Thanks for following, new followers. Hope you're not just expecting nudity.

I was quite surprised that I actually gained followers after recycling the Tweeted photo of Lady Gaga virtually nude. I was sure some would drop me like 50 pound high heel shaped like the male genitalia—such as one Lady Gaga most likely has in her arsenal of wardrobe malfunctions. Nonetheless, the photo shows how popular Lady Gaga is. I think the same thing happened to me when I showed the image of Madonna poking her breast out from behind her shirt somewhere in the world during her tour. 

This may be the end for me posting photos of folks in the buff. Unless of course that magic picture gets released somehow of Chris Christie. Gag now.. 

There is only 100 days until the November presidential election. The hostage situation of our commercials on TV will soon come to an end. This madness will be behind us.

There is only 100 days until the November presidential election. The hostage situation of our commercials on TV will soon come to an end. This madness will be behind us.

Could be an interesting COAST TO COAT AM with John B. Wells tonight .. 

Tune in if you’re awake and sober to hear the sobering news of surveillance and harassment. 

Roger Tolces, will discuss how surveillance and harassment has shifted from hardware to bio-coded directed energy, and the various technologies being used to manipulate individuals.

Science fiction meets fact. Our world is a surveillance society. And if you’re awake from 1am to 5am EDT time you can hear all about it..

Well it’s in the public domain now, like it or not.

Lady Gaga tweeted a naked picture of herself..While she is fully naked we can’t see everything. We do, however, see her covering the essentials.

I debated whether this should have been posted. I try to be family friendly, but it’s a Saturday night..

Here are some more images of the 2012 LONDON empty seat Olympics nightmare

Biggest ratings for an opening ceremony ever? Billions watching? Millions in London. And so many seats unfilled.. This is perplexing.

Quite the peculiar circumstance: Tickets are sold out but.. the TEE VEE shows lots of empty Olympic seats

I was amazed while watching the United States female soccer team win today how few seats there were filled. I knew of the stories that long lines were waiting at windows only to be told the games have been sold out. 

But the venue appears empty. And now according to the UK TELEGRAPH, there are some officials who are wondering why exactly the ‘sold out’ London games are looking like an empty house on television broadcasts.. 

Quite the peculiar circumstance: Tickets are sold out but.. the TEE VEE shows lots of empty Olympic seats

The darker they rise the lighter they fall

The more they rise, the more they fall.. this DARK KNIGHT falls hard.. This weekend’s developing box office story may be just how much THE DARK KNIGHT RISES has fallen in money when compared to last week.. Industry insiders predicted the film would have staying power, but on Friday Warner Bros and experts were amazed at the startling speed down that ticket sales have taken.. Insiders say there has been a 76% drop.. Could it be the week of news about James Holmes? Fear of a dark theater? Madness used to be confined to the screen. Now it’s in the audience.. Watching the rest of the weekend to see if the slide continues.. 

Are you all machete ready? Lady Gaga will make her acting debut in MACHETE KILLS.. and the poster has been revealed.

Ebola back in Uganda, according to a report

"Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute…have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola hemorrhagic fever," the Ugandan government and WHO said in joint statement.

Ebola back in Uganda, according to a report

Disturbing story from Maryland.. cops say they thwarted another DARK KNIGHT massacre by arresting a man claiming to be the joker and threatening to blow things up..

Good job Maryland police. 
Things are getting strange. 

Disturbing story from Maryland.. cops say they thwarted another DARK KNIGHT massacre by arresting a man claiming to be the joker and threatening to blow things up..

The me generation meets the education system: A student is suing his teacher and a school district about a C+ grade

Interestingly enough, back last century before I myself graduated in ‘99, there were times I prayed for at least a C+…

The me generation meets the education system: A student is suing his teacher and a school district about a C+ grade

Biking during the Olympics

Biking at an exponential speed is hard enough during the Olympics. . but London’s summer heat coupled with fans breaking the safety rules and almost standing directly in front of Olympic bikers just for a snapshot on their camera makes things a little worse. Sure, these problems have been around since I guess bikes themselves. But watching some coverage this morning of racing, I am amazed with how no one is being hit or injured by athletes..

IT AIN'T 08! PHELPS BARELY QUALIFIES

IT AIN'T 08! PHELPS BARELY QUALIFIES

I get confused and horrified by some of the Google searches that lead to my site

And I often don’t get them. I have nothing on here about dismembered genitals. But someone came across this little hole on the net by searching for that very term, albeit the person’s search was more offensive than  the one I used. So now I need to think about my writings, my musings, and my terms… 

So I am curious to know out there: What is your favorite sport of the Olympics if you have one, and are you going to be watching?

I missed this from a week or so ago,  but watched it now. David Letterman got political again .. this time on the topic of fracking. He said we are screwed. Can you argue with that?

So they got rid of softball and baseball but kept badminton?

How terrible.

Bloody terrible. 

Speaking of the parade of nations..

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a crazed person who worships the youth or beauty of someone’s face. Beauty is skin deep and under wonderful skin is often ugly creatures that deserve no time.

But I will say this: While trying to ignore the political talk banter of Matt Lauer and Bob Costas last night (is it me or were they just checking Wikipedia ever time they saw a new nation?) I was struck with how beautiful all the athletes are. Well, some Romanians scared me, and I certainly wouldn’t cross the flag bearer from South Africa. 

The athletes were just immersed in makeup and wonderful attire. And their hair was perfect.. their cameras were out. Oh, and at least 15 condoms each wait for them when they exit Olympic stadium.

Whenever I see Queen Elizabeth, my American mind can’t help but think about the first NAKED GUN movie with Leslie Neilsen ended up on top of her when she fictitiously visited Los Angeles. But a true unappreciated scene of that movie was just how board she was at the fictitious Dodgers baseball game.

Fast forward about 20 years to reality: The Queen was snapped picking her nails just when Great Britain marched into Olympic stadium for the parade of nations, the culmination of excitement for the crowd after seeing all the other member states come in. Perhaps it was all those countries with ‘anias’ or “stans’ that forced the Queen to become tired by the spectacle. She did, after all, jump out of a chopper, right?

Here is the story from Yahoo! Sports on the subject. Even the UK TELEGRAPH said that the Queen and the Royal Family looked bored.

