- Un-freaking-acceptable. Tufts University, you are now on my sh*t list in a big way and you know exactly why. Your horrifically indefensible decision to ban the epic decades-long student tradition that is the naked run through Res Quad to celebrate the end of fall semester classes is asinine, small-minded and awful. The reasoning given for the decision by university president Lawrence Bacow was that the school can't support the event because of the inherent dangers it presents, particularly the serious risks to student safety from a combination of dangerous levels of alcohol consumption, icy roads and cold temperatures. In other words, everything that college is about for the vast majority of people who attend. Doing stupid things while lubed up and hanging out with your friends is the fondest memory we all have from college and taking away something that has gone on for decades just because the university catches a bad case of political correctness and unjustified fear is heartbreaking. The Naked Quad Run has become an annual tradition for generations of Tufts students and whatever lame alternative events school officials come up with to replace the run are not going to fill that void. Although Bacow did not say what would happen to anyone who defied the Naked Quad Run ban and staged the event anyhow, he did state that the university will no longer sanction it and “will not allow it to take place.” Unless that means stationing real (not fake university police) around the quad and arresting anyone who rips off their clothes and sprints through the quad, I say that Tufts students have arrived at a moment of decision, a moment that will define them and their legacy on their campus. Will they meekly surrender and give up this important tradition or will they band together, rise up and stick a giant middle finger in the face of The Man by holding the Naked Quad Run whether the university sanction it or not? Now is the time, Tufts students, now is the time………….
- All overboard! The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is happening on Friday, April 29 and TLC is basically jettisoning everything else it could show during the week leading up to the nuptials in order to go wall-to-wall with wedding-themed coverage. Kicking off the festivities is Say Yes to the Dress: Princess Brides Special on Friday, April 22 at 9 p.m. The show will take viewers through various princess dress stories and allow them to dream for a few minutes before remembering that they could never afford any of those dresses. Saturday will be a brief respite from the blanket coverage before the schedule resumes Sunday with Charles and Di: Once Upon a Time on Sunday, April 24 at 7 p.m. It will be a chance to relive the most-watched wedding of the 20th century in case a wedding that didn’t matter to 99.99999999 percent of those watching it the first time around. Next up will be Untold Stories of a Royal Bridesmaid at 9 p.m. the same night. This scintillating program will tell the tale of India Hicks, who was a royal bridesmaid in the wedding of the century when her cousin and godfather, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana. Why following Hicks - a fashion model, television host and renowned designer around for a day as she takes viewers on a journey recalling her experiences as a royal bridesmaid, I don’t know, but it’s happening regardless. Capping off the night’s trifecta will be Royally Astounding: 30 Defining Days of the Monarchy at 10 p.m. Shot as a documentary, the program will examine 30 important days in the life of the royal family over the last 30 years. The overkill factor comes into play most profoundly on Monday, April 25 at 10 p.m., when Wild About Prince Harry airs. That’s right, because William going off the market means that Prince Harry takes over the top spot on the list of England’s most eligible bachelors. Tuesday’s programming is even more ridiculous, as What the Sell?! Royal Episodes will feature the cast of TLC’s What the Sell?! series in two episodes featuring items from the United Kingdom, including Princess Diana memorabilia royal lingerie dating back to Queen Victoria. This sure-fire train wreck will air at 10 p.m. and set the table for a true collection of losers to take center stage at the same time Wednesday night in Extreme Royal Collections. Bringing together the “most avid royal collectors in the world” shouldn’t be a collection of freaks and misfits with no lives whose sole passion is collecting junk that once belonged to famous people, right? Thursday will bring the focus back to the event at hand with The Making of a Royal Wedding, airing at 8 p.m. and breaking down the logistics and details that go into preparing for the wedding of the century. The pre-game show, so to speak, kicks off at 9 p.m. Thursday with Countdown to the Royal Wedding. Royal experts and TLC talent including Clinton Kelly and Randy Fenoli will host a round table from New York, the U.K. and elsewhere like they’re breaking down the freaking Super Bowl. The wedding itself finally happens Friday and TLC’s Royal Wedding Coverage begins at 5 a.m. Needless to say, anyone who watches more than 10 minutes of the aforementioned programming is a loser……….
