Academy Award winner and Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, is auctioning off some rare NIN goods to raise money for greyhounds.
A long time animal lover, Trent used to bring his dog to all the shows back in the day.
"Trent is an animal lover and longtime supporter of rescuing greyhounds and has created this auction specifically to help his friends continue their work in saving these animals’ lives."
Recording artist Ke$ha is using her celebrity to help homeless street dogs.
Ke$ha wants to have hands-on involvement in HSI’s efforts to protect animals. “I am honored to be the first HSI Global Ambassador because my music is inspired by the freedom and primal beauty of animals and the natural world," she says. "I take this opportunity incredibly seriously because we are ALL animals. One of the main underlying sentiments of my music is to respect all living creatures just as they are. I believe that together, we can change laws that allow innocent animals to be unjustly mistreated and abused all over the world."
Watch the sad video and then visit the link and donate to this desperate cause.
On November 24, 1971 a man by the name of Dan Cooper successfully hijacked an American airplane and got away with it and the money.
Cooper's escapade is undoubtedly one of the most successful single handed heists in history. True, he only took $200,000.000 but in 1971 dollars that was over a million. And his legend has endured all this time making him kind of a folk hero even though today he would be branded a terrorist.
People are in awe of Cooper and how the hell he managed to get away with it. Or did he? Does his body still lie undiscovered in the vast wilderness of the Pacific Northwest? Perhaps a Bigfoot found him, nursed him back to health and has held him captive all this time?
D.B. Cooper no matter what the outcome will always be legend. Because he got away with it. He might be dead but he is not nor ever was caught and prosecuted. We still root for this guy. Fuck it.
Most of all, we root for him, because no one got hurt. He was a nice hijacker. The guy was very polite to the flight staff (well, except for frightening the stewardesses with a bomb!) and even let them eat dinner. He also released all hostages after receiving the money.
This story is a doozy and all the more entertaining because the details are amazing. Personally, we think he did get away with it and lived for a while but is probably dead now. We may well never know the truth of who exactly D.B. was.
Was the identity of Dan Cooper based on a French comic book named DAN COOPER?
Dan Cooper, 1955 French Comic Book Hero
It's one of the FBI's most annoyingly unsolved cold cases of all time. And one of our personal faves.
It seems all the news is coming out of London today.....
Mark "The Missile" Cavendish has Olympic Gold on his mind these days. He is coming off the best Tour De France of his career which he immediately followed up with Road Race Champion, the first Brit to do so in 46 YEARS.
His chances are as good as they are ever going to get and we wouldn't bet against him. Especially since the 2012 Olympics are on his turf.
However, it will be gruelling. The Olympic cyclists call date is just 6 days after The Tour ends. 6 days! Mon Dieu!
The father-to-be is in super high spirits and is hopeful that he can take the gold. First though, his supermodel girlfriend is due very soon and Mark says:‘It’s the most exciting news I’ve had all year, and that includes what I’ve done in cycling.’
Ahhh, the calm tranquility of London's Richmond Park. The deer are plenty and are grazing peacefully. The traffic on the boundary road is light and the day is just clear and perfect. What a nice day to walk the dog.
Once you watch this video you'll see why it's gone viral. And if you've ever owned a dog that tends to chase things, you can feel this guys embarrassing pain.
Care to bet on who can run faster - a herd of deer, a dog named Fenton or a man? Hint: It is SO not the man.
And since the deer were not hurt, we find it hilarious.
Eddie and Pats are returning for a new season that includes a three-part Christmas special. Yay!
Everyone is commenting on how great the cast looks. Jane Horrocks (Bubble) is 47, Julia Sawalha (Saffy) is 43, Jennifer Saunders (Edina) is 53, June Whitfield (mom) is 86, and Joanna Lumley (Patsy) is 65.
Amazing!
Jennifer Saunders, who plays the super-cool yet hot-mess Edina, and is the creator/writer for the show, is in remission from her breast cancer ordeal from the last couple of years and seems ready to bring Ab Fab back to prime time and possibly to A MOVIE THEATER NEAR YOU.
'We thought it would be hilarious if [Edina and Patsy] went to a party on an oligarch’s yacht, got drunk, fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the ocean,' she said.
Well, considering Eddie and Patsy get drunk and wake up everywhere else, why not?
Here's a sneak peek at the Christmas special airing soon on BBC1.
Roger reminds everyone that he's still a contender
There was a time, not just a couple of years ago, when Roger Federer won every match he was in. Every. One.
Hailed as The Greatest Tennis Player of All Time, he was on course to break every record and cement his already lustrous career into infinity.
Then a guy named Rafael Nadal entered the scene. A young punk from Spain, Nadal had the guts, the skill and the balls to kick Roger's ass from one side of the court to another. To this day Rafa has won 17 of the 26 times they've met.
