Top 20 Concert Tours from Pollstar (AP)

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

TOP 20 CONCERT TOURS

1. (2) Cirque du Soleil ? "Michael Jackson: The Immortal"; $2,168,255; $110.16.

2. (1) Kanye West / Jay-Z; $2,015,303; $118.98.

3. (3) Taylor Swift; $1,184,267; $69.27.

4. (5) Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band; $702,897; $70.41.

5. (6) Trans-Siberian Orchestra; $571,979; $51.82.

6. (7) Zac Brown Band; $514,314; $44.12.

7. (8) Sting; $475,037; $92.43.

8. (10) Guns N' Roses; $415,202; $52.44.

9. (13) Jeff Dunham; $316,251; $47.63.

10. (14) Paul Simon; $255,730; $77.51.

11. (12) Andre Rieu; $247,074; $81.84.

12. (15) Lady Antebellum; $244,691; $45.25.

13. (16) Judas Priest; $204,372; $53.47.

14. (17) "So You Think You Can Dance"; $201,206; $53.96.

15. (18) John Mellencamp; $169,771; $90.14.

16. (New) Avenged Sevenfold; $160,113; $39.09.

17. (New) The String Cheese Incident; $147,062; $39.19.

18. (19) "Scream Tour" / Mindless Behavior / Diggy Simmons; $133,881; $41.41.

19. (20) Mannheim Steamroller; $125,841; $56.44.

20. (New) Celtic Thunder; $118,704; $55.73.

For free upcoming tour information, go to http://www.pollstar.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_en_mu/us_top20_concert_tours

camila alves albrecht durer dan marino david lee roth joe bodolai ben nelson extreme couponing

AG: Record number of voting rights inquiries

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday the Justice Department opened a record number of more than 100 new investigations into possible voting rights discrimination across the country last year.

During an appearance at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Holder praised the federal government's aggressive enforcement efforts while vowing to defend a landmark voting rights law that is increasingly under attack in this presidential election year.

On Thursday, Holder said that nowhere is the Justice Department's commitment to equal opportunity clearer than in efforts to expand access to voting nationwide.

It was the attorney general's third speech in little more than a month focusing on voting rights, coming amid a flurry of activity by states, largely those controlled by Republicans, to redraw political boundaries and impose requirements that could reduce voting by minorities who enthusiastically supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election.

"The reality is that ? in jurisdictions across the country ? both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common ? and have not yet been relegated to the pages of history," Holder told the audience.

Pointing to some of the Justice Department's efforts, Holder cited as success stories the cases of two Ohio counties ? Cuyahoga and Lorain ? which agreed to ensure that bilingual ballots are available on county voting machines and that bilingual poll workers are on hand to help. In another positive outcome, said Holder, a northeast Ohio school board let a federal court determine how to structure elections to give blacks a greater chance of being elected.

In December in Austin, Texas, Holder urged the country to "call on our political parties to resist the temptation to suppress certain votes in the hope of attaining electoral success."

Earlier this month in Columbia, S.C., Holder told thousands of people commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday that in his travels "I've heard a consistent drumbeat of concern from citizens, who ? often for the first time in their lives ? now have reason to believe that we are failing to live up to one of our nation's most noble ideals."

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires all or parts of 16 states to obtain advance approval from either the Justice Department's civil rights division or a federal court in Washington before carrying out changes in elections. The states are mostly in the South and all the jurisdictions have a history of discriminating against blacks, American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaskan Natives or Hispanics.

Despite congressional reauthorization in 2006 of Section 5 for 25 years, its future has come under constitutional challenges in federal courts by Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Shelby County, Ala., and some voters in Kinston, N.C.

As of last week, there were 833 Section 5 submissions for proposed electoral changes awaiting approval at the Justice Department from state, county and local units of government.

In one Section 5 action, the civil rights division in December rejected a new South Carolina law that requires voters to present a photo ID when they go to the polls. It was the first time in nearly two decades the Justice Department had reached such a conclusion about a voter ID law.

