Headlines!

Awww, so sad...looks like Katie Holmes will not continue her Batman Begins role in The Dark Knight...boooooo hoooooo. Okay, I'm over it.

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Like coffee and a donut?...Why not have some caffeine with your caffeine? Pretty soon they'll be injecting caffeine into our milk and orange juice too!

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Ahhh, yes....Paula Abdul. She has made a fool of herself once again. While I understand the fact that she may have gotten her signals crossed while talking to multiple news stations during the same interview, I don't quite understand her odd, loopy behavior-- apparently blamed on "lack of sleep." Riiiiiight. Check out two videos, here and here.

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And, finally......no one sums up headlines better than Best Week Ever. Check out my favorite clips from the last two episodes:

• Jan. 22 clip: Commentary on Paula Abdul, American Idol, Britney's Peanut Butter-carrying boyfriend, and the Golden Globes
• Jan. 29 clips:
  
• Act 2 : Commentary on Rachael Ray, K-Fed, Brad Pitt, and LaToya Jackson from Armed and Famous
• Act 3: Commentary on the new Kleenex commercial, Tara Reid, and safety talk from Beauty and the Geek

Total Eclipse of the Sun

While many of us in the United States were still asleep early this morning, there was a total eclipse of the sun visible to some parts of the world stretching from South America eastward to Asia. NASA has a lot of information available on their website, along with pictures and video clips.
Here is a short blurb from NASA:

This year's eclipse is also special because the total phase lasts over 4 minutes at the center of the path. This is quite long for a total solar eclipse since most last just a minute or two. The next total eclipse,on August 1, 2008, will be seen in northern Canada, Greenland, Siberia, Mongolia and northern China. It will last about 2 minutes. The next total eclipse visible from the United States won’t happen until August 21, 2017.

At Exploratorium.edu, you can view an archived webcast of the event in addition to reading a wealth of information regarding the eclipse. There, you can also see an image explaining the narrow path of totality.

Finally, ABC News has a brief slideshow of pictures for viewing here.

Oh, My Little Cockroach, You're So.......Cute??

Uhhhh, I don't think so. I'll never forget the first time I ever saw Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in person. Yes, they were alive. This was during my senior year of college in my Science Education class. If I remember correctly, my friend Amy W. (now Amy K.) was the only one brave enough to actually hold them, while the rest of us just squirmed and winced. I would have to check with Amy to remind me why the cockroaches were in our class in the first place...perhaps one of our group presentations? But, anyway the point is, I never understood how she could actually hold one and not get that creepy-crawly "get-it-off-of-me" feeling!

Why do I bring this up, you ask?? Well, I just found out from my cousin today that there are jewelry designers out there who actually use live cockroaches for women's jewelry. Apparently, after adding decorations, the designers attach the bugs to a little chain to keep it contained to the area of clothing it is clasped to.

Just a note...If any of you out there are looking for a gift for me...this would NOT be a good choice. I don't even like watching them move, let alone feeling them move on my body. Definitely not my cup of tea. If you are a brave soul, you can also watch a short news clip about this "designer jewelry."

And, lastly, if you are crazy enough to be interested in actually buying one, well, knock yourself out. But, it's gonna cost ya.

A Hairy Lobster?

See for yourself...


Yes...a hairy lobster...he's blonde and blind. I've been hearing about this for a few days and I still find it so unbelievable, but yet so interesting. It does make my skin crawl when I look at it, though. If you are so inclined, you can read a short article here.

Roe v. Wade...For Men??

What happens when a man finds out his girlfriend is pregnant after making it clear he didn't want children and being told she couldn't get pregnant to begin with? This is a rising debate as a lawsuit is being prepared by the National Center for Men in defense of a man who is having exactly this problem. See the full article from USA Today.

There are definitely so many factors that play into this that I think it will take some serious looking at. Whatever comes of this will be quite interesting, though. If this case gets some ground, my fear would be...how many men would then try to use this argument to get out of having to pay child support? It will start to become a major "he said, she said" problem too.

Honestly, I think the whole child support system needs to be revamped anyway (as does the welfare system...but that's another story). In defense of the honest men, there are many who are trying to do the right thing in paying child support, but are being taken advantage of. For example, in a situation where the mother is clearly not fit to raise a child, why is it so hard to award custody to the father if he is a good and decent man? I know the argument of the woman having the right because she gave birth...but clearly, after there is a child brought into this world, shouldn't the well-being of that child be of utmost importance? What ends up happening is the unfit mother usually keeps the child and then the father, in a way, gets pulled into providing well over his share of the deal. And, to me, that's just not right.

What it comes down to for me, however, is that this will not, and should not, be an easy decision for the courts to make. I don't yet really know how I feel either way on the issue when there is deceit on the woman's part...which is what is being claimed in the above article. It's a sticky situation, for sure.

What do you think?? Please share your thoughts.

News of the Stupid

Okay, so once in awhile we all do stupid things...but, there are some people out there who act ridiculously stupid. What do I mean by ridiculously stupid? Well, I am talking about acts that 95% of the population would never attempt because they show a severe lack of common sense. The following are a few stories I had been reading about recently and decided to share:

Class Watches '40-Year-Old Virgin' Movie
By: Associated Press

Thu Jan 26, 4:18 PM
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Showing the R-rated movie "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" during high school Spanish class this week resulted in suspension for the teacher. (more...)

