When Stereotypes Attack

from IMDB.COM

Casting Director Asks for "Inbred"-Looking Extras, Is Fired

The casting director for a horror movie being shot in West Virginia has been fired after putting out a call for extras with facial features that would make them look "inbred." Casting director Donna M. Belajac was dismissed after Gov. Joe Manchin released a statement describing the casting call as "offensive." He added that he thought that the movie, a horror flick titled Shelter, produced by Nala Films of Los Angeles, "does not sound like a movie worth watching." Producers Emilio Diez Barroso and Darlene Caamano apologized "for the very insensitive casting call sent out without our knowledge." The incident also drew the attention of West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, who released a statement saying, "Unfortunately, some in the filmmaking industry have decided that perpetuating stereotypes and insulting generations of West Virginians means cash at the box office."

TIGERS MAKE HISTORY

The Tigers-Vols game on ESPN was the highest rated men's college game in the history of the sports network. Hmmmm, wonder if they will starting giving the Tigers more respect since obviously people care about our non-BCS school.

More than 3.3 million households watched the game. That doesn't include those of you who packed bars and restaurants.

And what does talking a ton of shit get you...apparently a loss to the third best team in Tennessee. GO VANDY!!!

It Was The Wedding of The Year

Jesus The Vampire

Did you know Ann Rice found God? I didn't and I don't know how I missed it.

Ann Rice has had a change of heart and will write one more Vampire Chronicles book! Just one more.

About four years ago, an atheist Rice found God and was "born again." At that point, she vowed to abandon her sinister stories and write only of the Lord.

Why is she going back on her word?

The Queen of the Damned author justifies her decision by saying the book will have a definite Christian framework and a focus on the theme of redemption.

The final vampire novel will again involve the popular character Lestat (a.k.a the hottest vampire in lit) and a fictional organization known as the Talamaska that is responsible for investigating the supernatural. As Rice did, Lestat will be wrestling with the existence of God throughout the story. She says, "I don't see it as a violation of my promise, because I won't be writing about vampires in the same way."

Rice has already written two novels chronicling Jesus Christ's life. She plans to write a third installment in that series before sitting down to pen the final vampire book. So, don't expect to see last Chronicles book for a few years!

OSCARS

HOW DID I DO?

Below is a list of nominations. The items in GREEN are who I thought SHOULD win. The items in RED are the ones I thought WOULD will win. Items in BLUE are the ones I thought should and would win. An * is placed by the ACTUAL winner.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
*No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Achievement in Directing
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
*Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly


Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
*Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
*Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away from Her
*Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
*Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Persepolis
*Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Original Screenplay
*Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages


Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
*Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood


Original Score
*Atonement: Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner: Alberto Iglesias
Michael Clayton: James Newton Howard
Ratatouille: Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma: Marco Beltrami

Original Song
*"Falling Slowly," Once: Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song," Enchanted: Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up," August Rush: Nominees to be determined
"So Close," Enchanted: Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know," Enchanted: Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz


Achievement in Art Direction
American Gangster: Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
Atonement: Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Golden Compass: Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
*Sweeney Todd: Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
There Will Be Blood: Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in Cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Roger Deakins
Atonement: Seamus McGarvey
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Janusz Kaminski
No Country for Old Men: Roger Deakins
*There Will Be Blood: Robert Elswit


Achievement in Costume Design
Across the Universe: Albert Wolsky
Atonement: Jacqueline Durran
*Elizabeth: The Golden Age: Alexandra Byrne
La Vie en Rose: Marit Allen
Sweeney Todd: Colleen Atwood


Best Documentary Feature
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
*Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

First few artists released for Music Fest

My Chemical Romance, Joan Jett, and Jonny Lang are three of the first few artists to be named to this year's Beale Street Music Festival. Not enough to get me to head down there, but its a promising start. I think it would take Pearl Jam or an STP reunion show to get me to Tom Lee Park this year.


OUT!

Baby I'm Black (From The Waist Down)

This song is awesome, but it's not work-viewable. Very foul language.

Casual Sax

I love it...

American Brother...

First Big Brother and then Ladies Night on American Idol:

-Julie has mentioned the players being in the house for nearly three months several times. Last night she pointed out that Jen and Ryan would be seperated for nearly 3 months. Is my math wrong or is something going to happen in this season to make the show last longer than 6 weeks?

-Parker and Jen were the right couple to vote off. Allison is crazy and she won't be a threat and Ryan seems more likely to give up hope without Jen than the other way around. I wonder how mad he'll be at her when he sees that she did flat out all him a racist.

