http://www.virtualcrack.com/

http://www.mcachicago.org/

Okayplayer Winter Break Tour

featuring THE ROOTS
w/ Aesop Rock • Pete Rock • CL Smooth • Mad Skillz


@ 930 club


this friday. is gonna be tight

http://www.nzherald.co.nz


50 Cent in Auckland

09.12.2003 By MIKE HOULAHAN
Most recording artists would prefer it if journalists and fans didn't know about any criminal past.

US rapper 50 Cent - performing in Auckland tonight - doesn't shy away from his dark past. In fact, he thanks his parole officer in the sleeve notes of his worldwide multi-platinum debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin'.

"Miss Donna Harris," he says smiling.

"She was different from the average parolee-parole officer relationship. She understood we were already conditioned for those situations. She didn't say 'You're going to be a rapper. Whatever.' She said, show me some information, show me something that tells me that's what you're doing and fine, do that.

"So many people try. As soon as you say you've got a record coming out they say 'OK.' Millions of people say they've got a record coming out. She didn't do that: she gave me the benefit of the doubt at that point and the record took off, sold millions."

50 Cent - real name Curtis Jackson - is no longer on parole, otherwise he would not be sitting in a suite high up in one of Auckland's swankier hotels on this, the latest stop of his world tour.

In the last few years 50 Cent has evolved beyond being a rapper. He is now also chief executive of a record label, clothing label, a line of shoes, and is also looking at getting into movies. Whereas once he was desperately scraping to keep body and soul together - and ignoring legal niceties along the way - he now travels with an 18-strong entourage who help him keep track of business.

"I've always been a hustler because I had to hustle on the street. I don't come from much," he says.

"A lot of times it takes money to make money. Once you acquire a little finance you can make some moves. Sometimes people do the wrong thing and enjoy it, some people provide for themselves by any means. If it comes down to I've got to go out and do something or the lights are going to go out, I'm going to do what I have to do to keep the lights on.

"I don't encourage people to do the wrong thing, because the entire time I looked forward to not having to do the wrong thing any more. When I was hustling, I was hustling to try and find enough finances to make legitimate investments."

In the late 90s the up and coming 50 Cent was starting to go places. Having come under the wing of Run DMC's DJ Jam Master Jay, 50 Cent began to get noticed. In 1999 he was signed to major label Columbia Records and began recording an album.

However, 50 Cent's past caught up with him in April 2000, when someone opened fire on him while he was standing outside his grandmother's house. He was hit nine times, including a bullet to the face. The scar in his cheek is clearly visible, and he pulls down his bottom lip to show the gap the bullet left as it dislodged one of his teeth.

A legacy of the attack is the fact that when he is in the US 50 Cent now wears a bullet-proof vest everywhere - "I wear it because to me it doesn't make sense not to," he says nonchalantly, perhaps unaware how chilling his matter-of-factness is to those brought up a long way away from such routine strife.

Another, more permanent reminder, is the slight lisp 50 Cent's injuries have given him.

"In the back of my mouth there's now this little hiss. Lemme tell you, this is the voice that sells 10 million records," he laughs.

"My other voice was no good."

When 50 Cent recovered from his injuries, he found friends were few and far between. His label dropped him, and despite being a name performer in one of the music's biggest towns no one was returning his phone calls.

"After I got shot, Columbia Records got afraid of me," 50 Cent says.

"I'd been rapping about it the whole time. They got all my records talking about all my experiences, and at the time they shot me they realised it was true," 50 Cent laughs.

"I was the real deal."

Undeterred, 50 Cent reconnected with his friends G-Unit and kept on making music. A mix tape made its way to the ears of Eminem who - with his producer Dr Dre - started championing the New York MC.

"It takes Eminem, all the way in Detroit, to give me a shot," 50 Cent says.

"Now everybody in New York calls, 'Hello, can I speak to 50 Cent? Can we do a record?' Hell no."

The three of them got together to record and release one of the most eagerly anticipated rap albums in years - a record with such an amazing back story that 50 Cent admits his hype sometimes overwhelms his musical virtues.

"My past is my shadow. Wherever I go, it's going to go with me. I've accepted it, and I know I have an aura around me that isn't really nice. No matter how successful I am, I don't think I'll shake it.

"When I wrote my record I wasn't writing it to be a role model. The music on Get Rich And Die Tryin' is a direct reflection of the environment I come from. Some places they don't understand it because they're not going through the same experiences. The guys in Houston Texas writing a country song right now - I don't understand what he's talking about right now."

http://www.sojamusic.com

arlingtons finest.

Local burger empire

Five Guys has sold out of franchises in Northern Virginia.

The locally famous burgers-and-fries joint also has signed a lease for its first unit in D.C., across the street from McDonald's at Howard University, and has just gotten approval to sell franchises in Maryland.

All this activity surprises no one, except co-owner and founder Jerry Murrell.

"I feel like I'm on a rocket ship," Murrell says. "You know when I was in school, they always said, 'If you don't study hard, you're going to end up flipping burgers.'"

Late last year, Murrell, who is a member of Washington Business Journal's advisory board, and his wife Janie Murrell signed on with Alexandria franchise development company Fransmart to expand the concept.

To date, 31 Five Guys franchises have been sold in Northern Virginia; the company has closed on six stores in Richmond; and it is now selling into Fredericksburg and the Charlottesville/Roanoke area, says Mark Moseley, former Redskins placekicker and director of franchise development for Fransmart.

"In Northern Virginia, I have five or six other people I'm talking to that I could sell to, but I don't have anything to sell them," Moseley says.

The Murrells kept part of Northern Virginia for their family to expand. The four oldest sons -- Jim, Matt, Chad and Ben -- manage the stores and are working with the franchisees. Tyler, the youngest, is still in high school, but works in the restaurants on weekends.

Appetite for expansion
Along with the Howard unit, Fransmart has sold another 10 stores in the District and expects to sell up to 20 right off the bat in Maryland, Moseley says.

"We could do 40 to 45 stores scattered around Montgomery, Prince George's down to southern Maryland," Moseley says. "We have not even tried yet to figure out how many stores Baltimore could support."

The franchisees range from a well-known spine surgeon to retired 30-something telecom workers and franchisees of other concepts, such as Quizno's sub shops.

Fransmart's goal is to have 50 stores operating by the end of 2004. Chances are, the market could support even more.

The Murrells have final say on franchisees and locations. Franchises are being sold in groups of five. There is a $25,000 fee for each restaurant, and operators also will pay a 6 percent royalty fee. Locations are between 1,000 square feet and 2,000 square feet and are expected to gross $1 million annually.

