More NCAA trouble for USC football?

USC football

USC football Coach Pete Carroll employed a former NFL tactician last season to help with the team's punting and kicking game, an arrangement that may have violated NCAA rules that prohibit consultants from coaching, The Times has learned.

Carroll's action could widen a continuing investigation by the NCAA, the governing body of major college sports, which has been looking at USC football for more than three years and the school's basketball program for the last year. The probe has been examining specific allegations of improper payments to two players as well as the broader question of whether USC has lost "institutional control" of its athletics department.The new issue involves the employment of Pete Rodriguez, who has coached for several professional franchises. In an interview with The Times, he acknowledged that he attended USC practices, monitored games and offered Carroll behind-the-scenes advice on matters ranging from the needs of individual players to avoiding penalties during punt returns.

"I would watch practice and tell Pete, 'Hey, this guy needs this and this,' " Rodriguez said. He said he believed that his work complied with National Collegiate Athletic Assn. regulations that cap the number of coaches a team can have and that restrict consultants.

But experts contacted by The Times said the type of assistance that Rodriguez described could constitute a serious violation.

"That's coaching," said J. Brent Clark, a onetime NCAA investigator who practices law in Oklahoma, when told of Rodriguez's statements.

"The rules are designed to level the playing field for all institutions regardless of the size of their budgets. It would make no sense for the rich and powerful to be able to compensate coaches with NFL backgrounds outside the coaching-limitation rules."

James Grant, USC's media relations director, issued a brief statement Wednesday in response to questions from The Times.

"We are aware of this issue and are looking into the matter. We will have no further comment at this time," the statement said.

A spokesman for Carroll and USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett said both were on vacation and unavailable.

There has been no indication to date that the NCAA's investigation has touched on the use of consultants. But Rodriguez's employment could change that, said Clark and others familiar with NCAA procedures, several of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of damaging their relations with USC or Carroll.

An NCAA spokeswoman declined to answer questions about USC.

If USC is found to have lost institutional control of athletics, the NCAA could levy severe penalties on the school, including a ban on post-season play and television appearances that generate millions of dollars in revenue.

Any probe involving Carroll takes on particular importance because his sustained success has made him enormously popular and influential at USC and one of the most recognizable figures in sports. The Trojans won national championships in 2003 and 2004.

Now in his ninth year as coach, Carroll has sought to remain above the NCAA probe, which is centered on allegations of illicit payments involving former football star Reggie Bush as well as ex-basketball standout O.J. Mayo and his former coach, Tim Floyd.

Carroll had tapped at least one NFL-pedigree coach before Rodriguez. Early in his tenure, Carroll brought in NFL journeyman coach Alex Gibbs to help the Trojan staff.

During the off-season, Gibbs met with coaches and analyzed game videos, according to a source familiar with Trojan football operations, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was concerned about alienating USC.

Gibbs, now an assistant head coach for the Houston Texans, did not respond to interview requests.

NCAA bylaws bar consultants from participating "in any on- or off-field or on- or off-court coaching activities," unless they are counted against a team's coaching limits. The rules specifically forbid consultants from "attending practices and meetings involving coaching activities, formulating game plans [and] analyzing video involving the institution's or opponent's team."

The bylaws say teams may retain temporary consultants "to provide in-service training for the coaching staff, but no interaction with student-athletes is permitted."

The rules limit teams in USC's division to nine assistant coaches and two graduate assistants. Last season, Carroll decided not to assign an assistant coach full time to special-teams duty, overseeing the punting and kicking squads.

Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College professor who specializes in sports economics, said he was "not surprised" that Carroll turned to Rodriguez, given the pressure on big-time football programs to get a leg up on the competition.

"Whenever you impose a rule that says you can't do what you want to do, that the marketplace can't do its magic, somebody finds a way to twist it or get around it," he said. "I'm sure that the infractions committee at the NCAA will look at it."

In the telephone interview, Rodriguez said, "I didn't coach the players at all. . . . The players knew who I was because I'd show up for practice now and then. They'd say, 'Hi.' "
Rodriguez said he did not analyze videotapes of contests, but "basically watched all the games."

He said Carroll "knew what I could do and what I couldn't do. He said, 'We have to be very careful.' I was allowed to be able to talk to Pete. I gave him my thoughts.

"I gave them some thoughts on how to avoid penalties. Just simple, basic football."

Clark said Rodriguez's mere presence at practices could have given USC another potentially unfair advantage -- boosting the school's reputation as a gateway to the NFL, a key selling point in recruiting and retaining top talent.

"It said, 'Hey, look what you get when you come to USC -- you get access to the NFL,' " he said.

Rodriguez recently signed on as special teams coach for the New York franchise of the start-up United Football League. His NFL employers have included the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins.

The biography posted on the UFL's website does not mention Rodriguez's USC stint. Rodriguez described his work for Carroll as something that did not require many hours.

But another source familiar with the situation said that Rodriguez, who lives in San Diego County, turned down a job with the University of San Diego because of his arrangement with USC.

In the interview, Rodriguez initially denied that he had any contact with the University of San Diego, but later said he remembered an overture but had never formally been offered a job.

University of San Diego Coach Ron Caragher declined to comment about Rodriguez's statement, saying it was his policy not to discuss interviews with coaching candidates.

For the upcoming season, USC has hired a full-time special teams coach, Brian Schneider, who held that position with the Oakland Raiders.

"We've worked for years to create the opportunity to have a special teams coordinator," Carroll said in a January statement on Schneider's arrival.

Rodriguez said he had not been interested in joining USC full time and had offered no input in Schneider's selection.

Koreans build a beat box

kia soul

Back before the Earth cooled, JCPenney and other fine retail outlets sold a component stereo system whose speakers pulsed with colored lights in sync with the music. There also was, it seems to me, a Wurlitzer organ that had dancing lights in the speaker cabinet. In the 1970s, this qualified as staggeringly awesome.

So I was surprised -- and not a little nostalgic -- to see this "technology" show up in the 2010 Kia Soul Sport, a fervid box of discount hipness targeting audio-obsessed teens and twentysomethings.

Our $18,345 test car was equipped with six speakers (including a center channel and subwoofer) powered by an external amp pushing enough decibels to loosen one's grip on bodily functions.

The door speakers have LED lights built in that throb to the music. Please be advised that, if you are sitting in the grocery store parking lot at night grooving out to Katy Perry, and you are in your late 40s, you will look like a demented old man.

The Soul is a cool-looking little gizmo penned with confidence if not gall: The bold upward window sill line, the deep beveling around the windows, the outsized fender flares, the frog-eyed headlamps and vertical tail lamp assemblies. Pull it all together and the Soul looks like a Land Rover LR2 that had its way with a Scion xB. Well done.

Other than its resolute boxiness, the Kia Soul recommends itself primarily on the basis of price, and I must say the Soul delivers a significant amount of kit for the money: power accessories, keyless entry, fog lights, lots of tarty sport trim (roof spoiler, side sills, front bumper and side moldings) and fairly racy 18-inch wheels and tires.

Is it fun to drive? God no. It's a shopping cart, an eight-cornered wheelbarrow. Powered by a 2.0-liter, 142-hp four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission, the Soul moans like a poltergeist under hard acceleration.

The steering feels vague and the car corners skittishly. The clutch and brake pedal couldn't feel more numb if you had an epidural, and the shift lever feels like a spoon in an empty cake bowl.