-And lastly, James is my favorite person in the house this season and I am glad he and Chelsia were able to win HoH.

AMERICAN IDOL:

Once again I will mention my top 3 women and bottom 2 women. I want to point out something first though. I know a couple of people that speak several languages and they all tell me that English was the hardest for them to learn. It's no wonder. Rules don't matter in American English. Take Asia'h and Alexandrea for example. The name Asia'h has no real no real need for an apostrophe. There are no letters missing or being taken out. It is just Asia. However, Alexandrea made the point last night that he name is not ALEX-ANDREA, but a more run together name. So wouldn't she better served to spell her name Alex'ndrea, using the apostrophe to replace the second A which apparently isn't needed to say her name...

Okay, the women were much harder to judge. As a whole they were better than the guys. It was pretty hard to narrow the top 3 down, but I didn't have much trouble on the bottom 3.

TOP 3

1. Syesha Mercado: Her smile is worth a million dollars alone. Throw in an amazing voice, a winning personality, and superstar looks and I think we have a clear favorite to be in the final 4.

2. Asia'h Epperson: Her version of the Joplin classis "Piece of My Heart" was the best that I have ever heard. She did what the judges always say; made it modern and made it her own. Can't you see this girl on FUSE now...I would have said MTV, but they don't play videos on there.

3. Amanda Overmyer: A mac-truck couldn't stop her...The judges use the word authentic too much, but I understand why they used it here. So tell me, can a rocker chic actually win this show?

BOTTOM 3

10. Joanne Borgella: The plus size model just doesn't have the plus sized voice. I think she is very talented, but her choice of song here just didn't do it for me.

11. Amy Davis: She was so boring and bland. But she is very good looking and it might be possible for her to squeeze through. However, she just doesn't have "IT" to me.

12. Kady Malloy: She sang "Groovy Kind Of Love" but she had no heart. She was dull. Where was her "Britney" style personality. She looks kinda like a Barbie Doll to me. Who knew Barbie couldn't sing!

OUT!

American Idol

I can't believe I am doing this, but I am going to post a little bit about American Idol this season. It is the first time I have ever watched the show and honestly, I like it. I get why people love it now. However, I thought last night was by far the worst episode of the season. Most of the guys sounded awful. And you're telling me that Josiah Leming was NOT better than some of these dudes.

To keep this brief I am going to just name my top three guys and bottom three guys from last night. The other 6 are insignificant at this point anyway.

TOP 3:

1. Michael Johns: Win or lose, this Aussie has star written all over him. I love his voice, his style, and his stage presence. Far and away he is the front runner to me at this point.

2. David Archuleta: The 17 year old with pipes of gold. Not to mention a smile that makes you want to squeeze him. Watching with Beth last night she kept saying "Disney Show Sensation," and she might be on to something. He most definitely has the talent.

3. Jason Castro: If there is a darkhorse, it's definitely him. He has a geat voice, an innocent yet road worn look that people can buy into, and his performance was so subtle yet so powerful.

BOTTOM 3:

10. Chikeze Eze: The suit. The song. Blah. I don't think he will go out in this round, but he was close. His voice seems to be good, but he's going to have to step it up. His smile will help him through this round.

11. Garrett Haley: The Leif Garrett/Robert Plant look-alike was so underwhelming and boring. Puh-leeze. This kid doesn't have a chance. The stage swallowed him whole.

12. Luke Menard: Remember him? No, of course not. He was awful. Did he even try? And his clothes...it's American Idol, not Central BBQ. Seriously.

OUT!

Big Brother - Mini Recap

Once again the Lesbian lover idea is turning into a brilliant move. Johanna just informed me of something else about Sheila; apparently she is was the 1984 Penthouse Pet of the Year and she lived with Bob Guccione (founder of Penthouse and old man) in his 35 million dollar mansion for 10 years. To top it all off she's writing a book about her life and hoping to cash in on her Bro fame to sell it.

This episode of Big Brother was mostly forgettable to me, except for a few moments:

-How psycho did Alex look spying on Amanda. His comment to her about "if we can't be physical then we shouldn't be physical with anyone else" was very creepy to me.

-I was shocked the Neil had left the house. Apparently is happend almost a week ago, but thanks to fancy editing, you'd never know it. I will have to confirm that though. I read on some message boards that people thought he left because of an STD, but I knew immediately that was bullshit. His myspace page had a message saying that his exit was family related and NOT health related and he wishes Joshuah the best of luck. Having Sharon as his partner might be the best thing that could happen for him. I think he and Neil were a little too secluded from the rest of the house.

