Post 2k10 Election Sigh Of Relief!!

Thanks for all the phone calls, emails, and messages regarding my wife’s posting and the posting of others here and on facebook regarding “news” last week. I am humbled and very gracious. And Amy, you are right, BTW..


Dontcha miss the political ads? Well, the predicted Republican wins occurred. We’ll see in January and February whether or not anything actually begins. Does anyone else fine the predicted results of yesterday’s elections eerie? I mean, the results and the prior predictions are nearly exact. Is this just an example of one of those things the (evil) media gets right or something more nefarious? Where are the conspiracy theorists? Besides, the “Big 4”, Pelosi/Reid/Frank/Boxer was all reelected. Christine O’Donnell lost in Delaware. So big whoop, really. Despite what the headlines read today, I personally don’t believe anything is going to happen that will affect us in a meaningful way. During the month of October, I’ve heard Republicans refute this election was 1994/1996 all over again. Sure it’s not.

What a perfect storm this morning here at work. Hardware issues, software issues, email issues, other issues that have made a REAL mess of things this morning. And I’m working at a critical area managing the entire system. Couldn’t do it without that guys and gals out there out and about. I’ve never ever said on here where I work and officially omit it on facebook for a reason.

I know I’m a few days behind, but how about AMC’s “Walking Dead”? I loved it. How about you? Showtime’s ‘Dexter’ rocked as well. Did you see it?

Today in “Young Un” news, an 18-month-old boy survived after falling seven floors and bouncing off a Paris cafe awning into the arms of a passer-by. This was NOT a part of a movie stunt.

 And a 13 year old boy is a proud father in Spain. The 10 year old mother is reportedly doing fine!

California voters declined to make their trendsetting state the nation's first to legalize marijuana use and sales. Which to me, as someone who is NOT a pot smoker, is ridiculous?

How about those San Francisco Giants bringing the Bay City its first World Series?!?!?! You mean you didn’t know? Ohhh, you didn’t CARRRRRRE. I get it. I thought that girl the Giants had pitching for them was phenomenal!

Here’s a funny look at how famous people in American history affected certain comic book storylines.

How sad is THIS story? I mean does this matter? I mean, oh, never mind... Sheen returned back to work after his NYC wackiness, filing for divorce, etc as is nothing happened.

In “Wonder Woman” comic book move news, Tanit Phoenix is rumored to be the forerunner to portray Diana.  Man, if we could JUST go back 15 years and have Lucy Lawless be the main character. I believe Lynda Carter could and should play Wonder Woman's mom in the movie.

Also, here are some “high resolution” pictures from the upcoming ‘Captain America’ movie . I’m happy to see the amount of detail put into the look of the film.

The infamous Cohen brothers have remade the John Wayne cowboy classic "True Grit". It's set for a December 22, 2010 release.

SAY HEY TO ME! COMMENT! HATE

Hello, It's Tuesday September 14th ALL DAY LONG!!

HOWDY!! Well, I MUST be at work and I MUST be bored to post. Does anyone read these since they' don't come out on a consisten basis? Here's what I'm seeing on the ol interweb this morning...

R.I.P actor Kevin McCarthy.(from Sunday, actually)

An infectious-disease nightmare is unfolding: Bacteria that have been made resistant to nearly all antibiotics by an alarming new gene have sickened people in three states and are popping up all over the world, health officials reported Monday. The U.S. cases in California, Massachusetts and Illinois; as well as two others in Canada all involve people who had recently received medical care in India, where the problem is widespread.

500,000 'gubmint' workers in Cuba are being "laid off".

Producers of high fructose corn syrup want their product renamed to "corn sugar".

Jerry Brown apologizes to former President Bill Clinton over comments made about Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

A new government study adds to the evidence that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative until recently found in many vaccines, does not increase children's risk of autism

An Upson County couple is suing a grocery store chain in federal court, claiming that the husband found a used tampon in his bowl of cereal. According to the complaint, Thomas and Lynn Roddenberry said they bought a box of Chocolate Chip Crunch cereal from the Save-A-Lot store in Thomaston in October 2008.

