Grand Theft Auto V for 17th September 2013 release. Trailer

We can't wait can we? Here is a letter/Public announcement from the Grant Theft Auto team to the effect.

Dear all,
Today, we have an official release date to share with you: Grand Theft Auto V will arrive in stores on September 17, 2013.
We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time. GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require.
To all Grand Theft Auto fans, please accept our apologies for the delay, and our promise that the entire team here is working very hard to make the game all it can be. We are doing all we can to help ensure it will meet if not exceed your expectations come September – we thank you for your support and patience.
Yours,
The GTA Team

 Again, we can't wait! Grand Theft Auto Vdrops September 17. Watch trailer below

UPDATE: Grand Theft Auto 5 will sell 18 million units in Take-Two's fiscal year, which runs April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia has forecast.

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Twitter is down

Your #tbt (throw back Thursday) photos and tweets on Twitter will have to wait a little today longer as twitter is this Thursday currently experiencing network failure.
The popular micro-blogging service, went down Thursday morning. The famed Twitter "fail whale" has returnwd to the service's homepage to reflect that it is over capacity.
A check of the Twitter's API status shows service disruptions through some services, including statuses
and favorites. We can only access our direct mails currently.
The outage appears to affect web and mobile users.
According OutageAnalyzer.com, the service disruption began at about 10:18 a.m. ET. The service is still yet to be restored. Twitter needs to step their game up.

Props [CBS]

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Rihanna covers Rolling Stone Magazine. Talks Chris Brown

Rihanna is crazy in love. She really looks good on the cover right? On Chris Brown she says:

“I decided it was more important for me to be happy.” She continues “I wasn’t going to let anybody’s opinion get in the way of that. Even if it’s a mistake, it’s my mistake. After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I’d rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it.”

While they’ve had a tumultuous past, she claims their relationship has changed for the better. 

“You see us walking somewhere, driving somewhere, in the studio, in the club, and you think you know. But it’s different now,” she explains. “We don’t have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about shit. We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don’t want to lose that.”

On if Brown was to repeat his mistakes:

 “He doesn’t have the luxury of f*cking up again,” says RiRi. “That’s just not an option. I can’t say that nothing else will ever go wrong. But I’m pretty solid in the knowing that he’s disgusted by that. And I wouldn’t have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility.”

Lol. Chris Brown is already 'f*cking up' again, even though its with Frank Ocean this time and not Rihanna.

The Rihanna cover Rolling Stone issue hits newsstands Friday, January 31.

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What to do when you are bored

Am bored! How often do you hear this or see people post it on various social media? You must have found yourself in this situation too. It’s not unusual, it’s not about you alone; everybody at one point or the other experiences boredom.

So what exactly is boredom? Why and when are you bored? We like to think it is that stale feeling you experience when you have nothing in particular to do in other to engage your time, or when you find your immediate environment not exciting enough to engage you. It however means different things to different people. Nonetheless, it is not an exciting moment and so we always tend to find a way to escape it.
Looking for things to do when you are bored? Do something! It’s probably a great time to explore and enjoy your creative, productive and weird side. Get something doing to occupy your time. Something you will enjoy. There are lots of things to do when you are bored. Let me share with you some things you can basically do during your moment(s) of boredom that will turn your boredom to an exciting moment.

Play Computer Games

This, I think is top on my list of things I do when am bored. Try playing computer games and completing all the tasks. You can invite a friend and play with him/her whether online or offline. If you can’t get someone, play with the computer. Try increasing the difficulty levels to make it harder for you. Get safe and secure fun, family-friendly casual games  for your PC or Mac on  BigFishGames - the biggest site you can get fun, family-friendly casual games

Take a Walk
Take a walk around the neighborhood. Try to go near places you have never been to in the neighborhood. If you have a dog, you can walk your dog. If you don’t you can offer to walk a neighbor’s. You’d be amazed to discover new things.

Watch Funny Videos
Lots of them on Youtube. For example, go to Youtube and type ‘Funny things’ or ‘Try not to Laugh’ in the search bar. Laugh away your boredom. Go here for more hilarious videos.

Play Intelligence Games Online.
Measure up your intellect. It's fun! For intelligence games check out BigFish for amazing brain teaser games. You can play IQ tests online on Begent or Intelligence test. This is hoping you do well.

Read Books
Forget your academic books for now, you will find them boring too. Read comic books, fiction, sci-fi, romance novels, etc. Have you read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson yet? You may also want to check out some amazing Body, Mind & Spirit Books.

Watch Movies
Watch thrilling movies. It would get you busy again. You should have Netflix or Hulu  to find, select and watch as many movies and TV episodes you want anytime you are feeling bored.

