- Why can’t the good people of the greater New Haven are
just enjoy a simple, f’ing carnival without turning it into a mini-gang war or
riot? Carnivals may have a lot of problems, not the least of which is being
staffed by unwashed transients who have the stereotype of being creepy,
pedophile types for a good reason, but even carneys are not as much of an issue
in New Haven as the party-poopers who have forced local law enforcement to shut
down a carnival for the second time in six months. The latest incident occurred
Saturday around 8 p.m., when police officers responded to a report of a large group of
teenagers gathering at the site of the Tufano Amusements Carnival, in Hamden
Plaza at 2300 Dixwell Avenue. Yes, that is the name of the street and yes, you
can laugh if you must. Officers spotted nearly 200 teenagers gathering near
Hamden Mart and in a sign of a true gang battle about to happen in one
of the whitest states in America, many of those assembled were on bicycles.
These teen truants were blocking traffic, including an elderly woman who did
what old people do in stressful, but not life-threateningly dangerous
situations: overreact. The woman’s car was surrounded by teens on bikes, leaving her
"visibly shaken," police said. By the time the fuzz arrived on the
scene, numerous fights had been reported in and around Hamden Plaza and one of
the victims was a harmless bystander, a homeless man allegedly attacked by a
large group of the assembled teen thugs. Because of the chaos, the carnival
closed early, at 9 p.m. All of this came on the heels of a similar incident in
the exact same place on April 14, when another Tufano Amusements carnival at
the plaza was closed an hour early after the arrests of several teens. The
first carnival closing was actually more of a show, as it featured a brass
knuckles fight between two teens and an assault outside of a Taco Bell.
Unfortunately, they can’t all be great shows…….
- Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis has carved out a nice life for
himself. He’s the frontman for an über-successful, long-running indie band that
has been a fixture on the music scene for many years. He’s released great solo
projects as well, and yet his musical life apparently could have been so much
better. If his story is true, Mascis nearly joined one of the biggest bands of
the 1990s – twice. The singer and guitarist claims he was asked by Nirvana
frontman Kurt Cobain to join the iconic grunge band on two separate occasions. "Nirvana
was playing Maxwell's and after the show I was talking to Kurt and [Sonic Youth's]
Thurston Moore," Mascis said.
"Kurt said, 'you should join my band.'
I think he was sick of the guy Jason [Everman] who was in the band at the time,
and thought I should play guitar. I didn't think much about it. Later, there
was also talk of playing drums on a single [1990's 'Sliver'] they were doing,
but it ended up being [Mudhoney drummer] Dan Peters."
So not only was he
nearly Nirvana’s guitarist, but he nearly ripped Dave Grohl’s breakthrough gig
from him by hitting the high hats for the band as well. The Everman he alluded
to was Jason Everman, who was briefly second guitarist in Nirvana in 1989 and
is credited on their legendary album “Bleach.” Instead of joining Nirvana,
Mascis kept on trucking with Dinosaur Jr and the group released their tenth
studio album “I Bet On The Sky” on September 17. It may not be the life Mascis
could have had, but he’s still doing all right for himself……….
- Another reason to hate indoor tanning? Heck yes. Skin
cancer in a box is enough reason to become enraged, but now that the practice
has been pegged as increasing the likelihood for other skin cancers
beyond, you know, the single-deadliest type of skin cancer. In case anyone
forgot, cancer boxes/tanning beds are at the root of more than 170,000 cases of
basal and squamous cell skin cancer each year in the United States. Now, a
study led by Dr. Eleni Linos, an assistant professor of dermatology at the
University of California, San Francisco is casting even more aspersions on
indoor tanning. "Not only do tanning beds cause melanoma, the most deadly
form of skin cancer, but our study shows they also contribute to the most
common cancer, basal and squamous cell skin cancer," Linos said. "We
could prevent hundreds of thousands of cancers each year by avoiding tanning beds.”
Her team analyzed 12 studies that included more than 9,000 cases of
non-melanoma skin cancer, such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell
carcinoma, and the results were disturbing. Using tanning beds led to a 67
percent increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma and a 29 percent higher risk
of basal cell carcinoma, compared with never using a tanning bed, according to
the study. On a national level, Linos' group estimated that indoor tanning in
the United States accounts for about 3.7 percent of cases of basal cell
carcinoma and 8.2 percent of cases of squamous cell carcinoma each year.