What's happening in the entertainment realm this morning?

• Lady Gaga's meat dress, donned Sunday night at MTV's VMA show is being discussed all around the web.
• Apparently, like saying the “N” word, it’s OK for black people to dress and perform in “blackface”. http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/2010/09/william-defends-blackface-make-up-at-mtv-vmas-following-criticism.html?rss=rss-kabc-snippet-7665796
• George Michael was sentenced today at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in London to 8 weeks in jail for his July 4 crash into a London clothing store.
• John Mayer quits Twitter
• Penelope Cruz confirms she's pregnant
• Are there shadowy forces trying to Ruin J. Lo's 'Idol' Bid?
• Sofia Vergara tells 'Self' magazine: "I'm Grateful for My Breasts"
• Australian taxpayers are helping Oprah pay for her trip down under so she can do her show for a week -- to the tune of $3 million ($2.7M USD),
• Yet another story on the interweb about how Showtime's once great series 'Weeds' has become an embarrassing parody of its once-smart self...
• Jake Gyllenhaal's "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" is out on DVD--yaaaaaawwwwn!!
• Joaquin Phoenix returns to The David Letterman Show Sept. 22.
• Kaley Cuoco, resident babe of CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" -- broke one of her legs in a horse accident over the weekend.
• Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Suze Orman heading to Oprah Winfrey Network They'll star in a series of specials to coincide with OWN's launch in January. Oprah's website allows you to "Oprah-fy" yourself. Insert a photo of yourself as part of Oprah's new "Oprah-fy Yourself" feature.\
• Sunday night's VMAs were the 3rd-most watched MTV broadcast ever. Ratings were even up 33% from last year despite man-ish looking Chelsea Handler's horrible performance as MC.
• Lindsay Lohan is in talks to return to host "Saturday Night Live" in December. Lohan lasted hosted "SNL" in April 2006.
• Conan has a new ad for his TBS show debuting in November, I think- http://teamcoco.com/blog/conans-first-print-ad-is-a-real-hoot-sorry/


And finally, offended, made to feel uncomfortable around young, half naked or naked male millionaires showering and changing clothes in their locker room reporter babe Inez Sainz. She complained to her boss at and they referred her to The Association of Women in Sports Media in America who asked the league to investigate on her behalf. She’s also been on every major network since yesterday morning regarding this.
To me, she appears to be looking to “score” in regards to her career. That or really, REALLY naive and dumb. I think that these idiots somehow blaming HER for anything because of the way she dressed is also asinine and stupid. In my opinion, it doesn't MATTER what she wore or wears while doing her job. Why is this even mentioned? I really DO know why, I just fail to see how this matters and to me sounds like a sleazy defense lawyer would say defending his client of rape. I think that these idiots somehow blaming HER for anything because of the way she dressed are also asinine and stupid.

As far as I know, she wasn’t fondled or asked or encouraged to DO anything. From what I've read, she experienced “cat calls” and “looks" which she admits made her feel uncomfortable. On all of her estimated 21 television appearances over the last 24 hours, she repeatedly downplayed the extent to which she was bothered by the New York Jets' practice antics and she doesn't plan on suing the NY Jets. Yet, the interviews and complaints on her behalf are still moving forward.

Jets owner Woody Johnson's apology was enough for her she says also adding that she definitely will not be toning down her sexy sideline style.

All in all, she's making great lemonade out of her situation. Sainz, (who has three prestigious graduate degrees from Mexico or Peru), has parlayed the incident into appearances on the talk show circuit. She continued her onslaught of television appearances on Good Morning America, The Today Show among others today (Tuesday). Her Twitter account gained thousands of followers -- a jump of over 20 percent in just one day. Google has charted her as the most popular search for an entire day as well – which is very unusual. Women in the media have staunchly come to her defense, making her a sort of figurehead for their movement. Don't be surprised if we see a lot more of the "hottest sports reporter in Mexico" in her signature photo shoots and on our TV sets.

