- The top job on CBS’ hit crime scene drama CSI just isn't as appealing as it once was. For the first nine years, William Petersen held down the job aptly and helped make the show successful enough to spawn approximately 15 spinoffs (estimated). When Petersen left after the show’s ninth season, the producers took a big swing and landed Laurence Fishburne, who did an admirable job keeping the Las Vegas team intact with his portrayal of Raymond Langston. Unfortunately, the ratings never rebounded to their pre-Fishburne levels and the show finished this past season with a 3.3 rating among adults 18-49, ranking No. 30. Coming off those disappointing numbers, CBS announced it was moving the series from Thursdays to a more protected slot on Wednesdays to take on another show that has lost its leading man and most of its viewership, NBC’s Law & Order: SVU. Not long after that news broke, word leaked that Fishburne is out and no replacement has been chosen. Ironically, the best news for the original CSI this point is the sagging ratings of its primary spinoffs, CSI: New York and CSI: Miami, both of which are fading fast in the ratings and could be canceled within a year. Knowing the original version of the show may soon be all it has left, CBS is working behind the scenes to fill the void created by Fishburne’s departure. The network could repeat the decision to select a big-name, big-money star and hope that person sticks at least as long as Petersen, or hand the reins to one of the show’s long-tenured men-in-waiting, like actor George Eads, who has been with the show for its entire run and seems ready to take over the lead role. Even with that option, adding another star would be a must to help combat sagging ratings. Some big names are definitely on the free agent market, actors like Jimmy Smits (whose NBC drama Outlaw failed after one season, Chris Meloni (couldn’t reach a deal with NBC to remain on SVU. Michael Chiklis (also had a freshman drama, No Ordinary Family, crash and burn on ABC) and Terry O’Quinn, who has mostly been laying low since Lost went off the air. Regardless of who it selects, CBS definitely needs to hit on the selection or it could soon be without any CSI franchises for the first time this millennium (and that means you too, CSI: Fargo)…………
- Does it greatly worry anyone else that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is taking secretive trips into China aboard his armored train? The despot’s voyage took him to Chinese companies making cars, electronics, information technology and solar panels. When news of the visit leaked, many experts suggested it was a sign that the Chinese government, which has consistently supported him, is growing worried about North Korea’s recent economic struggles and wants answers. This time around, K.J. Il (a great rap name by the way) was reportedly much more open to seeking economic co-operation with China. However, expecting China-style changes to North Korea’s economy is probably a stretch because North Korea is in a much more precarious position internationally than China was when it began its major reforms. On the other hand, North Korea is staring down the barrel of its most severe famines in years and has the added problem of South Korea and the United States withholding food shipments because of the North's attacks against the South, its human rights violations and banishment of humanitarian workers who were overseeing fair distribution of food aid. Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, traveled to Beijing Wednesday and then on to Seoul to discuss the North Korean situation among other issues. Food shortages have been a major problem in North Korea for decades and between 900,000 and 3.5 million North Koreans starved to death in the 1990s, according to the United Nations. On top of that, a report last month from the U.N. World Food Program stated that more than 6 million of North Korea's 24 million people urgently need food aid. Five U.S.-based aid groups visited North Korea in February and cited decreased cop production as a major issue. South Korea has shipped millions of tons or rice to the North in the past, but halted the practice this year on account of the North launching military attacks against a South Korean island and sinking a South Korean warship. Is all of this enough to convince K.J. Il that he needs to relinquish some state control of the economy, as China has done? Probably not, but communists still need to stick together…………
- Anyone who has lost focus on Google’s quest for world domination may want to start paying attention again because the campaign is once again kicking into high gear with the release of the company’s Chrome 12 browser, including a tool to prevent downloading suspicious files. The new version of Chrome includes the capability to alert (clueless) users before they download suspected malicious files, which will help protect individuals and businesses from malware until hackers get to work and find dozens of ways to work around the new feature and wreak havoc anyhow. But for now, users can feel a nice, false sense of security by using Safe Browsing API, in which Chrome users when they are visiting a potentially harmful website. Another new feature of Chrome 12 is improved control of what data websites store about your computer, including the ability to delete Flash cookies from inside Chrome. For aesthetics, the hardware-accelerated 3D CSS will add higher quality graphics to websites and apps that integrate 3D effects. In order to keep Chrome 12 hack-proof for as long as possible, Google has also paid nearly $10,000 to researchers that found bugs and exploits in the browser’s code. The payday was especially nice for researcher Sergey Glazunov, who was paid a total of $5,133.70 for finding three bugs. Other hackers, er, um, researchers found vulnerabilities Google characterized as “high” and were also handsomely rewarded. Shoring up security would probably be a wise endeavor as Chrome now has 160 million users and its share of the world browser market grow exponentially over the past year. One year ago, Chrome had 7.05 percent of browser share. As of last month, that number has grown to 12.52 percent, compared to 7.28 for Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox, all of them lagging inexplicably behind Microsoft’s crap-tacular Internet Explorer, which somehow leads the market with 54.27 percent of users. Actually, that phenomenon isn't difficult to explain. Too many computer simpletons use inferior PC’s and Internet Explorer comes standard on all of them………….
