Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/dIQsGwEcCpU/Similar Articles: lakers vikings Jonathan Ferrell Wrecking Ball Disney Infinity
Friday, November 1, 2013
Rebecca Romijn: Why the Twins Have Never Had a Birthday Party
"We can't even get them to open presents on their birthday. They're like, 'We're still sick of presents from Christmas,'" says Romijn.Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/dIQsGwEcCpU/
Similar Articles: lakers vikings Jonathan Ferrell Wrecking Ball Disney Infinity
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/dIQsGwEcCpU/Similar Articles: lakers vikings Jonathan Ferrell Wrecking Ball Disney Infinity
Driver expects to fight Google Glass ticket
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California woman cited for wearing Internet-connected eyeglasses while driving plans to contest the citation.
Cecilia Abadie was pulled over for speeding Tuesday evening in San Diego, when a California Highway Patrol officer noticed she was wearing Google Glass and tacked on a citation usually given to drivers who may be distracted by a video or TV screen.
The lightweight eyeglasses, which are not yet widely available to the public, feature a hidden computer and a thumbnail-size transparent display screen above the right eye. Users can scan maps for directions — as well as receive web search results, read email and engage in video chats — without reaching for a smartphone.
Abadie, a software developer, said in an interview that she was not using her Google Glass when she was pulled over for allegedly going about 80 mph in a 65 mph zone on the drive home to Temecula after visiting a friend.
"The Glass was on, but I wasn't actively using it" to conserve the battery, she said.
Abadie expressed surprise that wearing the glasses while driving would be illegal and said she's "pretty sure" she will fight the ticket. First, she said, she needs to seek legal counsel. In the flurry of online commentary her traffic stop has generated, several people saying they are attorneys offered their services.
"The law is not clear, the laws are very outdated," Abadie said, suggesting that navigating with the device could be less distracting than with a GPS unit or phone.
"Maybe Glass is more a solution to the cellphone problem than a problem," she said.
It's unclear whether a citation for Google Glass has been issued before. The CHP said it is not sure whether an officer within its own ranks has written one, and an agency spokesman pointed out hundreds of law enforcement agencies in California alone can write traffic tickets.
Legislators in at least two states, Delaware and West Virginia, have introduced bills that would specifically ban driving with Google Glass. Authorities in the United Kingdom are mulling a similar ban.
About 10,000 units have been distributed so far in the United States to "pioneers," and this week Google announced another 30,000 would be available for $1,500 apiece. Abadie said she got hers in May and has become an "evangelist" for the technology.
A spokesman for Google did not reply to a request for comment. On its website, Google says this about using the headgear while driving: "Read up and follow the law. Above all, even when you're following the law, don't hurt yourself or others by failing to pay attention to the road."
___
Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
___
Follow Justin Pritchard at https://twitter.com/lalanewsman
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-10-31-Google%20Glass%20Ticket/id-7025da1bebf1422d80e8b7854adec5b2Tags: Baby Hope Susan Bennett once upon a time Cecily Strong whitney houston
How the Nexus 5 Compares to Its Toughest Smartphone Competition
Finally, the long-awaited
     |
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/PQTkbYDuCZw/how-the-nexus-5-compares-to-its-toughest-smartphone-com-1456332159Tags: carrie underwood Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 11 Mary Lambert Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 10 Whodunnit
China names Islamic group as 'supporter' of Tiananmen attack
Beijing (AFP) - The East Turkestan Islamic Movement was a "behind-the-scenes" supporter of this week's attack on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, China's top security official Meng Jianzhu said.
"Its behind-the-scenes supporters were the terrorist group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) based in central and west Asia," Meng said when asked about the Tiananmen incident on a visit to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, video posted online Thursday showed.
A high-profile car crash on Monday killed two tourists and injured dozens at the popular tourist site and symbolic heart of the Chinese state, with the three people in the car -- a man, his wife and his mother -- all dying, police say.
They said the vehicle had a licence plate from Xinjiang, the far western region where China's mostly Muslim Uighur minority is concentrated, while the names released of the three people inside and five other arrested suspects sounded potentially Uighur.
