Andrew Koenig found dead in Vancouver, Canada

Related searches: Walter Koenig, Growing Pains, AK-47, koenig missing, actor missing in Vancouver, Canada, Koenig son missing

CNN just sent an email that Andrew Koenig, the former star of Growing Pains and the son of Walter Koenig, was found dead in Vancouver, Canada. First, this blogger sends his heartfelt condolences to the Koenig family and to all of his friends and fans, especially those who have taken time to send e-mails with information or just to connect after blog posts on Andrew Koenig were posted.

Andrew Koenig's passing in the middle of the joy that Vancouver should gain from the Winter Olympics is nothing short of sad. This is what CNN's reporting:

(CNN) -- Actor Andrew Koenig, missing since February 14, was found dead in Vancouver, British Colombia, Thursday, a source close to the family told CNN.
The body of the former "Growing Pains" star was found in a park, according to the source, who spoke to Koenig's father after Koenig was informed of the discovery.
The source asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Koenig, 41, was reported missing by his parents after he missed a flight to Los Angeles from Vancouver last week.
Vancouver police confirmed a body was found in Stanley Park around noon Thursday, but they would say only that it was "believed to be that of Andrew Koenig."
A police news conference was set for 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET).

This news ends a search that started February 16th after Andrew Koenig was reported missing after staying with friends in Vancouver. Walter Koenig reported that Andrew Koenig was despondent and suffered from depression.   But the news also opens a new set of disturbing questions.

More after the press conference.

Angelina Jolie Salt Movie Trailer - Summer 2010

Related searches: movie trailers, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Columbia, Sony Pictures, Iron Man 2

Look out. Angelina Jolie is back on film, this time without Brad Pitt, and in a kick-ass movie called Salt. Here's the Salt movie trailer for the Summer 2010 Columbia Pictures movie.

>

Salt has Angelina Jolie playing the role of a spy accused of working to get the President of The United States, only she swears she's innocent!

 The result is a dramatic chase, with Angelina Jolie performing amazing stunts and fights. The real female version of James Bond.

(In fact, the movie does have the feel of the rough, modern Bond in it.)

Stay tuned for more about Angelina Jolie in Salt.

Shamu whale kills trainer: eyewitness account of SeaWorld death

Related: searches: shamu, shamu attack, shamu the killer whale, shamu trainer, shamu attacks trainer

Shamu whale kills trainer Wednesday; videos show eyewitness account of SeaWorld death and give clues to the past of the killer whale named Tilikum.

The Orlando, Florida SeaWorld park was the unfortunate scene of a murder. As reported by the Associated Press, the giant killer whale called Tilikum suddenly attacked and killed its trainer, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau. Reportedly it's the third time Tilikum has killed a human being, yet this 12,000 pound killer whale was still performing.

SeaWorld trainer Brancheau, had the most experience with Tilikum, though it's said that trainers were forbidden to swim with him.

Videos related to Wednesday's incident are now appearing on YouTube. The first video is an eyewitness account of exactly what happened. A word of warning: the explanation is graphic:



In the video, the woman, Eldon Skaggs, said the "trainer was massaging the whale on his belly, then the whale took off really fast, came around, right up to the glass, popped up and started thrashing, grabbed the trainer by the waist, started thrashing, and her shoe came off. The sirens went off."

Skaggs said that people, including kids, were covering their mouths in disbelief over what they had seen. The park staff yelled and forced people to leave the stadium; eventually the park was closed.

This is the video account by MSNBC:



In this video a "killer whale expert", Jr. Janet Mann of Georgetown, says it's impossible to tell if a killer whale is in an aggressive mood:



In the video below, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said they're conducting a death investigation. It appeared to be an accident, with no sense of fowl play. Then Dan Brown, of Sea World Orlando explained that they too had initiated an investigation. "We have never in the history of our parks experienced an incident like this and all of our standard operating procedures will come under review."



