Thursday, August 04, 2005
Quote of the Day
"Well you see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast asthe slowest buffalo and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest onesat the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as awhole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving bythe regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human braincan only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessivedrinking of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest andweakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminatesthe weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. Andthat, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers." -- Cliff Claven explaining to Norm his "Buffalo/Brain Cell Killing Alcohol Theory"
A Warning to All the Women Out There
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- A man who got angry with his wife because she wanted to cuddle after sex when what he really wanted to do was watch sports on television was sentenced to death for killing her with a claw hammer.
Christopher Offord, 30, was sentenced Wednesday by Circuit Judge Dedee Costello, who said the brutality of the crime outweighed any mental problems Offord may have had.
"The defendant struck his wife approximately 70 individual blows after spending a happy interlude with her," the judge said. "Her desire to cuddle after sex does not justify the extremely violent, brutal response of the defendant."
Offord pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2004 slaying of Dana Noser, 40, at his apartment.
He confessed to a bartender at a sports bar before his arrest. He told investigators that his wife had been nagging him to come back to bed.
Offord did not speak in court but said in a jailhouse interview in June: "I figured I killed her so I deserve to die."
Christopher Offord, 30, was sentenced Wednesday by Circuit Judge Dedee Costello, who said the brutality of the crime outweighed any mental problems Offord may have had.
"The defendant struck his wife approximately 70 individual blows after spending a happy interlude with her," the judge said. "Her desire to cuddle after sex does not justify the extremely violent, brutal response of the defendant."
Offord pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2004 slaying of Dana Noser, 40, at his apartment.
He confessed to a bartender at a sports bar before his arrest. He told investigators that his wife had been nagging him to come back to bed.
Offord did not speak in court but said in a jailhouse interview in June: "I figured I killed her so I deserve to die."
Good Work If You Can Get It
Detroit Lions president Matt Millen has agreed to a five-year contract extension, owner William Clay Ford Sr. announced Wednesday.
Millen, who is in the fifth and final season of his original contract, said that he agreed to the deal last month, but the announcement was delayed to avoid taking the focus off the team. The extension will run through the 2010 season.
The Lions have gone 16-48 since Millen was hired out of the Fox television booth, including a league-record 24-game road losing streak.
A contract extension? 16-48?
Millen, who is in the fifth and final season of his original contract, said that he agreed to the deal last month, but the announcement was delayed to avoid taking the focus off the team. The extension will run through the 2010 season.
The Lions have gone 16-48 since Millen was hired out of the Fox television booth, including a league-record 24-game road losing streak.
A contract extension? 16-48?
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Oooh, This Is Good For An Argument
To wit: "Suffering is meaningless. Suffering and death and evil are meaningless horrors, privations that produce nothing."
The tsunami that swept over southeast Asia in December left in its wake not only death and destruction but a profound and vexing puzzle. What kind of a God would allow such a thing to happen? In the weeks and months that followed, skeptical commentators posed this question with irritated insistence, as if discovering for the first time--thanks to the sheer scale of the tsunami's devastation--that we live in a world that may inflict grave harm with seeming randomness.
In "The Doors of the Sea," David Bentley Hart, an Orthodox theologian, tries to provide an answer. His book is, among much else, a rhetorically powerful and conceptually dense restatement of what Christianity has to say, over the centuries, about the suffering and death produced by nature itself--that is, by events outside human agency.
...Mr. Hart also addresses what he takes to be a confused explanation of natural disaster offered by well-meaning Christians themselves, who claim that the sufferings and deaths produced by tsunamis and their like are part of God's plan, God's providential will. Those who say this, and they are many, are likely to offer bromides like "it's all for the best" or "we can't understand what God means by such things" to those bereaved by catastrophe. But if the classical Christian view is right, this is nonsense. It is not for the best. God doesn't mean anything by it. Suffering and death and evil are meaningless horrors, privations that produce nothing. The best response for the bereaved, apart from lament, is to direct their gaze to a time when all tears will be wiped away.
Discuss among yourselves.
The tsunami that swept over southeast Asia in December left in its wake not only death and destruction but a profound and vexing puzzle. What kind of a God would allow such a thing to happen? In the weeks and months that followed, skeptical commentators posed this question with irritated insistence, as if discovering for the first time--thanks to the sheer scale of the tsunami's devastation--that we live in a world that may inflict grave harm with seeming randomness.
In "The Doors of the Sea," David Bentley Hart, an Orthodox theologian, tries to provide an answer. His book is, among much else, a rhetorically powerful and conceptually dense restatement of what Christianity has to say, over the centuries, about the suffering and death produced by nature itself--that is, by events outside human agency.
