Community's Danny Pudi Spies a Chuck Cameo (omg!)

Danny Pudi | Photo Credits: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.comTV Guide

Geek-gasm alert! Community's Danny Pudi will make a cameo on Chuck this season, AOL reports.

Details of Pudi's role are being kept quiet, but he will appear in the fifth episode.

Is Community on your Watchlist? Add it and your other favorites now and never miss an episode

Pudi, of course, already has some experience crossing over to another show. Last season, he hilariously appeared in the background of one scene on Cougar Town ? a result of Abed's undying love for the sitcom on Community.

Pudi joins a long list of geeky Chuck guest stars this year, including Mark Hamill, Carrie-Ann Moss, Justin Hartley and Jeff Fahey.

Chuck returns Friday, Oct. 21 at 8/7c on NBC.

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

• Is Community or Chuck on your Watchlist? Add it and your other favorites now and never miss an episode

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/http___omg_yahoo_com_news71050/42769393/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/communitys-danny-pudi-spies-a-chuck-cameo/71050

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Solitary holdout refuses to leave Japan nuke zone (AP)

TOMIOKA, Japan ? Vines creep across Tomioka's empty streets, its prim gardens overgrown with waist-high weeds and meadow flowers. Dead cows rot where they were left to starve in their pens. Chicken coops writhe with maggots, a sickening stench hanging in the air.

This once-thriving community of 16,000 people now has a population of one.

In this nuclear no-man's land poisoned by radiation from a disaster-battered power plant, rice farmer Naoto Matsumura refuses to leave despite government orders. He says he has thought about the possibility of getting cancer but prefers to stay ? with a skinny dog named Aki his constant companion.

Nearly six months after Japan's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, the 53-year-old believes he is the only inhabitant left in this town sandwiched between the doomed Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station to the north and another sprawling nuclear plant to the south.

"If I give up and leave, it's all over," he told The Associated Press. "It's my responsibility to stay. And it is my right to be here."

Matsumura is an anomaly in a country where defiance of the government is rare and social consensus counts above everything else. Yet, Matsumura's quiet civil disobedience speaks loudly of the dilemma facing the more than 100,000 silent "nuclear refugees" who were displaced by the March 11 disaster.

Tokyo was quick to establish evacuation zones around the plant but has been slow to settle the refugees. A government order forbids them from going back to their homes in a half dozen towns around Fukushima Dai-ichi that were declared off-limits after the tsunami-stricken nuclear plant started spewing radioactivity.

"We are already being forgotten," said Matsumura, a leathery but clean-cut man with the sturdy build of a farmer. "The rest of the country has moved on. They don't want to think about us."

Tomioka's city hall has been moved to a safer city in Fukushima prefecture, where thousands of its residents live in makeshift shelters. Thousands more have scattered across the country.

The town itself is sealed behind police barriers, which hide the heart of the nuclear no-go zone, an area that is officially too dangerous for human habitation.

Officers are sent into Tomioka each day to search for burglars or violators of the keep-out order. By law, anyone caught inside the zone can be detained and fined.

But authorities mostly turn a blind eye to Matsumura, though he says he has been confronted by the police a few times. If there are other holdouts, they have escaped detection.

"Some people stayed behind, some stayed with me in my house," he said. "But the last one left a few weeks ago. He asked me to take care of his cats."

Tomioka official Tomio Midorikawa, who is in charge of the town's living and environment division, said the last resident was persuaded to leave in early August ? the same time Matsumura claims his neighbor left. He was not aware of Matsumura.

Without electricity or running water, Matsumura fires up a pair of old generators each night and draws his water from a local well. He eats mostly canned foods, or fish that he catches himself in a nearby river. He said that once or twice a month, he makes his way to a city outside the zone in his mini pickup truck to stock up on supplies and gas.

He has taken it upon himself to tend to the town's abandoned cats and dogs, including the wolflike Aki.

"I've gone to Tokyo a couple of times to tell the politicians why I'm here," he said. "I tell them that it was an outrage how the cows were left to die, and how important it is for someone to tend to the family graves. They don't seem to hear me. They just tell me I shouldn't be here to begin with."

Matsumura said he did leave once, but the ensuing experience only strengthened his desire to return.

"I drove to a relative's house thinking I would stay there," he said. "But she wouldn't let me in the door, she was too afraid I was contaminated. Then I went to an evacuation center, but it was full. That was enough to convince me to come home."

The tsunami disaster left nearly 21,000 people dead or missing and touched off fires, explosions and meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The amount of radioactive cesium released into the environment since has been estimated to be equal to 168 Hiroshimas, making it the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl.

