Tucker Carlson is on TV this week, as a substitute. Tucker Carlson does not have his own TV show, in part because Jon Stewart famously schooled him when Carlson was co-hosting CNN's "Crossfire."
Tucker Carlson wants Michael Vick to be executed Carlson never recovered.
What has happened to Carlson's career in the six years that Stewart knocked the bow tie right off the smug host? Carlson has three things going for him. He has a relatively new website, The Daily Caller, which launched earlier this year. He regularly calls into the Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. And to pay the bills, he is under contract with Fox News, where he pops up on various political shows to punch up their panels and occasionally fill in for vacationing hosts.
This week Carlson is keeping Sean Hannity's seat warm. Tuesday he chose to punch up "Hannity" using the trifecta of any controversial conversation: religion, politics, and extreme stances on death. While setting up a segment on President Obama's recent telephone call to Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles (wherein the president praised the Eagles for giving ex-con quarterback Michael Vick a second chance after being incarcerated), Carlson casually stated that even though he is a Christian, he thinks Vick should be killed for the crime that the courts thought was only worthy of 19 months in the clink.
"I'm a Christian," Carlson quipped mere days after the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace. "I've made mistakes myself, I believe fervently in second chances, but Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did in a heartless and cruel way. And I think, personally, he should've been executed for that. He wasn't, but the idea that the president of the United States would be getting behind someone who murdered dogs? Kind of beyond the pale."
Job well done, Tucker. If there's three things popular on the "Hannity" show it's God, guns, and Obama-bashing. Carlson hit his quota in less than 16 seconds. And like a cherry on top, the Internet is buzzing with people typing out "Tucker..."
In August, Carlson appeared with former Wonkette editor Ana Marie Cox for a public service announcement for the Washington Animal Rescue League to benefit homeless animals. "Washington is a town where 50% of the people can disagree with you 100% of the time. But there are some things on which we can all agree -- animals shouldn't be mistreated," they said.
Many disagree with Carlson regarding his views about the convicted animal abuser who has turned himself around in such a manner that the Humane Society president believes that Vick should be allowed to own a dog.
Spike Obummer said: "First time I have ever disagreed with Tucker. The man, Vick, lost years of his productive life for his crime. As cold and callous as his deeds were, he paid the price our system judged to be fair. The debt is paid. Let him go on with his life which will always remain under a microscope."
Where are these comments coming from? Carlson's site, The Daily Caller, where this, the year's biggest story about the site's editor-in-chief, has only garnered 19 comments. Most of which, naturally, support Tucker's extreme aside.
Things weren't as supportive around the rest of the Web. None of the readers of the Associated Press story on FoxNews.com supported Carlson.
"What a ridiculous and moronic thing to say..." began islandtransient.
"Vick apologized, went bankrupt, lost his job, lost his home and savings, went to jail, and now realizes the error of his ways and even speaks to kids about his mistakes. What more do you want from
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Pat Robertson questions harsh pot laws
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says harsh penalties for marijuana possession are costly for America and damaging to young people. But a spokesman says he is not calling for decriminalizing pot.
The spokesman said Thursday that Robertson made the comments on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club" in the context of faith-based approaches to treating offenders.
Spokesman Chris Roslan said Robertson "unequivocally stated" he is against the use of illegal drugs.
The comments, however, were widely interpreted on several websites as an endorsement by the Christian Coalition founder of legalizing marijuana. They were celebrated by NORML, a group that advocates legalization of the drug.
The spokesman said Thursday that Robertson made the comments on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club" in the context of faith-based approaches to treating offenders.
Spokesman Chris Roslan said Robertson "unequivocally stated" he is against the use of illegal drugs.
The comments, however, were widely interpreted on several websites as an endorsement by the Christian Coalition founder of legalizing marijuana. They were celebrated by NORML, a group that advocates legalization of the drug.
Wal-Mart Takes Small-Store Concept To Maximum Degree
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is taking its vow to open smaller stores very seriously, planning a location that is 2% the size of its average supercenter, and by far the tiniest Wal-Mart store yet.
The roughly 3,500-square-foot store is being built on the campus of the University of Arkansas and will serve as a pharmacy and general merchandise outlet. It is dwarfed by the 185,000-square-foot size of the average Wal-Mart supercenter.
Wal-Mart's opening of the pharmacy comes at a time the retailer is looking for different ways to downsize from the massive stores that built the company into a $400 billion-a-year business. Stepped-up competition from deep discounters and a desire to enter urban areas, among other reasons, have Wal-Mart thinking about ways to refresh its big-box approach.
Bill Simon, head of Wal-Mart's U.S. operations, said during the fall that Wal-Mart planned to open medium-sized stores as small as 30,000 square feet in the years ahead, and even smaller locations along the lines of convenience-style stores the company operates in markets like Latin America.
The pharmacy, which will also carry other merchandise, is a move in the smaller store direction, but the company is noncommittal about expansion of the concept. "No more stores of this type are planned at this time, but we are always looking to learn," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa Hill said.
The "Walmart on Campus" is replacing a pharmacy the university was operating and is expected to open in mid-January, in time for students' return for the new semester, although the store will also be open to the general public.
Wal-Mart has deep ties to the University of Arkansas, which is about 30 miles from the company's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. The family of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton has given hundreds of millions of dollars to the school. The Sam M. Walton College of Business, named for Wal-Mart's founder, is part of the university, and the Bud Walton Arena, named for Sam's brother, is the site of Wal-Mart's annual shareholders' meeting.
But the pharmacy is a business venture, a school spokesman said. The university decided to close it because regulations restricted its ability to offer discounted drugs and offer longer hours, the spokesman said.
The roughly 3,500-square-foot store is being built on the campus of the University of Arkansas and will serve as a pharmacy and general merchandise outlet. It is dwarfed by the 185,000-square-foot size of the average Wal-Mart supercenter.
Wal-Mart's opening of the pharmacy comes at a time the retailer is looking for different ways to downsize from the massive stores that built the company into a $400 billion-a-year business. Stepped-up competition from deep discounters and a desire to enter urban areas, among other reasons, have Wal-Mart thinking about ways to refresh its big-box approach.
Bill Simon, head of Wal-Mart's U.S. operations, said during the fall that Wal-Mart planned to open medium-sized stores as small as 30,000 square feet in the years ahead, and even smaller locations along the lines of convenience-style stores the company operates in markets like Latin America.
The pharmacy, which will also carry other merchandise, is a move in the smaller store direction, but the company is noncommittal about expansion of the concept. "No more stores of this type are planned at this time, but we are always looking to learn," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa Hill said.
The "Walmart on Campus" is replacing a pharmacy the university was operating and is expected to open in mid-January, in time for students' return for the new semester, although the store will also be open to the general public.
Wal-Mart has deep ties to the University of Arkansas, which is about 30 miles from the company's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. The family of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton has given hundreds of millions of dollars to the school. The Sam M. Walton College of Business, named for Wal-Mart's founder, is part of the university, and the Bud Walton Arena, named for Sam's brother, is the site of Wal-Mart's annual shareholders' meeting.
But the pharmacy is a business venture, a school spokesman said. The university decided to close it because regulations restricted its ability to offer discounted drugs and offer longer hours, the spokesman said.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
J.R. Smith dunks on Gary Neal, dunk of the year?
Despite being a huge pain in the neck for Denver coach George Karl, Nuggets guard J.R. Smith has always been able to get up, but it's difficult to remember a time he dunked as viciously on someone as he did on Gary Neal of the San Antonio Spurs.
With the first quarter drawing to a close, Smith dribbles the ball up court, shadowed by Spurs wing Ime Udoka. Using a lightning quick but simple right-to-left crossover, Smith penetrates the heart of San Antonio's defense, meeting no resistance. He takes off from outside the protective circle, powering to the rim with both hands. Neal leaves the weakside corner to slide over under Smith, but he rotates late, and Smith propels himself up and over Neal to finish powerfully with both hands. Smith then did a chin-up on the rim for good measure, as the Pepsi Center crowd in Denver went absolutely ballistic. Smith completed the play with just .6 of a second left on the clock and was awarded a free throw for his efforts.
With the first quarter drawing to a close, Smith dribbles the ball up court, shadowed by Spurs wing Ime Udoka. Using a lightning quick but simple right-to-left crossover, Smith penetrates the heart of San Antonio's defense, meeting no resistance. He takes off from outside the protective circle, powering to the rim with both hands. Neal leaves the weakside corner to slide over under Smith, but he rotates late, and Smith propels himself up and over Neal to finish powerfully with both hands. Smith then did a chin-up on the rim for good measure, as the Pepsi Center crowd in Denver went absolutely ballistic. Smith completed the play with just .6 of a second left on the clock and was awarded a free throw for his efforts.
Local buzz: Las Vegas sports predictions for 2011
Las Vegas is a vibrant city in need of a revival and sports is the key to bringing Las Vegas back into the national consciousness. The following five predictions may sound surreal but ground work will be laid soon to make them a reality. Other predictions such as the UNLV men's basketball team and a NASCAR Nationwide race are inevitable. As always, remember where it was heard first and check back for next years Las Vegas predictions.
No. 5: NFL Preseason Game
Halloween parties in Las Vegas are not a one night affair. The city of Las Vegas will host Halloween parties all week long leading up to Halloween on Sunday night.
David Vasquez wikimedia commons public domain
The NFL has to finally cave in and announce an NFL preseason game in Las Vegas. Sports betting is rampant across the United States and the world. The excuse of not allowing an NFL game in Las Vegas on the basis of sports betting no longer makes sense. The NFL plays once a year in London, England. NFL fans in London's Wembley Stadium bet on the NFL game they are watching right in the stadium.
Why send NFL players out of the country and have money wagered on the game when none of that money benefits this country. The pure hypocrisy should lead the NFL to acquiesce and allow Las Vegas to host a preseason NFL game.
Once the NFL witnesses the success of a preseason game in Las Vegas the next step is a no brainer. Allow Las Vegas to host one Monday Night Football or Thursday Night Football game a month during the regular season. The ratings would be through the roof and every game would be standing room only. Why spend all the money sending a team out of the country when a city in the United States could benefit from the added revenue.
No. 4: Second NASCAR Nationwide Race Will be Announced
The NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend is one of the largest events hosted in this city. NASCAR loves Las Vegas and their year end NASCAR Championship Week in December was a monstrous success. Las Vegas may have a tough time securing a second NASCAR Sprint Cup race but a NASCAR Nationwide race will make sense.
NASCAR has lost a few tracks over the last few years on the Nationwide circuit and Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a major step up. This will set the ground work for the eventual second NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Las Vegas.
No. 3: UNLV Will Make Sweet 16 Run
Lon Kruger has his best team in years with this years incarnation of the UNLV Runnin Rebels. This team just needs to work on their free throw shooting and continue to work hard and they will be a nationally ranked team all season.
The Mountain West Conference is among the best in the country this year before it is torn apart from the defection of key teams over the next two years. This season will be the greatest in Mountain West Conference history and it will vault the UNLV Runnin Rebels into a three or four seed in the NCAA Tournament in March.
No. 2: Las Vegas Locomotives Will Win Third Consecutive UFL Championship
The Las Vegas Locomotives have won both UFL Championship games since the inception of the new professional football league. Led by former NFL head coach Jim Fassel, the Las Vegas Locomotives have dominated the UFL in their first two seasons. A third consecutive UFL Championship is very possible with a crack staff led by Fassel and his experienced staff.
No. 1: Major League Baseball Will Host Regular Season Games in Las Vegas
Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball League have all played preseason games in Las Vegas. The Oakland A's along with the Utah Jazz have hosted regular season games in Las Vegas in the past and this will be the year a Major League Baseball team announces a five to ten game schedule in Las Vegas.
