GlaxoSmithDecline: Some interesting headlines about the big drug company

GlaxoSmithKline is under investigation in the UK by the Serious Fraud Office (real name, seriously) ..

The criminal investigation is into the drug maker’s commercial practices, according to reports.. 

The New York TIMES details some more in its reporting on the matter, but neither the drug company nor the Fraud office are providing any more background on what the fraud accusations may be..   but we do know this from REUTERS: The drug company already is facing claims of bribery in China and four other countries.  

Shares are falling in the stock market..  

But across the world today, vaccines are still being administered to crying children in pediatricians’ offices en masse.

So Glaxo still has that going for it. Bribery or not.

Marshall Fine Journalist, Movie Critic, writes: Farewell to horror films

He is done with them.. He makes a few points I can agree with.. for example, this: 

Vampires? Werewolves? Zombies? Again, sorry — it’s less that I don’t believe in them (I don’t) than that they have become such tired concepts or conceits, full of familiar tropes. I simply can’t summon the energy to care about them.

Even those, however, are preferable to the kind of torture-porn that seems to dominate the genre. Special effects have evolved so far that you can find a way to graphically depict any sadistic act you can imagine, from disembowelment to decapitation, and worse.

I have found a few gems that actually are good stories mentally scary.. One movie recently I saw was HAUNTER.. I am not in favor of the sadistic torture porn, and have written a number of articles against it over the years..

Fine also writes that age itself may have done in his horror experience.. he opines:

When you’re young — which I’m defining as under 30 — you crave sensation. It can come from thrill rides or extreme sports (participating or watching) or horror movies. The more exaggerated the sensation, the better — it’s a way of expanding your boundaries, testing yourself against extremes, figuring out your own limits.

After 30, however, there’s an increasing awareness of just how brutal, random and arbitrary life can be. Bad things do happen to good people; there are people out there who do commit these acts and you simply hope you never cross paths with them.

I fondly recall long summer nights with my friends all together mocking and jesting about badly made B horror films.. we laughed way past midnight and often saw the sunrise after a night of  movie watching.. And in a sense, I’d like to do that again.

I don’t quite think I ever watched horror movies for the storyline.. There have been a few ‘paranormal’ entries into the genre that have thrilled me for other reasons—SIXTH SENSE, SIGNS, THE RING, JEEPERS CREEPERS (1) and even the CONJURING were all good for the right reasons.. other films were good only because they were fodder for the teenage sense of humor..

Now, as I crossed into the my 30s three years ago, I can attest to with Marshall Fine is saying. Horror sort of comes and goes.. I am more afraid of reality than fiction—bloodbaths in real life happen every day.. 

Fine writes in his conclusion:

Yes, yes – I can hear the arguments already. Horror films allow us to confront our fears and, perhaps, deal with them in a non-threatening way. Or: Horror films serve as metaphors for (A) our lack of control over the world at large or (B) specific real-life horrors like nuclear holocaust, racism, environmental catastrophe, etc. Or they’re a harmless diversion, a catharsis in which the powerless ultimately overcome the powerful.

I get that. But I don’t need horror movies to make me think about those things. And really, only critics parse horror films in that way. Most of the mass audience is simply looking for a cheap thrill.

I suppose that’s all true.

But ‘horror movies’ aren’t the only torture porns out there.. PASSION OF THE CHRIST was almost as bad as HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES.  Which is why I have long thought the new breed of sadism in some films need their own genre—and I don’t think fans of that sort of movie would disagree. I argue that they’d be much happier going to a Rob Zombie section of Netflix and finding all of the blood and gore that they yearn to consume.. 

Horror movies can still be new and fresh, inventive and scary. 

Where Mr. Fine is right is in his broad perception that most horror movies are not good and fresh.. instead sadistic and without merit. 

Thoughts anyone?

Marshall Fine Journalist, Movie Critic, writes: Farewell to horror films

The Gamma Ray burst that may be. Or may not be.

Amazing news from beyond the Milky Way galaxy today.. There may have been (and may NOT have been) a Gamma Ray burst in the Andromeda Galaxy..

