শনিবার, ২ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Secret Service director to step down (Washington Bureau)

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Real Estate Investing Forum: Full-Service Relocation Management ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? February 1, 2013 ? 300 Decisions LLC, a strategic, full-service relocation management company, is pleased to announce the launch of its online Business Relocation Resource Center. This blog-style web site provides helpful tips and downloadable tools designed to educate and inform organizations contemplating a move.

Developed to promote best practices in the relocation management industry, the site acts as a resource for organizations looking to relocate without disrupting business operations. Future entries will address a wide range of topics including change management, planning strategies, technological advancements, physical moving and much more.

"As one of the nation's leading relocation management companies, we're constantly asked to share our industry knowledge," said co-founder and President, Helen Dennis. "This resource will allow us to elevate the relocation management industry and to educate our clients and peers about best practices and lessons learned."

Dennis used her decades of industry experience to create a proprietary, five-step process designed to facilitate change and project management when executing business relocations. "Our strategic process has yielded great results, and the tools on the site are built on this foundation."

To provide a comprehensive collection of resources, future posts will feature industry experts as guest bloggers in addition to the specialists at 300 Decisions.?

To visit the Business Relocation Resource Center, visit www.relocationfocus.com.

About 300 Decisions LLC

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 300 Decisions is a strategic, full-service relocation management company dedicated to helping clients make seamless transitions into new work environments.

With more than 21 years of experience in the move management space, 300 Decisions specializes in developing comprehensive strategic plans and cultural change management programs to relocate offices, factories, hospitals, laboratories, technical centers and campuses without disrupting business operations.

Deriving its name from the amount of decisions needed in any given relocation project, 300 Decisions uses a proprietary five-step process to ensure a successful transition for all stakeholders, addressing both the human and non-human side of the project.

300 Decisions LLC (registered ? State of Michigan)
2723 S. State Street
Suite 150
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

For more information, connect with 300 Decisions on the web:

Corporate Website ? 300decisions.com
Relocation Resource Center ? relocationfocus.com
Twitter ? twitter.com/300decisions
Facebook ? facebook.com/300decisions
LinkedIn ? linkedin.com/company/300-decisions

Why use Right Now Marketing Group?
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Source: http://realestateinvestingforum.blogspot.com/2013/02/full-service-relocation-management.html

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Online gaming fee gambles with golden goose | The Budapest Times

The new Hungarian gambling legislation has introduced such high concession fees for online gaming that it could actually hinder the establishment of the market, the Remote Gambling Association said this week. The law ? which was recently submitted to the European Commission ? would put a 20 per cent tax on gross profit. The association noted that there is an agreement on the taxation of gaming revenues but said the proposed HUF 100 million (EUR 341,700) annual concession fee is irrationally high and will keep investors away from the industry, especially because state-owned lottery and gambling organiser Szerencsej?t?k will be exempt.

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Source: http://www.budapesttimes.hu/2013/02/01/online-gaming-fee-gambles-with-golden-goose/

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শুক্রবার, ১ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ২০১৩

LG Spirit 4G arrives on MetroPCS, delivers 4.5-inch display and ICS to the budget-minded crowd

LG Spirit 4G arrives on MetroPCS, delivers 45inch display and ICS to the budgetminded crowd

We are definitely no strangers to seeing MetroPCS bring well-priced, decently-specced Android handsets to market, and we have a feeling that's something potential and current subscribers certainly appreciate. Because, well, who doesn't like choice? With today's LG Spirit 4G launch, MetroPCS continues to expand its LTE-at-a-bargain ideals, announcing a smartphone that carries some pretty decent specs for being contract-free and costing a mere 269 bucks. Naturally, the 4.5-inch display is among the Spirit's main highlights, but there's also an unspecified 1.2GHz, dual-core CPU, a 5-megapixel rear shooter capable of 1080p video, and Ice Cream Sandwich, to boot. The carrier's quick to point out that its newly introduced slab is a follow-up to that LG Motion 4G we saw last year, and that it's compatible with those LTE plans which were unveiled earlier this month. It's worth noting that while the LG Spirit 4G's official MSRP is $269, MetroPCS will have it up for grabs, starting today, at the cheaper price of $199 -- that, of course, after a beloved mail-in rebate and for "a limited time" only. You'll find a couple more press shots after the break, and be sure to hit the source link if you're interested in grabbing one of these for yourself.

