- Anyone signing up to be a cast member for ABC’s matching his/hers/losers reality shows “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” isn't all that intelligent to begin with. Bearing that in mind, it should not strike anyone as surprising that new “Bachelorette” Emily Maynard admits she doesn’t know exactly what she’s in for. "It really hasn't hit me, what I've signed on to do," she said. "I'm scared to death." Scared to death probably isn't the right emotion for someone who is about to engage in one of the most artificial, bogus charades on television or anywhere else in which they humiliate themselves through a forcing mating ritual involving 25 losers of the opposite sex vying for their affections. Maynard should know better, given that she was one of the skanks throwing themselves at Brad Womack on the last season of “The Bachelor.” Shockingly, she and Womack ended their engagement in June. The news was shocking because relationships formed on reality dating shows always work out. When the engagement ended, Maynard swore she "had no intentions of ever being the next Bachelorette." Despite her Romney-esque flip-flop, she maintains that her comments were honest. "I genuinely meant that," Maynard insisted. "I feel like the biggest hypocrite because I said that and now I'm doing it." Oh, you are a ginormous hypocrite, right alongside being an attention whore and cash-grabber. The obvious question is whether anything other than money and the chance to extend her undeserved 15 minutes of fame changed her mind. "I know it can work," she said. "I fell in love the first time and no, we didn't end up getting married, but in the end just falling in love, for me, is a success." Keep your standards low, Maynard, well done. “The Bachelorette” will film in Charlotte, N.C., where Maynard is raising her daughter Ricki, 6, as well as in other locations. Yes, Maynard is dragging a 6-year-old through the process as well. Should be quite the thrill ride………
- Pretentious pricks who fancy themselves as art aficionados are easy to despise, but every now and then a happening in the world of paint, clay and creative interpretation has enough relevance to cross over and reach the masses. The discovery of the earliest known copy of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is one such story. The piece is thought to have been painted at the same time as the original masterpiece and was discovered at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain during restoration work. It offers clues of what the model for the world's most famous painting really looked like and was found hidden beneath layers of black overpainting during restoration work on a picture initially thought to have been a later replica of the "Mona Lisa." Despite the restoration workers’ best attempts, the features of Leonardo's subject remained dulled by centuries of dirt and layers of cracked varnish that are unlikely ever to be removed. Still, the restored painting depicts s the same woman that Leonardo depicted, against a landscape similar to that shown in the background of the original, which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris and is the museum’s biggest draw. The subject of the newly discovered painting appears fresher faced and younger than her better-known incarnation. News of the find was disclosed during a symposium at London's National Gallery as part of its massive "Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan" exhibition. Art critics believe the underdrawing found on the Madrid version suggests that the original and the copy were begun at the same time and painted next to each other. As such, Miguel Falomir, curator of Italian painting at the Prado, theorized that the painting was done in Leonardo’s own workshop, under his supervision. "It is absolutely consistent with Leonardo's work," he said. “(But) it is a work in which Leonardo himself did not intervene." Regardless of its creator, the painting is scheduled to be unveiled to the public at the Prado Museum later this month and go on display at the Louvre in March, as part of the "Leonardo's Final Masterpiece" exhibition……….
- Those who despise Danica Patrick are many in number and none too shy about blasting the brunette beauty for receiving far too many opportunities as a racecar driver without having the skills and victories to merit those chances. Patrick, who has posed for more than a few magazines and pictorials in über-small bikinis and is a spokesperson for GoDaddy.com in its extremely suggestive TV commercials, has yet to win an IndyCar race and yet she has begun the process of transitioning to NASCAR, the heavyweight of the auto racing world. Her push will continue in one of NASCAR’s biggest races, this month’s Daytona 500. Stewart Haas Racing is working on an alliance with Tommy Baldwin Racing that will assure Patrick of a starting spot in the Daytona 500 and keep her No. 10 car on the track for much of the Sprint Cup schedule. The proposed deal would lock Patrick in for a spot in the Feb. 26 race base on the car owner's points accumulated last season by TBR driver Dave Blaney, who was 33rd in the standings. Patrick would gravy train that success on the basis of a rule that guarantees the top 35 in owner's points from last season a starting spot in the first five races of 2012. Because Patrick is scheduled to compete in only 10 Cup races while participating full time in the Nationwide series, TBR driver David Reutimann will take her place in as many of the remaining 26 Cup races as is financially feasible. Those who believe Patrick will bring nothing more than some quality T&A to Daytona……are probably right, but that doesn’t mean she’s conceding defeat. She said during a recent media conference in Charlotte, N.C., that there's a "real chance'' she could win the Daytona 500 with a little luck. If by “real chance” she means “not an ice cream cone’s chance on the sun,” then Patrick is exactly right……….
