Squat Alternatives

Often classified as the “king of exercises,” the squat should be a regular part of every guy’s workout program. Squats are great for targeting all the major muscle groups in the lower body, increasing your natural testosterone release, boosting your metabolism, and building muscle or burning fat depending on what your nutritional intake looks like at the moment.

Many men avoid squats because they either don’t have enough flexibility in their calves and shins to perform them properly, they have a nagging lower back injury that seems to flare up when squats are performed, they don’t have access to a squat rack and cannot lift heavy enough weight, or they simply just don’t do the exercise to begin with.

If including squats in your workout program is impossible, there are squat alternatives you can turn to. These will all work many of the same muscle groups as squats and will help to compensate for not having “the king of exercises” in your program.

Progress is going to primarily come down to being able to effectively overload the muscles, so if you can’t accomplish this with squats, but can do so with squat alternatives, that’s the smartest route to go.
Step-ups
Step-ups, performed with either dumbbells or a barbell, are great squat alternatives as well as being an awesome option for home workouts. The higher the step or bench you are using, the more it’s going to target the glute muscles, which help push the body upward.

If you want to place more stress on the quads, move the bench slightly further away from you or step more toward the middle of the bench within comfort range.

You can perform all the reps on one leg and then switch (which is good for muscular endurance) or perform one rep on one leg and then switch legs for the next rep (better for maximum strength).
Split squats
The second exercise is a variation of the squat known as the split squat. These are good for those who tend to feel "locked into place" with the traditional squat. To perform this, stand about two to three feet in front of a step or bench and place your rear foot on the step or bench. Balancing on your forward standing leg, hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides or place a barbell across your back and lower your body down as low as you can go.

To emphasize the hamstrings, split your legs farther apart, and to emphasize the quads, bring them closer together. Just watch that your knee is following over your toes at all times to prevent knee problems.

Walking lunges
The walking lunge is good for guys who aren’t looking to develop muscle size and strength, but are looking to maintain their current muscle mass while bringing out definition.

Walking lunges can be performed forward or backward for increased variety and stimulus on the muscle fibers. However, you should start out with going forward to get used to the correct movement pattern.

Watch that you are maintaining an erect position with your body, as adopting a slightly forward lean will place too much stress on the lower back muscles, causing pain down the road.
Leg presses
Because of the mindset that squats are “the king of exercise," as touched upon in the introduction, many guys overlook the fact that the leg press is a very similar movement pattern, providing almost all the same benefits. Some people feel much more comfortable using a leg press and, therefore, can lift a great deal more weight, making this the superior option.

Generally Leg Sled leg press machines tend to work better for maximum strength development, but if that’s not available, the typical leg press will be better than skipping the movement altogether.

Your foot position will determine the direction of the stress on the muscles; a turned-out stance will target the hamstrings to a higher degree. Alternating between turned-out and straight foot positions will help provide variety in your workout and prevent you from hitting a plateau.
Jump squats
To focus more on quickness and agility, consider jump squats. These don’t require as much calf flexibility due to the pattern of motion, and they're simple to perform.

Jump squats work great when added to polyometric programs or circuit-style training designed for cardio purposes.
Deadlifts
Finally, don’t overlook the other major lower body lift -- the deadlift. These allow you to lift a massive amount of weight, helping develop a high degree of muscle mass and strength. Make sure that when you perform them you are watching the back position to avoid a rounded back that will take the stress away from the legs.

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Miss Venezula Stefania Fernandez Wins Miss Universe Pageant 2009

Venezuela does it again! Stefania Fernandez, an 18-year-old representing Venezula, won the 2009 Miss Universe pageant at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas on Sunday night.

Fernandez accepts the crown from fellow Venezulan, Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Torres — giving the South American country its second consecutive win and its sixth title in the beauty pageant.

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Bow Ties: Tasteful Or For Tools?

Blame it on the recession, but many designers sought meaning in craftsmanship this fall, resulting in collections where fine apparel and dressing up were major themes. As such, bow ties were seen in abundance. To try out this trend, don’t resurrect your neckwear from prom night; instead, consider this of-the-moment graphic printed bow tie from avant-garde Scandinavian label Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair. Continue keeping things fresh by pairing this pre-tied bow tie, not with a three piece suit, but with a deep V-neck cardigan and a pair of slouchy pants. Or, try it with a button-down, a military-inspired jacket and some distressed denim.

Founded in 2004 by two Swedes, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair specializes in seriously fashion-forward, expertly cut and masterfully tailored pieces made from high-quality fabrics. In fact, so skilled are these designers at what they do that in their hands even the most basic pieces somehow become incredibly cool. Take their graphic bow ties, for instance. It’s hard to make this neckwear hip given that many people consider bow ties to be a stuffy accessory reserved for the most formal of occasions. However, this label has managed to turn out a selection of three for Fall 2009 that are not just wearable in many settings, but add character to your ensembles. Plus, because this label doesn’t have the same following as mass-market chains, there’s no chance you’ll see anyone else wearing one of these pieces this season. Choose from copper or green paisley prints, or black with slightly psychedelic swirls.

Every piece from Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair’s collection is a carefully designed and artfully executed labor of love, so expect your bow tie to endure for as long as you’d like to keep it. As this fall saw a renewed interest in traditional gentleman’s apparel, you’ll be bang-on when you sport this piece in the coming months. It’s unlikely that bow ties will establish a huge fan base, however, meaning that you can’t expect this piece to look as cool as it does now in one year’s time. If you’re willing to don a bow tie on any old day it suggests you’re deliberately giving your outfits an edge, in which case $100 isn’t necessarily an insane amount to pay for an accessory. Don’t even think about it, though, if wearing a bow tie everywhere this fall seems more like a punishment to you than a fun fashion statement.

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Dine among pretty young things

An Italian trattoria in the heart of NYC’s bustling West Village is something that has been done before, but never before has it been done in such a relaxed and stylish way. Scuderia is the brainchild of NYC landmark restaurateur Silvano Marchetto (of Da Silvano) along with his 29-year-old daughter Leyla. This chic and casual restaurant takes a rustic approach to traditional Italian dishes and it is fast becoming one of the hottest dishes in town. It also happens to be a hot spot of beautiful young women and the menu includes perhaps our favorite dessert of 2009. Yes, you want to go to Scuderia.

Simply by virtue of the Marchetto’s involvement, the scene at Scuderia is one you want to be a part of. Regulars include Famke Janssen, Lake Bell and a host of other PYTs. The clientele is stylish and youthful, with an almost European vibe. At night, the casual dining tables are filled with groups of women out on the town. During the day, young moms stopping by for a glass of wine after dropping their children off at the neighboring Little Red Schoolhouse are the norm. Either way, the airy dining room lends itself to striking up a conversation with those around you; Scuderia is nothing if not a social restaurant.

