3 dead as unusual weather mix sweeps nation, threatens holiday travelers (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVchTkztnF0vRF3JZLciFq5JpzYAYe3qL1ni7mep3SoOaW_tTqmOQoGKsZQEoxXGyN9F0_OYOJl7FY8EyewNdozSKA-Cv95kgAD1ZTY2x_P75yZ_IEG5fKEvOiB66AlUTPluF8mR7WwU/s1600/131220222121-gray-winter-science-00002217-c1-main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVchTkztnF0vRF3JZLciFq5JpzYAYe3qL1ni7mep3SoOaW_tTqmOQoGKsZQEoxXGyN9F0_OYOJl7FY8EyewNdozSKA-Cv95kgAD1ZTY2x_P75yZ_IEG5fKEvOiB66AlUTPluF8mR7WwU/s320/131220222121-gray-winter-science-00002217-c1-main.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</strong> -- At least three people are dead after a bizarre mix of weather across the country spawned tornadoes, ice storms and record-setting warmth this weekend.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two deaths occurred in the Mississippi counties of Coahoma and Jasper, where severe weather damaged homes and knocked down trees, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The third fatality came from a traffic accident near Kansas City, Chris Redline of the Missouri Department of Transportation said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We also had to close a lot of roads in southeast Missouri because of flooding," Redline said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Flooding, extreme cold and unseasonable warmth covered other parts of the country. To make sense of it all, let us take you on a national tour.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Southeast: Thunderstorms, tornadoes and torrential downpours</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Heavy rain, damaging winds and lightning were forecast to continue into Sunday morning. These storms will spread, bringing downpours to Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and up the East Coast on Sunday.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Saturday night, the National Weather Service said a tornado was likely to blame for damage in central Mississippi, including four semi trucks overturned and five houses heavily damaged.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Some of the highest rain totals for Saturday occurred in Junction, Illinois, where 6 inches were reported, and Trumann, Arkansas, where residents had 7 inches of rain by late Saturday evening.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The main trigger for the severe weather is the above-average temperatures farther north.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Midwest: A flood of wet worry</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Saturday evening, some low-lying areas of Shelby County, Indiana. were evacuated as the rain continued to fall in central Indiana.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Where temperatures are lower, snow will come down across Iowa, Wisconsin and into northwest Michigan. Some areas will see up to 8-10 inches of snow, others around 4-7 inches. And an ice storm is predicted in southeast Michigan.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Central Plains: Slammed with ice and snow</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Kansas and southeast Nebraska, snowfalls will total 3-6 inches. And those cold temps will keep folks shivering.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whitney Eichinger of Southwest Airlines said the company is trying to offer customers options.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We are allowing customers to rebook their trip with no penalty through tomorrow," she said. "That has more to do with traveling to the airport, not flight cancellations."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The highest snow total of Saturday was in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, where 12.5 inches had fallen by late Saturday evening.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mid-Atlantic/Northeast: Weirdly warm</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">If there is one present being handed out on this first day of winter, it is the well-above-average temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">By Sunday, that warm weather will grace the Northeast, sending temperatures into the 60s.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Farther north, however, the situation has been less cozy. In Maine and across New Hampshire, Vermont and into New York, winter weather -- including ice storm warnings and freezing rain -- were in effect.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph23" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a winter ice emergency and activated the state's emergency operations center. The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a winter storm watch for five counties in upstate New York and winter storm warnings for two others.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph24" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The National Weather Service in Buffalo said up to an inch of ice accumulation is expected, and areas near the St. Lawrence and Black rivers could see even more.</div><div class="cnn_strycbftrtxt" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; padding: 4px 24px 37px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN's Jennifer Gray, Nick Valencia, Todd Borek and Matt Daniel contributed to this report.</div></div>

3 dead as unusual weather mix sweeps nation, threatens holiday travelers (BLOG)

(CNN)  -- At least three people are dead after a bizarre mix of weather across the country spawned tornadoes, ice storms and record-setting ...

