Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense action video game developed and originally published by PopCap Games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game involves a homeowner using many varieties of plants to repel an army of zombies. It was first released on May 5, 2009, and made available on Steam on the same day. A version for iOS was released in February 2010, and an HD version for the iPad. An extended Xbox Live Arcade version introducing new gameplay modes and features was released on September 8, 2010. PopCap released a Nintendo DS version on January 18, 2011 with content unique to the platform. The PlayStation 3 version was released in February 2011. Furthermore, both the original Windows and Mac version of the game have been re-released with additional content in a Game of the Year version. The game received a positive response from critics, and was nominated for multiple Interactive Achievement Awards, alongside receiving praise for its musical score.
Gameplay
In Plants vs. Zombies, players place different types of plants and fungi, each with their own unique offensive or defensive capabilities, around a house in order to stop a horde of zombies from devouring the brains of the residents. The playing field is divided into a number of horizontal tracks, and with some exceptions, a zombie will only move towards the player's house along one track. Most plants can only attack or defend against zombies in the track they are planted in. In the game's initial levels, if the zombie reaches the player's house, a one-shot tool (a lawn mower or pool cleaner) can be used to completely wipe out zombies in that track, but the tool will not be restored until the next level. In later levels, players have to purchase upgrades so as to adapt their lawn-mower to new environments like pools or rooftops. Except in special cases, Zombies attempt to devour any plants in their way while heading towards the house.
Gameplay in progress.

The player starts with a limited number of seed sacks and seed pack slots that they can use during most levels. New seed packs are gained by completing levels, while the number of slots can be increased through purchases with in-game money. At the start of a level, the player is shown the various types of zombies to expect and given the opportunity to select which seed packs to take into the level. In order to plant a seed, the player must have collected a specific amount of sunlight. Sunlight is generated by special plants which provide sunlight at regular intervals, or is automatically generated regularly for the player during daytime. Seed packs also have a short time delay before the same seed can be planted again. Several plants are nocturnal, like mushrooms, having a lower sunlight cost and are ideal for nighttime levels, but will remain asleep during daytime levels unless awoken by a coffee bean. In the "backyard" levels that include a swimming pool, seeds must be planted atop lily pads on water spaces, while on the roof levels, all seeds must be planted in flower pots. The various plant abilities include firing projectiles at zombies, turning zombies against each other, quickly exploding and wiping out an area of zombies, and slowing down zombies. Certain plants are highly effective against specific types of zombies, such as a "Magnet-shroom" that can remove metallic items from a zombie, such as helmets and ladders.

The zombies also come in a number of types that have different attributes, in particular, speed, damage tolerance, and abilities. As the player progresses in the game, the zombies will include those wearing makeshift armour, those that are able to jump or fly over plants, and even a dancing zombie that is able to summon other zombies from the ground. In each level, zombies will approach the house randomly except at special points where the player will be inundated with a huge wave of zombies; a meter on screen shows an approximate timeline for the level so the player can prepare for these waves.
ame modes

The primary game mode is a single player and co-op adventure mode, pitting the player against wave after wave of zombies. Killing any zombies and finishing the levels may earn the player money that can be used at a store run by the neighbor "Crazy Dave" to buy new seed packets and other bonuses. In some levels of the game, the player will be provided with random seed packets, with no sunlight requirement, at regular intervals, and the player must figure out how best to survive with the random seeds given.

The game also features extra modes that are unlockable as the player progresses through the main adventure mode. These include a survival game with hard or normal mode, a puzzle mode, and a selection of mini-games which include zombie-themed versions of other PopCap games like Bejeweled. The game also features a "Zen garden", where players can care for plants they acquire from fallen zombies during game play. The in-game store also carries items that help with the Zen Garden. In the iOS version of the game, the puzzle mode, survival mode, and Zen Garden are removed. The Xbox Live Arcade version of the game includes 5 multiplayer modes, both co-operative and competitive, additional mini-games and a virtual house where players can show off their achievements to friends.

Source and Read More:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plants_vs._Zombies

why is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway called the Brickyard.

The Brickyard

The racing surface at Indy was once completely made of bricks. When they finally paved it, the bricks were completely removed, all except for one yard of bricks at the start/finish line. Hence "The Brickyard."

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway


The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400.

It has existed since 1909, and is the original Speedway, the first racing facility historically to incorporate the word. With a permanent seating capacity for more than 257,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to approximately 400,000, it is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in the world.