No one ? including Matsumura ? is suggesting the exclusion zone be lifted altogether. The connection between radiation and cancer or other health problems is well established, and experts agree it could be decades until the nuclear zone is safe. Some point to the example of Chernobyl, which 25 years later is still mostly void of human life.

"The contaminants will be there for decades, centuries, millennia," said Timothy Mousseau, a biologist with the University of South Carolina who has studied Chernobyl for more than a decade and recently returned from a preliminary research trip to Fukushima.

Even so, local authorities are increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress toward resolving the nuclear Diaspora.

Tamotsu Baba, the mayor of Namie, a partially evacuated town near Tomioka, said in an interview it was reasonable at first for Tokyo to establish a geometric ring extending outward from the center of the plant. But he believes data collected since should be used to fine-tune the exclusion area to reflect the actual amounts of contamination.

"We have invested millions in developing a system to measure radiation," he said. "But it is like the whole thing is being decided by someone behind a desk with a 500 yen ($5) compass."

Further fanning the anger among the displaced, compensation from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that runs the plant, has stalled in a bureaucratic labyrinth.

Before the crisis began, the average annual income in Tomioka was about 3.5 million yen ($35,000).

Matsumura said he has received about 1 million yen ($10,000) in compensation, far less than he would have earned from selling his rice and other produce. TEPCO, reeling financially from the accident, has put off a final decision on further compensation until the plant is stabilized. The money already handed out will be subtracted from the amount it eventually settles on.

Officials say some restrictions may be lifted by the end of the year if the Fukushima reactors are brought to a stable shutdown.

Beyond that, the future remains a mystery.

"There are many tasks ahead before we will be able to return to our town, including decontamination and the rebuilding of our sewage system, roads and infrastructure," Tomioka Mayor Katsuya Endo said in a recent post on the town's website. "But we must maintain our hope, and gradually move forward."

Matsumura now likens himself to the Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender until decades after the end of World War II.

As a heavy rain began to fall, he walked down an overgrown mountain path to his rice paddy. He pulled up a plant by its roots, twisted it between his fingers then tossed it into an irrigation ditch with a resigned sigh.

There will be no cash crop this year. Or maybe ever again.

"It was strange being alone at first, but I am resolved to stay," he said. "I'm getting used to this life."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110831/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake_the_holdout

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Flo Rida Samples Etta James On 'Good Feeling'

'It's legendary,' Flo tells MTV News of his brand-new single.
By Rob Markman

Flo Rida
Photo: David Livingston/ Getty Images

Soul singers are making a comeback in 2011. First Jay-Z and Kanye resurrected Otis Redding on their single "Otis," and now Flo Rida reworks some classic Etta James vocals for his new single "Good Feeling."

And like his past #1 hits, including 2007's "Low" and '09's "Right Round," Flo is expecting to top the charts once again.

"It's legendary, we got Etta James featured on there, so it's crazy," he told MTV News from the 2011 VMA black carpet on Sunday. "Produced by Dr. Luke; you know we always with those #1 records. I'm very excited."

The song, which was released to iTunes on Monday, starts out with a dance-infused drum pattern, complete with electric bleeps that echo throughout the intro. After the eighth bar, Etta James' vocals are ushered in: "Ohhh, sometimes I get a good feeling."

The sample is lifted from James' 1962 "Something's Got a Hold on Me" and has been updated for a 2011 electro-feel. After the chorus, Flo comes in, rapping in double-time about his success in the music game. And the Carol City, Florida, MC has much to celebrate. Later this year, he'll release his fourth solo LP, Only One Rida (Part 2), the follow-up to his 2010 album, which included the hit singles "Club Can't Handle Me" and "Turn Around (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)."

Now he can add a song with Etta James — or at least an Etta James sample — to his list of musical moments. "You know, it just gotta be a blessing from God to make that happen," Flo Rida said. "We got that cleared and I'm very excited."

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards have wrapped, but the real action is just getting started! Stick with MTV News for winners, fashion pics, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything that went down. Visit VMA.MTV.com for the latest.

Related Artists

• Flo Rida

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670078/flo-rida-etta-james-good-feeling.jhtml

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Fast Track Teacher Certification Programs Opens Teaching Career ...

There is no denying that there is still a national teacher shortage, and that it doesn?t show signs of improving anytime soon. What may sound like bad news for schools, however, has turned into good news for those who are considering getting into the teaching profession. In order to help address the crisis, 48 states as well as Washington DC have implemented alternative teaching certification programs designed to produce qualified teachers through programs other than the traditional college and university curriculum. Depending on the discipline, many of these programs are accelerated, fast track curriculum that enable participants to keep their current jobs as they train, or, in some cases, to do at least some of the learning on the job.