The menu at Scuderia dabbles in both the classic and the creative. Italian staples such as gnocchi and lasagna Bolognese are present and executed well. American classics are available too; things like a classic cheeseburger and skirt steak with jalapeño salsa verde dip are two favorites. Things get even better when the extensive daily specials list is presented. A fresh lobster salad featuring slices of avocado and fruit was a surprise hit, and the lobster itself was some of the freshest we’ve tasted in Manhattan. Another interesting dish from the specials list is a breaded artichoke over polenta. However, no visit to Scuderia would be complete without one of the most outstanding desserts we’ve tasted all year, the pizzetta con Nutella e marscapone. This dish alone is worth a trip to Scuderia, and we predict it will become their trademark.

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Tequila: 5 Things You Didn’t Know

Tequila has a bad reputation and it’s because we’ve all been there, lured by its ritualistic methods of consumption and its promise to take us to a higher level of consciousness, but in the end we’re left with a vague recollection of the night’s proceedings, wondering who’s in the bed beside us, cotton-mouthed and crusty-eyed. Some might blame all that on the volume of tequila ingested, others might point to the sugar-based ingredients tequila is sometimes mixed with (then called mixto), and yet it likely has something to do with the quality of the tequila (inferior tequilas often add sugar and caramel). Our typical college or tavern experience with tequila contradicts one of Danny Schneeweiss’ (cofounder of Milagro tequila) guiding principles in life, which is: “tequila shouldn’t be painful.” When you drink premium brands like Milagro, which is made from 100% agave, insanity shouldn’t follow and hangovers will be a thing of the past.

If you’re in the market to buy some tequila (and why wouldn’t you be, since 90% of tequila sales are made in Mexico and the U.S.), there’s basically one thing you want to look for on the bottle, and that’s “100% de agave.” This means is that all the alcohol contained within the bottle is a direct result of the fermentation of the agave and only the agave; no sugar or other additives have been included to supplement the creation of the alcohol. In the end, this results in better tasting tequila and hopefully no hangovers.

Tequila is the heart and soul of Mexico. It’s the national drink and it has been unfairly branded throughout history -- even after the conquistadors introduced distillation to mezcal in 1530. Bet you didn’t know that or these other five things you didn’t know about tequila.
1- Tequila is aged in the plant, not the cask
Most of us know that spirits like whisky and wines are aged in oak barrels, which typically enhance their flavors and smooths out their edge. There’s usually a point of perfection, but there’s often a certain amount of prestige associated with older spirits, and with that prestige comes a higher price point. Unlike these fruit- or grain-based beverages, tequila is derived from the blue agave plant (not a cactus as many believe), which is a member of the lily and amaryllis family of flowering plants. While some tequila, such as Milagro’s reposado and anejo is aged in barrels (unlike the brand's silver line, which is not), the time to maturation is short; allowing tequila to age longer than four years could deteriorate the quality of the spirit. Nonetheless, blanco is bottled directly after distillation, resposado (rested) must be aged a minimum of two months by law (Milagro, however, ages theirs for six months), and anejo (old) is aged a minimum of 12 months by law (and, again, Milagro, ages theirs for 18 months).

The blue agave plant takes 8 to 12 years to mature, at which time the heart, called the pina because it resembles a pineapple, is harvested. The harvested pina typically weighs 50 kilos and will produce one case (12 bottles) of tequila. Timing is crucial when harvesting the blue agave, which is why it’s said that the aging is done in the plant. After waiting 8 to 12 years for the plant to mature, you know you’re getting close when the leaves are between five and eight feet tall, the plant’s diameter is 7 to 12 feet and the quiote (stem) shoots up from the center of the plant. As soon as the quiote shoots up, it’s removed (and harvesting isn’t far behind) because it will reduce the amount of sugar in the pina, which would make it unusable for the tequila-making process.
2- Tequila is like champagne
Like champagne, tequila has Denomination of Origin, meaning that the spirit can only be produced in Mexico -- and that’s usually done in the Jalisco state. If you think tequila is only a step above moonshine production in a broken-down shack, consider that it is among the most closely and regulated spirits in the world, watched by the Mexican government, the Tequila Regulatory Council and the National Chamber of Tequila Producers. While individual distilleries decide upon their own techniques or what they consider quality, other specifics like aging requirements down to what’s printed on the bottle are closely regulated.

Want a little blood to go with your tequila?

Yes, tequila got its start in the Jalisco state and a local town even gave its name to the spirit, but what about the region makes it deserving of being awarded with Denomination of Origin? First, tequila must be made with blue agave (agave tequilana). Second, the volcanic soil and climate in Jalisco is especially conducive to growing the plant. The region is further subdivided into two regions, the lowlands and the highlands, which has an affect on the profile of the final product. As Danny from Milagro puts it, “The highlands of Jalisco… provide a microclimate that provides an agave of extremely good quality, that provides tequila with a very distinctive profile; it’s very smooth, it goes down very, very smooth and it’s a fresh, clean, crisp taste.”
3- Tequila once required human sacrifice or blood
While archeologists state that agave has been cultivated for roughly 9,000 years, the Aztecs didn’t discover pulque (tequila’s modest predecessor) until about 1,000 years ago. Legend has it that the Aztecs discovered pulque after lightening struck an agave plant and cooked the insides and caused the juice to seep out. Sweet and mildly alcoholic, the Aztecs believed the drink to be a gift from the gods, one that opened communication between mortal and immortal (we know a few people who still feel this way whenever they consume an alcoholic beverage). Typically reserved for priests, nobility and the sick, pulque was used in religious rituals that often required human sacrifices to ensure a plentiful supply so that, you know, the Aztecs could keep talking to the gods.

At a later date in Mexico’s history, during the Mexican War of Independence, another ancestor of tequila was brought into battle and used to toast the revolution. So, yeah, there’s more blood spilled -- and don’t even count all the bar fights because some drunk did body shots off another drunk’s drunken girlfriend.
4- Tequila goes bad
In our first point, we said that barrel-aging tequila for more than four years would deteriorate the quality of the tequila. By that, we mean that tequila loses some of its agave qualities and takes on more of the bourbon qualities from the cask in which it’s aged. So, actually, it doesn’t go bad, but you end up with something closer to whisky than tequila.

To help you out at home, you should know that once you open a bottle of tequila, you better be in the mood to drink it. Generally, you have one to two months before oxidization and evaporation diminish the quality of the tequila and destroys the agave profile.
5- Tequila is technically a mezcal
A lot of people confuse mezcal and tequila. And a lot of people who think they know a little something will say that tequila isn’t mezcal. They’re wrong. However, mezcal can never be tequila. Confused? Think of mezcal as whisky and tequila as Scotch, which is a whisky but “better.” And, as eluded to above, pulque came before mezcal. The primary difference between tequila and mezcal, however, is the plant. All tequila must be produced using blue agave, while a variety of agave plants can be used to make a single mezcal batch. Also, mezcal can be produced in multiple Mexican states.

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“Megan Wants A Millionaire” Cancelled

VH1 has postponed all future airings of the popular reality dating series Megan Wants A Millionaire as police in Los Angeles search for a Canadian finalist suspected of killing his wife.

An international manhunt is on for Ryan Jenkins, a contestant on the well received show who is now a suspect in the strangling death of his wife, 28-year-old swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore.

