And I thought my man Ratzinger was a good choice.
Pope Benedict's ascent to the papacy took a conclave of 115 cardinals, four rounds of voting and followed a lifetime of service to the Vatican.
But ask Internet doomsayers eyeing a 12th century Catholic prophecy and they'll tell you it was all stitched up more than eight centuries ago and that judgment day is nigh.
The prophecy -- widely dismissed by scholars as a hoax -- is attributed to St. Malachy, an Irish archbishop recognized by members of the Church for his ability to read the future.
Benedict, believers say, fits the description of the second-to-last pope listed under the prophecy before the Last Judgement, when the bible says God separates the wicked from the righteous at the end of time.
"The Old Testament states: 'believe his prophets and you will prosper' -- so believe it. We are close to the return of the Judge of the nations. Christ is coming," wrote one Internet post by the Rev. Pat Reynolds.
"Thank God for the witness of St. Malachy."
St. Malachy was said to have had a vision during a trip to Rome around 1139 of the remaining 112 Popes. The new pope would be number 111 on that list, and is described in a text attributed to St. Malachy as the "Glory of the Olive."
To connect Benedict, a pale, bookish German, to anything olive takes some imagination. But Malachy-watchers point to the choice of the name Benedict -- an allusion to the Order of Saint Benedict, a branch of which is known as the Olivetans.
"When (he) chose the name Benedict XVI, this was seen as fulfilling the prophecy for this pope," wrote one entry on www.wikipedia.org.
Benedict said that he chose the name partly in honor of Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), calling him a "courageous prophet of peace." On Wednesday, Benedict dedicated his papacy to "the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples."
"Perhaps Benedict XVI will be a peacemaker in the Church or in the world, and thus carry the olive branch," speculated www.catholic-pages.com.
Another site, www.bibleprobe.com, went even further, showing a picture of Benedict holding olive branches in March during Palm Sunday celebrations.
"Is this the Pope of Peace (olive)?" it asked in the caption.
Critics widely dismiss the Malachy prophecy as a forgery and possible propaganda meant to influence a 16th century conclave. Doses of skepticism even appear on the most energetic Malachy web pages.
But believers point out similarities between the prophecy's descriptions and past pontificates. Pope John Paul II, number 110, was described in the prophecy as "de labore solis" -- or "of the labor of the sun."
He was born on May 18, 1920, the same day as a solar eclipse. The pontiff was buried on April 8, 2005 -- the same day as a partial eclipse, visible in the Americas.
More pressing for doomsayers are the prophecy's references to the last Pope on the list, Peter the Roman, who will lead the Church before "the formidable judge will judge his people."
Since Benedict is already 78 years old, they say Peter the Roman must be coming soon, and with him, the end of the world.
"His reign will only last a few years at most. This signals that we are living in what may be the end of days as we know it," said one Web Site entry by someone calling himself SmartBob.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Not the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer
The University of Oklahoma is conducting an investigation after ESPN informed the school of racially-insensitive comments made to the network by OU's head baseball coach Larry Cochell.
Although Cochell remains head coach, assistant coach Sunny Golloway will serve on an interim basis until the matter is resolved, according to a statement released by the school. Golloway coached the Sooners in their 8-1 loss to Nebraska Friday night.
Tuesday, before the telecast of the Oklahoma-Wichita State game on ESPN2 and ESPNU, Cochell used a racially-insensitive term in off-camera interviews with ESPN to describe Sooners freshman outfielder Joe Dunigan, an African-American.
Cochell was speaking with play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne when he called Dunigan over to praise him for staying in school. When the freshman returned to the field, Cochell told Thorne, "There's no n----- in him." The network informed the school that Cochell used similar language in an interview with ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson.
Making ignorant comments to a friend or family member is one thing. Making ignorant comments to an announcer for the world-wide leader in sports...that's another.
Although Cochell remains head coach, assistant coach Sunny Golloway will serve on an interim basis until the matter is resolved, according to a statement released by the school. Golloway coached the Sooners in their 8-1 loss to Nebraska Friday night.
Tuesday, before the telecast of the Oklahoma-Wichita State game on ESPN2 and ESPNU, Cochell used a racially-insensitive term in off-camera interviews with ESPN to describe Sooners freshman outfielder Joe Dunigan, an African-American.
Cochell was speaking with play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne when he called Dunigan over to praise him for staying in school. When the freshman returned to the field, Cochell told Thorne, "There's no n----- in him." The network informed the school that Cochell used similar language in an interview with ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson.