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Source: MetroPCS

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/XfiqdVoY1pY/

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ARMEDIA ? Kate Ellis and Adrian Piccoli discuss Early Childhood ...

Rattler had a front-row seat as more than 200 members turned out at the Sydney Masonic Centre to hear Kate Ellis, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare, and Adrian Piccoli, NSW Minister for Education, tackle the sector?s hottest topics.

Community Child Care Co-operative (NSW) recently saw the return of its annual social policy forum for members?Early Childhood Education and Care: Burning Issues.

Introducing the forum, Leanne Gibbs, Community Child Care CEO, praised the ?great direction? the sector is moving in with the NQF. ?It is a work in progress, but I haven?t met anyone yet who disagrees with the NQF, nor what it brings for children,? Ms Gibbs said.

?But we are still arguing about who pays and how much it costs,? she added. ?So Ministers, let?s get it together, and Minister Piccoli, give yourself the best bet and make NSW look great, a real winner.?

With that, it was over to the Ministers.

In her speech, Early Childhood and Childcare Minister Kate Ellis acknowledged the 20 per cent increase of children in care and education since the government was elected in 2007, as well as barriers to new and existing services in meeting demand. She also praised the sector?s implementation of the NQF, recognising the increased workload resulting from the new regulations: ?We are hearing that it is manageable and that it?s expected to decrease over time once the transition takes place.?

Minister Ellis then congratulated Community Child Care on its ?really integral role in providing child care services with the professional support that they need and that they deserve?.

She also praised Community Child Care?s role in her Early Childhood Education and Care forum, its ?ongoing support of the implementation of the National Quality Framework?, for ?supporting services in preparing for the NQF?, and also for being ?a great advocate? for community childcare services and on behalf of families.

?We know that investment in early childhood is an investment in the wellbeing long term,? she finished. ?It is actually an investment in the prosperity of our nation so thank you for your work that you?re doing.?

NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli then presented his wrap-up of the sector from a New South Wales perspective, including why he hasn?t released the long-awaited Brennan Review into funding for the sector. He said ?detailed expert modelling? of the data was needed first, as was confirmation of Commonwealth funding beyond 2013. (*The Commonwealth has since announced a further $1.1 billion towards Universal Access?see page 5 for details.)

Minister Piccoli then went on to list DEC?s $31 million funding initiatives, including fee relief for disadvantaged families through Connected Communities; a trial of cluster management to help eligible services access expertise with respect to governance and accountability; funding for up to 100 services to reconfigure around a weekly 15-hour delivery pattern; provision of 100 scholarships for educators to upgrade their qualifications from diploma to degree level.

He finished off with: ?An important part of rolling these out will be consultation with the sector ? The work of groups like the Community Child Care Co-operative would be of course critical in this process. You should all be very proud of the work you do.?

Q & A

Then came questions from the audience. Here are a few edited member questions, and the Ministers? answers?

Q. Monique Beange?General Manager, KU Children Services: ?It appears that NSW is not making significant progress towards universal access and one of the main barriers, especially for preschool families, will be affordability. Could you tell us how both of you will work together to ensure NSW children receive

A. Adrian Piccoli: ?Clearly it?s access, it?s places and affordability and we?re not in a position financially to make huge additional investments in early childhood preschool at this stage. We would love to be able to.

?It?s not affordable and if there aren?t physically places there then you can?t achieve it. They are both things that both the Commonwealth and the State have to work together to achieve.?

A. Kate Ellis: ?There?s never been a federal government before that?s funded a cent in preschools and kindergartens ? we put almost a billion dollars on the table, $955 million, for the national partnership. We did that because we want to see services improve. We did that because we wanted to see more people have access. We didn?t do it as a way that we could relieve the burden on state governments and let them invest their money elsewhere.?

