overweight or obese category, which puts them at risk of serious health problems as adults.

Traditionally, a BMI in the 85th to 95th percentile is considered overweight, while above the 95th percentile is obese. The number of kids at the top of the scale has swelled too.

About 28 percent of kids from the current sample had a BMI in the 85th to 95th percentiles, compared with 10 percent of earlier generations, while 12 percent had a BMI above the 95th percentile, compared with 5 percent of the earlier group of kids.

Gains in BMI were most striking among Hispanic children and black girls, according to the study, published in the December issue of Pediatrics.

Percentile measures how a child stacks up to others his age. So, a child in the 75th percentile for weight is presumably heavier than 75 percent of other children his age, since children are compared to one another. Therefore, by definition, 25 percent of kids should be in that category.

But with so many kids heavier then they used to be, the old weight distributions may not hold up, Datar said.

There were also fewer kids at the lower end of the weight spectrum. About 14 percent were in the lowest fourth for weight compared with 25 percent in earlier generations and 18 percent were in the second lower quartile compared with 25 percent in earlier generations.

The weight gain accelerated between kindergarten and third grade. The proportion of kids in the top quartile (75th percentile or above) was almost 48 percent by third grade, but weight gain leveled off after that.

Experts said the findings show that to make an impact on skyrocketing childhood obesity rates, programs to encourage better eating habits and more physical activity have to start very early, possibly even in preschool. Those programs also need to include kids who are normal weight.

"If you find your child is in the 75th percentile, it should be warning to you that your child is at higher risk of being an obese adult, and you need to start thinking about what your family is doing as far as eating habits, food intake and exercise," Datar said.

The reasons that America's kids are getting heavier overall aren't fully understood, but there are many possibilities, said Dr. Albert Rocchini, a professor of pediatrics at University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

These include the ready availability and convenience of high-fat, high-sugar and highly caloric snack and processed foods and less physical activity because of video games, TV and less outdoor play time. Many families rely more on fast food and restaurant food, which tend to pack more calories than home-cooked food.

"This study reinforces what people are noticing, and it's a little discouraging," said Rocchini. "The incidence of obesity is going up because everybody is getting heavier," he said.

For health reasons, it's important to get a child's weight gain under control, he added. A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that obese children who became obese adults were at much higher risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and atherosclerosis.

More information

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry has more on childhood obesity.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weightloss/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111123/hl_hsn/manykindergartenersalreadyonroadtoobesitystudyfinds

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Thursday, November 24, 2011

October durable goods orders fell 0.7 percent (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Business orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell for a second straight month in October.

While much of the weakness came from a big drop in demand for commercial aircraft, a key category that tracks business investment spending fell by the largest amount since January.

The Commerce Department says that orders for durable goods fell 0.7 percent in January following a September decline of 1.5 percent. Orders for core capital goods, considered a good proxy for business investment spending, dropped 1.8 percent, the biggest decline since a 4.8 percent fall in January.

Manufacturing has been one of the strongest sectors in the economy in this sub-par recovery, but this sector slowed this year as consumer demand faltered and auto factories had trouble getting parts following the March natural disasters in Japan.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_durable_goods

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Prince Harry rents Harley for 1st trip to Vegas (omg!)

FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday May 30, 2009, Britain's Prince Harry addresses guests at the second annual Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic polo match on Governor's Island in New York. The Prince sipped a Corona during a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas over the Nov. 19-20, 2011, trip and rented a Harley. The British royal made a low-key appearance at a Scottsdale, Ariz., dealership on Friday, Nov.18, 2011.The vacation came as the prince is training on helicopters at an Air Force site near Gila Bend, Ariz. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Those lucky enough to have a brush with Prince Harry during his first visit to Las Vegas say he was as down-to-earth as any other 27-year-old who appreciates a Harley, a night out with friends and a cheap beer.

The weekend rendezvous in Sin City came as the prince is spending several weeks training on Apache helicopters at Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field in southern Arizona, about six hours away.