- Sugar is the crack of the food world. That has long been common knowledge and it’s damn time this powdery pollutant to the body is treated just like alcohol, tobacco or any illegal drug. Professor Robert Lustig of the University of California, San Francisco understands this and he and his research team have come up with ironclad proof that sugar is as damaging and addictive as alcohol or tobacco and should be regulated as such. Based on their research, the team concluded that new policies such as taxes are needed to control soaring consumption of sugar and sweeteners. Such policies would mirror those already in place in countries like Denmark and Hungary, which have a tax on saturated fat, and France, which has approved a tax on soft drinks. Under Lustig’s new system of sugar regulation, there would be taxes and restrictions places on added sugar and sweeteners. The consumption of sugar has tripled worldwide over the past 50 years and the world has grown FAT in the process, with a healthy dose of high blood pressure and diabetes to go with that. Lustig, a child obesity expert, believes a major shift in policy is needed to limit sales of sweet food and drinks during school hours, or even stopping children from buying them below a certain age. That’s right, no Sno Balls or Cap’N Crunch on sale before 6 p.m., y’all. Why? "It [sugar] meets all the criteria for societal intervention that alcohol and tobacco meet,” Lustig said. He then conceded that he and his supporters face a difficult “political battle against a powerful sugar lobby” and have little chance of seeing their proposed reforms adopted. Left unaddressed by Lustig’s comments in the journal Nature are the side effects his ideas would cause. In other words, black market Twinkies, Ho-Ho dealers lurking down back alleys near schools and shipments of illegal candy bars pouring across the border from Mexico. This is no easy problem………
- Prepare to be stunned. An Amtrak train derailed and the incident had much more to do with the mistakes of others than missteps by Amtrak employees or the company’s equipment malfunctioning. Wednesday’s derailment of an Amtrak train in Jackson County, Mich. Happened when the Wolverine Train 351 was headed to Chicago from Pontiac with 68 people onboard. The train slammed into a semi-truck that was on the tracks in Leoni Township, near Michigan Avenue and Portage Road. According to a statement released by Amtrak, the collision caused the train's engine to tip on its side and two railcars to jump the tracks. Along with the 68 passengers, the train was also carrying equipment for local oil production. How does a semi end up stuck on railroad tracks? Police believe the truck became stuck on the high crown of the crossing and the driver of the flatbed trailer tried to move his vehicle once he saw the train but was unable to do so. At the time of the collision, the train was going 60 miles an hour. Police have not determined whether the driver should be cited and with local, state and federal National Transportation Safety Board officials involved, the process won't exactly move at breakneck speed. Passengers were understandably rattled by the crash. “It was pretty scary. At first it was kind of like a wobble, then a screech and then we just kind of flipped over,” said passenger Mary Connolly, who was headed to Kalamazoo. Once the train crashed, passengers in the affected cars climbed over seats and exited with the help of railway employees. Several bystanders also assisted and reported seeing fuel spilled around the crash site. Some also used hammers to break the windows and get passengers out. There were no fatalities in the crash, but more than a dozen people suffered minor injuries and many Many were treated at Allegiance Medical Center in Jackson. The truck driver has been treated and released and Amtrak promised to provide alternate transportation between Ann Arbor and Jackson for the affected passengers……….
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