Winter Classic Time Changed

The National Hockey League has moved the start time for the NHL Winter Classic to 8 p.m. tomorrow. It had been set for 1 p.m. but concerns over rain and warm temperatures forced the move. Cooler and drier conditions are expected to move into the region lat in the day. Gates to Heinz Field will now open at 5:30 p.m. Pre-game entertainment will begin at 7:30 p.m. The NHL warns that there could still be delays throughout the game to work o the ice. The decision to stop play will be made by the Commissioner. To make sure poor ice conditions do not negatively impact either team, the clubs will switch ends at the 10:00 minute mark of the third period. The NHL says it will retain the ability to postpone the game at any time and play the game Sunday at Heinz Field. The game can also be called after two periods.

New Pension Plan Ok'd By Council

In meetings on Friday, Pittsburgh City Council have preliminary and final approval to a pension bailout that they hope will avoid a state takeover of the city's pension plan. Their deadline for it to become official is midnight on December 31st. After the mayor vetoes the plan, City Council will meet to override the veto and it will become official.

Bill Peduto says this is the best plan of all of the plans that have been proposed. "There is no way to not put money in when we're being told that we have to get to fifty percent so we tried to find the least impact way of doing that. We have also provided the funding for that which is the parking rate increases," he said.

The Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority approved amendments to the city's 2011 budget and five-year spending plan that would allow parking tax money to be diverted to the pension bailout plan on Friday morning. $45 million from a trust fund was placed in the city's pension fund.

Council plans to put $735.7 million in parking tax revenue into the fund over 31 years.

Drugged Driving More Widespread than Drunk Driving

Pharmacists this holiday season are warning about the effects of drugged driving. They say that certain medications can impair perception, judgement and reaction time in people. Jan Engle, Pharmacy Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says that there are many medications that people should not take before driving yet often do anyway. She says that drugged driving is often caused by people not taking time to read the labels of drugs or ask their pharmacist about the medications before taking them and getting behind the wheel.



Engle says that travelers should talk to their pharmacists about their medications before going places this holiday season. "It's really important to think about, when your traveling, what you need to do with your medicines, especially if if you're traveling over different timezones. You can talk to your pharmacist to determine whether or not you have to adjust the schedule you take your medicine. For example, in an extreme case, if you were flying to Asia where the time difference is 12 hours you may need to be taking your medicine at night versus in the morning."



According to the National Highway and Safety Administration 20% of accidents in the U.S. are a result of drugged driving. While over 16% of weekend and nighttime drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription or over-the-counter medication.

Dem Senate Leader Stresses Budget Priorities

The new minority chairman of the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee says as the new governor and state legislature look to cut budget expenses, job creation and economic development programs are areas that should not get the axe.
Democratic Senator Vincent Hughes of Philadelphia says Pennsylvania is facing a serious budget shortfall and a fragile economy in 2011 so tough decisions on priorities will have to be made....

"We need to make sure all of our programs and all of our projects and the services that we provide at the Commonwealth level are operating at the greatest level of efficiency. We need to make sure we reduce redundancies that exist from various different programs. We need to operate with a thoughtful and compassionate philosophy as we go down this process."

Hughes says with Pennsylvania's jobless rate hovering between 9% and 9.5%, job creation and economic development programs should be a priority.....
“Creating jobs, balancing needs and stretching dollars are critical priorities that will require us all to come together and find common ground. "

In the first five months of the 2010-2011 budget year Pennsylvania’s general fund collections have totaled $9.2 billion, which is $14 million above estimates. Hughes says it’s anticipated that the state will finish the year with a balanced budget and maybe a slight surplus.

However, the state faces a possible $4 billion deficit mostly due to the loss of federal stimulus funds. Governor-elect Tom Corbett says he won’t raise taxes but will cut spending. The two largest areas of the state budget are education and services provided by the Department of Public Welfare which Hughes calls a favorite target....
"With the unemployment crisis that exists, with folks not working, with folks losing their homes, more and more folks are dependent upon the programs in the Department of Public Welfare just to make it through. So, we've got to be very careful when we say on one side 'cut a system and a series of programs', when the need and demand for those programs is increasing dramatically."

Governor-elect Corbett will deliver his budget proposal to legislature in early March.

Wrestling: Host Stone Bridge Wins First Annual VivaLoudoun Holiday Tournament

For complete results, follow this link!

Ashburn (Dec. 31, 201010) - Host Stone Bridge High School, capturing seven of 14 title matches, won the first annual VivaLoudoun Holiday Wrestling Tournament Thursday.

The Bulldogs scored 245 points in the five-team tournament that featured all three Ashburn high schools with Broad Run second at 202. Kettle Run was third at 176 followed by Herndon (102)

Video: Highlights from Middleburg Academy vs. Briar Woods Boys Basketball

Nik Brown Gets MA Started with Steal, Layin


Steven Sheppard with block


Curtis Calder Drops 3 for BWoods


Mo Ali with the Strong And-One


BWoods Stops MA's Transition


MA's 4th Try with Jimmy Paige Tip


MA trap leads to Brown layin, Calder Answers with 3-Pointer


Another MA Blocked Shot


Corey Faciane Sinks 3-Pointer


Falcon Defense


Yves Kouame Back-to-back but Brown drives other

The Perfect Arbitrage (NYSE: MI) (NYSE: BMO)

NEW YORK - Marshall Ilsey, the recently acquired Wisconsin area based bank by Canadian Bank of Montreal on December 17 has seen its shares rise nearly 20%. It is undecided if BMO (pronounced BeeMO) will be renaming the bank with its iconic Canadian name, keeping the historic MI name or using its Harris Bank name. BMO has owned Harris Bank since 1984 which is the third largest bank in Chicago. Canadian Banks often go through great lengths to hide the fact that their bank is Canadian in the U.S. For instance most Americans are likely unaware that the TD in TD Bank stands for Toronto Dominion which of course is the location of Canada's capital city.

MI currently trades at $6.95 while BMO trades at $57.76. Given the conversion rate that will take place if the merger goes through then each MI share has an actual value of $7.26 meaning it trades at 4.4% below its conversion value. The discount often goes down as the merger date grows closer. For instance when the merger deal was announced and the day after the discount was 6% which is higher than today's price.

