Good Morning, Big Brother!

[Angie]

Morning, KC!

I made waffles

[Angie]

With a splash of grape drank

[Angie]

And a nice football story for your morning reading!

Jay Cutler had tears in his eyes when told other players ripped him
Posted by Michael David Smith on January 24, 2011, 8:45 AM EST
cutler

Several NFL players took to Twitter on Sunday to rip Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, questioning his toughness for leaving the NFC Championship Game with a knee injury.

A story written after the game by Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated will do nothing to change that perception of Cutler.

Although Trotter’s portrayal of Cutler is sympathetic — the headline is “Don’t question Cutler’s toughness” — Trotter offers a detail that is sure to add fuel to the fire for those who believe Cutler just isn’t tough enough to be a great NFL player.

“It cut him so deeply that tears welled in his eyes at his locker room stall,” Trotter writes of Cutler’s response to being told other players had criticized him.

Trotter continues: “Cutler appeared genuinely hurt when asked about the comments, saying: ‘No comment on that.’ He then turned his back to reporters, fiddled with some things on a shelf and bit his lip as tears welled.”

Whether you’re a kid getting picked on in school or an NFL player, if people think you’re a wimp, there’s no better way to confirm that perception than to cry about it. Those players who ripped Cutler on Sunday aren’t going to change their minds today when they hear that he had tears in his eyes.

That’s not to say they’re right. For the record, Cutler has missed exactly one game since he first became a starter as a rookie in Denver, and that one game came when doctors wouldn’t clear him after suffering a concussion this season. One missed game in a career that has seen Cutler get sacked 138 times does not make him a wimp.

But Cutler has a long way to go to rebuild his reputation. And crying in his locker isn’t the way to do that.

[Dan]

Grape drank is my fave!! <33


lolol@ Cutler turning away and biting his lip

[Angie]

Good Morning again

[Angie]

It's a mimosa type morning

[Angie]

And some Oscar Buzz

King's Speech' rules over Oscar race
Firth, Rush among film's 12 nominees; 'True Grit' receives 10 nods

By DAVID GERMAIN
The Associated Press
updated 2 hours 7 minutes ago 2011-01-25T15:51:59

Breaking news

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The British monarchy saga "The King's Speech" leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.

Also nominated for best picture Tuesday were the psychosexual thriller "Black Swan"; the boxing drama "The Fighter"; the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception"; the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right"; the survival story "127 Hours"; the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network"; the animated smash "Toy Story 3"; the Western "True Grit"; and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."
Video: Oscar nominees announced (on this page)

"True Grit" ran second with 10 nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.

The Feb. 27 Oscars set up a best-picture showdown between two favorites, "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network." "The Social Network" won best drama at the Golden Globes and was picked as the year's best by key critics groups, while "The King's Speech" pulled an upset last weekend by winning the Producers Guild of America Awards top prize, whose recipient often goes to claim best picture at the Oscars.

"I've been texting people in between interviews and there's a lot of excitement going on across the globe from our team. It's really wonderful. It's sort of like 'Ben-Hur' proportions. It all seems a bit crazy, you know?" Rush said from Sydney.

Oscars noms diluted by 10 best picture choices

The favorites in the male-acting categories both were nominated, Globe winners Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Christian Bale as supporting actor for "The Fighter."

The best-actress field shapes up as a two-woman race between Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," who won the Globe for actress in a musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," who received the Globe for dramatic actress.

The supporting-actress Oscar could prove the most competitive among acting prizes. Melissa Leo won the Globe for "The Fighter," but she faces strong challenges from that film's co-star Amy Adams and 14-year-old newcomer Steinfeld, who missed out on a Globe nomination for "True Grit" but made the cut for supporting actress at the Oscars.

"The Social Network" casts Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who's depicted as an interpersonal lout in one-on-one relations but a genius for the masses, creating an online hangout where half a billion people now keep connected with friends.

Box office for best picture nominees

1.

North American box-office performance as of Jan. 23 for Oscar best-picture nominees:
* "127 Hours," Fox Searchlight, six nominations, $11.2 million, released Nov. 12.
* "Black Swan," Fox Searchlight, five nominations, $83.2 million, released Dec. 3.
* "Inception," Warner Bros., eight nominations, $292.5 million, released July 16.
* "The Fighter," Paramount, seven nominations, $72.6 million, released Dec. 10.
* "The Kids Are All Right," Focus, four nominations, $20.8 million, released July 30.
* "The King's Speech," Weinstein Co., 12 nominations, $57.3 million, released Dec. 10.
* "The Social Network," Sony, eight nominations, $95.4 million, released Oct. 1.
* "Toy Story 3," Disney, five nominations, $414.9 million, released June 18.
* "True Grit," Paramount, 10 nominations, $137.9 million, released Dec. 22.
* "Winter's Bone," Roadside Attractions, four nominations, $6.2 million, released June 10.