The Roger Federer - Rafael Nadal rivalry is/was one of the greatest in ALL sports. But in tennis it is already the stuff of legend.
Roger is now ranked 4th in the world behind #1 Novak Djokivic, #2 Rafa Nadal and #3 Andy Freaking Murray.
However, last night, Roger absolutely and totally schooled Nadal in less than an hour winning 6-3, 6-0 at the O2 in London.
It was Rafa's worst defeat since 2008. To put the point on it, check this out: Roger had 28 outright winners to Rafa's 4.
Federer will be in the Barclays ATP World Tour Semi Finals this Saturday. Rafa will be doing supermodels on his yacht.
Jose Rene Martinez is an amazing example of how ordinary people can overcome difficult and painful obstacles and accomplish extraordinary things.
JR's journey has been incredible. Born in Louisiana in 1983, he enlisted in the army in 2002. He was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and was there only 2 months when the Humvee he was driving hit a landmine.
JR was burned over 40% of his body. He was airlifted to Germany and spent almost 3 years in hospital recovering. To date he has undergone 33 surgeries and skin grafts.
This is where the story gets really inspirational. JR was asked to speak to a newly burned patient and try and comfort him. Not only did it work but JR discovered he has a way with people.
He became a motivational speaker and has been honored nationally for his work, on multiple occasions by various veterans groups and more.
He's a fixture on General Hospital, a groundbreaking role for daytime television.
As far as Dancing With the Stars goes, we liked Ricki Lake but are sick of Derek Hough winning and although we like Cheryl Burke, there's no way we wanted Rob Shallnotbenamed to win. So this was perfect.
It's thrilling to have a guy like JR, who breaks the mold in every way, win this year. He's already accomplished amazing things and we can't wait to see what he does in the future.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot to death this day in 1963.
It was a beautiful Texan day and no one, but the idiots that killed him, had any idea what terrible things were to come.
WARNING: The following is extremely graphic.
Look how Jackie tries to flee the car after her husband's head is blown apart all over her. It's still so sad.
Never forget these 2 things about that day and night:
1) The Secret Service that were supposed to physically ride on the back of the car and run beside it using specifically installed handles attached to the car were intentionally CALLED OFF at the last minute.
The secret service guys were so pissed they kept waving their arms in the air - 3 times to be exact - in exasperation and confusion. Why were they being called off by their boss? REPEAT: Why were the Secret Service Agents supposed to be riding ON THE BACK OF THE CAR ITSELF being called off by their boss? Here's the video to prove it.
And 2) FACT: Right after JFK was assassinated the United States Treasury was plundered. The paper money that used to read "Payable to the Bearer on Demand" became a useless "Federal Reserve Note" and rumors abound to this day that Fort Knox was emptied out in one night.
Brad Meltzer's Decoded just did a great episode on Fort Knox. No one has been allowed in to view the "gold" since the 1970's. Nope, nothing shady there!
The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the death of this great country as we knew it. All of the evils that have befallen us over the years can directly be traced back to that beautiful yet tragic day in Dallas.
Love him or hate him, the boy can play fucking soccer almost better than anyone in the world. He is in the elite upper-eschelon of the sport and there are only a handful up there with him.
Sunday night in Los Angeles, MLS team Galaxy, won their first Championship. They owe it all to Beckham who went balls out for a trophy.
It was a rough start for the Englishman, when he moved his famous family to California to compete in the US MLS. David was injured and it was a slow recovery but at the 5 year mark, with his contract at an end, he delivered the goods.
We originally posted this on 7/20/11 and in light of the breaking news today that the LA County Sheriff's Department is re-opening the case it's super relevant!
Actress Natalie Wood was born this day in 1938. She died November 29, 1981.
How beloved was Natalie Wood by her Hollywood peers? Well, her pall bearers were: Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, Gregory Peck, David Niven, Fred Astaire and movie director Elia Kazan.
Her funeral was attended by over 1,000 people and included Elizabeth Taylor and Gene Kelly.
In life she starred in over 50 major motion pictures including some of the best and biggest of all time: Miracle on 34th Street, The Searchers, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Rebel Without a Cause and one of our all time personal favorites, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
She was nominated 3 times for an Academy Award and nominated multiple times for Golden Globes, winning twice.
Her death at age 43, remains an open mystery. Natalie was married a few times in her life and like Elizabeth Taylor two of those marriages were to the same man, Robert Wagner (Of recent Austin Powers movie fame.)
On the night in question, November 29, 1981, she was on her and Robert's yacht with fellow actor Christopher Walken and the boat Captain. She was found drowned the next morning, clad in a nightgown, jacket and socks. The official story is that she went outside late that night/early that morning to secure a dingy that kept banging against the boat, slipped, fell in the water and accidentally drowned.