The Wells Fargo and Wachovia deal can be seen as a comparable to this current deal. Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia in 2008 with stock and similar to the Wachovia/Wells Fargo deal, MI shareholders will need to approve the deal with a vote.

To see the full BMO/MI report click here.

Basketball: Middleburg Academy Survives Briar Woods Boys Upset Bid, 58-56

Middleburg Academy's Nik Brown after Thursday's Win vs. Briar Woods

Please check back for a highlight package of 15 video clips from this game

By Dan Sousa
VivaLoudoun Editor

Ashburn (Dec. 30, 2010) - In a rare Loudoun match-up of private vs. public Thursday night, Briar Woods High School nearly shocked talent-rich and leg-tired Middleburg Academy, with the Falcons missing two attempts to win

Roddey: Onorato Would Still be Favorite if He Seeks 3rd Term

The head of the Allegheny County Republican Party believes the momentum the G-O-P generated in the November elections for governor and U.S. Senate can continue into 2011 and the race for Allegheny County Executive.
Republican Committee Chairman Jim Roddey says the volunteers are still energized "and as long as we present them with good candidates and we raise enough money to fund them properly, we'll have a lot of momentum going into this coming year."
Dan Onorato, who lost the gubernatorial race to Republican Tom Corbett 54.5% to 45.5%, has not decided whether to seek a third, and what would be final term under the County Home Rule Charter. Onorato failed to win Allegheny County in the governor's race despite a large Democratic voter registration edge.
"Conventional wisdom is that Dan is somewhat damaged now," says Roddey. He lost his own county, he lost the election by a fairly large margin and he would be the better candidate to run against for Republicans. I don't buy that."
Roddey says Onorato is a smart campaigner..."He's been able to raise a lot of money and he is the incumbent. So, I think that he would be the odds on favorite regardless of who was running."
Still, Roddey says from what he's hearing, he doesn't think Onorato will run for a third term. Roddey has been recruiting potential Republican candidates for county executive who can appeal to independents and Democrats...
"Someone that really talks about the right issues, getting the county on track fiscally and someone who is willing to work really hard. Running for county executive is a hard job."
Roddey should know. He was the first Allegheny County Executive form 2000-04 following adoption of the Home Rule Charter.
Roddey believes a successful candidate will have to raise at least $2 million. He expects the first candidates to declare this week or next.

Rendell: Gaming Helping Racing

As the Rendell Administration prepares to leave office, officials are touting casino gambling as a success, when it comes to boosting the Pennsylvania's horse racing industry.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding says 44-thousand racing jobs have been created, since the industry started getting 12 percent of slots revenue in 2006.
He notes Pennsylvania breeding is up 10 percent during a national downward trend, and says the racing benefits trickle down.

"The veterinary care provided, the fees provided, the buildings. And you get that long-term growth of the equine industry that everybody says they wanted. We're beginning to see the results now."

During last year's debate over legalizing table games, racing officials said they were worried poker and blackjack tables would take money away from slot machines, and hurt racing revenue.
But November and October's slot revenue was up from 2009 figures.
The state made 61 million dollars from gaming last month, compared to 56 million in November 2009.
Governor Ed Rendell says that has dramatically increased the purses commonwealth tracks can offer, which, in turn, has boosted Pennsylvania breeding.

"And now Pennsylvania's starting to get horses like Smarty Jones to stand in stud. The industry, with the jobs it produces, is on the road back."

The Agriculture Department says Pennsylvania breeding saw a 10 percent increase this year, when national figures were down.

First Night Meets Hockey Night

Annual First Night celebrations are set to begin at 6:00 this evening with the opening fireworks. The family friendly New Year’s Eve event in the Cultural District is run by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Saturday’s Winter Classic hockey game is expected to swell usual attendance by as many as 20,000 revilers. Cultural Trust President Kevin McMahon says they are embarrassing the hockey theme, “We have hockey penguins, we have hockey stick collages, we’re going to have in the children’s tent at First Night we’re going to have a lot of hockey oriented activities…. Instead of arguing that there is too much going on in Pittsburgh we think there is never too much going on in Pittsburgh.”

Kathryn Heidemann, Director of First Night Pittsburgh says it is a great opportunity for the city to once again show off what makes it great. “We’re thrilled to welcome… Winter Classic patrons, to the heart of the Cultural District,” says Heidemann.

First night will also feature the rising ball at midnight with another round of fireworks. In between there will be a parade at 8pm and more than 125 event at 50 different venues.

Among the headliners will be Squonk Opera at the Byham Theater, the Neo-Futurists at the O’Reilly Theater and Tower of Power on an outdoor stage.

Outdoor activities are free to the public but get access to the indoor events revilers must have a First night button that can be purchased for $8 in advance or $10 New Year’s Eve at The Box Office at Theater Square.

Some of the indoor performance will require a free General Admission Seating Voucher. A full schedule of event can be found online.

The first ‘First Night’ in Pittsburgh was held in 1984.

Builders Association Still Says No to Sprinklers

The Pennsylvania Builders Association had hoped the Pennsylvania House would follow the Senate’s lead and delay the January implementation of mandated sprinkler systems in all new one- and two-family homes, but that didn’t happen. The industry thinks the requirement may depress an already struggling construction sector.

According to Public Affairs Director Melissa Etshied, the PBA will promote new legislation in 2011 that calls for a permanent moratorium on mandated sprinklers and a change in the makeup of the Review Advisory Council.

Etshied says the council that mandated sprinklers did not include any proponents of affordable housing, so the PBA would like to see more people who understand the ramifications of code requirements.

With hard-wired smoke detectors already required, Etshied says the significant cost of a sprinkler system should be up to the consumer.

PNC Sees ‘Moderate and Stable’ Econ in 2011

After coming out of what he calls “frustratingly slow progress” in 2010, PNC economist Robert Dye says southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy will be “moderate and stable” in 2011. Dye says the slowdown in the summer now looks to have been a “soft patch” rather than the beginning of a double dip recession. He says the relatively good numbers seen in recent months should build momentum in 2011 with a little more growth, a slow drop in unemployment, and pickup of the housing market slack. However, Dye says, “it will not be a ‘snap back’ economy.”

