The British are coming

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Two British newspapers are trying to find their luck in America, digitally. The websites of these two newspapers have been receiving more and more American visitors since they have begun advertising. The Daily Mail has reporters in America, especially in New York and Los Angeles, where they try to get the hottest news on the stars and reality programmes. The Guardian however gets more American visitors because of their more critical look on Israel and the Middle-East. Where for the Daily Mail this is a bit of fun at the side, for the Guardian it’s a necessity to lure more visitors to their website.

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I was scouring the web yesterday when I came up on a news website with a lot of photo’s, especially of Kate and of the News of the World scandal. Not long pieces of texts, but short lines and a lot of photographs. Having read all about the scandal in detail on the more serious websites (Guardian), I could now paint a picture of it with that evil red-haired woman. Why would anyone believe her anyway...brrrr...what a wi...wait a minute, Jennifer Aniston...naked...OK, that’s it! I’m bookmarking this site!
I can see why Americans like the Daily Mail: their Daily Meal of gossip and pictures, lots of pictures.

Alcohol damages DNA of unborn children beyond repair, says study

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Alcohol can damage your cells and those of an unborn baby. Even worse, the DNA gets damaged so that you, but also your child can develop cancer. There is no harm in having a pint, but if you start “binge drinking” it causes a build-up of toxins which will create damage that cannot be undone. There has been speculation about alcohol causing DNA damage, but now there is direct proof. A little bit of the toxin called acetaldehyde isn’t a problem, yet if there is enough of this in the body, de defense mechanisms get overwhelmed and the toxin can get to the DNA.

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Binge drinking is bad for you, you can end up in a coma or worse, but if you survive your hobby, there is another “problem” you could to face: cancer. I didn’t know alcohol could damage DNA. Not that I drink lots of alcohol, but still. The idea of consuming large amounts of alcohol could cause cancer is frightening, even more so when there are unborn babies involved. The worst of all is that binge drinking (or “comazuipen” in Dutch) is on the rise.
But don’t worry, it’s cool, everybody will think you’re tha man (or woman) and you could die real soon or just slowly with chemos…well halle-fucking-luja…

Computer games consoles inspire aid for blind

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In the eighties, people dreamed of this kind of technology, now it’s nearly upon us. Virtual reality taken to the next step, to aid partially-sighted people in their day to day life which for us is as normal as a walk in the park. For them however watching where you are going is very hard, but with these spectacles it should be less of a problem. By trying to keep the costs low, the idea is to make it “easily available to the people who need it most.” They are trying to develop a prototype within the next 12 months to start testing.

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So, developing consoles and controllers for games has triggered this awesome idea. To help people living their lives a bit easier. The idea of helping people is not new of course, but the fact that they are using technology which is available through the development of computer consoles is. Now what I want to see are glasses with build-in displays so you can see all the information Internet has to offer right in front of you, like Layers. That would be real cool, the only thing is that you would be forced to walk around with glasses on your nose 24/7, but other than that, who said playing computer games was bad?

Emma Watson's little black dress moment for Harry Potter photocall

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Little girls grow up. Emma Watson is such a girl. Or should I say was. In the Netherlands the last Harry Potter film will premiere next week, but the press appearance was in London on Wednesday the 6th of July. That’s where Emma appeared like this. Being the face of Lancôme, having a stint at Burberry’s and a design collaboration with Alberta Ferretti, she knows her fashion. Her little black dress exemplifies her faultless style. She is a cover girl on the front of two magazines and a multi-millionaire. Her hair has gone from curly and bushy and Hermione like to short and pixie and Emma like.

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Because of the final Harry Potter film being released next week, I am watching all the films again with tonight Part 4, 5, 6 and maybe 7 part 1, but we’ll see how long I can stay awake. After watching the first three films and then being confronted with Emma as she looks now is a real shock. Not so much the hair as well her whole appearance has changed and changed for the good mind you. Just two days ago she was this girl with books and a robe and now she is a woman! The little black dress looks really good on her and vampish is the right word!

Wesley’s ‘perfect’ for United

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With the start of the new season coming closer and closer, clubs are looking for fresh meat in the grinder and Manchester United have their sights set on Wesley Sneijder or at least that is what Rene Meulensteen, Alex Ferguson's right-hand man, said. The Inter Milan player is perfect for Untited because of his ability to “run the game and put the ball wherever he wants.” according to Meulensteen. Milan won the Treble two years ago with Sneijder playing a “key role”. Whether United can buy him is up to Milan. When Milan decides to sell, the question remains whether United has enough money to buy.

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I don’t know much about football. I do know good players are needed everywhere and Sneijder must be a good player since he is worth 35 million pounds! The clubs look at their selection and try to get players that will fit in their team, but is it really necessary to pay those amounts of money for one player? What if the player doesn’t fit in the team? Then you have spent a lot of money on nothing. And why is Inter tempting to sell? Doesn’t he play well enough anymore? Or is the fact that he is now worth 35 million pounds a indicator of how bad they want to sell him (or how bad they want the money).

London Snorkelling Team

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The London Snorkeling team combines music, image and comedy. Together it becomes something more. At first sight, the gig looks like a “fantasy radio broadcast/old fashioned variety show”, but the team takes their music very seriously. By combining music and imagery and comedy they create something completely new. The visuals are a mixing desk with volume controls and switches. The audio is controlled by the volume controls and the switches provide the humor which changes the music in something ridiculous every time they flip a switch. The resulting cacophony seems unguided but is however well orchestrated. Very impressive!

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I have watched the YouTube video of this performance and at first glance/hearceJ I thought “What rubbish is this?!” but while listening I saw a structure, a set of rules to which these guys operate: the mixing desk. The changing of the music, sometimes in ridiculous ways, is very funny and very sudden. I wouldn’t go to a show like this of my own accord, but I did enjoy the video. However music to me is a combination of sounds and rhythm which form a whole. Although these are sounds and through the mixing desk it does forms a whole, it doesn’t ring music to me, I’d say art.

YouTube

Revealed: UK's blueprint for a green revolution

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The European Union has said that by the year 2020 every country in the EU should at least produce 15% of its energy from environment friendly sources such as solar heating, wind turbines and biomass energy. The United Kingdom should do this as well. Now the government has devised a plan to make this happen. It says that the UK should lower its greenhouse gas emissions and its oil usage. This can be done by improving the energy efficiency in the people’s homes whit renovating them, build more wind turbines and use more land to produce crops for biomass energy. The government should give more money to grants and incentives for businesses and households to go green. Not everybody is equally enthusiastic about this plan, but the director of Greenpeace is already enthusiastic about it.

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I think it is a g

ood thing that the EU is making sure that its countries are actively looking for more environmental friendly ways to produce energy. I am sure it will cost a lot of money but I think that it will be worth it in the end. The way the UK is planning to tackle the problem is a very ambitious one. They should let the British public know what exactly they are trying to achieve with the taxes which are going to fund this ambitious plan. I assume not everybody would be to happy if they have to pay more yet do not see were the money is going to.