Wedding Venue gone into liquidation

Wedding Venue gone into liquidation

Yesterday, 9:50 PM
MoneySaving Newbie ? Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Hi today i found out, that the company ASPIRE VENUES..... have gone into liquidation. The wedding was to take place on May 17th, at Chewton Place, Aspire Venues, took full payment for the wedding breakfast and the evening buffet, and today we recieve a email saying the company is in liquidation, where do we stand....... We did not have wedding insurance, but we are devastated. They also own two more venues and i have just found out that the contract with one of them ended in November, Aspire Venues do all types of events, today a christmas party that was due to go ahead tonight at Chewton Place keynsham, was told this morning that it was cancelled...... VIA EMAIL..... Surely, we as consumers have rights... we have paid in full thousands of pounds, and now have nothing for our money, Iam in shock, what can i do.... where do i start to retrieve my money, We saved for years for our only daughters wedding..... and in one EMAIL we have lost it all....... CAN some one help. What are my rights, i have proof of payment, but i guess this means nothing if the company no longer exists. I do not have thousands of pounds to book another venue, and only 5 months to the wedding day. Please help, anyone else had similar circumstances. Thanks Kim

Yesterday, 9:55 PM
? Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,912 Thanked 17,753 Times in 5,108 Posts	I'd post on the wedding board, I bet somebody there will have been in the same boat.

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Yesterday, 9:56 PM
? Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3,025 Thanked 2,248 Times in 1,424 Posts	How did you pay the company - cash, debit card, credit card? The IVF worked! We had our first baby Dec 06

Yesterday, 10:00 PM
? Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 196 Thanked 153 Times in 84 Posts	I hope you paid by credit card? Then you may have a chance (I hope!).

Yesterday, 10:07 PM
MoneySaving Newbie ? Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Sorry if i posted in the wrong section, We paid the depoist of ?750.00 by cheque, and the full balance 8 weeks later also by Cheque. as they contacted us offering us 10% discount if we paid the balance in full. At the time, i thought cheque was best as i had proof of them cashing it. Now after reading all day, i see credit card would of been the best, Also Wedding Insurance, but you never ever think this will happen to you.

Yesterday, 10:08 PM
? Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Leeds Posts: 954 Thanked 686 Times in 441 Posts	Have you spoken to them? This link from today states that it is another venue and all the others are still ok. - Sorry, i've just double checked and this was from November I've also checked on Companies House and the company 'Aspire Group Ltd' (company no 06894587) is not listed as being either in Liquidation or Administration. HTH WG x All comments and advice given is my own opinion and does not represent the views or advice of any debt advice organisation. DFW Nerd #132 Last edited by Wonder_Girl; Yesterday at 10:10 PM.

Yesterday, 10:09 PM
? Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 6,912 Thanked 17,753 Times in 5,108 Posts	Quote: Sorry if i posted in the wrong section, We paid the depoist of ?750.00 by cheque, and the full balance 8 weeks later also by Cheque. as they contacted us offering us 10% discount if we paid the balance in full. At the time, i thought cheque was best as i had proof of them cashing it. Now after reading all day, i see credit card would of been the best, Also Wedding Insurance, but you never ever think this will happen to you. Don't apologise! You just might get more responses in the wedding bit, that's all, worth a try.

Yesterday, 10:38 PM
MoneySaving Newbie ? Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Quote: Have you spoken to them? Stroud news from today states that it is another venue and all the others are still ok. - Sorry, i've just double checked and this was from November I've also checked on Companies House and the company 'Aspire Group Ltd' (company no 06894587) is not listed as being either in Liquidation or Administration. HTH WG x ASPIRE VENUE LTD, and Lorraine Eddleston (the MD) Yes i did the same, thinking the email was a prank...... but the last time it was updated was november, and when i rang the company, you get a voicemail telling you about the liquidation, and since i have recieved 4 emails, advising me to wait to see if they get bought out..... lets hope they do, and the new owners honour those that have paid in full. ] Last edited by power2kim; Yesterday at 10:39 PM. Reason: Colour

