Wanted: Luxury-loving couples available to runescape money globetrot for six months and get paid to test out the most romantic wedding and honeymoon destinations around the world.
It's a hard offer to resist, but what's being described as "The Ultimate Job" is just the latest in a series of recent dream positions to capture the public's imagination and serve as a brilliant marketing tool for people and places.
"It's been sort of crazy," said Rosemarie Meleady, managing director of RunawayBrideAndGroom.com, describing the response to the new promotion.
The Irish travel agency came up with the idea in part after seeing last year's blockbuster "Best Job in the World" campaign in Australia.
More than 1,000 couples runescape accounts have already applied for the chance to be sent to resorts in Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States.
The winners will be asked to blog about their experiences a few times a week "when they can get out of the hammock after sipping a glass of champagne," Meleady said, and write for The Irish Times once a month.
They will also be paid 20,000 euros (about $27,000). Hopefuls have until April 7 to apply for the "horrendous assignment" -- as the company teasingly calls it -- which starts mid-May.
You don't have to be Irish to apply, but you do have to tout Ireland as part of the process.
"We've had applications from Korea, China, Macedonia, Croatia, India and Saudi Arabia," Meleady said. "They're coming in about five every hour -- I'm working around the clock."
There's also been high interest from the United States, with one couple who is to be married in a California vineyard this summer vowing to cancel their plans if they win so they can get hitched in Ireland instead.
How it started
The travel dream job craze exploded onto the scene in January 2009 when Australia's Tourism Queensland announced it was seeking someone to spend six months on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef.
The person was to be paid almost $140,000 to blog about the experience and promote tourism in the area -- or the "Best Job in the World."
Ben Southall, a 34-year-old British man, beat out 34,000 other applicants runescape gold for the gig, which ended earlier this year.
"I think I've done more in these six months than I've done in the previous 34 years of my life. To be able to do this sort of thing, in this location, and report on it can't really be classed as work," Southall told CNN as he prepared to return home.
The success of the Tourism Queensland idea inspired several similar dream jobs.
Last fall's "67 Days of Smiles" campaign by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau in Florida paid a couple $25,000 to spend 67 days visiting every theme park and attraction in Orlando and -- you guessed it -- write about it.
I had a lot of spectacular times, but it was never a vacation
--Hardy Wallace, former wine country lifestyle correspondent
Then there was the "Really Goode Job" created by the Murphy-Goode winery in Healdsburg, California. About 2,400 people applied last spring to become the company's "wine country lifestyle correspondent" -- a person tasked with promoting the winery through social media sites. The six-month gig paid $60,000.
"It was the most fun job I've ever had in my life," said wine aficionado and blogger Hardy Wallace, 36, who was selected rs gold for the position just a few months after he was laid off from a sales and marketing job in Atlanta, Georgia.
He knows what you're thinking: The gig probably amounted to nothing more than sipping wine and visiting a few Web sites, right? Wrong, Wallace said; it was actually a ton of work. In six months, he wrote 200 blog posts, shot 45 videos, sent 7,000 tweets and attended numerous events to promote the winery, he recalled.
"I had a lot of spectacular times, but it was never a vacation," Wallace said.
The job opened up many doors when it ended last month, and Wallace now permanently lives in Sonoma County, California, splitting his time working for two small wineries he's always admired, he said.
"A year ago, I was unemployed, and I was trying to figure out how to make this work. And when I think of everything that's happened in the past year, I'm extremely grateful," Wallace said.
Allure of travel fuels viral marketing
Some of the companies behind the aion gold campaigns are probably very grateful too.
The "Best Job in the World" generated tens of millions of dollars in free publicity for Tourism Queensland thanks to bloggers and media outlets fascinated by the story, said David Meerman Scott, a marketing strategist and author of "The New Rules of Marketing & PR."
He travels all over the world as a speaker and has been asking audiences in countries like Japan, India, Estonia and Latvia whether they have heard of the Australian campaign. On average, 20 percent of people raise their hands.
"That's remarkable -- that you can do something which doesn't cost a lot of money, compared to television commercials, and 20 percent of the world ... has heard of it," Scott said.
The chance to go to exotic places was a big selling point in the "Best Job in the World," and copycats have followed because travel is associated with luxury and it's something lots of different people can write about, Scott said.
RunawayBrideAndGroom.com can attest to the allure of globetrotting and the power of viral marketing. The company's Web site has had 100,000 hits since announcing "The Ultimate Job," Meleady said.
"It snowballed aion kinah, it's so exciting," she added.
2010年3月31日星期三
2010年3月30日星期二
Want A Free Lunch? Work For Facebook
The dot-com bubble has long since burst runescape money, but one Silicon Valley perk is still alive and well — and it becomes very important each day at noon: free lunch.
One of the most popular cooks in Silicon Valley is Facebook's executive chef and self-designated "culinary overlord," Josef Desimone. His bustling kitchen serves 1,300 lunches a day — runescape accounts more than some restaurants serve over the course of a week.
Desimone was on track for a successful career in San Francisco's competitive restaurant world before the high-tech industry came calling. First, it was Google. But he wouldn't even consider a job as a corporate chef at first. To him, that was the runescape gold easy way out — with weekends off, repeating menus and canned ingredients. But he changed his mind in 2003.
"And when I went to Google, it was nothing like that," he says. "It was completely the opposite: It was all free-range; it was all organic. It was everything that the restaurant I was working at couldn't afford to be."
Five years later, he started the Facebook culinary program from scratch.
"We do a brand-new menu every single day — every single meal period from a different region of the world. Which, you know, I don't know any restaurant that does that," Desimone says.
The fare ranges from Italian to Korean to Scandinavian to Northern Indian. He says that variety is essential for Facebook employees.
"Changing the menu and being so diverse with it is great," he says. "Because we got people here from all over the world, you know, and I'm sure a lot of them are homesick. You're from Sweden, he's from India ... but what I can do is bring a little slice of what you're used to here."
On this day, Facebook employees Sara Brooks and Joanna Lee are chowing down on wasabi mashed potatoes and tofu steak.
"I've always found something that I can eat every day really safely, and it makes me really happy," Brooks says.
"It also makes for a healthier environment," Lee says. "You know you have healthy options in the workplace instead of, you know, grabbing a bag of chips or grabbing fast food."
But health and happiness are not the only things high-tech companies care about when they start in-house meal programs. It also helps when luring in new talent.
"Google offered food — all of a sudden, they were the engineering mecca. Facebook offered food and, all the sudden, same thing. You know, they become the engineering mecca," Desimone rs gold says. "There's a reason for that. ... It's a great recruiting tool."
And with breakfast, lunch and dinner offered in addition to perks like free dry cleaning, free transportation and even free gyms at some companies, it's easier to get employees to put aion gold in the long hours demanded by the high-tech industry.
One of the most popular cooks in Silicon Valley is Facebook's executive chef and self-designated "culinary overlord," Josef Desimone. His bustling kitchen serves 1,300 lunches a day — runescape accounts more than some restaurants serve over the course of a week.
Desimone was on track for a successful career in San Francisco's competitive restaurant world before the high-tech industry came calling. First, it was Google. But he wouldn't even consider a job as a corporate chef at first. To him, that was the runescape gold easy way out — with weekends off, repeating menus and canned ingredients. But he changed his mind in 2003.
"And when I went to Google, it was nothing like that," he says. "It was completely the opposite: It was all free-range; it was all organic. It was everything that the restaurant I was working at couldn't afford to be."
Five years later, he started the Facebook culinary program from scratch.
"We do a brand-new menu every single day — every single meal period from a different region of the world. Which, you know, I don't know any restaurant that does that," Desimone says.
The fare ranges from Italian to Korean to Scandinavian to Northern Indian. He says that variety is essential for Facebook employees.
"Changing the menu and being so diverse with it is great," he says. "Because we got people here from all over the world, you know, and I'm sure a lot of them are homesick. You're from Sweden, he's from India ... but what I can do is bring a little slice of what you're used to here."
On this day, Facebook employees Sara Brooks and Joanna Lee are chowing down on wasabi mashed potatoes and tofu steak.
"I've always found something that I can eat every day really safely, and it makes me really happy," Brooks says.
"It also makes for a healthier environment," Lee says. "You know you have healthy options in the workplace instead of, you know, grabbing a bag of chips or grabbing fast food."
But health and happiness are not the only things high-tech companies care about when they start in-house meal programs. It also helps when luring in new talent.
"Google offered food — all of a sudden, they were the engineering mecca. Facebook offered food and, all the sudden, same thing. You know, they become the engineering mecca," Desimone rs gold says. "There's a reason for that. ... It's a great recruiting tool."
And with breakfast, lunch and dinner offered in addition to perks like free dry cleaning, free transportation and even free gyms at some companies, it's easier to get employees to put aion gold in the long hours demanded by the high-tech industry.
2010年3月29日星期一
The work has saved me
Speaking on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, the runescape money Oscar-winning actress described being crippled throughout her life by the condition, which she first suffered while playing the leading role in a West End revival of the musical Me and My Girl in the 1980s.
She said: "I think my first bout of that was when I was doing Me and My Girl, funnily enough.
"I really didn't change my clothes or answer the phone, but went into the theatre every night and was cheerful and sang the Lambeth Walk.
"That's what actors do. But I think that was my first bout with an actual clinical depression."
During the programme, which is broadcast today, Kirsty Young, the presenter, asked Thompson about a five-year period during the 1990s, when she starred in seven films, was nominated for five Oscars and was also divorced from the actor and director, Kenneth Branagh.
Asked how she stayed sane, Thompson replied: "I don't think I did stay sane, actually. It was tough. I think I probably should have sought professional help long before I actually did, for all sorts of reasons.
"Yes, divorce, ghastly, painful business but also fame, in some ways a ghastly, painful business as well. You become slightly runescape accounts more public property in a way that's not necessarily always comfortable."
Thompson, 50, who is married to the actor Greg Wise, described how writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, in which she starred alongside Wise and Kate Winslet, helped her overcome another period of severe depression during the breakdown of her first marriage.
She said: "The only thing I could do was write. I used to crawl from the bedroom to the computer and just sit and write, and then I was alright, because I was not present.