ETIM is known as a militant Islamic separatist group that that seeks an independent state in Xinjiang.
The United States and the United Nations both classified ETIM as a terrorist organisation in 2002, during a period of increased US-Chinese cooperation following the 9/11 attacks.
Meng made his comments, a video of which was posted on the Chinese web portal Tencent, while visiting an anti-terrorism office of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security group which links China, Russia and a number of central Asian countries.
But ETIM's strength and links to global terrorism are murky, and some experts say China exaggerates its threat to justify tough security measures in Xinjiang, which has seen sporadic ethnic clashes and anti-government sentiment.
ETIM might have ties in Pakistan and Central Asian countries but it is unclear how close they might be, said Michael Clarke, a professor at Griffith University in Sydney who has authored a book on China's policy of integration in Xinjiang.
"It's not that China shouldn't be concerned about those (ties), but the core issue is that the linkages have been exaggerated by the Chinese government," he said, adding that he was "sceptical on the exact nature" of ETIM.
Chinese state-run media have reported periodic bouts of violence in Xinjiang which Beijing often describes as "terrorist attacks".
One such incident in June left 35 people dead, and 139 people have been arrested in recent months for spreading jihadist ideology.
But Uighur organisations dismiss claims of terrorism and separatism as an excuse by Beijing to justify religious and security restrictions. Information in the area is difficult to independently verify.
Alim Seytoff, a spokesman for the overseas-based World Uyghur Congress, said Uighurs face close security scrutiny in Xinjiang and he does not believe an organised resistance movement exists there.
Beijing says its policies and investment in Xinjiang have brought tremendous development.
The region's economy grew 10.8 percent to 570 billion yuan ($94 billion) in the first nine months of 2013 -- 3.1 percentage points above the national rate and the ninth-highest increase in the country, according to the Xinjiang government news portal Tianshan.
Critics counter that the economic growth mostly benefits an influx of ethnic majority Han Chinese, millions of whom have moved to the resource-rich region.
Ethnic frictions have risen in Xinjiang as a result, and rioting in the capital Urumqi involving both ethnic groups in 2009 left 200 people dead.
- Politics & Government
- Unrest, Conflicts & War
- China
- Meng Jianzhu
- Xinjiang
- Beijing
Related Topics: world series charlie hunnam act New Girl David Frost
iPad Air still coveted by Chinese consumers, despite rise of Android tablets
Android tablets may be on the rise in China, but that hasn't stopped Beijing resident Fu Zheng from buying Apple's latest iPad product. He was among the first to get his hands on the device on Friday when Apple launched the iPad Air at one of its local stores in the city.
"Everyone thinks Apple products are good," said Fu, who also own's the third and fourth generation iPads.
Apple still remains the leading tablet vendor in China, but increasingly more consumers in the country are buying Android tablets. In this year's second quarter, Apple's tablet shipments to the Chinese market fell to a 28 percent market share, while competing products from Samsung Electronics, Lenovo and little-known "whitebox" vendors saw shipments increase, according to research firm IDC.
Apple's China tablets shipments will pick up with the arrival of the iPad Air, and the iPad mini, slated to arrive later this month, said IDC analyst Dickie Chang. "We think Chinese customers will have a positive response to the iPad Air," he said, pointing to the tablet's light weight, thinner design, and improved performance.
But in China, Android tablets will continue to eat away at Apple's market share over time, he added. "Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Sony, Samsung, all these vendors are providing Android solutions," he said. "Apple's products I think have good performance and the quality is good, but the price is still different. There are now Android tablets at $100, $150."
In China, Apple's iPad Air starts at 3588 yuan (US$585). But on Friday, customers waiting outside the Apple store in Beijing's Sanlitun district were eager to buy the product, despite its higher price over Android tablets.
"I've bought Android products before," said a 20-year-old, with the surname Li, who waited in line. "But I think I want to buy a tablet with higher quality," he added, referring to the iPad Air.