Considered relatively flat by American standards, the track is a two-and-a-half-mile, nearly rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained essentially unchanged since its inception: four 1/4-mile turns, two 5/8-mile long straightaways between the fourth and first and second and third turns, and two 1/8-mile short straightaways, termed "short chutes," between the first and second, and third and fourth turns.

A modern infield road course was constructed between 1998 and 2000, incorporating the western and southern portions of the oval (including the southwest turn) to create a 2.605-mile (4.192 km) track. In 2008, the road course was modified to replace the southwest turn with an additional infield section, for motorcycle use, resulting in a 2.621-mile (4.218 km) course. Altogether, the current grounds have expanded from an original 320 acres (1.3 km2) on which the Speedway was first built to cover an area of over 559 acres (2.3 km2). Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, it currently remains the only such landmark to be affiliated with automotive racing history.

In addition to the Indianapolis 500, the speedway also hosts NASCAR's Brickyard 400. From 2000 to 2007 the speedway also hosted the United States Grand Prix for Formula One. The inaugural USGP race drew an estimated 225,000 spectators, setting a Formula One attendance record. In 2008, the Speedway added the Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix, a Grand Prix motorcycle racing event.

Since August 19, 1909, 248 automobile races have taken place, with 137 separate drivers winning. After winning his fifth United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis in 2006, Formula One driver Michael Schumacher holds the record for most victories between the three major events (Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and the F1 USGP), with all taking place on the Forumula One version of the road course. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears each won the Indianapolis 500 four times on the traditional oval, and Jeff Gordon has also won four times on the oval in the Brickyard 400. No driver to date has won any combination of the three major events, with only one driver, (Juan Pablo Montoya), having competed in all three, winning the Indy 500, finishing fourth in the US Grand Prix, and placing second in the Brickyard 400. Johnny Aitken holds the record for total wins at the track, with 15 victories (all on the oval), during the 1909, 1910 and 1916 seasons.

On the grounds of the Speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, which opened in 1956, and the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, which originally opened as the Speedway Golf Course in 1929. The Speedway was also the venue of the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games.

Read More:en.wikipedia

Sarah Fisher First And Only Female Team Owner. Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is a retired American professional racecar driver who competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. Born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Commercial Point, Ohio, Fisher runs Sarah Fisher Racing, which she started in 2008, becoming the first and only female team owner and the youngest owner in the IZOD IndyCar Series. In 2010, she competed in her 9th and final Indy 500, marking the most number of starts for a woman in the 94-year history of the event. Her first book, 99 Things Women Wish They knew Before Getting Behind The Wheel of Their Dream Job, was released in May 2010.
Records
Sarah became the youngest woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 at age 19 in 2000, becoming the third female to compete in the Indianapolis 500 behind Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James. That same year, she became the first woman to stand on the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place finish) with her third place finish at Kentucky Speedway. In 2001, she became the first woman to run a full IndyCar Series schedule. During that season, she became the first woman to finish runner-up in a major-league open-wheel race when she placed second at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In 2002, she not only became the first woman in North American motorsports history to win the pole position for a major-league open-wheel race, doing so at Kentucky Speedway, but set the track qualifying record there when she won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 221.390 mph (lap time of 24.0661 seconds), a record that still holds.

Fisher made history by becoming the first female driver in the 21st century to drive a Formula One car when testing in 2002 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; a test arranged by her personal sponsor, TAG Heuer. In 2003, she set the record as the fastest woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 229.439 mph (369.246 km/h).

She has won the Most Popular Driver (MPD) award three consecutive times (2001–2003) in the IndyCar Series, an award she would also win later while competing in the NASCAR West Series (2005).

She also holds the record for the most number of starts by a female in the history of the Indy 500 (with nine), the most starts of any female in IndyCar Series history (69 as of August 9, 2008) and has the most career earnings for a female in IndyCar Series history ($3,413,600 as of August 9, 2008).

Sarah Fisher became the first female owner/driver in IndyCar Series history in 2008 and is the second female owner/driver in the Indy 500 after Janet Guthrie.

Read More:en.wikipedia

With just days until the second series of The Only Way Is Essex returns to our screens the characters are no doubt topping up their tans, primping their hair and ensuring their vajazzles are firmly in place.

But it seems two stars of the show tried out a novel way of getting into shape for the second round of cat-flights, tears and tantrums embarking on a grueling fitness boot camp – in true Essex style, of course.

