Cars Zone: 2013

Sunday, 20 October 2013

Christina Applegate's Husband -- Photographer's Footage Shows the Angry Face-Off

Christina Applegate's Husband
Photog's Footage Shows
Angry Face-Off

Exclusive

Christina Applegate's husband was mercilessly hounded by a paparazzo -- and may have gotten annoyed enough to reach out and smack the guy.

As TMZ first reported ... Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble was briefly detained by police after a weekend incident where a freelance pap (not one of TMZ's) accused him of getting physical.

LeNoble told cops he was trying to stop the photog from shooting his family during their daughter's birthday party -- when the guy challenged him to a fight in a back alley.

The photog's own video backs that up, as he tells Martyn ... "Let's fight over there. Let's go to the alley. Let's see if you're a man."

Look, the paparazzo is clearly being an antagonistic jerk ... but LeNoble does appear to smack the guy's camera at some point.

Ultimately, the pap decided not to press charges ... maybe because he knew just how much he had baited LeNoble.

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Source: http://www.tmz.com/2013/10/15/martyn-lenoble-christina-applegate-paparazzo-incident-police-video/
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TV's Top Showrunners Talk Deleted Scenes, Network Censorship, More

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Liz Meriwether, Dan Harmon, Aaron Sorkin

How I Met Your Mother's Carter Bays is still mourning the loss of Goodwin Games. New Girl's Liz Meriwether is coming clean about the do's and don'ts of "vagina" talk. And Community's reinstalled showrunner Dan Harmon is simply relieved security let him back on the lot.

Below, 13 top showrunners from this year's Power List offer candid responses about scrapped plans, debates in their writers room and the thing they wish they knew before becoming a showrunner.

PHOTOS: Power Showrunners: Inside the Minds Behind 'Walking Dead,' 'Bates Motel,' 'Arrow'

Before I became a showrunner, I wish someone had warned me about …

Beau Willimon (House of Cards): Fraturday -- when a night shoot on Friday night continues until Saturday morning. Think long weekend, but the opposite of that.

Aaron Sorkin (Newsroom): Having to write a second episode after the pilot.

Liz Meriwether (New Girl): All the sleep I would get! It's almost too much sleep!

Christopher Lloyd (Modern Family): Executives and notes. I'm often reminded of a story about Marvin Gaye. In his prime, he was a big strong guy, who fancied himself a decent boxer. One day he met this heavyweight fighter (not a champion, but a contender) and told him he wanted to spar with him. They made the date and Marvin Gaye came in kind of cocky, sure he was going to beat this guy, demanding that the guy not go easy on him, and … the guy kind of beat him up. Afterward, a reporter who had observed the whole thing asked the boxer why he'd done so and he said, "This is what I do all day long. This is all I've ever done. How could he disrespect me like that? This ring is my office."

Dan Harmon (Community): Capitalism.

Mara Brock Akil (The Game): The hair and makeup department! There should be a whole course on how to negotiate that!

Betsy Beers (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal) Keeping up with a network episodic schedule. The pace takes your breath away -- especially when you first start out -- and living at the office becomes the new normal. Oh, and the constant and endless supply of sugary food groups at said office. Beware …

The most memorable debate in our writers room this past year was …

Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy): If the skittish white guy in the alley outside our office was dealing crack or meth.

Carter Bays (How I Met Your Mother): First prize: Did Walt mean what he said on the phone with Skyler or was it all a smokescreen because he knew the cops were listening in? Runner up: Should we do a season nine?

Sorkin: Whether a particular line should reference Bridget Jones or Holly Golightly.

Harmon: Whether to replace departing castmembers with NFL players or just keep grabbing dead people from Breaking Bad.

Bill Lawrence (Cougar Town): Generally, these are about where to order lunch when we're working. No one has nailed this yet.

Craig Thomas (How I Met Your Mother): Whether or not to reveal "The Mother" from our show's title (Side-bar: I've decided to start avoiding the phrase "titular mother," because gross).

STORY: 10 Power Showrunners: A Day in the Life, From Carlton Cuse to Jenji Kohan

The toughest scene I had to write this past year was …

Sutter: Figuring out new and imaginative ways to blow shit up, kill a guy, chase down/run from an enemy. Adding original, organic action to the show gets more difficult every season.

Meriwether: Some reshoot stuff. But a lady never talks about reshoots unless the lady has a drink in her. Half a drink, to be honest.

Matthew Weiner (Mad Men): Don and Ted deciding to merge their companies.

Sorkin: The scene that opened with the season premiere and ended with the season finale.

I can't believe I got away with …

Meriwether: Getting Nick and Jess together. But now I feel like I jinxed it.

Weiner: Bob Benson's shorts.

Harmon: Seasons four, three, one and two in that order.

The moment I wish had made it to air but didn't was …

Meriwether: So many moments. There was one particular joke for Winston in the premiere that we couldn't get away with because of Standards and Practices. Lamorne [Morris] knocked it out of the park. I guess you're not allowed to use the word "in" as it relates to the word "vagina." It turns out almost no prepositions are allowed near that noun.

Beers: There was a wonderful scene from last season in episode 219 -- Olivia Pope, who is starting to undress in her bedroom, remembers Jake Ballard has placed surveillance in there. She proceeds to taunt him through the camera. A terrific performance from Kerry Washington -- and a nice twist at the end when we find out it isn't Jake Ballard who is watching!

Bays: The last six episodes of The Goodwin Games.

Sorkin: The scene in "One Step Too Many" that explained the title of the episode.

STORY: The Hollywood Reporter Names the 50 Power Showrunners of 2013

The episode from this past year that I wish we could do over would be …

Meriwether: The premiere.

Thomas: I'll up the ante on this question and go from "episode" to "series": I wish we could do The Goodwin Games over with the same amazing cast and crew, but on a network that would give it a real shot.

Bays: It's not from this last year, but season seven's "The Burning Beekeeper" will follow me to my grave. One more week of writing, one more week of shooting, one more week of editing, and it could have been something awesome. But that's how it goes when you have a 24 episode season. Sometimes you run out of time.

Sorkin: I've never written anything I wish I couldn't do over.

Weiner: What are you trying to say?

My proudest accomplishment this year was …

Harmon: Convincing security to let me back on the lot.

