how to manage personal finances

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Fox <b>News</b>: Apple Is The New Religion And The Pope Is Scared

Jesus. Maybe literally. Fox News has a long and illustrious history of saying some fairly outrageous things. A story today on FoxNews.com may be one of the best yet -- certainly from a tech perspective. The post entitled.

&#39;Idol&#39; <b>News</b> - The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Ellen, I have to say I was surprised by this news, as I LOVED watching you with the kids on Idol. You will definitely be missed on the show. I respect your decision, however, and only want happiness for you. You have made me laugh, ...

<b>News</b> Quiz | July 30, 2010 - The Learning Network Blog - NYTimes.com

See what you know about the news of the day. ... A 'View' of Obama. 6 Q's About the News | Why do you think the president decided to appear on "The View"? A guest post by our college intern, Carrie Montgomery. July 30 ...

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Fox <b>News</b>: Apple Is The New Religion And The Pope Is Scared

Jesus. Maybe literally. Fox News has a long and illustrious history of saying some fairly outrageous things. A story today on FoxNews.com may be one of the best yet -- certainly from a tech perspective. The post entitled.

&#39;Idol&#39; <b>News</b> - The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Ellen, I have to say I was surprised by this news, as I LOVED watching you with the kids on Idol. You will definitely be missed on the show. I respect your decision, however, and only want happiness for you. You have made me laugh, ...

<b>News</b> Quiz | July 30, 2010 - The Learning Network Blog - NYTimes.com

See what you know about the news of the day. ... A 'View' of Obama. 6 Q's About the News | Why do you think the president decided to appear on "The View"? A guest post by our college intern, Carrie Montgomery. July 30 ...

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foreclosure

The Senate showed strong support for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by passing it with a 60-39 vote. It will be sent to the White House where President Obama is expected to sign it into law next week.

This historic bill represents a principled effort to bring financial fairness to all Americans and to ensure that lending transactions be both honest and transparent. Any policy that protects those consumers who do not have the means to protect themselves is a step in the right direction.

Many urban communities in America today are in a state of emergency, requiring the highest and most urgent attention of the private and public sectors. Passing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act opens the way for a system that oversees the practices of participants in the financial markets, rewarding those who conduct business in the spirit of honest free trade and holding accountable those who continue predatory and abusive practices.

Certain provisions of the bill go a long way toward addressing the needs of the roots of our economic tree. In particular, this bill effectively addresses the root causes of the predatory lending induced mortgage meltdown that ultimately triggered the global economic crisis.

We are relieved and grateful that the final conference report addresses the crucial issue of foreclosure prevention. While 2.5 million families have already lost their homes to foreclosure, well over 5 million more are in imminent danger of doing so, and potentially as many as 13 million could lose their homes before the end of this crisis if they do not get some kind of assistance.

Overall, homeowners in America will be much safer as a result of the new mortgage standards. More effective foreclosure prevention will not only help homeowners, but also will help stabilize the economy and contribute to a strong recovery.

Again, we very much appreciate the act of congressional leadership shown by passing this historic legislation.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the Notices of Default (NOD) by year through 2009, and for the first half of 2010, in California from DataQuick.

Although the pace of filings has slowed, it is still very high by historical standards.

From DataQuick: California Mortgage Defaults Hit Three-Year Low; Foreclosures Rise

The number of California homes pushed into the formal foreclosure process between April and June dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter to the lowest level in three years. The declines were greatest in the most affordable areas, where foreclosure activity continues to fall from extremely high levels over the past two years, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 70,051 Notices of Default ("NODs") were filed at county recorder offices during the April-to-June period. That was down 13.6 percent from 81,054 for the prior quarter, and down 43.8 percent from 124,562 in second-quarter 2009, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.

Last quarter's total was the lowest since second-quarter 2007, when 53,943 NODs were recorded. The peak was in first-quarter 2009 when 135,431 homeowners received foreclosure notices.

"Obviously, motivated sellers and accommodating lenders have played a part in bringing the default filings down, especially when it comes to short sales. Public policy has also been a factor. We also need to remember that prices have come up off bottom over the past year. If they continue to rise, fewer homeowners will find themselves under water, which is a significant factor in letting a home go," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
...
The number of Trustees Deeds (TDs) recorded, which reflect the number of houses or condo units lost at the end of the foreclosure process, totaled 47,669 during the second quarter. That was up 11.2 percent from 42,857 for the prior quarter, and up 4.4 percent from 45,667 for second-quarter 2009. The all-time peak was 79,511 in third- quarter 2008.

As I've noted before, in terms of new NOD filings the peak was probably in 2009. A few key points:

Because of the number of homes in the foreclosure pipeline, the number of distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) will probably increase throughout 2010 - even as NODs decline.

As prices fall later this year, we might see another pick up in NODs.

Although NODs will decline in 2010 from 2009, the number will still be very high. The number of filings in the first half alone is at the peak of the previous housing bust.

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Francine Hardaway: <b>News</b> Died This Week

But both the news and journalist Daniel Schorr died this week. Schorr died peacefully after a long and productive life. The news, however, was murdered. Unworthy commentators destroyed news.

Family: NATO Recovered Body of Missing US Sailor Justin McNeley in <b>...</b>

(July 27) -- NATO has recovered the body of one of the two US servicemen who disappeared in Afghanistan last week, the international force said today, and the military pressed the search for his comrade who's believed to have been ...

Econbrowser: More disappointing <b>news</b>

More disappointing news. Just a quick note on a couple of new data releases today. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index aims to summarize in a single number 85 separate measures of real economic activity that are now available for ...

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Francine Hardaway: <b>News</b> Died This Week

But both the news and journalist Daniel Schorr died this week. Schorr died peacefully after a long and productive life. The news, however, was murdered. Unworthy commentators destroyed news.

Family: NATO Recovered Body of Missing US Sailor Justin McNeley in <b>...</b>

(July 27) -- NATO has recovered the body of one of the two US servicemen who disappeared in Afghanistan last week, the international force said today, and the military pressed the search for his comrade who's believed to have been ...

Econbrowser: More disappointing <b>news</b>

More disappointing news. Just a quick note on a couple of new data releases today. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index aims to summarize in a single number 85 separate measures of real economic activity that are now available for ...

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web internet marketing

What do the following web sites have in common?

www.arrowstat.com

www.clevermeds.net

www.easymed2u.com

www.easymedforyou.com

www.fivemeds.net

www.gladysandron.com

www.mydocpro.com

www.myfastmed.net

www.mysmartmed.net

www.thecupoverflows.com

and

www.thefastmed.com



(research compiled by Knujon, a small, independent research firm; all sites live as of this posting).



They're all illegal pharmacy sites affiliated with Glavmed, a Russian Internet marketing operation thought to be a part of the Russian Business Network, whose name gives you the idea they are not about selling caviar or matryoshka dolls. If you've ever received unwanted spam advertising for Viagra, Cialis, Xanax, Meridia, Levitra and other drugs -- and who hasn't -- then you've been hit by the spamming arm of Glavmed called, appropriately, Spamit.





Along with Canadian Pharmacy, which in 2009 accounted for about 60% of Internet spam by some estimates, this organized crime operation has woven itself into the fabric of Internet life.



No one seems to have a handle on how dangerous this black market really is. Last year, the United Nations reported that drug traffickers were using the Internet in the UK to target "vulnerable groups," probably meaning children and young people with access to computers and some proficiency in using them. A study compiled for the state of Ohio tracked down 495 web sites selling controlled substances, 68% of them referring users to another site to buy drugs (which is part of Glavmed's affiliate marketing business plan -- it drives traffic to your illegal pharmacy and take a percentage cut). The other 32% it called "anchor sites," those which sold drugs directly. Of those 157 anchor sites, 90% did not require a prescription, just a credit card.



