Friday, January 27, 2006
Yahoo!News/AP: Ann Coulter jokes about poisoning Justice Stevens
"LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, speaking at a traditionally black college, joked that Justice John Paul Stevens should be poisoned.
Coulter had told the Philander Smith College audience Thursday that more conservative justices were needed on the Supreme Court to change the current law on abortion. Stevens is one of the court's most liberal members.
"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."
Coulter has made a career of writing and lecturing on her strongly conservative views.
At one point during her address, which was part of a lecture series, some audience members booed when she cut off two questioners. "I'm not going to be lectured to," Coulter told one man in a raised voice.
She drew more boos when she said the crack cocaine problem "has pretty much gone away."
It aint funny, Ann
Coulter had told the Philander Smith College audience Thursday that more conservative justices were needed on the Supreme Court to change the current law on abortion. Stevens is one of the court's most liberal members.
"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."
Coulter has made a career of writing and lecturing on her strongly conservative views.
At one point during her address, which was part of a lecture series, some audience members booed when she cut off two questioners. "I'm not going to be lectured to," Coulter told one man in a raised voice.
She drew more boos when she said the crack cocaine problem "has pretty much gone away."
It aint funny, Ann
ABCNews: To get ahead you have to be tall, blond and beautiful
"Jan. 27, 2006 -- Do blonde women have more fun? Do taller men really get the better jobs? According to one of the authors of "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything," the answer is yes.
Men who are tall seem to make more money, and blonde women seem to get more attention, Stephen Dubner said. Fair or not, the data do not lie.
"A great study showed that for men, in America at least, we plainly like them tall," he said. "Look at our presidents and our CEOs, they're much taller than average."
Dubner said that the 2004 University of Pennsylvania study broke down the figures inch by inch. For every inch above the average a man was as a teenager — not necessarily as a grown man — he was paid 3 percent more.
Dubner also said that a blond on an online dating site had about the same appeal as a person with a college degree, even if the blond dropped out of high school.
In 1994, "20/20" conducted its own experiment. Producers set up two charity booths, one manned by a blonde woman. The other was manned by a brunette. The blonde collected 50 percent more money than the other woman.
According to a study that same year called "Beauty and the Labor Market," less attractive people were also penalized in earnings. Men of below average or average looks made 9 percent less than the median wage. Men considered handsome made 5 percent more than the median wage. Less attractive women made 8 percent less than the median, and more attractive women made more than 4 percent above the median. The study said that those in the top third of attractiveness were paid 5 percent more than the median.
Additionally, researchers found that beautiful people committed fewer crimes. Being an unattractive female increases the propensity for robbery by 1.5 percent, for assault by 2.2 percent, and selling drugs by 3 percent. Being a very attractive female reduces the propensity to commit nondrug crimes by 2.5 percent, to commit assault by 2 percent, and to damage property by 1.1 percent.
Dubner's research found that if the NFL had used cheerleaders rather than football players to raise money for Katrina relief in a telethon, more money would have been donated.
But there is hope for those who may not be tall or blond. Dubner said it was all in the attitude — take a page from the notoriously short, yet powerful, Napoleon.
"It's all about confidence, self-esteem, and the opportunities that come with having those things. The truth is, even if you're not blond or a cheerleader or athlete … you should act like it." "
Men who are tall seem to make more money, and blonde women seem to get more attention, Stephen Dubner said. Fair or not, the data do not lie.
"A great study showed that for men, in America at least, we plainly like them tall," he said. "Look at our presidents and our CEOs, they're much taller than average."
Dubner said that the 2004 University of Pennsylvania study broke down the figures inch by inch. For every inch above the average a man was as a teenager — not necessarily as a grown man — he was paid 3 percent more.
Dubner also said that a blond on an online dating site had about the same appeal as a person with a college degree, even if the blond dropped out of high school.
In 1994, "20/20" conducted its own experiment. Producers set up two charity booths, one manned by a blonde woman. The other was manned by a brunette. The blonde collected 50 percent more money than the other woman.