Moseley believes the first franchised units could be open this summer.

"The biggest challenge is to find good sites," says Chris Muller of Asadoorian Retail Solutions, who is working on Five Guys' site selections. "I think that's going to slow down some of the growth. Five Guys can go into a variety of spaces, but it still namely has to be a good site."

Burger-flipping forefront
The Murrells, who opened the first Five Guys (www.fiveguys.com) as a carryout business in 1986, have three more corporate stores under development, in Reston, Alexandria and Stafford. They currently have five locations in Northern Virginia.

Five Guys is almost as well known for its peanuts on the floor and primitive decor as its burgers and fries. Fransmart has said it is committed to keeping Five Guys' level of customer service and food quality as more locations open. The French fries still will be hand-cut, the restaurants will be equipped only with coolers (no freezers) and the bread will come from the company's own bakery in Woodbridge (a second bakery likely will open by the end of the summer in Springfield).

So this place that started as something to keep the Murell boys busy has grown to an overnight sensation that attracts such notable customers as Attorney General John Ashcroft, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and former Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson.

For years, the Murrells held out when people tried to buy them out or urged them to get into franchising. The couple's five sons have been prodding their parents to expand, and Jerry and Janie Murrell finally agreed.

Now, they're fielding phone calls from as far away as Saudi Arabia.

Even with the world moving a little fast, they feel they're up to the challenge.

"I think it's exciting and the kids are ready for it," says Janie Murrell. "Jerry is, too. No matter what he says."

about "I have a dream" by Jesse Thomas

click for the big version



click for the big version


my newest work.. its in progresso...

http://www.reinvent.co.nz/

about merry chrimmus

Blitzen, a young reindeer at the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska, leaps on KTUU Channel 2 reporter Meghan Stapleton as Stapleton was doing a holiday story, in this image from television Monday, Dec. 22, 2003. Stapleton was not injured and even managed to hold on to the leash to keep Blitzen from running away, though he did drag her a couple feet. (AP Photo/KTUU-TV, Chris Werner)

from me and mines. to you and yours. merry christmas and a happy new year.

A picture of the front page of the Al-Mutamar (Congress) newspaper shows Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad Chalabi (L) visiting ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his cell, hours after his capture by US troops 14 December near his home town of Tikrit, in northern Iraq. The headlines of the paper (unseen) reads, 'After Saddam begged his captors to meet with Chalabi, Al-Mutamar publishes an exclusive historic picture of the meeting between Dr. Chalabi and the arrested tyrant'.(AFP/Al-Mutamar-HO/File)

photo montage Christmas greeting, made by members of the 1-22 Battalion of the U.S. Fourth Infantry Division

about original jess3 randomness

click for big version

http://visualdesigner.net

http://ming.hakaze.com/

about + Al Gore's Son Arrested for herbals +

Al Gore's Son Arrested for Marijuana

WASHINGTON - The son of former vice president and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore has been charged with marijuana possession.


Albert A. Gore III, 21, was arrested Friday night after he was stopped for driving a vehicle without its headlights on.


Two passengers were also arrested and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. They were identified as Yann V. Kumin, 21, and Marc G. Hordon, 22, both of Cambridge, Mass.


A Montgomery County, Md., police officer stopped the car, a dark-colored Cadillac, in Bethesda, a Washington suburb, around 11:30 p.m. Friday.


The officer noticed the car's windows and sunroof were open, despite cold temperatures Friday night. There was also a smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to a news release from the police department.


A search of the vehicle turned up a partial marijuana cigarette, a cigarette box containing suspected marijuana, and a soft drink can that also smelled of marijuana.


All three were released pending trial.


In September 2002, the younger Gore was ticketed for driving under the influence. He was pulled over and ticketed by military police just outside Fort Myer in suburban Virginia, but was not taken into custody.


In the summer of 2000, Gore was cited by the North Carolina Highway Patrol for driving 97 mph in a 55-mph zone. Under an agreement with prosecutors, a reckless driving charge was dropped in the North Carolina case, but he was fined $125 for speeding and his driving privileges in the state were suspended.

some late night jesse art for ya

http://www.buzzybee.co.nz

The inspired creation of Auckland brothers, Hec and John Ramsey, the Buzzy Bee has endeared itself to millions of New Zealanders. An intriguing concoction of buzzing sound, quivering antennae, spinning wings and basic bold colours, this delight pull-along toy has been purchased in the hundreds of thousands since its first release in the mid 1940’s.

InfamousOreo: im over her JAMMIN to fucking trance and techno

Five-month-old monkey Chap, dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, welcomes visitors at an amusement park in Tokyo December 19, 2003. According to the Chinese astrological calendar, the upcoming year is the year of monkey. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

http://www.lookmob.org

Six-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher of Germany in a Ferrari F2003-GA Formula One car, foreground, races an Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet, background, in Grosseto, central Italy, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003. The Eurofighter won two of the three races, over distancesof 600, 900 and 1,200 meters (1,980, 2,970 and 3,960 feet). (AP Photo/ Plinio Lepri)

http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/~edemaine/

http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com

http://origami.vancouver.bc.ca

HOT

about !.fuckin hot shit.!

http://www.scottkim.com

about + mit is beast +

http://web.mit.edu/

The Streets Lyrics
" The Irony Of It All "


Hello, Hello. My names Terry and I'm a law abider
There's nothing I like more than getting fired up on beer
And when the weekends here I to exercise my right to get paralytic and fight
Good bloke fairly
But I get well lairy when geezers look at me funny
Bounce 'em round like bunnies
I'm likely to cause mischief
Good clean grief you must believe and I ain't no thief.
Law abiding and all, all legal.
And who cares about my liver when it feels good
What you need is some real manhood.
Rasher Rasher Barney and Kasha putting peoples backs up.
Public disorder, I'll give you public disorder.
I down eight pints and run all over the place
Spit in the face of an officer
See if that bothers you cause I never broke a law in my life
Someday I'm gonna settle down with a wife
Come on lads lets have another fight

Eh hello. My names Tim and I'm a criminal,
In the eyes of society I need to be in jail
For the choice of herbs I inhale.
This ain't no wholesale operation
Just a few eighths and some Playstation 's my vocation
I pose a threat to the nation
And down the station the police hold no patience
Let's talk space and time
I like to get deep sometimes and think about Einstein
And Carl Jung And old Kung Fu movies I like to see
Pass the hydrator please
Yeah I'm floating on thin air.
Going to Amsterdam in the New Year - top gear there
Cause I take pride in my hobby
Home made bongs using my engineering degree
Dear Leaders, please legalise weed for these reasons.

