Russian Security Camera Films a UFO.

An apparent UFO caught on cam in Russia and seemingly taking its time so it could be filmed for proof. =)

Comes in from the top left off the screen at 00:11.

It looks like an UFO to me - I surely can’t identify it. Although.. In a way, it looks a lot like all the other dots we’ve seen in videos. Not sure whether that classifies as an identification though. Let’s call it unidentified till we can create a magical zoom-in-and-fill-up-missing-pixels software that shows us what it really is. Which of course will turn out to be CGI.

Mia Michaels

Mia Michaels is an Emmy Award-winning American choreographer. She has worked with Celine Dion, Madonna, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, and Prince, among others, and is best-known for contemporary dance choreography. Michaels is a regular guest judge and choreographer on the television program So You Think You Can Dance, and in 2007 won an Emmy for her work on the show. She has choreographed Celine Dion's Las Vegas show "A New Day...,"^[1] as well as a Cirque du Soleil's world tour, "Delirium," along with several television commercials.

Early life

Michaels was born in Coconut Grove, Florida in 1965, to a family of dancers.^[2] Her father Joe Michaels taught her jazz, tap and ballet from the age of two. Her sister Dana Michaels taught Mia for several years in contemporary dance ^{[3] [4]}. For years she attended summer sessions at Interlochen Arts and Jacob's Pillow. ^[2][3]

Career

Mia’s choreography for "Celine Dion’s A New Day" under the direction of Franco Dragone at Caesars’ Palace in Las Vegas has received stunning reviews. The show features a cast of 50 dancers. Currently her work can be seen on Cirque du Soleil’s first touring show, Delirium, which premiered March 2006. She has also created works for numerous recording artists including Madonna, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Anna Vissi, and Prince.

On television, Mia is the ever-popular judge and contributing choreographer for Fox’s hit TV show (and touring company) “So You Think You Can Dance.” Mia won an Emmy award for choreography on a television series for her work “Calling You” on SYTYCD. Other work in film and television includes “Cool Women” for AMC/DreamWorks Television and award winning commercials for Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Bacardi, Coldwell Banker, and Ziper.

Included in her diverse concert and stage work is the critically acclaimed New York based dance company, RAW for which she is the founder, artistic director and choreographer. She has created works for the Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of “Hello Dolly!” starring Tovah Feldshuh, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Jazz Dance Chicago, and Oslo Dance Ensemble. Her choreography has been seen off-Broadway with “If These Shoes Could Talk,” and “Fort Chaffee.”

Michaels' career began when she worked with her father Joe at the Miami Dance Center^[2][5] She is also the founder, artistic director and choreographer for the New York-based dance company RAW (Reality At Work), which began in 1997.^[6][2]

Michaels has been on the faculty of schools including the Harid Conservatory, the Ailey School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Broadway Dance Center, in New York City ^[7], and her alma mater, the New World School of the Arts. Her choreography has been enlisted for the Miami City Ballet, Joffrey II, the Kirov Academy and the Jazz Theater of Amsterdam.^[2]

Awards

• Silver Leo Award, Jazz Dance World Congress, 1992^[2]
• Gold Leo Award, 1998, Best Choreography
• Dance Educators of America's President Cup^[2]
• 2007: 59th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Choreography:So You Think You Can Dance (Season 2): Calling You^[8]
• Nominations
  • 2002: American Choreography Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Commercials: Coldwell Banker “Buying” ^[3]
  • 2003: American Choreography Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Television - Variety Series: Celine in Las Vegas: Opening Night Live! ^[9]
  • 2003: 55th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Choreography: Celine in Las Vegas: Opening Night Live! ^[10]

Gregorio Cortez

Gregorio Cortez Lira (born June 22, 1875 near Matamoros, Tamaulipas—February 28, 1916) was a Mexican American who became a hero to some Mexican American Texans and a symbol of the willingness to fight for equal rights.

