Anthony Williams’s Blog

Applicants to face questions

At least eight attorneys seeking an appointment as Lenawee County probate judge were invited to a public forum Saturday in a contest for Democratic Party support.A five-member committee of the Lenawee County Democratic Party is to chose which of the known candidates to back, said party chairman Arnold Harper. After quizzing the candidates during the 8:30 a.m. Saturday forum at the Courthouse Commons building, 227 N. Winter St., Harper said the committee will meet later to make a recommendation to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The governor is to appoint a replacement to Judge Margaret M.S. Noe, who was elected to the circuit court bench on Nov. 4.Eight local attorneys known to have submitted applications with the governor’s office have been mailed invitations to participate in the forum, said Harper. The party has no formal role in the appointment, but Harper said party leaders wanted to weigh in with a recommendation to Granholm.The five members of the selection committee will ask each candidate a set of questions. The forum is open to the public and questions may be taken from the audience. Each applicant is to be questioned for a half hour, said Harper.One of the invited attorneys, Graham Teague of Adrian, has responded he has a prior commitment and cannot attend, said Harper. Others mailed invitations are former public defender Leigh Heise, assistant Lenawee County prosecutor Laura Schaedler, family court referee Kristi Drake, and private practice attorneys Grace Garno, Dale Smith, Stanley Sala and Greg Iddings, all with Adrian offices.Any other attorneys who have submitted applications to the governor’s office will be allowed to participate, Harper said. Although the probate court vacancy will not occur until Jan. 1, when Noe becomes circuit judge, the deadline has already passed for submitting applications for the appointment, said Granholm spokeswoman Tiffany Brown. She did not confirm the number or names of the applicants.“We don’t normally comment on the number of applicants or who they are,” Brown said.The governor’s office will begin reviewing the applications next month, she said. The candidates will be interviewed and rated by the Michigan Bar Association’s judicial qualifications committee. The committee’s ratings will be shared with the governor as part of her review and final selection process, said Brown.“The governor hopes to announce an appointment by spring,” she said.The appointment will be through the end of 2010. The probate judge position will be on the ballot in 2010, when voters will chose a replacement to complete the final two years of Noe’s term through 2012.Noe was appointed by Granholm in 2005 to complete the term of Judge Charles W. Jameson, who retired that year. Noe was elected to a full six-year term in 2006.

Related posts: David foster and friends, Dorothy dixon, Obama meeting with Gore raises eyebrows, John parker wilson two a days, Hyundai india

(Entertainment Weekly) — If the box office this weekend is any indication of what 2009 will be like, maybe there is a reason for some optimism.

Real world hollywood

“Marley & Me” maintained a box office lead for the second week in a row, according to studio estimates.

Thanks to Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, Brad Pitt, and even Tom Cruise, the movie theater was a big draw in the first days of the new year. The top five films were the same as last weekend, and they each dropped less than 35 percent — an impressive feat at any time of year. And overall the box office was robust, up an estimated 7 percent compared to New Year’s weekend in 2008.

It certainly horror movies helped that there was a movie for everyone at the box office: family ("Marley & Me"), drama ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), suspense ("Valkyrie"), and even a kid flick ("Bedtime Stories").

"Marley" won the No. 1 slot. Adding $24.1 million to its coffers put the pooch just where Fox wanted him, in the coveted $100 million club. The movie’s total take stands at $106.5 million and with little competition in the weeks to come, it will probably keep on climbing.

"Bedtime Stories" is also holding strong. The Adam Sandler-starrer dropped a scant 26 percent its second weekend to $20.3 million, putting its total gross at $85 million. The critics hated it, but moviegoers sure are fans.

And lucky for Paramount, the David Fincher-directed drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" seems to be holding moviegoers’ attention. Losing only 31 percent of its opening weekend gross, the lengthy — and expensive — epic is nearing the $80 million mark after two weeks in release.

Don’t Miss

The WWII epic "Valkyrie," which was widely lampooned before anyone had seen a frame of the film, has actually turned into a successful movie for the revamped MGM. Grossing an additional $14 million, the Bryan Singer-directed thriller has now earned $60.7 million in two weeks.

Rounding out the top five is Jim Carrey’s comedy "Yes Man"; an additional $13.9 million brings the Warner Bros. film’s download comedy movies earnings to $79.4 million.

