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Phil Spector attempts to claim a shooting death was a suicide

2005-10-13T22:29:00.000-05:00

Music producer Phil Spector

during a court appearance in Los Angeles.

Legendary music producer Phil Spector -- the architect of the Sixties' "Wall Of Sound" on such singles as the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" is currently free on $1 million dollars bail for shooting and killing actress Lana Clarkson wherein there is also a wrongful death civil suit filed by Lana's mother.

Court papers reveal that Spector's defense attorneys are currently arguing that Spector was suffering "withdrawal symptoms" from prescription drugs when he told police he had shot and killed a woman at his mansion in 2003, that in fact she had committed suicide. Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler ruled in May 2005 that he would allow testimony from 4 women who said Spector had threatened them with guns. Spector's trial begins in January, 2006.

Lana Clarkson
(Born 4-5-62 | Died 2-3-03)

Lana Clarkson’s early television appearances read like a pop culture checklist: “CHiPs,” “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” ”Hill Street Blues,” “Laverne and Shirley,” and “Fantasy Island.” Lana had a recurring part on “Fantasy Island” as one of the girls that placed leis over the heads of each show's featured guests. Her later work on television included guest spots on “Who's the Boss,” “Night Court,” “Wings,” “Knight Rider,” “The Jefferson's,” “Three's Company,” “The A-Team,” “Riptide,” “Silk Stockings,” “Black Scorpion,” and many other popular shows. Lana also found success working on television commercials, with a client list that included Mercedes Benz, Nike, Anheiser Busch, Playtex Bras, KMART, and Mattel.

While the cat is away the mice will mess around with your money

2005-10-12T14:48:00.000-05:00

Leonard Cohen in September of 2004 to mark his 70th birthday,
released the above album, "Dear Heather"
(Part of the album may be heard on his site)

Leonard Cohen, best known for songs such as Bird on a Wire and Suzanne, filed another lawsuit Tuesday, October 11, 2005 against his former business manager of 17 years Kelley Lynch alleging she now refuses to return some of his personal items. The singer sued Lynch on August 15, 2005 for defrauding him of at least $5 million. The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court seeks damages for alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud, professional negligence and other claims against Kelley Lynch. Tax lawyer Richard Westin was also named as a defendant for allegedly mismanaging Cohen's retirement funds.

The fraud allegedly started while Cohen was taking time away from his career to focus on his spiritual life at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles.
While Cohen was not recording or touring, Lynch allegedly started to pay herself a greater portion of the artist's royalties. She also allegedly introduced Cohen to Westin, who is accused of helping Lynch to orchestrate the sale of Cohen's music publishing and artist royalties.

"Cohen believed that he had hired Westin and [his firm] to protect his retirement savings, but, in fact, they burdened the sale with transactions costs in excess of $4 million and they devised unnecessarily complex corporate structures that allowed Lynch to steal over $5 million for her own benefit without Cohen's knowledge or consent," the suit states.

I can't believe Olivia Newton-John is 57....

2005-10-11T05:05:00.000-05:00

Olivia Newton John was born in Cambridge, England in 1948, the youngest child of a Professor and her German born mother Irene who was the daughter of 1954 Nobel Prize winning physicist Max Born. Olivia definitely comes from a family providing her with both beauty and brains!

Olivia Newton-John appeared opposite John Travolta in the 1978 movie Grease. She is best known for songs such as I Honestly Love You and Physical. She released a 2-disc dvd collection of her music-video hits last week and a new album, Stronger Than Before is due to debut in Hallmark Gold Crown stores. A portion of the album sales will benefit research for breast cancer, which Newton-John overcame following her own diagnosis in 1992. Her concert tour in the US was launched in October.

However, her 48 year old camera-man "boyfriend" Patrick Kim McDermott continues to be missing. McDermott left on what was to be an overnight fishing trip on June 30, 2005 from Southern California's San Pedro harbor but 5 days later was a no-show at a family event. His backpack being found on the fishing boat and his car found in a parking lot near the harbor. A Missing-Persons report was filled July 11, 2005.

The US Coast Guard and LA Police Dept both issued press releases in early August 2005 asking for the public's help in finding the Van Nuys, California resident. But neither Press Releases mentioned Olivia Newton-John's name and the matter received little not until the UK's News of the World reported last weekend that the "missing McDermott" was "Olivia Newton-John's McDermott".