According to the HBO Documentary Addiction, "the Internet has become a key source of addictive, illicit drugs and a handy resource for other practices to sustain drug use." However, a 2007 report from the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy doesn't mention the Internet at all as a drug source for teens -- they apparently lean on friends and family, or steal from them, instead. The report does say, though, that teens are turning more often to illegally-obtained prescription drugs to get high because they somehow see them as safer.



So how do sites like those on our list survive and thrive? Knujon has tracked Glavmed and its activities for a couple of years, back when a significant chunk of illegal pharmacies were hosted by the India-based Internet domain registrar Directi, which cracked down significantly on them once informed, as do most registrars. Registrars have the ability to shut down websites for illegal behavior, and by contract with ICANN, are required to watch over their domain registrants for illegal activity. But once illegal drug sites are shut down by one registrar, they generally don't have much problem finding another place to host their sites.



Those on our list are hosted by German registrar Key-Systems, an ICANN-accredited registrar. Wait a minute: If an accredited domain registrar can host illegal drug-dealing sites, how good can the accreditation be? And what about registrars who are not accredited, and therefore have no contractual rules obligating them? Answers on this and other topics in future installments of Webwatcher.



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If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable’s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.

But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable’s job boards are a place for socially savvy companies to find people like you. This week and every week, Mashable features its coveted job board listings for a variety of positions in the web, social media space and beyond. Have a look at what’s good and new on our job boards:

Mashable Job Board Listings

Senior Manager, Social Media & Marketing at Electronic Arts in Redwood City, CA.

The Senior Manager, Social Media & Marketing is responsible for developing, communicating and implementing a comprehensive social marketing strategy against EA’s priority titles and initiatives.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Area Sales Manager at AT&T in Tulsa, OK.

Join us as an Area Sales Manager-Internet.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Account Executive at Social Media Link in New York, NY.

This position demands a skilled and creative strategist, able to communicate technical topics in a clear and concise manner.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Strategist at iCrossing in New York, NY.

As a Senior Analyst in this group, you will help plan and execute social media marketing programs for clients.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Digital Strategy at Hill Holiday in Fairhaven, MA.

While serving as the digital marketing lead for a set of clients, you will build the case for digital solutions and help conceive and execute marketing programs that cross digital channels, integrate with offline media and push interactive innovation.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Art Director at Digitas in Philadelphia, PA.

The Art Director at Digitas will be responsible for the conception, design, and execution of innovative visual materials for integrated, cross channel initiatives including: large web initiatives, online advertising, digital marketing, direct marketing and/or print advertising.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Web Developer at Clorox Creative in Oakland, CA.

We are looking for a contract Senior Web Developer experienced in building modern web sites and web apps utilizing OO PHP5 and Javascript/Ajax functionality.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Experienced Front End Developer at Clorox Creative in Oakland, CA.

Looking for a true front-end HTML and CSS guru that hand codes.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Project Manager at Infuse Creative in Santa Monica, CA.

The Project Manager’s role is a mission critical client interface and project management role.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Vice President, Digital Strategy at Ketchum in New York, NY.

We’re looking for a Vice President/Digital Strategy to join our ranks, an individual deeply ingrained in media culture, “pull-not-push” marketing and the dynamics of on- and off-line community building.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Ambassador at Buick in Chicago, IL.

To kick-off this program, Buick is seeking three Brand Ambassadors in Chicago who will serve as the in-car Buick representatives during Tweet to Drive.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Facebook Engineer at Demandforce in San Francisco, CA.

Demandforce is looking for an outstanding individual to join the engineering team, reporting directly to the CTO.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Engineering Manager at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to direct the development, creation, and modification of computer applications software and specialized utility programs.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Online Marketing and Engagement Manager at Make-A-Wish Foundation in Phoenix, AZ.

This position is responsible for the tactical implementation of online marketing and key audience engagement functions at the National Office to advance the Foundation’s goals in corporate and individual fundraising, mission delivery, chapter support and brand advancement.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeks a social media manager to lead PETA’s award-winning social media efforts which include PETA’s Facebook and Twitter presences, PETA’s popular blog, The PETA Files, and online activism efforts.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Community Editor at AOL in New York, NY.

Urlesque.com, AOL’s internet trends and web humor site, is looking for a NYC-based temporary freelance community editor to engage, grow and interact with the Urlesque audience.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Synacor in San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading a team of Internet developers and architects in a fast-paced and quickly growing company.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Intern at All Wet Beachwear in Hollywood, FL.

We are seeking a Social Media Public Relations Intern who has the passion, drive and knowledge to develop an effective and cutting edge social media campaign.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Synacor in Buffalo, NY.

We are seeking a Director of Engineering who will be responsible for leading a team of Internet developers and architects in a fast-paced and quickly growing company.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Editor in Chief, Startup at Life and Home Style Digital Network in Los Angeles, CA.

You must have digital exp., knowledge and interest in consumer/lifestyle, emerging home design and its customers.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager, Marketing at Digitas in New York, NY.

Day-to-day management of all digital media (online advertising), offline media (print, direct mail) strategy, production and execution through strong partnership with extended teams.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Platform Engineer at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

As a hands-on Senior Software Engineer for Gilt Groupe on our platform team, you’ll help develop and maintain the scalable data and services platform upon with the Gilt Group sites are built.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Application Engineer at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

The Application Engineer is responsible for developing applications for the production websites ranging from search, product presentation, usability etc.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Multiple Job Openings via UrgentCareer in New York, NY, Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

We currently are managing over 80 positions from more than 50 top companies.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Media at National Association of Home Builders in Washington DC.

This position serves as the technical point of contact for the NAHB social media and social networking activities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Applications Engineer at Triton Digital Media in Kentucky.

Triton Digital Media, a quickly growing media company,is looking for experienced social media application developers in Cincinnati, Ohio and the surrounding area.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Online Content at National Association of Home Builders in Washington DC.

This newly created position is responsible for ensuring that NAHB’s website and social media networks clearly and effectively communicate the association’s messages, promotes its products and services and provides high-quality information and content to numerous publics.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Online Marketing Specialist at Quikbook.com in New York, NY.

Group of successful ecommerce travel websites seeks a new team member to head customer acquisition efforts.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director of Engineering at Gilt Groupe in New York, NY.

Lead software development activities such as software design, development, unit testing, documentation, integration testing, deployment documentation, code reviews, adherence to software development standards

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Planner at Wunderman in New York, NY.

The Senior Planner (eCommerce) will articulate consumer insights to drive digital demand generation communications strategies and programs related to eCommerce for local sales units.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Youth Marketing Manager at PETA in Los Angeles, CA.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) seeks a youth marketing manager to build awareness and recognition of PETA’s campaigns and reach the youth (teen, high school and college) audience with PETA’s message through media, special events and peer-to-peer marketing.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Manager of Creative Media Design and Development at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN.

The Manager of Creative Media Design & Development is a hands-on management position responsible for the design, development, implementation and maintenance of gallery creative media to drive significant new and repeat visitation to the museum and to enhance the visitor experience.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Intern, Marketing at The Walt Disney Company – Disney Retail in Los Angeles.

The successful candidate will join our internal marketing team as an intern to monitor our social media presence, become an ‘intra-preneuer’ serve as a customer service agent, develop, implement and monitor successful campaigns resulting in real world results and author social media activities.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Sr Software Engineer at IGN Entertainment in San Francisco, CA.

IGN Entertainment is looking for a passionate Rails engineer who believes an agile development and believes in vertical ownership of technology stack. Experience with large scale production systems and Java is a plus.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Digital Communications at Bayada Nurses in New Jersey.

We seek an experienced and results-driven Senior Digital Manager to join our Communications team to develop and direct digital strategies for Bayada Nurses.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Storage Administrator at Synacor in San Francisco, CA.

