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Archive for January, 2010

Nike Air Penny II

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

If you missed out on the Black and Blue Penny IIs, there’s no need to feel blue or any other color for that matter about it. They’ve been restocked and discounted,Air Max 93, but you can bet your bottom dollar this deal won’t last. So cop one of the most classic Pennys in an OG colorway now, or forever hold your piece.

dunk low pro sb tweed(yellow ) Dreading the end-of-summer shopping sprees that signal school’s back in session? Relax — our cheat sheet’s ready to help everyone make the grade this year!

Don’t lose it — label it!

You don’t need to buy labels or a fancy machine that makes them. Use inexpensive masking tape instead to conveniently mark kids’ schoolbooks and supplies.
See more uses for Masking Tape.

Instant index cards

It’s inevitable — at the eleventh hour your child will say, &quot,air MAX Terra Ninety;I need index cards for school tomorrow." If you don’t have any, use paper plates and a ruler. Measure out a 3 x 5 or 4 x 6 (A7 or A6) card on the plate and cut. Use the first card as a template for the rest.
See more uses for Paper Plates.

Safeguard supplies

It’s one of the universal truths of parenthood: Kids’ pencil cases, folders, markers, and other school supplies are forever disappearing. You may be able to lessen the losses, however, by affixing address labels with a piece of transparent tape to the contents of your child’s desk and backpack.
See more uses for Return Address Labels.

Keep supplies organized

Do the kids have trouble keeping track of their school pencils, pens, and rulers? Puncture three holes along the bottom edge of a sealable freezer bag so it will fit in a three-ring binder. Now the young scholars can zip their supplies in and out of the bag.
See more uses for Plastic Bags.

Make an artist’s palette

Tear off a length of heavy-duty aluminum foil, crimp up the edges, and you’ve got a ready-to-use palette for mixing paints. If you want to get a little fancier, cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a palette, complete with thumb hole, and cover it with foil. Or if you already have a wooden palette, cover it with foil before each use and then just strip off the foil instead of cleaning the palette.
See more uses for Aluminum Foil.

Organize kids’ sporting goods

Keep a decorated empty wine or liquor carton with partitions, and with the top cut off, in your child’s room and use it for easy storage of tennis rackets, baseball bats,Air Max skyline, fishing poles, and such.
See more uses for Cardboard Boxes.

Nifty Tips for Parents

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How to Invest for Less

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Looking for a fresh approach to investing? As an investor, be wise about your money. Avoid high-cost mutual funds and expensive investment advisors, choosing low-fee ETFs and fee-based services instead. On top of that, consider moving some or most of your money off of Wall Street and into carefully researched alternative investments.

Real estate prospectors of the past few years who bought based on the hope that their properties would increase in value and they could sell for a profit give real estate investing a bad name. The difference between them and successful real estate investors is in the verb, said Nabers. Profitable real estate investments are the product not of hoping, but of planning. Let’s say you want a minimum 10% annual return on investment (ROI) for your real estate purchase. You would look at properties, from apartment buildings to duplexes to single-family units, and make real calculations of what the properties will earn or cash-flow each year, based on area rents, factoring in taxes, mortgage payments, property management fees and the like.

“The real cost of investing is poor investment performance due to lack of understanding and awareness that IRAs and 401ks do not have to be invested in Wall Street products,” said Naders. While investors think they are diversifying by buying a variety of stocks and funds, history shows that when the stock market goes down, all sectors of the market go down. The better option, he explains, is to get off Wall Street and thus actually diversify your investments.

But even ETF fees are not immune to change. According to Richard A. Ferri, CFA at Portfolio Solutions, LLC, “During the 1990s, new issue ETF fees averaged about 0.25%. Over the past few years new issue ETF fees were closer to 0.60% and this year the fee is closer to 0.80%. In addition, some of the more complex ETFs issued a few years ago capped their fees below the stated prospectus level. Those caps are starting to expire and fees are rising.”

