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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Apple iPad [Review]

pcmag.com Combine basic-but-essential work tools with iWork, an improved browser, e-mail, iPod, and photo applications, a well-executed e-Book platform with iBooks, and throw in thousands of downloadable apps and games, and package it all in a gorgeous, slim slate with a beautiful 9.7-inch touch screen, you have yourself a winner.


Click for the whole Article Review

McDonald's to Double Restaurants in China

By ESTHER FUNG
From http://online.wsj.com/

SHANGHAI — U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. plans to nearly double its presence in the world's fastest developing economy over the next few years, senior officials from the company said Tuesday after they launched the first McDonald's Hamburger University in China.

McDonald's outlined its ambitious China plans at a time when relations between foreign businesses and Beijing are souring, with a growing number of Western companies complaining of a deteriorating operating environment in the country.

McDonald's, which has about 1,100 outlets in China expects to boost that number to a total of 2,000 by the end of 2013, said Tim Fenton, the company's president of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, in an interview.

Associated Press

McDonald's employees attend a training course demonstration Tuesday at the newly opened McDonald's Hamburger University in Shanghai.

The company opened just under 150 outlets in the country last year, and expects to open 150 to 175 outlets in China this year, Mr. Fenton said.

"China is our fastest-growing [market] from the income standpoint and from the revenue standpoint," he said.

The company opened its first outlet in China in Shenzhen in 1990 and now employs more than 60,000 people in the country.

The new outlets targeted for this year will create 10,000 jobs in China, Kenneth Chan, McDonald's China chief executive, said at a news conference earlier Tuesday.

The Hamburger University in Shanghai is the seventh in the world, and serves as the company's training school for areas such as local talent development and real-estate management. The company said the Shanghai school represented an investment of 250 million yuan ($36.6 million).

McDonald's global target for 2010 is to record sales growth of 3%-5% and income growth of 7%-9%, said Mr. Fenton. "And we expect China to be above that." The company posted net income of $4.55 billion on revenue of $22.74 billion for 2009.

China accounts for around 23% of McDonald's revenue from the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions, and its share is growing, Mr. Fenton said.

"The informal eating-out industry in China is about $300 billion right now, and it will grow about 10% this year," Mr. Fenton said, attributing the projected growth to the country's growing middle class.

Mr. Fenton said that while globally, around 80% of McDonald's outlets are franchised, the company has only six franchised outlets in China, It plans to franchise more over the next three to five years, Mr. Fenton said, declining to give specific targets.

April Fools' Day On The Web 2009 (the most complete list)

The most complete listing of April Fools' Day Jokes that Web Sites have run each year from 2004 all the way up to today. Bookmark this site so you don't get fooled online this year!

http://aprilfoolsdayontheweb.com/2010.html


Video: KKK Leader and U.S. Senate Hopeful from Mo. Talks "Inferior Races"

From: http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/

Heard about Missouri's U.S. Senate hopeful Glenn Miller?

The Springfield man is a former leader of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan and has been airing bizarre radio advertisements throughout the state denouncing the white man for being cowardly and blaming Jews for all the country's problems. (Listen to the ads here.)

In this interview -- from 1984 -- Miller is introduced as being the No. 1 enemy of the Anti-Defamation League.



Miller's campaign website states that, "It's not against the law to be white, yet." And encourages anyone to call him for advice. His number? 417-463-7703.

Virgin Unveils First Ever 'Flying Submarine'

The Necker Nymph

The Necker Nymph

Not content with conquering the air with Virgin Airlines and space with Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson is now making a play for the deep blue sea with an 'underwater plane'.

Named the 'Necker Nymph', this sleek looking submarine allows divers to go to 40 metres below the surface and swin with the fishes in such a nimble way, it is like "flying underwater".

According to Virgin Limited Edition, Branson's boy's toy division, the submarine can even perform 'dolphin-like flips' out of the water.

However while this may sound like a fantastic way to scare surfers, it is not cheap. As you'd expect, this toy is for the super-rich only and costs $25,000 for a week's charter and another $88,000 for the sub's superyacht launch vessel, "Necker Belle."



The only way to whalewatch

Designed and built by renowned engineer, Graham Hawkes, of Hawkes Ocean Technologies, the $631,000 sub actually utilises fighter jet technology in its design. Unlike all conventional subs which use ballast to sink in the water, Necker Nymph uses downward ‘lift’ on the wings to fly down to its desired depth.

Its cockpit also gives divers a 360-degree view of marine life and unsurprisingly Virgin is marketing it as a way to view whales, dolphins and other marine life up close. It is also environmentally friendly as its buoyancy prevents it from landing on reefs and its advanced noise emission technology ensures it doesn't disturb the ocean's ecosystems.

