image: Paramount Pictures

This movie really is a phenomenon so if you think you’re tough enough, check it out.  It’s raked in more than $100 million so far at the domestic box office and I know people who have seen it a couple times already.

The storyline follows the lives of a “young, middle-class couple who become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly most active in the middle of the night – especially while they sleep.”  Yeah, that’s basically one of my worst nightmares.

The DVD and two-disc Blu-ray include the original theatrical version of the film, plus an unrated version with a shocking alternate ending not seen in theaters.  The Blu-ray also includes a digital copy of the theatrical version.

Post from: EveryJoe

“Paranormal Activity” on DVD & BLU-RAY 12/29/09

“He was not engaged in a fight. He didn’t throw any punches. He didn’t directly engage the individual. He just got coldcocked by somebody, and we’re very disturbed by that.”

Clausen was reportedly out with his family and girlfriend after the team’s double-overtime loss to Connecticut earlier that day. The whole group decided to leave after exchanging angry words with some of the other bar patrons. Apparently, the girlfriend forgot her purse, and when Clausen went back to get it, someone followed him back outside and punched him. One of the employees at the bar said that several members of the team were also at the bar that night, and that they had police on hand to prevent problems with fans.

Image: Newscom

The police were called, but no report was filed by Clausen, who was sporting a black eye at practice this week. Coach Charlie Weis has refused to comment on the punch, other than to say that Clausen will play this weekend despite the assault. The typical press conference held every week by Notre Dame was canceled, probably to avoid reporters who just want to talk about angry fans rather than their upcoming game against Stanford.

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Clausen to Start on Sat Despite Punch

We need salt in our body. Our body needs sodium (salt) to function properly. But, like most things, moderation is the key. If we take in too much salt, we cause other problems, like high blood pressure. But we know that, right?

Ok, if we know that – why are so many people still eating highly salted foods and piling on their own salt? The problem isn’t just in any one particular country. We often think of North America has having a salt “problem,” and Canada has been singled out for that in one study. But it’s all over.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), we should be consuming no more than about 1 teaspoon of salt per day. But, Western countries run a tally of about twice that. And, apparently, people in Eastern European countries consume even more, on average.

How much more research needs to be done to prove that too much salt is unhealthy? The journal, BMJ, just published yet another study about the connection between too much salt and heart disease.

After studying the records of studies that included over 170,000 people, researchers from Italy and the United Kingdom found that consumption twice the recommended amount of daily salt translated into a 23% difference in strokes and 17% difference in heart disease.

Based on these results, the authors estimate that reducing daily salt intake by 5 g at the population level could avert one and a quarter million deaths from stroke and almost three million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year. Furthermore, because of imprecision in measurement of salt intake, these effect sizes are likely to be underestimated, say the authors.