"The King's Speech" stars Firth as Queen Elizabeth II's father, the stammering George VI, who reluctantly came to the throne after his brother abdicated in 1936, a terrible time for a stuttering monarch as British subjects looked to their ruler for inspiration via radio as World War II approached.

The two films represent a showdown between classy, traditional Oscar bait and edgy, youthful, up-to-the-minute drama.

With its aristocrats, statesmen and perilous times, "The King's Speech" is a throwback to the majestic, eye-filling costume pageants that dominated film awards in Hollywood's earlier decades. Its nominations also include best director for Tom Hooper and supporting-acting slots for Bonham Carter as the king's devoted wife and Rush as his wily speech therapist.

"The Social Network" is an immediate story, set not in palaces but college dorm rooms, cluttered start-up space and anonymous legal offices where Zuckerberg battles former associates over the proceeds of his invention.
Video: Franco: Oscar nod ‘big honor’ (on this page)

David Fincher is the best-directing favorite for "The Social Network" after winning that prize at the Globes.

"My recommendation to anybody who wants to get an Oscar nomination is, work with David Fincher. It was just a triumph of teamwork," Aaron Sorkin, nominated for best adapted screenplay for "The Social Network," said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Story: Oscar snubs: Where was Wahlberg?

Along with Firth and Eisenberg, best-actor contenders are Javier Bardem as a dying father in the Spanish-language drama "Biutiful," which also is up for best foreign-language film; Bridges as boozy lawman Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit," a role that earned John Wayne an Oscar for the 1969 adaptation of the Western novel; and James Franco in the real-life tale of a climber trapped in a crevasse after a boulder crushes his arm in "127 Hours."

Bening was nominated for best actress as a lesbian mom whose family is thrown into turmoil after her teenage children seek out their sperm-donor father in "The Kids Are All Right." Portman was nominated as a ballerina losing her grip on reality in "Black Swan."
Video: Firth on Oscar nods: Proud of ‘royal flush’ (on this page)

Other best-actress nominees are Nicole Kidman as a grieving mother in "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence as a teen trying to find her missing father amid the Ozark Mountains' criminal underbelly in "Winter's Bone"; and Michelle Williams as a wife in a failing marriage in "Blue Valentine."

"What an extraordinary journey this film has taken me on! 'Rabbit Hole' has been a labor of love and I'm so thankful to John Cameron Mitchell, David Lindsay-Abaire and the brilliant cast. This nomination reflects all of the heart and soul that these people have put into it and I can't thank them enough," Kidman said in a statement.

Joining Fincher among best-director picks are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan"; Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit"; Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech"; Christopher Nolan for "Inception"; and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."

One notable snub was the omission of director Christopher Nolan for "Inception," though he got a nod for original screenplay. Nolan also missed out on a directing Oscar nomination for "The Dark Knight," which was famously not nominated for best picture.

The directing category is back to an all-male lineup after Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win that prize last year for "The Hurt Locker," which also claimed best picture.
Video: Renner: Oscar nod ‘fantastic,’ ‘overwhelming’ (on this page)

Bale, the star of Nolan's "Batman" franchise, is a strong favorite to win supporting actor as former boxer Dicky Eklund, who helps his half-brother to a title shot after his own career unraveled amid drugs and crime in "The Fighter." The film's star, Mark Wahlberg, missed out on a nomination as Eklund's half-brother, boxer Micky Ward.

Two years ago, Bale's "Batman" co-star, the late Heath Ledger, was on the same awards track as he won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for "The Dark Knight."

"The Fighter" offers two sterling supporting-actress performances from Leo as Ward and Eklund's doting but domineering mother and Adams as Ward's tough, defiant girlfriend. Steinfeld, who was just 13 when she shot her debut performance in "True Grit," also is a strong contender as a girl who hires lawman Cogburn to track down her father's killer.
Video: Steinfeld on Oscar nod: Thought I was ‘dreaming’ (on this page)

"Toy Story 3," the top-grossing film released in 2010, also is nominated for animated feature and is expected to become the fourth-straight winner in that category from Disney's Pixar Animation, following "Up," "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille." Pixar has won five of the nine animation Oscars since the category was added.

The other animation nominees are "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Illusionist."

While two of the three animated categories are huge commercial successes, the best-picture race is a mix of big commercial hits and smaller critical darlings, which is what academy organizers wanted when they expanded the competition to 10 films.

