BarbaWire, March 30

It's a Business of Sadists and Masochists
It looks like we will be in 2012 before we get to see Don, Roger, Peggy, Joan and the gang again. No, little Sally Draper isn’t headed to rehab. Yet. "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner and AMC are having it out. Rumors were circling that Weiner was asking for a $30 million, three-year contract, while AMC wants him to cut some characters, trim the show by two minutes and do more product placement. Weiner had shot back saying that he has actually suggested taking a pay cut to save characters and not to trim the show’s length. More.
So, the show tends to skip ahead each season. They never just pick up where they left off. If you adjust that for this hiatus I am guessing by the time the show resumes, Don will be on wife number three and Sally will have moved to San Francisco to smoke dope and take psychedelics. Groovy.
While it could have been much funnier, this LA Times' blog suggests ways to kill off some of the characters and it gets props for referencing my favorite line from last season. The writer is right, though. Some of those drunks are definitely going to die of cirrhosis. More.

Hope They Didn't Sext
Sarah Kemp went online to find some action. The 42-year-old met 47-year-old George Bentley on ForgetDinner.co.uk in November and the two have been exchanging emails since. Kemp lives in Scotland, while Bentley lives in London. After a few months, Kemp decided to head down to meet her beau. The two started chatting it up and talking about their childhoods. Yep, they are long-lost siblings. Thank God they figured it out before there was any kind of monkey business. The siblings haven’t seen each other since the mid 1970s when their parents split up and the daughter went with the mom and the son stayed with the dad. They said they’ve looked for each other, but Kemp was married briefly in the 80s and that’s why she is no longer a Bentley. More.
I am mostly posting this story because I kind of think it is a hoax. There are just too many questions. He was 11 the last time he saw his sister. How did he not piece it together sooner? I am sure she knew her brother’s full name? I am guessing this woman asked for her suitor’s full name before traveling to see him. Or was she still calling him SilverBullet69? (You know that that was totally his screen name, right?) What about their parents? Mom never went looking for her son? Lastly, are we really supposed to believe that these two are 42 and 47?

Bonds*
Randy Velarde, a former major leaguer, testified Wednesday that he was juiced by Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’ former personal trainer. Bonds is on trial for perjury charges related to his 2003 testimony in front of a grand jury about steroid usage. Bonds said he did not knowingly take steroids, he just thought it was flaxseed oil and arthritis cream. And the whole world rolled its eyes. On Tuesday Jason and Jeremy Giambi and Marvin Bernard all testified that Anderson sold them performance-enhancing drugs. Anderson has refused to testify against his old chum. More

Kinky Clooney
George Clooney has been sucked in to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Bunga-Bunga controversy. Berlusconi has been charged with paying the then-underage Karima El Mahroug for sex during one of his cad parties last year. El Mahroug told investigators that she saw Clooney and his girlfriend at the party. However, this might play into the defense’s hand as it looks to discredit her. Although Danny Ocean spends a lot of his free time in Italy and totally gives off that swinger vibe, he and Berlusconi are not pals. In fact, Clooney is a supporter of Berlusconi’s last opponent. Clooney said the only time he has met the randy old dude was when he was seeking aid for Darfur. You know those celebs and their causes. More

Scattered Opposition
Other than having the same goal of ousting Moammar Gadhafi, it appears the rebels are split as to what they want. Some want a liberal democracy, others want a a strict religious state. Hmm

Keep It Local
With all the volatility in the oil-rich land, President Obama wants us to decrease our dependency on foreign oil by a third in the next decade and said we shouldn’t be short-sided by only worrying about our dependency when prices are high. Seems like a reasonable proposition. Republican lawmakers ignore Obama's call to look beyond today and want to know how the steps will translate to lower gas prices today. More.

BarbaWire, March 29

Libya Update -- More than a week after launching air strikes on Libya President Obama said Monday that we are there because it is the right thing to do. "To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and, more profoundly, our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are,” he said. I get his point, but I have also wondered why it is always us. Can’t we sit one out? Obama has been criticized from both sides of the aisle for his decision to get us involved without running it by us first. Part of the problem is that while Obama has called for Moammar Gadhafi to step down, the United Nations’ resolution does not call for the leader’s removal. Obama said that our job is to protect civilians, but it is up to the Libyans to remove Gadhafi. He added that we went down the regime-change route with Iraq and that cost thousands of lives and a trillion bucks. More.

Making Clouds -- Elsewhere in the Arab world, Qatar is gonna make it rain for the World Cup in 2022. Well, it is building clouds. You see, it is hot in Qatar and the small country had to promise to build stadiums with air conditioning. A simple tarp and a window unit are not going to cut it out there. So they are building really, really slow drones that are remote controlled and would block out the sun. I wonder if they are going to come with lightning to strike down the annoying vuvuzelas? More.

President Gingrich? -- Within a month Newt Gingrich 2012 signs might be popping up in front yards, because it is already that season. He is hoping we all forget about him having extramarital affairs while he was carrying out a witch hunt on our beloved Bill Clinton for having extramarital affairs. More.

iPhone, iWant -- Apple is having an event to talk about operating system stuffs. They might release the iPhone 5 at that event. My birthday is in early July, FYI. More.

Smarter Than All of Us -- Jacob Barnett is a 12-year-old Hoosier and he is on track to prove Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and The Big Bang Theory wrong. Stop making this all about the fact that you are 28 years old and still can’t balance a check book. Barnett is special – he has Asperger's syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. People with Asperger’s have a tremendous ability to devote themselves to learning everything there is to know about something. One question: what’s with math whizzes and writing on glass? Matt Damon did it in “Good Will Hunting”, Russell Crowe did it “A Beautiful Mind” and Jesse Eisenberg did it in “The Social Network”. More. I’ve been fascinated by Asperger’s since reading Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. His brother has it and has actually written a book about it.