Yesterday, 10:38 PM
? Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 5,702 Thanked 11,101 Times in 4,129 Posts	hun - I am so sorry this has happened! its a pity you paid by cheque, but it cant be helped. I am sorry I cannot be more upbeat - but you will probably have to find another venue and pay for it! unless you took out insurance? if the venue has gone into liquidation it can take months, if not years, before creditors are repaid. Sorry! If he business IS taken over by new owners they may honour prior bookings - check with them! There sure are a lot of laws in this country - but there aint much Justice!!! (Dean Koontz - One Door Away From Heaven)

Today, 1:56 AM
? Join Date: May 2009 Location: North London Posts: 12,675 Thanked 23,793 Times in 8,495 Posts	If it's a limited company and it's being wound up because it's insolvent you will in all likelihood join the long list of creditors. Who may receive a few pennies to the pound or whatever depending on what assets there are. A company of that nature won't have any fixed-assets to speak of, it's all about their order book and goodwill.The request to pay the balance for a discount was very obviously and cynically done to improve their cash-flow in an attempt to stave off the liquidation. This is the sort of thing that businesses experience all the time, especially in the current economic climate but that's no comfort to you. Expect to get offers of alternative arrangements from the ex-directors' new company who still have your details and know that you'll need somewhere else now but make sure that you do not give these particular shysters your business. You can be confident that they will have got their wages out before the worst happened. It ruddy stinks, doesn't it? You have my sympathy for what it's worth. i.e. not very much under the circs.

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Linaro member boards get accelerated builds of Android Ice Cream Sandwich

Accelerated builds of Android Ice Cream Sandwich now available on Linaro member boards

Cambridge, UK - 21 December 2011 - Linaro, a not-for-profit engineering organization consolidating and optimizing open source software for the ARM architecture, today announced the availability of builds of Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) supporting accelerated graphics on two of its member's low cost development boards: the Samsung Origen and ST-Ericsson Snowball boards.

Just over a month ago, within a day of Google's release of the 4.0.1 ICS version of Android, Linaro showed videos of it running on the Texas Instruments (TI) PandaBoard and shortly after that on the Freescale i.MX53 Quick Start board, the Samsung Origen board and ST-Ericsson's Snowball board. The accelerated graphics support that has been made available today makes use of the ARM Mali-400 graphics processor used by two of these boards. This graphics processor is integrated with a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor: on the Samsung Origen board in Samsung's Exynos 4210 SoC, and on the ST-Ericsson Snowball board in ST-Ericsson's NovaTM A9500 SoC. Users of these boards can view videos of these latest builds on Linaro's YouTube channel and download the accelerated builds for the Snowball and Origen boards on Linaro's releases.linaro.org website.

Developers are able to create optimized Linux-based devices with the support of Linaro. For example, Linaro uses the latest GCC 4.6 toolchain to build Android, enabling Linaro's Android to outperform standard Android builds in benchmarks and real-world tasks. The 4.6 toolchain allows developers to optimize for the latest SoCs like ST-Ericsson's Nova A9500 processor and Samsung's Exynos4210, which leads to an improved user experience. Furthermore, the toolchain gives early access to the performance improvements Linaro has been developing in the next release of GCC, as well as the many correctness fixes identified and provided through working with the Linaro community. As an example, the Linaro 4.6 toolchain includes features to allow software to manually or automatically parallelize compute tasks across the multiple cores in the chips.

Linaro operates openly, and these accelerated builds are the latest downloads enabling advanced product development on hardware from its member companies. Linaro's goal is to provide consolidated and optimized open source software building blocks that provide companies with a foundation on which they can rapidly build and deliver innovative, differentiated solutions.

Join us for Linaro Connect Q1.12

Linaro Connect is held every three to four months to bring the Linux on ARM community together to work on the latest system-on-chip (SoC) developments, plan new engineering efforts and hold engineering hacking sessions. These events give the Linux community an opportunity to be a part of the Linaro team and help to define the ARM tools, Linux kernels and builds of key Linux distributions including Android and Ubuntu on member SoCs. Join us for our next event February 6-10th in San Francisco, California. Learn more at connect.linaro.org