Lloyd: Finding a way to take two common sitcom stories -- a birth story and a proposal story -- and make them both funny and surprising, and ultimately touching.

Willimon: Remaining sane. Writing and producing 13 hours of story in six months is a form of voluntary insanity. A delicious, rewarding, exhilarating form of insanity, mind you. It takes a special breed of folks to put in 80 hour weeks for half a year. Luckily on our show the inmates get to run the asylum, and between our cast, crew, writers and designers, there's not other asylum I'd rather be committed to.

Thomas: The brief three or four seconds in May/June when Carter and I had two shows on TV (HIMYM and the all-too-short-lived The Goodwin Games.)

Lawrence: Hiring and empowering talented people like Adam Sztykiel (Undateable), Jeff Astrof (Ground Floor), Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker (Surviving Jack) and Blake McCormick (Cougar Town) to run our TV shows. Then I just step in and take credit for all their hard work. Any work they can't do is handled by Jeff Ingold and Randall Winston (my partners). I generally just drink a lot of coffee.

STORY: Power Showrunners: 10 to Watch for 2014

If my writers were to describe my style as a showrunner in five words or less, they might say …

Salim Akil (The Game): Salim -- Loveable asshole.

Sutter: Control. Control. Control. Control. Weepy.

Lloyd: Respectful, respectfully demanding, always late.

Meriwether: "Go back to set, Liz."

Weiner: "You're looking tall today, sir."

Harmon: "Quick, he's sleeping, stab him."

Lawrence: Moderately effective, disorganized chaos.

Bays: Handsome, handsome, handsome, handsome, handsome!

Sorkin: Nobody on our show uses five words or less.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/live_feed/~3/ZaXWUY5FvIw/story01.htm
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The World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011, AT 3:07 PM
Obama Gets Firsthand Look at a Tornado Damage

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010, AT 6:19 PM
Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long. Tornado Kills at Least Five in Oklahoma. Very long title. Long long long.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2013/10/most_expensive_bottle_of_wine_2009_chateau_margaux_balthazar_sells_for_195.html
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Saturday, 19 October 2013

Interview with Mayor Annise Parker (Offthekuff)

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Ga. to review tough death penalty provision

FILE - This undated provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows convicted murderer Warren Lee Hill. Georgia, the first state to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates, is revisiting a requirement for defendants to prove the disability beyond a reasonable doubt to be spared execution on those grounds _ the strictest burden of proof in the nation.(AP Photo/Georgia Dept. of Corrections)

ATLANTA (AP) — The state that was the first to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates is revisiting a requirement for defendants to prove the disability beyond a reasonable doubt — the strictest burden of proof in the nation.

A state House committee is holding an out-of-session meeting Thursday to seek input from the public. Other states that impose the death penalty have a lower threshold for proving mental disability, and some don't set standards at all.

Just because lawmakers are holding a meeting does not mean changes to the law will be proposed, and the review absolutely is not a first step toward abolishing Georgia's death penalty, said State Rep. Rich Golick, R-Smyrna, chairman of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.

Georgia's law is the strictest in the U.S. even though the state was also the first, in 1988, to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates. The U.S. Supreme Court followed suit in 2002, ruling that the execution of mentally disabled offenders is unconstitutional.

The Georgia law's toughest-in-the-nation status compels lawmakers to review it, Golick said.

"When you're an outlier, you really ought not to stick your head in the sand," he said. "You need to go ahead and take a good, hard look at what you're doing, why you're doing it, weigh the pros and cons of a change and act accordingly or not."

Thursday's meeting comes against the backdrop of the case of Warren Lee Hill, who was sentenced to die for the 1990 beating death of fellow inmate Joseph Handspike, who was bludgeoned with a nail-studded board as he slept. At the time, Hill was already serving a life sentence for the 1986 slaying of his girlfriend, Myra Wright, who was shot 11 times.

Hill's lawyers have long maintained he is mentally disabled and therefore shouldn't be executed. The state has consistently argued that his lawyers have failed to prove his mental disability beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hill has come within hours of execution on several occasions, most recently in July. Each time, a court has stepped in at the last minute and granted a delay based on challenges raised by his lawyers. Only one of those challenges was related to his mental abilities, and it was later dismissed.

A coalition of groups that advocate for people with developmental disabilities pushed for the upcoming legislative committee meeting and has been working to get Georgia's standard of proof changed to a preponderance of the evidence rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Hill's case has drawn national attention and has shone a spotlight on Georgia's tough standard, they say.

The process has taken an enormous amount of education, said Kathy Keeley, executive director of All About Developmental Disabilities. Rather than opposition to or support for the measure she's pushing, she's mostly encountered a lack of awareness about what the state's law says, she said.

The groups are hoping to not only express their views at the meeting, but also to hear from others to get a broader perspective, Keeley said. The changes should be relatively simple and very narrow in scope, targeting only the burden of proof for death penalty defendants, she said.

Ashley Wright, district attorney for the Augusta district and president of the state District Attorneys' Association, said prosecutors question the logic of changing a law that they don't see as problematic and that has repeatedly been upheld by state and federal courts.

"The district attorneys don't believe that you change a law for no reason and, in this case, the law appears to be working," she said. "Where has a jury done a disservice? Why are we putting all our eggs in the defendant's basket and forgetting that there's a victim?"

Prosecutors agree that the mentally disabled shouldn't be executed, and defendants are frequently spared the death penalty when there is proof of their mental disability supported by appropriate documentation from credible and reliable experts, she said.

But Hill's lawyer, Brian Kammer, argues that psychiatric diagnoses are complex, and "experts who have to make diagnoses do not do so beyond a reasonable doubt, they do it to a reasonable scientific certainty."

Furthermore, he said, disagreements between experts make the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard nearly impossible to meet.

"Even where evidence is otherwise seemingly overwhelming that a person has mental retardation, one dissenting opinion that splits a hair on one or more pieces of evidence can result in that person who's almost certainly mentally retarded being executed," Kammer said.

In Hill's case, a state court judge concluded the defendant was probably mentally disabled. In any other state, that would have spared him the death penalty, Kammer said.

