The euro will be in the spotlight today, as traders wrap investing for the year, says Scott Bauer, SIB equity options.
Related Links:
Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45824186/
chicago bears margarito margarito horton hears a who horton hears a who cotto margarito big daddy
The Nintendo Wii U was unveiled at the E3 exhibition in Los Angeles in the summer. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
The rumours are everywhere and, despite silence from Sony and Microsoft, they are gaining traction.
With the Xbox 360 now a stately seven years old and PlayStation 3 pushing six, it seems a new console generation is on the horizon. An announcement from one of the two manufacturers is expected at the gigantic E3 exhibition in Los Angeles in June.
But 2012 is already looking as if it will be an extraordinarily busy year for games. Sony will launch its Vita handheld console in the UK in February. The sleek high-end device features a 127mm (5in) OLED display, innovative rear-mounted touch panel, twin analogue controls and Wi-Fi internet access.
Titles such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, LittleBigPlanet, Escape Plan and Little Deviants suggest an interesting gaming experience, but the question is whether consumers will buy a new dedicated gaming machine with smartphones eating into the market.
Nintendo is also lining up its Wii U console for release later in the year. Featuring a tablet-style controller with its own screen, the machine promises some intriguing new gameplay concepts, but it is still underpowered compared with the PS3 and Xbox 360. The announced games ? including new versions of puzzler Pikmin and fighting game Super Smash Brothers ? have hardly set the universe alight.
Elsewhere, it looks like industry upstart Rockstar could be dominating the charts this year. March sees the launch of its gritty shooter Max Payne 3, sporting ludicrously balletic shootouts and sophisticated character animation. But the big news is the return of Grand Theft Auto. Set in a Hollywood-style city of fame-hungry wannabes and retired criminals, GTA V looks like another huge sleazy thrill ride. An autumn release is possible, but it would be wrong to assume anything with this company.
Sequels will do huge business as usual ? and it is very much a year of threes. Sci-fi adventure Mass Effect 3, sword-and-sorcery romp Diablo III and jungle shooter Far Cry 3 should all do good business.
Publishers are also keen to bring back franchises that have enjoyed long breaks. Square Enix has its promising reboot of Tomb Raider arriving in the autumn, featuring a teenage Lara Croft fighting for her life on a deadly island.
The same publisher is also exhuming its bald contract killer, Agent 47, for new stealth game Hitman: Absolution.
It could be that the most creative, thought-provoking comeback will be Bioshock: Infinite, a steam-punk historical fantasy set upon a floating city.
Luckily, a few original titles are expected in the coming months. The downloadable PS3 title Journey promises an adventure set in a mysterious desert where gamers must form co-operative relationships with anonymous players. Then there's the open-world stealth shooter Dishonored, from Lyon-based Arkane Studios, which mixes weird gothic machinery with rusted industrial cityscapes.
And Gears of War creator Epic Studios announced in December its plan to launch Fortnite, a post-apocalyptic strategy game in which you build a fortress then defend it against hordes of zombies. Yes, zombies will be back again in 2012. Some things never change.
But the big question remains what will those new Sony and Microsoft consoles look like? One guess is that they will resemble tablet PCs, designed to fit into a world where consumers want to take their favourite games, music and movies with them wherever they go.
But with the coming rise of smart TVs complete with built-in computer chips, and the growing power of smartphones and tablets, is there still a place for any sort of dedicated game platforms? It could be that 2012 will set the terms of the coming conflict.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/dec/28/games-2012-sony-microsoft-nintendo
vaclav havel kim jong ii dead snapdragon snapdragon kim jong ill dead wedding crashers next iron chef
Several local groups, including Arcata Sunrise Rotary, the Eureka Sewing Bee Group, New Directions Foster Parent Association and the Department of Health and Human Services, participated in the 24th annual ?Foster and Kinship Care Holiday Party? earlier this month.
More than 250 children, caregivers and community members attended the event. Each child received a special stocking and a photo with Santa.
?This event shows how much this community supports foster families and kinship care providers and the sacrifices they make,? said Kathy Young, director of Children and Family Services. ?We appreciate the efforts from clubs and businesses -- it's great to see them come back year after year.?
Arcata Sunrise Rotary has been involved with the event for the past three years. The organization was responsible for providing all the volunteers who shopped for, prepared and served the food. The club also provided funds to help with stocking stuffers. College of the Redwoods provided the photo paper.
DHHS and New Directions received $850 from the Humboldt Area Foundation Holiday Funding Partnership. This money was used to pay for the facility rental, decorations and party supplies. The stockings were made by the Eureka Sewing Bee Group.
The Holiday Funding Partnership is made up of nine organizations. They pool their money and provide grants to nonprofits, churches and other groups that have holiday programs for low-income
residents. Green Diamond Re-source Company, California Redwood Company, St. Joseph Health System of Humboldt County, the McLean Foundation, the Patricia D. and William B. Smullin Foundation, Union Labor Health Foundation, First 5 Humboldt, Humboldt Association of Realtors and the Humboldt Area Foundation all contribute to the partnership.Source: http://www.times-standard.com/lifestyle/ci_19637848?source=rss
live oak mark kelly mark kelly jeff goldblum uc berkeley ohio state basketball annie
SINGAPORE ? Oil prices hovered above $101 a barrel amid investor concern that rising Middle East tensions could disrupt crude supplies.
Benchmark crude for February delivery rose 6 cents to $101.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.66 to settle at $101.34 in New York on Tuesday.
In London, Brent crude was down 12 cents to $109.15 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Tuesday that Vice President Mohamed Reza Rahimi said his country will close the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off oil exports, if Western nations impose sanctions on Iran's oil shipments.
The U.S., the U.K. and other nations are mulling more sanctions against Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, over concern about its nuclear power program.
The Strait of Hormuz, the choke point of the Persian Gulf, is one of the world's busiest routes for crude shipments with about a sixth of the world's oil production passing through.
If tankers could not use the strait, they would have to take longer, more expensive routes to their destinations, which would likely boost prices.
"We doubt political posturing will turn into action, but oil remains above $100 regardless," energy consultant and trader The Schork Group said in a report.
Schork estimates crude would jump to above $140 if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Signs the U.S. economy is improving also helped bolster crude. The New York-based Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index jumped almost 10 points from November, to 64.5, the highest since April.
The National Retail Federation said it expects a 3.8 percent increase in Christmas holiday sales, up from its forecast of 2.8 percent in September.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 0.2 cent to $2.92 per gallon and gasoline futures slid 0.3 cents at $2.68 per gallon. Natural gas was down 2.1 cents to $3.09 per 1,000 cubic feet.
andy cohen pro bowl voting kindle fire update college board pasco county rooney mara solstice
What you see below, folks, is said to be a leaked Windows Phone roadmap, allegedly up to date as of October 2011. Once again, we are given clues regarding the platform's next major releases ? Tango and Apollo, and the kind of experience we could expect out of them.?
