Police with trident, proof ballet dancers are badasses and Jack White's bizarre world

- What are most college students doing on a Sunday morning, let alone a Division I football player on what might be his only day off of the week? Their activity can typically be described in three words or one great acronym: NIO - napping it out. Still reeling from their bender the night (and morning) before, the average college student is worshipping at the church of the other side of the pillow through Sunday morning and into the afternoon, rolling out of bed just in time for a 1 p.m. breakfast of Natty Light and Cap’N Crunch. Marshall University wide receiver Troy Evans is an overachiever in that sense. Not only was he up and out of bed well before noon on a Sunday, but he was busy - really busy. So busy, in fact, that he was being held Wednesday morning at the Western Regional Jail on $250,000 bond. Why, you ask? Well, that is what usually happens when a person is allegedly responsible for not one, not two, not three, but four armed robberies near their college campus in a single morning. According to Huntington police Lt. J. Williams, Evans was arrested Tuesday on the campus without incident and faces a wanton endangerment charge in addition to the four armed robberies. He was reportedly arrested after football practice and not long after, the university announced he had been suspended indefinitely from the team for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Wait……robbing four apartments in the span of a few hours is a violation of team rules? Which rules? This guy was showing a go-getter attitude, not sleeping his day away and trying to solve the one puzzling problem that faces all college students and especially college athletes, namely how to fuel their fund for beer, ramen noodles and Cap’N Crunch while also going to class and in the case of athletes, practicing, training and playing in games. However, Evans probably could have made a better choice to raise funds. The same elusiveness that made him the team's leading punt and kick returner last season did not seem to translate into eluding detection and arrest after he (allegedly) robbed his four victims on Sunday morning…………


- There is no question soda, energy drinks and other sugary beverages are extremely popular among those age 50 and under in the United States. The next time you walk into any public places and don’t see nearly half the people there with a Monster, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper or other sugar-laden beverage handy, mark it down because that will be a rare day indeed. That reality is extremely concerning to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has published the results of a survey that reinforces what the world already knew - in other words, it did what science does best. Both teens and adults ages 20-39 are getting a disturbing amount of their daily calories from sugar-heavy drinks, said Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the CDC. Teens who consume such beverages are taking in about 327 calories a day from them, while those in the 20-39 age bracket consume 336 calories a day from them. Those figures represent about 2½ cans of cola daily, which is probably a modest day of drinking for many Americans. The survey also showed that half of people in the USA drink sugary beverages on any given day and nearly 25 percent consume at least 200 calories a day from them. Furthermore, about 5 percent of people ages 2 and older consume at least 567 calories a day from these types of drinks, which is equal to more than four 12-ounce cans of cola. "Sugar-sweetened beverages are the number one single source of calories in the American diet and account for about half of all added sugars that people consume," says Rachel Johnson, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. "Most Americans don't have much room in their diets for a completely nutrient-void beverage." And what is THAT supposed to mean, R. Johnson? Are you implying Americans are eating tons of fast food, fatty desserts, fried foods and other unhealthy grub? If that were the case, wouldn’t it show along the waistlines of……never mind. The risks of massive sugar intake are well-known: increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Other findings in the study include: males consuming more sugary beverages than females, black and Mexican-American adults drink more calories from these beverages than whites and people in lower socio-economic groups consume more calories from them than higher-income people. All of this data can be found in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is considered the preeminent voice in evaluating food and beverage habits because the data is from in-person interviews about dietary habits. More than 17,000 participants were interviewed for the study and for purposes of the study, researchers considered drinks with added sugar to be sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks and sweetened bottled waters. In stark contrast to the 300-plus calories consumed daily by the aforementioned percentages of teens and adults, the AHA advises people to consume no more than 36 ounces or about 450 calories from sugary beverages a WEEK. As always, leave it to America to go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to downing unhealthy grub……………


- Brick Tamland, you may want to begin making your way to Cincinnati, Ohio. A local police department in the area has a job that would be perfectly suited for you. For those who aren’t fans of Will Ferrell’s comedy classic “Anchorman,” Tamland is the mentally handicapped weatherman with an IQ of 48 who killed a rival news anchor in a back-alley brawl using a trident, which just so happens to be the new weapon of choice for the Colerain Township Police Department. Colerain, located just outside Cincinnati, is trying to set an example for the rest of the state’s law enforcement in making a change in their non-lethal devices. Officers will now use a Mark 63 Trident instead of the Tasers that they have carried on the job for the last seven years. Given that Tamland hurled an actual trident several dozen yards and nailed a rival newsman in the chest, he could probably teach the officers of the CTPD plenty about their new toy, which can be used as a stun gun, baton, a blinding strobe light and also shoots pepper spray. Some have termed it the Swiss army knife of non-lethal weapons and Police Chief Dan Meloy said it reduces the number of decisions for officers on what to reach for in the event of a confrontation.
"You have a deadly situation or non deadly situation, one of the two. From the non-deadly situation, you have the tool and the means within one devise to make the decision on how best to handle it," Meloy said.

"You're always looking to improve, what's best." What’s best in the eyes of the CTPD is eschewing the Taser even though the popular device was not responsible for any incidents or deaths involving its officers. Tasers have caused fatalities in southwest Ohio as well as other parts of the country and earlier this month, a college student was killed after University of Cincinnati police used a Taser on him. Of course, Brick Tamland has already taught the world that tridents can be plenty lethal too…………


- Since officially disbanding the group that made him a rising rock star, Jack White has been a busy man. He was busy before dissolving the White Stripes, with side projects the Dead Weather and the Raconteurs keeping him hopping. He also founded his own label, Third Man records, and since opening the label and a and recording studio in Nashville in 2009, Jack White has produced dozens of singles by a wide range of artists: Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cold War Kids and country singer Pokey LaFarge. As eclectic a mix as that is, White’s latest project seems even more bizarre for a guy who has built his entire image on being offbeat and unusual. Shock rock/rap group Insane Clown Posse is White’s newest musical partner, as Third Man Records announced Wednesday that White will produce a 7” single on which Insane Clown Posse covers a little known piece by Mozart called "Leck Mich Im Arsch." For the German-ignorant, that translates to "Lick Me in the Arse" in English. The song is thoroughly ridiculous and can already be heard on line. It will be released as a single and paired with a B-side called "Mountain Girl" on which ICP members Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J rap about meth, moonshine and a shotgun wedding. Against this sophisticated musical backdrop, it’s difficult to see how everyone won't be fired up about the full album going on sale Sept. 13. That White would work with ICP is not surprising, as he has clearly been looking to expand his brand and range since he and ex-wife Meg ended their run as the White Stripers earlier this year. He made a recent appearance on The Colbert Report, showed a great sense of humor and displayed his capability to be one of rock ‘n' roll's finest straight men. His tongue-in-cheek sense of style and humor has always made White a polarizing figure among music fans, but he has shown a willingness to swing to any extreme when it comes to who he will work with, even if the end result is perplexing and just plain weird……….


- Ballet dancers have always been the badasses of the dance world, so this next story comes as no real surprise. Some enterprising Dominican drug ring decided to hide under the umbrella of common knowledge about ballet dancers’ edgy ways by smuggling a whopping 150 kilograms of pure cocaine hidden in a shipment of ballet shoes smuggled in from the Dominican Republic. French police seized the shipment after arresting two Dominicans last week at the French capital's Charles de Gaulle airport in a sting operation and using information obtained from those arrests to locate the shipment in an apartment in the east of Paris. Two other accomplices, also Dominicans, were arrested and are currently being held in custody. Narcotics police said the four men were part of a Dominican drugs gang that also owned properties in The Netherlands and Spain. None of this is shocking and the real stunner is that no one attempted a stunt like this before. Drug rings and cartels are always looking for seemingly innocuous products in which to hide their product and ship it across oceans and international borders, so why not capitalize on ballet dancers’ reputation for being the gang-banging, tatted-up, gangstas of the dance world? Tell me you don’t know a ballet dancer who is the toughest, meanest S.O.B. you’ve ever met and I will call you a liar. This incident also underscores the reality that the Dominican Republic is fast becoming a major hub for drugs heading from South American cartels in Colombia and Venezuela to western Europe. Oh, and it also explains how ballet dancers remain so thin all the time and fit into their outfits, because a FAT coke addict is a rare sight indeed. Just kidding, ballet dancers…………

Riot Watch! South Africa, mutant bird flu on the rise and new D-List ballroom dancers for ABC

- Just when the world tried to count bird flu out, it is swinging back and with a vengeance, according to a United Nations warning issued Monday. The U.N. admitted that while the deadly virus had been in decline since appearing in 2003, it has found new life (get the ironic pun there?) thanks to wild bird migrations that have brought it back to previously virus-free countries. So far, a mutant strain of the revived bird flu has already killed people in Asia. The nations most in danger are predicted to be Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Most alarming in the U.N. proclamation is news of a new vaccine-resistant strain that's been detected in China and Vietnam. While one (Michelle Bachmann?) could argue that the mutant bird flu is God’s punishment on China for the human-rights-trampling ways of the Communist Party, it is the common Chinese citizen in the remote fishing village most likely to suffer. For those who have forgotten about the bird flu and what it can do, here are a few symptoms: fever, cough, muscle aches, sore throat, eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory disease and death. Sounds like fun, no? The virus spreads from infected birds to people, though human-to-human transmission is possible. If touching dead birds is a hobby of yours, now would be an excellent time to find a new one. Others in possible danger from the mutant bird flu are those who have extensive contact with infected birds because they work in jobs such as poultry production. So far, no cases have been reported in the U.S. and we should all be aiming to keep it that way. If you live in a border state - any border, be it land or ocean - and you see a suspicious, sickly-looking bird you suspect might have the mutant bird flu, bust out your shotgun or semi-automatic weapon (for Texans) and blast it from the sky while wearing your HAZMAT suit. Using long tongs or forceps, pick up the bird and dump it into a giant vat of acid, place the lid on top and the problem is disposed of. Or you can follow the U.N.’s weak advice and “increase surveillance and take preventative steps.” Personally, the HAZMAT suit, AK-47 and vat of oil stand at the ready…………


