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The winner will receive a 60 minute coaching session from Life and Career Coach, Laura Tirello of Core Life Design. The session will be conducted by telephone at a time agreed upon by the winner. The session will focus on an area in the client’s personal or professional life in which they are seeking improvement. The client will be coached through their particular issue and given tools that may help them continue to create successful outcomes in their personal and/or professional life. The winner will also receive an email summary of the session from Laura Tirello.

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By Maura Dieringer
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)

With everyone pinching pennies nowadays, Mossimo for Target’s California-chic spring collection is a perfect solution to affordable shopping. Mossimo Giannulli’s designs are featured in brilliant hues and practical silhouettes for day or night.

The items are perfect for warm spring and summer days with floral patterns, lightweight fabrics and bold colors. Most of the collection is in the $20-$40 range and ranges from classic to trendy styles and T-shirts to tiered ruffled tops. Dresses are an especially easy way to create a go-to outfit, and even easier to accessorize.

The collection features both structured and flowy items, such as skirts and dresses, in coral, cobalt blue and green. Clothing is available for both boys and girls, as well as for adults.

We like these for spring:
— Pocket Tee, yellow ($7.99)
— Tiered Ruffle Skirt, gray ($24.99)
— Belted Tunic, coral ($21.99)
— Pocket-Front Dress for girls, blue ($14.99)
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© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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By Barry Koltnow
The Orange County Register, (MCT)

Didn’t Paul Walker vow never to make another “Fast and Furious” movie? Did Vin Diesel really make more money than Walker for the fourth installment of the illegal street-racing movie franchise? How long did it take the teenage Walker to get a speeding ticket after he got his driver’s license?

The blond, blue-eyed former Huntington Beach, Calif., dude, now 35, answered these and other questions in a rooftop interview in Hollywood to promote his new movie “Fast & Furious,” which opened Friday and drove away with the box office (an estimated $72.5 million in ticket sales).

Like the third installment, “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” this film was directed by Justin Lin, but unlike the third film, this one reunited the original cast — Walker, Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster — from the 2001 movie (“The Fast and the Furious”) that jump-started the successful film series.
This time, the men join forces to battle a Mexican drug lord.

Q: How old were you when you got your first car?
A. I was 18.

Q. What was it?
A. A 1986 Ford Ranger pickup truck.

Q. When did you get your first speeding ticket?
A. Probably within a month of that. They nailed me.

Q. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you once vow to me that you would never be in another “Fast and Furious” movie?
A. I did say that.

Q. So, what happened?
A. I’m a little older, a little wiser. Some time went by.

Q. And what happened in that time?
A. I came to the realization that after eight years, I was still that “Fast and Furious” guy. I get it from kids on the street all the time. Whether I was in this one or not was not going to change that.

Q. Was it just a fat payday?
A. It was just about coming back and having fun. I couldn’t make these movies one after another, but they’re OK spread out like this.

Q. How much arm-twisting was there?
A. In this case, Vin and I are represented by the same agent. At one point, Vin and the studio were talking about a fourth installment. Then, as I understand it, they agreed that they couldn’t make a fourth film without my involvement. Vin was real hungry to make a fourth one. I got calls from Vin, my agent and the studio.

Q. Whose influence was the strongest in this case?
A. I listened to everybody, but it really boils down to what I think. But Vin probably had the biggest impact. He said he wanted to go back and make the first true sequel, and that made sense.

Q. You were in the second one, but not “Tokyo Drift.” Did you regret not being in that one?
A. Not at all. But I did get sick of the endless questions about why I wasn’t in the third one. The fans were really ticked off. It was as if I had let them down.

Q. Did they ask you to be in the third one?
A. No, they were going in a different direction. But I had made it clear in the promotional tour for the second one (“2 Fast 2 Furious”) that I wasn’t interested in doing any more.

Q. So, you’re just a big fat liar?
A. Exactly.

Q. Be careful about saying “never.”
A. I know; people really take offense at that.

Q. I wonder how many speeding tickets you are responsible for?
A. Too many to count, I suppose. That why we’re out there doing PSAs (public service announcements) telling people to chill out.

Q. How did you get involved in this franchise?
A. I was working with the studio on another movie. They asked me what I wanted to do next, and I said I was interested in doing a film about an undercover cop and car racing. I always loved “Donnie Brasco” and “Days of Thunder.” Three months later, they came to me with the newspaper article that they later based the movie on. I read the article, and said, “Hell, yeah, I’ll do it.” There wasn’t even a script. My agent went crazy.

