Monday, March 31, 2008

Jessica Simpson is released from hospital

Jessica Simpson is feeling "much better" after being hospitalized with a kidney infection.
Maybe it was that chicken-tuna.
Simpson was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Friday for a "minor kidney infection" and was released Monday, Simpson's representative Lauren Auslander told The Associated Press. In Touch magazine reported Simpson's hospitalization Monday.
Auslander said the 27-year-old singer-actress is feeling "much better now."
According to the In Touch report, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Simpson's current squeeze, wanted to be by Simpson's side but had prior commitments in Dallas.
Simpson is currently working on a country music album.

most popular dog names

In a recent survey of the 10 most popular dog names in the nation, names more fit for humans are finding favor over more traditional dog names like Buddy and Buster.
"Over 50 years ago, Spotty was common," says dog owner Eileen Watson of Hallandale Beach, Fla., who has had eight dogs over the past 40 years. "Now, I don't know of any dog that doesn't have a human name."Top names among male dogs are Max, Buddy and Rocky. For females, Bella, Molly and Lucy head the list. The research was conducted by Veterinary Pet Insurance from the names of insured dogs in its database.Dogs have long been considered man's best friend, but for many Americans, they mean even more than that."It's a reflection of the position that pets hold in a household," says Mary Thurston, an anthropologist in Austin who has studied dog history for more than 25 years. "They are integral members of the family, just like a child."
Naming dogs in the same fashion as children was common even in ancient Rome, she says. The ancient Egyptians often went so far as to bury their dogs in family plots. Today, dog owners are showing a similar kind of care."Twenty years ago, how many people were spending on training, dog food, schooling?" says Crystal Franklin, a PetSmart dog trainer in Bethesda, Md. "It's not necessarily the name that has changed but the care behind the dog."With everything from doggie nuptials to dog hotels, dogs are enjoying the perks of being treated, in many respects, like humans.
"It's an interesting contrast that, in a country where there's still child neglect and child abuse, people are spending so much time and effort on dogs," says psychologist and author Eleanora Woloy."It speaks to so many people's needs that they want a warm, comforting presence and companion."People care much more about their animals now, "and that's reflected in the dog's name," Franklin says."When you ask people why they named their dog something, you're going to get a whole story behind it."
Popular male dog names are: Max, Buddy, Rocky, Bailey, Jake, Charlie, Jack, Toby, Cody and Buster.
Popular female dog names are: Bella, Molly, Lucy, Maggie, Daisy, Sophie, Sadie, Chloe, Bailey and Lola.

Miami @ Boston

Garnett offered polite praise of the Miami Heat before Pierce interrupted the postgame news conference and said, "Man, I am going to tell you the truth."
And he did.
"They got D-Leaguers out there, so I think we just handled our business," the Boston forward said, listing some of the five Miami players who spent time in the developmental league this season. "We're supposed to do that. We knew this was a game we were supposed to win, and we just focused from the jump and went out and did it."
Then he slapped Garnett on the head and said, "Let's go."
The Celtics limited Miami to 17 baskets, the fewest in the NBA's shot-clock era, and coasted to an 88-62 victory on Sunday night to solidify their hold on the league's best record and leave the Heat firmly in control of the worst.
Garnett scored twice before Miami made a basket, Allen followed with a pair of 3-pointers and Boston opened a 27-4 lead in the first quarter. Celtics coach Doc Rivers started subbing for his starters just 7:10 into the game, letting the backups handle the end of the first quarter, most of the second and all of the fourth.
"We are trying to prepare and get ourselves ready for the playoffs," said Garnett, who finished with 12 points, five assists and eight rebounds. "The competition is what should motivate you. We definitely didn't want to lose the game, or mess around. So we just came out aggressive and never looked back."
Powe had 17 points and 13 rebounds and a team-high 27 minutes for Boston. Posey, the 10th man in, spent more time on the court (21:33) than Garnett (21:30).
The Boston bench built a 31-point lead before Miami made its last two shots to finish with 17 field goals, still fewer than the 18 made by the Chicago Bulls against the Heat on April 10, 1999.
"Oh, did we?" said Ron Rothstein, the Miami assistant who ran the bench while head coach Pat Riley missed his fourth game to resume his college scouting tour. "How about that?"
Ricky Davis had 14 points and six rebounds and Chris Quinn had scored 14 with eight assists for the Heat (13-60), who lost their third straight and sixth out of seven.
"We tried to do a lot of stuff," Rothstein said. "There's just not a lot of stuff we can run with the new guys, and they just took out everything we tried to run. It's tough."
The Celtics, who are 58-15 with nine games in the regular season, already have their highest win total since 1986-87, when Larry Bird led the defending NBA champions back to the finals. The year before, Boston won 67 games and the last of its 16 titles.
The Celtics scored 11 of the game's first 13 points, then took a 23-point lead as Miami made just one of its first 15 shots. Davis made a three-point play and Blake Ahearn followed with a 3-pointer to help the Heat avoid their worst quarter of the season.
Miami shot 17.6 percent in the first quarter and 28.8 percent for the game.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Three Days Grace question and answer

Boosted by heavy, cathartic, yet still-melodic rock-radio hits such as "Pain," "Animal I Have Become," "Never Too Late," and its latest single "Riot," "One X" helped vault 3DG into headliner status.
Guitarist Barry Stock says they'll reconnect with their families and recharge after the tour. Then they'll finish writing the next CD and plan to hit the studio before the year's over. They will also release a DVD in the fall. Stock talked with Showcase about 3DG and the tour with fellow album-rock mainstays Breaking Benjamin ( "Breath," "Diary of Jane") and Seether ( "Fake It," "Rise Above This").
This seems like the ultimate package for rock fans. How's it working out? "Oh, it's awesome. It's been great. We've touring for a little while now, so we've become really good friends. It's the easiest tour I've ever been on. There's no drama. Everyone gets along really good. It's a quite package. This is a show I would come to see."One X" was inspired by the loneliness of the road and the problems it can cause. (Singer Adam Gontier spent time in rehab.)"
How did you avoid those problems this time? "The last time out was for our first record, and it was all new for us. It's something where you get in a little over your head. Since then, we were able to remedy the problem and figure out what's not good for us. We cleaned up our problems, and we're getting along a lot better. We're closer together. We tried to eliminate people in our lives who are going to cause us trouble and are up to no good."One X" covered some dark topics, yet it was a huge hit."
What are fans responding to? "Though we have some dark topics as to what's going on with life, I think with Three Days Grace we always have that little twist of hope at the end. "Yeah, this is where I am and this sucks, but I'm getting out of it. I've found a better way." We've heard numerous times people say to us, believe it or not, "You saved my life." Especially with teenagers. "
What highlights stand out after two years on the road? "We opened for the Stones a couple nights in Canada. That was pretty awesome. ... They had a party for all their crew and we went. I didn't expect them to show up, but Mick showed up. We had family out to see the shows, wives and Adam's mother, and they're all out there, dancing with Mick. I'm looking up, and my wife is cutting a rug with Mick Jagger."
How hard is it to wind down after a long tour? "Going home, when you've been out so much, is completely awkward. We're all married by now, so you get home, and you're not dealing with just your own life anymore. You're sharing a life with someone else and have to fit into their schedule.When you get home, it's not dark enough in the room after sleeping on a bus. You're used to tires rolling down the road. It's quiet and never dark enough. It's definitely an adjustment to try to wind it down. It takes a few good weeks."
After the break, what's next? "We just did a show in Detroit at the Palace of Auburn Hills and shot a DVD for that. They brought in a full film crew, so we'll put out a HD DVD in September. And Adam Gontier did a song with Apocalyptica, which is cool. It'll be the single off their record."