For example, an initial investment of $50,000 over a period of 25 years at 8% would grow to $342,423. However, if the gains are 6% annually due to management costs and related fees, that number drops to $214,593 – a difference of $127,830. Even a difference of one percent can be huge over time – in 35 years, receiving 8% annual on $50,000 yields 739,267; compare this to the 533,829 from a 7% return on the same money.

Ferri agrees, saying, &ldquo,new air max shoes;Fire that high cost advisor. Advisors’ fees are the last bastion of gluttony in the investment business. They are simply too high. The advisors that charge 1% or more to manage a portfolio insist that they ‘add value’ though their investment selection. There is no academic evidence suggesting that paying high advisor fees provides any benefit over using a low cost advisor. In fact, high fees hurt your bottom line on a dollar for dollar basis.”

After analyzing a number of properties,Air Max skyline, you would know which could provide the ROI you desire and plan your investment accordingly. That’s the difference – planning, not hoping. Stocks used to be the same way, where people bought them based on the dividends they produced and not simply for capital gains.

Jeff Nabers, CEO of Nabers Group and founder of the IRA Association of America, takes his investment theory a step further than simply trying to lower investment fees for Wall Street portfolios.

To maximize your savings and return on investment, Clint Gharib, Vice President of Investments at Turner Wealth Management, LLC, also recommends that you work with an independent, fee-based advisor. “Independent registered advisors provide access to a much wider range of investment products and services with no proprietary products to promote. An investment advisor must act in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of their clients, therefore providing a higher standard of disclosure than in a traditional securities brokerage environment. Because the financial representative gets a flat annual fee based on the amount of assets rather than a commission, transactions themselves do not benefit an advisor,” said Gharib.

For the average investor, most investment fees fall into one of three categories: mutual fund expenses, investment advisor fees and brokerage commissions, the per-transaction trading fees for buying and selling individual stocks. Mutual funds have some of the highest expenses, with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) usually somewhat lower.

Still, since they cost significantly less than mutual funds with high commissions (loads), low-cost index funds and ETFs are the better way for investors to get the same exposure to the financial markets without losing as much of their money in fees, said Ferri.

In a down market, especially when many investment portfolio values have been slashed by 30 or 40 percent over the course of a year, it’s become painfully apparent that a large part of those losses comes in the form of the fees you pay to invest your money. Over a period of several decades, from first investment to retirement, investment costs can eat up tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, destroying the real rate of return of a mutual fund.

Nabers, who is currently writing a book titled Unlimited Investing with a Self-Directed IRA LLC or Solo 401k: Break Free From Wall Street to Build Real Wealth with Alternative Investments, considers Wall Street somewhat of a casino when it comes to investments. In contrast, there are many other,Air Max 95, better ways to invest money for retirement; for example, real estate, precious metals and small businesses.

Investments that qualify for retirement plans are nearly limitless, said Nader, naming just life insurance, collectibles and self dealing as things that are not allowed. The sooner investors look outside the small box of Wall Street and actually diversify with sound, researched investments, the more they will avoid the high cost of investing found in fees and poor portfolio performance.

You can also save money by using discounted brokerage services instead of those with high per-transaction costs. Lowering these trading costs will help bring down your overall fees and improve your investment profits.

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Valentine Cake No-Bake Mini Heart Cakes

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

* Active Time: 45 minutes
* Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

7. To decorate: With decorating icing, pipe designs and words on cakes as shown, or create your own designs. Add red sugar and candy hearts.

6. Thin remaining pink and white icings with a little water as needed; give cakes a second coat. Let set at least 1 hour.

5. Spoon pink icing over half the cakes, completely covering tops and sides. Stir drips on wax paper into icing in bowl; cover airtight. Let icing set 30 minutes. Meanwhile repeat with white icing on rest of cakes.

2. Using a long, sharp knife, trim rounded hump off poundcake so top is flat. Trim crust off sides. Slice cake horizontally in half. Cut hearts from each half.