Now it feels like summer

There has been heat wave after heat wave. Droughts abundant. The Mississippi River is drying up and corn crops are obliterated. But it truly didn’t feel like summer until the parade of nations in London. The Olympics will take our minds off of real life for a while.

The irony is these nations that march in together and place their flags side by side often hate each other and are confined to wars with each other. 

We are in the 21st century but yet so many of the people from countries coming in are leaving a homeland of disease, death, and pestilence. 

The modern era is still a stone age for some. 

But the games are beginning..

Tears .. Gold medals .. high drama. High expectations. And high security.

Let there be peace on each for two weeks but a battle in sports! 
Let there be peace on earth after that too. Too hard to ask?

Yea.. I guess so. 

This was the Queen after her pretend entrance. Did they try to make it look like she really did parachute in?

Her cameo in the James Bond style joke is the talk of British papers already.

The Queen’s grand entrance.. 

Olympics British style.. Mr. Bean brings down the house in London

NO TIME FOR TEA! THE QUEEN DECLARES THE GAMES ARE OPEN!

NO TIME FOR TEA! THE QUEEN DECLARES THE GAMES ARE OPEN!

The Games begin. In drenching rains.

Not that I can see it live. Thanks NBC and other media.

AND THEY BEGIN! 

2012 LONDON. Opening ceremony now. Later in the USA time zones

You read that right. While the Olympics opening ceremonies are occurring as I type (4pm on the East Coast of North America) the United States won’t be privy to the might and majesty of the occasion until PRIME TIME. NBC did issue some type of bogus press release high in PR as to why Americans will wait longer than other Earthlings to view the ceremony. 

The real reason, of course, comes down to the traditional thing TV network execs care about: Ratings. Business INSIDER reports on that part of the story.

Maybe you can follow on Twitter. Find your favorite British Tweeter now. It just will lack the majesty of something broadcast on the TEE VEE..

24/7 news cycle? Internet age? 

TIME DELAYS baby. The old meets the new!

Who’s mighty now?

Not so mighty: Mississippi at record lows, forces ligher barges..
Mississippi River dropping in Memphis..
Receding Mississippi exposing historic relics..

The Midwest is suffering its worst drought in 50 years.. Could this be the ‘new’ norm? Will the United States go from bread basket of the world to the dust bowl of the planet? Will the record warmth continue? More and more hot records relative to cold records have taken place for some time.. The past two years have seen many more hot records as opposed to cold records. These recent heat waves have made this drought much worse—after a winter of almost no snow in much of the United States. Global changes are in full effect. Big economic impacts will be coming this fall, expect that at a grocery store near you. The fires that we saw this year may be a new norm, too.. Earth changes will get worse and worse.. Greenland has lost 97% of its ice. Even the highest points in Greenland are melting. Major transformations of landscapes coming—coastal area flooding? worst case could be a massive sea rise? 

But planes still fly and cars still drive. If manmade impacts are the reasons for warming, then humans seem not to care. If it’s the earth itself, humans are in for a wild ride—one not seens for centuries.. 

The drought that is occurring has some ominous signs for our future.. In Illinois, people are beginning to become alarmed with just how dry and hot things have been.. The drought in the United States is also going to cause problems for China..

The drought and constant heat waves that have hit the United States this summer have been only intensifying and shows no signs of receding.. According to one report, the drought size has increased by the ‘size of Texas’..

This summer’s horrid weather will have one extremely negative ramification for this world.. for our wallets.. for us: Food prices will skyrocket until at least 2013..

Street view named desire: Google broke its promise

Google got caught illegally obtaining street view information. It told regulators it would delete the data. Google said sorry when it admitted that it didn’t delete some of what it said it would..

Street view named desire: Google broke its promise

Some rough storms rolled through my mountains and maybe your mountains or skylines too. Hope all is safe, they were vicious..

New information: James Holmes sent his notebook to his psychiatrist detailing plans on how he would massacre a movie theater.. it went unopened in the University of Colorado since July 12

If true, this is very unsettling..

New information: James Holmes sent his notebook to his psychiatrist detailing plans on how he would massacre a movie theater.. it went unopened in the University of Colorado since July 12

Olympics, 2012 style

It’s tough to put on a show in the modern age. Sure, the Olympians are trained and ready and they even have thousands of condoms at their disposal, but it takes a flag mishap to cause a major diplomatic fiasco before the games even begin (officially)

So here is how things went down. As a soccer match between North Korea and Columbia was set to begin, the South Korean flag was mistakenly displayed. The North walked off the field and wasn’t seen for an hour. When the game delay was over, they went on to win 2-0. 

The National Olympic Committee offered up an apology to the newly married Kim Jong Un. No word on whether he is on a honeymoon..

The USA beat France 4-2, no one walked off that field.

And Lil’ Kim Jong Un is not a bachelor anymore.

Olympics, 2012 style

Interesting new wrinkle in the Internets: YouTube wants your full name when you comment on videos

Who needs SOPA or PIPA when you have Youtube!

Interesting new wrinkle in the Internets: YouTube wants your full name when you comment on videos

Thank you so much for mentioning Fine Art ... i'd never heard of the site before, so happy to be able to listen to old Art Bell shows. I fell in love with show many years ago, and one of my favorite episodes is "Mel's Hole". Again, thank you!

Thanks for reading, number one. 

As far the FineArtStream.com, it’s a great website. 24/7 Art Bell.. nothing can beat that. I often listen and place myself back in the time when the show was on, wondering what I was doing.. and contemplating how I have changed and how life has changed since then. But the more it all changed the more it was the same.

Read your site a bit today, too.. Love the poetry.

I started the book

The book I am writing. I will update as I go..

Hope it is worthwhile in the end.

An amazing summer melt.. should we be worried? Satellites recorded an unprecedented rate of ice sheet melt in Greenland this month. Over the course of four days in July virtually the entire surface melted—an area larger than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations.

Should we be worried?

Yes.

An amazing summer melt.. should we be worried? Satellites recorded an unprecedented rate of ice sheet melt in Greenland this month. Over the course of four days in July virtually the entire surface melted—an area larger than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations.

JAMES HOLMES WAS GIVEN A $26,000 FEDERAL GRANT

JAMES HOLMES WAS GIVEN A $26,000 FEDERAL GRANT

what's your deal?

