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Critics are raving about new season, with one reviewer describing HBO fantasy series as ‘spiritual heir’ to ‘The Sopranos.’
By Josh Wigler

Carice Van Houten as Melisandre in “Game of Thrones”
Photo: HBO

Winter is behind us in real life, but in the brutal realm of Westeros, it’s just days away.

When “Game of Thrones” returns Sunday for its second season, the days of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell will be behind us, with the reign of Tyrion Lannister (and another Emmy-worthy performance from Peter Dinklage) in our future. Based on the second novel in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, “A Clash of Kings,” season two of “Thrones” promises even more political intrigue, warfare, sex and violence than ever before — and given the show in question, that’s certainly saying something!

Several critics have already seen the first episode of the new season of “Thrones,” and with very few exceptions, their reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Here’s a taste of the reviews:

The Story “It’s a pleasure to see that ‘Game of Thrones’ hasn’t lost a grip on its ability to tell a vast, interconnected story without slowing down the pace. What’s truly impressive is that as life is breathed into these storylines, ‘Game of Thrones’ just gets better and more fulfilling as a top-tier television series. The intrigue of the plot and the keenly drawn characters — plus the sense instilled in Season 1 that absolutely anything can happen and no one is safe — makes the show all the more compelling.” — Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter

Accessibility for Non-Readers “I had read the first volume of George R.R. Martin’s saga ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ (the source material for this series) before I watched the first season of ‘GoT’ so I would be familiar with the vast array of characters and plots that would develop. But I intentionally did not read the epic’s second volume, ‘A Clash of Kings,’ before watching the start of ‘GoT’ season 2, because I wanted to see if I’d have trouble following the new intricacies. And I’m here to report that my lack of homework in no way prevented me from becoming enthralled with this series all over again. That’s a testament to what adapters David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have accomplished in whittling down and reshaping Martin’s novels for weekly TV. It’s difficult enough to hook a viewer like me, who resists sprawling, noncontemporary narratives; it’s another level of pop culture wizardry to make such storytelling seem so vivid, so vital, and just plain fun.” — Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly

Blood and Boobs ” ‘Thrones’ creates such a rich visual feast — replete with plenty of gratuitous nudity and blood-letting — as to almost obscure its fundamental storytelling pleasures, which are as much a mob drama as anything else, having traded bullets for broadswords. By that measure, this really might [be] the closest spiritual heir to ‘The Sopranos’ HBO has delivered since the show’s notorious whiteout.” — Brian Lowry, Variety

The New Guys in Town “Even though I’m a fan of Martin’s novels, I must confess that I always found the Stannis retainer Davos Seaworth fairly bland and boring, but Liam Cunningham, like Emilia Clarke, ably brings to life a character who could seem rather remote on the page. Several other smaller roles have been filled with lively specificity, but I have to wonder if we’ll get enough time with each of these people. Will the plight of Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), a stoic warrior who nurtures an unrequited love for royal contender Renly Baratheon, be as sadly evocative as it was in the books? Will there be time for the show to do more than lightly sketch the dilemmas of minor but interesting characters like her?” — Maureen Ryan, Huffington Post

The Bottom Line “As with the novels, this ‘Game of Thrones’ is breathtakingly ambitious, an ever-unfurling tapestry that threatens, at times, to overwhelm its frame. That it does not is a testament to the power of piecework — art is not defined by the space it occupies but by its details, the truth it captures. Many heads bend over this adaptation, each belonging to a master of his or her craft, and what emerges is a truly new, and miraculously accurate, definition of epic television.” — Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times

Are you excited for more “Thrones” action? Tell us in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter @roundhoward!

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Written on March 31, 2012 ? 5:58 pm | by admin |

I love the internet. The internet level the playing field.

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Posted On Friday, 30 Mar 2012 By Administrator. Under?Menopause HRT??Tags:?Aging, Conquering, Edge, Enhancement, Guide, Health, Hormone, Menopause, More, Natural, Reviews, Secrets, Solutions, Stress, Weight, Women’s??