• Why would a teacher do something like that? Yeah, I'm gonna see a movie title like that and assume it's okay for me to show in a high school class. Either he has been living in a hole for the past year or is just really that stupid.

Pa. Man Signs His Name as 'God'
By: Associated Press

Fri Jan 27, 8:41 PM ET
READING, Pa. - One registered Republican won't be able to vote in the next election unless he appears at a Berks County Elections Board to explain the signature on his registration form. The man is registered as Paul S. Sewell, Elections Director Deborah M. Olivieri said, but his form is signed "God." (more...)

• Hmmm...by this guy's logic, I might as well change my legal name to 'Mom'...ya know, for all those times I've had students call me 'Mom' by accident. Makes sense to me!

Party in Autopsy Room Shocks Norway
By: Associated Press

Fri Jan 27, 5:49 PM ET
OSLO, Norway - Health authorities expressed shock and disgust Friday over reports that employees at a hospital in southern Norway threw a party in a post-mortem room and covered an autopsy table with a white cloth and candles. (more...)

• Wow, I bet that smelled lovely! Who wouldn't want to party with the smell of decay? Note to self...must try this sometime.

Fine for Urinal Art Attacker

Tuesday, January 24, 2006; Posted: 9:45 a.m. EST
PARIS, France (Reuters) -- A Frenchman who attacked and damaged "Fountain," a urinal declared a work of art by Dada pioneer Marcel Duchamp, was ordered on Tuesday to pay a fine of €214,000 euros ($262,700). (more...)

• Don't you have your own urinal to attack? I don't think Misseur Duchamp would be too happy with you destroying his anti-art.

Teacher's True Colors Definitely Not Orange, Blue
By: Julianne Bentley
Denver Post Staff Writer

01/22/2006 01:00:00 AM
Embracing diversity and practicing tolerance had been mainstays of Joshua Vannoy's Pittsburgh-area high school ethnicity class - until the student wore his Denver Broncos jersey to school. A die-hard Steelers fan and teacher at Beaver Falls High School made Vannoy, 17, take a midterm test on the floor because he was sporting a John Elway No. 7 jersey. The honors ethnic relations teacher had Vannoy sit in a circle of desks, then instructed his classmates to throw paper at him. (more...)

• Hey, teacher, leave that kid alone! How about some fellow teachers get to sit in the circle and throw things at you? Seems like a logical thing to do.

I'm No Dentist, But My Girlfriend Is -- Open Wide

Tue Jan 17, 9:02 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A British dentist has been banned from working after allowing her unqualified boyfriend to carry out dental work on patients in her surgery, the profession's UK regulatory body said Tuesday. (more...)

• Why?...Why?...Why would you do that?

Police: Driver Uses Mannequin in HOV Lane
By: Associated Press

Thu Jan 26, 11:08 PM ET
WESTMINSTER, Colo. - A motorist was arrested Thursday for driving in a high-occupancy vehicle lane with a mannequin dressed to look like a passenger, police said. Investigators said Greg Allen Pringle, 53, was the only human in the car. (more...)

• I think I posted a story similar to this awhile back...this kind of thing just amazes me. The lengths people will go to in trying to get somewhere faster is astounding.

I often wonder...do people actually feel stupid while carrying out these ridiculous acts? Or do they just feel stupid when they get caught?

Actually, it's scary to think that most people who do things like the above probably don't feel stupid...maybe that's the problem.

Remembering the Challenger: 20 Years Later

It's hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the world witnessed the disaster of the Challenger space shuttle, live on January 28, 1986. It is one of those events, like 9/11, that people remember by where they were at the time it happened. I, for one, was in 2nd grade and remember watching it on TV with classmates and teachers in a classroom in my Catholic grade school. Perhaps what made it so devastating, besides the fact that 7 people died, was the fact that those of us watching were watching to witness a piece of space history. We weren't watching it as we would a movie, to be entertained...we were watching it as a nation identifying with real people heading to a place that we still don't fully understand. Christa McAuliffe, the chosen applicant for the Teacher in Space program, was one of those real people.

A documentary entitled Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars will air on CNN this Saturday, January 28th at 8:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. It will also air during those same time slots on Sunday, January 29th. Here is a Space.com article about the film.

The National Geographic Channel will also air a documentary about the disaster entitled Challenger: The Untold Story. This will be shown at the same time as the CNN documentary, on Saturday, January 28th at 8:00 & 11:00. However, it will re-air on Monday, January 30th at 12 noon. There will also be a few more airings after that. Check listings for further information.

There are also a number of good resources on the net with information about the Challenger disaster, including images, sound files, and video. Here are a few:

• Kennedy Space Center: Shuttle Mission Archive
• Launch Quicktime Video (with sound)
• Challenger Center for Space Science Education
• NASA: Day of Remembrance (flash presentation)
• NASA:
Various Reports and Info
• NASA: Video files (no sound)
• Space.com - Article, including a Mission Control transmission file