What you sign away when you book a cruise

WASHINGTON?? It's all fun and margaritas when you first book a cruise. But that "ticket" is actually a contract that can run more than a dozen pages, and gives away more rights to the cruise ship company than you may realize.

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"People will buy the ticket without knowing this, and they won't even look at it before they step on the cruise ship," said Joseph Goldberg, a Harrisburg, Pa.-based consumer attorney who reviewed the ticket contract posted on the Carnival Cruise Lines website for Reuters.

Carnival dominates about half of the cruise market, and its contract, which runs almost 8,000 words and mentions "liability" 20 times, could be considered typical for the industry.

"It's not until something does happen that you find out how stuck you are," Goldberg said.

Something did happen, of course. The Costa Concordia, operated by a company owned by Miami-based Carnival, ran aground in Italian waters on Friday, leaving at least 11 passengers dead and some 24 more missing. That was an extreme and unusual event, likely to have lawyers fighting for years over the various and sometimes contradictory laws, agreements and contracts that may come into play, according to Lewis "Mike" Eidson, a Miami trial lawyer who specializes in representing cruise passengers.

He said he expects to represent Costa Concordia passengers and crew members, and that he will argue that the usual contractual limitations shouldn't apply, because the particulars of this case were so extreme.

But anyone thinking of a nice mid-winter cruise should consider those limitations anyway. If you know what you're signing away, you may be able to protect yourself in the event of lesser tragedies, like lost luggage or a minor injury.

Here are seven rights you sign away when you buy a cruise ship ticket.

• The right to privacy. When you sign the Carnival contract, you give the company the right "at all times with or without notice" to search your bags and personal effects. That's so they can make sure you're not smuggling any firearms, explosives or bourbon (that you didn't buy at their bar) onto the ship.

Furthermore, that contract gives Carnival the right to use pictures and videos of you any way they want. You may not want your office buddies seeing pictures of you in a bathing suit, but that image could make its way into a commercial, without Carnival paying you or getting any additional release signed by you.

• The right to show off your pictures. Just because Carnival reserves the rights to your pictures doesn't mean you can use them yourself, says Goldberg. While the company is unlikely to complain if you adorn your Facebook page with deck pics, passengers who use the tickets do agree that they "will not utilize any photographs ... for non-private use without express written consent of Carnival." So much for that travel blog you wanted to publish.
• The right to be repaid if your jewelry gets stolen or your luggage gets accidentally dropped in the Caribbean. The ticket contract limits the company's liability for lost or damaged bags and their contents to $50 per guest or $100 per stateroom. If your items are worth much more than that, you can buy added coverage by declaring the value of what you are bringing onto the ship and paying 5 percent of its value.

If you're bringing expensive jewelry or other items on board, make a written list of the value, pay the 5 percent and make sure the crew gets a copy of that list, says Goldberg.

• The right to count on that vacation. Carnival can cancel any cruise at any time, according to the contract. It will owe you a refund if the cruise is completely cancelled, or a partial refund if the company changes its mind and leaves you at some port along the way. There's no additional refund in the contract for airfare home. And if you cancel within two weeks of booking? You'll most likely owe full fare anyway, under the contract.
• The right to sue when and where you want. Like most consumer legal contracts these days, the Carnival ticket contract includes an arbitration clause that requires you to submit claims for lost luggage and the like to binding arbitration in Miami-Dade County, Florida. If you do want to file suit for a personal injury, you would be required to do that in the U.S. Federal District Court in Miami.

Furthermore, there are lawsuit deadlines in cruise contracts that many attorneys and passengers aren't even aware of, said Eidson. The contract requires injured parties to notify Carnival within six months and file suit within a year. "The biggest claim in the world could be defeated if you don't file your claim within the year," he said.

