Clint Eastwood's daughter named Miss Golden Globe

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) ? The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has named its newest Miss Golden Globe.

Francesca Eastwood was introduced as the 2013 honoree Thursday at Cecconi's restaurant in West Hollywood. The 19-year-old is the daughter of Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood.

Miss Golden Globe is traditionally the child of a celebrity who is invited to help during the ceremony. Previous honorees include Rumer Willis, Laura Dern, Melanie Griffith and Joely Fisher.

Francesca Eastwood is an actress who also stars with her stepmother, Dina Eastwood, her half-sister, Morgan Eastwood, and the South African boy band Overtone in the E! reality series "Mrs. Eastwood and Company." She's currently enrolled at the University of Southern California.

Nominations for the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards will be announced Dec. 13. The ceremony is set for Jan. 13.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clint-eastwoods-daughter-named-miss-golden-globe-213254193.html

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Stock gains dented over twists in budget talks

NEW YORK (AP) ? An early gain on the stock market shrank Thursday after House Speaker John Boehner said little progress was being made in budget talks in Washington.

The Dow Jones industrial average had been up as much as 77 points in morning trading Thursday, then briefly turned negative after Boehner's remarks at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. Shortly after noon the Dow was up 20 points at 13,005.

The Standard & Poor's 500 was up four points at 1,414 and the Nasdaq was up 15 at 3,006.

The market got off to a strong start following several positive economic reports, including a higher estimate of third-quarter U.S. economic growth, an increase in home sales and a drop in claims for unemployment benefits.

Following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Boehner told reporters that Democrats still haven't said which cuts they would accept to government benefit programs, suggesting a final budget deal remains a long way off. Republicans have said that they are open to increasing tax revenues as part of an agreement but only if they're accompanied by significant cuts to spending.

Investors have been closely following the talks between the White House and Congress over the "fiscal cliff", sharp government spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to start Jan. 1. New developments in the talks have whipsawed the market.

"It's a headline-watching market with this fiscal cliff," said David Brown, chief market strategist of the investment research firm Sabrient Systems.

Brown says the ongoing negotiations are likely to cause the stock market to take sudden turns in the weeks ahead. "But things seem to be moving in the right direction," Brown said. "I don't think either party wants to get pinned with hurting the market or the economy."

The up-and-down pattern in the market has left the Dow and S&P 500 little changed this week.

The Commerce Department raised its estimate for U.S. economic growth to an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the July-through-September period. That's much better than the 2 percent rate estimated a month ago and more than twice the 1.3 percent rate logged in the three previous months.

The Labor Department also reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped to 393,000 last week, in line with what economists had expected. It was the second straight drop after Superstorm Sandy drove applications higher earlier this month.

Some retail stores posted poor sales numbers, driving their stocks lower. It's a critical time for retailers, who log a huge chunk of their yearly profits in the weeks running up to the holidays.

Kohl's plunged $5.41, or 10 percent, to $45.74, the most in the S&P 500 index. The company posted a drop in sales and said stores in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, fared the worst. Results at Target, The Gap, and others also fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Kroger Co. rose 82 cents to $25.88 after the supermarket chain reported stronger quarterly profits and raised its earnings outlook for the year. Stronger sales helped the operator of Fred Meyer and Food 4 Less stores post better results than analysts had expected.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-gains-dented-over-twists-budget-talks-173959287--finance.html

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Get Up Close to Babbage's Difference Engine in This Gigapixel Image

Charles Babbage's difference engine—the mechanical precursor to today's digital computers—is a beautifully intricate machine. Now, you can take a real close look at it using this gigapixel image. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Juvdjg9XeHI/get-up-close-to-babbages-difference-engine-in-this-gigapixel-image

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Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry Reach Legal Settlement

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/11/halle-berry-and-gabriel-aubry-reach-legal-settlement/

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Cancer drug shows promise in eradicating latent HIV infection

ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2012) ? Breakthrough drugs have made it possible for people to live with HIV longer than ever before, but more work must be done to actually cure the disease. One of the challenges researchers face involves fully eradicating the virus when it is latent in the body. A new report appearing in the December 2012 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that a cancer drug, called JQ1, may be useful in purging latent HIV infection by activating the virus in the presence of potent therapy -- essentially a dead end for the virus.

"This drug may be useful as adjunctive therapy in efforts to purge latent HIV reservoirs to eradicate infection," said Monty A. Montano, Ph.D., principal investigator from the Section of Infectious Diseases at Boston University Medical Campus, in Boston, Mass. "This drug functions synergistically with other HIV purging agents."

To make this discovery, scientists used cell lines that contained latent HIV, as well as cells from patients who were on potent antiretroviral therapy with no detectable virus in their blood. Researchers then added JQ1 to latently infected cells, at physiologic concentrations, and observed potent reactivation of latent HIV. The researchers also observed potent suppression of inflammatory genes in genome-wide expression studies using the same cells. JQ1 reactivation of latent HIV may make it vulnerable to current therapies.

"One thing that's been made clear by the decades of HIV research is that there is no magic bullet for curing this disease," said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. "Rather, the progress that's been made has been a series of incremental steps that often build on other previously developed therapies. The hope is that the ability of JQ1 to make latent HIV 'visible' to other HIV drugs described in this report will be another cog in the gearwheel of an HIV cure."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Journal Reference:

1. C. Banerjee, N. Archin, D. Michaels, A. C. Belkina, G. V. Denis, J. Bradner, P. Sebastiani, D. M. Margolis, M. Montano. BET bromodomain inhibition as a novel strategy for reactivation of HIV-1. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2012; DOI: 10.1189/jlb.0312165

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/GPizpar4IbQ/121129103543.htm

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Texas cancer agency OK'd faulty $11M grant

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Leaders of Texas' embattled $3 billion cancer-fighting effort approved an $11 million grant to a biomedical company even though the proposal wasn't reviewed, according to an internal audit that deepens the troubles of a state agency that has been denounced in recent months by some of the world's top scientists.

The discovery was uncovered during an internal review of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The award to Peloton Therapeutics Inc. in 2010 was among first ever handed out by the agency, and remains one of its largest taxpayer-funded grants to date.

The Associated Press on Thursday first reported the audit's findings, which were later announced by the agency.

