Tiger Woods spotted at sex rehab clinic Pine Grove

Tiger Woods was spotted at the sex rehab clinic Pine Grove's "Gentle Path Program" Wednesday. According to the NY Post, Tiger Woods is in Hattiesburg, Miss, at the sex rehab clinic for six weeks, and during what is called "family week" he will reportedly have to undergo seven full weeks of counseling with his wife Elin Nordegren.

In what the NY Post calls "Sexual healing for caged Tiger", the National Inquirer reported that "Disclosure Day" is the time Tiger Woods has to reveal all of this many affairs to his wife. That includes Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton, Cori Rist, and the other seven mistresses Tiger Woods has bedded even since 2001 and before he married Elin.

It's described as kind of a prison, with strict times to rise (5:30 AM) and work therapy hours between 8 AM and 4 PM. The Pine Grove website says:

Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, Mississippi is known as one of the nation’s most comprehensive treatment campuses. Since 1984 Pine Grove has offered a continuum of services ranging from outpatient to inpatient and residential treatment for adults, children and adolescents suffering from psychiatric and addictive diseases. Specialized services include the treatment of addictions, eating disorders, and professionals struggling with interpersonal difficulties. The Pine Grove Mission is to be a leader in healing and changing lives by providing the highest quality behavioral health services.

Gentle Path is a part of the Pine Grove program system. It's mistakenly reported as a separate clinic; a visit to the Pine Grove website will show that Gentle Path is a part of an overall program in Hattiesburg, Mississippi facility.

Stay tuned.

Glenn Beck attacks Scott Brown over "daughters available" remark

The assumed love fest between Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown and Republican Conservative Wingnuts is over. On his radio show Wednesday, Glenn Beck attacked Senator-Elect Scott Brown for mentioning that his daughters Arianna and Ayla were available during Brown's acceptance speech Tuesday night. Here's the video from Glenn Beck's show:



Here's Scott Brown's "my daughters are available" blast, including his basketball challenge to President Obama:



Glenn Beck said "I don't understand the thinking of Scott Brown last night with his two daughters, when he said this: (Plays clip) 'And just in case anybody's watching throughout the country, yes, they're both available." Then Beck said "Speaking of his daughters here. Hey. Hey. Stop. Stop. Stop. Okay. Alright. Bad enough. Bad enough. Hey! My two daughters on a meat market. If this isn't the shoomp and spears coming out of the cave where a guy - I would never have done this. You could see a stupid guy saying something like that, and then goin 'Aw geez. What did I just do'? (Off camera guy) "As a dad, you go the opposite way." (Glenn Beck) "Stop looking at my daughters. Ok. They're standing behind him. He says this. Now you know immediately, my wife would have pieces of my body in a drawer this morning, just on this. My daughters would never have spoken to me ever again, had I said (that). 'Dad! National television! What are you doing?'" (Off camera voice) "Do you know how many psychos there are out there?" (Glenn Beck) "Awww my goosshhh. Alright. Collection of my parts in drawers, scattered throughout my house.

"But he didn't stop there," Beck continued. (Plays clip of Scott Brown talking) "'Only kidding. Only kidding. Arianna definitely is not available. Ayla is.' (Glenn Beck) "And did you see my naked in Cosmo? Listen. I want a chastity belt on this man. I want his every most watched in Washington. I don't trust this guy. I'm just tellin' ya. This one could end with a dead intern."

Glenn Beck is referring to the murder of Chandra Levy, the Washington intern that was sexually abused and murdered while jogging. Levy was intern to U.S. Rep. Gary Condit of California, then later had an affair with Condit. Since Condit was closely and romantically linked to Levy, the story wrecked his political career. A suspect, Ingmar Guandique, was indicted and arraigned in 2009; he pled not guilty.

Since Scott Brown's speech, The Times Online reports that his daughter Ayla has been "inundated with messages from men". On her reaction to her father's quip, Ayla said "My jaw dropped. I was like, that definitely wasn't in the script. I definitely had a talk with my Dad." The New York Post reported that Ayla said "I had about 20 people last night say, 'So, I'd like to take you for a coffee or a drink.' "

Looks like Glenn Beck was right.

Stay tuned.

Will Megan Fox wear the Zennie62.com T-shirt?

After four years of blogging and video-blogging, over 6,500 blog posts, and now several bloggers, Zennie62.com has something it's needed for a long time: a t-shirt. Now, the next objective is to get celebs like Megan Fox and Denzel Washington to wear the soon-to-be-famous t-shirt.

Will Megan Fox wear the Zennie62.com t-shirt? 

The t-shirt's based on the logo design for this blogger's television show "The Blog Report with Zennie62" on CoLoursTV (Saturday at 12:30 PM EST; 9:30 AM PST in January). Local Oakland t-shirt maker Cyrus Phishdad took the original logo and re-created it into a sharper, crisper result.

The black t-shirt celebrates the Zennie62 YouTube channel reaching 11 million viewers; it reads "Zennie62.com. 11 million views, including yours." That t-shirt design will remain until Zennie62 reaches over 20 million views.

The t-shirt is being given to fans who have been supporters of Zennie62, like this one in North Dakota who wrote this YouTube message:

As a means to support you I will always wear it with pride, try to keep it clean, never rob a liqueur store with it on.

I will also try to get a good photo of me wearing it so you will have proof that all the way out in North Dakota you are reaching people with your videos..

also, if I ever get well known and appear on Larry King with you, I will promise to wear it, ...as long as you wear a nice suit and not the "Im with Stupid>" T-shirt you had picked out to wear.

Now if Megan Fox wears it, that's huge. Stay tuned.

Google rankings and video: YouTube Partner Nalts

Kevin Nalts is one of YouTube's most successful partners with over 150,000 subscribers, and generally posts very interesting and entertaining video-blogs, like this one where he tries to scare his kids by wearing a Gorilla costume:



But Nalts also is a full time marketing consultant who has clear views on how to get videos to the top of Google rankings. Some of his views, particularly on the value of videos embeded on other websites, are controversially wrong, but in general his view is quite valuable.

At his blog Will Video for Food, Nalts offers his advice on getting your video to the top of Google Rankings. What's particularly informative is his finding that confirms what I've told anyone and everyone: buying ads on Google is a waste of money compared to the more time-consuming but rewarding effort of getting to the top of a ranking in Google; what's called a "natural search result."

