Media credit/Glamour

In the June issue, Nicole Richie talks to Glamour about why she thinks she is the best hairstylist on the planet, tweeting about her rap career, if husband Joel Madden notices when she changes her hair and much much more!

This season, the mom of Harlow and Sparrow, is a designer mentor on Fashion Star, and she just launched her third fashion line, the Nicole Richie Collection, on QVC. Her hairstylist and dear friend for more than 10 years, Andy Lecompte, styled her hair for Glamour’s June beauty story, available on newsstands and digitally (iPad, Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Color) nationwide on May 8.

Photographed by Patric Shaw and interviewed by Amy Spencer, Nicole Richie appears in Glamour’s June issue wearing a yellow Martin Grant top, Agnès B bikini and Mosley Tribes sunglasses; a white Rag & Bone top, Agnès B bikini, House of Harlow 1960 earrings and a Yestadt Millinery hat; an orange Winter Kate dress, House of Harlow 1960 chocker and bangles and Pamela Love rings.

From her interview:

GLAMOUR: Your waves today looked gorgeous. But that’s with pro help. How do you get that look at home?

NICOLE RICHIE: I have naturally curly hair, so “natural” beach waves are not so natural for me. I like to braid my hair at night and then let it out the next day. And I also curl my hair with a flatiron. I actually think I’m the best hairstylist on the planet.

GLAMOUR: Are you serious?

NR: Yes, I’m very serious. I’m mixed, and it’s work to do my hair,
so I learned how to do it well myself. I would be a hairstylist. I
actually like to go to the salon and blow out people’s hair.

ANDY LECOMPTE: She teaches us what to do.

GLAMOUR: That is so funny. Do people tip you?

NR: No one tips me. [Laughs.] Or pays. That’s the next step.

GLAMOUR: Does Joel [Madden, Richie’s husband] notice when you change your hair?

NR: Joel noticed this Valentine’s Day that I had bangs. He looked at me and was like, “You got bangs, I see.” I was like, “I’ve had bangs since I was 22 years old!” [Laughs.]

GLAMOUR: Joel once tweeted, “What’s your favorite app?” And you replied, “The How to Make Your Husband Go Out So You Can Watch Reality TV in Peace app.” Hilarious.

NR: You know, Joel barely speaks all day, and then out of nowhere he has 9 million things to say, only for 30 minutes, from 9-9:30 p.m., when I’m watching Real Housewives.

GLAMOUR: You also tweeted, “My rap career is on the rise.” NR: It is! Just wait and see. I’m the best!

NR: Actually, I cannot rhyme cat without going to rhymezone.com. I’m so bad at it!

GLAMOUR: You went through a period where you were super thin and everyone was commenting on it. Now you have two kids and look awesome. How do you feel about your body?

NR: I feel [gets all fake dramatic]…great about my body. [Laughs.] You know, aesthetically I can be picky, but I choose not to. I’ve taken huge leaps. I’m proud of that. I work out, and I get lots of sleep, and so I feel great. And that is most important.

GLAMOUR: We like to think of you as a trendsetter. Do you think of yourself that way?

NR: No! [Laughs.] My world is small. I have my circle of 10 friends, my kids, my family. None of them call me a trendsetter.

GLAMOUR: Now you’ve got the Nicole Richie Collection on QVC. Any advice for women starting their own business?

NR: Study your craft. Know it well before you jump in. I wait all the time. Because I don’t want to just put my name on something and then release it. What’s the point of that?

GLAMOUR: What’s your absolute favorite moment in every day?

NR: When I wake up at 5:30 a.m. and it’s still dark out. I love, love being alone. It helps me to be a better mom to my kids and a better person at work.

Have you ever wanted to skydive from space, do a back flip on a jet ski, or snowboard down sand dunes? Well you’re in luck, my friend. Red Bull is ready to give your wildest idea wings with Launchpad, a head-to-head battle where voters pick the ideas they like best. Visit the Red Bull Launchpad here then record your video (30 seconds or less) summarizing your idea. Upload and share with your friends, then watch the world view and vote the craziest stunt into a reality.

This article is sponsored by Red Bull.

Mike Masco (Live Weather Blogs)

Live Reports:

2:23 p.m. CST: Up to baseball-sized hail falling north of Irving, Texas.

2:20 p.m. CST: “Traffic advisory issued — highway near Dallas, Texas shut down due to tornado, ‘numerous’ vehicles damaged,” @ProducerMatthew

2:13 p.m. CST: @jimwxgator: DFW airport is sending terminal passengers into storm shelters due to tornadoes tracking towards the airport

2:11 p.m. CST: “A house completely demolished, gas leak in the area” Arlington Police scanner #tornado

2:08 p.m. CST: “Lots of debris and damage to multiple houses in this area,” Arlington scanner #Dallas #Tornado

2:04 p.m. CST: Tornado is heading right toward DFW airport. That could be a disaster.

1:58 p.m. CST: “Motor home blown sideways blocking the street. There is a person stuck inside the mobile home,” Arlington scanner #Dallas #tornado

1:52 p.m. CST: @Henry_Margusity: The storm by Arlington looks like strongest of the two storms now. #tornado

1:44 p.m. CST: @JKnoll52: trucks destroyedpic.twitter.com/yIvIbAfl

1:43 p.m. CST: @ProducerMatthew: Dallas County authorities reporting injuries to residents following tornado (scanner)

1:40 p.m. CST: Tractor trailer being tossed in the air from the #dallas tornado” pic.twitter.com/2IScc0au (via @MikeMasco)

1:39 p.m. CST: A tornado is moving right through downtown Arlington, Texas. This is a very dangerous situation.

1:38 p.m. CST: @ProducerMatthew “LIVE AUDIO: Arlington fire and police scanner bit.ly/hOkQPb

1:36 p.m. CST: @JKnoll52: multiple semi trailers picked up and just tossed. Eastern Dallas County “Tornado Emergency”

1:23 p.m. CST: “This is a potential disaster for east Dallas as the tornado is tracking straight north toward Dallas,” @Henry_Margusity.

Severe Weather Set-Up

A slow-moving storm system centered over northern New Mexico is the culprit behind the severe storms. This system will be slow to inch its way towards the southern Plains by Wednesday morning.

In a setup more typical of late spring or early summer, unusually warm and moist air will continue to surge northward across the southern Plains, the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, acting as the fuel for storms.

With the peak of the severe weather season across the southern Plains occurring during the month of April, it comes as no surprise that the region is under the risk for severe storms.

Similar to Monday evening’s storms that crawled through the Texas Panhandle as well as western Oklahoma and Kansas, the primary threat with today’s storms will be hail.

Some of the hail will be very large, in some instances bigger than the size of golf balls. Hail of this magnitude can cause damage to automobiles, rooftops and even vegetation.

Strong and potentially damaging winds will also be associated with these storms today. Gusts with the strongest storms are likely to exceed 60 mph, which is strong enough the knock down tree limbs.

A few isolated tornadoes will be possible as well with the strongest storms.
The severe storms across the southern Plains are most likely during the afternoon and evening hours as a line of nasty storms slowly progress towards the east.

Cities that will be at risk include Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Okla., as well as Dallas, San Antonio and Tyler, Texas.

The severe threat is expected to continue into early Wednesday morning as the line of storms pushes eastward into Houston, Texas, Shreveport, La., and Fort Smith, Ark., as well as southern Missouri.

By Matt Alto, meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather.com reports in the Northeast and southern New England, the perfect pattern for fog, along with the warmth, continues through the week.

While the late summer into early fall is the prime season for fog, under the right conditions, fog can be a problem in the early spring as well.

Folks in parts of the Northeast have certainly received an education on this in recent days.

According to AccuWeather.com’s Chief Operating Officer Evan Myers, “The pattern is very similar to what occurs in September, in terms of the long nights, moisture and temperature.”

“It’s a blend of radiation and advection fog in this case,” Myers added.

Radiation fog occurs when marginally moist air in place cools to its saturation point at night and is most common in the autumn.

Advection fog occurs when the cloud bank is pushed in from a particular area or it is caused by the flow of moist air over a cold surface, causing it to cool to its saturation point. Advection fog is most common in the spring and late-winter.

Backdoor fronts bearing advection fog and drizzle have spoiled many fine spring days in coastal New England and the mid-Atlantic over the years.

According to AccuWeather.com’s Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, “While water and land temperatures are running much warmer than normal this year, they are still relatively cool when compared to the unusually warm air mass like we have around the region now.”

Light winds and a layer of warm air above the ground are preventing the fog from breaking up at a rapid pace during the midday hours in the current pattern.

The temperature inversion, as it is called, is also trapping pollutants near the ground.

Over the weekend, a slow-moving storm will drift to the Atlantic coast and will begin to stir the atmosphere over the region.

Until this storm passes and dry air mixes in from the west, fog problems will continue. As the storm itself affects the area with its own moisture and showers, problems with low visibility may not be limited to the late-night and early-morning hours.

Abrams quipped, “In the wake of the storm next week, once the fog is gone it won’t be mist (missed).”

By Alex Sosnowski, expert senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

Every now and again, you may feel the need for a little online video game nostalgia. Some people play Hearts or Bridge, but for others, it’s an online bingo site like onlinebingo.com that takes you back to the old days.

Bingo, for its age, remains an immensely popular game in the US and Canada. But beyond church basements and firehouses, online bingo parlors have sprung up all over the Internet.

It’s amazing how excited people still get when they fill up their line, or card, or letter X and yell “Bingo!” winning a prize (or even cash in some places). The sheer nostalgia of Bingo doesn’t go away, and young and old remain hooked, collecting blotter markets and marking their cards when each letter-number combination is read aloud.

Bingo also reminds people of family and childhood. The game can be shared between grandchildren and grandparents, and it offers a distraction to keep sibling minds focused on one thing for a little while. Head on over to your local Bingo parlor or check out one of the many online bingo sites to get reacquainted with the game. You might even win a little something.

In the March 8 issue of Page Six Magazine, Aerosmith star Steven Tyler’s youngest daughter Chelsea reveals all about life with a drug-addicted parent who she looks just like. Now a model and burgeoning singer herself, she reflects on her childhood to writer Annie Karni…

On her distinctive and highly recognizable looks:

“People stop me out of the blue a lot. That’s pretty much all I ever get: ‘You look exactly like Steven Tyler….Growing up, I would lie a lot if people asked me if I’m related to Steven Tyler. I avoided it hard for a while, because I wanted to badly experience developing without that. But I’ve embraced it now.”

On growing up in a rock ’n’ roll household:

“Being around my dad made me develop a resentment toward the entertainment industry. I was resentful of the industry for stealing my dad away from me, for making me feel like I couldn’t just have a regular little kid life.”

On making it on her own:

“I think it’s really important to have a job. I’m not even close to some sort of trust fund kid. When it comes to that stuff, we’re very much on our own. I’m lucky in my life to have certain things, but I lived as a broke, dirty college kid for four years.”

On Steven Tyler’s American Idol gig:

“I was definitely pushing toward a no when he got the offer. I thought it was a little cheesy, and I didn’t know what he was going to do with it…I didn’t realize the heart he was going to put into it. That’s really him, and I have a tendency to want to keep him private. It’s daunting to share him like that, but you realize how much good he’s doing and how much he loves his fans.”

On her dad’s drug problems:

“It’s one thing to hear that drugs are bad and consume your life. When you experience the level to which it can demonize someone, and that person is your parent, it instills a truth about it in you that it’s not really worth it.”

Check out the entire interview with Chelsea Tyler in Thursday’s Page Six Magazine, free inside the New York Post and at nypost.com/pagesixmag. For the first time, a Page Six Magazine app will be available Thursday in the iTunes store. The app delivers the full digital magazine, plus an app-exclusive photo gallery featuring photos and video not available in the print edition.

Photo credit: Diana Scheunemann for Page Six Magazine.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — Historical snow and cold in Rome have not only tried the patience of its residents but have also taken a toll on one of its architectural wonders, the Colosseum.

The Colosseum had to shut its doors to tourists after bits of the massive structure crumbled and fell, CNN said on Wednesday.

This was but one instance of adverse weather impact in Italy, which has suffered bitter cold and extreme snowfalls.

The loosening of plaster masonry and stone was attributed to ice forming on the walls, according to government spokesman Cristiano Brughitta. In other words, it was a result of what is known as the “freeze-thaw cycle”.

Brughitta called the cold wave exceptional. “Maybe every 30 years it gets this cold, but it’s very rare.”

Most nights this month have been subfreezing in the city, weather data accessed by AccuWeather.com show. Moreover, there have been two outbursts of snow that have left an accumulation of wet snow on parts of the Colosseum.

The wet snow was subject to melting by day, then the water would find its way into the cracks or gaps in the structure. Nightly cold was then able to freeze some of this water, causing expansion, weakening and crumbling of some of the material.

Normal low temperatures in Rome during midwinter are no lower than about 40 degrees. However, the average temperature for the first 15 days of February was more than 10 degrees below normal.

There is a financial fallout from the closure, as the Colosseum normally draws about 7,000 visitors a day, each visitor paying the equivalent of about $15, CNN said.

Elsewhere, the historic wall town of Urbino has been reeling under the collapsing weight of deep snow. Partial roof collapses hit convents of San Francesco and San Bernardino, according to CNN. A roof caving was also reported from a nearby church.

Urbino is located in the Marche region of eastern Italy. Here, persistent cold and damp winds off the Adriatic Sea dumped literally feet of snow along eastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains during February’s major snowstorms, AccuWeather.com meteorologists believe.

Written by Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

Susan Eisenberg, the voice of Wonder Woman in the popular “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited” television series, reprises her role for the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie, “Justice League: Doom.”

Eisenberg will join several of her voicecast colleagues for the West Coast Premiere of Justice League: Doom at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills on February 16.

The all-new, PG-13 rated Justice League: Doom will be available February 28 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and for Download. Both the Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD will include an UltraViiolet Digital Copy.

