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This week Brad held a lot of hands, grabbed a lot of heads and learned the secret to romancing women (hint: it has to do with talking and listening).
Kissing Roses and Attacking Ears with Ashley #1
On their one-on-one, Brad and Ashley 1 went to a recording studio to sing their eligible little hearts out. This “terrified” Ashley at first, but when she learned they were singing Kiss From A Rose, she relaxed because it reminded her of her late father. Sadly, this didn’t help her sing any better. After recording their version of the song, they went into another room to hear Seal sing it

I’ll show you mine if you show me yours! Here are my cruise tips for saving wear and tear on body and soul. I’d love to get a few tips from you as well. And, because air travel is so unpredictable, several tips are especially important and noted as a NEW RULE.

Lori Montgomery of the Washington Post just wrote an article entitled “Obama won’t endorse raising retirement age or reducing Social Security benefits,” where she reports that the State of the Union speech will not include any suggestions for cutting retirement benefits.
The Wall Street Journal reported the story differently, saying that cuts will not be spelled out but will be hinted at: “White House officials… have assured Democratic lawmakers that the president will not explicitly call for cuts in Social Security benefits, though he will say changes are needed to put the program on a solid fiscal footing.” The Journal adds: “Mr. Obama will call on both parties to be prepared to put everything on the table.”
Even if the Journal’s darker account is more accurate, the executioner’s hand has been stayed for the moment. That’s a victory for the American people, who oppose these cuts by large majorities across the political

When he delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama will present a report card on how the nation has fared the past year, offer up an agenda that seeks to bridge our partisan divide, and share with the American people his vision of where he wants to lead the country.
The president can cover all three bases by embracing a clean-energy agenda that boosts our economy and strengthens the safeguards that protect our health, our waters, our lands and the air we breathe.
No review of 2010 can overlook one of the worst environmental disasters of our time — the BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. This was a national wake-up call to break our costly and dangerous dependence on oil and move faster toward cleaner, safer, more sustainable sources of energy. Adopting this month’s recommendations by the national BP oil spill commission is a good start.
Nothing is more important than reviving our economy. And we can put millions of Americans back to work by investing in renewable fuels, fostering sustainable communities and demanding even more energy-efficiency in our cars, our workplaces, our homes and the products we use.
That also will make our companies more competitive and keep our workers at the forefront in the global race for clean-energy solutions — and make us more secure and less dependent on foreign oil.
We can debate the details and disagree over

On Tuesday, President Obama will deliver a State of the Union Address for his third year in office. It’s likely to be the most closely watched of his presidency, as his allies and adversaries alike try to discern how he’ll govern in a divided Washington. The president has already made it clear that he intends to offer an olive branch to the GOP-controlled House of Representatives by prioritizing issues like deficit reduction and education reform. Yet Obama supporters, who felt neglected for much of 2010, are also looking for the president to follow through on his message of hope and change — not to mention a few concrete campaign

Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s recent trip to Moscow marks an unprecedented state level rendezvous by an Afghanistan Head of State. The first since the Soviet backed President Najibullah’s trip; whose term ended shortly after the Soviet Union withdrew its forces from Afghanistan.
It is a life and death game for Hamid Karzai akin to spinning the cylinder of a new Russian revolver, aiming for a cajolement by a western backed Afghan state with the Russian federation — once its foe — and to tie the knot for a new marriage as if there was always a sweet serenity in their past history. However, in this tweaked “Great Game” of the 21st Century for this Central Asian state, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has already mastered his single bullet roulette play by skillfully defeating the Karzai

Why are some entrepreneurs more successful than others? This is a burning question for many over busy, over tired and over struggling entrepreneurs whose energy, drive and motivation have evaporated as they do ‘all the right things’ and yet they aren’t moving forward.
Just because you think you’re doing ‘all the right things’ if they aren’t tied to your core mission and passion, they might not be right for you. While certain structures do need to be in place, in this ever-changing business environment you don’t have to follow a cookie cutter model if it’s not for you.
At first, it may sound too ‘new age’ to incorporate your own ‘happiness’ into your strategic

As the holiday season slips into memory the public sector squeeze is on. We are into the shorter, colder days of winter. The American public sector is struggling through a long, cold season. Yes, the economy has made up some of the ground lost in 2008 and

