Live updates: SAG Awards 2013: Jennifer Lawrence wins; Danes, Moore and Costner score a threepeat

Are Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence Oscar front-runners?

The pair took trophies at the 19th Screen Actors Guild award Sunday night, wins that could give them an edge heading into next month’s Academy Awards. 

Day-Lewis won the SAG — and a standing ovation from his peers — for playing the nation’s 16th president in “Lincoln.” Lawrence won her award for female actor in a feature film for the quirky romantic comedy “Silver Linings Playbook.”

PHOTOS: SAG Awards red carpet

Meanwhile, it was a threepeat night for Claire Danes, Julianne Moore and Kevin Costner.

The performers made it a clean sweep by winning the Emmy, the Golden Globe and now the SAG award for their television work.

Danes won for female actor in a drama series for the political thriller “Homeland.”

Moore’s uncanny performance as 2008 Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin in HBO’s “Game Change” earned her the trophy for female actor in a television movie or miniseries. And Costner nabbed male actor in a television movie or miniseries for History’s “Hatfields & McCoys” but was not present for the win.

In other TV awards, Bryan Cranston won for male actor in a drama series for “Breaking Bad.” “It is so good to be bad,” purred Cranston as he picked up the honor. And PBS' "Downton Abbey" won for ensemble in a drama series.

Earlier, a spry and chipper 87-year-old Dick Van Dyke was honored for a career that has spanned nearly seven decades and is going strong.

SAG 2013: Winners | Show highlights | Complete list | Red carpet

Van Dyke was met with a standing ovation and cheers from his peers. “That does an old man a lot of good,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. He was supposed to receive the life achievement honor from Carl Reiner, who created the seminal 1961-66 CBS series “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” the show that turned Van Dyke into a TV legend, and co-presenter Alec Baldwin from NBC’s “30 Rock.”

But Baldwin ended up doing the honors solo because Reiner was sick with the flu.

“I've knocked around this business for 70 years, but I still haven’t figured out what exactly I do,” Van Dyke cracked during his acceptance speech. He noted that it was great to pick a career “full of surprises and a lot of fun” and one that does “not require growing up.”

FULL COVERAGE: SAG Awards 2013 

Meanwhile, Baldwin and Tina Fey earned a great parting gift.

The pair took home back-to-back trophies Sunday night at the 19^th Screen Actors Guild Award for their lead roles in NBC's “30 Rock.”

Fey used the win to ask people to tune in at 8 Thursday night for the series’ one-hour finale, opposite the highly rated CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

PHOTOS: SAG Award nominees & winners

“Just tape ‘The Big Bang Theory’ for once, for crying out loud!” Fey pleaded.

The critically acclaimed show had a shot at a hat trick because it was nominated for ensemble cast in a comedy series. But that honor went to ABC’s “Modern Family” for its third consecutive win.

On the movie front, another no-show, Tommy Lee Jones, won supporting actor in a feature film for “Lincoln.”  Fresh off her Golden Globes win two weeks ago, Anne Hathaway took the trophy for supporting female actor for playing the tragic Fantine in “Les Miserables,” a win that bolsters her chances of taking the Academy Award next month in the same category.

FULL COVERAGE: SAG Awards 2013 

Hathaway’s win offers a rare moment of clarity as the highly unpredictable awards season winds down.

“Argo” and “Les Misérables” are the front-runners, fresh off their Golden Globes victories two weeks ago, where they won trophies for dramatic film and comedy or musical. And Saturday night, "Argo" seemingly advanced its Academy Award best picture hopes by winning the Producers Guild Award, considered one of the leading indicators of Oscar gold.

Read More..

Apple will reportedly launch its fifth-generation iPad in October

Although previous reports indicated that Apple (AAPL) would release its fifth-generation iPad alongside a new iPad mini with Retina display in March, a new report from Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge, claims the newest iPad will be announced in October instead. Horwitz said that he “had the opportunity to inspect a supposedly accurate — and seriously intriguing — physical model of the completely redesigned fifth-generation iPad.” He noticed that the design of the new tablet takes many cues from the iPad mini, which others have reported as well, and includes “virtually no left or right bezels.”

[More from BGR: Unlocking your smartphone will be illegal starting next week]

Horwitz added that it will have “the same chamfered edges and curves” as the iPad mini, only stretched, and will likely include Sharp’s IGZO display technology and smaller chip components.

[More from BGR: The Boy Genius Report: Apple’s iMac takes desktop crown]

He also reported details about the iPhone 5S, which he claims will look similar to the iPhone 5, although it will include a larger rear flash. Horwitz said the smartphone will launch this year, as will a “low-cost” plastic-bodied iPhone, which is being developed with China Mobile in mind.

