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Started by NewsCaster, Jun 23, 2010, 09:03 AM

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A Chinese man said he filmed himself jumping onto the tracks of an approaching Shanghai subway train because he thought it would be an "interesting" thing to do -- and the resulting video would make him famous on the Internet.The 28-year-old man began filming as the train pulled into a deserted platform and then jumped onto the tracks as it drew close. He then lay flat on his back as the train passed over him. The entire incident was also captured on CCTV.More...

Man Jumps Onto Subway Tracks To Film Train (VIDEO)



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In the style moment we've been waiting for, Michelle Obama finally met Princess Letizia on Sunday at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca. Michelle wore a white bowed blouse, full rose-colored skirt and shiny flats, while Letizia opted for a one-shouldered white dress with an embellished neckline and taupe heeled sandals. Take a look at what they wore and scroll down to tell us what you think.More...

Michelle Obama & Princess Letizia Meet At Marivent Palace: Fashion Face-Off! (PHOTOS, POLL)



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Nation's Restaurant News has published the findings of a new Market Force a ("customer experience management firm") survey that asked Americans to rank their favorite casual-dining chain restaurants. The survey, conducted between May and June is based on results from 5,000 of the firm's 300,000 independent mystery shoppers. The Calabasas Hills, CA-based Cheesecake Factory got top scores by consumers in 6 of 10 categories, including for food taste and quality, atmosphere, and cleanliness, when overall results were weighted for the number of locations. Apparently wait time wasn't a category.Food writer, author and blogger Michael Ruhlman recently visited a Cheesecake Factory for the first time after making fun of writer and author Kelly Alexander for praising the chain, and Alexander subsequently issuing him a challenge. Michael Ruhlman wrote:More...

Americans' 15 Favorite Restaurant Chains: Cheesecake Factory Tops List



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The Forward, a national newspaper of news and opinion about Jewish life, recently published a list of 50 influential women rabbis in America. It was a response to the annual Newsweek list of the 50 "most influential" American rabbis, which includes very few women, none of whom are high on the list.The emergence of these lists suggests both good and bad news. The bad news, as exemplified by the Newsweek list, is that the criteria can be arbitrary and highly subjective. The determination of who is "influential" is not determined by a poll or survey or any systematic approach, but rather by a couple of men from Hollywood whose notions of success are still hierarchical and gendered.  Do we really want to measure our rabbis on their media presence or the size of their congregations? Is the impact they have made on Judaism in their careers only worth 10 points?More...

What the Success of Women Rabbis Means for Judaism



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Sandra Bullock, in leather pants and a t-shirt, made a surprise appearance Sunday night at the Teen Choice Awards, picking up Best Actress and doing a booty dance with Betty White, seen below."I don't know if you should bring attention to this. Some things are better left unsaid. It's been awhile since I was a teen," Bullock told the crowd. "I'm so blessed and lucky. 'The Blind Side' - I got to meet so many good people, so many good lessons I took away from it."More...

Sandra Bullock Wins Teen Choice Award, Dances With Betty White



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The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre had a 41st Anniversary party at the Celebrity Centre  in Los Angeles Saturday night.In attendance was the Travolta family, including pregnant Kelly Preston and daughter Ella, actresses Jenna Elfman and Erika Christensen, 'Simpsons' voice Nancy Cartwright, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his wife Lois.More...

John Travolta & Pregnant Kelly Preston, Jenna Elfman & Buzz Aldrin Party For Scientology (PHOTOS)



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It's August, a time of sultry midsummer mornings, heavy with a layer of dew that washes leaves and settles like smoke before sunrise. It's the glimpse of things to come after this record hot July, with a bass chorus of afternoon thunderstorms cannonading down the streets and dry valleys. Summer's urgency is on the wane, so it's time to find a place to listen and watch as summer matures before our eyes. How about sitting on your front porch?Recently, Steve Jordon, a business reporter for the Omaha World Herald, shared his "little piece of paradise," the front porch of his home. As he mused, "Houses should have front porches. It's one reason we bought our house 30 years ago. Our porch goes across the whole front, but doesn't wrap around. It's deep enough for a swing on one end... the yellow or gold or red sunlight streams in horizontally so that everything is lit in a way that looks right and bright."More...

Do You Have a Front Porch?



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In October of 2008, I stood in a line ten students deep at the Kennedy School of Government on a Wednesday morning, waiting to get my absentee ballot notarized. Among others in line with me was a marine from Oklahoma giving the line a last minute pitch for McCain, a second year at the business school arguing with him, and a freshman who, he told us, really hoped he'd "make it in time for his midterm." The line was slow-moving, but the sentiment palpable: Voting mattered-- to our conceptions of the way we hoped our country moved forward, and to for us personally, to be a part of it.We were not alone in this sentiment. 633,610 people cast absentee ballots in the 2008 presidential election, and 128.5 million voters took the time that November 4 to wait in line and contribute to the determining facet of the years long process that had been this election.More...

Rock the Vote



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Actress Jessica Szohr stopped by the premiere of "The Tillman Story" in NYC on Monday night wearing an outfit that is most certainly hanging in our closets: a denim vest over a black dress with black pumps. Check out Jessica's look (and our go-to summer ensemble), and scroll down to let us know what you think.More...

Jessica Szohr's Easy Summer Outfit: Love It Or Leave It? (PHOTOS, POLL)



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Leslie Margolin, who recently resigned as president of Anthem Blue Cross in California, is speaking out against a plan put forth by the health insurance company earlier this year to increase the cost of individual coverage plans by as much as 39 percent.Margolin claims she urged the insurance giant to reconsider its intention to spike its rates and to explore alternative solutions to lower the cost of care, the Los Angeles Times reports.More...

Leslie Margolin, Former Blue Cross President, Speaks Out Against Insurance Giant's Plan To Spike Rates