According to a study that same year called "Beauty and the Labor Market," less attractive people were also penalized in earnings. Men of below average or average looks made 9 percent less than the median wage. Men considered handsome made 5 percent more than the median wage. Less attractive women made 8 percent less than the median, and more attractive women made more than 4 percent above the median. The study said that those in the top third of attractiveness were paid 5 percent more than the median.
Additionally, researchers found that beautiful people committed fewer crimes. Being an unattractive female increases the propensity for robbery by 1.5 percent, for assault by 2.2 percent, and selling drugs by 3 percent. Being a very attractive female reduces the propensity to commit nondrug crimes by 2.5 percent, to commit assault by 2 percent, and to damage property by 1.1 percent.
Dubner's research found that if the NFL had used cheerleaders rather than football players to raise money for Katrina relief in a telethon, more money would have been donated.
But there is hope for those who may not be tall or blond. Dubner said it was all in the attitude — take a page from the notoriously short, yet powerful, Napoleon.
"It's all about confidence, self-esteem, and the opportunities that come with having those things. The truth is, even if you're not blond or a cheerleader or athlete … you should act like it." "
Thursday, January 26, 2006
AP: Malaysia puts together scientific team to track Bigfoot
"KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A southern Malaysian state will appoint a team of scientists and experts to hunt for a "Bigfoot" beast after the reported sighting of three giant human-like creatures, officials said Thursday.
Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman said the state will form an official Bigfoot-tracking team in a serious bid to find evidence of such a beast following the reported sightings late last year in the Endau Rompin National Park forest.
"The mystery of Bigfoot's existence has attracted a lot of interest," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama national news agency. "We hope the expedition will be able to prove its existence."
Ghani's aide confirmed the report Thursday, saying state administrators decided to set up the team after a council meeting late Wednesday.
"Bigfoot" is a popular name given in the United States to giant hairy creatures walking on two legs. Sightings of such beasts have been reported in many parts of the world but their existence has never been proven.
Malaysian media have been gripped by Bigfoot fever since November 2005, when fish farm workers reported seeing three giant human-like hairy beasts at the edge of the Endau Rompin reserve. They also claimed to have seen a gigantic footprint which they photographed.
The photo was later printed by local newspapers.
Park officials have combed the site where the men claimed they saw the creatures, but found no physical evidence of their existence. However, they recorded more reports of sightings from Aborigine villagers who live on the park's fringes.
Tourism authorities are planning to capitalize on the sightings to attract visitors to Johor and the park. Wildlife officials said they may set up camera traps in the jungle to capture images of the creature."
Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman said the state will form an official Bigfoot-tracking team in a serious bid to find evidence of such a beast following the reported sightings late last year in the Endau Rompin National Park forest.
"The mystery of Bigfoot's existence has attracted a lot of interest," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama national news agency. "We hope the expedition will be able to prove its existence."
Ghani's aide confirmed the report Thursday, saying state administrators decided to set up the team after a council meeting late Wednesday.
"Bigfoot" is a popular name given in the United States to giant hairy creatures walking on two legs. Sightings of such beasts have been reported in many parts of the world but their existence has never been proven.
Malaysian media have been gripped by Bigfoot fever since November 2005, when fish farm workers reported seeing three giant human-like hairy beasts at the edge of the Endau Rompin reserve. They also claimed to have seen a gigantic footprint which they photographed.
The photo was later printed by local newspapers.
Park officials have combed the site where the men claimed they saw the creatures, but found no physical evidence of their existence. However, they recorded more reports of sightings from Aborigine villagers who live on the park's fringes.
Tourism authorities are planning to capitalize on the sightings to attract visitors to Johor and the park. Wildlife officials said they may set up camera traps in the jungle to capture images of the creature."
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
ABCNews:Michael Jackson dresses like a woman in Bahrain
"MANAMA, Bahrain Jan 25, 2006 — Pop star Michael Jackson was spotted shopping in a Bahrain mall on Wednesday, hiding his face behind a veil and donning a black robe traditionally worn by women in the Gulf.
He was with three children, apparently his own, who also had their faces covered by dark scarves. An unidentified woman accompanied them.