Greece hands off olympic flame

Greek officials handed over the Olympic flame to organizers of the Beijing Games on Sunday amid small protests by a pro-Tibetan group.
The ceremony was held at the marble Panathenian Stadium, where the first modern Olympics were staged in 1896.
Outside the stadium, police scuffled with pro-Tibet demonstrators and prevented others from unfurling protest banners. Twenty-one demonstrators were detained - seven Indians, one Nepalese and 13 Greeks - and were all due to be released without charge, police said.
The protesters challenged a police cordon but failed to disrupt the final leg of Greece's torch relay - from the Acropolis to the stadium.
"Our aim was to call attention to human and animal rights abuses in China," detained protester Roza Minakouli, a 65-year-old environmental campaigner, told The Associated Press by telephone.
"We have no business sharing the flame with people who do not deserve it."
The protesters chanted "Save Tibet!" and unfurled a banner which read "Stop Genocide in Tibet."
Police security was tight inside the stadium and around the city following small protests by pro-Tibet and human rights groups at the March 24 flame-lighting ceremony and during the weeklong Greek leg of the torch relay.
At Sunday's ceremony, Hellenic Olympic Committee president Minos Kyriakou delivered the flame to chief Beijing organizer Liu Qi. The flame will arrive in Beijing on Monday.
"The Chinese government and its people will host a grand welcoming ceremony and officially launch the torch relay of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games," Liu said. "The torch will for the first time ascend the summit of the world (Mount Everest), thereby testifying to the great strength of the Olympic movement in marking the progress of human civilization."
Kyriakou called for the flame to be respected during its journey.
"The Olympic flame is the timeless symbol which stirs admiration, pride and faith (in) the Olympic ideals and values," Kyriakou said. "I hope the world community welcomes the flame and honors it, showing the same feeling and necessary respect (as Greeks did)."
About 7,000 Greek and Chinese spectators inside the Panathenian Stadium watched as Greek triple jumper Hrysopigi Devetzi carried the torch into the stadium lined with Greek and Chinese flags. Greek presidential guards and actresses dressed as ancient priestesses looked on.
"It was an emotional experience for me," Devetzi said. "I hope the flame will bring light to all athletes, especially those from Greece and that everything with the games goes well."
On Saturday and Sunday, about 2,000 police were deployed around Athens.
Greek Olympic organizers have angrily condemned the protests, while two journalist groups and the small Left Coalition Party spoke out in their support.
The torch is to arrive Monday in Beijing on a purpose-fitted airliner. It then will travel through 20 countries before returning to mainland China - covering 85,100 miles.
Pro-Tibet groups are expected to stage protests along the international torch route and have already announced a demonstration in London on April 6 to coincide with the relay there.
Led by monks, the Tibet protests began peacefully on March 10 - the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. Tibet had been effectively independent for decades before Chinese communist troops entered in 1950.
Tibetan exiles say almost 140 people have died in the violence in Tibet. Beijing puts the number at 22.

NBA star is arrested

Former NBA player Isaiah Rider must appear in court next month after being arrested for driving a stolen car.
The 37-year-old Rider was arrested early Saturday morning for investigation of auto theft and was released from Los Angeles County jail in the afternoon. The sheriff's department Web site said he had been held in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Rider is scheduled to appear in court April 23.
Officer Norma Eisenman said Rider was driving a car that failed to stop at an intersection in the city's Skid Row district. Officers checking the license plates discovered the car had been reported stolen from South Los Angeles, police said. Rider was arrested and the car was impounded.
Rider played at UNLV before starting his pro career in 1993. He played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets before ending his career in 2001.
Rider had a string of arrests during and after his career for drug use, assault and other crimes. He also racked up large fines and suspensions during his career for offenses that ranged from being tardy to practice to spitting at fans.
In January, Berkeley police answering a report of a confrontation between a taxi driver and a passenger arrested Rider on Oakland warrants alleging unlawful firearm possession and grand theft.
Last year, he pleaded guilty in Marin County to several charges, including felony cocaine possession, battery and evading a police officer.
Prior to sentencing, he told the court his life had spun out of control

UFO

The tiny beach town of Capitola, California, is buzzing about a mysterious object that had been photographed on May 16 of last year. Someone using the name Raji posted images on the Website Craigslist, answered a few questions from UFO hunters around the world, and then just disappeared into cyberspace.
As news spread about the unidentified object, others came forward on the Web to say they had also seen it. Videos and other images of what soon became known as the “California Drone” were published on the Internet.
Then came a call in January to private detective T.K. Davis, a former Santa Clara County sheriff deputy. An unidentified woman from Open Minds Forum, a group specializing in “UFOology,” was willing to pay him $100 an hour to investigate the sighting.
Davis doesn’t believe in UFOs, but he took the woman seriously and has been on the case with a partner, Frankie Dixon, ever since. What does Davis think now? For one, he believes the object in the photo is too intricate to be the work of a Photoshop scam artist. He’s searched high and low to determine what it may be, and talked with many doubters, but has yet to find a logical answer.
Davis has even talked to the local power company to try to determine where the telephone pole in the photograph is located. Before vanishing, the person who claimed to take the photograph e-mailed the woman from the Open Minds Forum saying the image was shot outside his fiancee’s parents home. If Davis can find the telephone pole, he believes, he can find the person who took the photo.
An article published in the Los Angeles Times about the photographs last week has sparked more interest in the UFO sighting, but Davis says he still doesn’t have any solid evidence on whether or not the photographs are real. “The more research we’ve done, I’m leading towards believing,” he told the San Jose Mercury News. “I’m not a skeptic anymore.”
Many bloggers on UFO sites have called the images a hoax, claiming they have been digitally altered. Others have contacted Davis saying they had seen a UFO in Capitola several years ago. One person, a man named Isaac, who Davis found through the Mutual UFO Network, claims the strange object bears a similarity to crafts that were built as part of a U.S. government project he worked on in Palo Alto in the 1980s.
Davis has investigated this too, but can’t confirm the project ever existed. Speculation continues to run rampant, but until Davis speaks with Raji, the person who took the photos, he says it will remain a mystery.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Pete Wentz biography

Birth name is Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III.
Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III was born on June 5, 1979 in Wilmette, Illinois. He is the bassist and primary lyricist for the Chicago-based band Fall Out Boy. Pete grew up in the Chicago hardcore punk scene, and was in several bands before Fall Out Boy, including Firstborn, Arma Angelus, 7 Angels of the Apocalypse / Culture of Violence, Extinction, Forever Ended Today, and Yellow Road Priest. He grew up with band member, Joe Trohman. Fall Out Boy is the 4th band that Pete Wentz and Andy Hurley have done together.
Wentz has written a book entitled The Boy With the Thorn In His Side, which is a story based on nightmares he had as a child. It is named after a song by The Smiths. He has another book titled "Rainy Day Kids," which was scheduled to be released February 14th, 2006, but had been postponed because he was unsatisfied with some of the material. In addition, Wentz is currently writing another book, alternating chapters with William Beckett of The Academy Is....
Wentz has a company called Clandestine Industries, which distributes books and, more notably, clothing, among other things. Additionally, he owns his own imprint of Fueled By Ramen, Decaydance Records, which has signed on several bands, including: Panic! At The Disco, October Fall, Gym Class Heroes and The Hush Soundand Lifetime . He also has a film production company called Bartskull Films, which has released the DVD "Release the Bats", a film about Pete, his friends both in and outside of Fall Out Boy, and many Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen bands.
Trivia: He owns Clandestine Industries.
He wrote a book called The Boy With a Thorn in His Side.
He wrote all the songs on "From Under The Cork Tree".
Owns his own record label, Decaydance Records.
Was an all-state soccer player.
Plays bass guitar.
The eldest of three children. Has a younger brother and a younger sister.
Plays the piano.
Has 3 dogs - Pandora, Marley and Hemingway.
His personal quotes: "If you know me you know how uncool I am. I stutter, wear bad clothes, make bad jokes, make conversation uncomfortable, the list goes on. Thank you for making me feel okay."
"You can live with me in this house I've built out of writers blocks."
"My parents treat me like I'm 14. They make me clean my room and stuff like that. They're always like "I don't care what MTV says you are."
"See, there's the bands that you say you like to sound smart, and there's the bands you say you like to get laid. And then there's the bands you really listen to." -Rolling Stone Interview
"We're sick of hearing people say 'that band is so gay' or 'those guys are fags'. Gay is not a synonym for shitty. If you want to say something's shitty, say it's shitty. Stop being such homophobic assholes!"
"I was isolating myself further and further, and the more I isolated myself, the more isolated I'd feel. I wasn't sleeping. I just wanted my head to shut off, like, I just wanted to completely stop thinking about anything at all." - Rolling Stone Magazine On Ativan O.D Incident
"Underwear. It's like a god damned leash. It also constantly reminds me of how funny I look naked."
"I guess we're just one of those bands that just polarizes people. Some people worship the ground we walk on, and some people say we're ruining music and should just shut out mouths. If you want to keep either of those opinions, you should try not to engage us in a real conversation." (On being voted worst band of 2005 by Spin magazine.)
"I obsessively wanted to be in bands. I was probably fourteen when I got my first bass it was my friend's brother's, and we stole it. I was really into the idea that we could just play basement shows. The name of the first band was First Born, and it was terrible. We played this hair-metal place in Iowa they gave you 150 tickets to sell, and you give them the money. We gave the tickets away, said we lost the money, and this old Italian guy almost beat the f**k out of us. But to me it was awesome."
"I can be unhappy and I can be happy, I am just one human being that thinks about my life and tries to figure myself out. When I write about feeling ****** it's not because I want to put on black nail varnish and when I write songs about being happy it's not because I sold a million records. It's because I am going through my life and figuring it out as I go along."

