Not to be left out or, you know, above the fray, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart injects himself into the undying vitriol surrounding the Arizona killings. Come ON dude, really?
A grand piano has mysteriously appeared on a sandbar in Miami's Biscayne Bay. According to local news sources, whoever put it there placed it at the highest point of the sandbar so that it's not underwater during high tide.
Grand pianos in and of themselves, aren't mysterious, but this one is. Locals aren't sure if the beat-up grand might be a prank, or if it's someone too lazy to properly dispose of an old piano. Either way, it's got people talking.
Given the size of your typical grand piano, about 650lbs if you're lucky, it isn't going anywhere. "We are not responsible for removing such items," Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino told local reporters. "Even a car can become a habitat for wildlife. Unless the item becomes a navigational hazard, the Coast Guard would not get involved."
If the instrument's placement is indeed a prank, somebody went to a lot of trouble to pull it off. Either way, this is the coolest piano story we've seen since colorful, less-grand pianos were placed throughout the streets of New York, begging for us busy New Yorkers to sit a while and tickle some ivory.
Cars won't be the only thing flying in the near future; airplanes will still be up there and according to NASA, they're gonna be a lot cooler looking than they are now.
The space agency has unveiled three major designs for more energy efficient and quiet aircraft coming out of a join design venture with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and the Boeing Company. Each company won a NASA contract in 2010 to research and test concept aircraft in 2011.
NASA's apparent aim is devloping a line of super planes which fly faster, are larger and more quiet than the world's current fleet. Fuel efficiency is also at the top of the requirements for the new designs.
How soon could we see the futuristic birds? One industry observer has speculated all three designs could be in the early stages of development now. Translation: Only about another decade. See all three designs here.
Vice President Joe Biden is taking a play (or is it marching orders?) from the boss' playbook by appointing a former Clinton aide as his new Chief of Staff. Bruce Reed, who most recently headed President Obama's Deficit Commission was a top domestic policy advisor during the Clinton years. Reed is a native of Idaho and former director of the Democratic Leadership Council. Still, we have to ask, what's with all the Clinton replacements filling the spots of those jumping the Obama ship lately? A sign of a bigger, more dramatic shift perhaps? ("Vice President Hillary Clinton"?) or just dredging the tank for those who last worked for a two-term Democratic president? Time will tell...
Polaroid, the sleeping photo giant is aiming to regain its influence and market share with a little help from new innovation and Lady Gaga.
The pop diva helped the company unveil three new products at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas along with Polaroid board chairman Bobby Sager.
Sager appeared on stage with the performer sporting some fly sneakers and a scarf with black jacket and pants. Edgy, right? Sager's personal appearance was meant to help reintroduce Polaroid as a global brand, not an impossible task for the man credited with making small jewelry liquidator Gordon Brothers Group into a diversified international financial advisory firm. He's also not new to listing A-list well knowns having worked with the likes of the Dalai Lama, Sting and others.
Sager says he wants to reposition his company as the "next Apple" by introducing new innovative electronics with a high design aspect. Read more on Polaroid's resurgence here.
Pope John Paull II moved even closer to scoring the Catholic Church's highest honor Thursday when his successor approved a decree attributing a miracle to him.
The decree by Pope Benedict means that John Paul. who died in 2005, will be beatified. Beatification is the final step before sainthood. The ceremony will take place in Vatican City on May 1.
John Paul is now officially attributed with the miracle of curing a French nun diagnosed with Parkinson's disease who prayed for the late Pope's intercession. Read more on Pope John Paul's beatification here.
CitiGroup, the nation's third largest bank by assets was on the verge of collapse according to a new government report posted on the Huffington Post Thursday.
According to HuffPo, the giant bank was on the verge of being shuttered by Federal regulators the week of November 24, 2008 as depositors rapidly withdrew money and the bank's counterparties declined to provide it credit.
Those findings shed new light on the degree to which Citigroup, a financial services behemoth with a long history of finding itself in trouble and receiving government support, was actually in danger of failing during the fall of 2008 according to the website. Until now, very few were apparently aware of how close the bank came to failure. Read the full story here.
Martha Stewart likes it ruff. The doyenne of all things tasteful and expensive was sent to the emergency room Tuesday night after a headbutt with one of her dogs left her dazed and with a cut on the face according to Access Hollywood and MSNBC.com.
