Derrion Albert Uncut beating death, Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old honor student was beaten to death last week in Chicago. The brutal attack was captured on a camera phone. CNN aired the video and the story has garnered national attention.
Derrion Albert is now trending on Twitter and Google Trends. YouTube has been deleting videos of the incident, but people have been re-uploading it.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Narayana Kocherlakota on the state of Macroeconomics
Kocherlakota draws on a sample of macroeconomists that received their Phd at 17 major economic departments in the US, to arrive to ten conclusions:
1 - Macroeconomists don't ignore heterogeneity
2 - Macroeconomists don't ignore frictions
3 - Macroeconomic modelling doesn't ignore bounded rationality
4 - Macroeconomic models do incorporate a role for government interventions
5 - Macroeconomists use both calibration and econometrics
6 - There is no freswater/saltwater divide - now
7 - These researchers have been much more interested in the consequences of shocks that in their sources
8 - The modelling of financial markets and banks in macroeconomic models has been stark
9 - Macroeconomics is mostly math and little talk
10 - The macro-principles textbooks don't represent our field well
1 - Macroeconomists don't ignore heterogeneity
2 - Macroeconomists don't ignore frictions
3 - Macroeconomic modelling doesn't ignore bounded rationality
4 - Macroeconomic models do incorporate a role for government interventions
5 - Macroeconomists use both calibration and econometrics
6 - There is no freswater/saltwater divide - now
7 - These researchers have been much more interested in the consequences of shocks that in their sources
8 - The modelling of financial markets and banks in macroeconomic models has been stark
9 - Macroeconomics is mostly math and little talk
10 - The macro-principles textbooks don't represent our field well
Penguins claim Chris Bourque, lose Bissonnette on waivers
Via multiple Tweets, winger Paul Bissonnette was also been claimed off waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes. From the Penguins:
The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed forward Chris Bourque off waivers, it was announced by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero. Bourque, who is the son of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, will be added to the Pittsburgh Penguins roster.
Bourque, 23, spent the previous five seasons in the Washington Capitals organization after Washington selected him in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He has appeared in 12 games for the Capitals, recording one goal. Bourque (5-8, 180 pounds) played four seasons with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, Washington’s top minor-league affiliate. Bourque was a member of two Calder Cup championship teams in Hersey in 2006 and 2009. In 270 games with the Bears, he posted 82 goals, 148 assists and 230 points. Last season, Bourque totaled 21 goals, 52 assists and 73 points in 69 games, while adding 21 points (5G-16A) in 22 post-season games to help lead Hershey to the Calder Cup title.
The Boston, Massachusetts native played one season of college hockey at Boston University, recording 10 goals and 23 points in 35 games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed forward Chris Bourque off waivers, it was announced by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero. Bourque, who is the son of Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, will be added to the Pittsburgh Penguins roster.
Bourque, 23, spent the previous five seasons in the Washington Capitals organization after Washington selected him in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He has appeared in 12 games for the Capitals, recording one goal. Bourque (5-8, 180 pounds) played four seasons with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, Washington’s top minor-league affiliate. Bourque was a member of two Calder Cup championship teams in Hersey in 2006 and 2009. In 270 games with the Bears, he posted 82 goals, 148 assists and 230 points. Last season, Bourque totaled 21 goals, 52 assists and 73 points in 69 games, while adding 21 points (5G-16A) in 22 post-season games to help lead Hershey to the Calder Cup title.
The Boston, Massachusetts native played one season of college hockey at Boston University, recording 10 goals and 23 points in 35 games.
NFL Week 4, Picks Predictions, 2009
NFL Week 4, Picks Predictions, 2009. Every Monday night I will post my NFL Picks and Predictions for the upcoming NFL week. The picks are only posted so people can laugh at my lack of prognosticating skills. You are also permitted to leave a comment below telling me how idiotic I am. If you agree with me, you will not leave a comment, because you will not want to “jinx” it. Come back every week. My pick is the one in bold.
Week 4
SUN, OCT 4 TIME (ET) TV
Detroit at Chicago 1:00 PM FOX
Cincinnati at Cleveland 1:00 PM CBS
Seattle at Indianapolis 1:00 PM FOX
NY Giants at Kansas City 1:00 PM FOX
Baltimore at New England 1:00 PM CBS
Tampa Bay at Washington 1:00 PM FOX
Tennessee at Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS
Oakland at Houston 1:00 PM CBS
NY Jets at New Orleans 4:05 PM CBS
Buffalo at Miami 4:05 PM CBS
St. Louis at San Francisco 4:15 PM FOX
Dallas at Denver 4:15 PM FOX
San Diego at Pittsburgh 8:20 PM NBC
MON, OCT 5 TIME (ET) TV
Green Bay at Minnesota 8:30 PM
Week 4
SUN, OCT 4 TIME (ET) TV
Detroit at Chicago 1:00 PM FOX
Cincinnati at Cleveland 1:00 PM CBS
Seattle at Indianapolis 1:00 PM FOX
NY Giants at Kansas City 1:00 PM FOX
Baltimore at New England 1:00 PM CBS
Tampa Bay at Washington 1:00 PM FOX
Tennessee at Jacksonville 1:00 PM CBS
Oakland at Houston 1:00 PM CBS
NY Jets at New Orleans 4:05 PM CBS
Buffalo at Miami 4:05 PM CBS
St. Louis at San Francisco 4:15 PM FOX
Dallas at Denver 4:15 PM FOX
San Diego at Pittsburgh 8:20 PM NBC
MON, OCT 5 TIME (ET) TV
Green Bay at Minnesota 8:30 PM
Isn't He Lovely
Najibullah Zazi [above] tried to explain his mass purchases of beauty supplies by telling a sales clerk he had "lost of girlfriends". Looking at him, I say that this should've been the first clue that this guy was up to shenanigans.
So by now it seems that the U.S. really did catch a real, live terrorist in our midst last week. Federal authorities have charged Najibullah Zazi with acquiring and preparing explosive materials like those used in the 2005 London mass transit bombings days before Zazi traveled to New York City earlier this month, asserting that he and others were involved in an al-Qaeda conspiracy to strike in the United States.
Unlike some of the post-9/11 terrorist arrests on U.S. territory - where a great deal is charged at the press conference announcing the arrests; less is charged at the press conference announcing the indictments; and - after trial - the person(s) is convicted only of not paying a parking ticket they incurred in 1997 - this time, we may have truly been saved a disaster.
Zazi, 24, received explosives training in Pakistan in 2008. From there, he returned to his home in Queens, N.Y., but almost immediately traveled to Denver upon returning in early 2009. It was there that he began preparing to make bombs. Zazi purchased large amounts of chemicals at beauty supply stores, and rented a hotel suite to experiment with mixing the materials for use in bombs. He even received urgent technical assistance on how to perfect the process, although the government has yet to say who provided that assistance. If it was a an undercover agent - and not a real al-Qaeda operative - this case may become another parking ticket.
For now, though, it appears legit. Zazi is a legal resident who was born in Afghanistan. It is not entirely clear whether he intended to strike in New York City, Denver or elsewhere, or whether he himself had decided where to strike at the time of his arrest. Earlier this month Zazi did scout a store in Queens for an acid essential in creating the bombs. Two weeks ago he slept in an apartment in Flushing, Queens, where investigators recovered a scale that could be used in making explosives.
It is not yet known whether Zazi was a mastermind of the plot or simply a willing participant acting under the direction of others. The government says that as many as three people assisted Zazi in Colorado, and Zazi consulted another person about making the bombs.
The uncertainty about Zazi’s intentions and associates may be in some part due to the fact that investigators were forced to take the investigation public and move to make hasty arrests after an imam in Queens tipped off Zazi that he was under scrutiny. I'm in favor of taking one of Zazi's homemade bombs and inserting it in said imam's rectal cavity. Why that asshole isn't in jail astounds me. The imam was arrested but inexplicably was released on bond, as was Zazi's father.
These are some of the most serious and disturbing accusations against a terrorist since 9/11 - as evidenced by the fact that nearly 100 federal agents and local officers have been working on the Zazi case in recent days and weeks.
Zazi was arrested on the evening of September 19th, and charged with lying to federal officials during three days of interrogation in Denver earlier that week. He appeared in court last Friday in Denver for a hearing during which prosecutors arranged for him to return to New York to face the most recent charges.
Elements of the bomb plot are chilling. The story begins with a trip by Zazi, along with an undetermined number of others, to Pakistan in August 2008 for an education in explosives in an al-Qaeda training camp. Zazi later returned to the United States, where, days after his return he left his family’s home in a working-class neighborhood in Queens to live with his aunt and her husband in Aurora, Colo. Almost a year after he left New York for Pakistan, guided by his notes from his al-Qaeda explosives training, Zazi began to research bomb-making chemicals on the Internet [there's that goddamned Internet again].