Bachelor?s degrees are still a requirement of course, so the main difference between these programs and the traditional route is that an additional course of study specifically in teaching or a Masters Degree are often no longer required. Teachers must still demonstrate mastery, pass the necessary tests, and prove through the interview process that they are qualified to teach. There are several programs that are field-based, so real life experience in the prospect?s chosen discipline may sometimes be used in lieu of class work. In almost all accelerated programs where new students move directly into the classroom as they are studying, they are paired with mentors and/or other support systems.

The advantages to these programs are many. Candidates save on the expense and time it takes to acquire a Masters Degree, and can undertake their studies at times that enable them to work as they learn. In addition, because of the extreme shortage in some areas, grants and other forms of financial aid may be available. This has proven to be a great way for older career-changers, minorities, and other experienced workers to get into the field of teaching more easily, and has boosted the ranks of qualified applicants tremendously.

These programs benefit schools and teachers alike by providing jobs and the talent to fill them. Disciplines that have been especially in need and thus well served by alternative teaching routes are math, the sciences, and English as a Second Language, or ESL. In the former two examples, there have been a significant number of candidates moving from labs to the classroom, and this real-life experience has proven beneficial to all. The demands for ESL teachers will continue to be strong as populations of non-English speakers are forecast to continue growing.

The alternative route to getting a certification is ever changing as the states continually change their requirements and programs trying to find which works the best. Because requirements for teaching are state regulated, anyone interested in pursuing an alternative teaching certification should check out the available programs in his or her state, or the location of interest.

Reproduction permitted only if all active links are maintained and byline is preserved, and/or your byline is omitted. 2011 All Copyrights Reserved.

Author Stephen Daniels highly recommends National Teacher Education Center for those seeking the best jobs in the education arena. They offer alternative teacher certification and degrees via alternative education programs, so students can continue to work in their chosen fields as they study simultaneously for their higher degrees.

Source: http://articlesobserver.com/reference-education/fast-track-teacher-certification-programs-opens-teaching-career-to-many-more-candidates

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Source: http://www.safetybathroombars.productreviewsbuying.com/moen-lr8724d2bn-home-care-24-inch-grab-bar-brushed-nickel-reviews/

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Taylor Lautner and Dwayne Johnson Could Be David and Goliath

Here?s a question for you: Who would win in a fight, Taylor Lautner or Dwayne ?Don?t Call Me The Rock? Johnson?

The answer is part of the reason why those two are being courted to star in Goliath, one of several Bible-based projects currently being developed in Hollywood. Scott Derrickson (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) is set to direct, from a script by newcomers Patrick McKay and John D. Payne.

Twitch says that Johnson is officially in talks to play the titular giant in Goliath, though nothing is set in stone just yet. Lautner has reportedly received an offer to portray David in the film, which would reunite him with Twilight producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey.

In case you?re shaky on your Bible studies, here?s the gist of Derrickson?s Goliath (via Heat Vision):

The story is set in motion when the fierce warrior Goliath is sent to track down a foretold king of the Israelites. A young shepherd David is thrust into an epic chase and adventure fighting for his own life, the lives of his loved ones and eventually the lives of his people. The story climaxes in a battle of literal Biblical proportions between the young man and the giant sent to destroy him.

Goliath will presumably be a cheaper undertaking than similar upcoming Biblical projects likes Alex Proyas? Paradise Lost or Darren Aronofsky?s Noah, but it?s still expected to go the ?epic? route. It?s a filmmaking trend that?s recently come back into vogue, but also one that stems from a historical Hollywood tradition ? with Cecil B. DeMille films like The Ten Commandments or Samson & Delilah ranking among the more famous cinematic Bible retellings.

Early word is that McKay and Payne are designing?Goliath as more of a modernized adventure that resembles 300 and The Bourne Identity, in terms of tone and (to a degree) style. That Lautner would be interested in headlining a film like that is no surprise, since he?s been positioning himself to become the next big action star, between his role in next month?s Abduction and impending?collaboration with Michael Bay ? not to mention, the rumors that he could show up in The Expendables 2.

Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins in 'Abduction'

Johnson is sufficiently bulkier and taller (6?5?) than Lautner (5?10?), enough so that it wouldn?t be all that difficult to make the former truly tower over the latter in Goliath ? with the assistance of camera angles and other filmmaking tricks, that is. Bit of trivia: the oldest Biblical manuscripts (ex. the Dead Sea Scrolls text of Samuel) actually peg the Philistine warrior as being about 6?9?, which means Johnson is technically a close physical match.

