Thursday 31 May 2012

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Chocolate 101 : Becoming a Chocolate Connoisseur!

At last!!?The day has arrived when we can finally learn the secrets to becoming a chocolate connoisseur. So far we have learned about the history of chocolate, how it is made, and about the different types of chocolate available.

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Click on these sites to review previous Chocolate 101 blogs.

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After learning the above about chocolate, we are now ready to judge chocolate. In the following paragraphs we will learn how to?discern the following: appearance, aroma, texture, and taste?of chocolate, along with?the?6 steps on how to eat chocolate. I can?t wait. Without further adieu, let?s begin!

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Appearance

-Most important in judging the appearance of fine chocolates is that it should have a satiny, smooth finish indicating that the cocoa butter has been properly tempered (crystallized). Keep in mind, however, that dark chocolate has a shinier appearance than does milk chocolate. This does not necessarily?mean that dark chocolate is of better quality, it just means that milk chocolate contains milk which clouds the finish.

-Examine the detail and care that has been put into the chocolate?s design. The edges should be clean and the molding should be clear.

-If the chocolate is too old, it will develop a hazy, white film called ?bloom?.? Also, the look of flour on chocolate may indicate that the manufacturer has used cocoa powder instead of cocoa beans. Cocoa powder is most commonly used in chocolate of lesser quality.

-Do not be swayed by color. The shade of color is influenced by many factors, such as bean type and roasting time, as well as milk content.

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  • Aroma
  • -Taste is 90% smell, so we consider aroma to be the most important feature?when judging chocolate. Practice makes perfect. If you know how to judge wine, you are ahead of the game and know the importance of being aware of your sense of smell.
  • -Treat chocolate like you would a fine glass of burgundy wine. Fine chocolate does have a bouquet of it?s own. To describe what you smell, refer to fruit, flowers, woodland, and spice. Consider these questions. Does the chocolate smell strong or is it subtle? Do you detect any other scents besides cocoa beans?? such as vanilla, any spices, or fruit flavors?
  • -If you?re having trouble detecting the scents, lightly rub your thumb against the chocolate to warm it up, and then try smelling the chocolate again. It takes practice to describe a chocolate?s ?nose?.
  • -To develop a nose for chocolate, become aware of your surroundings and the smells around you. After a rainfall, consider taking a walk in a nature-setting, take in the smells. When buying fruit at a fruit market, take note of the different aromas?created by the?fruit there. Smell the spices in your cabinet and the herbs in your garden. The biggest problem with smell now-a-days is that we are so bombarded by artificial smells that we have lost our memory recall for natural scents. Unfortunately, when many people smell a fine chocolate for the first time, they do not recognise it as chocolate, because for them, chocolate should smell of sugar and vanilla, or even worse, the smell of artificial flavoring which gives it a longer shelf life (thus making it less healthy). A bouquet of fine quality, bitter-sweet cocoa beans and fresh dairy should greet your senses.
  • ______________________

    Texture

    -Break your piece of chocolate in half and listen to the sound. High quality chocolate produces a sharp, crisp sound and has?a clean edge. With the exception of truffles, the outside coating of fine chocolates is often molded in a sleek, semi-hard shape that ?snaps? when you bite into it. The higher the cocoa quantity and the better the tempering, the louder the ?snap? of the chocolate. Professional chocolate-tasters can tell a great deal about the quality of chocolate just by this sound.

    -If it breaks easily and neatly without much effort, then you can assume that the balance between cocoa bean and butter is correct. If it?s brittle or soft, the chocolate may be either old or improperly stored. Due to the milk content in milk chocolate, dark chocolate will break more easily than milk.

    -The inside of a chocolate piece is called the center or filling, and in fine chocolates, it should be specifically intended to complement the outside coating in terms of flavor and texture.

    -When you actually have the chocolate in your mouth,?it should be velvety smooth without the graininess that comes from incomplete refinement.

    ______________________

    Taste

    Think about what ingredients are present within the chocolate that make it unique.?As you?try to be?aware of the ingredients and characteristics of chocolate with your nose, try to discover the same with your taste-buds.??Is it salty or sweet? Fruity or nutty? What kind of fruits are contained within the chocolate? Is it earthy?

    -Notice the way in which the ingredients compliment each other and create harmony. Chocolates that are complex may start off with one flavour and then evolve into another. For example, the piece of chocolate you try may start out sweet and then turn salty or bitter. This quality of the flavour of chocolate evolving from one characteristic to another is when chocolatiers really work their magic in creating truly fantastic, interesting chocolate.

    -One note of caution, if you notice sugar as an ingredient, there is too much in the chocolate. Excess sugar is used to disguise poor quality cocoa beans. The manufacturer may be trying to disguise burnt, metallic, or mouldy flavour.

    -Look for the special ?finish? or pleasant aftertaste that lingers on the palate. When it comes to chocolate and it?s hypnotic power over man, this aspect of chocolate is probably what is most influential. This special ?finish? makes us feel sublime and we should revel in it.

    ______________________

    How to eat chocolate

    1. Make sure that your chocolate is room temperature so that it will melt as soon as it hits your mouth. Do not refrigerate chocolate as cold chocolate does not release it?s flavors and aromas until it has warmed. If need be, rub your thumb gently over the chocolate to warm it up.

    2. Smell the chocolate and look for the bouquet. Describe the chocolate?s nose by referring to fruit, flowers, woodland and spice as described above.

    3. Bite into the chocolate. Notice the way in which the outside coating of the chocolate and the filling compliment each other. Look for the ?snap? when you bite into it.

    4. Never rush the experience. Let the chocolate melt against the roof of your mouth. Feel the texture. It should be velvety smooth.

    5. Roll the chocolate over your tongue allowing the flavors to permeate your mouth. As you did with smelling the chocolate, try to detect the ingredients that make that piece of chocolate unique. Try to note whether one flavor evolves into another.

    6. You should feel sublime after tasting a piece of chocolate. Look for that ?special finish? or pleasant aftertaste that lingers on the palate.