The Soul -- with MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear -- is built on a modified Kia Rio platform, which I don't believe is on anybody's list of mind-blowing sporters.

The Soul is certainly drivable and pleasant. But fun? The Soul falls somewhere between having your teeth cleaned and Vacation Bible School.

Note: If the anesthetized torpor of the five-speed-equipped car proves to be too much, you can choose a four-speed automatic for no extra cost. Still too hairy? The base model comes with a 1.6-liter, 122-hp four-binger.

Here's the thing, though: The target audience is not much interested in driving fun, per se, at least as we defined it back in my carbureted youth.

For the Kia's first-car audience, fun means being able to pile your friends in the back -- and the vast rear doors and large back seat make that easy -- and heading out for an affordable night of self-inflicted hearing damage. Fun means a warranty that won't expire until after you get out of graduate school. Fun means being able to make your car payment. Fun means affording the gas. The Soul Sport gets quite decent fuel economy of 30 miles per gallon on the highway.

For financially assisting parents, the Soul offers the consolation of lots of safety gear, including stability control, six air bags and active headrests.

The Soul scored five stars in both Europe's NCAP and the feds' NHTSA crash test rating. Having your kids come home in one piece is fun too.

The atman of this car resides in the interior, and it doesn't disappoint . . . much. The seats are mounted high on pedestals so there's plenty of legroom to go with the vast headroom (Sarah Palin supporters need not doff their moose-antler hats).

The high-design, two-tone interior -- red/black in our "Molten" red test car -- looks great. The center stack's audio and climate controls are easy to reach and operate. Most of the dash is covered in a kind of dot-pattern soft plastic, like the rubbery grip tape you'd put on a skateboard. It's nice.

The big problem with the interior is that the hard plastic on the doors and interior panels is easily scuffed. The driver's door of the test car was already pretty well scarred when I got to it. I expect Kia soon will rethink its choice of materials for this high-wear area.

How does the Soul stack up against the segment's benchmark, the Honda Fit?

Incontestably, the Fit is a better-engineered car and more fun in stick-and-rudder driving. But the Soul has a lovely, expansive feel to it, and it's a screaming value.

The Soul joins the Scion xB, Honda Element and the new Nissan Cube in the boxy boxing ring, and I think it will do just fine.

NHL investigating Hossa contract

NHL investigating Hossa contract

The NHL is investigating whether Marian Hossa's new 12-year, $62.8-million (all terms US) contract with the Blackhawks circumvents the collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap, Sun Media has learned.

The 'Hawks could be facing a maximum fine of $5 million and the loss of draft picks if the league's investigation uncovers proof of allegations that Chicago discussed the possibility of Hossa retiring before the end of the deal, which would end Hossa's cap hit.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the investigation in an e-mail yesterday, stating that league officials are concerned with the structure of the contract.

What it boils down to is Hossa's cap hit over the 12 years is $5.23 million a season, but for the first seven years, he'll make $7.9 million a season before dropping to $4 million in 2016-17.

It's the final four years of the deal that have the NHL up in arms as Hossa is scheduled to earn $3.5 million, period.

If Hossa were to retire after the eighth season, the $5.23-million cap hit would disappear, too.

"We're trying to understand how it was negotiated and whether the intent and effect is to circumvent the cap," wrote Daly.

"This was the first of the long-term contracts that took a player out past the age 40 and the value of the contract in its 'out years' was dramatically lower than its early years.

"We want to know if the possibility of player retirement was ever discussed or even contemplated."

"The NHL is looking to put a damper on these 10-plus-year contracts with throwaway years tacked on at the end," a league executive said last night. "They are building a strong case against Chicago to make an example of them.

"This issue won't just go away. Lots of other GMs are supporting the league here."

New animated Green Lantern a great lead-in to live action film due out in 2011

the ring lord

The Internet geek debates are vociferious, even angry and bitter. But the DC Comics superhero Green Lantern is reborn -- again -- this time as a terrific animated movie.

Green Lantern: First Flight launched this week as a direct-to-DVD and Blu-ray release, part of a Warner Bros. series of stylized, full-length, widescreen animations such as Wonder Woman and Batman: Gotham Knight.

Each skews more adult-mature and less kid-friendly than you might first expect. None, however, is as tough and edgy, or as violent and bloody, as live action versions of comic books. And I'm intrigued to see what happens with the live action Lantern coming in 2011 with Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan.

The new animated Green Lantern features the voice of Christopher Meloni as Jordan, the cocky American test pilot who gets chosen for the ring. His green guy is not to be confused with the Green Hornet, although viewers with only a vague recollection of Lantern mythology might do so. Victor Garber is the scene-stealing voice of Sinestro, the hero corrupted into a fascist villain.

The movie twists the Lantern story, but so did the comics back to Bill Finger and Martin Nodell's first creation in July 1940. The storyline evolved and even changed heroes. Jordan first arrived in 1959. His origins story is again manipulated by director Laureen Montgomery's filmmaking team for First Flight. On standard DVD, Green Lantern: First Flight is available as a single-disc basic edition. Better is the two-disc Special Edition with bonus materials, although some are blatant promotions for future releases. The Lantern-related materials include comic writer Geoff Johns discussing his approach. You also get the hilarious Daffy Duck cartoon satire, Duck Dodgers.

Everything on the special edition is available on the Blu-ray, plus an exclusive on the symbolism of the green power rings that turn wearers into superheroes. Both the special edition and Blu-ray have a problem, however. Digital copies are good for Windows only, not Mac.

BART GOT A ROOM: There is a fine line between stupid teen comedy and clever high school movie. A few tasteless jokes or bad casting and you are doomed to Stupidland. So I was apprehensive about Bart Got a Room, Brian Hecker's entry in this coming-of-age category. But it jumps in on the Juno side of the line.

That means it is smart as well as funny.

It is keenly observed and beautifully cast, with empathetic Steven Kaplan as the geek who lives in Hollywood, Fla., and is planning his prom date. If he can get one.

The widescreen-only DVD, new this week, refreshes the approach to extras. Instead of making-of featurettes, you can activate pop-up balloons that add to the sly comedy. That's cool.

MISS MARCH: Arrrrgh! Actors, writers and co-directors Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore stumble over to the really stupid side of teen comedies with Miss March. Besides an obsession with poopy pants, their humour is mental, juvenile and idiotic.

They play two pals heading to the Playboy Mansion to hook up with a former high school sweetheart under circumstances too absurd to mention. The DVD is out this week as an Unrated Fully Exposed Edition with three-and-a-half minutes of extra footage in the optional unrated cut. More is way too much.

And the limited extras are lame, too.

NEW THIS WEEK: Green Lantern: First Flight - Bart Got a Room - Miss March - Dragonball: Evolution - Dollhouse: Season One.

NEW NEXT WEEK: Race to Witch Mountain - Delgo - The Soloist - Obsessed.

COMING SOON: The Class (Aug. 11) - Tyson (Aug. 18).

Daveigh Chase Animal Print Dress

daveigh chase

American actress Daveigh Chase known for her voice playing Rhonda Volmer in the HBO series Big Love, Samara Morgan in The Ring and Lilo Pelekai in Lilo & Stitch, is photographed in a fantastic animal print dress.

The Zebra Ruched Bodycon Dress from Miss Selfridge is this seasons must have print and is 100% Viscose and Machine washable.