"Sense and Sensibility really saved me from going under, I think, in a very nasty way."
The star of films including Nanny McPhee, Love Actually and An Education, also described acting as "an escape from myself, which I'm ashamed to say I enjoy very much."
Asked what she was escaping, Thompson said: "Oh, you know, the runescape gold voices in my head. The constant "must do better", "must try harder" plus "you're too fat and not really a very good mother".
"That punitive conscience is part of my psychiatric problem."
Thompson also recounted how Wise initially pursued Winslet during the filming of Sense and Sensibility, because a soothsayer had told him that he would meet his future wife on the set.
She said: "Of course I was still married, so he thought it was Winslet and courted her assiduously.
"I remember him taking her to Glastonbury, which she hated because it was all hippyish, because Greg's quite hippyish and he kept thinking 'this just isn't working, I think she's just got to be wrong'."
The actress also attributed rs gold part of her success to the fact that her career is not based on her looks.
She said: "I don't think I am considered a beauty... I've always thought of myself as a character actress, so in a sense I've got much less to lose."
Thompson's choice of music for her desert island included Hold On by Tom Waits, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3 and Cándidos by Inti-Illimani.
Her luxury was a saucepan and her chosen book was aion gold Homer's Odyssey.
She said: "I think my first bout of that was when I was doing Me and My Girl, funnily enough.
"I really didn't change my clothes or answer the phone, but went into the theatre every night and was cheerful and sang the Lambeth Walk.
"That's what actors do. But I think that was my first bout with an actual clinical depression."
During the programme, which is broadcast today, Kirsty Young, the presenter, asked Thompson about a five-year period during the 1990s, when she starred in seven films, was nominated for five Oscars and was also divorced from the actor and director, Kenneth Branagh.
Asked how she stayed sane, Thompson replied: "I don't think I did stay sane, actually. It was tough. I think I probably should have sought professional help long before I actually did, for all sorts of reasons.
"Yes, divorce, ghastly, painful business but also fame, in some ways a ghastly, painful business as well. You become slightly runescape accounts more public property in a way that's not necessarily always comfortable."
Thompson, 50, who is married to the actor Greg Wise, described how writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, in which she starred alongside Wise and Kate Winslet, helped her overcome another period of severe depression during the breakdown of her first marriage.
She said: "The only thing I could do was write. I used to crawl from the bedroom to the computer and just sit and write, and then I was alright, because I was not present.
"Sense and Sensibility really saved me from going under, I think, in a very nasty way."
The star of films including Nanny McPhee, Love Actually and An Education, also described acting as "an escape from myself, which I'm ashamed to say I enjoy very much."
Asked what she was escaping, Thompson said: "Oh, you know, the runescape gold voices in my head. The constant "must do better", "must try harder" plus "you're too fat and not really a very good mother".
"That punitive conscience is part of my psychiatric problem."
Thompson also recounted how Wise initially pursued Winslet during the filming of Sense and Sensibility, because a soothsayer had told him that he would meet his future wife on the set.
She said: "Of course I was still married, so he thought it was Winslet and courted her assiduously.
"I remember him taking her to Glastonbury, which she hated because it was all hippyish, because Greg's quite hippyish and he kept thinking 'this just isn't working, I think she's just got to be wrong'."
The actress also attributed rs gold part of her success to the fact that her career is not based on her looks.
She said: "I don't think I am considered a beauty... I've always thought of myself as a character actress, so in a sense I've got much less to lose."
Thompson's choice of music for her desert island included Hold On by Tom Waits, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3 and Cándidos by Inti-Illimani.
Her luxury was a saucepan and her chosen book was aion gold Homer's Odyssey.
2010年3月25日星期四
Lady Gaga's videos pass 1 billion views
Lady Gaga's music videos have reached runescape money a combined total of a whopping one billion page views based on the data provided by video analytics company Visible Measures, according to CNN.
She thus became the first artist to surpass one billion online video views across her three most popular videos: Poker Face (375 million views), Bad Romance (360 million views), and Just Dance (273 million views runescape accounts ).
While the number is incredible and shows the extent of the world's fascination with Lady Gaga, there is a caveat in how the page views are being measured.
Visible Measures claims that it uses the technology that measures total audience that has been exposed to a viral video campaign, no matter where the videos travel online.
Following Lady Gaga, the Twilight saga and Soulja Boy are close behind with 980 million and 860 million page views, respectively.
She thus became the first artist to surpass one billion online video views across her three most popular videos: Poker Face (375 million views), Bad Romance (360 million views), and Just Dance (273 million views runescape accounts ).
While the number is incredible and shows the extent of the world's fascination with Lady Gaga, there is a caveat in how the page views are being measured.
Visible Measures claims that it uses the technology that measures total audience that has been exposed to a viral video campaign, no matter where the videos travel online.
Following Lady Gaga, the Twilight saga and Soulja Boy are close behind with 980 million and 860 million page views, respectively.
Lady Gaga has been a hit on Vevo and YouTube, with 25 percent of runescape gold Vevo's visitors eyeing only for her. Besides, the pop star has also attracted Internet attention from elsewhere.
Lady Gaga poses on the red carpet at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles January 31, 2010.
Singer Lady Gaga arrives for the amFAR annual gala to kick off Fashion Week rs gold in New York February 10, 2010.
2010年3月24日星期三
Geneva atom smasher to try record collisions
Operators of the world's largest runescape money atom smasher said Tuesday they will try in a week to collide proton beams at record high energy in a new bid to discover secrets of the universe.The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, says beams have been circulating in the Large Hadron Collider at 3.5 trillion electron runescape accounts volts since Friday, 3 1/2 times higher than the previous record set late last year. The operators have kept the beams apart but they will attempt to collide them on March 30.
The higher energy is meant to increase the likelihood that scientists will be able to examine the smallest particles and forces within the atom that could reveal more about the make-up of matter and the universe.
"We've still got a lot of work to do before collisions," said Steve Myers, CERN's director for accelerators and technology. "Just lining the beams up is a challenge in itself. It's a bit like firing needles across the Atlantic and getting them to collide half way."
The collider — housed in a 27-kilometer (17-mile) tunnel under the Swiss-French border at Geneva — has been operating well since November when it was restarted following extensive repairs.
It soon eclipsed the next largest accelerator — the Tevatron at Fermilab near Chicago — pushing its energy to 1.18 trillion electron volts, or TeV. Tevatron operates at 0.98 TeV.
The $10 billion LHC was launched with great fanfare on Sept. 10, 2008, but it was sidetracked nine days later when a badly soldered electrical splice overheated and set off a chain of damage to the massive superconducting magnets and other parts of the collider some 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground.
CERN had to undertake a $40 million program of repairs and improvements before it was ready to retry the machine at the end of November. Then the collider performed almost flawlessly, giving scientists valuable data in runescape gold the four-week run before Christmas.
CERN specialists have checked out and improved electrical connections and other parts throughout the machine.
The extra energy in Geneva is expected to reveal even more about the unanswered questions of particle physics, such as the existence of antimatter and the search for the Higgs boson, a hypothetical particle that scientist theorize gives mass to other particles and thus to other objects and creatures in the universe.
Scientists hope also to approach on a tiny scale what happened in the first split seconds after the Big Bang, which they theorize was the creation of the universe some 14 billion years ago.
When the collisions start at the new, higher energy, CERN plans to run the collider continuously for 18-24 months, much longer than previously.
This is because the machine operates at near absolute zero degrees, colder than outer space and shutting it off can require months to bring the equipment up to room temperature for any checks, repairs or improvements, CERN said.
The head of CERN, Rolf-Dieter Heuer, said it is likely to take months before any scientific discoveries are made, partly because it takes so long for computers to sort through the massive amount of data produced by the collisions.
Heuer said scientists hope by the end of this year to make discoveries into the mysterious dark matter that scientists believe comprises a quarter of the whole universe; the better understood visible universe makes aion kinah up only 5 percent of the universe.
Dark matter has been theorized by scientists to account for missing mass and bent light in faraway galaxies. Scientists believe it makes galaxies spin faster.
A separate entity called "dark energy" makes up the remaining 70 percent of the universe, and this is understood to be associated with the vacuum that is evenly distributed in space and time. It is believed to accelerate the expansion of the universe.
After two years of running, the LHC will be shut down for about a year and the specialists will install improvements and make other changes to enable the collider to operate at its design energy of 7 TeV in each direction to produce collisions of 14 TeV.
Physicists have used smaller, room-temperature colliders for decades to study the atom. They once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of the atom's nucleus, but the colliders showed that they are made of quarks and rs gold gluons and that there are other forces and particles.
The higher energy is meant to increase the likelihood that scientists will be able to examine the smallest particles and forces within the atom that could reveal more about the make-up of matter and the universe.
"We've still got a lot of work to do before collisions," said Steve Myers, CERN's director for accelerators and technology. "Just lining the beams up is a challenge in itself. It's a bit like firing needles across the Atlantic and getting them to collide half way."
The collider — housed in a 27-kilometer (17-mile) tunnel under the Swiss-French border at Geneva — has been operating well since November when it was restarted following extensive repairs.
It soon eclipsed the next largest accelerator — the Tevatron at Fermilab near Chicago — pushing its energy to 1.18 trillion electron volts, or TeV. Tevatron operates at 0.98 TeV.
The $10 billion LHC was launched with great fanfare on Sept. 10, 2008, but it was sidetracked nine days later when a badly soldered electrical splice overheated and set off a chain of damage to the massive superconducting magnets and other parts of the collider some 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground.
CERN had to undertake a $40 million program of repairs and improvements before it was ready to retry the machine at the end of November. Then the collider performed almost flawlessly, giving scientists valuable data in runescape gold the four-week run before Christmas.
CERN specialists have checked out and improved electrical connections and other parts throughout the machine.
The extra energy in Geneva is expected to reveal even more about the unanswered questions of particle physics, such as the existence of antimatter and the search for the Higgs boson, a hypothetical particle that scientist theorize gives mass to other particles and thus to other objects and creatures in the universe.
Scientists hope also to approach on a tiny scale what happened in the first split seconds after the Big Bang, which they theorize was the creation of the universe some 14 billion years ago.
