Grew on me, like toe fungus.

When 'Sam's Town' came out, I wasn't impressed. It seemed like ego-masturbation for Brandon Flowers. Over the top, and grandiose; and not in a good way.

But over the last year, Radio 1 has been playing the singles off the album, and gosh dern it, it doesn't annoy me as much anymore.

At least not as much as Snow Patrol.

BBC also got Keane's last album to not suck for me as well, through sheer repetition.

Killers - 'Read My Mind'





Keane - 'A Bad Dream'

It does kind of feel like Hell has frozen over.

The Police to reunite for Grammy awards

'NEW YORK (AP) -- The Police will reunite to perform at this year's Grammys ceremony, the Recording Academy announced Tuesday.

The award-winning group, which won five Grammys and turned out hits such as "Roxanne" and "Every Breath You Take," will open the event - 23 years after breaking up.

The band - singer Sting, guitarist Stewart Copeland and drummer Andy Summers - fused reggae with pop and rock, and last performed together in 2003 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

CBS will air the 49th annual Grammy Awards live from Los Angeles on Feb. 11.'

Frodo In The Family

"Hobbit" declared a species

'A tiny skeleton discovered in Indonesia four years ago is definitely that of a new species of human, scientists say.

The study by researchers at Florida State University compared the skull of the 3-foot tall Homo floresiensis, discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores, with others and ruled out the possibility of it being an underdeveloped example of Homo sapiens.

The "hobbit," as Homo floresiensis has been nicknamed by scientists, lived on Flores 18,000 years ago, isolated from other human species. The study, which appears in this week's Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, suggests that the way a species' brain develops is of equal importance to its size in human evolution.'

Damn catchy song.

Lilly Allen - Alfie

Creepy

Talk about 'roommate from hell'.

Student arrested for murder

'DOUGLAS COUNTY - An 18-year-old student was arrested over the weekend for a murder that happened in late 2006.

Addie Kubisiak, from Parker, was booked into the Douglas County Detention Facility on charges of first-degree murder on Sunday.

Kubisiak, a student at Western State College, was arrested in Gunnison and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office is working with Gunnison Police.

Kubisiak's arrest came after a search warrant was served on the Western State campus on Saturday. Apparently, investigators found some evidence in a dorm room.

A student told 9NEWS' partners at The Denver Post that authorities removed a body from the dorms on Saturday.

Kubisiak is a student at Western State College in Gunnison and attended Ponderosa High School last year. While at Ponderosa, she played softball and swam with the Lady Mustangs.'

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is not releasing any additional details on the investigation, including the identity of the victim.

Killian's Red

Naked, greased student interrupts lunch

Prank 'went a little farther than he intended,' police officer says

'WESTERVILLE, Ohio - A high school lunch period was disrupted Monday by a greased, naked student who ran around screaming and flailing his arms until police twice used a stun gun on him, authorities said.

Taylor Killian, 18, had rubbed his body with grapeseed oil to keep from being caught, and got up after the first time he was shocked to continue running toward a group of frightened students huddled in a corner at Westerville North High School, Lt. Jeff Gaylor said.

'That prank went a little farther than he intended, I guess,' Gaylor said.

Officer Doug Staysniak was monitoring the lunch period when Killian, with long hair and a full beard, ran in the room toward students, who screamed and ran away. The officer is normally assigned to a middle school and did not recognize Killian as a student, Gaylor said.

Police said that an administrator ordered Killian to stop, but that the student made a sexual gesture and kept running.

Killian is charged with inducing panic, public indecency, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was being held at the county jail Monday, and it was not known whether he had a lawyer.

School officials reported that Killian was a good student, Gaylor said. There was no indication of substance abuse or a medical problem.'

Yay, even though I'm not a woman.

Rape Rx bill advances

'The Colorado Senate today gave initial approval to a bill that would require hospitals to educate rape victims about the availability of emergency contraception.

The bill would exempt health-care workers with religious conflicts from having to talk about the issue, but it would require that hospitals - even Catholic institutions - find someone on staff to relay the information.'

Hair Piece

A piece I wrote for next month's issue.

Hair Apparent

The adage that 'you never get a second chance, to make a first impression' really holds true. That being said, a guy's hair style, can speak volumes about him, without him having to say a word. In general, the steadfast rule is, less is more.

Most women like to see their guys with the traditional short, and well maintained cut. It is, after all, the traditional masculine haircut. It is hard for most guys to pull off long flowing locks of hair. Think Michael Hutchence, or Keith Urban. Some would argue that Fabio pulled it off, but like the old long curly locks of Michael Bolton, their long locks bordered on being cheesy.

Back in the day, being bald, or balding, came with the stigma of something to be ashamed of. Today, however, it is a great option for low maintenance, and a signature of an individual sense of style. Women would rather have their men take the clippers to the head, then attempt to create something that is not there. Like comb-overs. Big no-no. Women much prefer the stubbled cranium of Jason Statham, to, say, Donald Trump's golden 'do.

Most women also tend to be turned off, by a guy who spends too much time, and product, on his hair. Guys, if it takes you more than ten minutes to style your hair, you're overdoing it. Just say no to the gel, and go. There are some great products out there, to help put a nice finishing touch. Learn a lesson from the Gotti boys. You don't want to go out with hair that is immovable, and appears to be made out of acrylic resin.

Luckily for most of us, the messy bed-head look is still in. For now, we can get away with not having to do much, if anything, to appear presentable in public.

He Said, She Said

As 303 Magazine's token Gay Of The Village, I contribute to a piece called 'He Said, She Said'. It's a great concept. Each issue, a question is asked, and answered from three points of view: a guy's, a girls, and a gay guys. The March issue question, and my response is:

How Long Do You Wait to Call After You First Get the Phone Number

This depends on whether I asked for the number, or was given it. If I asked for it, I would not want to appear too clingy, or needy, in the early stages. But then again, things can change quickly, so it's best to move fast.

I would follow up no sooner than two days from getting the number. Some may say that is too soon, but it is best to keep your encounter, fresh in the mind of your potential partner. This also helps, in cases where numbers were exchanged in the presence of alcohol. Sadly, I have many numbers in my phone, and I have no idea who these people are.

If I was given the number, unsolicited, I would call the next day just to say 'hi'. Again, you don't want to appear too needy, thus, the call should be chill, and laid back. Something along the lines of, 'it was great meeting you, and let's do something in the near future'. I think it's best to not try and make immediate plans from the get go. A relaxed approach helps spark interest, from the potential partner. Most guys like 'the thrill of the hunt', so a little mystery can be a good thing.