About Linaro

Linaro is a not-for-profit engineering organization working on consolidating and optimizing open source software for the ARM architecture, including the GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) toolchain, the Linux kernel, ARM power management, graphics and multimedia interfaces. Linaro's key value is in working on generic ARM technology that is common to all ARM SoC vendors. In this way engineering costs are shared, rather than each vendor having to implement core software technology themselves, which has historically resulted in fragmentation and overhead in maintaining code that cannot be upstreamed to the mainline Linux kernel and other open source projects. Linaro's output is used by its members, and by distributions including Android, Ubuntu and OEM/ODM customized versions of Linux. Linaro's goals are to deliver value to its members by enabling their engineering teams to focus on differentiation and product delivery, and to reduce time to market for OEM/ODMs delivering open source based products using ARM technology. For more information, please visit www.linaro.org

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/23/linaro-member-boards-get-accelerated-builds-of-android-ice-cream/

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Pentagon Kills Big Airborne Laser In Favor Of Small Laser Drones [Airplanes]

The Boeing 747 Airborne Laser project has been mothballed despite successfully destroying a ballistic missile and other targets. But don't dispair, pew-pew destruction fans: the US Missile Defense Command now wants to use small high altitude drones armed with lasers. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/IPYMYAmfRL8/pentagon-kills-big-airborne-laser-in-favor-of-small-laser-drones

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Sniping pits old foes, new allies: France, Britain (AP)

PARIS ? France and Britain escalated an unusual bout of sniping Friday, as Prime Minister David Cameron took a swipe at religious freedoms in France while the French finance minister criticized the U.K. economy.

The latest cross-Channel squabbling ? triggered in part over a tense European Union summit last week ? bared efforts to win political points at home at a time when the financial crisis has pinched both governments.

The rabble-rousing also comes despite the lockstep military effort between the two countries in the NATO-led air campaign that helped spell the end of Moammar Gadhafi's longtime reign in Libya.

France and Britain, rivals for centuries, have been strong ? if at times uncomfortable ? allies since the 20th century. As western Europe's top military powers, they cooperate closely on defense and were joint pillars of the NATO-led air campaign that helped spell the end of Moammar Gadhafi's reign in Libya.

Friday's war of words got going as French Finance Minister Francois Baroin sought to deflect investor fears across the Channel to Britain, hours after the national statistics agency predicted France will slide into recession.

"We would prefer to be French right now than British, in terms of the economy," Baroin told Europe-1 radio.

Echoing comments from several top French officials this week, Baroin suggested ratings agencies should be paying more attention to Britain: "The economic situation of Britain is worrying today."

With French presidential and legislative elections on tap next spring, President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives have been on the defensive in recent weeks amid rumblings that France ? the eurozone's No. 2 economy after Germany ? may soon face a credit-rating downgrade.

Late Friday, Fitch ratings agency said it was keeping France's credit grade at Triple-A, but was revising its outlook on French sovereign debt to negative, from stable.

In Brussels last week, Cameron was the only European Union leader out of 27 to refuse to consider a new treaty that would impose tougher controls on state budgets to avert wider financial crisis. His decision left him isolated.

But in Britain, Cameron has been praised by many for his decision to hardball his European allies over their fiscal pact ? and some opinion polls show his governing Conservative Party winning a clear boost from the tough stance.

In a speech on religion in Oxford, Cameron appeared to take a swipe at France, switching focus from the economy to tolerance for minorities in the two countries. "Many people tell me it is much easier to be Jewish or Muslim here in Britain than it is in a secular country like France," Cameron said.

Britain's deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, leader of the pro-European Liberal Democrats who opposed Cameron's move to snub the European pact, urged French Prime Minister Francois Fillon to end the sniping from Paris.

During a trip to Brazil on Thursday, Fillon ? whose wife Penelope is Welsh ? acknowledged to reporters that France's debt was too high, before pointing to "our British friends who are even more indebted than we are."

"For the moment, the ratings agencies don't seem to notice," he said.

Clegg's office said Fillon had called him from Brazil to say that "it had not been his intention to call into question" Britain's credit rating.

Meanwhile, Clegg told Fillon that the recent remarks by some French officials about the British economy were "simply unacceptable and that steps should be taken to calm the rhetoric," the statement said.

Late Thursday, French statistics agency Insee forecast that the country's economy would shrink this quarter and next amid a worsening outlook for the whole 17-nation eurozone. Insee predicted the economy would contract 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter and 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012, and forecast renewed but weak growth in the second quarter.