When the collisions start at the new, higher energy, CERN plans to run the collider continuously for 18-24 months, much longer than previously.
This is because the machine operates at near absolute zero degrees, colder than outer space and shutting it off can require months to bring the equipment up to room temperature for any checks, repairs or improvements, CERN said.
The head of CERN, Rolf-Dieter Heuer, said it is likely to take months before any scientific discoveries are made, partly because it takes so long for computers to sort through the massive amount of data produced by the collisions.
Heuer said scientists hope by the end of this year to make discoveries into the mysterious dark matter that scientists believe comprises a quarter of the whole universe; the better understood visible universe makes aion kinah up only 5 percent of the universe.
Dark matter has been theorized by scientists to account for missing mass and bent light in faraway galaxies. Scientists believe it makes galaxies spin faster.
A separate entity called "dark energy" makes up the remaining 70 percent of the universe, and this is understood to be associated with the vacuum that is evenly distributed in space and time. It is believed to accelerate the expansion of the universe.
After two years of running, the LHC will be shut down for about a year and the specialists will install improvements and make other changes to enable the collider to operate at its design energy of 7 TeV in each direction to produce collisions of 14 TeV.
Physicists have used smaller, room-temperature colliders for decades to study the atom. They once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of the atom's nucleus, but the colliders showed that they are made of quarks and rs gold gluons and that there are other forces and particles.
2010年3月23日星期二
Obese Kids Suffer More Leg, Foot Injuries: Study
Obese children are at increased runescape money risk for leg and foot injuries, a new study finds.Researchers looked at 23,000 children, ages 3 to 14. The one-sixth of the children who were obese had more leg, foot and ankle injuries than healthy runescape accounts weight children.
The study appears in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"These findings are strongly troubling to those of us in the podiatry community. In addition to obesity causing injury and growth plate inflammation, children with existing foot ailments who have not been evaluated and runescape gold treated by a medical specialist, such as a podiatrist, have a much greater tendency to avoid exercise altogether," Ronald D. Jensen, president of the American Podiatric Medical Association, said in a news release.
"Inactivity is a major factor in developing obesity. For these reasons, it is important that parents be mindful of the type of footwear they purchase for their children and make rs gold sure that any sign of foot problems and pain be evaluated by a podiatrist immediately," he recommended.
The study appears in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"These findings are strongly troubling to those of us in the podiatry community. In addition to obesity causing injury and growth plate inflammation, children with existing foot ailments who have not been evaluated and runescape gold treated by a medical specialist, such as a podiatrist, have a much greater tendency to avoid exercise altogether," Ronald D. Jensen, president of the American Podiatric Medical Association, said in a news release.
"Inactivity is a major factor in developing obesity. For these reasons, it is important that parents be mindful of the type of footwear they purchase for their children and make rs gold sure that any sign of foot problems and pain be evaluated by a podiatrist immediately," he recommended.
2010年3月22日星期一
Men Take More Risks When Pretty Women Are Around
Being around a pretty woman can make men take more risks, a runescape money new study finds.
Researchers looked at the risk-taking behaviors of 96 young adult men, with an average age of nearly 22, by asking them to do both easy and difficult tricks on skateboards.
First, the young men performed the tricks in front of another man, then in front of a young, attractive female. (The attractiveness of the woman was independently assessed by 20 male raters.)
The testosterone levels of the runescape gold skateboarders were measured after each trick. Testosterone is a male sex hormone that fuels sexual interest, arousal and activity, and is also associated with increased competition and risk-taking.
When skateboarders attempt tricks, they make a split-second decision about whether to abort the trick or try to land it , based on a mid-air evaluation of the likelihood of success and on the physical costs that failure might bring — such as falling flat on their face.
It was that moment the researchers sought to examine, because it resembles rs gold the type of risky decisions that young men make when behind the steering wheel of a car or when in physical confrontations with each other. As a group, young males are at the highest risk of early death of any group in industrialized countries in part because they are the biggest risk-takers.
As the researchers expected, the skateboarders took greater risks in the presence of the attractive female, even when they knew there was a greater chance they could crash. Along with this increased risk-taking, the young men had higher testosterone levels when they performed in front aion kinah of the female than when they did their jumps in front of another guy.
"This experiment provides evidence for an effect that has existed in art, mythology, and literature for thousands of years: Beautiful women lead men to throw caution to the wind," wrote the authors of the study, Richard Ronay and William von Hippel, of the University of Queensland in Australia.
"These findings suggest that, for men, the adaptive benefits gained by enticing mates and intimidating rivals may have resulted in evolved hormonal and neurological mechanisms that facilitated greater risk-taking in the presence of attractive women," they added.
The results of the research runescape accounts are detailed in the first issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Researchers looked at the risk-taking behaviors of 96 young adult men, with an average age of nearly 22, by asking them to do both easy and difficult tricks on skateboards.
First, the young men performed the tricks in front of another man, then in front of a young, attractive female. (The attractiveness of the woman was independently assessed by 20 male raters.)
The testosterone levels of the runescape gold skateboarders were measured after each trick. Testosterone is a male sex hormone that fuels sexual interest, arousal and activity, and is also associated with increased competition and risk-taking.
When skateboarders attempt tricks, they make a split-second decision about whether to abort the trick or try to land it , based on a mid-air evaluation of the likelihood of success and on the physical costs that failure might bring — such as falling flat on their face.
It was that moment the researchers sought to examine, because it resembles rs gold the type of risky decisions that young men make when behind the steering wheel of a car or when in physical confrontations with each other. As a group, young males are at the highest risk of early death of any group in industrialized countries in part because they are the biggest risk-takers.
As the researchers expected, the skateboarders took greater risks in the presence of the attractive female, even when they knew there was a greater chance they could crash. Along with this increased risk-taking, the young men had higher testosterone levels when they performed in front aion kinah of the female than when they did their jumps in front of another guy.
"This experiment provides evidence for an effect that has existed in art, mythology, and literature for thousands of years: Beautiful women lead men to throw caution to the wind," wrote the authors of the study, Richard Ronay and William von Hippel, of the University of Queensland in Australia.
"These findings suggest that, for men, the adaptive benefits gained by enticing mates and intimidating rivals may have resulted in evolved hormonal and neurological mechanisms that facilitated greater risk-taking in the presence of attractive women," they added.
The results of the research runescape accounts are detailed in the first issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
2010年3月21日星期日
And charm is one thing that Angel Corella has in spades. Just ask fans runescape money of American Ballet Theatre, who have seen the Spanish ballet star dance for 15 years now, bringing his mix of technical skill, passion and dynamism — and yes, charm — to roles such as Don Quixote, Romeo, Prince Siegfried and many others.
Now 34, Corella is taking on the heavy load of running his own company, and he has brought the Ballet Corella Castilla y Leon from its base in his native Spain to New York, his second home, for the first time. It's a bit like bringing a child to meet its grandparents, he has said.
To judge from the happy welcome at New York's City Center on opening night Wednesday, the grandparents' arms are runescape gold wide open.
Sure, there were quibbles with the mix on the program, with some saying it was too heavy on flamboyant, old-style works such as "Walpurgisnacht." Others found some fault with the single Corella-choreographed work on the bill, the pleasant "String Sextet." (It is his first creation, and Corella has said he does not plan to become a choreographer.)
But the general atmosphere at City Center was one of excitement and affection. And it all came to a head just before the second intermission, with a rousing standing ovation for "Solea," a flamenco-infused pas de deux for Corella and his sister, Carmen, a former ABT soloist and now a principal in his company.
Much of the appeal of "Solea," choreographed by Maria Pages to flamenco music by Ruben Lebaniegos, was the obvious affection between brother rs gold and sister, who had never danced together before. As Corella ruefully told a small audience two nights earlier in a panel discussion, "Carmen is very tall" — too tall for him to partner her in standard works.
But the two were perfectly matched in "Solea," both for their Latin good looks (this family sure has the right genes) and their infectious joy in dancing.
Just under eight minutes, "Solea" began with the Corellas sitting back to back on a dark stage. What unfolded was an intriguing melding of flamenco and classical ballet. A few flourishes of the pointe shoes became the equivalent of flamenco shoes tapping. Each dancer clapped as the other leaped or turned — ballet moves to a flamenco beat.
At the end, the two laughed as the audience roared.
The final work of the evening was Christopher Wheeldon's exhilarating "DGV (Dance a Grande Vitesse)," literally dance at a high speed, a work of constant, inventive twists and turns to churning, modern music by Michael Nyman. It seemed the most fleshed-out piece of the night, and a welcome gift to New York runescape accounts audiences, who have never seen this particular Wheeldon creation.
But the memory that remained from the evening was the grins of Angel and Carmen Corella, clearly delighted to be dancing together. At the Monday panel discussion upstairs in the City Center studios, hosted by the former New York City Ballet great Damian Woetzel, Corella spoke of how much he owed his sister.
She made him go to dance class every day as a child, he said. "I don't think I would have been a dancer if not for her," he added. As the audience filed out, a woman could be heard saying: "He is so aion gold charming!"
In this undated publicity image released by Helene Davis Public Relations, Angel Corella, foreground, and Carmen Corella perform in Solea at the aion kinah City Center in New York
2010年3月18日星期四
Tattoo model claims she had affair with Sandra Bullock's husband
Days after Kate Winslet announced her marriage was runescape gold over, the Curse of the Academy Award winners appears to have claimed another victim.
Sandra Bullock has cancelled the British premiere of The Blind Side, for which she won this year's best actress Oscar, amid claims that her husband had an affair with a model whose body is almost entirely covered in tattoos.
In a gushing speech which recalled Miss Winslet's tribute to Sam Mendes when she took the same award last year, 45-year-old Miss Bullock thanked motorbike enthusiast Jesse James for his support.
His eyes welled with tears as she rs gold spoke of her love for him. Yet according to a U.S. publication yesterday, he repaid her trust by having an 11-month relationship with Michelle 'Bombshell' McGee.
The tattooed lady told In Touch magazine that she called 40-year-old James her 'Vanilla Gorilla' and gave salacious details of their time together.
Miss Bullock had been due to attend the first London screening of The Blind Side on Tuesday with her co-star, newcomer Quinton Aaron. But in a terse statement, Warner Brothers yesterday announced that the event and its accompanying parties were off because 'unforeseen circumstances' had arisen which meant Miss Bullock was 'no longer available to travel'.