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Stupid Health Mistakes You Didn't Know You Were Making (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KLRPJhsnbrKqp5Fq7-Y2Jwoi_NVAxQI0E5CvWzQHHcTUPHAwr9tO3i13MR419OQLmtTdHtqRvsmOIiqZcjZlPKxso5NRs3etqtYwstKejfDgFDo9mg8A_2k08kE3MISB7bhNHqvVULc/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KLRPJhsnbrKqp5Fq7-Y2Jwoi_NVAxQI0E5CvWzQHHcTUPHAwr9tO3i13MR419OQLmtTdHtqRvsmOIiqZcjZlPKxso5NRs3etqtYwstKejfDgFDo9mg8A_2k08kE3MISB7bhNHqvVULc/s320/3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">You're already aware of the folly in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/31-million-americans-skip_n_1005076.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">breakfast-skipping</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/high-heels-are-dangerous-study_n_1232278.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">stiletto-wearing</a>, <a href="http://www.oprah.com/health/How-To-Prevent-Hearing-Loss-How-Much-Noise-is-Dangerous" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">volume-blasting</a>, <a href="http://www.oprah.com/health/How-Many-Hours-Of-Sleep" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">sleep-skimping</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/diet-soda-health-risks_n_3606906.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">diet-soda-drinking</a>. But did you overlook these? (We did.)</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"></div><ul class="listicle" id="listicle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; width: 590px;"><li class="slide_3255984 image slide first" id="slide_3255984" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;">  <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Air Your Dirty Laundry</strong><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255984_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-weight: bold; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /></header><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You hang up damp clothes and towels inside your home. Fresh from the washer, your laundry may <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">look</i> clean, but it <a href="http://homelaundrystudy.net/design.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">pollutes the air</a>, found a study at the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit at the Glasgow School of Art. Damp clothes can increase humidity, creating an allergenic environment in which dust mites and mold spores grow (depending on where you live) at concentrations<i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">300 percent higher</i> than safe limits. About <a href="http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/296052-overview" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">25 percent of the homes where laundry was air-dried tested positive for <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Aspergillus fumigatus</i></a>, a fungus that causes lung infections in people with weakened immune systems. (And just because you don't see greenish fuzz on the wall doesn't mean you're safe—spores are often invisible to the naked eye.) <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> For eco-lovers who worry about using the dryer but don’t hang the wash outside, the researchers recommend hanging it in a space that has, ideally, an independent heat source and ventilation. (When drying clothes in the bathroom, turn on the fan and shut the door.)</div></li></ul><ul class="listicle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; width: 590px;"><li class="slide_3255281 image slide" id="slide_3255281" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Brush Right After Breakfast</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255281_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You clean your teeth directly following a meal or drink. Every time you drink a beverage like coffee or orange juice, acid floods your mouth. If you brush your teeth before your saliva neutralizes the pH, you're essentially scratching that acid into your slightly softened enamel—which accelerates erosion. A 2004 study found that when <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14684979" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">people brushed within 20 minutes after downing something acidic (diet soda), they lost more dentin</a> (the layer <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">under</i> the enamel) than those who waited longer before brushing. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> After you've finished an acidic beverage like fruit juice, soda or wine, drink a cup of water and wait at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth. By then,<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23765428" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">saliva (pH 7) will neutralize the acids and remineralize the enamel</a>, explains Sergio Lima Santiago, an associate professor at Brazil's Federal University of Ceará.</div></li><li class="slide_3255282 image slide" id="slide_3255282" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Store Potatoes in the Fridge</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255282_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> Your go-to starches were exposed to too-high or too-low temperatures. Cookies, dark toast, chips, fries and other beloved brownish carbs contain two volatile ingredients: sugar and an amino acid called aspargine. <a href="http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm374855.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">At high temperatures—frying, roasting and baking—the duo forms acrylamide, a chemical whose link with some cancers</a> (including endometrial, ovarian and renal cell) recently prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a consumer update. Potato chips and French fries are particularly worrisome, research finds, especially when they have been refrigerated before cooking. The cold turns more starch into sugar, resulting in even higher levels of the carcinogen. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> At home cooks can reduce the high levels of acrylamide in fried and roasted potatoes by storing spuds in a dark unrefrigerated place and soaking the raw slices in water for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking. When it comes to cooking techniques, boiling, steaming and microwaving are the most acrylamide-free. A general rule of thumb? The browner a starch gets when cooked (or overcooked), the more acrylamide it contains (you want your toast light tan, never burnt).</div></li><li class="slide_3255856 image slide" id="slide_3255856" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Take the Same Pill for Hangovers as Headaches</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255856_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Shutterstock</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You often use the painkiller acetaminophen as a chaser. Mix acetaminophen with an alcoholic drink or two and your kidneys may take a hit, found a preliminary study led by Harrison Ndetan, MSc, MPH, DrPH, an assistant professor of research and biostatistics at Parker University in Dallas. Half of the subjects who reported <a href="http://www.apha.org/about/news/pressreleases/2013/lightdrinkingpairedwithacetaminophenkidneydysfunction.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">taking the painkiller <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and</i> drinking a small to moderate amount of alcohol on a weekly basis suffered from kidney disease</a> (a striking 123 percent higher increase in risk than those who took either alone rather than in combination.). Acetaminophen inhibits a protein that the body uses to metabolize alcohol, Ndetan explains. Plus, alcohol can cause dehydration, which stresses the kidneys even more. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> Don't combine acetaminophen with alcohol, Ndekan advises (although he notes that the findings just show an association and research is ongoing). Which sounds straight-forward enough, but the <a href="http://www.knowyourdose.org/common-medications" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">painkiller is a "hidden" ingredient in many over-the-counter medications</a>.</div></li><li class="slide_3255367 image slide" id="slide_3255367" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Carry a Shiny Yellow Handbag</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255367_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You picked a bright faux-leather accessory. Handbags, wallets and belts made of bright "pleather" (usually vinyl or PVC) frequently contain lead levels that are much higher than those allowed in children's products, reported a study by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH). The highest in content was found in<a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/press-releases/content/progress-made-but-some-handbags-still-pose-lead-threats/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">yellow purses</a>, followed by green, orange and red. Lead, which may transfer in trace amounts from handbag to hand—and into the mouth—causes developmental problems in children and is linked with heart disease and cancer in adults. While the CEH reached an agreement with dozens of retailers back in 2010 to limit lead in merchandise, the agency continues to find high levels in about <a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/press-releases/content/landmark-agreement-ends-lead-threats-in-handbags-from-national-vendors-and-retailers/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">15 percent of purses and accessories sold in major stores</a>. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> To be safe, avoid fake-leather purses and wallets, and opt for canvas, hemp, nylon or leather instead. Check out the agency's <a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/blog/ceh-still-finding-lead-womens-handbags-wallets/%20https://twitter.com/CEHPurseWatch" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Purse Watch Twitter</a> page for the latest. (The <a href="http://www.ceh.org/contact/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CEH</a> also tests bags for free, return postage not included, and offers drop-in testing in its California office.)</div></li><li class="slide_3255368 image slide last" id="slide_3255368" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Make Out with a Marlboro Man</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255368_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You thought "ashtray mouth" was the worst thing you could get from kissing a smoker. Cigarette toxins strip away immune defenses in the throat, which explains why smokers are likelier to harbor a bad bug called <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Neisseria meningitides</i>. While those with healthy immune systems often beat it back, it can manifest as meningococcus, an illness that causes fever, severe headache, confusion or coma and a purplish-red rash. The bacterium spreads through droplets that come from the back of the throat…which makes deep kissing an obvious route. But there's also evidence that <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23228079" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">prolonged household contact—kissing cheeks, cuddling—may spread it too</a>, even if the carrier is asymptomatic, found an Australian study. And while there's no hard data on actual transmission rates from smokers, the risks are serious: 1 in 10 children who contract the disease die from it. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> Apart from persuading your smoker to quit, reduce your chance of transmission by avoiding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-J_Day_in_Times_Square" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V-J-Day-in-Times-Square-style kissing</a> when you have a cold. (Any respiratory infection primes your raw nose and throat for a bacterial invasion.) The Australian study recommended immunizing children, in particular, with the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mening/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">meningococcal conjugate vaccine</a>. (Young adults and the under-5 set are the most susceptible.)</div></li></ul><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost OWN on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HuffPostOWN" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/HuffPostOWN" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Twitter </a></em>.</div></div>

Stupid Health Mistakes You Didn't Know You Were Making (BLOG)

You're already aware of the folly in  breakfast-skipping ,  stiletto-wearing ,  volume-blasting ,  sleep-skimping  and  diet-soda-drinki...