___

David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_britain

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Grammy-winning singer Cesaria Evora dies at age 70

LISBON, Portugal?? Cesaria Evora, who started singing as a teenager in the bayside bars of Cape Verde in the 1950s and won a Grammy in 2003 after she took her African islands music to stages across the world, died Saturday. She was 70.

Evora, known as the "Barefoot Diva" because she always performed without shoes, died in the Baptista de Sousa Hospital in Mindelo, on her native island of Sao Vicente in Cape Verde, her label Lusafrica said in a statement on its website. It gave no further details.

Evora retired in September because of health problems. In recent years she had had several operations, including open-heart surgery last year.

She sang the traditional music of the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa, a former Portuguese colony. She mostly sang in the version of creole spoken there, but even audiences who couldn't understand the lyrics were moved by her stirring renditions, her unpretentious manner and the music's infectious beat.

Her singing style brought comparisons to American jazz singer Billie Holiday. "She belongs to the aristocracy of bar singers," French newspaper Le Monde said in 1991, adding that Evora had "a voice to melt the soul."

Evora's international fame came late in life. Her 1988 album "La Diva Aux Pieds Nus" ("Barefoot Diva"), recorded in France where she first found popularity, launched her international career.

Her 1995 album "Cesaria" was released in more than a dozen countries and brought her first Grammy nomination, leading to a tour of major concert halls around the world and album sales in the millions.

She won a Grammy in the World Music category of the 2003 awards for her album "Voz D'Amor".

Evora, known to her close friends as Cize (pronounced see-ZEH), was the best-known performer of "morna," Cape Verde's national music. It is a complex, soulful sound, mixing an array of influences arising from the African and seafaring traditions of the 10 volcanic islands.

Evora was born Aug. 27, 1941, and grew up in Mindelo, a port city of 47,000 people on the island of Sao Vicente, where sailors from Europe, America, Africa and Asia mingled in what was a lively cosmopolitan town with a fabled nightlife.

The local musical style borrowed from those cultures, defying attempts to classify it.

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"Our music is a lot of things," Evora told The Associated Press in a 2000 interview at her home. "Some say it's like the blues, or jazz. Others says it's like Brazilian or African music, but no one really knows. Not even the old ones."

Evora was 7 years old when her father died, leaving a widow and seven children. At 10, with her mother unable to make ends meet, she was placed in an orphanage.

"I didn't like it. I value my freedom," she told the AP.

At 16, when Evora was doing piecework as a seamstress, a friend persuaded her to sing in one of the many sailors' taverns in her town. As her popularity grew, she was also rowed out into the bay to sing on anchored ships.

She received no pay ? just free drinks. She used to smile when she recalled her fame as a heavy cognac drinker. And she sadly recalled the exact day ? Dec. 15, 1994 ? she had to give up drinking for her health's sake.

Evora didn't think much of her international stardom and she went back to Mindelo whenever she could. She rebuilt her childhood home, turning it into a 10-bedroom house where friends and family often stayed over, and she always made sure she was home for Christmas.

A heavy smoker for decades, Evora was diagnosed with heart problems in 2005. She suffered strokes in 2008 and in September 2011, when she announced she was retiring.

She had a son and a daughter by different men but never married. Family details were not immediately available.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45707835/ns/today-entertainment/

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Bears are in for a surprise

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Well, I?m finally gaining some ground.

Not much, but some.

A stellar 14-2 weekend could have been 15-1, but for that late collapse by the Cowboys.? In that moment, a three-game win over Rosenthal slid to a one-game edge.

I?m nine back with three weeks to go. ?For the season, he?s 142-66.? I?m 133-75.

This week, we disagree on four games.? This is my last chance to make a push.

Hopefully, God likes me better than him.

Jaguars at Falcons

Florio?s take:? If the Falcons can?t beat the Jaguars, the Falcons have no shot at winning at New Orleans on December 26.? And if the Falcons can?t win at New Orleans on December 26, the Falcons won?t have to worry about another one-and-done performance in the playoffs.

Florio?s pick:? Falcons 31, Jaguars 16.

