What Hedge Capital May well Train Young people

Ask hedge account fx broker Daniel Ades within the foreseeable future designed for latest advanced schooling graduates together with the person loves to take scenes, Belstaff Blouson a truly awful impression. Your dog paintings away a fabulous bell necessities mapping that traditional default cost regarding so to speak ..

Then he or she attraction a different competition more achieable of showing the particular almost certainly default level for those Quality about 2011.

Ask hedge account fx broker Daniel Ades within the foreseeable future designed for latest advanced schooling graduates together with the person loves to take scenes, Belstaff a truly awful impression. WSJ's Dennis Berman tackles the niche by means of Imply Lane coordinator Evan Newmark. AP Pic.

Mr. Ades has grown a guru on the $242 billion dollars current market designed for provides subsidized by just lots about student education loans, Belstaff providing always sturdy rewards simply by currency trading poisonous for pounds seriously worth for the debts within the last five numerous years. "We be aware of every one of offers throughout available and even small children their particular default estimates, inches your dog talked about.

Some kids tend to be maturing far more hesitant belonging to the purchase revisit connected with an basic advanced schooling certification, frustrated as they simply watch new graduates battle to acquire careers and additionally extremely default on the fiscal loans. Melissa Korn includes particulars on Dinner Split.

But concerning the actual fiscal loans of which loan providers meant to pupils so, who managed to graduate completely and additionally 2011, Canada Goose Chilliwack that 31-year-old opportunist is normally guiding certainly distinct, "because most people just can't evaluate a possibility, inches your dog talked about.

Daniel Ades, supervising movie director about Kawa Funds Software, within her work within Minnesota Beachfront.

Historically, purchasers possess responded 25% to help 30% in so to speak . bundled up in their provides could default. However in these days they are really the baking amongst 30% and even 40% default costs the today's head about graduates, proclaimed Chelsea Haid, an important movie director for resource subsidized dealing within Barclays Money. Still individuals presumptions is a very best figure and also fails may well really increase any time lack of employment soars, Mr. Haid proclaimed.

This study could result in a lot of astonishing topic intended for young people and also protection poppers. Just like, nowadays in this financial state, this could earn much more meaning to help go into any industry university or college when compared to to see regularions institution.

Not all of modules belonging to the relationship markets usually are as a result counterintuitive. A very important, the reality is, is known as a little distort for a belief almost all young people realize right from early days: stop in education, just simply a couple days.

Failure in order to graduate student is definitely the sole essential predictor in whether or not students should default regarding fiscal loans, in which appears to make sure you motive as the jobless fee is normally 8% meant for People today in america regarding the matures involving 20 together with hrs a together with four-year advanced schooling college diplomas, versus 21% for any lacking.

Just when valuable is actually final in a timely manner. Traders for provides reliable simply by so to speak . never enjoy to check out continuous teachers with their accounts, chronically replacing majors and also giving up as well as getting into classes, contributing many associated with fees therefore to their personal debt place.

"When so you see a working man within the personal loan produced in 2005 this really is always inside class, one pitch which usually aside, inches reported angel investor Rubin Bahar, in Novelty helmet Investment Administration.

In stipulations about selecting college, specialised colleges and universities may just be much less substantial, however most of the lower price in accordance with the paycheck some people supply may make him or her fascinating, depending on Mr. Ades.

Tuition during common two-year schools with the Oughout. Erinarians. cost $2, 963 yearly an average of on the 2011 educational month, versus $28, 500 yearly to get four-year professional schools, depending on bids through non-profit crew The school Mother board.

"It's not just for regarding fo you to take advantage of the top knowledge, inch the person stated at the time of a meet with the Arkansas Bch office environment about an individual's hedge pay for, Kawa Funding Control. Kids really should pick out universities where settlement with more significant pays about higher education weighs more than the fee for the training through the largest perimeter, she or he contends, specially when the career markets agreements.

By which will math, industry schools surface above, Mr. Ades proclaimed. "We're at a proficiency dependent country's economy in addition to whatever we demand will be a great deal more personal pc coders, alot more, inches your dog talked about. "It's a reduced amount of fascinating however it will be therapies need to have. inches

Law education, on the contrary, might result in a fabulous sucker's wager for cycles in large having been fired, industry professionals around learner loan-backed provides tell you.

While young people frequently become a member of high quality software programs to wait patiently over monetary softer outages, all the Oughout. Lenses. contains additional regulations institutions when compared with some other specialized academic institutions, ultimately causing a surplus availabilit of solicitors, defend speculators and even experts.

In recessions, legislations university graduates have a very good more challenging precious time getting function as compared to various other graduates right from specialized software plus seem to default on the so to speak ..

Nevertheless, legislations pupils have been completely inclined to use on extremely consumer debt with regard to their qualifications, accepting a list $68, 827 over to wait consumer schools at the moment and also $106, 249 just for personalized educations, in accordance with the U . s citizens Drink station Connections.

Given new york state belonging to the current economic climate, Milwaukee, Wis. -based Stark Investment funds can be eliminating almost all education loan provides currently. It's always in its place aimed at mortgage-backed credit debt using similar brings and even a reduced amount of danger, talked about selection office manager Anup Agarwal. "We you should not expect to have joblessness costs to be along in the so next couple of years it's the same tough to acquire looking forward to student education loans with this past. "

Uncertainty pertaining to university student non-payments features simply taken sales with regard to provides reinforced just by so to speak . that will are usually not sure via the governing. The in these provides attached by simply funds expressed by SLM Corp., aka Sallie Mae, was at just simply 16% belonging to the amount just last year, consistent with review strong DBRS Inc.

In a number of scenarios Sallie Mae can be neglecting for you to add so that you can college students except if they are find families for you to co-sign in the funds. Very nearly 70% in scholars whom got out and about personalized personal loans along with Sallie Mae given that 08 happen to be pushed to make a dad or mum co-sign, as opposed to really one half your pupils whom stole considering the mortgage lender through 2002 to be able to 2007.

What it reduces all the down to to get future pupils can be which will lenders tend to be loaning a lesser amount of, and even loading larger interest in the lending options that they achieve generate. Colleges and universities, even so, commonly are not billing any specific a reduced amount of. Through not as much credit debt there to these people, scholars will certainly need to question no matter whether spending money on a high price seriously takes care of, Mr. Ades talked about.