    ______________________

    MMM. There is nothing in the world like a good piece of chocolate. It is believed that chocolate releases endorphins in the brain that give pleasure. Be aware of that as well. If you are tasting more than one chocolate at a sitting, be sure to cleanse your palate with room temperature water and unsalted crackers or bread. Also, be sure to eat your chocolates in proper order from lowest percentage of chocolate to highest.

    ______________________

    Now you are on your way to becoming a chocolate connoisseur. It will take practice, but with a little self-awareness and appreciation for it?s attributes, you will learn to better appreciate chocolate. To be a chocolate connoisseur, one might think you should become a Buddhist or a monk. Really, though, to become more aware of your senses and being conscious of the simple pleasures in life is something we should?strive for?in everything we do. We are often too rushed, tending to the frivolous details of everyday life, to appreciate what the world has to offer. With chocolate, wine, cheese, nature, ahhh-hmmm, and other things, one should take the time to revel in the magic and beauty that is given to us in this world and see it as a gift.

    _______________________

    Stay tuned for my next Chocolate 101 blog concerning what food and drink items best compliment chocolate (as in wine), and what the health benefits are along with other scientific facts. I?ll also share a list of chocolates that you may find at Herma?s Fine Foods and Gifts. As you know, she imports chocolate and has quite a lot to offer. I hope you better enjoy chocolate in being able to discern the different qualities that make chocolate special and unique. Until next time, this is Meredith signing off!

    ______________________

    RECAP: Your chocolate should have a satiny, smooth appearance.?- ?Bloom? is a hazy, white film that indicates chocolate is too old. ? Practice detecting fruits, flowers, woodland, and spice scents in fine chocolate. ? Rub your thumb over chocolate to release aroma and flavor. Chocolate should be room temperature. ? Listen for the ?snap? when you break your chocolate. -?When tasting chocolate, it?should be velvety smooth without the graininess that comes from incomplete refinement- Concentrate on how the tastes compliment each other and note whether one flavor evolves into another. ? Look for that ?special finish? or aftertaste that lingers on your palate.

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    Worst traffic in America? Hint: It's not Los Angeles.

    Congestion forces drivers in this warm-weather city to waste an average 58 hours a year. L.A. and San Francisco take the next two spots for worst traffic.

    By Suzanne Kane,?Guest bloger / May 28, 2012

    This warm-weather US city (shown here in November) has great beaches but the nation's worst traffic, according to a new survey. Can you guess which city it is?

    Chris Wattie/Reuters/File

    Enlarge

    Los Angeles might seem to be the nation's capital for gridlock, but according to Inrix, a provider of traffic data and information, the City Of Angels doesn't have the worst traffic in the United States.

    Skip to next paragraph The Car Connection

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    Inrix says that the city of Honolulu wins that dubious honor, with drivers wasting 58 hours a year on average on congested roads.

    The Inrix study shows that drivers in other major cities are still spending a fair number of hours stuck in traffic, too. While Los Angeles ranked a close second to Honolulu, those in San Francisco spent almost 48 additional hours in the car because of traffic.

    The news wasn't all bad, though. Inrix says overall congestion was down 30 percent in 2011 from the year before, and notes that of the 100 cities it surveyed, 70 of them logged lower rates of congestion year over year.

    These cities had the worst traffic in 2011, according to Inrix, which lists the average hours wasted per driver after each city:

    (1)?????????Honolulu ??58 hours

    (2)?????????Los Angeles ??56 hours

    (3)?????????San Francisco ??48 hours

    (4)?????????New York ??57 hours

    (5)?????????Bridgeport, CT ??42 hours

    (6)?????????Washington, D.C. ??45 hours

    (7)?????????Seattle ??33 hours

    (8)?????????Austin ??30 hours

    (9)?????????Boston -??35 hours

    (10)??????Chicago ??32.8 hours

    Note: the study rankings are not strictly according to hours wasted. Instead they're indexed to the duration of traffic over peak hours, which explains why some cities with more hours logged--New York--are ranked lower than cities like San Francisco.

    The study also finds that, nationally, the worst morning commute occurs on Tuesday, while the worst evening commute is on Friday.

    Inrix also says some of the worst traffic corridors in the country include the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, from the 105 to Getty Center; a 16-mile stretch of the Long Island Expressway in New York; and three miles of the Penn?Lincoln?Parkway in Pittsburgh.

    For more information and complete results of the survey, see the?Inrix report card and methodology.

    The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger,?click here.?To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.

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    Wednesday 30 May 2012

    Antioxidant Products is One Key to Improved Your Health | Online ...

    A key aspect to improving your way of way of way of life and living a regular and better way of way of way of life is anti-oxidants. There are several antioxidising products out there that can help you remain a regular and better way of way of way of life, that are natural and will not cause you any harm. You can also eat different kinds of meals that contain anti-oxidants as well, although products are the perfect way to get the right volumes of anti-oxidants.

    If you take in more anti-oxidants through meals and products, there are a few advantages that you will have, with the first being mobile security. Anti-oxidants can help to secured your cells from harm, which allows to fight illnesses. Many periods, you can have a lack of natural organic natural natural natural vitamins in your program, which will cause you to recover from illnesses or harm very gradually. If you have the right wide range of natural organic natural natural natural vitamins and anti-oxidants in your program, you can find the editions.

    In most conditions, you can get antioxidising products through natural or natural, which will significantly help your program. They have a lot of advantages as well, such as avoiding various illnesses, maintaining thrombus under management, and reestablishing sexual interest. Healthy value and appropriate diet plans is the first thing of way of way of way of life, therefore you should always keep your real wellness and real physical wellness and health and fitness and wellness and real physical wellness and health and fitness and real physical wellness and health and fitness under management and create sure you eat well.

    There are non artificial products out there as well, that are perfect for maintaining your real wellness and real physical wellness and health and fitness and wellness and real physical wellness and health and fitness and real physical wellness and health and fitness managed. They can be quickly consumed by your program, when in comparison to that of artificial products. Synthetic products are well known for their getting in, as it can take a while before you see any way of outcomes. Non artificial however, gives you almost immediate outcomes, as they are quickly consumed by the program and never have any way of adverse reactions.