Making ignorant comments to a friend or family member is one thing. Making ignorant comments to an announcer for the world-wide leader in sports...that's another.
Beware of the Burrito
CLOVIS, N.M. - A call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school. All over a giant burrito.
Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.
The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.
"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," school Principal Diana Russell said.
State police, Clovis police and the Curry County Sheriff's Department arrived at the school shortly after 8:30 a.m. They searched the premises and determined there was no immediate danger.
In the meantime, more than 30 parents, alerted by a radio report, descended on the school. Visibly shaken, they gathered around in a semi-circle, straining their necks, awaiting news.
"There needs to be security before the kids walk through the door," said Heather Black, whose son attends the school.
After the lockdown was lifted but before the burrito was identified as the culprit, parents pulled 75 students out of school, Russell said.
Russell said the mystery was solved after she brought everyone in the school together in the auditorium to explain what was going on.
"The kid was sitting there as I'm describing this (report of a student with a suspicious package) and he's thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, they're talking about my burrito.'"
Afterward, eighth-grader Michael Morrissey approached her.
"He said, 'I think I'm the person they saw,'" Russell said.
The burrito was part of Morrissey's extra-credit assignment to create commercial advertising for a product.
Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.
The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.
"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," school Principal Diana Russell said.
State police, Clovis police and the Curry County Sheriff's Department arrived at the school shortly after 8:30 a.m. They searched the premises and determined there was no immediate danger.
In the meantime, more than 30 parents, alerted by a radio report, descended on the school. Visibly shaken, they gathered around in a semi-circle, straining their necks, awaiting news.
"There needs to be security before the kids walk through the door," said Heather Black, whose son attends the school.
After the lockdown was lifted but before the burrito was identified as the culprit, parents pulled 75 students out of school, Russell said.
Russell said the mystery was solved after she brought everyone in the school together in the auditorium to explain what was going on.
"The kid was sitting there as I'm describing this (report of a student with a suspicious package) and he's thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, they're talking about my burrito.'"
Afterward, eighth-grader Michael Morrissey approached her.
"He said, 'I think I'm the person they saw,'" Russell said.
The burrito was part of Morrissey's extra-credit assignment to create commercial advertising for a product.
We're Sick
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- At least 1,700 women from Latin America and the Caribbean are lured each year into sexual slavery in Japan's huge illicit sex industry, according to a new report.
A team of researchers hired by the Organization of American States found that most of the women come from Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru.
...Japan's National Police Agency estimates the sex trade industry there to be worth $83 billion a year.
$83 billion!!! In the tiny country of Japan!!! And I'm sure that's probably a conservative estimate. I imagine worldwide it's a trillion dollar industry.
A team of researchers hired by the Organization of American States found that most of the women come from Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru.
...Japan's National Police Agency estimates the sex trade industry there to be worth $83 billion a year.
$83 billion!!! In the tiny country of Japan!!! And I'm sure that's probably a conservative estimate. I imagine worldwide it's a trillion dollar industry.
Friday, April 29, 2005
The Old Lefthander Is Back In The Booth
Excerpts from Todd Jones' column in the Columbus Dispatch:
Hop in your car tonight, drive through the darkness and let the voice take you back in time.
Listen to the weathered tone, the mangled grammar, the whistling "s" sound, the occasionally mispronounced name. Hear the dead air, when the voice forgets to fill the broadcast, providing a respite from a world otherwise filled with too much shouting.
Let the Ol' Left-hander take you home again tonight.
Yes, it'll be a blast tonight when Nuxhall, 76, returns to the Cincinnati Reds' radio broadcast booth. He'll fill in for his partner of 31 years, Marty Brennaman, as the Reds play three games in Milwaukee and a home game Monday against St. Louis.
Brennaman is missing the four games so he can return to his native North Carolina, where he will be inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.
I just miss Nuxhall's voice. Miss his lack of ego. Miss how he wasn't technically proficient. Miss his historical anecdotes. Miss his chuckle.
This is no knock on Steve Stewart, Nuxhall's replacement in the booth.
Stewart does credible work, and he has handled with grace and humility the awkward role of stepping into the spikes of a Cincinnati icon.
"Steve does a good job," Nuxhall said. "I tell people to give him a chance. He knows baseball."
His voice just doesn't sound like home. Building familiarity takes time.
The psychic wounds from his forced retirement are healed.
"It could have been my decision to retire instead of somebody else's," Nuxhall said. "After 38 years, (the decision) was made by someone who probably didn't know a baseball from a banana. But I accept it. I have no animosity anymore."
