Golden Globes Flashback: Alec Baldwin 2007

Alec Baldwin was known as a film actor until undertaking debatably the best role of his career on television as "Jack Donaghy" on 30 Rock. After decades in the industry, he experienced immediate, tangible success through the show and was stunned by it all.

While he had previously been nominated for awards, including both Oscar and Golden Globes nominations for his 2003 film The Cooler, Baldwin had yet to win a major individual award for his acting until the Tina-Fey-created comedy series came along.

VIDEO: Alec Baldwin Jokes About Photog Controversy

The first season of 30 Rock premiered in the fall of 2006 and Baldwin was nominated a few months later for a Golden Globes for Best Actor. With Season 1 winding down, he was granted the award, his first of this magnitude, in January at the 2007 Golden Globes.

"I never really think of myself of someone that's going to walk in and [win the award]," he says to ET's former co-host Mary Hart after winning the award. "Meryl [Streep] walks in and wins the award. There's people that just have that role; they have that gravitational field...To win this, I am shocked. I am truly, truly shocked."

PIC: Photographer Alleges Alec Baldwin Punched Him

Although he was shocked to receive the award, Baldwin admits that he believed the show had a chance to succeed due to the various positive elements that comprised 30 Rock. Not only did the show reap accolades for Baldwin, but it also provided him with a new lifestyle that he enjoyed.

"I love the people and I love the scripts and I love the opportunity but I also love the lifestyle," he says. "In the past when I did movies, there was a thing that was thrilling to me twenty years ago, and that was I didn't know where I was going to be four months from now...and now I know exactly where I'm going to be four months from now, and I need that. I want that."

VIDEO: Alec Baldwin Takes on Santa

Baldwin has been able to maintain a stable lifestyle of filming 30 Rock for seven years now and awards have become a predictable facet of his life as well. After winning for Season 1, he has gone on to win two more individual awards, receiving a nomination in every year since 2007.

The 54-year-old actor will have a chance to add yet another Best Actor Golden Globe to his collection, as he has once again been nomination for 30 Rock's final season.

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Violence in Afghanistan down in 2012; insider attacks up

KABUL, Afghanistan — Violence in Afghanistan fell in 2012, but more Afghan troops and police who now shoulder most of the combat were killed, according to statistics compiled by The Associated Press.

At the same time, insider killings by uniformed Afghans against their foreign allies rose dramatically, eroding confidence between the two sides at a crucial turning point in the war and when NATO troops and Afghan counterparts are in more intimate contact.

"The overall situation is improving," said a NATO spokesman, US Air Force Lt. Col. Lester T. Carroll. He singled out Afghan special forces as "surgically removing insurgent leaders from the battle space."

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense said that Afghan forces were now charged with 80 percent of security missions and were also less equipped to face the most lethal weapon of the militants — roadside bombs.

"Our forces are out there in the battlefields and combat areas more than at any other time in the past," he said, citing reasons for the spike in casualties.

US troop deaths, overall NATO fatalities and Afghan civilian deaths all dropped as insurgent attacks fell off in their traditional strongholds in the country's south and east. However, insurgent activity was up in the north and west, where the Taliban and other groups have been less active than in the past, and overall levels of violence were higher than before a U.S. troop surge two years ago.

US troop deaths declined overall from 404 last year to 295 deaths as of Saturday Dec. 29, as Washington draws down its forces in the country. The Defense Department says that 1,701 U.S. troops were killed in action in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion in 2001 until Dec. 26. Of those, 338 died from non-hostile causes. Some 18,154 were wounded.

A total of 394 foreign troops including the Americans were killed in 2012, down from 543 in 2011. The British, with the second largest military presence, had 43 killed — the second highest toll among countries with forces in Afghanistan, by AP's count.

The AP keeps daily tallies of casualties and violent incidents across Afghanistan based on reports from NATO and Afghan officials. Most cannot be independently verified and other incidents may never come to light. The statistics sometimes vary from official counts because of time lags, different criteria and other reasons.

Deaths from so-called insider attacks — Afghan police and troops killing foreign allies — surged to 61 in 45 attacks last year compared to 2011, when 35 coalition troops were killed in 21 attacks.

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Week brings startup launches, social media advice for 2013

Jared Kleinert, a South Florida entrepreneur, plans to soon launch Synergist, a platform that allow social entrepreneurs to meet potential co-founders online, collaborate and crowdfund their new projects. He also just launched AliveNDead, a blog about risk-taking, and he interns for a Silicon Valley startup.

And when he’s not doing all that, he’s going to class — he’s a junior at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton.

Lester Mapp is CEO and founder of the new Miami-based startup called designed by m. His team has just designed a sleek, ultra-thin aluminum iPhone bumper and launched the project on Kickstarter. After just a few days, Mapp is already more than a third of the way to his $20,000 fund-raising goal.

Read about both these entrepreneurs on The Starting Gate blog, where there’s also a post on the most pressing issues facing small businesses in the coming year — taxes, healthcare, lending and a skilled worker shortage, for starters.