-The Autism groups are all over Big Brother and Adam. I don't blame them. I just don't see how you can work for an Autism group and call them retards. It's so insensitive. Apparently the "non-profit" Adam works for is a little shady anyway.

-I think Jen is disliked enough that they are going to be sent home. Parker is pretty well liked in the house, but that would mean he could be considered a threat. I don't really consider Ryan a threat at this point. But we'll see. I know that Parker was pretty dumb thinking that he was going to be saved by Matt and Natalie.

-The dynamics this season have made things really weird. I love the competitions and I love that they are forced to basically partner with people. However, I am quickly learning that the gamesmanship is severely hurting because of this. Now to stab someone in the back you have to have your partner's consent. It is a bit too restrictive and I think this will become more apparent as we move forward.

-Will write more tonight after the eviction.

OUT!

Get The Man A Ticket

Did you guys see that Bruce Pearl called Cal this week to ask for a few extra tickets? Seems as if Peyton Manning wants to attend the game. Cal, being the great guy he is told Pearl NO. Of course he was joking and sent Pearl some tickets for P-Manning. This game is going to be huge. It's the biggest sporting event in our city since Tyson-Lewis.

A Little Respect...

ESPN college basketball analyst Pat Forde gave Memphis a lil respect today. First he jumped all over a UAB fan who tried to be clever with a sign that said "WE BEAT MEMPHIS, NOT OUR GIRLS." Except that the sign actually read 'WE BEAT MEMPIS, NOT OUR GIRLS." Ooops, looks like spelling is not a pre-req for admission into UAB.
This reminds me of two funny stories. First, back in 1996 country singer Bryan White played the Mid-South Fair. He sensed that the crowd was falling out a bit and decided to do a cheer to get everyone hyped back up. So he led up in spelling our city name. M - E - P - H - I - S. Yep, Mephis. To his credit, I think Bryan was gay and had a little lisp and Mephis is exactly what he thought the city was really called.
Secondly, if you have been to a game at the Forum this year you've probably seen Andre Allen on the big scoreboard trying to get the Tiger fans fired up. He is the first person I have ever heard actually make MEMPHIS one syllable. He says "Come on MEMS, Make some noise." MEMS, rhymes with Nymphs. Gotta love it.

Anyway, Forde goes on to make a few more comments about how great the Memphis/UT is going to be and gives us credit for being involved in the biggest and possibly best game of the year...not NC vs Duke.

Here's a link if you want to see the sign and read the article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3252485&sportCat=ncb&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

What I Really Meant To Say

I really want to blog about a few things going on in my life. This week has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. I know the ol' roller coaster analogy is so overdone, but really I have gotten bad news followed by good news followed by more bad news over and over this week. Unfortunately, most of what I have going on is stuff that I can't blog about. Not because I don't want you guys to know, because I do. I just can't let you know on my blog, so publicly. So, if you haven't talked to me this week and want to know about my Zippen Pippen life, give me a call.

Instead I offer up a serving of bullet points:

- Jeremy and Christie are proud parents. Little Miss Mia Bailey was born on Tuesday afternoon at 1:03. She was 8 pounds, 5 ounces. Her hair was brown with blond highlights. She is definitely Christie's daughter. They are going to be great parents.

- Johanna and I have been trading emails this week containing out favorite song lyrics. It's something we started a few years ago and it kind of just faded off. I get such pleasure out of good song lyrics. If you'd like to read some of our shared lyrics so far or want to get in on a LYRIC TREE let me know. We could get a little group together and each have a day to email the group each week with song lyrics.

- I saw the full theatrical trailer for The Dark Knight this past weekend. I think it was too soon to see Heath Ledger on screen. I couldn't appreciate how awesome the movie looks because I couldn't get around the idea that he is dead. I'm not an overly sensitive or sentimental person, but it is going to be really weird watching this movie now. Maybe with a few more months in between the feeling will fade some. I did notice that he seems to have channeled some of Jack's Joker in the film. Mainly the darker parts and some mannerisms, but the similarities were there along with his own interpretation.