Then, with help from the three others who have not yet been identified, Zazi began mining beauty supply stores in and around Denver for the raw materials for a bomb. Between July and early September, apparently with patience and deliberation, these terrorists bought “unusually large quantities” of products with names like Ion Sensitive Scalp Developer, Liquid Developer Clairoxide and Ms. K Liquid 40 Volume, which contain hydrogen peroxide [why no one at these assorted beauty shops grew suspicious about the four Arab-looking gentlemen is unclear. These guys were either shopping for Elton John or they were up to no good]. The terrorists also needed acetone, according to the bomb-making notes, which can be found in nail polish remover, and a strong acid.
The products can be transformed into one of the key ingredients used to make the powerful explosive triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, one of the home brews that was the focus of his al-Qaeda studies. TATP was used in the 2005 London subway and bus bombings, which killed 52 and injured hundreds, and by the shoe bomber, Richard C. Reid, in his failed 2001 attempt to bring down a jetliner.
Employees at the Beauty Supply Warehouse in Aurora, Colo., said Zazi had been a chatty customer who came in several times. Oscar, a sales clerk who wisely did not provide his last name to the New York Times, said Zazi was asked why he was buying so many beauty supplies and replied that he “had a lot of girlfriends.” Having seen a photo of Zazi, I can tell you that should've been Oscar's first clue that Junior was up to no good.
Eventually, Zazi returned twice over the last two months to the same hotel suite in Aurora, on the night of Aug. 28th, and again on the nights of Sept. 6th and 7th. There, he followed a stovetop recipe to cook down the beauty products so the bomb-making chemicals were highly concentrated. In the hotel suite in September, Zazi apparently became increasingly agitated, trying repeatedly to reach another person, asking progressively more urgent questions about the correct mixture of ingredients to make the explosives. Among the things he asked about were questions concerning flour and ghee (clarified butter), two ingredients his bomb-making primer said could be used to help initiate an explosive. Can you imagine being the unlucky fuck in the hotel room next to this asshole? Well, to be fair, Zazi did, at some points, seem to take the safety of his hotel neighbors seriously, bookmarking an Internet site on two browsers on his laptop for “Lab Safety for Hydrochloric Acid,” one of the ingredients that can be used for TATP.
TATP has long served as the poor man’s explosive, a white crystalline solid that is relatively easy to make but is unstable and shock sensitive; it will detonate if struck with a hard blow, like by a hammer. Indeed, if it is not properly produced it can be even more unstable. For that reason, it is genearlly only used by groups that do not have access to other, more stable, explosives.
Zazi repeatedly emphasized in the communications to the unnamed person hat he needed the answers to his questions right away. The heated chemicals left traces in the hotel suite kitchen’s ventilation system [there's one hotel room I wouldn't be cooking in from here on out] that were recovered by FBI agents in recent days. Some of his shopping trips — and those of others assisting him — were captured on beauty supply store security cameras, and their purchases were recorded on receipts. The hotel security camera captured Zazi checking in on the night of Sept. 6th.
Two days later, Zazi also searched the Web site for a home improvement store in Queens for muriatic acid, the commercial name for hydrochloric acid that can also be used in TATP, and he seemed to focus on a brand of the chemical that claimed to be safer to handle and give off less fumes [once again "safety first"]. Zazi rented a car in Aurora on the same day, Sept. 8, and left the following day for New York City.
Zazi arrived in New York the next afternoon - giving you some idea of how easy it is to speed at 100 miles-per-hour across the interstates that link Colorado and New York. With him Zazi took his laptop computer on which the bomb-making instructions were stored but, apparently, no chemicals.
A tap on his cellphone showed that Zazi became suspicious after he was stopped by authorities on the George Washington Bridge as he entered New York. He became even more worried when his car was towed, apparently by federal agents who were seeking to surreptitiously search it and his laptop. If he had any doubt, though, it was removed when Zazi learned directly from the imam that law enforcement officers were tracking his activities and ultimately bought an airline ticket and returned to Denver on Sept. 12th. It is unknown how the imam himself knew about the federal investigation.
Another unsettling point is this: no one seems to know where the hell any of the chemicals or mixtures Zazi made from them might now be. Authorities in New York and the Denver area have spent the last two weeks visiting storage facilities and alerting both the public and other law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for suspicious collections of chemicals. I feel safer already.
Some officials have been intensely concerned about a possible subway attack, in part because a search of an apartment where Zazi spent the night of Sept. 10th turned up several backpacks. But the men with whom he spent the night, and who owned the backpacks, have only been questioned by the authorities. For some no doubt asinine reason, however, they have not been arrested.
It is important to note the difference in the Zazi case: he bought chemicals needed to build a bomb — hydrogen peroxide, acetone and hydrochloric acid — and in doing so, took a critical step made by few other terrorism suspects. The fact that he attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan, received training in explosives and stored in his laptop computer nine pages of instructions for making bombs from the same kind of chemicals he had bought all separate him from other domestic terrorists arrested since 2001. These are the facts that distinguish Zazi from nearly all the other terrorists in United States terrorism cases in recent years.
Indeed, more often than not the earlier terrorists emerged as angry young men, inflamed by the rhetoric of Osama bin Laden or his associates. Some were serious in intent. More than a few seemed to be malcontents without the organization, technical skills and financing - not to mention brains - to be much of a threat. In some cases, the terrorists appeared to be influenced by informants or undercover agents who pledged to provide the weapons or even do some of the planning.
Still, important facts remain unknown. Unclear is whether Zazi had selected a target or a date for a bombing or had recruited others to help. There have been reports that he intended a September 11, 2009 attack, but that has not been confirmed. Moreover, it is not known fully whether Zazi had built an operational bomb. Nor is it known why, after practicing with explosive recipes in Colorado, Zazi drove to New York apparently without the chemicals or equipment.
Until those questions are answered - and until at least another half-dozen of Zazi's buddies join him in jail - the true extent of Zazi's plan will remain as mysterious as the reasoning behind why they haven't already joined him in jail.
So by now it seems that the U.S. really did catch a real, live terrorist in our midst last week. Federal authorities have charged Najibullah Zazi with acquiring and preparing explosive materials like those used in the 2005 London mass transit bombings days before Zazi traveled to New York City earlier this month, asserting that he and others were involved in an al-Qaeda conspiracy to strike in the United States.
Unlike some of the post-9/11 terrorist arrests on U.S. territory - where a great deal is charged at the press conference announcing the arrests; less is charged at the press conference announcing the indictments; and - after trial - the person(s) is convicted only of not paying a parking ticket they incurred in 1997 - this time, we may have truly been saved a disaster.
Zazi, 24, received explosives training in Pakistan in 2008. From there, he returned to his home in Queens, N.Y., but almost immediately traveled to Denver upon returning in early 2009. It was there that he began preparing to make bombs. Zazi purchased large amounts of chemicals at beauty supply stores, and rented a hotel suite to experiment with mixing the materials for use in bombs. He even received urgent technical assistance on how to perfect the process, although the government has yet to say who provided that assistance. If it was a an undercover agent - and not a real al-Qaeda operative - this case may become another parking ticket.
For now, though, it appears legit. Zazi is a legal resident who was born in Afghanistan. It is not entirely clear whether he intended to strike in New York City, Denver or elsewhere, or whether he himself had decided where to strike at the time of his arrest. Earlier this month Zazi did scout a store in Queens for an acid essential in creating the bombs. Two weeks ago he slept in an apartment in Flushing, Queens, where investigators recovered a scale that could be used in making explosives.
It is not yet known whether Zazi was a mastermind of the plot or simply a willing participant acting under the direction of others. The government says that as many as three people assisted Zazi in Colorado, and Zazi consulted another person about making the bombs.
The uncertainty about Zazi’s intentions and associates may be in some part due to the fact that investigators were forced to take the investigation public and move to make hasty arrests after an imam in Queens tipped off Zazi that he was under scrutiny. I'm in favor of taking one of Zazi's homemade bombs and inserting it in said imam's rectal cavity. Why that asshole isn't in jail astounds me. The imam was arrested but inexplicably was released on bond, as was Zazi's father.
These are some of the most serious and disturbing accusations against a terrorist since 9/11 - as evidenced by the fact that nearly 100 federal agents and local officers have been working on the Zazi case in recent days and weeks.
Zazi was arrested on the evening of September 19th, and charged with lying to federal officials during three days of interrogation in Denver earlier that week. He appeared in court last Friday in Denver for a hearing during which prosecutors arranged for him to return to New York to face the most recent charges.
Elements of the bomb plot are chilling. The story begins with a trip by Zazi, along with an undetermined number of others, to Pakistan in August 2008 for an education in explosives in an al-Qaeda training camp. Zazi later returned to the United States, where, days after his return he left his family’s home in a working-class neighborhood in Queens to live with his aunt and her husband in Aurora, Colo. Almost a year after he left New York for Pakistan, guided by his notes from his al-Qaeda explosives training, Zazi began to research bomb-making chemicals on the Internet [there's that goddamned Internet again].