Q. Verena Heron, Industrial Officer for the Independent Education Union: ?Minister Piccoli, as you are aware New South Wales early childhood teachers are earning approximately 20 per cent less than their colleagues in DET preschools. We are wondering what your Government is going to do in order to address this problem??

A. Adrian Piccoli: ?The answer to that question will be as a result of negotiations between the state and the Commonwealth ? The disparity is significant because it does cause you know better than I do, but there is a huge need for an injection of funds in order to address that discrepancy and New South Wales on its own is not in a position to be able to do that.?

Q. Tonia Godhard, Community Child Care Life Member: ?We?re moving towards 15 hours, as we?ve discussed as part of universal access, but that will have unintended outcomes in this state?for instance three year olds currently attending preschools will become ineligible. When will your government admit or recognise 15 hours will not work in a state where traditionally we?ve had a six-hour preschool program??

A. Kate Ellis: ?What I think is not okay is for a government to say ?yes, with that amount of funding we?ll accept that from the Commonwealth, we?ll deliver this?, to then turn around and say ?no, three year olds can no longer access preschool?. That was never part of the deal. We put additional money on the table so that we could increase access not decrease access so I do not accept at all that it is a consequence of our Government?s decision making.

?There?s almost a billion dollars of money flowing to the states because they signed a national agreement that they could deliver this, it is up to them to negotiate how they do that after accepting that money.?

Q. Vivi Germanos Koutsanadis? Executive Officer, Ethnic Child Care Family and Community Services Co-operative: ?Mr Piccoli, there is a lot of grave concern in the community about your government?s decision to wipe $1.7 billion from the educational budget ? how will these cuts affect the early childhood sector??

A. Adrian Piccoli: ?There won?t be any impacts on early childhood. Those budget measures, $1.7 billion over four years, to put that in perspective, over that four-year period we will be spending $53 billion.

?Nobody is doing this because they want to do it in education or in health or anywhere else in police, emergency services, but we?re doing it because we?re in pretty tough economic times in Australia and in New South Wales.?

Q. Emily Donnan, Big Steps campaigner: ?Minister Ellis, you?ve said several times $22 billion has been provided to the sector, but there?s one half of the sector that hasn?t been addressed and that is the educators and the very low wages we receive. I want to know, Kate, when will the Federal Government finally address this and reshape the funding model so we receive professional wages and finally address this issue??

A. Kate Ellis: ?I know you want this addressed and you want it addressed now but in every one of these [wages cases] that we?ve addressed there?s been a process that we?ve gone through. With the community service workers it was a process that involved a test case, that involved going through jurisdictions and Fair Work Australia. With the aged care workers it was a process that involved the Productivity Commission actually inquiring into what the appropriate level of pay is. We need to go through a process for early childhood workers too and once we?ve gone through that process then obviously we need to go through the budget process, which itself has its challenges. ?So I can?t give you the answer you want tonight but what I will say is we absolutely recognise the job that you do. We recognise that wages need to be fair across Australia.?

Q. Kim Gavin?Uniting Care Children?s Services: ?NSW spends less money on education and care than the other states. Because of this we have higher preschool fees and less attendance at preschools. What do you intend to do about this to ensure that our children in New South Wales get the same rights and access to preschools as in other states and territories?? A. Adrian Piccoli: ?Other states perform much better than New south Wales does in terms of participation in early childhood and that?s part of the reason.

?We?re not in a [financial] position at this stage to make substantial contributions to changing that table but when we are in a better position I?d certainly expect as the New South Wales Minister for Education to be doing something to make New South Wales certainly competitive wages and finally address this issue??

A. Kate Ellis: ?I know you want this addressed and you want it addressed now but in every one of these [wages cases] that we?ve addressed there?s been a process that we?ve gone through. With the community service workers it was a process that involved a test case, that involved going through jurisdictions and Fair Work Australia. With the aged care workers it was a process that involved the Productivity Commission actually inquiring into what the appropriate level of pay is. We need to go through a process for early childhood workers too and once we?ve gone through that process then obviously we need to go through the budget process, which itself has its challenges.