Background

Cortez's parents were itinerant laborers who brought their family to Manor, Texas (near Austin) in 1887. That year, his brother Romaldo was charged with horse theft but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Another brother, Tomás, was also charged in a separate horse-theft incident, but received a pardon from Texas governor Lawrence Ross. Nevertheless, Tomás Cortez served time in the state penitentiary in the 1900s. The oral historian Richard Mertz discovered that he may have been involved in horse theft (a crime equivalent to today's grand theft auto) with members of his family during the 1880s. In 1889 he began working as a farmhand in various Texas counties, becoming familiar with much of the area. In 1890 he was wed, and the couple had four children. His wife divorced him in 1903, alleging he abused and intimidated her. He remarried the next year and again in 1916. It is known that he spoke English and owned horses.^[1]

The incident

On June 12, 1901, while investigating a horse theft, Karnes County sheriff W.T. "Brack" Morris went to the Thulemeyer ranch outside of Kenedy, where Gregorio and Romaldo Cortez were tenant maize farmers, after learning that Gregorio had acquired a mare from a Mexican Kenedy resident by way of trade. After misunderstandings between Morris and the Cortez brothers resulting from poor translation by a deputy--in which Cortez was supposedly asked if he had recently acquired a caballo, or a stallion, and Cortez answered he had acquired a yegua, or a mare, a word which the deputy did not understand--Morris shot and wounded Romaldo, prompting Gregorio to shoot and kill Morris.^[2] On his escape, Cortez stopped at the ranch of Martín and Refugia Robledo on the property of Mr. Schnabel. At the Robledo home Gonzales county sheriff Glover and his posse found Cortez. Shots were exchanged, and Glover and Schnabel were killed. Cortez escaped again and walked nearly 100 miles to the home of Ceferino Flores, a friend, who provided him a horse and saddle. He then headed toward Laredo, Texas.^[1]

Flight and capture

Cortez, now a fugitive from the law, spent ten days on the lam, repeatedly evading authorities (local posses and sheriffs, not Texas Rangers, as has previously been suggested...he was eventually arrested by a Ranger once the Rangers were called in), and at times aided by compatriots. The search for Cortez involved hundreds of men. A train on the International-Great Northern Railroad route to Laredo was used to bring in new men and fresh horses. During his flight, Texas newspapers were highly critical of Cortez, some lamenting that he hadn't been lynched. Popular hatred for Cortez among Anglos provoked violence against Mexican communities in Gonzales, Refugio, Hays, and other counties. However, admiration of Cortez by some Anglo-Texans increased as the search progressed, and the San Antonio Express touted his "remarkable powers of endurance and skill in eluding pursuit."^[1] Cortez was finally apprehended on June 22, 1901, when an acquaintance turned him in.^[1]

During those 10 days, Cortez was pursued by a posse that at times included up to 300 men. He traveled nearly 400 miles on horseback and more than 100 miles on foot. This was one of the largest manhunts in history. His story was symbolic of the struggles between the Anglos and Mexicans in South Texas.^[3]

Trial, conviction, and exoneration

Immediately following Cortez's capture, his supporters began forming organizations to publicize the case and raise money for his defense. At his first trial (in Gonzales), he was sentenced to fifty years' imprisonment for second-degree murder. While appeals were being denied, a lynch mob of three hundred attempted to hang him. He was also tried and convicted in Karnes City and Pleasanton. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned all the verdicts. His last trial was in Corpus Christi in 1904, after which he began serving a life sentence. Efforts to have him pardoned began with his incarceration and finally succeeded in 1913, when governor Oscar Colquitt issued him a conditional pardon.^[1]

Andrew Kissel featured in American Greed

For such as fraudulent year, 2008 have seen big business scandals, big scam and frauds that all threaten to make the global economy worsen. This very negative situation is however capitalized by entertainment producers to produce a documentary about the late Andrew Kissel and his fraudulent money making schemes.

Nancy Kissel and the Kissel brothers

Deceased Greenwich real estate mogul Andrew Kissel, a symbol of the fraudulent money grabs that have run rampant across the economic landscape, is to be featured on the now-popular "American Greed" documentary series running on CNBC, on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 9 p.m.