Adam Gontier biography

Adam Wade Gontier (born May 21, 1978 in Norwood, Ontario, Canada) is the lead singer and guitarist of Three Days Grace.
Gontier was influenced by his mother, as well as The Beatles, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains.
His interest in guitar started with his mother listening to all types of music when he was growing up. Adam Gontier stated on the Three Days Grace website, "My mother is a musician, so she's really the one who introduced me to the experience of performing live. She got me singing with jam bands in bars when I was 12 years old. The Seattle music scene really inspired me and my songwriting."
Adam is currently on tour with his band Three Days Grace. While on tour he has posted surveys for people to answer with various questions on his Myspace. The cover of the album One-X includes a quote by Adam that states:
"I'm on the edge and falling off/and I'm sick of feeling numb/Help me believe it's not the real me/Maybe we can turn it around/Cause it's not too late/I'm standing here alone/feeling so stepped on/It wont be long until I'm burning on the inside/I just don't care anymore/And it drags me down/Things are clear/I will not die/We are one."
Adam has several tattoos, including a solid black band and some of the lyrics to the song "Never Too Late" (Now and again we try to just stay alive maybe we'll turn it around 'cause it's not too late it's never too late) on his right forearm, and a tribute to his grandmother on his left arm. While he was in Cleveland, Ohio on March 3rd, 2007 he added a tribal head design on his right upper arm.
Also in 2005, Gontier went to rehab for an addiction to Oxycontin at the Toronto rehab center CAMH, which is where many of the songs for One-X were written, including "Animal I Have Become", "Over and Over", "Pain" "Riot" and a few more. He is still sober, and a docu-drama about it named "Behind The Pain" was released in 2007.
In 2006, Adam was part of the Big Dirty Band project on the Trailer Park Boys soundtrack, along with other Canadian rockers including Lee, Lifeson, Care Failure, Jeff Burrows and Ian Thornley.
In 2007 Adam was featured on Apocalyptica's song "I Don't Care".
While Three Days Grace is on tour with Breaking Benjamin and Seether, Adam sings Amy Lee of Evanescence's part in the song "Broken" when Seether performs.
He married Naomi Faith Brewer in 2004.

87 reasons to love Canada

1. Polar bears. Big, white, beautiful.
2. The anti-gun rack. In which our pickup trucks carry umbrellas, not automatic weapons.
3. McIntosh apple. That sweet crunch was brought to you by Ontario's Johnny (Appleseed) McIntosh, in 1796.
4. Salmon. Our iconic survivor.
5. Greenpeace. For raising global environmental consciousness, and for saving whales.
6. Agnes McPhail. Here's to the leader of the pack: The first woman elected to Parliament, in 1921.
7. Bill Reid. World-renowned Haida artist and touchstone of a vibrant, cherished native culture.
8. Perogies. Smothered with butter, fried onions and sour cream. Thank you, old country.
9. The Canadian Shield. Impenetrable and massive, this central Canadian layer of igneous rock and coniferous forest is our protective shell.
10. Snow. Because we can't control it. And can't stop talking about it.
11. The Maple Leaf. Our flag, bold and graphically spare, makes the heart swell.
12. Arthur Erickson. He lives in a backyard Eden, but his buildings are all business, stark and purposeful.
13. Melting pot. Our ethnic soup does not always make for a smooth multicultural mix, but mostly it works.
14. Bay Street. Because Wall Street needs an evil twin.
15. Cougar. King of the Canadian jungle.
16. Howie Mandel. Obsessive-compulsive, bald, funny. The real deal.
17. The Carmanah Giant. Because no one grows trees like we do.
18. Canola. Good for us, and good for the Prairies.
19. Canadian bacon. Make fun if you will, as long as you serve it crisp.
20. Bonnie Fuller. Exclusive! The globe's No. 1 tabloid trash queen.
21. Quiet pride. We wear patriotism on our backpacks, where it should be.
22. Hudson's Bay point blanket. Warm, fuzzy symbolism for 226 years.
23. Beer. There are just some things we do better.
24. Michael Smith. He's gone, but the legacy of his biotechnical UBC work and his Nobel Prize for chemistry live on.
25. The Laurentians. Our coat of many colours.
26. Red serge. Our cops, from the musical ride to that sexy uniform, are standouts.
27. Newfoundland. Cod, screech, seal pups, that third official language. We love the Rock.
28. Narwhal. Think about it. A unicorn. In the ocean. Awesome.
29. William and Harry. Because they are real royalty, and hotties to boot.
30. Kim Campbell. Our first and only female prime minister. Swished her hips and took no prisoners.
31. Prairie wheat. The staff of life. Picturesque cash crop. For miles and miles.
32. Conrad Black. For marrying smart, and loving newspapers.
33. Maple syrup. Without which pancakes would just be a stack of fried flour.
34. Rideau Canal. Ice, skates, twinkle lights, hot chocolate. Norman Rockwell lives.
35. Bushes and boulders. Deserts, glaciers, sea shores, tropical forests, rivers, mountains, lakes, plains. Talk about having it all under one roof.
36. Todd McFarlane. He illustrated Spider-Man, spawned Spawn and bought that Mark McGwire baseball.
37. Giant pumpkins. Nova Scotia's Howard Dill had an idea. It grew to 1,446 pounds.
38. Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Invented by Toronto chemist John A. McLaughlin in 1907.
39. Manners. Some call us conservative. We call us polite.
40. Terry Fox. For still giving cancer a run for the money, 25 years on.
41. Water. We have it. Crisp, clean, cold. Lots of it.
42. 32 Million. Because we could all move to California, and there'd still be room to roam.
43. Grey Owl. The controversial self-adopted native Indian redeemed himself with a devotion to conservation.
44. Niagara Falls. Spectacular doesn't begin to describe them.
45. Alex Trebek. Who is that sophisticated, stalwart Jeopardy wrangler?
46. Trivial Pursuit. In which two Canadian journalists turn question-asking into early retirement.
47. William Shatner. Earth to Captain Kirk: you rock our world.
48. Eh. Say it loud. Say it proud.
49. Francophones. There'd be no Canada without them.
50. Pysanka. Vegreville's giant roadside Ukrainian Easter egg, proof positive that we have a sense of humour.
51. Paul Watson. Modern-day pirate. For making environmental waves.
52. Toronto Blue Jays. For putting world in the World Series.
53. Spotted owl. For shining a light on the creatures in the trees. And because we think Jack Munro once ate one for breakfast.
54. The border. An 8,891-kilometre room divider.
55. Lake of the Woods. 14,542 islands, 65,000 miles of shoreline. Now that's cottage country.
56. Peter Gzowski. Proof that a journalist can attract more flies with honey than vinegar.
57. Sour toe cocktail. And you think it was gold that put the Yukon on the map.
58. Mike Holmes: For those biceps and for teaching us the meaning of home renovation caveat emptor.
59. The Friendly Giant. Before Bert and Ernie, there was Jerome and Rusty and that little chair to rock in.
60. Grizzly bear. Big, brown and beautiful.
61. Farley Mowat. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be. Never Cry Wolf. The Boat Who Wouldn't Float. A Whale For The Killing. 'Nuff said.
62. The Rockies. Because every country needs a backbone.
63. Ken Read. For carving the path to Olympic downhill dominance, and for putting the crazy in Canuck.
64. Steve Nash. Here's to the little guy who made it in the basketball bigs.
65. Winnipeg. Mosquitoes, wind, sub-zero winters and pancake horizon, yet 700,000 of us seem to like it.
66. Canadian brain: From plastic garbage bags to goalie masks, from basketball to the Jolly Jumper, we have given the world more than one million inventions.
67. Blue $5, purple $10. No monochromatic greenbacks for us. Our money is funny.
68. Blame Canada. Terrorists. Blackouts. Social liberalism. Thanks, South Park. It's fun to be the scapegoat.
69. Sturgeon. That last of the living dinosaurs.
70. Que Pasa. North of the border, these Vancouver-made tortilla chips are simply the best.
71. Newt Suit. When you're safe and dry, 1,000 feet under the sea, tip your tank to Vancouver's Phil Nuytten.
72. Four Seasons. From sea to shining sea, a lovely ever-changing national mood swing.
73. Democracy. One free vote. Priceless.
74. Simon Fraser. For charting our borders, and taking on those rapids.
75. Beaver. Because, as a national symbol, the eagle is just so obvious.
76. Moose. Improbable forest titan. With quite the rack.
77. Ken Taylor. His Canadian caper while ambassador in Iran -- securing the release of six U.S. hostages from Tehran in 1979 -- still carries bragging rights.
78. Highway signs. Green and white and read all over. Easily.
79. Brent Carver. For his Broadway turn, and his Tony, in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
80. Dinosaurs. No, not Ralph Klein, but the paleontological pile of bones in Drumheller's Royal Tyrrell Museum.
81. Ken Thomson. For his business smarts, and for donating $300-plus million worth of art to our museums.
82. Jim Carrey. Must be something in the water, because we breed the funniest comedians. Ever.
83. Canada. It's easy to spell. It means village. What's not to like?
84. 139 candles. Because our future is so bright we should be wearing shades.
85. Three Days Grace
86. Finger Eleven
87. Hot singers like Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace, born in Norwood, Ontario, Canada on May 21, 1979.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

tyra banks has a stalker!