Radiation in Mass. -- Radiation from Japan has showed up in Massachusetts. Scientists said it is trace amounts, but that is still frightening. More.

Cobra Gone Missing -- There is a cobra on the loose at the Bronx Zoo. Zookeepers said that visitiors shouldn’t be alarmed because the asp is not the type of animal that is going to hop on the subway and be a part of the next installment of crazy subway fights. (Watch these! Here and Here) They said it is probably hiding some place dark and secluded and that they will catch it when it gets hungry and starts looking for food. New Yorkers, hide your kids. So glad I read this story right before going to bed. More.

Not Cool -- This is not going to help print newspaper sales. Not at all. More.

Man's Best Friend Saved Japanese Woman -- Things are still a mess in Japan, but here is another great survival story. This one involves a normally lazy pooch springing into action and dragging her 83-year-old owner to safety as the tsunami was on its way. More.

BarbaWire, March 25

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bad Kids, Bad Man
One of my favorite news stories has a sequel! When I lived in Florida, I remember seeing the tale of Latarian Milton, the adventurous young lad that stole his grandma’s SUV. That story has gone on to become an internet meme. Clearly, 10-year-old Zilan Fitch knows his meme, too. The Texas kid was mad, thought about his brochacho LM and so he hopped in his mom’s SUV and took it for a spin. In this version, his mom saw him pulling away and followed him. He took her and police on a high speed chase. Luckily, no one was hurt. While I don’t advocate doing kids doing bad stuff, these sorts of stories make me wish I would have been less mouthy, more daring. More.
Don’t worry, mom and dad, I won’t try to live out some childhood rebellion now. This guy shows me that it is not as funny when you are a grown up, because your parents will press charges and the cops will shoot a man. More.

Libya Update
NATO is taking over control of the Libyan no-fly zone. More.

The White House is finding fancy ways to describe our role in Libya – kinetic military action, eh? More.

France is taking a front-seat role in the Libyan conflict. Sarkozy has his reasons. Actually, this is a really good read. More.

No More Pi
A Republican congresswoman from Alabama wants to help American kids improve their international ranking in math. However, she is not interested in pushing our kids harder, she just wants to make math easier. She is going after 3.14159265..., otherwise known as pi. Pi is an irrational number that is used to calculate the area of a circle and is considered one of the most important mathematical constants. Well, Congresswoman Martha Roby thinks it is phooey and has introduced legislation to just round it off to three. If you don’t support this, you don’t love the kids and you don’t love America! More.
Psych! Stop freaking out, Mathlete, you can still bake a pie on March 14. This is satire, but it reads authentic, doesn’t it? Roby has even issued a press release to make sure people don’t actually think it is true.

Your Services Are No Longer Needed
Dudes, we are screwed. It is just a matter of time before we are caged and only kept around to lift stuff and mow the grass! They’ve figured out a way to make sperm in a test tube. Japanese researchers have figured it out with mice. This could be a good thing, actually! One application for this would be allowing young boys going through cancer treatment to preserve their chances of being a father later in life. It could also be used with endangered animals. More.

Melo Wants New York to Mellow
Carmelo Anthony wants New York Knicks “to relax and just have fun.” Um, he knows that he is in New York now, right? And that his new team has gone 7-10 since he arrived? Hope that works out for you, buddy. More.
(For sports fan, I realize that there are bigger basketball stories going on, such as Duke’s loss, but I am guessing that if you really care about the NCAA tournament that you aren’t turning to me for that content. #justsayin)

BarbaWire, March 24

Remembering Taylor
By now I am sure you’ve heard about the death of Elizabeth Taylor. I can’t say I am overly versed in her work. Truthfully, the only movie I can vividly remember her in was "The Flintstones" (she played Wilma’s mom!). Of course there is also her White Diamonds commercial. (These have always brought me luck)
Anyway, over the weekend I came across this feature on the Huffington Post about her trip to Iran in 1976 and was enthralled by how gorgeous she was but also by the beauty of these photos. There is something about the way her dark features and violet eyes meshed with all the colorful tapestries. The photos are on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until June. More.

Bonds' Friends and Foes
Steve Hoskins, Barry Bonds’ former buddy, testified on Wednesday that the home run king* asked him to research the effects of steroids in the late 1990s. Bonds is currently on trial for obstruction of justice and perjury in a 2003 grand jury investigation on steroid distribution. He has said that he never knowingly took steroids.
During his testimony, Hoskins also said that he taped conversations between him and Greg Anderson, Bonds’ personal trainer and alleged steroid administer, about the juice. Hoskins said that he wanted to prove to Bonds’ dad that his son was lie-telling about being organic. While Hoskins is spilling all the details, Anderson continues to be silent. He went to prison for 17 months because of his silence during the grand jury investigation and he returned to the pokey for refusing to testify on Wednesday. More.

Japan Update
Good news: Power has been restored to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Iffy news: There are still considerable challenges ahead with lots of danger for the workers. Also, all the salt water that was used to cool the reactors is leaving massive salt deposits that could cause lots of problems. Bad news: There are warnings that infants as far away as Tokyo shouldn’t drink tap water. More.

Mental in Missouri
Jared Loughner, the alleged gunman that went on a rampage in Arizona in January, has been sent to undergo a psych evaluation in Missouri. The attack left six dead and injured several others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head. I am not sure why we need to look beyond this nutjob’s mug shot for proof that he is cray-cray. More.