Rosenthal?s take: The Jaguars are back in prime time! Atlanta is a 10-point favorite, which seems crazy until you look at the state of the Jags. An undrafted rookie and journeyman will cover Roddy White and Julio Jones.? At wideout for Jacksonville: Chastin West and Jarrett Dillard. Interim coach Mel Tucker isn?t playing with a stacked deck.

Rosenthal?s pick: Falcons 28, Jaguars 13.

Cowboys at Buccaneers

Florio?s take:? The best way for Dallas to avoid blowing a close game late in the fourth quarter is to never allow it to be close in the fourth quarter.? If this one gets too out of hand, Tampa coach Raheem Morris could be the fourth coach to go before Christmas.

Florio?s pick:? Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: The Bucs are slump busters. The Panthers defense couldn?t stop anyone, but they could stop the Bucs. Jacksonville?s offense couldn?t score on anyone, but they could score on Tampa. This game is exactly what Jason Garrett and the ?Boys need.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cowboys 40, Buccaneers 27.

Dolphins at Bills

Florio?s take:? Nothing takes the steam out of a team that is playing hard down the stretch to try to save its coach?s job than the coach losing his job.? The Bills end a six-game losing streak with their sixth, and likely last, win of the season.

Florio?s pick:? Bills 28, Dolphins 21.

Rosenthal?s take: It?s weird and a little sad that J.P. Losman?s status decides my pick. If Matt Moore is out, I like Buffalo. Bills fans will happily tell you not to bet on J.P. Losman in Buffalo. (Especially with Jake Long out.) If Matt Moore starts, I like the Dolphins. (Can we make conditional picks, Florio?)

Rosenthal?s pick: Dolphins 20, Bills 17.

Seahawks at Bears

Florio?s take:? If the Bears had Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, they?d be the clear pick to win.? But they don?t, and if they can?t beat the Chiefs at home without these key players, they?ll have a rough time handling an underrated Seahawks team.? The bell continues to toll for the Bears, whose only remaining hope will be to do to the Packers on December 25 what the Dolphins did to the Bears in 1985.

Florio?s pick:? Seahawks 14, Bears 7.

Rosenthal?s take: Bears fans swore Chicago could go 4-2 or 3-3 at worst with Caleb Hanie to close the season. They haven?t won a game yet. Seattle, meanwhile, has won four of five because of a physical defense and running game. After this game, the Seahawks will have a better chance to make the playoffs.

Rosenthal?s pick: Seattle 16, Bears 13.

Panthers at Texans

Florio?s take:? The Texans keep losing key components.? And the Texans just keep winning.? This one won?t be easy without defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, but the Texans simply continue to find a way.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 34, Panthers 24.

Rosenthal?s take: If Cam Newton and T.J. Yates faced off last year, Yates? team would not be favored by a touchdown. Things change quickly. The Texans are a defense tough enough to withstand the loss of their best pass rusher. They can survive losing their playcaller for a week or two.

Rosenthal?s pick: Texans 21, Panthers 17.

Titans at Colts

Florio?s take:? It?s time.? Call it a gut feeling.? Call it a hunch.? Call it clinical insanity.? But it?s time for the Colts to win a game.? Especially since this very well could be their last chance to avoid going 0-16 and getting everyone not named Jim Irsay fired.

Florio?s pick:? Colts 19, Titans 17.

Rosenthal?s take: The Colts look likely to face three straight rookie quarterbacks. Unfortunately, Jake Locker isn?t a huge downgrade from Matt Hasselbeck. The Titans offense is different with Locker, but not necessarily worse. The Titans are just mediocre enough to let the Colts make this interesting.

Rosenthal?s pick: Titans 24, Colts 21.

Packers at Chiefs

Florio?s take:? Interim coach Romeo Crennel could go a long way toward securing the permanent job by winning his first game.? He likely wishes Todd Haley had lasted one more week.

Florio?s pick:? Packers 35, Chiefs 10.

Rosenthal?s take: The Chiefs have enough secondary talent to give the Packers offense some issues. Kansas City certainly upgrades this week at quarterback with Kyle Orton. And that ends the portion of this preview where I try to convince myself this game will stay interesting.

Rosenthal?s pick: Packers 31, Chiefs 14.

