Team Len or Maks? 'DWTS' pros take sides

It's been two days since Maksim Chmerkovskiy sent shock waves through the "Dancing With the Stars" set after exploding at head judgeLen Goodman over a "disrespectful" critique, and the show's pros are taking sides.

"I've been in this business for 50 years," Goodman argued after declaring Chmerkovskiy's rumba with soccer star Hope Solo their "worst dance of the season."

VIDEO: Watch their fiery exchange

"Then maybe it's time to go!" Chmerkovskiy barked back amid their verbal battle.

Going on to declare "DWTS" "my show," and arguing that he "helped make it what it is," Chmerkovskiy later explained himself to The Hollywood Reporter. "Len is the only one who comes from a ballroom background, and I really respect his opinion," he said. "I've danced for 27 years, and I've won more titles than Len ever even participated in."

VIDEO: Maks compares being partners with Hope to being partners with Kirstie Alley

Read on for what Chmerkovskiy's costars and colleagues have to say ? and if they're on Team Maks or Team Len:

Derek Hough, partnered with Ricki Lake: "As a seasoned professional, [he] should know not to do that. There's a certain amount of self control you should have. Last week, I knew going in it wasn't going to be our best dance. I don't get upset about it, I expect it and then I take it with grace and move on.

Maks: 'DWTS' rant wasn't selfish

Lacey Schwimmer, just eliminated with partner Chaz Bono: "Regardless of what Maks said, and if he hurt people's feelings, he had the courage to stand up for his partner, and I think that is amazing. It's hard to hear your friend bullied by three people who we're supposed to respect. It's unnecessary and rude, especially with all the bullying going on in the world."

VIDEO: Watch Lacey dance with Chaz

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Tristan McManus, partnered with Nancy Grace: "People have reactions to things and everyone has their own opinion. That was his opinion and he felt like he had to verbalize it. Fair enough. That was his opinion. What he said was what he said."

Story: Move over, Maks! Cher blasts 'Dancing' judges

Former "DWTS" pro Louis van Amstel: "As a pro, if you talk back to the judges it always makes you look like the bad guy, even if you're right. I?m not saying I agree with Maks, because I actually don't. Len never really explained why he said Maks was part of the problem, because he cut Len off. These discussions, in my opinion, are good because this was real. But, often times, Len blurts out statements that are so fabricated. I wish it was always real."

Chmerkovskiy's former partner, Kirstie Alley: "Maximus Aureius, hear you went all Gladiator at The Coliseum last night. Protected the Queen at all costs. Thumbs Up!! I Salute you!! xo"

PHOTOS: Remember when these celebs competed on DWTS?

Chmerkovskiy's brother, Val, eliminated with partner Elisabetta Canalis: "[Maks is] the most generous person I have ever met, and I don't mean towards me! Cowards say what people like to hear... Remember that he might be the only person that actually exposes his real emotions on this show."

Do you agree with Maks or Len? Tell us what you think on the Facebook page for our TV blog, The Clicker!

Copyright 2011 Us Weekly

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45054165/ns/today-entertainment/

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Rina strengthens, aims at Mexico coastal resorts

CANCUN, Mexico?? Hurricane Rina headed for Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Wednesday with winds just shy of major hurricane strength, threatening beach resorts but steering clear of oil platforms.

Authorities evacuated fishing communities on Mexico's resort-studded Caribbean coast and some tourists began to leave, as Rina took aim at Cancun and the island of Cozumel.

"Rina has the potential to become a major hurricane today or tonight," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its 2 a.m. EDT public advisory.

Rina is now a Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale, packing winds of 110 mph. When sustained winds hit 111 miles per hour storms are considered major Category Three hurricanes.

The sixth hurricane in the Atlantic season this year, Rina was located 225 miles southeast of Chetumal, Mexico early on Wednesday, and was moving west at 3 mph.

The storm was expected to be near or over the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula late Wednesday and on Thursday.

Residents evacuate
Cruise ships in the region shifted their routes in the face of expected storm surges, waves and heavy rains from Rina. Hundreds of residents from the fishing town of Punta Allen, south of Tulum, were taken to emergency shelters and a smaller group was evacuated from the low-lying hamlet of Banco Chinchorro Tuesday.

Soldiers, marines and state police arrived with vehicles in Punta Allen on Tuesday to evacuate about 275 residents and take them to a storm shelter at a middle school; about 500 people are expected to be evacuated there in total, according to Quintana Roo state Civil Defense Director Luis Carlos Rodriguez.

The coastal area around Tulum is dotted with Mayan ruins, and further north is Playa del Carmen, another popular spot for international tourists and the departure point for ferries serving Cozumel.

State Tourism Director Juan Carlos Gonzalez Hernandez said there were about 83,000 tourists in the state, with about 45,000 of those on a stretch of coast south of Cancun that includes Tulum and Playa de Carmen, and almost 28,000 in Cancun.

There were only about 1,719 tourists in Cozumel, and many of them were leaving, Gonzalez Hernandez said.

"In the case of Cozumel, which could be hit hardest, people are leaving of their own accord and are cutting their reservations short," said Gonzalez Hernandez.

But some were planning to ride out Rina.

Douglas Baird, 40, of Glasgow, Scotland, said he had been in Playa del Carmen for 11 days on a tour with 10 other people. He plans to stay for the five remaining days of his vacation.

"I'll go to the bar," he said about his plans for waiting out his first hurricane. "It won't be a problem."

But Wendy Powers, a 49-year-old from Louisiana who was taking a stroll at a shopping mall with two other friends, said she hadn't heard anything about the storm until a reporter told her about it. Still, she said she wasn't worried.

"We had Katrina and we survived it," Powers said. "If the one coming here is a category 1 or 2, we could have a beach party."

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New intineraries
In Cancun's hotel zone, a string of pickup trucks hauled small boats and jet skis away from marinas, while workers at shopping malls began boarding up windows.

At least eight cruise ships were changing itineraries away from the storm's path, said Carnival Cruise Lines spokesman Vance Gulliksen.