So, according to the leaked roadmap, the Tango update will bring Windows Phone 7 to ?products with the best prices?, which is something that we do not hear for the first time. That means we might witness the arrival of affordable WP smartphones with entry-level specs, possibly meant to boost the platform's market share. Sadly, there is no word whether LTE support will be introduced along with Tango's launch, or we will have to wait until Apollo's release before we get the feature supported in Windows Phone.But while Tango is not expected to be that exciting of an update, Apollo is what will spice things up quite a bit, as long as the rumors are on the right track. Allegedly scheduled for the last quarter of 2012, Apollo is what will enable the release of ?competitive superphones? powered by Windows Phone. What comes to mind are HD screens and dual-core processors, but we have to wait quite a while before we know for sure what the update will bring.Bear in mind, however, that this is nothing but a leak, so the information it provides might turn out to be inaccurate. On the other hand, we will surely keep our fingers crossed hoping that word about the future Windows Phone updates will come during CES 2012.
leona lewis rodney atkins carlos beltran air jordan 11 concord unemployment extension the thin man republic wireless
OTTAWA - Not since NAFTA was negotiated 20 years ago has a Canadian government been on such a free-trade frenzy ? one that proponents say will be an economic gold mine but critics fear will cost the country jobs and sovereignty.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Canada-European Union trade agreement, bilateral negotiations with India, South Korea and dozens of other countries ? they?re all part of the Harper government?s free-trade push on what, until recently, had been a sleeper file.
A new Beyond the Border trade and perimeter security agreement between Canada and the United States ? meant to thin what has been a thickening border ? is another move in that direction.
?I don?t ever recall a time, except maybe during the free-trade debate (of the late 1980s), when the government has put so much stock in trade negotiations at the centre of its economic policy,? explained John Weekes, Canada?s chief negotiator for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and now a senior adviser at Bennett Jones law firm in Ottawa.
Indeed, the Conservative government?s attempt to sew stronger global economic ties is arguably the most ambitious trade agenda in a generation in this country. However, many of the pacts are sparking concerns, to varying degrees, about what Canadians will sacrifice in return.
The trade deals could have profound effects on domestic jobs, personal privacy, the prices of consumer products, the quality of foods we eat and the health care of Canadians.
The costs of pharmaceutical drugs, dairy and poultry products, vehicles and municipal infrastructure projects could all be directly affected by new trade agreements. In the same vein, experts say additional trade could generate more jobs in some sectors and eliminate positions in others.
?Our government has put a special focus on expanding Canada?s trade relationships. We clearly feel that free and open trade is one of the best job creators and is critical to Canada?s long-term prosperity,? International Trade Minister Ed Fast said in an interview.
Since the Tories came to power in 2006, Canada has signed free-trade agreements with nine countries and continues to negotiate with about 50 others, although many of them are smaller deals and seen by some trade specialists as providing minimal benefit.
Observers note the federal government still has no free-trade agreements with Asian countries ? even though the Tories are trumpeting an Asia-Pacific agenda ? and has developed a reputation for starting talks but being unable to seal the deal.
?We will not sign trade agreements unless they?re in the best interests of Canada ? that drives all considerations,? Fast said.
Canada, for example, has been negotiating with Singapore for a decade and South Korea for seven years, but the trade minister said it?s simply the federal government doing its due diligence.
Topping the list of negotiations currently on the go include the Canada-EU free-trade deal as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership group of nine Asia-Pacific nations (including the U.S.), which Japan and Mexico are also looking to join.
Canada and the European Union are nearing completion of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that would give Canadian companies preferential access to an EU market of 500 million consumers in 27 member states. A deal is expected to be finalized in 2012.
Federal officials say the agreement will either immediately eliminate all trade tariffs or phase them out over time, ultimately lowering the prices of goods and services for consumers, while also creating new and better jobs for Canadians.
The government maintains a Canada-EU agreement would boost the Canadian economy by $12 billion annually, create tens of thousands of new jobs by growing export markets, and increase two-way trade by 20 per cent, or $38 billion a year.
Opposition parties, however, question the government?s claims of an economic windfall for Canada.
?They are not based upon any real science. We haven?t seen any real examination of that,? said NDP international trade critic Brian Masse.
? Copyright (c) Postmedia News
Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F56/~3/CvxEAfLoM0M/story.html
nfl week 12 picks jason witten ucla vs usc rich rodriguez rich rodriguez the muppet movie the muppet movie
By Lucas DeForest
Three and a half years into college, it?s safe to say that I?ve learned a lot (for the amount of money my parents are paying, I better have). I?ve stayed up all night studying for exams, tested the limits of human caffeine consumption and figured out how to maintain a balance between work and a social life (somewhat). The exams, the papers, the cramming ? all of them taught me a lot about myself and what I?m capable of.
I had conquered a number of academic hurdles through the years, and I was ready for a new challenge. Fitness has always been an interest of mine, and I probably spent more time in the gym than in the library during college. I decided it was time to test my body in the same way I had my mind, and signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon. Six months of training and 26.2 miles later, I realize just how much I have left to learn. The marathon was grueling, exhausting, emotional and fulfilling, and taught me lessons that no professor, adviser or assignment ever could.
Pain is gain
Things that are worth doing hurt, and the marathon was really, really worth doing. I had worked my mind to the max at school for years, conjuring up term papers out of thin air and memorizing more flash cards than I care to remember. This was a whole new level of intensity and exhaustion, and this time, on a physical level. For the last six miles of the race, I felt like a car running on empty. I didn?t think there was anything left in me. But when I finally dragged myself across that finish line and someone handed me a medal, the feeling was pure ecstasy. I got my reward, I had my time (2:56:42!) and I had earned it. This is the same feeling I?m working toward in all my college classes ? someone handing me a diploma at graduation. The moment itself may be fleeting, but the pain you survive to get there makes it worth it.
The power of (long-term) preparation
College is sometimes about figuring out how to do as much work in as little time as possible. All-night paper writing and study sessions are common, especially as the end of the semester draws near. Then it?s 20 minutes-post final exam, and most students won?t be able to tell you the professor?s name. I didn?t have the option to cram like this for the marathon. Instead, I was forced to be disciplined in my training and preparation. I couldn?t expect to run 200 miles the night before the marathon and show up that morning ready to go. For months, I had to plan my schedule around running at the right times, at the right paces, for the right amount of times and on the right days. If I could work this same strict schedule into my study habits, I?d save myself a lot of anxiety at the end of the term.
Make a commitment and stick to it
I have thrown around all kinds of ideas for things I want to do during college. Get a paper published, join a performance art group, explore Philadelphia. But none of these plans have really stuck. This time, I wanted it to be different, so I made a commitment. I put my money down on that marathon and forced myself to make it worth the investment. Money is certainly not something I have in abundance as a college student, and I wasn?t going to let that $100 sign-up fee go to waste. I did my research, made a schedule and once I started training, my momentum pushed me right through to the end. It ended up being worth every penny.
