Imminent

The one thing that will allow your business to get funded, or to get a business to business buyer to buy from you or a college to admit you is the sense that your success is imminent.
If it's a foregone conclusion that you're going to break out, that all systems are go, then only an idiot wouldn't jump on board.
So, the real question is: what signals indicate that your success is imminent?
The brilliant venture capitalists are the guys who invest their money months or years before everyone else realizes how imminent the success is. They have better radar than the rest of us. Your job as a marketer or entrepreneur is to amplify the signals that buyers and investors look for. Spend your money on the right stuff, ignore the rest. If you try to market and spend on every element of your story, you'll be merely average. If, on the other hand, you can focus on which signals represent an imminent success, the leverage kicks in.
Simple old-school example: In 1984, I drove across the country from California to Boston to take a summer job at Spinnaker Software. As I drove through Chicago I passed a billboard for the company. Incredible! This little startup already had billboards across the entire country.
A few months later I found out that they had exactly one billboard, located between the airport and the convention center, put up just in time for the Consumer Electronics Show. For the buyers flying in from Minnesota or Texas, this was was one more clue that the company was about to hit it big.

Oksana Grigorieva PICTURES!

PHOTOS! Here again are pictures Oksana Grigorieva, confirmed Mel Gibson’s girlfriend. Is she pregnant? Oksana Grigorieva and Mel Gibson were broke first by LALATE in an exclusive in early April. Last night Gibson and Grigorieva made it officially, showing up at the premiere of X -Men Origins: Wolverine together.

Earlier this month, LALATE reported exclusively that, while PEOPLE claims Oksana Grigorieva’s former agent informed them Oksana Grigorieva is the woman photographed on a Costa Rica beach with Mel Gibson, the same person is in fact Oksana Grigorieva’s current agent / manager according to their company’s website.
The appearance by the two last night is in stark contrast to a statement by the actor just days ago:
“Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so”.
Access Hollywood claims Oksana has dated Gibson for three years and is now pregnant. Reports had claimed that Mel Gisbon has purchased a Sherman Oaks home just before New Years where Oksana and her son (with former James Bond Timothy Dalton) are now living.

Deadline: Dems will nuke filibuster if health-care reform doesn’t pass by October 15

They want this to be bipartisan, of course, the same way they wanted the stimulus to be “bipartisan” — i.e. the GOP getting little in return for voting yes and thereby giving the left political cover in case the program stinks — but they’re not going to wait forever. If there’s no deal by October 15, they’ll invoke “reconciliation” and push it through with a simple majority in the Senate. They’ve got the votes and, evidently, the political will. Nothing left to do now except wait and watch the inevitable decline of American health care.
The reonciliation instruction specifies a date. That date, according to one congressional staffer, is October 15. (The original House reconciliation instruction had a late September deadline.)
In other words, the House and Senate each have until that day to pass health care legislation.
If they haven’t, then both houses will consider health care under the reconciliation process, which is relevant primarily for the way it affects the Senate. There will be a limit on the time of debate. Republicans won’t be able to filibuster it.
So there’s still a chance for bipartisanship, which is what both Obama and Democratic leaders want–or, at least, what they say they want. But if bipartisanship doesn’t work, then Dems can pass this on their own. They won’t even need Ben Nelson.
The GOP is threatening to make life hell for Reid procedurally if they follow through on this, but as David Freddoso explains, there’s not much they can do to stop it. Read his whole post; it’s a valuable primer on “reconciliation,” a topic we’re all going to become very familiar with as this debate gets going. Using it to bust the filibuster is actually an abuse of what it was intended for, but then the same could be said of the filibuster itself. Exit quotation from Paul Ryan: “This takes mission creep to a whole new level. Now they’re talking about the possible nationalization of 17 percent of our economy in health care, 8 percent of the economy in energy, and the largest tax increase in history — all through a process which will have between 35 and 105 total hours of debate between the House and the Senate . . . That’s an enormous power grab.”