Nalts reports that our eyes look to the google search results much more than to the right-placed ads.

I will offer this: with "bots" issuing automatic clicks on Google ads, a customer winds up paying for "false traffic" that does not lead to a purchase or even a page impression. New Scientist has a great article on this problem. In it, Will Knight reports:

"It is possible for an attacker to shut down or seriously impair any Google AdWords advertising campaign by artificially inflating the number of times an ad is displayed - but not clicked on."

And that can kill a Google AdWords campaign. The best route is to focus on good SEO and multi-platform exposure. In other words, have a website, a blog, YouTube and Blip.tv channels, and many interconnected social network pages, from Facebook to hi5.

Stay tuned.

Rielle Hunter and John Edwards affair: Andrew Young took the fall

Now that former Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards admitted that he was the father of Rielle Hunter's daughter Quinn, a lot more detail is being released. It reveals that long time John Edwards political aide Andrew Young took the fall for John Edwards.

According to ABC News, Andrew Young, who was at one point reported to have been Rielle Hunter's boyfriend, revealed that it was all a cover-up to protect John Edwards. In an ABC interview to be aired January 28th, Young said:

"Get a doctor to fake the DNA results," Young said Edwards told him. "And he asked me ... to steal a diaper from the baby so he could secretly do a DNA test to find out if this [was] indeed his child."

Since the affair was revealed, John Edwards allegedly went out to attack Andrew Young and smear his reputation, after Young expressed his concerns about the affair and the role he was asked to play in it.

In response, and to clear his name, Andrew Young began to shop a 20-page proposal for a book last June 2009, According to The Daily Beast. In it, Young claimed he was paid to go along with the hoax that he and not John Edwards was the father of Rielle Hunter's baby.

But when Andrew Young wanted to stop playing along he was cut off from John Edwards and reporters suddenly found a history of arrests (for check forgery and burglary) and convictions (for driving while intoxicated) for a person who was previously reported to be clean cut.

In the ABC January 29th interview, Andrew Young is going to offer more details of the story.

John Edwards civilian admits that John Edward politician was lying

As far back as October 2007, this blogger was one of the first to cover the then largely ignored claim that John Edwards was having an affair with Rielle Hunter. In August of 2008, John Edwards admitted to the affair...



But said he's not the father of her child. Still, the admission destroyed John Edwards' political career, just when he was poised to have a key role in the Obama Administration. Now, his campaign all but gone and his Twitter account inactive, John Edwards is a civilian.

John Edwards

Today, John Edwards admitted what was long speculated by The National Enquirer:

“I am Quinn’s father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves. I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.

It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me. I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in the future.

To all those I have disappointed and hurt these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”

This ends a long and very sad sex scandal that started in August 2007, when the New York Post Page 6 ran a column reporting that a politician had a girlfriend:

WHICH political candidate enjoys visiting New York because he has a girlfriend who lives downtown? The pol tells her he'll marry her when his current wife is out of the picture.

Then, late 2007, when the National Enquirer first speculated that Edwards was fooling around, and then "progressed" to Edwards being discovered by two National Enquirer writers as he was attempting to visit Rielle Hunter in July of 2008:



This story is a study in how the media can avoid a story both to protect a politician and to just skip over what's considered sensational.

In this case, The Huffington Post's Sam Stein was one of the first to take the National Enquirer story seriously and write a blog post on it but after first being led to it by then then removed-from-the-Internet campaign videos made by Rielle Hunter.

The Daily Kos took Stein to task as John Edwards was then their darling candidate.

Then Sam Stein wrote a full post on the affair speculation that was removed and replaced by a safer and more watered-down version that only pointed to the Enquirer's story and did not offer detail.

The delay in reporting the Edwards scandal, as America was deep into an intense Democratic Presidential campaign, allowed John Edwards to rise in campaign dollars, polls, and expectations from supporters.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder called it "a trash story". The LA Times removed links to a post on it.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Edwards was being left in the dark. No word on her view of Edwards' statement today. Yet.

Scott Brown is no Sarah Palin; Sarah Palin is no Scott Brown

There's an idea flying around the media and the conservative blogs that Former Alaska Governor and Fox News Commentator Sarah Palin would match well with new Senator-Elect Scott Brown in some kind of dream 2012 President / Vice President matchup.

The idea was even echoed on CNN's Larry King Live Wednesday night by CNN Commentator David Gergen, who's penchant for making questionable statements has risen to alarming proportions of late.

For several reasons that to some are sexist, Senator-Elect Scott Brown is being compared to Sarah Palin. In fact, one blogger called Scott Brown "The Next Sarah Palin". The main reasons are than both are between 40 and 50 years of age, are considered good looking, white, Republican, athletic, and former models. But those comparisons are proving to be "skin deep".

As Joe Weisenthal rather roughly put it in "The Next Sarah Palin"...

Most notably, Sarah Palin is a big loser, and she's no longer the hero, insurgent member of the party. She is seen as having helped lose the 2008 election.

Still, the paring of Sarah Palin and Scott Brown was indirectly ignited by The Wall Street Journals's Washington Wire, which speculated that Scott Brown may be ready to run for President in 2012, of course, forgetting that Brown just got elected, hasn't been seated, and doesn't know Washington.

In reality, Scott Brown has little in common with Sarah Palin. Brown's a lawyer; Palin is not. Palin' claims to be a conservative (or what this blogger calls a "couch potato conservative"); Scott Brown is considered to be a liberal Republican or what he calls a "Scott Brown Conservative."

The Nude Debate



And then there's that nude model issue. Scott Brown posed nude for Cosmopolitan back in the 80s, and it did nothing to harm his political campaign. Sarah Palin was a beauty pageant contestant and she was criticized for it. That difference in treatment has got the attention of  bloggers and not without considerable outrage.

In the NY Daily News on Wednesday, Jeremy Mayer called it "Full Frontal Sexism":

Surely it is not one of the great injustices in America today that women who pose nude are probably ineligible for higher office, while Brown's nude modeling is just an unusual feature on his resume. But it is emblematic of the differing standards we have for women and men in public life.