Dan Dvorak of Hacienda Harley-Davidson said the royal showed up in jeans and a baseball cap when he stopped by an Arizona dealership Friday to rent a motorcycle.

"He's just a regular 27-year-old guy," said Dvorak, the dealership's rental manager, in an interview with The Associated Press. "Mild-mannered. Excited to be on a Harley."

Dvorak said the prince has a motorcycle license in the U.K., but completed a test drive on a 1600cc bike before officials set him and his entourage loose on American highways.

"He definitely knew what he was doing," Dvorak said.

People magazine reported that Harry ? third in line for the British crown behind his father and older brother, William ? rented a room at the Wynn Las Vegas, a five-star, 50-story resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Wynn spokeswoman Deanna Pettit says the resort does not comment on guest visits.

The prince's itinerary took an artistic turn the following day. A Cirque du Soleil spokeswoman said Harry's party reserved prime, $178 seats for Saturday's 7:30 p.m. performance of "O."

Show officials said they held the prince and four of his military friends in a VIP room for about 20 minutes before discreetly ushering them to their seats as the curtain rose.

Harry and his party were seen clapping enthusiastically and laughing during the show ? and also sipping a Corona apiece.

He told show staff afterward that he'd heard "O'' ? set at the Bellagio ? was the best of the seven Cirque shows in town.

Officials said the prince was impressed with the water effects and contortionists in "O," which features acrobats, synchronized swimmers and characters performing in, on and above a 1.5-million-gallon pool.

The prince was reportedly returning to Arizona Monday. He is among 20 students in the British Army participating in a two-month military helicopter training course in the U.S.

The training started at the Naval Air Facility at El Centro, California, where students flew Apache helicopters in the desert near the Mexican border. In Arizona, they are firing missiles, rockets and cannons from the Apache helicopters.

___

Associated Press Writer Mark Carlson in Phoenix contributed to this report.

FILE-- In this July 30 file photo Britain's Prince Harry leaves after the wedding between Zara Phillips and England rugby star Mike Tindall in Edinburgh, Scotland. Prince Harry sipped a Corona during a Cirque du Soleil show and rented a Harley during a weekend trip to Las Vegas. The vacation came as the prince is training on helicopters at an Air Force site near Gila Bend, Ariz. (AP Photo/Dylan Martinez, Pool, File)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_prince_harry_rents_harley1st_trip_vegas_213701055/43686999/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/prince-harry-rents-harley-1st-trip-vegas-213701055.html

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Egyptian court orders release of 3 US students

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo, where an Egyptian official said they were throwing firebombs at security forces. A spokeswoman for the American University in Cairo identified the students as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo.; and Gregory Porter, a 19 year-old Drexel University student from Glenside, Pa. An official says an Egyptian court has ordered release of 3 US students arrested during Cairo unrest.(AP Photo/ Egyptian TV, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo, where an Egyptian official said they were throwing firebombs at security forces. A spokeswoman for the American University in Cairo identified the students as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo.; and Gregory Porter, a 19 year-old Drexel University student from Glenside, Pa. An official says an Egyptian court has ordered release of 3 US students arrested during Cairo unrest.(AP Photo/ Egyptian TV, File)

(AP) ? Egyptian officials say a court has ordered the release of three American students arrested this week during the unrest in Cairo.

An Egyptian official said Thursday the three who attend the American University in Cairo were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square where they were allegedly throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

The three, arrested Sunday, are Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student, Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student, and Gregory Porter, a 19-year-old Drexel University student.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian officials say a court has ordered the release of three American students arrested this week during the unrest in Cairo.

An Egyptian official said Thursday the three who attend the American University in Cairo were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square where they were allegedly throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

The three, arrested Sunday, are Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student, Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student, and Gregory Porter, a 19-year-old Drexel University student.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-24-Egypt-American-Students/id-3c9f5d04885242e6a53e1405d73848fa

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'Idol' producer: No major changes for new season (AP)

NEW YORK ? "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe (NY'-juhl LIHTH'-goh) says don't expect any major changes when the hit Fox TV show returns in January.