A pending Section 5 review involves Texas, where the Justice Department has raised questions over a new photo ID requirement. The state reacted by taking its case for the new law to a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., where lawyers from the Justice Department and the state will square off. The Justice Department's civil rights division also is immersed in a court battle with Texas over allegedly discriminatory boundaries drawn by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

The challenges to Section 5's constitutionality followed a 2009 Supreme Court opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts which seemed to raise doubts about whether the provision was still needed.

Section 5 "imposes current burdens and must be justified by current needs," Roberts wrote. "Today, the registration gap between white and black voters is in single digits" in the states covered by the act's preclearance provision and "in some of those states, blacks now register and vote at higher rates than whites."

The stakes would be enormous if the Supreme Court got involved.

In 2006, Congress held hearings and created a 15,000-page record to justify renewing Section 5. Congress found that the Justice Department protected the interests of some 663,503 minority voters from 2000 to May 2006 by refusing to approve changes in political boundaries drawn by states, counties and local units of government. The Justice Department filed over 700 objections to proposed voting changes from 1982 to 2006 in states and counties covered by Section 5. From 1982 to 2003, states and local entities withdrew more than 200 proposed voting changes when the Justice Department started asking questions about them.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-26-Holder-Civil%20Rights/id-e1ca714760da440ba0c61342488ac975

pabst blue ribbon pabst blue ribbon mac miller omarion gabby gabby marcel the shell with shoes on

Senate declines to block Obama debt request (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Senate Democrats on Thursday stopped a Republican attempt to block President Barack Obama from using his authority to raise the government's borrowing cap by $1.2 trillion.

The GOP move failed on a 52-44 vote that split mostly along party lines. The vote caps an unusual process set up by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to let lawmakers, mostly Republicans, vote against debt increases but not actually block them. Blocking them would provoke a first-ever, market-rattling default on U.S. obligations.

"Look, we should be working together to lower the debt, not having votes to increase it," McConnell said Thursday. "No more blank checks."

But Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said default was unthinkable and that additional borrowing is needed to pay for obligations already incurred by lawmakers.

"If today's vote succeeds and causes a default, the federal government would not have funds to pay troop salaries, Social Security benefits or Medicare bills," Baucus said. "These programs would be in danger, and that would hurt the families and seniors that rely on them."

Either way, Obama's presidential veto power guarantees the increase would have gone through as intended, anyway.

The House had passed the measure last week.

Last year's debt agreement permits a total debt limit increase of $2.1 trillion in exchange for an equivalent amount in spending cuts, which would be spread out over the coming decade. The first $900 billion comes from caps on the day-to-day operations of federal agencies.

The increases were approved after a long deadlock between Democrats controlling the White House and Senate and tea party-backed Republicans dominating the House. As part of the debt pact, new "caps" on agency budgets were imposed over the coming decade to save $900 billion, and a so-called supercommittee was established with instructions to generate at least another $1.2 trillion in deficit savings.

But since the supercommittee failed to do so, automatic spending cuts to the Pentagon and a wide array of domestic programs will start next year, unless lawmakers intervene.

The national debt has skyrocketed during Obama's first term ? from $10.6 trillion to $15.2 trillion today. Much of the blame lies with the deep recession Obama inherited, which made revenues plummet, but almost $1 trillion of the increase can be attributed to Obama's 2009 deficit-financed economic stimulus bill.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has voted for many debt increases during GOP administrations, said it is time "get rid of the $1-trillion-plus deficits of the Obama presidency, to get rid of our mountain of debt that surpasses the size of our entire economy, and to bring the size of our federal government back down to historical norms."

