"Skyfall," the latest James Bond film, is opening in US theaters this weekend, and it's likely to be a major hit.

To create some buzz, Honda, which provided the film's motorcycles, produced a behind the scenes look at how the opening chase scene was filmed.

It all started at an old military facility, where the stunts were planned and practiced, before the crew headed to the rooftops of Istanbul to get the real thing on film.

Watch the video on YouTube, or click through to see how it all happened.

The work begins at Longcross, an ex-military facility now used as a motorcycle venue.

The crew builds ramps to mimic what they'll be working with on set.

And the stunt doubles practice the jumps.

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With a cornucopia of cooking shows, chef competitions and even wars fought with cupcakes, food is no less a sport than football these days.

And everybody is in the game. After all, we do have to eat.

"I'm very unimpressed when I go to some place that they say is fabulous, and they give me a tablespoon of food and charge me $100," says Helene Marks, a Tampa, Fla., resident.

Marks' strategy is to hit the happy hours where she can find dinner entrees at half price.

Click here to see the tricks > 

Other foodies use the panoply of online coupon sites about restaurant specials, while some go old school — having dessert or cocktails at home and forgoing fancy waters.

But don't think restaurants are sitting on the sidelines. While customers are getting high-tech with their smartphones and their coupon sites, restaurant owners are studying human behavior, employing "menu engineers" to get diners to spend more.

"They are basing a lot of things they price on what is found in psychology," says William Poundstone, the Los Angeles author of "Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of it)."

Being aware of how restaurants try to make diners fork over a little more cash can make them even more food-savvy when they go out to eat. Here are sneaky ways restaurants try to wrangle money from patrons — and how to watch out for them.

No dollar signs

Get Gregg Rapp talking about menus, and he's off and running. He is known for what's mostly not seen on a menu -- namely, dollar signs. He takes credit for that innovation.

For the last three decades, Rapp's been in the business of menu engineering. He says he made his clients realize that putting those little $'s before prices were causing customers to shy away from pricier items and spend less. Now, from diners to high-end restaurants, it's the rule of thumb to leave them out.

"Dollar signs remind people of money. You open the menu, and there (are) 100 items with 100 dollar signs. If you take those off, it softens the pricing," says Rapp, who lives in Palm Springs, Calif.

Elaborate dish descriptions

A lot of thought goes into how those dishes appear when you crack open the menu. Poundstone says there's a reason why each dish is described elaborately.

"Flowery descriptions. It may sound very simple, but it does have an effect," he says. "You pay more attention to the food and less attention if (you) should pay $17 for a salad."

Then there's the placement of what's on the menu. The term, Poundstone says, is contrasting.

"One of the things they do is anchoring," he says. "They found when it comes to prices, we are very sensitive to contrast." So that dish with caviar for $100 seems outrageous. But the steak beneath it is priced at $50, and suddenly the steak looks like a deal in comparison, he says.

Another common trick is bundling, Poundstone says. You see this at fast-food restaurants with the combo meal, but it also works wonders at high-end establishments offering prix fixe. "It makes it difficult to do comparison shopping," he says. "You won't realize you are paying $13 for two scallops because you don't know what you are paying for each individual thing."

Complicated wine menus

Ordering wine at a restaurant can be daunting, especially when the sommelier hands you a leather-bound book the size of a Bible. And that's just what the restaurant is counting on.

To avoid spending too much, don't be afraid to ask questions. Tell the waiter your price range, says Chip Cassidy, a 40-year wine merchant who teaches classes on the subject at Florida International University in Miami. Many of his students go on to become retailers and to work in restaurants.

Cassidy says the first sucker's bet is to not default to the house wine. "The restaurants will buy the cheapest thing they can get and mark it up as high as they can," he says.

Antonio Pesquera, who's managed restaurants in Florida and Texas, says buying by the glass may also not be the best option. When it comes to wine by the glass, especially red, the restaurants will try to recoup the price of the bottle with the first glass. Why? Because there is no guarantee that a second glass will be poured.

But Cassidy says if you are going to drink wine, do what Bacchus would do: splurge.

"Wine has always been a luxury commodity. You have to have the bucks to drink it," Cassidy says.

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While there are plenty of luxurious hotels out there, some hotels take luxury to a whole other level (which means prices on a whole new level, too).

