Paparazzi Spawn Celebrity Baby Picture Industry

The sale of celebrity baby pictures is big business. Ever escalating, now topping out at $10 million to $15 million, the first look at Brangelina twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline is beginning to raise eyebrows. The newborns will make their public debut in a future issue of People with a second "exclusive" layout to follow in OK!.

Despite earmarking proceeds from the shoot to charity, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are under fire. Some question obscenely high amounts paid for celebrity baby pictures. Others call the arrangement exploitation.

Frivolous waste of resources equal to the GNP of Myanmar or shrewd use of public insatiability for celebrity photographs?

Parodoxically, the inexplicable desire for a glimpse into the lives of celebrities fuels distaste for the paparazzi. The streets of Hollywood and Manhattan are full of professional and amateur photographers attempting to earn a livelihood or turn a quick buck. It's gotten so bad, surfers attacked a TMZ crew off the coast of Malibu. Politicians contemplate new legislation. Even fans have taken up the cause.

I've posted before about paparazzi encounters of the third kind. Some of the following scenes are surreal.

At some point, unless Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie intend to raise their children in a vaccum, they must venture outside the gates of their fortified compound. Not surprisingly, paparazzi have already staked out camera angles for their anticipated departure. Money talks. Those first photographs are worth a pretty penny no matter who takes them.

Better People and OK! magazines who will donate the proceeds to charity than money grubbing paparazzi who cavalierly disregard the consequences of ignoble intrusion.

Virtual Unknown Views Race for President

In what may be the biggest election upset of the year, a viral marketing campaign could sweep a virtual unknown into the White House. We just received notice this afternoon and are still scratching our heads trying to make sense of it.

Shocking. Completely shocked.

The Gypsy That Remains

It's been a bit 'heavy' here at the blog lately, so I thought that I would lighten things up a bit as we ease out of July, and as I ease into my summer vacation. Last night I had finished up watching the Cubs-Brewers on ESPN and was getting ready to go to bed, and decided to do one last flick through the program listings. There on WHYY's local public broadcast 'Arts' channel was listed the program Soundstage, which features concert performances, and here they were offering a concert by one of the true loves of my lifetime, Stephanie Lynn 'Stevie' Nicks. I hadn't watched Stevie perform in some time, and the program information said that this concert was filmed this year, in 2008, and so I was curious to see just how she looked and sounded today. I wasn't disappointed. Stevie is still a beautiful woman, and her voice still rings true with that same raspy, story-teller quality that has made her a rock icon. Well, this kept me up for another hour watching the concert, but it was well worth it. Listening and watching her perform songs like 'Rhiannon', 'Gold Dust Woman', 'Edge of Seventeen', 'Landslide', and more took me back to thinking about various times in my life, especially remembering those times that I first heard her and the opportunities that I had to actually see her perform live and in-person. Much as the rest of the music fans of the world, I first fell in love with Stevie Nicks around the years 1975 & 1976 when I was just 14 years old. The band Fleetwood Mac, my all-time favorite rock band, had released their self-titled album and Stevie's voice began to fill the airwaves with the song "Rhiannon". This song about a Welsh witch captivated radio audiences, formed an enduring image of Stevie in the public consciousness, and with the overall high-caliber of music being performed by the band they became a top act in the arena-rock era. Fleetwood Mac had been a top blues-rock band for years prior to 1975, but they had a number of personnel changes and were looking to reinvigorate themselves. Drummer Mick Fleetwood was looking for something new to add to the group, which at that time included bassist John McVie (the band is named after Fleetwood and McVie) and McVie's keyboard-playing vocalist wife Christine. He came upon a young guitarist named Lindsey Buckingham, who was making music in California with his girlfriend, Stevie Nicks. The pair had released an album in 1973 titled 'Buckingham Nicks' which didn't fair well commercially, but which contained a number of California-style pop sounds that were easy on the ears. Fleetwood was an astute judge of talent, as Buckingham would prove to be one of the greatest guitarists in the history of rock music, but Fleetwood only wanted him, and Lindsey wouldn't come without Stevie along as a package deal. Fleetwood agreed, the two joined the band and began recording in late 1974, and the rest is rock-n-roll history. There is so much of a soap opera quality to the Fleetwood Mac story over the rest of the 1970's and into the 1980's that I could never capture it all here, but suffice it to say that if you enjoy reading the histories of musicians and bands, and want to look it up and read about it, you won't be disappointed. The bottom line is that Fleetwood Mac followed up that first 1975 release as a new band with the album 'Rumours' in February 1977, and my favorite band became the world's favorites. 'Rumours' spent 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, and sold over 19 million copies to make it, at the time, the top-selling album of all-time. The album was highlighted by the #1 song, Stevie's 'Dreams', and also featured what is still today my all-time favorite song. 'The Chain' is a rock and roll classic signature song featuring the band's tight vocal harmonies from Christine McVie, Lindsey, and Stevie, as well as the cohesion of its legendary John McVie/Fleetwood rhythm section, and soaring guitar work by Buckingham. I finally got to see Fleetwood Mac in concert at the Spectrum here in Philly in the fall of 1982 as they toured for their multi-platinum release 'Mirage', and then got to see Stevie perform solo at the Spectrum in 1983. The Fleetwood Mac concert was one of the best that I have ever seen in my life, obviously colored by my love for Stevie and the band, but the fact is that they were still tight, and looked and sounded great, at the top of their games individually and as a group. The solo concert was less of a thrill in the end, as it marked a period in Stevie's life when she was going through problems relating to drug abuse. She didn't sound good and didn't look the same. The songs were there, but the musician was different than the one I had been in love with all those years, and it was almost a sad situation. Stevie continued to have issues over the next ten years with drugs and weight gain, and though she still recorded and performed both solo and with the band the performances were uneven, sometimes brilliant but often a shadow of her former rock queen self, and she became more reclusive. In 1993, Bill Clinton was elected as President of the United States, and had used Fleetwood Mac's song 'Don't Stop' from 'Rumours' as his campaign theme song. He invited the band to play at his inaugural celebration, and this led to a revitalization for them after a few years of inactivity as a group. For me at that point, I thought that I had seen the last of them. Music was changing, 'grunge' or 'garage' bands were becoming the rage, and a 70's act like Fleetwood Mac seemed left in the past. But the Clinton inauguration reminded their numerous fans of just how good they were, and they set out on a reunion tour, and once again established themselves for the rest of the 90's as a relevant band. Stevie was right out there in front, looking and sounding as good as ever as the band released and toured for 'The Dance' in 1997 & '98, and they were going strong as those 1990's came to an end. In 2003 the band, this time minus Christine McVie who had retired, issued the album 'Say You Will', and were rewarded by winning a prestigious American Music Award by beating out such contemporary hit acts as 3 Doors Down and Matchbox 20 for the honor. Today, there are rumors that the band will record again in fall 2008, this time with Stevie's good friend Sheryl Crow joining to take over the Chris McVie role, and that they will tour in 2009. Stevie's mystical image is stoked by romantic and ethereal lyrics, raspy and passionate singing, graceful movement, possessed performances, billowing chiffon skirts, top hats, shawls, layers of lace, high-heeled leather boots, big brown eyes, and that still-long, gorgeous blond hair. The woman has been sending chills up and down my spine for over three decades now, and when I saw her on that 'Soundstage' performance last night those chills were there again. My wife Debbie is absolutely the love of my life, but I can say without hesitation that Stevie Nicks has a piece of my heart and soul, and that will never change. Her story is much longer and more detailed than I have been able to capture here, filled with success, drama, romance, intrigue and, as with any person in the public eye for decades, a strong-willed desire to adapt, overcome, and move stronger into the future. Her songs endure as radio classics, including her duo turns with Kenny Loggins on 'Whenever I Call You Friend', John Stewart on 'Gold', Tom Petty on 'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around', and Don Henley on 'Leather and Lace'. Her Mac work will never be forgotten, the songs already mentioned here as well as 'Gypsy', 'Sisters of the Moon', Sara', 'No Questions Asked', 'Seven Wonders', and 'Silver Springs' among them. And her solo work will remain legendary with the songs already listed and those such as 'Bella Donna', 'Stand Back', 'If Anyone Falls', 'Nightbird', 'The Highwayman', 'Beauty and the Beast', and many more. Stevie turned 60 years old back in May of this year, but you would never know it to look at her on stage now. To me, she was beautiful and sounded great at 26, and she is beautiful and sounds great still at 60. You can catch the Soundstage performance on PBS' Arts channel, here in the local Philly area it is being repeated today at 4pm & 10:30pm, and then again at various times over the weekend and into early August. It features Stevie doing a few of her big solo hits, Fleetwood Mac songs, and even a couple of outstanding duets with Vanessa Carlton, and it is well worth a leisurely hour of your time. If you have never had the pleasure, explore the music of Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. My bet is that you will fall in love with the 'gypsy that remains', just like I have.