We are seeking a Senior Storage Administrator who will work under limited supervision, administer all aspects of an advanced storage area network.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Senior Storage Administrator at Synacor in Los Angeles, CA.

We are seeking a Senior Storage Administrator who will work under limited supervision, administer all aspects of an advanced storage area network.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Webmaster at Pacific-10 Conference in Walnut Creek, CA.

The webmaster will oversee the editorial and technical operation of Pac-10.org and also contribute to our long-range site strategy and planning.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Analyst, Strategy and Analysis at Digitas in Detroit, MI.

The Digitas Strategy & Analysis Group is responsible for driving strategic thinking and economic insight across multiple client engagements

Read more about this opportunity here.

Sr Copywriter at Digitas in Philadelphia, PA.

As an Integrated Sr. Copywriter for Digitas you are responsible for the conception and execution of innovative copy for integrated, cross channel initiatives including large web initiatives, online advertising, digital marketing, print advertising and/or direct mail.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Customer Experience Manager at GigMasters.com in Redding, CT.

GigMasters.com, based in Redding, CT, is seeking an experienced manager to supervise our dynamic Customer Experience Team.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Product Manager, Mobile at HealthCentral in Arlington, VA.

Understand the company’s vision and lead product and business development for our mobile services in tracking health symptoms and care.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Front End Developers at Modea in Blacksburg, VA.

Modea is looking for developers who can create engaging, interactive experiences on platforms ranging from small micro-sites to large, global, multilingual enterprise systems.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Interactive Website Project Manager at TIG Global in Chevy Chase, MD.

As a result of continued growth and expansion, we are currently seeking an Interactive Website Project Manager

Read more about this opportunity here.

Director, Social Marketing at Yahoo! in Sunnyvale, CA.

We are seeking a dynamic, creative and innovative leader to drive social marketing programs at Yahoo!

Read more about this opportunity here.

Social Media Manager at Milestone Internet Marketing in Santa Clara, CA.

Milestone Internet Marketing in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a Social Media Manager within the travel vertical.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Intern – Social Media at Vans in Cypress, CA.

The Vans Direct to Consumer Communications intern assists the department with social media efforts both internally and externally

Read more about this opportunity here.

CSS Producer at Buddy Media in New York, NY.

Work extensively implementing sites into our Platform/CMS from HTML/CSS templates.

Read more about this opportunity here.

Mashable’s Job Board has a variety of web 2.0, application development, business development and social networking job opportunities available. Check them out at here.

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<b>News</b> Roundup: Gabriel Macht Joins USA Network Pilot, &#39;Glee&#39; Casts <b>...</b>

Gabriel Macht, known to many for his role in 'The Spirit,' is getting a very 'Legal' state of mind. Macht has joined the cast of USA.

Rockstar definitely researching Hollywood <b>News</b> - Page 1 <b>...</b>

Read our news of Rockstar definitely researching Hollywood.

Is all <b>news</b> good <b>news</b>? Ask Pete Carroll | Jacket Copy | Los <b>...</b>

When Pete Carroll signed his book deal in April 2009 -- for somewhere upward of $500000 -- he was known as the most winning active coach in college football, with an 88-15 record in his nine seasons at USC. By...

web internet marketing

The SmartScreen team just informed me that we’ve reached an amazing milestone – Internet Explorer 8 has blocked 1 billion attempts to download malware!

Socially engineering attacks like malware are a growing threat on the internet and are one of the most common risks to people’s safety online. We introduced malware protection in Internet Explorer 8 as part of the SmartScreen Filter and have talked about it on the Windows Experience Blog a couple of times over the last year.

Here are a couple of quick facts about Internet Explorer and malware as we hit this 1 billion blocks milestone:

• NSS Labs have recognized the Internet Explorer 8 SmartScreen Filter as a leader in protection against Socially Engineered Malware in their August 2009 and March 2010 reports which compared Internet Explorer 8 to Chrome, Firefox and others.


• Our malware block rates continue to improve because we continue to improve the SmartScreen service back-end. For example, in August 2009 we had blocked about 70 million attempts to download malware or about 18 million blocks per month. At the time, according to Net Applications, about 15% of the internet population used Internet Explorer 8. In the last two months, we’ve blocked 100 million attempts to download malware. Last month, according to Net Applications, nearly 26% of the internet population uses Internet Explorer 8. There are 1.7 times more users on Internet Explorer 8 than August 2009 but we’re blocking 5 times more malware month on month.

1 billion malware blocks is an amazing milestone and an example of two things. First socially engineered attacks like malware continue to be a real threat for users on the web. Second, to help keep you safe online your browser needs to continually enhance and improve its service. We have got better and better at blocking malware through the SmartScreen Filter because we have continued to invest in our back end service since we released IE8 in March 2009. It’s this investment that has kept us at the top of the socially engineering malware charts according to NSS Labs and has helped our customers stay safe online.

If you haven’t already upgraded to Internet Explorer 8, now would be a great time to do so at www.microsoft.com/ie . If you’ve already upgraded, you can check that SmartScreen Filter is enabled by going to the Safety Menu and clicking on SmartScreen Filter. If the menu gives you the option to “Turn Off SmartScreen Filter”, the SmartScreen Filter is switched on.

 

James Pratt, Senior Product Manager

Internet Explorer Business and Marketing Team

Old Spice’s marketing gimmick—a macho guy played with a wink by Isaiah Mustafa—has reached a crescendo on TV and the Web. Tricia Romano on the evolution of black male sex symbols.

From the moment the Old Spice commercial featuring Isaiah Mustafa aired in February America swooned. Who, we wanted to know, was this dashing, tall, dark and handsome figure with impossible abs, a gleaming smile, and a twinkle in his eyes? (Oh, yes, and riding on a horse. One mustn't forget the horse).

Mustafa quickly became a household face—if not name—as the original commercial eventually racked up 13 million views on YouTube.

He's hot enough to make celebrity lesbian Ellen DeGeneres giggle like a school girl when he visited her set, causing her to beg him to recite his Old Spice lines.

Old Spice Guy Hangs Up His Towel

And this week, on the heels of its second installment in the series (featuring Mustafa swan diving into a jacuzzi and landing on a motorcycle), the company invited people to ask questions of "Old Spice Man" on Twitter which Mustafa answered in 30-second clips on YouTube. The result was an instant viral success—the Old Spice YouTube channel was ranked No. 1 on the website. (At least one person wasn’t impressed: Sockington the cat—who has resisted using his popularity for commercial purposes—threw up his paw: “HELLO @OLDSPICE much interest at your viral marketing campaign at sockington hq/litterbox I AM A CAT WITH 68 TIMES MORE FOLLOWERS discuss.”

Sockington’s dissent aside, the success of the Old Spice commercials hinges not only on the clever, almost absurdist imagery and writing, but on Mustafa and his inherent sex appeal.

The Root argued this week in an essay called, "Why The Old Spice Guy Is Good For Black America" that "the success of the Old Spice Guy ... might actually be a sign that being a black man in America is getting slightly easier." Cord Jefferson points out that not so long ago, the black man's role in advertising was as a scary figure to contrast against the white so-called gentlemen; or more recently, as a subservient figure.

I'll go one further than Jefferson: The Old Spice Guy isn't just good for Black America, Mustafa's place in the pop culture pantheon is good for all of America.

As Farai Chideya, former NPR journalist and host of forthcoming radio show, Pop and Politics Radio, explained to me, "You have certain black actors who could sell things, but they usually did them in these nonsexual ways, like Bill Cosby and Jello. Then you had people who were sexual like Billy Dee Williams, who pitched a brand for a black audience," she said. "This is something new where it's for a mainstream, general mixed-race audience."

