Obama IS black, right?

And Jessie is a racist, right?

The often-idiotic, rhyming-reverend Jesse Jackson apologized for some “regretfully crude” comments he made about Barack Obama’s speeches in black churches during what he thought was a private conversation. Do you wonder if Jackson is sorry that he said them or if he’s just sorry that he got caught? He says that the black community has more problems than just moral problems: housing, jobs, prison, etc… and that Obama is speaking down to the black community by emphasizing the lack of a black father. It’s actually funny but it’s THIS type of rhetoric that is the most racist of all: blacks chastising blacks because they’re acting TOO white. Being white implies some sort of birthright to intelligence? It’s this intelligence, genetically isolated to the country-club socialites that should be avoided by blacks? Wait…wait..wait - it’s not because they’d be ’sell-outs’ is it? That really is quite the 1980’s!

If I were black, all of this would be completely offensive to me. But it’s typical of this kind of leadership, or lack thereof, that has dominated the black community for far too long. White people have for years seen this but for years have been unable to say it. Why? The public outcrying of “RACIST!! RACIST!!” can be a little much at times. Whites don’t like to talk about blacks. It makes them uncomfortable. Could they help the black community in some ways? Sure. Will they? No. Why? Leaders like Jackson and Sharpton don’t want white people’s help. They need the black community to look to them, the REV’s, for guidance. Yeah, well, there’s this new kid named Obama. Yeaaaahhhhhhh uh…he just might be the President. Yeaaaahhhhhh…..

You know, Jessie, you’re not the ONLY black leader that’s out there these days. They’re closing in on you Jessie, they’re closing! They’re the new and improved, younger blacks who ***GASP*** think for themselves. They don’t follow your cracked up ‘If there wasn’t racism, blacks would rule the world’ philosophy. These are the new speakers - the new leaders - with new ideals. There are now plenty of leaders in the black community that would have no problem listening to another point of view, even a white or hispanic or Jewish p and those who aren’t so closed-minded as the dear REV. In time, they’re going to achieve what you never did: fundamental change within your community as opposed to the diamond-laced crutches they’ve been given (Fake diamonds, yes, but they look real and that’s what’s important!).

One man would be Harold Ford, Jr. Here is an absolutely brilliant man with fantastic insight into realm of good ol’ common sense. He’s articulate and well-spoken, and not in the bad, racist way of ‘talking white.’ He’d listen, I’m sure of it and he’s black, Reverend. I would propose a dare for you to say about Mr. Ford that he talks white just because he’s a professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University teaching American political leadership. Or, because he joined Merrill Lynch financial as a vice chairman and senior policy advisor and in 2007, was appointed the inaugural Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He’s also light-skinned. Be VERY careful here, Mr. Jackson when determining whether or not he’s black enough for you. I mean, he is, isn’t he? Even with all of these credentials, even though he does ’speak white’ and actually look a little white, please tell me that he IS black enough?

Perhaps Condy? She’s a little darker skinned. But at how many parties have you bashed the talented, genius-walking, former National Security Advisor, current Sec. of State, and future President? Is she too white because she balanced an entire university’s budget? If I told you that Dr. Rice (That’s DR. not REV.) is an accomplished pianist and at 15, she played Mozart with the Denver Symphony, would this be her ‘acting white’ or just being an accomplished black? Let’s see, she’s performed at diplomatic events, at embassies and has performed in public with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who is Chinese (If you want to criticise Yo-Yo Ma for being born in Paris, well, I’m actually ok with that!) She has stated that her favorite composer is Johannes Brahms, not because he was German and white, which you most assuredly could find cause to accuse her, but because she thinks Brahms’s music is “passionate but not sentimental.”

She’s not listening to Snoop - she must be ‘listening down’ to black people. AND OFF GOES MR. JACKSON TO FIND THE NEAREST CNN TELEVISION CAMERA!!

Jackson is the old school, racist, ‘keep blacks in their place’ type of spiritual leader that actually offers no spiritual leadership whatsoever. If I were black (Actually, my genealogy found that Booker T. Washington is a not so distant cousin of mine so, I guess I am black!) …ok, if I were MORE black than I am, I would jettison these type of idiots faster than Rosa Parks could sit down on a bus seat (Rosa Parks grandfather was Irish. See? She was a fighter!).

But seriously with these clowns, when was the last time you heard REV. Jesse Jackson, or REV. Al Sharpton, for that matter, utter the name Jesus Christ in a public setting? You probably haven’t. You know who has said it and does say it? Sen. Barack Obama! Remember REV -

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” 1 Peter 2:7

Maybe those two, old, tired men are actually jealous of Barack Obama. I mean, he’s done something those two never did - ever: he’s put himself in a position to be President of the United States of America. Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and am giving these men too much grief. Perhaps they are just envious because Obama ACTUALLY IS African-American.

Riding the coat tails of the great MLK, Jr. can only last for so long. Would Dr. King ever utter such vile sentiment? Methinks not. Can you see Dr. King doing this? No. In 1984, Jackson called New York City “Hymietown,” referring to the city’s large Jewish population. I’m sure Dr. King would’ve been proud then just as he is now! Nice job, Jess!

Jackson’s opinions and rhetoric are stale. He no religous leader, he’s no political player. In fact, he’s laid no groundwork to support any recent political commentary at all. Here’s the best thing I can say about Jackson: you are a freakshow and side-show act…and no, I’m not talking about Michael Jackson. You’re getting to be more and more irrelevant and that has got to hurt more than anything. You so desperately want to be relevant, but you’re just not. The 60’s have come and gone, my friend.

He said Wednesday that Obama’s speeches “come off as speaking down to black people” and that there were other important issues to be addressed in the black community, such as unemployment, the mortgage crisis and the number of blacks in prison. The black community has MANY issues that it needs to fix - MANY. But if you were to pick one issue to fix, one which could be the foundation by which all other issues would be built upon, that issue would be the absence the black father. Period!

Look, Obama panders to his base just like everyone else. It’s just politics. He’s a politician. You vote for the guy who’s the best looking on television. We all know that - we’re Americans! But Obama is dead on the money here.

Jessie Jackson just accused a black presidential candidate of ‘talking down to black people.’

Hmm…that’s just weird and actually, pretty funny!

Big discovery at an antique mall!

New England's Antiquities Journal


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As appearing in the March 2008 edition:
Submission: Dawn Elliot - 42 - Clairmont, PA

Earlier this year, I think it was mid January or so, my two sisters and I went to the antique emporium. We usually go once a month or so. My entire family lives in Clairton, PA, a small town outside of Pittsburgh so we all hang out with each other. I'm the youngest sister in a family of six. Denise and Tanya, my two older sisters, are big antiquers. I like antiques too but I love old books and have been a collector since I was about 10. I didn't play with dolls as much as I read stories and played football with the boys. :) Anyway, the very moment we drove up, I saw the warehouse guys bringing in a whole bunch of books in off the truck. I was excited, which was tough for anyone really seeing as how it was 18 degrees outside. I hate our weather by the way! So, I asked one of the guys (Who was real cute, BTW--YES, I am single!) why so many books were coming in. The manager came up from behind me and said that they didn’t get auctioned off and that the mall was ‘awarded them’ through an educational grant. I didn’t really care -just wanted to see the books and get some coffee.
I bought about 12 books that day for $250 or so, some just because they were SO old and in such GOOD shape. Here’s where it gets WEIRD: I came home the other day and started looking through this book of Longfellow to try and find a street price to sell it. It had 1888 as the year published. Anyway, I was just going to put it up and let it sit there for ‘looks’ unless it sold on Ebay but it was so thick. I found that a little odd. As I looked through the book, the light from my ceiling showed what I thought were little word indentions on the 2nd page to the end. THESE WERE NOT INDENTIONS. I was like a crazed schoolgirl. There was a physical letter - a double sided letter within the binding of the actual book. However, the only way to see if I was right would be to rip the book apart. $59 down the drain, right? Don’t think so. This has been one of the most remarkable things that I’ve ever seen or been involved with. This took place two days ago - I have stared at this letter for hours upon hours just wondering. I decided to post it here in the hopes of finding the other letters. Here it is-- the letter - will post pictures when i get my new scanner. This has got to be a gimmick, I know, but it is so damn odd to read. I don’t even understand it. Check it out. Here it is word for word:
—————————————
May 1888 - B.L. writes:

I write this entry in a dark and private room behind a thick desk using a gold pen that does not belong to me. My notebook is bent and wrinkled with torn edges from the thick binding rubber band that has held it together since my awakening within those murderous walls. A strange man, bald and grossly overweight lies in the hallway dead just beyond the door’s entrance. This very well could be his pen. My breathing has come under control; my heartbeat has found a calm way now. Though I am largely disoriented, I will simply begin to pen my thoughts, for what reason, I’m not entirely sure. All written words, my words, that have been tirelessly spread across these once empty pages read so differently now, and thus I am asking whoever finds this and reads along to disregard all other entries prior to this day: Thursday, May 31st, 1888. Let there be no misunderstanding - I am not insane. I write this under the accepted standard definition of what constitutes a sound mind. Though I disagree with the definition of ’sound’ as well as the current psychological parameters applied to it, guidelines by which most institutions blindly follow with religous fervor, I will adhere to them for this day and thus, my mind is to be regarded as sound.

I have been held against my will by men of no conscience in a place or a time that I can't define. I say to myself that I have 'awoke from sleep' but that would be inaccurate. I do know for a fact that I have witnessed firsthand, lastly at sun up on this very day, the devastating destruction that can fall upon a man who elects to use whatever internal fortitude that could be mustered to resist these captors and their hideous, torturous probing machines, devices which pierce the very inner workings of our human minds. These people of captivity, many of whom I now call friend, are living life as nothing more than simple test subjects and exotic play toys for scientists gone mad. My friends have endured such wretched punishment, much moreso than even the most monstrous and dispicable of child rapists. My friends have persevered for some time, fighting against their limits end, clinging to their life’s last breath, holding on to a hope that promised long life, though each would ultimately succumb to the final ringing of the bell. Many were unable to withstand the herding from room to room, the table to table prodding of blunt, bloody instruments time and again. I was there with them on the edge facing the impending doom of my own life…for the second time in a lifetime. I watched, crying like a child as they yelled their way into eternity. I was there…until today. These demon men drilled into our skulls and redesigned us. I'm telling you that I was dead before today - DEAD!

How do atrocities such as this happen? Has my soul lost its place of reservation amongst the cities of gold? Why has my God forsaken so many? Surely, our violent screams were loud enough to disturb any angel that housed even the slightest of conscience…and yet, the dead remain back there on the floor, still and quiet and our begging produced nary a blink from the devils that stood over us cutting into our skulls. My sadness knows no bounds for these people, my friends. Their lives, as well as my own, were recorded as ended in normal fashion many a century ago but an indescribable resurrection has enveloped both our mind and soul thus trapping us in a some twisted sort of dimensional container for future generations to enjoy a giant belly laugh. They have laughed at us as entertainment. But now I stand in the corner of a cold room in a building so tall, the structure makes no sense; I am in a time that I don’t believe can exist.

I have questioned my sanity, yes. But my awareness becomes more acute with each passing minute. I apologize for not having the words nor the vocabulary to describe what I am seeing or have seen. It is a hideous, hideous world in which I find myself. The people appear hollow and do not speak. The sky is gray and there are no birds to speak of. I feel the clutches of my own desperation and I believe it will eventually overwhelm me.

I’m being pursued and chased by the most evil of people. However, thanks be to the Lord that 'chased' is the operative word. They have not found me. They do not have me, yet. I am outside their scope and running as the wind blows with no pattern to speak of. I am simply running for my life. I do not know for how long I can withstand this though. I can not yell, I can not confide in another, and I can not become known to anyone for any period. My skin glows differently than the people outside of these walls. I can not mingle amongst them. They all wear one piece tunics of some type. I am finding this all to be so very odd. However, I reflect on my youth. HE was as strange a person as there was or could be. Perhaps the people who walk aimlessly through the evening are not as bad as the devils in that room. And they can not be as bad as him, the one I've known.

Forgive my rambling - Now, I will be blunt, quick and to the point for I do not know if this escape will pass or linger for an any extended duration. With all truthfulness, I am not precisely sure where I am but I know that I have indeed escaped the confines of where I was. The building that held me, held others like me. Perhaps a mental ward, of some sort. Dazed people were everywhere, a lifeless drudge of humans with faces of mucus and saliva falling from their faces. I do not know how I became awake but I did. There was a door and I found my way through it during the night.

As of now, I seem to be just outside the perimeter of an enormous town. Metal and smoke are in every direction. Few people walk the street and none do so alone. The air tastes like a wet cigar, and not a fine, store-bought one, mind you. The smell of mildew and rot is in the air, as it was in the building that housed me. I am confused by what my eyes are seeing: square cubes of light and words, small viles of liquid just down the corridor that easily numbers into the thousands. I have only experienced these conditions for a single day and I am utterly perplexed. Everything is simply beyond me. My set of senses returned yesterday, the day that would’ve been Wednesday, May 30th, 1888.

Today, however, trumps all; it has been unlike anything I’ve known in my short thirty-two years on this earth. I can not relay that sentiment with any more simplicity than as I just have. I’m a religous man by nature, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to guide and protect me through out my life, one which He hath bestowed upon me so many gracious and wonderous things. I am honest man and have made every effort at an honest living, despite myself, and thus this written request should be considered exactly as it is.

What is written on these pages before you is true. I ask for a momentary suspension in general belief. I do this now hopeful that you find me in time. Somewhere.

Yesterday, according to the traditional Gregorian calendar of the anno Domini era, officially adopted by the British empire in the year 1752, normal perception by a modern day human being would attest to the fact that yesterday was without question, Wednesday, May 30th, 1888 . It was simply Wednesday to a normal man. I tell you I am petrified by even the littlest movement of this very pen. I hurriedly write these words to best of my ability with as much haste as my fingers will allow. I tell you now that the yesterday I remember, Wednesday, May 30th, 1888 was nothing of the sort but rather Wednesday, June 23rd, 2088. I have no understanding of this other than my instincts.

If nothing I write here is to be believed then I am dead and dust and worth no mention. Throw this journal out with the nearest trash and buy a pint and tell a fantastic story of a crazed man. However, if any of my words fall within the truth then know that I may stand moments away from being recaptured and returned to hell itself; my second escape would be as far-fetched a notion as well, sadly to say, the suggestion to which I've been writing here.

But, if I’m correct and the year is indeed 2088, then the love of my life, the young girl whom I once kissed so delicately in the early mornings, has either been dead and buried for over 150 years or she is here, somewhere in this time under the same impression as I. She was caught with both of us, he and I, in his doomsday-type, electricity web that killed us all. If I am alive, and that is quite the 'if' then she may be alive, as well. If I am truly writing this, there's hope.

Her name is Kathryn Listori and it is imperative that she be located. She’s the only one who can help for she is the only one who could know his location. I must deduce that if I am actually here then my lovely Kathryn may be here, as well. If I was housed in the building of slaughter, so, too, would she be. Sadly, if she’s here in this time, then in all likelihood, he’s here, too.

Make no mistake of who this man is or of my contempt for his being alive. He is my sworn enemy to the death, an event I was somewhat certain had occurred some century and half earlier. However, he is the only one who can save us all now. Find her and she’ll find him. Then, after learning that I’m too alive, just as he is alive, he will let nothing on earth stop him from getting to me. Ironically, his touch, that of a failed experiment by his father's hand, one which now produces a framework for lightning itself, is my only chance to maintain my mind from the leeches who have preyed on my intellect for an undistinguishable period of time. My hope rests in the magentic hands of my own hatred - him.

I beg that they have not yet already detroyed her delicate mind. She is so much like a flower, undisturbed in every way. I ask to the Lord that Kathryn be found well and in good spirits, and though I do not believe this will become truth, I pray for enough health for her to locate his whereabouts. I have devised a theory regarding everything previously written on these pages but am unable to provide sufficient proof or enough attributable knowledge to support my hypothesis, which is what it is - an educated guess. I can’t convince you, the reader of my words, to act on anything. If I’m correct in my guess, even if only in the smallest of parts, then these vile people, whoever they are, have come to understand that no contraption of which they’ve conceived can harm him; no effect can fall over him. He most likely walks the streets of this time, undisturbed by any one single thing. He’s repulsive and arrogant and I do wish a hateful death upon him and his soul, though admittedly, I fear him and dare not utter his name perchance he may hear me even in this time. Lord forgive my vengefulness.

Most likely, my captors, the ones who search for me, fixated on my return, are in fear of him already, searching for a way to combat him. In the smallest compartment of my mind, I do laugh on his behalf against these maggots who hide behind the veil of playfulness and gamesmenship. This is a foundational element of my theory: we are a game from the past; fodder for the future, if you must know. I laugh at them infinitely more than I will ever laugh with him. If the three of us are reunited then some amount of amusement will come our way. For me, though, it will be short-lived. But at the very least, I will see their faces when they see his and they ralize their doom is iminent. Their mistake was and is unable to be corrected for they knew not what soul they had brought back in him. History will not reveal who this man is. But I tell you as sure as this pen touches this paper, he was.

He, like a virus, has certainly infected them as everything that he has ever touched would profess. He took all I had from me. He infected her against me.

If ultimately re-captured, with no hope of seeing my precious Kate again, I would gladly give of myself to destroy him as my swan song to the universe.

If Satan himself still exists in this wretched future timeland, which I suppose he does, then he still controls the reigns of that boy’s mind. But I hope he finds me, he the only hope any of us have, though I pray the Lord damns him to hell in the process.

Footsteps on the street…I will return. B.L.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eight Belles - R.I.P. May 3, 2008

She was right there with the boys...the whole time, untouched and in full gallop digging all the way! Eight Belles was the first filly to run in the Kentucky Derby in nine years. That alone was an accomplishment for the owner and trainer but didn't appear to be enough for the young girl. She was obviously looking for more and as the most experienced horse at the Derby, she probably expected more. She didn't just run the race -- she ran THE race of her life -- and her last race. She didn't win; she placed behind Big Brown, the one who would dominate everyone, and in a 20-horse field filled with the finest 'stallions' around, that's something in and of itself.

It was a great run for the filly, until she crossed the finish line, and her jockey heard a sound.

As noted on the internet, some idiots are already making a big deal about the symbolism of this, trying to tie it to the presidential campaign and the fact that Hillary suggested people bet on the filly -- Eight Belles -- and she didn't win.

The horse died on the track. If someone thinks that this is a joke worth pursuing, well, that's between you, your soul, and God. Let go the desire to be cute about this.

Eight Belles - R.I.P. May 3, 2008

A first for Saudis: Mozart performed for both genders

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - It's probably as revolutionary and groundbreaking as Mozart gets these days. A German-based quartet staged Saudi Arabia's first-ever performance of European classical music in a public venue before a mixed gender audience.The concert, held at a government-run cultural center, broke many taboos in a country where public music is banned and the sexes are segregated even in lines at fast food outlets.The Friday night performance could be yet another indication that this strict Muslim kingdom is looking to open up to the rest of the world. more

Mayor McMannes and hospital honors local hero!

By ROYCELYN BASTIANrbastian@hcnonline.com
Martha Martinez, blue scrubs, was honored at work for her heroic actions when she pulled a man out of a burning vehicle and saved his life. Martinez is a surgical technician at Memorial Hermann Northeast. Off duty at 5 a.m. April 6, the first thing Martha Martinez wanted to do was go home and go back to sleep. Instead, she saved a man’s life. As Martinez, a surgical technician at Memorial Hermann Northeast, was driving home from work, she saw a car on fire on Aldine Bender.
“I was on my way home and I thought it was too dark to take the Hardy Toll Road, but something told me to go that route anyway,” she said.

While driving, Martinez noticed black smoke but thought it was someone burning trash. It wasn’t until she was on Aldine Bender that she realized a car was on fire.

“I called 911 and made a U-turn into the Napa Auto Parts parking lot and walked towards the car,” Martinez said. “I honestly didn’t think anyone was in the vehicle.”

As she opened the door, she noticed the victim was unconscious with his head laying on the steering wheel. She instinctively grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out of the car to safety. Once she pulled him away, the car ignited into a full blaze.
Noticing that his sleeve was still smoking, she took off her scrub top and proceeded to pat his sleeve to put out the fire. She grabbed a bottle of water from her car and poured it on his face and turned him on his side.

According to the paramedics who arrived on the scene, her quick actions saved the man’s life.
Now known as a modern-day heroine, Martinez was honored for her brave actions by Memorial Hermann Northeast CEO Louis Smith, city of Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes, Partners in Caring and her co-workers.
“The city of Humble commends her for her heroic life-saving act and recognizes her service to our community as she performs her work at Memorial Hermann Northeast each day,” McMannes read in a proclamation, declaring April 21 as Martha Martinez Day.

