Starbucks plans new store designs; Upscale Tasting Rooms, and Express Stores

Starbucks will launch new cafes designed to highlight its small-lot Reserve coffees, interactive Reserve roasteries and tasting rooms.
And an "express" store offering speedy service that will integrate the company's digital payment and mobile ordering systems to speed up service.

What's the deal with grunting in tennis? How screaming can give players an edge

Quick, cover your ears, tennis fans. Another scream-filled match is about to start.

If you’ve been following the U.S. Open this week, it seems like the sport is louder than ever, with star players shrieking with every swing of their racquet. What’s the deal with all those primal cries on the court? How exactly does it improve performance? 

Tennis players who were told to grunt hit serves and forehand shots 5 miles per hour faster than when they played silently,  Grunting can also be the result of proper breathing, which helps stabilize a player’s core and generate the most power.

“They’re kind of like a pressure cooker – when the pressure is higher and there’s more energy through adrenaline, you’ll sometimes hear their grunting get louder and that’s partly the player coping with stress as well,”

‘Worst fan ever’ pops beach ball during football game

This week, we will be discussing the latest movies in the theaters near you.

- Guardians of the Galaxy

-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

-As Above, So Below

-If I Stay

-The November Man

-Let's be cops

- When the Game Stands Tall

-The Giver

-The Identical

-The Hundred Foot Journey

-The Expendables 3

-50 to 1

Have you seen any of them? Do you plan to? Which ones?

Hello Campers!

Today's Bondfire is all about Getting to Know each other better!

It's back to school week for many of us, so I thought I'd do this sort of like a re-introduction after a summer hiatus.

The Forest gets quiet over the summer and many of us return in September.

Come inside and answer these questions:

1. Re-introduce yourself (screen name/real name) post a selfie too if you want

2. What is/was your favorite thing about going back to school?

3. What is your most memorable or embarassing school memory? (we all bond over our embarassing moments.  Come share yours!)

4. What music are you listening to right now?

5. What is your most recent purchase?

Additional questions from the Proust Questionnaire(I'll add five of these each week, thanks to Ellinor for the suggestion):

6. Your favorite virtue

7. Your favorite qualities in a man

8. Your favorite qualities in a woman

9. Your chief characteristic

10. What you appreciate the most in your friends

The Rock is apparently going to play Black Adam...

http://www.newsarama.com/22027-the-rock-apparently-confirms-black-adam-future-role.html

Game of Thrones director wants to do a Black Widow movie...

http://www.newsarama.com/21961-game-of-thrones-writer-director-wants-a-black-widow-movie-with-him-at-the-helm.html

And what about Alternate Realities in Fiction? What are your favorites if you have any?

Outlander

The road is coming... Are you all packed and ready?

Outlander Quiz to find- "Where in Time Would the Stones Take You"

Click to Begin Your Journey

People Are *Already* In Line For The iPhone 6

Looks like people are already lining up for the iPhone 6 in front of New York City's flagship Fifth Avenue store — six days before Apple makes any announcement and 16 days before any new device is actually expected to hit stores.

Some people are already placing orders for the rumored iPhone 6 and standing in line at the company's flagship location in New York City with sleeping bags and chairs to wait out the launch.

"We wanted to beat the record, which had been 18 days," said Brian Ceballo, who arrived at Apple's NYC flagship Sunday to wait.
 

Columbia student drags mattress with her everywhere until alleged rapist expelled

It’s nearly impossible to miss Emma Sulkowicz on campus. While most students walk around with backpacks or books, the Columbia University senior carries a twin-size dorm room mattress everywhere she goes.It’s her way of protesting the way the Ivy League school handles sexual assaults on campus.

Sulkowicz, 21, claims she was assaulted the first day of her sophomore year, but the case against her alleged rapist was dismissed. Sulkowicz is among 23 students who filed a federal complaint earlier this year against Columbia University for mishandling sexual assault cases. The students accuse the school of being too lenient with alleged offenders and of discouraging victims from reporting assaults.

 

NATO fact sheet: 10 things to know

 

 

NATO is holding a closely watched summit in Newport, Wales, Thursday and Friday.September 4-5th 2014

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization — was established in 1949 to act as a counterweight to the threat of militant European nationalism and to encourage political integration.

Welcome to our biweekly Healthy Lifestyle CF!

Is there a certain dress you wanna show who is boss?

Do you want to make this cigarette the very last?

