Katie Holmes looked stunning in a strappy navy dress on the red carpet,
sparking speculation about who had created her outfit - she designed
it.

Hollywood stars seem to have hit a wall this week, parading down the carpet in a series of uninspiring outfits.

The only exception is Katie Holmes, who took matters into her own hands and designed her own dress.

Everybody on the red carpet of Tropic Thunder wanted to know who had designed Katie Holmes' dress - it turns out that Katie herself came up with the idea for the navy gown with the leather pleated bodice.

Apparently, fashion design is not something she wants to pursue full time - unlike her BFF Posh - but if her film career continues to nose-dive it's something to consider.

read more...

Ayer, como una buena chica, me fuí a los cines del Thader (uno de esos macro centros comerciales que hay en Murcia) a ver la última película de la saga de Batman: The Dark Knight.

Vale que Batman/Bruce Wayne (horriblemente traducido, en mi opinión, como Bruno Díaz en Latino América, al menos en la versión animada) no está del todo mal, interpretado por Christian Bale; pero, y no quiero que nadie piense que lo digo porque está muerto, para mí, el mejor es el Joker, el ya mítico Heather Ledger...

Para mí, ha sido el mejor villano que Batman ha tenido nunca. Mucho mejor que el Joker de Jack Nicholson, el Dos Caras de Tommy Lee Jones, y mil veces mejor que Enigma (Jim Carrey) o Mr. Frío (Arnold Scharwzeneger). Ledger ha dejado a un villano, villano, para la posterida; no es la imagen de Joker a la que está aconstumbrado el seguidor de la filmografía de Batman, es un Joker más digno del cómic, especialmente, del de The Killing Joke (una historieta que recomiendo abiertamente).

Han descubierto a un villano psicológico, retorcidamente macabro y planificador, y al mismo tiempo (como él mismo Joker se define en la película) es "como un perro que corre tras los coches, si algun día alcanzó alguno, no sabría que hacer". Es el kaos en persona, llega y destroza, casi que sólo con su presencia, todo lo que Batman ha tardado un año entero en construir. Destruye la incorruptibilidad de Harvey Dent, transformando en Dos Caras (la actuación de Aaron Eeckhart no ha estado mal, pero creo que al final del film le falta la dualidad que demostraba más Tomy Lee Jones en ese mismo papel). Pero, la actuacíón que más me ha decepcionado no ha sido la de Eeckhart, sino la de Maggie Gyllenhaal... Diré más... Incluso, prefería antes a mistress Cruise, Katie Holmes.

Más, como decía este payaso que daba tanto terror como risa (sí, en esta peli también te reíes o como mínimo se te pinta la sonrisa) ¿Por qué tan serio?

FICHA:

   Película: Batman - The Dark Knight

   Nota: 7

   Anotación: Trepidante, acción, con unas dosis de miedo irracional y locura que la convierten      en interesante.  Sobresaliente Heath Ledger en el papel de Joker, lo mejor de la película, le        puntuo con un 9.5

 

Le dernier Star Magazine nous présente enfin: L'Ange-Glorieux vs Le Alien-Robot. C'est le grand combat qu'on attendait depuis longtemps. Les deux sont invincibles mais Suri fonctionne à l'aide de microprocesseurs venus de l'espace tandis que Shiloh est tout simplement un être suprême... alors elle a peut-être un petit avantage...

C'est à suivre.

Ps: J'ai peur.

Oddly, for a Sunday, it was busy and productive.  I wasn't too distracted at work (when other co-workers weren't scaring the bejeezus out of me, that is -- I admit that I turn up the volume to 11 whenever I think I'm alone, and assuming you're alone is not always safe), so I was able to bang out most of my targeted work.  It's the distractions that'll get you.  It's been effective enough, in fact, that I almost want to get a door for the cubicle.  Door closed, don't come in -- busy working.  Ah.

Speaking of doors, I spent this evening working on the garage door.  Honestly, it took more time sitting around and worrying about the awesome maiming power of garage door springs (and that's not something to take lightly, those of you with sectional doors -- not only are there safety cables if you've got extension springs, but the right torque cones for those of you with the torsional sort) than it did to install the new springs.  In fact, it took longer to buy the springs than to install them, as the ones currently on were a touch too long and I was shifting to a different sort of end connection as well -- I ended up with three different sets of springs before settling on the right length (30"), end connections ("safety lock" -- a two-piece loop), and wire gauge (7).  All the same, I'm not precisely the world's strongest person, yet I was able to budge the springs with enough pre-tension to make the garage door work smoother than ever.  Those of you with one-piece garage doors take note:  they're not obsolete, and they're much easier to work on besides.  I suspect that the local Home Depot has so much stock of springs because of the vintage of local houses.  The roll-up doors present two advantages:  you can fit bigger cars into the garage, and you can pull up right next to the doors.  Easier to just get a smaller car and remember not to pull in too close, eh?