Making her first public comments since Mr McDermott, 48, failed to return from an overnight fishing trip on the charter boat off California, she told breakfast television in the US: "Patrick has a young son, so we still hold out hope he will come back."

Although there have been reports that their relationship had broken down before his disappearance, the singer said: "I love him very much. As you can imagine, it's an incredibly difficult thing to go through. It's very hard to talk about this, as it's a very painful topic and it's still an investigation."

2005-10-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

(AP Photo/CNN, Rose M. Prouser)
(October 08, 2005)

Roseanne Barr, left, listens as John Goodman makes a point during CNN's "Larry King Live" show in Los Angeles on Friday. Cast members from their one-time sitcom "Roseanne" reunited on the air for the first time since the series ended in 1994 to discuss the show and the DVD release of its first season.

Esquire choses Jessica Biel 'sexiest woman'

2005-10-08T05:53:00.000-05:00

Jessica Biel, 'Esquire's Sexiest Woman"

A 14 year old Boulder, Colorado girl landed and worked in a 5 year role as Mary Camden, the innocent preacher's daughter on WB's 7th Heaven between 1999-2001. However, the innocent little preacher's daughter was posing topless for the March 2000 issue of Gear Magazine. "Fresh" is a word now used by Esquire magazine to describe Jessica Biel and a word that doesn't seem appropriate.

"It seemed like it would be great to try to come up with somebody who was on everyone's radar screen, but who was also fresh," said Esquire editor David Granger.

Jessica Biel plays a supporting role in the upcoming "Elizabethtown" and also appeared in a number of movies including The Rules of Attraction, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cellular, and Blade: Trinity.

The Platte River, a natural prairie river

2005-10-06T06:50:00.000-05:00

The historic Platte River of the Oregon and Mormon Trail fame
isn’t living up to its description as “A mile wide and an inch deep.”

The only evidence of surface water in the Platte River

near Grand Island, Nebraska are a few very small pools of water.

Looking Southwest from the Nebraska Highway 34 bridge, near Grand Island, Nebraska

The Platte River is one of the most significant river systems in the watershed of the Missouri as it drains a large portion of the central Great Plains in Nebraska and the eastern Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wyoming. The central Platte river valley surrounding Grand Island, Nebraska is a crucial stopover for migratory water birds, such as the Sandhill Crane and the endangered Whooping Crane.

The Platte River Assessments for Endangered and Threatened Species further states that deterioration and loss of habitat in the central Platte is contributing to the continuing drop in numbers of piping plovers and interior least terns. Almost no piping plovers live along the central Platte anymore.. Although the population of interior least terns on the central Platte River continues to decline, the birds are nesting on the lower Platte River.

On the eastern side of the state, the Platte picks up water from the Loup and Elkhorn rivers. But even so, a dry Platte in Grand Island means there's less water available downstream for municipal well fields, such as Lincoln's. Grand Island has a well field on an island in the Platte. When the river goes dry, Bishop said, the well field relies on groundwater storage, which is not a problem for the excellent Grand Island field. But the greater, long-term concern is that nitrates in groundwater north of the river will migrate toward the well field, he said. "There's no immediate or even short-term danger there," Bishop said. But "it creates a situation that you need to keep your eye on long term." Siekman, the extension agent for Merrick County, said the Platte is important because it recharges the groundwater supplies. Irrigators in his county use groundwater and rely on the Platte to replace it. A dry Platte today is not a problem, he said, "provided we get the recharge in the winter and spring." It's not a major problem for fish and wildlife today either, said Mark Czaplewski, staff biologist with the Central Platte Natural Resources District. "Even though a dry Platte is hard on some species ... this is a prairie river," he said. "Most of the fish just move downstream and come back. But fish kills do occur. "They are living in a pretty tough environment here on the Great Plains," Czaplewski said, "and have adapted to that over thousands of years." The long-term effect on fish and wildlife habitat could be significant, said Sharon Whitmore, a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But scientists just know yet what those effects might be, she said. The drought symptomized by the dry Platte is cyclical, said climatologist Dutcher, and it won't change overnight. "It took four or five years to get to this point," he said. And it will probably take several years of above-normal snowmelt in Colorado and Wyoming and rain for water supplies to return to normal, he said. Or, at least, what is now normal for a man-managed river system.