Just waitin' on Castro to die.

Miami's Orange Bowl to host celebration when Castro dies

'MIAMI (AP) - The city of Miami is planning an official celebration at the Orange Bowl whenever Cuban president Fidel Castro dies.

Discussions by a committee appointed earlier this month by the city commission to plan the event have even covered issues such as a theme to be printed on T-shirts, what musicians would perform, the cost and how long the celebration would last.

Such a gathering has long been part of the city's plan for Castro's death, but firming up the specifics has been more urgent since Castro became ill last summer and turned over power to his brother, Raul.

City Commissioner Tomas Regalado, a Cuban American, came up with the idea of using the Orange Bowl, noting that the stadium was the site of a speech by President Kennedy in 1961 promising a free Cuba, and that in the 1980s it served as a camp for refugees from the Mariel boatlift from Cuba.

"Basically, the only thing we're trying to do is have a venue, a giant venue ready for people, if they wish, to speak to the media, to show their emotions. It's not that we're doing an official death party," Regalado said Monday.

Former state Rep. Luis Morse stressed the need for an uplifting theme for the party - one not preoccupied with a human being's passing.

Critics have accused the city of dictating where people should party, with many preferring to celebrate on the streets of Little Havana. The city says the Orange Bowl celebration would not preclude that.

"This is not a mandatory site," Regalado said of the Orange Bowl. "Just a place for people to gather."

Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Miami-based Democracy Movement organization, worries about how a party to celebrate a man's death would be perceived by people outside the Cuban exile community.

Sanchez also pointed out that, even after Castro dies, his communist government still will be in place.

"The notion of a big party, I think, should be removed from all this," Sanchez said. "Although everybody will be very happy that the dictator cannot continue to oppress us himself, I think everybody is still very sad because there are still prisons full of prisoners, many people executed, and families divided."'

Love the sinner.....

Former pastor's accuser visits New Life Church

'COLORADO SPRINGS - Mike Jones, the man who says he had an affair with former New Life Church Pastor Ted Haggard, visited the church Sunday morning.

9Wants to Know broke Jones's story last November. Jones described a more than three-year affair with Haggard which he says included drugs.

Haggard admitted to 9NEWS that he had bought methamphetamine from Jones but that he "threw it away."

Haggard denied having sex with Jones saying he went to him for a massage. The day after the story broke, Pastor Haggard resigned as president of a 30-million member International Evangelical group and then, one day later, was fired as Chief Pastor of the New Life Church.

On Sunday morning, Jones visited the New Life Church. He told 9NEWS the reception from the members of the church was "overwhelming as far as the numbers of people who approached me. They were all congenial," said Jones. "None of them expressed anger and many expressed gratitude for what they said was 'exposing the deception.'"

Jones, who is writing a book about his life including his experiences with Pastor Haggard, felt he needed to visit the New Life Church so that he could write about it.

Jones did not notify the media that he was going because he wanted it to be an "honest experience."

Jones said he notified the New Life Church that he would like to visit for Sunday's services. When he arrived, he told 9NEWS, it was clear that the members of the congregation knew he was coming.

"The pastors, ushers and people at the reception made it a point to come out and say hello to me," said Jones.

Jones says Acting New Life co-Pastor Rob Brindle told him that he "believed Jesus Christ used you to expose Ted Haggard."

"I don't know if it was Jesus Christ or not, but something in the universe made it meant to be," said Jones.'

Lactivists?

'While lactivists - the name breast-feeding activists have come up with for themselves - defend their right to nurse publicly, others say the pro-nursing argument can sometimes go too far, making mothers who can't or don't want to nurse feel guilty. Breast-feeding should be sold on its benefits, they say.'

Food or lewd? Breast-feeding reveals divide

Lighten up.

Religous zealots need to chill.

Yoga causes controversy in public schools

Some parents say it violates the separation of church and state

'SAN FRANCISCO - In Tara Guber's ideal world, American children would meditate in the lotus position and chant in Sanskrit before taking stressful standardized tests.

But when she asked a public elementary school in Aspen, Colo., to teach yoga in 2002, Christian fundamentalists and even some secular parents lobbied the school board. They argued that yoga's Hindu roots conflicted with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state.

Portrayed as a New Age nut out to brainwash young minds, Guber crafted a new curriculum that eliminated chanting and translated Sanskrit into kid-friendly English. Yogic panting became "bunny breathing," and "meditation" became "time in."

"I stripped every piece of anything that anyone could vaguely construe as spiritual or religious out of the program," Guber said.

Now, more than 100 schools in 26 states have adopted Guber's "Yoga Ed." program and more than 300 physical education instructors have been trained in it.

Countless other public and private schools from California to Massachusetts - including the Aspen school where Guber clashed with parents - are teaching yoga.

Teachers say it helps calm students with attention-deficit disorder and may reduce childhood obesity. The federal government gives grants to gym teachers who complete a teacher training course in yoga.

"I see a lot fewer discipline problems," said Ruth Reynolds, principal of Coleman Elementary School in San Rafael. Her observation of the school's six-year-old yoga program is that it helps easily distracted children to focus.

"If you have children with ADD and focusing issues, often it's easy to go from that into a behavior problem," Reynolds said. "Anything you can do to help children focus will improve their behavior."

In 2003, researchers at California State University, Los Angeles, studied test scores at the Accelerated School, a charter school where Guber sits on the board and where students practice yoga almost every day. Researchers found a correlation between yoga and better behavior and grades, and they said young yogis were more fit than the district average from the California Physical Fitness Test.

Guber, married to former Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Peter Guber, embraced yoga after moving to California in the 1970s. Their 13-acre Bel-Air estate includes a clifftop garden leading to a Yoga House retreat.

In 2004, Americans spent almost $3 billion on yoga classes and retreats, books, DVDs, mats, clothing and related items. About 3 million American adults practiced yoga at least twice a week in 2006, more than doubling from 1.3 million in 2001, according to Mediamark Research.

Despite mainstream acceptance, yoga in public schools remains touchy. Critics say even stripped-down "yoga lite" goads young people into exploring other religions and mysticism.

Dave Hunt, who has traveled to India to study yoga's roots and interview gurus, called the practice "a vital part of the largest missionary program in the world" for Hinduism. The Bend, Ore., author of "Yoga and the Body of Christ: What Position Should Christians Hold?" said that, like other religions, the practice has no place in public schools.

"It's pretty simple: Yoga is a religious practice in Hinduism. It's the way to reach enlightenment. To bring it to the west and bill it as a scientific practice for fitness is dishonest," said Hunt, 80.