Three cruise ships from the company Norwegian Cruise Line and one from Royal Caribbean have canceled their Friday port of call in the area, said Hiram Toledo, Quintana Roo port administrator.

The area was badly damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, when Cancun's famous white-sand beaches were largely washed away. Insurance officials estimated total damage at $3 billion.

State officials said they were readying more than 1,100 shelters that could handle nearly 200,000 people, though so far there was no word of any planned evacuations.

The forecast track shows it curving east toward Cuba by the weekend, but senior hurricane specialist Michael Brennan at the hurricane center said it could also move toward southern Florida.

All the ports in the Gulf of Mexico remained open Tuesday. Most of Mexico's major oil installations are further east in the Gulf of Mexico, far from the hurricane's path.

Downpours that started on Oct. 12 over Central America have affected more than 1 million people and destroyed crops in the region, the United Nations said Tuesday.

El Salvador and the United Nations launched an appeal for $15.7 million to help 300,000 people affected by the floods.

In Guatemala, the situation was similarly grave, with a half million people hit by flooding and 50 percent of the country's roads blocked by landslides or overflowing rivers.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45042360/ns/weather/

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Viewsonic throws its hat into the sub-$200 tablet ring with the ViewPad 7e

Viewsonic has announced the ViewPad 7e (check out our hands-on) -- a Gingerbread running tablet that checks in just under $200.  With a 7-inch 800x600 screen, a 1GHz ARM A8 CPU, front and rear cameras (.3MP and 3MP respectively) and the ViewScene 3D interface on top of Android 2.3, this looks to be a player in the same market space as the Kindle Fire.  Much like the Fire, the ViewPad 7e comes preloaded with "Amazon Services" (we assume this means the Amazon Appstore and MP3 Store) and the Kindle application, as well as games from Wild Tangent, Twitter, and Tune-in Radio.  There is no mention of the Android Market or other Google services.

Unlike the Kindle Fire, the ViewPad 7e comes with 4GB on-board storage and a microSD card slot for use with cards up to 32GB, which will appeal to a whole lot of people who need or want their removable storage.  The ViewPad 7e will be available in North America at the end of October for $199.99, with Latin America to follow shortly after in November.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/hkMOAwLVN_4/viewsonic-throws-its-hat-sub-200-tablet-ring-viewpad-7e

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Demise of Obama long-term care plan leaves gap (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/152488991?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Enough With The Ridiculous Product Code Names [Rant]

You see that photo right above these words? That's a fucking ice cream sandwich. You know what's on the next generation of Android phones? An operating system. Android 4.0 to be specific. I defy you to eat it. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Y7pQVWwYMdo/enough-with-the-ridiculous-product-code-names

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Bowyer beats Burton to give RCR 100th victory

Clint Bowyer (33) leads Jeff Burton through Turn 2 during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Bowyer won the race. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Clint Bowyer (33) leads Jeff Burton through Turn 2 during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. Bowyer won the race. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Clint Bowyer (33) crosses the finish line ahead of Jeff Burton (31) to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Jason Smith, Pool)

Clint Bowyer (33) does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Jay Alley)

Clint Bowyer celebrates his win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Regan Smith (78) collides with Marcos Ambrose (9) as Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Jamie McMurray (1) and Trevor Bayne (21) go low during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) ? Teamwork meant very little in the closing laps at Talladega Superspeedway.

Unless, of course, you were driving a Ford.

Clint Bowyer bailed on teammate Jeff Burton on the last lap of Sunday's race, pulling around him when the checkered flag was in sight to pick up his first win of the season and the 100th in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing.

"You hate that it comes down to that; it is what it is," shrugged Bowyer. "You owe it to your team, to your sponsors to go out and win the race. Unfortunately, it came down to that situation."

Burton and the RCR bunch understood that's how the game is played.

The grumbling was far behind the leaders, where Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne ditched Jeff Gordon because Bayne was part of a pact made by Ford drivers to only push fellow Ford drivers in an effort to help Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth in the championship race.

Gordon was seventh on the final restart and thought Bayne was committed to pushing him over the last two laps. Instead, Bayne backed off, and Gordon, with no help, faded to 27th. An animated Bayne went immediately to Gordon's car after the race, then posted his thoughts on Twitter.

"I'm not happy about what this has become," he posted on Twitter in reference to Talladega's two-car drafting style and the reliance on partners.

"It's too premeditated. We should be able to go with whoever is around us. I would have rather pulled over and finished last than tell (Gordon) I would work with him and then be strong armed into bailing."

Gordon said he was deceived.

"The Fords made it very clear about what they were doing in working with one another," Gordon said. "So I didn't expect him to commit to me on the radio. I expected him to say, 'Man, I'm sorry, I can't.' And when he said, 'Yeah, I'm pushing you, we're good,' I believed him. I think they had a different plan."

The race at NASCAR's biggest and fastest track finished roughly 30 minutes after the memorial service for two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon ended in Indianapolis. Wheldon was killed in the IndyCar season finale a week ago at Las Vegas, and NASCAR honored him with decals on all the cars and a moment of silence before the start of the race.

The Wheldon death made for some poignant moments during pre-race, as Kevin Harvick clung tightly to wife, Delana, and many drivers were seen giving long embraces to loved ones.

And as expected, the race heated up in the closing laps.

Drivers jockeyed for position and partners in the new two-car drafting system. Although the race was not marred by "the big one," there was a series of accidents, and the last, with eight laps remaining, was a hard hit by Regan Smith that required repairs to the SAFER barrier.

It made for a shake-up in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. Harvick and Kyle Busch were both in accidents, and five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson finished 26th as he and partner Dale Earnhardt Jr. never made their charge to the front.

Edwards, who came into the race up five points over Harvick, finished 11th and saw his lead swell to 14 points over Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth.

There were hard feelings after the race as drivers were upset at etiquette in the closing laps. Tony Stewart had been working with RCR driver Paul Menard during the second half of the race, but Menard wasn't able to push him to the win when the race restarted after Smith's accident with two laps to go.