Launch a Website/blog
Great time to get your own website/blog and share your thoughts, opinions, ideas, photos, videos and so on with friends and the world.

Do Something Crazy
Yeah. Hint? Change your ‘relationship status’ on Facebook (not recommended if you are married. HA!). Another? Prank your friends, figure out something, have fun while at it. Make a video of yourself doing some funny stuff, like ‘twerking’ and oh, the good ole ‘gangnam style’ dance. Upload the video to Youtube and share with friends on your social networks and see what they think.

Improve Your Personality
Ok, take a look at the mirror. Is there anything you will want to change about yourself? Like lose some weight? Gain weight, clear acne, cut nails, grow or remove hair in some places, etc. You might want to use time to work on it. Search for help online and get the information and motivation you need.

More things to do when you are bored?
You can try answering all the questions on YahooAnswers.

Read Blogs and Comments
Don’t just read the news/stories on your favorite websites/blogs. Read what people are saying about the stories in the comments. Some comments are quite hilarious and silly that you will be like, what the hell! Try comments on Huffigntonpost or Yahoo

Go window shopping
Yes! Walk around stores and malls, see what's in stock, see if there are new arrivals. Try them on if you like, or if you are permitted.

Pretty decent list right? There are definitely endless things you can do when you are bored. Just find any way to engage yourself and make sure it is captivating enough for you. How do you overcome boredom? Let's know in the comments.

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Temple Run 2 Debuts for Android. Download Here

Also,

Temple Run 2 has finally made its debuts for android a week after it released for  iOS. See what’s cool about the new Temple Run 2 on Google Play.
If you loved Temple Run 1, you will not be disappointed by its sequel. The Graphics of the game have been overhauled to provide the best experience on high end Android smartphones and tablets, making full use of your mobile graphics processors.

You just need to change the visual quality from the in-game menu to Best to enjoy the smooth graphics, shadow drawing and rich textures seen in the game.
Some phones might experience choppy graphics or a laggy gameplay, in that case you might want to kill all the background processes before proceeding to play the game.
There are new obstacles in the game and achievements to unlock after completing an objective. There are also more powerups and special powers for each of your characters as given.
Also, there are some really immersive environments such as climbing cliffs, avoiding mines, running into forests and using zip lines, cool isn’t it?
You also collect coins and gems and to receive boost powers as in its predecessor. AS far as the gameplay goes, it is very responsive. The touch and tilt functionality is smooth and sensitive .
The Bugs that existed in Version 1 like the Back button issue have now been resolved in this release.
With more than 50k downloads in the last 24 hours, and 6.6 million fans on Facebook, this game is just too good for anyone. The game is free as always and also free of ads so that you can enjoy an unobtrusive gameplay. Temple Run 2 requires Android version of 2.1 or up.
Download Temple Run 2 to your Android device from GooglePlay here.

[Revthatup]

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Twitter can help you lose weight - Study

hehehe, ain't that about a bitch! You heard about how watching TV can make you gain weight now you are about to see how twitter.com can help you lose weight. A study has revealed that doing normal activities like tweeting and retweeting on social networking site twitter.com can help you lose weight. I know you are surprised too but read on to see how. lol.
Along with being a haven for breaking news, celebrity updates, and bad jokes, Twitter may have another use: a handy weight-loss tool.


Recommended: Instantly Gain Control Over the Hormone that Controls Literally everything related to Fat Loss
Researchers at the University of South Carolina found the support and accountability provided by posting to the social networking site made a difference in how much weight people lost. Although
the two groups in the study — one that tweeted and one that didn’t — lost the same amount of weight during the trial, the individuals within the Twitter group who posted the most also lost the most
weight.
Both groups received podcasts containing information on nutrition and exercise, but one group tracked their progress in a book, while another used a smartphone app and Twitter. When Brie Turner-McGrievy and her colleagues at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health took a closer look at the results, they found those actively tweeting and retweeting lost more weight.
“The more they were posting to Twitter, the better off they did,” Turner-McGrievy said. In analyzing the frequency and types of posts, her team found that every 10 tweets corresponded with about 0.5 percent weight loss.
In the study, published this week in Translational Behavioral Medicine, researchers recognize that most examinations of remote social support during weight-loss programs have focused on message boards and some have looked at how social networking sites might foster support. What sets this study apart, Turner McGrievy said, was its closer look at the type of social support people were providing, how often they were using Twitter, and whether it seemed to be related to success with weight loss.
Seventy-five percent of the 2,630 tweets in the study were classified as “informational,” with most characterized as status updates providing new facts or skills. (“I avoided eating a pastry this morning at a breakfast meeting! I did have a skim Mocha without whipped cream … not too bad!”)
Turner-McGrievy said the anonymity provided by Twitter, where you can post as @POD45 rather than using your real name, as you do with Facebook, was a positive aspect for the participants
“No one wants to talk about their weight online. One of the things we asked people to do was post how many pounds they lost on Friday of every week,” she said. “Some people still didn’t want to post how many pounds they had lost, even with the anonymous Twitter account. That’s very sensitive.”
After getting an initial look at how people reacted to using Twitter during a weight-loss study, the research team is looking at how best to tailor high-tech and low-tech feedback to each participant.
“We don’t have to do this one-size-fits-all,” Turner-McGrievy said
“How can we predict who would be good to be in a Twitter group, or a Facebook group, or a texting-only group, or a leave-me-alone group?
What do we know at the beginning where we can give people the type of intervention that they need?”