"I've talked to too many people who got hooked on the spiritual deception of yoga. They come to believe in this and become enamored with Hinduism or eastern mysticism," he said.

Concerns about yoga's spiritual implications have also fueled a cottage industry of books and videos that offer the purported benefits of yoga flexibility, strength and weight loss without mentioning the y-word.

Laurette Willis, 49, wrote an exercise regimen called "PowerMoves Kids Program for Public Schools." The stretching routine includes pauses for children to contemplate character-building quotes from Martin Luther King Jr., Emily Dickinson, Harriet Tubman and William Shakespeare. Willis, who lives near Tahlequah, Okla., also created an exercise regimen called "PraiseMoves: The Christian Alternative to Yoga."'

Worth A Thousand Words

Klein and Ridenour celebrate their one-month anniversary at a local eatery

Check this out.

The song sounds all bright and happy. Then you listen to the lyrics. [Somehow, I think Anna Wintour is involved].

'Alone in the world was poor little Anne
As sweet a young child as you'd find.
Her parents had gone to their final reward
Leavin' their baby behind.

((Did you hear?)
This poor little child was only nine years of age
when mother and dad went away;
Still brav-el-y worked
At the one thing she knew
to earn her few pennies a day.

She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers,
Flowers for ladies of fashion to wear;
She made artificial flowers, you know those artificial flowers,
Fashions from Annie's despair.

With paper and shears, with some wire and wax
She made up each tulip and mum.
As snowflakes drifted into her tenement room
Her baby little fingers grew numb.

From makin' artificial flowers, those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of high fashion to wear.
She made artificial flowers, artificial flowers
Made from Annie's despair.

They found little Annie
All covered with ice
Still clutchin' her poor frozen shears.

Amidst all the blossoms
She had fashioned by hand
And watered with all her young tears.

There must be a heaven
Where little Annie can play
In heavenly gardens and bowers.

And instea-a-ad of a halo
She'll wear 'round her head
A garland of genuine flowers.

No more artificial flowers
Throw away those artificial flowers
Flowers for ladies of society to wear.

Throw away those artificial flowers
Those dumb-dumb flowers ...
Fashioned from Annie's ...

Fashioned from A-a-a-annie's des-pa-a-a-air.'




Give her the real thing!'

Blast From The Past 'The New Mutants'

A comic I used to read back in the day.

Nicole Kidman's Crash

I'm not jumping on the Fall Out Boy bandwagon...

but I do like this song.

Fall Out Boy - 'This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race'

'Heroes' beats '24'.

'The superpowered folk ranked No. 1 in adults 18-49, the segment of the audience most prized by primetime advertisers. In that category, NBC's "Heroes" dominated with a 6.6 rating, followed by Fox's "24" with a 5.4 rating, and CBS's comedies with a 4.5 rating.'

Denver Post

I've seen, and own, this movie.

It's called Skydivers. A chick wants to kill her lover's wife, and puts acid on the wrong 'chute, killing her lover instead. Bad B-movie from the '50's.

Skydiver suspected of sabotaging friend's parachute

'BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Authorities have opened a murder investigation into the death of a skydiver, saying they believe someone tampered with her parachute in an apparent fight over a lover.

Els Van Doren, 37, fell 13,000 feet to her death last November after her parachute and emergency chute failed to open.

A fellow female skydiver was detained for questioning last week and is the "prime suspect" in the investigation, prosecutor Michel Zegers said Wednesday. No charges have been filed.

Investigators believe Van Doren and the suspect, who belonged to the same parachute club, also dated the same man, a Dutch national identified as "Marcel."

News reports say the suspect killed Van Doren in a jealous rage after learning Van Doren had an affair with her boyfriend.

"I believe we can call this a crime of passion," Zegers said.

A court date is set for Feb. 16 in the eastern city of Tongeren to assess the evidence.

Van Doren had jumped from a plane with three others, including the suspect and the Dutch boyfriend. She crashed to her death at 130 mph near Opglabbeek, a small town in central Belgium.

Police have video footage of the fateful jump - taken by Van Doren herself as she tried desperately to open her parachute.

At her funeral, some 1,000 people heard her sister deliver a bitter eulogy. "You did all you could during that final jump to save yourself," she was quoted as saying in the Belgian press. "But someone did not want you to live."

Police said someone with extensive skydiving expertise had tampered with Van Doren's parachutes.

The main suspect initially escaped attention during a first round of police questioning. She became a suspect in December when she attempted suicide hours before she was to make a second statement to police.'

Dirty Hipster

Reminds me of 'Brimful Of Asha' by Cornershop.

The View - 'Same Jeans'

Ouch.

Wife clubs big cat with log after husband is attacked in California state park

Rave On, Raver

Hope You Saved Your Glow Stick

'The new generation of ravers under London Bridge. The location, the site of illegal parties in the 1990s, is now a nightclub.

To most people in Britain, rave is a memory, and a blurry one at that. For four years at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, Britain's youth took to the fields, forests and warehouses, took Ecstasy, wore some of the silliest outfits ever devised - like cricket hats, white gloves and gas masks - and ushered out Thatcherism in a strobe-lighted haze of electronic music that shook the ground they danced on.

Then Parliament passed the Criminal Justice Act of 1994, which humorlessly characterized rave music as 'the emission of a succession of repetitive beats,' and gave police the power to shut raves down. That swiftly put an end to the scene's drug induced violence - and to the scene itself.

But if you happen to be in London these days, there are signs that something like rave is stirring again.

'The first time around, rave really seeped into the mainstream,' said Carri Mundane, 26, a designer who was a child during the first rave scene but kept the fliers amassed by her older brother. 'The music was in the charts, and everything just became a little bit more psychedelic.'

This time, it's more insular. And it's different in other ways, too: some of the music is rock, not electronica, and the scene is no longer as defined by the twin illegalities of drugs and trespassing.

But a collection of young creative types are dressing up and making music that unmistakably refers back to the garishness, the euphoria and the escapism of 15 years ago.

In mid-December, the Klaxons - an indie rock band and the self-appointed leaders of the scene - invited a pack of D.J.'s, artists and other performers to play a final gig of the year under the railway arches of London Bridge.

The location was the site of illegal parties in the early 1990s but, in keeping with the more sanitized character of today's movement, is now a well-appointed nightclub with a bouncer, sofas to lounge on and $7 beers.

The music didn't sound like rave. Though tinged with electronica, the Klaxons and two other bands played stripped-back rock, not unlike much of the music that has been in vogue in Britain the last few years. And the dance floor was more of a punkish mosh pit, with lots of shoving revelers, than a blissed-out, synchronized community of dancers.

