- Who can’t use some happy news on the world scene for a change? Riots will always be there, dictators will always trample the human rights of their people and militaries will always be in the process of plotting coups against leaders with whom they’ve become disenchanted. However, it’s not a given that an Eastern European nation will do something infinitely cool like hold the continent’s first-ever event to recognize beautiful women in wheelchairs. Hungary's Miss Colours beauty pageant took place Saturday, with Katalin Eszter Varga crowned as its winner by a jury from among the eight finalists who rolled on stage in choreographed moves set to music by Maroon 5 and Rihanna and wearing dresses from leading Hungarian designer Katti Zoob. Pageant organizer Tibor Kazany said Miss Colours is the first such event in Europe and will be repeated annually, which makes the story even better. Ms. Wheelchair America pageants have been held since 1973, but the idea had not caught on in Europe until now. Varga, a perfume saleswoman who has been using a wheelchair for four years, promised to use her newfound notoriety to serve as an advocate for improving access conditions for the disabled. She said there is much work to be done in Hungary to improve wheelchair access and that she wants to be a driving force in making sure that work happens. Beauty pageants in general may still do a pathetically poor job of recognizing what truly matters in the world, but at least there is one more event on the right side of the ledger now…………
- Time to sew that special, hidden compartment into the bottom of your gear bag or install a false bottom in your locker, Boston Red Sox players. Gone are the days when certain players (no names named, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey allegedly) can sneak off to the clubhouse during games to drink beer, eat fried chicken and play video games during games their team is, you know, on the field trying to win. Tales of the trio’s slacker, borderline alcoholic ways surfaced after last season’s epic late-season collapse in which the Red Sox gave back a 9 1/2 game lead in the season’s final month to miss the playoffs and lose their wild car spot to the Tampa Bay Rays. Following the season, general manager Theo Epstein left for a new job with the Chicago Cubs, manager Terry Francona left to become a full-time broadcaster and new GM Ben Cherrington and manager Bobby Valentine replaced them. Valentine promised significant changes within the clubhouse and on the field and the most obvious question was what his stance on alcohol in the locker room would be. At the start of spring training, Valentine held off on announcing his alcohol policy until he shared it with the team as a whole. He made the policy public Saturday, saying beer would be banned in the clubhouse and also on the last leg of road trips. The team was informed of the change in a meeting Saturday morning, with the Red Sox owners and the baseball operations staff in attendance. "It's just what I've always done, except in Texas, I guess," Valentine said of the decision. "I'm comfortable with it that way." The ban includes all alcoholic beverages, the Red Sox confirmed. Valentine was asked about the team’s reaction to the new policy and replied, "You mean standing ovation or booing? I didn't get either of those. Probably fell somewhere in between a standing O and a standing boo." He pointed out that the majority of teams in Major League Baseball have similar policies in place and said he didn’t expect much pushback from players. If veteran Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz’s response is any indicator, Valentine is right. "We're not here to drink," Ortiz said. "We're here to play baseball. It ain't a bar." Former Yankees manager Joe Torre said during the World Series last fall -- when he was still working in the commissioner's office – that baseball may consider a blanket ban on alcohol in all clubhouses, although that has not happened yet. Clearly, no one agrees with Jackie Moon’s (Will Ferrell’s “Semi Pro” character) that there’s nothing in the rulebook that says you can’t play drunk……….
- So…..they New York Police Department isn't quite as popular these days as it was in the months immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yes, 10-plus years have passed and that has something to do with it, but the fact that the NYPD has been monitoring Muslims on a dozen college campuses in the Northeast is probably a factor as well. The surveillance is part of the NYPD's efforts to keep tabs on Muslims throughout the region as part of the department's anti-terrorism efforts. With its findings, the NYPD built databases of where Muslims lived and worked, where they prayed and where they watched socialized. Oddly enough, that offended some Muslims. Some fretted that undercover officers might attempt to infiltrate groups and organizations to gather information, something documents obtained by the Associated Press show has already happened. The idea that cops might be lurking on websites and blogs and scrutinizing everything they write unnerved many Muslims. Concerned Muslims and non-Muslims held a town hall meeting this week on the Upper West Side campus of Columbia University to discuss the police surveillance. Another gathering took place on Manhattan’s south side Friday as students at New York University raged against the NYPD. While the gatherings won't force the NYPD to abandon its surveillance efforts, they did seem to instill a sense of unity among Muslims on both campuses. Students at the two events expressed sympathy for those throughout the city who are being subjected to the NYPD's "stop-and-frisk" policy targeting anyone who seems suspicious, mainly blacks and Hispanics. Police have explained that the reason they have targeted Muslim student groups is because they attract young men, a demographic that terrorist groups have also targeted. University President Lee Bollinger will hold a “fireside chat” on Monday evening to discuss the secret monitoring and released a very politically correct statement about the situation on Friday. "We should all be able to appreciate the deeply personal concerns of the Muslim members of our community in learning that their activities were being monitored — and the chilling effect such governmental efforts have on any of us in a university devoted to the foundational values of free speech and association," the statement read. What do the city and its police department have to say about the blowback they’ve received? "We're going to continue to do what we have to do to protect the city," declared NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his police department's monitoring of Muslims — even outside the city - was "legal," ''appropriate" and "constitutional." All right then………..
