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For 2007, I'm once again making my yearly prediction that the Lions will finish the season with at least a .500 record (8 wins, 8 loses).With Sunday's result: LIONS 36, RAIDERS 21 -- I'm on my way.
Woo hoo...only seven more to go!!
BTW, in case you missed it, I'm being sarcastic.
Donald Trump was able to trademark "You're Fired" and Michael Buffer "Let's Get Ready to Rumble." So, I guess anthing's possible.Paris Hilton Sues Over 'That's Hot' Card (link)
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 8) - Paris Hilton is suing over the use of her picture and catchphrase "That's hot" on a greeting card. Hilton sued Hallmark Cards Inc. in U.S. District Court seeking an injunction and unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
According to the lawsuit filed Thursday, the card is titled "Paris's First Day as a Waitress" and shows a photo of Hilton's face on a cartoon of a waitress serving a plate of food to a patron. In a dialogue bubble she says, "Don't touch that, it's hot." The customer cartoon asks, "What's hot?" She answers, "That's hot."
The suit says Hilton owns the trademark "That's hot," which was registered on Feb. 13, 2007...
Lots of the original iPhone buyers, many who waited in line for hours last JUNE and paid $599, are now pretty miffed that Apple has dropped the price by $200.From Yahoo Tech: (link)Yes, Jeremy, you're sooooo "savvy." You got so hot and bothered to be the first one you your block with an iPhone that it never occurred to you that the price would drop if you just held off a little longer?
...Much of the resentment is about the way the iPhone depreciated in value in less than 67 days. Jeremy Riga says, "I am NOT angry at the $200 price drop. I'm angry that Apple has decided NOT to keep the VALUE in the iPhone (or that it wasn't there to begin with). Because as a savvy consumer I understand the difference between buying something of value, and something that is overpriced. I bought the iPhone because I was sold, at $600, on the VALUE. Now today I am finding that I was wrong - it was NOT worth $600 - it was worth $400, perhaps even less. Thus, it was overpriced and I was over-sold by someone I have trusted to sell me worthwhile, and valuable products in the past. Steve Jobs."...
I hate "vast Left-wing" conspiracy theories, but this is curious given that a DVD release tied into the sixth anniversary of 9/11, would make millions.Is Clinton's candidacy blocking 'Path to 9/11'? (link)
Screenwriter of docudrama says ABC exec said delay has been prompted by unflattering portrayal of previous administration.
By Martin Miller
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 5, 2007
Among the nearly two dozen television DVDs slated for nationwide release on Sept. 11 is the second season of "Bones," the third season of "Grey's Anatomy" and the miniseries "The Starter Wife" that aired earlier this year. Not on the list on that day or any other in the near future is last year's highly controversial "The Path to 9/11."
The $40-million, five-hour ABC miniseries, which recently received seven Emmy nominations and drew a combined two-night audience of more than 25 million viewers, is for now on the path to nowhere. Its Amazon page reads: "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock."
With no date for the release, questions are being raised about whether political pressure is behind its current status as a stalled or discarded DVD project. The reasons are murky, but the miniseries' writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, believes it's crystal clear: Powerful forces are out to protect Bill Clinton's presidential legacy and shield Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) from any potential collateral damage in her bid for the White House.
Nowrasteh, also one of the miniseries' many producers, said he was told by a top executive at ABC Studios that "if Hillary weren't running for president, this wouldn't be a problem."
...
Initially, Nowrasteh was told by executives at ABC Studios that the miniseries would have a DVD release in January. Then, April. Then, this summer. Currently, Nowrasteh has not been notified of a specific release date for the DVD.
Gambling at Rick's...? I'm shocked, shocked!Study: Men go for good looks (link)
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Mon Sep 3, 5:30 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Science is confirming what most women know: When given the choice for a mate, men go for good looks.
And guys won't be surprised to learn that women are much choosier about partners than they are....
...Their study involved 26 men and 20 women in Munich, Germany.
Participants ranged in age from 26 to their early 40s and took part in "speed dating," short meetings of three to seven minutes in which people chat, then move on to meet another dater. Afterward, participants check off the people they'd like to meet again, and dates can be arranged between pairs who select one another.