Instead of contending for the win, Stewart finished seventh.

But team owner Richard Childress said Menard was there to help Stewart, a fellow Chevrolet driver.

"I went on Paul's radio and told him go up there and push Tony and try to win the race," Childress said. "I wanted him to win the race, but I also wanted him to push Tony. That was just the way it was."

If Stewart had been a Ford driver?

"We were going to help Chevy try to win," Childress said. "I've been Chevy all my life. It's kind of hard to change an old dog."

That's what made Bowyer's move easier to swallow for Burton. When the two of them pulled away from the pack, and it became clear the race to the win was only between the two of them, Burton knew he was going to be challenged on the last lap.

"I knew he was going to make a move," Burton said. "He was supposed to make a move. He ain't expected to push me to the win."

It was redemption for Bowyer, too. He lost the spring race here when Earnhardt pushed Johnson past the Bowyer-Burton tandem and Bowyer settled for second. At New Hampshire last month, he led late but ran out of gas in the closing laps as Stewart took the victory.

Bowyer, the defending race winner, snapped a 34-race losing streak and thanked Burton from Victory Lane.

"We just were really good together. We thought about it, we talked about it a lot before the race and things really did play out just how we planned," said Bowyer, who is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the season.

"It was a pretty calm day, to be honest, kind of methodical. We wanted to stay up front. I told him we needed to stay up front, that way when the time comes, we're ready for it and we can race the way we should race. I was trying to figure out where to pass him, and said 'I'm at least going to give a shot at it.' And I knew it was going to be a drag race."

Kurt Busch, who was involved in an accident with Bobby Labonte, also griped about the tandem racing after his 36th-place finish. Busch ran directly into Labonte, partly because he was pushing another car and didn't have any time to see Labonte spinning ahead.

"Our championship hopes are done just because of this two-car Talladega draft," said Busch, who is sixth in the standings, 50 points behind Edwards.

Burton finished second, his best finish in what was supposed to be a terrific season but turned south when his engine blew in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Dave Blaney worked with Brad Keselowski the entire race, and they finished third and fourth. Keselowski, who drives for top IndyCar owner Roger Penske, had "In Memory of Dan" across his back bumper.

"I'm very proud of the effort, proud to have a good day and very fortunate to have missed all the wrecks," Keselowski said. "It must have had something to do with (Wheldon) on the back of the car. It was a great day for us, and I just want to say a shout-out to him and his family."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-10-23-CAR-NASCAR-Talladega/id-f373fff169f04baf9f5a4fc8b3403350

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Abe Schwartz: Sharing Digital Hollywood 2011

This past week I attended Digital Hollywood at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey, CA. It's always an interesting conference to check out, consisting of a mix of entertainment industry professionals, top players from established digital companies and people looking to make connections with both. With the digital space rapidly evolving, it's the place to be if you're looking to gain a better sense of how entertainment and tech are converging. There was a lot to take in, but here are the items that I found most "Share"-worthy:

-- Amber J. Lawson is a force in the world of digital comedy, and I love what she's doing with her new philanthropic initiative, "Transforming the World Through Comedy." Lightening the mood is a great way to draw attention to serious causes, and I hope this continues to gain traction.

-- The paper resume is clearly not the future, and .pdf/.doc attachments are just so... one-dimensional. The future is the online resume, and sites like About.me and Vizualize.me. are definitely worth checking out. Same goes for Branch Out, a Facebook app that functions similar to LinkedIn though uses your Facebook connections. Also, more and more recruiters are turning to Twitter to fill jobs. Sites like TwitJobSearch.com and TweetMyJobs.com are great resources for finding real-time job listings on Twitter.

-- Oren Katzoff from Cracked.com (of which I'm a fan) claimed that sharing videos late in the day, rather than earlier, works better for his site. The reasoning? It's tougher for people to watch video content while at work; thus, Cracked will typically post editorial content earlier in the day and videos later on. This may not be the new rule, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

-- Part of Digital Hollywood was the Urban Media Summit. I only attended one panel, though most of the time was spent trying to lock down just what "urban" means. Does it mean African-American and Latino? Under 25? Is it the new mainstream, or is it simply a mindset? It was actually kind of fun hearing audience members argue with the panel about this. My definition of "urban" is when execs salivate over the idea of Jay-Z or Eminem's involvement in the marketing. Or something like that.

-- I really like what Principato-Young Entertainment is doing to keep its talent roster active in the digital space. Corey Moss, VP of Digital, has been helping talent develop original ideas for the web, and the content is then matched to the appropriate outlet. One web series to look out for is Allison Becker's series on MyDamnChannel, "You Snooze You Lose." (She was great on "Mayne Street.")

-- Expect to see more live events taking a cue from this year's Academy Awards. The Oscar Backstage Pass app pushed the boundaries of interactivity, allowing users to tune through dozens of different camera (which they could then operate!), experience app-only interviews, videos and more. (I'd love to see The Masters offer an app that has cameras installed at various places along each hole. Or maybe the Westminster Dog Show could install helmet cams on some of the dogs in competition? Hmm...)

-- I love how Crackle, a digital extension of Sony, is establishing itself as a brand. Crackle offers tons of FREE movies, original web series and more, with their core audience consisting of 18-34 year old males. Crackle can now be found on the X-Box 360 and works with Kinect, which should be an ideal fit for their audience and increase exposure. (FYI: You can watch Step Brothers for free on Crackle. Just sayin'.)

?

Follow Abe Schwartz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AbeSchwartz

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abe-schwartz/digital-hollywood-_b_1026722.html

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House Ethics Committee Investigates Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr (ContributorNetwork)

After a two-year delay at the request of the Justice Department, the House Ethics Committee voted Tuesday to resume its corruption investigation of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., according to reports by ABC News.

While no criminal charges have been levied against Jackson at this time, the committee will investigate his involvement in a scheme with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to sell the Senate seat of President Barack Obama. Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office by the Illinois General Assembly.

Here is an inside look at the unique committee and its role in Congress:

* The Committee on Official Standards was created in 1967. It was renamed to the Committee on Ethics at the start of the current Congress.