• The right to ask for sizeable punitive damages. There are two different kinds of ticket contracts, says Eidson: Domestic ones, which do not cap liability, and international contracts, such as the ones the passengers of the Costa Concordia likely agreed to when they boarded their ship. That contract is subject to an international agreement called the "Athens Convention," which limits liability to about $80,000, according to legal experts. Because of the egregious nature of this case, lawyers like Eidson will seek to blow through those limits by claiming the ship's owners and operators were reckless.
• The right to be legitimately upset. What if you're traumatized by your cruise? Not because the raw bar ran out of shrimp or those margaritas were watery, but because a loved one was injured or killed on the ship. Unless you personally were at risk for the same injury (as would likely be the case in a disaster like the Costa Concordia's accident), you probably waived your right to claim emotional distress in the contract. You could try to take another cruise to calm yourself down, but you might want to bring your lawyer.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46030557/ns/travel-cruise_travel/

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Let Lee decode the 2012 campaign for you? (Balloon Juice)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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CES 2012: Best gaming gadgets

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is a paradise for technology lovers because they get an opportunity to watch several upcoming gadgets at one place. Besides TV, smartphones, tablets and other gadgets, gaming has always remained an integral part of the show. Renowned electronics firm including Sony and Nintendo use the CES to unveil their gaming devices. In 2012 CES also, many companies released their new and interested gaming gadgets. Here is a list of seven most interesting game gadgets of CES 2012. Have a look.

Priced at $80, the iCade Mobile unveiled at 2012 CES is manufactured by Ion Audio. This device is a wraparound controller for the Apple?s hugely successful smartphone iPhone. The use of this gadget converts the iPhone in something similar to an Atari Lynx. The left side of this gaming gadget features a D-pad, while the four-button diamond layout is present on the right side. This gadget is perfect for those iOS gamers, who seek more conventional controls. The system is compatible with more than 100 apps.

Razer?s Project Fiona, unveiled at the 2012 CES is an off-the-beaten-path concept. The makers claim that this gaming tablet, rumored to be priced around $1000, can be used to play several current generation games. Project Fiona is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor. The display of this sleek and stylish tablet gadget is 1280 x 800. It features magnetometer and accelerometers too. Both sides of this gaming tablet feature controllers. This gadget is expected to go on sale by the end of 2012.

This gaming gadget is the world?s first and only purely eye-controlled arcade game. Featuring fast and intuitive gaze interaction, the Tobii EyeAsteroids gives a completely new dimension to arcades as well as gaming. This device allows the user to use their eyes to control the game. Your gaze is understood by the game, which takes the intensity to a completely new world.

Unveiled by Startup Orbotix, the Sphero Robotic Ball is a high-tech gaming gadget, which can be controlled using an iPhone via BlueTooth. The Sphero ball can be used to control two new games named Chromo and Sphere Space Fighter released by the company. You can move the ball using Sphero and control the games by rotating it. The Sphero also works well with the apps developed by third party developers. The Sphero allows users to play up to five games.

This new technology developed by ePawn is still in prototype phase. This technology combines Bluetooth connectivity, touch screens and iPhone in order to help the games experience a unique gaming experience. The sub-LCD tracking layer used in the Arena detects the ePawn tags attached to the game pieces developed by them. It is learnt that the company is planning to hold talks with renowned game development studio Ubisoft to take the technology forward.

Priced at $79.99, the Naga Hex unveiled by Razer is a six-button gaming mouse. All the buttons are arranged in a hexagonal formation on the thumb rest. You can rest your thumb on the rubber nub fitted in the middle. You can also use your thumb as a point of reference. The three interchangeable thumb rests used in this mouse offer different heights to the user. The mechanical buttons fitted in this mouse has a sensitivity of up to 5,600dpi. This one-of-a-kind is compatible with Synapse 2.0 cloud storage released by Razer. It is expected that this mouse will be available for sale at the end of January 2012.

The Ion Wireless Controller is manufactured by SteelSeries in partnership with Zeemote Technology. This controller works perfectly with any computer and does not miss a beat. This controller offers touch screen devices classic and attractive color schemes. The dimensions of this controller with a white LED light are 108mm x 55.5mm x 18mm.

