Mardi Gras revelry, parades take over New Orleans

Riders in the Mardi Gras parade make their way to their float in the staging area of the parade in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Riders in the Mardi Gras parade make their way to their float in the staging area of the parade in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Fleambeaux Carriers march along side the Captain's float in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012.(AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Entertainer Cyndi Lauper throws beads while riding in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012.(AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Entertainer Bret Michaels holds a handful of beads while riding in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Pete Fountain makes a toast to start the day long celebration of Mardi Gras while leading his Pete Fountain's Half Fast Walking Club on its trek through the streets of New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. This is the last day of the Mardi Gras celebration ending at midnight, after a day long celebration of parades, marching groups and people in costumes. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

(AP) ? From the family-friendly avenues of the Garden District to raunchy displays in the French Quarter, New Orleans let loose with a Fat Tuesday party as parades rolled and revelers frolicked amid showers of beads, trinkets and music.

The French Quarter began to fill with costumed revelers soon after dawn. Some people hadn't stopped drinking since Monday's Lundi Gras prequel to Mardi Gras.

Wearing a bright orange wig, a purple mask and green shoes, New Orleans resident Charlotte Hamrick walked along Canal Street to meet friends.

"I'll be in the French Quarter all day," Hamrick said. "I don't even go to the parades. I love to take pictures of all the costumes and just be with my friends. It's so fun."

Across the globe, people dressed up in elaborate costumes and partied the day away. In Rio de Janeiro, an estimated 850,000 tourists joined the city's massive five-day blowout. Meanwhile, the Portuguese, who have suffered deeply in Europe's debt crisis, defied a government appeal to keep working.

In New Orleans, Brittany Davies was struggling through the early morning hours. Still feeling the effects of heavy drinking from the night before, her friends had her out again on Tuesday.

"They're torturing me," the Denver woman joked. "But I'll be OK after a bloody mary."

The predominantly African-American Zulu krewe was the first major parade to hit the streets, shortly after 8 a.m. Most krewe members were in the traditional black-face makeup and the Afro wigs Zulu riders have sported for decades.

In the oak-lined Garden District, clarinetist Pete Fountain prepared to lead his Half-Fast Walking Club on its annual march down St. Charles Avenue.

Fountain, 82, gave a thumbs up to start off and his band launched into "When The Saints Come Marching In" as they rounded the corner onto St. Charles Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. It was the 52nd time that Fountain's group has paraded for Mardi Gras. This year, the group wore bright yellow suits and matching pork pie hats for its theme, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road."

In the Quarter, Joshua Westbrook of Dothan, Ala., had been on Bourbon Street drinking since Monday afternoon. His eyes were tired Tuesday morning but he was determined to see Mardi Gras through.

"I'm struggling, but I'm going to push through it," he said.

Costumes were the order of the day, ranging from the predictable to the bizarre.

Wearing a purple wig, New Orleans resident Juli Shipley carried a gallon of booze down Bourbon Street and filled her friends' cups when they got low. "We're going to wander all day and people-watch," Shipley said. "That's the best part of Mardi Gras ? the costumes. They're amazing."

Partygoers were dressed as Wizard of Oz characters Dorothy and the Wicked Witch, bags of popcorn, pirates, super heroes, clowns, jesters, princesses and lots of homemade costumes with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold.

Martin Delaureal, a New Orleans investment banker, and his toddler sons Tripp and Ashton were dressed as chefs, in tall hats and white aprons. Delaureal's hat was labeled Chef Menteur ? a local highway named after an Indian chief. Delaureal said his wife made the costumes, planning to come as Bun in the Oven. She had to miss the parades ? baby Liam was born Monday.

Retirees Julie and Mike Keating of Golden, Colo., were in a group of four dressed as birds and other characters from the Angry Birds online game.

At New Orleans' antebellum former city hall, Mayor Mitch Landrieu toasted Zulu's make-believe royalty and celebrities. Among them was New Orleans native and former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young.

"It's good to be home," Young said. And saluting the good weather of the day, he added, "God always smiles on New Orleans when it needs it."