"It really do not fee this specific bill regarding degree, inches she or he proclaimed. "Class measurements involving 10 isn't really needed for pupils to educate yourself about. "

Try out: 2012 Vehicle Wrangler refines 2011 upgrade

Throughout what is actually turned out to be a strong hard to bear subject, Canada Goose Jeep-parent Chrysler Collection was initially 12 months later part of the receiving the really efficient junk on the refreshed Wrangler.

Happened for the major Chrysler three plus identical Avoid Charger sedans, Moncler Spaccio way too. Your 2011s gained a appears to be the fact that prepared them all worthwhile considering. Typically the 2012s contain the guts that produce these folks value choosing: a new well-tuned eight-speed computerized sign, bigger accessibility to all-wheel disk drive, greater navi/info technique, better monitor for the purpose of showcasing the item.

Thus, your Wrangler. System along with in house became modernization intended for 2011, Sito Ufficiale Moncler though the drivetrain maintained finished. Your 2012 will become Chrysler's present day Pentastar V-6 to exchange some sort of cranky ancient generator, and also a five-speed computerized replaces typically the four-speed.

IMAGES: Additional suggestions in the Vehicle Wranger

The enormous developments intended for 2011 mustn't be laid off too soon. That they produced typically the crusty Wrangler more detailed current principles. As an illustration, Moncler Outlet even bigger tailgate wine glass not to mention section microsoft windows prevent claustrophobia. Along with hand mirror defoggers, heated up seating, Wireless bluetooth exploding acoustic to help execute audio recorded on the mobile free of insert the application on. Most good.

Chrysler isn't really withholding elements purposely. Its going to acquire completely new brands right into showrooms BECAUSE to get sales revenue, but not all kinds of things is definitely completely ready immediately.

So, style one full year, drivetrain the subsequent.

We got the opportunity to disk drive 2011 plus 2012 Wrangler Unlimiteds (Jeep-speak intended for five side) back-to-back.

Accelerating a 2011 is a lot like looking to speed a good drowsy oaf as a result of poking accompanied by a flat hold fast. Is possible, nevertheless wretchedly not satisfying. Directing can be time-consuming. Experience might be for the bouncy section, perhaps for the Offroad.

The 2012's brand-new drivetrain plus the suspension alters this join it all, on the other hand, get the modern a person some sort of Truck to take pleasure from. Not simply could you even so conduct great Truck matters — slam available off-road, lift off typically the entrances plus the major, flip affordable all the auto glass — however , nowadays you additionally will take the idea family home in order to satisfy the family unit.

Though rarely concerning par while using Vehicle Lavish Cherokee, the most up-to-date Wrangler can be instant, gentle and even subtle an adequate amount of to get a regular new driver for the slightly odd — just who never refer to typically the comparative poshness associated with a Honda Sides, Chevrolet Equinox as well as Awesome Cherokee.

Turn on, tune in and get better?

Hallucinogens and other street drugs are increasingly being studied for legitimate therapeutic uses, such as helping patients deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction,Canada goose chronic pain, depression and even terminal illness.
Janeen Delany describes herself as an "old hippie" who's smoked plenty of marijuana. But she never really dabbled in hallucinogens — until two years ago, at the age of 59.

A diagnosis of incurable leukemia had knocked the optimism out of the retired plant nurserywoman living in Phoenix. So she signed up for a clinical trial to test whether psilocybin — the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms" — could help with depression or anxiety following a grim diagnosis.

Delaney swallowed a blue capsule of psilocybin in a cozy office at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She donned a blindfold,Canada goose jackor a blood pressure cuff and a headset playing classical music. With two researchers at her side, she embarked on a six-hour journey into altered consciousness that she calls "the single most life-changing experience I've ever had."

What a long, strange trip it's been. In the 1960s and '70s,Expedition parka a rebellious generation embraced hallucinogens and a wide array of street drugs to "turn on, tune in and drop out." Almost half a century later, magic mushrooms, LSD, Ecstasy and ketamine are being studied for legitimate therapeutic uses. Scientists believe these agents have the potential to help patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, drug or alcohol addiction, unremitting pain or depression and the existential anxiety of terminal illness.

"Scientifically,Snow mantra these compounds are way too important not to study," said Johns Hopkins psychopharmacologist Roland Griffiths, who conducted the psilocybin trial.

In their next incarnation, these drugs may help the psychologically wounded tune in to their darkest feelings and memories and turn therapy sessions into heightened opportunities to learn and heal.

"We're trying to break a social mind-set saying these are strictly drugs of abuse," said Rick Doblin, a public policy expert who founded the Multidisciplinary Assn. for Psychedelic Studies in 1986 to encourage research on therapeutic uses for medical marijuana and hallucinogens. "It's not the drug but how the drug is used that matters."

Regulators and medical researchers remain wary. But among at least some experts at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, the shift in attitude "has been dramatic," Doblin said.

Researchers explored the usefulness of hallucinogenic agents as an adjunct to psychotherapy in the 1950s and '60s. But allegations that hallucinogens were used in government-funded "mind control" efforts, freewheeling experimentation by proponents like Dr. Timothy Leary, and the drugs' appeal to a generation in revolt quashed legitimate research for decades.

The thaw has been slow in coming. In 2008, Griffiths co-wrote a report in the Journal of Psychopharmacology comparing psilocybin with a placebo for people dealing with incurable diseases. Psilocybin resulted in "mystical experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance," according to the study, the first since 1972 to explore a hallucinogen's therapeutic value.

In January, a team led by UCLA psychiatrist Charles Grob reported in Archives of General Psychiatry that psilocybin improved the mood of patients with "existential anxiety" related to advanced-stage cancer. The benefits lasted at least three months.

Janeen Delany is a typical case: The insights she gleaned during her encounter with psilocybin continue to shape her attitudes toward life and death.

Delany said her "trip" awakened a deep and reassuring sense of "knowing." She came to see the universe and everything in it as interconnected. As the music in her headphones reached a crescendo, she held her breath and realized it would OK — no, really easy — not to breathe anymore. She sensed there was nothing more she needed to know and therefore nothing she needed to fear about dying.

And that, paradoxically, has allowed her to live.

"When you take the veil of fear away from your life, you can see and experience everything in such a present way," she said. "I don't have to know what the future is. Every day is the day of days."

