Todays Trends

American Eagle Coin

2010-01-12T13:57:00.002-05:00

American Eagle Coin

I'm not sure if you are a big coin collector but these 2010 Silver American Eagle are a great investment, especially if you have children or grandchildren. If you are not looking for any real investment just the beauty and weight is all you need to go to purchase these coins.These coins are being sold on a Pre-Order Basis. Expect to receive them by and be able to ship them by January 31st. or sooner if possible. If for some reason the US Mint delays delivery, it could delay delivery to you into February. Please keep that in mind when ordering. Released in 1986, the 2010 Silver American Eagle is Americas only official investment-grade silver bullion coin. It is also the worlds only silver bullion coin whose weight, content and purity are guaranteed by the U. S. Government. The obverse features Adolph A. Weinmans beautiful walking liberty design originally used on U.S. Silver Half Dollars from 1916 through 1947. The reverse design is John Mercantis rendition of an eagle and shield, symbolic of American strength and pride. Again the value of these types of coins usually sky rocket over a very short time sapn. So plan early if you want to purchase one. The beginning proce of an 2010 Silver American Eagle is usually well worth it.

Morehead City NC

2010-01-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

Morehead City NC

Early today in Morehead City North Carolina, police had the city ports closed down. Police have also told residents to evacuate immeadiatley following the discovery of nine cartons of explosives. As of this writing, it is not known how big the containers are or how they were punctured. The explosives have been identified as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). This is the same chemical that the alleged underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had on him during flight 253, Christmas day 2009. However many in the city have refused to leave and have no plans of doing so.

Miep Gies Died

2010-01-12T13:10:00.001-05:00

Miep Gies Died

The last survivor who helped Anne Frank and her family survive during WW2 has died at the age of 100. Mrs. Gies has lived in a nursing home in the Netherlands following a fall shortly after Christmas of this year. Anne Frank and her family had lived with Gies and others til a betrayl ended up taking the Frank family to a concentration camp where Anne died of typhus. found the diary upstairs and rescued it from Nazi book burning and preserved it fo history. Mrs Gies remembers the day the Franks were taken away and how she went up into the empty annex to find the pages of the diary lying on the floor.
Removing the pages, she did not read them immediately, telling herself at the time: "These may belong to a child, but even children have a right to privacy." Miep Gies had always wished she could have done more for the Franks and Jews during the war. She will be remembered in history for her courage.

Walmart Charges For Bags

2010-01-12T12:32:00.001-05:00

Walmart Charges For Bags

It's not as bad as it sounds, really. You know how many stores if you want a reusable bag they charge you one dollar for it, well Wal-Mart is only going to charge you 15 cents for one. Three stores in California will stop using all plastic bags this week. So you will either have to bring your own bags or buy one of their reusable ones. Wal-Mart is charging for bags at those three stores to start with, but is introducing the reusable bags throughout Northern California by the end of the week. Wal-Mart hopes to reduce its waste by 33% by 2013, and hopes that charging for bags is a step in the right direction. So as you can see it really is not as bad as it first sounded. It is actually a good step in the going green process. It still doesn't make me a Wal-Mart fan though.

Erik Gates Dead

2009-12-30T21:58:00.002-05:00

Erik Gates, who made several appearances on the TV show ‘Mythbusters’ in Discovery channel has passed away. At the time of his death he was 47 years. He died in an accident while surveying a business site affiliated with one of his owned businesses last week. Erik Gates was the owner of Gateco Electric in Thousand Oaks, California. He makes regular appearances on the show ‘Mythbusters’ where he also founded a website dedicated to his rocketry work.

Erik provided rockets and his rocketry expertise in several myths; he was an expert of rockets like JATO Chevy, Ming Dynasty Astronaut, Swingset 360, Confederate Rocket, Salami Rocket. It was reported that Erik was walking across the roof of a building which he and a coworker were working on when he suddenly fell and dropped 30 feet to his death. Reports are suggesting that he fell through a skylight and his death was caused by severe trauma to his chest. Erik was taken to the hospital and later died.

Shocking Stabbing!

2009-10-18T13:56:00.001-04:00

Jasper Howard, a 5-foot-9, 174-pound starting cornerback on the UConn football team, died today after an on-campus stabbing. According to multiple sources, Howard, 20, was taken to St. Francis Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Coach Randy Edsall spent the night at St. Francis.

Howard is from Miami and attended Miami Edison High School. Howard played in UConn’s 38-25 vicory over Louisville Saturday.

UConn officials reported a fight and stabbing early Sunday morning at the Storrs campus. The perpetrator of the stabbing is still at large, according to an emergency alert posted on the University’s website Sunday morning.

Police are asking anyone with information related to the stabbing to contact the University police at 860-486-4800. Edsall and sports information director Mike Enright did not return calls.

I Thought We Were Making Progress:(

2009-10-15T18:50:00.001-04:00

Oct 15th, 2009 | HAMMOND, La. -- A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

If he did an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said.

"I try to treat everyone equally," he said.

Bardwell estimates that he has refused to marry about four couples during his career, all in the past 2 1/2 years.

Beth Humphrey, 30, and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.

Humphrey, an account manager for a marketing firm, said she and McKay, a welder, just returned to Louisiana. She plans to enroll in the University of New Orleans to pursue a masters degree in minority politics.

"That was one thing that made this so unbelievable," she said. "It's not something you expect in this day and age."

Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples. Bardwell suggested the couple go to another justice of the peace in the parish who agreed to marry them.

"We are looking forward to having children," Humphrey said. "And all our friends and co-workers have been very supportive. Except for this, we're typical happy newlyweds."

"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009," said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzmann. "The Supreme Court ruled as far back as 1963 that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."

The ACLU sent a letter to the Louisiana Judiciary Committee, which oversees the state justices of the peace, asking them to investigate Bardwell and recommending "the most severe sanctions available, because such blatant bigotry poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the administration of justice."

"He knew he was breaking the law, but continued to do it," Schwartzmann said.

According to the clerk of court's office, application for a marriage license must be made three days before the ceremony because there is a 72-hour waiting period. The applicants are asked if they have previously been married. If so, they must show how the marriage ended, such as divorce.

Other than that, all they need is a birth certificate and Social Security card.

The license fee is $35, and the license must be signed by a Louisiana minister, justice of the peace or judge. The original is returned to the clerk's office.

"I've been a justice of the peace for 34 years and I don't think I've mistreated anybody," Bardwell said. "I've made some mistakes, but you have too. I didn't tell this couple they couldn't get married. I just told them I wouldn't do it.

Garth Brooks Comes Back!

2009-10-15T18:23:00.003-04:00

Country superstar Garth Brooks has announced plans for a comeback after retiring to become a family man in 2001.

The singer/songwriter has performed a series of charity shows and released exclusive hits packages in recent years, but now he's planning a full return to the studios and stages.

At a press conference in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday, Brooks confessed he was a little nervous about returning to an industry that has been taken over by youngsters.

He told reporters, "I'm not sure I'll be welcomed back but, if the fans want me, I still want to pursue my music."

Full details of his comeback have not been released but Brooks is expected to announce an extended concert run at the Wynn Las Vegas casino and hotel in the coming weeks.

Brooks has sold 113 million albums in the U.S. alone.

I'll Wash Your Mouth Out With Soap

2009-10-15T18:23:00.002-04:00

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- It was in a house off Shenandoah Drive in Palm Bay, in which investigators say a little girl was punished. According to Palm Bay Police, the mother's boyfriend, Wilfredo Rivera, made her chew on soap for ten minutes, while the child's mother, Adriyanna Herdener, watched.

"I think people need to educate themselves more about using an object or foreign substance in a child's body. Whether it's soap or hot sauce. You just never know how somebody's going to react," said neighbor Christina Chiarilla, who works in child care.

Investigators say the child was crying, vomiting and foaming at the mouth. According to police, the boyfriend wouldn't let the girl rinse out her mouth until she cleaned up her mess.

