Seven scientists receive the first Kavli prizes

Seven pioneering scientists who have transformed human knowledge in the fields of nanoscience, neuroscience and astrophysics have become the first recipients of the million-dollar Kavli prizes, funded by Norwegian-American multi-millionaire Fred Kavli.

The names of the prize-winners were announed by The President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Ole Didrik Lærum, in Oslo on Wednesday.

The astrophysics prize was awarded jointly to Maarten Schmidt, of the California Institute of Technology, US, and Donald Lynden-Bell, of Cambridge University.

Louis E. Brus, of Columbia University, US, and Sumio Iijima, of Meijo University in Japan, share the nanoscience prize.

The neuroscience prize goes to three scientists: Pasko Rakic, of the Yale University School of Medicine, US, Thomas Jessell, of Columbia University, US, and Sten Grillner, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

The Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, Fred Kavli’s native country on September 9th.

Fred Kavli is a Norwegian-born physicist, business leader, innovator, and philanthropist who is dedicated to supporting research and education that has a positive, long-term impact on the human condition.

Mr. Kavli received his education in physics at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, financing his studies with proceeds from a business venture he and his brother ran as teenagers during World War II. He came to the United States in 1956 to launch a business and two years later founded the Kavlico Corporation, located in Moorpark, California. Under his leadership, the company became one of the world's largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautic, automotive, and industrial applications. The company received many distinguished awards, and Mr. Kavli patented numerous technological breakthroughs. He remained CEO and sole shareholder of the company until he divested his interest in 2000.

He subsequently established The Kavli Foundation and The Kavli Operating Institute to support scientific research aimed at improving the quality of life for people around the world. The Foundation has established research institutes at leading universities worldwide and will give prizes to promote and recognise excellence in research focusing on cosmology, neuroscience and nanoscience. The work of the Foundation is enhanced by research projects and symposia sponsored by The Kavli Operating Institute.

Mr. Kavli has endowed two chairs in engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)—the Fred Kavli Chair in MEMS Technology and the Chair in Optoelectronics and Sensors. Through the Foundation, he has also endowed chairs in Earth Systems Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, in Nano-systems Sciences at UCLA, and Cosmology at the California Institute of Technology.

Mr. Kavli and the Foundation are sponsoring research institutes at leading universities worldwide. These include research institutes in neuroscience at Columbia, Yale and the University of California San Diego; in nanoscience at Caltech, Cornell and the Delft University of Technology; in astrophysics and cosmology at Stanford, the University of Chicago, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and in theoretical physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is a member of the U.S. President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the University of California President's Board on Science and Innovation, and is a Trustee of the University of California Santa Barbara Foundation. In addition to supporting scientific research and education, he is a Distinguished Grand Patron of the Alliance for the Arts, which has named the Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in his honour.

http://www.norwaypost.no/cgi-bin/norwaypost/imaker

Changing the sexual norms

When it comes to sexual behavior on college campuses, there's a lot of hype, myths and perceptions of escalating social crisis and destructive deviant behaviors.

One would think given the continuously suggested trends since the Free Love era of the 1960s, we'd all be fornicating constantly with anything and everything that moves by now. One would think that our campuses would be raging epicenters of STD epidemics. One would think we'd all have families with multiple children from multiple partners by our senior year. Not surprisingly, this is not the reality, and one must take each bit of journalistic alarmism with a grain of salt.

The reality is that sexual behaviors are in fact always changing, and our only criteria for evaluating these changes seems to be solely based on novelty: "It's not normal, because it's new and different; therefore something's wrong."

The latest pariah de-jour, the contemporary terminology replacing "free love" of the 1960s, is the "college hook-up culture." I've written several times about it because many new books are always coming out, myopically decrying the woes of premarital sex, especially how bad it is for women to actually enjoy sex for sex's sake. In the recent past we've seen several peevish publications, griping in part or wholly about changing sexual behaviors, making the best sellers list. Among them are Pamela Paul's "Pornofied," Arial Levy's "Female Chauvinist Pigs" and Jean M. Twenge's "Generation Me," and now a there's a new one.

The latest publication combating the realities of the sexual revolution is "Sex and The Soul" by Donna Freitas. Freitas' book is premised on a flawed perception that the hook-up culture (non-committal and promiscuous sexuality) is replacing good ol' fashioned dating.

The on-the-front-porch-swing sort of dating ended with our grandparents' generation however, back in the 1960s and 1970s. Freitas is a religious studies professor, however - not a sociologist. That flaw aside and to her credit, the book is not so much evangelical hell-fire and brimstone as it is a mostly a long over-due, constructive and supportive effort targeting those who have chosen to abstain from sexuality.

The sad reality is, like unhealthy sexual behavior, there are negative emotional and social consequences when we refrain from sexuality completely. Unlike unhealthy sexual behavior, there shouldn't be.

Abstinence is a healthy and thoughtful choice just as healthy and thoughtful sexual exploration is, and it's a choice which should be at least as rewarding.

So what is really happening on American campuses? Has dating really been replaced by a promiscuous non-committal drunken hook-up culture?

Canadian researchers, publishing in the spring 2004 issue of "Adolescence," found that there are three sexual behavior sub-groups among college students which have not changed proportionally since their long-term monitoring began back in 1980. Thirty percent of us are celibate, 60 percent are monogamous, and 10 percent are "free-experimenters." The average number of partners (4.5 for females, and seven for males), and the median age of first sexual experience (17 for both genders) has remained constant since 1980.

