Harry Potter took down more than just Voldemort this weekend. The final installment of this beloved franchise set numerous box office records. Among them: * The biggest-ever midnight gross ($43.5 million). * The biggest-ever opening day/single day haul ($92.1 million). * The biggest-ever IMAX opening ($15.5 million). * The biggest-ever opening three-day total ($168.8 million) domestically. * The biggest-ever international total for a three-day opening ($475 million).
Um, wow . With effortless ease, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has poised itself to break virtually every opening-weekend box-office record known to Hollywood, with Friday’s staggering midnight showing folding into a best-ever $95 million opening day. That far exceeds the earlier record of $72 million set by The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009, and sets the Potter finale up for a milestone $180 million (or more) three-day total. Not bad! And still, people saw other movies as well — your Friday Box Office is here.
In a photo provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff#39;s Office, NFL football player Adam “Pacman” Jones wears a neck brace in a booking photo after his arrest on resisting arrest and misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges early Sunday, July 10, 2011, in Cincinnati. Authorities in Cincinnati reported Jones tried to pull away from police after he was accused of shouting profanities in a Cincinnati bar. Jones denied the allegations after leaving jail. He told WCPO-TV in that he hadn#39;t been dri
Joe Jonas was spotted at the event with Karlie Kloss, a 21-year model and the current face of Oscar de la Renta. Top model Karlie Kloss, 18, and top tween heartthrob Joe Jonas, 21, watched Prince William play a charity polo match at the Santa Barbara Polo Racquet Club over the weekend. Horses weren#39;t the only ones being ridden in Santa Barbara this weekend, where a number of celebrities came out to watch Prince William in action at the Santa Barbara Polo Racquet Club. The rumored couple
Horrible bosses– the bane of every working man (and woman’s) existence. Whether they’re loud, obnoxious, or downright lazy, at some point they all inspire homicidal tendencies in the people unlucky enough to work for them. With the release of Horrible Bosses this Friday, The Urban Daily lists the worst of the worst offenders in corporate management from the small and big screen. Sergio Roma in Get Him To The Greek– Diddy plays record mogul Sergio Roma, whose Pinnacle Records is close to financial ruin. In the clip below, Sergio delivers a verbal tongue lashing to one of his underlings at their weekly staff meeting. J. Jonah Jameson in Spiderman– As the cantakerous top dog at the fictional Daily Bugle, Jameson has zero tolerance for stupidity–and our friendly neighborhood Spiderman. Louie DePalma in “Taxi”–as the head dispatcher for the Sunshine Cab Company, Louie is a nasty troll who delights in spreading misery to everyone around him. Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada– the editor-in chief of Runway Magazine, (rumored to be fashioned after real life Vogue magazine’s editrix Anna Wintour). No one can cast a withering stare better than this ice queen. Gilbert Huph in The Incredibles– Poor Gilbert Huph. How could the soulless corporate pencil pusher know he was about to fire one of the most powerful superheroes in the world? Watch what happens when Mr. Huph tries to conduct Bob Parr’s ‘exit interview’: Mel Sharples in ”Alice”–Rough, gruff, and about five decades behind in the women’s movement, Mel could definitely use a few classes in Sensitivity 101 (start at 1:25 mark). Eugene H. Krabs in “Spongebob Squarepants”–The owner of The Krusty Krab, Mr. Krabs is the crustacean Gordon Gekko of Bikini Bottom. He will do anything for a buck, and as witnessed in clip below, will even dabble in a little eco-terrorism to do so. Bill Lumbergh in Office Space –Lumbergh is the passive-aggressive, bureaucratic type of boss who seems to forget–or just doesn’t care–that employees have a life outside their office cubicle. Wilhemina Slater in “Ugly Betty”–Cold and heartless, Wilhemina takes fashion very seriously. In the clip below, Wilhemina serves a fashion police ticket (and a pink slip) to an employee at Mode Magazine. Ari Gold in “Entourage”–Based on real life Hollywood talent agent Ari Emanuel, Ari Gold is an equal opportunity offender. From faithful assistant Lloyd to long-suffering wife Mrs. Ari, no one is safe when Ari goes Chernobyl on your ass.