Jessica Simpson sparks outcry over "Indian giver" remark

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson has outraged some in the Native American community for using a racial stereotype.

Few days back, TMZ.com had asked Simpson if she would be taking back the expensive boat she bought for ex Tony Romo. Her reply? "I'm not an Indian giver," reports Us magazine.

"I am shocked she said that. I didn't know people still said that," one person wrote on the website, theforumsite.

"She will be apologizing ... there is outrage,” the person added.

Added another TMZ.com commenter: "I'm a Native American and I cringed when I heard Jessica Simpson comment about us Native Americans. Am I mad!?! I should be, but look at who the comment is coming from."

A third said: "As a Native American, in particular a Dakota, I find those comments quite sad and stereotypical. But not surprising, if you look who said them."

Jacqueline L. Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, told Usmagazine.com that besides Simpson many other people use the word in a derogatory sense.

The concept of Indians giving and sharing with one another is where the term originated, she explains, but has somehow morphed into an insensitive phrase that stereotypes

"Most people flippantly use the comment ''Indian giver'' without realizing its true meaning,” Pata said.

Massa’s F1 future in doubt

massa f1

Doctors treating Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa have said that there has been a significant improvement in the Ferrari driver's condition, who is now awake and has been talking to family members.

AEK military hospital chief surgeon Lajos Zsiros said on Monday that Massa is breathing unassisted and no longer on artificial ventilation. He is also moving his limbs and has had a drain from his skull wound removed. Zsiros said that Massa is "sleepy but he gives adequate and spontaneous answers to questions we ask him... further improvement of his condition can be expected."

However, Robert Veres, the neurosurgeon treating Massa said that though his life is no longer in danger, the damage to his eye and other injuries could prevent him from returning to Formula One. “I don’t know (if he can return),” Veres said. “It’s too early to say anything concerning his future, regarding the race,” Veres said.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo, meanwhile, has said that Ferrari’s first priority was undoubtedly Massa’s health but that the Italian team doesn’t “want to wait too long” to decide on finding a driving replacement.

Positive signs

Earlier in the day, doctors said that the Brazilian had made “passive communication,” and medical scans provided “positive signs.” Massa is being treated at the AEK military hospital and department of defence ministry spokesman Istvan Bocskai said Massa was not speaking but reacted when spoken to and was moving his hands and feet.

Massa was in “life-threatening” but stable condition following surgery for multiple skull injuries sustained during a violent crash on Saturday. Bocskai said that military hospital doctors were “reassured” after no complications were uncovered by a CT scan. An ultrasound on Sunday night to check on internal injuries revealed “nothing that would give cause for concern.”

F1’s governing body is investigating the crash, which comes amid a string of safety mishaps. An F2 driver was killed six days earlier after being struck in the head by a loose tyre from another car and crashing into a barrier at English circuit Brands Hatch.

Renault suspended

Motorsport authorities also suspended Renault from the next round of the championship for jeopardising Fernando Alonso’s safety when they failed to inform the two-time world champion of a wheel nut problem at Budapest. Alonso’s wheel subsequently came off and bounced wildly down the track during the race.

Organisers of the European GP, however, want the authorities to rescind Renault’s suspension so that Fernando Alonso can compete in his native Spain. “We think they should think of the fans, many of which have obviously bought tickets to see Fernando Alonso race in Valencia,” Jorge Aspar, vice president of Valmor Sports, said.

No Formula One driver has died on the track since Ayrton Senna’s crash at Imola 15 years ago.

Local car lots ready for Cash-for-Clunkers trade-ins

cars for cash

WENATCHEE — "Old Blue" was Wenatchee's first "clunker."

The 1985 Ford F250 pickup was likely the first vehicle in the Wenatchee area to be exchanged for a new, higher-mileage vehicle under the government's "Cash-For-Clunkers" rebate program that began Monday.

From Wenatchee World

All area dealers and most dealers across North Central Washington are participating in the program, which has set aside $1 billion in federal rebate funding for the dual purpose of stimulating new car sales — hard hit by the recessionary credit crunch — and getting old gas hogs off the road.

That suits the old pickup's former owners, Bob and Barb Butler of East Wenatchee.

"I told Barb that when that program got started, I was going to get rid of Old Blue," Butler said from the living room of his East Wenatchee home. "I wrote to our senators, encouraging them to pass the program. It puts the purchasing power at the bottom and lets the consumer decide how to spend the money."

In his driveway is the old truck's successor — a beautiful metallic-maroon Ford Ranger, a small pickup freshly purchased from Town Ford.

Butler, a 2001 retiree from Alcoa's Wenatchee Works, bought Old Blue a few years ago from his son, who was moving out of the area.

Cash for Clunkers gave Butler $4,500 for the old pickup, a vehicle that normally would have garnered some $500 in a trade in.

He used the Cash-For-Clunkers rebate toward the purchase of the $13,950 Ranger. His final price, including taxes, was $11,040, he said.

"He's happy. We're happy, and hopefully, it'll generate some more business," said Mike Andruss, the salesman who sold Butler the Ranger.

A Cash-for-Clunkers spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said 22,330 dealers nationwide had registered for the program by early Wednesday.

Some $68.9 million of the total $1 billion in available rebate funding had already been claimed by Wednesday, she said.

Car dealers around town say the program has caused a buzz among potential buyers and kept their phones busy with inquiries.

"The program is going to be good for business. It's generated a lot of phone questions," Mark Prater, general sales manager of Town Ford said. "Anytime anybody's out there thinking about replacing a rig, that's good for sales."

Sid Kane, owner of Wenatchee Kia and Suzuki, says his local dealership has already received some seven clunkers in trade.

The program will stimulate sales, he says, but it's a "quick fix" that doesn't solve the industry's real problem: a credit crunch.

"Banks are not lending or are picky about who they lend to," he said. "The program is limited to a buyer who has the means and the credit. The person who most needs a new car is being penalized, and a lot of these people are good credit risks."

He said about half the people who traded in clunkers at his dealership paid in cash.

Todd McLaughlin, general manager of Apple Valley Honda, says the program creates uncertainty for dealers, because the government has 10 days to send out the rebates, but customers can drive their new cars off the lot the day of the trade.

"I think it's made a lot of dealers nervous," McLaughlin said.

For small city dealerships the program also presents another challenge — finding a local wrecking yard willing to take and scrap the clunker trade-ins.

"I haven't found anybody local who'll do it," said Dale Damskov, owner of Ford and Chrysler dealership, Damskov Auto Sales of Omak.

Of the required paperwork and regulations, he added, "I signed up for the program, but it won't hurt my feelings if we don't receive any (clunkers), because it's going to be a headache."

Bob Ramin, sales manager at Sunrise Chevrolet, also in Omak, says he has six to eight clunker deals on hold while he awaits authorization to participate in the program.

He said he'll be sending the clunkers to Spokane for the mandatory wrecking.

Butler's Old Blue remained parked at Town Ford Wednesday, the word "clunker" now scrawled across its windshield.

The old truck had its quirks, but it was far from the broken-down old beater that the word "clunker" normally conjures.

Its wheel hubs were rusty, but its brakes were good. Dents and scratches marred parts of its namesake paint job, but it had a plastic bed liner. Its ignition didn't work, but a "MacGyvered" switch under the dash — marked with a piece of blue tape — fired the engine right up.