Lastly, Horwitz reported that another early prototype with a 4.7-inch display has been floating around, however it is not expected to be released in 2013.

“It might never make it to market, and plenty could change before it does,” he said, “Consider it Apple’s ‘just in case / Plan B’ hedge against ever-growing Android phone screen sizes.”

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Apple will reportedly launch its fifth-generation iPad in October
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/apple-will-reportedly-launch-its-fifth-generation-ipad-in-october/
Link To Post : Apple will reportedly launch its fifth-generation iPad in October
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Witch-hunting “Hansel & Gretel” wins box office

(Reuters) – A grown-up “Hansel & Gretel” grabbed the weekend box office title, pulling in $ 19 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales with its reinvention of the fairy tale characters as fierce bounty hunters.

“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” knocked last weekend’s winner, low-budget horror flick “Mama,” into second place. “Mama” earned $ 12.8 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates, followed by “Silver Linings Playbook” with $ 10 million.

CIA drama “Zero Dark Thirty” came in fourth with $ 9.8 million.

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star in “Hansel & Gretel” as crossbow-wielding adult siblings who travel the world taking out evil witches. MGM and Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures produced the action comedy for about $ 50 million. Paramount had predicted opening weekend sales in the high-teens or low $ 20 million range.

Don Harris, Paramount’s president of distribution, said the film performed well despite the very cold temperatures and snow that hit the eastern United States.

“We are pleased that we were on our number on a worldwide basis. It looks like we are on or exceeding our numbers but we did get dinged with the weather on Friday,” he said in an interview.

“The impact of the weather was certainly more than I had predicted.”

“Mama” features Jessica Chastain as a woman forced to take care of two orphaned nieces who have been living in the woods. The $ 15 million production has now earned $ 48.6 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters through two weekends.

Chastain also stars in “Zero Dark Thirty” in an Oscar-nominated role as a dogged CIA agent searching for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The best picture nominee, which has sparked debate over depictions of torture, has grossed $ 69.9 million since its release in late December.

“Silver Linings Playbook” stars Bradley Cooper as a former mental patient trying to rebuild his life with the help of a young widow played by Jennifer Lawrence. Total sales for “Silver Linings” reached $ 69.46 million. The movie, Cooper, Lawrence and co-star Robert De Niro are all nominated for Oscars.

New crime thriller “Parker” finished in fifth place, taking in $ 7 million at domestic theaters. The film is based on a series of novels by Donald E. Westlake and stars Jason Statham as a thief seeking revenge against a crew that double-crossed him. Jennifer Lopez plays a woman who helps with his mission.

“Movie 43,” a film with an ensemble of Hollywood directors and stars, was in seventh place, according to Hollywood.com, very close behind “Django Unchained.”

The film is a series of interconnected short movies following a washed-up producer as he pitches hilarious and insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Hugh Jackman, Seth MacFarlane, Kate Winslet and Dennis Quaid. Privately held Relativity Media produced the film for about $ 6 million.

“Mama” was distributed by Universal Studios, a division of Comcast Corp. Sony Corp’s movie studio released “Zero Dark Thirty.” “Parker” was released by independent studio FilmDistrict. The Weinstein Co distributed “Silver Linings Playbook.”

(Editing by Bill Trott)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Witch-hunting “Hansel & Gretel” wins box office
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/witch-hunting-hansel-gretel-wins-box-office/
Link To Post : Witch-hunting “Hansel & Gretel” wins box office
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Ariel Sharon Brain Scan Shows Response to Stimuli

JERUSALEM — A brain scan performed on Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister who had a devastating stroke seven years ago and is presumed to be in a vegetative state, revealed significant brain activity in response to external stimuli, raising the chances that he is able to hear and understand, a scientist involved in the test said Sunday.

Scientists showed Mr. Sharon, 84, pictures of his family, had him listen to a recording of the voice of one of his sons and used tactile stimulation to assess the extent of his brain’s response.

“We were surprised that there was activity in the proper parts of the brain,” said Prof. Alon Friedman, a neuroscientist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a member of the team that carried out the test. “It raises the chances that he hears and understands, but we cannot be sure. The test did not prove that.”

The activity in specific regions of the brain indicated appropriate processing of the stimulations, according to a statement from Ben-Gurion University, but additional tests to assess Mr. Sharon’s level of consciousness were less conclusive.

“While there were some encouraging signs, these were subtle and not as strong,” the statement added.

The test was carried out last week at the Soroka University Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba using a state-of-the-art M.R.I. machine and methods recently developed by Prof. Martin M. Monti of the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Monti took part in the test, which lasted approximately two hours.