Q. So you were there from the beginning?
A. I was even part of the casting process. Do you know who they wanted for Vin’s role? Timothy Oliphant. He passed on it. He didn’t like it. Then Rob Cohen (the director) asked me if I had seen “Saving Private Ryan.” That’s when we first saw Vin.

Q. You should be getting points for your assistance.
A. At least five percent of the gross.

Q. You don’t own a piece of this at all?
A. They really know how to kick a brother down. Make sure you write that.

Q. You’re just a salaried employee?
A. That’s right. But it’s nice money. I’m not complaining, but I’d rather have Vin’s money.

Q. Vin makes more than you?
A. Twice as much.

Q. Get out.
A. Swear to God.

Q. That’s not right.
A. You’re not kidding.

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© 2009, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Visit the Register on the World Wide Web at http://www.ocregister.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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By Sharon Hoffmann
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)

Oscar host Hugh Jackman declared the movie musical is back. Is this the proof?

Fame
What: The stories of some artsy kids over their four years at the prestigious New York High School of Performing Arts. Playing their teachers: Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally and Bebe Neuwirth.
Directed by: Choreographer Kevin Tancharoen
Based on: The 1980 film, which spawned a TV series and a stage musical in London.
Opening: Sept. 25

Nine
What: A famous film director (Daniel Day-Lewis) suffers a midlife crisis while balancing the many women in his life: his wife (Marion Cotillard), mistress (Penelope Cruz), protege (Nicole Kidman, left), friend and costume designer (Judi Dench), fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), prostitute from his youth (Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson ) and mother (Sophia Loren).
Directed by: Rob Marshall (Chicago)
Based on: The 1982 Broadway musical, which was based on Federico Fellini’s autobiographical 1963 film, “8 ½.”
Opening: Nov. 25

The Princess and the Frog
What: The animated musical tale of 19-year-old Tiana, Disney’s first African-American princess, voiced by Anika Noni Rose of Dreamgirls. Tiana lives in New Orleans’ French Quarter during the Jazz Age and happens upon a prince who was transformed into a frog by an evil voodoo magician (Keith David). Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard voice her mother and father.
Directed by: Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules)
Based on: E.D. Baker’s The Frog Princess, a twist on the old fairy tale.
Opening: Dec. 25

Footloose
What: Zac Efron plays Ren, a rebellious teen who moves to a town where dancing is not allowed (!).
Directed by: Kenny Ortega (all three High School Musicals)
Based on: Kevin Bacon’s 1984 film, which was based (loosely) on events in a small Oklahoma town, and spawned a Broadway musical.
Opening: 2010
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© 2009, The Kansas City Star.
Visit The Star Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.kansascity.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com.

By John Ewoldt
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
(MCT)
The game of Monopoly has been reinvented. Again. The new edition, called “Here & Now: The World Edition,” is cashless. Each player uses a debit card to pay deposits and withdrawals. Pass “Go” even once and you collect $2 million. The iron, dog and cannon have been replaced by a pretzel, koala and soccer ball, among other icons. One landing on Montreal (the new Boardwalk) or Belgrade (the new North Carolina Avenue) with a hotel and you’re probably out of the game.

Unfortunately, Parker Brothers’ new version still seems out of touch with today’s economic realities. A gander at the Community Chest and Chance cards includes collecting $250,000 profit from a Parisian fashion boutique and a travel company netting $2 million in sales for the lucky draws. Get real. Today’s economy calls for thrift-store chic and “staycations.” Let’s go back to the spirit of Charles Darrow, who created the original Monopoly back in 1934 when he was unemployed during the depths of the Great Depression, but with a smack of snark for a modern edge. Which cards might Lady Luck show us today when we land on Chance?

Your identity is stolen. Pay $750 in out-of-pocket expenses to restore your tarnished good name.
You “forgot” to pay the water bill. Pay shutoff and reconnection fee of $108.

Your car is towed during a snow emergency after you pass out drinking cranberry Manhattans. Pay $172.

You sell your Precious Moments and baseball card collections on eBay to raise cash. Collect $1,000.

Congratulations: Your kid can’t cut it at the private college. State school it is. Save $10,000.

Take a ride on light rail. Unfortunately, you can’t figure out how to pay the fare so you’re busted for nonpayment. Pay $180.

There’s an election error in your favor. Advance to the U.S. Senate to collect a $169,300 annual salary and lucrative health benefits.

You win $1,000 on the slots, but can’t quit while you’re ahead. Pay $500 from your cash advance account.

You adopt simple living techniques and abandon Needless Markup and Whole Paycheck for thrift stores and low-cost grocers. Collect $2,000.