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    Israel rejects appeal to free Fatah MP

    NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israel's high court on Sunday rejected an appeal to end the administrative detention of Palestinian MP Hussam Khader, his lawyer said.

    Khader has been detained without charge or trial since June 2011. He was due to be released on June 1 but an Israeli military commander extended his detention by six months.

    Jawad Boulos of the Palestinian prisoners society told Ma'an that Israel's high court decided not to overturn the decision to extend the Fatah lawmaker's detention, but said Khader's administrative detention would not be extended any further.

    Boulos said Israeli authorities had promised before not to extend Khader's detention.

    He added that by refusing to release Khader, Israel was reneging on the deal it struck with prisoners on May 15 to end a mass hunger strike.

    Under the deal, Israel committed not to renew the administrative detention of all 322 Palestinians held without charge if there was no new information that required their imprisonment.

    Under Israel's administrative detention policy, prisoners can be held without formal charges for renewable periods of six months. Defendants and their lawyers are not given access to the evidence used to imprison them.

    Prisoners rights group Addameer said after the hunger strike deal it is "concerned that these provisions of the agreement will not explicitly solve Israel?s lenient and problematic application of administrative detention, which as it stands is in stark violation of international law."

    Some 27 Palestinian MPs are held in Israeli jails, including 24 held without charge or trial.

    Khader has been arrested repeatedly by Israel, Boulos said. He has been detained by Israeli forces on 26 occasions and spent nine years in Israeli prisons, the lawyer said.

    Chairman of the parliamentary committee for the defense of refugees, Khader is a known champion of reconciliation with Hamas.

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    Astronaut-inspired bone test could speed diagnoses

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    Tuesday 29 May 2012

    A few good men became basis of modern family

    When women started to choose good providers over manly alpha males, they created the idea of the "couple," new research indicates.

    The "modern family" is characterized by monogamy and long-term partnership, a phenomenon that replaced relative promiscuity with plenty of competition between males over mates.

    When this change happened is up for debate, but ancient human Ardipithecus, at 4.4 million years old, already shows that competition between males had already declined. The development of the family seems to have happened soon after the hominins and chimpanzees split from each other evolutionarily.

    1. More science news from msnbc.com

      1. Time for America to say ta-ta to Tut

        Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Two exhibits focusing on the best-known figures from ancient Egypt, King Tut and Cleopatra, are in the last stages of their U.S. tours ? and their departure could signal the end of an era.

      2. 40,000 years ago: Live, from the cave, flutists!
      3. Does quake reveal when Jesus died?
      4. Auctioned dinosaur skeleton smuggled?

    Over time, the study suggests, female mate choices changed; couples replaced promiscuity, while low-ranking men, who maybe weren't as strong or manly as alpha males, found a way around the male-on-male competition, by offering their services as long-term companions, rather than just sperm donors. This "sexual revolution," as the researchers called it, laid the foundation for the modern family.

    Model families
    In the new study, Sergey Gavrilets, a researcher at the University of Tennessee, analyzed mathematically how various theories about the development of the modern family would have played out. They show, with that analysis, that none of the previously proposed theories hold up biologically.

    Using their modeling data, the researchers suggested that the only biologically feasible way for today's family to evolve would be if females started picking low-ranked males for their ability to take care of the female in a longer-term couplelike relationship (a capability called provisioning). [How Do I Love Thee? Experts Count 8 Ways]

    These males spent their time and energy providing for their mates, instead of wasting this energy competing with other males. This gave these low-ranking males a way around traditional alpha-male competition, and if it helped the females raise more, or healthier, children, the trait would be selected for, and females would start to show a preference for these provider-males.

    "Once females begin to show preference for being provisioned, the low-ranked males' investment in female provisioning over male-to-male competition pays off," Gavrilets said in a statement. "Once the process was under way, it led to a kind of self-domestication, resulting in a group-living species of provisioning males and faithful females."

    Effect of family

    When the modern family evolved, Gavrilets says, it gave rise to parenting partnerships and the division of labor, which is important because human children take so long to grow up. While these hominin males may be working their butts off for their ladies, the ladies may still stray, Gavrilets wrote in research detailed Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    "Females are not predicted to become completely faithful, but rather, the level of their faithfulness is expected to be controlled by a balance between selection for better genes (potentially supplied by top-ranked males) and better access for food and care (provided largely by low-ranked males)."

    You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter, on Google+or on Facebook. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitterand on Facebook.

    ? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

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    Choir anc Conductor, the Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, London [Flickr]

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    Egyptians torch Shafiq HQ as vote triggers violence

    CAIRO (Reuters) - Demonstrators furious that Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister made it into the run-off for Egypt's presidential election set ablaze his campaign headquarters on Monday, witnesses said, underscoring the divisive outcome of the country's historic vote.

    Former air force commander Ahmed Shafiq, who has described Mubarak as a role model, will face the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi in the run-off. It is a contest between the two most polarizing and controversial figures in the race.

    A group of protesters broke into and vandalised Shafiq's office in the residential district of Dokki before setting it ablaze, the state news agency reported. An official in the fire service confirmed the blaze had been extinguished without causing any casualties.

    Several thousand protesters took to the streets across Egypt to demonstrate against the result of the election's first round, which was officially announced on Monday.

    Trouble flared in Cairo's Tahrir Square when activists said unknown assailants attacked one such protest. Rocks flew in scenes reminiscent of other spasms of violence during a messy transition from military rule that is due to end when the military hands power to the new president on July 1.

    Local media reported the protest had been attacked by unknown "thugs", though the account could not be independently confirmed.

    Many analysts had predicted that a Shafiq-Mursi run-off could trigger trouble. The vote marks a ballot box struggle between a symbol of the military-based autocracy of the last six decades and one of the Islamist movements it had oppressed.

    The result is deeply disappointing to the activist movement that took to the streets on January 25, 2011, triggering the mass uprising that toppled Mubarak. They had seen other candidates as more representative of their hopes for change.

