Goodbye!!

I'M MOVING!!

(Just to another site)

Well, this semester was definitely one for the books. I had so much fun with this blog! I hope you enjoyed reading everything on here these past few months. I'm continuing blogging, just not on here. I might add the, "Did You Hear?" aspects on my personal blogging page on Tumblr (rachrams) every once and a while.

I'm heading across the pond to study abroad for the upcoming semester, if you're interested I'll be updating regularly! (Cheers From London) <---...trying out the competition, Blogger ;)

Goodbye all! Thanks for reading!!

Metrodome Collapse Footage

Did you hear about the metrodome collapsing?

Here's the footage:



(Game has been postponed to Detroit at 7pm tomorrow night...Vikings vs Giants)

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Parents On Facebook: To Friend Or Not To Friend.

Did you hear about parents being friends with their children on Facebook?

I, for one, am not. My mom's philosophy of, "I'm your mother, not your friend" is fine by me. Look at this chart found on Mashable.com to determine whether you should or should not be friends with your parent:

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Yet Another Reason to Love Twitter

Did you hear that you can have a secret santa through Twitter?


Mashable.com reported the story of signing up through your account to do a secret santa with either your followers or people you follow! You just sign up, fill out a survey of questions like your favorite color, and you find your match on Dec 13th! (Deadline to sign up is tomorrow)

...Kind of nervous to see if this leads to any sketchy, dangerous online meet ups that everyone is supposed to be avoiding.

Crossing my fingers that it doesn't.













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How The World Googled in 2010

Did you hear the results are in about our 2010 top Google searches?

Watch this:

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Winklevoss Twins: Now They're Suing, Now They're Not?

Did you hear that the Winklevoss Twins (The Social Media) are filing another lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg?

Mashable.com said that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were reportedly suing Mark Zuckerberg again for Facebook, because apparently the first time he lied about it's worth. Update on the claim from Facebook's PR representative in the UK:

“There is no new litigation between Facebook and the Winklevosses. The only recent litigation activity is when the Winklevosses recently lost their malpractice action against their former law firm, Quinn Emmanuel. The filings referred to in the Daily Mail and other articles are simply the filings by Facebook and the Winklevosses in the Winklevosses’ now two-year old, thus far unsuccessful, attempt to undo their 2008 agreement to settle the parties’ dispute.”

So...there goes that. The twins got $65 million from the first settlement and that is all they're getting/asking for, for now.

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Operation Payback

Did you hear about the group of anonymous hackers to companies not offering services to Wikileaks?

The group has been hacking into and shutting down main sites of companies, people or organizations that don't support the Wikileaks site or its founder, Julian Assange. "Operation payback", or, AnonOps, has reportedly targeted Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Swiss Bank Post Finance, Amazon, Joe Lieberman and Sarah Palin so far.




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World Cup 2018 & 2022: And The Winner Is...

Did you hear about and hosting the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups?

Just as a refresher, 2014 (20th edition of World Cup) is in Brazil.

Official emblem for Brazil 2014 FIFA

2018 (21st edition of World Cup): RUSSIAvs England vs Belgium-Netherlands vs Spain-Portugal

2022 (22nd edition of World Cup): USA vs Australia vs South Korea vs QATAR vs Japan

Watching the live video stream was intense. Delaying the announcement by 30 mins added even more anxiety to the world awaiting the announcements.

The last time the US hosted a FIFA World Cup was in 1994, and sadly it seems it it staying that way for at least 16 more years.

How does FIFA choose? Each country makes presentation to 22 FIFA voting members. The members visit each of the sites to confirm that the bidding country meets the requirements to host the event. (stadium, transportation system, etc) The candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority. If there was a tie, FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter has the deciding vote.

Full list of the voting members here.

GO WORLD!



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Grammy Nominations 2010

Did you hear about this year's Grammy Nominations?