Source: http://www.designbuzz.com/ces-2012-gaming-gadgets.html

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Chris Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky Expecting First Child

The Snow White and the Huntsman actor and his wife Elsa Pataky are expecting their first child, his rep confirms to PEOPLE.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/ZUYHY_pJjqs/

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Gov't choppers under fire in Mexico drug war (AP)

MEXICO CITY ? The Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have suffered at least 28 gunfire attacks on helicopters in the five years since the government launched an offensive against drug cartels, according to official documents made public Monday.

The attacks show the increasing ferocity of Mexico's drug gangs, and also suggest support for what the Mexican government has said in the past: that 2010 may have been the worst year for the upward spiral in violence.

In the first two years of the drug war, reporting government agencies such as the air force, navy and Attorney General's Office reported no chopper attacks. But in 2008, four helicopters were hit by gunfire, wounding at least one officer aboard.

In 2009, bullets struck six government helicopters in the rotors, side doors or motor compartments. All the craft were apparently able to land safely.

2010 was the worst year for helicopter attacks, with 14 hit and one crew member wounded. Some craft had as many as seven bullet holes in them when they landed, with rounds going through windshields, fuselages, rotors and even landing gear.

In 2011, only three helicopters were hit by gunfire, but the number is almost certainly higher. The federal police refused to release data on attacks on its craft, but publicly acknowledged that on May 24, suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a federal police chopper, hitting two officers and forcing the craft to land, though officials insisted it had not been shot down.

Federal police said the pilot in that incident landed "to avoid any accident." The Russian-made Mi-17 touched down about 3.5 miles (6 kilometers) from the shooting scene in the western state of Michoacan. Two officers aboard suffered non-life-threatening wounds.

Mexico has long used helicopters in anti-drug operations. While security forces have updated their helicopter fleet in recent years, they has also retired some older craft, so the total number of choppers would not account for the variation in attacks.

The newspaper Milenio originally requested the attack reports through a freedom of information request, and the reports were independently accessed by The Associated Press.

Mexican drug gangs have long strung steel cables around opium and marijuana plantations to try to bring down police and military helicopters. In 2003, in what prosecutors said was the first fatal attack of its kind by drug traffickers in Mexico, gunmen guarding an opium-poppy plantation shot down two police helicopters, killing all five agents aboard.

But those attacks were infrequent compared to what's occurred since 2008.

Overall Drug-related killings rose 11 percent in the first nine months of 2011, when 12,903 people were killed, compared to 11,583 in the same period of 2010, the office said. But the Attorney General's Office found one small consolation: "It's the first year (since 2006) that the homicide rate increase has been lower compared to the previous years."

Drug-related killings jumped by 70 percent for the same nine-month period of 2010 compared to January to September 2009, when 6,815 deaths were recorded.

The carnage continued Monday, when seven gunmen were killed in a pre-dawn shootout with police on a highway in the city of Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City.

A federal police officer was recovering from a gunshot wound to the foot following the confrontation.

The prosecutors office in the central Mexican state of Morelos says the gunmen belonged to an organized crime gang, but did not say which one.

"Organized crime" in Mexico generally refers to drug cartels, and remnants of the Beltran Leyva cartel have been fighting for control of Cuernavaca.

Prosecutors said the gunmen were traveling in three stolen vehicles when police confronted them early Monday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_drug_war_mexico

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Gingrich defends Bain criticisms in SC GOP forum (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Saturday that Republicans will err if they don't scrutinize Mitt Romney's role in a private equity firm called Bain Capital.

Gingrich, the former House speaker, said President Barack Obama will hammer away at Bain if Romney is the nominee this fall.

"I don't see how you can expect us to have a presidential campaign in which an entire sector is avoided," Gingrich said on a Fox News program that included five of the six Republican candidates. Each fielded South Carolina voters' questions for almost 20 minutes.

Many Republican and conservative leaders have rebuked Gingrich for criticizing Romney's role at Bain. The private equity firm had a mixed record of job-creation at the companies it restructured in the 1980s and `90s.