Eisenberg has focused her career in voiceovers for animation, video games and commercial use. In addition to her work for the past 12-plus as Wonder Woman for Justice League and Justice League Unlimited television series and the DCU films Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and Justice League: Doom, Eisenberg can also be heard in a variety of animates series, including Jackie Chan Adventures, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and The Super Hero Squad Show, as well as video games like Star Wars: The Ford Unleashed – Ultimate Sith Edition and Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. She is one of nine actors returning to the booth to record their original Justice League roles for the film, Justice League: Doom.

In anticipation of the West Coast Premiere, Eisenberg gladly offered some recollections and thoughts regarding her years of voicing Wonder Woman, including flirtations with Batman, her personal memorabilia collection, and the real reason Wonder Woman flies an invisible plane. Take a read …

QUESTION: What do you recall of earning the role of Wonder Woman some 13 years ago?

SUSAN EISENBERG: I can remember it vividly – because it was a big deal. It felt like a real life-changer, so it’s a huge memory for me. It was 1999, and I remember going to the call back and being with Andrea (Romano) and Bruce (Timm). Even the dialogue is still clear in my memory. And when I got the call that I got the role, it really had an impact on me.

Most jobs in voiceover don’t make you feel like they’re going to change your life, but this one did. And in many ways, it really did. I got to work for six years on a series, and I’d never done something that long term. And I was chosen to voice this wonderful, iconic character … and through these movies, I get to continue that role. It’s been fun and kind of surprising – people obviously know Wonder Woman, but it’s wonderful when they care that much that they actually recognize and acknowledge your work as the character. I walk into other jobs and people still say, “You’re Wonder Woman, right?” That’s really a kick.

QUESTION: What’s special to you about playing Wonder Woman?

SE: Wonder Woman is truly iconic. Everyone knows her. There’s something wonderful about playing a character who is recognized throughout the world. And I love her strength. I love that she stands for something and that she believes in what she believes. She’s very, very loyal and faithful and, in the beginning, I got to play her more vulnerable, and now I get to play her more adult and stronger. She’s a wonderful character.

QUESTION: You don’t have the benefit of weekly recording sessions to keep the voice fresh in your mind. How do you jump back into this role without a hitch?

SE: Working with Andrea and Bruce is a great because they were there at the start – Andrea has always directed me in this role, so she knows what she’s looking for. Listening to her direction is the first trick. Reading the script a few times also helps, especially to find the attitude and the voice. And as a refresher, I like to go online, check out YouTube, and play some old clips, or watch some of my DVDs. That helps to get me back in that space – and then Wonder Woman is right there in my head. But honestly, it’s not a huge leap for me – she’s pretty much in there all the time, anyway.

QUESTION: How much of what you do with Wonder Woman is through a change in your voice, and how much is really acting and attitude?

SE: A lot of it’s attitude. That’s why, if I’m speaking just normally, it’s not as if somebody next to me would ask, “Do you play Wonder Woman?” But then when I do the attitude and lower the register slightly, you will see this smile of recognition on the face of a little kid … or a true fan. And that’s always fun.

QUESTION: Who recognizes you more – kids who watch cartoon, or the adult devotees of the genre?

SE: Kind of both, and the reactions are different, but similar. It’s really nice to have people who are so passionate about these characters. So you get the 6-year-old child who has watched the cartoon and their eyes get big when they recognize that you’re this person behind the voice. But then you get the 40-something-year-old who has been watching, and loves this world, and loves this universe, and reads the comic books, and cares deeply about the genre. That’s fabulous, too. Just to have fans is a very cool thing. No one can complain about that. It’s good.

QUESTION: Wonder Woman has some very long battles in Justice League: Doom with a lot of physicality required in the vocal performance. How’d you handle that?

SE: The initial recording session is pretty straight-forward – we save most of the impacts and grunts and physical action for the ADR session. But as I was reading the script, I just kept thinking of Dwayne (McDuffie) and thinking, “You really layered it on me, didn’t you!” I’m going to have to be electrocuted and hit over the head and punched over and over and punch back over and over. You often have to be physical to sound physical. So – that’s a truly exhausting day.

QUESTION: What’s it like to have the gang back together again?

SE: You know, it’s thrilling because it’s a grand reunion. I get to be reunited with Michael Rosenbaum and Kevin Conroy and Carl Lumbly and that’s like having the League back together, if you will. I didn’t that expect that to happen, and I could not be more thrilled. Driving to the recording session, I was just so excited that we’d be in a room together. It is just so comfortable coming back into this. It’s the best gig in town. And anyone who does voiceovers would say that.

QUESTION: What are the scenes that appeal most to you in this film?

SE: I always like the quieter moments. So I like my scenes with J’onn, because those two characters really can relate to each other in so many ways, and I also liked my scenes with Batman. In both cases, those were some of the quieter moments with some emotional content. I enjoy the scenes where I have to kick some butt, too. But I truly enjoy the interplay with the other characters and the actors that play them.

I’ve never been shy about my feelings with Batman and Wonder Woman because, first of all, I love Kevin and I love working with Kevin. I think he’s amazing as Batman. And I love Batman and Wonder Woman together, and I think the fans do, too. You can go on YouTube and find all these wonderful videos of the two of them – showing their romance, put to music – so you know the fans love them together.

Playing Diana gives you a lot of different angles and emotions to play. Diana is very serious – she’s not like Flash where she’s funny and throwing out the one-liners. When she’s funny, it’s not necessarily intentional that she’s funny. And so I love the other aspects of her, when she gets to be flirty with Batman or when she gets to be funny with Flash or more earnest with J’onn. I especially like to play the flirty and hint at that romance between the characters. That’s a lot of fun.

QUESTION: How much equity to you take in this character?

SE: I’m enormously proud that I get to play her – it truly is a privilege and an honor. People have definite, strong opinions of Wonder Woman, and she’s known everywhere. She is this embodiment of female empowerment, and that’s a thrill, too, because there are little girls and little boys and they’re watching this and seeing that she’s so strong and so tough and righteous. It’s great to be able to provide that example of heroics through this character. I’m a guardian of that, and I don’t take it lightly. And every time I get asked to voice the role, I feel grateful – each and every time. I hope I keep getting to do it.

QUESTION: Has playing Wonder Woman changed you?

SE: In several ways. I think I’ve grown up with this part. I got this role 10 years ago, and just working alongside my fellow Justice League actors and with Andrea and Bruce has changed the way I work. And learning about this universe has changed me. You can’t have a part like this and not feel changed by it, because it’s enviable to have this job and play this character. There’s humility attached to that. You know you’re lucky. And that changes you, also.

QUESTION: What’s your attraction to voiceover work?

SE: I grew up doing radio commercials for my father’s business in Woonsocket, R.I., and I loved it. My father and my sister worked together – they would write the copy for me, and I would do the commercials for them. There’s something just so freeing about being behind a microphone as opposed to in front of a camera. There’s no worry about your hair or lipstick – on camera you get so self-conscious. Sure, there’s a self-consciousness in a room recording with other actors, because you want to be good. That’s just performance anxiety. I’ll take that any day over that camera and all those people staring at me. Some people are so natural with the camera – the can just pretend it’s not there. I am so aware it’s there.

QUESTION: What Wonder Woman memorabilia do you have at home?

SE: I have a lot of pictures and some beautiful cels – all gifts from the Justice League and Justice League, Unlimited. And some small things that people have sent me – mugs and little toys and notebooks with her on the cover. When we first started, we all ran out and bought our own action figures, so that’s right at the forefront of my bookshelf.

Best of all, I have all the scripts from the series. I keep them in a big bookshelf in my closet. I’m nostalgic about that stuff. It’s very sentimental to me to. It was a big deal this job – it really does mean the world to me. So I kept all the scripts.

QUESTION: Wonder Woman can fly. Why does she need an invisible plane?

SE: Because she likes to go in style. And why should she always be flying when there is a plane that can do it for her? I mean, why not have the private jet if you can have the private jet? Right? You’re going to begrudge her a private jet? I don’t think so.

Here is the complete list of 84th Annual Academy Award nominations announced on Tuesday morning:

1. Best Picture: ‘‘The Artist,’’ ‘’The Descendants,’’ ‘’Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,’’ ‘’The Help,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Midnight in Paris,’’ ‘’Moneyball,’’ ‘’The Tree of Life,’’ ‘’War Horse.’’

2. Actor: Demian Bichir, ‘‘A Better Life”; George Clooney, ‘‘The Descendants”; Jean Dujardin, ‘‘The Artist”; Gary Oldman, ‘‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”; Brad Pitt, ‘‘Moneyball.’’

3. Actress: Glenn Close, ‘‘Albert Nobbs”; Viola Davis, ‘‘The Help”; Rooney Mara, ‘‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; Meryl Streep, ‘‘The Iron Lady”; Michelle Williams, ‘‘My Week With Marilyn.’’

4. Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh, ‘‘My Week With Marilyn”; Jonah Hill, ‘‘Moneyball”; Nick Nolte, ‘‘Warrior”; Christopher Plummer, ‘‘Beginners”; Max von Sydow, ‘‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.’’

5. Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo, ‘‘The Artist”; Jessica Chastain, ‘‘The Help”; Melissa McCarthy, ‘‘Bridesmaids”; Janet McTeer, ‘‘Albert Nobbs”; Octavia Spencer, ‘‘The Help.’’

6. Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, ‘‘The Artist”; Alexander Payne, ‘‘The Descendants”; Martin Scorsese, ‘‘Hugo”; Woody Allen, ‘‘Midnight in Paris”; Terrence Malick, ‘‘The Tree of Life.’’

7. Foreign Language Film: ‘‘Bullhead,’’ Belgium; ‘‘Footnote,’’ Israel; ‘‘In Darkness,’’ Poland; ‘‘Monsieur Lazhar,’’ Canada; ‘‘A Separation,’’ Iran.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, ‘‘The Descendants”; John Logan, ‘‘Hugo”; George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, ‘‘The Ides of March”; Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, ‘‘Moneyball”; Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, ‘‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.’’

9. Original Screenplay: Michel Hazanavicius, ‘‘The Artist”; Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, ‘‘Bridesmaids”; J.C. Chandor, ‘‘Margin Call”; Woody Allen, ‘‘Midnight in Paris”; Asghar Farhadi, ‘‘A Separation.’’

10. Animated Feature Film: ‘‘A Cat in Paris”; ‘‘Chico & Rita”; ‘‘Kung Fu Panda 2”; ‘‘Puss in Boots”; ‘‘Rango.’’

11. Art Direction: ‘‘The Artist,’’ ‘’Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Midnight in Paris,’’ ‘’War Horse.’’

12. Cinematography: ‘‘The Artist,’’ ‘’The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’The Tree of Life,’’ ‘’War Horse.’’

13. Sound Mixing: ‘‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Moneyball,’’ ‘’Transformers: Dark of the Moon,’’ ‘’War Horse.’’

14. Sound Editing: ‘‘Drive,’’ ‘’The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Transformers: Dark of the Moon,’’ ‘’War Horse.’’

15. Original Score: ‘‘The Adventures of Tintin,’’ John Williams; ‘‘The Artist,’’ Ludovic Bource; ‘‘Hugo,’’ Howard Shore; ‘‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,’’ Alberto Iglesias; ‘‘War Horse,’’ John Williams.

16. Original Song: ‘‘Man or Muppet’’ from ‘‘The Muppets,’’ Bret McKenzie; ‘‘Real in Rio’’ from ‘‘Rio,’’ Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett.

17. Costume: ‘‘Anonymous,’’ ‘’The Artist,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Jane Eyre,’’ ‘’W.E.’’

18. Documentary Feature: ‘‘Hell and Back Again,’’ ‘’If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front,’’ ‘’Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,’’ ‘’Pina,’’ ‘’Undefeated.’’

19. Documentary (short subject): ‘‘The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement,’’ ‘’God Is the Bigger Elvis,’’ ‘’Incident in New Baghdad,’’ ‘’Saving Face,’’ ‘’The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.’’

20. Film Editing: ‘‘The Artist,’’ ‘’The Descendants,’’ ‘’The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Moneyball.’’

21. Makeup: ‘‘Albert Nobbs,’’ ‘’Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,’’ ‘’The Iron Lady.’’

22. Animated Short Film: ‘‘Dimanche/Sunday,’’ ‘’The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,’’ ‘’La Luna,’’ ‘’A Morning Stroll,’’ ‘’Wild Life.’’

23. Live Action Short Film: ‘‘Pentecost,’’ ‘’Raju,’’ ‘’The Shore,’’ ‘’Time Freak,’’ ‘’Tuba Atlantic.’’

24. Visual Effects: ‘‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,’’ ‘’Hugo,’’ ‘’Real Steel,’’ ‘’Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’’ ‘’Transformers: Dark of the Moon.’’

Christina Lacoste, a senior at Emmanuel College expressed how important her senior internship class was in helping her nail her current internship with The Weekly Dig.

“My internship professor helped me with my resume, he had really helpful suggestions and I am grateful to him for that.”

Lacoste made a huge point in saying that it was initiative that got her the position at The Weekly Dig. People can’t just rely on people in life to do things for them. If you want something you have to go after it. This is one major lesson that students must learn at college. Nothing is going to be handed to you on a silver platter. Lacoste could have taken a internship at a major alternative news weekly in Boston this year, but she was not about to become someone’s “coffee bitch.” Instead, she chose an internship at The Weekly Dig.

“I sent them writing samples, a resume, a cover letter, and my class schedule, apparently that worked out well because they contacted me pretty soon afterwards.”

The importance of making the right internship choice is vital. Lacoste stated that she applied to other places but she wanted to make sure that she would have artistic freedom as well as learn while on the job.

