Medal Monitor

The games are over and shut down for another four years. The final tally of medals shows that the U.S. did not disappoint (110 medals to China's 100 and Russia's 72). China did lead the U.S. in the number of gold medals (51 to 36).

Hope everyone enjoyed the games.

peace,

paul

Medal Monitor

The U.S. has a healthy lead over China in number of medals received. With 102 medals to China's 89, the U.S. looks poised to end in the lead as the Olympics wind down. In third, is the currently controversial Russia. China does lead the U.S. in gold medals (47 to 31), however, the red, white and blue look to prevail.

peace,

paul

This is just silly...Real-life Quidditch.

Enjoy,
paul


http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/v/9395800

Freaky friends

Click on this link to see Yoda, the cat with four ears and the two-headed turtle.

Enjoy...


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/08/20/ac.shot.tues.cnn

Medal monitor

The U.S. still leads China in overall medals but only by one. China is, however, in the lead with gold medals (45 to the U.S.'s 26) and Russia continues to hold the #3 spot in the medal race.

More to come....

paul

heat packin' mama

Here's one 85-year-old you don't want to mess with. Leda Smith from Port Marion, PA, heard someone break into her home, proceeded to go to her bedroom to retrieve her 22 caliber revolver and then hold it on the 17-year-old as she forced him to call 911. Not the first house to be hit in the neighborhood, Smith's is probably the last for the young man who will be charged with attempted burglary and other related offenses.

See, who says Grandma can't be tough?

peace,

paul

Tuesday Temper Tantrum

I heard a news story recently about Lawrence Forbes "Larry" King, the 15-year-old from Oxnard, California who was shot by a classmate after he asked the classmate to be his valentine.

Apparently, King had been dressing in girls clothing and had become very aggressive in coming on to guys but that doesn't mean he deserved to be shot. Not only that but the school district didn't enforce the dress code with King because of a California law that bans gender discrimination. Come on, they could have done something and what's more, the people that ran the group home that King was living in should have done something. This boy was obviously troubled and trying to discover who he was. He should have had some help.

This is a tragedy that could have been avoided if the adults in the equation had been doing their job properly. How sad that a life was cut short because of ignorance and indifference.

We all need to be more vigilant when it comes to education and realizing that teenagers are going through one of the most difficult times in their lives...puberty and self-discovery.

peace,

paul

Medal monitor

Day 11 of the Olympics and the U.S. is still ahead (at least in overall medals). Leading China by 3 with 79 medals, the U.S. only has 26 gold to China's 43 and Russia is in 3rd place with 42 medals.

And, yes, Michael Phelps has broken Mark Spitz's record of the most gold medals in one Olympics.

stay tuned...

paul

cool pops

I have no idea whether or not this is real but I'm anxious to try it.

Enjoy....

paul


http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/portable/video/x5odhh_pop-corn-telephone-portable-microon_news%C2%A0%C2%A0

DVD of the week

Crime tale: Anyone thinking that Oscar nominee Ellen Page (Juno) can only play the young, acerbic, smarter than most adults role should check out the Showtime movie An American Crime (R). Directed by Tommy O'Haver, Crime tells the story of Indianapolis housewife Gertrude Baniszewski who holds teen Sylvia Likens prisoner, tortures her and eventually murders her. Page plays the beleaguered Likens and it's refreshing to see her in such a wildly different role.

The movie is based on court testimony during the 1966 trial and also stars Oscar nominee Catherine Keener and James Franco. The movie has some really uncomfortable scenes of abuse and torture and is a must-see for those itching to play 6 degrees with Ellen Page.

peace,

paul

Medal Monitor-Day 8

Leading with 54 medals (16 gold) is the good ole U.S.A.
In 2nd place is China with 47, 27 of those being gold and third for the bronze is Australia with 25 (7 being gold).

More to come...

peace,
paul

What the heck is it?

Sightings have been reported as far south as Chile and as far north as Maine. Its name is spanish for goat sucker and it's believed to be an urban legend. However, new sightings of the chupacabra have surfaced in Dewitt County in south Texas. Thanks to a Sheriff's Deputy, the creature that got its name because it attacks and drinks the blood of livestock, particularly goats, a new video is making its rounds. The creature is about the size of a coyote and has a long snout (like a pig?). When sightings first occurred back in the 1990's, livestock was found with small puncture wounds in their necks and their blood drained (sounds like a very non-vegetarian Dracula).