As with any predictions, a success rate of three out of five would be impressive but don't be surprised if all five predictions come to fruition in the next year.
No. 5: NFL Preseason Game
Halloween parties in Las Vegas are not a one night affair. The city of Las Vegas will host Halloween parties all week long leading up to Halloween on Sunday night.
David Vasquez wikimedia commons public domain
The NFL has to finally cave in and announce an NFL preseason game in Las Vegas. Sports betting is rampant across the United States and the world. The excuse of not allowing an NFL game in Las Vegas on the basis of sports betting no longer makes sense. The NFL plays once a year in London, England. NFL fans in London's Wembley Stadium bet on the NFL game they are watching right in the stadium.
Why send NFL players out of the country and have money wagered on the game when none of that money benefits this country. The pure hypocrisy should lead the NFL to acquiesce and allow Las Vegas to host a preseason NFL game.
Once the NFL witnesses the success of a preseason game in Las Vegas the next step is a no brainer. Allow Las Vegas to host one Monday Night Football or Thursday Night Football game a month during the regular season. The ratings would be through the roof and every game would be standing room only. Why spend all the money sending a team out of the country when a city in the United States could benefit from the added revenue.
No. 4: Second NASCAR Nationwide Race Will be Announced
The NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend is one of the largest events hosted in this city. NASCAR loves Las Vegas and their year end NASCAR Championship Week in December was a monstrous success. Las Vegas may have a tough time securing a second NASCAR Sprint Cup race but a NASCAR Nationwide race will make sense.
NASCAR has lost a few tracks over the last few years on the Nationwide circuit and Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a major step up. This will set the ground work for the eventual second NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Las Vegas.
No. 3: UNLV Will Make Sweet 16 Run
Lon Kruger has his best team in years with this years incarnation of the UNLV Runnin Rebels. This team just needs to work on their free throw shooting and continue to work hard and they will be a nationally ranked team all season.
The Mountain West Conference is among the best in the country this year before it is torn apart from the defection of key teams over the next two years. This season will be the greatest in Mountain West Conference history and it will vault the UNLV Runnin Rebels into a three or four seed in the NCAA Tournament in March.
No. 2: Las Vegas Locomotives Will Win Third Consecutive UFL Championship
The Las Vegas Locomotives have won both UFL Championship games since the inception of the new professional football league. Led by former NFL head coach Jim Fassel, the Las Vegas Locomotives have dominated the UFL in their first two seasons. A third consecutive UFL Championship is very possible with a crack staff led by Fassel and his experienced staff.
No. 1: Major League Baseball Will Host Regular Season Games in Las Vegas
Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball League have all played preseason games in Las Vegas. The Oakland A's along with the Utah Jazz have hosted regular season games in Las Vegas in the past and this will be the year a Major League Baseball team announces a five to ten game schedule in Las Vegas.
As with any predictions, a success rate of three out of five would be impressive but don't be surprised if all five predictions come to fruition in the next year.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Video: Lunar Eclipse from 12/20/10
If you slept through the lunar eclipse last night, don’t feel too bad. There will be another one similar to the one that occurred last night in 400 years or so.
Another reason to not feel bad is because local multi-media enthusiast Daniel Gold was all over it, documented the whole thing in a live webcast last night for folks who weren’t able to see it for whatever reason. He also set the whole thing to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Moore the Difference on UConn's Historic Night
With a minute left, Maya Moore stood up on the bench and whirled a towel above her head, the grin on her face so bright it could light up all of Connecticut.
Just when it seems there's nothing more she can do, the senior All-American finds a way to dazzle anew. In a game for the ages, Moore put on a performance that was more than equal to the occasion.
"Every night when you need her to be at her best, she's at her best," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
And because of Moore, top-ranked UConn has surpassed the 88-game winning streak set by John Wooden's UCLA men's team from 1971-74. She had a career-high 41 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night, setting the tone as Connecticut blew by No. 22 Florida State 93-62 for win No. 89 in a row
Just when it seems there's nothing more she can do, the senior All-American finds a way to dazzle anew. In a game for the ages, Moore put on a performance that was more than equal to the occasion.
"Every night when you need her to be at her best, she's at her best," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
And because of Moore, top-ranked UConn has surpassed the 88-game winning streak set by John Wooden's UCLA men's team from 1971-74. She had a career-high 41 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night, setting the tone as Connecticut blew by No. 22 Florida State 93-62 for win No. 89 in a row
Woman's gun siege causes WSOC-TV station blackout
A WOMAN wielding a gun in the lobby of a local news station in North Carolina was taken into custody today following reports of a shot fired.
The evening broadcast of WSOC-TV was forced off the air shortly after 5pm after it was reported that a gun-wielding woman barricaded herself inside the station's lobby, WBTV-TV in Charlotte said.
At least one shot was fired.
A SWAT team removed the woman from the station on a stretcher, WBTV reported. It was not immediately clear if she was injured.
The station, which had just begun its 5pm broadcast, began playing commercials before going off the air completely.
"Channel 9 has to be off the air because of a police situation in our building. We apologise for any inconvenience," a statement on the station's website at 5:34pm read.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
The building was evacuated and all employees of the station were believed to be safe.
Blair Miller, an anchor for the station tweeted developments as the situation unfolded.
"Not on air. Distraught woman with gun in lobby. Police have building surrounded. Employees evacuated," he posted.
"Woman in custody. Everyone safe. We are hearing," he added moments later.
The evening broadcast of WSOC-TV was forced off the air shortly after 5pm after it was reported that a gun-wielding woman barricaded herself inside the station's lobby, WBTV-TV in Charlotte said.
At least one shot was fired.
A SWAT team removed the woman from the station on a stretcher, WBTV reported. It was not immediately clear if she was injured.
The station, which had just begun its 5pm broadcast, began playing commercials before going off the air completely.
"Channel 9 has to be off the air because of a police situation in our building. We apologise for any inconvenience," a statement on the station's website at 5:34pm read.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
The building was evacuated and all employees of the station were believed to be safe.
Blair Miller, an anchor for the station tweeted developments as the situation unfolded.
"Not on air. Distraught woman with gun in lobby. Police have building surrounded. Employees evacuated," he posted.
"Woman in custody. Everyone safe. We are hearing," he added moments later.
On the box: The Apprentice | Dirk Gently | The Savoy
Certain phrases do it for me. "It's Friday, it's five to five..." used to do it, but now I wait all year for the last remaining candidates to be summoned to the landing just a few steps from the summit of Sugar Inc from where His Lordship solemnly intones: "I've asked four of my trusted colleagues to put you through a rigorous interview process."
For "trusted colleagues", read corporate bastards, and as I say every year during The Apprentice, I mean that as a compliment.
For "a rigorous interview process", read a search-and-destroy of the CVs, with the flamethrowers aimed at the eminently
ADVERTISEMENT
unsuitable, the toweringly deluded and the out-and-out liars.
This time round, the biggest boasts have been made by Stuart "The Brand" Baggs, typically: "I'm not a one-trick pony, I'm not a ten-trick pony – I've got a field of ponies." But the biggest boaster was up against the biggest bastard, Claude Littner, who grabbed the metaphorical rope given to Baggs by the production team, rounded up all the ponies and turned the lasso back into a sturdy noose.
"'Stuart Baggs, The Brand'? What on earth does that mean?" roared Littner, with extreme prejudice. As Littner's bull neck tensed, Stuart's podgy cheeks wobbled with fear.
He'd already cocked up in other rooms, addressing interrogators by their first names or forgetting them completely when Bordan Tkachuk went for the kill, producing the proof that he wasn't quite the telecoms whizz he'd claimed. Lord Sugar was apoplectic.
"You're full of shit," thundered the boss-man, who was regretting having kept Baggs at the expense of Liz Locke. (I'd also been sorry to see Liz go, though must confess for reasons entirely unrelated to business acumen.)
I love this last-but-one round of The Apprentice more than the final (it's tonight), more than the final of The X Factor, which last Sunday left me feeling corpulent and ashamed (did I really spend 12 successive weekends anticipating the moment when Simon Cowell's nostrils would flare with moppet money-lust?).
But since Paul Kemsley, he of the Sugar tribute beard, quit the process, I've yearned for a new bastard the equal of Tkachuk (whose name sounds like a gun being cocked) and, of course, Littner.
This year – hurray! - I got two: Alan Watts, possessed of a fiendish smirk which I'm convinced hides a forked tongue, and Margaret Mountford, the old Apprentice hand back in a new role and relishing it. Of Chris Bates' constant referencing of his uni degree, she quipped: "It'll be in a frame and I bet his idea of a fun night is to sit and admire it." Give Mags her own show. Hell, give her doubting left eyebrow a show.
I like comedies, I like dramas. Comedy-dramas I've never been sure about and Dirk Gently has all but convinced me they don't work. The eponymous hero is a detective who believes in "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" but after this outing, even he'd struggle to make a case for that hyphen straddling the two genres.
Gently is the creation of Douglas Adams who was working on another of his cases when he died. This one began with a missing cat and ended with what seemed like the attempted murder of the three attractive leads, Stephen Mangan as Gently, Helen Baxendale and Darren Boyd, who was in the recent Whites with Alan Davies and seems to be cornering the market in sidekicks to curly-headed fools. They all survived but surely the show won't.
The soundtrack twanged with Randall & Hopkirk-esque harpsichord (or did that pair use a spinet?).
The hero chugged around in a Leyland Princess. But Dirk Gently lacked drama, despite blowing all of BBC4's special-effects budget for 2011 on a warehouse explosion, and it lacked comedy with not one halfway funny line – this only making me yearn for the return of Mangan's Free Agents from last year and scour Amazon for a cheap box-set of Baxendale's Cardiac Arrest, deadly certain laughs of the darkest hue.
Back in my days as an ambulance-chasing reporter, an old colleague had a ritual for greeting slow news days, which he'd nicked from an old movie.
"There are eight million stories in the Naked City," he'd say, "but we've got nane o' them." There must be a fair few hundred stories in The Savoy, but either the new Canadian owners of the famous London hotel insisted on a bland documentary portrait or the producers didn't bother to look down the folds in the sofas for them.
The first of this two-parter was full of cliche ("faded grandeur"), meaningless statistics ("2500 square metres of leather wall-lining") and contrived drama.
Would the refurb be finished in time? Of course it would. The Canadians suggested some team-bonding, and a staff mantra to be recited daily: "I am Savoy." W
hat would Alan Whicker have made of that, I wonder. Whicker used to be criticised for spending too long amid such, er, faded grandeur – but in his hands this documentary would have been a classier affair, and he would have found us some characters.
For "trusted colleagues", read corporate bastards, and as I say every year during The Apprentice, I mean that as a compliment.
For "a rigorous interview process", read a search-and-destroy of the CVs, with the flamethrowers aimed at the eminently
ADVERTISEMENT
unsuitable, the toweringly deluded and the out-and-out liars.
This time round, the biggest boasts have been made by Stuart "The Brand" Baggs, typically: "I'm not a one-trick pony, I'm not a ten-trick pony – I've got a field of ponies." But the biggest boaster was up against the biggest bastard, Claude Littner, who grabbed the metaphorical rope given to Baggs by the production team, rounded up all the ponies and turned the lasso back into a sturdy noose.
"'Stuart Baggs, The Brand'? What on earth does that mean?" roared Littner, with extreme prejudice. As Littner's bull neck tensed, Stuart's podgy cheeks wobbled with fear.