Additionally, three state experts who testified in 2000 that Hill was not mentally disabled submitted sworn statements in February saying they had been rushed in their evaluation at the time. After further review and based on scientific developments since then, they now believe Hill is mentally disabled, they said.

The state has dismissed the doctors' new testimony, saying it isn't credible. And courts have ruled that Hill is procedurally barred from having a new hearing. His lawyers had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case based on the new evidence, but the high court this month declined to take it up. Hill has a challenge on different grounds pending before the Georgia Supreme Court. But he has exhausted his challenges on the mental disability issue, Kammer said.

Even if changes are made to Georgia's law, they will likely not be retroactive and wouldn't apply to Hill, Keeley said.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-19-Georgia%20Death%20Penalty/id-6116622432ac42338486dafb8131d75b
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Apple Will Announce the New iPads on Oct. 22nd

As was foretold by the ancients, Apple will hold its holiday iPad jamboree on October 22nd. We'll see some new tablets, sure. But there also might be a trove of other odds and ends awaiting us next week.

Valentino, THR Host 2nd Annual 'Power of Style' Luncheon

From left: Laura Myones Ruf, Ashley Greene and Donna Langley

On Wednesday, a slew of Hollywood's biggest executives, producers and agents ditched their Blackberry's and iPhones to enjoy The Hollywood Reporter's intimate "Power of Style" luncheon held at Valentino's Beverly Hills flagship boutique.

The second annual event celebrated THR's just-out style feature, "Power Dressing at the Top of the Ladder," which examines how Hollywood's top female execs have shed their once-stereotypical sensible pumps in favor of feminine, yet still professional looks from the likes of Marni, Jimmy Choo and yes, Valentino, too.

"I like to dress for comfort and pick what feels right at that particular moment," said Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of international distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, who joined colleague Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and international distribution, at the mid-day festivities. "It's really about how I feel, and depends on whether I have formal or casual meetings."

PHOTOS: Inside the 2nd Annual Power of Style Luncheon

Industry compatriots at Wednesday's lunch -- which was held on Valentino's airy, mirrored second floor designed by noted British architect David Chipperfield -- included Universal TV chief Bela Bejaria, Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley, Showtime exec vp of corporate communications Trisha Cardoso, HBO senior vp of media relations Nancy Lesser, Warner Bros. executive vp of marketing Blair Rich, 3 Arts' Molly Madden, Gersh Agency's Leslie Siebert and Slate PR's Ina Treciokas. How I Met Your Mother actress Cobie Smulders and Twilight star Ashley Greene were also on hand.

"I'm so impressed that [THR and Valentino] were able to get all these busy, powerful women in one room at the same time," Greene said, clad in a floral embroidered Valentino dress that she was "obsessed" with. The starlet agreed with THR senior style writer Merle Ginsberg, who penned the magazine's "Power of Style" piece, that power and style indeed go hand in hand.

"Style is empowering," Greene said. "There's something about clothes that you feel good in that gives you that extra boost of confidence. I really love that there's a focus on that within our industry now."

The room of power ladies nibbled a light lunch of kale salad, chicken breast roulade provencal (or foraged mushroom risotto for the vegetarians of the group) and gold-dusted vegan carob truffles for dessert. Some even enjoyed a glass (or two) of Perrier Jouer.

All agreed on one very important point: when getting dressed, comfort is key. "I like to be stylish and comfortable, [which] usually starts with what my day looks like," said Langley, wearing a Tom Ford sweater.

Bejaria, who wore a Michael Kors top and Diane von Furstenburg slacks, echoed the same thought: "[Before coming here], I went with, 'will I be comfortable in this?' Before and after this, I'll be at meetings so I brought my Indian bangles to spruce it up a little bit. Ultimately, it was about being comfortable." The colorful arm candy, it turned out, were procured from the Cerritos vintage boutique owned by Bejaria's mother.

LIST: THR's Women in Entertainment 2012: Power 100

Cardoso, who mixed a Vince top with Topshop patterned pants and Christian Dior pumps, concurred. "For these kinds of events, I like to wear clothes that I feel comfortable in and that show my personality."

Flanking the edges of the white table-filled room were a trio of models clad in Valentino's sheer panel shift dresses and black and white glittering tuxedo-inspired gowns perfect for impending awards season work obligations.

"That top is unbelievable," cooed UTA motion picture agent and partner Blair Kohan to Dreamworks Animation producer Latifa Ouaou, who wore an understated feathered creation by producer Stephanie Danan's Co label.

"I just went to her spring preview and grabbed it off the rack," Ouaou said of the find, just before jumping up to reveal a pair of sophisticated black wide leg pants that streamlined the ensemble. "I told her, I'm leaving with this. And I did."

As Kohan (who planned on changing from her maroon-hued Prada slacks into more casual maroon-hued Rag & Bone jeans after lunch) and Intuition Productions president Keri Selig traded tales about "the best on-call tailor in town," Valentino store manager Kathy Gohari was busy showing off Smulders' killer stems.

"I can't stop thinking about your legs in that dress!" Gohari exclaimed to the room, as the actress stood and smiled in a red pleated Valentino number.

Once the last vegan truffle was consumed and guests were given boxes of macarons celebrating THR's soon-to-launch style website, Pret-a-Reporter, a selection of guests -- including THR editorial director Janice Min -- stayed to peruse the shop's shoe selection in an effort to support Dress for Success, the non-profit professional women's dress organization that received 10 percent of the afternoon's proceeds.

Comfort may have been the golden rule of the day. But Universal's Langley had one parting piece of fashion sage:

"It's all about the accessories."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/news/~3/F3F_aCXbZTk/valentino-thr-host-2nd-annual-649159
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Kidnapping of aid workers in Syria adds another layer to conflict

The kidnapping of six international Red Cross employees and one employee of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Syria has added more fuel to worries about the growing hazards of providing aids to hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced by the country's ongoing civil war.

International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman Robert Mardini wrote this morning that the Syrian national and three of the other kidnapped aid workers have been released, but also drew attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.

The BBC reports details of the kidnapping:

A convoy carrying six ICRC staff members and one Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer was intercepted by unidentified armed gunmen near the town of Saraqeb in Idlib province, ICRC spokeswoman Rima Kamal told the BBC.