By the way, they warn you about the extreme force stored in garage door springs -- I believe it, but was compelled to look for horror stories on the internet.  I'm not saying that they're not out there, but I can't say that I found anything directly related to springs.  On the other hand, I'm not getting a warm, fuzzy feeling over being able to find additional supplies of springs, so I may go hoard a few sets.

Meanwhile, war breaks out between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia, and all we get from our fearless leader is powder-puff interviews with sports reporters and photo opportunities with athletes.  The more I see his smiling, unworried face, the more I believe that there really must be someone hidden pulling the strings.

Mike

Well, a colourful brain is not very stunning. In deed a small image query on any search engine on the web will find you a coloured brain. Surprisingly enough, the linguistic also told the journalist that deduction as we know it from detective fiction is a way of structural influence of the brain to the real world, meaning that the strict logical form of deduction shapes the world by its terms.

Consequently, Sherlock Holmes is creating criminals and criminal cases by his strict use of his deductive faculty. And Watson? Maybe his role is somehow the deductive trigger or a quite paradox paranoid projection of a facette of Sherlocks identy. Who knows. Undoubted.

Aşağıda okurlarım için MB’da daha önce yazılan blog yazılarını belli bir mantık örgüsü içinde seçerek, bir başkent adını gizledim. Zahmete girip bunlar üzerinde zaman harcamak ne kadar anlamlı olur? Bunun cevabını düşünmeksizin konuyu olduğu gibi dikkatlerinize sunuyorum. Takdir sizlerin. İlgili olabilecekler için seçenekleri yazı bitiminde belirtiyorum. Saygılarımla.

1- http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=58283

2- http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=60150

3- http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=70737

4- http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=59619

5- http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Blog.aspx?BlogNo=60147

Seçenekler: Madrid, Paris, Atina, Londra

Aydın AKDENİZ

aakdeniz1965@hotmail.com

The Lion's Mane Jellyfish or Cyanea capillata is on record the largest jellyfish ever found.  Its head was 2.3 meters in diameter and had tentacles 36.5 meters (120 ft) in length. 

The sticky tentacles are grouped into eight clusters, with each cluster containing 65-150 tentacles, arranged in a series of rows.  The bell is divided into eight lobes, giving it the appearance of an eight-pointed star.  The thin tentacles emanate from the bell's subumbrella.  Size dictates coloration: larger specimens are a rich red or dark purple while smaller specimens have a more pale orange or tan coloration.

Its range is confined to the cold waters of the northern Pacific and Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.  Although most lion's mane jellyfish (whose name was given as a result of their long tentalcles) can deliver a painful sting to swimmers, it is seldom deadly if treated and usually just results in temporary searing pain and red welts.  Although they normally reside in the deeper waters of the ocean, they will enter shallows at the end of their lives.  Lion's mane jellyfish remain mostly very near the surface at no more than 20 m depth, moving via their slow pulsations and ocean currents.  The jellyfish are most often spotted during the late summer and autumn, when they have grown to a large size and the currents begin to sweep them closer to shore.

They act as protectors and a food supply for many smaller marine animals like shrimp and sea horses.  They themselves will eat plankton and smaller jellies, while they, in turn are hunted by sea birds, large fish, and sea turtles. 

These jellyfish are capable of both sexual reproduction in the medusa stage and asexual reproduction in the polyp stage.  For more on the contorted and confusing life cycle of the jellyfish (which I did not, in fact need to know for my Bio final (Thanks for making me waste all my time on that teacher whose name shall not be mentioned here)), go here: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/jellyfi.html

P.S. You may also have noticed the new setup of my blogroll.  I made the realization that reading other blogs was taking up all my time, so I segregated them.  I will only regularly read my choice favorites.  Now, if you did not make the cut, it was nothing personal and I will still check up on you from time to time.  Sorry for any inconvenience, but it really was necessary for me.

Medical Mutual SuperMed One Ohio Health Insruance Quote

Company Overview

Medical Mutual is the oldest and largest health insurance company based in Ohio. The company serves its customers through high-quality, affordable group and personal health insurance plans, and third-party administrative services to self-insured group customers.