Natural Hormone Solutions: Secrets to Conquering Stress, Weight, Aging, Menopause, and More (Women?s Edge Health Enhancement Guide)

Natural Hormone Solutions: Secrets to Conquering Stress, Weight, Aging, Menopause, and More (Women?s Edge Health Enhancement Guide)

Natural Hormone Solutions: Secrets to Conquering Stress, Weight, Aging, Menopause and More (Women?s Edge Health Enhancement Guide)

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Natural Hormone Solutions: Secrets to Conquering Stress, Weight, Aging, Menopause, and More (Women?s Edge Health Enhancement Guide).

Encounters with Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America

Encounters with Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America

Margaret Lock explicitly compares Japanese and North American medical and political accounts of female middle age to challenge Western assumptions about menopause. She uses ethnography, interviews, statistics, historical and popular culture materials, and medical publications to produce a richly detailed account of Japanese women?s lives. The result offers irrefutable evidence that the experience and meanings?even the endocrinological changes?associated with female midlife are far from universal. Rather, Lock argues, they are the product of an ongoing dialectic between culture and local biologies.
Japanese focus on middle-aged women as family members, and particularly as caretakers of elderly relatives. They attach relatively little importance to the end of menstruation, seeing it as a natural part of the aging process and not a diseaselike state heralding physical decline and emotional instability. Even the symptoms of midlife are different: Japanese women report few hot flashes, for example, but complain frequently of stiff shoulders.
Articulate, passionate, and carefully documented, Lock?s study systematically undoes the many preconceptions about aging women in two distinct cultural settings. Because it is rooted in the everyday lives of Japanese women, it also provides an excellent entree to Japanese society as a whole.
Aging and menopause are subjects that have been closeted behind our myths, fears, and misconceptions. Margaret Lock?s cross-cultural perspective gives us a critical new lens through which to examine our assumptions.

Encounters with Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America

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BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday Syria would spare no effort to ensure the success of international envoy Kofi Annan‘s peace mission but warned it would not work without securing an end to foreign funding and arming of rebels opposing him.

Assad is under international pressure to call his troops and tanks back to their bases, a year into a popular revolt against his iron rule. Fighting between troops and rebels killed at least 38 more people on Thursday, 15 of them soldiers.

The state news agency SANA quoted Assad, in a letter to the leaders of the BRIC economic powers, which include his key ally Russia, as saying “countries which support the armed groups with money and weapons must be persuaded to stop this immediately”.

At the same time, Britain said it was doubling non-military aid to opponents of Assad and expanding its scope to equipment, possibly including secure telephones to help activists communicate more easily without fear of detection and attack.

The aid, worth $800,000, “includes agreement in principle for practical non-lethal support to them inside Syria,” Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad endorsed the peace plan floated by Annan, the special U.N. and Arab League envoy on Syria, and – betraying skepticism about Assad’s commitment — called for it to be implemented “immediately and completely”.

The six-point plan envisages a ceasefire, possibly under U.N. monitoring, a withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centers, humanitarian assistance, release of prisoners and free movement and access for journalists to Syria.

Arab League leaders quietly dropped an earlier demand that Assad give up the presidency. The Annan plan, endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, makes no such demand, unlike a previous blueprint for change that was vetoed by Russia and China.

“The solution for the crisis is still in the hands of the Syrians as a government and opposition,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told the summit gathering in the Iraqi capital, the first there in 20 years.

Earlier, the League took a line closer to the hardline stance of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, calling for Assad to transfer powers to a deputy to allow for a unity government and early elections.

But a shift in the Arab position transpired after Russia and China blocked a Security Council endorsement of that proposal and the Arab League‘s own observation mission in Syria unraveled from internal splits, failing to stem the bloodshed.

Syria’s opposition groups continue to demand that Assad must go, and have not agreed to any peace talks with his government.

Elaraby called for the Security Council to issue a binding resolution to “not only stipulate the necessity of stopping the violence, but also finding a suitable mechanism to cease fire.”