Dueling McCain and Obama Ads Knock Out Media

The latest development on the campaign trail is too good to be true. Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain managed to take the meaning of the term "celebrity politics" to a whole new level.

Gentlemen, to your corners. Everybody ready? Okay, then. Let's get ready to rummmmm-bbbbble (are you ready for this).

... doo do da de de doo doo, doo do da de de do do ...

In this corner, weighing in at a svelte 170 pounds, America's favorite former POW, John Mc-Cain!

And in this corner, down to the slim trim fighting weight of 198 pounds," the biggest celebrity in the world," Ba-rack O-ba-ma!

Say hello to our panel of judges, everyone. A media so concerned with making talking points, they've turned on themselves. Talk about lack of substance in a campaign, don't be surprised if our judges go down for the count.

...and the colored girl goes, do dah do dah do dah do de oh, do dah do dah do dah do de oh. Hey girl, come and walk on the wild side...

Not meaning any disrespect, but can't help myself. The McCain ad portraying Obama as a vapid celebutante is hilarious. Who ever thought a serious political candidate would use images of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in an attack? Are McCain's campaign advisors not aware of Britney's recent comeback makeover? I mean, the girl hasn't run over any paparazzi or crashed her car in months.

Sure hope they cleared the use of her image through proper channels. Ditto for Paris Hilton. I doubt either one would allow use of their images gratis.

FYI, Britney's temporary conservatorship is back in court today. She'd be crazy to cut ties with her father seeing how he's apparently turned her life around. But then Brit isn't known for her keen intellect.

Do you think McCain is trying to make that kind of comparison with Obama? Because if so, it's not going to fly. Harvard Law Review Editor, fellows. Only black man in the U.S. Senate. Best-selling book author. Co-sponsor of important transparency in government legislation. Come on, give the man his due. He's very intelligent. Has to be with that list of accomplishments.

Obama's summary dismissal of McCain's charges also made me chuckle. If his ad runs a month from now, no one will know what he's talking about. Then again, maybe his campaign intended a generic rebuttal. That way he can run the ad at any time to any charges levied against him and look like he's paying attention.

What I like about Obama's rebuttal is that it finally highlights his energy policies, a decisive factor for me in this campaign. Obama is shooting for the moon when it comes to energy. If he can successfully hit the target, it will be Camelot the sequel.

McCain's ad says nothing about the man McCain, nor what he intends to do as president. It's also somewhat deceptive. Obama's energy policies are not reliant upon an increase in foreign oil. At the very least, the McCain camp could get their facts straight.

Ooooo. And there he goes down for the count. The crowd goes wild. Can the war hero recover? I don't know, Sheilah, it looks like there's blood dripping down his chin. But then McCain comes from tougher stock than that, just take a look at the man's mother. There she is in the front row yelling at him to get off the floor. Wait. I see a muscle twitch. He's getting back up. Thank heavens -- ding ding ding -- saved by the bell.

Twitter Unveils Rival Search Engine

Oh wow. Have you seen the new Twitter Search?It's freak'n awesome!

Not just saying this because Moani populates the Twitterverse neither. We can now search tweets on any subject we please whenever and wherever we please. You don't have to Twitter to search. Go on. Give it a try.

If no one's tweeting your search, it ain't worth blogging.

Catchy tagline on the house, natch. No need for kudos.

Low Down Rotten Sexist Pigs Like Rush Limbaugh Don't Change

Rush Limbaugh combines news, commentary, satire, music, and an eclectic sampling of listener opinion for a highly successful three hour daily radio broadcast. His program is syndicated throughout Northern America and via the Internet abroad, currently reaching Baltimoreans on Radio 680, WCBM.

Limbaugh hitched a bumpy ride to success. He often recounts early career struggles, various firings, and syndication drops, taking care to remind listeners if they want something badly enough they will have to work for it, as he did, with slings and arrows along the way. His show wasn't always popular. At one point he ventured into television, suffering a low ratings cancellation. Likewise, an incredibly short stint as an NFL commentator nearly ended his career. Limbaugh stood his ground. Loyalty from fans and people in high places saw him through. The man bounces back from rough patches like a rubber band.

Limbaugh is not afraid to speak his mind, a rare quality in today's political and entertainment circles. Love him or leave him, he is who is. He's also not afraid to take chances. Disagree if you will, but there's something admirable about the combination of these symbiotic traits. Periodically, they land him in hot water. Today's program may qualify as such a time.

We caught him playing a political parody with another unauthorized musical accompaniment. I say another because his theme song was once unauthorized. Musical artists opposing his politics, refusing to grant licensing rights despite his money being green like everyone else's and Chrissie Hynde was no exception. They eventually reached an amicable settlement, Limbaugh now supporting PETA's crusade to prevent cruelty to animals in exchange for a notable guitar riff.

There I was, LMFAO as Limbaugh slyly explained the licensing problems with this particular parody, airing it anyway because to paraphrase him, "No one bothers to listen for that kind of stuff any more." At that moment, the phone lines of a certain Hollywood agency lit up like a fireworks display with calls from frenemies monitoring his program, I'm sure. Still, the moment was total Rush-worthy and well worth the price of any fallout.

And that, in a nutshell, is the reason I remain a loyal fan.

As I've explained before, Limbaugh and I disagree on so many different political issues I wouldn't know where to begin. If I wanted to listen to someone with whom I generally agree, I'd tune into The Daily Show (I actually am a fan of The Daily Show but find nothing controversial to write about, hence these frequent diatribes against talk radio).

Limbaugh is not only informative, he's also thoroughly entertaining in large part because he is who he is. Deriving from his unique persona, his success cannot be duplicated, though many will admit they have tried. Change him and you lose the formula. This fundamental fact was completely lost on feisty Jennifer from Denver, Colorado, the "Caller of the Day."

Mind you, "Caller of the Day" is my own moniker as the show has no such designation.

At first I couldn't believe Jennifer had made it past Snerdly or whoever screened calls this afternoon. Maybe she lied about her topic or summarized it in a less offensive manner. Limbaugh rarely connects with people trying to chastise him on his own program, often ending such calls in an aggressive cursory manner before any real dialogue ensues.