But when you really need to unwind away from home, there’s no better way to indulge than heading to a luxe hotel with an equally luxe spa for some much-need pampering. 

Whether they’re offering oils of gold, creams of caviar, or bathtubs of wine, these hotel spas aren’t shy about offering their guests the royal treatment—and charging them royally, too.

Evian Bath: $500

Spa: Spa V at Hotel Victor, South Beach

Not many of the treatments at Hotel Victor in South Beach come cheap, but the Evian bath is particularly pricey. The bath, consisting of 1,000 bottles of the French mineral water, is only available to guests of the $10,000 per night penthouse suite, and includes champagne, dessert, and an additional treatment of choice for two.

White Caviar Illuminating Facial: $1,000

Spa: La Prairie at The Beverly Hills Hotel

Dropping $1,000 to cover your face in fish eggs may seem excessive, but it’s a small price to pay for a glowing, youthful complexion. The 90-minute treatment at the La Prairie Spa at the Beverly Hills Hotel is actually a steal, however, considering you get to take home the products from the White Caviar Illuminating System, which are valued around $1,500.

Balancing Diamond or Emerald Massage: $300

Spa: The Spa at Trump hotels

It’s not surprising that the top signature treatment at Trump hotels is the diamond (or emerald) massage — your pick. The treatment, which debuted at the Trump International Las Vegas and the Trump Chicago, starts at around $300, but only gets more expensive as the special add-ons are included.

The massage is said to balance your chakra with its gems, heal with its rare oils, and drain your bank account with its Trump-size price tag.

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The World Park in Beijing and Window of the World in Shenzhen are two Chinese parks that feature scale model versions of some of the most iconic buildings and landmarks from around the globe.

Artist Ernie Button set out to capture the bizarre assortment of famous structures. Big Ben next to the Arc de Triomphe, the U.S. Capitol Building at the foot of Mount Rushmore, and the mis-titled “Grand Canyon of Colorado” are just a few of wacky instances he came across.

Walking around the sites, Button began to question what a monument truly is, and what makes the experience special:

After having seen the pyramids at World Park, would a person feel it necessary to travel thousands of miles to experience the authentic sight? And what is a 'real' experience? Even though it feels odd to experience the world in this way, is it really any different than going to grab a meal at a Rainforest Café with the expectation of experiencing the rainforest? 

Button's series “Monumental China” takes us on a journey through these Chinese monument theme parks, all the while playing with scale and our perspective.

A 'giant' woman walks the streets of Venice at the Window of the World, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Source: Ernie Button

A couple looms in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Beijing's World Park.

Source: Ernie Button

Spotlights give perspective to the Window of the World's Sphinx with the Pyramids in the background.

Source: Ernie Button

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A gorgeous Newport Beach home on the water can be yours for $15.5 million.

The house is 9,400 square feet, and has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and two half baths.

It was designed by Brion Jeannette, an energy-conscious custom designer in the area. 

Perks include a terrace, a gym, and bay-front views.

Welcome to Newport Beach.

The home is selling for $1,649 per square foot.

When you enter, you'll immediately notice the double-height ceilings and sweeping staircase.

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It's hard to believe that it's been decades since Hollywood celebrities like Gwen Stefani, Brad Pitt and Halle Berry got their big breaks. 

But it's even more difficult to fathom how good they've managed to look in their 40's and 50's. 

Even in an industry of notoriously hard living, these stars have kept their magic. Their faces remain ageless through marriages, kids and divorces. 

Maybe some have had a surgeon's help to maintain their looks. But it's indisputable that these gorgeous celebrities are blessed with good genes. 

We pulled "then-and-now" photos to reveal how they've kept their beauty. 

Gwyneth Paltrow became a household name fifteen years ago, when she won the Oscar for 1998's "Shakespeare In Love."

Today, Paltrow is 40 and has two children. She looks more youthful than ever.

Halle Berry was a former fashion model who rose to fame when she starred in "Losing Isaiah" in 1995.

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As the world plunges head first into a New Gilded Age, we're taking a look back at the first Gilded Age.

One of the most impressive figures of this era was an immigrant textile worker who became the richest man in the world.

We're talking about the mighty Andrew Carnegie.