Like Virign Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, Branson's foray into space tourism, the Necker Nymph is the British entrepeneur's latest addition in 'adventure technology'. It seems that while Branson may have a private island, a superyacht and a spaceship it seems he won't be content till he has conquered every possible environment, above and below the waves.

If you're rich enough and curious about renting the Nymph, potential deep-sea divers must take half-day safety courses beforehand and can then dive for up to two hours at a time. You will also have to follow standard SCUBA procedures and will be trained/accompanied by a certified Necker Nymph pilot.

Snoop Dogg & George Lopez Play Chatroulette Bingo

That's a crack-a-lackin bingo! [Editor's note: I would seriously watch an entire reality series of this. Is Chatroulette Bingo the new Celebrity Poker???]

New The Expendables trailer doesn't get much more masculine

Written by: Jordan Maison
From: http://www.themoviepool.com/

Stallone, Statham, Li, Arnold, Willis, could this cast get any better?

Since the idea for this movie came to light I was interested. I became far more interested when the casting details stared slipping out. It features all of my favorite action heroes from my childhood (including a one of a kind Arnold cameo, which I don't know how they pulled off), plus the new guys who quite simply rock.

If this new trailer for it doesn't get your blood pumping and excited for this film, then you might want to go to the hospital...you could very well be dead.

10 Memorable Movie Scenes Starring Christopher Walken

Eccentric. Intimidating. Hilarious. Scary. Emotional. All these words describe Christopher Walken’s work on the big screen. His fearless ability to adapt to different genres and mediums has transformed the veteran actor into a favorite among movie watchers of all ages.

He’s won an Oscar, danced in an award-winning music video and lent his talents to some of Saturday Night Live’s funniest sketches throughout his fifty-plus years in show business. He’s also delivered a host of excellent performances playing everything from tortured soldiers to sleazy record producers.

Walken will celebrate his 67th birthday tomorrow. To help commemorate this special occasion, I thought it appropriate to take a look at a few of his best scenes. With apologies to The Deer Hunter and King of New York, which don’t allow embeddable clips, here are ten memorable moments from Walken’s illustrious filmography.

10. Nick of Time (1995)

Walken plays the ruthless kidnapper known only as Mr. Smith who gives Johnny Depp’s character an unsettling ultimatum: either kill the Governor of California, or his daughter dies. Walken oozes creepy villainy in this underrated thriller.

9. Homeboy (1988)

Walken again dons a black hat portraying a corrupt fight promoter who wants to use brain damaged boxer Mickey Rourke to help him commit a robbery. The scenes between the two are simply amazing.

8. Annie Hall (1977)

Walken’s signature weirdness made its debut in Woody Allen’s comedy classic. He plays Annie’s disturbed brother Duane, who seems a little too preoccupied with thoughts of suicide.

7. The Prophecy (1995)

Walken goes biblical as the menacing angel Gabriel and travels to Earth to find a human soul that will end a war in Heaven. No one puts the fun in torturing angels quite like Christopher Walken.

6. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Walken earned a second Oscar nomination playing the con man father of legendary forger Frank Abagnale, Jr. It’s one of his more understated roles, but he still manages to unleash an acting clinic. (He comes in at about the 3:00 mark.)


5. The Dead Zone (1983)

Johnny Smith awakens from a five-year coma with psychic abilities. He can see the most terrifying events in people’s lives just by touching them. Like for instance a house burning down. Freaky shit.

4. The Funeral (1996)

Ray Tempio is a brutal gangster seeking vengeance for his murdered brother. He has resigned himself to the fact that he will burn in hell for his evil deeds, which makes him all the more frightening.

3. At Close Range (1986)

Don’t let the 1970s pornstache fool you. Walken’s turn as rural Pennsylvania crime boss Brad Whitewood, Sr. is one of his scariest. Killing your own son to keep him quiet makes you one demented sicko.

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Captain Koons’ tale about the journey of the gold watch is my favorite scene in Pulp Fiction. Why? Every line Walken delivers is more hilarious than the next. He absolutely nails some of Tarantino’s best writing.

1. True Romance (1993)

Nobody crushes single scenes like Walken. He and Dennis Hopper’s exchange is verbal warfare at its finest. Hopper gets the better of him, but Walken’s mob underboss is the one with the gun. Don’t fuck with a Sicilian.

68 Rare Pictures Taken Inisde North Korea

Published by djmick
From http://www.djmick.co.uk/

North Korea

Photographs from North Korea are restricted and hard to come by – the few pictures that do come out of the last Stalinist state in the world, lead by Kim Jong Il, are either state-produced or state-approved.

Still, one can get some idea of everyday life in North Korea from the 68 pictures featured in the gallery below which are a mixture of photos taken from the borders of neighboring South Korea and China, whilst others were provided by North Korea itself, and several by freelance photographers.