    One of those candidates, Khaled Ali, joined the protest in Tahrir, "(The elections) were neither free or fair," Ali told news channel Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, adding that Tahrir was the place that had "toppled Mubarak, and would topple Shafiq".

    Shafiq has built a sizeable constituency with a law-and-order platform, convincing some he is the man to end 15 months of turbulence. Mursi's supporters believe Mursi and the Brotherhood are the best hope for reforming a corrupt state.

    But many Egyptians picked neither and are now left with a wrenching choice between a symbol of the past and an Islamist group that arouses deep suspicions for some.

    Mursi topped the poll with 24.3 percent of the vote, followed by Shafiq with 23.3 percent. Turnout was 46 percent, according to the official results.

    About half of the first-round votes went to candidates somewhere in the middle ground - from leftist Hamdeen Sabahy, third-placed with 20.4 percent, to moderate Islamist Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, with 17.2 percent, and former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, with 10.9 percent.

    'QUESTION MARKS'

    Mahmoud Momen, a 19-year-old student, held aloft a picture of Shafiq with a black X daubed over his face as he took part in a Cairo march against the result.

    "Neither Brotherhood or feloul," he said, invoking the word used in Egyptian political slang to refer to politicians who served in the Mubarak administration. "We want someone who represents the square."

    Another protester, a 19-year-old student who identified himself as Omar, said the vote had been rigged, triggering an argument with a bystander who disputed the claim.

    Similar protests erupted in Alexandria on Egypt's northern Mediterranean coast, and in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, cities along the Suez Canal east of Cairo.

    In Alexandria, some 2,000 protesters marched through the city, tearing up Shafiq and Mursi election posters they encountered along their way.

    The protests were fuelled by accusations - denied by the committee overseeing the vote - that there had been serious violations. Abol Fotouh, Sabahy and Moussa filed complaints about the voting, all of which were rejected by the committee.

    Earlier, Abol Fotouh alleged the vote had been marred by vote buying and other irregularities. "I reject these results and do not recognise them," said Abol Fotouh, a former Brotherhood member. In a statement, Sabahy also alleged irregularities.

    Moussa said earlier that "question marks" hung over the vote. "There were violations, but this should not change our minds on democracy and the necessity of choosing our president."

    The Muslim Brotherhood sought to muster a coalition to help Mursi against Shafiq.

    The close contest has set both contenders scrambling for support, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, which is trying to draw losing candidates and other political forces into a broad front to prevent a "counter-revolutionary" Shafiq victory.

    The ultra-orthodox Salafi Islamist party Al-Nour has said it

    will now back Mursi, after siding with Abol Fotouh in the first round. The party has the second biggest bloc in parliament after the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.

    Beyond the Islamist movement, it might prove harder for the group to find allies. Secular-minded parties have grown suspicious of the Brotherhood, accusing it of being power hungry and putting a quest for power over principle - charges it denies.

    A Brotherhood source, who asked not to be named, said the Islamist group had prepared a menu of options to tempt rival groups and politicians to its side.

    These include creating a five-member advisory council to advise the president; assigning the posts of prime minister or vice-president to Abol Fotouh and Sabahy; distributing cabinet posts to other parties; and offering compromises on planned laws and on an assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution.

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    Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Releases Small Business Cyber ...

    The FTC offers a terrific resource of the work and research on the part of the US government to help businesses and people protect themselves on line.

    As a follow up to the videos we highlighted, now offered by Google on the same topic, this is another video offered by the FTC about protecting both your Small Business and Personal Identity.

    Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Fussiness (interactive tutorial)
    This is from the Bureau of Consumer Protection and it happens to be a great introduction to considerations for Small Businesses to understand how to protect their intellectual property (IP), or even considerations for online personal security.
    http://business.ftc.gov/sites/all/themes/ftcbusinesscenter/flash/vid43-400?335.swf

    Like this:

    Be the first to like this post.

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    Final Will And Testament Planning Is Essential

    Prepared to begin eager about your Last Will and Testomony but don?t know the place to start out?

    Selecting an lawyer

    Discover a lawyer with related areas of experience, like property planning and taxation law.

    And verify with local the Bar Affiliation to see if the lawyer has had any disciplinary actions taken in opposition to him or her.

    A Living Will is as Needed as a Last Will and Testament

    Inform members of the family, your lawyer and your doctor where your Living Will is positioned and what it says.

    Once you enter a long term care facility, give your Living Will to the director to verify they will honour it.And make sure all your mates and relations, learn about it too in which case they will help carry out your wishes.

    Be certain that your Final Will and Testomony is up to date in addition to your Residing Will. Do not do your Living Will and Testament yourself. Workplace supply shops and the Web sell laptop applications that create Wills and power of legal professional forms, but these often gloss over the intricacies of tax laws. It?s possible you?ll save money on authorized charges up front, but you possibly can put yourself in a disastrous state of affairs down the road.

    Power of Lawyer

    An influence of lawyer is a most vital document. A power of legal professional appoints someone to take care of your finances when you are too incapacitated to handle them yourself. This document has numerous clauses that may assist to protect your belongings when you, your partner or your parent wants to enter a nursing home. However many things require rearranging ? sometimes with presents, generally by establishing financial vehicles, sometimes through purchases. But nothing will be done should you?re incompetent to cope with your finances and no person else has authority to deal with your finances either.

    A Power of Attorney For Your Last Will And Testament Can Expire

    Be certain that your energy of attorney is up to date. Remeber you?re giving the power to enforce your Living Will in addition to your Last Will and Testament if necessary.

    Final Will And Testomony

    Think about constructing in compensation for further special care. Folks typically go away their assets to their youngsters in equal shares, but many times one child is particularly involved whereas others are less attentive. If one youngster is providing you with care instantly, most likely in their house, chances are you?ll wish to take into account giving them more.

    Be sure your Will is as much as date. Legal guidelines change and your Final Will and Testament is your final likelihood to see wishes and bequests carried out.