Dye says the education and medical sectors will continue to lead the region’s economy and help to moderate bad economic news and he says the energy and banking sectors will also help to drive the economy. Dye says Marcellus Shale exploration and extraction will be a “game changer” going forward. He says as the world economy rebounds, demand for energy will grow and so will the value of the shale fields. He admits that there are still political hurdles to clear in Pennsylvania and in some municipalities but he says those will shrink as the potential for economic impact from Marcellus Shale drilling grows.

Dye believes southwestern Pennsylvania’s financial sector will benefit from the region’s better than average growth in 2011. “Being able to provide services to this wide variety of medical and educational, high-tech energy resources, and the growing service sector at large, is providing many opportunities or companies,” says Dye. Dye also feels companies in the region working with nuclear power will see growth in the long term. “We have a missing generation of nuclear power plants,” says Dye, and as the world gets more comfortable with the idea of nuclear power demand will start to grow.

Flickering Myth’s Top 10 Movies of 2010

Well, it’s that time of year again when we’re inundated with critics’ picks for the best films of the past twelve months and - after resisting the urge in 2009 - it’s about time we got in on the act here at Flickering Myth. Rather than presenting individual lists from our writing team we’ve taken everyone’s choices and processed them through a complex algorithm to compile our selection of 2010’s best cinematic offerings (or rather, we gathered together our individual choices and assigned points to each film based on their positions in said lists). So without further ado, let’s begin the countdown of our Top 10 Movies of 2010...

10. The Wolfman (dir. Joe Johnston)

Just managing to fend off competition from Green Zone (dir. Paul Greengrass) and Winter’s Bone (dir. Debra Granik) for tenth place is Joe Johnston’s Universal Monster remake The Wolfman. Released way back in February, The Wolfman stars Benicio del Toro as Lawrence Talbot, an actor who returns to his family estate after the death of his brother and becomes infected with lycanthropy after he is attacked by a wolf. Co-starring are Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving, while the creature itself was brought to life by legendary make-up and effects artist Rick Baker.




9. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (dir. Niels Arden Oplev)

Adapted from the first instalment of Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium Trilogy, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo sees reporter Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) teaming up with troubled computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate the strange disappearance of a young girl over thirty years earlier. The highest-grossing Swedish movie of all-time with over $104m at the world-wide box office, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo spawned two sequels and has every chance of appearing in next year’s list with an English language remake from director David Fincher.




8. Four Lions (dir. Chris Morris)

The only British film to make the top ten comes courtesy of Brass Eye creator Chris Morris, who made his feature debut with the controversial terrorist satire Four Lions. Written by Morris and Peep Show scribes Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, Four Lions follows a group of radicalised British Muslims who decide to become suicide bombers. After a successful premiere at Sundance in January, Four Lions struggled to find a North American distributor (it eventually received a limited release in November) but enjoyed strong returns at the UK box office. Read our review here.





7. A Prophet (dir. Jacques Audiard)

Jacques Audiard’s French prison drama A Prophet stars Tahir Rahim as a young Arab man sentenced to six years in a brutal prison, where he soon comes under the protection of a Corsican mafia group and begins to rise through their ranks. A Prophet had already earned a host of accolades prior to its UK release in January, taking home 9 César Awards, the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English language, the Grand Prix at Cannes and Best Film Award at the London Film Festival, not to mention an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.





6. Kick-Ass (dir. Matthew Vaughn)

Based on the comic-book series by Mark Millar, Matthew Vaughn’s satirical superhero movie Kick-Ass stirred up quite a storm with outraged critics kicking off about the film’s levels of violence and profanity, particularly with regards to 11 year-old Chloe Moretz’s Hit Girl character. Of course that didn’t put off audiences, with the independently-funded feature more than tripling its $28m budget at the global box office and delivering a damn fine action-comedy to boot. Aaron Johnson stars in the lead role as ‘real-life’ superhero Kick-Ass, and is joined by a strong supporting cast including Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Mark Strong.




5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (dir. Edgar Wright)

Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World may have bombed at the box-office [read our thoughts as to why here] – earning just $47m worldwide from an estimated $60m budget – but the critical consensus was generally positive and the comedy seems destined to gain cult status as it finds an audience on home video. Scott Pilgrim’s (Michael Cera) quest to win the heart of Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) by defeating her ‘seven evil exes’ was chosen as film of the year by two of our contributors, which helps it to secure an impressive fifth-placed finish overall. Read our review here.




4. Shutter Island (dir. Martin Scorsese)

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese followed up his Academy Award-winning The Departed with Shutter Island, a psychological thriller based on Dennis Lehane’s best-selling 2003 novel of the same name. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, a US Marshall who ventures to a secluded mental asylum in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient from a locked room. The film – which also stars Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Max von Sydow and Jackie Earle Haley – went on to give Scorsese a career high in terms of worldwide box office, banking an impressive $294m. Read our review here.




3. The Social Network (dir. David Fincher)

The creation of popular social networking site Facebook may not have seemed like the most obvious of source material for a feature film but David Fincher’s drama has received near-universal acclaim and will be looking to make a big impact come awards season. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and is joined by Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Rooney Mara, Max Minghella and Rashida Jones. The Social Network was selected as film of the year by three of our contributors for a third-placed finish overall. You can read our reviews of the film here and here.




2. Toy Story 3 (dir. Lee Unkrich)

Pixar continued its incredible run of critical and commercial success this year with their latest animated masterpiece Toy Story 3, which became the first film from the studio to break the $1b mark at the global box office and more than doubled the combined haul of its two predecessors. Pixar seem to have eschewed the Disney tradition of churning out sub-standard sequels and with Toy Story 3 they delivered one of the most entertaining and moving films of the year (come on, you know you were fighting back the tears towards the end). Read our review here.





1. Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan)

Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight was described as a ‘smart’ blockbuster, delivering a complex story to compliment the usual action, thrills and excitement expected of big summer movies. The gamble paid off handsomely with audiences flocking to see Leonardo DiCaprio and his team (including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy) infiltrate the dreams of a wealthy businessman (Cillian Murphy) to extract corporate secrets. Inception banked a mighty $825m world-wide and topped the lists of four of our contributors, while it just managed to pip Toy Story 3 by a whisker to take the crown as our film of 2010. Read our review here.