Jennifer's call immediately caught me off guard. Clearly, she wanted to label Limbaugh a sexist pig and accuse his backwards politics of giving her high blood pressure. According to Jennifer, listening to the program had caused her to become ill and her doctor had suggested she stop. Nonetheless, as evidenced by the call, she could not stop herself from tuning in. Limbaugh asked if she secretly wanted to commit suicide. I am not making this up.

Oh brother, I can see it now. Death by Limbaugh becomes a new cause of action. Could Jennifer be contemplating a lawsuit?

No, Jennifer pitched her call with this intro thinking Limbaugh would try to plug his program. To his credit, he suggested the perfect antidote.

Tune out.

Duh.

Laughably, his response threw Jennifer for a loop. She completely lost her bearings, then clawed her way up off the mat for another round.

I wish I had a pipeline to Jennifer from Denver, Colorado. Who knows, maybe one day she will surf into this site and somehow read this very article. It could happen, right?

Don't start laying odds in Vegas.

Okay, it's ludicrous fantasy. But then so is Jennifer's misguided effort to change a man who can't help relating to women in a manner that went out of style in the 1950's. Limbaugh is indeed a sexist misanthrope who believes it's a man's world where women shouldn't tread. So what? Believe it or not, it's part of his charm.

Limbaugh is sexist but in a jovial way. Last week I heard him commending some Hardball "babe," a GOP Congresswoman standing toe to toe with Chris Mathews and some other "blowhard" on their assessment of George Dubya. It was amusing really, hearing him fawn over this woman's ability to silence detractors. If Congresswoman Whoever ran for president in Hillary's place, I think Limbaugh might help vote her in. At least it seemed that way on the surface. Hard to tell when listening in the car.

Back to Jennifer. Until a preponderance of women have control over men's traditional stomping grounds -- corporate board rooms, financial markets, media outlets, the Supreme Court, Congress, the White House, and the like -- until women successfully run these places, don't expect sexist attitudes like Limbaugh's to change any time soon.

Women like Jennifer probably don't understand that for such an unlikely event to happen, men must be willing to assume more responsibility as caretakers. I mean, who's going to raise our children? Subservient nannies? How will that ever level the playing field?

I'm sorry, but if there's anything I've learned from the feminist revolution it's that women cannot have it all. Often, the choice comes down to building a successful career or producing successful children. Sadly, too many women are adept at neither.

Take it from someone who knows, trying to change ingrained sexist beliefs is a waste of time. No matter what women say, no matter what they do, no matter how much they lighten up, in the eyes of sexists they will never be equal.

Rather than fight the misogynist Rush Limbaughs of the world, women should use their existing power to effect change. Women can wipe out sexism by channeling their power as caretakers. We can change the status quo by instilling proper feminist attitudes in our sons. And if we don't have sons, by influencing those who do.

Require boys to help with chores around the house. They can set the table, wash and dry the dishes, and do laundry just as well as girls, if not better. Teach them the importance of respect. Show them how to care for our infants. Bring them along when we care for our parents. Model appropriate give and take with our spouses and significant others. Stand strong and proud for our own rights in the face of discrimination. Whenever possible, emphasize evidence of women as different but equal.

One boy at a time, the world will change. It's starting to already.

Just not fast enough for dear Jennifer.


Update: The Limbaugh website posted a transcript of Jennifer's call, noting "links to outside content usually become inactive over time." For that reason, I am reprinting the transcript here, hopefully with the implicit approval of Mr. Limbaugh.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Colorado Springs, Jennifer. You're next on the EIB Network. Great to have you here.

CALLER: Well, Rush, you might change your mind about that. I'm kind of angry. All these accolades that you're receiving are literally making me sick. And, in fact, my doctor, believe it or not, actually may be tongue-in-cheek, but wrote me a prescription for lowering my blood pressure. And that is, is that I listen at your program as infrequently as possible because in reality you are the one who believes that you are The Messiah, not Obama, and what's more, you're very sexist, you're very sexist. You think that the Democrats are sexist and racist. You are absolutely the epitome of sexism. You want to know why I think that?

RUSH: Not really, because you're wrong. I don't like to hear people tell me why they believe something when they're dead wrong. If you're really suffering high blood pressure, why are you even listening?

CALLER: Well, maybe I'm a masochist and I can't help myself, I don't know.

RUSH: I don't think that's what it is. I think you're constantly enraged and angry, and you need reasons to stay that way, and --

CALLER: I'll tell you why --

RUSH: -- I fill the bill.

CALLER: -- I'm constantly enraged, because every day it seems that you find a way by innuendo or any other means to put women down.

RUSH: It's not by innuendo, I do it directly. I put down liberals. If they happen to be women, I put 'em down. There's no innuendo about it.

CALLER: Can I give you an example of your direct comments?

RUSH: I'd love to hear.

CALLER: Do you recall your comment, I think it was about three months ago, you were talking about Hillary when she was running against Obama. You said that women are trying to move into a man's world. If you had said that about Obama or a black person, you'd be off the air now, you'd absolutely be off the air --

RUSH: Wait a second, why would I be off the air if I'd accused Obama of moving into a man's world?

CALLER: No, listen, if it were the same thing, if you accused Obama of moving into a white man's world, you would be off the air.

RUSH: Oh, oh. That would never even occur to me. There are black politicians all over the country, as there are female politicians, but the presidency up 'til now has been a man's world.

CALLER: Okay, you're not doing anything to change that.

RUSH: What's the big deal? Hillary puts her pants on one leg at a time like all the other guys do.

CALLER: Uh-huh.

RUSH: Why are you bothered by this?

CALLER: See, "like all the other guys do"?

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: This is something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time.

RUSH: Ask away.

CALLER: Why is it that you always call Hillary Clinton Mrs. Clinton, and you never give her the respect of calling her Senator Clinton? Are you trying to demean her?

RUSH: I do call her Senator Clinton sometimes.

CALLER: I listen to you practically every day, which is why I have high blood pressure, and I have never heard you --

RUSH: You know, you need to go take a test. There's something not right here about you, Jennifer.

CALLER: Well, what's not right about you is I think you're insecure --

RUSH: No, no, no -- Jennifer, I'm trying -- Jennifer, please, I'm trying to help you --

CALLER: How many women have rejected you, Rush?

RUSH: Women love me, Jennifer, you had better get used to this.

CALLER: -- and this is your way of leveling the playing field.

RUSH: I don't believe a playing field can be leveled, Jennifer, see, I am based in reality. But Jennifer, my concern for you is that you may die listening to this program from high blood pressure, and you can turn it off. You may be committing a slow form of suicide here on purpose. That's not right.

CALLER: Hm-hm. I know it. I know it. I don't always listen to my doctor, either, so, you know, I don't listen to you --

RUSH: You're a woman. You don't listen to men, period.

CALLER: Uh-huh. Well, men don't listen to women, so there's equality right there.

RUSH: I've listened to everything that you've said.

CALLER: Uh-huh. And you've had sexist reaction to it, too. I enjoy it. This is my first opportunity to talk to you. I'm really happy I got through. I really am.

RUSH: Well, I'm glad you did, too. But I'm worried.

CALLER: Could I say one more thing? I'm in the Colorado Springs area, but I listen to KOA radio in Denver, and you are a topic of conversation almost daily and women are calling in and talking about your sexism and the phenomenon of your Dittohead women calling in and treating you as if they love you, following your sexist remarks. It doesn't make sense.