Fighting addiction

Such mystical insights are central in another potential use for psilocybin — as an addiction treatment. Griffiths is conducting a pilot study combining psilocybin with cognitive behavioral therapy to help smokers quit. Four people have completed the program, and so far none has returned to smoking, Griffiths says.

At the University of Arizona in Tucson, addiction specialist Dr. Michael P. Bogenschutz has proposed a clinical trial to test whether psilocybin can help ease alcohol dependence. If the NIH agrees to fund the study, it would be the first instance in decades of government financial support for a trial involving any drug of abuse.

Psilocybin's effect on the brain can be described, if not explained. It increases the activity of serotonin, a chemical that affects mood. Brain networks associated with emotions are highly active in the presence of psilocybin, as are structures involved in higher reasoning and judgment, MRI scans show.

'Leap Second' Could Be Abolished

"The times," sang Bob Dylan, "they are a-changin'." His words could become literal truth in January, when the World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, Switzerland,Canada Goose Jakke will vote on whether to redefine Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and pull our clock time out of synchronization with the Sun's location in the sky.

At issue is whether to abolish the 'leap second'--the extra second added every year or so to keep UTC in step with Earth's slightly unpredictable orbit. UTC--the reference against which international time zones are set -- is calculated by averaging signals from around 400 atomic clocks,Canada Goose Jakke with leap seconds added to stop UTC drifting away from solar time at a rate of about one minute every 90 years.

But "leap seconds are a nuisance", says Elisa Felicitas Arias, the director of the Time Department at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Sèvres, France. They cannot be preprogrammed into software because they are typically announced only six months in advance by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service in Frankfurt, Germany. If the seconds get implemented inconsistently in different systems,Canadian Jakke clocks can briefly go out of synch, potentially leading to glitches that can stall computers and leave international financial markets vulnerable to attack.

Still, some countries--principally China, Canada and the United Kingdom--want to keep leap seconds to maintain the link with solar time, in part for philosophical reasons. "Most Chinese scholars think it is important for timekeeping to have a connection to astronomical time because of traditional Chinese culture," says Chunhao Han of the Beijing Global Information Center of Application and Exploration,Canada Goose Parka who adds, however, that China has yet to decide how it will vote in January.

Last week, scientists and government representatives met at the Kavli Royal Society International Centre near Milton Keynes, UK, to discuss the issue, but they failed to reach a consensus, making the outcome of the January vote hard to predict. Arias, who co-organized that meeting, argues that leap seconds are obsolete now that global navigation systems, which set their own internal timescales, have replaced solar time for navigation and precision scientific measurements such as the motion of tectonic plates and how Earth's mass warps space-time.

Adding an extra second inconsistently to multiple clocks across satellite networks could cause a system to fail for long enough to cause an air disaster, says WBodzimierz Lewandowski, a physicist at the BIPM. The US Global Positioning System ignores leap seconds for just this reason, and Russia's GLONASS system has had problems in the past incorporating the leap. Europe's Galileo system, which launched its first two satellites last month, and China's developing BeiDou system will also mark time with their own internal clocks.

But Markus Kuhn, a computer scientist at the University of Cambridge, UK, says that most problems could be overcome by having a consistent prescription for adding extra seconds. Linux operating systems, for example, have experienced problems because they add the whole second in one abrupt jump at midnight, which confuses the software. In September, Google announced that it would use an alternative 'soft-leap' strategy, in which operating systems add portions of the second smoothly over an extended period. "This should be the standard approach," says Kuhn.

Peter Whibberley, a physicist at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, UK, says that despite ten years of debate, "there's no convincing evidence that anything serious would happen if you made a mistake introducing a leap second into a system". Abolishing leap seconds only defers any problems, he adds. "A century down the line, we'll need to introduce a 'leap minute', and nobody has any sensible arguments for why that won't be a worse issue."

Marco Rubio on national ticket could be risky bet for Republican Party

Republicans who are eager to repair the party’s battered image among Hispanic voters and unseat President Obama next year have long promoted a single-barrel solution to their two-pronged problem: putting Sen. Marco Rubio on the national ticket.

The charismatic Cuban American lawmaker from Florida, the theory goes, could prompt Hispanics to consider supporting the GOP ticket — even after a primary contest in which dust-ups over illegal immigration have left some conservative Hispanics uneasy.
But Rubio’s role in recent controversies, including a dispute with the country’s biggest Spanish-language television network and new revelations that he had mischaracterized his family’s immigrant story, shows that any GOP bet on his national appeal could be risky.

Democrats had already questioned whether a Cuban American who has voiced conservative views on immigration and opposed the historic Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina justice, could appeal to a national Hispanic electorate of which Cubans are just a tiny fraction but have special immigration status. And Rubio’s support in Florida among non-Cuban Hispanics has been far less pronounced than among his fellow Cubans.

That ethnic calculus was further complicated by records, reported by The Washington Post last week, showing that Rubio had incorrectly portrayed his parents as exiles who fled Cuba after the rise of Fidel Castro. In fact, their experience more closely resembles that of millions of non-Cuban immigrants: They entered the United States 21 / 2 years before Castro’s ascent for apparent economic reasons.

Rubio made the exile story a central theme of his political biography, telling one audience during his Senate campaign, “Nothing against immigrants, but my parents are exiles.” A video, apparently produced for the conservative site RedState.com, shows black-and-white footage of Castro as Rubio speaks.

Even after the new reports of his parents’ entry, Rubio has said he remains the “son of exiles,” saying his parents had hoped to return to the island but did not because of the rise of a communist state.

But in elevating exile roots over the apparent reality of his parents’ more conventional exodus, Rubio risks setting up a tension point with the country’s Hispanic voters — most of whom are Mexican American and have immigrant friends or ancestors who did not have access to the virtually instant legal status now granted to Cubans who make it into the United States.

“If he does take that mantle, there’ll be a lot of clarification that he’ll have to make on a whole lot of issues,” said Lionel Sosa, a longtime GOP strategist.

Hispanic voters are growing in importance and are expected to play a pivotal role in deciding who wins the important presidential battlegrounds of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Florida. Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote in 2008, signaling a shift away from the GOP since 2004, when President George W. Bush won about 40 percent — an unusually high showing among Hispanics for a Republican.
GOP strategists see an opening in Obama’s sagging approval ratings and frustration among Latinos over the administration’s stepped-up deportations of illegal immigrants. But they worry that window is closing amid sharp rhetoric in recent weeks from the party’s apparent presidential front-runner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who has accused Texas Gov. Rick Perry, his chief rival, of being soft on illegal immigration for his support of in-state college tuition for many immigrant children. Romney used a similar tactic in his 2008 presidential campaign, attacking Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) from the right on immigration.