Tyra Banks Confronts porn star Tyra Banxxx

2005-10-05T06:11:00.000-05:00

Tyra Banks

Thursday, October 6th on the Tyra Banks Show:

The woman who has been making TYRA BANKS' life a misery will come face-to-face with the supermodel on her TV chat show.

Adult film star TYRA BANXXX stunned the model/TV star when she appeared on the front cover of porn industry magazine Xtreme, dressed up to look like the real Tyra. .

She says, "For a second I was like, 'Did they put my head on someone else's body?' I thought that it really did look like me. "The first thing that went through my head... It wasn't anger, it was more of a curiosity, and an empathy like, 'Where does this girl come from... And what led her to this?'" Banxxx has agreed to retire her name, insisting she never intended to offend her heroine. She tells the real Tyra, "Growing up, everyone always said I should be a model and everyone said I looked like you... You're an inspiration to me."

Tyra Banxxx
By way of thanks for letting the name go without legal action, Banks has offered to help her doppelganger escape the adult film world and find employment in another field.

Tyra confronts adult film star Tyra Banxxx about using her name, and offers to help the young woman change her life.

Music icons of the 60's can be found in bookstores

2005-10-04T03:35:00.000-05:00

Sir Paul McCartney appeared today at New York's Barnes and Noble bookstore to promote his first children's book 'High In The Clouds,' published by Dutton Children's Book a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

McCartney's book tells of Wirral the squirrel who is forced to leave his woodland home that has been destroyed by the expansion plans of the evil Gretsch.

Wirral vows to find the fabled land of Animalia, where all the animals are said to live in freedom and without fear. Aided and abetted by Froggo the hot-air-ballooning frog, Wilhamina the plucky red squirrel, and Ratsy the streetwise rodent, Wirral's personal quest turns into a full-blown plan to save enslaved animals Everywhere -- a plan that is fraught with danger.

Folk-rock singer Donovan holds his newly released autobigraphy entitled 'The Hurdy Gurdy Man' at Foyle's bookshop in central London, Monday October 3, 2005. The autobiography of the Prince of Flower Power. Alongside the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, Donovan's music defined a generation.

Donovan's autobiography charts his life from a post-war, Glaswegian childhood to the height of an international career as one of the leading figures of the 1960's music scene.

Always feeling like an outsider he found relief through music and poetry. The book reveals how he came to be influenced by Buddhist teachings and the music of Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez. The book explores the significance of falling deeply in love with the women who was to become his muse, and the profound sense of loss he felt when their relationship came to an end, and how the loss affected him both personally and creatively. A leader of the folk revival in both Britain and America, the book recounts how he rose to be an international star, releasing songs such as Mellow Yellow and Catch the Wind, and his most successful album, Sunshine Superman. Donovan is acknowledged as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 1960's. The book provides a frank account of his early experiments with drugs and his search for self. He reveals the story of how he developed friendships with Baez, Dylan and the Beatles, with whom he a shared spiritual sojourn to meditate with the Maharishi in India. Donovan's autobiography offers first-hand insights into his music and poetry, recollects his rise to fame and the way in which destiny was to play a hand by re-uniting him with the lost love of his life through a chance meeting.

Queen Elizabeth's spoiled brat, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York

2005-10-03T04:44:00.000-05:00

Britain's public money is being spent on indulging Andrew. More than $750,000 in public money has been spent in a year by Andrew for just hiring aircraft, for example:

$74,000 on flights to St Andrews golf course

St. Andrews is a golf course celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2004.
St Andrews Links Webcam

St Andrews is the home of golf. The game has been played here since at least 1457 when it was popular enough for King James II to ban it on the grounds that it interfered with archery practice. Since that time golf has become hugely popular, but St Andrews still remains the birthplace and the centre of modern golf.

$7000 chartering a helicopter for a 70-kilometre trip to a lunch in Oxford

$8300 using an RAF jet for a 120-kilometre journey to a Somerset military base

Prince Andrew, i.e., Air Miles Andy, was on a private trip to Melbourne, Australia when he had a "pouting fit" about having to go through the airport security. Airport and security officials were surprised at Prince Andrew's actions, believing he would have understood the importance of security in the wake of the London bombings. Eventually Andrew reluctantly agreed.Reuters

The Duke of York faced a knotty problem at the unveiling of a sculpture in New Zealand to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. "This sculpture is, um, interesting," he said as he looked back at a tangled knot of grey rods behind him.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

2005-10-02T05:37:00.000-05:00

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on this day in 1869 (d. January 30, 1948).