Like I was saying to him.
I told him: "Top with me and you won't leave."
So I smacked him in the head and downed another Carling
Bada Bada Bing for the lad's night.
Mad fight, his face's a sad sight.
Vodka and Snake Bite.
Going on like a right geez, he's a twat,
Shouldn't have looked at me like that.
Anyway I'm an upstanding citizen
If a war came along I'd be on the front line with em.
Can't stand crime either them hooligans on heroin.
Drugs and criminals those thugs on the penny coloured will be the downfall of society
I've got all the anger pent up inside of me.

You know I don't see why I should be the criminal
How can something with no recorded fatalities be illegal
And how many deaths are there per year from alcohol
I just completed Gran Tourismo on the hardest setting
We pose no threat on my settee
Ooh the pizza's here will someone let him in please
"We didn't order chicken, Not a problem we'll pick it out"
I doubt they meant to mess us about
After all we're all adults not louts.
As I was saying, we're friendly peaceful people
We're not the ones out there causing trouble.
We just sit in this hazy bubble with our quarters
Discussing how beautiful Gail Porter is.
MTV, BBC 2, Channel 4 is on until six in the morning.
Then at six in the morning the sun dawns and it's my bedtime.

Causing trouble, your stinking rabble
Boys saying I'm the lad who's spoiling it
You're on drugs it really bugs me when people try and tell me I'm a thug
Just for getting drunk
I like getting drunk
Cause I'm an upstanding citizen
If a war came along I'd be on the front line with em.

Now Terry you're repeating yourself
But that's okay drunk people can't help that.
A chemical reaction happening inside your brain causes you to forget what you're saying.

What. I know exactly what I'm saying
I'm perfectly sane
You stinking student lameo
Go get a job and stop robbing us of our taxes.

Err, well actually according to research
Government funding for further education pales in insignificance
When compared to how much they spend on repairing
Leery drunk people at the weekend
In casualty wards all over the land.

Why you cheeky little swine come here
I'm gonna batter you. Come here.

http://www.fishercapespan.com/educators/8to11/design_tshirt.htm


Why Fruit is Great Food
Reasons might include:

How easy it is to carry with you - no need for boxes or cartons because it comes in its own waterproof coating.
As well as being a food that provides vitamins and minerals, it also quenches thirst.
It is an ideal snack between meals because it doesn't spoil the appetite.
It contains no refined sugar.
It needs no preparation.
Fruit is fun to eat. Think of crunching into an apple, peeling segments off a satsuma, peeling a banana and sinking your teeth into a juicy pear.
You don't have to use cutlery.

a 24hour watch.. hmm

about okayplayer.

Okayplayer Winter Break Tour featuring THE ROOTS
w/ Aesop Rock • Pete Rock • Mad Skillz
@ 9:30 Club • Washingon, DC
2nd Show Added! // FRI. JAN. 2 // $30.00

http://uigui.com/log/

about +

about +

http://www.thomasmichaelcorcoran.com/

pics from my boy mikes site.. ( a jess3 creation ) he took those around his place in adams morgan, i love the view he has of the cathedral, he took that with a long lense, cause its kinda far away.. lol

about b is for badass

my bauhaus poster design part3

http://www.crime.se

http://www.purenz.com

custom vending machines

about + the soldier of the future +

This US Department of Defense handout image shows a soldier in a lightweight uniform with advanced technological capabilities that researchers say will make troops safer and more formidable on the battlefield.

about (.)(.)

about Budddha the English Bulldog

about jessefordean.com could be cool

http://www.punxfordean.org

http://www.blacksfordean.com

InfamousOreo: The thing is, it's NOT the same as if they were to make a site called "whitesforBush" because whites are a majority in this country. Making a site like THAT classifies as being "racist". I don't deny that the "black" site is rather stupid, but since blacks are a minority in the country, it only classifies this website as being slightly "prejudice". Minorities are able to have views which are not politically correct in the world we live in today, and these views may sound racist.. but they are only prejudices... when blacks become a majority, they then are racists.
InfamousOreo: ;-)
InfamousOreo: I still think the site is stupid and i still think both dean and bush are stupid though

---

InfamousOreo: done how you have my IM on your website

http://www.johnloomis.com

about + this is what i woke up to this morning +

peace




Kuwaities crowd to the small window of a money exchange kiosk to change Kuwaiti dinars for the Iraqi Dinar on December 14, 2003. The Iraqi dinar tripled on the unofficial money exchange market in Kuwait on news of the capture of Saddam Hussein

about what a fuckin great day for america

in the immortal words of megan oneils away message...
"poor saddam. he lost the game of hide-and-seek. i used to always hide in the coat closet and nobody would find me. maybe he should've hid there instead of in that hole."

Saddam Hussein Captured in Iraq Hideout

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Without firing a shot, American forces captured a bearded and haggard-looking Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) in an underground hide-out on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit, ending one of the most intensive manhunts in history. The arrest was a huge victory for U.S. forces battling an insurgency by the ousted dictator's followers.


"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told a news conference Sunday, eight months after American troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam's regime.


"The tyrant is a prisoner."


In the capital, radio stations played celebratory music, residents fired small arms in the air in celebration and passengers on buses and trucks shouted, "They got Saddam! They got Saddam!" Eager to prove to Iraqis that Saddam was in custody, the military showed video of the ousted leader, bearded and disheveled, being examined by a military doctor.


Washington hopes Saddam's capture will help break the organized Iraq resistance that has killed more than 190 American soldiers since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1 and has set back efforts at reconstruction.


But Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, which captured Saddam, said the ousted leader did not appear to be directly organizing resistance — noting no communication devices were found in his hiding place. "I believe he was there more for moral support," Odierno said.


Saddam's capture was based on information from a member of a family "close to him," Odierno told reporters in Tikrit. "Finally we got the ultimate information from one of these individuals," he said.


The capture took place at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at one of dozens of safehouses Saddam is thought to have: a walled compound on a farm in Adwar, a town 10 miles from Tikrit, not far from one of Saddam's former palaces, Odierno said.


"I think it's rather ironic that he was in a hole in the ground across the river from these great palaces that he built," Odierno told reporters in Tikrit.


The event comes almost five months after his sons, Qusai and Odai, were killed July 22 in a four-hour gunbattle with U.S. troops in a hideout in the northern city of Mosul. There was hope at the time that the sons' deaths would dampen the Iraqi resistance to the U.S. occupation. But since then, the guerrilla campaign has mounted dramatically.