Depending on which studies are cited and how their questions were worded, about a quarter of males in colleges are virgins, and there's been little or no change over recent decades. There was a significant decrease in virginity among females in the late 80s and the early 90s, however. Basically, college women are catching up to men, discovering birth control and discarding their virginity (as opposed to losing it). Currently, about one third of college women are virgins.

So what has really changed?

More of us are using condoms, but we're also having a lot more oral and anal sex - which is not without risks. The former now exceeds coitus amongst adolescents (15-19 year olds) who are sexually active. Or, just as likely, we're no longer afraid to admit to doing as much. Oral sex, however, is not the alternative to coitus we all seem to think it to be. According to the recent study mentioned above, those who are sexually active are having both regular sex and oral sex, and not using oral sex as an alternative to coitus. Amongst young adults who are sexually active, oral virgins are virtually an extinct species.

The pendulum will swing to and fro. What is "normal" behavior does in fact change somewhat, and riding the cresting edge of these tidal changes are young adults - particularly college students. Our sensationalized bouts of excess and hedonism will always be perceived as repugnant, unprecedented or destructive and quite often they are, but that doesn't make these exceptional cases the norm.

The reality is that we're mostly the same college students we've always been, at least since the sexual revolution began.

http://media.www.thedmonline.com/media/storage/paper876/news/2008/05/29/Opinion/Changing.The.Sexual.Norms-3376758.shtml

Acai Berry

It is a fruit from the acai palm, which is native to Northern Brazil. The berries have formed an important part of the diet of Brazilians and Native South Americans for centuries, and began to be processed and exported for general global consumption in the 1990s.

The berry is a small, round, black-purple drupe, similar in appearance and size to a grape but with less pulp, is produced in branched panicles of 700 to 900 fruits. Two crops of fruit are produced in a year. Acai palm grows only in the Amazon and while new to the Western world it has been used by the local rainforest aborigines for ages.

The berry itself is 90% nut and 10% pulp and must be carefully harvested and processed before it can be made into pulp for juice or smoothies. It is so perishable that it must be processed within 24 hours of harvesting.

Frozen Acai pulp is created by submitting fresh berries through a process of "flash-freezing" that takes place within one day of being picked. The procedure is the brainchild of the world leader in Acai – Sambazon.

Acai has been introduced in the US thanks in large part to a couple of surfers from California. They made a personal discovery of acai as an energy booster while enjoying a surfing vacation in Brazil.

The result is the Sambazon company, dedicated to making organic acai available in the US while supporting the local population harvesting acai in Brazil. Doing so in a sustainable way – making use of natural resources without doing damage to the fragile rainforest. The harvesting of the acai berry is an alternative to cutting down the rainforest to make room for farming. Acai is a renewable resource.

The Sambazon smoothies are now available in health food stores all over the United States. And they have achieved certification for “Organic Acai”.

Many other energy drinks have been introduced under the classification superfruits. Acai is known to possess a wealth of desirable components that aids an individual's quest for health.

Becoming healthier, stronger, and motivated during sporting activity. While the high levels of antioxidants found in the fruit are one of the most talked-about characteristics, there are many other components that create beneficial results in the body.

Acai is a dense source of a particular class of flavonoids called anthocyanins. The Orac Value of acai is higher than any other known edible berry on the planet!

The berry is rich in calcium as well. If added to a healthy diet, rich with other foods that contain calcium and vitamin D, acai berry juice or smoothies can be used as a preventive measure in avoiding osteoporosis.

Acai Berry is an excellent source of dietary fiber. It is rich in organic vegetable protein which does not generate cholesterol during its digestion and is easier processed and transported to your muscles than animal protein.

http://www.excitingbrazil.com/acaiberry.html

Brazil says uncontacted Amazon tribe threatened

Brazil's government agreed to release stunning photos of Amazon Indians firing arrows at an airplane so that the world can better understand the threats facing one of the few tribes still living in near-total isolation from civilization, officials said Friday.

Anthropologists have known about the group for some 20 years but released the images now to call attention to fast-encroaching development near the Indians' home in the dense jungles near Peru.

"We put the photos out because if things continue the way they are going, these people are going to disappear," said Jose Carlos Meirelles, who coordinates government efforts to protect four "uncontacted" tribes for Brazil's National Indian Foundation.

Shot in late April and early May, the foundation's photos show about a dozen Indians, mostly naked and painted red, wielding bows and arrows outside six grass-thatched huts.

Meirelles told The Associated Press in a phone interview that anthropologists know next to nothing about the group, but suspect it is related to the Tano and Aruak tribes.

Brazil's National Indian Foundation believes there may be as many as 68 "uncontacted" groups around Brazil, although only 24 have been officially confirmed.

Anthropologists say almost all of these tribes know about western civilization and have sporadic contact with prospectors, rubber tappers and loggers, but choose to turn their backs on civilization, usually because they have been attacked.

"It's a choice they made to remain isolated or maintain only occasional contacts, but these tribes usually obtain some modern goods through trading with other Indians," said Bernardo Beronde, an anthropologist who works in the region.

Brazilian officials once tried to contact such groups. Now they try to protectively isolate them.