Tim Kutzkey, Peloton's acting chief executive officer, declined comment and referred questions to CPRIT. In a statement, the agency said the Dallas-based company was unaware that "CPRIT processes had not been followed."

The cancer institute is home to the nation's second largest pot of cancer-research money, behind only the National Institutes of Health, and has awarded nearly $700 million. But it has come under intensifying scrutiny as several scientists, including two Nobel laureates, resigned in protest claiming the agency was charting a new politically-driven path that put commercial interests before science.

The Peloton revelation is the latest blow to CPRIT, which launched in 2009 to widespread acclaim among scientists and cancer survivors but has spent the past year unraveling. Dozens of scientists have resigned from the agency's peer review panels en masse in recent weeks, some of whom criticized the fund for "hucksterism" and "suspicion of favoritism" on their way out the door.

Pelton's application would have been presented to the agency's oversight committee by Jerry Cobbs, the agency's chief commercialization officer. Cobbs announced his resignation this month, and his last day was set for Friday.

Members of the oversight committee are appointed by Gov. Rick Perry and other state elected leaders. The panel has the final say on whether an award is funded, but under agency rules, all applications must be reviewed by an outside panel of peer reviewers who evaluate the scientific and commercial merits of the proposal.

The agency's statement did not explain how Pelton's application made it through the process without anyone noticing that a review never took place. It only said that Cobbs "improperly included" the proposal in a slate of other recommendations to the oversight committee in December 2010.

Attempts by the AP to reach Cobbs were not immediately successful Thursday evening.

Bill Gimson, the executive director of CPRIT who vowed that his reeling agency would recover from the growing onslaught of criticism at its annual conference in October, said in response to the audit's findings that the agency must have the state's trust.

"We proactively initiated this comprehensive review in the effort to be transparent and ensure good stewardship," Gimson said.

Peloton's funding has been halted and that the company's application is undergoing a second review, the agency said.

Started behind a push led by cancer survivor Lance Armstrong and Perry, CPRIT spent most of its first five years basking in praise and industry awe of the unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars committed to a state-run, cancer-fighting effort. But those plaudits abruptly gave way to rebukes starting in May, and the fissures came from within.

Dr. Alfred Gilman, the agency's chief scientific officer and a Nobel laureate, announced his resignation following a $20 million award that never received a full scientific review. The money was for a so-called incubator project at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the country's top research institutes.

Gilman accused the agency's oversight board of ramrodding the project through the application process, despite the proposal being just six pages long. Gimson has said the type of proposal didn't require a full scientific review under agency rules but has since conceded missteps in how that award was handled.

___

Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-cancer-agency-okd-faulty-11m-grant-003142864.html

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???????? Sony Xperia V ????????? ? ??????? ? ?????? ...

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Source: http://forums.ferra.ru/index.php?showtopic=53168

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Is Windows 8 a Replay of the 1980s?

Windows 8 has now been out for about a month now and I've been hearing too many comparisons to Windows Vista. Many people considered Vista a failure because corporations largely didn't upgrade to that version and Apple and others made fun of it.?(Never mind that it sold hundreds of millions of copies.)

When I look at Windows 8, though, I am reminded more of Windows in the 1980s.?Remember that when Windows first came out in 1985, Apple already was shipping the original Macintosh, with a more modern user interface.?The first Windows was quite clunky, with a tiled interface instead of overlapping Windows.?Windows 2 got a bit better with overlapping Windows, but it was still mainly an add-on rather than its own operating system.?Windows/386 got closer, but it wasn't until?Windows 3 came in 1990 that it really became an environment that most people could live in.?Even then, I heard a lot of complaining about switching between the graphical user interface and the older command-line experience of DOS.?

(By the way, my history of Windows was in the November 8, 2005 issue, which is online here.)

In some ways, the parallels between Windows 8 and the first version of Windows are striking.?Again, Apple has adopted a new user interface faster; in the 1980s it had the mouse and graphical user interface and now it has touch and sensors.?Microsoft's first response offers tiled windows.?There are a lot of complaints about switching back and forth between the older way of working and the newer one; then it was between DOS and Windows and now it's between the desktop and the newer Windows 8 UI.

As before, the first version is a bit clunky and needs to evolve.?While we're used to Windows and Office releases that are years apart, back then, there was much more rapid change.?Windows 2.0 and Windows/386 (with overlapping windows and the ability to run multiple DOS applications) came out in June 1988, Windows 3.0 came out in May 1990, Windows 3.0a (with multimedia features) came out in October 1991, Windows 3.1 came out in April 1992, and Windows for Workgroups (which added networking features) came out in October 1992.?With Apple offering new features in its operating systems (both iOS and OS X) every year, Microsoft will need to move much faster than the every-three-years cycle it's been on if it hopes to compete.

But it's not just the OS itself.?I'd argue that the bigger problem is the same one that really held back Windows in the 1980s: a lack of compelling applications.?For years, the one really compelling Windows application was Excel.?It wasn't until good Windows word processors?Microsoft Word for Windows and Samna (later Lotus's) Ami Pro?that there was enough reason for people to consider Windows as a primary working environment.?Until the word processors, at best, people used a couple of Windows apps, but spent most of their time in DOS.?After those applications started to develop, and Word, Excel, and PowerPoint evolved into Office, other developers followed suit and Windows became the default environment for new applications.?It was that which helped make Windows the standard.

That's true of the way I expect most people are using Windows 8.?There are a few nice new Windows tiled applications that take advantage of the new touch paradigm, but right now, most of them are more limited than their desktop equivalents.?A few desktop applications?Office 2013 and Internet Explorer 10 come to mind first?have had minor adjustments to work better with touch, but it's clear that this wasn't the design goal.?Microsoft will need compelling new applications to get people to use the new user interface.

Can this happen??Of course.?It took Microsoft?10 years (between the shipment of Windows 1 and Windows 95) to come up with all the pieces it really needed to, but the company kept working on it through the late 80s and early 90s.?The competitive environment seems much tougher nowadays, however, with Apple much stronger and Google's Android a new, open competitor.?Indeed, Microsoft seems to be fighting on more fronts than ever.?But then, at the time, Apple and IBM with OS/2 seemed much stronger competitors to Microsoft than they look in retrospect.