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Why 2014 Will Be the Year Nonprofits Finally Embrace the Cloud (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-pE_4FR916fohW9NH3zcLYLomZly4dnwFKWENBzGRTAB1VtgT3re9GG6SIQPWK7xZ1My-9Ev-i52YszUe29QxkLyVJe3mHrFYndptZQuAz1PYSm2GkCgkjecUi21Ed5I6AtwUzWav0s/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-pE_4FR916fohW9NH3zcLYLomZly4dnwFKWENBzGRTAB1VtgT3re9GG6SIQPWK7xZ1My-9Ev-i52YszUe29QxkLyVJe3mHrFYndptZQuAz1PYSm2GkCgkjecUi21Ed5I6AtwUzWav0s/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">A debate that has raged for years in the <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_7" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">corporate</span> IT world has certainly now made its way to the nonprofit sector: single vendor integrated suite versus best-of-breed combinations. It seems like there's never been a good answer -- until now.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Problem with Integrated Software Suites:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">More than a decade ago, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) was a game-changer for nonprofit organizations. Finally, it was possible to integrate the basic functions of a nonprofit online (CRM, email, fundraising, advocacy) to build relationships with supporters and engage them in meaningful ways in real-time. They were easy to adapt and were tailored specifically for nonprofits. Best of all, SaaS made it all affordable (full disclosure: I co-founded one of those <a href="http://www.salsalabs.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">companies</a>).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">A decade later, we've seen several <a href="http://internet.blackbaud.com/site/c.duIXLgOXJrIaE/b.8646093/k.99CB/Blackbaud_Sphere.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">major</a> <a href="http://www.convio.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">acquisitions</a> in the space, a VC <a href="http://www.salsalabs.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">takeover</a> and some<a href="http://engagingnetworks.net/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">smaller</a> <a href="http://www.nationbuilder.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">players</a> emerge in the space. But it would be hard to argue that consolidation has resulted in better products or innovation beyond a new feature or two. Nonprofits have been forced to accept inferior products in the interest of "seamless integration and simplicity" that never really transpired and with no control over future software upgrades.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">While the original intent of these all-in-one solutions was to reduce the number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_silos" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">data silos</a>in an organization, this thorny issue sees little sign of improvement. In fact, supporter data is even more segregated now than it was a decade ago as the number of communication channels online has exploded.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">There are good reasons why these suite providers can't keep up: <em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It's hard</em>. Let's assume there are 10 channels that need to be connected to get to that coveted 360 degree view of your supporters.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">It's appealing to think that the companies that have in place sufficient platforms to accommodate three of those 10 -- say CRM, fundraising and email -- are best positioned to add on the remaining big seven (Facebook, Twitter, Mobile, Google Ads, CMS, DRTV, Direct Mail).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Unfortunately, the reality is that legacy code and legacy clients make it impossible to keep up with the pace of <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_6" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">change</span>. The code may have been awesome five years ago, but it always ages poorly. Upgrades and integrations are agonizingly slow to push out and the increasing risk of change kills innovation.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">So to get that 360 degree view, organizations need to hire <a href="https://www.blackbaud.com/analytics/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">data analysts</a> and consultants just to get some sense of how programs are performing across all these channels and data silos.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Cloud Changes Everything:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Meanwhile, thanks in large part to the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">cloud</a>", application development has exploded and there's no shortage of innovation in any given area from <a href="http://www.mailchimp.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">email </a>to <a href="http://www.paypal.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">payment processing</a> to<a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">event management </a>to <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">website management</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">It has caused a major shift in the very nature of software development. While once the majority of applications were built in-house or by a vendor using a single code base that was then connected to the Internet, now software applications are mostly an elegant connection of existing services all tied together through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">APIs</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">This change is not just faster and cheaper for software consumers, it is a fundamental difference in how to build and implement products. It presents a completely different set of challenges, but also an amazing amount of opportunity.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">For nonprofits, never before has the case for best of breed applications been more compelling. Best of breed means using a specific software program or package for each specific <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_5" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">business</span> requirement. Cloud computing has made it financially and operationally viable for an organization to pick the very best application for every need. And, you no longer have to sacrifice functionality for the sake of integration.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Integration, Integration, Integration:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Not long ago, it was nearly impossible to make a variety of specialized apps peacefully co-exist and function as a cohesive solution.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">The cloud, with its open, flexible application architecture means that integration is far easier and cheaper to manage now than it ever was before. As cloud computing has matured, it has given rise to the "<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/29/welcome-to-the-api-economy/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">API economy</a>." Now, with the standardization of applications and APIs, you can easily connect different services. It's also possible to connect offline databases.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">This dramatically weakens the principle reason that organizations were buying applications from the integrated suite vendors.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">It also gives rise to a new kind of vendor: the Integrator. It's now your new vendor's job to show how they can integrate their product with your other systems; integration is no longer the IT department's shackles.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Real Cost-Savings:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">In most cases, best of breed doesn't just mean the technology is better, it's also easier to use and cheaper!</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">If fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify a suite purchase. The savviest nonprofits are always focused on reducing overall cost of ownership, which is just not possible with complex larger software providers.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">With subscription-based pricing, costs of a cloud-based combination are usually lower and more aligned with actual demand. In most cases, consultants and long-term, expensive service agreements are no longer needed.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The New Challenges:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Let's imagine an organization has chosen ten (not unreasonable) best of breed cloud-based systems and still has a legacy database to maintain. Now, the issues lie in the areas of standardization, data integration, data flow, process flow, vendor management, and diverse and hard to transfer skill sets.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">These are very different problems to solve than we were solving ten years ago.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How will my legacy system stay synced with my online systems?</em></div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we ensure we're not spending excessive time and <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_8" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">money</span> maintaining connections and managing updates?</div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we ensure we don't encounter a problem of "contact chaos."</div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we ensure that we're not spending hours/day migrating from one application to another -- never knowing who to call for support?</div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we manage the learning curve for each new application?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How can we know for sure our ROI of using multiple systems?</em></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">While these are all hard problems to solve, they are solvable now. For all the groups that desire choice, flexibility and freedom to create their own suite of best-in-class technologies from multiple vendors, the cloud is the answer and it's here now. Your organization can become nimble and responsive without technology has a hindrance, but as propeller .</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">When the latest thing from Silicon Valley emerges -- be it <a href="http://www.vine.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Vine</a> or <a href="http://www.instagram.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Instagram</a>, you'll be ready to get up and running in hours or days, and test whether or not it helps you better engage with your audience.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Best of all, when all of your systems are integrated you have a never before seen view of your supporters and the ability to react in real-time. A nonprofit marketer's dream come true.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="clear full" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 1px; height: 8px; line-height: 1px !important; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden !important; padding: 0px;"> </div><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></em><br style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Follow April Pedersen on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aprilinaction" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">www.twitter.com/aprilinaction</a></b></div><div><br /></div></div>