No one wants to be someone’s slave to irrelevant tasks, even though a lot of internships do have tasks that seem to be a little back breaking, a positive learning experience should also be present. In order to not let herself slip down the slippery slope of getting caught up in backbreaking work and leaving behind artistic freedom, The Weekly Dig was the obvious choice for Lacoste.

“I asked The Phoenix about writing articles for them and they said something like, well if you have an idea, we can pair you up with a writer, meaning I wouldn’t be writing squat.”

Her experience got her on the main page of The Weekly Dig’s Art and Entertainment section with a new feature about the new Aphrodite and the Gods of Love exhibit at the MFA in which Lacoste seemed to be excited about. Lacoste also said that this experience has taught her many different aspects of journalism.

“I’ve also learned how to create blog posts, write transcripts, fact check, and interview, the people at The Dig are always willing to help but at the same time they give me enough space to learn on my own..”

Lacoste also talked about how her writing classes have helped her create her own artistic style of writing. Whether it is her PR class with Ernie Corrigan, her Creative Writing classes with Dr. Mary Beth Pope, or her Journalism classes with Mark Baard, all have helped her with opening her eyes to journalistic style and editing.

Lacoste is not sure what‘s next. Like most seniors I’m sure she is just trying to get through this last year before stepping out into the scary real world. This internship however will possibly open doors into some options and act as a safety blanket while taking those first couple of steps after graduation.

“I’m not really sure what I’ll be doing after The Dig, but my experience in journalism will definitely open up some doors for me, I am hoping to travel and write, that would be ideal.”

By Kevin DeStefano at Emmanuel College

Your favorite smart-phone can do everything that your laptop, cellphone and digital camera can do. Big whoop. We get it. Yes, your iPhone or shiny new tablet is nothing short of science fiction.

Finally, scientists have created devices that meet all of the expectations of your eleven year old self (aside from light-sabers). You thought that now all there was to look forward to was living on other planets and fighting robots that transformed into cars. You were wrong.

Here’s a list of crazy inventions that most people haven’t even heard of yet.

5. SixthSense

No, not the M. Night Shyamalan movie. SixthSense is the name given to the next step in wearable interactive technology. Invented by Pranav Mistry, a student at MIT who wanted to make the technology open source and affordable to mass produce. Essentially, it’s a camera attached to a projector, attached to a computer that you can wear anywhere.

Say you need to know if your next flight is delayed due to weather. Instead of taking out your smart-phone and bringing up an app, the camera on SixthSense reads your flight ticket and projects delay and delay times on the same ticket that you are currently reading. By using hand gestures, similar to Microsoft’s Kinect, the user has the ability to access all of the knowledge of the web without ever touching a keyboard.

4. Synthetic Meat

Where’s the beef? “In-vitro” meat is exactly as disturbing as it sounds. Not processed in a plant or factory, but “born” in a lab. Synthetic meat is chemically identical to tissue from a dead animal because it came from the same animal. The only difference is how the meal is prepared.

Synthetic meat is grown from culturing cells from animal tissue, so it’s completely organic – but it sure ain’t natural. Currently, it costs millions to produce small amounts of synthetic meat. In the near future, however, synthetic meat will be cheaper to produce than livestock.

Why is this such a cool invention? Because, in theory, it only takes one living cow to produce one million times its weight in meat.

Ethics aside, this same process could be used to create human tissue, possibly human organs for spare parts. Maybe immortality isn’t as far away as we think.

3.  3D Printing

Now the concept sounds simple, instead of printing a two dimensional sheet, printers can now create three dimensional models by using one machine. Why is this so incredible? Because instead of ink, these printers create objects; usually multiple materials at once. Steel, plastic, carbon fiber, copper, wood. You name it, they can print it.

The concept even goes as far as producing organic materials such as cells and tissues using the same technique of three dimensional layerings using computer generated mapping and accuracy.

Imagine one machine, loaded up with giant cartridges of raw materials, building  multiple houses complete with plumping and electrical wiring. The invention is so intuitive that as it improves, 3D printing could advance to creating complex machinery such as cars and planes and other objects with moving parts.

2. Wireless Electricity

Yes, that is correct. We said wireless electricity.

While technically not a new concept as it was first envisioned by historical genius Nikola Tesla, wireless electricity has finally been patented. Wireless power, or wireless energy transfer, is carried out by principles of induction and magnetism.

Magnets are placed on surfaces such as walls, floors, ceilings and directly connected to the power grid. Corresponding magnets are placed on electronic devices such as phones, televisions, or laptops and relay back and forth to create an electrical current supplying all of the devices.

Imagine owning an electric car and being able to park it in a location with a charging mat. Or, walking into a room and suddenly your mobile device starts charging. Wireless is the new revolution, and it is only a matter of time until wireless electricity is everywhere.

Photo Cred: Sciencenews.org

1.Graphene

Imagine waking up and walking to your front porch stoop to retrieve your morning newspaper when instead you lift a touch screen. The same weight, size and flexibility as a newspaper only with a fully interactive display that you can take to work or read on the morning commute to work.

Behold, the holy grail of modern technology and modern science. A carbon based material that is currently both the thinnest and strongest material known to man, graphene is also a great conductor of electricity as well as flexible. Samsung as well as many other developers have released prototypes of paper thin, flexible touch screens that implement graphene.

As far as abundance, graphene is as common as the graphite from pencils and is set to replace silicon as a semiconductor in computer chips. Graphene is sure to replace all display monitors, televisions, tablets and smart phones. Because it is such a new material, researchers haven’t even scratched the surface as to all of its applications. For that reason alone, it is number one on our list.

By Dan Bourque at Emmanuel College

Finding a job fresh out of college is difficult enough these days. Finding one in your desired field, though, and one that you really love – that’s another story altogether. But for one local college senior, an internship with NESN just might get him there.

“It’s cool to get emails from Don Orsillo, Jim Rice and Heidi Watney,” said Emmanuel College senior Jon Hardacker. His new gig puts him right on the front lines of NESN.com, the website of the New England Sports Network.

As a native of Cromwell, Connecticut, Hardacker has been an avid follower of the network, and Boston sports in general, for his entire life. He works as a greeter for the Boston Red Sox during baseball season, and wastes no time gearing up for the Bruins campaign soon after. Working and writing for NESN, for him, is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The work isn’t exactly the glamorous, eye-catching reporting that you may think, though.

Photo Cred: The Systems Group

“Its stuff I would most likely be doing in my free time anyway,” he said of his daily job duties. He works for NESN’s “new media” department, which deals entirely with the website. He spends his afternoons surfing the web for sports stories to publish on NESN.com and editing other writers’ posts. He even writes his own original work that gets posted right to the site, complete with his own byline.

As a communications major and an aspiring journalist, Hardacker is living out a lifelong dream writing articles about the Red Sox and Bruins. He goes into work three days a week – Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Saturday afternoons. Every day is a personal challenge to practice his trade and make a name for himself in the business.

Still, his biggest aim at the moment is to help the company.

“The main goal is to find content that will attract people and drive up our page views and clicks,” Hardacker said.

Hardacker is just the latest in a line of several Emmanuel students who have interned with NESN in the past. He was told about the opportunity by a former Emmanuel student, Bryan Quinlan.

“He had the same internship I have now. He talked me up to my now supervisor, John Beattie, and left a good impression for me to follow through on.  I went in to my interview on a Friday morning, and got an e-mail Friday afternoon offering me the spot.”

As a 21 year old Bostonian, Hardacker has witnessed a new era of success in this city’s sports world. In his lifetime, Boston has seen two World Series trophies (the first since 1918), three Patriots Superbowls, an 18th NBA title and a long-awaited Stanley Cup. This recent success makes working at NESN even more exciting for a young sports fanatic.

Still, as important and fascinating as the new internship is for Hardacker, he remains grounded enough to appreciate the simpler things about the job.

“There are two vending machines for soda and snacks – everything is worth a quarter!”

By Marianne Salza at Emmanuel College

In the upcoming film “Mark of the Dog Rose,” a young woman, Toni, vanishes from her New England College. Her brother, Gabe Marcel, is determined to find her. The situation is graver than he could have imagined. With police bewildered and time dissipating, Gabe seeks the assistance of Lacey, the sister of one of the detectives on the case. The two collaborate in a race to continue when police had given up. Soon enough, Gabe and Lacey find themselves trapped, lying and waiting in a game of trickery with malevolence itself.

Producing independent movies like “Mark of the Dog Rose,” written by 25-year-old Shannon Carter, require similar chutzpah. The vivacious redhead has porcelain skin and jade-sparkled eyes.

Dedication, high hopes and uniqueness are pivotal for success, especially when working with barely-there finances and relying on people’s generosity.

“My main focus right now is the new film that I wrote, am producing and acting in,” said the Salem State University graduate. “It takes a lot of my time, but I love it! I talk to the director on a daily basis and we have to figure out everything from budget, locations, scheduling, to hair/makeup and wardrobe.”

Photo Cred: ourfilmspace.com

Composing a story line was the easy part. Shannon opted for a drama since her and the 27-year old director’s, Jessica Cook, first film together was comedic. Occasionally she would consult Jess for suggestions, tossing ideas about. A fan of Law and Order SVU, Shannon relishes suspense and is naturally veered in the direction of a thriller. A core plot was construed, and two months of feverish writing later, “Mark of the Dog Rose” was developed. Then came the hard part: finding the funds.

The main money raising strategy was done through Kickstarter. On this website, links are posted, connecting patrons to information about the film and how they can help.

“It’s great for filmmakers, musicians or entrepreneurs to fund their projects. People can donate anything from $1 to $100,000. We didn’t get near that much, but it was a help,” Shannon adds with a laugh. They rose a little over $1000 through the program.

The 99 Restaurant also donated food and gift cards for a celebration involving a group of local bands who performed and entertained raffle buyers. Many of the musicians were featured in the soundtrack of Shannon’s last film, “Sunblocked,” or were friends with the director. Prizes included wine, lottery and movie ticket baskets donated by Shannon’s family and even a hand-crafted shelf presented by It’s A Secret, a shop in Danvers.

It is a big responsibility, especially considering the two both work full-time. While Jessica does administrative work in Vermont, Shannon juggles two jobs: one in a law office as a paralegal-in-training; and another as a playful-grinned hostess at Blue Stove restaurant.

Having such an intense schedule can be difficult; and they do the brunt of the time-consuming project. Situations pop up where a location or shoot deadline arises, and it is hard to get in touch with the necessary people when working during business hours.

Shannon has no choice but to make her itinerary work – from sending out e-mails or drafts in the early hours prior to work, during breaks, and after her eight hours. Weekends end up being the most productive.

The money that is collected through fundraisers goes to paying for some locations and is also dedicated to purchasing props, equipment and food for the cast and crew on set. Needless to say, it is quickly spent.

Fortunately, the ladies have some terrific people and businesses that let the duo use supplies and venues free of charge.

Sadly, no one gets paid for working on the movie; particularly Shannon and Jess who wind up paying for some effects out of their own pockets.

“Everyone donates their time, but in return, people get exposure, experience and credit to add to their resumes,” says Shannon.

The wide assemblage managing “Mark of the Dog Rose” take part because it is their passion, but getting distribution is a major cinematic dream for Shannon. Upon completion, the team plans to submit the motion picture to multiple film festivals and will likely tour at a variety of venues presenting it while gaining viewership.

By Caitlin Buckley at Emmanuel College

The literary world has entered the social network stream. Marketers have 140 characters to catch your interest.

Lexie Winslow has social media down pat. Every day, she is the queen of clever hash-tags and witty status updates. She needs to get the most comments and “likes.”

“Learning to write concisely and persuasively has been invaluable in the business world, especially in marketing,” she said . “Social media marketing is all about making an impression in a finite amount of characters!”

Photo Cred: AIS Media

In Boston’s Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade and Reference Division, 24 year old Winslow is the Web Content Administrator. She uses Twitter and Facebook to blog new book titles.

She appreciates the desire to discuss favorite books and the next big hits. Her updates relate to the reader– what sparks their interest, what they want to talk about most. In one line, she invests in the reader as much as she promotes the book.

“I find social media a very forgiving platform, so it’s a good place to try things out and see how the fans react. I put myself in their shoes as a reader, to think of what would entice me to learn more about a book,” Winslow said.

It’s a world in which people want to voice their own opinions. If Winslow does it right, social media provides an organized and exciting forum, friendly to both discussion and marketing. Every day is a little different, so the fresh and stimulating new ideas need to keep coming.

“I think social media is a blessing for the publishing industry,” she said. “Twitter and Facebook especially are so text-based that literary people gravitate to them.”

But there are limits to her expression.

Winslow feels the pressure to make each and every status update interesting. She can’t be too offensive, but she can be a little controversial. There is a balance somewhere in between that keeps readers returning and increasing in numbers.

When she feels lacking in followers and friends, she wins them over by giving them something for their effort.

“Free books usually go over the best,” she said. “Whenever I want to drive up follower numbers, I put together a giveaway.”

Living in the digital age, creativity is important. Marketing has become Winslow’s playground.

For the promotional websites, she creates designs that are easy to follow and visually appealing. She features the newest and most intriguing books on the homepage of the company’s website. Each tweet and status update has a purpose.

There is a sense of accomplishment that comes from clicking that tweet into the web-universe.

“I can feel proud of the products that I share with the world,” she said.

Winslow credits her English degree from Holy Cross for helping her succeed in the professional world. She had a passion for literature in college, and followed that instinct when looking for jobs in book-related fields.

Publishing was the perfect fit.

After graduation, she interned at a smaller publishing house, The History Press. When she received another internship at Houghton Mifflin, she was at a crossroads: internship or graduate school? She chose the internship for experience, over observation in a classroom.

Experience paid off and she was given a job at the company—one that relies on a quick mind and a youthful spark—the essence of social media.

“It’s casual, sometimes silly, and all about instant gratification,” she said, “and I’ve become very comfortable with it.”