Wow.. finally a philosophically great question. What indeed is my ‘deal.’? I don’t know. What’s yours.. what is anyone’s? As a matter of fact, what is a ‘deal’? Deal or no deal? … TBA at a later date.

Penn State Pride.. Happy Valley.. welcome to the new world

Happy Valley couldn’t be sadder today. Penn State University has been hit with unprecedented penalties by the NCAA.

The ‘death penalty’ was not imposed on the football program, but it may as well have been.

The NCAA ordered:

• No bowl games for four years


• Scholarships reduced from 25 to 15


• $60 million fine


• 14 seasons of football victories from Paterno taken away

The online world.. the cable television world. .the sports world.. the bars of America.. all will be talking about today’s news concerning Penn State. Few will talk about the victims of sex scandals. 

We will.

Jerry Sandusky was accused, prosecuted, and convicted of systematically using a charity to get underprivileged kids into his sex ring. He showered with them, and brought them to his house to rape them. The underage boys were also not helped by the University and Joe Paterno after a cover up ensued because top officials wanted to protect the name and reputation of the school… and now, due to their actions for years, the reputation of Penn State and the football program lays in ruins. Yes, this is why these penalties were imposed. 

This is why.

Who's that Joker?

On Saturday, the New York DAILY NEWS reported that Colorado shooter James Holmes was screaming at guards, spitting, and calling himself the Joker.

Today a whole new ‘Joker’ was revealed at court, causing confusion over initial reports of his wild-attitude. Instead, today, the only wild thing about Holmes were his eyes. He appeared listless and even drugged at points, with his head slow motioning back and forth.

When Holmes appeared in in court today, he appeared with bizarre reddish red hair.  He spoke no words. He is set to be arraigned next week.

Jumpy audience members fled from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES after a fight broke out in the theater

In the wake of the midnight massacre in Colorado, people seem jumpy. I am awfully curious, did the events of this past weekend cause you to think twice about going to see the movie, or is it business as usual?

Jumpy audience members fled from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES after a fight broke out in the theater

This is James Holmes as he appeared in court today.. wide-eyed and sporting red bushy hair. His face looking deranged.. He didn’t a word..

Some want the games to begin. Others are just ready for them to end.

The Olympic planning committee must be a paranoid lot. I’d join were I to know how to. They are worried about volcanoes and earthquakes during the games.. flooding and other mass casualty events. But it seems most pressing this year is something that may be realistic: An international event that could send the games spiraling into a political realm.. As a matter of fact, a TIMES OF ISRAEL article is reporting that the London Olympic planning committee is worried that Israel may strike Iran during the 2012 games... Londoners are worried about Iranian missiles that are reportedly capable of reaching the city..

Yet another report says that London is on high alert for terror attacks.  While this was likely and predictable, here is the part that is raising eyebrows: Israel fears that an Iranian terror squad is in London to attack Jewish athletes.

The games are set to begin. And with them will come pageantry and honor, decency and pride (and a lot of condoms, I think I read athletes are getting about 15 per person for a sex-ramped up romp double week of lust)… Hopefully the world will remain at peace. Hopefully the only battles will be on soccer fields or tracks.. or swimming pools or basketball courts. By God, the last thing this world needs is more anarchy and violence.. We are a small pale blue dot. We are tiny compared to this universe. And one filled with hate war.

The lost generation: Poverty in the United States is now on track to be at the highest since the 1960s

In related news. The Federal Reserve has plans to keep pumping. And the economy has its own plans. Apparently earnings now show that whatever ‘recovery’ has been going on is sputtering and another recession (as if we have not been in a depression for years!) is about to take place.. Hold on to your hat, coat.. undergarment, whatever you can still afford in this messy new life.

The lost generation indeed. Millions will grow up in a class lower than the middle, as the middle keeps shrinking, the lowest keeps peaking, and the highest keeps shrieking. This is our new life America.. 

The Great Society is back.

The lost generation: Poverty in the United States is now on track to be at the highest since the 1960s

They were people. Faces in a crowd. And now they are victims to madness

James Holmes is now known by most of the world now as the shooter and monster of the Midnight Massacre in Aurora Colorado during the DARK KNIGHT RISES. But the victims, as usual, will be forgotten in the dust of the justice system and publications in a 24 hours news cycle. So Coal Speaker will just pause for a moment in time to recognize lives that are lost.. I read these names and reports of their deeds on an LA TIMES dispatch this morning.  Clearly, the other 58 who were victims but not deceased deserve space, too. I hope we see more profiles on them soon.

The dead:

Jessica N. Ghawi, 24

Micayla C. Medek, 23

John T. Larimer, 27

Alex M. Sullivan, 27

Alexander J. Boik, 18

Gordon W. Cowden, 51

Alexander C. Teves, 24

Matthew R. McQuinn, 27

Jonathan T. Blunk, 26

Jesse E. Childress, 29

Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32

Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6

Some striking things about the list. Veronica Moser-Sullivan was in the audience with her mom for a ‘girls night out’ .. Her mother is one year older than the shooter, and now remains in critical condition with bullets in her abdomen.  

Alex Sullivan died protecting others in the theater—it was his birthday and they were at the film to celebrate. 

But maybe most chilling to me is the tale of Jessica Ghawi. She was the same age as James Holmes. And just a month ago in June, she walked out of a Toronto mall before a shooter came in and shot over a dozen people, leaving two dead. Ghawi had a person blog and she wrote these profound words:

“I was shown how fragile life was… I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end.”

Let that sink in. 

There is something bugging me about these Colorado shootings

Well, more then one thing.

First off, the media announced John Holmes as the murderer. I noticed this weekend that changed to James. Is it because John Holmes was a porn star and web searches were freaking out?

Secondly.. I am tired of how we spend about 1000 words on 12 dead and 58 wounded while the shooter will get 10,000+ words a day. I know that is the nature of the media beast, but I think a week of silence would be in order. There’s time for the trial and the story of how James Holmes was a ‘nerd’ who even gun lovers were freaked out by.. and how neighbors ‘never saw it coming’ even though lots of explosives and ammo was arriving by the day… yes, we will hear it all. But how about we stop and pause a bit for the victims. A man celebrating his birthday? A 6-year-old? They deserve a bit more than they get.

And finally I am tired of all these crappy and ridiculous DARK KNIGHT memes floating around on Facebook and the Internet. Listen, yes, we get it, you’re as upset as me. But you posting a stupid picture of BATMAN with a strange ribbon aside of him doesn’t do anything.. and BATMAN praying over a movie theater? Now that is tacky. 

