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Source: http://www.facebook.com/ynnaustin/posts/593726674005867
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
AT&T cuts smartphone prices in half, jumps on the discount bandwagon
If you're looking for a new smartphone, this is apparently the weekend to go shopping. Following Radio Shack's promise to chip in a $100 Google Play credit with purchase an HTC One and Walmart's deep iPhone discounts, AT&T has quietly tacked on a 50% discount to all smartphone purchases under $199. This puts devices like the HTC One, Samsung's Galaxy S4 (and the S4 Active), the Note II, both of BlackBerry's latest handsets and iPhone 5 at an enticing $100. Naturally, Ma Bell has attached the usual hooks: the deal necessitates a new 2-year agreement or contract renewal, and in-store purchases require a trade-in device to activate the discount. Not a bad deal if you're hankering for new hardware -- just make sure you don't walk away with buyer's remorse.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, AT&T
Via: TUAW
Source: AT&T
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/IaHSY8xOKj8/
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Filmmakers and the scramble to make made-for-TV films accurate
TV 
2 hours ago
The day before Lifetime began filming "Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret," its true crime movie about the Jodi Arias case, the now-convicted murderer shocked everyone by taking the stand at her trial. As Arias regaled the jury and public for 18 days with the minute details of her life and intimate relationship with Travis Alexander, the ex-boyfriend she killed, the movie's writers realized they could no longer end their story as they'd planned -- in a police interrogation room with Arias denying she'd even been at the scene.
As real life played out in a Mesa, Arizona, courtroom,it "was just too dramatic," to gloss over, said Arturo Interian, vice president of original movies for Lifetime Networks and A&E Networks. "To have [prosecutor] Juan Martinez suddenly becoming a hero in the public's eyes. And Jodi, now the villain of villains, going at it with Juan on the stand for multiple days?she was lying; he didn?t believe a word. He's nailing her and confronting her on her contradictions. You could not stop watching that. There's no way we could leave it out."
What to include and exclude in a true crime movie can be tricky business, especially when the case is not over. Legally, writers, producers and executives are bound by some of the facts as they reveal themselves in court but that doesn't mean that a movie has to wait to be made until all is said and done or that writers can't fill in the blanks. It depends on the point of the view the film is taking.
Lifetime's Arias film premieres Saturday at 8 p.m. -- the network began developing the movie 15 months ago, when no one expected the trial to last as long as it did or for the defendant to spend as much time trying to sell her self-defense claims. It put Jace Alexander, who was directing his first true crime movie, in the position of balancing artistic license with a story that was playing out in front of the world and simultaneously impacting real people. Her conviction meant that legally, producers could show her killing Alexander; without it, they would have had to focus on their rocky relationship and leave the conclusions to the audience.
"We are taking moments where no one knows or had access to the private closed-door moments of these people and imagining ourselves what happened," said Alexander who is not related to the victim. ?The minute that happens, we can't be held accountable for what other people think might be the truth. But there were a lot of facts we were privy to and we were faithful to those facts. Although I have nothing but the most respect for these people who have been living through this horrible tragedy, at the same time, we had to construct a narrative that may or may not sit well with them."
It was a first for Alexander but not for a network that built its brand when it seized on a gap left by the broadcast networks when they stopped making made-for-TV movies. Writer Teena Booth, who has written about 30 non-fiction movies, including Lifetime?s second biggest true crime hit, ?Drew Peterson: Untouchable,? says real life can get in the way of telling the story?even when the case is long over.
When she was writing a Lifetime movie that aired in 2008 about the murder of Las Vegas casino magnate Ted Binion, the court overturned the conviction of his girlfriend, Sandra Murphy, sending Booth into frantic re-write mode because she could no longer show Murphy killing Binion. Last year, as she wrote ?Fatal Honeymoon,? about Tina Watson, the newlywed wife who died while diving on her Australian honeymoon, the case against her husband was dismissed, though he had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Australia.
?Those are real hair pullers,? Booth said. ?You can lose sleep. I am very committed to telling the truth as I understand it and what my research is showing. About 95% of the stories are pretty clear?you?re pretty sure that Jodi Arias did that. With Drew Peterson, I never had a doubt in my mind even though we were making the movie before he was convicted. But something like the Watson case is very ambiguous and there are many passionate conversations along the way with the network, producers and directors. Everyone wants to do the right thing and we also want to make a good movie.?