This list is straight up from Perezhilton.com, but I figured it was just easier to read it all here instead of risking you not clicking the link :)


COMMENT COMPETITION! Pick your choices and we'll see how you do when they are announced!
(my choices are linked to YouTube)

Song Of The Year:
Ray Montagne- Beg Steal Or Borrow
Cee Lo Green- Forget You 
Miranda Lambert- House That Built Me
Eminem Feat. Rihanna- Love The Way You Lie 
Lady Antebellum- Need You Now

Best New Artist:
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence & The Machine
Mumford & Suns
Esperanza Spalding

Album Of The Year:
Arcade Fire- Suburbs
Eminem- Recovery
Lady Antebellum- Need You Now
Lady GaGa- The Fame Monster
Katy Perry- Teenage Dream

Best Female Country Vocal Performance:
Jewel- Satisfy Me
Miranda Lambert- House That Built Me 
LeAnn Rimes- Swingin'
Carrie Underwood- Temporary Home
Gretchen Wilson- I'd Love..

Record of The Year:
B.O.B. Feat Bruno Mars- Nothin' On You
Eminem Feat. Rihanna- Love The Way You Lie
Cee Lo Green- Forget You 
Jay Z & Alicia Keys- Empire State Of Mind
Lady Antebellum- Need You Now

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
KING OF ANYTHING - Sara Bareilles
HALO (LIVE) - Beyoncé
CHASING PIRATES - Norah Jones
BAD ROMANCE - Lady Gaga
TEENAGE DREAM - Katy Perry

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
HAVEN'T MET YOU YET - Michael Bublé
THIS IS IT - Michael Jackson
WHATAYA WANT FROM ME - Adam Lambert
JUST THE WAY YOU ARE - Bruno Mars
HALF OF MY HEART - John Mayer

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' (REGIONALS VERSION) - Glee Cast  (is this a serious contest? Glee, all the way)
MISERY - Maroon 5
THE ONLY EXCEPTION - Paramore
BABYFATHER - Sade
HEY, SOUL SISTER (LIVE) - Train

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
AIRPLANES, PART II - B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams
IMAGINE - Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare
IF IT WASN'T FOR BAD - Elton John & Leon Russell
TELEPHONE - Lady Gaga & Beyoncé 
CALIFORNIA GURLS - Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg

Best Pop Instrumental Performance
FLOW - Laurie Anderson
NESSUN DORMA - Jeff Beck
NO MYSTERY - Stanley Clarke
ORCHESTRAL INTRO - Gorillaz
SLEEPWALK - The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Best Pop Vocal Album
MY WORLD 2.0 - Justin Bieber 
I DREAMED A DREAM - Susan Boyle
THE FAME MONSTER - Lady Gaga
BATTLE STUDIES - John Mayer
TEENAGE DREAM - Katy Perry

Best Dance Recording
ROCKET - Goldfrapp
IN FOR THE KILL - La Roux
DANCE IN THE DARK - Lady Gaga
ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD) - Rihanna
DANCING ON MY OWN - Robyn

Best Electronic/Dance Album
THESE HOPEFUL MACHINES - BT
FURTHER - The Chemical Brothers
HEAD FIRST - Goldfrapp
BLACK LIGHT - Groove Armada
LA ROUX - La Roux

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
CRAZY LOVE - Michael Bublé
THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME - Barry Manilow
LET IT BE ME: MATHIS IN NASHVILLE - Johnny Mathis
FLY ME TO THE MOON…THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK: VOLUME V - Rod Stewart
LOVE IS THE ANSWER - Barbra Streisand

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
RUN BACK TO YOUR SIDE - Eric Clapton
CROSSROADS - John Mayer
HELTER SKELTER - Paul McCartney
SILVER RIDER - Robert Plant
ANGRY WORLD - Neil Young

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
READY TO START - Arcade Fire
I PUT A SPELL ON YOU - Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
TIGHTEN UP - The Black Keys
RADIOACTIVE - Kings Of Leon
RESISTANCE - Muse

Best Hard Rock Performance
A LOOKING IN VIEW - Alice In Chains
LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM - Ozzy Osbourne
BLACK RAIN - Soundgarden
BETWEEN THE LINES - Stone Temple Pilots
NEW FANG - Them Crooked Vultures

Best Metal Performance
EL DORADO - Iron Maiden
LET THE GUILT GO - Korn
IN YOUR WORDS - Lamb Of God
SUDDEN DEATH - Megadeth
WORLD PAINTED BLOOD - Slayer

Best Rock Instrumental Performance
HAMMERHEAD - Jeff Beck
BLACK MUD - The Black Keys
DO THE MURRAY - Los Lobos
KUNDALINI BONFIRE - Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
THE DEATHLESS HORSIE - Dweezil Zappa