Do you believe the study? We find it funny!

[Wired.com]

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Barack Obama inauguration 2013 underway: Watch live

Barack Obama inauguration 2013 Live Stream

The inauguration of President Barack Obama for his second tenure is already underway,  President Obama has arrived wearing a blue tie, like he did on election night. Both election night 2008 and inauguration day 2009 saw red ties.
Earlier today, in an early-morning church service today (picture above) we got a first glimpse at first lady Michelle Obama's Inauguration Day outfit, but it was so cold in Washington you didn't see the dress under the coat.
The White House pool report said Obama is wearing a navy Thom Browne coat and dress in a reflective fabric and a pattern based on the style of a men's silk tie. Under the coat, she's wearing a cardigan by Reed Krakoff and a belt from J. Crew, and also pale blue kitten-heeled shoes by J. Crew. Her necklace is by Cathy Waterman.
 The Obama daughters, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, were both clad in coats in shades of purple, violet and lavender with complementary tights. The pool report said Malia is in a J.Crew ensemble and Sasha is a Kate Spade coat and dress. Photographers caught a glimpse of Sasha's purple-and-violet striped dress as she exited St. John's Church.
[USAToday]

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Am A Bully And A Flawed Character - Lance Amstrong

Full Transcript of the first part of Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has held a "no-holds barred" interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey in which he admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to win his seven Tour de France titles.
In the first of a two-part interview - the second of which will be broadcast at 02:00 GMT on Saturday - the 41-year-old American lifted the lid on one of the most high-profile stories in sporting history.
The brutal facts

Oprah Winfrey: Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?

Lance Armstrong: "Yes."

Was one of those banned substances EPO?

"Yes."

Did you ever blood drugs or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling performance?

"Yes."

Did you ever use any other banned substances such as testosterone, cortisone or Human Growth Hormone?

"Yes."

In all seven of your Tour de France victories, did you ever take banned substances or blood drugs?

"Yes."

Was it humanly possible to win the Tour de France without doping, seven times?

"Not in my opinion. that generation. I didn't invent the culture, but I didn't try to stop the culture."


The deceit

For 13 years you didn't just deny it, you brazenly and defiantly denied everything you just admitted just now. So why now admit it?

"That is the best question. It's the most logical question. I don't know that I have a great answer. I will start my answer by saying that this is too late. It's too late for probably most people, and that's my fault. I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times, and as you said, it wasn't as if I just said no and I moved off it."

You were defiant, you called other people liars.

"I understand that. And while I lived through this process, especially the last two years, one year, six months, two, three months, I know the truth. The truth isn't what was out there. The truth isn't what I said, and now it's gone - this story was so perfect for so long. And I mean that, as I try to take myself out of the situation and I look at it. You overcome the disease, you win the Tour de France seven times. You have a happy marriage, you have children. I mean, it's just this mythic perfect story, and it wasn't true."

Was it hard to live up to that picture that was created?

"Impossible. Certainly I'm a flawed character, as I well know, and I couldn't do that."

But didn't you help paint that picture?

"Of course, I did. And a lot of people did. All the fault and all the blame here falls on me. But behind that picture and behind that story is momentum. Whether it's fans or whether it's the media, it just gets going. And I lost myself in all of that. I'm sure there would be other people that couldn't handle it, but I certainly couldn't handle it, and I was used to controlling everything in my life. I controlled every outcome in my life."

You said to me earlier you don't think it was possible to win without doping?

"Not in that generation, and I'm not here to talk about others in that generation. It's been well-documented. I didn't invent the culture, but I didn't try to stop the culture, and that's my mistake, and that's what I have to be sorry for, and that's what something and the sport is now paying the price because of that. So I am sorry for that. I didn't have access to anything else that nobody else did."

Usada issued a 164-page report. CEO Travis Tygart said you and US Postal team pulled off the most sophisticated, professional and successful doping programme sport has ever seen. Was it?

