LOTS OF BLAME
AFGHAN
working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans. The decision seems
to have surprised the coalition and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. Wardak province is
next to the capital of
recent years, and stopping those operations could hurt the campaign against
Taliban leaders and commanders.
CUBAN
brother in 2006, Raul has put in place economic and social changes, including private enterprise, legalizing a real estate market, and easing travel restrictions. But at the same time, he's not abandoning socialism, saying yesterday, "I was not chosen to be president to restore capitalism to
POPE BENEDICT GIVES FINAL SUNDAY BLESSING: Pope Benedict the 16th gave the final Sunday blessing of his pontificate yesterday (February 24th) to a cheering crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square before he resigns on Thursday. The 85-year-old pontiff spoke
from his window overlooking the square, saying God had called him to dedicate himself even more to prayer and meditation, but stated, "This doesn't mean abandoning the church. On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength." Benedict has one final public appearance as pope, his last
general audience on Wednesday.
STUDY:
parents who dabbled in drugs in their younger, crazier days decide that they'll be honest with their kids about it, many of them emphasizing their regrets and that they wish they hadn't used drugs. But a new study suggests that might not be a good idea. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that children of parents who disclose past alcohol, drug or tobacco use are more likely to have more positive views about drugs than those whose parents don't, even if the parents talked about their regrets about drug use. Those kids also thought
their parents would be less disapproving if they did try drugs. The researchers theorized the messages may backfire, leading kids to think that if their parents did it, it's not so bad. However, while suggestive, the results don't prove that the parents' revelations were the cause of the kids' more tolerant attitude towards drugs.
JUDGE: YANKEES
Yankees are the only team in baseball allowed to use the "evil empire" phrase. The Wall Street Journal reports that a company called Evil Enterprises Inc. had been seeking exclusive trademark rights to the phrase "Baseball's Evil Empire" since 2008 for a clothing line and
other items. However, the Yankees have been associated with that phrase for a decade, after it was coined in 2002 by Boston Red Sox
phrase, writing, "In short, the record shows that there is only one Evil Empire in baseball and it is the New York Yankees."
CAST YOUR VOTE FOR WEIRDEST BOOK TITLE OF THE YEAR: It's voting time for the annual Diagram Prize for the weirdest book title, and you can help decide who this year's
winner will be from a list of contenders that was unveiled on Friday (February 22nd). This year's nominees are:
- Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop, by Reginald Bakeley
- God's Doodle: The Life and Times of the Penis, by Tom Hickman
- How Tea Cosies Changed the World, by Loani Prior
- How to Sharpen Pencils, by David Rees
- Lofts of
- Was
Hans-Joachim Neumann and Henrik Eberle
Past winners of the Diagram Prize, which was started in the late 1970s, include: How
to Avoid Huge Ships; Versailles: The View From Sweden; If You Want Closure in
Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs; Managing a Dental Practice: The
Genghis Khan Way; and The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories.
CHECK IT OUT:
- Place your vote here: http://tinyurl.com/ajw3lsa
SPORTS:
JIMMIE JOHNSON
Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Johnson's victory came in what was a history-making race for Danica Patrick, who was the first woman to win the pole and the first woman to lead the race,
running inside the top 10 for almost the entire contest before finishing in eighth place. Yesterday's race came one day after a final-lap wreck during the second-tier Nationwide Series on the same track that injured more than two dozen fans in the grandstand.
PISTORIUS' BROTHER ALSO FACING HOMICIDE CHARGE: In yet another twist to the Oscar Pistorius case, it was revealed on Sunday that the double-amputee Olympic runner's brother, Carl Pistorius, is also facing a homicide charge. Carl Pistorius was involved in a 2008 car accident in which a woman on a motorcycle died, and is now facing a culpable homicide charge. Attorney Kenny Oldwage said that his client is innocent, stating that a blood
test showed Carl wasn't drunk, and that, quote, "the deceased collided with Carl's car." The charges had initially been dropped, but were later reinstated. Meanwhile, Oscar Pistorius was granted bail of one million rand, which is about $112,000, on Friday (February 22nd), and was released on bail the same day. He is facing premeditated murder charges in the death of his
girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, who he shot to death through a bathroom door early on February 14th. He maintains he fired because he thought an intruder was inside, but police charge he killed her after a fight.