- NBC just announced today that they are going to a 52 week schedule starting this summer. Basically they are doing away with the big FALL KICKOFF that all of the networks rely on. I give them a big applause for the attempt...if they actually go through with it. The announcement left several outs in case they decide against it later on. Basically they are going to have a big reveal in May of their year-long schedule for the entire NBC Universal family. This includes NBC, USA, Telemundo, CNBC, and Universal HD. So, if they don't have the guts to pull the trigger and have new scripted shows starting up at unique times of the year they can just have new programs premiere on these alternate stations and save face.
In a perfect world though they would have some shows kick off in the fall and then say in November bring in The Office and Medium or something and then come February they could have a new show and bring back Heroes or whatever. You get the point. We'll see how "different" they are willing to be from the other networks.

WOW

If you watch Big Brother, watch this NOW...JUST NOT AT WORK. If you don't watch Big Brother, watch this NOW b/c you will start watching Big Brother, I promise!!! No nudity in it, just a lot of language.

In The Cases Of Bad Strategy

There have been some worse Big Brother mistakes. Ask Marcellous (sp). But Jen's decision to tell Parker and Allison about her and Ryan is right up there with the best of them. (or worst)

Jen proved to me tonight that she is so self centered and so self absorbed that she literally couldn't see the game as a whole around her personality. She has jeopardized Parker, Ryan, and Allison and it's no wonder that no one in the house likes her. She told Parker because she couldn't stand to have a secret. It wasn't strategy. If it were strategy she would have at least discussed it with Ryan first. She told him and then told Allison because she hated the fact that she was a a "special" twist in the game and no one knew it. She felt she couldn't really be special unless everyone knew that the producers picked her to be a unique twist.

Then don't even get me started on the fact that she announced to the house that he picture was on the wall first because she is going to win. How tacky was that. I would have hated her from that moment on, if I hadn't already.

Sheila is really getting on my nerves. We have covered the fact that Adam, the Hooded Warrior is a disgusting, fugly, annoying, cocky asshole. The fact that she has to keep going on and on about it makes the target grow on her and Adam even more. Basically she is pissing off the whole house and when it gets down to the nitty gritty no one is going stay faithful to any alliance she makes because she will be so easy to throw under the bus.

Sheila and her bitchiness aside, the announcement to Joshuah that Allison and she are lesbians was one of the funniest moments on the show ever. The last time I laughed so hard watching Big Brother was when they introduced Howie the Jedi for the first time.

A lot can happen on Tuesday night to throw the show up in the air. If none of the nominees wins PoV I fully expect Parker and Jen to go home.

And one last note, I like Ryan. He seems like a cool guy. Why is he with Jen? Is it just because she is a hot piece of ass? I mean, I can't see any redeeming qualities about her whatsoever. If that's the case maybe he isn't such a good guy after all.

OUT!

I'm Just So Sick Of This

ESPN cannot wait for us to lose, literally. Remember a few weeks ago when "THE" sports network had Kansas listed at number one, even though they weren't? And then a few days later when ESPN's choice for number one lost they ran a headline that said, "Memphis is last number one standing." It didn't say Memphis was last undefeated team standing, it said we were the last number one standing. Apparently ESPN makes up its own rules now and there can be more than one "best team" in the country.

Well last night, with Memphis down 77-70 with just a 1:30 seconds to go ESPN ran this on their page. Look on the right side where they usually post their breaking news. It is very tough to read, but it declares UAB the winner over Memphis. It reads, "Imperfect. And then there were none. No. 1 Memphis is unbeaten no longer. UAB, on the back of sharp shooter Robert Vaden, knocked off the one perfect team in Division 1 on Saturday Night."

Michael Clayton - A Movie Review

I finally had the chance to see Michael Clayton this weekend. I was glad to get to see it before the Oscars. Certainly it will make a little noise at this year's ceremony, but I wanted to see for myself if it was really deserving of the 7 nominations it received.

Here's what I can say:

The Story - Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney is a lawyer, but not the trial kind. He's a fixer. He gets sent in by his firm to clean up messes and make bad things disappear. The movie picks up in the middle of a giant case. UNorth, a major corporation, is being represented by Clayton's firm because a class action suit has been filed against them. A bunch of farmers are claiming that UNorth's chemicals are causing cancer.
UNorth has been represented for year's by Arthur, a top notch attorney. After many years trying to settle the claim Arthur has a psychotic break and could cost the firm and it's client millions of dollars. Clayton is sent in to fix it.

The Acting - Top notch. That's all I can say. Clooney is great. I mean when is he not. Sydney Pollack is at the top of his game as is Tilda Swinton. The best performance however goes to Tom Wilkinson who plays Arthur.

