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Friday, February 22, 2013

YouTube data now part of Billboard Hot 100 chart

NEW YORK (AP) ? Viral videos are hits on the Web, and now they can help propel a song to the top of the Billboard charts.

Billboard has announced that U.S. YouTube data is now one of the factors when ranking Hot 100 songs and songs on its other charts.

The new rule went into effect this week, with the viral-video hit "Harlem Shake" debuting at No. 1. Other factors include radio airplay, digital download sales, physical single sales, on-demand audio streaming and online radio streaming. Billboard's new rule incorporates all official videos on YouTube, including Vevo.

"Harlem Shake," by Brooklyn producer Baauer, features few lyrics. The video has a heavy dance-flavored beat. It became a viral success thanks to hundreds of YouTube videos of people dancing to the song.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-21-Billboard%20Hot%20100-YouTube/id-90c0d6fc57cd41579acfce7146891e6f

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'Victory or Death' letter returns to the Alamo

Archivist Sarah Norris handles William Barret Travis' famed "Victory of Death" letter at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, in Austin, Texas. For the first time in 177 years, Travis' letter addressed to ?the People of Texas and All Americans in the World? seeking aid to the besieged Texans he commanded at the Alamo will return to the Alamo for display. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Visitor walk past a custom case that will house Texas hero William Barret Travis' famed "Victory of Death" letter at the Alamo, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, in Austin, Texas. For the first time in 177 years, Travis' letter addressed to ?the People of Texas and All Americans in the World? seeking aid to the besieged Texans he commanded at the Alamo will return to the Alamo for display. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Texas hero William Barret Travis' signature is seen on his famed "Victory of Death" letter , Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, in Austin, Texas. For the first time in 177 years, Travis' letter addressed to ?the People of Texas and All Americans in the World? seeking aid to the besieged Texans he commanded at the Alamo will return to the Alamo for display. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) ? A written plea for help in which the commander of the besieged rebel Texas forces at the Alamo vowed "Victory or Death" returned to the old Spanish mission for the first time Friday since it was penned in 1836.

William Barret Travis' famous letter to "the People of Texas and All Americans in the World," will get a police escort from the state archive in Austin to the Alamo, which is now in the heart of downtown San Antonio. The weathered, single-page letter will go on display for two weeks, starting this weekend, and will be kept in a special display cabinet and given round-the-clock guards.

The exhibit coincides with the 177th anniversary of the siege, which culminated with the March 6, 1836, fall of the Alamo and the deaths of Travis and the roughly 180 men in his command.

"I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch", Travis wrote in the roughly 200-word letter dated that Feb. 24.

Travis, a 26-year-old South Carolina native and lawyer who left his family in Alabama for Texas, wrote that the forces under Mexico's president, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, were subjecting him and his men to "continual" cannon fire. Knowing the odds were against them, Travis wrote that he responded to a surrender demand with a single cannon shot of his own and the promise that, "I shall never surrender or retreat."

"It's something about martyrs and last stands," Michael Parrish, a Baylor University history professor, said of the letter's allure. "There's just something very, very romantic and epic and heroic and all the grandiose terms you want to apply."

The letter was smuggled out of the Alamo at night by a courier on horseback, but by the time it was published in leaflets and newspapers, Travis and his men were dead. But volunteers crying "Remember the Alamo!" and led by Gen. Sam Houston routed Santa Anna's forces more than a month later outside what's now the city of Houston, securing Texas' independence from Mexico.

Ultimately, Texas was annexed by the United States, contributing to the Mexican War in the late 1840s. An American victory led to the acquisition of much of what is now the southwest U.S., including California.

"The writing of the letter by Travis is a pivotal and very, very dramatic moment in the story of the Alamo with all its famous characters, (David) Crockett, (James) Bowie, Travis and many more who willingly decided to give their lives in a cause they considered bigger than themselves," Parrish said. "In fact, the Alamo is considered one of the great epic stories of American history, and indeed, world history."

Ceremonies to mark the document's return to San Antonio from Austin, where it's kept in the Texas State Library and Archives, were scheduled for later Friday. The public display at the state's most popular tourist spot begins Saturday with the start of what Texas historians call "The High Holy Days."