This video below, made by Tilikumtrainer on YouTube (who's name is Rose) in 2007 is one to watch twice. It tells the "life story" of Tilikum. The video reports that Tilikum was born a male Orca calf in 1981 in an Icelandic Pod and spent two years with his mother and and her family until it was taken from them in 1983.

That year, Tilikum was flown to Sealand of the Pacific in Canada, where he performed and lived with two female Orcas that "constantly picked on him", according to the video.

After an incident at Sealand (which must have been the 1991 death of trainer Kelly Byrne), and the birth of his first calf, Tilikum was sold to Sea World Florida in Orlando. He enjoyed a larger pool and was the largest known male at Sea World. While at SeaWorld, Tilikum has sired 15 calves between 1993 and 2007.

The video ends with "Though he was brought in from the wild, we have learned so much with having him and the others around. But one thing's for sure: Tilikum is the wild guy you gotta love...I know I did.

What that means, as of this writing, I do not know. Rose's YouTube channel has a link to a MySpace profile that was deleted. Here's the video:



Stay tuned.

Conan O'Brien on Twitter, for real - @conanobrien

After a hoax Fox Twitter account, Conan O'Brien is really on Twitter, for real. According to Mediaite, On Wednesday, the new, Twitter-verified account called @ConanOBrien was launched, and Conan issued this tweet:

Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.
about 2 hours ago via web

As of this writing, Conan O'Brien has 55,652 followers on Twitter, one of them this blogger. Considering Conan's last tweet was two hours ago, he's got to step up his tweet count.

Come to think of it, so do I.

San Francisco's Haight Ashbury to get surveillance cameras?

The Haight Ashbury, a place in San Francisco known historically for freedom and "free love" is to get surveillance cameras because of an increase in crime, if the Haight Ashbury Improvement Association (HAIA) gets its way.

According to a discussion on "The Wall", a place where San Francisco political news is regularly posted, HAIA President Ted Loewenberg made that announcement this month (February) and posted it on the organization's website. The basic message on the page reads as follows:

On Wednesday, 17 February, 2010, HAIA announced the Street Safety Program, designed to help increase the public safety by increasing the presence of security systems cameras at Upper Haight merchant's storefronts. To reduce the cost to our merchants, HAIA will pay each of the first 10 merchants in the Upper Haight who respond, $100 toward the cost of a security camera / Digital Video Recorder (DVR) system. Having as many as 20 surveillance cameras watching day and night in our commercial areas will give the police the ability to catch criminal behavior in the act, and hopefully increase the successful prosecution of the perpetrators.

Whether it is recording graffiti vandals tagging private property or street thugs intimidating residents on the sidewalks, the cameras should act as a deterrent to illicit behaviors. HAIA recognizes both the problems seen on Haight Street recently, and the weakened economy causing local merchants to struggle to make ends meet. The HAIA Board feels this program is a good use of our resources to help in a substantive way. The technology of such DVRs and cameras have become reasonably priced, and can be applied on a large scale to help our community deal with the challenges of crime through deterrence and prosecution.

The discussion on the proposal over at Able Dart's Forum at SFWall.Net is starting to heat up. One question, not answered as of this writing, is who will pay for the smashed cameras?

Stay tuned.

Oakland Raiders' Richard Seymour gets franchise tag

The Boston Herald reports that the Oakland Raiders Defensive End Richard Seymour, acquired via trade from the New England Patriots just before the start of the 2009 NFL Season, has been given a "franchise tag" by the Raiders.

Ron Borges reports that the Oakland Raiders have been trying to work out a long term deal with Richard Seymour, and the two are still talking.

Borges writes that Seymour says he's happy to remain an Oakland Raider. The cost of his tag is $12.398 million for 2010.

Richard Seymour had 47 tackles and 1 forced fumble in 2009 according to ESPN.