The cast is so well put together that the movie can't help but to be a must-see. But, the story moves at a glacial pace at times with some scenes being so drawn out that I remember looking at the ceiling several times until I heard someone finally speak again. The director and screenwriter decided to use one of my least favorite story telling devices. They began the movie near the end and then after the first scene went back "4 days earlier" to show you what lead up to the scene you saw at the beginning. I feel like this is an over-used ploy it often times it make a movie or television show drag. That as definitely the case here.

The movie presents itself as a puzzle that you must figure out as it progresses. One scene leads into another with little or no connection. I enjoy putting movie together, but once I had all the pieces for this film it became predictable and easy to see where things were heading.

Plot (The Story): 7
Script (The Dialog): 7
Directing: 7
FX / Sound: 6
Casting: 10
Acting: 10
Pacing: 4
Conclusion: 6
Overall Entertainment: 13

TOTAL: 70
MOVIE GRADE: C-


For the record here are the grade ranges:
100 - 97 = A+
96 - 93 = A
92 - 90 = A-
89 - 87 = B+
86 - 83 = B
82 - 80 = B-
You Get The Point
70's = Cs
60's = D's
59 and below is F

Some Funny Chinese Proverbs

Virginity like bubble, one prick, all gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who run in front of car get tired.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who run behind car get exhausted.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man with hand in pocket feel cocky all day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Foolish man give wife grand piano, wise man give wife upright organ.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways going to Bangkok

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man with one chopstick go hungry

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who scratch ass should not bite fingernails.

* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who eat many prunes get good run for money.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Baseball is wrong: man with four balls cannot walk.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Panties not best thing on earth! But next to best thing on earth.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wife who put husband in doghouse soon find him in cat house.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It take many nails to build crib, but one screw to fill it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Man who drive like hell, bound to get there.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who stand on toilet is high on pot.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who live in glass house should change clothes in basement.

*~*~*~*~*~! *~*~*~*~*

Man who fish in other man's well often catch crabs.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Man who fartin church sit in own pew.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Crowded elevator smell different to midget.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And Then There Were 4...

Oh my God, are you kidding me. My two favorite characters on Lost are in cahoots in the future...and if you haven't seen LOST from tonight you should stop reading this right this second. I was blown away by this episode and will have much more to say about it tomorrow when I have had time to digest it. For now, some quick bullet points.

-Sayid as a headhunter. Ben as his boss. A list. The way the golfer looked when he found out that Sayid was one of the 6 let me know he knew he was in deep shit.

-The experiment Daniel Faraday conducted with the rocket. The 30 minute time difference. Was this a clue towards time travel or parallel universes or what? It did happen right after Jack noted that they had been on the island for 100 days. But what if it has been a lot longer. Or maybe I am reading way too much into this.

-Hurley fooled me. The writers were too smart. They knew that we would buy it based on the premiere's revelation that Hurley made a mistake going with Locke and that he somehow managed to get off the island with Jack and Kate.

-I am just as lost as ever, but I'll be damned if I don't love it. This show is so complex and even while they are burning up story faster than ever they still help you learn more about every person on the island and continue to build characters.

-Where are Jin and Sun? Are they still on this show?

-I didn't watch the preview for next week, but I am so stoked. I love this show. The moment between Jack and Kate when she bit her lip, flirting just a touch really got to me. And I loved their banter about being told to stay behind and then Jack saying "so maybe I should just wait 20 minutes and then go anyway."

More tomorrow I promise.

C

Is This Disturbing To Anyone Else?

(AP) At least 82 youths have died from the so-called "choking game," according to the first government count of fatalities from the tragic fad. In the game, children use dog leashes, bungee cords wrapped around their necks or other means to temporarily cut blood flow to their head. The goal is a dreamlike, floating-in-space feeling when blood rushes back into the brain.

As many as 20 percent of teens and preteens play the game, sometimes in groups, according to some estimates based on a few local studies. But nearly all the deaths were youths who played alone, according to the count complied by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC started the research after receiving a letter last year from a Tacoma, Wash., physician who said her 13-year-old son died from playing the game in 2005. "At the time I had never heard of this," said Dr. Patricia Russell, whose son was found hanging in his closet, but later learned he had talked to a friend about it. The CDC counted reports from media and advocacy organizations in the years 1995 through 2007, totaling 82 fatalities of children ages 6 to 19. They did not include deaths in which it was unclear if the death was from the choking game or if it was a suicide. They also did not include deaths that involved autoerotic asphyxiation, which is self-strangulation during masturbation and is said to be mainly done by adult males.