1. Have ready 2-in. and/or 21/2-in. heart-shape metal cookie cutters.

o One 16-oz frozen poundcake, not thawed
o Icing
o 51/4 cups (about 11/2 lb) confectioners&rsquo,Air Max 180; sugar
o 1/2 cup milk
o 3 Tbsp light corn syrup
o 2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
o Red liquid or paste (icing) food color
o Decorations: tubes of white, red and pink decorating icing, each fitted with round piping tip,Air Max 92; red crystal sugar; and tiny candy hearts (available in many supermarkets, crafts stores and
o cake-decorating and party-supply shops)

3. Put hearts 11/2 in. apart on a wire rack set on wax paper to catch drips.

Planning Tip: Decorated cakes can be stored airtight in a single layer at cool room temperature up to 1 week or frozen up to 3 months. Thaw uncovered at room temperature.

4. Icing: Stir ingredients, except food color,Air Max stab, in a bowl until smooth and as thin as maple syrup. Divide between 2 bowls; cover 1 bowl with plastic wrap. Tint icing in other bowl pink.

INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

At night, a desert bandit named Lo (Chinese: ) (Chang Chen) breaks into Jen’s bedroom and asks her to leave with him. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the western deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jen’s caravan and stolen her comb. Jen chased after him to get it back; Lo defeated and kidnapped her. However, they soon fell passionately in love. Lo eventually convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off of a cliff to make his wishes come true. Because the man’s heart was pure, he did not die.

Later that evening, a masked thief sneaks onto Sir Te’s estate and steals the Green Destiny. The acrobatic thief skillfully avoids the guards while being pursued by Shu-lien across the estate’s rooftops and walls. After a fight with Shu-lien, the thief escapes; Shu-lien observes, with surprise, that the thief knows Wudang.

Mu-bai and Shu-lien trace the theft to Governor Yu’s compound and learn that Jade Fox has been posing as Jen’s governess for many years. Mu-bai makes the acquaintance of Inspector Tsai, a police investigator from the provinces, and his daughter May, who have come to Peking in pursuit of Jade Fox. Jade Fox challenges Tsai, May, and Sir Te’s servant Master Bo to a showdown; she kills Tsai and is on the verge of defeating the others when Mu-Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Jade Fox. Then, the masked thief reappears and fights with Mu-Bai, again using Wudang techniques. Jade Fox and the thief (who turns out to be Jade Fox’s protegée, Jen) escape. After seeing Jen fight Mu-Bai, Jade Fox realizes that Jen had secretly read her Wudang manual and surpassed her in skill.

Plot

Still confused, Jen visits Shu-lien, who tells her that Lo is waiting for her at Wudang Mountain. Jen is outraged, thinking that Shu-lien is setting her up. Shu-lien is angry at Jen’s lack of gratitude, and says that she always knew Jen was the thief, but covered it up for the sake of Jen’s family. The two women fight, and it becomes clear that Shu-lien has better technique but Jen has the better sword. Mu-bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest. He again offers to train her and she says that she will accept him as her master if he can take the Green Destiny from her in three moves. To Jen’s surprise, Mu-bai snatches the sword from her hand in a single movement. When Jen still refuses to become Mu-bai’s pupil, he throws the Green Destiny over a waterfall. Jen dives into the river after the sword, and Mu-bai is too shocked to pursue her.

The film begins during the historic Qing Dynasty in China, in the 43rd year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1778).[3]. Li Mu-bai (Chinese: ) (Chow Yun-Fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman. Long ago, his master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. Mu-bai is also a good friend of Yu Shu-lien (Chinese: ) (Michelle Yeoh), a female warrior. Mu-bai and Shu-lien have developed feelings for each other, but have never acknowledged or acted on them.

Lo has come to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, Jen refuses to leave with him. Lo interrupts Jen’s wedding procession,Air Max stab, begging her to come away with him; the guards chase him away. Mu-bai and Shu-lien convince Lo to wait for Jen at Wudan Mountain, where he will be safe from Jen’s family, who are surely angry at him.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Wòhǔ Cánglóng) is a Chinese-language film in the wuxia (chivalric and martial arts) style, released in 2000. A China-Hong Kong-Taiwan-United States co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. The movie was based on the fourth novel in a pentalogy, known in China as the Crane-Iron Pentalogy, by wuxia novelist Wang Dulu. The martial arts and action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, well known for his work in The Matrix and other films.