Then, with help from the three others who have not yet been identified, Zazi began mining beauty supply stores in and around Denver for the raw materials for a bomb. Between July and early September, apparently with patience and deliberation, these terrorists bought “unusually large quantities” of products with names like Ion Sensitive Scalp Developer, Liquid Developer Clairoxide and Ms. K Liquid 40 Volume, which contain hydrogen peroxide [why no one at these assorted beauty shops grew suspicious about the four Arab-looking gentlemen is unclear. These guys were either shopping for Elton John or they were up to no good]. The terrorists also needed acetone, according to the bomb-making notes, which can be found in nail polish remover, and a strong acid.
The products can be transformed into one of the key ingredients used to make the powerful explosive triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, one of the home brews that was the focus of his al-Qaeda studies. TATP was used in the 2005 London subway and bus bombings, which killed 52 and injured hundreds, and by the shoe bomber, Richard C. Reid, in his failed 2001 attempt to bring down a jetliner.
Employees at the Beauty Supply Warehouse in Aurora, Colo., said Zazi had been a chatty customer who came in several times. Oscar, a sales clerk who wisely did not provide his last name to the New York Times, said Zazi was asked why he was buying so many beauty supplies and replied that he “had a lot of girlfriends.” Having seen a photo of Zazi, I can tell you that should've been Oscar's first clue that Junior was up to no good.
Eventually, Zazi returned twice over the last two months to the same hotel suite in Aurora, on the night of Aug. 28th, and again on the nights of Sept. 6th and 7th. There, he followed a stovetop recipe to cook down the beauty products so the bomb-making chemicals were highly concentrated. In the hotel suite in September, Zazi apparently became increasingly agitated, trying repeatedly to reach another person, asking progressively more urgent questions about the correct mixture of ingredients to make the explosives. Among the things he asked about were questions concerning flour and ghee (clarified butter), two ingredients his bomb-making primer said could be used to help initiate an explosive. Can you imagine being the unlucky fuck in the hotel room next to this asshole? Well, to be fair, Zazi did, at some points, seem to take the safety of his hotel neighbors seriously, bookmarking an Internet site on two browsers on his laptop for “Lab Safety for Hydrochloric Acid,” one of the ingredients that can be used for TATP.
TATP has long served as the poor man’s explosive, a white crystalline solid that is relatively easy to make but is unstable and shock sensitive; it will detonate if struck with a hard blow, like by a hammer. Indeed, if it is not properly produced it can be even more unstable. For that reason, it is genearlly only used by groups that do not have access to other, more stable, explosives.
Zazi repeatedly emphasized in the communications to the unnamed person hat he needed the answers to his questions right away. The heated chemicals left traces in the hotel suite kitchen’s ventilation system [there's one hotel room I wouldn't be cooking in from here on out] that were recovered by FBI agents in recent days. Some of his shopping trips — and those of others assisting him — were captured on beauty supply store security cameras, and their purchases were recorded on receipts. The hotel security camera captured Zazi checking in on the night of Sept. 6th.
Two days later, Zazi also searched the Web site for a home improvement store in Queens for muriatic acid, the commercial name for hydrochloric acid that can also be used in TATP, and he seemed to focus on a brand of the chemical that claimed to be safer to handle and give off less fumes [once again "safety first"]. Zazi rented a car in Aurora on the same day, Sept. 8, and left the following day for New York City.
Zazi arrived in New York the next afternoon - giving you some idea of how easy it is to speed at 100 miles-per-hour across the interstates that link Colorado and New York. With him Zazi took his laptop computer on which the bomb-making instructions were stored but, apparently, no chemicals.
A tap on his cellphone showed that Zazi became suspicious after he was stopped by authorities on the George Washington Bridge as he entered New York. He became even more worried when his car was towed, apparently by federal agents who were seeking to surreptitiously search it and his laptop. If he had any doubt, though, it was removed when Zazi learned directly from the imam that law enforcement officers were tracking his activities and ultimately bought an airline ticket and returned to Denver on Sept. 12th. It is unknown how the imam himself knew about the federal investigation.
Another unsettling point is this: no one seems to know where the hell any of the chemicals or mixtures Zazi made from them might now be. Authorities in New York and the Denver area have spent the last two weeks visiting storage facilities and alerting both the public and other law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for suspicious collections of chemicals. I feel safer already.
Some officials have been intensely concerned about a possible subway attack, in part because a search of an apartment where Zazi spent the night of Sept. 10th turned up several backpacks. But the men with whom he spent the night, and who owned the backpacks, have only been questioned by the authorities. For some no doubt asinine reason, however, they have not been arrested.
It is important to note the difference in the Zazi case: he bought chemicals needed to build a bomb — hydrogen peroxide, acetone and hydrochloric acid — and in doing so, took a critical step made by few other terrorism suspects. The fact that he attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan, received training in explosives and stored in his laptop computer nine pages of instructions for making bombs from the same kind of chemicals he had bought all separate him from other domestic terrorists arrested since 2001. These are the facts that distinguish Zazi from nearly all the other terrorists in United States terrorism cases in recent years.
Indeed, more often than not the earlier terrorists emerged as angry young men, inflamed by the rhetoric of Osama bin Laden or his associates. Some were serious in intent. More than a few seemed to be malcontents without the organization, technical skills and financing - not to mention brains - to be much of a threat. In some cases, the terrorists appeared to be influenced by informants or undercover agents who pledged to provide the weapons or even do some of the planning.
Still, important facts remain unknown. Unclear is whether Zazi had selected a target or a date for a bombing or had recruited others to help. There have been reports that he intended a September 11, 2009 attack, but that has not been confirmed. Moreover, it is not known fully whether Zazi had built an operational bomb. Nor is it known why, after practicing with explosive recipes in Colorado, Zazi drove to New York apparently without the chemicals or equipment.
Until those questions are answered - and until at least another half-dozen of Zazi's buddies join him in jail - the true extent of Zazi's plan will remain as mysterious as the reasoning behind why they haven't already joined him in jail.
Eric Wedge: Fired?
The Indians have called a 1:30 press conference for a big announcement. Looks like Eric Wedge won’t make it through the year after all. More details to come when they are available.
(Update 11:40 AM: Entire coaching staff has been dismissed. Reportedly, Wedge has known for days; Derek Shelton, Carl Willis, Chuck Hernandez, Luis Rivera and Joel Skinner were informed last night).
(Update 11:40 AM: Entire coaching staff has been dismissed. Reportedly, Wedge has known for days; Derek Shelton, Carl Willis, Chuck Hernandez, Luis Rivera and Joel Skinner were informed last night).
DeShawn Stevenson’s New Tattoos and Abe Lincoln
Back from the whirlwind of Washington Wizards media day ‘09 and ready to blog it out. With much to transcribe, I’ll have a lot more in the future, but I wanted to get to something of utmost importance first, DeShawn Stevenson’s new tattoos.
(No, I don’t think this is really of the ‘utmost’ importance, but definitely the quickest/easiest/most fun to blog about.)
What does Abe Lincoln have to do with all this? Well, his face is one of Stevenson’s new tats … and it’s right on the front of his neck (jeez that seems painful), always looking right back at you.
Stevenson also has a backwards Pittsburgh Pirates logo on his right cheek and a Frankenstein-esque crack starting at his hairline and working its way down his forehead (not sure what happens if his hairline starts receding).
(No, I don’t think this is really of the ‘utmost’ importance, but definitely the quickest/easiest/most fun to blog about.)
What does Abe Lincoln have to do with all this? Well, his face is one of Stevenson’s new tats … and it’s right on the front of his neck (jeez that seems painful), always looking right back at you.
Stevenson also has a backwards Pittsburgh Pirates logo on his right cheek and a Frankenstein-esque crack starting at his hairline and working its way down his forehead (not sure what happens if his hairline starts receding).
TV Query: Did a dancer flash the judges on 'So You Think You Can Dance'?
Question: Did "So You Think You Can Dance" go pornographic on us Tuesday (Sept. 29) night?
Answer: According to TMZ, the FOX show aired footage of an auditioning dancer putting her, um, lady parts on display.
And based on a statement they've posted from executive producer and judge, Nigel Lythgoe -- in which Lythgoe says the judges were unaware of the "exposure" -- it would seem the whole debacle actually did go down.
But did it really?
We reached out to FOX for further explanation on the situation and got the following statement in return:
"The footage in last night's 'So You Think You Can Dance' was reviewed thoroughly by the network's Broadcast Standards & Practices prior to air and it was separately confirmed with the dancer that she was wearing flesh-toned dance gear."
Okay...
Anyone feel like taking a look back at last night's ep and making their own judgment call?
Either way, FOX -- whether it was a mistake that fell through the cracks or much ado about nothing -- we ain't mad at ya...
Follow Korbi on Twitter and follow Zap2It's main feed for all your movies, TV and celebrity news.
Answer: According to TMZ, the FOX show aired footage of an auditioning dancer putting her, um, lady parts on display.
And based on a statement they've posted from executive producer and judge, Nigel Lythgoe -- in which Lythgoe says the judges were unaware of the "exposure" -- it would seem the whole debacle actually did go down.
But did it really?