Mosi Tatupu, father of Seattle Seahawks LB Lofa Tatupu, passes at 54

In the NFL news that New England Patriots Running Back Mosi Tatupu, father of Seattle Seahawks LB Lofa Tatupu, has passed at 54 has shocked the league.

No one know why Mosi Tatupu died, only that he did so Tuesday in Sturdy Memorial Hospital Attleboro, Mass, according to WGN, Chicago.

New England Patriots team owner Robert Craft issued this statement:

"I know that I share a heavy heart today with Patriots fans everywhere who have learned of Mosi Tatupu's passing. He was a dominant special teams player and a punishing rusher who loved the Patriots as much as the fans did."

Mosi Tatupu played from 1978 to 1991 and was one of the first successful NFL players of Samoan decent. Tatupu was a standout running back at USC from 1974 to 1977, rushing for 2,415 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns in his NFL career with the Patriots and the LA Rams according to ESPN.

Admiral Ackbar of Star Wars to be Ole Miss Mascot?

Today, Admiral Ackbar shared the gossip stage with The Jersey Shore's The Situation, and Jenny J-WOWW at Access Hollywood. But who's Admiral Ackbar?

This is Admiral Ackbar:



In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Admiral Ackbar, a Mon Calamari, was Supreme Commander of the Rebel Alliance and designer of the B-Wing Star Fighter (pictured at right below).

Admiral Ackbar led a group of starships into what turned out to be a trap set by the Darth Vader and The Empire at The Battle of Endor.

 Now, Ole Miss students reportedly want Admiral Ackbar to lead them in cheers for their sports teams.

TMZ reports that students voted for Ackbar to replace their old mascot Colonel Reb Tuesday, after the school wanted to change its image.

 The decision is up to the student mascot committee. Here's hoping they do something different and give Commander Ackbar his due.

Scott Brown upsets Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, as Senate passes Jobs Bill

Glenn Beck says he's upset with Scott Brown as Senate passes The Jobs Bill. Michelle Malkin has her minions flood his Facebook page with angry comments. And the conservatives are just so angry that Senator Scott Brown's not the Senator Scott Brown they thought they got. This blogger howls!

When Republican U.S. Senator Scott Brown won the Massachusetts special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by the passing of the legendary Democrat, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, conservatives cheered and TV pundits and Fox News and CNN hailed it as the beginning of the end of the Democratic majority in Congress. But forgotten in all the hoopla and flowing cocktails after the win was that Scott Brown never called himself a conservative, but said he was an independent.

Now, the independent that is Scott Brown is making himself know, much to the dislike of conservative pundits like Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck, who already attacked Scott Brown for then Senator-elect's comments that the Brown daughter's were "available", now says Senator Brown is a "Progressive Republican" according to The Huffington Post's Jason Linkins.

In the video below, Glenn Beck calls Scott Brown a liar:



And Michelle Malkin, who's "Malconites" at times display issues with sanity, could not observe the passing of The Jobs Bill without her own blast at Scott Brown:

Yes, sigh, Scott Brown. Looks like he hasn’t taken up my suggested D.C. itinerary. But those of us who knew all along what we were getting — a game-changer who vowed to torpedo Demcare, but who was not an ideological conservative — are not surprised. And I pointed out Brown’s moderate record several times on Fox and on this blog during the campaign...

Malkin says the "lefties" said Brown was going to be a radical right winger. Uh, wrongo, Malkin: I didn't say that and I'm a lefty. I said Scott Brown's no Sarah Palin right at the time many were carried away with the comparison.

I was right.

Senator Scott Brown ran on a jobs campaign and he's sticking to it. Brown said to WRKO Radio in Boston that he spent time making sure that it didn't cost a lot of tax dollars and that it actually worked. "People are confused. I challenge anyone to actually read the bill."

What's unfortunate is the myopic view of the people flooding his Facebook page with negative comments like these:

John Tanguay: Spoken like a true politician! Next time we'll just have to seek out the best candidate to get the job done...whether they want the job or not. These empty suits that are stepping up with their own interests in mind, hoping to get a lucrative book deal, need to be shown the door!