Reports state the child's lips, throat and tongue became swollen and was in pain. That's when the mom asked her boyfriend to take the 8 year old to the hospital.

Police say Herdener didn't go to the hospital because, she didn't want to deal with the Department of Children and Families. But when DCF was called to the hospital, they say Rivera left with the child even before she was treated. Both were later arrested at her home. According to the DCF, the couple has a lengthy history of complaints.

Chiarilla says it's a shame. "Parents make mistakes. They don't know everything. Their mistake wasn't necessarily that they gave her the soap, it was the reaction to what happen."

And now the mother and her boyfriend face punishment for their actions. They were more concerned about themselves. To me that's a selfish reaction," adds Chiarilla.

Both Herdener and Rivera bonded out of jail. They did not want to comment.

Ballon Boy Creates A Stir

2009-10-15T18:13:00.000-04:00

Forget health care or Afghanistan. For about two hours today, the cable news networks devoted nonstop coverage to tracking the progress of a silver balloon floating across the fields of northern Colorado. Initial reports that a 6-year-old boy was inside the balloon proved unfounded once it landed, and now the search is on for the child, whose parents are amateur storm chasers and had the device in their back yard.

The story was irresistable to the news networks, which quickly tracked down balloon experts to opine on the speed of the craft and how long it could remain airborne. Inside CNN's New York headquarters, staffers stood up at their desks, watching the footage incredulously.

“If there’s ever a book about what I did for the first 20 years of my working life, Oct. 15 will have at least a page," said Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on the air, adding: "Of nothing else, we’ve had a fascinating hour and a half with no commercials of watching a beautiful day in Colorado.”

As the orb floated through the sky, Fox News, CNN and MSNBC delayed their broadcast of the footage for at least several seconds in case the contraption crashed to the ground. Out of caution, CNN upped its delay to 10 seconds, and Fox cut away to Smith when the balloon came down. (Still, critics questioned their decision to show the footage, arguing that they may have even inadvertently broadcast an image of the boy's death if he indeed fell out of the craft while it was airborne.) The flying device thumped onto a field and was quickly attacked by sheriff's deputies, who punched holes in the balloon to keep it from floating away again. When it became clear that the boy was not inside, the cable news anchors were left to puzzle out his whereabouts. Maybe, Smith suggested hopefully, he was hiding under his bed.

Halo Over Moscow

2009-10-14T01:23:00.001-04:00

And you thought rainbows were cool. A few days ago, a mysterious cloud shaped like a halo appeared over Moscow, and the buzz has yet to break.

We're the first to admit that a photograph of the heavenly cloud appears to be photoshopped. It's just so...perfect. But meterologists have spoken up and said the cloud wasn't digitally altered. However, it wasn't exactly what it appeared to be, either.

When the cloud initially formed, some UFO enthusiasts declared it to be a "true mystery." Some even compared it to the giant spaceship hovering over Earth in the movie "Independence Day." Reality quickly dashed any predictions of an alien invasion. An article from the Daily Mail explains that the "luminous ring-shaped cloud" was simply an optical effect.

An official spokesperson for Moscow's weather department said, "Several fronts have been passing through Moscow recently, there was an intrusion of the Arctic air too, the sun was shining from the west — this is how the effect was produced."

The cloud loomed last week, but the searches are still soaring. Lookups on "halo cloud" and "moscow cloud" are both booming, and a video clip has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

Hells Kitchen Winner

2009-10-14T01:17:00.001-04:00

WHISTLER — Single-handed, Dave Levey beat out his competition on Hell's Kitchen to win a job for a year — Olympic year — at Araxi Restaurant in Whistler. Literally.

Early on in the competition, Levey injured his left wrist. Since then, it's been in a cast. And in a show before Tuesday's finale, the pain was so intense that he went down to the kitchen floor. Host, chef and chief tormentor Gordon Ramsay nearly forced Levey off the show, saying he'd never seen anyone suffer so much.

But the gritty Ramsay apparently appreciated the San Diego chef's determination.

"I was slightly surprised," Levey said in an interview Tuesday night from Araxi where he'll be cooking alongside executive chef James Walt for the next year. "But I felt confident. I stuck to my guns and I studied what Chef Ramsay wanted done."

It's hard to tell from the tightly edited show whether what we see is what we get. But Levey says what we saw of him is real.

"I definitely was myself. Fox takes the liberty to edit how they want and they can alter a single sentence. So, sometimes you get presented for the better and sometimes for the worse. But what people saw is very similar to who I am."

Unlike some of the contestants, 32-year-old Levey has been cooking for 25 years, worked for a number of top chefs and manned every station in the kitchen.

What he's not anymore is the guy who was doing it all so that he and his fiance could have a good start on their lives together.

The fiance is gone now. They're still friends, he says. But they have no future together.

But how good is it to be a single guy, known to eight million viewers moving to the best ski resort in North America for a dream job AND the Olympics? It's absolutely great.

Of course, snow and ice will be a big change from balmy San Diego, but not a total shock since Levey grew up in New Jersey. Until this past weekend, he'd never been to Whistler, but had visited Vancouver. He likes winter sports — both skiing and snowboarding — but perhaps won't have much time for honing those skills before the Olympics in February.

Levey has to move, find a place to live in the posh and pricey resort. He still doesn't know exactly what prizes he gets other than a job. And then there's the new boss.

Walt is anxious to see just exactly what Levey's skills are in order to assess exactly where the newbie is going to be working in his kitchen. The executive chef isn't quite sure what to expect from Levey over the next year — that's the length of the winner's contract and the time limit on American-born Levey's Canadian work permit.

"It looks to me to be a good choice," he said in an interview before the winner was revealed. "Definitely it is someone who has potential to be a good fit. Obviously once they arrive and are working, we can actually see where they're at. Then, it's really up to them . . . if they can get into the fabric of our kitchen, how they perform, that will decide how much they can do."

Walt normally only hires someone after bringing them in for "observation" and often they'll work unpaid for a week before being offered a job. So I asked him if it isn't a bit of crap shoot having an employee chosen by someone else in a Survivor-type contest?

"Oh yeah, because obviously it's not my decision. Definitely," he said. "You know, Gordon might have seen something different than what I would. I might hire someone that he'd pass on and vice-versa. We all have our ways and a lot of it is instinct. . . With something like this, I can't really be 100 per cent sure."

Part of Walt's uncertainty is due to the show itself. "Hell's Kitchen isn't like a real kitchen."

It's more about personality than it is about food, says Walt. And good food and a good kitchen are more about teamwork than ego and competing.

So, even though Dave Levey won Gordon Ramsay's and viewers' hearts with his grit, he's got a whole lot to prove to James Walt.

More Controversy For Michael Jackson

2009-10-13T09:25:00.001-04:00

You've heard of "This Is It," the documentary of Michael Jackson's concert-tour rehearsal that opens soon. Now hear "This is it" the song, billed as never-before-heard and vintage MJ. But is it? Some critics are saying, sort of. And one music legend is saying, definitely not. Let us explain.

The back story as far as we know is this: As reported by the New York Times, the origins of the recording are a bit cloudy. The King of Pop recorded the tune to piano accompaniment that could have been made any time between the albums "Off the Wall" in 1979 and "Dangerous" in 1991. Sony "discovered" it and added in a full orchestral tracks along with vocal back-up from family members to ready it for release.

The ballad, as music critic Ann Powers points out, doesn't sound new as much as it sounds familiar. Another song, "I never heard," co-written by Jackson and Paul Anka back in 1991 for the Latin singer Sa-Fire, sounds an awful lot like "This is it." As Powers puts it, "Jackson's version could be an older demo or a later reworking of the song."

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. From the mouth of Paul Anka, the release is nothing more than a rip-off. According to TMZ, the co-writer claims Michael Jackson stole the tapes from Anka's studio years ago, then simply recorded the song himself and renamed it. Even though Jackson eventually returned the tapes, Anka still says that the song is not MJ's to claim. So far, no response from Sony.