Bad news, good news. Your adult son moves back in. You collect $2,000 of the $6,000 he owes you before he’s tapped out.

Pick 5 pays off. You match four of five numbers. Collect $500.

Your home value plummets 30 percent. Your property taxes decline 2 percent. Save $50.

Electricity usage has increased thanks to sales of plug-in cars. Your Xcel Energy stock pays a dividend of $250.

Your pessimism pays off. You profit $2,000 on a short sale of your favorite retail stock.

The city decides that your street needs repaving. Cough up your share of the potholes, $1,500.

You’re fired as chairman of the board. Collect $2 million from each player for your golden parachute.

Monopoly game over. The game of Life begins.
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© 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com).
_____

Dear Melissa,
Can a collection agency call you and say that your account has been sold to them on an item that is over seven years old and the item has already been removed from your credit.  Do you ignore the calls that have now started or is there something you can tell them to make them stop calling. Isn’t there a statue of limitations law of some kind?
Genevieve N.

Dear Genevieve,

Many collection agencies do not actually work at collecting on debt for an original creditor but will buy the debt for a negotiated amount and attempt to collect the money from a consumer.  This is perfectly legal and the agency will operate as a collection agency and are subject to the same laws, but are actually debt buyers.  In many cases, the debt is very old and the agency is attempting to collect the money as a last ditch effort for profit.

As long as the account is not a judgment and is a collection item, after the account has reached the seven years and fallen off the credit report, it cannot be re-reported and therefore is “safe” from affecting your credit score.  As for your question, I would not just ignore the calls because they can be annoying and an interruption.  Since there is a law that allows you to invoke a cease communication, write a letter to the collection agency that informs them that they are to cease all verbal and written contact with you.   In this letter, state that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allows you this right and that they are not to contact you again.  This will get them to stop.

As for the statute of limitations, in Georgia, the statute for oral and written accounts is 6 years, and a promissory and open account is 3 years.  If it is over this time period, then yes, the statute will apply.  But keep in mind, this does not mean the bill is not owed, but rather if the case goes to court, it can be dismissed based on the expired time frame and also cannot be reported to your credit.

Do YOU have a question for Melissa? Email her at melissa@dovcocs.com.

Melissa Douros
Dovco Collection Solutions, Inc.

As the owner of Dovco Collection Solutions, Inc., Melissa Douros uses her eight years of being a collections specialists to offer advice and answer questions pertaining to debt collection.  With running her own successful collection agency, she seeks to keep debt collectors accountable for their actions and in line with the law.

By Steve Johnson
San Jose Mercury News
(MCT)

With a big assist from Silicon Valley technology, a movie superstar like Angelina Jolie could keep starring as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider sequels—forever.

Aided by increasingly powerful microprocessors and incredibly sophisticated software, movie makers and video game developers are getting closer to achieving the holy grail of animation: creating computer-generated actors that are visually indistinguishable from real people. Consider it Hollywood’s most special effect.

Experts say that could bring revolutionary changes for film lovers and game players. Stars could keep playing iconic roles even as they aged past the point of believability, like Jolie as Croft or Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. At the same time, video games could look more realistic—in fact, more like movies themselves.
“Basically anything a person can dream up, we’ll be able to create,” said Mark Starkenburg, chief executive of Santa Monica-based Image Metrics, which recently made a remarkably lifelike computer-generated video of a soap-opera actress using the latest chips from Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, Calif.

The video isn’t perfect, however, and experts say chips and animation software need to get much better to be able to produce computer-generated actors that look identical to the original.

But “we may be getting to the tipping point,” said Rick Bergman, general manager of AMD’s graphics products group. “With what we’re starting to deliver with our chips, the computing power is getting real close.”

Over the past three decades, computer-produced graphics have created stunning visual effects in films such as Alien, Total Recall, Jurassic Park, Titanic and Lord of the Rings. Lately, increasing numbers—including all of the new Disney-Pixar collaborations, such as Bolt and the upcoming Monsters vs. Aliens— are shown in 3-D.

But while animators have been able to make astonishingly realistic-looking representations of buildings, trees and other objects, the complexity of the human face and its subtle emotions have proven too difficult to replicate.

For now, producers have generally avoided even trying to make digital characters that look like actual people. And when they have, they have often blundered into what those in the industry call the “uncanny valley.” That’s where animated faces seem so devoid of normal human expressiveness they appear zombielike, a problem critics claim especially cropped up in the 2004 movie Polar Express that starred a synthetic Tom Hanks.

To avoid that, movie producers sometimes get highly creative with camera angles or by cropping images, while video game makers often just show their characters from the back, said Scott Cronce, vice president of technology for video game giant Electronic Arts.