From Publishers Weekly:Galbraith is pretty damning in his description of the Bush Administration's lack of readiness to take on the Iraq war. For instance, he relates (second handedly) an account of a discussion between President Bush and some Iraqi leaders where Bush didn't seem to realize that Iraq is made up of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis.Galbraith, a leading commentator on Iraq thanks to his recent articles in the New York Review of Books, presents a clear-eyed and persuasive case against the Bush administration's nation-building project there. As a former U.S. diplomat with long experience in Iraq, he offers an insider's view of the American occupation's failures—the poor preparation for post-invasion chaos, the cluelessness about Iraqi politics, the incompetence and corruption of the occupation authority—while advancing a deeper critique...
...Deeply skeptical of attempts to reunify the Iraqi state, he proposes that the U.S. withdraw from Arab Iraq and "facilitate an amicable divorce" between the fractious sections. Galbraith advised the Iraqi Kurds during recent constitutional negotiations and is palpably sympathetic to their national aspirations; his argument sometimes feels like a brief for Kurdish separatism...
From the Netflix summary: The personal and professional life of Ralph Nader, one of America's most controversial consumer advocates and political activists, is the subject of this biographical documentary. Nader's willingness to take on big industry earned him a reputation as both a working-class hero and a public pariah. Interviews and archival footage help illuminate this in-depth profile of one of the most influential political figures in modern history.
I didn't think I'd enjoy this documentary as much as I did. I was expecting this to be a completely one-sided indictment of capitalism and our economic system in general.
But, whether you like him or not, I think it does a pretty fair job of presenting Nader's crusades starting in the 1960's and culminating with his controversial runs for president in 2000 and 2004.
While the film takes as a given the fact that George W. Bush is the "worst" President in recent history, a surprising amount of time is devoted to Nader's former Liberal/Democrat allies who, because they blame him for Gore's defeat in 2000 (and Kerry's, to a lesser extent, in 2004), have bitterly thrown him under the bus.
Two of the film's talking heads are Pat Buchanan and Eric Alterman. Interestingly, it's Buchanan who seems calm and rational. Alterman, a Liberal who apparently hasn't "Moved On" is still seething with rage and comes across like a whining bitch as he vents his anger at Nader.
There's also a two segments (one under "Deleted" scenes) that skewers fatboy Michael Moore as the shallow, self-serving blowhard that he really is.
From The Smoking Gun: (link)U.S. Senator Gets Flushed AUGUST 28--Here's the Minnesota police report memorializing the June 11 arrest of U.S. Senator Larry Craig in an airport bathroom. The Idaho Republican (pictured in the mug shot at right) was nabbed in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after he apparently sought some same-stall action from a plainclothes cop....
This History Channel documentary does a great job of pitting various 9/11 conspiracy theorists (nutcases), whose only credentials seem to be the fact that they have a lot of free time, against real life experts.The 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction (2 hours)Examines the various conspiracy theories espoused on the Internet, in articles and in public forums that attempt to explain the 9/11 attacks. It includes theories that the World Trade Center was brought down by a controlled demolition; that a missile, not a commercial airliner, hit the Pentagon; and that members of the U.S. government orchestrated the attacks in hopes of creating a war in the Middle East. Each conspiracy argument is countered by a variety of experts in the fields of engineering, intelligence and the military. The program also delves into the anatomy of such conspiracies and how they grow on the Internet.
- Based in large part on a breakthrough exposé by Popular Mechanics.
- Experts in engineering, intelligence and the military scrutinize 9/11 conspiracy theories.
- Produced by the authoritative NBC News Productions.
Interesting article in Newsweek this week: "Facebook Grows Up" (link).
Facebook does complicate the pleasure of gently losing touch with people you're tired of.
From Comcast.net (link)Actually, I can think of five other reasons why his career has stalled:Steven Seagal, the ponytail-sporting, martial arts-practicing, early '90s-era action hero, thinks that there's a simple explanation as to why the phone hasn't been ringing as much over the past five years, and, just like one of his big-screen characters, he wants someone to pay.
...The 56-year-old actor, who still works steadily but more in the straight-to-DVD genre of late, thinks he deserves an official apology from the FBI, which investigated him several years ago in connection with several shady endeavors, including a 2002 plot to frighten two reporters out of writing unflattering stories about him and his ex-business partner.