Why 2014 Will Be the Year Nonprofits Finally Embrace the Cloud (BLOG)

A debate that has raged for years in the  corporate  IT world has certainly now made its way to the nonprofit sector: single vendor integrat...

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How To Lose Excess Weight And Feel Great Carrying It Out

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Daniel Will</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>If you feel dropped with regards to fat loss, the whole approach can be quite stressful. The purpose of this article is to help you develop a workable technique. Understanding as much as you are able to means the main difference among shedding pounds or declining. This short article will provide you with some easy-to-adhere to guidance that will help you begin and also be profitable at a diet plan.<br /> <br /> Coffee can help you shed weight. Espresso is a type of ingest, but some folks don't realize it is effective for routines. It can provide some extra energy and boost the metabolism.<br /> <br /> Consume your greatest dinner during your day. When you generally consume a sandwich at lunchtime, try out ingesting it at dinner instead. Consuming your most significant dinner for lunch or dinner gives you much more unhealthy calories when you want them. Calorie consumption taken in the evening are less apt to be burnt away.<br /> <br /> Try and prevent consuming anything a few hours prior to going to sleep. Although it may possibly not be as hard to say than to complete, you need to do not consume a lot of foods before you go to sleep. The foodstuff which you take in will remain within your stomach and it will at some point turn into extra fat. Try to continue to be lively after meal, and you may have no trouble steering free from snack food items.<br /> <br /> One great way to encourage weight loss is usually to go out with productive folks. By encircling on your own with lively folks, you will be able to get involved with the activity on your own. Spending time with a couch potato will probably effect you to curl through to the chair together.<br /> <br /> Get started your excess fat reduction program having a cardiovascular system regimen. Also known as "cardiovascular," this kind of workout consists of operating, bicycling, speed strolling and any other exercise that raises your heart rate. Once you improve you heartbeat this is basically the greatest time to lose weight. A great goal is to get a half hour of aerobic exercise three or four periods per week.<br /> <br /> When you are undertaking to shed pounds it is wise to try and keep some foods in your dish. From the young age, young children are encouraged to take in almost everything on their own platter, and this can lead to a problem with an increase in weight in in the future many years. There may be nothing wrong with consuming leftovers home. You don't need to take in food just because you can view it. You must seriously consider what foods you happen to be placing in the body and once you sense full, you must give up eating.<br /> <br /> Normal gender will help you lose weight. Sexual intercourse seems to reduce poor craving for food. Furthermore, gender can burn quite a lot of calories. In fact done properly, sexual activity has the potential to shed in excess of 150 unhealthy calories every single 30 minutes.<br /> <br /> A great weight-loss suggestion would be to regularly have sexual intercourse. Sex generally seems to lessen poor desire for food. Furthermore, gender burns up significant amounts of calories. Actually, gender could burn off about 150 calories in a thirty minute time frame if done right.<br /> <br /> It's essential to produce a practice of looking at your excess fat at regular durations while you're looking to decrease it. This will help you see should you be advancing or backward. Keep a composed report of your own think about-ins in order to keep track of your development with time. Folks who file their efforts are certainly more successful at losing weight.<br /> <br /> If you're dieting, consume a big food just before going to a bash to ensure that you aren't tempted to consume several of the delicious but unhealthy foods that will most likely be available. This will help steer clear of around extravagance. If you are there, drink on vino, or stay away from liquor together as opposed to enjoying alcohol or sweet mixed beverages.<br /> <br /> You most likely now need to recognize that shedding pounds will not be a straightforward process, even though it is obtainable. By following the advice offered in this article, that will take a little self-discipline, you may get to your unwanted weight reduction desired goals. Persevere and you will reach your desired goals.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Learn more about <a href="http://raspberryketonereview.me">Raspberry Ketone</a>.</div><br /> </div><br />

How To Lose Excess Weight And Feel Great Carrying It Out

By Daniel Will If you feel dropped with regards to fat loss, the whole approach can be quite stressful. The purpose of this article is to ...