Martinez has been a surgical technician for Memorial Hermann Northeast for two years. She and her husband of five years, Bruce, live in the Houston area.
“If something like this happens again, I feel that I would do what it took to save that person. That is how I was raised,” she said. “I would hope that if something ever happened to me that someone would stop and render aide like I did for him.”
The victim was taken to LBJ Hospital. There is no word on his identity or condition.

Science has seen the future...and it's invisible!

In the early 1990s, George Bush Senior led the U.S. into war with Iraq's Saddam Hussein. "Operation Desert Storm" became the first war to be televised "live." Amid the images of explosions and soldiers and tanks covered in desert camouflage, the war also shed light on the Stealth jet fighter. Though it had been in use by the military since the early 1970s, for the first time it registered in the popular consciousness that this sleek jet fighter was virtually invisible to radar.

At the time, being invisible to radar was a concept that seemed to come straight from the movies, rather than an evening news report.

Fast forward to 2008, with American forces embedded in a much different Iraq and the talk about invisibility circulating at the Pentagon has gone beyond radar, and into the realm of sight. Or out of sight, quite literally. Invisibility, once thought to be scientifically impossible and an outlandish concept promoted only in science fiction, is back, so to speak, on the radar.

In fact, one of the world's foremost physicists, Michio Kaku, has put his academic mind to some of science fiction's other concepts, such as teleportation and force fields, and is convinced that they, too, can become reality. At Duke University, Kaku explains, researchers funded by the military were able in 2006 to render a microscopic object invisible to microwave radiation. Then, a few months ago, researchers at Cal Tech and in Germany achieved the same result with visible light.

"They were able to achieve invisibility to red and green light. Single colours of light can be bent in a way consistent with invisibility on a microscopic scale using nanotechnology," Kaku says. This has huge potential on the battlefield. Imagine a tank being invisible to enemy forces. No wonder the Pentagon is bankrolling research in this field. "The next step is to do a large object at one light colour," Kaku says. "Within 10 years, we may be able to make an object completely invisible to one colour of light."

And that is only one of the seemingly outrageous accomplishments in the works that Kaku discusses in his new book, Physics of the Impossible.

While the chances of someone being teleported – as in the recent hit movie Jumper – is highly unlikely, Kaku points out that teleportation of an inorganic molecule has already been achieved.
And how about the fact that, while time travel poses philosophical questions that can twist your mind like trying to squeeze water out of a soaking wet towel, on principle it does not violate the known laws of physics.

In the introduction of the book, he warns against ruling out great possibilities because "in my own short lifetime, I have seen the seemingly impossible become established fact over and over again." Commenting on his book, which was published in March, Kaku says: "We are taking ideas that are usually the property of science fiction and we are looking at them with a very serious analysis with the most recent advances in physics."

"Science is doubling every 10 years – it's almost too much information to print. As a result, the public is really quite unaware of the breakthroughs that we are looking forward to over the next few decades."

How is it possible to make something invisible? Kaku believes that by using metamaterials, a substance with optical properties not found in nature, scientists will be able to eventually render subjects invisible. Another seemingly impossible idea that Kaku deals with is travel outside of our solar system.

While the concept of bringing a mega-size starship with hundreds of people aboard to another star is not likely, he says NASA is making advances toward sending billions of self-reproducing nanosized exploration vessels throughout the galaxy.

Some of the changes that excite Kaku are the possibilities of computers carrying information through light instead of electricity, or computers functioning on DNA molecules. Another reality that may change our view of the possible is the question of extraterrestrial life.

"It's almost a certainty; microbial life for sure," Kaku explains.

"The odds are that there are civilizations much more advanced than us. We can count 100 billion stars in our galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the visible universe. That's 100 billion squared for the number of stars in the visible universe. The probability that one of these stars has a planet that will have life more intelligent than us, I think, is 100 per cent." This marriage of science fact and science fiction, while exciting, Michio concedes, is nothing new. Instead, Michio points out that they are interrelated traditions.

"The idea of warping in space comes from Einstein not Star Trek, and the invention the atomic bomb was predicted almost to the date in an H.G Wells novel."

Apr 12, 2008 04:30 AM
Chris Penrose
Special to the Star

Wonderful podcast for writers! TITLEPAGE.tv

About this episode
Four first-time authors -- two novelists and two memoirists -- talk to us
about their maiden voyages and the decision to write fact or fiction.

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***NEW*** KIp Winger CD ---- PLUS--Winger Live DVD!

Finally, my Winger fix.....

First off, let me say that I'm a huge WINGER fan but this guy is freaking wonderful as an artist! Plus, his outlook on life, spiritualism, and love and death are just right on from my POV. Basically, when he releases a new CD, I get it...THAT DAY! He's THAT good!

Here are a few 'samples' from Kip Winger's NEW CD 'From the Moon to the Sun'

Track 1 - "Every Story Told"

Track 2 - "Nothing"

Track 3 - "Where Will You Go?"

Look, I like RATT, Dokken, Poison, etc...but NONE, ZERO, ZIP were as talented musically as the band Winger. Now, if you've never heard Kip's solo stuff, you're seriously missing some of the best stuff around: very metaphysical and musical--faith based with preaching--a soul & spiritual type of dynamic but still being able to blow your doors off like flipping a switch.

The reunited WINGER and the release of the CD, 'Winger-IV' of course made my day. Whe I saw they had released a DVD of 'WINGER LIVE' it upped the excitement even more.



I say this because I LOVE well done music. (George Michael's latest CD 'Patience' is a perfect example of a fantastically well written and produced CD by arguably one of the greatest writers around. ) But now, on top of everything, I read that 'The Making of Winger IV' DVD is coming out as well as a new solo CD from Kip. Listen to some tracks from his previous CD's - they are simply OUTSTANDING!

Click each to hear tracks:

http://www.kipwinger.com/
www.myspace.com/kipwingermusic

I go...Right round imposing my creation
Mass produce it for you
Everything looks brand new
Put it all on credit
A hundred years to pay it
Force you to agree
While your smiling at me
Whoopee!
I go...Right round pushing out the riff raff
No matter where it came from
Never mind the wisdom
Only see it my way
Take it or the highway
Welcome to the land of Generica...

Generica!

TWENTY LARGE, BABY!!

HEY 20! Here come the Rockets!

HOUSTON (AP) — Tracy McGrady pulled the towel over his shoulders, leaned back in his seat on the bench and smiled. The Houston Rockets' 19th consecutive victory was a laugher. McGrady scored 19 points in less than three quarters and the Rockets routed cold-shooting New Jersey 91-73 on Monday night to match the third-longest winning streak in NBA history.

Houston won its 10th straight game by double digits, tying an NBA record last set by the Nets in 2004. The Rockets also won their 13th straight at the Toyota Center, the franchise's longest home-court streak since the 1985-86 team won 20 consecutive games at The Summit.

Most importantly, the Rockets closed within one game of the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers play in Houston on Sunday, but the hype for that showdown can wait.

National Anthem!

With all of us voting for our candidate of choice, either in good, spirited debate or with a mean and evil, media-induced hatred, we should remember a couple of things: EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WANTS TO BE HERE! EVERYONE!! PERIOD!! EVERYONE! THE WORLD!! ALL OVER - EVERYONE WANTS TO COME HERE!! TO THE USA - THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

Two: We should all remember this feeling.
(What feeling, you ask? Push play and find out!)

Hillary takes Texas!!!

...AND I LOVE AN UNDERDOG

Here we go---Don't call it a comeback!

WOW!






Good for her! And YES, that's from a Republican!

Who knows---I may even vote for....

Are Lost's New Time-Travel Physics Junk Science?

Maybe Not, Expert Says: Hollywood Sci-Fi vs. Reality

As if smoke monsters and tropical polar bears weren’t enough to keep our heads spinning, Thursday’s episode of Lost, “The Constant,” opened up a whole new can of worms: the fourth dimension.Flying from the island toward a mysterious freighter, pilot Frank Lapidus can’t keep his helicopter on the bearing that physicist Daniel Faraday says will get Desmond and Sayid to the freighter safely—presumably through a wormhole. They encounter some turbulence, and Desmond begins, yes, traveling through time, with increasingly rapid lapses between 1996 and the present (which, on the show, is still 2004).

With new particle physics research recently taking time travel from Doc Brown fantasy to down-the-line possibility, we spoke with Dr. Michio Kaku, whose new book, “Physics of the Impossible,” makes Lost’s flip-flop between past and present look, well, not impossible.Unlike deadly black holes, traversable wormholes could make a condition such as Desmond’s feasible if the portals that skip time and space without an event horizon were ever discovered, Kaku says. When treating him remotely over Lost’s super satellite phone, Faraday asks Desmond if he had been exposed to any extreme doses of radiation or electromagnetic energy that could make him “a little confused.” And that’s where the show’s producers did their homework for the key plot twist when the helicopter sends Desmond’s conscience to become unstuck in time.

“To open the wormhole, you need large amounts of energy,” Kaku says. “In principle, if you could harness the energy of a star, you might be able to bend time into a pretzel, but we are talking about astronomical amounts of energy.” Maybe like a huge source of electromagnetic energy that needs to be discharged every 108 minutes to keep from ripping a giant, gaping hole in the time-space continuum? Like the one that Desmond got an extreme closeup with in the Season 2 finale?Maybe. When Desmond warps back to visit Faraday at Oxford University in 1996, he watches Faraday zap a mouse with a dose of radiation, thereby sending her mind into the future. Upon her return a few minutes later, the lab rat can run a complex maze without hesitation; Faraday “unstuck” her in time. And there’s no law of physics preventing this kind of time travel—just a lack of know-how.

Stephen Hawking tried to create a chronology projection conjecture forbidding time travel, but he failed. So while most physicists would say that time travel is possible, we’re not officially back to the future just yet. “It would take a very advanced civilization to really do this,” Kaku says. “We are too primitive to harness this technology.” But it’s looking increasingly like some new island inhabitants might have just figured it out in time for some post-writers’ strike competition. —Erin Scottberg

"Jazz-Hands---Jack 2000!"

This Is Your Brain On Jazz:

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2008) — A pair of Johns Hopkins and government scientists have discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition, and turn on those that let self-expression flow.

It appears, they conclude, that jazz musicians create their unique improvised riffs by turning off inhibition and turning up creativity. The scientists from the University’s School of Medicine and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders describe their curiosity about the possible neurological underpinnings of the almost trance-like state jazz artists enter during spontaneous improvisation.

“When jazz musicians improvise, they often play with eyes closed in a distinctive, personal style that transcends traditional rules of melody and rhythm,” says Charles J. Limb, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a trained jazz saxophonist himself. “It’s a remarkable frame of mind,” he adds, “during which, all of a sudden, the musician is generating music that has never been heard, thought, practiced or played before. What comes out is completely spontaneous.”

Two guys who graduated Humble High School...

...over 50 years ago! WOW!

Photo by Kathy Parks

Humble resident James Crain made a presentation to the mayor and city council members. Crain set out to document each step of the construction project for the building of the new Court House.

“I’ve lived in Humble for years,” said Crain. “I raised my children here and I have seen many changes to the city. I appreciate the work that the mayor and council members have done through the years and I wanted to document this project from the ground up.”

Crain presented City of Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes with a photo record of the various steps of construction, from laying the slab to the completion of the project.

Photo: Humble Citizen James Crain (right) presents City of Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes with a photo history of the work involved in building the City’s new Court House.

X-FILES 2 -- Leaked Trailer July 2008

I'll be damned if it ain't Mulder & Scully!

Humble's newest addition is officially welcomed!

Humble's Municipal Court is one highlight for 2008

Humble's new Municipal Courthouse has already seen numerous cases since it opened last month, but the City made it official Friday as citizens came out to tour the building and celebrate the opening.

Mayor Donald McMannes cuts the ribbon on the new

Humble Municipal Courthouse. Photo by Roxanne White

The new courthouse took years of idea-pitching, a couple of months of building and just several hours to present it to the public. Judge Vic Pecorino who has been the court's judge since 1982, said it was "a blessing" to have everything under one roof.
"We have two flat-screen televisions. So, if you come here because of a red-light camera, you are going to see yourself run that red light," said Pecorino.

He added that the courthouse will make people feel more at ease rather than before, when the courthouse was located above the Humble Police Department.
"This will give the people more fairness in their eyes," said Pecorino. "Now, we won't have people standing side-by-side; we have enough room, we have a courthouse."

Congressman Ted Poe was also in attendance and he presented two proclamations: one to Pecorino for being an "outstanding Harley Davidson" judge, and another to Mayor Donald McMannes for all of his contributions to justice.

BABY - The Final Update

My dear little one lost her fight yesterday, Friday the 15th, 2008. It was without a doubt one of the saddest days of my life. She tried so very hard at the end; she wanted so badly to stay with us but the pull of Heaven was just too strong. Most likely, my precious Roxy was the 'Éminence grise', standing at the forefront, 'barking' directions to everyone involved to "PULL" Baby to them. Roxy wins...just as she always did, just as she always does! She's Roxy.

And now they're back together: Roxy and Baby--just as it was meant to be, I guess.

Baby was ready and she wasn't scared. In the end, she lay there, resting and quiet, excited about seeing her 'sister' again. The doctor looked at me and asked if I was ready. I said yes. I held Baby's head in my hands and we looked deep into each other's eyes, just staring and remembering all the wonderful times that we had together: chasing after frisbees in the Buffalo Bayou, strutting like gangsters around our neighborhood, laying together and watching tv, and just walking and looking and inhaling life all around us.

I held her head and smiled at her. She needed me there and I was. She wanted me to hold her and I did. She was ready for the end and I was with her----Babycakes.

As I gripped her paw and slowly massaged her ear, my precious little girl's soul faded away. She left to go home to Roxy. Her eyes were on - - her eyes were off. I was there until the final second.

She left us ....and I was watching.

i...love...u...bb

BABY ***update***

Well, it was scheduled for today!

4:20pm.

However, there was a change in plans.

After 'visiting' with Baby the last couple of days, my instincts have been flashing - Not Right; not now! Maybe in a week - but not now. She's not ready yet. Roxy's death has been the worst day of my life thus far but I 'knew' she was ready and that it needed it to happen. With Baby, it's different; she's got more of a 'There's a little something still in here. There's a little left...' awareness!

Look, she's been my girl for 13 years; she wants that last shot, she's damn well gonna get it. I'm going to take her in and have some blood work done and look at some options. The arthritis medicine is a certainty, as will be basic Tagamet for her stomach. Today, she was alert and could walk some and even ate something. This could be the 'jolt' before the end, I understand that. I also realize that she may have to go down next week...

...but she ain't goin' down today!

She said, "No" and her family was listening!

Pray for her...
MM

Pray for Baby--

She's nearly 14 years old and has had a great life. She had a best friend and mentor: Roxy-the love of my life. Now, it appears that Rox is getting anxious. The twin flame, the other love of my life is standing on the edge of time, this love of mine and asking me to be unselfish and let her leave; let her 'go outside and play with Roxy!'

Nothing is rhyming...

Pray for my girl so that she's not scared. Pray...

My Baby--

The world's first time machine?

Tunnel to the past could open door to future within three months, say Russians!

Time travel could be a reality within just three months, Russian mathematicians have claimed.

They believe an experiment nuclear scientists plan to carry out in underground tunnels in Geneva in May could create a rift in the fabric of the universe.

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) hopes its "atom-smashing" tests - which aim to recreate the conditions in the first billionth of a second after the "Big Bang'" created everything - will shed invaluable light on the origins of the universe.

Scroll down for more...

Life imitating art? Actors Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in the movie Back to the Future. Scientists say that time travel could be a reality in just three months

But Irina Aref'eva and Igor Volovich, of Moscow's Steklov Mathematical Institute, say the energy produced by forcing tiny particles to collide at close to the speed of light could open the door to visitors from the future.

According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, any large amounts of matter or energy will distort the space and time that surrounds it.

If the energy or mass is large enough, it is claimed that time can be distorted so much that it folds back on itself - creating a wormhole, or time tunnel, between the present and the future.

But Dr Brian Cox, a member of CERN and one of Britain's leading experts in particle physics, is highly sceptical about the Russian claims, calling them "nothing more than a good science fiction story".

He said: "Cosmic ray collisions in the upper atmosphere are far more energetic than anything we can produce.

"They have been occurring for five billion years, and no time travellers have appeared.

"Stephen Hawking has suggested that any future theory of quantum gravity will probably close this possibility off, not least because the universe usually proceeds in a sane way, and time travel into the past isn't sane."

Cynics often point out that if time travel was really possible, we would have been visited by people from the future.

However, Einstein's laws of physics suggest that time travel is only possible into the past as far as the point when the first time machine was invented.

Star Trek - The BOOTLEG Trailer revealed!

I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times!

I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times! I have NOT watched this trailer more than 20 times!

Texans reports seeing UFO! Govt. says just 'tricky lights!'

WAS THIS THE UFO EVERYONE SAW? OR......



STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) -- In this farming community where nightfall usually brings clear, starry skies, residents are abuzz over reported sightings of what many believe is a UFO.Several dozen people -- including a pilot, county constable and business owners -- say they have seen a large silent object with bright lights flying low and fast. Some reported seeing fighter jets chasing it.
"People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times," said Steve Allen, a freight company owner and pilot who said the object he saw last week was a mile long and half a mile wide. "It was positively, absolutely nothing from these parts."
While federal officials say there's a logical explanation, locals swear that it was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said the object's lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane. People in several towns who reported seeing it over several weeks have offered similar descriptions of the object.

Machinist Ricky Sorrells said friends made fun of him when he told them he saw a flat, metallic object hovering about 300 feet over a pasture behind his Dublin, Texas, home. But he decided to come forward after reading similar accounts in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.
"You hear about big bass or big buck in the area, but this is a different deal," Sorrells said. "It feels good to hear that other people saw something, because that means I'm not crazy."
Sorrells said he has seen the object several times. He said he watched it through his rifle's telescopic lens and described it as very large and without seams, nuts or bolts.

Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, said no F-16s or other aircraft from his base were in the area the night of January 8, when most people reported the sighting. Lewis said the object may have been an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes. Lights from the aircraft would seem unusually bright and may appear orange from the setting sun.

"I'm 90 percent sure this was an airliner," Lewis said. "With the sun's angle, it can play tricks on you."

Officials at the region's two Air Force bases -- Dyess in Abilene and Sheppard in Wichita Falls -- also said none of their aircraft were in the area last week. The Air Force no longer investigates UFOs. One man has offered a reward for a photograph or videotape of the mysterious object.
About 200 UFO sightings are reported each month, mostly in California, Colorado and Texas, according to the Mutual UFO Network, which plans to go to the 17,000-resident town of Stephenville to investigate.

Fourteen percent of Americans polled last year by The Associated Press and Ipsos say they have seen a UFO. Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan said he first saw red glowing lights and then white flashing lights moving fast, but that even with binoculars could not see the object to which the lights were attached.
"I didn't see a flying saucer and I don't know what it was, but it wasn't an airplane, and I've never seen anything like it," Gaitan said. "I think it must be some kind of military craft -- at least I hope it was."




OR WAS THIS THE UFO EVERYONE SAW?


Push to Play

"MILLS KILLS #25" BACK IN HEADLINES!!

Always the athlete who looked like he was running in 'LEAD NIKES' because of his natural LACK of speed, Shayne Mills, ironically, is back in the news for just that - LEAD. This time, he's doing what he should've done on the 43-TRAP; he's getting away from the LEAD...fast!!

MILLS KILLS!

Shayne Mills and Samantha Staley watch certified lead assessor Joe Zwissler test a family antique for lead during an inspection of their new rental home in St. Petersburg's Old Northeast neighborhood. The couple is expecting a daughter this month. Staley, 34, and Mills, 38, feel that they have no choice but to figure it out. They're trying to keep lead from reaching their unborn child, a girl to be named Sierra. It seems a daunting task.
"Now I'm thinking about all the gifts I got at the baby shower," says Stayley. "What toys are safe? What toys aren't safe?"

She and Mills found out their St. Petersburg rental home may contain lead when they signed the lease in mid November. They knew little about lead, but grew concerned. They learned of a Pinellas County Health Department program: pay $75 to $125 and a lead investigator would search their home for lead.


Joe Zwissler has been an environmental specialist with the Health Department for 16 years. At Stayley and Mills' home, Zwissler finds lead on the doors, the windows, the kitchen wall, some tiles in the bathroom. Zwissler then tests the couple's household items:

The baby spoons and the rattle? Negative.
The chess sets from Poland and Peru? A trace amount.
The San Francisco music box the new mom had planned to put on the baby's dresser? Don't put it there.