Police say Fiore’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in a trash bin in Buena Park, California last weekend. She was last seen Friday night at her home in Los Angeles. According to local media, Jenkins took Fiore to a poker party in San Diego the night she disappeared.

VH1 released the following statement regarding the case late Wednesday: “Ryan Jenkins was a contestant on Megan Wants A Millionaire, an outside production, produced and owned by 51 Minds, that is licensed to VH1. The show completed production at the end of March. Given the unfortunate circumstances, VH1 has postponed any future airings. This is a tragic situation and our thoughts go out to the victim’s family.”

All information regarding the show has been removed from the network’s official site. According to some media reports, Jenkins won $250,000 on I Love Money 3, which was taped in March and is scheduled for broadcast later this year.

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Attract Women With Confidence

Women are attracted to confidence. It’s hardwired into their brains and it’s not difficult to understand why: Confidence is typically reflective of value. Confidence is an indicator of intelligence, strength, charisma, and good looks. Women want to be around confident men because there’s a good chance confident men are worth being around. This is why confidence is what women notice first: It’s an indicator of just about every other quality women find attractive.

So, when trying to meet women, projecting confidence should be at forefront of your mind. You should be thinking about projecting confidence the moment you walk into a room; you should be thinking it as soon as you introduce yourself; heck, you should be thinking about it even before you leave the house, when you’re at home getting ready.
How do you show a woman you’re confident, you ask? Below, we’ve assembled a list of the things that women notice first -- these are the clues they use to determine whether or not a guy is confident. If you master these tips, you’ll definitely attract women with confidence.
Smile
The look on your face is definitely one of the things that women notice first, and a smile is a great way to convey confidence. A smile communicates to those around you that you are happy and having fun. You’ll look comfortable and confident -- smiles open doors. So force yourself to smile, especially when you first arrive somewhere -- that’s when all eyes are most likely to be on you.
Hand movement
When you try to attract a women with confidence, hand movements are another thing you'll need to mindful of -- you need to keep them under control. Most importantly, don’t cross your arms or hold your drink in front of your chest: These are defensive postures and they indicate that you’re not comfortable being approached by strangers. Instead, keep your hands at your side, and use them sparingly during conversation. Pat your friend on his back and shake hands with new people; these actions emphasize friendliness, civility and improve your social capital.
Friends
When you’re out on the prowl, a wingman can greatly improve your chances, and not just because he can distract your target’s friends while you make your move. A companion also automatically indicates that you’re not a social pariah (at least someone is willing to spend time with you). Don’t get carried away, though. It’s better to circulate in pairs. Large groups intimidate people, so don’t prowl around the club like a street gang.
Grooming
Good grooming is absolutely essential to displaying confidence. In fact, grooming may be the one thing that women notice first. A guy with a bad haircut or unkempt facial hair is pretty much doomed before he even opens his mouth. And don’t even get us started on body odor; if nothing else, make sure you don’t smell.

Our final insights on how to attract women with confidence you should work grooming into your regular routine, because you never know when a pickup opportunity is going to present itself. If you bump into a beautiful woman at the mall or on the street, you’ll want the confidence that comes with knowing you look good.

Clothing
Style is one of those things that is both objective and subjective. Objectively speaking, it’s important that your clothes are clean and generally in good condition (unless we’re talking about deliberately damaged denim). It’s also important that your clothes fit properly; many guys wear baggy, ill-fitting clothes, and women notice.

Beyond that, style choices are up to you. Whether you dress like a biker or a preppy, the most important thing is that you feel good in your clothes. You want that shirt that hugs your body just right, and you want to wear the shoes that your female friends are always complimenting. When your clothes make you feel like a million bucks, you’ll exude confidence.
Temperament
Confident men don’t need to put others down. They aren’t jealous, petulant or mean. If you’re sneering at a passersby, making snarky comments about strangers or being rude to waitresses, women will notice. A calm, affable temperament may just be what differentiates confidence from cockiness.
Posture
Stand like you’re worth something and walk like you’re going somewhere -- there is no need to rush, hustle or scamper. When you’re important, people will wait for you. Walk purposefully with your head held high. Walk a bit slower than you usually would. Here’s a trick: When you walk into a room, pretend you’re wearing a cape, like Superman. You’ll stand up straighter and walk more confidently -- women notice good posture.

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DIY Cigarettes : Are you a Marlboro man?

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Something unusual is cropping up alongside the tomatoes, eggplant and okra in Scott Byars' vegetable garden ? the elephantine leaves of 30 tobacco plants.

Driven largely by ever-rising tobacco prices, he's among a growing number of smokers that have turned to their green thumbs to cultivate tobacco plants to blend their own cigarettes, cigars and chew. Byars normally pays $5 for a five-pack of cigars and $3 for a tin of snuff; the seed cost him $9.

"I want to get to where I don't have to go to the store and buy tobacco, but I'll just be able to supply my own from one year to the next," Byars said.

In urban lots and on rural acres, smokers and smokeless tobacco users are planting Virginia Gold, Goose Creek Red, Yellow Twist Bud and dozens of other tobacco varieties.

Although most people still buy from big tobacco, the movement took off in April when the tax on cigarettes went up 62 cents to $1.01 a pack. Large tax increases were also imposed on other tobacco products, and tobacco companies upped prices even more to compensate for lost sales.

Some seed suppliers have reported a tenfold increase in sales as some of the country's 43.3 million smokers look for a cheaper way to get their nicotine fix in a down economy. Cigarettes cost an average of $4.35 a pack, home growers can make that amount for about 30 cents.

It's the latest do-it-yourself movement as others repair their own cars, swap used clothes and cancel yard work services to save money.

"Cigarette smokers say, 'Yeah, we're going to die of cancer, but do we have to die of poverty as well?'" said Jack
Basharan, who operates The Tobacco Seed Co. Ltd. in Essex, England. Virtually all of his increased tobacco seed sales have been in the U.S., he said.

However, growing and processing tobacco can challenge even the best gardeners. The nearly microscopic seeds must initially be grown inside and transplanted after the threat of frost has passed.

A seed started in March can be harvested, hung to dry and ready to smoke as soon as October. Some anxious growers have been known to microwave leaves to hasten the drying. For purists, the leaves can be cured, or aged, like a fine wine for up to three years.

"It's actually very labor intensive," said Ed Baker, general manager of Cross Creek Seed Inc. in Raeford, N.C., the No. 1 tobacco seed supplier in the U.S. "There's a reason why cigarette companies make all that money. If it was that easy, everyone would be growing their own tobacco."

Philip Morris USA, the nation's No. 1 cigarette maker, and other big companies are unlikely to shudder. Philip Gorham, a tobacco industry analyst with the investment research firm Morningstar, said he had no data on smokers who switched to homegrown. But he doesn't see it as a mass movement.

"It's one thing to switch from a premium brand to a discount one. It's quite another to switch from buying a manufactured product to roll your own," Gorham said.

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How To: Prepare Your Veggies

By now, most people are familiar with the golden rule of vegetable consumption: five a day. Although, when it comes to getting the most out of those veggies, many are still stumped. Boil, steam, bake, fry or dry? The options are limitless, but the nutritional differences can be profound -- at least that’s what AM found when we looked at different way’s to prepare veggies.