Andrew Carnegie was born in this small house in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1835.

Source: PBS 

For generations the Carnegies had been master handloom weavers. But as the industrial revolution introduced steam-powered looms, the family business collapsed.

Source: PBS

Carnegie's family became so poor they'd go to sleep early to "forget the misery of hunger." He later wrote "It was burnt into my heart then that my father had to beg (for work). And then and there came the resolve that I would cure that when I got to be a man."

Source: PBS

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It's incredibly hard to start a company.

Fortunately, a lot of smart people have done it before, and they have sound advice to share with budding entrepreneurs.

We pulled the best quotes from recent blog posts, conferences, and interviews that can help startups at every phase, whether they're still deciding what to launch or figuring out how to scale.

Here's the truest, most timely startup advice from business stars like Pinterest's Ben Silbermann and Y Combinator's Paul Graham.

On deciding what to start: "Facebook, I didn’t start to ‘start a company.’ It was mostly just through wanting to build it and having it be this hobby and getting people around me excited. It eventually evolved into a company. But I never understood the psychology of wanting to start a company before deciding what you wanted to do. Explore what you want to do before committing." - Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Facebook

"If you are thinking of starting a non-transactional consumer startup, be aware that you are entering what is perhaps the most competitive sector in tech in the last decade….ten million users is the new one million users." -- Chris Dixon, Partner of Founder Collective and founder of Hunch

On the stress of running a company: "As a startup CEO, I slept like a baby. I woke up every two hours and cried." -- Ben Horowitz

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Sometimes called the "eighth wonder of the world," Ngorongoro Crater is a must-see on Tanzania's safari circuit.

On a recent press trip to Tanzania, I had the opportunity to visit the crater — actually a massive caldera, formed nearly three million years ago following a volcanic collapse — and stayed at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, considered to be the most luxurious property inside the conservation area.

Click here to see pictures >

It's truly a unique place. The architecture was like nothing I'd ever seen before; adobe-colored huts and buildings inspired by the mud-and-stick manyatta homes of the Maasai, with opulent interiors and huge arrangements of roses on almost every surface. It's "Maasai meets Versailles," as I heard one person describe it.

And the views are unbeatable. The Lodge, an andBeyond property, is one of just a handful of hotels within the confines of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and is literally perched on the edge of the crater. I awoke to a panorama of the 100-square-mile abyss, still shrouded in the morning fog.

Even though I spent just one night at the Lodge, I got the sense that the staff was incredibly friendly and focused on the guest experience. The hotel prides itself on creating special "moments" — a candlelit outdoor dinner, a surprise visit from Maasai dancers — for each guest. And days after I left, I found a sweet note from Beaty, the assistant manager, in my suitcase, saying she hoped I'd enjoyed my brief visit.

Stays at the Lodge, which has 30 suites divided into three separate camps, are pricey — rates are $1,500 per person, per night in the high season, and about half that in the low season. But that figure includes all meals and drinks, and twice-daily game drives into the crater with one of andBeyond's trained rangers.

 Disclosure: Our trip to Tanzania, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by the Tanzania Tourist Board, Africa Adventure Company, Singita Grumeti Group, Coastal Aviation, Qatar Airways, Tanzania National Parks, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority and Wildlife Division.

After an afternoon game drive through Ngorongoro Crater, we finally pulled up to the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge at dusk.

Several staff members were awaiting our arrival with champagne and hot towels. It was a welcome sight after a hot and dusty day in the crater, and one of the "moments" andBeyond seeks to create at the lodge.

The architecture of the Lodge is like nothing I had ever seen before. Built in 1997, the structures were inspired by the mud-and-stick manyatta homes of the Maasai, who are native to the area.

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Lots of companies have really huge ad budgets. But after you've accumulated $100 million here and $100 million there, pretty soon you're talking about real money: $1 billion to spend, all on ads.

Only 36 companies in the U.S., according to Advertising Age, spend more than $1 billion a year on ads.

Apple was the most recent company to cross the magic $1,000 million mark. The others run the gamut, from consumer goods companies to telecommunications entities.

Nos. 36 - 31: Apple joins the club.