Kissel, who was found brutally stabbed, bound and gagged in the basement of his estate on Dairy Road, will be featured along with his murdered brother, Robert Kissel, in the film, "Doubly Doomed" narrated by actor Stacey Keach and produced by Kurtis Productions.

The film includes commentary by Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg, who oversaw the Andrew Kissel murder investigation. Archival video footage includes shots of the Kissel estate before it was replaced by another.

Ridberg's extensive investigation led to the arrest of two murder suspects, Carlos Trujillo, Kissel's driver and assistant who reportedly was the last person to see Kissel alive, and his cousin, Leonard Trujillo. Both Trujillo defense attorneys are featured in the film.

Sun Mingming

Microsoft’s Bing Vs Google: Head To Head Search Results

Let’s just get it out of the way: no, Bing is not a “Google Killer.” It’s also safe to say that Microsoft doesn’t see it that way either. My understanding of what Microsoft believes it has in Bing is a much more competitive product than Live Search. I entirely agree.

Over the course of the next two or three weeks there will be countless articles and blog posts discussing Bing and whether or not it can dethrone Google. Microsoft has told me that the company sees Bing as a start (or restart) and that improvements will continue to roll out over time. One can be skeptical of that position or not. Regardless, Bing is a big advancement for Microsoft’s search efforts.

I’ve been using Bing (Kumo) off and on over that past couple of weeks. I’ve used it side by side with Google and by itself. In some cases I’ve been self-consciously testing and comparing results. At other times, I’ve simply used it to find information or navigate to desired sites.

Let me say that this post is not intended to be a detailed discussion of Bing’s “anatomy” and features. Danny and others will delve into those areas and may express different opinions and conclusions than I do here. As an aside, there are range of features that I like quite a bit; among them the “table of contents” that often appears in the upper left column (see graphic below) and the easily accessible search history, which will likely be further developed in interesting ways. (A Silverlight-enhanced version of search history adds more utility and even makes it social.)

Google Wave

Google Wave is a new communication service previewed today at Google I/O. "A wave is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more."

The service seems to combine Gmail and Google Docs into an interesting free-form workspace that could be used to write documents collaboratively, plan events, play games or discuss a recent news.


Google Wave has been designed by the founders of Where 2 Tech, a start-up acquired by Google to create a cutting-edge mapping service, which later became Google Maps.

"Back in early 2004, Google took an interest in a tiny mapping startup called Where 2 Tech, founded by my brother Jens and me. We were excited to join Google and help create what would become Google Maps. But we also started thinking about what might come next for us after maps. As always, Jens came up with the answer: communication. He pointed out that two of the most spectacular successes in digital communication, email and instant messaging, were originally designed in the '60s to imitate analog formats — email mimicked snail mail, and IM mimicked phone calls. Since then, so many different forms of communication had been invented — blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, etc. — and computers and networks had dramatically improved. So Jens proposed a new communications model that presumed all these advances as a starting point; I was immediately sold," explains Lars Rasmussen.

"In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content -- it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave to see how it evolved."

You can see some screenshots of the service and find some details about the API that could be used to extend the service and the Wave protocol that allows anyone to run a "wave" server. Google promises that Google Wave will be available later this year.

June Calendar Printable

Here is a snazzy June Calendar Printable for you. Click on the image to enlarge, right click then save, open it in a document as you would a picture, stretching it to as large as you want it to be (half-page, full-page, whatever suits you) Enjoy!

Jet America Airlines Website

Jet America Airlines Website - Today a new airline opens up their doors, they are called Jet America Airlines. And what is so special about them? They are reportedly offering $9 airline tickets! Here you can check out their website where they say:
“9 Seats for $9 Every flight. No exceptions & not a gimmick”
Wow, that’s a BIG draw of attention! Jet America Airlines will begin operating on July 13th. There is some talk that the company may recover the money from additional charges. For example for buying tickets via Internet or phone, although there are no real details on this.
Those were the news on the Jet America Airlines Website.