"No. It definitely was professional, and it was definitely smart, if you can call it that, but it was very conservative, very risk-averse, very aware of what mattered. One race mattered for me. But to say that that program was bigger than the East German doping program in the '70s and '80s? That's not true."

What was the culture? Can you explain the culture to us?

"I don't want to accuse anybody else. I don't want to talk about anybody else. I made my decisions. They are my mistakes, and I am sitting here today to acknowledge that and to say I'm sorry for that. The culture was what it was."

Was everybody doing it? That's what we've heard. Was everybody doing it?

"I didn't know everybody. I didn't live and train with everybody. I didn't race with everybody. I can't say that. There will be people that say that. There will be people that say, 'OK, there are 200 guys on the tour, I can tell you five guys that didn't, and those are the five heroes', and they're right."

How were you able to do it? Walk me through it. Pill deliveries, blood in secret refrigerators… how did it work?

"I viewed it as very simple. There were things that were oxygen-supplying drugs that were beneficial for cycling. My cocktail was EPO, but not a lot, transfusions and testosterone.

"I thought, surely I'm running low [on testosterone following the cancer battle] but there's no true justification."

Were you afraid of getting caught? In 1999 there was not even a test for EPO...

" No. Testing has evolved. Back then they didn't come to your house and there was no testing out of competition and for most of my career there wasn't that much out-of-competition testing so you're not going to get caught because you clean up for the races.

"It's a question of scheduling. That sounds weird. I'm no fan of the UCI but the introduction of the biological passport [in 2008] worked.

"I'm paying the price and I deserve this. That's okay. I deserve it.

"My ruthless desire to win at all costs served me well on the bike but the level it went to, for whatever reason, is a flaw. That desire, that attitude, that arrogance."

When you placed third in 2009, you did not drugs?

"The last time I crossed that line was 2005."

Does that include blood transfusions? No doping or blood transfusions in 2009… 2010?

"Absolutely not."

Leader of the team

Were you the one in charge?

"I was the top rider, the leader of the team."

If someone was not doing something to your satisfaction could you get them fired?

"No. I guess I could have but I never did. I was the leader of the team and the leader leads by example. There was never a direct order. That never happened. We were all grown men and made our choices. There were team-mates who didn't drugs."

One former team-mate, Christian Vande Velde, told Usada you threatened to kick him off the team if he didn't shape up and conform to the doping programme?

"That's not true. There was a level of expectation. We expected guys to be fit to be able to compete. I'm not the most believable guy in the world right now. If I do it I'm leading by example so that's a problem.

"I view one as a verbal directive and that didn't exist. I take that. The leader of the team, the guy that my team-mates looked up to, I accept that 100%. I care a lot about Christian but when you go on to other teams and show the same behaviour..."

Were you a bully?

"Yes, I was a bully. I was a bully in the sense that I tried to control the narrative and if I didn't like what someone said I turned on them."

Is that your nature - when someone says something you don't like, you go on attack? Have you been like that your entire life - 10-years-old, 12-years-old and 14-years-old?

"My entire life. Before my diagnosis I was a competitor but not a fierce competitor. When I was diagnosed, that turned me into a fighter. That was good. I took that ruthless win-at-all-costs attitude into cycling which was bad."
Living the lie

How important was winning to you and would you do anything to win at all costs?

"It was win at all costs. When I was diagnosed (with cancer) I would do anything to survive. I took that attitude - win at all costs - to cycling. That's bad. I was taking drugs before that but I wasn't a bully."

To keep on winning it meant you had to keep taking banned substances to do it? Are you saying that's how common it was?

"Yes, and I'm not sure that this is an acceptable answer, but that's like saying we have to have air in our tyres or we have to have water in our bottles. That was, in my view, part of the job."

When you look at that do you feel embarrassed, shame, humble, tell me what you feel?

"This is the second time in my life when I can't control the outcome. The first was the disease. The scary thing is, winning seven Tour de Frances, I knew I was going to win."

Was there happiness in winning when you knew you were taking these banned substances?

"There was more happiness in the process, in the build, in the preparation. The winning was almost phoned in."

Was it a big deal to you, did it feel wrong?

"No. Scary."

It did not even feel wrong?
"No. Even scarier."

Did you feel bad about it?

"No. The scariest."

Did you feel in any way that you were cheating? You did not feel you were cheating taking banned drugs?

"At the time, no. I kept hearing I'm a drug cheat, I'm a cheat, I'm a cheater. I went in and just looked up the definition of cheat and the definition of cheat is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe that they don't have. I didn't view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field."

But you knew that you were held to a higher standard. You're Lance Armstrong.
"I knew that, and of course hindsight is perfect. I know it a thousand times more now. I didn't know what I had. Look at the fallout."