36. Apple:$1 billion Apple's ad budget rose only marginally from a base of $467 million in 2007 until 2010. That year, Apple began a series of new product launches in both the iPhone and iPad lines that has continued unabated, most recently with iPhone 5and iPad Mini, both coming in the last few weeks. Apple reached the $1 billion mark in its fiscal 2011 year, which ended recently.

35. General Mills: $1.002 billion Most of General Mills' ad budget is spent on television ads ($835 million). It is tied with Pfizer on our list for spending the lowest percentage of its ad budget, just 0.2 percent, on billboards.

34. Google:  $1.005 billion Google increased its ad spending by 60 percent since last year, giving it the biggest increase of any company on our list.

33. Microsoft Corp: $1.033 billion Microsoft spent $667 million more than Apple on advertising and $740 million more than Dell.

32. Sony Corp: $1.041 billion This Tokyo company spends the majority of its ad budget on television, with $564 million going towards the platform.

31. Capital One Financial Corp: $1.043 billion Capital One shelled out $280 million on television ads, part of which went to pay Jimmy Fallon and Alec Baldwin to appear in commercials.

Nos. 30 - 26: How Jennifer Lopez and Lauren Conrad drive adspend.

30. Viacom: $1.06 billion Viacom is the media conglomerate that houses MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, TV Land, and Paramount Pictures. Paramount's highest-grossing movie of 2011 was "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

29. Kohl's Corp: $1.12 billion This clothing retailer exclusively sells Jennifer Lopez's, Daisy Fuentes,' and Lauren Conrad's clothing lines — and is thus contractually obliged to promote them.

28. Honda Motor Co: $1.14 billion Honda ran a Super Bowl ad for its CR-V featuring Matthew Broderick, which cost the company around $3.5 million.

27. J.C. Penney: $1.16 billion This Texas-based retailer spent 11.9 percent less on advertising than last year.

26. News Corp: $1.27 billion This media company spent $81.7 million on radio ads alone, making it one of the highest radio advertisers on our list. 

Nos. 25 - 21: Burgers and beer.

25. Unilever: $1.3 billion Unilever's brands include Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Lipton, and TRESemmé. Dove's more recent ad campaigns have focused on portraying realistic-looking women, not just model-types.

24. McDonald's Corp: $1.37 billion Behind Time Warner, McDonald's spends more on outdoor ads (billboards) than any other company on our list, shelling out $71.6 million.

23. Berkshire Hathaway: $1.39 billion Warren Buffet's company, which owns Geico, spent $680 million on television ads. Geico also has a strategy of running more than one different TV campaign at once (i.e. the gecko and the bodybuilder campaigns).

22. Sprint Nextel Corp: $1.4 billion This telecommunications company is the only one on our list that didn't alter their ad budget from the previous year.

21. Anheuser-Busch InBev: $1.42 billion This beverage company spent $3 million on newspaper ads, the lowest amount of any company on our list. 

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China, which has kicked off its once-in-a-generation leadership transition, played a starring role in the U.S. election amidst frequent charges of currency manipulation.

Romney’s defeat means we have been spared a potential currency war with China, which experts say would cost Americans both jobs and income.

Click here to jump straight to the countries >

With all the talk about Chinese currency manipulation during this election season, you'd think they were the only ones doing it.

However, China is far from the only country that artificially controls the value of its currency. Joseph Gagnon, formerly from the Monetary Affairs division of the Federal Reserve Board, released a report revealing the world’s 20 most egregious currency manipulators.

Gagnon claims that currency manipulation is “distorting capital flows by around $1.5 trillion per year” which has a particularly adverse impact on the U.S. and Europe:

The result is a net drain on aggregate demand in the United States and the euro area by an amount roughly equal to the large output gaps in the United States and the euro area. In other words, millions more Americans and Europeans would be employed if other countries did not manipulate their currencies and instead achieved sustainable growth through higher domestic demand.

These currency manipulators fall under four broad categories, according to Gagnon: advanced economies, newly industrialized nations, developing Asian countries, and oil-exporting nations.

The prime criterion of whether a country that manipulates its own currency, is the ratio of foreign reserves to GDP. Holding large amounts of foreign currencies is a sign of a country looking to hold down the value of its currency, usually in an attempt to spur exports.