Tony Eury Jr. out as Crew Chief of the 88

McGREW NAMED INTERIM CREW CHIEF OF NO. 88 SPRINT CUP TEAM
CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2009)

Hendrick Motorsports today named Lance McGrew as interim crew chief of the No. 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. beginning with the June 7 event at Pocono Raceway. Team manager Brian Whitesell will lead the team this weekend at Dover, Del.
“Our performance hasn’t been where it should be,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point. We have a plan in place, and we’re going to move forward with it.”
Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick Motorsports’ lead chassis engineer, have been assigned to support McGrew on a full-time basis. Whitesell, who won two of seven races as Jeff Gordon’s interim crew chief in 1999, will join McGrew and team engineer Tom Stewart on the No. 88 pit box to assist with race strategy.
“We’re going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races,” Hendrick said. “It’s going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers. Everyone in our company will be involved on some level.”
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Tony Eury Jr. will move from the crew chief position into a key role with Hendrick Motorsports’ research and development group. Eury posted one victory, one pole position, 19 top-10 finishes and 11 top-fives in 48 races with the No. 88 team.
“I have mixed feelings, and that’s just natural,” Eury said. “But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be. I’ll do whatever I can to help all of our teams and try to be a part of another championship. I think a new challenge will be good.”
“Tony and I talked through this last night,” Hendrick said. “I want him here, he wants to be here, and he’s going to be a big contributor to our future success. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for the job he’s done and for the caliber of person that he is.”
McGrew, 41, earned the 2003 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers. He won the October 2006 Sprint Cup race with Vickers at Talladega, Ala., and most recently led Cup rookie Brad Keselowski to a seventh-place finish May 9 at Darlington, S.C.
As a crew chief, McGrew has posted victories in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck. He has won races with drivers Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and most recently Tony Stewart Feb. 14 at Daytona Beach, Fla.
A native of Baton Rouge, La., McGrew has experience working with Earnhardt. Last season, the pair ran three Nationwide Series races, posting top-10 finishes April 5 at Texas Motor Speedway and May 24 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. They also finished 15th on March 8 at Atlanta

Sara Jane Moore Tried To Assassinate President Ford

To look at this 80-year-old grandmotherly woman, it is
difficult to imagine that she spent 32 years in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but that's exactly what happened. On September 22, 1975 in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at President Ford that missed his head by several feet. A bystander wrestled her to the ground before she was taken into custody by authorities.
Moore was a 45-year-old divorced mother who hung around disaffected groups feeding her alienation. Looking back on the incident, she says of her earlier self that it seems like a "different person." She sees the genesis of her assassination attempt as stemming from her immersion in radical leftist groups that were pushing her to the edge, and that she was alienated from the world as it was and needed to do something about it. It's unclear why she felt killing President Ford would have done anything about it, but she declares that to this day she believes if she hadn't made the attempt someone else would have:
Oh, I still think that. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have. That was the tenor of the time. There was more talk about it than people realize. Again, I thought that what was happening to us there in San Francisco was the whole world and it wasn't. I had to learn later that everybody didn't feel that way.
Some six of her 32 two years spent behind bars was in solitary confinement. She escaped from prison in 1979 but was promptly recaptured. In hindsight Moore believes that the action was wrong, although "understandably wrong, but that's just my ego talking."
Watch the full interview below.To look at this 80-year-old grandmotherly woman, it is difficult to imagine that she spent 32 years in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but that's exactly what happened. On September 22, 1975 in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at President Ford that missed his head by several feet. A bystander wrestled her to the ground before she was taken into custody by authorities.
Moore was a 45-year-old divorced mother who hung around disaffected groups feeding her alienation. Looking back on the incident, she says of her earlier self that it seems like a "different person." She sees the genesis of her assassination attempt as stemming from her immersion in radical leftist groups that were pushing her to the edge, and that she was alienated from the world as it was and needed to do something about it. It's unclear why she felt killing President Ford would have done anything about it, but she declares that to this day she believes if she hadn't made the attempt someone else would have:
Oh, I still think that. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have. That was the tenor of the time. There was more talk about it than people realize. Again, I thought that what was happening to us there in San Francisco was the whole world and it wasn't. I had to learn later that everybody didn't feel that way.
Some six of her 32 two years spent behind bars was in solitary confinement. She escaped from prison in 1979 but was promptly recaptured. In hindsight Moore believes that the action was wrong, although "understandably wrong, but that's just my ego talking."
Watch the full interview below.To look at this 80-year-old grandmotherly woman, it is difficult to imagine that she spent 32 years in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but that's exactly what happened. On September 22, 1975 in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at President Ford that missed his head by several feet. A bystander wrestled her to the ground before she was taken into custody by authorities.
Moore was a 45-year-old divorced mother who hung around disaffected groups feeding her alienation. Looking back on the incident, she says of her earlier self that it seems like a "different person." She sees the genesis of her assassination attempt as stemming from her immersion in radical leftist groups that were pushing her to the edge, and that she was alienated from the world as it was and needed to do something about it. It's unclear why she felt killing President Ford would have done anything about it, but she declares that to this day she believes if she hadn't made the attempt someone else would have:
Oh, I still think that. If I hadn't done it, someone else would have. That was the tenor of the time. There was more talk about it than people realize. Again, I thought that what was happening to us there in San Francisco was the whole world and it wasn't. I had to learn later that everybody didn't feel that way.
Some six of her 32 two years spent behind bars was in solitary confinement. She escaped from prison in 1979 but was promptly recaptured. In hindsight Moore believes that the action was wrong, although "understandably wrong, but that's just my ego talking."
Watch the full interview below.

