Madonna gives shout-out to dad in Michigan as she preps for 'a Midwestern girl's dream'

The Material Mom took to the podium at a Thursday news conference to talk about her halftime show for Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI and said that she's freaking out a bit about performing for such a large audience, with the broadcast expected to draw more than 100 million viewers in the U.S.

"I am so excited to be here and kind of nervous. This is a Midwestern girl's dream," she said.

"So if I speak fast or run out of breath, you'll know why. I have to say over 25 years of performing that I've done, I have never worked so hard or been so scrupulous or detail-oriented or freaked out as much as I have. I want to make the most amazing show for the Super Bowl."

The former suburban Detroiter talked up her Midwestern roots a great deal and said she will dedicate the performance to her father, Silvio Anthony Ciccone, who is a winemaker in Suttons Bay.

"Because I was raised in the Midwest, and he is the personification of Midwestern values," she said. "He gave me the work ethic that I have. If I'm a hard-working girl, that never stops. It's because of him. Of all the things that I've ever done in my life, this would be the thing he's most excited about."

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Djokovic Has That Unbeatable Feeling

Novak Djokovic has that unbeatable feeling. And well he should.

The Serb outlasted Rafael Nadal to defend his Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final and become the fifth man to win three straight majors in the Open Era. Djokovic now has the French Open — the one major to elude him — in his sights. He won't even rule out the ultimate: the Grand Slam.

"One player (Rod Laver) has done it, so it is possible," he said at the post-victory photo shoot in Melbourne Park on Monday. "Obviously the times are different and tennis nowadays is much more competitive and much more physical. And that makes that challenge more difficult to achieve. But everything is possible."

"The facts are that I'm at the peak of my career," Djokovic said. "I feel physically and mentally at the peak, I feel strong, I feel motivated, I feel eager to win more trophies."

Djokovic completed a 5-hour, 53-minute 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory over Nadal at 1:37 a.m. — ending an epic match with a forehand winner that finally finished off the Spaniard.

Tournament director Craig Tiley, celebrating a record attendance of 686,006 over two weeks, described the final as "the greatest match of all time."

Reference: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/djokovic-unbeatable-feeling-15469610

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Underworld: Awakening takes big bite of box office

Audiences haven't tired of Kate Beckinsale as a butt-kicking heroine — the fourth installment of Sony Pictures' "Underworld" series debuted to healthy ticket sales over the weekend.

The vampire action-thriller "Underworld: Awakening" opened to $25.4 million, according to an estimate from the studio's Screen Gems label. Meanwhile, George Lucas' "Red Tails" — about the Tuskegee Airmen — exceeded industry expectations, selling $19.1-million worth of tickets.

"Underworld: Awakening" cost Sony and Lakeshore Entertainment about $70 million to produce. The film is the first in the vampire series to be offered in 3-D, and 59% of those who saw the movie this weekend opted to buy the pricier ticket to see it in that format. Audiences liked the film, assigning it an average grade of A-, according to marketing firm CinemaScore.

"Awakening" had a better opening than the third entry in the series, "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans," which started with $20.8 million in 2009. It still debuted with slightly less than the franchise's second installment, "Underworld: Evolution," which opened to $26.9 million in 2006. That film ultimately grossed more than any other picture in the series, totaling $62.3 million in sales by the end of its run.

The movie appealed largely to an African American audience this weekend, and 66% of the crowd was older than 25. Those who saw the film loved it, giving it an average grade of A. Like the new "Underworld" film, "Red Tails" has received overwhelmingly negative reviews.

The movie played to an older demographic, with 82% of the crowd over 25. It appealed to a broad audience across the country: The No. 1 theater in the U.S. was in Oklahoma City, and other top markets included cities as diverse as Boca Raton, Fla., and Chino Hills.

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Rescue effort suspended after cruise ship shifts

The cruise ship grounded off Tuscany shifted again on its rocky perch, forcing the suspension Friday of search and rescue operations for the 21 people still missing.

It was not clear if the movements registered overnight by onboard sensors were just vibrations as the Costa Concordia settles on the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio or if the massive ocean liner is slipping off the reef.

The ship's movements are being carefully monitored since any significant shift could be dangerous for divers trying to locate those missing after the Concordia ran aground Jan. 13. An additional fear is that any significant movement could damage tanks holding a half-million gallons of fuel oil.

"The ship is not in safe enough conditions for rescue operations to continue," said Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro. The $450 million Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into well-marked rocks off the island of Giglio.

Late Thursday, Costa-owner Carnival Corp. announced it was conducting a comprehensive audit of all 10 of its cruise lines to review safety and emergency response procedures in the wake of the Costa disaster.

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Florida Panthers win Vacouver Canucks by 2-1 - NHL

Marcel Goc scored the tiebreaking goal at 10:52 of the second period and the Florida Panthers beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 Monday in Sunrise, Fla.

Dale Weise scored for Vancouver in the first period and Roberto Luongo stopped 20 shots. The Western Conference-leading Canucks lost for the fourth time in 12 games.

Vancouver outshot Florida 26-22, but was outshot 14-2 in the second period and seemingly played with less emotion than usual.

"We know in here when it's not good enough, and tonight it wasn't close to good enough," Canucks forward Henrik Sedin told The Vancouver Sun. "It's going to be back tomorrow."

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has been suspended for five games by league officials because of a second-period hit on Canucks defenseman Sami Salo on Saturday.