In the latest attack, a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car outside a police station Sunday morning west of Baghdad, killing at least 17 people and wounding 33 more, the U.S. military said. Also Sunday, a U.S. soldier died while trying to disarm a roadside bomb south of the capital — the 452nd soldier to die in Iraq.


Saddam was one of the most-wanted fugitives in the world, along with Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network who has not been caught despite a manhunt since November 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in Afghanistan.


Some 600 troops and special forces were involved in the raid that netted Saddam — though not all were aware beforehand that the objective was "High Value Target No. 1," Odierno said.


Troops found the ousted leader, armed with a pistol, hiding in an underground crawl space at the walled compound, Odierno said. The entrance to the hiding place, covered with rugs and dirt, was a few feet from small, mud-brick hut where Saddam had been staying.


The hut consisted of two rooms, a bedroom with clothes scattered about and a "rudimentary kitchen," Odierno said. The commander said Saddam likely had been there only a short time, noting that new shirts, still unwrapped, were found in the bedroom.


Saddam was "very disoriented" as soldiers brought him out of the hole, Odierno said. A Pentagon diagram showed the hiding place as a 6-foot-deep vertical tunnel, with a shorter tunnel branching out horizontally from one side. A pipe to the concrete surface at ground level provided air.


Saddam didn't fire his weapon. "There was no way he could fight back so he was just caught like a rat," Odierno said.


Two other Iraqis — described as low-level regime figures — were arrested in the raid, and soldiers found two Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, a taxi and $750,000 in $100 bills.

A U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Saddam admitted his identity when captured.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, who saw Saddam overnight, said the deposed leader "has been cooperative and is talkative." He described Saddam as "a tired man, a man resigned to his fate."

"He was unrepentant and defiant," said Adel Abdel-Mahdi, a senior official of a Shiite Muslim political party who, along with other Iraqi leaders, visited Saddam in captivity.

"When we told him, 'If you go to the streets now, you will see the people celebrating,'" Abdel-Mahdi said. "He answered, 'Those are mobs.' When we told him about the mass graves, he replied, 'Those are thieves.'"

The official added: "He didn't seem apologetic. He seemed defiant, trying to find excuses for the crimes in the same way he did in the past."

The White House said Saddam's capture assures the Iraqi people that the deposed leader is gone from power for good.

"The Iraqi people can finally be assured that Saddam Hussein will not be coming back — they can see it for themselves," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

Sanchez played a video at the news conference showing the 66-year-old Saddam in custody.

Saddam, with a thick, graying beard and bushy, disheveled hair, was seen as doctor examined him, feeling his scalp and holding his mouth open with a tongue depressor, apparently to get a DNA sample. Saddam blinked and touched his beard during the exam. Then the video showed a picture of Saddam after he was shaved, juxtaposed for comparison with an old photo of the Iraqi leader while in power.

Iraqi journalists at the press conference stood, pointed and shouted "Death to Saddam!" and "Down with Saddam!"

Though the raid occurred Saturday afternoon American time, U.S. officials went to great length to keep it quiet until medical tests and DNA testing confirmed Saddam's identity.

DNA tests confirmed Saddam's identity, said the president of Iraqi Governing Council, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim.

Saddam was being held at an undisclosed location, and U.S. authorities have not yet determined whether to hand him over to the Iraqis for trial or what his status would be. Iraqi officials want him to stand trial before a war crimes tribunal created last week.

Amnesty International said Sunday that Saddam should be given POW status and allowed visits by the international Red Cross.

Ahmad Chalabi, a member of Iraq's Governing Council, said Saddam will be put on trial.

"Saddam will stand a public trial so that the Iraqi people will know his crimes," Chalabi told Al-Iraqiya, a Pentagon-funded TV station.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the capture, saying the deposed leader "has gone from power, he won't be coming back."

"Where his rule meant terror and division and brutality, let his capture bring about unity, reconciliation and peace between all the people of Iraq," Blair said.

Celebratory gunfire erupted in the capital, and shop owners closed their doors, fearful that the shooting would make the streets unsafe.

"I'm very happy for the Iraqi people. Life is going to be safer now," said 35-year-old Yehya Hassan, a resident of Baghdad. "Now we can start a new beginning."

Earlier in the day, rumors of the capture sent people streaming into the streets of Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city, firing guns in the air in celebration.

"We are celebrating like it's a wedding," said Kirkuk resident Mustapha Sheriff. "We are finally rid of that criminal."

Still, many Baghdadis were skeptical.

"I heard the news, but I'll believe it when I see it," said Mohaned al-Hasaji, 33. "They need to show us that they really have him."

Ayet Bassem, 24, walked out of a shop with her 6-year-old son.

"Things will be better for my son," she said. "Everyone says everything will be better when Saddam is caught. My son now has a future."

After invading Iraq on March 20 and setting up their headquarters in Saddam's sprawling Republican Palace compound in Baghdad, U.S. troops launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive leader, placing a $25 million bounty on his head and sending thousands of soldiers to search for him.

Saddam proved elusive during the war, when at least two dramatic military strikes came up empty in their efforts to assassinate him. Since then, he has appeared in both video and audio tapes. U.S. officials named him No. 1 on their list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, the Ace of Spades in a special deck of most-wanted cards.

Saddam's capture leaves 13 figures still at large from the list. The highest ranking figure among them is Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a close Saddam aide who U.S. officials have said may be directly organizing resistance.

about + segway tours in paris +

http://www.parissegwaytours.com/















With its excellent subway and bus system, getting around Paris has always been easy, but now there's a new way to maneuver around town. Mike's Bike Tours (which has long offered bicycle rentals and tours of the city) recently started a four-hour tour on Segways, those funny-looking, high-tech, motorized scooters with handlebars and two wheels.

The tour, which begins at the Eiffel Tower and goes down the Champs-Elysées to the Louvre, then to the Île St.-Louis and Notre-Dame, costs 70 euros. There is a night tour as well. Information: (33-1) 56.58.10.54, http://www.parissegwaytours.com/.

about this song is quite poetic, especially for mr cent.

21 QUESTIONS

[50 Cent - singing]
New York City!
You are now rapping... with 50 Cent
You gotta love it...
I just wanna chill and twist the lye
Catch stunts in my 7-45
You drive me crazy shorty I
Need to see you and feel you next to me
I provide everything you need and I
Like your smile I don't wanna see you cry
Got some questions that I got to ask and I
Hope you can come up with the answers babe

[Nate Dogg ]
Girl... it's easy to love me now
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me?
Girl... it's easy to love me now
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me?
Girl...