Zwissler also finds a lot of lead in Mills' cream-colored University of Southern California fraternity beer mug.
"I drank a lot of beer out of that, I mean beer after beer," Mills says.

He originally thought his girlfriend was overreacting. Now the father-to-be is worried.
A few days later, Zwissler calls back with the results of the dust in the baby's room -- a high lead reading, too high for comfort. The landlord tells Staley and Mills that she can't afford the tens of thousands of dollars it will cost to remove the lead from the home. She would rather have them move out to be safe. So with weeks to go before Sierra arrives, Staley and Mills begin looking for another place.

"The idea of moving again, it's just the last thing I want, " Staley said. "But when you're talking about the life of a child, you can't afford to mess around. It doesn't matter if we have to move 10 times. You do what's right for the child."

RAMBO RETURNS!

An action movie that's not politically correct? Not PG-13? One that blows everything up and kills everything that moves? The bad guys lose? The good guys win? Wow - it's definitely not a movie for the Democrats. Perhaps Rambo should try and talk his way through these feellings and maybe negotiate a way to bring them back without anyone being offended?

Screw it - say what you want about Bush but it is what it is: There has NOT been another terrorist attack since 9/11...period. Why? Because, right or wrong, they believe...they BELIEVE that Bush just may actually bomb 'em! Amazing what a deterrant will do - the fear of retribution or punishment. Of course, parents today have no idea about that - they let their kids get fat, do what they want, maintain no discipline, and never spend anytime with them. Try making them fear you a little and then maybe they'll actually do what you say...assuming you give a damn and can put the freaking beer down for 5 minutes!

Here's to Ronald Reagan - the 1980's - Rambo - and an old time Republican-type action movie that just blows S#iT up!!

McMannes and Thomas in Sedona, Ariz - 2008

"Go climb a mountain, McMannes!"

Fine! So, Brandy and I did...and we found a really cool one
in a little place called Sedona, Arizona - January 2008

McMannes & Thomas in Sedona, Ariz - Jan 2008

Famous Relatives of Mike McMannes

Thanks to my mother's undying love for research, these people are confirmed ancestors of yours truly (Courtesy of Ancestry.com)

A few - JUST A FEW - of the famous People related to Mike McMannes via Alma Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)
American AuthorMargaret Munnerlyn Mitchell is best remembered for her hugely successful novel, Gone with the Wind. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for the novel. Gone with the Wind is the second best selling hard-cover book, taking second only to the Bible.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 1 times removed
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John Milton (1608-1674)
English PoetJohn Milton is famous for his epic poem "Paradise Lost." The poem is written in blank verse and consists of twelve books. Paradise Lost follows the biblical story of the fall of man.
Relationship: 2nd Cousin 7 times removed
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Howard Hughes (1905-1976)
American AviatorHoward Robard Hughes was famous for his multiple air speed records. He also produced the films "Hells Angels" and "The Outlaw".
Relationship: 6th Cousin 3 times removed
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D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
English AuthorD.H. Lawrence was a prolific and controversial writer. His novels include "Women in Love" and "Sons and Lovers".
Relationship: 7th Cousin 1 times removed
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Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915)
American educator, political leader, authorBooker T. Washington was born as a slave but was freed at the age of 9. He received national attention as a spokesperson for African American citizens.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 2 times removed
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James "Wild Bill" Hickock (1837-1876)
American OutlawJames Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was a legendary gunfighter and law man in the American Wild West. Many characters in Western novels are fashioned after Hickok.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 2 times removed
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Mark Twain (1835-1910)
American AuthorSamuel Langhorne Clemens thought of his pen name, "Mark Twain," while working on a riverboat. This humorist's works include Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Relationship: 8th Cousin
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George Herbert Walker Bush (1924-)
41st President of the United States of AmericaPresident George H.W. Bush is known for leading the U.N. coalition in the Gulf War. His presidency saw the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 3 times removed
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Marlon Brando (1924-2004)
American ActorMarlon Brando, Jr. was an Oscar-winning actor who appeared in many films including A Streetcar Named Desire, The Godfather, Julius Caesar, On the Waterfront, and Superman.
Relationship: 8th Cousin 1 times removed
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William Faulkner (1897-1962)
American AuthorMississippi native William Cuthbert Faulkner was known for his long, winding sentences. Some of his famous novels include Go Down Moses and As I lay Dying.
Relationship: 8th Cousin 1 times removed
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(Francisco) Pancho Villa (1878-1923)
Mexican revolutionaryDoroteo Arango Aráámbula, or Pancho Villa, an uneducated peasant, became one of the foremost and most famous generals of the Mexican Revolution.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 4 times removed
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F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)
American AuthorFrancis Scott Fitzgerald is considered to be one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. He wrote "The Great Gatsby" and "This Side of Paradise".
Relationship: 9th Cousin 1 times removed
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Jane Austen (1775-1817)
English AuthorJane Austin was well educated and began writing at a young age. Though she wrote with a man's alias, many of her novels, which include Pride and Prejudice and Emma, have become widely popular.
Relationship: 2nd Cousin 18 times removed
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'Test tube universe' hints at unifying theory!

A "universe in a test tube" that could be used to assess theories of everything has been created by physicists.

Time is running out - literally, say scientists"
Are we missing a dimension of time?
Are dark forces at work in space?

The test tube, the size of a little finger, has been cooled to a fraction of a degree above the lowest possible temperature, absolute zero, which is just over 273 degrees below the freezing point of water.

Does one of these test tubes hold a baby Universe?

Inside the tube an isotope of helium (called helium three) forms a "superfluid", an ordered liquid where all the atoms are in the same state according to the theory that rules the subatomic domain, called quantum theory. What is remarkable is that atoms in the liquid, at temperatures within a thousandth of a degree of absolute zero, form structures that, according to the team at Lancaster University, are similar those seen in the cosmos.

"In effect, we have made a universe in a test tube," says Richard Haley, who did the work with Prof George Pickett and other members of the "Ultra-low Temperature Group."
The Holy Grail of physics is to establish an overarching explanation to unite all the particles and forces of the cosmos. But one of the complaints commonly levelled at a leading contender for a "theory of everything", called string theory, is that it is impossible to test.
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But now, according to the study in the journal Nature Physics, it may be possible using the universe in a test tube. "It was a serendipitous discovery," says Haley.
The equations used to describe this superfluid turn up in many other branches of physics. "For instance, the internal structure of the superfluid mirrors very closely the structure of space-time itself, the 'background' of the universe in which we live," says Haley. "Consequently the superfluid can be used to simulate particle and cosmic phenomena; black holes, cosmic strings and the Big Bang for instance.
"This is great for testing theories, since the equations describing helium-3 are well-established enough to say that it is the most complex system for which we already have the 'Theory of Everything'," Haley continues. "If the analogous experiments don't work in helium-3, then it's probably time to go back to the drawing board (or computer) with your latest pet theory."

Since the pioneering work of Albert Einstein, the quest for a theory of everything has depended on combining theories of the very small (quantum theory) and the very large (relativity).
One of the strangest features of such theories is that they require the universe to have more than three spatial dimensions to unify our picture of all forces and all matter. One promising candidate is supersymmetric string theory, in which ripples on strings are interpreted as particles. But, to their surprise, physicists found five superstring theories. Now the Lancaster experiments provide new insights into the phenomena predicted by these theories.

For the past three decades it has been known that strings are one member of a bigger class of objects called branes, which exist in higher dimensional space, that could be extended in more than one dimension - from strings of one dimension, to membranes of two dimensions, to those of p dimensions, dubbed p-branes. Moreover string theories and p-branes are facets of one underlying 11-dimensional M theory, which suggests that we live in a brane world: a four-dimensional surface, or brane, in a higher dimensional mixture of space and time.

People and most particles move in the brane, while the higher dimensions provide a framework to unify all forces, from gravity to those that act between atomic particles. While experiments have begun to highlight cracks in the current best theory, called "the standard model", there is evidence that M theory's extra hidden dimensions could be revealed next year when a Geneva atom smasher - the £4.4 billion Large Hadron Collider - begins experiments. But the Lancaster team offers another route to address this impasse.

One idea is that a collision between a brane and an antibrane could have triggered the Big Bang itself. This can now be simulated in superfluid helium within the little test tube.
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

MMC SMACKDOWN - CHAMPION 2007

***SEMIFINAL***
Harry's NutsackersVRS Ferruzzo and Toes
Scott VRS THE MMC ULTIMATUM!!!


***CHAMPIONSHIP***
Ferruzzo and Toes vrs THE MMC ULTIMATUM!!!


***CHAMPION 2007/2008***
THE MMC ULTIMATUM!!!

"I just stayed focused and really worked my guys hard. This championship is a tribute to the player's and their ability as much as it is to my genius in the field of Fantasy Football, which is basically without peer or rival and remains virtually unequalled in modern times."

James Patterson - Author of Note

Women's Murder Club Blog
Read James and the cast's answers!
Still posted on On ABC.com
Wednesday 12/5 at 8p ET/5p PT

Click here for more details

Meet the Author Podcast
If you missed James at The Apple Store, Soho, the Meet the Author Podcast is now available for FREE on iTunes. Download it here and listen!

Missed James on NBC's Today Show?
You can see what he has to say about future Alex Cross movies, his writing, and his brand new blog on iVillage. For date and tour information, you can sign up for the James Patterson eNewsletter

Find out what it is like to attend a Patterson booksigning at Bookloons.com!
FINISHED!!

STARTED...

MAC & JACK!!

CLOAKED? I smell Romulans...

Towards Cloaking Visible Light: Three-dimensional Metamaterials For The Optical Wavelength Range

ScienceDaily (2007-12-24) -- Last year researchers from Duke University stunned the world when they announced a cloaking device for the microwave range. This device made use of metamaterials that had a negative refractive index for electromagnetic radiation. The metamaterials were carefully designed split-ring resonators with a structure size much smaller than the wavelength. Only 10 stacked layers of metamaterials were necessary to achieve the desired invisibility effect. Now researchers have succeeded in manufacturing a stacked split-ring metamaterial for the optical wavelength range. ... > read full article

I thought Kirk stole the cloaking device from the Romulans? See what happens when you mess with Star Trek canon? Everything gets screwed up!

BILLIE JEAN RETURNS TO DEAN MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Basically, Dean Middle School has a big LipSync show every year. There's a mystery teachers - TEACHERS (Plural) skit at the end. Well, the teacher's skit didn't work so because I helped with a Michael Jackson skit, I was the one to fill in for the spot...with 1.5 days to prepare/ to cut the song/ to remember the moves/ to see if I even could still move like that! :) Well, here's the final cut - edited for dramatic purposes, of course!

CYFAIR hosted it.

The world watched.

20 years later....one final show - - one last time! There will be NO comeback!





http://www.mikemcmannes.com/mj2008.wmv

The NEW Enterprise? NCC-1701 gets a refit!

TRUE? NOT TRUE?? SPOCK?? NO WIN SCENARIO?

The question: Is this a leaked pic of the new USS Enterprise!??

List of conspiracy theories - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of conspiracy theories - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ming the Mechanic: An E8 theory of everything

Ming the Mechanic: An E8 theory of everything
by Flemming Funch

According to Telegraph, a poor surfer dude physicist has come up with a theory of everything that has everybody talking.
The new theory reported today in New Scientist has been laid out in an online paper entitled "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything" by Lisi, who completed his doctorate in theoretical physics in 1999 at the University of California, San Diego. He has high hopes that his new theory could provide what he says is a "radical new explanation" for the three decade old Standard Model, which weaves together three of the four fundamental forces of nature: the electromagnetic force; the strong force, which binds quarks together in atomic nuclei; and the weak force, which controls radioactive decay. The reason for the excitement is that Lisi's model also takes account of gravity, a force that has only successfully been included by a rival and highly fashionable idea called string theory, one that proposes particles are made up of minute strings, which is highly complex and elegant but has lacked predictions by which to do experiments to see if it works.
But some are taking a cooler view. Prof Marcus du Sautoy, of Oxford University and author of Finding Moonshine, told the Telegraph: "The proposal in this paper looks a long shot and there seem to be a lot things still to fill in." And a colleague Eric Weinstein in America added: "Lisi seems like a hell of a guy. I'd love to meet him. But my friend Lee Smolin is betting on a very very long shot." Lisi's inspiration lies in the most elegant and intricate shape known to mathematics, called E8 - a complex, eight-dimensional mathematical pattern with 248 points first found in 1887, but only fully understood by mathematicians this year after workings, that, if written out in tiny print, would cover an area the size of Manhattan.Read about the E8 at Wikipedia. And then explain it to me once you get it.

Leaked photos - STAR TREK XI

Leaked photos from the set of Star Trek 11!

Peek a Boo…We See You: Star Trek Spy Pics Now Online!

'General' Tattoo Sketch - NOV 6th

Click the pic for LARGE version.

Maybe I should retire??

Sex with robots 'not far away?'
October 13, 2007 11:43am

HUMANS will be marrying and having sex with robots by 2050, an artificial intelligence researcher has claimed. Netherlands university student David Levy, who recently completed his PhD on the subject of human-robot relationships, told LiveScience that robots would become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people would fall in love with them, have sex with them and even marry them.

"At first, sex with robots might be considered geeky, but once you have a story like 'I had sex with a robot and it was great!' appear in a magazine like Cosmo, I'd expect many people to jump on the bandwagon," he said. In his thesis "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners", Mr Levy argued that psychologists have identified roughly a dozen basic reasons why people fall in love, and almost all of them could apply to human-robot relationships.

"For instance, one thing that prompts people to fall in love are similarities in personality and knowledge, and all of this is programmable," Mr Levy said. "Another reason people are more likely to fall in love is if they know the other person likes them, and that's programmable too." Mr Levy said Massachusetts would be the first jurisdiction to legalise human-robot marriage. "Massachusetts is more liberal than most other jurisdictions in the United States and has been at the forefront of same-sex marriage," Mr Levy said. "There's also a lot of high-tech research there." Although roboticist Ronald Arkin at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta didn't think human-robot marriages would be legal anywhere by 2050, he said "anything's possible"."Just because it's not legal doesn't mean people won't try it," he told LiveScience. "Humans are very unusual creatures."If you ask me if every human will want to marry a robot, my answer is probably not. But will there be a subset of people? There are people ready right now to marry sex toys."

STAR TREK XI - Where's Kirk?

MIND & BODY - The ReUnification!

Bodybuilding.com

For those older, natural bodybuilders out there, the idea of manipulating the body's release of natural hormones through exercise and diet should be quite exciting. The hormones I'm referring to are the "big 3", testosterone, GH and insulin.

For those who are older, the body's natural output declines as we age, so being able to take maximum advantage of these is essential if you want to make big gains. Regardless of whether or not you are using pro-hormones - like I do - the right approach to training and diet will allow you to make the most of this opportunity.

Some of this information came from the August 2003 issue of Ironman magazine but this is a topic I was looking at back in the 90's (for those who don't know, I took a total 5-year lay-off from the sport around 1997 after 15 years) so I know this approach is not new but hopefully I can give you some tips that will help you get better results than you're getting now.

The body's natural production of testosterone can be increased through hard work on the big, compound movements, especially those where the body actually moves up and down, such as the squat and deadlift. Also, the bigger the muscle, the more testosterone is released in response to the exercise. What's bigger than the legs and back?

So, starting your workout with 3-5 sets of heavy squats or deadlifts done for reps in the 6-10 range will work wonders. That's easy to do on leg and back day but what if, like me, you train, say, chest and tri's on a separate day and shoulders on another day (as in the routine listed in my "Coming back after 5 years, part two" article)?

What you need to do is begin these workouts with either squats or deadlifts. I don't mean you have to work yourself into the ground but 1-3 working sets at a moderate weight will get the process started. Remember Vince Gironda? He used to have his trainees begin their arm workouts with squats! Why? Because he believed it "set the adrenal gland up for growth".

He was pretty much on the right track. Of course, many people use split routines - so you could just design a split routine that had you doing squats one day and deadlifts on another day but I find I can design a better split with out those limitations.

For one thing, I find as I get older I can't really do the same volume of work in a single day with enough intensity as I could 10 years ago. For another, research shows your body begins to shut down it's output of anabolic hormones after 45-60 minutes. My current split allows me to complete every workout in 45 minutes or less.


What About GH?


Research shows that when GH is secreted along with testosterone, it magnifies the effect of the testosterone. Research also shows that there is a direct connection between the burn of lactic acid buildup and GH release. What better way to get the burn than through some form of extended sets, like drop sets (as in my "Killer Leg Training " article).

Ways To Extend A Set:


Rest Pause - This is where you extend a set by first reaching failure, racking the weight for a 10 count and then continuing the set for another 3-4 reps. You can do this 2-3 times and all this counts as one set.
Forced Reps - This is where, at the end of a normal set, you have someone give you just a bit of help, enough of a pulling or pushing motion, depending on the exercise, to get the bar up. You can shoot for 3-4 extra reps per set on these . I would only do this on a few sets per body part so you don't over train.

1 ½ Reps - As you complete a normal rep, continue and do the first half of the rep, going half way up and coming back to the start position. This counts as 1 rep.

Super Sets - Two exercises done back to back without stopping. You can do two exercises for the same body part or two for different body parts.

21's - One of Arnold's favorites. Using the curl as an example, you would do 7 full reps followed by 7 half reps from the starting position to half way up followed by 7 half reps from half way up to the top of the movement. All of this counts as one set.

Static Hold Reps - Using cable rows as an example, you would start your rep, hold the bar at your waist for a 10 count then complete the rep - this is one rep.


View All Intensity Builders!
There are many more techniques but I wanted to give you a few of the better ones.

Although you can extend a set of squats or deadlifts, it may make more sense to choose more of an isolation exercise - if you train alone or at home, with only one training partner, doing say, drop sets on these type of exercises will work easier.

Following is a list of the best exercises for this purpose - even if you train alone these will work. For hams - leg curls, for chest - the pec-deck or dumbbell fly using several pairs of pre weighted dumbbells, for back, lat pull-downs or low cable rows, for delts, laterals, for triceps, press-downs and for biceps, cable curls.


What About Insulin?


It can cause our body to store fat if you have constant spikes all day - that's why watching your simple carb intake is a good idea. It also causes amino acids and creatine to be stored - this promotes protein synthesis. To get the anabolic actions with out the fat storage, you want to cause an insulin spike at two key times of the day - first thing in the morning when you first wake up and after your work out (the first anabolic window).

How? By drinking a mixture of fast carbs and protein, about 40 grams protein to 40-60 grams carbs. If you use a MRP, use it for this purpose. Or, even simpler, mix protein powder with some OJ, skim milk and a banana. Why at those times of the day?

First, you want to get nutrients in the bloodstream as fast as possible after your workout and take advantage of the anabolic actions of insulin at the most critical time. But in the morning, you are also at a critical time as far as nutrient needs are concerned.

You have just come off a short fast while you slept and research shows this creates an anabolic window (the second window) - take advantage of this by triggering an insulin spike. By keeping all your other meals high in protein and mixed with complex carbs, you can keep insulin spikes under control. So there you have it - an introduction to a training program that will make the most of your body's natural hormone production. Try implementing these tips into your program and see if you don't increase your gains.

Slideshow 2007

Killing time in the summer baby!

Look what I found....

July 30th is always a difficult day - in 1990, it was the day my brother died. It also comes one day after my birthday. A few days ago I came across and old bag of pictures. Inside were photos that I didn't know still existed and something else - postcards from the edge. I couldn't believe I stil had these. Thank God for my 'pack-rattiness.'

Anyway, here are a couple pics (one retouched to resemble today) and the postcards I spoke of.

In this photo, I was 35 and he was 31...could've been fun! That's what makes it so very sad!

Time before is Time again...

A cosmologist has created a mathematical model that he says shows space-time, contrary to common wisdom, did not begin with the Big Bang. Instead, the model suggests a universe pretty much like the one we live in today existed before the event, except it was contracting instead of expanding. If ever proven, the idea could force a complete rethinking of the origins of the cosmos and perhaps even open a doorway to an endless future.
The Big Bang--the sudden and extremely rapid expansion of space-time that began 13.7 billion years ago--is generally accepted among scientists as the beginning of the universe. However, they have long puzzled over a paradox that the event caused in the mathematical calculations of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. At the moment of the Big Bang, everything was thought to be crammed into a singularity--a space with no dimensions--that also contained infinite density. Einstein couldn't explain how such a state could give rise to a universe of finite density and possibly finite dimensions.

Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena put it more succinctly: "Everyone's calculations show the universe started from a singularity," he says, "but no one believes it." Although most cosmologists think it sprang forth from nothingness along with the forces of nature, theoretical physicist Martin Bojowald of Pennsylvania State University in University Park thinks his mathematical model points to something even stranger: The cosmos is a leftover from a previous manifestation of existence.