Have you started cutting back on salt yet? Will you?

~~~

Images: MorgueFile.com and PhotoXpress.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Repeat After Me: Too Much Salt No Good!

1. The Sleek 150-Lap with Tap Screen techology Ironman Watch.  The ultimate, most high tech watch for any hardcore runner.
2. The Brookstone stainless steel water bottle.  This safe water bottle leaves the water’s taste alone and holds 27 oz.  Awesome gift.
3. Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein Isolate.  This is the purest form of protein available and almost any serious weight lifter would light up opening this cannister.
4. DarnTough running socks.  DarnTough has received rave reviews from runners and would be one of the coolest, most thoughtful gifts a runner or cyclist could receive.
5. The Tanita digital scale.  This isn’t just a scale.  It can also calculate your body fat percentage and body water.  Anyone that constantly tracks their status, is trying to lose weight, and/or journals their progress would love this.

sxc.hu

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Fitness Gifts for Christmas

Tom Watson (Image: Zuma Press)

The R&A changed it’s rule to allow former champions who finish in the top 10 in the previous five years to gain a five-year exemption.  The 60-year-old Watson is a 5-time Open Championship winner.

The ruling also means that two-time winner Greg Norman will also be exempt for the next five tournaments, thanks to his third-place finish in 2008.

The 2010 Open Championship takes place at historic St. Andrews from July 15-18.

Post from: EveryJoe

Rule Change Gives Watson Open Exemptions

It was a game that I sunk my teeth into and then shook it for all it was worth.

Even after I had “beaten” the game, “beaten” the expansion – Shivering Isles – and created a whole new character, I was still transfixed by the game. Blame it on the open world format or the fact that the story was just that damn good.

Whatever the reason, I still haven’t traded in Elder Scrolls; I trade everything in once I finish a game.

Now, Dragon Age: Origins is out and it looks to be another Oblivion for me. It is definitely a game that I have been looking forward to since I first heard about it.

I was waffling between getting the game for PS3 and PC and once I saw that Bioware had released the Character Creator and Tool Set for Dragon Age, I figured my mind had been made-up.

That is, until I downloaded the Character Creator and installed it on my laptop.

Now, let me first tell you that my laptop is not a piece of crap – it’s a Dell Vostro that lets me run 30 tabs of FireFox, Photoshop and Illustrator and it doesn’t blink an eye. The long and short of it is that I’ve never run into an issue running a game on the system…until the Character Creator.

I just took a look at the minimums to run Dragon Age: Origins and in theory, I should have had no issues but that wasn’t the case. While the program ran just fine, the graphics were screwed up and when I tried to create a character, the chick was covered in intermittent black. I’m going to assume graphics card issue.

Anyway, here are the specs.

Minimums:

OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 1.4 GHz/AMD Athlon64 X2 @ 1.8 GHz
Memory: 1 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB Free
Video Memory: 128 MB (nVidia GeForce 6600/ATI Radeon X850)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

Recommended:

OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz)/AMD Phenom II X3 720 (2.8 GHz)
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB Free
Video Memory: 512 MB (nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS/ATI Radeon HD 3850)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 10
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

Now that I’m writing this, I’m wondering if maybe it was my install of the Character Creator and not the actual program OR we could probably just go with a graphics card issue…I’ll go with a screwed up install to save my pride.

I know this seems like a “duh” post but if I hadn’t had issues with the Character Creator, I probably would have just bought Dragon’s Age:Origins without a second glance at the system specs and would have been confident that my system could handle the game.

The moral of the story is to read the minimums and the recommended specs before you buy a game.

Image|IGN System Specs|VG Requirements

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Check Your PC Before You Install Dragon Age

Mark is sitting and wondering about 2010

Mark Martin and team tried their hardest to put together ten races during the Chase that would give them their first Sprint Cup Series Championship, but in the end they found themselves brides maids once again and looking in as Jimmie enjoyed all the accolades. Mark Martin just didn’t appear to have a strong enough car to allow him to catch Jimmie, but he kept his hands on the wheel and foot on the gas pedal and gave it his best try through ten of the hardest races of his career. The adjustments they made in the pits during the race didn’t seem to provide the change in performance and handling they needed to win, and Mark found himself trying to keep his car straight and fast, rather than actually being able to race with Jimmie.

The 2010 Sprint Cup Series is going to be interesting as we can certainly expect Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the boys will be out to win it all. Mark can win it all, next year I believe, as can a few of the other racers, but Jimmie will still be the one to beat. In the end the racer with the most consistent car will probably win and take home the Sprint Cup Series title. Hopefully we’ll get to see another barn raising affair that will leave us wanting more.

“Image: Zuma Press”

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Mark Martin Left Wondering at the Line

USB Geek is selling a controller that has both a touchpad and a Blackberry-style keyboard on the bottom. It connects to your PC via wireless USB that has a 30 foot range. The touchpad works like your mouse or the trackpad on your laptop, allowing you to move the cursor on the screen, and the keyboard lets you type just like you would with a full-sized version.

It’s only available for the PC, and it’s available to buy for $62.

Image: USB Geek.

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A universal remote for your PC

This is a Reposado (aged in oak barrels) you can actually sip which almost has a sweetness to it. In fact I always describe it as if your actually licking the inside of the Blue Agave plant. It’s that fresh tasting.

Image Credit: Licores Veracruz

In Mexico when it comes to making Tequila it’s a serious business. There are regulations put in place so that no one can say their brand is 100% Blue Agave when it’s not. Dos Coronas & Hijos de Villa have been bottled by Licores Veracruz, a company that has been producing Tequila for 55 years. These two very special Reposados have been distilled and aged in Jalisco, home of the Blue Agave and of course certified!

If you are not interested in sipping it then there are plenty of recipes that will compliment Dos Coronas & Hijos de Villa.

These recipes are from a fellow bartender friend of mine! He assured me that these drinks are sure to create buzz at your next bash.

Mountain Sunrise:

1 1/2 shots of Tequila

1/2 oz. lime juice

1 splash grenadine syrup

3 oz Mountain Dew Soda

Serve with ice in a rocks glass.

Chihuahua:

2 oz shot of Tequila

Grapefruit Juice

Serve with ice in a rocks glass.

Tequila Caesar:

2 shots of Tequila

1/2 oz. of Clamato Juice

Tobasaco

Worcestershire Sauce

Celery Salt Rim

Serve with ice in a tall glass.

***

Don’t forget that Tequila (especially the above mentioned brands) go great with food. Luckily I grew up in a family where Mexican food was always on the menu. My favorite thing is my Mom’s Famous Guacamole! Check out the recipe here.

Photographed by My Mom

Dos Coronas is currently available in Canada while Hijos de Villa is available in the United States. Get off your butt and get some because this Tequila is produced in limited quantities.

I would love to know any other Tequila recipes out there so leave me a comment or Tweet @missbrittanydow.

You should also follow @everyjoe

xo

Source: Licores Veracruz

Post from: EveryJoe

Tequila Dos Coronas & Hijos de Villa

Jimmie Johnson kicks open the doors of NASCAR's hall of fame

Jimmie Johnson is one racer who started his NASCAR career with realistic expectations. He was maybe hoping to win a few racers, have a chance to compete against the best in the business, but he certainly wasn’t expecting to be a four time Sprint Cup Series Champion.

Mark Martin certainly looked to be every bit the racers that Jimmie Johnson is when he first appeared on a NASCAR track and five runner up finishes later, he’s still trying to catch the racer in front of him. In fact, Martin is one of the best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to never win a title, but you would never know it by his reactions to coming second again.

Jimmie Johnson just wasn’t available for him to catch after a certain point in the Sprint Cup Series season and he needed help from the gods and other racers to become the 2009 Sprint Cup Series Champion. Jimmie was once again consistent and fast on the track and came home fifth Sunday on Homestead-Miami Speedway and became the only racer to win his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series Championship. This punches Jimmie Johnson’s ticket to the hall of fame when the day comes for him to walk up the steps and should put him in the same part of the hall as drivers like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and his friend and teammate Jeff Gordon as the only racers to win more than three championships.

Job well done Jimmie and enjoy your accomplishment. You deserve all the accolades and awards they throw upon your shoulders. We raise out glasses to you once again and acknowledge you’re the best of our generation.

“Image: Zuma Press”

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Jimmie Johnson Shoe-in for Hall of Fame