* According to the Congressional Research Service, the committee was designated a permanent standing committee of the House in 1968 after committee chairman Rep. Melvin Price, D-Ill., introduced a bill keep the ethics process uniform. The bill was approved with some amendments.

* It is the only committee in the U.S. House to have five members from each of the Democrat and Republican parties.

* The first case heard by the committee was in 1798 and involved Rep. Matthew Lyon of Vermont and Rep. Roger Griswold of Connecticut. Lyon was accused of spitting on Griswold during a floor vote. He fell two votes shy of being expelled.

* While the constitution allows the House to discipline its members, no standard set of rules were established until the 1960s.

* The 1990 Ethics Reform Act established a chief counsel to assist House members in understanding the rules of appropriate conduct.

* Twenty additional House members are selected to serve on special subcommittees when they are needed.

* During the 111^th Congress, the committee completed or continued investigation on 111 different complaints and resolved 75 of them. They issued 12 completed reports to the House, totaling 15,000 pages of evidence and findings.

* Five members have been expelled, the latest being the 2002 removal of former Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, for bribery.

* Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY, was the latest member to be censured by the House. In 2010 he was called to the well in front of the entire body and read a censure resolution by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for improper solicitation of funds and other charges. Twenty-three other members have been censured throughout the history of the House.

Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111021/us_ac/10253471_house_ethics_committee_investigates_rep_jesse_jackson_jr

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Siri, Seriously: 10 Ways We're Really Using Apple's Voice Assistant [POLL] (Mashable)

By now it seems we're all well aware of the many Easter eggs Apple has left for us in Siri, the intelligent assistant baked into the iPhone 4S. She has enough answers to silly questions to delight you for a weekend or more. Some sites are getting a lot of mileage out of finding each and every amusing answer Siri has up her sleeve. But once the novelty has worn off, will you really use Siri in your everyday life -- or will she fade into the background, an unwanted extra like Apple's previous iPhone voice control feature? After using the 4S for more than a week, I think Siri will enter our lives in small but vital ways. Most of these are things you could do before, but that required too many cumbersome steps that Siri can easily overcome.

[More from Mashable: Steve Jobs Biography: The Best Excerpts]

Here's my shortlist of ways Siri really works for me. If you have an iPhone 4S already, how are you putting her to work? Take our poll and let us know in the comments.

SEE ALSO: Siri Is Impressive, But Still A Work In Progress

[More from Mashable: Teach Siri How to Pronounce Your Name]

1. Siri, Wake Me Up. When you're ready to crash, the last thing you want to do is fiddle with an alarm app. It's much faster and more satisfying to hold down the home button and say "Wake me up at 7:15." This also works well for power naps -- "Wake me in 40 minutes." -- or the weekend, when you don't have a specific appointment but don't want to oversleep: "Wake me in eight hours."

2. Siri, Find Coffee. Likewise, typing on a small screen is something you just don't want to do when you're caffeine-deprived, especially in a strange town. For more complex restaurant requests later in the day, you'll probably want to go straight to the Yelp app -- but if you just need a java jolt to get started, she can point you at the nearest coffee place. Chances are it's a Starbucks.

3. Siri, Do You Know The Way To San Jose? Here's another area where typing takes too damn long (and if you're doing it on the road, where most of us need directions on the go, typing can kill.) Siri is an effective and reliable shortcut to Google Maps directions. She'd be a lot more effective if she offered to read the directions out ahead of each turn; that would give GPS device manufacturers like TomTom a run for their money. But Siri hasn't steered me wrong on any city name I've tried yet. And yes, putting your question in the form of a song title works too.

SEE ALSO: iPhone 4S: Siri Politely Answers 10 Absurd Questions [PICS]

4. Siri, Play A Random Song. I'm pretty fastidious about organizing my tunes; setting up a new "most wanted" playlist every month is only the beginning of it. I thought nothing could ever stop me from scrolling through them to choose the playlist I wanted -- but Siri did. What's more, instructions that match my spur-of-the-moment musical tastes -- like "Siri, play some Queen" -- have come in very handy, especially on my morning run.

5. Siri, Send A Text. Here's where Siri's lift-to-talk feature comes in handy. No more texting and walking! Just turn the phone on, put it to your ear and say "Siri, text my wife and let her know I'm going to be late." No muss, no fuss, and anyone walking past will simply think you're talking to your personal assistant. Which, of course, you are.

6. Siri, Will It Rain Today? Apple made a big deal of Siri's weather prediction capabilities, so it's no surprise that she understands all manner of meteorological questions. But I never expected to be asking so many of them as I stand and stare at my closet, hat rack and umbrella stand.

SEE ALSO: Teach Siri How to Pronounce Your Name

7. Siri, Remind Me To Do This Every Day. Here's another area where I had my system all thought out -- a to-do app called Things combined with Google Calendar. Siri hasn't replaced this system, but she has lessened my need to put stuff in it. Best of all, she can set repeating items with ease: try "Siri, remind me to brush my teeth at 10pm every night." That may sound like micromanaging, by the way, but it's the most effective way I've found to get me to wind down at a certain time.

8. Siri, Remind Me When I Come Back Here. Siri's location-based reminders aren't perfect -- it's hard to get her to understand location labels other than "home" or "work," for one thing. But one location she definitely understands is "here" -- your current GPS coordinates. This can be useful in all sorts of small ways. For example, the other night I walked past a beautiful house I really wanted to take a picture of during the day. A quick note to Siri, and she reminded me when I passed that way a few mornings later. Good Siri.

9. Siri, Settle Our Argument. No, Siri doesn't know it all. But she is plugged into Wolfram Alpha, a two-year-old "computational knowledge engine" that can give you everything from the height of Mount Everest to the size of global GDP to quotes from Pulp Fiction -- all in response to questions in natural language. She just might be able to give you the last word in that spirited discussion of yours faster than Google can. Besides, Google doesn't give you the satisfaction of asking, holding the phone up, and smiling smugly.