Called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of India's independence from British colonial rule to world attention. His philosophy of non-violence, for which he coined the term satyagraha has influenced both nationalist and international movements for peaceful change.

Satyagraha (Sanskrit: truth + grasp/hold) is the philosophy of non-violent resistance most famously employed by Mohandas Gandhi in forcing an end to the British Raj and also against apartheid in South Africa.

Translators have rendered the word satyagraha as "civil disobedience", "passive resistance", "truth force", or "the willingness to endure great personal suffering in order to do what's right". English-speakers may also use the term "non-violent protest". The literal translation however will be sat(truth)+aagraha(persuade)=sadagraha. (satya), and non-violence ahimsa (Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. Ahimsa is Sanskrit for avoidance of himsa, or injury. It is interpreted most often as meaning peace and reverence toward all sentient beings. Ahimsa is the core of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Its first mention in Indian philosophy is found in the Hindu scriptures called the Upanishads, the oldest dating about 800 BCE.)

By means of non-violent civil disobedience Gandhi helped bring about India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own independence, ultimately dismantling the British Empire to replace it with the Commonwealth of Nations,

Commonwealth of Nations is an association of independent sovereign states, most of which are former colonies once governed by the United Kingdom as part of the British Empire. It was once known as the British Commonwealth (or British Commonwealth of Nations), and many still call it by that name, either for historical reasons or to distinguish it from the many other commonwealths around the world. The Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, is the Head of the Commonwealth; this title, however, does not imply any political power over member nations.

Gandhi's principle of satyagraha (from Sanskrit satya: truth, and graha: grasp/hold), often translated as "way of truth" or "pursuit of truth", has inspired other democratic activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lennon and the 14th Dalai Lama.

Tara Reid wants more "moments" in front of the press

2005-10-01T11:44:00.000-05:00

Tara Reid at Sean "P.Diddy" Combs" 35th birthday bash posing in November, 2004 for some pictures with a loose fitting outfit. Tara claims that she didn't realize when it slipped off her shoulder and continued to pose for more photos in a non-chalant manner with her breast fully exposed.

It is evident that given Tara's vocal desire in the press to prove she is a "great actress instead of a party girl", displays the truth that she should wake up to the fact that she proved what a great actress she was by playing stupid to her exposed breast! In January 2005, Tara stated that "I didn't see it fall down" to a NBC news reporter. But was definitely lapping up the publicity over her birthday party exposure.

The AP reports Reid as saying, "I need one more great movie role so they say, `Wow, she can act! She's a great actress.' Then I think they'll leave me alone." The actress says the media has unfairly represented her as being a party-girl. Can Tera actually drink Tommy Lee "under the table" as reported in just August of 2005?

Although Tara has not been in a memorable film since Van Wilder, she continues to make headlines. Known for her heavy drinking and party-girl lifestyle, Tara has counted fellow partier Paris Hilton among her circle of close friends. One person she is not good friends with is Internet babe Cindy Margolis, one of the most downloaded women in the world. Cindy Margolis is married to Guy Starkman, Chief Operating Officer of Jerry's Famous Deli. Starkman once dated actress Tara Reid, and the two blonde beauties were apparently involved in a catfight in Atlantic City in December 2003.

If Tera is wanting to rid herself of the party-girl image, perhaps she should cease going to parties.

You can't beat Kermit, but you can now lick him

2005-09-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Jim Henson: The Man Behind the Muppets commemorative stamp sheet

The release of the commemorative stamps coincides with the 50th anniversary of Henson's most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog.

The green leader of the beloved Muppets troupe was on hand for a first-day issue ceremony this week featuring 11 postage stamps honoring the Muppets and late creator Jim Henson at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in suburban North Hollywood. In an effort to celebrate the occasion of Kermit turning 50, Disney has announced that the internationally acclaimed amphibian will be making a worldwide tour, which will begin next month in the town of Kermit, Texas.

Uniquely Designed Autographed Stamps

The stamps include a 1986 Norman Seeff photograph of Henson accompanied by his visionary quote: "When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been there."

Ten additional stamps depict 13 famous Muppet characters: Kermit the Frog; Sam the Eagle; Statler and Waldorf; Animal; Rowlf the Dog; Fozzie Bear; Miss Piggy; Swedish Chef; Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker; and the Great Gonzo and Camilla the Chicken.