Sometimes, the morning light can seem piercing to your eyes and on that particular morning, it may be extremely hard to get up to start your day. The blanket might feel like a second skin and the urge to go back to sleep might be strong, but when there are important tasks to be accomplished, you force yourself out of the covers and into the daily grind. For self-professed night owls, the one thing worse than getting up early to start the day is being rushed through the process of waking up. The difficulty of facing the morning sun can be made significantly worse if you do not leave enough time to get your bearings before making a mad dash out the door. Perhaps you don’t have time to grab a cup of coffee before you go to work or you have to forgo your daily shower so you can make it to the office on time. If you are not fully prepared to be all that you can be, how can you expect to be able to wade through any tasks when your body is protesting and your mind is underwater? In order to start thinking more clearly, you have to be on top of your game and take full advantage of all of the opportunities you have to improve yourself. Here are some ways you can grab that inspiration and better balance your life: 1. Get to sleep at a regular time every night. While this may be difficult for those without a concrete sleep schedule, getting a consistent amount of hours of sleep every night can make the mornings seem much clearer. Maybe you never noticed the beauty of the morning sky until you actually felt alive enough in the daylight to observe it. This is your chance to take advantage of every hour you are awake and not continually waste the time that you are given! Even if you have to start slowly in backing up your sleep schedule, resetting your internal clock is an important step in the right direction. After a few weeks, you will find your ideal sleep time and feel much more refreshed as a result! 2. Set your alarm to earlier than you think for maximum time getting ready. If you are rushing through your daily shower and coffee, how is that helping you wake up in a calm and relaxed way? Even if you are just sitting in your kitchen slugging down black coffee before you drive to work, that is not the best plan to ensure that you will get to work on time with a refreshed attitude and clear head! Even if you have to set three separate alarms and it’s the third one you always respond to, it’s a significantly better system than hitting the snooze button once on a single alarm and oversleeping. Find the alarm system that works best for you and run with it – if you leave yourself ample time to adjust your outfit choice and fix your make-up, you will feel much better hitting the pavement and starting the day! The Importance Of Seeking Out Connections With People 3. Leave yourself open to interaction during the morning hours. Even if you aren’t usually the chattiest person before noon, make an effort to get involved in conversations around your morning haunts. If you never made an effort to talk to the people you work with, for example, they might think you’re not very friendly, even if it just isn’t your natural inclination to make conversation on a whim. Start small by asking a co-worker to lunch or inquiring on what the person next to you is is working on. Opening yourself up to the world around you might be just the push you need to make the morning hours more pleasant and productive! 4. Drink more water. Even if you are the biggest caffeine addict you know and barely drink anything that does not give you a boost, drinking water can be just what you need to feel better during the day. As most coffee drinkers know, caffeine crashes can be ugly and have the propensity to mess with your internal clarity. If you replace that second cup of coffee with a glass of water, or start by slowly cutting caffeine out of your diet, it may be just the stepping stone you need to feel more cleansed and refreshed during the day! Even if you slowly incorporate water into your daily liquid intake, a small bit of detox is better than none! 5. Take some time to yourself to reflect on your mood. Even if it’s just a short walk outside during your lunch break or a stolen moment to listen to music, take advantage of any quiet time to meditate and center yourself before searching out other people. Be conscious of how you can improve your mental state in order to stay alert and fresh throughout the day, as keeping yourself productive and busy are always second to your health and well-being. Take care of yourself and seek reflection when you need it, as it can be vital to your success and clarity as a whole! Having mental clarity and being productive are generally not synonymously linked, which is a definite problem – people often burn the candle at both ends in order to be successful, yet they sacrifice their mental stability and sleep patterns in order to get the job done “right.” However, it is often much smarter to get your sleep schedule and caffeine intake on track, as well as drink more water, interact with the outside world, and take some time for yourself in order to have the faith to keep moving! Consistently putting health and well-being forefront in the realm of productivity might be overlooked, but it’s never too late to incorporate some of these tips into your life. You can work hard and still have the sanity you crave if you make your promises small enough to handle while committing to a system that works individually for you! Go out there, girls, and start living stronger and healthier lives! 5 Ways To Start Living Up To Your Values