Boehner Has a Point
House speaker John A. Boehner is pressing President Obama to clarify our role in Libya. Like a lot of us, Boehner just sort of feels left out of the process. Also, while President Obama has called for Moammar Gadhafi to step down, the United Nations resolution only calls for a no-fly zone and does not specify a change of power. So, what gives, O? More.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday that the U.S. could take its planned hands-off role in the operation as soon as Saturday. We shall see, right? More.

Gross or Ghost?
Teenagers thought they heard a ghost in their house; really it was just some intruder rattling his chain. (Torturing his soul? Or insert your own innuendo here!) More. Speaking of ghosts, I have a great story. I have an aunt that is easily spooked. Circa 1996 I masterminded a plan to scare the bejeesus out her. I took my mom's dress form and put a light-colored, long, and flowing dress that my mom had in the spare bedroom closet on the form. We then put a fan behind the dress and let hilarity (and lots and lots of screams) ensue. Ahhh, the 90s. They were so much fun!

BarbaWire, March 22

Oh No You Didn't
Fox News is reporting that Moammar Gadhafi’s folks used foreign journalists as shields by scheduling a tour of the previous day’s damage to the embattled leader’s compound. Coalition forces were ready to fire again on the compound, but couldn’t because of the journalists presence. It would have meant civilian casualties. The compound is a target because it has air defense systems and a military command and control center. The mission doesn’t call for the killing of Gadhafi. More.
The story has turned into a bit of fight between CNN and Fox News. Fox initially reported that it hadn’t sent anyone on what they described as a propaganda tour, but later admitted to sending one of its security guards with a camera.
Meanwhile, CNN correspondent Nic Robertson got super sassy and said the only time he sees the Fox correspondents is at breakfast. Oh snap!

We Are Your Friends
A U.S. fighter jet crashed outside of Benghazi, Libya on Monday, but the pilot and co-pilot were able to eject themselves and are safe and sustained only minor injuries. The plane was brought down by an equipment malfunction, the AP is reporting.
One of the airmen landed in pasture and it sounds like he didn’t know what to expect. He raised his hands and called out “OK, OK.” But a crowd gathered around to shake his hand. Telegraph, a British newspaper, quoted witness Younis Amruni as saying, “I hugged him and said, 'Don't be scared, we are your friends'." He added, "We are so grateful to these men who are protecting the skies." More.

For a more detailed look at what’s going on in Libya, read this story.

A Lil' Buzzed
Keith Gruber is one brave dude. Yesterday he showed up to a pretrial hearing for his felony driving while intoxicated arrest with a bag of Busch beer. He had four beers in the bag and one open one in his hand. The judge asked Gruber if he enjoyed his liquid lunch, he said he did and was sorry. The judge sent him to jail without bail.
I am guessing it was a 12-pack, because he had four in the bag, one in his hand and was visibly drunk. That rules out a six pack, right? Although my mom does say that alcoholics appear visibly drunk after just their first beer. As my friend says, sorry for partying, bro. More.

On Fire
About 1,200 acres in the Denver area foothills are on fire. It seems a little early in the year for these kinds of fires, but it has been a mild winter there. Every time there is a wildfire in Colorado I think about being on Semester at Sea. The ship had a newswire that wasn’t half as informative as this rag. It had a headline about all of Denver being on fire. The fire was in Castle Rock, which is about 30 miles south of Denver. Still freaked me out. More.

Empty Nests
A fifth of the homes in Florida are vacant. This isn’t all that surprising given the amount of overbuilding that occurred in the Sunshine State. The surprise, however, might be the overhang. I don’t think anyone thought it would take this long to soak up all the excess supply of homes down there. Unfortunately, a lot of these homes are located really far inland, too, where it is hotter and muggy. I remember back in the early days of the economic downturn – when I was still living in Florida and being blamed for the downturn in the market – an economist told me that everyone lost sight of the fundamental principles of homebuilding: every home needs an end user. More.

Red Wine Cures All
Not to make light on the very serious situation in Japan’s nuclear plant, but I am all about protecting myself from radiation this way. Pass the Malbec.

Taco Bell to Jail Cell
A San Antonio man shot at a restaurant manager, police and spurred a three-and-a-half hour standoff with police all because of the cost of a Taco Bell burrito. They used to be 99 cents, now they are $1.49. Two immediate thoughts: there aren’t any better Mexican restaurants in San Antonio? And I know where I am going for lunch today. Chalupa.

Two and a Half Men, Three and a Half Personalities
Charlie Sheen might be getting his job back. I guess in Hollywood it pays to be completely out of your mind, so long as you are bankable. More.

Nightmares
When I first saw the headline I thought this was going to funny. It is not. It is pretty darn sad. More.

WeekendWire, March 19

Super Moon
The moon is one size, ok? It doesn’t get bigger...ever. A full moon looks really big on the horizon because it has earthly objects like trees and buildings to give it perspective. (I learned that in my ancient astronomy class. It is the only thing I learned since the class was in the planetarium and would typically pass out before class started.)
Having said that, it is supposed to look really big on Saturday night. It is going to be a “super moon.” That means that there will be a full moon tonight that coincides with the perigee. The moon’s orbit is an oval and the earth is not in the dead center of it. So as the moon makes its orbit, its closest point is called the perigee. The farthest point is called the apogee. Anyway, it has been 18 years since the last time the moon was full at its perigee. Some folks think that it causes bad weather (some even tried to tie the Japanese disaster to the super moon), but scientists say it doesn’t. More.