All this isn't to say that the new Windows interface will become as successful as the desktop interface was in the day as there is too much competition to know.?Still, it is way too early to write it off.

Source: http://forwardthinking.pcmag.com/microsoft-windows/305323-is-windows-8-a-replay-of-the-1980s

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Fiscal cliff warning sends stocks sliding

Frustration from?Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over the fiscal cliff?pushed stocks downward Tuesday.?Worries about budget talks have been hanging over the stock market for weeks.

By Steve Rothwell,?AP Business Writer / November 27, 2012

A holiday decoration is seen over Wall St. sign outside the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. Two optimistic economic reports failed to encourage investors to push stocks higher Tuesday.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Enlarge

Stocks?slumped on Wall Street Tuesday after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was frustrated by the lack of progress in talks over the U.S. budget impasse in Washington.

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The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 89.24 points to 12,878.13. The Dow and other indexes had been moving between small gains and losses for most of the day, then turned lower after Reid's comments in the early afternoon.

"We have to get away from the happy talk and start talking about specific things," Reid told reporters in televised comments.

The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 7.35 points to 1,398.94 and the Nasdaq composite index lost 8.99 points to 2,967.79.

Worries about the budget talks have been hanging over the?stock?market for weeks.?Stocks?slumped immediately after the Nov. 6 election over concerns that politicians would be unable to reach a deal to trim the deficit before a Jan. 1 deadline.

If that deadline isn't met, under current law a series of sharp tax increases and spending cuts will come into effect. Economists have warned that the measures could push the economy back into a recession. That deadline has come to be known as the "fiscal cliff."

"The markets are getting whipped around, rather sharply, on headlines," said Sal Arnuk, co-founder at Themis Trading. "For example, Harry Reid feeling we're not making enough progress on the fiscal cliff."

Last week?stocks?pared some of the losses that followed the election. President Barack Obama plans to make a public case this week for his strategy for dealing with the issue as he pressures Republicans to allow tax increases on the wealthy while extending tax cuts for families earning $250,000 or less.

The S&P declined as much as 5 percent in the weeks after voters returned a divided government to power, with President Barack Obama returning to the White House and Republicans retaining control of the House.

Earlier in the day, investors took little comfort from the latest deal to deliver financial aid to Greece and increases in U.S. consumer confidence and orders for machinery and equipment.

While?stocks?have gained this year as the Federal Reserve has maintained it bond-buying stimulus program, concern about global growth and the budget fight in Washington may limit further advances, said Uri Landesman, President of Platinum Partners, a New York-based hedge fund. The S&P is up 11 percent this year, the Dow 5 percent.

"The glass is half-empty right now," Landesman said.

The S&P rose as high as 1,465 in September, the highest in almost five years, after the Federal Reserve said it would extend its so-called quantitative easing program and buy more bonds. The program is intended to lower borrowing costs and stimulate hiring.

Two reports that suggested that the outlook for the U.S. economy may be improving failed to encourage investors to push?stocks?higher.

Consumer confidence rose this month to the highest level in almost five years, pushed up by steady improvement in hiring. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 in November from 73.1 in October. Both are the best readings since February 2008.

The government reported separately that U.S. companies increased their orders of machinery and equipment last month, a sign that business investment is rising. Orders rose 1.7 percent in October, the best showing since a 2.3 percent rise in May.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 1.65 percent.

Among other?stocks?making big moves:

?ConAgra advanced $1.34, or 4.7 percent, to $29.63 after it agreed to buy Ralcorp for $5 billion in a deal that will make it the nation's biggest maker of private-label foods. Ralcorp surged $18.57, or 26.4 percent, to $88.80.

?Corning Inc., a specialty glass maker, rose 78 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $12.13 after it said that North American television sales are stronger than expected in the fourth quarter, boosting demand for its products.

? Las Vegas Sands Corp. rose $2.33, or 5.3 percent, to $46.36 after the casino operator said it would pay a special dividend of $2.75 per share, distributing about $2.26 billion to shareholders before the end of the year.

?Monster Beverage Corp. soared $6.69, or 13.3 percent, to $51.97 as concerns eased about increased regulation for the energy drink maker following a letter to senators, made public Tuesday, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/mN2jTTYdRIs/Fiscal-cliff-warning-sends-stocks-sliding

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10-year-old girl's laptop confiscated after copyright offense

Featured

11 hrs.

Helen A.S. Popkin

If you're confused over a recent email from Facebook regarding its data use policy, you're not alone.? The email ? with the subject line "Up... Read more

5 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

Police in Helsinki?seized?the laptop of a young girl during a search of her family's home last week, according to her father.?The alleged?offense? Using the?popular BitTorrent website The Pirate Bay to download a single album.

Last year, 9-year-old Julietta?came across a torrent on The Pirate Bay after searching on Google?for Finnish pop star Chisu's latest album. The download failed to work, and she and her father went and bought the album together shortly afterwards.?Unbeknownst to them,?Finland's Copyright Information and?Anti-Piracy Centre (known as CIAPC, as well as its Finnish acronym, TTVK) had already?taken notice.

The events are related by the girl's father,?Aki Wequ Nylund,?in?a public?Facebook post. (Though Google Translate's Finnish is not very good, an account of the translated?story?was posted at copyright and BitTorrent news blog?TorrentFreak.)

That spring, a letter arrived from the TTVK?alleging that the Nylund's account had been linked to a copyright infringement. The letter gave the option to pay a settlement of ?600 and sign a non-disclosure agreement ? a common tactic used by copyright holders that removes the need for formal charges.

Nylund contacted the?TTVK?lawyer to contest the matter, but?the TTVK continued its pursuit of damages. Last Tuesday morning, he found a pair of Finnish police officers standing at his doorstep.

The police presented a search?warrant, entered, and identified the girl's Winnie?the?Pooh-decorated laptop as the object of their search, and confiscated it.

Unsurprisingly, the events have drawn criticism locally and abroad. Finnish Internet rights watchdog Electronic Frontier Finland denounced the actions of the TTVK in a statement and blog post, calling attention to the arbitrary nature of the settlements and their use?as a scare tactic. They also point out that?Nylund's acknowledgment?in this case notwithstanding, an IP address used to track an infringement cannot be linked to a person's identity.

