Bette Midler is more than a woman -- she's like an army. We're not just talking about the power of her singing voice; she's also a dancer, an actress, a comedienne, and a well-known humanitarian, and a champion of both the arts and the Earth.

Since 1995, she's been working on her New York Restoration Project (NYRP -- she founded it), which has been helping NYC get greener and cleaner. Just recently, Bette herself planted the 250,000th NYRP tree in a Queens neighborhood and unveiled a new garden near Yankee Stadium. Now, she's auctioning off some very unique experiences with celebrities on CharityFolks.com, experiences which would make unbeatable holiday gifts.

Among the current gifts available are:

• Meet John Stamos Backstage at Bye Bye Birdie & Enjoy 2 VIP House Seats - $1,500.00
• Private Lesson with Tennis Great John McEnroe & Roundtrip Travel on JetBlue Airways! - $2,750.00
• Meet Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Winwood, One of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time According to Rolling Stone, with 2 VIP Tix to a 2010 European Show Date - $1,500.00

Those are current bid prices; buyouts are available at higher numbers. All the proceeds will benefit NYRP, which plans to plant 1 million trees by 2017 (and totally will). Other items include a chance to meet Cher, a walk-on role with Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd, a getaway to Richard Branson's Necker Island, and more. She's convinced nearly 100 of her celebrity friends to contribute, so keep your eye on the NYRP CharityFolks page to see what's up for auction next.

"We've turned 55 vacant lots into beautiful community gardens and planted more than 250,000 trees, and we're just getting started, so I hope you'll join in the merriment by placing a bid today!" says Midler.

Filed under: Auctions, Charity, Big Givers

Bette Midler Helps Restore New York originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you're into real life bunny wabbits and other such wildlife, but not a fan of the cold, wet and windy outdoors, what do you do? We'd say just boot up the console and shoot you some pixelated peoples, but Steve Norris' idea might be just a tad more practical. He has authored the above mobile snap-station, which is equipped with an infrared video camera, a Nikon DSLR, and pairs of motors, 10Ah batteries, and solar panels. Power flows from the latter into the former to turn wildlife stalking into a pleasurable pastime for even the most indoorsy of folks. Video demonstration of the hardware after the break.

Continue reading CoolerBot photographs nature, gets its power from it

CoolerBot photographs nature, gets its power from it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 06:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As promised, Spike's 2009 Video Game Awards delivered the first footage (in-game, 'natch) of Halo: Reach to the masses. More Spartans? Check! Female Spartans? Check check! A skullfaced Spartan? Wait ... what?! Since the show just aired, we've got a low-res version of the trailer for you after the break and will have a prettied up version as soon as it's available.

Halo: Reach gameplay premieres with multiple Spartans (and some ladies!) [update: now with hi-res] originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well lookie here. A little phone by the name of "NEXUSONE" just slipped through the FCC as model number PB99100 built by HTC. The filing also confirms a few more details including microSD expansion, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. But the real news comes from looking at the radios: quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE with UMTS/HSUPA on 850/1700/1900 frequencies. In other words, this 3G phone is capable of both 2Mbps up and 7.2Mbps down for both the T-Mobile and AT&T networks in the US of A. If this device is sold unlocked (as rumored), at a reasonable price (as hoped), and with a jaw dropping user experience (as tweeted), well, it could be very disruptive to the status quo. Then again, that's a lot of ifs.

Update: We're going to pull this back a bit. So far the FCC has posted a trio of reports this morning for the Nexus One but the outcome is inconclusive based on our own continued research and from the discussion in our comments. According to the bands listed (I, IV, and VIII) we're definitely looking at a T-Mobile USA device as well as applicability on European networks (among others). The whole AT&T range is in doubt as the test lab incorrectly lists 815-880MHz frequencies as part of band VIII. Hold tight as we dig deeper.

Update 2: Only WCDMA Band IV was tested in the Part 22H / 24E / 27 Report, leading us to believe that the Nexus One is going to be HSPA 900 / 1700 / 2100 (a pretty common tri-band 3G setup) plus quadband EDGE. Sorry, AT&T, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

Continue reading HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC (updated)

HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click with conviction to see larger images Paying more for a fancier version of Splinter Cell: Conviction is no longer an exclusively North American privilege. Ubisoft just announced a Collector's Edition of the stealth sequel for "all" European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Pacific territories -- and it comes with different stuff than the North American version!