[50 Cent]
If I fell off tomorrow would you still love me?
If I didn't smell so good would you still hug me?
If I got locked up and sentenced to a quarter century
could I count on you to be there to support me mentally?
If I went back to a hooptie from a Benz
would you poof, and disappear, like some of my friends?
If I was hit and I was hurt would you be by my side?
If it was time to put in work would you be down to ride?
I'd get out and peel a nigga cap, you chill and drive
I'm askin questions to find out how you feel inside
If I ain't rap cause I flipped burgers at Burger King
would you be ashamed to tell your friends you feelin me?
In the bed if I used my tongue, would you like that?
If I wrote you a love letter, would you write back?
Now we can have a lil' drink you know a nightcap
And we could go do what you like, I know you like that

[Nate Dogg]
Girl... it's easy to love me now
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me?
Girl... it's easy to love me now (Woo!)
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me?
Girl...

[50 Cent]
Now would you leave me if your father, found out I was thuggin?
Do you believe me when I tell you, you the one I'm lovin?
Are you mad cause I'm askin you 21 questions?
Are you my soulmate? Cause if so, girl you're a blessin
Do you trust me enough, to tell me your dreams?
I'm staring at ya trying to figure how you got in them jeans
If I was down would you say things to make me smile?
I treat you how you want to be treated just teach me how
If I was with some other chick and someone happened to see
and when you asked me about it I said it wasn't me
would you believe me, or up and leave me?
How deep is our bond if that's all it takes for you to be gone?
We only humans girl we make mistakes
To make it up I'll do whatever it take
I love you like a fat kid love cake
You know my style, I'll say anything to make you smile

[Nate Dogg]
Girl... it's easy to love me now
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me?
Girl... it's easy to love me now
Would you love me if I was down and out?
Would you still have love for me?
Girl...

Could you love me in a Bentley?
Could you love me on a bus?
I'll ask 21 questions, and they all about us
Could you love me in a Bentley?
Could you love me on a bus?
I'll ask 21 questions, and they all about us

---

could you love me with green eggs and ham ?

about ::: XXXtina :::

phinespice: XXXtina
makaveliblaze: scandaloustina aguilera
phinespice:i can't stop watching it

about Rolling Stone Sir Mick Jagger poses with his 92-year-old father

Rolling Stone Sir Mick Jagger poses with his 92-year-old father Joe after receiving a knighthood for services to popular music at Buckingham Palace in London, December 12, 2003. The man who has fronted the legendary rock group for the past four decades, rejected suggestions that he had sold out to the establishment against which he had railed for so long. (Pool via Reuters)

http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/

http://www.jacquielawson.com

this women makes really cool flash cards.. muy bueno.

http://macromedia.com/macromedia/proom/pr/2003/partner_aol.html


AMERICA ONLINE AND MACROMEDIA PARTNER TO ENABLE NEW BREED OF APPLICATIONS INCORPORATING INSTANT MESSAGING

Partnership gives developers ability to create Macromedia Central applications with seamless AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ presence and other instant messaging features

Macromedia MAX 2003—Salt Lake City—November 19, 2003— Macromedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) and America Online, Inc. today announced a strategic partnership that builds on the promise of Macromedia Central and the power of the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM and ICQ) platforms. Central is a new Macromedia offering that enables people to interact with distributed information in a more meaningful and relevant way. This partnership opens the door for hundreds of thousands of Macromedia Flash developers to build applications that take advantage of presence and other instant messaging features found in the AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ services.

With the partnership, both companies will work together to integrate the features and functionality of the America Online Presence and Instant Messaging SDK into Macromedia Central. Under terms of the licensing agreement, the SDK will be made available to Macromedia Central developers and will contain application programming interfaces (APIs) and development tools for the AOL Instant Messenger platform, allowing developers, for the first time ever, to seamlessly integrate these powerful capabilities directly into their business or consumer desktop applications.

America Online, Inc.'s instant messaging network supports over a billion messages a day and supports over 50 million active users each month. The SDK is expected to be available early next year. Also part of this agreement, America Online will promote Macromedia Central on the AIM client, which will enable all AIM users to install the application from their desktops.

"Our relationship with America Online provides a wonderful foundation for Central developers to build a wide variety of presence-enabled, social applications for AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ with the great user experience and responsiveness of Macromedia Flash," said Kevin Lynch, chief software architect, Macromedia. "This partnership opens the door for developers to build applications that add context through online forums such as discussion groups, virtual classrooms, and multi-party chat."

"Macromedia Central is defining a new way for users to intelligently interact with information, and we're excited that the Macromedia developer community will have the ability to combine this powerful capability with the real-time communications capabilities pioneered by AIM and ICQ," said Edmund Fish, senior vice president and general manager, AOL Desktop Messaging. "Instant messaging isn't just a 'killer app' for the Internet, it's also a set of capabilities, such as online presence, that can dramatically enhance many business and consumer software experiences. We've taken the step of putting these capabilities into an easy to use software developer's kit so that, together with the flexibility and richness of Macromedia Central, developers will have a whole new way to bring richness to group interaction and online communication."

By providing context outside the browser, Macromedia Central will enable a more responsive, immediate, and convenient way to interact with information needed on a regular basis. Regardless of whether users are online or off, Central allows them to access, filter, and interpret content and share data across applications in meaningful ways. Macromedia today announced the availability of a developer edition of Macromedia Central (announced today, see separate release). For more information on Macromedia, visit www.macromedia.com/go/central.

America Online, Inc.'s instant messaging services include the world leading AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ ("I Seek You") messaging services, and Enterprise AIM Service, a suite of business class solutions that increase the value and manageability of instant messaging in the workplace. The AOL Buddy List â feature, established in 1996, allows those using the AOL Service, AIM, and Enterprise AIM Services to immediately see when family, friends, colleagues, and other contacts are online and available to exchange instant messages.