?So I can?t give you the answer you want tonight but what I will say is we absolutely recognise the job that you do. We recognise that wages need to be fair across Australia.?

Q. Kim Gavin?Uniting Care Children?s Services: ?NSW spends less money on education and care than the other states. Because of this we have higher preschool fees and less attendance at preschools. What do you intend to do about this to ensure that our children in New South Wales get the same rights and access to preschools as in other states and territories??

A. Adrian Piccoli: ?Other states perform much better than New south Wales does in terms of participation in early childhood and that?s part of the reason.

?We?re not in a [financial] position at this stage to make substantial contributions to changing that table but when we are in a better position I?d certainly expect as the New South Wales Minister for Education to be doing something to make New South Wales certainly competitive with the other states.?

Source: http://www.armedia.net.au/kate-ellis-and-adrian-piccoli-discuss-early-childhood-education-and-care

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Ewan McGregor Talks Jack the Giant Slayer

Ewan McGregor as Elmont in "Jack the Giant Slayer"

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

The retelling of a classic fairytale ? one as famous and re-trod as Jack and the Beanstalk ? is that it can get an update or a flourish with each redux. Or in the case of ?Jack the Giant Slayer,? a stylistic twist. Ewan McGregor is a representative sample of the notion, in part, because: just look at that hair-do.

It?s not that the physical evolution of the star from ?Trainspotting,? ?Moulin Rouge? and ?The Impossible? into Top Dog in the King?s guard in the ?Giant? movie is all that revolutionary. McGregor?s character Elmont?s cowlick is a mile-high and his battle armor is form-fitting and slick, a dandy by all standards. Even as slipped from the idyllic set of ?Jack the Giant Slayer? to discuss his role with a group of us journalists, he strode into the room with a swagger.

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From where did a fashionable, horse-riding pretty boy military presence grow from the original ?Beanstalk? story? The answer is from director Bryan Singer?s want for style, as evident from his ?X-Men? movies, and his esteemed filmmaking army spinning humor out of this yarn (because what?s a dimple-chinned macho man without his funny faults?).

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McGregor, lead Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Bill Nighy, Ian McShane and other able-bodied vets round out this reimagining, with the ?imagining? playing a central role to their performances: as CGI creations with the help of motion-capture, the unseen, malevolent forces, were built-out in post-production, thus the actors worked their wares without them in place.

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Below, McGregor talks about that process, and what it takes to become a pastry, and exactly what he thinks of pre-vis (hint: not a fan).

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What first attracted you to the role?

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Ewan McGregor: I liked the script. I was sent the script and I was probably a little dubious about it, to be honest. I didn?t know quite what I thought about trying to retell a classic fairytale. I kind of approached the script feeling a bit like, ?Well, I?m not going to like this.? But I did! I really liked the script. I liked the humor in the script. The characters in it were strong. In a film that?s this technologically based, I think that?s really important that you have clear and well-identifiable characters. I felt that that was the case.

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And then it reminded me a bit of that film "How to Train Your Dragon." I love the feeling of that film and the humor in it. This felt somewhat similar to that. I?m not sure that it?s become that, I?m not sure how much of that humor we?ve captured or not, because it?s impossible on a film that takes this long to shoot?we?ve been shooting for five months, really.

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It?s like a jigsaw film. There?s the work that we do and then there?s many, many other elements, where in other films, you shoot the scenes and that?s what ends up being the film. Of course that can change with editing and music, but on a film like this, there are so many other elements, like the giants and the motion capture capturing the giant?s movements, turning the giants into real giants?our interaction is all the unknown, really. They?ve certainly got enough footage to cut it any which way. But until I see it, I don?t know how much of that humor?s survived.

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What?s your character like? Is he the comic relief of the crew? What does he do?

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I don?t think he?s the comic relief. I liked him because he?s very gung-ho. He?s always the one that?s saying, ?Come on, let?s go!? But very often not succeeding very well in what he?s trying to do and then Jack steps in and saves the day. I like that, kind of comic element of him, if you like.