The clunker program requires that it be scrapped and its engine rendered unusable — a sorry end to a trusty old vehicle.

But its 8 miles to a gallon "on a good day" can't match the approximately 25 miles per gallon of Butler's new Ranger.

And that metallic-maroon color ...

"It's as close as I could get to the color of the Corvette I used to have," he said.

Jones spent clients' money

'Planes, Hotels'; Financial adviser, wife lived off $60,000 a month: accountant

Earl Jones cut himself and his wife monthly cheques of several thousand dollars from the same account in which his clients' money was deposited, an accountant investigating Jones's business dealings said yesterday.

Between those cheques and a monthly credit card balance that regularly hit $50,000, the Joneses were living off $60,000 to $70,000 a month, accountant Gilles Robillard said.

"Plane tickets, meals, hotels," he said. "From the payments that were doled out to (his wife), she was the best-paid employee."

Following a brief hearing yesterday in Quebec Superior Court during which Jones's company, Earl Jones Consultant and Administration Corp., was declared bankrupt, Robillard gave more insight into the man who is alleged to have ripped off dozens of Montrealers - many of them friends - in an elaborate Ponzi scheme.

After about a month in hiding, Jones, 67, turned himself over to provincial police this week. He was charged Tuesday with four counts of fraud and four counts of theft over $5,000. More charges are pending.

Jones, a Dorval resident, was released on $30,000 bail. He is to return to court on Sept. 28.

But Jones wasn't at yesterday's bankruptcy hearing, nor was he represented by a lawyer.

Neil Stein, the lawyer representing several of Jones's alleged victims, called three witnesses, including Robillard, Mary Sue Gibson, who is one of Jones's purported victims, and Robin Whitrod, who is owed $32,500 by Jones for doing many of his clients' income tax returns.

Yesterday's declaration of bankruptcy means the accounting firm RSM Richter has the power to try to find a way to repay about 150 creditors.

"We now have the ability ... to conduct examinations and do whatever necessary to recoup assets," Stein said.

But Robillard didn't provide much optimism for investors, who are out an estimated $50 million in total.

"It doesn't seem the money just disappeared in the last year. It was gone long before that," he said.

"We've found very little. In 60 bank accounts, there's probably less than $30,000."

In the accounts that have been examined, Robillard said, the balance hovered near $200,000 at the end of the month, which would be "flushed out throughout the month to customers, his wife and himself, and to pay some accounts."

"Then there'd be deposits and the balance would come up to $200,000 (again), and it kept rolling like that from month to month."

Robillard said his company has to sift through 20 years' worth of accounting figures, and he suspects some of the money may be in offshore accounts.

"We haven't pinpointed yet when the money disappeared," he said. "It could have been 10 years ago, for all we know.

"Either the money was stolen and it's sitting somewhere or it's been lost, spent."

The accountants will be questioning Jones and his wife, Robillard said.

On Monday, Stein filed for permission to have Jones declared personally bankrupt. A hearing on that petition is to be held Aug. 19.

Quebec Superior Court granted Stein permission to seize all of Jones's personal assets, including his homes in Dorval and Mont Tremblant, as well as all bank accounts.

But even that is not producing fruit.

"It appears Mr. Jones cashed in all his personal investments, RRSPs, life insurance in January 2009," Robillard said.

"He's been seeing this coming for quite a while."

VIA Rail's goodwill gesture backfires

via rail\
60% discount: Offer extended after deal-seekers crash website and ticket lines overflow

VIA Rail was still struggling to get back on track yesterday after a major promotion turned into a customer service nightmare for the company this week.

In an effort to redeem itself after a two-day strike disrupted service across Canada last weekend, VIA offered a 60-per-cent discount on regular-fare tickets countrywide. But the deal proved to be a little too popular, prompting a flood of bookings that overwhelmed the company's website and tied up its phone lines.

Unable to get through from home, many people made their way to the nearest train station to try their luck in person. By noon yesterday, the line at the Central Station in Montreal had snaked halfway across the main terminal's huge atrium.

"I couldn't get through on the phone ... and I tried the Web last night but it didn't work," said Matt Milner, who was waiting to buy tickets for a friend in Toronto. "If you're going to offer this kind of promotion, the website should really be able to handle it."

One woman, who gave her name as Cathy, said she had tried coming down on Wednesday, but turned around when she saw the line.

"It was three times as long as today," she said. "I just thought, forget it."

It was similar scene at Toronto's Union Station. Rob Shier, 52, who stood halfway through the line, said he had been waiting for 30 minutes to pay and pick up a ticket for his son. "I tried online ... but it was really slow."

Jane Bergman also tried to book her trip to Montreal online before giving up. She said the discounted ticket price made the 45-minute wait more bearable

"I tried the website, but it was down," she said nearing the front of the line. "I tried the phone many times, but the line was busy. Still, the savings are good."

In response to the "difficulties being encountered by some passengers," VIA quickly went into damage control, extending the promotion by two days, calling in an additional 10 employees for each of its call centres, and adding extra bandwidth to its website.

"We normally have 1,500 hits on our website per day, and yesterday we had over 12,000 hits, so it's a bit overwhelming compared to our usual standards," said VIA spokesperson Claude Arsenault, who would not comment on how much the company spent to expand its webspace. "The website seems to be up and running smoothly."

But while many travellers have been able to secure an unexpected mid-summer deal, the feeding frenzy has also prompted complaints from those holding multi-ticket passes, who say they are now having trouble securing seats.

Arsenault said any passes will be extended by three days, and the company is looking into adding extra trains and wagons to squeeze everyone in. "So far, very few trips are totally full. We're working at maximum capacity."

The VIA promotion ends tonight at 11:59 PST, 8:59 local time.

canwest news service contributed to this report

mmuise@thegazette.canwest.com

Conan O’Brien Takes a Trip to Bang Zoom Entertainment

First we have a Halo anime, now we have Conan O’Brien taking a trip down to dubbing studio Bang Zoom Entertainment, what’s next a Gurren Lagann football team? The reason behind this unexpected visit is because the people over at The Tonight Show have figured out that the Bang Zoom studio is actually not far away from their own studio, so why not show up and have a party? That’s the story they are giving all of us, but I have my own theory. Conan O’Brien is actually an undercover otaku!

So Conan and his partner Andy go to the studio, and are promptly given a tour, a super special fanservice tour. After getting all heated up they then work on the original Ghost in the Shell dub. Funny that in this brief time they had recording these lines, they both are already better than Vic Mignogna. But I wonder why Manga is working on the Ghost in the Shell dub in the first place? Also, Steve Sargent of Manga Entertainment gave the worst elevator pitch of Ghost in the Shell I’ve ever heard. All you have to say is that it is a philosophical cop movie in the future with giant spider robots, and naked androids.

I am pleased with their preformance in the world of dubbing. But you can’t stop here Conan, I will now expect to hear your beautiful voice in Soul Eater when you play Excalibur.

AT&T Speaks on 4chan Block

att 4chan

This morning I woke up to this statement in my inbox from Michael Coe, an AT&T Spokesperson:

"Beginning Friday, an AT&T customer was impacted by a denial-of-service attack stemming from IP addresses connected to img.4chan.org. To prevent this attack from disrupting service for the impacted AT&T customer, and to prevent the attack from spreading to impact our other customers, AT&T temporarily blocked access to the IP addresses in question for our customers. This action was in no way related to the content at img.4chan.org; our focus was on protecting our customers from malicious traffic.