RUSH: I'll tell you, the real sexism in this country was on display in the Democrat primaries, and it was aimed at Mrs. Clinton by Democrats. The real racism in this country was on display in the Democrat primaries aimed from the Clintons to Obama. I helped Hillary Clinton. Operation Chaos. I kept her in the race. If you listen to this program as often as you say, you would know that I did everything I could to help her, and did. Operation Chaos was so important it's now the subject of academic study. Jennifer, I appreciate the phone call. I'm glad you waited and you got through, too. But I am worried. You're the first caller ever who has admitted you're a masochist. This is unhealthy. I think you need to lighten up a little bit. What you think is sexism is simply me poking fun at liberals, which of course that has been taboo for a long time. But I must go because it's time for a windfall profit time-out. Be back right after this. Stay with us.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Jennifer, if you are still out there in Colorado Springs listening on KOA, you might be interested in this story today. It looks like it's from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Hillary Clinton's newest tactic to pay off her remaining campaign debt involves 'dinner under the stars.' Clinton's campaign launched a contest -- contributors are automatically entered -- and the grand prize is a dinner for you and a guest with Clinton herself. 'This is my first chance to sit down and spend some real one-on-one time with you. If you enter today, we could be having dinner together soon!'" she said in an e-mail. There is a second prize, and that is you get to have two dates with Hillary. Just kidding.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

Update II: The virtual Limbaugh Museum is up and running. Entry hall plays Limbaugh's guitar riff theme song. Worth the price of admission.

Parliamentary Debate Workshop Underway

Faculty pose: Bojana Skrt from Slovenia, Nicole Colston from Vermont, Steve Llano from St John's in NY and Debbie Newman from the UK (coach of England World Schools team). Alfred Snider from Vermont not shown.

The World Debate Institute's 2008 College Parliamentary Workshop is well underway. The intensive five day program is training students in the basics of parliamentary debating by using the WUDC or "worlds" format.

Each day features a mix of lectures, drills, elective classes (several different subjects offered at once) and two debates.

Steve Llano said of day 1:

The first day wasn't just housekeeping matters and such - we managed to get right into the material and had a very nice practice debate on the motion "This House would ban consumption of tobacco products." The round I saw was quite good even though it featured one team that was new to the format, and another that was totally new to debate.

For those of you interested, today's schedule is:

WEDNESDAY

9-11:30 AM
9:00-9:45 AM Lecture: Proposition-Skrt
9:45-11:30 AM Coaches: Session 4
9:45-10:00 AM Prep for debate
10:00-11:30 AM Debate 4 with Critique

11:30-1:30 PM Lunch

1:30-4:30 PM
1:30-2:30 PM Elective 1
2:30-3:00 PM Prep for debate
3:00-4:30 PM Debate 4 with Critique

4:30 PM End of Day

85 Shots and 'One Less Nigga With a Gun'

A year ago at this time, in July 2007, Steven 'Butter' Miller (left) was shot at 85 times by Philadelphia police officers. I have sources that say it was actually 81 times. In any event, about two dozen of those shots found their mark, and Miller was dead. In it's July 24th-31st, 2008 issues the extremely liberal 'Citypaper' here in Philadelphia, one of those free tabloid style publications distributed throughout the downtown area by placement in stores, business lobbies, and curbside boxes, published a cover story titled '85 Shots' about the incident. As could be expected if you understand the source, the Citypaper writers, Doron Taussig and Tom Nammako, told the story in a way that was, in both tone and tenor, completely sympathetic with the alleged victim and extremely critical of the Philadelphia police officers involved in the shooting, as well as their hierarchy in its response. That's a shame, because the real problem right here in Philadelphia and in many big American cities today is not unwarranted shootings by rogue groups of police officers. Actually, one of the biggest problems facing American big cities today is men just like Steven Miller. Fact is that Miller exited his house that night as a stark-raving mad lunatic waving a gun around in the air, alternately pointing it at officers as well as towards neighbors homes as he waved it. The officers gave him plenty of warnings to drop the weapon, perhaps even more than they actually needed to give. At a certain point, one officer felt that the circumstances had gotten too dangerous and felt that he needed to discharge his weapon in order to save his own life, the life of a fellow officer, or that of a community member. It was a hot summer night in South Philly, so it was dark, and when this officers' shots rang out other officers who had also responded did not know from where these shots were coming. They fired at the man who they saw waving around the gun, Miller, just as they were trained, and they took him down. One of Miller's best friends, Daniel Williams, was quoted as saying "...they probably look at it like, that's one less nigga with a gun." Your words, Mr. Williams, but the idea behind them is not so far off from the truth. What this city needs, in fact, is thousands of fewer young men waving around guns, and every one that is stopped from doing so is one less that will harm the rest of us. The article goes on to actually print the names of seven officers involved that night before discussing how neighbors see these officers now and say, in the words of one Tyree Bullock: "Here go this motherf*cker". How about the mother-bleepers living around you every day, Mr. Bullock? The ones doing the shooting, drug-dealing, pimping, impregnating, and glamorizing it all in their booming and blaring rap music? The article also goes on to talk about another of the people in Miller's life, one Anthony Lawrence, who relates that in the past twenty years he has personally seen 34 deaths in his neighborhood, implying those were violent deaths. I have lived 46 years and was born and raised in South Philly, and I don't think that I have known more than a couple people, if that many, who have been killed by violence. Why have you seen so many, Mr. Lawrence? Why so many, Citypaper? Rogue cops shoot them all down? Not hardly. The fact of the matter is that most of them were killed by men just like Steven Miller. But before he met his demise, he helped perpetuate even more of the problems in the urban world. He had fathered seven children, none of whom he financially supported, by three different women, none of whom he had ever married. He had been arrested at least once in his life, for drugs of course, and had also been shot once on a playground basketball court. He had wasted away his twenties in a life of drugs and violence and 'laying back'. Oh, and in trying to become a rap star, of course, all the while perpetuating the exact lifestyle of huge numbers of young men in his demographic community across the nation. Irresponsibility, criminality, violence, addiction, all frequently glorified by the rap community in one of the most heinous examples of all-time of a community announcing and advertising for its own demise. Miller's rap group was named DLK (Down Low Killaz). Nice. And typical. The article states that Miller was 'suited up' (carrying a gun) on the day that he died because he 'had gotten on bad terms with a dangerous young bull', meaning that some young thug was looking to gun down Miller for some reason. The only 'bull' that matters in this story is perpetuated by this article, that somehow men like Steven Miller deserve our sympathies. The folks who really deserve our sympathy are the seven whose lives he created, but who didn't elicit enough love and respect from him that he would go out and get a real job or two to support. What makes men like Miller and many others in his violent neighborhood around Tasker & Taney Streets decide to turn to drugs and violence, both in the reality of their lifestyle and the glamorization of that same culture, rather than turning it around, staying in school, taking responsibility, and bettering their community. What makes one man from South Philly into a Steven Miller and another man from West Philly into a Will Smith? The answer quite simply is personal choices. Steven Miller chose illegitimate fatherhood. Steven Miller chose to get involved with drugs and violence. Steven Miller chose to walk out of a house waving a gun at neighbors and police officers. Steven Miller left those officers with no choice but to fire 85 shots, however many it took, and leave the city with 'one less nigga with a gun.' His choice, and it is people like the authors of this Citypaper article and the editors who chose to run the story with the slant that they did, who make further choices that keep all of us less safe each and every day in the city of Philadelphia.

Nolan's 'Dark Knight' is a Cinematical Experience

The hype surrounding this movie is so huge that more than two weeks after its premiere, we still had to wait in line for a 7:30 p.m. showing on a Tuesday night. Bought tickets the day before. If we hadn't arrived 45 minutes early, there would have been slim picking for seats. The movie was showing at staggered intervals in three different mini theaters. By 2:00 p.m., all three were entirely sold out.

Nothing like getting a taste of the true Dark Knight phenomenon.