Notes…

In all there were sixteen of us who participated, selecting 69 films in total and with eight different titles managing to take home number one spots. Here are our individual picks for best film of 2010…

Jamie Baker – [Rec] 2
Gary Collinson – Toy Story 3
Oli Davis – The Social Network
Jon Dudley – The Social Network
James Ellis – Inception
Louise-Afzal Faerkel – The Killer Inside Me
Amy Flinders – Toy Story 3
DJ Haza – Inception
Trevor Hogg – Inception
Roger Holland – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Vicki Isitt - Mary and Max
Tom Jolliffe – Inception
Simon Moore – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Luke Owen - Toy Story 3
Cherokee Summer – The Illusionist
Liam Trim – The Social Network

Update - 08/01/11

We've been running a poll since New Year's Eve asking for your votes for your favourite film of 2010 and the results are in. Thanks to the 299 people who took part, and here are the results...

Inception - 40% (121 votes)
Something else, you fools - 20% (61 votes)
Toy Story 3 - 11% (33 votes)
The Social Network - 10% (30 votes)
Shutter Island - 5% (15 votes)
Kick-Ass - 3% (10 votes)
Scott Pilgrim vs the World - 3% (9 votes)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 2% (8 votes)
A Prophet - 2% (7 votes)
The Wolfman - 1% (5 votes)
Four Lions - 0% (0 votes)

What are your choices for the best movies of 2010? Please feel free to leave your thoughts…

Frustrated Ramblings: Cinema 2010 - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

DJ Haza reflects on the highs and lows of 2010 with more "Frustrated Ramblings Of An Aspiring Filmmaker"...

As the final days of 2010 pass me by I’ve decided to reminisce and rant about the films that have flickered through my brown eyes over the last 12 months. Some have quite rightly amazed me. Others astounded me. Some were so damned disgusting that it led me to begin writing my series of articles named The Frustrated Ramblings Of An Aspiring Filmmaker. So here goes. I’ll keep it brief. Short and sweet. All killer and no filler. No waffle. Maybe a bit of waffle. No, I shouldn’t waffle. Shit. I’ve waffled!

Firstly, the good. There have been a few films this year that have truly amazed me, had me glued to my seat and fuelled my own ideas and ambitions of filmmaking. Some true masters of their craft have given us some cinematic masterpieces in 2010. And so...

My top 5 films of 2010 are... (drum role)...

1. Inception
2. Shutter Island
3. The Social Network
4. The Town
5. Tron: Legacy

Inception was exactly what I want from a visit to my local multiplex. It had me thinking whilst I was watching, talking about it when I left and I couldn’t settle until I had seen it again. It was visually stunning, deep and meaningful, ambiguous and was so well thought out and made by Christopher Nolan, who is fast becoming a cinematic heavyweight. From the opening titles to the closing credits I was glued to the screen. The film could have easily been another hour in length without me feeling bored, fidgeting or going to the toilet. I would have rather wet myself than miss a minute. Accompanying Nolan’s vision was Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance, which as always was stunning. Film of the year!

Close behind was Shutter Island. Again it had me thinking, second-guessing and talking afterwards about a film that had me glued to the screen. I watched Shutter Island in the cinema, on Sky Box Office and then on Blu-Ray and every time I watched it I got something else from it. When you know how it is going to end you can see the hints, tricks and tips that are cleverly incorporated into the story, the setting and the directing. Martin Scorsese’s directing was truly stunning at times when watched with the knowledge of the ending. The scene in which Teddy, played beautifully by DiCaprio, is interrogating the patients in the cafeteria had me grinning from ear to ear. When you know who Dr Sheehan is watch that scene back and see the clues left by Scorsese. Brilliant.

The Social Network, from first impressions, looked like a film that was going to bore the pants off me. One geek’s dream to create a social network and get some friends! Who cares? Then I found out David Fincher had directed. I was then interested. I watched. I laughed out (a rarity for me). I enjoyed. Immensely. Fincher took the story of a friendless uber-geek working tirelessly to make his new social networking website a success whilst alienating everyone around him and intercut it with two court room battles between the geek and those suing him. And he made it work. More than work. It at no point had me bored, checking my watch or feeling bogged down in various geeks babbling back and forth. On paper the film shouldn’t work. However, It’s definitely a film I’ll be watching again. And again.

Another surprise was The Town. Directed by Ben Affleck, I almost tried not to like it. I mean, more men have walked on the moon than the number of good films Affleck has been in. But I loved it! The story of a group of friends living in the bank robbing capital of the world, Boston, and drifting apart was emotive. Despite him being a bank robber I think a lot of men could empathise with the leading character, Doug, played suprisingly well by Affleck himself. The film worked on several levels and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tron: Legacy was a 3D cinematic experience that showed just how far cinema has come since the original Tron blazed a technological trail across Hollywood using computers with less power than a TV remote. The story was pretty basic; bloke gets stuck in a cyber world and has to battle to get out, just as expected. The visual feast that accompanied the film was worth going for and I didn’t even mind the fact that the characters talk non stop to each other so that we understand them, their stories and the cyber world they are stuck in.

I also loved The Wolfman, despite every filmmaker I know berating me for even considering it worth watching. It was a generic and clichéd werewolf movie, but it was enjoyable to watch. It didn’t try to be too clever or different and was a sort of homage to classic monster movies of the past that used a dark woods, unbelievably thick mist and simple village folk as story telling tools. I liked it and I don’t care what you think!

Over the course of 2010 I also saw a lot of films that were bad or just out right ugly. Some were poorly written, others poorly shot and some were just plain shite!

Edge of Darkness was okay, but not amazing. Whoop-de-doo that Mel Gibson brought his racist face back to cinema screens. Green Zone was Jason Bourne in Iraq. But boring. And no drama. And hardly any action. Kick-Ass definitely did not kick ass. The main character was boring and I didn’t care about him. From Paris With Love was just inexplicably violent and explosive to the point where I wondered what the hell the film was actually about. Iron Man 2 was a bit too cheesy for my liking. Robin Hood was a let down, but it was always doomed for comparison against Gladiator with Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe teaming up for a period epic. Prince of Persia was Pirates of the Caribbean in the desert. Mildly entertaining, but ultimately pointless. Get Him To The Greek saw Russell Brand under acting in order to play a wild, drug fuelled British rock star. I can’t help but think that the director missed a trick by not letting Brand just go to town with his character and light up the screen in his own twisted way.

