Did you catch the Super Bowl? If you did, that makes one of us. Your viewership helped make Super Bowl XLIV the most watched TV show of all time. Estimates are that more than 106 million people watched this coveted professional football game. Yay ball fans!

Venice Carnival 2010: masks and the flight of the angel in pictures

Lifelike Sexy Robot Girlfriend Talks Sports as Well as Having Sex with You

summary by Anne (praiseworthy and tireless) of The Internet Patrol.

The ultimate female robot has just hit the scenes. The Roxxxy robot - (not Roxxy robot or Roxy robot because, you see, "Roxxxy" is triple-X) - is one sexy robot girl. In fact, Roxxxy is a sex robot - which means that as girl robots go she is, well, the ultimate fantasy robot. And, indeed, for some the ultimate fantasy girlfriend. Not only does Roxxxy talk sports, respond to touch, and come with three ... er ... serviceable ports ... but she also sports five distinct personalities, ranging from 'Frigid Farrah' to 'Wild Wendy' (bad robot!) and everything in between - including a 'Mature Martha' and 'S&M Susan' (we kid you not). Want a topless robot? A bottomless robot? Roxxxy can be anything you want her to be!

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Hines says that initially he thought about creating a robotic home health care aide. “But there was tremendous regulatory and bureaucratic paperwork to get through. We were stuck. So I looked at other markets,” explains Hines.

Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, has condemned the US and other industrial economies, holding them responsible for the phenomenon of climate change.

In an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations.

"This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions - whether intentionally or unintentionally - and about the action we must take," bin Laden said.

Graffiti legend Banksy is dipping his toe into the world of film, as his new movie premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.

Described as the world’s first street art disaster movie, Exit Through The Gift Shop made its debut on Sunday.

The film tells the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

Elin Nordegren had been ready to separate from the world’s richest sportsman after reports he had affairs with 19 different women.

But the former Swedish swimwear model is now said to have changed her mind after spending five days with him at a sex addiction rehabilitation centre.

The 30-year-old is believed to be pleased about the efforts that Woods has made to save their marriage.

Radaronline, the US celebrity website, claimed a source said: “She was happy when she came home. Things went well.”

The department has received praise for the hour-long rescue operation, but has also come under criticism for using so many resources.

Mr Ruda said there was no extra cost because the firefighters were on duty and stationed nearby.

The German shepherd, nicknamed Vernon after the southern California town where it was found, was saved when a firefighter dangling from a helicopter grabbed the dog and held tight as they were taken to an overpass. The dog bit the firefighter, who lost a nail and fractured his thumb.

Map of USA Puzzle... THIS IS NEAT

Wonder how a high school senior would do on this one?
See how you do in placing the states of the United States Of America ..

All you do is look at the top of the page and drag'n'drop the state to where it belongs. [Smart map, varies the order of the states' placement with each new try!]

It ain't easy [mostly because placing a state in the precise location when it as yet has no boundaries in place is a bit tricky! No half credit for close but over a tad....]

It was surreal but absolutely fascinating," said the 40-year-old photographer from Bristol. "I wasn't entirely comfortable with it the whole time. As a photographer I am just an observer - I don't have a view point on it and I leave that up to the reader...

Patti Turner with Kyra, in her cheetah-themed bedroom in Indianapolis, Indiana

Our elite Boomer ethos—that America is wrong, that machines are bad, that the Bad Dad who made us go to Vietnam is who America is—gives us cultural expressions like Avatar that sell massively in theaters and video-game consoles alike and inculcate a species of self-loathing.

If stories of heroes are the stuff that keeps cultures going, what we are devouring is another story of a hero who is heroic only in rejecting who we are.

This sort of thinking is distinctive to the post-colonialists of the West. Today’s active colonial powers will have none of that thinking.

WARNING:
EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.
NOT SAFE FOR WORK.
PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED.

Please do not view if explicit language offends you irregardless of how perceptive, timely, appropriate or witty it may be. Thank you.

of course, they may actually HAVE oil - but this was too incisive a commentary to leave unposted...

This guy is fantastic!

For most American teenagers the very thought of sticking together whatever they could find as their prom outfit would be horrific. However, that is exactly what high school students across the States have been doing each summer for the past ten years for Duck-Tape's 'Stuck at Prom' contest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66nqhVtq6xo

Each winter Romeo the black wolf descends from the hills of Alaska's Tongass National Forest to play with domesticated dogs on their winter walks.

For the past six years, wildlife photographer John Hyde has been following the friendly animal. And gaining the huge wolf's trust has allowed him to take these intimate photos.

"I have been following Romeo ever since I heard there was a lone wolf patrolling the surrounding area," revealed the 56-year-old from Juneau, Alaska.

Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and its been used cheaply. He's the product of a series of actions. It's cause and effect ...