One thing's for sure: With more than 100 songs in the MJ archives, this is just the first of many releases. And probably, not the last controversy, either.

Listen to the two songs and decide for yourself if they sound alike.

The Vampire and Wolverine, Dancing Queens???

2009-10-13T09:18:00.001-04:00

Dancing queens?

We're already in love with Robert Pattinson's singing, and now it looks like Hugh Jackman is putting him up to a challenge. Robert Pattinson and Hugh Jackman are bonding over karaoke. More specifically, Abba karaoke.

Twilight's Robert Pattinson and X-Men's Hugh Jackman are getting ready to appear together in the movie Unbound Captives. So, obviously the two men need to start getting to know each other and to do a little male bonding. And what better way for men to bond than with singing Abba together?

According to I'm Not Obsessed, Robert Pattinson said, "We met up in Japan and we went karaoke singing. We were singing Abba songs, it was pretty funny. It was sort of an Abba song sing-off, you know, last man standing." We hear karaoke is big in Japan, so it sounds like Robert and Hugh were just trying to fit into local culture, of course.

Pattinson continues, "I think he won, only because he can drink more than me and still sing in tune. He's a cool guy and I'm really looking forward to that film."

We kind of doubt Hugh Jackman won the karaoke sing-off, though we haven't yet heard Wolverine sing! But we would totally love to see some footage of Robert and Hugh's singing. We're praying someone had a video camera and caught it all on tape!

New Moon Sountrack Avaible To Listen To

2009-10-13T09:15:00.001-04:00

The music of New Moon is completely perfect

The New Moon soundtrack isn't set to come out until October 20, but we're already hearing some of the songs from the album. It's going to be a good one that Twilight fans and non-Twilight fans alike, will fall in love with!

Have you ever bought the soundtrack to a movie you're not even interested in seeing? We know that not everyone is a Twilight fan (shocking, right?), but we think that plenty of non-Twilight fans would fall in love with the New Moon soundtrack. At least from what we've heard so far!

We're guessing fans of Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, and Thom Yorke aren't exactly the biggest Twilight fans. Generally speaking. Well, now all of these indie bands are going to be getting a whole new fanbase- Twilight fans. The tracks we heard that leaked online are pretty exquisite. The bands didn't alter who they are for the soundtrack. But they each have songs that seem to fit perfectly with the New Moon storyline.

Our favorite song right now is Bon Iver's "Roslyn" because we can just picture Bella wandering through the woods searching for Edward so clearly. We still haven't heard the tracks from the Killers or Lykki Li and we're really looking forward to those!

To hear more from Girzzly Bear and Thom Yorke on the New Moon soundtrack head to Prefixmag.com.

Robbie Williams Runs Over Paparazzo, Is That A Bad Thing?

2009-10-13T09:10:00.002-04:00

British singer Robbie Williams cried when his driver hit 18-year-old leaving X Factor studio.

Sunday night's taping of X Factor in Wembley went from lights and cameras to sirens and tears. We've found photos of Robbie Williams' car exiting the venue as a teenage paparazzo came too close to the vehicle he was in.

Williams' driver ran over the young man's legs and apparently Williams turned massively upset, crying in the backseat and panicking for the young man's life. It's reported the crowd around the vehicle was very concerned, and one witness said the whole event "looked really serious." Simon Cowell and Girls Aloud's Cheryl Cole were said to be among the witnesses.

Eventually Williams exited the car still in tears, and another car came along to take him and his passengers home. The paparazzo is said to have suffered only minor injuries

Prepare For Dragon Age!

2009-10-13T09:01:00.000-04:00

Looking forward to Dragon Age: Origins but don't want to wait until early November? BioWare will be releasing the game's character creator on October 13th, letting you get set up a full two or three weeks in advance.

Via a post on the official Dragon Age forums comes this little tidbit of news: The team at BioWare managed to split off the game's character creator from the rest of it, and will be releasing it as a free download on the 13th for any and all to try out.

While it'll probably be fun just to see what sort of characters you can create from the good-looking to the monstrous, this is a bit more than just free idle publicity for the game. If you create characters, you'll be able to save them to your hard drive and get to use them when the actual game releases.

...at least, if you're planning on buying the PC version. It sounds to me like everybody is welcome to download it and try it for themselves, but if you were planning on grabbing it for the Xbox 360 or the PS3, you'll just have to remake them - no handy character porting for you, I'm afraid!

So, October 13th, huh? Uncharted 2, Brutal Legend, and now Dragon Age's character creator? That's looking to be a pretty awesome day.

Boyzone Singer Died Of Natural Causes

2009-10-13T08:57:00.001-04:00

Boyzone singer Stephen Gately died of natural causes, a court official in Majorca has said.

Stephen was on holiday on the island with his partner Andy Cowles when he died in his sleep on Saturday.

Now medical experts have been checking his body to find out why he died. They found that he had fluid in his lungs which stopped the singer breathing.

The officials added that Stephen's family are now allowed to take his body home to Ireland for a funeral.

Managed by X Factor judge Louis Walsh, Boyzone were one of Britain's biggest boybands and had loads of hits in the 1990s, including six UK number ones.

Before the group decided to take a break in 2000, Stephen became one of the first stars of his time to openly reveal that he was gay and had a boyfriend.

Boyzone made a comeback in 2007 and more than 250,000 fans watched them perform during a concert tour in 2008. They also toured earlier in 2009, and were planning to make a new album in 2010.

Why Garry Shandling? Why?

2009-10-13T08:50:00.003-04:00

Well folks, Garry Shandling is yet another actor who just will not accept aging. I understand doing whatever you can to keep yourself looking good but foolish as well. Instead of botex and silicone why not just eating right and exercise?

The star showed off his new permanently-stuck-in-a-wind-tunnel expression during a visit to the The Late Show With David Letterman in New York on Monday.

Whilst this is evidently not Shandling's first brush with a surgeon's knife, it should be his last.

The New Dyson Fan $$$$

2009-10-13T08:48:00.000-04:00

The new Dyson Fan is the Dyson Air Multiplier Bladeless Fan, but is it really bladeless? The Dyson Air Mulitplier has blades in a lower canister rather than in visible sight.

So does that make sense? While a normal table fan can run you $20, to go for the bladeless fan Dyson will run you $300 for the 10 inch model and $330 for the 12 inch.

Um, why?

Well you can tell your friends how your new Dyson Air Multiplier Bladeless Fan uses a multiplication effect to pull in surrounding air and even comes with a handy dimmer switch to control air flow intensity. Yes, and that‘s why you paid more than $20 for a fan.

New Details About Anna Nicole Smith

2009-10-13T08:38:00.000-04:00

LOS ANGELES – Investigators are slated to testify about the more than two years they spent exploring the maze of prescriptions in the drug overdose death of celebrity model Anna Nicole Smith.

A preliminary hearing opens Tuesday focusing on Smith's former lawyer-boyfriend Howard K. Stern and two doctors linked to 44 different prescription drugs she took toward the end of her life.

Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristina Eroshevich stand accused of conspiring to illegally provide Smith with controlled substances. All three have pleaded not guilty.

Medical experts and pharmacists also are expected to testify along with the model's friends and associates.

At the end of the two-week hearing, a judge will rule if there is enough evidence to order the three to stand trial.

Spooky Google

2009-10-12T23:18:00.000-04:00

Mystery Google is a bit spooky, a bit social, and all in all a strange search engine full of surprises.
What does it do? Type in a search term on Mystery Google, and you get back "what the people before you searched for."
For example, we tried typing in "Huff Post" and got back the search results for a different user's query for "thank you."
It's a nifty way to know what other people are exploring on the web, and a cool spin of the online roulette.
We also learned a thing or two that we wouldn't have gone looking for otherwise (did you know "barak llahu fik" means thank you in Moroccan Arabic? We didn't).
Give it a try, let us know what you think.

