Stephen Hawking: This Blogger's View Brings Out A Scary Crowd

Stephen Hawking's new book The Grand Design has - as it was designed to do, I suppose - stirred much debate.

In this blogger's case, the approach was to present the little-talked-about view of choice. That is, I choose to believe that God created the universe, where Stephen Hawking elects to assert that God did not create the universe. This video blog explains why:



Now, I never professed to side with either science or religion, understand, because for me, they exist as one. That's a conclusion I also came to at 15 years old, and have not wavered from it since.

My intent was to prove that people who "back" or support Professor Hawking are, in their own way, just as much religious zealots as the people they complain about who are religious zealots. Sadly, I have succeeded.

There's a small crowd out there, some of them who live right in my backyard of Oakland and San Francisco, and frankly mostly residing within a white, male, 20-something to 40-something, moderate education, more beer-drinking than wine-drinking, demographic, who I have come to consider as dangerous. That is, so full of basic anger that they're to be considered not safe to be around until they prove otherwise. They're the kind of people who contact you online just for the sole purpose of being hostile, but in public will hide in the shadows.

They will be the first to say they're not racist, but then lack the proper introspection to ask why they take the time to be who they are? No one black or minority, or female contacts me in the hostile way some of the people I refer to have done. Yes, openly hostile, out-of-the-blue communications primarily via Twitter and email. (Comments I discount because one really doesn't know who the person commenting is.)

So, tired of such a pattern of contact, I'm putting my foot down to the "B Walsh'" types of the World - stop it.

Disagree In An Agreeable Way, Can't You Be?

Prof. Stephen Hawking

What's most disturbing about this situation I point to is the person's inability to disagree in an agreeable way. But then, in this case, how can you disagree when I state my choice of believing in God? It's not something for disagreement. It, as they say, "is what it is."

I have friends who are atheists, but I don't argue with them about that; that's their choice. What I'm more interested in is why a person elects to adopt the belief system they have? In Stephen Hawking's case, the missing issue for me is what personal, not scientific, path led him to his recent conclusion?

For me, the idea that the Universe came from "nothing" is contradictory to the basic mathematical proof that one-times-zero equals zero and one-times-one equals one. That means you can't have a Universe from "nothing" and calls into question why Hawking has such a device as "nothing," if only to be used as a "something" - a something used only to disprove God's role if not God's very existence.

Why?

I also must ask this very thorny question: why is it that the people who introduce the ideas that God doesn't exist as we think of him (like Hawking), or that whites are a superior intellect (like the late William Shockley) tend to be white and male and use "science" as some tool behind which to hide their prejudices?

That's a pattern I find disturbing and unanswered. It seems society spends more time asking why a disproportionate number of black men commit crimes, without stopping to consider the damaging impacts of centuries of racism and discrimination. Then, because of the kind of persons such an environment produces, some so-called scientist, who happens to be white and male, then says, "Oh, they're genetically inferior," which in turn lets racism off the hook. So it's OK for that person, and everyone else to be racist. Think about it.

You're just not going to come up with a black male scientist who asserts that blacks are genetically inferior intellectually.

You see my point here? I'm asking questions about the very psychological underpinnings of why we chose to believe what we believe. For some, my approach is unsettling, but it does not call for the person to be hostile to me. Indeed, I'm concerned that the people who consider themselves scientists or "fans of science" aren't more introspective.

So, I say this, if you can't control yourself, stay away from me, please. It's not worth all the emotion you express. Use it for more productive efforts that advance society.

Tom Brady gets in car accident By Nikky Raney

Photo taken from Photobucket 

Tom Brady, New England Patriots' star quarter-back, was involved in a car accident at 6:34 a.m. on Thursday, September 9, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Gloucester Street, according to reports.

Two ambulances arrived as well as the Boston Fire Department. The firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free an unconscious passenger from the other vehicle.

Brady's Audi sustained front-edge damage, but the other vehicle, a van, had a traffic light knocked over onto it. The one injured man in the van had blood all over his face and was freed through the roof. Two other passengers were uninjured.

Steve MacDonald, Boston Fire Department spokesman told Boston Herald, said Brady went left when a man in a Jeep Cherokee showed up to the crash site.