Caption: Mustafa filmed video responses to some of his lucky Twitter followers, including actress Alyssa Milano.

The choice of a black man as the desired sex object for a national advertising spot aimed at mainstream America, which is to say white America, is particularly perfect right now. It's hard to say whether Mustafa and Old Spice would have paired up 10 or 20 years ago, unless he was a famous star athlete like O.J. Simpson. One could argue that having a handsome black president has softened a lot of people’s ideas of what’s attractive and sexy—Obama’s shaky polls notwithstanding.

Interestingly, Old Spice had another black spokesman before Mustafa: Terry Crews. The hyperactive ad series featured the ex-NFL linebacker topless and yelling in an intense (and funny) way. Chideya says of Crews: "He's not as handsome as Isaiah, but he's also really funny in a way that's more within the black vernacular." Of Mustafa, she says, "This guy is no doubt black, but he's someone who is the modern, urbane, living-in-a-post-racial-Fort Greene kind of a guy."

While Obama braves the fast-moving political tide (we love him, we are irritated and disappointed with him, we loathe him, we love him again), here is this other stunningly handsome, funny black man on our TV, transcending color lines, with—it should be noted—a Muslim name.

Today&#39;s SAG National Board Plenary <b>News</b> – Deadline.com

President Howard said, “This is a positive step toward uniting SAG and AFTRA and good news for our members. The creation of a single performers' union is overdue, and I'm pleased to be working with Roberta Reardon, who's been such a ...

Colorado <b>News</b>: The Week In Review (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

It's been a wild week for Colorado politics, as major developments the three most-watched statewide primaries have changed the face of the races and brought national attention to Colorado. We've recapped some of the week's biggest ...

Tech <b>News</b> Sites Tout Misleading BitTorrent Piracy Study | TorrentFreak

Unfortunately, the results of these type of studies are pushed by anti-piracy outfits and taken for granted by outsiders, even by respected news outlets on the Internet such as Ars Technica and ZDNet. In this case their reporters were ...

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personal finance

The social media revolution has given way to a generation of tech-savvy and interconnected young Americans. Youthful social media users share their personal lives online, tweeting and posting everything from their relationship status to their current location to their latest purchases. Yet, when it comes to discussing deeper personal finance issues or seeking personal finance advice online, the majority of young adults typically shy away from the web.

AARP recently conducted a national study of young adults in the 18 to 34 age bracket; 57 percent of respondents said that money (specifically the burden of paying bills and carrying debt) was their primary concern. Facing a recession and a brutal job market, young adults are starting to pay more attention to their financial autonomy and planning, yet only 1 in 10 respondents reported sharing financial information or seeking financial advice through social media.

This is starting to change with the advent of trustworthy, unbiased online personal financial resources -- websites that enable users to monitor their own spending, create short-term and long-term financial plans and get trusted financial advice. In fact, 85 percent of young people who have used social media for personal finance advice have reported that doing so made them feel "more confident" about their finances.

These new financial resources are breaking down the taboo of sharing, discussing and managing personal finance online. Whether you are a tech-savvy, social media guru or someone who spends a limited amount of time on the web, you can very easily leverage the internet to gain a greater understanding of your personal finances in a few short steps.

1. Make the most of online banking to make your life easier and keep your finances organized. Online banking is great because it offers quick, easy, 24-hour access to your checking and savings accounts. Here are three ways to make the most of online banking:

• Set up direct deposit for your paychecks so your salary (or other form of income) gets transferred directly and securely into your checking account.

• Set up online bill pay for your monthly bills -- your monthly payments will automatically be transferred from your checking account on a designated date each month. If you are not ready to commit to monthly bill pay or simply want to monitor your bills more closely, you can choose a one-time monthly payment. (*Remember to only set up automatic payments to companies or people you trust)

• Set up calendar alerts two to three days before your bills are due to remind you to pay on time -- never miss a payment or your credit history will take a hit.

2. Start utilizing trusted and unbiased personal finance sites to learn more about personal finances.

LearnVest and other personal financial sites help you manage and understand your finances through tools, games, discussion pages and often, targeted daily newsletters. Whether you need help figuring out how to open an IRA, pay down credit card debt and student loans or find the right health insurance for you and your family, these sites offer expert, step-by-step advice -- for free. Many of these sites employ financial experts to answer your questions or guide you through a financial issue.

3. Use these websites for financial advice pertaining to family life or career changes.

Whether you are preparing for a baby or changing jobs, these sites will help you understand and navigate your way through these life changes. Learn how to negotiate for a raise, handle a tricky situation with your colleague or boss, and choose the employee benefits that are right for you. While personal finance websites are small in number, most of them include live discussion pages (similar to Facebook or Twitter pages) where you can chat with other users whose financial circumstances are similar to your own. Ask users on the site about techniques they use to give themselves a financial advantage in the workplace or to maintain financial autonomy in their marriage.

4. Use social media to find great discounts and deals.

There are tons of discounts and deals to be found on the web. These range from Twitter-only deals from sites like AmazonMP3, JetBlueCheeps, CheapTweet to Promo Code Websites like RetailMeNot, Coupon Cabin, CouponChief.

The AARP study found that young people feel a pinch on their social budgets -- 69 percent say that they suggest low-budget entertainment options and 57 percent say that they sometimes skip going out with their friends for financial reasons. Use social networking to communicate with friends and share information to come up with fun, budget-friendly things to do.

5. Get online and get (free) help to get out of debt.

Many websites offer step-by-step guides to help you take the right steps to get out of debt. With these online checklists, you'll learn how to get a free credit report online (I recommend using creditkarma.com!) differentiate between good debt and bad debt, and take the necessary steps to pay down your credit card.

While I strongly encourage my readers to take advantage of the internet and social networking platforms to gain a greater understanding of their personal finances, it is extremely important to be safe, smart, and responsible when it comes to sharing, discussing, and managing your finances online. There are many random, unprotected sites online that appear safe to use and are ready to accept credit card information. You wouldn't give a stranger off the street your credit card information, so be extra cautious about who you are sharing it with online. For the most part, never share certain personal financial information, i.e. credit card information or bank account information, unless it is with your bank, or a site that you have confirmed is trusted, secure and password protected.

The Real Damage Calculates the True Cost of a New Purchase on Your Credit Card

Webapp The Real Damage calculates the true price of adding another purchase to a credit card that's already carrying a balance.

The best way to avoid throwing away money on credit card interest is simply to not carry a balance. (A good portion of Lifehacker readers pay off their cards every month.) But if you're in the process of digging out from credit card debt, it can still be tempting to put the occasional purchase on the card, particularly if it's not that expensive. The catch, of course, is that if you take the added interest that accrues on the increased balance of your debt into account, over time that price quickly grows—and that's the dollar amount The Real Damage focuses on.

Plug in the price tag of an item you're interested in, along with the APR, balance, and your current monthly payment on your credit card, and it'll figure out the true damage. Once you've got a more accurate picture of the price, then you can decide if it's worth it.

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Tina Dupuy: Of Junk Food and Junk <b>News</b>

Watch your average for-profit 24-hour station for one hour. It's all high-fructose hyperbole all the time.

Shepard Smith Unloads On Fox <b>News</b>, White House Over Shirley <b>...</b>

Shep Smith laid into his own network Wednesday, calling out Fox News for its role in hyping the Shirley Sherrod story based on an edited videotape (h/t Mediaite). Smith's critique began when he cut into Wednesday's briefing by White ...

Rachel Maddow: Fox <b>News</b> Stoking Racial Fears Among Whites (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow tore into Fox News again Wednesday night, accusing the channel of stoking racial fears among whites. Maddow used the channel's role in hyping the Shirley Sherrod story as a springboard for a broader discussion of the ...