"I must have startled her, because she bolted upright with such force that she hit me in the face like a boxing glove hitting an opponent's face," Stewart blogged after returning home. "I was entirely startled and my neck snapped back," Stewart continued. "I felt a bit of whiplash as blood gushed forth from my split lip."
Stewart was taken to the hospital during Connecticut's Tuesday snowfall and noted that she enlisted daughter Alexis to summon a plastic surgeon. On her website, the television show host and billionaire business woman posted photos of a large gash on her lip and medical staff stitching her up. Now THAT'S a good thing! Stewart has released the gory details via a series of photos you can see by clicking HERE.
The days of eagerly using my gigantic kitchen for dinner are gone but not forgotten. Dinner tonight came courtesy of Subway sandwich shop and may have been even more bland had Doug not gone to the gym, thus giving us the excuse to indulge in the food of bachelors and lazy dinner slobs everywhere. Long gone are the days I'd lay on the sofa, half watching bad TV, half watching mom hunched over the sink peeling potatoes, washing chicken, reading the Hamburger Helper box and wondering why she always wears those particular shoes at this time of day. I didn't have to wonder about dinner, it was a no brainer. She cooked it, I ate it, usually. Sometimes I'd even be polled on my preferences, but no choosing corn and mashed 'taters simultaneously. "That's pig food" she'd say. I miss that, and I miss mom. As for our Subway supper, it could be worse. It could be Pizza Hut.
In the wake, and perhaps the spirit of Saturday's massacre in Tucson, First Lady Michelle Obama has posted an open letter to American parents on the 'valuable lessons' about the "character of our country" and about finding hope at a time when hope seems so far away.
No doubt the First Lady is building on the tradition of predecessors like Laura Bush who worked to comfort America's parents and children in the days and weeks following September 11, 2001. Read Mrs. Obama's letter in its entirety here.
Former NFL linebacker and 'Dancing With the Stars' alum Lawrence Taylor will not be going to jail after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in New York today.
Taylor, 51, pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute stemming from his May, 2010 arrest in a suburban New York hotel room with a 16-year-old Bronx runaway. The girl was five days short of her 17th birthday, the age of consent in New York State but had represented herself of legal age at the time of meeting Taylor.
The former New York Giants star avoided jail with the misdemeanor charges but will be required to register as a sex offender and serve a 6 year probationary term, reports the Associated Pres.
It's that time again, when Madison Avenue and other titans of TV advertising begin rolling out their entries for best Super Bowl ad spot. The folks who make Doritos and Pepsi have posted some of their best and brightest online and are asking for your, that's right, YOUR vote who who makes the cut for bowl, which sadly will not include our New Orleans Saints.
Manhattanhenge! Also known as 'Manhattan Solstice' took place this last Sunday; and while it's one of my favorite quirks/phenomenon of the city, it passed without much fuss. Well, without any fuss on 78th and %th Avenue. We were busy coughing and hacking and chasing the dog who avoids his walking harness like a naughty naked toddler avoiding his training pants. How many grown men does it take to catch a greased-lightning fast pug? More than two most days.
Anydoggy, Manhattanhenge is a semiannual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan. The term is derived from Stonehenge where, for those unfamiliar with it, the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. It was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. It applies to those streets that follow the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which laid out a grid offset 28.9 degrees from true east–west. And if all of that sounds too smarty-pantsy to come from my keyboard, it is. I copied it from Wikipedia. All I know if that it's cool and that twice per year, I can walk out onto any cross (East-West) street in Manhattan and see the sun set. Fancy, huh? Like the photo? I swiped from a more proactive Manhattanite.
Anyway, George Steinbrenner is dead, and I don't feel so good myself. 'night.
Fame whore doctors are always funny, but WHEN will America finally get its fill of Dr. Oz? I gave the guy's show a chance recently, initially thinking we'd finally connected. Maybe being away from Oprah, even though she still owns him actually made a difference.. Then, quickly, within the first two weeks of his show it was apparent that Dr. FameWhore is indeed all about himself.. And women. Women, women, women.. Every show, ALL about women, which is cool I suppose if you're a woman, but we were lead to believe Oz was the people's doctor, right? On a recent show supposedly dedicated to men, Dr. Oz found a way to, you guessed it, make it about WOMEN. Oz tenderly had half an audience full of men, prodding them to tell their most guarded secrets; among them were several men suffering from erectile disfunction, one suffering from memory loss. In true Oz fashion, each concern was turned into a message to women. Dr. Oz turned to the cameras and assured women that erectile disfunction is NOT their fault. Did you hear that women of America? It's ALL about you but the doctor wants you to know, it isn't your fault. Neither is the onset of early dementia in men, or frequent urination. Yes, I feel much better now. Thank you Dr. Oz. As a man, I'll rest much better now knowing that my various medical ailments aren't the fault of the ladies. Now I can suffer and die in peace.
