Daniel Radcliffe Talks The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe seems content with, as he puts it, the fading "hoopla" that surrounded playing Harry Potter for ten years. "If that steadily decreases for the rest of my life, I'll be kind of cool with that," Radcliffe admitted on the eve of the release "The Woman in Black," his first post-Potter film project. Considering his fame -- primarily fueled from playing Potter in eight separate films -- the 22-year-old actor is surprisingly self-aware.

Radcliffe realizes his current place in movie stardom. He knows that his "cachet" (again, as he puts it) will not last forever, nor do I get the impression that he wants it to last forever. Actually, from the time we spent together, I did get a vibe from Radcliffe that almost cried, "the sooner, the better." Put it this way: when searching for an apt metaphor to describe fame and fortune, Radcliffe compared it to regurgitated steak.

In "The Woman in Black" Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipp, a lawyer who discovers deep, dark secrets in a town inhabited by a seemingly child-killing ghost. An open and honest Radcliffe discussed the importance of his first post-Potter role, why he would not play another character named "Harry," and what he won't miss about the fame that came along with being Harry Potter.

They didn't screen the film for me before this interview.
I'm sorry.

I've seen the trailer. In the time we have, you could act out every scene that I've seen five times.
That's absolutely true! Yes! And it would be a lot of the same face that's in the trailer.

So you're 22 now, right?
Yes.

You do look a little older in "The Woman in Black" than what we're used to seeing.
Good.

Is that important to you?
Yep.

Why?
In the original script he's about 27. I think I could conceivably play 24 or 25 with a little bit of stubble. Also, in all of those clothes, that makes you look slightly older because you hold yourself differently. So, yeah, we were picturing him at about 24 or 25, with a 4-year old son.

Did you read the book?
Yes. I've read the book, but I've never seen the play. Weirdly, because I never really was at school -- because the play seems to be like a "school trip" play for everybody I know -- I never went to see it because I was doing "Potter." But I hear it's terrifying -- as it should be.

It would be odd if you said, "I've heard that it's hilarious."
[Laughs] Yeah, well that's the thing: the movie is very different than the book and very different than the play. And the book is different than the play. So, you know, we've all taken liberties. The original book is told in the past -- it's flashback from my character as an old man -- and that's not what it is in the film. In the film it all takes place in the present time. It's basically the idea for "The Woman in Black," the village and the tone of the book, and changed details of the story.

What if the main character's first name in this story was Harry instead of Arthur? Maybe that's a stupid question...
No, it's not stupid at all.

Would you have asked to have it changed?
Yeah, I think I might.

That's interesting.
I don't know. I think I might. It would be more of a problem if the character's name was Potter. That would be worse. But, I don't know. Maybe. On "My Boy Jack," they came to me with glasses and I was like, "Whoa, not those ones." But, yes, it's not a stupid question; it's quite an interesting one. Yeah, I think I might have asked for that to be changed. I'm not sure. I don't know how I would have felt about that. But, yeah, there's also another weird "Potter" connection with this: the guy who played my dad in "Potter" played my character in the original TV film of "The Woman in Black." So there's a few little weird "Potter" connections. But, then again, "Potter" is connected to everything. It's no no longer even a coincidence. It's just inevitable.

This is your first big film role post-"Potter." How important is this movie to you?
It's important, but it's not the be-all and end-all, that's the thing. Like, people keep saying, "Oh, it's Daniel Radciffe's first film post-"Harry Potter," let's see how he does."

I don't even necessarily mean it like that. Do you feel you need to separate yourself from what you're currently known for?
Yes. But I think it's a longer... I think to put all of that pressure on one film would be ridiculous. I think, because not everyone is going to see this. A lot of people will, hopefully, but not everyone. And, also, I made peace a long time ago with the fans. There will be people who forever see me as Harry. That's fine as long as they're not controlling a casting racket in L.A., then we'll be fine. For this film, what's great about it and what's kind of perfect is that the part is different: it's older, it's playing a father. There are challenges there; stuff that will physically separate me from Harry in people's minds. But there's also the story is so compelling that after about 10 or 15 minutes of watching the film, you're going to stop thinking about me or what else I've done and just be into the film. Because it's a really brilliant story. So that's why it's kind of perfect as a first film outside of it. Because even though I'm the only "name above the title" kind of thing, once you're in there, it's not about me. it's about the story and the need to know what's going to happen. So, hopefully that will overtake.

Will you miss all the commotion that came with Harry Potter? If I were you, I can't decide if I'd miss it or not.
[Pauses] Hm...

Not the people that you worked with...
No, no, no... the fame and the circus and the hoopla...

"Hoopla." That's the word I'm looking for.
No, I don't miss the hoopla. I don't think, particularly. I'm quite happy. If I have passed my most famous point, I won't be unhappy. Like, that's OK. If, say, around the time of "Potter 7" coming out, my face is all over the world, and all of that stuff is going on at that time and all of that madness -- if that steadily decreases for the rest of my life, I'll be kind of cool with that. I had a good dose of it for 10 years. You know, I'm now content to just make my way and do a lot of films that I find interesting. There is the fight, then, is that in order to keep being able to do interesting little things, you have to do that George Clooney thing of doing a big movie like an "Oceans 11" -- which are still very good movies -- so that you can go off and do "Syriana" or "Good Night and Good Luck," or whatever. So I suppose that's the challenge in the future. For now, I still have "Potter" behind me and people still associate me with this big thing. So, while my name has some cachet, I guess...