He'd already cocked up in other rooms, addressing interrogators by their first names or forgetting them completely when Bordan Tkachuk went for the kill, producing the proof that he wasn't quite the telecoms whizz he'd claimed. Lord Sugar was apoplectic.
"You're full of shit," thundered the boss-man, who was regretting having kept Baggs at the expense of Liz Locke. (I'd also been sorry to see Liz go, though must confess for reasons entirely unrelated to business acumen.)
I love this last-but-one round of The Apprentice more than the final (it's tonight), more than the final of The X Factor, which last Sunday left me feeling corpulent and ashamed (did I really spend 12 successive weekends anticipating the moment when Simon Cowell's nostrils would flare with moppet money-lust?).
But since Paul Kemsley, he of the Sugar tribute beard, quit the process, I've yearned for a new bastard the equal of Tkachuk (whose name sounds like a gun being cocked) and, of course, Littner.
This year – hurray! - I got two: Alan Watts, possessed of a fiendish smirk which I'm convinced hides a forked tongue, and Margaret Mountford, the old Apprentice hand back in a new role and relishing it. Of Chris Bates' constant referencing of his uni degree, she quipped: "It'll be in a frame and I bet his idea of a fun night is to sit and admire it." Give Mags her own show. Hell, give her doubting left eyebrow a show.
I like comedies, I like dramas. Comedy-dramas I've never been sure about and Dirk Gently has all but convinced me they don't work. The eponymous hero is a detective who believes in "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" but after this outing, even he'd struggle to make a case for that hyphen straddling the two genres.
Gently is the creation of Douglas Adams who was working on another of his cases when he died. This one began with a missing cat and ended with what seemed like the attempted murder of the three attractive leads, Stephen Mangan as Gently, Helen Baxendale and Darren Boyd, who was in the recent Whites with Alan Davies and seems to be cornering the market in sidekicks to curly-headed fools. They all survived but surely the show won't.
The soundtrack twanged with Randall & Hopkirk-esque harpsichord (or did that pair use a spinet?).
The hero chugged around in a Leyland Princess. But Dirk Gently lacked drama, despite blowing all of BBC4's special-effects budget for 2011 on a warehouse explosion, and it lacked comedy with not one halfway funny line – this only making me yearn for the return of Mangan's Free Agents from last year and scour Amazon for a cheap box-set of Baxendale's Cardiac Arrest, deadly certain laughs of the darkest hue.
Back in my days as an ambulance-chasing reporter, an old colleague had a ritual for greeting slow news days, which he'd nicked from an old movie.
"There are eight million stories in the Naked City," he'd say, "but we've got nane o' them." There must be a fair few hundred stories in The Savoy, but either the new Canadian owners of the famous London hotel insisted on a bland documentary portrait or the producers didn't bother to look down the folds in the sofas for them.
The first of this two-parter was full of cliche ("faded grandeur"), meaningless statistics ("2500 square metres of leather wall-lining") and contrived drama.
Would the refurb be finished in time? Of course it would. The Canadians suggested some team-bonding, and a staff mantra to be recited daily: "I am Savoy." W
hat would Alan Whicker have made of that, I wonder. Whicker used to be criticised for spending too long amid such, er, faded grandeur – but in his hands this documentary would have been a classier affair, and he would have found us some characters.
Reader Photos: Lunar Eclipse Solstice Special
Last night, the Earth passed between the sun and the moon, turning the moon a deep blood red and sending astronomy buffs to their cameras. As a bonus, this lunar eclipse was the first to fall on the winter solstice since 1638. The next solstice eclipse won’t be until 2094.
But if you missed it, there’s still plenty to look forward to. Starting in April 2014, there will be four total lunar eclipses visible from all of North America in less than two years.
Here’s a sampling of the best shots of our rusty celestial sidekick from Wired Science readers all over the continent. Keep them coming, and we’ll update the gallery as we get more good contributions.
Monday, December 20, 2010
In a rarity, both lunar eclipse and winter solstice to occur Tuesday
There are not many days like Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. Take it from people who know - astronomers. There was maybe one day like this Tuesday in the past 2,000 years.
On Tuesday morning, astronomers say, there will be - or depending on when this is read, was - a total eclipse of the moon. And on the very same day, the winter solstice arrives.
The last time the two celestial events occurred within the same calendar day was long before any of our lifetimes. The year, according to Geoff Chester, the public affairs officer at the U.S. Naval Observatory, was 1638. Although the solstice does not always occur on the same date each year, the date in 1638 will be the same as Tuesday's - Dec. 21.
Chester said he looked it up, because as the time of the two events drew nearer, people began to make inquiries of him. He said his research took him back to the year A.D. 1.
That seemed to be reasonably far back. He consulted "a number of well-respected sources." And his finding, essentially was this: "It's a comparatively rare event." Although it does not appear to have any cosmic significance.
Few alive today are likely to see a recurrence. The next time both winter solstice and total lunar eclipse are to occur on the same calendar day will again be on Dec. 21. But the year will be 2094, Chester said.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks the sun's rays from the face of the moon. The moon is then fully in the shadow cast in space by the Earth.
ad_icon
Click here!
The absolute midpoint of the eclipse will be at 3:17 Tuesday morning, Chester said.
The moon then continues moving through the Earth's shadow, emerging completely shortly after 5 a.m.
A slight effect known as the penumbral phase may be seen for as much as an hour longer. But it is generally considered too subtle for most people to notice.
The winter solstice, which occurs shortly afterward, is the time when the sun reaches its lowest point in the northern sky.
That is the moment that many people consider to be the start of the winter season.
This year, many people will require little convincing that winter has already begun.
If temperature is any measure of wintriness, it is clear that December has been much colder than average in Washington.
The time of the solstice this year, for those who will not have winter without it, is, according to the Naval Observatory, at 6:38 a.m.
The day of the solstice is essentially the shortest of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Although neither the eclipse nor the solstice had occurred at the time this story was prepared, there was little doubt Monday night that both would take place on schedule.
The laws of celestial mechanics are strict, and the heavens have conformed to them for a long time.
Should the two events fail to meet their deadlines, it would be a great surprise.
"If it doesn't happen," Chester said, "we're in big trouble."
On Tuesday morning, astronomers say, there will be - or depending on when this is read, was - a total eclipse of the moon. And on the very same day, the winter solstice arrives.
The last time the two celestial events occurred within the same calendar day was long before any of our lifetimes. The year, according to Geoff Chester, the public affairs officer at the U.S. Naval Observatory, was 1638. Although the solstice does not always occur on the same date each year, the date in 1638 will be the same as Tuesday's - Dec. 21.
Chester said he looked it up, because as the time of the two events drew nearer, people began to make inquiries of him. He said his research took him back to the year A.D. 1.
That seemed to be reasonably far back. He consulted "a number of well-respected sources." And his finding, essentially was this: "It's a comparatively rare event." Although it does not appear to have any cosmic significance.
Few alive today are likely to see a recurrence. The next time both winter solstice and total lunar eclipse are to occur on the same calendar day will again be on Dec. 21. But the year will be 2094, Chester said.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks the sun's rays from the face of the moon. The moon is then fully in the shadow cast in space by the Earth.
ad_icon
Click here!
The absolute midpoint of the eclipse will be at 3:17 Tuesday morning, Chester said.
The moon then continues moving through the Earth's shadow, emerging completely shortly after 5 a.m.
A slight effect known as the penumbral phase may be seen for as much as an hour longer. But it is generally considered too subtle for most people to notice.
The winter solstice, which occurs shortly afterward, is the time when the sun reaches its lowest point in the northern sky.
That is the moment that many people consider to be the start of the winter season.
This year, many people will require little convincing that winter has already begun.
If temperature is any measure of wintriness, it is clear that December has been much colder than average in Washington.
The time of the solstice this year, for those who will not have winter without it, is, according to the Naval Observatory, at 6:38 a.m.
The day of the solstice is essentially the shortest of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Although neither the eclipse nor the solstice had occurred at the time this story was prepared, there was little doubt Monday night that both would take place on schedule.
The laws of celestial mechanics are strict, and the heavens have conformed to them for a long time.
Should the two events fail to meet their deadlines, it would be a great surprise.
"If it doesn't happen," Chester said, "we're in big trouble."
Will we see Joe Webb when the Vikings get the ball back?
Did Chicago Bear defensive end Corey Wootton make the decision on whether Brett Favre is done for tonight? Wootton, a rookie defensive end from Northwestern, just slammed Favre to the turf on third down. Favre stayed on the ground for a few minutes and is now on the sidelines being looked at by trainers and doctors.
Will Wootton's hit do something that Favre's ego couldn't do. Will his hit keep Favre on the sideline?
Will we see Joe Webb when the Vikings get the ball back?
Will Wootton's hit do something that Favre's ego couldn't do. Will his hit keep Favre on the sideline?
Will we see Joe Webb when the Vikings get the ball back?
Mike Miller's Return to the Lineup is Imminent
Mike Miller has been out since training camp after suffering a thumb injury. He underwent surgery on October 22, and he's currently ahead of the initial projected timetable for his recovery.
He returned to practice last week and he's been traveling with the team and getting extensive workouts in.
Coach Erik Spolestra says the injury is healed and that he's ready to play. Right now, the only thing standing in his path between sitting out and suiting up is team president, Pat Riley.
There's a chance he plays tonight, but if he doesn't, he shouldn't be out of the rotation further than Thursday's matchup with the Phoenix Suns. His presence will be sorely needed on Christmas day when the Heat visit Los Angeles and getting in some game action prior to that will be necessary.
He returned to practice last week and he's been traveling with the team and getting extensive workouts in.
Coach Erik Spolestra says the injury is healed and that he's ready to play. Right now, the only thing standing in his path between sitting out and suiting up is team president, Pat Riley.
There's a chance he plays tonight, but if he doesn't, he shouldn't be out of the rotation further than Thursday's matchup with the Phoenix Suns. His presence will be sorely needed on Christmas day when the Heat visit Los Angeles and getting in some game action prior to that will be necessary.
Lunar eclipse tonight: How it helps the search for extraterrestrial life
The lunar eclipse tonight – a total lunar eclipse for people across North America – promises to be a spectacular show, weather and coffee pot permitting.
Skip to next paragraph
Related Stories
It will be a late, languid event. For people living east of the Mississippi, the eclipse begins well after midnight. The lunar eclipse will last about three and a half hours, with the moon falling in the depths of Earth's shadow for about an hour and twelve minutes at the height of the event.
As Earth slips between the sun and moon, changing the tint of the lunar surface from white to orange to russet and back, you're seeing the effect Earth's atmosphere is having on the color of sunlight passing through it. But the atmosphere is doing something else. It's in effect tagging the sun's rays with the chemical fingerprints of gases in the atmosphere.
Over the past two years, two teams of astronomers have been using this effect to figure out what Earth might look like as a distant, extrasolar planet orbiting another star. By analyzing the light reflected off the moon during a lunar eclipse – light that has passed through Earth's atmosphere – they have detected gases in the atmosphere that indicate the presence of organic life on the planet.
If the teams' baby steps are any indication, the techniques they are developing may be able to detect evidence of organic life imprinted in an extrasolar planet's atmosphere – at least for rocky, Earth-mass planets orbiting stars relatively close to the sun – using large Earthbound telescopes.
"It's an exciting experiment – one of the few I've seen that I wish I'd thought of myself," says Sara Seager, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies exoplanets and their atmospheres and who was not involved in either project.
"The Earth is our best laboratory; it's the only planet we know of with life," she says. "So we really want to understand what Earth would look like as an exoplanet far away."
Of special interest are planets whose orbits carry them in front of their parent stars as seen from Earth – so-called transiting planets.