The pop star, who seems to be settling in the Persian Gulf, was seen leaving Marina Mall in the Bahrain capital, holding a child by the hand. On the way out a back door, he shook hands with security guards.
The woman also dressed in the black robe called an abaya, jeans and a scarf that partially covered her face had the two other children. All three children were wrapped in black scarves and wore yellow shirts and sweatpants or khakis without robes.
Since his June acquittal on child molestation charges in California, Jackson has made several trips to Bahrain as a guest of Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain's king. He reportedly was negotiating a position as a consultant with a Bahrain-based company that plans to set up theme parks and music academies in the Middle East.
On the mall outing, Jackson wore an abaya, pants, a white shirt and men's shoes. His head and face were wrapped in a black veil and he also wore black gloves.
The veil, abaya and gloves were of a style typically worn by conservative Bahraini women.
The woman asked photographers to respect their privacy and told them they were scaring the children before they left in a white car with darkened windows.
AAJ Holdings Ltd., owned by Ahmed Abu Bakr Janahi, said it wants to hire the 47-year-old Jackson to give advice on setting up entertainment businesses. He reportedly is building a home in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf linked to Saudi Arabia by a bridge.
In November, Jackson stirred controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies room in a shopping mall. His publicist said Jackson, who arrived in Dubai as the guest of a champion rally driver, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left the bathroom when he realized his mistake.
But local newspapers reported that the performer was applying makeup in the woman's toilets in a Dubai mall. Jackson's host, Mohammed bin Sulayem, dismissed the story as rumor."
Not much of a jump for Michael Jackson
He was with three children, apparently his own, who also had their faces covered by dark scarves. An unidentified woman accompanied them.
The pop star, who seems to be settling in the Persian Gulf, was seen leaving Marina Mall in the Bahrain capital, holding a child by the hand. On the way out a back door, he shook hands with security guards.
The woman also dressed in the black robe called an abaya, jeans and a scarf that partially covered her face had the two other children. All three children were wrapped in black scarves and wore yellow shirts and sweatpants or khakis without robes.
Since his June acquittal on child molestation charges in California, Jackson has made several trips to Bahrain as a guest of Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain's king. He reportedly was negotiating a position as a consultant with a Bahrain-based company that plans to set up theme parks and music academies in the Middle East.
On the mall outing, Jackson wore an abaya, pants, a white shirt and men's shoes. His head and face were wrapped in a black veil and he also wore black gloves.
The veil, abaya and gloves were of a style typically worn by conservative Bahraini women.
The woman asked photographers to respect their privacy and told them they were scaring the children before they left in a white car with darkened windows.
AAJ Holdings Ltd., owned by Ahmed Abu Bakr Janahi, said it wants to hire the 47-year-old Jackson to give advice on setting up entertainment businesses. He reportedly is building a home in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf linked to Saudi Arabia by a bridge.
In November, Jackson stirred controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies room in a shopping mall. His publicist said Jackson, who arrived in Dubai as the guest of a champion rally driver, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left the bathroom when he realized his mistake.
But local newspapers reported that the performer was applying makeup in the woman's toilets in a Dubai mall. Jackson's host, Mohammed bin Sulayem, dismissed the story as rumor."
Not much of a jump for Michael Jackson
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
NY Times: The Dead Body Guy
"By CHRISTOPHER MAAG
Published: January 17, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 15 - Chuck Lamb might be the world's chattiest dead guy.
His favorite topic is how he is fast becoming the most famous dead body alive. "Isn't it incredible?" said Mr. Lamb, 47, who speaks at a volume that most people reserve for rock concerts. "I had no idea it would blow up like this."
Mr. Lamb became Dead Body Guy on Dec. 5, when he put up his Web site, deadbodyguy.com. The site features photos of Mr. Lamb playing dead in various scenes around his house. Crushed by his garage door. Electrocuted in the bathtub. One series shows Mr. Lamb lying face-down in a bowl of chicken soup, above a caption that reads "Dying from bird flu."
His wife Tonya, took the photos. She also prepared jars of fake blood, which she keeps in the pantry for future use.