Anticipation, not anxiety
The marathon was like a final exam in a lot of ways, but it differed in one big way. I looked forward to the marathon for months, while I usually dread the arrival of finals for about the same amount of time. What was so different about the marathon? I knew that I had done my training. I had done hard time for it and got to enjoy the pleasure that comes with anticipating an experience like that. The marathon itself was my opportunity to show off the fruits of my labor. It may be unrealistic to ever truly enjoy the anticipation of finals, but I could certainly lessen the dread if I knew I was putting the hours in each week to get there.
Doing anything for three hours straight is hard
This never really occurred to me until I did the marathon. I hardly ever do one single activity for three hours straight. I may be in class or at work, but there are always an assortment of mini-breaks sandwiched in there. Email checks, Facebook and Twitter updates, even a bathroom visit break up the monotony of other activities. The marathon was three hours straight of focus and physical exertion. It was a level of patience I?ve never had to reach before, but one that I hope I will utilize in the future.
Surround yourself with cheerleaders
College is all about the individual. Students making their own schedules, participating in their own activities and somehow finding a way to make it work. Sure, you?ve got plenty of people supporting you, but their contribution is lost in a sea of due dates, tests and homework. I may have done all my marathon training alone, but the marathon itself was certainly a team effort. Nothing prepares you for the mental and physical toll 26.2 miles takes on you, and it?s the crowd that gets you through. It?s the people handing you water every few miles, the total strangers screaming encouragement from the sidelines, the family and friends who came out to see you ? they are the ones who carry you to the finish line. What I realized is that these people are always there, just in more subtle ways. My parents may not come down to cheer for me through every all-nighter, but they are certainly there for encouragement whenever I need it. So are friends, professors, advisers ? all those people college students tend to take for granted. Taking advantage of the support you are offered makes all the difference when you?re reaching your limits.
Push yourself (harder!)
I had tested myself in a lot of ways in college. Tough classes, work-study jobs, extra-curriculars ? it always seems like you?ve gone as far as you can go. There is always another challenge waiting, though. There is always another opportunity to prove to yourself what you?re capable of. There is always another 26.2 miles to run.
Next stop for me: Boston. Bring it on, Heartbreak Hill.
Lucas DeForest is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a lover of Bravo reality shows and all things pop culture. Follow him on Twitter @ldefo.You might also be interested in:
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY.
brian williams patrice o neal patrice o neal paulina gretzky paulina gretzky wayne gretzky wayne gretzky
Apple's Newsstand application aiding digital magazine sales, says 'I told you so' engt.co/vXOEYC 
engadget Engadget
Source: http://twitter.com/engadget/statuses/151043875316838400
love and hip hop camila alves albrecht durer dan marino david lee roth joe bodolai ben nelson
ENERGY EFFICIENT 4 Bedroom House with appliances, washer/dryer, garage, 2 horses OK. Waterloo Silver Star area, $850/month, 406-684-5191
Source: http://mtsta-www2.mtstandard.com/mobile-classified/ads/27044471/?market=admarket
powerball winner narwhals narwhals gmail app gmail app phentermine port of oakland
New Delhi, India ? The Indian government's recent plans to open the retail sector to foreign big-box stores like Wal-Mart was met with such vehement pushback from people across India that the plans had to be shelved earlier this month.
Unlike in the United States, where more than 80 percent of Americans shop at supermarkets and chain stores, most Indians still shop in kirana, or tiny mom and pop stores. The 15 million small retail outlets here employ tens of millions of people.
While India has welcomed many Western companies under two decades of economic liberalization, the move to megastores has proved to be a tough sell.
RECOMMENDED: India's unwanted girls
The idea of driving long distances on bad roads, battling for a parking spot, and choosing between hundreds of brands perplexes many consumers who say they are happy with the current small-and-local model. But the domestic resistance frustrates Indian technocrats and business elites who are focused on keeping India's growth rates high.
While Wal-Mart worries many shopkeepers, some are banking on customer loyalty and shopping habits to save them.
Rajiv Malik owns a kirana in the alleyway of a middle-class neighborhood in Delhi. His shop, a mini-version of Wal-Mart, offers everything from shampoo and vegetables to underwear and plastic beach balls.
"Over half of my customers buy on credit, and I will deliver anything from a loaf of bread to a few eggs," says Mr. Malik, who keeps track of purchases in a big, yellow notebook. "I don't think that Wal-Mart will be able to provide this kind of service."
Ilyas, who goes by one name, plays dual roles as a middleman buying fruits and vegetables from whole-salers and running a roadside stand. Like Malik, he thinks he can compete. "Even though big stores may be able to sell for less, they can't keep their fruits and vegetables as fresh as mine," he says. "My customers are willing to pay more for quality."
Job jittersWhile Malik and Ilyas may not seem concerned about the coming of the big shops, millions of others worry that they could lose their jobs. Responding to that anxiety, opposition parties blocked the government's decision to allow foreign, multibrand retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Tesco.
"The economy as a whole can only gain if the presence of foreign retailers creates more opportunities for the manufacturing sector, as opposed to being threatened by it," says Rajeev Chandrasekhar, one of the members of Parliament who blocked the measure.
The failed resolution left economist Rajiv Kumar, the secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, fuming.
"Those who have opposed the entry of foreign direct investment [FDI] in multibrand retail have done this without recognizing that this is a sector that remains backward, dominated by a cash economy, with all its features of nonaccountability, and has poor to horrible working conditions," he says.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has argued that opening the sector would create 10 million jobs and cut India's rising food-price inflation.
Currently, 40 percent of fruits and vegetables rot before they can be sold due to a lack of cold-chain systems or refrigeration from farm to store. Under the government's plan, multinationals would be required to invest $100 million over five years, and at least half of that must go to building a cold-chain system and rural infrastructure. Supporters argue the investments could help provide food to millions of people in a country racked by malnutrition.
Rural Indian shoppers, however, would not be walking up to a big-box store in the countryside. According to the current guidelines, multinationals are not allowed to operate in cities with a population of fewer than a million people.
Middleman squeeze
As for jobs, Mr. Kumar argues that small retailers won't be out of work if Wal-Mart comes because the unorganized retail sector is set to nearly double in the next 10 years by simply keeping pace with growth.
Analysts say it's the middlemen like Ilyas who are likely to be affected most, as the multinationals will deal directly with the farmer. But this could lower prices for the consumer as there would be less nonvalue-added cost involved.
Both Kumar and Mr. Chandrasekhar agree that the only way all the stakeholders will support the FDI in retail is after thorough analysis and serious public discourse.
"Foreign ownership of retail in India is ... a very disruptive policy," says Chandrasekhar. "There may be winners, but there are clearly going to be many, many painful losers. As long as a policy implies pain and loss to certain segments of our society and people, it will never become a reality."