Her sister, actress Lana, insists that Natalie would never go out at night like that and secure a boat. Besides, she had THREE other men on board that could have done that for her, including one (the Captain) that was on the payroll to specifically take care of that kind of thing.
The Captain insists to this day he saw and heard Natalie and Robert having a terrible fight on deck early that morning and that all of sudden Robert was alone saying, "she's gone." The implication here is that he threw her overboard or accidentally/inadvertently caused her to fall overboard.
The police ruled that because of the level of alcohol in her bloodstream (super high)and because they believed Wagner's story that is was an accident.
Christopher Walken has NEVER ONCE spoken publicly about that night. Wagner never said much either. His autobiography from a few years ago basically just says this:
According to Wagner, tensions came to the boil during a late dinner on the couple's yacht Splendor, which was moored off the island of Santa Catalina, near Los Angeles, after Walken suggested that Wood should star in more films instead of caring for two young children.
Wagner admits he lost his temper over the remark and smashed a wine bottle on the table, prompting Wood to go below to their cabin. He and Walken then went up on deck to cool down. At about midnight he returned to the cabin and discovered that his wife was missing. Then he realised that the yacht's dinghy had gone too. That's when he remarked to the Captain, "She's gone."
This implies that he thought maybe she had just taken the smaller boat to shore and left him. He was so drunk he might not have even known she was dead.
Her body was found by authorities later that day.
Her sister, Lana, as of March 2010, asked the LA police to re-open this "case" and reinvestigate. No word on that, but considering the LA police face thousands of homicides a year and this incident happened 30 years ago this November, we'd say it's over.
WRONG! Case re-opened 11/18/11
Sheriff's Office has "new information"
Lana's story is conveyed through this news article from a couple of years ago.
We'll never know what really happened that night unless Christoper Walken or Robert Wagner give some sort of tell all.
Until then, it's still up in the air...Lover's squabble that led to accidental death, drunken accident or deliberate murder...?
Shelia Schaffer with Charlie, Penny Herald with her dog Liberty and Adam John Riniker with his dog Freedom
American soldiers are returning from Afghanistan and bringing war torn dogs home with them.
As any animal lover will tell you, you form more than just a bond with a pet. And when that pet has suffered along with you that bond becomes unbreakable.
The dogs go through a grueling process of travel and quarantine. It takes months for them to reunite with the soldiers who love them. But when the reunion process happens it's MAGIC.
These soldiers are spending their own money to have the dogs they bonded with flown to the US to live a happy life here. A life filled with food, love and hugs.
Awesome!
Read the article to see even more pictures and to read this heartwarming story. Daily Mail News Article
No, it's not THE OBVIOUS CHOICE - ALEX O'LOUGHLIN. It's Bradley Cooper.
We love Bradley. He's a local guy (Philly) and he's nice and we love the Hangover movies. BUT...he's no Alex O'Loughlin.
Alex is easily the hottest thing from Down Under ever. And the ladies know that the guys from Australia are the sexiest in the world.
Picture of Alex O'Loughlin from Fitness Magazine's top 25 fittest bods
Seriously. Alex IS the Sexiest.Man.Alive.
Alex has a HUGE fanbase. We caught on to his vampire series Moonlight about 2 years after it was cancelled by CBS. Damn! Thank God for Netflix!
He was then cast in the even shorter lived Three Rivers, again a CBS show.
And now he can be seen every Monday night at 10 on the new (and AWESOME) re-boot of Hawaii 5-0. Again a CBS show. So, this calls for a shout out to Les Moonves, head honcho at CBS WHO OBVIOUSLY KNOWS A GOOD THING WHEN HE SEES IT. Thanks, Les for keeping Alex on TV!
Once again, if you're not sure if Alex is sexy or not:
from his GQ Australia shoot convinced, now?
Does this do it? Because he had us at hello
Oh, and People has about 125 guys on the list so Alex might be there after all but he's not even top ten, so FAIL. And to boot, they put Ryan Gosling at #10. Really, People? So not cool.
UPDATE: Alex DID MAKE THE LIST! They even used the picture from above. WTG, People. At least you remembered him. Next year Number One!
China has given their equivalent of a Nobel Peace Prize, the Confucius Peace Prize, to be exact, to Vladimir Putin. They obviously love him.
Who doesn't? (well, except for all those people he tortured and killed. Perfect candidate for peacemaker...no?)
"A panel of 16 academics chose Putin ahead of other candidates, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Yuan Longping, a Chinese agricultural scientist.
The tipping point appeared to be Putin’s role in Libya, where he opposed NATO’s involvement in trying to topple the Gaddafi regime. Critics say Putin’s stand had no bearing on the outcome of the north African conflict.
‘This April or May, Putin was against NATO’s idea to bomb Libya and he appeared to the world in a peaceful manner,’ said Qiao Damo, one of the organisers."