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Tina Dupuy: Of Junk Food and Junk <b>News</b>

Watch your average for-profit 24-hour station for one hour. It's all high-fructose hyperbole all the time.

Shepard Smith Unloads On Fox <b>News</b>, White House Over Shirley <b>...</b>

Shep Smith laid into his own network Wednesday, calling out Fox News for its role in hyping the Shirley Sherrod story based on an edited videotape (h/t Mediaite). Smith's critique began when he cut into Wednesday's briefing by White ...

Rachel Maddow: Fox <b>News</b> Stoking Racial Fears Among Whites (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow tore into Fox News again Wednesday night, accusing the channel of stoking racial fears among whites. Maddow used the channel's role in hyping the Shirley Sherrod story as a springboard for a broader discussion of the ...

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personal finance budgets

What a fantastic basic concept.

Hitler lost the second world war because he attacked Russia too soon. udervise ve vood all be speeking Deutsch now.

We employed the alternative massively effective budgetting tool.

Be a self employed Engineer for 15 years with take home pay of £50K a year and spend it all (and more besides, because ‘I want one of those NOW’) because ‘my jobs safe’.

Watch as the banks destroy the worlds finances.

Suddenly realise that over 90% of British industry is ultimately owned by Japanese investment banks, who suddenly have no money to fulfill their legal obligations to complete legislation driven improvment projects.

Watch as my £50K a year take home falls to ZERO.

Start a brand new business with Kleeneze (sorry not available in the USA) Which although it’s building really well is , after all, a business and needs time.

Suddenly HAVE to live on £18K a year GROSS.

Best Motivation for re-inventing your budget that anyone can have LOL.

We used to spend about £1,000 a month on groceries, now we spend around £300 a month, AND we eat more healthily.

Fortunately the finance on my car ended a month after our income disappeared saving us £375 a month.

We’ve sold my wifes’ car (THAT hurt) it was a really nice car, but it was costing us £489 a month in finance.

We’ve moved to a cheaper house saving us £400 a month in rent.

We’ve cancelled everything that wasn’t absolutely essential - including SKY and the TV license (It’s true, you don’t die if you turn the telly off!)

We still have creditors who we’re negotiating reduced payments and frozen interest with, but basically we are starting again from scratch.

We won’t fall into the credit trap again

Certainly not in the next six years or more ‘cos no-one in their right mind will give us credit now anyway!!

The one thing that keeps coming back to me though is

WHY aren’t our schools teaching kids how to budget? It’s a thousand times more important than even the basics.

Who cares if you can’t spell budgit if you can make one and stick to it.

It CAN’T be one of the things that are left to parents because nobody ever taught us!

Back to subject,

Your article is brilliant and if it helps one person (which I’m sure it already has) to get out or stay out of debt then you’ve done a service to humanity.

Keep it up &

we’ll see you

OVER the top

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Shirley Sherrod | Media Matters | Fox <b>News</b> - Breitbart | Mediaite

The woman at the center of the Andrew Breitbart/NAACP/Obama Administration/USDA/probably-Journolist-but-who's-keeping-track-at-this-point scandal, Shirley Sherrod, spoke to Media Matters' Joe Strupp today about the experience of going ...

Shepard Smith Unloads On Fox <b>News</b>, White House Over Shirley <b>...</b>

Shep Smith laid into his own network Wednesday, calling out Fox News for its role in hyping the Shirley Sherrod story based on an edited videotape (h/t Mediaite). Smith's critique began when he cut into Wednesday's briefing by White ...

<b>News</b> Fail - FAIL Blog: Epic Fail Funny Pictures and Funny Videos <b>...</b>

epic fail photo - news fail. ... News Fail. epic fail photo News Fail. Submitted by: cecklein � Incorrect source or offensive? G-rated, television, news anchors. You May Like: This fail picture or video was posted on Wednesday, ...

personal finance books

Kelley wrote recently with the sort of dilemma I get asked about all of the time: Is it better to invest or to prepay a mortgage? We’ve covered this topic in the distant past, but it’s time to review the debate for current readers. First, let’s look at Kelley’s e-mail:

My husband and I are on the right track. At age 25, our only debt lies in our home mortgage. We have the six-month emergency fund in place, I currently meet the 3% 401(k) match offered by my employer, and I started a Roth IRA for myself and my husband last year. I started each Roth IRA with $4,000.

My financial advisor recommended for us to max out each of our Roth IRAs each year. My husband disagrees. He thinks paying off the house is a bigger priority. Starting this year, we’ve made an extra payment on our house each month. If we continue doing this, we can have our house paid off in nine years rather than 30 years. However, we can’t do both.

Currently we’ve decided to throw $1,000 into each Roth each year until the house is paid off. Is this the wise decision? Or is it better to put more toward the Roth IRA and less toward the house?

I understand either option is good because I’m saving money. I’m just curious of which route would be wiser.

Kelley’s right: Both of these options are good. This is like choosing between an apple and an orange. Both taste good, and they’re good for you &madsh; but is one better for you in the long run?

What the experts say

Three years ago, when we last covered this topic (holy cats! — where has the time gone?), I collected the following roundup of advice from personal-finance books:

• Ric Edleman (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth): Never own your home outright. Instead, get a big 30-year mortgage and never pay it off — regardless of your age and income. “Every time you send an extra $100 to your mortgage company, you deny yourself the opportunity to invest that $100 somewhere else.”




• Suze Orman (The Laws of Money): Invest in the known before the unknown. Paying off your mortgage offers a guaranteed return on investment. “You cannot live in a tax return. You cannot live in a stock certificate. You live in your home.”




• Elizabeth Warren (All Your Worth): Save 20% of your income. Use 10% for retirement savings, 5% to accelerate your mortgage, and 5% to save for future dreams. “Paying off your home also does something many financial planners neglect to mention: It gives you freedom. Once that mortgage is gone, just imagine all the freedom in your wallet.”




• Dave Ramsey (The Total Money Makeover): Prepay your mortgage if you can, but only after you’ve saved an emergency fund, and only if you’re putting at least 15% of your income toward retirement. Don’t use a program designed by a broker; use your own self-discipline.




• Dominguez and Robin (Your Money or Your Life): “Pay off your mortgage as quickly as possible.” This book, too, was written when interest rates were higher. Also, the authors emphasize frugality over investing.

Financial authors don’t agree on this subject. Maybe the personal finance gurus writing for the web can clear things up?

• Liz Pulliam Weston at MSN Money: Don’t rush to pay off the mortgage. “You’ve got better things to do with your money, like saving for retirement, building an emergency cushion or even living it up a little.”




• Walter Updegrave at CNN Money: If you’ve funded your retirement, and if it will make you happy, then pay down the mortgage. Otherwise, it makes more sense to invest.




• Laura Rowley at Yahoo! Finance: Using very conservative figures, investing instead of prepaying the mortgage yields an extra $400 per year. If you feel compelled to pay down your mortgage, do it. But realize you’re paying a price to do so. (She offers more details at her blog, as well as tips on how to estimate the investment return you need to earn to make it worthwhile.)




• Bankrate: Pay down your mortgage if your investments would be conservative. Invest if you’re planning to do so for the long term.




• USA Today: It depends on your income, your monthly expenses, your risk tolerance, and your desire to own your home free and clear.




• Kiplinger’s: Invest unless you’re near retirement




• The Dollar Stretcher: Mathematically, it makes more sense to invest, but it all depends on your risk tolerance.




• My fellow pfbloggers at Bargaineering and Million Dollar Journey recommend that a person do a little of both: pay down the mortgage some and invest some. Free Money Finance says: “If you have the discipline to save/invest the money you would be using to pay off the mortgage, it’s likely that saving/investing is the better option. But if you’re more the “average” person out there managing your money, I still believe it’s a better option to pre-pay your mortgage.”