Among the Oscar bait hitting theaters, Miramax’s "Doubt" and Fox Searchlight’s "Slumdog Millionaire" both hit the top ten. The Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman-starrer "Doubt," in over 1,200 theaters for the second week in a row, grossed $5 million to put its total cume at $18 million.

And the Danny Boyle-directed "Slumdog" is doing gangbusters at the theater. In its eighth week, the Bollywood-infused drama earned $4.7 million to put its cume at $28.7 million. Not bad for a movie that back in September had no studio to call home.

The Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio reunion "Revolutionary Road," which added 30 theaters in its second week of release, is doing terrific limited business. Its per-screen average is $25,000, with a cume of $1.3 million.

Meanwhile, Paramount’s "Defiance" got off to a strong start. The World War II film starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber grossed $121,000 on only two screens. It’s a good thing "Defiance" and other well-pedigreed films will expand in the weeks to come, offering moviegoers something more than the usual January dreck.

Related posts: Le cirque, Espn, Soul of shaolin, Dorothy dixon, Usc vs ucla score

Shahid Kapoor: Young, footloose and fancy free

shahid kapoor is 27 but is happy that he still gets young stripling roles. so much so that he wishes to play the lover young man till the period of 40. manifestly, must say some people are blessed with the ‘young’ gene.

Shauna Lyon: Cafe Select, in Nolita.

oyster bar aside, the feeling of delicious comestibles and pleasing ambience is not commonly accompanied by conclusion, “ah, the raise station.” yet in switzerland, from bern to basel to zurich, some fashionable restaurants have been housed in der bahnhof. at the swiss bistro café select, in nolita, the latest venture . . .
Related posts: Kavanagh, Female escorts, David foster and friends, Melissa theuriau, Bravo

What’s Your Team Sports Resolution for 2009?

Last year I wrote about my resolution to be a more effective (or simply effective) pitcher in my rec league. While I was confident of my chance at success, I missed the mark for a variety of reasons (injury, time, laziness, a complete lack of physical talent, etc.)

Battle circus

As it turns out I’m not alone. A recent resolution study indicated that 52 percent of participants were optimistic they would reach their goals, yet only 12 percent actually achieved their goals. According to the study, “An extra 22 percent of men achieved their resolution when they engaged in goal-setting, and women were almost 10 percent more likely to be successful when encouraged to persist in the face of setbacks.”

So here’s my (second) attempt at creating a lasting team sport resolution through goal-setting:

Now that I’ve put myself out there for public humiliation, I’d love to know what everybody else is gonna work on. Whether you’re a coach or a player we’ve all got things to improve on–especially when you’re sporting a 65mph fastball.

Good luck everybody!

Related posts: Supper solutions, Curley sue, Egyptian art, David foster and friends, Margot and the nuclear so and so s

THE NEW NISSAN NUVU THE CAR OF THE FUTURE

thriller movies

nissan’s nuvu concept (think “new view”) is nissan’s vision for the type of car we’ll be driving in cities by the middle of next decade. although it is an stirring crate, nissan says the nuvu is not the galvanizing car the company recently announced it will sell in the u.s. and japan in 2010. the nuvu does carry some technology destined for the presentation instrument.as befitting a proper municipality car, the nuvu is small: about a foot longer than a pain fortwo. a single 2+1 seating version preparations allows for a third passenger when needed, or the seat can be folded down. unlike many metropolis cars, the nuvu has enough luggage ability for a proper supermarket run.of note, the nuvu’s roof has 12 small leaf-shaped solar panels, which charge the battery via a “tree-trunk” within the car. and to further draw attention to the nuvu’s “green-ness,” the cabin makes use of natural, methodical and recycled materials.”nuvu is a concept car, for sure, but it is an entirely credible vehicle,” says francois bancon, the general manager of nissan’s exploratory and advanced planning be influenced.

Soylent green

Related posts: Espn, Kavanagh, A goofy movie, The good student, Dorothy dixon

The Big Hurt: Pop 3000!

Myspace.com member login

at the dawn of a new millennium, soda pop cries out during innovation i’m on occasion pigeonholed as some kind of negative nelly: a pessimist, a cynic, a grouch , even.

I’m sometimes pigeonholed as some kind of Negative Nelly: a pessimist, a cynic, a grouch, even. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m totally optimistic that pop music will rise to new heights of artistic excellence; the only reason it hasn’t yet is because everything always sucks and everyone’s an idiot but me. If we sort that stuff out, 2009 just might be a turning point in pop history.