- Nothing oppresses the human and entrepreneurial spirits quite like a good ol’ fashioned government takeover. The powers that be coming in and informing you that whatever business you are conducting has now become their business is both offensive and soul-crushing. But it’s a way of life in too many repressed nations around the world and nowhere is that reality clearer than in Zimbabwe, where officials have said the government will create a fund that will take control of 51 percent of the country's mines to finance development. "We have been careful to implement this ... We need the 51 percent (equity) to come into our sovereign wealth fund," said Saviour Kasukuwere, the minister of youth and empowerment. "We all agreed as a government." To build suspense ahead of its big announcement, the Zimbabwean government plans to reveal new guidelines on the mine policy, which will affect foreign-owned businesses, on Friday. Kasukuwere made his remarks at an investment conference in Harare on Wednesday. His boss, dictator/President Bob Mugabe, is undoubtedly happy with himself over this new plan and its potential to place even more power and influence in the hands of a regime that has proven itself ill-equipped to handle such authority. The government’s mine policy has been a point of contention ever since 2008, when a coalition government was formed to help end the country’s recession and bring economic stability to Zimbabwe. The purpose of the mine policy is to empower black Zimbabweans, at least according to government officials. Kasukuwere vowed that the new plan will not renege on that agreement, no matter how it appears from the outside. "We are not moving back on the 51 percent equity for our people," he said. "We can't allow foreigners to give us a raw deal. They are milking our wealth while we suffer." That sounds like a government looking to squeeze foreign companies operating within its borders, but Zimbabwean minister of economic planning and investment promotion Tapiwa Mashakada insisted that the new mine policy should not deter investors. "This is not about grabbing foreigners' equity," Mashakada proclaimed. "As a country, we need this fund to develop." If you believe the story the (corrupt) government is selling, the funds from the mines will go toward infrastructure and other growth efforts. "It is a reserve fund to bankroll our developmental projects," said Mashakada. Should the government do the unexpected and actually live up to its promises, the difference made by the mining revenues could be immense. Zimbabwe is rich in minerals such as diamonds, uranium, chrome, platinum and gold and last year's earnings from mineral exports were $1.7 billion, which is about 30 percent of Zimbabwe's estimated yearly GDP. Of that total, a mere $4 million was paid as tax to the cash-strapped Zimbabwe government, Kasukuwere said. That money will now be flowing in a different direction, but the real question is how much will actually trickle down to the people who need it most…………
- Tuesday was a big day for Verizon Wireless, which announced it would launch its first 4G smartphone, the ThunderBolt, on Thursday. The release will mark the first consumer-friendly device to for Verizon’s super-fast mobile network. As such, the ThunderBolt will cost customers a lot of money, as in $249.99 with a two-year contract. Although speculation of a new pricing structure for its fourth-generation wireless service, Verizon will offer a standard monthly voice plan starting at $39.99 and unlimited data at $29.99. As much time and money as Verizon has poured into its 4G network, finding a phone with a broad appeal to users for the system is extremely important. The network has been up and running since late last year, but thus far has been limited to laptop aircards that are extremely popular with business travelers. With a significant edge in connection speed over third-generation services, 4G has the potential to attract customers quickly, but only if a user-friendly device to access it is available. Sprint Nextel Corp. has built a significant lead in the 4G market and Verizon is playing a serious game of catch-up. Sprint has a major edge in the number of 4G-capable products in the market, including three smartphones. The value of the 4G label for Sprint is likely to decrease going forward now that AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Verizon are competing on the same level. Verizon plans to escalate its 4G repertoire quickly and showed off three other smartphones with the same capability as the Thunderbolt at a trade show in January. One of the major advantages of the ThunderBolt when on the 4G network is its ability to handle both simultaneous data and voice calls, which has previously been a major knocks on Verizon Wireless. Other next-generation smartphones have the same capability, but the Thunderbolt is the only one that can run simultaneous data and voice over the 3G network, thanks to a special design from HTC. As for the tech specs of the ThunderBolt, it features a 4.3-inch screen, a built-in kickstand for media viewing, dual-facing cameras, Qualcomm Inc.'s 1-gigahertz Snapdragon processor and a mobile hotspot capability, broadcasting a small Wi-Fi connection to up to eight other devices. The hotspot capability is free for those who purchase a Thunderbolt in the next two months and after that, users can pay $20 for 2 gigabytes of data access a month. Coupled with its recent addition of an iPhone model to its list of offerings, Verizon certainly is bringing out its big guns in an attempt to keep up with the rest of the market………
- What one issue bothers you more than any other when it comes to sports in American society? According to new research conducted by Discovery Education on behalf of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the answer is an old favorite, the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The poll asked about 9,000 Americans - including adults, children, athletes, and coaches - to measure the impact sports has on values and culture in the United States. Researchers found that 75 percent of adults surveyed agreed that athletes' use of performance-enhancing drugs is a violation of ethics in sports, with the other 25 percent coming down squarely on the side of, “If you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying and it’s only cheating if you’re caught.” Additionally, respondents ranked the use of PEDs as the most serious problem in sports, well ahead of the focus on money and criminal behavior of well-known athletes. One has to wonder how the results of the survey might change if they were conducted right now in light of the NFL’s lockout and the NBA’s impeding labor stoppage. USADA was quick to trumpet the results as evidence that Americans are extremely concerned about the negative impact of PED’s on sports at all levels. "This research reinforces that Americans care about the integrity of sport and what it means in our society," USADA CEO Travis Tygart said. Better still for USADA, nearly 90 percent of adults surveyed agreed that prominent athletes have a responsibility to be a positive role models for young people. Why do PEDs in sports touch such a major nerve with adults, who should theoretically be jaded and cynical when it comes to sports and realize that the world is full of corrupt, dishonest people? Another question in the survey measured association with sports and more than 60 percent of adults claim some relationship to sport-related activity, including 25 percent who claim to be active participants - parents of kids who participate in sports, coaches or volunteers. Those are the people most likely to believe that sports promote positive values and have the potential to teach both positive and negative life lessons. Ironically, 20 percent of those polled admitted to cheating and 41 percent who admitted to it said they were motivated by their desire to be a winner, which makes you wonder if any of them were the same individuals who had such a huge problem with performance-enhancing drugs. In conclusion, the USADA report said the "willingness to prioritize winning, at the sacrifice of ethics and health, erodes our trust in sport and its inherent value. The question is, to what extent is this but one extreme symptom in our country of a greater epidemic -- an ethics issue?" It’s a fair question and one we’ll address…….right after March Madness ends, along with the NBA season, the impending Major League baseball season and……….
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