The fun on Oz's show doesn't stop there; during every show, every segment, Oz must remind us that he is in fact, a doctor, or a surgeon. Take your pic, Dr. Oz does. Even on a recent show where Oz took audience questions along side medical colleague he'd invited on the show, another doctor, Oz interrupted his guest by saying at least once "I'll take that question as a surgeon".
Dr. Oz makes his own case why his show should be avoided at all costs, and while euthanization of his on-air practice is just what the doctor ordered.
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -The Declaration of Independence, 1776
White girls in too-tight tank tops and flip flops, one annoying other table sitters by asking if she can have their seats, apparently feeling entitled, (aren't they all?). 40 year old-plus "hipster" sits at the larger table marked 'Reserved for patrons with disabilities' conducting what seems to be interviews for some sort of 'film' he's producing. *eye roll*. A stream of younger, more authentic hipsters has held court since I've been here, posing for their theatrical lives. No sure if the role is technical or on-screen but judging from the business he's conducting, this producer who uses a coffee shop as his personal office would be better suited to rent space somewhere. Annoying early 30s-something sits in a corner to my right, being here since I arrived an hour ago, douchey earpiece in his ear, black Yankees cap tilted to the side while he talks to various people. Loudly. To loud, too crowded, I want more coffee.
Not being a fan of laws encouraging, even defending race-based quotas, I've watched the case of the New Haven firefighters make its was to the U.S. Supreme Court for the last few years. It began while I was living in Connecticut which gave me even more of a vested interest. If you don't know much about it, here's the condensed version: Several white and hispanic firefighters took a standard test, along with their African American colleagues which determined eligibility for promotions. Most, if not all of the white/Latino firefighters received high marks meeting the qualifications while some of the African American firefighters did not. The city of New Haven, Connecticut invalidated the results for the non-black firefighters in fear of being sued by the black firefighters and promoted a few of them instead... Off to court we go and judge after crazed, racist, biased judge shot them down; until today. The Supreme Court said "no", New Haven was wrong. And as you probably know, it's a serious bitch-slap to Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor who infamously dismissed those same firemen when they came before her court. Not only did she throw their case out, she issues a once-sentence shoot-down of the very serious case which had very serious merits on both sides. Oh Sonia, you silly goose.
So forgive me for wallowing in my crass political incorrectness, but this is a happy day. Affirmative Action policies lived their 15 minutes and were a good thing, only until perhaps the late 1970s. Now, they're simply an abused tool for groups who support them to win their ways into jobs and funding and services which many other non-minorities are shut-out of solely based on their race. So, cheers to the firefighters, white, hispanic AND black for dousing the flames of racial bias and draconian affirmative action rules. A good day indeed.
I think the only real way to describe my feelings under sunny skies is something like hearing a jazz band on a cool New Orleans fall day while sitting at a table full of hot red crawfish while getting a neck rub from Daniel Craig, or Megan Fox; take your pick.
After nearly two months, our weather here in Manhattan has finally cooperated affording us at least two-thirds of a sunny day, breezy, a bit humid but we'll take it. It's weird how the weather affects me. Clouds and rain equal no gym, fussy attitude, stoic sensibility and pie eating while sun equals everything else; gym, laughs, happy thoughts and doing my own tour of street fair food.. KnowWhatIMean? Viva en sol!
CBS says it has a "high level of concern" over Charlie Sheen's downward spiral into the crazy. But it's okay, he makes 'em lots of money. (we added that last part). Click photo to view complete story.
Websites and their upkeep don't come cheap and a buck here or there really helps.
Vice President Joe Biden is taking a play (or is it marching orders?) from the boss' playbook by appointing a former Clinton aide as his new Chief of Staff. Bruce Reed, who most recently headed President Obama's Deficit Commission was a top domestic policy advisor during the Clinton years. Reed is a native of Idaho and former director of the Democratic Leadership Council. Still, we have to ask, what's with all the Clinton replacements filling the spots of those jumping the Obama ship lately? A sign of a bigger, more dramatic shift perhaps? ("Vice President Hillary Clinton"?) or just dredging the tank for those who last worked for a two-term Democratic president? Time will tell...