Scientists say that if one did actually occur, it’s far away and will not destroy the planet earth. Data is still coming in—scarce at this point, reports say..

It was apparently either a Gamma Ray burst or an Ultraluminous X-ray object.  Either way the idea of both are complicated to contemplate and require brain power.. Either save it for something else or try to manage a way to think about what this is or means.. So amazing, isn’t it?

It may be worth remembering during Art Bell’s brief Sirius stint, he interviewed Michio Kaku on his first program. Among the many topics discussed: What a Gamma Ray burst would do the planet earth should one occur close enough to hit..

Looking good after all these years.

This is the GERBER BABY at 87 .. her name is Ann Turner Cook.

And I am not being sarcastic about her appearance at all.. She looks fantastic! As adorable as the image which first appeared in 1931. 

One baby’s image became the timeless symbol of infancy and innocence.. Amazing.

'Asteroid to hit Earth' story goes up on CNN

A user posts a fake news piece to CNN’s iReport news hub. It stays live for 22 hours before someone realizes it must surely not be true.

CNN is really red-faced about this one.. A user posted a fake news piece about the end of the world coming in the 2040s.. the fiction: An asteroid will hit earth on March 35, 2041. 

March 35..
And people believed it..

I am not sure what CNN should be more ashamed at: It’s false asteroid report or its real months’ long reports on flight 370..

I also thought this, though: While March 35 may not be a real date, nor will this 2041 asteroid be a real threat, others are very true and very real. 

For example, the planet earth may face a brush with destiny in 2032. That is if the 2029 "Friday the 13th Asteroid" doesn’t hit first..  and if we make it through all of these dangers, the next lurking possible life altering rock from the sky comes in 2036, about when I will hopefully start contemplating a late-life retirement. 

And they are the big ones we know about.. 

Obviously, proven by the Russian meteor impact in 2013, we don’t know all of the space rocks around.. we rarely see them incoming more than a day or two in advance.

And while the 2041 asteroid story was fake, ironic twists and turns occur in our news cycles. What’s fake today is history tomorrow. 

Either way.. CNN needs to figure a better way to exist online than this.

'Asteroid to hit Earth' story goes up on CNN

New details emerge about HUNGER GAMES KILLER Elliot Rodger

The plot may have been years in the making, but the killer gave just minutes’ notice before he rained terror across a Southern California community.

We know Elliot Rodger used a gun—but he also slaughtered three with a knife—his roommates. 

We know from allusions made that he seemingly was hooked on video games—presumably shoot-em-up games …

We also know that he has been seeing a therapist since the age of 8. Though a list of medication he was on has not been released, it is more than likely that he was on something. Apparently a family friend said that Rodger was seeing the therapist ‘almost every day.’

New details emerge about HUNGER GAMES KILLER Elliot Rodger

This is Chervony Lloern. She really isn’t there, it’s just her body. Her lifeless corpse.. she is making headlines across the Netland because, in death, she got a wish: Being propped up in a red rocking chair, surrounded by flowers and plants, and wearing her wedding gown..

Just another day at the Marin Funeral Home in Puerto Rico, as the WASHINGTON POST reports in full here..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

Kids reacting to old computers..

This is the current generation gap.. the ‘old folks’ who used the mainframes.. the new kids who use the cloud..

It’s actually quite fun to have lived through the evolution of computers from the floppy disks of THE OREGON TRAIL to the new age of apps on demand..

Everything has changed.

And as for homework before the internet? I suffered that age for most of my schooling… And it was rough.

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

Median CEO pay crosses $10 million in 2013

Lifestyles of the of the rich and rarely seen..

Median CEO pay crosses $10 million in 2013

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

A very creepy video.. ominous lightning flickering over New York City.. and One World Trade Center was struck with a bright flash.

The first thing I thought about when seeing the video: The souls of the 8000 body parts are a little angry at the cocktail party on their makeshift grave in the 9/11 Memorial.. Or maybe that’s just how I think.

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

White House staff tried to 'un-ring the bell' after revealing CIA chief's identity

This is a great article from the GUARDIAN on the White House blowing the cover of a top CIA agent in Afghanistan this weekend—which completely now takes any attention away from the impromptu Obama visit to the country for Memorial Day..