Lythgoe returned as "Idol's" executive producer last season to usher in the post-Simon Cowell era with new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez and a new mentor for contestants, veteran music producer Jimmy Iovine. He says all of them are back for the new season.

Lythgoe says he's "not sure" the show wants to make too many more tweaks this year.

Lythgoe says the most significant change introduced last year was to allow the contestants to sing in their own styles rather than force them to perform styles unsuited for them. He says that opened the door for last season's winner, teenage country singer Scotty McCreery.

____

Online:

http://www.americanidol.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_en_tv/us_tv_american_idol

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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Poor recycling of BACE1 enzyme could promote Alzheimer's disease

Monday, November 21, 2011

Sluggish recycling of a protein-slicing enzyme could promote Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published online on November 21 in The Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).

Abeta, the toxic protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, is formed when enzymes cut up its parental protein, known as amyloid precursor protein. One of those enzymes is beta-secretase or BACE1. BACE1 cycles between the Golgi apparatus and the plasma membrane, traveling through endosomes on the way. A protein complex called the retromer helps transport proteins back from endosomes to the Golgi. Previous studies have found reduced levels of two retromer components, including the protein VPS35, in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

To find out whether VPS35 affects Alzheimer's disease progression, Wen-Cheng Xiong and colleagues crossed two mouse lines to create animals that are prone to many symptoms of the disease and generate half the normal amount of VPS35. The mice displayed Alzheimer's-like abnormalities earlier than their parental strains, and their brains accumulated more Abeta.

Cells lacking VPS35 carried extra BACE1 in their endosomes, consistent with a defect in retromer-mediated protein transport. BACE1 is more active in the acidic interior of endosomes than in the more basic surroundings of the Golgi apparatus. Thus, by leaving more BACE1 trapped in endosomes, the decline in VPS35 levels could enhance BACE1 activity and generate more Abeta. Although no VPS35 mutations have so far turned up in Alzheimer's patients, the protein's level in the brain dwindles in aging mice. The researchers suspect that certain Alzheimer's disease risk factors, such as oxidative stress, also diminish VPS35 levels in the brain.

###

Rockefeller University Press: http://www.rupress.org/

Thanks to Rockefeller University Press for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115359/Poor_recycling_of_BACE__enzyme_could_promote_Alzheimer_s_disease_

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Gray reassigns communications director | Liz Farmer | Capital Land ...

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced his new communications director on Monday while admitting his administration has struggled to effectively get out his message to the public during its first 11 months.

He also named his new deputy chief of staff after the previous one served for less than two weeks then resigned after it was revealed she illegally voted in the District.

Gray's former communications director, Linda Wharton-Boyd, has been reassigned to the D.C. Department of Health.

"There?s an awful lot going on and yes, there are days when I feel like the message hasn?t gotten out there as much as we would like [it] to," Gray said at a news conference. However, he added that the media has also done more than a fair share, he thought, of negative reporting.

Replacing Boyd is Pedro Ribiero, the communications director and deputy chief of staff to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Sheila Bunn, the former chief of staff to D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, was named as Gray's deputy chief of staff.

Gray's chief of staff, Chris Murphy, acknowledged that the speed at which Gray's message has reached reporters and the public has been lacking. He said Ribiero and Bunn's experience on Capital Hill would help fix that.

"The pace ? as everyone in this room knows ? of media has changed," Murphy said. "I think Pedro and Sheila have experienced that first-hand and that kind of speedy reaction will help us get out the mayor's agenda. ... In the communications realm, I think the Hill is used to that 24-hour news cycle."

Source: http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/capital-land/2011/11/gray-reassigns-communications-director

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Addressing Fashion's Communications Conundrum ? BoF ? The ...

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2011 | Source: Victoria's Secret

NEW?YORK, United States ??In recent years, the main fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris have attracted unprecedented interest from end consumers, with brands live streaming their shows and bloggers reporting from the runway in realtime on their sites and social channels like Twitter and Instagram. But in most cases, the actual clothes showcased during fashion week aren?t available to consumers until many months after the shows have finished.