While opponents succeeded in stopping the plan for now, some of them, like shopkeepers Malik and Ilyas, say the coming of the big-box retailers is inevitable.
Malik is certain the 50 percent of his clientele who buy on credit will still choose his store. Ilyas says he's ready to adapt to the changing role.
"When Wal-Mart comes it will not affect me," says Ilyas. "I'll play a bigger role in the supply chain and will integrate myself with Wal-Mart."
Ilyas may be changing roles sooner than later: The prime minister said recently that he hopes to pass the FDI policy in retail next year. "There was inadequate preparation, and some partners in the coalition developed cold feet," Mr. Singh told Bloomberg. "But I can assure you, India remains committed to a system of regulation that is supportive of enterprise, and we will do everything to encourage foreign investment."
Get daily or weekly updates from CSMonitor.com delivered to your inbox. Sign up today.
Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r5663854489
home affordable refinance program harp harp world series game 5 moammar gadhafi harry connick jr rightnow
LOS ANGELES ? Tom Cruise's latest mission has won a holiday weekend that's shaping up with some silent nights at movie theaters as business continues to lag.
Studio estimates Sunday placed Cruise's "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol" a solid No. 1 with $26.5 million domestically over its first weekend in full release. The movie raised its total to $59 million since it started a week earlier in huge-screen cinemas and expanded nationwide last Wednesday, and distributor Paramount estimated that revenues will reach $72.7 million by Monday.
Cruise's fourth "Mission" flick was a bright spot over a Christmas weekend filled with so-so tidings for Hollywood, whose usually busy holiday stretch since Thanksgiving has been a bust.
Generally well-reviewed movies from Steven Spielberg ("The Adventures of Tintin"), David Fincher ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") and Cameron Crowe ("We Bought a Zoo") ? with casts that include Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Daniel Craig ? opened with modest to weak results.
Despite predictions from studio executives that 2011 could be a record-setter that would finish with a bang, domestic revenues remained stuck at a sluggish pace that has lingered all year.
Hollywood should finish the year with $10.1 million domestically, down 4.5 percent from 2010, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
The picture gets worse taking into account higher ticket prices, which mean Hollywood brings in fewer fans for each dollar spent. Actual domestic attendance for 2011 will close out at about 1.27 billion, down 5.3 percent from the previous year's and the lowest head count since 1995, when admissions totaled 1.26 billion.
"Thank God 2011 is almost over, because we've had a real rough run here at the end of the year," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "We always count on the holiday season to give us a big boost at the end of the year, and it just didn't happen.
"These admission numbers this year just tell me that we maybe have to set our sights a little lower in terms of attendance every year."
Since peaking at a modern high of 1.6 billion in 2002, domestic movie admissions have been on a general decline since.
Studio executives always insist that slow times result from weak films, but on paper, the strong lineup Hollywood presented this year should have had fans lining up in huge numbers. Pretty good films are out there this holiday season, yet blockbuster expectations fizzled, a sign that people might be skipping a trip to the theater in favor of home-viewing, video games or the countless other entertainment options their gadgets now offer.
Rising ticket prices, particularly the extra few dollars it costs to see 3-D films, also could be causing a backlash among fans.
With "Ghost Protocol" climbing toward the $100 million mark, it's a return to box-office form for Cruise, who had been Hollywood's most-dependable earner for two decades until he turned off fans with odd antics in his personal life six years ago.
"Ghost Protocol" will be Cruise's first top-billed $100 million hit since 2006's "Mission: Impossible III." He had a supporting role in 2008's $100 million comedy hit "Tropic Thunder," which was headlined by Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black.
Even with a No. 1 debut, "Ghost Protocol" still was a shadow of its predecessors. The first three "Mission: Impossible" movies ranged from $45 million to $58 million over opening weekend, but those installments opened at the start of the busy summer season.
As of Friday, "Ghost Protocol" also had brought in a healthy $118 million overseas.
Downey's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" fell from No., 1 to No. 2 in its second weekend with $17.8 million. The family sequel "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" dropped from second to third with $13.3 million.
Both sequels trail well behind the business their predecessors did. "A Game of Shadows," from Warner Bros., lifted its domestic haul to $76.6 million, while 20th Century Fox's "Chipwrecked" pushed its receipts to $50.3 million.
The weekend's newcomers failed to light up the box office, too. Fincher and Craig's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" from Sony was No. 4 with $13 million, Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" from Paramount was No. 5 with $9.1 million and Crowe, Damon and Johansson's "We Bought a Zoo" from 20th Century Fox was No. 6 with $7.8 million.
"Dragon Tattoo" raised its total to $21.4 million since opening Tuesday night, while "Tintin" lifted its take to $17.1 million since debuting Wednesday.
European literary exports "Dragon Tattoo," adapted from Stieg Larsson's Swedish best-seller, and "Tintin," based on Belgian artist Herge's storybook classics, are finding a lukewarm reception among U.S. crowds.
"Dragon Tattoo" has been a sensation among U.S. readers yet failed to challenge "Mission: Impossible" and the other established franchises at the top of the box office.
Beloved by generations of readers overseas, "Tintin" launched internationally two months ahead of its U.S. release. But the blockbuster global attention, with nearly $250 million already in the bank from foreign markets, did not translate to crowds in the United States.
The calendar made it a tough weekend for Hollywood, with Christmas Eve ? always a slow night for movie-going ? falling on Saturday, usually the best day of the week at theaters.
Christmas Day typically is a strong one for movies, as fans squeeze in a film between unwrapping presents and sitting down to family dinners.
Two big holiday releases ? Spielberg's World War I epic "War Horse" and Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock's Sept. 11 drama "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" ? opened Christmas Day, but estimates on their revenues will not be available until Monday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol," $26.5 million.
2. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," $17.8 million.
3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," $13.3 million ($20.1 million international).
4. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," $13 million.
5. "The Adventures of Tintin," $9.1 million.
6. "We Bought a Zoo," $7.8 million ($1.1 million international).
7. "New Year's Eve," $3 million.
8. "Arthur Christmas," $2.7 million ($9.7 million international).
9. "Hugo," $2.03 million.
10. "The Muppets," $2 million ($500,000 international).
___
Online:
http://www.hollywood.com
http://www.rentrak.com
___
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
day light savings us geological survey us geological survey oklahoma fall back time change when does daylight savings start
It's an ill wind that blows no one good, the old proverb says. But as James and Sabrina Patterson spend Christmas in their family's fourth home in eight months, they are building a new life in the wake of the ill wind that tore their home asunder last spring.
"We took the bad and made it into a good," said Sabrina.
Sabrina smiles a lot. So does her husband.
The Pattersons had planned to stay in the Cottonade neighborhood forever. The couple bought a home on Welsh Place in the neighborhood off Yadkin Road in 2007, when the Army ordered James to Fort Bragg. They set about remodeling the place, putting in hardwood floors and granite countertops. They decided this would be it, their retirement home.