- You’ve done it again, ABC. Every season the network faces the immense challenge of finding a less recognizable, less interesting group of D-listers for its ballroom dancing reality show Dancing With the (D-List) Stars. Consider the cast of has-beens, never-weres and reality show cast members they find on an annual basis, topping them always seems impossible - and yet ABC always succeeds. This time around, the cast includes a transgender FAT dude who started life as a chick and is famous only as the son of a couple of pop hacks from the 1970s (Chaz Bono), the host of one of the most comically absurd, white-trash daytime talk shows ever (Ricki Lake), an Italian actress Americans know only because she just became the 15,007th hot actress to break up with George Clooney, a chick who is famous for being on a reality show about kids in an über-rich, SoCal beach community and dating one of the most despised quarterbacks in the NFL - Jay Cutler - before their recent break-up (Kristin Cavallari) and the “star” of the oh, so forgettable “Scream” movie franchise, the cherubic David Arquette. But wait, there’s more. This year’s cast also has its requisite FAT-so who feels like being on the show is the answer to finally shedding the dozens of extra pounds he or she has been carrying around for years. Filling that role is Kardashian family black sheep (although it is admittedly tough to pick one black sheep in a family full of them) Rob Kardashian, whose “fame” is derived from being the loser brother of a trip of sisters who are famous for being reality TV, jock-chasing skanks and the offspring of former U.S. Olympian Bruce Jenner. Rob Kardashian believes that ballroom dancing on a reality show is the weight-loss program for him and that tangoing, waltzing and samba-ing while wearing a sequined tuxedo or some other nonsense outfit will help him slim down. "I really want to get into shape," ex explained. "You probably wouldn't know, but I'm the most insecure and overweight I've ever been." Wait…..you’re FAT, on a worthless reality show as the 50th most-important cast member and you don’t feel good about yourself? Grab the nearest feather and knock me over. “I'm over 200 pounds, so I want to drop weight and this will be a good start," Kardashian continued. Hmm…..“over 200 pounds” is probably code for pushing 260, so maybe dancing will actually help. Looking at this guy’s physique, it clearly can’t hurt. Plus, there is the chance to continue the family’s DWTDLS legacy, as Rob’s older sister and reality TV skank Kim already did her turn on the show…………


- The expression “dancing on your grave” always seems especially cold and harsh. As bitter as one might be against a particular enemy, the thought of being so overjoyed at their passing that you literally bust a move standing atop their final resting place is as classless as it gets. That’s for a person who has a direct connection to the deceased to the point of hating them in vitriolic fashion…….not for a total stranger whose job it is to respectfully play a small role in preparing the grave of a person who has shuffled off this mortal coil into eternity. Yet here we are, having this conversation because of Christopher Redd, a now-former gravedigger in Mesa County, Colo. who decided that the middle of his shift and while digging a grave was an excellent time to break out his best shovel guitar riff and film the performance. Redd claimed it was part of an attempt to win tickets for a rock music festival and attempted to defend his actions by explaining that the taping happened before a funeral service was held at the site and that no remains were in the grave. His bosses were not swayed and fired him after the video surfaced, which would be the end of this despicable story if not for the fact that he may also face criminal charges for his idiotic actions. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident and has not decided yet whether to file charges. Whether they do or not, the family of the person who was later buried in that grave was undoubtedly fired up to hear that Redd had paid such a fitting tribute to the person they loved, dancing on the grave and rocking out using his shovel as a guitar. Hopefully he made some very appropriate song choice for the performance, perhaps “Stairway to Heaven” or “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” Stay classy, Christopher Redd, stay classy…………


- Whether he ever makes a single catch on the field in a regular season game, new Carolina Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey will always be a lifesaver for one of his teammates. Shockey, who signed with the Panthers in March after he was cut by the New Orleans Saints, was enjoying a quality training camp lunch in the cafeteria at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. when he noticed fellow tight end Ben Hartsock choking on a piece of pork tenderloin lodged in his throat. "(Hartsock) started to go to the bathroom and I don't know if he collapsed, but he couldn't breathe," his agent Mike McCartney explained. "Ben told me, ‘Shockey came over and gave me the Heimlich maneuver and saved my life.’ He was in good spirits and he's real thankful for Shockey." Ah, the old “pork tenderloin in the pipes” story, there’s one at every training camp. The thought of the heavily tattooed, long-haired (from time to time) Shockey spotting Hartsock choking, watching another teammate unsuccessfully attempt to dislodge the food and stepping in to save the day is interesting, to say the least. When they signed Shockey and traded for tight end Greg Olsen from the Bears, the Panthers probably imagined they were significantly upgrading their abysmal passing game and giving rookie quarterback Cam Newton a better collection of weapons once he beat out incumbent (barely) Jimmy Clausen for the starting job. They may still have done that, but they also brought in the man who would ride to Hartsock’s rescue in the team lunch room, of all places. Good to know that someone was paying attention in a first aid class when the instructor demonstrated the correct way to save a choking person’s life…………


- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Wanting to overthrow one’s government is a great reason to rise up and take to the streets, but so is seeing a popular political leader arrested and charged with crimes he or she professes to be innocent of. Poland knows this all too well, as evidenced by the mass uprising over the trial of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on corruption and abuse of power charges from her time in office. South Africa is learning the same lesson amidst a wave of outrage in Johannesburg ahead of a disciplinary hearing for controversial youth leader Julius Malema. Violent protests raged in the streets of the capital, with rioters burning flags of the ruling African National Congress party and sprinting through the streets holding burning T-shirts bearing South African President Jacob Zuma’s image. “Zuma must go!” the protesters chanted over and over. Protest quickly escalated into riot, with demonstrators hurling bricks and bottles at police and reporters and climbing nearby armored cars. Police responded in predictable fashion, detonating stun grenades, unleashing water cannons and firing rubber bullets into the crowd. Those measures did little to dampen the enthusiasm of rioters, who continued to voice their anger over a hearing for Malema and five other ANC Youth League officers charged with sowing division and bringing the party into disrepute. The violence highlighted a mounting wave of unrest that’s taking place leading up to the country’s presidential election. Malema is an easy target for the government because he has shown a proclivity for mobilizing he country’s youth with speeches about unemployment and economic inequality in Africa’s richest nation. A crowd of thousands greeted him as he emerged from his hearing. Prior to the hearing, he made the wise move to tell his supporters to exercise restraint Tuesday, knowing full well they would do no such thing. Making that plea gave him plausible deniability in the riots, although the government isn't likely to forget that he has been known in the past to encourage the singing of a racist song calling for people to “kill the Boer,” or white farmer. Ironically, Malema was part of the team that helped get Zuma elected president but has since fallen out of favor. Thankfully, he is still in favor with enough people to spark a massive riot for the world to enjoy…………

Life gets worse for Libya, college sports conference swap drama and lessons from the Shore

- If life wasn’t tense enough for Libya right now, Israel is piling on the embattled nation by claiming that Palestinians in Gaza have acquired anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets from Libya during its six-month civil war. Israeli officials said that while the procurement of these weapons has enlarged but not significantly improved the Palestinians’ arsenal, they nonetheless have a problem with Libya getting involved. The announcement struck many as odd because the primary concern when it comes to Libya and weapons during its conflict has been the fate of the country’s aging chemical weapons stockpiles. Israel admitted it has no indication Hamas or other Palestinian factions have sought these weapons. However, officials did say they have detected an influx of SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) across an overland supply route that opened up between eastern Libya -- after it fell to the rebels -- and the Gaza Strip via Egypt. "We've been seeing more SA-7s and RPGs coming across," said an unidentified Israeli official. "It's not a major qualitative enhancement for them." The non-weapons savvy may not know much about the SA-7, so here are the basics: It is a Soviet-designed, shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile which Israel said Palestinians had previously smuggled into Gaza. Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) are designed to penetrate armor and extremely common in the region, which makes it unsurprising that a second Israeli official said "thousands" of the weapons had reached Gaza in recent months. Egypt's Sinai peninsula, which borders both Israel and Gaza, has been a prime weapons transportation route for arms headed to Palestinians. Weapons are shipped by land through Sudan or by sea over the Mediterranean. Egyptian state media seemed to provide some credence for Israel’s allegations when it reported Monday that Egyptian border guards had discovered "a large quantity" of weapons at the border with Libya. It remains unclear who in Libya might be shipping weapons out, but given the country’s own current strife, now would be an excellent time to keep all guns, missiles and grenades in house and use them to win the war within…………


- While it has no redeeming social or cultural value, Jersey Shore can still teach us valuable lessons. For example, it has been said that the only things separating man from animals are being civilized and having laws we follow. The most recent episode of the Shore reminded us that statement isn't entirely true. Having laws does not prevent sheer stupidity of the sort that ensued when the Shore’s two top meat heads, Ronnie and The Situation, continued their battle of low IQ’s an elevated steroid and testosterone levels in a battle that may have been one for the ages if a wall had not intervened. See, the long-simmering tensions between the massive wall of muscle that is Ronnie and the vapid, self-styled “guido” (his words, not anyone else’s) ways of the Sitch finally boiled over and left the Sitch bellowing, "You wanna hit me?! You wanna hit me, tough guy?! Let's do it!" at his adversary. However, the adversary turned out to be not the short, squat, ‘roided-up Ronnie, but the wall the Sitch proceeded to head-butt, knocking himself to the ground. No word on what the wall ever did to the Sitch, but clearly there was hostility there and the wall won the battle decisively. One of the other Shore cast members, J-Woww, muttered "This isn't funny anymore," as if it ever was. With a dazed Sitch on the floor and with a possible self-inflicted concussion, it might seem that the exercise in stupidity was over and the actual rumble of Sitch v. Ronnie wasn’t going to happen. But no sooner than the Miz roused himself from his stupor than he decided to start talking junk to Ronnie again and then it was on. Well…..on as long as actual fights between skilled combatants aren’t your thing. The scuffle barely got going before show staffers stepped in to break it up without either participant landing a single punch. "I waited for a long time to f*ck you up!" Ronnie screamed while being restrained. He continued to rage at the Sitch with the show’s in-house hired muscle between them, which is understandable because of the amount of ‘roids that have to be coursing through his body at any given moment. So thanks to both Ronnie and the Sitch for proving that some of us aren’t separated from the animals at all and are probably more animalistic and simple-minded than any beast roaming any forest or plain…………