Adding to those concerns is a Rubio-related standoff between the top Republican candidates and Univision, a Spanish-language TV network based in South Florida whose news programs draw more viewers in many cities than English-language broadcasts.
The candidates are refusing to participate in a potential Univision debate slated for Jan. 29, two days before Florida’s primary, citing a dispute between network executives and Rubio’s office over a July report on the 1987 drug-trafficking arrest of Rubio’s brother-in-law.

Rubio’s office said it was a “tabloid” story and unsuccessfully pushed for Univision executives to kill it. Two months later, a Miami Herald report cited unnamed network staff members and Rubio’s office accusing Univision of a quid pro quo, offering to soften or kill the story in exchange for Rubio agreeing to appear on the network’s Sunday public affairs show “Al Punto.”

Univision denied the charge. But after the report, a group of Rubio allies called on the GOP candidates to boycott the debate. The top candidates agreed, meaning they will be spared a potential grilling on immigration by the network’s high-profile anchor, Jorge Ramos, an advocate for more liberal immigration laws.

But the dispute creates ill will between Rubio, who could become the most powerful Hispanic political figure in the country, and one of the most cherished Hispanic institutions in the United States — and one that happens to be based in his home town.

“One of the big questions of 2012 is whether putting Marco Rubio on the ticket can help the GOP make up lost ground with Latino voters,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of the pro-Democratic group NDN, which analyzes the Hispanic vote. “Despite being Hispanic, looking at his overall record . . . he seems remarkably ill-suited to be the one reaching out to the largely Mexican migrant community in the key battleground states.”

Several Hispanic Republicans and other experts on Latino politics said in interviews that Rubio remains a potent force in the GOP. His presence on the party’s ticket could inspire enough ethnic pride to make up for cultural or policy differences. But they said there is no guarantee.

“He would deliver Florida,” home to the large and typically Republican-leaning Cuban American population, said Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, a pro-GOP group that is planning to air ads in Western states geared toward Hispanic voters. “In Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, he can have an impact. But can he deliver the Latino vote in those states? No.”

Some Republicans consider Rubio such a promising new star that they funded a poll last month that tested, among other things, the senator’s image among Hispanic voters in key presidential battlegrounds. The survey, by the group Resurgent Republic, found that most Hispanic voters outside Rubio’s home state aren’t familiar enough with him to express a view. But in Florida, it showed mixed results — with Obama viewed slightly more favorably than Rubio among Hispanics and the senator viewed favorably by just 42 percent of non-Cuban Hispanics.

Democrats predict that the numbers for Rubio would drop fast once more voters learned his views. Rubio’s allies say the survey shows that he could boost a party whose support among Latinos is sinking but that could probably win the presidency with just 40 percent of that electorate.

“Most Republican politicians would die for” his favorability rating among non-Cuban Hispanics, said Whit Ayers, the GOP pollster behind the survey, who worked for Rubio’s campaign in 2010.

Rubio has said he does not want to run for vice president. His spokesman, Alex Conant, declined to address that speculation. Instead, he reiterated the senator’s embrace of his heritage and his support for legal immigration.

“Sen. Rubio has always claimed to be both the son of immigrants and the son of exiles,” Conant said in an e-mail. “His family came to the country legally with the intention of staying permanently, but with the hope of someday returning to their homeland. They were unable to do that because of Castro, becoming exiles like many other Cuban-Americans.”

Indian girls fight gender discrimination by changing names that translate to 'unwanted'

MUMBAI, India - More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life.

A central Indian district held a renaming ceremony it hopes will give the girls new dignity and help fight widespread gender discrimination.

The 285 girls lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets from Satara district officials in Maharashtra state.

In shedding names like "Nakusa" or "Nakushi," which mean "unwanted" in Hindi, some girls named themselves after Bollywood stars like "Aishwarya" or Hindu goddesses like "Savitri".

Life has prepared Elizabeth Olsen for stardom

WASHINGTON – Elizabeth Olsen is 22 going on 40.
If you look at her career trajectory, that is.

The college senior makes her feature film debut Friday as the title character in the psychological thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, and she's already garnering awards buzz.

It's something the younger sister to Mary-Kate and Ashley has always dreamed about. She just expected it would be much further in the future.

Winning an award for acting is "something that I practiced in my mirror when I was 12, thinking about when I'm 40. Not 22," Olsen says. "I've never won anything in my life, except for an academic award in high school."
There's talk of a best-actress Oscar nomination. Tom O'Neil, editor of GoldDerby.com, says "she's seriously in the running. … She gives a surprisingly sensitive and dynamic performance in this movie. The surprise is she shows such restraint. A lot of her emoting is internal, and we get to see it through her frightened eyes."

Tim Appelo, a film reporter for The Hollywood Reporter, says he "would not put her as a front-runner, but I would rate her as one of the major threats. … This girl arrived like Cinderella on a rocket sled."

Bring up the topic with the young actress, and she erupts into a fit of giggles. "It's pretty weird! It's my first movie coming out, it's so weird!" Still, she acknowledges that it's "incredibly cool, and exciting, and flattering, and it's a huge compliment."
As an Olsen, being in the spotlight is something that comes with the territory. Take one look at Elizabeth, and the family resemblance is clear.

Striking resemblance

The fine blond hair, the green, wide eyes, the sweet yet shyly guarded smile. Her facial features are strikingly similar to those of her famous older sisters, 25, the former child stars who have become a tour de force with multimillion-dollar business and fashion empires.

But the youngest Olsen is about to become her own singular sensation, starting with Martha, which opens nationwide Nov. 18.

Olsen stars as a young woman who breaks away from a cult-like rural farming community in Upstate New York and goes to live with her estranged, well-to-do sister (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy) in their expansive Connecticut lake house.

Martha has problems assimilating to their yuppie lifestyle, and her behavior becomes increasingly erratic as she cannot seem to escape chilling memories of her time in the cult. The film, directed by Sean Durkin in his feature film directorial debut, alternates between cringe-worthy flashbacks of Martha's time in the cult, led by the manipulative Patrick, who is played by Winter's Bone's John Hawkes.