Obituary Writing By Nikky Raney

Since Zennie62.com frequently reports on celebrity deaths I thought it would be appropriate to include a blog post from The Future of Journalism to help when writing obituaries. These guidelines are used for journalists - so as bloggers it's all right not to strictly follow. I post in hopes that if someone wants to blog on the recent death of someone but is struggling with putting the post together this may help:

Sierra and Nikky

My class assignment most recently was to write an obituary of one of my classmates. Of course, I chose my  best friend Sierra. It is really quite morbid to write an obituary for your friend - and even more strange being interviewed for your own obituary.

I have actually written an obituary which was published in Foster's Daily Democrat. The obituary was for my Apung (Tagalog for Grandfather) Pidong. I requested to write it instead of the reporters, because when a family member writes it it is more personal. The paper was lucky that I am a journalist, and the obituary met standards. It's easy to understand why papers prefer to not have family members write the obituary.

Anyway, here is the obituary I wrote for Sierra. I will be passing this in at 5 p.m.
Obviously not all the information is factual. I have deleted some of the information to ensure the privacy of Sierra. In the actual assignment the information is included - but I didn't find it to be necessary for the outside world. I did not include any photos within the obituary, because I think that when her real obituary is written there will be a photo from when she is older.

Sierra Lynn Blanchard-Bruce dies at 96

By Nikky Raney

            Sierra Lynn Blanchard-Bruce, 96, a long-time resident Orlando, Florida died on August 23 at Florida Hospital in Orlando.

            Born in ######### on March 2, 1990, Sierra spent the early years of her life in ######### with her parents Scott and Lisa Blanchard and her younger sister Katie.

            Sierra participated in Girl Scouts and Upward Bound before graduating from Valley High School; she spent a semester at the University of Maine and then transferred to New England School of Communications in Bangor Maine. She went on to receive her Bachelor's Degree in Communications spring of 2013.

Sierra and Nikky

            Sierra was offered a job as a reporter for Teen Vogue fashion magazine and was relocated to New York City. In 2015 at the age of 25 Sierra married her college sweetheart Colin Bruce at Central Park and then took a quick honeymoon to Aruba.

            Sierra continued to work as a fashion reporter for Teen Vogue and traveled around Europe visiting Italy, France, Spain and England. Colin had joined the Coast Guard, and the two were very wrapped up in their careers.

            Sierra relocated with her husband to San Diego, California after Sierra gave birth to Peyton in 2017. Sierra became a stay at home mom and took care of her son. Three years later Sierra gave birth to Amelia.

            During the time she stayed home with the children Sierra grew fond of photography. Her passion grew and she was constantly taking photographs of her children and soon was getting requests to take photos in more professional settings. She went back to school and continued to take courses to pursue this hobby.

            In 2030, at age 40, Sierra received her degree in Photojournalism at San Diego State University. Colin had left the Coast Guard and was working as a freelance sport's reporter.

            Sierra started her own photography business in 2034 which she named Sierra's Shots. Sierra was hired to photograph many celebrity weddings as well as fashion events. Her connections from when she worked at Teen Vogue helped her really get her photography business booming.

            Sierra and Colin moved to Orlando, Florida at age 75 to retire. Peyton and Amelia joined together to continue with Sierra's Shots in San, Diego while raising families of their own.

            Sierra became a widow in late 2070 when Colin died in a motorcycle accident at Daytona Beach at age 80. Sierra moved in with Katie and her husband George Drake and their daughter Ashlyn.

            Sierra spent the later years of her life scrap booking and baking goodies for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She strongly believed, "Life isn't about finding yourself, but about creating yourself."

            Those who knew Sierra best will always remember her for being funny, spontaneous and caring.

            Sierra is survived by her son Peyton and his wife Judy and Amelia and her husband Doug Darrell; her grandchildren Ryan, Thomas, Jane and her great grandchildren Leslie, Michael and Ashley; her sister Katie, niece Ashlyn and great-nephew Theodore.

         The service and funeral arrangements are private as requested by the family.

Maybe later I will post the obituary that was written about me!

Detroit Lions Will Get To The NFC Championship Game

The Detroit Lions will make it as far as the 2011 NFC Championship Game.

That's right, you saw it here first.  Many will laugh. But this blogger thinks the 2010 Detroit Lions are going to surprise a lot of people.

That's OK.  Keep laughing.

Who they will play is up in the air of this blogger's mind. But the reason for the assertion is the new attitude of this 2010 Detroit Lions squad.