Just mourn like normal humans did before the moving GIFs and crappy JPEGs of the net.. please? 

And we should mourn. Because this was a horrible weekend for good people. I hope all who are dealing with it find some sort of beauty in life again.. a monster took it away for a while. But it’s still there.. minus out all the hate and carnage and sickness of the human mind, I swear beauty is still there. 

Changing times.. changing rooms

Did a few creative maneuvers in the homestead this weekend. Switched some rooms and altered the surroundings. Those things get tough with a 2 foot person moving all about the room you’re trying to clean. And I noticed something, he was shocked things looked different. My son Ayden even seemed a bit angry at how we moved his toys, moved his books.. And I think that’s good. It was the first shake up of his 17-months of life. This was a big one. He faced it with anger but perseverance. 

I personally think, after living 31 years, life changes a little too much for me. Maybe that’s because no one ever moved my toys from one room to another. Hope we help him deal with a future of constantly evolving things.

The cursed trilogy

This was supposed to be a huge weekend for the DARK KNIGHT RISES. Instead it become a national crisis when John Holmes shot the theater in Aurora, CO. Now Warner Bros is faced with an interesting question about how to fully promote what was geared up to be the biggest movie of the year. Their immediate answer according to the always spot on Nikki Finke is that they may go all weekend without reporting or bragging about box numbers..

However non-chatty Warner is about to become, numbers will still be released to reporters ..

Question will be: how much will this effect overall numbers in the end? Does this mar the Christopher Nolan reinvented franchise?

A tragic film in a sense. Heath Ledger dead as DARK KNIGHT came popular.. DARK KNIGHT RISES released during a real midnight massacre.. Yes indeed, the BATMAN in somewhere in tears tonight..

The only image I can think of right now..

Two tales on one picture. 

When I saw this AP photo yesterday, it gave me chills.

When I see it today, it makes me cry.

Children are growing up in a world that seems to be regressing into a sick cauldron of violence and horror. I have a son, too. I want my son to be excited by a hero named BATMAN.

Our society seems to be becoming a nightmare. God bless America indeed.

If there is a God, you really still think he blesses America…?

ShortFormBlog: President Obama's Statement on Aurora Shooting

joshsternberg:

Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my Administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We…

ShortFormBlog: President Obama's Statement on Aurora Shooting

shortformblog:

Here’s a clip of the aftermath of the attack on the movie theater near Denver — a lot of commotion, doesn’t appear to be a lot of violence exposed, but it’s nonetheless harrowing. Such a scary incident, we could not even imagine this happening. 

Chaos reigned after the shooting took place. People on television reports calling in to the morning shows describing more scenes of chaos.. one witness on the TODAY show said he was also shooting people trying to escape.. 

(Source: http://shortformblog.com/)

AP: The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken.

shortformblog:

The Denver Post reports that one of the injured victims was a three-month-old child. 9NEWS just confirmed the report.

This is disgusting in all forms to me.. a three month old child.. This is absolutely horrendous. 

AP: The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken.

Waking up to this horrific Dark Knight news

There was a horrific shooting at a Colorado movie theater last night. A midnight massacre took place. At least 14 dead, 50 injured, more developing on that as medical professional teams release information to new stations. I just think about the people in this theater, and I cry.

Dads who took their sons because of how excited their sons were.

To go see a movie? No. To go see how disgusting our human race can so often be.

Yes there were threats to movie critics over the week and even the website rotten tomatoes had to take down its comments section. But this goes far beyond the reach of any fanboys online. This is disgusting, and frightening. 

So who is going to see THIS this weekend? Or tonight?

Some 'other' news..

THE EARTH IS CHANGING.. For several years scientists have been watching for a huge piece of ice to break off of Greenland. And now it has happened, as the crack became complete and the iceberg twice the size of Manhattan has broken off..

This could be the dramatic illustration of a warming Greenland ..

Strange situation developing in Brazil as hundreds of penguins have been found dead on beaches.. And now biologists are on the case..

There is a looming budget crisis.. and 2 million jobs could be lost within months..

Amazing video circulating around the world.. a 7-year-old girl escaped injury when she fell from a window in Brooklyn only to be caught by a neighbor..

Big drug bust in Ohio as student, age 17, is accused of a multimillion dollar drug ring.. he was netting $20,000 a month in sales..

Strange campaign: Is BANE in DARK KNIGHT a Democrat attempt to destroy Mitt Romney?

Entire states may be threatened by the now epic drought taking place across the United States.. record high food prices this fall will be next as corn crop gets decimated by continued heat..

The 2012 Dust Bowl: No End in Sight to Record Drought

A frightening situation is developing today as news emerges about a woman who bit into a needle in her sandwich on a Delta flight now being put on anti-HIV medication.. Four Delta flights are affected.. it is a possible ‘terrorist’ act.. the FBI is investigating the matter. The persons who bit into the needles were biting into turkey sandwiches. How safe from sabotage are airport food products? Apparently not safe enough.. 

I missed this story when it happened but just caught it now: Merck in June delayed a batch of MMR vaccine slated for release because it was released too early, before it was finished an internal approval process.. The company asked 39,000 vaccines to be returned..

UK reports shows that there has been a huge uptake in children receiving the MMR vaccine, 87.1%. But the number ‘falls short’ of the target of ‘95%’..

Chaos in Canada.. a food festival had to close after 17 people were hospitalized after lightning struck..

There were tornadoes in Poland of all places the other day, another heat wave building in the USA, corn crops being decimated.. truly we are living in the quickening, just hope not ‘an ending’

A fierce lightning storm turns night into day

WEBSITE 'ROTTEN TOMATOES' SUSPENDS USER COMMENTS FOR 'DARK KNIGHT' FILM AFTER FANBOYS BEGIN OBSCENE WORD WAR

According to reports tonight, the popular movie website ROTTEN TOMATOES has suspended user comments for the DARK KNIGHT film after users began making threatening and profane comments towards reviewers who gave DARK KNIGHT a less than good review..

This may be the biggest movie opening of the year, maybe ever (? we will see?).. but the fact that the website has suspended users from making comments is a first.. Also, the site is considering a move to a Facebook commenting system, which might cut down on the glut of anonymous posts..