"We call for the immediate release of the seven colleagues abducted this morning... who work tirelessly to provide assistance to those most in need in Syria. Incidents such as this one unfortunately will undermine our capacity to assist those who need our help," she said.

The ICRC has declined to reveal the identity, gender or nationality of the abducted workers but they are believed to include both local and international staff, who are mainly medical specialists.

The ICRC is active in conflict spots around the globe, but also operates in less overtly dangerous realms - the Red Cross has been in the news recently for delivering food aid in Britain and advocating the punishment of war crimes in video games.

The dangerous atmosphere in Syria seems unlikely to fade anytime soon, despite international diplomatic pressure. Proposed talks in Geneva hit a major speed bump when a large rebel group refused to participate in them.

Syrian National Council leader George Sabra said the group would pull out of the umbrella coalition if it took part in the talks.

He said his faction would not negotiate with the Syrian government, adding that conditions for talks were not right while Syrians continued to suffer.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has also been pushing an end to the violence, albeit on a temporary basis. The Nobel peace prize-winning group, working with Syria and the international community to identify and destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, has been challenged by the violent conditions of the civil war and told the BBC that it is calling for local, short-term ceasefires to allow its experts to work.

In his first interview since the OPCW won the prize, Mr Uzumcu told the BBC's Today programme that Syrian officials had been co-operating and facilitating the experts' work.

He said they had been taken wherever they wanted to go, and that they had already reached five out of at least 20 facilities capable of producing chemical weapons.

However, Mr Uzumcu said, routes to some of the sites went through opposition-held territory and this prevented access.
"They change hands from one day to another, which is why we appeal to all sides in Syria to support this mission, to be co-operative and not render this mission more difficult. It's already challenging," he said.

The chaos of the civil war has made untangling the origins and motivations of specific violent acts difficult if not impossible. A car bomb Monday killed at least 12 people in the rebel-held town of Darkoush in Idlib province, reports the Associated Press.

And an evacuation has given some relief to a rebel-held suburb of Damascus where hunger has become a serious scourge, according to the New York Times:

Hundreds of people were allowed to leave a besieged, rebel-held suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital, on Sunday in a rare cease-fire, according to the government and its opponents.

But aid workers said they were still unable to enter the town, Moadhamiyeh, which international organizations have been trying to reach for months and where six people have reportedly died of malnutrition.

The challenge of moving food, medical aid, and international observers around in a civil war is a serious one, reports the Times in a story about the country's highways.

Road tripping in Syria reveals the sometimes surreal experience of Syrians’ trying to move themselves and their goods around a country that has become a patchwork of rebellion and control, where government and rebel fighters share the roads with families and traders trying to go about their business.

Part of the problem lies with the nature of the rebellion, a much contested and increasingly complicated part of the story of Syria's civil war. The Washington Post looked at the rival Al Qaeda-linked groups within the rebellion:

The two rebel groups [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and Jabhat al-Nusra], with their distinct lineages to the terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden, have become the focus of Western fears that jihadist influences within Syria’s rebel movement are rising. Two and a half years after the conflict in the country started, Islamists are carving out fiefdoms and showing signs of digging in.

As factionalism mounts among rebels, so have rebel-linked atrocities. The Economist looked at attacks on Alawites, the minority group to which the ruling Assad family belongs.

But is President Bashar Assad actually lucky to have so many jihadis squaring off against him? Perhaps, argues a Monitor story, which suggests that Assad may have aided the radicalization of the rebels in hope of winning international support for his besieged regime:

Even the Assad regime is believed to have played a role in establishing a hard-line salafist presence within the armed opposition. In May 2011, when the rebellion was in its infancy, the Assad regime granted amnesty to political prisoners, releasing hundreds of them from jail, including members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The newly released Islamists went on to play leading roles in the armed opposition, including helping found Ahrar ash-Sham.

But whether hardline Islamists make up a large percentage of anti-regime fighters is an open question that is difficult to resolve. The Monitor does its best to break it down and finds that there is much wiggle room between confirmed facts and sometimes dubious analysis:

Consider a headline yesterday from The Telegraph of the UK. "Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane's report."

Pretty scary sounding, no? But in fact, based on the work of the Jane's analyst Charles Lister, at least as it's cited in the report, the headline could have easily been: "Only 10 percent of Syria rebels aligned with Al Qaeda" or "A majority of Syria rebels not fighting for Islamist causes."

Kelly Clarkson Obtains a Marriage License with Groom-to-Be

Getting ready to say "I do" to her man in the coming days, Kelly Clarkson registered for her marriage license on Tuesday (October 15).

Obtaining the license with her fiance, Brandon Blackstock, the celebrity sweethearts signed the documents as "Kelly Brianne Clarkson" and "Narvel Brandon Blackstock." The Grammy winner also revealed that she will sport a designer Temperley dress when she walks down the aisle.

In related news, the 31-year-old wanted to clear the air regarding confusion about her engagement to Blackstock, saying, "OK, this is why it's confusing: I'm not married yet, because we had a wedding planned, like a huge one—and we still have a wedding planned, but we're not doing the big huge one."

She also revealed her plans for her future family life, saying on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show earlier this month, "I want babies, like, right off the bat! Well, I'm totally gonna have a girl. My first child will be a girl—I know it in my soul."

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/kelly-clarkson/kelly-clarkson-obtains-marriage-license-groom-be-945650
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'Pulp Fiction' Castmembers Reunite for Quentin Tarantino's Prix Lumiere Award

LYON, France – Quentin Tarantino brought out the big guns – including Harvey Weinstein, Uma Thurman and Harvey Keitel – when he received the Prix Lumiere at the film festival here Friday night.

The Prix Lumiere, which has been awarded to Clint Eastwood, Milos Forman, Gerard Depardieu, and Ken Loach in the five years since its inception, was envisioned by Cannes and Lumiere film festivals head Thierry Fremaux to become the Nobel prize of filmmakers to honor their bodies of work.

At an exceptionally emotional tribute and award ceremony, which preceded a brief backstage government ceremony in which he was awarded the Commander of Arts and Letters by French culture minister Aurelie Filippetti, the director was honored by his longtime friends and creative collaborators.

PHOTOS: Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' NYC Premiere

Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) got the evening off to a bawdy start with a few well-placed swears, but the mood soon turned more sweet and serious as producers Lawrence Bender and Weinstein took the stage. The famously demanding Weinstein credited Tarantino for both of his business' successes.