In RH Reality Check, Nisha Chittal let loose with her anger:

But had a woman candidate done the same, it would have cost her the election. No female politician could hope to make it out of a scandal like that...She was derided as a dumb beauty queen, but he’s praised as a “hunk.”...Monday night on Fox, the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn said that Brown is a "hunk" and the fact that he posed "semi-nude" actually "gave him a huge advantage in terms of the public recognition" and that "It made him a recognizable public figure, which he was not before. A lot of women think he’s really cute." It’s appalling that the media hasn’t shown more outrage over the now Senator-elect Scott Brown’s actions, where we most certainly know they would do so had it been a woman. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised – this kind of sexism has long been rampant in our media system.

The point is that Scott Brown got away with just what did Sarah Palin in: being "expressive". But while Brown did use his looks to his advantage, and the media played along with it save for this blogger, no one has accused him of being uninformed on policy; a charge that dogs Sarah Palin to this day.

Lastly, Scott Brown did not seek Sarah Palin's endorsement and has yet to appear with her at a campaign-related event. Scott Brown did not seek Sarah Palin's endorsement. Scott Brown is more supportive of abortion rights than Sarah Palin will ever be. Scott Brown is no Sarah Palin; Sarah Palin is no Scott Brown.

Let's hope for his sake that he's no John Edwards.

GNA 1.0 - Glenview Neighborhood Association, Oakland

(Glenview street banners, courtesy of Maja Brugos Design: www.brugosdesign.com)

Yesterday's clouds dumped another inch of rain onto Oakland. More t-storms may be in the stars for the Bay today, with more precip. into next week.

Some of the banners along Park Boulevard have buckled in the harsh weather, flapping in the high winds and in some places, coming loose from their streetlight mounts. Below them runs the garden median; the city nearly shut off its drip water system last year due to budget cuts. Today it's soaked. Water brims, then runs down the Glenview slope and into the sea.

Next spring, the Glenview Neighborhood Association (GNA) plans to host a gardening party on the median. But while winter still reigns in Oakland, they've been busy with a little virtual refurbishment.

Yesterday the GNA launched a new Web site, and invite you to tour their virtual home today: GlenviewNeighbors.com.

Visit your GlenviewNeighbors online and consider making a donation. Your membeship will go to feed the plants on the median; they will fund online projects with the neighborhood youth. It could also purchase new flags for the Glenview—a nice distraction from the potholes on Park.

Conan O'Brien out at NBC; Libby Schaaf in at Oakland City Hall

At first, Conan O'Brien and Libby Schaaf may seem as far apart as NBC and The City of Oakland. But as New Media brings the worlds of politics and entertainment closer together, it's appropriate to look at two events unfolding at the same time, and involving two people who are going in different directions but similar, still.

Libby Schaaf

Conan O'Brien is leaving NBC. The victim of NBC and Jay Leno's decision to return Leno to his host spot on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien said he was just days closer to going on his greatest "drinking binge" ever. Rightly so; Conan was pushed out and there's no guarantee that Jay Leno will fare any better as the (new) The Tonight Show host, as the juggernaut that is The Late Show With David Letterman chugs on.

Meanwhile, Libby Schaaf is a new entry into the public eye, and this blog post is specifically designed to introduce her to a much larger audience than the common, pro-forma, locally centered, boring, self-serving blog post would accomplish. And it's for a very good reason: Libby Schaaf, even if she does not know it, is poised to take over Oakland Politics.

Let's look at Libby Schaaf before we turn our attention back to Conan O'Brien.

First, to clear decks, Libby is a personal friend of this blogger, and has been since 1991. For all of those years Libby has been one thing: passionate about Oakland. Ms. Schaaf worked hard to help Oakland School Board members get elected and in some cases re-elected. She was a fixture as a volunteer at the Oakland Festival at The Lake. And Libby has been involved with many non-profits, like Oakland CARES when it was active, and the Oakland Symphony; in fact, the list is too long to mention even from memory.

Libby has always concerned herself with how to make Oakland better. And she's passionate (that word again) about helping women get connected and employed in business and of helping those less fortunate than she. Libby walks her talk.

Currently, Libby lives in the Montclair District and is planning to run for the City Council seat currently held by Jean Quan, who's running for Mayor of Oakland. To that end, after talking with a number of people, Libby hired locally-known campaign consultant Doug Linney as her campaign manager. She has a "kitchen cabinet" as well. She's ready, although this blogger is concerned she's running an all too conventional campaign, one not appropriate for her aura - for who she is.

Libby's plan has been to run because Jean Quan's not running for her City Council seat. If Jean changes her mind, then Libby would have to decide if she really wants to drop out of the race.

If Jean Quan elects to go back to her current seat (which she should not do as she would be a good candidate for Mayor), Libby should challenge her for the District Four City Council Seat.

Libby would beat her.

Why?

Libby Schaaf has Conan O'Brien's stage presence, good looks, ability to connect with people, and genuine passion for Oakland and for life that just comes through. What can serve her well is to realize that she must run as Libby Schaaf and not as "Libby Schaaf who's held this or that position with the City of Oakland and worked for Oakland City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente." Nothing against De La Fuente (District 5 - Central East Oakland, Fruitvale) at all, but Libby's much bigger than Ignacio, she just doesn't know it.

Libby has an incredible star power that has been diminished by the lesser ambitions of a number of people she's chosen to surround herself with. (Oakland is full of these types; very intimidated by anyone with high ambition and willing to cut down any person that has it.) Libby belongs on stage...as a guest on Conan O'Brien' show and representing the City of Oakland.

Seriously.

In fact, now that Conan O'Brien will be out at NBC and richer for it,he reportedly has the time and money to come to Northern California and help Libby get her campaign off the ground.

With Conan O'Brien involved, Libby Schaaf would see her possible future, work to achieve it, and do so.

Stay tuned.

Nine Foreign Language Films remain in Oscar race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced that nine foreign language films advanced in competition for the category of best Foreign Language Film. The original list consisted of 65 films in this category.

Here's the list of films in alphabetical order, by country:

Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos Juan Jose Campanella, director;
Australia, Samson & Delilah Warwick Thornton, director;
Bulgaria, The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner Stephan Komandarev, director;
France, Un Prophète Jacques Audiard, director;
Germany, The White Ribbon Michael Haneke, director;
Israel, Ajami Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors;
Kazakhstan, Kelin Ermek Tursunov, director;
The Netherlands, Winter in Wartime Martin Koolhoven, director;
Peru, The Milk of Sorrow Claudia Llosa, director.

