Oscars Flashback: Halle Berry 2002

At the 2002 Academy Awards, Halle Berry won an Oscar for the drama Monster's Ball. While the award was a first for her, it was more importantly a landmark win for the Oscars. After an emotional acceptance speech, she continues to succumb to emotion when thinking about the enormity of the moment.

In the prior 74 Academy Awards ceremonies, a woman of black descent had never won the Best Actress Award, but that changed in 2002 when Berry was awarded the prestigious award. Reiterating from her acceptance speech, she marvels at the broader significance of the award.

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"This moment, although I'm standing here...it's really not just about me," Berry says in the pressroom after the show. "It's about so many people that went before me that paved the way and people who are fighting alongside with me and the ones that will come along whose path will be indelibly easier because of everyone.

"So, it's not really about me as much as it's about so many other women of color who have tried to permeate this system for so many years, and today this meant hope. That glass ceiling was broken wide-open and that just feels good for me and for all of them too."

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The first woman to chip away at that glass ceiling was Dorothy Dandridge, whom Berry had portrayed a few years prior in the television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Coincidentally, Berry had received the highest accolades for television (SAG Award, Golden Globe, Emmy) for the first time for portraying Dandridge in the TV film.

While her Monster's Ball role yielded her a historical Oscar, the part nearly went to another actress and Berry had to adamantly reiterate to the film's director and producer that she was a good fit for the role. As she assess, the fruition of her persistence is a major encouragement.

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"I think fighting has always been my way, so I don't think now I'll change," the then-35-year-old Berry says. "I'm sure I'll still have to fight and pave the way, but this just inspires me and lets me know that it's all worth it and if I have to fight ten more years before I make another inroad then I guess that's what I'm going to do."

Berry has since been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes but has not received an Oscar nomination since making history in 2002. As she predicted, another inroad has had to wait over ten years but may be soon on its way.

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Westchester County won't host gun show

Westchester County will not host a gun show early next year in the wake of the massacre in Newtown, Conn.

County Executive Rob Astorino said it would be inappropriate for the county to hold the event.

Former County Executive Andrew Spano had banned the show after the 1999 Columbine school shootings in Colorado. The ban remained in effect for more than a decade.

Astorino brought back the show in 2010.

His decision comes after Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner called on the county to cancel the show at the government-owned building.

Westchester Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins said banning such shows at the County Center was part of the answer to curbing gun violence.

The show's promoter, Westchester Collectors, didn't return respond to calls for comment.

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American Airlines adds new agreements, flights in South America

In a nod to the importance of Latin America for its business, American Airlines on Monday announced new codeshare agreements with airlines in the region as well as new routes.

American has agreed to codeshare with TAM Airlines, based in Sao Paulo, and LAN Colombia, both part of LATAM Airlines Group.

The airline also said that it will add new routes in late 2013 between Miami and two destinations in Brazil: Curitiba and Porto Alegre. American also plans to add service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Bogota late next year.

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Key Largo man shot in argument over open relationship, police say

What began as a jealous argument almost turned deadly for a Key Largo man involved with a woman in an open marriage, Monroe County police say.

Candice Lee, 37, allegedly shot her former lover, Shakir Muilam, 45, with a .22-caliber rifle after the two argued over her relationship with a new boyfriend, said Deputy Becky Herrin, spokeswoman with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Lee and her husband, whom the Sheriff's Office did not identify, are in an open relationship, which allows them to have other sexual partners, Herrin said.

Lee and Muilam were in a relationship but broke up recently. However, she and her husband allowed Muilam to live with them when he was diagnosed with cancer.

While living with her husband and Muilam, Lee began a new relationship with yet another man. Muilam found Lee and her boyfriend talking early Thursday outside of their home at 217 St. Croix Pl. and became angry, according to police. Lee reportedly told Muilam that if he didn't approve of her new relationship, he could move out. Sometime during the argument, Lee reportedly fell and hit her head.

She went inside the house and came back outside with the rifle and pointed it at Muilam. Lee told investigators that as she and Muilam argued, he reached behind himself and she shot him in the thigh.

Lee said she ran to her next-door neighbor's home to call the police. She then ran back to her home and applied pressure to Muilam's wound.