Is raw always best?
Most nutritional scientists will agree that eating vegetables raw is the most efficient way to preserve vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients, but is raw always best? It appears the answer is no. A study published last year in the British Journal of Medicine followed 198 subjects who adhered to a strict raw food diet and found that the participants had low levels of lycopene, an important cancer-fighting antioxidant found in tomatoes, guava, watermelon and red bell peppers. The solution? Heat. Cooking tomatoes for 30 minutes or more has been shown to significantly increase the amount of lycopene compared to raw tomatoes, because the heat breaks down the tomato’s thick cell wall, facilitating the release of this important compound. However, heating isn’t always the solution.

Cooking
On one hand, cooking veggies such as carrots can increase levels of beta-carotene, a carotenoid that is converted by the body to vitamin A, which plays an important role in vision, reproduction, bone growth and regulating the immune system. On the other hand, canned carrots or peas have been shown to lose up to 95% of their vitamin C from cooking. What’s more, delicate veggies such as spinach break down in no time at all, even at low temperatures. The dilemma of whether or not to cook is therefore far from settled. The issue is even further muddied when trying to decide which cooking method is best.

Stay put and read on about what cooking method is best for your veggies

Which cooking method is best?
Steaming, boiling, microwaving, pressure cooking, and frying are all acceptable methods of cooking your veggies, but when it comes to deciding which is best, the truth is that no single method is tops, and the choice is largely left up to the individual. In January of 2008, a report in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry concluded that boiling was best for carrots, zucchini and broccoli, better than steaming, frying or even serving raw. Frying was by far the worst, as it can lead to the creation of free radicals -- highly reactive compounds that can injure healthy cells. However, a November 2007 study in the same journal found that heating broccoli damages the enzyme myrosinase which is important for the production of sulforaphane, a potential cancer-fighting and ulcer-preventing compound. Making matters even more befuddling, a March 2007 study in The Journal of Food Science touted microwaving as tops, at least when it came to preserving vitamin C. This study found that microwaving and pressure-cooking led to only a 10% loss in vitamin C levels in broccoli, while steaming and boiling caused upwards of a 34% loss. Although -- surprise, surprise -- a November 2007 study in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found quite the opposite.
The bottom line
There are countless examples of studies that flip-flop on which cooking method is best, depending on which veggies are examined and which specific nutrients are being measured. The point then is to enjoy variety. Food is cooked so it tastes better. If it tastes better, you’ll eat more. The same principle applies to adding spices or fatty dressings to food. According to a May 2008 study in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, one of the largest barriers to young adults eating their greens was taste. If it tastes better, you'll eat more (and fat may even improve the absorption of certain nutrients). Does all this uncertainty mean that it’s time to throw your hands up in despair? Maybe, or you can just enjoy the idea of mixing things up. If you need a little more specificity, try a few of these tips:
food for thought

* Generally, cook foods in the shortest amount of time possible and at lower temperatures; however, as mentioned before, change things up once in a while.
* If boiling, microwaving or steaming, use minimal amounts of water.
* Unless you’re worried about your weight or other health condition, don’t be afraid to add some fat-rich avocados, full-fat dressings or spices to your veggies, so long as it ensures you eat more.
* Leave edible skins on vegetables when possible (important nutrients may be lurking within).
* Lastly, save the water used when boiling vegetables and use it in soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.

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Michael Phelps Drank Beer Before Crash

Michael Phelps has admitted that he drank a beer before getting into an accident in Downtown Baltimore last week — but authorities maintain the athlete is not at fault for the crash, according to The Associated Press.

Officers who arrived at the scene did not administer field sobriety tests because the 24-year-old gold medal-winning Olympian — who was arrested for DUI in 2004 — showed no signs of impairment at the scene. Amanda Virkus, the other driver involved in the accident, ran a red light in her late model Honda Accord before colliding with Phelps’ Cadillac Escalade, putting her at fault for the accident, police say.

“We had our very best eyes on the situation, and we’re very well aware of his history and his notoriety,” Baltimore Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. “We wanted to make sure that everything was done by the book.”

Michael will be cited for driving with an invalid, out-of-state license.

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Why You Should Visit Yokohama

Japan is a country for observation: looking at landscapes, temples and fantastic architecture are all reasons to visit, and Yokohama can offer you a little slice of everything. From some of Japan’s most scenic Shinto temples to amazing views of Mount Fuji and the Kanto region from the Landmark Tower, this city, the second largest in Japan, gives you a whole lot if you’re looking to get off the beaten path that is all things Tokyo -- and it’s only a quick train ride from central Tokyo to get there.

Once known as the “boring son” due to its suburban position next to Tokyo, Yokohama is blossoming as a futuristic, clean and modern location with an exciting arts scene.

Primarily, most of the city’s activity is centered around the Minato Mirai 21, a futuristic multi-property development on reclaimed land. The area boasts a multitude of shopping centers, restaurants, residential properties, offices, and pretty much anything the modern world has to offer, including plenty of museums, art galleries and even the Cosmo World amusement park right in the city center. Additionally, Yokohama has the country’s largest Chinatown area, a stark contrast to the wide-open spaces of Minato Mirai and in its cuisine (of which there are some great eats to be found). Don’t forget to check out the cultural center BankART 1929, the Aka Renga Souko complex on the bohemian waterfront promenade, and the central Yokohama Art Museum for some of Japan’s (and the world's) most magnificent paintings, sculptures and designs.

Talk to most foreigners or expats who work in Yokohama and they’ll tell you that it’s the place to find a whole lot of English teaching jobs. It’s also a refuge of sorts from the craziness that is Tokyo, but is still only a quick ride away if you feel like hitting the big city life. Yokohama also offers a little more room for moving around without the crowds (but that’s only when compared to Tokyo, which really isn’t a fair comparison). You can still get all your favorite stores and services (such as the fine dining around the Minato Mirai 21 area and Yokohama Station area) and, of course, essentials like Yodobashi Camera, all in one central location. There is also a fairly large expat community there since Yokohama was originally known as the first port open to foreign trade in Eastern Japan, but depending on your tastes, this can be either a godsend or a curse. Other expats are fun, but the tour groups are a gift from hell.

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Marantz UD9004 Universal Player

Audio and video perfectionists with a penchant for consolidation can finally relax. Capitalizing on decades of legendary expertise, Marantz has created the Pangaea of disc-based components in its new flagship, the UD9004 Universal Player. Inside, reference-grade parts and construction combine to provide an unsurpassed multimedia experience for practically any 12 cm digital audio or video disc in existence, including CDs, SCADs, DVDs, and Blu-ray. Of course, with an MSRP of $5,999.99, owning this pinnacle of home entertainment performance doesn’t come cheap. So those thirsting for home theater perfection must match their obsessions with sultan-like incomes to have one of their own.