By Kasey Miller at Emmanuel College

Photo Cred: www.laurenshope.com

The main reason people do not wear medical IDs is because they are ugly and bring attention to their medical conditions. Another reason is because people do not know what medical conditions are considered important enough to merit wearing a medical ID. The simple solution would be to ask your doctor. If your doctor thinks you should wear a medical ID odds are you should wear one.

Lauren’s Hope medical IDs are negating the stigma of people wearing medical IDs. They are fashionable and, unless the person wearing the ID wants or needs to bring attention to their medical condition, no one knows that they are wearing one.

The front of the pendant looks like a carnation with a lot of colorful layers. In the center of the flower is a red medical alert symbol but unless you are strictly looking for it, you do not see it. If you are trying to look for it, you will see it.

“It’s so important to wear a medical ID and when Laurens Hope makes them so cute I don’t mind wearing mine! People need options when they have diabetes. We have minimal options in treatment, but in fashion they are limitless.” Says Allison Crace, a type one Diabetic.

On Lauren’s Hope webpage, you can choose from a variety of styles of medical IDs. If you prefer to wear something subtle, like a watch, they have that option. If you want something flashy that shows up when you wear it, they also have jewelry that fits that description. Whatever style you are, and if you have any known chronic illnesses, Lauren’s Hope has the type of medical ID you are looking for.

People with known chronic illnesses crave control – and Lauren’s Hope gives some control back to these people.

A Lauren’s Hope medical ID necklace looks like a normal necklace. This brings up the question: How does medical staff know if a person is wearing a medical ID? The answer is that emergency medical staff is trained to check for the little red medical alert symbol on the arms, neck or feet of any person seen by emergency medical staff.

The price of a Lauren’s Hope medical ID would be somewhere in the sixty dollar range. The price of not wearing a medical ID, on the other hand, is far more costly.

It is interesting to note that the best part of “New Year’s Eve,” the Garry Marshall holiday clusterfuck of stardom, is the outtakes during the end credits. In them we see everyone from Halle Barry, to Jon Bon Jovi, to Seth Myers giggling through dialogue, tripping, and joking around with their cast mates. It’s thoroughly charming.

The actual movie could have taken a lesson.

Is anyone actually surprised that this movie is terrible? Even the trailer is so tone-deaf, so embarrassingly shallow, completely soaked in cynical Hollywood money, it would have been a miracle if the movie itself had been halfway decent. Surely even America, with its love of shiny white men and blonde Botox monsters, will see through this charade! Even we are not so dumb that we can be hoodwinked by a bunch of producers who took a lame, gin-sodden sketch of an idea, injected 45 stars at various stages of their career into the frame like steroids with private islands, and called it a movie! For the scales have fallen from our eyes! It’s our Arab Spring! Occupy everything! Viva la revolution!

But no. Many, many people will see this tribute to the dubious cultural touchstone of New Year’s Eve in New York City- just like many, many people will spend all day in the cold in Times Square on December 31st, waiting in line for the port-a-john and drinking surreptitiously from flasks before watching a giant ball of LED lights drop 100 feet.

I hate to sound so bitter. But this movie really got under my skin, so much so that I don’t even want to go over the various intersecting plot lines and vignettes that fills the two-hour run time. Suffice it to say there are a lot of scenes that look like they were “Love Actually” subplots cut during the editing process, then swept up from the cutting room floor by Marshall and writer Katherine Fugate and reconstituted into some sort of narrative. The characters seem to be pulled from randomly from a hat, so Zac Efron is somehow the younger brother of Sarah Jessica Parker, Bon Jovi managed to bag Katherine Heigl despite being 16 years older than her, and Robert De Niro appears to be dying of the disease that only tragic Victorian heroines get after staying out all night in the rain. There’s also no time to actually get to know any of these people (the only character I can actually name is Bon Jovi, who has the weird and hilarious rock moniker of “Jensen”). But no time for characterization is actually a good thing, since it means that none of them have to display anything resembling a personality trait.

Michelle Pfeiffer comes close to actually acting, playing a downtrodden music industry paean who quits her job and asks Efron to help her complete her New Year’s resolutions from the prior year. Through the muck of the terrible dialogue there is a pulse of chemistry between Pfeiffer and Efron. Somehow I feel this would have been a much more interesting movie if it was just about them in a hotter “Harold and Maude” scenario.

The movie isn’t funny, it isn’t particularly sweet, and, like its predecessor “Valentine’s Day”, it spends most of its time trying to convince us that New Year’s Eve is a super-duper important holiday that has all sorts of meaning and significance! Like love and…family…and…whatever, everyone shut up and dance to “Firework!”

Halfway through listing all of the reasons I hated “New Year’s Eve”, it occurred to me that this is hardly the only piece of Hollywood garbage lobbed at the American public this year. Hell, it’s not the only one lobbed this week. So why do I hate it more than anything else I’ve seen this year? Why do I hate it more than “Transformers 3,” or “Gnomeo and Juliet”, and in such a visceral, gut wrenching, violent way? Perhaps because “New Year’s Eve” doesn’t even try to trick you into thinking it’s a film with any merit. It doesn’t have any sense of narrative, or artistry or fun. It doesn’t try to entertain you, or give you something to think about. It doesn’t even really have any characters.

Because the truth is “New Year’s Eve” isn’t a film at all. It’s an ATM.

By Kelly J. DeSisto at Emmanuel College

PROVIDENCE — Twenty one-year-old Rhode Islander, Lexi Neelis, sheds light on her fascination with body art.

“I have tattoos because I feel they enhance my body aesthetically. They are a way for me to bring a part of my personality literally to the surface of my skin.”

Almost every guide to professionalism makes a point of condemning the tattoo junkies from displaying their latest tribal symbol or finished sleeve. Necks, faces, wrists, hands and sometimes shoulders are some exposed areas of the body in which sporting a tattoo may not go over too well in the office environment. It’s becoming more common, however, for job seekers to show their tats proudly, whether traditional employers like it or not.

Photo Credit: Providencetattoo.com

Fortunately for this coffee barista, her five tattoos didn’t stand in the way of starting her gig at Coffee Exchange, a renowned café in Providence.

When asked about the impact that her tattoos have had on her job, Lexi replied that, “I may work at a coffee shop but I also work within their office. And, even though I work in an office setting, I have never felt the need to hide or conceal them. I receive compliments on my tattoos while I’m working all the time.” Lexi not only got accepted for the job with her tattoos showing, but also received a raise and, shortly after, a promotion as the organization’s administrative assistant.

Tattoo parlors are popping up everywhere, perpetuating the desire to get tattooed. From media outlets to technology enhancements, it seems that tattoos are showing up more often and may begin to alter the traditional expectations for interviews, conferences, internships and other opportunities that involve the element of appearing professional.

But let’s be honest. A café isn’t going to uphold the same dress code that law firms and high-ranking corporations require. The upcoming working generation, however, may change the norm of attire in even the most pristine business settings. Young adults in their early 20’s, such as Lexi, find it more common to have at least a tattoo or three before feeling like a rebel. Lexi represents the general point of view of her contemporaries when saying, “Proof that our generation is changing the way people view tattoos is everywhere! When I meet someone my age who doesn’t have a tattoo, I’m slightly surprised.”

From the way things are going, it wouldn’t be a shocker if tattoos started showing up in more professional settings. But what about now? Should young adults keep themselves from holding back by showing who they are through body art?

Dan Jalbert, assistant director of Emmanuel College’s Internship Career and Development office, has more to say on the matter. Individuality is important, but when it comes down to it, “while you may be a 20 something year old, you may be interviewing with someone in their 50’s or 60’s who puts a great deal of value and emphasis on traditional interview attire.”

Should the upcoming job seekers feel concerned about their tattoos? Could it be that our sense of fashion must come to a halt once we enter the networking world?

No need to fret. For those of you who are nervous, however, there is an array of options. As everyone knows, there are more places to get tattoos than your forehead or other obvious parts of the body. Let’s keep in mind that we not only have conservative clothing at our disposal but also the use of Band-Aids and other concealing tools to mask one’s expression of individuality. These quick fixes can be used for the entire time working within a more professional culture or at least for the interview.

The diversity of the work force is also key to keep in mind. Dan makes a point by mentioning that tattoos are, “definitely more accepted and normal in certain fields. Although, since you never know for sure what kind of person you’ll be interviewing with or working under, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

With professionalism 101 in the back of her mind, Lexi has found an openness to the idea of covering her beloved pieces of body art if her occupation takes her elsewhere. For now, however, she keeps to her passion for writing, art, and distinctiveness.

“In a setting where I need to convey serious information without distractions, I would consider covering my tattoos in some way. Other than that, I actually feel incomplete when my tattoos aren’t showing. They are a part of me and I don’t see myself ever regretting the art I have chosen to carry for the rest of my life.”

By Alex Lucier at Emmanuel College

The strange sport of curling first captured my interest during the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver. While not being recognized as an official Olympic event until the 1998 Nagano Games, curling’s roots actually go back as far as 1540’s Scotland.

I watched with fascination during the past two Winter Games, and also played the Nintendo Wii version of the sport. But it was not until recently that my dream to curl came to fruition.

My chance to hit the ice came two weekends ago when I was invited by a family friend to Petersham Curling club in Central Massachusetts. There I learned a few of the finer points of the sport that you just can’t get from seeing it on tv.

Photo Credit: allbestwallpapers.com

Each match begins with opponents shaking hands and saying “Good Curling.” The second tradition introduced by my instructor was that the winning team buys the losing team drinks after the game. So if you win you drink after, if you lose, you drink for free; being a loser has never seemed so attractive.

As the 44 pound granite rock roared down the ice towards me I began taking swift small steps until my speed matched the stone’s. Now shuffling right alongside it I was ready with broom in hand. Waiting forPhoto Credit: allbestwallpapers.com the team captain, called the ‘skip,’ to shout “Sweep!”

The two teams of four take turns sending each of their 8 stones down the 150 foot long playing surface. The ultimate goal being that at the conclusion of each ‘end’ (curling’s inning), you want one of your teams stones to be closest to the center of the target called the ‘house.’

Only one team can score per end, and does so by having one of their stones closest to the center of the 12’ diameter house. Each of your stones which also lays closer to the center than your opponents closest stone earns a point as well.

I ran track competitively from 6^th grade through my senior year in college. I spent countless hours trying to perfect everything from using starting blocks to the long jump. The only time I saw a broom during that time was the people sweeping the sand back into the long jump pit.

Never before did I think that the time spent at my various jobs sweeping in front of a grocery store, and at a water park, and at the state park I now work at, would ever come into play in an athletic event.

The ice surface is not perfectly smooth. It has a uniform layer of small bumps referred to as ‘pebbling.’ Sweeping’s role in curling is to melt the ice in front of the stone and therefore making it smoother and therefore the stone moves faster.

The decision to sweep or not to sweep is made by the skip, as he is generally the most experience player on the team. It is his job to judge whether the speed the stone is traveling at will get it to its desired positioned.

Scotland is the birthplace of curling, and the only place in the world that the type of granite used to make the stones can be found. In fact there are only two quarries that the World Curling Federation have deemed as acceptable sources, and the second was found because the original island it was taken from was turned into a nature preserve.

Born in Scotland, with a large Canadian population of players, as well as a surprisingly large following in Asia, curling has grown into an international phenomenon. Luckily for those in the Boston area with an interest in curling there are several locations close by including: Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, Cape Cod Curling Club in Falmouth, Petersham Curling club in Petersham, and also a Curling Club in Brookline. However, even the Brookline club’s website is private, so unless you know someone there the impression I am getting is: dream on.

And dream I will, but it won’t be in Brookline. So if you have an interest in gliding on ice, and throwing stones into houses, I hope to see you at one of the other curling clubs who actually make an effort to further expose eager enthusiasts to their spectacle on ice.

By Elizabeth Race-Moore at Emmanuel College

For many young people the idea of marriage may seem outdated and old fashioned. Perhaps it’s the “till’ death do us part” line that sends 20-something’s running. But lawmakers are now looking to make the enslavement of marriage a little less scary, and a little easier to get out of.

The idea is to create a contract between married couples that would require a marriage renewal after 10 years of marriage. After that time, couples would either agree to extend their marriage or have it dissolved. Couples wishing to get married already have to fill out their marriage license; this contract would be very similar.

The contract would also specify how to split up property, pay alimony and determine custody of children in the case that the marriage was not extended.

Photo Credit: almightydad.com

Boston’s unhitched women are warming to the idea.

“The downside of this law is that it might encourage people to jump into marriages too soon,” said Nicole Oliveira, Emmanuel College Junior.

“But at the going rate of divorce, maybe it isn’t such a bad idea.”

Political party members are not looking to speed up divorce but to give a solid chance to the marriage. On the other hand, this can help to avoid the long and complicated process that comes with a divorce.

For the younger generations starting to think about marriage, this mandatory “expiration date” could dramatically cut the rate of commitment phobia.

“I know all too many guys who will say ‘I’m never getting married’ or ‘Who wants to be with one person for the rest of your life,’” said Boston College Junior, Hannah Kavanaugh.

Maybe if more people felt they weren’t being sentenced to life at the altar, it might open their eyes to the idea of marriage. “The first ten years is like a test run, see where it goes from there.”

Opening the Doors of Perception for Open Sourcing

By Rebecca Camarda

BROOKLINE — Rock and roll has always been linked to drug culture, with notoriously strung out musicians causing anxiety and frustration for many sound engineers and producers when they bring their habit into the studio.

At David Cardona’s studio in a Brookline apartment, drugs are key to the experience.

In this studio, filled with batik tapestries, drums from India, Africa, and South America, several guitars and a keyboard, and the aroma of Nag Champa, the recording begins when the acid kicks in.

On a recent visit I was included in a circle of musicians sharing a joint.  One had a guitar in hand, the other a hang drum.

Photo Credit: Gig Masters

“We’ve already started,” David said.