The Rowley article offers some interesting background to this debate:

Why do so many people choose to put extra money into a mortgage when other options would likely increase their wealth? “This is really remnant of Depression mentality that has persisted from generation to generation,” says [one expert]. At the time, most mortgages had one- to five-year terms, with a lump sum payment due at the end.

“Any shock to income meant you couldn’t afford your payment — mortgages were much more susceptible to economic uncertainty,” [the expert says], and roughly one-quarter of Americans were unemployed during the Great Depression. “It’s fine to pay down your mortgage if it gives you peace of mind, but you should recognize what that peace of mind costs.”

If you’re facing a similar decision, you may find this calculator useful: prepaying your mortgage vs. investing.

The bottom line

My conclusion in 2007 (and the one I still hold today) is that unless your mortgage rate is very high, it makes more sense mathematically to invest your money. But most gurus agree that psychologically, you should do what works for you. If paying off your mortgage would take a weight off your shoulders, then pay off your mortgage. Sure, you might be losing a bit in the long-term, but you’re still making a smart choice. As I said earlier, it’s like choosing between an apple and an orange. One may be better for you, but they’re both good.

Ultimately, I kind of like the choice that Kelley and her husband have made. They’re prepaying their mortgage and putting some toward retirement. But enough of what I think. Kelley really wants to know what you think.

Which option is better? Should she and her husband be pumping as much as possible into their Roth IRAs? Or should they be paying down their mortgage as quickly as they can? Have you been faced with a similar dilemma in the past? What did you choose to do? And would you make the same choice again?

• Colbert King:
  

  
  

  Family, marriage and the contribution of fathers come together as topics for reflection on Father's Day. So I'd like to know why Barack Obama, a husband and a father in a family structure that encompasses bonds deemed essential to our society, is constantly and savagely attacked by conservative leaders whose personal circumstances undermine the family values they espouse?

  
  
  

  Consider Obama: Raised by a single mother in a middle-class family where hard work and education were watchwords, Obama graduated from two of the top schools in the country, Columbia University and Harvard Law School. His legal scholarship was recognized when he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He married and, equally important, has stayed married to Michelle Robinson, a Princeton graduate and Harvard Law alumna. He lives with his wife, two children and his mother-in-law. Obama: constitutional law professor, civil rights lawyer, state legislator, U.S. senator, 44th U.S. president, family man.

  
  
  

  Now let's turn to Obama's foremost critics: Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, Newton Leroy Gingrich and Sarah Palin.
  

  
  

  
  




• Eighty-five percent of Swedish fathers take parental leave. It's expected, both by employers and society as a whole.
  
  
  

  
  

  In this land of Viking lore, men are at the heart of the gender-equality debate. The ponytailed center-right finance minister calls himself a feminist, ads for cleaning products rarely feature women as homemakers, and preschools vet books for gender stereotypes in animal characters. For nearly four decades, governments of all political hues have legislated to give women equal rights at work — and men equal rights at home.

  
  
  

  Swedish mothers still take more time off with children — almost four times as much. And some who thought they wanted their men to help raise baby now find themselves coveting more time at home.

  
  
  

  But laws reserving at least two months of the generously paid, 13-month parental leave exclusively for fathers — a quota that could well double after the September election — have set off profound social change.
  

  
  

  
  




• In 2002, a telecommunications engineer with dual Canadian/Syrian citizenship was seized from JFK airport, held in solitary confinement for two weeks without adequate access to an attorney, then sent to Syria, where he was imprisoned for a year and tortured. Then, he was released back to Canada. Jeralyn explains that although the Supreme Court denied cert in his civil lawsuit against U.S. officials, at least someone official is investigating. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.



• Blackwater is awarded a new contract -- under another name, of course -- to guard U.S. consulates in Afghanistan. --Susan Gardner




• Republicans just can't help revealing their unhinged extremism, and no matter how many times they later backtrack, they are what they are.
  
  
  

  
  

  The Republican nominee for a northern New Mexico congressional seat suggested during a radio interview that the United States could place land mines along the Mexican border to secure the international boundary.

  
  
  

  Asked Monday to clarify, Tom Mullins emphasized that he does not advocate doing so.
  

  
  

  
  

  He was just making conversation. Or something.




• Dahlia Lithwick:
  
  
  

  
  

  Almost two weeks ago, former Supreme Court Justice David Souter gave the commencement speech at Harvard, a speech that's been variously described by some of my favorite legal writers as a denunciation of "originalism," a defense of "living constitutionalism," and a suggestion that "judicial activism" is a game both liberals and conservatives can play. But the striking aspect of Souter's remarkable speech is that it rejected virtually all of these easy ideological labels and addressed itself to two much simpler questions: Is the meaning of the Constitution clear? And is the task of divining that meaning easy? These incisive questions themselves beg an even more pressing constitutional question: Why must justices first leave the bench before they can speak seriously about the importance of the court?
  

  
  

  
  




• Science Daily:
  
  
  

  
  

  Advances in high-yield agriculture over the latter part of the 20th century have prevented massive amounts of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere -- the equivalent of 590 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide -- according to a new study led by two Stanford Earth scientists.
  

  
  

  
  




• Andrew Lawler, in Science Magazine:
  
  
  

  
  

  After decades of taboo and controversy, Pacific Rim archaeologists are finding new evidence that Polynesians reached South America before Europeans did, voyaging across the world's largest ocean around 1200 C.E.
  

  
  

  
  




• Cynthia Tucker's reaction to President Obama's energy speech was concise and pointed.



• Diego Valle makes a comprehensive analysis of the Drug War in Mexico. Suffice to say that the present strategy isn't working. If you don't have a lot of time, just scroll down to his conclusions.



• Europe's recession might bring down Germany's Merkel government, and is leading to a rise in xenophobia and racism.



• Markos linked this, last week, but it deserves an encore. After taking apart the canard that Social Security is going broke, digby ends with this gem:
  
  
  

  
  

  Any deficit scold who doesn't put reducing health care costs at the very top of the agenda is just a demagogic crank doing the dirty work for the aristocratic overlords.
  

  
  

  
  




• Defense Secretary Robert Gates claims Iran could launch hundreds of missiles into Europe. At least he didn't claim it could be done in 45 minutes.



• Pretend you're surprised:
  
  
  

  
  

  Recent setbacks in Afghanistan have intensified debate over the wisdom of the Obama administration's plan to begin withdrawing U.S. military forces next summer and highlighted reservations among military commanders over a rigid timeline.

  
  
  

  At a Senate hearing Tuesday, Gen. David H. Petraeus, who oversees U.S. forces in the Mideast and Afghanistan, offered "qualified" support for President Obama's plan to begin withdrawing troops in July 2011.
  

  
  

  
  

  You have to admire the logic. The worse things get, the longer we have to stay.

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"Be All You Can Be" is not just a slogan for military recruiters, but a challenge we can all embrace. Below are mini-reviews for ten books that can contribute to a better you. Not just "self-help" books, they are books about travel, personal finance, mental health, as well as several thought-provoking biographies and books about achieving career goals. All are readily available for purchase or library borrowing and highly recommended for a broad readership across genders and age groups.

Staying Positive

Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox, Hyperion Books, 2009.

This autobiography of the beloved television and film actor centers on the ten years since he left Spin City due to increased symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It is inspiring but never maudlin, factual but also gives a lot of insight into the way Fox has coped emotionally and even grown in the past decade. It is well worth reading even if you are not a hard core Michael J. Fox fan and never saw Back to the Future I, II, or III.

One Less Thing to Worry About: Uncommon Wisdom for Coping with Common Anxieties by Jerilyn Ross with Robin Cantor-Cooke, Ballantine Books, 2009.