More information can be found on the company's award-winning Web site at MedMutual.com [1]

A Pioneer on the Cutting Edge

In 1934, America was in the depths of the Great Depression. But in Ohio, a group of fledgling Clevelanders authorized a loan of $7,500 to start the Cleveland Hospital Service Association (CHSA), a pre-payment hospitalization plan to help people pay for their healthcare needs. It was one of the first plans of its kind in the nation and the first ever multi-hospital payment plan.

Today, as Medical Mutual of Ohio, that same healthcare pioneer has been transformed into a multi-faceted company with health insurance at its core. Through the years, the company's mission has not changed – to finance and manage benefits that improve the health and well-being of its members.

Community Involvement

Medical Mutual's mission – to improve the health and well-being of its members – goes hand-in-hand with its commitment to promote wellness through its involvement with more than 200 charitable organizations.

Flexible Products

Medical Mutual provides cost-effective access to quality healthcare for its members by delivering leading edge health insurance products and related services in a manner that enables it to maintain a strong financial foundation, and also, support the communities it serves.

Group and individual customers have a complete line of comprehensive, flexible benefit designs in which to choose. Medical Mutual's SuperMed family of managed-care products include: Preferred Provider Organization, SuperMed Plus; Point of Service, SuperMed Select; and Health Maintenance Organizations, SuperMed HMO and HMO Health Ohio.

The Highest Quality

Medical Mutual's focus on quality has earned the highest accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance , (NCQA) an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of America’s healthcare.

NCQA has awarded Medical Mutual the highest levels of accreditation for the Company's PPO, POS and HMO products. In fact, Medical Mutual's SuperMed Plus product was the first PPO in the country to earn this status from NCQA.

To earn these accreditations, Medical Mutual has met rigorous requirements that focus on complaint and appeal processes, customer service, physician credentialing, utilization management and the infrastructure for quality improvement. These areas have been identified by employers, consumers and others as being of special interest.
A Brief Corporate History
In 1934, America was in the depths of the Great Depression. But in Ohio, a group of fledgling health insurance pioneers in Cleveland authorized a loan of $7,500 to start the Cleveland Hospital Service Association (CHSA), a prepayment hospitalization plan to help people pay for their healthcare needs. It was one of the first plans of its kind in the nation and the first ever multi-hospital payment plan.

Today, as Medical Mutual of Ohio, that same healthcare pioneer has been transformed into a multi-faceted company with health insurance at its core. Through the years, the company's mission has not changed – to finance and manage benefits that improve the health and well-being of its members.

It was 1926 when John R. Mannix, who at 24 was the youngest person to ever be appointed to the post of hospital administrator, began experimenting with the idea of hospital pre-payment. His revolutionary idea was to divide the cost of healthcare among all people whether they were hospitalized or not. Unknowingly, he applied the basic principle of insurance, and from it, sprang the beginning of a movement that would evolve into the system that we have today.

Eventually, Mannix led the crusade that led to the formation of the CHSA, which opened for business on June 15, 1934, in room 237 of the 1900 Euclid Building in Downtown Cleveland. Premiums at the time were 60 cents a month for ward service or 75 cents a month for semi-private room service. At that time, the maximum length of hospital stay under contract terms was 21 days. There were no age limits, nor were subscribers called on to take physical examinations to join the plan.

At the time, hospital service associations around the nation became known as Blue Cross Plans. But it wasn't until 1939 when the non-profit prepayment plans officially came together under the Blue Cross identity when it came under the control of the American Hospital Association.

Medical Mutual of Ohio was created from two companies. The first, CHSA, which was formed to provide hospitalization insurance, and Medical Mutual of Cleveland, which was formed in 1945 to provide insurance for the payment of physicians' bills.

In 1957, the CHSA merged with the Akron Hospital Service Association to form Blue Cross of Northeast Ohio. Then, in 1984, Blue Cross of Northeast Ohio merged with Medical Mutual of Cleveland to become Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Northern Ohio, combining coverage for hospitalization and physician fees under one roof. In 1986, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Northern Ohio merged with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Northwest Ohio to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio.

In April of 1997, the company re-claimed the name of one of its predecessors, becoming the present day Medical Mutual of Ohio.

The combination of an expensive healthcare market and a legal status that threatened its future forced the company to make a bold move in 1987, not only for survival, but also for the benefit of its policyholders.

The company proposed a change in state law that would enable it to contract with hospitals in a competitive manner. The result was a memorable legislative battle that concluded in victory for all consumers.