Whether moviegoers are willing to buy Lautner as the future king of Israel ? as readily as they are Johnson as a thundering brute ? is another matter (though it?s probably safe to say the answer is ?no?).

We will keep you posted on the status of Goliath as more information is released.

Source: Twitch, THR

Please recommend Screen Rant on Facebook

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1923498/news/1923498/

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Strategic planning for General motors | Information for Everyone

Strategic planning for General motors

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Objectives

The following are the objectives for the strategic planning of General Motors Company:

To have a better and successful business segment in the world auto market within a period of 5 years, to ensure that there is a high level of awareness of the presence of this particular company in the auto market by using? effective planning strategies, to put in place a wide range of marketing strategies available in the auto market including e-commerce strategies to ensure that there is overall growth of the company in the market, to acquire about 40 percent of the market segment within period of 5 years.

Mission and vision

GM is one of the respected auto companies in the world.

It has a variety of products that ensure that the company is fairing well in the market. The company?s head quarters is located in Tokyo Japan and looks forward to establishing an outlet in every country of the world.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this research is:

To determine the prosperity of the GM in the auto market

To determine the planning strategies used by the GM company

To determine the strengths and weaknesses of the GM

Company analyses

(i) ? Strengths

General Motors is among the market leaders in the auto market.? For more than three decades, the company has established a market portfolio that has positioned it well in the auto manufacturing industry.? Currently the company has a market share of more than 10 percent of the auto market.

The company has a world wide operation.

This gives the company a chance to transfer products which have been successful in one market to the other emerging market. The company is able to conduct extensive researches on developing their range of autos and new technology. (Laura, 2008)

GM has good human resource policies which have ensured the growth of the company in a recent 2006 survey GM was ranked the 3rd overall greatest place to work. The company has been improving its ranking in the recent past for the last 10 years. All over the world it employs more than 3,000,000 employees operating in the company and its branches world wide.

One of the most important factors in the overall growth of the company has been heavy investment in technology. Through innovation the company has placed new models in the market which ensures reduced cost of production. Investment in the new technology has ensured the growth of the company in the market.

The company has a strong management team with a strong centralized management structure. This ensures that there is standardization of operations procedures in all its departments. The company also has put in place effective corporate management structures which ensure timely disclosure of information on the performance of the company. This is important for the overall financial management of the company.

(ii) Weakness

The company has not been able to standardize its operation in all the departments.? For example while the Toyota, Ford and Nissan motor companies have strong market share in the world market and other emerging market, its market share in the established market has been declining. Its European and African market share is strong enough to guarantee its market leadership. (Brandi, 2007)

Product analyses

The planning strategy is looking on how the GM products are fairing in the world auto market. The existence of the company in the market is based on an extensive research that was carried out in the European market which shows that there is still large untapped market potential in the auto industry in Europe and other parts of the world.

The GM Company specializes in Designing and making of automobiles, trucks, locomotives, and related parts such as chassis, interiors, drivetrains, and electronics. (Brandi, 2007)

SWOT analyses

GM is among the market leader in the auto industry.? The following is the SWOT analysis for the company:

Strengths

a) The GM Company has an already large established business in the auto market.? Since 1960s, the company has established itself among as a leader in the auto market. It has operated in market since 1950s. In line with its vision, the company has been striving to be the world leader in the auto industry. Through innovation and strategic planning, the company has acquired about 10% of the world auto market. The company has a good market reputation with strong brands like automobiles, electronics and locomotives ?(Laura, 2008)

b) The target market is also quite large. The auto market has been recording growth in the recent past and there are future prospects of growth. Therefore the target market is slowly expanding.

Weakness

a) The target market is quiet large and there are fears the demand for the GM products may outdo the capacity of the GM to satisfy the demands of the market. It is still not clearly established the rate of growth of the product in the market but there are expectation that the product will record a high growth rate. This means that the company will need to increase its production capacity in order to match the rate of growth of the market.

Opportunities

a) The company is trading its products in a growing market. This is a unique opportunity for the company.? A stagnant market becomes difficult to introduce new products because there are already other companies which are likely to bring in competition.

b) The company can use a wide range of marketing strategies which will lead to the overall growth of its product in the market. There are many advertising strategies for the company in the world market.