These tutorials were basically written for making games in AGS, but i think they can still be applied to other art forms.

www.fuz.dk/

about get your pixel art did

pixelfreak.com | isometric pixel art tutorial

about . random jessestory .

so.. i was just at the camera store.. and i went in to this cell phone shop.. and i asked about switching my phone to the camera phone.. bling.. so we are talkin about that n whatever.. and as im leaving hes like what do you do ? and imlike i do web design.. and i go to corcoran n whatnot.. and hes like oh col, whats your webpage..? so i show him jess3.. and he tells me that in the next 2 weeks hes renevating this hop in to a cyber cafe, and he whips out the blueprints and .. we had a really cool discusion about cyber cafes and the positive things i think they do for the community.. while still being extremely profitable and under rated.. in america especially...

http://www.cyberzonecafe.com/

about bling

http://www.adambaumgoldgallery.com/teplin/newworks.htm

thedesignposse.com

about my magazine layout for typography class..

the opening splash layout




remix




the re remix

---

---

---

this is for a article that would be going in to the national geographic..
its about this town in loving county texas that has the smallest population in the US.. charming ppl. it was that or bones found in jamestown : unsettling discoveries.. so i picked this one.. the more fun one.. the original title was little big town.. blah

about mmmmmm

about + the not so simple life +

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=797&e=9&u=/eo/13078

Nicole Richie Staying Sober
By Lia Haberman

Simple Life sidekick Nicole Richie is keeping her nose clean, figuratively speaking.


Richie was commended for staying sober by the California judge who sentenced her for felony drug possession in October.


Lionel's offspring was in court last Friday, just days after the debut of her Fox reality series, for a progress report with Judge Lawrence Myra, who encouraged the budding TV star's drug-free efforts.


"All of the indications are positive. You seem to be doing really well in maintaining sobriety. I'm really pleased with your progress," said Myra, according to World Entertainment Network.


Richie, who's trying to get her own singing career off the ground, is due back in court for another progress report March 9.


She was busted on a felony heroin-possession charge and a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license in Malibu last February. Richie was out on $10,000 bail during her Green Acres-like stint in Altus, Arkansas, alongside scandal-plagued costar Paris Hilton.


But despite all their big city problems, the girls largely stayed out of trouble during their sojourn down south. Well, if you ignore the alleged incident that involved Richie pouring a bottle of bleach on a pool table during taping (producers purportedly paid the bar owner $300 to fix the problem).


Indeed, the socialites minor infractions, like giving the finger to passing motorists and flashing the locals, have captivated the public's fascination. The show's premiere episode was watched by 13 million last week while the following night's installment, which featured the young ladies critiquing dairy employees for their "fat asses," did even better with 13.3 million viewers.


In response, Fox is adding Simple Life episodes more quickly than Granny Curly can pluck a chicken. A so-called "bonus" episode of the riches-to-rags series (reportedly made up of outtakes) will air December 17, with rerun marathons set for Wednesday (the first two episodes) and December 30 (the first four episodes).


Meanwhile, Industry buzz predicts that Fox will tap amateur porn star Hilton to star in another reality show for estimated $3 million, minus best friend Richie.


Note to Nicole: Maybe sticking to the straight and narrow isn't such a good career move.

http://www.yannarthusbertrand.com

about FontBook [Digital Typeface Compendium]

If typography were a religion, this book would be the Bible.

http://eboy.com/

about Camera Phone Bans Seen as Aiding Privacy

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=569&u=/nm/tech_cameraphones_privacy_dc&printer=1


Camera Phone Bans Seen as Aiding Privacy

By Solarina Ho

Camera cell phones, one of the hottest items on this year's Christmas must-have list, is also a growing privacy issue for both consumers and organizations.


The phones, with their discreet lens, tiny size and ability to immediately transmit images onto the Internet or other cell phones, are a voyeur's dream.


The phones first appeared on the market in early 2001, and for the last several months, media reports out of Asia have called attention to incidents such as nude photographs of unsuspecting victims turning up on the Internet.


Their growing popularity in North America since their debut late last year has sparked similar concerns, prompting fitness centers across North America, from Los Angeles to Toronto, to begin banning or limiting cell phone use on their premises.


With locations including Beverly Hills and New York, The Sports Club/LA -- one of the most luxurious fitness centers in the world -- was among the first to ban all cell phones in July, limiting their usage only to the lobby.


Privacy is a priority for the center, whose high profile clientele include celebrities and other prominent figures, company spokesman Rebecca Harris explained.


Other clubs have outright banned all cell phones because of the difficulty in distinguishing between regular cell phones and camera phones.


But not all clubs are taking such a hard-line stance.


In Calgary, where widespread bans and limitations drew media attention in Canada, the downtown YWCA took a more moderate approach.


COMMON CONCERNS IN CLUBS


"Essentially we're basing it on the honor system, because we're not going to ask every single person that walks into the door, 'Do you have a camera cell phone?' and 'You need to check it,"' general manager Jan Bloemraad said.


The clubs know that members rely on their phones to stay in contact with children or work, and to ban them outright would not be in the members' best interest. But clubs are keeping a close eye on what goes on in their gyms and say that members are happy they are being pro-active.


At a number of gyms, it was recent phone calls by the media that prompted them to consider the issue, rather than any particular incident.


"Certainly the media attention required us to be a little more forward in our approach," Jack Kinch, YMCA spokesman for the seven Greater Toronto Area centers, said.


Concerns over camera phones have also seeped into businesses as companies fear corporate espionage. South Korea -based Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have reportedly banned visitors from carrying camera phones, according to South Korean domestic media.


Concerns raised by the camera phones are unlikely to go away as technology improves and sales jump, however.


For instance, the next generation of phones making their way onto Asian markets and trickling into North America are video cell phones, which have the ability to record 15-30 second clips.


In North America, analysts project that camera phone sales will more than double next year, while the overall cell phone market will only see a small increase. Of the 90 million handsets sold in North America this year, camera phones made up 3.3 percent, or 3 million units. That's out of the 65 million camera phones sold worldwide, according to David Kerr, an executive with Strategy Analytics, a Boston-based consulting firm.

South Korea, which has one of the world's highest concentrations of cell phone users, is already drafting regulation to protect consumer privacy. Beginning next year, new camera phones manufactured will be required to emit a loud sound whenever pictures or videos are taken.

Still, the banning strategy may be an uphill fight, particularly with cameras and videos expected to be standard in half the cell phones available by 2008.

"The evolution, the penetration, the spread of digital capture capabilities in phones is going to be so fast, so wide that it might be a losing battle ultimately," said analyst Alex Slawsby of IDC, a leading technology industry analysis firm.

about Supreme Court Allows Rosa Parks to Sue OutKAst

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1896&u=/nm/court_parks_dc&printer=1






Supreme Court Allows Rosa Parks to Sue Rap Duo

---

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Monday for civil rights icon Rosa Parks to proceed with her lawsuit against OutKast and others over the rap music duo's hit song with her name as its title.