Program host Mike Huckabee, who ran for president in 2008, gently reprimanded Gingrich for citing Romney by name. The candidates appeared separately, never confronting each other. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas did not participate.

The South Carolina GOP primary is Jan. 21.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said he wants the federal government "out of the housing business" so the free market can work. Mortgage interest payments should remain tax-deductible, he said.

When a woman said expressions of Christian faith are under attack, Romney, a Mormon, said, "I will stand up for the ability of Americans to worship the god they choose." That would include public displays of manger scenes, menorahs and other religious symbols, he said.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman was asked why he supports legalized abortion in cases of rape and incest if he believes life begins at conception.

"I am pro-life," Huntsman said. "I have stipulations." Exceptions for rape and incest represent "where I am. I always have been, and I hope it's good enough for you," he said.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum noted that he does not support legalized abortions in cases of rape or incest. But he supports the death penalty, he said, because it does not involve "innocent life."

Santorum acknowledged voting to raise the federal debt ceiling at least five times while in Congress. But he said he consistently worked to reduce federal spending and to make the government more efficient.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry touted his call for a 20 percent flat tax, which would eliminate many existing loopholes. He would keep the deductibility of charitable gifts, local taxes and mortgage interest payments, he said.

Perry said he would dramatically reduce federal intervention in state actions regarding labor, the environment, voting laws and other matters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign_forum

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Higher Gas Prices Could Benefit the U.S. Over Time (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | High gas prices are not something typically associated with the general definition of "a good thing." Even as a Forbes report is anticipating oil remaining in the $98 a barrel range for all of 2012, seeing gas prices remain higher than normal could work in the advantage of the United States. Adding more fuel to the fire is the potential for Nigeria to cut off oil shipments to the U.S. amid a labor dispute according to the Associated Press. Of course, smaller supply equals higher prices for gas.

Those higher fuel prices translate into just about everything costing more money, including get back and forth to work. Higher gas prices mean higher shipping prices, which means outsourcing jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs, is not as valuable to companies. A report from Rock Center speculates that by 2015 overseas manufacturing will only save companies 10 percent. The report also mentions that companies will begin to shift operations back to the United States to save money, which could be a corporate slogan by that time.

So higher fuel prices could actually be a good thing for the U.S. economy, albeit in the long-term. In addition, foreign labor is not as cheap as it once was because the shift of manufacturing caused a hiring boom in markets like China, which is also in the Rock Center report.

So while consumers might lament the high cost of fuel, those higher prices could eventually drive businesses and jobs back to America. Sure the effects will not be felt for a few years, but just to see the "Made in the USA" label regularly again might make the pain associated with higher gas prices bearable.

Everything is purely speculation. However, when it comes to the bottom line, corporations will do whatever is required to keep margins high, or at least higher. And that could be reassuring news for everyone.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120114/cm_ac/10829319_higher_gas_prices_could_benefit_the_us_over_time

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Iterate 13: Global Moxie

Marc, Seth, and Rene iterate about the Windows 8 app store, Twitter 4.0, and Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich multitouch tracking, and interrogate Global Moxie’s Josh Clark about the

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GotEm_Coach: #Trailblazers throttle the Lakers, only to be dismantled by the #Suns the following night. Thanks for your shitty schedule @NBA!!!

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Do Blogs Need Comment Reels? Yes, and Here?s How

Commenting on blogs is broken. But what we need is a solution, not an abandonment of the concept. The question comes up every few months, but new social commenting technology means there are better answers now than ever before. Over the last day?MG Siegler, MacStories, and mobile developer Mike Gemell?have all written about choosing the nuclear option and turning off comments entirely on their sites. Their key reasons for doing so seem to be: 1. Comment reels are full of trolls, bile, and spam links 2. There's no way for popular sites to keep up with comments on old posts 3. Comment reels give random people too much visibility and distract from primary content Here are my proposed solutions to these problems.