The four tribes monitored by Meirelles include perhaps 500 people who roam over an area of about 1.6 million acres (630,000 hectares).

He said that over the 20 years he has been working in the area, the number of "malocas," or grass-roofed huts, has doubled, suggesting that the policy of isolation is working and that populations are growing.

Remaining isolated, however, gets more complicated by the day.

Loggers are closing in on the Indians' homeland — Brazil's environmental protection agency said Friday it had shut down 28 illegal sawmills in Acre state, where these tribes are located. And logging on the Peruvian border has sent many Indians fleeing into Brazil, Meirelles said.

"On the Brazilian side we don't have logging yet, but I'd like to emphasize the 'yet,'" he said.

A new road being paved from Peru into Acre will likely bring in hordes of poor settlers. Other Amazon roads have led to 30 miles (50 kilometers) of rain forest being cut down on each side, scientists say.

While "uncontacted" Indians often respond violently to contact — Meirelles caught an arrow in the face from some of the same Indians in 2004 — the greater threat is to the Indians.

"First contact is often completely catastrophic for "uncontacted" tribes. It's not unusual for 50 percent of the tribe to die in months after first contact," said Miriam Ross, a campaigner with the Indian rights group Survival International. "They don't generally have immunity to diseases common to outside society. Colds and flu that aren't usually fatal to us can completely wipe them out."

Survival International estimates about 100 tribes worldwide have chosen to avoid contact, but said the only truly uncontacted tribe is the Sentinelese, who live on North Sentinel island off the coast of India and shoot arrows at anyone who comes near.

Last year, the Metyktire tribe, with about 87 members, was discovered in a densely jungled portion of the 12.1-million-acre (4.9-million-hectare) Menkregnoti Indian reservation in the Brazilian Amazon, when two of its members showed up at another tribe's village.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRk0QGW-Tz0q6PP7y36N3CwOgH_wD9105MUG0

Report: Angelina Jolie's twins born in France

The Brangelina brood has just increased by two, according to "Entertainment Tonight," which reported Friday that Angelina Jolie has given birth to twins in France.

No other details were immediately available, including the babies' sex or when they were born. The TV show posted the report on its Web site, citing a source close to Jolie that it did not name.

Representatives for Jolie and her companion, Brad Pitt, did not immediately respond to phone and e-mail requests from The Associated Press for comment.

The twins are the fifth and sixth children for the couple. Their other children are 6-year-old Maddox, 4-year-old Pax, 3-year-old Zahara and 2-year-old Shiloh.

The pair recently moved into the Miraval Estate villa in the French hamlet of Correns, in the Provence region, according to the mayor and the inn's owner.

"They are people who I hope will live normally here," Mayor Michael Latz told The Associated Press.

Security guards were blocking the gates to the estate Friday, while a postal truck and other maintenance vehicles regularly passed in and out.

Onno Stijl, owner of the L'Auberge du Parc inn, said it was a good thing they were moving in and could help business. He said he gets his wine from the estate's vineyards.

"It's a couple living here now like everyone," he said by telephone.

The area, he said, "is a bit isolated but that gives it a certain ... privacy."

According to its Web site, the Miraval estate dates from pre-Roman times. It includes fountains, aqueducts, moats, a lake and vineyards that produce an organic wine distributed worldwide.

Pitt and Jolie may be Miraval's first movie stars in residence, but Miraval has seen its share of rock stars. The estate includes a studio which has hosted the likes of Sting, the Cranberries and Pink Floyd, who recorded tracks for "The Wall" album there.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gLAt2HzWWDSqXbBXFM84w1-xm0OQD91032284

Uncontacted Indian tribe spotted in Brazil

One of Brazil's last uncontacted Indian tribes has been spotted in the far western Amazon jungle near the Peruvian border, the National Indian Foundation said Thursday.

The Indians were sighted in an Ethno-Environmental Protected Area along the Envira River in flights over remote Acre state, said the government foundation, known as Funai.

Funai said it photographed "strong and healthy" warriors, six huts and a large planted area. But it was not known to which tribe they belonged, the group said.

"Four distinct isolated peoples exist in this region, whom we have accompanied for 20 years," Funai expert Jose Carlos Meirelles Junior said in a statement.

Funai does not make contact with the Indians and prevents invasions of their land, to ensure total autonomy for the isolated tribes, the foundation said.

Survival International said the Indians are in danger from illegal logging in Peru, which is driving uncontacted tribes over the border and could lead to conflict with the estimated 500 uncontacted Indians now living on the Brazilian side.

There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, most of them in Brazil and Peru, the group said in a statement.

"These pictures are further evidence that uncontacted tribes really do exist," Survival director Stephen Corry said.

"The world needs to wake up to this, and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRk0QGW-Tz0q6PP7y36N3CwOgH_wD90VKFKG0

Iceland shaken by magnitude 6.1 earthquake

A strong earthquake shook southern Iceland on Thursday, damaging roads and buildings and causing some injuries, officials and local media said.

Channel 2 television cited civil protection authorities as saying the quake caused injuries, but it was not immediately clear how many.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.1 quake hit at 3:46 p.m., with its epicenter near the town of Selfoss, 30 miles east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavik. The Icelandic Geological Survey said it measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Residents in the capital felt buildings shake.

