Improve your speed; improve your game

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The difference between catching and missing that long touchdown pass (or the bus for your morning commute) comes down to only sec­onds and inches, but can end up costing a lot more. Put some hustle behind your muscle and improve your overall speed with these easy and quick tips from the experts at Life Fitness. Speed is more than just a mad, reckless dash.

* View your body as an engine: more horsepower means quicker acceleration and faster speeds overall. Focus on building strength throughout your lower body with calf raises, squats, lunges and leg presses and pay special attention to your hip flexors. Powerful hip flexors will improve your range of motion and are the key to sprinting faster. Try the Dual Adjustable Pulley machine for single leg and balance work. In addition to your lower body, strengthening your core will improve your speed, balance, and agility by fortifying the connection between the muscles of the upper and lower body. Do Strength Training.

* Plyometric train­ing involves high-intensity, explosive muscular contractions, which enables your muscles to exert maximum force in the shortest amount of time possible, thereby improving your speed. Pre-stretch your muscles and then harness their maximum force by utilizing jumping, bounding, and hopping movements. Jumping jacks, split jumps, squat jumps and box jumps will torch calories and build lean muscle while helping you log faster times.

Do Plyometrics. * Amp up your overall speed with interval training, which alternates short, high intensity bursts of speed with slower recovery phases in a single workout. Interval training will enhance your cardiovas­cular capacity (the ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles) and ultimately leads to increased accel­eration and speed.

* Do Intervals.

Put on the Brakes.

As an athlete, maintaining control over your movements and agility is paramount to your performance. You can't stop and turn on a dime with your legs flailing wildly beneath you, right? The key to slowing down is to have flexible legs, bent knees and lowered hips. Staying low will occur naturally if you are strong enough.

Practice flexibility training multiple times per week. Warm up before workouts with dynamic movements and cool down with static stretches.

Comments

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Source: Herald-dispatch

Nexus 5 said to be 'half the price' of the iPhone 5S

A source says the new Google phone will come with an attractive price for those that have been hankering for a new Nexus.

(Credit: MacRumors)

The hype and rumors we're hearing around the upcoming Nexus 5, expected from LG and Google later this month, is that it could instantly become the new Android phone to beat. But the latest whisperings hint that it could also give the iPhone 5s iphone cases lcd display fm transmitter with holder for apple iphone ipod a run for its money when it comes to how much of your money you have to shell out for one.

TechRadar says a "source familiar with Google" has told the site that the successor to the popular but LTE-less Nexus 4 will ship in the latter part of October and cost "half the price" of the iPhone 5S.

What's a little tricky about this is that the source seems to be referring to United Kingdom prices and ship dates, which can be different from what we see in the United States. If the Nexus 5 were to be half of what an unlocked iPhone 5S sells for at retail stateside (it starts at $649 for 16 GB contract-free with a T-Mobile SIM), that would mean we could see a new unlocked Nexus that, according to TechRadar's source, will meet the specs of the iPhone 5S, but for less than $350.

That would certainly be a welcome deal for Nexus fans hoping for a repeat of the $299 price tag for an unlocked Nexus 4 right out of the gate.

We'll see in the coming weeks if Google actually offers such a pre-holiday bargain on a top-flight phone, or if we've just caught wind of some sort of UK-only pricing scheme or just total bunk.

Be sure to read up on everything else we expect in a new Nexus, and let us know in the comments if you plan to get one of your own.

Source: Cnet

Narni, lo 'Speco' festeggia gli 800 anni / L'angelo che apparve a Francesco d'Assisi - TUTTOGGI.info

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Ieri, 29 settembre, la chiesa ha celebrato la memoria degli arcangeli e a Santa Maria degli Angeli si sono riuniti centinaia di famiglie per la grande Festa degli Angeli. Ma anche in un piccolo eremo della valle ternana il protagonista indiscusso è stato un angelo. Un angelo che otto secoli fa apparve al poverello di Assisi, malato e stanco, per alleviare le sue pene con angeliche armonie.