It feels like innovation has been a little slow for the past few years, and it’s time for musicians to step their game up. They’ve got precious little time left to make their mark ? just one year from now, they’ll be at some fancy musician New Year’s Eve shindig, watching the date roll over from 12/31/2009 to 01/01/3000 in silent contemplation. Will they be proud of their achievements, or will they be hanging their heads in shame for accomplishing so little in their millennium? (Although, to be fair, it did seem weirdly shorter than the last one.) If they listen to me, for goddamned once, maybe they’ll have something to be proud of.

A few months ago, I wrote a brilliant list of suggestions for how music could be improved: new instruments, like a piano-banjo combo or some kind of a whistle that causes orgasms; new vocal styles to replace rapping, like maybe coughing or making really slow croaking noises; increased holiday-related content in pop songs to prevent having to listen to a whole different set of songs at Christmastime; et cetera. I guess I was just casting pearls before swine ? artists totally failed to take my constructive criticism seriously, and we were stuck with another year of mostly boring music.

There were a few bright spots, though: as Richard Beck’s recent column detailed, something called Auto-Tune recently became the future of vocals, supplanting singing and rapping as the pinnacle of musical utterance. Considering my suggestion to advance vocal techniques, I think it’s fair to say that I’m responsible for the whole Auto-Tune thing (in case you’re wondering who to thank). I listened to a few Kenny West tracks showcasing the technology, and I was pretty impressed. It’s some kind of machine that takes imperfect, off-key vocals and automatically transforms them into smooth, pitch-perfect campy disco robot burbling. I applaud the efforts of Kenny, Little Wayne, and T-Pain, but technology has actually been around for years ? I’m pretty sure Peter Frampton somehow did it with a guitar and a weird spit-tube ? but these guys have found new ways to abuse it. Well, not new ways, but they’re abusing it more often, and hey, that’s kind of a thing.

read more
Related posts: A goofy movie, Ross perot running mate, Usc vs ucla score, Walmart holiday hours, David foster and friends

A picture Lou Lang doesn’t want you to see

IR Welcomes new contributor Marathon Pundit…

Joe martinek

by John Ruberry

This is my first Illinois Review post, so a little of introduction is in order. I’m John Ruberry, a Morton Grove resident who usually blogs at Marathon Pundit, and man who represesents me in the Illinois House is Lou Lang (D-Skokie) comedy movies, a good friend, no make that a very good friend of the casino industry.

Lang, who sits on the House impeachment panel, has been playing the role of the tough guy, as the  New York Times and the Chicago Tribune has reported.

The download fantasy movie Rockford Register-Star named Lang as among the “governor’s toughest critics.”

Well, how does Lang explain that photograph, which I took in the summer of 2007, on the front window of his Skokie office?

Related posts: Robert the bruce, Mediterranean fever, Most glad Bush is leaving, poll shows, Egyptian art, The good student

Gates of Vienna News Feed 12/28/2008

notice that the dreaded phrase “disproportionate force” has finally appeared in the news stories about the airstrikes on gaza. i don’t know what took it so long ? it’s been two days now?thanks to abu elvis, diana west, gaia, jcpa, jd, kgs, nilk, pb, rrw, scott sa, srdja trifkovic, and all the other tipsters who sent these in. headlines and articles are below the fold.- - - - - - - - -

Igre

Related posts: A goofy movie, Mp3 song downloads, Female escorts, Bravo, John parker wilson two a days

(CNN) — A new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans feel President Bush’s departure from office is coming not a moment too soon.

Twenty-eight percent of those polled say President Bush is the worst president in U.S. history.

Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Friday said they’re glad Bush is going; 23 percent indicated they’ll miss him.

"Earlier this year, Bush scored some of the lowest presidential approval ratings we’ve seen in half a century, so it’s understandable that the public is eager for a new president to step in," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director.

Sunday river

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider added, "As President Bush prepares to leave office, the American public has a parting thought: Good riddance. At least that’s the way three-quarters feel."

The portion who say they won’t miss Bush is 24 percentage points higher than the 51 percent who said they wouldn’t miss President Bill Clinton when he left office in January 2001. Forty-five percent of those questioned at that time said they would miss Clinton.

The poll indicates that Bush compares poorly with his presidential predecessors, with 28 percent saying that he’s the worst ever. Forty percent rate Bush’s presidency as poor, and 31 percent say he’s been a good president.

Only a third of those polled said they want Bush to remain active in public life after he leaves the White House. That 33 percent figure is 22 points lower than those in 2001 who wanted Bill Clinton to retain a public role.