After Zulu, the parade of Rex, king of Carnival, would make the trek down St. Charles Avenue and to the city's business district, with hundreds of thousands of people pleading for beads and colorful aluminum coins, known as doubloons.

Along St. Charles, groups of people, many in costumes, ate breakfast as children played in the street. Small groups were already on the move. The Skeleton Krewe, 25 people dressed in black skeleton outfits, were on their way to the St. Louis Cathedral.

Tom White, 46, clad in a pink tutu, bicycled down the avenue with his wife, Allison, on their way to the French Quarter. "I'm the pink fairy this year," he said. "Costuming is the real fun of Mardi Gras. I'm not too creative but when you weigh 200 pounds and put on a tutu people still take your picture."

His wife was not in costume. "He's disgraced the family enough," she said.

The stakeout for prime spots along the Mardi Gras parade route started Monday, with legions of Carnival die-hards jockeying for the best places to vie for beads thrown from floats on Fat Tuesday.

Stephanie Chapman and her family had set up in their usual spot on the St. Charles streetcar tracks. They arrived at 4 a.m. Tuesday and would be staying for the duration.

"This is a beautiful day and we'll be here until it's over. It won't rain on my parade, but if it does I won't pay any attention," she said.

It was partly cloudy, but rain was not in the forecast. Temperatures were in the 70s. And as the day wore on, the warm weather was expected to encourage flesh-flashing and other raunchy acts in the French Quarter.

Across the Gulf Coast, Mardi Gras was getting into full swing. In the Cajun country of southwest Louisiana, masked riders were preparing to go from town to town, making merry along the way in the Courir du Mardi Gras. And parades were scheduled elsewhere around Louisiana and on the Mississippi and Alabama coasts. The celebration arrived in Louisiana in 1682 when the explorer LaSalle and his party stopped at a place they called Bayou Mardi Gras south of New Orleans to celebrate. The site is now lost to history.

The end of Mardi Gras gives way to the beginning of Lent, the period of fasting and repentance before Easter Sunday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-02-21-Mardi%20Gras-New%20Orleans/id-05d9616340134e21b5dba3497f2e6614

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Iran Oil Ministry: Exports cut to Britain, France (AP)

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In this Sept. 27, 2000 file photo, an Iranian oil worker repairs a pipe at an oil refinery in Tehran. Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, the Oil Ministry said Sunday, in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran's crucial fuel exports. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)AP - Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, the Oil Ministry said Sunday, in an apparent pre-emptive blow against the European Union after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran's crucial fuel exports.


Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120220/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_iran_oil

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Ernan Roman: Starbucks -- 3 Twitter Best Practices

Twitter can help your business get closer to its customers... create better word of mouth and greater brand advocacy... and generate great ideas from engaged fans. How? Start by learning from the best practices used by companies that have been successful with Twitter.

Start by learning from Starbucks. When a national brand accumulates nearly two million followers on Twitter, its social media strategies are worth examining. The Seattle-based coffee giant is currently ranked as the fourth most popular corporate brand in this space. (By way of comparison, General Motors has 48,000 Twitter followers.)

The Starbucks tweetstream is impressive. Check out these three easy-to-emulate Twitter best practices. Each can be adapted to any industry, and each is modeled consistently via the company's Twitter account, @Starbucks -- which I found to be deeply personalized to individual questions, complaints and suggestions from customers.

Best Practice #1: Do Something You Know Your Customer Believes In. Starbucks uses Twitter to promote cause-driven promotions that resonate powerfully with its user base. One particularly successful example was a "promotion where customers received free coffee if they brought in a reusable mug." This promotion grew their online fan base by 21 percent outside of the U.S. and by 6 percent overall. It not only drove sales, it changed how people purchased and consumed their coffee." What causes do your customers believe in?

Best Practice #2: Ask for Pictures. Starbucks uses Twitter to post plenty of interesting, user-generated images of its followers drinking from, displaying or generally having fun with something that bears the familiar green company logo. Circulating these images means more engagement, greater advocacy, and broader brand awareness. How easy is it for a customer to take and forward a picture of your brand image? What would happen if you tweeted those images?