Designed to cater to the pickiest of home theater enthusiasts, mechanical audio distortion is virtually eliminated through the UD9004’s extensively braced chassis and machine milled copper feet. The unit’s dedicated audio section addresses other distinct audiophile concerns over electronic signal disruptions in several ways. In “Pure Direct” mode, internal interference is further dampened to deliver exceptionally focused sound by shutting down video playing elements when not in use. Widespread shielding, balanced channels and Two Sharc Digital Signal Processors provide uncompromised HD audio decoding and signal purity. On the video side, outstanding image accuracy is obtained via 36-bit Deep Color support and a leading-edge 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta chipset. High-end projector owners will also appreciate the unit’s vertical stretch feature when playing back titles with a 2:35:1 aspect ratio. This maximizes screen space by eliminating top and bottom black bars without introducing image noise or artifacts.

As long as Blu-ray remains entrenched as the picture and sound benchmark of home entertainment, the UD9004 is impeccably suited for its role as a signal source disc-based component. Delivering a superior audio and visual experience only formerly produced by separate reference grade devices, those who can afford it should appreciate its performance for years to come. Connectivity features such as dual HDMI outputs, an SD card reader, Ethernet jack and convenient onscreen interface only help to extend the device’s future compatibility.

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Eating Up Summer: This Week In Food

Lately it seems like all anyone in the food world can talk about is local, seasonal food. Now, you can bet your firstborn that we at AM will never preach to you, we'll never drink the self-righteous foodie Kool-Aid and then spew it all over you, our innocent readers, but we will say this: all the talk about local food is totally legit. It's more delicious. It's better for the environment. Growing food brings us closer to our roots, back to a time when men were truly men. Wait, didn't we just promise we'd never preach to you? Sorry -- you can have your firstborn back.

Searching for the perfect tomato
So all this local food talk is great, but we're still in the dark about which specific foods we should be looking for as the seasons change. After all, not every guy can manage to get up before noon on a Saturday to make it down to the farmers' market, and not every guy has a buddy who happens to be a farmer. For the guy who shops at the grocery store when he has time but doesn't want to sweat it, here's a guide to what's in season right now. Chances are that even if they're in the produce section of your local mega-store, these fruits and veggies are at their peak right now, and might even be sourced locally.

The right-now hot list
These fruits and veggies are in season pretty much everywhere right now:
Tomatoes, zucchini and all other types of squash, sweet corn, cucumbers, carrots, beets, all kinds of salad greens, peppers, eggplant, peaches, plums, blueberries, and raspberries.

These fruits and veggies hit their peak later in the summer and early fall, so hold off for the best stuff:
Apples, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower.

These fruits and veggies are generally shipped in from other parts of the world at this time of year:
Bananas, citrus (oranges and grapefruit are ready in Florida and California in winter, but not right now), asparagus (they're local in early summer, but it's too hot now), and kiwis.

So what do you do with a semi-intimidating pile of fresh local vegetables? Here's a tip from AM's test kitchen: Almost any three vegetables, cut up small and seasoned with lime and salt, will make a pretty good salsa.

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The Man Wall

You probably think your home entertainment system is complete. You have the flat-screen HDTV, you have the hot gaming consoles and you even have the sick Blu-ray player, and 5.1 surround-sound system. But that was all before Hybrid Space Furniture introduced The Man Wall, and made that puny rig you've got in your living room seem ancient. If you want your house to be the go-to spot for Sunday NFL football, and you have a spare $15,000 lying around, this insane setup will blow your mind and send your spouse running for the hills.

The Man Wall is technology and sports done to obscene excess, just the way any guy would want it. Housed in a stunning wooden wall unit, The Man Wall crams every possible amenity a sports-loving dude would want into one space. Nobody should have to be limited to one TV on Sundays -- after all, there are up to 16 games a weekend -- so Hybrid Space installed four high-definition sets into this thing. The centerpiece is a 42-inch Vizio, which is flanked by three smaller 26-inch Vizio units. All four TVs allow for 1080p up conversion. If the handful of TVs don’t impress you, how about the fact that they come complemented by a 1,000-Watt Panasonic 5.1 Home Theater system, a five-disc DVD player, iPod dock, and two wireless speakers with only one remote needed to control the whole enchilada.

Any serious sports fan will tell you that getting together with his buddies and watching the game is only half the fun, the other half is only achieved when you have some good food, cigars and quality cold beverages ready to go as well. Hybrid Space Furniture is aware of this fact, and has built every single one of these features right into your treasured Man Wall. There is a fully functional refrigerated keg and tap in The Man Wall, as well as a 32-bottle wine rack and two top-of-the-line cigar humidors to keep those celebratory stogies in perfect condition. When you are ready for some halftime food, pop some grub right into the 1,000-Watt microwave oven located directly under the main TV. You could walk 20 feet to your kitchen and do all of these things, but why risk missing a single snap or play? Topping the entire Man Wall off is a 7-foot Las Vegas-style sports book ticker that updates scores and comes with one year of free service (guess that was the least they could do after you drop your life’s savings into this thing). If you have the means, the space and the insane love of all things sports, The Man Wall will be your ultimate purchase. Just please feel free to invite us all over for the Super Bowl this year.

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How To: Argue Against Vegetarians

“You don’t win friends with salad.”
-Homer Simpson

Nearly every meat-eater has an unfortunate encounter with a righteous vegetarian at some point. Perhaps it’s just moments before you were ready to dig into a sirloin steak, or when you were browsing the meat aisle price-checking lamb shanks. Regardless of the location, there’s a good chance you were forced to endure a long-winded treatise about animal suffering that compared your own dietary habits to cannibalism. Luckily for you, you’ll never have to sit idly by while your diet is questioned again. This article will arm you with a series of well-informed arguments that will allow you to defend your dietary choices in a debate with a willing partner.

The health argument
Many vegetarians argue that their lifestyle makes them healthier than those who eat meat. Although we certainly won’t discredit the many benefits of a vegetarian diet, there’s reason to believe that a well-balanced omnivorous diet is a far healthier choice. Studies have repeatedly shown that vegetarians who fail to supplement their diets with Vitamin D, B12 and iron are prone to becoming dangerously anemic. Vegetarians also typically miss out on omega-3 fatty acids. These unsaturated acids have been proved to slow the progression of atherosclerosis, reduce triglyceride levels, act as anti-inflammatory agents, and potentially help with depression and some personality disorders.

Researchers at Oxford University recently followed 35,000 individuals aged 20 to 89 for a period of five years and discovered that vegans are 30% more likely to break a bone than their vegetarian and flesh-eating peers. A subsequent study conducted by Sydney’s Garvan Institute for Medical Research found that vegetarians had bones 5% less dense than meat-eaters. This can be attributed to the fact that many vegetarians and vegans consume very little calcium due to the limitations of their diet.
The moral argument

Many vegetarians argue that god’s creatures shouldn’t be sacrificed simply to appease our craving for a thick, juicy rib eye. While there may be some merit to their arguments, their rationale also reeks of hypocrisy. Although vegetarians openly decry the slaughter of animals, they think nothing of tearing carrots and spuds out of the earth or of sticking a zucchini into a high-speed blender. Like it or not, plants are also living organisms that respond to stimuli like light, gravity and touch. In fact, some groups even believe plants can feel pain. Take the Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology, for instance. This Swiss group recently came out in defense of our leafy green friends in a report on “the dignity of the creature in the plant world.” They argued that plants deserve respect and that killing them arbitrarily is morally wrong.