We reached out to FOX for further explanation on the situation and got the following statement in return:
"The footage in last night's 'So You Think You Can Dance' was reviewed thoroughly by the network's Broadcast Standards & Practices prior to air and it was separately confirmed with the dancer that she was wearing flesh-toned dance gear."
Okay...
Anyone feel like taking a look back at last night's ep and making their own judgment call?
Either way, FOX -- whether it was a mistake that fell through the cracks or much ado about nothing -- we ain't mad at ya...
Follow Korbi on Twitter and follow Zap2It's main feed for all your movies, TV and celebrity news.
Square Enix and PopCap's Gyromancer started out as a joke
In a recent interview with Wired, PopCap co-founder and chief creative officer Jason Kapalka claimed that he jokingly brought up the idea of a Final Fantasy and Bejeweled hybrid during a meeting with Square Enix (who publishes many of PopCap's games in Japan). Squeenix's Yuichi Murasawa, designer of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, loved the idea, and set out to create such a title. Last week, Gyromancer, the fruit of these two parties' labor, was announced during the Tokyo Game Show.
Other interesting tidbits came out of the interview -- namely, the sections dealing with the similarities and differences between Squeenix and PopCap's collaboration and 2007's Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. However, we think the real takeaway info from the interview is the fact that this game, which will likely cater to our lust for tile-swapping and role-playing, enrapturing our attention and eviscerating our social lives, started out as a joke.
Other interesting tidbits came out of the interview -- namely, the sections dealing with the similarities and differences between Squeenix and PopCap's collaboration and 2007's Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. However, we think the real takeaway info from the interview is the fact that this game, which will likely cater to our lust for tile-swapping and role-playing, enrapturing our attention and eviscerating our social lives, started out as a joke.
dennis hopper
Actor Dennis Hopper was rushed to a hospital in New York Wednesday afternoon after developing flu-like symptoms.
The 73-year-old star of Easy Rider and Blue Velvet was in the Big Apple to promote his TV series Crash. He ended up having to cancel a number of public appearances after taking ill.
The 73-year-old star of Easy Rider and Blue Velvet was in the Big Apple to promote his TV series Crash. He ended up having to cancel a number of public appearances after taking ill.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
conan o brien concussion
Conan O’Brien hit his head during a stunt for the “Tonight Show” and suffered a concussion, according to NBC and his guest star, actress Teri Hatcher.
The late-night host was examined Friday at a hospital and seemed to be in high spirits.
“Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice,” O’Brien said.
Hatcher said O’Brien hurt himself during a gag making fun of her recent participation in a triathalon. Teri tells Lara she recently finished a triathalon [sic], so she and Conan were taping a bit based on that for “The Tonight Show.”
“We did this bit and at the very end, when we ran in to cross the finish line, he slipped as he was crossing the finish line and hit his head,” Teri says.
“He didn’t get off floor right away, but then he [seemed] like he recovered and [pulled] it together, and they did an instant replay, and you could really see his head hit the floor.” She continues, “He did go to the hospital and he does have a concussion.”
Source: Daily News
The late-night host was examined Friday at a hospital and seemed to be in high spirits.
“Last thing I remember I was enjoying the play with Mrs. Lincoln, and the next thing I knew I was in bed being served cookies and juice,” O’Brien said.
Hatcher said O’Brien hurt himself during a gag making fun of her recent participation in a triathalon. Teri tells Lara she recently finished a triathalon [sic], so she and Conan were taping a bit based on that for “The Tonight Show.”
“We did this bit and at the very end, when we ran in to cross the finish line, he slipped as he was crossing the finish line and hit his head,” Teri says.
“He didn’t get off floor right away, but then he [seemed] like he recovered and [pulled] it together, and they did an instant replay, and you could really see his head hit the floor.” She continues, “He did go to the hospital and he does have a concussion.”
Source: Daily News
joe talamo
Jockey Joe Talamo is in the spotlight
Jockey Joe Talamo is a 19-year-old who knows how to use new media. He has a Facebook page and a Twitter account and he'll be appearing tonight on the "Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien teaching him how to ride a horse.
Don't think Talamo will be staying up late to see his appearance. He's set to ride Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in a workout at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning.
And Wednesday, Talamo will be riding one of the favorites, California Flag, in the opening-day feature race of the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita.
Jockey Joe Talamo is a 19-year-old who knows how to use new media. He has a Facebook page and a Twitter account and he'll be appearing tonight on the "Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien teaching him how to ride a horse.
Don't think Talamo will be staying up late to see his appearance. He's set to ride Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in a workout at Santa Anita on Tuesday morning.
And Wednesday, Talamo will be riding one of the favorites, California Flag, in the opening-day feature race of the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita.
derrion albert video uncut
Derrion Albert is the victim of a brutal beating who is gaining national attention. Albert, 16, was an honor student attending Fenger High School in chicago's south side.
watch the video. Derrion Albert Video Uncut is making the news as the uncut video of the beating death of this honor student in Chicago
YouTube's may remove videos after video due to copyright infringement but the link works.
watch the video. Derrion Albert Video Uncut is making the news as the uncut video of the beating death of this honor student in Chicago
YouTube's may remove videos after video due to copyright infringement but the link works.
hetch hetchy reservoir
Temperatures in Yosemite had been in the high 90s the day we arrived, so we started out early the next day a hike along Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which was not far from where we stayed. Hetch Hetchy is, and I quote from Wikipedia, "a reservoir with a capacity of 360,000 acre ft and is formed by the 364 ft (111m) concrete gravity O'Shaughnessy Dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley on the Tuolomne River. It was completed in 1923 and is owned by the City and County of San Francisco."
Most of my drinking water comes from Hetch Hetchy. The water tastes great, in fact, last year I made a pact with myself to never drink bottled water and it was easy because of Hetch Hetchy. I'm trying again this year.
We started at the dam, where we looked down at the reservoir outlet and the rainbows it formed. We then walked through a short tunnel and started our hike along the lake.
The shore was covered with meadows of Clarkia Wiliamsonii. Here's a close-up.
We also saw butterflies, lizards, and several Gilbert's Skink (Eumeces gilbertii gilbertii). The skinks were fun to watch, quite a bit slower than lizards and with a different gait. Still too fast for me, it takes me a while to whip out the camera...I'm just glad the flowers don't run away. Butterflies are beyond me, and I'm amazed at the photos at Randy and Meg's Garden Paradise. I hope you all saw their Yosemite photos. Unfortunately I missed the migration, but there were still a lot of different butterflies wherever we went.
Speaking of flowers, this pink beauty was on the rocky side of the path and is probably Canchalagua (Centarium venustum). Here's what John Muir Laws has to say on its page:
"Early in the season, you will find bright red Scarlet Gilia blossoms. Late-season flowers may be pink or pinkish-white. The early flowers attract hummingbirds while the late flowers are more easily seen by ling-tongued sphinx moths that fly at dusk."
To prove the point, here's a white Calochortus which, in Greek, means "beautiful grass." I think this is Calochortus venustus, Butterfly Mariposa Lily.
After a few photos, we were off to the first waterfall, which is 2.5 miles from the trailhead and was amazing. Three bridges allowed safe passage across the stream, though we got a little wet from the mist. After the falls, we saw only a few backpackers and had the trail to ourselves otherwise. We hiked to a second waterfall, with the lake to our right.
Hetch Hetchy Valley is sometimes compared with Yosemite Valley because the granite cliffs are just as impressive.
There's a group that attempts to have the dam torn down and the valley restored. I don't have enough information to really have an opinion, but it seems to me that you can't go back, and a restoration would only be a pale shadow of the original valley. Meanwhile, we'd lose the water and spend great amounts of money and energy on the destruction and on other dams.
I really just enjoyed the amazing clear blue water, the beautiful flowers, and the steep rock faces. It seemed perfect as it was. Our one problem was -- and this is ironic -- that we'd only taken a quart of water per person on the hike. The day was hot and the hike was long, so I was quite dehydrated by the time we returned to the damn. There, most miraculous, is a drinking fountain that's always running. I'm not sure I've ever tasted water that was quite so sweet. We probably drank a quart each, and filled our bottles once for the way to the cottage, ready for a shower and a nice meal.
Postscript: The next day, we went on a hike at Saddleback Lakes at the other side of Yosemite. We took extra water, but also tossed a sweatshirt in the car as an afterthought. As we got closer to the lake, it became overcast. We took along sweatshirt and rainjacket, and found that our hike went through snow for quite a bit of the way.
Then it started to rain. We braved the weather for a few miles, then turned around a bit early. No wildflower photos from that day... But memories of the stark beauty of the lakes.
Most of my drinking water comes from Hetch Hetchy. The water tastes great, in fact, last year I made a pact with myself to never drink bottled water and it was easy because of Hetch Hetchy. I'm trying again this year.
We started at the dam, where we looked down at the reservoir outlet and the rainbows it formed. We then walked through a short tunnel and started our hike along the lake.
The shore was covered with meadows of Clarkia Wiliamsonii. Here's a close-up.