The NFL is investigating the matter..

What say you?


BTW: ines sainz, puppies, dogs, kittens, cats, PS3, Xbox, Halo Reach, bikini, lesbians are all popular tags used when searching stories on the internet today.

So This is Thursday's EARLY AM Blog

Well yesterday went as well as it could go at work. No headaches and I could understand nearly everything I heard- WHOO-HOO!! It's just after midnight and I have to make lunch, finish laundry before work in a few hours. Here's what I saw on the ol interweb...

Beginning today, smokers will pay 50 cents more in tax on a pack of cigarettes in South Carolina.

According to a new annual study, SC has nearly cut it's national obesity ranking in half! In the state, three of 10 people are considered obese, according to the Trust for America's Health. Toss in those who are overweight and that adds up to nearly two-thirds of the population. The state ranks ninth in obesity nationwide, down from fifth last year, TFAH reports.

The 2-year-old son of former NFL star quarterback Randall Cunningham has died in what authorities on Wednesday called an apparent backyard hot tub accident.

A 9-year-old Connecticut girl who climbed to the roof of her house and attempted to crawl back inside through the chimney has been rescued after getting stuck. Assistant Fire Chief Jack Hennessey says the girl climbed up a house painter's ladder Wednesday morning, walked across the roof and tried to climb down the chimney. She almost made it to the fireplace before getting stuck in the flue at about 6:30 a.m.

Just 48 days after Microsoft began selling the Kin, a smartphone for the younger set, the company discontinued it because of disappointing sales. Microsoft also recently canceled a project to develop a tablet computer that would compete with Apple’s popular iPad.

CNN is reportedly talking to Joy Behar about Larry King's spot. He's retiring this fall (see yesterday's blog). Another report says a $10 million agreement was finalized with Simon Cowell bud and "America's Got Talent" co-host Piers Morgan before King retired on Tuesday.

The U.S. Embassy is advising travelers to exercise caution in Haiti after four U.S. citizens were recently killed in separate robberies near Port-au-Prince's airport.

How about the Russian spy babe?

So will Erin Andrews stay at ESPN? Her deal with the sports network was about to expire, but an ESPN exec says, "We hope to have a deal signed soon."

The Terrafugia, a flying car project developed by a small group of MIT graduates, passed an important regulatory hurdle this month when the FAA agreed it could be certified in the Light Sports Aircraft category even though it is about 110 pounds over the limit. The company argued that the extra weight was needed to comply with federal motor vehicle standards and that other light sports aircraft do not face that extra burden. The concept of a flying car has captivated the imaginations of commuters, pilots and manufacturers for decades. In this video interview with Forbes, Carl Dietrich, CEO of Terrafugia, explains that the craft has wings that fold up in less than 30 seconds. The first model, the Transition, is expected in full production next year. In the air, it will have a cruising speed of about 115 miles an hour, a range greater than 400 miles, and a 10,000-foot ceiling. On land, it will get about 30 miles to the gallon.

Judd Apatow is using his powers for good and is developing a new Pee-Wee Herman movie alongside Paul Reubens and Paul Rust, who is co-scripting this new flick with Reubens. Apatow will produce the flick, according to Variety.

Prince will release his new album, "20Ten," as a free giveaway with various European newspapers and magazines. In the U.K., Prince has signed up with tabloid newspaper the Daily Mirror and its associated Scottish title the Daily Record for the CD giveaway. More than 2.5 million copies will be distributed on July 10 with the newspapers.The deal will also include Prince's first British newspaper interview in more than a decade.

and finally, Comic book superheroine Wonder Woman has traded in her spangled hot pants for urban leggings and upped her street smarts in a 21st century make-over for the 69 year-old character. J.Michael Straczynski, the new writer for the DC Comics series, told the New York Times he wanted to "toughen her up and give her a modern sensibility" and change the outfit Wonder Woman has been wearing for almost seven decades. The new costume features dark leggings, a studded denim jacket, spurs on her heeled boots and gloves in a new look designed by Korean-American artist Jim Lee of "X-Men" fame. Wonder Woman keeps her starred headband and golden lasso but her long dark locks have been cut shorter and gone are the star-studded hip-huggers, undersized bustier and knee length, red go-go boots

Happy Monday

Good day! I'm doing better fighting this illness. Thanks for all the email, texts, and phone calls. What a slow, boring news day today. Here's some stuff I noticed this Monday afternoon..