When James, a first sergeant, was shifted to Fort Riley, Kan., in October 2009, the couple made a deal: This time the family would not follow him. Sabrina would stay in Fayetteville, keep her job with Cumberland County and let their daughter finish high school here. James would retire at the end of his stint in Kansas after 22 years in the Army, and they would put down roots in Cottonade.
But on April 16, about 3:30 p.m., a tornado ripped up those roots.
In about 30 ferocious seconds, it lifted the roof off their home - then set it down again - and smashed their windows. It tore off the top of their sun room and covered their floors with insulation.
That day's brief but brutal storms damaged about 1,300 homes in Fayetteville, almost 600 of them destroyed or with major damage. The citywide damage was about $100 million, city officials estimate. The same system spat out twisters that killed five people across the region and crumpled the Lowe's Home Improvement store in Sanford.
Like so many of their neighbors in Cottonade, across the city and beyond, the Pattersons had to start again.
James and Sabrina Patterson were born in Allendale, a South Carolina town of about 11,000 people 30 miles west of Interstate 95 near the Georgia state line. Sabrina's mother baby-sat James when he was small.
"It was like Mayberry," James said.
They started dating as teenagers in 1986. He joined the Army in 1989, and they were married May 14, 1993, on James' birthday.
"She asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said, 'Marry me,' " he said. She had already turned him down a few times.
A local judge married the couple in her living room, the wall adorned with pictures of all the other couples she had hosted before. If their photograph is still there, it is the only one from their wedding day.
Until living in Cottonade, the family moved with James wherever the Army sent him, from Texas to Georgia. He served two tours in Iraq.
On the day the storm hit, Sabrina had just returned home from dropping off their 16-year-old daughter, Jasmine, at a nearby friend's house on Fort Bragg when the TV started flickering. It had been raining, but the sky briefly turned the prettiest blue she had ever seen. Then the rain and hail returned, fiercer than before. The announcer on the TV said a tornado had been seen in Cumberland County.
Patterson brought her dogs in from the yard. She called her daughter and ordered her to stay indoors.
Peering through her bay window, Sabrina saw the wind yanking the trees around and decided she had seen enough. She grabbed her purse and cellphone.
"I took off down the hall, got in the bathtub," she said, "and just prayed."
The roof lifted off the house, then sank back down. She heard glass shattering and the muffled thumps of unknown things hitting the walls outside. The storm was, quite literally, roaring.
"It sounded like a train," she said.
Then, within a minute, it was gone. Sabrina lifted herself out of the tub and pushed open the bathroom door. There was insulation everywhere. Belongings flung around. Windows broken. The roof of the sun room was peeled back. One two-by-four was stuck in the roof; another had smashed through their 22-year-old son Ricardo's bedroom window and hit his bed. The screen door hung from its hinges, the glass gone.
"I've never seen so much damage in 20 or 30 seconds," she said.
Outside, her Toyota Camry looked "like someone had blasted it with a shotgun." The dogs' cage was wrapped around what was left of the backyard's lone pine tree. Most of the trunk had been snapped off and tossed over the house, smashing into the chimney and landing in the front yard. One branch was skewered so deep in the ground it could not be removed and was later cut off level with the earth.
The roof was gone from the house across the street. Patterson was crying. Someone she didn't know gave her a hug and told her everything would be all right.
The stranger was right, but his prophecy would take a while to come true.
When Patterson reached her daughter by phone, she learned they had seen nothing but rain. Then she called her husband in Kansas.
"I said, 'Honey, can you call me back?' " James Patterson remembers. "I was talking to a soldier."
He had no idea what had happened. A few minutes later, she called him back.
"She was breathing hard," he remembered. "I said, 'What's wrong with you?' "
He still feels bad when he thinks about it.
"What if she wouldn't have made it through it? We've been together since I was 19."
Sabrina ordered her husband to stay where he was. She didn't want him driving while worried. He told her he would stay put.
"That was a lie," James said. "One of my friends said, 'She said she's all right; don't you get on the road.' I said, 'Shoot, man, I'm going home.' "
He got in his car and drove 19 hours straight back to Fayetteville.
Sabrina spent the rest of that Saturday checking on elderly neighbors and helping round up neighborhood dogs that were loose. Fearful of looting, she spent the night in her darkened, damaged home alone with her dogs. She didn't answer when rescue workers with flashlights came by and knocked on the door.
When James Patterson turned from Yadkin Road into Cottonade the next afternoon, having picked up Jasmine, everything looked normal. People were washing their cars. Then he rounded the curve onto Welsh Place.
"It was like a bomb went off," he said. "Just like what I had seen in Iraq."
Had he driven in by himself, at night, he doubted he could have found his own house.
The couple stayed there for a week, rounding up their belongings. They spent three weeks in an extended-stay hotel on Owen Drive while finding a rental home in Hope Mills where they could keep their dogs. They thought about going back to South Carolina, back to family.
"I was like, 'I want to go home,' " Sabrina said. They looked at homes in Allendale, but jobs were scarce. They decided to stay in Fayetteville but made the tough call to sell their home in Cottonade. Sabrina was still driving back there every morning, though, to put Jasmine on the school bus to finish her year at Westover High.
In the meantime, James had to return to Fort Riley to see out his time in the Army.
"I felt really bad, driving off," he said.
"If anything happens to this one, that's it. I'm going to rent me an apartment," the 41-year-old Sabrina Patterson said. It was the week before Christmas, and she was hefting another box out of a U-Haul and into the garage of the family's new home in the Roslin Farms West development in Gray's Creek.
Wrapped Christmas gifts were piled in the dining room ready for the arrivals: Nieces, nephews and grandparents from Allendale; their oldest daughter, Shakeema, from Germany, where she is serving in the Air Force.
James, who is 45, retired from the Army last month. Their first Christmas in a new home will be the first time in years the whole family has been together for the holidays.
"We're going to have a houseful for Christmas," Sabrina said.
She could hardly look any happier.
She still thinks of tornadoes whenever she hears a train. Sometimes the thought wakes her at night.
"It'll eventually go away," she said. "Something happens and you get past it."
They miss their home in Cottonade. It has been remodeled now and looks immaculate. Jasmine misses her Tinkerbell-themed bedroom. Sabrina misses the trees, but the storm left few of them standing in any case.
"It doesn't look the same any more," she said. "It's different."
Their old block is a construction site. The house opposite theirs, the one that lost its roof, is being rebuilt. For now, it's a timber frame. A week before Christmas, contractors' trucks were in the driveways of several houses. A few windows are still broken.
"Some people lost everything," James said.
Looking back on what she calls their "moving year," Sabrina said she has plenty to be thankful for.
"I could have been one of the ones who got killed," she said. "But I survived. I'm still here."