As a true crime writer, Booth researches her cases and follows a storytelling formula but her job is to dig beyond the facts and address a question that often is left answered in court?why? Trial watchers can surmise, for example, that Arias acted out in a jealous rage or that Peterson felt he owned his wife, but no one will ever know unless the murderers decide to reveal it. When preparing for a script, Booth reads whatever material she can find, but she also travels to where the crime occurred and interviews people who know the major players.
?My job is to understand the emotional content,? she said. ?I want to know who this person was. I feel a huge sense of responsibility toward the people I talk to because they?re sitting there telling me some of the most awful moments of their life, some of the most terrible things that have ever happened to them.?
Booth said she?s relieved not to have been charged with writing the Jodi Arias story because some stories ?are too upsetting too tackle.? When she wrote ?Amish Grace? for Lifetime about the 2006 Amish school shooting in Pennyslvania, Booth said she was on ?an emotional tear? for two months because it involved small children.
Michael Yarish / Lifetime
Rob Lowe starred in Lifetime's "Drew Peterson: Untouched," the network's second biggest true crime drama.
?Drew Peterson was a larger-than-life figure,? she said. ?You could keep a certain emotional distance from him because he?s like a clown. But Jodi Arias, there?s something more disturbing about her. She has this really dark side. It gives you a little bit of the creeps.?
At times, the horror of Arias' actions also got to Alexander who knew nothing about the case when he decided to direct his first Lifetime movie. The director opted to show the extreme violent nature of Arias? actions in spite of how difficult they are to even fathom because of what the horror reveals about the woman behind it.
?This man was brutally murdered and he shouldn?t have been and there are some deep emotions because of that,? Alexander said. ?There were 29 stab wounds and a gunshot and I felt it would be dishonest for me to just clip that and move forward. I want to show that it?s not OK. It?s hard for me to watch. I want people to watch this movie but you may need to cover your eyes a little bit.?
Those who followed the trial won?t be surprised by the gruesomeness of the murder, but critics have questioned whether Lifetime should be airing the movie so soon after the trial ended, especially because the sentencing portion has to be redone and the victim?s family will have to live through it again.
?When a story is as exposed in the public as this one, I feel like it?s open for people to interpret an artistic approach to these people because they are now in the public eye,? Alexander said. ?Whether that is fair or not, I?m still wrestling with. And believe me, I feel it. I?m not entirely comfortable with it at all.?
Booth said she?s never received a single complaint; in fact, often the families of the victims thank her for telling their story. ?I?ve never had a family come at me and say that it was horrible and they feel exploited,? she said. ?If that did happen, it would hurt. I would feel terrible.?
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/filmmakers-scramble-make-made-tv-films-accurate-6C10374594
Friday, June 21, 2013
We're live from Samsung Premiere 2013 in London!
Live coverage of new Windows and Android announcements from Samsung
We're live from London's Earls Court exhibition center later today for Samsung Premiere 2013 -- the Korean manufacturer's big event where it's promising to show off new Galaxy (Android) and Windows (Ativ) devices. So we can certainly expect to see more of the Galaxy S4 Mini, Active and Zoom, as well as unannounced stuff like the Galaxy NX Android-powered mirrorless camera. On the Windows side, there's the possibility of more tablets and ultrabooks, and maybe some new Windows Phone devices too.
We'll be on the ground from 6pm local time, and the show kicks off at 7pm BST (2pm EDT, 11am PDT), so remember to bookmark this page for live coverage. You'll find our liveblog after the break!
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/DAIB6NAmZXA/story01.htm
Life Unexpected: Our First Baby Shower...
It's been three weeks since we passed court and it feels like eternity. ?Every day that passes is one more day that we are away from Biruk, and we are not big fans of that! ?We are praying that we get submitted to embassy, pass, and travel as soon as possible. ?In the meantime, we are "prepping" to be parents, and basking in all of the "firsts" of pre-parenthood. ?I realized tonight that not only has it been three weeks since court, but it has also been almost three weeks since I last blogged. ?I am behind and so much has happened.
For starters, my family threw us the baby shower of the century and I haven't even had time to blog about it. Several months back, my mom and sisters came to me attempting to find a date that would work for all of us to have a baby shower. ?After a lot of debating, we chose a date, and then several weeks later, changed the date in fear that it would be too close to traveling for our first trip. ?Little did we know that our first trip would come a lot sooner than we thought. ?We came home from Ethiopia on a Thursday and the baby shower of the century was two days later on a Saturday. ?While it was a crazy busy time, it couldn't have been more perfect timing to celebrate the news that we were officially Biruk's parents. ?That makes for some serious celebration.