Iceland's national broadcaster RUV radio reported no injuries but said buildings had been damaged near the epicenter. Authorities advised residents in the area to leave their homes because of the possibility of aftershocks.

The road between Reykjavik and Selfoss was closed by quake damage, RUV said.

Iceland, population 300,000, is a geologically unstable volcanic island in the north Atlantic.

The country's last major earthquake, in June 2000, measured 6.6 on the Richter scale. It knocked down a dozen houses but caused no serious injuries.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h0VIeOgTA15ST55l-SLeQBBqggMgD90VEPMG0

Gingrich's American 'Solutions Lab:' Open

At "American Solutions,'' a project of the former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, they are accepting solutions for problems in their "Solutions Lab.''

Like this one for illegal immigration: "All Illegal Immigrants, not just those who commit a felony, should be deported.''

That's the solution submitted by "Silver Fox,'' who notes that "the Federal government from the Executive Branch to the Judical Branch, to the Congressional Branch have totally ignored US law with regard to Immigration. Children of Illegals, who are automatically US Citizens have the choice of returning to their Native Country with their parents or if they choose to stay in the US they have little option but to get a job or fall through the cracks of the "Child Welfare: System. This may sound harsh, but harsh is what we need.

"Illegal Immigrants must be located and deported under US Code,'' the Fox concludes. "There is no other answer.''

Another contributor has identified "Our Real Enemy.''

Atheism.

"Reagan's enemy was Communism,'' a poster named Kirk wrote in to the Solutions Lab. "Our enemy is not just Terrorism but Atheism. All who fail to love Jesus Christ with all their hearts are the enemy from prostituted Christians to the godless and followers of false gods around the world. ''

The solution: "Conversion.''

The recently launched American Solutions for Winning the Future bills itself as "a unique non-partisan organization designed to rise above traditional gridlocked partisanship, to provide real, significant solutions to the most important issues facing America.'' It is committed "to defend america and our allies abroad and defeat our enemies, to strengthen and revitalize America's core values, and to move government into the 21st Century.''

It's general chairman is Gingrich, the Georgia Republican who considered running for president this year but said that it would get in the way of his political action ambitions. It seems, though, that the Solutions Lab has a long way to go to match the Contract with America.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/05/gingrichs_american_solutions_l.html

South American nations to seek common currency

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that South American nations will seek a common currency as part of the region's integration efforts following the creation of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) last week.

"We are proceeding so as, in the future, we have a common central bank and a common currency," said Lula in his weekly radio program, noting that this process will "not be fast."

The president highlighted the importance of helping the group's more "economically fragile" members, such as Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.

"We have to help them because the stronger the countries in South America economically are, the more tranquility, peace, democracy, trade, companies, jobs, incomes and development," he said.

The Brazilian leader said the creation of Unasur will allow cross-nation construction of railroads, highways, bridges and transmission lines connecting the region, while the alliance will make negotiations with other blocs easier.

The president said changes will be made on the proposal to create a regional defense council, which the South American leaders failed to agree during a summit in Brasilia on Friday.

A working group is expected to analyze the revised proposal in August, he said.

Lula plans to visit Colombia in July and meet Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Colombia was the only member that opposed the plan to build the regional defense council designed to resolve regional conflicts, promote military cooperation and possibly coordinate joint weapons production in the region.

Uribe has said Colombia is experiencing a difficult time in its fight against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest rebel group in the country, and such a regional defense body would not offer solutions to Colombia's problem.

The heads of state of 12 South American countries -- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela -- signed a treaty last Friday in Brasilia on the creation of Unasur aimed at boosting economic integration and political cohesion in the region.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/27/content_8260847.htm

Natural Health and Strength

Health experts have said it for years. Now research proves it. Our diets do not provide the nutrition we need. Modern farming practices have depleted our soils to such an extent that it is almost impossible to obtain the nutrients your body needs through food alone.

People everywhere are turning to supplements to fill in the gaps and compensate for a deficient diet, So, how can you know that you are taking the right nutrients, in the right amounts and at the right time? How can you be sure that you are consuming the highest quality supplements available and that what's on the label is really what's in the product? These are no doubt concerns of yours, and they are concerns of ours. This is why the products you will learn about were created.

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This information packet is designed to give you a brief but thorough look into the scientific research behind this phenomenal product.

Nutritional Supplementation -- It's No Longer an Option ...

A number of reputable journals have recently published research supporting the need for supplementation. In the Journal of the American Medical Association 2002, Harvard Medical School scientists stated that we should all take a vitamin supplement "because most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone." After reviewing thirty years of scientific research, they found that even with the variety of foods we eat, Americans are still deficient in some nutrients.

They also drew a very definite link between this low intake of important vitamins and the risk of disease. In their research they stated, "Suboptimal intake of some vitamins, even above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population, especially the elderly." They specifically advised that all Americans supplernent with folic acid, and vitamins B-6,B-12, D, E and C.

For Natural Health and Strength, adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals are critical. The healthy functioning of all organs and systems throughout the body must be supported by such adequate nutrients. Research shows that specific levels of nutrients are needed for the protection of bones and blood cells as well as the healthy functioning of the heart and eyes. There is also evidence that adequate levels of vitamins and minerals are important for supporting aging-related mernory function.

It has been long known that a diet low in vitamins or minerals may lead to severe illnesses, such as scurvy from lack of vitamin C.