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At the same time, he is the leader of the Guardians. He?s in charge of them, and that was fun to play. I haven?t done that before, playing the top military guy. I have done a military film before, but it was fun to be in charge.

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What?s his relationship with Jack? Does he welcome him with open arms?

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No, he?s a bit dubious about Jack to begin with, I think. My character?s main job is to look after the princess, during peacetime, that?s my main lookout. It strikes me, and I?ve never discussed it with anyone, but the Guardians are the kind of royal soldiers, the top knights. But during the peacetime at the beginning of the film they?re in charge of the security and safety of the royal family, so myself and Eddie Marsan?s character, it seems that we are in charge of looking after Isabelle [Eleanor Tomlinson], the princess. She?s a very reluctant princess and she?s always trying to slip off into the kingdom and have a life and not feel like she?s?she wants her freedom, in a way. She?s a bit of a reluctant princess. So she?s quite difficult to look after.

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And so my first encounter with Jack is when she?s given us the slip. We find her at this?at the beginning of the film, there?s a pantomime going on about this fable of the giants who live in the sky. And it was really nicely put together by Warwick (Davis) who has an agency of small and very big people, so he used all his actors and he directed this pantomime that we shot in this lovely, old circus tent. So we find Isabelle there, she?s watching the show. At that point, when we come into the tent, everyone bows down because we represent the king, except for Jack, who doesn?t bow down because he?s taken by surprise.

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So my first introduction to him is that he?s somebody who?s not very respectful to us and I?m a bit dubious about what he?s after with the princess, as well. But as the story unfolds and as Jack?once the beanstalk has appeared and the princess has disappeared, he comes along with us, with the Guardians, the kind of search party for her. Slowly, he keeps proving himself over and over.

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What specific things did you have to do to train for this film?

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Mainly we did horse riding. Stanley Tucci and myself have a fight in the film, so we would ride for an hour or two and then we?d work on the fight. For three weeks, that was our rehearsal block. We never got allowed to ride a horse in the film; we just got to sit on them. So it was just kind of a waste of everybody?s time.

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Do you sing in this?

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Nope.

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Do you want to?

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Yeah! I think it would be a big improvement. I could sing now, but it doesn?t feel quite right in here. But it would be nice to have a little song somewhere along the line, maybe climbing the beanstalk. He?s the kinda guy who might break into song at any moment, Elmont. You should suggest it to the director if you speak to him. When we come back for the re-shoots in October, I?ll do it then.

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Talk a little bit about working with the 3D cameras and, as an actor, what is that like? I know it slows things down a little.

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I don?t think it?s as slow as people think. This film has been very slow, but I couldn?t blame the 3D for it. Early on maybe there was more problems with it. Though sometimes there are problems because each camera is, in fact, two cameras and sometimes the 3D, like one eye will go out. I don?t pretend to understand it all completely, but each camera represents our eyes so it?s a slightly different angle on the scene. They have to play with the perspective of that, so there?s the focus but also the convergence, I think it?s called. Occasionally, one of the eyes will go out, but really not that much. I haven?t found it to be that slow. In actual fact, that seems to be the nature of it.

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Again, I?ve never discussed this with anyone, but it seems to me that we do less coverage on a scene. The 3D has more of a sense of everybody in the scene, so if there?s a shot with 4 or 5 people in it, you?re already sort of in your own shot because of the 3D feel. It seems to me that we?ve had less close-ups and less coverage. So if this 3D is slower, which I don?t think it is really, then we save time with the lack of coverage.

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How is it working with the CGI, with the giants that aren?t actually there?

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I?ve done a lot of it in the past, so it?s not something that is new to me, really. It?s a skill like any other. You know what the scene is about and you know where your character is and what he?s thinking and feeling, so it?s not really a problem. I think when you get into those scenes, from what I?ve seen of the little bit that?s been put together, what they?re grabbing from our takes is just a little tiny snatch here and the giant there. It?s an editing job, really. There haven?t been any moments that have been really difficult.