It's now legal to hunt coyotes and wild peegs at night in SC. Whoo-hoo!

Locally, Mayor Knox White said today the city intends to hire assistant city manager John Castile to the top executive position. Castile, 44, has been with the city 15 years and played a key role in some of its most controversial and high-profile projects. The council is scheduled to vote on the issue in tonight’s public meeting.

Elin Woods, soon to be ex wife of Tiger Woods will get a $750 million dollar settlement in her divorce,

Ex KKK Grand Wizard Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving member of the U.S. Senate, a fiery orator and hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to his beloved West Virginia, died Monday. He was 92.

Ghana, the world's leading 900 sex and psychic telephone providers defeated the USA in World Cup Soccer over the weekend. Thus ending the World Cup interest for everyone in America. With apologies to the 27 people here in the US still interested.

Sorry Commies, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Constitution's “right to keep and bear arms” applies nationwide as a restraint on the ability of the federal, state and local governments to substantially limit its reach. In doing so, the justices, by a narrow 5-4 margin, signaled that less severe restrictions could survive legal challenges. FYI- this is the 2nd ammendment of the US Constitution. What's scary to me is that 4 justices wanted to REPEAL it.

Speaking of SCOTUS, Elana Kagan begins her trek today towards a seat on the bench At Kagan's hearings, liberals will seek assurances that she is truly one of their own, while conservatives will test whether she's acceptably within their definition of the mainstream.

Folks in Winston Salem, NC are tired of all the gang graffiti so they're gonna restrict sales of spray paint to teenagers. Of course this course of action has worked SO well for cigarettes and beer...

I missed last night's BET Awards, but I did catch a YouTube video of El Debarge tearing it up. Prince received BET's lifetime achievement award. Ti and Chris Brown also made what the press are calling "comebacks" on the show.

The next DC Animated release will be called "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse," based on the second Superman/Batman story line. The animated "Batman: Under The Red hood" comes out July 27th.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has opened an office in Asheville, NC. I'd thought Asheville would actually BE the headquarters.

Britain's Foreign Office named the United States embassy Monday as the worst offender among diplomatic missions that have racked up 36 million pounds ($54 million) in disputed traffic congestion charges.

Doctors could one day use a blood test to predict decades in advance when women will go into menopause. Here's the story: click HERE

Today's big news in the oily Gulf of Mexico, forecasters say Tropical Storm Alex will likely become a hurricane on Tuesday.

and finally

The online version of the Greenville News will no longer be free as of this Thursday, July 1st. Among the 3 tiered available subscriptions will be access to the GreenvilleOnline.com website for $9.95 monthly, which is the cheapest. I understand that Gannett's back is against the wall. Newspapers everywhere are closing shop. The comments at the website have been predictably against the action. The announcement was like one of those "future endeavors" termination announcements.

What's on your mind?

Tigers, Pandas, and Big Oil- HAPPY SATURDAY!

Happy Saturday! It’s my bi-weekly weekend to work. So far, we’re starting out with a BANG. So be careful out there. Especially at the waterfalls and hiking trails. Since late March, there has been as many or more fatalities on the waterways in upper SC as there were ALL of last year between Memorial Day and Labor Day. There have been more than I care for lost and injured hikers around Table Rock and Caesar’s Head.

Hear about the flooding that wiped out an Arkansas campground? 16 dead/ others missing. Doesn’t get much sadder than this in my book. How sad.