Polaroid, the sleeping photo giant is aiming to regain its influence and market share with a little help from new innovation and Lady Gaga.
Pope John Paull II moved even closer to scoring the Catholic Church's highest honor Thursday when his successor approved a decree attributing a miracle to him.
CitiGroup, the nation's third largest bank by assets was on the verge of collapse according to a new government report posted on the Huffington Post Thursday.
Martha Stewart likes it ruff. The doyenne of all things tasteful and expensive was sent to the emergency room Tuesday night after a headbutt with one of her dogs left her dazed and with a cut on the face according to Access Hollywood and MSNBC.com.
The days of eagerly using my gigantic kitchen for dinner are gone but not forgotten. Dinner tonight came courtesy of Subway sandwich shop and may have been even more bland had Doug not gone to the gym, thus giving us the excuse to indulge in the food of bachelors and lazy dinner slobs everywhere. Long gone are the days I'd lay on the sofa, half watching bad TV, half watching mom hunched over the sink peeling potatoes, washing chicken, reading the Hamburger Helper box and wondering why she always wears those particular shoes at this time of day. I didn't have to wonder about dinner, it was a no brainer. She cooked it, I ate it, usually. Sometimes I'd even be polled on my preferences, but no choosing corn and mashed 'taters simultaneously. "That's pig food" she'd say. I miss that, and I miss mom. As for our Subway supper, it could be worse. It could be Pizza Hut.
In the wake, and perhaps the spirit of Saturday's massacre in Tucson, First Lady Michelle Obama has posted an open letter to American parents on the 'valuable lessons' about the "character of our country" and about finding hope at a time when hope seems so far away.
Former NFL linebacker and 'Dancing With the Stars' alum Lawrence Taylor will not be going to jail after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors in New York today.
It's that time again, when Madison Avenue and other titans of TV advertising begin rolling out their entries for best Super Bowl ad spot. The folks who make Doritos and Pepsi have posted some of their best and brightest online and are asking for your, that's right, YOUR vote who who makes the cut for bowl, which sadly will not include our New Orleans Saints.
Crazy Jack Jordan, (we added the 'crazy' part cause that's not REALLY part of his name.),Uma Thurman's stalker, believes his half-million dollar bail is way too high. Why's that? Because according to his lawyer, Uma's famous. Well, DUH! "Ms. Thurman is not a vulnerable victim," Jordan's counselor said in court yesterday, "especially in light of the fact no threats have been made." Okay, sure, except Jordan was busted just last year for calling Thurman at least twice. You know, just 'cause Jordan's already been convicted of stalking the Kill Bill star for six-years, that doesn't make him a stalker. Right? Yeah, right.
Manhattanhenge! Also known as 'Manhattan Solstice' took place this last Sunday; and while it's one of my favorite quirks/phenomenon of the city, it passed without much fuss. Well, without any fuss on 78th and %th Avenue. We were busy coughing and hacking and chasing the dog who avoids his walking harness like a naughty naked toddler avoiding his training pants. How many grown men does it take to catch a greased-lightning fast pug? More than two most days.
Fame whore doctors are always funny, but WHEN will America finally get its fill of Dr. Oz? I gave the guy's show a chance recently, initially thinking we'd finally connected. Maybe being away from Oprah, even though she still owns him actually made a difference.. Then, quickly, within the first two weeks of his show it was apparent that Dr. FameWhore is indeed all about himself.. And women. Women, women, women.. Every show, ALL about women, which is cool I suppose if you're a woman, but we were lead to believe Oz was the people's doctor, right? On a recent show supposedly dedicated to men, Dr. Oz found a way to, you guessed it, make it about WOMEN. Oz tenderly had half an audience full of men, prodding them to tell their most guarded secrets; among them were several men suffering from erectile disfunction, one suffering from memory loss. In true Oz fashion, each concern was turned into a message to women. Dr. Oz turned to the cameras and assured women that erectile disfunction is NOT their fault. Did you hear that women of America? It's ALL about you but the doctor wants you to know, it isn't your fault. Neither is the onset of early dementia in men, or frequent urination. Yes, I feel much better now. Thank you Dr. Oz. As a man, I'll rest much better now knowing that my various medical ailments aren't the fault of the ladies. Now I can suffer and die in peace.
I think the only real way to describe my feelings under sunny skies is something like hearing a jazz band on a cool New Orleans fall day while sitting at a table full of hot red crawfish while getting a neck rub from Daniel Craig, or Megan Fox; take your pick.