The idea that our diets do not provide adequate nutrition is not a new one.

As early as 1938 Dr. Charles Northern reported to the U.S. Senate that fruits and vegetables, and therefore people, were deficient in vital minerals due to the depletion of our soils. He stated, "It is bad news to learn from our leading authorities that 99 percent of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in disease."

For Natural Health and Strength - SUPPLEMENTATION IS VITAL.

http://www.fundednfree.com/naturalhealthandstrength.html

New Zealand's Dixon Edges Meira for Indy 500 Win

Scott Dixon held off a late challenge from Vitor Meira to become the first New Zealander to win the Indianapolis 500.

Dixon, who started from the pole, finished 1.7498 seconds ahead of Meira. It was the first Indianapolis victory for Dixon, who finished second last year to Dario Franchitti in both the race and the Indy Racing League championship. The 27-year-old Target Chip Ganassi driver was the 2003 IRL champion.

``What a day, I just couldn't believe it,'' Dixon said in a televised interview after the race. ``We seemed to have a good car and we just had to hold on to it. There were so many yellows it was hard to get into a rhythm.''

The race was slowed by eight caution flags for 69 laps that left 20 cars running at the end. Dixon's crew got him out of the pits ahead of Meira under the last caution and held off the Brazilian during the final laps. There were 18 lead changes among nine drivers. Dixon led for 115 laps of the 2.5-mile (4.02-kilometer) Indiana circuit.

Marco Andretti finished third, Helio Castroneves was fourth and Ed Carpenter rounded out the top five. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the top rookie finisher in sixth place.

``This is a very good result for us compared to the struggle we had last year and at the beginning of this season,'' Meira told reporters after the race. ``Definitely, Panther Racing is back, and the big three better watch out.''

Meira was referring to Ganassi Racing, Penske Racing and Andretti Green Racing, the top three teams in the IRL. Those teams claimed three of the top five spots. Meira finished 10th at Indianapolis last year and has retired from three of four races so far this year with Panther.

Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick was knocked out of the race during a pit stop on lap 171. Ryan Briscoe was exiting his pit when he clipped Patrick's left rear tire, spinning her car around and breaking a suspension component. Patrick stalked toward Briscoe's pit after the incident and was prevented by officials from confronting him.

Patrick was credited with a 22nd-place finish. It was the first time in four trips to Indianapolis that she failed to finish the race. Briscoe was 23rd.

Tony Kanaan led at the halfway point in the race. Five laps later after being passed by Dixon and Andretti, his teammate, he lost control and crashed, collecting Sarah Fisher in the process. Kanaan was upset with Andretti for not giving him enough room on the track.

``I was worried about it when it happened,'' Andretti, who apologized to Kanaan for the incident, told reporters after the race. ``It's racing, and if it's going to happen, it's going to happen.''

Kanaan was credited with a 29th place finish and Fisher was 30th. Milka Duno was the top finisher of three female drivers in the race with a 19th-place finish.

Dixon completed the 500-mile event in 3 hours, 28 minutes, 57.692 seconds, an average 143.567 miles an hour. Andretti set the fastest lap of the race at 224.037 miles an hour on lap 161.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aq._eGTK_hrw&refer=home

Tennis-Open-Serena hammers Harkleroad in Paris

Fifth seed Serena Williams, the only former champion in the women's draw, cruised into the French Open second round amid the evening gloom at Roland Garros after an easy win over fellow American Ashley Harkleroad.

Williams, the 2002 champion, was broken in her opening service game but reeled off 12 games out of 13 to win 6-2 6-1 in 76 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

The 26-year-old, a winner in Bangalore, Miami and Charleston already this year, was rocked on to the backfoot in the early stages by the sprightly world number 61 but she soon found her rhythm, clubbing winners from both wings in the fading light.

Williams, winner of eight grand slam singles titles, will face French wildcard Mathilde Johansson in the second round.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/tennisNews/idUKL254616620080525

Jim Nabors back to sing at sunny, warm Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS: Jim Nabors was back home in Indiana on Sunday.

Heart trouble kept the crooner and actor who played Gomer Pyle from singing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year. Sunday, hundreds of thousands of fans welcomed back the 77-year-old for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500.

"It's always the main part of my year," the 77-year-old Nabors said just before singing. "I look forward to it more than anything.

"It just thrills you to your bones."

The Speedway doesn't divulge attendance, but fans packed the bleachers and grandstands and filled the infield inside the 21/2-mile track.

Former Indy 500 champion Arie Luyendyk said the crowd was the biggest he had seen in years. He said it's a different feeling being a spectator.

"I woke up this morning thinking I'm pretty relaxed now," he said. "It's just awesome to be here."

Several celebrities at the track, including Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, echoed that sentiment.

Actress Jenna Elfman rode in Saturday's pre-race parade and attended the SnakePit Ball.

"Today's the real deal," she said. "When those cars get started, and everyone's heart gets pumping, that's what it's going to be about."

For regular folks, getting to the track for the first Indy 500 since the reunification of the two American open wheel racing series proved tough. Traffic choked roads near the Speedway hours before the race's 1:11 p.m. start.

T.J. Perry, of Carmel, Ind., said it took him nearly twice as long to make it to the track this year because of the clogged roads.

"It's just great to see a lot of people out here at the race, the tradition of the Speedway," said the 33-year-old Perry, as he sipped a beer a couple of hours before the green flag waved. "It's good to see reunification, now we just need to see a great race."