Bojowald's model is based on a new and developing line of theoretical reasoning called Loop Quantum Gravity, which attempts to reconcile Einstein's theory with quantum mechanics by strongly suggesting that the current universe actually received a kick–start from the dying epoch of a previous, contracting universe. They do so by showing that the previous universe could not have compacted itself into a singularity, as general relativity predicts, because at extremes of temperature and pressure, gravity becomes repulsive instead of attractive. As a result, gravitational energy grew so large as the previous universe contracted that it created a "Big Bounce," as Bojowald calls it, which ignited the current expansion.
With some luck, he says, it might be possible to find clues about what the previous universe was like from more detailed observations and models of quantum mechanics. Far-fetched or not, Carroll thinks Bojowald's model represents a "good thing to be doing," because somehow cosmologists are going to have to resolve the singularity dilemma, and although his conclusions might not provide the correct answer, it's "not premature to be asking the questions."

RATS!!

If rats benefit from the kindness of strangers they are more likely to assist an unfamiliar rat in future. In doing so, they provide the first evidence of an unusual form of altruism that appears to violate evolutionary theory. Claudia Rutte and Michael Taborsky of the University of Berne, Switzerland, trained rats to pull a lever that released food for their partner in the next cage. If the rats subsequently received snacks released by lever-pulling strangers in neighbouring cages, they were more likely to lever-pull and so feed another unfamiliar rat in the future. In other words, the rats became altruistic in response to a general level of cooperation in the population.

Theoretically, such "generalised reciprocity" shouldn't exist. In large groups, dirty rats will take advantage of helpful strangers and offer nothing in return. It persists, says Taborsky, because exploited animals move away. "An animal is more likely to leave the group if it didn't receive cooperation in the past," he says. "This leads to cooperative and uncooperative groups in a population." If cooperative groups are better at exploiting the environment, generalised reciprocity remains in the population. (PLoS Biology, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050196).

Mr. 3000

Make that 3,002. Biggio goes 5-for-6.
Everyone on the team, including those in the bullpen, stormed the field to congratulate Biggio. His wife Patty, sons Conor and Cavan, and daughter Quinn also joined in the celebration. His sons were in the dugout acting as bat boys. He kissed his wife and held his 7-year-old daughter in the air. He went to the dugout and hugged everyone while the crowd continued to go wild. And then the time came - Craig Biggio had one person he absolutely positively had to share this moment with.

JEFF BAGWELL

Biggio pulled Jeff Bagwell out of the dugout and dragged him onto the infield where they stood arm and arm. Biggio and Bagwell played together for 15 seasons before Bagwell retired in December.

They stood there, hugging and smiling, waving, soaking in the moment together, just as they'd done so many times before. One final time, there they were - the greatest players this franchise has ever known. The Killer B's! Biggio and Bagwell. Between the lines, on the field, adored by fans...

One last time.

Biggio got three singles in three at-bats, the last one a line drive to right-center in the bottom of the seventh inning. The 3,000-hit club got its 27th member Thursday night at 9:12 p.m. He would get five hits in all, the second-five hit game of his career. Biggio attempted to hustle it into a double and was thrown out for the third of the inning. Never mind that. The celebration began. His family joined him. His wife wept. Twenty seasons-2,781 games-10,648 at-bats. All of it will be defined by the next one. Flash bulbs popping with every pitch.

Fans stand through every turn at bat. Craig Biggio has earned all the adulation he gets.
He got standing ovations when he came to bat in the first, third and fifth innings. With one out in the third, he lined a single to left-center for No. 2,998. He got No. 2,999 in the fifth when Garrett Atkins threw wildly to first. Correct call by the official scorer.

His 3,000th hit arrived one day before the 19th anniversary of Biggio's first big-league hit -- June 29, 1988, a single off Orel Hershiser that began a sure Hall of Fame career during which he's played in seven All-Star Games, six postseasons and one World Series. He is the only player in major league history to have at least 600 doubles (658), 250 home runs (286), 3,000 hits and 400 stolen bases (413).

Biggio Photo Gallery through the years!
Biggio Stats Gallery through his career!!

“I couldn’t have scripted it any better,” Biggio said. “There are a lot of things that have happened over the past 20 years but tonight is the best.”

Almost 3 years now...

My friend Sarah is a wonderful poet. She writes beautiful lyrics - just gorgeous. I was thinking of Rox and decided maybe I could write her something. I decided to give it a go. Lil' Rox...the devastation never truly leaves. (Click pic - Roxy's video)












'Thunder away, my Love'
by Mike McMannes (With Epilogue)

She gazes into the who knows where, searching.
Pleased with life’s allowances - content with her place at the table.
Her voice howls delivering unintended softness.
Slowly, both drift away... the thunder submits.
She has won the day yet again.

So she lay.

She stares through the illusion of...
She smiles at the once was …
She clings to the might be, dreams of the yet still…

The dealer's stare has begun. Play the cards, RO.
Odds sink as hope gets cast aside.

She knows. She knows.


Wide, uncertain eyes find their purpose - her love, her boy, her man, her soul.
Bravely…. She gazes again into the who knows where, searching.
Surveying without concern...

She knows.
She loves him.

Somewhere, a clock twists backwards. A bark, a resounding salute to youth.
The past and future fade.
She settles and finds his gaze for the last time.
A love just as the day they began.

He knows.
He so loves her.
And she, content with still being at the table...touching.
As minutes flee, seconds approach.
"Don't....please...."

The dealer stares. Play the cards, RO.
Stand firm-stand pat; played all along was the hand she'd been dealt.
But it was his hand that was always for her.

"It's ok, my boy - it's ok."
His desperate NO screams at the fading.
The pulse of their heart, a paw's grip embedded.
The dealer breaks.
The Thunder saddens and bows his head.


She was.

Everything.
---

Somewhere, she was laughing and jumping.
But in the somewhere, there was that certain some -one- she needed.
That someone was there - so something started.
She went chasing!
Somehow, she found him.

Hey. You're his brother?
Yeah - - yeah, I am...
The smile. The eyes. The waggle.
...Well, hello Roxy!

'The Road' was taken!

I don't write book reviews. I mean, unless you're a book reviewer, who would actually spend time writing reviews of other people's work, especially if you've begun the process of creating your own? However, I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by because when you're moved - you're moved; I'm going to stop writing and start writing (Get it? Ok then...). Today, I write a review of a book. Not just any book, mind you but one that has invoked inspiration, not only as a reader but as a writer.
The title of this book is THE ROAD, by Cormac McCarthy. In an earlier posting on DRAMABLOG, I discussed his interview with Oprah Winfrey. It was immediate and it was quick - I liked him. I liked his style and was taken with his 'old charm.' I must say that Mr. McCarthy most definitely caught me off guard. I knew very little of him as a novelist, and even less about him as a person. The fact that he's only done two print interviews in his lifetime is quite the oddity in itself. Couple that with the fact that he has never, ever appeared on television, well, that's mind numbing. What about the fame? What about the attention? What about the me, me, me mentality of everyone, everywhere, with everything in every situation? Yeah, uh... not with this cat! I really and truly developed a healthy respect for Mr. McCarthy after seeing him interviewed. Of course, with Oprah, even though she has the interview of a lifetime, she makes it all about her, interrupting, the mic'd "Uh-Huh' agreements that MUST be thrown in to affirm her knowledge of any and all subjects, even though was talking about Physics. Oprah is just...Oprah. She needs the attention. We all do but sometimes you just have to know when to let the other person have the floor.

He's a very peculiar person-a very odd but intellectual man, I believe. He spends a great deal of his time at the Santa Fe Institute in Arizona. It's here that many great minds get together to contemplate different thoughts, different philosophies, and different ways to approach things. McCarthy says that he likes coming to the Sante Fe Institute because there are a lot of bright people there who have a lot of bright things to say. My God if I could for just a week...anyway, I digress! It is here that Mr. McCarthy fits in perfectly. Further along in the interview, he talks about his main goal in life - not working. He simply doesn't want to work and he has spent his whole life working toward that goal, working at not working. He mentions that he's no afflicted artist who feels the anguish of his creations, his art. With that said, there's no affectivity aroused from his art either. He's just a writer who's trying to understand his place in the world, as cliché as that sounds. Pulitzer Prize or not, he remains steadfast in who he is, but not so much as to be incapable of changing that mindset.

Last night, it was my mindset that was forced to change. I came to the end of THE ROAD. I must say, this book was truly, truly a great thing- for me, a wonderful experience. Never before have I had the written word bring me to such an emotional state quite like this book. To be honest, I'm not actually sure what it was that did it. The writing style, the structure with which this book was written is foreign to me. Strike that-his style WAS foreign to me but no longer. I've actually emulated him a great deal recently in my own writings and in my own different works. Trying to think like him, attempting to write like him, getting inside the head of someone like him has been fairly difficult... but I'm making progress!! :-)

McCarthy goes on to say that he doesn't think that interviews are good for your head. Also, when he was a kid he used to write, but when he was a teenager he did not do much of anything. He says that passion is a pretty fancy word. He likes what he does. He thinks that sometimes writing is difficult. You always have the vision of the perfect thing of which you can never achieve. But you never stop trying to achieve it. He thinks you have this interior image of something that is absolutely perfect. He thinks that this is your signpost, your guide. He thinks you will never get there; but without it..you will not get anywhere.

THE ROAD tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world, one without cause and one without solution. It is simply a story about a man and a boy and their journey together. I've heard it described as a love story between a man and his son... and I'm good with that. Actually, I'm really good with that. That explanation is very simple but is quite comprehensive in its description. It is a love story-it is about a man-it is about a boy. However, it is so much more than that!

This atmosphere he describes in this novel is putrid, dank, and saturated with rot. The way he describes this landscape is beautiful, descriptive, and poetic. How can that be? How does he do this? I'm not really sure, and if I were, or if one day I were to become sure, perhaps my name will accompany his as a Pulitzer Prize winner. For now, I'm just not sure. He's just a master of his art and he takes a great deal of pride in the fact that he has no inhibitions, no concerns, and no real care as to whether or not anyone buys his book or even likes it, for that matter. He sat down in front of a typewriter and decided to write a masterpiece... and that's what he did. Here's another complement for Mr. McCarthy - I could read this book again. For no other reason than the wondrous way in which it was written, I could indeed read this book again.

Each page meticulously describes an unfamiliar, and truly dark world in a complex and detailed way, yet remains quite straightforward in delivery and unmistakable in the depiction of what the characters encounter throughout their journey. And that's what this was, a journey, a trip through time, an exposé of another man's mind delineated on paper revealing a great affection and patience, not only for the characters but for their miserable surroundings, as well.

THE ROAD, by Cormac McCarthy is one of those books that forces you to put it down with but a few chapters remaining. If you are a true lover of books and stories, you understand this frame of mind, what kind of book does this and why. If you are not someone who can allow themselves to become entranced by the thoughts and words of another person, then let me explain-

You do not want the story to end!!

This was one of those stories; this was one of those books. I still hate the fact that so many great stories force me to say goodbye - say farewell to the enchanting characters, to the mesmeric worlds in which they live, and to my own bewitched state, a mindset that produces great joy but one which starts the fading away process the moment the final page flips from right to left.
great joy but still one which begins to fade away as the final page flips from right to left.

Great book!

All good things MUST...

JERUSALEM — Three-century-old manuscripts by Isaac Newton calculating the exact date of the apocalypse, detailing the precise dimensions of the ancient temple in Jerusalem and interpreting passages of the Bible — exhibited this week for the first time — lay bare the little-known religious intensity of a man many consider history's greatest scientist.
Newton, who died 280 years ago, is known for laying much of the groundwork for modern physics, astronomy, math and optics. But in a new Jerusalem exhibit, he appears as a scholar of deep faith who also found time to write on Jewish law — even penning a few phrases in careful Hebrew letters — and combing the Old Testament's Book of Daniel for clues about the world's end.
The documents, purchased by a Jewish scholar at a Sotheby's auction in London in 1936, have been kept in safes at Israel's national library in Jerusalem since 1969. Available for decades only to a small number of scholars, they have never before been shown to the public.

In one manuscript from the early 1700s, Newton used the cryptic Book of Daniel to calculate the date for the apocalypse, reaching the conclusion that the world would end no earlier than 2060.
"It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner," Newton wrote. However, he added, "This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail."

In another document, Newton interpreted biblical prophecies to mean that the Jews would return to the Holy Land before the world ends. The end of days will see "the ruin of the wicked nations, the end of weeping and of all troubles, the return of the Jews captivity and their setting up a flourishing and everlasting Kingdom," he posited.

The exhibit also includes treatises on daily practice in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. In one document, Newton discussed the exact dimensions of the temple — its plans mirrored the arrangement of the cosmos, he believed — and sketched it. Another paper contains words in Hebrew, including a sentence taken from the Jewish prayerbook. Yemima Ben-Menahem, one of the exhibit's curators, said the papers show Newton's conviction that important knowledge was hiding in ancient texts.

"He believed there was wisdom in the world that got lost. He thought it was coded, and that by studying things like the dimensions of the temple, he could decode it," she said. The Newton papers, Ben-Menahem said, also complicate the idea that science is diametrically opposed to religion. "These documents show a scientist guided by religious fervor, by a desire to see God's actions in the world," she said. The archives of Hebrew University in Jerusalem include a 1940 letter from Albert Einstein to Abraham Shalom Yahuda, the collector who purchased the papers a year earlier. Newton's religious writings, Einstein wrote, provide "a variety of sketches and ongoing changes that give us a most interesting look into the mental laboratory of this unique thinker."

Cormac McCarthy takes the long hard 'ROAD!'

Reclusive novelist talks to Oprah

New York, June 06: Nothing is predictable about Oprah Winfrey’s book picks — except for their sales. Once associated with inspirational narratives such as Jacqueline Mitchard's "The Deep End of the Ocean," Winfrey has been increasingly willing to take on the most challenging books and the most challenging writers.Over the past few years, she has recommended novels by Faulkner, Tolstoy and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, even as she advocates diet and self-help books, such as Rhonda Byrne's million-selling "The Secret," when not choosing works for her club.On Tuesday, she announced her new club selection: Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex," a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel narrated by a hermaphrodite — someone with both male and female sexual organs — and aired a talk with her previous pick, Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's first ever television interview.

"I am proud to be in the same company as Tolstoy and Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy," Eugenides said in an interview from his home in Chicago."The image Oprah Winfrey has had just isn't true," said Jonathan Galassi, publisher of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, which released Eugenides' novel in 2002. "It seems that the club has been going more up market. I think she must have found that readers responded well to those kinds of books."

The 73-year-old McCarthy has spoken with the press just twice before — both times for print publications — in the past 40 years, but he opened up for Winfrey. The author said he has nothing against the media; he just doesn't like talking about what he does — a trait Winfrey illustrated with a story about how McCarthy, when he had no money years ago, refused a speaking engagement that would have paid him $2,000.

"You work your side of the street, I'll work mine," he said in an interview that was taped at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico.Dressed in a blue work shirt open at the collar and tan slacks, the author looked trim and much younger than his age. He sat slouched in an arm chair and spoke calmly, carefully, in a low, rumbling voice. His answers were thoughtful, even when the questions seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable, as when Winfrey asked whether "The Road" was "a love story to your son.""It was kind of refreshing how he didn't seem to be aware of the camera, or play to the camera at all, as so-called professional authors do," Eugenides said.

Known for his rural settings, biblical prose and affinity for bygone worlds, McCarthy said that while typically he doesn't know where the ideas for his books originate, he can trace "The Road" to a trip he took with his young son to El Paso, Texas, about four years ago.There, standing at the window of a hotel in the middle of the night, his son asleep nearby, he started to imagine what El Paso might look like 50 or 100 years in the future."I just had this image of these fires up on the hill ... and I thought a lot about my little boy," said McCarthy, whose previous books include "Blood Meridian" and "All the Pretty Horses."He said he wrote some of his thoughts down and didn't really think about it again until he was in Ireland a few years later and the novel came to him."There was a book, and it was about that man and that little boy," he said."The Road," this year's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is about a father and his son as they wander through a barren post-nuclear landscape. It is dedicated to McCarthy's son, John Francis, and the author acknowledged that he wouldn't have written it had he not had a son.Having a child as an older man also had its effect on McCarthy.

"It wrenches you up out of your nap and makes you look at things fresh," he said. "It forces the world on you, and I think it's a good thing."Winfrey was clearly fascinated with McCarthy's life, particularly the time when he was so poor that he once was tossed out of a $40-a-month hotel because he couldn't pay his bill. He told a story of living in a "shack in Tennessee," having so little money that he could not afford to buy toothpaste when he ran out, only to discover a free sample of toothpaste in his mailbox. "Just when things were really, really bleak something would happen," he said. Many authors jump or weep for joy upon receiving the word from Winfrey, publishing's swiftest and surest path to the top of best seller lists. But McCarthy's apparent indifference to having hundreds of thousands of new readers baffled and charmed the talk show host. "You are a different kind of author, let me tell you," she said, chuckling.

I hope so much to be like this man! What an inspiration! He's got it all - no contact with the press, he can write well, he's got vision, he expresses himself, and he walks the walk! Good for him! Cormac McCarthy meet Mike McMannes - I think I can be better than he is. Mike McMannes is a better writer than Cormac McCarthy! (You gotta see it - you gotta believe it!)

http://cormacmccarthy.com/

The Human Being Re-Invented!

Biologists Make Skin Cells Work Like Stem Cells

By NICHOLAS WADE

In a surprising advance that could sidestep the ethical debates surrounding stem cell biology, researchers have come much closer to a major goal of regenerative medicine, the conversion of a patient’s cells into specialized tissues that might replace those lost to disease. The advance is an easy-to-use technique for reprogramming a skin cell of a mouse back to the embryonic state. Embryonic cells can be induced in the laboratory to develop into many of the body’s major tissues.

If the technique can be adapted to human cells, researchers could use a patient’s skin cells to generate new heart, liver or kidney cells that might be transplantable and would not be rejected by the patient’s immune system. But scientists say they cannot predict when they can overcome the considerable problems in adapting the method to human cells. The technique, if adaptable to human cells, is much easier to apply than nuclear transfer, would not involve the expensive and controversial use of human eggs, and should avoid all or almost all of the ethical criticism directed at the use of embryonic stem cells.

“From the point of view of moving biomedicine and regenerative medicine faster, this is about as big a deal as you could imagine,” said Irving Weissman, a leading stem cell biologist at Stanford University, who was not involved in the new research.

David Scadden, a stem cell biologist at the Harvard Medical School, said the finding that cells could be reprogrammed with simple biochemical techniques “is truly extraordinary and frankly something most assumed would take a decade to work out.”

Beyond that is the hope of generating cells for therapy. Researchers have learned how to make embryonic cells in the laboratory develop into neurons, heart muscle cells and other tissues. In principle, these might be injected into a patient to replace or supplement the cells of the diseased tissue, without fear of immune rejection. Still, repairing the body with its own cells should in principle be a superior form of medicine to the surgeon’s knife and the oncologists’ poisons. But the first fruit of the new technique will be in figuring out how cells work.

This and other methods will lead to an explosion of information that will “open the door for understanding how cells program and re-program their fate,” Dr. Scadden predicted. If and when applicable to human cells, he said, the four-gene approach “will have profound implications for new biology, regenerative medicine and will change the ethical debate around stem cells.”

Holocaust Diary of 14-Year-Old Dubbed the 'Polish Anne Frank' Unveiled

Monday , June 04, 2007

JERUSALEM — The diary of a 14-year-old Jewish girl, dubbed the "Polish Anne Frank," was unveiled Monday by Israel's Holocaust museum more than 60 years after the teenager vividly described the world crumbling around her as she came of age in a Jewish ghetto.
"The rope around us is getting tighter and tighter," Rutka Laskier wrote in 1943, shortly before she was deported to Auschwitz. "I'm turning into an animal waiting to die."
Within a few months Rutka was dead and, it seemed, her diary lost. But last year, a Polish friend who had saved the notebook finally came forth, exposing a riveting historical document.
"Rutka's Notebook" is both a daily account of the horrors of the Holocaust in Bedzin, Poland, and a scrapbook detailing the life of a teenager in extraordinary circumstances. The 60-page memoir includes innocent adolescent banter, concerns and first loves — combined with a cold analysis of the fate of European Jewry.

Some 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II, after European Jews were herded into ghettos, banned from most jobs and forced to wear yellow stars to identify them.
"I simply can't believe that one day I will be allowed to leave this house without the yellow star. Or even that this war will end one day. If this happens I will probably lose my mind from joy," she wrote on Feb. 5, 1943. "The little faith I used to have has been completely shattered. If God existed, He would have certainly not permitted that human beings be thrown alive into furnaces, and the heads of little toddlers be smashed with gun butts or shoved into sacks and gassed to death."