Perhaps he was referring to the LSD, or the recording, or maybe both

This recording is part of a larger project entitled In Bloom, the goal of which is to create a library of music that musicians can sample and incorporate freely.

Slowly, the three musicians begin to complement each other and the cacophony of different sounds merge into one and begin to blossom into what sounds like a rock ‘n’ roll tribal hymn.  They play on until they each naturally die out, the last being David as he tinkers out the final notes of his melody.

He turns to me and says, “And that is In Bloom.”

“In Bloom is an invitation to people with musical skills, musical talents, musical interests—and generally any kind of artistic orientation—to an environment where they can explore their creative intuition by manifesting their artistic selves through music in real time,” the musician originally from Bogota, Colombia explains.

Taking a drag from the joint, he continues, “There are no instrumentalist labels implied, you choose your instrument, even non musicians.  The point is that they may not know how to play any particular instrument but they may have an inclination at that very moment to utilize a flute or something else to manifest ideas, ideas that are manifested by listening to everything else that is happening—so, in real time.”

Another goal of this experiment for David is to allow creative people to trust their own intuition, and to help facilitate this, he enlists the help of psychedelics.

“I’m on LSD right now,” he said, once again passing me a joint, which may or may not be the third he’s passed me since my arrival.  Part of an ongoing tradition of artistic projects involving hallucinogens, In Bloom will always at least involve marijuana, but the artist is open to using LSD, mushrooms, salvia, peyote, even datura, a tropical flower that is stronger than LSD.

David said, “For being able to manifest the spiritual being or at least relax and let it happen, a good catalyst is any kind of mind altering substance just because it’s new to you.”

He adds, “It’s kind of like a playground. It destroys the walls of reality and lets you revel in the fleeting moments in which we exist.  There is nothing besides the moment you are in, and if you play a ‘wrong note,’ who cares? The moment and the note are gone.”

David cleared his throat and leaned in closer to me and almost in a whisper, said “You rely on your intuition because you have nothing besides yourself at any given moment.”  It’s as if his LSD trip has made him into a neo-hippie shaman.

Hallucinogens and improvisation are not the primary motivations of this project, though.  David finds the beauty of In Bloom in the recording process.  “It isn’t so much about the aesthetics of the recording or a final outcome that is very polished and clean. The idea is just to be able to keep a record of ideas that people are expressing. Musical ideas, new musical ideas.”

David passionately speaks about his frustrations with the music industry, especially in its current state.  “I want to create a flow of musical ideas that may be utilized by musicians.  I feel we’ve gotten to a point where the material that we have has been recycled so much that everything sounds the same. I want to provide a collection of ideas coming from whoever wishes to express them.”

Everything produced during the In Bloom sessions will be posted on the internet, with no claim to ownership.  He hopes to encourage sampling by other artists and musicians.

“I’m trying to create a library of new ideas, made by anybody who feels so inclined, that anybody may listen to and will have the fucking right to use.”

By Ashley Pierce at Emmanuel College

NEWBURYPORT — At times, living in the city can take a toll on almost anyone’s mental health. From the noise, dirty air and visions of cement in every corner, it’s easy to yearn for refuge away from the chaos.

For those living in Boston, it’s sometimes hard to remember that it’s a city within an entire region that is New England; a region known for it’s natural beauty, rich history and many tourist attractions.

However, you don’t have to travel far, or even go out of state for a New England experience. A mere forty-minute drive up interstate 95 is the only thing separating you from saving your sanity from inner-city blues.

Or if you don’t have a car in the city, like me, the Commuter Rail runs directly to the city’s train station from North Station.

Photo Credit: Tripadvisor

Newburyport, only 35 miles north of Boston, is the perfect coastal destination escape. Though anytime of year looks beautiful in this North Shore town, the fall is perhaps the most perfect time for a drive up. To some, the drive may be worth the whole trip.

If you prefer the scenic route, take the exit before Newburyport, exit 53-b, Rowley. From there, route 133 East will lead to you route 1A- a quiet and winding road, dotted with colonial homes, radiant orange and crimson hued foliage, alternating with landscapes of salt marshes and small boatyards along the river.

You know you will have reached Newburyport when the Colonial houses become more numerous, closer together, and larger in size, with 18th century old cemeteries appearing in-between.

While the smallest city in Massachusetts has a lot of history to offer, it also has a great natural resource to escape to.

Maudslay State Park is a state reservation of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the former home of the late Mosely family estate.

Though the park is beautiful during any season, autumn is especially flattering. With paths winding through rolling meadows and shadowy forests, stretching all the way to the Merrimack river-such natural elements make it a leaf peeper’s paradise.

As we walked the perimeter of the park, I found that not only was I enjoying nature at its finest, but I was getting a work out as well.

After our “cardio session” in the park, I appeared to work up quite an appetite. So, we packed up the car and headed downtown, to the heart and charm of the city.

While walking along the red-bricked sidewalks of High street, it was clear that there was no shortage of places to grab some grub. We were even suggested by a local to get a lobster roll at Bob Lobster, just outside downtown, for a real taste of New England flavor.
However, one glimpse at “Agave Mexican Bistro,” had me persuaded that burritos or fajitas could be the only cure to my insatiable appetite.

I thought it most logical to order the fajitas, since it was almost guaranteed to be a decent portion. I was mistaken. “Decent” was an understatement.

My plate was heaping of yellow rice, refried beans, sautéed peppers and onions, perfectly seasoned chicken, guacamole with notes of cilantro (which I’m partial to) and their -not too mild, not to spicy-house salsa; all accompanied with soft flour tortillas, perfectly warmed.

I ate most of it, with the exception of a single flour tortilla and small clumps of rice and beans.

We skipped dessert and instead washed our meals down with one of their tasty libations. Though the menu offered up to six different flavors of margaritas and 70 varieties of tequila (all along shelves back dropped by a cascading waterfall), I decided to go with the house sangria priced at six dollars, while my “research partner” went with a bottle of “Negra Modelo”, a Mexican beer with hints of honey.

After we paid our bill, which ended up to be a little pricey for our college budgets, we headed back to the car with our bellies full.

On our walk back, we peeked in the windows of the quaint boutiques and coffee shops until we came across one selling products of our interest: wine and beer. As we walked in the door of “Grand Trunk Imports”, the smell of artisanal cheese alerted us that alcohol wasn’t the only product sold here.

As we surveyed the various types of wines from all over Europe, we ended up at the grandiose beer selection, which included brews from local and European breweries. We ended up choosing “hoptimus prime”, a dark, hoppy brew, which tasted as good as the name was clever.

Jeremy, co-owner, along with his wife, offered us a taste of cave-aged cheddar, a hundred times more delicious than the grocery store offerings. He pointed us to the glass case, filled with a considerable variety of cheeses ranging from camembert to gruyere to manchego, all imported from all over Europe.

Although we only ended up purchasing the beer, we thanked Jeremy and left the charmingly rustic looking store, and headed back to the city to toast to a great day, with our new, delicious brew.

By Kelly J. DeSisto at Emmanuel College

Chelsea Pingree, an Emmanuel College graduate, has done what many students believe to be the unthinkable. Thanks to her enthusiasm for the community, Chelsea has managed to find a job and advocate for humanity all at the same time.

From job applications to finding the right masters program, expected graduates are focused solely on how they will find a job, pay off their loans, and avoid living on the streets. For charity to be on a graduating student’s mind is hard to come by.

To delay entering the “real world,” Chelsea’s initial plan was to get a Master’s degree in mathematical finance at Boston University. Lacking the drive for these topics, however, left Chelsea even farther from where she wanted to be.

“Graduate school can be miserable if you aren’t passionate about what you’re studying and I found out that I was not at all passionate about mathematical finance.  I finished the semester and left.”

Prior to leaving BU, Chelsea had already started looking for a job.  “I was really lucky that the publishing company I had interned with in 2008 was hiring” said Chelsea.

She had what every recent college grad wanted – a job. But was that the end of Chelsea’s adjustment into the real world? With a strong faith in Christianity and a need to advocate for victims of injustice, Chelsea identified with more than her newfound means of income.

Photo Credit: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizaion

Chelsea had redefined the typical graduate’s self-fulfilling goals. Not through her job, but through her selfless work with the community.

For three years, Chelsea has continued to volunteer with “School of Peace” – a program through a Christian-based organization called the Community of Sant’ Egidio that helps underprivileged children with academic and social struggles.

But why does she do it? Isn’t a full time job enough for a recent college grad?

Not for Chelsea. During her senior year at Emmanuel, Chelsea had wanted to create a service-based internship to accompany her Catholic Studies major. After asking around, she finally found two volunteer opportunities; one of them being “School of Peace”. She volunteered every Saturday for the first semester of her senior year and, “come second semester I knew I couldn’t leave the kids I work with at ‘School of Peace’ and I have been there ever since.”

If that’s not enough, Chelsea also participates in other Sant’ Egidio Community outings such as visiting elderly friends at a nursing home in Cambridge and gathering for prayer and reflection with others who advocate for humanity. She reflects on her experience with the community and says, “I have made many wonderful friends who have turned out to be some of the most kind, generous, and genuine people I know.”

The everyday college graduate has trouble imagining his or her free time consumed by working towards the greater good of society. For Chelsea, however, helping those in need had some benefits.  “Working with the kids at ‘School of Peace’ gave me a lot of confidence.  For a long time I had considered myself to be kind of a shy person, but shyness doesn’t really fly at the School of Peace.  In my first year I realized how easy it could be to start a friendship.”

For Chelsea, community service has become more than a hobby. Looking towards the future, she also plans on going back to graduate school for theology, a forte for this Emmanuel alum.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — Rumors have been spreading that the National Weather Service (NWS) is getting rid of wind chill values, which describe how cold it feels with wind factored in.

The truth is NWS offices in the Dakotas and Minnesota are not eliminating wind chills; they are changing the way they warn the public about extreme, dangerous cold.

In the past, the NWS issued Wind Chill Watches and Warnings when wind chill values were expected to fall below a certain level.

The problem the NWS encountered was when extreme cold was predicted in the absence of wind, it did not have a warning product that could be issued.

“On clear nights when the wind goes calm and we have deep snow cover, that is when we get our coldest temperatures in North Dakota. It can get down to minus 30 or minus 40,” said John Paul Martin, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Bismarck, N.D.

“We didn’t have a product for a warning for that,” Martin continued. “Now we’re using Extreme Cold Watches and Warnings instead, which are all-encompassing. If it’s 30 below or colder, either air temperature or wind chill, we’ll issue a warning.”

The NWS will still include wind chills in their reports and daily forecasts. However, in cases when dangerous cold is predicted, they will issue an Extreme Cold Watch or Warning rather than a Wind Chill Watch, Warning or Advisory.

The NWS Weather Forecast Office in Bismarck has more details on the changes and the new Extreme Cold Watches and Warnings.

“To me, as a meteorologist, if it’s 30 below, wind chill or air temperature, it’s dangerously cold, and a warning should be issued,” Martin stated. “People need to be aware of it.”

Another issue the Dakotas and Minnesota face is that they are some of the coldest states in the country and deal with subzero cold quite frequently throughout the winter.

“The problem is we tend to issue a lot of wind chill advisories,” explained Chris Franks, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. “The goal is to reduce the number of ‘cold headlines’ we have out and to make the product stronger so that if we do issue a warning, it will be for exceptional events… the most dangerous.”

Extreme Cold Watches and Warnings are Experimental

“It’s an experiment, and we’re looking for feedback,” said Martin. “Typically, experiments run for several years, but it depends on the feedback. My hope is that the feedback is positive, because this is the direction I think the National Weather Service needs to be moving in.”

Several NWS offices in Montana have expressed interest in switching over to Extreme Cold Watches and Warnings as well, but this change would not take effect until next winter at the earliest.

Criteria for the watches and warnings would vary region by region, depending on climatology. For example, states in the southern U.S. would likely have much lower criteria, perhaps zero or 10 degrees below zero, for a warning to be issued than northern states, where residents are more acclimated to extreme cold.

AccuWeather.com provides its own measure of how cold it feels with the wind factored in, and that is through AccuWeather.com RealFeel temperatures. RealFeel temperatures are given on our local forecast pages, which can be accessed by entering your city and state in the search box at the top of this page.

Story by Heather Buchman, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist.

Whoops?

We haven’t seen the pictorial yet, but someone leaked the cover of Lindsay Lohan’s issue of Playboy, showing her naked, straddling the famous bunny logo.

The legally troubled actress was paid a fortune to bare it all for Playboy, but her mother, Dina, has promised that the spread will be “tasteful” and will not show full-frontal nudity.

Lindsay graces the cover of the January/February 2012 issue of the magazine, and we’re sure that curiosity will drive sales.

MARLBOROUGH — The Better Business Bureau issued an urgent SCAM alert cautioning businesses and consumers about an email that looks like it is from BBB, with the subject line “Complaint from your customers.”

This e-mail is fraudulent. BBB warns you to ignore its contents and delete it immediately. If you have already clicked on a link in the e-mail, run a full virus scan of your computer.

The e-mails have return addresses that BBB does not use (one example is riskmanager@bbb.org) and it is signed with the address of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the national office of the BBB system. The e-mail contains a link to a non-BBB web site. Do NOT click on the link.

BBB is working with law enforcement to determine its source and stop the fraudulent campaign.  http://www.bbb.org/us/article/ALERT-Malicious-Complaint-Email-Claiming-Its-From-BBB-30916

Not a lot of heavy favorites this week. Pittsburgh is only giving four against Cinci, and Baltimore is giving 6.5 against the lowly Seahawks. Green Bay is up 13 on the Vikings, no surprise.

Several games are too close to make any real predictions, but look for Buffalo and Tennessee to surprise.

Philadelphia is a good pick if you need a dinner in a pick’em league. Avoid Chicago/Detroit and Miami/Washington. Click here for more.