Best Rock Song
ANGRY WORLD - Neil Young, songwriter (Neil Young)
LITTLE LION MAN - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston, songwriters (Mumford & Sons)
RADIOACTIVE - Caleb Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill & Nathan Followill, songwriters (Kings Of Leon)
RESISTANCE - Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)
TIGHTEN UP - Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney, songwriters (The Black Keys)

Best Rock Album
EMOTION & COMMOTION - Jeff Beck
THE RESISTANCE - Muse
BACKSPACER - Pearl Jam
MOJO - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
LE NOISE - Neil Young

Best Alternative Music Album
THE SUBURBS - Arcade Fire
INFINITE ARMS - Band Of Horses
BROTHERS - The Black Keys
BROKEN BELLS - Broken Bells
CONTRA - Vampire Weekend

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
GONE ALREADY - Faith Evans
BITTERSWEET - Fantasia
EVERYTHING TO ME - Monica
TIRED - Kelly Price
HOLDING YOU DOWN (GOING IN CIRCLES) - Jazmine Sullivan

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
SECOND CHANCE - El DeBarge
FINDING MY WAY BACK - Jaheim
WHY WOULD YOU STAY - Kem
WE'RE STILL FRIENDS - (Kirk Whalum &) Musiq Soulchild
THERE GOES MY BABY - Usher

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
LOVE - Chuck Brown, Jill Scott & Marcus Miller
TAKE MY TIME - Chris Brown & Tank
YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND - Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin
SHINE - John Legend & The Roots
SOLDIER OF LOVE - Sade

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
WHEN A WOMAN LOVES - R. Kelly
HANG ON IN THERE - John Legend & The Roots
YOU'RE SO AMAZING - Calvin Richardson
IN BETWEEN - Ryan Shaw
GO [LIVE] - Betty Wright

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
LITTLE ONE - Bilal
F*** YOU - Cee Lo Green
ORION - Carolyn Malachi
TIGHTROPE - Janelle Monáe & Big Boi
STILL - Eric Roberson

Best R&B Song
BITTERSWEET - Charles Harmon & Claude Kelly, songwriters (Fantasia)
FINDING MY WAY BACK - Ivan "Orthodox" Barias, Curt Chambers, Carvin "Ransum" Haggins, Jaheim Hoagland & Miquel Jontel, songwriters (Jaheim)
SECOND CHANCE - E. Debarge & Mischke, songwriters (El DeBarge)
SHINE - John Stephens, songwriter (John Legend & The Roots)
WHY WOULD YOU STAY - K. Owens, songwriter (Kem)

Best R&B Album
THE LOVE & WAR MASTERPEACE - Raheem DeVaughn
BACK TO ME - Fantasia
ANOTHER ROUND - Jaheim
WAKE UP! - John Legend & The Roots
STILL STANDING - Monica

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
NOTHIN' ON YOU - B.o.B & Bruno Mars
DEUCES - Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall
LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - Eminem & Rihanna
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
WAKE UP! EVERYBODY - John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common

Best Rap Song
EMPIRE STATE OF MIND - Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Burt Keyes, Alicia Keys, Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic & Alexander Shuckburgh, songwriters (Sylvia Robinson, songwriter) (Jay-Z & Alicia Keys) 
LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem & Rihanna)
NOT AFRAID - M. Burnett, J. Evans, Marshall Mathers, L. Resto & M. Samuels, songwriters (Eminem)
NOTHIN' ON YOU - Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Bobby Simmons Jr., songwriters (B.o.B & Bruno Mars)
ON TO THE NEXT ONE - Shawn Carter, J. Chaton & K. Dean, songwriters (G. Auge & X. De Rosnay, songwriters) (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)

Best Rap Album
THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY - B.o.B
THANK ME LATER - Drake
RECOVERY - Eminem
THE BLUEPRINT 3 - Jay-Z
HOW I GOT OVER - The Roots

Best Contemporary R&B Album
GRAFFITI - Chris Brown
UNTITLED - R. Kelly
TRANSITION - Ryan Leslie
THE ARCHANDROID - Janelle Monáe
RAYMOND V RAYMOND - Usher

Best Rap Solo Performance
OVER - Drake
NOT AFRAID - Eminem
HOW LOW - Ludacris
I'M BACK - T.I.
POWER - Kanye West