L'eremo in questione è il santuario del Sacro Speco di Sant'Urbano, presso Narni, convento francescano della prima ora, che il 28 settembre ha festeggiato i suoi 800 anni. Era infatti il 1213 quando Francesco e alcuni compagni giunsero per la prima volta in questo meraviglioso fazzoletto di bosco, dove già erano presenti e frequentate una piccola chiesa dedicata a San Silvestro, una fonte d'acqua miracolosa e alcune grotte, tra cui una, che il santo amò da subito, a forma di fenditura verticale che gli ricordava la piaga del costato del Signore Gesù (FF445) e che entrò nella tradizione francescana col nome di Speco.

Alla presenza del Provinciale, fr. Bruno Ottavi, e del Sindaco di Narni, il dott. Francesco De Rebotti, fr. Massimo Reschiglian, assieme agli altri frati dello Speco e ai tanti che ritrovano in quel luogo ristoro per lo spirito, hanno voluto organizzare una giornata per celebrare la storia di un eremo che è sempre stato legato a doppio filo con il sincero e profondo desiderio di radicalità francescano.

La prima parte del pomeriggio è stata dedicata all'approfondimento storico di questi 800 anni di storia. Il primo intervento in programma era quello di don Felice Accrocca, importante studioso di francescanesimo, che non è potuto essere presente e ha quindi affidato a fr. Pietro Messa la lettura della sua relazione sui primi due secoli di storia dello Speco attraverso le Fonti Francescane e gli scritti di un grande riformatore dell'Ordine del Trecento, Angelo Clareno. Il secondo intervento, di don Mario Sensi, ha spaziato lungo tutto il periodo dell'Osservanza, ovvero il Quattrocento. In primo luogo don Mario ha presentato la suggestiva ipotesi che lo Speco sorga su un santuario micaelitico del primo millennio dell'era cristiana, poi francescanizzato grazie alla memoria del passaggio di Francesco e dei primi compagni. Inoltre ha mostrato come lo Speco sia stato solo sfiorato dalla grande riforma osservante del Quattrocento, poiché fu abitato praticamente fino alla loro soppressione dai seguaci di fr. Angelo Clareno, e che solo con l'inizio del XVI secolo gli Osservanti abbiano voluto abitare questo luogo. E' proprio da questo momento, in particolare dal 1517, anno della divisione ufficiale dei Frati Minori e dei Frati Minori Conventuali, che questo luogo entra a far parte della provincia umbra dei Frati Minori. Proprio da questo anno 1517 è partito il terzo intervento, tenuto con maestria da Andrea Maiarelli, archivista presso l'archivio della provincia umbra dei Frati Minori, che ha compiuto un lungo percorso negli ultimi cinque secoli attraverso i documenti pervenuti fino a oggi. Grazie a testi elaborati dai frati del convento o sul convento abbiamo potuto cogliere aspetti importanti della vita quotidiana dello Speco fino alla sua chiusura nel 1911 e dalla riapertura nel 1943. Gli ultimi sessanta anni di storia, poi, sono stati indelebilmente segnati dalla figura di fr. Placido Santucci, che ha vissuto ben 62 anni allo Speco. A lui e a fr. Giuseppe de Bonis, tornato alla casa del Padre lo scorso mese d'agosto, sono stati dedicati tutti questi interventi.

Tra le immagini d'archivio proiettate dal prof. Maiarelli nel chiostro del convento, una riportava di nuovo in auge un angelo: era un documento del 1750 e riportava il sigillo dello Speco, raffigurante un angelo che suona la viola. Sulla scia di questa presenza costante degli angeli, la seconda parte del pomeriggio è stata dedicata alla lode di Dio attraverso il canto, grazie a un trio di frati che hanno preso ispirazione da una vetrata della basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli che raffigura anch'essa tre angeli con tre strumenti diversi. Il Trio Laudar Vollio, composto da fr. Alessandro Giacomo Brustenghi (canto e organo portativo), fr. Davide Pietro Boldrini (chitarra) e fr. Marco Savioli (violino) ha ripercorso la storia della salvezza nelle melodie delle antiche laudi medievali, cantando e suonando alla Vergine Maria, ai misteri della salvezza, a San Francesco nel piazzale esterno del convento, proprio sotto alla colonna dove l'angelo aveva rallegrato il sofferente Francesco.