In short, fashion?s communication cycle has become wildly out of sync with its retail cycle. Would the film industry ever hold a movie premiere 6 months ahead of its release to the public? Would Apple make its buzzy product announcements a half-year before said products were available for sale?

By shortening lead times, planning production in advance, and using other?lean manufacturing techniques, fashion brands may be able to get product to consumers more quickly. But these kinds of structural changes could take years to implement, especially as many fashion brands do not control the means of production.

One solution has been to let consumers order ? but not receive ? products immediately after the shows. Mega-brands like Burberry have offered pre-ordering for several seasons now, while a number of mid-sized and emerging brands have collaborated with ?pre-tail? trunk-show start-up?Moda Operandi to do the same. But market reports suggest that the sales volume of pre-orders has been limited. There are only so many consumers who are willing to plonk down money in advance to guarantee they will get a specific garment in their size months later. Most consumers still seem to prefer to purchase in-season, close to the time of need.

So if enabling consumers to pre-order clothes is not the ideal solution, why not engage consumers just before the collections arrive in store? Based on the evidence of blowout events from Victoria?s Secret and H&M for Versace in New York earlier this month, consumer appetite for this kind of engagement, and the impact it has on sales, seem very promising indeed.

VICTORIA?S SECRET?S?GLOBAL?FASHION?EXTRAVAGANZA

The annual Victoria?s Secret fashion show is quite possibly the largest fashion event of its kind. From its humble beginnings in August 1995, with a budget of only $120,000, the Victoria?s Secret show has grown into a blockbuster multi-media event, with six different themes, featuring 38 models in 69 different looks, and costing more than $13m this year.

?Our show is seen, in one way or another, in over 200 countries in print, Facebook, YouTube, and television specials,? explained Ed Razek, Chief Marketing Officer of creative services of Limited Brands (the parent company of Victoria?s Secret) as we sat backstage before the first of two tapings of this year?s show. ?It is must-watch television for young women in the United States. They learn to walk in high heels in this show.?

While Mr. Razek explained how Victoria?s Secret has honed the show format over the past 16 years, Kanye West and the assembled Victoria?s Secret models were doing a backstage photo call in a crush of assembled media from China to Brazil. It could only be described as an all out media frenzy.

?Candidly, I think [the first show] was an aesthetic failure,? he said. ?We didn?t much know what we were doing, except the next day papers all over the world were calling it the lingerie event of the century. We knew that we had an idea.?

Over the years, the production values of the show and the quality of the collection have improved dramatically. Just last year, the brand began working with respected stylist and fashion editor, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, who is better known for her work with high-end fashion designers like Roland Mouret and Antonio Berardi. This year, Ms. Neophitou-Apostolou spent more than 40 days working on Victoria?s Secret runway collection, providing her input throughout the creative process.

Another parameter that has changed over the years is timing. The first show back in 1995 was held in August. For several years after that, the shows were held in the days preceding Valentine?s Day. But since 2001, the show has taken place in November, just in time for the holiday season. ?Christmas is the single biggest commercial opportunity of the year and it?s also a great time to do a fashion show special,? said Mr. Razek. This year?s show was taped on November 9th and will air on November 29th on?CBS, one of the three major American broadcast television networks.

Interestingly, the Victoria?s Secret show is not broadcast live, which Mr. Razek says comes down to maintaining production values and managing risk. ?You?re on network television in the United States. It is our responsibility to show our girls in their best light,? he said. ?The reward isn?t worth the risk. We want a beautifully produced show; something that is compelling and interesting.? In 2004, the Victoria?s Secret show was cancelled in the wake of the backlash following Janet Jackson?s so-called ?wardrobe malfunction? during the Superbowl half-time show.

But even without a live broadcast, Mr. Razek said: ?You see sales results almost immediately. On the night of the show you see substantial increases in our web business from all of the news coverage. The day after the fashion show runs [on television], you see substantial increases in our web business.?