The House passed a similar resolution in September after Obama used his authority to raise the debt cap by $500 billion, but it, too, died in the Senate.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_debt

atlanta braves national coffee day national coffee day paw paw paw paw baltimore orioles rosh hashanah

[OOC] taste of chaos

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?taste of chaos?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "taste of chaos"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

estrelas

Member for 1 years

---

---

---

---

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: Abraxas*, Agent*, Alan23, allimagination*, Amigamaru, AmiOfTheRain*, AugmentationAudit, AzricanRepublic*, badboyej, Balzmann, BekaL101, birdguard, Blackbird26*, blackwolf, Bromander Shepard*, Calvazara, ChinaSorrows, Chulance*, CountessMomo*, DeadManWalking, DemiKara*, DivineBitterness*, Doomshifter, Duskhorse, Erlanis*, Eyeris, flickery, freakofnature, Gasmask*, Gigabot [Bot], Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GotDraggedIntoThis*, Hadespwr*, Halfanelf, hawk10002002, Ikuto Tsukiyomi Fan*, Imehal, jackrules158*, Jamie95, Jayu, Jeggy, Kesteven*, Kirinak*, KuruLesperance, Lloyd999, Lost Socks, LostInFantasy, LRmember, Lucaris, Lucentfir*, Lucky_Joker*, Majestic-12 [Bot], MarchHare*, Meggie07, MFT*, mgoodwin2, MirrorMirror1498, Mr. Baneling Squishy*, MSN [Bot], MSNbot Media, Neon.lynxie, Nevan, Nocte, NotAFlyingToy, NymaLaputa, OdiOdi, oetunianne, Patcharoo*, Phoenix6000, PirateofPie, poeticjustice8012, Porecomesis, Princess Awinita*, psbot [Picsearch], Random Kat, Rem?us*, Rougeshadow*, Ryand-Smith*, RydeDawg, Saikua*, SasoriRinku, Script*, Sebastian Vettel, Sheoul, shmband, SkullsandSlippers, SkunkishBlue*, Something?, Sorella, stevatox, sweet_angle66, Tanman*, The Angry Penguin, Tiko*, UnderFormality*, utahann, Velvet_Harmony*, Vestiline, Vyral*, WadeJackel*, Whiskey Go Dark, Wing06Twilight, Wudgeous, ~Living-Dead Doll~*, ? Reality ?*

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/lfQZDFNTiG8/viewtopic.php

celebrity apprentice clemson nick cannon pellet gun zambrano clay aiken orange bowl

Kids seek tans, use less sunscreen as they age: survey (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? As kids go from elementary to junior high school ages, the desire to tan gets stronger while the habit of using sun protection gets tossed out the window, according to a survey that tracked kids' attitudes about the sun over three years.

"I think especially at this age, and in general, there are a lot of forces that promote tanning," said Stephen Dusza, a researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and lead author of the new study.

Dusza said he anticipated that, due in part to advertising and the tanning culture of many celebrities, the kids would want to tan more as they got older.

He told Reuters Health that he also expected to see some decline in sunscreen use in adolescence, "but I was struck by the magnitude of the reduction in the use of sunscreen -- a 50 percent drop."

Dusza's group surveyed 360 Massachusetts fifth graders about their time in the sun, how often they used sun protection and their attitudes about tanning.

Three years later, the kids answered the same questions.

Only one in four of the eighth graders said they used sunscreen when they were outside for more than six hours, which was half as many who said they used sunscreen while in fifth grade.

Four out of 10 of the kids also went outside just to get a tan when they were in eighth grade, compared to two out of 10 when they were in fifth grade.

Despite the children spending more time outside trying to get a tan as they approached adolescence, the number of kids who got sunburned remained the same at about 50 percent.

Dusza said he's not certain why sunburns didn't increase, but that maybe the kids defined a sunburn differently as they got older or that their outdoor activities had changed.

Dr. Sophie Balk, an attending pediatrician at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore and a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, both in New York, said the study "underlines that many young people aren't protecting their skin."

This is a concern, Balk said, because of evidence that sun damage at a young age is tied to a higher risk later on of developing melanoma - the most deadly of the skin cancers.

"Kids think looking tan is consistent with looking healthy, but it's the opposite. A tan is the body's response to UV exposure" and it shows there's been damage to the skin, Balk told Reuters Health.

Balk said she tries to change children's attitudes toward sun protection by educating kids and their parents about the dangers of sunburns, and by encouraging young people to be proud of their untanned skin color.

"We need more media messages, more role models, more public health campaigns. As a society we could be doing more to promote skin cancer prevention and skin protection," she said.

Sunscreen is just one way to protect your skin from the sun.