The following day she opened her entry with a heated description of her hatred toward her Nazi tormentors. But then, in an effortless transition, she described her crush on a boy named Janek and the anticipation of a first kiss. "I think my womanhood has awoken in me. That means, yesterday when I was taking a bath and the water stroked my body, I longed for someone's hands to stroke me," she wrote. "I didn't know what it was, I have never had such sensations until now." Later that day, she shifted back to her harsh reality, describing how she watched as a Nazi soldier tore a Jewish baby away from his mother and killed him with his bare hands.

The diary chronicles Rutka's life from January to April 1943. She shared it with her friend Stanislawa Sapinska, who she met after Rutka's family moved into a home owned by Sapinska's family, which had been confiscated by the Nazis to be included in the Bedzin ghetto. Sapinska came to inspect the house and the girls — one Jewish, one Christian — formed a deep bond.
When Rutka feared she would not survive, she told her friend about the diary. Sapinska offered to hide it in the basement under the floorboards. After the war, she returned to reclaim it.
"She wanted me to save the diary," Sapinska, now in her 80s, recalled Monday. "She said 'I don't know if I will survive, but I want the diary to live on, so that everyone will know what happened to the Jews.'"

Sapinska stashed the diary in her home library for more than 60 years. She said it was a precious memento and thought it to be too private to share with others. Only at the behest of her young nephew did she agree to hand it over last year. "He convinced me that it was an important historical artifact," she said in Polish. In 1943, Rutka was the same age as Anne Frank, the Dutch teenager whose Holocaust diary has become one of the most widely read books in the world. Yad Vashem said Rutka's newly discovered diary was authenticated by experts and Holocaust survivors. Rutka's father, Yaakov, was the family's only survivor. He died in 1986. But unlike Anne Frank's father, he kept his painful past inside. After the war, he moved to Israel, where he started a new family. His Israeli daughter, Zahava Sherz, said her father never spoke of his other children, and the diary introduced her to the long-lost family she never knew.
"I was struck by this deep connection to Rutka," said Sherz, 57. "I was an only child, and now I suddenly have an older sister. This black hole was suddenly filled, and I immediately fell in love with her."

"I have a feeling that I am writing for the last time," Rutka wrote on Feb. 20, 1943, as Nazi soldiers began gathering Jews outside her home for deportation. "I wish it would end already! This torment; this is hell. I try to escape from these thoughts of the next day, but they keep haunting me like nagging flies. If only I could say, it's over, you only die once ... but I can't, because despite all these atrocities, I want to live, and wait for the following day."

However, Rutka would write again. Her last entry was dated April 24, 1943, and her last written words were: "I'm very bored. The entire day I'm walking around the room. I have nothing to do."
In August, she and her family were sent to Auschwitz, where she is believed to have been killed upon arrival.

"No Friend of Mine?"

Michael Jackson: new song surfaces!
'No Friend Of Mine' appears on the internet

A new Michael Jackson song has surfaced on the internet.The song, 'No Friend Of Mine (Gangsta)', is available on DJ Tempamental's Myspace.The track also features Fugees member Pras.It is the first new material that has appeared from Jackson since since 2001's 'Invincible' album.It was rumoured that Jackson has been working on tracks with Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am, but this has not been confirmed.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY TRACK

THE BITCH IS BACK!! 'NESSIE' Re-appears!

An amateur scientist caught the footage this past Saturday.EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) -- Here she comes! In what Loch Ness Monster watchers say is among the finest footage ever taken of the elusive mythical creature, 'Nessie' returns - and the whole world is watching!"

Much like an overgrown, sea-faring Greta Garbo, Nessie has always been a lady to shy away from public scrutiny, even though she is an emblem AND a true tourist draw. But if Nessie was more of a talker, I'm sure she would've found irresistable the TWO WORDS used by Michael Jordan upon his return to the NBA after toiling around baseball's minor leagues.

"I'm Back!"

Reputed to swim beneath the waters of Scotland's most mysterious lake, Nessie has re-emerged from the depths of the Loch. (Watch the 'monster' footage ) "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this jet black thing, about 45-feet (15 meters) long, moving fairly fast in the water," said Gordon Holmes, the 55-year-old a lab technician from Shipley, Yorkshire, who took the video this past Saturday. He said it moved at about 6 mph (10 kph) and kept a fairly straight course.
"My initial thought is it could be a very big eel, they have serpent-like features and they may explain all the sightings in Loch Ness over the years." Loch Ness is surrounded by myth and mystery, as it is the largest and deepest inland expanse of water in Britain. About 750 feet (230 meters) to the bottom, it's even deeper than the North Sea.

Nessie watcher and marine biologist Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness 2000 center in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of the lake, viewed the video and hopes to properly analyze it in the coming months. "I see myself as a skeptical interpreter of what happens in the loch, but I do keep an open mind about these things and there is no doubt this is some of the best footage I have seen," Shine said. He said the video is particularly useful because Holmes panned back to get the background shore into the shot. That means it was less likely to be a fake and provided geographical bearings allowing one to calculate how big the creature was and how fast it was traveling. While many sightings can be attributed to a drop of the local whisky, legends of Scottish monsters date back to one of the founders of the Christian church in Scotland, St. Columba, who wrote of them in about 565 A.D. More recently, there have been more than 4,000 purported Nessie sightings since she was first caught on camera by a surgeon on vacation in the 1930s.

Story Highlights

• An amateur scientist has captured new video footage of the Loch Ness Monster
• "Nessie" was first captured on video in the 1930s
• There have been more than 4,000 purported sightings since then!

Since then, the faithful have speculated whether it is a completely unknown species, a sturgeon -- even though they have not been native to Scotland's waters for many years -- or even a last surviving dinosaur. Shine doubts that last explanation. "There are a number of possible explanations to the sightings in the loch. It could be some biological creature, it could just be the waves of the loch or it could be some psychological phenomenon in as much as we see what we want to see," he said. The Scottish media is skeptical of Nessie stories but Holmes' footage is of such good quality that even the normally reticent BBC Scotland aired the video on its main news program on Tuesday.

Click below for video:

COULD THIS BE MORE PROOF??

Humble's future bright, Mayor says!

Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes told Rotarians the city has a bright financial future.
McMannes, who won re-election on May 12, said the city's property tax rates are much lower than surrounding cities, and only Houston and Pasadena have better sales tax revenues.
The city collected about $10.7 million in sales tax last year and this year's revenues are already up by about $500,000, McMannes said. "People are in our office continually wanting to be in Humble," he said.

Although developers ask about creating new residential subdivisions in Humble, they also want the city to approve municipal utility districts within the city. These proposals have not met with approval from City Council, McMannes said.

Perk for senior citizensSenior citizens are in an especially good situation in Humble, the mayor said, because once they reach age 65 they pay a reduced rate for water and sewer service. Humble is working on $30 million in capital improvement projects that includes a new municipal court building, street and road improvements and sewer plant improvements, said McMannes.
The new municipal court building is essential because of the overcrowding in the existing court facility on the second floor of the police department building, he said. The city's inspection and permit divisions will move into one of the existing buildings adjacent to the new court facility.
"We're doing all this without raising our taxes," McMannes said.

Sadly - the End of Klein Intermediate!

http://www.thrillproductions.com/ki/kikids.htm

May 24th was our last day of school. I took some pics with the kids...

It's weird - you find that you really do miss them all! Some of the kids are ones I've had in the past that come back just to say, "Hey Mr. McMannes. We miss you!"

...that's when it starts to get a little 'dusty'....if ya know what I'm sayin!

I told the kids that I'm going to another school next year so get this - a teacher friend, Sarah May, organized a going away party at Starbucks near our school. She was there when I arrived. Then some of the kids, parents, and teachers showed up. There was coffee, a huge cake, and well, more coffee. Sarah, along with a bunch of kids, went around the school and had a bunch of other kids write me letters, cards, and stories telling me how I made them feel and how much they were going to miss me. It was one of the most special things anyone has ever done for me. For Sarah and these kids to do all that and feel that way, it was very emotional.

AND THEN...another teacher showed up. She was there to perform a task. As soon as she started, I said, "WAIT!" I had them turn off the speakers in Starbucks because Hope Luster, who's a GREAT gospel singer, sat me down in a chair and had everyone gather around and sang to me. "Unforgettable" and "The Very Thought of You"

Are you freaking kidding me?

Tough day, ya know? But it's one I'll never forget!

Anyway, here are a few pics of 'the kiddos!" :-)

http://www.thrillproductions.com/ki/kikids.htm

The Elegant Universe [String Theory] for free!

Watch Dr. Brian Greene's three-hour video on string theory in bite-size chunks.

Brian Greene is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University. He is the author of the bestselling books on string theory, The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos.

Based on Brian Greene's book of the same title, the string theory program that first came out in DVD is now being offered by PBS/Nova as free streaming video.

Click Picture

There is a large cast of scientists, mathematicians and others on both sides of String Theory. It is continually brought into question as untested, untestable, and possibly dead wrong. The closest to proselytizing that anyone does is to explain that Quantum Physics, the set of mathematical ideas that give extremely good approximations of what happens to sub-atomic particles, has never made an incorrect prediction. Not so with String Theory; no one is willing to say, on-camera, that String Theory is the truth, and in so doing, the piece retains a certain respectful distance from the subject."

[Image is from the DVD The Elegant Universe. It is believed that the use of a limited number of web-resolution screenshots for identification and critical commentary qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law and elsewhere.]

Reagan Returns!!

Republicans Invoke President Reagan During Thursday's Debate

Simi Valley, CA (AHN) - Republican contenders for the White House spent much of their first debate Thursday night trying to appeal to conservatives, touting their credentials on such issues as foreign policy, national security, and illegal immigration. As they were rushed through their answers to questions in the first nationally televised debate of the 2008 race, they found ample time to invoke the name of former President Ronald Reagan.

In all, the Gipper was mentioned 19-times during the debate moderated by Chris Matthews and broadcast live on MSNBC. Of the ten candidates gathered at the Reagan Presidential Library, only U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas did not invoke the name of the former resident. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani referenced the 40th president the most often, one five occasions during the 90-minute debate.

"What we can borrow from Ronald Reagan, since we are in his library, is that great sense of optimism that he had," Giuliani said. "He led by building on the strengths of America, not running America down."

While each of the candidates said they are opposed to a hasty withdrawal from Iraq, they offered thinly veiled criticism of how the war has been handled by President Bush.

"We must win in Iraq," said Arizona Sen. John McCain. "If we withdraw there will be chaos, there will be genocide, and they will follow us home." He added, "The war was terribly mismanaged, and we have to fix a lot of the mistakes that we made."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, speaking about the war's execution, said: "Clearly, there was a real error in judgment," adding that he would have fired former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before the 2006 mid-term congressional elections. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said he wants to get U.S. forces out of Iraq "as soon as possible," but not so soon that troops would have to return to the war-torn country.

With such notable Republicans as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former first lady Nancy Reagan looking on, the candidates evoked the conservative principles of Ronald Reagan, the nation's 40th president who has become an icon for those on the political right.

On abortion, the panel was asked if the repeal of legalized abortion would "be a good day for the nation?" Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts said, "absolutely." Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas said a repeal of Roe v. Wade would be a "glorious day." Giuliani, the only pro-choice candidate on the panel, said while he "hates" abortion, "I would respect a woman's right to make a different choice."

...and a child shall lead them!

Texans select prodigy Okoye with 10th overall pick in 2007 NFL DRAFT!


Gary Kubiak certainly doesn’t play favorites. Houston’s head coach has had two first round picks since coming to the Texans and despite spending his entire coaching career on the offensive side of the ball, he’s now selected two defensive linemen in the first round of the NFL Draft in two opportunities.

By selecting former Louisville defensive lineman Amobi Okoye with the 10th overall selection Saturday, Kubiak and Texans general manager Rick Smith have shown they are determined to build a championship defense in Houston.

“I think what we did last year showed that we are committed to building a team and building a defense,” Smith told reporters shortly after the pick. “When you talk about that, you talk about building down the middle.

“We started that last year with DeMeco Ryans and what he was able to do with us at Mike linebacker and we’re building from the middle out. I’m just excited about the kid.”

The fact that Okoye was available came as surprise to many as most mock drafts had the 19-year old phenom going before Houston went on the clock. The Texans were in that group.

“We absolutely were shocked,” Smith said. “I think in all of our mock drafts we looked at one scenario in which he was available.”

VIDEOS:









Link to ESPN story - great read:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/news/story?id=2830642

Superman's Kryptonite confirmed in Canada!

Scientists unearth Superman's
'Kryptonite'

LONDON - As reported by Reuters, not Lois Lane of the Daily Planet, the substance Kryptonite, which robbed Superman of his powers, is no longer the stuff of comic books and films. A mineral found by geologists in Serbia shares virtually the same chemical composition as the fictional kryptonite from outer space, used by the superhero's nemesis Lex Luthor to weaken him in the film "Superman Returns."

"We will have to be careful with it — we wouldn't want to deprive Earth of its most famous superhero!," said Chris Stanley, a mineralogist at London's Natural History Museum. Stanley, who revealed the identity of the mysterious new mineral, discovered the match after searching the Internet for its chemical formula — sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide
"I was amazed to discover that same scientific name written on a case of rock
containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film
'Superman Returns,'" he said.

The substance has been confirmed as a new mineral after tests by scientists at the Natural History Museum in London and the National Research Council in Canada. But instead of the large green crystals in Superman comics, the real thing is a white, powdery substance which contains no fluorine and isn't radioactive.

The mineral, to be named Jadarite, will go on show at the London's Natural History Museum starting tomorrow. Reuters, USA TODAY, AP, and New York Times are expected to attend. The Daily Planet has declined invitation. It seems their overseas writer and lead reporter, Clark Kent, has come down with the flu...and feels really crappy! :)

'SUPES' in TROUBLE??

'SPIDEY' infected with VENOM??

BATPHONE BUSY!!

Is the DARK KNIGHT next??

Sexual assault/ child abuse put on alert in Humble,Tx.

Mayor McMannes supports North Harris County Criminal Justice Association.

Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes aided in raising the issues of child abuse and sexual assault. From left: Domingo Villarreal, North Harris County Criminal Justice Association; Pam Dickson, Family Time Foundation; and McMannes.

FULL STORY

A Spring woman suffering from Münchhausen Syndrome makes her own children sick to gain attention for herself; a Kingwood boy riding his bicycle home from school is approached by a stranger who asks the kid to help look for his puppy; an Humble woman goes out on a seemingly harmless date with a guy she's interested in and is forced to submit to intercourse afterward - it is impossible to escape the headlines that report incidents of sexual assault and child abuse on what seems like a continual basis.

Such acts are inconceivable to the average person and one may wonder, "Who can do such terrible things?" The sad truth is, however, that offenses like sexual assault and child abuse know no social boundaries, they don't discriminate between rich and poor, nor do they distinguish between black and white. Those crimes can potentially victimize everyone and anyone and affect any and all communities. And most frighteningly, this includes our own backyard as well.

Joining a nationwide campaign, Humble Mayor Donnie McMannes proclaimed April "Child Abuse Awareness Month" as well as "Sexual Assault Awareness Month" during the recent meeting of the North Harris County Criminal Justice Association on April 2.

"I believe that it is important to make citizens aware of those issues," said McMannes. "It's a terrible thing to hurt a child or a woman and the abusers out there need to know that we're paying attention."

Liviu Librescu - A brave man stares into the eyes of a coward!

Of all the hideous things that happened at VT, of all the outcomes, of all the things that could've been done differently, one thing was done perfectly - Liviu Librescu stepped in front of a door!

Sometimes you hear things that give you the chills. Sometimes you hear things and you get chill bumps. Who can imagine the last few seconds of this man's life as he stood at the door selflessly so others could escape? What went through his mind as he braced for the impact that was just seconds away? How do you react knowing that in just moments, it will all be over? The thoughts he must've had for his wife, for his family, and maybe even for the Nazi's and what they tried to do to him. Make no mistake, his life slowed down in that last instant primarily because he did know it was all coming to an end. His mindframe? The last few thoughts of his life?

GET THOSE KIDS GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM...NOW!

Though completely unarmed, he stood at the door and faced a madman..and won. Granted, he may have lost the battle. He may no longer reside in the same temporary vessel that he has for the last 76 years, but he won the war! How truly giving and caring can a man be? How is that someone can truly lay down their life for another? It almost makes you wonder how someone could hang on a cross and give His life for others who would curse him and spit on him?

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. (John 15:13)

Liviu Librescu, a 76-year-old Israeli engineering and mathematics lecturer, tried to stop the gunman from entering his classroom by blocking the door before he was fatally shot, his son said from Tel Aviv, Israel.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview. The professor, who had emigrated to Israel from Romania, had been in Virginia for his sabbatical."

I'm in Texas, I've never been to Virginia, I had no idea who this man was before today. I really hope that his son understands how proud he should be of his dad. Hopefully, he knows that it was his father that inspired so many people and touched the hearts of so many strangers.

One of whom lives in Texas, just wrote about him...

...and will now remember him.

Look out - - Jacko's almost Backo!

Michael Jackson To Return To Music

King of Pop, Michael Jackson will attempt to piece together his tattered reputation by enlisting the help of 50 Cent. Billboard reports the duo will record a song, likely to appear on a mixtape by DJ Whoo Kidd of G-Unit.

50 Cent's representatives have not denied his involvement, although said nothing has been confirmed yet. Rumours have also been circulating about Jacko collaborating with Senegalese rapper Akon on his upcoming album. Akon simply said "That's all up in the air right now, I can't really talk about it."

It would be the first time Jackson has released new material since 2001's 'Invincible' album, which didn't quite give him the boost back to superstardom it was supposed to.

There is expected to be a new album coming up for Jackson, released through his new Two Seas Records – a joint venture with his Bahraini friend Abdulla Hamad Al-Khalifa. Stay tuned for more details as they come to hand.

Peyton Manning - SNL - United Way Spoof

This was one of the funniest skits that I've seen on SNL in quite a while - right up there with 'Lazy Sunday.' Anyway. Peyton pulled it off masterfully. His humor is so deadpan and right on. You wonder if he'll go into acting or something after football. I mean, half the audible crap he does at the line of scrimmage is all fake anyway! :) This guy is seriously funny!

Classic Manning!

STAR TREK XI - Christmas comes early?

J.J. ABRAMS TO DIRECT STAR TREK FEATURE FILM FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES IN THEATERS CHRISTMAS DAY 2008

HOLLYWOOD, CA - "Star Trek," one of the most popular and successful franchises in the history of movies and television, returns to the big screen under the creative vision of J.J. Abrams, the force behind "Lost," "Alias" and "Mission Impossible III" for Paramount Pictures. The film will begin shooting this fall for a Christmas Day 2008 release.

According to IGN, Paramount are in talks with Matt Damon, Adrian Brody and Gary Sinise to play the new Kirk, the new Spock and the new McCoy in the upcoming Star Trek XI prequel??





I know..terrible Photoshop job!!

Boney James comes to Houston

Often criticized by jazz purists for his smooth, R&B-influenced vibes, Boney James keeps right on going, producing one hit album after another. Finally being in charge has empowered James to follow his muse wherever it led - something he could never do completely, until now. As a result, SHINE - his new CD is a reflection of the more freewheeling approach he takes in his concerts.

Whether working with singers or world-class musicians, James emerges as an impresario equipped to manage every element of the creative process - from concept to final mix.
Last night, Boney brought this personable style to the Verizon Theater here in Houston, TX. Overall, he produced a very well done concert. His band members played quite well in support, with the keyboardist coming to the forefront by showing his great range and infectious smile during the duets. The guitarist, who celebrated his 26th birthday this night, was also impressive skill-wise. However, more animation could've been brought to his on-stage persona. The same can also be said of the bassist - VERY talented but could use a little more in the 'Ooomph' department. At one point, James left the stage and came into the audience.

The crowd thoroughly enjoyed this part of the concert, as evidenced by the number people who voluntarily danced away as Boney passed by. James also shows a great awareness during his act. Whether it be overacting or true silliness, James gives his best Fonzie impersonation after holding his audience-inspired long notes. He wants to be cool, and at times, he is...even though sometimes his 'look' to the audience inspires laughter. But again, I believe this to be who he is and to be a part of his 'shtick.'

Our seats for the evening were located on the second row, or should I say second table from the stage. They were fantastic seats - a real plus when viewing such a concert. If you're going to see a concert in an arena that feels so quaint, it's always best to get the better tickets. They'll always be worth the investment.