Rammstein is (from left to right): Ollie Reidel, Paul Landers, "Flake" Lorenz, Til Lindemann, Richard Kruspe and never last or least the drummer, Christoph Schneider
RAMMSTEIN, Germany's best band ever, released its new song Mein Land on Friday. We have of course listened to it 700 times in the last 3 days and WE LOVE IT.
The video is amazingly hilarious with the boys doing a 60's Beach Boys-esque homage ala Beach Blanket Bingo. Which makes us love them even more.
Here's Mein Land and a few other of their great videos plus a bonus fan made vid for Ich Will:
Mein Land
Sonne
Du Reichst so Gut
Du Hast
Mein Teil
Weisses Fleisch - Live au Berlin
Ich Will - Winnie the Pooh version!
Now we are free to "enjoy" our Monday morning at work..
Survivor host and Emmy Award Winner Jeff Probst is all set to launch his new talk show...next year.
"I’m fascinated with people,” (said) Probst. “And I love adventure. I can’t wait to bring these two worlds together in daytime, and the added bonus is I get to continue with Survivor in primetime.”
Penn State has rightly forced Joe Paterno out of his gilded office. Like a Catholic Bishop, Joe Pa ignored the child for the "good" of the church or in this case college.
We've never worshipped at the altar of the Nittany Lion, so we can say here without any deep regret or remorse, that Joe Paterno has proved himself to be a despicable human being.
Far more than the hideousness that is Sandusky, the molester.
Why?
Easy.
Sandusky is a pedophile. Meaning, there is something mentally ill or ill-wired in his brain. He is, of course, still responsible for his heinous behaviour. But, it can be explained away that he's a sick motherfucker and deserves to rot in prison for his crimes.
What's Coach Paterno's excuse? Or assistant Mike McQueary's? Or president Graham B. Spanier's? athletic director Tim Curley's? Or vice president Gary Schultz's?
Why did none of these men immediately call 911?
The same reason Catholic Bishops don't call 911 when they learn of a pedophile priest. To protect the institution over the welfare of the child.
For that reason alone, Paterno is worse than a jack ass, he's a scumbag. Pure and simple. Whatever reasons he had to sit back and do nothing do not matter.
And to boot, this pedophile Sandusky ran a CHILDREN'S Charity. AND ALL OF THE ABOVE KNEW. THEY KNEW!.
End of story. These men knew that Sandusky had a history of harming boys and let him continue to prey on other victims and they did it without care.
How very Roman Catholic of them.
Its disgusting. As far as we are concerned this is like a criminal syndicate or something. A pedophile ring.
What good friends they were to Sandusky. They gave him a beautiful severance package with parking passes and a lifetime office in the building with other young people everywhere. They let him go and run his charity, dealing daily with even younger people. All potential victims. But hey!, they forced him to retire. Wasn't that enough? Not even close.
What lousy, despicable, enablers and sad excuses for human beings they are.
They are not Penn State.
The Nittany Lion cries for itself, its history and all the good and great people that distinguished University has turned out over the years.
But it will never cry for men that turned their backs on the children and enabled the rapist. Never.
And we don't cry for them either. In fact, we spit on them. We don't care how great a coach Paterno was, or how great a president Spanier was, or why McQueary called his father instead of 911. We.Just.Don't.Care.
The bottom line is that nothing was done to put Sandusky behind bars. And hey, maybe it's all the DA's fault that Sandusky didn't go to prison earlier, but once again we point out:
Sandusky ran a children's charity and the Penn State "Boys Club" did nothing.
On this day in 1975, one of the United States' most tragic maritime disasters occurred on Lake Superior.
The Supertanker Edmund Fitzgerald was lost at sea with all hands. 29 men died in what would be one of the most mysterious Great Lake shipwrecks of all time.
Lake Superior, known for its rough seas and terrible winter storms, claimed the Edmund Fitzgerald in 80 mile an hour winds and 25-foot high waves. The supertanker was not unlike the Titanic as far as the notion of "it's too big to be lost at sea". It sank fast, without sending out a single distress call. This wasn't 1875 but 1975 and the suddenness of the tragedy surprised everyone. The ship was equipped with state of the art everything...radar, sonar, communications. To this day not one body has been recovered.
The ship, discovered at the bottom of the lake a few days later, sits a silent tomb. Home forever for the crew of 29 that perished so suddenly and horribly that November night. The Son of the Late Great Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel, brought The Calypso to Lake Superior and were the first crew to use a submersible to dive to the ship, in 1980.
What made the wreck so mysterious was the circumstances of how it sank so fast without sending a distress call. Not one SOS. It was so weird that people came up with every theory under the Sun including Alien Abduction.