American Idol Rat Pack Week Odds – Who to bet on

American Idol Rat Pack night goes live on Tuesday; the latest odds to win American Idol will tell us who is most likely to go home and who we shall bet on.
First of all let’s understand what is Rat Pack. The Rat Pac was a legendary group of jazz singers that included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
This Week theme will make things even harder to predict despite the American Idol odds continue to indicate Adam Lambert as strong favorite to be crowned winner of American Idol, his current odds to win sitting at – 350 at Bookmaker.com.
At this price you would win $35 for every $100 bet on Adam should he end up winning this season of American Idol.
Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai were the latest to be axed from American Idol after this week’s disco-themed round. They were joined in the bottom three by Allison Iraheta, who managed to be spared (once again).
Allison’s odds to win American Idol plunged from +1600 last week to the current price of +1800. This means that you could win $1,800 for every $100 bet on her should she end up winning the competition.
Betting on American Idol is extremely simple. Click here to go to Bookmaker.com, follow the easy sign up procedure and your wagering account will be up and running in minutes.
Betting online is fun but it is of paramount importance to know you will get paid if you win. In the case of Bookmaker.com this won’t be the issue, given their two decades of stellar reputation.
According to odds makers Matt Giraud is the most likely competitor to get the boot from American Idol this week. His odds to win are currently sitting at +2000.
Danny Gokey (+275) and Kris Allen (+1000) odds stand for the best value, betting wise.
Danny’s odds considerably sharpened from last week. His odds to win the competition before Disco Night were sitting at +350 but his price now is +275.
He is still the best value out there, potentially paying $275 for each $100 bet on his odds to win American Idol at Bookmaker.com.
Kris Allen odds also shortened from +1400 last week to the current price of +1000. He remains an underdog and probably the longest long shot but he could do wonder should he win.
Math comes to fruition at this stage of the competition. Let’s say you have $500 to invest betting on American Idol.
First of all click here to go to Bookmaker.com, follow the easy sign up procedure and your wagering account will be up and running in minutes.
Deposit your $500 and get your $100 (20%) sign up bonus.
The place your bets as follows: $400 on Adam Lambert at -350; $150 on Danny Gokey at +275; $50 on Kris Allen.
What could happen is this. If Adam wins you will get $400 (your original bet) + $140. If Danny wins you will get $150 + $412.50. If Kris wins you will get $50 + $500.
In any of the three cases you will not lose your money but only a small portion of the bonus whilst winning a little bit of cash, anywhere between $40 and $62.50.

JAMAICAN ATHLETES TO BE FETED AT PENN RELAYS 2009 THIS WEEKEND

Directors of Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) say they are ready to roll out the red carpet for the full contingent of athletes, coaches and other officials attending the 115th staging of the Penn Relays Carnival in Track & Field Athletics in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this weekend.

The three days, weekend spectacle involving age group competition in track and field athletics, will be staged at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Field. Top draw is expected to be in the Olympic Development category with runners looking for places on their national teams to the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, in August this year.

Speaking with JIS News/New York, President of TJB, Irwin Clare said that this will be a special year for the organization he helped to establish in 1994. “Patrons attending the TJB tent will know that we are celebrating our fifteen anniversary, a proud milestone achievement, I must say, and some very important persons from the government and private sector will be passing through to help the celebrations from Thursday through Saturday.”

Senator, Dr. Ronald Robinson, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, will wrap up his official tour of the northeast USA at the sports meet. Another guest of TJB will be Douglas Orane, Chairman/CEO of GraceKennedy Limited, title sponsors of Jamaica’s national scholastic – Boys’ & Girls’ championships. Co-Founder Blane Stoddart of the Philadelphia Host Committee noted that despite the global financial stalemate, TJB was committed to providing the full hospitality menu for upwards of three hundred persons. “Many of the student athletes and schools do not have the resources to make it to the Penn Relays, they need our help.” Stoddart said that a series of ‘anniversary fundraisers’ fell short of projections and that persons or companies wishing to contribute, can do say at www.teamjamaicabickle.com/donate.html This year’s calendar included an island brunch at the Parish House, Philadelphia, on March 28; an awards reception in New York City on April 15; Philadelphia, April 16; Hartford, April 17; a Restaurant Night at Blue Bananas Café, Philadelphia, on April 17, and a Thanksgiving Church Service at the New Testament Church of God, Philadelphia, on April 19, 2009. The schedule concludes with an award presentation ceremony at the conclusion of the relay competition on Saturday evening, April 25, at the TJB Exhibition Tent.

Music City Marathon

Yesterday morning, 30,714 runners and walkers participated in the Music City Marathon in Nashville. Of those, 5,652 ran the full marathon, while the remaining 25,000+ did the half marathon. The runners started the race in "corrals," meaning they were grouped with other runners and all members of a particular corral started at the same time. There were 32 corrals, and the last ones started the race over an hour after the elite runners (in the first corral) began. The winner of the half marathon ran it in just over one hour, and the winners of the marathon ran the race in 2 hours 14 minutes (men) and 2 hours 30 minutes (women).