Can’t WAIT until the elections and Gulf Oil spill stories die down. Yahoo! News has a good story that may explain why we haven’t heard too many “Boycott Big Oil” stories or rallies. Click HERE

Former Heavyweight Danny Lopez and the late Howards Cosell join 11 others inducted today into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Though the sport’s popularity is at an all time low due to the UFC/MMA/WWE wresting et al, it’s STILL 85 times more popular

Have you guys seen pictures of those dogs dyed to look like other animals? Kinda cool and creepy at the same time to me.

Speaking of creepy and cool, I was reading Whitney Matheson’s blog about a company that makes customized stuffed dolls. Click HERE or go to http://www.iamastuffedanimal.com/

The Juice’s Lawyers are saying that O.J. Simpson's conviction for robbery and kidnapping was flawed because black jurors were wrongly excluded and the judge was prejudiced against his defense team.

World Cup in South Africa --- yawn…. Seriously, soon you’re gonna hear stories how viewership or interest in the games are WAY up. While increasing viewership from 30k US households to 45k US households may be a 50% increase (numbers are made up, much like the one’s you’ll read about), it’s still MSNBC area numbers. Reruns of the Golden Girls on TVLand get much more viewership. Much like boxing…..

HEY!!

Elections and the Whole Enchilada

I am politics weary. Not just from the recent round of election primaries, I mean overall. I remember Obama being touted for a presidential run back in at the democratic national convention. It's kinda like Christmas. You begin seeing ornaments in the stores in August, etc. But our current political system. I don't think this is what our founding fathers expected. I do believe they expected great debate and I do believe they expected evolution within our political system. I think they're mechanisms in place for this evolution. In example, slavery, women's right, et al.

It just seems that nowadays facts get either ignored or glossed over. It's all about which political jersey you wear. Half truths and well intended spread of falsehoods seem to rule nowadays. They're passing legislation and laws without fully reading them in Washington.

Up until this past Tuesday (6/8/10), Obama's been touting that his administration did not underestimate the severity of the Gulf spill and has been acting with the full strength of the US government. This past Tuesday on the "Today Show", he admitted his administration received bad information from BP and others and his administration made bad decisions based on that bad information by NOT react with the sense of urgency that was needed. This admission has been largely ignored. When the bush administration did the very same thing, it was "Bush Lied"; a mantra I to this day STILL hear (and use mockingly).

The political right seem to be putting all their eggs into the Sarah Palin basket. i think this is a big risk.

And another thing, the right exclaims America is headed towards socialism. With what's been happening, the merger of state and corporate powers is called fascism, NOT socialism. Like Ferris Bueller said, "I dislike 'isms'".

All in all, it feels like 1994 again. When people were sick and tired of the same old same old in our country and voted to implement "new blood" and new representation in our state capitals and in Washington. Sound familiar?

I remember talking to a wide eyed, fired up Lindsey graham who was making the transition from SC house to the US House. He has passion and was determine to fight all things left, Bill Clinton, and the Dems. So much has changed.

What about you? What say you?

So This Is Saturday....

Gary Coleman is dead and I don’t feel so fine myself. I was a huge fan of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ as a kid in the 70’s. From the media coverage over the years, it seems Mr. Coleman was very eager to leave “Arnold Drummond” behind. I just hope his last hours of being awake before Wednesday evening’s unconsciousness somehow brought him as much comfort as possible.

Watched Kevin Eubanks’ final “Tonight Show” gig last night. It was the usual fare. He calls successor Ricky Minor "the perfect choice. Among many jobs, Minor was the main musical force and director at “American Idol”. Eubanks is going to pursue recording endeavors and helping inter city music programs in Philadelphia.

Man, has Craig Ferguson really stepped it up on CBS’ “The Late Late Show”. Consistently for the past few months his show has been better then Letterman’s.

A new report exposes the United States’ military option in Pakistan in regards to the war on terror.
Click here for more. http://arabnews.com/world/article58897.ece

Ford Motor Company has announced it’s dropping the Mercury brand of vehicles.