It does.
It does, for now. But, you know, it won't forever. And, so, while it still does, I've got a chance to make some really interesting films.

So when you look at the hoopla, what part are you most glad is over? Is it so you have time to make different movies?
That's the thing...

You had time for stage productions...
But not for films. I won't miss having to tell people, "No, I won't be available for another year and a half." I won't miss that. Look, there's always going to be premieres and all of that. That kind of stuff. I won't miss the mania that kind of surrounds it. But it's not like I disliked any of that at the same time. it's one of those things where you go, I don't know -- it's the equivalent of having a really, really good steak. Like, you have it, then it's gone. You don't miss it. You don't go, "Oh, I wish that steak were back here." You go, "Damn, I enjoyed that."

I've missed steak before.
OK, but you don't want to regurgitate it and eat it again!

That's fair.
But that's the kind of thing I'd say about "Potter." It was like a good steak for 10 years, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't try and bring it back up.

At one point you were attached to play photographer Dan Eldon. What happened?
Yeah, yeah... I was attached to that for a while. We felt that the script changes were needed.

My ex-girlfriend went to high school with him, so it's a project that I've paid attention to.
Oh, really? Yeah, it was a great script. And then I read a little more about his life and the script was fantastic, but it wasn't entirely -- reading about Dan, as well as being an inspirational and amazing person, he was also abrasive. And he annoyed a lot of people. He had a knack for pissing people off.

I've heard that.
And that wasn't in the script. And I felt that it needed that. So, yeah, that was the reason for that.

Mike Ryan is the senior writer for Moviefone. He has written for Wired Magazine, VanityFair.com, GQ.com, New York Magazine and Movieline. He likes Star Wars a lot. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924406/news/1924406/

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Can?t bear to miss a gem from Dahlia Lithwick? You can follow her on MySlate and be notified whenever she writes a new piece. Are you a politics junkie who wants all of our election coverage as soon as it hits the screen? Follow our ?Politics? section and you?ll stay up to date. MySlate will also let you track your comments, so you can see if Farhad Manjoo?or any other Slate commenter?responds to or likes your post. And if you?re too busy for the latest from Seth Stevenson, you can save it to read later with a single click. You?ll find all of this?your custom mix of writers, sections, stories, and comments?on a personalized page you can bookmark to visit any time.

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McGee's leads Wizards over Bobcats again 102-99 (AP)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? JaVale McGee scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the Charlotte Bobcats for the second time in a week, 102-99 on Saturday night.

The matchup between two teams tied for the fewest wins in the NBA came down to the final shot, but Matt Carroll's 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.

McGee had a chance to seal the game with less than 6 seconds to go, but missed two foul shots. But that was about all McGee didn't do right, as shot 9 of 14 from the field. Like many others this season, McGee exposed Charlotte's poor interior defense, using an effective hook shot in the lane.

John Wall added 13 points and 10 assists for the Wizards (4-16).

The Wizards also got 21 points from Nick Young, while reserves Trevor Booker and Jordan Crawford chipped in with 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Kemba Walker became the third Bobcats (3-18) player to register a triple-double, recording 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. The 6-foot-1 Walker joined Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw as the only players in franchise history to record such a feat.

Diaw, back in the starting lineup for the Bobcats, had 21 points and 10 assists. Byron Mullens scored 23 points, while Carroll and Tyrus Thomas each added 13.

The Bobcats have lost eight straight.

The Wizards held the lead for most of the game, but the Bobcats battled back from 12 points down to take the lead at 92-90 on a dunk by Mullens. But that lead was short-lived as McGee hit a running hook in the lane two possessions later to give the Wizards a 96-94 lead they would never relinquish.

Trailing 102-99 with 41.2 seconds left, the Bobcats had a chance to tie, but burned almost the entire 24-second clock unable to get a look at an open 3-pointer as the Wizards stepped up the defense. Eventually, Diaw drove the lane but missed and McGee quickly grabbed the rebound.

The Bobcats immediately fouled.

McGee missed both shots and the Bobcats called timeout with 4.6 seconds left.

Carroll got a good look on the ensuing inbounds play, but his 3-point attempt to tie the game hit off the front rim.

Notes: Washington shot 53 percent from the field and won despite being outrebounded by the smaller Bobcats 42-32. ... The Bobcats were playing without five players, including their two leading scorers: Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin. Augustin has missed the last four games with a toe injury, while Henderson sat out after re-injuring his back in Friday night's loss to the 76ers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bkn_wizards_bobcats

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[OOC] Spellwar: Creation and Destruction

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Spellwar: Creation and Destruction"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

"To protect the world from Japanamation, To overthrough the Kaiba corporation,
To denounce the meaning of the original dub, to extend our reach to the world above,
Team Fourkids blast of at the speed of light, surrender now or prepare to fight,
Meowth that's right..."
-Team Fourkids Motto

Azure Limit

Member for 3 years

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I want to reserve a Black Mage, please...I will get my char done as soon as possible

blackwolf

Member for 1 years

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I'd like to reserve a mage as well.

And just to be sure, whatever number you arbitrarily assign to mages and spell-links will determine what partner is forced upon us?

Lifecharacter

Member for 1 years

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I'm new here, but I enjoy writing and have done some rpging on a different site... Wanna take a chance on a noob and let her play a Spell-Link?