When deputies arrived, Lee pointed to where the gun was leaning up against a bookshelf. Deputies booked Lee into jail, where she is being held on no bond facing a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

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Modern Etiquette: A bit of netiquette will keep Christmas real

LONDON (Reuters) – Christmas is a convivial time of year when people get together for celebrations and conversation. It’s all about human contact so it’s important that you’re discriminating about how you use your digital devices.

It’s fine if they’re used to facilitate get-togethers and spread seasonal cheer. But Christmas is a real, not a virtual event, so it’s important to discard the phones, tablets and computers and enjoy festive celebrations in the real world.

Christmas cards are still an invaluable and personal way of keeping in touch with far-flung friends and relations.

In these straitened times, however, you might want to cut down the number of cards you send, so it’s fine to explain to your nearest and dearest that you won’t be sending them cards – a personalized seasonal message by text, phone call or email, sent out to individuals, is quite acceptable.

Avoid sending out generic e-cards. They’re lazy and impersonal, and many people will find them lacking in Christmas spirit or just baffling.

If you’re emailing instead of sending a Christmas card, make sure that you send out unique – and individual – messages to each of your recipients. Group emails, like round robins, are to be avoided.

It’s fine to put general seasonal messages on social networking sites, but avoid posting compromising photos.

This is the time of year when we all let our hair down, but not everyone will appreciate the evidence being posted for all to see in cyberspace.

Don’t get too carried away with seasonal cyber-cheer. Spamming your friends and followers with endless Christmas wishes and updates will soon get tedious.

Christmas Day is all about socializing with family and friends, and enjoying good food and good conversation. So don’t spend the big day glued to your phone, rather than interacting with your family.

Ban all phones from the Christmas table.

Eating together is all about sociability and it’s a real insult to the host and/or cook to be transfixed by your texts rather than the turkey and table talk.

Be a good digital host.

Technology is part of our everyday life and Christmas is no exception. If you have friends or family staying in your home, make sure that you have your WiFi password to hand. Offer them access to your network, and hope that everyone adheres to good festive netiquette.

Christmas is the perfect time to make a video call, but choose your timing carefully. Nobody wants to be talking to virtual visitors during lunch or present opening.

Remember the power of the written word.

If you are the lucky recipient of a generous present or lavish hospitality, then hand-writing a proper thank you letter is a much more elegant gesture than texting or emailing, and will be noted and appreciated. It is fine to email or text your thanks for small presents.

(This story has been refiled to fix dateline)

(Jo Bryant is an etiquette advisor and editor at Debrett’s, the UK authority on etiquette and modern manners (www.debretts.com). Any opinions expressed are her own. Debrett’s “Netiquette” is a definitive guide to digital dilemmas and outlines a code of manners for modern communication.)

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Lady Gaga Gimme Shelter With The Rolling Stones

On December 15, Lady Gaga watched (along with millions on Pay-Per-View) watched her dream come true as she performed Gimme Shelter with The Rolling Stones at their 50th Anniversary Concert in Newark, NJ's Prudential Center.

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"I had a life dream to be transported in a time machine to 1973 NJ, beer + badboys. Someone heal me it happened + then I sang with the Stones," she Tweeted after the performance. Clad in a Ray Brown jumpsuit, which made Gaga feel "like a star," the Born This Way hitmaker strutted all over the stage as she and Mick Jagger delivered a dynamic duet.

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The performance aired on Pay-Per-View, but in case you missed the magic, watch The Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga tackle Gimme Shelter!

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Mom warned ex-babysitter not to turn back on Adam Lanza: report

A former babysitter says he was told to never turn his back on crazed gunman Adam Lanza - even as a young child, according to a new report.

Ryan Kraft, who now lives in California, said he watched Lanza when he was only 9 or 10 and Kraft was a teen, CBS News reports.

Kraft said the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, warned him "to keep an eye on him at all times ... to never turn my back, or even to go to the bathroom or anything like that."

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Adam Lanza opened fire in two Sandy Hook Elementary classrooms and gunned down 20 first-graders and six educators before blowing his brains out with a single shot to the head.