 The New Detroit Lions are characterized by one single play. This one:



That was Ndamukong Suh, the Lions 2010 1st Round NFL Draft Pick. Suh was the 2009 Heisman Trophy Runner-Up to Alabama's Mark Ingram, and for good reason. He dominated the line-of-scrimage like no other college defensive lineman has in decades.

At his interview with the media at Radio City Music Hall, Suh, the engineering major, was all business:



Suh is the next "Mean" Joe Greene. The Pittsburgh Steeler's Legend bright the right amount of bad ass to a Steeler team of the early 70s that, before his arrival, had not one winning season in 40 years of existence. The Steelers and Greene went on to win four Super Bowls.

In addition to Suh, over the last two years, the Lions have added Quarterback Matt Stafford, Cal Running Back Jahvid Best, and Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson.  All young playmakers.

But Suh gives them the attitude.
,
While I'm not predicting that level of success for the Lions, I do predict a deep playoff run. They may play the New Orleans Saints, but for some reason I don't see the Super Bowl Champions getting even even that far.

Susan Boyle Walks Off America's Got Talent Due To Lou Reed's Meaness

TMZ.com reports that British singing sensation Susan Boyle - to whom Britain's Got Talent's Piers Morgan should thank for his own increase in publicity that led to his new gig as the replacement for CNN's Larry King - walked away from being a guest singer on America's Got Talent because she was snubbed by "Walk On The Wild Side" singer / songwriter Lou Reed.

Lou Reed comes off as a meanie here. He reportedly is no fan of the very sensitive Ms. Boyle. So when he was approached for permission for Susan to sing one of his songs, he surprisingly said no.

When you think about it, since he gets paid for that, Lou Reed just took money out of his own pocket.

That's the height of meanness, when you dislike someone so much, you don't even give them permission to make money for you.

TMZ reports Susan Boyle went to LAX in tears. That's really sad for her and for Lou Reed. If Lou Reed's any kind of man, he'll apologize to Ms. Boyle.

I'm waiting...

Truck Loses Breaks, Car Accident In Oakland, California

Oakland, CA - This evening at about 4:55 PDT, and as this blogger was walking to Grand Avenue, there was far more than the usual level of traffic on Mac Arthur Blvd off the I-580 Freeway toward Grand Avenue.

It wasn't exactly clear what happened until, as I walked closer, it was obvious a large truck with a reddish brown bed was at the center of what appeared to be a giant four-car pile up.

What happened, according to the California Highway Patrol Officer I talked to, was that the truck's breaks went out and it slammed into what appeared to be a silver Honda. Apparently, the Honda was stopped, waiting for the light to change at the intersection of Mac Arthur and Grand near Lake Merritt. When the truck hit the car, it caused a chain reaction vehicle accident, with four cars slammed into each other.

Thankfully, though there were several injuries, no one was killed. Moreover, the car in front of the rest of the group was pushed to the side on impact, and not into Grand Avenue. Had that happened, even more cars may have been hit.

Vanity Fair Targets Piers Morgan With "Scandal List"

Piers Morgan: Scandalous?

Piers Morgan, who's CNN's choice to take over for the retiring Larry King, and who will be on On The Air With Ryan Seacrest Thursday, is considered the mistake choice by some, and now is the focus of a stinging Vanity Fair blog post outlining six scandals that Morgan was reported to have been involved in.

Some of the accounts VF listed are fair game, but others are a bit of a reach. Still, Morgan's led an interesting life.

Vanity Fair's Juli Weiner blogs that as editor of The Mirror's business column, bought shares of stock in an electronics firm, then suggested its readers do so as well. Morgan, who was the boss of the writers of the column, also did so, but claimed he didn't know about the content of the column.

Then Morgan got into an on air brawl with Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, as both were guests on The BBC Show , Have I Got News For You. reportedly, the two don't like each other. Here's the video, where one YouTube commentator described Piers as a "twat of epic proportions:"



The Piers Morgan wrote a book that Weiner claims was a "scandalous" romp through his decade. It's called The Insider. But if Weiner checked, it was based on his column of the same name in The Daily Mail, and was more about celebrity encounters than anything Morgan allegedly did.

The rest of the Vanity Fair scadal list for Piers Morgan is little more than small accounts of conveluted assumptions of Morgan's alleged desire to get dirt on the guy he brawled with, Ian Hisop.

I'll save you the trip to Vanity Fair, as Juli blogs...

Moon-faced little midget: The Mirror, under Morgan’s stewardship, offered financial gains to anyone who would dish on “that moon-faced little midget,” an epithet for Hislop.