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Hackers Port Amazon's Silk Browser to Other Android Devices [VIDEO] (Mashable)

[brightcove video="1365758999001" /] Amazon?s Silk browser is being ported onto other Android devices. Some are asking whether the port is fair game or theft.

[More from Mashable: Why Building a Business in a Boring Industry Can Pay Off [VIDEO]]

Check out the video above to learn more.

SEE ALSO: Amazon Silk: An Ingenious Plan to Get You To Buy More Stuff

[More from Mashable: Google Punishes Chrome Over Paid Link Campaign [VIDEO]]

What do you think of Silk? And do you think porting is legal?

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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Chris Cornell channels Woodie Guthrie for "The Keeper" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? On Thursday, members of the Academy's music branch will meet to view clips of the 39 eligible songs in this year's Oscar race, and to score those songs to determine this year's nominees.

This year's Oscar song race is full of refugees or emigres from the worlds of pop and rock music: Elton John, Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, will.i.am, OK Go, Sigur Ros' Jonsi, the Zac Brown Band and the National are among those who've contributed songs after establishing careers outside the movies.

Still, none of those are dyed-in-the-wool rockers to rank with Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, whose hard rock band was one of the most successful outfits in the Pacific Northwest's explosion of tough rock 'n' roll (they called it grunge, not that the participants liked that label) in the early '90s.

Cornell's highest-profile movie song to date,"You Know My Name," for the 2006 James Bond film "Casino Royale," was a typical rocker. But his entry in this year's Oscar race, "The Keeper" from "Machine Gun Preacher," is something else entirely: a sparse acoustic ballad inspired, he said, by Woody Guthrie.

But the route to that approach, he told TheWrap in an interview, was a circuitous one. "Because of the nature of the story, musically it could be all over the map," he said of Marc Forster's film, in which Gerard Butler stars as Sam Childers, a former biker who became a preacher and founded an orphanage that rescues orphans in war-torn Sudan.

"I didn't have any visuals to work with, so musically it could be anything," he added. "It could be rock, biker rock, gospel music, hip-hop, Sudanese music..."

Cornell said he initially wrote a song with a more gospel feel, but didn't feel as if its lyrics got to the heart of the story Forster was telling.

"'The Keeper' came from a feeling one day that I was missing it somehow," he said. "I decided that what I needed to do was to do something very sparse, with just an acoustic guitar and singing, and maybe a little tiny bit of percussion, and nothing else to get in the way of what I was trying to say."

The song's lyric perspective, he said, came almost immediately after he hit on that musical approach. "It's difficult to write a song about this man's life or the lives that he touches as an observer, because it's so intense," he said. "I haven't seen what Sam Childers has seen, and I haven't been through what these children or their families have been through.

"So at some point the perspective for me became, imagine that I'm Sam Childers, but Sam Childers is Woody Guthrie, and he's writing a song to these children.

He's telling them that although they may not have been able to count on anything, his intention is that until he drops dead, they can count on him."

After recording a demo for the song, Cornell played it over a gallery of images from Childers's Angels of East Africa website. (The site is currently being updated, and redirects to the Machine Gun Preacher site.)

"It felt like a perfect match," he said. "I never told anybody that I did that -- but in the film the song is laid over photos in the end credits, and some of the exact same photos are in there."

And if the result is not nearly as flashy as a James Bond opening-credits song, Cornell said that he felt a lot more pressure writing it than he did with "You Know My Name."

"In writing a James Bond theme, it was an honor to be asked to do it, and it's a franchise," he said. "But it also begins and ends with fun. To me, this story has so much more weight to it -- socially, politically, spiritually, in every way. That's a lot to weigh on a three-minute song, but I took that seriously."

He also takes film songs in general seriously -- because even though he's now back on tour and in the studio with Soundgarden while at the same time doing solo shows, he is determined to continue writing songs for film.

"I think it's something that is important for me to do," he said. "It's an unpredictable and unique type of collaboration that's very different from any other that a songwriter can ever encounter. I can sit down with other writers or bandmates and write music in other combinations -- but with a film, you're collaborating with the director and the story and the film itself.