If you know anything about my family, than you know no one does anything halfheartedly. ?When my mom and sisters started making plans for the shower, I knew that it would not be a simple task. ?For weeks leading up, whenever I talked with them on the phone, they reminded me that it was going to be awesome. ?They had every detail planned out, they had invited friends and family from out of town, and they wanted to make sure it was amazing.
Nate and I had decided to just go home to my parent's house as soon as we got in from Ethiopia. ?Since my sister was in town, Nate's family was coming, and we had friends coming, we thought we would spend a few days home. ?Friday morning, I woke up and was completely jet lagged and groggy. ?I headed downstairs and found some coffee my Dad had made and then he informed me that he needed me to come to the airport that night and translate (in Spanish) for a pastor coming to visit from Cuba who didn't speak any English. ?At that point, I was so tired, I was lucky I could speak English. ?Regardless, I agreed, and that night my Dad and I set out to the airport.
We arrived at BWI and began searching for this Cuban pastor. ?I was frantically trying to remember every Spanish phrase I could think of, while asking my Dad over and over again a series of questions as we waited..."What does he look like? ?Are you sure he doesn't speak any English? ?What gate is he coming from? ?Are you sure he doesn't speak any English?" ?Finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting, my Dad blurted out, "It's Amy Hanes!" ?I was like, "What's Amy Hanes?" ?He said, "Amy...she is coming to surprise you for your shower but I have no idea where she is. ?Do you have your her number in your cell?" ?Amy is one of my friends, who is a missionary in Honduras. ?She had come to surprise me for my shower. ?I turned around and saw her right away and then started freaking out. ?The weekend was already off to an amazing start.
Saturday morning, we headed to the church and I was completely blown away by what I saw. ?My mom and sisters had truly out done themselves. ?There were pennants that were hanging with maps of Ethiopia, little kid party favors with pencils with mini flags on them, several of Biruk's little shirts hanging up, cupcakes that had cake pops in the center of them, food that was amazing every where, the cutest mason jars with Biruk's picture attached and yummy chocolate covered oreos and pretzels inside (thanks to my sister, Heather), and pictures of our trip pinned all over.
Side ?note on the pictures...so my Dad went to CVS to get 5 sets of about 20 pictures of Biruk developed. ?The CVS girl came over to him and said, "This is a beautiful baby!" ?My Dad tried to reply, "That's my new grandson," but in Dad fashion, broke down in tears overwhelmed by the goodness of the whole thing. ?The girl put her arm around him and said, "Sir, are you going to be ok?" ?Oh my...I would have paid to see that.
Mom had placed plain burp cloths everywhere along with fabric markers. ?She asked everyone to decorate one (which by the way, there were over 65 people there to support us!). ?She also asked everyone to write Biruk blessings, which totally blew us away. ?I can't wait until he is old enough for us to read them some day. ?My sister Kristen gave us this awesome wall hanging of Africa with the lyrics to a powerful Steven Curtis Chapman song. ?It's already hanging in Biruk's room ?My sister Heather had this beautiful necklace made that had a bunch of charms that represented our journey. ?I have been wearing it like crazy! ?Nate's mom and sister even made it down...driving 6 hours to stay for a few hours. ?It meant the world to us.
I had always imagined what it would be like to have a baby shower someday, but I could have never dreamed up the amount of encouragement and love we felt that day. ?It wasn't about gifts that we got (although, we got more than enough gifts...people were incredibly generous). ?It wasn't about the decorations (although I am pretty sure that my mom and sisters could easily go into the business of baby showers...it was that amazing). ?It wasn't even about us. ?It was totally about God's grace and faithfulness in a story that we could have never written or imagined if we tried. ?It was about a community of friends and family members who have been praying like crazy for a child they have never even met. ?It was about the celebration of a baby whose name not only means "blessed," but whose whole story has been a blessing in ways we could have never dreamed of. ?It was about a God who never stops loving us and a God who is constantly weaving the threads of our lives to make something beautiful. ?That is what blows us away. ?That is what we are grateful for. ?That is what makes the journey incredible. ?Thanks be to God.