    There is more information available about claim for injuries see Ema A. Levien?s site there?s a lot of information not covered in this article, find those details at Author?s site to uncover more.

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    Internet Guru Robert Scoble Says Twitter Feels A Lot Like A Ghost Town

    Google+ isn't getting a lot of fair coverage in the press, says Internet guru Robert Scoble.

    While a lot of the tech press has said Google+ is a "ghost town," Scoble says it's actually Twitter's started to feel more like a ghost town.

    "Seriously, I know Twitter's not a ghost town, but it sure feels like that because of the usage model there," Scoble said in a post on Google+. "As it has turned into more of an "information utility" and less of a community it feels more and more empty."

    Since July of last year, he's gone from 0 to 1.5 million followers on Google Plus, and 13,000 to 261,000 followers on Facebook. But he's only gone from 240,000 followers to 260,000 followers on Twitter.

    He said that's because there aren't any noise controls on Twitter, so users are getting overloaded and aren't following more people.

    Here are some of the highlights of his argument over on Google+:

    So, what's the new social media ghost town? I say it's Twitter. Follower growth has NOT kept up there with the other services, which is telling me something.?

    1. That while number of tweets have gone up, people are getting overloaded so they aren't following more people. Why is that? Because there isn't any noise controls on Twitter (Facebook's feed, on my screens, is a LOT more useful than Twitter's feeds).

    2. I'm on Google+'s suggested user list, which is gifting me a huge number of followers. But I got up to 230,000 without ever being on that list here. Lots of people are signing up and at least a few ARE sticking around here.

    3. Over on Facebook there are ways to get spread around more, and juice its suggested user feature (this is one thing Facebook does better than Twitter or Google+ since this list is algorithmic and doesn't show a single same list to every user), which gets you more users.

    4. Facebook juices its subscriber numbers through lists. If you get put on a list with, say, 30,000 followers, all those followers will be added to your follower count.

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    Monday 28 May 2012

    An unusual cat bed. | *A blog for Pets*

    Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

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    U.S. declines to label China a currency manipulator

    WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration may be getting tougher with China on trade, but its approach in dealing with Beijing on the thorny currency issue remains patient diplomacy.

    The Treasury Department, in its semiannual report Friday on exchange-rate policies, once again refrained from labeling China a currency manipulator -- an accusation that would embarrass Beijing and trigger negotiations and possibly even lead to U.S. sanctions.

    The Treasury report made plain that U.S. officials believe that China?s currency, the yuan, remains ?significantly undervalued.? An artificially cheaper yuan gives Chinese exporters an extra price advantage in selling their goods in the U.S. But Treasury still declined to cite China, saying that the Chinese have made progress in correcting currency and related imbalances and also have assured the U.S. that they would move more quickly to adopt a more flexible, market-based exchange-rate system.

    Treasury officials didn?t say how much they think the yuan remains undervalued against the dollar and other major currencies, but their report cited estimates of 3% to 23% from the International Monetary Fund in July 2011.

    China has long tightly controlled the yuan?s exchange rate rather than letting it float freely in international currency markets. But since mid-2005, Beijing has allowed the yuan to rise about 30% against the dollar --? and even more when adjusting for inflation.

    But so far this year, the yuan?s value hasn?t budged against the dollar. And with China?s economy now cooling -- and uncertainties in Europe making the slowdown all the more dicey -- analysts doubt that Beijing will let its currency strengthen anytime soon.

    The Eurozone?s debt troubles have pushed the euro down sharply to near multi-year lows, and given that the Chinese yuan has been pegged to the dollar this year, the fall in the euro means Chinese goods have become more expensive in the important European market.

    ?The pressure within Beijing coming from the coastal [manufacturing] provinces is very strong right now -- no ?more appreciation,? said ?Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

    As in the past, the Treasury?s decision Friday was immediately criticized by some U.S. manufacturing alliances, but other American business groups praised it as a level-headed move that would avert an escalation of trade tensions with Beijing.

    Mitt Romney, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has said that he would label China a currency manipulator, although analysts note that Obama also had spoken tough on the China currency issue before he assumed the White House.

    In an election year, Obama has stepped up his talk and actions on China?s trade practices. Last week the Commerce Department slapped stiff tariffs on solar panels imported from China. And earlier this year, Obama established a new trade enforcement unit to crack down on violators, specifically naming China as a potential target, as part of an overall strategy to boost domestic manufacturing, exports and jobs.

    ?The last thing they [the Obama administration] want is to have a good opening by the Republicans to say they?ve been soft on China,? Hufbauer said.

    RELATED:

    U.S. orders tariffs on Chinese solar panels

    China widens daily trading range for yuan

    After slamming brakes on growth, China reaches for stimulus

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    Sunday 27 May 2012

    Nine Free Kindle eBooks {For Your Kindle, Computer, Smartphone, iPad or Tablet!}

    Hi! I'm ?Marybeth, the voice behind all the deals, advice and nearly everything else you see here!

    I'm an energetic mom to one boy and one girl, and a wife to an incredibly hardworking husband. We're your everyday American family, complete with parenting struggles and financial worries, especially in this challenging economy!?

    This site is the place to be to learn how to be a savvy shopper while finding everything you need for your little ones. In the spirit of saving, you'll also find money-saving tips, time-saving strategies, household tips and a little bit of everything else to keep things interesting.

    Thanks for stopping by. I'm so glad you're here!


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    Your China-Economy Reading List for the Evening

    In my first few hours back in Shanghai, I am newly amazed by the scale and pace of the building, of the ambitions, of the problems, and of the range of Chinese dreams realistic and fanciful. More on that after some sleep. For now:

    1) From John Berthelsen of Asia Sentinel, this "Chart of the Day," showing the role of construction outlays in China's overall investment picture. The blue line is construction investment; the red line is total fixed asset investment; and the scale appears to be rate of increase year-on-year.

    attc4718.gif

    As Berthelsen says (in a note to me) about the pattern shown here, "You can see how construction spiked earlier this year as the government seeks to construct its way out of the current slump. Since they announced a flock of accelerated construction projects [this week], it should spike back again." I did an Atlantic article on the previous spike, in 2009, while still in Beijing.