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Phil Robertson Will Return To 'Duck Dynasty' Episodes In January (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXfazNRi4bYitrzzcxXJe4FNfJOiQ7bCx-eT2GQtBa8n4zA7DOMXyUx7k6w0ikeBVuFIXoFArCxJPNPaKScZvPnyde0TwiLmB747ZmAr8VWrk-pa8KoJz1208CZ9Fx4Z7beN5RBvyhx4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXfazNRi4bYitrzzcxXJe4FNfJOiQ7bCx-eT2GQtBa8n4zA7DOMXyUx7k6w0ikeBVuFIXoFArCxJPNPaKScZvPnyde0TwiLmB747ZmAr8VWrk-pa8KoJz1208CZ9Fx4Z7beN5RBvyhx4/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">It looks like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/phil-robertson-duck-dynasty_n_4469887.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Phil Robertson's suspension from "Duck Dynasty"</a> may be just for show. Entertainment Weekly learned that <a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/20/duck-dynasty-return-phil/" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">on Jan. 15, A&E will begin airing new episodes of the show that include scenes featuring the "Dynasty" patriarch.</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">"The network also hopes the media and fan furor will cool down over the holidays and that tensions over shooting future episodes can then be resolved," Entertainment Weekly reports. “There’s no negotiation to have; we’re doing the show,” an inside source told them.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">A&E suspended Robertson over <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson-gay_n_4465564.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">anti-gay remarks he made in a GQ profile</a>. The duck hunter-turned-TV <span class="it7r5856" id="it7r5856_6" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">star</span> compared homosexuality to bestiality and also said, “It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus." Robertson responded to backlash about <span class="it7r5856" id="it7r5856_1" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">his</span> comments by saying, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson-gay_n_4465564.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">"I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me."</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">After A&E's suspension, Robertson's friends and family came out in support of him. Sources told <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/492909/duck-dynasty-family-very-serious-about-leaving-the-show" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">E! News that the family was "very serious" about leaving the reality show after Robertson was placed on hiatus.</a> "[Phil] is the reason for their success—they're not going to abandon him. They're also not about to let anyone threaten their religious beliefs," the source told E!. The family released a statement on the Duck Commander website saying, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/duck-dynasty-family_n_4476976.html?" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">"We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith."</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">The episodes slated to air after the New Year are part of the show's fourth season, which averages a colossal 14.6 million viewers, including DVR playback, but there's no telling if a fifth season will happen. Based on the success of the "Duck <span class="it7r5856" id="it7r5856_2" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Dynasty</span>" brand -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/duck-dynasty-album_n_4434714.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">the family even made a holiday album that sold surprisingly well</a> -- we'd be surprised if the network let the show die. The Huffington Post's immediate request for comment was not returned.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Meanwhile, <a href="http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/12/19/duck-dynasty-marathons-still-on-aes-schedule-leading-up-to-christmas/" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">A&E will air a "Duck Dynasty" marathon on Sunday, Dec. 22</a>. Enjoy ... ?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">HUFFINGTON POST.</div></div>

Phil Robertson Will Return To 'Duck Dynasty' Episodes In January (BLOG)

It looks like  Phil Robertson's suspension from "Duck Dynasty"  may be just for show. Entertainment Weekly learned that  on Ja...

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If You Like Your Santa, You Can Keep Your Santa

I like this Santa.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXJN7rxZFduAtY6Jy5sOwQgJtEtiARMOhfS_LUZaQd5JvXCTsDZKWFrHY6sCAmWBckif8OteFw9DMBb-6A8kW1F1RagpQz5yg4DMdYq2Ms4du69DqQ9zWSnTiiJ614z4bt2sivEUSelQD/s1600/Christma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXJN7rxZFduAtY6Jy5sOwQgJtEtiARMOhfS_LUZaQd5JvXCTsDZKWFrHY6sCAmWBckif8OteFw9DMBb-6A8kW1F1RagpQz5yg4DMdYq2Ms4du69DqQ9zWSnTiiJ614z4bt2sivEUSelQD/s640/Christma.jpg" /></a></div>

If You Like Your Santa, You Can Keep Your Santa

I like this Santa.

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Amazon Will Not Stock Beyonce's New Album (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxk35f0Jfa9l1ZEOcyzMrPJYBR-gBWLxywirWOrhSd2ZA2myDV8yCpvmJaQ6cXfqJZ82ToaPA1MTahMtZyH5Oe12fZ0rGTNo29elfQsJ0jG0eWakFHfhZaMQ7cBsKIbGFdVKSqyROt6YI/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxk35f0Jfa9l1ZEOcyzMrPJYBR-gBWLxywirWOrhSd2ZA2myDV8yCpvmJaQ6cXfqJZ82ToaPA1MTahMtZyH5Oe12fZ0rGTNo29elfQsJ0jG0eWakFHfhZaMQ7cBsKIbGFdVKSqyROt6YI/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Amazon may have Beyonce's new self-titled album available for MP3 purchase, but don't expect to see any physical copies there anytime soon. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/17/target-beyonce-new-album_n_4458996.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Like Target's decision to opt out of stocking "Beyonce,"</a> the online retailer is following suit in the wake of the album's iTunes exclusive week-long sale. However, physical copies can be found on Amazon via third-party sellers.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/retail/5847794/amazon-not-stocking-new-beyonce-cd-following-itunes-exclusive" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Bilboard also noted</a> how Amazon has not provided "Beyonce" with any prime real estate, meaning that the album is only visible when searched. Considering the album's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/beyonce-1-million-sales-itunes_n_4468437.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">record-shattering numbers</a>, it would be expected that retailers would promote heavily.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">The question that immediately comes to mind is, "Do people still buy CDs?" Despite an MP3 driven world, physical copies do have their appeal. In 2012, physical sales may have continued to decline, but they <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/music-sales-2012-digital-physical_n_2440380.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">still trumped the rising digital sales</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">With Beyonce's success, can we expect to see more exclusive deals with Apple? If so, how deeply will this injure physical retailers? Or is this just an anomaly resulting from Beyonce's supreme clout? Let us know what you think in the comments.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">HUFFINGTON POST.</div></div>

Amazon Will Not Stock Beyonce's New Album (BLOG)

Amazon may have Beyonce's new self-titled album available for MP3 purchase, but don't expect to see any physical copies there anytim...