- While she is currently considered among the frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination for next year’s election, Michelle Bachmann might not remain in that role for long if she can’t think and speak a bit more intelligently in the face of massive natural disasters striking an entire region of the United States. As Hurricane Irene menaced the East Coast and made life miserable for millions, Bachmann made the ill-advised decision to claim that Irene was a political message from God. “I don’t know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians,” she told voters during a rally in Sarasota. “We’ve had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He said, ‘Are you going to start listening to me here?’ Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we’ve got to rein in the spending.” Okay……so God is intently concerned with how the U.S. is spending its money and government excess? He’s taking time away from focusing on famine and unrest around the globe and worrying that the U.S. government is including too much pork in the bills it passes…..leading the Almighty to send an earthquake and a hurricane as punishment? No credit to Bachmann for running her spokesman out Sunday to say the remark was in jest. Nice try, M. Yes, she is an evangelical Christian who has no reservations about speaking on her religious views and how they influence her life and career. She has been talking about those views on the campaign trail as she tries to raise support from religious conservative Christians in key voting states such as Iowa and South Carolina. Moving on to invoking the Lord’s name during natural disasters is merely the latest of Bachmann’s controversial postulations and probably her most imbecilic to date. By comparison, her comments during a recent debate in Iowa about her view that the Bible obliged her to “be submissive” to her husband seem bland. What would be interesting to hear is her plan for stopping all natural disasters from striking the United States merely by ensuring that God is happy with how the government runs the economy and copes with its mounting debt. What plan does Yahweh endorse for fixing America’s broken economy and restoring its AAA credit rating with all of the major credit agencies? If Bachmann knows that answer, then she clearly is the right choice to be this nation’s next president. For proof that her comments have placed her somewhere she definitely does not want to be (assuming she really does want to be president), look no further than the presence of televangelist Pat Robertson in the same group of clowns blaming natural disasters and destruction on America’s wayward path and God’s wrath because of it. It is okay not to say everything that comes to your mind, M. Bachmann…………..


- Tell you what, Texas A&M officials, you let the rest of us know when you’ve made up your damn mind and we’ll see if we can pretend to care when that happens. A few weeks ago, news broke that A&M was a virtual lock to exit the 10-team Big 12 conference and join the SEC……except that invitation from the SEC never came. After meeting to discuss the issue, SEC presidents decided not to extend an invite for the Aggies to join their shadowy cabal of college athletics. Left in an awkward place by the announcement, A&M officials apparently kept churning on the issue and as of this weekend, have reportedly settled on leaving the Big 12 with or without a definite offer from the SEC. Sources said that A&M officials talked about their anticipated departure during a conference call of the Big 12 board of directors Saturday and informed the league that they intend to announce within the next week that plans to leave the conference. Without officially declaring their intention to leave, A&M officials reportedly made it clear what they plan to do. Oddly enough, a source said the one thing that could prevent the move would be if the SEC determines it is not ready to add any more teams at this point, something it seemed to have done earlier this month when University of Florida president Bernie Machen said the conference was content with its current 12-team alignment. Texas A&M is clearly more interested in the SEC than the SEC is in the Aggies, who have
publicly expressed interest in joining the conference. Big 12 officials spent much of their conference call Saturday discussing how much money Texas A&M would forfeit for leaving the conference and likely negotiations of that amount, which could be $20 million or more. Should the move finally happen, it could trigger a second wave of change in conference alignments across college sports similar to the one that happened when Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) left the Big 12 in July. A&M must settle its membership with the Big 12 before it could apply for membership into the Southeastern Conference and could enter the SEC no sooner than the 2012-13 school year. Oh, and there is also the fitting irony that a possible replacement for Texas A&M should it leave would be SMU, which just happens to be the opponent for the Aggies’ season opener at home Sunday…………


- Yawn. So there will soon be another company offering a new mobile messaging service, big deal. Samsung is that company and is desperately trying to hype its new messaging service, ChatON, despite a general indifference toward the project from the tech world. But to placate Samsung, a brief overview of the service’s features is in order. ChatOn is basicallly a group chat app that combines texts, images and video messaging from Samsung’s Bada OS, iOS, Android and BlackBerry. It is scheduled to debut at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin next week with all of the requisite fanfare. Oh, and the fact that Samsung introducing the app in Germany and not at a major tech expo in the United States should in no way indicate that this app is not nearly as a big a deal as Samsung would want everyone to believe. ChatOn will actually have two versions: one geared toward feature phones and a second, more complex on that allows smartphone users to do things like commenting profiles, send animated messages and display the contacts they message the most. Samsung also announced plans to release a ChatON version for the web, which would bring similar group chatting functionality to PCs. A demo video posted on Samsung’s official blog shows the new app in more detail, but with a wealth of other group messaging options already available to users, it is worth asking if ChatON has any chance to gain any foothold in the market, let alone compete with some of the bigger names in the field. Not to be cynical, but this seems like a project destined for failure before it even gets fully off the ground…………

Movie news, defiant surfers and Communist oppression

- And the hit keep on coming…..and coming……and coming in China, where the Communist Party is showing its oppression prowess once again by directing the country’s Internet providers tighten control over material online as the government attempts to further stamp out dissent and prevent the occurrence of Middle East-style protests. Communist Party official Liu Qi issued the directive following a visit this week to Sina Corp., which operates a popular microblogging site. He cloaked his warning under the guise of protecting the state’s image, saying Internet companies should "strengthen management and firmly prevent the spread of fake and harmful information." In other words, quash any ideas that don’t fully agree and comply with the established line of acceptable though as put forth by the Communist Party. Liu spun it as “resisting fake and negative information." In a show of their true hypocrisy, party officials regularly encourage Internet use for education and business while opposing any use that could educate citizens about what a bunch of tyrannical tools its leaders are. Seeing uprising after uprising sweep across the Middle East and Africa earlier this year, Chinese officials have unquestionably launched one of the country’s most violent and widespread crackdowns on dissent in years and detained or questioned hundreds of activists, lawyers and others. Foreign websites with even remotely critical stories about China are typically blocked and Chinese operators of sites where the public can post comments are required to watch the material and remove any that violates censorship rules. Google finally ran out of patience with the government's absurd censorship rules and closed its China search engine last year. No details were provided as to how Internet companies were expected to change their management to comply with Liu’s warning. His remarks came several days after the Beijing Internet Media Association, a government-sanctioned industry group, called on its 104 member companies to police Internet content. "Propaganda guidance to the public should be led toward a correct direction," the appeal explained. "Online news should be trustworthy and should not spread rumors or vulgar contents." Feel free to view this as an open challenge to find ways to circumvent or defy this asinine new standard, Chinese dissidents, although odds are you can't actually read these words because they are censored in China…………


- With no worthwhile challengers and on a down weekend at the box office, reigning earnings champion The Help held the top spot once again for this frame. With a modest first-place take of $14.3 million, Help held off weak challenges from newcomers Colombiana and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark to reign once more. For three weekends of work, Help has garnered $96.6 million domestically. Opening in underwhelming fashion was second-place finisher Colombiana, starring Zoe Saldana in the title role. A mere $10.3 million in domestic earnings was not the big debut TriStar had to be hoping for, but it was better than the opening effort for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Dark dropped in third place with a scant $8.7 million and that is not the type of opening weekend a film wants to post if it has aspirations of a long stay in the top 10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes kept the summer of the stupid monkey movie alive and well a bit longer by finishing in fourth place with $6.6 million, enough to raise its cumulative total to $148.5 million for four weeks in release. Capping off the top half of the top 10 was another newbie, Our Idiot Brother, starring Paul Rudd. Ironically, what was the most watchable new movie of the weekend was its third most-successful, scoring $6.5 million and looking infinitely better when measured against its small, $5 million budget. The rest of the top 10 was populated by: Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (No. 6 and not doing well in its second weekend with just $5.7 million for a two-week total of $21.7 million), The Smurfs (hanging tough at No. 7 in its fifth week with $4.8 million and $125.9 million domestically in five weeks), Conan the Barbarian (No. 8 and continuing its bomb-tastic start with $3.1 million in its second weekend and $16.6 million through its first two weeks), Fright Night (also failing through two weeks with $3 million after a 61-percent decline from its debut) and Crazy, Stupid, Love. (No. 10 with $2.9 million and $69.5 million after five weeks in theaters). Films dropping out of the top 10 from last week were 30 Minutes or Less (No. 11), Final Destination 5 (No. 12) and One Day (No. 13)…………


- Why so serious (and agitated), Usain Bolt, why so serious? The world’s fastest man still has no rivals quick enough to beat him in a race, but at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea on Sunday, he found an opponent he couldn’t outrun: the computer system monitoring the start of the 100 meter dash to prevent false starts. The system measures pressure on the starting blocks for each runner in order to figure out if a runner has gained a competitive edge by leaving before the starting gun. Bolt, after his typical pre-race theatrics and preening, was clearly guilty of a false start. After posing for the cameras, pointing to the runners on either side of him and shaking his head in mock disgust, he blew his chance to set a new world record and maintain his dominance as the fastest man in the world. Because of an idiotic rule that disqualifies any runner who false starts once, he was out of the race. The previous rule charged the first false start to the entire field and disqualified any runner who false-started after that. An audible gasp went up from the crowd once Bolt was shown the red card signifying disqualification, ripped off his uniform top and was escorted off the track. With hands clasped behind his head, Bolt had no one to blame but himself and certainly wasn’t doing any showboating or flossing when asked by reporters about his gaffe. "Looking for tears?" Bolt snapped. "Not going to happen." He refused to answer any questions about the disqualification and tried to menace anyone who dared ask about it. With the real world’s fastest man out of the race, his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake won gold ahead of American rival Walter Dix. Blake who won his first 100 title with a slow time of 9.92 and was the only racer to break 10 seconds in the final. Dix mused after the race about the shocking sight of Bolt being kicked out of the race and ushered off the track. "I didn't really think they were going to kick him out," Dix said. "How can you kick Usain out of the race?" Olympic officials are undoubtedly hoping they don’t face the same quandary at next summer’s Games in London, where Bolt will likely be aiming for a repeat of his 2008 Olympic performance in Beijing, where he won three sprint golds and set three world records. In the interim, expect plenty of debate about the controversial false start rule and the possibility of revising it to ensure that a struggling sport doesn’t have its biggest stars sidelined in its biggest races…………