His unpolished voice...sounding like a guy you could share a beer and laugh with...was always part of Cincinnati's summer.
Tonight, Nuxhall is briefly everyone's partner again. We're all rounding third together.
So what if Joe says tonight that a ball is hit to right left-center or credits a putout to a guy already removed from the game.
It'll sound lovely, a slice of the past making the present feel like home.
Hop in your car tonight, drive through the darkness and let the voice take you back in time.
Listen to the weathered tone, the mangled grammar, the whistling "s" sound, the occasionally mispronounced name. Hear the dead air, when the voice forgets to fill the broadcast, providing a respite from a world otherwise filled with too much shouting.
Let the Ol' Left-hander take you home again tonight.
Yes, it'll be a blast tonight when Nuxhall, 76, returns to the Cincinnati Reds' radio broadcast booth. He'll fill in for his partner of 31 years, Marty Brennaman, as the Reds play three games in Milwaukee and a home game Monday against St. Louis.
Brennaman is missing the four games so he can return to his native North Carolina, where he will be inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.
I just miss Nuxhall's voice. Miss his lack of ego. Miss how he wasn't technically proficient. Miss his historical anecdotes. Miss his chuckle.
This is no knock on Steve Stewart, Nuxhall's replacement in the booth.
Stewart does credible work, and he has handled with grace and humility the awkward role of stepping into the spikes of a Cincinnati icon.
"Steve does a good job," Nuxhall said. "I tell people to give him a chance. He knows baseball."
His voice just doesn't sound like home. Building familiarity takes time.
The psychic wounds from his forced retirement are healed.
"It could have been my decision to retire instead of somebody else's," Nuxhall said. "After 38 years, (the decision) was made by someone who probably didn't know a baseball from a banana. But I accept it. I have no animosity anymore."
His unpolished voice...sounding like a guy you could share a beer and laugh with...was always part of Cincinnati's summer.
Tonight, Nuxhall is briefly everyone's partner again. We're all rounding third together.
So what if Joe says tonight that a ball is hit to right left-center or credits a putout to a guy already removed from the game.
It'll sound lovely, a slice of the past making the present feel like home.
The Thad Five
Ohio State apparently is on the verge of landing its second major men's basketball recruit in the class of 2006 as coach Thad Matta and his staff prepare to play host to possibly a five-man recruiting class that one Web site has dubbed the "Thad Five."
Dave Lighty, a 6-foot-4 guard from Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, has "not totally" committed to sign with the Buckeyes but could have an announcement early next week, his mother, Emily, said yesterday. "He's told them he's very, very interested and is probably going to tell them very soon."
Emily Lighty said her son plans to visit Ohio State on May 6-7, when as many as four other 2006 recruits...all currently high-school juniors...also could be on campus.
Seven-foot center Greg Oden and 6-1 point guard Mike Conley, high-school teammates from Indianapolis, also are scheduled to visit that weekend. They will be joined by their AAU teammate, 6-4 guard Daequan Cook of Dayton Dunbar, who committed to Ohio State in March.
A fifth prospect, 6-8 forward Thaddeus Young of Memphis, Tenn., said yesterday that he is "trying to figure out if I can make a visit" the same weekend as the others.
All five recruits are ranked among the top 20 nationally in their class by the scout.com recruiting site.
-- Bob Baptist, Columbus Dispatch
Dave Lighty, a 6-foot-4 guard from Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, has "not totally" committed to sign with the Buckeyes but could have an announcement early next week, his mother, Emily, said yesterday. "He's told them he's very, very interested and is probably going to tell them very soon."
Emily Lighty said her son plans to visit Ohio State on May 6-7, when as many as four other 2006 recruits...all currently high-school juniors...also could be on campus.
Seven-foot center Greg Oden and 6-1 point guard Mike Conley, high-school teammates from Indianapolis, also are scheduled to visit that weekend. They will be joined by their AAU teammate, 6-4 guard Daequan Cook of Dayton Dunbar, who committed to Ohio State in March.
A fifth prospect, 6-8 forward Thaddeus Young of Memphis, Tenn., said yesterday that he is "trying to figure out if I can make a visit" the same weekend as the others.
All five recruits are ranked among the top 20 nationally in their class by the scout.com recruiting site.
-- Bob Baptist, Columbus Dispatch
I Could See Me Doing This
Police arrested a Lexington father who refused to leave the Joseph Estabrook School yesterday after school officials rejected his demands that his 6-year-old son be shielded from any discussions about gay households.