Tangerines, an obsession with: “The Hislop campaign has been going well, with all sorts of accusations ranging from a weird obsession with tangerines to a chronic piles problem that needed lasering ... I’m just doing it for fun. He is, after all, the editor of a piss-taking magazine and the presenter of a piss-taking TV show. Yet nobody dares take the piss out of him”—so read a 2002 entry in The Insider.

Tangerines, an apparently healthy relationship toward: The Telegraph reports that despite Morgan’s promises of rewards in exchange for information, he “couldn’t find any” scandalous rumors—fruit-related or otherwise—pertaining to Hislop.

Was all of that worth it? Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter must have it in for Piers, because all that stuff's a major reach at best.

Well, except for the brawl and the stocks.

Special Guest on Tonight's Pro Football NYC Radio show Presented by Football Reporters Online

Tonight on the Profootball NYC Show on Blog talk radio. Former NY GIANT and NY JET Strong Safety Sam Garnes joins us to talk NFL...

CNN's Piers Morgan Choice Considered A Mistake By Some

Piers Morgan 

Is Piers Morgan (who will be on On Air With Ryan Seacrest Thursday) the right choice to replace Larry King?

While this blogger believed Ryan Seacrest was a better fit, having hosted the Larry King Show many times before, CNN's President John Klein's fallen in love with Morgan's performance...in Britain.

It turns out a number of blogs and websites are asking the same question about Piers Morgan: is he the right choice? MovieLine's Louis Virtel compared the selection of Piers Morgan to the hiring of Ellen Degeneres to be a judge on American Idol. The explanation was somewhat harsh:

Comparisons to Ellen DeGeneres’s cataclysmic American Idol stint come easy: Just as DeGeneres’s plucky diplomacy felt out of place on a cutthroat competition series, Morgan’s stuffy displeasure is a bad fit for a softball talk show. If we’re going to mix and match loose cannons and stodgy chatfests, I’d rather Wendy Williams join The McLaughlin Group or Courtney Love join the upcoming The Talk — then we’d get fireworks.

But Virtel's correct in observing that the style of The Larry King Show was more softball than hardball. If CNN's Klein wants more hardball, he may be messing with a formula that worked, even as it seems everything else at CNN was a ratings failure.

On that note, Babble.com asks if you will even watch Piers Morgan? And Ryan Christopher DeVault asked if it was a mistake.

I will leave out the idea that Klein may have got it right, but that's a strong may. The simple fact is Ryan Seacrest has greater name recognition in America than Piers Morgan does. That some people may not like his popcorn style is meaningless; Seacrest gets the interviews people want to hear and see.

Can Piers Morgan match Seacrest? We shall see.

Piers Morgan Talks To Ryan Seacrest About CNN Gig Thursday

Perhaps Piers can explain this photo? 

Piers Morgan of America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent, who really became famous with the discovery of Susan Boyle on BOT, and his dinner date with Boyle, is the replacement for the retired Larry King on CNN.

On Twitter, American Idol Host Ryan Seacrest announced that he will talk with Piers for On Air With Ryan Seacrest that morning. Ryan tweeted:

I'll have Piers Morgan in studio tmrrw to talk about the new gig. First order of business? Getting him on Twitter! http://bit.ly/PiersCNN
about 3 hours ago via ÜberTwitter

Piers Morgan doesn't start his new CNN gig until January, which gives him enough time to build Twitter followers, and dump tweets that send bloggers to their keyboards.

I have to admit, I'm really surprised Ryan Seacrest isn't the replacement for Larry King. He seems more the natural choice than Morgan, no offense to Piers. But, as CNN President John Klein said, "Piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures, holding them accountable for their words and deeds," but in Britain.

Meanwhile, for the present, On Air With Ryan Seacrest is on the radio Thursday morning, but the times and stations vary, so visit the website with a click here for your location.

Academy News: AMPAS Has “Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies" Exhibit

Ingmar Bergman

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced the upcoming public exhibit called “Ingmar Bergman: Truth and Lies" for Thursday, February 16th at the AMPAS headquarters and run through December 12th and admission is free.

Organized by the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin, in association with the Academy, the exhibition is a study in the career and personal life of the legendary Swedish director. Bergman received nine Oscar nominations and was presented with the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1970.

Bergman was famous for such films as 1982's Fanny and Alexander, which, along with his films The Virgin Spring, and Through a Glass Darkly, won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.