TikiStar

Member for 0 years

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No, I would like people to chose their partners. The numbers just show which people have paired up.

@Tiki, everyone was a noob once, so I make no judgements. Go ahead and make a character.

Azure Limit

Member for 3 years

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so, how can we determine who our partners are gonna be?

blackwolf

Member for 1 years

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Wait until someone catches your eye and ask them?

Lifecharacter

Member for 1 years

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That's one way of going about it.

Azure Limit

Member for 3 years

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submitted my char...hope he meets with approval

blackwolf

Member for 1 years

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Can I reserve white mage?

edit: I submit my char....please tell me if I need to fix him

Last edited by Arthurna on Sat Jan 28, 2012 3:18 am, edited 2 times in total.

Arthurna

Member for 0 years

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Hey, anyone wants to be my spell-link please PMs me, 'kay?

blackwolf

Member for 1 years

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This roleplay looks so awesome! 8D I haven't decided what kind of role I would like to play, since they all look rather good to me, so is there any sort of role that needs filling up currently?

----------
You walk through the mahogany door. The little girl inside stares at you with her iridescent violet eyes, emphasized by her rich indigo dress. Her caretaker hovers by your side, obviously flustered at your sudden appearance. You ignore her, as the girl's eyes bores into outer facade, and searches your heart, mind and soul. She reaches out a hand, probably realising you are not a threat.
Do you take it?
Will you take it?
Can you take it?
She's waiting...
----------

NinaKerndall

Member for 1 years

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To NinaKerndall, i'm needing a spell-link. Would you like to be my spell-link? i prefer a male but female is fine, too

blackwolf

Member for 1 years

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lol I need spell link too,anyone interested?

btw...oh hi Wolf, I didn't see you there ( ???)/

Arthurna

Member for 0 years

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Post a reply

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Blog Archive ? Siem Offshore signs 3-year satellite communications ...

Harris CapRock Communications, a global provider of fully managed communications for remote and harsh environments, has been chosen by Siem Offshore to deliver turnkey Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) communications to five of its supply vessels, located offshore in Brazil. The SeaAccess solution will enable Siem to extend its corporate IT network and applications to its vessels. Siem Offshore Inc. is an owner and operator of modern support vessels for the global oil and gas service industry.

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?We require a robust communications solution onboard our vessels to support our crew and our day-to-day operations,? said Cato Engebretsen, director of supply chain for Siem Offshore Inc. ?It?s important for our fleet to be fully connected to headquarters and our other offices at all times, and after assessing the capabilities of Harris CapRock and its ability to provide local service and support in Brazil, it was the clear choice for our team.?

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Harris CapRock will deploy end-to-end VSAT communications to enable corporate networking, Internet access, Voice over IP, real-time monitoring and reporting, and crew morale services. All equipment will be tested in Aberdeen, U.K., and then shipped and installed locally in Brazil. The turnkey solution includes network design, equipment and installation, as well as service and 24/7 support from Harris CapRock?s Customer Support Center (CSC).

?

The contract has the potential to be extended to an additional four vessels. Harris CapRock was selected as Siem Offshore?s communications partner as a result of its deep experience in providing local service and support in Brazil, combined with its reputation for delivering highly reliable solutions.

?

?The agreement with Siem Offshore?s Brazilian operations highlights the quality communications technology that we?ve built a solid reputation on in the market,? said Pal Jensen, president of SeaAccess, Harris CapRock. ?Our presence in Brazil continues to grow as we broaden our systems integration services, project management capabilities and in-region field service and support. This partnership is a natural extension of the progress we have made.?

?

Harris CapRock Communications is a premier global provider of managed satellite and terrestrial communications solutions specifically for remote and harsh environments including the energy, government and maritime markets. Harris CapRock owns and operates a robust global infrastructure that includes teleports on six continents, five 24/7 network operations centers, local presence in 23 countries and more than 275 global field service personnel supporting customer locations across North America, Central and South America, Europe, West Africa and Asia Pacific.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.military-technologies.net/2012/01/27/siem-offshore-signs-3-year-satellite-communications-contract-with-harris-caprock-for-services-to-brazil-fleet/

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HBT: Tigers' Cabrera looks amazingly fit

I share Aaron?s dubiousness about Miguel Cabrera playing third base for the Tigers. ?And I laughed during the Prince Fielder press conference when Fielder said this:

?I?m confident in Miguel doing a good job. That?s where he started out, at third base.?

Which is why Chipper Jones will be playing shortstop for the Braves, Jim Thome will be playing third base for the Phillies and Rick Ankiel will be the opening day starter for the Nationals.

But maybe we shouldn?t mock. ?During that press conference, Jim Leyland made an allusion to Miguel Caberea losing weight and being just fine at third base. ?Then a recent picture of Miguel Cabrera ? courtesy of his personal trainer Radhi Muhammad of 4.40 Fitness and Athlete Development?? was forwarded to me. ?Check this out:

Mercy me. Two tickets to the gun show, please!

I have no idea if that translates to better-than-expected play at third base. But I?m just sayin?, maybe we need to revise this whole ?the Tigers infield is fat? thing. Because it doesn?t seem to apply to Miguel Cabrera at the moment.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/26/miguel-cabrera-is-in-the-best-shape-of-his-life/related/

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NASA study solves case of Earth's 'missing energy'

ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2012) ? Two years ago, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., released a study claiming that inconsistencies between satellite observations of Earth's heat and measurements of ocean heating amounted to evidence of "missing energy" in the planet's system.