And as you are ringing in the New Year, you may be resolving to beef up your business’ social media strategy. Susan Linning's guest post offers five top tips for boosting your social media effectiveness. Among them: Go beyond retweets and make your posts original, fun and personal (but not too personal.) Use visuals, too. Find this and other news, views and tools for entrepreneurs on the blog, which is at the bottom of MiamiHerald.com /business.

Follow me on Twitter @ndahlberg and Happy New Year to all.

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Powerline repair on 595 causes major traffic delays in Broward

Road closures on Interstate 595 continued Friday morning to repair damage from a eastbound crane colliding with a powerline around Hiatus Road at about 5:30 p.m. the previous day.

The powerline snapped in half and came across I-595, forcing closure of the eastbound lanes, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Chris Fletcher said.

The lanes were reopened at 10:40 p.m. Thursday but around 6:30 a.m. Friday, Florida Power and Light closed down the 595 to State Road 84 ramp and the eastbound exit to Hiatus to replace and repair the line.

It was unknown when the repair work would be completed.

A few vehicles collided with the downed powerline but there were no reports of injuries.

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Apple still said to account for 87% of North American tablet traffic as Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 gain

Apple’s (AAPL) share of the global tablet market is in decline now that low-cost Android slates are proliferating, but the iPad still appears to be the most used tablet by a huge margin. Ad firm Chitika regularly monitors tablet traffic in the United States and Canada and in its latest report, Apple’s iPad was responsible for almost 90% of all tablet traffic across the company’s massive network.

[More from BGR: Samsung looks to address its biggest weakness in 2013]

Using a sample of tens of millions of impressions served to tablets between December 8th and December 14th this year, Chitika determined that various iPad models collectively accounted for 87% of tablet traffic in North America. That figure is down a point from the prior month but still represents a commanding lead in the space.

[More from BGR: New purported BlackBerry Z10 specs emerge: 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera]

The next closest device line, Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle Fire tablet family, had a 4.25% share of tablet traffic during that period, up from 3.57% in November. Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy tablets made up 2.65% of traffic, up from 2.36%, and Google’s (GOOG) Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets combined to account for 1.06% of tablet traffic in early December.

“Despite these gains by some of the bigger players in the tablet marketplace, there has been a negligible impact to Apple’s dominant usage share,” Chitika wrote in a post on its blog.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Apple still said to account for 87% of North American tablet traffic as Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 gain
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Matching Celebrity Couples

Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart

Hollywood couples love to step out in a similar fashion, and in some cases, their styles morph together. Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart have done just that, but these two are certainly not the only ones. Check out these his and hers outfits, and decide for yourself which star couple is the best dressed in Hollywood.

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Think you could be a Twitter Stalker or Russian Spy Catcher? Military's odd spy jobs revealed

If you grew up idolizing James Bond, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt but you're not all that interested in indiscriminate violence, worry not because there are still top secret jobs out there that you might be perfect for.

From tracking down Russian spies like Anna Chapman to cleaning toilets you can't tell your friends about, here are some of the oddest spy jobs out there today, according to Wired.com.

Cyber Counterterrorism Targeting Analyst, aka Twitter Stalker:

Take your online socializing skills to the extreme by combining "social media analysis (to include Twitter, Facebook and organic native language social media" with the FBI and Pentagon's cybercrime center in order to create a "pattern of life study of the 'target'" designated by your employer, Archimedes Global. Obviously, such a job isn't for everyone so make sure you have five years of working experience and a top-secret security clearance before applying.

AP

Russian ex-spy Anna Chapman walks a catwalk at a fashion show in Turkey.

Counterintelligence Analyst, aka Russian Spy Catcher:

Your mission — should you choose to accept it — is "fully identifying the foreign intelligence and terrorist intelligence threats" against the Department of Defense. With your five to 10 years of experience, top-secret clearance and counter-intelligence polygraph test in hand, you'll hobnob with other counter-spies from the Army, Navy, Air Force and State Department to catch enemies of the state, especially those coming from Russia like sultry spook Anna Chapman. Or those businessmen in Texas who bought cutting-edge microelectronics, which they sold to Russian spy agencies.

AP

Do you have the skill required to train a solider like this one, who is standing watch as packages of marijuana burn in Tijuana, Mexico?

Instructors - Temp Projects in Mexico, aka Drug War Teacher:

One of the mysterious security contractors that, according to the Wall Street Journal, were used to protect CIA agents in Iraq, is looking for experienced agents from the "drug law enforcement and the counter-drug problem set" with "knowledge of Mexico/Central and South American drug trafficking activities" to spend two to five weeks in Mexico training unspecified people for "various projects." As part of said unspecified training project, you'll be writing intelligence summaries, graphics presentations and producing "targeting packets." Whatever those are.

Custodial Services, aka A Licence to Clean:

With broom, mop and mandatory top-secret clearance, you'll clean the halls of an unspecified building, for an unspecified annual salary, for unspecified hours, for a "Personified Confidential Client" in Northern Virginia. But don't worry, whoever you're working for has "Large Company Opportunities, Small Company Feel!"