Date & Time Favorite Line Underdog Total
11/13 1:00 ET Pittsburgh -4 At Cincinnati 41
11/13 1:00 ET At Kansas City -3 Denver 41.5
11/13 1:00 ET Jacksonville -3 At Indianapolis 37.5
11/13 1:00 ET At Dallas -5.5 Buffalo 48
11/13 1:00 ET Houston -3.5 At Tampa Bay 45.5
11/13 1:00 ET At Carolina -3.5 Tennessee 46.5
11/13 1:00 ET At Miami -4 Washington 37.5
11/13 1:00 ET At Atlanta PK New Orleans 50
11/13 4:15 ET At Chicago -2.5 Detroit 43.5
11/13 1:00 ET At Cleveland -2.5 St. Louis 37
11/13 1:00 ET At Philadelphia -14 Arizona 46.5
11/13 4:05 ET Baltimore -6.5 At Seattle 41
11/13 4:15 ET At San Francisco -3.5 NY Giants 42.5
11/13 8:30 ET At NY Jets -2 New England 47

Monday Night Football Line

11/14 8:35 ET At Green Bay -13 Minnesota 51

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather – A powerful storm that resembles a hurricane with snow, a “snowicane”, continues to pound western Alaska. “The potentially historic ‘superstorm’… is making ‘landfall’ in Alaska today with a pressure equivalent to a Category 4 Hurricane,” said AccuWeather.com’s Jesse Ferrell.

Part of this fierce storm will dive into the contiguous United States on Friday, once again revving up the Northwest’s storm train.

“For people in the Bering Sea region, including shipping and fishing interests, this is considered to be a life-threatening storm situation,” warned Accuweather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

The powerful storm is unleashing damaging winds, blizzard conditions, huge waves and coastal flooding. A 7-foot storm surge hit Nome, Alaska with water reportedly reaching the base of buildings. There have also been reports of roofs in Nome being blown off.

One incredibly impressive observation with this storm came from a coastal station that measured ice accretion of 23.5 inches per hour Tuesday night, according to Ferrell, who has more statistics on this historic storm in his blog.

AccuWeather.com International Expert Meteorologist Jim Andrews has never seen worse conditions at the Tin City Military Airport, Alaska, than that was observed overnight Tuesday.

For more than six consecutive hours, persistent Category 1-hurricane wind gusts slammed the military airport. The winds peaked at 85 mph at 4 a.m. EST.

The worst of the storm will continue to pound northwestern Alaska, including Nome, today before shifting to southwestern Alaska tonight.

A piece of the storm will also move into the Gulf of Alaska tonight before delivering a shot of rain and mountain snow to the Alaska Panhandle, including Juneau.

The storm will then drop through the Northwest Friday into Friday night with a quick shot of disruptive snow for the mountain passes, low-elevation rain and gusty winds.

Friday’s storm will actually mark the start of a parade of Northwest storms.

Numerous storms will follow the first into the Northwest through next week.

The details of each will unfold in the upcoming days, but it appears to AccuWeather.com meteorologists that snow levels will progressively drop as each storm swings through into the middle of next week.

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com. AccuWeather.com meteorologist Heather Buchman also reported on this story.

If you’re looking for a guaranteed winner in a pick’em league, don’t sleep on Dallas coming back to beat Seattle after last week’s embarrassment against the Eagles. Houston should also make short work of Cleveland if you’re looking for a safer bet.

What’s not so safe is Oakland. Even at home, a seven point favorite seems high considering their recent performance and coming off a bye week.

Stay away from the Buffalo/NY Jets game and don’t be surprised if there’s a surprise when the Bengals face the Titans at home with Tennessee a 2.5 point favorite. Head over to your favorite online sportsbook like TopBet.com for more information.

Here are the lines this week:

Date & Time Favorite Line Underdog Total
11/6 1:00 ET Atlanta -6.5 At Indianapolis 45.5
11/6 1:00 ET At New Orleans -8.5 Tampa Bay 51
11/6 1:00 ET At Houston -10.5 Cleveland 41
11/6 1:00 ET At Buffalo -2.5 NY Jets 45
11/6 1:00 ET At Kansas City -4 Miami 40.5
11/6 1:00 ET San Francisco -4.5 At Washington 37.5
11/6 1:00 ET At Dallas -11 Seattle 45
11/6 4:05 ET At Oakland -7 Denver 42
11/6 4:05 ET At Tennessee -2.5 Cincinnati 41.5
11/6 4:15 ET At Arizona -3 St. Louis 41.5
11/6 4:15 ET At New England -9 NY Giants 51
11/6 4:15 ET Green Bay -5.5 At San Diego 51
11/6 8:30 ET At Pittsburgh -3 Baltimore 42

Monday Night Football Line

11/7 8:35 ET At Philadelphia -7.5 Chicago 47

NEW YORK — Due to circumstances beyond their control, HE IS WE has canceled the remainder of their dates supporting All Time Low.

The band will be pulling off the tour effective immediately in order for vocalist Rachel Taylor to be treated for medical reasons.

“First and foremost, our main concern is for Rachel to get the treatment that she needs to get back in 100p percent health so she can get back on the road and play for fans again,” said manager Jeff Levin.

Last night’s performance in Iowa City was the band’s last show on the All Time Low tour.

Taylor’s health problems were not disclosed.

J.Lo Rules the World…or worlds, really: TV, music, movies, beauty, fashion—you know, kind of everything, and Glamour has honored her as a 2011 Woman of the Year. In the issue, Jane Fonda talks to her friend Jennifer Lopez about life, love and learning from her hugest year yet. Glamour’s December issue is available on newsstands nationwide and digitally (iPad and Barnes & Noble Nook Color) on November 8. Also, keep an eye out next week for a complete list of Glamour’s 2011 Women of the Year winners.

Photographed by Matthias Vriens-McGrath in Los Angeles, Jennifer Lopez appears on Glamour’s December cover wearing a red bustier by Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony, pants and a Swarovski crystal anchor necklace by Salvatore Ferragamo, a Michael Kors gold necklace, Verdura gold bracelet, two Chanel Fine Jewelry gold, black onyx, and diamond bracelets, a Lorraine Schwartz white gold diamond bracelet, a Verdura gold, platinum, and diamond wide link bracelet and a Pomellato rose gold and diamond bracelet. Inside the issue, J.Lo wears a Salvatore Ferragamo bandeau top, an Enza Costa tank and a Chris Benz skirt.

From her interview:

…on the possibility of a new relationship out of the public eye:

“I think to give something a chance, to really get to know somebody, you want to do it out of the public eye. You know the media—they want to rush everything.”

…on her style:

“The things I liked when I was, like, 16 and in the Bronx—jeans, cut-up T-shirts—I still like. But I’ve been exposed to so much now from traveling the world and seeing couture clothes. I used all of that when I created my new line for Kohl’s. My style has come from everything, from where I started to where I am today.”

…on what she’s learned about love and relationships:

“I think I’ve finally learned the biggest lesson of all. You’ve got to love yourself first. You’ve got to be OK on your own before you can be OK with somebody else. You’ve got to value yourself and know that you’re worth everything. And until you value yourself enough and love yourself enough to know that, you can’t really have a healthy relationship.”

(ARA) – As the days grow shorter and temperatures drop, it’s time to prepare your vehicle for the unfavorable road conditions to come. Addressing a few key issues before winter arrives can save you significant hassle and cost. To protect one of your most valuable investments, follow these tips to shield your vehicle from the elements and avoid winter-related damages.

Protect your paint

The majority of drivers are aware of at least one scratch or chip in their vehicles’ paint. Unfortunately, many will not repair these small damages before they rust and become serious issues. A scratch can rust in just 30 days, and snow, ice and freezing temperatures can accelerate and intensify the damage.

Luckily, you can easily avoid a costly repair and restore your vehicle to its original finish with Dupli-Color’s Scratch Fix 2in1. This affordable, easy-to-use touch-up paint offers two applicators – a roller ball for small scratches and a taper brush for larger scratches. As simple as painting your nails, you can repair and protect any exposed metal in minutes, and Dupli-Color’s exact-match colors guarantee a seamless finish. Right now, for each person who finds their vehicle’s color code and enters it online, Dupli-Color will donate $1 to Meals On Wheels for their “Find Your Color, Help Another” initiative.

Vision

Winter weather can reduce visibility, so a clear windshield is extremely important to prevent accident damage. To make certain you have an unobstructed view of the road at all times, examine the defroster system and windshield wipers. Replace any old or cracked blades, and don’t forget your rear wiper. If you live in an area that sees heavy winter precipitation, consider rubber winter blades to avoid ice build-up and provide optimal clearing. Stock up on winter windshield fluid and keep a bottle of de-icing spray in your car to reduce the need to scrape. Check all vehicle lights to make sure your night vision is equally clear, and replace any dim or dead bulbs.

Tires

One of the most essential aspects of vehicle winterization is making sure you have a safe grip on the road. Quality tires help keep your vehicle secure, especially in slippery rain or snow conditions, and inadequate tires will not be effective. Inspect your tire tread and pressure (an auto shop can do this for you) and replace worn tires for optimal traction in snow and ice. If you’ve not done so recently, make sure to rotate your tires and have your brakes checked. If you live in a snow-prone or rural area, you might consider purchasing snow tires and/or chains to get through the tough conditions.

Emergency kit

In the case that something does go wrong this winter and you are stranded, make sure to keep an emergency roadside kit in your vehicle at all times. Include a flashlight and batteries, road flares, a heavy blanket, jumper cables, bottled water and nutrition bars. Keep a charged cell phone with you at all times and check weather conditions before traveling extended distances or into rural areas. You may also benefit from roadside service, particularly if you are traveling alone or long distances.

With a little preparation, your vehicle will be ready for winter and you can avoid any unnecessary issues. Use these tips to make sure your travels are safe, comfortable and without issue this season.

Law enforcement websites and Internet services, including those used by the Boston Police Department came under attack yesterday by members of a hacker group called Anonymous.

In a statement released by the group taking credit for the hack, the group claims “solidarity with occupation movement and anti-police brutality protesters.”

“In solidarity with the Occupation Movement and the International Day of Action Against Police Brutality, [we] aim at the corrupt bootboys of the 1 pecent: the police,” the statement read.

The group claimed that it “hacked, defaced, and destroyed several law enforcement targets, leaking over 600MB of private information including internal documents, membership rosters, addresses, passwords, social security numbers, and other confidential data.” It also claimed to take down at least 40 police-related websites.

The group attacked multiple Boston police websites. Most notable, Anonymous hacked the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association website and its web-based email portal, posting the names, email addresses, and email passwords of nearly 1,000 Boston police officers on the Internet for all to see.

In the statement, Anonymous said it attacked BPD sites in response to “the unprovoked mass arrests and brutality experienced by those at Occupy Boston.”

“Let this be a warning to BPD and police everywhere: future acts of aggression against our movements will be met with a vengeance so epic and relentless that your children’s children will puke at the sight of swine,” the statement read.

The International Association of Chief of Police website, IACP.org was targeted. The website was down and unreachable early this morning.

Anonymous also took aim at MatrixGroup.net, the website of Matrix Group International, which Internet services for government agencies. The Matrix website would also not load at press time.

In perhaps the most serious security breach, Anonymous hacked Birmingham / Jefferson County, Ala. police websites, releasing the names, addresses, and social security numbers of nearly 1,000 police officers.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather — A number of sizable dust storms, ongoing drought and intense heat this past summer have many wondering if another Dust Bowl is in the works.

The Dust Bowl Era was a series of drought years spanning the early and middle 1930s, which was made worse by wind storms that blew away a large amount of topsoil on the Great Plains.

The most recent dust storm in Lubbock, Texas, along with other large storms near Tucson, Ariz. in early October and the haboobs in Phoenix during July, to name a few, certainly are signs of the times.

Much of the region has been in the throws of a drought since last fall. Phoenix only receives an average of 8.50 inches of rain per year. However, as dry is the place normally is, only 4.50 inches of rain has fallen since October 1, 2010.

Lubbock has received only about 30 percent of their normal rainfall since Oct. 1, 2010, which is a mere 6 inches or so, compared to a normal of 20.50 inches.

The AccuWeather.com and the National Weather Service winter forecast outlooks are not good for the region in terms of rainfall. Both are projecting below-normal precipitation in a nutshell from Arizona eastward to Texas and northward into the southern Plains.

Two rainfall prospects over the next week seem to be drying up before they even arrive.

However, Expert Agricultural Meteorologist Dale Mohler points out that it may not be quite as dry as last winter in the region.

“The indication is that while a La Nina is in the making, it may not be as strong, nor as long lasting, as last year,” Mohler said.

That could mean a few attempts at rain for the region. Rain was nearly non-existent in much of the area last winter.

This winter, there will be storms that pass north of the southern Plains and Southwest, which periodically kick up wind and dust. These episodes can lead to brief low visibility for ground travel and will raise the risk of the spread of wildfires.

However, even if these storms bring little or no rain to the region, we should not see the vast expanse of the 1930s dust storms returning.

Moisture will be plentiful over the central and northern Plains this winter. In fact, much of the northern Plains is forecast to have harsh cold, rather than unusual warmth.

Modern agricultural techniques in southern areas such as irrigation and cover crops mitigate the loss of water due to evaporation and the loss of soil due to wind.

“If the La Nina is weaker and of shorter duration than last year, there is a chance of the return of substantial rain next spring in Texas and the southern Plains,” Mohler said.

Rainfall during the early and middle 1950s was well below normal in many areas of Texas.

According to AccuWeather.com Forensics, in Lubbock, every year from 1950 through 1955 brought below-normal rainfall and had a cumulative effect.

The current drought and warmth have so far lasted just a little over a year. However, it has been much more intense than during much of the 1950s era with well-below-average rainfall and well-above-average warmth.

There has been one to several inches of rain in recent weeks in a large part of Texas and the southern Plains.