Overnight Sunday, after we determined the denial-of-service threat no longer existed, AT&T removed the block on the IP addresses in question. We will continue to monitor for denial-of-service activity and any malicious traffic to protect our customers."

Now, I'm aware that this could just as easily be spin as anything, but given the proclivities of certain members of 4chan, it seems pretty feasible to me...although were they spoofing the 4chan-related IP address, or did they manage to piggyback onto 4chan servers? I dunno...

Olivia Munn At Comic-Con: Hoochie Mama!

olivia munn comic

Here’s Attack of The Show’s Olivia Munn stealing the show at this year’s Comic-Con… to no one’s surprise. Olivia dropped everyone’s jaw and induced seizures when she dressed up as all sorts of shwingtastic comicbook babes, including Wonder Woman, Lara Croft, and the X-Men’s cleavage-popping Emma Frost.

Basically, it was a fanboy’s fantasy fest. I actually have unconfirmed reports that Olivia in Emma Frost’s costume was responsible for several deaths at the show. Check out the video to see all of this hotness in motion, and check out Oliva’s website for more pictures and videos from the show. Enjoy!

Tron Legacy + Daft Punk = Awesome!

tron daft punk

French electronica duo Daft Punk has been signed to write the original music score for Tron 2.0, Walt Disney’s upcoming sequel to the groundbreaking 1982 animation cult hit which was scored by electronic music icon Wendy Carlos. Daft Punk’s members Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have been involved in various films before, but Tron 2.0 will be their first complete feature film score. The film, scheduled for a 2011 release, is helmed by Joseph Kosinski and will feature Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett.

Check out the trailet! It says 2o1o, but like I just mentioned…it’s set for release in 2011. Enjoy!

And for those of you old school Tron fans, you can still find some of the toys online. You can also find the 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on DVD. I need to watch it all over again, seeing as I have forgotten a lot of the plot. I think I’ve got a bit of time to catch up. LOL

Tron 2.0 will play as the “next chapter” after the first film, with Wilde starring as one of the heroes trying to help fighting the Master Control Program, the evil intelligence protocol that was the nemesis in the 1982 film.

Could A Four-Day Work Week Be Coming?

It seems there is a movement out there to cut the standard work week from the familiar five days of 8-hours each to four days of 10-hours each.

According to a recent article from Scientific American, numerous studies have been conducted about the economic and environmental benefits of eliminating one day from the standard five-day work week. Instead of working a 40-hour schedule over five days of eight hours each, you would instead do it over four days of ten hours each. This would give everyone a three day weekend each weekend.

Before you start whooping it up about how wonderful that is, remember this means you would be in your office ten hours a day for four days a week. Imagine an 8 AM – 6 PM or 9 AM – 7 PM schedule. Imagine trying to still cook at home… going to the gym… running errands… anything else you might try to do on a work day. Still excited about the concept?

Before you start making up your minds, there are some actual benefits from the scheme. In August 2008, Utah impletmented the plan with 17,000 of its state employees. Here are the pros according to the state:

Local governments in particular have had their eyes on Utah over the last year; the state redefined the workday for more than 17,000 of its employees last August. For those workplaces, there’s no longer a need to turn on the lights, elevators or computers on Fridays—nor do janitors need to clean vacant buildings. Electric bills have dropped even further during the summer, thanks to less air-conditioning: Friday’s midday hours have been replaced by cooler mornings and evenings on Monday through Thursday. As of May, the state had saved $1.8 million.

There is no arguing that not only is the state saving money, but all of those things they listed should have a definite impact on the environment, and it also impacts your wallet as you are spending one day less a week on the road commuting to work, no money spent on an expensive lunch out and so on.

While everything everyone is listing sounds like it lands on the size of positive, I have to be my usual nay saying self and bring up the fact that unless you get the rest of the world on board, this will be a disaster if it should ever get wide spread in the USA only. We already lag behind the majority of the world in many ways, and if we give them a leg up of working five calendar days a week as opposed to four, and mind you this has nothing to do with hours, they will have a distinct tactical advantage in reaction time to market movements, world developments and more. Again I stress that this is only if by some wild-eyed chance this schedule would gain wide spread acceptance in this country.

If it remains in the realm of some state employees and a company here or there, more power to them, but as a national plan, I would have a problem with it.

Tron Legacy

tron legacy

By the time Tron Legacy is released it will have been 28 years since the original Tron… who cares? This sequel could be made 50 years after the original and everyone my age would line up from the old folks home to see it.

Released on July 9, 1982, the original Tron was the first movie to really feature “computer animation” as a main story plot, and it launched an entire generation of computer geeks as we all imagined this world inside the computer. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) was a computer programmer that worked for a company named ENCOM that stole his idea for a video game and went on to make millions from it. In his efforts to get the proof, he was confronted by the Master Control Program (MCP) of ENCOM that uses a digitizing laser to transport Flynn into the company mainframe to get rid of him.

Once there, Flynn finds a fantastical world of gladiator style games that pit programs (represented by humans) against each other to the “death”. Eventually Flynn and Tron (Bruce Boxleitner), a security program inside the mainframe, defeat the MCP, and Flynn is returned to the real world. He gets the proof he needs to prove he created the game, and Dillinger (David Warner), who was also the template for the MCP and his general, Sark, is thrown out of the company, and Flynn is made the new CEO of ENCOM.

That is a very, very trimmed down version of the plot of Tron, and it is well worth watching if you’ve never seen it. It changed a lot of lives, and was one of several movies (The Last Starfighter and WarGames being the other two biggies) that really got people thinking about computers and what they could do in this world. And, hey, it also gave the world one of my all time favorite movie quotes:

Sark: You’ve got it. I’ve been hopin’ you’d send me somebody with a little bit of guts. What kind of program is he?
Master Control Program: He’s not any kind of program, Sark. He’s a User.
Sark: [shocked] A User!?

I don’t think a week goes by that I don’t say “He’s not any kind of program, Sark, He’s a user.“… and you have to say it with a bit of a British accent.

So, here we are. In 2005 they announced a sequel to Tron, and then some test footage was shown last year at Comic Con with the title of Tr2n (thank goodness they changed it to Tron Legacy). It was actually this same footage, but its been cleaned up considerably since then. The biggest change is the Light Cycles (the funky motorcycles) changed significantly from the first movie when they could only make 90-degree turns. The rumored plot is that Flynn disappeared some years ago and now his son, Sean (Garrett Hedlund), and an unknown female played by Olivia Wilde go looking for him. Somehow or the other they end up in the computer world and discover Flynn has been there for years, and from the looks of the footage, and has taken over.

Is this movie really needed? Who knows. Will I be waiting like a giddy schoolboy to see it? Yes. Will I watch the first movie again before seeing it… oh yeah. It’s a regular watch anyway.

So, what do you think? The look is going to take some getting used to, but I don’t care, I’m still seeing it.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton

Featuring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Sheen, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway this latest spectacle from Tim Burton promises to amaze. Tim Burton’s interpretation of the fairy tale, so be prepared for the premiere in March 2010.