SEE ALSO: A Duet With Siri [VIDEO]

10. Siri, Send a Tweet. Going to Twitter.com to post your update? Launching the Twitter mobile app? That's so last month. Twitter and Siri were made for each other -- you just have to do a bit of work to get them together. Follow our step-by-step instructions here.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20111022/tc_mashable/siri_seriously_10_ways_were_really_using_apples_voice_assistant_poll

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Siri Parody [Video NSFW-L]

Not content with any of the existing Siri parodies on the web, TiPb contributor George Lim and the guys from TEChBrits decided to have some fun of their own. It’s a shot-for-shot remake of Apple’s own intro video, only… with not so happy results. For them. There are...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/hxZPjy9rY5A/

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Study links pollutants to a 450 percent increase in risk of birth defects

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

Two of the pesticides found in high concentrations in the placentas of affected newborns and stillborn fetuses were endosulfan and lindane. Endosulfan is only now being phased out in the United States for treatment of cotton, potatoes, tomatoes and apples. Lindane was only recently banned in the United States for treatment of barley, corn, oats, rye, sorghum and wheat seeds.

Strong associations were also found between spina bifida and anencephaly and high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are byproducts of burning fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Spina bifida is a defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. Anencephaly is the absence of a large part of the brain and skull.

"Our advanced industrialized societies have unleashed upon us a lot of pollutants," says Richard Finnell, professor of nutritional sciences and director of genomic research at the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. "We've suspected for a while that some of these pollutants are related to an increase in birth defects, but we haven't always had the evidence to show it. Here we quite clearly showed that the concentration of compounds from pesticides and coal-burning are much higher in the placentas of cases with neural tube defects than in controls."

The study, which was published in August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the result of a more than decadelong collaboration between Finnell and a team of researchers in Shanxi, a province in northern China.

Finnell sought collaborators in China because the prevalence of neural tube defects is much greater there than it is in the United States. Also, because of its population policies, China is good at tracking births.

"It's an extraordinary natural experiment," says Finnell, who was recently recruited to the university to help anchor the Dell Pediatric Research Institute. "It would be much harder to do this study in the United States, where neural tube defects are more rare. It's also an opportunity to assist the Chinese government in their efforts to lower their birth defect rates."

Working with public health officials in four rural counties in Shanxi, researchers collected placentas from 80 newborn or stillborn fetuses that suffered from spina bifida or anencephaly. Once a fetus or a newborn with such defects was identified as a case, the placenta of a healthy newborn with no congenital malformations born in the same hospital was selected as a control.

Finnell and his colleagues screened these placentas for the presence of a class of substances known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Common POPs include agricultural pesticides, industrial solvents and the byproducts of burning fuels such as oil and coal.

They found strong associations between the birth defects and high levels of a number of compounds present in commonly used pesticides. They also found elevated placental concentrations of PAHs.

"This is a region where they mine and burn a lot of coal," says Finnell. "Many people cook with coal in their homes. The air is often black. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to say that maybe there's something in there that isn't good for babies."

Finnell says although the environmental conditions in Shanxi are dramatically worse than they are in most areas of the United States, they are comparable to what the United States was like a century ago, and the neural tube defects are not solely a Chinese problem.

Every year approximately 3,000 pregnancies in the United States are complicated by neural tube defects. Many other congenital conditions, including autism, may one day prove to be related to environmental pollutants.

"Ultimately you need enough cells to make a proper, healthy baby," says Finnell, "and these are the types of compounds that cause cell death. At the most basic level, we're learning that environmental things kill cells, and if that occurs in a critical progenitor population at a crucial time, you're going to have problems."

###

University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu

Thanks to University of Texas at Austin for this article.

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Police comb Kansas City home, yard of missing baby

Investigators leave the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Investigators leave the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

An investigator carries shovels to the back yard of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Investigators carry a ladder into the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

An investigator looks behind a shed in the back yard of the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Investigators armed with shovels, rakes and bomb-detection equipment scoured the Kansas City home and yard of a family who say their baby was abducted from her crib as they slept. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

An investigator steps over police lines while searching the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? One of the most aggressive police searches yet of the home where a Kansas City infant went missing more than two weeks ago drew officers Wednesday armed with shovels, rakes and other tools who hauled off bags that appeared to be full of potential evidence.

Police refused to say what they found inside or outside the home belonging to Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley, who say an intruder snatched their baby daughter, Lisa, from her crib in the middle of the night as the mother and two other boys slept.

From shortly after sunrise through late afternoon, FBI agents and police officers joined in the search that began after a judge issued a warrant that prevented the parents from returning to the house while it was under way.

Officers headed to the back of the home with shovels, rakes and a ladder and could be seen digging behind a shed in the yard. Out front, investigators left the house carrying brown paper bags and clear plastic bags and took them to vehicles parked outside.

Police also brought in a bomb and arson truck to assist the search, though spokesman Capt. Steve Young said there were no indications of explosives in the house. Some bomb detection devices use X-ray technology to scan solid objects to reveal items concealed within. An AP reporter saw investigators carrying at least a dozen thin, black rectangular sheets away from the home during the afternoon.

Lisa Irwin was 10 months old on Oct. 4 when her parents reported her missing. Her father, an electrician, said he returned home from a late shift to discover the lights on, a window tampered with, the front door unlocked and Lisa gone. Bradley and Lisa's two older brothers had been asleep elsewhere in the house. Bradley has admitted she drank heavily that night and may have blacked out.

Police, FBI agents, officers from area law enforcement agencies and the Missouri National Guard already have searched the family's home, neighborhood, nearby wooded areas, a landfill and abandoned homes. Police have refused to discuss any evidence gathered in the searches, saying only that they remain without a suspect.

There was no indication the family has tried to block investigators' access to their home, which already has been scoured by FBI agents with dogs.

The parents' attorney, Joe Tacopina, said Wednesday that he welcomed the search, but "we want this to be done in good faith, not to match some predetermined conclusion."

Earlier Wednesday, Tacopina questioned the need for a warrant.