The Academy reports that the short list is determined in "two phases":

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 65 eligible films between mid-October and January 16. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 29, through Sunday, January 31, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The nominees will be announced February 2nd at 5:30 a.m at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The Oscar telecast will be Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at Hollywood and Highland and telecast on ABC.

Conan O'Brien on Fox Twitter account a hoax, suspended

The much-reported Conan O'Brien on Fox Twitter account - http://www.twitter.com/ConanonFox - has been suspended. The account was discovered two days ago leading to reports that Conan O'Brien was headed over to Fox after losing his 11:30 PM late night spot to Jay Leno after his 10 PM show failed to draw profitable ratings.

Now it has been reported that the Twitter account was a hoax; still the fact is that Conan's leaving NBC.

As for the fake Conan on Fox Twitter account, TMZ reports it was reportedly created by Red Sox fans, perhaps some of the same ones angry with Martha Coakley in her race against now Senator Scott Brown. But there was a real account in its place; that one was switched with tweet, "Triumph means so many things to so many people SoSH." And...

The SoSH can be traced back to a Boston Red Sox fan forum called "Sons of Sam Horn." TMZ contacted one of the site's moderators who told us one of their faithful members, "on his own ... recreated the Conan on FOX Twitter site and referenced SoSH."

The new show, or any new Conan show, could not start until after September 2010, according to Celebridoodle.com, because Conan's NBC contract prohibits his appearance on any other network until that time.

Stay tuned for more on Conan's planned drinking binge.

Conan O'Brien and NBC to reach settlement deal tonight

Late Night Talk Show Host Conan O'Brien and NBC are close to a settlement deal that would net Conan O'Brien with $8.1 million for his staff, a full $600,000 over the original deal.

According to TMZ.com, NBC will pay $7.5 million to his staff, and while his executive producer will make $4.5 million, it's in addition to the $7.5 million to staff as a whole.

NBC thinks they will make money if Conan walks and Jay Leno takes his spot on The Tonight Show. The reason for this is Jay Leno makes $45 million while Conan would lose $5 million.

Meanwhile, all signs point to a Friday farewell for Conan, according to Forbes, which reports Conan saying:

"Hi, I'm Conan O'Brien, and I'm just three days away from the biggest drinking binge in history."

Stay tuned.

Tornado warning in Santa Cruz, San Jose, Bay Area

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for San Jose and The Bay Area, today, Wednesday. The NWS issued a tornado warning for parts of Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. This happened after wind gusts as fast as 85 mph were reported today.

This blogger has never heard of a tornado warning in The San Francisco Bay Area until today. In Santa Cruz County, California, 36,000 people lost power. Yesterday, Oakland was battered by hail storms. Rain has pelted the San Francisco Bay Area all day long.

According to SFGate.com and the National Weather Service' Dan Reynolds, what we're experiencing is called an El Niño, where thunderstorms over warm weather over the Pacific Ocean shoves clouds across the Pacific and into the West Coast. Since there's no high pressure system to crowd-out the El Niño, it dominates the weather.

So get an umbrella, if you must go outside.

Stay tuned.

Is All White Basketball League a good idea?

Other than the death of Jennifer Lyon, Senator Scott Brown, and Heidi Montag, one of the more controversial topics is the attempt to develop an All White Basketball League. According to Associated Content, a man named Don Moose Lewis is pushing the idea because, as he put it,..

"There's nothing hatred about what we're doing. I don't hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now. Here's a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like. Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch? That's the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction."

But is this, an All White Basketball League, that better direction?

The plan is for the league to be based out of Atlanta, Georgia with all teams owned under a single entity. A $10,000 licensee fee is required to establish an organization in any one of 11 additional cities.

The response to an All White Basketball League has been anything but favorable. Ryan Christopher DeVault wrote:

This just seems like a bad idea all around, and something that won't find as much support as Don Moose Lewis is hoping that it will. While claiming that he isn't racist, isn't it racist in itself to create a league that won't allow people of color to play?

Don "Moose" Lewis is trying to drum up support for his league idea in Augusta, Georgia, where Tiger Woods became the first person of color to win The Masters. Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver thinks the idea is not in the sprit of inclusiveness:

"As a sports enthusiast, I have always supported bringing more sporting activities to Augusta," he said. "However, in this instance I could not support in good conscience bringing in a team that did not fit with the spirit of inclusiveness that I, along with many others, have worked so hard to foster in our city."

What's interesting is Moose" Lewis says he's not racist, but says he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball, and not "street-ball" played by "people of color." In this, "Moose" Lewis failed to mention the number of white players who have mastered the same "street-ball" he says only people of color play.

The other issue is the reverse racism Don Moose Lewis shows by stating that whites essentially don't play basketball well and have to be shielded from black and minority players. But what's more disturbing is Lewis is showing the same segregation active in the 1960s.

The problem with his league idea is that in the diverse 21st Century, players on his all-white league will eventually want to play with black, minority, and European players just to see how good they are. That dynamic alone will cause the league to fail.

Right now, the league is without a place to play. Given the looks of things, it may never get one.

Stay tuned.

Massachusetts Senate Race: Scott Brown won for Brown, not GOP

The Massachusetts Senate Race saw Scott Brown's win the US Senate seat that was occupied by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, but the victory a win for Scott Brown, not for the GOP. Only a charismatic, relatively young, youthful, cocky, and properous-looking white guy could get away with opposing aide to 9-11 volunteer workers and posing nude in Cosmo, yet still fill a seat occupied by the late, legendary Senator Ted Kennedy.

Senator-Elect Scott Brown (R) Mass.

Scott Brown looks like and carries himself like this blogger's good friend and Cal-Berkeley buddy Greg Haywood (who's a Democrat), who also has the great knack for endearing himself to people, sometimes saying ridiculous things, and yet coming away smelling like a rose. CNN's David Gergen is wrong (as usual) because President Barack Obama does not need to "back off" of anything, including health care.

(As a momentary aside, CNN's David Gergen's great at painting a broad-brush concept, yet not filling in the blanks. For example, he says that President Obama must now "Govern from the center". What does that mean? What's the center? How does that square with our economy's structural problems? Gergen doesn't say. But the people on CNN who listen to him come away thinking he's said something smart, whereas this blogger comes away thinking he doesn't really understand the nature of what he's saying.)