Saints at Vikings

Florio?s take:? From epic NFC title game to overhyped season opener to Cornell-Hofstra slaughter.? Les Steckel gets closer and closer to getting off the hook.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 34, Vikings 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Drew Brees is peaking at the right time. The Vikings are peeking at the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.? This is the game where Brees makes sure he wins the yardage crown for the season.

Rosenthal?s pick: Saints 33, Vikings 17.

Redskins at Giants

Florio?s take:? After the Redskins beat the Giants in Week One, safety Antrell Rolle said that Washington would win five out of 100 games between the two teams.? More recently, Rolle dropped that number to one.? Though we?re not ready to agree with a 99-percent success rate, we?re comfortable with 50.

Florio?s pick:? Giants 28, Redskins 14.

Rosenthal?s take: A Giants? loss Sunday could make next week?s Jets-Giants game almost inconsequential. A win against the Redskins would guarantee Big Blue a ?win and in? scenario in Week 17 against Dallas. Washington is feisty, but they are one-win-in-seven-games feisty. Rex Grossman is just good enough to get you beat.

Rosenthal?s pick: Giants 33, Redskins 28.

Bengals at Rams

Florio?s take:? It won?t be easy to keep a young Bengals team focused and motivated after losing a heartbreaker to the Texans.? But the Bengals are playing the Rams.? The Rams.? Yes, the Rams.

Florio?s pick:? Bengals 34, Rams 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Despite winning seven games last year, the Rams are on pace to have the worst five-year run of any team in NFL history. Steve Spagnuolo coached the worst NFL team in 2009 and the second worst team this year. It may not be fair, but it?s hard to imagine any coach surviving that combination.

Rosenthal?s pick: Bengals 23, Rams 13.

Lions at Raiders

Florio?s take:? The Lions have struggled lately, but the Raiders have struggled more.? Neither team may make it to the postseason after promising starts, but the Lions have at least shown a recent ability to find a way to win.? Plus, while he?s not as dominant as he was in 2010, the return of Ndamukong Suh should help.? The ongoing absence of Darren McFadden doesn?t.

Florio?s pick:? Lions 24, Raiders 20.

Rosenthal?s take: These are two desperate teams that peaked too early. At least the Lions are getting players back: Ndamukong Suh, Kevin Smith, and cornerback Chris Houston all look likely to return for Detroit. The Raiders might get Denarius Moore back. The Lions win that trade.

Rosenthal?s pick: Lions 27, Raiders 24.

Browns at Cardinals

Florio?s take:? Though a little too late, the Cardinals have found their groove, regardless of whether Kevin Kolb or John Skelton is playing quarterback.? With a couple more wins, they?ll be one of the teams we?re all picking to make the playoffs in 2012.? The Browns, on the other hand, continue to be the Browns.

Florio?s pick:? Cardinals 30, Browns 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Skeltonmania is sweeping the nation. The Cardinals are 4-1 in the former Fordham quarterback?s games, winning insane, inexplicable games late in the fourth quarter. They are 2-5 without him. Skelton fever could last into the playoffs. I?d bet on a 9-7 team making the playoffs and the Cardinals should be 7-7 after this one.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cardinals 22, Browns 13.

Patriots at Broncos

Florio?s take:? The list of ?thou shalt nots? now includes a line regarding picking against Tim Tebow.? New England?s defense stinks, and Denver?s defense is good enough to keep it close.? If the Broncos keep it close, the guy who says God has spoken to him will overcome the once little-known sixth-round pick who possibly struck a deal with the devil.

Florio?s pick:? Broncos 24, Patriots 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Patriots defense can barely slow down Grossmania, so Tim Tebow should have a big day. Tom Brady should be even better. There are weak spots in this Broncos? secondary that Brady can exploit, especially at safety. This result will test Florio?s Tebow man-crush.

Rosenthal?s pick: Patriots 31, Broncos 27.

Jets at Eagles

Florio?s take:? The Dream Team is waking up too late, but not late enough to crush the dreams of Team Rex.? And that will make next week?s Giants-Jets game even more intriguing.

Florio?s pick:? Eagles 27, Jets 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Eagles won last week, but Michael Vick looked very rusty. The offensive line got pushed around. The Jets are not a defense you want to face when your passing game is out of synch and your line is not recognizing blitzes. The Dream should finally die for good, to the delight of many Eagles fans.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jets 22, Eagles 10.