Do you know of a great workout that would make even the laziest among us want to move their feet?

Are you curious about the vegetarian/vegan diet? Want to move to a clean/real food lifestyle? Or maybe you are living that way and want to share your experiences?

Have you found the solution to handle and/or reduce stress?

Are you struggling to stick to your nutrition plan or diet and are looking for support, or do you want to share your very own story and experience? Then come in and tell us all about it!

We want your tips and tricks, hear about all the up’s and down’s, your struggles and resolutions! We want to cheer you up and on; we want you to cheer for us!  

Let us know what you want to see from this CF. 

Find our stories on the inside, and come share yours. 

We here at ADF are a friendly, helpful bunch!

If you have a request for a type of story or a book,
this is your spot.

If you are unsure about something that has to do with ADF,
ask here.

If you have amnesia about a fic,
this is the place to ask about it!

If you are unsure about something that DOES NOT have to do with ADF,
ask here as well!

Welcome to your new weekly book campfire!!

This can be a place for us to discuss what we are reading, what we want to read and bookish things in general.

Depending on what people want, I may make these more specific as time goes on but for now lets keep it general.

What are you reading now, guys?

First photos of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's wedding emerge

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie surprised everyone last week with their secret France wedding on Aug. 23. And now, the first photos of Angelina, Brad and their six children have emerged.

Featured in the upcoming issues of People Magazine and Hello Magazine, Jolie wore an elegant satin gown and a classic veil, which were both customized with drawings of the couple's six children. Luigi Massi, the master tailor at Atelier Versace, sewed the drawings into the garments.

"Luigi is like family to me and I couldn't imagine anyone else making this dress," Jolie told People. "He knows and cares for the children and it was great fun putting it together."

British Dad Shows His Teen Kids How to Change a Toilet Roll

One British dad's sarcastically painstaking attempt at explaining to his teenage children how to replace a toilet roll has gone viral.

Will Reid told Storyful that he initially posted the video on a private family group for a quick laugh.

"I jokingly said to my kids that I would post it wider if they didn't start being more tidy," he says. "They said to go ahead, as I wasn't funny and no one would be interested."

Famous last words. The video, posted to YouTube last Friday, is closing in on 1 million views.

Diving Deep for Fan Fic Treasures

Each week I will brave the treacherous waters of Fan Fiction for buried treasure. Below are the gems I've found this week!

Howdy Campers!
I love seeing some new names hanging around our campfires lately! Come on all you lurkers!!!  Here's your chance to jump in! Let us know what Fic Dive stories you're reading.

Don't forget to vote for the Fic Dive of the Month for August!

The Eidolon by MaatsProdigy
President Cullen's sons are captured and he'll do anything to get them back alive. His only hope is the legendary Eidolon, the most feared assassin born from a CIA black operation gone horribly wrong. A story of action and managing to find love in a world of unimaginable horrors.  

The Cullen Sons are part of a Navy SEAL operation that went bad.  Great action adventure start.  I'm excited for this one.  Can't wait to see who or what the Eidolon is made up of.
 
Jurisdiction by StillDreaming85
War has ripped the world apart and Bella is living in one of the few cities left in the States. Life is cruel, there is no freedom, food is scarce, and a few people hold all the power. Will Bella be able to survive? Will Edward be able to save her from Mike's snare? - Thugward

Very hunger games-esque.  Bella is hastily married to Edward to keep her from being bound to Mike Newton.

Read my Lips by purplec305
Nothing in Life is easy. What was supposed to be an easy task of protecting the boss' daughter, turns out to be a run for their lives as someone tries to kill them. With his demons from the past and her insecurities, what happens when the line between Agent and Witness starts to blur? Rated M for later chapters. Edward, Bella. HEA

Great start.  Bella needs protection and Charlie hand picks Edward for the job.

FLASH BACK FIC DIVE:

Faking It by spanglemaker9
Half of Hollywood's most famous couples are faking it. That's how Bella Swan's publicist convinces her to pretend to date troubled Hollywood bad boy Edward Cullen. And she'll do anything for her band and her music.

Love Love Love this one.

The Nymph and the Waterfall by Pastiche Pen
Someone is spying on Bella at an "inconvenient" time. There's a gnome and a crap ex-best friend. All-human.

This one is fun and silly at times.  Flashes of canon Twilight. 

Have a great day everyone!  Thanks for your support!