In 1993, Medical Mutual was among the fastest-growing healthcare companies with a managed care product known today as SuperMed. SuperMed proved beneficial to the Greater Cleveland Growth Association's Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE), and later became a national model for insurance among small businesses, chambers and associations.

In 2001, Medical Mutual's SuperMed Plus was recognized as the first Preferred Provider Organization in the United States to earn Full Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of American's healthcare.

In order to keep Medical Mutual financially stable and growing, the company has expanded beyond health insurance. As a way to leverage the company's vast computer systems, Antares Management Solutions was introduced in 1997. Antares offers access to a broad range of technology resources and applications, which encompasses the installation and management of hardware and software for businesses in a variety of industries.

Medical Mutual Services, another company launched to ensure long-term company stability, provides comprehensive third-party administration of healthcare benefit plans to companies nationwide, featuring the most innovative information system applications and technologies.

Despite the fact that the Medical Mutual of today is much more than a health insurance company, it continues to focus on its founding principles that were introduced in that small office on Euclid Ave. in Downtown Cleveland – providing the best service, products quality and value.
The Evolution of Medical Mutual

1934 Cleveland Hospital Service Association formed to provide hospitalization insurance.

1939 Blue Cross Association is formed. Cleveland Hospital Service Association is a member.

1945 Medical Mutual of Cleveland formed to provide insurance for physicians’ bills.

1957 Cleveland Hospital Service Association merges with Akron Hospital Service to form Blue Cross of Northeast Ohio.

1961 Medical Mutual of Cleveland becomes affiliated with the Blue Shield system.

1984 Blue Cross of Northeast Ohio merged with Medical Mutual to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Northern Ohio.

1986 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Northern Ohio merged with Blue Cross of Northwest Ohio to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio.

1997 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio renamed Medical Mutual of Ohio.
The Historic Rose Building, Headquarters of Medical Mutual of Ohio
The Rose Building, corporate headquarters of Medical Mutual of Ohio, is one of Cleveland's first steel-frame buildings and one of the city's many distinctive historical landmarks.

Completed in 1900, standing 10 stories high and covering an acre of land, the 380,000-square-foot facility was the largest and tallest office building in Ohio, and the largest outside of New York City.

Many Clevelanders doubted the building's viability, referring to the building named after Benjamin Rose as "Rose's Folly," because they never thought business would grow as far east as the building's location at the corner of Prospect Avenue and Erie (East Ninth) Street.

Originally, the first five stories of the building were planned for a department store. This intention accounts for the unusually high ceilings on these floors. When a tenant for the floors couldn't be found, Rose operated his own store, Scott-Griggs Company, until his death in 1908. The remaining five floors housed commercial and medical tenants.

Other tenants have included Western Union, the BF Goodrich Chemical Division, and the Forum Cafeteria, which occupied the ground floor for 50 years. These tenants, and others, helped to fund the Benjamin Rose Institute, a well-known facility for elderly care.

An outstanding attraction of the early Rose Building was its lobby, designed around a circular stairwell 10 stories high. Four open-caged elevators serviced passengers. In 1928, the lobby was remodeled much as it looks today.

The institute sold the Rose Building in March of 1984 to Medical Mutual of Cleveland, which is a predecessor company of the present day Medical Mutual of Ohio and a tenant since 1948. Four months later, Medical Mutual of Cleveland merged with Blue Cross of Northern Ohio, which had also been a tenant since 1948.

At the same time Medical Mutual purchased the Rose Building, it also acquired the adjacent Sloan Building, now called the Rose Building Annex.

Built in the 1940s, the Sloan Building was originally an apartment building, and was later converted into office space. It was even once occupied by Chef Boiardi, for whom the line of canned Italian foods is named.

Originally designed by architect George H. Smith, the Rose Building has undergone several changes since 1900. In April 1985, construction began on a five-year total renovation of the building under the direction of The Voinovich Companies, to convert it from a multi-tenant facility to Medical Mutual's corporate headquarters.

The first phase was to restore the building's exterior to its original appearance. Subsequent phases included renovations and repairs to make the building more energy efficient and conducive to telecommunications and computer technology.

Today, the Rose Building has been completely restored to its original exterior. It stands as a source of pride for Medical Mutual employees and Clevelanders alike.

referenced from www.wikipedia.org

Oliver Wendell Holmes

(DISCLAIMER: By Clicking on "READ MORE" below you

Agree that you are AT LEAST 18 Years of AGE)

11---Click Here to See Video (EN 2008)

10---Julie Newmar (Batman 1966-1967)
. . . She'll give you a bat, man.