Mark Wright’s former flame Lucy Mecklenburgh was joined by Arg’s girlfriend Lydia Bright and the girls weren’t going to let the muddy training getting in the way of looking their best and found enough energy to enjoy an impromptu mud-wrestling match.


The pair were joined by two friends who were also sporting a full face of make-up and blow dried hair for the outdoor activities at the No1 boot camp in Norfolk.

With their hair flowing behind them the girls ran down to the beach to begin their session carrying small weighted balls.

That in itself must have been a tough task for the girls who are more used to lifting boutique shopping bags than weights.

And the girls ditched their designer dresses and high heels for black exercise leggings and a low cut black vest, but didn’t opt for sports bras for the strenuous activities.

The girls did show willing and performed a number of exercises including a girl-style press up which displayed their ample cleavage and a wide-legged squat on the sand.

The girls then crawled through the mud and while they seemed to be exhausted at the activity seemed to be in good spirits, even when the trainer flicked mud across their made-up faces.

And perhaps aware of the cameras on them, or maybe just fans of mud-wrestling Lydia challenged Lucia to a bout and the pair got the grips with each other in the dirt.

Always ready to oblige a waiting photographer the girls got together for a group shot.

Lucy, who is a size eight and weights nine stone has revealed how all the cast members have been putting in extra effort getting into shape for the new series.

She told New! Magazine: ‘Everyone’s gone a bit hardcore trying to lose weight for the next series.’

The 20-year-old credits her own trim figure to zumba classes and poledancing

The Only Way Is Essex returns March 20th on ITV2 at 10pm








Source: Dailymail

As shaggy dog stories go, the one about Norman the very bright Briard who is a wizz riding his scooter ranks high on the list.

The clever canine, who lives with the Cobb family in Canton, Georgia, competes in many obedience competitions and received his Companion Dog Title at just 15 months of age after four first place finishes.
But it's his razor scooter that has remained the pooch's passion since he was a mere pup when his owner, Karen Cobb, took him out for his first spin.

'He began playing with the kid's scooter in the backyard and we thought it would be fun to give him a ride on it,' says Karen. 'Then we decided to teach him to push it, and now he loves riding his scooter.'


His scooting antics have already made him popular on the Internet, and his Facebook page has quite a following.
Norman, now 20 months old, has even attracted the attention of television show host and comedian David Letterman and last month made an appearance on Stupid Pet Tricks on The Late Show.

Briards originate from France and their recognised talents include search and rescue, police work, military work, herding, watchdogging and guarding, but they also also make excellent companions, finding favour with Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson.







Source: Dailymail

Investigators say a Ferndale woman masqueraded as her dead mom to keep pension checks rolling in.

Detectives say Loewen B. Craft collected $145,000 in retirement funds.

Craft's adopted daughter says the scheme had been going on for years.

"It is bizarre," said Arielle Stanwyck. "She would wear large glasses to impersonate my grandmother. She would even wear makeup on her face to wear liver spots to look old and look like my grandmother."


Investigators say four years ago, Craft checked her mom, Betty Becker, into a hospital under a fake name. When her 90-year-old mom died a short time later, investigators say Craft kept collecting pension checks from Chevron oil.

"Once the police talked to me, they used the word 'fraud' and 'embezzlement,' " said Becker's caregiver Bonnie Vanfossen. "And (Craft) admitted to me that yes, she was cashing her mother's checks."

At one point, Chevron got suspicious that Becker had died. Investigators say Craft entered banks wearing the disguise and carrying an ID card in her dead mother's name.

It worked to keep the accounts open.

A detective stumbled upon the suspected fraud while investigating an unrelated case. The bank froze the accounts, called police, and invited Craft to come back.

Surveillance photos show her wearing the wig and heavy make-up. Detectives arrested her on the spot.

She's now in jail, suspected of identity theft, criminal impersonation and multiple counts of forgery.

The caregiver says Craft couldn't work after she broke her leg and became too sick from diabetes. She says those pension checks were her only lifeline.

"And one month led to two, and two months led to three. And eventually we got four or five years down the line and she probably got so deep in it, she didn't know what else to do."





Source: Komonews

Federal prosecutors say they will file new murder charges against Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout held in the Tucson massacre.

Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, last week asked a judge to drop earlier charges in the slayings of U.S. District Judge John Roll and congressional aide Gabriel Zimmerman Jan 8.