"My first company, Miramax, was the house that Quentin built, and my second company, The Weinstein Company, is the house that Quentin saved," he said, showing an uncharacteristic soft spot when adding that Tarantino is "tough minded and tough, but really one of the most compassionate human beings I know."

Keitel, who took the stage next, was moved by Weinstein's words and grew teary as he began to talk about the director. "Damn, I'm not going to make it through this," he said, before comparing his relationship with Tarantino to a great romance. "I always felt we were meant for each other and nothing could keep us apart. Maybe if he had been a woman we could have gotten married, had kids," he joked. "Working with Quentin is like reading a great novel or hearing a great symphony or piece of music -- it changes you. You don't know how, but it has."

With a barrage of superlatives that required Fremaux to translate from her "terribly" hand-written speech on the back of the day's program, Thurman declared: "For all your wildness, your work always has aspirations for justice, freedom from oppression, courage, and most of all love and passion."

PHOTOS: 25 of Fall's Most Anticipated Movies

"You have been an explosion of dynamite in the art of cinema itself," she said, comparing him to Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and the namesake of the Nobel Prize. "You invented your own dynamite, your 'cinemite.' May your legacy be your fearlessness and the flicker of light projected through the darkness of a movie house forever be your fuse."

"I don't have words for how I feel -- probably one of the first times that has happened to me," said Tarantino. He credited the actors onstage for bringing his characters to life, and Bender and Weinstein for backing him and his dreams throughout his career.

"I have always thought of myself as a lone wolf, but always because I never really had a family, but these people are my family. Their affection and respect is all I ever want," he said, just before Thurman presented him with the award. He thanked the roaring crowd, and Lyon and France as well. "Cinema is my religion and France is my Vatican," he said, causing much confusion in the crowd. "I probably just insulted you a little bit with that but it was the best example I could come up with."

"I don't know where I would be if the Lumiere brothers' mother and father had never met," he said. "Probably somewhere selling 'Royale with Cheese.' "

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/international/~3/v5FdrLm_bfI/story01.htm
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Friday, 18 October 2013

UMass Bets Big On Football Program Despite Poor Attendance

Like many public universities before it, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has made the move to the top level of college football, known as Football Bowl Subdivision. The program is now in its second year of play. The team is struggling and attendance is weak. The school is pumping more money into football, and some faculty are questioning the investment. But others are calling for patience.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=237166899&ft=1&f=1055
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Sony pushes out maintenance updates for Xperia Z1, Z Ultra

Xperia Z1

Camera improvements for the Z1, touchscreen tweaks for the Ultra

Sony has announced that it's started pushing out maintenance updates for two of its newest high-end phones, the 5-inch Xperia Z1 and the 6.4-inch Xperia Z Ultra — and there are some noteworthy fixes for both devices.

First up, the Xperia Z1 gets camera tweaks — new camera algorithms for "better all round performance." There have also been changes to Sony's smart camera platform, the manufacturer says, allowing built-in mini-apps like sweep panorama and the various AR capabilities to run more smoothly.

Meanwhile, the Xperia Z Ultra gets "optimized touchscreen sensitivity" for fingers, pens and styluses. And both the Z1 and the Ultra will receive battery life enhancements, display recalibration tweaks and faster email sync over MS Exchange. Both new sets of firmware are still based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, so we're not dealing with a major update here. Nevertheless, it looks like there's some good stuff for Xperia Z1 and Ultra owners to get stuck into.

Source: Sony Mobile Blog

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/jFLfiAkD4bU/story01.htm
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Pussy Riot member to be sent to new Russian prison

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian prison officials say a jailed member of the punk rock protest band Pussy Riot will be transferred to another penal colony after spending nine days on a hunger strike.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who along with two other band members was convicted of hooliganism for a provocative performance in Moscow's main Orthodox cathedral in 2012, went on a hunger strike in September to protest conditions in the prison where she is serving her two-year sentence. She was hospitalized nine days later when her health deteriorated.

The Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement Friday it will meet Tolokonnikova's demand and move her to another prison "for her personal safety."

Last month Tolokonnikova said prison officials have made threats against her for speaking out against the poor working conditions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pussy-riot-member-sent-russian-prison-123747099.html
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This Awesome App Helps You Add "Civic Bling" to Your Street

Bike lanes are cool and all, but haven't you always thought that what your neighborhood really needs is some glittery water fountains? You can pimp your block with Blockee, a tool designed by several Code for America fellows.

Saudis Reject Security Council Seat, Citing 'Double Standards'

The U.N. Security Council votes on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapon, at U.N. Headquarters last month.

Craig Ruttle/AP

Saudi Arabia says it will turn down a two-year seat on the United Nation's Security Council in protest over "double standards" in resolving international conflicts.

"Saudi Arabia ... is refraining from taking membership of the U.N. Security Council until it has reformed so it can effectively and practically perform its duties and discharge its responsibilities in maintaining international security and peace," said a Foreign Ministry statement issued on state media.

"The kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the Security Council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

The New York Times writes:

"The gesture seemed to reflect Saudi Arabia's simmering annoyance at the Security Council's record in Syria, where Russia and China — two of the five permanent members — have blocked Western efforts, broadly supported by Saudi Arabia, to pressure President Bashar al-Assad. The other permanent members are the United States, Britain and France.

The Saudi announcement came a day after Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia were elected to seats on the 15-member Security Council for a two-year term starting in January. They replace Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.

It was the first time that Saudi Arabia had sought to gain one of the nonpermanent seats on the council. Its decision to turn down the seat seemed all the more surprising because its efforts to seek representation had been taken by experts as a reflection of the kingdom's wish to be more assertive in resolving the Syrian civil war and the Arab-Israeli conflict."

Reuters adds:

"It is the second time this month that Saudi Arabia has made a public gesture over what it sees as the Security Council's failure to take action to stop the civil war in Syria that has killed more than 100,000 people.

Earlier this month, the Saudi foreign minister cancelled a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in frustration over the international inaction on Syria and the Palestinian issue, a diplomatic source said."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/18/236800998/saudis-reject-security-council-seat-citing-double-standards?ft=1&f=1001
Tags: new orleans saints big bang theory Ncaa Football Scores Miley Cyrus Vmas 2013 Garrett Clayton

Kim Kardashian Shows Off Her Toned Bod!