Boney James came and delivered and everyone truly seemed to enjoy it. Overall, it was a great night and a very good performance. Ray and I enjoyed it quite a bit...

Love is forever, right?

Archaeologists Find Remains of Couple Locked in a Hug After More Than 5,000 Years

They do say that, right!? Love lasts forever?

Well, here it is - the city where the exiled Romeo dreamed he died and Juliet's kisses breathed life back into his body. Tragically, the lifeless bodies of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers would soon lie side by side. Yesterday at Mantua, in an amazing echo of that heartrending story, archaeologists revealed the discovery of a couple locked in a tender embrace, one that has endured for more than 5,000 years.

Scientists happened upon the skeletons locked in embrace when they were digging at an industrial estate in Valdaro, located near Mantua in northern Italy. They're now trying to establish how old each person was when they died and when their death was.
The woman leading the dig said she was "thrilled."

"We have never found a man and a woman embraced before and this is a unique find," Elena Menotti said. "We have found plenty of women embracing children but never a couple. I've been doing this job for 25 years," she said, "But I've never been so moved because this is the discovery of something special."

The man has an arrow in his spinal column; the woman has an arrowhead in her side. Menotti said it's possible that the man died first, and the woman was sacrificed after to accompany his soul in the afterlife.

Memories are made of this molecule - being-human - 15 January 2007 - New Scientist

Memories are made of this molecule - being-human - 15 January 2007 - New Scientist

How are memories formed? The question has perplexed scientists for years, but now it seems we're a step closer to solving it.
The leading candidate is a process called long-term potentiation (LTP), in which the connections between individual brain cells get stronger the more often they are used, such as during learning. But while LTP has often been observed in slices of brain in the lab, it has been difficult to record in a living brain as learning was taking place.
Now Liliana Minichiello and her colleagues at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo, Italy, and the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, Spain, appear to have done just that by isolating a molecule that initiates a signalling pathway for LTP in the brain of a living mouse. The finding builds on a technique they developed last year to record LTP in a mouse hippocampus - a brain region involved in learning - while the animal was being trained to blink in response to a tone.
In the new study, the team used mice with a defective version of a receptor molecule called TrkB, found on the surface of brain cells in the hippocampus. The mice were unable to learn or initiate LTP in response to familiar stimuli, indicating TrkB is a key memory molecule. The finding will be published in Learning and Memory this week.
Minichiello hopes that as they identify more molecules involved in initiating LTP, this could pave the way for drugs to combat Alzheimer's disease, or to enhance memory capability generally.
From issue 2586 of New Scientist magazine, 15 January 2007, page 16

The Return of an American Hero!

Kiefer Sutherland makes his triumphant return as Jack Bauer this evening with the sixth-season premiere of 24. Jack will use CTU, bark orders and fight and kill the bad guys. Two hours tonight. Two hours tomorrow night (same time, same channels). What more do you need?

"First Lady caught on camera around Humble streets reckless-riding on a pretty-in-pink bicycle!" Story at 11!

Humble Police are chasing a notable woman after she allegedly 'rode with ill-intent' and struck a dog who had barked at her Golden Retriever, Baby - aka 'B-girl' - aka 'Babycakes' - aka 'Lil Mammies' on a previous walking excursion around her home in the downtown Humble area. 'Baby', (photo below believed taken immediately after the encounter) - suffered traumatic stress from the barking. It is not known as to her recovery at this time.

McMannes steered the bicycle in question recklessly toward a foul-mouthed pit-bull, aka 'BAD ASS KILLER' in a church parking lot near her well-kept and nicely-decorated home on Main St. The attacking vehicle was her new pretty pink bicycle, one given to her by her charming and stunningly handsome son, Mike.

(Pic seen below)

Georgia Adams McMannes, Main St. Humble, was taken to jail by her husband, Mayor Donald G. McMannes (Pic seen below) about 9:30pm on Sunday, January 14th (After Church, lunch, a quick nap, and the 2-hour premiere of Jack Bauer and 24) and she was booked on misdemeanor counts of obstructing a public servant (Her husband - the Mayor) and reckless riding. McMannes, 69, also was cited for failure to stop after striking a domestic animal with a pink vehicle - a serious crime in some parts of India as that animal could be a reincarnate.

(Mayor Donald G. McMannes)

Officers were called to the scene at 3205 Ave. C about 9:25 am. by a man who said a pink bicycle had been spinning circles in the church parking lot and had struck and verbally taunted his 3 year old Pit Bull - aka 'BAD ASS KILLER' repeatedly.

Georgia McMannes admitted to the officers that she had been speeding and sliding around and doing wheelies, but she denied knowing that the dog was struck, police said.

McMannes (Seen here apparently without remorse!) was released after yelling at her husband and telling him she was going to completely redo their Humble home. Mayor McMannes took the accused home and all charges were immediately dropped!

70 years old and still acting like a child? Then perhaps you should just say forget it, "I'm going to do a little time-traveling!" Well, my mother is 70 (Jan21) and she's an absolute doll. Not only does she not have any wrinkles on her face (I think she scrubs her face with freaking concrete and has for years - but she looks 39 so she must be doing something right!) but she still can be goofy and silly. So, with that said, guess what I bought my sweet little mother? A pretty pink bicycle! :) She rides it all the time around our town. My dad's the Mayor and so she's actually the 'First Lady.' (That's funny...am I the first son, maybe?) If ya listen real close...you can hear the whispers...

"There goes the First Lady again on her cute little pink bicycle!"

My mom - I love her!

Happy Birthday, Momma!

M & B

Justice!

Courtesy Fox News. 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein, the shotgun-waving dictator who ruled Iraq with a remorseless brutality for a quarter-century, was taken to the gallows and executed Saturday, Iraqi state-run television reported.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.
Also hanged were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court. State-run Iraqiya television news announcer said "criminal Saddam was hanged to death and the execution started with criminal Saddam then Barzan then Awad al-Bandar."
Mariam al-Rayes, a legal expert and a former member of the Shiite bloc in parliament, told Iraqiya television that the execution "was filmed and God willing it will be shown. There was one camera present, and a doctor was also present there."

****Now, it's just a matter of time before some liberal comes out and starts spewing the merit of all the great things that Saddam did. Then, another liberal will develop courage (Because someone else had already said something first), and say the USA is evil for 'killing' another person and killing is wrong. Then, another liberal will call another liberal who knows someone at CNN and someone who works in Hollywood, and they'll call a meeting with Oliver Stone and Michael Myers and they'll show the kinder side of Hussein.

Then, they will show Bush with dark, brooding music and imply he's the evil dictator of the devil's army and how he's going to find another country to attack and then kill that leader (Hopefully, it's Venezuela and it's Chavez's face falls into this crosshair! :) However, Iran sits at 3-1, while Syria and North Korea both open at Vegas with 5-1 odds! ****

fini

"What's crazy about standing toe to toe and saying 'I AM'?"

You might as well click this link to get you in the mood for this review!
ROCKY MUSIC
or
View latest ROCKYBALBOA trailer

Goto Thrillproductions.com for a set of awesome HIGH-DEFINITION pics from ROCKY BALBOA

Visit RockyBalboaBlog for up to date info from Stallone and the film.

My review:

Saw Rocky Balboa on the day it opened - first showing - 11am - with dad - turning back the clock - going old school - reliving the past - back in time, I went! I couldn't believe that I was sitting there watching another Rocky movie. Check that - I can't believe that I was FORTUNATE enough to see another Rocky movie. As a child, I once saw a Rocky movie and was so inspired that I left the movie theater and jogged home with my friend (However, according to Hollywood, movies do not affect us though - oh well!)I have always been just mesmerized by Rocky movies. Perhaps it's the comeback story, perhaps it's the underdog plot. Maybe it's just the fact that we like to think that we all have that in us - that superhero "We can do it" type of mentality. I understand that movie critics like to bash Rocky movies as cheesy and campy and so fo forth. I understand their need to do that. However, the movies affected me - they inspired me. Te Rocky movies, for an hour and half or so, made me feel energetic, excited and alive. I mean, that's what movies are supposed to do right? Allow us to escape and feel something different?

In the 1980's, seeing Rocky fight the unbeatable Russian, to have Adrian lose faith in him, to have the whole world think he dies if he fights this machine, well, this was stuff that scars a young teenage kid.....in a good way! The training scene was breath-taking, edge-of-your-seat gasping for air type of a scene. His trainer:

Duke: You're gonna go through hell, worse than any nightmare you've ever dreamed. But when it's over, I know you'll be the one standing. You know what you have to do. Do it........DO IT!

How can one forget Rocky battling the giant Soviet? Rocky's literally being pounded into submission. The Russians are smiling, he's on the ropes and his Rocky's chances are simply gon....are go......BOOM! Rocky nails the Russian with a vicious Rocky blow! With that shot - with that one single bomb the whole world took pause. Was it possible? Did Rocky just dent the mammoth man that stood before him? Did we just see what we saw? Do we believe? The bell starts ringing in the back ground, the music starts to build, the level of excitement increases, the crowd starts to gasp and then, in the corner of the ring, his trainer Duke utters that awe-inspiring line which leads to a complete onslaught of energetic, over-the-top, miracle music!

Duke: He's worried! You cut him! You hurt him! You see? You see? He's not a machine, he's a man!

Those are the moments that define this franchise. Rocky Balboa is no different. As in life, as with us all, time and grief take their toll. It doesn’t help that his son doesn’t like hanging out with him because of the attention Rocky still receives. Rocky's living his life but in the past. Down and somewhat depressed about the hand he's been dealt, he looks inwards and backwards for answers. His old pal Paulie can’t stand to see him acting like a broken man, even though his concern is most likely rooted in his own regret. Once again, boxing comes to the rescue. Rocky sees a computer-simulated match between himself and the current world heavyweight champion, Mason “The Line” Dixon (Antonio Tarver) - and Rocky wins the simulation! The fight promoters for the current champ want Rocky to fight an exhibition because the champ’s image needs a boost - for Rocko, it’s back to the gym, back with Duke in his corner, and the training begins with this line:

Duke: "You know all there is to know about fighting so there's no need to go down that road again! To beat this guy you need speed, you don't have it! And, your knees can't take the pounding so hard running is out. You've got arthritis in your neck - you got calcium deposits on most of your joints, so sparring is out. So what we're gonna be calling on is good old-fashioned BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA! HORSE POWER - HEAVY DUTY - CAST IRON - PILE DRIVING punches that'll hurt so much they'll rattle his ancestors!! Everytime you hit him with a shot it's gonna feel like he was kissing the Express train! OK? Let's start buildin' some hurtin' bombs!"

Yeah, that's the line that does it!

Mason Dixon may have the iron fists and the knockout punch, but can that beat the heart and determination of a legend? Will Rocky go the distance again? Right after the movie starts, you're hit with nostalgia (thanks to that music, which still works) – it “takes you back (Listen here)”. The flashbacks effectively convey Rocky’s emotional state of mind and there are some very poignant moments along the way! The storyline with his son also captures, to a lesser degree, what the struggle must be growing up the child of a 'superhero.' And it’s single mom Marie who gets the makeover treatment that worked so well on Adrian, but doesn’t work as well the second time around because he’s not romancing the girl (it feels empty without that romance). On that note, Geraldine Hughes is fantastic in her role as 'Lil Marie.' She's very subdued and quiet and subtly revealing her own personal issues that life has dealt.
Of course, the great part of the movie is when boxing is brought to the forefront. They use a real boxer to go toe-to-toe with Sylvester Stallone and that decision was brilliant, because with the way the fight was shot, the sequences look great. The movie was filmed in front of a real boxing crowd and when that stadium erupts and the people all stand and cheer, you can feel the electricity in the room. How can you not stand up with them and start chanting, "Rock-y, Rock-y, Rock-y!!!!"

Here are a couple of nice, HD shots from the film - Rocky Balboa.

Overall, I loved the movie. I don't need to argue someone's point that it is not the best film of all time (Did you truly LOVE Citizen Kane? Ok then - shut up! :) I don't need to make anyone understand that perhaps a character or two in the film could've been better developed. What I do feel the need to explain is that at 36 years old I went back in time. I went to a place far removed and revisited my youth just as I had left it. I felt the same emotion come up into my throat just as I did at the age of 7, 10, 13, 16, and 21. I felt that again in 2006 and I'm so very grateful for it. However, the sad fact remains in that I have probably seen my last Rocky movie. For me personally, that realization instills a great sadness. Is it because there will be no more movies? Partly. Perhaps though, it's more because, like the latest installment of the series, I, too, am getting older.
Maybe I'm becoming more aware of own mortality? As for me, I love to lift weights and play basketball. The truth though is it gets harder. The weights become heavier, my speed and quickness are getting slower, my drive to improve has begun to wane. I guess we start taking more hits and more hits as we get older. But, like someone just said though, "It ain't about how hard you hit... it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward... how much you can take, and keep moving forward..." The good news is that I haven't peaked yet. As I age, I assure you that I will still have something left in the basement, as well. Sometimes a simple movie comes along and reminds us of that. Yeah...I'd say that that is worth $7!
Rocky Balboa - the Movie? I loved it! (Click here)

Goto Thrillproductions.com for a set of awesome HIGH-DEFINITION pics from the shooting of Rocky Balboa.

A Christmas-Miracle hits H-TOWN!!

Ho, Ho, WHOA! Texans finally beat Colts!!

WE WON?? WE WON!! MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS!!

(Pics and review courtesy of houstonprofootball.com and texansbullpen.com)

Good things often come in small packages on Christmas, but the Texans were the total package in a 27-24 win over the Colts on Sunday. Kicker Kris Brown nailed a 48-yard field goal with time expiring to vault his team to victory, the Texans' first win in ten games against Indianapolis. The offense, led by running back Ron Dayne, chewed up 191 rushing yards and swallowed almost 36 minutes of the game clock. Dayne scored twice, rushing 32 times for 153 yards, both career highs.

Beleaguered quarterback David Carr played mistake-free football, throwing for 163 yards with no interceptions and no fumbles. Rookie defensive end Mario Williams also led a solid defensive effort, highlighted by his forced fumble in the first quarter that helped the Texans jump to an early 14-0 lead.
Credit for the winning effort also belongs to the offensive line. In addition to helping Dayne on the ground, they prevented the Colts from sacking Carr all afternoon.

Barak Obama on Charlie Rose

This guy is a HUGE up-n-comer on the political scene. YES, I'm a Republican, but sometimes you have to go with your gut, believe in someone's character, and find their potential. For some reason, like with Bush and Clinton for instance, if we don't agree with them then we must spew pure venom in their direction and against everyone associated with them. Why must we ATTACK them with hatred? Why can't we just vehemently disagree with them and be active in our own views? Why must we promote HATRED toward them? I don't know really. I didn't really like Bill Clinton as President but I was not going to BASH, DESTROY, INSULT, and TEAR HIM DOWN at every turn. I just didn't agree with him on some political issues.

With Barak Obama, I don't have to agree with everything he says. I can stand fervently against him in some areas. However, I do have a good feeling about him. I do agree with his approach to many points. I like his stance on many issues.

MAYBE - JUST MAYBE - "I" could be wrong about some things and JUST MAYBE "HE" could be right?! MAYBE someone else has the right answer? How would I ever know if I never gave anyone the chance to explain it to me? I wouldn't. Some peopple are so shut off to opposing viewpoints! Perhaps this is because of the addictive nature of the venom they're about to release!? Could be.

Well, that's not me. Maybe when I was 20 and blind. But now that I'm 36 - I'm more open to other ideas. It does not in ANY WAY mean that I will accept things that go against my fundamental Christian beliefs. However, I will exercise a fundamental Christian belief and be kind and compassionate when hearing their argument. Well, at least I'll try... :)

...and the Texans begin to move....kinda!

Now that Reggie Bush has given a game away, will people admit that maybe he wasn't such a slam dunk top pick? With the score tied at 24 with 7:03 left in the 3rd quarter at Heinz Field, Bush put the ball on the ground. The Steelers recovered and immediately scored the first of three unanswered touchdowns that clearly swung the game in their favor.

Sean Payton greeted Bush with a potty-mouth tirade as the rookie came to the sideline. It seemed a bit much considering that even Jim Brown might not have held on to the ball if a safety got a hat on it as he fell forward. But it wasn't too much, if in a moment of frustration, Payton was forced to confront a reality nine games in the making -- right now, Reggie Bush just isn't that good. And for that reason, the majority of the football universe owes Mario Williams a sincere apology.
You may remember Williams from one of many choice jokes from a fellow fan or your favorite sportswriter (or this sportswriter). He's also known as the top pick of the 2006 draft. But he's best known as the man the foolish Texans chose instead of taking Bush.Now, we should call him a promising pass-rusher. He's also the only defensive lineman in Houston who shouldn't wear a mask on payday. And, this season, Williams has been a better player than Bush. That doesn't necessarily mean he will have a better career than Bush, but it does indicate that the Texans weren't hittin' the hooch when they passed on the Heisman Trophy winner. A lot of people owe Williams some sort of mea culpa. To turn him into Sam Bowie before he played an NFL down was inhumane.

And maybe making Bush into Michael Jordan in April has proven to be a bit hasty........maybe......ya think??

Houston's Mario Williams is off to a solid start with 4.5 sacks in his first nine games. Williams hasn't set the world on fire, but he's been pretty good. And it's not like he's getting a lot of help. He's recorded 4.5 sacks in 9 games, while the rest of the team's defensive linemen have 5.5 sacks combined. And while Williams has had moments when he's looked utterly clueless, he has managed to command double teams and show that he has the potential to convert his incredible measurables into dominance as a pass-rusher.

Most impressive is that he's done all this while most observers anxiously expected failure, like he's that K-Fed character or something. Think about that --Williams got the same treatment as a backup dancer suffering from the delusion that he can rap. That's dirty pool. The way Williams' selection was treated after it was announced that he would be the top pick was unfair. It's understandable that most people would have taken Bush with the top pick. After all, most people had heard of Bush but couldn't pick Williams out of a lineup.

But it wasn't lunacy that Houston went with Williams instead of Bush.It was debatable whether Bush could handle the rigors of being a feature back in the NFL, a debate that has continued since Bush has been dinged up all season. And the last do-it-all dynamo to approach a draft with this much hype was Rocket Ismail, who would have gotten a GM fired had he not gone to Canada out of Notre Dame. It's also not like Williams was some unheard-of prospect. Most mock drafts had him going high, and many of those had him going to New Orleans after the Saints signed Drew Brees. Oh yeah, and he's a physical specimen on par with Julius Peppers. That's not to say he's as good as Peppers, a sentiment the town of Chapel Hill, where Peppers attended college, goes out of its way to share. But neither is Michael Strahan or anyone else. Williams is an inch taller than Pep, 10 pounds heavier and ran almost the same 40 time at the combine as Peppers did in 2002. That means that Williams entered the NFL as one of the biggest defensive ends and possibly the fastest. That's a promising combination to have at one of the league's most essential and glamorous positions.

There were two big questions about Williams: 1) Could he refine his technique in a league where athleticism alone isn't enough? And, 2) Would he take games off like he did at N.C. State, where he rarely shined against top competition? For some reason, we never asked those questions about Reggie Bush.
And we should have.
Bush has shown little of the sizzle that made him the most dynamic, electrifying college player since Barry Sanders. His speed hasn't been enough to free him -- there are a lot more fast guys in the pros than in college -- and he hasn't shown much of a talent for reading blocks.
He's averaging less than three yards a carry. He's sixth in the league with 53 receptions, but at less than seven yards per catch. Bush hasn't recorded a single run over 20 yards, and his longest reception went for 32. Aside from his game-winning touchdown against the Eagles, his punt returning, the area in which it seemed most likely he'd thrive early on, has been steady but not spectacular.
Yeah, he's dinged up. But he ain't broken down. After months of comparing Bush to Gale Sayers, he's looked a lot more like Larry Centers or Keith Byars. Maybe those two should have gotten deals to shill sandwiches. Under most circumstances, Bush's disappointing play would be big news. Payton's harsh words would have been the culmination of a national discussion about how this bonus baby needs to step up his game. It would be debated whether a player with his build -- thin at the joints, muscular but certainly not beefy -- could truly succeed as an NFL feature back.
Not this year, baby. Not in New Orleans.
America figured out the easiest way to continue to show support for the rebuilding of New Orleans would be to root for the Saints. Instead of questioning why it's taking so long to get so many New Orleanians back into their homes or watching all four hours of Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke: Requiem," the country has adopted the Saints as its own team, a selfless act considering how much joy those old jokes about the "Aints" brought the nation.