Source: http://nateandandrealifeunexpected.blogspot.com/2013/06/our-first-baby-shower.html
Longo goes yard twice as Rays roll Yankees
By HOWIE RUMBERG
AP Sports Writer
Associated Press Sports
updated 10:51 p.m. ET June 20, 2013
NEW YORK (AP) - Evan Longoria homered twice. Matt Moore pitched impressively into the seventh inning. From Desmond Jennings to Yunel Escobar, there were contributions throughout the Tampa Bay lineup.
That's how manager Joe Maddon imagined this pesky club would perform all year.
"That's the way it's supposed to look like," Maddon said after the Rays sent the New York Yankees to their seventh loss in nine game, 8-3 Thursday night.
Longoria reached 500 career RBIs with a sacrifice fly in the third inning. He connected against Andy Pettitte (5-5) leading off the sixth and again off Joba Chamberlain to open the eighth.
Escobar hit a two-run shot off Boone Logan later in the eighth as the Rays' won a second straight after losing six of seven.
"We've had some tough losses in the past week but the guys hung in there really well," Maddon said. "It's going to be the roller coaster AL East all summer."
Tampa Bay had 14 hits after amassing 15 in a 6-2 win over Boston on Wednesday night.
The 24-year-old Moore (9-3) snapped a three-start skid. The lefty opened the season 8-0 before yielding 20 runs over 12 1-3 innings in three starts this month. He blanked the Yankees until the sixth when two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs.
A wild pitch scored one run, Robinson Cano had a sacrifice fly and Travis Hafner followed with an RBI grounder that pulled the Yankees to 4-3.
"Things were going well until the sixth inning," Moore said. "That was kind of the makey or breaky type of moment where it's either going to be a five-run inning with Robbie Cano up, bases loaded, no outs. Or you could keep the team in the game the way we were able to."
Moore then got an out in the seventh before being lifted following Lyle Overbay's ground-rule double to left field, only the fourth hit he allowed.
Jose Lobaton opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the second following a wild pitch by Pettitte. Ben Zobrist had an RBI single in the third in the Rays' first visit to the Bronx this year.
Jennings and Sean Rodriguez had consecutive two-out doubles in the seventh to chase Pettitte, making his first start as a 41-year-old - his birthday was Saturday.
"For me it's another frustrating night," Pettitte said. "We come back and score three runs and I go out there and give them right back. Joe (Girardi) trusts me to get out of the inning and I can't get Rodriguez out. I need to be able to shut these guys down."
Jennings put Pettitte in trouble on the first pitch of the game, hitting a double that landed on the left-field line for his first of his three hits.
The Rays started the third with three straight singles. Jennings led off with a single and went to second when the ball scooted under center fielder Brett Gardner's glove for an error. After Rodriguez singled, Zobrist, who came in 9 for 22 (.409) against Pettitte, drove in Jennings with a single.
Longoria's sacrifice fly made it 3-0 and gave the All-Star third baseman 500 RBIs in 710 games, eighth quickest to reach the mark in major league history.
"It's a pretty good amount of RBIs. It's something I'm pretty proud of," Longoria said. "Hopefully there'll be a ton more."
In 6 2-3 innings, Pettitte gave up five runs and nine hits. He has given up 14 runs in four starts since returning from the disabled list June 3.
Pitching coach "Larry (Rothschild) said for the first five innings he didn't make a lot of mistakes, but the ones he made they hit them," manager Joe Girardi said.
NOTES: Maddon said RHP Alex Colome will start Saturday. ... Tampa Bay played its 2,500th game in franchise history. The Rays, who started out as the Devil Rays in 1998, are 1,141-1,359 overall. Rothschild was Tampa Bay's first manager. Current Rays bench coach Dave Martinez singled for the team's first hit. ... Rays ace David Price (left triceps strain) is scheduled to make his first rehabilitation start Friday for Class A Charlotte. ... There was a moment of silence for actor and Yankees fan James Gandolfini, who died Wednesday. ... Yankees broadcaster and former catcher John Flaherty was in the Rays' first lineup. ... Yankees OF Vernon Wells went 0 for 3 and is 6 for 59 in June.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Angels mount seven-run rally vs. Felix, M's
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Staring at a seven-run deficit with Seattle's Felix Hernandez on the mound Thursday night, the Los Angeles Angels could have been excused for starting to think about the weekend.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/52270549/ns/sports-baseball/
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