These are the types of extrasolar planets NASA's Kepler spacecraft and the French Space Agency's CoRoT spacecraft currently are hunting.
Kepler in particular is searching more than 150,000 stars for Earth-mass planets in their stars' so-called habitable zones. These are regions of space close enough to a star that liquid water would be stable on the surface of a planet orbiting at that distance.
Skip to next paragraph
Related Stories
It will be a late, languid event. For people living east of the Mississippi, the eclipse begins well after midnight. The lunar eclipse will last about three and a half hours, with the moon falling in the depths of Earth's shadow for about an hour and twelve minutes at the height of the event.
As Earth slips between the sun and moon, changing the tint of the lunar surface from white to orange to russet and back, you're seeing the effect Earth's atmosphere is having on the color of sunlight passing through it. But the atmosphere is doing something else. It's in effect tagging the sun's rays with the chemical fingerprints of gases in the atmosphere.
Over the past two years, two teams of astronomers have been using this effect to figure out what Earth might look like as a distant, extrasolar planet orbiting another star. By analyzing the light reflected off the moon during a lunar eclipse – light that has passed through Earth's atmosphere – they have detected gases in the atmosphere that indicate the presence of organic life on the planet.
If the teams' baby steps are any indication, the techniques they are developing may be able to detect evidence of organic life imprinted in an extrasolar planet's atmosphere – at least for rocky, Earth-mass planets orbiting stars relatively close to the sun – using large Earthbound telescopes.
"It's an exciting experiment – one of the few I've seen that I wish I'd thought of myself," says Sara Seager, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies exoplanets and their atmospheres and who was not involved in either project.
"The Earth is our best laboratory; it's the only planet we know of with life," she says. "So we really want to understand what Earth would look like as an exoplanet far away."
Of special interest are planets whose orbits carry them in front of their parent stars as seen from Earth – so-called transiting planets.
These are the types of extrasolar planets NASA's Kepler spacecraft and the French Space Agency's CoRoT spacecraft currently are hunting.
Kepler in particular is searching more than 150,000 stars for Earth-mass planets in their stars' so-called habitable zones. These are regions of space close enough to a star that liquid water would be stable on the surface of a planet orbiting at that distance.
Winter Solstice 2010: Good News for Those with "Winter Blues?"
(CBS) The 2010 winter solstice is here. For some, it's an astronomical curiosity. For others, it's about rebirth and ritual celebration. But for the estimated five percent of the population who suffer from seasonal affective disorder, the shortest day of the year means something else entirely:
The beginning of the end of the saddest time of the year.
No one knows the exact cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). But experts say it arises when the body's internal clock falls out of sync with "clock time" - the result of winter's short days and late dawns. About five percent of the population feels "winter blues" quite acutely, with another 15 percent suffering a milder form.
What's it like? A lot like "having jet lag for five months," says SAD specialist Dr. Alfred Lewy, professor of biological psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University.
Fortunately, Dr. Lewy tells CBS News, there are ways to overcome symptoms of the disorder, which include carbohydrate cravings, weight gain, difficulty waking, and social isolation in addition to sadness. Getting plenty of sleep, exercising regularly, and taking other simple lifestyle approaches can help, as can antidepressant medication. But for many SAD sufferers, the treatment of choice is light therapy, which involves sitting in front of super-bright fluorescent lights for an extended period of each day during the winter months.
How effective is light therapy? Studies show that up to 80 percent of users show complete remission of symptoms, according to the website of the National Association of Mental Illness.
The beginning of the end of the saddest time of the year.
No one knows the exact cause of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). But experts say it arises when the body's internal clock falls out of sync with "clock time" - the result of winter's short days and late dawns. About five percent of the population feels "winter blues" quite acutely, with another 15 percent suffering a milder form.
What's it like? A lot like "having jet lag for five months," says SAD specialist Dr. Alfred Lewy, professor of biological psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University.
Fortunately, Dr. Lewy tells CBS News, there are ways to overcome symptoms of the disorder, which include carbohydrate cravings, weight gain, difficulty waking, and social isolation in addition to sadness. Getting plenty of sleep, exercising regularly, and taking other simple lifestyle approaches can help, as can antidepressant medication. But for many SAD sufferers, the treatment of choice is light therapy, which involves sitting in front of super-bright fluorescent lights for an extended period of each day during the winter months.
How effective is light therapy? Studies show that up to 80 percent of users show complete remission of symptoms, according to the website of the National Association of Mental Illness.
Rare winter solstice lunar eclipse visible tonight
CHICAGO - U.S. skywatchers who stay up late enough and have clear skies can see a total lunar eclipse, a rare event for the winter solstice.
The eclipse, caused by the moon going into the Earth's shadow, will begin at about 12:32 a.m. Tuesday in the Midwest, 1:32 a.m. on the East Coast, and 10:32 p.m. Monday on the West Coast.
The Adler Planetarium in Chicago is hosting a free viewing event with educators, astronomers and volunteers helping guests with telescope viewing, weather permitting.
Adler astronomer Larry Ciupik said the moon is high in the sky for the winter solstice, which aids viewing, provided it's not too cloudy. Unfortunately for some Midwest viewers, clouds and snow are expected tonight.
The last winter solstice total lunar eclipse visible from the Midwest was in 1638 -- the next one won't be until 2094, Ciupik said.
The next total lunar eclipse visible in the Midwest will occur on April 15, 2014.
Ciupik said the moon will appear reddish during the eclipse, due to the way the light from the sun bends around the Earth.
The eclipse, caused by the moon going into the Earth's shadow, will begin at about 12:32 a.m. Tuesday in the Midwest, 1:32 a.m. on the East Coast, and 10:32 p.m. Monday on the West Coast.
The Adler Planetarium in Chicago is hosting a free viewing event with educators, astronomers and volunteers helping guests with telescope viewing, weather permitting.
Adler astronomer Larry Ciupik said the moon is high in the sky for the winter solstice, which aids viewing, provided it's not too cloudy. Unfortunately for some Midwest viewers, clouds and snow are expected tonight.
The last winter solstice total lunar eclipse visible from the Midwest was in 1638 -- the next one won't be until 2094, Ciupik said.
The next total lunar eclipse visible in the Midwest will occur on April 15, 2014.
Ciupik said the moon will appear reddish during the eclipse, due to the way the light from the sun bends around the Earth.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Dan Connolly's Kick Return Makes Offensive Lineman History
Watch out Devin Hester, Jacoby Ford and Joshua Cribbs because big Dan Connolly is about to revolutionize the art of returning kickoffs.
Immediately after unheralded Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn increased his team's lead to 17-7 on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, the 6-foot-4, 313-pound right guard scooped up Mason Crosby's squib kick on the ensuing kickoff. He wrapped both of his arms around the ball as he slowly pushed ahead to try and get a few extra yards, then made a cut to his right and turned on the afterburners for a 71-yard return all the way down to the Packers' 4.
It didn't take long for the Elias Sports Bureau to confirm that Connolly's return was the longest in NFL history by an offensive lineman, which means the man used to only hearing his name called after he was caught holding will get to keep that football in a special place.
Two plays later, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady capitalized on the eye-popping moment by completing a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez with 1:08 remaining in the first half. That allowed New England to go into the locker room trailing by just a field goal instead of 10 points.
But no matter what happened from that point on, Connolly's epic display of speed and grace by one of the big men in the trenches was destined to be the talk of the game. He even threw a stiff arm as he closed in on the end zone, with the ball firmly wrapped in his right arm like a loaf of bread.
Immediately after unheralded Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn increased his team's lead to 17-7 on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, the 6-foot-4, 313-pound right guard scooped up Mason Crosby's squib kick on the ensuing kickoff. He wrapped both of his arms around the ball as he slowly pushed ahead to try and get a few extra yards, then made a cut to his right and turned on the afterburners for a 71-yard return all the way down to the Packers' 4.
It didn't take long for the Elias Sports Bureau to confirm that Connolly's return was the longest in NFL history by an offensive lineman, which means the man used to only hearing his name called after he was caught holding will get to keep that football in a special place.
Two plays later, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady capitalized on the eye-popping moment by completing a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez with 1:08 remaining in the first half. That allowed New England to go into the locker room trailing by just a field goal instead of 10 points.
But no matter what happened from that point on, Connolly's epic display of speed and grace by one of the big men in the trenches was destined to be the talk of the game. He even threw a stiff arm as he closed in on the end zone, with the ball firmly wrapped in his right arm like a loaf of bread.
Michael Vick's Pride, Legs Lead Eagles Past Giants in 38-31 Comeback
Michael Vick said he was embarrassed enough. His Philadelphia Eagles trailed the New York Giants by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and the quarterback didn’t want to go home humiliated.
“We just said to ourselves, ‘Listen, we’re just going to go out there and play for pride above anything else,’” he told reporters after the National Football League game in East Rutherford, New Jersey. “They may beat us 49-25, but we’re going to play with pride, and we can’t complain. And that’s all I want.
He got it. Vick led the Eagles to a four-touchdown comeback in the game’s final eight minutes, erasing a 21- point deficit on the way to a 38-31 win that gave Philadelphia first place in the National Football Conference East division.
Vick completed 21 of 35 passes for 242 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the game, and ran for a touchdown and 130 yards -- 94 of them in the fourth quarter. Giants quarterback Eli Manning completed 23 of 39 passes for 289 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
“I’ll tell you what, my heart’s a little weaker after this one,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He hung in there and he kept battling, got hit a few times and he came back with those long runs. Special.”
Vick threw an interception on his second play of the game and finished the first half with six completions for 33 yards and 23 yards rushing. The Giants attacked him with extra defenders and hit him multiple times.
“I got a little frustrated and felt like I was trying to do too much,” Vick said. “The coaches kept telling me, ‘Stay aggressive. Stay aggressive.’”
Giants Up 31-10
By the time receiver DeSean Jackson fumbled the ball away at midfield, leading to a Giants score that put New York ahead 31-10, Vick was trying to use that aggression to get the Eagles back into contention.
“I just knew we needed three touchdowns to be back in the game,” he said. “Every down counts. Every possession counts and you have to go out there and block everything else out.”
The Eagles’ first points in the fourth quarter came on a deep pass over the middle to tight end Brent Celek, who broke away for a 65-yard touchdown to bring the Eagles within two touchdowns. Vick said that’s when the game changed.
“Once we made a couple of plays downfield, I saw the momentum shift,” he said.
Philadelphia recovered an onside kick and Vick ran for 35 yards to put the Eagles in scoring position. Then he ran again for a 4-yard touchdown.
Vick’s Tying Toss
The Eagles’ offense returned to the field with about three minutes left. Vick broke away for runs of 33 and 22 yards before finding receiver Jeremy Maclin for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The extra point tied the game.
Now it was the Giants who were upset.
“That’s as frustrating as it gets for anybody, a defensive team or anyone, to be in position and to be doing what your responsibilities are and the quarterback just slithers his way out of there,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “He made huge plays against us.”
The Giants’ offense killed all but the game’s final 14 seconds and New York punted. The kick went straight to Jackson -- something Coughlin said he’d hoped to avoid because of the receiver’s ability to score in the return game. As the ball sailed overhead, Vick couldn’t believe the luck.
“I was saying to myself, ‘Why would he kick it to DeSean?’” Vick said.
Jackson fumbled the ball, recovered it, dodged a tackle and broke free for a 65-yard game-winning touchdown. He ran slowly cross-field along the length of the end zone to use up the remaining time.
Praise for Vick
After the game, Jackson praised Vick for leading the comeback.