Mr. Sharon’s son Gilad said in October 2011 that he believed that his father responded to some requests. “When he is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to,” he said at the time, adding, “I am sure he hears me.”

Professor Friedman said in a telephone interview that the test results “say nothing about the future” but may be of some help to the family and the regular medical staff caring for Mr. Sharon at a hospital outside Tel Aviv.

“There is a small chance that he is conscious but has no way of expressing it,” Professor Friedman said, but he added, “We do not know to what extent he is conscious.”

Read More..

Employers Increasingly Rely on Internal Referrals in Hiring

Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times

Danielle Cosgrove, left, referred Riju Parakh for a job at Ernst & Young. Ms. Parakh was hired within three weeks.

Riju Parakh wasn’t even looking for a new job.

But when a friend at Ernst & Young recommended her, Ms. Parakh’s résumé was quickly separated from the thousands the firm receives every week because she was referred by a current employee and within three weeks she was hired. “You know how long this usually takes,” she said. “It was miraculous.”

While whom you know has always counted in hiring, Ms. Parakh’s experience underscores a fundamental shift in the job market. Big companies like Ernst & Young are increasingly using their own workers to find new hires, saving time and money but lengthening the odds for job seekers without connections, especially among the long-term unemployed.

The trend, experts say, has been amplified since the end of the recession by a tight job market and by employee networks on LinkedIn and Facebook, which can help employers find candidates more quickly and bypass reams of applications from job search sites like Monster.com.

Some, like Ernst & Young, the accounting firm, have set ambitious internal goals to increase the proportion of hirings that come from internal referrals. As a result, employee recommendations now account for 45 percent of nonentry-level placements at the firm, up from 28 percent in 2010.

The company’s goal is 50 percent. Others, such as Deloitte and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, have begun offering prizes like iPads and large-screen TVs in addition to traditional cash incentives for employees who refer new hires.

Economists and other experts say the recession has severed networks for many workers, especially the long-term unemployed, whose ranks have remained high even as the economy recovers.

Nearly 4.8 million Americans have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, according to the Labor Department, three times as many as in late 2007. The typical unemployed worker has been jobless for 38 weeks, compared with 17 weeks before the recession.

While the overall unemployment rate has edged downward recently, little improvement is expected for the long-term jobless when data for December is released by the Labor Department on Friday.

“The long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people don’t have access to the network,” said Mara Swan, executive vice president for global strategy and talent at Manpower Group, which provides temporary help and job placement services. “The more you’ve been out of the work force, the weaker your connections are.”

Although Ernst & Young looks at every résumé submitted, “a referral puts them in the express lane,” said Larry Nash, director of experienced and executive recruiting there. Indeed, as referred candidates get fast-tracked, applicants from other sources like corporate Web sites, Internet job boards and job fairs sink to the bottom of the pile.

“You’re submitting your résumé to a black hole,” said John Sullivan, a human resources consultant for large companies who teaches management at San Francisco State University. “You’re not going to find top performers at a job fair. Whether it’s fair or not, you need to have employees make referrals for you if you want to find a job.”

Among corporate recruiters, Mr. Sullivan said, random applicants from Internet job sites are sometimes referred to as “Homers,” after the lackadaisical, doughnut-eating Homer Simpson. The most desirable candidates, nicknamed “purple squirrels” because they are so elusive, usually come recommended.

“We call it Monster.ugly,” said Mr. Sullivan, referring to Monster.com. “In the H.R. world, applicants from Monster or other job boards carry a stigma.”

Monster.com did not respond to a request for comment.

Even getting in the door for an interview is becoming more difficult for those without connections. Referred candidates are twice as likely to land an interview as other applicants, according to a new study of one large company by three economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For those who make it to the interview stage, the referred candidates had a 40 percent better chance of being hired than other applicants.

Read More..

L.A. mayoral candidates sound off on pot dispensaries

As Los Angeles voters face the possibility of as many as three medical marijuana initiatives on the May ballot, several mayoral candidates have begun to outline their own plans to deal with the proliferation of pot dispensaries — an issue that has ensnared the City Council in countless legal tangles.

At a mayoral forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters last week, four of the five leading candidates argued for paring back the hundreds of pot dispensaries around the city. But Councilman Eric Garcetti said his first goal would be to persuade the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a medicine: "I will advocate that as mayor," he said.

Garcetti, who presided over many of the battles on the issue as council president from 2006 to 2012, said he would also urge state lawmakers to set regulations governing the distribution of medical marijuana.