It has been determined in the intervening years that the hatches were insufficiently closed and that water poured through them, compromising the ship. One thing led to another and within minutes, all were gone. The Captain, Ernest M McSorley, was a veteran seaman. It probably surprised the hell out of him, too.
In 1995 the beautiful golden Bell, engraved with the ships name, was brought to the surface. It is now housed reverently at The Great Lakes Shipwreck museum.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is home to an entire exhibit for the Fitz. Be forewarned - "The Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald" is on a loop. (God Bless Gordon Lightfoot!) If you can't handle the song...wear earplugs. But go. Whitefish Point, Michigan is as beautiful and wild a place in all of North America and it's AWESOME. We don't even have words to describe accurately the majestic views of Lake Superior.
The museum is hosting it's annual Edmund Fitzgerald tribute later today that always concludes with a prayer and a ringing of the original Bell 29 times, once for each man lost.
For those of you old enough to have FINALLY gotten the Gordon Lightfoot tribute song out of you head...sorry... Here it comes again. It's a friggin classic!
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin As the big freighters go it was bigger than most With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland And later that night when the ships bell rang Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.
The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound And a wave broke over the railing And every man knew, as the Captain did, too, T'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashing When afternoon came it was freezing rain In the face of a hurricane West Wind
When supper time came the old cook came on deck Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya At 7PM a main hatchway caved in He said fellas it's been good to know ya.
The Captain wired in he had water coming in And the good ship and crew was in peril And later that night when his lights went out of sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized They may have broke deep and took water And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the ruins of her ice water mansion Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams, The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The Merged Tribe has a new name. Te Tuna. That's pretty much all we have to say about that, other than, my cat thinks it's f'ing cool.
Last night's ep was one of the double elimination ones. Those are the best because as soon as the show starts there's an Immunity challenge and at the 20 minute mark you're already at Tribal Council. Then, when the show comes back at 8:30 there's ANOTHER Immunity/Reward challenge and then ANOTHER Tribal. It was just continuous awesomeness last night.
Cochran caught a bunch of shit from his former tribe because of his vote at last Tribal. He handled it okay and Coach's tribe tried to make him feel better.
So off to Tribal where Jim tried like hell to turn the tide against Cochran, painting him as the self-centered dishonorable player and the obvious choice to vote off. His argument went something like, "we have to make a stand on honor and integrity versus disloyalty."
Coach called him on it and said he rather vote for a person that could stand up for themselves.
Ozzy ended up getting voted out after Jim, the medical marijuana guy, won immunity. He said some snarky things on the way out. Whatever.
The best was yet to come.
One of the funniest things on Survivor is how people react to seeing food after being deprived for so long. At the second Immunity Challenge, Jeff explained the challenge (another balancing act which favors the women) and then unveiled a table full of food.
His choice to the Survivors was to either play for Immunity or fore go the challenge and eat some food while the challenge was in play.
Now, several times in Survivor history, we've seen Survivors not play in order to eat, taking the chance that they won't need Immunity at Tribal.
But we've never seen this.
The ENTIRE 7 person alliance, in other words, all of Coach's tribe plus one turn-coat Cochran, elected to sit and eat while only 3 people - the remainder of Ozzy's tribe - had to play it out for Immunity.
It was classic Survivor and proves, once again, that there is ALWAYS something NEW with this game and as many times as you think you've seen 'em all, NO YOU HAVEN'T.
The entire unprecedented voting bloc just sat there stuffing their faces while Jeff laughed at them and with them. You should have seen Coach's iced coffee mustache. Hilarious!
The poor remaining Savaii members tried their hardest. Dawn is one hell of a player. She even told everyone she'd stay longer in the challenge to give them all time to eat more. Aww! She's very impressive but failed this time to Whitney, leaving Jim as the obvious choice to vote out.
In fact, when Jim fell off the beam (see what we did there?), Brandon literally got up and cheered. How's that for in your face? It angered Jim who got all snippy with Jeff. Of course, Jeff laughed it off. He's been called worse by bitter starving Survivors.
And so Jim got sent packing to Redemption where he will duel with Ozzy and Keith. Only one winner gets to go back to the tribe. The other two go home. We'd never bet against Ozzy. Especially now that he has an axe to grind on Cochran's head.
Ozzy cries to Coach about how badly fucked over he is... We just want Coach to take off his whole shirt
The news coming out of Penn State gets more and more hideous every second. And it's got beloved coach Joe Paterno facing a firing squad. His job is literally on the line.
As is should be. Joe's gotta go. He's claiming he didn't know the details of what exactly happened. Not good enough.
Rush Limbaugh is arguing today that the press cannot wait to vilify 'ole Joe Pa fast enough. "Joe Paterno, up until now, has had something that very few people in this country die with -- and that's an impeccable reputation.
But that's gone now, and the media is going to see to it, and this is all part of a nation in decline."