Listen everyone: It’s a movie!!!

Yet more politicization of DARK KNIGHT occurring today as Rush Limbaugh compared Bane to Mitt's Bain

Yet more politicization of DARK KNIGHT occurring today as Rush Limbaugh compared Bane to Mitt's Bain

Owwww

milesfilesx:

That’s currently Miles’ new favorite word. He smacks himself in the head, than runs to me rubbing his head saying ow.

And than I have to kiss it.

After that, he smacks himself in the head again.

I think it’s fair to say that this is the reason kids rule. And are hilarious.

Just sickening..

Welcome to the land of savages: Chicago teens charged with beating death of man who was collecting cans because social security was not enough.. the moron teens posted the video of the beating on Facebook for their fellow savages and crude sickos to like. Fortunately someone alerted police..

We are on borrowed time

I heard this description of life: It’s a bus ride that has no stops. You just keep going faster and faster

… the only way out is a crash: Death.

I think that sums up the gravity of the situation we are all in.

Please don’t consider this a negative posting about life. Life is actually quite fun for me right now.

I have a 17-month-old little man who is the joy of life.. My wife and I have been forever changed by his existence in our world. I have a wonderful family. Friends I cherish. We have jobs. We have a roof over our heads.. we have food when we are hungry. And I have an iPhone, and all the other technology that comes with life these days, too.

In the past two weeks I have been to two funerals. I will keep the overly personal information out, and just say that one was for someone who was 95 and a World War II POW. Another was for an uncle who lived to the truly ripe old age of 94. Both were pushing 100 when they met their respective final resting places. They both had long lives and lots of memories.. they both had stories.. both had a memories.. both had loved ones, cherished friends.. We all have stories, too. No matter the person.. From the richest to the poorest. From the oldest in the world to the child that dies at birth. There IS A MEANING to life.. right?

After contemplation, I have determined that we have become overly busy with our selfish pleasures of newsfeeds and campaign stats and sports stats and bla bla bla bla bla. At least I have.

I have neglected so much in the real world because of the online world. The internet and technology have become habits instead of pleasures. It went from being a novelty to a way of life. We all have been touched by the net bug. We are addicted!! Addicted to virtual reality. Addicted to virtual everything……virtually nothing.

But back to life for a second. REAL LIFE, not virtual.
What is the purpose to all this? Why ask! you know there is no answer. Lots claim to know the truth. Many others ponder it forever. In the end we don’t have a clue. What happens when we do die!? Again, here.. no word from anyone who did perish. We are left to wonder if near death experiences are really experiences of truth or just brain waves going awry. We are left to question tenets of religion.. question all things.

In the net age we have oodles of knowledge at our fingertips. All we have to do is Google or Bing it or MetaFilter it.. or whatever it. Do people even ask Jeeves anymore? Or AltaVista? .. Asta La Vista ..

Search results would amount to tons of data if you printed it on paper. But in our paperless society paper doesn’t exist anymore… right? Even though a paper-stack of bills sits next to me, that snail mail sent me, that was licked by some underpaid secretary in a cubicle maybe even AGHAST! with a typewriter…somewhere in the world.

There are bits and bytes of data flying around the world at a record pace.

And with all this knowledge you’d think by now someone would have found the meaning of life! The closest I know that found something was John Clease in MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE. The death penalty introduced to us in that show was, well, one many men wouldn’t mind having.

The information superhighway.. that is what it was once dubbed. Now it’s filled with potholes and dead sites that have dead ends.

Where does it all go in the end, though?

No where.. bits and bytes go bye bye for us.

Our bodies were dust and to dust they return. Despite the big plans we have to strive for big goals, we are cut down by something..whether it’s fate, God, time.. science. Whatever you believe. You can be five months, 15, 35, or 95. All dust.

So after this week, with two funerals (and a wedding, congrats bro), one can only leave the day with a renewed perspective on this strange place called earth.

A new lease on life!?

Not a chance…

A constantly expiring lease?

Now that is more like it..

Interesting ..

I lost two followers after I posted a link to a video about Poland’s tornadoes.

I lost another follower tonight when I said I want politics out of the BATMAN movies.

And finally, I lost 7 followers after I posted the story about foie gras.

I guess there is just something about me people don’t like.

California imposed a ban on foie gras starting July 1 of this year, however the Presidio Social Club says it can still serve the force-fed 'delicacy'

Why? 

Because it has a business on property maintained by the federal government…

Interesting legal debate may be setting up … one food watchers and animal rights activists will be closely following.

I am actually quite sickened by the thought of foie gras.. but for some reason I think if big tall huge aliens invaded earth, they may very well force feed humans and serve us. I don’t know if we’d have a fancy name like foie gras .. and I sure don’t know if we’d be a delicacy.

Then again, during this summer of cannibal rage, maybe such a horrid act is possible..

California imposed a ban on foie gras starting July 1 of this year, however the Presidio Social Club says it can still serve the force-fed 'delicacy'

A truly suspicious package.. the TSA just had to look. I'm sure this story will makes it way around the world, but many will blush speaking about it. The man with the world's largest genitalia was thoroughly searched by the TSA

It just seems more and more like the TSA is just hell-bent on being in a porn movie..

A truly suspicious package.. the TSA just had to look. I'm sure this story will makes it way around the world, but many will blush speaking about it. The man with the world's largest genitalia was thoroughly searched by the TSA

Please for the love of God keep politics out of the DARK KNIGHT!!

Really.. Democrats are using THE DARK KNIGHT film in new advertising against Mitt Romney.. Source here

I don’t care your political belief or presidential pick, I just hope we ALL can agree that the 2012 presidential election should be kept away from what may be the movie of the year.

Please politicians just give us one thing this year that won’t be political.. We beg of you..

Then again, Mitt Romney did star in BATMAN RETURNS as Max Schreck, didn’t he?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQkBeOisNM0?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

Music to start the week. Good luck to all who are facing the prospects of heat, humidity, horrid war, pestilence.. but I think we all will agree: CAN’T WAIT FOR THE DARK KNIGHT in theaters this weekend..

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Old times are a flyin

Remember the show SIGHTINGS hosted by Tim White? That was one great show .. I’ve been You Tubing the past all night.. I wish it was still on

A tale of one painting. Joe Paterno had a halo after he died, but on July 14, 2012, artist Michael Pilato used his skills to remove that same halo..