"They can go in and out any time," he said of police. "They have had unfettered access because we want answers."

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said Wednesday's search was not based on any sort of tip. Authorities restricted media access, Patton said, because agents were using a procedure involving dogs that they didn't want to be recorded. She declined to elaborate.

Young said all previous searches of the house have been conducted with the family's consent. Wednesday's warrant prevents anyone except those involved in the investigation from entering, meaning family members ? who have returned home from time to time to collect clothes and other belongings ? may not go back inside until the search is over. It wasn't immediately clear whether the search would resume Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration established a no-fly zone over the search area effective until 5 p.m., agency spokesman Tony Molinaro said. He characterized the zone as a safety precaution and said it had been requested by law enforcement. Similar restrictions were introduced during a search of the area Tuesday.

Much attention has focused on a rash of recent TV interviews the parents have given in which Bradley admitted she had consumed several glasses of wine the night that Lisa disappeared. She also told NBC that she did not see the baby after putting her to bed at about 6:40 p.m. ? roughly four hours earlier than the time she originally gave police. She didn't explain the difference.

Tacopina has said Bradley's candid words indicate the parents have nothing to hide.

Bradley has said she expects to be arrested in her baby's disappearance.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-19-US-Baby-Missing/id-c832a605501f4a0aadea683fa148bf1a

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Apple loses round in Wall St.'s expectations game

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Call it the curse of great expectations.

Apple did just about everything right in its latest quarter. The company increased its profit by more than 50 percent and boosted revenue by nearly 40 percent over the same quarter last year.

It was the second best three-month period ever posted by the revered maker of the iPhone, iPad and iPod. Even more impressively, Apple pulled it off against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and fears of another recession. But by the sometimes absurd logic of Wall Street, it was a disaster.

Apple Inc.'s shareholders awoke on Wednesday morning to headlines like "Apple Loses Some of Its Shine", and then proceeded to lose about $22 billion on paper, as their stock dropped by more than 5 percent ?all because Apple failed to manage the analyst expectations that can make or break a stock.

Apple's numbers didn't surpass the high bar set by roughly 50 securities analysts who follow the company's stock. It's another reminder of how difficult it can be for even the most prosperous companies to please Wall Street quarter after quarter.

"It's a rough game," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. "Apple has been so well for so long that it has gotten itself into a position where it has to set a new (earnings) record every quarter. Now, some of the momentum has been broken."

The backlash to Apple's fiscal fourth-quarter report, released late Tuesday, could very well turn out to be a gross overreaction. If so, this is a prime buying opportunity for investors willing to go against grain.

Apple suggested as much as by issuing a jolly outlook for the current quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season. The projections call for earnings and revenue above analyst estimates, an anomaly for a company that makes a habit of lowballing its quarterly predictions. Analysts have caught on to Apple's tactics, so they deliberately set their estimates above the company's forecast. Gillis' rule of thumb, for instance, is to expect Apple's quarterly revenue to be about 20 percent above the company's publicly-stated target and for earnings to be about 40 percent higher.

The Oct. 5 death of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs throws a new twist into the equation.

Now that Tim Cook is chief executive, analysts must now figure out whether the rules of Apple's expectations game have changed. ISI analyst Brian Marshall thinks that's unlikely because Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer for the past seven years, remains in charge of the numbers. What's more, Cook has promised not to mess with the "magic" that has increased Apple's market value by nearly $300 billion during the past decade and established it as technology's most valuable company.

Trying to figure out how much money a company is going to make every three months is a little like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Most major companies provide some guidance to help analysts because it helps keep their stock prices relatively stable. Big drops, in particular, are unwelcome because they can raise anxiety among customers and business partners. For technology companies that offer employees stock in lieu of lavish salaries, those dips can affect morale.

Some companies, though, refuse to dance to Wall Street's tune. Internet search leader Google Inc., for instance, has never provided guidance during any of its 29 quarters as a publicly-held company because founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin don't want business decisions to be influenced by a short-sighted number determined by a group of outsiders.

This refusal has been a bit of a double-edged sword for Google. The company has exceeded analyst estimates in most quarters, helping to boost its stock price after the quarterly numbers, but there have been a handful of letdowns that might have been avoided if management had been more transparent.

Apple's big mistake in its latest quarter centered on the impact the Phone 4S ? already a hit in the current quarter? would have on its revenue in the just-completed quarter. As word got out that the next generation of the iPhone would be hitting the market in the fall, more shoppers decided to hold off on buying the version already in the stores during the summer.

The result: Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones from July through September, below the 20 million units that analysts had factored into their projections. That left the company, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., with earnings per share of $7.07 on revenue of $28.3 billion instead of the earnings per share of $7.28 per share on revenue of $29.4 billion projected by analysts.

Missing the mark inevitably led to some second guessing, particularly now that Jobs is no longer around. Cook had been running Apple since Jobs went on medical leave in January, but he didn't take the CEO job until Aug. 24 with about five weeks left in the company's fiscal fourth quarter.

Apple could have avoided the problem that caused the quarterly earnings miss by releasing the iPhone 4 in the middle of the reporting period, Gillis said. That's a strategy that Jobs had sometimes adopted when Apple was preparing to release a hotly anticipated device that threatened to cannibalize sale of an earlier product.

If the iPhone 4S had been in stores just during the final week of September, the sales would have been enough for Apple to meet analyst expectations. That's based on Apple's sales of 4 million units of the iPhone 4S since its Oct. 14 release.

"The lesson to be learned here is to be careful when you have a new product coming out," Marshall said. "Even in a tough economy, people still want the latest and greatest device and they are willing to keep some money in their back pocket to buy it."