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
SHUTTERBUGG - Big Boi & Cutty
FANCY - Drake, T.I. & Swizz Beatz
ON TO THE NEXT ONE - Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz
MY CHICK BAD - Ludacris & Nicki Minaj
LOSE MY MIND - Young Jeezy & Plies

Best Female Country Vocal Performance
SATISFIED - Jewel
THE HOUSE THAT BUILT ME - Miranda Lambert
SWINGIN' - LeAnn Rimes
TEMPORARY HOME - Carrie Underwood
I'D LOVE TO BE YOUR LAST - Gretchen Wilson

Best Male Country Vocal Performance
MACON - Jamey Johnson
CRYIN' FOR ME (WAYMAN'S SONG) - Toby Keith
TURNING HOME - David Nail
'TIL SUMMER COMES AROUND - Keith Urban
GETTIN' YOU HOME - Chris Young

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
FREE - Zac Brown Band
ELIZABETH - Dailey & Vincent
NEED YOU NOW - Lady Antebellum
LITTLE WHITE CHURCH - Little Big Town
WHERE RAINBOWS NEVER DIE - The SteelDrivers

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
BAD ANGEL - Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert & Jamey Johnson
PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) - Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury & The Punch Brothers
AS SHE'S WALKING AWAY - Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson
HILLBILLY BONE - Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins
I RUN TO YOU - Marty Stuart & Connie Smith

Best County Instrumental Performance
TATTOO OF A SMUDGE - Cherryholmes
MAGIC #9 - The Infamous Stringdusters
NEW CHANCE BLUES - Punch Brothers
WILLOW CREEK - Darrell Scott
HUMMINGBYRD - Marty Stuart

Love ya Biebs. Good luck. #bieberfever

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World AIDS Day: KIM KARDASHIAN IS DEAD

Did you hear about World AIDS Day and celebrities' efforts for it?

Kim Kardashian is dead. Digitally dead, that is.

Buylife.org is a website dedicated to raising money to save a child with AIDS by having celebrities "die" and encouraging fans to donate a minimum of $10 to bring them back to life.

Celebrities on Twitter who have proclaimed themselves dead include Lady GaGa, Alicia Keys, Khloe Kardashian, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson and many more.

Buylife's goal is to raise $1,000,000.

As of right now, fans have donated $60,988.

Once you go to the website you can find the celebrity you would like to "save", or donate for, and you can watch their last Tweets and testament.

There are 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, with 1.1 million of those being American. An estimated 20% of Americans who are infected with the disease are unaware they have it. (HINT: GET TESTED TODAY)

Governments, NGOs and Bono's RED campaign kicked off World AIDS Day campaigns a day early: RED started in Sydney by making all of the lights in the harbor red. Across 13 countries, the group of will be dressing more than 80 iconic landmarks in red.




Other efforts around the world:

•  People dressed up as condoms in Lima yesterday holding signs that read "Responsible love = condom"
• Starbucks workers (in our very own Carrier Library!) wearing red, ( Starbucks ) aprons

Visit World AIDS Day's official website for more information, including real stories, merchandise, latest news, twitter updates and ways to donate or "do something."

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Fun Fact: Dr. Seuss wrote "Green Eggs and Ham" after a bet

Did you hear that Dr. Seuss wrote the infamous book, Green Eggs and Ham, after his editor bet him he couldn't write a book using 50 words or less?

The book uses exactly 50 words, but we don't know what Dr. Seuss won from the bet.

Here are a list of the 50 words: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, and you.

Bet you can't write a 50 word comment with all of those words :)

OMG Facts

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US Ambassador to Iraq coming to JMU Thursday

Dd you hear about the United States Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, coming to James Madison University this Thursday?

He's coming to speak about U.S. involvement in Iraq and the future of the Middle East country at 6:30 pm this Thursday, Dec 2, in Festival Conference room.

The presentation is entitled, "Iraq, The Way Forward."

Crocker is a career ambassador within the US Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, called Crocker "one of our very best foreign service officers."

Crocker is coming to our campus to discuss the challenges facing the US as it works to shift security operations to Iraq by Dec 31, 2011. President Obama told the nation combat operations would end on Aug 31, but there are still more than 50,000 troops stationed in the country.