However, my biggest disappointment of 2010 came with my long awaited trip to see Mr. Nice. I’d waited six years since having read the book from cover to cover in only a week whilst hanging on Howard Marks’ every word. I tried not to get overexcited when trotting down to the cinema with my mother in tow. I tried to keep my expectation from running away with me. But despite all this it still sucked. I understand the difficulties involved in adapting a book to film, but so much of Marks’ life was missing. It just felt like fragments of his life thrown together in order to tell a portion of his story as quickly as possible. And the decision to use stock footage and then green screen Rhys Ifans over the top had me tutting in my seat.

I was hoping for a British Blow, but it wasn’t. We weren’t privy to enough of Marks’ life in order to care for him in my opinion. Unlike George Jung in Blow I don’t feel people cared about Marks or empathized with why he did what he did. He just looked like a dope smuggler who was too bone idle or lazy to do anything meaningful with his Oxford education. I shed a tear at the end of Blow because it was such a great and tragic story, especially when he lost his daughter. I shed a tear at the end of Mr. Nice for completely other reasons.

Overall 2010 has been a year of ups and downs in cinema for me, but 2011 is set to kick off with a bang. 127 Hours, True Grit, The King’s Speech, Black Swan and The Green Hornet are all set for launch in the UK over January and I can’t wait. If the year continues with the same quality as January we could be in for a great year. However, knowing how cinema works I’m sure there will still be plenty of films to rant about in 2011. I’ll see you on the other side.

D.J. Haza

Follow my blog at http://djhaza.blogspot.com/
Follow me at http://www.facebook.com/djhaza

Pension Drama Drawn Out to the Last Second

On Thursday, City Council has revised the very pension they proposed on Wednesday after a veto from the mayor but still before the December 31st at midnight deadline to come up with a way to keep the city's pension from a state takeover. The city's actuaries uncovered a mathematical error with the pension bailout proposed on Wednesday so additional funds will be placed in with a plan in taking out additional debt in 2018.

Council Member Bill Peduto said this latest plan is the best of all of them and should have been initially proposed but council was given incomplete information by the state as to how they should have gone about proving they had the necessary 50 percent of the pension fund secured.

"The plan that is being pushed today has the least negative impact. There's a negative impact with all of them this one has the least negative impact with the amount of money that is being used out the budget. In other words, it has the least amount of taxpayer money involved with it," he said.

City Council will meet at 1pm on Friday to vote on the new plan. They will send it over to the mayor's office at which point he will be able to veto it again. City Council will then meet again at 11pm where they will override the mayor's veto.

Pgh Council's Pension Numbers Are Off

Instead of voting to override Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's veto of a their plan to bolster the pension fund and avert a state takeover, Pittsburgh Council this afternoon went behind closed doors to try to hash out a re-worked plan. That's because the numbers in the Council plan, approved on a 7-2 vote Wednesday, are off. That's according to Councilman Ricky Burgess and Joe King, president of the Firefighters' Union.
So now, Council has to devise a new proposal, pass it and send it to the Mayor, who will likely veto it because he still favors a leasing of city parking assets, and then override the anticipated veto....all before 12:00 a.m. Friday night. That's the deadline for the threatened state takeover of the pension fund unless it is at least at 50% of its obligation.

Borough Considers Selling Water for Fracking

A Somerset County municipality is considering selling water in bulk to a Marcellus Shale natural gas driller for use in hydraulic fracturing.

Somerset Borough Council has resolved to negotiate the sale of up to 100,000 gallons of water each day to Berkey Excavating, Inc. for an indefinite time period.

Borough Manager Ben Vinzani, Jr. says the two parties haven’t set a price yet, but all the revenue would go to Somerset’s water fund, which pays for municipal water services. Vinzani says the drilling company would actually pay more for water in bulk than regular customers because of costs associated with monitoring hydrants.

Vinzani says Berkey may have come to Somerset because they have wells nearby, but there are no Marcellus Shale gas wells in the borough itself.

The Borough Manager says Council “is aware” of the environmental controversy surrounding hydraulic fracturing, and won’t do anything to inflame that debate.

If the deal is approved, Vinzani says the Borough’s daily water usage could jump from 1.6 million to 1.7 million gallons per day.

College Football Betting – Ducks Flying High Entering National Title Game

With all of the talk about the SEC over the past few years, and deservedly so, the PAC-10 has made quite an impression in college football betting this year, and the No. 2 Oregon Ducks are one of the biggest reasons why. The Ducks will fly in to Arizona looking to finish strong against the No. 1 Auburn Tigers in the Tostitos’ BCS National Championship game, and prove their merit ahead of the traditional powerhouse programs.

Tostitos’ BCS National Championship Game

Oregon Ducks vs. Auburn Tigers

Monday January 10, 2011 – 8:30 PM ET

Online Sports Betting Odds: Auburn – 3

It was the Tigers that ensured that at least a couple of those teams wouldn’t have their shot in the big game after sweeping through the SEC with a perfect 13 wins. Auburn took down a couple of big programs, including the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers.

NCAA Football Betting Preview: Oregon

The Ducks will present a different type of challenge for Auburn, with their top-ranked offense looking to prove their speed and capability in a spread offense the Tigers have yet to face this year. Heisman trophy runner-up and running back LaMichael James rushed for 1,682 yards and 21 touchdowns, but that’s just the beginning of an offense that finished first in the FBS with an average of over 49 points per game. Dual-threat quarterback Darron Thomas may be one of the most underrated players in the game after throwing for 2,518 yards and 28 touchdowns, while rushing for another 492 and five scores. The Ducks’ defense has improved as the season continued, but still gave up over 500 yards on three separate occasions, and will need to prove its speed and tackling ability can overcome the strength of the Auburn line.