"It has its own life, and in a sense its own will. Your music is a character in the play, as opposed to the play, and it needs to co-exist. That's interesting, and it's the only time I can really have that kind of collaboration."

But on the other hand, he admitted, he's not actively looking for new films.

"It finds me more than I find it," he said. "I don't know how many opportunities I would have if I were out there beating the street looking. I'm not immersed in the film industry, so someone else is going to know about it first.

"It usually just sort of shows up, but that works for me."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120103/film_nm/us_chriscornell

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Sony Tablet S Gets $100 Price Cut [16GB Sony Tablet S Android Honeycomb Tablet Now Priced at $399.99; Will Sony's Folio-Like Tablet Get an Increase in Sales?]

Sony has cut the price of its entry-level Tablet S model by $100, now pitting the Android Honeycomb tablet against other mid-range tablet offerings from other brands like Asus, Toshiba and Samsung.

Sony has slashed the price of the 16 GB Tablet S from $499.99 to $399.99. Meanwhile, the same price cut is being offered for the 32 GB Tablet S ? from $599.99 to $499.99. These new $100 price reductions come after a $50 price cut across the board in the previous weeks, which was a promotional discount. Now, it?s not clear whether Sony plans to keep the prices at this reduced level, although that seems to be the case.

The new $399.99 price point for the entry-level Tablet S puts the Android Honeycomb tablet squarely against similar models from other brands, including the original Asus Eee Pad Transformer (sans keyboard), Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and Toshiba Thrive. Sony is adding a few other goodies into the mix, including five free PlayStation Store downloads and 180 days of free access to Music Unlimited. Buyers also get 8 store credit?for renting Video Unlimited movies, along with five free rentals,?with the purchase of a Tablet S.

But will this be enough to attract prospective Android Honeycomb tablet buyers? It might be a good idea to wait for further announcements from other brands. CES 2012 is coming in just a few weeks, so brands might be reducing prices to accommodate new tablet launches. Apple is likewise rumored to be planning to lower the prices of the iPad 2, along with an upcoming release of the next-generation iPad tablets. But if you like Sony products, consider that even the Pope himself has used a Sony Tablet S to activate a Christmas light display this last December.

Source: http://nexus404.com/Blog/2012/01/01/sony-tablet-s-gets-100-price-cut-16gb-sony-tablet-s-android-honeycomb-tablet-now-priced-at-399-99-will-sonys-folio-like-tablet-get-an-increase-in-sales/

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Video: DNC Chairwoman:Obama campaign has been in Iowa for months

Seton Hall shoots down No. 8 Connecticut

Jordan Theodore scored all 19 of his points in the second half and Seton Hall ended almost 11 years of frustration by stunning No. 8 Connecticut 75-63 on Tuesday night in coach Kevin Willard's biggest win since taking over the program last season.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45862655#45862655

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GentlemanMashr: Gruden trolling @MikePereira during #OutbackBowl. Love it! #cfb #nfl

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Cruise, "MI4" lead box office at end of weak year (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Tom Cruise's fourth "Mission: Impossible" movie held on to the top of box office charts over New Year's weekend as Hollywood said goodbye to a sluggish year at domestic movie theaters.

As 2011 ended, U.S. and Canadian revenue fell from last year and attendance slumped to its lowest level since 1995.

The year's final weekend saw top movies add to ticket sales from the Christmas holiday one week earlier but no change in the top three chart positions. The "Sherlock Holmes" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" franchise films took the No. 2 and 3 positions behind Cruise's film.

From Friday through Monday, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" hauled in an estimated $38.3 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, distributor Paramount Pictures said.

The movie that features the 49-year-old Cruise as special agent Ethan Hunt dangling off the world's tallest building has grossed $366.5 million worldwide, Of that, $225.3 million has come from international markets, affirming Cruise's place as a solid performer for global audiences and capping a strong year for "MI4" distributor, Paramount Pictures.