We also saw butterflies, lizards, and several Gilbert's Skink (Eumeces gilbertii gilbertii). The skinks were fun to watch, quite a bit slower than lizards and with a different gait. Still too fast for me, it takes me a while to whip out the camera...I'm just glad the flowers don't run away. Butterflies are beyond me, and I'm amazed at the photos at Randy and Meg's Garden Paradise. I hope you all saw their Yosemite photos. Unfortunately I missed the migration, but there were still a lot of different butterflies wherever we went.
Speaking of flowers, this pink beauty was on the rocky side of the path and is probably Canchalagua (Centarium venustum). Here's what John Muir Laws has to say on its page:
"Early in the season, you will find bright red Scarlet Gilia blossoms. Late-season flowers may be pink or pinkish-white. The early flowers attract hummingbirds while the late flowers are more easily seen by ling-tongued sphinx moths that fly at dusk."
To prove the point, here's a white Calochortus which, in Greek, means "beautiful grass." I think this is Calochortus venustus, Butterfly Mariposa Lily.
After a few photos, we were off to the first waterfall, which is 2.5 miles from the trailhead and was amazing. Three bridges allowed safe passage across the stream, though we got a little wet from the mist. After the falls, we saw only a few backpackers and had the trail to ourselves otherwise. We hiked to a second waterfall, with the lake to our right.
Hetch Hetchy Valley is sometimes compared with Yosemite Valley because the granite cliffs are just as impressive.
There's a group that attempts to have the dam torn down and the valley restored. I don't have enough information to really have an opinion, but it seems to me that you can't go back, and a restoration would only be a pale shadow of the original valley. Meanwhile, we'd lose the water and spend great amounts of money and energy on the destruction and on other dams.
I really just enjoyed the amazing clear blue water, the beautiful flowers, and the steep rock faces. It seemed perfect as it was. Our one problem was -- and this is ironic -- that we'd only taken a quart of water per person on the hike. The day was hot and the hike was long, so I was quite dehydrated by the time we returned to the damn. There, most miraculous, is a drinking fountain that's always running. I'm not sure I've ever tasted water that was quite so sweet. We probably drank a quart each, and filled our bottles once for the way to the cottage, ready for a shower and a nice meal.
Postscript: The next day, we went on a hike at Saddleback Lakes at the other side of Yosemite. We took extra water, but also tossed a sweatshirt in the car as an afterthought. As we got closer to the lake, it became overcast. We took along sweatshirt and rainjacket, and found that our hike went through snow for quite a bit of the way.
Then it started to rain. We braved the weather for a few miles, then turned around a bit early. No wildflower photos from that day... But memories of the stark beauty of the lakes.
tashard choice
Tashard Choice rushed 18 times for 82 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' Monday night victory.
Choice also added four catches for 36 yards. He didn't get a ton of action in the first half but once Felix Jones left the game with a strained left knee, Choice was the focal point of the offense. Choice looked great while gashing the Panthers' defense up the middle as Jones worked them on the outside. If Marion Barber and Jones are out next week in Denver, look for another solid game from Choice, who tore apart defenses last season.
Choice also added four catches for 36 yards. He didn't get a ton of action in the first half but once Felix Jones left the game with a strained left knee, Choice was the focal point of the offense. Choice looked great while gashing the Panthers' defense up the middle as Jones worked them on the outside. If Marion Barber and Jones are out next week in Denver, look for another solid game from Choice, who tore apart defenses last season.
stafon johnson
Stafon Johnson Suffers Weightlifting Accident, And Is In Surgery
According to the Los Angeles Times, Stafon Johnson who is a USC running back, injured himself in the weight room today,in what appears to have been a freak accident. They report that he was lifting weights this morning,then lost control of the bar,which then landed on his neck.
He started spitting up blood,and was then taken by ambulance to the hospital. He is reportedly undergoing surgery.
Chris Carlisle,who is the strength coach over at USC said that this was something he had never seen in all of his 25 years of coaching. He stated, “I’ve seen players have the bar slip and fall onto their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat.”
They report that Chris Carlisle was within a few feet of Stafon when the incident occurred,and that there was an assistant strength and conditioning coach acting as the “spotter” for him.
Coach Pete Carroll said that this was an unfortunate accident, and stated that, “our thoughts and prayers are with Stafon.”
Stafon Johnson is currently leading the USC with five touchdowns this year. He is also the team’s 2nd leading rusher with 157 yards in 32 carries.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Stafon Johnson who is a USC running back, injured himself in the weight room today,in what appears to have been a freak accident. They report that he was lifting weights this morning,then lost control of the bar,which then landed on his neck.
He started spitting up blood,and was then taken by ambulance to the hospital. He is reportedly undergoing surgery.
Chris Carlisle,who is the strength coach over at USC said that this was something he had never seen in all of his 25 years of coaching. He stated, “I’ve seen players have the bar slip and fall onto their chest, but never in my 25 years of coaching have I heard of someone dropping a bar on their throat.”
They report that Chris Carlisle was within a few feet of Stafon when the incident occurred,and that there was an assistant strength and conditioning coach acting as the “spotter” for him.
Coach Pete Carroll said that this was an unfortunate accident, and stated that, “our thoughts and prayers are with Stafon.”
Stafon Johnson is currently leading the USC with five touchdowns this year. He is also the team’s 2nd leading rusher with 157 yards in 32 carries.
bacon of the month club
The only club like it on the planet (as far as we know).
One package of bacon delivered to your door each month for twelve months for only $315 including shipping & handling.
Here’s what you get:
- A different artisan bacon delivered to your door each month for 12 months
- Informative notes on all bacon selections
- Discounts on The Grateful Palate bacon products and bacons
- Bacon of the Month Club Membership Card
- The bacon strip – our members only monthly bacon comic strip
- The Bacon of the Month Club Pig Ballpoint Pen
- A little Rubber Toy Pig
- One free Bacon Tee Shirt
- A recipe each month using the bacon selected
- Discounts on suggested wines and products in recipes
- And a pig nose!
Bacon of the Month welcome kits can be shipped UPS overnight and UPS 2-day with an additional charge. You will need to select the shipping method in the: Welcome kit Shipping Options.
One package of bacon delivered to your door each month for twelve months for only $315 including shipping & handling.
Here’s what you get:
- A different artisan bacon delivered to your door each month for 12 months
- Informative notes on all bacon selections
- Discounts on The Grateful Palate bacon products and bacons
- Bacon of the Month Club Membership Card
- The bacon strip – our members only monthly bacon comic strip
- The Bacon of the Month Club Pig Ballpoint Pen
- A little Rubber Toy Pig
- One free Bacon Tee Shirt
- A recipe each month using the bacon selected
- Discounts on suggested wines and products in recipes
- And a pig nose!
Bacon of the Month welcome kits can be shipped UPS overnight and UPS 2-day with an additional charge. You will need to select the shipping method in the: Welcome kit Shipping Options.
howcast
The new proposal restricts bandwidth rationing for ISPs but creates opportunities for app developers.
By J.J. McCorvey | Sep 29, 2009
Inc. Newsletter
Inc.'s Small Business Success Newsletter
Inspiring profiles and best practices for savvy business owners.
The Obama administration recently proposed rules that would prevent Internet service providers from slowing the connections of certain companies and competitors -- a move that might prove to be an economic boon for tech startups and app developers.
Under the new "net neutrality" regulations, phone and cable giants such as AT&T and Comcast would have to allow equal amounts of Internet access to users. Currently, such companies charge premiums for access to larger allocations of bandwidth, and there have been cases of companies restricting the use of bandwidth-draining applications altogether. Earlier this year, AT&T was embroiled in controversy for banning Skype's Internet-phone service for the iPhone, and Apple also met protest for apparently rejecting Google Voice.
The Federal Communications Commission, however, has deemed the practice unfair to those who wish to use what might be considered data-intensive programs and technologies, opening the gateway for smaller tech companies to expand their products -- something David Weinberger, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, says has been long overdue.
"Overall, the amazing thing the Internet has done is enable everyone to post whatever they want and not have built into the Internet itself any preferences for one type of service over another," says Weinberger.
"You can imagine a big search engine doing a deal where their service is incredibly fast for the user," he says, "But somebody in a garage might come up with a great idea for a better search service but would not able to compete with the faster delivery of the larger service."
Sanjay Raman, co-founder of fledgling website Howcast, which broadcasts such how-to videos as "Surviving Unemployment" and "Treating a Jellyfish Sting," says the company would benefit from new bandwidth regulations in a number of ways, including delivering better-quality content to users. When the company was developing its first iPhone application, Raman says he and his team were denied several times because of bandwidth constraints that AT&T was "vague" about.
"It took us several months" to get the iPhone app cleared, says Raman. "We had to downgrade the quality of the video. In an ideal world, if we had the ability to serve high quality streams, we'd give the user the choice to do that."
Raman says Howcast, which streams nearly 500,000 videos a day, admits the technology is data-intensive, and therefore the company does pay a premium for more bandwidth. While there is currently no provision in the proposal to nix those premiums, sites like Howcast could avoid streaming video issues such as buffering wait time.
"If things were opened up, where it makes a difference for us is that we can deliver a better user experience to our customers," says Raman.