Sure, the late Penn State coach is no saint. But now that the Freeh report is sinking in and new facts are being digested, it’s clear that he was no saint either. He was a man who wanted to try to cover up as much as he could to save the reputation of Penn State.. and sordid as it all seems, the children who were abused in this situation always were last on the list of people who were helped. It’s a disgusting and sick story .. one that I can’t really read about much or think about much because of how deplorable it was and is, but also because of how many generations of proud Penn State graduates are shamed for good by the scars of sexual abuse in locker rooms on the campus.

Oh, and yes, the school has decided to re-do those shower rooms.. take away the look … but not the memories. No way in hell will people forget what happened there. And with more and more information trickling out about how much higher ups knew of the situation, the story isn’t dead yet.

Tornado alley .. Polish version. You don't hear of these storms often hitting UK nations..

But today a tragic situation unfolded ..

A freak wave of tornadoes slammed in part of Poland today.. houses are wrecked, people are shocked, and tonight at least one is dead in the nation.

This summer has already given Poland and other European nations hail, flash floods, and heavy winds. And now quite powerful tornadoes have struck..

This can happen in this nation and other UK countries, but it rarely does. And when it does it is seldom as powerful as the storms that hit Sunday..

Here is a video of some tornado events:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWUtjpoM7f4]

And here is more information about just how surprising and strong these tornadoes were..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3fmq48DGwk?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

Beauty in a 1 minute.. 

Here is a time lapse video of the Northern Lights in the early morning hours of 7/15/2012 taken just north of Dubuque, Iowa at the Balltown, Iowa scenic overlook.

And the scenes of a green and purple aura in the sky are absolutely amazing.

Not sure if my hometown saw northern lights.. sadly the sky was cloudy all night.

Sunspot 1520 and the X flare last week caused this spectacular show, and I am truly jealous of whoever got to see it..including the residents of Balltown, Iowa.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

DANCING IN THE DARK, LITERALLY

The arts were cut off in London last night. Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney were wowing the crowd, jamming out the night.. and then they were CUT OFF by the organizers because LONDON HAS A CURFEW.

Glory Days quickly ended. Dancing in the dark ensued.

And lots of people around the world suddenly took notice to a nanny like state that says when too much music is too much.

And yes, the angry musicians are lashing out.. Steven van Zandt said England is becoming a police state.

Next up: The Olympics! Hope the swim matches don’t go too long…

Don't get yourself caught up in an Amityville situation

We all know the story of Amityville horror, whether by watching the movie or remake, reading the book, or listening to countless interviews with lawyers and the family supposedly haunted by the murders that took place within the home in New York. The house exists still and is back and forth on the real estate market.. Lots have debunked the story of the Lutz family. Others stand by the account and believe that DeFeo murders forever haunted the property..

The house was bought by a resident in 2010 for $950,000.. and then sold.. Those who attended the house showing in 2010 moving sale at 108 Ocean Ave. but the basement was not open for public consumption at the time. The owner in 2010 did not claim any haunting took place. As a matter of fact, no owners have since the Lutz family left in the 20th century..

But it brings up an interesting question, should you conclude that your own home is haunted by spirits or worse. What do you do to get rid of the house?

You can technically walk away from the mortgage. 

But if you’re more inclined to care about credit and a future purchase, you’ll want to sell the house on the market—and we know that demons and evilspiritdoers won’t care about the asking price.  

A new show is being filmed to be on the SyFy that may help those in need of advice on how to ditch the witch. A Fort Wane, Indiana, real estate agent is going to try to help. His name is Scott FladHammer and he wrote a book “HOW TO SELL AN UGLY OR HAUNTED HOUSE.”

We all know the housing market collapsed in 2008—and what is left of it appears to be collapsing even further. Maybe we finally have a blame.. now financial institutions’ greed but instead witches and ghosts lurking in the walls of attics of homes. In which case, FladHammer will ride to the rescue.

The Bain drain

The storm: Obama camp decimates Romney in new TV ad.. President attacks in stump speech in heavy rain..

Romney signatures at Bain after he said he left..

Enough to make you sick

Congress may allow Monsanto to write its own rules!

3-year-old gets mugged in NYC! Chain ripped from his neck..

Here is another story on federal agencies offering opposing forecasts of the solar impact to the planet

And I reiterate: I hope this won’t happen should there be a ‘big one’.. 

It appears the world is not going to sizzle with this flare—and won’t in the future, either. But when a strong X class has the potential to do some damage you’d hope that federal agencies are on the same page.

But then again.. what if the same page they are on is dead wrong?

In that regard, maybe it’s better they oppose and offer different forecasts. May the strongest forecast win.

Here is another story on federal agencies offering opposing forecasts of the solar impact to the planet

As the solar storm from the X flare hits earth, federal agencies are providing inconsistent information on the power

What is troubling to think about is when a really large solar event takes place that could have a significant impact on this planet, will things be this much of a mess?

As the solar storm from the X flare hits earth, federal agencies are providing inconsistent information on the power

All that anger about Team USA's Olympics clothing

First of all, I can say this: I don’t like that China made Team USA’s Olympic clothing anymore than the next person. I type this, of course, on a computer make in India.. and read about the story on an iPhone made in China. Oh and of course Congress was outraged too. I am sure Harry Reid, who said we should burn the clothes and start from scratch, was wearing a suit made in the USA? And socks made in the USA? And .. well, he wasn’t. Chances are no one anywhere ever really is anymore.

And that is the tragic part of this story.

We don’t make anything here. Including military vehicles! How many times have you heard about China making weapons of war and selling them the United States? How many times before someone notices? Sports made people notice.. Team USA’s awful beret style outfit made people notice..

Another angle of this story not being mentioned is just how awful the outfits are. It looks like a remake of CHARIOTS OF FIRE. 

Personally I enjoy the summer games. Really. There is something magical, still, about the Olympics. And of course this year they feature a boatload of missiles pointed directly at the city of London by British military … but that aside, the United States, with its double breasted lapels and berets, will march into Olympics stadium proudly with an American flag and outfits made in China. Wonder where that flag was made….

And wonder where team China’s outfits were made? let me guess.. Taiwan? 

Horror is dominating at Comic-Con

…and the Joker is returning from a long hiatus. Can’t wait

Horror is dominating at Comic-Con

Friday night.
The mood is right.