But in creating its video of the television soap opera actress—Emily O’Brien, who has appeared in The Young and the Restless—Image Metrics found another solution. It used a device developed by the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which can digitally capture enormous amounts of visual detail about human actors, including their faces.

Computer generation gives film producers enormous creative flexibility. Besides allowing them to change an actor’s appearance—by digitally exaggerating their movements or facial expressions, for example—it also makes it easy to create elaborate animated environments, which can be a lot cheaper than having to fly an entire movie crew to exotic locations to shoot scenes.

Moreover, being able to create digital characters that are indistinguishable from real people would enable performers who have grown older, or have even died, to continue appearing in movies, said Jules Urbach, who has licensed USC’s technology to use in his Burbank animation business, LightStage.

Urbach said an actor in his 30s—whom he declined to identify—recently asked him to capture the man’s image with LightStage so the actor can star in future animated films without ever looking a day older than he does now.

If needed, Urbach added, the actor’s words could be digitally generated years from now through computerized voice reconstruction, a technology that also is rapidly advancing.

While all this might enable actors to collect movie royalties well past their prime, some critics have decried giving animators so much creative control. Yet Mark Friedlander, national director of new media for the Screen Actors Guild, said his members shouldn’t panic yet over what he called “blurring the line between the real and the synthetic.”

“It certainly is something we’re beginning to watch,” he said. But he added, “I don’t really see technology in any way replacing performers. I see it enhancing the possibility of storytelling.”

© 2009, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).
Visit MercuryNews.com, the World Wide Web site of the Mercury News, at http://www.mercurynews.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com).

By Chuck Barney
Contra Costa Times
(MCT)

Barack Obama brought change to Washington. Now, can he bring change to our television sets?

The new president and his family have barely settled into their new Washington digs, but that question is already being pondered by members of the entertainment community. They cling to the hope that an “Obama effect” eventually will lead to richer and more varied depictions of black Americans on the small screen and more opportunities in front of, and behind, the camera.

“The fact that we now have people who we traditionally haven’t seen in these kinds of roles should open Hollywood’s minds to all kinds of possibilities,” says comedian D.L. Hughley. “Hopefully we’ll see a case of art imitating life.”

Hughley, who dabbles in political humor as the host of CNN’s “D.L. Hughley Breaks the News,” headlined a family sitcom (“The Hughleys”) on ABC and UPN from 1998-2002. It has the dubious distinction of being among the last wave of predominantly black TV shows before the current drought hit prime time.

This fall, even as Obama was becoming the biggest TV star on the planet, the out-of-step broadcasters unveiled a roster of new shows stocked with casts that were alarmingly pale. The drop-off came after a period in which the networks seemed to making a move toward more diversity—a move spurred by harsh public criticism in 1999 by the NAACP.

“I was shocked to see that not a single pilot had an African-American family or protagonist,” says Elvis Mitchell, a pop-culture critic and film producer. “It just seemed obvious. Why not? It’s what everybody was talking about. On the other hand, there was no shortage of shows about the travails of rich white kids.”

In 1997, the broadcast networks offered 15 black comedies, albeit mostly on the now-defunct WB and UPN, which relied on the genre to carve out an audience. Today, that number is down to two: “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game.” They air on the smallest network—The CW—where they have been banished to the dead zone known as Friday nights. In addition, basic-cable station TBS offers a pair of black sitcoms—”House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns,” both from Tyler Perry.

When it comes to black dramas, television’s track record is even more abysmal. The most recent predominantly black network drama was Steven Bochco’s short-lived “City of Angels,” which aired on CBS in 2000. These days, the only black actors who headline network dramas are Dennis Haysbert on “The Unit” and Laurence Fishburne, who just took over “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Both shows air on CBS.

Mara Brock Akil, the creator and executive producer of “The Game” and the recently departed “Girlfriends,” deplores the trend.

“I have a theory: Everyone wants to see themselves in storytelling, whether it be TV, stage, movies or books,” she says. “It’s like a validation of their humanity. And black people really haven’t had that on television—at a high-profile level— since ‘The Cosby Show.’”

“The Cosby Show,” starring Bill Cosby as pediatrician Cliff Huxtable, aired on NBC from 1984 to ‘92 and can still be seen in syndication. One of the most popular programs in television history, it was a warmhearted sitcom—free of street conflicts and ghetto stereotypes— that broke ground for its depiction of an upwardly mobile black family. In the weeks following Obama’s election, the “Huxtable effect” was cited by some as a factor in his victory.