One idea Annan is pushing is a U.N. observer mission, diplomats say, and Elaraby said there had been suggestions that there should be “Arab participation”.

ASSAD’S DEMANDS

“President Assad said that for his mission to succeed, Annan must focus on drying up the wells of support for terrorism pointed at Syria, especially from countries which have announced that they are arming and financing the terrorist groups in Syria,” SANA reported.

“In return for the formal commitment to the success of Annan’s mission it is necessary to obtain commitments from the other parties to halt the terrorist acts by the armed groups and to withdraw the weapons of these groups and call on them to stop their terrorist acts …” Assad’s letter said.

In an apparent reference to Turkey, a former ally that now hosts the rebel Free Syrian Army, he singled out “neighboring countries that harbor these groups and facilitate their terrorist operations”.

Assad said a national dialogue would start soon, including “all groups which work for the security and stability” of Syria.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon kept up pressure on Assad, saying he must turn his stated acceptance of the peace plan into action, to shift his country off a “dangerous trajectory” with risks for the entire region.

Syria sits at a crossroads of Middle East conflict bordering Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Iraq and Lebanon. Its 23-million population comprises a mix of faiths, sects and ethnic groups whose tensions resonate in neighboring states.

“It is essential that President Assad put those commitments into immediate effect. The world is waiting for commitments to be translated into action. The key here is implementation, there is no time to waste,” Ban told the Arab League summit.

OPPOSITION MEETS BACKERS

In Istanbul, Syrian opposition representatives met to try to settle deep internal disputes before the arrival of Western foreign ministers for a “Friends of Syria” conference on Sunday to map out where the year-old uprising is heading.

The chances of Western powers deciding to arm the insurgents at this point appeared to be very remote.

Reports from the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the violence, said at least 23 people and 15 government soldiers were killed nationwide on Thursday – in army raids on villages, in a rebel ambush and in clashes.

SANA said two colonels were assassinated in a morning attack in Aleppo, Syria’s second city, while on their way to work. It said gunmen kidnapped Air Force General Mohammad Amr al Darbas in Damascus province.

The United Nations says Assad’s forces have killed 9,000 people. Damascus blames foreign-backed “terrorists” for the violence and says 3,000 soldiers and police have been killed.

Western powers have expressed doubt about Assad’s stated willingness to implement the peace plan. Russia has urged Western-backed opposition groups to match Damascus and endorse the proposals of Annan, a former U.N. secretary general.

Syria’s big-power backers, Russia and China, have turned up the heat on Assad by endorsing the Annan plan, with the unspoken implication that if he fails to act on it, they may be prepared to back action by the U.N. Security Council.

Sunni Muslim powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar have suggested arming Syria’s mainly Sunni opposition. But Arab states outside the Gulf, such as Algeria and Shi’ite Muslim-led Iraq, urge more caution, fearing an all-out sectarian war.

“In our experience in Iraq, we see that arming both sides will result in proxy wars regionally and internationally. This option will provide the grounds for foreign military intervention in Syria,” Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the Arab leaders.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-violence-ignores-peace-diplomacy-072818324.html

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ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2012) ? Helping bridge the gap between photonics and electronics, researchers from Purdue University have coaxed a thin film of titanium nitride into transporting plasmons, tiny electron excitations coupled to light that can direct and manipulate optical signals on the nanoscale. Titanium nitride’s addition to the short list of surface-plasmon-supporting materials, formerly composed only of metals, could point the way to a new class of optoelectronic devices with unprecedented speed and efficiency.

“We have found that titanium nitride is a promising candidate for an entirely new class of technologies based on plasmonics and metamaterials,” said Alexandra Boltasseva, a researcher at Purdue and an author on a paper published March 27 in the Optical Society’s (OSA) open-access journal Optical Materials Express. “This is particularly compelling because surface plasmons resolve a basic mismatch between wavelength-scale optical devices and the much smaller components of integrated electronic circuits.”