She believes the storm and its aftermath brought her family closer. It cemented her husband's decision to retire from the Army and not accept a job that would take him away from home again. It made her daughter appreciate what she has.
"It's almost like a blessing, even though it was bad," Sabrina said. "It could have been worse. Way worse."
Staff writer Gregory Phillips can be reached at phillipsg@fayobserver.com or 486-3596.Source: http://fayobserver.com/articles/2011/12/25/1144424
joe arpaio sam hurd arrested presidential debate atlanta falcons roddy white roddy white howard stern
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) ? Thousands of grave markers at Arlington National Cemetery may need to be replaced or added to accurately account for the dead, following a meticulous Army review of each of the nearly 260,000 headstones and niche covers on the grounds.
In a report to Congress on Thursday, the Army found potential discrepancies between headstones and cemetery paperwork on about 64,000 grave markers ? about one in four.
Congress ordered the review last year following reports of misidentified and misplaced graves that led to the ouster of the cemetery's top executives.
The report found no further evidence of misplaced graves, though it cautioned that its review is not complete and that some errors could have gone undetected.
There are potentially thousands of minor errors, including misspelled names, or incorrect military ranks and dates of birth and death.
The Army compared information on every headstone to its internal records, scouring handwritten logs of the dead from the Civil War and a hodgepodge of other records to verify accuracy.
In an interview, the cemetery's executive director, Kathryn Condon, said reviews are ongoing and it's premature to try to estimate exactly how many headstones may need replacement.
To be sure, many of the 64,000 discrepancies will turn up no problem with a headstone ? it may be as simple as a typo on an internal record. And in many cases, the discrepancies are not errors at all but reflect past practices at the cemetery that are now considered outdated.
One of the biggest surprises uncovered by the review was that in most of the early 20th century, the cemetery did not include the name of a wife on a headstone when she was buried next to her husband. Under current practices, the name of the spouse is etched onto the back of the headstone.
Condon said the cemetery will correct that by adding the spouse's name to the gravesite. She said it is not only the right thing to do but is also required by law.
Accounting for the forgotten spouses alone will require thousands of corrections, officials said. In some cases, replacement headstones will be made. In cases where the headstones are considered historic, footstones will be added.
The Army and a team of 70 analysts are undertaking painstaking reviews of every case where they find a potential discrepancy to ensure that records are made accurate. Those reviews are expected to be completed in the summer.
The process began with a hand count, using simple mechanical clickers, of every gravesite ? 259,978 to be exact. (More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington, but some grave markers have two or more names.) Then, during the summer, members of the Army's ceremonial Old Guard unit used iPhones to photograph the front and back of every headstone, so the information could be compared against internal records.
Officials cited Christian Keiner, a Civil War veteran from New York who died in 1919, as a typical example. The headstone reflected only his name, but internal records showed that his wife, Caroline Keiner, had also been buried there in 1915. In addition, the internal records spelled Caroline Keiner's name as "Kiner." Officials reviewed handwritten Census records from 1900 and Civil war-era military and pension records to confirm that "Keiner" was indeed the correct spelling.
John Schrader, co-chair of the Gravesite Accountability Task Force, said recordkeeping methods varied widely over the cemetery's 147-year history, from handwritten logs to index cards, to typewritten forms and two different computer databases. That sometimes compounded problems, as transcription errors were common. To avoid those problems, all of the old records have been scanned and digitized, rather than transcribed, to avoid introducing further errors, he said.
The sheer size of the cemetery also made the task difficult. It is the second-largest cemetery in the country as well as a tourist site that draws more than 4 million visitors a year, all while conducting nearly 30 burials a day, some with full military honors.
The most significant part of the review, Condon said, is that the cemetery for the first time has a single, reliable database that will allow officials to fix past mistakes and plan for the future.
The cemetery is currently testing an interactive, web-based version of its database that will allow visitors to click on a digital map to see gravesites and learn who is buried there, ensuring the cemetery's records are open and accessible going forward.
"We'll have 300 million American fact-checkers," Schrader said.
Associated Presshouston nutt houston nutt peter marshall peter marshall zombie boy zombie boy harvard yale
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InTouchWeekly/~3/FPbD-oZf0Z4/kelly_rowlands_new_job.php
meteor shower tonight district 9 district 9 pandaria pandaria artie lange baby lisa irwin
A mom who confronted her son's accused bullies is hoping to become a voice against bullying.
As we first told you,?Rena Denson drove her Jeep onto the football field at Dr. Phillips High School to confront the people she thought beat up her son Darrion and stuffed him in a trash can.
?Somebody needs to speak up for other children, to be the voice, because this should not happen, whether it is in high school or college,? said Denson.
Denson told a judge Thursday she is still paying off the fines as part of her probation.
courtney stodden drake take care herman cain accuser herman cain accuser election day kawasaki disease joe frazier
No surprise, but six-game event scheduled for Jan. 21 at Hinkle has been called off per NCAA ruling on high school games at college sites. Source: http://twitter.com/DavidWoods007/statuses/149987773254868992
eagles magic johnson involuntary manslaughter stevens johnson syndrome verdict in michael jackson trial verdict in michael jackson trial brian urlacher
The California 2010 midterm election has proved to be a rocky road for candidates, ballot initiatives and voters alike. California made election records in campaign contributions and spending. California results showed this election was still blue in the Golden State.
Nov. 2 proved to be a near sweep across the nation for the Republicans; however, California was not what the GOP had hoped for. The Democrats won the California election, taking over Sacramento.
Jerry Brown took over retiring Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's seat, defeating Meg Whitman. Brown took in 53.8 percent of the votes, while Meg Whitman took in 41.2 percent.
Brown's experience bested Whitman's more than $150 million in personal spending. Brown raised just more than $60 million in support of his campaign. Brown makes only the second governor in California to have served for a third term.
The incumbent lieutenant governor, Abel Maldonado, was beat by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat; he will now join fellow Democrat Brown in Sacramento. Maldonado, a Republican, took in 39 percent, while Newsome took in 50.2 percent. This comes in time for the high-court hearing the ruling on Proposition 8, the anti-same sex marriage bill. Maldonado was a supporter of Proposition 8.
The strong race for Senate in California between incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbra Boxer and her opponent Carly Fiorina held out until the last minute. Boxer took in 52.2 percent while Fiorina took in 42.4 percent. An upset would have assisted the GOP in gaining a majority in the Senate. Boxer is one of the more liberal constitutes of the U.S. Senate. Fiorina refused to concede until the early hours of the morning, citing, "All the numbers are not in. It's too soon to tell," via telecast of her campaign celebration.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi kept control of her U.S. House seat. Pelosi with a landslide win gained 80 percent of the votes over her opponent John Dennis (R). Pelosi will lose her position of Speaker of the House because of the GOP taking over the majority in the House.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Democrat, remained in office. This came with a strong challenge by retired professional football player Damon Dunn. Bowen, a former senator, helped Democrats gain control of Sacramento.