When applied to a white envelope, each of the individually photographed Muppet stamps appears to burst through. Photographing the characters and torn white paper separately to enhance created this effect of highlights and shadows.

The back of each stamp sheet features humorous autographed notes from each of the Muppet characters. The reverse of Miss Piggy's stamp reads, "Moi is thrilled ... for all those lucky people who will get your letter with Moi's gorgeous face on the envelope. Don't even think of canceling moi, sweetie! Kissy, Kissy (signed Miss Piggy)."

"Royal Duties" take Prince Andrew to one of the "world's best golf courses"

2005-09-29T07:47:00.000-05:00

A Buckingham Palace source said: "It comes as part of Andrew's role as Colonel in Chief of the Royal New Zeland Army. He has a cast-iron excuse to go out there and of course he's at liberty to play golf in his leisure time." Prince Andrew, the Duke of York is in New Zealand having held the appointment of Colonel in Chief since its formation in 1996.

The fourth in line to the throne of England, who was once dubbed the bad boy of the royal family, flew into Wellington, New Zealand on Wednesday night and unlike the fanfare and fuss surrounding his nephew Prince William's visit earlier this year, there was no media there to greet him. He last visited New Zealand in 1998.

Golf fanatic Andrew, 45, also plans to visit the clifftop Cape Kidnappers golf course in Hawke's Bay. Hawkes Bay, one of the sunniest regions in New Zealand, has a delightful mediterranean climate, is utterly unique for its wine, its Art Deco cities and one of the world's largest accessible mainland colonies of gannets, stunning for both their colour and death-defying dives into the sea. The new course at Cape Kidnappers is not only one of New Zealand's best (some say it's now the best) it's also one of the best in the world.

The 9th sexiest woman of 2001 is pregnant and Donald Trump is the daddy

2005-09-28T03:39:00.000-05:00

A Trump spokeswoman, confirmed a report Tuesday that the 59-year-old billionaire's wife, Melania Knauss, is pregnant. The New York Post, which first reported the news about the pregnancy, said Knauss planned to spend time recuperating at Mar-a-Lago after giving birth. Donald J. Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago, the former home of the legendary cereal heiress, Marjorie Merriweather Post (then Mrs. Edward F. Hutton), in 1985 from the Post Foundation. Trump undertook an 18-year challenge of restoring the historic, Mediterranean-Revival mansion that has been an icon of Palm Beach life for almost 80 years. All of the 110,000-sq.-ft., 118-room landmark residence, completed in 1927, was restored to its original grandeur, from the ornate interior with 16th century Venetian tapestries and gold leaf moldings, to the signature exterior, complete with a 75-foot tower and coquina and stucco façade. Through his exacting attention to the complex historic preservation process, Trump has transformed the 18-acre estate into what is now The Mar-a-Lago Club without eroding its historic significance or integrity. “It exemplifies the luxurious lifestyles of the era, led by the social elite of the Eastern Seaboard who flocked to Palm Beach during the 1920s land boom.

Demi marries her boytoy Ashton, or so they say

2005-09-26T05:46:00.000-05:00

On its Web site, US Weekly reported that more than 100 guests, including Moore's ex-husband Bruce Willis, "That '70s Show" actor Wilmer Valderrama, and actress Lucy Liu witnessed the pair's marriage. People's Web site said the pair wed in a Kabbalah ceremony and that representatives for the couple declined to comment.

Rumors of the pair's intentions have run rampant since they began dating more than two years ago - then Moore had a recent change of heart.

In the September issue of Harper's Bazaar, Moore, 42, says she and Kutcher, 27, had no plans for marriage.

"I feel that we are [married] and that we don't need something formal, so to do so isn't a big deal one way or another," Moore said in an interview made public six weeks ago.

This would be the first marriage for Kutcher, who shot to stardom on Fox's "That '70s Show" and is producer of the reality series "Beauty and the Geek." Moore was married to rock musician Freddie Moore from 1980 to 1984 and to Willis from 1987 to 2000. Both marriages ended in divorce.

Moore has three daughters from her marriage to Willis: Rumer, 17, Scout, 14, and Tallulah, 11.

Willis, the "Die Hard" star, and Kutcher have become unlikely friends, so much so that Willis is set to guest star on an episode of "That '70s Show" scheduled for broadcast during November sweeps, zap2it.com reported two weeks ago.