The actress had a string of unsuccessful relationships before meeting James, a former bodyguard to heavy metal groups, when she took her young godson to the set runescape accounts of his now-axed TV show Monster Garage. She became his third wife almost five years ago.
Sandra Bullock has cancelled the British premiere of The Blind Side, for which she won this year's best actress Oscar, amid claims that her husband had an affair with a model whose body is almost entirely covered in tattoos.
In a gushing speech which recalled Miss Winslet's tribute to Sam Mendes when she took the same award last year, 45-year-old Miss Bullock thanked motorbike enthusiast Jesse James for his support.
His eyes welled with tears as she rs gold spoke of her love for him. Yet according to a U.S. publication yesterday, he repaid her trust by having an 11-month relationship with Michelle 'Bombshell' McGee.
The tattooed lady told In Touch magazine that she called 40-year-old James her 'Vanilla Gorilla' and gave salacious details of their time together.
Miss Bullock had been due to attend the first London screening of The Blind Side on Tuesday with her co-star, newcomer Quinton Aaron. But in a terse statement, Warner Brothers yesterday announced that the event and its accompanying parties were off because 'unforeseen circumstances' had arisen which meant Miss Bullock was 'no longer available to travel'.
The actress had a string of unsuccessful relationships before meeting James, a former bodyguard to heavy metal groups, when she took her young godson to the set runescape accounts of his now-axed TV show Monster Garage. She became his third wife almost five years ago.
Jesse James with wife Sandra Bullock at the Oscars
Michelle 'Bombshell' McGee aion power leveling claims she had an affair with James
Michelle 'Bombshell' McGee claims buy aion gold she had an affair with James
McGee, left, claims she thought the marriage was over when the alleged affair started
James' ex-wife Janine Lindemulder in Los Angeles runescape money with five-year-old Sunny, who is now being raised by Bullock
2010年3月17日星期三
Does your loved one miss the dog more than you?
Have you ever had the feeling that your loved one misses the dog runescape gold more than you when he or she is away on a business trip? You may be right.
A third of Americans admit to pining for their pooches more than their partners when out of town. But maybe that's because nine out of ten of them feel their pet is more pleased to see them after a hard day at work and is even more likely to notice when they've had a bad day.
Your partner's relationship with your dog may be closer than you thought and it might be going on behind your back. Around one is seven dog owners say they have "shared a look" with their dogs at least once and even more than that claim to be able to read their pet's facial expressions.
And ever wondered what's runescape money behind the long gaze into pooch's big brown eyes? Your partner may be one of a third of dog owners who swear it's an entire "conversation" without words.
And it doesn't stop there.
Many Americans turn to their four-legged friends for solace before friends and family. Nearly two thirds believe their dogs are more dependable than their closest rs gold comrades and over 70 percent would rather go for a walk with pooch when feeling uptight than hang out with their best buddy.
These are the results of a survey commissioned by dog snack maker Pup-Peroni that questioned over 1000 U.S. dog owners about the feelings they have for the pup in their life. The hold dogs have over their owners' emotions is striking.
Over two thirds say they feel more guilty about leaving their dog behind when traveling than leaving friends or loved ones runescape accounts. A majority say their pooch makes them feel happy, loved and relaxed.
A third of Americans admit to pining for their pooches more than their partners when out of town. But maybe that's because nine out of ten of them feel their pet is more pleased to see them after a hard day at work and is even more likely to notice when they've had a bad day.
Your partner's relationship with your dog may be closer than you thought and it might be going on behind your back. Around one is seven dog owners say they have "shared a look" with their dogs at least once and even more than that claim to be able to read their pet's facial expressions.
And ever wondered what's runescape money behind the long gaze into pooch's big brown eyes? Your partner may be one of a third of dog owners who swear it's an entire "conversation" without words.
And it doesn't stop there.
Many Americans turn to their four-legged friends for solace before friends and family. Nearly two thirds believe their dogs are more dependable than their closest rs gold comrades and over 70 percent would rather go for a walk with pooch when feeling uptight than hang out with their best buddy.
These are the results of a survey commissioned by dog snack maker Pup-Peroni that questioned over 1000 U.S. dog owners about the feelings they have for the pup in their life. The hold dogs have over their owners' emotions is striking.
Over two thirds say they feel more guilty about leaving their dog behind when traveling than leaving friends or loved ones runescape accounts. A majority say their pooch makes them feel happy, loved and relaxed.
2010年3月16日星期二
Backstreet Boys hold concert in Shanghai
American vocal group Backstreet Boys perform during their "This Is Us" tour concert at aion kinah the International Gymnasium Center in Shanghai, east China, March 14, 2010. 
American vocal group Backstreet Boys perform during their "This Is Us" tour concert at aion power leveling the International Gymnasium Center in Shanghai, east China, March 14, 2010.
American vocal group Backstreet Boys perform during their "This Is Us" tour concert at the International Gymnasium Center in Shanghai, east China, March 14, 2010.
American vocal group Backstreet Boys perform during their "This Is Us" tour concert at buy aion gold the International Gymnasium Center in Shanghai, east China, March 14, 2010.
American vocal group Backstreet Boys perform during their "This Is Us" tour concert at the International Gymnasium Center buy aion kinah in Shanghai, east China, March 14, 2010.
2010年3月15日星期一
Japan's spouse hunters hone skills at marriage school
In search of Mr. or Mrs. Right, dozens of Japanese are attending a newly launched school in Tokyo that aims to turn aion kinah them into marriage material.
The Infini school offers various classes for wannabe brides and grooms at a time when many people in Japan are either shunning the institution of marriage or are finding it very difficult to hook up with a partner.
The school, which is open to men and women, teaches students how to talk, walk and present themselves elegantly in a bid to capture the hearts and minds of prospective partners and their parents, who are often a major obstacle to successful unions.
Infini, which opened last month, now has about 30 female aion power leveling students. An almost equal number of males has signed up, but those who actually turn up to class are much fewer than their female counterparts.
"I had never even thought that my boyfriend's mother could play such a big role in my relationship, but now I've realized I need to start thinking seriously about how to impress my futurein-laws," said Kozue Sugawara, 29, who joined the school after her previous marriage plans failed.
With women wielding increased economic clout and changing social attitudes toward marriage, more Japanese in their 20s and 30s are single than ever before.
Government statistics show nearly two-thirds of women under the age of 34 are unmarried, despite some 3,800 buy aion gold firms in Japan offering match-making services.
The average age of the school's female students is 30 years.
"Before, people would find it easy to get married because families and society would connect them in some way, sometimes pushing them to get married. But nowadays, people have too many choices and cannot seem to make up their minds," said Etsuko Satake, principal of the Infini marriage prep school.
Instructors provide critiques about students' dress, posture and even details such as how they cross their legs or get out of a car. Men and women are taught different skills, which range from how to set a table well to how to be more emotionally expressive.
Students also simulate dates, during which their instructors grade their performance and point out what they did wrong.
The school charges an annual fee of 200,000 yen ($2,217) for buy aion kinah unlimited access to its classes.
The Infini school offers various classes for wannabe brides and grooms at a time when many people in Japan are either shunning the institution of marriage or are finding it very difficult to hook up with a partner.
The school, which is open to men and women, teaches students how to talk, walk and present themselves elegantly in a bid to capture the hearts and minds of prospective partners and their parents, who are often a major obstacle to successful unions.
Infini, which opened last month, now has about 30 female aion power leveling students. An almost equal number of males has signed up, but those who actually turn up to class are much fewer than their female counterparts.
"I had never even thought that my boyfriend's mother could play such a big role in my relationship, but now I've realized I need to start thinking seriously about how to impress my futurein-laws," said Kozue Sugawara, 29, who joined the school after her previous marriage plans failed.
With women wielding increased economic clout and changing social attitudes toward marriage, more Japanese in their 20s and 30s are single than ever before.
Government statistics show nearly two-thirds of women under the age of 34 are unmarried, despite some 3,800 buy aion gold firms in Japan offering match-making services.
The average age of the school's female students is 30 years.
"Before, people would find it easy to get married because families and society would connect them in some way, sometimes pushing them to get married. But nowadays, people have too many choices and cannot seem to make up their minds," said Etsuko Satake, principal of the Infini marriage prep school.
Instructors provide critiques about students' dress, posture and even details such as how they cross their legs or get out of a car. Men and women are taught different skills, which range from how to set a table well to how to be more emotionally expressive.
Students also simulate dates, during which their instructors grade their performance and point out what they did wrong.
The school charges an annual fee of 200,000 yen ($2,217) for buy aion kinah unlimited access to its classes.
2010年3月14日星期日
Culture clash: European art provokes Muslims
With the West locked in conflicts across the Muslim world, why rs gold would anyone throw fuel on the fire?
A small group of Europeans have been doing just that — provoking death plots and at least one murder by turning out art that derides the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran in the name of Western values.
Behind the scenes is something bigger: a rising European unease with a rapidly growing Muslim minority, and the spreading sense that the continent has become a front in a clash of civilizations.
Recent events — including surprising electoral success by an anti-Islamic Dutch party, moves to ban veils in France and minarets in Switzerland, and arrests in Ireland and the U.S. this week in an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist — are signs of the rising tensions.
Swedish artist Lars Vilks says he was defending freedom of speech when he produced a crude black-and-white drawing of Muhammad with a dog's body in 2007. Authorities say that set him in the crosshairs of an assassination plot by extremists including Colleen LaRose, a 46-year-old Muslim convert from Pennsylvania who dubbed herself "Jihad Jane."
Vilks said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that he wasn't interested in offending Muslims as an end in itself, but wanted to show that he could make provocative art about any topic he chose. "There is nothing so holy you can't offend it," he said.
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten also said it was defending free speech in 2005 when it printed 12 cartoons of Muhammad, one in a bomb-shaped turban, setting off protests and the torching of Western embassies in several Muslim countries. And bottle-blond Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders said he was promoting European values by producing Fitna, a 15-minute film that lays images of the Sept. 11 attacks alongside verses from the Quran. The film was shown in Britain's House of Lords this month.