“It’s such a blessing to have Mike Vick on our team,” he said. “Those big runs he was having were unbelievable, especially with the defense doing things purposely to stop him from running,” Jackson said.
Vick returned the praise of Jackson and added some for the rest of the team, which he called one of the best he’s ever played with.
“By far, this was one of the greatest comebacks of my career,” he said.
“We just said to ourselves, ‘Listen, we’re just going to go out there and play for pride above anything else,’” he told reporters after the National Football League game in East Rutherford, New Jersey. “They may beat us 49-25, but we’re going to play with pride, and we can’t complain. And that’s all I want.
He got it. Vick led the Eagles to a four-touchdown comeback in the game’s final eight minutes, erasing a 21- point deficit on the way to a 38-31 win that gave Philadelphia first place in the National Football Conference East division.
Vick completed 21 of 35 passes for 242 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the game, and ran for a touchdown and 130 yards -- 94 of them in the fourth quarter. Giants quarterback Eli Manning completed 23 of 39 passes for 289 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
“I’ll tell you what, my heart’s a little weaker after this one,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He hung in there and he kept battling, got hit a few times and he came back with those long runs. Special.”
Vick threw an interception on his second play of the game and finished the first half with six completions for 33 yards and 23 yards rushing. The Giants attacked him with extra defenders and hit him multiple times.
“I got a little frustrated and felt like I was trying to do too much,” Vick said. “The coaches kept telling me, ‘Stay aggressive. Stay aggressive.’”
Giants Up 31-10
By the time receiver DeSean Jackson fumbled the ball away at midfield, leading to a Giants score that put New York ahead 31-10, Vick was trying to use that aggression to get the Eagles back into contention.
“I just knew we needed three touchdowns to be back in the game,” he said. “Every down counts. Every possession counts and you have to go out there and block everything else out.”
The Eagles’ first points in the fourth quarter came on a deep pass over the middle to tight end Brent Celek, who broke away for a 65-yard touchdown to bring the Eagles within two touchdowns. Vick said that’s when the game changed.
“Once we made a couple of plays downfield, I saw the momentum shift,” he said.
Philadelphia recovered an onside kick and Vick ran for 35 yards to put the Eagles in scoring position. Then he ran again for a 4-yard touchdown.
Vick’s Tying Toss
The Eagles’ offense returned to the field with about three minutes left. Vick broke away for runs of 33 and 22 yards before finding receiver Jeremy Maclin for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The extra point tied the game.
Now it was the Giants who were upset.
“That’s as frustrating as it gets for anybody, a defensive team or anyone, to be in position and to be doing what your responsibilities are and the quarterback just slithers his way out of there,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “He made huge plays against us.”
The Giants’ offense killed all but the game’s final 14 seconds and New York punted. The kick went straight to Jackson -- something Coughlin said he’d hoped to avoid because of the receiver’s ability to score in the return game. As the ball sailed overhead, Vick couldn’t believe the luck.
“I was saying to myself, ‘Why would he kick it to DeSean?’” Vick said.
Jackson fumbled the ball, recovered it, dodged a tackle and broke free for a 65-yard game-winning touchdown. He ran slowly cross-field along the length of the end zone to use up the remaining time.
Praise for Vick
After the game, Jackson praised Vick for leading the comeback.
“It’s such a blessing to have Mike Vick on our team,” he said. “Those big runs he was having were unbelievable, especially with the defense doing things purposely to stop him from running,” Jackson said.
Vick returned the praise of Jackson and added some for the rest of the team, which he called one of the best he’s ever played with.
“By far, this was one of the greatest comebacks of my career,” he said.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Word Lens for iPhone provides instant translation — via camera!
If Word Lens is to be believed, we now live in the future where you simply point your iPhone camera at something and it translates it for you replacing the Spanish text, for example, with English right before your gobsmacked eyes.
It currently only supports 2 demo modes (backwards and erase) and two language packs (English to Spanish and Spanish to English) available as in-app purchases, currently on 50% off sale for $4.99. They admit it’s not perfect; it can’t handle handwriting or stylized fonts, and gives more gist than precise translation, but again — camera based translation, future, gobsmacked. Even if it’s only a tech demo, even if it only works for comedic effect, it’s awesome.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Tim's Game Preview: Game 26, Phoenix Suns
Aside from Tim Duncan and Robert Horry, Robert Sarver is the person most responsible for robbing Steve Nashof an NBA title and keeping the most entertaining team of the last two decades from getting to the NBA Finals.
Minnesota Timberwolves (6-19) vs. Phoenix Suns (11-12) at US Airways Center
The Phoenix Suns come into tonight's game having lost three straight, including their last two at home, with the possibility of having a three-game losing streak at US Airways Center for the first time since January 2009. Only one season removed from a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the Suns are now the poster child for the "What Could Have Been" team. Now, aging Steve Nash is having to carry a team of second-tier wing players and third-tier big men through an ultra competitive West.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are the poster child for the "What Could Be" team. Last night against the Warriors, Jonny Flynn and Martell Webster both looked strong in their 2010 debuts, and while the Wolves may not have won on the scoreboard, you have to give them the moral victory for being able to incorporate two new players into the offense so seemlessly (only 20 turnovers).
I expect that the Wolves are going to be extra angry about the way last night ended and are going to put up a strong performance against the Suns tonight. The game is on Fox Sports North, so lets break down the matchups:
"Steve, what exactly do you mean when you say 'post up'?"
Darko Milicic vs. Channing Frye
With Robin Lopez out, Channing Frye is getting the start in the middle for the Suns. Last season, Frye discovered that he could shoot three pointers and took 172 of them, compared to just 20 total attempts in the previous four years of his career. A side effect of this shooting is that Frye's inside game has suffered. Already a guy lacking in strength, Frye has become a perimeter, European-style of big man.
Given that Frye is the Suns' leading rebounder at 5.8 a game, the Wolves better outrebound the Suns tonight. Last night, Darko had 11 rebounds (and had more offensive boards than Kevin Love) and was able to control the middle against the perimeter-oriented Warriors. With Frye at center, the Wolves will be looking to do more of the same.
By the way, after last night's 25 points and 11 rebounds, I think the "pro-Darko" folks have won this argument. Anti-Darko folks are so outdated at this point, they might as well come with a Beta Max player and a can of Crystal Pepsi. The next question: is Darko the best center in Timberwolves' history?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
LA Zoo welcomes public to new elephant exhibit
LOS ANGELES—For a month, Billy, Tina and Jewel have been neighbors, getting acquainted at the new $42 million, 3.8-acre "Elephants of Asia" habitat at the Los Angeles Zoo.
Now they are going to get some company. After a night of music, dancing, food and visits from fans like Slash, Holly Robinson Peete, Pauley Perrette and others, the exhibit will open to the public on Thursday.
Legal challenges persist. Opponents say the habitat is too small and too expensive. A judge last week ruled the habitat could open, but also said a lawsuit, originally filed in 2007 by the late actor Robert Culp, could continue.
Billy has been in Los Angeles since 1989, Tina and Jewel arrived from San Diego in November.
There are 35,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.
Now they are going to get some company. After a night of music, dancing, food and visits from fans like Slash, Holly Robinson Peete, Pauley Perrette and others, the exhibit will open to the public on Thursday.
Legal challenges persist. Opponents say the habitat is too small and too expensive. A judge last week ruled the habitat could open, but also said a lawsuit, originally filed in 2007 by the late actor Robert Culp, could continue.
Billy has been in Los Angeles since 1989, Tina and Jewel arrived from San Diego in November.
There are 35,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.
On National Cupcake Day, a word for the muffin
This is yet another day I feel bad for muffins.
I always think of muffins as cupcakes' hard-working older siblings. They toiled at their unglamorous but steady jobs while cupcakes waltzed off to Hollywood to try to make it in the biz. As the muffins sat behind the Starbucks counter, they secretly looked forward to cupcakes' not making it and slinking back home with damp and wrinkled frosting.
Then -- well, we know what happened.
Cupcakes made it big. Now they're being photographed with celebrities, they have their own reality TV series, and muffins are still stuck behind the counter, sometimes for days at a time. Cupcakes live in trendier neighborhoods than muffins. You can even buy cupcake carriers to take them from place to place without incident, like small excitable dogs! Cupcakes sometimes are arrested for transporting illicit substances. The most illicit substance muffins will transport for you is bran.
When you call someone "muffin," you picture her as a grandmother, or a cat, or a cat who belongs to a grandmother. When you call someone "cupcake," you're either insulting a big man or talking to an attractive woman in a slightly more sexist era.
Meanwhile, muffins trudge in to work every day and try to keep a good attitude about it. They spill perkily out over the top. But it's not enough. People write articles about how cupcakes are more than just cupcakes -- they're a reflection on our society. Muffins aren't a commentary on anything. They're just a breakfast food. Not that they don't try to keep up. But there are few things more pathetic than a frosted muffin. "This is the general concept, right?" it seems to say. "I don't really get it, but I'll do it. Why don't you love me?" It's like watching your grandmother dress up in heels and a tube top and try to send a text message.
But I don't blame them.
Muffins are Garfield. Cupcakes are Nermal. Muffins are Jacob. Cupcakes are Edward. Cupcakes have a celebrity quality that muffins entirely lack -- they're decorative, brightly-colored, and leave you unsatisfied. You never see people lining up around the block for muffins. But they show up every day on time regardless. They seem reconciled to the notion that, for most of us, life is a thankless task in which we give and give -- bran! berries! nuts! digestive aid!-- and receive nothing in return.
The cupcakes go out and make a mess. The muffins have to come around later and pick up. After you've eaten too many cupcakes, "muffin top" is the cute nickname for the fat that spills out over the waistband of your jeans. And that's the pattern in a nutshell.
In case I was wrong, I looked on Facebook for a Muffin Celebration. I found a small, limp Facebook group called National Muffin Day that said you could celebrate it any time. That's the sign you're the red-headed step-muffin of foods. "We don't need a special day for you, because we can celebrate you every day," is what my parents said after they forgot my birthday. There's an official National Blueberry Muffin Day, but it's not the same.
So on National Cupcake Day, I'm not getting a cupcake. I'm getting a muffin, to show solidarity. Muffins put in the hard hours, and they deserve recognition.
Actually, who am I kidding? I want a cupcake.
I feel bad for muffins. I'll probably wind up marrying one. You know, muffins, you're so virtuous and hard-working; you make me feel guilty about myself. I see you every day behind the glass partition at Starbucks. I know you have too much dignity to beg me to take you. But if I did, it would be a pity snack. You wouldn't want that. I know you too well.
I always think of muffins as cupcakes' hard-working older siblings. They toiled at their unglamorous but steady jobs while cupcakes waltzed off to Hollywood to try to make it in the biz. As the muffins sat behind the Starbucks counter, they secretly looked forward to cupcakes' not making it and slinking back home with damp and wrinkled frosting.
Then -- well, we know what happened.
Cupcakes made it big. Now they're being photographed with celebrities, they have their own reality TV series, and muffins are still stuck behind the counter, sometimes for days at a time. Cupcakes live in trendier neighborhoods than muffins. You can even buy cupcake carriers to take them from place to place without incident, like small excitable dogs! Cupcakes sometimes are arrested for transporting illicit substances. The most illicit substance muffins will transport for you is bran.
When you call someone "muffin," you picture her as a grandmother, or a cat, or a cat who belongs to a grandmother. When you call someone "cupcake," you're either insulting a big man or talking to an attractive woman in a slightly more sexist era.