    One of the big themes in my new book is that the Chinese development model of the past 30 years has been very heavily reliant on the "when in doubt, build something" strategy. In the short term, this approach certainly keeps people employed -- and enriches others through real-estate transactions. In the medium term, it creates infrastructure that can help the country grow (subways, ports, the 100+ airports under construction). And in the long term, even some of the apparent white elephants and "ghost cities" may eventually be grown-into as Chinese demand goes up and up.

    But too great a reliance on construction and real-estate boosterism creates various follow-on distortions, as I'll spell out another time. For now, thanks to Berthelsen for the chart.

    2) In case you haven't seen it, it is worth reading this article from Arthur Kroeber, at Foreign Policy, on the China trends that are really serious and those that will probably take care of themselves. Sample:

    No question, China has many problems. Years of one-sided investment-driven growth have created obvious excesses and overcapacity.... Is China's legendary economy in serious trouble?

    Not just yet. The odds are that China will navigate these shoals and continue to grow at a fairly rapid pace of around 7 percent a year for the remainder of the decade, overtaking the United States to become the world's biggest economy around 2020.... Considerably less certain, however, is whether China's secretive and corrupt Communist Party can make this growth equitable, inclusive, and fair. Rather than economic collapse, it's far more likely that a decade from now China will have a strong economy but a deeply flawed and unstable society.

    This is a complex point (as Kroeber, who has been on-scene in China for a very long time, is well aware). For what it's worth, I think the environmental, social, and political tensions could become serious even sooner than Kroeber suggests -- that's part of the concluding argument in my book. And before anyone writes in to point it out, I am fully aware that modern America's version of the same problem -- "overall economy doing OK, most people not doing OK" -- is a first-order challenge to our national well-being. The main point is that it is worth reading Kroeber's essay.

    3) Worried that the imbalances in US-Chinese trade and investment flows leave the United States helplessly at China's whim and mercy? You might want to consider how the picture looks from the perspective of a state-controlled nationalist paper in China, Global Times. Here is a translation of one of its editorials this week:

    "Sino-U.S trade not equal and mutually beneficial (pg 15)

    "No matter from what point of view, China is more dependent on the U.S. than vice versa.? As long as there is an asymmetric dependence, there can be no equality or mutual benefit.?

    "Over the years, the United States has used dollars to exchange for China's real resources, goods and services.? However, with this greenback or electronic symbols, China is not allowed to purchase real U.S. assets but rather U.S. dollar denominated securities and treasury bonds to support the U.S. economy.? With the dollar's depreciation and inflation, China's foreign exchange reserves continue to shrink.? Is this equal and mutually beneficial??

    "The United States at every turn uses its domestic law to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on products made-in-China, implementing "special protection."? Is this equal and mutually beneficial?? Ford, Wal-Mart, Goldman Sachs and other U.S. companies can drive straight into Chinese market, while CNOOC, Huawei were long shut out by the U.S.? Is this equal and mutually beneficial?"

    One other immediate reaction on this trip: the rediscovered annoyance of dealing with a firewalled Internet, even in the most modern hotel I have ever stayed in. (Yes, I realize that this is a country-level rather than hotel-level blocking scheme; I just am referring to the incongruous mix of hyper-advanced luxury technology and hyper-backward internet access.) Something has happened so that my old VPN provider now appears to be blocked. A project for later in the day.

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    The Clumsy Art of Relationship {losing control, accepting change}

    Did this post res?onate with you? Pass it?on!

    ?Rela?tion?ships are the hard?est thing,? I said to a close friend as we sipped mugs of cof?fee on a rainy Port?land after?noon. ?I don?t think I?m very good at?them.?

    ?Who is?? replied my friend. ?Rela?tion?ships are hard for every?one. That?s why there is so much bro?ken?ness. We all strug?gle with rela?tion?ships to one degree or one another.?

    My house can be a mess, my cup?boards dys?func?tional and the laun?dry heaped into a small moun?tain range. These things I can let go of and not fret too much. ?But in the realm of human rela?tion?ships, I ago?nize and worry and try to man?age the anx?i?ety of being con?nected to oth?ers as best I?can.

    There are many things that make rela?tion?ships a tricky art for me. I want to talk about just three of them: ? Con?trol, change and acceptance.

    Con?trol. I have had to learn the hard way (and am still learn?ing) that I can?not con?trol other human beings, try as I may. I can?not con?trol the think?ing, feel?ings or actions of oth?ers. I might influ?ence other peo?ple with my words and deeds, but ulti?mately, we each live in our skin alone and in our skin we decide how to respond to the world that swirls around us.I don?t like this. It cre?ates ten?sion and unpre?dictabil?ity. ?I want to con?trol how oth?ers feel, how they feel about me and how they per?ceive me. On more than one occa?sion in my life have I been per?ceived inac?cu?rately and it felt unfair, even unde?served. But I can?not con?trol how oth?ers inter?pret me any?more than I can con?trol the weather. Not every?one will get me. ??Some?times I am misunderstood.

    Change. Peo?ple come and go in my life. Friends change as some move away and new ones move in. Some friend?ships fiz?zle out for no appar?ent rea?son. Some peo?ple move away emo?tion?ally and make it clear that the friend?ship is chang?ing to acquain?tance. It can be bewil?der?ing. Even fam?ily rela?tion?ships change with the sea?sons of life. I?m reflec?tive of this right now as our first-??born is about to grad?u?ate from high school in two weeks. She will move out in the fall and already I miss her. I don?t want her to leave. ?Can?t we slow down change for another year or two?or three or twenty? ?The only that stays the same is change, as the say?ing goes. It adds to the clum?si?ness I pos?sess in chang?ing with the dynamic of the rela?tion?ships around me.