What do you mean by you 'didn't know'? I don't think people will understand what you're saying. When you and I met a week ago you didn't think it was that big? How could you not?
"I see the anger in people, betrayal, it's all there. People who believed in me and supported me and they have every right to feel betrayed and it's my fault and I'll spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologise to people."

You never offered it [performance-enhancing drugs] to them [team-mates], suggested they see Dr Michele Ferrari?

"There are people in this story, they are good people, we've all made mistakes, they are not toxic and evil. I viewed Dr Michele Ferrari as a good man and I still do."

Was he the leader and mastermind behind the team's doping programme? How would you characterise his influence on the team?

"No. I'm not comfortable talking about other people. It's all out there."

David Walsh of the Sunday Times in London said your relationship with Ferrari immediately dialled suspicion on you. Can you see that relationship was reckless?

"There were plenty of other reckless things. That would be a very good way to characterise that period of my life."

What about the story [masseuse] Emma O'Reilly tells about cortisone and you having cortisone backdated - is that true?

"That was true."

What do you want to say about Emma O'Reilly? You sued her?

"Emma O'Reilly is one of these people I have to apologise to. We ran over her, we bullied her."

You sued her?

"To be honest, Oprah, we sued so many people I don't even [know]. I'm sure we did."

When people were saying things - Walsh, O'Reilly, Betsy Andreu [wife of former team-mate Frankie Andreu] and many others - you would then go on the attack for them, suing and know they were telling the truth. What is that?

"When I hear that there are people who will never believe me I understand that. One of the steps of this process is to say sorry. I was wrong, you were right."

Have you called Betsy Andreu? Did she take your call? Was she telling the truth about the Indiana hospital, overhearing you in 1996? Was Betsy lying?

"I'm not going to take that on. I'm laying down on that one. I'm going to put that one down. She asked me, and I asked her not to talk about it."

Is it well with two of you? Have you made peace?

"No, because they've been hurt too badly, and a 40-minute [phone] conversation isn't enough."

[With] Emma you implied the 'LovePeddler' word. How do you feel about that today? Were you trying to put her down? Shut her up?

"I don't feel good. I was just on the attack. The territory was being threatened. The team was being threatened. I was on the attack."

This is the clip I just cannot reconcile [winning speech after seventh Tour de France win]… What were you trying to accomplish there?

"I've made some mistakes in my life and that was a mistake (standing on podium after winning 2005 Tour de France and saying "believe in miracles".

Were you particularly trying to rub it in the faces of those who came out against you and say they were lying - were you addressing them? What were you saying that for?

"That was the first year they gave the mic to the winner of the Tour and I was wondering what I was going to say. That just came out. Looking back at it now, it looks ridiculous."

You said dozens of times in interviews you never failed a test. Do you have a different answer today?

"No I didn't fail a test. Retroactively, I failed one. The hundreds of tests I took, I passed them. There was retroactive stuff later on."

What about the Tour de Suisse [in 2001]?

"That story isn't true. There was no positive test. No paying off of the lab. The UCI did not make that go away. I'm no fan of the UCI.

You made a donation to the UCI and said that donation was about helping anti-doping efforts. Obviously it was not. Why did you make that donation?

"It was not in exchange for help. They called and said they didn't have a lot of money - I did. They asked if I would make a donation so I did."

Many people feel the real tipping point was [former team-mate] Floyd Landis's decision to come forward and confess?

"My comeback didn't sit well with Floyd."

Do you remember where you were when you heard Floyd, a former team-mate and protege, was going to talk?

"I was in a hotel room (upon hearing Landis would reveal details of Armstrong's doping). Floyd was sending text messages about his interview. I finally said 'do what you have to do'. He went to the Wall Street Journal with the story."

Did you rebuff him, would you say you rebuffed Floyd? Did you rebuff him after he was stripped of his Tour win, did you just blow him off?

"Up to that point I supported him when he tested positive. I tried to keep him on my team because he knew what others didn't. I didn't shun him."

So that was the tipping point. And your comeback was also a tipping point. Do you regret coming back?

"I do. We wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't come back."

You would have gotten away with it?

"Impossible to say, there would have been better chances but I didn't."

Did you not always think this day was coming? Did you not think you would be found out at some point, especially as so many people knew?

"I just assumed the stories would continue for a long time. We're sitting here because there was a two-year criminal federal investigation."

When the Department of Justice dropped the case, did you think 'now finally it's over, done, victory'? You thought you were out of the woods; the wolves had left the door?

"I thought I was out of the woods. And those were some serious wolves."

What was the reaction when you learned Usada was going to pick up the case and pursue the case against you?

"My reaction was to fight back. I'd do anything to go back to that day. I wouldn't fight. I wouldn't sue them. I'd listen. I'd say guys, granted I was treated differently to other guys. Treated differently in that I wasn't approached at the same time as other riders.