Kathy Watters I hang my head !!!!!!!! I had hope
19 minutes ago · Report

Gary Withrow It did not take him long to toe the line...And I actually thought he was the real deal. I pray that it was just a rookie mistake, but I am not holding out any hope. ALL politicians are just puppets representing BIG interest and not the PEOPLE.
19 minutes ago · Report

The new battle cry of the American people that want to take their country back should be: NO POLITICIANS NEED APPLY!!!!
19 minutes ago · Report

When the unemployment problem subsides and the underemployment rate reduces over time, it will be interesting to see what those angry voters have to say.

Stay tuned.

Birth Certificate Issue: "Negroid" removed from Houston documents

This news came to this blogger via a tweet on Twitter during the Robert Pattinson controversy, where the Twilight star and Jenny Lumet, who interviewed him for the upcoming March issue of Details Magazine, used the word Negro in a way that's at best questionable. Mr. Pattinson was reported to have asked "What if we were 'acting' like 'Negroes'?"

According to FOX 26 Television in Houston, Texas, Black Houstonians so don't like the word - y "Negroid" - which brings up negative images which date back to slavery - they worked for two decades to have it removed from their birth certificates. FOX Houston tells of a Kathryn Patterson, who believed making the change to her son'e birth certificate was just a simple matter of a phone call; she was wrong.

Her battle, when it was broadcast, started a lot of calls by other black Houstonians who had the same problem. After FOX 26' intervention, the State of Texas announced they would remove the word "Negroid" from the many birth certificates that had the it on them. Here's the FOX video:



FOX went to Visiting Professor Dr. Michael Tillotson at The University of Houston who specializes in African Studies for his view on the Negroid Birth Certificate controversy. Dr. Tillotson said...

"Unless a person was living in a cave or tomb it would be hard to miss the negative connotations. The word has been out of usage so long. So you have to beg the question 'Why is it being used and why is it allowed to be used?"

That's exactly the point this blogger was making in the case of Robert Pattinson. Negro or Negroid, it doesn't matter, but the World would have been better off if neither had it in their mind to use the word, let alone talk about how "Negroes" act.

YouTube to drop Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) March 13th 2010

In a bit of news this blogger cheers, YouTube reports that it is to drop support for Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) March 13th 2010. According to Computerworld, YouTube put Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) "kill efforts" on the outdated browser and leads an industry-wide effort to do so. Even Microsoft, which created Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is part of the effort.

(As a note, YouTube will also stop support for 2005's Safari 2.x, 2006's Firefox 2.x and 2009's Chrome 3.x, according to Computerworld.)

The problem with Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is that it's not designed to handle the rich media content - video, etc. - that comes with today's media. But many users - perhaps yourself - do not upload and use newer browsers like FireFox or Safari or Opera.

This blogger recommends Opera because that browser does not use a lot of your computer's memory - what's called a "memory leak problem." FireFox and Safari have this problem but still handle rich media well.

But dump Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne to collaborate

According to MTV, Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne will collaborate, but Bieber's said he has to wait until Lil Wayne's released from jail. The possibility of a Jusin Bieber / Lil Wayne team up was pointed to on Bieber's Twitter account here:

WEEZY!! - http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632363/20100222/lil_wayne.jhtml
2:12 PM Feb 22nd via web
Retweeted by 100+ people

And by Lil Wayne himself mentioned it at a USTREAM live session. Lil Wayne was to have reported for sentencing in February but that was delayed to March 2nd because of a dental work procedure. And on March 30th, Lil Wayne is to report to an Arizona court for sentencing related to a drug and weapons charge.

This blogger still holds the view that just throwing Lil Wayne in the slammer, rather than having him make music that discourages the crimes he's charged with, is a waste of tax payer dollars...



Stay tuned.