...Mr. Hart also addresses what he takes to be a confused explanation of natural disaster offered by well-meaning Christians themselves, who claim that the sufferings and deaths produced by tsunamis and their like are part of God's plan, God's providential will. Those who say this, and they are many, are likely to offer bromides like "it's all for the best" or "we can't understand what God means by such things" to those bereaved by catastrophe. But if the classical Christian view is right, this is nonsense. It is not for the best. God doesn't mean anything by it. Suffering and death and evil are meaningless horrors, privations that produce nothing. The best response for the bereaved, apart from lament, is to direct their gaze to a time when all tears will be wiped away.
Discuss among yourselves.
Whose Side Am I On?
I think the Sony executives and the two idiots who sued should both be fined.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sony Pictures Entertainment must pay $1.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the studio of citing a fake movie critic in ads for several films.
Moviegoers who saw the films "Vertical Limit,""A Knight's Tale,""The Animal,""Hollow Man" or "The Patriot" during their original theater runs must file a claim to be eligible for a $5 per ticket reimbursement, lawyer Norman Blumenthal said Tuesday. He represented a group of filmgoers who sued Sony Pictures in 2001.
Any funds remaining after claims are satisfied would go to charity, he said.
Sony Pictures declined comment. The studio did not admit any liability under terms of the settlement.
After the dispute came to light, the studio temporarily suspended two executives and vowed to monitor its publicity and advertising more closely.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl entered a final judgment in the case last month, Blumenthal said.
The lawsuit, originally filed by two California moviegoers, claimed the ads fooled the plaintiffs into seeing "A Knight's Tale."
In one ad for the action-comedy, a critic identified as "David Manning of The Ridgefield Press" was quoted calling star Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star!"
In an ad for "The Animal," Manning was quoted declaring, "The producing team of 'Big Daddy' has delivered another winner!"
At the time, The Ridgefield Press, a small weekly newspaper in Connecticut, did not have a movie critic named David Manning, the lawsuit said.
Some of the movies Manning praised had already received positive reviews from real critics.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sony Pictures Entertainment must pay $1.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the studio of citing a fake movie critic in ads for several films.
Moviegoers who saw the films "Vertical Limit,""A Knight's Tale,""The Animal,""Hollow Man" or "The Patriot" during their original theater runs must file a claim to be eligible for a $5 per ticket reimbursement, lawyer Norman Blumenthal said Tuesday. He represented a group of filmgoers who sued Sony Pictures in 2001.
Any funds remaining after claims are satisfied would go to charity, he said.
Sony Pictures declined comment. The studio did not admit any liability under terms of the settlement.
After the dispute came to light, the studio temporarily suspended two executives and vowed to monitor its publicity and advertising more closely.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl entered a final judgment in the case last month, Blumenthal said.
The lawsuit, originally filed by two California moviegoers, claimed the ads fooled the plaintiffs into seeing "A Knight's Tale."
In one ad for the action-comedy, a critic identified as "David Manning of The Ridgefield Press" was quoted calling star Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star!"
In an ad for "The Animal," Manning was quoted declaring, "The producing team of 'Big Daddy' has delivered another winner!"
At the time, The Ridgefield Press, a small weekly newspaper in Connecticut, did not have a movie critic named David Manning, the lawsuit said.
Some of the movies Manning praised had already received positive reviews from real critics.
Zero Savings Rate
If there is a housing bubble (don't know) and it bursts (may or may not), then we've got problems.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The savings of U.S. consumers are:
a) at the lowest rate since the Depression.
b) at peaks not seen even during the stock market boom of the late 1990s.
c) all of the above.
If you're wondering how "all of the above" could be the correct answer -- and it is -- walk outside your front door and look around.
Even as a government report Tuesday showed the national savings rate at zero -- that's right nada -- the rise in the value of homes has given the average U.S. household a net worth of greater than $400,000, according to a separate report from the Federal Reserve.
Household real estate assets have risen by just over two-thirds since 1999, and the run up has enabled consumers to spend more money than they are bringing home in their paychecks. They're viewing their homes almost like ATM machines, using home equity loans and refinancings to pull out cash and support a higher level of spending.
"[Rising home values] are making people feel they don't need to save," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute.
That means they are spending more of their paychecks than they would otherwise. That's good news for the current economy but it could cause trouble longer term, according to some economists.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The savings of U.S. consumers are:
a) at the lowest rate since the Depression.
b) at peaks not seen even during the stock market boom of the late 1990s.
c) all of the above.
If you're wondering how "all of the above" could be the correct answer -- and it is -- walk outside your front door and look around.