First-time visitors Rodrigo Iglesias of Indianapolis and Alddo Molinar of Cleveland took time to cruise past rows of Chevrolet Corvette pace cars parked in an infield parking lot.

"We're pulling for Danica," Molinar said.

"'Cause she's hot," his buddy added.

"It'd be good to have a girl win this thing, actually," Molinar said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/25/sports/CAR-IRL-Indy-500-Scene.php

Legendary Comedian and Director Dick Martin Dies in Santa Monica

Dick Martin, who co-created and co-hosted Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In - a show which forever changed the face of television - and who championed free speech and satire as staples in American media, died today of respiratory complications, while surrounded by his wife, family, and friends. He was 86 years young.

In addition to a 25-year career in nightclubs and the success of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Dick Martin began a second career as a television director in 1976, starting with The Bob Newhart Show. He was the chief director of the 1980s sitcom Newhart as well as the host of the short-lived Mindreaders game show in the late 1970s. By the time he retired from his second career, he had directed over 200 hours of television.

He married Britain's first Playboy Playmate Dolly Read (Dolly Martin) in 1971. Dolly Read had starred in the cult classic feature film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Martin was formerly married to Peggy Connelly. He has two sons, Richard Martin and Cary Martin.

Dick Martin was born on January 30, 1922, in Battle Creek, Michigan. He took an early interest in comedy and in his twenties worked briefly as a staff writer for the radio show Duffy's Tavern, working with the author and Broadway director Abe Burrows.

In 1951 he had a bit part in the Vincente Minnelli film Father's Little Dividend, alongside Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor, but it took him several more years to begin carving out a career for himself in television comedy. This began with an appearance on The Bob Hope Show, in an episode which also featured Diana Dors and Betty Grable. He then appeared in two episodes of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, the first of which featured Shirley MacLaine and the second of which involved his first appearance with Dan Rowan, who was to become the other half of his famous double-act.

It was 1952 when Dan Rowan and Dick Martin met. Dick Martin, who had just seen Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform at Slapsie Maxie's nightclub, decided "that looked like a lot of fun." Nine days later, Rowan and Martin broke in their act at Charlie Foy's Supper Club in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. They didn't do all that well but while sitting at the bar after the show, comedian Joe Frisco came up to them and said "Don't give up kids - you've got class."

Rowan and Martin began playing nightclubs throughout America. The first time they played Las Vegas was early 1953 at the Golden Nugget; they played three times downtown at the El Cortez before moving "up" to the Strip. They received their first big break in Lake Tahoe at the Calvada Lodge, owned by Joby Lewis of the Detroit "family."

At the Calvada, they opened for a young singer named Nat King Cole. After a 3-week stint in Tahoe, Nat took the boys to Australia where they played Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, then flew on to play Auckland, New Zealand. Cole then took Rowan and Martin to the Chez Paree in Chicago, and on to the Copacabana in New York City. It was in 1955 that Rowan and Martin first played the Sands Hotel for a four-week engagement on the Las Vegas strip - they had arrived!

Between 1962 and 1964, Martin - without Rowan - was a regular on The Lucy Show.

Nat King Cole had opened the doors for Rowan and Martin, and they were now booked continuously as an opening act in Las Vegas and New York. At the same time, they began making appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show (a total of 18 times), the Perry Como Show (8 times), and The Hollywood Palace (10 times). They also appeared on the Dean Martin Variety Show on NBC.

In 1966, Dean's producer, Greg Garrison, sold NBC on the idea of a Dean Martin summer show. NBC wanted to have rotating hosts in the manner of The Hollywood Palace, but Dean Martin insisted on Rowan and Martin as sole hosts of the shows.

The 12 shows they hosted were so successful that NBC approached Rowan and Martin to host their own variety show. Dan and Dick said they "had something a little different" in mind. NBC said, "let's give it a try" and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was born. They shot a special in September, 1967. NBC was not thrilled with the show, but critics around the country were so enthusiastic that NBC relented to a 13-week run beginning mid-season.

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In began their 13-show run in January, 1968. NBC put the show on opposite The Lucy Show and Gunsmoke, two mega-hits and nobody gave the show much of a chance - but by the eighth show, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was the number one show in the country. Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In taped 144 shows and went off the air in 1973.

Though he never neglected his television work, Martin became eagerly involved with Hollywood, appearing in comedies such as The Glass Bottom Boat; Zero to Sixty, with Darren McGavin and Joan Collins; and Carbon Copy, with George Segal and Denzel Washington. Martin also had acting roles in popular series including Coach, with Craig T Nelson and Jerry Van Dyke; 3rd Rock from the Sun, with John Lithgow and Kristen Johnston; Blossom, with Mayim Bialik and Joey Lawrence; Baywatch, with David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson; and Diagnosis Murder, with Dick Van Dyke and Scott Baio.

Dan Rowan retired to France until his death from lymphatic cancer in 1987.

Rowan and Martin also appeared together in comedy western film Once Upon a Horse and in the 1969 horror spoof film The Maltese Bippy, with Julie Newmar.

Dan Rowan and Dick Martin received the 2,194th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002.