Click the link below to watch the video and make sure the lights are on.

peace,

paul

http://www.inquisitr.com/2350/blood-sucking-chupacabra-spotted-in-texas/

More controversy from China

It's beginning to look like the Beijing Games are going to be synonymous with inflammatory controversy. A new ad for a Spanish courier company shows the Spanish Olympic basketball team posing for the picture while making their eyes slanted. The photo, (shown on the left) taken before the games began, appears at first glance to be racist not to mention childish but dig a little deeper and the story gets more interesting. The ad is sponsored by the Spanish courier company Seur but Spain's team is also sponsored by the Li-Ning Footwear company...which is a Chinese company. The company was founded by Li-Ning who was lifted along the top of the Beijing National Stadium during the finale of the Opening Ceremony.

Racist or not, it would appear that perhaps the players should have left well enough alone or perhaps we should all just stop looking to be offended and get on with our lives.

peace,

paul

viral video

Tori & Dean...together again as some really famous couples. This is a bit weird.

Enjoy,

paul

http://television.aol.com/tvtop5/toris-music-video-tori-and-dean/2196201?icid=100214839x1207645465x1200382081

Medal Monitor

The U.S. is still leading in awarded medals on day 5 of the Olympics. With 29 medals (10 of those gold), we're still 3 ahead of China and 17 ahead of South Korea. However, China leads in the gold category with 17.

More to come....

peace,
paul

Monday Mantra

Follow this and you'll be garbage free and smell nice too!

Law of the Garbage Truck

I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.
Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...
'Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.'

peace,

paul

Talk about a massive appendage. This newscaster from Des Moines, Iowa got way more than he bargained for during this news piece. Enjoy...

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/08/09/vo.snake.in.pants.kcci

Paris for Prez...Please run, please...

The scary thing about seeing this video is that I would actually consider voting for her. The second video is actually the first video that was released; it's a John McCain ad and Paris's ad is in response to McCain's. Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HeealouOeQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0r--E7lsYw&feature=related

Medal Count

Recapping the 2008 Olympic Medals-

China leads with 14, including 9 gold medals...
The U.S. is right behind with 12, including 3 gold medals...
and South Korea comes in 3rd with 8, including 4 gold medals.

Stay tuned...

paul

China Grove

Today is the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and it promises to be an extravaganza. Things did get off to a somewhat shaky start earlier this week as some of the American athletes from the U.S. cycling squad arrived in China wearing black respiratory masks. Yes, we all know that the air quality in China isn't exactly the best and the athletes probably didn't mean any disrespect (I'll give them the benefit of the doubt) but come on, does one really want to walk around looking like Michael Jackson?

The athletes did apologize though not from any pressure from the IOC. The IOC did say, however, that athletes cannot wear masks in the sports venues.

More controversy erupted thanks to swimming gold medalist Amanda Beard's anti-fur campaign poster. In the poster, Beard stands nude in front of the American flag.

As for the games, over 4 billion people are expected to watch, 91,000 watching the opening ceremony alone. Taking place at National Stadium, over 31,000 fireworks are expected to be set off. Now that's a lot of bang!

Let the games begin!

peace,

paul

Spaghetti Snake

Here's an amazing fact: There are over 3,100 known snake species. Scientists have just discovered another one under a rock in Barbados. That's a good place for a rock. I wonder if snakes ask each other, "Where have you been living? Under a rock?" like humans do.

Anyway, the species known as Leptotyphlops carlae, is thinner than a strand of spaghetti and only four inches long. It was partly discovered by Pennsylvania State University biologist Blair Hedges; he also helped discover the world's smallest frog and lizard. No word on whether they are looking for the worlds smallest spider.

Have a great day.

peace,
paul

Radio Raves

Who says there's nothing good on the radio?

Here are three songs I'm really enjoying on the radio; satellite and regular.