For the first major exhibit since Bergman's death in 2007, The Bergman Foundation has given "unprecedented access" to Bergman's personal papers. Now, we can see the the basis for the directors creative sprit. The Academy reports:

“Truth and Lies” will provide unique insights into Bergman’s film, theater work and personal life, with sections devoted to his early creative efforts, his ascent as an artist and his struggles with faith. The exhibition’s film projections and specially created montages will allow the visitor to delve into the full range of his work, from his earliest films to his major international successes. Original scripts, notebooks, film schedules, sketches, posters, photographs and other paper materials will be accompanied by items such as set models and costumes.

To go with the exhibit, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art Film Department and the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles are each presenting special film screening series. For tickets to LACMA screenings, visit http://www.lacma.org.

For tickets to Goethe-Institut screenings, visit http://www.goethe.de/losangeles or call the Goethe-Institut at (323) 525-3388.

Finally, and our standard note in this space, The Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills and is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. The gallery will be closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend (November 25 through 28).

For more information call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

Jobs with Justice Rally September 15, 2010

The Chicago chapter of Jobs with Justice will hold a huge Rally September 15, 2010.

The mission of Chicago Jobs With Justice is to improve working people’s standards of living, fight for job security, and stand up for workers’ right to organize. JWJ’s core belief is that in order to be successful, workers’ rights struggles have to be part of a larger campaign for economic and social justice. To that end, JWJ has formed a local coalition of labor, community, faith-based, and student organizations to work together on workplace and community social justice campaigns.

Jobs with Justice engages workers and allies in campaigns to win justice in workplaces and in communities nationally, where working families live. JwJ was founded in 1987 with the vision of lifting up workers’ rights struggles as part of a larger campaign for economic and social justice. JWJ believes in long-term multi-issue coalition building , grassroots base-building and organizing and strategic militant action as the foundation for building a grassroots movement, and believe that by engaging a broad community of allies, they can win bigger victories. JWJ reaches working people through the organizations that represent them—unions, congregations, community organizations—and directly as JwJ activists. Nearly 100,000 people have signed the Jobs with Justice pledge to Be There at least five times a year for someone else’s struggle as well as their own.

The Emergency Campaign for Jobs!
Chicago Jobs with Justice is organizing the Emergency Campaign for Jobs in conjunction with our national JwJ network and the AFL-CIO. Here's what they are demanding:

1. Immediate extension and expansion of access to jobless benefits for the duration of this unemployment crisis (including COBRA or Medicaid and food assistance.)
2. Immediate federal financial assistance to states like Illinois to prevent further layoffs and service cuts, precisely when the need is the greatest in our communities.
3. Federal spending on direct job creation for improving and enhancing our public infrastructure: mass transit, schools, roads and more.
4. Federal investment in green technology, manufacturing and energy conservation.
5. Paying for it all by taxing the individuals and practices on Wall Street that created this recession so we can begin to balance the books, place the tax burden where it belongs and discourage reckless and excessive speculation.

Over the next few months, they will be promoting actions that highlight the need for massive job creation as quickly as possible. What's next? They need your help to organize our brothers and sisters who are unemployed!

Sound interesting? Give them a call at (312) 738-6161 or send an email to susanh@jwj.org! Or visit their contact page to get in touch! http://www.chicagojwj.org/contact

Here is information on the Chicago event taking place September 15, 2010:

Rally in Chicago - JwJ Unemployed Workers Council: Join JWJ for the next in their series of actions for a federal jobs program. The double-dip seems headed our way unless Congress takes immediate action to put America to work doing the work America needs done. That's the only way to turn our economy around before the suffering worsens!

JWJ Rally Wednesday September 15th
Meeting up for a press conference and rally at GOP HQ at Randolph and Wells at 4 pm to call the GOP out on their votes and misleading and mean-spirited comments about the unemployed!

Our demands are the same
Jobs for the Nation!
Federal Jobs Program
Local Jobs Act HR 4812/S3500
Extension of the TANF Jobs Program that expires on Sept 30 and will result in 350,000 people out of work, 30,000 in Illinois

Benefits for the Duration
Extend Tier V benefits immediately to all states with unemployment higher than 5%
State aid
Food aid and health insurance subsidies
Unemployment benefits until unemployment reaches 5%

Tax Wall Street Speculation
Make Wall Street Pay with tax on financial speculation