NCAA Football Betting Preview: Auburn

That Tigers’ line kept Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton up long enough to throw for 2,589 yards and 28 touchdowns, while rushing for another 1,409 and 20 scores. What’s more, Newton played his best football in the biggest games, and remained calm and poised in the face of adversity in times where other signal-callers would have lost their composure. Auburn found the perfect complement to Newton in running back Michael Dyer, who rushed for 950 yards and five touchdowns. Newton and Dyer represent as lethal a tandem as any in college football. The Tigers’ defense struggled at times this season against tough, hard-running teams, and will now need to prove that they can keep up with a speedy, spread football betting offense.

The Match Up: Oregon vs. Auburn

The Ducks impressed many online bookies with their play in the PAC-10, and will prove that they can succeed against the top programs from any conference in the national title game. Oregon will attack relentlessly on both offense and defense, and will spoil the Tigers’ chances of giving the SEC a fifth straight national title.

BSNblog Pick: Oregon + 3

Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards... the final days to vote

Voting for the 2010 Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards closes at midnight on New Year's Eve. So far, we've had an incredible response, far in excess of recent RCA totals. Thank you to everyone who has voted so far!

Click here to register your votes if you haven't yet voted. We will announce the winners in the next issue of Inside Track Motorsport News and they'll be honoured on-stage on the night of Saturday, January 22, 2011 at the Canadian Motorsports Expo.

State: City Pension Bailout Not a Done Deal

Pittsburgh Council will vote this afternoon on whether to override Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's veto of the latest plan to bolster the city's pension fund and avert a state takeover of the fund January 1. But Pennsylvania Public Employees Retirement Commission Executive Director James McAneny says the plan still needs to be approved by the state.

If the city's pension fails to cover 50% of its obligation to workers and retirees by midnight Friday, the state will take control of the fund. The fund is currently at 29.3%. Council and the mayor have sought to avoid that outcome because it will mean a rigid payment schedule for the city that could spell higher taxes and reduced services for residents. Wednesday Council voted 7-2 to "irrevocably" dedicate $414.7 million in parking tax revenues over the next 31 years...or about 14 million a year... for the pension fund." Ravenstahl quickly vetoed that measure, saying it was flawed and risky. McAneny agrees that it's risky - "There's a very good chance of over-estimating the value of a future revenue stream. One thing that I've tried to warn the city about repeatedly is that they take care they don't dedicate a revenue stream for the next 30 years and then not have it be sufficient to get to the 50% funded ratio."

He says he has neither seen, nor approved city council's latest plan, "I've never been able to make a commitment as to what the value of a future revenue stream would be." McAneny says when the clock strikes midnight Friday the city can't do anything more to try and right the pension fund and the state will begin to analyze whether council's latest plan will in fact bail out the pension. In the rush to find a solution, McAneney says it should be noted that this problem was a long time in the making, and that the city should have been putting more money into the pension all along, "that's why they're in the position they're in."

NCAA Football Betting – BCS National Championship Game Could Set Records For Offense

Given the offensive talents on both teams, it would be no surprise to see the No. 1 Auburn Tigers and No. 2 Oregon Ducks set the record for most points in a national title game in this year’s Tostitos’ BCS National Championship game. These teams combined to average 90 points per game during the regular season, and with a handful of superstars on both sides of the ball, it should make for an exciting contest.

Tostitos’ BCS National Championship Game

Oregon Ducks vs. Auburn Tigers

Monday January 10, 2011 – 8:30 PM ET

Online Sports Betting Odds: Auburn - 3

While the Tigers boast Heisman trophy-winner and quarterback Cam Newton and running back Michael Dyer, the Ducks will answer with an impressive tandem of their own in Heisman trophy runner-up and running back LaMichael James and quarterback Darron Thomas. While the Tigers’ offense is predicated on strength and toughness, the Ducks is on speed and finesse, setting the stage for a highly anticipated showdown.

NCAA Football Betting Preview: Oregon

Thomas and James will get plenty of opportunities to show their value against a Tigers’ defense that has looked tentative several times this season. James rushed for 1,682 yards and 28 touchdowns during the college football betting year, while Thomas provided the perfect compliment as a signal-caller that can make big plays with both his arm and legs. Thomas threw for 28 touchdowns, while rushing for five more, and will need to use his speed and ability to make plays outside of the pocket to exploit a much slower Tigers’ defense. The Ducks showed improvement defensively as the season wore on, but three games in which they allowed 500 yards have left them looking vulnerable.

NCAA football Betting Preview: Auburn

The same can be said about an Auburn defense that allowed 28 points per betting services game over the final eight weeks, and finished in the bottom-half of the SEC in total defense. Newton more than made up for the team’s deficiencies on the other side of the ball with an outstanding season, throwing for 2,589 yards while rushing for another 1,409 and combining for 48 touchdowns. Dyer provided the perfect compliment to Newton’s playmaking abilities with excellent straight-line speed and toughness, and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Those two will be relied on heavily to keep up with the Oregon offense, particularly due to the inconsistencies that the team has experienced defensively.

The Match Up: Oregon vs. Auburn

The Tigers and Ducks will exchange several blows and big plays throughout the course of what should be an exciting football betting game, and it may come down to which offense can put up more points in the end. Oregon flexed their muscle against the PAC-10, but will be battling a different type of beast in Auburn. How both sides adapt defensively to taking on offenses they are not used to will go a long way in determining which team comes out on top, and it’s hard to bet against the biggest superstar in the game in what should be an explosive battle.

BSN Sports Pick: Auburn - 3

After Delays, Merck Takes Cardiome Drug To Heart

After months of waiting on edge -- dare we say with its heart all a-flutter? -- Vancouver-based Cardiome Pharma said Dec. 29 that its partner Merck & Co. has "confirmed its plans for development" of an oral formulation of Cardiome's atrial fibrillation compound vernakalant.

Merck's decision gives Cardiome a lifeline it wasn't sure it had. Merck was supposed to start Phase III clinical trials in summer 2010, but those plans were delayed because Merck "continue[d] to optimize the clinical plan," Cardiome CEO Doug Janzen told analysts in August. Investors took that vague explanation with the same skepticism that greets a sports team owner's assurance that a troubled coach's job is safe; Cardiome's stock price lost nearly half its value in the three months following Janzen's description. (A setback in its injectable vernakalant program in October didn't help, either.)