Propelled by the third "Transformers" film, Paramount's movies grossed nearly $5.2 billion worldwide, the studio said. The total included nearly $2 billion at domestic theaters and a record $3.2 billion internationally.

No new movies were released nationwide over the weekend.

In second place, detective sequel "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" grossed $26.5 million over four days. Third place belonged to family film "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked," which pulled in $21.0 million.

Rounding out the top five, Steven Spielberg's family film "War Horse" landed in fourth with $19.2 million, and thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" pulled in $19.0 million.

Elsewhere, "The Iron Lady" starring Meryl Streep in a critically praised performance as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opened strong with $280,409 from just four theaters. That's a hefty per-screen average of $70,102, nearly three times higher than the next-closest movie.

HOLIDAYS UP, YEAR DOWN

Domestic ticket sales for all films rose 10 percent from the same weekend a year ago, but the strong finish could not lift yearly revenues in line with 2010.

Domestic revenue for 2011 fell 3.4 percent to $10.2 billion, the second-straight yearly decline, according to estimates from Hollywood.com. More worrisome for studios and theater chains is that attendance dropped 4.2 percent to 1.3 billion, the lowest pace since 1995.

Pundits typically peg low turnout on unappealing movies, but this year, studio executives and industry experts have said other factors may be dampening sales. They cite the weak economy and competition from mobile devices, social networking, video games and other entertainment options.

This year also was measured against early 2010 results from "Avatar," the top-grossing movie of all time with $760 million at domestic and $2 billion at international box offices.

"A confluence of factors contributed to the downturn," said Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker Hollywood.com. The coming year, with a large slate of promising titles, "will be a very pivotal year. It will tell us, is it really just the product, or is something bigger going on," he said.

But the year ended on a high-note. The final week of the 2011 ranked as the year's second highest with domestic sales of more than $350 million, said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox.

"It's not all doom and gloom," he said. "We just had a sensational week of movie-going."

Executives also note global ticket sales remain healthy with several of 2011's biggest titles seeing the bulk of sales from international markets, much like "Mission: Impossible."

Looking ahead, Hollywood is counting on a packed lineup of big-budget action movies and sequels to bring crowds back in 2012. The slate includes Batman sequel "The Dark Knight Rises," superhero movie "The Avengers," young-adult book adaptation "The Hunger Games" and the first of two "Hobbit" movies.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120102/en_nm/us_usa_boxoffice

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Dos Santos Opens as Solid Favorite Over Overeem

Following a dominant performance at UFC 141, Alistair Overeem has now earned a shot at heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.

With 12 wins in a row, Overeem has proven he is one of the most dominant big men in the sport, but how does he match-up with the top ranked fighter in the division?

According to oddsmaker Nick Kalikas from BetOnFighting.com, Overeem?s win may earn him a title shot, but he?s still going to come in as a decided underdog to the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.

The odds opened up with Dos Santos as a -240 favorite, with the comeback on Overeem as a +190 favorite.

?I was very impressed with Overeem?s performance tonight against Brock. I think we might see his domination of Lesnar impact the betting line early so wouldn?t be shocked if we see the initial line drop slightly,? said Kalikas on Friday night.

?As we get closer to fight day I think we might see it climb back up some. Should be a great fight, but make no mistake JDS is the rightful solid favorite heading in. I firmly believe he?s currently the best heavyweight in the world.?

Dos Santos has been perfect since coming to the UFC holding an unblemished 8-0 record, and he?ll now face one of the best strikers and heavyweights in the entire sport in Alistair Overeem with the heavyweight title on the line.

Source: http://mmaweekly.com/dos-santos-opens-as-solid-favorite-over-overeem

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Samoa skips Friday in leap across int'l date line (AP)

APIA, Samoa ? The weekend came sooner than usual for the tiny South Pacific island nation of Samoa.

When the clock struck midnight Thursday, the country skipped over Friday and moved 24 hours ahead ? straight into Saturday, Dec. 31.