Threats

a) There are threats of entry of other products in the market.? In this case there are threats of existing companies in the market which will increase the level of competition in the market. There are other auto companies which are likely to introduce the same products in the market once there is success of the initial product like Hyudai, Tata and other brands. (Brandi, 2007)

Internal and external analyses

In the internal environment of the company, the company has several structures that help the company to have a smooth running of its businesses. The leadership structure is one of the cornerstones of the company?s success; the good leadership in the company has been a result of the company?s success. The company has also involved itself in the use of technology that has on the other hand has propelled the company to greater heights as a result of high quality and more products produced by the company.

GM has well laid policies that enable workers leaders? interrelation and this helps the company to have smooth running and motivated workers. ?The use of IT has on the other hand helped the company to have a good consumer producer relation and also communication in the company.

In the external environment, the company more major threats that are likely to arise besides the currently existing, there are threats of entrance of new companies in the market that are likely to add competition on the currently existing. In this regard, there likelihood that customers are going to increase their bargaining powers as there is variety of products in the market to choose from. This will walk hand in hand with the increase of substitute products in the market thus posing a problem to the pricing of the product. As there would be high demand of low materials, there is likelihood that suppliers would increase the prices of their supplies thus increasing the cost of production that will in turn reducing the company?s revenues. This will all be added to the existing competition among the rivalry companies in the market.

Major competitors

There are three major competitors in the auto industry that GM is competing with. GM is a market leader in the industry.? The other competitors are also well established and there fore the level of competition is very high

?

?

GM

TOYOTA

FORD

?

NISSAN

Core Strength

Wide established operation and good reputation

Wide established market with reputation of low live vehicles

Expensive vehicles with low life span

Reputation of low life span vehicles

Secondary Strength

Wide distribution network

Links with big? retail markets globally

Local distribution network

Not well established distribution net work especially in US

Biggest Weakness

Weak distribution system

Weak market appeal

High priced product and lack of spare parts

Low quality products

Core Competency Comparison (David, 2004)

Strategic planning worksheet

There are different goals of the company based on the missions and visions they have set for the welfare of the business. In the following worksheet, four goals have been analyzed to ensure consumer satisfaction as follows:

To make the company the world best auto company

To manufacture quality products

To have the largest market share in the auto market

To produce affordable products

The company should also be aware of the existing business environment. The competition in the industry and the probability of new competitors that are likely to venture in the market. The biggest concern for the company is to retain the current and attract other new customers. Consumer satisfaction is more needed at this time to enable the company retain its market share.

In doing this, the company should come up with strategies that will increase the consumers? trust in the company?s products to beat up the current obstacles. These strategies may include, arranging for the financing of their products that will enable the customers pay in installments. On the other hand, they should arrange for the shipments of their products on behalf of the customers abroad and discount the local customer,? this will enable the company enjoy all the market privileges.

?

?

?

?

?

CSF

Actual

Required

Assumptions

Obstacles

Strategies

Overhead rates

39%

33%

The company has been able to achieve its desired goals? as the actual goals surpasses the desired goals

The company fails to have a strong marketing strategies

The company has bureaucratic strategies that help in achieving the desired goals

Through output

55/hr

75/hr

The suppliers are able to adhere to the current trends

Maximum speed of 70/hr

They use more machines to improve production

Sales per employee

120,000

145,000

More employees are required to fill in the gap

More time in training employees and leaders work load will be increased leading to inefficiency

Motivating workers to have more production.

Increasing the number of employees to compensate for the deficit

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

To make the company the world best auto company

In the regard of the above goal, the company seeks to develop consumer satisfaction strategies based on this. The company will ensure all manufactured products reach the consumer and would give the expected service. It would also ensure that the products are user friendly that will satisfy the consumers? needs. It company will also ensure that the products are available at affordable prices and maintenance cost is also down.

The company would use psychographic and demographic strategies to fulfill this.

Discussion

The GM Company has a considerable market share in the auto manufacturing industry. It has high potential of growth by far if the planned strategies are implemented and are put in to great consideration. The company has strong reputation in the consumers that the products produced by the GM are of high quality and affordable.

The competition in the market would only be won by the company with customers? satisfaction strategies that will boost the company?s sale therefore increasing their profits. GM is facing stiff competition from other competitors who are well established in the market and have low priced vehicles like Toyota and Nissan.

Reference:

Brandi, C.2007, Leaders of tomorrow, Retrieved from www.gm.com/corporate on 14th Oct 2008

David, L. 2004: Strategic marketing in a new market. Harvard Business Review

Laura, H. (2008): General motors. New York Times, June 2007

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Source: http://informeveryone.com/strategic-planning/strategic-planning-for-general-motors/

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