Best Practice #3: Let Customers Know That You Are Using Their Ideas. Starbucks uses Twitter to update individual customers on the status of individual ideas they have submitted via @MyStarbucksIdea. Wouldn't you follow a company that kept you up to date about that?

If you haven't given your company's Twitter account regular attention (as in, original posts at least once a day, and prompt personal responses to each customer post), take a closer look at this infographic.

Ernan Roman is President of the marketing consultancy, Ernan Roman Direct Marketing.
Recognized as the industry pioneer who created three transformational methodologies: Integrated Direct Marketing, Opt-In Marketing, and Voice of Customer Relationship Research.

Ernan was recently inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame.

Clients include Microsoft, NBC Universal, Disney, Hewlett-Packard and IBM.

2010-12-08-ernan.jpgErnan was named to "B to B's Who's Who" as one of the "100 most influential people" in Business Marketing by Crain's B to B Magazine.

His fourth and latest book on marketing best practices is titled: Voice of the Customer Marketing: A Proven 5-Step Process to Create Customers Who Care, Spend, and Stay.

Ernan is also the co-author of 'Opt-In Marketing: Increase Sales Exponentially with Consensual Marketing' and author of 'Integrated Direct Marketing: The Cutting Edge Strategy for Synchronizing Advertising, Direct Mail, Telemarketing and Field Sales.l

www.erdm.com
ernan@erdm.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ernan-roman/starbucks-3-twitter-best-practices_b_1242445.html

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Actor Scott Porter & Kelsey Mayfield Engaged!

Actor Scott Porter & Kelsey Mayfield Engaged!

Actor Scott Porter is engaged to his girlfriend of four years, Kelsey Mayfield. The “Hart of Dixie” star, 32, reportedly proposed to the casting director [...]

Actor Scott Porter & Kelsey Mayfield Engaged! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/uOfn1H6SNCo/

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Queensland Koalas Hit by Chlamydia Infections

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Chlamydia can lead to blindness and cause infertility in females, devastating a koala population already shrinking because of habitat loss, climate change and an AIDS-like immune disease.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=71c1440bd41d4b164f838332b10571b1

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Legal Career in Real Estates | afghan solidarity

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Real estate is a term which resounds in all corners of the world. There is no one but deals with it at least once in his/her life time. It is so common and popular now. Since most of the real estate deals require a legal opinion or advice, legal career in real estate is inarguably demanding and luring to the new law graduates. Their service is hired for some reason or the other in the field of real estate dealings. Thanks to the recent real estate boom, real estate law has become a favorite to many law graduates and even the practicing lawyer are found changing their area from some other law to real estate nowadays.

A real estate lawyers can also practice in any other areas of law, But if you really want become a real estate lawyer, you need to be more focused on it. It would be an added qualification to your legal career to specialize in real estate law because if you find your present area of practice boring you can well switched to it.

Tips To Become A Real Estate Lawyer
? If you have a good negotiation skill and you are adept at organizing things, real estate law is your career. In real estate dealings, an attorney needs to interfere in his /her client?s real estate deals as an intermediary to make a contract and even on some other negotiations.
? A real estate lawyers may attend the final meeting of the parties while registering the deed in the name of the buyer by the seller. This is to avoid any further complications in the deal.
? You must understand that it is more of practical than just theoretical. That is why it is said that a real estate attorney should be a good negotiator too.
? Specializing in real estate law is always good to combine with other areas of law especially with family law because it also deals with partition of estate and all those stuff.
? A specialization in Real estate law can be an added qualification to get hired easily because people who are in need of a family lawyer will opt you if they find that your are adept in both family law and real estate law.
? You can even choose international real estate law as career but you need to be well versed not only in the subject but other languages and culture of other nations also.
? You can think of switching your job profile in the long run if you wish to, if you are specialized in real estate law. You could even take a bank job as a valuer of mortgages division or start a real estate business on your own.
? By specializing in real estate law, you have the opportunity to get in to some good government jobs also. If you find it interesting you can stay there or else you can start independent practice with the experience you gathered from the job.
By learning and specializing in international real estate law, you can spread your wings to other countries also. This is another career opportunity in real estate law. For which you need to learn foreign legal procedures and languages. You can very well check out with your Bar Association to know more about the legal courses in international real estate laws.