The TTVK's executive director defended the actions in comments to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, saying that TTVK and the police were only working to enforce the law.?

Chisu, the pop star whose album was at the center of the controversy, expressed in a Facebook post that she supported copyright law but apologized for the situation.

Niko?Nordstr?m, CEO of Warner Music Finland, acknowledged (also via Chisu's Facebook page)?the limits of IP-based enforcement, but said?"this procedure is currently the only way to tackle illegal downloading" (translation by Google).

Had the TTVK known that the infringing party in this situation was a young?girl, might they?have taken a softer approach? In past cases,?U.S. media associations have not?made accommodations for minors, either.

As for Julietta's lost laptop, an anonymous benefactor sent a brand-new MacBook Pro to replace it. Her father reports that she is already putting it to use, playing online with her friends. An administrator at The Pirate Bay promised VIP privileges to her as well if she wants them?? ?although after this experience, it would be understandable if she opted not to take advantage of the offer.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC?News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/10-year-old-girls-laptop-confiscated-after-copyright-offense-1C7227561

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In elf ears and wizard hats, 'Hobbit' fans rejoice

Cast members Hugo Weaving, left, and James Nesbitt pose on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT

Cast members Hugo Weaving, left, and James Nesbitt pose on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT

Director Peter Jackson, right, poses with his daughter Katie on the red carpet at the premiere of his new film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT

Cast member Cate Blanchett poses on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT

Elijah Wood who plays Frodo poses on his arrival for the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT

Martin Freeman who plays Bilbo Baggins poses on the red carpet for the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at Embassy Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? Wearing elf ears and wizard hats, sitting atop their dad's shoulders or peering from balconies, tens of thousands of New Zealanders watched their favorite "Hobbit" actors walk the red carpet Wednesday at the film trilogy's hometown premiere.

An Air New Zealand plane freshly painted with "Hobbit" characters flew low over Wellington's Embassy Theatre, eliciting roars of approval from the crowd.

Sam Rashidmardani, 12, said he came to see Gollum actor Andy Serkis walk the red carpet ? and he wasn't disappointed.

"It was amazing," Rashidmardani said of the evening, adding his Gollum impression: "My precious."

British actor Martin Freeman, who brings comedic timing to the lead role of Bilbo Baggins, said he thought director Peter Jackson had done a fantastic job on "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

"He's done it again," Freeman said in an interview on the red carpet. "If it's possible, it's probably even better than 'The Lord of the Rings.' I think he's surpassed it."

While is unusual for a city so far from Hollywood to host the premiere of a hoped-for blockbuster, Jackson's filming of his lauded 'LOTR' trilogy and now "The Hobbit" in New Zealand has helped create a film industry here. The film will open in theaters around the world next month.

One of the talking points of the film is the choice by Jackson to shoot it using 48 frames per second instead of the traditional 24 in hopes of improving the picture quality.

Some say the images come out too clear and look so realistic that they take away from the magic of the film medium. Jackson likens it to advancing from vinyl records to CDs.

"I really think 48 frames is pretty terrific and I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction," Jackson said on the red carpet. "It's been talked about for so long, but finally the film is being released and people can decide for themselves."

Jackson said it was strange working on the project so intimately for two years and then having it suddenly taken away as the world got to see the movie.

"It spins your head a little bit," he said.

Aidan Turner, who plays the dwarf Kili in the movie, said his character is reckless and thinks he's charming.

"I don't get to play real people it seems, I only get to play supernatural ones," he said. "So playing a dwarf didn't seem that weird, actually.

Perhaps the most well-known celebrities to walk the carpet were Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood, who reprise their roles in the LOTR in the "Hobbit."

"Mostly I came here to see everyone. I like them all," said fan Aysu Shahin, 16, adding that Wood was her favorite. She said she wanted to see the movie "as soon as possible. I'm excited for it."

At a news conference earlier in the day, Jackson said many younger people are happy to watch movies on their iPads.

"We just have to make the cinema-going experience more magical and more spectacular to get people coming back to the movies again," he said.

Jackson said only about 1,000 of the 25,000 theaters that will show the film worldwide are equipped to show 48 frames, so most people will see it in the more traditional format. The movie has also been shot in 3D.

A handful of animal rights protesters held signs at the premiere.

The protest by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals comes after several animal wranglers said three horses and up to two dozen other animals had died during the making of the movies because they were housed at an unsafe farm.

Jackson's spokesman earlier acknowledged two horses had died preventable deaths at the farms but said the production company worked quickly to improve stables and other facilities and that claims of mistreatment were unfounded.

"No mistreatment, no abuse. Absolutely none," Jackson said at the news conference.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-28-New%20Zealand-Hobbit%20Premiere/id-b1bad2e53b4d46d58ace2e2c38207a25

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Experts to exhume Arafat, seek evidence of poison

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The body of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will be exhumed on Tuesday by a team of international experts trying to discover if he was poisoned, as many Palestinians believe.

French magistrates opened a murder inquiry in August into Arafat's death in Paris after a Swiss institute said it had discovered high levels of radioactive polonium on his clothing, which was supplied by his widow, Suha.

Arafat, who led the Palestinians' bid for a state through years of war and peace, died in Paris aged 75 in 2004 after a short, mysterious illness.

No autopsy was carried out at the time, at the request of Suha, and French doctors who treated him said they were unable to determine the cause of death.

But allegations of foul play immediately surfaced, with many locals pointing the finger at Israel, which confined Arafat to his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah for the final two and a half years of his life after a Palestinian uprising erupted.

Israel has denied any wrongdoing, inviting the Palestinian leadership to release all his medical records, which were never made public following his death.

Experts from Switzerland, France, Russia and the Palestinian territories will all take part in the exhumation, being carried out far from the public gaze, behind blue sheeting that has been carefully erected around his limestone mausoleum in Ramallah.

Workers have strung up a huge Palestinian flag to cover the top of the city centre landmark, which lies inside the presidential compound of Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas.

"Samples will be taken according to a very strict protocol and these samples will be analyzed," said Darcy Christen, spokesman for the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland that carried out the original tests on Arafat's clothes.

"In order to do these analyses, to check, cross check and double cross check, it will take several months and I don't think we'll have anything tangible available before March or April next year," he added.