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Storms kill 2 in southern US, thousands lose power (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfmzQ6vji_PKWf9Uz2zCQ9s4ao8Dca8VkEli6f7uuZdPqHluZZe46KY9K2uY8DedAaBP8kkKT-Gv2Dw7TZ26fdd_TdmxiL6Z_TgzkdvWJO747T8Gk3iOyuOikpTEyGMcAJMavYhjqo2k/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfmzQ6vji_PKWf9Uz2zCQ9s4ao8Dca8VkEli6f7uuZdPqHluZZe46KY9K2uY8DedAaBP8kkKT-Gv2Dw7TZ26fdd_TdmxiL6Z_TgzkdvWJO747T8Gk3iOyuOikpTEyGMcAJMavYhjqo2k/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387722419355_3766" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">MONROE, La. (AP) — A storm system swept across the central and southern U.S. on Saturday, bringing tornadoes and wind gusts that ripped roofs from barns and hurled trees into power lines, officials said. At least two people were killed.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387722419355_3778" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Wind caused the roof of a fitness center in a strip mall to collapse in Senatobia, 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. No injuries were reported.A man died after his mobile home overturned in northern Mississippi, said Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith. Another man was killed when his car hit a tree that had fallen across a county road in southeastern Mississippi. A woman who was in the car was critically injured, Jasper County Coroner Randy Graham said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I think it buckled the back part of it," Tate County Emergency Management director Kim Brownlee said. "There's water pouring in the back of that place."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">At the storm's height, more than 22,000 people lost power in northern Mississippi, though that number was beginning to fall late Saturday night.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents lost electricity after heavy rain and strong gusts of up to 60 mph whipped northern Louisiana. Some areas had as much as three inches of rain, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Adams.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">High winds ripped the front facade off the Books-a-Million bookstore in the northern town of Monroe, 100 miles east of Shreveport. The area in front of the store was full of storm debris.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">To the northwest in Union Parish, Sheriff Dusty Gates said damage was widespread across the parish of 28,000 residents. Trees fell on houses, across roads and on power lines. No injuries were reported by late Saturday, although some areas were cut off and not accessible due to bad weather.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="17e7a9bf-842d-3060-a8ec-1809e6af7d97" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/books-million-store-seen-damaged-heavy-wind-rain-photo-050701980.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="The Books-A-Million store is seen damaged by heavy&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 178px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="The Books-A-Million store is seen damaged by heavy&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="178" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/vPoAMv7Jdy72zioJo9sRdw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE3ODtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/80459869f8b69b2a460f6a7067001923.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">The Books-A-Million store is seen damaged by heavy wind and rain during a major storm in Monroe, La. …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There are still several areas we have not been able to access to check on," he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Parker said a possible tornado hit the town of Downsville mid-afternoon on Saturday. The Weather Service has yet to confirm it was a twister.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Downsville Mayor Reggie Skains said a number of barns and chicken houses were damaged on the edge of his village of 250 people, including a barn on his farm.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We had about a $500,000 barn over there and it blew about half of it away," Skains said by phone.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Downsville resident Albert Mayo said he was napping when the storm came through.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I thought the roof was going to come off, there was so much pressure," Mayo said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">More than 40,000 customers lost power in northern parts of the state. Claiborne Electric Cooperative saw more than half of its 23,000 customers lose power when a transmission line was blown down, disrupting power to three substations.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In Arkansas, at least five people were injured and two dozen homes were damaged after two apparent tornadoes touched down.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">St. Francis County Sheriff's dispatcher Leslie White said a suspected tornado damaged three homes and injured three people late Saturday afternoon near Hughes, a town of roughly 1,400 residents about 35 miles southwest of Memphis, Tenn. She didn't know the severity of the injuries.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">David Cox, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Jackson, Miss., said another apparent tornado struck near Dermott, Ark., which is in the far southeast of the state. Two people were injured and about 20 homes were damaged, he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The National Weather Service said severe storms with damaging winds were possible early Sunday morning in northern Georgia, including Atlanta. A flood watch for the region was in effect through Monday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The squall line continued to produce gusty winds as it moved across Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday night, with multiple reports of winds stronger than 50 mph. Downed trees and power outages were widespread in those states, as they were in states to the west.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387722419355_3817" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AP reporter Tamara Lush reported from Monroe, La. Jeff Amy reported from Jackson, Miss.</div></div>

Storms kill 2 in southern US, thousands lose power (BLOG)

MONROE, La. (AP) — A storm system swept across the central and southern U.S. on Saturday, bringing tornadoes and wind gusts that ripped roof...

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Tips For A Fast Viviscal Hair Growth

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Debra Cooley</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>There can be a lot of factors that can influence a viviscal hair growth. To mention some are your diet, health condition, the medication you are currently talking, the hormonal influences and a lot more. The development will tend to slow down the older your age, so, your age is one of the factors. It will vary deeply from person to person.<br /> <br /> There can be plenty of techniques to increase the potential of growing your thread. These ways can be very effective as well to encourage its progress. First, you have to deeply know and study the growth cycle of the structure. It will depend on the nutrients you are taking. So, it will start inside with the follicles and develop outside.<br /> <br /> If your diet is unhealthy, it will greatly reflect on its outer structure. It may appear as dry, dull and lifeless. It cannot grow well as it may appear thinner. You must take plenty of vegetables and fruits which contain antioxidants. Antioxidants are essential for the body and will protect the structure as well. Based your diet on the pyramid but give more importance to leafy vegetables and fruits.<br /> <br /> It is also important to massage the scalp daily. It can stimulate the blood circulation which will help the follicles. It can unclog pores to let it grow freely. You can massage it anytime especially when you are taking a shower.<br /> <br /> Avoid any kinds of pressure on your scalp as any can prevent the development. Pressures brought about by using pony tails, clips and clasps, elastic bands and other restricted materials that can affect the thread. The hair must be free. Also, brush it softly not harshly.<br /> <br /> Hair coloring, blow drying, methods of straightening, applying heated rollers and perming it can totally damage the follicles and can immediately hinder the growth. These methods can also make it dry and brittle, making it more prone to falling out so you must avoid these processes as subjecting it to any of the given procedures. You must also avoid excessive washing using shampoos with harsh chemicals.<br /> <br /> Any harsh products can eliminate the natural oils that the scalp produces. You are therefore recommended to apply a fine quality of conditioner and shampoo. If your can avoid washing it everyday then the safer it will be. There are plenty of natural supplements that can help it grow.<br /> <br /> The main point is to get your body healthy because it will readily reflect your hair. There are various complications that may lead to losing it. Vitamin B is good for its texture and structure. Your diet must include this vitamin. Consider taking minerals and protein as well.<br /> <br /> Remember that the best method to encourage healthier <A href="http://www.lifelinesupplements.com">viviscal hair growth</A> is to practice the two most important things. Make it a habit to consume a lot of green leafy vegetables and fruits. Have a balanced diet by consulting the food pyramid. Practice a healthy lifestyle everyday. Exercise your scalp and avoid any artificial methods to straighten the threads.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>You can visit the website <a href="http://www.lifelinesupplements.com">www.lifelinesupplements.com</a> for more helpful information about Some Tips For A Healthier Viviscal Hair Growth </div><br /> </div><br />