Its about time that there is another celebrity stalker! And the victim is Tyra Banks.
It seems as though bringing her television show to the Big Apple may have turned out to be more than what Tyra Banks bargained for.
According to published reports, the tv diva is reportedly living in fear of a hulking stalker who's been terrorizing her for months and was set free by a judge last week.
A 37-year-old stalker named Brady Green has been nipping at Banks' heels for the past few months and was arrested last week for it.
Cops and prosecutors said that the Dublin, Georgia native has hounded Banks with multiple letters and phone calls since early January. He even started sending her flowers and showing up to the set of her Los Angeles studio.
On March 18, Green showed up at the New York City studio where Banks films her daily talk show. Carrying a large duffel bag stuffed with magazine write-ups about Banks and notes to himself about his various attempts to reach her, the tall, dark and husky man asked to speak to her but was immediately cleared from the premises after cops were called.
The New York Post reports that a source spotted Green, just a few hours later, sitting across the street in a window seat at a McDonald's, drinking coffee and flipping through one of his magazines.
Green told police he was homeless, although he appeared clean and dressed in neat, casual clothing, they said. Cops arrested him in the restaurant and charged him with stalking, harassment and criminal trespass.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

giant marine life found

Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size of some specimens found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and 2-foot-wide starfish.
A 2,000-mile journey through the Ross Sea that ended Thursday has also potentially turned up several new species, including as many as eight new mollusks.
It's "exciting when you come across a new species," said Chris Jones, a fisheries scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "All the fish people go nuts about that - but you have to take it with a grain of salt."
The finds must still be reviewed by experts to determine if they are in fact new, said Stu Hanchet, a fisheries scientist at New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
But beyond the discovery of new species, scientists said the survey, the most comprehensive to date in the Ross Sea, turned up other surprises.
Hanchet singled out the discovery of "fields" of sea lilies that stretched for hundreds of yards across the ocean floor.
"Some of these big meadows of sea lilies I don't think anybody has seen before," Hanchet said.
Previously only small-scale scientific samplings have been staged in the Ross Sea.
The survey was part of the International Polar Year program involving 23 countries in 11 voyages to survey marine life and habitats around Antarctica. The program hopes to set benchmarks for determining the effects of global warming on Antarctica, researchers said.
Large sea spiders, jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles, huge sea snails and starfish the size of big food platters were found during a 50-day voyage, marine scientist Don Robertson said.
Cold temperatures, a small number of predators, high levels of oxygen in the sea water and even longevity could explain the size of some specimens, said Robertson, a scientist with NIWA.
Robertson added that of the 30,000 specimens collected, hundreds might turn out to be new species.
Stefano Schiaparelli, a mollusk specialist at Italy's National Antarctic Museum in Genoa, said he thought the find would yield at least eight new mollusks.
"This is a new brick in the wall of Antarctic knowledge," Schiaparelli said.

Friday, March 21, 2008

celtics leaders

Points:
  • Paul Pierce 20.0
  • Kevin Garnett 18.8
  • Ray Allen 18.3
  • Sam Cassell 11.9

Rebounds:

  • Kevin Garnett 9.5
  • Kendrick Perkins 6.2
  • Paul Pierce 5.4
  • James Posey 4.3

Assists:

  • Rajon Rondo 5.0
  • Paul Pierce 4.7
  • Sam Cassell 4.4
  • Kevin Garnett 3.4

corny riddles that are useless

1) what goes up and down stairs without moving??
2) what lives when you give it food and dies when you give it water??
3) what can you catch but not throw??
4) i run, even though i do not have legs, what am i??
5) take one out and scratch my head, i am now black but once was red...
6) remove outside, cook inside, eat the outside, throw away the inside...
7) what goes around the world and stays in a corner??
8) what gets wetter the more it dries??
9) the more there is, the less you see...
10) they come at night without being called and are lost in the day without being stolen...
11) what kind of room has no windows or doors??
12) i have holes on the top and bottom, i have holes on my left and on my right, i have holes in the middle, and yet i still hold water. what am i??
13) i look at you, you look at me, i raise my right and you raise your left, what is this object??
14) it has no top or bottom but it can hold flesh, bones, and blood at the same time, what is it??
15) the more you take the more you leave behind...
16) light as a feather, there is nothing in it, the strongest man can't hold it for much more than a minute...
17) as i walked along the path i saw something with four fingers and one thumb, but it was not flesh, fish, bone, or fowl...
18) what can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps??
19) i went into the woods and got it, i sat down to seek it, i brought it home with me because i couldn't find it...
20) what can fill up a room but takes up no space??


The answers!!!


1) carpet
2) fire
3) a cold
4) a nose
5) a match
6) corn
7) a stamp
8) towel
9) darkness
10) stairs
11) a mushroom
12) a sponge
13) a mirror
14) a ring
15) footsteps
16) breath
17) glove
18) river
19) splinter
20) light

celtics @ mavericks

Doc Rivers played for San Antonio and has a son named Austin, so he has some ties to the Lone Star State.
Now he has a Texas-sized accomplishment, too.
With a 94-90 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday night, Rivers' Boston Celtics became the first team to win consecutive games in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas since the Sacramento Kings did it in November 2001.
Considering the milestones attached to each win, it's possible no team has ever handled the so-called Texas triangle like Boston just did.
The Celtics ended the Rockets' 22-game winning streak on Tuesday, the day after they gave the Spurs their first home loss in six weeks. They finished it up by coming to Dallas and handing the Mavs just their sixth home loss.
"We don't want to see Texas again," Rivers said. "It's a great state, but we don't want to see these three teams any more. They're too tough."
The good news for everyone, then, is that the soonest the Celtics could return is the NBA finals.
"That team has got to feel really good coming to Texas, through the triangle, and get all three games," Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse said. "I know they have a lot of confidence."
Ray Allen returned from a three-game injury absence to score 21 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 31.7 seconds left. Allen had to watch the first 10:06 of the fourth quarter from the bench, then nailed the only shot he took in the final period.
In the only other games Thursday night, San Antonio cruised past Chicago 102-80 and the Los Angles Lakers beat Utah 106-95.
Paul Pierce scored 22 and had a season-high 13 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett added 20 and 13. Boston upped its NBA-best record to 55-13 while winning for the 14th time in 15 games. The Celtics ended a seven-game losing streak in Dallas and swept the season series for the first time since 1993-94.
Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 19 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had nine assists, 11 rebounds and two points, but Dallas fell to 0-7 against teams with winning records since Kidd arrived.
The Mavericks led for most of the second half, but couldn't pull it out at the end. That's been typical in this new Kidd era, with five of their losses by six points or less. They were coming off a 2-point loss to the Lakers, although in that one they had to claw back from a 25-point deficit.
Dallas needs to snap out of it soon with San Antonio coming to town Sunday. The Mavs had won five straight against losing teams before these back-to-back home losses, the first time that's happened all season.
"The energy was there," coach Avery Johnson said. "Some things didn't go our way, but we hung in there."
Neither team led by more than seven, which kept the intensity going up. Things got snippy in the fourth quarter, especially between Nowitzki and Garnett, although nothing ever escalated beyond tough play.
Nowitzki put Dallas up 88-87 with 1:54 left, then neither team scored until Allen swished his jumper from the left side.
"It was a play Doc drew up in the timeout," Allen said. "Stack fell and I got to the 3-point line. I shot it high so that if I missed, KG could go up for the rebound."
Nowitzki missed the chance for a tying layup, then James Posey stretched the lead with a pair of free throws. A layup by Erick Dampier got Dallas back within two with 6.7 seconds left, but Garnett sealed it with two more foul shots.
The Celtics took 18 free throws in the fourth quarter. They took 17 over the first three quarters combined. Boston made 30 of the 35.
The accuracy from the line was needed because the Celtics shot only 34.5 percent from the field, dragged down by starting point guard Rajon Rondo going 0-for-7 and backup Sam Cassell going 1-for-9. Cassell played the entire fourth quarter, as did Posey, who was 4-of-5 with 12 points.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