Spokesman Robbie Sherwood told the Tucson Sentinel it was a "procedural matter" and the counts will be refiled before a March 9 status conference on the case.

Loughner also is charged with four other killings, the attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the wounding of a dozen other people in a shooting spree at a constituents gathering outside a Tucson supermarket.

Federal jurisdiction in the case derives from the killing or attempted killing of federal judges, members of Congress and their aides in the course of their duties.

The two murder charges could lead prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix has said prosecutors are taking their time with the murder charges since they may involve capital punishment.
Read More: Upi

A Connecticut man accused of making Rose McGowan's "charmed" life a little less charming has been arrested.

Local police searched Louis S. Santo III's Derby home Friday for evidence of alleged threats and harassment of McGowan, who starred in the cable series "Charmed" and movies like "Scream" and "Jawbreakers."


Cops later arrested Santo on two counts of second-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace.

He is being held on $50,000 bond and will appear in court today.
A California judge granted a temporary restraining order against Santo, 36, last month, prohibiting him from contacting McGowan or her agents.

In court documents, the actress, formerly married to shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, said Santo has claimed to love her and threatened violence if he didn't speak with her.

In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Santo said he wrote a script for McGowan but that her claims don't make any sense to him. He said he doesn't know if he'll try to fight the restraining order, which requires him to stay at least 200 yards away from Rose.

A hearing in California is scheduled for March 11, when McGowan plans to ask the judge to make the order permanent.
Source: Nbcnewyork

Artist's unique tribute to Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali always said he was the prettiest thing that ever lived. He has a point. It does take a certain beauty to make 1,300 punching bags, five miles of stainless steel and two miles of aluminum tubing look like a work of art. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a talented sculptor rendering those materials.

California artist Michael Kalish will unveil his Ali art installation, "reALIze," later this month in Los Angeles. The project, which depicts the three-time heavyweight champ by using speed bags, stands two stories high, fills up 15,00 cubic feet and includes five miles of stainless steel, two miles of aluminum tubing and 1,300 of Ali's favorite practice targets. Kalish told the Los Angeles Times that it took three months to design the sculpture and five months to build it.

Ali's wife, Yolanda, approached Kalish three years ago after seeing his work with license plate art. He created a piece for the family which eventually led to this sculpture.

The final product will show for two weeks at Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles. From there, Kalish hopes to take it to other venues. Admission is free to the public, but visitors won't be able to interact with the piece due to its intricate design.

From most angles, the structure looks like a jumble of boxing bags and twisted metal.

It's only when viewed from the proper vantage point that the structure becomes a two-dimensional portrait of the former heavyweight champion.
The official unveiling of the exhibit is scheduled for March 25.
Read More: sports.yahoo

The biggest athlete in professional sports is also the biggest athlete on Twitter.

NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has the most followers of any athlete on the social media site, with over 3.5 million users reading his tweets. Brazilian soccer star Kaka is second on the list, more than 500,000 followers behind.

Though athletic success is a good yardstick in determining which men and women have the most followers, it's not as reliable an indicator as you'd think. For instance, Tiger Woods isn't in the top 10 but Chad Ochocinco is. (Tiger actually has fewer followers than fellow golfers Stewart Cink and Ian Poulter.) LeBron James cracks the list but comes in behind Reggie Bush. And of all the baseball players with accounts, one-time All-Star Nick Swisher is the most popular. (It doesn't hurt that he's on the New York Yankees.)

Here's the list of the top-10 athletes on Twitter, along with a sample tweet and a summary of their favorite subjects:

1. Shaquille O'Neal -- @THE_REAL_SHAQ -- 3,564,335 followers -- 51 tweets (in the month of February)
2. Kaka -- @kaka -- 2,934,112 followers -- 57 tweets
3. Serena Williams -- @serenawilliams -- 1,931,286 followers -- 412 tweets
4. Cristiano Ronaldo -- @Cristiano -- 1,914,172 followers -- 88 tweets
5. Dwight Howard -- @DwightHoward -- 1,874,255 followers -- 22 tweets
6. Paul Pierce -- @paulpierce34 -- 1,745,039 followers -- 69 tweets
7. Chad Ochocinco -- @ochocinco -- 1,741,178 followers -- 630 tweets
8. Reggie Bush -- @reggie_bush -- 1,555,080 followers -- 61 tweets
9. LeBron James -- @kingjames -- 1,492,952 followers -- 46 tweets
10. Nick Swisher -- @nickswisher -- 1,273,939 followers -- 64 tweets
Read More: sports.yahoo