"They gathered all of the evidence and they came to me and said what are you going to do? Going back I'd say 'give me three days. Let me call my family, my mother, sponsors, foundation' and I wish I could do that but I can't."

Will you co-operate with Usada to help clear up the sport of cycling?

"I love cycling and I say that knowing that people see me as someone who disrespected the sport, the colour yellow. If we can, and I stand on no moral platform here, if there was truth and reconciliation commission - and I can't call for that - if they have it and I'm invited I'll be first man through the door."

When you heard that [former team-mate] George Hincapie had been called to testify by Usada, did you feel that was the last card in this deck, the last straw?

"My fate was sealed [by George]. If George didn't say it then people would say 'I'm sticking with Lance'. George is the most credible voice in all of this. We're still great friends. I don't fault George. George knows this story better than anybody."

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NBA 2013 All-Star starters announced

AP: Kobe Bryant has been voted to his NBA-record 15th consecutive All-Star start, leading four Los Angeles players into next month's game.
Lakers teammate Dwight Howard and the Clippers' Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will join Bryant in the Western Conference lineup for the Feb. 17 game in Houston.
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, the MVP of last year's game, rounds out the five.
Kevin Garnett held off Chris Bosh in fan balloting, giving the East two Boston Celtics and two Miami Heat players.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will represent the defending champions and receive passes from Rajon Rondo. New York's Carmelo Anthony is the other starter.
Bryant finished with 1,591,437 votes, edging James by about 7,800 to finish as the leading vote-getter and break a tie with Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West and Karl Malone for the most consecutive starting nods.
The NBA's leading scorer is a four-time MVP of the All-Star game and last year became its career scoring leader.
Garnett beat Bosh, who took to Twitter to stump for votes in the final days of balloting, by about 25,000 votes.
He tied Bryant and O'Neal for second all-time with his 15th selection behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was elected to 19 games.
It's the second straight year that Los Angeles teams will make up four players. Last year it was Bryant, Paul, Griffin and Andrew Bynum, who was dealt to Philadelphia in part of the deal that sent Howard from Orlando to Los Angeles.
The ballot changed this year, eliminating the center position. Fans were required to vote for three frontcourt players and two guards.
They picked an interesting mix in the East. Anthony and Garnett exchanged words during a game on Jan. 7 and Anthony was suspended a game by the NBA when he tried to confront Garnett afterward in the tunnel area and by the team bus.
Rondo was injured in the playoffs two years ago after getting tangled up with Wade and landing awkwardly on his arm, part of what's become a tense rivalry between the Celtics and Heat.
Reserves will be announced next Thursday. Coaches will vote for seven players in their conferences: two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position, and can't vote for a player on their own team.

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Beyonce to GQ magazine on bedroom secrets: I listen to make love to me

In today's piece from Beyonce's GQ magazine interview, Beyonce reveals some bedroom secrets.

Beyonce revealed to GQ that she listens to Make Love To Me by Rick James before making love to husband, Jay-Z

'If I'm scared, be scared, allow it, release it, move on. I think I need to go listen to 'Make Love to Me' and make love to my husband." 

wow.. we are jealous. lol

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'Temple Run 2' launching on iPhone and iPad in the US tonight

Temple Run - the popular mobile game is finally getting a sequel. Already available in the New Zealand App Store, Temple Run 2 is expected to start hitting other countries soon, with Touch Arcade reporting that it will be available in the US later tonight. From the looks of things, the sequel maintains the same basic gameplay as the original, so expect plenty of running away from danger while collecting coins and avoiding obstacles.

But there is something new: the game is set in a new environment (what looks to be a floating temple), where you can ride in mine carts and on zip lines, check out new powerups, and, according to the App Store description, be chased by an even bigger monkey. The visuals also look like they've received a significant bump in quality. Like the original, Temple Run 2 is free-to-play, but unfortunately there's no word on when it might be making its way to Android devices as well.

Are you ready for Temple Run tonight? We will just be sticking to our Android for a little longer.

[theverge]

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Study shows iPhone5 Users Consume The Most Data

iPhone 5 users love their data. A recent report shows that more tech consumers use smartphones and tablet computers. According to an insightful analysis from Arieso, smartphone users are more likely to consume data than tablet users. Not surprisingly, iPhone5 users consume the most data and although 40 percent of the data is consumed by 1% of users, LTE is starting to feel the strain.
The study was conducted with 125 different devices. It was found that users with the iPhone 5 used 50% more data than those with an older iPhone like the iPhone 4S and four times that much as users with the iPhone 3G. This report was conducted in Europe.