Moon Crash Images Available

2009-10-12T23:16:00.001-04:00

The orbiting sister spacecraft to two NASA probes that slammed into the moon last week has beamed home images and temperature maps of the two intentional crashes.
The Diviner instrument aboard NASA's powerful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter took infrared observations of the impact, flying over the moon crash site of the agency's LCROSS probe and its Centaur rocket stage about 90 seconds after impact at a height of about 50 miles (80 km) up.
The LCROSS mission is aimed at detecting signs of water ice in the permanently shadowed craters at the moon's south pole by purposely crashing spacecraft into the lunar surface.
The mission's 2.2-ton empty rocket stage walloped a crater called Cabeus at 7:31 a.m. EDT (1131 GMT) on Friday. Four minutes later, the LCROSS shepherding craft followed suite.
After the impact, Diviner observed the site on eight successive orbits, and obtained a series of thermal maps before and after the impact at approximately two hour intervals.
Diviner is an instrument that maps the surface temperature of the moon in the infrared range of the light spectrum. The thermal maps taken of the Cabeus crater last week show the thermal signature of the impact.
LCROSS itself observed the crater made by the Centaur stage impact in its last few moments before its own death plunge. It still remains to be seen, however, whether the crashes created the vast plume of moon dirt that scientists predicted would blast out of the crater up to heights of 6.2 miles (10 km), where it could be lit up by the sun and visible to observers on Earth.
So far, astronomers using ground-based telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit have not reported seeing any ejecta plume, but have cautioned that more time is needed to be sure.
Scientists hoped to be able to scan that portion of the plume from space and Earth to determine if any water ice was present in the debris cloud. Finding proof of buried water ice — long suggested by the presence of hydrogen-bearing material at the lunar south pole — could be a boon for NASA since it could be a potential resource for future astronauts.
Last month, scientists announced definitive proof that small amounts of water exist elsewhere on the moon in a molecular form attached to lunar dirt.
NASA launched the $79 million LCROSS mission – short for Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite – in June alongside the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Huston Man Sleeping With The Dead

2009-10-12T23:12:00.000-04:00

HOUSTON – A Houston man found asleep with a corpse inside a closet of a vacant home has been charged with misdemeanor drug offenses, authorities said Monday. Cody Jean Plant, 21, was discovered Sunday after the owner of the house reported hearing voices and seeing signs of forced entry at the home in Cypress, about 25 miles northwest of Houston, according to a Harris County Precinct 4 Constable official. Authorities did not immediately release the dead man's identity.
"There were two guys in the closet. They appeared to be sleeping, one was snoring and the other was deceased," said Assistant Chief Deputy Mark Herman. "It appeared that they were doing some sort of narcotics, at least the one that they woke up."
Plant was charged with one count of possession of a dangerous drug and two counts of possession of a controlled substance of more than three grams and less than 28 grams. All are punishable by up to a year in jail. It was not immediately clear what kind of drugs Plant allegedly had in his possession.
Plant also had been charged with abuse of a corpse after prosecutors alleged he treated the body "in an offensive manner," but that charge was dropped Monday during a probable cause hearing.
Plant remained in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail Monday. Jail officials did not know Monday night whether Plant had an attorney.

McDonalds Online Monopoly Codes

2009-10-12T22:52:00.003-04:00

Hi I am going to beposting the special McDonalds Online Monopoly codes online for you. These are on a first come first serve basis. So gobble them up and have fun!

Code 1- http://bit.ly/1eXraI

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Shauna Sand Sex Tape Released

2009-10-12T17:27:00.002-04:00

Vivid.com Features Excerpt of Blonde Bombshell and Former Playboy Playmate from"Shauna Sand Exposed"LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--VividEntertainment, the world's leading adult film company, today launched aspecial page on its vivid.com web site featuring content of the gorgeoustelevision actress Shauna Sand-Lamas from the studio's upcoming hardcorecelebrity sex release, "Shauna Sand Exposed." "Shauna is every guy's fantasy of what a California blonde should be, with her33DD/22/33 figure, stunning blue eyes, pouty lips and long blonde hair," saidVivid founder Steven Hirsch. "We were approached by a third party, who broughtus footage of Shauna having sex with her current boyfriend and we wereimmediately interested in acquiring it. The scenes are of an incredible high defquality, which makes it the hottest celebrity sex footage I've ever seen. Shaunawas obviously having fun and loving what she was doing on camera and she isbursting with sex appeal." Hirsch said Vivid bought the footage and has fashioned it into a full-lengthfeature. "We're comfortable with our legal position in releasing this movie andit will be available through stores across the country and through onlineretailers Monday, October 19th. In the meantime we think everyone will enjoyseeing this very hot clip." Shauna is anything but shy about her sexual appetite. "I don't have time to goto the gym or anything like that, so I just dance at clubs and have sex," shesaid when interviewed while posing for a bikini photo shoot a couple of yearsago. Shauna Sand splashed onto the celebrity scene with her Playboy Playmate of theMonth centerfold in May, 1996. In April of that year she married Lorenzo Lamas,star of the Renegade TV series, whom she met through a guest appearance on theseries. They had three children together and got divorced in 2005 but are stillfriends. Since then she has been constantly working in movies, modeling and has appearedon a variety of TV shows (Renegade, Charmed, The Deviants and many others). Shespeaks fluent French and has appeared in numerous French magazines and on TVshows in France. Most recently she made an appearance on Leave it to Lamas areality TV series scheduled to debut this month on E! Entertainment Network. Vivid's "Shauna Sand Exposed" shows her modeling crotchless panties for herFrench boyfriend, finding a creative new use for her favorite flavor ofHäagen-Dazs ice cream, showing off what great shape she's in, and seeming tohave endless sex with Antoine, who also was the videographer for the movie,which was made during a visit to Miami. The movie will be released under the Vivid-Celeb imprint of the VividEntertainment Group. The imprint is best known for releasing movies starringsuch celebrities as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, Jimi Hendrix, Kim Kardashianand Ray J and many others.