Still, there were glow sticks a kind of waving coral reef of neon pinks, yellow and greens - and between acts, young men in leather jackets nudged their way around the dance floor, offering Ecstasy. Teenage fans wore reflective jackets, neon paint, sunglasses, beads and whistles as they hurled themselves back and forth, up and down, suggesting that if this wasn't rave, then it was certainly a somehow-related cousin.'

Lilly Allen - 'Smile'

I go through love/hate stages with this song. Sometimes it really bugs me, and others, it's fine.

Ha!

Sounds like me.

Obsessive Compulsive Action Figure

'This 5-1/4" tall, hard vinyl Obsessive Compulsive Action Figure is worried about whether or not you washed your hands after you used the bathroom. Just in case, he's sure you won't mind if he wears his gloves and surgical mask when he shakes your hand.

Or even better, maybe you could just bump elbows with him.

Now, as soon as he finishes counting those ceiling tiles, he can get started on alphabetizing the canned foods. Mini surgical mask included. Packaged with a sanitary, hypo-allergenic towelette to clean off the figure before you touch it.'

Kinda like 'Never Been Kissed'.

29-year-old sex offender poses as 12-year-old student

CHINO VALLEY, Ariz. - Casey Price played at recess, did his homework, and was considered a good pupil.

However, Casey, a former student at Imagine School at Rosefield in Surprise, shouldn't have been enrolled. The supposed seventh-grader was actually a 29-year-old sex offender.

Casey's real name is Neil Havens Rodreick II and the man now sits in a Prescott jail on charges of fraud, forgery, identity theft and failure to register as a sex offender.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office announced Friday a man tried to enroll a fake 12-year-old at Mingus Springs Charter School in Chino Valley, 90 miles northwest of Phoenix. The school was suspicious and called the Sheriff's office leading to the arrest of four men, including Rodreick.

After hearing the news on Friday, a former teacher at Imagine School realized Rodreick had attended the Surprise charter school before trying to enroll in Chino Valley. The sex offender from Oklahoma was able to attend the Surprise school between August and November without parents, teachers or administrators realizing the con.

"By all accounts he was quiet, he kept to himself most of the time and appeared to be a good student. He did his homework and turned it in," school spokeswoman Rhonda Cagle said.

Rodreick walked, talked and dressed like a teenager, said Susan Quayle, spokeswoman for the Yavapai sheriff's office.

"You can't tell from his picture, but he's a very small guy. I would say he has delicate looking bone structure," she said.

Rodreick, a convicted sex offender from Oklahoma, stands at about 5-foot, 6-inches and weights about 120 pounds, Quayle said. He also shaved his body hair and wore pancake makeup to keep his disguise, she said.

Surprise Police Department is investigating Rodreick's time at the school. So far, there are no reports of inappropriate conduct.

School officials said he was considered withdrawn in November due to lack of attendance, Cagle said. For whatever reason, Rodreick, or "Casey," stopped going.

Imagine, a 700-student school, is now trying to re-establish a sense of security at the school. All this week administrators are hosting closed-door meetings with parents to discuss concerns. Counselors are also on-hand all week to talk to students and their families, Cagle said.

"Certainly the students, especially those in class with him, understand what's happened," Cagle said.

Obama backlash?

I just can't wait until George Clooney runs for president.

'Already, that balancing act is causing some strains. Some of Obama's longtime black supporters in Illinois are grumbling about the largely white crowd of advisers who now surround Obama as he gears up his national campaign.

"Who does he represent? That is what people are worried about," said Lorenzo Martin, publisher of the Chicago Standard newspapers, a chain of black-oriented weeklies that circulate in the southern suburbs. "When you look and see who is surrounding him, you are not going to see too many brothers. What you see is the liberal left."

Complicating matters is that Obama appears certain to encounter fierce competition for the black vote from the other leading Democratic presidential contenders. Black Democrats prefer Clinton 3 to 1 over Obama, and four out of five of black Democrats view her favorably, much higher than the 54 percent who have a favorable view of Obama, according to combined findings from two Washington Post-ABC polls taken in December and January.

Clinton also enjoys close ties to top black elected officials, and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, remains extremely popular among African Americans.'

Obama's appeal to blacks remains in question

I didn't think she was that bad.

Even though she did get a little melodramatic after they told her no. She was scads better than the gay guy who was up first. He was painful to watch.

American Idol - 'Ashanti'

People are stoopid.

'Just wanted you to know that your article on microwaving sponges and scrubbers aroused my interest. However, when I put my sponge/scrubber into the microwave, it caught fire, smoked up the house, ruined my microwave, and pissed me off,' one correspondent wrote in an e-mail to Reuters.

'First, the sponge is worthless afterwards so you have to throw it out instead of using it. And second your entire house stinks like a burning tire for several hours, even with windows/doors open,' complained another.

One reader wrote to tell MSNBC.com, "When I tried it, my sponge caught on fire. It had been in the microwave for less than two minutes on full power. There were flames and when I poured water on the sponge it was totally charred. I just wanted to let you know that the article might need to have a warning about this danger!"

Aaron Hoover, a press officer at the University of Florida, said several other news organizations received similar complaints, although no one had complained directly to the university.

'We figured, 'Wow, we better let people know right away that the sponge should be wet,'' Hoover said in a telephone interview.'

People, only zap wet sponges to kill germs

Haven't heard this in ages.

We used to alternately sing 'it's a shame, you're not gay'.

The Lemonhead - 'It's A Shame About Ray'

I wonder....

if your body craves something, because it is deficient. I have this odd craving for artichokes.

Yikes!

My tongue feels like it's swelling up. Oh no.

Tomorrow's Ray Gun, Today

Military shows off new ray gun

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AP) -- The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire.

Apart from causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless - a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons.

Military officials say it could save the lives of innocent civilians and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The weapon is not expected to go into production until at least 2010, but all branches of the military have expressed interest in it, officials said.

During the first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, airmen fired beams from a large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people pretending to be rioters and acting out other scenarios that U.S. troops might encounter in war zones.

The device's two-man crew located their targets through powerful lenses and fired beams from more than 500 yards away. That is nearly 17 times the range of existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.

Anyone hit by the beam immediately jumped out of its path because of the sudden blast of heat throughout the body. While the 130-degree heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make the participants think their clothes were about to ignite.