The new mama flaunts her assets! Check out other cute and candid moments from the stars.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/celebrity-twitter-pictures/1-b-229669?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acelebrity-twitter-pictures-229669
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Thursday, 17 October 2013

'White Collar': Tim DeKay Previews Neal/Peter Hardships, Big Changes and Season 5

USA Network

"White Collar"

[Warning: Spoilers ahead.]

Are Peter and Neal in jeopardy?

"We've taken our characters, Peter and Neal (Matt Bomer), and did a bit of a role reversal, where we open with Peter in an orange jumpsuit and Neal's in the suit and tie," star Tim DeKay tells The Hollywood Reporter of the premiere. "This is when some of the big issues start to get addressed."

With Neal doing anything and everything he possibly can to get Peter out of jail for taking the fall for his father's crime (the murder of a high-powered senator), Neal's criminal history factors into how he solves the problem. "How Peter gets out of prison catapults us into the rest of the season," DeKay hints.

STORY: 'White Collar' Postmortem: Boss Answers Finale's Biggest Questions, Previews Season 5

In a chat with THR, the veteran actor previews the new season, including Neal's new handler, Peter's new position and much more.

How does Neal's presumably unethical approach in getting Peter out of jail complicate matters?

It's certainly going to be a spoiler. What I can say is this, no matter what Neal does, Peter will eventually find out about it. So if Neal makes a deal with the devil to get Peter out of jail, eventually Peter will find out about that deal. The two with them are faced with what to do with that once the information is out.

What was it like having Peter in an orange jumpsuit?

On a personal note, I was happy to wear that orange jumpsuit because it meant that I didn't have to button up my shirt and wear the 20th tie for the day so I welcomed it. As Peter says, "The irony of this is not lost on me." It's really interesting to see Peter on that side and Neal on the other. I wish we had more time and story-wise I would've liked to have continued to examine that for Peter being behind bars but you can't solve too many crimes or have too many brainstorming sessions during visitation. (Laughs.)

Will the trust issues be even more significant this season?

The trust issues for Neal and Peter are even bigger this year and what eventually happens is that these two need to have a face to face and have a cathartic scene with where they stand with each other. We've never seen these guys talk about how they feel about each other or talk about their relationship but this season that comes out.

STORY: 'White Collar' Boss on Neal's Daddy Troubles, Dangerous Liaisons and a 'Big, Big Finale'

Peter may also be working his way to Washington, D.C.

Peter takes on the new role of ASAC, which is the assistant special agent in charge [of White Collar division]. He has to give Neal a new handler. Certainly Peter has mixed emotions about that because no matter how much they trust or distrust each other, these two guys have a great time solving cases. They both love the chase and they're good friends. It becomes very complicated. Peter realizes that his career could go a certain way and that doesn't include Neal. Peter has to decide how he wants to play that out.

Is that an internal dilemma for Peter with how far he wants to go for his career trajectory?

That becomes an internal dilemma and it becomes a dilemma for Elizabeth and Peter as well because it means big changes for the Burkes. It means maybe a new place to live. But once Peter realizes what that means to his life, what he likes about his job now, it gives him a lot of conflict.

How does Neal adjust to having a new handler? How differently does FBI Agent David Siegel (Warren Kole) operate than Peter?

Neal adjusts fairly well to the new handler because he has a rather large agenda on his plate that he has to take care with his deal with the devil. Neal also, at first, doesn't like having a new handler. He wishes things were back to Peter and Neal. I think there's a resentment Neal has towards Peter, to a certain degree, because he broke up the partnership for a certain time. All of this, you have to remember, this partnership between Peter and Neal is key. It's critical and the crux of the show. We won't ever stray too far from that.

What was it like having Mark Sheppard, who was last seen in the pilot that aired in 2009, back in the fray as Curtis Hagen?

It was a joy to have him back. It allowed Matt and I a chance to realize how far we've come from the pilot. It was lovely to have him back and he certainly knows the essence of the show and was able to capture that in a wonderfully villainous way.

Which character changes the most or faces the most challenges this season?

I can only speak for Peter but I believe Peter is faced with the most difficult challenge he's ever had this season. Circumstances put him in quite a quandary and many of his moral and ethical points of view are put into question. More so than previous seasons.

Can you talk about the episode that you directed?

I directed the penultimate episode. As you know Marsha Thomason was away having a baby. The writers said that Diana's pregnant as well, so the episode I directed was the one where Diana came back. We were able to have scenes with the baby. On the day we had the baby, we had two sets of twins -- we were covering our bases -- and I have to say all four babies were fantastic. (Laughs.) Marsha has the golden touch with babies.

White Collar premieres Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. on USA Network.

E-mail: Philiana.Ng@THR.com
Twitter: @insidethetube

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/television/~3/JqIjvTbpWlg/story01.htm
Category: Government Shutdown 2013 twerk

Insert Coin semifinalist: Smart Power Strip helps you do home automation yourself

Seems like everyone's trying to get a piece of the home automation action these days. Question is, however, if pricey catchall systems are really the answer. Smart Power Strip offers a simple, affordable solution, letting you control and monitor appliances in real-time using your smartphone. The ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/6NKq9gED3CQ/
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Budget talks begin, but no guarantee of success

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional budget negotiators aren't guaranteeing success as they begin talks aimed at solving the nation's budget problems.

Republican and Democratic leaders of a joint House-Senate committee met for breakfast Thursday morning as they started talks.

The committee was formed as part of a deal to reopen the government and extend the government's ability to borrow money.

Both GOP Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state are promising to search for common ground.

But Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama is cautioning against raising expectations, and Democratic. Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland says just talking doesn't guarantee success. But Van Hollen notes that not talking guarantees failure.

The committee has a mid-December deadline.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/budget-talks-begin-no-guarantee-success-134952063--politics.html
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Elizabeth Berkley Does Tribute to Saved by the Bell "I'm So Excited" Moment on Dancing With the Stars!