Where was it going? Or, they wondered, was something wrong with the way researchers tracked energy as it was absorbed from the sun and emitted back into space?

An international team of atmospheric scientists and oceanographers, led by Norman Loeb of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and including Graeme Stephens of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., set out to investigate the mystery.

They used 10 years of data -- spanning 2001 to 2010 -- from NASA Langley's orbiting Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Experiment (CERES) instruments to measure changes in the net radiation balance at the top of Earth's atmosphere. The CERES data were then combined with estimates of the heat content of Earth's ocean from three independent ocean-sensor sources.

Their analysis, summarized in a NASA-led study published Jan. 22 in the journal Nature Geosciences, found that the satellite and ocean measurements are, in fact, in broad agreement once observational uncertainties are factored in.

"One of the things we wanted to do was a more rigorous analysis of the uncertainties," Loeb said. "When we did that, we found the conclusion of missing energy in the system isn't really supported by the data."

"Missing Energy" is in the Ocean

"Our data show that Earth has been accumulating heat in the ocean at a rate of half a watt per square meter (10.8 square feet), with no sign of a decline," Loeb said. "This extra energy will eventually find its way back into the atmosphere and increase temperatures on Earth."

Scientists generally agree that 90 percent of the excess heat associated with increases in greenhouse gas concentrations gets stored in Earth's ocean. If released back into the atmosphere, a half-watt per square meter accumulation of heat could increase global temperatures by 0.3 or more degrees centigrade (0.54 degree Fahrenheit).

Loeb said the findings demonstrate the importance of using multiple measuring systems over time, and illustrate the need for continuous improvement in the way Earth's energy flows are measured.

The science team at the National Center for Atmospheric Research measured inconsistencies from 2004 and 2009 between satellite observations of Earth's heat balance and measurements of the rate of upper ocean heating from temperatures in the upper 700 meters (2,300 feet) of the ocean. They said the inconsistencies were evidence of "missing energy."

Other authors of the paper are from the University of Hawaii, the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, the University of Reading United Kingdom and the University of Miami.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Norman G. Loeb, John M. Lyman, Gregory C. Johnson, Richard P. Allan, David R. Doelling, Takmeng Wong, Brian J. Soden, Graeme L. Stephens. Observed changes in top-of-the-atmosphere radiation and upper-ocean heating consistent within uncertainty. Nature Geoscience, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1375

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120127173235.htm

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US Embassy: US citizen kidnapped in Nigeria freed (AP)

LAGOS, Nigeria ? A U.S. citizen kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta has been freed after a week in captivity, the U.S. Embassy said Friday.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Deb MacLean told The Associated Press that the man had been released after being kidnapped in Warri in Delta state on Jan. 20. MacLean declined to offer any other details, citing privacy rules. Delta state police spokesman Charles Muka said he had not been informed about the man's release, as his company refused to cooperate with local authorities.

The freed hostage was identified as William Gregory Ock, 50, of Bowdon, Ga., by his sister, Dee Dee Patterson.

Patterson told the AP on Friday that the family had no details of his release.

"The only thing we know is that he is safe and he is in a secure location," Patterson said by telephone.

She had no information on when Ock would return home to Georgia.

It was not immediately clear whether a ransom had been paid to secure his release, though many companies working in the region carry kidnap insurance and simply pay a negotiated price to see their employees freed. Kidnappers had made contact with authorities previously and demanded a $333,000 ransom.

The attack Jan. 20 occurred outside a bank branch in Warri, one of the main cities in nation's Niger Delta, a region of mangroves and swamps where foreign oil companies pump 2.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. The gunmen attacked Ock as he came outside, shooting his police escort to death before abducting him, Muka said.

Investigators believe the gunmen trailed him for some time before the attack, Muka said.

Foreign firms have pumped oil out of the delta for more than 50 years. Despite the billions flowing into Nigeria's government, many in the delta remain desperately poor, living in polluted waters without access to proper medical care, education or work.

In 2006, militants started a wave of attacks targeting foreign oil companies, including bombing their pipelines, kidnapping their workers and fighting with security forces. That violence waned in 2009 with a government-sponsored amnesty program promising ex-fighters monthly payments and job training. However, few in the delta have seen the promised benefits and criminal gangs still roam the region, increasingly targeting middle-class Nigerians.

In 2011, there were five reported kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Nigeria, according to a recent U.S. State Department travel warning about the country. The most recent occurred in November when two U.S. citizens and a Mexican were kidnapped from a Chevron Corp. offshore oil field and held for about two weeks, the State Department said.

A German working in the city of Kano in north Nigeria was abducted Thursday by unknown gunmen, authorities have said.

___

Associated Press writer Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_re_us/af_nigeria_oil_unrest

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95% Pina

All Critics (64) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (60) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)

What the filmmaker has created is an inspired simulacrum - a jewel-box that contains more of Bausch's kinetic soul than film has any right to.

Crane and steadycam allow Wenders to get so close to the action that in the minimalist Caf? M?ller, one's illusion of being on stage is uncanny.

"Pina"is the best possible tribute to Bausch, and to adventurous image-making.

I watched the film in a sort of reverie.

Whether you're familiar with Pina Bausch's work or not, the new film "Pina" is a knockout.

So this is what 3-D is capable of when used for art rather than the commerce of hiking ticket prices and repurposing cartoons!