The justices let stand a U.S. appeals court ruling that reinstated Parks' false advertising and publicity claims against OutKast and three Bertelsmann AG units -- LaFace Records, the record producer, and Arista Records and BMG Entertainment, the distributors.


Parks made history in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white man and move to the back of a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.


Her arrest, which became a defining moment in the civil rights movement, led to a 381-day boycott of the bus system by blacks. It resulted in the end of segregation on public transportation and became a catalyst for organized boycotts, sit-ins and demonstrations across the South.


The song, "Rosa Parks," released as part of the 1998 album "Aquemini," was nominated for a Grammy award. The lyrics do not mention her by name, but the chorus says, "Ah, ha, hush that fuss. Everybody move to the back of the bus."


The album by rap recording artists Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton has sold more than two million copies and the song enjoyed long-lasting success on the Billboard charts.


Parks, a Detroit resident, sued in 1999, claiming use of her name without permission constituted false advertising and infringed on her right to publicity. She also claimed it defamed her character and interfered with a business relationship.


She had approved a collection of gospel recordings by various artists, released in 1995 and entitled "A Tribute to Mrs. Rosa Parks."


A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in 1999, ruling constitutional free-speech rights under the First Amendment covered the use of Parks' name.


The appeals court upheld the dismissal of the claims of defamation and interference with a business relationship, but reinstated the rest of the lawsuit.


It said the defendants needed to show some artistic reason for calling the song "Rosa Parks." The appeals court sent the case back for more hearings to determine whether use of her name was symbolic, as the defendants argued, or disguised commercial advertisement.


Attorneys for OutKast and the other defendants appealed to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to hear the case. They said the appeals court unconstitutionally allowed public figures to use trademark and right-of-publicity laws to censor speech.


But the high court rejected the appeal without comment.

about Did Eminem Threaten The President? The Secret Service Is Looking Into It

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1480985/20031208/eminem.jhtml?headlines=true dead/


Did Eminem Threaten The President? The Secret Service Is Looking Into It

Eminem could find himself the subject of a Secret Service investigation if a lyric from one of his songs is construed to be a threat against President George W. Bush.

In his song "We As Americans," Eminem rhymes, "F--- money/ I don't rap for dead presidents/ I'd rather see the president/It's never been said, but I set precedents."

"We As Americans" is one of the songs leaked online last week that Eminem's spokespeople said were unfinished tracks not intended for public release (see "Eminem's Benzino Dis Turns Up In The Lab" ). His reps could not confirm when the track in question was recorded. However, elsewhere in the song, Eminem references the release of 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin', which occurred in the last year.

A person in the Secret Service Office of Public Affairs confirmed that they were aware of the song and were looking into the matter. John Gill, the official spokesperson for the Secret Service, was not immediately available for further comment.

Even though Eminem doesn't mention Bush or the president of the United States specifically, it is standard procedure for the Secret Service to investigate anything that might be considered a threat against the president.

about A Little Perspective on $87 billion.

http://www.crunchweb.net/87billion/

or "A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon it starts to add up to some real money."


On September 7th, 2003, President Bush announced on national television that he was asking the Congress to grant him an additional $87 billion dollars for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1, to continue the fight on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But $87 billion is an impossibly high number for anyone to visualize. Let's have a look....

about + the streets +

http://www.the-streets.co.uk









englands finest


interactive flyer

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/slidingdoors/

Sliding Doors of CSS

by Douglas Bowman
A rarely discussed advantage of CSS is the ability to layer background images, allowing them to slide over each other to create certain effects. CSS2’s current state requires a separate HTML element for each background image. In many cases, typical markup for common interface components has already provided several elements for our use.

about .gaston is a pimp.

http://www.eyewake.com/clients/me/

GASTON SICILIANO > Eyewake Design Force >
Photoshoot for featuring on Practical Internet Web Magazine, UK: top 20 designers around

the final draft for the thomas family xmas card.

about lol

Biznickman: sooooo many Japanese people here
makaveliblaze: moshi moshi
makaveliblaze: i wanted to come , but im so tired from waiterin tonight at the embassy
Biznickman: oh well
makaveliblaze: alexis should be ther shortly
Biznickman: oh aight
Biznickman: he'll be blown

about AFP Top Photos

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/031205/480/nyr11212052210&e=1

Figures from a sculpture installation by George Segal, called 'Street Crossing, ' frame pedestrians with umbrellas adjacent to Central Park during a snow storm Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, in New York. The Northeast's first major winter storm brought a blustery surge of sleet and snow Friday, closing schools, clearing store shelves and making a mess on highways. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)




http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/031205/photos_us_rank_afp/031205163937_ufa75zdh_photo0&e=1&ncid=1573

Peacefull rally : An Iraqi police officer stands guard in front of children taking part in a demonstration against terrorism in central Baghdad. (AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1480894/20031202/eminem.jhtml?headlines=true


Eminem's Benzino Dis Turns Up In The Lab


It seems the more one trolls the Web, the more Eminem songs one is bound to find.

Just over a week after one of Slim Shady's songs leaked online, even more unreleased tracks have found their way into cyberspace.

This time, seven songs, ostensibly part of an EP called Straight From the Lab, are making the rounds online: "Bully," "Do Rae Me," "Monkey See, Monkey Do," "Come on In," "Can-I-Bitch," "We as Americans" and "I Love You More."

The EP is a bootleg release and not an official Eminem or Interscope product. Eminem's spokesperson was unavailable for comment, and there is no indication that the rapper was complicit in its release. The music has been circulating on fan sites, peer-to-peer networks and in hip-hop chat rooms.

"Bully" is the song that leaked last week, an apparent rebuke of The Source magazine's Benzino that some speculated was retaliation for Benzino's recent unveiling of a 15-year-old tape of Eminem admonishing black women with offensive language. Em's spokespeople said "Bully" was at least 6 months old, though, which would place it at the peak of the Eminem vs. Benzino mixtape battle earlier in the year.

Like that song, most, if not all, of the tracks on Straight From the Lab appear to be old. "Can-I-Bitch" is a battle-rap track against Canibus, which dates itself with the subject matter alone. Against the quirky, cartoonish backdrop of a beat that would later form Eminem's hit "Without Me," Eminem plays the role of Slick Rick on the classic song "Children's Story," telling a fireplace tale about Canibus stalking Eminem.