All the countries Gagnon’s list of currency manipulators, which excludes low-income countries, have these features in common:

• Value of foreign reserve holdings exceeds the value of 6 months of imports;
• Foreign reserve holdings have increased over the last 10 years; and
• A current account surplus has been maintained.

Note: all figures are represented as a percent of GDP.

Denmark

2011 FX reserves:
24 percent

Increase in FX reserves since 2001:
14 percent

Average current account:
4 percent

Net public sector external assets:
25 percent

2010 gross short-term external debt:
2 percent

Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics

Hong Kong

2011 FX reserves:
121 percent

Increase in FX reserves since 2001:
53 percent

Average current account:
9 percent

Net public sector external asset:
120 percent

2010 gross short-term external debt: 
3 percent

Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics

Korea

2011 FX reserves:
27 percent

Increase in FX reserves since 2001:
7 percent

Average current account:
2 percent

Net public sector external assets:
29 percent

2010 gross short-term external debt:
0 percent

Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics

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Here’s the story of how a show started as a typical formulaic sitcom, but grew into a syndicated monster.

From the time Greg Brady got high to the reason Cindy Brady started balding, here’s a quick rundown of all things Brady you probably didn’t know.

In Real Life, Jan Gave Marcia the Complex

Maureen McCormick played Marcia, the eldest Brady daughter, and the object of lust of many a teenaged boy during the tenure of The Brady Bunch. What the public didn’t know, however, was that “Mo” always felt inferior to Eve Plumb, who played middle sister Jan. Eve had longer, blonder, more luxurious hair. Eve developed curves before Maureen did (and took pleasure in flaunting her blossoming physique by going braless under her tight-fitting tops in later seasons). The very slender Mo also felt that she had a bit of a tummy “pooch” and during the time the entire cast was en route to Hawaii for an exciting “on location” three-part episode, all she could think about was her horror at having to appear on camera in a bikini. Watch those Hawaii episodes when they rerun and you’ll see that Maureen always manages to hold a beach towel or robe in front of her lower torso in any bathing suit scenes.

Barbershop of Horrors: Why Cindy Started Balding

With the parents in place, the team of brown-haired boys and blonde girls made the final cut, with one exception. For the role of Bobby Brady, the youngest boy, producers favored Mike Lookinland, who had strawberry-blond hair. He was hired only after his parents agreed to let Miss Clairol do her thing on their son’s locks. Savvy viewers will note how Bobby’s hair color varied between dark brown and jet black before the make-up folks found just the right shade of hair dye for him. Susan Olsen had a different problem. She was a natural blonde, but producers felt the youngest Brady wasn’t blonde enough. They ordered eight-year-old Olsen’s hair to be bleached regularly to give her that adorable towhead look. When her hair began falling out in clumps during the second season, a tearful Susan complained to Sherwood Schwartz, who immediately ordered the staff to leave “Cindy’s” hair alone.

Gene Hackman Almost Played the Lead

The producers started testing kids to fill the roles of the six Bradley children. Since the parents hadn’t yet been cast, they had to have two full sets of kids at the ready – one set with dark-haired boys and blonde girls, and another set with the opposite coloring. The first choice to play Ma Bradley was character actress Joyce Bulifant (who would later go on to play Murray’s wife on The Mary Tyler Moore Show). However, once comedic actress Ann B. Davis was cast as Alice, the producers decided that a more “serious” actress was needed to play the mother. Florence Henderson ultimately got the job, but was forced to wear a wig during the first season because her own hair had been cropped short when she co-starred in an off-Broadway revival of South Pacific. For the role of Mike Brady (the family’s surname had changed by this time), producers were debating between a then-unknown Gene Hackman and Robert Reed. They finally chose Reed because he had marquee value from his co-starring role on the popular series The Defenders.

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We go to the movies to see Christian Bale don the bat cape, Robert Downey Jr. suit up as Iron Man, and Daniel Craig reprise his role as 007.

However, these big-name actors rarely do the dangerous stunts required of their fictional alter egos.

We've highlighted 15 stunt doubles from the biggest box-office hits of 2012.

From those who fill in for actors from Craig to Jessica Biel, here are some of the most sought after stunt men–and women–in Hollywood.

Ben Cooke has doubled for Jason Statham in "Safe" and has stood in for England's big hero ...

... Daniel Craig in "Casino Royale,""Quantum of Solace," and "Skyfall."