Value of Plasmons

Metals carry electricity with ease, but normally do nothing to transmit light waves. Surface plasmons, unusual light-coupled oscillations that form on the surface of metallic materials, are the exception to that rule. When excited on the surface of metals by light waves of specific frequencies, plasmons are able to retain that same frequency, but with wavelengths that are orders-of-magnitude smaller, cramming visible and near-infrared light into the realm of the nanoscale.

In the world of electronics and optics, that 100-fold contraction is a boon. Circuits that direct the paths of electrons operate on a much smaller scale than optical light waves, so engineers must either rely on small but relatively sluggish electrons for information processing or bulk up to accommodate the zippy photons. Plasmons represent the best of both worlds and are already at the heart of a number of optoelectronic devices. They have not had widespread use, however, due to the dearth of materials that readily generate them and the fact that metals, in most cases, cannot be integrated with semiconductor devices.

Plasmonic Materials

Until now, the best candidates for plasmonic materials were gold and silver. These noble metals, however, are not compatible with standard silicon manufacturing technologies, limiting their use in commercial products. Silver is the metal with the best optical and surface plasmon properties, but it forms grainy, or semi-continuous, thin films. Silver also easily degrades in air, which causes loss of optical signal, making it a less-attractive material in plasmon technologies.

In an effort to overcome these drawbacks, Boltasseva and her team chose to study titanium nitride- a ceramic material that is commonly used as a barrier metal in microelectronics and to coat metal surfaces such as medical implants or machine tooling parts- because they could manipulate its properties in the manufacturing process. It also could be easily integrated into silicon products, and grown crystal-by-crystal, forming highly uniform, ultrathin films- properties that metals do not share.

To test its plasmonic capabilities, the researchers deposited a very thin, very even film of titanium nitride on a sapphire surface. They were able to confirm that titanium nitride supported the propagation of surface plasmons almost as efficiently as gold. Silver, under perfect conditions, was still more efficient for plasmonic applications, but its acknowledged signal loss limited its practical applications.

To further improve the performance of titanium nitride, the researchers are now looking into a manufacturing method known as molecular beam epitaxy, which would enable them to grow the films and layered structures known as superlattices crystal-by-crystal.

Technologies and Potential Applications

In addition to plasmonics, the researchers also speculate that titanium nitride may have applications in metamaterials, which are engineered materials that can be tailored for almost any application because of their extraordinary response to electromagnetic, acoustic, and thermal waves. Recently proposed applications of metamaterials include invisibility cloaks, optical black holes, nanoscale optics, data storage, and quantum information processing.

The search for alternatives to noble metals with improved optical properties, easier fabrication and integration capabilities could ultimately lead to real-life applications for plasmonics and metamaterials.

“Plasmonics is an important technology for nanoscale optical circuits, sensing, and data storage because it can focus light down to nanoscale,” notes Boltasseva. “Titanium nitride is a promising candidate in the near-infrared and visible wavelength ranges. Unlike gold and silver, titanium nitride is compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing technology and provides many advantages in its nanofabrication and integration.”

According to the researchers, titanium nitride-based devices could provide nearly the same performance for some plasmonic applications. While noble metals like silver would still be the best choice for specific applications like negative index metamaterials, titanium nitride could outperform noble metals in other metamaterial and transformation optics devices, such as those based on hyperbolic metamaterials.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Optical Society of America.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

1. Gururaj V. Naik, Jeremy L. Schroeder, Xingjie Ni, Alexander V. Kildishev, Timothy D. Sands, Alexandra Boltasseva. Titanium nitride as a plasmonic material for visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Optical Materials Express, 2012; 2 (4): 478 DOI: 10.1364/OME.2.000478

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120327124900.htm

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Tags: light waves, surface, titanium nitride

By rajan | Published: March 27, 2012

Organizer: INSTITUTE OF HRD ? Address: INSTITUTE OF HRD # 505, II Floor, 4th Cross, R.T.Nagar, II Block Behind BDA Complex Bangalore-560 032, INDIA Dates ??? 24 May 2012

All about it:

?In the current competitive Business scenario, companies need the right technology to identify, develop and retain the right talent. Realizing these advantages, human resource professionals today willingly embrace the technology making it an essential part of their daily operations including appraisal management, succession planning, package review and personal development, e-recruitment, and performance management, which has in turn dramatically enabled HR to carry out effective people relationship management. Mumbai HR Summit 2012 is an International Convention for Human Resources Professionals which will be hosted by Institute of HRD on May 25-26, 2012, at Westin Mumbai Garden City, Mumbai-400063 India. At this exclusive HR summit for the most distinguished HR Professionals, we will bring the brightest minds together to discuss current and emerging trends in Technology for HRM Effectiveness. The HR Summit aims at bringing together HR and business leaders on a common platform to deliberate on various aspects of the HR summit theme. In this HR Summit over 250 Human Resources professional from India, Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East are expected to participate and deliberate on the theme. The HR Summit will witness presentations and deliberations by, eminent CEOs, proven HR Leaders, Senior HR Professionals, Researchers, and Academicians.

HR Summit objectives.

• To understand the changing role of HRM in the current business scenario.
• To enable HR professionals to leverage technology for further enhancing HR effectiveness.
• To provide a platform to the HR Leaders, Business Leaders to interact and share their experiences in technology for HRM.

Contact Details:

Phone: +91-80- 65617338, 23549645, 32414934 | E-mail: hr@hrsummit.in

Website: http://www.hrsummit.in

Related Events:

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4. Kartavya | SWA-DTU Chapter | Conferences | 12 to 13 April 2012
5. ICETE-12 | NMAM Institute of Technology | Conference | 15 to 16 May 2012
6. Early Bird Registrations Opened for the Sankalp Summit 2012 | Intellecap | Conferences |12 to 13 April 2012
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8. NCDC 2012 | RMK ENGINEERING COLLEGE | Conferences | 21 April 2012
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10. Private Equity Forum-2012 | 26 to 27 April 2012 | Mumbai | Maharastra | LegalEra ? Legal Media Group

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Source: http://eventsfeeder.com/hr-strategy-forum-2012

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By Us Weekly

Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

Did Camille Grammer leave on her own terms — or was she pushed out?

As a source told Us Weekly?Saturday evening, the 43-year-old ex-wife of Kelsey Grammer won’t be coming back for season three of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

Photos from Us: Biggest bomshells ever on RHOBH

The former dancer and Playboy model confirmed it herself to Us later that night at the Grand Opening of a new Blizz Frozen Yogurt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I can’t say too much at this moment, but we couldn’t get it worked out,” the mother of two explained to Us. “I love these girls. I really do,” she said of costars Kim and Kyle Richards, Taylor Armstrong, Lisa Vanderpump and Adrienne Maloof. “I’ve had so much fun with the franchise, but I guess the producers and I couldn’t come to an agreement.”

Photos from Us: Most disastrous Housewives romances ever

Although a Grammer source had said “She just doesn’t want to expose her personal life anymore,” she claimed the ouster was “mutual,” and if she had her way, she’d be back for another round.

“I think I would have done it, definitely.”

Her buddies Adrienne Maloof and Kyle Richards were also at Saturday’s Blizz event in Vegas — and they’re bummed about her departure.

Video from Us: Smackdown! Remember the mass fight at Camille’s dinner party?

“It’s sad,” Maloof told Us. “Together the six of us were a great combo.”

Added Kyle Richards, “It’s going be sad not having her in the show. It’s sad.”

One major source of comfort for Grammer in her post-”Housewives” life is hunky boyfriend of eight months Dimitri Charalambopoulos, who was on her arm at Saturday’s party. “Everything is great. We get along really well,” gushed Grammer, who famously dealt with Kelsey’s affair with Kayte Walsh and subsequent divorce filing on season one of the show. “I care about him very much and we’re enjoying each other’s company.”

Do you think season three will be as interesting without Camille? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/25/10855514-camille-grammer-didnt-want-to-leave-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills

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