- That was quick. Facebook is out of the daily deals business after a fourth-month experiment. Seeing the success of fast risers like Groupon and Living Social, the social networking site decided to try its hand and add another tool to its arsenal in the battle against new competitor Google+. That experiment ended Friday when Facebook issued a statement declaring its daily deals gimmick to be dead and buried. "After testing Deals for four months, we've decided to end our Deals product in the coming weeks," the company said in its statement. "We think there is a lot of power in a social approach to driving people into local businesses We've learned a lot from our test and we'll continue to evaluate how to best serve local businesses." Well, at least Mark Zuckerberg and Co. gave it a good run. Facebook launched Deals in April by making offers in five cities and creating a small sales team to arrange deals with local merchants. There were also offers set up by 11 other daily deal companies, including ReachLocal, Gilt City and Zozi. Many analysts have expressed surprise that Facebook ended the venture so soon, although the sigh of relief coming from Groupon and Living Social is certainly immense. Groupon is currently preparing for a $750 million initial public offering later this year and now has one less rival to fend off. In wrapping up Facebook deals, the site seems to be casting aspersions on a trend that has proven resoundingly successful for others. In spite of ending Deals, Facebook was adamant on Friday that it is committed to developing other products, such as Ads, Pages and Sponsored Stories, which connect local businesses with potential customers and is sticking with its Check-in Deals offering, which lets Facebook users check in at local businesses and see offers from those merchants. But for those killer deals on a lobster dinner or surfing lessons at the local surf shop, look elsewhere…………


- Dude, this is seriously not cool. State police hassling surfers in Hull, Mass. is totally bogus, bro. Yes, Hurricane Irene was barging up the East Coast at the time with 85 mph winds, dumping massive quantities of water and stirring up huge waves, but that doesn’t mean the cops needed to get all up in the business of a few fun-loving surfer dudes (and dudettes) who were hanging ten on Nantasket Beach in Hull on Sunday. Officers went to the beach early in the day to clear it for safety purposes and found a handful of surfers riding what were likely the best waves Nantasket Beach had seen in a long, long time. All of the surfers folded immediately when The Man told them to leave - except one brave dude who told police he had no intention of going quietly. When officers insisted he vacate the beach, he refused once more and was finally arrested. State police spokesman David Procopio confirmed that the man, whose identity was not released, was taken into custody on a disorderly conduct charge and is being held at a state police barracks. Ultimately, the evacuation of the beach was probably an overreaction as the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm and brought little more than heavy rain and strong winds to southeastern Massachusetts. Here’s hoping the charges against this defiant surfer are dismissed and he receives a sincere apology from the state police for ruining his Sunday surfing session…………

Fake celebrities at the Marine Corps Ball, angry sea lions and playbooks on tablets

- How does a regime known it has drastically overstepped its bounds and gone above and beyond the call of duty in oppressing the basic human rights and freedoms of its people? When a call for restraint and fairness comes from freaking Iran, that’s how. That advice goes out to you, Syria, because Iran - which happens to be your closest ally - has called on your government to recognize your people’s “legitimate” demands. Iran’s remarks came Saturday from Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, and are the first such comments from Iran since the five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad started. If anyone knows oppressing people and ripping their basic rights, it’s Iranian despot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and if his government is cautioning Syria to dial it down a notch, then the situation has clearly gotten out of hand. There is, of course a heavy dose of irony in Salehi’s remarks given Iran’s own unyielding crackdown on its dissidents. Even though Salehi did not advocate any specific changes, the fact that he had the chutzpah to say anything shows that Iran is as delusional as its Persian Gulf pal. It’s a picture-perfect example of, “Hell Mr. Pot, this is Kettle. You’re black.” On the other hand, Iran is just one of several nations in the region who are becoming increasingly concerned that Syria’s crisis could soon extend beyond its borders. Assad’s unrelenting quest to snuff out a determined opposition movement has only stoked the fire of dissent thus far and even as Iran joined the chorus of critics on Saturday, the violence continued as Syrian security forces opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators across the country, killing at least three people, according to activists. “The government should answer to the demands of its people, be it Syria, Yemen or other countries,” Salehi stated. “The people of these nations have legitimate demands, and the governments should answer these demands as soon as possible.” Salehi also warned of dangerous regional implications if the crisis in Syria was not solved peacefully, once again ignoring the identical situation going on in his own country. The United States and members of the European Union have called on Assad to step down and are weighing sanctions against the Syrian government and individuals and groups seen to be aiding it. In another ironic twist given Salehi’s comments, the European Union announced that it was putting sanctions on the secretive Al Quds wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, saying it was providing technical and material support for Syria’s crackdown on demonstrators. Seems that Iran might need a nice, long look in the mirror before issuing any further governing advice………….


- Keep it coming, rest of the world. Keep letting the United States know how FAT it is because that message is obviously not registering with the American people. The latest shameless attempt to pile on comes from the British medical journal the Lancet, which has predicted that, based on current trends, half of the adults in the United States will be obese by 2030 unless the government makes changing the food environment a policy priority. In a report released this week, the journal advocates changes that include making healthful foods cheaper and less-healthful foods more expensive largely through tax strategies, along with significant changes in the way foods are marketed. Those recommendations came from an international team of public health experts who also argued that the global obesity crisis will continue to grow worse and add substantial burdens to health-care systems and economies unless governments, international agencies and other major institutions take action to monitor, prevent and control the problem. The panel cited the creation of an “obesogenic” environment (an awesome term and a bitchin’ Scrabble word if you can manage it) in which personal willpower and efforts to maintain a healthful weight are largely impossible. That point is absolute bullsh*t, by the way, because it’s yet another means of excusing orca-FAT individuals for failing to take responsibility for their own condition. In other words, the international scientists who put this report together are part of the problem and may or may not be part of the eventual solution. The solution proposed in the report centers on revising the current weight-loss philosophy that reducing calorie intake by about 500 calories a day “will result in slow and steady weight loss of about 0.5 kg (about a pound) per week.” This line of thinking, researchers contend, fails to account for the way the body adapts to changes as a person ages. Specifically, the older a person gets, the fewer calories they can consume in order to lose weight or maintain weight loss. To address this concern, the report argues that weight loss should be viewed over a longer period of time and proposes a new “approximate rule of thumb” for an average overweight adult: that “every change of energy intake of [about 24 calories] per day will lead to an eventual bodyweight change of about 1 kg (just over two pounds) . . . with half of the weight change being achieved in about 1 year and 95 percent of the weight change in about 3 years.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. The bottom line is this report wants to blame governments for abdicating the responsibility for addressing obesity to individuals, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. If a person is too weak-willed and undisciplined to put down the triple cheeseburger and hot-fudge sundae and get off the couch for a little exercise, then that is one them and not their government. A person who wants to eat unhealthily will find a way to do so no matter what taxes and governmental measures are put in place…………


- Technology and sports are becoming increasingly intertwined, from a larger role for instant replay in many sports to ginormous video boards dominating the scoreboard at most every pro and major college venue. It makes sense, then, that the growing popularity of tablet computers would impact the sports world in some way. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are leading the way on that front, with the NFL’s youngest head coach embracing the tablet revolution and using it to usurp one of the oldest of old-school football practices. For decades, coaches have been handing out playbooks to players and using binders and paper to distribute the offensive, defensive or special teams formations and play calls. Bucs coach Raheem Morris has elected instead to use iPads to provide his players with playbooks and after convincing the front office to invest $50,000 or so in tablets for 90 tablets for players and coaches. Not only will tablets make it easier to sync up information and make changes without having to print out and distribute new play sheets to players, but Morris sees another benefit of using the devices. “You’ve got a way to wipe [everything] off with the push of a button,” Morris said of the possibility of a player losing his playbook. Of course, the flip side of that debate is tablets can be hacked without a person ever coming into physical contact with the device. But the Bucs have clearly decided those risks are manageable and other NFL teams are likely to follow suit and embrace the digital age. The comedic potential is immense, with old-school coaches and older, less tech-savvy veteran players trying to embrace and understand how to operate their iPad. Maybe, just maybe, going to tablet playbooks will give the Bucs the boost they need to get over the hump and make the playoffs after finishing 10-6 last year and just missing the postseason…………


- The Marine Corps Ball in San Diego is going to be a star-studded event this year……and hey, Kristin Cavallari is going to be there too. After Marines extended invitations to Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake and had their prayers answered when both stars said yes to the request, Marine Jonathan Burkett decided to aim a little lower and shoot a request to former "Hills" cast member - and current parasite on the entertainment world because she won't accept that her 15 minutes are up and just go away - Cavallari. Burkett tweeted, "Wanted to know if you want to go the Marine Corps Ball with me in San Diego?! Would make a video but still deployed!" He followed with a second tweet, "Could have your friends come too and all go out in San Diego. Figured it would be a good time and its close by!" Burkett sent his tweets out to his “celebrity” crush on Aug. 25 and has already received an answer from Cavallari, who is newly single after the termination of her relationship with Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Cavallari accepted, replying, "Would love to! When is it?" Of course she accepted; what else does Cavallari have to do right now? Sure, there are rumors about her becoming the latest D-lister to join the next season of ABC’s reality ballroom dancing show "Dancing With The (D-List) Stars," but is that really an upgrade over accompanying a brave Marine with questionable taste in women to the Marine Corps Ball in beautiful San Diego? Heading to the ball with Burkett on Nov. 17 is a brilliant play for Cavallari because she can hang with a couple of actual celebrities who will already be there, get some positive PR for her good deed and parlay that into even more reality TV opportunities. Or she might start a trend of lonely Marines picking out attractive, no-talent former reality cast members and inviting them to the ball. Either way, sounds like a win for all……….