David Parker, 42, confronted officials after his son brought home ``Who's in a Family,'' a storybook that includes characters who are gay parents.
Yesterday, Parker refused to leave a meeting after Lexington Superintendent Bill Hurley rejected his demand that he be notified when his son is exposed to any discussion about same-sex households as part of classroom instruction.
"Our parental requests for our own child were flat-out denied,'' Parker said in a statement.
Parker also asked that the boy be pulled from similar discussions that arise spontaneously, said Brian Camenker, director of the Article 8 Alliance, which supports the ouster of four pro-gay marriage judges on the state's Supreme Judicial Court.
School officials could not be reached for comment.
David Parker, 42, confronted officials after his son brought home ``Who's in a Family,'' a storybook that includes characters who are gay parents.
Yesterday, Parker refused to leave a meeting after Lexington Superintendent Bill Hurley rejected his demand that he be notified when his son is exposed to any discussion about same-sex households as part of classroom instruction.
"Our parental requests for our own child were flat-out denied,'' Parker said in a statement.
Parker also asked that the boy be pulled from similar discussions that arise spontaneously, said Brian Camenker, director of the Article 8 Alliance, which supports the ouster of four pro-gay marriage judges on the state's Supreme Judicial Court.
School officials could not be reached for comment.
Zombies!!!!
Now this creeps me out. From the BBC:
There has been a small outbreak of “zombism” in a small town near the border of Laos in North-Eastern Cambodia.
The culprit was discovered to be mosquitoes native to that region carrying a new strain of Malaria which thus far has a 100 percent mortality rate and kills victims in fewer than 2 days.
After death, this parasite is able to restart the heart of its victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believed to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”
Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry.
General Ary Serey had this to say, "We have obtained samples of this new parasite and plan to learn how it starts the heart and other major organs of the deceased. We intend to use this to increase the quality of life for all."
US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice opposed the plan saying that the Cambodian government holds a great biological weapon and should destroy it immediately. Cambodian officials have yet to comment.
A United Nations team will be dispatched to Cambodia to confirm the safety of biological research in Cambodia.
There has been a small outbreak of “zombism” in a small town near the border of Laos in North-Eastern Cambodia.
The culprit was discovered to be mosquitoes native to that region carrying a new strain of Malaria which thus far has a 100 percent mortality rate and kills victims in fewer than 2 days.
After death, this parasite is able to restart the heart of its victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believed to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during “resurrection.”
Cambodian officials say that the outbreak has been contained and the public has no need to worry.
General Ary Serey had this to say, "We have obtained samples of this new parasite and plan to learn how it starts the heart and other major organs of the deceased. We intend to use this to increase the quality of life for all."
US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice opposed the plan saying that the Cambodian government holds a great biological weapon and should destroy it immediately. Cambodian officials have yet to comment.
A United Nations team will be dispatched to Cambodia to confirm the safety of biological research in Cambodia.
Civil Rights
Once again, Republicans are on the side of the black man:
With a few strokes of his pen, Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday erased some of the ugliest parts of Georgia’s history from the state’s legal code.
The governor signed four bills that repeal segregation-era laws. The laws have not been enforced in years, but they remained in the code. Perdue said that removing the laws is not only a symbolic gesture, but also a substantive one.
“Today I think is another important step in the ongoing process of putting real meat to the process of racial reconciliation in Georgia,” Perdue said in his office before signing the bills.
The laws were aimed at circumventing the desegregation of public schools following the 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education.
Why didn't the Democrats think of this?
With a few strokes of his pen, Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday erased some of the ugliest parts of Georgia’s history from the state’s legal code.
The governor signed four bills that repeal segregation-era laws. The laws have not been enforced in years, but they remained in the code. Perdue said that removing the laws is not only a symbolic gesture, but also a substantive one.
“Today I think is another important step in the ongoing process of putting real meat to the process of racial reconciliation in Georgia,” Perdue said in his office before signing the bills.
The laws were aimed at circumventing the desegregation of public schools following the 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. Board of Education.
Why didn't the Democrats think of this?
Buried Money Update
LAWRENCE, Mass. --A group of men who made national headlines by claiming they found a buried treasure in a Methuen back yard were charged Friday with stealing the collection of old currency from a house where they were doing roofing work.
Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact. At their arraignment Friday in Lawrence District Court Bail was set at $5,000 for Billcliff and $1,000 for Crebase.