Featured Turks and Caicos real estate investment opportunity

Established 22 room hotel on 6.19 hilltop acres with spectacular views in Turtle Cove offered for sale. Amenities include swimming pool fitness / physiotherapy centre and tennis courts.

News, Notes and Penguins Hockey Buzzcast Tonight @ 8:00pm EST

Happy Monday, from a dreary, rainy day in Pittsburgh, where it certainly isn’t feeling Spring-like! In fact, I actually saw several cars with snow on them this morning, which isn’t what you would expect when you glance at the calendar to see only 6 games remaining in the Penguins regular season.

Weather aside, the Penguins are in a nice position with four of those six games coming against teams that are behind them in the standings. (Canadiens, Lightning, Islanders, Panthers) The remaining two see the Penguins facing the Devils and Hurricanes. I can live with that schedule and if the Penguins play their best hockey, there is no reason that the fourth seed in the conference isn’t an attainable goal. In fact, the Flyers, who only days ago held three games in hand on the Penguins, are only two points ahead with one in hand.

Home ice during the first round of the playoffs, which looked impossible six weeks ago, is sitting on the table. It will come down to who can win more games over the last two weeks…Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Sure, Carolina is in the way, but you would think that if the Penguins can beat them on Saturday they would put them in the rear view.

Overall, the Penguins utilized the last month and a half to put themselves in position to achieve a lot of the pre-season goals that seemed to have fallen by the wayside and that is something that this group should be very proud of.

As I announced last week, the Penguins Hockey Buzzcast will return this evening at 8:00pm. We obviously have a lot to discuss, including the Penguins dash to the playoffs, the fact that the Penguins might be the biggest trade deadline winner this season and much more… We may even discuss the fact the Alex May and his 2 goal outburst led Team Ram Rod to a 3-0 Championship victory this weekend. Who says Evgeni Malkin is the only MVP candidate in Pittsburgh! Hopefully you can all be there!

oh baby you, you got what I need

Oh baby you, you got what I need. But you say he's just a friend, but you say he's just a friend. OH BABY, YOUUU! You got what I nee-eeed!You got what I need is available on t-shirts, ringer tees, stickers & more.

Mohegan Sun Slot Revenue Drops In March, Rises Slightly At Foxwoods

Slot revenue at Mohegan Sun plunged 15 percent in March compared with a year earlier, while revenue at its rival, Foxwoods Resort Casino, rose marginally, the two casinos reported Wednesday.But revenue has been rising steadily at both Indian casinos this year after regular declines in 2008. That means more money for the state, which gets 25 percent of each casino's monthly slot winnings.Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan tribe and located in Montville, reported $65.5 million in revenue from slot machine gamblers in March, down 15 percent from the same month a year earlier, when it reported $76.7 million.The casino's winnings represent 8.49 percent of the $772 million that gamblers fed into slot machines during the month. The state's take comes to $16.4 million.
Foxwoods, owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and located near Ledyard, reported slot revenue of $61.6 million in March, a 1.3 percent increase from a year ago, when it reported $60.8 million. The state gets $15.4 million. Foxwoods' winnings represent 8.6 percent of the $714.4 million bet.The decrease at Mohegan Sun was among its most precipitous of the past year. Chief Executive Mitchell Etess attributed it to the casino's reduced marketing budget, a cost-cutting measure, and fewer live entertainment performances compared with the previous March. The performances draw people to the casinos.He also cited a loss of market share to Foxwoods, which last May opened a $700 million expansion, MGM Grand at Foxwoods."We're not surprised that they've narrowed the gap, frankly," Etess said.He also said that slot revenue in March 2008 was especially high, exaggerating the apparent severity of the contrast with March 2009.

Obama Washingtonian Magazine: Obama Shirtless

Some call him ‘President Beefcake’. Others just call the upcoming Washingtonian Magazine cover, showing a shirtless Barack Obama, embarrassing. Read more about it below, see photos and a video.
Forget Chavez, Ortega, and Ahmedinejad. And remember those two war zones? Iraq and, and, and…
Apparently, the American people are more interested in seeing Barack Obama shirtless. Because with the arrival of the Obamas in Washington, came a ‘celebrity aspect that has brought energy to the city and the attention of the paparazzi.’ This is all according to Garrett Graff, editor-at-large at The Washingtonian magazine, a monthly style/culture publication.

