| FLAVOR OF THE WEEK: THE DATE FROM HELL, NEW JERSEY
For KATELYN NUDO, every picture tells a story. Unfortunately, most of them aren't true. By Katelyn Nudo I swore I would never join one of those online dating services. When I did, it was on my mother’s suggestion. I guess she could see from my list of drug dealers, egotistical Italians and Spanish lovers that I needed some help. I don’t know why I ever went against my initial thought of dot-com dating, because when I met Kevin, I knew I was in trouble. When eharmony.com produced a total of zero matches for my personality, I tried Plentyoffish.com. It was free, and it was on the computer monitor in my college library when I sat down. A sign perhaps. I signed up with a false email address and browsed promising boyfriends, one-night stands and future husbands. I must admit, I was surprised at how many good-looking men were desperate in the tri-state area.
Dear Abby:Twins' candlelight birthday celebration gets snuffed out
Dear Abby: Our granddaughter and her twin brother are turning 13. My husband and I wanted to celebrate this milestone birthday with a candlelight spaghetti dinner at our house that includes their boyfriend/girlfriend. We planned to get out the china and silver and eat in the formal dining room. Our daughter was on board, and the kids were excited. Our daughter's former in-laws, however, threw a fit about the children being "too young to date." Obviously, we'll honor our ex-son-in-law's wishes, but we're terribly disappointed, as are the kids. Since when is dinner at home with your grandparents and your boyfriend and girlfriend considered a date? Or are we out of touch with reality? Canceled In Red Oak, Texas Dear Canceled: The deal-killer may have been the "candlelight" aspect of the dinner, because in some people's minds candlelight connotes "romance." I can't blame your ex-son-in-law and his parents for wanting to keep the twins cocooned in their concept of childhood for as long as they can, but it's a losing battle.
Jessica Simpson Bound for Kuwait!
Her mission: To entertain our troops. JESSICA SIMPSON has revealed plans to travel to Kuwait, where she'll entertain the troops. In the latest entry of her blog she writes: "Hey ya'll. I just wanted to say hi, and let you know that I am hard at work on my country record, and I can't wait to share it [with] all of you. I am heading to Kuwait to do a show for the troops, then back in the studio. I love you all and am so blessed by the support and love you show me everyday!! xoxo jess." Jessica is just one of the many stars preparing to entertain the troops. Operation MySpace -- part of the MySpace Live! series -- was announced today. It is a concert for troops stationed in Kuwait and will include performances by THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS, FILTER and comedian CARLOS MENCIA.
The Grand Old White Party Confronts Obama
Exit polls tell us that African-Americans voting in this year's G.O.P. primaries account for at most 2 to 4 percent of its electorate even in states with large black populations. Mr. Obama's ascension hardly means that racism is kaput in America, or that the country is "postracial" or "transcending race." But it's impossible to deny that another barrier has been surmounted. Bill Clinton's attempt to minimize Mr. Obama as a niche candidate in South Carolina by comparing him to Jesse Jackson looks more ludicrous by the day. Even when winning five Southern states (Virginia included) on Super Tuesday in 1988, Mr. Jackson received only 7 to 10 percent of white votes, depending on the exit poll. Whatever the potency of his political skills and message, Mr. Obama is also riding a demographic wave.
State Confirms Beef Was Sent To Md. Schools
Schools across Maryland received beef from the company at the center of one of the largest recalls in U.S. history.Kathryn Brown reports Baltimore City and seven counties in Maryland received the recalled beef.Now parents are concerned over the safety of school lunches and lawmakers demand major changes.Schools across the country and many here in Maryland are scrambling to clear their shelves of thousands of pounds of potentially contaminated beef."I heard it was in the schools and that just made me not want to eat school lunch right now until they say something different," said high school senior Kennisha Connaway.More than 143 million pounds of beef dating back two years was recalled this week.Undercover Humane Society video features cows too weak or sick to move being shoved and prodded with forklifts at a Southern California slaughterhouse.The plant supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and here in Maryland, seven counties and Baltimore City confirm they receive the meat."We contacted schools immediately, as well as our distributor to place it on administrative hold," said Jodi Reese with Anne Arundel County Schools.Because so much of the meat ended up in Maryland schools, many parents are now asking questions about where the meat comes from before it ends up in cafeterias."You've got kids coming in here, and they're trusting that the food that's being brought into them is of good quality.
Ashlee Talks Music, Touring, Mottos and Politics
Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz were attached at the hip, or hand, out to lunch yesterday afternoon before getting dressed up for last night's big Cloverfield premiere (she liked it). It couldn't have been too too late of a night for the adorable duo, however, because Ashlee was perfectly peppy and happy to chat this afternoon when Pop and I got her on the phone. We'll be bringing you more details from our conversation soon (thank you so much for all the questions!), but in the meantime here's a taste of what we got to talking about with Miss Simpson. Ashlee was all about her new single and upcoming album (end of March) and is excited to start out soon on her promotional club tour before her real tour with the band. She was also happy to impart her personal mottos — "go to bed happy and content with who you are" — and laughed as she told us that if her life had gone differently she would have been a hair colorist.
Of Whales and War
World War II interrupted these studies and the business of whaling. German whale chasers were employed instead to hunt Allied submarines, and Japanese whaling ships transported miniature submarines across the Pacific to attack Pearl Harbor. The suspension of the hunt likely saved many whales in the Southern Hemisphere, at least for a while. Yet the extensive use of depth charges and bombs in the north probably killed thousands of cetaceans. It wasn't until after the war that biologists probed the ocean and began to listen to the whales themselves. The acoustician William Schevill made the first recordings of cetaceans in the wild in the 1950s, going on to describe the calls of more than 30 marine mammal species, including sperm whales, blue whales, dolphins and seals. Schevill's knowledge of these underwater sounds was so extensive that he helped defuse a tense moment between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Jim Salisbury: A window on how arbitration works
Some are downright absurd. Such as the one involving a pinch-hitter several years ago. An agent recalled the story yesterday. "He was one of the best pinch-hitters in baseball," the agent said. "That's what he did. He was a lefthanded pinch-hitter. He hit singles and doubles. He rarely entered the game in any other capacity." Management opened the hearing by skewering the player: There are five things you need to do in baseball: Hit, hit for power, run, throw and field. This player can't field, can't throw and can't run. He's got no power, and he only hits righthanded pitching. So he only has one-half of the five tools a baseball player needs. The player won the case. "Management's argument was so absurd it was helpful," the agent recalled.
|