The regulations have been met with resistance from the service providers, as well as lawmakers. David Cohen, executive vice president of broadband at Comcast, blogged that the FCC may be moving too quickly in its policing efforts, and officials should "determine whether there are actual and substantial problems" that even require new rules. Others argue that bandwidth allocation is a vital process in managing network congestion.
"The answer is, yeah, you can manage," says Weinberger at the Berkman Center. "But you can't decide what you think our network is for."
By J.J. McCorvey | Sep 29, 2009
Inc. Newsletter
Inc.'s Small Business Success Newsletter
Inspiring profiles and best practices for savvy business owners.
The Obama administration recently proposed rules that would prevent Internet service providers from slowing the connections of certain companies and competitors -- a move that might prove to be an economic boon for tech startups and app developers.
Under the new "net neutrality" regulations, phone and cable giants such as AT&T and Comcast would have to allow equal amounts of Internet access to users. Currently, such companies charge premiums for access to larger allocations of bandwidth, and there have been cases of companies restricting the use of bandwidth-draining applications altogether. Earlier this year, AT&T was embroiled in controversy for banning Skype's Internet-phone service for the iPhone, and Apple also met protest for apparently rejecting Google Voice.
The Federal Communications Commission, however, has deemed the practice unfair to those who wish to use what might be considered data-intensive programs and technologies, opening the gateway for smaller tech companies to expand their products -- something David Weinberger, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, says has been long overdue.
"Overall, the amazing thing the Internet has done is enable everyone to post whatever they want and not have built into the Internet itself any preferences for one type of service over another," says Weinberger.
"You can imagine a big search engine doing a deal where their service is incredibly fast for the user," he says, "But somebody in a garage might come up with a great idea for a better search service but would not able to compete with the faster delivery of the larger service."
Sanjay Raman, co-founder of fledgling website Howcast, which broadcasts such how-to videos as "Surviving Unemployment" and "Treating a Jellyfish Sting," says the company would benefit from new bandwidth regulations in a number of ways, including delivering better-quality content to users. When the company was developing its first iPhone application, Raman says he and his team were denied several times because of bandwidth constraints that AT&T was "vague" about.
"It took us several months" to get the iPhone app cleared, says Raman. "We had to downgrade the quality of the video. In an ideal world, if we had the ability to serve high quality streams, we'd give the user the choice to do that."
Raman says Howcast, which streams nearly 500,000 videos a day, admits the technology is data-intensive, and therefore the company does pay a premium for more bandwidth. While there is currently no provision in the proposal to nix those premiums, sites like Howcast could avoid streaming video issues such as buffering wait time.
"If things were opened up, where it makes a difference for us is that we can deliver a better user experience to our customers," says Raman.
The regulations have been met with resistance from the service providers, as well as lawmakers. David Cohen, executive vice president of broadband at Comcast, blogged that the FCC may be moving too quickly in its policing efforts, and officials should "determine whether there are actual and substantial problems" that even require new rules. Others argue that bandwidth allocation is a vital process in managing network congestion.
"The answer is, yeah, you can manage," says Weinberger at the Berkman Center. "But you can't decide what you think our network is for."
ted harper
When did Spurs last score five or more four times in a season?
It's not so long since Spurs have scored five or more goals four times in a season, but they have never achieved that milestone after only 9 games of the season.
Only two years ago, Spurs beat Anorthosis Famagusta 6-1 in the UEFA Cup, Fulham 5-1 and Reading 6-4 in the league, and (ahem) Ar5ena1 5-1 in the Carling Cup Semi-Final second leg. It was in that Reading game that Dimitar Berbatov was the last Spurs player to score four goals in the league, and not Jurgen Klinsmann's four at Selhurst Park in 1998, as mistakenly reported in several of this week-end's newspapers. Check out the 2007-08 match reports here for full details
It was also in the 2007-08 season that Robbie Keane passed the 100 goal milestone in all games played for Tottenham. His four-goal haul on Saturday took him to 90 league goals for Spurs, so the 100 league goal tally is much closer now. Robbie is currently Spurs' 13th highest ever League goal scorer, and if he makes it to the 100 mark, would become just the 9th player in our history to do so.
Burnley were the victims of a heavy defeat in our seventh league game of the 1968-69 season, when we won 7-0, with goals by Jones (2), Robertson, Greaves (3 - 1 pen), and Chivers. In the 1930-31 season, when we were in Division Two, Spurs won their first two games 7-1 and 8-1. The 7-1 was over Reading, in which Ted Harper became the first to score five league goals for Spurs. That record has since been equalled by Alfie Stokes and Bobby Smith. Harper also scored twice in the 8-1 win which was over Burnley on September 1st 1930.
Robbie is only the 20th player in the history of the Premier League to score four goals in a game, and the third Spurs player of those 20, with Berbatov and Klinsmann his predecessors.
A pattern is emerging after 7 games. There have been a record low number of drawn games, and teams in the top half seem to be picking off those in the bottom half at will, generally speaking. There have been and will continue to be exceptions of course, and let's hope it doesn't start for us at Bolton on Saturday.
Without wishing to detract from our excellent start, I would say that the standard of the Premier League has taken a dive this season, and that it is going to take three very bad teams to get relegated. There are already two holding up the table, and most of those in the bottom half will be battling not to fill the third place, surely. It is more than a little embarrassing to think that this time last year, we had lost at home to Hull, and we were holding up the table. Thank heavens for Harry Redknapp, and here's to Spurs future!
Results 26-28.09.09
B'mingham 1-2 Bolton
Blackburn 2-1 A. Villa
Fulham 0-1 Ar5ena1
Liverpool 6-1 Hull
P'tsmouth 0-1 Everton
Stoke 0-2 Man Utd
Spurs 5-0 Burnley
Wigan 3-1 Chelsea
S'derland 5-2 Wolves
Man City 3-1 West Ham
Barclays Premier League
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Man Utd 7 6 0 1 17 6 11 18
2 Chelsea 7 6 0 1 16 6 10 18
3 Liverpool 7 5 0 2 22 10 12 15
4 Spurs 7 5 0 2 17 10 7 15
5 Man City 6 5 0 1 14 7 7 15
6 Ar5ena1 6 4 0 2 18 8 10 12
7 A. Villa 6 4 0 2 9 5 4 12
8 S'derland 7 4 0 3 14 11 3 12
9 Everton 6 3 0 3 8 10 -2 9
10 Wigan 7 3 0 4 7 13 -6 9
11 Burnley 7 3 0 4 5 15 -10 9
12 Stoke 7 2 2 3 5 9 -4 8
13 Bolton 6 2 1 3 8 9 -1 7
14 B'mingham 7 2 1 4 4 6 -2 7
15 Blackburn 6 2 1 3 6 9 -3 7
16 Wolves 7 2 1 4 7 13 -6 7
17 Fulham 6 2 0 4 4 8 -4 6
18 West Ham 6 1 1 4 6 9 -3 4
19 Hull 7 1 1 5 6 19 -13 4
20 P'tsmouth 7 0 0 7 3 13 -10 0
It's not so long since Spurs have scored five or more goals four times in a season, but they have never achieved that milestone after only 9 games of the season.
Only two years ago, Spurs beat Anorthosis Famagusta 6-1 in the UEFA Cup, Fulham 5-1 and Reading 6-4 in the league, and (ahem) Ar5ena1 5-1 in the Carling Cup Semi-Final second leg. It was in that Reading game that Dimitar Berbatov was the last Spurs player to score four goals in the league, and not Jurgen Klinsmann's four at Selhurst Park in 1998, as mistakenly reported in several of this week-end's newspapers. Check out the 2007-08 match reports here for full details
It was also in the 2007-08 season that Robbie Keane passed the 100 goal milestone in all games played for Tottenham. His four-goal haul on Saturday took him to 90 league goals for Spurs, so the 100 league goal tally is much closer now. Robbie is currently Spurs' 13th highest ever League goal scorer, and if he makes it to the 100 mark, would become just the 9th player in our history to do so.
Burnley were the victims of a heavy defeat in our seventh league game of the 1968-69 season, when we won 7-0, with goals by Jones (2), Robertson, Greaves (3 - 1 pen), and Chivers. In the 1930-31 season, when we were in Division Two, Spurs won their first two games 7-1 and 8-1. The 7-1 was over Reading, in which Ted Harper became the first to score five league goals for Spurs. That record has since been equalled by Alfie Stokes and Bobby Smith. Harper also scored twice in the 8-1 win which was over Burnley on September 1st 1930.
Robbie is only the 20th player in the history of the Premier League to score four goals in a game, and the third Spurs player of those 20, with Berbatov and Klinsmann his predecessors.
A pattern is emerging after 7 games. There have been a record low number of drawn games, and teams in the top half seem to be picking off those in the bottom half at will, generally speaking. There have been and will continue to be exceptions of course, and let's hope it doesn't start for us at Bolton on Saturday.