Vernakalant, which would be used as maintenance therapy to prevent recurrence of AF in people with a history of the condition, is important for Merck, but it's crucial to Cardiome. The Canadians have no other notable mid-to-late-stage assets in their pipeline except for the IV formulation, which this summer received EU marketing authorization under the brand name Brinavess. In the US, where it is in Phase III trials, Astellas Pharma has development and commercial rights.

Janzen said in August that Merck was being "very, very thorough," "thoughtful," and "big" -- a reasonable proposition, he said, given the $250 million estimated price tag of a late-stage global cardiovascular program and the number of internal committee reviews a behemoth requires for even a modest change of course. After all, the asset had survived the gauntlet of Merck's internal review after its acquisition of Schering-Plough.

Now Cardiome says in a release that Merck has completed another review and that "we [at Cardiome] look forward to working with them as they advance the vernakalant (oral) program to maximize its potential." The release didn't elaborate on what those next steps will be, but Janzen has previously observed that Merck is looking only for a first-in-class, best-in-class compound, so its trials will have to demonstrate superior heart rhythm maintenance to Sanofi's Multaq, against which it will compete. "That is the question to ask and will likely be the basis of the clinical program," he said at a Piper Jaffray conference in New York in December. Whether that program would include an outcomes study or head-to-head clinical trials, isn't clear - but that could be where the clinical program is headed.

Image courtesy of flickr user Vintage Collective (lots of other cool stuff, too; check out the samurai frogs).

Killebrew Diagnosed With Cancer

Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew said he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

Killebrew released a statement through the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, saying he is receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

He calls his condition "very serious" but said he expects a full recovery.

Killebrew hit 573 home runs and made 11 All-Star appearances in his career 22 years spent mostly with the Washington Senators and Twins. E 'was included in the Hall of Fame in 1984 and was the fifth career home run list when he retired in 1974.

Katrina Kaif To Go De Glam After Her Glam Avatar in TMK

Katrina Kaif rocked the nation with her sexy avatar in 'Tees Maar Khan "and especially the song by" Sheila Ki Jawaan. Now, the actress will be seen in a role-conservatives say they played in TMK.

Prakash Jha this film called "Satsang" is Kats as a woman with a yellow robe, and the quest for spirituality. This film exposes the next billion plant world religion in India.

Its role in the Satsang is so complex that even Jha is not sure at first if the actress could give. "It would be the most challenging part of my career so far," says Katrina.

She plays the central character in the film, which is partly autobiographical in nature and which seeks woman for West Eastern spiritualism. Katrina is seen sans makeup film and the need to obtain information about the complexity of the many religious billion industry in India. "

Katrina has already geared up for the role and says, "Prakashji and I have discussed in detail in part. This is a film that I have done the most preparation. I'm open to challenge."

5 polls that surprised us the most

As the year comes to a close I thought it might be interesting to relive the five polls we did that surprised me the most over the course of what was an election cycle full of surprises:

5) Arkansas Senate Poll, January 29th-31st. If you'd asked me at this time last year I would have told you I thought Arkansas would be among the 2 or 3 states we polled most often in 2010. Blanche Lincoln had horrible approval numbers throughout the last part of 2009 but she also had a weak Republican candidate field going against her so even though she was trailing in a lot of polling it wasn't by insurmountable margins and it seemed like she might be able to make a comeback once the health care issue that was killing her was in the rear view mirror. Then John Boozman started showing interest in the race and we were first out of the gate in polling that match up. I figured Lincoln would be in a lot of trouble, down 10 or so. She was down by 23! We never polled the race again the rest of the year and it never changed much from that initial benchmark. She lost by 21.

4) Kentucky Republican Senate Primary Poll, December 18th-21st 2009. In retrospect this poll was one of the biggest early signs that it was going to be a very rough cycle for establishment Republicans. It seems hard to believe after blowout victories in both the primary and general elections but for most of 2009 national political observers saw Rand Paul's Senate campaign as an amusing sidebar, giving its viability little credence with the Republican regulars in the state lined up behind Trey Grayson. Then we polled it and not only did we find Grayson trailing- we found Grayson trailing by 19 points! Whatever happened over the last half of 2009 to put Grayson so far behind he never recovered from- every single independent poll for the whole rest of the campaign found him down by double digits.

3) Florida Republican Senate Primary Poll, March 5th-8th. It was already abundantly clear that Charlie Crist was in deep, deep trouble before we took our first stab at the race- a Rasmussen poll the month before had shown him down by 18 points. But it was still pretty shocking to find him down by 32 points at 60-28. It took about five minutes for the Crist campaign to get out a release attacking the poll as 'agenda driven' and designed to help the Rubio campaign. The Florida Times-Union was so shocked that they commissioned their own snap poll on the race...and found Crist down by 34. At that point it started to be seen as only a matter of time before Crist threw in the towel on being the Republican nominee and he did late the next month.

2) Delaware Republican Senate Primary Poll, September 11th-12th. We did a Delaware Senate poll in mid-August and didn't even bother taking a look at the primary race. That's how far fetched the thought of Mike Castle losing the primary was at that point. After Joe Miller's shocking victory in the Alaska Senate GOP contest we decided we would do a Delaware primary poll the weekend before the election just to cover our bases. Still, when even the Tea Party Express' own polling leaked the week before the election showed O'Donnell behind we didn't expect to see much. But after starting the poll Saturday morning of that weekend, it was clear by the middle of Saturday afternoon that at worst the race was 50/50 and that it was more likely O'Donnell was ahead. She was up 3 when we tallied it up and I was probably more nervous for the 48 hours between releasing that poll and the election results coming in than I was at any other point in the cycle because the result was so surprising and there was no other polling company backing us up. If we were wrong there wasn't going to be anyone to break our fall. But fortunately we weren't- it really seemed possible at the time that 30,000 Republicans in Delaware were going to cost their party control of the Senate although Democrats winning most of the toss up races kept that from being the case in the end.