The rest of the world's Collector's Edition will include the usual steel-book case and soundtrack, and also the distinguished-looking Sam Fisher statue seen above, frozen forever in the act of almost stepping on his night vision goggles. The pack also includes in-game bonuses like an Infiltration Mode, a special "Shadow Armor" skin, and "early access" to the SC300, SR2 and MP5 weapons.

Head into our gallery to see images of both the Xbox 360 and PC sets.

Splinter Cell: Conviction Collector's Edition revealed for the rest of the world originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Economy, Investing

In Asia Monday, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.7% to close at 3,303 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.8% to end the day at 22,086. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index was nearly unchanged, slipping 0.02% to 10,106. U.S. markets are also set to rise.

News that neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi will supply $10 billion to help Dubai pay off debts, which have rattled investors who fear that the enormity of the desert kingdom's debt would create a second wave of financial turmoil, sent shares in Dubai investors higher. Hong Kong-listed HSBC (HBC), a major lender to Dubai World, surged 1.7%. Standard Chartered (SCBFF), which Bloomberg reports has made $18 billion of loans in the Middle East, shot up 3.9%.

Continue reading Abu Dhabi lifeline spurs recovery in Asian markets

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Patch 3.3 has been out for two days now, and we're starting to see lots of reactions to the various new encounters pour in. Drawing from bloggers' posts, forum threads, and the reactions of a random sampling of players I've pugged with (the new LFG system is great), this is a short gloss on what I'm seeing so far:

• Forge of Souls is the easiest of the new 5-mans. The most common gripe is that group members don't pay attention to their raid warnings and move in as necessary for Bronjahm, or stop DPS on Devourer of Souls if they get Mirrored Soul.
• Pit of Saron is pretty cool, though quite sad at the end (at least if you're Horde). The trash pulls full of casters are on the tough side if people aren't good about interrupting or moving out of Hellfire on heroic. Also, don't bank on getting Don't Look Up in a pug.

Continue reading First impressions: Icecrown Citadel raid and 5-mans

Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Instances, Raiding, Bosses

First impressions: Icecrown Citadel raid and 5-mans originally appeared on WoW.com on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PR Newswire - 2009 NASCAR Tissot Pit Road Precision Award Champions.
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Filed under: Blogging, Web services, Microblogging

Megablogging, meet microblogging. WordPress now supports posting to and reading your WordPress blogs through any Twitter client that allows custom APIs. Following a WordPress blog on Twitter means you get snippets and links to new posts, just like you'd get any other tweet. Connecting your own WordPress blog to Twitter means you can tweet and blog simultaneously.

WordPress' Matt Mullenweg wrote a blog post explaining how to connect Twitter and Wordpress using Tweetie 2 on the iPhone. Basically, you just need to find your Twitter client's Custom API settings (for Tweetie 2, they're behind the little gear icon on the Add Account screen) and enter https://twitter-api.wordpress.com/ as the API root.

WordPress can also attach geotagging information from Twitter to your posts, if your client supports it. If you've got multiple blogs, you can go to the profile settings in your WordPress dashboard and choose which one to associate with each of your Twitter accounts. We're used to thinking of tweeting and blogging as two separate things, but the WordPress team sees them as closely related, and API support is a pretty cool extension of that philosophy.

Wordpress enables posting and reading via Twitter API originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continuing our series on the seasonal smorgasbord of over-the-top exclusives offered by that glossy chronicle of the filthy rich Robb Report, we present their $2 million single malt Scotch experience. The profligate publication's gift package includes the following: a private tour of the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, conducted by their malt master Biran Kinsman, where the recipient and a guest will learn firsthand how the famed single malt is produced before selecting a personal vintage cask of their own; a rare bottle of Glenfiddich 50 Year Old (above); two nights' accommodation at Ballindalloch Castle, home since 1546 to the Macpherson-Grant family, who will host a dinner in the recipient's honor; first-class roundtrip air travel for two from any U.S. city to Edinburgh; one night's stay and dinner at Edinburgh's renowned Prestonfield Hotel, plus a guided tour of Edinburgh Castle; private roundtrip helicopter rides from Edinburgh across the Scottish Highlands to the Glenfiddich Distillery; and a private tour of the historic Johnston's Woolen Mill and a traditional Scottish lunch with the owner.

Filed under: Journeys, Spirits

The $2 Million Scotch Whisky Gift Experience originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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