While he declined to provide any detailed numbers to back this up, Victoria?s Secret Direct, which includes both the online and catalogue businesses, chalked up $1.5 billion in sales in 2010, roughly one-third of Victoria?s Secret?s overall sales. To provide a sense of scale, this makes Victoria?s Secret Direct about twice the size of Neiman Marcus Direct ($715 million in revenues in 2010) and more than eight times the size of Yoox or Net-a-Porter (about $200 million in annual sales each).

But importantly, the Victoria?s Secret show is about more than just driving online sales. It is the cornerstone of an integrated communications strategy that drives brand awareness as well as bolstering revenue across direct retail, catalogue and online channels.

Indeed, an integrated communications and sales strategy has long been part of the Victoria?s Secret?DNA. According to a case study published in 2002 by Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College, when Leslie Wexner bought Victoria?s Secret in 1982, he sought to make it ?stand [out] as an integrated world-class brand. Across all channels ? catalogue, stores, Internet ? the same products are launched at the same time, in exactly the same way, with the same quality, and same positioning.?

When asked to compare Victoria?s Secret?s marketing and communications initiatives to those deployed by luxury fashion brands, Mr. Razek offered: ?The obvious difference is that we?re showing fashion in real-time, during the season, things that are accessible in the stores now. They are showing Fall in Spring, Spring in Fall. How does the end customer connect with that, particularly with all of the live-streaming??

?They?re living in the past,? he concluded. ?There aren?t three fashion magazines anymore?the world is so broad, there are so many opportunities to communicate. You have to take advantage of them all. My personal opinion is that a substantial portion of the designer community is involved in an exercise of mass collective denial.?

H&M?FOR?VERSACE?INCITES?PANDEMONIUM

The day before the Victoria?s Secret show, H&M put on its own fashion spectacle in New York to celebrate its latest high-fashion collaboration, this time with Versace. With 500 fashion editors, bloggers and media from all over the world in town to cover the show, and a celebrity red carpet entrance to rival that of a major Hollywood event, this was another striking example of timing integrated brand communications to coincide with the arrival of product in stores.

The event began with a fashion show in an elaborate replica of the Versace show space in Milan at Pier 57, overlooking the Hudson River. When the show concluded, a beaming Donatella Versace unveiled a vast room behind the show space, filled with disco balls and an intimate stage set, where rising hiphop star Nicki Minaj soon took to the stage, decked out in Versace for H&M. Ms. Minaj?s performance was followed by an unforgettable thirty minute set from pop legend Prince.

All the while, anecdotes, photos and videos were being beamed out to the world via the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts of the attendees. When the concert eventually concluded at 15 minutes past midnight, the walls opened up once more to reveal a fully-stocked Versace for H&M pop-up store, which created pandemonium unlike anything I have ever seen, and this, even amongst the fashion elite who have access to almost any kind of fashion they want.

As we waited in the crush to enter the store, someone asked American Vogue?s Hamish Bowles why he was subjecting himself to this kind of mob. ?It?s all a part of the experience,? he said, gesturing towards the shoppers stripping the mannequins bare, just behind a thick layer of burly security guards who were doing their best to hold back the throng. ?Please stand back,? they repeated. ?There is plenty of stuff for everyone.?

As it turned out, the security guards were wrong; most of the garments were gone within minutes as the first wave of shoppers snapped up everything in sight, filling four or five or six bags each with clothes. It was not a luxury shopping experience, that?s for sure, and the huge demand was in no small part due to prices which started at $17.95 for a pair of men?s printed underwear. But the collaboration couldn?t have come at a better time for Versace. It put a short, sharp spotlight on the once-struggling brand which is also having a bit of a fashion renaissance. East London creatives have been scouring vintage stores over the past couple of years to find vibrant Versace prints from the brand?s heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Versace was still at the head of the fashion vanguard.

?It is about bringing Versace to a whole new generation, and showing them the true essence of the house,? Donatella Versace told BoF.??Versace is already interacting with them in other ways. We are very active on Twitter and other social media. I think the Versace name is very powerful and the collaboration with H&M has allowed us to connect with even more people.? The day after the New York event, the show video was already available online, and a quirky fashion film was also rolled out across the fashion blogosphere.