By staging his own death, Mr. Lamb hopes to attain a modest form of immortality. He says he always wanted to become a famous actor. Instead, at age 47 he finds himself with six children, working as a computer programmer for Nationwide Insurance. Mr. Lamb has deep creases under his eyes, skin as pale as copy paper, precious little hair and no acting experience. Any notions he once held of becoming the next Sean Connery died long ago.
But Mr. Lamb's dream of fame lingered. "Just once," he said, "I want to have my name in the credits of a movie or a TV show."
His dream was stalled until last month, when he realized that anybody could play dead. By posing as a corpse on the Internet, he thought, perhaps he could win a role as a lifeless extra on "CSI: Miami." He took two days to build the Web site, then waited for someone to notice.
It was a short wait. Deadbodyguy.com received 300,000 hits in its first three weeks. There were 530 hits from Uruguay, 6 from Iran. In two hours, the site received 2,000 hits from Spain. "I'm huge in Spain," he said.
CNN labeled deadbodyguy.com one of its Web sites of the week. USA Today ran a small story. That was all the prodding needed by representatives of the infotainment
industry, who spend their days trawling for weird news. They deluged Mr. Lamb with interview requests. Dead Body Guy soon appeared on more than 100 local TV stations, in places like Nacogdoches, Tex., and Honolulu.
He has also been mentioned on over 300 radio shows.
"That some regular guy in Columbus would play dead just to get famous is fascinating to me," said Van Patrick, a radio host for KCMO-AM in Kansas City who featured Mr. Lamb earlier this month. "I'm both repulsed and attracted to it," Mr. Patrick said.
All this attention places Mr. Lamb in the outermost orbit of fame: the Internet hotlink star. Every week, it seems, e-mail accounts across the country fill with messages titled, "Check this out," and text that begins, "I usually never pass on Web sites like this, but ... " Once it was dancing hamsters. This week it is Dead Body Guy's turn.
Even with over a quarter-million hits, Mr. Lamb has not received any movie offers. But he has been invited to the Los Angeles Film Festival in June, where he will be presented with the Special Achievement Award for Self-Promotion. He also will play dead on the red carpet as film actors step over his body. "Do you know how many thousands of actors in L.A. would kill for the publicity he's getting right now?" said Al Bowman, a festival organizer.
Not to mention start-up movie festivals. "He gets to say he's an award-winning act," Mr. Bowman said. "And we can promote ourselves by presenting Dead Body Guy, as seen on CNN."
And Dead Body Guy has coattails. Mr. Lamb paid Anne Howard, a publicist based in Montreal, $35 to write his first press release. Now she is trying to represent him as he sends demo tapes to Jay Leno and "Saturday Night Live." "If this works out, I just hope he remembers me," Ms. Howard said.
Part of Dead Body Guy's appeal is that he is a regular guy with a modest dream. But playing dead is turning Mr. Lamb's life upside down. His boss grew angry at the number of news media calls he was taking at work. Now, whenever he does an interview, Mr. Lamb must sneak out of his cubicle, run to another floor, find an empty conference room and lock himself inside.
One night he became so engrossed returning e-mail messages to the Web site that he forgot his wife's request to take a basket of laundry to the basement. "That's when I said, 'Whoa, I need to get a grip,' " Mr. Lamb said.
Officially, Mr. Lamb is sticking to Dead Body Guy's original goal. "Just one movie credit and I'm done," he said.
Meanwhile, he is waiting to hear back from a producer at the Conan O'Brien show. He has booking a flight to New York to meet with an agent. "I want to leave a little legacy," Mr. Lamb said. "I'd like to have a bridge named after me." "
This guy gets more press than I do. More power to him.
Published: January 17, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 15 - Chuck Lamb might be the world's chattiest dead guy.
His favorite topic is how he is fast becoming the most famous dead body alive. "Isn't it incredible?" said Mr. Lamb, 47, who speaks at a volume that most people reserve for rock concerts. "I had no idea it would blow up like this."