Ravens at Chargers

Florio?s take:? The Ravens finally realize the connection between beating inferior foes and hosting home playoff games.? Chargers fans finally realize that they could have a new coach and G.M. in 2012.? Both could be very happy after Sunday night.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 24, Chargers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: This is Norv?s last stand, and he has a shot to win. Philip Rivers? pinpoint accuracy returned the last two weeks. So did his pass protection. This is a dangerous game for the Ravens, but it?s hard to imagine Rivers? rag-tag linemen holding up against the Baltimore pass rush.

Rosenthal?s pick: Ravens 27, Chargers 24.

Steelers at 49ers

Florio?s take:? When the Steelers enter the red zone at Heinz Field, giant ketchup bottles unleash their contents onto the scoreboard.? When the 49ers get into the red zone on Monday night, the Steelers will be putting ketchup on Frank Gore?s legs and Alex Smith?s arm.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 20, 49ers 13.

Rosenthal?s take: The Cowboys? 3-4 defense gave the 49ers problems. Baltimore?s 3-4 defense ate up the 49ers line. Arizona?s defense ? coordinated by former Steelers coach Ray Horton ? allowed two first downs to the 49ers in the second half last week. You see where I?m going with this one.

Rosenthal?s pick: Steelers 13, 49ers 10.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/15/pfts-week-15-picks-2/related/

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More books, more choices: why America needs its indies

Farhad Manjoo thinks corner bookstores are simply comfy and quaint. He couldn't be more wrong.

This week, the novelist Richard Russo wrote an op-ed column for The New York Times disparaging Amazon?s recent pricing promotion.? The column went on to talk more broadly about Amazon and independent booksellers.? In response, Slate published a piece entitled Don?t Support Your Local Bookstore by Farhad Manjoo.? In his article Manjoo tells his readers ?if you?re a novelist?not to mention a reader, a book publisher, or anyone else who cares about a vibrant book industry?you should thank him [Jeff Bezos, founder, president, and CEO of Amazon] for crushing that precious indie on the corner.???

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At the heart of both authors' pieces is the question of what best promotes a literary or book-reading culture.? Not surprisingly, both articles have received passionate responses from readers and inspired thousands of comments online.

Manjoo says that the ?bread and butter? of local bookstores is the same ?mass-manufactured goods whose intellectual property was produced by one of the major publishing houses in Manhattan. It doesn?t make a difference whether you buy Walter Isaacson?s Steve Jobs at City Lights, Powell?s, Politics & Prose, or Amazon?it?s the same book everywhere.?

It does make a difference, but not for the reasons Russo lauds or Manjoo disparages.

Part of the value of independent bookstores as a whole is that there is a multitude of people controlling what?s bought, what?s promoted, and what?s displayed.? Of course Walter Isaacson?s "Steve Jobs" is the same book everywhere.? What?s different is what?s sitting on the display table next to "Steve Jobs."? It absolutely matters where you buy your copy, not because of the book itself but because of what you?re exposed to while you?re shopping.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines culture as ?the refinement of mind, tastes, and manners; artistic and intellectual development; the artistic and intellectual side of civilization; the cultivation or development of the mind.?

Culture, at a least a compelling one, develops when people are collectively engaged with a whole range of books, authors, artists, musicians, television shows, theater, magazines, etc.? We would not consider an artistically robust culture to be one where everyone had been exposed to Matisse and Dali but no one else.? The same is true of a literary culture: to have a good one: it is vital that a whole lot of people are reading, being exposed to, picking up, talking about, considering, engaging with, and blogging on a whole lot of books. In other words, more is more.? In fact, more is critical.

All bookstores (with few exceptions) are going to stock and display the category killers: "Steve Jobs," Stephen King, "The Night Circus."? They would be doing their customers and themselves a disservice if they didn?t.? Farhad Manjoo?s assertion that there is ?little that is ?local? about most local bookstores? is inaccurate: what makes a local bookstore ?local,? and also relevant, is its reflection of the tastes, eccentricities, fads, and buying habits of the community it serves.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/4yerCpd5sPk/More-books-more-choices-why-America-needs-its-indies

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