The cases are extreme, but millions of moderate Europeans also are re-examining the meaning of the liberal values widely cherished across the continent. How, many are asking, should a liberal society respectfully deal with immigrants runescape accounts who often espouse illiberal values? Should the immigrants adopt the values of their adoptive land — or, to the contrary, should society change to accommodate the newcomers who now form part of it?
France, home to at least five million of the estimated 14 million Muslims in Western Europe, launched a parliament-run dialogue on what to do about full-face veils last year. It ended with a parliamentary panel recommending a ban on the veils in buses, trains, hospitals, post offices and public sector facilities. In December, a large majority of Swiss voters backed a ballot initiative banning the building of any new minarets.
The measures sparked some peaceful protests. But the most incendiary provocations have come from the Dutch and their Nordic neighbors, nations with long histories of homogeneity, tradition of provocative artwork and less experience with large-scale immigration than former colonial titans like Britain and France.
Jan Hjarpe, a professor emeritus of Islamic studies at Lund University in southern Sweden, near Vilks' home, said the deliberate provocations were helpful to Islamic extremists, who have been hunting for targets that would win them popularity in the Muslim world.
"It has had almost no effect on the Muslim community in Sweden, who regard it as not very interesting," he said. "These threats against him have to do with extremist groups that want something to react to."
Denmark's Prophet Muhammad cartoons emerged from a discussion in 2005 about whether Islam was being treated with special sensitivity among Danish artists for fear of reprisals from extremists. Jyllands-Posten said the project was a way to challenge self-censorship and show that Muslims, too, must be ready to put up with mockery in a society based on democracy and free speech.
Denmark has an estimated 200,000 Muslims — about 4 percent of the population — while the numbers in Sweden are believed to be somewhat higher.
Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry. Danish Muslims took the cartoons as an affront, viewing them as symbolic of a backlash against Muslim immigrants in Denmark, manifested by the rise of a nationalist party and sometimes harsh anti-Muslim rhetoric in the Danish press.
An ax-wielding Somali man with suspected al-Qaida links has been jailed since January on preliminary charges of terrorism and attempted murder after breaking into the home of Kurt Westergaard, the 74-year-old Danish artist aion gold whose Muhammad-with-bomb-turban cartoon outraged the Muslim world three years ago. The Somali man had won an asylum case and received a residency permit to stay in Denmark, officials said.
Outrage, threats and violence over depictions of Muhammad are nothing new: Salman Rushdie was forced into hiding in England for a decade because the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill him because his book, "The Satanic Verses," insulted Islam.
Rushdie has survived, but in 2004, filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was slain on an Amsterdam street by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch Muslim of Moroccan descent incensed by his film "Submission," a fictional study of abused Muslim women. It featured scenes of near-naked women with Quranic texts appearing on their flesh.
Van Gogh was repeatedly shot, and his throat was cut. A letter pinned to his chest with a knife threatened the life of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of radical Islam who helped write the film.
The death accelerated the swelling of anti-Islamic populism in the once-tolerant Netherlands, where Muslims now make up some 5 percent of the 16 million population.
In the 1980s and into the 90s, large numbers of immigrants — mainly Turks and Moroccans encouraged to move to the country as cheap labor — barely integrated into mainstream society and instead stuck together in low-rent inner-city neighborhoods.
In light of the tragic record of the Dutch toward the Jewish population during the Nazi occupation, when some 70 percent were deported and killed, it was considered impolitic to show resentment against another aion kina ethnic group. But that didn't mean the resentment wasn't there. It was only in 2002 when the populist politician Pim Fortuyn began speaking openly against immigration and the threat to the Dutch identity that people felt free to voice their anger. Fortuyn's popularity soared, and the party he founded was hugely popular even after Fortuyn himself was assassinated (by an animal rights activist).
Successive governments clamped down on immigration and forced new arrivals to learn about the Dutch language and culture in an attempt to integrate them into mainstream society.
Wilders is derided by his enemies as a neo-fascist but has been able to turn his provocations into political success: his Freedom Party winning in the town of Almere and coming in second in The Hague this month the only two races it ran out of 394 cities and towns that elected local councils.
If the outcome is any indication of the parliamentary vote in June, Wilders could emerge as a king-maker on the national stage with no combination of parties is likely to be able to form a working majority in the next parliament.
One widely praised new book, journalist Christopher Caldwell's "Reflections on the Revolution in Europe" has prompted ongoing discussion of whether Islam can ever truly be integrated into European society. Some see cause for optimism, however faint.
"I wonder whether the liberal order is really quite so aion kinah weak and inept, whether the story is quite over just yet," Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum wrote in one review.
2010年3月12日星期五
Central American shrimp, lobster fast disappearing
Illegal fishing and climate change are decimating shrimp and lobster aion kinah populations in Central America, threatening a two-billion-dollar industry and 136,000 jobs, regional experts said Thursday.
"Pollution and warmer waters are impacting our species," especially shrimp and lobster, said Central American Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sectors (OSPESCA) regional director Mario Gonzalez.
"The Pacific shrimp population, Panama excluded, has fallen dramatically" because of overexploitation and decreasing rainfall in Central America over the past decade, "which depletes the nutrients they feed on," the expert said.
The lobster population is also in jeopardy of disappearing altogether, he added.
Illegal fishing is also taking its toll, Gonzalez said.
"Of the total amount delivered to fish processing plants, approximately 20 to 30 percent is illegal or undersized," said the OSPESCA official.
Underreported catches aion power leveling compound the problem, Gonzalez said.
"You can say that in Central America 50 percent of our (fishing) production goes undeclared or not reported, not only by private fishermen but also by large fisheries," the expert said.
The dire situation has been brought to the attention of regional governments.
"There's a regional policy (on fishing), but it's just included in documents which have to be turned into action in order to better manage our fish stocks," OSPESCA interim president Diana Arauz told AFP.
As a first step, officials said, Central American Integration System members -- El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama -- have recently banned lobster fishing from March 1 to June 30 in hopes the species can make a comeback.
Lobster and shrimp fishing in Central America employs some 136,000 people and brings in 1.985 billion dollars a year -- 4.1 percent of the runescape gold regional gross domestic product, OSPESCA and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report.
"Pollution and warmer waters are impacting our species," especially shrimp and lobster, said Central American Organization of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sectors (OSPESCA) regional director Mario Gonzalez.
"The Pacific shrimp population, Panama excluded, has fallen dramatically" because of overexploitation and decreasing rainfall in Central America over the past decade, "which depletes the nutrients they feed on," the expert said.
The lobster population is also in jeopardy of disappearing altogether, he added.
Illegal fishing is also taking its toll, Gonzalez said.
"Of the total amount delivered to fish processing plants, approximately 20 to 30 percent is illegal or undersized," said the OSPESCA official.
Underreported catches aion power leveling compound the problem, Gonzalez said.
"You can say that in Central America 50 percent of our (fishing) production goes undeclared or not reported, not only by private fishermen but also by large fisheries," the expert said.
The dire situation has been brought to the attention of regional governments.
"There's a regional policy (on fishing), but it's just included in documents which have to be turned into action in order to better manage our fish stocks," OSPESCA interim president Diana Arauz told AFP.
As a first step, officials said, Central American Integration System members -- El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama -- have recently banned lobster fishing from March 1 to June 30 in hopes the species can make a comeback.
Lobster and shrimp fishing in Central America employs some 136,000 people and brings in 1.985 billion dollars a year -- 4.1 percent of the runescape gold regional gross domestic product, OSPESCA and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report.
2010年3月11日星期四
Jennifer Hudson to perform 'One Shining Moment'
Jennifer Hudson will have aion gold her "One Shining Moment."
The Grammy and Oscar winner will perform the song that plays each year at the end of the CBS broadcast of the NCAA men's basketball championship game.
"The song inspires you," Hudson said in a release. "It moves you. It motivates you and helps you reach that goal and that dream."
The network said Tuesday that Hudson will be the first woman aion kina to sing it. Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross have performed previous renditions.
Hudson recorded the song in Los Angeles on Feb. 13. Her producer, Harvey Mason Jr., played for the Arizona team that reached the 1988 Final Four.
The tune by folk singer David Barrett has been a March Madness staple since 1987, played over highlights of the tournament.
Hudson, who won aion kinah an Academy Award in 2007 for her supporting role in "Dreamgirls," performed at last year's Super Bowl.
The Grammy and Oscar winner will perform the song that plays each year at the end of the CBS broadcast of the NCAA men's basketball championship game.
"The song inspires you," Hudson said in a release. "It moves you. It motivates you and helps you reach that goal and that dream."
The network said Tuesday that Hudson will be the first woman aion kina to sing it. Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross have performed previous renditions.
Hudson recorded the song in Los Angeles on Feb. 13. Her producer, Harvey Mason Jr., played for the Arizona team that reached the 1988 Final Four.
The tune by folk singer David Barrett has been a March Madness staple since 1987, played over highlights of the tournament.
Hudson, who won aion kinah an Academy Award in 2007 for her supporting role in "Dreamgirls," performed at last year's Super Bowl.
2010年3月10日星期三
1 million volunteers register for free Disney tix
Disney reached its goal Tuesday of getting 1 million people to sign up aion gold for a day of volunteer work in exchange for a free one-day ticket to a Disney park.
Under the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program, Disney is giving a free day's admission to any park at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., or at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., provided the volunteer work has been performed and certified by the HandsOn Network, a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities.
The program was announced last fall but the program rules required that the volunteer work take place this year.
Disney announced Tuesday that the program had reached its cap of 1 million people registering just 10 weeks after aion kina volunteers began signing up Jan. 1.
"By any measure, the 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' program exceeded our expectations," Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement.
Although registration for the free tickets is now closed, those who were certified for the program by the HandsOn Network have until Dec. 15 to redeem their free park ticket. Some blackout dates apply.
And while volunteers can no longer get free tickets to the parks, anyone interested in volunteering can still look for opportunities through the HandsOn Network at
Projects that used volunteers in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program ranged from cleanups of the Vaciatalega and La Perla beaches runescape gold in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to affordable housing construction in Pittsburgh.
