- Good call Tuesday by the New York State Division of Parole, denying parole for the fifth time for Mark David Chapman. Chapman is of course that whack job who gunned down John Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980, ending an amazing, world-changing life far too soon. Lennon may have offended people with his willingness to speak out and speak up against things he perceived as injustices (war, specifically) and he and his fellow Beatles may have used a lot of drugs in their careers, but that doesn’t change the fact that Lennon wrote some of the greatest songs of all-time. His lyrics have impacted generations of people and been a force for a lot of good in this world. That Chapman was rejected for parole for a fifth time was absolutely the right choice. In every even-numbered year since 2000, he’s been turned down “due to concerns for public safety and welfare.” What, gunning down a total stranger on the street outside of his New York City apartment makes you a danger to society? No way. Chapman is serving a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, spending most of his days working outside his cell on housekeeping and in the prison library. With any justice at all, that’s where he’ll spend every day of the rest of his life…..
- Hypocrisy runs deep in China, even in the “pageantry and prestige” of the Summer Olympics. Ironically, it’s a superficial issue that is highlighting the depth of that hypocrisy, showing that not only do the Chinese trample human rights in their own and neighboring countries, they also are as vapid as despicable as anyone in any country, anywhere. The controversy comes after it was revealed that Lin Miaoke, the cute little 9-year-old girl who sang “Ode to the Motherland” as the Chinese flag was paraded around Beijing National Stadium during the opening ceremonies, wasn’t actually singing at all. Lin was lip-syncing to the voice of 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was offstage, singing live. Why not just let Peiyi be the one on stage singing if her voice is so great? Because she’s not cute enough, that’s why. “The reason was for the national interest,” explained Chen Qigang, the music director for the ceremony. “The child on stage should be flawless in image. We had to do it. We’d been through several inspections. When we rehearsed the spot, there were several spectators, especially leaders from the Politburo, who gave the opinion that it must change.” Right, because the message you want to send is that only if you’re physically attractive can you be on stage singing. Nothing like telling a 7-year-old that she isn't pretty enough and needs to sing behind the curtain while a prettier girl pretends to be the one singing. That won't stick with the kid at all and devastate her self-confidence. Wanna know a little secret, China? It looks worse for your national interest to have everyone see you yank a 7-year-old from the stage because she’s too ugly than it would have to put her out there to sing regardless of her appearance. People are funny that way, but they’re not going to be too concerned with the appearance of a 7-year-old singing in front of billions of people worldwide. They tend to cut kids some slack and not think less of you because you put her out there. But for a nation that has trampled all over everything in its path with calloused disregard for human rights and dignity in its quest to put on an Olympic experience that will show everyone how great you are, this isn't a surprise at all…..we probably should have expected it, actually.
- Despite an anachronistic image on the cover, Madden ’09 seems to be a big hit with gamers worldwide. The most popular football-themed video game around went on sale just after midnight on Tuesday and as you might expect, lifeless losers all over the United States lined up outside their nearest video game store to buy a copy for Xbox, Playstation 2 or 3, Wii or Nintendo DS. Depending on your system of choice, the game costs between $30 and $60. On the cover is a picture of Brett Favre in a Green Bay Packers jersey, an image chosen well before the prima donna quarterback played his game of retirement chicken and ended up losign a showdown with the Packers that ended with Favre traded to the Jets. It’s the 20th anniversary edition of Madden and there are, as always, new features to learn. At the game’s easiest level, the computer will actually selected plays for you and compensate for a beginner’s lack of experience. Each time you play, your skill level is adjusted based on your experience, so the game grows with you, so to speak. In Franchise mode, you guide your team through one or more seasons and there’s a new rivalry feature with ratchets up the pressure against key division rivals, making each task in the game a bit more difficult. It almost goes without saying that the graphics are amazing, realistic and breathtaking. There are also Madden Moments, which give players the chance to try to recreate great moments from the 2007-08 NFL season. For women out there who haven’t seen their husband, fiancé or boyfriend since Tuesday, all of this information probably isn't improving your mood. For the rest of you, this is a game you should play for yourself so you can see how good it really is……
- This is a new and pathetic low for porn addicts seeking to get their fix. A man claiming to be a police detective hit up his local adult video store in Longmont, Colo. and tried to get the owner to give him free videos by claiming that he was a cop making sure that none of the performers in the videos were underage. Worse yet, this tool tried the same stunt three times in nine days and was rebuffed every time. After the third attempt, the owner called police, who are now searching for the faux detective. Nice scam, knob. Yeah, that’s exactly how it works, local police get porn from local video stores, porn created by people in other states across the country, and they watch the videos to check for underage chicks getting after it. Hate to burst your pretend law enforcement bubble, amigo, but the local police wouldn’t be looking into that. It would be a federal matter and even then, the investigators aren't going door-to-door at local stores, asking for free DVDs. Dude, I’ve never been inside an adult video store so I don’t know what their prices are, but I know that normal, non-porn DVDs are less than $20, less than $10 on the discount rack. So you have to be able to get some porn videos for around that amount, and if not, put some spare change in one of those creepy, nasty viewing booths that adult video stores are always advertising on their big neon signs. What a pathetic, disgusting loser…..this guy is at the bottom of the barrel, even for porn addicts……
- Hearing that a $5 million lawsuit has been filed against teeny bopper musician Vanessa Hudgens isn't all that surprising and it would be even less surprising if you were allowed to sue people for putting out terrible albums. However, that dream of mine has yet to be realized and so I’ll have to settle for the fact that a music producer has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Hudgens, accusing her of breach of contract and failure to pay him his share of earnings. According to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, the 19-year-old signed a court-approved agreement in 2005, when she was a minor, with Johnny Vieira. The deal stipulated that she must share advances, royalties and merchandising revenue with him. Once Hudgens became well-known for her High School Musical gig, she and her father Greg negotiated a deal to get out of the contract. The facts of the case seem to indicate that Vieria is owed money, with two audit reports showing that he is due money. To this point, Hudgens has refused to pay up. But money isn't all Vieria is after; he’s also suing Greg Hudgens for defamation of character, alleging that Papa Hudgens called him a “predator” in e-mails to third parties. Maybe I’m just being a cynic, but this sounds to me like a wannabe child star inking a deal with a producer when no one else would have anything to do with her and then figuring that once she became famous, she could get out of that deal and didn’t need the guy’s help anymore. Pay what you owe, V., and be glad I’m not allowed to sue you for foisting that over-produced garbage you call music on the world…..
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