For people with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a CPAP machine can be a life-changing device. I’ve written about the importance of regularly using your CPAP machine before, but there may be even more benefits to use of a CPAP.
Most people with OSA aren’t aware of that they stop breathing multiple times during the night. This results in fragmented, poor sleep, as well as low blood oxygen levels. OSA has been associated with an increased risk for myriad health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, mood and memory problems — even difficulties driving.
CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, and CPAP machines are the most effective and helpful treatment currently available for patients with

There is one truth about college: buying a parking pass is a painful rite of adulthood. Every year, tens of thousands of American students shell out up around $900 per year to park their cars on strained campus lots. Now students at Ole Miss are working with local transportation authorities to reduce cars, carbon and cost on campus. Their solution? Bring on the buses!
Students Erin Parsons and Lexi Combs recently shared their busing ideas with Planet

You’re at Target, rolling your cart along, checking off the usual list of household staples: toilet bowl cleaner, paper towels, picture frame, batteries, salad spinner, socks … and then it occurs to you: What’s for dinner?
That’s me, at least once a month. Only it never occurs to me to do my grocery shopping at my local Target because they sell only boxed food-like substances and bottled water.
Well, stores like Target and CVS are trying to change that by offering much more in the way of food, like produce, sandwiches, fresh-baked muffins, and … sushi?
Yup, drug stores are going

A year ago last week the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent and granted corporations the same right to free speech previously enjoyed by individuals. The Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates to a torrent of corporate influence on our democracy. Many Americans were surprised by the decision, a few recognized it for what it was — the inevitable conclusion of a four-decade-long strategy designed by a Democrat and executed by the Chamber of Commerce and its corporate backers.
In 1971 prior to his nomination to the US Supreme Court, Lewis Powell wrote a memo to the Director of the US Chamber of Commerce detailing a multifaceted plan to dramatically increase the influence of corporations on our

I admit that I’ve been a fan of Keith Olbermann from his SportsCenter days on ESPN. I found his unique brand of sardonic humor a nice change from the rah-rah breathless blah, blah inane chat that used to typify sports shows. He helped change the way that sports was delivered, and took that same enthusiasm and genius for the skew into broadcast journalism.
I don’t know what caused the split, and I don’t want to speculate, other than I believe that KEITH HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Oh sure, he tweaked his corporate bosses with the rhetoric he would unleash and his “worst person of the day”

Let me be frank, I don’t support Rahm Emanuel for any public position. He supports the Patriot Act, a blatant attack on American civil liberties, and has expressed support for the War in Iraq and increased funding for the War on Drugs. I certainly don’t trust him to protect civil liberties in a city like Chicago with a less than ideal history of police violence and abuse.
That said, the guy should be allowed to run for

Q: What is the best way to increase the size of my network? How can I get myself and my brand in front of people?
–Christina Montgomery, FL
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council, an advocacy group founded by serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber that works to take action against youth unemployment by teaching young people how to build successful companies. The council’s members include Generation Y entrepreneurs and experts in a variety of fields.
A: Attend Events
Attend as many networking events and relevant panels/speakers as you can — you never know whom you might meet. Make sure to put yourself out there when you’re at these events, not just watch and listen. Get people’s business cards and follow up with every single one of them afterwards — they will likely lead to new

Miami in December is a great place to gorge on art and design — and last month’s Art Basel Miami Beach, Design Miami, and satellite art fairs such as Pulse and Nada, did not disappoint. Along with these temporary/seasonal events, there are excellent permanent destinations including one of my favorites, the Rubell Family Collection. During last month’s fairs an ebullient Mera Rubell greeted visitors to the museum (wearing an Andy Warhol fright wig, no less), and daughter/food artist Jennifer created Just Right, a memorable and edible multi-room installation centered on oatmeal (really!).
Just Right installation shot, photo courtesy Charles A. Birnbaum
This tropical center of design bonhomie is also sporting some notable additions to its built environment – among them, the above ground parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road by Pritzker Prize winning architects Herzog and de

Wind chill warning are in place across much of east and central Canada as Canadians brave some of the lowest winter temperatures in decades.
Quebec City temperatures fell to -25C. Wind chill made it feel more like -40C.
Other parts of east and central Canada are experiencing similar lows and the severe temperatures were set to remain until Tuesday morning.
Despite being a country used to extreme weather, many residents are finding the latest cold snap hard to

Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in the world captured in the photos by William Eggleston. But if you take a deep breath and allow yourself the luxury of slowing down, then his photos will start to whisper and maybe even sing to you their irresistible songs.
The traveling retrospective of William Eggleston’s photographs on display at LACMA until January 16, consists of more than 200 images and covers a fifty year span of his career. “Born in 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised on his family’s cotton plantation in Mississippi,” Eggleston, according to the museum’s press release “has produced a veritable encyclopedia of everyday life in his native Memphis, New Orleans and the Mississippi River Delta.”
To be completely honest, until seeing this exhibition I had not more than polite respect for the work of this quintessential southern gentleman. But this ambitious and sprawling museum exhibition opened my eyes to the quiet beauty and melancholic poetry of the Eggleston camera: A dog lapping from a puddle on a country road; An American diner dominated by the elaborate hairdo of a woman viewed from behind; A naked electric bulb stuck in the middle of a blood red

Most of us may have been informed of many aspects regarding the Euro zone’s debt crisis and particularly of the risk that the EU members run of getting caught in a vicious cycle of instability, which would definitely cause disastrous effects on the financial system, not only in Europe but also in the rest of the world. But not many of us are aware of the reasons for which the European debt crisis should end with less possible negative effects.
There is no other choice ahead for European leaders except that of supporting the euro’s currency survival by making radical decisions in terms of proving that at any given moment they respect the Europe’s cornerstone: the prosperity and the solidarity among all European countries. After a long time of European political confusion, indecision and the inability of dealing with the problem of guarantees expected by the international markets, right now it has become common sense that the debt crisis does not concern only the European countries, but also the whole of Euro zone’s members.
What’s occurring in the European continent, should not be — and is not — isolated by what Americans set as their priority, namely, good prospects for their economy, creation of more job opportunities, increased exportation and greater competitiveness for the American

Kansans suffered a painful embarrassment several years ago when a ruthlessly conservative school board rewrote its definition of science, paving the way for “intelligent design” to be taught alongside evolution in public schools. The decision since has been reversed, and sensible Kansans’ facial muscles only recently recovered from their collective cringe. Now, though, they wince at a different sort of political horror: Newly elected governor Sam Brownback plans to issue executive orders eliminating the Kansas Arts Commission. (Brownback’s budget report for Fiscal Year 2012 is sub-titled, “Happy New Year, Art Fags.”)
If Brownback is successful in abolishing this state agency, Kansas would be the only state in the nation — including the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — without a state-funded arts

This post originally appeared on the World Bank’s Conflict blog on January 19, 2011.
The first anniversary of Haiti’s earthquake has seen a lot of finger pointing. The country’s Prime Minister, Jean-Max Bellerive, faults the donors for failing to open the tap on promised funds. Others blame his government and the legions of NGOs and aid workers for not getting their act together.
Waiting for a signal. Photo: Haiti’s Tent

Let’s get something straight: passion is not a requirement for business success, and the seemingly 24/7 ‘passion-in-business’ industry is selling you a pup.
Despite the ever-multiplying “find-your-passion” gurus and the breathless profiles of passionate leaders by never-ran-a-business-in-their-life journos, possessing passion is about as relevant to business success as possessing Steve Job’s black turtleneck: try hard enough and you can get your hands on either (or both), but neither will guarantee you business success.
There are two significant ways in which this fixation on passion as a prerequisite for success in business is seriously damaging: it deludes new and potential entrepreneurs into believing that if only they can find their ‘true north’, then their business venture will surely succeed; and it is hijacking (or at least hobbling) the development of serious leaders with genuine depth.
Here’s the problem with selling passion as a fundamental of business success:
1. It’s largely a fiction: Sure, there are a cluster of usual suspects who get rolled out in every ‘passionate leader’ discussion: the aforementioned Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Tony Hseih and (insert your personal favorite here). There are any number of problems with this roster, but let’s focus on just three:
First, every one of these people are successful because they’re brilliantly competent, not because they’re

The Pittsburgh Steelers win because of the way they play defense and in effect, because of the way they listen to Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau, the creator of the zone blitz package that – when run correctly – nullifies Bill Walsh’s vaunted West Coast Offense. LeBeau, who has been in the NFL for over five decades, looks better at 73 than most of his players look at 23. Wait. Let’s back up a bit to put this in perspective:
LeBeau was signed by the Detroit Lions three years before Barack Obama was