Lancome Bonus Time at The Bay

Lancome

Retailer: The Bay

Minimum amount you need to spend: $45.00 CAD (before taxes)

Duration: July 9 to August 2, 2009

What You Get:
It’s one of those ads where they don’t list what you get and you have to make an educated guess based on the photo, but it looks like you get at least 2 lipsticks, a mascara, a 4-colour compact, a large tote and your choice of one of the following skincare products: High Resolution Refill-3X, Renergie Microlife R.A.R.E. or Absolue Premium Bx.

Alice in Wonderland Trailer

Alice in Wonderland Trailer

Is it bad that I’m actually looking forward to this movie?! I hope Johny Depp doesn’t go too wacko and ruin the movie though!

Joe Jonas cries over Camilla Belle

camilla belle

Earlier this week it was announced that Joe Jonas and Camilla Belle broke up and he is obviously very upset about their split. The 2nd oldest JoBro was seen crying not once, but twice at his Detroit concert on Sunday. In fact the singer reworked the lyrics of Much Better over the split because I guess because he isn’t doing Much Better.

Imagine how much more upset he would’ve been if they actually slept together if he was that sad without losing his virginity to her. Poor Joe, but I am sure there a million teens who are willing to help him get through the heartbreak.

Nearly 8 Million Viewers "Woke Up With Al" on The Weather Channel

the weather network

Atlanta, GA (Vocus/PRWEB ) July 29, 2009 -- Wake Up With Al on The Weather Channel has been successful in giving a new look to the all-weather network’s morning prime time. The morning show reached nearly 8 million viewers(1) while increasing the time slot by 15 percent for adults aged 25-54 and by 18 percent for 18-49.(2) The premiere week for the show, featuring Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams, began July 20.

The cumulative number of viewers for the program during the launch week was nearly 8 million (7,894,00 P2+ for 6A+10A).(1) Also noteworthy, the median age for Wake Up With Al dropped to 45, a decrease from the 51 from the previous four-week average median age at 6 a.m.(3)

In addition, the new Your Weather Today from 7-10 a.m. ET has also seen a bump since the premiere of Wake Up With Al. Delivery increased 19 percent for adults 18-49 and 7 percent among adults 25-54 compared to the prior four-week average.(4) The new Your Weather Today is hosted by Abrams and Mike Bettes.

Wake Up With Al, the new morning show on The Weather Channel, gives viewers a new way to start the day. Hosted by Al Roker live from New York City and TWC meteorologist Stephanie Abrams live from Atlanta, the fast-paced show has a fun, informative focus on weather with helpful morning information and interactive segments. It includes live news headlines from MSNBC, live weather and climate-related business stories from CNBC, weather forecasts, top weather stories of the day and the beloved Local on the 8s weather forecasts. Wake Up With Al airs from 6-7 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. ET (7-8 a.m. PT) with necessary live updates for West Coast viewers.

(1) Nielsen Media Research/NPOWER. Cume of 7,894,000, P2+, 1 min qualifier, 100% Unification, 7/20-7/24/09, Time Period 6a + 10a combined reach, Subject to Qualifications

(2) Nielsen Media Research/StarMedia. A18-49 and A25-54 avg Live delivery 7/20-7/24/09, M-F 6a-7a Time Period versus avg delivery among same demos at M-F 6a-7a, July 2008, Subject to Qualifications

(3) Nielsen Media Research/NPOWER. Live Median Age, P2+, Time Period 6a-7a, 7/20-7/24/09 versus 6/22-7/17/09 , Subject to Qualifications

(4) Nielsen Media Research/StarMedia. MF 7a-10a, 7/20-24/09 vs. prior 4 weeks (6/22/-7/17/09)

Richt watches his words

Mark Richt


As Mark Richt walked to his red truck in the Cobb Galleria Centre parking deck after last night’s Greater Atlanta Bulldog Club meeting, he admitted that he’s more restrained about what he says at such gatherings than he used to be.

“You gotta be more careful,” he said. “It’s just going to get blown way out of proportion [if you’re not].

“I think in years past everybody would get on the old tour and you’d say a joke about a certain opponent. And it’d never get out there because it was just everybody having a little fun.

“But then all of a sudden it becomes Internet [material]. You can’t even tell a good joke anymore without it becoming a big stinking deal. And so you got to be careful what you do.”

The first question from the floor to Richt last night tested his caution: “Based on this year’s plan, how bad are we going to stomp Florida?”

Richt did not, as Mark Bradley noted, take the Gator bait.

Richt said he likes the fact the Dogs have an open date before the Gators game, then offered only this: “I can promise you there has never been one game we have played at Georgia that we didn’t believe we were going to win. And the same thing is true this year of all our games, including Florida.”

Richt did offer some interesting insights on a range of topics, which I tried to cover in this story.

One of those topics was the coaches’ predisposition to play –- rather than red-shirt – all of the incoming freshmen at skill positions other than quarterback this season. That’s no surprise at receiver (where Georgia must get help from Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten), tight end (Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch) and tailback (Washaun Ealey). But Richt said after the meeting that he also was referring to the incoming freshmen at linebacker and defensive back.

“When you talk about special teams, you want your runners, your hitters,” he said. “We’re starting out saying, ‘Hey, let’s play these guys; let’s get them on special teams and teach them what to do.’ They’ll help us on special teams, and they will grow as players at their positions, too.” Some of them might grow into starters by mid-season, if not before, he noted.

Preseason practice, by the way, starts one week from today.

Spurrier made sure he voted for A.J.

steve spurrier

Steve Spurrier might not have noticed that Tim Tebow’s name was missing from his pre-season All-SEC ballot. But he made sure that A.J. Green’s name was on it.

The South Carolina coach said the Georgia receiver was one of just two names he noticed on the ballot, which he said was filled out by an aide, before hastily signing off on it.

“I can tell you two guys that were on there, A.J. Green and [Florida defensive end] Carlos Dunlap,” Spurrier said at SEC Media Days. “Those were the only two names I saw. I said, “That’s fine.’”

One more leftover from last week’s circus in Hoover, Ala.: Mark Richt was asked about preparing to face Oklahoma State’s defense, which last season ranked 93rd among the 119 Division I-A teams in total defense (allowing 405.5 yards per game) and 76th in scoring defense (allowing 28.1 points per game) but enters this season with a new coordinator, the veteran Bill Young. “You look at where he’s been, and if it’s consistent [what he did] at Kansas and Miami [his two most recent stops] then schematically you know that is probably what he likes to do,” Richt said. “But as you’re studying his scheme, you’re not studying his personnel. And if you’re studying Oklahoma State’s personnel, it’s in a system that they’re probably not going to be running. Coaches don’t like the unknown, and we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen.”

And on to a new week: This is the last week before preseason practice starts in Athens. So it’s time for the Greater Atlanta Bulldog Clubs’ annual “Celebration of Georgia Athletics” event tonight at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Social at 6 p.m.; program at 7 p.m.; free admission. On the program: Damon Evans, Richt, Mark Fox, gymnastics coach Jay Clark and equestrian coach Meghan Boenig. Should be fun. You planning to be there?

For the first time, Christian Brothers High School principal is a lay person

Christian Brothers

Perhaps nothing says more about the future of the Christian Brothers tradition in Memphis than the fact that the new head of Christian Brothers High School is not one of them.

Chris Fay, 34, associate principal at the private high school for six years, will welcome students this fall as principal, the first time in the school's 138-year history that a lay person is in charge.