Infine, con un semplice rinfresco, i partecipanti hanno vissuto un altro importante momento ricordato dalle Fonti Francescane: Francesco, stanco e malato, per avere un po' di sollievo per sé e per i suoi compagni, aveva chiesto che l'acqua della fonte si tramutasse in vino (FF429). Anche ieri, in quella che fr. Bartolomeo da Pisa alla fine del Trecento aveva ribattezzato "la Cana francescana", nella gratitudine e nella fraternità i tanti convenuti hanno potuto rifocillarsi prima di discendere di nuovo a valle e lasciare questo luogo santo dove ancora dopo 800 anni in tanti salgono per nutrire la vita spirituale nel silenzio, nella contemplazione, nel desiderio di radicalità sulle orme di Francesco.

Source: Tuttoggi

Batman Vs. Superman: Five Reasons Against Wonder Woman Appearing | Comicbook.com

<wonder woman halloween costumes for womenp>There's been lots of speculation going around that Wonder Woman could appear in the Batman Vs. Superman movie. While everyone is pretty anxious to see Wonder Woman finally hit the big screen, we have to question whether the Batman Vs. Superman movie is the right place to introduce her. Here are five reasons against introducing Wonder Woman in Batman Vs. Superman.

5. Don't Rush The Casting - Who plays Wonder Woman is a big decision. While seeing Wonder Woman make a cameo in Batman Vs. Superman would be thrilling for fans, Warner Bros. shouldn't cast this important of a role for just a cameo. Warner Bros. should take the time and make sure that they cast an actress who is capable of carrying a Wonder Woman solo movie and who has availability in her schedule for both future Wonder Woman and Justice League movies.

4. Wonder Woman Needs An Origin - Batman's origin has been told on the big screen before, so there's really no problem with introducing him in a Superman movie. With Wonder Woman, it's been a long time since the seventies TV series. The youth of today need to see a full-blown Wonder Woman origin on the big screen. Wonder Woman's origin is a story that needs to told, before she is inserted into any type of superhero team-up movie.

3. Don't Introduce Wonder Woman In A Movie Titled After Two Male Superheroes - Wonder Woman finally makes her big screen debut, and they do it in a movie that is titled Batman Vs. Superman. That just seems so wrong. When Wonder Woman finally hits the big screen, she deserves to have her name up in the title.

2. Too Many Superheroes - Sure, The Avengers proved that a superhero team movie could be done and could be done well, but Marvel introduced their team in several successful solo movies. Warner Bros. needs to learn how to crawl before they walk. Warner Bros. made a wise call be deciding to try a two superhero movie first before tackling a Justice League movie.

1. Doesn't Need To Be Anybody's Girlfriend - If Warner Bros. were to introduce Wonder Woman in Batman Vs. Superman, we have this sneaking suspicion that she might wind up as either Batman or Superman's girlfriend. If Wonder Woman wants to date Bats or Supes down the road that's fine, but in her first introduction, she should stand on her own and not be labeled someone's girlfriend.

Source: Comicbook

Hackers May Have Already Gotten Past the iPhone 5's Fingerprint Sensor

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The iPhone 5S's Touch ID feature, which allows users to unlock the device with a fingerprint scanner, sounds cool - or annoying, depending on whom you ask - but is it any more secure than an old-fashioned passcode? Maybe, but some Berlin-based hackers are claiming to have already outsmarted the technology, just two days after it was made available to the public. A video posted to the website of the Chaos Computer Club seems to show someone registering their fingerprint with a new iPhone and then unlocking it with a piece of latex placed over that same finger.

In the accompanying announcement, the hackers explained that they took a high-resolution photo of a glass surface bearing the owner's fingerprint, cleaned up the image, and laser printed it onto a "transparent sheet with a thick toner setting. Finally, pink latex milk or white woodglue is smeared into the pattern created by the toner onto the transparent sheet. After it cures, the thin latex sheet is lifted from the sheet, [and] breathed on to make it a tiny bit moist," like a real, clammy finger.