Source: http://www.afghansolidarity.com/legal-career-in-real-estates.html

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Wise Suggestions For Growing Your Home Based Business at Altria ...

Having your personal home based business could be a lucrative, life-changing possibility. Home based businesses could be a perfect career for a stay at home mom, a disabled person or anybody who is interested in taking control of their living. This post can give you help on the path to home based business ownership

Give transcripts of any video clip or audio tracks you post regarding your home based business services or products so that Yahoo and Google can index it and customers who can?t see or hear can see it. Making your articles available to the largest possible audience will certainly open you up to getting prospects from any demographic.

When choosing a type of home based business, make sure that you choose something that you will love. You need to figure out what goals you intend to achieve and what your abilities are. To have a successful home based business, you must pick a business that you will greatly enjoy. You?ll not put forth your very best effort for any business that you do not like.

Involve your loved ones. If you have a teenager, you might be able to have them answer the telephone for you personally to get their allowance. Having loved ones who assist and for you can help to lessen the load of starting a brand new home based business, as well as enabling you to spend more time them.

Researching your competition is essential to your house business, particularly when it involves setting your prices. By familiarizing yourself with all the cost of competing items, you can decide whether you can afford to sell for less. If you cannot, you have to create a marketing strategy to present your products as superior.

As already stated, having your personal home based business could be a good thing. Lots of people desire being their own employer and in control of their own destiny. By using the information found in this article, you can take hold of your desire to become a successful home based business owner.

If you are looking to expand your company, you might want to think of preparing best business plan and getting money from investors. The other ways are, you can apply for malaysia bank loan through the banking companies. You could inquire assistance from business loan consultant concerning the loan that fit towards your business and also the procedure.

Source: http://www.altriameanstobacco.com/wise-suggestions-for-growing-your-home-based-business/

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Dower Maid wins William Hill Hotbox Bet Stakes at Sunderland ...

Dower Maid wins the William Hill Hotbox Bet Stakes at Sunderland

Dower Maid marvellously notched up first position by beating the 2 to 1 favourite, Farloe Zeus, in the William Hill Hotbox Bet Stakes at Sunderland racing track on Thursday, February 9.

In the 450m Grade A3 race, the P Miller trained black bitch broke from trap 2 and completed the distance in 27.57 seconds.

Started at 13:51, it was an awe-inspiring clash with, Dower Maid and Elwick Paymaster fighting hard for victory till the last moment.

Elwick Paymaster broke from trap 1. From beginning to the end, the black dog battled hard against, Dower Maid, who was also packed with form. The two dashing hounds were hell-bent to browbeat each other. It brought many twists and turns in the competition.

Just before the finish line, it was hard to determine for the spectators and the bookmakers that who would win.

Finally, Dower Maid managed to cross the boundary strap 0.01 of a second ahead of her competitor.

The brilliant bitch registered third victory of her 2012 campaign last night. Prior to this, she won two races in the first month of the calendar year.

As a whole, the three-year-old runner has been consistent performer throughout her career. The daughter of Killahan Phanter, out of Ballinahina Maid was whelped in July 2009.

Farloe Zeus, despite being the favourite hound, could not perform well, and in the end trailed by 2 ? lengths. After breaking from trap 4, the white and black dog reached the finish line in 27.77 seconds. He is trained by E A Lagan.

Among other three hounds, Pats Bond finished fourth while Express Blade and Ballyhill Midas finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

At the end of the contest, the topper bagged ?111 while each of the other hounds got ?20.

By and large, it was an amazing competition filled with thrill and sensation. However, it disappointed the bookies a lot as both the joint favourite runners, Farloe Zeus and Express Blade, were not be able to perform well. On the other hand, a non-favourite walked away with the title after a pulsating finish to the race. ?

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Dower-Maid-wins-William-Hill-Hotbox-Bet-Stakes-at-Sunderland-a130490

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Natural Home Remedies For Hair Loss | New Health and Fitness

New Health And Fitness.Org - Health Information You Can Use

Everyone has concerns about the condition of their hair at some time in their life and wonders whether they will go bald ahead of time or unnaturally. Most men accept that they will go bald one day due to male pattern baldness, but women sometimes go bald as well and it is more upsetting for them.

