Jan 27
This February On 'Dr. Phil' (VIDEO)
Posted in: Today's ChiliDon’t miss these exciting all-new shows airing in February on Dr. Phil. Click here to see more.
Jan 27
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Seeks To Reassure Critics Of Controversial 'State-Run News Outlet'
Posted in: Today's ChiliNEW YORK — When the Indianapolis Star broke the news Monday night that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a possible 2016 Republican contender, was planning to launch a “state-run news outlet” to compete against local media outlets, journalists widely took umbrage on Twitter over an idea that seemed more likely to come out of an authoritarian country than a Midwestern state.
Indiana journalists took particular offense at the idea of taxpayer dollars funding a service that would publish reports presumably favorable to Pence’s administration, under the guise of authentic news stories. (Monday’s report indicated that the outlet will be helmed by former Indianapolis Star reporter Bill McCleery.)
“Every professional journalist in Indiana should join me in denouncing Gov. Pence’s state-run ‘news service,” Indianapolis Star investigative reporter John Russell tweeted Monday night. And the paper’s opinion editor Tim Swarens urged Pence on Tuesday to “do the right thing and pull the plug on this horrible, terrible, really no-good idea.”
Now, amid the rising backlash, Pence may be backtracking on his plans for the news service, called Just IN.
Matthew Tully, a political columnist at the Star, suggested Monday night that Pence didn’t grasp the First Amendment. “When creating our government, our founders put freedom of the press into the constitution,” Tully wrote. “Right there in the First Amendment. Now Pence is acting as if he thinks the press should be our government.”
Pence apparently heard the criticism: The governor called Tully on Tuesday morning and walked back his administration’s plans for Just IN.
Tully tweeted that Pence had vowed to make sure Just IN was “just a clearinghouse” for news releases. (Pence himself said in a Monday night tweet that Just IN would be merely a spruced-up version of the Indiana state government’s current calendar of press releases).
The columnist told The Huffington Post that his impression after speaking to Pence was that the governor is not planning to go forward with the version of the news service that had triggered criticism from journalists. Tully also noted that Pence told him “he had little knowledge of what the staffers were working on.”
Kara Brooks, press secretary for Pence, did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Tully, Pence also made clear his “strong affection for a free and independent press.”
Pence, a former talk show host, has been more vocal than many politicians on the issue of press freedom. He has pushed for shield laws to protect journalists from being compelled in court to reveal confidential sources. And when he represented Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pence was a staunch opponent of the Fairness Doctrine. The doctrine, before it was struck down in 1987, allowed the government more control over political speech on the airwaves. “The American people cherish freedom, especially freedom of speech and of the press,” Pence said in 2011, following calls by some Democrats to consider reinstating the Fairness Doctrine. Such regulation, Pence said, “would amount to government control over political views expressed on the public airways.”
But even though Pence has made these supportive comments, it’s not surprising that he, like most politicians, would consider ways to outflank the traditional press corps. These days, politicians can go directly to constituents and voters through social media, and cut out state political reporters by turning to talk radio hosts or partisan bloggers who are likely to be more sympathetic. The Obama White House has circumvented Washington reporters over the years by breaking news on Twitter, detailing policy initiatives on on whitehouse.gov, and, recently, publishing the State of the Union address in full on Medium.com and giving three YouTube stars access to the president.
But what Pence’s administration was planning, according to Monday’s report, would go beyond simply bypassing the media filter. Rather, Just IN would be a media competitor — one with an inside track to the governor and a pro-administration agenda.
In the Indianapolis Star report, Tom LoBianco reported that the outlet would “break news” — which goes beyond Pence’s description of a service that just published press releases. LoBianco also reported that “one target audience for the governor’s stories would be smaller newspapers that have only a few staffers.”
Such a strategy, while anathema to many journalists, could be effective. The Indiana press corps, like those in statehouses around the country, has diminished in recent years as newspapers have either shuttered or scaled back resources in response to declining print revenues.
Mary Beth Schneider, who worked at the Indianapolis Star for 35 years and spent much of that time covering the state government, told HuffPost on Tuesday that there were probably three times as many reporters in the statehouse when she started covering the legislature in 1991. Schneider, who left the paper last year, expressed concerns that some smaller Indiana publications, which don’t have a reporter in the statehouse or can’t afford news wires like The Associated Press, would consider running state-generated articles.