Oh really, Rush? We thought the Decline of Western Civilization had something to do with YOU in all honesty. But it's really just the media, huh?
The bottom line is that Joe Paterno didn't go all red in the face calling this pedophile out and because of that it's implied that he was somehow complicit or has little moral standing on the issue.
We think the real problem is that all Joe can think of is football. The entire time the informant was blowing the whistle on this pedophile, Joe was just probably zoned out thinking of what players he was going to use in the next game. And that is what's irreversibly ruined his reputation, Rush. Not the media.
But the fact that Joe's old and he should have retired years ago anyway, doesn't change anything.
The bottom line is that there are men out there now dealing with what that pedophile did to them as kids. How about the poor 10 year old who had his rape WITNESSED and REPORTED and nothing was done? How did that kid feel?
We bet it's worse than Joe feels now.
We have no sympathy for Penn State, Joe Paterno or any of the adults who failed to report these crimes to the cops. In fact, we'd like to punch each one of them in the face for letting little defenseless boys get raped on campus or anywhere. Period.
Friday night another horse made the NYC news wire. This time, the horse is still alive and seems to be okay, but ultimately what happened is just indicitive of the horse-drwn carriage issue.
This horse got caught up in the carriage mechanism and fell to the ground in front of a crowd of people in Central Park.
These unfortunately are NOT isolated incidents. Just two weeks ago, Charlie the beautiful white horse, dropped dead on the street. Things like this used to just be swept under the rug, but in this media age of camera phones everything is being captured on "film".
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) paid for Charlie's initial autopsy, and released a statement saying that the horse suffered from a stomach ulcer and a fractured tooth.
Dr. Pamela Corey, speaking on behalf of the ASPCA, then released a statement saying that that they were 'very concerned that Charlie was forced to work in spite of painful maladies'.
Ms. Corey has since been fired from her job because she later released a correction, lessening the severity of the ASPCA's first statement, creating another drama amid the debate.
All of this is just dancing around the real issue.
Do you feel that horse-drawn carriage rides are romantic? Necessary? Vital to NYC's economy? Normal? The way it's always been?
Former Heavyweight Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Smokin' Joe Frazier passed away last night. He was a Philadelphia icon and he will be missed by all of Philadelphia and beyond.
Don King, the Thrilla in Manila promoter, put out a moving statement this morning:
"Frazier was "the embodiment of what a great heavyweight champion and person should be. Not only was he a great fighter but also a great man. He lived as he fought with courage and commitment at a time when African-Americans in all spheres of life were engaged in a struggle for emancipation and respect," King said of Frazier. "Smokin' Joe brought honor, dignity and pride for his people, the AMERICAN people, and brought the nation together as only sports can do.""
George Forman tweeted this: "Good night Joe Frazier. I love you dear friend."
Philadelphia's fictional boxer, Rocky Balboa, was totally based on Smokin' Joe, right down to the slaughterhouse slabs of meat that Rocky worked out on as Joe worked in such a shop back in the day.
Joe's Olympic Gold medal was chopped into 11 pieces by a jeweler so he could give a piece to each one of his children. All 11 of them.
Ali-Frazier-Forman formed a triumvirate of Boxing Glory that encompassed a Golden Age that America or the sport will likely never see again.
Marie Sklodowska Curie, one of the greatest, most brilliant scientists of all time, was born this day, November 7th 1867, in Warsaw, Poland. She was the daughter of a mathematician who also taught her physics.
In 1891 Marie began studying at the prestigious Sorbonne in Paris, France in multiple disciplines: physics, chemistry and mathematics. She earned her physics degree in 1893 and her math degree in 1894.
That was the year she met Pierre Curie. Also a physicist, they shared a love of each other and science, marrying and working together for years until his untimely death in 1906.
They published a paper together in 1898 detailing the discovery of a new element, Polonium, that Marie named after her country of birth, Poland. That year they announced another discovery - the element radium.
Marie coined the term radioactivity at this time.
Pierre and Marie shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for their research into "the radiation phenomenon." Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
In 1911, The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Marie in recognition for the elements radium and polonium and her work in radioactivity.
She thus became the first woman to ever win 2 Nobel prizes and in two different disciplines!
Standards of the day paled ( as in non-existent) to modern protocol and Marie often carried around radioactive isotopes "in her pocket." Just like Homer Simpson. This directly contributed to her death in 1934.
Her lab and materials - even her kitchen cookbook! - are all super-contaminated to this day. Her lab notes, materials, everything is kept in lead lined containers and can only be opened under special circumstances with haz mat suits.
Marie Curie's contribution to modern science is incalculable. The barriers she faced as a woman and overcame are incredible. You can count on one hand all the women were earning masters degrees in physics in the 1800's.
She was the first female professor at the University of Paris. She is and will always be an icon to the scientific community and to women everywhere. She is the most famous and celebrated female scientist that ever lived.