Japan Update
Perhaps better news is coming out of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. By Sunday, the embattled plan should have access to a power source after more than a week after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake knocked out power and the subsequent tsunami messed up the back-up cooling system. There is no guarantee that the power supply will start the cooling system, but it is a step in the right direction. Nuclear power plants need to be cooled to prevent radiation from seeping out. That’s what is happening now. More.
While the WSJ article says the plant is stabilizing, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Saturday that radiation spewing from the site is a level 5 on the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy scale, which ranges from 1 to 7. One executive wept as he disclosed the grim situation. A level 5 contamination is strong enough to kill people. More.

Libya Update
On Friday, Libya declared a cease-fire on the heels of the UN resolution to establish a no-fly zone over the north African country that has been in a state of chaos since February. Despite the cease-fire proclamation, chaos continues. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces are still pushing forward toward opposition stronghold Benghazi. A fighter jet – that Gadhafi’s forces claim was from the rebels – was shot down. Gadhafi also continues with his scary rhetoric that boils down to him saying, “Who you getting crazy with, ese? Don’t you know I’m loco?” More.

70s Reboot
Presenting the new Wonder Woman. Thoughts?

BarbaWire, March 18

Survival
Another great story of survival out of Japan. This 83-year-old Japanese lady heard the tsunami warnings and immediately hopped on her bicycle and peddled to safety. In the video, she talks about fearing that Japan would be washed away and how the destruction reminds her of being a teenager during the boming of Hiroshima in World War II. More.

We Will Be Crazy Too
Sometime today, we will likely begin bombing Libya’s aviation bases and runways. On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council approved a no-fly zone over the warn-torn country, with the hopes of stopping Moammar Gadhafi’s ability to kill civilians from the air. The forces are not going to waste any time as Gadhafi forces advance on opposition strongholds.
There are no plans for forces on the ground. The resolution was backed by the U.S., Britain, France and Lebanon. Gadhafi is pretty good at scary rhetoric; "If the world is crazy, we will be crazy too," he said. More.

You Gotta Pay For It
The New York Times is going to start charging for its content online. I suppose it is smart, if not more than a decade late – the journalism industry made a big mistake in putting its content available online for free in the first place. I expect more papers to do this. More.

Ann Coulter: Radiation Is Good For You
It frightens me when Bill O’Reilly is the most rational person in a conversation. More.

Horse Power
Drag-racing with horses and buggies? I smell the next installment of “Too Fast, Too Furious” coming along. More.

A Family That Hates Together
Fred Phelps, a man that leads his family in verbally abusing strangers, often strangers that are in mourning, is being accused by his estranged son of physically abusing the family. Shock!

BarbaWire, March 17

Panda Baby Now Public
Po, the giant panda cub born at Zoo Atlanta in November, made his public debut earlier this week and he is pretty darn cute. He is named after the main character in "Kung Fu Panda", which I surprisingly haven’t seen. Only four zoos in the U.S. have pandas: Atlanta, Memphis, San Diego and Washington D.C. More.
I remember seeing Hsing-Hsing at the National Zoo as a middle school student and thinking that he was way cooler than colonial Williamsburg.

U.S: Japan's Nuclear Situation Worse
U.S. officials think the radiation bleeding from the damaged nuclear plant in Japan is much worse than the imperiled country has acknowledged.
On Wednesday, Gregory Jaczko, the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in his first public assessment that the No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi station is now without water, meaning that the fuel rod is exposed and emitting a lot of radiation. That makes the situation harder, because at that level of radiation, workers can’t really get in there and the fuel rod essentially has to be left there to melt down. It would also prevent work on the other three reactors.
According to the New York Times story, officials of Tokyo Electric Power issued a non-answer of sorts, saying that they haven’t been able to check, have been monitoring it, and can’t confirm if any water has been lost. On Thursday morning, helicopters were dropping water on the reactor in hopes of cooling it down.
Jaczko also suggested that Americans in that region get the hell away. He suggested about 50 miles. So far, Japan has suggested about 12. More.
The story further discusses how this waste-no-time situation is being bogged down by Japanese politicians and bureaucrats that are not accustomed to being pushy.
“Everything in their system is built to build consensus slowly,” said one American official.
After I read that quote I realized it was the second time I had read about the importance of consensus for the Japanese.
Apparently, there has been no reported looting in Japan. No one is smashing in windows to steal TVs. No one is crowding the line for food and water. People are just waiting patiently and acting in an orderly fashion. According to this round-up, one of the likely reasons is the Japanese are taught that conformity and consensus are virtues. More.
So, it is a bit of a give and take. The need for consensus might be slowing the nuclear reaction response, but it is keeping windows from being busted.

Clinton is Tired
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that come 2012, she is done. She has no interest in continuing in her current position, taking over the Department of Defense or running for president. For Chelsea, you know this means the pressure to make Hillary a mamaw just got ratcheted up, even if Hillary has said she doesn't want to be one of those kind of moms. More.
I know the Clintons left their Arkansas life years ago, but every time I think of that connection I am reminded of my great aunt and great uncle from Arkansas. They came to visit when I was about five. They brought their granddaughter with them and she called them “mamaw” and “papaw.” I was convinced that those words were there names. I remember being so confused by their accent, but wanting to listen to them. “Ay, BJ, you fixin’ ta play hookey and go to zoo with your papaw and us?” WHAT?

Police in the Panhandle
Ah, Florida, how I sometimes miss thee. Police approach a drunk guy that was sitting in an idling truck. He turns the engine off and rolls down the window. Police ask him if everything is OK. That’s where the so-far compliant drunk gets mouthy! He tells the cop it is none of his effing business and to "just get your fat (expletive) back in your car and leave. I'm a retired police officer.”
OK, that response beats Miguel Cabrera’s “Do you know who I am?” by like 5 million Barba points. More.