Scott Brown said "The independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken." Note, he said nothing at all about the "Republican voice". Why? Because there's is none.

In his acceptance speech, Senator-elect Brown never once referred to the Republican agenda, nor did he use the term "conservative" and that's not by accident.



Scott Brown's cocky, self-assured delivery is what's attractive about him and it has nothing to do with the GOP, and it has more to do with the generation he's part of: The Obama Generation.

It is for that reason President Obama can be more aggressive and yes, run Health Care Reform through Congress, full steam ahead.  Scott Brown is Obama's cattle-prod. His reminder that he serves at the will of the people and not the Democratic Party.

What Obama can use is essentially what will be Scott Brown's downfall: his cocky nature. It's going to rub a lot of people the wrong way and Brown will find himself alone out there if he keeps it up.  But it's that same nature that is a trademark of Obama's rise, so Obama's certainly interested in getting to know someone who is of like minds.

The best move is to give Senator-elect Scott Brown his chance. After all, he won. Moreover, what will happen is this: Senator Scott Brown will save President Barack Obama. Senator Brown will allow President Obama to be more populist, not centrist. There's a school of thought that perhaps President Obama was trapped by his own party - by Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. Obama and Brown are cut from the same generational cloth and that will serve to bind them in a way few predicted.

The key here is basketball. Where problems were once solved in a smoke filled room, now they're settled on the basketball court. That "two-on-two" Senator Brown talked about playing with President Obama - that laughable line - is a foreshadowing of things to come.

The GOP has every reason to fear a new alliance between Obama and Brown, just as the old-line Democrats should be concerned as well. The real change is generational, not political.

Stay tuned.

Haiti Earthquake update: death toll at 70,000 and rising

The latest Haiti Earthquake news has the official death toll at over 70,000 and rising. One week after the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake hit ten miles away from and six miles below the capital city of Port-Au-Prince, Haitians and people from around the World have worked to rescue people trapped below the rubble of collapsed buildings.

In an email to those on The Clinton Foundation email list, Former President Bill Clinton reported:

I wish you could have seen what I saw. Haitians were performing surgeries at night, without lights, with no anesthesia, using vodka to sterilize equipment. It's astonishing what they've been able to accomplish in such devastating conditions.

Many corporations and foundations have donated over $200 million to the Haiti Earthquake Relief effort as of this writing. Around the country, from San Francisco to New York, groups, organizations, and people have established efforts to collect money, food, and clothing to send to Haiti; and more help is on the way.

Operation USA has collected 2 million water purification tablets - almost one for the estimated 3 million who need water. And they plan an airlift of medical supplies scheduled to leave next Tuesday. U.S Troops arrived in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti " in dramatic style", landing on the lawn of the badly damaged Presidential Palace.

The question is how long will it take to rebuild Haiti? The level of destruction and death is on a scale that's just awfully incredible. The question - for which there's not yet an answer - is just how long and how much will it cost to bring Haiti back to health.

Stay tuned.

U.S Unemployment and Underemployment rate at 17 percent

A 17 percent unemployment and underemployment rate. The real problem behind President Barack Obama's surprisingly dropping approval rating and what could be a factor in the Massachusetts Senate Race is a not-so-surprising reason; the combined U.S. unemployment and underemployment rate.

According to Portal Seven and based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U6 Unemployment Rate is:

The U6 unemployment rate counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons."

Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week.

And the "marginally attached workers" include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work.

The age considered for this calculation is 16 years and over

The incredible 17 percent rate translates to almost one in five people either working part time or not at all. While the $787 billion Economic Stimulus program has kept America from plunging deeper into a Depression, it has not helped to stop the seemingly chronic high rate of underemployment and unemployment. It's too small.

The problem is that at the time the Stimulus bill was past, it represented at best two to three percent of Gross Domestic Product. But GDP was falling at a projected rate of eight percent per year at the time. While the Stimulus has worked to slow that to a halt, the rate of growth required to make up for the fall, at 3 percent last quarter, is not large enough to counter the economy's collapse. In other words, we still have not enough new jobs for the people who need them.

One solution is to do what some have suggested and that's to give American taxpayers under $100,000 $5,000 each or as one GOP Congressman suggested a $20,000 tax credit. The idea is to stimulate consumption which then causes business growth and employment.

Whatever the case, a taxpayer bailout has not been done, and the economy is not improving. If something's not done, and soon, Democrats will lose more than a few seats in the House and Senate.

Bill name Chan Gailey coach over Leslie Frazier; why?

The Buffalo Bills took Chan Gailey as their new head coach and to replace the fired Dick Jauron. Chan Gailey brings an 18 win, 14 loss NFL record to Buffalo, and a reputation of being a conservative offensive coordinator.



The hiring of Chan Gailey is shocking in the wake of the way Minnesota Vikings Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier's "minority token interview" by the Seattle Seahawks and now apparently The Buffalo Bills.

The NFL now must answer for The Rooney Rule, because it appears NFL owners outside of a few, have a desire to limit the number of coaches in the league who happen to be black. Chan Gailey is not a proven winner; his selection as head coach is questionable. ESPN's John Clayton writes that the Bills wanted "An offensive mind" with "head coaching experience."

Leslie Frazier has a better record with the Vikings as assistant head coach than Chan Gailey does at 18 and 14, and the Vikings 34 to 3 NFC First Round Divisional Playoff win just helps his credentials. Chan Gailey is seen by many NFL fans as "conservative", take this commenter over at the Chicago Sun-Times blog who wrote this before Gailey was selected by the Bills:

Well at least the (Chicago) Bears are looking at Chan Gailey, one of the most conservative coordinators ever. He is highly mediocre, but suits the role of coordinator who only gets one or two year contracts before he is fired. By that criteria he meets every qulification that Lovie is looking for. Mediocre, Conservative, Doesn't last long with a team, easy to fire, easy to hire, attacks a defense by not attacking a defense. But most think Gailey will end up with the Bills.

With this evaluation, the Buffalo Bills must explain to their fans why Chan Gailey really was their choice. If it was to escape a "Rooney Rule" hire, as Leslie Frazier would have been, then "The Rooney Rule" itself is to be reevaluated. Moreover, it appears something is going on here.