Pill-poppin' and jivin'! Elizabeth Berkley dished out the best serving ever of Saved by the Bell nostalgia on the Monday, Oct. 14 episode of Dancing with the Stars -- livening up the proceedings with a jive number that paid tribute to her most iconic moment on the beloved high school teen sitcom.

PHOTOS: Saved by the Bell cast then and now!

For the night's "Most Memorable Year of My Life" theme, Berkley, 41, recalled 1990, and the episode in which her character, Jessie Spano, gets hopped up on caffeine pills to cram for school. (A jittery Jessie memorably said "I'm so excited, I'm so excited . . . I'm so scared!")

PHOTOS: Classic casts reunited!

Berkley, in full late 80s/late 90s garb, stresses over a giant bottle of "Jive Pills" as pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy (clad in a varsity jacket, naturally) climbs through her bedroom window to soothe her. The music begins and the song selection is . . . the Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited," of course!

PHOTOS: Elizabeth's stripper moment

Among those rising to their feet to give the pair a standing ovation? Fellow Saved by the Bell alum Mario Lopez! The twosome scored a very healthy 26 out of 30 points from the judges.

Watch the dance now!

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/elizabeth-berkley-does-tribute-to-saved-by-the-bell-im-so-excited-moment-on-dancing-with-the-stars-20131510
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China reports first new case of H7N9 bird flu since August

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has confirmed a new case of the H7N9 bird flu, state media said, the country's first report since August of human infection with a virus that has so far afflicted 135 people.

A 35-year-old man in Shaoxing in China's eastern province of Zhejiang has been hospitalized with the virus and is in critical condition, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

"Liu, a company employee from Shaoxing county, was admitted to a township hospital on October 8," the agency said.

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said 45 people had died from the virus, which was first detected in humans early this year.

Zhejiang has recorded the highest number of H7N9 infections anywhere in China.

While there have been only a handful of H7N9 infections during the summer months after a surge in April, flu experts warn that the threat posed by the virus has not passed.

The first scientific analysis of probable transfer of the new flu strain between humans, published in the British Medical Journal in August, gave the strongest proof yet that it can jump between people, and so potentially cause a human pandemic.

Another study published in August identified several other H7 flu viruses circulating in birds that "may pose threats beyond the current outbreak".

(Reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing and Kate Kelland in London; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-reports-first-case-h7n9-bird-flu-since-100903803.html
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Maine governor takes hard-nosed approach to federal shutdown

By Dave Sherwood

AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - Maine Governor Paul LePage, a Republican, took a novel approach to the partial federal government shutdown instigated by conservative members his own party, citing it as proof states "cannot count on the federal government to solve our problems."

LePage last week declared a civil state of emergency in Maine in response to the shutdown — the first and only governor in the country to do so — pointing to the need to take action in the face of lost federal revenue.

The move, which grants the governor broad powers to temporarily suspend laws and regulations, left opponents uneasy and stood in stark contrast to Maine's more measured Senators, Independent Angus King and Republican Susan Collins, who helped broker the deal announced on Wednesday to end the debt crisis and the 16-day shutdown in Washington.

LePage, who enjoys support from the small-government Tea Party faction, has long espoused the need to reduce federal influence in Maine, a state dependent on federal grant funding for between 39 and 43 percent of its budget, according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Nearly 3,000 state employees receive paychecks from the federal government, the LePage administration said.

Last spring, LePage led Maine to join the ranks of 26 states with Republican governors or Republican-controlled legislatures that refused added Medicaid funding under the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's signature legislative achievement, claiming the uncertainty of long-term federal funding.

Now, LePage points to the shutdown as proof he was right. "As challenging as these times are right now, we must seriously question how beneficial it is to depend on the federal government for so much," he said in his weekly radio address.

But his declaration of emergency, which allows him to temporarily suspend state laws and regulations, was met with skepticism by Democrats and the state worker's union, which includes many furloughed employees.

"Paul LePage is the last person we should trust with unchecked power," said Democratic party chairman Ben Grant. Democrats had called on the governor to specify which laws he planned to suspend, but LePage refused.

Worker's groups feared the governor, who early in his administration made headlines when he removed a mural celebrating workers from the Department of Labor building, might wield his declaration to negate collective bargaining rights.

Opposition fears were deepened when Maine political blogger Mike Tipping on Tuesday released a recording in which LePage told a conservative woman's group that "we exercised the civil emergency, which means that their contract is null and void until after the crisis," a reference to union rights.

Maine Senate President Justin Alfond, a Democrat, said the statement had done nothing more than "breed skepticism and mistrust."

Shortly after the recording was released, however, LePage announced a breakthrough in negotiations and an agreement with the Maine State Employees Association over compensation and benefits during the furlough.

(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maine-governor-takes-hard-nosed-approach-federal-shutdown-182308764--finance.html
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Wednesday, 16 October 2013

4 dead after boat capsizes off Florida coast

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ten people were found clinging to the hull of a small boat that capsized early Wednesday off South Florida, trapping the bodies of four dead women and one survivor in a tiny pocket of air beneath it.

The fifteen people appeared to be making a perilous journey that thousands try each year. Migrants from Haiti, Cuba and other Caribbean countries routinely attempt to illegally enter the U.S. by reaching Florida's coast in overloaded or unseaworthy vessels, often through established smuggling networks that include islands in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

Early Wednesday, one of the survivors called 911 on a cellphone, alerting authorities to their location seven miles east of Miami.

"Sadly, and tragically, we did find four females, adults, underneath the boat that had perished," said Coast Guard Cmdr. Darren Caprara.

The survivor found when Coast Guard officials flipped over the boat was suffering seizures, and he was taken by boat to a Miami Beach hospital, officials said. He was treated and released to federal law enforcement.

The rest of the survivors were in good condition and were taken into custody aboard a Coast Guard vessel while authorities investigated whether they were part of a human smuggling operation. It was not immediately clear whether they would be brought to the U.S. or sent back to their home countries.

"Well, obviously, 15 people on a boat, transiting in the middle of the night with no life jackets is a very, very unsafe condition," Caprara said.

Caprara said that authorities were working to confirm that the people on the boat were Haitian and Jamaican.

"That's still a lengthy process that involves contacting other countries and doing some investigatory research," Caprara said.

The small white recreational boat with its center console missing was towed to dry land. It had been overloaded and lacked lifejackets, Caprara said.