Most individuals believe that hair care should begin early on in life. Women certainly take care of their hair from an early age, but traditionally men did not especially in northern Europe.

Mediterranean and Asian men on the other hand do take care of their hair from an early age. Whether this is why Mediterranean and Asian men are inclined to retain more of their hair longer, I do not know, but it could be.

Anyway, northern European boys are starting to take care of their skin and their hair, so we shall find out in a decade or two. There are plenty of products on the market that claim to be able to take care of hair and some even say that they can restore hair loss.

There are also long-established, natural, home remedies for hair loss. One of the major factors cited by doctors for hair loss is poor circulation in the scalp, which starves the hair follicles of oxygen, eventually killing them.

If this is the case, then there is no reason why frequent massage may not help. Massage is well-known for raising the circulation of blood, so perhaps a frequent scalp massage is (part of) the answer. It is absolutely true that a trip to the barber?s or a massage parlour in the East frequently means a short scalp massage.

Lots of individuals believe in the power of some oils to restore hair before it had suffered too much to survive. Before the Seventies, lots of men rubbed bay rum into their hair and scalp as a tonic, but it is rarely seen these days.

Tea tree oil at 5% strength is very well-liked because of its antibiotic and antimicrobial properties. Tea tree oil can clear up infestations of head lice, yeast infections (and others) and dandruff, all of which may lead to or be a sign of immanent hair loss. Other oils used are olive oil and lavender oil.

Aloe Vera is utilized in Asia for almost all skin and hair problems. It grows wild there and is cultivated in most gardens too. In the West, you might have to use preparations containing aloe vera, but if you are able to acquire the leaves, crush them and rub the jelly into your scalp and hair.

Some people believe in the remarkable curative powers of honey. Honey can be massaged into the hair and scalp about an hour before you shower. Honey might be a bit thick for some individuals, so you could thin it down with olive oil. Some people believe that cinnamon and ginger can help restore hair, so you could add one or both of them to olive oil or to a rinse.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is at present involved with tea tree oil for hair loss. If you have an interest in hair loss, please go to our web site now at What is the Best Hair Regrowth Product?

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Source: http://newhealthandfitness.org/2012/02/20/natural-home-remedies-for-hair-loss/

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williehernan3 - Why Ragdoll Cats Make Great Pets ? Cute Girl Hair ...

For an individual who loves cats, nothing can beat owning an adorable and cuddlesome feline pet. It is like owning the greatest pet one has wished for. But, being a feline enthusiast is not always easy. It can be confusing as well because of the number of cat breeds available. However, there is one breed that beats the rest. And they are ragdoll cats.

Ragdolls are big and usually have blue colored eyes and a unique, pretty coat. They are known for their docility aside from being really adorable and their muscular physique. Also, they posses long and soft hair that requires little grooming.

What makes them more distinct from the other line of felines is their placid character. They love being with people and even tends to sulk whenever they are left by their masters for a long time. Ragdolls would really make great pets for people who want a pet that will return their love.

However, their placid nature and minute inclination to aggressiveness can be considered as a drawback in having them. Ragdolls should not be left outside or away from the house since they often don?t fight back when attacked. They are best kept indoors where they are safer and near their masters.

Usually, Ragdolls are pointed or counterpointed. Being born pointed means having a nose that is dark in color while being born counterpointed means having a dark colored body and a light colored nose. On the other hand, this breed of cat are also available various colors such as chocolate, lilac, seal, and blue.

Owning a Ragdoll is never a hassle. Their laid-back nature and their habit of being at ease when held make them amazing pets for anyone. However, they love to seek attention at times and usually love to be part of house activities.

Ragdoll cats are intelligent and through a rewards method, they can be trained with ease. Also, training them would surely be a breeze since they love to please their owners. But of course, you should keep in mind that Ragdolls can be the masters of themselves if they want to.

Learn more here: ragdoll cats

Source: http://cghaircolorspa.info/why-ragdoll-cats-make-great-pets?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-ragdoll-cats-make-great-pets

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Source: http://williehernan3.livejournal.com/44321.html

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