    Accep?tance. ?Accept?ing that I don?t have con?trol and that change will inevitably hap?pen is not always easy. Anx?i?ety grips my belly and fogs my think?ing. My emo?tions get tan?gled up and I don?t know what I can trust in my per?cep?tions. Is that friend?ship really dwin?dling or just on a hia?tus? ?Do I still need to remind my daugh?ter of her oblig?a?tions or am I hov?er?ing? ?Accept?ing that I don?t have con?trol and that change will hap?pen with or with?out my per?mis?sion is a big learn?ing curve for me. I want to con?trol the sit?u?a?tion, the friend?ships and rela?tion?ships that inter?sect with my life. I have to be mind?ful to accept what is beyond my reach. The Seren?ity Prayer is prayed often in my angst-??drenched scope of human relationships.

    God, grant me the seren?ity to accept the things I can?not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wis?dom to know the difference.

    The older I get the more I real?ize how much I need to loosen my grip on expec?ta?tions. Expect?ing oth?ers to like me or accept me is a sure?fire way to kick up the dust of inse?cu?rity. Self-??acceptance is what is key, I?ve come to real?ize. Being com?fort?able with who I am and how I am wired. Not every?one will appre?ci?ate the fas?ci?nat?ing woman I am becom?ing. ?At times I irri?tate oth?ers and some?times I out?right piss some?body off. Can?t we all just get along? could be my tagline. But such is life. Con?trol. Change. Accep?tance. I am learn?ing the art of rela?tion?ships through this grid. I look for?ward with a bit of trep?i?da?tion that it will always be a bit of an uneasy task for me, yet the joy of true friend?ships and last?ing rela?tion?ships far out?lasts the momen?tary dis?tress of being over?looked or dismissed.

    How are rela?tion?ships for you? What insights do you have for nav?i?gat?ing the chang?ing, uncon?trol?lable waters of friend?ships and relationships?

    Did this post res?onate with you? Pass it?on!

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    Video: Biden recalls death of wife, daughter

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    The PocketGamer.biz week that was: 3DS nears 1 million in UK, Nokia going nowhere, and the battle for China heats up

    CONTACT US WHO ARE WE? ADVERTISE GAMES ARCHIVE POCKETGAMER.biz POCKETGAMER
    FRANCE POCKETGAMER
    GERMANY APPSPY FREE APP
    ALLIANCE POCKETPICKS QUALITY INDEX COMPETITIONS FREE IPHONE GAMES MOBILE GAME DEMOS PSP GAME DEMOS DS GAME DEMOS BUY MOBILE GAMES BUY PSP GAMES BUY DS GAMES SPECIAL OFFERS online gambling UK

    ?MULTIFORMAT FEATURE

    The PocketGamer.biz week that was: 3DS nears 1 million in UK, Nokia going nowhere, and the battle for China heats up

    The past 7 days in bite-sized portions

    At the start of this week, Microsoft's COO for China, Michel van der Bel, told the world that Windows Phone had edged ahead of Apple in the Chinese smartphone market - despite having only entered the region two months ago.

    "We've only just begun," van der Bel said.

    Two days later, figures from Woori Investment and Securities Co. torpedoed his boast, suggesting that Apple's share of the market was almost three times the size of Windows Phone's.

    Market share is difficult to determine, particularly in China, and research firms and ad networks throw up contrasting assessments every week.?But while individually such assessments can be misleading, taken together they can provide insight into overall industry trends, or of a gathering consensus.

    To the end, we present you with our condensed overview of the industry happenings of the last seven days.

    Funding and acquisitions

    Platform Wars
    Legal wrangles
    • Samsung claimed that a cross-licensing deal could resolve patent dispute with Apple prior to court-ordered settlement talks...
    • but that didn't happen, and the two companies were unable to reach any agreement during two days of CEO-level talks. The dispute will now be settled in court.
    • The developer of a scam Angry Birds app which charged users with premium rate SMS messages has been fined ?50,000 by regulator PhonePayPlus.
    Industry voices
    • The 10 lessons Acceleroto's Bryan Duke learned by making a game in 30 hours.
    • iQU's Fraser MacInnes on targeting users and the importance of calibrating your aim with every miss.
    • Newly appointed CEO Oli Christie argues that TIGA membership pays for itself 'within months'.
    • Toy Studio's Evan Gilbert reveals the benefits, as well as the disadvantages, of writing your game in HTML5.
    • 2D Boy's Ron Carmel talks to us about Because We May - the promotion that celebrates flexible game pricing.
    GREE pushing west
    • Floor plan shows that GREE is setting up for a big showing at E3.
    • GREE has unveiled a partnership with UK dev Mind Candy to bring Moshi Monsters to mobile.
    • GREE has launched the open beta of its global games platform, and invited devs to download its latest SDK.

    Please leave your comment below

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    Saturday 26 May 2012

    BluntDinerz Las Vegas Food and Drink Blog

    ***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***

    CASTING CALL: THE U.S. BARTENDER?S GUILD SEEKS

    THE NATION?S MIXING STAR

    Lights! Camera! Action! Top Bartenders Compete in the

    USBG Mixing Star National Finals Sponsored by DISARONNO

    LAS VEGAS (May 29, 2012) ? The measure of a great bartender is more than what he or she serves up in a glass. It?s the entire experience shared with the guest ? charisma, presentation, showmanship, armchair psychology (and, of course, the drink itself). On Monday, June 4, the USBG, in partnership with DISARONNO Liqueur, challenges the nation?s top bartenders to show off what they?ve got in front of the camera in The Mixing Star finals, taking place at The Palazzo?s Azure Pool.

    WHAT:

    Not just another cocktail competition, the USBG Mixing Star National Finals sponsored by DISARONNO seeks a bartender with ?stage presence? and ?star quality? ? the consummate mixologist who exhibits both technical skill and embodies the element of performance and entertainment. Maybe it?s their performance behind the bar ? their shake, their greeting, their bottle flip; maybe it?s their innate social skills ? they don?t just mix drinks, they mix people. Hopeful candidates will compete in a live competition that will be captured on film by documentary filmmaker Bao Nguyen, who is creating the short film, ?Mixing Star: Behind the Bar.?

    WHEN:

    Monday, June 4, 2012, 7:00 ? 11:00 p.m.