While Sports Illustrated's Peter King mentioned the Chan Gailey hire is "easy to knock" because of his "conservative" offense, he failed to mention The Rooney Rule issue, or even a single African American NFL coach that the Bills could have interviewed. King says that Gailey "took a team in decline and staved it off for as long as he could" - that's called being a "coach killer". A "coach killer" is good enough to field a competitive team, but not good enough to build a championship team.

Stay tuned.

Scott Brown for Senate supporters accused of sexism

The Massachusetts Senate Race between Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley and State Senator Scott Brown has taken an ugly turn according to The Boston Globe. In an article by Joan Vennochi, Scott Brown's supporters are shown as displaying a large degree of sexism.

In talking about Coakley, a Brown supporter yelled "Shove a curling iron up her butt", regarding a controversial sex abuse case. But Brown is reported to have said "We can do this" in response. This video, circulating the Internet features Scott Brown making the statement:



While Scott Brown does say that, and it may be just a cry to supporters that they can win, there's no evidence that he took time to say "We're not going to do that."

The "curling iron rape remark", as the NY Daily News called it, has gathered steam and could sink Scott Brown's campaign.

Stay tuned.

Mayor Ron Dellums and Port of Oakland - Michael Lighty tie breaker?

[Aimee Allison - OaklandSeen] Mayor Dellums is finally using his city-chartered right to break a council tie by casting a vote for his appointee Michael Lighty to the Port Commission. The Mayor, who recently brokered a deal with port truckers and the state over tighter emissions regulations, is finally playing his hand at strong mayor.

The Port Commission is one of the most powerful groups in city politics, and plays a key role in approving development project like the BART extension and housing, environmental fights as in the ongoing stand-off between truckers and the port, and jobs - as in whether local people are going to get the 6,000 jobs that will be created by the project at the old army base.

More from Sanjiv Handa, East Bay News Service:

Mayor Ron Dellums is still planning on attending the Oakland City Council
meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19, to cast the tie-breaking vote approving the nomination
of Michael Lighty to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Oakland.It has
been so long since a mayoral tie-breaking vote was cast that many, including
some Council members, are rusty on the process.

Pursuant to the new
rules of procedure adopted effective May 1, 2003, mayoral tie-breakers appear on
the non-consent portion of the Council agenda — which cannot be called prior to
7 p.m.

Tuesday's Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. with open forum,
consent calendar items, closed session report, and ceremonial items. Four
ceremonial presentations, including two lengthy retirement honors, will be heard
during the 6 p.m. portion.

Deputy Police Chief Dave Kozicki and Chief
Technology Officer Bob Glaze are scheduled to be recognized for their long
careers with the city. Both retired as of Dec. 2009.

Councilmember Larry
Reid was quoted in local media as saying he might change his vote. Two local
blogs also indicated changes in the voting lineup, without citing names,

The official meeting agenda states:

Rule 29 [of City Council
Rules of Procedure] provides the following regarding the procedure: "Council and
public discussion is permitted on the item to be voted on by the Mayor; however,
Council members cannot change their vote unless the item has been properly
noticed for reconsideration. The Mayor must appear at the Council meeting to
cast his vote."
If the Mayor does not cast the tie breaking vote, the motion
fails.

The votes, according to draft minutes of the Jan. 5, 2010,
Council meeting was:

4 AYES — Kaplan; Kernighan; Nadel; Quan
4 NOES
— Brooks; De La Fuente; Reid; Brunner

Many speakers are expected to sign
up for the item. It is likely speaker time will be reduced to one minute per
person.

Upon approval, Lighty can take the oath of office on the spot if
he makes arrangements with the City Clerk's Office — or the next day in the
Clerk's office during regular business hours.

The Port has cancelled its
Jan. 20 Audit, Budget and Finance Committee meeting, which is chaired by Tony
Batarse, whom Lighty would replace. The next Port Commission meeting is not
scheduled until Feb. 2.

Scott Brown, who snubbed 9-11 workers, posed nude, ahead of Coakley?

Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown, who voted against providing assistance to 9-11 workers, is reportedly ahead of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy.



But all of the news organizations reporting the lead are conservative: Fox News, The Washington Examiner, and Politico have Scott Brown ahead in their polls; the liberal Daily Kos calls the race a tossup and has many newspapers endorsing Coakley.

Still, it's questionable that Massachusetts voters would actually replace Ted Kennedy with a man who not only voted against providing assistance to Massachusetts 9-11 aid workers, but posed nude and has a questionable record of legislative experience.

The Attleboro Sun Chronicle wrote this endorsement:

The candidates in Tuesday's special U.S. Senate election have given a pretty clear idea of how they would vote on the major questions of the day. Martha Coakley is right on more of the big issues, mainly health care and the economy. We endorse her for election.

As the state's first female attorney general, Democrat Coakley since 2007 has proven herself an effective administrator. Throughout her career as a lawyer and district attorney she has exhibited rare skills in mediation and conciliation - the arts of finding middle ground for divergent viewpoints. It will serve her, and Massachusetts, well in the Senate.

(snip)

There's much to be said for endorsing a local candidate. However, we have an insurmountable problem. To paraphrase words Brown applied to his Democratic opponent, "he's a nice man, but he's wrong on all the issues."

Brown initially took a militant stand against gay marriage, which we have consistently supported. While he has softened his position some, his outlook on equal rights in a private matter remains worrisome. After voicing support in this space for health care reform, we can't very well back Brown when he is promising to submarine national health care on his own as "the 41st Republican senator." We are left instead to wonder how he sees himself as a fitting successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health care reform a signature issue, while planning to spoil the best chance for reform the nation has ever had.

The vote is today; stay tuned.

Guatemala, Venezuela, Argentina earthquakes after Haiti Earthquake

It's one week after the Haiti Earthquake and the World has seen earthquakes in Argentina, Venezuela and most recently Guatemala.

This AP video shows the eruption of a quake in Guatemala City, Guatemala:



It was 6.0 on the Richter Scale and rocked Guatemala and parts of El Salvador on Monday, but no damage was reported.

On Sunday a 6.3 earthquake was reported in the South Atlantic, just near Argentina. The Latin American Herald Tribune reports:

The earthquake occurred some 380 kilometers (236 miles) south-southeast of Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, in the Drake Passage at a depth of 25 kilometers (15 miles).

Again, no word of damage or a tsunami warning.