Generally, I avoid first run theater showings. Don't like crowds, the annoying munching of popcorn, or the guy behind me kicking my seat at odd intervals. Heck, I don't even like comic book super heroes. They're so ... well ... cartoony.

But something about this movie was different. Couldn't wait for the DVD debut. Like a beckoning Svengali, it infiltrated my psyche and wouldn't leave. I was completely enthralled, like putty in its hands. The psychological desire to be part of a mass experience became irresistible. Seeing it at home for the first time wouldn't do.

I hate spoilers more than plopping down eight bucks for a movie, so I'm not going to go into any detail about the plot. Yes, through jam packed action and wowzer special effects, the plot shines like a beloved two headed coin. Anything less would have been a true downer.

Acting and direction also shined, making the movie well worth the price of admission. If Heath Ledger doesn't win a posthumous Oscar, it will only be because a living contender came darn near close to his flawless performance. Ledger, R.I.P., is the embodiment of insanity. At one point in the film, I forgot he was acting. Unpredictable and psychopathic as any evil villain could possibly be, he had me transfixed by his kooky mannerisms, terrified of the next plot twist, honestly not knowing who or what would crumble under the weight of his lunacy.

Believe all the hype, the movie's great.

Two minor criticisms. The film is too long. It could have easily ended about two hours in, saving the remainder for the sequel. The old adage "sell 'em less but give 'em more" sometimes doesn't work when it comes to the movies. This was one time I wanted less, probably because I eventually became uncomfortable. At home I have the luxury of changing positions, stretching out, or hitting the pause button for a trip to the bathroom. Not so when joining the masses.

I also have a pet peeve about manipulative sound effects and background music. The movie went overboard on the former. No, I do not enjoy jumping in my seat due to booming effects. I suppose these have somehow become mandatory date movie material, in which case definitely bring along your hot significant other for gratuitous nooky.

Other than these trifling complaints, I've got nothing bad to say. Sheer entertainment approaching masterpiece. But make sure to buy tickets ahead of time and go early for choice seats.

Ours were midway center.

Don't you hate people who gloat?

Gordon Brown is Upside Down and Other Celebolitic Shorts

This site isn't the only one mixing up politics and celebrities. A sampling of mutant celebolitic spawn to tickle your funny bone.

The UK's Prime Minister isn't scoring brownie points for his "Government of All the Talents." This is the second time we've observed the media taking Gordon Brown to task for hobnobbing with the stars. Sour grapes from the trade unions perhaps, although what politician in their right mind would eschew glitterati in favor of commoners?

Tennis champs Venus and Serena Williams are two celebrities who won't be endorsing a presidential candidate, though both seem excited by Barack Obama's candidacy. The pairs' Jehovah's Witness beliefs discourage voting and prohibit involvement in political affairs. Oh, those crazy mixed-up Witnesses, don't they care who throws out the first ball at the U.S. Open?

Here's a blogger who supports celebrity political involvement, reasoning celebrities pique teen curiosity in political causes. Maybe. But wouldn't they be just as likely to watch MTV? Activism comes from more than just celebrity fanaticism. On the other hand, following a politically active celebrity exposes teens to news they might not otherwise stumble upon. That's a step in the right direction even if the teen in question eventually becomes a moral degenerate drinking beer all night in their parents' living room.

When John Mayer isn't busy cheating on Jen in a fantasy dream, he's busy playing cat and mouse with the paparazzi. Mayer must fancy himself the "Jerry" in this developing sideline but with one notable exception. The mouse in Tom and Jerry didn't hang with an uber-famous girlfriend. And Mayer has a notable reputation as a "Tom."

Glory be, someone has written an entire book on this topic! And I thought we were the ones who invented it. Looks like our fledgling book project was all for naught. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.

Fox News Bill O'Reilly Battles Big Nas Attack: "Racist Smears Must Stop"

Racial and political polarization grows ever wider in the good old U.S.of A. Why recreate the turbulent 1960's when real political storm clouds gather strength in our midsts?

The latest fracas occurred last Wednesday, July 23, 2008 when popular rapper Nas, MoveOn.org, ColorOfChange.org and a large heterogeneous crowd of people demonstrated with more than 600,000 petition signatures in front of Fox NYC headquarters. Nas called Fox News a "propaganda machine," skewering the network for its "racist attacks on the Obama family and Black America."

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly quickly shot back, insinuating no one reported the demonstration because "the vile rapper" Nas doesn't carry much clout. O'Reilly cited declining album sales and "vulgar lyrics peddled to children" as proof, challenging anyone to characterize his comments as racist. He also bashed MoveOn.org as the "new media Klan," a reference to the KKK and insidious behavior.

Media wars, don't you love it? Rather than clash on the streets with police and billy clubs poised to strike, celebrities battle one another on the air waves where anyone with a video camera can join the fray.

Let's try to ratchet the hatred down a notch, shall we? In the words of our own Moan Quivers, "All we are saying is give peas a chance."

Comparison of Nas album sales proves nothing. Only a week ago, the rapper's new album Untitled soundly trounced the competition, debuting in the #1 Billboard album slot with sales of 186,600. Notable lower ranked competition included the Mamma Mia! soundtrack, Kid Rock's Rock N Roll Jesus and O.A.R.'s All Sides. Lower album numbers are likely a reflection of Dubya's failing economic policies than a decline in Nas' fan base.

On to Fox. O'Reilly did not say a lynching party for Michelle Obama might be "legit" if she has the wrong political opinion. During a "No Spin Zone" back in February, O'Reilly stopped a caller from trashing the potential First Lady without a thorough investigation. The segment showcases O'Reilly using nothing more than a poor choice of words later taken out of context.

Heaping fuel on a concrete brick does not a racist fire make.

But whoever supervises pundit E.D. Hill may want to order some sensitivity training. Despite the whitewash from Baltimore's own Michelle Malkin, racist smears have materialized on Hill's watch.

Obama's baby momma? Woman, puh-leeze! Surely, Hill has the final say over her news story captions. The message of that piece -- unfair censorship of criticism directed at Michelle Obama -- was completely lost because someone in Hill's entourage likened the "baby momma" reference to entertainment.

OMG! Granted, a new term recently entered "white people" vernacular, but making light of this development demonstrates a disconcerting level of ignorance.

For more than a century, African-Americans have had to deal with slavery fallout, including disintegration of family values at the hands of task masters. Slaves were treated as chattel, often with husbands and wives literally ripped apart never to see one another again. Today, a large holdover of African-Americans perpetuate this distorted model of family not because it's necessarily desirable, but because it eventually became acceptable. In any event, the model offered black families something white people usually didn't: survival.

I'm not judging whites and blacks. My sincere hope is that all Americans will unite to change this perversion of family values. All Americans need to understand and appreciate how a two-parent family helps children thrive.

In the meantime, news elite need to sensitize themselves to a pervasive cultural model giving rise to a name for never married mothers of children. The term "baby momma" is an insult to women like Michelle Obama, women who actually marry their children's father before conception in an effort to provide stable homes and model traditional family values.

More so, questioning the Obama victory bump as a terrorist hand gesture is so far over the line of acceptable discourse, even I don't want to go there. Every day I get emails about Barack the Muslim terrorist sympathizer, Barack the politician with anti-Semite political advisors, Barack the socialist who will naively allow the destruction of America. I wish Obama detractors would focus on something other than their worst nightmares. For all the war mongering and economic policies emanating from the Dubya Administration, this country isn't exactly positioned for an era of peace and prosperity.

The proof is in the pudding. 'Nuff said.