1) Massachusetts Senate Poll, January 7th-9th. The final week of 2009 we had a vote on where we should do our first poll of 2010 and Massachusetts was one of the options. It finished third behind Connecticut and Alabama. That's how off the radar Scott Brown's chances were just two and a half weeks before the special election. Then Rasmussen came out with a poll showing Brown behind by only 9 that got people paying attention, but still it's not too often that someone manages to go from a 9 point lead to losing in a two week span, especially if it's not a primary. So we polled it mostly just to confirm the new conventional wisdom that Democrats needed to not take it for granted, but that they didn't have that much to worry about. I remember we started the poll up during the BCS Championship game and it was clear by about halftime that Democrats had a whole lot more to worry about in Massachusetts than just about anyone realized. When we put the poll out Saturday night Brown was up by 1 and his momentum carried on to a 5 point victory over the final week.

It's been a great year for PPP, thanks to everyone for their support and Happy New Year!

Shape Up or Ship Out (NYSE: SKX)

Skechers (NYSE: SKX) has been at the heel of the shoe market for quite some time. The stock currently resides at $19.99, down considerably from its $40 plus highs. The stock trades with a 6 PE ratio and is earning record revenue and profits. So why is it down? One of the reasons is attributed to its Shape-Ups brand of toning shoes. It's one thing if Skechers' customers believe that these shoes will actually help you lose weight and become more fit. However, other companies such as privately owned New Balance with it's TrueBalance shoes that do the same thing are taking share as well. Even Nike (NYSE: NKE) has a similar type of shoe, and no company wants to be in Nike's line of fire. Skechers' once unique proposition is now becoming a commodity. Skechers better be thinking of the next innovate product before its stock gets booted.

Wrestling: Battle for Ashburn Today at VivaLoudoun Holiday Wrestling Tournament

Ashburn (Dec. 30, 2010) - Ashburn's three high school wrestling teams -- Briar Woods, Broad Run and Stone Bridge -- take to the mats today in the VivaLoudoun Holiday Wrestling Tournament.

Herndon and Kettle Run join the three local schools with wrestling running from 9 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5.

Schedule
9:00 AM Championship- First Round (2 mats)
11:30 AM Consolation

Mayor Vetoes Pension Bailout Bill

Pittsburgh City Council is to vote this afternoon on whether to override Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's veto of the latest plan to bolster the city's pension fund and avert a state takeover of the fund January 1.
The State Public Employees Retirement Commission is set to manage the city's pension fund unless it is at 50% of its obligation to workers and retirees. The fund is currently at 29.3%.
Council Wednesday voted 7-2 to "irrevocably" dedicate $414.7 million in parking tax revenues over the next 31 years...or about 14 million a year... for the pension fund. Council members Ricky Burgess and Theresa Kail-Smith voted "no."
Earlier Wednesday, Council gave tentative approval to dedicating the Emergency Services Tax....the $52 annual commuter tax.....for the pension fund. But officials with the Public Employees Retirement Commission questioned the legality of that set aside. That's when Council okayed using the parking tax revenues instead.
Mayor Ravenstahl quickly vetoed that measure. The mayor had 10 days to sign the bill, let it become law without his approval or veto it, but by that time the state would have taken over management of the pension fund.
In vetoing the measure, Ravenstahl said the proposal contained "numerous potentially fatal flaws." The mayor says the plan represents "value" (future tax revenues) but doesn't have the immediate cash needed to bring the fund up to the 50% level.
Commission executive director James McAneny told the Post-Gazette that he approves the concept of infusing "value" into the fund but warned Council not to cut it too close to the 50% mark.

NC Politician Year End Report Card

As 2010 comes to a close we have an opportunity to look at whose popularity rose, fell, and stayed the same among the major politicians in North Carolina over the course of the year.



Here's a quick breakdown of how the net approval ratings of Bev Perdue, Richard Burr, Barack Obama, and Kay Hagan shifted from the end of 2009 to the end of 2010:

Politician	End of 2009 Approval	End of 2010 Approval	Shift
Bev Perdue	27/53 (-26)	35/44 (-9)	+17
Richard Burr	35/37 (-2)	36/34 (+2)	+4
Kay Hagan	36/44 (-8)	36/43 (-7)	+1
Barack Obama	48/47 (+1)	46/49 (-3)	-4

The biggest gainer and the only person whose numbers changed significantly over the course of 2010 was Bev Perdue, although that may be considered a Pyrrhic victory given that she went from being incredibly unpopular to just somewhat unpopular. Her net approval at the end of 2009 was -26 with 27% of voters approving of her and 53% disapproving. Now it's -9 with 35% of voters approving of her and 44% disapproving. That's a 17 point gain but her approval spread still puts her six points behind the average Governor.



The next biggest gainer was Richard Burr who went from being slightly unpopular with a -2 approval spread (35/37) at the end of 2009 to slightly popular with a +2 approval spread (36/34) at the end of 2010. Burr's name recognition went up over the course of the year as he advertised on television but two months removed from the election voters seem to have forgotten about him already- the level of ambivalence toward him is higher than for just about any other Senator in the country. With a Republican wind behind him and an ill funded opponent it hardly mattered for his reelection prospects. Burr's approval spread is almost identical to the +3 average we found for 59 Senators across the country in the second half of 2010.



Kay Hagan saw basically no change in her numbers over the course of 2010. Her approval rating at the end of last year was 36%, and it's still 36%. Her disapproval moved insignificantly from 44% to 43%. Her approval spread is 10 points behind our national average for Senators. Although Perdue is generally thought of as the state's most unpopular politician Hagan actually performs worse compared to the mean of her peers at this point. Fortunately for her she has plenty of time for her numbers to improve before she has to go before the voters again.



Barack Obama's numbers in the state are slightly worse than they were at the end of last year although a 2 point drop in his approval rating and a 2 point increase in his disapproval are both changes within the margin of error. His most recent national approval breakdown is 47% approving and 50% disapproving so his standing in North Carolina is essentially identical compared to where he is nationwide. That may be surprising given that his performance in the state in 2008 ran seven points behind what he did in the national popular vote, but his numbers are tending to hold up better in states with large black populations because those voters are considerably less likely to have abandoned him than white ones. Where his numbers have really taken a dive are places like New Hampshire.



So to review Obama and Burr have average popularity in North Carolina, and Perdue and Hagan are both below average. The state doesn't have any politicians it particularly likes, and no one saw a real meaningful shift in voter attitudes toward them this year except Perdue.