Cosby, for one, downplays the show’s influence on the election (“It was, perhaps, one of many spokes in the wheel,” he says). Moreover, he’s not all that optimistic that Obama’s presidency will make a major difference in terms of onscreen diversity.

“No, because these people are stupid,” he says, referring to network bosses. “Look at how NBC is struggling. You would think they would make some changes and be talking about trying to get another ‘Cosby’ kind of show. But they would probably die before putting another show on about a black family and black pride.”
Brock Akil, however, has a bit more hope for the network that also aired the groundbreaking show “Julia” (1968-71), with Diahann Carroll; and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-96), with Will Smith. NBC recently bought from her a script based on a book by Nick Adams called “Making Friends With Black People.” It’s a buddy comedy that focuses on the state of race relations in the U.S.

“In our pitch to NBC, we referenced Obama,” says Brock Akil, who is awaiting word on whether the project will be turned into a pilot. “We talked about how he has gotten us to the table to talk about race in a meaningful way and it’s time to continue the discussion. So our new president has already had an impact.”

Some believe that impact will take on additional power as the nation—including Hollywood—is exposed to countless images of Obama along with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha as they hold court in the White House.

© 2009, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.).
Visit the Contra Costa Times on the Web at http://www.contracostatimes.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mct.com).

The House just approved the newest stimulus package. But before it passes it must go through the Senate.  First of all, what is the government thinking?

As a young, independent individual, I should be thrilled about receiving a $400 stimulus check, but I’m not.  Why aren’t I?  Our government thinks that this check will be used to help stimulate our economy by having the American people spend it on clothing and other useless material goods.  Are they a bunch of fools?  I’m going to use that money to pay my cable and Internet bill so I can watch TV online, and download stuff for free, because I’m piss poor.

Most American’s with half a brain are going to use that money to spend it on gas, bills, credit card debt, and food.  I’m sure not going to go out and buy some clothing or electronic goods. I’m paying my cable bill to steal my entertainment needs.

Besides, didn’t we try the stimulus check idea before, and didn’t we still end up in a recession?

By Jake Miller

What do you think? Are stimulus checks a good idea or not?

Whether he was yelling something with his sleeves rolled up as you channel surfed or he was holding wads of cash in posters for a book signing at your local Borders, you’ve seen Jim Cramer. In the show “Mad Money” on CNBC, he enthusiastically gives stock tips to callers. He also has several books for sale, which give further tips and general financial advice (mutal funds, college tuition, etc).

But how legit is Cramer? He may have a history as a successful hedge fund manager and a position as “America’s #1 Financial Guru,” but how legit is his advice?

Fraud
Cramer’s recommendations generally do worse than the market. Several sources have researched and cited this, including Bill Alpert, yourmoneywatch.com, and Eric Tyson, among other critics. There is no database of his stock picks and how they did, therefore there is no real accountability.

His books do not actually help you make money. Unless you day trade, and do it only extra money you have set aside to do so, there is a big chance you could loose money just as easily as making it by reading Cramer’s advice. Plus, research you could do for free can prepare you to “speculate” just as well (or not) as Cramer does.

He has motive to say anything to make people buy books. Sad but true. The more people buy his books, then the more people watch his show, and then the more people go to his website, and then more people buy the stocks that he suggests, which he chooses based on who his friends are. He then can make market swings that will please his more wealthy followers. He has been investigated by the SEC but has yet to be tried for insider trading or “pumping and dumping.”

There is no proof he is actually good at picking stocks. He quotes some good returns, but go out and find some verification of this. Of course he says he’s good at it; otherwise people won’t believe him!

Bull Market v. Bear Market. When his speculations were good, it was during a bull market, a market in which investors have confidence and buy in anticipation of profit from stocks or real estate. But it’s a bear market right now, and investors are scared and trying to sell.

Fortune
There really isn’t much of a case for fortune here. If you have the amounts of money you’d need to do some of the trades Cramer says he does, you probably didn’t get it by listening to him. Every once in a while he gives some sound advice and the basic financial and savings advice in his books are fine, but they can be found other ways. Plus all his disclaimers should make you skeptical. Like most things, investing is something that can be researched easily by yourself on your own time; having one non-objective party giving you advice is never a good way to go.

Plus, he doesn’t know you. He doesn’t know your situation and shouldn’t be giving you advice. If you’re looking for stock tips don’t just use one source. Do your research before you sink all of your money into recommendations from a TV personality.

Bottom line: He might be worth a fortune but his advice: FRAUD.

What do you think? Is Jim Cramer a fraud?

Want to practice investing? Try the Young Money Stock Market Game. It’s free to join and you can win cash prizes.