“The rain has come in time for the planting of winter wheat on the southern Plains,” Mohler said.

“However, the status of pastureland grasses remains poor in Texas and Oklahoma,” Mohler added.

Much more rain is needed on a regular basis to green-up the pastureland, begin filling reservoirs, and replenish the water supply.

All it would take is a couple of big, wet storms over winter to get the ball rolling in the right direction.

According to AccuWeather.com Long Range Expert Paul Pastelok, “While anything is possible over the winter, we just do not see a pattern very favorable for the type of rain that is needed in much of the region.”

“We cannot say for sure what the next year or next several years will bring,” Pastelok added.

While black and white images of mass migration during the 1930s Dust Bowl Era are not likely to be repeated, more hardship for agriculture in the region may be ahead.

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

Three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston flips to the other side of the law as the voice of Lieutenant James Gordon in the animated retelling of Frank Miller’s landmark comic in “Batman: Year One,” the next entry in the series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated feature was released today on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats.

Cranston earned Emmy Award nominations in three of his seven years as the lovable, goofy father on “Malcolm in the Middle.” It took a shift toward the dark side as chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White in AMC’s “Breaking Bad” to start a record-tying run as only the second actor in history to score three consecutive Emmy wins.

As Gordon, Cranston gets to find a middle ground between his two best known roles – providing a moral center for the gritty tale of two men striving to bring their own idea of justice to an unjust world.

Cranston is joined in the stellar voice cast by Ben McKenzie (“Southland”) as Batman, Eliza Dushku (“Dollhouse,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) as Detective Sarah Essen. Alex Rocco (“The Godfather”) is the voice of crime lord Carmine Falcone.

Following his initial recording session for “Batman: Year One,” Cranston had the chance to discuss his thoughts on initially turning down the role of Jim Gordon, his love of the inner monologue, the inward journey afforded by comic books, his chances of one-day playing a certain Edwrd Nigma opposite a live-action Dark Knight, and much more.

QUESTION: You were Warner Bros. first choice for the role of Jim Gordon, but the feeling wasn’t mutual – you initially declined. What made you change your mind?

BRYAN CRANSTON: I always talk about the writing – I’ve gotten to a point in my career where I don’t want to just take a job, I want to be part of great storytelling. I always say that I don’t care if it’s a children’s play, I’ll do it so long as it’s great writing. I’ve done some animation work and, quite frankly, I haven’t loved all of it. So when they first offered this to me, I turned it down. I didn’t want to do something that I just assumed was goofy or cartoony.

Fortunately, my representatives convinced me that I needed to give this material a fair shake – and I’m so glad they did. I had no idea that animation could have such depth and sophistication. This is adult storytelling, handled in intrinsically adult ways. It’s interesting and thoughtful and dark and nothing that I thought I’d find in an animated script.

Jim Gordon is trying to find his moral center. He keeps getting shot down. He doesn’t want to work in this hellhole of a city, hated by his fellow cops, hated by his superiors. His wife is pregnant and he’s conflicted about bringing a child into this troubled world. He’s on an island. I was really surprised – in a good way. This script was well-written, unpredictable, good storytelling. And so I happily ate my hat because I’m so glad they forced me to read it.

QUESTION: The name in the film’s title is Batman, but this is just as much Jim Gordon’s story, isn’t it?

BC: What I was first attracted to in reading Batman: Year One was that James Gordon actually is the star. That’s the way I look at it, anyway. That was really unexpected, especially the way he’s portrayed. My first experience with Batman was through the comics, but the Batman television series really had an impact. So I thought, “Oh, Gordon’s an old Irishman with that big, thick over-the-top brogue.” But there was no comic book silliness – there were twists and turns, darkness and light, and truly human mistakes that I’d never anticipated. And it’s as much Jim Gordon’s story as it is a story about Batman’s origins.

QUESTION: So is this your chance to finally put that education in police work to use?

BC: (laughs) In thinking about James Gordon, basically I used my own background. I went to college to become a police officer. There’s a certain similar decorum that all police officers have – it’s a skepticism and a curiosity and a bit of cynicism, too. And what I found in reading the script was that all those elements seem to be in place for the character. So all I wanted to do is to bring out that sensibility and make him real. He has to be a real guy, someone you believe could be this police officer, in order for you to accept the plight and the dismay that he’s going through, and trying to do the right thing in a city that is surrounded by corruption.

QUESTION: So all that time on Malcolm In The Middle, playing that great dad, you really were just waiting for some truly dark roles to present themselves?

BC: Malcolm In The Middle was a great seven years. We had a great time. And I think what made that story work is that at the core you had a real family that was striving to do the right thing. And when you look at what Gordon is to Batman: Year One, he is a guy who’s still striving to do the right thing. Anytime you have that, an audience will even allow you to do the wrong thing if they know that you’re trying to do the right thing. So they’ve got you. It’s like they know that, at the core, you’re a good person, and that’s what he is. So when an issue comes up that forces him to walk a fine line between what is right and what is wrong, and certain things pull him in one direction or the other, the audience empathizes with his struggle. That makes it interesting.

QUESTION: What makes Batman an interesting character to you?

BC: As a character, Batman is someone who has a righteousness about him. And yet, it’s not pure. He is a vigilante. He’s taking matters into his own hands. So you could say that he’s doing good things, but I don’t know that you could say he’s a good guy because of the manner that he approaches his actions. That’s what always makes characters more interesting, that they walk the line of good and bad.

QUESTION: Was there any element of the script that you particularly enjoyed?

BC: I didn’t have any particular favorite lines or scenes, but what I really appreciated about doing Lieutenant Gordon was the inner monologue. I don’t remember having (a role) that had that kind of sensibility that allows the character to be honest and open, vulnerable, and let the audience then determine if they’re welcome into this man’s soul or not. So that was probably my favorite part – to be able to have that running inner monologue going on, which I find fascinating.

QUESTION: What’s your take on comic books?

BC: To a kid growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, comic books were pretty much one of the only written material that was a diversion for kids. There were three television stations, and movies were few and far between as far as access to them. So you’d get together with your friends and you’d open up comic books when you got tired of playing football in the street, or baseball or whatever. And then you’d allow your imagination to go and to wonder. And the great thing about comic books is that it allows the reader to be his or her own art director. You can see a glimpse of Gotham behind in the tall buildings and you start to imagine the heights of the building, Batman looking down. And when he swoops down, you put that all into your head and fill in the blanks. Sometimes in the comic books, it appeared to me like it was like an impressionistic painting. Where (you thought), “What’s that in background? I can’t quite make out what that is, but it feels real.” So you fill in the blanks, and that makes it more interesting and like you’re a part of the storytelling itself.

QUESTION: Must you take a different acting approach when playing a real-life individual or a fictional icon – as opposed to a character specifically written for the page?

BC: Yes. You approach each character with a little different idea of how and what you need to shape him. I played Buzz Aldrin in From The Earth To The Moon about the Apollo project for HBO, and that I did approach differently. This is a real person, an American hero, a worldwide hero, and he’s still alive. And there’s something in the back of your head that says, “I really want him to be proud of this. I want him, above all else, to be able to say that I gave an honest depiction of the sensibility of what was going on then and who I was at that time.” I think that’s, in a sense, the same when working with an iconic figure like Jim Gordon in Batman: Year One. Everybody has a pretty good idea of Gordon – who he is and how he sounds – so you can’t go too far against that grain. You need to be in the ballpark. He’s an established character, but the script will give you a good idea of how far you can stretch here or there.

QUESTION: There are a few fan sites spreading a rumor that you’re going be the The Riddler at one point or another in a live-action Batman film. Any truth in these rumors?

BC: I would love to be able to jump into a character like that – whole hog – and play The Riddler. That would be fun. Although I haven’t been lobbying for that, and there’s a certain part of me that is really fatalistic about (rumors like) that. It’s like, if it’s supposed to happen, then it’s supposed to happen. But I can only say that I’d be interested in playing something like that and see how it turns out.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — AccuWeather.com — Whipping winds will threaten more dust storms and fires across Texas through the middle of this week.

Gusts greater than 40 mph across much of Texas will follow a potent cold front, keeping the threat high for these dangers. The howling winds will help pick up dust due to the bone-dry conditions gripping the Lone Star state.

Respiratory problems can result from blowing dust, especially for sensitive groups such as people with asthma.

Blowing dust could suddenly reduce the visibility below a quarter of a mile to near zero at times, creating a very dangerous situation for motorists.

Pictures and videos from the Lubbock Dust Storm on Monday show how significantly and quickly the visibility can drop in these nasty dust storms.

Meanwhile, travel will be tricky at times even without blowing dust for high profile vehicles such as campers and semi-trucks. The highest wind gusts could topple these vehicles.

With low humidity and high winds, the conditions will be ripe for wildfires through the middle of the week. Hard hit central Texas, burnt by destructive wildfires such as the Bastrop Fire, is in the heart of the fire threat area.

Winds will be strong enough to down tree branches onto power lines, heightening the risk of grass and brush fires.

By Meghan Evans, meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

LED Lights: Changing the world around you

If you haven’t noticed them yet, than chances are you are going to. LED lights are becoming more and more popular and are gradually being used in a variety of uses. This state of the art lighting technology is being utilized in both traditional auto lights as well as some intriguing and innovative custom mounted lighting. Despite the fact that many people still believe that LEDs are far more expensive than traditional lighting, these remarkable, small, and light weight bulbs are nearly the same price as most conventional bulbs, yet they come with some strikingly different features.

The fact is, LED lighting is a technology that is moving in remarkable directions. Already it is possible to get LED products that not just include automobile bulbs, but also accent lighting light strips, and there are LED lights that can now be bought as replacements for standard screw-in incandescent or the recent compact florescent bulbs.

There are many benefits to using the LED light, including long term cost and a reduction of energy expense. When using an incandescent bulb the energy cost over its life time will exceed the initial purchase price by 5 to 10 times. Compact fluorescent lights uses 75% less energy than standard bulbs, and last 6x longer. However, the LED light lasts 10 longer than the compact fluorescent and because they are solid and do not have filaments they are more durable. This stability will enable these lights to far out last any standard light available on the market. With the cost moving more in line with traditional lighting, and the additional durability and efficiency LEDs actually become a far cheaper alternative.

In addition to their cost, efficiency, and durability, these lights are also mercury free and do not cause the dreaded heat buildup. When using standard lighting there are some limitations regarding placement and usability with some materials, whereas LEDs enable you to have greater flexibility with design, color, and construction.

What some may also not realize as well is these lights are also capable of having some other amazing qualities besides illumination. If used properly some LEDs have the ability to be used for something as exotic as photo detection. Utilizing this aspect a product could be crafted such as an LED display that could feature a controlling display.

Although it has become a very popular bulb, and is beginning to be seen more in homes and contemporary flashlights, recently the most stylish way to use LED lights has been in creatively lighting automobiles. The flexibility and ease of use has contributed to a number of amazing and attractive uses from mood lighting inside your car, the futuristic glow from under a sports car, or giving your motorcycle a cool blue edge. As the cost continues to drop on these astonishing and versatile lights the world will no doubt begin to see more intriguing uses that will endlessly amaze us.

Eliza Dushku has become Catwoman.

The star of “Dollhouse” and “Tru Calling,” and of course “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Dushku provided the voice of Selina Kyle/Catwoman for “Batman: Year One,” the next entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original movies. A few short months later, Dushku was quick to accept a return to the role as the title character of the DC Showcase animated short Catwoman.

We interviewed Dushku in 2009 when she was voicing the main character in the video game Wet. Following her initial recording session, Dushku was happy to download some of her thoughts regarding a number of subjects related to Catwoman, the Batman legacy, felines, bad girls and comic books. And here’s what she had to say …

QUESTION: You seemed to easily groove into this character. Where did you go to discover who Selina Kyle is?

ELIZA DUSHKU: I found the attitude for this character deep down in the Eliza Dushku archive of bad girls (she laughs). They’re in there somehow, somewhere for some reason, and I tap into them when I need them. They’re characters with an edge. I grew up with three older brothers in Boston, and my mother was a single mom. So I spent my early years running the streets with the boys. After I fell into the film and television business, I went back to public school in Boston, and kids didn’t think it was that cool. So I had to kind of fight for my street cred. I adopted this really sort-of-hard exterior, and got in a couple fights. So by the time I graduated high school and came out to make Buffy The Vampire Slayer, it was really art imitating life. I was fighting for my life.

QUESTION: Does being part of the Batman mythology have any special significance to you?

ED: It’s incredible being part of the Batman legacy. It’s iconic. It’s Batman. I grew up with brothers and we would play Batman and Robin. Well, I would always try to get in and play, but usually they would let me join the game as some character or another, and they would immediately kill me off (laughs). So, I used to watch from afar. So now look brothers – I get to be a part of this and you don’t. (laughs hard)

QUESTION: Do you have a pet cat? How do you feel about cats?

ED: I had hobo cats growing up. We had cats that would climb up on the roof of the house. We would get them off the roof, then two nights later they would be meowing on the top of the roof again. They have little attitudes, too. I ended up with dogs, mainly, but if a cat could act like a dog and could play like a dog and can play rough, then those cats got along with me. I just don’t want house cats or Siamese cats – they’re a little too snooty for me.

QUESTION: Did you enjoy attempting to bring a comic book to animated life?

ED: I love that in the DC Comics world, the stakes are high from the get-go. A week ago, I was watching The Dark Knight. I love what they did, but it’s different from what we did for Batman: Year One and Catwoman. When you’re recreating comics, there’s different intonations and character strengths that come out. That’s what I was focused on bringing forth. It’s a little exaggerated, a little nuanced, a little more dramatic. But it’s also full of layers and seething with this very cool energy.

QUESTION: Do you enjoy voice acting?