Even for someone who would rather count sheep than attend a ballet, these scenes are nothing short of astonishing, beautifully presenting dance's ability to depict words.

You won't hear the names Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor or Bob Fosse breathed herein.

An exhilarating experience, both in its celebration of Bausch's groundbreaking work and in the thrilling way that Wenders captures it on camera.

It's not an overview of Bausch's career or a statement on her art, but a celebration of her work and the dancers who bring it to life.

This is a stunning film, a glorious homage to modern dance and one of its premier authors and the best justification of 3D technology to date.

With a breakout use of 3D for artistic rather than solely commercial blockbuster purposes, German director Wim Wenders gives extraordinary life to the work of choreographer Pina Bausch.

From the hauntingly beautiful to the scary, Pina Bausch's post-modern dance sparkles in 3D.

It's an enchanting film, one that makes you feel you are missing something dear if you don't dance or appreciate it as an art form.

An often exhilarating, lively, magical and breathtaking experience of Pina Bausch's art.

A welcome departure from the by-the-numbers fossilization in today's documentary deluge.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pina_3d/

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USDA sets guidelines for healthier school meals (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? School meals for millions of children will be healthier under obesity-fighting U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards unveiled on Wednesday that double the amount of fruits and vegetables in cafeteria lunches - but won't pull French fries from the menu.

In the first major changes to school meals in more than 15 years, the new USDA guidelines will affect nearly 32 million children who eat at school. They will cost about $3.2 billion to implement over the next five years.

"Improving the quality of the school meals is a critical step to building a healthy future for our kids," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

The new meal requirements are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by first lady Michelle Obama. President Barack Obama approved the measure in late 2010.

The guidelines double the amounts of fruits and vegetables in school lunches and boost offerings of whole grain-rich foods. The new standards set maximums for calories and cut sodium and trans fat, a contributor to high cholesterol levels.

Schools may offer only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties and must assure that children are getting proper portion sizes, the USDA said.

The new standards will be largely phased in over a three-year period, starting in the 2012-13 school year.

About 17 percent of U.S. children and teenagers are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About one-third of U.S. adults are obese.

FRIES WITH THAT?

Lawmakers altered the guidelines in November. They barred the USDA from limiting French fries and ensured that pizza counted as a vegetable because of its tomato paste.

Trade associations representing frozen pizza sellers like ConAgra Foods Inc and Schwan Food Co as well as French fry sellers McCain Foods Ltd and J.R. Simplot Co were instrumental in blocking changes to rules affecting those items.

Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the non-profit Center For Science in the Public Interest, said that the new standards were a big improvement despite food industry lobbying and the congressional revamp.

"The new school meal standards are one of the most important advances in nutrition in decades," she said in a statement.

The Environmental Working Group said the changes could pack a financial punch since they may help reduce medical bills related to diabetes and other obesity-related chronic diseases.

"A healthier population will save billions of dollars in future health care costs," said Dawn Undurraga, EWG's staff nutritionist.

As an example of a new meal, the USDA said an elementary school lunch could be whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce and a whole wheat roll, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi, low-fat milk, low-fat ranch dip and soft margarine.

That lunch would replace a meal of a hot dog on a bun with ketchup, canned pears, raw celery and carrots with ranch dressing, and low-fat chocolate milk.

As part of the new standards, schools will receive another 6 cents a meal. The USDA also will increase the number of inspections of school menus.

Food and beverages sold in vending machines and other school sites "will also contribute to a healthy diet," the USDA statement said.

The USDA gives school districts funds for meals through its National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.

(Additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles)

(Reporting By Ian Simpson. Editing by Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/hl_nm/us_school_food

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5th person arrested in Megaupload case

AUCKLAND?? A fifth person has been arrested in the Megaupload file-sharing case, a U.S. official confirmed Wednesday.

The U.S. Justice Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because the case is still pending, said Dutch police have arrested Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and a resident of both Turkey and Estonia.

Police in New Zealand last week arrested Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and three other Megaupload employees on U.S. accusations they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content, costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue.

On Wednesday, a judge in New Zealand denied bail to Dotcom pending his first extradition hearing on Feb. 22, saying he poses a flight risk.

Dotcom, 38, insists he is innocent and poses no flight risk.

In all, U.S. authorities have charged seven men in the conspiracy case and are still seeking the arrest of the remaining two men.

Authorities in the U.S. are seeking to extradite the four men arrested in New Zealand and are also expected to seek Nomm's extradition.

Dotcom, a German national also known as Kim Schmitz is accused of masterminding a scheme that made more than $175 million in a few years by infringing copyrighted content without authorization. His lawyer has said that the company simply offered online storage and that his client is innocent.

The prosecutor said he was a "flight risk at the extreme end of the scale" because it was believed he had access to funds, had multiple identities, and had a history of fleeing criminal charges.

Three other men charged with Dotcom will also be remanded, but their lawyers have said they will contest the decision.

? 2012 msnbc.com

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46122134/ns/business-world_business/

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Obama's top 5 successes (The Week)

New York ? The president will surely boast of his accomplishments during Tuesday night's State of the Union Address. So what exactly are they?

President Obama gives his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. But let's call it what it is: A campaign speech. The president is looking at an uphill battle to keep his job, and the SOTU is the ultimate bully pulpit. Last year it drew an audience of 42.8 million people. Obama will tout his accomplishments, of course, and make the case for another term. But what are those accomplishments? Here they are, in descending order. (And before all you Obama detractors bombard me, at least wait until my next column, when I'll take the opposite side and point out President Obama's top five mistakes.)