According to the CCC, this method has been successfully used to foil "the vast majority of fingerprint sensors on the market." While Apple's sensor does read at a higher resolution than other sensors, that just means that the hackers had to "ramp up the resolution of our fake." Robert David Graham, whose website Is Touch ID Hacked Yet? is offering at least $20,000 in cash, bitcoin, and other prizes to whoever breaks into the 5S first, told Forbes's Andy Greenberg that he is "communicating with CCC...to confirm that their trick works." But, according to Greenberg, the CCC "has a reputation as one of the oldest and most well-respected group of hackers and security researchers in the world," which means it's "likely a legitimate hack." If true, it is a little embarrassing for Apple, but we're pretty sure it won't affect 5S sales, if only because the thing is available in gold.

Leonardo DiCaprio is looking for some space, just south of Union Square; Khloe Kardashian hints there's news to come

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Rumors that People managing editor Larry Hackett is dating a staffer are the hot story at the magazine.

People's well-liked managing editor, Larry Hackett, has created more gossip inside the magazine's office than he does in the magazine.

Staffers are buzzing that the glossy's honcho, who is also president of the American Society of Magazine Editors, has been secretly dating an underling at the magazine.

"Everyone is saying he's been seeing a very high senior member of staff and that they have been dating since he divorced his wife," one insider tells us. "The whispers are loud because no one knows anything about his personal life at all."

Hackett and his schoolteacher ex-wife finalized their divorce last year after 20 years of marriage and two kids.

Immediately after the split, Hackett was rumored to have been dating an actress, but that turned out to be just a rumor.

Another source in media tells us Hackett has moved from Brooklyn, where he lived with his kids, and "hooked up with a beautiful younger woman that works at the magazine."

The notoriously private editor, who reveals personal details about celebrities' lives in his magazine, does not list his ex-wife or children's names in his official People bio.

"New beginnings seem to be in the air for Larry," says our initial tipster. "His contract at People is up at the end of the year and it will not be renewed as the magazine's sales numbers continue to decline."

(You first read about People not renewing Hackett's contract in Confidenti@l in July.)

The print mag has struggled in the past year, most recently when it ran a bethenny Frankel cover that rival Us Weekly had turned down. That issue sold just over 600,000 copies - a stunningly low figure for the most respected magazine in its class. Just a few years ago, People moved over 2 million newsstand copies weekly.

Hackett landed the top spot at People in 2006 and oversees all editorial operations of the magazine. He previously served as deputy managing editor.

The affable editor, known to be friendly with his staff, also has a weekly gig on "Good Morning America" in which he talks celebrity gossip, and appears on " Jimmy Kimmel Live" to chat about Hollywood. He may be looking toward TV for his next gig, we hear.

Neither Hackett nor a rep for People returned a request for comment.

LEO'S LOFTY AMBITION

Leonardo DiCaprio was planning to go apartment-hunting Thursday afternoon at 12 E. 13th St., where a spy tells us he was set to check out a parking garage that's being renovated into high-end condos. The building just south of Union Square doesn't look like much from the outside, but the pending residential conversion might appeal to "The Wolf of Wall Street" star. "Maybe they're offering him raw space to do whatever he wants," a source says.

Developers DHA Capital LLC and Continental Properties snatched up the garage - which houses a Hertz rental car station - for $32 million, according to the real estate journal Globe Street. The new owners plan to gut the space and market it as a mix of full-floor homes and duplexes. That could wind up luring some big-time buyers. "It's hard to find huge lofts in the middle of the Village," says Adrienne Alpert, CEO of the Marketing Directors real estate firm. "Usually you have to go pretty far west or east to find anything like this. It'll be spectacular."

PHOTOS: THE GREAT GATSBY ERA: NEW YORK CITY IN THE ROARING TWENTIES

MASKED INTENTIONS

Khloe Kardashian's steel veneer may be starting to crack. Since tossing hubby Lamar Odom out of their L.A. manse due to his alleged crack addiction, Khloe has remained mum. But she posted an eerie picture of a girl in a mask to Instagram on Thursday, with a caption reading: "She smiles to mask the pain in her heart. She laughs to conceal the tears in her eyes." It may be a clue into the near future - we're hearing the couple's divorce is imminent.

IT'LL BE A RACY FILM

The mayoral race isn't over yet, but Cinema Society founder Andrew Saffir already has the perfect cast in mind if someone makes a movie about candidates Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota. " Christopher McDonald and Jason Alexander," Saffir told us at the New Yorkers for Children gala to benefit youth in foster care. Saffir also looks forward to Mayor Bloomberg attending more of his star-studded screenings after he leaves City Hall. "I hope so, because he's a good guest and he's smart and fun and people love him."