Tips For A Fast Viviscal Hair Growth

By Debra Cooley There can be a lot of factors that can influence a viviscal hair growth. To mention some are your diet, health condition, ...

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Three 6 Mafia's Lord Infamous Dead at 40 (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKU6kEj1e7zhoQIy1-TuliwEaHY9oR50qXLWsNpfC4Pfqiz0aQr7l15APxv6jfYdwE5bxkdJ14dqF-ZDm02K_Q_PeaxZRPd0m3OZ3fQithzHGAqLDXdwNMkC5HYFS39IumOU_dncJdM68/s1600/131221-lordinfamous-600x400-1387667740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKU6kEj1e7zhoQIy1-TuliwEaHY9oR50qXLWsNpfC4Pfqiz0aQr7l15APxv6jfYdwE5bxkdJ14dqF-ZDm02K_Q_PeaxZRPd0m3OZ3fQithzHGAqLDXdwNMkC5HYFS39IumOU_dncJdM68/s320/131221-lordinfamous-600x400-1387667740.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="withImage" id="contentInfo" style="float: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 287px;"><div class="author" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="floatLt" style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">By</span> <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/contributor/miriam-coleman" rel="author" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Miriam Coleman</a></div><div class="date" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Three 6 Mafia founding member Ricky "Lord Infamous" Dunigan died on Friday night at the age of 40. His bandmate and uncle DJ Paul told <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rolling Stone</em> that the rapper died in his sleep of a heart attack at his mother's house in Memphis.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">"He was at home sitting at the table and he just lay his head down and he just left us," Paul said. Although Paul says Infamous had not been ill recently, he did suffer a stroke and heart attack in 2010.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Lord Infamous began his hip-hop career alongside DJ Paul (his mother's younger brother) in Memphis in the early 1990s. Along with Juicy J, the two formed Three 6 Mafia in 1991 and released their debut album, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mystic Stylez</em> four years later. In 2005, Three 6 Mafia became the first rap group to win a Best Original Song Oscar for their track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," which was featured in the film <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hustle and Flow</em>. </div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Earlier this year, most of the group's members reformed under the name Da Mafia 6ix and released a mixtape called <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">6ix Commandments</em>. Lord Infamous had been working with them on a new album, which is set for release in March 2014, DJ Paul said. He had also been preparing for the re-release of his old mixtape series, which is due out in March.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">"He was a legend in the game, truly ahead of his time," DJ Paul told <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rolling Stone</em>. "He was such a great lyricist and he always came with these different styles in his rap and his flow."</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Moreover, said Paul, he was loved by everybody and known for his generosity. "Lord Infamous was the kind of person that never cared about having a lot of money or this or that. He just liked to make music, he liked to rap, and he liked to make people happy."</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=rollingstone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@rollingstone on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=RollingStone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">RollingStone on Facebook</a></span></div>

Three 6 Mafia's Lord Infamous Dead at 40 (BLOG)

By   Miriam Coleman Three 6 Mafia founding member Ricky "Lord Infamous" Dunigan died on Friday night at the age of 40. His bandmat...

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Tips On Succeeding On Advocare 24 Day Challenge Diet

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Bernice Terry</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Slimming down is not always a very easy task. Naturally, you want to exert the necessary effort to ensure that you get successful in the process. So, if you are taking on the advocare 24 day challenge diet, make sure you know how to make the most out of it.<br /> <br /> There are things that you need to know if you want to make the most out of this chance. You need to make sure that you get to know what are the things that you can do and the steps that you can carry out in order for you to get a better shot at success. This is essential so you can ensure that you will be able to make the most out of what it is that they can offer to you.<br /> <br /> Never skip breakfast. Perhaps this has been one of the greatest sins that people always end up committing when they are trying to slim down. Sure, cutting down on the calories that you are taking through the food you eat is a good start. But this doesn't mean that you have to skip meals. Breakfast is the most essential meal for the day. So, make sure that you will never miss it every day.<br /> <br /> Make sure that you exert due effort towards cutting out on the sugar that you will be taking. It helps a lot that you have a notion of how sugar intake can significantly increase the pounds that you are actually putting on. So, do exert due effort towards ensuring that you put some limitations on the amount of sugar that you will be taking. You'll be surprised at how much difference it can actually make.<br /> <br /> Watch out what it is that you will drink. Stay away from stiff that has preservatives, from carbonated drinks, and from artificial juices too. Understand that all these drinks tend to contain way too much sugar and you definitely want to steer away from that. The best choice fort you would be to stick to water. It is healthier that way.<br /> <br /> Just because you have to cut down on the amount of food that you'll be able to intake doesn't mean that you just have to suffer in the process. You definitely do not have to suffer as well. If you will just take the time to plan your meals well. You will find that it should be easy enough for you to go for the most appropriate choice there is.<br /> <br /> Do not get pressured about it as well. Take the time to ensure that you'll be able to get the kinds of results that you expect to get. This is always critical so you can trust that you would not have to end up in a situation where you are stressed enough to keep in plan for your slimming program and at the same time, add extra stress to it in the process.<br /> <br /> When you're trying to follow the <A href="http://www.advomsds.com">advocare 24 day challenge diet</A>, opt to eat the moment that you will feel hungry. Do not wait until you feel as if you are starving before you will decide to gobble on some food. This is very helpful to ensure you will not end up eating more than what you intend to eat.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>You can visit the website <a href="http://www.advomsds.com">www.advomsds.com</a> for more helpful information about How To Succeed On The Advocare 24 Day Challenge Diet </div><br /> </div><br />