Venezuela was struck by a 5.6 Richter Scale earthquake, Friday of last week, and right on the heels of the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake. According to NPR (National Public Radio), it hit near the coastal town of Carupano, Venezuela, which is just 813 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.


View Larger Map

A point six miles below and 10 miles from Port-au-Prince was the epicenter of Tuesday's 7.0 Haiti Earthquake, which left thousands of victims.

The US Geological Survey reports that the quake hit 7.3 miles below the ground in a region called Sucre, Venezuela.

There's no word of damage; just reports of people scared and shaken up.

The last large quake in Venezuela was in September 2008; it was 6.2 on the Richter Scale.

There's no word if these quake events in South and Central America and the Carribean - all close to each other - are in some way related, as of this writing. But the timing alone would seem a good reason to investigate what's happening.

Stay tuned.

2010 Golden Globe Awards winners press conference

UPDATE: 2010 Golden Globe Awards was the focus of house parties like this one:



The 2010 Golden Globe Awards show was a success Sunday, with great speeches and well deserved awards by many, most notably Jeff Bridges.

This blogger took MLK day off not just to rest, but to wait for the Hollywood Foreign Press to upload its videos. Thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press' YouTube channel, we can see the back stage press at work, talking with the winners.  

While by Tuesday, many will have seen video clips of the acceptance speeches, what's not seen to as great a degree are the press conferences that go on back stage.   Some of the questions were interesting and others were controversial: two concerning Tiger Woods went unanswered.

Each video is presented in the order of the list of winners.

FILM AWARDS - Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

Best Picture, Drama
Avatar WINNER
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Avatar Director James Cameron's speech:



Best Picture, Musical/Comedy
The Hangover WINNER
500 Days of Summer
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

The Hangover - cast presentation:



Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar WINNER
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds



Best Actor, Musical/Comedy
Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes WINNER
Matt Damon, The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 500 Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Robert Downey Jr:



Best Actress, Musical/Comedy
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia WINNER
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated

Meryl Streep on how she "becomes" a character:



Best Actress, Drama
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side WINNER
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Sandra Bullock talks about The Blind Side:



Best Actor, Drama
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart WINNER
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers

Jeff Bridges on why he turned away from Crazy Heart, at first:



Film, Best Supporting Actress
Mo’Nique, Precious WINNER
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Mo'Nique on her acceptance speech:



Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds WINNER
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Christoph Waltz:



Best Screenplay
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air WINNER
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers, It’s Complicated
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Film
Up WINNER
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess & The Frog



Best Song
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart WINNER
“Cinema Italiano,” Nine
“I Want to Come Home,” Everybody’s Fine
“I Will See You,” Avatar
“Winter,” Brothers

Best Score
Up WINNER
The Informant!
Avatar
A Single Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Michael Giacchino talks about being in the spotlight..after a long pause as no one opened with a question:



Best Foreign Language Film
The White Ribbon WINNER
Baria
Broken Embraces
The Maid
A Prophet

The White Ribbon interview:




Cecil B. DeMille Award
Martin Scorsese:



TV AWARDS
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Mad Men (AMC) WINNER
Big Love (HBO)
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
True Blood (HBO)

Mad Men Cast question and answer:



BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Glee (FOX) WINNER
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
Modern Family (ABC)
The Office (NBC)

The Cast of Glee:



BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Grey Gardens (HBO) WINNER
Georgia O’Keefe (Lifetime)
Into the Storm (HBO)
Little Dorrit (PBS)
Taking Chance (HBO)



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Toni Collette, United States of Tara WINNER
Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Lea Michele, Glee

Toni Collette:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock WINNER
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Michael C. Hall, Dexter WINNER
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love

Michael C. Hall on why this season took off, the impact of John Lithgow, and cancer:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
DRAMA
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife WINNER
Glenn Close, Damages
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Julianna Margulies slaps down an awful question about Tiger Woods' wife, Elin:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Lithgow, Dexter WINNER
Michael Emerson, Lost
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
William Hurt, Damages
Jeremy Piven, Entourage

John Lithgow on his role in Dexter as "The Trinity Killer":



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love WINNER
Jane Adams, Hung
Rose Byrne, Damages
Jane Lynch, Glee
Janet McTeer, Into the Storm



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance WINNER
Kenneth Branagh, Wallander: One Step Behind
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Endgame
Brendan Gleeson, Into the Storm
Jeremy Irons, Georgia O’Keefe

Kevin Bacon:



Chloë Sevigny also bats down another weird question about Tiger Woods:



BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens WINNER
Joan Allen, Georgia O’Keefe
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens
Anna Paquin, The Courageous Heart of Irena
Sendler
Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby

Drew Barrymore:



Does all of this mean a clean-swwep for Avatar all the way to the Academy Awards? Stay tuned.

The 2010 Golden Globes - Sophia Loren wows the World

The 2010 Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press' annual party for the Hollywood entertainment industry, just got its hot meter tuned up. Sophia Loren introduced the category of Best Foreign Film and said "The Golden Globe goes to The White Ribbon."

Now Mad Men just won Best TV Series Drama, bringing the stars to the stage.

MoNique

Looking back, MoNique won Best Supporting Actress for her role on Precious; it was her second in as many weeks, having won The Critics Choice Award in the same category last week. No word on questions about the many events she skipped last winter.

Robert DeNiro on Martin Scorsese: "He eats, sleeps, and drinks film.  I here there's a YouTube of him sleeping with film"

More soon. 7:15 PM

James Cameron wins Best Director for Avatar, and beats his wife Katheryn Bigelow for the prize.

And to the shock of many at the Golden Globes event I'm attending, Glee won "Best Television Series: Comedy"

Jeff Bridges winning Best Actor in A Motion Picture Drama for Crazy Hearts produced a much-deserved standing ovation.  He's produced a body of work that's just incredible.

Stay tuned.

Miley Cyrus 17, not engaged to Liam Hemsworth, 20

The buzz is was that Miley Cyrus was wearing a ring that some believed meant she was engaged to her boyfriend, Liam Hemsworth. The relationship, like many aspects of Miley Cyrus life as a pop-culture star - from the stripper pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards, to her concert crotch-grab dancing - is controversial. Liam Hemsworth is 20 and Miley Cyrus is 17.