"This is one of the key technologies for the future," said Marine Col. Kirk Hymes, director of the non-lethal weapons program at Quantico, Va., which helped develop the new weapon. "Non-lethal weapons are important for the escalation of force, especially in the environments our forces are operating in."

The system uses electromagnetic millimeter waves, which can penetrate only 1/64th of an inch of skin, just enough to cause discomfort. By comparison, microwaves used in the common kitchen appliance penetrate several inches of flesh.

The millimeter waves cannot go through walls, but they can penetrate most clothing, officials said. They refused to comment on whether the waves can go through glass.

The weapon could be mounted aboard ships, airplanes and helicopters, and routinely used for security or anti-terrorism operations.

"There should be no collateral damage to this," said Senior Airman Adam Navin, 22, of Green Bay, Wis., who has served several tours in Iraq.

Navin and two other airmen were role players in Wednesday's demonstration. They and 10 reporters who volunteered were shot with the beams. The beams easily penetrated various layers of winter clothing.

The system was developed by the military, but the two devices currently being evaluated were built by defense contractor Raytheon.

Airman Blaine Pernell, 22, of suburban New Orleans, said he could have used the system during his four tours in Iraq, where he manned watchtowers around a base near Kirkuk. He said Iraqis constantly pulled up and faked car problems so they could scout out U.S. forces.

"All we could do is watch them," he said. But if they had the ray gun, troops "could have dispersed them."

All Star American Idol

Reminds me of Pete Doherty.

I'd feel sorry for him....

if he wasn't such a tool.

Restaurant group objects to K-Fed ad

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A restaurant trade group says it is insulted by an insurance company's planned Super Bowl ad that stars Kevin Federline as a fast-food worker.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.'s 30-second spot shows Federline, who is estranged from pop princess Britney Spears, performing in a glitzy music video. However, the punch line is that he's daydreaming - while cooking french fries at a fast-food joint.

The ad amounts to a "strong and direct insult to the 12.8 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry," wrote National Restaurant Association President and Chief Executive Steven Anderson in a letter to Nationwide CEO Jerry Jurgensen.

The commercial "would give the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant," Anderson wrote.

If the Columbus-based insurer airs the spot during the televised Feb. 4 Super Bowl, Anderson said his organization will "make sure that our membership - many of whom are customers of Nationwide - know the negative implications this ad portrays of the restaurant industry."

A Nationwide executive shrugged off the criticism, saying that where humor is involved, there always will be somebody who doesn't get it.

The company doesn't mean to offend restaurant employees, said Steven Schreibman, vice president of advertising and brand management.

"We're not making fun of anybody, except maybe Kevin Federline."

Spears, 25, filed for divorce from 28-year-old Federline in November, after two years of marriage. They have two sons, 4-month-old Jayden James and 1-year-old Sean Preston.

Federline's debut rap album, "Playing With Fire," sold a dismal 6,500 copies in its first week of release last fall.

Talking Heads - 'Love For Sale'

I still like this video.

Beef-Flavored Non-Alcoholic Beer

What human would drink that?

Pet shop owner creates beer for dogs

'AMSTERDAM, Netherlands- After a long day hunting, there's nothing like wrapping your paw around a cold bottle of beer. So Terrie Berenden, a pet shop owner in the southern Dutch town of Zelhem, created a beer for her Weimaraners made from beef extract and malt.

"Once a year we go to Austria to hunt with our dogs, and at the end of the day we sit on the verandah and drink a beer. So we thought, my dog also has earned it," she said.

Berenden consigned a local brewery to make and bottle the nonalcoholic beer, branded as Kwispelbier. It was introduced to the market last week and advertised it as "a beer for your best friend."

"Kwispel" is the Dutch word for wagging a tail.

The beer is fit for human consumption, Berenden said. But at euro1.65 ($2.14) a bottle, it's about four times more expensive than a Heineken.'

Do you see a downside?

So, I read this article, and now I am thinking maybe I should try it.

Basically, if you have a home line of credit [which I do as one of my 'mortgages'], instead of putting your paycheck in the bank, you put it in to the line of credit account.

This line has credit card, and I can transfer money to pay my other bills.

The benefit is you pay down the line of credit quicker, as the money sitting in there not only pays down the credit amount, it reduces the payments because the interest is calculated on the remaining amount.

The only downside I see, is that technically, you are paying interest on your paycheck.

Any one else see any other downsides to doing this?

Real Big Fish

Reel Big Fish

Reel Big Fish

I should eat more cod.

'Besides being an excellent low-calorie source of protein (a four-ounce serving of cod provides 52.1% of the daily need for protein for only 119 calories), cod contains a variety of very important nutrients and has also been shown to be useful in a number of different health conditions.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Fish, particularly cold water fish like cod, have been shown to be very beneficial for people with atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. Studies show that people who eat fish regularly have a much lower risk of heart disease and heart attack than people who don't consume fish.

Cod, specifically, promotes cardiovascular health because it is a good source of blood-thinning omega-3 fatty acids, but is also a good source of vitamin B12 and a very good source of vitamin B6, both of which are needed to keep homocysteine levels low.

This is important because homocysteine is a dangerous molecule that is directly damaging to blood vessel walls, and high homocysteine levels are associated with a greatly increased risk of heart attack and stroke(homocysteine is also associated with osteoporosis, and a recent study found that osteoporosis occurred more frequently among women whose vitamin B12 status was deficient or marginal compared with those who had normal B12 status.)

Cod is also a very good source of niacin, another B vitamin that is often used to lower high cholesterol levels, something else that can lead to heart disease.

Protection against Sunburn

Another benefit of omega-3s anti-inflammatory effects may be their ability to protect our skin against sunburn, and possibly, skin cancer.

Although our increased susceptibility to skin cancer is usually blamed on damage to the ozone layer, dietary changes over the last 75 years, which have resulted in excessive consumption of omega-6 fatty acids and insufficient consumption of omega-3 fats, may also be causing human skin to be more vulnerable to damage from sunlight.'

World's Healthiest Foods

Good to see most people agree...

that they should have kicked the kid off the plane.

Airline defends removing family from flight

AirTran Airways backs decision to boot parents, toddler for temper tantrum

ORLANDO, Fla. - AirTran Airways on Tuesday defended its decision to remove a Massachusetts couple from a flight after their crying 3-year-old daughter refused to take her seat before takeoff.

AirTran officials said they followed Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seat belt upon takeoff.

"The flight was already delayed 15 minutes and in fairness to the other 112 passengers on the plane, the crew made an operational decision to remove the family," AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza, who were headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, said they just needed a little more time to calm their daughter, Elly.