Authorities didn't immediately confirm that those on the boat that capsized Wednesday were migrants fleeing their home countries. However, the circumstances made it seem likely that they were part of a global phenomenon of people taking desperate risks to escape poverty and instability, said David Abraham, who teaches immigration law at the University of Miami School of Law. In a case earlier this month, hundreds of migrants packed into smugglers' boats that capsized on their way from Africa to Europe.

"It should be no surprise to anyone so long as the disparity between the poorest place in the Western Hemisphere and the richest place in the hemisphere is so grave and the distances covered are considered worth the risk," Abraham said.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Coast Guard picked up 508 Haitians and 1,357 Cubans at sea. Since the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, the Coast Guard has reported picking up 93 Haitians and 117 Cubans.

Officials in the Caribbean also have reported a jump in the number of arrests of Haitians making their way to Puerto Rico. An increasing number of Haitians have tried that route because if they can reach the U.S. territory without getting arrested, they can fly on to U.S. cities such as Miami, Boston or New York with fake driver's licenses or other identification that's easier to counterfeit than a passport.

Since the 2010 earthquake, more and more Haitians also have fled for Brazil, which initially welcomed Haitians seeking asylum and later said it would issue a limited number of temporary work visas for Haitians.

"When people are desperate, they do desperate things. That's the problem. We're always concerned when people leave by boat and pay these smugglers," said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Miami-based advocacy center Americans for Immigrant Justice.

Haitians interviewed at an immigration detention center in Broward County routinely cite cholera, political unrest, dysfunctional law enforcement, ongoing displacement since the 2010 earthquake and, if they're women, vulnerability to sexual assaults in tent camps as reasons for fleeing Haiti in the hopes of receiving asylum in the U.S., Little said.

Cubans who arrive in the U.S. are generally allowed to stay under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, while those stopped at sea are usually returned home. Other immigrants who make it to land don't receive the same treatment.

The number of migrants who die while crossing the Florida Straits or disappear into South Florida's neighborhoods after successfully reaching shore is unknown.

___

Kay reported from Miami.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/4-dead-boat-capsizes-off-florida-coast-120411119.html
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APNewsBreak: Bourdais signs 2-year deal with KVSH

Four-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais has signed on to replace Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan, The Associated Press has learned.

Three people familiar with the signing said Wednesday that Bourdais signed a two-year contract with KVSH Racing. They spoke on condition of anonymity because principals Kevin Kalkhoven, Jimmy Vasser and James "Sulli" Sullivan had not announced the signing.

Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500 in May with KVSH, but decided to leave for Chip Ganassi Racing next year. KVSH acted fast in offering the same deal it offered Kanaan to three-race winner James Hinchcliffe, but the team gave Hinchcliffe a short deadline to accept the contract that did not require the driver to bring any sponsorship.

When Hinchcliffe decided KVSH's timeline was too fast, the team moved on to Bourdais, winner of four consecutive Champ Car titles from 2004 through 2007.

The Frenchman has 31 victories, tied with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy for eighth on the all-time wins list.

Bourdais left American open-wheel racing for Formula One following his fourth Champ Car title, joining Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2008 season. He was replaced nine races into the 2009 season.

Bourdais joined Team Peugeot after his release and finished second in the LMP1 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2009, dabbling in a variety of different series before returning to IndyCar in 2011 for nine races with Dale Coyne Racing.

Bourdais landed a full-time ride in 2012 with Dragon Racing, where he was hampered for the first part of the season with a Lotus engine. After a switch to Chevrolet before the Indianapolis 500, Bourdais had to share his car with teammate Katherine Legge for the remainder of the season. He finished 25th in the final standings with a season-best finish of fourth at Mid-Ohio.

This year has seen a far better showing from Bourdais as Dragon has put forth a more stable effort. Bourdais has three podium finishes, including a runner-up finish to Scott Dixon in Toronto.

Now he joins a team that clearly can compete on ovals — all three of Kanaan's podiums this season are on ovals — but isn't sure what it can do on road and street courses because that's not Kanaan's strength. But because Simona de Silvestro finished second at Houston two weeks ago in KVSH's second car, the team believes Bourdais will give them a well-rounded driver capable of challenging on every circuit.

Of Bourdais' 31 victories, 15 are on road courses and 12 are on street courses. He's also won on three ovals — twice at Las Vegas, and once at Milwaukee.

KVSH has not decided who will drive its second car yet. Its alliance with de Silvestro and her management team was only a one-year deal, and replacing Kanaan was the first priority.

It's not clear if Jay Penske will need a replacement for Bourdais at Dragon because it's not known if Dragon will return to the IndyCar grid next season. He's already announced he'll field entries in the FIA Formula E championship next season, and Penske has not indicated if he'll compete in IndyCar, as well.

Hinchcliffe, meanwhile, seemed close to locking down a deal before Saturday night's season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Intent on not rushing into a decision and making his next contract the best for his long-term future, Hinchcliffe's decision could be to return to Andretti Autosport. The team appears to have locked down the sponsorship needed to resign Hinchcliffe as current sponsor GoDaddy is likely headed out of IndyCar.

Andretti also could be poised to announce his 2014 manufacturer alliance this weekend, with all signs pointing to a switch to Honda.

The team owner was coy Wednesday on all fronts while announcing ABC Supply Co. as title sponsor of the Milwaukee IndyFest for the next two years.

"We're getting close. We've got a few things to button up. I'm hoping we can make a few announcements this weekend," Andretti said. When asked if Hinchcliffe would be on hand for those announcements, Andretti said: "I hope so. We'll see. We're working on it. We don't have anything done yet, but we're getting close on some things. That's the goal, so we'll see if we reach our goal or not."

Hinchcliffe had also been in preliminary talks with Ganassi on a deal that would have allowed him to compete across all of Ganassi's platforms, including sports cars and possibly even NASCAR's Nationwide Series as a replacement to Kyle Larson in events Larson could not get to once he moves up to the Sprint Cup Series.

But with negotiations finally heating up with Andretti, staying put, especially if a potential move to Honda could pair the Canadian with Honda Canada, could be Hinchcliffe's best bet.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-bourdais-signs-2-deal-kvsh-214255019--spt.html
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