Marshall, by the way, expects Apple to more than make up for its shortfall in the latest quarter: he foresees nearly 27 million iPhones being sold in the current quarter and expects the company's stock price to hit $500 within the next year. Apple shares fell $23.62 Wednesday to close at $398.62.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-10-19-Apple-Great%20Expectations/id-cfbfed00a8d3444099a975d32b36a847

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Rihanna Experiences Love, Loss In 'We Found Love' Video

Despite song's sunny vibe, clip is a dark look at love and substance abuse.
By Jocelyn Vena

Rihanna on the set of her "We Found Love" video
Photo: PUSHfotografik.com/Splash News

Remember how that Irish farmer got mad at Rihanna for what he deemed her "inappropriate state of undress" on the set of the "We Found Love" video? Well, on Wednesday (October 19), fans got to see what all the fuss was about when the singer officially released the clip.

Directed by Melina Matsoukas ("Hard," "S&M," "Rude Boy" and "Rockstar 101"), the video features British model/boxer Dudley O'Shaughnessy as Rihanna's green-eyed love interest. The smoldering couple make their way through Belfast, Ireland, experiencing the ups and downs of love.

Despite the song's feel-good, sunny vibe, the video is a dark look at love and substance abuse. The mini-movie opens with a voice that sounds somewhat like Rihanna doing a cockney accent saying, "I saw you screaming and no one can hear. You almost feel ashamed that someone could be that important that without them, you feel like nothing. No one will ever understand how much it hurts. You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you. Then when it's over, and it's gone, you almost wish you could have all that bad stuff back, so that you could have the good."

The speech certainly foreshadows the events of the video. Perhaps inspired by films like "Trainspotting" and "Requiem for a Dream," Rihanna and Dudley play gutter punks who are not only addicted to each other, but also drugs and partying. The video is a montage of their love affair: a dizzying mix of sweet, tender moments, sexier, naked moments and moments where both Ri and Dudley are too messed up to care much about anything but the feeling of being high, often leading to fighting.

They skate, they kiss, he watches as Rihanna frolics topless in a field, they party. All the good is bookended by fights (one notably in a car) and drug-fueled benders. And, in the end, all of it becomes too much for the couple and the frustrations and pressures of their love affair begin to become more about the rush than the actual love. In the end, they can't handle each other, and Rihanna walks out, leaving Dudley passed out on the ground barely able to do anything to win her back.

Buzzworthy Finds References Aplenty In 'We Found Love' >>>

The track, produced by Calvin Harris, is the lead single from her highly anticipated November 21 release, Talk That Talk, the follow-up to 2010's Loud.

The video is vaguely reminiscent of Rihanna's own recollections about her past abusive relationships. In a 2009 interview with MTV News, Rihanna opened up about her choice to always be honest with her fans.

"One of the big things for me, I always want to help young women and give them insight into life experiences," she explained. "One of those things is going through an abusive relationship like I did. But that's one thing for me. So I don't want to be the big domestic-violence spokesperson, because that doesn't define who I am. But if I can help young women in any way, and that being one of the things they need help with, then I'll do that."

What do you think of Rihanna's new video? Share your reviews in the comments!

Related Videos

• MTV News Extended Play: Rihanna

Related Artists

• Rihanna

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672801/rihanna-we-found-love-video.jhtml

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Violent anti-austerity protests grip Greek capital (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) ? Greek police cleared the square in front of parliament on Wednesday after clashing with black-clad demonstrators during a mass anti-austerity rally called to coincide with a vote on a bitterly resented new round of belt-tightening.

The view of the ancient Acropolis was obscured by smoke from burning piles of rubbish and a bank building was evacuated after being set on fire by molotov cocktails as a strike called by Greece's two main unions degenerated into violence.

Much of the country was shut down by the 48-hour general strike, the largest since the outbreak of the crisis two years ago with government departments, offices and shops closed and at least 100,000 people taking to the streets of Athens.

Prime Minister George Papandreou, trailing badly in opinion polls, has appealed for support from Greeks before parliament votes on the latest measures which include tax hikes, wage cuts and public sector layoffs.

But the mood was furious among demonstrators, fed up after repeated doses of austerity and increasingly hostile to both their own political leaders and international lenders demanding ever tougher measures to cut Greece's towering public debt.

"Who are they trying to fool? They won't save us. With these measures the poor become poorer and the rich richer. Well I say: 'No, thank you. I don't want your rescue'," said 50-year public sector worker Akis Papadopoulos.

The boom of tear gas canisters fired by police rang out, and black clouds of smoke from petrol bombs hung over Syntagma Square, scene of violent clashes between police and demonstrators at anti-austerity protests in June.

The latest outbreak of violence overshadowed the start of a 48-hour strike which shut down government departments, shops and public buildings across the country and which unions said was one of the biggest stoppages in years.

A huge crowd gathered in front of parliament earlier in the day but after hours of confrontation with a hardcore group of mainly younger demonstrators, police cleared the square. Groups of hooded youths continued to clash with police on side streets.

At least seven people were hospitalized, and there were several other injuries reported mainly from breathing problems, minor burns and cuts to the head. There were also serious clashes on major avenues away from the scene of the main rally.

More than 7,000 police had been assigned to Athens to deal with anticipated trouble with hundreds deployed in riot gear near parliament.

RECESSION

Wednesday's action came as European Union leaders were scrambling to settle a new rescue package in time for a summit on Sunday that hopes to agree measures to protect the region's financial system from a potential Greek debt default.

"We are in an agonizing but necessary struggle to avoid the final and harshest point of the crisis," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told parliament. "From now and until Sunday were are fighting the battle of all battles."

Trapped in the third year of deep recession and strangled by a public debt amounting to 162 percent of gross domestic product which few now believe can be paid back, Greece has sunk ever deeper into crisis.

Papandreou's narrow four-seat majority is expected to be enough to ensure the austerity bill goes through, especially given possible support from a smaller opposition group.

But his ruling Socialist party's discipline is increasingly strained with one deputy resigning his seat in protest and at least two others threatening to vote against part of the package dealing with collective wage bargaining agreements.

"It is obvious that society has reached the limits of what it can bear," said PASOK deputy Elpida Tsouri.

After repeated rounds of austerity measures, which have hit middle class Greeks hard, protesters said new cuts would only drive the stricken economy deeper into the ground. Unions urged deputies not to pass the law.