6 Year Old Zachary Christie In Trouble For A Spork?

2009-10-12T17:21:00.002-04:00

NEWARK, Del. — Finding character witnesses when you are 6 years old is not easy. But there was Zachary Christie last week at a school disciplinary committee hearing with his karate instructor and his mother’s fiancé by his side to vouch for him.
Zachary’s offense? Taking a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch. School officials concluded that he had violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons, and Zachary was suspended and now faces 45 days in the district’s reform school.
“It just seems unfair,” Zachary said, pausing as he practiced writing lower-case letters with his mother, who is home-schooling him while the family tries to overturn his punishment.
Spurred in part by the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, many school districts around the country adopted zero-tolerance policies on the possession of weapons on school grounds. More recently, there has been growing debate over whether the policies have gone too far.
But, based on the code of conduct for the Christina School District, where Zachary is a first grader, school officials had no choice. They had to suspend him because, “regardless of possessor’s intent,” knives are banned.
But the question on the minds of residents here is: Why do school officials not have more discretion in such cases?
“Zachary wears a suit and tie some days to school by his own choice because he takes school so seriously,” said Debbie Christie, Zachary’s mother, who started a Web site, helpzachary.com, in hopes of recruiting supporters to pressure the local school board at its next open meeting on Tuesday. “He is not some sort of threat to his classmates.”
Still, some school administrators argue that it is difficult to distinguish innocent pranks and mistakes from more serious threats, and that the policies must be strict to protect students.
“There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife,” said George Evans, the president of the Christina district’s school board. He defended the decision, but added that the board might adjust the rules when it comes to younger children like Zachary.
Critics contend that zero-tolerance policies like those in the Christina district have led to sharp increases in suspensions and expulsions, often putting children on the streets or in other places where their behavior only worsens, and that the policies undermine the ability of school officials to use common sense in handling minor infractions.
For Delaware, Zachary’s case is especially frustrating because last year state lawmakers tried to make disciplinary rules more flexible by giving local boards authority to, “on a case-by-case basis, modify the terms of the expulsion.”
The law was introduced after a third-grade girl was expelled for a year because her grandmother had sent a birthday cake to school, along with a knife to cut it. The teacher called the principal — but not before using the knife to cut and serve the cake.
In Zachary’s case, the state’s new law did not help because it mentions only expulsion and does not explicitly address suspensions. A revised law is being drafted to include suspensions.
“We didn’t want our son becoming the poster child for this,” Ms. Christie said, “but this is out of control.”
In a letter to the district’s disciplinary committee, State Representative Teresa L. Schooley, Democrat of Newark, wrote, “I am asking each of you to consider the situation, get all the facts, find out about Zach and his family and then act with common sense for the well-being of this child.”
Education experts say that zero-tolerance policies initially allowed authorities more leeway in punishing students, but were applied in a discriminatory fashion. Many studies indicate that African-Americans were several times more likely to be suspended or expelled than other students for the same offenses.
“The result of those studies is that more school districts have removed discretion in applying the disciplinary policies to avoid criticism of being biased,” said Ronnie Casella, an associate professor of education at Central Connecticut State University who has written about school violence. He added that there is no evidence that zero-tolerance policies make schools safer.
Other school districts are also trying to address problems they say have stemmed in part from overly strict zero-tolerance policies.
In Baltimore, around 10,000 students, about 12 percent of the city’s enrollment, were suspended during the 2006-7 school year, mostly for disruption and insubordination, according to a report by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore. School officials there are rewriting the disciplinary code, to route students to counseling rather than suspension.
In Milwaukee, where school officials reported that 40 percent of ninth graders had been suspended at least once in the 2006-7 school year, the superintendent has encouraged teachers not to overreact to student misconduct.
“Something has to change,” said Dodi Herbert, whose 13-year old son, Kyle, was suspended in May and ordered to attend the Christina district’s reform school for 45 days after another student dropped a pocket knife in his lap. School officials declined to comment on the case for reasons of privacy.
Ms. Herbert, who said her son was a straight-A student, has since been home-schooling him instead of sending him to the reform school.
The Christina school district attracted similar controversy in 2007 when it expelled a seventh-grade girl who had used a utility knife to cut windows out of a paper house for a class project.
Charles P. Ewing, a professor of law and psychology at the University at Buffalo Law School who has written about school safety issues, said he favored a strict zero-tolerance approach.
“There are still serious threats every day in schools,” Dr. Ewing said, adding that giving school officials discretion holds the potential for discrimination and requires the kind of threat assessments that only law enforcement is equipped to make.
In the 2005-6 school year, 86 percent of public schools reported at least one violent crime, theft or other crime, according to the most recent federal survey.
And yet, federal studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and another by the Department of Justice show that the rate of school-related homicides and nonfatal violence has fallen over most of the past decade.
Educational experts say the decline is less a result of zero-tolerance policies than of other programs like peer mediation, student support groups and adult mentorships, as well as an overall decrease in all forms of crime.
For Zachary, it is not school violence that has left him reluctant to return to classes.
“I just think the other kids may tease me for being in trouble,” he said, pausing before adding, “but I think the rules are what is wrong, not me.”

Stephanie Seymour Nude Photo Goes Up For Auction

2009-10-12T16:10:00.003-04:00

Stephanie Seymour's sensational divorce from Peter Brant is making her more popular than ever. At Sotheby's on Friday, a 1992 Richard Avedon photo of the sexy supermodel -- shown pulling up her see-though dress to reveal her meticulous grooming -- was expected to go for $20,000 to $30,000. It actually went for $46,875. As is its custom, the auction house wouldn't disclose either the seller or the buyer. But maybe Brant, who has a huge art collection, got rid of the photo now that he's battling Seymour in court.

23 Year Old Dies At Baltimore Marathon

2009-10-12T16:00:00.001-04:00

A hospital official said a 23-year-old runner in Saturday's Baltimore marathon died after collapsing at the 25-mile mark.
Debra Schindler, a spokeswoman for Union Memorial Hospital, said the runner collapsed about 11:20 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the hospital about 1:10 p.m. Schindler said doctors were not able to revive the man, whose identity was not released.
The state’s medical examiner was expected to perform an autopsy Monday to determine the cause of death.
Event organizer Lee Corrigan told The Baltimore Sun, the runner fell near the last medical aid station where workers immediately came to his assistance. The station was one of seven along the route, which were staffed with 250 health care professionals, according to the report.
"We are heartbroken about it, and it puts a sad note on an otherwise great day for Baltimore," Corrigan told the newspaper. "Our hearts go out to him and his family."
Event organizers said the death was the second in the race's nine-year-history.

Oprah Winfrey Sued By Corrine Gehrls

2009-10-12T15:57:00.002-04:00

Corring Gehrls, a former flight attendant on Oprah Winfrey's private jet, has reportedly filed suit against the talk show host claiming she was improperly fired in July 2009.
The suit, which also names Harpo Inc., fellow flight attendant Myron Gooch and Kirby Bumpus, the daughter of Gayle King and goddaughter of Winfrey, alleges Gherls was dismissed after false accusations she had sex with pilot Terry Pansing during a flight.
Gooch and Bumpus allegedly accused Gherls and Pansing of having sex while the passengers, including Winfrey, slept during a flight. Gherls claims the incident did occur, but it was while the plane was on the ground refueling, not during a flight.
Despite Gherls and Pansing passing polygraph tests, which she claims Winfrey knew about, both were fired. Gherls is seeking over $75,000 in damages. Representatives for Winfrey and Harpo declined to comment on the suit.

DJ Seasunz

2009-10-12T15:53:00.002-04:00

NEW YORK (CBS) The father of Jaclyn Elisse Torrealba, an 18-year-old Miami college student, said that his daughter is dead, and police have arrested a man who entered the police department saying he had a body in his car, according to a press release from the Miami-Dade Police Department. She was dating a popular disc-jockey, DJ Seasunz, and the two had been together for what "might have been more than a year," according to Melissa Saavedra, who was high school debate partners with Torrealba. Torrealba was last seen Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 a.m. at Space Night Club, according to several friends. Her father, Pablo Torrealba wrote a post on her Facebook page confirming his daughter's death. According to a press release from the Miami-Dade Police Department, an unnamed white male entered a police station at approximately 7 p.m. Oct. 11 to "surrender himself" and inform officers that "there was a deceased person inside the vehicle that he had arrived in." Friends say that Torrealba, a freshman at Florida International University, was a "smart girl" who was toying with the idea of becoming a lawyer. According to Saavedra, Torrealba was a hip-hop dancer and cheerleader in high school. "Jackie was such an amazing girl. She always had a smile on her face she was funny, she was a great dancer," Saavedra told Crimesider in a Monday phone interview. According to Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, police have been questioning the man since his arrest Sunday night, and as of 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 12 they had not yet taken his formal statement.

Jaclyn Torrealba

2009-10-12T15:46:00.002-04:00

NEW YORK (CBS) Only hours after friends told Crimesider that missing 18-year-old Miami college student Jaclyn Torrealba was found dead, her father, Pablo Torrealba, wrote a tearful message to family and friends on the social networking site Facebook. Crimesider has reprinted it below without editing. Dear family and friends, I am writing to all of you today with immeasurable pain and anguish, as I inform you of the tragic events that took place yesterday, when our beloved Jaclyn was abruptly and much too prematurely taken away from us, the victim ...of an incomprehensible act of violence. Thank you for all your kind gestures, words, thoughts, and prayers in these extremely sad times. We are all going to need the support and comfort of one another; the times ahead will be, without a doubt, some of the most difficult ones that any person may experience. As you reflect upon her life and remember the times that you shared with her, please, keep a little memory of her alive in your heart, so that our dearest Jackie may experience through you glimpses of that wonderful life that she never got to live. My sweet little princess, so much joy you gave me with every smile, so much happiness with every hug, so much love with every gaze...you will forever be with us. Love you, Pablo Torrealba

Jaclyn Elisse Torrealba, a beautiful freshman at Florida International University who had considered studying law, went missing the night of Sunday Oct 11. She was last seen at 2 a.m. at Space Night Club, according to several friends. She was dating a popular disc-jockey, DJ Seasunz, and the two have been together for what "might have been more than a year," according to Melissa Saavedra, who was high school debate partners with Torrealba. According to a press release from the Miami-Dade Police Department, police have arrested a man who entered a police station saying he had a body in his car and had been questioning the man since his arrest Sunday night. The Miami Herald has now identified that man as 30-year-old Juan Carlos Portieles and say police have charged him with second degree murder in Torrealba's death.