Jen goes to Wudang Mountain and spends one last night with Lo. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a balcony overlooking the edge of the mountain. In an echo of the legend that they spoke about in the desert, she asks him to make a wish. He complies, wishing for them to be together, back in the desert, and Jen leaps into the clouds.

As Jen runs off to try to find an antidote for the poisoned dart, Mu-bai prepares to die. With his last breaths, he finally confesses his love for Shu-lien, and dies in her arms. Jen returns too late to save him. Shu-lien,Air Max skyline, heartbroken and furious at the trouble Jen has caused, almost cuts her with the Green Destiny. However, she realizes that Jen has a chance to find the love that she herself never enjoyed, so she spares Jen’s life, instructing her to always remain true to herself. The Green Destiny is sent back to Sir Te.

Jen retrieves the sword and is rescued by Jade Fox. She puts Jen into a drugged sleep and leaves her in a cavern; Mu-bai and Shu-lien find her there. Jade Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned darts. Mu-Bai blocks the needles with his sword and avenges his master’s death by mortally wounding Jade Fox, only to realize that one of the darts hit him in the neck. Jade Fox dies, confessing that her goal had been to kill Jen, because she was furious that Jen hid the secrets of Wudan from her.

Made on a mere US$15 million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success. After its US premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival, it grossed US$128 million in the United States alone,[1] becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. It has won over 40 awards. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan) and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for six other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.[2] The film also won three BAFTAs and two Golden Globes, one for "Best Foreign Film" as well as additional nominations for ten BAFTAs including "Best Picture".

Mu-bai, intending to give up his warrior life, and asks Shu-lien to transport his sword, the Green Destiny, to Peking, as a gift to their friend Sir Te. At Sir Te’s estate, Shu-lien meets Jen (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Yù Jiāolóng) (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu, a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu-lien’s warrior lifestyle.

Before her wedding night, Jen runs away, stealing the Green Destiny in the process. She is at a crossroads: should she be a court official’s wife, the lover of a desert bandit, an outlaw under Jade Fox,new air max shoes, or a martial artist under Li Mu-bai? Headstrong and enjoying her new power, Jen fights a large group of armed men in a restaurant, almost destroying the building in the process.

Later, Jen puts on her thief’s mask and attempts to return the Green Destiny to Sir Te’s compound. Mu-Bai catches her in the act, and the two fight. Mu-Bai defeats Jen but offers to make her his apprentice. She refuses and escapes.

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Evita

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

The film begins with the announcement of Eva’s death and public funeral as the audience is introduced to the film’s narrator, Che (Antonio Banderas), an everyman who tells the story of Eva’s rise to power and subsequent illness and death, appearing in many different guises and serving as Eva’s conscience and critic. The film flashes back to Eva’s childhood, and she is seen as a young girl attempting to attend her father’s funeral in the town of Junín with her mother and siblings. But her father’s wife and other family (who are middle class) ban Eva’s family from entering and carry Eva out screaming and claiming that he’s her "papa" after she runs in on her own and pays her last respect.

Evita is the 1996 film adaptation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical based on the life of Eva Perón. It was directed by Alan Parker and starred Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce. It was released on December 25, 1996 by Hollywood Pictures and Cinergi Pictures.

Evita traces the life of Eva Duarte (later Eva Duarte de Perón) (Madonna) from a child from the lower class to becoming the first lady and spiritual leader of Argentina.