POSEY TAKES THE NYC LOCAL

New York isn't such a big city for Hollywood indie darling Parker Posey. At a recent Hope North charity event, the Big Apple resident told us she rarely ventures north of 14th St. "I'm pretty much strictly downtown," she said. "The Union Square Market and then down." Staying downtown lets Posey reduce her carbon footprint - and so does the greenmarket. "We're so blessed to have that market. You know you can compost there? I store it in my freezer then bring it down." Posey was at the event to support a school in Uganda for orphans and former child soldiers.

THIS BODY'S CLEARLY AN ALBA-TROSS

Of all the actresses to feel self-conscious about looks, we don't want to hear it from the absolutely stunning Jessica Alba. In the new issue of Health magazine, where she looks gorgeous as always, she breaks down her insecurities. "I was a lot more critical of my body when it was probably pretty awesome," she says. "It's like, why did I not ever wear jean shorts? That's so crazy. I was so skinny! I didn't have any cellulite. ... what was I thinking?!"

PHOTOS: JESSICA ALBA MAKES A SPLASH FLAUNTING SIZZLING BIKINI BOD IN ST. BARTS

GOING THE EXTRA MILEY

You've got to hand it to Miley Cyrus - since the backlash over her totally naked "Wrecking Ball" video she at least had the decency to put on underwear on a newly leaked alternate album cover for "Bangerz." With a pixie cut slicked to the side and that underboob tattoo, the now-single Cyrus doesn't look like she's shying away from the spotlight after calling off her engagement to Liam Hemsworth earlier this week. If that's too much skin for you, yet another version of the record cover shows her merely pants-less.

UPTON DOES HIGH-PROFILE DINING

When you look like Kate Upton, you can't go low-key. The supermodel tried to fly under the radar Tuesday at Stone Rose Lounge in the Time Warner Center, but was noticed by nearly every patron in the restaurant. "She was sitting with an unidentified male friend and was not with [boyfriend] Maksim Chmerkovskiy," a spy tells us. "She looked demure in a black sweater and matching leggings." The duo sipped on Sonoma Cutrer wine and Don Julio Silver tequila on the rocks with their meal.

PHOTOS: KATE UPTON FOR SKULLCANDY: MEET THE BRAND'S NEW SUPERMODEL CREW

SEEN AND HEARD...

LeBron James enjoying a romantic night out with new wife Savannah Brinson at Antica Pesa in Rome - the sister restaurant of the Williamsburg hotspot. ... Amanda Seyfried dressed down without makeup, with boyfriend Justin Long at Lure Fishbar in SoHo. ... Bill Wackermann, publisher of Condé Nast Traveler, giving away trips to Madrid and Milan, for the launch of the mag's "I Am a Traveler" ad campaign at Tertulia in Greenwich Village. ... Tim Gunn attending the American Folk Art Museum's gala kickoff at the long-anticipated Harlem supper club Minton's.

DON'T HIDE CHARLIZE, PLEASE

Known for her privacy, Charlize Theron spent most of the night in a lounge that resembled a "cage" at Hakkasan Beverly Hills. Our spywitness says the actress hid out in the restaurant's Ling Ling Lounge as Chris Ivery and wife Ellen Pompeo hosted a launch event for Vallure Vodka Wednesday. Also at the fete were Hillary Duff, Sanaa Lathan, Minka Kelly, Mandy Moore and Julianne Hough, and Samantha Ronson dejaying.

Source: Nydailynews

Several years back, the city of Raleigh was avidly courting the International Bluegrass Music Association, trying to get the IBMA to move its annual festival here. After the organization's board scrutinized bids from competing cities, word got out that Raleigh was among the finalists.

That's when William Lewis got involved. As executive director of PineCone (Piedmont Council of Traditional Music), Lewis had been booking folk and bluegrass concerts in Raleigh for years, and this looked like a grand opportunity to take the music to the masses.

"We sort of, um, invited ourselves to the table," Lewis, 38, said with a laugh. "But we wanted IBMA to understand there was a supportive local organization with a long history of programming bluegrass. And it worked."

