While the economy collapses, the Middle East is on fire, and our beloved President seems to be as unable to communicate with the American people as the previous president, the news stories are full of a tweeting congressman.
Jokes are easy to make about the problem, especially since the congressman’s name is easily mispronounced to resemble […]

read more from this topic.....

Well, this year’s Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally got some publicity today when Sarah Palin and family accompanied them as private citizens. As the mother of an Iraqi veteran, she is entitled to this.
Most of the half million attending the rally seemed pleased.
So of course most of the press coverage was about Andrea Mitchell finding the […]

read more from this topic.....

If you aren’t already frightened for the direction in which this country is headed, then the first few minutes of “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1” will scare your pants off!  In order to Expedite the exposition process Atlas Shrugged starts out with a media montage of life in the year 2016.  America’s infrastructure is crumbling, and America’s industry […]

read more from this topic.....

There are hundreds and hundreds of music genres, and new ones seem to crop up constantly. I recently stumbled upon a band from a Scandinavian country who are pioneers in Prog Metal Folk music. I will not divulge the bands name for two reasons, one because the name is completely unpronounceable, and two, the music […]

read more from this topic.....

The name Tommy Roe is one that everyone born prior to 1960 remembers. During the 1960’s Tommy Roe had a string of hits both in the US and elsewhere in the world. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, the songs certainly will. Here is a refresher for you from 1969:
Dizzy

There are many people […]

read more from this topic.....

Sean Patrick Griffin’s new book Gaming the Game won’t make disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy happy. In 2007, Donaghy was busted by the feds for conspiring with pro gambler Jimmy “Baba” Battista and their mutual boyhood pal, low-level drug dealer and all round dogsbody Tommy Martino. Donaghy had been supplying Battista with picks on games […]

read more from this topic.....

The thing about this movie is that I never felt bored.  That’s important because unlike some movies that are very focused on a single character, causing to that character to be central to every scene, I never felt tired of our hero in Limitless.
 
The lead actor in question here is Bradley Cooper who plays Eddie […]

read more from this topic.....

ArcheologyNews reports that a researcher claims Henry VIII didn’t die of a combination of syphillis, obesity related diabetes and malaria, (and perhaps a bit mentally unstable from cerebral syphilis and the mercury used back then to treat it).
No, they claim it was a rare complication of the Kells’ antigen called McLeod syndrome.
Research conducted by […]

read more from this topic.....

Jose Henriquez, the Chilean Miner has sent a special message to parents and carers of children and adults with autism to mark Autism Sunday 2011 which falls on Sunday 13th February. Jose Henriquez was one of the 33 miners trapped underground in the San José mine in Chile. Henriquez organised daily prayers deep down in […]

read more from this topic.....

I wonder how much of the “red state/blue state” divide is based not on “politics” per se, but on misunderstanding of culture, so that the two groups use words to mean different things.
I’ll start with a quote from President Obama at the recent prayer breakfast, taken from an article by Ruth Marcus in the Washington […]

read more from this topic.....

I class myself as blessed. I know the strangest people, and they in turn introduce me to others. Oh, do not get me wrong, I love all of these people. I feel privileged to call them friends. But, to the average person some of them may seem just a little eccentric.
Several weeks ago I was […]

read more from this topic.....

Despite the fact that the shooting in Arizona was caused by a mentally ill person, the spin was followed by a week of Sarah Palin bashing.
With the State of the Union address, it’s calmed down a bit, but nevertheless Time Magazine decided it was important news to complain that Sarah Palin put the flag on […]

read more from this topic.....

Amy Chua’s article in the Wall Street Journal, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior,” has gotten enough publicity to make her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” a best seller.  She’s clear that she uses the term “Chinese Mother” to represent a certain way of treating children that may be found in people from many, […]

read more from this topic.....

Last week Mannie Barling, Ashley F. Brooks, and I had a very special guest on the program, well known movie and TV actor Patrick Kilpatrick. I am sure that many people wondered what a famous actor and producer could possibly be doing on a radio program about health and nutrition?
Patrick himself gave the ultimate […]

read more from this topic.....

Over here in the Philippines, we have a lot of political murders, and entering politics can be risky. The dirty little secret is that most of these are against low level politicians, and they are not really about disagreeing with a person’s politics, but about who will control all that lovely money that is funneled […]

read more from this topic.....