- Don’t f*ck with sea lions, all. They may seem cute, quirky and fun-spirited when you see them at the zoo or Sea World, but they aren’t to be taken lightly and some of them are definitely rolling with a chip on their shoulder (even if sea lions don’t happen to have shoulders in the human sense). Just ask the unidentified couple who were attacked by one especially angry sea lion while swimming off of Venice Beach Thursday evening. The couple was out in relatively deep water, swimming just at 6:30 p.m. when the woman was bitten on her left leg by the sea lion. When the man saw his wife being attacked, he quickly swam over to help. The sea lion then turned its rage on a new target and the man was bitten on his hands, feet and head. The couple, described as in their 60's, were transported to a hospital for treatment. There is concern that the sea lion might be diseased and doctors, concerned about the possibility of infection, treated the victims with antibiotics. Thankfully, both victims have already been released from the hospital and are expected to make a full recovery. As for the angry, rogue sea lion, Los Angeles County Lifeguard officials say this is the first time they've heard of a sea lion attacking anyone in the local waters. Well, if it was going to happen anywhere, the nonstop freak show that is Venice Beach would be the place. In case this does signal the start of a major, concerted effort by ticked-off sea lions to exact some revenge for some of their brethren being captured and shanghaied into indentured servitude by amusement and water parks over the years, humans should probably formulate a plan of counterattack…………

"Jurassic Park" returns, footballs damage Porches and Riot Watch! Chile

- What better way to promote the Blu-Ray release of your incredibly dated film from 18 years ago than a well-timed cinematic re-release? Big ups to Steven Spielberg and Co. for “touching up” and re-mastering the original Jurassic Park for re-release in cinemas on Sept. 23 ahead of its Blu-Ray release and trying to squeeze even more cash out of the film. While the original film was a huge commercial success, it’s difficult not to view it in a different (and less flattering) light for spawning multiple unwatchable sequels bad enough to make you wish the first film had never been made. But perhaps a tricked-out version of the original - with no actual editing or tinkering done to the effects or any part of the story outside of a little light cleansing and digitalization of the print - will be enough to wipe the memories of those tragically terrible sequels from the world’s collective memory. Okay, so it definitely won’t, but the re-release is happening anyhow and after that, all three (sadly) Jurassic Park films are to be released on Blu-Ray on Oct. 24. Had Spielberg and his crew merely decided to redo the original film and pretend that the two sequels never happened, by the way, there would have been a grand total of zero complaints. The films are certain to look dated and none of the actors in them delivered what could be called top-level, Oscar-worthy performances, but watching the original one more time (on Blu-Ray, certainly not paying $10 to see it in the theater) might be a fun stroll down memory lane……….



- As training camp nears an end, a certain quarterback in Denver Broncos camp has been struggling with his accuracy, regularly sailing passes off-target and missing wide-open receivers with stunning regularity. He’s been so bad that analysts have questioned whether he even belongs in the NFL at all……and yet it’s the other guy, the one who has supposedly looked great and is poised for a solid year, who unleashed a throw so errant at a practice this week that it not only wasn’t caught, but did some damage in the nearby players’ parking lot. Starting QB Kyle Orton, the man who has ripped any chance Tim Tebow had of starting this season, was running through a passing drill in camp Wednesday when he let fly with a pass that was high and wide and kept on going…….and going…..and going, all the way to the parking lot. The ball finally stopped when it struck running back Willis McGahee's Porsche, cracking the car’s windshield and leaving Orton to pay for the damage. Media reports from the practice had the ball bouncing once and striking the car, located in a lot only about 10 yards from back of end zone on the practice field. Had it been Tebow who threw the pass, the jokes would have been fast, furious and nonstop about how inaccurate and awful a quarterback he is. With Orton, it was a quirky, laugh-and-move-on tale that will end with Orton placing a call to the nearest auto glass repair shop and probably chipping off $100 or so to take McGahee out for a nice steak dinner to apologize. Oh, and it should also end with the Broncos installing some sort of mesh or netting atop the field at the back of the end zone on their practice field to ensure that there is no repeat of this incident. After all, they do still have Tim Tebow on their roster…………


- Not everyone wants out of the personal computer market, it seems. While leading PC maker HP is jumping out of the game, smaller companies looking for their niche are seizing upon limited openings and making the most of them. Gaming peripheral company Razer is entering the fray with its own portable gaming laptop, the Razer Blade. The Blade is to be unveiled and demonstrated this weekend at PAX Prime in Seattle. It is a high-powered, portable Windows 7-based laptop priced at $2,800 and targeted for the market later this year. Running the world’s worst operating system puts it behind the proverbial eight-ball, as does its massive price tag, but its thinner, lighter design should still make it appealing compared to current gaming laptops, says company co-founder/CEO/creative director Min-Liang Tan. "The key for us was to have something that was so portable, that you could pull it out of your bag with a single hand and be something you could bring along with you," he said. "And not only is this thinner than the Alienware (laptops), but by the time we were done (designing) it, it is thinner than a Macbook Pro and more powerful. It's the most powerful and thinnest 17-inch laptop today." Razer is based in Carlsbad, Calif., and also has international offices in cities such as Shanghai and Seoul, along with a new tech lab in Austin, Texas. The company is best known for its high-end PC gaming mice, keyboards and headphones, but is taking a significant risk by producing its own laptop. "We built a bit of a cult brand around the company because we understand user interfaces for gaming," Tan says. "That's all we are good at unfortunately, or fortunately. We've developed own sensors and our own platforms, primarily just for PC gaming." The Blade grew out of Tan and his tech team’s dissatisfaction with the current state of gaming laptops. "They are way too thick and way too heavy, nothing I would take back and forth or on the road to play games," he recalled. Working with Intel and graphics company Nvidia, Razer's internal design and engineering teams created the Blade. The end result is a laptop that measures less than an inch in thickness (0.88 inches) and, with its aluminum chassis, weighs about seven pounds. As is to be expected with a $2,800 lapper, it has a 17-inch backlit high-definition display and, next to the full-sized QWERTY keyboard with 10 programmable function keys and a secondary multi-touch display. Tan predicts the Blade will become popular with not only hardcore gamers, but casual ones as well. Considering how far out on a limb Razer is going for the Blade, it had better hope its CEO is correct……….


- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! For a not-so-gentle reminder that the Arab world is not the only place where the common man can rise up and riot to let his government hear his angry voice of dissent, turn your attention to Chile, where the entire nation is in an uproar after what began as a student boycott has become the largest mass movement Chile has seen since it re-established democracy in 1991. The sheer scale of the uprising is inspiring, as rioting, looting, burning of vehicles and other objects and rock-throwing have led to a total of 1,394 arrests nationwide. The riots came on the heels of a nationwide two-day strike featuring peaceful marches. Because peaceful marches are boring and in dire need of someone to step up and spice them up, a heaven-sent group of youths played the role by donning hoods and confronting police. That sparked the violence in which 53 civilians and 153 police officers were injured. Unfortunately, the chaos did result in one death as 16-year-old Manuel Gutierrez was struck and killed by a bullet fired by an unknown assailant in the capital city of Santiago. Deputy Interior Minister Rodrigo Ubilla vowed to quickly determine who fired the bullet that killed and bring them to justice. However, Gutierrez’s friends claimed police fired at them without cause, while Ubilla suggested he died fighting the officers. A few trouble-causing protestors actually attempted to stop the clashes between police and rioters by standing between the twp and holding up their hands, but thankfully they were ignored. The violence was not limited to Santiago and demonstrations have taken place across Chile during the past two days. Chileans from border to border marched Thursday, demanding profound changes in the country's heavily centralized and privatized form of government. All manner of unhappy citizens took part, including union members, students, government workers and Chile's center-left opposition parties. Aside from the one tragic death, the sight was an inspiring one and proof that South America knows how to riot too…………


- Here’s hoping all out-of-work actors in New York City and Los Angeles don’t decide to follow the example of entertainer Dotan Negrin. Don’t get me wrong; Negrin’s cross-country journey playing his upright piano off a moving van as he journeys across the United States is awesome, inspiring and Kerouac-ian, but the concept would be significantly less cool if hundreds of down-on-their-luck actors decided it was their ticket to the fame and fortune they could never get auditioning for bit parts in indie films and shampoo commercials. Negrin had an advantage because he has been playing the piano for six years, but it wasn’t until his search for acting jobs in NYC hit a serious dead period that he began toying with the idea of saddling up and going on the road. "I figured this is a trip to develop my skills," he explained. "But then I realized through the message people were sending me that this is much more powerful. It's all to help people realize their dreams." In helping people realize their dreams, he’s found himself in some amazing places as well. “I've been to eight national parks throughout this journey and one of the best was playing inside of a redwood tree," said Negrin. "I saw the tree, it was a hollowed out redwood, and there was enough room for me to bring my piano in." In addition to performing at national parks, he has also visited numerous college campuses and on Thursday afternoon, he made a stop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Memorial Union Terrace for an afternoon show. Students and faculty stopped to watch and some even chose to take part in the performance, helping play parts on Negrin's piano. "I was surprised to see this, because I didn't expect to see anybody out here like this," said Ralph Grunewalk, a UW-Madison faculty associate. "This is the lake. It's quiet, it's soothing, and all of a sudden I hear this rhythm. It's kind of a very nice, wonderful contrast." His trek is fueled by donations from the crowd, which he said is just enough to cover food and gas. The tour will continue into September, at which time Negrin plans to see what opportunities his adventure has opened up for him and go from there. To find out more about his travels, go to www.pianoacrossamerica.com…………

Anti-wind energy Vermonters, battling Ebola and no stars for reality TV cast members