Then the season started, and the Saints looked pretty good. After their momentous win over Atlanta in the first game at the renovated Superdome, they were a national cause celebre and Bush remained the Saints' PR face. No doubt, Bush has sold tickets. But how much has he really contributed on the field? He won the game against Philly, but that got washed away by his fumble against the Steelers. He's gone over 100 yards from scrimmage as many times, once, as he's been held to negative rushing yards. He's had as many rushing touchdowns as he's thrown interceptions. He hasn't even had a good game. Not all of them were bad, but none of them were good.
Reggie Bush might be wishing Fresno State was on the Saints' schedule this season.

Bush's apologists argue that his ability to occupy a linebacker, both when he's in the backfield and split out wide, is part of what's made the Saints' offense go. That's a tough sell. It's actually confusing that anyone would spy on a guy averaging 2.8 yards per carry and 6.6 yards per catch. New Orleans also struck the lotto by drafting Marques Colston in the seventh round, who both complemented Joe Horn and compensated for the vet's absence after he got hurt. He's big, strong, fast enough and has good hands. He's got a possession receiver's body and the ability to make big plays. He's looked like a faster Keyshawn Johnson. That would hold with or without Reggie Bush. Oh, and the Saints had a pretty good tailback before Bush got there. That would be Deuce McAllister, who only played in five games last season. Well, he's back now and playing pretty well. Maybe that's got to do with those linebackers, but Deuce has been a helluva back for a while.

You can't credit those things to Reggie Bush. It's still exciting whenever he touches the ball, but excitement and a token won't get you on the subway when it comes to playing football. The game's still about production, and he's coming up short. Way short. Instead of being a catalyst of change, Bush has been along for the ride. So should the Texans have taken Bush? Consider what my Houston correspondent, my best friend and fellow Houston native George Sands, says about whether people there still wish the Texans had taken Bush.

"People here have come to realize he wouldn't have been able to do anything behind our line, anyway."

It'll probably be a while before anyone can definitively say whether Bush or Williams had the better career. It's also likely that Bush will improve. Honestly, it's hard to imagine him being less dynamic.The Texans have time to be proven wrong, but they don't look moronic for taking Williams. Pronouncements of the Texans' stupidity resulted in a young man being raked over the coals because he responded to $26.5 million guaranteed with a signature. He's been evaluated on the context of who he isn't without much thought to what he could bring to the table.

And just what has Mario Williams brought for us to eat?

A heapin' helpin' of crow!

Bon appetit!

By Bomani Jones Special to Page 2 - ESPN

Uh Oh - - Jacko makes a COMEBACK-O!

JACKO's BACKO!!

Buhhleeeve it!

Michael Jackson (music) has entered a recording studio in Ireland (The home of yours truly!)to begin laying down tracks for his next album, which looks to be collaboration with Black Eyed Peas producer/rapper Will.I.Am.

"I like what [Will.I.Am] is doing and thought it would be interesting to collaborate or just see how the chemistry worked," Jackson told the Access Hollywood television show. "I think he's doing wonderful, innovative, positive, great music."
The reclusive pop star made his remarks in an interview, scheduled to begin airing this week, where he discussed a variety of topics including his upcoming rare public appearance next month at the World Music Awards in London.

The as-yet-untitled album, when released, would be Jackson's first since 2001's "Invincible." The set is slated for release on the Bahrain-based Two Seas Records label.
Jackson, who moved to Bahrain following his well-publicized legal troubles in the US, told the site that he has continued to write new songs in the interim between official releases. "I am always writing a potpourri of music," he said. "I want to give the world escapism through the wonder of great music and to reach the masses."

The performer will receive the Diamond Award in London next month, given to performers who have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Previous recipients include Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi and Celine Dion.

5 YEARS LATER...and still pissed!

Remembering - Never Forgetting!

9.11.2001

Thrill Show Smacks of Dramatic!!

Two more to the taste...

TRIUMPH OF CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG RISERVA 1999

OF CAMPOMAGGIO ESTATE

The Chianti Classico Riserva 1999 of Campomaggio Estate was awarded the Gold Medal stimulating great curiosity and interest. Vintages ’95 and ’97 were already rewarded with, respectively, the Silver Medal in Chicago, in occasion of the World Wine Championship, and the Bronze Medal at the International Wine Challenge in London.The Gold Medal obtained in France represents an exceptional target that, rewarding the Riserva, also rewards the most classical expression of historical wines from Campomaggio.

Medal: GOLD

Score: 93
Drinking window: Drink between 2005 and 2012

-------------------------------------------------------------

Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Fume Blanc 2004

Vibrant pineapple, tropical fruit and honeydew fruit character, with complex floral and mineral nuances. Beautiful balance of crisp acidity and creaminess from sur lie aging.

Review - The Wine Enthusiast: Here’s the latest Mondavi Fume in the frosted bottle. As always, it’s super-dry and grassy, with kiwi, gooseberry, lemon and lime flavors. Oak barrels and sur lie aging have added rich textural complexities.

Nose: strong citrus. Grapefruit and flowers.

Palate: incredibly soft and silky. The acid structure is wound up a bit tight. But that is only immediatly after opening. There are lemon and vanilla hints here. Apricot and minty green hints linger around the edges.

Finish: silky and thin (in a good way - like honeyed water from a feel perspective). This is a fine Fume Blanc, though a bit pricey. If you're unfamiliar with Fume Blanc from a flavor and body perspective, think of Champagne. It's like that but without the bubbles.

Editors’ Choice.

Score: 92

July 2006
Producer
Robert Mondavi
Varietal
91% Sauvignon Blanc, 9% Sémillon
Alcohol
14.5%

"Ain't nothin' over..."

...until it's over!"

Dixon: "Where is that from - the 80's?"

Rocky: "Yeah, that's probably the 70's!"

.

.

Click here for the NEW Rocky 6 Trailer!

...and it begins!

STAR TREK XI - First Hint??

A picture, even a mere image that hints at a broader picture, can instantly give you a snapshot of things to come.

The production team that now holds the creative reins for the next Star Trek movie project has released a piece of artwork this weekend (to coincide with Comic-Con) that provides a Polaroid of an era past, as well as a vision yet to be revealed. With this familiar imagery, the direction of the next movie is now officially open to speculation.

J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof are the film's producers. The film is slated for release in 2008.
The first people to get their hands on this iconic image are those who visit the Paramount Pictures booth this morning at Comic-Con in San Diego.

NOT GAY FRIENDLY!!

Haven't slept a wink? Well, that's what happens when you watch your favorite team pick the player you felt since Day 1 would be the dream selection for them ... and then watch them promptly trade him away. Yes, the Rockets picked Rudy Gay at #8, but they quickly packaged him, along with Stromile Swift, to the Grizzlies for Shane Battier. Clutch likes Battier, but didn't like the price they paid nor the short-term thinking used. The pick-and-deal wasn't the only activity for the Rockets, who drafted sharpshooting forward Steve Novak at #32 and struck a deal at #44 with the Orlando Magic in order to get Lior Eliyahu. Israeli NBA commentator Yaron Talpaz gives us the straight scoop on Eliyahu.

For more insight into the draft and other Rockets news, goto CLUTCHFANS!

SPIDERMAN 3 Trailer - New and Bootlegged!

SOME SHOW

Seasons of Life - The new CD from janita - -

First off, let me say that I'm a big jazz fan. There's also something to be said for any music that comes across with a 'sexy' feel to it. Well, after listening to this CD and knowing it pretty much inside and out, I'd say sexy is a pretty good descriptive. 'Seasons of Life' is Janita's 6th CD but, I believe, her 2nd in the states. It's a fantastically well-written and well constructed CD. She should start getting some good push from her new reps and that should allow for her to entrench herself into the jazz/soul charts. Once people get a listen to this CD, they'll understand.

(From Soultracks.com) She moved to New York at age 18 and was signed by Sony Records. Sony had trouble figuring how to market her lone album for that label, 1998's Janita, in the US -- Was she Jazz? Was she Soul? Was she Adult Contemporary? Unfortunately, the result was that the disc never found its audience in America. Janita recorded again in 2001, independently releasing I'll Be Fine to generally positive reviews and to a small but growing international audience for her brand of smooth, jazz-infused vocal music. Compared by some to India, Arie or Jill Scott, her music was much more reminiscent of talented smooth jazz artists such as Basia or Everything But the Girl. I'll Be Fine also showed her growing talent as a songwriter. 'Seasons' takes things a step farther. 'Too Late', 'I Miss You' are two of the great tracks on the CD. However, there is the one track that gets ya. To me, that single is - 'That's How Life Goes.' For a quick listen, click here. 'THAT'S HOW LIFE GOES' It gives you a real good look into the CD, where it's coming from and where it's heading. Trancy - I like it!

BTW - I'll Be Fine is one of the better CDs that I've ever put into my player. It's that good - as is 'Seasons.' Maybe we all find our style of music or maybe we just really support the person who represents it. From our conversations on email to the lyrics in the songs to the eyes on the cover
- either way, she's something to behold...and she's coming...

...patience. (www.janita.com)

Some reviews of Janita and her work -

AMAZON.COM

SOULTRACKS.COM

CDBABY.COM

247GAY.COM

LIGHTYEAR.COM

POPMATTERS.COM

SUPERMAN RETURNS.....2006

Well, let's start off by saying this - every single published Superman Returns Review so far has been glowing. There are a few sites out there that are saying the old, "From what we hear...." Blah, blah, blah. The facts are there...for now. Superman opens on Tuesday night. I will be there on Tuesday night. I will have seen the movie on Wednesday morning.

For the time being, here are some of the Amazing Superman Returns Reviews:

Dark Horizons has just added themselves the massively positive reviews being given about Superman Returns. Here's what they had to say:
"Superman is back and the wait for his return is finally over. Was it worth it? Absolutely and in every respect. This is a monumental classic of the genre, a true successor to the Richard Donner classic of the original. This time, audiences will once again believe a man can fly. Director Bryan Singer has crafted a visual tour-de-force, a movie that succeeds in balancing eye popping 21st century visuals, with the heart and soul of a story-driven epic.
Brandon Routh is the perfect successor to Chris Reeve, and shows us a character that has both strength and vulnerability, while Kate Bosworth's Lois Lane is beautifully realised. Spacey is pure genus as Lex Luthor and Frank Langella is a wonderful Perry White. This is one Superman for the ages, a soaring, wondrous adventure that will leave audiences breathless, and a truly breathtaking ride of a movie.
In this crowded summer season, the return of the Man of Steel is the perfect summer movie for the child in all of us, and once we hear that classic John Williams score, one is reminded that movies like these are a rarity. Forget the hype, and enjoy the return of one of the most extraordinary comic book characters ever created".Yes! Yes! Yes!

Are our expectations too high? We'll know on Wednesday morning...

Bananarama - Oh, the DRAMA!!

Nearly 20 years after their last hit, Bananarama - the former trio now down to duo Sara Dullin and Keren Woodward - release their comeback CD. With "Drama", they successfully update their Hi-NRG dance sound for the mid-2000s club scene, with shades of electro, post-disco and house thrown into the mix.

For those who have waited - - surprise surprise, the patience has paid off, because if you're one of the people who have actually heard Drama, you realize that this is really a great pop CD. Thoroughly modern pop, complete with their standard catchy and breathless vocals, flirtations with the minor key and more hooks than a Vegas hotel bar makes this a comeback to be proud of. Stand out tracks include , Look on the Floor, Waterfall, and (Take a listen - courtesy of Thrillproductions) "Don't Step on My Groove!" - reminiscent of many an original Bananarama hit - and the trancy Feel For You. Speaking of trance, that's actually a great way to describe the overall feel of the CD.

Highlights for fans will also be the Marc Almond Hi NRG BAD ASS Remix of their 1986 hit, Venus.

Overall, this CD has come out of nowhere. Not a lot of people expected much but a great deal has been delivered. Much like, George Michael's - Patience, this CD just keeps bringing it....Whether or not the girls took lead in the production part of the album, they took lead in writing this material. This album represents a great revival for Bananarama. If you are looking for some good listening music, it is definitely worth the money. If you are a Bananarama fan, you should already have it!

Check it out.

www.bananarama.co.uk

New Addition to the family?

I've recently had a new addition to the family. With much fervor and after great deliberation, I announce the new member...

...and her name is?

Sonoma Creek Pinot Noir Sonoma County 2000


Gold Medal (Best of Class)
Jerry Mead's 2004 New World Wine Competition

Barrel-aging: 10-11 months in French oakProduction: -->
Winemaker: Steve Millier

Winemaker's Notes: Pinot Noir grapes selected from vineyards in Kenwood and Sangiacomos in Carneros comprise 85% of this blend. Carneros is ideal for the noble Pinot Noir grapes with its coastal climate. The ripened grapes were handpicked and allowed to ferment naturally.

Tasting Notes:
The flavours are bold black cherry that highlight a rich, smokey and toasty wine that melts into a lingering spice and chocolate finish.

I haven't opened it yet but will soon enough. Of course, if I'm waiting for that special girl to come along this 2000 bottle may not be opened until my grandkids get thirsty.....in the year 2057. Geez! This bottle comes highly recommended by a friend of mine in Houston. He's been right so far so I'm guessing he strikes gold again.

Winger returns!!

RE-UNION NEWS -
ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF WINGER!

Frontiers Records is particularly excited to announce the signing of Winger for a brand new reunion studio album!Born in 1987 under the initiative of former Alice Cooper band member Kip Winger (vocals, bass) and Reb Beach (guitars), Winger's lineup was completed by Paul Taylor (another ex-Alice Cooper on guitars and keyboards) and former Dixie Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstein.

Winger recorded three very successful studio albums. The self-titled debut, was released in 1988 on Atlantic, achieved platinum status in the United States, and gold in Japan and Canada sporting such hits as Madalaine, Seventeen and Headed For A Heartbreak. In 1990, the band was nominated for an American Music Award for "Best New Heavy Metal Band". Shortly after, Winger released its second album In the Heart of the Young, which went platinum in the U.S. and gold in Japan. The album included Winger's biggest hit Miles Away, who topped at #12 of Billboard charts in the USA.Their third and last studio album, Pull, was recorded in 1992/93 as a three-piece band, following Paul Taylor's departure.

In 2001 the band returned to the studio to record the song On the Inside for The Very Best of Winger. In 2002 they reunited to tour the US and Canada on a bill with Poison and Cinderella.Now, after years of consideration Kip Winger decided to reunite Winger for a brand new album. This finally happened when he actually "heard" the musical path where he could "move the band sound forward, without repeating the same music over and over." So, Kip started at the beginning of 2006 to write new material with guitarist Reb Beach who "thought it would NEVER happen! But what we have worked on sounds really good and I have been so excited to be working with Kip on our own stuff again".

Kip and Reb called up original drummer Rod Morgenstein and John Roth (on guitar and vocals) and Cenk Eroglu (Xcarnation) On keyboards and sound FX and quickly started the recording session which, at this stage, are almost completed."The new Winger album" says Kip, "will start where Pull left off and will move forward to new directions mixing some classic Hard Rock like Van Halen and early Winger style, progressive and acoustic elements that may resemble Genesis, Mott The Hoople or King Crimson". Kip has also revealed some new song titles - Right Up Ahead, Blue Suede Shoes, Four Leaf Clover, M16 and has also confirmed that the album artwork will be handled by Ethan Van Sciver - a renowned comic book artist and penciller who has contributed (among others) to Cyberfrog, New X-Men, The Flash Iron Heights and Impulse.

Winger are currently working on touring plans in USA, Europe and Japan in support of the release of the album - a Frontiers Records world exclusive - scheduled for release in October 2006.Frontiers Records President, Serafino Perugino commented: "We are particularly proud to announce this news. We have been working on this concept for years and when Kip opened his doors we have been enormously excited. We hope the fans can appreciate the work of these Hard Rock geniuses and enjoy some great new music".

Weblinks: http://www.frontiers.it/ / http://www.kipwinger.com/ / http://www.rebbeach.com/ / http://www.rodmorgenstein.com/.

JJ Abrams to 'Boldly Go' into Trek Lore!

'M.I. 3' Director to Produce Latest 'Star Trek' Movie!
By ROBERT JABLON
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams is going from Cruise control to warp speed. Abrams has committed to produce the 11th "Star Trek" feature film and there are plans for him to direct as well, Paramount Pictures announced Friday.
Abrams also will write the script with his "Mission: Impossible III" co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, Paramount spokeswoman Nancy Kirkpatrick said. "M:I3," starring Tom Cruise, is due out May 5.

The studio is hoping to release the "Star Trek" film in 2008.

No plot for the movie has been nailed down and no one has been cast for the film.
The "Star Trek" franchise covers several centuries of a future in which humans make their way in a universe populated by a bewildering variety of aliens, from the ultra-logical Vulcans to the merciless, hive-like Borg. The starship Enterprise in various incarnations was the focus of the original series and many of the movies. Two "Star Trek" series followed the exploits aboard a space station called Deep Space Nine and a marooned spaceship, Voyager.

Abrams created the hit ABC series "Lost" and "Alias" and Paramount hopes that "Lost" producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk will produce the movie, Kirkpatrick said.
William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy portrayed Kirk and Spock in the original "Star Trek" TV show in the 1960s and in numerous movies but "they have not yet been approached," Kirkpatrick said.

Shatner, 75, currently stars in the hit series "Boston Legal" and won an Emmy for his role as an egotistical attorney.


"Star Trek" movies have grossed more than $1 billion but the last one, "Star Trek: Nemesis," four years ago did relatively weak box office and got tepid reviews, while the last TV incarnation, "Star Trek: Enterprise," was a flop and was canceled last year.
With the new movie, "we certainly are hoping to bring 'Star Trek' back to its former glory," Kirkpatrick said.
A story about the revival plan first appeared in the trade paper Daily Variety.

I certainly hope this to be true because I'm a HUGE Trekkie. However, I'm not real sure as to the amount of success a 'prequel' will bring. The question is this - is Capt. Kirk the hero or is it Shatner's 'version' of Capt. Kirk and his chemistry with Nimoy's Spock that makes it great. If so, will a 'Starfleet Academy' movie truly bring Trek back to it's originla luster? Methinks not.

Why not do a large, grandiose type movie with Capt. Kirk, Spock, Picard, Data, Archer, Sulu, Trip, Janeway, 7 of 9, DS9 crew, etc... Why restart a franchise? Pay Shatner his money and let him carry the movie, or rather 'Save the universe' one more time? Capt. James T. Kirk seating in the captain's chair of the USS Enterprise...all's right with the world! :)

The Holographic Universe - Crystalinks

The Holographic Universe - Crystalinks

I just wanted to post this because it is one of the single best articles that I have read in my life. How's that for simple?

Back on "BOARD!!"

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Have been real busy with school and such, working out, Spring Break, etc...

Anyway, I'm back..literally. I'm back from Spring Break. Earlier in my blog (June 2005), I posted about my vacation in the western USA. I went and visited Scot in California and we went drove back to Texas in a red convertable Mustang - events based on SIDEWAYS primarily. Well, not too sure what prompted this vacation other than Scott moved to Denver and it was Spring Break. He moved out to Denver in Sept. of 05. We had discussed skiing and such before New Years but it was mainly in jest and just talk. However, when we all met up at Colin's house for New Year's Eve, we started talking about going on a trip. Well, Garner sounded real enthusiastic. However, you know how it is when people start having a few drinks - plans never work out that way...but this time something stuck. We actually kept talking about it.

Then Scott and I started talking about getting his brother Grant to go. Grant is a really good skier but something inside me said to go and try snowboarding. Scott and I agreed that we'd try snowboarding and then Garner came on board as well even though he's a skier. So basically, we all decided to go snowboarding. Thanks to Garner's forethought, we actually scheduled our plane trip in late January. It was literally a day before the prices SHOT through the roof for Spring Break getaways. Nice Job G-GRO - Steelers suck! I uhh.....

With all that said, Scott decided that since he lived there, "Screw it! I'm buying all my equipment!" His board looks really nice. And like all other events leading up to this, his purchase started a chain reaction which I, OF COURSE, would NOT participate in. I mean, why would I need a freaking snowboard? Well, Garner checked on the prices of renting snowboards. Since we would be up there for a week, it was actually the same price for him to just BUY his own board, bindings, and boots. His board looks really cool too!

Ok - well now my mind starts wandering but I'm not going to buy a snowboard. The next day, I looked up a place to take lessons in Houston - yes, in Houston (Sun & Ski Sports). I took lessons bardered with Houston Rocket tickets - Johnson was practicing in Denver - and Garner was already familiar with skiing and such.

Well, the guy who was my instructor said he just got a new board and that he'd sell me his old board, boots, and bindings. It was a perfect fit and it was only $200 for everything. So, YES - I bought a freaking board!!