Meanwhile, muffins trudge in to work every day and try to keep a good attitude about it. They spill perkily out over the top. But it's not enough. People write articles about how cupcakes are more than just cupcakes -- they're a reflection on our society. Muffins aren't a commentary on anything. They're just a breakfast food. Not that they don't try to keep up. But there are few things more pathetic than a frosted muffin. "This is the general concept, right?" it seems to say. "I don't really get it, but I'll do it. Why don't you love me?" It's like watching your grandmother dress up in heels and a tube top and try to send a text message.
But I don't blame them.
Muffins are Garfield. Cupcakes are Nermal. Muffins are Jacob. Cupcakes are Edward. Cupcakes have a celebrity quality that muffins entirely lack -- they're decorative, brightly-colored, and leave you unsatisfied. You never see people lining up around the block for muffins. But they show up every day on time regardless. They seem reconciled to the notion that, for most of us, life is a thankless task in which we give and give -- bran! berries! nuts! digestive aid!-- and receive nothing in return.
The cupcakes go out and make a mess. The muffins have to come around later and pick up. After you've eaten too many cupcakes, "muffin top" is the cute nickname for the fat that spills out over the waistband of your jeans. And that's the pattern in a nutshell.
In case I was wrong, I looked on Facebook for a Muffin Celebration. I found a small, limp Facebook group called National Muffin Day that said you could celebrate it any time. That's the sign you're the red-headed step-muffin of foods. "We don't need a special day for you, because we can celebrate you every day," is what my parents said after they forgot my birthday. There's an official National Blueberry Muffin Day, but it's not the same.
So on National Cupcake Day, I'm not getting a cupcake. I'm getting a muffin, to show solidarity. Muffins put in the hard hours, and they deserve recognition.
Actually, who am I kidding? I want a cupcake.
I feel bad for muffins. I'll probably wind up marrying one. You know, muffins, you're so virtuous and hard-working; you make me feel guilty about myself. I see you every day behind the glass partition at Starbucks. I know you have too much dignity to beg me to take you. But if I did, it would be a pity snack. You wouldn't want that. I know you too well.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
AMD's Radeon HD 6970 & Radeon HD 6950: Paving The Future For AMD
There are only a handful of metrics by which 2009 didn’t end as a successful year for AMD. With the launch of the Radeon HD 5800 series in September of that year AMD got a significant and unusually long-standing jump on the competition. By being the first company to transition a high-end GPU to TSMC’s 40nm process they were able to bring about the next generation of faster and cheaper video cards, quickly delivering better performance at better prices than their 55nm predecessors and competitors alike. At the same time they were the first company to produce a GPU for the new DirectX 11 standard, giving them access to a number of new features, a degree of future proofness, and good will with developers eager to get their hands on DX11 hardware.
Ultimately AMD held the high-end market for over 6 months until NVIDIA was able to counter back with the Fermi based GTX 400 series. Though it’s not unprecedented for a company to rule the high-end market for many months at a time, it’s normally in the face of slower but similar cards from the competition – to stand alone is far more rare. This is not to say that it was easy for AMD, as TSMC’s 40nm production woes kept AMD from fully capitalizing on their advantages until 2010. But even with 40nm GPUs in short supply, it was clearly a good year for AMD.
Now in the twilight of the year 2010, the landscape has once again shifted. NVIDIA did deliver the GTX 400 series, and then they delivered the GTX 500 series, once more displacing AMD from the high-end market as NVIDIA’s build’em big strategy is apt to do. In October we saw AMD reassert themselves in the mid-range market with the Radeon HD 6800 series, delivering performance close to the 5800 series for lower prices and at a greater power efficiency, and provoking a price war that quickly lead to NVIDIA dropping GTX 460 prices. With the delivery of the 6800 series, the stage has been set for AMD’s return to the high-end market with the launch of the Radeon HD 6900 series.
Launching today are the Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 6950, utilizing AMD’s new Cayman GPU. Born from the ashes of TSMC’s canceled 32nm node, Cayman is the biggest change to AMD’s GPU microarchitecture since the original Radeon HD 2900. Just because AMD doesn’t have a new node to work with this year doesn’t mean they haven’t been hard at work, and as we’ll see Cayman and the 6900 series will brings that hard work to the table. So without further ado, let’s dive in to the Radeon HD 6900 series.
Following AMD’s unfortunate renaming of its product stack with the Radeon HD 6800 series, the Radeon HD 6900 series is thus far a 3 part, 2 chip lineup. Today we are looking at the Cayman based 6970 and 6950, composing the top of AMD’s single-GPU product line. Above that is Antilles, the codename for AMD’s dual-Cayman Radeon HD 6990. Originally scheduled to launch late this year, the roughly month-long delay of Cayman has pushed that back; we’ll now be seeing the 3rd member of the 6900 series next year. So today the story is all about Cayman and the single-GPU cards it powers.
At the top we have the Radeon HD 6970, AMD’s top single-GPU part. Featuring a complete Cayman GPU, it has 1536 stream processors, 96 texture units, and 32 ROPs. It is clocked at 880MHz for the core clock and 1375MHz (5.5GHz data rate) for its 2GB of GDDR5 RAM. TDP (or the closest thing to it) is 250W, while reflecting the maturity and AMD’s familiarity with the 40nm process typical idle power draw is down from the 5800 series to 20W.
Below that we have the Radeon HD 6950, the traditional lower power card using a slightly cut-down GPU. The 6950 has 1408 stream processors, 88 texture units, and still all 32 ROPs attached to the same 2GB of GDDR5. The core clock is similarly reduced to 800MHz, while the memory clock is 1250MHz (5GHz data rate). TDP is 200W, while idle power is the same as with the 6970 at 20W.
From the specifications alone it’s quickly apparent that something new is happening with Cayman, as at 1536 SPs it has fewer SPs than the 1600 SP Cypress/5870 it replaces. We have a great deal to talk about here, but we’ll stick to a high-level overview for our introduction. In the biggest change to AMD’s core GPU architecture since the launch of their first DX10/unified shader Radeon HD 2900 in 2007, AMD is moving away from the Very Long Instruction Word-5 (VLIW5) architecture we have come to know them for, in favor of a slightly less wide VLIW4 architecture. In a nutshell AMD’s SIMDs are narrower but there are more of them, as AMD looks to find a new balance in their core architecture. Although it’s not a new core architecture outright, the change from VLIW5 to VLIW4 brings a number of ramifications that we will be looking at. And this is just one of the many facets of AMD’s new architecture.
Getting right to the matter of performance, the 6970 performs very close to the GTX 570/480 on average, while the 6950 is in a class of its own, occupying the small hole between the 5870/470 and the 6970/570. With that level of performance the pricing for today’s launch is rather straightforward: the 6970 will be launching slightly above the 570 at $379, while the 6950 will be launching at the $299 sweet spot. Further down the line AMD’s partners will be launching 1GB versions of these cards, which will be bringing prices down as a tradeoff for potential memory bottlenecks.
Today’s launch is going to be hard launch, with both the 6970 and the 6950 available. AMD is being slightly more cryptic than usual about just what the launch quantities are; our official guidance is “available in quantity” and “tens of thousands” of cards. On the one hand we aren’t expecting anything nearly as constrained as the 5800 series launch, and at the same time AMD is not filling us with confidence that it will be widely available like the 6800 either. If at the end of this article you decide you want a 6900 card, your best bet is to grab one sooner than later.
AMD's Current Product StackWith the launch of the 6900 series, the 5800 series is facing its imminent retirement. There are still a number of cards on the market and they’re priced to move, but AMD is looking at cleaning out its Cypress inventory over the next couple of months, so officially the 5800 series is no longer part of AMD’s current product stack. Meanwhile AMD’s dual-GPU 5970 remains an outlier, as its job is not quite done until the 6990 arrives – until then it’s still officially AMD’s highest-end card and their closest competitor to the GTX 580.
Meanwhile NVIDIA’s product stack and pricing stands as-is.
Ultimately AMD held the high-end market for over 6 months until NVIDIA was able to counter back with the Fermi based GTX 400 series. Though it’s not unprecedented for a company to rule the high-end market for many months at a time, it’s normally in the face of slower but similar cards from the competition – to stand alone is far more rare. This is not to say that it was easy for AMD, as TSMC’s 40nm production woes kept AMD from fully capitalizing on their advantages until 2010. But even with 40nm GPUs in short supply, it was clearly a good year for AMD.
Now in the twilight of the year 2010, the landscape has once again shifted. NVIDIA did deliver the GTX 400 series, and then they delivered the GTX 500 series, once more displacing AMD from the high-end market as NVIDIA’s build’em big strategy is apt to do. In October we saw AMD reassert themselves in the mid-range market with the Radeon HD 6800 series, delivering performance close to the 5800 series for lower prices and at a greater power efficiency, and provoking a price war that quickly lead to NVIDIA dropping GTX 460 prices. With the delivery of the 6800 series, the stage has been set for AMD’s return to the high-end market with the launch of the Radeon HD 6900 series.
Launching today are the Radeon HD 6970 and Radeon HD 6950, utilizing AMD’s new Cayman GPU. Born from the ashes of TSMC’s canceled 32nm node, Cayman is the biggest change to AMD’s GPU microarchitecture since the original Radeon HD 2900. Just because AMD doesn’t have a new node to work with this year doesn’t mean they haven’t been hard at work, and as we’ll see Cayman and the 6900 series will brings that hard work to the table. So without further ado, let’s dive in to the Radeon HD 6900 series.
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | AMD Radeon HD 6950 | AMD Radeon HD 6870 | AMD Radeon HD 6850 | AMD Radeon HD 5870 | |
| Stream Processors | 1536 | 1408 | 1120 | 960 | 1600 |
| Texture Units | 96 | 88 | 56 | 48 | 80 |
| ROPs | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Core Clock | 880MHz | 800MHz | 900MHz | 775MHz | 850MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1.375GHz (5.5GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1.25GHz (5.0GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1.05GHz (4.2GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1GHz (4GHz effective) GDDR5 | 1.2GHz (4.8GHz effective) GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus Width | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit |
| Frame Buffer | 2GB | 2GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB |
| FP64 | 1/4 | 1/4 | N/A | N/A | 1/5 |
| Transistor Count | 2.64B | 2.64B | 1.7B | 1.7B | 2.15B |
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm | TSMC 40nm |
| Price Point | $369 | $299 | $239 | $179 | ~$349 |
At the top we have the Radeon HD 6970, AMD’s top single-GPU part. Featuring a complete Cayman GPU, it has 1536 stream processors, 96 texture units, and 32 ROPs. It is clocked at 880MHz for the core clock and 1375MHz (5.5GHz data rate) for its 2GB of GDDR5 RAM. TDP (or the closest thing to it) is 250W, while reflecting the maturity and AMD’s familiarity with the 40nm process typical idle power draw is down from the 5800 series to 20W.
From the specifications alone it’s quickly apparent that something new is happening with Cayman, as at 1536 SPs it has fewer SPs than the 1600 SP Cypress/5870 it replaces. We have a great deal to talk about here, but we’ll stick to a high-level overview for our introduction. In the biggest change to AMD’s core GPU architecture since the launch of their first DX10/unified shader Radeon HD 2900 in 2007, AMD is moving away from the Very Long Instruction Word-5 (VLIW5) architecture we have come to know them for, in favor of a slightly less wide VLIW4 architecture. In a nutshell AMD’s SIMDs are narrower but there are more of them, as AMD looks to find a new balance in their core architecture. Although it’s not a new core architecture outright, the change from VLIW5 to VLIW4 brings a number of ramifications that we will be looking at. And this is just one of the many facets of AMD’s new architecture.