In 2009, Marie Curie was voted as "The Most Inspirational Woman in Science."
Marie and Pierre are now interred at the Paris Pantheon, and of course, she is the first and only woman to be buried there.
The Curie (symbol Ci), a unit of radioactivity, is named in her and/or Pierre's honour.
Three radioactive minerals are named after the Curies.
Skłodowska-Curie's likeness appeared on the Polish late-1980s 20,000banknote. Her likeness has also appeared on stamps and coins, and on the last French 500 franc note.
Marie Curie was voted the "Most inspirational woman in science" in a 2009 poll carried out by New Scientist magazine on behalf of the UNESCO 'For Women In Science' programme.
Polish institutions named after Maria Skłodowska–Curie include: Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, founded in 1944; Maria Skłodowska–Curie Institute of Oncology, in Warsaw.
French institutions named after Maria Skłodowska–Curie include: Pierre and Marie Curie University, the largest science, technology and medicine university in France. The Curie Institute and Curie Museum, in Paris.
In 2007, the Pierre Curie Metro station was renamed the "Pierre et Marie Curie" station.
End Note: Unbelievably, not only did Marie and Pierre win Nobel Prizes but their daughter Irene, and son-in-law Frédéric Joliot-Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, for discovering artificial radioactivity.
The Guy Fawkes, V for Vendetta Mask, is the new face of Occupy the World
The 5th of November: the only night of the year where people everywhere openly celebrate Treason!
Remember, remember, the 5th of November The Gunpowder Treason and plot; I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'Twas his intent. To blow up the King and the Parliament. Three score barrels of powder below. Poor old England to overthrow. By God's providence he was catch'd, With a dark lantern and burning match
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip Hoorah! Hip hip Hoorah!
A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope, A farthing cheese to choke him. A pint of beer to rinse it down, A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar,' Burn him like a blazing star. Burn his body from his head, Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.
To properly celebrate Guy Fawkes Day rent the movie V for Vendetta, prepare a nice bonfire and firework celebration for tonight with an effigy of 'ole Guy to burn, and don't forget to plot to overthrow your government of choice!
Occupy!
Facundo Arrizabalaga/AFP - Getty Images - Demonstrators Occupy London on 11/1/11
The only known picture of Charlie The horse that will never be forgotten and may yet be vindicated. His death may change the world...for horses.
The Blogosphere is blowing itself up over the death of poor Charlie the New York carriage horse. AND FOR GOOD REASON.
Necropsy results are sort of in...no cause of death yet...but plenty to be upset about. The necropsy was conducted at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and reported that Charlie, the gorgeous white horse, had been "suffering from a pronounced, chronic ulceration of the stomach and a fractured tooth."
Poor Charlie was in undeniable severe pain for God knows how long before he just collapsed and died on the street 10/23/11.
Animal rights activists are up-in-arms over this needless death. Especially in light of how poor his health had been. And rightly so!
Carriage horse owners have vehemently denied they mistreat their horses BUT THE PROOF IS IN THE AUTOPSY RESULTS! When was the last time Charlie had his teeth looked at? The one tooth was cracked open and the horse had a bit in his mouth. Undeniable cruelty.
We're calling for the neglectful owner(s) to be charged with cruelty, neglect and be shut down. We will not abide.
Read Mayor Bloomberg's updated response at globalanimal.com! Hint: It's just as insensitive and outrageously stupid as his other comments. GlobalAnimal.com
If you care at all about these poor defenseless horses PLEASE visit the ASPCA against horse drawn carriages petition page! It only takes a second to add your voice to the growing chorus. Mayor Bloomberg needs to hear us! ASPCA Petition Against HDCs
A candlelit vigil was held for Charlie on 10/27/11
Coach "Dragonslayer" Wade a.k.a the best dressed Survivor contestant in history
Last week Survivor contestant Ozzy went full-on balls out. He had his tribe vote him off so he could win at Redemption Island and give his tribe the numbers going into the merge. It was up in the air as to how brilliant or truly stupid this was. Would the tribes even merge? Could he survive at Redemption Island?
Last night we learned that his historic move WORKED! Ozzy won at Redemption, sending home 6-time winner Christine. The Tribes MERGED and all seemed to working for Ozzy.
Except for one little thing...Cochran. Yes, the Survivor fanatic who became a bullied contestant played a HUGE part in what went down last night.
So, Ozzy's plan is not only in full effect, it IS WORKING LIKE A DREAM. Even Jeff was shocked. But you should have seen Jeff try to keep a straight face as Ozzy lied about what happened at Tribal - the entire tribe was acting as if Cochran was ostracized so that he could infiltrate Upolu, Coach's tribe, and act as a spy.
In reality, Cochran, to his credit, actually did try to play along...but he hadn't yet dealt with Coach Dragonslayer, who apparently was NOT born yesterday.