After that, we booked the hotel, rented a HUMMER SUV, and went snowboarding in Keystone, Colorado. It was freaking AWESOME and I literally think about it almost every day. I can't wait to get back up there. Admittedly, seven days is a long time to snowboard. Plus, it snowed everyday but I loved that. How could I not? I had never seen snow until this trip - it was certainly white and cold. Now, I keep my board in my apt where I can see it everyday. Hopefully, at the end of the year, I can get back up there again. It was truly an UNREAL time and it gets more memorable and fantastic the more I reflect on it.

Anyway, here are the pics from the trip. There are a few video clips as well. I'll make a video montage set to music but with TAKS coming up, I just don't have time right now. Take a look!


LINK TO THE PICTURES

BUSH in 2006??

Reggie Bush

Video Segment

HIGHLIGHT REEL #1

HIGHLIGHT REEL #2

For consideration for the number 1 pick in the draft!

TEXANS hire Kubiak as coach!

Gary Kubiak has been hired and is now set to take over the Houston Texans. Kubiak will now help decide what to do with the first pick in the draft. Now, that may not seem like much to those of you who are not from Houston or from Texas, for that matter, but it is a HUGE deal here in the Bayou City. Everyone sees Vince Young as our savior. However, most of the people are Longhorn fans, or those people who include the comments, "...and I'm not even a Longhorn fan!" YEAH! They are - trust me! The fact of the matter is this - Mr. Kubiak will be the one who decides who's #1...but it better be Reggie BUSH!!

Texans owner Bob McNair said during a Sunday news conference that the hiring won't be completed until later in the week because the Texans could not negotiate a contract with Kubiak until the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs. McNair's announcement came about an hour after Denver lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.

"Hopefully we'll have him down here by the middle of the week and he will then be assembling a staff," McNair said.

McNair said he plans to speak with Kubiak later today. This will be Kubiak's first head coaching job. He spent the last 11 years with Mike Shanahan in Denver, helping the team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1998 and 1999.

"To lose him is going to be tough," Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said. "He really helped me step up in my career. We'll miss him but at the same time you're excited for him. He deserves it and he's a great football coach."

National Championship comes to TEXAS!!!

With the national championship down to a final play, Young scrambled for an 8-yard touchdown on fourth down with 19 seconds left and the No. 2 Longhorns stunned the top-ranked Trojans 41-38 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.

The high-scoring game everyone expected to see broke out in the second half - yet it was a defensive stop that was the key for Texas. The Longhorns stuffed LenDale White on a fourth-and-2 at midfield with 2:09 left, giving them a final chance.
Young, the Heisman runner-up, took advantage, scoring a TD and running for a 2-point conversion. With the two highest scoring teams in the country, many figured it would come down to which team had the ball last.

Almost.

USC crossed midfield one more time, but on the last play of the game, Leinart's pass sailed high over Dwayne Jarrett's head around the 25 and USC's 34-game winning streak was over.

Fantasy Football Champion - 2005

Well, 2005 was a very good year for Fantasy Football. I won the Superbowl in both leagues (6 & 12 man). The 12 man was fun because it was so big - BUT - whenever I get to beat my best friends - it's almost euphoric because we all hate to lose to each other soooo much. So, being the good sport that I am, I decided to make a very kind, season-ending webpage to really show my appreciation for the efforts and good attitudes by all involved. Here are two pictures to start it off - enjoy.

www.thrillproductions.com/fantasy.htm

CAPTAIN MMC SMACK FANTASTIC!
2005 CHAMPION

Turn out the lights, the party's over.

(ESPN) After 36 years on ABC, the television phenomenon known as "Monday Night Football" concluded its network run with a game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets.

The best highlights, however, were provided not by players in helmets and pads -- but characters in yellow blazers and outdated hairdos, talking into ancient microphones and chomping cigars. The broadcast started with -- who else? -- the most recognizable voice in "Monday Night Football" history:

Howard Cosell.

Thus began what would be an ongoing highlight reel. All throughout the broadcast, ABC sprinkled in bits of footage that defined the show through the years, from Cosell's outrageous pontificating to Don Meredith's drawling serenades. Meredith and Frank Gifford helped play-by-play announcer Al Michaels with the opener, which closed with a twist on the program's signature motto:

"And now for those of us lucky enough to have represented [series creator] Roone Arledge's original inspiration over the years, there's only one thing left to say," Michaels said.

So Don Meredith asked one last time...

"Are you ready for some football?"

The list of announcers throughout the years:

1970: Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, Don Merideth

1971-1973: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Merideth

1974: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Fred Williamson

1974-1976: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Alex Karras

1977-1979: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Merideth

1979-1982: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell,Don Merideth, Fran Tarkenton

1983: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Merideth

1983-1984: Frank Gifford, Don Merideth, O.J. Simpson

1985: Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, O.J. Simpson

1986: Frank Gifford, Al Michaels

1987-1997: Frank Gifford, Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf

1998: Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, Boomer Esiason

1999-2001: Al Michaels, Dennis Miller, Boomer Esiason

2001-2002: Al Michaels, Dennis Miller, John Madden

2002-2003: Al Michaels, John Madden
2003-2004: Al Michaels, John Madden
2004-2005: Al Michaels, John Madden

The CHRONIC-what?-CLES OF NARNIA (Streaming video)

Here's Streaming Video of the December 17th episode of 'Saturday Night Live' featured a 'Digital Short' called "Lazy Sunday' with Chris Parnell & Andy Samberg. Basically, this is skit is a rap music video about going to see The Chronicles of Narnia. After watching it, you can see that the rap is not about Narnia at all. Another site said it best, "If this were old SNL, they would've just made some cracks about about the movie!" In this case, though, Samberg and Parnell just seemed to write a song about what they did last Sunday, with the chorus “We love the Chronic (What?) …cles of Narnia”...It’s funny. I laugh every time!

(For Hi-Res version - click here!)

Click below to watch the video!

Scientists rebuild part of woolly mammoth.

In a world first, German scientists say they have reconstructed a key sequence in the genome of the woolly mammoth, enabling them to show that the extinct beast's closest modern relative is the Asian elephant.


But by using their new approach to gently amplify the ancient DNA, Hofreiter's team were able to get 5,000 base pairs, even though their sample, too, was degraded. Woolly mammoths once roamed far and wide across the northern reaches of Eurasia and North America, but no trace of them survives beyond the end of the last Ice Age, some 11,000 years ago.

Their heavy layers of fat, their long brown top hair and thick woolly undercoat were superb for bitter cold but left them ill-equipped for a warmer climate and the rise of Homo sapiens. They are among the best-researched animals of the Ice Age, thanks to the preservation of carcasses in frozen ground and the pictures of the creatures made by Stone Age artists in European caves. The bone used in the latest research came from the banks of the Berelekh River in Yakutia, where thousands of bones, belonging to some 160 mammoths, have been recovered.

Another Bush in Texas??

If the Houston Texans continue to lose out, which looks to be the case, there's a good chance that the most exciting player in college football in the last 20 years or so could become a Houston Texan! It's difficult to see the team lose so terribly week-in and week-out but it could be the best thing for the health of the franchise. He IS the best overall prospect in the draft. Reggie Bush has unbelievable agility and the God-given ability to simply make defenders miss with his athletic cuts and elusive running style. He is a playmaker - a triple threat: running back, wide receiver, and return man.

He is an explosive player that will draw a great deal of attention from defenses and still find ways to gain yards. Bush has a nose for the end zone and carries a great work ethic from his coaches. He won’t back down from the limelight and seems to shine brighter when the situation gets tougher. If Reggie Bush becomes a Houston Texan - the ascent begins!

In other news, Dan Reeves was brought in yesterday to be a 'consultant' and to begin evaluating the team, the coaches, and the management. It's a foregone conclusion that Dom Capers will be fired at the end of the season. The bigger question is whether or not Charlie Casserly will be. In my opinion, it's Casserly that is most at fault in this whole debacle of a season. Granted, Dom is too conservative, to restricted and lacks the discipline to see what needs to be done. However, it's Charlie Casserly who has made the moves that have hurt this franchise and it's future:

Hollings for a #2 - he doesn't play
Babin for 4 top picks - he rarely plays
Buchanon for a #2, #3 pick - COMPLETE BUST - can't tackle & can't cover!
Seth Wand was a #3 - doesn't play
Charles Hill was a #2 - no longer plays
Todd Wade was EXTREMELY overpaid - he's a bust
Morlon Greenwood was EXTREMELY overpaid - he's a bust

The future of the Houston Texans is just starting. Bob McNair, being the Christian that he is, could do worse than to pray for a Superbowl!!

AN HUMBLE CHRISTMAS PARADE!!

CHRISTMAS TIME IN HUMBLE

Tonight was the Christmas parade in downtown Humble. My dad, being the newly appointed Mayor, got to ride in a convertible down Main St. I went and rode with mom and dad and I must say this - it was pretty neat. Watching outside as little boys and girls yell, "Hey Mr. Mayor!" and "THERE'S THE MAYOR!!". It was just weird and cool all at the same time. I took some photos, which I'll post here but video really would've been the topper!

Well, every parade needs a Grand Marshall. So, dad got Joel Osteen to come back to Humble. Joel is senior pastor to the 30,000 members of Lakewood Church, the largest church in America. The church moved into the newly renovated 18,000-seat worship complex at Houston's Compaq Center (My old stomping grounds with the Rockets) earlier this year.

I got to meet and talk with Joel for a while. We got along real well and he's certainly a nice guy. I think he really enjoyed being back in Humble and doing this. Everybody seemed to like him alot as well.

He does a great job of attracting people to the Lord through his ministry. I'm not saying that I totally agree with everything he says, in fact, there are probably some areas where we just DIS-agree. However, I'm of the mindset that what he does, he does with the Lord in mind and in heart. But, we'll see what the future holds.

The future of Humble tonight was in the hands of the Mayor...and he showed me and mom a fun time!!

HOW FREAKING ROMANTIC!!!!!??????

See, it wasn't because I had been drinking!! It was because my levels of NGF were through the roof.

ROME (Reuters) - Your heartbeat accelerates, you have butterflies in the stomach, you feel euphoric and a bit silly. It's all part of falling passionately in love -- and scientists now tell us the feeling won't last more than a year.

The powerful emotions that bowl over new lovers are triggered by a molecule known as nerve growth factor (NGF), according to Pavia University researchers.

The Italian scientists found far higher levels of NGF in the blood of 58 people who had recently fallen madly in love than in that of a group of singles and people in long-term relationships.
But after a year with the same lover, the quantity of the 'love molecule' in their blood had fallen to the same level as that of the other groups.

The Italian researchers, publishing their study in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, said it was not clear how falling in love triggers higher levels of NGF, but the molecule clearly has an important role in the "social chemistry" between people at the start of a relationship.

"Sweetheart!! You know I care about you! I can honestly tell you that my NGF levels have never been this high for anyone before! You are my heart - you are my true NGF trigger!"

Ahhh...ROMANTICISM returns!

The Greatest....returns!

CLICK HERE FOR TEASER TRAILER

CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL SITE

"They will ALWAYS persecute you because of me..."

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:12-13)."

USA TODAY's editorial calls "intelligent design" "creationism with clever new packaging." It would be an understatement to say this view is close-minded and ignorant. Creationism and intelligent design are not the same; their arguments do differ.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:10-12).

Why does USA TODAY think Dover's citizens, who voted out eight of nine school board members who had backed a statement regarding intelligent design, are wiser than Kansas school board members? The Kansas school board voted to give kids an option to study the different views of how our universe was created or evolved. I'd argue that this will make Kansas students better thinkers and allow them to make decisions on their own.]

Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also (John 15:20).

USA TODAY says evolution is the 'foundation for biology.' But a theory is only speculation. Therefore, to say a theory is foundational seems a little oxymoronic, and not a very sturdy foundation.

We are all free to feel, believe, worship and do as we please, basically. However, we will all answer for our lives one day - we will all stand accountable. For now, I allow this anti-God mindframe to infest me knowing all along that it will not infect me. We will always be persecuted because of the single name - JESUS. That name strikes terror, fear, hatred, love, compassion, etc...but it strikes something in ALL who exist on this planet - period! It always has and it always will. And when you truly reflect on it - it's remarkable the lengths that people will go to disassociate themselves with Him. John 18:15-18, 25-27

Seriously, people who do not have faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God RUN from him at all times. If you make a movie about Jesus being a sinner, having sex, being married, etc...you can get ANY STUDIO IN HOLLYWOOD to fund that picture. But, if you make a religous film AND you're one of the biggest stars in Hollywood BUT....BUT....BUT....BUT....you speak of Jesus

THEY WILL OSTRICIZE YOU!!

Mel Gibson probably has an opinion on that.

Yet, as a Christian, I need to remember that I am NEVER to be offended, never to be distraught over this, never to feel neglected, dismissed, rebuked, looked down upon - never feel slighted because of my faith. HEY! If they need God out of the pledge, well....so be it, right? They can take away every right that I have as a Christian and nobody will care how we feel....

...and I wouldn't have it any other way! We have what we need. We have our gift. We have our salvation!


"Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has now become the capstone".

Finding Said to Boost Proof of Goliath

JERUSALEM - Archaeologists digging at the purported biblical home of Goliath have unearthed a shard of pottery bearing an inscription of the Philistine's name, a find they claimed lends historical credence to the Bible's tale of David's battle with the giant.

While the discovery is not definitive evidence of Goliath's existence, it does support the Bible's depiction of life at the time the battle was supposed to have occurred, said Dr. Aren Maeir, a professor at Bar-Ilan University and director of the excavation.

"What this means is that at the time there were people there named Goliath," he said. "It shows us that David and Goliath's story reflects the cultural reality of the time." In the story, David slew Goliath with a slingshot.

Some scholars assert the story of David slaying the giant Goliath is a myth written down hundreds of years later. Maeir said finding the scraps lends historical credence to the biblical story. The shard dates back to around 950 B.C., within 70 years of when biblical chronology asserts David squared off against Goliath, making it the oldest Philistine inscription ever found, the archaeologists said.

Scientists made the discovery at Tel es-Safi, a dig site in southern Israel thought to be to be the location of the Philistine city of Gath.

Of course to Christians, this means very little to us. Is it an awesome discovery? Yep! Does it make you feel somewhat vindicated if even in just a tiny way? Yes! Does it sound cool? Very much so? Does it have anything to do with Jesus Christ being the son of God, dying on the Cross for our sins, rising from the grave 3 days later? No! Does it have anything to do with the fact that Christ dying on the Cross is the simplist yet most profound gift that humanity has ever recognized? No! Does it affect those who simply say, "YES LORD! I accept your word, I accept your father, I accept your blood from the Cross and I ask that you come into my life and SAVE ME from my sins and take my soul with you into the Kingdom of Heaven!"?

NO.....but it sounds reeeal cool!!

Maybe WE (BUSH, USA, ENGLAND, CHRISTIANITY) ARE RIGHT...and THEY'RE WRONG!!!!!!??????

I demand that Bush stop standing up for what he believes is right. I demand that we, the USA, stop serving what we believe is the greater good. We need to cave in so people will like us around the world. Then, everything you read below, will just vanish and go away:

- Three near-simultaneous hotel bombs killed at least 67 people in Amman, Jordan's deputy prime minister said. The blasts were at hotels used by Westerners; a Grand Hyatt, a Days Inn and a Radisson -- where a wedding party was caught in the blast. "This could be one of those times when [al Qaeda was] able to bypass our security forces," Jordan's House speaker said.

- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan "strongly condemned" the attacks at the three hotels in the Jordanian capital and has delayed a planned visit to Jordan, U.N. officials said. Ooooooooooh, 'strongly condemned??!!!!'

- WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the bombings Wednesday at three hotels in Jordan are fresh evidence of the challenge facing the U.S. and its allies in the fight against terrorism.

- PARIS, France (CNN) -- Unrest simmered again in France for the 14th straight night, when vandals pushed a car into a school courtyard in Toulouse and set it on fire.

- Oct. 7, 2004: Attacks on three Sinai resorts in Egypt killed a total of 97 people. The October 2004 attack in Taba and Ras Shitan killed 34 people, including 11 Israelis.

- July 23, 2005: A triple-bombing in July in Sharm el-Sheik killed at least 63 people. Three groups, including two claiming links to Al Qaeda, have said they carried out the Sharm attacks.

- March 11, 2004: Attack on four commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, killed 191 people and injured more than 1,600. The bombings were blamed on Islamic militants with suspected ties to Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the two bombers had visited Afghanistan and investigators were looking for any Al Qaeda links

- Aug. 5, 2003: A suicide bomber kills 12 people and wounds 150 at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. Authorities blame Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian group linked to Al Qaeda.

- May 16, 2003: Bomb attacks in Morocco kill at least 28 people and wound more than 100. The government blames "international terrorism," and local militant groups linked to Al Qaeda.

Just think about it - MAYBE......just MAYBE we ARE right....and everyone else is wrong. I know the odds seem to be against it - but again......

MAYBE......just MAYBE we ARE right....and everyone else is wrong!!

To a Great Season!

Well, things didn't exactly turn out the way we had ultimately hoped for but it was a GREAT ride nonetheless. As I've told countless people, it was truly great just to get there. Think about it, everyone always wants to get to the World Series. The operative word here is get. For some reason, 'winning' the World Series is not so much the choice of words. Excuse? Maybe a little. However, I really believe it when I say that for 'this' franchise, a franchise that had never won a playoff series in its history until last year, it was great to just get there. Winning would've been so sweet, granted. However, I just think it would not have been as climatic as hearing the phrase, "THE HOUSTON ASTROS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY!" Maybe that's just me.

There is no shame in losing to a greta team like the White Sox. I mean, they were a great team. Their pitching was first rate, their sticks could just kill it, and they got some great breaks...some of which they made for themselves. Realistically, every game could've gone the other way. Of all the World Series games ever played, this series was decided by a TOTAL of 6 runs - the record for all time/ If you figure that that the record HAS to be 4, then 6 is pretty good!

Anyway, we had a decent showing in the series but we had a helluva run getting there. Not since the 1914 Boston Braves had a team EVER come from 15 games under .500 and made the playoffs..until the 2005 Houston Astros.

Yes, the World Series loss ended the Astros' 2005 season on a down note, but Friday's fan-rally here in Houston reminded us all that the Astros were still the champions of the National League for the first time in Houston history.

"We could not have done this without you," Purpura said to the crowd. "You stayed with us in April and May. You stayed with us in June, July and August. You're here with us now.
"Thank you for the support. Thank you, Houston."

Added McLane: "We came this close to a world championship. We'll be the world champions. Just give us one more year." To which, I reply.....

ok.

Great season - great team - great players - great ride.

See ya in 2006...bet on it!

Here we go, Houston!

WORLD SERIES - Game 1

Everyone down here is real excited. We've never been involved in a World Series before and to have Clemens, Pettitte, Bagwell, and Biggio all in it - it seems surreal. Don't really know much about the 'SOX other than they have great pitching, great hitting, solid bullpen, good manager, and were generally regarded as the best team in baseball. However, we've been making a living beating teams like that. It starts later tonight so this will be updated then. Anyway, we're 'gettin' our young'uns' started real early for the Astros. Here's my friend Marc's two kids - are they fans?

Look at the grip that kid has on the bat!! I know that he couldn't have gotten it from his dad, his dad has no athletic skills and is completely without coordination!! (Sorry, Marc!! Just teasin'!)

Again, NO ONE THINKS WE CAN DO IT!! All the national press has said this series goes to the Whitesox in 6. No one thinks of Houston like that. They always overlook us...

...that's just the way I like it!

ASTROS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ASTROS SHOCK the World!!

THE ASTROS WIN THE PENNANT!!!
THE ASTROS WIN THE PENNANT!!!

I was born and raised here in Houston and besides an LA adventure, I've lived here my whole life. Tonight was simply the most memorable moment of my sports fanaticism. I loved the Oilers more than anything, and I would've loved for them to get to the Superbowl. I would've loved it. The loss to Buffalo in the playoffs, which was the greatest comeback by an NFL team in the history of the game, was devastating. The thing about Buffalo is that we saw it coming, we saw it happening, we watched everything unfold slowly.

With Monday's night loss to the Cards, it was the worst single moment in my sports following life. This town was jumping around - we knew it, we had it, we were going to win it...and then we lost it. It was catastrophic to say the least. I must've woke up 5 times that night every time thinking it was a nightmare but it was true. Of course tomorrow morning, I fully expect to see Bobby Ewing standing in my shower (However, let it be known that I WOULD TRADE THIS MOMENT for that situation but insert Victoria Principal - What a crush I had on her!).

After a staggering collapse at home Monday in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, when they fell to pieces one out before they could be crowned NL champions, the Houston Astros didn't stay unglued. They pieced together an impressive comback tonight in the face of countless doubters who considered them too mentally undone to win - me actually being one of them.

Anyway, tonight w