Bloglist's Blog – December 2009 Archive (35)

"Avatar" opened in midnight screenings early Friday, and fans leaving those screenings generally seemed to agree that the movie was worth the wait, the epic runtime and the massive budget.

One fan raved to MTV News after catching a midnight screening in New York City, saying, "The imagination that James Cameron brought about was well worth the 15 years that he put into… Continue

With “Avatar” James Cameron has turned one man’s dream of the movies into a trippy joy ride about the end of life — our moviegoing life included — as we know it. Several decades in the dreaming and four years in the actual making, the movie is a song to the natural world that was largely produced with software, an Emersonian exploration of the invisible world of the spirit… Continue

If and when Senate Democratic leaders finish healthcare negotiations and nail down 60 votes, they will begin the process spelled out in Senate rules for ending the expected Republican filibusters and moving to a final vote on the legislation. The expected sequence of events is likely to stretch well into next week, possibly culminating in a Senate session on Christmas Day:

Step… Continue

A notebook that Susan Powell kept in her desk at work, possibly containing information about her relationship with her husband, was among the items seized by investigators last week, several sources have told the Deseret News.

The notebook, according to one source, detailed threats allegedly made against the missing West Valley City woman about a year… Continue

Democratic leaders in Congress have not yet reached an agreement to extend the estate tax before it expires at the end of the year, House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday.

Barack Obama



Lawmakers had hoped to ensure that the estate tax rate stay at 45 percent by attaching it to a must-pass defense spending bill, Hoyer… Continue

Observers in northern Norway Wednesday morning witnessed a bizarre spiral appear in the sky at around 7:49 a.m. They first saw a blue light soar up from over a mountain to a north. The light then paused in midair and began circling. Before long, like the closing scene from the Japanese horror film Uzumaki, a massive spiral had filled the air.

Then came a brilliant… Continue

Observers in northern Norway Wednesday morning witnessed a bizarre spiral appear in the sky at around 7:49 a.m. They first saw a blue light soar up from over a mountain to a north. The light then paused in midair and began circling. Before long, like the closing scene from the Japanese horror film Uzumaki, a massive spiral had filled the air.

Then came a brilliant… Continue

Two top Obama administration officials arrived Wednesday at the U.N.-sponsored climate talks that opened this week offering both diplomacy and a tough line: The United States is willing to be a full partner in fighting climate change, but the real problem is with China and the developing world.

The day began with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator… Continue

U.S. President Barack Obama called on Wednesday for bipartisan cooperation to boost jobs and help small businesses through a series of initiatives that he has proposed to tackle double-digit unemployment.

"My hope is that as we move forward, we can do so together," Obama told reporters after meeting congressional leaders from both his Democratic Party and… Continue

Bogus reviews have landed Chinese iPhone app developer Molinker in deep trouble, resulting in all 1000-plus of its apps being removed and banned from the App Store. This is great news for consumers who are tired of downloading subpar apps based on inflated reviews, and bad news for companies looking to shill their products with internal misdeeds.

The discovery of… Continue

For the second time this year, a Fresno beef company is recalling thousands of pounds of ground beef contaminated with a drug-resistant strain of salmonella.

Beef Packers Inc., owned by Cargill, announced the recall Friday. It covers 22,723 pounds of ground beef products that were sent to stores in Arizona and New Mexico.



WHY: Recall didn't include school… Continue

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Saturday that it was "deeply saddened" for the deadly fire in the Russian Urals city of Perm, in which at least 109 people were killed.

"Coming on the heels of the recent attack on the Moscow-Saint Petersburg train, this significant loss of life and multiple casualties are especially painful," said… Continue

ATLANTA -- No more waiting. It's here.

Alabama vs. Florida, for the SEC championship and the right to play in the BCS National Championship Game.



Thank goodness for the Georgia Dome, too. The weather in Atlanta is nasty. It's bitterly cold, and the wind is howling.



But inside, it's heating up as a few of the fans are starting to file in. The first player on… Continue

It's December. Time to get real for Jodi Yorke.

Late last week, Yorke, her husband, Brendan, and their 2-year-old son, Owen, went to the Christmas tree lot at Broadway and Montrose to pick out a tree -- a real tree.



Although Brendan grew up grabbing presents under an artificial tree -- Jodi's family went the real route.



"There's definitely something… Continue

ATLANTA — After another season of crunching numbers and grinding teeth over the gilded lean-to that is the Bowl Championship Series, this half of the equation, at least, is child's play.



Once again, Florida, ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings and the defending national champion, plays No. 2 Alabama today at the Georgia Dome for the Southeastern Conference championship. The winner will play in the BCS title game Jan. 7 against, in arguable order of probability, Texas, Cincinnati or… Continue