Getting right to the matter of performance, the 6970 performs very close to the GTX 570/480 on average, while the 6950 is in a class of its own, occupying the small hole between the 5870/470 and the 6970/570. With that level of performance the pricing for today’s launch is rather straightforward: the 6970 will be launching slightly above the 570 at $379, while the 6950 will be launching at the $299 sweet spot. Further down the line AMD’s partners will be launching 1GB versions of these cards, which will be bringing prices down as a tradeoff for potential memory bottlenecks.
Today’s launch is going to be hard launch, with both the 6970 and the 6950 available. AMD is being slightly more cryptic than usual about just what the launch quantities are; our official guidance is “available in quantity” and “tens of thousands” of cards. On the one hand we aren’t expecting anything nearly as constrained as the 5800 series launch, and at the same time AMD is not filling us with confidence that it will be widely available like the 6800 either. If at the end of this article you decide you want a 6900 card, your best bet is to grab one sooner than later.
AMD's Current Product Stack
Meanwhile NVIDIA’s product stack and pricing stands as-is.
| Winter 2010 Video Card MSRPs | ||
| NVIDIA | Price | AMD |
| GeForce GTX 580 | $500 | |
| $470 | Radeon HD 5970 | |
| GeForce GTX 480 | $410 | |
| $369 | Radeon HD 6970 | |
| GeForce GTX 570 | $350 | |
| $299 | Radeon HD 6950 | |
| | $250 | Radeon HD 5870 |
| GeForce GTX 470 | $240 | Radeon HD 6870 |
| GeForce GTX 460 1GB | $180-$190 | Radeon HD 6850 |
Lakers to send Sasha Vujacic to Nets, get veteran Joe Smith in three-team trade
The move, in which team would save about $8 million in salary and luxury taxes, is contingent on Smith passing a physical. Vujacic hadn't played much; Lakers would also lose first-round draft pick.
 The Lakers agreed Tuesday to send Sasha Vujacic to the New Jersey Nets as part of a three-team trade. (Christopher Hanewinckel / U.S. Presswire / October 21, 2010) |
In a move to bolster front-court depth and save about $8 million in salary and luxury taxes, the Lakers agreed to send Sasha Vujacic and a 2011 first-round draft pick to New Jersey as part of a three-team trade that would bring veteran forward Joe Smith to the Lakers.
As the fifth guard in Phil Jackson's four-guard rotation, Vujacic had seen his playing time reduced to almost nothing this season. The trade is contingent upon Smith, 35, passing a physical.
Smith was the top overall pick in the 1995 draft, but those days are long behind him. He has seen a downturn in his statistics in recent seasons and played only four games for the Nets this season, averaging 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds.
Listed at 6 feet 10, Smith possesses a decent mid-range jump shot and can provide a handful of minutes here and there. He averaged 9.3 minutes a game last season for Atlanta, averaging three points and 2.5 rebounds a game.
When considering luxury-tax implications and comparing the difference remaining on Vujacic's and Smith's contracts, the Lakers save millions with the trade, which also involved New Jersey sending forward Terrance Williams to Houston and could involve another non-Lakers player to make the exchanged salaries match up under NBA trade guidelines.
Vujacic, 26, is averaging only 1.8 points and 4.9 minutes a game. He played in 12 of the Lakers' 25 games.
In a strange, potentially awkward scenario, Vujacic suited up for their game Tuesday against Washington and was on the bench despite the news being broken of his trade.
In the third quarter, the scoreboard showed him sitting next to Andrew Bynum during a "Kiss Cam" portion of a timeout. Vujacic laughed and tried to move out of the camera operator's vision.
The Lakers declined to comment on the trade, and Vujacic spoke briefly after the game.
"I don't know what to say right now," he said before turning his focus toward the Nets. "They're a young team. They're rebuilding their franchise and they're going to be interesting."
He said his lack of playing time this season had been a "terrible" experience.
"The last couple years playing on and off, it was just killing me," he said. "If [the trade] happens, then I want to definitely double what I did in L.A."
Vujacic is making $5.5 million in the last season of a three-year, $15-million contract he signed in the summer of 2008 to stay with the Lakers. That deal came after his best season with the Lakers, Vujacic averaging 8.8 points and shooting an impressive 43.7% from three-point range in 2007-08, numbers he never matched again.
Smith is making a relatively low $1.4 million this season, almost half of which is paid by the NBA because it is a veteran's minimum salary.
The Lakers also saved money by trading their first-round selection in next June's draft, eliminating at least a two-year guaranteed commitment to a rookie, assuming the Lakers do not trade back into the draft.
Their first-round selection figured to be a low one and would mark a fourth consecutive year without a Lakers' first-round selection.
Waiting on Ratliff
The Lakers got back one of their centers when Bynum made his season debut Tuesday, but backup Theo Ratliff is still recovering from Nov. 17 knee surgery.
Ratliff was scheduled to be out four to six weeks, meaning he would miss at least two more weeks if that time frame held.
"Everything is progressing and I just keep on working and try to get out there as soon as possible," Ratliff said.
Shooting at Florida district school building
A shooting took place at a school board meeting in Panama City, Florida, on Tuesday, a school official confirmed.
The incident occurred at the Bay District Schools' Nelson Building, said Tracy Fidler, assistant to the district's deputy superintendent.
"There has been an incident and police are on the scene," she said. "No school board members were injured."
She could provide further details or confirm reports that a person was carried out on a stretcher.
Ginger Littleton, a school board member, told The Associated Press that as the man held his gun out she tried to create a diversion by striking him with her purse, an encounter also captured on the video. Ms. Littleton said she fell to the ground and the gunman turned and aimed at her, but didn’t pull the trigger.
According to Florida state prison records, Mr. Duke has an extensive criminal record. He was charged in 1999 with aggravated stalking, shooting or throwing a missile into a building or vehicle, and obstructing justice. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on each charge, and was later placed under community supervision.
The incident occurred at the Bay District Schools' Nelson Building, said Tracy Fidler, assistant to the district's deputy superintendent.
"There has been an incident and police are on the scene," she said. "No school board members were injured."
She could provide further details or confirm reports that a person was carried out on a stretcher.
Ginger Littleton, a school board member, told The Associated Press that as the man held his gun out she tried to create a diversion by striking him with her purse, an encounter also captured on the video. Ms. Littleton said she fell to the ground and the gunman turned and aimed at her, but didn’t pull the trigger.
According to Florida state prison records, Mr. Duke has an extensive criminal record. He was charged in 1999 with aggravated stalking, shooting or throwing a missile into a building or vehicle, and obstructing justice. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on each charge, and was later placed under community supervision.
South Connellsville introduces balanced budget
South Connellsville Borough Council introduced a balanced 2011 budget that holds the line on taxes.
Property taxes remain at 2.5 mills, a rate unchanged since 2004. Each mill yields $48,733.87 for the borough.
Councilman Clyde Martz introduced the budget, which has three parts. The general fund budget is $437,304; the garbage fund budget is $182,800; and the special street fund is $73,202.07, for a total of $693,306.07.
Property taxes will be the largest revenue source, $100,000, followed by 1 percent income tax at $95,000. The borough also anticipates $22,000 in cable franchise fees.
Police salaries account for the largest part of the general fund expenses, $92,000. The borough also anticipates paying $61,000 for street workers, $30,000 for casualty and liability insurance and $25,000 for workers' compensation insurance.
The borough has a separate garbage fund, which anticipates $140,000 in refuse collections and $37,000 in franchise fees.
Major expenses include $92,000 for garbage haulers and $27,930 in fund equity.
The special street fund estimates $53,177.07 in allotted payments and $20,000 in carryovers.
The major expenses include $25,500 in street lighting, $25,000 in road resurfacing and $12,000 in snow removal.
Martz said the borough will not need a tax anticipation loan this year.
Boroughs must let budgets sit for public view for 10 days before final passage. There will be a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 27 to vote on the budget, followed by the regular work session.
In addition to the budget, council dealt with several other monetary issues.
Council approved increasing the salaries of the three police officers, two street workers and borough secretary by 45 cents an hour and the treasurer's salary by 3 percent. Increases will take effect Jan. 1.
Martz directed the borough secretary to follow up with utilities to pay their street opening fees. Council will update the street opening ordinance next year.
Councilman Guy Napolillo said Hoffman's Animal Kennel will charge $55 per call in addition to $110 per month for at least three visits to the borough a week. He wants to discuss the borough's cat problem with Hoffman in the near future. Council approved the 2011 contract.
Napolillo said the borough is still taking quotes for emergency snow removal.
In addition, council:
• Set its regular 2011 meetings for 7:30 p.m. the second Monday of the month, including when that date falls on a holiday.
• Will purchase reflective rain gear for street workers and police officers.
• Will purchase an electric air compressor.
• Approved Mayor Pete Casini's addition of Brian Kendi as a part-time police officer. He fills a vacancy in the department.
Councilman Don Clark thanked Karen Holbrook and everyone who contributed making the Christmas home light contest and party a success.
Property taxes remain at 2.5 mills, a rate unchanged since 2004. Each mill yields $48,733.87 for the borough.
Councilman Clyde Martz introduced the budget, which has three parts. The general fund budget is $437,304; the garbage fund budget is $182,800; and the special street fund is $73,202.07, for a total of $693,306.07.
Property taxes will be the largest revenue source, $100,000, followed by 1 percent income tax at $95,000. The borough also anticipates $22,000 in cable franchise fees.
Police salaries account for the largest part of the general fund expenses, $92,000. The borough also anticipates paying $61,000 for street workers, $30,000 for casualty and liability insurance and $25,000 for workers' compensation insurance.
The borough has a separate garbage fund, which anticipates $140,000 in refuse collections and $37,000 in franchise fees.
Major expenses include $92,000 for garbage haulers and $27,930 in fund equity.
The special street fund estimates $53,177.07 in allotted payments and $20,000 in carryovers.
The major expenses include $25,500 in street lighting, $25,000 in road resurfacing and $12,000 in snow removal.
Martz said the borough will not need a tax anticipation loan this year.
Boroughs must let budgets sit for public view for 10 days before final passage. There will be a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 27 to vote on the budget, followed by the regular work session.
In addition to the budget, council dealt with several other monetary issues.
Council approved increasing the salaries of the three police officers, two street workers and borough secretary by 45 cents an hour and the treasurer's salary by 3 percent. Increases will take effect Jan. 1.
Martz directed the borough secretary to follow up with utilities to pay their street opening fees. Council will update the street opening ordinance next year.
Councilman Guy Napolillo said Hoffman's Animal Kennel will charge $55 per call in addition to $110 per month for at least three visits to the borough a week. He wants to discuss the borough's cat problem with Hoffman in the near future. Council approved the 2011 contract.
Napolillo said the borough is still taking quotes for emergency snow removal.
In addition, council:
• Set its regular 2011 meetings for 7:30 p.m. the second Monday of the month, including when that date falls on a holiday.
• Will purchase reflective rain gear for street workers and police officers.
• Will purchase an electric air compressor.
• Approved Mayor Pete Casini's addition of Brian Kendi as a part-time police officer. He fills a vacancy in the department.
Councilman Don Clark thanked Karen Holbrook and everyone who contributed making the Christmas home light contest and party a success.
Magic wants to own pro team, rips Pistons
As if he were still playing in the NBA, Magic Johnson said he is always looking to improve. But instead of a jump shot, he is looking to develop his business portfolio.
Quantcast
Johnson was back at his old stomping grounds Thursday, taping tonight's "Homecoming with Rick Reilly" for ESPN in front of nearly 4,000 at Jenison Field House. During the show, which chronicles athletes returning to their roots, Johnson addressed his latest business venture: trying to return an NFL team to Los Angeles.
But what about the game that made him a star? Would he want to have his own basketball team?