Klaxons - Golden Skans

Subliminal Ad

I wish our versions, were this entertaining.

BBC news said they had to ban the crowd on the live eviction, for fear of safety issues. 'Shipwrecked' is like our 'Survivor'.

New race row for 'Big Brother' broadcaster

'LONDON, England -- British broadcaster Channel 4, already facing a backlash for alleged bullying and racist remarks by contestants in "Celebrity Big Brother," is at the center of a new row over comments made in another of its reality shows.

Eighteen-year-old contestant Lucy Buchanan, appearing in the opening episode of "Shipwrecked" on Sunday, said black people were "really bad."

"Britain is a complete mess. I just don't appreciate people coming into our country and taking over our culture," said the former boarding school student from Edinburgh, Scotland.

"We've got way too many cultures. Britain's not really Britain any more," she added.

"I'm for the British Empire and things. I'm for slavery, but that's never going to come back."

"Shipwrecked" sees two groups of young people placed on desert islands in the South Pacific living as castaways.

Buchanan's remarks come as Channel 4 reviews the "Big Brother" franchise after Jade Goody sparked an international race row by bullying Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.

Goody was evicted from the "Big Brother" house in a public vote Friday after days of controversy about her behavior towards Shetty.

Britain's media watchdog Ofcom said it received 40,000 complaints from viewers in the days leading up to the vote. Politicians -- including Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the finance minister -- also weighed into the row and a major sponsor pulled out of the show.

Channel 4 has been criticized for not acting sooner to deal with the row over "Big Brother," in which contestants are cut off from the outside world in a house where cameras follow their every move 24 hours a day.

But a Channel 4 spokeswoman told the UK's Press Association that Buchanan's comments on "Shipwrecked" were immediately criticized by the other contestants so viewers were aware they were "offensive and unacceptable."

Ofcom, meanwhile, said it had received 196 complaints about racism on the show since Sunday and expected that number to rise further Tuesday.

Online message boards were deluged with outraged posts, PA reported.

Black community group The 1990 Trust organized an online petition objecting to her comments.

"Such remarks put 'Celebrity Big Brother' evictee Jade Goody in the shade," the group said in a statement. "The fact that Lucy comes from a privileged background means that social status is no excuse for such racist attitudes."

In an outburst aired on Sunday evening, Buchanan also attacked fat people and criticized gays.

"They're offensive. They can help it -- eat less, exercise more, get their stomachs stitched," she said.

Buchanan said she was surprised she had become friends with a 23-year-old fellow contestant who is a manual laborer.

"Not only because we come from completely different backgrounds and have completely different values, but she's a lesbian as well," she said. "Not that I don't like homosexuals, I just don't like what they do."

On the "Shipwrecked" Web site, she is also quoted as saying: "I can't stand fat and ugly people, they really bring you down."

Buchanan's mother, Nicola, told The Sun newspaper: "She is definitely not a racist. She has a big mouth and says things she doesn't mean."'

You know...

they should create an airline that is adults only. I hate screaming and crying kids, on planes.

Girl kicked off plane after tantrum

'ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Flight attendants often deal with obnoxious passengers who won't listen to instructions by kicking them off the plane. But a Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways went overboard by treating their crying 3-year-old daughter in much the same way.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza and daughter Elly were removed from the flight when the girl refused to take her seat before takeoff, airline officials said Tuesday. But her parents said they just needed a little more time to calm her down.

The Kuleszas planned to fly home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers after a four-day visit with the girl's paternal grandparents. She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

AirTran officials say they were only following Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seatbelt upon takeoff.

"The flight was already delayed 15 minutes and in fairness to the other 112 passengers on the plane, the crew made an operational decision to remove the family," Graham-Weaver said.

But Julie Kulesza said: "We weren't giving an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything."

"Elly was sitting in front of our seat crying," she said in a phone interview. "The attendant motioned to a seat and asked if we purchased it for her."

They had paid for the seat. Gerry Kulesza said another attendant then approached the family and told him: "You need to get her in control and in her seat."

The couple told the attendants they were trying. Julie Kulesza said she asked the attendants if Elly could sit on her lap, but they said no.

The family flew home the next day.

The Orlando-based carrier reimbursed the family $595.80, the cost of the three tickets, and offered them three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies, Graham-Weaver said.

But that's too little, too late for the Kuleszas. The father said they would never fly AirTran again.'

I'd cry if I got lost in Queens, too.

Kidding.

NYC newcomer gets lost for 5 days

'The 32-year-old man quickly got disorientated by the confusing streets of Queens.

On Sunday night, after a good Samaritan came to his aid, he was recovering at Jamaica Hospital from dehydration and frostbite.

Mootoo, who is hard of hearing but can communicate in English, said he didn't ask for directions because he was afraid he'd be deported and because he had heard many scary stories about New York. He recently had received his permanent resident card.

The Samaritan, Michael Bharath, was walking home from church when he spotted Mootoo shivering on the street. After he and his wife made him a sandwich, Mootoo opened up and told them his story.

Luckily, Mootoo found a piece of paper with his stepmother's address in his pocket, and Bharath drove him there.

"When I see people in need, I try to help them," Bharath told the News. "He was in need, and I'm pretty sure that within a couple more hours he would have been a dead man."

Mootoo had begged for water, but was too ashamed and shy to ask for food or directions, his worried brother, Roger Miller, told the News. He slept in an abandoned car or sought shelter under a piece of wood in a stranger's yard. Temperatures dropped into the low 20s on some nights.

"When we saw him, he was just crying," said Miller, who had plastered flyers with Mootoo's photo all over South Jamaica.

"He said he was trying to find his way back," Miller said. "He said he was just walking all over. He was scared. He heard all the stories about New York."

"I want to go home," Mootoo told the paper. "I'm thinking about going back to Guyana." '

Pig Farmers Kill

'Arrested five years ago, Pickton has been charged with killing 26 women and has pleaded not guilty to the six counts covered in the first trial. The other 20 counts will be heard at a later trial.

Prosecutor Derrill Prevett stunned the courtroom by saying Pickton told investigators, including an undercover officer planted in his jail cell, that he had slain 49 women.

"I was going to do one more and make it an even 50," Prevett quoted Pickton as telling investigators. "I made my own grave by being sloppy."

Pickton told one officer that he would be "nailed to the cross" and went on to describe himself as a mass murderer who deserved to be on death row, Prevett said.

Defense lawyer Peter Ritchie told jurors that Pickton did not kill or participate in the murders of the six women covered in the first trial. If convicted, Pickton faces life in prison. Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976.