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5 issues small business owners will face in 2013

In 2013, small business owners will contend with many of the same issues that made it hard to run their companies during the past 12 months.

They’re also heading into the new year with a lot of uncertainty. It’s unlikely that negotiations in Congress will resolve all of lawmakers’ disagreements over tax and budget issues that affect small businesses. And there are still many questions about the implications of the healthcare law for small companies.

That points to continued caution — and perhaps slow hiring — among the nation’s small companies.

“Uncertainty is the bane of every small business,” says Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland. “Their only rational response is to pull in their horns and slow down.”

Small businesses aren’t likely to get much encouragement from the economy. It’s expected to grow by no more than 3 percent in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve. That’s a moderate pace, better than the 1.7 percent that the economy grew during the first three quarters of 2012. But it’s also far from robust.

Here’s a look at some of the issues facing small businesses in the coming year:

TAXES

Lawmakers are still haggling over what’s called the fiscal cliff, the combination of billions of dollars in tax increases and budget cuts. Even if Congress reaches an agreement, small business owners won’t have the certainty they need, according to Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association, a group that lobbies on behalf of small companies.

“It almost surely won’t be comprehensive enough that we won’t be revisiting it next year,” McCracken says. He’s concerned that there’ll be another fiscal cliff in six months — which would mean more negotiations and more uncertainty.

Many small business owners are worried about their personal tax rates. Sole proprietors, partners and owners of what are called S corporations, all report the income from their businesses on their individual Form 1040 returns. That means their companies are in effect taxed at personal rates, which can be higher than corporate rates.

One of the most important tax provisions for small businesses, what’s known as the Section 179 deduction, will shrink to $25,000 next year from $125,000 in 2012. The deduction, which applies to equipment purchases, was $500,000 in 2011. Congress can increase the deduction at any time, even after 2013 has begun. But for the time being, business owners can’t count on getting a big break.

“It’s a huge change for companies planning on making investments,” McCracken says.

It’s not known if Congress will extend the 2 percentage point payroll tax cut that workers have had for two years. If it doesn’t, consumers will have less money in their paychecks to spend, and that is likely to affect retailers and any other small businesses that sell directly to the public.

HEALTHCARE

Healthcare has been another source of uncertainty for small business owners. The new year will bring some, but probably not all, of the answers to questions about how the new healthcare law will affect them. Many will have to devote some time to understanding the law — or hire someone to help them do it.

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Crime Watch: New computer for Christmas? Use it safely

Last week I received several emails from readers who wanted me to write again about computer safety since many got a computer for Christmas. Therefore, I pulled some information from one of our crime prevention partners, The National Crime Prevention Council, and here are tips you need to take seriously whether you are a senior or a parent:

• Use anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date. The software is designed to protect your computer against known viruses but, with new viruses emerging daily, anti-virus programs need regular updates. Check with the website of your anti-virus software company to see sample descriptions of viruses and to get regular updates for your software. I do updates on my computer every other day.

• Don’t open emails or attachments from unknown sources. Be suspicious of any unexpected email attachments even if they appear to be from someone you know. Should you receive a suspicious email, the best thing to do is to delete the entire message, including any attachment.

• Protect your computer from Internet intruders by using firewalls. These create a protective wall between your computer and the outside world. They come in two forms, software firewalls that run on your personal computer and hardware firewalls that protect a number of computers at the same time. Firewalls also ensure that unauthorized persons can’t gain access to your computer while you’re connected to the Internet.

• Use hard-to-guess passwords. Mix upper case, lower case, numbers or other characters, and make sure your passwords are at least eight characters long. Don’t share your password and don’t use the same password in more than one place. Don’t use your maiden name or the names of your mother, your children or your spouse’s family. Those are easy to figure out.

• Disconnect your computer from the Internet when not in use. This lessens the chance that someone will be able to access your computer. Also, if you haven’t kept your anti-virus software up to date or don’t have a firewall in place, someone could infect your computer or use it to harm someone else on the Internet.

• Check your security on a regular basis. You should evaluate your computer security at least twice a year.

• Back up your computer data on a thumb drive, just in case we have a hurricane, you can take it with you. There is nothing worse than losing pictures, information and work when a computer crashes.

Last, I want to remind all parents, if you gave a computer to your child, no matter what age, please make sure that the computer is somewhere you can see it.

In closing, I want to wish everyone a blessed 2013, I wish you the best of health and happiness!

With that said, I must remind everyone that there are crazy people out there that like to shoot guns into the air, a deadly habit, therefore the first shot fired you hear please call the police immediately. You might think it’s fire crackers, but it may not be so please stay away from windows or outside at midnight. Remember what goes up must come down, and that is when people get hurt.

Have a great week!

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Temple Run was downloaded more than 2.5 million times on Christmas Day

Title Post: Temple Run was downloaded more than 2.5 million times on Christmas Day
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