"The courts say wildly different things because there has not been clear guidance from the state or federal level," he said. At the city level, Garcetti said, he would try to "keep access" while limiting the number of dispensaries. "You charge a fee so you have an enforcement mechanism, and where possible collect taxes" — steps that, he said, would free up law enforcement officers to focus on more serious crime.

City Controller Wendy Greuel called for "compassion" but placed a greater emphasis than Garcetti on tightening regulations on the locations of pot shops in the city.

"I think when people voted in the state of California to allow medical marijuana, they thought they would go to their local CVS pharmacy and get it. They didn't think about the impact it would have on neighborhoods," said Greuel, who is targeting many of the more conservative San Fernando Valley voters. "The bottom line is we have a right to regulate where marijuana clinics are in the city of Los Angeles…. The public is demanding that the government actually do their job."

After the forum, aides to Greuel told The Times she also would support classifying marijuana as a medicine at the federal level.

The city has struggled for years to regulate the placement of pot shops. A loophole in the city's 2007 moratorium allowed hundreds of additional shops to open. The council's efforts to limit the proliferation led to more than 100 lawsuits against the city. In response to complaints from neighborhood activists, the council enacted a ban on storefront marijuana sales last July. But it retreated in October, repealing the ban after a well-organized coalition of marijuana activists mounted an effort to overturn it at the ballot box.

Kevin James, a former federal prosecutor and the sole Republican among the major contenders, said the confusion and legal wrangling illustrated the dysfunction of the council.

"More pot clinics than Starbucks? Unbelievable," James said at Thursday night's forum. "Only this City Council could put a moratorium on 180 or so pot clinics — and it skyrockets to over 1,000."

The five mayoral candidates were pressed to say how many dispensaries should be allowed across the city. James said he favored about 10 in each of the 15 council districts. Garcetti said the original number of dispensaries — approximately 100 — was "about right."

Greuel and Councilwoman Jan Perry said they were hesitant to name an exact number, with Perry adding that she would take her policy cues from the voters in May.

Candidate Emanuel Pleitez, a technology executive who read from notes throughout the forum, argued that "politicians shouldn't be in the business of setting numbers" and should "let the market decide."

Last week the City Council advanced a measure for the May ballot that would permit only the dispensaries that opened before the moratorium to operate; the measure would also raise taxes on marijuana sales. Garcetti backed the request by Councilman Paul Koretz and Council President Herb Wesson asking the city attorney to draw up language for a ballot measure. Perry was absent for the vote.

Two additional — and competing — medical marijuana initiatives have qualified for the May ballot.

One, which is largely backed by dispensaries that opened after the moratorium, would allow many pot shops to remain open, but it would set new requirements for their operations — such as limited hours and maintaining a certain distance from schools. It would raise taxes on medical marijuana by 20% to pay for city enforcement.

The other was created by a coalition of medical marijuana advocates and the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which began organizing dispensary workers last year. Like the City Council-sponsored proposal, it would allow only pot dispensaries that opened before 2007 to operate. Koretz and Wesson have criticized the measure for not mandating that the shops be located farther away from schools, churches and parks.

Some advocates for the union-backed measure now say they probably will support the council's proposal because it too would allow older dispensaries to remain open and has a better chance of passing.

maeve.reston@latimes.com

Read More..

Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit

“No more vertical videos.” – Joan Crawford’s message for the digital generation.

Twitter’s new snap-and-share video service, Vine, has forced users to break the first rule of iFilm making: never shoot vertical videos.

[More from Mashable: 10 Awesome Pranks to Play On Your Facebook Friends]

SEE ALSO: Vine Mania! 10 Creative Vines on Twitter

Of course, Vine’s videos appear as a square, so you could argue it doesn’t really matter. But after years of comment shaming and PSAs to break novice video shooters of this deplorable habit, will Vine reverse all the progress made?

[More from Mashable: Vinepeek Opens a Window on the World, Six Seconds at a Time]

BONUS: How to Use Vine

Click here to view the gallery: How To Use Vine

Mashable image

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/vine-is-teaching-everyone-this-terrible-habit/
Link To Post : Vine Is Teaching Everyone This Terrible Habit
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Singer Tina Turner on path to Swiss citizenship

(Reuters) – Soul music legend Tina Turner has taken the first steps toward giving up her U.S. passport and becoming a citizen of Switzerland, the country she has called home for nearly 20 years.

The Zurich suburb of Kusnacht has approved Swiss citizenship for the “Proud Mary” singer, pending confirmation from other authorities in the country, a spokeswoman for Turner said on Friday.

Turner, who was born in Tennessee, moved to Switzerland in 1995 to join her German-born record producer partner Erwin Bach and has lived there since. She enjoys the privacy she receives there and has no plans to live elsewhere, the spokeswoman said.