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose office assumed ownership of the Alamo in 2011, last year proposed bringing the letter back to put on display to the public, at least temporarily.

"It's an iconic reminder of our heritage," Patterson said Wednesday. "I think it should come out from the darkened corners and be displayed to the public at certain intervals. ... I think every Texan in their lifetime should have an opportunity to view it in person."

The letter, which was folded to serve as its own envelope, has been displayed previously, including the State Fair in Dallas to mark Texas' 1936 centennial and 1986 sesquicentennial. It also was inside the Texas Capitol for years in the early and mid-20th century under light conditions archivists now know damaged it.

"If you take a look at it, particularly in the ink, there's been a lot of fading," Sarah Norris, a conservator at the state archives, said. "Light damage is cumulative and irreversible. And there are no conservation treatments that can undo it."

At the Alamo, some windows have been covered, lights will be dimmed and the glass and wood air-controlled cabinet holding the letter will be surrounded by drapes. The document itself will stand perpendicular in the trapezoid-shaped bulletproof case inside a glass enclosure and between two panels of plastic glass treated to block ultraviolet light.

Travis penned the letter in a room across the plaza from the mission's main entrance. The spot is now a Ripley's Haunted Adventure, which is part of a block-long strip of tourist-focused businesses.

Capt. Albert Martin of Gonzales, a Rhode Island native, slipped through the Mexican lines outside the Alamo and handed it the following afternoon to Lancelot Smither, a former Alamo defender who had left earlier to spread word that Santa Anna's army had arrived. Smither delivered it to San Felipe, the unofficial capital of revolutionary Texas about 145 miles east of San Antonio.

After the war, in circumstances that are unclear, the letter was returned to Travis' family in Alabama, said John Anderson, a preservation officer at the state archives. Travis' great-great grandson sold it to the state in 1893 for $85, or the equivalent of $2,179 today.

Parrish said the letter's blending of passion for democracy and religious faith ? it closes "The Lord is on our side" ? is "quintessentially American and even more quintessentially Texas."

"The letter is just simply wonderful," he said. "For one thing, it is short, it's like the Gettysburg Address. ... It's just powerful.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-21-US-Alamo-Victory-or-Death/id-7dadb5bb6fd44c79ab5b1da5c896f5cd

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BlackBerry projected to miss big on Z10 sales: ?There is no line of sight to profitability?

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Doug" (24), and I (22) have been in a long-distance relationship for a year, but we were friends for a couple of years before that. I had never had a serious relationship before and lacked experience. Doug has not only been in two other long-term relationships, but has had sex with more than 15 women. One of them is an amateur porn actress.I knew about this, but it didn't bother me until recently. Doug had a party, and while he was drunk he told one of his buddies -- in front of me -- that he should watch a certain porn film starring his ex-girlfriend. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-projected-miss-big-z10-sales-no-line-181327678.html

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

TripAdvisor voters crown Italian beach as world's best

Belinda Goldsmith , Reuters ? ? ? 5 hrs.

LONDON -- A remote beach in Sicily, Italy, was named on Thursday as the best beach in the world by a survey of travellers, while a UK beach managed to sneak into the top 10.

Rabbit Beach came top in the first annual awards for the world's best beach based on millions of reviews and ratings by international tourists on the TripAdvisor website.

Rabbit Beach, on the island of Lampedusa off the south coast of Sicily, was described as an unspoiled nature reserve that can only be accessed by boat and one of the few places in the Mediterranean where loggerhead sea turtles go to lay their eggs.

Second place went Grace Bay, Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos, while Australia's Whitehaven Beach in the state of Queensland came third.

"Rabbit Beach's is clearly a big hit with travellers and it's easy to see why with its stunning turquoise water and white sand," said TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw.

In recent years the southern Italian island of Lampedusa has been in the news as the landing point for tens of thousands of refugees and would-be migrants during the Arab Spring uprisings.

Thousands of migrants risking the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea in small overcrowded fishing boats died as a result of shipwreck, harsh conditions at sea or a lack of food and water, setting off a crisis that threatened to overwhelm the island.

Shaw said this award would be a boost for Sicily's tourism.

Beaches in Brazil, Spain, Puerto Rico, Bermuda and Aruba also featured in the top 10, praised for their white sands and swaying palm trees.