- So…..who could possibly have a problem with the state of Vermont attempting to be more enviro-friendly and energy efficient by installing wind turbines? After all, clean energy from a renewable source should be the ultimate goal, but whether or not a specific type of clean energy from a renewable source is acceptable depends upon whom you ask. For example, a plan to place wind turbines around the Everglades in Florida has drawn opposition from a state hunting activist group that is unhappy over the possibility that a handful of birds might fly into and be killed by the turbines before the group’s members can blast them with their guns. In Vermont, the objectors to wind turbines are none other than proponents of another green energy source, solar power. On Thursday, a bunch of kook-ish protestors and their puppets (seriously) filled the lawn of Green Mountain Power in Colchester at a rally in opposition to wind turbines in Vermont. "We can't allow the destruction of our ridgeline for utility scale wind and Green Mountain Power," said Lukas Snelling of Energize Vermont, which organized the event. In their in(finite) wisdom, the group is backing solar power over wind to boost alternative energy across the state. The turbine project has Energize Vermont fueled up and speaking out……even if no one cares what it has to say. "We will not support this project. We don't want this project and incorporating this project into our energy future is wrong and a mistake," Snelling said. Okey doke, no problem. Support it, don’t support it, no one gives a damn. What, was the state waiting on the green light from Energize Vermont before going ahead with the wind turbines? For the record, Green Mountain Power says it supports solar power initiatives, but wants to include wind power in its portfolio as well. "Just as in a financial portfolio, you want diversity in a portfolio of energy resources, you want a diversity of different kind of mixes, you don't want to have all your power coming from one power plant," said Dorothy Schnure of Green Mountain power. Of course, there are critics who don’t support either option, people like the state's former chief technology officer, Tom Evslin, who believes both options have drawbacks. "That's nonsense, the wind isn't very effective and you can very well argue that it is not helpful to our portfolio, but solar is even less effective and it requires huge subsidies," Evslin said. What does this sage of energy sources suggest? “I think we contract for more power from Hydro-Quebec and other hydro sources which obviously is renewable energy," Evslin stated. All right……throw hyrdoelectric power into the mix two, let’s drop supporters of all three energy sources into the octagon and have them decide this battle MMA-style………….


- The rest of the world may have given in to the reality that the meatheads and skanks from The Jersey Shore and their reality TV brethren have invaded our public consciousness and there is nothing to be done other than waiting for their 15 minutes of fame to end, but don’t expect the good folks at the Hollywood Walk of Fame to do the same. MTV may look for every chance to cram talentless losers looking to launch their acting or music career by appearing on a reality show onto its airwaves, but they don’t possess the same high standards as the people who have already awarded stars to the likes of Mark Burnett and Ryan Seacrest. With so many reality shows and so many reality cast members becoming pop culture figures, the question of them being awarded stars was posed to Hollywood Walk of Fame officials and they issued their response Monday on the walk’s official Facebook page saying, "Someone asked if we give reality show characters stars? Hell to the No!" Hell to the No, Paris Hilton, you are not getting a star, even if you pony up the $30,000 fee required to have one installed!" All right then. Apparently that rule holds true for the likes of Kim Kardashian, Nicole Richie, the Situation, Kate Gosselin and anyone else known solely for being a reality star and not contributing anything of substance or worth to the world. "That's my personal opinion as the caretaker of the Walk of Fame for 24 years. I'm very protective. And people are kind of in agreement," said Ana Martinez, vice president of media relations for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While it is unclear who “people” are, they seem very smart and infinitely correct in this case. Not that the walk is some sort of highly esteemed honor reserved only for the true Hollywood elite, but any group, organization, hall of fame or other entity that excludes reality TV losers can't be all bad. Recognizing someone for bring a cast member on "Big Brother," “The Real World” or “Teen Mom” is only going further these tools’ misguided impression that they actually matter, have talent and should keep pursuing their “inevitable” stardom. So stop naming your abs, punching random people, allowing cameras to film your every move and just go away, reality TV knobs……….


- Judging by what Hollywood showed the world in Ebola-centric movies and made-for-TV films a few years back when the virus was all the rage in the end-of-the-world debate, Ebola is not something to be trifled with. The battle against Ebola received a boost this week as an international team of scientists discovered a biochemical route used by the deadly virus to infect human cells. The discovery could lead to the creation of new drugs that could prevent or treat one of the world’s most lethal viral diseases. Ebola has been terrorizing the world since appearing in 1976 near the central African river from which it derives its name. The virus kills an astonishing 90 percent of the people and non-human primates it infects. Its effects include extremely high fever and both internal and external bleeding. So far, it has primarily affected sub-Saharan African countries, including Gabon, Sudan, the Ivory Coast and Uganda, since the first reported outbreak 35 years ago. Despite its rarity, Ebola and its 90-percent death rate inevitably cause panic whenever there is an outbreak, due largely to the extremely limited knowledge base about where the illness comes from or how it spreads. Some experts have theorized that infected bats may be one source of these sporadic occurrences of Ebola, while others believe it spreads from person to person through tainted body fluids or blood. In an attempt to better understand this viral killer, a team of researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, the Whitehead Institute at MIT and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases studied how the virus actually infects cells. Kartik Chandran, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein, was the senior author of the study and explained what he and his fellow researchers were looking for. “The critical step that we were studying is what we call viral entry," Chandran explained. "And it’s basically the step that results in the virus getting into the cytoplasm where the [genetic] goodies are for making copies of itself.” Researchers observed normal cell proteins that the Ebola virus might be hijacking and focused on one protein in particular - called Neimann-Pick C1 or NPC1.
They learned that in both human cells and in mice, the Ebola virus was unable to gain a toehold in cells that were missing the NPC1 protein. “You couldn’t infect the cells with Ebola. And there are also mice that, like the human[s], don’t have the protein and develop Neimann-Pick disease," Chandran said.
That sounds……riveting. For the uninformed, the Neimann-Pick protein, which is embedded naturally in cell membranes, helps transport cholesterol throughout cells. Those born with a rare genetic defect that causes their bodies not to manufacture the protein eventually die of Neimann-Pick disease, in which fatty substances called lipids collect and clog various internal organs. Now, these unfortunate souls may also be more susceptible to Ebola as well, should they ever come into contact with it. Chandran believes it may be possible to design a small molecule that interferes with production of the Neimann-Pick protein in cells temporarily -- too briefly to cause problems with elevated cholesterol. Find more (confusing and detailed) information on this (possibly) meaningful study in the latest fascinating edition of the journal Nature…………


- Umm, this is probably not good for the LSU football program. As police continue to investigate a late-night bar fight that occurred last week outside a Baton Rouge club, the four LSU players allegedly involved in the fight are looking more and more culpable in a beating that left four people hospitalized. LSU starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson and offensive lineman Chris Davenport, linebacker Josh Johns and receiver Jarvis Landry were all interviewed by police this week about the fight and after the interview, the players’ attorney chastised the media for “scaring these boys to death.” Never mind that as all four are legal adults, none of them qualifies as a boy by any standards. Also, set aside that the victims who were allegedly pummeled by these four Div. I athletes were probably scared for their lives much more so than their alleged tormentors were when questioned by police or faced with negative news stories. Just allow the investigation to play out and I’m sure…….crap. As it turns out, an eyewitness account from 19-year-old Victoria Long was included in a police report released Thursday and Long told police she saw Jefferson kick someone in the face during the fight. The release of her statement comes one day after police seized 49 pairs of athletic shoes from Jefferson's apartment. While Baton Rouge police Sgt. Don Stone wouldn't explain why police took the shoes, having a witness tell you that the person whose shoes you seized was punting someone in the head would qualify as a solid reason to have a closer look at their kicks. As a quick aside……49 pairs of athletic shoes? D-1 athletes receive a lot of gear from their team and shoes are a common get, but 49 pairs? Jefferson seems to have aspirations of being the Imelda Marcos of the LSU football team. For now, he should probably focus on staying out of jail. Although Stone said no arrests were expected Thursday, Jefferson and Johns – who was also seen by Long attacking Jefferson’s alleged victim – should probably be expecting a ride downtown in a squad car sooner rather than later……….


- The unrest in Syria is crossing a plethora of lines, but perhaps none as stomach-churning as the severe beating of the country's best-known political cartoonist, Ali Ferzat. While he may be a political cartoonist, Ferzat’s job is still drawing animated characters to delight and entertain the masses, so his beatdown by Syrian security forces is disturbing. The cartoonist was found by passers-by on a road outside Damascus, human rights groups claimed, after he was kidnapped, beaten and dumped on the side of that street. One of his relatives alleged that Ferzat’s attackers threatened to break his bones as a warning for him to stop from drawing cartoons of government officials. He won’t be lampooning anyone via cartoon for the next few days, as he is currently hospitalized with serious injuries. Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera showed a man identified as Ferzat lying on a hospital bed with his face severely bruised and his hands heavily bandaged. During Syria’s ongoing revolution, Ferzat has been an outspoken critic of Syria's government and its five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators and dissent. He has boldly mocked President Bashar al-Assad in several cartoons and those images are likely what led to his not-so-friendly visit from security forces. The timing of the beating and kidnapping is unfortunate because Ferzat would have plenty to cartoon about right now, with Syrian tanks relentlessly shelling areas near the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, a flashpoint in the five-month-old uprising. Someone clearly needs to speak out, as the United Nations says more than 2,000 people have died in Syria during the government's crackdown and more casualties seem inevitable. Attempting to intimidate/cripple someone who draws the political cartoons on the back page of the front section of the newspaper seems like an insecure, weak play on the part of the government. Perhaps Assad should send his goons over to the headquarters of the European Union to do some coercing after the EU expanded sanctions on Syria on Wednesday to target the elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard for its role in helping Syrian security forces combat the uprising against Assad. Assad has tried to blame armed "gangs" and "terrorists" for the violence while ignoring his regime’s own über-violent tactics. But hey, when one man is tearing down your regime with a few clever political cartoons, you do what you need to do to silence him…………