Powerball Numbers Make One Winner On May 27 2009

The powerball numbers of May 27, 2009 make one more millionaire in the United States. Actually, perhaps more if it's a family who could accurately guess the winner numbers of May 27th powerball, which is played. What is amazing is the the name of the town where the winner correctly guessed the May 27 powerball numbers is Winner.

There was one winner sold by the South Dakota Lottery for the last drawing's $232,100,000 powerball grand prize. Powerball winner numbers are 5 6 12 16 21 7. If received cach, which the winner has not decided yet, he or she will get $118,005,530.33 dollars in cash.

While working on this story, I was wondering who could possibly guess 5, 6 and 7, three numbers in one lottery that could well become the winner of the May 27, 2009 powerball making a family another multimillionaire. Congradulations to the winner.

The town of Winner has lived up to its name in the biggest of ways.

The single jackpot-winning ticket for last night's Powerball drawing was sold in Winner, South Dakota. The ticket matched all five white balls and the red Powerball to win the $232.1 million jackpot.

The winning numbers for the Wednesday, May 27, drawing are: 05, 06, 12, 16, 21 and the Powerball was 7.

"This is an absolute thrill," said Norm Lingle, executive director of the Lottery. "It's the ninth largest Powerball jackpot ever won."

Lingle advised that the winner should sign the back of the ticket immediately, put it in a safe place, and contact the Lottery at 605-773-5770 when the winner is ready to make arrangements to validate the ticket and claim the prize.

"The best advice we can give the winner is to take their time and get professional advice from an attorney and a financial advisor before claiming the prize," Lingle said.

The jackpot winner has 180 days to claim the jackpot, and will have the option of receiving the $232,100,000 jackpot in 30 graduated payments as a 29-year annuity or taking a one-time cash payment of $118,005,530. The winner will have 60 days to make that decision after the ticket is validated.

The ticket holder must present the ticket to the state lottery office in Pierre to be validated. Lingle said there is a multiple-step verification process to determine that the ticket presented is the actual winning ticket. "It isn't until we have completed the validation process that we will officially declare the winner," he said.

This is the third time the Powerball jackpot has been won in South Dakota since the Lottery began selling the game in April, 1992. "The Watertown 34" won $50.9 million on February 1, 2003, splitting a jackpot with a winner in Indiana. Bill and Tina Nguyen of Pierre won a $116.8 million jackpot on May 17, 2006.

Powerball is played in 30 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1:195,249,054.

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