But one surprise in the list, coming 10th, was Rhossili Bay in Swansea, Wales, which beat beaches in Hawaii, the Caribbean and more exotic locations to make the top 10 list.

Rhossili Bay, on the Gower Peninsula, stretches for three miles (5 kms) and its vast expanse of sand backed by sand dunes and towering cliffs make it popular with surfers, paragliders and ramblers.

"We are delighted, but not surprised, that Rhossili Bay has been acknowledged ... We hope that many more visitors continue to enjoy its outstanding natural beauty," David Phillips, leader of the City and County of Swansea, said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for TripAdvisor said the best beach awards were based on the quality and quantity of traveller reviews and ratings for beaches on the website gathered over a 12-month period. Following is TripAdvisor's list of the Top 10 beaches in the world:

1. Rabbit Beach, Sicily - Italy

2. Grace Bay, Providenciales - Turks and Caicos

3. Whitehaven Beach, Queensland - Australia

4. Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha - Brazil

5. Flamenco Beach (Playa Flamenco), Culebra - Puerto Rico

6. Playa de las Catedrales, Ribadeo - Spain

7. Lopes Mendes Beach, Ilha Grande - Brazil

8. Horseshoe Bay Beach, Southampton Parish - Bermuda

9. Eagle Beach - Aruba

10. Rhossili Bay, Rhossili, Swansea - Wales, UK

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/italian-beach-crowned-best-world-tripadvisor-voters-1C8476674

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Green Blog: Unlocking the Conspiracy Mind-Set

When I first met the NASA climate researcher Gavin Schmidt a few years ago, we discussed the proliferation of material on the Internet attacking mainstream climate science. I asked him whether he thought climate contrarians were flirting with conspiracy theory in their views.

?Flirting?? he said. ?No. They?ve already had conspiracy theory out on a hot date, and now it?s the morning after and they?re sitting up in bed, having coffee.?

I happened to recall that conversation the other day as I read the latest chapter of a remarkable back-and-forth between mainstream researchers and climate contrarians.

It all started last year, when a social scientist named Stephan Lewandowsky, of the University of Western Australia, and two colleagues published a rather provocative paper. It was based on an anonymous Internet survey of the readers of climate blogs.

The title alone will give you a sense of the findings: ?NASA Faked the Moon Landings ? Therefore (Climate) Science is a Hoax.? The subtitle was ?An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science.?

The strongest finding in the survey was that ideological belief in an unregulated free market tended to be a predictor of someone?s willingness to reject the findings of mainstream climate research. No great surprise there. It was the secondary findings that set off a brouhaha.

Dr. Lewandowsky?s survey results suggested that people who rejected climate science were more likely than other respondents to reject other scientific or official findings and buy into assorted fringe theories: that NASA faked the moon landing, that the Central Intelligence Agency killed Martin Luther King Jr., that the AIDS virus was unleashed by the government, and so forth.

This piece of research appeared in a specialized journal in psychological science, but it did not take long to find its way onto climate skeptics? blogs, setting off howls of derision.

A theory quickly emerged: that believers in climate science had been the main people taking Dr. Lewandowsky?s survey, but instead of answering honestly, had decided en masse to impersonate climate contrarians, giving the craziest possible answers so as to make the contrarians look like whack jobs.

So, a paper about a tendency among this group to believe in conspiracy theories was met by ? a conspiracy theory.

Dr. Lewandowsky and his collaborators were taken aback, but not for long. As far-fetched ideas about the survey ricocheted around the Internet, they realized that manna was falling on them from heaven.

They started collecting the relevant blog posts, attempting to trace ideas to their origin, and observing how readily new conspiracy theories were embraced by the contrarians.

The result is yet another paper, just out recently. Again, the title tells the tale: ?Recursive fury: Conspiracist ideation in the blogosphere in response to research on conspiracist ideation.?

Now, I will confess to being a bit of a skeptic myself about the value of Internet surveys, which tend to draw a self-selected population of respondents. And the only science I follow closely these days is physical research into the climate system, so I will let others with more expertise in the social sciences judge the merits of these papers.

But for sheer entertainment, they are both great reads ? especially the second one, with its long passages about how the minds of conspiracy theorists work to seal off doubt and contrary evidence.