The turnaround from audition to filming to premiere has been fast. "I just started auditioning professionally in January of last year, and they cast this at the end of July (2010)," says Olsen. Then, a mere three months after the film wrapped shooting, the film screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and Olsen went from unknown actress to It Girl.

Perfect for the role

Durkin knew immediately that he had found his leading lady. "I didn't really know anything about her," he says. "Writing a character like this, the character's very clear on the page, but it's hard to know how someone's going to interpret (the character). It's hard to say, 'This is what I want this character to do.'" Then came Olsen, who Durkin says "was the first and only person to get it."

It's a heavy role for Olsen, who is a full-time theater student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She's scheduled to graduate in the spring and has other projects in the works, including Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding with Jane Fonda and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Red Lights with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver.

Durkin says Olsen is a director's dream. "There are no games. She wasn't sensitive, so we could be direct. I really think she's a rare person."

Paulson agrees. When she first started working alongside Olsen, she only "knew that she was related to her famous sisters because my agent told me, but I don't think anyone had ever heard of Lizzie Olsen. … I was like, 'There's another one?' I think it was a testament to the fact that she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress that she didn't attach herself to her sisters' name."

Taller than her pint-sized sisters, Olsen walks unrecognized through the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown. Acutely aware of her surroundings, Olsen is attentive, polite and polished — skills she undoubtedly has picked up from years of watching her star siblings navigate the world of celebrity.

"They're really important in my life," Olsen says. "They give me advice all the time because they're good sisters. I am inspired by them and their work ethic and how much they're able to do. I feel like they've taken care of me my whole life."

Acting, yes; fashion, no

Known as "Lizzie" to her friends and family, the actress says she has a close relationship with her siblings, including older brother James Trent. But don't expect Olsen to follow in Mary-Kate and Ashley's fashion footsteps. "I like fashion, but I have no interest in designing or being a part of the fashion world," she says. "I wish I could buy whatever clothes I wanted. … But I feel like people should always — I don't care how much money you have — put a limit on that. There are better things to spend money on."

Olsen also has something that perhaps her older siblings did not: "I wanted a childhood. I saw that they worked a lot," Olsen says. But a work ethic seems to run in the family, and Olsen says the desire to act was present from the start.

"Since I can remember, I wanted to sing, act, dance and do musical theater. I was in love with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, and those were the men I wanted to work with when I was a little girl, not realizing that those were old movies," Olsen says.

She turned to other interests, including ballet and athletics.

"I really did not want to miss out on all of that (because of work). I decided to not be a child actor. I had too much energy, I think, to be a child actor. You couldn't strap me down."

Whip-smart and ready for anything that is thrown at her, Olsen says she wasn't bothered by having to do nude scenes in Martha. "I was always OK with the idea of nudity. I think it's a European sensibility that we don't have here, yet we have the biggest pornographic industry in the world."

Olsen looks up to Academy Award winner Kate Winslet, who she says has done nudity in films tastefully.

"No one thinks of her as a lewd actress," Olsen says. "I just think that she is an intelligent woman and that was something that gave me faith, that just because the film requires (nudity) doesn't mean that it's going to take away or people are going to consider me in a certain light."

Awards buzz aside, Olsen remains focused on the present. "I have a hard time thinking in the far, far future. I just know I want to be working when I'm really old. And I mean, like 70! Like Helen Mirren-style."

She also looks up to Maggie Gyllenhaal and notes that these women do their best to lead private lives.

Privacy is a priority, but she does share that she's not dating anyone at the moment. "And you can publish that!" she says, laughing. "Let the world know!"

'Very private,' but …

Yet Olsen is frank about her upbringing as the younger sister of tabloid-hounded twins.

"I've never known anything other than that," she says. "We're very private, but at the same time, when someone asks me a question, I'm not going to be like, 'I don't answer questions about my family.' It's normal to be curious, and I understand why people are so surprised that I'm their younger sister, and I decided to start acting now at 22 as opposed to a while ago."

Whatever her plan may have been, it's clear that Olsen's timing was just right. "She's got real longevity," Paulson says. "I don't think Lizzie is a flash in the pan. I think she's here to stay."

Japan PM Warns on Defense

HYAKURI AIR BASE, Japan—Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Sunday that China's military expansion and repeated military maneuvers by North Korea pose a growing challenge to Japan's national security, adding further weight to his reputation as a hawk on defense issues.

"The national-security environment that envelops our country has grown increasingly murky due to China's stepped-up activities in local waters and its rapid military expansion, along with North Korea's repeated militaristic provocations," Mr. Noda said in a speech at a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base north of Tokyo.
The Japanese leader cited the threats posed by China and North Korea in a call for Japan's Self-Defense Forces to stand ready for future national emergencies.

While Mr. Noda, who became prime minister in early September, has emphasized the lack of transparency in China's burgeoning military budget before, these are his first remarks that bear directly on Japan's Self-Defense Forces and on the role he expects them to play during his tenure as premier.

The remarks come less than a year after Japan released a new set of strategic defense guidelines for the next decade calling for a more "dynamic" and less passive approach to security. The National Defense Program Guidelines, formally announced last December, signal a major shift away from a Cold War-era focus on Russia in the north to a new orientation aimed at China and at protecting sea lanes south of Japan.

Japan's disputes with China over territory and wartime history have continued to strain relations between the two countries despite the deepening trade ties between Asia's two largest economies.

In March, China said it was boosting its military spending 13% over the next 12 months, adding to what is already the world's second-largest defense budget after the U.S.'s. By contrast, Japan's spending on defense has fallen each year for almost a decade.

Taking advantage of its growing military might, Beijing has shown a growing tendency to flex its muscles to further its territorial claims.

Japan and North Korea also have plenty of wartime history, while the long-running issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang continues to smolder without resolution.

Perhaps of more concern on a military level are North Korea's refusal to rejoin six-party talks on its nuclear-weapons program, its repeated missile testing, including a long-range Taepodong-2 in April 2009, and last November's shelling of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, in which four people, including two civilians, were killed.

Tensions between Japan and China flared in September last year when a Chinese fishing boat crashed into Japan coast guard patrol boats in the potentially resource-rich waters near the Senkaku Islands. The islands are at the center of a territorial dispute between the two nations and also Taiwan.