About 50 people waited in line before the Apple store opened at 8 a.m. on Friday. In the past, newly launched products from the company have attracted massive crowds of hundreds when first day of sales started. But since July last year, Apple has implemented a reservation system at its Chinese stores to cut down on lines and prevent customer skirmishes from erupting.
"It was easy to make a reservation," said Fan Huajie, who wanted to upgrade to the latest Apple tablet. "I have all of their iPads," he added.
Subscribe to the Best of PCWorld Newsletter
Thank you for sharing this page.
Sorry! There was an error emailing this page
Category: TLC Movie michigan football Government Shutdown 2013 the voice vince young
Writers Illustrated: Q&A With Jeff VanderMeer, Author Of 'Wonderbook'
When you hear the phrase, "writing guide," unpleasant things may spring to mind: sentence diagrams or even — shudder to think — your high school textbook.
Now, imagine the exact opposite, and you might get Jeff VanderMeer's Wonderbook. It's a writing guide, sure, but it's unlikely you've seen one like this before. Misbegotten fish serve as models for revision. Dragons butt in from the margins to contradict lessons. There's even a talking penguin — but don't get him started on what he thinks of the duck.
Over email, VanderMeer tells me about his collaboration with Jeremy Zerfoss, the book's principal illustrator, and his unique approach to teaching writing.
It may seem a bit counterintuitive to turn to visual art when understanding writing. While you were working on the book, did you find there were any points past which words failed you, when you felt an illustrator might explain a concept better?
My mother's an artist and I tend to think visually in my own writing. So finding the right synergies of image with text while creating the book was fun, even invigorating, because it felt organic and a form of play even as it was also a serious search for useful ways to express concepts.
I'd say the "Lifecycle of a Story" exemplifies the streamlined quality of using illustrative diagrams in a way that words couldn't necessarily match. It also allowed us to extend the metaphor or analogy of writing through the point of someone publishing a story without diluting our focus (because Wonderbook isn't a career guide). So some illustrations replace the need for text entirely. Others are meant to push to the edge of what's possible — like "Approaches to Style," which uses color swatches to describe different writer styles.
While we're on the topic of illustration, your name may be bold on the cover, but you still managed to gather a number of cooks in the kitchen for this.
I gave Jeremy [Zerfoss] rough sketches along with a document detailing the text, or an overlay of text (using Microsoft Paint — I'm primitive), and he would create from that. For the Lifecycle of a Story, for example, he gave me four iterations of the frog beastie before we got to the right one. And then either he or I would create visual echoes as we went along, with reoccurring characters or situations, so resonance built up.
Then with others, like the Serbian artist Ivica Stevanovic, he was creating evocative art, not diagrams, so sometimes I'd just email him and say "I need a king hugging a hippo in a realistic style and a flat style" and he'd come back with a sketch. Or, "I need a rabbit that looks like it might be able to talk," and he'd email back and say, "Is it okay if it looks like a God-rabbit because that is the only kind of rabbit I can draw right now," and I'd say, "Sure!"
Jeff VanderMeer is a two-time World Fantasy Award winner. Jeff has written five novels, including Finch, a novel he discusses at length in Wonderbook.
Francesca Myman/Courtesy of Abrams Books
Jeff VanderMeer is a two-time World Fantasy Award winner. Jeff has written five novels, including Finch, a novel he discusses at length in Wonderbook.
Francesca Myman/Courtesy of Abrams Books
Plenty of writers refuse to even address their writing process, yet you do so in the book extensively. Was it difficult to turn the microscope on your own writing?
There's this weird thing that happens when you've been writing for a long time. It's not about achieving mastery because I firmly believe you never achieve mastery; you just acquire more tools and more experience.
But what does happen is you can forget how to articulate the basics to other people, especially in written form. So you spend some time thinking about that. You also spend time thinking about things like, for example, why plot, structure, and form seem like such slippery terms in most writing books. I finally realized I don't really think in terms of plot. I think in terms of characters that inhabit or create structures, and within those structures are beats and progressions that form what is known as plot.