Warrants also were issued Friday for Kevin Kozak, 27, of Methuen, and Matt Ingham, 23, of Newton, N.H. They were being sought on the same charges, but it was unclear whether the two were already in police custody.
Police said Crebase confessed to finding the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair in Newbury. But lawyers for Billcliff and Crebase said the men were sticking to their story of finding the box under a tree in the back yard of a house Crebase rented from Kozak.
Barry Billcliff, 27, of Manchester, N.H., and Timothy Crebase, 22, of Methuen, Mass., were charged with receiving stolen property, conspiracy and accessory after the fact. At their arraignment Friday in Lawrence District Court Bail was set at $5,000 for Billcliff and $1,000 for Crebase.
Warrants also were issued Friday for Kevin Kozak, 27, of Methuen, and Matt Ingham, 23, of Newton, N.H. They were being sought on the same charges, but it was unclear whether the two were already in police custody.
Police said Crebase confessed to finding the money in the gutter of a barn they were hired to repair in Newbury. But lawyers for Billcliff and Crebase said the men were sticking to their story of finding the box under a tree in the back yard of a house Crebase rented from Kozak.
Uh-Oh!
From Scientific American:
On a gray day in mid-January, Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard University, suggested that innate differences in the build of the male and female brain might be one factor underlying the relative scarcity of women in science. His remarks reignited a debate that has been smoldering for a century, ever since some scientists sizing up the brains of both sexes began using their main finding--that female brains tend to be smaller--to bolster the view that women are intellectually inferior to men.
To date, no one has uncovered any evidence that anatomical disparities might render women incapable of achieving academic distinction in math, physics or engineering. And the brains of men and women have been shown to be quite clearly similar in many ways. Nevertheless, over the past decade investigators have documented an astonishing array of structural, chemical and functional variations in the brains of males and females.
These inequities are not just interesting idiosyncrasies that might explain why more men than women enjoy the Three Stooges. They raise the possibility that we might need to develop sex-specific treatments for a host of conditions, including depression, addiction, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, the differences imply that researchers exploring the structure and function of the brain must take into account the sex of their subjects when analyzing their data--and include both women and men in future studies or risk obtaining misleading results.
On a gray day in mid-January, Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard University, suggested that innate differences in the build of the male and female brain might be one factor underlying the relative scarcity of women in science. His remarks reignited a debate that has been smoldering for a century, ever since some scientists sizing up the brains of both sexes began using their main finding--that female brains tend to be smaller--to bolster the view that women are intellectually inferior to men.
To date, no one has uncovered any evidence that anatomical disparities might render women incapable of achieving academic distinction in math, physics or engineering. And the brains of men and women have been shown to be quite clearly similar in many ways. Nevertheless, over the past decade investigators have documented an astonishing array of structural, chemical and functional variations in the brains of males and females.
These inequities are not just interesting idiosyncrasies that might explain why more men than women enjoy the Three Stooges. They raise the possibility that we might need to develop sex-specific treatments for a host of conditions, including depression, addiction, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, the differences imply that researchers exploring the structure and function of the brain must take into account the sex of their subjects when analyzing their data--and include both women and men in future studies or risk obtaining misleading results.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Steve Fields Steak and Lobster Lounge
The big opening is almost here.
Steve Fields, the nightclub impresario who developed Dallas Alley with Spencer Taylor nearly two decades ago, is going solo. He's severing most of his ties with Truluck's Seafood, Steak, Crab House to launch a steak house, of all things. It's called Steve Fields Steak and Lobster Lounge, and it will open in May on the corner of Park and Preston in Plano in an old Grady's location. "This is a little nerve-wracking for me," he says. What will set this prime steak house apart from the rest of the Dallas rib eye litter? The lobster lounge and its ebony digital baby grand piano and a huge lobster tank near the entrance. Chef Johnny Carino of the Truluck's Restaurant Group is developing the menu, and Fields says he is getting backing from some Truluck's investors, which operate six of the stone crab restaurants in Austin (2), Houston, Dallas, Addison and Naples, Florida.
Steve Fields, the nightclub impresario who developed Dallas Alley with Spencer Taylor nearly two decades ago, is going solo. He's severing most of his ties with Truluck's Seafood, Steak, Crab House to launch a steak house, of all things. It's called Steve Fields Steak and Lobster Lounge, and it will open in May on the corner of Park and Preston in Plano in an old Grady's location. "This is a little nerve-wracking for me," he says. What will set this prime steak house apart from the rest of the Dallas rib eye litter? The lobster lounge and its ebony digital baby grand piano and a huge lobster tank near the entrance. Chef Johnny Carino of the Truluck's Restaurant Group is developing the menu, and Fields says he is getting backing from some Truluck's investors, which operate six of the stone crab restaurants in Austin (2), Houston, Dallas, Addison and Naples, Florida.