I'm going to let Keith Olberman have the last word on perceived racism at Fox. Personally, I can't stand network news left or right, nor political pundits telling me what to think. I digest all of the news with a grain of salt, carefully scrutinizing the source and their respective agendas in an attempt, however misguided, to formulate my own conclusions.

However, if Olberman's charges are accurate -- and many say they are -- something is seriously wrong with this picture. Under our next President, Fox News could very well have a Congressional inquiry breathing down its back.

As good a reason as any to clean up its sorry excuse for journalism as swiftly as possible.

[Source]

Update: The O'Reilly Factor video has disappeared from the Internet for purported copyright violation so many times, we're afraid it may never reappear. In the event the embedded video becomes inoperable, we have taken the time to provide a transcript. Note that we are not employees nor associated with Fox News. However, we have run the embedded video three times and will vouch for the accuracy of our transcript.

Bill O'Reilly appears on screen with the words "Reality Check" under a picture of Nas

O'Reilly: Check number two concerns the vile rapper, Nas. As you may have heard, that guy is accusing Fox News of being a racist organization. This from a person who makes a living peddling the “N” word and violent lyrics to his target audience of children and young adults. He is a real champ. The good news is only a very few media have given him any attention and those who did do not deserve your attention. They are corrupt. That’s because Nas had an obvious agenda in this case. His new album is a bomb, a disaster, a catastrophe, and he desperately wants attention. Two years ago, his last album sold three hundred and fifty-five thousand copies in his first week. This one has sold a hundred and eighty-seven thousand copies. Not good. I hope I’m not a racist for pointing that out. Check number three…

Two Million Minutes

That is how long the typical student the world over will spend in their high school careers - two million minutes. Four years in the students life - do the math (assuming you know how.)

It is also the name of a documentary film that asks a simple thought-provoking question that you might think you can answer easily: Can your high school Junior or Senior measure up to the 10th grade proficiency standards of the Third World?

"Two Million Minutes" (website linked by the title of this blog posting) is a breakthrough film from Executive Producer Robert A. Compton, directed by Chad Heeter, written and produced by Adam Raney from Compton's original idea. In the story line, the priorities and pressures of six students from different parts of the world are examined. There are two from Carmel, Indiana representing typical American students. Neil Ahrendt is an 18-year old senior class president and National Merit Award semi-finalist. Brittany Brechbuhl is a 17-year old who is in the top 3% of her graduating class who wants to become a doctor.

Also in the film are a pair of students from Bangalore, India. Rohit Sridharan is a 17-year old young man who is seeking acceptance into an elite Indian engineering school. Apoora Uppala is a 17-year old girl who aims to become an engineer, which she believes is the safest profession in her home country. And finally we have two young people from Shanghai, China as well. Hu Xiaoyuan is a 17-year old girl who plays violin, hopes to study biology, and has applied for early admission to Yale University here in the States. Jin Ruizhang is a 17-year old boy who competes in international math tournaments and wants to continue studying advanced math in college.

The film also features commentary from folks such as Cal-Berkely professor and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, physicist and RPI president Shirley Ann Jackson, 12-term congressman and Chairman of the US House Committee on Science and Technology Bart Gordon, Harvard economist Richard Freeman, and a number of others.

How much time do you and/or have you spent actually supervising your kids homework, study habits, school attendance and performance? How much emphasis do you give in your home to the importance of your child's formal education? How much have you evaluated the quality and content of the education that they are actually receiving at your neighborhood school, and evaluated any options of choice in schools that you may have available if you find it lacking? The fact is that students in the United States, world leaders for generations, have fallen behind their counter-parts in many nations, and continue to fall further behind each year.

A wide variety of factors are behind this decline in competitiveness, including poor parental guidance, misplaced priorities of students, and liberal educational objectives. If you don't think that it's important for our children to be able to compete on a global scale in an increasingly shrinking world, then you are selling their future prospects short. These are things that I never fully appreciated as my girls were growing up: you just sent them to the best school that you could, tried to make sure they behaved themselves and generally did their work, and hoped for the best at that point from the school itself.

That is simply not enough in today's world. It never was, and I realize only now that it is the lazy man's way out. American parents need to begin to re-emphasize formal education, and need to ensure that their children specifically are receiving the highest possible level of education, particularly in the areas of math and science.

If you find that your school doesn't measure up to your increased standards, and you simply cannot afford any other option, then you need to find a way to personally supplement their formal education in these areas. A good beginning for you would be to visit the website by clicking into the title of this blog entry, and by eventually seeing the film "Two Million Minutes". If you have young kids for whom its not too late to make a difference, you won't regret it. More importantly, neither will they.

None of Our Business

A leading business website, Inc.com, billed as 'The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs', has released its annual list of 'The Best Cities for Doing Business'. Where do you think that Philadelphia ranked on their list of 393 metropolitan areas? A top-ten city by population, you would think that Philly would probably be there somewhere among the leaders, right? Well, before we get too excited, let's examine some of the criteria that the e-zine factors in order to formulate the rankings. What 'Inc.com' does as an overall approach is that they analyze job-growth data as supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the previous calendar year on 393 metropolitan statistical areas across the country. The list just released was specifically derived from analysis of three-month rolling averages of the BLS state and area unadjusted employment data from January 1995 to September 2006, and uses four measures of growth to rank all areas for which data was available for the past ten years. These four measures are: recent growth trend, analyzing this and last year; midterm growth, averaging 2001-06 rates; long-term trend, analyzing 1995-2006 data; and current year growth. This data includes non-farm employment, manufacturing, financial services, business and professional services, educational and health services, information, retail and wholesale trade, transportation and utilities, leisure and hospitality, and government. While any time you attempt to put together a ranking across a broad spectrum of categories you are going to get subjectivity in the analysis of those categories, the fact is that this is not a study and listing that is done haphazardly and frivolously. It is a serious look at relevant statistics in order to determine areas that are growing, and that ultimate also exposes areas that are stagnating. On the surface, Philly would seem to have much going for it, and it does. We have major employers headquartered here, places like Comcast. We have an excellent mass-transit system including Septa, Amtrak, and Patco. We have first-class entertainment facilities such as the Avenue of the Arts, varied quality sports facilities like The Linc and Citizens Bank Park and the Palestra, a world-class Art Museum, a top-notch zoo, etc. Easy transportation access through I-95 by land, the Delaware River by sea, and Philadelphia International Airport by air among others. And we have people, lots of people, and a variety of them by racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, sexual and any other orientation that you can describe. There is much to like about the Philadelphia area, politics aside, and you do have to set aside politics. which has been a mess for a long time here in Philly. There is much to like about Philly, tax-status aside, and you do have to set aside our taxation system. Here in Philly, our tax policies are typically liberal for a large city, and liberal Democratic Party taxation means that we tax unfairly, more than other cities, and on things that other cities do not. In recent decades, our tax policies have led to the loss of 250,000 jobs and the loss of a half-million residents. Other cities are growing, but Philly is in decline, and we continue to lose jobs and residents every single year. 'Philadelphia Forward', an organization put together in an attempt to reform Philly's tax policies, reports that "the typical city residents tax burden is 50% higher than the tax burden for a suburban resident at a similar income level." In other words, living here in the city kills your take-home pay, and it does the same to business profits. Most cities do not tax your wages, but we do, and we do it at a rate of 3.98%, the highest in the nation. Philly taxes business at the highest rate of all major American cities, and its real estate tax assessment system can be described as unfair and antiquated at best. In short, we have all the pretty things and look nice on the outside, but we are decaying on the inside. When most people look to move their families into an area, or evaluate where their families will continue to live as they grow, and when business looks to move into or remain in an area long term, they look closely not only at the surface features, but also look under the hood. When you look under the hood at the engine that drives Philadelphia, you find an entrenched liberal Democratic government that taxes and spends more than almost any other entity in the United States. No wonder then when I scan down the list of metro areas in the Inc.com rankings looking for Philadelphia and cannot find us among the top ten, where our population ranking sits. Nope, not even in the top twenty, or the top one hundred. Wow, scanning down, scanning down. Ah, found us. There we are, ranked out of 393 metro areas at number......351! Ouch. Well, at least its better than last year when we were ranked at number 392. Yikes! The bottom line is that there is really no reason to live inside the City of Philadelphia unless you have to, which is one major reason that the city clings to its antiquated policy of forcing city employees to live inside the city limits. If Philly updated its policy and allowed city employees to live wherever in the region they wanted, I can guarantee you that it would lose thousands of more residents in the ensuing half-decade. The bottom line that is revealed by the Inc.com ranking and the Philadelphia Forward assessments is that Philadelphia is a big city in big trouble, and showing no signs of changing its ways. We will continue to look pretty on the outside, but only because our politicians will continue to tax heavily to maintain that pretty look. Meanwhile, Philadelphia will continue to die slowly on the inside, further deteriorating that tax base of businesses and residents, and thus raising the tax burden continually on those who choose to. or are forced to, stay behind. Business will continue to mostly flee the city, as chemical giant Rohm & Haas is about to do. What can change this status? I have been saying it for a long time. Philadelphia needs a real, viable, political alternative. A healthy Republican Party that espouses lower taxes, less spending, a more business-friendly environment, and more conservative solutions to social problems such as crime and education. Unfortunately, that shows no signs of happening anytime soon, or even within the rest of my lifetime. As always, the title of this entry is a link to more information, in this case to the article and rankings in question.