Samoans gathered around a main clock tower in the capital of Apia for the historic moment, applauding in celebration as the midnight hour struck to the wail of sirens and burst of fireworks. Drivers circled the clock tower blaring their horns, and prayer services were held across the country.

Samoa aimed to align its time zone with key trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region by shifting west of the international date line.

The time jump means that Samoa's 186,000 citizens, and the 1,500 in the three-atoll United Nations dependency of Tokelau, which also shifted, will now be the first in the world to ring in the new year, rather than the last.

The date line dance came 119 years after U.S. traders persuaded local Samoans to align their islands' time with nearby U.S.-controlled American Samoa and the U.S. to assist their trading with California.

But the time zone put Samoa and Tokelau nearly a full day behind neighboring Australia and New Zealand, which are increasingly important trading partners.

In June, the Samoan government passed a law to move Samoa west of the international date line, which separates one calendar day from the next and runs roughly north-to-south through the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Under a government decree, all those scheduled to work on the nonexistent Friday will be given full pay for the missed day of labor.

In addition to the economic advantages, the time jump is also expected to make the everyday rituals of family life a little more pleasant. Like many small Pacific island states, more of Samoa's people live permanently in other countries. About 180,000 Samoans live in New Zealand and 15,000 in Australia. The date line switch means that families split between the island nation and Australia or New Zealand can now celebrate important events such as birthdays at the same time.

"We've got to remember that over 90 percent of our people emigrate to New Zealand and Australia. That's why it is absolutely vital to make this change," Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi told The Associated Press just hours before the country catapulted into the future.

Officials have begun work on changing maps, charts and atlases to reflect Samoa's new date line position. A postage stamp, featuring the phrase "into the future," has also been created to mark the switch.

Although generally embraced by most Samoans, the date change wasn't expected to happen without a few little glitches. Digicel, the most popular mobile phone service provider in Samoa, said the company would have to update its systems immediately after the time jump, leaving phone service dead for about 15 minutes.

"The interruption will only take a few minutes so we can adjust our system," CEO Pepe Fiaailetoa Fruean said. "So I would like to inform all of our customers to have alternative communication means available in case of an emergency."

Being a day behind the rest of the Asia-Pacific region has meant that when it's dawn Sunday in Samoa, it's already dawn Monday in adjacent Tonga and nearly dawn Monday in nearby New Zealand and Australia, as well as prominent east Asian trade partners such as China.

The original shift to the east side of the line was made in 1892, when Samoa celebrated July 4 twice, giving a nod to Independence Day in the U.S.

The date line drawn by mapmakers is not mandated by any international body. By tradition, it runs roughly through the 180-degree line of longitude, but it zigzags to accommodate the choices of Pacific nations on how to align their calendars.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_re_as/as_samoa_dateline

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James Durbin and Heidi Lowe New Years Wedding!

Congratulations to American Idol alum, James Durbin and his long time love, Heidi Lowe who got married tonight in an intimate ceremony in the Santa Cruz mountains. The Idol rocker?s rep confirmed the happy news to People magazine.

The couple?s two year old son, Hunter, served as ring bearer. The 85 person guest list included fellow idols, Stefano Langone, Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams.

After the ceremony, which took place at the edge of a redwood forest, Stefano tweeted, ?Beautiful wedding! Just ended now and were on our way to the reception! Owww party on! 2012 baby it?s gunna be the best year of our lives!!!?

?We are so in love and happy that we got to share our special day with our closest family and friends,? the couple tells People.

?This wedding was the perfect way to kick off the New Year. We are looking forward to living happily ever after.?

The couple plan to ring in the New Year with a reception at a local community hall that they describe as a ?little bit country, little bit rock ?n roll.?

A highlight of the night featured Geoff Tate, the frontman for progressive metal band Queensr?che, surprising James and Heidi with a performance of his band?s 1984 classic ?Take Hold of the Flame.? It?s one of the couple?s favorite tunes.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mjsbigblog/JbYv/~3/4qv6-sLJwLQ/james-durbin-and-heidi-lowe-new-years-wedding.htm

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