5. Getting out of Iraq
Keeping one's promise is good currency for any politician, and this was a big one that Obama delivered on. The numbers: 4,484 Americans killed, 32,200 wounded, $806 billion spent (with an estimated $1 trillion needed for future medical care for war veterans through 2050, says a Brown University study) ? all for a war that began under a pretext (finding weapons of mass destruction) that never panned out. Instead, it evolved into a costly 105-month grind that damaged America's image in the world and, it could be argued, strengthened Iran's standing in the region. On top of all this, the war wasn't paid for. Yes, it toppled Saddam Hussein. But other Mideast dictators have been overthrown pretty much on their own during the Arab Spring; historians can only ponder how Saddam might have fared. Obama opposed the war all the way back in 2002 ? and promised repeatedly on the campaign trail in 2008 that he'd end the conflict. Mission accomplished.

SEE MORE: President Obama's rising approval rating: 4 theories

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Obama's economic policies may not be popular, and are surely imperfect. But they unquestionably forestalled disaster.

4. Improving America's image abroad
America was showered with goodwill after the September 11 attacks. A few years and a couple of wars later, that goodwill had largely vanished. The war in Iraq led to brutal coverage around the world that screamed of secret U.S. prisons, torture, and images from Abu Ghraib. Fair or not, the Bush administration was perceived in some quarters of the globe as a unilateralist, my-way-or-the-highway bully. By 2008, America's standing in the world had fallen, sometimes sharply. Even staunch American allies were unhappy: Just 53 percent of Britons had a favorable opinion of the U.S., along with 46 percent of Australians, and just 31 percent of Germans. Today, those numbers are up in every region of the world ? thanks in no small part to President Obama's effort to treat our allies as true partners.?There is one important and ironic exception to this uptrend, however: The Muslim world. Just 12 percent of Pakistanis, 20 percent of Egyptians and 13 percent of Jordanians had a favorable opinion of us last year ? all down in the Obama years, despite opponents who accuse him of tilting toward the Muslim world (if not actually being a secret Muslim).?

SEE MORE: Obama's recess dilemma

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3. Passing health-care reform
"I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president," candidate Obama said in 2008. He certainly made good on that pledge ? at considerable political cost to himself and his party. In some ways, the true success of this accomplishment is hard to judge, since most major provisions of the president's Affordable Care Act don't go into effect until 2014. Plus, the constitutionality of the law's central provision ? a government mandate that all Americans have health insurance ? will be debated by the Supreme Court this spring, with a decision coming as early as June. Until then, though: Promise made, promise kept. This is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation since LBJ's Great Society. Among the provisions of this piece of legislation already in place is a rule prohibiting insurance companies from rescinding coverage based on the flimsiest of pretexts, and lifetime limits on insurance coverage ? which have sent many a citizen to the poorhouse ? have been eliminated.

SEE MORE: The 'creepy' Barack Obama mannequin

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2. Getting Osama bin Laden
"Victory has a thousand fathers," John F. Kennedy said after his humiliation at the Bay of Pigs, "but defeat is an orphan." Had the bin Laden raid failed, it would have been completely on the president. Yet in the wake of its stunning success, Obama did not gloat. He gave credit where credit was due: To the many thousands of unknown men and women of America's intelligence agencies who spent years painstakingly piecing together minute scraps of information that led to the raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad compound ? and to the heroes of SEAL Team Six who carried it out. This alone is one definition of true leadership. And the president deserves credit for bravely giving the order. The Defense secretary at the time, Robert Gates ? who served eight presidents, including Ronald Reagan ? called it "one of the most courageous calls... that I think I've ever seen a president make." Former Vice President Dick Cheney applauded Obama, too. "You've got to give him a lot of credit for making the decision," Cheney said. "It's no question that was his responsibility and I think he handled it well."

1. Preventing a depression
Republicans like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor point out that the unemployment rate has increased dramatically on Obama's watch. Cantor is right: It was 7.8 percent in January 2009, and three years later, it is 8.5 percent (down from the October 2010 peak of 10 percent). Yet three years before Obama was sworn in, the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent. Republicans are also right when they say economic growth has been weak under Obama. But this still beats the two quarters before Obama was sworn in, when GDP fell at annualized rates of -3.7 percent and -8.9 percent. So let's be honest: The economy was in free fall when Obama was sworn in. The house was burning down, Republicans got out by the scruff of their necks ? and now don't like the way Obama put out the fire. One of Obama's firefighting tools was the much-maligned stimulus. Was part of the stimulus a mismanaged boondoggle? Absolutely. But part of it was also tax cuts that went into the pockets of 95 percent?of working families. Without the stimulus, the Congressional Budget Office and other independent analysts estimate that the unemployment rate and the U.S. economy as a whole would have been far worse off than it was. Obama's economic policies may not be popular, and are surely imperfect. But they unquestionably forestalled disaster.

SEE MORE: The many failures of Obama's Teddy Roosevelt speech

?

Again, stay tuned: Next week, I'll point out the president's top five mistakes.

Follow Paul Brandus on Twitter: @WestWingReport.

View this article on TheWeek.com
Get Obama and the 'road to serfdom'

Opinion Brief: 5 theories why Obama is going on 'The View'

Opinion Brief: Obama on 'The View': Unpresidential?