When Japan detained the Chinese captain of the boat for more than two weeks after the collision, it sparked nationalist protests in China and Japan, straining diplomatic ties.

The tensions are also playing out in the skies of East Asia. On Thursday, Japan's defense ministry said the scrambling of Air Self-Defense Force jets to deal with Chinese aircraft flying through Japanese airspace had increased significantly in recent months.

Mr. Noda, the son of a career soldier in the Self-Defense Forces, has rubbed Beijing the wrong way by reiterating in August—during his campaign to become prime minister—his view that Japan's wartime leaders, convicted at the international tribunal at the end of World War II, weren't technically criminals.

The prime minister made his latest comments at an annual review of troops and military equipment, which is hosted on a rotating basis by each of Japan's three SDF branches.

He praised the SDF for their rescue and relief efforts after the March earthquake and tsunami that devastated hundreds of miles of coastline in northeast Japan. He also thanked the U.S. military for its supporting role in those aid activities, a mission dubbed Operation Tomodachi, which means friend in Japanese. "The importance of the U.S.-Japan security alliance remains unchanged" as a pillar of stability in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

The prime minister singled out for special praise the Japanese military's efforts to deal with the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in the days immediately following the March disaster. He noted the forces' attempt to douse the reactors with sea water by helicopter and decontamination and civilian evacuation activities around the damaged plant.

This year, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force conducted the memorial event, the sixth time it has done so since the first review took place in 1953.

Among the aircraft on display were F-2 and F-4 fighter jets. Japan's contingent of F-15 fighters was grounded, however, because of an investigation into an F-15's dropping of a fuel tank during a training exercise earlier this month.

Last month, Japan moved a step closer to buying a new generation of jet fighters to replace the F-4, after it accepted bids by three of the world's biggest defense contractors for what is expected to be a deal valued at several billion dollars.

Richard Simmons 'healthiest he has ever been' despite frail appearance on 'Dancing with the Stars'

Richard Simmons is just as fit as he ever was, thank you very much.

After the legendary fitness guru appeared on Monday night's episode of "Dancing With the Stars," some fans claimed Simmons, 63, looked frail and unhealthy.

Not so, he says.

SIMMONS IS A FAMOUS FITNESS FREAK, WHO ELSE IS IN SHAPE?

"He's the healthiest he has ever been," his rep said in a statement to E! Online.

"He is completely healthy, happy and fit as a fiddle," the statement continued. "He's happy, everything with him could not be better."

DOES RICHARD LOOK OLD TO YOU? THESE STARS NEVER AGE

Simmons himself seemed to be in high spirits after taping the show, during which he acted as a coach for contestant Chaz Bono.

The star tweeted, "Thank you for your kind words about my cameo on DWTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so much fun to tape. Have not seen it yet!"

Tel Aviv Beach: One Photographer’s Enduring Oasis

Every Jew has two requests of God: a place in paradise in the next world, and a place on the Tel Aviv beach in this world,” wrote Sholem Asch, the Polish-born novelist, in 1937. Stretching five kilometers from its southern tip at the old port city of Jaffa to the new cluster of high rise hotels and condos at its northern end, Tel Aviv’s beach (or Tayelet as it’s called in Hebrew) probably looked a little different in Asch’s day. But I think of him as part of a long legacy of both travelers and natives who have sought refuge in those sands from Israel’s political dramas, which can gush like a Texas oil well. At the beach, I discovered Israel in all its vitality, without the conflict.

I have been photographing in Israel for almost ten years. The beach is where I go to escape. I walk the full expanse of the shoreline, stopping every few feet to capture a moment. Others are there to escape, too: an eclectic mix of people—old, young, skinny, zaftig and maimed—interact there unlike anywhere else. Arab and Orthodox Jewish women, covered nearly head-to-toe, splash ecstatically in the waves. Suntanned Israeli men parade like peacocks in tiny speedos and large jewelry. Bespectacled, pre-pubescent Americans on teen tours, relatively new Russian emigrants, even newer Ethiopians, and the newest residents—exhausted Philippino or Chinese foreign workers. Everyone is there, and for the same same purpose: to take a break.

This is a nation filled with serious conversations and serious consequences, bad omens from the past and dire warnings of the future. But not on this sliver of sand. Only Tel Aviv’s beach has that unique ability to free Israelis from the yoke of daily turmoil, letting them frolic, flaunt and laugh—a joyful, if temporary, exhalation under a pure, blue sky. The beach, I’ve come to realize, is where the country comes to breathe.

Gillian Laub’s book Testimony, which features portraits of Israelis and Palestinians, was published in 2007. She is currently at work on a book and documentary about the American South.

Burress, Jets can't wait to face Patriots

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Plaxico Burress hasn't visited Gillette Stadium in nearly a decade, hasn't gotten that personal view of the wrath Patriots fans love to unleash on the opposition.

Late Sunday afternoon, though, the Jets wide receiver again will play in a place that's been a house of horrors for visitors during the regular season, a venue that's helped devour the last 18 teams, sending each home with a defeat.

This also will be Burress' first foray into one of the NFL's most heated rivalries. The last time he saw the Patriots, they were walking off the field in Arizona hanging their heads. Burress had burned them for the game-winning catch in the Giants' victory in Super Bowl XLII, ending the Patriots' bid for a perfect season.

So to sum it all up in the catchphrase of teammate Bart Scott, Burress "can't wait" for the Jets (2-2) to square off against the Patriots (3-1).

"This is what it's all about," Burress said. "We haven't played up to our potential in the past two weeks. What other position would you be in -- to be playing against who they say is the best team in football right now, the best quarterback.

"It's a divisional game. Divisional games are always important. Being it's Patriots-Jets, my first one, I'm looking forward to it. I know the atmosphere is going to be incredible and it's a good test for us."

It's also the Jets' first trip here since their stunning triumph over Tom Brady & Co. in January, a victory that vaulted them into their second straight AFC Championship Game.

The Jets have a slight edge in their battles with New England in Rex Ryan's tenure, holding a 3-2 advantage. Ryan always seems to put more emphasis on these games against the Patriots, and he didn't pretend this is just another game.

"Of course, these games have a little extra, there's no doubt," Ryan said. "I think it's the fact you're going against a Hall of Fame coach, Hall of Fame quarterback and team that's won three Super Bowls and has dominated your division, won seven of eight, I think, division crowns. That's the one you want to have.

