Category: What-everrr!


Hollywood must be a tough place to work. Seems like so many creative people get blown away from the pressure … or the drugs.

Since I am a big science-fiction fan, I’m sure the story below about Carrie Fisher will be quoted to me as an example of how bad things are in the genre. But the sad truth is, this isn’t anything new in the entertainment industry.

Here’s the story:

“Princess Leia did Cocaine on Empire Set”

Star Wars‘ actress Carrie Fisher admitted Monday to taking cocaine on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, saying she didn’t even like the drug but was intent on getting high.

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Folks:

Please don’t feel I’ve deserted you all. It’s just that real life gets in the way of blogging sometimes. I’m working on a couple of projects that require some time away from blogging, but I will be back as soon as I can!  Thanks!

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After a nice, warm, leisurely weekend, what do we have to look forward to here in the Metro DC area? Traffic!

Vacations are over, school is in session, life is back to normal–according to the Washington Post. Here’s the link, but feel free to read the story below:

>>It’s ba-ack: D.C. area drivers, prepare for ‘Terrible Traffic Tuesday’

By Ashley Halsey III

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 6, 2010; 1:00 PM

How about if everyone takes Tuesday off? What, you say you can’t? Then join the crowd — of about 1.5 million who plan to drive to work alone after celebrating the traditional end to summer on Labor Day.

The respite from obscene traffic congestion that was July and August is over, a fact punctuated by the dawn of what the local American Automobile Association likes to call “Terrible Traffic Tuesday.”

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I try not to let the negative news stories dominate my perspective, as I mentioned yesterday, but every once in a while, I feel something must be put under the spotlight.

In my 100th entry, I talked about diversity and how I believe in that word. Unfortunately, some people take the word to mean only one group can be racist, and another can’t. Sadly, here’s an example of black-on-white violence in the heartlands:

>>Police say it’s ‘very possible’ attacks near fairgrounds had racial overtones

Des Moines police are trying to determine what led to a series of attacks outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds over the weekend that included the assault of two police officers.

At least three people were arrested Friday through early Monday morning. Other arrests may occur as officers investigate the incidents, officials said.

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It’s really easy to let the negative be your focus and even your obsession. When something happens, it is so appealing to say how hard something was to get done or how imperfect the other person you have been dealing with is. But I just don’t believe that accomplishes much. In fact, I think it makes getting good things done all the harder!

For today’s entry, I was scouting through the news to see what caught my eye, and there was nothing but awful stuff–things that make me feel dirty even considering mentioning on here. So, when I came across a really good news story, it brightened my whole day!

Here is that story as it appeared on AOL.com:

>>3-Year-Old Saves Dad By Walking To Fire Station For Help

(Aug. 23) — When her father collapsed in their living room, 3-year-old Alesaundra Tafoya knew what to do.

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I was born in Scranton and raised in Taylor, Pennsylvania, just outside that city. It used to be a coal mining area, but the coal ran out decades ago. The town is always asking, “Now what?”

Like every region, that area has developed there own way of speaking. Below is a video about Heynabonics:

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Over at SciFiPulse.Net, I wrote a Comix Portal column about a child psychologist’s dislike for Iron Man and some other recent super-heroes. One of the things that I disagreed with the lady about was the apparent feeling that children (particularly boys) are way too stupid to figure out that bad behavior shouldn’t be emulated on their own–they need comics to preach to them about what to do and what not to do.

Right on the heels of that story comes another one about groups failing to understand just how smart and imaginative kids can be. Here’s an article about protesting toys of the Fantastic Four now being given out at McDonalds restaurants by Dan at themovieblog.com:

>>Alright, so I stumbled upon a press release for CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) while reading a few articles on Cinematical’s website this morning.

The CCFC is targeting Happy Meals at McDonalds with good reason, their goal is to prevent McDonalds from using toys to entice kids into eating at their restaurants. Now so far I’m on board somewhat, I do think it’s a good idea to stop McDonalds from using toys as bait for children but then again if a kid does eat the crap at McDonalds don’t you think they deserve at the very least a cheap toy as a reward for keeping it down?

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You just can’t make this stuff up!

Now, I know that being a guy means that we can get nervous when we are involved in something important. But read the story below to see just how bad a situation can get, from wbztv.com:

>>$9,000 Engagement Ring Lost During Proposal

When Matt Cawley popped the big question to girlfriend Stacey Scanlon, it’s fair to say it could’ve gone better.

“Just another chapter in the book,” said Cawley.  “I was like ‘Here we go!'”

“I feel like it’s a story that’ll be passed along in our families forever,” added Scanlon.

They’re talking about the loss of a $9,000 diamond engagement ring — a family heirloom.

Cawley’s plan was to surprise Scanlon with the ring during a romantic walk along Lighthouse Jetty in South Yarmouth on Monday morning.

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I have wondered aloud in this blog if we were ever going to get along. Every day, I seem to read something that adds doubt that it will ever truly happen.

Take, for instance, what happened on late Friday night/early Saturday morning on the Washington, DC, Metro (subway system). Apparently a huge fight broke out, although no one seems to be reporting why it happened. Here’s the story from the Washington Post:

>>Injuries, arrests after massive 70-person Metro brawl

By Martin Weil

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 7, 2010; 12:46 AM

At least four people were injured and three arrested late Friday night after a brawl in the Metro system involving as many as 70 people, a Metro spokeswoman said.

The brawl apparently began about 11 p.m. at the Gallery Place station and then continued in the L’Enfant Plaza station, according to Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato.

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Just when you thought you’d seen everything, a story like this on Yahoo comes along:

>>Parachuting donkey shocks Russian beachgoers

MOSCOW (AFP) – – Russian beachgoers got a shock when they saw a donkey soaring in the blue skies over the balmy beaches on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia last week, police said on Tuesday.

Attached to a parachute, the animal screamed in fear as it circled over heads of holidaymakers sunbathing on a beach in the Cossack village of Golubitskaya in the Krasnodar region.

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