If Kutcher and Moore have tied the knot, their fans certainly will be awaiting word that they're expecting their own child together.

As Moore told Harper's Bazaar: "The next phase? The growth of our union. The growth of our family. Which is all the things we truly desire ... to expand our family."

Kutcher said during an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" earlier this year that he "absolutely" wants to have kids.

Needed some boring news | Princess Anne is the ticket

2005-09-23T06:13:00.000-05:00

With hurricanes Katrina and Rita, car bombings, gas prices, etc., and all the crap involving celebrities and their totally self-absorbed lifestyles, Princess Anne's trip to China discloses how someone can live as if they are not a part of the real world. I bet the Queen Mother is proud of her only daughter who I think resembles a cranky teacher I had in elementary school.

Of course her current trip to China gives her an opportunity to be around horses. While in Beijing she visited an equestrian club and watched a performance.

The cost of her trip to Asia is being written off as part of her "official duties" as a British member of the International Olympic Committe which is hosting the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and the London Games in 2012.

Chelsea Clinton

2005-09-22T06:14:00.000-05:00

According to People magazine, Chelsea Clinton is in London working for the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company on a public health care project. On September 20th, career publisher Vault Inc. released ithe latest guide to the nation's top management and strategy consulting firms, and McKinsey & Company ranks first overall in prestige.

The New York Daily News informs us that as Sarah Jessica Parker is the highest female earner in New York earning $38 million a year, at the bottom of the list is Chelsea, who is paid $120,000 for her labors as a consultant with McKinsey & Co.

Problems minimimize what Country Music singer Mindy McCready faces

2005-09-21T07:20:00.000-05:00

OxyContin is a problem in North America
and has definitely been a problem for 29 year-old Mindy McCready.

Mindy McCready was been on 3 years supervised probation after pleading guilty in August 2004 to obtaining OxyContin fraudulently. She was fined $4000 and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and is facing a Probation Violation hearing on November 14, 2005.

Since August 2005 Mindy McCready has been a busy gal:

On May 6, 2005 McCready was stopped for speeding and wound up being charged with drunken driving and driving with a suspended license, which earned her first probation violation.
On May 8, 2005 McCready was beaten and almost choked to death by her on-again, off-again boyfriend William McKnight, 38, who allegedly ambushed the singer in her home. He is charged with attempted murder as a result.
McCready is charged in Arizona on counts including unlawful use of transportation, unlawful imprisonment and hindering prosecution stemming from an incident involving a stolen pickup truck. McCready has missed two court dates in Arizona due to her hospitalization resulting from her drug overdose. A rescheduled arraignment is set for October 3, 2005 but it is not clear if she will be permitted to leave Tennessee.
McCready becomes pregnant
In July 2005 McCready was found unconscious due to a drug overdose in a hotel lobby in Florida. Willliam McKnight, her "boyfriend" who in May 2005 was charged with attempting to murder her, but who had "reconciled" with McCready, was at the scene and reportedly gave police her suicide note. McCready claims her pregnancy is the reason for her suicide attempt.
On August 26, 2005 is locked up in jail on a second probation violation charge due to leaving Tennessee without permission and failing to contact her probation officer during the month of July , 2005.
On September 16, 2005 Mindy was experiencing medical complications from her pregnancy and was released on $50,000 bail after spending 10 days in jail resulting from probation violations. Under terms of bail, she must remain with 50 miles of Williamson County, submit to random drug tests, wear an ankle monitoring device, meet with a probation officer twice a week, and be home between the hours of 7pm and 6am.
On Monday September 19, 2005 McCready was in court requesting her $50,000 bail provisions be eased claiming she is scheduled to appear on The Oprah Winfrey show at the end of September. The court ruled that she could break curfew with her probation officer's permission but rejected her request for bail provisions to be eased. She was also ordered to begin serving 8 hours of community service each month.
McCready is now facing a Probation Violation hearing on November 14, 2005.

And, Mindy's McCready's unborn baby faces it's own issues. Neonates of mothers who have used Oxycodone chronically may exhibit respiratory depression and/or withdrawal symptoms, either at birth and/or in the nursery.

McCready, had a No. 1 hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time".

Forcible touching or "groping" is third degree sexual abuse

2005-09-20T07:21:00.000-05:00

This has been a busy last couple of days for Christian Slater. Christian attended the Emmy Awards on Sunday and on Monday was in court in Manhattan attending his pre-trial hearing involving a sexual abuse charge.