ED: I’ve had a great time doing voiceovers. It started with videogames – the first was a Buffy The Vampire Slayer videogame – and really I did it because I thought it would be cool to have my nephews be able to play me on their videogames. They won’t talk to me right now – they’re at that stage of being a teenager – so I thought maybe we could have a connection through the videogames. I did a videogame called Wet last year that was a lot of fun. Then I have some friends over at Family Guy. And then, more and more, I’ve been sort of reaching out and peeking around to see what things are available to build my voiceover resume. It’s fun for me, and completely different from what we do in live action. Voice acting is really invigorating. It still feels like you have to bring the same amount of character and energy into the room. And then to watch it morph into the animated version is really kind of magnificent.

QUESTION: Was there anything you wanted to personally add to the character that made the experience of voicing Catwoman that much more fun?

ED: Well, I wanted to purr, and they let me purr – so that was really like getting a bit of extra credit. I wanted to get in there and really emphasize her relationship with her cats, as I think it’s very feral and very significant. And everyone was really cool about letting me play around with my ferocity.

QUESTION: What is it you enjoy most about working in this genre?

ED: I love my fanboys. Without my fanboys, so many of the projects that I’ve done wouldn’t have had the extraordinary life that they’ve enjoyed. The fanboys have been there with enthusiasm and the support, and their loyalty and their love has made this so rewarding and exciting. It makes me just want to give them more, more, more, more.

QUESTION: The Whedonverse has provided many actors for the first 16 DC Universe Animated Original Movies. What do you think makes Joss Whedon’s casts fit so nicely in the DC Universe?

ED: Joss is such a die-hard comic book fan himself that there’s a natural connection. And when you play in his worlds – worlds that are fantasy-related with all this metaphorical, deep magic going on, it sort of preps you to think the unthinkable and go places with your character that most projects don’t give you the opportunity to do.

QUESTION: Your parents are educators. Did comic books fit into place as literature in your house?

ED: My father was actually a fourth grade elementary school teacher, so we had a lot of fun with dad growing up as far as comic books and trading baseball cards. That was actually one of the things that my brothers and my father and I did together – play with action figures and Star Wars and G.I. Joes and Transformers, and trade and read comic books and baseball cards. My dad actually worked at and had a baseball card shop for a while, and he had comics in there. So comic books were definitely a huge part of my childhood.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated Batman: Year One arrives October 18 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Batman: Year One is also now available in a special download-for-purchase early window through iTunes, Xbox Live, Zune, VUDU HD Movies and Video Unlimited on the PlayStation Network & Sony Entertainment Network.

Apple’s iOS 5 is out now, promising a better user experience.

The update contains over 200 new features, including the following:

• Notifications
  • Swipe from the top of any screen to view notifications in one place with Notification Center
  • New notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen
  • View notifications from lock screen
  • Slide the notification app icon to the right on the lock screen to go directly to the app
• iMessage
• • Send and receive unlimited text, photo, and video messages with other iOS 5 users
  • Track messages with delivery and read receipts
  • Group messaging and secure encryption
  • Works over cellular network and Wi-Fi
•  Newsstand
• • Automatically organizes magazine and newspaper subscriptions on Home Screen
  • Displays the cover of the latest issue
  • Background downloads of new issues
• Reminders for managing to do lists
• • Syncs with iCloud, iCal and Outlook
  • Location-based reminders when you leave or arrive at a location for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
• Built-in support for Twitter
• • Sign-in once in Settings and tweet directly from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari and YouTube
  • Add location to any tweet
  • View twitter profile pictures and usernames in Contacts
• Camera improvements for devices with cameras
• • Double click the home button when device is asleep to bring up a camera shortcut on iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
  • Volume Up button to take a picture
  • Optional grid lines to line up shots
  • Pinch to zoom in the preview screen
  • Swipe to camera roll from preview screen
  • Tap and hold to lock focus and exposure, iPad 2 and iPod touch (4th generation) only support exposure lock
• Photo improvements for devices with cameras
• • Crop and rotate
  • Red eye removal
  • One tap enhance
  • Organize photos into albums
• Mail improvements
• • Format text using bold, italic, or underlined fonts
  • Indentation control
  • Drag to rearrange names in address fields
  • Flag messages
  • Mass mark messages as flagged, read or unread
  • Customize mail alert sounds
  • S/MIME
• Calendar improvements
• • Year view on iPad and new Week view for iPhone and iPod touch
  • Tap to create an event
  • View and add event attachments
• Game Center improvements
• • Use personal photos for your Game Center account
  • Compare your overall achievement scores with your friends
  • Find new Game Center friends with friend recommendations and friends of friends
  • Discover new games with custom game recommendations
• AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S
•  Multitasking Gestures for iPad
• • Use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen
  • Swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar
  • Swipe left or right to switch between apps
• On-device setup, activation and configuration with Setup Assistant
• Software updates available over the air without tethering
• iCloud support
• • iTunes in the Cloud
  • Photo Stream
  • Documents in the Cloud
  • Apps and Books automatic download and purchase history
  • Backup
  • Contacts, Calendar, and Mail
  • Find My iPhone
• Redesigned Music app for iPad
• Hourly weather forecast
• Real-time stock quotes
• Wireless sync to iTunes
• Keyboard improvements
• • Split keyboard for iPad
  • Improved autocorrection accuracy
  • Improved Chinese and Japanese input
  • New Emoji keyboard
  • Personal dictionary for autocorrection
  • Optionally create keyboard short cuts for frequently used words
• Accessibility improvements
• • Option to light LED flash on incoming calls and alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4
  • Custom vibration patterns for incoming calls on iPhone
  • New interface for using iOS with mobility-impairment input devices
  • Option to speak a selection of text
  • Custom element labeling for VoiceOver
• Exchange ActiveSync improvements
• • Wirelessly sync tasks
  • Mark messages as flagged, read or unread
  •  Improved offline support
  • Save a new contact from a GAL service
• More than 1,500 new developer APIs
• Bug fixes

The update works with the iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch (3rd and 4th generations)

For information on the security content of the update, visit support.apple.com.

Warner Home Video will present the world premiere of “Catwoman,” the latest addition to the DC Showcase Animated Shorts series, as part of its DC Universe Animated panel on Friday 3-4 p.m. in the IGN Theater at New York Comic Con.

Catwoman is included in the October 18 Blu-ray/DVD release of “Batman: Year One,” the next entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

The panel includes animation legend Bruce Timm, nine-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue director Andrea Romano, and the fan favorite voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy. The panelists will discuss the Catwoman short, the upcoming release of Batman: Year One, and next spring’s release of Justice League: Doom.

The world premiere of the Justice League: Doom trailer is another New York Comic Con exclusive to be unveiled during the panel.

Catwoman/Selina Kyle is voiced by Eliza Dushku, well known for her television roles in Buffy the “Vampire Slayer,” “Tru Calling” and “Dollhouse.” The 15-minute short is penned by respected comics/animation writer Paul Dini.

The short finds Catwoman posing as an “entertainer” in a strip club to get close to black market diamond smuggler Rough Cut — who doesn’t take kindly to Catwoman’s interference in his business, leading to an all-out battle through the streets of Gotham City.

“When Alan Burnett and I first started discussing the idea of a Catwoman short, we both agreed that we wanted to make the story and the settings as adult as we could,” Dini explains. “The world of burlesque has returned in a big way to the contemporary consciousness, and that proved to be a very natural setting for this Catwoman story. At the time I wrote the initial screenplay, I didn’t know the short would be paired up with Batman: Year One, but the steamy setting that Selina inhabits in that book also proved to be ideal for the short.”

For the short, Dini created the character Rough Cut, a villain whose smuggling interests beyond diamonds catches Catwoman’s attention.

“I liked the idea of a villain who was obsessed with diamonds, but as this story takes place in the down and dirty side of Gotham, I felt the bad guy couldn’t be too glamorous,” Dini said. “I came up with the name Rough Cut both to describe the man and the kinds of crude, unfinished diamonds he pedals. There’s always a market for industrial diamonds, but lately Rough Cut has been feeling the economic pinch, so he’s smuggling more precious cargo. That’s what brings Catwoman into the picture.”

Dushku was very happy to return to her Batman: Year One role, having already taken equity in the part of Catwoman/Selina Kyle. Dushku has definitely found a clear understanding of her character’s emotional make-up.

“A lot of people are familiar with the characters I’ve played – these strong and vicious women who are, very deep down inside, really wounded women with an entirely unexpected side, so there’s nothing black and white about them,” Dushku said. “I think people identify with the characters I play because even though they do terrible things, there’s a humanity there. They’ve got lots of layers. They’re not just good or evil. Selina is a prostitute, and she’s abrasive and in your face, but she also has this maternal, protective, loyal quality to her. Her relationship with Holly is a perfect example – it shows a side you might not expect.”

Rashida Jones is Playboy’s November issue 20Q subject (issue on newsstands and on i.Playboy.com Friday with the complete interview available at www.playboy.com/jones).

In the 20Q, Rashida talks about why she doesn’t believe in marriage, growing up with Michael Jackson and how they used to drive around super soaking people at movie theatres, her close relationship with Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis as a youth, behind the scenes at Parks and Rec, why she wants to walk around nude in an Apple store, her thoughts on The Office post-Steve Carell and more.

Jones—the daughter of music mogul Quincy Jones—sat down with PlayboyContributing Editor David Hochman and discussed growing up around stars like Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis, what she would do if she were anonymous for a day, her desire to go into politics and why she believes marriage is on the outs. Following are selected quotes from the interview:

On the many famous musicians she has met: “Major musicians were definitely around, for sure. Nobody was cooler than Miles Davis. I remember his scratchy voice. Even the way he’d say ‘What’s up?’ was cool. Frank Sinatra was another supercool cat. I went to see him in Vegas as a teenager, and my sister and I were having problems getting backstage. We finally did and told Frank about it. He was like, ‘Who did you have problems with? Who do I need to talk to? I’ll take care of it.’ He was going to crack some skulls.”

On growing up the daughter of famous parents: “Look, I have parents who have accomplished so much. I have a father who came from nothing and conquered the world. The last thing I’m going to do is sit here and spend his money and try to look pretty. That’s not interesting to me at all. I’ve been acting professionally for 15 years, and I’ve had to prove myself. Someone may think, Oh, everything was handed to her, but it doesn’t work that way. The nice thing about comedy in particular is that it’s a meritocracy. Funny people aren’t going to have you around because you know other people. You have to make people laugh.”

On what she would do if she could be anonymous for one day: “Probably do something naked somewhere. Streaking through a large crowd has always been a secret fantasy of mine. Disneyland would be fun. Or maybe just showing up at the Apple Store naked and picking up an iPod shuffle and pretending like nothing was wrong or different.”

On reactions she receives while out in public: “People are mostly cool. They also sometimes misrecognize me. It’s not just the typical ‘Didn’t we go to high school together?’ which does happen. It tends to be more specific. In my 20s everyone thought I was Fiona Apple. Now I’m either the wife from “The King of Queens” or somebody on Community. But I’m not going to sit here and complain about standing out. It’s part of the fun. And in L.A. it still doesn’t matter. I call up a restaurant and say, ‘It’s Rashida Jones,’ and I still get, ‘Sorry, we don’t have another reservation for a month.’”

On attracting lots of male attention: “On New Year’s Eve this guy came up to me really drunk and was like, ‘Oh my God, I love you. This is the best night of my life. I can’t believe I’m seeing you. This is amazing.’ Then he goes, ‘What’s your name?’ So that didn’t work out. We’re not getting married.”

On why she’s not a fan of marriage: “This whole marriage-monogamy thing, in some ways, hasn’t worked for everybody. Statistically it’s pretty clear, since half of couples stay married. And then, of the people who are married, at least 25 percent have admitted to cheating. I think in the next 50 years relationships and intimate relationships will be redefined, because they have to be. I don’t know about polyamory and polygamy, but something’s going to shift. There are so many options now, so many outlets for people to meet and get together, so many distractions. I imagine we’ll get to a point where we can have meaningful relationships that are finite. We don’t get married till death do us part.”

On if she ever had sex in the White House while dating presidential speechwriter Jon Favreau: “Oh my God, no. I mean, have you been to the White House? People are sitting around watching you from every angle. They’re also, like, planning on how to keep us from economic collapse. They’re protecting our nation. They’re not having sex. Well, I mean, I know sex has occurred in the White House. Just not with me.”

On how often the cast of “Parks and Recreation” uses improv: “Often. We do something called fun runs. Once we have the scene in the can, we get an opportunity to do whatever comes into our heads. My patented move is to do a penis joke. In an episode of Parks and Rec last season, Amy Poehler’s and Adam Scott’s characters are going on a road trip together, and she wants to make it as unsexy as possible so she can avoid having feelings for him. I say, ‘Why don’t you make him a mix tape with, like, German glockenspiel music and Roosevelt’s great speeches on it?’ Then I say, ‘Why don’t you ask him about his penis?’…They ended up keeping the line in the episode.”

On her thoughts on the future of The Office without Steve Carell: “It’s still a hilarious show, but Steve definitely made it the sensation it was. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it when I first got there because Steve was just too funny. In one of the first episodes I shot, we had a crazy conference room scene in which he was doing some insane presentation and being outrageously hilarious. I cracked a couple of times and thought for sure I would get fired.”

On who makes her laugh: “Aziz Ansari is so funny, though nobody thinks he’s funnier than Aziz. He’ll ruin a take because he’s laughing at himself. I love that man. The Inappropriate Yoga Guy from YouTube is such an a**hole in the funniest way. I also love the guy behind the My Son Is Gay? video. Crazy fun.”

On her desire to run for public office someday: “I would like to. I’d love to be senator, governor or even work for a nonprofit, just to do something for the public sector. Life is long and really unpredictable, but I’d like to do a lot with the time I have. My dad told me a long time ago to live life in love and not in fear. I know that sounds really vague and hokey, but it can be applied so often. When I make decisions based in fear, they’re always wrong for me.”