Happy Columbus Day

2009-10-12T12:11:00.001-04:00

Americans are celebrating Columbus Day Monday.

Columbus Day is a federal holiday observed on the second Monday in October, marking the anniversary of arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas.

Columbus, an Italian explorer sailing under the Spanish flag, led four expeditions to the New World, but never accomplished his original goal -- to find a western ocean route to Asia. Instead, Columbus ushered in a new era in world history by opening up the Americas to exploration.

Columbus Day became a U.S. holiday in 1971. It is generally observed by banks, the bond market, the Postal Service and other federal agencies, along with most state government offices and some school districts. However, many businesses and stock exchanges remain open.

There is a trend among some states away from observing the holiday.

NFL POWER Rankings

2009-10-12T12:09:00.001-04:00

Well, well. After years of AFC dominance, there's serious change at the top of the rankings this week. For the first time in memory, the top four teams are all from the traditional weak sister conference, the NFC.

That's right. While the New York Giants remain in first, the New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings and idle Philadelphia Eagles all climbed past the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, who fell from the ranks of the undefeated last week.

The Ravens and Jets didn't fall too far, however. They come right after the fifth-ranked New England Patriots to round out a pretty impressive top seven.

The week's big gainers were the Denver Broncos, who zoomed from No. 18 to No. 11 after holding off the Dallas Cowboys in the closing seconds, and the Miami Dolphins jumped from No. 27 to No. 22 by getting off the schneid with a rout of Buffalo. The Bills took the biggest plunge by switching spots with the Dolphins.

The rankings follow; as always, last week's rankings are (in parentheses).

1. Giants (1): Eli Manning has plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Fortunately for New York, this week's foe, the Raiders, play like Mr. Peanut from Planters Peanuts. With a date on New Orleans' artificial turf up next Sunday, Tom Coughlin should let his quarterback rest up and let his running game and defense dispense with Oakland.

2. Saints (4): Looks like the second G (for genius) is back in Gregg Williams' name. After getting fired by Washington and enduring a down year in Jacksonville, Williams has New Orleans' defense on track after a tough first two games. And Williams has two weeks to prepare even more packages for the epic matchup with the Giants after Sunday's bye.

3. Vikings (6): Could the past couple of weeks gone any better for Brett Favre? The quarterback concluded his 30s with a last-second touchdown to give San Francisco its first loss and by throwing three touchdowns to whip Green Bay, his longtime team and now bitter rival. There shouldn't be nearly so much drama Sunday at winless St. Louis.

4. Eagles (8): Quarterback Donovan McNabb is back from the fractured rib he suffered in the opener and the Eagles are back from the bye that followed their laugher against the Chiefs. More of the same should follow the next two weeks against winless Tampa Bay and laughable Oakland. The NFC East showdown with the Giants is still four weeks away.

5. Patriots (7): The questions about the Pats that erupted after their close shave with Buffalo and their loss to the Jets are in the rear view mirror after they survived the visit from Baltimore. This week, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are out to prove that they don't miss ex-offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels much when they visit his Broncos.

6. Ravens (2): The Ravens have no reason to hang their heads after their 27-21 loss at New England. Joe Flacco dueled evenly with 3-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady. Knowing Ray Lewis and Co., they'll use the controversial calls and the narrow defeat as fuel to smack the visiting Bengals and take command of the AFC North.

7. Jets (3): Having only started one year at USC, Mark Sanchez was due for a tough day or two as a rookie starting quarterback. The first one came last week at New Orleans. So Sunday's visit to Miami is Sanchez' first chance to show cynical Jets fans, who've been waiting 41 years for a second Super Bowl title, how he can handle adversity.

8. 49ers (9): So much for missing injured running back Frank Gore. San Francisco scored two defensive touchdowns and another on special teams in shutting out St. Louis 35-0. The Niners are just 28th in yards and passing, but only Denver gives up fewer points. More important, San Francisco will be 3-0 in the NFC West heading into December.

9. Colts (11): Marvin who? Anthony who? Indy isn't missing Hall of Fame lock Marvin Harrison or replacement receiver Anthony Gonzalez because Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have combined for 22 catches, 338 yards and three touchdowns, showing again just how special Peyton Manning (114.5 rating) is. The Colts now visit desperate rival Tennessee.

10. Falcons (8): Coach Mike Smith's background is on defense, but you can't tell by his defense which is the NFC's worst on third down and has allowed its second-most yards. But look again. Only three NFC teams have given up fewer points. Now if Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White can get the offense going, Atlanta should be fine.

11. Broncos (18): Yes, Mile High maniacs, I said that if if Denver beat Dallas, I would start to believe. And I do, sort of. But look at what lies ahead for the Broncos: Pats, at Bolts, at Ravens, Steelers. That's the AFC's Murderers Row minus the Colts, whom Denver visits in December. If the Broncos make the playoffs, they'll deserve it.

12. Bears (13): Chicago isn't shutting down opponents the way it did when Brian Urlacher was patrolling the middle of its defense, but with new quarterback Jay Cutler on track for 32 touchdowns, who cares? And running back Matt Forte came alive last week vs. Detroit. The next two games at Atlanta and Cincinnati could easily go either way.

13. Bengals (12): I said it last week, but it bears updating: is Cincinnati really a fluke, last-minute 87-yard touchdown by Denver away from 4-0? Instead of folding, as usual, the Bengals rallied to win in OT in Cleveland last week. If they can play toe to toe with the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday, the Bengals will prove contender-worthy.

14. Cowboys (11): There shouldn't be any despair in Jerryland. The Cowboys' losses have come by a total of six points on the road to the unbeaten Giants and Broncos. Dallas has pounded Carolina and Tampa Bay and should crush Kansas City on the road on Sunday. But T.O. is definitely missed. No Dallas receiver has more than 11 catches or one touchdown.

15. Packers (15): At least that's over with. After losing the much-hyped first battle with Brett Favre, Green Bay should return from this week's bye to beat Detroit and Cleveland before the once-beloved quarterback returns to Lambeau Field. But by then, the O-line (20 sacks!) had better learn how to pass-block to preserve Aaron Rodgers' health.

16. Jaguars (17): Say this for Jack Del Rio's crew: they're playing their best in the games that mean the most. Last week's 37-17 shellacking of Tennessee moved the Jaguars to 2-1 in the AFC South. And their next four foes (Seahawks, Rams, Titans, Chiefs) are a combined 1-15. Maybe Jacksonville might have to stop blacking out its home games.

17. Steelers (18): Go figure. Other than the impotent St. Louis Lambs, the two worst fourth quarter teams so far are the two who played a dynamic fourth quarter in Super Bowl XLIII: Arizona and Pittsburgh. The Steelers have been outscored 48-13 in the final 15 as they head to Detroit for the first time since they won the Super Bowl there in Jan. 2006.

18. Texans (19): Houston: we have a problem. It's called consistency. The Texans have lost by 10 and 17 points and won by 23. Houston is struggling to run and stop the run and the pass rush has just four sacks. But don't blame quarterback Matt Schaub, who has eight touchdowns and a 98.6 rating heading into a date with Arizona's poor pass defense.