As requested by Martin, there will be no funeral.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/legendary-comedian-director-dick-martin/story.aspx?guid=B905ED5F-A0B5-4AA4-AEBE-23E157C0FDDA&dist=SecMostMailed

Memorial Day travelers face headwinds

Record gas prices force some would-be holiday weekend drivers to stay off the roads. Travel expected to lessen for first time since 2002.

Travelers taking to the road this Memorial Day weekend face soaring costs as prices at the pump continued their record run Friday.

The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline rose to $3.875, up from $3.831 the previous day, according to the most recent reading from motorist group AAA. That's the 16th consecutive record for gas prices, which have now risen for 17 straight days.

Retail gas prices are up nearly 10% from a month ago and have climbed more than 20% in the last 12 months. Last Memorial Day weekend, drivers only had to shell out an average of $3.23 for a gallon of gas.

The surge in prices is keeping some drivers off the road. For the first time since 2002, Americans plan to drive less on Memorial Day weekend than they did the year before, according to AAA.

The number of Americans traveling 50 or more miles from home this holiday weekend will slip by 0.9% to 37.87 million, the motorist group forecast last week.

"Most people are going to travel closer to home this year, and they're going to take fewer trips," said AAA spokesman Mike Pina.

Among the estimated 12% of Americans who will be traveling this weekend, AAA said 31.7 million people, or 83%, are expected to drive. That's slightly fewer than the 32 million Memorial Day drivers a year ago.

But the survey was conducted during the last week of April, when gas was only at $3.50 a gallon. Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, California, Hawaii and Michigan are now all averaging over $4 per gallon. Only Wyoming and Arizona have an average that's under $3.70 a gallon.

A Deloitte & Touche survey of more than 1,000 Americans conducted May 12-14 found that, as a result of the rise in gas prices, 23% of Americans have altered their Memorial Day weekend travel plans.

Deloitte & Touche found that 12% of would-be travelers are cancelling their vacation plans altogether, and 11% plan on traveling closer to home.

The average traveler is expected to drive 91 miles from home this weekend, according to the Deloitte & Touche survey. With an average car that gets 23 miles per gallon, that 91-mile trip will cost drivers $15.33. Last year, that same trip would have cost $12.78.

Air travel will give travelers no respite from high fuel costs: For the 11% of travelers who plan on flying, the price of a ticket will be 8% higher than it was last year. Most U.S. air carriers have announced a fuel surcharge that will be added to ticket prices this spring.

Much of the run-up in gasoline can be attributed to record crude oil prices, which have more than doubled over the past year and surpassed $135 a barrel Thursday.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/23/news/economy/gas_prices/?postversion=2008052309

ITV Ventures™ is Recruiting Agents For New TV Infomercial Opportunity

ITV Ventures™ is a fast growing network marketing organization created in 2006 by the television infomercial company ITV.

New Brunswick, NJ (PRWEB) March 23, 2007 -- A unique home business opportunity is being offered by ITV Ventures™ which enables participants to sell products to people who respond to TV infomercial advertising. Details can be found at http://www.ITVventuresAmerica.com. The parent company which produces and runs the infomercials is ITV. ITV is a successful TV Infomercial advertising company that has been in business over 6 years, has over 500 employees and spends over $1 million dollars per week advertising their products on television.

The ITV Ventures™ marketing system enables independent agents (referred to as Independent Business Owners or IBOs) to establish home businesses distributing products to people who have responded to ITV infomercials. The IBOs are also able to recruit other people into the program and then participate in a multilevel income plan. The plan is detailed at http://www.itvventuresamerica.com/comp_plan.html.

One such IBO is from central New Jersey. This IBO says, "this program has an unusual combination of proven products and an incredible lead program for both product sales and recruiting. In most every other network marketing company, the biggest obstacle is sales leads, but this program effectively eliminates that obstacle. ITV has created an opportunity that significantly increases a person's likelihood of success".

According to this agent, "the ITV Ventures™ opportunity is unique in many ways. The organization was created by a highly successful television infomercial company which enables our network marketers to get sales leads for product sales and for recruitment. We don't have to find customers or find people to recruit. If we participate in the lead programs the company finds them for us. This eliminates the biggest obstacle to network marketing success and creates an extraordinary opportunity. There is no other MLM business that has been built on the infrastructure of a highly successful television advertising company"

This IBO has created an informative new blog which provides information and suggestions on how IBOs can build a successful network marketing business with ITV Ventures™. The blog also gives other IBOs a platform from which they can exchange ideas and also promote their websites.

Since many of the products that are offered are consumable products that get used up and ordered again, the company offers customer discounts as part of an Order Assurance Program (OAP). This enables customers to get automatic shipments of the products either every month or every three months. By putting customers on the OAP program, the IBOs are able to build long term residual incomes for their home based business. The representative says, "even if you completely remove the multi-level aspect of the business, the ITV Ventures™ program is an extremely viable income opportunity just from making product sales through the leads generated by the television infomercials. When you factor in the multilevel aspect of the program, the potential is compelling."

New IBOs are given a replicated corporate website from which they manage their business online. An example can be viewed at

http://www.itvventures.com/nordic

Ted Kennedy hospitalized after seizure

Sen. Edward Kennedy was hospitalized in Boston, Massachusetts, after suffering an apparent seizure Saturday morning, his family said.

"He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure. Sen. Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours," a statement from his office said.

Kennedy was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for evaluation after initial treatment at Cape Cod Hospital, an earlier statement from his office said.