Fast Fact:
The authors acknowledged that 82 is probably an undercount. The 82 deaths were spread across the country. Nearly 90 percent were boys, at an average age of about 13, the CDC found. The report is being published this week in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC officials urged parents to be aware the fad exists, and to watch for possible warning signs like bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, frequent and severe headaches, disorientation after spending time alone, and ropes, scarves or belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor.

The authors acknowledged that 82 is probably an undercount. They could not rely on death certificates, which do not differentiate choking-game deaths from other unintentional strangulation deaths. Instead, they relied mainly on a news database that is large but doesn't include all media outlets. It's likely that there are about 100 U.S. choking game deaths each year, said Dr. Tom Andrew, New Hampshire's chief medical examiner, who has been studying the phenomenon for several years. Andrew said many coroners and medical examiners likely label the deaths as suicides because they don't have the time or resources to interview a victim's friends and look for alternate explanations.

Many of the children who died form the choking game were described as bright, athletic students who apparently were intrigued by a method of getting high that doesn't involve drugs or alcohol, he said.

Big Brother Thoughts...

When will people lose? Shelia and Adam were on their way out when dumbass had to start running his mouth about Parker of all people. If you are going to start rumors and spread lies then do it about someone who isn't 1/2 of the POWER COUPLE. I felt so bad for Jacob's better half. I thought she did a great job trying to finger Ryan as the guy who called Parker a snake. It was a great strategy if only she had picked any other guy in the house besides Ryan...who as we all know is dating Parker's partner in real life.
Speaking of Ryan and Jen, I cannot believe that Jen opened her mouth and told the truth already. That was a secret that should have been kept the entire time. Now I believe that Ryan's psycho partner and gambling addict Allison is going to run her mouth and make both of those teams targets.
Alex and Amanda are one of those couples that I just don't care that much about so far. I'm sure that will change now that they have HoH and we get to know them a little bit better, but for right now I don't have an opinion one way or the other.
I thought the Tunnel of Love HoH competition was hilarious. Some of the costumes were really funny and it seemed like everyone had a good time. Even Sheila seemed to be working hard to curb her attitude towards Adam during the game.
It's been really interesting watching the "soulmates" interact with one another. I think Alex and Amanda have a great chance of being an item outside of the house. I think Neil and Joshuah (spelled correctly, according to CBS) seem like a great match. And Parker and Jen are really good together, too bad she is already with Ryan.
I think the wild card in the game so far is Allison and I think the player to fear the most is Matt.

Did you watch? What did you think? So far this season is amazing. I haven't watched the Showtime feed yet, but I plan on it this weekend and hopefully they will be a more interesting late-night cast than season 8. Speaking of season 8, it was nice to see that Eric and Jessica are still together. They seem to be a great couple.

OUT!

Update On Lost/Grey's

Now that the writer's strike is over Lost has a new format this season. Instead of seeing the 8 completed episodes back to back to back we will now only get 7 of them. BUT, the good news is that the 8th episode will premiere 6 weeks later on April 24th with 5 newly completed episodes.

The entire 4th season storyline will be wrapped up in the 13 total episodes. Producer Damon Lindeoff said that the storylines for the 3 episodes being cut will be jammed into the 5 new episodes. He said the high octane story-telling is about to go into super-high octane mode. The three episodes being cut from this season's order will be added onto either season 5 or 6.

The other great news in all of this is that Lost is staying on Thursday nights when it returns. The April 24th episode will be on at 8 PM Central and then move on May 1st to 9PM in order to make way for Grey's Anatomy. So now Lost has Grey's as a lead-in. Brilliant.

I'm thrilled with this news. I love Lost, have you noticed.

OUT!

Big Brother: Til Death Do Us Part

It's as if CBS knew all along that the strike would officially end on February 12 and that it would take 6 weeks to get brand new episodes of scripted shows back on the air. Because on February 12 CBS kicked off a special 6 week edition of Big Brother. And let me just say, I appreciate Les Moonves' psychic abilities because the next 6 weeks are going to be down right awesome.

Because the weather was a bit dicey in Memphis and a giant map was on the bottom of the screen I wasn't able to see most of the houseguests names as they appeared and so I haven't learned most of the names yet. I do better when I can put a name on the screen with a face. I will know everyone's names by tonight. So forgive me as I give my thoughts about the episode.