Tips On Succeeding On Advocare 24 Day Challenge Diet

By Bernice Terry Slimming down is not always a very easy task. Naturally, you want to exert the necessary effort to ensure that you get su...

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DVD + Book Review: Xmas Meier

<a href="http://www.living-architectures.com/xmas_meier.php"><b><i>Xmas Meier</i></b></a> by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine<br />BêkaPartners, 2013<br />Book: Hardcover, 140 pages<br />DVD: All-Region PAL, 51 minutes <br /><br /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bmuY5aVmBq7Ii7-A422j66KbTLkrw_McX2BZEfgFfPnxeGronTZCWP5uOyAZQCFb-pVyWiXr3GDfTddVTFONQBsl-3uvjFD4Zz6TZVBqj0pHTHEJsnmS0eMkUDQAZA19NV1cK-cSBWvd/s1600/Xmas_Meier_Book_Cover.jpg" /><br /><br />This is the fifth and last film in Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine's "Living Architectures" series that I've reviewed, following ones on Rem Koolhaas's <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-dvd-review-koolhaas-houselife.html">Bordeaux Villa</a>, a <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/07/08/pomerol-herzog-de-meuron/">winery in Pomerol, France</a>, designed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2013/09/book-dvd-review-gehrys-vertigo.html">Frank Gehry's Guggenheim</a> in Bilbao, and <a href="http://archidose.org/wp/2013/12/09/inside-piano/">a trio of buildings designed by Renzo Piano</a>. <i>Xmas Meier</i> is technically number three in what could be called the filmmaker's "trilogy in five parts," but given that Christmas comes in three days I held off on a review of it until now. That said, the holiday plays a small part in the film, occupying perhaps 5 of its 51 minutes, but it does give us a chance to see <a href="http://www.richardmeier.com/www/#/projects/architecture/icons/2/132/0/">Richard Meier's Jubilee Church</a> full of worshipers. The rest of the time we see the church from the point of view of the neighbors in Rome's Tor Tre Test neighborhood (one woman fell in love with it as she watched and documented it being built from her window, but one man hates it for the incessant bells that blare over any sound in his apartment proximate to the bell tower); we hear the priest go into a surprising level of detail on the building and its materials; and we hear from others who have devoted parts of their life to the church's existence.<br /><br />Easily the biggest surprise in the film – something that retains a certain level of enigma even after watching the film – is a visit, in the "meanwhile, elsewhere" chapter, to another church (in Rome?) that looks like a low-budget version of the Jubilee Church; instead of "self-cleaning," light concrete, the walls are gray and mottled, there are two "sails" instead of three, and this other church is much smaller. Even after hearing from the architect, who is blurred out and unnamed during his appearance on camera, we don't know if this church was inspired by Jubilee Church (it was completed sooner, but Meier's church was delayed three years, completed in October, 2003, complicating matters) or if it plagiarizes Meier's creation. If anything, the visit illustrates how the architectural characteristics – scale, material, proportion, and space – that Beka and Lemoine veer away from in their films determine much of a building's success in how it is subsequently used (or abused) by its occupants. In the case of the sub-Meier church, the architect is visibly upset at the church's decision to flip the congregation 180 degrees, something that Meier surely would not have allowed (I'm reminded of a clip in a film on The Getty when he berates somebody working in the cafe for not laying out the tables and chairs per his working drawings).<br /><br />After seeing and now reviewing the handful of "Living Architectures" films, one thought that comes to mind concerns the subject of their films. What buildings are appropriate for their documentaries that focus on the use, maintenance, and experience of the buildings, rather than their form, materials, and other aspects of design? Must they be designed by famous-name architects? Would a department store designed by an in-house architect, for example, be any more or less appropriate than Gehry's Guggenheim in Bilbao, what is arguably the most important building in the last 20 years? Theoretically Bêka and Lemoine's approach could be used on <i>any</i> building, but by taking aim at five of the biggest names in architecture today the duo dismantles the hero worship that accompanies coverage of buildings designed by these and other architects.<br /><br />By focusing on how a building is used, the filmmakers show that even those considered the best in their profession aren't omniscient. The films also show that any building will have its fans and detractors, making it impossible to please all the people all the time. These five statements – buildings and films – show the values and risks in taking chances. As much architecture relies on new forms and an almost constant stream of innovation, each building becomes a test case, with outcomes pleasing, disappointing and unexpected. The duo's depictions of these buildings reminds architects of the lives their buildings will take once they are done with the job; keeping these lives in mind will hopefully result in more considered buildings that are beautiful <i>and</i> functional.<br /><br /><br /><b>US: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1092194029/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1092194029&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan.gif" /></a> CA: <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1092194029/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1092194029&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.ca" border="0" height="28" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan-ca.gif" width="90" /></a> UK: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1092194029/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1092194029&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.co.uk" border="0" height="28" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan-uk.gif" width="90" /></a></b>

DVD + Book Review: Xmas Meier

Xmas Meier by Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine BêkaPartners, 2013 Book: Hardcover, 140 pages DVD: All-Region PAL, 51 minutes This is the fifth a...

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