Of course if you’re so inclined to get some information into your system tonight along with your cold or warm brew of choice, here you go.. Enjoy and be safe:

• An interesting article from THE ATLANTIC on Obama’s drone war.. 


• Mitt Romney set to make the rounds this weekend, but it will also be Ron Paul’s last stand.. in Nebraska of all places.. If he wins Saturday in the state he could shake up the GOP convention and the party itself..


• This story is making national headlines most likely only because it’s weird:A boyfriend assaulted his girlfriend with steak sauce. The reason? Well FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY of course..


• Who were the first Americans? Some new information questions how old we are and who was here first…


• A 28-year-old autistic man was found alive after three weeks lost in a remote part of Utah..


• Some historic flooding is taking place in Houston, but it is most likely not enough to end a drought that seems to continue on and on.


• GREEN MILE star Michael Clarke Duncan in hospital after cardiac arrest..


• More horrid Syria massacres taking place..

And.. indeed, it is Friday the 13th. Hopefully there were no black cats in your way or ladders above your head throughout the day. And even if there were, why worry. Amazingly, 60 million people around this planet will. 

Be safe and be lucky.

Perhaps today is the best day to play the lottery.

Very interesting article from THE ATLANTIC about Obama's drone wars..

Very interesting article from THE ATLANTIC about Obama's drone wars..

HOW LOW WITH THE AURORA GO!?

HOW LOW WITH THE AURORA GO!?

The X flare blasted off the sun yesterday with ferocity.. According to SpaceWeather.com, the timing of the event has changed as the CME which blurted out is moving faster than expected..
According to the site:

REVISED FORECAST: The CME launched toward Earth by yesterday’s X-flare is moving faster than originally thought. Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab have revised their forecast accordingly, advancing the cloud’s expected arrival time to 09:17 UT (5:17 am EDT) on Saturday, July 14th. Weekend auroras are likely.

 The other question for skywatchers: How low will aurora go? NASA has a site to monitor it.. If you’re in a lucky Northern state in the United States you may get a glimpse of some beautiful images..

Here is the NASA site with the map
Stay tuned..

A GREAT FRIDAY MORNING TO ALL!

Hope you’re going to have a plan to escape this week in one piece and enjoy life as much as you can, as we know it’s often short…

And this weekend we may enjoy some Northern Lights in my area if this X.4 was strong enough.. hopefully the power stays on and I heat up my frozen pizza . We will see..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVrYTLs4VV0]

A major X flare burst off the sun today. Ready or not, a geomagnetic storm is heading straight for our pale blue dot

A major X flare burst off the sun today. Ready or not, a geomagnetic storm is heading straight for our pale blue dot

So I got into a discussion today about the meaning of life with someone

Over a pizza buffet nonetheless. But here is what I concluded.

We ask the wrong questions of ourselves.. and by doing so constantly lead new generations to ask the wrong questions, too.

When you’re young and dumb someone old comes and says those typical words: Why do you want to do when you grow up? A plumber! A reporter! A teacher! 

I think we all know that the vast majority of people don’t live up to the childhood dreams. 

But maybe the premise of the question should be rephrased.. maybe the basis of the question isn’t actually about money and income and the choice of a career… 

Hear me out on this, because you know for a FACT that when you go to parties or functions, one of the first questions you typically get is someone asking you, “So what do you do?” i.e. JOB, INCOME, SALARY! MONEY MONEY MONEY. 
Dollars and dinero. But it all means nothing.

So while I was chowing down today in my pizza buffet food I asked the other person, who right now is jobless, “what do you want to do. REALLY want to do.. like REALLLLYYY want to do?” And I said this question is based on the fictitious scenario where you have everything you wanted, salary and income aren’t an issue, and job title could matter less. Minus all that away.. like, obituary type way, whatdo you want to do…….. in this short life…. ?

Now when I asked this question I did it because I was asking her but at the same time asking myself. I, too, wanted to know what I WANT TO DO IN LIFE, TOO. And out of almost no where, I blurted out, 

I want to protect innocent life. I want to protect all innocence. I really want to

And that is it. I figured out my role in life. It was just that easy. Minus away the nonsense about success. Get rid of that veil that your JOB is something that will matter generations after your once intact skin has turned to dust. And bring in the real question: What do you strive to do in life, what matters to do, and what you WANT TO DO with what matters to you?

Sure, jobs matter in the ‘now.’ And the ‘now’ seems to be where we all live all the time, never looking forward to the future and seldom learning any thing at all from the past.

So I figured it out.. 

Protect innocence.

Now to put that into practicality… that’s the tough one.

So ask yourself.. What do you want to do in life?

I spent hours waiting for my car to get repaired today.. only to find out that they could not repair it

On to the dealership, I suppose!

But it gave me time to contemplate life. Contemplace Facebook.. contemplate lots of things that boggle my mind, boggle our world.. and cause consternation, panic, and envy to take precedence. 

Oh, and I went to the mall, got a hair cut, and had pizza, too. 

Yes indeed, that was my emotion/food mixed day. 

Interesting read: An ex Scientologist says the Tom Cruise Katie Holmes split is harmful

And depending on your point of view of Scientology, it may be harmful especially for Katie Holmes ..

Interesting read: An ex Scientologist says the Tom Cruise Katie Holmes split is harmful

Black Lung makes deadly return to coal country

Black Lung makes deadly return to coal country

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8iD6ELQtjQ?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=374]

I think we all need some healing. Which brings up this YouTube video that purports it can do just that, heal you and repair your life.. It is at a 528Hz frequency. The instructions say you should listen to it while you wear headphones. If you like it and it heals you keep searching YouTube for more videos just like it. If it freaks you out and makes you sick, perhaps you were already healed minus the 528Hz that was supposed to do it.

However, before you jump to a conclusion that the 528Hz helped, quick gather some more info and facts, including this website where users debate whether the whole notion of the healing power of this noise is fact or hoax.

But if this whole thing is a scam, it certainly has been one that has long lasted others. And even more, if it’s a fraud from the onset, I still want to know who makes the songs, who hums the dramatic voices, and who creates the vast number of YouTube videos that are set to the tone of the universe….?

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

The Earth has been lucking out lately, but solar events continue to get stronger

The UK DAILY MAIL reports what we already seem to be aware of: Solar flares just seem to be stronger and stronger in recent months..