FRENCH INVESTIGATORS

Polonium, apparently ingested with food, was found to have caused the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. But some experts have questioned whether Arafat could have died in this way, pointing to a brief recovery during his illness that they said was not consistent with radioactive poisoning. They also noted he did not lose all his hair.

Eight years is considered the limit to detect any traces of the fast-decaying Polonium and the Lausanne hospital questioned in August if it would be worth seeking any samples if access to Arafat's body was delayed to "October or November".

Not all of Arafat's family has agreed to the exhumation and Suha herself has not come to Ramallah for the operation. Arafat's remains will be reburied with full military honors later on Tuesday after the forensic work is complete.

Working in parallel with the forensic team, French magistrates are also in Ramallah this week questioning members of Arafat's inner circle to see if they can shed light on his death.

Once source told Reuters the French had a list of 60 questions, with at least one man facing five hours of grilling.

While many Palestinians believe that Israel was behind the death, they acknowledge that a Palestinian would almost certainly have had to administer the poison, wittingly or unwittingly.

(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/experts-exhume-arafat-seek-evidence-poison-233709203.html

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Social networking sends a message to business - China Technology ...

Source: china daily via china.org.cn

Applying social technology into the daily operations of businesses is increasingly popular because it is seen as a great way to improve communications and collaboration between enterprises and customers at a reasonably low cost.

More than 1.5 billion shoppers around the world have an account with a social networking site and almost one in five online hours is spent on social networks, increasingly via mobile devices.

Whether discussing consumer products or organizing political movements, people around the world are constantly using social media platforms to browse and share information.

"The HR department started posting recruitment notices on social forums including Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like micro-blogging service, and Weixin, a social mobile application, to attract more applications from the public without spending any money," said Zhang Guanjin, the manager of Shaoxing Jinyong Textile Co.

Zhang added that social applications have been widely used by his company for such tasks as organizing events among employees, communicating with foreign clients and receiving feedback from domestic customers.

The majority of well-known brands and large enterprises have registered micro-blogging accounts to release updated information about themselves and their products to attract the attention of Internet users.

Consumer-facing companies quickly recognized that social technology provides entirely new ways of connecting to customers and can be highly effective in gathering rich, unfiltered insights to guide product development and create precisely targeted messages and offers.

"With the Internet being recognized as the most convenient communication tool, it is time for enterprises to make use of social technology to develop higher profits and lower costs," said Zhang.

The impact of social technology on the economy and its potential to create value across industries is just beginning to be understood, according to a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey's business and economics research arm.

The report showed that while 70 percent of companies are using social technology in some way, very few are anywhere near achieving the full potential benefit.

By fully implementing social technology, companies can raise the productivity of "interaction workers" (high-skill knowledge workers including managers and other professionals) by 20 to 25 percent, MGI estimated.

"There's rightly a lot of focus on the big opportunities for companies to use social media to connect with customers. But we find the opportunities for companies that apply social technology across the organization are twice the size," said Chen Yougang, a McKinsey partner and head of McKinsey Global Institute in China.

Chen added when it comes to organizational knowledge, there is a huge amount of "dark matter" trapped in e-mail inboxes that can be made visible to the rest of the organization by using social technology.

Individual firms can gain even more.

MGI suggested that consumer packaged goods companies that embrace social technology across all value chain steps can increase margins by as much as 60 percent by using it to connect with customers and to generate sharper customer insights, as well as by using it to improve the productivity of knowledge workers.

"Capturing the full value available from the use of social technology will be a challenge for enterprises primarily because they will have to transform their organizational structures, processes and culture to become extended networked enterprises," said Elsie Chang, McKinsey partner and a researcher for McKinsey Global Institute in China.

Chang added that applying social technology is also a good way for small and medium-sized enterprises to minimize the expense of expanding communications with customers directly.

As a user of social technology, Huang Xiangxun believes it helped his company Shanghai Haobo Chair Co to continue to profit over the past two years despite the gloomy economy.

"Making use of social forums for building up the reputation of our brands was the first step we took to introduce our products. Receiving advice from the public by having an online survey with prizes was also quite popular," said Huang, who encourages his employees to adopt all kinds of social applications for work if they want to.

Huang added applying social technology is definitely a profitable method of helping enterprises to promote their products, extend the business networks and get closer to customers.

Source: http://www.technologynewschina.com/2012/11/social-networking-sends-message-to.html

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Nolan Ryan to serve up beef cookbook in 2014

FILE - This Feb. 10, 2011 file photo shows Texas Rangers team president Nolan Ryan during a news conference in Arlington, Texas. A new book by the baseball Hall of Famer will be a bit of a sizzler. The game's all-time strikeout king is also a longtime Texas rancher and has compiled dozens of his favorite recipes for "The Nolan Ryan Beef Cookbook." Little, Brown and Co. announced Monday, Nov. 26, 2012, that the book is scheduled for May 2014. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - This Feb. 10, 2011 file photo shows Texas Rangers team president Nolan Ryan during a news conference in Arlington, Texas. A new book by the baseball Hall of Famer will be a bit of a sizzler. The game's all-time strikeout king is also a longtime Texas rancher and has compiled dozens of his favorite recipes for "The Nolan Ryan Beef Cookbook." Little, Brown and Co. announced Monday, Nov. 26, 2012, that the book is scheduled for May 2014. (AP Photo/File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A new book by baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan will be a bit of a sizzler.

The game's all-time strikeout king is also a longtime Texas rancher and has compiled dozens of his favorite recipes for "The Nolan Ryan Beef Cookbook." Little, Brown and Co. announced Monday that the book is scheduled for May 2014.