Other stuff:
This story made me laugh on the bus this AM. Ha.

In the current real estate market, being underwater is usually not so literal. Yikes.

As a lover of the paragraph, this annoyed me from the second I noticed it. Argh.

BarbaWire, March 16

Social Media and Japan
Akiko Kosaka, a foreign exchange student studying in California, has confirmed her family’s safety in Minami Sanriku through Youtube. In an interview with CNN, Kosaka said she was thought her family was dead. But then on Sunday she heard from a friend in Japan that had seen a video of Kosaka’s sister holding a sign that read everyone was safe on the balcony of the family’s home. The home managed to survive because it had a basement, according to the story.
There are lots of great stories coming out of Japan, including this one written by my friend Charlie Reed, a reporter with Stars and Stripes, a newspaper for U.S. military abroad.
Unfortunately, there is still plenty of bad news coming out of Japan. Another fire has erupted at the embattled nuclear power plant, while survivors are clamoring for food and water. More.

Speaking of worried Japanese students and people I know. This UCLA student posted a very stupid video where she complained about Asian students taking calls in the library, interrupting her learning and not adhering to “American manners.” Although her complaints are both vapid and valid (I can see being annoyed with people talking on their cells in the library), she takes it to a new level when she does the “ching chong ching” Asian mimic. Too far, girl. And too soon. Oh, I mentioned that I know someone! Not this nitwit, I know Robert Hernandez, the USC professor, from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists! More.



Americans Worried About Radiation
With Japan still struggling to get its nuclear power plants under control, Americans, paritcularly those on the West Coast, are freaking out and buying up as much potassium iodide pills as they can. Potassium iodide protects the thyroid from absorbing radiation.
It makes sense -- the weakened waves of the tsunami made it to the West Coast, so, why wouldn’t radiation make its way across the 5,000-mile Pacific Ocean? Doctors and scientists, however, are saying that the U.S. is not under any immediate danger from the radiation that has leaked so far because it is so diluted by the time it would make it here. More.

Libya Update

Colonel Moammar Gadhafi is slowly regaining control over places previously seized by the opposition and it appears he is headed to Benghazi, the opposition’s stronghold and headquarters. The international community seems reticient to get involved, although Britain and France have said they support a no-fly zone. A no-fly zone would entail bombing runways and airbases to stop Gadhafi. More.


Lift Off
NASA has figured out that the white powder it found at Cape Canaveral earlier this month was cocaine, 4.7 ounces of cocaine, which best I can tell is a whole lot of blow. Now there are two obvious jokes to be made here – one about getting really high and the other about aliens smuggling drugs – but neither are particularly funny. More.


Snooki Wrasslin'
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is apparently now a wrestler. The way she storms across the mat reminds me of all my pint-sized cousins (and mother) that think they are tough. Be careful, those little ones are vicious. More.

BarbaWire, March 15

Crazy Old Timers

Let’s start on a high note, shall we? Because it is all going downhill after this and I am tired. Cracked.com has this fun album of untouched yet sometimes unbelievable photos. The tennis on the wings of a plane? That’s insane. My favorite is the little girl standing on top of an alligator. I have a photo of me holding an alligator, too. However, unlike this little daredevil, the alligator I am holding had his jaw taped shut. Naturally, I photoshopped the brace off to look as cool as this toddler. Mission accomplished. Look.

Japan Update
Radiation levels in northeastern Japan have reached levels that can cause damage to human health. There are four reactors at the site and three of them have had explosion around their outer shells caused by the build up of heat and the fourth one is one fire. Japan’s prime minister Naoto Kan said in a press conference on Tuesday that the latest up-tick in radiation levels is caused by the on-fire reactor.
Kan has advised people living with 19 miles of the plant to stay indoors and seal their homes. More.

Meanwhile, the country continues to try to clean up from the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck on Friday. The official death count is at 2,400, but that number is expected to swell to at least 10,000. By comparison, the 2004 Tsunami killed 230,000 people. Roughly 1,800 people died during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

I know about a dozen people that have shared this video of what appears to be a little flooding turn into a total destruction of a city on Facebook, but it is still worth sharing some more. Watch.

Middle East Update

In other world news, you should know about this. I feel like this does a better of explaining it than I can do summarizing it. More.

Gun Control
Two months after the massacre in Tucson, President Obama called for a discussion on ways to strengthen existing laws that keep guns away from mentally unstable, violent and criminal people in an editorial that ran on Sunday in an Arizona newspaper. Despite the flurry of talk among advocates and pundits about finding a way to ban high-capacity magazines like those in the January attack, the president made no mention of it and said he is not looking for new legislation.
On Tuesday, Justice Department representatives plan to meet with those interested on both sides of the debate, but the National Rifle Association is not interested in talking. More.

Boulder Bust
The University of Colorado was robbed – ROBBED! – of an invitation to the NCAA tournament and instead got a no. 1 seed in the NIT, the consolation prize. This story is incredibly sad; the reporter was in the room when the boys found out they had been looked over.

While any of you who care about this already know about it, making it old news – I love the video up top from Trident, my favorite hippie coffee shop in all of Boulder. It makes me want to move back there. More.

Boston Inherits a Villa, Animals Included
An Italian man has left his villa to the city of Boston. A few catches, though, are making it tough. He earlier promised it to his political party and the house comes with cats and dogs. More.