"Do Rae Me" and "Come on In" feature Em's D12 crew taking it to Ja Rule and Murder Inc. At the end of "Do Rae Me," which was circulated on mixtapes earlier in the year, a little girl asks Em, "Daddy, is Ja Rule taller than me?" Em answers back, "No, honey, you guys are the same size."

On "Monkey See, Monkey Do," over a warbling bass line Eminem sings a chorus that partly says, "We just set them up/ Checkmate mother----er / Game's over, we won/ Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum." He raps, too: "You pu----s think I went soft since '8 Mile'/ When I come back I'll be shooting more than just paintballs/ Trust me." The song closes with Em warning, "We ain't just talking to one person, we're talking to every-mother----in'-body who brings it," adding with an exaggerated roar, "Don't pick up the ball if you don't want to play, man!"

Paris Hilton's 'Simple Life' Debuts Big for Fox

You've seen her in magazines, you've seen her at parties, you may even have seen quite a bit of her on the Internet -- but socialite and heiress Paris Hilton had her biggest showing yet on television on Tuesday night.


"The Simple Life," in which Hilton and pal Nicole Richie move to rural Altus, Arkansas to live and work on a farm, was the highest-rated show of the night among teenagers as well as adults ages 18 to 49, two demographics key to advertisers, broadcaster Fox said on Wednesday.


Citing preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research, Fox said the debut of its latest reality series drew an average of 13 million viewers, with a 16 percent share of adults under 50 who were watching TV during the show's 8:30 p.m. time slot.


Hilton, daughter of the famous hotel-owning family, and Richie, daughter of singer Lionel Richie, easily beat NBC comedy "The Tracy Morgan Show." The show had its premiere at 8:00 p.m. and immediately followed with a second show opposite "The Simple Life," when it drew 8.83 million average viewers in its premiere and a 10 percent share of the adult under-50 audience.


After a disappointing "sweeps" ratings period in which it finished fourth among the major networks, Fox was counting on "The Simple Life" to tide it and its audience over until the return of "American Idol" early next year.


The show may have been helped by the very public saga of a video tape, making the rounds of the Internet, showing Hilton engaged in various sex acts with ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon.


The second episode of "The Simple Life" is set to run on Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m., where it will face a mix of repeats, news and holiday specials.


Fox is a unit of News Corp. Ltd. , and NBC is a unit of General Electric Co.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&e=13&u=/nm/adoption_dc


Terrance Martin, Aged 7, Corrects Bush

Young Terrance Martin could not let President Bush get away with mistakenly saying he was just 6 years old when he was really 7.



It happened in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Tuesday when Bush signed the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, which renews tax credits for adoptions and encourages families to find homes for more than 500,000 children in foster care.


Before signing the legislation Bush talked about the need for more adoptions as he stood with Christopher and Diana Martin and their seven children, four of them adopted.


Terrance interrupted the president in mid-speech under the glaring television lights to point out he was not 6.


"How old are you?" Bush asked.


"Seven," said Terrance.


"OK, seven," said Bush, as the crowd chuckled. "I'll take it up with the fact-checker."

about 'Lord of the Rings part 7' Premieres in New Zealand

Orlando Bloom, who plays Legolas, poses on the red carpet before the world premiere of the Return Of The King, the third film in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Dec. 1, 2003. Bloom led co-stars Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen in the goodbye dance for excited fans. (AP Photo/Phil Walter, FOTOPRESS)

---

'Rings' Premieres in New Zealand

By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's usually sleepy capital came awake in a roar of celebration Monday as stars returned for the premiere of the final film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, parading through the city in open cars flanked by black-shrouded horsemen, orcs and hobbits that inhabit the beloved novels by JRR Tolkien.

Wellington's streets were jammed with 100,000 people standing 15-deep to fete the stars, including Liv Tyler, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen and Elijah Wood.


Bloom thrilled the crowd when he opened his jacket to reveal an "I love New Zealand" T-shirt. Mortensen greeted the crowd in Maori, the language of New Zealand's indigenous people.


All three films were shot in New Zealand over the past five years.


Fans roared as director Peter Jackson — a New Zealander — strode the red carpet toward the premiere showing.


"I'm feeling incredibly humbled by this wonderful reception," said Jackson. "You feel like you're the first people to land on the moon or something."


After the screening — the first time he'd seen the final cut — Jackson said he was pleased with his work.


"I heard a lot of sniffling and sobbing" during the trilogy's emotional climax, he said. "They were cheering ... and laughing in the right places."


"This is a once-in-a-lifetime for New Zealand," said fan Christine Hislop-Croft from the nearby town of Lower Hutt.


Wellington's streets were festooned with posters, up to eight stories tall, of "Rings" characters. Special postage stamps were printed to mark the occasion.


Jackson already has anointed "The Return of the King" as the best of the trilogy. It's also the longest, at 3 hours, 11 minutes.


The film opens in the United States on Dec. 17, in most of Western Europe the next day and in Asia on Dec. 20.


New Zealanders have taken the "Rings" trilogy to their hearts, recognizing their nation's breathtaking mountains, rivers and forests as backdrops in the films.


The countryside "made Middle Earth come to life," Jackson told lawmakers and guests at a parliamentary reception before the premiere.


Jackson told reporters he's looking forward to working on smaller, local films — "becoming a New Zealand filmmaker again" — although he first must finish another outsized project — his version of "King Kong."


McKellen, who plays the wizard Gandalf in the trilogy, paid tribute to U.S.-based New Line Cinema for putting trust in Jackson's vision.


"It is not often that you can congratulate a studio for courage, good judgment and for backing its filmmaker," he said.


New Line Cinema co-chairman Bob Shaye said the company took "a big risk."

"After we saw what a great job Peter did we felt incredibly encouraged about the other two," he told The Associated Press as he arrived for the premiere.

The trilogy's first two films — "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" — have grossed $2.9 billion at the box office worldwide.

New Line Cinema, a Time Warner subsidiary, is predicting at least $1.3 billion from the third film.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=502&u=/ap/film_lord_of_the_rings&ncid=

http://www.kidkoala.com/

about .the governor of california.

http://www.ca.gov

.the governor of california.

(an excerpt from his bio)
Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th Governor of California on November 17, 2003. His landslide election as the state's chief executive follows a distinguished career in business and entertainment.

Governor Schwarzenegger has pledged to restore California's economic strength, rebuild our education system and end politics as usual in Sacramento, so the people's interest takes center stage. He is confident that by working together, we can Bring California Back.

about LOL

makaveliblaze: gnight in hooville, with all the hoos
NikicolaVA: and goodnight to all the cleans in mcleanville

http://www.abeatexperience.com/experience/