The 65-year-old Ryan also plans to work in a few baseball stories, from his years pitching for the New York Mets, California Angels and other teams to his current job as CEO and president of the Texas Rangers. His previous books include the memoirs "Miracle Man" and "Throwing Heat."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-11-26-Books-Nolan%20Ryan/id-6e08b4a6676f403caee632f74e5d83cd

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Utility worker pierced pipe before Mass. gas blast

Inspectors stand in debris, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the site of a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening. Investigators were trying to figure out what caused the blast where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Inspectors stand in debris, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at the site of a gas explosion that leveled a strip club in Springfield, Mass., on Friday evening. Investigators were trying to figure out what caused the blast where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Items from the Score's Gentleman's Club are seen in the rubble on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, the morning after Friday night's explosion in Springfield, Mass. Dozens of building inspectors began assessing homes and businesses in Springfield on Saturday, a day after a natural gas explosion leveled the Scores Gentleman's Club located next to a day care and heavily damaged a dozen other structures. (AP Photo/The Republican, Dave Roback)

A day care next door to a gas explosion that leveled a strip club Friday evening is seen in Springfield, Mass., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012. Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the Friday evening blast that could be heard for miles, and that left a large hole in the ground where the multistory brick building housing Scores Gentleman's Club once stood. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) ? A natural gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield's entertainment district was blamed Sunday on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.

State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said the Friday night blast in one of New England's largest cities was caused by "human error." He didn't name the Columbia Gas Co. worker who pierced the pipe while responding to reports of a gas leak.

The worker damaged the underground pipe while using a metal tool to locate the source of the leak, Coan said. A flood of gas then built up in a building that housed a strip club, and some kind of spark touched off the blast, officials said.

Coan said the employee was following older markings on a sidewalk that indicated the location of the gas line. He appeared to be an appropriate distance from the line, but the markings were incorrect and the worker accidentally punctured the pipe.

A message left for a Columbia Gas spokeswoman wasn't immediately returned. Columbia Gas, a subsidiary of public company NiSource Inc., said earlier Sunday that it plans to open a claims center at City Hall on Monday for residents and businesses affected by the explosion.

Preliminary reports show the blast damaged 42 buildings housing 115 residential units. Three buildings were immediately condemned, and 24 others require additional inspections by structural engineers to determine whether they are safe. The building that housed the Scores Gentleman's Club was destroyed.

After the pipe was ruptured, authorities evacuated several buildings. Most of the people injured were part of a group of gas workers, firefighters and police officers who ducked for cover behind a utility truck just before the blast. The truck was demolished.

Some officials said it was a miracle no one was killed. Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant praised the actions of city firefighters.

"The firefighters did an excellent job evacuating the area which certainly prevented additional civilian injuries and saved many lives," Conant said.

Columbia Gas officials have been cooperating with investigators and have determined that there are no more gas leaks in the neighborhood, Mayor Domenic Sarno said.

Coan said the investigation is being turning over to the state Department of Public Utilities. It's not clear whether investigators will ever be able to determine what caused the spark that ignited the explosion.

Springfield, which is 90 miles west of Boston and has about 150,000 residents, is the largest city in western Massachusetts. It's known as the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is not near the blast site.

The city has been rebuilding from damage caused by a tornado in June 2011.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-25-Massachusetts%20Gas%20Explosion/id-3e46a082f8564d47b1b6a76b5d1205f8

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Police reports turn up as Macy's parade confetti

By Isolde Raftery, NBC News

At least they recycle. Along?the Macy?s Thanksgiving Parade route in New York on Thursday, long, white strips of confetti blew into the crowd. On one was a Social Security number. Other strips fluttered about ? and on them were bits of information ? some seemingly trivial, others possibly sensitive. ?

Ethan Finkelstein, 18, told WPIX that a strip landed on his friend?s jacket at West 65th Street?and Central Park West. Finkelstein, a New Yorker, is a freshman at Tufts University near Boston. ?

?It landed on her shoulder, and she looked and it and it says, SSN and there?s a number that?s written like a Social Security number,? Finkelstein told WPIX. ?And we?re like, that?s really bizarre.?

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There were phone numbers, license plate numbers of undercover detectives ? even information about former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney?s motorcade as he left Hofstra University, where he and President Barack Obama sparred at a town hall debate.

A partial seal on one of the confetti strips indicated that the records came from the Nassau County Police Department. ?

"The Nassau County Police Department is very concerned about this situation," police spokesman Insp. Kenneth Lack said in a statement, according to Newsday. "We will be conducting an investigation into this matter as well as reviewing our procedures for the disposing of sensitive documents."

Also of note: The confetti, a Macy's official told WPIX, is not official Macy?s Thanksgiving Day Parade confetti, which is more festive ? although just about anything might be more cheery than a shredded police report. ?

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Gadgets worth buying ? even if they're not on sale

10 hrs.

Rosa Golijan , NBC News

Black Friday's over, but the shopping frenzy continues. Even so, there are some?gadgets that never seem to end up on discount table. These are?the best products of the moment, and you can?buy them ? even if they're not on sale ? without feeling an ounce of regret.

We've selected these gadgets (and gift-worthy?premium?services) through our own?firsthand experience, along with insight from fellow technology reporters and other tech-savvy colleagues.?Most are options that make sense in any circumstance, but a few recommendations?are better suited for certain people (for instance, Android fans, T-Mobile customers, etc.). The goal is for you to have a "safe" list: These are indisputably the best tech options of the moment for your loved ones ? or yourself.?

Apple iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 is the best smartphone choice on the market right now. (And good thing too, because?if you favor iOS, it's really your only option.) It's ridiculously slender and light, but makes no compromises when it comes to performance and battery life.

Samsung Galaxy S III
Those who prefer Android should feel comfortable snagging a Galaxy S III. While the phone would have been even better if Samsung hadn't slapped so many embellishments?on top of the pure?Android OS,?it's a solid device with a large, bright screen and a snappy processor.

Google?Nexus 4?by LG
You can find the Samsung Galaxy S III on all U.S. carriers, but the?impressive Nexus 4 only runs on T-Mobile and AT&T in this country. Google's newest?smartphone has the latest, purest version of Android, 4.2 Jelly Bean, with features like Photo Sphere panoramic shooting and wireless display video streaming.?And since it's Google's own baby,?it's bound to be first in line for the next Android?operating system upgrade, too.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
NBC News' Wilson Rothman declared the Kindle Paperwhite "the new king of e-readers" when he reviewed it.?It has great contrast that comes as a result of an innovative integrated lighting system. You still get the easy-on-the-eyes readability and impressively long battery life, but no more need for an Itty Bitty Book Light. ($119 for Wi-Fi-only model, $179 with Wi-Fi and 3G.)