Christian Brothers University experienced the same phenomenon this winter when the board of trustees named lay person John Smarrelli Jr. president.

While he intends to be at as many nighttime events as possible -- often with his wife and children -- his first vocation is his family, says Fay, father of children ages 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Brother Chris Englert, CBHS principal since 1990, will be freer to do fundraising with out-of-town alumni and work more closely with Catholic schools in Memphis and across the region.

"We've made this transition very gradually," said Englert, who expects little change in how CBHS is run largely because Fay has been the de facto principal for years as Englert took on more and more service to Christian Brothers schools that no longer have brothers on the faculty.

The Christian Brothers -- 5,500 around the world compared to 16,000 in 1964 -- are being forced to put their own where they can do the most good and find what Brother Terence McLaughlin at CBU calls "zealous" lay people to do the rest, including carrying on the spirit of founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle.

"In the last 20 years, we knew something was happening," said McLaughlin. Last year, he wrote "The Passing of the Baton," his view of a religious group forced to see the majority of its work now being performed by others.

More than 90 percent of the teachers in Christian Brothers schools around the globe today are lay people.

This year, in the brothers' Midwest district, which stretches from Minnesota to Memphis, only one postulant entered the fold.

In Memphis, 28 brothers remain; the youngest is 53 and the oldest is in his 90s, making the average age somewhere around 70.

When CBU president Brother Vincent Malham was killed in an accident in 2008, the university had to go outside the ranks to find a new president because all brothers capable of leading a university "were already in significant jobs," said McLaughlin, 86.

The rule of thumb has always been that "one would persevere for every 10 that entered," said Brother Joel McGraw, associate principal at CBHS.

"When I entered in 1964, we had 94 postulants. Forty-five years later, seven are remaining, and three have gone to heaven."

What's happened in the meantime is one of McGraw's favorite topics. He ticks off a list of social changes, starting with the far-reaching effect of Vatican II, which he says shifted the emphasis from church vocations to family vocations.

But as the family fabric continued to fray, fewer and fewer were "praying for vocations," let alone having meals together, he said.

The twin punches of a lifetime of commitment coupled with simplicity and structure sealed the fate.

"When I entered, we gave away our watch and wallet. We had no home visits. We could not telephone and could write home only once a month. The idea was you were separating yourself," McGraw said.

"You take a boy today and you're going to take his cell phone, computer, car and permission to phone people. The idea of 18-, 19-year-old boys rising at dawn to pray and living a very structured life," he says, stopping in mid-sentence.

"They look at you like you've lost your mind."

At CBHS, where the ratio of brothers to lay people on the faculty is 1:10, the notion that one day there will be no brothers is very real.

"The brothers served this town well and have a tradition of greatness," McLaughlin said. "But there comes a time when you must admit, the manpower is getting older."

Instead of quitting, he says the brothers are pushing their college-age proteges to give two years of volunteer service in Catholic schools, including several of the Jubilee Schools in Memphis.

They're sending others to Rome "to get a feel of what's happening in the home office," McLaughlin said.

"Certain nuances will change," he said. "Things will be updated, but I really feel that in the future I can see, these people will be on fire."

-- Jane Roberts: 529-2512

Chris Fay, principal

Born: Feb. 10, 1975

Graduated in 1993 from Martin Brother High School, New Orleans.

Graduated from CBU in 1998. Earned master's degree in 2003.

Taught at St. Benedict at Auburndale from 1998 to 2001.

Returned to CBU in 2001 as assistant director of admissions. Became assistant principal at CBHS in 2003.

Married to Rena Lynn Fay; 5 children.

Question to Tebow is virgin territory

tim tebow virgin

Let's go right to the videotape. The videotape of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow fielding the question at the SEC Media Days.

Reporter: "Are you saving yourself for marriage?"

Tebow: (laughing) "Yes, I am."

Another reporter: "Tim, being a senior, uh, what would you say ...

Tebow: (still laughing) "I think y'all are stunned right now. Y'all can't even ask a question. Look at this. The first time ever. Wow. I was ready for the question. I don't think y'all were, though."

So now you know. The question is, should you know? Should any of us know? Should we praise Tebow? Should we pummel the reporter who asked the question?

His name is Clay Travis and he writes for something called FanHouse.com, but he's not some Internet whack job. He's a lawyer who decided he'd rather write about sports. Hard not to like a guy like that, eh?

Travis wrote a modestly successful book about SEC football called "Dixieland Delight." He's following it up with a book about a year inside the Tennessee football program. But after this past week, he may forever be known as the guy who had the courage/lack of class to ask Tebow about his sex life.

Travis says all the press devoted to the question is proof that it was legitimate. He's too smart to believe that. If Travis had mooned Tebow, it would have gotten a lot of press, too.

Decency is not measured in headlines or Internet hits.

But it's not as easy as grumping about the general coarsening of our culture, either, or complaining that the question had nothing to do with sports.

I know that Memphis basketball coach Josh Pastner has never taken a sip of a carbonated beverage. That has nothing to do with sports.

I know that Tebow's mother was advised by a doctor to abort him. That has nothing to do with sports.

I know that Miley Cyrus is a virgin and that Bill Clinton wears briefs and that has nothing to do with music or politics.

So what is fair game in this culture of ours? Or, maybe the better question is, what isn't fair game?

Taping ESPN reporter Erin Andrews naked, in her hotel room, isn't fair game. We can all agree on that, right? The person who did that should be found and sent to jail. The mainstream media outlets that tried to profit off the tapes should be ashamed.

The New York Post dubbed the person the "peep perv" and -- just so you know how pervy -- included an on-line slide show.

See how perverted this is? Here. Look at another picture. It gets even more perverted. Look at how perverted this one is, with Andrews naked, curling her hair.

The Tebow issue isn't nearly as clear-cut. Because the guy talks about the way his faith shapes his life all the time.

He talks about his mission work in the Philippines. He talks about abstaining from alcohol. He hadn't talked about abstaining from sex before, but he always figured he'd be asked.

Jay Barker, the former Alabama quarterback who talked openly about his faith, said he was asked about virginity multiple times during his college career. It was largely reporters from the Christian press who did the asking. You never heard about it because they didn't shout the question at him during a mass press conference. They asked it as part of a larger discussion about Barker's life and beliefs.

This, in the end, is why Travis shouldn't have quizzed Tebow the way he did. The question was fine. The setting was all wrong.

It felt like a gotcha moment, like Travis was more interested in asking the question than in any answer it would yield.

As it happens, I know Travis a little bit. I don't believe he was trying to call attention to himself. But that's how it came off to those who didn't know him before his hand went up.

It's one thing to ask Clinton the boxers or briefs question during an MTV forum. It's another thing to ask him during a White House press conference.

Context matters. Timing does, too. If Travis had asked Tebow the same question one-on-one, it wouldn't have created any fuss. Which would have been a problem only if the point of the question was to create a fuss.

As for Tebow, he rose to the occasion once again. He answered the question like the graceful man he is.

Yes, he's a virgin. Yes, he's saving himself.

No word on who is going to save us.

Coldplay to appear on ‘The Simpsons’

Coldplay


LONDON - British rockers Coldplay have signed up to appear in hit animated show “The Simpsons”.

The cartoon series regularly features star guests and has seen cameos from high profile acts, including Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Green Day, Aerosmith and U2.