Plot

At age 15,Nike dunk, Eva decides to leave Junín to seek a better life and hitches a ride to Buenos Aires with a tango singer, Augustin Magaldi (Jimmy Nail), with whom she’s having an affair. After Magaldi leaves her, she progresses through several relationships with increasingly influential men, becoming a model, actress and radio personality, until her fateful meeting with Colonel Juan Perón (Jonathan Pryce) at a fundraiser. Perón’s connection with Eva lends him a populist air, since she is from the working class (as is Perón himself). Eva has a radio show during Perón’s rise and uses all her skills to promote Perón, even when the controlling administration has him jailed in an attempt to stunt his political momentum. The groundswell of support Eva generates forces the government to release Perón, and he finds the people enamored of him and Eva. Perón wins election to the presidency and Eva promises the new government will serve the "descamisados" (literally, "those without shirts"—i.e.,Nike Dunk Low CL, the working poor). Eva establishes a foundation and distributes aid while the Perónists otherwise plunder the public treasury. Argentine society is very class-based,Air Max 180, and the military officer corps and social elites despise Eva’s common roots and affinity for the poor. During a world tour Evita becomes ill and is rushed home. Towards the end of her life she understands that she is terminally ill but rationalizes that her life was short because she shone like the "brightest fire" and helps Perón prepare to go on without her. A large crowd surrounds the Casa Rosada in a candlelight vigil praying for her recovery when the light of her room goes out, signifying her death. Eva’s funeral is shown again. Che is seen at her coffin, and he kisses it.

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Obama backs Google in dispute with China

Monday, January 18th, 2010

"It is setting us up for a clash, and it’s interesting to see who backs down. It’s the US versus China, but the companies will be lobbying," said Chris McNally, a China analyst at the East-West Center in Hawaii.

"Some Western businesses thought that by making compromises with the Chinese communists’ regime, they could do business as they wished.

Announcing its sudden change of heart on the company’s blogsite, David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, said: "These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered – combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the Web – have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China.

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, demanded "an explanation&quot,Air Max 180; for Beijing of Google’s allegation that its Gmail email system was infiltrated. "The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy," she said.

The decision by Google to break ranks from other big corporations doing business in China and openly criticise the country’s autocratic leadership comes after four rocky years during which Google was forced to compromise its core belief in the free-flow of information.

The alleged cyber attacks have further strained Sino-US relations that are already fraying over issues of trade, currency, climate change and arms sales to Taiwan.

The issue of censorship was raised by the US President Barack Obama on his maiden visit to China last November when he told an online town hall that he was "a big supporter of non-censorship."

A spokesman for Google said the company was ‘in talks’ with the authorities, while outside Google’s offices in Beijing a handful of citizens braved the cold to lay flowers ‘in mourning’ at the prospect of Google’s departure from China.

Robert Gibbs,Air Max 180, Mr Obama’s press secretary, emphasised that the President backed internet freedom and said that Google had co-ordinated with the Obama administration before it had acted.

Mrs Clinton had also met executives from Google and Microsoft, as well as with Cisco Systems, which provides much of China’s internet infrastructure, to discuss how to stop countries from "stifling" access to information, the state department added.

The Obama administration has leapt to the defence of Google after the internet search giant threatened to pull the plug on its Chinese operations.

Next week the US is to launch a new technology policy to help citizens in other countries to gain access to an uncensored internet.

However, this is impossible because the Chinese government would not be satisfied."

"We have been briefed by Google on these allegations, which raise very serious concerns and questions," Mrs Clinton said.

The Chinese authorities said they were seeking clarification over Google’s demand it be allowed to operate its Google.cn search engine free from the increasingly draconian censorship of the Great Firewall of China.

Despite hopes that China would start to relax freedom of speech restrictions after the 2008 Olympics, China has in fact tightened of internet controls, blocking popular as social networkings sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

"We are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all," he said.

China has spent millions trying to project it’s ’soft power’, however analysts said its rulers now faced a choice between protecting its power at home and suffering the embarrassment of being rejected by one of the free world’s biggest brands with negative consequences for the investment climate.

Human rights groups, which have criticised Google’s decision to submit Chinese censorship after setting up in China in 2006, applauded the company’s stand. The New York-based Human Rights Watch described it as "an important step&quot,Air Max Stucture; to protect human rights online.

"Through international pressure, finally a big business in the West has come to realise its own conscience," said the prominent Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng who lives in exile in the United States after 18 years in prison in China.

"I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free internet – or unrestricted internet access – is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged," he said, to the evident irritation of his hosts.

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af2 web – world sports

Archive for January, 2010

Nike Air Penny II

How to Invest for Less

Valentine Cake No-Bake Mini Heart Cakes

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Evita

Obama backs Google in dispute with China

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