Have you ever had one of those days where you find yourself trying to piece together conversations you had with someone? This could be from a friendship, a potential love interest, or even a family member, as life can be confusing to figure out on occasion. Maybe you are trying to decipher how someone feels about a particular idea or just really have no idea what is going on anymore in terms of what a particular person or group are thinking. I, for one, tend to over-analyze everything unconsciously and always tend to find myself in these predicaments where I just have to step back and force myself to stop thinking for a while. In the long run, it can be better to just look at the big picture of events and let go of whatever is bothering you for a period of time in order to get your bearings back. Stewing over what someone said, especially if you might not know all the facts, is one of the worst things you could do, as it wastes valuable time and energy. What are the advantages of being more broad while viewing your life instead of just nitpicking every detail? One definite advantage is that you are able to focus on other things and not be distracted by dissecting the details of something trivial. It is undeniably healthy to take a break from something that bothers you and just put all of your attention into the task at hand, like your job or taking care of the kids, even if you have lingering doubts on something else. Sometimes, trying to budget your time between multiple things, especially if one of them is dragging you down, is not the best plan, especially if you are missing the big picture of the situation. Maybe you completely overlooked the overall message of what someone said or were too busy worrying to see that the person was viewing you favorably after-all. Using “this too shall pass” as a mantra in terms of your doubts is a fantastic plan, as getting worried prematurely or overreacting can end up being for naught. If you continue to not be able to see the big picture and need reassurance, call your friend or family member and try to decipher the situation through communication rather than the passive-aggressive approach you may be taking. In another light, seeing the intricacies in a situation is not most people are accustomed to when talking to someone. Personally, I’ve found that when I ask friends or family members why they said something, for example, many of them don’t even remember the small details that I might have taken away from the exchange. Only a handful of people are usually in-tune with the inverted lens of a situation and this could be a burden for them if you take things more sensitively than others. In order to move beyond the paranoia and see what is really occurring, sometimes you just need to step back and view the dialogue from their point of view, rather than adding your own interpretation to the mix! 5 Ways To Market Yourself & Combat Overthinking A final reason why you should view life situations more broadly is that life is too short to worry so much about the minute details. While many times, it’s good to keep an eye on the small moments that might be interludes into bigger problems, oftentimes there is not a reason to be worried about the state of your relationships. Maybe you need more sleep or it has just been a long, stressful day and you just need a detox from the office. Whatever the reason for your sensitivity, you might be worrying one day while there are many other moments in life for you to mold your attitude. If you keep the faith that everything will be okay in the end, you will start to really believe that and start looking toward the future for your happiness. Never give up your “glass is half full” attitude, since most often, that is all you need to kick-start your optimism and help you further towards fulfillment! To end this post, I quote Eleanor Roosevelt, who has proven to be very inspirational to me as of late and has some very strong convictions about viewing life with a broad lens. This quote is very true in that it summarizes the idea of looking beyond the fine details and exposing the truth through life experiences. Eleanor states: “My experience has been that work is almost the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.” To interpret this quote in terms of one’s standpoint in a conversation, in order to see the big picture of a situation, one has to keep on moving in life and not dwell on the intricacies of a moment. By keeping busy and constantly having one’s eye on the future, optimism can shine through and make one less likely to overreact. In this way, the broad lens of a moment is more important in that it keeps us motivated even when the small details might be trying to keep us down. The most important thing to remember is to keep your head up high, your eyes wide open, and a clear head on your shoulders, as by seeing the big picture of a situation, you can keep your life moving forward and successfully thwart distraction in your life! Optimism & The Art Of Facing Your Fears Are These BP Artists Good Enough to Get Signed? 2011 BET Award Winners & Recap FACT OF THE DAY: Foxy Brown Was Not Always Foxy FACT OF THE DAY: LL Cool J Dropped Out Of High School To Record His Debut Album