California had many propositions on the ballot, including Proposition 19, the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. Many of the propositions were set in place in attempts to close the $19 million budget deficit. The election proved a disappointment for the state has depleted budget.
Proposition 19, the controversial ballot initiative to legalize marijuana, went up in smoke, as 53.8 percent voted in opposition. Proposition 19 would have taxed the commercial sale of marijuana to help generate revenue in attempts to fix the budget deficit.
Proposition 19 was not the only budget ballot measure to fail. Proposition 21, the state park funding initiative through license surcharges, failed, only gaining 42.0 percent in support and 58.0 percent in opposition. The surcharge collected on license plates was an attempt to fund state parks and make up some of the budget cuts in recent years due to the depleted budget.
Proposition 23, the suspension of Air Pollution Control Law (SB 32), was not passed, as 61.3 percent opposed it. Proposition 23 was slated to create green jobs while promoting solar and hybrid energy.
radiohead tour cbsnews ufc on fox fight card florida marlins ncaa basketball boise state football boise state football
Twice a week Jim drives a chopped and lowered, primer-finished '34 Ford five-window coupe to work. It's the real deal with a full-race supercharged flathead and a set of pipes you can hear from half a mile away. It's also the only hot rod in Ford's executive parking lot.
Jim is Jim Farley, the Ford Motor Company's fast-moving vice president of global marketing, sales and service. He's an auto executive. A captain of industry. Suit and tie. Boardroom. Big expense account. The whole deal. But he's also a motorhead. A car collector. A vintage racer. And a hot-rodder.
And yes, that is the latest issue of The Rodder's Journal sitting on his desk.
In the Blood
Five years ago, Farley was a superstar at Toyota, where he successfully launched Scion. Then he was tapped by Ford CEO Alan Mulally to invigorate Ford's brands, and find innovative ways to sell them. Relocating to Dearborn, Michigan, Jim took on the monumental task of getting Ford and Lincoln (and briefly Mercury) back on track.
Farley had the genes for the job. His family's association with Ford Motor Company goes back 96 years. Jim's grandfather was Henry Ford's 389th employee. "He started in the Highland Park Plant, then moved to The Rouge, where he became a finance manager, working at the plant where my '34 was built. My grandfather later became a Ford dealer on Detroit's East Side. So we have a long history with Ford."
"When I was 15, in 1977," he confesses, "I got a job illegally working on the West Coast in a Ford engine remanufacturing plant that was owned by a friend of my grandfather's. It was a way for me to get to know about engines, and to start getting connected to the industry.
"That summer, I met a guy from Sunrise Ford. They had a program where you could build a 1964.5 Mustang right at the dealership. They had about 100 junked Mustangs in the back of the lot. I sold my plane ticket back to Michigan, bought one and lived in that Mustang for most of the summer. I rebuilt the engine, then I drove it back home... with no license and no insurance, much to my parents' surprise."
The Collection
Farley's got a garage full of cool Ford stuff now, like his 1965 Shelby GT350. "It was the first and purest Mustang that was modified by [Carroll] Shelby. It's like a racecar for the street. Mine had one of the slowest times in the last Cannonball Run in 1979. Brock Yates and Rick Kopec [president of the Shelby American Automobile Club] drove it. They claimed they were off-duty patrolmen ? they'd taken a badge from a friend ? but that scam didn't work. They got pulled over, spent a few hours in a Pennsylvania jail and were never in contention. I love that car, and this is really cool; it was restored by [ex-racer] Art Chrisman.
In an unexpected way, I think my love for cars helps me do my job better.
"I also have CSX 2531, my 1964 USRRC Competition 289 Cobra. It was Ken Miles' car. I race it when I can. To get it, I sold a car I wanted to keep forever, my black-on-black, with black wire wheels, 289 street Cobra. This guy and I had become friends. He was dying and he said, 'I want this to go to the right person. And you need to race it.' The first time I had it on the track was at Road America [Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin] where it had last raced.
"Then I have a Dave Wagner-built Kirkham Motorsports aluminum-bodied 427 Cobra that we worked on for two years. Every piece of that car is custom made. It looks like a bone-stock 427. It's dark blue, with a black interior and matte black wheels. No hoop, no scoop, no side pipes. It's just a nasty mother%$#*&r. It's got a Jack Roush 511-cid low-compression motor with 750 pound-feet of torque and a Tremec five-speed. On a 100-degree day, that thing will run at 160 degrees. It is so f%$*%g fast, in any gear. It's like a hot rod.
"And I have a new Boss 302 Laguna Seca, Chassis #2. It's matte black, and it's got a black wrap with black-painted wire wheels. I'm putting a Ford racing supercharger on it. I think we're gonna get close to 750 horsepower. I only use it for track days."
Jim also has an original steel '32 Ford roadster body and frame that's being built up as a '50s-era Indy-inspired highboy, by Dave Simard's East Coast Custom in Leominster, Massachusetts. "It's not a car yet, but with a new 4.6 Ford [modified to look like the Hilborn-injected, C&T Automotive OHV V8 from the cover of Hot Rod in 1955], it'll be bitchin' when it's finished.
"My wife Lia [her real name is Cornelia] owns a 1987 BMW 325iC convertible she's had since new. We fooled around in that car when we were dating," he smiles, "so she's kept it all this time. That's the only non-Ford we own."
Wants More
But Jim's not done yet. "I would like a Series 1, 2 or 3 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT with a Nardi shifter, no wheel covers and some nice Hella rally lights. I'd like to buy [Road & Track photographer] John Lamm's car. We've talked but nothing's happened. You can dream, right? I need one Italian car.
"For a fancy prewar car, I'd like a custom-bodied '30s-era KA or KB Lincoln, ideally a 12-cylinder. It has to be a coupe; I like coupes. So it could be a LeBaron Coupe or a Brunn Convertible Victoria, with that beautiful folding top. I love those cars. I work for Ford, so I've gotta have a classic Lincoln.
"Finally, I'd love a Total Performance Package Ford GT40, but it would be a street car. That will probably never happen, but you can dream. And that would probably do it."
In the Glass House
"In an unexpected way, I think my love for cars helps me do my job better. Because like any business, the car companies can be frustrating and you get upset sometimes. But my love of the product allows me to come back in the next day with the same level of engagement and enthusiasm. I think there's a fundamental enabler that connects old cars and new cars. That's one piece.
"The other piece is that the older I've gotten, the more I appreciate the diversity of the hobby, and that reinforces for me the diversity of the new car customer. The most important thing is that everything we invent has already been invented. So I can go to the Gilmore Car Museum and I can pretty much find everything that we're bragging about coming out with now...in a different form. The innovation in the early first 20 years of our industry was un-frigging believable. That is always a challenge for me.