The same study also discovered that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) users were also major data users. Samsung Galaxy S3 owners took the lead for most data uploads while the Galaxy Note II and the iPhone 5 came second and third respectively.

For tablets, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) once again took the lead. Owners of the 10.1 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab downloaded twenty percent more data than iPad users.

Arieso’s study shows us that Apple Inc. is still in the lead with the most data-hungry consumers but they also remind us that their dominance has been challenged for the first time in three years.

CTO of Arieso, Dr. Michael T. Flanagan  explained that the capabilities of the most current smartphones (i.e. iPhone5) are creating a new demand for for users. He also added that regardless of the device and operating system used, there really is little signature difference between smartphone and tablet users. They also mentioned that voice-capable phablets (a cross between phones and tablet) are considered more of a smartphone than tablet computer.

The final results show the smartphones take the lead with the most data usage, tablets take the second place and phablet takes third place.

Are you monitoring your data consumption ------ with your iPhone5?
[Valuewalk]

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American Idol Season 12 Premieres Today! First Look

An all new season of American Idol is back!!! The 12th season and it premieres  this Wednesday night. Are you ready? According to the organizers, the show will be different and modernized this year. With the newly-hired judges — diva Mariah Carey, rapper Nicki Minaj, aussie country star Keith Urban and the show’s veteran Randy Jackson venturing out into several cities to find and nurture new talent. Will there be more feuds between judges - Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey  - Heck, we gotta admit a little of that most often will serve some additional entertainment. Here is a first look from the Season 12 of the American Idol below.

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Justin Timberlake to Release New Album 2013

Thursday, January 10th, 2013 at 9:01 am PST...
— Justin Timberlake(@jtimberlake) January 10, 2013

Are you as excited as we are for a Justin Timbalake new album. Its been a minute huh? Well, reports say an album is dropping soon, The entire Twitter was active last night with tweets about Justin Timberlake’s cryptic announcement about a new single dropping today.
Billboard now report that JT will be releasing a full-length LP sooner than later. Already we here he has locked in studio time with Jay Z and wife Beyonce. A source confirms that Timbaland is producing the project. He worked with JT in the past on 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds. So far, the pair has believed to have 20 tracks already made.

Stay tuned here for his new single as it drops!

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‘Lincoln’ Leads Oscar 2013 Nominations With 12 Nods: Full List

Oscar Nominations was announced today. who ya got? Full list below:

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee - Life of Pi

Amour - Michael Haneke

Lincoln - Steven Spielberg

Silver Linings Playbook - David O Russell

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Behn Zeitlin
BEST PICTURE

Beast of the Southern Wild

Zero Dark Thirty

Amour

Argo

Life of Pi

Les Miserables

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Django Unchained

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts - The Impossible


BEST ACTOR
 Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

Denzel Washington - Flight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Robert DeNiro - Silver Linings Playbook

Alan Arkin - Argo

Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Field - Lincoln

Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables

Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Amy Adams - The Master


Animated Feature Film
Frankenweenie

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck it Ralph

ParaNorman


Cinematography

Django Unchained - Robert Richardson

Anna Karenina - Seamus McGarvey

Lincoln - Janusz Kaminski

Life of Pi - Claudio Miranda

Skyfall - Roger Deakins

Brave

Costume Design

Anna Karenina - Jacqueline Durran

Les Misérables - Paco Delgado

Lincoln - Joanna Johnston

Mirror Mirror - Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman - Colleen Atwood


Documentary Feature

5 Broken Cameras - Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers -Nominees to be determined

How to Survive a Plague - Nominees to be determined

The Invisible War - Nominees to be determined

Searching for Sugar Man - Nominees to be determined



Documentary Short Subject

Inocente - Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point - Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine - Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Open Heart - Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

Redemption - Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill


Film Editing

Argo - William Goldenberg

Life of Pi - Tim Squyres

Lincoln - Michael Kahn

Silver Linings Playbook - Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers

Zero Dark Thirty - Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg



Foreign Language Film

Amour

NO

War Witch

A Royal Affair

Kon Tiki

Makeup

Hitchcock - Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane

Les Misérables - Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell


Music (Original Score)

Anna Karenina - Dario Marianelli

Argo - Alexandre Desplat

Life of Pi - Mychael Danna

Lincoln - John Williams

Skyfall - Thomas Newman


Music (Original Song)
Before My Time - Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph

Pi's Lullaby - Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri

Suddenly - Les Miserable, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublils

Everybody Needs a Best Friend - Ted, Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane

Skyfall - from Skyfall - Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth



Short Film (Animated)

Adam and Dog - Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole - PES

Head over Heels - Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly

Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" David Silverman

Paperman - John Kahrs



Production Design

Anna Karenina - Sarah Greenwood (Production Design); Katie Spencer (Set Decoration)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Dan Hennah (Production Design); Ra Vincent and Simon Bright (Set Decoration)