Mr. Lamb became Dead Body Guy on Dec. 5, when he put up his Web site, deadbodyguy.com. The site features photos of Mr. Lamb playing dead in various scenes around his house. Crushed by his garage door. Electrocuted in the bathtub. One series shows Mr. Lamb lying face-down in a bowl of chicken soup, above a caption that reads "Dying from bird flu."
His wife Tonya, took the photos. She also prepared jars of fake blood, which she keeps in the pantry for future use.
By staging his own death, Mr. Lamb hopes to attain a modest form of immortality. He says he always wanted to become a famous actor. Instead, at age 47 he finds himself with six children, working as a computer programmer for Nationwide Insurance. Mr. Lamb has deep creases under his eyes, skin as pale as copy paper, precious little hair and no acting experience. Any notions he once held of becoming the next Sean Connery died long ago.
But Mr. Lamb's dream of fame lingered. "Just once," he said, "I want to have my name in the credits of a movie or a TV show."
His dream was stalled until last month, when he realized that anybody could play dead. By posing as a corpse on the Internet, he thought, perhaps he could win a role as a lifeless extra on "CSI: Miami." He took two days to build the Web site, then waited for someone to notice.
It was a short wait. Deadbodyguy.com received 300,000 hits in its first three weeks. There were 530 hits from Uruguay, 6 from Iran. In two hours, the site received 2,000 hits from Spain. "I'm huge in Spain," he said.
CNN labeled deadbodyguy.com one of its Web sites of the week. USA Today ran a small story. That was all the prodding needed by representatives of the infotainment
industry, who spend their days trawling for weird news. They deluged Mr. Lamb with interview requests. Dead Body Guy soon appeared on more than 100 local TV stations, in places like Nacogdoches, Tex., and Honolulu.
He has also been mentioned on over 300 radio shows.
"That some regular guy in Columbus would play dead just to get famous is fascinating to me," said Van Patrick, a radio host for KCMO-AM in Kansas City who featured Mr. Lamb earlier this month. "I'm both repulsed and attracted to it," Mr. Patrick said.
All this attention places Mr. Lamb in the outermost orbit of fame: the Internet hotlink star. Every week, it seems, e-mail accounts across the country fill with messages titled, "Check this out," and text that begins, "I usually never pass on Web sites like this, but ... " Once it was dancing hamsters. This week it is Dead Body Guy's turn.
Even with over a quarter-million hits, Mr. Lamb has not received any movie offers. But he has been invited to the Los Angeles Film Festival in June, where he will be presented with the Special Achievement Award for Self-Promotion. He also will play dead on the red carpet as film actors step over his body. "Do you know how many thousands of actors in L.A. would kill for the publicity he's getting right now?" said Al Bowman, a festival organizer.
Not to mention start-up movie festivals. "He gets to say he's an award-winning act," Mr. Bowman said. "And we can promote ourselves by presenting Dead Body Guy, as seen on CNN."
And Dead Body Guy has coattails. Mr. Lamb paid Anne Howard, a publicist based in Montreal, $35 to write his first press release. Now she is trying to represent him as he sends demo tapes to Jay Leno and "Saturday Night Live." "If this works out, I just hope he remembers me," Ms. Howard said.
Part of Dead Body Guy's appeal is that he is a regular guy with a modest dream. But playing dead is turning Mr. Lamb's life upside down. His boss grew angry at the number of news media calls he was taking at work. Now, whenever he does an interview, Mr. Lamb must sneak out of his cubicle, run to another floor, find an empty conference room and lock himself inside.
One night he became so engrossed returning e-mail messages to the Web site that he forgot his wife's request to take a basket of laundry to the basement. "That's when I said, 'Whoa, I need to get a grip,' " Mr. Lamb said.
Officially, Mr. Lamb is sticking to Dead Body Guy's original goal. "Just one movie credit and I'm done," he said.
Meanwhile, he is waiting to hear back from a producer at the Conan O'Brien show. He has booking a flight to New York to meet with an agent. "I want to leave a little legacy," Mr. Lamb said. "I'd like to have a bridge named after me." "
This guy gets more press than I do. More power to him.