Now the “Yellow” hitmakers are set to join the yellow cast for a one-off episode, in which comedic patriarch Homer Simpson wins the lottery and hires the band to perform a private show for his family, reports contactmuasic.com.

Late singer Eartha Kitt will also appear in the upcoming 21st season of the show. She filmed her appearance before her death last year. The new episodes are due to air in America September 2009 onwards.

Katie Holmes escapes unhurt in car explosion

katie holmes

LONDON - Hollywood actress Katie Holmes narrowly escaped unhurt after a car caught fire on a movie set.

The actress, who is currently in Australia filming “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”, was reportedly shooting a scene in the vehicle when the battery exploded and the actress was left shaken after dashing from the car just before it burst into flames, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“Katie was inside a car when the vehicle’s battery exploded. It was sparking smoke and fumes before the car caught fire. The exploding battery was not a part of the film,” said a source from the production unit.

A remake of a 1973 TV movie, the film has Holmes playing a woman who is stalked by wicked gnomes.

Tourism recovers in Kashgar

Kashgar

Kashgar is a popular tourist destination in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The July 5th incident in Urumqi seriously affected Kashgar's summer tourism market.

However, tourism in Kashgar is now gradually returning to normal. This is due to a return to social stability, as well as a series of favorable policies. In response to the drop in the number of domestic tourists, the city has cut the price of all attractions and hotels by 50 percent. Most of the tourists in Kashgar these days are actually from overseas, with hundreds of visitors from around the world enjoying the sights of the city every day.

Massa's F1 career hangs in the balance

massa f1


A neurosurgeon says racing driver Felipe Massa is in stable condition after suffering a skull fracture during qualifications of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

But the doctor reports eye damage and other injuries could prevent Massa from returning to Formula One.

28-year-old Felipe Massa is currently in intensive care at a military hospital, and continues to recover in a medically-induced coma. According to doctors, Massa showed signs of improvement after undergoing emergency surgery.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo visited Massa on Monday. Montezemolo says everyone on the team is hopeful that the driver will pull through.

Luca di Montezemolo said:"I am confident. I am optimistic on his capability to react and of course all the Ferrari people is waiting for him and of course we are close to him."

Head surgeon Robert Veres said the F1 driver was in stable condition, and remained sedated to protect his brain from further injury.

Gmail Displays the Images Sent by Your Contacts

Gmail

Gmail has recently improved the way it displays external photos. Until now, you had to manually whitelist email addresses and this was tedious.

"When you receive an email that contains externally linked images, Gmail usually doesn't display the images automatically. This behavior is designed to help protect your privacy; if we displayed the images automatically, it could potentially allow the sender of the email to see that the images are being fetched, and therefore know when you've read their message," explained Google.

Gmail changed this system so that you no longer have to whitelist contacts if you've sent them at least two messages. "We'll only show images in messages that are authenticated, so you won't have to worry about seeing images in messages where the sender's name or address is spoofed."

This means you'll see the message "Images are not displayed. Display images below" less often. If you don't like the new feature, you can always disable it in the Settings by checking "Ask before displaying external content".

It would be nice if Gmail added more features that let you manage the messages sent by your contacts: search options that restrict the messages to a certain group or all your contacts, filters that label the messages sent by your friends.

Google Helps You Understand Recursion

recursion google

Google uses the "did you mean" feature, which normally corrects misspellings, to illustrate a nerdy joke: defining the word "recursion" using "see recursion" and pointing to the same definition.

"A recursive process is one in which objects are defined in terms of other objects of the same type. Using some sort of recurrence relation, the entire class of objects can then be built up from a few initial values and a small number of rules," explains MathWorld.

For more information, search Google for [recursion].

Felipe Massa Accident YouTube

youtube felipe massa

http://news.lalate.com/celebrity/home.html?task=videodirectlink&id=827

VIDEO. Here is breaking video in the accident of Felipe Massa. Felipe Massa’s condition following this accident in Budapest moments ago is stable.

The crash was at the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifier today. Massa is currently recovering for a one hour surgery. Attending doctors told press in news conference that “Massa’s condition is serious, life-threatening but stable.”

Massa is expected to be alert and attentive by Sunday, says doctors. The surgery to correct a fracture to his skull during a Saturday accident is said to be successful.

Ferrari issued the following statement:

“After the accident during the qualifying session of the Grand Prix of Hungary, Felipe Massa was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest. Felipe was conscious at the arrival at the hospital and his general conditions remain stable.

“Following a complete medical examination it emerged that he had suffered a cut on his forehead, a bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion. These conditions need to be operated on after which he will remain under observation in intensive care.”

Earlier this week, as covered on LALATE, Henry Surtees died in a F2 race.

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Philips Norelco 8170XLCC $48.99

norelco 8170xlcc

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Samsung SCX-4725FN All-In-One Printer for $99.90 Shipped OOS

scx-4725fn

Staples.com has the Samsung SCX-4725FN All-In-One Printer for a good price.

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South Africa strikers challenge Jacob Zuma

Jacob Zuma

Up to 150,00 council workers have gone on stike in South Africa to demand higher pay, leaving public transport paralysed, clinics unstaffed and rubbish uncollected.

The stoppage by the South African Municipal Workers Union, which is demanding a 15 per cent pay rise against an employers’ offer of 11.5 per cent, is the latest in a series of strikes to hit the country.

Since Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as president two months ago there have been walk-outs by construction workers, which halted work on World Cup stadiums for several days, and unofficial protests by doctors, while transport and mine workers have also threatened action’ There were also riots in townships across the country last week over dire living conditions.

The situation amounts to a shortened political honeymoon for Mr Zuma, a populist who came to power on a “pro-poor” platform and co-opted the support of unions and the Left in his struggle with his predecessor as leader of the African National Congress, Thabo Mbeki.

Many poor South Africans still do not have running water or electricity in their homes, 15 years after the end of apartheid, and Mr Zuma is already facing pressure to deliver on his promises, while balancing the demands of his former allies with the need to reassure business in the face of the global downturn.

At a weekend rally to thank voters for supporting the ANC he had to plead for time. “Give us a chance,” he told the crowd.

Felipe Massa ‘active’ after Hungarian Grand Prix crash

felipe massa


Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa can now communicate “actively” and is able to move his hands and legs, a Hungarian Defence Ministry spokesman has said.

Brazilian Massa, who fractured his skull in an accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday, is waking up from sedation more and more frequently.

Spokesman Istvan Bocskai told Hungarian television that Massa, whose wife is expecting their first child, spent the night calmly and an ultrasound examination carried out in the past hours was “reassuring”.

Massa would also have another brain scan, Bocskai added.

“He’s woken up (from sedation) more and more often now and he’s able to communicate actively, that is, he reacts when he’s talked to. We are optimistic, in our hope a slow recovery is beginning.”

Bocskai said Massa could move his hands and legs, signs that his brain likely suffered no particular damage, but doctors were not at the stage where they could be totally sure of that.

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo will fly to Hungary on Monday to be at Massa’s bedside.

Last year’s championship runner-up was flown to hospital after being hit on the head by a bouncing spring, weighing almost a kilo, that broke free from compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car.

A Defence Ministry official had said on Saturday the driver had been in a “serious, life-threatening condition” before an emergency operation.

The accident, which is likely to rule Massa out of the next few races, brought back grim memories of the crash that killed compatriot and triple champion Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994 and led to renewed concerns about safety.