ERUZIONE'S 'MIRACLE ON ICE' JERSEY, SCHILLING'S BLOODY SOCK AUCTIONED: Mike Eruzione's gear from the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Winter Olympics hockey game and pitcher Curt Schilling's bloody sock from Game 2 of his Boston Red Sox' 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals were the marquee items up for sale at a Heritage Auctions event on Saturday (February 24th).
Eruzione, who was the captain of the U.S. hockey team that upset the Soviets 4-3 at the
Lake Placid Games, sold the jersey he wore when he scored the game-winning
goal, which went for $657,250, the stick he used, for $262,900, and the jersey
he wore in the final game against Finland that clinched the goal for the U.S.,
which brought in $286,800. Going for lower prices were his hockey pants and
gloves and the sweatsuit he wore at the gold medal ceremony. However, Eruzione
didn't put up his gold medal for auction, saying he never will.
The bloody sock that the now-retired Schilling wore while pitching on an injured
ankle in the 2004 World Series was sold for $92,613. He had originally loaned
it to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but when his video game company went bankrupt,
he decided to sell the sock. Schilling helped
in 2004 by pitching on an ankle that had been sutured more than once because of
a damaged tendon. The bloody sock that was sold was actually the second of two.
The more famous one was worn when Schilling pitched during Game 6 of the 2004
American League championship series against the New York Yankees, leading his
team to victory. That sock is said to have been thrown away after the game.
TWEET FROM THE GRAVE _ How fun would it be to freak out your relatives from beyond
the grave? Good fun, right?! A new website called LivesOn.org will
takes over your Twitter account after you die and send out new tweets based on
your current likes and tastes. All you need is an executor to decide if your
account stays alive long after you're gone.
YOUR OFFICE COFFEE MUG IS GROSS _ There are all kinds of nasty things
in your office coffee cup. Professor Charles P. Gerba of the
SETH MACFARLANE
- While most of the awards went to the expected recipients like Daniel Day-Lewis,
Jennifer Lawrence, and Anne Hathaway, Ang Lee was the surprising victor
in the best director category for Life of Pi. - Despite a lot of predictions that Argo would take best picture, Ben Affleck
seemed genuinely touched by the win as he tearfully thanked his wife and
everyone in - Much of the social media focus was on MacFarlane though, as he carried the audience through the three and a half hour show. Some viewers were more interested in what kind of envelope-pushing jokes the Family Guy creator would get away with than the actual awards.
- Kristin Chenoweth had celebrities guessing what piece of
- Jamie Foxx got a bit flirtatious with Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland and she was noticeably bashful about it.
- While interviewing Amanda Seyfried, Kristin asked whether she had plans to head to Broadway and then invited her to do a show with her.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
- Seth's opening monologue cracked on everyone
from Tommy Lee Jones to The Artist's Jean Dujardin.
He had several skits prepared including a song with the Gay Men's
Chorus of L.A. listing every actress who has been nude in a movie
called "We Saw Your Boobs" and a re-enactment of the movie Flight
with only sock puppets. - At 76, Shirley Bassey made her Oscar debut 49 years after recording "Goldfinger" for the Bond franchise and she knocked it out of the park.
- The documentary short winner, Inocente, which follows a homeless undocumented immigrant teenager in
young girl went from being homeless on the streets to standing on the
Oscar stage in the span of a year. - The tribute to musicals of the past decade. Catherine Zeta-Jones was completely blown out of the water by the incomparable Jennifer Hudson who brought down the house with the song "And I Am Telling You" from Dreamgirls. The tribute finished with the cast of Les Miserables showing why they deserved their best picture nomination.
- An extremely rare Academy Award event occurred when there was a tie for Best Sound Editing which went to Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall.
- Jennifer Lawrence fell getting on stage for her best actress award.
- Daniel Day-Lewis became the first actor to win 3 Oscars for best actor.