Commenting on the immediate communications formula employed by H&M to promote the collaboration, Ms. Versace said: ?It made me think about how there are too many rules in fashion and how too often we get caught in these rules. I have never felt the need to follow the rules, but the system is so rigid these days with deadlines, so many collections to produce every year. This collaboration with H&M taught me that it was absolutely possible and necessary to break the rules.? she said. ?I really enjoyed working with a company that felt very strongly that we had to push things further.?

Last week, the collection finally arrived in cities around the world just as the Versace for H&M show buzz was cresting online, selling out almost immediately and crashing the H&M website under the weight of consumer demand.

LESSONS?FOR?FASHION?BRANDS

So, apart from synchronising the timing of brand communications and product delivery, what can a luxury fashion brand learn from these mass consumer fashion events?

Ms. Neophitou-Apostolou said that fashion brands need to learn to dream again. ?It?s about selling the dream, that?s the main thing. Don?t be too literal. Create the fantasy. Don?t be afraid of it,? she suggested a few days later, at a lunch in honour of Antonio Berardi. ?I think people become so concerned about: ?Is it wearable; Is it wearable?? McQueen in the day was always about fantasy. John Galliano was always about fantasy. Even Azzedine [Ala?a] takes you on a journey; in his little shows he creates his own universe. I think that?s the trick. Don?t be afraid to dream!?

That said, ?every [look in the Victoria?s Secret show] has a piece of product so you can physically buy the pieces,? Ms. Neophitou-Apostolou continued, but these were mixed in with dream-like pieces including the now famous angel wings. ?It?s the best piece of marketing I?ve ever been involved with,? she added.

Indeed, the consumer events in New York couldn?t have been more different from fashion shows designed for an industry audience. They must be conceived and designed to have maximum impact on screen, drive online conversation, and ultimately drive sales online and in-store.

Even for a behemoth like H&M, this kind of initiative requires a huge investment of time and resources. ?It?s a huge undertaking to organise a fashion show for editors from all 41 markets,? said Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Director of H&M.

What?s more, having an integrated supply chain from design to production to retail, makes it much easier to align the communications and sales cycles. According to the Tuck Business School case, Victoria?s Secret is ?equipped with vertically integrated factories that manufacture and deliver goods directly to the company without the involvement of third party intermediaries.?

?We own all our own stores,? added Mr Razek. ?There aren?t any buyers from department stores sitting in the front row writing orders. Our ultimate customer is not a merchant with a pencil, which is different from most designers.?

Imran Amed is founder and editor of The Business of Fashion

Source: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2011/11/addressing-fashions-communications-conundrum.html

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Romney to run first TV ad of presidential race (AP)

MANCHESTER, N.H. ? Mitt Romney is going on the air with a television ad timed to coincide with President Barack Obama's visit to New Hampshire on Tuesday.

The former Massachusetts governor says his first ad of the presidential race will feature Obama talking about the economy in the state that will hold the first presidential primary in the nation on Jan. 10

Romney tells Fox News that Obama promised to get the economy moving, bring people together and be a real leader for change in America.

But Romney says the contrast between what Obama said and did in office is so "stark" that people will recognize that the country needs new leadership.

He says the ad will say why he alone is the right person to lead the country.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_el_ge/us_romney

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Giving thanks helps your psychological outlook (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Count your blessings this Thanksgiving. It's good for you.

While it seems pretty obvious that gratitude is a positive emotion, psychologists for decades rarely delved into the science of giving thanks. But in the last several years they have, learning in many experiments that it is one of humanity's most powerful emotions. It makes you happier and can change your attitude about life, like an emotional reset button.

Especially in hard times, like these.

Beyond proving that being grateful helps you, psychologists also are trying to figure out the brain chemistry behind gratitude and the best ways of showing it.

"Oprah was right," said University of Miami psychology professor Michael McCullough, who has studied people who are asked to be regularly thankful. "When you are stopping and counting your blessings, you are sort of hijacking your emotional system."