- Maybe more studios should find a way to work real-life Navy SEALs into their movies and given the copycat nature of Hollywood, most of them are probably working on doing so after “Act of Valor” debuted in first place over the weekend. The film, which features several active duty SEALs who filmed their scenes in between missions, won with a $24.7 million debut. That was more than enough to best fellow newcomer “Tyler Perry's Good Deeds,” which refreshingly featured Perry in a non-Madea role for a change and garnered $16 million in its first weekend to place second. Led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, family flick “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” moved up one spot in its third weekend to finish third on the strength of $13.4 million in earnings to boost its cumulative total to $76.7 million. Denzel Washington’s spy thriller “Safe House” ranked fourth with $11.4 million after finishing first last weekend. It has grossed $98.1 million domestically through three weeks. Chick flick “The Vow” was fifth in its third weekend with $10 million to cross the $100 million barrier in domestic earnings ($103.1 million). “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” continued its underwhelming start with a sixth-place finish and $8.8 million for a two-week domestic tally of $37.8 million. Reese Witherspoon’s hotness was not enough to lift “This Means War” past seventh place, where it landed with a dull thud in its second week. The movie earned $8.5 million for the weekend and has made $33.6 million overall. Two disappointing newcomers held down the eighth and ninth spots, with “Wanderlust” ($6.6 million) failing to produce the laughs and “Gone” ($5 million) failing to conjure up the drama. “The Secret World of Arrietty” rounded out the top 10 with $4.5 million in its second weekend. “Chronicle” (No. 11), “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (in 3D)” (No. 12), “The Woman in Black” (No. 14) and “The Grey” (No. 17) all dropped out from last weekend’s top 10………..
- Samsung is still hammering away at the iPad, trying to gain ground in the tablet market, and has added a new weapon to its arsenal with the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1). The second tablet in the new Galaxy Tab 2 family of low-cost tablets, the device will use Android 4.0 just like the recently announced Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0). It will also have a 10-inch screen, the company said on Sunday. Both Galaxy 2 tablets have similar hardware specifications, including a 1 GHz dual-core processor, two cameras, storage of 32 GB and a MicroSD card slot for added capacity. However, the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) 10-inch model has improved resolution at 1280-by-800 pixels and weighs more, up from 345 grams to 588 grams. Compared to the original Galaxy Tab 10.1, which weighed 565 grams, the difference is minimal. To support the bigger screen, Samsung has added a more powerful battery (up from 4,000 mAh to 7,000 mAh). To differentiate the 7-inch model from the 10-inch version Samsung is billing the smaller tablet as an "on-the-go device," while the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) is supposedly better suited for home use. That doesn’t make a ton of sense because if someone is going to use a device primarily at home, why not go with a laptop that has a 15-inch screen? Similar to the iPad and iPad 2, users will be able to choose between a 3G version and a Wi-Fi version. The Galaxy Tab 2 product line will launch globally in March beginning in the UK. No price points were provided for the devices in the UK, but Samsung did reveal that when the tablet reaches Sweden the Wi-Fi version will cost 3,120 Swedish kronor (U.S. $470), excluding taxes. This price is, in Samsung’s mind anyhow, low enough to allow more people to buy a tablet. After sales of Android-based tablets more than tripled during the fourth quarter of 2011, maybe they’re right. Still, Apple dominates the market with a 57.6 percent market share compared to 39.1 percent for Android tablets. Perhaps the mood is about to change……….
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