"Will I own a team in the NBA? Probably so," Johnson said. "I don't have to be the majority owner, and I probably won't be, but I still want to control it."
Johnson, 51, is aware of the ownership limbo with the Pistons. He said he assumed Mike Ilitch would be the next owner and spoke with him months ago. He wouldn't rule out becoming a minority owner in Detroit.
As for the current Pistons, Johnson said they were a long way from the teams he faced in consecutive NBA Finals in the late 1980s.
"Too many individuals," Johnson said. "You have to get back to what made them great, and that's defense and rebounding. ... What we see now is a team that's soft.
"People from Detroit and Michigan can accept losing, but not the way they're losing."
And Johnson didn't bite his tongue when it came to his Tom Izzo-led Spartans, either.
"First, they've got to get back to playing great defense and rebounds, and second, we've got to cut down on those turnovers," Johnson said. "But I'm not really concerned."
Back at Jenison
They waited -- quietly, almost nervously -- for their hero to make one more appearance.
Then, after a cue from the stage manager, the 6-foot-9 champion emerged from the shadows with a smile and high-fives for adoring fans as Michigan State's band played.
Jenison Field House, an old-fashioned arena where Magic's Spartans played, was turned into a studio with bright lights andflat-screen TVs, and hummed with as much noise as when Johnson dominated the Big Ten in the late 1970s.
Magic Johnson returned home Thursday with a full agenda, which not only included giving the commencement speech at MSU's graduation but also filming the latest installment of ESPN's "Homecoming with Rick Reilly" at the arena where he began to make a worldwide name for himself. The show debuts at 7 tonight.
After the show, Johnson said he almost couldn't believe how well he was received by the audience.
"I live in Los Angeles, but to get this type of reception, this type of respect, this type of love, they know that I care about them," he said. "They've made me proud, and I hope that I've made them proud."
During a break of the taping, Magic couldn't help being Magic: interacting with the crowd, shaking hands with teammates from yesteryear and current Spartans, telling his team: "We've got to get back to the Final Four, c'mon." As a hush fell over the crowd, anticipating the beginning of the next segment, Magic blurted out: "What about our football team, huh?"
About 4,000 people, including Johnson's wife Cookie, parents Earvin Sr. and Christine, brothers and sisters, former high school, college and NBA teammates, Tom Izzo and the MSU men's basketball team and remnants of the Izzone filled Jenison to catch a glimpse of East Lansing's famous native son.
Though Magic didn't march through the crowd until about 7 p.m., people were lined up outside Jenison Field House on a blistery day hours before the doors opened.
"With this turnout, you can see how much he means to the people here," said Dartanion Thomas, a former MSU student. "It's nice to see him come back home."
Just about everyone in the crowd seemed to agree, hanging on every one of Johnson's words during the 2-hour taping.
And how couldn't they? Johnson not only told stories from his championships at Lansing Everett, MSU and L.A., but displayed his favorite jacket from high school (red crushed velvet with a white fur collar), his singing "talents" and described the greatest shot he'd ever seen that's not on video (clues: Michael Jordan and 1992 Dream Team).
Quantcast
Johnson was back at his old stomping grounds Thursday, taping tonight's "Homecoming with Rick Reilly" for ESPN in front of nearly 4,000 at Jenison Field House. During the show, which chronicles athletes returning to their roots, Johnson addressed his latest business venture: trying to return an NFL team to Los Angeles.
But what about the game that made him a star? Would he want to have his own basketball team?
"Will I own a team in the NBA? Probably so," Johnson said. "I don't have to be the majority owner, and I probably won't be, but I still want to control it."
Johnson, 51, is aware of the ownership limbo with the Pistons. He said he assumed Mike Ilitch would be the next owner and spoke with him months ago. He wouldn't rule out becoming a minority owner in Detroit.
As for the current Pistons, Johnson said they were a long way from the teams he faced in consecutive NBA Finals in the late 1980s.
"Too many individuals," Johnson said. "You have to get back to what made them great, and that's defense and rebounding. ... What we see now is a team that's soft.
"People from Detroit and Michigan can accept losing, but not the way they're losing."
And Johnson didn't bite his tongue when it came to his Tom Izzo-led Spartans, either.
"First, they've got to get back to playing great defense and rebounds, and second, we've got to cut down on those turnovers," Johnson said. "But I'm not really concerned."
Back at Jenison
They waited -- quietly, almost nervously -- for their hero to make one more appearance.
Then, after a cue from the stage manager, the 6-foot-9 champion emerged from the shadows with a smile and high-fives for adoring fans as Michigan State's band played.
Jenison Field House, an old-fashioned arena where Magic's Spartans played, was turned into a studio with bright lights andflat-screen TVs, and hummed with as much noise as when Johnson dominated the Big Ten in the late 1970s.
Magic Johnson returned home Thursday with a full agenda, which not only included giving the commencement speech at MSU's graduation but also filming the latest installment of ESPN's "Homecoming with Rick Reilly" at the arena where he began to make a worldwide name for himself. The show debuts at 7 tonight.
After the show, Johnson said he almost couldn't believe how well he was received by the audience.
"I live in Los Angeles, but to get this type of reception, this type of respect, this type of love, they know that I care about them," he said. "They've made me proud, and I hope that I've made them proud."
During a break of the taping, Magic couldn't help being Magic: interacting with the crowd, shaking hands with teammates from yesteryear and current Spartans, telling his team: "We've got to get back to the Final Four, c'mon." As a hush fell over the crowd, anticipating the beginning of the next segment, Magic blurted out: "What about our football team, huh?"
About 4,000 people, including Johnson's wife Cookie, parents Earvin Sr. and Christine, brothers and sisters, former high school, college and NBA teammates, Tom Izzo and the MSU men's basketball team and remnants of the Izzone filled Jenison to catch a glimpse of East Lansing's famous native son.
Though Magic didn't march through the crowd until about 7 p.m., people were lined up outside Jenison Field House on a blistery day hours before the doors opened.
"With this turnout, you can see how much he means to the people here," said Dartanion Thomas, a former MSU student. "It's nice to see him come back home."
Just about everyone in the crowd seemed to agree, hanging on every one of Johnson's words during the 2-hour taping.
And how couldn't they? Johnson not only told stories from his championships at Lansing Everett, MSU and L.A., but displayed his favorite jacket from high school (red crushed velvet with a white fur collar), his singing "talents" and described the greatest shot he'd ever seen that's not on video (clues: Michael Jordan and 1992 Dream Team).
WikiLeaks, Web to Revolutionize Reporting: John Pilger
Revelations on the WikiLeaks website which have enraged governments around the world should force the traditional media to rely less on official sources, award-winning journalist John Pilger said.
In an interview to discuss his film "The War You Don't See," the veteran Australian reporter told Reuters the Internet, and more specifically WikiLeaks, would bring about a "revolution" in journalism which too often failed to do its job properly.
One reason the media did not challenge the U.S. and British governments' justification for going to war in Iraq in 2003, later shown to be misplaced, was their eagerness to believe the official version of events, Pilger argued.
He said the same was true of television coverage of the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, when British broadcasters appeared willing only to use Israeli video rather than trawling the Internet for alternative footage.
"That mindset that only authority can really determine the 'truth' on the news, that's a form of embedding that really now has to change," said Pilger, who has covered conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia, written books and made several acclaimed documentaries.
"There's no question about the pressure on it to change coming from the Internet and coming from WikiLeaks -- it will change," he added in the interview ahead of Tuesday evening's broadcast of his new film.
"That is the canker in all of this, it's the compulsion to quote, not necessarily believing the authority source. But then once you quote it and you put it out on the wires or you broadcast it, it takes on a sort of mantle of fact and that's where the whole teaching of journalism is wrong.
"Authority has its place, but the skepticism about authority must be ingrained in people."
In The War You Don't See, Pilger interviews leading broadcast journalists including Dan Rather and Rageh Omaar, who agree that journalists failed in their basic duties during the build-up to the Iraq conflict.
It seeks to highlight how British television reporters based in London were quick to accept what they were being told by officials in Westminster, which did not necessarily reflect what was happening on the ground in Iraq.
OTHER SIDE OF STORY
The film shows how independent journalists occasionally provided evidence that countered the official version, while WikiLeaks was a relatively new source of sometimes disturbing information with the potential to embarrass the authorities.
The documentary opens with extended clips from classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff. WikiLeaks released the footage in April.
Pilger also interviews WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, remanded in custody in Britain last week after Sweden issued a European arrest warrant.
Assange jokes that since it is officially wrong to retain information and to destroy it, his only choice was to publish.
Pilger, one of several prominent figures who offered a surety to secure bail for Assange, praised the recent publication of secret U.S. embassy documents which have attracted global media coverage.
"I think the WikiLeaks disclosures have been like watching a great parade of wonderful scoops," Pilger said in the interview.
"(It is) basic rich journalism that is telling people how the world works. It's not just telling them what a prime minister said. It's not framing it in how governments or other vested interests want us to think about something.
"It's giving us the story in their words. I think it's a revolution in journalism."
The War You Don't see is aired on ITV on Tuesday evening and is being screened at select theatres across Britain.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
In an interview to discuss his film "The War You Don't See," the veteran Australian reporter told Reuters the Internet, and more specifically WikiLeaks, would bring about a "revolution" in journalism which too often failed to do its job properly.
One reason the media did not challenge the U.S. and British governments' justification for going to war in Iraq in 2003, later shown to be misplaced, was their eagerness to believe the official version of events, Pilger argued.
He said the same was true of television coverage of the Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, when British broadcasters appeared willing only to use Israeli video rather than trawling the Internet for alternative footage.
"That mindset that only authority can really determine the 'truth' on the news, that's a form of embedding that really now has to change," said Pilger, who has covered conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia, written books and made several acclaimed documentaries.
"There's no question about the pressure on it to change coming from the Internet and coming from WikiLeaks -- it will change," he added in the interview ahead of Tuesday evening's broadcast of his new film.
"That is the canker in all of this, it's the compulsion to quote, not necessarily believing the authority source. But then once you quote it and you put it out on the wires or you broadcast it, it takes on a sort of mantle of fact and that's where the whole teaching of journalism is wrong.
"Authority has its place, but the skepticism about authority must be ingrained in people."
In The War You Don't See, Pilger interviews leading broadcast journalists including Dan Rather and Rageh Omaar, who agree that journalists failed in their basic duties during the build-up to the Iraq conflict.
It seeks to highlight how British television reporters based in London were quick to accept what they were being told by officials in Westminster, which did not necessarily reflect what was happening on the ground in Iraq.
OTHER SIDE OF STORY
The film shows how independent journalists occasionally provided evidence that countered the official version, while WikiLeaks was a relatively new source of sometimes disturbing information with the potential to embarrass the authorities.
The documentary opens with extended clips from classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters that killed a dozen people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff. WikiLeaks released the footage in April.
Pilger also interviews WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, remanded in custody in Britain last week after Sweden issued a European arrest warrant.
Assange jokes that since it is officially wrong to retain information and to destroy it, his only choice was to publish.
Pilger, one of several prominent figures who offered a surety to secure bail for Assange, praised the recent publication of secret U.S. embassy documents which have attracted global media coverage.
"I think the WikiLeaks disclosures have been like watching a great parade of wonderful scoops," Pilger said in the interview.
"(It is) basic rich journalism that is telling people how the world works. It's not just telling them what a prime minister said. It's not framing it in how governments or other vested interests want us to think about something.
"It's giving us the story in their words. I think it's a revolution in journalism."
The War You Don't see is aired on ITV on Tuesday evening and is being screened at select theatres across Britain.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)