Marchand, 23, received a major penalty and a game misconduct on the play. He will forfeit $150,000 in pay. Salo has concussion symptoms and didn't play Monday.

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How Designer Evening Dresses stands popular among all dresses?

In the past few years the attention of women has tending headed for designer evening dresses. Earlier these dresses only meant for rich and high class women. Now a days, women from middle class also start consider having a collection of these dresses. The reasons that it is fast becoming popular as evening wear is shown below.

First-rate Quality dresses

It is enhanced in provisions of quality as contrasted to the schedule evening dresses. To start with, the cloth used for designing designer dresses is of greater quality. In addition, the shiny flecks, beads and other trimmings used for designer dresses are genuine in nature.

Better-quality Stitching dresses

The famous designers who make designer dresses are specialist in as long as the most excellent stitch to these dresses. These designers are capable and skilled and use the preeminent of their familiarity to sew these dresses in the most appropriate way.

Extensive Life dresses

Since better quality clothes and improved stitching, the costume can provide for longer than the normal costume. Designer dresses uphold their appearance and worth for long and grant the unsurpassed price for money.

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North Korea Warns No Policy Changes Under New Leader

For the first time, North Korea is referring to the late Kim Jong Il's son as its "Great Leader." Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20's, is assuming leadership of the impoverished and reclusive country following his father's death, said to have occurred on December 17. The North is also sending a clear message, especially to the South, that it will be business as usual in Pyongyang.

Just a day after ending an official period of mourning, North Korea wasted no time bluntly telling the world not to expect any policy changes from Pyongyang.

The National Defense Commission issued a statement. It admonishes what it called "foolish politicians around the world" - especially those in South Korea - not to expect any change from the North.

The statement was broadcast for 11 minutes at noon Friday on North Korean television. It reverted to a very tough tone about South Korea and its leader. President Lee Myung-bak is termed the head of a traitor group whose "evil misdeeds" have climaxed by failing to allow Koreans in the South to pay their final respects to Kim Jong Il.

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Whimsical Tree - Wall Decals from Single Stone Studios

Whimsical Tree Vinyl Wall Decal

They have had several requests for this tree since posting a customer photo on the blog. Complete wall decal with extra leaves in a separate color, and 2 sets of their 3 Little Birdies.

The tree is available in any size, so feel free to call them if you need a size that is not available in their store. The larger version of the tree will come in 3 pieces.

Single Stone Studios have hundreds of stock-designed wall decals and can customize any of their products to your specifications. Whimsical Tree Vinyl Wall Decal is available in Single Stone Studios with the following options.

• Tree Models - Little Black Dress, Ash Grey, Beckoning Blue (matte only), Beige Beauty, Chocolate Truffle, Crisp Cranberry, etc.
• Extra Leaves - Delicate Moss (matte only), Fashionable Fuschia, Graceful Green, Light Pink Lady, etc.
• 3 Birdies Set 1 - Lonely Lilac, Metallic Copper, Modern Maize (matte only), Nautical Navy, etc.
• 3 Birdies Set 2 - Ochre Overture (gloss only), Purple Passion, Savory Sienna, Sweet Buttercream (gloss only), etc.
• Available Sizes - Large 60x60, Medium 46x46, Small 23x23.

If you are interested in this product, please visit the website wall decals.

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Seventeen People Dead in Myanmar Warehouse Blast

A pre-dawn blast at a warehouse in Myanmar's biggest city killed at least 17 people and injured dozens more on Thursday, sparking a blaze that took firefighters hours to tame, officials said.

Officials ruled out a bomb but said they had yet to determine the cause of the explosion in Yangon, formerly the capital.

Residents in several areas of the city were woken around 2:00 am (1930 GMT) by the blast, which appeared to have hit a medical warehouse in the eastern township of Mingalar Taung Nyunt, witnesses told AFP.

At least 17 people, including four firefighters, had died, while 79 others were injured, including around 30 firemen, a government official told AFP.

"It was not a bomb explosion," another official said, though he added that the cause of the blast, which sparked a large fire that destroyed many nearby storage units and houses, remained unknown.

Firefighters battled through the night to douse the flames and finally succeeded in extinguishing the massive fire at around 6:45 am, revealing a scene of utter devastation.

Myanmar has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, most of them minor, which the authorities have blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic minority fighters.

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3 big quakes rattle Christchurch, New Zealand

A series of strong earthquakes struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, rattling buildings, sending goods tumbling from shelves and prompting terrified holiday shoppers to flee into the streets. There was no tsunami alert issued and the city appeared to have been spared major damage.

One person was injured at a city mall and was taken to a hospital, and four people had to be rescued after being trapped by a rock fall, Christchurch police said in a statement. But there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or widespread damage in the city, which is still recovering from a devastating February earthquake that killed 182 people and destroyed much of the downtown area.

The first 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon, 16 miles north of Christchurch and 2.5 miles deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Minutes later, a 5.3-magnitude aftershock hit. About an hour after that, the city was shaken by another 5.8-magnitude temblor, the U.S.G.S. said, though New Zealand's geological agency GNS Science recorded that aftershock as a magnitude-6.0. Both aftershocks were less than 3 miles deep.

Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale said the quakes came at the worst possible time for retailers, with people rushing to finish their Christmas shopping.

Despite the sizable quakes, there was no visible damage in the central business district, where 28 stores have reopened in shipping containers after their buildings were wrecked by the February quake, he said.

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