The senator spent less than an hour in the Cape Cod facility, hospital spokesman David Reilly said.

Earlier, a well-informed Democratic source in Massachusetts said the 76-year-old senator had "symptoms of a stroke" at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port. VideoWatch an update on Kennedy's condition »

An official with the Hyannis Fire Department said it received a 911 call from the Kennedy compound at 8:19 a.m. and transported a male patient to the hospital, arriving at 8:50 a.m.

The patient was subsequently transferred to the hospital's municipal airport, and a Boston Med Flight helicopter flew the man to Massachusetts General, Lt. Bill Rex said.

Family members reported that Kennedy was well enough later in the morning to call to say he would not be able to join them for lunch.

They said they were guardedly optimistic that he would make a full recovery.

Kennedy had surgery in October to clear his carotid artery in hopes of preventing a stroke. Colleagues said he had recovered quickly and was working energetically recently.

He suffers chronic back pain from injuries suffered in a plane crash in 1964.

Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1962. He is one of only six senators in U.S. history to serve more than 40 years. He is known as a liberal champion of social issues such as health care, family leave, and the minimum wage.

He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. He has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the 2008 nomination.

Obama said that his "thoughts and prayers" are with Kennedy.

"We are going to try to find out as quickly as possible what is going on," Obama said, and added that he would call Kennedy's wife, Vicky.

"He is one of my favorite people," Obama said.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said in a statement that he was "very sorry to hear that Sen. Kennedy has taken ill and, like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition."

The two senators are close friends despite differing political ideologies. They co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration bill that has stalled in the Senate.

"He is a legendary lawmaker," McCain said.

Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, said: "My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery."

John Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts, was seen arriving at Massachusetts General Hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Kennedy is the youngest of nine children in the famous family of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. His oldest brother, Joe, died in World War II; two other brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy, were both assassinated in the 1960s

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/17/kennedy.hospital/?iref=hpmostpop#cnnSTCText

It Might Have Been Oslo on a Midsummer Night

It's hard to convey the special qualities of the Risor Festival of Chamber Music in Norway to someone who has not been there. So the superb Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, the festival's co-artistic director, has done the next best thing and brought Risor to New York. On Friday night Mr. Andsnes and a roster of impressive young musicians presented the first of three programs at Zankel Hall, a mini-Risor Festival.

Of course the character of the Risor Festival, which takes place in late June, has a lot to do with its locale: a charming fishing village on the southeastern coast of Norway.

Musically, the goal is to bring together musicians for a brief but intense period of work. The schedule typically presents about 20 concerts in the space of six days: morning, noon and night, and sometimes midnight. In their programming Mr. Andsnes and his co-director, the Norwegian violist Lars Anders Tomter, have a knack for juxtaposing old and new works in provocative ways.

Friday night's program had works by Schumann, Janacek, Gyorgy Kurtag and Matthias Ronnefeld. A quality of wildness pervaded them all.

In the three elusive movements of Janacek's "Pohadka" ("Fairy Tale"), for cello and piano, recurring riffs and quizzical fragments convey a sense of radical discontinuity. Yet as played by Mr. Andsnes and the rhapsodic French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, the music seemed strangely inevitable.

Ronnefeld died in 1986 at just 27. Although he was born in Vienna and spent his young adult years in Hamburg, Germany, Denmark claims him, since his Danish mother, a widow, took the family to Copenhagen when he was a boy.

At 18 minutes, Ronnefeld's Sextet (1979) is his longest surviving work. Its five movements show a brilliantly gifted young composer enthralled with Gyorgy Ligeti and Berg yet bursting with avant-garde originality.

His rapturous sense of color, vivid ear for unearthly harmony and flair for drama captured the imaginations of the excellent players, representing, in the Risor way, a roster of nationalities: besides Mr. Andsnes and Mr. Queyras, there were the flutist Tara Helen O'Connor and the percussionist Daniel Druckman (American); the violinist Christian Tetzlaff (German); the clarinetist Martin Frost (Swedish); and the conductor Christian Eggen (Norwegian).

Mr. Kurtag's "Hommage à R. Sch.," a modernistic meditation on Schumann in six aphoristic movements for piano, viola and clarinet, proved an ideal prelude to Schumann's Piano Trio No. 3. Mr. Andsnes, Mr. Tetzlaff and Mr. Queyras gave an engrossing performance that conveyed both the wildness and the elegance in this mercurial music. We could have been in Risor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/arts/music/09ands.html

"The Bachelor" Matt Grant Proposed to Shayne Dahl Lamas

Matt Grant proposed to Shayne Dahl Lamas on the season finale of "The Bachelor: London Calling" on Monday night.

Lamas accepted Grant's 2.85-carat Tacori platinum diamond as he knelt on bended knee for her hand in marriage.

Lamas, the 22-year-old actress from Los Angeles and daughter of actor Lorenzo Lamas, told People Magazine that she is not too young to get married but is not rushing to the altar, either.

Lamas, who has appeared on General Hospital from 2003-06, is also the granddaughter of late Argentine actor Fernando Lamas and the U.S.-born actress of Norwegian descent, Arlene Dahl, both of which are the parents of her father Lorenzo.

Matt and Shayne became the season's final couple soon after Matt sent Chelsea Wanstrath home.

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=46500&cat=2