man sells himself and everything else

A painful breakup with his wife has prompted a man to put his entire life - his house, his car, his job, even his friends - up for sale online in an effort to start over.
Ian Usher, a British immigrant to Australia, said Tuesday he would auction everything he owns and more on e-Bay starting June 22.
"On the day it's all sold and settled, I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet in one pocket and my passport in the other, nothing else at all," Usher says on his Web site.
Up for bid is Usher's three bedroom house in the western city of Perth and everything inside it, his car, motorcycle, jet ski and parachuting gear.
Usher says he is also selling a one-time introduction to his friends and a trial run at his job - a plan endorsed by his friends and his employer.
In media interviews on Tuesday, Usher said he wants a fresh start after realizing that most things in his current life remind him of the relationship he had with the wife of five years whom he broke up with more than a year ago.
"Everything that I have - the furniture in the house - all has memories attached to it," Usher, 44, told Seven Network television. "It's time to shed the old, and in with the new."
Usher said his life will be sold in one lot, and that bidders should expect to pay more than $390,000, which is the upper end of a realtor's valuation of his house that he has posted online.
Joy Jones, who co-owns the rug store in Perth where Usher worked as a shop assistant, said she liked the auction idea and wanted to help out. Joy Jones Rugs is offering the successful bidder a two-week trial, which could be extended for three months and then become permanent if it works out.
"When Ian came with this idea - because we had seen him go through a breakup of marriage and pain and bits and pieces - I thought it was really exciting," Jones told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "We thought, why not give it a go?"
Usher said his friends in Perth had also proved willing to be introduced to the highest bidder - allowing him to advertise his auction as offering a complete lifestyle.
Usher, who was born in Darlington, England, planned to open the auction at noon Perth time on June 22 and accept the last bid exactly one week later.
He said he hopes to set off traveling, including a visit to his mother in England, as soon as the auction is over.
"My current thoughts are to then head to the airport, and ask at the flight desk where the next flight with an available seat goes to, and to get on that and see where life takes me from there," he wrote online.

Monday, March 17, 2008

news from Australia

The discovery of the wreckage of a warship that sank with all 645 men aboard in a fierce World War II battle promises clues to one of Australia's most enduring mysteries - how the pride of its navy could have been lost to a lightly armed German cruiser.
The remains of battle cruiser HMAS Sydney were discovered off western Australia on Sunday, 66 years after it sank on Nov. 19, 1941, after a battle with the German vessel DKM Kormoran in the worst naval disaster in Australia's history.
All 645 sailors aboard the Sydney were lost and its final resting place remained elusive until sonar technology advanced enough to scour waters more than 1.2 miles deep.
The Kormoran also sank, but 317 of its 397-member crew survived and rowed lifeboats to the Australian coast, where they were taken prisoner.
Australians have long been incredulous that the Sydney could have been lost to the German auxiliary cruiser. For years, various alternate theories have abounded - including that a Japanese submarine really sank the Sydney or that the Kormoran's crew machine-gunned Australian survivors.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Monday announced the find, and quickly declared the zone around the Sydney as a protected site to honor the dead.
The chief of the Royal Australian Navy, Vice Admiral Russ Shalders, said the find would finally help determine exactly what happened to the Sydney.
"For 66 years, this nation has wondered where the Sydney was and what occurred to her. We've uncovered the first part of that mystery ... the next part of the mystery, of course, is what happened," Shalders told a joint news conference with Rudd.
The Sydney was found upright in 8,100 feet of water on Sunday about 500 miles north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia state, Rudd said.
A $3.9 million, government-funded sonar search found the Kormoran a day earlier about 14 miles away from the Sydney, he said.
Calls to find the Sydney had gained intensity in recent years as siblings and widows of crew members have pleaded for answers before they die. The search began two weeks ago and is headed by U.S. shipwreck hunter David Mearns.
Relatives welcomed the find as helping to resolve pain caused by not knowing where their loved ones died, or exactly what happened to them.
"I haven't felt the sense of relief, but I've broken down and cried," Barbara Craill, whose father Walter Freer, a 38-year-old gunner, disappeared aboard the Sydney, told television's Nine Network.
Ted Graham, chairman of the Finding Sydney Foundation, the group carrying out the search, said a remote-controlled submarine would be used to further examine the wreckage for clues about the battle.
The searchers plan to replace high resolution sonar equipment with cameras this week to take the first pictures of the wrecks of both ships.
Over the years, books and newspapers have speculated the Sydney approached the German raider, which had been disguised as a Dutch merchant ship before the battle, thinking it had surrendered and that the Kormoran then opened fire with the first devastating salvo of the battle.
The German survivors denied this, saying they dropped their disguise and hoisted the German ensign before firing on the Sydney.
Wes Olsen, the author of a book about the Sydney published in 2000, said no one would ever know why the Sydney came within range of the German ship's guns.
"We are always going to be in the dark as to what prompted the captain of Sydney to go so close to what must have been clear to him a suspicious vessel," Olsen told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Many people did not trust the accounts given by the German survivors of the battle - the only witnesses. The Sydney's radio remained silent throughout the brief and ferocious battle.
Australian newspapers have published accusations the German crew massacred Sydney survivors with machine-gun fire. The Germans who survived steadfastly denied such accusations, which have been never been supported by evidence.
The Germans said they were in life rafts when they last saw the blazing Sydney limping over the horizon toward Perth, lighting the night sky as it burned from bow to stern.
Another popular theory is that the Sydney was sunk by a Japanese submarine a month before Japan officially entered the war by attacking the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. No evidence has been found to support this theory.
A parliamentary inquiry found in 1999 that the Kormoran's underwater torpedo tubes could have been decisive in the Australians' catastrophic loss.
Sonar images of the Sydney wreck supports that theory, said Mearns, the shipwreck hunter who was involved in finding the wrecks of the British battle cruiser the HMS Hood and the DKM Bismarck, the German battleship that sank it in the North Atlantic in 1941.
He said the wreck was largely intact, but a 80-foot section of the bow had snapped off.
"Our feeling now is that the loss of the bow which had been weakened by the torpedo hit on her port side ... is probably what ... sent Sydney to the seabed," Mearns said.

opossum facts

Nicknamed the living fossil, the opossum dates back to the days of the dinosaur.
The opossum is the only living marsupial (mammal with a pouch) in North America today.
Weighing in at 9 pounds, the opossum has a white face, a fuzzy grey body, naked ears, and a scaly, prehensile tail. Prehensile means that the tail is adapted for seizing, grasping, and wrapping itself around objects. The common picture of opposums hanging by their tails is, for the most part, a myth. A young oposum may hang briefly by its tail. But an adult opossum's body is far too heavy to be held suspended by its tail. The opossum actually uses its tail to stabilize its body while climbing.
Opossums are not related to rats. They are marsupials and are exceptionally clean. Like cats, they are fastidious and groom themselves.
Opossums are extremely resistant to disease. They have a strong resistance to rabies and to snake bites, including rattlesnakes.
Opossums are sometimes referred to as the sanitation engineers of the forest. They help to keep the environment clean by consuming carion and all kinds of bugs, including roaches. They help gardeners by consuming snails, slugs, and other destructive creatures. They also eat over ripe fruit before it rots and catch and eat rats. In fact, opossums will eat just about anything. Leave a bowl of cat food or dog food out long enough and you'll probably attract a opposum. But you may never see your extra dinner guest: opossums are strictly nocturnal.
Opossums carry bundles of leaves and stems clasped in their tails when they are building nests.
Opossums are born after a gestation period of only 13 days. Blind, embryonic in appearance, and about the size of a bee, the newborn opossum crawls unaided to its mother's pouch. The nipple completely fills the tiny opossum's mouth, firmly attaching it to its mother. The opossum then remains in the mother's pouch for another 7 weeks, until it is large enough to detach itself from the nipple.
Mother opossums carry their babies on their backs, each night, when they prowl for food. Grown opossums generally live alone.