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There are only a very few moments when we actually are physically interacting with each other. There are a couple of moments when I?m picked up and I?m carried upside down by the giant and then laid down on the floor. So the picking up and the laying down we did with the harness and cables. There?s another moment where a giant rolls me in pastry to put me in the oven. The actual rolling in pastry was a technical challenge for the special effects team. They made a body mold of me and then made the back mold that I could lie in and then the front mold clamped over me, Velcroed over me, so I was held in place on an arm. Then, that was lowered onto the pastry. As the giant rolls me over like this, the rig rolled over and then the pastry wrapped around me. So that was more for the special effects people who did a really good job.

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In this film, we have the technical ability to match the motion capture stuff that they?ve done of the giants before. They can overlay them onto the same frame that they?re seeing live from the camera. They can actually frame up on the giant. So if there?s a shot of the giant over my shoulder, they can literally put the camera looking over my shoulder and they can see where the best place is because they can see where the giant?s going to be. That?s quite new, I think.

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There?s a lot of pre-vis in this movie, if not the whole movie?s been pre-vis. Can you talk about, as an actor, doing your own performance while still having to hit the pre-vis or working with those two kinds of environments?

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Yeah. It?s very rare that we have to match to the pre-vis, but it does happen now and again. It usually just ends with me getting really pissed off and telling him to f*ck off. For instance, there was a moment when I had to stab a giant in the leg and I was stabbing the giant in the leg in the way that I wanted to stab the giant in the leg. Then I was directed to do it with two hands because the guy in the pre-vis does it with two hands. And I said, ?Well, you should have paid the guy in the pre-vis to play Elmont and not me, then.??Because a guy in L.A., I guess, an animator?it should just be a kind of template for what?s to happen.

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But it?s very rare you get directed to match the very wobbly animation from the pre-vis. I can give them that performance if they want. But I don?t think they?d be happy.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926762/news/1926762/

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Hedgehog Alert! Prickly pets can carry salmonella

FILE - A hedgehog sleeps at the SPCA in Largo, Fla., in a Monday, Jan. 7, 2013 file photo. In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died. Investigators say the illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets. Health officials on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 say such cases seem to be increasing. (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Jim Damaske, File) TAMPA OUT; CITRUS COUNTY OUT; PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BROOKSVILLE HERNANDO OUT; USA TODAY OUT; MAGS OUT

FILE - A hedgehog sleeps at the SPCA in Largo, Fla., in a Monday, Jan. 7, 2013 file photo. In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died. Investigators say the illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets. Health officials on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 say such cases seem to be increasing. (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Jim Damaske, File) TAMPA OUT; CITRUS COUNTY OUT; PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BROOKSVILLE HERNANDO OUT; USA TODAY OUT; MAGS OUT

(AP) ? Add those cute little hedgehogs to the list of pets that can make you sick.

In the last year, 20 people were infected by a rare but dangerous form of salmonella bacteria, and one person died in January. The illnesses were linked to contact with hedgehogs kept as pets, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials on Thursday say such cases seem to be increasing.

The CDC recommends thoroughly washing your hands after handling hedgehogs and cleaning pet cages and other equipment outside.

Other pets that carry the salmonella bug are frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, lizards, chicks and ducklings.

Seven of the hedgehog illnesses were in Washington state, including the death ? an elderly man from Spokane County who died in January. The other cases were in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Oregon.

In years past, only one or two illnesses from this salmonella strain have been reported annually, but the numbers rose to 14 in 2011, 18 last year, and two so far this year.

Children younger than five and the elderly are considered at highest risk for severe illness, CDC officials said.

Hedgehogs are small, insect-eating mammals with a coat of stiff quills. In nature, they sometimes live under hedges and defend themselves by rolling up into a spiky ball.

The critters linked to recent illnesses were purchased from various breeders, many of them licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CDC officials said. Hedgehogs are native to Western Europe, New Zealand and some other parts of the world, but are bred in the United States.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-01-31-Hedgehog%20Hazard/id-c7bbc5f44fd64aa0b431a455bd389815

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