The heart of the second paper is a narrative of the eruption of various theories regarding the first paper, with elements of conspiratorial thinking explicitly identified in each case. Before the fever died down, one blogger was comparing Australian climate research to Soviet political repression, spinning a web of treachery that involved the Australian government, the University of Western Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and other groups.

(Judging from some of the e-mail I get, The New York Times is also seen in some quarters as part of a global plot to foist a scientific hoax on the public.)

Parts of this second paper remind me of the timeless Richard Hofstadter essay, ?The Paranoid Style in American Politics,? which is, by the way, essential reading for anyone trying to understand the influence of climate denialism on modern American or Australian or British politics. It was written in the early 1960s and contains not a word about climate change, but anyone who has followed the climate wars closely will recognize a lot of the themes in the essay.

When I recently reminded Dr. Schmidt of our conversation from a few years back, he replied that it was ?worth pointing out that just because an argument is used by a conspiracy theorist doesn?t make it wrong, and that just because someone agrees with a conspiracy theorist on something, it doesn?t make them a crank.?

Indeed, some of the strongest online reaction to Dr. Lewandowsky?s original paper came from intelligent climate contrarians who were offended at being labeled part of the tinfoil hat brigade. Whatever you think of their position on global warming, some of them have remarkable statistical skills and have made contributions, generally modest, to the scientific literature.

And yet, in other corners of the climate contrarian movement, words like ?conspiracy? and ?hoax? keep cropping up. Sen. James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who is the standard-bearer for the climate contrarians in Congress, scored a double last year in the title of a book he published: ?The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.?

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/unlocking-the-conspiracy-mindset/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

PFT: Cowboys not planning to draft QB early

Jim Harbaugh, Derrick Rhone-Dunn, Brad Hudspeth

NFL officials are usually pretty tolerant about coaches yelling at them. Yes, a coach can get a penalty for going too far, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a coach in the NFL is nowhere near as common as an NBA coach getting a technical foul or a Major League Baseball manager getting the old heave-ho.

But that may soon change.

NFL executive V.P. of football operations Ray Anderson told Clark Judge of CBS that the league is ready to start cracking down on coaches who leave the sideline and step onto the field to yell at officials, and if coaches don?t learn, penalty flags are coming.

?We need to be much more disciplined about where our coaches go in terms of the box,? Anderson said, ?and venturing out on the field beyond traditional markers is something that is just not appropriate. It can interfere and it can be viewed as intimidating, and we really are going to rein that in.?

Anderson said that in the past the officials routinely gave coaches leeway, but not anymore.

?There are borders,? said Anderson, ?but, very frankly, they?re loosely enforced. But they will be more aggressively enforced going forward because we need to rein it in. . . . Coaches can be flagged. It?s about enforcement and point of emphasis. So coaches who, after appropriate warning, continue to venture out will pay the price with a penalty that potentially could hurt their team.?

For coaches who can?t control their tempers, a 15-yard penalty will serve as a swift reminder to stay on the sideline.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/20/cowboys-arent-thinking-about-a-qb-early-in-draft/related/

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I Cannot Take Any Nfl "expert" Seriously That Mocks A Te To The Falcons

I'm fine with a stud TE...

How many on these boards would want Gronk v. Randy Starks??

How many would want Vernan Davis v. Michael Johnson??

I see a TE having more immediate impact on this team than a DE...we have 4 guys at DE, we have 3 DTs that are a solid rotation...

If TG retires, our hopes are on Chase Coffman?? Can he even stay on the field?? or HD will pick up the slack?? There is a reason he was 4th on the team in receiving yards/targets...if he was so freakin good, he would ahve shown it and him and TG would have had similar numbers...

I guarantee you if you asked Ryan today, he would want a TE more than a 3rd WR on the field...it helps keep defenses honest on the run and pass...

Eifert is the best "receiver" in this draft...That includes TE and WE...

I would be fine if we took TE...I think we will address our DT or DE issues with a veteran in FA...it will change our whole draft outlook...

Source: http://boards.atlantafalcons.com/topic/3971984-i-cannot-take-any-nfl-expert-seriously-that-mocks-a-te-to-the-falcons/

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