Apple iPad (4th generation)
Though the iPad Mini has received most of the attention this season, we're not recommending it for now?because ? as lovely as the new size and shape is ? the screen should have higher resolution. We are recommending the newest iPad, however: It?maintains all the clever design touches and excellent battery life?of the prior generation, but runs even faster. Pricing starts at $499.

Google?Nexus 7?by Asus
The Nexus 7 is a lightweight,?high-performance tablet that delivers a pure Android experience to people who prefer that platform. While we don't feel that there are enough tablet-specific Android?apps to make any of those devices viable competitors to the iPad, this 7-inch tablet, starting at $199, is a best-in-class vehicle for Web, email and all of?Google's own services.?

Amazon Kindle Fire HD
For $199, the Kindle Fire HD makes a lot of sense for?media consumption,?especially if you're already in love with Amazon and its $70-per-year Prime media service. (Just don't?expect to be editing photos and?working on spreadsheets on this, like you can on an iPad.)?The 7-inch?tablet's a decent improvement on its predecessor, and the all-new?8.9-inch version is a solid step up for just $299.

Apple 13-inch MacBook Air
Choosing a laptop can seem difficult, but for most people, an ultra-light device with speedy guts is the way to go. Unless you're someone who does incredibly processor-intensive work ? or desperately needs a DVD drive ? the 13-inch MacBook Air, starting at $1,199, is the best bet. (Why else would so many PC makers try to copy it?)

AirPort Express
The router provided by your Internet service provider is typically a pain in the rump to deal with. If you're finally ready to accept that it's time to look elsewhere, then Apple's $99?AirPort Express is the router you should pick up. It's ridiculously simple to set up and you won't have to think about it much after the day you unbox it.

Spotify subscription
You want music. And you want lots of it. Instead of purchasing songs a la carte or forking money over for every album you download, you should sign up for a premium Spotify subscription for $9.99/month. You'll have access to millions and millions of tracks, instantly, and even be able to store them locally on your mobile device or computer for off-line play.

Amazon Prime subscription
Purchasing movie or TV show downloads quickly leads to a long credit card statement, but with a $70-per-year Amazon Prime subscription, you'll have access to a huge library of streaming video. On top of that, you'll also get free shipping on most items. If you own a Kindle, Prime also gives you "free"?book borrowing, including bestsellers like the Harry Potter series.

Netflix subscription
If you're not prone to shopping on Amazon and couldn't care less about getting free shipping with your video streaming service, then the $7.99-per-month?Netflix is the choice for you. Besides, its movie library is more impressive than Amazon's, at least for now.

Canon PowerShot S110
Canon's S-series cameras have gained a reputation for being the best point-and-shoot devices on the market. If you're not content with the photos your phone spits out and want the kind of manual control usually reserved for DSLRs, then the latest PowerShot S110 (between $400 and $450 retail) is?ideal. (And?if you can live without the S110's touchscreen and the built-in Wi-Fi, you can find the otherwise identical PowerShot?S100 on sale now.)

Canon EOS Rebel T4i
Canon's T4i represented a big jump ahead for the affordable?Rebel series of DSLRs. Its new processor ?delivers speed and low-light performance previously seen only in pro cameras, and its?HD video shooting is the best in its price range (it's around $800 retail). Unless you have a bunch of Nikon lenses, there's really no reason not to pick up one of these.

Nikon D600
Speaking of Nikon, the D600 is just right?for dedicated amateur photographers who want a full-frame DSLR but don't want to pay through the nose (the camera plus 24-85mm lens retails for around $2,500). It has all the features you'd want from a higher-end DSLR and a nifty viewfinder which offers 100 percent coverage (unlike many cheaper models).

Panasonic Lumix TS4
While you take most of your pictures with your phone, you get nervous taking it out at the beach or at the pool. One grain of sand or drop of water, and it's "bye?bye, smartphone." That's where the TS4 comes in. Whether you're way into extreme sports or just have kids, a rugged camera like this?is a great thing to have on hand. (Retail price between $200 and $250.)

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/gadgets-worth-buying-even-if-theyre-not-sale-1C7208005

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Microsoft just commited to supporting the...

Microsoft just commited to supporting the Surface and Windows RT for at least four years. Long live the firmware updates! [ZDNet] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/aclK5PX9cpQ/

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The war with the Covenant has since come to an e, but the SPARTANs are far from done with active duty. As space exploration and colonization continues, multiple threats, both new and old, rise to stand in the way of humanity's expansion towards the stars.

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Tourists visit Southfork to remember Larry Hagman

Southfork Ranch can be seen through a gate where fans left flowers Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, in Parker, Texas. The flowers were in memory of Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing on the TV series Dallas, set at Southfork. Hagman died Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in Dallas. He was 81. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)

Southfork Ranch can be seen through a gate where fans left flowers Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, in Parker, Texas. The flowers were in memory of Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing on the TV series Dallas, set at Southfork. Hagman died Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in Dallas. He was 81. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)

A large portrait of Larry Hagman can be seen by a bouquet of flowers at the entrance of the gift shop at Southfork Ranch on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, in Parker, Texas. Officials at the ranch, the setting for the TV series "Dallas" where Hagman played the infamous J.R. Ewing, placed the photo there in memory of Hagman, who died Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in Dallas. He was 81. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)

Kelli Pearson of Rowlett, attaches a bouquet of yellow roses to the front gate of Southfork Ranch, setting for TV show "Dallas ", in Parker, Texas, in memory of actor Larry Hagman Saturday, Nov. 24 2012. Hagman, known as J. R. Ewing in the TV show, died Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in Dallas. He was 81. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Ron Baselice)

A large portrait of Larry Hagman greets fans as they take a tour of Southfork Ranch, setting for the TV show "Dallas", in Parker, Texas Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Mr. Hagman, known as J. R. Ewing in the TV show, died Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 in Dallas. He was 81. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Ron Baselice)

PARKER, Texas (AP) ? Tourists and locals flocked to Southfork Ranch on Saturday, bringing flowers in memory of Larry Hagman, who played the infamous J.R. Ewing on the TV show "Dallas."

Hagman died in Dallas on Friday at age 81 due to complications from his battle with cancer.

Southfork, a ranch north of Dallas, was known to millions of viewers as the Ewing family home. Exterior shots of the house and pool were shown when the series aired from 1978 to 1991, although the show wasn't filmed there.

