neesha's blog

The neesha's blog

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miley cyrus' new grown up Nov 18, 2009: The spotlight has shined brightly on Miley Cyrus since she was 13. That was only four years ago, which still makes her a child in most books. But conventional measure hasn't applied to this pop culture phenom. As she celebrates her 17th birthday next week, Cyrus finds herself poised as the most valuable person at Disney -- even more so than CEO Bob Iger -- and her $1 billion (yes, B, for billion) "Hannah Montana" franchise puts her in the upper-earning echelon of all working entertainers.

Film acting is nothing new to Cyrus, who starred in "Hannah Montana The Movie" and voiced 12-year-old Penny in the animated film "Bolt." Yet with "The Last Song," Miley Cyrus graduates beyond the adolescence of "Montana." Her lead role in this film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel ("The Notebook," "Nights in Rodanthe") indicates an eagerness on the part of Cyrus to gain recognition for serious acting. But will the spotlight be as kind as it is bright?

Hannah Montana -- Cyrus' defining role to date -- is the alter-ego superstar of a teenager whose talents frequently take backstage to a simple fact: she's just a girl, and perceived as such. Will the same be said of Cyrus' move into professional adulthood? "The Last Song" is certainly a significant step in that direction; Points: 11 4 comments
jellyfish swarm nortward in warming Nov 17, 2009: KOKONOGI, Japan – A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass.

The fishermen leaned into the nets, grunting and grumbling as they tossed the translucent jellyfish back into the bay, giants weighing up to 200 kilograms (450 pounds), marine invaders that are putting the men's livelihoods at risk.

The venom of the Nomura, the world's largest jellyfish, a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter, can ruin a whole day's catch by tainting or killing fish stung when ensnared with them in the maze of nets here in northwest Japan's Wakasa Bay.

"Some fishermen have just stopped fishing," said Taiichiro Hamano, 67. "When you pull in the nets and see jellyfish, you get depressed."

This year's jellyfish swarm is one of the worst he has seen, Hamano said. Once considered a rarity occurring every 40 years, they are now an almost annual occurrence along several thousand kilometers (miles) of Japanese coast, and far beyond Japan.

Scientists believe climate change — the warming of oceans — has allowed some of the almost 2,000 jellyfish species to expand their ranges, appear earlier in the year and increase overall numbers, much as warming has helped ticks, bark beetles and other pests to spread to new latitudes.; Points: 11 0 comments
jellyfish swarm nortward in warming Nov 17, 2009: KOKONOGI, Japan – A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass.

The fishermen leaned into the nets, grunting and grumbling as they tossed the translucent jellyfish back into the bay, giants weighing up to 200 kilograms (450 pounds), marine invaders that are putting the men's livelihoods at risk.

The venom of the Nomura, the world's largest jellyfish, a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter, can ruin a whole day's catch by tainting or killing fish stung when ensnared with them in the maze of nets here in northwest Japan's Wakasa Bay.

"Some fishermen have just stopped fishing," said Taiichiro Hamano, 67. "When you pull in the nets and see jellyfish, you get depressed."

This year's jellyfish swarm is one of the worst he has seen, Hamano said. Once considered a rarity occurring every 40 years, they are now an almost annual occurrence along several thousand kilometers (miles) of Japanese coast, and far beyond Japan.

Scientists believe climate change — the warming of oceans — has allowed some of the almost 2,000 jellyfish species to expand their ranges, appear earlier in the year and increase overall numbers, much as warming has helped ticks, bark beetles and other pests to spread to new latitudes.; Points: 0 0 comments
primetime's top earning Nov 11, 2009: LOS ANGELES -- Simon Cowell is more than just the meanest man in primetime television, he's also the best paid.

In an industry hammered by changing viewer habits and dwindling advertising dollars, the 50-year-old Brit and his Fox juggernaut, "American Idol," continue to score record ratings and big money. Though the singing competition's viewership has slid in recent years, it still managed to round out last season with an average weekly audience of 27 million, making it the most-watched series in primetime. And like Cowell's fellow top earners, the host you love to loathe has found several avenues to cash in, including judging, producing, and music publishing. His total haul between June 1, 2008, and June 1, 2009: $75 million.

While his wallet is no doubt thicker than most, Cowell's unscripted and diversified resume is a recurring theme on this year's list of primetime's top-earning men. In addition to starring roles on broadcast television, many of them in the reality genre, these boldface names have found ways to pad their resumes and their bank accounts with film roles, production projects, merchandise efforts, and endorsement deals.; Points: 6 2 comments
posting pics online........ Nov 10, 2009: Those photos you post on Facebook could paint an accurate picture of your personality, new research on first impressions suggests.

And perhaps as expected, the more candid a shot the more nuances of your personality show through.

"In an age dominated by social media where personal photographs are ubiquitous, it becomes important to understand the ways personality is communicated via our appearance," said study researcher Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University. "The appearance one portrays in his or her photographs has important implications for their professional and social life."

With this information, there's always the option of tweaking your image, and thus your personality to the outside world. "If you want potential employers or romantic suitors to see you as a warm and friendly individual, you should post pictures where you smile or are standing in a relaxed pose," Naumann said.

Scientists have known physical appearance is important for first impressions and that such initial impressions can be hard to undo, particularly negative ones. Studies have shown judgments made at first glance of a CEO can predict his or her success. But until now little was known about how well people judged personality based on appearance and what physical factors are most important.

In the new study, 12 observers looked at full-body photos of 123 undergraduate students who they had never met before. Six observers viewed the students in a neutral pose and six saw the same students in a spontaneous pose.; Points: 14 4 comments
the ft.hood hero Nov 9, 2009: The west side of Killeen, Texas is like countless other places in America's heartland, freshly carved out of prairie pastures with wide streets in bucolic neighborhoods like "Sunflower Estates" and "Bridgewood." But on a glorious cloudless fall day, the flags at the home sales center nearby are at half mast in honor of the 13 fallen at Ft. Hood, victims of a gunman whose deadly attack was stopped thanks to a petite, long-haired blonde mom from the neigborhood.

Sgt. Kimberly Munley, 34, a civilian Department of Defense police officer at the base, is credited with stopping the firing rampage of U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan at the Soldier Readiness Center within a few minutes after he launched his attack. The center is a quick five minute drive from Munley's home, past the new strip centers and the high school football field along wide Cross Creek Boulevard, but a world away from the horrors inflicted in one of the worst incidents of soldier-on-soldier violence in U.S. Army history. (Read TIME's report: "Stresses at Fort Hood Were Likely Intense for Hasan")

Munley, described by neighbor Brooke Beato, as "very petite, with long blonde hair and a strong personality," was credited by base officials with preventing further carnage by aggressively engaging Hasan as he shot at her. She rounded a corner, took aim at Hasan and brought him down, officials said. "It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer," base commander Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said. It also was a tactic straight out of recent lessons learned from the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, when first responders waited for additional backup before engaging the shooter.; Points: 32 3 comments