Want to formulate better arguments against vegetarians?

The humane treatment argument
Another issue that some vegetarians take personally is the way in which cuddly little lambs are turned into delicious lamb chops. We’ll be the first to admit that traditional slaughterhouses should be condemned. However, there are plenty of organizations that raise -- and kill -- animals humanely. One of them is Humane Farm Animal Care, a nonprofit organization created to improve the lives of farm animals by certifying their humane treatment. When you see the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® label on a product, you can be assured that the products in question have come from facilities that meet precise, objective standards for animal treatment. Other organizations, like the American Humane Association (AHA), offer meat certifications to farms that practice humane farming techniques. Their standards are based upon the values of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, as well as input from animal science experts and veterinarians.
The environmental argument
Many vegetarians argue that the cultivation of meat harms the environment. However, they fail to recognize that the cultivation of fruits and vegetables can also have dire environmental implications. Consider this: the vast majority of non-organic farms still use pesticides and insecticides that kill off just as many beneficial predators as pests, thereby leaving nature’s delicate balance in disarray. These dangerous chemicals also frequently leach into water supplies where they can cause harmful neurological effects when consumed by humans and animals alike. Speaking of water, the cultivation of vegetables requires vast amounts of it, which in turn can cause water shortages and, in extreme cases, drought. Fruit and vegetable farms also harm the environment through the burning of agricultural waste and the production of oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer.

While we’re on the topic of air pollution, it should be noted that vegetarians also produce more gas than meat-eaters. The problem lies in the human body's inability to fully digest the complex carbohydrates in the vegetarian diet, resulting in higher production of gases like hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.
make them eat their words
You didn’t get to the top of the food chain just to eat vegetables. Try peppering our arguments into your next dietary debate and you’ll be able to send even the most self-righteous of plant-eaters crawling back to his or her plate of alfalfa.

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Are Magazines Dead?: Celebrity Topic

John Koblin's article "The Gilded Age of Condé Nast is Over" in The New York Observer suggests that the print industry is about to have its death certificate inked. One of Koblin's most important observations? Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter now eats in the Condé Nast cafeteria.

An insider told the journalist: "I saw Graydon in the cafeteria this week! In all my years here, I've never seen him in my life there. He was behind me in the line at checkout with his little swipe card! He was milling around uncomfortably with the commoners."

The cafeteria? Who eats in the cafeteria? We'd rather eat a soggy homemade tomato sandwich in a bathroom stall peppered with our very own tears than eat in the AskMen.com cafeteria... We're kidding. Isn't the fact that the idea of eating in a cafeteria is somehow below someone a little sad? Even Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt aren't ashamed to go to McDonald's, so why is it such a big deal for a magazine editor to hold a tray and say: "Can I have a little more ketchup please?" Have we maybe blown the whole idea of an editor out of proportion and allotted them more cultural significance than they actually deserve?

Forget about the cafeteria. The real sign the magazine industry is probably over? Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett will grace two separate covers of Vanity Fair's September issue. Not to piss on anyone's ashes, but isn't that a little weak? When an A-list magazine chooses to use existing artwork as opposed to doing their own cover shoot for the September issue, it's a sign that the industry might indeed be falling apart. But maybe the death of print isn't the worst thing? We don't mean to come off as tree huggers because we love a coffee in a paper cup as much as the next guy, but maybe it's time to rethink the way we cover pop culture? Should we let magazines be a thing of the past, or is the tangibility of the object itself something we still value?

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The Most Dangerous Man On The Planet?

Why Is He Famous?

Anderson Silva is one of the toughest and most successful UFC fighters in history. A middleweight champion (he is also the middleweight champ of Cage Rage World), Anderson Silva has competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships, Shooto and Rumble on the Rock. As of August 2009, Anderson Silva has compiled a professional record of 25 wins and 4 losses, with 15 wins coming by knockout -- including a career-shattering blow against

Woman Magnetism

Anderson Silva is a fighter, not a lover (at least that's what he's known for). That said, the man still has a unique effect on the ladies. On the one hand, women who are married or coupled up with his challengers get to watch in horror as he pounds the stuffing out of their men. On the other hand, the women who aren't related to his opponents can marvel at Anderson Silva's impressive fighting skills and his appropriately chiseled physique.

So how does Anderson Silva maintain his perfect brawn? A 40-minute run starts the day off, followed by an intense jujitsu workout. Training at the gym follows, with some vale-tudo after that. There are also two days of additional physical workouts each week as well as specialized medical examinations. If you can keep up with Anderson Silva's training regiment, you can handle the UFC and its female fans.

Success

Anderson Silva's list of professional achievements packs quite a punch. Skilled in mixed martial arts, he's a specialist in Muay Thai techniques and also in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, in which he holds a black belt. The UFC's Middleweight Champion going into 2008, Anderson Silva has also held top spots on the Shooto and Cage Rage circuits. In addition, he's participated in other grueling competitions like Rumble on the Rock and PRIDE.

The list of Anderson Silva's defeated challengers is a who's who of talent like Jeremy Horn, Rich Franklin and Chris Leben. Anderson Silva's achievements haven't come without recognition from industry observers: MMWeekly.com, Nokaut.com and SherDog.com all place Anderson Silva at the top of their worldwide middleweight rankings, while Yahoo.com puts him at the top of their list as one of the best martial artists on the planet.

Biography
Anderson da Silva was born on April 14, 1975, in Curitiba, Brazil.His interest in martial arts began at age 14 when he started learning tae kwon do, but he wouldn't start fighting professionally until 11 years later. Until then, Anderson Silva was actually working odd jobs that included everything from service jobs at McDonald's to clerical office work.

When Anderson Silva did start fighting in 2000 as part of Brazil's Mecca circuit, he had the dubious honor of losing his first match to Luiz Azeredo. His fortune changed when Anderson won his next two bouts in spectacular knockout fashion. Anxious to test his skills elsewhere, Anderson Silva went to Japan in 2001 to fight on the Shooto circuit. After a unanimous decision against Tetsuji Kato in his first Shooto match, Anderson Silva split his time between Mecca and Shooto until mid-2001 and didn't lose a fight in the process. Anderson Silva proved he was nearing the top of his game in the summer of 2001, when he captured the Shooto middleweight title against Yahato Sakurai, who had never been beaten.
anderson silva joins pride and cage rage
As his fighting career expanded, Anderson Silva participated in matches on four continents between 2003 and 2006. Initially fighting as a member of the highly regarded Chute Boxe Academy, he moved on to the Muay Thai Dream Team and finally settled in with a new team called Black House.