19. Chargers (16): A 38-28 loss at Pittsburgh doesn't look so bad, but the Bolts were battered during the first three quarters. What was supposed to be a waltz to a fourth straight AFC West title could be permanently derailed if San Diego loses to visiting Denver after its bye and falls even further behind the Broncos in the division race. Where's the defense?

20. Cardinals (23): Did Ken Whisenhunt and Co. rediscover their mojo during the bye week? An offense that struck fear in opposing defenses right through their final drive of Super Bowl XLIII scored fewer than 17 points in two of its first three games. The blah running attack isn't a surprise, but just three scores between Fitzgerald and Boldin?

21. Seahawks (21): Jim Mora Jr. coached Atlanta to a surprising playoff berth in his Falcons debut in 2004. Don't look for history to repeat in Seattle. The Hawks are about as dreary as the usual weather alongside Puget Sound. Their receivers only have one touchdown. Maybe the home dates with the Jags and Cardinals will energize this team.

22. Dolphins (27): Miami started 0-3 while losing quarterback Chad Pennington for the season. Backup Chad Henne had virtually no experience. So naturally, the Dolphins pummeled the Bills 38-10 last Sunday. If Miami's thriving pass rush (11 sacks) can get to New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, the turnaround could continue this week.

23. Panthers (27): Carolina can't score (last in the NFC in points), stop anyone (only Detroit allows more points) and has the NFL's worst coverage units. That was a heck of a lot for John Fox to fix during last week's bye. The good news is that the impotent Redskins visit on Sunday with shaky confidence and a coach and quarterback in trouble.

24. Titans (20): Jeff Fisher's team has had suprising starts lately. The Titans began 0-5 in 2006, 10-0 in 2008 and now 0-4. Just as surprising is that after losing its first three by just 13 total points, Tennessee was pounded by 20 at Jacksonville. And now come Indy, New England, the Jags again and the Niners. It's time to play Vince Young.

25. Lions (24): The good times lasted for all of a week in Motown. Not only did the Bears double up the Lions, 48-24, but they injured exciting rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford's knee in the process. Don't expect the Lions to beat Pittsburgh or Green Bay if retread Daunte Culpepper is under center. At least St. Louis is on tap after that.

26. Redskins (26): Rallying from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat the Bucs 16-13 relieved some of the pressure in D.C. on coach Jim Zorn, but quarterback Jason Campbell has five interceptions after throwing six all last year. Winning at Carolina Sunday would keep hope alive. The hiring of consultant Sherm Lewis is another bad sign for Zorn.

27. Bills (22): So much for beating up on the winless Dolphins while welcoming back top runner Marshawn Lynch from his suspension. Lynch ran eight times for four yards and Buffalo sank back into the AFC East basement with the rout by Miami. If the Bills can't beat the visiting Browns on Sunday, they and coach Dick Jauron are done.

28. Buccaneers (29): When your only touchdown against the staggering Redskins comes on a 10-yard drive and your kicker fails on his first four field goal tries of the season, you're the definition of bumbling. Whether it's second-year man Josh Johnson or rookie Josh Freeman at quarterback, the Bucs are already playing for the future.

29. Browns (31): Eric Mangenius almost stole his first victory last week after benching quarterback Brady Quinn for 2008 starter Derek Anderson. However, the Brownies bumbled their way to a 23-20 home loss to Cincinnati. Cleveland allows the most yards and the second-most points. So even slumping Buffalo should be able to beat the Browns this week.

30. Raiders (28): Since edging the Chiefs in Week 2, the Raiders have been outscored 52-9. Their offense is last in total yards, passing yards and first downs and only the Rams score less. But at least the Chiefs and the Rams don't have a head coach who might be arrested for punching one of his assistants in the face. Nice team, Al.

31. Rams (30): Anyone who wondered why the Ravens benched and then got rid of Kyle Boller can stop wondering after the backup quarterback's dreadful game in place of the ailing Marc Bulger last week against the Niners. The average score of a St. Louis game so far is 27-6 for the opposition, That won't change much Sunday against the visiting Vikes.

32. Chiefs (32): Kansas City scored 40 points the past three games. Former stud running back Larry Johnson is averaging 2.6 a carry. No one has more than 120 receiving yards. The defense has allowed 27 or more points in three of four games. Everything's definitely not up to date in Kansas City where the Chiefs will fall to 0-5 Sunday against Dallas.

Post Office Closing

2009-10-12T12:08:00.000-04:00

Columbus Day is one of eleven federal holidays that close down the USPS post office locations and halt mail delivery. However, many post office locations will be closed for good if the U.S. Postal Service approves the possible consolidation of 371 retail stations and branches. The U.S. Postal Service is expecting a deficit of at least $5 billion this .

According to an announcement by the USPS on October 9, a review process that started earlier this summer examined approximately 3,600 stations and branches in urban and suburban areas across the country to determine where consolidations might be feasible.

In a speech last week at the National Press Club in Washington, Postmaster General John Potter said that the USPS could save $20 million to $100 million by closing facilities.

With nearly 37,000 Post Offices, stations, branches, contract and community post offices, the Postal Service has the largest retail network in the United States. An additional 56,000 retail locations sell stamps and nearly 18,000 ATMs also dispense sheets of stamps. Postage can also be purchased at usps.com and printed on personal computers.

The consolidation announcement is part of the Station and Branch Optimization and Consolidation initiative that is currently being reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The filing does not represent a final decision on consolidation. To date, no facility-specific final decisions have been made by the United States Postal Service as a result of this initiative.

Not Evil Just Wrong Director Takes on Al Gore

2009-10-12T12:06:00.000-04:00

In the climate change world late last week, there were two uncommon events.

First, the BBC uncharacteristically published an article titled “What happened to global warming? ” The article by BBC climate correspondent, Paul Hudson, notes, among other things, that the warmest year on record was 1998, not 2007 or 2008, and the climate models did not predict this fact. This is noteworthy because during the past 11 years man-made CO2 levels have continued to rise.

Mr. Hudson also observes that the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), one of the most important ocean warming and cooling cycles, is cooling. Researchers have seen a correlation between the PDO and global temperatures. So if the PDO is cooling, then global temperatures might be cooling too. In his article, Mr. Hudson poses questions; he does not embrace the skeptically viewpoint. His report, however, does attract attention because of its rarity at the BBC.

The second uncommon event occurred in Madison, Wisconsin Friday night. Al Gore gave a talk at the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists and he uncharacteristically took questions from reporters. In the past, Mr. Gore has usually refused to debate or take questions about his views of global warming stating that the matter was settled.

Mr. Gore’s appearance, however, was not a free and energized debate. He only took six questions. One of the questions came from Phelim McAleer, the director of “Not Evil Just Wrong” (2008), a documentary about how certain extreme environmentalism can actually cause damage. Mr. McAleer asked Mr. Gore about the British court finding that “An Inconvenient Truth” contained errors. Mr. Gore stated that the court ruling was in his favor. When Mr. McAleer tried to ask Mr. Gore a follow-up question, the program moderators turned the microphone off.

But, even though Mr. Gore took only a half dozen questions (and no follow-up for Mr. McAleer) and the BBC did not throw in its lot with the skeptics, these two remarkable occurrences are noteworthy because they are rare events indeed. As Paul Hudson, somewhat surprisingly, closes his article, “It seems the debate about what is causing global warming is far from over. . . some would say it is hotting up.”

Ardi On The Discovery Channel

2009-10-11T22:59:00.000-04:00

Tonight, the Discovery Channel features a special on Ardipithecus ramidus called "Discovering Ardi". Although I haven't seen the video, the website for the project has a dozen video clips featuring Owen Lovejoy discussing the ramifications, some simulation video of Ardipithecus walking and a video on how Jay Matternes created his reconstruction drawing of Ardi.