One of his best moments on set:

"Some floor managers on the show got together and photoshopped me and Daniel on the cover of Gay Times in mankini."

Parkour athelete and professional free runner Levi Meeuwenberg stood in for this Robert Ludlum-inspired character.

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It has been a phenomenal year in the world of architecture, with architects and engineers pushing the boundaries of innovation and design.

Click here to go straight to the buildings >

Moscow's Mercury Tower recently usurped the title of the tallest building in Europe from London's Shard and New York City's Freedom Tower is on its way to becoming the tallest building in America. In Singapore, the Cooled Conservatories at Gardens by the Bay are becoming a model green space for cities all over the world, while Miami's Marlins Park is re-imagining the role of a sports stadium.

We have examined buildings—from towers to arenas to airports and more—from all over the world that have undergone construction in the past year and have come up with a list of the coolest new buildings this year. We took into account innovation, creativity, structure, sustainability and buzz and we asked architects, engineers, designers, critics, and academics to weigh in.

Our choices include a building with a dynamic facade that opens and closes in response to the movement of the sun, a pair of curvaceous towers that have been nicknamed "Marilyn Monroe," the world's largest greenhouse conservatory, and the world's very first commercial spaceport. We've also included the most talked-about and controversial additions to city skylines—from London's Shard to Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

Unsurprisingly, sustainability showed up in nearly every design, with architects finding creative ways to weave environmentally-friendly measures into the designs, from a building that collects and filters rainwater to plenty of solar-paneling. 

They're listed here in alphabetical order.

Absolute World Towers

Location: Mississauga, Canada

Architect: MAD

Located in a Toronto Suburb, the Absolute Towers are nicknamed "Marilyn Monroe" for their sexy, curvaceous figures. The residential towers were named the best tall buildings in America by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

"The Absolute World towers develop a simple, yet seductive strategy to bring figuration to a tower, what is conventionally the result of mass production."—Nader Tehrani, Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Al Bahar Towers

Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

Architect: Aedas Architects Ltd.

The Al Bahar Towers were named the most innovative tall building in the world by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).The 29-story office building has a dynamic facade which opens and closes in response to the movement of the sun. The façade design also works with the local culture, evoking a wooden lattice screen traditionally found in Islamic architecture.

"The dynamic façade on Al Bahar, computer-controlled to respond to optimal solar and light conditions, has never been achieved on this scale before,"architect Chris Wilkinson said in a CTBUH statement. "In addition, the expression of this outer skin seems to firmly root the building in its cultural context.”

Al Hamra Tower

Location: Kuwait City, Kuwait

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

At 412-meters (1,352-feet) high, Al Hamra Tower is the tallest building in Kuwait, offering great views of the Arabian Gulf from the top. The building is used for retail and office spaces.

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After the election, some commentators relaunched the argument over whether America has experienced a permanent blue state/red state split.

Richard K. Green, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California and the director and chair of the school's Lusk Center for Real Estate, argues the real dichotomy is between states and cities that have recovered economically, and those that remain mired in financial and economic distress.

He recently made his case in a presentation to an alumni group. With his permission, we've reproduced it here.

Let's begin

The employment-population ratio — the number of folks in the labor force compared with the overall population — has plummeted

Employment growth remains anemic

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Week 10 of the NFL season brought us even more gif-able moments.

Bill Belichick stole the show with his seriously intense challenge flag throw, and the Pats added another awesome moment with a diving Gronk catch.

We also saw some amazing one-handed grabs, a questionable fake field goal, and an angry Rex Ryan.

Bill Belichick threw his challenge flag with a purpose, and he won the challenge

Gronk's diving touchdown pass

Bucs Leonard Johnson glides into the endzone

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It's true that canal-lined Venice is known for its regular flooding, but usually that means residents and tourists shuffle through ankle-deep water. This week, however, nearly three quarters of the city faced floods nearing the five-foot mark after an onslaught of rain and bad weather hit northern Italy, according to Reuters.

Two hundred people were forced to evacuate from their homes in Tuscany, and shops, homes and palaces were inundated with water in Venice. Water levels reached 149 cm (5ft)—the sixth highest level since records began in 1872.