"This is your archrival and you want to get after them."

Brandon Moore, the Jets' ninth-year veteran right guard, knows how vital it is for the Jets to beat New England. The Jets repeatedly have said that getting a home playoff game is a top priority this season, and the only way to do that is to claim the AFC East crown, meaning they have to dethrone the Patriots.

"They are the standard-bearer in our division," Moore said. "They've owned our division for the past 10 years or more. We talked about the playoffs and all these other things. You want to win your division, and they've owned it. So it's definitely a big challenge for us."

The Jets' strong start in the first two weeks has been marred by ugly losses in Oakland and Baltimore the past two weeks, leading to a plethora of questions. They've taken shots from some of their former players, and people are beginning to wonder if this really is a championship-type team, considering all their recent problems.

"Shoot, we'll bounce back," defensive tackle and captain Sione Pouha said. "Man, this is a strong team."

10 Great American Weekends

1. NEW HAVEN, CONN.

A college town on the rise.

Surprised? Us too. But New Haven, about 90 minutes from New York and 2.5 hours from Boston and saddled with a once-deserved tough reputation, offers visitors an abundance of architecture, culture and food. Stay at The Study at Yale, a boutique hotel with a collegiate theme (ask for a campus view). Yale provides most of the culture in New Haven, but in a small city, a world-class university goes a long way. Tour the campus, which features architectural icons such as the stunning Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Paul Rudolph’s beautifully restored Art and Architecture Building. Art and theater lovers should visit the Yale Center for British Art—the world’s largest collection of British art outside the U.K.—and the Yale Repertory Theatre, which this fall will stage Chekhov’s Three Sisters and a new play, Belleville, by buzz-generating playwright Amy Herzog. At mealtime, try the Union League Café, a French restaurant that upstages many of its counterparts 90 miles to the south, or Miya’s Sushi, where Chef Bun Lai distinguishes himself by refusing to serve overfished species.

Make the Most of It: Visit during a football weekend and catch a game at the 60,000-seat, century-old Yale Bowl. Home games this fall include Dartmouth, Brown and Harvard. The football isn't great, but the spectable more than compensates.

Contacts: The Study at Yale, 866.930.1157, studyhotels.com; Yale University visitor's center, 203.432.2300, yale.edu; Union League Café, 203.562.4299, unionleaguecafe.com; Miya's Sushi, 203.777.9760, miyassushi.com

x2. YOUNTVILLE, CALIF.


Napa is beautiful year-round, but autumn is extra special.

Nestled in the absurdly picturesque Napa Valley, Yountville is a gourmand haven best explored on foot. Experience eco-friendly wine-country living at Bardessono, one of only three hotels in the world that are LEED Platinum Certified. Cellars and tasting rooms such as Ma(i)sonry, housed in an historic building, are well within walking distance. You can also walk to restaurants featuring some of the country’s most acclaimed chefs. Lunch on micro-regional Italian cuisine at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega or Richard Reddington’s internationally influenced local fare at Redd. Between culinary discoveries, trace the path of the Yountville Art Walk to see more than 30 outdoor public sculptures in the crisp fall air. Keep walking to dinner at Thomas Keller’s comfort-food restaurant Ad Hoc. Then sample innovative chocolates from the newly opened Kollar Chocolates at the charming V Marketplace.

Make the Most of It: Harvesting season is in full swing this time of year so make appointments to see a couple of estates in action. Keever Vineyards and Domaine Chandon are two excellent choices in Yountville.

Contacts: Bardessono, 707.204.6000, bardessono.com; Ma(i)sonry, 707.944.0889, maisonry.com; Bottega, 707.945.1050, botteganapavalley.com; Redd, 707.944.2222, reddnapavalley.com; Ad Hoc, 707.944.2487, adhocrestaurant.com; Domaine Chandon, 888.242.6366, chandon.com; Kollar Chocolates, 707.815.5728, kollarchocolates.com; Keever Vineyards, 707.944.0910, keevervineyards.com

3. DUNTON HOT SPRINGS, DOLORES, COLO.

Old West flavor combined with modern luxury.

Nestled in the absurdly picturesque Napa Valley, Yountville is a gourmand haven best explored on foot. Experience eco-friendly wine-country living at Bardessono, one of only three hotels in the world that are LEED Platinum Certified. Cellars and tasting rooms such as Ma(i)sonry, housed in an historic building, are well within walking distance. You can also walk to restaurants featuring some of the country’s most acclaimed chefs. Lunch on micro-regional Italian cuisine at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega or Richard Reddington’s internationally influenced local fare at Redd. Between culinary discoveries, trace the path of the Yountville Art Walk to see more than 30 outdoor public sculptures in the crisp fall air. Keep walking to dinner at Thomas Keller’s comfort-food restaurant Ad Hoc. Then sample innovative chocolates from the newly opened Kollar Chocolates at the charming V Marketplace.


Make the Most of It: Harvesting season is in full swing this time of year so make appointments to see a couple of estates in action. Keever Vineyards and Domaine Chandon are two excellent choices in Yountville.


Contacts: Bardessono, 707.204.6000, bardessono.com; Ma(i)sonry, 707.944.0889, maisonry.com; Bottega, 707.945.1050, botteganapavalley.com; Redd, 707.944.2222, reddnapavalley.com; Ad Hoc, 707.944.2487, adhocrestaurant.com; Domaine Chandon, 888.242.6366, chandon.com; Kollar Chocolates, 707.815.5728, kollarchocolates.com; Keever Vineyards, 707.944.0910, keevervineyards.com


3. DUNTON HOT SPRINGS, DOLORES, COLO.


Old West flavor combined with modern luxury.

Come September, the crowds fade and Nantucket becomes a blissful respite from fast-paced living. Just steps away from the beach on the bay, The Wauwinet Hotel offers serenity (children under 12 are not permitted) and off-season activities such as cooking classes and lobster cruises. With the water still warm enough for swimming, beach and water activities abound. Pick up specialty sandwiches from Cowboy’s Meat Market & Deli, then charter a Hinckley Picnic Boat from Barton & Gray Mariners Club to see the island from the water. Back on land, the historic downtown is ideal for boutique-perusing along cobblestone streets, and the Boarding House restaurant highlights the best of Nantucket’s produce. For golfers, starting in October, the private Sankaty Head Golf Club—arguably New England’s most exclusive golf club—is open to the public.