Jerilyn Ross is a practicing psychotherapist and an expert on anxiety. In this book she addresses some anxieties experienced by many and provides useful and engaging case studies. This book can help those who feel that their anxiety is not well-controlled, whether or not they have an official "anxiety disorder." This book is neither super-clinical and jargon laden, nor is it superficial and sensationalistic. It falls in the middle realm of practical, readable material about an important health-related topic.

Career

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo, McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Although Steve Jobs expounding on Apple products at a MacWorld Expo is front and center on the cover of this book, the book was not endorsed or approved by him. Instead, it consists of Ms. Gallo parsing, analyzing, and learning from the techniques he has used in his well-known presentations to industry insiders and Apple faithful. Jobs is an interesting case study, since he is so well known. Although he does not have the classic salesperson manner, he may be the computer geeks' salesman of choice. There are lessons we can learn from Jobs as a presenter and from this book.

Your Next Move: The Leader's Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions by Michael D. Watkins, Harvard Business Press, 2009.

This book is a follow-on to Watkins' successful The First 90 Days, which gave advice to managers transitioning into a new organization. In Your Next Move, he explores other scenarios, including promotion, turning a business in crisis around, and making an international move. Anyone who holds a management role in a large organization or aspires to do so in the future will find this book interesting and perhaps enlightening.

Global Perspective

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, Viking hardcover 2006, Penguin paperback, 2007.

Greg Mortenson is a large quirky American guy who morphed from a nurse cum recreational mountain climber into a global humanitarian raising money to build schools where there were none. His work in the mountainous rural regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan is chronicled in this bestselling book by journalist David Relin. I heard Relin speak about writing this book and left very impressed by the accomplishments of Mortenson despite his feet of clay.

1000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz, Workman Publishing Company, 2003

This book is a modern classic and was number one on the bestseller lists; its clever title has given rise to many spinoffs written by other authors, including 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die and 1000 Historical Sites to See Before You Die. Schultz spent seven years researching and writing this ambitious book. In the introduction she explained why:

"With travel, our minds become more curious, our hearts more powerful, and our spirits more joyous. And once the mind is stretched like that, it can never return to its original state."

In 2007, Patricia Schultz published a version of the book limited to sites in the U.S.A. and Canada.

Your Stuff

The Get Organized Answer Book: Practical Solutions for 275 Questions on Conquering Clutter, Sorting Stuff, and Finding More Time and Energy by Jamie Novak, Sourcebooks Inc., 2009.

Jamie Novak is an organizer who has been featured on the television program Mission Organization—the more sedate version of Clean House. As a person who needs a lot of organizing, I have a whole collection of books on this topic. I like the Answer Book because it is well organized! (Imagine that: a book about organization that is well organized!) The Q and A format makes it easy to hone in on topics of interest.

Cool Green Stuff: A Guide to Finding Great Recycled, Sustainable, Renewable Objects You Will Love by Dave Evans, Crown Publishing Group, October 2007

This book will fascinate readers who think shoes made of recycled seatbelts, chandeliers made of party favors from the millennium celebrations, and jewelry made from vinyl records are cool. It contains photographs and website addresses for these treasures. Reviewers describe it as fun, creative, and very entertaining to read or leaf through—a small coffee table book. In fact it includes a coffee table made of coffee grounds!

Personal Finance

The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think About the Rest of Your Life, by Lee Eisenberg, Free Press, 2006.

Lee Eisenberg muses on "the number"—that is, the amount of money one needs to have saved in order to retire, or semi-retire. For many years Editor in Chief of Esquire magazine, Eisenberg left the hustle and bustle of New York for a calmer but less lucrative existence elsewhere. He uses his own struggle with the concepts of retirement and financial security as a way of exploring the concepts universally. It is written in a lively, literate style and very thought-provoking.

Making the Most of Your Money Now by Jane Bryant Quinn, Simon and Schuster, hardcopy, revised 2009.

I have had great respect for Jane Bryant Quinn as a sensible and comprehensive money guru for decades. However, her books of the 1980's needed updating for all the economic upheavals since. She has fully revised her near-encylopedic money management manual (1,264 pages) and published a new version as of December 2009. Her book is organized topically so you can dip in and read about whatever you need at the time—the basics of life insurance, paying for college, investing, etc. Her book is not flashy, not gimmicky, not pitched to the wealthy or the high rollers. It is good solid information and advice for most people and written in a clear, understandable style.

Conclusion

This list of ten suggested books to make a better you is far from exhaustive. Depending upon the areas in which you seek enrichment, growth, or improvement, you may find additional books or more specialized books appropriate. But this is a good starter set for almost anyone of a mind to be all you can be.

Sources:

Books cited above
Personal opinion and experience





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<b>News</b> Roundup: Doris Roberts Heads to &#39;The Middle,&#39; Scott Porter <b>...</b>

Doris Roberts and Patricia Heaton are going to do battle once more, but this time it'll be on 'The Middle.' The two famously sparred often.

Project Milo back on Xbox 360 <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our Xbox 360 news of Project Milo back on. ... Latest Features. Milo & Kate Interview . Milo & Kate Hands On . Milo & Kate Interview . Latest Videos. E3: Project Natal - Milo demo 2 June, 2009. Latest News ...

EA announces Alice: Madness Returns <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our news of EA announces Alice: Madness Returns.

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personal finance and budgeting

What a fantastic basic concept.

Hitler lost the second world war because he attacked Russia too soon. udervise ve vood all be speeking Deutsch now.

We employed the alternative massively effective budgetting tool.

Be a self employed Engineer for 15 years with take home pay of £50K a year and spend it all (and more besides, because ‘I want one of those NOW’) because ‘my jobs safe’.

Watch as the banks destroy the worlds finances.

Suddenly realise that over 90% of British industry is ultimately owned by Japanese investment banks, who suddenly have no money to fulfill their legal obligations to complete legislation driven improvment projects.

Watch as my £50K a year take home falls to ZERO.

Start a brand new business with Kleeneze (sorry not available in the USA) Which although it’s building really well is , after all, a business and needs time.

Suddenly HAVE to live on £18K a year GROSS.

Best Motivation for re-inventing your budget that anyone can have LOL.

We used to spend about £1,000 a month on groceries, now we spend around £300 a month, AND we eat more healthily.

Fortunately the finance on my car ended a month after our income disappeared saving us £375 a month.

We’ve sold my wifes’ car (THAT hurt) it was a really nice car, but it was costing us £489 a month in finance.

We’ve moved to a cheaper house saving us £400 a month in rent.

We’ve cancelled everything that wasn’t absolutely essential - including SKY and the TV license (It’s true, you don’t die if you turn the telly off!)

We still have creditors who we’re negotiating reduced payments and frozen interest with, but basically we are starting again from scratch.

We won’t fall into the credit trap again

Certainly not in the next six years or more ‘cos no-one in their right mind will give us credit now anyway!!

The one thing that keeps coming back to me though is

WHY aren’t our schools teaching kids how to budget? It’s a thousand times more important than even the basics.

Who cares if you can’t spell budgit if you can make one and stick to it.

It CAN’T be one of the things that are left to parents because nobody ever taught us!

Back to subject,

Your article is brilliant and if it helps one person (which I’m sure it already has) to get out or stay out of debt then you’ve done a service to humanity.

Keep it up &

we’ll see you

OVER the top

In 2006, recent Harvard grad Alexa von Tobel was headed for a job at Morgan Stanley. But though she would soon be managing the bank’s investments, she realized she didn’t know the first thing about her own finances. Most financial guides seemed to be written for middle-aged readers with millions in assets, rather than recent college grads. "I was reading every book I could find, but none of them spoke to me," she says. So she came up with the idea for LearnVest, an online personal-finance resource for young women like her, and ended up writing an 80-page business plan.