Opossums are non-aggressive creatures. Generally, they will flee from danger. However, in extreme circumstances, they will go into a state of shock which causes their bodies to become stiff and their breathing to slow down. Drool will trickle from their mouths. In many cases, a predator will give up its attack, on the assumption that the opossum is already dead.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Three Days Grace bio

The band originally began under the name Groundswell in 1992, consisting of 5 teenagers from Norwood, Ontario Canada and performing their first gigs while still in high school. 5 years later in 1997 the band became a trio consisting of founding members Adam Gontier (vocals, guitar), Brad Walst (bass), and Neil Sanderson (drums) and from the ashes of Groundswell, renamed themselves Three Days Grace.
Gontier and Walst were raised in the small town of Norwood consisting of a meager population of 1500 people. According to them, the town, where everyone knew each other, provided much of the inspiration behind their songs. Sanderson also lived close by in a slightly larger town.
During the initial years of Three Days Grace, the band played as many gigs as possible and anywhere they could, including opening for a movie. While performing predominantly covers, the band slowly integrated their original music into their sets and this saw their popularity steadily grow. The hard and often dark rock sound was nothing new to the music world, with plenty of brooding and angst ridden rock acts already established. The difference was that Three Days Grace performed with an energy and sincerity rarely seen, while maintaining a hard edged sound that was still melodic.
Eventually the band decided to move to the much larger city of Toronto after speaking to their old manager who introduced them to producer Gavin Brown. Brown was given a private 90 minute performance by the band and he took advantage by using this show to begin to compile a demo for EMI Music Publishing Canada. Brown continued to work with the band polishing and producing the eventual single "(I Hate) Everything About You." It was on the strength of this demo and indeed this single, which saw them gain a publishing deal with EMI and they were then signed to Jive Records. It was now only a matter of time before Three Days Grace would enter the world of rock with the power of a sledgehammer combining their raw emotion and limitless energy.
In 2003 the band recorded what would become Three Days Grace's self titled debut album in a remote studio. The studio in Boston was once part of the production of Jeff Buckley's "Grace" album of which Gontier was a huge fan. Aside from this the remote studio ensured the band had little else to do but work, without distraction. The album was completed in Woodstock, New York and released on July 22, 2003. "(I Hate) Everything About You" was the first single and an instant success in both Canada and then the U.S. garnering continuous play on Alternative and College radio stations.
The other singles from the album were "Just Like You" and "Home". All three singles were top 100 in the U.S. billboard charts and top 5 in the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts. "Just like you" was the most successful single peaking at number 1 in 2004 on the Modern Rock charts. Despite their heavy sound the band made no secret of its influences not least of which included early nineties alternative rock bands "Kyuss" and "Sunny Day Real Estate". However, Gontier also appreciated the classic lyrical genius of bands such as "the Beatles.
While only being around for a short time, after the success of their first album and supporting huge bands such as Nickelback, Three days Grace have already been given the next big thing tag.



Wednesday, March 12, 2008

proof that you do not do your best thinking on the toilet

Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years - she was there so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police!
Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said Wednesday that it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.
"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."
Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend.
"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."
He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom. Now i know that they say you do your best thinking in the bathroom....but she was in there way too long!
"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,"' Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."
The boyfriend called police on Feb. 27 to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend," Whipple said, adding that he never explained why it took him two years to call.
Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.
Now that is disgusting! She was dressed, and her skin still grew around the toilet! EWW!
"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.
She clearly wan't okay if they had to pry the seat off the toilet to get her to the hospital.
She was reported in fair condition at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.
Of course she was unruly! She had a toilet seat stuck to her butt!
Authorities said they did not know if she was mentally or physically disabled.
Hmmmmm....
Police have declined to release the couple's names, but the house where authorities say the incident happened is listed in public records as the residence of Kory McFarren. No one answered his home phone number.
I wonder why he would not want to answer the phone....
The case has been the buzz of Ness City, said James Ellis, a neighbor.
"I don't think anybody can make any sense out of it," he said.
Ellis said he had known the woman since she was a child but that he had not seen her for at least six years.
Of course he didnt see her! She was stuck on peoples' toilets!
He said she had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up. At one time the woman worked for a long-term care facility, he said, but he did not know what kind of work she did there.
Maybe she was a patient....
"It really doesn't surprise me," Ellis said. "What surprises me is somebody wasn't called in a bit earlier."

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

drivin and using hands-free cellphone

A study concludes that just listening to a cellphone distracts drivers. This is raising questions about the effectiveness of laws that ban only the use of handheld devices while driving.
California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands prohibit drivers from using handheld cellphones, however, no jurisdiction bans hands-free phones, says Jonathan Adkins who is a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state and territorial highway safety offices.
Adkins says that allowing hands-free phones "really gives drivers a false sense of safety." He adds that he has seen no evidence that bans on handheld phones have prevented accidents.
Neuroscientist Marcel Just, director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, agrees. 29 volunteers were just studied who used a driving simulator while inside an MRI brain scanner. The volunteers steered a car along a virtual winding road undisturbed or while deciding whether a sentence they heard was true or false.
Listening while driving led to a "significant deterioration in driving accuracy," Just and his co-authors write in the latest issue of the journal Brain Research. The drivers hit the guardrail and veered out of the center of the lane more often while listening.
In the listening situation, MRI brain scans found a 37% decrease in parietal lobe activity. The parietal lobe is associated with spatial processing, so it is critical for navigation. Activity also decreased in the occipital lobe, which processes visual information.
"Certain activities in life are inherently multitasking, but driving and cellphone use isn't something Mother Nature thought about when she was designing our brains," Just says.
But banning cellphones outright is "too draconian," Just believes. "I could imagine banning them during rush hour, maybe during inclement weather."
Besides, say Just and Joy Hendrick, who has found that college-aged drivers don't brake as quickly when talking on either a handheld or a hands-free phone, it is unlikely that busy lawmakers would support a ban.
For now, the researchers say, they would just like to raise awareness of the problem. Hendrick, a kinesiology professor at State University of New York-Cortland, says drivers need to ask themselves: "Do I need to make this call?" If the answer is yes, she says, then they should think about pulling over or at least keeping the call as brief as possible.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Hillary Clinton campaign comercial is fake

Okay, i am sure that you have seen a lot of campaign ads on tv. And one of them is a total lie! It is the comercial in which a little girl is shown sleeping in her room late at night. In this comercial the spot asks which candidate is willing to answer the White House phone, especially at 3am, implying that Obama has a lack of experience. And the 8 year old girl shown sleeping actually supports Obama. Because as it turns out, that girl is really 18 and the video shown is stock footage from a decade ago!
"What I don't like about the ad is its fear-mongering," Knowles told ABC's "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" on Sunday. "I think it's a cheap hit to take. I really prefer Obama's message of looking forward to a bright future."
The ad aired in Texas before last week's vote and implied that Obama had a lack of experience. The comercial showed the exterior of a colonial-style with the old stock footage of Knowles sleeping. Then you hear a narrator describing a phone ringing in the White House. Saying "Its 3am and your children are safely asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?" Clinton ended up winning the Texas primary.
Knowles said she didn't see the ad until Jon Stewart lampooned it on Thursday on "The Daily Show." Her brother was the one who noticed it was her, and the family replayed the commercial on their digital recorder to be sure. "They were parodying this ad, kind of poking fun at it," Knowles said. "My brother was like, 'Is that Casey?' And we just erupted. Sure enough, it's me." The footage was originally shot for a railroad company advertisement. But the Clinton campaign bought it from Getty Images.
Knowles is a senior at Bonney Lake High School and will turn 18 next month. She has been campaigning for Obama. She attended his rally at Seattle's Key Arena on Feb. 8. Her mother, Pam, told The News Tribune of Tacoma that Casey cried and trembled after shaking the candidate's hand.
She could be in another ad. After her identity became known, Obama's campaign contacted her. "I mentioned that we should make a counter ad, me and Obama, against Hillary," she said. "They thought that was really funny. They actually might take me up on it."
With that said, Knowles said she plans to vote for whichever Democrat wins the nomination.

Isn't that incredible? I know that it isn't really.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

JSYK

JSYK....when i say "UF", it doesn't mean f___ you. It is like UGH! Okay? So whoever Jessica is, she needs to stop bothering me about it.

whale facts

Humpback Whale

Average Length: (Adult) 35-50 ft (Newborn) 13-16 ft
Average Weight: (Adult) 23-30 tons (Birth) 1-2 tons
Population: 18,000-20,000 (2002 figure)
Lifespan: estimated to be around 40 years (1998 figure)
Threats: Caught in fishing nets, human disturbance, and being tangled in marine pollution
The flukes (tails) have a distinct pattern on the underside, much like our fingerprints
The humpback whale breaches more frequently than other baleen whales
The Pacific humpback's pectoral fins are white underneath & black on top..
The Atlantic humpback's pectoral fins are white on both sides- which makes it easier for us to see them
While in their breeding grounds- the whales do NOT eat!
Some humpbacks feed in the Southern Ocean and go north to their reproductive areas!
Can stay underwater for 30 minutes but often dives for much shorter periods of time, usually 5 to 10 minutes
Humpbacks emit high frequency "clicks" reaching 30,000 Hz
The males produce, in frequencies between 20 and 9,000 Hz, songs that are the longest and the most varied in all the animal kingdom, with repeated sequences about 15 minutes long
When they are in cold waters, the humpback whale eats 2 tons of fish and planktonic crustaceans a day, in 2 to 4 meals
Where to Look (Summer): Alaska, Cape Cod, Vancouver (B.C.), ...
Where to Look (Winter): Dominican Republic, Turks & Caicos Islands , Hawaii, Costa Rica, Tonga, ...