Combined, that is approximately 170,000 cases a year. Vain individuals who use tanning
beds before age 25 appears to significantly increase the risk for basal cell carcinoma,
which is a nice added bonus. Even if it is considered non-malignant, basal cell
skin cancer can grow into nearby bone or tissue if not treated, so it is still
extremely dangerous. Supporters of the study believe it should debunk many
popular arguments for cancer box proponents, i.e. people who think it’s cool to
look like that orange lady in New Jersey who also dragged her elementary
school-age daughter to the tanning bed. The World Health Organization isn’t a
fan of the practice and the International Agency for Research on Cancer lists
indoor tanning as a Class 1 carcinogen, along with tobacco and asbestos, but
superficial people who need that healthy, orange hue still tan. Here’s hoping
this study wins a few of these kooks over………
- Rhinos, it’s time to run. Life in India isn't safe for you
right now and running is your best option. After seven rhinos were slaughtered
in India's
Assam state last week, a rhino-panic has set in. An eighth rhino was swept out
of a wildlife reserve by floodwaters and managed to avoid the lethal attacks of
poachers. Being swept away in floodwaters doesn’t sound glamorous, but the one-horned
rhino was saved Tuesday when dozens of elite park rangers surrounded a river
area where the beast was hiding. The only remaining question was how to
transport the massive animal to a safer area. Having the rhino alive at all
came was a massive relief after the rash of killings in the previous week, with
several of the animals killed inside Kaziranga
National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Worse still, at least two of the
rhinos were alive when their horns were hacked off. Horns can be worth
thousands of dollars on the black market and the killings were big news in
Assam. The horns have many uses across Asia, where they are commonly carved
into bowls or cups as a status of wealth, or ground up as a powder used to
treat hangovers or even as a purported cancer cure. Having seven rhinos
slaughtered in a single week is a bad omen even though Assam's rhino population
has improved in recent years, and the species is no longer listed as endangered
in the region. Nearly 2,300 of the beasts live inside the national park, the
last stronghold for rhinos in India. However, 11 rhinos have been killed by
poachers in the area this year and 28 more have died in recent flooding.
Poachers have also suffered some casualties in the fight, with three killed and
14 arrested so far this year, according to the government. To raise awareness
of the poaching problems, local conservation groups on Monday staged a protest
in Guwahati, a city near the
national park, issuing a statement that park officials had not
"learned lessons" from several rhino killings in June. This fight
appears to be a long way from over……..
- Men who were supposed to be nowhere near the New Orleans
Saints this season are suddenly popping up in the stands at their games. Suspended Saints coach Sean Payton is out
for the year, year he will be in attendance at the Louisiana Superdome for
Sunday night's game against the San Diego Chargers. Last weekend, the league
allowed banned defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to see his son coach for
the Rams in their game against the Seahawks. Williams' son serves as the Rams'
linebackers coach. Both men are suspended for the year for their role in the
Saints’ bounty scandal and general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant coach
Joe Vitt are both out for parts of the season. However, the league has made an
exception to its ruling that none of the suspended individuals are allowed to
attend a game in person or have contact with the team so they can be in the
house when Saints quarterback Drew Brees makes history against the Chargers. Brees
has thrown at least one touchdown in 47 consecutive games and is about to break
Johnny Unitas' all-time NFL record. It was Brees who asked the NFL to allow
Payton, Loomis and Vitt to attend the game and see the record broken in person.
Loomis and Vitt have declined the invitation and will not attend the game, but
Payton will be there to represent the trio. His bond with Brees is strong, as
Payton and Loomis signed Brees as their quarterback prior to the 2006 season
even though he was recovering from a serious injury to his throwing shoulder. Only
one other team, the Miami Dolphins, even considered Brees, but the Saints
believed in him and he rewarded them with a Super Bowl win in 2009. Now he is
poised to make history in a Saints uniform and in a season where the team is
0-4 and has very little hope of making the playoffs, this mark may be one of
the high points of the year………
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