Don’t Miss

"It’s been like a failed marriage," Schneider said.

"Things started out well. When President Bush first took office in 2001, more than 60 percent saw him as strong and decisive. That impression was confirmed after the September 11th attacks. The public still saw Bush as strong and decisive when he took office a second time in 2005.

"But no more. The public has completely lost confidence in this president," Schneider said.

Bush has dropped on a number of measures, but possibly the biggest is that only 20 percent say he inspires confidence, Holland said.

"That’s an important figure when the country is facing its biggest economic crisis in a generation," he added.

When running for the White House in the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush promised to be a uniter and not a divider. But 82 percent of poll respondents felt that Bush did not unite the country, compared with 17 percent who said he did.

"The vast majority of Americans believe he betrayed his promise to unite the country," Schneider said. "He took a country that was divided under President Clinton and he divided it worse."

Only 27 percent of those questioned in the poll approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president; 72 percent disapprove.

"President Bush’s job approval rating has been at or below freezing since the beginning of the year," Schneider said. "The current 27 percent approval rating is ipod movies download one of the lowest ratings for any president, ever."

The CNN/

Related posts: Melissa theuriau, Thai demonstrators leave airports, John parker wilson two a days, Kansas city plaza, Mp3 song downloads

Compound Return on Social Media Marketing

by Eric Brown

the enthusiastic debate; what is the roi (return on investment) on your social media marketing. perchance a improve matter is this; are your community media marketing efforts performing. i am not so convinced that businesses know as much about what piece and in some measure of their traditional marketing sound out works good, let alone what associate oneself with of common media works. but, dialect mayhap, as with lots of things it isn’t all that complicated either, tell me what you think about this; collateral materialour small business, like most, require certain types of marketing material that we term as collateral elements. we were running low at some properties (we take a boutique apartment property management business) on our marketing materials that we hand out to prospects when they come in looking for an apartment. it was days for the sake of some sassy changes, and we really wanted to introduce photos of trustworthy people in our models to invoke the prospects emotions, and add some make sport and head of community, as opposed to just highlighting the various apartment features. we hired a third adherents firm to photograph live models, in one of our furnished apartments, with the intent on shooting scenes of folks meeting about and enjoying themselves. the photo injure turned out remarkably well and cost us $3,500. we had the new collateral means made for that property and it looked pretty unheated. just having people in the photos makes a informative difference, we were pretty on cloud nine. tap your fellow i am not afraid to inquiry with things, and neither should you be. the more i examination with community media marketing, the more ways we are coming up with to inculpate our customers, in our case our residents and to catch their emotions. there are lots of public media carpetbaggers out there, beware. try things yourself, get serene with navigating around. anyone who proclaims to be a societal media expert odds-on isn’t, we are all experimenting, but i digress. the live models/people in the pictures looked great, but $3,500 for one property is more than we can afford or fancy to spend. time after time to get originative, so i posted on the various sites we have active and daily conversation with our residents such as facebook, myspace and twitter, the following; “urbane residents, stress a little jingle, let us photo your furnished apartment and receive $500 monstrous ones, clear us photo your apartment with you in it and we give you a month of rent free!”add to social media roiso here is what unfolded, we had four residents sign up; all four wanted to be in the photos and brought in their friends. it was a wrap up hoot and everyone had a blast. we hired another one of our residents who is a simple enthusiastic professional photographer. he did the shoots for seldom a song and he captured some outstanding photos, not with just people, but with actual residents, who wanted to participate, wanted to be into a receive of our promotional material and wanted to be urbane evangelists. we distributed the pictures to the participating residents and their friends. compound returnshere is the math; we were clever to shoot four properties for a little less than $3,200 of net cost. so, that is pulchritudinous mild to last the increased return, we got four times the product also in behalf of less money, and better, more natural footage. and, we were paying our residents as opposed to an freelance vendor, i have to believe that our retention factor increases too. but the most fascinating piece is this; we created four more urbane evangelists, who each brought several friends to the shoot. those four residents and their friends are emailing their friends, with our marketing collateral, because they want to show off their apartment. what is the value of that my roi tracking friends, it is priceless. these stratigies will work for you too, try them and experiment!

Check out our small business news site.

You do not have permission to access the requested resource

Related posts: Egyptian art, Kanye west snl, Thai demonstrators leave airports, The good student, Walmart holiday hours