When the bluegrass association's search committee came to Raleigh to tour the city's facilities in March 2012, PineCone set the schedule and organized a reception with various luminaries from the local acoustic-music community. Two months later, the association announced Raleigh as its 2013 host city – and Lewis as the organization's newest board member.

IBMA's "World of Bluegrass" festival gets underway Tuesday, drawing hundreds of performers and thousands of attendees from all over the world. PineCone is one of the event's producers, booking the acts and putting on shows at venues including Red Hat Amphitheater. As host and local face of the event, Lewis will be scurrying around various downtown venues trying to keep everything running on time.

"We've all been very impressed with William, who has been a great addition to the team," said Nancy Cardwell, executive director of the bluegrass association. "I don't know if he realized just how much work would be involved. He's the man on the ground there, one of our go-to people."

Connecting through music

Depending on how you reckon it, Lewis' career as a folklorist began during college, or during his childhood. Lewis grew up in rural Georgia – "10 miles of dirt road every which way," he says – and playing music together was a large part of his family's do-it-yourself entertainment. But Lewis didn't fully grasp how music could define people and places until he was taking folklore classes from Professor Cece Conway at Appalachian State University.

"I went with her to a lot of house parties because she was always chasing down fiddlers and storytellers," Lewis said. "That was my introduction to Appalachian music, not on stages so much as in people's houses, and it helped me understand the significance of the cultural context I'd grown up with. People's connection to place through music fascinated me."

Lewis continued on with graduate studies at UNC-Chapel Hill followed by work with the North Carolina Folklife Institute. Place-based cultural tourism became a specialty for Lewis while he worked on projects including the "Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina" guidebook.

"Working on things like that and seeing the impact in the communities made a real difference to me," Lewis said. "It was tourism highlighting cultural assets, music and dance traditions tourists could experience, which was a new, viable economic model – especially with the old furniture and textile industries moving overseas."

Lewis joined PineCone, a nonprofit "dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting all forms of traditional music," as a program associate in 2004. Formed in 1984, the organization has around 900 dues-paying members and an annual budget of $427,000 that it uses to put on workshops, educational events and several dozen concerts per year by the likes of Kris Kristofferson and Ralph Stanley.

After PineCone executive director Susan Spurlin Newberry retired in 2008, the board chose Lewis as her successor. He has continued the organization's work with evangelical zeal, energetically preaching about the potential value of music as a brand for North Carolina.

"William is very knowledgeable and extremely adept at working with all sorts of different kinds of people," said Wayne Martin, executive director of the North Carolina Arts Council and one of PineCone's original co-founders. "He's a wonderful connector who wants to do good for the community, which his work with PineCone shows. I think the potential is there to make North Carolina internationally known for music, and William has been a leader there."

A live-music city?

Once the bluegrass association announced Raleigh as its convention city for the next three years, the real work began. Lewis and PineCone's staff and volunteers have been closely involved in the countless logistical issues involved in planning the big-name shows with Steve Martin at Red Hat Amphitheater; the "Bluegrass Ramble" showcases at Lincoln Theatre, Pour House and other downtown nightclubs; and the free street festival.

It's reaching a crescendo in these last few days running up to Tuesday's kickoff. One thing Lewis helped set up was bus transportation to and from a campground at the State Fairgrounds, where people can stay to make IBMA more of a traditional camping festival-type experience.

"Part of bluegrass culture is camping and RVs," Lewis said. "So we'll see how many people do that. And we'll be rolling out the red carpet to make sure IBMA here is a distinctive experience. They were in Nashville for years and you'd never have known it. Raleigh has gone in the total opposite direction. Whether you're here for IBMA or not, you'll know about it."

Lewis hasn't slept much for the past month, but he is one of the people committed to making the convention in Raleigh a success – in hopes that the bluegrass association will stay longer than its initial three-year commitment.

"There are still doubts out there, people saying that Raleigh's not a bluegrass town," Lewis said. "But it's a warm place open to music of all sorts, and there's a lot of local support. Bluegrass is a key piece of Raleigh's history and heritage. I hope the city can benefit, rebrand itself as a live-music city."

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Source: Newsobserver