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120123/cm_theweek/223596

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Narisetti leaves DC to join Wall Street Journal (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Wall Street Journal says it has hired the managing editor of The Washington Post to head its online news properties.

Raju Narisetti joined the Post three years ago in a reorganization of the newspaper's top management. The announcement Friday marks a return to the Journal for the 45-year-old Narisetti. He had been deputy managing editor at the newspaper and editor of its Europe edition.

He leaves the Post on Feb. 1 and starts at the WSJ on Feb. 15. In a newsroom announcement, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli credits Narisetti with building a team that increased the Post's online traffic.

In his new role, Narisetti will become managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network and deputy managing editor.

Before joining the Post, Narisetti was founding editor of the India-based Mint business newspaper.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_hi_te/us_wall_street_journal_editor

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The $35 Raspberry Pi Can Stream Video From iPad to TV Using AirPlay [Video]

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Brooks chokes up testifying about hospital gift (AP)

CLAREMORE, Okla. ? Country singer Garth Brooks told jurors Friday that he believed he had a "done deal" to honor his late mother with a women's health center in his Oklahoma hometown, and said he still doesn't understand how he received nothing for a $500,000 gift.

Brooks is suing Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital in Yukon, accusing it and its president of reneging on a pledge to build the center and name it after his mother, Colleen, who died of cancer in 1999. The center was never built, and Brooks wants his money back, plus punitive damages.

In tearful testimony, Brooks said he thought he had a solid agreement with the hospital's president, James Moore. Brooks said Moore initially suggested putting his mother's name on an intensive care unit, and when Brooks said that wouldn't fit her image, Moore suggested a women's center.

"I jumped all over it," Brooks told jurors. "It's my mom. My mom was pregnant as a teenager. She had a rough start. She wanted to help every kid out there."

Brooks said he gave $500,000 to the hospital anonymously, which he said was his custom when giving to charities. The singer said he, his family and the hospital wanted to keep things quiet until a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the center.

He was eventually shown architectural drawings of a proposed center bearing his mother's name. "That's why I thought it was a win-win for everybody," Brooks said.

But nothing happened. The center was never build and his mother's name wasn't attached to anything.

"How this thing went wrong, I don't know," Brooks testified.

"I'm the last of six kids. I was her favorite," Brooks added. "She was my buddy. I was her biggest fan. She was a pistol. All of the parties were at her house. She was just a doll. If anybody met her, (they) would have gotten to love her."

Moore testified earlier this week that a women's center was not among the hospital's plans, though Brooks testified Friday that Moore never told him that while they were negotiating a gift.

The singer donated the money in 2005. Three years later, he exchanged emails with Moore after the hospital president wrote saying the money would be used to help fund new construction, Brooks said.

"As nicely as I can, I'm trying to give him an opportunity to say why he's spending the money and there's no women's center going up," Brooks testified.

Brooks said he sent his accountant to investigate, but that nothing came from the ongoing correspondence.

By March 2009, he'd asked the hospital to either refund his money or give it to another charity. In September 2009, Brooks sued.

"I thought this was going to be mom's chance to bring a women's center to my hometown," Brooks testified.

Brooks' accountant, Cheryl Harris, testified earlier Friday that she wasn't aware of any conditions on Brooks' donation, which was listed as a tax deduction. Asked by Integris lawyer Terry Thomas how she believed the money would be used, she said, "He didn't receive anything physical."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_en_mu/us_people_garth_brooks

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Paul's place in SC uncertain given lighter effort (AP)

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. ? Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul didn't seem to mind Friday that he has campaigned less aggressively in South Carolina than he did in other early voting states.

But it was far from clear during a whirlwind circuit around the state the day before the crucial Southern primary whether the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman would send a message here as his outsider candidacy did in Iowa and New Hampshire.

"I took a day off of the campaign trail," Paul told an audience of about 200 in a packed banquet hall outside Aiken. "I wanted to make sure I was recorded voting against the national debt limit."

The remark, explaining Paul's temporary departure in the campaign Wednesday to vote in Congress, ignited cheers from the audience in southwestern South Carolina.

Paul drew a crowd of several hundred in Greenville despite heavy rain and frigid temperatures.

"When we were flying and the weather was getting bad, I thought, is anyone going to show up?" Paul said, clearly buoyed by the turnout. The audience cheered.

It was a far different scene early Friday, before Paul began a six-city tour of South Carolina in a small plane. He drew fewer than 100 people to a cavernous airplane hangar in North Charleston, although the audience did include some die-hard supporters.

"When you hear the word principle, you think of Ron Paul. He's the embodiment of that," said Derek Smith, a 26-year-old engineer for the Navy in Charleston. "If he were to run as a third-party candidate, I would vote for him unconditionally."

Paul finished in a strong third place in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, and claimed a distant second to Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. Paul's aides have tried to lower expectations in South Carolina, where he has less invested and where his opposition to military intervention sows doubts among the state's many military hawks.

"There's no authority for our president to go to war without a declaration of war, and I think that it's crucial to avoid these wars that aren't doing that much for us," he told the North Charleston audience.