The ranch has been open for tours since the mid-1980s, and now sees more than 100,000 visitors each year. Each room of the house has a theme for each character.

On Saturday, J.R. Ewing's room had flowers and a card for tourists to sign.

"Today is about Larry Hagman and his family," said Janna Timm, a Southfork Ranch & Hotel spokeswoman. "He was such a wonderful person, and we will really miss him."

"Dallas" was recently revived on TNT this summer, and all of the scenes were filmed at Southfork or other places in the Dallas area. Hagman had revised his role as the scheming oilman who would even double-cross his own son.

Linda Sproule of Peterborough, Ontario, had been traveling through the U.S. the past couple of weeks and heard about Hagman's death Friday while in Dallas. She said she didn't know where Southfork was but wanted to come because she was a fan of the show in the 1980s.

"I remember on Friday nights we watched it, and J.R. was bigger than life in some ways," she said after taking the Southfork tour Saturday morning. "This ranch is beautiful. Being here is kind of emotional in a way."

Barbara Quinones and her husband were in town for their daughter's soccer tournament and had already planned to visit Southfork when they heard news of Hagman's death.

"We loved him because he was so ruthless," said Quinones, of Albuquerque, N.M. "This is a sad day, but I'm glad we're here."

Some of the show's stars, including Hagman, came to Southfork for the series' 25th anniversary. The Fort Worth-born actor also had visited several times before the show was revived.

"He was definitely a gentleman, a class act," said Jim Gomes, vice president of resorts at Southfork Ranch & Hotel. "He loved the fans as much as they loved him."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-11-24-Hagman-Southfork/id-e87224cd5ceb48a5b22e4d6375e99604

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Lee Valley annouces it's new winter seminars - Family Woodworking

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Defense sparks TCU over No. 18 Texas 20-13

TCU's Matthew Tucker runs on third down against Texas during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)

TCU's Matthew Tucker runs on third down against Texas during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)

Texas quarterback Case McCoy (6) is sacked by TCU defensive end Devonte Fields (95) late in the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)

TCU safety Elisha Olabode (6) runs after intercepting a Texas pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)

Texas quarterback David Ash, right, is brought down by TCU's Sam Carter (17) during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? TCU could get used to these Thanksgiving games. Given their first chance to play one since 1928, the Horned Frogs beat No. 18 Texas to get the biggest win of their first season in the Big 12.

Matthew Tucker scored two touchdowns, Jaden Oaberkrom kicked two field goals and TCU's defense forced four turnovers, three by Texas quarterback David Ash in the first half. Shortly after the Horned Frogs had dumped their old Southwest Conference rivals 20-13 on Thursday night, purple-clad fans sprinkled among the burnt-orange of Royal-Memorial Stadium chanted "T-C-U!"

"I'm going to probably get home some time tomorrow and go out in the street and yell," TCU coach Gary Patterson said.

The Horned Frogs (7-4, 4-4) picked off two passes near their own goal line to kill Texas scoring drives and picked up an Ash fumble at the Texas 16 that set up Tucker's second touchdown. The Horned Frogs also dominated the line of scrimmage, running the ball 48 times for 217 yards and passing just 10 times.

Ash was relieved by Case McCoy, who led a late touchdown drive before an interception by Sam Carter in the final two minutes sealed the win for TCU.

Although Texas (8-3, 5-3) has been a Thanksgiving regular since playing its first game on the holiday in 1895, those contests were usually against Texas A&M. But that rivalry broke apart when the Aggies left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.

So the Big 12 sent TCU to Austin this year for one shot at the Longhorns ? Texas will play Texas Tech on Thanksgiving next year ? and the Horned Frogs nailed it with their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

"To put us on a Thanksgiving game, to be in this place, it's a long way since when I was here when we started 15 years ago," Patterson said. "We're growing as a football team."

Texas had won four in a row and came in the game with an outside shot at the Big 12 title or a BCS bowl bid with a win.

"We missed a great opportunity to get back in the mix for some things," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "You can't win a football game when you have four turnovers."

Texas hoped for a little McCoy family magic at the end. McCoy, younger brother of former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, rallied the Longhorns in the fourth quarter last year against Texas A&M and rallied his team to a road win at Kansas this year.

Trailing 20-6, McCoy's scrambling feet and short passes led an 82-yard drive to a touchdown by Jeremy Hills with just over three minutes left. But after Texas forced TCU to punt, a scrambling McCoy threw up a pass into coverage that was easily intercepted by Carter.

"The ball slipped and floated in the air," McCoy said. "We didn't take care of the ball when we needed to."

Freshman quarterback Trevone Boykin rushed for a team-high 77 yards for the Horned Frogs. TCU linebacker Kenny Cain had 14 tackles.

TCU has had to slug its way through its first Big 12 season. The Horned Frogs were 4-0 before starting quarterback Casey Pachall was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, got suspended and then left school for treatment at an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

TCU turned to Boykin in midseason and he was coolly effective against the Longhorns, scrambling for big yards on broken plays and called runs after ball fakes. TCU's first scoring drive started with Boykin throwing out of his own end zone to direct a 94-yard march to Tucker's first touchdown.

Tucker was originally ruled down on the 1 but the call was overturned on review to give the Horned Frogs the 7-0 lead.

Ash committed two turnovers in the second quarter, throwing an interception on the TCU goal line and coughing up a fumble at the Texas 16 when the ball simply slipped out of his hand as he pulled back to throw. The fumble set up a Tucker's second touchdown, a 1-yard run that put the Horned Frogs ahead 14-3.

"I was ready for this game. I've been waiting on this game for the longest (time)," Tucker said.

Texas briefly pulled Ash for McCoy late in the second quarter, but McCoy couldn't move the Longhorns and Ash started the third quarter.

Oaberkrom, who missed an early 33-yard attempt, kicked field goals of 18 and 41 yards in the second half to push TCU's lead to 20-6.

McCoy went back in after Ash injured his ribs on a sack in the fourth.

"To win a ballgame like that you've got to make plays and defensively tonight we did," Patterson said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-11-22-T25-TCU-Texas/id-dae37801805c4b57bb755dc9991a60f4

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