Katy Perry's fun and anthemic "I Kissed A Girl". Set to a pounding beat to lyrics such as "I kissed a girl and I liked, hope my boyfriend don't mind it." this hit song (which has been #1 on billboard for several weeks now) is summer pop fun at its best. The 24-year-old grew up with two pastors for parents and clearly has been itching to "rebel" for some time now. This is a great song but I'm waiting for the male version of it. Come on, we all know men like to see two women going at it but what about a guy-on-guy (but it's just for fun) song?

Another song I'm enjoying is the song "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade. It's one of those emo-pop ballads that are all over the radio anymore but this one stands out because singer John Vessely's voice is so plaintive and clear and because the song talks about "the perfect love" and falling for that love all over again like it was the first day. And this is not a group, it's a solo act much like Five For Fighting was (it was singer John Ondrasik).

The third song I'd like to mention is a song by the group O.A.R. I had heard of them before but they never stood out to me until now. They've had six studio albums and this group from Maryland has a hit right now with the song "Shattered." This "I-can't-leave-you-no-matter-how-many-times-I-try" song is upbeat with the sadness that is apparent in any great alt-pop song.

One other song I like is yet another ballad by Leona Lewis. The follow-up to her #1 hit Bleeding Love is called Better In Time. It's all about how losing love (break-up, death, disappearance?...doesn't matter) and how at first we may think we've done something to deserve the loss but ultimately we move on and learn to live again though the pain is always there. Lewis's whole album is good in fact. Don't have it? Go out and buy it...NOW!!!

Anyway, that's what I'm enjoying and crank it up every time one of those songs comes on. Oh, and by the way, Lindsay Lohan is gay. Great! She ranks right up there with Cynthia Nixon, Heaher Matarazzo, Portia de Rossi and Jane Lynch. Yeah right. Actually, Lohan isn't that bad of an actress. Now if only she could clean up her reputation.

peace,

paul

Child abuse?

A 9-year-old girl from New Zealand was made a ward of the court last week so that she could legally have her name changed. The girl, Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii (yes, that's what her parents named her). The judge, concerned about the names parents have been dubbing their children, is allowing the girl to change it. Other names that parents have given their children include Benson and Hedges (given to twins). Some names have not been allowed such as Fish and Chips, Sex Fruit and Twisty Poi which is a Polynesian cuisine.

It's just as bad here in the states: In July, an Illinois man was alllowed to legally change his first name to "In God" and his last name to "We Trust". Give me a break.

Jennifer Jones, a mother of two from Maryland, named her daughter, now 12, Indiana. Their son's name, named by his father on a dare, is Dow. This is not funny. Children have a hard enough time as it is in life; why add to their stress? Naming a child is something to be taken seriously and while, yes it might be great to joke around about it, put something "real" on the birth certificate.

peace,

paul

DVD of the week

Visiting musicians: The 2007 Israeli film The Band's Visit (PG-13) is a touching story of 8 Egyptian musicians from the Egyptian Police Force who travel to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab cultural center.

After landing in the wrong town, the musicians discover some local hospitality along with some challenges and self-discoveries.

There is some English but it's mostly Arabic and Hebrew subtitles. It's definitely worth watching and a nice respite from the action/bang-em-up movies currently playing at the theater. Plus, you can watch it at home.

Enjoy,

paul

Manly Mama

USC linebacker Ray Maualuga is one bad mother...but he's not all tough. He does have a softer side to him as the following pictures attest. Check out his pretty pink panties.

Bits & Pieces

Here are some stories you might enjoy:

Idiotic move of the week? A man in Canada won $3.6 million dollars in the lottery. Why is he an idiot? Because he won in August of 2007!!! He waited a year to cash in the ticket because he wanted to "reflect" on how he was going to spend the money. He now has $100,000 less because that's how much interest he could have accrued if he had immediately cashed in the ticket and put the money into a savings account or certificate of deposit.

Jesus is alive...in Indiana: Yes, Jesus is living in the fur of a cat named Sissy. Click the link below to see the vid. Wonder when we'll see the cat being sold on e-bay.

http://www.maniacworld.com/jesus-found-in-cats-fur.html

Enjoy & peace,

paul