Spewker Shines Spotlight on "Making The Movie"

T'was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. No fires raging near Big Sur. In the shadow of a recently ended writers strike, a subtle but festive mood uplifted the Hollywood elite. All of Tinseltown prepared for a memorable afternoon culminating in the Dorothy Chandlier Pavillion ... or was it the Kodak Theater?

Quite difficult to remember now that so much time has flown by.

Oh, what does it matter? It was the 80th Annual Academy Awards with a cast full of sparkling characters to light up the sky.

Oh, alright then, it was the Kodak Theater.

Whatever happened to the Dorothy Chandlier Pavillion? I wonder how the Chandlier family feels about being supplanted by an instant camera.

Yes, as I was saying, The Spewker was poised for one of its first live blogs. I had no idea what we were doing. In fact, I was so spanking brand new to the entire concept that I turned over the reins to our virtual Hollywood correspondent, Moan Quivers. Moani held the live blog on Twitter which explains the non-existence of her witty reparte. None of the posts survived.

For those who know absolutely nothing about Twitter, let's just say that your posts disappear after three or so pages of tweets. Someone has since developed an application to capture archives, but at the time, Twitter messages faded about as quickly as they spammed.

Too bad because Moan was on such a roll it bordered on sheer genius.

Somehow, some way, Making The Movie got wind of our ambitious effort and linked to our live blog announcement. I'm not sure how many people tuned in as a result, but I do remember Moani jumping around the room ecstatically after seeing our link in the midst of a prestigious list of live bloggers.

I'm glad to re-visit Making The Movie and see it robustly alive and kicking. So many blogs pop up and seem to disappear overnight. This is one tenaciously digging in its heels for the long run.

Good sticky content and well-written articles too. The site provides filmmaking tips, resources, reviews, news and links. A film maker's library with information written in plain English.

How many blogs can make that kind of claim?

Congratulations, Mr. Ott and Making The Movie. For your magnaminous gesture of linking to and referencing this then relatively unknown blog, you are the winners of a coveted Spewker Spotlight award. Target, save, and upload the award to your site or email me at the address on the bottom for detailed coding information.

Want to know how you can be our next featured spotlight winner? Simply mention this blog with a link to our site in any of your articles or embed in a page of your website. If we like what we see, you may be the next winner of our coveted award.

Beckham Unknowingly Pitches Safe Sex

"Score in the bedroom like Becks does on the pitch."

David Beckham promotes the biggest selling condoms in China. Problem is, he doesn't earn him a dime from his celebrity endorsement. The condoms are manufactured without his knowledge or permission, causing an uproar among fans who want to ban further sales.

Talk about infringement of intellectual property rights. A few bad apple Chinese manufacturers and the whole nation gets cloaked with a layer of deception.

There are more unsavory fates than acting as the unauthorized pitchman for safe sex or seeing your unauthorized likeness tossed about in some porno movie. Becks can take away some measure of comfort knowing he isn't the face of some other sleazy best selling product, like Kim Kardashian's behind.

[Source]

No Soulful End to the Curse

The indoor Arena Football League played it's championship game yesterday, and the local boys, the Philadelphia Soul, took the Arena Bowl XXII title by downing something called the San Jose SaberCats by a final score of 59-56. The Soul are partly owned by famed New Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi, the very public face of the franchise, and have another local hero, former Eagles Super Bowl quarterback Ron Jaworski, among their official team hierarchy. So the club has found a niche in the local sports scene, much as the pro lacrosse Philadelphia Wings and indoor soccer Philadelphia Kixx have found. For those not from Philly, you may not be aware that we are in the midst of one of the worst major pro sports championship droughts in the history of such things. No major Philadelphia professional sports team has won a title since the 1983 NBA Philadelphia 76ers, led by Julius 'Dr. J' Erving and Moses Malone, took that championship from the LA Lakers. That makes it a full quarter-century since Philadelphians have experienced the thrill of a major title, and the ensuing victory parade down Broad Street. The Phillies last won the World Series in 1980, the Flyers last took the Stanley Cup in 1975, and the Eagles won the NFL championship in 1960 - they have never won a Super Bowl. We have come close, as each team made it to the championship series multiple times. The Flyers went to the Stanley Cup Finals in the springs of 1985, 1987, and 1997. The Sixers made the NBA Finals in 2001. The Phillies were in the World Series in both 1983 and 1993. The Eagles famously lost a close 2004 Super Bowl to the New England Patriots that was the city's best shot in recent years. Still, that makes just 7 seasons out of a possible 100 (25 years each for the 4 teams), or 7% for a top ten market to even appear in a championship, and that is beyond woeful. There were comments after the Soul win that the jinx may now be over, with Soul coach Bret Munsey saying "Now we can win championships in Philly. I hope that takes care of everything". Uh, don't think so Bret. Your boys did a nice job. Congratulations to you and game MVP Matt D'Orazio and Bon Jovi and Jaws and everyone in the organization. But it doesn't end a thing involving the jinx, or curse, or whatever you want to call this thing, because 'minor' pro sports teams have done it before. In lacrosse, the Philadelphia Barrage won MLL titles three times in four years between 2004-2007, and the Philadelphia Wings won six NLL titles between 1989 and 2001. In both 1998 & 2005, the Philadelphia Phantoms won AHL Calder Cup titles as the top farm club of the Flyers. The old Philadelphia Stars had won a pair of USFL titles in pro football back in the 80's. Perhaps the most famous Philly title since 1983 wasn't even won by a pro club, that being the Villanova Wildcats winning the NCAA basketball championship in a dramatic upset of Georgetown in the spring of 1985. In an online poll at Philly.com, local sports fans were asked "Does the Soul's championship affect the Philly sports jinx?" At the time of this article, over 4600 fans had placed votes, and more than 73% answered "NO, it has to be one of the 'big four' professional teams." The answer is clear, the jinx or curse is alive. The Soul did a nice job in their league, they should be proud of their accomplishment, and their fans should enjoy the victory. But the fact remains that the curse remains. One day, a major Philadelphia sports franchise will win a title. Perhaps Donovan McNabb of the Eagles will raise the Super Bowl trophy, or Mike Richards of the Flyers will hoist Lord Stanley's Cup, or Elton Brand will raise the NBA championship trophy, or maybe even Chris Coste will get to leap into Brad Lidge's arms as the Phils take the World Series. I was still a teen when Tugger and Schmitty and Charlie Hustle and Lefty won that 1980 World Series. I cheered Clarkie & Bernie and the boys on to a pair of Stanley Cups as a boy, and jumped for joy as Billy Cunningham's Sixers won that last '83 title. I have had the sports fan thrill, but it has been a long time. I was 21 years old when Mo Cheeks dribbled down the court, jumping for joy at yet another title in Philly. I thought that it would happen often, because at that point of my life in just the past seven years the Phils had been to the playoffs six times and won a Series, the Eagles were playoff regulars and had gone to a Super Bowl, the Flyers had been to the Cup finals four times and won twice, and the Sixers were regular title contenders and had now won one. Philly was Title Town in those days. Maybe one day I will live to see it all come around again.