Paul advisers said they originally expected his share of the vote to reach only the single digits in South Carolina, but they said were sensing enough momentum to make them guardedly optimistic the Texas congressman would finish ahead of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Polls showed a tight contest for first place between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

The Paul campaign, which has spent about $1.5 million on television advertising in South Carolina, has already signaled it would all but skip Florida, citing the prohibitive cost of campaigning there and the likelihood that the state would not field a full slate of delegates. Florida defied Republican Party rules by moving its primary to Jan. 31, and as punishment the party has threated to strip the state of some of its delegates.

Instead, the campaign is looking ahead to states holding caucuses ? following the Obama campaign model of focusing on lower-cost states that can yield a significant number of delegates. Paul's advisers believe his campaign, like Barack Obama's in 2008, is organic and Internet-driven and its supporters are likely to organize themselves in caucus states if they are given the tools to do so.

The Paul campaign's targets include Nevada on Feb. 4 and Colorado and Minnesota on Feb. 7. Colorado and Nevada in particular have a large number of tea party voters, and the Paul campaign believes he can do well there. The campaign announced Friday it would begin a heavy round of advertising in Nevada and Minnesota.

Paul continued during his series of short campaign stops in every corner of the state Friday to breeze through the talking points familiar to his fans, calling for sharply reduced spending, strict adherence to the Constitution, eliminating the Federal Reserve and strictly limiting international military involvement.

Paul has taken to critiquing Santorum in speeches, albeit gently compared to the increasingly barbed back-and-forth between Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Santorum. However, Paul's campaign is running a stinging advertisement referring to Santorum's voting record in Congress as "a record of betrayal."

Paul took an indirect jab at Romney, criticizing his reliance on donations from the banking industry, while pointing to his own campaign's support from U.S. service members drawn to his call for fewer foreign engagements.

"There's a supposed leader in this race and his top three donors are banks, including Goldman Sachs," he said, as many in the audience grumbled.

"Our campaign has a top three donors. First it's the Army, the Air Force and then it's the Navy," he added, prompting a burst of cheers.

___

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Follow Thomas Beaumont on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TomBeaumont

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_el_pr/us_paul

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Ken Ishii, out of dance clubs and into daydreams (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Japan's trail-blazing techno king Ken Ishii has rocked massive crowds the world over with his dance floor beats, but for his latest album he drew inspiration from what some may think an odd choice much closer to home -- a luxury Tokyo shopping mall.

Ishii, 41, is nothing if not unconventional and even as his popularity has grown -- he has risen from playing clubs to the MTV Video Music Awards, made the cover of Newsweek magazine and composed the theme song for the 1998 Winter Olympics -- the master music mixer has tried to remain true to his roots even as his songs make their way into spaces as common as elevators.

"I didn't want to become commercial but music always does," Ishii told Reuters. "I'm an old-school techno kind of guy."

His new project "Music for Daydreams" has the formal title "Ken Ishii presents Metropolitan Harmonic Formulas" and is released in February, almost 20 years after Ishii cut his first track.

The 11-song album marks a small departure for the soft-spoken producer and DJ with a delicate shift in pace from his staple, techno voodoo. He collaborated with jazz musicians, and took two years to complete the record that grew from his work mixing music for the Tokyo Midtown Galleria, a trendy shopping, restaurant and hotel complex in Roppongi, Tokyo.

"I wanted to do something for daytime," Ishii told Reuters. "I always DJ at night so I wanted to do something different. Something for day people."

He said the songs cross many genres and have a timeless feel, but are "still my kind of electronic music."

Ishii burst onto the music scene in the early 1990's, tearing up dance floors in Europe before Japan knew what techno music was.

"Techno changed my life. In the late 80's I was into electronic music like Kraftwerk," said Ishii, who was heavily influenced by Detroit's underground techno scene. "'Space Invaders' got me into electronic noises as a kid."

His big break came from Belgium's R&S Records, a major techno label, when he was still at university.

"I just wanted to be on their label so I sent a tape. It started as a way of killing time as a bored student," he said.

STUDENT TO MASTER MIXER

A No. 1 hit on the techno chart of British music magazine NME in 1993 was followed in 1996 by an MTV video award for the single "Extra" -- both firsts for a Japanese artist.

"It all exploded in Europe very quickly. I thought it was very strange," said Ishii. "I was just a student and all these faxes kept pouring in from European record companies."

He played his first ever live set to 20,000 people in the Netherlands that year. His seminal album, "Jelly Tones," came out in 1995 and featured "Extra," boosting his fame further.

Then came the call from the Japanese Olympic committee.

"Producing the theme track for the Nagano Olympics was a huge thing for me," said Ishii. "But some people don't want to be recognized on the street."

Struggling to stick to his roots as an underground sensation and avoid becoming mainstream eventually led to a key career decision for the artist who so shuns glitz that he is still driven to gigs in his manager's old Toyota even today.

"At the end of the '90s my record labels in Japan and Belgium wanted me to play more commercial," he said.

"I said 'Okay, sorry, this is finished. This is not what I want to do.' I became independent."

And success kept coming. Ishii formed his own label in 2002, and in 2004 he was voted best techno DJ at the "Dance Music Awards" on Ibiza, Spain's clubbing island.

His 2010 dancefloor smash hit "Right Hook" proved Ishii could still strip paint from the walls before he turned his hand to the multi-textured "Music for Daydreams."

"What I do keeps me energized," said Ishii. "When I play my old tracks of 20 years ago on the dancefloor and the crowd are cheering and mad for it still, it's so special.

"That's when I feel I created something timeless."

(Editing by Elaine Lies and Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/en_nm/us_japan_kenishii

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