Without wishing to detract from our excellent start, I would say that the standard of the Premier League has taken a dive this season, and that it is going to take three very bad teams to get relegated. There are already two holding up the table, and most of those in the bottom half will be battling not to fill the third place, surely. It is more than a little embarrassing to think that this time last year, we had lost at home to Hull, and we were holding up the table. Thank heavens for Harry Redknapp, and here's to Spurs future!
Results 26-28.09.09
B'mingham 1-2 Bolton
Blackburn 2-1 A. Villa
Fulham 0-1 Ar5ena1
Liverpool 6-1 Hull
P'tsmouth 0-1 Everton
Stoke 0-2 Man Utd
Spurs 5-0 Burnley
Wigan 3-1 Chelsea
S'derland 5-2 Wolves
Man City 3-1 West Ham
Barclays Premier League
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Man Utd 7 6 0 1 17 6 11 18
2 Chelsea 7 6 0 1 16 6 10 18
3 Liverpool 7 5 0 2 22 10 12 15
4 Spurs 7 5 0 2 17 10 7 15
5 Man City 6 5 0 1 14 7 7 15
6 Ar5ena1 6 4 0 2 18 8 10 12
7 A. Villa 6 4 0 2 9 5 4 12
8 S'derland 7 4 0 3 14 11 3 12
9 Everton 6 3 0 3 8 10 -2 9
10 Wigan 7 3 0 4 7 13 -6 9
11 Burnley 7 3 0 4 5 15 -10 9
12 Stoke 7 2 2 3 5 9 -4 8
13 Bolton 6 2 1 3 8 9 -1 7
14 B'mingham 7 2 1 4 4 6 -2 7
15 Blackburn 6 2 1 3 6 9 -3 7
16 Wolves 7 2 1 4 7 13 -6 7
17 Fulham 6 2 0 4 4 8 -4 6
18 West Ham 6 1 1 4 6 9 -3 4
19 Hull 7 1 1 5 6 19 -13 4
20 P'tsmouth 7 0 0 7 3 13 -10 0
william h macy
Mamet's Oleanna, with Pullman and Stiles, Begins Broadway
Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles face-off in Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet's dramatic battle of the sexes, Oleanna, which begins previews at Broadway's John Golden Theatre Sept. 29.
Tony Award-winning director Doug Hughes (Doubt, The Royal Family, Frozen) stages the production that will officially open Oct. 11. Oleanna arrives on Broadway following an acclaimed run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles last summer.
The tempestuous play focuses on the relationship between an intimidating university professor on the verge of obtaining tenure (Pullman), and a timid female student (Stiles) who is having difficulty with the concepts in his classroom. Neither one are who or what they seem, and in the end, an act of sexual harassment may or may not occur. Oleanna is often described as Mamet's attack on political correctness.
The Broadway production of Oleanna features the L.A. creative team, including scenic designer Neil Patel, costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Donald Holder and fight director Rick Sordelet.
Pullman starred opposite Mercedes Ruehl in Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? His stage credits include Albee's Peter and Jerry at Second Stage and the Kennedy Center production of The Subject Was Roses. His films include "Independence Day," "Igby Goes Down," "Lost Highway," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Ruthless People," "While You Were Sleeping," "Titan A.E.," "Lake Placid" and "Spaceballs."
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Stiles, who is making her Broadway debut in Oleanna, earned acclaim for her performance in a previous production of of the play in London's West End in 2004 opposite Aaron Eckhart. Her additional stage credits include the 2002 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night as Viola, Fran's Bed at Playwrights Horizons and The Vagina Monologues. She has appeared in the David Mamet films "State and Main" and "Edmond"; as well as "I Love You, I Love You Not"; "10 Things I Hate About You"; "Save the Last Dance"; "Mona Lisa Smiles"; and the three Bourne movies, "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Mamet is the award-winning author of many plays including Glengarry Glen Ross (1984 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award, 2005 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play), American Buffalo, Boston Marriage, November, Speed-the-Plow and The Cryptogram. He has penned the screenplays for such films as "The Verdict," "The Untouchables," "Wag the Dog" and his own adaptation of "Oleanna." He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award. He has written and directed ten films including "Homicide," "The Spanish Prisoner," "State and Main," "House of Games," "Spartan" and "Redbelt."
Oleanna is produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Finn, Arlene Scanlan, Jed Bernstein, Ken Davenport, Carla Emil, Ergo Entertainment, Harbor Entertainment, Elie Hirschfeld, HOP Theatricals, Soupbone Productions, Brian Fenty/Martha H. Jones and Center Theatre Group.
William H. Macy and Rebecca Pidgeon starred in the premiere production of Oleanna in 1992 at Mamet's Back Bay Theater Company in Cambridge, MA. Mamet revised parts of the play, including the ending, which transferred Off-Broadway later that year with Macy and Pidgeon under his direction. Harold Pinter would later direct the 1993 London premiere, which utilized Mamet's original ending for the play. Mamet also directed his screenplay for the 1994 film that featured Debra Eisenstadt opposite Macy.
Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles face-off in Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet's dramatic battle of the sexes, Oleanna, which begins previews at Broadway's John Golden Theatre Sept. 29.
Tony Award-winning director Doug Hughes (Doubt, The Royal Family, Frozen) stages the production that will officially open Oct. 11. Oleanna arrives on Broadway following an acclaimed run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles last summer.
The tempestuous play focuses on the relationship between an intimidating university professor on the verge of obtaining tenure (Pullman), and a timid female student (Stiles) who is having difficulty with the concepts in his classroom. Neither one are who or what they seem, and in the end, an act of sexual harassment may or may not occur. Oleanna is often described as Mamet's attack on political correctness.
The Broadway production of Oleanna features the L.A. creative team, including scenic designer Neil Patel, costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Donald Holder and fight director Rick Sordelet.
Pullman starred opposite Mercedes Ruehl in Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? His stage credits include Albee's Peter and Jerry at Second Stage and the Kennedy Center production of The Subject Was Roses. His films include "Independence Day," "Igby Goes Down," "Lost Highway," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Ruthless People," "While You Were Sleeping," "Titan A.E.," "Lake Placid" and "Spaceballs."
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Stiles, who is making her Broadway debut in Oleanna, earned acclaim for her performance in a previous production of of the play in London's West End in 2004 opposite Aaron Eckhart. Her additional stage credits include the 2002 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night as Viola, Fran's Bed at Playwrights Horizons and The Vagina Monologues. She has appeared in the David Mamet films "State and Main" and "Edmond"; as well as "I Love You, I Love You Not"; "10 Things I Hate About You"; "Save the Last Dance"; "Mona Lisa Smiles"; and the three Bourne movies, "The Bourne Identity," "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Mamet is the award-winning author of many plays including Glengarry Glen Ross (1984 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award, 2005 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play), American Buffalo, Boston Marriage, November, Speed-the-Plow and The Cryptogram. He has penned the screenplays for such films as "The Verdict," "The Untouchables," "Wag the Dog" and his own adaptation of "Oleanna." He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award. He has written and directed ten films including "Homicide," "The Spanish Prisoner," "State and Main," "House of Games," "Spartan" and "Redbelt."
Oleanna is produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Finn, Arlene Scanlan, Jed Bernstein, Ken Davenport, Carla Emil, Ergo Entertainment, Harbor Entertainment, Elie Hirschfeld, HOP Theatricals, Soupbone Productions, Brian Fenty/Martha H. Jones and Center Theatre Group.
William H. Macy and Rebecca Pidgeon starred in the premiere production of Oleanna in 1992 at Mamet's Back Bay Theater Company in Cambridge, MA. Mamet revised parts of the play, including the ending, which transferred Off-Broadway later that year with Macy and Pidgeon under his direction. Harold Pinter would later direct the 1993 London premiere, which utilized Mamet's original ending for the play. Mamet also directed his screenplay for the 1994 film that featured Debra Eisenstadt opposite Macy.
Monday, September 28, 2009
khloe kardashian wedding pictures
Khloe Kardashian’s wedding pictures. Khloe and her NBA now husband, Lamar Odom married earlier today in Beverly Hills. The wedding of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom draws a wide variety of celebrities to the event. The wedding was held at a private estate in Beverly Hills.
many more Khloe and Lamar’s wedding pictures after the jump…
There were 250 guests including E! Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ producer Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Osbourne, Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa Laine, Phil Jackson, Jillian Barberie Reynolds, Alan Thicke, Joe Francis, Adrienne Bailon, Lara Spencer, Brittny Gastineau and Lala Vazquez. Everyone was so decked up as expected. One word to describe the whole enchilada ”Lavish”.
american colonies
Thirty leaders from South America and Africa have called for formalized links between the two continents, including joint military, banking and mining efforts that would mirror the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to according to Bloomberg.
Such an alliance would serve to counteract the influence of U.S. and Europe.
“For African countries, it’s closer to visit our brothers in South America. We share the same interests of liberation and revolutionary ideals,” Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi said yesterday at the Second Africa-South America summit. “Colonialism humiliated us, insulted us and robbed us of our riches.”
The countries discussed working with each other to develop natural resources in order to reduce reliance on former colonial and imperial powers. Already, oil agreements have been made between Venezuela and Niger, as well as mining agreements between Venezuela and Sierra Leone.