Bob Dole Speaks
In the coming days, I hope changing the Senate's rules won't be necessary, but Senator Frist will be fully justified in doing so if he believes he has exhausted every effort at compromise. Of course, there is an easier solution to the impasse: Democrats can stop playing their obstruction game and let President Bush's judicial nominees receive what they are entitled to: an up-or-down vote on the floor of the world's greatest deliberative body.
Tru dat.
Tru dat.
The French Lose Again
PARIS -- The United States' bread-baking skills were crowned superior to those of France and the rest of the world the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, the World Cup of Baking, held in Paris, France.
The 2005 U.S. Bread Bakers Guild team was coached by Didier Rosada and included Jeffrey Yankellow, both of the San Francisco Baking Institute. They beat 11 other countries' teams to win the competition, the Bread Bakers Guild of America reported today.
The 2005 U.S. Bread Bakers Guild team was coached by Didier Rosada and included Jeffrey Yankellow, both of the San Francisco Baking Institute. They beat 11 other countries' teams to win the competition, the Bread Bakers Guild of America reported today.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
I Think This Originated In Newport
In one video clip, labelled Bitch Slap, a youth approaches a woman at a bus stop and punches her in the face. In another, Knockout Punch, a group of boys wearing uniforms are shown leading another boy across an unidentified school playground before flooring him with a single blow to the head.
In a third, Bank Job, a teenager is seen assaulting a hole-in-the-wall customer while another youth grabs the money he has just withdrawn from the cash machine.
Welcome to the disturbing world of the "happy slappers" - a youth craze in which groups of teenagers armed with camera phones slap or mug unsuspecting children or passersby while capturing the attacks on 3g technology.
According to police and anti-bullying organisations, the fad, which began as a craze on the UK garage music scene before catching on in school playgrounds across the capital last autumn, is now a nationwide phenomenon.
And as the craze has spread from London to the home counties to the north of England, so the attacks have become more menacing, with increasing numbers of violent assaults and adult victims.
Didn't this just used to be called assault? Why do we have to give it a cool name?
In a third, Bank Job, a teenager is seen assaulting a hole-in-the-wall customer while another youth grabs the money he has just withdrawn from the cash machine.
Welcome to the disturbing world of the "happy slappers" - a youth craze in which groups of teenagers armed with camera phones slap or mug unsuspecting children or passersby while capturing the attacks on 3g technology.
According to police and anti-bullying organisations, the fad, which began as a craze on the UK garage music scene before catching on in school playgrounds across the capital last autumn, is now a nationwide phenomenon.
And as the craze has spread from London to the home counties to the north of England, so the attacks have become more menacing, with increasing numbers of violent assaults and adult victims.
Didn't this just used to be called assault? Why do we have to give it a cool name?
The Slide Continues
There was a time - not so long ago - when women served as the moderating force of society. Men wanted sex, they had to get married. Men wanted to booze it up day and night, they had to deal with the temperance crusaders. In short, women counterbalanced the idiocy of men.
Not anymore.
TRENTON, N.J. -- An alarming number of American girls, some as young as 9, are using bodybuilding steroids -- not necessarily to get an edge on the playing field, but to get the toned, sculpted look of models and movie stars, experts say.
Girls are getting their hands on the same dangerous testosterone pills, shots and creams that have created a scandal in major league baseball and other sports. Often, these are the same girls who have eating disorders, according to some research.
Not anymore.
TRENTON, N.J. -- An alarming number of American girls, some as young as 9, are using bodybuilding steroids -- not necessarily to get an edge on the playing field, but to get the toned, sculpted look of models and movie stars, experts say.
Girls are getting their hands on the same dangerous testosterone pills, shots and creams that have created a scandal in major league baseball and other sports. Often, these are the same girls who have eating disorders, according to some research.
I See A Pattern
From Peter King's column in CNNSI:
"When life gives you lemons, you've got to make lemonade.'' -- Former New Orleans and Carolina linebacker and assistant coach Sam Mills, who died last week after a 21-month bout with intestinal cancer.