"If they have any humanity, decency, sense of pride and Greek soul left, they must reject the bill," Nikos Kioutsoukis, a top official in private sector union GSEE which is leading the strike with its public sector counterpart ADEDY.

"DEBT MONSTER"

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Dimitris Reppas, minister for Administrative Reform, reflected the increasing sense of isolation among many in the ruling party, complaining he felt as though he had been thrown to the lions.

"In government, we often feel like ... we are in the Colosseum, fighting the debt monster while everybody else is just sitting in the stands, watching and commenting," he said.

A first vote takes place late on Wednesday on the overall bill, which mixes deep cuts to public sector pay and pensions, tax hikes, a suspension of sectoral pay accords and an end to the constitutional taboo against laying off civil servants.

A second vote on specific articles is expected some time on Thursday and only after that the bill becomes law.

International lenders, who are providing the funds Athens needs to stay afloat after it was shut out of bond markets last year, have expressed impatience at the slow pace of reform as Greece has slipped behind on its budget targets.

There has been growing talk that Athens should be placed under tighter supervision by EU authorities to ensure it meets its reform obligations.

(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou, Harry Papachristou and John Kolesidis; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Sophie Hares)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111019/wl_nm/us_greece

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Samsung's Galaxy Nexus gets official: Android 4.0, 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display (video)

Wait no more. Google and Samsung have just made the long-awaited Galaxy Nexus (not longer the Nexus Prime, as we'd once heard) official here in Hong Kong, and the specifications are downright drool-worthy. Those with bantam hands need not apply, as this 4.65-inch behemoth is bound to bring back talk of Sidetalkin'. Naturally, Ice Cream Sandwich is onboard, with Google finally revealing the version number as 4.0. Other specs include an HD Super AMOLED display (1,280 x 720), a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5 megapixel rear camera (with LED flash), a 1.3 megapixel front-facing cam, 1080p video recording and playback, a newfangled panorama mode, a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 3.0. You'll also find USB 2.0, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, an embedded NFC module, accelerometer, compass, gyro, proximity sensor and even a barometer -- yeah, a barometer. Finishing things out, there's 1GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of internal storage space and a 1,750mAh battery. As for radios? There's an HSPA+ model on tap, while an LTE version will "be available depending on region." There's nary a mention of carrier in the press release we're holding, but based on earlier leaks, a 4G build for Verizon Wireless seems a lock.

Focusing on Ice Cream Sandwich for a tick, Android 4.0 will bring "an entirely new look and feel to Android," boasting a redesigned user interface, bolstered multitasking / notifications, full-on NFC support and a new People app, which enables users to browse friends, family and coworkers' photos whilst peeking their status updates from Google+. ICS also introduces Face Unlock, which taps into facial recognition protocols in order to unlock your handset. And then there's Android Beam, an NFC-based technology that allows you to "quickly share webpages, apps and YouTube videos by simply tapping two phones together." According to Goog, the "lock screen, home screen, phone app and everything in between has been rethought and redesigned," and this is quite the beastly phone to launch with. Pics and a link to register for more info await you below, and PR per usual is after the break.

Gallery: Galaxy Nexus revealed

Continue reading Samsung's Galaxy Nexus gets official: Android 4.0, 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display (video)

Samsung's Galaxy Nexus gets official: Android 4.0, 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Five Totally Cool Mature Movie Moms (omg!)

Some of the funniest movies in Hollywood feature mothers whose teen and adult children are embarrassed somehow by their liberal attitudes. Some of the moms are blatant cougars. Others smoke, drink, curse, and do all sorts of other things that make audiences blush. Some of us wish our moms could be so cool. These celebrity movie mothers give "cool" an entirely new meaning. Hollywood is filled with these maternal examples. But here are just a few.

Frances McDormand - "Laurel Canyon" (2003)

Frances McDormand is Jane, the ultimate rock and roll producing mom. She and her music cronies sit around the house/studio all day drinking, smoking and waxing poetic about the industry. Her son Sam's (Christian Bale) fiancee (Kate Beckinsale) gets drawn into her alluring world. A little too deep for Sam's taste. But you gotta give it up for a woman who looks like she throws the best pool parties in Laurel Canyon.

Barbra Streisand - "Meet the Fockers" (2004) and "Little Fockers" (2010)

Roz Focker happens to be the coolest sex therapist of all time. And as a part of the Focker-Byrne ensemble, she shines. That's probably because Barbra Streisand nails the essence of this woman's loony loveability. We can certainly see why Greg Focker would act sheepish around this movie mom.

Valerie Harper - Sex & the City

This wasn't a film per se. But given the enormity of this series, I think that Valerie Harper's character deserves a firm nod. As Wallis, (Justin Theroux's mother in the "Shortcomings" episode) she enjoyed a career as a sexuality themed documentary-maker, much to her son's chagrin. The episode found Carrie and Wallis as fast friends. Who wouldn't be entranced by her cavalier approach to life and laid-back values? Hmmm Perhaps she should have made an appearance in at least one of the SATC blockbuster movies.

Sissy Spacek - "Four Christmases" (2008)

By the time Brad and Kate (Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon) make it to his mother's house for Christmas, a boatload of embarrassing things have happened to the pair. But nothing is as uncomfortable as seeing his sexually liberated mother in all her glory. Sissy Spacek does a great job of portraying Brad's spacey, yet totally lovable mom.

Judith Ivey - "What Alice Found" (2003)

Judith Ivey played a different kind of mom in this independent drama. "What Alice Found" follows a young Florida-bound woman who falls into the trap of truck stop prostitution. Her mentor, Judith Ivey shows her the ropes and takes on a motherly role in a tender-albeit, dysfunctional way. As Sandra, Ivey and (her tangy Southern accent) gives this indie film oodles of credibility. You'll hardly be able to turn away from the screen.

More From This Contributor:

Seven Inappropriate Films to Watch on Mother's Day

Ten Troubled Movie Moms: Why We Love Them

Forget Daddy Issues: Are Your Mommy Issues Keeping You Single?

Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles

See More Yahoo! Contributor Network Stories

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