“I’m very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here,” Turner, 73, was quoted as telling the Swiss daily newspaper Blick.

The eight-time Grammy winner retired from performing after her last tour, which ended 2009. Her hits with Ike Turner and as a solo artist include “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Private Dancer” and “River Deep – Mountain High.”

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, editing by Jill Serjeant and Xavier Briand)

Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Singer Tina Turner on path to Swiss citizenship
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/singer-tina-turner-on-path-to-swiss-citizenship/
Link To Post : Singer Tina Turner on path to Swiss citizenship
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Well: Ask Well: Squats for Aging Knees

You are already doing many things right, in terms of taking care of your aging knees. In particular, it sounds as if you are keeping your weight under control. Carrying extra pounds undoubtedly strains knees and contributes to pain and eventually arthritis.

You mention weight training, too, which is also valuable. Sturdy leg muscles, particularly those at the front and back of the thighs, stabilize the knee, says Joseph Hart, an assistant professor of kinesiology and certified athletic trainer at the University of Virginia, who often works with patients with knee pain.

An easy exercise to target those muscles is the squat. Although many of us have heard that squats harm knees, the exercise is actually “quite good for the knees, if you do the squats correctly,” Dr. Hart says. Simply stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and bend your legs until your thighs are almost, but not completely, parallel to the ground. Keep your upper body straight. Don’t bend forward, he says, since that movement can strain the knees. Try to complete 20 squats, using no weight at first. When that becomes easy, Dr. Hart suggests, hold a barbell with weights attached. Or simply clutch a full milk carton, which is my cheapskate’s squats routine.

Straight leg lifts are also useful for knee health. Sit on the floor with your back straight and one leg extended and the other bent toward your chest. In this position, lift the straight leg slightly off the ground and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 to 20 times and then switch legs.

You can also find other exercises that target the knees in this video, “Increasing Knee Stability.”

Of course, before starting any exercise program, consult a physician, especially, Dr. Hart says, if your knees often ache, feel stiff or emit a strange, clicking noise, which could be symptoms of arthritis.

Read More..

7 Die in Fire At Factory In Bangladesh

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

Firefighters and volunteers worked to extinguish the fire at a small garment factory in Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday.

DHAKA, Bangladesh — In the latest blow to Bangladesh’s garment industry, seven workers died Saturday after a fire swept through a factory here not long after seamstresses had returned from a lunch break. Workers said supervisors had locked one of the factory exits, forcing some people to jump out of windows to save their lives.

Abir Abdullah/European Pressphoto Agency

Relatives mourned beside the bodies of workers killed in the fire at a hospital in Dhaka.

Reuters

People sifted through the wreckage at the Smart Fashions factory.

The fatal fire comes roughly two months after the blaze at the Tazreen Fashions factory left 112 workers dead and focused global attention on unsafe conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry. Tazreen Fashions, located just outside Dhaka, the capital, had been making clothing for some of the world’s biggest brands and retailers, including Walmart.

In the aftermath of the Tazreen Fashions fire, political and industrial leaders in Bangladesh pledged to quickly improve fire safety and even conducted high-profile, nationwide inspections of many of the country’s 5,000 clothing factories. And global brands promised they would not buy clothes from unsafe factories.

But Saturday’s fire in a densely populated section of Dhaka is a grim reminder that the problems remain. The blaze erupted about 2 p.m. at Smart Garment Export, a small factory that employed about 300 people, most of them young women who were making sweaters and jackets. All seven of the dead workers were women.

Masudur Rahman Akand, a supervisor in the fire department, said the factory’s workers were returning from lunch when the blaze erupted in a storage area. The factory was located on the second floor of a building, above a bakery, and it lacked proper exits and fire prevention equipment, Mr. Akand said.

“We did not find fire extinguishers,” he said. “We did not find any safety measures.”

With smoke filling the factory floor, workers apparently panicked. Mr. Akand said the seven workers who died either suffocated or were trampled by people trying to escape.

Eight other workers were hospitalized with injuries. Some of them told rescuers that many people could not quickly escape because one of the exits was blocked by a locked steel gate. Witnesses said people began jumping out of windows before the gate was unlocked.

Azizul Hoque, a police supervisor, said the investigation was continuing. “We do not know the reason or the source or the origin of the fire,” he said.

It was unclear whether the Smart Garment factory was making clothing for international brands or retailers. Dhaka’s industrial areas are filled with factories, large and small, that produce clothing for much of the Western world.

Julfikar Ali Manik reported from Dhaka, and Jim Yardley from New Delhi.

Read More..