First of all, the twists: In this six week edition of the show I think that CBS made the right decision by still having a FULL house of 16 people. It makes it more interesting and gives us more of an opportunity to have these folks really mix it up. I also loved the idea of having the broken up couple being paired together. They might have an advantage down the road because of their familiarity just like Dick and Danielle had in season 8. I didn't think that I was going to like the secret couple Ryan and Jen being in the house together until they announced that they weren't going to be paired together. Now, that's a twist. Imagine living in a house for the next six weeks watching your boyfriend or girlfriend sleeping with someone else. Expect fireworks.

Early on my favorite couple was Chelsia and James (I think that's his name, the biker guy with the multi-colored hair). But then he got pissed that she lost the 10,000 bucks and he threw the pillow at her and I thought that was pretty low down.
I like the first power couple, Jen and the TMZ photographer (Parker?). I like Ryan. I hate the Boston dude with the huge ego. He's going to be an ass the whole season. And I hate the Cougar from Memphis with the horrible attitude. Of course if I had to be paired up with that dude she got stick with I'd be pissed too.

I will have more to say about the show tomorrow. But I am excited that Big Brother is back and I think this season is going to be a lot of fun.

Did you watch? What did you think?

A Passion or Two

I have been talking to some friends lately about passion. Not romantic passion, but more as a zest for the little things in life. In the grand scheme of things we are all a very tiny part of a very large machine. When you stop to think about how insignificant each of us really are it can be a little overwhelming. Looking at the bigger picture can easily make us feel lost, worthless, or meaningless.
That's why it is important to find ways to make a difference in this world. Linkin Park of all bands has a song on its latest album that sums this up pretty well;

I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared

After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here

So if you're asking me
I want you to know

[Chorus]
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed

And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory

Leave out all the rest

Pretty powerful stuff. When we're not here any more most of us will be missed by someone. But life does go on. Once life resumes for those we leave behind we only live on in their memories .

I say all of that depressing stuff to actually make a pretty positive point. Are you really living life right now? Are you leaving memories and making imprints? I think one way we can get the most out of our lives and to make those imprints is through our passions in life.

I know more than a fair share of people who just seem to miss the point. They don't get excited about anything. Nothing comes up that makes them giddy or gives them that anxious feeling of anticipation.

So I have been thinking about my passions in life; the things that really get me geeked up about life and I wanted to list them for you here. These are in no order at all, they are all things I am passionate about. Some are serious and some are really goofy, but each one is important to me. Specific people are not a part of this list.

- Miami Hurricanes
- Miami Dolphins (even with only one win I watched every painful game)
- Memphis Tigers Basketball
- The start of any new sports season
- A new Bright Eyes CD
- March Madness brackets
- A new movie I really want to see
- A live concert
- A road trip
- A new restaurant
- Song lyrics that move me
- Softball season
- Ping Pong
- Board Games
- Listening to music with the windows rolled down in my car
- Sitting around talking to friends late at night
- The new TV season
- LOST
- Brutus
- A great book

These are just a few, but it makes me happy to know that it takes so little to make me happy. And I think that friendships are made even better when you are able to share similar passions with people. Those of you who just don't have a passion or things that truly get you excited, really ask yourself why that is. I think you are missing out. It's these little passions that make life meaningful to each of us and keep us from just going through the motions. The passions are our connection to others.

What are some of your passions?

Show Runners Back At Work, The Strike Is Over...

So what does this mean for your favorite TV shows? Here is the early word:

Most big flagship shows will rush back into production to complete anywhere from 3-10 new episodes before the end of the season. The half hour shows will be closer to the the 10 number and the hour long shows will range from 3-6.

Here is what I'm reading about specific shows:

Lost:
Will return with new episodes before the end of the season. It won't be 8 episodes to make the season total 16 as originally planned. We will be lucky tot get 6. Where those extra two will fall will be determined in the coming weeks.

Grey's Anatomy:
Look for the crew to be back on set in the next three days and for about 4 new episodes to be ready to go at the end of April and run through May sweeps.

Desperate Housewives:
Series Creator Marc Cherry was really hoping to be able to pump out about 7 new episodes, but the reality is 6 is most likely. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if this number is again cut down to 4 or 5 because this show will take at least 2 weeks to get back up and running.

Heroes:
Won't be back until the fall. The writers want to focus on making season3 a whole new ball game per the fans request.