Under the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program, Disney is giving a free day's admission to any park at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., or at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., provided the volunteer work has been performed and certified by the HandsOn Network, a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities.
The program was announced last fall but the program rules required that the volunteer work take place this year.
Disney announced Tuesday that the program had reached its cap of 1 million people registering just 10 weeks after aion kina volunteers began signing up Jan. 1.
"By any measure, the 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' program exceeded our expectations," Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement.
Although registration for the free tickets is now closed, those who were certified for the program by the HandsOn Network have until Dec. 15 to redeem their free park ticket. Some blackout dates apply.
And while volunteers can no longer get free tickets to the parks, anyone interested in volunteering can still look for opportunities through the HandsOn Network at
Projects that used volunteers in the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program ranged from cleanups of the Vaciatalega and La Perla beaches runescape gold in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to affordable housing construction in Pittsburgh.
2010年3月9日星期二
Five Reasons You Can Thank Yoga for Better Sex
Go ahead and trade in all your scented candles, lacy red nighties and silk sheets for the latest gadget that will ramp up your sex life: a yoga mat. The exercise aion gold we often connect to meditation and inner enlightenment is also linked to improved bedtime fun. A study published in the December 2008 edition of The Journal of Sexual Medicine showed women who were not satisfied with their sex life experienced heightened arousal and better orgasms when they practiced yoga. And this isn't just for ladies: another study published in the same journal in 2007 showed yoga was the most effective solution for men dealing with premature ejaculation in comparison to Prozac and non-prescription drugs.
So, how does this understated activity lead to better sex? Here are the top five benefits your sex life can take away from yoga:
1. Heightened Awareness and Concentration
Yoga teaches people to be more aware of their breathing and their bodies while letting go of mental distractions. This translates directly to better sex. When you're able to concentrate on what your body is feeling instead of a sink full of dirty dishes, for instance, you can undeniably enjoy sexual activities much more.
2. Greater Flexibility and Strength
Nothing can bring more fun to the bed than a body that's ready to rock. Yoga is an excellent fitness tool that not only conditions and strengthens the muscles, but also improves your flexibility range and joint aion kina health. Just imagine all the daring positions you can try out after a few weeks of yoga practice! Improving your muscle strength and fitness level will raise your energy and stamina during sex, too.3. A New Kind of Foreplay
If your partner is up to it, add in several minutes of couples yoga before sex as a kind of foreplay. A few yoga moves can relax your nerves and get your circulation going: just what you need to get you in the mood after a long day. Plus, practicing yoga together helps you connect in a new way.
4. Acceptance and Confidence
One of the priceless benefits yoga offers is a new sense of confidence in one's self. Yoga promotes being aware of your body and accepting it. When you realize what you aion kinah appreciate about yourself, it gives you the freedom to offer more in the bedroom. Sexual confidence is incredibly freeing and can really open the door to better sex.
5. An Awesome Finale
Well, it all adds up to one thing: better orgasms. Between improved circulation, heightened awareness and more energy, you are primed for a great climax. Plus, positions that strengthen your pelvic core can give your orgasms a definite "wow" factor.
Okay, so maybe you don't exactly want to throw out your sexy lingerie, but yoga is certainly a great way to spice things up runescape accounts in the bedroom in addition to its health benefits. Better sex is just one more (very fun) reason to appreciate this amazing form of exercise.
So, how does this understated activity lead to better sex? Here are the top five benefits your sex life can take away from yoga:
1. Heightened Awareness and Concentration
Yoga teaches people to be more aware of their breathing and their bodies while letting go of mental distractions. This translates directly to better sex. When you're able to concentrate on what your body is feeling instead of a sink full of dirty dishes, for instance, you can undeniably enjoy sexual activities much more.
2. Greater Flexibility and Strength
Nothing can bring more fun to the bed than a body that's ready to rock. Yoga is an excellent fitness tool that not only conditions and strengthens the muscles, but also improves your flexibility range and joint aion kina health. Just imagine all the daring positions you can try out after a few weeks of yoga practice! Improving your muscle strength and fitness level will raise your energy and stamina during sex, too.3. A New Kind of Foreplay
If your partner is up to it, add in several minutes of couples yoga before sex as a kind of foreplay. A few yoga moves can relax your nerves and get your circulation going: just what you need to get you in the mood after a long day. Plus, practicing yoga together helps you connect in a new way.
4. Acceptance and Confidence
One of the priceless benefits yoga offers is a new sense of confidence in one's self. Yoga promotes being aware of your body and accepting it. When you realize what you aion kinah appreciate about yourself, it gives you the freedom to offer more in the bedroom. Sexual confidence is incredibly freeing and can really open the door to better sex.
5. An Awesome Finale
Well, it all adds up to one thing: better orgasms. Between improved circulation, heightened awareness and more energy, you are primed for a great climax. Plus, positions that strengthen your pelvic core can give your orgasms a definite "wow" factor.
Okay, so maybe you don't exactly want to throw out your sexy lingerie, but yoga is certainly a great way to spice things up runescape accounts in the bedroom in addition to its health benefits. Better sex is just one more (very fun) reason to appreciate this amazing form of exercise.
2010年3月8日星期一
Making Passion More Passionate
Somewhere between the first kiss and growing old together, many couples experience dormant growth phases during their relationship, leaving one, if not both aion gold partners with a need for greater input, emotionally and/or physically.
The process of emotional growth is both independent, and uncomfortable. To ideally maintain and promote harmony, each partner must be willing to flex with the growth needs of the other, while also contributing to the growth of the relationship.
A long-lasting relationship is founded on compassion, respect, and genuine love for your partner. These qualities can - and should - be frequently expressed in a number of ways, to reaffirm the value of the relationship. Continuously seeking to re-invent the relationship by expressing appreciation for your partner will solidify the connection between you.
To nudge your relationship out of the proverbial emotional drought, here is a list of suggestions for adding more passion into your relationship:
1. Reality check your partner. Before doing anything to encourage the relationship, ask yourself if your partner is good for you, and why. Know the basic answers like the back of your hand. If you find yourself unable or unwilling to admit value in your partner, you may be in the wrong relationship.
2. Acknowledge the uniqueness of the relationship through your partner. There is potential in every moment to experience the greatest point of your relationship. Showing appreciation for your partner's uniqueness further defines the relationship based on a broader attraction. Communicate the acknowledgement aion kina of individuality of your partner frequently, both emotionally and physically.
3. Make love right now. Allow the sexual aspect of your relationship to evolve into an activity of ultimate fulfillment, reserved only for your partner. Instead of making love for your satisfaction, make love for your partner, and allow them to do the same for you.
4. Be friends, too. Would you be friends with your partner, outside of the relationship? If you find the answer is "no," don't worry - there's always time to make new friends. Identify activities you and your partner can do and enjoy together. Participate in a third-party project, such as charity work. Activities beyond intimacy will broaden, and therefore strengthen, the foundation of your relationship.
5. Be what you want to see. Demand no more out of your partner than what you are willing to make out of life yourself. If you are capable of great things - and you are - then get to work. Be certain to test all seemingly realistic requirements on yourself, before seeking to ask them of your partner.
6. Form a pact to achieve excellence in some way. Whether it be a physical health regimen, a bowling tournament, doing the taxes, or managing a business together, forming a pact to achieve excellence in a specific, tangible way will build trust between partners. Commitment to a short-term goal is the best exercise a relationship can get.
7. Love with your whole heart. All too many times, past relationships keep us from loving with our whole heart. If your relationship reality check is solid, ask yourself how you've been holding back on your partner, and why. Do you expect criticism, instead of acceptance? Recognize the boundaries of your love, and identify positive ways to expand them daily.
8. Improving yourself aion kinah improves the relationship. Self enrichment is an effective, important means of perpetual contribution to your relationship. Expanding your personal knowledge and interests will keep conversations interesting and generate new ideas for growing together, through new activities and experiences shared between partners.
Remember, there's nothing wrong with taking care of you. The more you have to give, the more there will be to share with your significant other.
9. Explore diversity in faith, culture, or politics. Diversity - and its acceptance - serve as a cornerstone of any fulfilling, long-lasting relationship. Your partner is likely to embrace at least some perspectives different than your own with regard to religion, culture, or political affiliation. Look to explore your partner's diversity, and openly accept the differences that make you both unique.
10. Don't go to bed mad. Make it a point to resolve differences before going to bed. Allowing arguments or heated discussions to fester overnight can solidify emotions, while leaving the real issues behind. In addition to promoting communication and relationship stability, addressing differences before bed reduces stress and promotes better sleep.
A meaningful, fulfilling relationship is perhaps the greatest investment you can make in both yourself, and your partner. As your relationship grows, look for new ways to interact with each other as you haven't before. Each human runescape accounts represents a vast Universe of knowledge and emotion waiting for exploration by just one individual with the unwavering desire, patience, and capacity to know them.
If you are the aion player, you should pay attention:rs gold runescape money
The process of emotional growth is both independent, and uncomfortable. To ideally maintain and promote harmony, each partner must be willing to flex with the growth needs of the other, while also contributing to the growth of the relationship.
A long-lasting relationship is founded on compassion, respect, and genuine love for your partner. These qualities can - and should - be frequently expressed in a number of ways, to reaffirm the value of the relationship. Continuously seeking to re-invent the relationship by expressing appreciation for your partner will solidify the connection between you.
To nudge your relationship out of the proverbial emotional drought, here is a list of suggestions for adding more passion into your relationship:
1. Reality check your partner. Before doing anything to encourage the relationship, ask yourself if your partner is good for you, and why. Know the basic answers like the back of your hand. If you find yourself unable or unwilling to admit value in your partner, you may be in the wrong relationship.
2. Acknowledge the uniqueness of the relationship through your partner. There is potential in every moment to experience the greatest point of your relationship. Showing appreciation for your partner's uniqueness further defines the relationship based on a broader attraction. Communicate the acknowledgement aion kina of individuality of your partner frequently, both emotionally and physically.
3. Make love right now. Allow the sexual aspect of your relationship to evolve into an activity of ultimate fulfillment, reserved only for your partner. Instead of making love for your satisfaction, make love for your partner, and allow them to do the same for you.