- FLOTUS Michelle Obama announced the winner for best picture.
WINNERS LIST:
BEST PICTURE - Argo
BEST DIRECTOR - Ang Lee, Life of Pi
BEST ACTOR - Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
BEST ACTRESS - Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Argo
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Django Unchained
ANIMATED FEATURE - Brave
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Amour
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Searching for Sugar Man
CINEMATOGRAPHY - Life of Pi
COSTUME DESIGN - Anna Karenina
FILM EDITING - Argo
MAKEUP
PRODUCTION DESIGN - Lincoln
ORIGINAL SCORE - Life of Pi
ORIGINAL SONG - "Skyfall," Skyfall
SOUND EDITING - Skyfall(Tie) Zero Dark Thirty(Tie)
SOUND MIXING - Les Miserables
VISUAL EFFECTS - Life of Pi
ANIMATED SHORT - Paperman
LIVE ACTION SHORT - Curfew
DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Inocente
MEGAN
him to Hitler on set but the pair seems to be ready to move on from the past to
work together again. Megan has signed on to appear in Bay's Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles reboot.
Michael announced on his blog on Thursday (February 21st,) "TMNT: we are bringing
Megan Fox back into the family!" Megan will be playing April O'Neil.
- Ninja Turtles is scheduled to be released on
SOME PARENTS ADMIT TO HAVING A CHILD THEY LOVE BEST: New survey results from British shopping discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk finds that some parents admit to
loving one of their children more than the others. The poll questioned about
1,200-parents with at least two children age three or older on whether they had
a favorite child and how they felt their own parents had treated them as
children. One in 12 parents admitted to having a favorite child, and 62-percent
of parents said they did not give their children equal attention.
Forty-two-percent of parents said their reason for having a favorite was
because they felt a stronger bond with the child, while 13-percent said it was
because their other children misbehaved more often. Interestingly, nearly half
of those surveyed said they felt that their parents had a favorite child when
they were younger. (Daily Mail)
MOSQUITOS LEARN TO IGNORE BUG REPELLENT AFTER SMELLING IT ONCE: Time to stock up on citronella candles for use at your summer barbeques as new research finds that the main ingredient in bug spray doesn't necessarily stop pesky mosquitos. Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine say the ingredient DEET that is widely
used in bug repellents may decrease in effectiveness at repelling mosquitos
over time. Resaerchers conducted research by covering a person's arm in DEET
and exposing mosquitos to it in a lab. They found that at first the mosquitos
were repelled, but a few hours later the same mosquitos were tested again, and
the DEET was less effective. Researchers say they also placed electrodes on the
mosquito's antennae and determined they were actually growing less senstivie to
the chemical. The research was published in the journal PLOS
SCIENTISTS
that can measure the level of quinolinic acid in the blood. A previous study
linked higher-than-usual levels of quinolinic acid with suicide attempts. Scientists hope the test would help doctors guage a person's mental state, and help scientists probe the relationship between the body's immune system and depression. Scientists also say it would help them investigate the role of quinolinic acid in brain diseases like Alzheimer's disease, autism, and schizophrenia. (PopSci)
FLYING MAKES YOU GASSY: If you're leaving on a jet plane scientists say you may experience some in-flight flatulance. A new report published in the New Zealand Medical Journal explains that as an airplane increases in altitude, pressure decreases, and
according to the ideal gas law, when pressure decreases, volume increases. As a
result your intestines expand with the volume. Scientists recommend releasing
the gas so as to avoid discomfort, but they say avoiding foods known for
causing gas the day of your flight will make you a more desirable seatmate. (Yahoo)
"SPACE TOURIST" TRIP TO MARS
Some media speculation says the mission will be a manned one, with technologies
aboard the spacecraft that would support two people for the duration of the mission. Experts say a mission that long would pose potentially serious physiological and psychological issues for astronauts, as most missions to the space station are currently just six months. The Inspiration Mars Foundation is led by millionaire Dennis Tito, who reportedly paid 20-million-dollars in 2001 for an eight-day trip to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. (Yahoo)