Jamie Lynn Chews Out Paparazzi

Jamie Lynn reportedly kicked out her baby daddy and had choice words for the paps.

So what if this parody is the closest we'll ever get to a Jamie Lynn Spears interview? The stress of raising a baby without a wedding ring must be getting to the poor dear. How else to explain throwing fiance Casey out of the house after snooping around for (and finding) contact information for other women on his cell phone and computer?

Jamie Lynn and Casey are back together ... for now. But I wouldn't be surprised if their OK Magazine spread had anything to do with it. A clause in their contract probably requires the diaper duty duo to look blissfully happy ... at least until the issue clears newsstands.

Shia Busted Again for DUI and Mo' Gossip

Hello, world. IT'S MOAN QUIVERS! Reporting to you live from the red carpet in virtual Hollywood. Even though no one seemed to enjoy last week's titillating round of gossip, I'm getting a second shot at this gig.

So, without further ado, here are my sizzling gossip picks for our Monday morning "Weekend Wrap."

Keira Knightly won't buckle under pressure to permit digital enhancement of her upper torso in movie promotions. Only in Hollywood, folks. You go, girlfriend... er tomboygirl ... erm, whatever. [NY Daily News]

More disturbingly intimate photos of Miley Cyrus have hit the fan. Yech. Ptooey. Somebody better teach the Disney diva about the better part of valor before her fan base hits the fan and moves on. [Ocean Up]

The supermodel and the quarterback put their respective bachelor pads on the market. Do I hear wedding bells for Tom and Gisele? When can we start calling them Gisom? [People]

I know who I'm hitting up for a night on the town. Forbes ranked top paid female celebs and you'll never believe who hit #1! Hint: It wasn't Reese. [Hollyscoop]

Once again, Shia LaBeouf has been busted for DUI. Lately, the Disturbia star is showing disturbing signs of serious trouble. LaBeouf crashed his truck around 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning and underwent surgery for injuries to his left hand. Police are using blood drawn at the hospital to confirm alcohol levels. Woo boy. [TMZ]

Richard Simmons intends to wipe out childhood obesity one chunky chubby at a time. The exercise guru discusses plans to march on Washington in support of new legislation. [Extra]

Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and wife Mary have turned construction of their new environmentally friendly green home into a 13-part reality series. "This Old House" star Bob Vila will supervise the project. [Rush and Molloy]

Now here's something truly wacky. Some wild and crazy Iowans tried to take Congressional matters in their own hands by making a citizens arrest on Dubya's old pal, Karl Rove. Too bad these crazy mixed-up kids were then arrested themselves. But ya gotta admire all that spunk and determination. [CBS]

She supposedly busts up a perfectly good marriage and now she's suing the photographers who caught her trysting nakedly with a married man. Homewrecker! Hussy! Ho! Blaming the paps for your sinful ways is lower than dogmeat. [Hollywood Newsroom]

Talk about being a wanger. Andy wangerhead to be precise. Yes, Andy Dick goes out of his way to prove he actually can get arrested even though hardly anyone in Hollywood will touch him with a ten foot pole. [Uberazzi]

That's a wrap. Tune in again next Monday morning for another live Moan Quiver's report. Ta.

Baptism 9-1-1

It's Sunday once again, so time for the weekly spirituality/religious topic. I hope that you got yourself to Church today. If not, if it's not too late, turn off your computer and get there. But that was last week's topic, let's move on to the new one. Not the usual subject of conversations, I have amazingly found myself for two straight days now among two different groups of people involved in conversations regarding 'emergency baptism', and these conversations have caused me to look into the facts behind my beliefs. I suppose those conversations were not too amazing, considering that my eldest daughter is about to give birth to my 2nd grandchild, and that one of my nieces gave birth last year and is about to have her child baptized. My first grandchild, my granddaughter Elysia, was not formally baptized in Church, despite my wife and I trying to encourage my daughter to do so. She simply feels that it is something that my granddaughter should seek for herself when she gets older, not something that should be 'forced on her' or 'decided for her'. We love our daughter, and have no choice but to simply agree to disagree. Well, that's really not the only choice. I had heard of 'emergency baptism', the idea that any Christian could baptize someone simply by blessing them with water and saying a prayer over them, as long as the person doing the baptizing was sincere in the danger to the soul of the baptized. That was how I felt on the day that I was alone with my granddaughter and simply took some tap water, made the sign of the cross on her head and said "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", held my hand on her head and said a prayer for her. But in the end, is she now baptized? The Roman Catechism defines baptism as 'the sacrament of regeneration by water in the word.' Pope Eugene IV is often seen as one of the best authorities on the subject within the Catholic Church, having said that "Baptism holds the first place among the sacraments, because it is the door of the spiritual life; for by it we are made members of Christ and incorporated with the Church." He goes on to say that "The effect of the sacrament is the remission of all sin, original and actual." Basically, the sacrament of Baptism is the formal acceptance into the Church and into a Christian life that wipes away the 'Original Sin' of Adam & Eve in the garden of Eden (a topic for another day.) Christ Himself instituted the sacrament by commanding his disciples to do it, and spoke in his own words of its importance: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." The usual important matters concerning a legitimate baptism are what are known as its 'matter and form': what is used to perform the baptism, and how the baptism is performed. Water is the only legitimate liquid to be used by all accounts, and so it seems that I have done the right thing in satisfying matter. The requisite form is the words used by Christ Himself to baptize, the same words that I wrote earlier here that I spoke over Elysia as I baptized her. So it would seem that I satisfied form. It is written in New Advent, the online Catholic Encyclopedia, that 'if the proper matter and form be used and the one conferring the sacrament really intends to perform what the Church performs, the baptism is undoubtedly valid." With validity assured, I am happy to report that my granddaughter has indeed been baptized. Not only that, but she has been twice, since in one of the conversations that I had the past couple days my own father revealed that he had done the same thing with her. Lucky girl, having been baptized by her grandfather and great-grandfather. We now look forward to the birth of a new little miracle, and if necessary will again initiate that child's baptism. But perhaps this time we can nudge mom and dad into a more formal ceremony. Either way, within the Catholic Church, while it would be preferable to baptize a child formally within the Church, a 'conditional' or 'emergency baptism' is perfectly acceptable for the forgiveness of Original Sin and admittance to God's Kingdom. Have a great Lord's day, and as always, the title of this posting is a link to further information on the topic.