I have covered some good men during my 21 years on the football beat. Anthony Munoz comes to mind. Frank Reich. Mark Bavaro. Jim Breech. Steve Young. Don Hasselbeck. His son Matt. Hines Ward. Kurt Warner. Derrick Brooks. But none better than Sam Mills. We talked 10 or 15 times over the years, including once over dinner before a Panthers playoff game in the franchise's early days. And the guy just wouldn't give himself credit for anything. Jim Mora deserved praise for giving him a chance, Carl Peterson for signing him, Bill Kuharich for scouting him, Dom Capers for coaching him, Rickey Jackson and Vaughn Johnson for freeing him up to be a Pro Bowl linebacker in New Orleans. Mills was just a remarkably self-effacing person -- and not self-effacing in the phony way. He meant every word.
What do Mills, Munoz, Reich, Bavaro, Breech, Young, Hasselbeck (father and son), Warner and Brooks all have in common? All are devout, evangelistic Christians who use their athletic prowess and fame to share the love of Christ. Young, of course, is a Mormon, but very open about his faith. And I don't know much about Hines Ward (but I would suspect he's a Christian too).
What does this mean? It means these boys are light in the darkness...the salt of the earth. You have to really walk the walk to have this sort of affect on a grizzled, cynical sportswriter like Peter King.
"When life gives you lemons, you've got to make lemonade.'' -- Former New Orleans and Carolina linebacker and assistant coach Sam Mills, who died last week after a 21-month bout with intestinal cancer.
I have covered some good men during my 21 years on the football beat. Anthony Munoz comes to mind. Frank Reich. Mark Bavaro. Jim Breech. Steve Young. Don Hasselbeck. His son Matt. Hines Ward. Kurt Warner. Derrick Brooks. But none better than Sam Mills. We talked 10 or 15 times over the years, including once over dinner before a Panthers playoff game in the franchise's early days. And the guy just wouldn't give himself credit for anything. Jim Mora deserved praise for giving him a chance, Carl Peterson for signing him, Bill Kuharich for scouting him, Dom Capers for coaching him, Rickey Jackson and Vaughn Johnson for freeing him up to be a Pro Bowl linebacker in New Orleans. Mills was just a remarkably self-effacing person -- and not self-effacing in the phony way. He meant every word.
What do Mills, Munoz, Reich, Bavaro, Breech, Young, Hasselbeck (father and son), Warner and Brooks all have in common? All are devout, evangelistic Christians who use their athletic prowess and fame to share the love of Christ. Young, of course, is a Mormon, but very open about his faith. And I don't know much about Hines Ward (but I would suspect he's a Christian too).
What does this mean? It means these boys are light in the darkness...the salt of the earth. You have to really walk the walk to have this sort of affect on a grizzled, cynical sportswriter like Peter King.
Lenny Dykstra Did Steriods and Gambled
I don't believe it. He seemed like such an upstanding individual.
LOS ANGELES Apr 25, 2005 — Lenny Dykstra has been accused in a civil lawsuit of taking steroids and gambling illegally during his baseball career, according to a newspaper report.
Lindsay Jones, Dykstra's former partner in a lucrative car wash business, alleges in the suit that the former Philadelphia center fielder advised him to bet thousands of dollars with a bookmaker on selected Phillies games in 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported in Sunday editions.
The suit also includes a sworn statement from a Florida bodybuilder and convicted drug dealer who said Dykstra paid him $20,000 plus "special perks" during their eight-year association to "bulk up" the once-slight ballplayer.
LOS ANGELES Apr 25, 2005 — Lenny Dykstra has been accused in a civil lawsuit of taking steroids and gambling illegally during his baseball career, according to a newspaper report.
Lindsay Jones, Dykstra's former partner in a lucrative car wash business, alleges in the suit that the former Philadelphia center fielder advised him to bet thousands of dollars with a bookmaker on selected Phillies games in 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported in Sunday editions.
The suit also includes a sworn statement from a Florida bodybuilder and convicted drug dealer who said Dykstra paid him $20,000 plus "special perks" during their eight-year association to "bulk up" the once-slight ballplayer.
Some Guys Have All The Luck
This sort of thing would never happen to me:
Pair digs up buried hoard in Methuen
By David Abel, Globe Staff April 26, 2005
It's everyone's fantasy, a dream we always wake up from, tormented that the images of our sleep are just illusions.
That is, finding buried treasure.
One morning three weeks ago, such a fairy tale suddenly came true for Barry Villcliff and Tim Crebase, two friends trying to dig up a small tree in Crebase's yard in Methuen, they said.