Did anyone see the 2nd Lost Boys movie a couple of years ago? Well, there is now a 3rd “Lost Boys” movie being released-- Clikc HERE

Film director Oliver Stone said on Friday Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was misunderstood by the Western media, but said the socialist president should consider cutting back on his hours-long television appearances. Clickity Click HERE for the story.

Mark your calendars- NEXT Friday, June 4th is National Doughnut Day! Dunkin Donuts giving doughnuts away. Check around for other’s following suit.

The next Robert Downey Jr Sherlock Holmes movie will come to the big screen on Dec. 16 ... 2011.

The upcoming "Batman: Under the Red Hood" direct to DVD movie will have a 15 minute animated Jonah Hex story on it.

According to CBR new (cbr.com/news), actor James McAvoy has been cast as Charles Xavier in what is now being referred to as "X-Men: First Class." It does call into question just when in the timeline of Fox's "X-Men" series the film will take place. Granted, they all take place in some nebulous "near future." Even "Wolverine," which should clearly take place in the past tended to avoid anything that might date it besides the younger Stryker and Xavier

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Warner Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer says that DC Comic’s "The Flash is nearing a green light.”Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman" were also mentioned by Meyer as being in development. Green Lantern is set to star in his own animated series. The series is set to air a year after the film is released to theaters.

Well, get out there and have fun this weekend.
More later possibly.

See ya!
J

Happy Tuesday!

The above picture is of Serena Williams during this week's French Tennis Tourney!

Today is National Geek Pride Day!!

Paul Gray, the bassist for Slipknot, has died. He was 38.

The Island Packet newspaper of Hilton Head Island SC reported yesterday that a large curved object washed up on the beach at Palmetto Dunes over the weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the object as part of a satellite launched from an Ariane 5 rocket. Ralph Wagner of Shore Beach Services says labels on the object read "Made in France." Sheriff's deputies remain posted around the debris Tuesday afternoon until it can be removed.

After five years on cable outlets like CMT and TLC, the Miss America pageant has signed a three-year deal to return to ABC, starting with next year's pageant.

North Korea declared Tuesday that it would sever all communication and relations with Seoul as punishment for blaming the North for the sinking of a South Korean warship two months ago.

Senator Benigno Aquino, set to become the Philippines' next president, said Monday he is not ready to quit smoking yet because it could affect his decision making

The White House has agreed to support lifting the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.

Jake Gyllenhaal says that during his 'Prince of Persia' press junket, he was told not to smile or laugh while in Russia.

Mark Twain's dying wish has finally been granted: His lengthy autobiography is set to be published on the 100th anniversary of his death. The first volume of Twain's 5,000-page manuscript, which has been sitting inside a vault at the University of California, Berkeley, will hit the press in November 2010. (Thanks Myra!) You can read more about it

Christina Aguilera and U2 have cancelled the remaining dates on their respective tours. Aguilera has cancelled due to prior movie commitments, U2 because of Bono’s recovery from weekend back surgery. Make up dates have not been announced.

David Byrne is suing the governor of Florida, alleging that he used the Talking Heads' 1985 single "Road to Nowhere" without permission or proper licenses. Byrne is seeking $1 million in damages.

The Hobbit is SO close to pre-production. The scripts are reportedly in and the film is set to begin casting in November.


And finally, The Nikki Haley camp is still vehemently denying Will Folk’s claim of an inappropriate physical relationship. On Folk’s web site/ blog, it seems they’re teasing Mrs. Haley to sue them to prove their accusations false. Whether you believe her or him or neither one of them, you have to admit Nikki Haley’s acting very classy in regards to this. Many national outlets and national media are picking up on this. Even Sarah Palin has chimed in support of Nikki. I used to know Will Folks back when he Mark Sanford’s spokesman and before his fall when he and his then fiancé were shoving each other around during a fight and Will got arrested for it. I would REALLY like to talk to him though the website/blog site says neither he nor they will respond any further regarding the matter. It’s not the Will Folks I knew or had lunch with down in Columbia a couple of 3 or 4 times. Both of our world’s have dramatically changed since then.