Go to Festival on Thursday and meet the ambassador, ask questions and stay updated on our involvement in Iraq.


Ryan Crocker Bio
JMU article






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Facebook Taking Over Email, Google Taking Over Online Shopping

Did you hear about a) Facebook's the new messaging tool? and b) Google's launch of their new online shopping website?

A) Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new messaging program, which is a combination of IM, SMS and email. Users will have a mail address of ____@facebook.com and can send/receive all types of your messages in one location. They've called it a "convergent" modern messaging system.

How its different from traditional email:

• Seamless messaging
• Conversation history
• Social inbox

10 Things to Know About Facebook's Messaging System

Screen Shots: What it looks like

Business Insider

Why Facebook Email Should Scare The Pants Off Google And Apple

B) Google launched an online shopping website, Boutiques.com! Its a personalized shopping website with a huge emphasis on celebrity style and personal profiles.


You can shop by celebrity, designer, retailer, trend, style genre, featured, popular or recent. Once you've looked at the different boutiques you can choose to "love" or "hate" any selected fashion items. After you've loved or hated a few items, Google starts to create a personalized boutique for you based on your preferences! Gotta love technology. Great timing for the holidays! Either for creating a wish list or shopping for others :)

US Magazine

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Sexiest Man Alive

Did you hear about People's Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2010?

Sexiest Man Alive

It's Ryan Reynolds!

The 34-year-old Canadian stud has captured enough hearts, including People's, to snatch the title. He said of his new title, "This gives my family entree into teasing me for the rest of my life."

Reynolds has made his mark in over 33 movies/TV shows, including Just Friends, The Proposal, In Cold Blood, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Blade: Trinity and many more.

Others who made the list include Jon Hamm, Kellan Lutz, Drake, Matthew Morrison, Jon Bon Jovi, Joe Manganiello, Jesse Williams, and more.

Watch Kim Kardashian host the airing of the special on ABC tonight at 10/9c. Yesterday, she intrigued me and probably thousands of other followers on Twitter when she uploaded a picture captioned, "Just left the set of PeopleMag Sexiest Man Alive special! Find out who he is tomorrow."

Hosting the special tonight!

Do we have any nominees for JMU's Sexiest Man Alive? ;)

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Random Fact

Did you hear that the MTV reality series, JERSEY SHORE, is called MACARONI RASCALS in Japan?

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Govenor of Cali Doesn't Care If You Smoke Weed (Or Not)

Did you hear about Arnold Schwarzenegger's opinion about Proposition 19?

The proposition would have legalized recreational marijuana use in California but did not pass. When he was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Schwarzenegger commented that even though the bill didn't pass, nobody cares whether you smoke or not.

He says that one factor that affected Proposition 19 not being passed is that fact that he signed a bill last month that reduces the charge for a posession of up to an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction.

He told Leno, "It makes [posession] from a misdemeanor to an infraction, which is like a speeding ticket. And no one cares if you smoke a joint or not."

Another factor for the thumbs down on passing the proposition is that the demographics this election were not right-Midterm elections showed a lot of older voters-not the population who favor changing marijuana laws.

Who knows if the proposition will come up again. "Propositions don't die because the idea is bad, it just dies because it is written wrong," Schwarenegger said.

How much do you know about marijuana? Take the quiz!

Just to clarify, some states have legalized marijuana for personal medicinial purposes only, but federal laws making it illegal always trump state laws. AKA it's still technically illegal everywhere in the U.S.

READ MORE:

Christian Science Monitor
CBS news

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The Hidden Benefits of Exercise

Did you hear about all the ways that exercising benefits you and your life?

I know before I talked about how it helps you sleep, and I know you already know that exercising is good for you, but why? I love learning interesting facts like these, especially when I'm in my rut of no-motivation as the cold weather approaches. These are thanks to Fitness Magazine. Here are your words & facts of inspiration to get a move on, enjoy!