Clothing, hats, sunglasses and limiting sun exposure when the sun is strongest between 10 am and 4 pm also help.

"Outside is good, you just have to do it smart," Balk said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/xrguxt Pediatrics, online January 23, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/hl_nm/us_kids_sunscreen

duggar family dingo fidel castro gilbert arenas north korea dexter dexter

A Size 2 Is a Size 2 Is a Size 8

?It was pretty impressive, what they did,? says sizing scholar Lynn Boorady, noting that they devised something like 27 different sizes. But, she says, ?It was an obscene number, and obviously not useful for anyone manufacturing.? It wasn?t until almost a decade later that the National Bureau of Statistics reanalyzed the O?Brien/Shelton data and came up with an official system?one that has served as the basis for all future systems. Women?s sizes were derived from bust size?with all other measurements based on the proportions of an hourglass figure?and represented by even numbers from 8 to 38. These basic sizes were combined with a T, R, or S, to indicate height, and a plus or minus, to represent lower body girth. The system was published as a commercial standard?a recommendation, legally required only for the pattern-making industry?in 1958. The industry was at first enthusiastic about these recommendations, and major mail order companies like Sears and Montgomery Ward started to adopt these government sizes. But enthusiasm eventually flagged. By 1970, the NBS downgraded its Commercial Standard to a Voluntary Product Standard, and by 1983, the government withdrew the standard entirely, damning future generations to inconsistent fits and many, many mail order returns.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6c74edf52f6a7c45415f4d6f28dbafae

alicia sacramone occupy chicago occupy chicago ron white ron white alcs alcs

Exclusive: Gates prods D.C. on aid (Politico)

Bill Gates, in his annual letter from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Tuesday night will make a full-throated appeal to policy makers - and voters - to continue to support effective aid that can lead to better lives. He believes we must build on the incredible progress in health and development, and not let excuses keep governments from helping the world's poorest. Now, more than ever, he says, we have a real opportunity to help people build self-sufficiency and overcome the need for aid. Also, not surprisingly for a man who made his fortune through innovation, he touts innovation as the key to improving the world.

His letter describes innovations in health (vaccines, AIDS drugs) and in agriculture (disease-resistant seeds) that have transformed people's lives. The full letter will be posted here at 7 p.m.

Continue Reading

An exclusive sneak peek for POLITICO readers:

?"Throughout my careers in software and philanthropy, . a recurring theme has been that innovation is the key to improving the world. . The world faces a clear choice.? If we invest relatively modest amounts, many more poor farmers will be able to feed their families.? If we don't, one in seven people will continue living needlessly on the edge of starvation. My annual letter this year is an argument for making the choice to keep on helping extremely poor people build self-sufficiency."

?"[S]o many partners share our vision of an equitable world and are willing to put money behind it, even in these tough times. When people know the kind of impact their generosity has, they are not only willing but eager to help."

?On the positive impact effective foreign aid has had on the world's poorest: "The relatively small amount of money invested in development has changed the future prospects of billions of people - and it can do the same for billions more - if we make the choice to continue investing in innovation. We will repeat that message over and over.because we are convinced that when people hear stories of the lives they've helped to improve, they want to do more, not less."

?"We can help poor farmers sustainably increase their productivity so they can feed themselves and their families. By doing so, they will contribute to global food security. But that will happen only if we prioritize agricultural innovation. . It is shocking, not to mention short-sighted and potentially dangerous - how little money is spent on agricultural research."

?On global health: "[T]he success of the polio eradication program in India and 90 other countries gives me confidence that we can triumph in these final challenging countries and end polio once and for all."

? "The cost of keeping a patient on AIDS drugs has been coming down, and it looks like getting it to $300 per patient per year should be achievable. That will mean every $300 that governments invest in the Global Fund will put another person on treatment for a year. Every $300 that's not forthcoming will represent a person taken off treatment. . I believe that if people understood the choice, they would ask their government to save more lives."
?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories0112_71880_html/44286106/SIG=11m1pet3m/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71880.html

occupy los angeles occupy los angeles comedian patrice o neal occupy philadelphia occupy philadelphia conrad murray conrad murray