"I'm now at Ford, which means we democratize technology and we bring it to the average person. So what do we want to democratize? Passive safety? Active safety? In-car entertainment? Powertrain technology? There are a lot of choices where you can make your bet. Those bets are already out there. What I mean by that, is it reminds us that our role, our legacy, how people have enjoyed our products ? that's still the same."
The Product
Asked if he has to be a car guy in his job to really do it well, Farley replies: "I think it's much more challenging. My job, at the end of the day, is that of an innovator. I have to drive change through the company. Part of it is you're promising things to customers that you don't yet have perfectly thought out. So it really does help to love what you do. You get that extra 20 percent out. Like when I present a car to journalists, I know that 20 percent helps. Journalists will say, 'you know, he gets it. So if he really likes the car...' But sometimes, it's not that exciting. And you can read us."
Here's where being a car guy really helps. Jim's proud of "programs like the Raptor pickup, the Boss 302 Mustang. These would never have seen the light of day if Derrick [Kuzak] and I were not on the same page. Derrick is a car guy. He's a different kind of car guy than I am but he's crazy in love with automobiles.
"Probably the most important car for me is Fiesta. It's not fancy, but the reason why I say that is, it's what Ford does on a good day. It's taking a car that everyone can afford and making it great to look at, really fun to drive, with cool in-car technology, world-class fuel efficiency, and putting it all in one package, where people say, 'Now that is really fun to drive; that is really fun to own.' To do it in the most affordable car we have, that's cool. It's easier [for more expensive cars] where you've got more money [to work with] and a bigger checkbook."
The Future
Asked if he thought that the cars Ford is making today and tomorrow are going to have the same, long-lasting appeal of some of these "classics" we all admire, Farley paused to think:
"I don't know. I don't know that any of us know enough to know that because today, the way cars are consumed and recycled, the durability of the cars now, the fact that they last 200,000 or 300,000 miles without a lot of problems means that a Merkur XR4Ti or a Ford RS200, cars that we didn't sell a lot of, will become valuable someday. I look at cars like the original Audi TT, that first year. I think that's going to be a collectible car. And I think a Focus RS will be one. Some kid's going to be dreaming about owning a 20-year-old Raptor 20 years from now."
Farley believes, "The days are over where mainstream cars can have the same impact that our original Mustang had, where you sell a million units and everybody falls in love with them. But I hope that's not true. Every day I naively go into the design studio thinking we're gonna find the next thing. Our industry used to have 20 or 30 models. So one model could be a specialty car with high volume. Today we have something like 400 models in the U.S. So what are the chances of one of those 400 selling a million copies? Even a Mini Cooper, which is a fantastic car, is not a high-volume car. The chances of those [factors] intersecting, like they did in 1950 or 1960 ? when they built the cars that I love? [That's] very unlikely. But that doesn't stop me from believing that it can't be done.
"One of the cars that could surprise us as a collectible is the Transit Connect. I think the commercial vehicles are authentic. Ford sedan deliveries from the '40s were used up and thrown away. Today they're very collectible."
Turning reflective, Farley says, "Realistically, I'm in the last third of my career. What we could see, in our generation, or two or three later, is the end of the combustible engine car as a collectible item. My question to myself is, What's gonna happen, when our lives are filled with electrified vehicles, and how will we look back on these IC engine products? Will they make it different? Will they be cooler? Will they live together? Will passion for the hobby be changed? Where will we get our fuel?"
Sustainability
Warming to his subject, he continues, "I know my son Jamieson ? he's 4 and a half now; he will learn to drive in an electrified vehicle. He will not have the same emotion about a V8, about doin' a burnout. So I'm not sure. But I am concerned about what's going to happen 40 or 50 years from now. The problem is not the IC engine; it's the fuel. But no one's working on it. How many hobbyists whose whole extracurricular life is centered around their love for the automobile are wondering: 'How do we create a sustainable hobby?'
"Sure, they're concerned about ethanol. But it's short-sighted. In my generation, I'm wondering if I'm gonna be that isolated weird guy with the Roman Chariot collection, 'Hey, that guy down the street has those Roman chariots, and the horses eat the oats and they've got rock wheels. Have you seen those? They're really cool.'
"I'm thinking, this is my 427 Cobra, and in my mind I'm imagining my wife, with her blond hair, goin' down the coast. And they're thinking: 'He's an archaeologist.' I know this is provocative, maybe it's paranoia, but who is gonna work on these cars? Miles Collier [who owns the Collier Collection in Naples, Florida] is doing a good job working on the sustainability of our collections. But that's not enough. These cars roll; they move. We want to enjoy them together. We want to drive 'em to meet with other people. We're gonna have to think through all that.
"I know there's that school in Kansas [MacPherson College] that offers a degree in car restoration. I've known about the [Collectors Foundation] scholarship awards. But we've got to do much more. Not enough of us are asking that essential question. So when we're all gone, and the cars are sitting there in the garage, what's it about? It's the memories and the friendships, of course, but it's also about making sure other people have the opportunity to enjoy life like we have...and giving them that choice."
Source: http://www.insideline.com/ford/jim-farley-driving-fords-future.html
karina smirnoff pumpkin cheesecake deviled eggs pie crust pie crust turkey recipes turkey recipes
power rangers jungle fury power rangers jungle fury ufc 139 fight card houston nutt houston nutt peter marshall peter marshall
Yes, I do it.
For the past five-plus years I?ve had my dogs on my Christmas cards. (The above shot is an outtake from last year?s card.) Granted, I?ve been in the dog biz for over 11 years, so it?s not such a stretch to have a canine or two on my holiday card for my clients. In fact, it?s sort of a requirement.
However, this is the first year we?ve had our dog on our ?family and friends? Christmas card. Millie appears between me and my husband in the photograph, looking subtly festive in a red leather collar. (To be honest, this is our first ever photo card, so beloved former dogs Zeke and Sumner never had a chance to join us.) We debated including Millie in the picture ? is it strange? Does having her on the card qualify us as freaky dog people? (The sad fact is that we are freaky dog people ? our kids have four legs, not two.) The photo turned out too cute not to use, so 25 of our closest friends and relatives will now have irrefutable proof that we?re weirdos. We drew the line at including her name on the card, though in retrospect it looks like a snub that we didn?t!
I?ve been informally polling my shoppers and it turns out that many people include their dogs on their cards, and it?s not just an afterthought. ?Just today a shopper bought two XXL sweaters for her pit bulls so they would look festive in her Christmas card photo next to her 9-year-old daughter.? Nearly every time someone buys a holiday bandana from me they mention including Fido in their Christmas photos.?
How about you? Do you send holiday photos with you and your pets? Or do you take it a step farther and send holiday photos from your pets?
Source: http://www.petside.com/article/holiday-photos-pets
salvia cybermonday deals cybermonday deals steve johnson norman reedus norman reedus sears
packers stock mastectomy st. nicholas st. nicholas heisman finalists heisman finalists kepler 22 b