Such an alliance would serve to counteract the influence of U.S. and Europe.
“For African countries, it’s closer to visit our brothers in South America. We share the same interests of liberation and revolutionary ideals,” Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi said yesterday at the Second Africa-South America summit. “Colonialism humiliated us, insulted us and robbed us of our riches.”
The countries discussed working with each other to develop natural resources in order to reduce reliance on former colonial and imperial powers. Already, oil agreements have been made between Venezuela and Niger, as well as mining agreements between Venezuela and Sierra Leone.
college football rankings week 5
Another wild college football weekend in which three of the top six teams lost created plenty of waves in the USA TODAY coaches poll. Potential BCS bust Boise State was arguably the biggest beneficiary.
The Broncos climbed three places this week to No.5. It is the highest ranking ever for the Broncos in the coaches poll, even surpassing their No. 6 finish in the final rankings following their perfect 2006 campaign. BSU’s easy 49-14 at Bowling Green helped, but the ranking was also likely buoyed by Oregon’s 42-3 demolition of then-No. 6 California.
Oregon, returning to the poll this week at No.25, has now won three in a row since losing on opening night at Boise. BSU appeared on all 59 ballots, picked as high as fourth by nine coaches and fifth on 20 other ballots. Their lowest was a No. 18 vote on one ballot. The Broncos will be heavily favored to sweep the Western Athletic Conference, and that victory over Oregon will be its best argument for a return to the Bowl Championship Series.
But two other teams from conferences without automatic inclusion in the big-money BCS lineup also have strong cases. TCU of the Mountain West Conference ground out a 14-10 win at Clemson to remain unbeaten and moved up to No. 10 in the rankings. The Horned Frogs were also picked as high as fourth on a single ballot and also got a fifth-place nod.
No. 15 Houston of Conference USA is also in the BCS busting mix after winning a 29-28 thriller over Texas Tech, the Cougars’ second win over a Big 12 opponent.
The top three teams remained the same, with No. 1 Florida claiming 58 of 59 first-place votes after a dominant win at Kentucky. Texas held on to the No. 2 spot, getting the last No. 1 nod, following an easy win against Texas-El Paso. Alabama maintained the No. 3 spot by downing Arkansas at home. LSU, which hosts Florida in two weeks, climbed to fourth.
No.17 Iowa, which won at then-No.4 Penn State, returned to the top 25 for the first time since the preseason. Penn State fell to No. 13.
North Carolina and Florida State dropped out after lossesjamie czerniawski
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey mother once featured on the reality show "Wife Swap" has been accused of stabbing her husband.
Jamie Czerniawski tells The New York Post it was self-defense. Her husband's lawyer denies that.
She is charged in Monmouth County with aggravated assault and is free on $75,000 bail.
According to court papers, the former Miss Teen New Jersey used a kitchen knife to slash her husband, Charles, in their Freehold home on Memorial Day weekend.
She tells the newspaper that her husband became jealous when she got a phone call from a mutual male friend.
The couple were featured on "Wife Swap" in 2006. The suspect swapped places with a mom from Arizona who is a tattooed freak show performer.
colts vs cardinals
The 2009 NFL season is well underway now and last night, saw the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Cardinals. And according to reports from examiner.com, the Colts won, with a 31-10 victory over the Arizona team.
And the Colts victory was of course helped along, by their quarterback Peyton Manning’s four touchdown passes. After the game, Manning said that it was important for him to stay patient throughout the game.
Manning appeared to have a bit of a slow start, but obviously picked his game up further on and took his team to victory. The Colts were falling behind 3-0 after the first quarter, but soon changed it around, with an 18-0 lead 18 point lead in the 2nd.
Jaime Kennedy Cheats on Jennifer Love Hewitt with Shannon Funk
Jamie Kennedy has allegedly been cheating on Jennifer Love Hewitt with his ex-girlfriend Shannon Funk, a former assistant of Britney Spears.
Sources tell Perez Hilton that Kennedy and Funk, who claimed to have an affair with Spears in 2007, have been secretly hooking up for the past several weeks. Kennedy has not commented on the rumors.
affiliated computer services
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Xerox Corp. agreed to buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc. for $6.4 billion in its biggest purchase, shifting to computer services as sales of its traditional printing equipment decline.
The transaction will help triple sales from services to about $10 billion, Xerox said today in a statement. The total price of the cash-and-stock deal is about 34 percent more than Dallas-based Affiliated Computer’s closing price Sept. 25.
The acquisition is Chief Executive Officer Ursula Burns’s first since taking over the world’s largest maker of high-speed color printers in July. Burns’s predecessor, Anne Mulcahy, helped Xerox avoid bankruptcy this decade by paring debt, exiting unprofitable businesses and shedding jobs.
Affiliated Computer jumped $7.43, or 16 percent, to $54.68 on the New York Stock Exchange at 9:52 a.m. Xerox, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, fell $1.30, or 15 percent, to $7.67, the biggest intraday drop since March. The stock had climbed 13 percent this year before today.
The transaction helps Burns expand into a market Xerox values at about $150 billion and gives her a foothold in managing administrative operations for multiple arms of the U.S. government.
Government Contracts
“With this combination, our tool box just got a lot bigger,” Affiliated Computer CEO Lynn Blodgett said in an interview. Blodgett will run the business as a unit of Xerox and report to Burns, 51.
Almost 90 percent of Affiliated Computer’s new business contracts last year came from outsourcing, or managing operations for other companies. Total sales rose 5.9 percent to $6.5 billion in the year ending June 30.
Xerox has posted sales declines for three straight quarters, with analysts projecting a fourth, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Global spending on technology products will fall 8 percent this year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said this month.
Mulcahy, who took over in 2001, cut at least 20,000 jobs to revive Xerox after the bursting of the technology bubble at the start of the decade left Xerox with mounting debt and its first annual loss in five years. Under Mulcahy, Xerox stopped making personal copiers and started focusing on laser printers, as well as color printing.
Deal’s Terms
Xerox will pay $18.60 a share in cash and 4.935 Xerox shares for every Affiliated Computer share, amounting to about $63.11, based on closing prices as of Sept. 25. Xerox also will assume about $2 billion in Affiliated Computer’s debt.
Earlier this month Xerox said it would begin selling digital printers for packaging and labels, aiming to tap a new market. Xerox had $1.22 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of last quarter, with about $6.7 billion in long-term debt.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Blackstone Group LP, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP are advising Xerox on the transaction, and Citigroup Inc. and Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP are working with ACS. Evercore Partners Inc. and Ropes & Gray LLP are counseling a special committee of ACS’s board.
where is joe scarborough
Wow. Maybe he was inspired by his earlier session with Max Blumenthal. Or maybe it was the way Glenn Beck dissed Mika by telling her to "shut the hell up." Or maybe he's just as sick of Glenn Beck as the rest of us are.
Whatever it was, Joe Scarborough was relentless and on-point this morning in attacking not just Glenn Beck, but the conservatives who condone and empower him.
He took his cue from Peter Wehner's piece in Commentary, "Glenn Beck: Harmful to the Conservative Movement":
I understand that a political movement is a mansion with many rooms; the people who occupy them are involved in intellectual and policy work, in politics, and in polemics. Different people take on different roles. And certainly some of the things Beck has done on his program are fine and appropriate. But the role Glenn Beck is playing is harmful in its totality. My hunch is that he is a comet blazing across the media sky right now—and will soon flame out. Whether he does or not, he isn’t the face or disposition that should represent modern-day conservatism. At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on.
Scarborough was even more damning:
Scarborough: But when you preach this kind of hatred, and say that an African American president hates all white people -- stay with me -- hates all white people, you are playing with fire. And bad things can happen. And if they do happen, not only is Glenn Beck responsible, but conservatives who don't -- call -- him -- out -- are responsible.
Incidentally, Mark Levin was just as harsh in knocking down Beck.
This is certainly a good start for conservatives serious about rescuing their movement from the abyss into which it is descending. But again, as with David Brooks, none of them quite grasp the dimensions of what they're up against.
Sure, the things Glenn Beck says are completely nuts and reflect poorly on the American Right generally. That's probably because Beck is in reality a genuine far-right extremist who is gradually coming out of the closet about that -- and as he does, he's lapping up the ratings.
But Beck is far from the only extremist dragging movement conservatism to the right. The bridges between the far right and mainstream conservatives are so numerous and widely trafficked that it's hard to keep up, but they range from the extreme religious right connections that Blumenthal describes in his new book in detail, to the "Patriot" wingnut right like WorldNetDaily, which has multiple ties to the Republican National Committee. And yes, ordinary conservatives do have reason to be concerned.
This is especially the case when it comes to the Tea Parties, which actually reflect the takeover of movement conservatism by right-wing populists. They have become a fundamentally important nexus for the promotion of extremist beliefs and fringe conspiracy theories.
Because that's what Joe Scarborough is up against. Glenn Beck is just the face. There's a much larger beast lurking there alongside him.
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