- Not everyone in Miami is in a feel-good mood as the Heat make a run at their second NBA championship in the past five years. Police on Miami Beach seem to be in an especially bad mood - if you believe a witness who claims that officers smashed his smartphone after he witnessed and recorded a fatal shooting on the device. The police department has already come out and disputed d Narces Benoit's claim that his phone was crushed by an officer last week after he recorded a video of the fatal shooting. To retort the claim, they released photos of the phone in question, saying they demonstrate the phone is only slightly damaged, "and it is unknown when this damage occurred." Benoit’s video shows gunfire breaking out and officers firing on a car. Their target was an erratic driver on Memorial day who died as a result of wounds sustained in the shooting. The case quickly went national after Benoit's video and others became public. In the video, officers are seen instructing Benoit to stop filming and one officer shouts indecipherably at Benoit before pointing his gun directly at the camera and backing away. Benoit claims that officers smashed his phone and the phones of other witnesses as well, claims his girlfriend - also at the scene - backed up. Police claimed Monday they received no other complaints of damaged property but did take several phones from witnesses for the purpose of obtaining evidence. "Any and all video of the incident is crucial to the investigation, and it is not unusual for police to secure any video that may have evidentiary value," the official statement said. A local television station, WPLG, confirmed that police confiscated a camera form one of their photographers and later returned it. Not only did the police department call Benoit a liar, but it also defended officers’ handling of his situation, saying he was detained because he "matched the description of one of the subjects just reported fleeing the scene and, further, because he ignored repeated commands as he quickly walked towards and entered his vehicle." That sounds drastically different than the tale Benoit is telling because in his story, he was following an officer's instructions to get back into his truck only to be ripped from it, hurled to the ground and handcuffed shortly thereafter. As for the case itself, Miami Beach police say they are still investigating the shooting. The victim, Raymond Herisse was stopped in his car at 4 a.m. on Memorial Day but drove away after an altercation, police said. A video allegedly of the incident was posted on YouTube and shows Herisse’s car moving erratically as it comes to a stop at an intersection. Dozens of bystanders scatter as officers surround the car with guns draw. Herisse was killed in the exchange and four bystanders were injured by gunfire, according to police. What happened next is up for dispute…………
- Up-and-coming stars in any sport need to learn valuable lessons from the veterans who have gone before them and Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward is going to get that sort of tutelage from third baseman Chipper Jones whether he likes it or not. Jones, who has been the franchise’s most popular player for more than a decade, took notice when Heyward was eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday but did not do so because he hasn't swung a bat in more than two weeks. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said his young star is still a few days away from hitting off a tee and Heyward said he did not want to return until he's completely healthy. That didn’t sit well with Jones, who said the young slugger needs to realize how important he is to the Braves, even if he isn't 100 percent and also what it takes to play through pain. “I think where Jason might have erred was the comment that he made, 'I'm not coming back until it doesn't hurt anymore.' That has a tendency to rub people the wrong way," Jones stated. "And we understand where he's coming from -- he wants to be healthy when he plays, so he can go out and give himself the best opportunity to be successful. I get that. What Jason needs to realize is that Jason at 80 percent is a force, and Jason at 80 percent is better than a lot of people in this league. And that there are a bunch of his teammates that are out there playing with discomfort and not healthy, and still going at it." Jones’ comments come as the Braves trail the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East by three games and are trying to keep pace in the NL East race. Heyward is a key part of the offense, but has had been in pain since spring training. Two MRIs have found inflammation of the shoulder but no major problems, prompting Jones’ remarks. Playing in pain, Heyward has batted just .214 with seven homers and 14 RBIs in 45 games after finishing second in 2010 NL Rookie of the Year voting when he hit .277 with 18 home runs and 72 RBIs. At his current pace he won’t match those numbers, but if he takes Jones’ words to heart and makes the recommended changes, the future could be more successful (and possibly more pain-riddled) for Heyward. Hurting or not, the Braves would certainly be glad to have him back in the lineup………..
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