Saint Louis Review: New Layout, New Website

The Saint Louis Review, the Archdiocese of Saint Louis' weekly publication for more than half a decade, has received a major redesign in both its print and website layouts.Editor Teak Phillips writes: "This week marks a huge leap for the St. Louis Review, the official publication of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Not only have we launched our first redesign in more than 10 years, we have completed a major overhaul of our online edition, stlouisreview.com. For more than 60 years, the St. Louis Review, originally the St. Louis Register, was published as a broadsheet, the traditional newspaper format. Over the years, the way people read the news has changed. Switching to a tabloid will allow us to adapt to that change."Bishop Robert J. Hermann writes: "The role of the St. Louis Review is to help us connect with Jesus Christ and grow in our relationship with him in his Church. That is our role and that is our goal, and you can help us meet the challenge. All of us want our hearts burning inside of us as we read the St. Louis Review and see the wonderful things our Lord is doing within us and within the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The Lord Jesus Christ wants the St. Louis Review to be throbbing with his life."

They Are Among Us

"They Are Among Us" is a chilling film about a boy who is more than what he seems. The film has some great creature effects and cool make-up, along with the fact that Michael Maples is hot hot hot and I would die to look like Hunter Tyler. My brother drooled like the creature in the film over her. I think the actor who plays old chuck is great. He can change his personality so totally in just the turn of his read hat. Its amazing. I think its really sad he passed away. But that why movies are so cool. This way we can remember him forever. And I think this was his last movieThis movie is perfect for a rainy night when you just want to stay in and get scared. And its the kind of film where every time you want it you can notice more layers. Check it out, the performances are strong and the effects are cool.

Juno mcgruff favorite bands

Juno is a 2007 Canadian-American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman also star. Filming spanned from early February to March 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The film premiered on September 8 at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and earned three other Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Page. The film's soundtrack, featuring several songs performed by Kimya Dawson in various guises, was the first number one soundtrack since Dreamgirls and 20th Century Fox's first number one soundtrack since Titanic. Juno earned back its initial budget of $6.5 million in twenty days; during the first nineteen of which the film was in limited release.The film has gone on to earn more than 35 times that amount, becoming the highest grossing movie in distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures's history. Juno received numerous positive reviews from critics, many of whom placed the film on their top ten lists for the year. The film has also received both criticism and praise from members of both the pro-life and pro-choice communities regarding its treatment of abortion. Juno, when asked to name her favorite band, says "a three-way tie between The Stooges, Patti Smith and The Runaways," none of which were on the soundtrack for the movie.

4chan

4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards are primarily used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime. Users generally post anonymously and the site has been linked to internet subcultures and activism, most notably Project Chanology.
4chan users have been responsible for the formation and/or popularization of Internet memes such as lolcats, rickrolling, and "Chocolate Rain". The site's "/b/" board is by far its most popular and notorious. It is known as the "random" board in which there are minimal rules on posted content. Gawker.com once claimed in jest that "reading /b/ will melt your brain".
Users of 4chan and other websites "raided" Hal Turner by launching DDoS attacks and prank calling his phone-in radio show during December 2006 and January 2007. The attacks caused Turner's website to go offline. This cost thousands of dollars of bandwidth bills according to Turner. In response, Turner sued 4chan, 7chan, and other websites; however, he lost his plea for an injunction and failed to receive letters from the court.
KTTV Fox 11 aired a report on Anonymous, calling them a group of "hackers on steroids", "domestic terrorists", and collectively an "Internet hate machine" on July 26, 2007.
Slashdot founder Rob Malda posted a comment made by another Slashdot user, Miang, stating that the story focused mainly on users of "4chan, 7chan and 420chan". Miang claimed that the report "seems to confuse /b/ raids and motivational poster templates with a genuine threat to the American public", arguing that the "unrelated" footage of a van exploding shown in the report was to "equate anonymous posting with domestic terror".

Tea-Baggers In West Virginia

Here's the local paper's summary of the cause:
Joseph, a regular Republican candidate for the House of Delegates, rattled off a list of taxes Americans pay. State income tax. "No more!" chanted hundreds of protesters from a crowd of umbrellas and American flags. Sales tax: "No more!" Gasoline tax: "No more!"
So a protest against government debt actually proposes abolition of several major revenue streams ... and no spending cuts. If you want to know what's wrong with the right, you'd be hard put to express it more acutely. Then there's the agenda in the crowd:
Ralliers held signs saying, "Mr. President, Stop Stealing from My Piggy Bank" and "Revolution is Brewing." Other signs said "Imagine No Liberals," "Obama: One Big Awful Mistake America," "We are a Christian Nation," and "Read 'Atlas Shrugged.'" One man held a flag picturing an assault rifle that said "Come and Take it."
The rally ended with a prayer where the Rev. Brandon Hudson asked God to help West Virginia add a marriage amendment to its state constitution.