WeekendWire, March 12

Top o' the Mornin'
Today's my favorite Chicago holiday! It is not exactly St. Patrick's Day, since that is on the 17th, so we can call it Chi-rish Day. It is the day that the river is dyed green and people drink too much. For me, though, it goes further. I moved to Chicago in January 2008 from Florida and my "Chi-rish day" was not ridiculously cold. It gave me hope that warmer days were on the way.

Nuclear Fears in Japan
In the wake of the earthquake-tsunami catastrophe, Japan is now scrambling to prevent a nuclear meltdown.
The earthquake knocked out power at nuclear power plants in Fukushima and on Saturday afternoon there was an explosion caused by the pumping system that is needed to bring the reactor’s temperature down.
The quick-and-dirty of nuclear power: Nuclear fission splits the nucleus of atoms. Lots of energy is created by that, so it is hot. That heat is used in steam turbines that generate electricity. The problem right now is that the cooling system isn’t working and there is a worry that it could be too hot and there could be a nuclear meltdown, which could cause lots of enivronmental and health problems.
The explosion looks dramatic, but the Japanese officials said that the reactor itself was not damaged. However, they did double the evacuation area from 10 kilometers to 20 kilometers.
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on Friday afteroon. So far, 1,700 people are dead, with that number expected to rise. More.

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems: NFL Edition
The 2011 NFL season is in jeopardy after months of negotiations between the players’ union and the owners came to a head on Friday night. The players’ union is decertifying so that players can file anti-trust lawsuits – Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and others already have – and the owners have locked out the players.
At issue is how to share the $9 billion the NFL pulls in each year. The players are also calling for more transparency from the owners to ensure that they are getting their fair share. I am sure there is a lot more to it than this and I am probably screwing it up. More.

Alec Is Da Man
Speaking of fighting with the boss, Alec Baldwin wrote this really great open letter to Charlie Sheen telling him to sober up, suck it up, apologize and get back to making dads laugh. More. In my opinion, John Francis Donaghy has more #winning in the part in his hair than Charlie Sheen has in his whole being, so he should listen up.

So Long, Sahara
The storied Sahara casino is set to close in May, because it is no longer economically viable to run and the economy has stymied any immediate plans to return the casino or its site to its former glory. The hotel and casino opened in 1952 and was home base for the Rat Pack. Now, it has the Nascar Café and a sucky roller coaster. More.

While there are no immediate plans to demolish the faded beauty, this immediately reminded me of the final scene of Casino when all of the old hotels are brought down to make way for mega resorts. I haven’t been to Vegas in almost a decade, meaning I haven’t been there as an adult. Hmm, not sure how I feel about that.

It's Ours Now

Colonel Moammar Gadhafi might be advancing on the opposition in Libya, his son’s British manse is now in the hand of the rebels.
Squatters, made up of essentially exiled Libyas and radical Brits, took ownership of Saif Gadhafi’s $17 million house in London. The group, Topple the Tyrants, say they are going to use it as an embassy for the opposition and as a possible refugee center. As they see it, they wouldn’t want Saif Gadhafi to sell the house to fund more killings. More.
The place has a private theater and a swimming pool. Not to make light on the Libyan plight, but I need to look into this “squatting” thing.

The Deficit Made Me Do It
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a possible run at president in 2012, basically uses patriotism as an excuse for his extramarital affairs. “There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate," Right...

Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan on Friday afternoon. Its epicenter was about 231 miles from Tokyo. Tsunami warnings have been issued for Japan and several other areas.
It is incredible to watch the power of the tsunami as it washes out farm land and destroys everything in its path. More.
Japan appears to have a good hurricane/tsunami response system, but who knows what the damage will be?

BarbaWire, March 10

Hearings on American Muslim Radicalization
On Thursday, Republican Congressman Peter King of New York, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, launched hearings to investigate the radicalization of American Muslims. The first day of hearings, was particularly wrenching with Democrat Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota breaking down in tears during his testimony, while recalling the story of a young Muslim paramedic who died on Sept. 11. More.
National security is clearly important and there is evidence that homegrown terrorism is on the rise and that is particularly dangerous because they understand American culture.
However, as I said earlier in the week, no group should be held accountable for a small group of extremists. And a lot of this comes off like witch hunt.
Further, I am guessing that this us-versus-them behavior is divisive and could drive some people who feel alienated and persecuted to hate their oppressors. You need to know about this. More.

Buff 'Em Up
Colorado, my alma mater, beat Kansas State (for the third time this year) on Thursday. Kanasas State was ranked no. 19, so this should be enough to send CU to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003. On Friday, they will face Kansas. Once again, Go Buffs!

Nick At Night From the 90s
When I was a kid Nickelodeon used to show TV shows from the 1950s and 1960s. I particularly liked “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” and just the opening credits of “The Patty Duke Show.” Well, now Nickelodeon is doing that to the 90s. This fall its TeenNick channel will air shows like "Rugrats", "Kenan & Kel", "Pete & Pete", "All That" and "Clarissa Explains It All" late at night. Where’s "Double Dare", "You Can’t Do That on Television" and "Doug"? With the exception of Clarissa and Rugrats, I think all those shows were after my time. Like I needed to feel any older. More.

Middle East Update
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi’s forces are gaining on the Libyan rebels and reclaiming cities. France is now recognizing the opposition government. While the White House considers what to do, its top intelligence adviser thinks that Gadhafi might succeed in a protracted battle. More.

Also, the protests might be spreading to Saudi Arabia. There are calls for Friday to be a “Day of Rage” against the country’s leadership. One problem: protests are illegal in the oil-rich country and the government has begun trying to squelch early gatherings by firing on protesters. More

Don't Get Up, You Might Die
Yeah, I will never use an airplane bathroom again. More.