The NCAA gets one right, a big Gadhafi bounty and a Bieber-Swift duet

- Is this the start of a new, possibly competent day for the NCAA? No, but at least the governing body for major college athletics is getting disciple right for a change. The case before the hypocrites of the NCAA was that of former Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who has received a three-year show-cause penalty for violations that occurred in the program under his supervision. Pearl’s top assistants at UT, Tony Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay, all received one-year show-cause penalties. The penalties mean any program wishing to hire any of the four must go before the NCAA and explain why they should be able to do so without incurring NCAA sanctions. In essence, it makes a coach un-hirable and can even spell the end of his or her career. The reason Pearl and his assistants’ disciple is noteworthy is because the NCAA has long been criticized for punishing programs instead of individuals. Even if a guilty coach was no longer at the school where the violations occurred, it was typically the school that was hammered with sanctions. This time, new Tennessee men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin and his current players won't have to pay for Pearl’s misdeeds. The only penalty the program will suffer is a two-year probationary period that runs through Aug. 23, 2013. It was a welcome verdict for UT, but not for the Pearl family, especially not Bruce Pearl’s son Steven. "Define hypocrisy.... NCAA. Biggest joke of a committee I have ever seen. Punishing a man who came back and told the truth," the younger Pearl tweeted. To be fair, seeing your old man’s college coaching career take a slug to the back of the head would be tough, so cut young Stevie some slack. Bruce Pearl’s show-cause does not expire until Aug. 23, 2014, while the show-causes for Jones, Forbes and Shay expire on Aug. 23, 2012. The other party relieved at the NCAA’s decision was former UT football coach Lane Kiffin, now at USC. The Vols football program, at the time coached by Kiffin, was found by the committee not to have committed any major violations after a long investigation. "As I have said before, we always have been committed to following NCAA rules and bylaws both at Tennessee and now at USC, and we always will be," Kiffin said in a statement released by USC. "Now that this has reached its conclusion, I am looking forward to continuing to prepare our team for the upcoming season." Hitting coaches with a show-cause penalty is the most serious discipline the NCAA can impose, as it does not have the power to fire them. Tennessee likely would have incurred serious wrath if Pearl were still its coach, but he and his assistants were fired by Tennessee on March 21. He had previously been suspended by the SEC for the first eight conference games of the season for giving misleading information about a cookout in 2008 that involved a junior in high school (current Ohio State guard Aaron Craft). Craft was on an unofficial visit and was not allowed to be at Pearl's home. Pearl allegedly instructed those present not to report the violation. With his college coaching career over or at least on a long hiatus, Pearl is currently weighing an offer to coach the Texas Legends, the Dallas Mavericks' D-League team. Forbes is now the head coach at Northwest Florida State College and Shay is his assistant and Jones is slumming it as a high school coach in Tennessee. It seems fair to say their decisions all worked out very well for each of the four…………


- Oh, this should end well. If there is anything the most combustible region in the world needs, it’s world-class ass hat/agitator Glenn Beck jumping into the fray. Beck, still riding high (in his mind anyhow) off the “success” of his huge politically charged and largely faith-based rally in Washington, is at it again, this time in Jerusalem. Figuring maybe all the Jews and Muslims need to get along is a dose of his wisdom, Beck decided Wednesday was the day to hold a similar, pro-Israel rally in the Holy Land. As the event neared, critics from all sides question and bashed all manner of things about Beck’s rally, even Jewish people. While appreciative of any support, many Jews are uncomfortable over recent Beck pronouncements on Judaism and with the rally’s close association with conservative evangelical Christians from the United States. “I and some in my community have been critical of him and some of his expressions and we have made no secret about our feelings,” says Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish group that fights anti-Semitism. “We should welcome it and embrace it, but I hope he doesn’t make any faux pas, which he’s been prone to do.” Nooooo, not Glenn Beck. Since when has this idiot ever inserted foot into mouth? But what say you about your new rally, Glenn boy? “There’s an important distinction of saying I love Israel, I defend Israel, and not separating that from the Jewish people,” Beck said on Monday. “Make sure to say not that we only love Israel, but we love the Jewish people as they are.” Oddly enough, Beck has already issued some apologies to offended Jewish groups. One such apology came in February after he criticized Reform Judaism – a major movement among American Jews - on his radio show, calling Reform rabbis "generally political in nature” and likening the movement to “radicalized Islam in a way.” He later offered a mea culpa for those remarks and also apologized for alleging that financier George Soros, who is Jewish by birth, helped send Jews to death camps during the Holocaust. In light of this, I ask again: Since when has Glenn Beck ever said anything inappropriate or regrettable? Now would be a good time for any group – racial, ethnic, religious or otherwise - that does not want Beck holding a rally to support them to speak out, just to be safe…………


- The quest for world domination has taken a temporary step back for Google, but the Web giant will bounce back. The setback is a $500 million settlement over allegations that it sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of online ads to Canadian pharmacies that shipped drugs to U.S. consumers in violation of federal law. In other words, people who were too lazy to actually travel across the border to bootleg their cheaper medications firsthand were going online, Googling discount Internet pharmacies and having the meds shipped to their door. Google’s downfall came via an investigation led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Rhode Island and the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations. These legal sticklers found that Google as early as 2003 was aware that Canadian pharmacies were advertising prescription drugs in the U.S. through Google's AdWords program and that while the company had taken steps to block advertisements for pharmacies in other countries, Canadian pharmacies were allowed to continue advertising. Furthermore, the Department of Justice stated that shipping prescription drugs from pharmacies outside the country to U.S. customers generally violates the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and, in the case of controlled prescription drugs, the Controlled Substances Act. The chief antagonist in the case was Peter F. Neronha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, who said in a statement that the investigation represents a significant step in limiting the ability of rogue pharmacies to reach U.S. consumers with drugs that may be unsafe and/or unlawful. "It is about holding Google responsible for its conduct by imposing a $500 million forfeiture, the kind of forfeiture that will not only get Google's attention, but the attention of all those who contribute to America's pill problem," Neronha said. Neronha and his cronies were clearly not placated in 2009 when Google was alerted to the investigation and began taking steps to limit the unlawful sale of prescription drugs to U.S. consumers. Google’s policies have evolved to include requiring online pharmacy advertisers to be certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Verified Internet Pharmacy Practices Sites program. "We banned the advertising of prescription drugs in the U.S. by Canadian pharmacies some time ago," a Google spokesperson said in an official statement. "However, it's obvious with hindsight that we shouldn't have allowed these ads on Google in the first place. Given the extensive coverage this settlement has already received, we won't be commenting further." All right then…………


- Have you been waiting to jump into the fray of searching for suddenly AWOL Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi because you just don’t want to waste your time if there’s no reward beyond being the tyrannical, 42-year reign of a despot to an end for the sake of the Libyan people? If so, now is the time to get off your butt and join the party. A wealthy Libyan businessman has offered a £1 million ($1.6 million) bounty to anyone who captures Col. Gadhafi — dead or alive. The dead or alive part has a definite Wild West, wanted poster vibe to it and that adds to the festivities. Believe it or not, the National Transitional Council (NTC) — the country’s de facto government — has approved the bounty. The council has also offered members of Gadhafi’s inner circle amnesty if they turn him in. “The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering two million dinars (£1 million) for the capture of Muammar Gaddafi, dead or alive,” said Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who heads the council. The search took on an added level of intrigue Wednesday when Gadhafi claimed to have made a “tactical” withdrawal from his Bab al-Azizia compound as the rebel forces closed in. He went on to taunt his opponents by claiming to have taken a discreet tour of the capital without feeling in any danger. Perhaps the bounty will change that…….even if the story seems to be total bullsh*t. During the day Wednesday, fresh fighting erupted in areas where Gaddafi was rumored to be hiding. Rebels suspect he may have channeled his inner Hitler and taken up residence in an underground bunker near the Rixos Hotel —close to his Bab al-Azizia compound. British sources have backed up the idea that Gadhfai has not left the capital, but some of those searching for him have begun looking outside the city. A vast network of tunnels weave underneath much of the city, making it possible that he fled unnoticed like the coward he is. Fittingly, there was also fresh fighting on Tuesday around Gaddafi’s home city of Sirte, about 500 miles from Tripoli, where loyalists fired Scud missiles at the rebel stronghold of Misurata. Yet it is Gadhafi’s capture that nearly all observers and participants agree would end the conflict. To that end, the bounty should draw out quite a few kooks, bounty hunters and adventure seekers. Anyone joining the hunt should be advised that, according to rebel leaders, Gadhafi may try to escape by channeling his inner RuPaul and sneaking out of the country dressed in women’s clothing. Abdel Salam Jalloud, a close ally of Gaddafi who switched sides in the past week, claimed the kooky leader developed a plan to drop out of sight before launching a guerrilla campaign once NATO air forces had been called off. “He is sick with power. He believes he can gather his supporters and carry out attacks ... He is delusional. He thinks he can return to power,” Jalloud stated. Therefore, Gadhafi hunters, be advised that you are looking for a desperate, delusional dictator who may or may not reside in an underground bunker and may have an affinity for nice dresses, pencil skirts, cute blouses and halter tops………….


- The scene at Taylor Swift's concert Tuesday night at L.A.'s Staples Center was almost enough to make a hormone-fueled teenage girl’s head explode. Not only was the super-sweet Swift on stage singing her usual repertoire of country pop and covering some Jason Mraz, Gwen Stefani and the Beach Boys, but a certain, mop-haired (usually) Canadian pop hack was in the house, making hearts flutter. Yes, Justin Bieber was lurking and after being spotted backstage before the show with a group taking a behind-the-scenes tour led by Swift's mom, Andrea, Biebs made an appearance on stage once the show began. Before the arrival of the talent-deprived Biebe, the more than 13,500 fans (approximately 10,000 teenage girls and 3,500 uncomfortable dads of teenage girls) in the arena went nuts as soon as they heard the band playing Bieber’s ear-assailingly awful song "Baby." "Who wants to see my friend Justin?" Swift asked the crowd. Bieber came out, the requisite mayhem ensued and he and Swift cranked out a vocally challenged duet. Having her show hijacked by an egotistical male star proved less problematic for Swift than it was when Kanye West ripped the mic during her MTV VMA acceptance speech a couple years ago, as she later tweeted, "You think you've heard LOUD screaming in your life.. Then @justinbieber comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal." Swift incited her own dose of mini-mayhem by leaving the stage to do a lap around the floor, hugging and shaking hands with dozens of screaming fans. As for she and Bieber, Andrea Swift confirmed that the pair are good friends and that he “comes to her shows whenever he can.” For the rest of us, it’s a reminder that one need not have substantial musical talent or in Bieber’s case, any songwriting skills at all to be a crowd-pleasing performer……as long as the group with the worst music tastes around (teenage girls) is your target demographic………….