Make the Most of It: Nantucket offers autumn harvest festivals from September through November, starting with Fall Restaurant Week (Sept. 26 to Oct. 2) and the Nantucket Historical Association Harvest Fair (Oct. 1) and finishing with the Cranberry Harvest Festival (Oct. 8) and the annual Clam Chowder Fest (Oct. 15).


Contacts: The Wauwinet, 800.426.8718, wauwinet.com; Cowboy’s Meat Market & Deli, 508.228.8766, cowboysmeat market.com; Barton & Gray Mariners Club, 617.728.3555, bartonandgray.com; Boarding House, 508.228.9622, board inghousenantucket.com; Sankaty Head Golf Club, 508.257.6655, sankatyheadgc. com; Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, 508.228.1700, nantucketchamber.org


6. AUSTIN, TEXAS


Texas hospitality, international culture.

Metropolitan diversity meets Texan warmth in this urban oasis. Travaasa Austin, the first lodge from Travaasa Destinations, offers guests numerous ways to unwind, including horseback riding, an outdoor challenge course and massages choreographed to the music of Texas musicians. “We give people the opportunity to try something outside of their comfort zone,” says general manager Tim Thuell. That informality doesn’t translate to lack of sophistication, however. Head to downtown Austin for Japanese flavors at Uchi by chef Tyson Cole, just recognized as “Best Chef, Southwest” by the James Beard Foundation. Bess, a southern-style bistro owned by Sandra Bullock, is also a good bet. For music and nightlife, walk along Second Street in the warehouse district.


Make the Most of It: Plan your visit during the Austin City Limits Music Festival, September 16-18, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary and features more than 120 bands including Arcade Fire, Stevie Wonder and Coldplay.


Contacts: Travaasa Austin, 512.258.7243, travaasa. com/Austin; Uchi, 512.916.4808, uchiaustin. com; ACL Music Festival, 888.512.7469, aclfestival. com; Bess, 512.477.2377, bessbistro.com


7. MONTEREY, CALIF.


Gorgeous views, literary history and the soul of a legendary fishing town.

    

The reclaimed canning district of Cannery Row in Monterey embraces its fishing past with touches of the bygone industry. Home to a lively boardwalk, shops, restaurants and the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row rewards fall visitors with fewer crowds, cool weather and laid-back seaside charm. Stay at the InterContinental/The Clement Monterey for a comfortable, contemporary ambience that complements its surroundings. See more of the picturesque coastline along the 17-mile drive to Pebble Beach, home to world-class golf, and nearby Carmel. Stop for lunch at the upper garden of The Forge in the Forest, once a hangout for writer John Steinbeck. Return to The Clement for spectacular bay views and an aperitif at sunset before local abalone bisque and Pacific Coast sand dabs at the nearby Sardine Factory.


Make the Most of It: Time your visit for the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, August 21, to see new car debuts and rare vintage autos on display. For tickets, call United Way of Monterey County at 877.693.0009.


Contacts: Monterey Bay Aquarium, 831.648.4800, montereybayaquarium.org; Sardine Factory, 831.373.3775, sardinefactory.com; The Clement Monterey, 831.375.4500, ichotelsgroup.com; The Forge in the Forest, 831.624.2233, forgeintheforest.com; Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, pebblebeachconcours.net


8. NASHVILLE, TENN.


Urban amenities and southern hospitality.


Yes, it’s the Music City, and yes, you can arrange private tours of the Country Music Hall of Fame, take in a live show at the radio broadcasts of the Opry and enjoy discovering new artists at Bluebird Café’s Sunday writers nights (where Garth Brooks and Faith Hill got their breaks). But Nashville offers more than music. You can also appreciate the stylish digs of the Hutton Hotel and sip a cocktail at The Patterson House lounge, known for its obsessive bartenders and creative drinks such as the Bacon Old Fashioned (bacon-infused bourbon and homemade coffee pecan bitters). Dining options range from down-home to sophisticated, whether you line up to try Jack’s Bar-B-Que Tennessee pork shoulder sandwich on Broadway in The District or survey the up-and-coming downtown Gulch neighborhood from the rooftop patio of the contemporary southern Watermark restaurant.


Make the Most of It: Time your visit for Keith Urban’s third annual “We’re All for the Hall” concert (date TBA) this fall and support the Country Music Hall of Fame while enjoying star performances.


Contacts: Country Music Hall of Fame, 615.416.2001, countrymusichalloffame.org; Grand Ole Opry, 800.733.6779, opry. com; Bluebird Café, 615.383.1461, bluebirdcafe.com; The Patterson House, 615.636.7724, thepattersonnashville.com; Hutton Hotel, 615.340.9333, huttonhotel.com; Jack’s Bar-B-Que, 615.254.5715, jacksbarbque. com; Watermark, 615.254.2000, watermark-restaurant.com


9. SANTA FE, N.M.


History, art and surreal landscapes.

 The oldest capital city in North America, Santa Fe boasts both ancient and modern finds. Stay at the Inn of the Five Graces—the intimate 24-room inn is a few blocks from the heart of downtown, which is home to an array of art galleries and museums showcasing Southwestern and contemporary art. The variety is impressive, as is the quantity: There are nearly 200 galleries in Santa Fe. Drive the Taos Scenic Byway running along the crest of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The 67-mile stretch will take you through ancient villages, past mountains and through desert landscapes. Along the route, take a pit stop at the village of Chimayó and its nearly 200-year-old adobe church, Santuario de Chimayó, and then visit the hacienda-style restaurant Rancho de Chimayó for hearty green chile stew and shrimp enchiladas.


Make the Most of It: Plan your stay between September 3 and 11 to participate in the Fiesta de Sante Fe, a festival held every year since 1712 involving parades, crafts and food booths and mariachis playing throughout the city.


Contacts: Black Tomato can arrange the above itinerary, 877.815.1497, blacktomato. co.uk; Inn of the Five Graces, 505.992.0957, fivegraces.com; Santa Fe Gallery Association, 505.982.1648, santafegalleries.net; Santuario de Chimayó, 505.351.9961, elsantuariodechimayo.us; Rancho de Chimayó, 505.984.2100, ranchodechimayo.com


10. CHARLESTON, S.C.


A charming city blends tradition with an eye for the new.