2 seconds into giving Coach the prepared made up spiel, Coach called him out!
Coach spelled out the Savaii plan literally WORD FOR WORD. Cochran was stunned and couldn't recover enough to act. So he spilled the beans. Coach gave him an ego boosting pep talk and told him to pick a side.
Yes, it was a priceless Survivor moment. We are unabashed Coach fans, so while Ozzy is a kick-ass player, Coach is just an awesome guy and we just love him to no end.
At this point the tribes are evenly numbered 6 to 6. For someone to be voted out, somebody would have to switch sides. Coach was playing Cochran the way Savaii wanted Cochran to play Coach and it was hilarious.
Tribal came down to an even vote as Cochran did not jump tribes...until round 2 of the vote, in which he did in fact switch.
With Ozzy losing a tribe member it looks as if Coach will be able to pick them off one by one.
In short, Ozzy's historic kick-ass Survivor plan was foiled by Coach Dragonslayer! Honestly, we couldn't be happier about it.
Redemption moment of the night: Brandon Hantz literally took Cochran under his wing immediately after Tribal, telling the kid to stick close by him. Cochran's tribe is out for his blood - he sold them out after all - but Coach's tribe has been nicer to him in the 5 minutes they knew him then all 18 days he was with Ozzy's tribe. Karma is a Bitch, yo!
Oh and this guy, Rick, received a ton of votes last night but just one short of Keith who had to pack it up.
Rick has been here the WHOLE time apparently wearing some kind of Cowboy Cloak of Invisibility
Revenge of the Nerd - Cochran plays The Game and screws over Ozzy. SCORE for the devoted fan turned contestant!
"For me, archaeology is not a just a job. It combines everything that I could want - imagination, intellect, action, and adventure." Dr. Zahi Hawass
Alternative Title: An Open Love Letter to Our Former Pharaoh, the Good Dr. Hawass.
Good Lord help us, for today we are really missing Dr. Hawass.
A never-ending font of craziness, passion and zeal, Zahi Hawass was unceremoniously booted out of office in August following the Egyptian revolt last summer, AND...WE WANT HIM BACK!
We've always admitted our love/hate "relationship" with the good Doctor.
He stands for everything we hate about Egyptology...it's stodgy, antiquarian, close-mindedness. Its absolute and total dismissal of any progressive thought. Its "by-the-book" or else attitude. Not to mention, his actual archeology skills! What a decent archaeologist would take a year to excavate, Dr. Hawass would man-handle in 20 fucking minutes. *sigh*
We don't care anymore.
His fanatical passion for EVERYTHING EGYPT was awesome in itself. He is a force of nature and a gift to us all. Was he up Mubarak's butt? Sure. But that was part and parcel of being in "the regime." How else was he to get anything done but to put Mubarak in his back pocket or vice versa?
Dr. Hawass's unyielding enthusiasm was captivating. His short lived show "Chasing Mummies" showcased many memorable moments and our hands down favorite was when he took the archaeologists up into The Great Pyramid to the very top of the so-called "Relieving Chambers". This bad-ass old man climbed all the way up and though it was stifling hot and he was exhausted, you could plainly see the love he has for the monument.
And it used to be his! LITERALLY. For years Zahi had the yea or nay power to keep people out of his pyramid (some of the hate part of the whole love/hate thing). Who needed the Sphinx? Hawass was the Supreme Guardian of the Giza Plateau and of the Great Pyramid. Hence, his unofficial title of Pharaoh. The Last Great Pharaoh of Egypt to be exact.
He isn't dead, so this isn't a eulogy. But in a way it is. A Eulogy for The Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Since his firing, Dr. Hawass was re-hired, fired again and the position has since changed hands at least twice.
Mohamed Abdel Fattah was appointed in August: "I am fed up,” Abdel Fatah said angrily. “All these protests stand against proceeding with archaeological works properly," and then he abruptly and promptly resigned in September after about a month or so in office.
The "new guy" is Mustafa Amin, who has been busy working on the new museum at the Giza Plateau as well as dealing with security issues and everything else. We'll see how long he lasts.
Dr. Hawass was there from the late 60's and in charge from the late 70's until August 2011. At least when Zahi was there we knew who was in charge...and who to blame!
He served for years and deserved to be retired in full glory and regalia, parades. The whole nine yards. And what he got was bloody fucking awful. We wished he would go plenty of times, but in the end, he really did deserve more fanfare than the kick in the ass out the door he got.
We miss how absolutely fucking bat-shit crazy excitable he was. He wasn't just the Pharaoh, he was a real-life Egyptian Indiana Jones. There won't be another like him. Ever.
Where ever you are, Zahi, we wish you a successful life with contentment and peace and we thank you for all your years of service. In the end, all we have is Love.