Using a spade to get at the roots, Crebase heard a thud, and about a foot down, he saw he had hit a piece of wood. The 23-year-old roofer then realized the wood was part a 2-foot-wide box.
He kept digging until he ripped the top off and found nine rusted tin cans, which decades ago -- maybe nearly a century ago -- held ginger cookies and dough. Crebase wrapped the cans in a sweatshirt and carried them to a nearby truck, where he and Villcliff, his 27-year-old boss from Manchester, N.H., began cracking them open.
''It didn't look like anything we ever saw before," Villcliff said in a phone interview last night. Then he caught a glimpse of Crebase's face and knew he found something valuable.
''I'm a pessimist; I was waiting until I got a professional review before I jumped to any conclusions," Villcliff said. ''Tim, however, was singing and dancing. He was ranting like a rabid monkey."
When they finished emptying the old cans in a milk crate, they saw before them about 1,800 bills -- including more than 900 $1 bills, 200 $2 bills, and 300 $20 bills dated from 1899 to 1929, they said. There were also a pile of gold and silver certificates and scores of notes from local banks in Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport, and beyond.
The two went back to work, but later that afternoon made their way to the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H. When they walked in with their milk crate full of old greenbacks, Domenic Mangano, the shop's owner, quickly locked the door behind them.
''I was thinking, 'I've never seen anything like this in my life,' " said Mangano, who estimates their find is worth more than $100,000.
He knew they were genuine, he said, because fake bills look purposely aged.
None of the men know why the money was hidden in Crebase's yard, but they have their theories.
One is that the stash was the proceeds of a robbery. Another is that it was profits hoarded from bootlegging during Prohibition. Or, they figure, it could be the savings of immigrants who didn't trust the local banks.
Pair digs up buried hoard in Methuen
By David Abel, Globe Staff April 26, 2005
It's everyone's fantasy, a dream we always wake up from, tormented that the images of our sleep are just illusions.
That is, finding buried treasure.
One morning three weeks ago, such a fairy tale suddenly came true for Barry Villcliff and Tim Crebase, two friends trying to dig up a small tree in Crebase's yard in Methuen, they said.
Using a spade to get at the roots, Crebase heard a thud, and about a foot down, he saw he had hit a piece of wood. The 23-year-old roofer then realized the wood was part a 2-foot-wide box.
He kept digging until he ripped the top off and found nine rusted tin cans, which decades ago -- maybe nearly a century ago -- held ginger cookies and dough. Crebase wrapped the cans in a sweatshirt and carried them to a nearby truck, where he and Villcliff, his 27-year-old boss from Manchester, N.H., began cracking them open.
''It didn't look like anything we ever saw before," Villcliff said in a phone interview last night. Then he caught a glimpse of Crebase's face and knew he found something valuable.
''I'm a pessimist; I was waiting until I got a professional review before I jumped to any conclusions," Villcliff said. ''Tim, however, was singing and dancing. He was ranting like a rabid monkey."
When they finished emptying the old cans in a milk crate, they saw before them about 1,800 bills -- including more than 900 $1 bills, 200 $2 bills, and 300 $20 bills dated from 1899 to 1929, they said. There were also a pile of gold and silver certificates and scores of notes from local banks in Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport, and beyond.
The two went back to work, but later that afternoon made their way to the Village Coin Shop in Plaistow, N.H. When they walked in with their milk crate full of old greenbacks, Domenic Mangano, the shop's owner, quickly locked the door behind them.
''I was thinking, 'I've never seen anything like this in my life,' " said Mangano, who estimates their find is worth more than $100,000.
He knew they were genuine, he said, because fake bills look purposely aged.
None of the men know why the money was hidden in Crebase's yard, but they have their theories.
One is that the stash was the proceeds of a robbery. Another is that it was profits hoarded from bootlegging during Prohibition. Or, they figure, it could be the savings of immigrants who didn't trust the local banks.
Monday, April 25, 2005
This Is Disturbing
Scientists have begun putting genes from human beings into food crops in a dramatic extension of genetic modification. The move, which is causing disgust and revulsion among critics, is bound to strengthen accusations that GM technology is creating "Frankenstein foods" and drive the controversy surrounding it to new heights.
Do think there's anyone hanging with these nerds saying, "Hey guys, this is kinda weird, gross, disgusting and dangerous. Maybe we shouldn't be doing this." Probably not.
Do think there's anyone hanging with these nerds saying, "Hey guys, this is kinda weird, gross, disgusting and dangerous. Maybe we shouldn't be doing this." Probably not.
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