Anderson Silva's team changes proved to be superficial since he kept winning everywhere he went. With his Mecca winning streak intact, Anderson Silva fought almost exclusively in Japan on the PRIDE circuit until 2004, winning three out of five matches. Among the wins were victories over Carlos Newton, an ex-UFC champion, and Alexander Otsuka, also known as the "Diet Butcher.” In 2004, Anderson Silva joined Cage Rage and immediately won the middleweight title with a victory over Lee Murray. Anderson Silva would successfully defend his Cage Rage belt until 2006.
anderson silva joins the ufc
By 2006, Anderson Silva had already proven himself as a fierce competitor and a top-notch mixed-martial-arts master; this made the UFC a logical next step in his quest for glory. Before the ink had dried, the UFC was heavily promoting Anderson Silva before he ever stepped into their ring. When it came time for his UFC debut against Chris Leben, Anderson Silva didn't disappoint. Leben was down and out in less than a minute, and in his next match, Anderson Silva defeated Rich Franklin to win the UFC Middleweight Title.

Since defeating Rich Franklin in 2006, Anderson Silva has retained his belt in two official title defense matches, including a testy rematch with Franklin. Even with the competition, Anderson Silva continues to stand tall, and he crossed the 20-win barrier while suffering less than five losses.

In 2008, Anderson Silva continued to defend his title with a win against Dan Henderson in March. Following his stunning performance against Dan Henderson, Silva had two lackluster fights (and wins) against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites. Those two performances prompted prompted UFC's Dana White to push Anderson Silva up to the light heavyweight division in search of more aggressive talent.
anderson silva defeats forrest griffin
On August 11, 2009, Anderson Silva fought former lightweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 101, a match that ended with a devastating first-round knockout by The Spider.

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Women Drinking More: Study

NEW YORK (AP) -- It seemed too horrendous even to imagine. But the case of the mother who caused a deadly wrong-way crash while drunk and stoned is part of a disturbing trend: Women in the U.S. are drinking more, and drunken-driving arrests among women are rising rapidly while falling among men.

And some of those women, as in the New York case, are getting behind the wheel with kids in the back.

Men still drink more than women and are responsible for more drunken-driving cases. But the gap is narrowing, and among the reasons cited are that women are feeling greater pressures at work and home, they are driving more, and they are behaving more recklessly.

"Younger women feel more empowered, more equal to men, and have been beginning to exhibit the same uninhibited behaviors as men," said Chris Cochran of the California Office of Traffic Safety.

Another possible reason cited for the rising arrests: Police are less likely to let women off the hook these days.

Nationwide, the number of women arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was 28.8 percent higher in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men arrested was 7.5 percent lower, according to FBI figures that cover about 56 percent of the country. (Despite the incomplete sample, Alfred Blumstein, a Carnegie Mellon University criminologist, said the trend probably holds true for the country as a whole.)

"Women are picking up some of the dangerously bad habits of men," said Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In New York's Westchester County, where Diane Schuler's crash killed her and seven other people last month, the number of women arrested for drunken driving is up 2 percent this year, and officers said they are noticing more women with children in the back seat.

"We realized for the last two to three years, the pattern of more female drivers, particularly mothers with kids in their cars, getting arrested for drunk driving," said Tom Meier, director of Drug Prevention and Stop DWI for the county.

In one case there, a woman out clubbing with her teenage daughter was sent to prison for causing a wrong-way crash that killed her daughter's friend.

Another woman was charged with driving drunk after witnesses said she had been drinking all day before going to pick up her children at school. Authorities said the children were scared during the ride, and once they got home, they jumped out of the car, ran to a neighbor's house and told an adult, who called police. The mother lay passed out in the car, and police said her blood alcohol level was 0.27 percent -- more than three times the legal limit.

In California, based on the same FBI figures, women accounted for 18.8 percent of all DUI arrests in 2007, up from 13.5 percent in 1998, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

Unlike men, women tend to drink at home and alone, which allows them to conceal a problem more easily.

Because of this, they seek treatment less often than men, and when they do, it is at a later stage, often when something catastrophic has already happened, said Dr. Petros Levounis, director of the Addiction Institute of New York at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center.

"Our society has taught us that women have an extra burden to be the perfect mothers and perfect wives and perfect daughters and perfect everything," Levounis said. "They tend to go to great lengths to keep everything intact from an external viewpoint while internally, they are in ruins."

In the current recession, women's incomes have become more important because so many men have lost their jobs, experts say. Men are helping out more at home, but working mothers still have the bulk of the child rearing responsibilities.

"Because of that, they have a bigger burden then most men do," said clinical psychologist Carol Goldman. "We have to look at the pressures on women these days. They have to be the supermom."

And just becoming a parent doesn't mean people will stop using drugs or alcohol, Ducharme said: "If you have a real addictive personality, just having a child isn't going to make the difference."

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Fiendish Japanese Pocket Puzzle

If you have reached the point where Sudoku seems boring and redundant, and crosswords are not your thing, then it may be time to look East for the next big brain teaser craze set to crush office productivity across the country. ThinkGeek has imported an entire collection of these Japanese spatial logic puzzles that may look harmless resting in the palm of your hand, but may actually be the devil incarnate. At about $10 a pop and offered in various levels of difficulty, ranging from hard to mental asylum-inducing impossible, these Fiendish Japanese Pocket Puzzles are not for the faint of heart.

Portable, accessible and compact enough to sneak into a conference room meeting, the Fiendish Japanese Pocket Puzzles are an addictive lot. Based on timeless mechanical puzzles from throughout world history, these tiny evil toys represent some of the finest and efficient game craftsmanship available today. What makes any puzzle a success is the ability to convey the illusion that you are always on the verge of solving its mystery, and that is exactly what these Japanese models do. Each and every one of them looks deceivingly obvious at first, yet once you actually grasp it in your hands and start to manipulate its parts, the true mental obstacles reveal themselves. They’re divided into separate skill levels, the hardest being level six, which is reserved for a true master or masochist. If you manage to crack one of these, make a video and put it up on YouTube immediately.

Just like any other successful physical puzzle, the Fiendish Japanese Pocket Puzzles are all made of high-quality precision parts. It is highly unlikely that you would get one with a faulty piece, and it is not till you are actually in possession of these miniature terrors that you realize the top-notch construction that has gone into each detailed aspect. The sturdy constitution prevents bending and cheating while allowing for smooth action and movement. Though they are small, the pocket puzzles are made to last for quite a while, assuming you ever actually finish one. For any guy who may be quick to cry uncle, be warned that there are no solutions packaged with each individual puzzle, but if you search the internet hard enough, you should be able to find some cheat sheets out there. There are currently 16 Fiendish Japanese Pocket Puzzles to choose from, with brain cramping names such as Nutcase and Enigma to strike fear in your cerebral cortex.

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Sony Ericsson Satio

The AM Take
To some, the world needs another fancy camera phone like a gopher needs a colostomy, but others like to have the latest phones with the coolest mix of functions and looks -- and Sony’s impending Satio is designed to make the latter go weak in the knees. It’s is a beautiful package that offers enough features to make just about any handset shopper happy.