“There will be a temptation to pick up these so-called new stories,” she said. “They’re not news. They’re press releases.”
Jan 27
These Dogs Are Not Very Good At Making Snow Angels, But Bless Their Hearts For Trying
Posted in: Today's ChiliEveryone loves a snow day and dogs are no exception.
Check out this video of New York Instagram pups doing their best to make four-legged snow angels in the fluffy white goodness left by Monday night’s snow storm.
These would-be huskies may not get the form quite right, but we’ll still give them high marks for enthusiasm and adorableness.
Jan 27
Be prepared for dropped jaws, kids.
1. Sea of Stars on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives
photo: Doug Perinne
2. Antelope Canyon in Arizona, United States
photo: Laura Grier
3. Cave of Crystals, Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico
photo: Adventure Medicine
4. Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia
photo: PlanetDen.com
5. Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine
photo: pinterest
6. Ice Canyon, Greenland
photo: NextTripTourism.com
7. Waitomo Glowworm Caves, North Island, New Zealand
photo: psu.edu
8. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia
photo: BePic.net
9. Red Beach, Panjin, China
10. Zhangye Danxia landform in Gansu, China
11. Lake Retba, Senegal
12. Pamukkale in Turkey
13. Tosua Pool, Samoa
14. Ice Cave in Skaftafell, Iceland
15. Tianzi Mountains, China
Where are you hoping to travel to in 2015?
—
Find daily updates + photos + motivation here on my instagram: @greaseandglamour
This article was originally posted on GreaseandGlamour.com.
With love,
Jinna
Jan 27
And, we’re off to the races!
The spring real estate market in D.C. is about to be in full swing. What spring market conditions would be like was anyone’s guess since leading up to the holidays was just one long coma. Listings were sparse. Buyers were few. Time of death was called sometime in early November.
Markets typically reset themselves after a long hiatus like the holidays. It’s sort of like being in the middle of a heated discussion when the phone rings and you have to take the call. When you hang up, you can’t just pick up where you left off. You have to regroup. (I am suddenly reminded of when I was a kid and my friends and I would laugh at how our mothers could be screaming at us one minute and then “RIING,” followed by them taking a deep breath and purring “hello” like they were was mid-massage.) It’s like that with real estate. The calendar dictates that the market is due for a break and the flavor undoubtedly changes when it resumes. Some emotionally spent buyers may decide to find alternate living arrangements and some new hopefuls arrive on the scene.
As long as D.C. isn’t battling an Arctic Freeze a la January 2014, the majority of home buyers and sellers get busy on January 2nd, thereby kicking off the spring market. The rest of the holdouts get on board the Monday after the Super Bowl when they sober up. Listings hit the market with a fury and buyers are out pounding the sidewalks looking for their new home. This year so far has been no different.
I was especially curious to see what would happen this spring since the market really winded down to a close in the fall. Listings that we all thought would sell immediately last fall languished on the market for weeks, sometimes months. We were not sure if this was a sign of things to come but in many ways it was a welcome change. Perhaps the playing field would level a bit more for buyers and sellers.
As I began to see the new listings with clients, we all quickly got a taste for what was next. The first offer I wrote for a client in 2015 was one of 15 others. My client had a decent escalation and a substantial down payment and still, we were told that my client’s offer was near the end of the pack. The next offer was also one of several – many of which kept sneaking in after the deadline. Yikes. Someone pass the corkscrew.
I’m an agent who is all about getting clients a good deal; I love when people pay below list price. I even tell them this in our first meeting. But sadly, that strategy isn’t going to work this spring. It’s all about getting the house the client wants, and if that means going in with an offer that is list price or above, well, shoot. I’m sorry. I didn’t write the rules for this game but I’m adjusting my model to live by it so my clients aren’t left with nothing.
The forecast is this: Sellers can still enjoy multiple offers if they price their home properly. But that’s the key – pricing properly. It’s still tough to convince some sellers that 10 – 20% annual price appreciation was a fluke in 2013. If your neighbor sold for $500,000 in October 2014, you are NOT getting $550,000 now. It’s better to price at or slightly below market value and have multiple offers from which to choose. Too high a price won’t elicit offers. Sellers often have a hard time understanding this though until they see it in action.