Last week we have been seen numerous M class flares and one strong X class flare explode from our sun. Some sunspots have been so large that they 15 Earths strung together..

2013 is expected to be the big year for solar events as the sun heads to its peak of its 11 year cycle…

And if just the right elements come together, perhaps the Ed Dames Killshot will happen. But Ed Dames is just crazy… Right?

As if you had any doubt that 2012 was hotter than hell..

June’s second half helped the continental United States break its record for the hottest first six months in a calendar year.. And with that piece of information contemplate this: The last 12 months have been the warmest since 1895.. 

Get that? 1895.

Also in the news in 18895, a sandstorm crippled the panhandle of Texas, Grover Cleveland was president, and an earthquake occurred in the New Madrid seismic zone.

History repeats itself.. so watch the Midwest……. ??

As if you had any doubt that 2012 was hotter than hell..

I love Scranton, PA, but now for the news it's making

but the city of Scranton is in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. The Electric City has lots of great things to brag about but the headlines today is all about the Mayor cutting city workers’ pay to minimum wage because of how broke it is, and how property taxes are about to skyrocket to abnormally high proportions. 

Local news stations WNEP and WBRE have been covering ferociously since it occurred, and now national news orgs are picking up the story.

According to Mayor Chris Doherty, there is only about $5,000 left is the city’s bank account after payroll..

Doherty, according to this FOX NEWS report, did not respond to calls from FOX NEWS..

I am a proud poppa tonight. I wore my Old Navy BATMAN shirt and when mommy brought Ayden home from day care, he pointed at my chest and said “bat”… so either he recognizes the emblem of the caped crusader or I have a job ahead of me in being a winged superhero

'THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN' TOPS HOT BOX

BUT…

Really how ‘amazing’ was Spidey?

$65 million opening weekend and $140 million in six days in 2012? Compare that to 2002 when the first SPIDERMAN film opened with $114 million, a record that year.. and in 2004 when SPIDERMAN 2 got $88 million.. and in 2007 when SPIDERMAN 3 got $151 million. The numbers look different when you compare..

And in that comparison also don’t forget ticket prices were cheaper in all years previous to now. $65 mil for yet another re-imagined Spiderman isn’t so great anymore..

Not only that, but with the extreme heat across much of the United States over the past 6 days, roughly the same amount as the days Spider-Man was in theaters, you’d certainly think that more people would have tried to escape the blazing sun by getting into a cool theater?

Maybe people accepted the joys of summer and simply took a dip into pools instead..?

I am finishing up a quick post about Spiderman and came across this photo of someone eating a burger at Hardees on Fourth of July.. apparently you were able to dress like Spiderman and get a free burger. 

I don’t have a Hardees close to me. And even if I did I would not have considered it.. Don’t like the food much there. Although any excuse to dress like a superhero .. well, that could have changed my outlook. 

The things people will do for free less than quality-filled meatlike byproducts.. my goodness.

Looking at the calender, time appears to be fleeting.

The seconds hands on the clocks fly around in a circular motion.. after all, summer time is about halfway through.

Yes, it’s only July. And sure summer extends well into September, but by then kids are back in school and colleges campuses are less than sober. Every July, around this time, I get that gut feeling. Then the whole “Christmas in July” shopping experience malls used to try back when people went to them only added to the childhood misery of knowing that the clock was ticking.

There is something interesting about the summertime and how it trickles slowly into autumn.

Even with this year’s heat, we can be aware that cooler breezes will blow in two months.

And despite the fact that many of us are long gone from hallowed hallways of high schools, we all get that same pit of the stomach feeling as August winds to a close, and as the summer sun bakes the landscape in one last vibrant attempt to keep things hot.

Summer comes and goes..

The same in 2012 as it was in 2001 and 1991. Enjoy these moments while you can. Be alive … take in some rays.

Wear sunscreen. (I never liked that song.)

Researchers discover a parasite that causes self-harm or even suicide

Another positive step perhaps in getting to a future where mental health will be healthier..

Researchers discover a parasite that causes self-harm or even suicide

I'm contemplating writing a book about a paranoid man dealing with being a father in the 21st century

It will be filled with fact not fiction.
Tales of paranoia and how to deal with it..
Worries over fevers..
Manufactured fears and real ones too.

The only thing about this proposed book is that I first off really don’t know who would read something like this and second, how a paranoid fearful dad who is dealing with things has time to write it.

A work in progress.

Would you read it?

Ernest Borgnine is dead at 95

He has decades of achievements in the acting field.. but ever since I was a small kid growing up in Centralia, PA, I remembered fondly watching Borgnine star in the spaghetti western flick SUPERFUZZ. And while I know the tributes to his skills will most likely neglect to mention the strange and weird movie SUPERFUZZ, I for one will never forget him bouncing and dancing on a giant ball of chewing gum, being frozen underwater, and making me laugh as a tiny child. 

An actor who will be missed.

It's a sushi Sunday

And maybe radiation years from now.. But it’s been too long since a spicy shrimp roll..

There have been some amazing new images of Mars revealed by NASA. I just stare at them and fathom the future.. a base there? Will humans’ footprints litter the landscape? Is there a life form present ? …did the Martians move underground and do they still lurk? Ok maybe the final question can be answered affirmatively as no, unless you’d ask someone like John Lear. But the rest of them are valid and wonderful to ponder.. 

Here is the story on the Mars photos from the UK DAILY MAIL

The LA TIMES reports: The Department of Homeland Security's BioWatch air samplers, meant to detect a terrorist biological attack, have been plagued by false alarms and other failures.

It’s an eye opening story.. the money quote of the article featured here:

President George W. Bush announced the system’s deployment in his 2003 State of the Union address, saying it would “protect our people and our homeland.” Since then, BioWatch air samplers have been installed inconspicuously at street level and atop buildings in cities across the country — ready, in theory, to detect pathogens that cause anthrax, tularemia, smallpox, plague and other deadly diseases.

But the system has not lived up to its billing. It has repeatedly cried wolf, producing dozens of false alarms in Los Angeles, Detroit, St. Louis, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere, a Los Angeles Times investigation found.

The LA TIMES reports: The Department of Homeland Security's BioWatch air samplers, meant to detect a terrorist biological attack, have been plagued by false alarms and other failures.