Here’s video from the White House LGBT Pride Month reception. I’ve posted the transcript here . Slated to be there today (via emailed pool report): Administration Officials John Berry, Director of the US Office of Personnel Management Nancy Sutley, Chair, CEQ Brad Kiley, Director of the White House Office of Management and Administration Elected Officials Hon. Blake Oshiro, Majority Leader, Hawaii… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Pam’s House Blend Discovery Date : 30/06/2011 02:19 Number of articles : 2
J. W. Westcott Co. of Detroit operates J. W. Westcott II, a US Postal Service mail boat (zipcode 48222) that delivers to ships operating in the Detroit River. The service has been in operation since 1874. WBEZ produced a photo essay on J. W. Westcott. via Doobybrain photo by Angie Williams Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Laughing Squid Discovery Date : 27/06/2011 20:38 Number of articles : 2
First of four three-day festivals also features the Flaming Lips. By Mary J. DiMeglio Dave Matthews performs at the Caravan festival in Atlantic City on June 24, 2011 Photo: Getty Images ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — For the first stop on its traveling roadshow, the Dave Matthews Band Caravan brought a rootsy collection of friends to dusty Bader Field on Friday. And even after a career-spanning set that included “Don’t Drink the Water,” “Satellite” and “Why I Am,” DMB still have plenty of hits to draw from for the next two headlining performances of their inaugural three-day festival. Matthews gave nods to almost all of the day’s supporting acts, mentioning Delta Spirit, Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Head & The Heart, and saying, “It was a pleasure to share the stage with Ray Lamontagne.” David Ryan Harris, who played Friday afternoon, joined the band for perennial crowd favorite “Jimi Thing” from their 1994 debut, Under the Table and Dreaming. Grammy-winning saxophonist Jeff Coffin proved his chops early, tearing into “You Might Die Trying.” Coffin has played with DMB since LeRoi Moore’s 2008 ATV accident and death. His Mu’tet ensemble was one of the first acts of the day. Also pulling double duty was guitarist Tim Reynolds, first appearing in the afternoon with TR3. Reynolds will also join Matthews for an acoustic set Saturday afternoon (June 25). A memorable aspect of any DMB show is the quirky frontman’s non sequiturs, and Friday night was no exception. Matthews shared these gems: “Facial hair is so transformative” and “Too much morphine will make you constipated,” after debuting a version of “Buena” by ’90s alt-rockers Morphine. Matthews unleashed his impressive wail on “Grey Street,” and the show took a romantic turn when the band followed “Crash” with “You and Me” and “Shake Me Like A Monkey.” Returning from a break, Matthews warned, “I think we might f— it up, but we’re gonna try anyway,” before his acoustic adaptation of Procol Harum’s 1967 classic “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” Another cover closed out the set, as the band stunned the audience by playing Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times Bad Times” for the first time ever in concert. Though not exactly channeling Robert Plant, Matthews did sound oddly unlike himself on the vocals, in a rendition highlighted by a deft guitar solo. And though, rather than returning for a second encore, the band ended 30 minutes shy of their scheduled 11 p.m. ending time, most in the audience, anticipating another two long days capped by three-hour DMB sets, seemed relieved to be shuffling off the grounds. Previously that evening, the Flaming Lips proved it’s never too early for them to bring the weird. Flanked by sunglass-wearing, bopping Dorothys, Scarecrows, Tin Men and Cowardly Lions, they shared their ultra-psychedelic take on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon , playing the album in its entirety, interspersed with choice selections from “The Wizard of Oz.” Those looking for something lighter found instrumental jam band Lotus keeping it groovy as the sun set. An ocean breeze brought welcome relief from the hot and humid day as seagulls cruised overhead. O.A.R., Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Thievery Corporation join the caravan Saturday, while Sunday’s festivities will feature David Gray, Dr. Dog, Bassnectar and Michael Franti with Spearhead. The party travels to Chicago in July, returns to the East Coast in August for a weekend at New York’s Governors Island and wraps up at The Gorge in Washington in early September. Did you see the Dave Matthews Band Caravan? Share your review in the comments below! Related Artists Dave Matthews Band The Flaming Lips