While residents desperately tried to save their homes and possessions, tourists seemed to revel in the flooding, sitting at cafe tables in their bathing suits, playing in the waist-deep water, and swimming through St. Mark's square.

Authorities said that 70% of Venice was flooded, including the city's iconic St. Mark's square, where people played in the flooded water in their bathing suits.

Source: Reuters

The high tide reached a peak of 127 centimeters (50 inches) on Saturday, flooding Venice. Good-humored tourists donned their swimsuits and swam in St. Mark's Square.

Source: AP photo

While children played in the giant swimming pool.

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The process of creating an advertisement can often be a tug of ideas war between the clients and the creative agency.

Irish graphic designers Mark Shanley and Paddy Treacy and some of their colleagues in the advertising industry have came together have designed a number of creatives to illustrate their favorite bad feedback from clients, transforming these real quotes into posters.

We are featuring a selection of these hilarious posters, courtesy of Shanley and Treacy.

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The Surface is here, ready to shake up the tablet space.

Is it worth giving up your iPad for Microsoft's new tablet—or opting for one instead of the market leader, if you're a first-time buyer?

This is just the beginning for the Surface line: Right now, you can buy a Surface with Windows RT, which only runs brand-new software designed specifically for new Windows devices.

Next year, you'll get even more powerful, though heavier machines, which will run both new and old software. 

But even today, there are already eight areas where the first Surface beats Apple's devices.

Buy the Surface here >>

The keyboard

A tactile keyboard is far and away a better solution than a software keyboard. Microsoft had the foresight to design keyboards that connect physically to the Surface. With Apple, you have to rely on wireless Bluetooth keyboards.

The size

You get more screen real estate with Microsoft's tablet. The Surface measures 10.6 inches on the diagonal, almost a full inch more than the iPad. Movies are in your face (in a good way) and you have plenty of room to navigate the sexy "Metro-style" interface with ease.

The specs

The iPad and Surface RT both top out at 64 GB of storage, but you can easily expand that on the Surface with a cheap SD card. The iPad doesn't have an SD slot built in.

The iPad and the Surface share a type of processor known as ARM. The one inside the iPad is a 1.4 GHz A6X processor of Apple's own design. The Surface has an Nvidia Tegra chip with arguably stronger graphics capabilities.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to leave his post and now President Obama will have to pick his replacement. 

We've put together a rundown of some of the names being tossed around for the next Treasury Secretary. 

The next Treasury Secretary will be continuing our long slog to recovery after the financial crisis. And then there's China. And Europe...

Would you want that job?

Jack Lew

Current Job: Current White House Chief of Staff

Resume: Most of Lew's career has been spent as a public servant working in various positions from the State Department to the Clinton Administration. He also did a stint at Citi. Before becoming White House Chief of Staff, Lew was the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Why He's Right For The Job: Noted economist Nouriel Roubini Tweeted that Lew is likely to be the next Treasury Secretary. As the director of the Office of Management and Budget, he's experienced with fiscal matters and he would be easy to confirm by the senate, CNBC's Steve Liesman reports.  However, he doesn't have the international experience or the banking experience even though he worked at Citi, according to Liesman's report.

Source: CNBC

Lael Brainard

Current Job: United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs

Resume: Brainard is a Harvard grad who grew up as an American expat in Communist Poland. Before becoming one of the country's top financial diplomats, Brainard was an associate professor of Applied Economics at MIT. She also served as Deputy National Economic Adviser and Chair of the Deputy Secretaries Committee on International Economics during the Clinton Administration and spent time at McKinsey.

Why She's Right For The Job: She already works at the Treasury Department.  She also has the international experience such as the Basel bank regulations and the G-20. However, Nouriel Roubini Tweeted that he sees her likely becoming the Deputy Treasury Secretary.

Neal Wolin

Current Job:United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury

Resume: Wolin graduated from Yale law school and has a masters in Development Economics from Oxford. Much of his career has been spent in public service from serving as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury under Secretary Larry Summers to serving as Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration.  He was the president and COO of insurance giant The Hartford Financial Services Group. 

Why He's Right For The Job: CNBC's Steve Liesman reports that Geithner supports Wolin.  Liesman points out that he has the financial experience from The Hartford Financial Services Group and experience within the Obama administration.  

Source: Treasury.gov

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