Ritchie asked the jury to pay close attention to Pickton's demeanor in the videotapes with his interrogators, in particular his level of sophistication. He asked the jury to listen closely to details regarding Pickton's relationship with his brother, David.

The brothers reared pigs on the family's 17-acre farm outside Vancouver, where investigators say the Picktons threw drunken raves with prostitutes and drugs. After Robert Pickton's arrest in February 2002, health officials issued a tainted meat advisory to neighbors who may have bought pork from his farm, concerned that it may have contained human remains.'

Pig farmer accused of killing 26 goes to trial

Hmmm.

Crash your car? Blame the stars

A recent study suggests that you should be wary of getting into a vehicle driven by a Libra, Aquarian or Aries.

Never mind how careful you are behind the wheel or how long you've been driving, the signs of the zodiac may be bigger factors behind your ability to avoid car crashes -- or why you have too many.

According to a study by InsuranceHotline.com, a Web site that quotes drivers on insurance rates, astrological signs are a significant factor in predicting car accidents.

The study, which looked at 100,000 North American drivers' records from the past six years, puts Libras (born between Sept. 23 and Oct. 22), followed by Aquarians (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) and Aries (March 21-April 19), as the worst offenders for tickets and accidents.

Leos (July 23-Aug. 22) and then Geminis (May 21-June 20) were found to be the best overall. "I was absolutely shocked by the results," said Lee Romanov, the president of Toronto-based InsuranceHotline.com.

It pays to look down.

I ran out to get smokes, and on my way back, I saw a folded up dollar bill, laying in the street.

I look around, and the street is empty, so I scoop it up, and throw it in my pocket. When I get home to unfold it, and put in my wallet, I realize it is actually a $100 bill [!].

I feel sorry for whomever lost it, and a little guilty. I think I may give it as a donation to one of homeless shelters downtown.

Blogshares

Haven't played with it for a while, and checked my portfolio today:

Cash Balance - $20,224,685,497.55
Total Portfolio - $16,955,909.58 in 46 blogs
Total Ideas Commodities - $103,957.02 (577539 in 11 industries)
Total Cash Invested in Corporations - $13,623,000,000.00
Total Worth - $33,864,745,364.15

Last time I updated, I was only at $2 billion [give or take some change]. Not bad.

Ha!

Commenter homerjay on Consumerist, cracks me up:

'homerjay says:

Fun with on-board chat rooms:

'The guy in the seat next to me looks like a terrorist. He's praying in a some foreign language and keeps playing with his shoes. Please vote in my chatroom poll: Should we jump him and tie him up? Yes/No.'

Virgin America's Awesome Plane DOT Won't Let You Ride

Nifty. Big Brother is watching.

'If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition, you'll be able to transmit images to 911, or online to nyc.gov,' [New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg] said in his annual State of the City address.

'And we'll start extending the same technology to 311 to allow New Yorkers to step forward and document nonemergency quality of life concerns, holding city agencies accountable for correcting them quickly and efficiently.'

NYC: 911 to Accept Digital Images From Cell Phones

Question for readers.

I got an offer from Chase Bank for a credit card with no annual fee, and a fixed 9.9% interest rate, with an introductory rate of 0% for six months.

That's way better than all my other credit cards. My only hesitation, is customer service and such. Have any of you had issues with Chase?

I am tempted to apply, but want to know if they are quality operation or not. Please advise.

Oh, also, I am thinking about opening an account with ING Direct and their Orange Savings account. Anyone have such an account?

Wasn't China Communist, at one point?

McD's preps for China drive-thru boom

BEIJING (AP) -- McDonald's Corp. opened its first drive-through in Beijing on Friday, launching a partnership with a major Chinese oil company to exploit the country's growing taste for both cars and Western fast food.

The Beijing drive-through is the first in McDonald's venture with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., which McDonald's China CEO Jeffrey Schwartz said would open 25 to 30 more in the next 12 to 18 months. Both gas stations and drive-throughs are booming as car purchases by newly affluent drivers speed China's change from a bicycle culture to a car culture.

McDonald's and its partner, also known as Sinopec, christened the new two-story Beijing restaurant, set beside a Sinopec filling station, with a ceremony that mixed traditional lion dancers and a Chinese-speaking Ronald McDonald.

Minutes later, Beijing resident Dong Tianwu and his daughter pulled up at the drive-through window in a Chinese-made Xiali compact and bought three meals and drinks.

"It's certainly convenient," Dong said. At a walk-in McDonald's, he said, "if you take a child, sometimes you have to line up for hours and that's a lot of trouble."

China's booming market is a key growth area for the hamburger chain, Schwartz said.

"It's huge. It's a real priority for the global company because of the potential growth in China," he said. "We think drive-throughs are a big part of this."

China's double-digit economic growth has created a burgeoning market for cars, fast food and other consumer goods. The country overtook Japan last year to become the world's second-biggest vehicle market after the U.S., with 7.2 million cars sold, a 37 percent growth.

McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Ill., opened its first restaurant in China in 1990 and has grown to 780 outlets in 120 cities with 50,000 employees. It faces strong competition from Yum Brands Inc., the industry leader in China with more than 2,000 KFC restaurants and 300 Pizza Huts.

You know what they should make?

Fiddle Faddle with almonds, instead of peanuts. And maybe reduce the sugar by half. I'd eat it.

Mystery fat, yum!

Pa. school kids like 'mystery fat'

PITTSBURGH (AP) - It isn't mystery meat - it's more like mystery fat. And the kids in the Plum Borough School District have been eating it and liking it.

The secret ingredient is a plant-based fat substitute called Z Trim. It's been in the school's popular ranch dressing for months, quietly reducing the fat and calories students are getting when they load up their salads and chicken with it.

"It's really good. Better than my ranch at home," says 16-year-old Juliann Sheldon, who used the dressing to top off her salad of lettuce, baby spinach, chunks of chicken and croutons.

The Plum Borough district in suburban Pittsburgh is believed to be the first school district in the country to use the fat substitute. School officials say the dressing's flavor is preserved, even though fat and calories are cut.

"Sometimes getting healthy foods into (students) isn't always the easiest thing to do, if they know about it," said Maryann Lazzaro, the district's food service manager and a registered dietitian.

The district began using the product 10 months ago, but just told the students about the switch Thursday.

"I think it tastes the same as it did before," said Tina DeLuca, 16.

Z Trim, which has no fat, is made from the hulls of corn, oats, soy, rice and barley. It was developed by a scientists at a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Illinois in the mid-1990s.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group that often speaks out on unhealthy food, said it has no safety concerns about Z Trim.