In that case, it seemed more honest and less confusing to just start the Narrative Design chapter by acknowledging this difficulty in defining things. This seemed more helpful than setting out absolutes, to acknowledge there is some subjectivity.
Myrtle Von Damitz III/Courtesy of Abrams Books
You're a forgiving teacher, welcoming exceptions and different approaches to writing. So I couldn't help but think: This guy has to have some pet peeves. Are there any mistakes you just can't stand to see a young writer make?
Jeremy Zerfoss/Courtesy of Abrams Books
There are a fair number of pet peeves expressed in Wonderbook, but there are so many different kinds of writers that being too negative or "thou shalt not"-ish seems not particularly useful — and sometimes dangerous, as too many beginning writers want those Three Tips That Will Get Them Published or The One True Way. At one point, I include an aside: "If you're a writer like Leonora Carrington, these [plot] diagrams may be as useful as shoving grilled cheese sandwiches into your gas tank." Although now that I think about it, Carrington might've found shoving grilled cheese sandwiches into a gas tank creatively interesting.
In all seriousness, though, pet peeves off the top of my head include: clichés like "off the top of my head"; over-reliance on dialogue tags; writing a deep, emotive scene and then telling the reader what you just showed them; showing the reader what they'd prefer to be told (and quickly); and (this one happens a lot in our internet world) using clichéd details that appear to indicate that you took careful notes on the settings in your favorite TV show rather than from the real world.
But my number one pet peeve? Writers who flail about trying to follow trends or some idea of "writer" that isn't realistic, or some idea of them as a writer projected onto them by other people. As in all things, you'll be a lot happier being yourself. And in the long run, unless you're writing stories about intelligent grilled cheese sandwiches being shoved into gas tanks, you'll be more successful too. (I think I just laid down a challenge to someone, somewhere ... )
Interview has been condensed and edited.
Colin Dwyer is an intern with NPR Books.
Category: Celia Cruz will ferrell made in america The Butler Kendrick Lamar Verse
Michael Jackson's doctor sues Texas over license
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2011 file photo, Dr. Conrad Murray listens to testimony seated near his attorney Nareg Gourjian, right, during Murray's trial in the death of pop star Michael Jackson, in Los Angeles. Murray, who was convicted in Jackson's death is suing the state of Texas for stripping his right to practice medicine, and his attorney said Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, that the cardiologist has former patients eager for him to work again.(AP Photo/Mario Anzuoni, Pool, File)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas doctor convicted in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson is suing the state for stripping his right to practice medicine, and his attorney said Thursday that the cardiologist has former patients eager for him to work again.
Conrad Murray, who was released from a California jail this week after serving less than two years for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, accuses the Texas Medical Board of prematurely revoking his license. Murray claims in his lawsuit filed in Austin that his 2011 conviction isn't final in California until his appeals are exhausted.
Murray states in an affidavit that he is more than $400,000 in debt and can't afford to pay court costs.
"Anybody who wants to work in this country ought to be able to have the right to do so. Dr. Murray is like everyone else, in that he needs to be able to do his line of work," said Charles Peckham, Murray's attorney.
Texas Medical Board spokesman Jarrett Schneider said the agency cannot comment on pending litigation.
Murray was convicted of causing Jackson's death in June 2009 by providing him with the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. Jackson was in the midst of preparations for a series of comeback concerts and Murray was serving as his physician.
Murray filed the lawsuit Friday, three days before he was freed after serving half of a maximum four-year sentence.
Murray previously maintained clinics in Houston and Las Vegas. His medical license is currently suspended in California.
In court papers filed in Texas, Murray expresses concern that the revocation of his Texas license could give California reason to take the same action.
"The Texas Medical Board, in taking my license puts me in imminent harm of irreparable injury," Murray said in court papers.
Brian Panish, an attorney for the Jackson family, has said Murray should not have "a chance to hurt anyone else" by practicing medicine.
___
Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber
- Business
- Michael Jackson
- Texas Medical Board
- Conrad Murray
- Texas
Category: Miley Cyrus Pregnant Robinson Cano 9news Gareth Bale danity kane
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)