Ohio man runs a commercial to propose to his girlfriend

It's getting harder out there for a guy who wants to raise big public fanfare around his marriage proposal. In the media-saturated American scene, you see proposals turning up in newspaper ads, skywriting appeals and--of course--the venerable stadium Jumbotron. So how does a lovestruck beau make his offer really stand out? Why, he asks his lady to marry him in a TV commercial, of course. And that's just what David Jones--a Cleveland-based video producer, conveniently enough--did yesterday to in a successful bid for the hand of his girlfriend, Dee Horton.On Thursday, Horton and her co-workers at a Medina, Ohio hair salon tuned in to the midday newscast on Cleveland's WJW-TV. Jones had told her that he'd be portraying some sort of superhero in a commercial. But as she went about trimming a client's hair with one eye on the broadcast, she soon realized that she was the sole member of this particular commercial's target demographic. "A lot of people say we're living on love, like it's a bad thing," Jones said in the commercial. "How about you and I show the world what true love is all about?" He then pulled out a ring and proposed, and a few seconds later Jones emerged in the salon with a WJW camera crew, and dropped to his knees to propose in person.

Ohio man runs a commercial to propose to his girlfriend

Jones had earlier said that he wanted his proposal to be "something neither one of us would ever forget," and he clearly achieved his goal. For her part, Horton said that she contracted cancer shortly after she and Jones began dating, but he stuck by her side and cared for her as she endured surgery and radiation treatments. We wish them all the best.
Read More: Yahoo

Kris Jenner shares the secrets of how her family turned their everyday lives into a successful (& sometimes controversial) business.

With the Kardashians being omnipresent in the world of entertainment, one would expect the famous clan to rake in the dough. But how much dough?

Kim Kardashian

An insider close to the Kardashian clan has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the family made an estimated $65 million last year, thanks to a slew of endorsement deals, public appearances, products, stores and three hit E! reality shows.
"We're just this big family with a lot of drama and a lot of issues," says Kris Jenner, mother and manager. "And there's someone here for everyone to relate to. I think if you've ever been embarrassed by your family -- like your mother's a kook or your father's too strict -- the show gives you hope. I've had so many people come over to me and say, 'I remember the episode where you were crying over blah, blah, blah, and it helped me so much and I got through my dad's death because of you.'"
According to daughter Khloe, Jenner, a former airline stewardess with no formal college education, "has just always been this 'Let's make water into wine' person. She knows how to take one small talent or ability and grow it into something huge."
So, how much longer can we expect to see this famous family in the public eye? Jenner does not see the end anytime soon.
"My fantasy is to have 'Keeping Up With Kardashians' Season 26," she says. "Who knew it would be this profitable? I should have had more kids."
Read More: MSN

TV personality Bob Barker welcomes animals at airport before they go to a sanctuary 

A lion, one of 25 rescued from Bolivian circuses, roars at Animal Defenders International vice president Tim Phillips after being unloaded from a jet in Denver on Feb. 16. The lions were to be transferred to a Colorado wildlife sanctuary to live the rest of their lives.

 

The 13 males and 12 females landed at Denver International Airport around 4:30 p.m. local time  on Wednesday. The jetliner pulled into a maintenance hangar, and police officers armed with assault rifles stood by as a precaution.

The animals were rescued from deplorable conditions after a law was passed last year in Bolivia prohibiting all performances involving animals, Animal Defenders International said. Most of the lions were dehydrated and suffered from eye and foot infections when rescued, the group has said.
Television personality and animal advocate Bob Barker financed the $200,000 airlift. He was on hand to welcome Operation Lion Ark and said he was excited to see the animals headed to a sanctuary where they will have room to roam.
"They will be the happiest little babies you ever met," Barker told reporters.
Barker said he hopes someday no circuses will have animal acts.
While three cubs were in one cage with their mother, the rest traveled in their own cages, accompanied by a veterinarian. Before leaving Santa Cruz, Bolivia, they were given sleep medication.
The lions will now be trucked to their new home at the Wildlife Sanctuary in Keenesburg, about 35 miles northeast of Denver. A 15,000-square-foot biosphere was built to help them adjust to the chillier climate.
The sanctuary is already home to about 270 wild animals, including lions, tigers, bears and wolves.
Read More: MSN