The Office:
Back to work immediately we could get 10 new episodes of this show, but most likely we'll get 6-8. Still, any Jim, Pam, Michael, and Dwight action is much apprecited.

Pushing Daisies:
None until next fall. It takes too much time and money in post production to get any new episodes on immediately.

Chuck:
Expect Chuck to be back in the fall.

Dirty Sexy Money:
This show has 3 episodes already in the can, but don't expect them to hit the air until the fall after some re-writes.

Big Love:
Will be back this Summer.

Battlestar Galactica:
Returns April 4th for a ten episode run. 14 were completed before the strike. The left over 4 will likely return with a final 6 episodes in early 2009.

How I Met Your Mother:
This show will go back into production immediately and we can hope for 4 more new episodes this season.


If there are any other shows you want to know about, leave me a comment and I will check on it for you.

This is great news. TV is finally going to be back and hopefully better than ever.

OUT!

Big Brother- Elimidate Style

The first Winter Edition of Big Brother is just around the corner and the big twist has just been revealed. The 16 houseguests are all single people who have undergone extensive background checks and life histories. Why? Because each person in the house is going to be partnered with a “soulmate” match. It’s Big Brother: The E-Harmony Edition.
The other twist? Pairs will share HoH responsibilities and be voted off together. Personally I think the idea is interesting. What bums me out is that this confirms that the show is only going to run for 6 weeks.
I think the pairings make for interesting conversation. I think that it makes for some potential heat. And speaking of heat; the Big Brother house will have no air-conditioning. Producers are hoping that this forces more clothes to come off and more skin to be shown. But really, how hot can it really be in Los Angeles in February? 70?

Big Brother kicks off Tuesday February 12 on CBS with 3 live hours nightly on Showtime beginning at 11PM CT.

OUT!

What I learned from Super Bowl XLII

- The Patriots are not the greatest team of all time. No, I’m not going to start dumping on them after all of the good that they did, but let’s look at the facts. They played in the AFC EAST, arguably the worst conference in football. They played the dismal Dolphins, the joker Jets, and the blue collar Bills for 6 of their 16 regular season wins. No other team in football went undefeated in their conference this year.

- Eli Manning is a better quarterback that I gave him credit for. He is as good as Ben Reothlishead. He’s nto as good as brother Peyton or XLII opponent Tom Brady. But the kid stayed poised and handled the high pressure much better than I expected.

- The Giants D really was as good as advertised. That front 4 is ferocious. They got to Brady time after time after time. I think the Giants would have beaten the Colts or the Chargers if either of those teams had beaten the Patriots along the way. A team with a mobile QB would have had the best shot of beating this destined Giants team.

- Maybe it is best NOT to go undefeated in the regular season. There is so much pressure on a team to carry not only the weight of winning the Super Bowl, but to do it as a perfect team. Maybe the Memphis Tigers should listen to this. A regular season loss would not be the end of the world. It would be a teaching opportunity for Coach Cal and a huge weight off of the player’s shoulders going into the NCAA tournament. I’m just sayin…

- Shaq starred in my favorite commercial of the night. I can’t even remember what the commercial was for now, but he was a jockey and he won a photo finish horse race. My other favorite commercial of the night was the T-Mobile commercial with D-Wade and Sir Charles. Barkley finally lets Wade into this fave 5 and then calls him all the time non-stop. It was a nice twist on the series and certainly not the last one. The worst commercial of the night was the Eli Vs Peyton Oreo licking showdown.

- The Doritos “One Band” contest was a bit of a bust. Two of the contestants were solo artists with NO band and the other was a rap group with no band. Pretty lame. I think bands are going the way of the dodo bird.

- In closing, this year’s game lived up to the hype. It was far better than the commercials. We all stayed glued to our sets from the first snap until the final drive. Even the refs didn’t want it to end, forcing the players and coaches back to the sidelines for one final kneel down. The NFL does it right. No controversy. No referee scandals. No lame suspensions in the middle of the playoffs causing the best team to be down a man.

OUT!

Writer's Strike Update

Expect an announcement this week about the end of the writer's strike. All major hurdles have reportedly been cleared, including the gaping hole between the writers and producers on revenue of new media. This is great news. It however doesn't mean brand new episodes of your favorite shows are just around the corner. In truth, the 4 month strike has likely taken most of the tv season with it.
We can still hope for one or two episodes to close out the seasons if we are really lucky. But it would be a couple of months before those hit the air.

More to come...

OUT!

Sarah Silverman's Best Work To Date