Orca Whale

Average Length: (Adult) 18-32 ft (Newborn) 7-8 ft
Average Weight: (Adult) 2.6-9 tons (Birth) 395 lbs
Nicknames: Killer whale, blackfish, grampus
Diet: "opportunistic"- the orca is one of the ocean's top predators (see below)
Range: All oceans of the world
Threats: Capture for public display, hunting, pollution
The largest member of the dolphin family
There is no known case of a wild orca ever killing a human
Orcas stay in long-term social groups, or pods, for life (group size: 3-25)
Orcas can be reliably seen on tours around Vancouver Island, off Antarctica, Norway, and Iceland, and occasionally in many other areas
Orcas can travel at up to 34 mph (55 km/h)
There are 2 'genetically' distinct forms of orcas, known as "transients" and "residents"
A versatile predator and has one of the most varied diets of all cetaceans. It is known to eat anything from squid, fish, and birds to sea turtles, seals, and dolphins; it will even tackle animals as large as Blue Whales!
Gestation period is thought to be 12-16 months, with most calves born between October and March
Where to Look: One of the most wide-ranging mammals on earth, though distribution is patchy. Seen more often in cooler waters than in the tropics and subtropics.


Gray Whale


Average Length: (Male) 43 ft (Female) 41 ft (Newborn) 15 ft
Average Weight: (Adult) 26 tons (Birth) 1,500 lbs
Nicknames: Mussel digger, hard head, devil fish, gray back
Group size: Generally 1-3; traveling groups can contain up to 16; hundreds can gather in good feeding conditions
Lifespan: between 30 and 40 years, but may even be up to 60 years
Gray whales are messy eaters
Only whale that is known to feed often in the sand and mud ("bottom feeder")... feeding on shellfish, crabs and worms
Each year, gray whales (only found in the North Pacific ocean) make the 12,400 mile round trip between Mexico and Alaska
The cruising speed during migration is about 1 to 3 miles per hour
Eastern Pacific gray whales, nearly extinct in the late nineteenth century, are now thought to number more than 20,000 (1998 figure)
Young gray whales are often 'friendly', coming to the side of boats and even lifting them out of the water
Pregnant females give birth to single calves just before or soon after arriving at the breeding lagoons; beginning in late December
Gestation period is about 13.5 months, with approximately 2 years between pregnancies
Where to Look: Found in Arctic feeding grounds April to November, and in Mexican breeding grounds December to April. Migrates south October to February, and north February to July.


Blue Whale


The largest living creature on Earth!
The record appears to be at least 110 feet long and a weight of 209 tons (It was a female)
Average Length: (Male) 82 ft (Female) 85 ft (Birth) 19 1/2 ft
Average Weight: (Adult) 100-120 tons (Newborn) 2.5-4 tons
Population: low thousands (2002 figure)
Diet: Krill and Fish
Range: All oceans of the world
Lifespan: More than 80 years
Threats: Loss of food, pollution
A blue whale drinks 50-150 gallons of milk a day, adding about 8 pounds of weight per hour, or 200 pounds a day
At about 8 months of age, when the calf is weened, it can measure close to 50 feet long and weigh about 50,000 pounds
At sea, blue whales usually feed alone or in pairs, often widely spaced
A blue whale's "blow" can reach as high as 30 feet!
During the feeding period, a blue whale can ingest 4 tons of krill a day. They feed at the beginning and the end of the night at a depth of at least 130 feet (40 m).
Pre-whaling population estimates were over 350,000 blue whales, but up to 99% of blue whales were killed during whaling efforts
Blue whales have no known predators (other than humans during the whaling years)
By the 1950s, blue whales were endangered

facts about llamas

Llamas are members of the Camelid family. Camelids originated on the central plains of North America where they lived for 40 million years. Three million years ago llama like animals dispersed to South America. By the end of the Ice Age camelids were extinct in North America. Llamas were domesticated from guanacos in the Andean Highlands of Peru 1000-5000 years ago and are among the oldest domestic animals in the world. Primarily a beast of burden, they provided native herdsman with meat, fiber for clothing, hide for shelter, pellets for fuel and offerings to their gods. Today there are an estimated 4 million llamas in South America and 80,000 in the United States.
Uses include breeding stock, fiber production, pack animals, therapy, driving animals, show animals, guard animals and pets.
Llamas are intelligent and easy to train. In just 1-5 repetitions, they will pick up and retain many skills: as accepting a halter, being led, loading in and out of a vehicle, golf caddies, pulling a cart or carrying a pack. These highly social animals need the companionship of their species. Independent, yet shy, llamas are gentle and curious. Their calm nature and common sense make them easy for
anyone, even children, to handle.
Llamas are a modified ruminant with a three-compartment stomach. They chew their cud like cattle and sheep. Because of a relatively low protein requirement due to their efficient digestive system, they can be kept on a variety of pasture or hay. One llama eats approximately four square bales of hay per month.
Spitting, the llamas way of saying "Bug Off", is normally used between llamas to divert annoying suitors, ward off a perceived threat and most commonly, to establish pecking order at meal time. An occasional llama, who has been forced to tolerate excessive human handling, may have developed an intolerance for or fear of humans and will spit if they feel threatened.
Llamas communicate with a series of ear, body and tail postures, as well as a shrill alarm call and a contented humming sound.
A single baby (cria) is normally delivered from a standing mother during daylight hours with cria's average birth weight of 18-35 pounds. Babies (cria) are normally up and nursing within 90 minutes. Twin births are rare. They are weaned at about five months.
Because llamas and their ancestors are especially suited to the harsh environment of their Andean homeland, North American owners will find them remarkably hardy, healthy, easy to care for and virtually disease free. Llamas have a life span of 20-30 years. Average height at the shoulder is 40-45" and 5.5-6'
at the head. When mature they will weigh 200-400 pounds.
Oil-free, lightweight llama fiber is warm, luxurious and popular with spinners and weavers. A llama can produce 2-8 pounds of fiber. Fiber color ranges from white to black, with shades of gray, beige, brown, red and roam between. It may be solid, spotted or marked in an array of patterns.
Llamas are excellent packers. They carry 70-120 pounds and are not ridden except by children. Its two-toed feet with leathery pads give them great surefootedness. This and the llamas ability to browse, make little impact on the environment.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

last night's game

Boston got P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell. However, only Brown played. Cassell watched his new team courtside. Pierce scored 22 points and Garnett added another 16 and 8 rebounds. Boston made their seventh consecutive win with a 116-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Perkins got 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was difficult to recognize Scalabrine last night, because he shaved his head. Wow. What a difference that can make. But he did so for charity, St. Baldrick's Foundation raises money for childhood cancer research. Garnett seemed excited to see that Cassell would be joining the team. They had been teammates playing for Minnesota from 2003-2005. And Glen "Big Baby" Davis pursued a loose ball in the final minutes. And doing so he took out several seats at the scorer's table. The top player for Boston last night was Paul Pierce. The top player for Chicago was Ben Gordon.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

UF!

I was just checking my blog and i was going to update some stuff. But i noticed that for the first time, i had a comment on one of my blogs. It was about my "Japanese planning to override the world with robots" blog. I don't ever mean to be racist. That is not what i am about. I simply read about the latest and greatest news. And then i write about it in here. So don't be saying that i hate the Japanese because i don't. I was just saying my opinion. Which was that they seem to be pretty bored and lonely so they make robots. Okay? I don't know if some of the things that i say offend you. But i never mean to target people from certain countries. I just wish that you would follow that kindergarten rule of "if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all". And if you don't like me or my blogs, then go away. You don't have to come check the latest stuff every day. So if you have a problem, then build a bridge and get over it.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Brittain Astrologer vs Hitler

Okay, today's news is kinda wierd. No. More like really wierd.
We all know and remember WW2. You know, with Hitler and the Nazis.
Well, there is a report that just came out saying that the Brits hired an astrologist to help them against Hitler. Louis de Wohl was hired by brittish spies to write horoscopes for Hitler and his Nazi leaders.
How retarded! How do you plan to overthrow Hitler with some freakin horoscopes?
The retarded brittish spies hoped that the horoscopes would give some insight on Hitler. WTF?!?!
The article doesn't give much info. But it says that the spies claimed that they regretted hiring Wohl because he was a triator. What? Did he give Hitler the wrong horoscopes?