*As little as 30 minutes of cardio 3-5 days a week will add SIX YEARS to your life!*


INSTANT BENEFITS
As you work out:

• Your lungs are getting stronger
• Your motivation is at its peak (endorphins make you feel psyched and energized!)
• You're fighting flab

Within one hour of exercise:

• You're protecting yourself against colds, flu...BEING SICK! *Every sweat session you do can help strengthen your immune function for about 24 hours!*
• You're feeling zen (apparently, the feeling that you get is "Stress? What stress?")
• Fit Tip: Do intervals! *Women who did interval training in a recent study had a bigger boost in mood immediately following their workout than those who worked out at a steady pace*
• You're blasting calories, even when you're resting
• Fit Tip: Strength train at least twice a week so you will turbo charge your metabolism so you'll continue to burn calories for up to 38 hours
• *Immediate food fix for after you work out and you feel light-headed or even nauseated: a banana, half a bagel or any high-carb food will refuel you.*

POST-WORKOUT BENEFITS
Within one day of exercise:

• You're adding lean muscle
• Your heart is healthier
• You're a quick study (You're super alert and focused post-exercise. Hel-lo finals!)
• Fit Tip: *After a workout is the perfect time to memorize a speech or tackle a tough project!*

Within one week of regular exercise:

• Your risk of diabetes goes down
• You're slimmer (duh)

LONG TERM BENEFITS:

• You're getting stronger
• Fit Tip: Once you can do 15 reps a set, switch to a weight that's 2 pounds heavier and go back to 10 reps. Then work your way back up to 15 again and repeat the process.
• You're blasting belly fat. *After 4 weeks of regular workouts, your body is ditching flab and gaining muscle! Overweight people who took part in a 4 week program in an Australian study reduced ab flat by 12%!*
• *To trim your tummy, do fewer crunches and more planks*
• You've got more brainpower

WIthin one year of regular exercise:

• Working out is way easier (your endurance can more than double in one year!)
• Your heart rate is lower (your heart is pumping more efficiently)
• You're a fat-melting machine (woah)
• You've cut your cancer risk
• You're adding years to your life!
• You feel fantastic :)

See you at the gym!


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Death Penalty in CT for Horror Trial

Did you hear about Steven Hayes' verdict? He's been sentenced to the death penalty.

Mug shots of Hayes and Komisarjevsky

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky are being charged with murder of Jennifer Hawke-Petit (48), Hayley Petit (17) and Michaela Petit (11). The terribly sad and tragic incident began when Komisarjevsky saw Hawke-Petit and her two daughters at Stop and Shop, followed them home, and then came back with Hayes in the middle of the night to rob their home. They invaded the home of the Petit family in Chesire, CT on July 23, 2007 and murdered Dr William Petit's wife and two daughters. 

They found Dr Petit asleep on the back porch, hit him with a baseball bat, tied his ankles and hands and then went on into the house to find valuables. When they found almost nothing they tied his wife and two daughters up in separate rooms with a pillowcase over their head, and Dr Petit down in the basement. The two men found bank statements with accounts of $20,000 and $30,000, so they decided to wait until the morning to take Hawke-Pitt to the bank.

When at the bank, Hawke-Pitt was to withdraw $15,000. Hayes took her to the bank while Komisarjevsky remained at the house with the two daughters. Hawke-Pitt managed to alert the clerk that the two men were holding her family hostage and the clerk called the police. Local police took criticism for not responding quickly enough; they showed up to the house 30 minutes after the clerk called. The police responded that they were surrounding the area with a SWAT team before approaching the house.

Petit Family, June 2007

When back at the house, Hayes and Komisarjevsky raped and strangled Hawke-Pitt and burned the house down with the two daughters in it. They both died of smoke inhalation. There was also evidence that Michaela had also been raped. Dr Petit managed escaped to alert the cops. When he reached his neighbors' home they claimed he was unrecognizable because of how badly he had been beaten.

Hayes and Komisarjevsky were caught when they ran into a police baracade. 

Over three years later the men are facing trial, and the first, Steven Hayes, has been sentenced to the death penalty. He will be joining nine other men awaiting execution. The last time somebody was executed in Connecticut was serial killer Michael Ross in 2005.

Governor Jodi Rell agrees with the sentence. "The crimes that were committed on that brutal July night were so far out of the range of normal understanding that now, more than three years later, we still find it difficult to accept that they happened in one of our communities."

SOURCE ARTICLES AND MORE:

• Hayes Gets Death Penalty for Triple Murder
• Steven Hayes Smiles at Death Sentence for Role in Petit Connecticut Home Invasion
• Grueling Trial Ends for Home Invasion Survivor
• 'Things Got Out of Control': Chilling Confession of Connecticut massacre 'killer'

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