It's taken several years to get the product into production and on the market. In 1998, FiberGel Technologies of Mundelein, Ill., acquired the license for Z Trim and built a manufacturing plant with plans to market and sell it to both food manufacturers and consumers.

Sold as a gel or powder, it can be used in dressings, dips, sauces, baked goods, processed meats, snack foods, cookies, pies and other foods. Unfortunately, it cannot be fried.

The company believes Z Trim could play a crucial role in fighting the obesity epidemic.

Rick Harris, FiberGel's vice president for sales and marketing, said Z Trim can be used to replace about 50 percent of the fat - such as oil or lard - in recipes without changing the taste or texture. In Z Trim mayonnaise, for example, there are 2 grams of fat and 25 calories per 1 tablespoon serving, compared with 4.5 grams of fat and 45 calories in a serving of an average light mayonnaise.

"This is a true plant fiber. It's something people have been eating," Harris said. "If anyone's had popcorn, they've had Z Trim. That's basically what it is."

Many products on the market use a variety of fat substitutes, including olestra. But unlike fat replacers like olestra, a substance used in potato chips that raised concerns about diarrhea and stomach cramping, Z Trim has no side effects, the company said.

Nancy Perrott, a nutritionist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said the best way to get kids to eating healthier is to offer healthy choices and limit unhealthy ones. Though she had never heard of Z Trim, Perrott raised concerns that children would get used to eating the lower-cal school foods with Z Trim and forget that most of those foods outside school have more calories.

"It is the right idea. Whether or not that's a practical solution, I'm not sure," Perrott said.

In the Plum Borough school district, Lazzaro had already added some healthy, lower-fat options to the $1.85 lunch for her 1,000 daily customers. But when she started using a low-fat ranch dressing more than a year ago, students didn't like the taste and stopped eating the veggies, she said.

FiberGel officials contacted her after reading about her efforts to improve school lunches.

Lazzaro and FiberGel experimented with the school's ranch dressing recipe, trying to mimic the taste of it while using Z Trim. The result was a Z Trim mayonnaise that is used to make ranch dressing and chicken, tuna and egg salads. Lazzaro said the price is comparable to buying low-fat mayo wholesale.

Company officials said now they are talking with Chicago school officials about using Z Trim, as well as discussions with food companies.

For the students at Plum High School, though, what matters most is the taste.

"It tastes the same," said R.J. Fazio, a 15-year-old sophomore feasting on ravioli and a side salad topped with white globs of ranch dressing. "It doesn't bother me."

McFag-Gate

You know, they can easily write him out of the show.

Apology aimed at healing 'Grey's Anatomy'

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) - The heated controversy at ABC's top show, "Grey's Anatomy," boiled over Thursday as the network rebuked co-star Isaiah Washington for an anti-gay comment and Washington issued a lengthy apology.

"We are greatly dismayed that Mr. Washington chose to use such inappropriate language at the Golden Globes, language that he himself deemed 'unfortunate' in his previous public apology," the network said in a statement.

"His actions are unacceptable and are being addressed," the statement concluded.



During a backstage interview Monday at the Globes gala, Washington denied involvement in a heated on-set incident in October during which an anti-gay remark was reportedly uttered.

"No, I did not call [co-star] T.R. [Knight] a faggot," Washington told reporters. "Never happened, never happened."

In his apology Thursday, Washington acknowledged "repeating the word Monday night."

"I apologize to T.R., my colleagues, the fans of the show and especially the lesbian and gay community for using a word that is unacceptable in any context or circumstance. I marred what should have been a perfect night for everyone who works on 'Grey's Anatomy.' I can neither defend nor explain my behavior. I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I've asked for help."

Must be nice.

I wish this happened to us, if we get laid off.

'The layoffs represented about 10 percent of Swift's corporate staff and took effect immediately. They involved nonunion employees who will receive severance, continued health benefits and help in finding new jobs, the company said.'

Swift cuts 58, says it's unrelated to raids

You know, it's not that hard....

to just get another screenname or email account.

Legislators want sex offenders to register e-mail addresses

State legislators want sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses and screen names.

DENVER - Colorado lawmakers are set to debate a measure designed to cut down on the solicitation of minors on the Internet. The proposed bill would require all paroled sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses, instant message identity and chat room identity upon getting out of prison.

"Technology is advancing at warp speed and this is simply an effort to allow our criminal statutes to stay up with the advances in the technology," said Rep. Spencer Swalm (R-Centennial), the sponsor of the bill. "The majority of sexual predators contact their victims over the Internet. We all know how it typically goes. They sound friendly on the Internet and then, they commit the offense, so this is a way for parents to hopefully monitor what their kids are doing."

Last year, lawmakers passed the first part of the initiative which made it a crime to solicit a minor online for the purpose of setting up a meeting for sex. In the last six months, the Attorney General's office reports 58 people have been charged under the new law.

Under the proposal which is co-sponsored by Sen. Paula Sandoval (D-Denver), sex offenders who are already required by law to register when they are paroled would have to provide their Internet identities before using any of them. Failure to participate would result in the possible revoking of their parole and a return to prison.

"I understand everyone is entitled to civil liberties, but we're talking about people who have already been convicted of sexual offenses," said Swalm. "Once you've been convicted of a felony, you forfeit many of your civil liberties. This is simply expanding a little bit on the existing statute."

Maybe it's a good thing....

that we can't talk to animals. We would have a lot of 'splaining to do.

Chris Cagle - Chicks Dig It

'Work sucks. I'm callin' in dehydrated'

Defamer is holding a t-shirt slogan contest. This one by far, is my favorite. Be adequite!

Commercial Flashback - Dubbing Cassette Deck

I'm surprised she doesn't get any play in The States.

I dig her.

Jamelia - 'Something About You'

Funny, 'cause it's true.

I think Cook's Market is afraid of salt.

I am not a big salt person, but on a few dishes, I have found that I need to spice up some of their offerings. One was a salmon skewer. Today it is the tomato/mozzarella chicken breast. It's good, but can be punched up a bit.

Because of Cook's, I haven't gone grocery shopping in weeks [which proved to be a bad thing when the blizzard hit - I had almost no food at home]. They change up their menu pretty frequently. I wish they would bring back their Spanish rice. I made a request for that last night.

That's also funny, because some of the staff recognize me now. Which is fine by me, because I think I have a crush on the lil' guy who works the counter. He's 'party size', which is great for me, because I usually end up with big guys; since everyone is pretty much taller than me. I may have to start putting the mack on.