"Survivor" legacies, benefits of marriage for bypass patients and criminal Titans

- CBS and Mark Burnett know a ratings draw when they see it and notorious "Survivor" villain Russell Hantz is it. Hantz, a three-time cast member who has done battle with foes on the show as well as the show itself for allegedly revealing inside information about results to bloggers, won’t be on the show’s 23rd season when it debuts this fall because Burnett has run out of ways to work him back into the show (all-star editions, heroes vs. villains, etc.), but a member of his family will be. Hantz’s nephew, Brandon Hantz, is now competing for the million-dollar prize on "Survivor: South Pacific." Like his uncle, Brandon Hantz works in the oil business and odds are Uncle Russell taught him a few dirty secrets to deceive, manipulate and connive his way through the game. Casting Hantz was a no-brainer for Burnett because his uncle is inarguably the most controversial character in the history of the show even if his whole act is completely contrived and artificial. On this season’s “Survivor,” Brandon Hantz will compete against the usual assortment of beautiful people, including two beauty pageant queens (Miss Washington and Miss Eritrea). Other wannabe actors, er, um, cast members are country music singer-songwriter Whitney Duncan, who made headlines this spring when her cousin Holly Bobo was abducted (and is still missing). In repeating a twist from last season, each of the show’s two tribes will eventually be joined by a surprise "Survivor" veteran (to be announced next Monday). The core cast will include 16 aspiring survivors, divided into the Upolu and Savaii tribes. Not to spoil the season, but chances are good that there will be alliances formed, lies told, immunity idols hidden around the island, people who whine about living conditions, bossy tribe members everyone grows to hate, challenges involved puzzles and mazes and bitter final tribal council speeches in which eliminated players comprising the show’s jury will stand up and berate the three remaining players for a) coasting through the game, b) riding someone else’s coattails, c) lying and breaking alliances or d) all of the above…………


- Want all the benefits of prayer without the time-consuming hassle of stopping your day, bowing your head and devoting a few minutes to the Almighty? Memorial United Methodist Church in High Point is the place for you, time-strapped religious follower. Realizing that many of the faithful need to stay close to God but cannot find time to shoehorn Him into their jam-packed daily schedule, the church now provides an outreach that offers drivers prayers while on the run. From 4 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday, drivers can pull up to a designated window and receive their needed prayer without having to get out of their vehicle. How did this time-saving idea come about? Church leaders say they were inspired, oddly enough, by their food pantry, which provides physical sustenance to needy members of the community. "It's not just about feeding the belly, but feeding the soul," said organizer Velva Mock. "And just like the conventional drive-through you're used to, you don't even have to step out of the vehicle." Because after all, there are just some things in life you don’t want to carve out specific time for and using five or 10 minutes to pray to the Lord is one of them. The logical next step, of course, is video conferencing the prayer time and allowing churchgoers to commune with the Creator via Face Time or Skype. For now, Memorial United Methodist Church members will have to make do with either the conventional approach to prayer or the new, drive-thru variety. The fact that the prayers are only available on Tuesdays does raise an interesting question, namely what worshippers are supposed to do the other six days of the week. After all, it isn't as if they can be expected to do all of the spiritual heavy lifting on their own……….


- Don’t forget Pakistan, world. While Libya’s dictatorial regime crumbles and Syria appears on the brink of a similar collapse, Pakistan has its own troubles and things are becoming chaotic enough that the call for the government to send in the army to impose a curfew in Karachi has become deafeningly loud. As the death toll from political-ethnic violence rose to 100 in the past three days, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the city’s main political party spoke out to demand the army be sent in to quell the unrest. At the same time, the MQM also observed a day of mourning for those killed in the clashes that began last month. Thus far, Pakistan’s main political parties, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the opposition PML-N party have unanimously rejected pleas to call the army into Karachi. “This is the worst signal a democratic government can give to its people,” said PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. The PPP went a step further, implying that the MQM might be behind the violence. “I am not taking any names, but the killings point to certain political parties,” information minister Shrajeel Memon said on Monday. Wait a sec……they want to call in the army to stop violence they are creating for the purpose of……dang it, this is too much, my head is starting to hurt. Critics abound in this ongoing drama and they all seem to have a different point of view. The province’s former prime minister, Zulfikar Mirza, told interior minister Rehman Malik to “keep out of Karachi” after Malik came to hold talks with the MQM. The MQM, in addition to asking for the army’s help, has joined other parties in demanding that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani resign if he cannot bring the situation under control. The situation is still regional at this point and a long way from escalating to the point of being a national firestarter of the sort that caused the current turmoil in other Middle East, African and Asian nations, but every revolution must start somewhere…………


- During the NFL’s four-month lockout, players spent their time in a variety of ways. Many used their extra free time to organize workouts with current NFL teammates or former college teammates. Some worked out on their own, other traveled, a few did extra charitable work……and then there’s Tennessee Titans receiver Kenny Britt, who spent an inordinate amount of time meeting with various local law enforcement agencies. For that, he now must meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss his conduct during the lockout. The meeting, which took place Tuesday, focused on Britt’s arrests and possible discipline from the league under its player conduct policy. “I guess they finally found me,” Britt said Monday of the meeting. “But yeah, I heard from coach (Mike) Munchak, and we’ll meet tomorrow and see what happens.” Joking about the meeting probably wasn’t the best move, not after Britt was arrested not once, but twice in New Jersey during the lockout and also surrendered himself on two arrest warrants in Tennessee for giving inaccurate information on driver’s license applications. All together, the 2009 first-round draft pick out of Rutgers has had seven incidents with police since being drafted. Those are the sorts of numbers that get Goodell to sit up and take notice and sure enough, he summoned Britt for a meeting in New York. Prior to the end of the lockout, players spoke about their feeling that any incidents that took place during the lockout should not be covered under the league’s player conduct policy because at the time, they were technically not employees of the NFL due to the work stoppage. Goodell may disagree and will make that determination after meeting with Britt. On the agenda will be discussions of Britt’s arrests, including an April 12 arrest in his hometown of Bayonne, N.J., on charges of eluding an officer and hindering apprehension when police accused him of driving his Porsche 71 mph in a 50-mph zone before leaving the officer. Just one day later, wo plainclothes officers at a Hoboken car wash smelled marijuana and accused Britt of holding a rolled cigar they thought was the source. By the time police apprehended him, the cigar was gone and officer suspect a man with Britt may have disposed of it. He was charged with several offenses, including resisting arrest. In fact, trying to get away from the cops seems to be a huge issue for Britt. Bro, just stay put next time the police come looking for you and you’ll avoid half your problems. As for a possible suspension, Titans coach Mike Munchak doesn’t believe the commissioner will sit Britt down for any games. “They’ve never met,” Munchak said. “They don’t know each other, and I think it’s more of just kind of like I did. I know Kenny when he came back in just kind of wanted to hear what’s going on, let him know what’s expected of him and that there’ll be consequences if things go further. Hopefully, they’ll just have a good talk.” Riiiiiight. Because that’s what the commissioner of a league making $9 billion annually in revenues does, he invites troubled players to his office for bonding sessions. Probably not, but maybe Britt will get off light with a one- or two-game suspension. When he does return to the field, Britt is expected to be the No. 1 receiver for the Titans for as long as he can stay productive on the field and out of the back of squad cars off it……….


- If a certain lifestyle or relationship both causes and helps one recover from a major open-heart procedure, is it considered beneficial or detrimental? New research by researchers at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) may not definitively answer that question, but co-author Harry T. Reis and his team have concluded that married people are more than twice as likely as single people to be alive 15 years after coronary bypass surgery, although the findings can't prove that having a spouse has a protective effect. Because of ethical constraints on research, it may never be possible to ever prove that marriage is good for your health, but the study does provide more evidence that having a long-term mate is good for you, said Reis. Other recent studies have suggested apparent health benefits of marriage, including an increase in the odds of survival from colon cancer and the possible reduction of pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients. However, the cause-and-effect relationship between marriage and health benefits is difficult to determine because of existing variables, for example, the possibility that people who are naturally healthier are more likely to get married in the first place, maybe because they're happier than sicker folks. For their study, Reis and his team tracked what happened to the health of 225 people who underwent coronary bypass surgery from 1987 to 1990. Of those 225 people, 124 of them (55 percent) survived for at least the next 15 years: 61 percent of the married patients and 30 percent of the unmarried. Unmarried women fared most poorly in post-surgery survival odds, with just 26 percent of them still alive at the end of the period, while unmarried men did not fare much better (only 36 percent were still alive). Conversely, 83 percent of happily married women and men were still alive and (reasonably) well. The one caveat in the results was the omnipresent unhappy marriage -- defined as those in which patients said they weren't very satisfied – in which just 29 percent of post-bypass women survived for the monitored time period as opposed to 60 percent of the men in similar relationships. After adjusting their findings for age differences between married women and unmarried women, researchers found that the percentages of difference shrank substantially. Also, fewer women were in the sample of patients, possibly affecting the results for them. So what to make of all of these numbers and variables? "Marriage gives you purpose in life, and feeling like you have a reason to live is an important part of doing the things you need to do to stay alive," Reis said. "Married people also help each other, remind each other it's time to take their pills. And they probably eat healthier." Conversely, Reis said, "when people are not married and living alone, that's when they really let themselves go, especially when they're in their 60s or 70s and living alone." Much more about this riveting research can be found by perusing your copy of the most recent issue of the journal Health Psychology or tracking it down online……….