Miley Cyrus

There's some question as to the legality of such a relationship. The blog comments at Just Jared Jr. focus on the fact that Miley Cyrus is just 17:

lily @ 10:42 am on 01/05/2010
OMG he is 20!, i didn’t know that. i don’t think it ok for a 17 year old dating a 20 year old but it is that a legal?

But to many of Miley Cyrus' fans, it doesn't matter:

Katie g! @ 11:25 am on 01/05/2010
=) i love the two of them together, and she looks kind of tan, and i love her hair. all in all sher looks happy and healthy

Still:

Sketch @ 11:54 am on 01/05/2010
@lily:
If he is 20 then it would be illegal for them to have sex. Does that answer your question?

According to Avert.org, the legal age of consent varies with states in America: in California it's is 18, but in Georgia, it's 16; Miley Cyrus is 17. So Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth would have to carry a check chart with them to make sure they weren't doing it in the wrong state.

But with all of this, Miley Cyrus is not engaged to Liam Hemsworth. Miley Cyrus' representative told People Magazine that while she's sporting a new ring, she's not engaged at all.

Cowboys vs Vikings - Brett Favre torches Dallas Cowboys

In today's Cowboys vs Vikings NFL Divisional Playoff game, Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Brett Favre is torching the Dallas Cowboys, having just completed a 45 yard touchdown to Wide Receiver Sidney Rice. Brett Favre is 12 of 20 for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Vikings are ahead of the Cowboys, 27 to 3.

The keys to the game are the quick strikes to single-covered Vikings receivers by Brett Favre. Both of Sidney Rice's touchdown catches were against single coverage while he was running "up" patterns.

It's 7:27 in the fourth quarter as of this writing. Green Bay Packers fans everywhere and watching this game are wondering what might have been. The Packers, under their signal caller Aaron Rogers, lost to the Arizona Cardinals last week.

If the Vikings win this game, they will go on to play the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Championship Game next week. The Saints beat the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday.

Stay tuned.

Gaines Adams dead at 26: 2007 NFL Draft star called "fine young man"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears Defensive End Gaines Adams is dead at 26 years old. According to ESPN, Gaines Adams died of cardiac arrest. The Greenville, South Carolina native and Clemson Football standout, was a star at the 2007 NFL Draft.

Gaines Adams at the NFL Combine

The NFL flew Gaines Adams to New York City as part of a select group of NFL Draft-bound college stars including LSU and now Oakland Raiders Quarterback JaMarcus Russell, Notre Dame and now Cleveland Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn, Georgia Tech and now Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson, and Oklahoma and now Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson. The videos below capture the sprit of Gaines Adams at the 2007 NFL Draft:

At the Chelsea Piers Luncheon:



At Radio City Music Hall, outside:



Gaines Adams was the 4th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft by the then-Jon Gruden-coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led all defensive rookies with six sacks in 2007. He would go on to become one of the most effective defensive players in the NFL, with a promising future that's now cut short.

Marcia Kelley-Clark, Chief Deputy Coroner for Greenwood County, said that no one in Gaines Adams Family was aware of a medical condition.

"I remember him at the 2007 Draft as a fine young man," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Our condolences to Gaines' family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss."

6.3 magnitude earthquake hits Argentina after Haiti and Venezuela

The latest news is a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Argentina after the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake and the 5.6 Venezuela Earthquake, and all less than a week apart.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake was centered 354 km southeast of Ushuaia, Argentina, the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, at a depth of 21 km, or about 10.5 miles down. The earthquake hit at 8am local time (1200 GMT, 8pm Singapore time). Reuters reports that no tsunami warning was immediately issued by the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

No word of damage as of this writing.

Argentina was planning to send a plane of supplies and aid for Haiti.

Selena Gomez million dollar contract contains problem

TMZ.com reports that pop star Selena Gomez, while not getting "Miley Cyrus money", is "worth millions at 17" and points to the earnings for the movie she's working on, Ramona, at $65,000 (net), and then...

if the movie gets huge box office numbers, Fox Pictures has to fork over more cash -- Selena could collect anywhere from $250,000 to $1 million extra depending on how much it makes over the cost of production.

That's the problem.

TMZ's account reveals a "net", rather than "gross" contract. The rule in entertainment is never settle for a "net" contract; make sure you get money before production costs are paid.  Jack Nicholson learned this when he signed on to play "The Joker" in Batman.   His gross percentage revenue contract paid him $60 million.

Selena Gomez

What could happen in Selena Gomez case is the production numbers could be adjusted to avoid paying Selena Gomez the back end money she could get.  If the production cost is greater than revenue, then the movie fails to show a profit and Gomez doesn't not get the extra money.

But if Selena Gomez just took, say, 10 percent of the movie's revenue, she would get that, period, profit or not.

The the future, Selena should make sure she gets a Jack Nicholson-style contract, otherwise she will always feels that she's not getting what she's worth.

She would be right.

Oakland breaking up Friendly Cab's monopoly

The City of Oakland is in the process of breaking up the monopoly long-held by Oakland's Friendly Cab. According to a source who did not wish to be named, last week on Friday, Oakland Police Officers took taxi medallions away from Yellow Cab cars owned by Friendly Cab. The source reports that the cabs will be offered to the public "sometime around January 25th."

According to the source, Surrender Singh, the owner of Friendly Cab, was making as much as $250,000 a week from operations; that's $12 million a year. But allegedly Friendly Cab was "abusive" to its drivers," said the source, who did not elaborate on the claim, "Something needed to be done."

Before the City of Oakland's action to end their monopoly, you had to go to Friendly Cab to lease a taxi and the cost is $65 per day. All of the expenses are paid by the driver.

Friendly Cab has 100 cars, so the 11 Yellow Cabs that will be lost should not be a large impact on its fleet. But it's not clear how far the City will go in stripping Friendly Cab's fleet. It's the beginning of the end of Friendly Cab's vice grip on Oakland's cab industry. The overall objective, according to an obscure sentence in the Oakland Wikipedia entry is "to increase the supply of taxis by increasing the number of taxi licenses."

The problem is cars are needed to cause this to happen; they will come from downsizing Friendly Cab's fleet.

Perhaps this will mean better overall cab service, more cabs operating all day and night as many Oaklanders have wanted, and an end to the kind of driver abuse this blogger suffered last year:



Stay tuned.