Uniqueness
Initially introduced at MWC 2009 as the Idou, the Symbian-powered Satio’s slick urban looks and crazy feature set look like a recipe for magic. The edgy, faintly industrial body stands out nicely against the curvaceous plastic phones that form most of the market these days. On the front, a 12.1-megapixel camera and Xenon flash are nestled behind a protective sliding panel, while a super 3.5-inch widescreen graces the back. That screen is not only good for framing shots, it’s also a fabulous way to view movies while sitting on a plane or bus, especially if you spring for a cool wireless HBH-IS800 stereo headset. Under the hood, the phone boasts such goodies as gesture control, animated wallpaper, e-mail and Web browsing and a bevy of music, video and photo features (including geo-tagging your pics). Looking to get going? The phone’s GPS, Google Maps and turn-by-turn navigation will get you from point A to point B with minimum fuss. Connectivity not only includes the usual Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth and USB, but also extends to TV out and PictBridge features, as well as a basic modem. The Saito is expected to be available in early Q4 2009 in black, Bordeaux red and silver.

Facts

Price: TBD
Official Site: SonyEricsson.com
Specs: S60 OS; 12.1 MP; Xenon flash; 3.5” touch screen; GPS; Bluetooth; FM radio; Wi-Fi; microSD
Company: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications

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Hairstyles For Balding Men

Going bald isn’t bad -- it’s actually badass if you approach it from the right angle. A lot of guys worry about their hair loss; this is the wrong outlook. It’s these guys who should take a lesson from their balding counterparts who face the issue head on, with confidence and style. These are the men who work with what they have and it translates into enduring self-assurance. It’s these men who set the example for all of us -- balding or not -- on how to pull off a truly poised, unwavering style. So if you’re thinning on top and can’t afford plugs like Piven, here are some approaches for your lessening locks.



Thinning Hair
Some guys just lose it all over, with no rhyme or reason. For these guys, there are a couple of great haircuts that are both stylish and sophisticated: shaggy layers or a crew cut.

Shaggy Layers



Say your hair is thinning on top, but you’re just not ready to go short-short. Try shaggy layers. By tousling your hair and just sort of letting it “fall where it may,” you create a disheveled allusion that actually works in your hair’s favor. Look at Peter Sarsgaard, for example. He masks his thinning hair with unkempt cleverness. Sarsgaard’s longer layers, especially toward the front, disguise his hair’s thinness by falling in a random, purposefully out-of-order mess.

Crew Cut



At the point when your thinning hair requires a shorter cut, you should consider a crew cut. The crew cut works its magic by blending the thinning hair in with the rest. Bono is a perfect illustration of the crew cut these days. By donning this buzz-like ‘do, taking the hair short on the sides and slightly longer on the top, he avoids the pitfalls of his lightening locks. His crew cut deceptively intermingles the thinner areas with the thicker areas, leaving a visual effect that more hair is present than there actually is.


Bald Spot
There are some who have plenty of hair everywhere -- except the crown of their head. The bald spot is a common issue, and it’s one that’s easy to skirt with either a buzz or a close shave.

The beginnings of a bald spot become imperceptible when you pull out the clippers and go for a buzz. The buzz works well to disguise the thin (or absent) hair on your crown, and since a buzz cut comes in varying lengths, it is a gradual cut you can employ throughout the balding process. Jason Statham has long been the master of this particular haircut. His buzzed-back locks work in conjunction with his bad-boy image to create a look that’s urban, edgy and sophisticated.


Buzz Cut



If the buzz cut starts to fade, then guys with a bald spot can opt for the close shave. (This particular cut works well for those whose bald spot is quite expansive.) With a close shave, you leave a hint of hair on the scalp, just enough that everything usually all blends together. The overall effect is sleek, and you can look at Djimon Hounsou as proof. Making a truly bold move, Hounsou uses the close shave not to disguise his balding pate, but to define his style.

Close Shave

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Judd Apatow: 5 Things You Didn't Know

Judd Apatow is the most important person in comedy films today. Some may argue that it’s Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller, but they’re only marionettes to this puppet master. Apatow produced Ferrell’s biggest films (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers) and cocreated The Ben Stiller Show, which won him an Emmy at 25 years of age, despite the show being canceled that same year. However, Apatow didn’t stay unemployed long, writing and directing the cult TV shows The Larry Sanders Show, The Critic, Freaks and Geeks, and Undeclared. While his early movies didn’t burn up the box offices, Celtic Pride and The Cable Guy are cult classics now. In 2004, he came back and dick-punched Hollywood by producing Anchorman and has pumped out hits ever since. Despite all you think you know about Judd Apatow, here are five things you don’t.

1- Judd Apatow used to be Adam Sandler’s roommate
He met Adam Sandler when they were both young comics at the Hollywood Improv. Both still completely unfamous, they moved into a small apartment in the Valley (i.e., on the other side of the mountains from anything cool in L.A.). Apatow said living with Sandler was like living with “the comfortable naked guy at the gym.” He had no problems with public nudity. However, Apatow did. Once, Sandler propositioned him with, “Let me see your penis; I just want to see what I’m dealing with.” Apatow wouldn’t show him, so one day Sandler snuck up behind the future director while he was peeing. He peaked over his shoulder and said: “All right man, all right.” Did he know he was looking at a future multimillion dollar dick?

2- Judd Apatow made a Disney movie
After teaming up with Ben Stiller on The Ben Stiller Show, they decided to try their hand at children’s comedies. That’s how the king of expertly written swears came to write and produce Heavyweights for Disney. Stiller stars as Tony Perkins, a high-strung fitness entrepreneur who buys a fat camp for kids. In typical Disney style, the campers get the best of crazy Perkins and learn that it’s OK to be themselves, which is really fat. The movies clocks in at 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.

3- Judd Apatow’s family is Paul Rudd’s family in Knocked Up
The Cable Guy was not the life-changing success that Judd Apatow thought it would be, however, it did get him some hot permanent lovin'. Leslie Mann played Matthew Broderick’s girlfriend and became Apatow’s shortly after. Now her paychecks are almost exclusively written by her husband. Completing the family affair, Apatow cast his daughters, Iris and Maude, as Katherine Heigl’s nieces in Knocked Up. His real wife and kids were Paul Rudd’s wife and kids in the film, meaning Rudd kind of played Apatow in the film. In Funny People, his wife and kids are with Eric Bana. Looks like Apatow wanted someone sexier to play him this time.

4- Judd Apatow once told off his hero Steve Martin
The young Apatow, while on vacation in L.A., saw Steve Martin washing his car outside his home. He jumped out of the car and asked for an autograph, but Martin said he didn't give autographs at his home. He begged, but Martin said no. Apatow went home and wrote Martin a nasty letter, in which he gave an early glimpse of his talent for profanity. Three months later, he received a package from Martin that contained a copy of his book Cruel Shoes. The inscription read: "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was speaking to THE Judd Apatow." Remember, that’s when Apatow was still a kid.

5- Judd Apatow hosted his own radio show in high school
Obsessed with comedy at a young age, Apatow hosted a program called Club Comedy on Syosset High School’s 10-Watt radio station WKWZ. His mother worked at a nearby comedy club, so she helped him get interviews with a number of comedians. She scored him interviews with Steve Allen, Howard Stern, John Candy, and then-unknowns Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling. Later, Apatow ended up working with Shandling on The Larry Sanders Show.

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