4. Be friends, too. Would you be friends with your partner, outside of the relationship? If you find the answer is "no," don't worry - there's always time to make new friends. Identify activities you and your partner can do and enjoy together. Participate in a third-party project, such as charity work. Activities beyond intimacy will broaden, and therefore strengthen, the foundation of your relationship.
5. Be what you want to see. Demand no more out of your partner than what you are willing to make out of life yourself. If you are capable of great things - and you are - then get to work. Be certain to test all seemingly realistic requirements on yourself, before seeking to ask them of your partner.
6. Form a pact to achieve excellence in some way. Whether it be a physical health regimen, a bowling tournament, doing the taxes, or managing a business together, forming a pact to achieve excellence in a specific, tangible way will build trust between partners. Commitment to a short-term goal is the best exercise a relationship can get.
7. Love with your whole heart. All too many times, past relationships keep us from loving with our whole heart. If your relationship reality check is solid, ask yourself how you've been holding back on your partner, and why. Do you expect criticism, instead of acceptance? Recognize the boundaries of your love, and identify positive ways to expand them daily.
8. Improving yourself aion kinah improves the relationship. Self enrichment is an effective, important means of perpetual contribution to your relationship. Expanding your personal knowledge and interests will keep conversations interesting and generate new ideas for growing together, through new activities and experiences shared between partners.
Remember, there's nothing wrong with taking care of you. The more you have to give, the more there will be to share with your significant other.
9. Explore diversity in faith, culture, or politics. Diversity - and its acceptance - serve as a cornerstone of any fulfilling, long-lasting relationship. Your partner is likely to embrace at least some perspectives different than your own with regard to religion, culture, or political affiliation. Look to explore your partner's diversity, and openly accept the differences that make you both unique.
10. Don't go to bed mad. Make it a point to resolve differences before going to bed. Allowing arguments or heated discussions to fester overnight can solidify emotions, while leaving the real issues behind. In addition to promoting communication and relationship stability, addressing differences before bed reduces stress and promotes better sleep.
A meaningful, fulfilling relationship is perhaps the greatest investment you can make in both yourself, and your partner. As your relationship grows, look for new ways to interact with each other as you haven't before. Each human runescape accounts represents a vast Universe of knowledge and emotion waiting for exploration by just one individual with the unwavering desire, patience, and capacity to know them.
If you are the aion player, you should pay attention:rs gold runescape money
2010年3月7日星期日
Leads to the happy road
We all know that money can’t buy happiness … but many times we act as if we’d be happier with a bit more money. We are conditioned to want to be rich (when aion power leveling we know the rich aren’t happy either); we are trained to want the latest gadget or style that television tells us to want; we want to earn more money because then we’ll have the good life.
But none of that will bring us happiness. No matter how much we earn, no matter how much we have in the bank, no matter how nice our clothing or cars or toys, none of it will make us happier. And the sad thing is that it could take us decades of pursuing wealth and luxury items before we realize this.
So what will bring us happiness? Luckily, it’s three things that don’t cost a thing. These three things have been proven by research — surveys of hundreds of thousands of people about what they have, what their lives are like, and how happy they are.
Here they are, the Three Secrets to Happiness:
1. Good relationships. We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong marriage or close and loving relationships with our family members buy aion gold will make us much more likely to be happy. Action steps: Take time, today, to spend time with your loved ones, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and develop your relationship with them.
2. Positive thinking. I’m obviously a big proponent of positive thinking as the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives. Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life. Action steps: Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits you develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with buy aion kinah positive ones. Instead of “I can’t” think “I can”. It may sound corny, but it has worked for me, every time.
3. Flow. This is a popular concept on the Internet these days — the state we enter when we are completely focused on the work or task before us. We are so immersed in our task that we lose track of time. Having work and leisure that gets you in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. People find greatest enjoyment not when they’re passively mindless, but when they’re absorbed in a mindful challenge. Action steps: Find work that you’re passionate about. Seriously — this is an extremely important step. Find hobbies that you’re passionate about. Turn off the TV — this is the opposite of flow — and get outside and do something that truly engages you.
You’ve been given runescape power leveling the Three Secrets to Happiness. Don’t waste them!
But none of that will bring us happiness. No matter how much we earn, no matter how much we have in the bank, no matter how nice our clothing or cars or toys, none of it will make us happier. And the sad thing is that it could take us decades of pursuing wealth and luxury items before we realize this.
So what will bring us happiness? Luckily, it’s three things that don’t cost a thing. These three things have been proven by research — surveys of hundreds of thousands of people about what they have, what their lives are like, and how happy they are.
Here they are, the Three Secrets to Happiness:
1. Good relationships. We have a human need to be close, to be intimate, with other human beings. Having good, supportive friendships, a strong marriage or close and loving relationships with our family members buy aion gold will make us much more likely to be happy. Action steps: Take time, today, to spend time with your loved ones, to tell them what they mean to you, to listen to them, and develop your relationship with them.
2. Positive thinking. I’m obviously a big proponent of positive thinking as the best way to achieve your goals, but it turns out that it can lead to happiness too. Optimism and self-esteem are some of the best indicators of people who lead happy lives. Happy people feel empowered, in control of their lives, and have a positive outlook on life. Action steps: Make positive thinking a habit. In fact, this should be one of the first habits you develop. Get into the habit of squashing all negative thoughts and replacing them with buy aion kinah positive ones. Instead of “I can’t” think “I can”. It may sound corny, but it has worked for me, every time.
3. Flow. This is a popular concept on the Internet these days — the state we enter when we are completely focused on the work or task before us. We are so immersed in our task that we lose track of time. Having work and leisure that gets you in this state of flow will almost undoubtedly lead to happiness. People find greatest enjoyment not when they’re passively mindless, but when they’re absorbed in a mindful challenge. Action steps: Find work that you’re passionate about. Seriously — this is an extremely important step. Find hobbies that you’re passionate about. Turn off the TV — this is the opposite of flow — and get outside and do something that truly engages you.
You’ve been given runescape power leveling the Three Secrets to Happiness. Don’t waste them!
2010年3月4日星期四
Fridges talk to washing machines at high-tech fair
A fridge that talks to your washing machine and a television that aion gold instructs your dishwasher. It's all possible at CeBIT, the world's top high-tech fair.
But the question is: what's the point?
"Well, for example, you could be sitting on your sofa in your living room and you want to turn on your washing machine," said Christian Prause, a developer of the yet-to-be finalised "Hydra" software.
"If your smartphone is equipped with our technology, you can send a message to the washing machine to turn itself on."
"And if for whatever reason it doesn't work, you aion power levelingcan ask your fridge to transmit the order to the washing machine," he added.
Prause said vacationers too need not panic if they realise they leave home in haste.
"Imagine you are 200 kilometres (130 miles) away, on holiday, and you realised you have forgotten to close your curtains."
Not to worry. You can send a quick text message to your curtain remote control. If that doesn't work, you can always get your television or your radio to lend a hand.
The fruit of four years of research by 10 different partners, including the German Fraunhofer Institute, the Hydra project is financially supported by the European Union.
Hydra "saves you time, energy runescape accounts and hassle," Prause insisted. With a bit of luck, "such a system could perhaps eventually appear in the shops."
But the question is: what's the point?
"Well, for example, you could be sitting on your sofa in your living room and you want to turn on your washing machine," said Christian Prause, a developer of the yet-to-be finalised "Hydra" software.
"If your smartphone is equipped with our technology, you can send a message to the washing machine to turn itself on."
"And if for whatever reason it doesn't work, you aion power levelingcan ask your fridge to transmit the order to the washing machine," he added.
Prause said vacationers too need not panic if they realise they leave home in haste.
"Imagine you are 200 kilometres (130 miles) away, on holiday, and you realised you have forgotten to close your curtains."
Not to worry. You can send a quick text message to your curtain remote control. If that doesn't work, you can always get your television or your radio to lend a hand.
The fruit of four years of research by 10 different partners, including the German Fraunhofer Institute, the Hydra project is financially supported by the European Union.
Hydra "saves you time, energy runescape accounts and hassle," Prause insisted. With a bit of luck, "such a system could perhaps eventually appear in the shops."
2010年3月3日星期三
The dispose rubbish is a very troublesome matter
The dispose rubbish is a very troublesome matter,The row over whether to burn Beijing's trash or continue to bulldoze it into landfills the size of small countries has smoldered for aion gold years and, despite all the trash-talking, we are nowhere near a resolution.
On one hand, incinerator fans say, for the cost of a match, we can end all of that environmental damage, groundwater pollution and save the wasted space devoted to stinky garbage dumps by simply reducing our refuse to ashes.
And on the other, incinerator foes say the toxins that would spew from those garbage burners would poison our atmosphere and give our grandchildren cancer, too high a price.
They are both right but miss the point.
The solution to Beijing's festering garbage problem is for all of us to make less garbage. Our problem would only be half as serious if we only threw away half as much rubbish.
One of the things that pains me as I walk around this great city is the way a minority of people seem to think it is all right to drop whatever they don't want aion kina onto the sidewalk or wherever they happen to be at the time.
I've even seen people delight in littering to such an extent that they have not merely let garbage fall to the floor but have thrown it high into the air in an extravagant show more befitting the scattering of confetti after a wedding than a shameful display of disrespect to our city.
Come on, people.
There is no excuse for such behavior. Garbage bins are all over the place. How hard can it be to take a few steps with that empty pop bottle and drop it into the trash can?
No doubt, those who litter think the army of sweepers and picker-uppers who prowl our city will scoop up the trash and cart it off and, of course, they are right.
But the slobbish behavior, reminiscent of a teenager who has grown accustomed to having his mother pick up after him, reveals the way many aion kinah people in this city think about garbage - quite simply, they don't.
They don't care what happens to it after it leaves their hands. That strongly suggests they also do not care how much garbage they create.
If people go on acting this way, it really won't matter whether we build incinerators or carve out new landfills, we won't be able to keep up with the mountains of rubbish.
So, before we make a decision to fire up the burners or fuel up the compactors, I'd like to see the authorities do all they can to persuade people to toss their bad habits.
We could start by enforcing hefty fines for littering, just to send a message to people that they should be thinking about what they do with their garbage.
And we could continue by looking for ways to persuade businesses to reduce packaging so consumers are left with much less trash on their hands in the first place.