Director Oliver Stone's upcoming Showtime documentary miniseries "Secret History of America" promises to put mass murderers such as Stalin and Hitler "in context."

Thanks to the success of downloads, the UK singles market had its best year ever in 2009, with more than 150m copies sold

Here we are. What now?

New Year. New Decade. New Hopes, dreams, expectations. What now? Change we can believe in is just around the next bend so all we have to do is sit here, have a beer and let good things happen. After all, the bowl games are on.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, the country's prime minister, are the subject of a rare spoof in a New Year's cartoon that shows the leaders dancing across Red Square.

Mr Medvedev plays an accordion and turns pirouettes while Mr Putin performs traditional dances while thwacking a tambourine on his bottom.

It may only have been a cartoon, but a two-and-a-half-minute segment broadcast on state television on Friday gently mocking Russia's ruling pair was greeted with surprise by Russians used to stern-faced messages from their leaders.

The Digital Economy Bill, which requires internet service providers (ISPs) to disconnect users who are accused of illegal filesharing, will cost consumers up to £500 million, the Government has estimated.

The Bill, which is expected to become law next year, will add £25 a year to the cost of broadband, according to ISPs. The Government’s impact assessment document [available in PDF form], which examines the likely effects of the Bill, estimates that around 40,000 households will give up their broadband connections entirely to avoid the higher fees.

"Avatar may well be the biggest anti War film of all time. It stands against everything the West is identified with. It is against greed and capitalism, it is against interventionism, it is against colonialism and imperialism, it is against technological orientation, it is against America and Britain. It puts Wolfowitz, Blair and Bush on trial without even mentioning their names. It enlightens the true meaning of ethics as a dynamic judgmental process rather than   fixed moral guidelines (such as the Ten Commandments or the 1948 Human Right Declaration). It throws a very dark light on our murderous tendencies towards other people, their belief and rituals…"

Gilad Atzmon views Joel and Ethan Coen’s film “A serious man”  as “a cinematic allegory of Jewish cultural detachment from nature” and “a masterpiece that elaborates on the abnormalities of the Jewish tribal existence”. It “reflects on Jewish Diaspora life, Jewish segregation and the misery of operating within the kosher tribal template”.

"'A serious man' does not explicitly touch upon issues related to Israel, Zionism, occupation, organ harvesting or anything distinctly identified with the Jewish state... Yet, [it] portrays a clear message regarding Israel and Zionism, for Israel is the Jewish state and, in spite of the Zionist promise to erect a civilized nation, Israel functions as a Jewish ghetto and is subject to all the symptoms of abnormality conveyed by the Coens."

A Serious Man does not explicitly touch upon issues related to Israel, Zionism, occupation, organ harvesting or anything distinctly identified with the Jewish state. It instead reflects on Jewish Diaspora life, Jewish segregation and the misery of operating within the kosher tribal template. It is about Jewish alienation both natural and human. Yet, A Serious Man also portrays a clear message regarding Israel and Zionism, for Israel is the Jewish state and, in spite of the Zionist promise to erect a civilised nation, Israel functions as a Jewish ghetto and is subject to all the symptoms of abnormality conveyed by the Coens.

The 3-D film, which already stood at number one took $75 million (£47 million) during the three days beginning on Dec 25, said its distributor 20th Century Fox.

The film lost just three per cent of its opening-weekend audience as its 10-day total soared to $212.3 million across the US and Canada.

’Tis the season to be jolly, and so I for one am not about to allow the rotten old "prowlers-that-be" to spoil it for me.

Instead, in this Christmas season or – with a few notable qualifications – at any time, we should laugh heartily at the behaviour of those who think they own us and can impose their evil schemes on our lives.

There is a time for everything of course, and it’s worth bearing in mind that striking a bum note with a misplaced snort of disapproval can land even the best of fellows in hot water.

Retiring to Boca Raton might might appeal to some aging Baby Boomers, but what about those planning to retire early – due to sound investments, for instance – or, those who are looking for a little post-career adventure? Whatever your age, retirement should be an opportunity to do all the things that you always wanted to do, but were too busy to try. Perhaps you’ll pursue a neglected hobby or even launch another business but this time from a more exotic locale. From changes in scenery to endless recreation, business tax breaks to huge exchange rate benefits, a number of international locations are well-worth consideration as retirement destinations. For those not yet looking to retire, they make good vacation getaways as well:

Despite one of the bears holding a definite weight advantage, the giant animals grappled and exchanged blows.

But after 15 minutes of combat they seemed happy to call it a draw and went hunting for salmon in a nearby river.

The duel was captured by amateur photographer Scott Cromwell during a bear-spotting trip.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Up In The Air

The claims arise from a longstanding practice of the recording industry in Canada, described in the lawsuit as "exploit now, pay later if at all." It involves the use of works that are often included in compilation CDs (like the top dance tracks of 2009) or live recordings. The record labels create, press, distribute, and sell the CDs, but do not obtain the necessary copyright licences.