BarbaWire, March 9

Go buffs!

The black and gold might have a chance of getting in on some March Madness. That’s all.

And I suppose congrats to Greeley on making its first trip to the Big Dance. More.

NPR in Trouble

National Public Radio – the radio station you skip over to listen to pop music but then claim to LOVE to seem erudite and high-brow – was on major damage control on Tuesday and Wednesday following the release of a tape where one of its executives called the Tea Party “racist” and said the network was better off without federal funding.
On Wednesday morning Vivian Schiller, NPR’s chief executive and president, was forced to resign, although she was not involved in the mess.
The incendiary comments were made by executive Ron Schiller (no relation to Viv) to guys he believed to be from the Muslim Action Education Center, a fictious group that was created by conservative activist James O’Keefe as part of his sting operation against NPR. The station has been trying to protect its federal funding. Schiller’s comments didn’t help. More.

Facebook Films
Facebook is getting into the movie biz, moving it one step closer to world domination. On Tuesday, Warner Bros. made “The Dark Knight” available on the social networking site. More movies are coming and this could thrust FB into the competitive landscape of streaming videos with companies like Netflix and Hulu. Rentals are for 48 hours and cost $3, a "like" and basically full access to everything you do. So much for your privacy.
I am not sure what to think about this, but I am kind of surprised about the first release. While it was a good movie, it is a little stale. And if I was Zuckerberg, I would have made that first film “The Social Network” just for some sort of poetic justice. More.

Refill the Toner and Make Me a New Kidney
In the future when your kidneys are old and nasty, you might be able to print out new ones! OK, doctors might actually have to do that, but they will be printed out nonetheless with cells serving as the ink and all kinds of medical doohickeys to do the modeling. This would end years of searching for a match because your cells would be used. That would also end worries about rejection. This is really, really neat. More.

Loughner Pleads Not Guilty
Jared Loughner, the young man who allegedly turned a meet-and-greet with Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords into a massacre that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, plead not guilty to 49 charges on Wednesday. He also was wearing that same demented grin from his mug shot. The judge is seeking a mental evaluation to see if Loughner actually comprehends what is going on. Yeah.

BarbaWire, March 8

A Real Adventure
An “Up” that doesn’t include a ridiculously sad beginning? Sign me up! How Hard Can It Be?, a National Geographic TV show, recreated a house lifted by balloons as animated in the fantastic “Up.” The executive producers of the show said it would be nearly impossible to lift a real house, so they built a lightweight replica. Long before “Up” was released, I wondered how many balloons it would take to lift a person off the ground, so I am totally geeking out to this. More.

Libya Update
The Libyan opposition has control of all the natural energy resources in the war-torn country, but Al Jazeera is reporting that there is fear that Colonel Moammar Gadhafi will attack those sites as his forces will eventually need to gas up. Or, they said, he could just bomb them in a “If I can’t have you, no one will” kinda move. More.

Extra Anchovies
Millions of dead anchovies are floating in the harbor of Redondo Beach, Calif. The massive kill was possibly caused by oxygen depletion, but that hasn’t been confirmed. A clean up is under way. The marina coordinator said it isn’t stinky yet, but will be if it isn’t cleaned up soon. More.
I know that millions of fish are dead, but anchovies in general remind me of that late 1980s movie "Loverboy." Patrick Dempsey plays a pizza delivery boy that becomes a gigolo if the cougars order extra anchovies. Things get awkward when his mama calls.

In The Air Tonight
This is a few days old (and perhaps a decade or two late?) but Phil Collins retired from making music. How can you just walk away from me, Phil, when all I can do is watch you leave? You were the only one that ever knew me at all. More.
I might have to re-listen to the episode of “This American Life” with Phil Collins where he is consulted on writing a break-up song. So good.

BarbaWire, March 7

Spewing Hate
Perhaps because I have Muslim friends in Orange County, the video linked in this story deeply bothered me. I would like to believe, however, that others, with or without Muslim friends, would also find this disturbing. To watch these families so gracefully walk past the shouting conjures up thoughts of the internment of the Japanese during World War II or the images of the Civil Rights Movement. It is also terrifying to hear local officials make general statements about Marines that would be happy to kill these folks.
This made me recall the first class I attended on Sept. 11, 2001. It was my anthropology class and Dr. Van Gerven said that we should make an effort to reach out to our Muslim students, as they are going through this, too.
No group should be held accountable for its radicals, particularly those that live thousands of miles away. More.
And for the record, my Muslim friends in Orange County have a wall of TVs that are almost exclusively on sports. Doesn’t get more American than that.

Oh, That's Rich
Lady Gaga – the performer that took her name from a Queen song and a large part of her persona from Madonna – is threatening to sue The Icecreamists Ltd., the London restaurant that is selling Baby Gaga. In case you forgot, Baby Gaga is the human breast milk ice cream. Yeah. Anyway, Gag’s people sent a cease-and-desist to the restaurant that called the ice cream 'nausea-inducing' and accused its owners or riding on her coattails. Naturally, the shop’s owner brought up her meat dress. You know, I didn’t even make the connection between the ice cream and the annoying pop star, because breast milk makes me thinks of babies and babies say “gaga.” Anyway, if she plans to sue on them stealing her nausea-inducing ways, well, then I agree. Nonetheless, it is a bit of moot point – the product has been shelved as health officials test it. More.