And he means hijacking it from out of a funk into a good place. A very good place. Research by McCullough and others finds that giving thanks is a potent emotion that feeds on itself, almost the equivalent of being victorious. It could be called a vicious circle, but it's anything but vicious.

He said psychologists used to underestimate the strength of simple gratitude: "It does make people happier ... It's that incredible feeling."

One of the reasons why gratitude works so well is that it connects us with others, McCullough said. That's why when you give thanks it should be more heartfelt and personal instead of a terse thank you note for a gift or a hastily run-through grace before dinner, psychologists say.

Chicago area psychologist and self-help book author Maryann Troiani said she starts getting clients on gratitude gradually, sometimes just by limiting their complaints to two whines a session. Then she eventually gets them to log good things that happened to them in gratitude journals: "Gratitude really changes your attitude and your outlook on life."

Gratitude journals or diaries, in which people list weekly or nightly what they are thankful for, are becoming regular therapy tools.

And in those journals, it is important to focus more on the people you are grateful for, said Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis. Concentrate on what life would be without the good things ? especially people such as spouses ? in your life and how you are grateful they are there, he said.

Grateful people "feel more alert, alive, interested, enthusiastic. They also feel more connected to others," said Emmons, who has written two books on the science of gratitude and often studies the effects of those gratitude diaries.

"Gratitude also serves as a stress buffer," Emmons said in an e-mail interview. "Grateful people are less likely to experience envy, anger, resentment, regret and other unpleasant states that produce stress."

Scientists are not just looking at the emotions behind gratitude but the nuts-and-bolts physiology as well.

Preliminary theories look at the brain chemistry and hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain that are connected to feelings of gratitude, Emmons said. And the left prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is also associated with positive emotions like love and compassion, seems to be a key spot, especially in Buddhist monks, Emmons said.

However it works in the brain, Emmons said there is little doubt that it works.

Emmons, who has conducted several studies on people from ages 12 to 80, including those with neuromuscular disease, asked volunteers to keep daily or weekly gratitude diaries. Another group listed hassles, and others just recorded random events. He noticed a significant and consistent difference. About three-quarters of the people studied who regularly counted their blessings scored higher in happiness tests and some even showed improvements in amounts of sleep and exercise.

Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan studied different gratitude methods and found the biggest immediate improvement in happiness scores was among people who were given one week to write and deliver in person a letter of gratitude to someone who had been especially kind to them, but was never thanked. That emotional health boost was large, but it didn't last over the weeks and months to come.

Peterson also asked people to write down nightly three things that went well that day and why that went well. That took longer to show any difference in happiness scores over control groups, but after one month the results were significantly better and they stayed better through six months.

Peterson said it worked so well that he is adopted it in his daily life, writing from-the-heart thank you notes, logging his feelings of gratitude: "It was very beneficial for me. I was much more cheerful."

At the University of North Carolina, Sara Algoe studied the interaction between cancer patients and their support group, especially when acts of gratitude were made. Like Peterson, she saw the effects last well over a month and she saw the feedback cycle that McCullough described.

"It must be really powerful," Algoe said.

It has to be potent to combat gloom many may be feeling in such uncertain times.

There have been many Thanksgivings throughout history that might challenge society's ability to be grateful. The first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims came after about half of the Plymouth colony died in the first year. Thanksgiving became a national holiday in the United States when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it in 1863 during the Civil War, the deadliest war the country has ever known. And the holiday moved to the fourth Thursday in November during the tail end of the Great Depression.

Emmons actually encourages people to "think of your worst moments, your sorrows, your losses, your sadness and then remember that here you are, able to remember them. You got through the worst day of your life ... remember the bad things, then look to see where you are."

That grace amid difficulty motif may make this Thanksgiving especially meaningful, McCullough said.

"In order to be grateful for something, we have to remember that something good happened," Peterson said. "It's important to remind ourselves that the world doesn't always suck."

___

Online:

Robert Emmons: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/PWT/index.cfm

National Association of School Psychologists' tips on fostering gratitude in children: http://bit.ly/rHlqCz

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111123/ap_on_sc/us_sci_psychology_of_thanks

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