To me, one interesting outcome from the reporting of Ardipithecus in Science has been the outpouring of "humans are not descended from apes!" stories. Despite what you might have read, there really isn't any basic change in who scholars believe humans are descended from—DNA tests have supported Darwin's theory all along that chimpanzees and African apes and humans are all descended from the same as-yet-undiscovered hominin, some 6 million years ago. Darwin wasn't wrong. What's changed because of 4.4 million year old Ardi's discovery is that the theoretical hominid's characteristics are likely to be less like chimpanzees than previously believed. It'll be interesting to see how the Discovery Channel covers this discussion.

Marge Simpson In Playboy

2009-10-11T22:56:00.001-04:00

Marge Simpson Playboy pictures? Yes, Marge Simpson Playboy pictures are becoming a hot topic on the internet after it was revealed that Marge Simpson would be on the cover of Playboy Magazine. First The Simpsons conquered theaters with a feature film, and now they are seeking to make a mark on men's entertainment magazines as well it seems. Now we will see if a Marge Simpson themes issue of Playboy Magazine is something that sells a ton of issues, or if it just becomes a collectible that people file away in a drawer somewhere.

This isn't the first time that a Simpson's character has appeared on the cover of a national magazine, but the appearance of Marge Simpson in Playboy could definitely go down as the most memorable. As can be seen from the Marge Simpson Playboy cover photo here, she appears in the nude, but is hidden in just the right places by a chair in the shape of the Playboy bunny logo. At least that is one positive way to look at this issue, as it is intended to be a family cartoon, but the envelope is really being “pressed” with this issue of Playboy Magazine.

Inside the magazine are images of Marge Simpson in cartoon lingerie, so there aren't really nude photographs, and maybe that will keep less people from being upset at this idea. It does seem strange that a cartoon character could generate so much attention, and that the thought of Marge Simpson in Playboy Magazine could stir up so much interest on the internet. Now Marge Simpson and the show itself is receiving a lot of publicity from this magazine spread, and it will be quite interesting to gauge whether it turns into a positive for The Simpsons, or if working with Playboy turns out to be a mistake.

The reason that this pictorial is taking place is to celebrate the 20th season of The Simpsons being on television, but is a spread in Playboy Magazine going too far? Or is this just another innovative attempt at humor by a show that has proven it can stand the test of time? We would love to hear your thoughts!

Mike Zimmers Wife Dead

2009-10-11T22:51:00.002-04:00

BALTIMORE -- I believe.

I believe the Cincinnati Bengals are for real. I believe they are more than a bunch of lucky guys touched by fate. I believe they are good enough to overcome the speed bumps that lurk ahead of them the next five weeks. And I believe they can and will contend for the AFC North title.

I believe because I just saw them win another close one. Only this wasn't Cleveland in overtime. This was Baltimore. In Baltimore. And it was a 17-14 decision that should not have been as close as it was ... but it was because that's how Cincinnati plays everything this season.

The Bengals lost the season opener on a last-second miracle. Then they won at the wire the following week at Green Bay, beat Pittsburgh on their last drive and survived Cleveland on a last-second overtime field goal.

Now this.

Only this one might've been the most difficult. Not because it was in Baltimore or because it was against the league's top-ranked run defense or because the Ravens are supposed to be light years ahead of Cincinnati ... and most of the AFC.

No, this was a land mine because Cincinnati played only days after the unexpected death of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's wife, Vikki. No one knew what to expect from Zimmer or his players, with Bengals coach Marvin Lewis admitting defensive players seemed in "a little bit of a funk" at last Friday's practice. But that happens. As linebacker Dhani Jones said, "emotion is the name of the game," and there was plenty of it tied to Vikki Zimmer's death.

"What was said to and by Mike Zimmer?" Lewis was asked.

"He said, 'You know how Vikki felt about all of you,'" said Lewis. "'She's up there now in heaven smiling at you.' Win or lose, she loved these guys. I was in their house on Thursday afternoon, and there were Post-It notes all around and treats for the players. And I reminded those guys of that Friday morning. I said that they were always on her mind."

So the Bengals went out and pulled off one of their biggest wins in years -- or the past three weeks -- with Zimmer on the sidelines. Not only did he call the defensive signals, but he was joined by his father, Bill, his son, Adam, and one of his daughters, Corri.

Don't ask me how he did it. I can't imagine. And don't ask Lewis, either. He said that Zimmer went "back and forth" before deciding to make the game, and good thing he did. He witnessed ... no, he helped engineer ... a victory that could be a defining moment for the Bengals as the season unfolds.

"That's a good football team," said Baltimore coach John Harbaugh. "They are everything advertised ... and more."

That's a big 10-4. Cincinnati didn't just beat Baltimore. It dominated the Ravens. It shut down one of the league's most prolific attacks, holding it to one touchdown and a season-low 12 first downs and intercepting quarterback Joe Flacco twice in what was easily his worst performance of the year. The Ravens couldn't run. They struggled to complete a downfield pass. And they couldn't make a big play when it was demanded. In short, Cincinnati played the Ravens as the Ravens usually play everyone else, hammering them with tough, physical defense and winning it on a last-minute drive.

I don't know whether to credit that to the emotion this team was feeling in the wake of a tragedy or to a club that is growing with each week and making a name for itself with its defense. What I do know is that the Bengals aren't going away anytime soon.

"We know what we've always known -- that we're a fighting team," said Jones. "A lot of people look at us and they don't know what we know -- and that's within ourselves. If you go out there on the streets and someone challenges you, if you're not confident within yourself then you don't stand a chance. You have to have a certain confidence within yourself, knowing who you are."

The Bengals found out who they are on an 80-play drive that began with just over two minutes left. It took 11 plays to cover the field, and it was helped by three Baltimore penalties -- all for first downs. But the point is: They did it, just as they did it in the last minute against Pittsburgh -- and for those keeping score, the Ravens and Steelers not only were the last two left standing in the AFC last year but are the teams that are supposed to keep Cincinnati down in the AFC North.

But they haven't. And maybe they won't. I know it's early, but I can't get over what Cincinnati did -- go the distance on Baltimore ... in Baltimore ... on a last-gasp drive. I saw it happen with Pittsburgh last year when the Steelers came here in December and went 92 yards to beat the Ravens at the gun, and I saw what it did for them.

I'm not comparing this year's Bengals to last year's Steelers, but I am saying they must be taken seriously. They can run, with Cedric Benson putting up 120 yards on the Ravens. That's extraordinary because the Ravens had gone 39 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. But when the streak was broken, it was Benson who did it.

"What an awesome accomplishment," he said. "It's hard for me to put into words how wonderful a feeling it is."

Then there's quarterback Carson Palmer. Nearly four years after suffering a serious knee injury, he finally seems himself -- unencumbered in the pocket, moving to avoid trouble and running for first downs. In fact, on the Bengals' last drive Palmer converted a fourth-and-1 with a 6-yard scramble up the middle.

"If there wasn't a play to be made downfield sometimes it's better to make the 2-yard scramble or the 4-yard scramble," he said. "In a field-position game, you don't want to take chances."

Cincinnati didn't have to because of Zimmer's defense. The Bengals missed an easy field goal. Star receiver Chad Ochocinco lost a fumble deep in Baltimore territory. Palmer's first touchdown pass was to Baltimore safety Ed Reed, who ran 52 yards with an interception. Tight end Daniel Coats dropped two passes that could have been scores. I don't have to draw you a picture. The Bengals made a raft of mistakes.

Yet they persevered, and maybe it was because they were determined to win one for Zimmer or maybe it was because they were determined to prove they are legit. It really doesn't matter which. All I know is the Bengals just won a game I didn't think they could, and with it they won respect they deserve.

"They believe they can win," Lewis said of his players, "no matter what the circumstances are. We keep talking about that: Just keep playing. Don't worry about. Don't flinch. Just keep playing. They believe that."

So do I.