9---Alicia Silverstone (Batman & Robin, 1997)
. . . Robin's eggs.

8---Elle MacPherson (Batman & Robin, 1997)
. . . Nice batcave!

7---Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns, 1992)
. . . Holy hooters!

6---Uma Thurman (Batman & Robin, 1997)
. . . Her bat signals are on.

5---Kim Basinger (Batman, 1989)
. . . Sticki Vale.

4---Nicole Kidman (Batman Forever, 1995)
. . . POW! BANG! BOFF! BUTT!

3---Halle Berry (Catwoman, 2004)
. . . Mee-yeow!

2---Katie Holmes (Batman Begins, 2005)
. . . Justits League.

1---Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, 2008)
. . . Gotham titties

Want more of this ,, Check out Mr. Skin

The interesting thing is that there are no swamp adders in India!  The swamp adder (or viper), Proatheris superciliaris, resides in eastern Africa.  They grow to about 40 to 50 centimeters in length.  They are identified by their brown coloration and spotting as well as their characteristic elongated head and partially prehensile tail. 

The Swamp Adder

Almost always found in low-lying marshes, floodplains and land frequently used for grazing cattle.  They mainly feed on small frogs and toads. Occasionally, it also feeds on small rodents. 

Sherlock Holmes would be appalled at Doyle's blunder in this case.  It was, "Elementary my dear Watson."

Medical Mutual Quotes SuperMed One Quotes Ohio Health Insurance

Cleveland – The report card from The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has been issued and Medical Mutual of Ohio’s commercial products have passed with flying colors.

In recognizing Medical Mutual’s commitment to provide quality healthcare to its members and noting improvements to the company’s business structure, NCQA awarded Medical Mutual the Accreditation Status of Excellent – the highest level achievable.

Medical Mutual products included in the Excellent Accreditation Status are Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans SuperMed Plus® and Ohio Med™. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans HMO Health Ohio® and SuperMed HMO® and Point-of-Service (POS) Plans SuperMed Select® and SuperMed Preferred.

In addition, Medical Mutual’s Medicare Advantage products were reviewed by NCQA and were awarded Commendable Status.

NCQA is an independent, non-profit organization that assesses and reports on the quality of the nation’s managed care plans.

“Our accreditation achievement is important because health plans earning NCQA accreditation tend to substantially outperform non-accredited health plans across a wide range of measures of clinical quality and member satisfaction,” said Paula Sauer, Medical Mutual’s vice president of Care Management.

“This good news means Medical Mutual’s HMO and POS plans have maintained their Excellent Accreditation Status under the Managed Care Organization (MCO) accreditation review,” said Sauer. “It also indicates Medical Mutual’s PPO plans received Excellent Accreditation Status the first time they were evaluated under MCO accreditation review.”

The Excellent Accreditation Status was awarded after rigorous evaluation by NCQA of all aspects of Medical Mutual’s plans, including preventive health services, member satisfaction, physician credentialing and quality improvement.

The review included both on and off-site evaluations conducted by a team of physicians and managed care experts. A national oversight committee of physicians then analyzed the team’s findings and assigned Medical Mutual’s Excellent Status based on the Company’s performance compared to NCQA standards.

Founded in 1934, Medical Mutual of Ohio is the oldest and largest health insurance company based in Ohio. The company serves its customers through high-quality, affordable group and personal health insurance plans, and third-party administrative services to self-insured group customers.

original story

KABUL, June 29, 2008  - Nearly 700 Afghan civilians have lost their
lives in crossfire between insurgents and foreign troops this year, the
United Nations said Sunday.

About 255 people were killed during operations by Afghan, NATO- and
US-led forces against militants while 422 others lost their lives in
attacks by rebels targeting government and military forces, UN's Relief
Coordinator Sir John Holmes told reporters.

It was not known how another 21 people died, he added.

The figures show a sharp rise in the civilian deaths compared with 430
in the same period last year, Holmes said.

"While the proportion of deaths attributed to pro-government (forces)
has gone down, the absolute figure has increased, due to the rise in the
overall total," the visiting UN official said.

Most of the casualties were in the country's south where the Taliban
have been active, he added.

Afghanistan is wracked by an insurgency being waged by remnants of the
Taliban whose regime was toppled in a US-led invasion more than seven
years ago.

Since then, a 70,000-strong international force has been stationed in
the country fighting the rebels.