A federal judge in Boston today formally signed off on a $675,000 fine that a jury assessed against Boston University doctoral student Joel Tenenbaum for illegally sharing 30 copyrighted songs.

But in an unusual decision, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner expressed "very, very" deep concerns at the "astronomical penalties" available to music companies under copyright laws. Gertner said the court would have been willing to consider Tenenbaum's fair use defense in the case but concluded that the manner in which the arguments were presented by the defense counsel made it all but impossible for her to do so.

This year's biggest-earning film was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, followed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

They helped to drive what has become a bumper year for Hollywood, with earnings set to pass the previous record year of 2007.

The industry is expected to take more than $10 billion (£6 billion) in the US alone. Releases towards the end of the year, including the much-anticipated Avatar, are likely to push the record figure even higher.

The magazine features a photo shop mock up front cover of the two with Woods acting as Mr Obama's caddie as part of an article titled "10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger".

Among the tips, Mr Obama is urged to learn from Woods' image, saying: "Tiger never does anything that would make him ridiculous."

Rescued eight years ago during a police drugs raid in Atlanta, Georgia, the three friends were only cubs at the time and barely two months old.

They had been kept as status symbol pets by the drug barons.

Delivered to the Noah's Ark animal rescue centre in Locust Grove, Georgia, the decision was made to keep the youngsters together.

The exact number of white paper lanterns that floated gently above Carnaval Beach in the capital, Jakarta, late on Saturday was to be determined later on Monday after Guinness World Records officials figured out how many each of the 7,000 participants launched, said Yamal Hasmanan, organiser of Freedom Faithnet Global.

However, it was immediately apparent that the previous mark of 3,682 set in Colombia last Jan, had been shattered.

Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.

But their project stumbled at the first hurdle when they failed to find a single man who had not been seen it.

“We started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography,” said Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse. “We couldn't find any.”

Although hampered in its original aim, the study did examined the habits of those young men who used pornography – which would appear to be all of them.

Prof Lajeunesse interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who consumed pornography, and found on average, they first watched pornography when they were 10 years old.

The US secretary of sate and British Foreign Secretary appeared delighted to find themselves sitting next to each other for a meeting of foreign ministers at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

There were warm greetings, a few laughs and Mrs Clinton appeared charmed by Mr Miliband's witty asides.

Perhaps he was joking about a magazine article last month, in which Mrs Clinton praised his youthful vitality.

Vintage Color Photos of US cities

It is thought to be the first time in the 563 year history of the late Gothic chapel that university students have scaled all four historic spires.

The students behind the prank, which involved about 80ft of vertical climbing, remain unidentified.

College authorities were not amused and arranged for steeplejacks to retrieve the hats using a series of extra long ladders.

America's largest cable television company will merge its assets with NBC Univeral's in a joint venture in which it will hold 51pc. GE, which held 80pc of NBC Universal before the deal, will receive $6.5m in cash and a 49pc stake.

Comcast, which already serves a quarter of all US households that pay for TV, gains control of the NBC broadcast network, the Spanish-language Telemundo and about two dozen cable channels, including USA, Syfy and The Weather Channel. It also would get regional sports networks, Universal Pictures and theme parks.

Europe's ISP industry body has attacked a global copyright agreement, currently being negotiated in secret, that could lead to the disconnection of internet users who are accused of persistent copyright infringement.

The European ISP Association (EuroISPA) said in a statement on Monday that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) threatened the openness of the internet and would not, in any case, be effective in fighting copyright infringement. The organisation also criticised the fact that citizens' representatives are not involved in the negotiations.

We call them the dirty dozen. It’s our laundry list of the germiest places you’re likely to encounter during an average day. Sure, there are outbreaks of microbes and viruses across the country, but these buggers are where you live. In the office, at home, at the gym, on your vacation. “It’s enough to make even the least germophobic person a little worried,” says Dr. Germ, a.k.a. Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. After all, some of these germs lurk where you least expect them, he says: “People are more worried about the trash can than the kitchen sink, when it should be the other way around.”

The internet is under attack by our very own US Government, working on behalf of corporate interests in the entertainment and content industries. What does this mean for you?

1. You can be banned from the internet, fined and even jailed if a copyright holder ACCUSES you of wrongdoing three times. Whether you violated their copyright or not.

2. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will be forced to invest heavily in intrusive monitoring infrastructure. Guess who'll end up covering those costs?

Just kidding.

A pub owner has been fined £8,000 because someone unlawfully downloaded copyrighted material over their open Wi-Fi hotspot, according to the managing director of hotspot provider The Cloud.