Oh, That's Rich, Part 2
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, who swore that he would die a martyr in Libya, might be trying to negotiate an exit that would “allow him to leave Libya in a way that suits his position and would not infringe on his dignity.” Oh, and he wants money, too The opposition, however, is not interested in entertaining compromise.
Also, Gadhafi’s son, Saadi, said that Libya would fall into civil war if his father stepped down.
"The situation is very dangerous,” he said. “From the perspective of a civil war, the leader must play a very, very big role in calming Libya and convincing people to sit together." More.

Sheen Not Winning
Charlie Sheen was officially fired from "Two and a Half Men" on Monday. Sheen, being the craziest winning winner ever, sees this as a positive because it helps the suit he is preparing.
For us poor television watchers, this isn’t exactly a winning moment, because that beast of a show might continue.
Look, John Cryer’s Duckie lipsyncing to “Try A Little Tenderness” is a great contribution to the 1980s, but dude doesn’t need to be on TV playing that same character anymore. More.
Since they are, however, considering replacing Sheen, I am reminded of my dad telling me numerous times – particularly when he was retiring – that no one is irreplaceable in their job. I am sure they can find plenty of people that could very easily and very willingly step into Sheen’s role. I’m thinking Lohan. She could totally do it, right?

Those Talents Must Be At Wet Willies
You know how LeBron James and his talents were supposed to do amazing things for the Miami Heat? Yeah, that hasn’t really panned out yet. They’ve lost five of their last six games. They’ve won only two out of ten games against the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Heat players are so made that some of them reportedly cried after Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Oh, and I guess Carmelo Anthony thinks it is funny that Chris Bosh cried. But who cares about Melo. More.

Aliens!
NASA may have found evidence of life from outer space. But not any of the scary kind, just some fossilized bacteria on meterorites. Snooze.

Weekend Wire, March 5

Lil Wayne - Music - More Music Videos

Oh, Weezy
Lil’ Wayne released his video for “6 Foot, 7 Foot” on Thursday and it is kind of awesome. The video is inspired by the movie “Inception” without all the confusing storylines that gave me a headache. And it has a puppy that can’t roll over. More.
The only thing missing? Since the song samples “Day-O” by Harry Belafonte, he should have totally featured some Beetlejuice.

Pass up the Triple-Bypass Burger
The 575-pound spokesman for an Arizona burger joint that rewards and makes light of obesity died this week at the age of 29.
Blair River died of a flu that morphed into pneumonia, but his heft is considered to be a part of his ultimely demise. Doctors and studies indicate that there could be a correlation between obesity and the ability to fight the flu.
Jon Basso, owner of Heart Attack Grill, said, “Had he been thin, he would have had a tenfold opportunity to survive the pneumonia."
Basso, however, is not planning to change his shtick, adding that he thinks his restaurant adds to the conversation about obesity but that his food should be consumed in moderation. Hmm.

Mo' Money for Mark (Not Really)
In just six weeks Facebook’s value has soared 30% to $65 billion. That’s based on the planned investment by private-equity firm General Atlantic, which is reportedly buying one tenth of one percent of Facebook from former employees. In January, Facebook announced it had raised $1.5 billion at a price that valued the company at $50 billion. At the time, Facebook said it had no immediate plans for the capital, but said it was continuing to build and expand its operations. At best I can tell, the only thing they’ve done so far is introduce the new photo album feature. As one of my friends once said, for being one of the busiest sites on the Internet, Facebook is pretty clunky. More.
One more thing! If one of your friends has an update about Facebook shutting down, don’t click it. If Facebook shuts down you can expect it to be pretty big news that you’ll read about here, no doubt.

Libya Update
Maybe Hillary Clinton is right, because this Al Jazeera story is loaded with tons and tons of information about Libya. I particularly like this beginning vignette about the western town of Az Zawiyah pushing Moammar Gadhafi’s loyal forces out of their town. The number of people killed in Libya since the protests against the Gadhafi regime began in mid-February range from 1,000 to 6,000. More.

White Fright
Are white people oppressed? Apparently some people think so. CNN reports that there is a growing sentiment among whites that they are under fire and need to protect their heritage. I am not sure how I feel about all of this, but the story is fascinating. I do believe, and concur with George W. Bush no less, that there is a growing “nativist” movement and I wonder how that relates to this.
The story quotes Tim Wise, author of “White Like Me” as saying, “We can no longer take it for granted that we (whites) are the dictionary definition of an American." Using "American" as a synonym for "white" is something that has always bothered me, and anyone who has ever (perhaps innocently) asked me “What’s your nationality?” knows that. (My standard response is "My nationality is American. Are you asking about my ethnicity?")
My favorite part of this story is the assertion that white people are uncomfortable being the minority. For some people, like my roommate who spents his weekends hanging out with me and a handful of Indians, that doesn’t appear to be true. However, I had white friends leave my college graduation party because they were uncomfortable being the only white people there. More.

Davies Follow-up
In Thursday’s wire, I briefly mentioned Brandon Davies’ suspension from the basketball team of Brigham Young University. My friend Kevin said I didn’t properly report on the enormity of the dismissal. Davies was suspended because BYU, a school associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, requires its students to live a chaste and virtuous life. In other words, don’t get drunk, don’t have premarital sex. Davies had the sex. This story says he may have gotten a girl that is not his girlfriend pregnant. Scandalous.
While it might be unrealistic to expect star athletes to keep it in their pants, when you sign up to play for a special kind of university you have to play by their special rules. If he wanted to pass it all over town he should have attended a state school. Anyway, as Kevin said, this guy was probably their second best player and the team was ranked third nationally and had a good shot of getting the top seed in the NCAA tournament. Well, in the team’s first game without Davies they lost to the unranked New Mexico and lost their shot at the top spot. More.