For a mere ten million dollars the fine people at Rogue Pictures have put together a slick looking movie in Skyline. However outside of the scary looking aliens, blue LED light effects and space ships, there isn’t much going for this movie.Staring Donald Fasion (and I use the term ‘staring’ loosely as Fasion is merely […]

read more from this topic.....

Will Ferrell is famous as one of Hollywood’s top comedic leading men known primarily for his overacting and generally crazy onscreen antics.   However, Ferrell has a complementary talent: (other than his sexy crooning vocals featured in “Semi-Pro”) voice acting.
Ferrell voices the title character “Megamind” an evil blue alien who crash-lands on earth after his home […]

read more from this topic.....

 Maybe, like a lot of people who dismissed Joe Camp’s idea of making a movie starring a dog, you are a reader who says, “who wants to read about making a movie that starred a dog?” But this book is so much more than a story about a dog or about making a […]

read more from this topic.....

Follow the money. Yes, that’s right, follow the money.
You really didn’t think that the “Wikileaks” scheme was about being anti war, did you?
From ZDNET, a computer related website:
…Wikileaks founder Julian Assange…(is) now blackmailing Amnesty International and other human rights groups for $700,000 to remove names of Afghan civilians who might get killed by […]

read more from this topic.....

One of the best things about the Clintons is that, during their time in office, they protected Chelsea from publicity and criticism. This allowed her to go through her teen years without the glare and criticism of, say, Sarah Palin’s children or the politicization of the Obama girls.
So we are now hearing about her happy […]

read more from this topic.....

A bit of an uproar in Massachusetts, where the local papers have discovered that Senator Kerry bought a yacht, but has parked it in nearby Rhode Island to get out of paying the local sales tax.
The good news is that, now that he has been caught and shamed, he will pay the half million dollar […]

read more from this topic.....

There is a minor kerfuffle in the right wing blogs about Michael Bellesiles being caught publishing fiction as truth.
The right wing has it in for Bellesiles, since he once faked data on gun ownership in early America, trying to prove no one owned guns then (and ergo the second amendment was meant to refer to […]

read more from this topic.....

Most of the sharks are out attacking Mel Gibson’s shocking behavior.
Well, it’s better reading that the other stories in the news, such as the oil spill or that suffering Haitians still need help. And it allows lots of folks to wax self righteous.
Ironically, it is Whoopie Goldberg, a celebrity who also defended Roman Polanski, who […]

read more from this topic.....

Andrew Malcolm over at the LATimes is wondering what to make of Sarah Palin.
Her poll numbers are low, both when the polls ask if she is qualified to be president and also when asked if people would vote for those she supports, yet in this primary season a lot of those she endorsed have won […]

read more from this topic.....

General Mc Chrystal has committed a major breech in protocol when he openly criticized the President and the President’s plans for Afghanistan in an interview in the Rolling Stone.
For the sake of our democracy, such behavior cannot be tolerated.
He needs to be relieved from duty.
Why do I say this?
No, I am not a pacifist, and […]

read more from this topic.....

I had written before about foolhardy publicity stunts which are cheered on and encouraged by the willingness of the media to publicize them.
ABC (US) news is an example of this. Their headline proclaims:
Rescued Teen Sailor: ‘Since When Does Age Create Gigantic Waves and Storms?’
Family Happy to Hear From 16-Year-Old Plucked From Indian Ocean in Failed […]

read more from this topic.....

As Summer rolls out its hazy crazy days, pimp hands are blooming all over. From White House plots to the gardens of assorted local governments and/or crime scenes. Though pimp hands are invasive (hence their common name “traveling pimp hands”) and if unchecked, will strangle all other growth, there’s no denying these fleurs du mal […]

read more from this topic.....

I was bemused when a minor lambast against “pacifists” trying to start a war against Israel led to this comment:
“…the Israelis steadfastly refuse to publish a list of allowed goods and appear to change their minds daily on what is allowed. Eg. Hair conditioner is banned at the moment…”
Oh my, no wonder the people in […]

read more from this topic.....

We are presently watching activists manipulate the media on Israel. It is not a real story, but one that has it’s aim to demonize Israel, who is the newest whipping boy of the activist left in Europe (replacing Bush and Global warming, I guess).
StrategyPage has the facts,
“…The donors of tons of supplies […]

read more from this topic.....

Am I the only mother who is aghast at parents who live vicariously in their kids “achievements” when they put their child’s life at risk?
The latest was the 13 year old who climbed Mt. Everest:
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do before I die - I just happen to be doing it at this […]

read more from this topic.....