Just think of Snowden would have done this? Or Assange? Instead the Obama administration did .. And then tried to subdue the obvious damage in foreign policy implications this has..

5,999 names don’t matter when 1 name is the top secret covert agent in Afghanistan..

I am sure Jay Carney wants to avoid work tomorrow..but Jay, you left TIME for this.. The heat is on you tomorrow. The gaggle is calling..

White House staff tried to 'un-ring the bell' after revealing CIA chief's identity

Nigeria 'called off deal' for girls

The entire world wanted to ‘bring our girls home.’ 

They blamed the terrorists..

And now they should ask the Nigerian government why they called off the deal to actually bring these girls back from the torture they are most likely enduring..

Anyone want to begin a Twitter campaign to actually expose this truth?

Nigeria 'called off deal' for girls

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2me4KExKIY?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]

It’s still Memorial Day, and never too late to showcase some of the dumbest Americans that Mark Dice can find on the streets of California.. 

I really enjoyed the working theme that Memorial Day was more for surfers who lost their lives..

Any one see why the VA is as bad as it is? I’d venture to say some who work there don’t even know the promise that was meant to be kept.

I am laughing in spite of myself at this..

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

When I play with my son, I feel like a kid again.

And sometimes I look like one, too.

Seriously, I am look like a child with a receding graying hairline! Maybe my wife just took it at a weird angle.

Either way, it looks like Ayden is a year away from outpacing my in growth..

Short is the sport.
It was a great weekend all in all..

White House outs CIA official

Seriously, this is getting to be like the Bush Administration part three! History repeats itself one administration of the time

White House outs CIA official

He mimicked America Psycho - he wanted to be a star

Elliot Rodger was trying to act out the role of a film star when he went on his killing spree - to make up for the fact he felt like a failure in real life. Clearly he did not feel he had the status he deserved.

Interesting take.
It makes sense..

He mimicked America Psycho - he wanted to be a star

In Death, Girls (and Boys) Swoon Over Santa Barbara Mass Murderer

Not shocking.. 

It reminds me a bit of the Tsarnaev reaction, like his photo on the cover of ROLLING STONE ..

In Death, Girls (and Boys) Swoon Over Santa Barbara Mass Murderer

Don’t ever make me eat junk food again!

An angry Ayden tonight after I put spinach in his mouth..

Pop tarts in the toaster …

3-Year-Old Remembers Past Life, Identifies Murderer and Location of Body

A little boy identified a man he said killed him in his past life, and even showed where the body and murder weapon were buried. The man admitted to the crime.

This is a fascinating story from the Golan Heights region near the border of Syria and Israel.. If we are to believe what we read, a 3-year-old boy remembered not only how he died (and ax to the head) but also the person who killed him.

We are also led to believe from the article that the boy led his parents to the murder site. There they found an ax and bones of a body. Also when he confronted the man who he said killed his former self, we are told again, the man confessed to murder as his face ‘turned pale.’ 

This comes from Eli Lasch, a leading German regressionist in the past lives realm. 

This is a matter for discernment, I’d suppose.

Belief in reincarnation seemingly can cut across religious background. I know some Muslims and Catholics who are very open to the concept of reincarnation. I also know some atheists that would never entertain the thought.

The part of this whole story I found most doubtful is that we had a story of a ‘boy’ and a ‘man,’ a ‘family’ and a ‘murder site.’ No names are places were revealed..

Even more, if the story is accurate and we have a real life case of a past life matter, how can we be sure the person regressing this boy did not plant false memories? What scientific assurances can we be given?

After all.. a ’3-year-old confronting’ his murderer? 

My son is a little over 3. He loves Scooby Doo and the Care Bears. I cannot imagine him confronting any adult about issues of this nature. Of course, every child is different.

I have long wondered before Ayden was 3 and soon to be 4 (next year) if he would relay some moments of his past lives.. So far nothing. I also asked him where heaven was, who God is, and where he came from. He dodged my questions as only an artful toddler could..

But in the Golan Heights we have a miracle child.. 

The ax marks the spot.

3-Year-Old Remembers Past Life, Identifies Murderer and Location of Body