After two years at Morgan Stanley, von Tobel entered Harvard Business School in 2008. But upon winning a business plan competition held by Astia, a non-profit that supports women entrepreneurs, she took a five-year leave of absence and invested $75,000 of her Wall Street earnings to start LearnVest in November. She quickly enlisted advisors, including Betsy Morgan, the former CEO of the Huffington Post, and Catherine Levene, the former COO of DailyCandy, to help develop the site’s content and technology. In January 2009, she secured $1.1 million in seed funding from executives at Goldman Sachs.

LearnVest’s site launched a year later and has since signed up more than 100,000 members. It offers online budgeting calculators, video chats with certified financial planners on the company’s staff, and free e-mail tutorials on topics such as opening an IRA. The company earns revenue from advertising and by referring its users to companies such as TD Ameritrade. In April, after just four weeks of fundraising, von Tobel closed a $4.5 million investment round led by Accel Partners, which has also invested in Facebook and Etsy. (Incidentally, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg lived in the same dorm as von Tobel at Harvard.)

Von Tobel likens LearnVest to an online version of The Suze Orman Show, but with the goal of reinforcing positive finance habits early on. “Suze Orman helps 45-year-old women get out of debt,” she says. “Why not reach 20-year-olds to keep them from getting into debt?”

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Learning how to control personal finance is empowering and rewarding. When debt controls your life and leaves you reaching for credit cards to buy a pack of gum, it is time to take a serious look at your financial situation. Most people are overwhelmed by the thought of creating a budget, but doing so is the only avenue to financial freedom.

Regardless of the severity of personal finance problems, there is always a solution. The first step to regaining control is to thoroughly review expenses and spending habits. Start by making a list of living expenses including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, cell phone, car payments, home, auto and life insurance, daycare, and groceries. Next, total up your net household income and subtract the expenses. If you spend more than you earn, it's time to make budget cuts or increase income.

Budgeting is most affordable way to get finances back on track. The only tools required are a pencil and piece of paper, along with a commitment to track every dime spent. Most banks offer budgeting software which can be useful in recording daily expenses. Some people prefer to purchase budgeting software or create spreadsheets. It doesn't matter which method is used, but choose the one which you are most likely to use on a consistent basis.

With a bit of creativity and a few phones, you can potentially slash expenses by up to 50-percent. Utility companies generally offer budget plans that allow customers to pay the same amount each month. This is particularly helpful during winter and summer months when utility bills can soar. Enrolling in utility budget plans can be accomplished by contacting the company by phone or visiting their website. Most utility companies offer online enrollment options.

Another place to reduce expenses is through negotiating with cable and internet providers. In order to be successful, you will need to take time to comparison shop and determine competitor prices.

Contact providers by phone and explain that company ABC offers the same package you are currently subscribed to for x-amount of dollars. Many service providers offer deeply discounted deals for new subscribers, so be certain to find out what packages are available through your current provider. Most cable and internet providers will reduce rates to keep your business. If they aren't willing to offer a better price, consider switching to a reduced price plan or obtain service through a different provider.

Groceries can quickly eat away your budget, but savvy shoppers know the power of manufacturer coupons. Thanks to the Internet, it has never been easier to save money at the grocery store. Many manufacturers offer coupons and rebates directly from their websites. There are websites dedicated to providing coupons that can be printed from the comfort of home.

Some people believe that clipping coupons is time-consuming and not worth the effort. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know a woman who saves up to 90-percent off her weekly grocery bill simply by clipping coupons.

If you spend $400 per month at the grocery store and can slash 30-percent from your bill, that's $120 in your pocket. Saving that money might take two hours of time to clip grocery coupons. Over the course of a year you could save $1440 or enough for a nice vacation.

In order to get out of debt, you must know where every penny is spent. Taking time to record expenses on a piece of paper can help you quickly determine what is depleting your bank account. I once knew a man who wasted $4500 per year buying bottled water and morning lattes. Since he was purchasing these items one at a time, he didn't realize how much money he was spending on liquid items. How much of your personal finance is being flushed down the toilet? Track your expenses for a month to find out.

Perhaps the biggest source of financial problems stems from credit card debt. If you are near your limit and barely making minimum payments consider obtaining credit card debt relief assistance.

Many companies offer debt solutions such as debt consolidation and debt settlement. It is important to conduct research and shop around for the best deal. Debt help companies typically charge a start-up and monthly fee.

If debts have spiraled out of control and debt collectors are hounding you day and night, consider obtaining credit counseling. Credit counselors can help individuals regain control of personal finance through time-tested personal money management strategies.


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Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 7/19 - Arrowhead Pride

Welcome to another week. Your Kansas City Chiefs news waits below. Not too much today. Enjoy.

BREAKING <b>NEWS</b>: Pettitte out 4-5 weeks; Mitre to start Saturday <b>...</b>

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Foreclosure Mediation Programs Succeed Across The Country — Will Pawlenty Give Minnesota’s A Chance?

Today, across the country, mortgage mediation programs aimed at helping struggling homeowners stay in their homes are getting underway. Programs are launching in Maryland, as well as Florida’s 6th and 10th judicial circuits — encompassing Pasco, Pinellas, Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties — while Cook County, Illinois is beginning a huge round of outreach for its burgeoning program.

In all, “the number of jurisdictions with foreclosure mediation programs is nearly double the number a year ago, with jurisdictions in 21 states now offering foreclosure mediation or negotiation programs.” Not on this list, however, is Minnesota, where Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) saw fit to veto a program last year.

The Minnesota state senate recently passed the bill again, sending it to the state House, so Pawlenty could very well get a second shot soon. And there’s simply no reason for him to oppose the program, as mediation — during which a bank meets face-to-face with a borrower, often in the presence of a judge and housing advocates, to try and forge a mortgage modification or other arrangement that prevents a foreclosure — is one of the most successful methods of helping struggling borrowers stay in their homes.

Connecticut’s mediation program, for instance, has kept 60 percent of its borrowers out of foreclosure. Philadelphia’s success rate is also 60 percent, while Nevada claims an 85 percent success rate:

About 80 percent of homeowners at risk of losing their homes don’t engage in any efforts to negotiate with their lender. And those who do so on their own often run into a bureaucratic mess, including hours on hold, lost records, and customer service representatives who know nothing about the borrower’s situation. Mediation helps to ensure that situations like that don’t happen.

“These new protections empower our fellow Marylanders, putting them on a more equal footing with mortgage companies that too often can’t be bothered to pick up the phone before beginning a foreclosure proceeding against a Maryland family,” said Governor Martin O’Malley (D). And lest Pawlenty think this is a purely partisan issue, it has also won the praise of Gov. Jodi Rell (R-CT). “Clearly, mediation is an effective tool homeowners can use to ward off foreclosure,” she said. “This program is a beacon of hope for hard-pressed homeowners and a real alternative for lenders.”

In mediation, there’s no requirement for a lender to accommodate a borrower, but it’s often the case that preventing a foreclosure is in the best financial interest of both the borrower and the lender. As CAP’s Andrew Jakabovics and Alon Cohen wrote, “the simple act of participating in mediation consistently yields solutions short of foreclosure that are acceptable to both sides.” Hopefully, should the Minnesota legislature do the right thing and create a program, Pawlenty will allow it to stand.

Slightly more than one out of three homes sold in Kootenai County during the first quarter of 2010 was in foreclosure or already bank-owned, according to RealtyTrac.

The 182 homes sold was more than triple the number sold out of or after foreclosure in the first quarter of 2009, and 50 percent more than the fourth-quarter 2009 sales, said RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure activity nationally.

But the average foreclosure price, at $194,639, was an increase from the $184,707 for the last quarter of 2009, and the $169,472 for the first quarter. Foreclosed homes sold at less than a 5 percent …




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