    WHERE:

    The Palazzo, Azure Pool, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas

    PRIZE:

    For weeks, hopeful candidates from across the nation have competed in regional heats for the opportunity to compete in the grand finals. With a trip to Bollywood (Mumbai, India) and a chance to appear in a Bollywood film on the line, these finalists will pull out all the stops to show why they are the Mixing Star.

    CANDIDATES:

    Sam Treadway, Boston

    Mea Leech, Chicago

    Joshua Peter Smith, Denver

    Roger Gross, Las Vegas

    Patricia Richards, Las Vegas

    Armando Conway, Los Angeles

    Quinn Johnson, Los Angeles

    Lauran September, Los Angeles

    Julio Cabrera, Miami

    Robert Ferrara, Miami

    Mark Kinzer, Miami

    Ezra Pattek, Miami

    Nathan Gerdes, Portland

    Mindy Kucan, Portland

    Jake Bliven, San Diego

    Victoria D?Amato Moran, San Francisco

    Joel Clarke, St. Louis

    JUDGES: Paul Sevigny, DISARONNO National Brand Ambassador

    David Nepove, USBG National President

    Tobin Ellis, West Coast DISARONNO Brand Ambassador

    ###

    ABOUT DISARONNO

    The legend of DISARONNO dates back to 1525, when Renaissance artist and Leonardo da Vinci pupil Bernardino Luini was commissioned to paint a fresco in Saronno. To portray the Madonna of Miracles, he chose as his muse a beautiful local innkeeper. She repaid the honor by giving the artist a flask of a fragrant and delicate amber liquor known as amaretto. With its distinctive stopper and iconic square faceted Murano glass bottle, DISARONNO is now the world?s favorite Italian liquor, regarded as an icon of style and sophistication and appreciated as a ?favorite mixer? for contemporary social settings--DISARONNO Sour, anyone?--as well as neat or on the rocks.

    Media Contact:

    Bullfrog & Baum, 212-255-6717

    Marisa Morrison, marisa@bullfrogandbaum.com

    Vicki Loo, vicki@bullfrogandbaum.com

    MARISA MORRISON SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

    BULLFROG & BAUM

    56 WEST 22ND ST, 3RD FLOOR

    NEW YORK, NY 10010

    Main: 212.255.6717

    Direct: 212.257.7816

    Fax: 646.763.8910

    5150 WILSHIRE BLVD, SUITE 502

    LOS ANGELES, CA 90036

    T: 323.651.1380

    F: 323.939.1133

    www.bullfrogandbaum.com | www.bullfrogandblog.com | twitter.com/bullfrogandbaum


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    Facebook Looking to Buy Opera Software?

    Facebook Looking to Buy Opera Software?

    Rumors from several knowledgeable sources are speculating about Facebook?s next logical acquisition. Many indicators point to the strong possibility Facebook is interested in buying Opera Software, parent company of Opera browser.

    The Facebook IPO has gone less than smoothly, and there are investors to please. Mobile products are the road to revenue for the company, and an Opera acquisition just makes sense.

    Comments

    Posted by Al 9:38 AM (DST)??

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    Foodhealer ? Recipe- Pasta with shallots, yellow squash, peas, goat ...

    I know there are tons of pasta recipes on the site, but they?re quick, cheap and easy, perfect after a long day.

    You?ll need:

    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 shallots, minced
    • 3 medium sized yellow squash, chopped
    • About 1/2 cup green peas
    • 1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro
    • About 2 tablespoons of good, young goat cheese
    • Celtic sea salt for taste
    • Pasta noodles of your choice, I used rotini. About 4 servings

    Now do this:

    1. Put a drizzle of olive oil in the pan and heat on medium/low.
    2. Get your pasta water started, add a nice pinch of salt to the water.
    3. Add shallots to the oil and cook for about 3 minutes on medium/low, so you?ve got a nice light sizzle going on.
    4. Add the squash and cook until translucent.
    5. Add the peas, cook for about 2 minutes and set aside until the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking.
    6. While the pasta?s cooking, add the cheese and cilantro to the skillet and mix really well, the heat of the food will melt the cheese.
    7. When the pasta?s done, drain well and then add it to the skillet. Stir and get everything really well combined,?let sit for a minute or two before serving,
    8. Serve.

    This recipe also works really well with the addition of one cooked Chorizo sausage chopped up really finely, it adds heat and a little punch.

    I hope you enjoy this, we really did.

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    'Dark Knight Rises' Footage To Debut During MTV Movie Awards!

    Director Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman will present the footage on Sunday, June 3.
    By Kara Warner


    Christian Bale in "The Dark Knight Rises"
    Photo: Warner Bros.

    Not to toot our own horn, but since their inception in 1991 the MTV Movie Awards have proven to be one of the hippest parties in town. Not only is the annual event a major draw for the who's who in Hollywood, via the A-list nominees, presenters and performers, but there are always a few unexpected surprises and special sneak peeks from Hollywood's most anticipated upcoming releases.

    We are proud to announce that this year's live broadcast will feature the debut of exclusive new footage from one of the summer's most highly anticipated movies, "The Dark Knight Rises." And if that's not exciting enough, the film's writer/director Christopher Nolan and stars Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman will be on hand to introduce the never-before-seen footage. If you've been following the news surrounding Nolan's third and very likely final Batman film, you know that plot details have been kept under lock and key, so any chance to see anything new from the film ahead of its July 20 release is definitely cause for celebration.

    MTV also announced Thursday (May 24) that "Magic Mike" stars Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey have been added to the impressive lineup of presenters, which also includes: Adam Sandler, Emma Watson, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg. In addition, chart-topping indie-pop group fun. and rapper Wiz Khalifa are set to perform.

    MTV fans hold the "Power of the Popcorn" in their hands, with voting available online via MovieAwards.MTV.com through Saturday, June 2. As always, voting for Movie of the Year will remain open throughout the live show Sunday, June 3.

    Head over to MovieAwards.MTV.com to vote for your favorite flicks now! The 21st annual MTV Movie Awards air live Sunday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET.

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