It is thought to be the first time in the 563 year history of the late Gothic chapel that scholars have scaled all four spires as the route to the top involves an 80ft external climb.

College authorities have failed to see the funny side of the prank and want the hats removed before the Chapel's Christmas Eve service, which is broadcast to millions around the world.

Released as astronauts on board the International Space Station enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner, The Astronaut’s Cookbook: Tales, Recipes and More tells the secrets of orbital cuisine.

Charles Bourland, author of the cookbook, said: "I always wanted to write a book about space food history. The editors wanted to do a cookbook."

A fun video game for your children to play.

Quentin Tarantino’s "Inglourious Basterds" is the definitive Israeli movie.
The bloodthirsty revenge fantasy of Jewish soldiers crushing German skulls with baseball bats and scalping dying Nazis has been a big hit here since its release in mid-September and, unusually, has been reviewed in every big newspaper or magazine.

If the show was to be censored for the West Coast broadcast, it would amount to "discrimination", he added, mentioning the famous MTV awards show in which Britney Spears and Madonna shared a kiss. "I don't mean to get political but Madonna, Britney and Christina weren't edited. It's a shame. Female entertainers have been risque for years. Honestly, there's a huge double standard."

Last week, when Hillary Clinton described our very own foreign secretary David Miliband as “tall and dashing”, British womenfolk could be forgiven for scratching their heads in bemusement. The US Secretary of State explained her attraction in an interview with American Vogue. “If you saw him,” she swooned, “it would be a big crush. I mean, he is so vibrant, vital, attractive and smart.” What, the lanky, grinning geek with an uncanny resemblance to Brains from Thunderbirds? The same David Miliband who was once snapped gurning with a banana? Whatever floats your love boat, Hillary…

Look hard enough, and you can probably find any TV show episode or movie under the sun—even those that are still in theaters—with a BitTorrent client. The quality can be hit or miss, though, and, well, the legality is questionable, to say the least. Or you could tune in over-the-air television, even in HD, with a PC that's equipped with a TV tuner. Also game consoles like PS3 and Xbox offer video content you can rent or buy. You can even watch many of your favorite shows right on the networks' Web sites. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Aaron Patzer of Mint.com

Aaron Patzer launched Mint.com as a user-friendly alternative to Quicken and other personal-finance software out there. Little did he know that just two years later, Intuit, which makes Quicken, would fork over $170 million for his website. So how'd he do it?

Falling out can be a costly business. It's very easy to get along with people. Simply be nice to them and smile regularly.

Actually it's not quite that simple, because although this approach works for ninety percent of the time, it doesn't take into account people's tremendous capacity to get upset about things.

Your ISP, if Net Neutrality disappears

The 35-year-old from Dry Ridge, Kentucky, USA, suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes brittle bones and underdeveloped lungs, and means she failed to grow.

Now Mrs Herald, who uses a wheelchair, and her husband Will, who is 5ft 9ins, are awaiting the birth of their third child, due in the next four weeks.

The National Lottery celebrates its 15th anniversary this month. Since it was set up it, has created more than 2,300 millionaires and raised £23 billion for good causes.

The three largest jackpots won in the UK so far are all from the Euromillions game. They went to Mrs Kelly, who won £35,425,411.80 in August 2007; a "no-publicity winner" the same month who received £26,533,767.50; and Brian Caswell of Bolton, who banked £24,951,269.40, in June this year.

This was not only the largest acquisition the "Sage of Omaha" had pulled off in his 44 years running Berkshire Hathaway, but also a solid, operating investment with real profits, real cashflows and, Buffett argued, a real future.

Or so it seemed. Within hours, the hastily-compiled deal to buy America's second-largest railway company began to be questioned.

H Ross Perot Jr is a successful businessman in his own right, having made a fortune from property development in Texas, and is chairman of Perot Systems, which was bought by Dell in a £2.4 billion deal in September.

Mr Perot went white rhino shooting in July in the Mkhuze game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal.

But the rhino he shot only suffered a flesh wound before fleeing across the savannah. Efforts to follow the animal and track it over the next two days failed.

Cha Sa-soon has passed the written exam required for a driver's license after hundreds of failed attempts over the past four years

The aspiring driver spent more than 5 million won (£2,500) sitting the written exam almost daily since April 2005 but until this week had failed to score the minimum 60 out of a possible 100 points needed to get behind the wheel for a driving test.

A citizen is so tired of his country’s copyright laws he has reported himself to an anti-piracy group. In his written confession, the ‘pirate’ admits to copying more than one hundred purchased movies and TV shows for his own use – legal in Denmark – but breaking DRM on the same is an act forbidden under Danish law.

To grow money, you have to know money. And to know money, you need to study it: Its movements, who’s making it (and why), who takes it away, how to keep it, and how to grow your personal stash.