Even as a government report Tuesday showed the national savings rate at zero -- that's right nada -- the rise in the value of homes has given the average U.S. household a net worth of greater than $400,000, according to a separate report from the Federal Reserve.
Household real estate assets have risen by just over two-thirds since 1999, and the run up has enabled consumers to spend more money than they are bringing home in their paychecks. They're viewing their homes almost like ATM machines, using home equity loans and refinancings to pull out cash and support a higher level of spending.
"[Rising home values] are making people feel they don't need to save," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute.
That means they are spending more of their paychecks than they would otherwise. That's good news for the current economy but it could cause trouble longer term, according to some economists.
Two Reasons to Love Shaq
Reason #1: He lends his name to a line of shoes that are affordable (hear that MJ).
Reason #2: This:
Shaquille O'Neal has done what the skeptics said Shaq would never do.
The Big Pay Cut, by his own choosing, has surrendered his standing as the game's highest-paid player.
True story: O'Neal will have the richest salary in the league for only one more season. That's because Shaq, after agreeing to a new five-year contract worth $125 million, called back to tell his bosses he'd take $100 million instead.
So for the next half-decade, through his 38th birthday, O'Neal will earn $20 million annually. That means Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber will make more in 2006-07, followed by Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury surpassing Shaq in 2007-08, after which Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and old pal Kobe Bryant zoom by in 2008-09.
It's all happening because Shaq, who first had to opt out of the $30.6 million Miami owed him for the '05-06 season alone, knows the Heat have a better chance to put championship depth around him at this lower number.
Reason #2: This:
Shaquille O'Neal has done what the skeptics said Shaq would never do.
The Big Pay Cut, by his own choosing, has surrendered his standing as the game's highest-paid player.
True story: O'Neal will have the richest salary in the league for only one more season. That's because Shaq, after agreeing to a new five-year contract worth $125 million, called back to tell his bosses he'd take $100 million instead.
So for the next half-decade, through his 38th birthday, O'Neal will earn $20 million annually. That means Kevin Garnett and Chris Webber will make more in 2006-07, followed by Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury surpassing Shaq in 2007-08, after which Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and old pal Kobe Bryant zoom by in 2008-09.
It's all happening because Shaq, who first had to opt out of the $30.6 million Miami owed him for the '05-06 season alone, knows the Heat have a better chance to put championship depth around him at this lower number.
Monday, August 01, 2005
The Return of Apartheid
Well, sort of.
Only 8 percent of the guests on the major Sunday morning talk shows over the past 18 months were African Americans, with three people accounting for the majority of those appearances, according to a new study by the National Urban League.
Black guests -- newsmakers, the journalists who questioned them and experts who offered commentary -- appeared 176 times out of more than 2,100 opportunities, according to the study, which is scheduled for release today. But 122 of those appearances were made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, and Juan Williams, a journalist and regular panel member on "Fox News Sunday."
"There's very clearly a division, an exclusion," said Stephanie J. Jones, executive director of the Urban League Institute, who initiated the study, "Sunday Morning Apartheid: a Diversity Study of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows."
Only 8 percent of the guests on the major Sunday morning talk shows over the past 18 months were African Americans, with three people accounting for the majority of those appearances, according to a new study by the National Urban League.
Black guests -- newsmakers, the journalists who questioned them and experts who offered commentary -- appeared 176 times out of more than 2,100 opportunities, according to the study, which is scheduled for release today. But 122 of those appearances were made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, and Juan Williams, a journalist and regular panel member on "Fox News Sunday."
"There's very clearly a division, an exclusion," said Stephanie J. Jones, executive director of the Urban League Institute, who initiated the study, "Sunday Morning Apartheid: a Diversity Study of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows."
"Testify"
The boys from P.O.D. (the P-Man's favorite) have a new CD coming out in the fall. I just came across this little nugget on their web site.
Last week Sonny and Wuv flew to New York to present 6 songs from their upcoming record, TESTIFY to the Atlantic Records staff!!
Sonny and Wuv stood up in front of the executive staff at Atlantic Records and shared about their faith and vision to continue bringing their message to the world.
In the meeting Sonny said, "I believe in Jesus Christ. I will never back down from my faith...We know that no matter what happens, our name is good on the streets. You can ask anyone and we are good with the people in the streets. We do this in a way that even our own kids will look back and be proud."
I'm sure the suits at Atlantic were scratching their heads. Who is this Jesus fellow they keep talking about?
Last week Sonny and Wuv flew to New York to present 6 songs from their upcoming record, TESTIFY to the Atlantic Records staff!!
Sonny and Wuv stood up in front of the executive staff at Atlantic Records and shared about their faith and vision to continue bringing their message to the world.