Kraft said when he first heard about the shooting and that Lanza was involved, "I just couldn't think for a little while. I was shaking," according to the report.

Kraft says he remembers Lanza as quiet, very intelligent and introverted, noting, "Whenever we were doing something, whether it was building Legos, or playing video games, he was really focused on it. It was like he was in his own world."

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Boat sales jump 10% this year

More evidence that the U.S. economy is climbing out of the recession: Sales of new recreational powerboats are estimated to be up by 10 percent in 2012, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

“We are pleased to see the industry growing,” NMMA president Thom Dammrich said. “Our projection is the industry will grow in 2013 by another 5 to 10 percent.”

Dammrich said the level of growth depends on conditions like consumer confidence and the housing market — and sustained increases in Americans’ participation in outdoor recreation.

The 2012 projections represent the first signs of steady growth across the powerboat market since the economy hit bottom in 2008-09 and new boat production dropped 80 percent. Even now, Dammrich, said production and retail sales are only about half of what they were during the peak in 2007.

Fueling the growth in new boat sales are purchases in the 15- to 26-foot range, which make up 96 percent of the 12.4 million boats registered in the U.S., according to the NMMA. While the numbers are up in almost every segment of the industry, the toppers are pontoon boats.

“Twenty-five percent of all boats sold today are pontoon boats,” Dammrich said. “They’re a very versatile boat, very stable. They can be large and roomy. You can fish. You can swim. You can get the family out for the day.”

Dammrich said the only category that has not turned around is stern-drive inboards over 30 feet. Larger and more expensive than the typical family boat, these models are often purchased through home-equity loans, he said. Another factor is this year’s requirement that stern-drive inboard engines have catalytic converters, which increases the cost significantly.

In 2011, boating participation rose 10 percent to 83 million — the largest proportion of adults who went boating since 1997, according to the NMMA. Those boaters who liked the sport enough to buy their own watercraft found very few late-model, pre-owned boats for sale because of the drop in production during the recession.

“Those people are going to end up buying a new boat,” Dammrich said.

One of the key gauges of the industry’s recovery will be the Miami International Boat Show scheduled Feb. 14-18, where manufacturers traditionally unveil their latest innovations. More than 2,000 boats are expected to be displayed.

“I think there will be more new product than we’ve seen in a number of years,” Dammrich said.

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7-year-old in critical condition after accident

Police were investigating an accident involving a 7-year-old who was struck by a vehicle in a Lauderhill neighborhood late Saturday, Lauderhill Police spokesman Rick Rocco said.

The vehicle and its driver, who has not yet been identified, remained on scene after the incident near the intersection of Northwest 27th Court and 56th Avenue.

The child was transported to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition immediately after the incident, police said.

Details of the accident were not immediately available.

This post will be updated as we receive more information.

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The Surface might be even more overpriced than the iPad

Everyone knows that Apple (AAPL) gets away with charging a premium for its wares because its fans have shown they’re willing to pay more money for their favorite products than fans of, say, Samsung (005930) and Amazon (AMZN) are willing to pay. This practice has led to enormous gross margins for Apple products but has not spawned many imitators because few companies command the sort of loyalty that Apple does. But Microsoft (MSFT) apparently believes it can pull off the trick with its Surface tablet, which is actually priced higher relative to its component costs than Apple’s iPad.

[More from BGR: Has the iPhone peaked? Apple’s iPhone 4S seen outselling iPhone 5]

Fortune uses some data from IHS iSuppli to show that the 32GB Surface’s screen, processor, battery, RAM and storage cost $ 271, or $ 22 less than the same components of a 32GB version of the new iPad. What this means is that based solely on the cost of its components, the Surface would haul in a profit of $ 315 for every 32GB Surface sold while Apple would make $ 296 for every new iPad sold. This doesn’t take into account manufacturing and marketing costs, of course, so we can’t look at it as a definitive count of each tablet’s gross margin.

[More from BGR: Sony’s PlayStation 4 could lose to the next Xbox before it’s even released]

All the same, Microsoft’s belief that it can grab iPad-like margins for the Surface stands in stark contrast with Amazon and Google (GOOG), who are making little if any money selling the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7, respectively.

This article was originally published by BGR

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