Les Misérables -Eve Stewart (Production Design); Anna Lynch-Robinson (Set Decoration)

Life of Pi - David Gropman (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration)



Short Film (Live Action)

Asad Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys - Sam French and Ariel Nasr

Curfew -Shawn Christensen

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw) - Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

Henry - Yan England

Lincoln - Rick Carter (Production Design); Jim Erickson (Set Decoration)


Sound Editing

Argo - Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn

Django Unchained - Wylie Stateman

Life of Pi - Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton

Skyfall - Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers



Sound Mixing

Argo - John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia

Les Misérables - Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes

Life of Pi -Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin

Lincoln - Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins

Skyfall - Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

Zero Dark Thirty -Paul N.J. Ottosson

Visual Effects

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White

Life of Pi -Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott

Marvel's The Avengers - Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick

Prometheus - Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill

Snow White and the Huntsman - Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson



Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Chris Terrio - Argo

Tony Kushner - Lincoln

David O'Russell - Silver Linings PLaybook

David Magee - Life of Pi


Writing (Original Screenplay )

John Gatins - Flight

Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty

Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino

Moonrise Kingdom - Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola

Amour - Written by Michael Haneke



The Oscars 2013 holds February 24 and will be hosted by Seth Macfarlane

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Lionel Messi wins ballon d'Or for fourth time

Who else is better than the footie kid. None. With back to back record wins of the annual world best player award, Messi has cemented his name as one of the greatest football players ever in history. Lionel Messi again won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award on Monday as an expected and deserved reward for his astonishing 91-goal year for Barcelona and Argentina in 2012. Aged just 25, Messi has now been voted the world's best player for an unprecedented fourth straight year as the outstanding talent of his generation.

 Messi beat his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Spanish champion Real Madrid and Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta, who starred as Spain won the 2012 European Championship. "To tell the truth, this is really unbelievable to get the fourth award. I am so nervous,'' a typically low-key Messi said in Spanish, though he wore a black tuxedo jacket with a white-spotted pattern in an unexpectedly flamboyant touch. Messi's fourth award lifted him above three-time FIFA winners Zinedine Zidane of France and Brazil's Ronaldo. The old Ballon d'Or trophy for players in Europe was won three times by France great Michel Platini, and Netherlands forwards Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten. Messi received 41.60 percent of the points in votes cast by national team coaches and captains plus invited journalists, who gave their top-three lists from an original slate of 23 players. Ronaldo got 23.68 percent and Iniesta scored 10.91 percent. "Whether I win or not it doesn't matter, it's a privilege to be here,'' Ronaldo, the 2008 winner, said earlier when sharing a news conference platform with Messi. Messi led a dominating night for Spanish teams and the United States women's Olympic champions at FIFA's annual celebration of world football. Vicente del Bosque won the coaching award for guiding Spain to its third straight major tournament victory at Euro 2012. Abby Wambach, who scored five goals at the London Games, was named the best women's player, edging teammate Alex Morgan to become the first American winner since Mia Hamm got the 2002 award. Pia Sundhage, who also led the U.S. team to gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won the coaching award for women's football, beating two male candidates. Barcelona players have now won 10 times in the 22 years that FIFA has awarded a world's-best prize. In 2010, the FIFA world player honor merged with the Ballon d'Or prize awarded to Europe- based players since 1956 by `France Football' magazine.
 Messi's goal-scoring record shone in a relatively disappointing year by the high standards of the Catalan club which won just one trophy, the Spanish Cup, in 2012. Madrid, sparked by Ronaldo's 46 league goals, took back the La Liga title and Barcelona went down to a shock defeat in the Champions League semifinals to eventual winner Chelsea. Still, Messi defied critics who believe his standards drop for Argentina by scoring 12 goals for the national team in 2012, including five at a goal-a-game rate in 2014 World Cup qualifiers to ensure it leads the South American qualifying group. Messi's goals also helped give Barcelona, under new coach Tito Vilanova, a runaway lead in the Spanish league this season thanks to a record start of 17 wins and one draw. Wambach's goals at the Olympics earned her the FIFA prize at the age of 32. She placed third last year.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Photo of Justin Bieber smoking weed surfaces online

Justin Bieber kicked off the new year on a real high note -- clutching a smoldering
blunt at a big party inside a Newport Beach hotel room this week celebrity site TMZ reports.
According to TMZ, the photos were taken on January 2nd just the day after a paparazzo was killed while trying to take photos of Justin Bieber's Ferrari --- and perhaps... Bieber wasn't feeling too bad about the whole situation.

We are thinking out loud. Is this even right?

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