Like "Toy Story 3," "Inception" is a blockbuster, coming from director Nolan, whose "The Dark Knight" missed out on a best-picture nomination two years ago, contributing to the decision to double the number of contenders so that acclaimed popular movies would have a better chance.

"True Grit" is the first $100 million Western hit since the 1990s, "The Social Network" climbed to about $95 million in revenue, and "Black Swan" is closing on $100 million. At the other end are "Winter's Bone" with $6.3 million and "127 Hours" with $11 million, respectable returns for lower-budgeted independent films but small change next to big studio productions.

Composer Alan Menken, winner of eight Academy Awards for best song or score, earned his 19th nomination for writing the music for the song "I See the Light" from the animated film "Tangled," a modernizing of the "Rapunzel" fairy tale. "If you get out of your own way, somehow more comes to you," Menken said. "Just let the characters sing what needs to be sung and let the score inform the story."

Besides Leo, Adams, Bonham Carter and Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver earned a supporting-actress nomination as a crime family matriarch in the Australian thriller "Animal Kingdom."

Rounding out the supporting-actor field with Bale and Rush are John Hawkes as a backwoods tough guy in "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner as a holdup man in the bank-heist thriller "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo as a sperm-donor dad in "The Kids Are All Right."

The Oscar ceremony will be televised live on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

[Angie]

Hope you like your eggs sunny side up

[Angie]

Some apple juice in a goblet

[Angie]

This story hit really close to home with me, being azn and all.

'Godzilla-like creature' nabbed in Calif. town
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Animal services officers often get calls reporting "huge," monstrous reptiles, only to arrive and find an itty-bitty garden snake.

The 5-foot Monitor lizard wandering around a condo complex in the city of Riverside was way bigger than animal control officer Jenny Selter could have imagined.

"She said she saw it and almost jumped back in her truck," said John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services. "The residents were freaking out because here's the Godzilla-like creature walking down the sidewalk."

..Selter managed to get a catch pole — a long pole with a loop at the end that's used to handle vicious dogs — around the animal's neck, Welsh said. It was docile at first, but then it started hissing.

Carnivorous
A police officer grabbed the lizard's body while Selter held onto its sharp, lashing tail, and together they put it in a compartment of her truck that's usually used for large dogs.

Black-throated Monitor lizards are carnivorous, legal to own in California and native to the African grasslands and parts of Asia. Juveniles go for about $100 in pet stores, but they grow.

Back at the shelter, staff found the reptile was well-behaved for a Monitor lizard.

"The last one we had was nasty. But this one doesn't hiss and we were able to walk it around. It was investigating and didn't snap at anyone," Welsh said. "We suspect that it's been someone's pet for a long time, because it's so big. I think they might let it wander around the house. Maybe it sleeps on a bean bag?"

Welsh thinks the scaly pet might have escaped its cage or gotten loose while its owner was away, and he hoped its owner comes to claim it soon.

[Dan]

What happened to that song you were gonna play?

[Angie]

OH YEAH lmao.

I'll play that tomorrow morning

[Angie]

Crepes this morning (actually afternoon )

[Angie]

I was feeling tropical

[Angie]

All my friends keep talking about this. Here's a story for you and Kaysar

Report: Egypt Bans Facebook, BlackBerry Internet Service
Leslie Horn By Leslie Horn

As protests intensify in Egypt, the country's government has reportedly banned more communication platforms, including Facebook and BlackBerry Internet Service.

Although neither ban has been confirmed, both services are inaccessible, according to buzz on Twitter.

"We are aware of reports of disruption to service and have seen a drop in traffic from Egypt this morning," a Facebook spokesperson told PCMag.

TechCrunch reported that it was unclear if all BlackBerry Internet services were blocked in Egypt. Some people could still use apps, the blog said.

Twitter has been blocked in the country for a few days now, the company confirmed Wednesday.

Facebook has been reported inaccessible 86 times in Egypt, according to The Herdict Report, a Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society project that monitors the status of the Web around the world. Outage reports started on Jan. 26.

"From what we know about Egypt, filtering is done at the ISP level, which explains the sporadic reports of inaccessibility we've received," Laura Miyakawa, Herdict's project manager, said in a blog post. "Coupled with reports from Egyptians on Twitter, we're able to say that some degree of filtering has been happening, but we need more reports to make a strong determination."

These reports have coincided with mounting demonstrations in Egypt, many of which were organized via social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Thousands poured into the streets of Cairo starting Tuesday to protest failing economic policies, government corruption, and to call for an end of the nearly 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

Social networks have also played an important role in the uprising in Tunisia that ousted autocratic President Zine el-Albidine Ben Ali earlier this month. Additionally, Twitter was an integral part of an uprising in Iran last year.