In the meeting Sonny said, "I believe in Jesus Christ. I will never back down from my faith...We know that no matter what happens, our name is good on the streets. You can ask anyone and we are good with the people in the streets. We do this in a way that even our own kids will look back and be proud."
I'm sure the suits at Atlantic were scratching their heads. Who is this Jesus fellow they keep talking about?
Deano's At It Again
Howard Dean is a...well...you be the judge:
[Dean] also said the president was partly responsible for a recent Supreme Court decision involving eminent domain.
“The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is ‘okay’ to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is,” Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed anyone to the high court.
Why is Dean’s statement so ridiculous?
Dean’s reference to the “right-wing” court was also erroneous. The four justices who dissented in the Kelo vs. New London case included the three most conservative members of the court - Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the fourth dissenter.
The court’s liberal coalition of Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer combined with Justice Anthony Kennedy to form the majority opinion, allowing the city of New London, Conn., to use eminent domain to seize private properties for commercial development.
“We think that eminent domain does not belong in the private sector. It is for public use only,” Dean said.
[Dean] also said the president was partly responsible for a recent Supreme Court decision involving eminent domain.
“The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is ‘okay’ to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is,” Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed anyone to the high court.
Why is Dean’s statement so ridiculous?
Dean’s reference to the “right-wing” court was also erroneous. The four justices who dissented in the Kelo vs. New London case included the three most conservative members of the court - Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the fourth dissenter.
The court’s liberal coalition of Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer combined with Justice Anthony Kennedy to form the majority opinion, allowing the city of New London, Conn., to use eminent domain to seize private properties for commercial development.
“We think that eminent domain does not belong in the private sector. It is for public use only,” Dean said.
Money Down The Drain
Joe Johnson averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on an offense-oriented Phoenix team last year. He's a nice player. But this is waaaaay too much money. There's a reason Atlanta is the worst run organization in the NBA.
It appears that Joe Johnson's wish to swap a supporting role in Phoenix for star status in Atlanta is on the verge of being granted.
NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that the Suns and Hawks have locked into serious trade discussions that could send Johnson to the Eastern Conference via sign-and-trade as early as Tuesday afternoon.
The proposed deal, according to sources, would bring guard Boris Diaw and two lottery-protected future first-round picks to Phoenix -- along with a trade exception in the $5 million range -- after Johnson signs a contract under terms established by Atlanta: $70 million over five years with an estimated balloon payment of $20 million up front.
It appears that Joe Johnson's wish to swap a supporting role in Phoenix for star status in Atlanta is on the verge of being granted.
NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that the Suns and Hawks have locked into serious trade discussions that could send Johnson to the Eastern Conference via sign-and-trade as early as Tuesday afternoon.
The proposed deal, according to sources, would bring guard Boris Diaw and two lottery-protected future first-round picks to Phoenix -- along with a trade exception in the $5 million range -- after Johnson signs a contract under terms established by Atlanta: $70 million over five years with an estimated balloon payment of $20 million up front.
Reporters Don't Like It When The Tables Are Turned
White House press doyenne Helen Thomas is plenty peeved at her longtime friend Albert Eisele, editor of THE HILL newspaper in Washington, D.C.
In a column this week headlined "Reporter: Cheney's Not Presidential Material," Eisele quoted Thomas as saying "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is one more liar."
Thomas also said: "I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does," according to Eisele's column.
But Thomas said yesterday at the White House that her comments to Eisele were for his ears only. "I'll never talk to a reporter again!"
Thomas was overheard saying. "We were just talking -- I was ranting -- and he wrote about it. That isn't right. We all say stuff we don't want printed," Thomas said.
But Eisele said that when he called Thomas, "I assume she knew that we were on the record."
"She's obviously very upset about it, but it was a small item -- until Drudge picked it up and broadcast it across the universe," Eisele said.
Still, he noted that reporters aren't that happy when the tables are turned. "Nobody has thinner skin than reporters," Eisele said with a laugh.
In a column this week headlined "Reporter: Cheney's Not Presidential Material," Eisele quoted Thomas as saying "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is one more liar."
Thomas also said: "I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does," according to Eisele's column.
But Thomas said yesterday at the White House that her comments to Eisele were for his ears only. "I'll never talk to a reporter again!"
Thomas was overheard saying. "We were just talking -- I was ranting -- and he wrote about it. That isn't right. We all say stuff we don't want printed," Thomas said.
But Eisele said that when he called Thomas, "I assume she knew that we were on the record."
"She's obviously very upset about it, but it was a small item -- until Drudge picked it up and broadcast it across the universe," Eisele said.
Still, he noted that reporters aren't that happy when the tables are turned. "Nobody has thinner skin than reporters," Eisele said with a laugh.
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