Maybe companies that
do a good job of cutting down on packaging could be given some sort of green accreditation that brings with it tax breaks or other financial incentives.
The local government also has a role and should find ways to expand and promote its recycling initiatives.
Another good idea is advertising to remind people of how they should behave and of how unacceptable it is to go on treating our city, and the world beyond it, like something that cannot be ruined and destroyed.
Something must change and I'm sure I don't have all the aion power leveling answers but I hope better brains than mine are being racked right now to find ways to get people to throw away less garbage and give us all some breathing room.
On one hand, incinerator fans say, for the cost of a match, we can end all of that environmental damage, groundwater pollution and save the wasted space devoted to stinky garbage dumps by simply reducing our refuse to ashes.
And on the other, incinerator foes say the toxins that would spew from those garbage burners would poison our atmosphere and give our grandchildren cancer, too high a price.
They are both right but miss the point.
The solution to Beijing's festering garbage problem is for all of us to make less garbage. Our problem would only be half as serious if we only threw away half as much rubbish.
One of the things that pains me as I walk around this great city is the way a minority of people seem to think it is all right to drop whatever they don't want aion kina onto the sidewalk or wherever they happen to be at the time.
I've even seen people delight in littering to such an extent that they have not merely let garbage fall to the floor but have thrown it high into the air in an extravagant show more befitting the scattering of confetti after a wedding than a shameful display of disrespect to our city.
Come on, people.
There is no excuse for such behavior. Garbage bins are all over the place. How hard can it be to take a few steps with that empty pop bottle and drop it into the trash can?
No doubt, those who litter think the army of sweepers and picker-uppers who prowl our city will scoop up the trash and cart it off and, of course, they are right.
But the slobbish behavior, reminiscent of a teenager who has grown accustomed to having his mother pick up after him, reveals the way many aion kinah people in this city think about garbage - quite simply, they don't.
They don't care what happens to it after it leaves their hands. That strongly suggests they also do not care how much garbage they create.
If people go on acting this way, it really won't matter whether we build incinerators or carve out new landfills, we won't be able to keep up with the mountains of rubbish.
So, before we make a decision to fire up the burners or fuel up the compactors, I'd like to see the authorities do all they can to persuade people to toss their bad habits.
We could start by enforcing hefty fines for littering, just to send a message to people that they should be thinking about what they do with their garbage.
And we could continue by looking for ways to persuade businesses to reduce packaging so consumers are left with much less trash on their hands in the first place.
Maybe companies that
do a good job of cutting down on packaging could be given some sort of green accreditation that brings with it tax breaks or other financial incentives.
The local government also has a role and should find ways to expand and promote its recycling initiatives.
Another good idea is advertising to remind people of how they should behave and of how unacceptable it is to go on treating our city, and the world beyond it, like something that cannot be ruined and destroyed.
Something must change and I'm sure I don't have all the aion power leveling answers but I hope better brains than mine are being racked right now to find ways to get people to throw away less garbage and give us all some breathing room.
2010年3月2日星期二
The masculine graduate is easier to look for the work
The masculine graduate is easier to look for the work,Male graduates get preferential treatment in their hunt for jobs, with a full 9 percentage points more male aion gold university seniors having landed positions than their female counterparts as of the end of February.
A survey released by MyCOS HR Digital Information Co Ltd, a human resources consulting company in Beijing, shows that 30 percent of male university seniors set to graduate in July have found a job, while only 21 percent of female students have done so.
The survey also indicates that among the male students with offers of employment, 31 percent were hired by State-owned enterprises - traditionally the biggest employer of university graduates by far. Only 17 percent of the females were offered jobs at such companies.
In addition, female graduates in the sectors of transportation and logistics were offered 523 yuan less per month. Female majors in information aion kinah technology and telecommunications were offered 420 yuan ($62) less than male students.
Li Xing, a former human resources employee in charge of recruitment at a State-owned real estate development company in Beijing told METRO that males are given hiring preference - 70 percent of the company's staff is male.
"We only considered women for the positions such as secretaries," Li said.
"Females are never considered for other positions, including construction supervisors, even though some of the female applicants were equally excellent as male counterparts."
He also admitted there was a small income gap between male and female employees doing the same job, but said it wasn't significant.
Wang Junjie, a consulting manager with the Beijing office of Towers Watson, a US-based human resources consultation, attributed the unpopularity of females in buy aion gold some workplaces to the nature of certain jobs.
Wang said male graduates are preferred in industries such as transportation and mining because overtime and frequent business trips are often required.
Male workers don't take maternity leave, he noted.
Furthermore, some companies may bear extra expenses if they hire female employees, according to Wang.
For example, if a real estate company hires a female quality control supervisor and she goes on a business trip buy aion kinah with a male colleague, the company must pay for two rooms instead of one for their accommodation.
A survey released by MyCOS HR Digital Information Co Ltd, a human resources consulting company in Beijing, shows that 30 percent of male university seniors set to graduate in July have found a job, while only 21 percent of female students have done so.
The survey also indicates that among the male students with offers of employment, 31 percent were hired by State-owned enterprises - traditionally the biggest employer of university graduates by far. Only 17 percent of the females were offered jobs at such companies.
In addition, female graduates in the sectors of transportation and logistics were offered 523 yuan less per month. Female majors in information aion kinah technology and telecommunications were offered 420 yuan ($62) less than male students.
Li Xing, a former human resources employee in charge of recruitment at a State-owned real estate development company in Beijing told METRO that males are given hiring preference - 70 percent of the company's staff is male.
"We only considered women for the positions such as secretaries," Li said.
"Females are never considered for other positions, including construction supervisors, even though some of the female applicants were equally excellent as male counterparts."
He also admitted there was a small income gap between male and female employees doing the same job, but said it wasn't significant.
Wang Junjie, a consulting manager with the Beijing office of Towers Watson, a US-based human resources consultation, attributed the unpopularity of females in buy aion gold some workplaces to the nature of certain jobs.
Wang said male graduates are preferred in industries such as transportation and mining because overtime and frequent business trips are often required.
Male workers don't take maternity leave, he noted.
Furthermore, some companies may bear extra expenses if they hire female employees, according to Wang.
For example, if a real estate company hires a female quality control supervisor and she goes on a business trip buy aion kinah with a male colleague, the company must pay for two rooms instead of one for their accommodation.
2010年3月1日星期一
Afghanistan protects newly rediscovered rare bird
KABUL – Afghanistan's fledging conservation agency moved Sunday to protect one of the world's rarest birds after the species was rediscovered in the aion power leveling war-ravaged country's northeast.
The remote Pamir Mountains are the only known breeding area of the large-billed reed warbler, a species so elusive that it had been documented only twice before in more than a century.
A researcher with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society stumbled upon the tiny, olive-brown bird during a wildlife survey in 2008 and taped its distinctive song. Later, a research team caught and released 20 of the birds — the largest number ever recorded.
On Sunday, Afghanistan's National Environment Protection Agency added the large-billed reed warbler to its list of protected species, which was established only last year.
Mustafa Zahir, the agency's director-general, acknowledged the difficulties of trying to protect wildlife in a country preoccupied with the Taliban insurgency. On Friday, suicide attackers killed 16 people in Kabul, the capital, and thousands of Afghan and NATO forces are fighting to root out the hard-line Islamists from their southern stronghold.
But Zahir, who is the grandson of Afghanistan's former king, said the discovery of the large-billed reed warbler provided some welcome positive news.
"It is not true that our country is full of only bad stories," Zahir said. "This bird, after so many years, has been discovered here. Everyone thought it was extinct."
The bird's discovery in Afghanistan buy aion gold kicked off a small flurry in conservation circles.
The large-billed reed warbler was first documented in India in 1867 but wasn't found again until 2006 — with a single bird in Thailand. The Pamir Mountains, in the sparsely populated Badakhshan province near China, is now home to the world's only known large population of the bird.
The Afghan environmental agency also added 14 other species to the protected list on Sunday. It now includes 48 species including the rare snow leopard, the Asiatic cheetah and the markhor, a type of wild goat with large spiral horns.
While conservation efforts are in their infancy in Afghanistan, there have been some recent successes. Authorities in Badakhshan last week seized a snow leopard from villagers who had trapped it and planned to sell it. The snow leopard — one of an estimated 150 left in the buy aion kinah wild — will be freed once its injuries from the trap are healed, Zahir said.
The remote Pamir Mountains are the only known breeding area of the large-billed reed warbler, a species so elusive that it had been documented only twice before in more than a century.
A researcher with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society stumbled upon the tiny, olive-brown bird during a wildlife survey in 2008 and taped its distinctive song. Later, a research team caught and released 20 of the birds — the largest number ever recorded.
On Sunday, Afghanistan's National Environment Protection Agency added the large-billed reed warbler to its list of protected species, which was established only last year.
Mustafa Zahir, the agency's director-general, acknowledged the difficulties of trying to protect wildlife in a country preoccupied with the Taliban insurgency. On Friday, suicide attackers killed 16 people in Kabul, the capital, and thousands of Afghan and NATO forces are fighting to root out the hard-line Islamists from their southern stronghold.
But Zahir, who is the grandson of Afghanistan's former king, said the discovery of the large-billed reed warbler provided some welcome positive news.
"It is not true that our country is full of only bad stories," Zahir said. "This bird, after so many years, has been discovered here. Everyone thought it was extinct."
The bird's discovery in Afghanistan buy aion gold kicked off a small flurry in conservation circles.
The large-billed reed warbler was first documented in India in 1867 but wasn't found again until 2006 — with a single bird in Thailand. The Pamir Mountains, in the sparsely populated Badakhshan province near China, is now home to the world's only known large population of the bird.
The Afghan environmental agency also added 14 other species to the protected list on Sunday. It now includes 48 species including the rare snow leopard, the Asiatic cheetah and the markhor, a type of wild goat with large spiral horns.
While conservation efforts are in their infancy in Afghanistan, there have been some recent successes. Authorities in Badakhshan last week seized a snow leopard from villagers who had trapped it and planned to sell it. The snow leopard — one of an estimated 150 left in the buy aion kinah wild — will be freed once its injuries from the trap are healed, Zahir said.
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