And in other news....
The price of pizza is getting higher. DOUGH!
Wheat usually costs $3-$5 a bushel. But now it costs $25 a bushel! In the past 2 weeks, a 50 pound bag of flour in New York went from costing $16 to $26. It only cost $9 in 2006. The price of cheese has also increased. So this is why your pizza might cost more.

Monday, March 3, 2008

they so gangsta

Okay, today's big update comes to us from South Dakota. Nobody ever seems to care about South Dakota. It's like we only focus on the drug addict celebrities in New York and California. So it is nice to hear something new.
Anyways, there is a "major" issue in South Dakota involving gang branding. Apparently, gang members are branding themselves with cigarette lighters, heated knives, and are also using other means which will not be released. Probably because some other teens will go looking to brand themselves in new ways. You know, cuz using a cattle prod just isn't very "hip".
Catch this, the state legislators want to make it illegal if it involves minors. They could care less about the twenty something year olds that are branding themselves with pocket knives.
The State Judiciary Committee approved a bill recently. It threatens a penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine for branding minors. So....this isn't really about the gangs. It's only really about the children. Because we want them to wait until they are at least 21 to use knives and cigarette lighters on their bodies.
Oh, but if you are a repeat offender, you can face four years in prison and a $4,000 fine. So don't just think that you will get to spend more time with your homies on the chain gang. Because you will go from jail to prison. Ooooooooooh. That's straight up gangsta.
Now you may be wondering why gang members would use knives....right? I thought that they used tattoos? They did. But that costs money. And why spend money to get ink permanently painted on your flesh when you could just cut and slice your flesh? And branding with knives has become more popular purely because gangs can do it themselves. They should have a special on that on the DIY or Discovery channel.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

YouTube junk

Okay, we all like to waste our time on YouTube, right??
At least i do.
And if you love YouTube like i love YouTube, then you know just how wierd some of the junk is that people post on YouTube.
A friend of mine told me about this video on YouTube. This particular piece of crap is titled "Fart in the Duck".
If you do not know the story about this video, you might be asking yourself why this video has this title. The answer is simple. In every language, there are cognates. A cognate is a word that sounds almost the same in english and another language. For example, in english we say "calculator" and in spanish you say "calculadora".
Well, somebody watched this dutch children's show and guessed what each word meant. This person assumed that each word would be a cognate. The song is not really about farting in a duck. It is really about a hole in a roof.
However, the subtitles are really funny.
The site is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRUGGy9RVrM

the japanese plan to override the world with robots

Ok, i got bored again.
So i searched the web for the latest and greatest news.
Today's topic is robots. And not just any robots. Japanese robots.
We all know that Japan has been intrigued by robots for a while and that they have been creating incredible and unnecessary robots. About a year ago, Japan made a robot that looks like a real person, but didn't move like a real person would. Unless you like to pop and lock it with every slight move you make. This particular robot could communicate though, in about 40 languages. Then there was a robot that would mimic the movements of a person. There was a robot like this that was created to look exactly like a japanese man. They really did look the same! This robot was programmed to copy ever move this man made. And they were both seated in a japanese airport (gosh these japanese are very self-centered. only thinking of themselves) and the robot would do everything that the man did. And people were asked to tell which one was a robot and which one was a real person. Most people got it wrong and said that the real man was the robot.
Anyways, Japan currently has an aging population, and is in need of workers. What was Japan to do? Exactly what they have been killing all of their time with of course! Build some robots! These are not the factory line, making cars robots. These robots look like real people and will respond to facial expressions and more just like a real person would do. Kinda creepy. There is one particular robot. It has been named Kansei, or "sensibility". This robot will respond to words with actions. For instance, if you say "war" in front of Kansei, it will quiver in disgust and fear. Now, if you say "love", Kansei smiles. Awww. How unreal!
The robot masterminds who are so bored with life that they must create unreal beings to live among us plan on developing these robots to read, understand, and feel emotions just like real people do.
Japan is thought of being the most technologically advanced. No they are not, we just care about more important things. Like becoming tyrants and overriding the government of other countries and forcing them to use democracy. Just like we do in America. Where we pick special people frome each state to vote for us, and we don't know anything about them. But to get back on topic, Japan is already using robots in place of real people for many jobs. A few examples are working in factories (i wonder why nobody wants that job), making sushi (come on, who doesn't want to roll up veggies with fish and rice in seaweed?), planting rice (a great way to kill time in the sun and get skin cancer), and tending paddies (i think that has to do with the rice).
There are also robots that are receptionists (now you have to deal with unruly robots instead of real people), they vaccuum offices (who doesnt want that job), and spoon-feeding the elderly. Okay, why don't real people take these jobs? Sounds like a lot of fun, eh? The real problem isn't the aging population but instead that the job options suck in Japan. Change the jobs, more people will work.
Oh, but there are more robot jobs! They serve tea, greet company guests, and chatter a lot at public technology displays. Why not have them discuss stem cell research? It is an important topic among robots and other humanoids.
But not all robots are humanoids! The Paro is a fluffy robot seal (yeah, there are so many fluffy seals) that is designed to comfort lonely people (how lonely are the people to actually make these things?). Paro opens and closes its eyes and it moves its flippers.
I would love to push jokes at the japanese, but i have better ways to waste my time

Saturday, March 1, 2008

music

Does anybody listen closely to the lyrics of thier favorite song?
Not many people do. We simply listen to songs that have a good beat, melody, sound, whatever.
But there are many songs that have very....um....interesting lyrics. Especially if you take them out of context.
Case #1. The culprit: Jordin Sparks. Song in question: "Tattoo".
I am sure that you have heard this song. It is okay, but i find that it gets stuck in your head. As much of a good melody it has, do you listen to part of the chorus?
The chorus says: "Can't look back, got a new direction. I loved you once, I needed protection."
Take a second to think about what this might mean.....tick.....tock.....tick....tock.....
The first thing that came into my mind was that Jordin needs to learn that you need to use protection every time. Okay? You should always use protection! They told you about it so much in school and it is mentioned in commercials on tv. The second thing that i though about was that Jordin was using this guy. How dispicable! Is she so bored with life that she must use this unknowing guy. To whoever that guy is, I am sorry.
Case #2. The culprit: Fall Out Boy. Song in question: "A little less sixteen candles"
Okay, now Fall Out Boy is one of my favorite bands. They are incredible! And this was one of my favorite songs. Then i got bored one day. So I went onto YouTube and searched the lyrics to this song. For some reason, the first times you listen to a Fall Out Boy song, you can't understand most of the lyrics. So i took it upon myself to find out what some of them were.
Once again, this is one of my favorite songs. But part of this song says "You can make all the moves, you can aim all the spotlights. Get all the sighs and moans just right" . I am not going to comment on this. I will let you think of whatever it is going through your mind right now. And remember, this song talks about a girl who left this guy and he is sleeping on her front porch.
Case #3. The culprit: Mariah Carrey. Song in question: "Touch My Body"
You know what, i am not even going to explain this one.
Just watch the music video and you will understand everything.
I hope this was entertaining.
Now i am sure that you will want to listen to your favorite song now and see just what the lyrics are.

whacked up websites

There are a lot of messed up websites.
But there is one that i can almost guarantee that you have never been to or heard of. Are you ready? Huh? Are you sure? Can you pop lock and drop it?
The website is www.i-dressup.com .
This is the wierdest website ever. But i have been a member there for about 7 months. The whole idea of this site is very strange. You create an avatar person thing and you decorate your i-zone which is like your home page. You can also visit other peoples' pages. You can also have a blog on that site too. But should you get caught getting vulgar or being "suggestive" you get banned.
What is the point of this? I DUNNO. But you can add friends and message them. Should you find that you do not like this friend of yours anymore, you can easily block them from coming to your page and from talking to you.
In general, the site is a stupid way to waste your time. But after a while, it becomes quite addictive. And every few weeks or so, there are new clothes that you can buy for your avatar.
To get this money, you visit other people, message other people, or play the retarded games on the site.
I know, sounds pretty fun, huh??
So, www.i-dressup.com is my stupid site of the month.
Now you can waste your month on March in the stupidest way possible. ENJOY!
And you are welcome.