For buyers? When something is new to the market and priced well, they should know what’s coming because they’ve seen this show before, right? It will go over asking and it will go quickly. This means you need to have your lender lined up, your documents ready to go, and your checkbook in hand. If you like a property, you need to move fast or someone else will.
Melissa has been in the Real Estate Industry for 14 years and is a Realtor® with City Chic Real Estate in Washington, D.C.
Jan 27
Hurray for mindful breathing practices! Yoga based breath practices like this one from Sharon Salzberg are a great way to bring mindfulness to work. Unobtrusive and highly effective, these ancient practices are just right for mindfully managing your work experience. Really — yoga based practices can be easily used to invigorate, calm or harmonize mind and body throughout the day.
For example, if you find yourself snoozing during a conference call (during which you are NOT multi-tasking, right?) try a three-part inhalation breath pattern like the Breath of Joy, this practice is based on yoga pranayama that energizes the body. Take three short inhales, filling the lungs from the bottom up, and exhale with some “ooph,” releasing the breath completely before repeating with three more short inhales. Don’t overdue (no more than three rounds), but notice how this practice increases mental clarity.
If you find yourself feeling a challenged by information or activity overload, try an extended exhalation practice like The Wave Breath: Take a nice full inhale, and as you exhale feel the breath wash down the front of the body, pooling at the feet and then seeping into the ground. Notice how restful and calming this pranayama pattern feels.
More sophisticated practices like alternate nostril breathing can be used to balance the internal energy of the body, subtly cooling or heating. Although yoga based breath practices are easy ways to mindfully connect to the present moment throughout the day, remember that the breath is intimately connected to your nervous system. Bring full awareness to any breath related practices and don’t overdue.
Jan 27
These Sad Snowmen Remind Us How Much Of A Letdown This Week's Snow Storm Was
Posted in: Today's ChiliDo you want to build a snowman?
For much of the Northeast, the “potentially historic” snow storm was a bit of a letdown, dropping far less than the two to three feet predicted. So maybe we can forgive these poor, unfortunate snow creatures below for their lack of substance, because there really wasn’t much snow to use.
Take a look at some of the saddest snowmen to come out of this week’s storm below, and send us your photos on social media @HuffPostGreen and on Facebook using the hashtag #HuffPostSnow.
My snowman lol ⛄️ pic.twitter.com/9tZwprC58W
— Stephenie (@steph_bomb99) January 27, 2015
This is our snowman, #Juno. pic.twitter.com/q7OXrq9XFm
— Joan Colbert McGrath (@joancmcgrath) January 27, 2015
@amNewYork not quite enough❄️for a grown snowman⛄️but our ‘hood is the #Snowmageddon2015 spirit! #amnysnow #tribeca pic.twitter.com/vnxiMJ95SL
— marzi daoust (@marZbarZnyc) January 27, 2015
Jan 27
Moment Creates An iPhone Case And App To Help Mobile Photographers Take Better Pictures
Posted in: Today's Chili
Mobile lens startup Moment has spent the last year trying to help smartphone users take beautiful photos. It got started with a couple of interchangeable lenses that could be mounted onto iPhone and Android phones. Now the company is looking to create a more complete system for mobile photographers who capture images with their phones. That includes the release of a new Moment case for… Read More
Jan 27
Devices can’t get thinner for a few reasons. While a lighter, thinner battery would be amazing, screens still take up a lot of gadget real estate, a fact that is mitigated slightly by e-ink and other “flat” displays. Now, however, researchers are turning to Quantum Dot displays, screens that use light-emitting nanocrystals to display multiple colors in a screen that is… Read More
Jan 27
Apple has a new partnership in place with USA Technologies that will help it accept Apple Pay at approximately 200,000 in-use self-serve payment terminals, 9to5Mac reports. The roll-out will bring Apple Pay to coffee machines, snack dispensers, laundromats, goods kiosks, amusement part ticket machines, car wastes, transit ticket and taxi terminals and more. USA Technologies has a list of… Read More
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