In May 2005, Christian Slater, 36 allegedly under the influence of alcohol, was stopped a few blocks away from where the assault occurred, handcuffed, arrested and charged with third degree sexual abuse carrying a maximum of one year jail time. Slater is no stranger to jail. In 1997, he pleaded no contest to assaulting his girlfriend and a police officer. He was then sentenced to three months imprisonment and served 59 days of the sentence in 1997. During a pre-trial hearing in Manhattan on Monday, Slater will now effectively be on probation for six months and if he does not offend within that time, all charges will be dropped.

The actor, known for his roles in Interview With the Vampire and The Name of the Rose, appeared in a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in London's West End earlier this year. In 1995, Slater was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history - he was number 79.

Drugs and jealousy don't mix

2005-09-18T06:27:00.000-05:00

On Friday (9-16-05) musician Kristin King claimed in her Superior Court civil lawsuit that in April 2005, 41-year-old Courtney Love "slapped her, hit her with a whiskey bottle and a large lit candle and pinched her breast". King is seeking unspecified damages for assault, battery, false imprisonment and other claims. Evidently, the end result of being found in Courtney Love's boyfriend's apartment. Love previously pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge in that case.

I personally question why so often women get mad at the "other women" and not the "boyfriend" who is discovered in the act of cheating.

On Friday, the Los Angeles judge ordered Courtney's probation extended to March, 2007 due to violating her probation from previous drug and assult convictions. She will now continue for the next 180 days to live at a lock-down substance abuse facility. The judge on Friday also said she would be spared jail time because of the headway made in rehabilitation.

2005-09-14T17:28:00.000-05:00

Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark

Ex-project consultant for Microsoft Business Solutions in Denmark
(Princess Mary's last pre-royal job) is hospitalized, having contractions six weeks before her due date.

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has been admitted to hospital after having contractions six weeks before her due date, the palace says.
The Tasmanian-born Mary, who was due to give birth in October, was in good condition at Copenhagen University Hospital, where she was taken on Tuesday night, doctors said yesterday.

Crown Prince Frederik spent the night at the hospital with his wife. All her official engagements have been cancelled.

Lene Galsgaard, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said Mary had not gone into labour.

2005-09-14T12:35:00.000-05:00

Seal and supermodel Heidi Klum

The Samuel Family
comprised of Seal, Heidi and big sister Leni

Now includes a baby boy weighing 8.9 pounds

“Henry Günther Ademola Dashtu
Samuel”

His father, a multi Grammy winner with Nigerian and Brazilian ancestry, also has quite a name: "Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adelo Samuel" however, going by the simple name of Seal. Seal had had his recording “Kiss from a Rose” featured in the film Batman Forever (1995).

A special Deluxe DVD Edition which spans the artist's entire recording career along with a specially recorded acoustic CD highlighting new renditions of his best-known hits.

On May 23, 2005 Heidi Klum became the “rose godmother” to the Heidi Klum Rose that was presented in Germany for the first time. The name “Heidi Klum Rose” is even patented by the German grower who developed this new type near Hamburg. The idea was born in a gardenstore Heidi knew from her childhood in Colon, Germany that because it is not far away from her hometown of Bergisch Gladbach. See Heidi Klum's website for more news and updates.

Is Gwen finally "Resting in Peace"?

2005-09-13T15:07:00.000-05:00

The men who viciously murdered Gwen Araujo,
and buried her in a shallow grave in the Sierra Nevada
after discovering she was biologically male

The men who beat, strangled, and killed Gwen in October of 2002, did NOT do it out of self-defense, they could have just told her to leave their home. The sexual conduct in which the two men engaged with Gwen was completely consensual. If these young men had sex with Gwen, they did so because they found her attractive, NOT because she forced herself upon them.

From the article written by Jordan Balagot:

"Gwen went to a house party introduced as "Lida," and passed as a beautiful girl. That is until Paul Merel's girlfriend discovered in the bathroom that she was transsexual, and announced it at the party. Authorities say that Michael William Magidson, 22, Jose Antonio Merel, 22, and Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, punched Gwen in the face, beat her, gashing her face, and then dragged her to a garage while she was semi-conscious and strangled her with rope until she was killed. The men then allegedly tied her wrists and ankles, wrapped her in a bedsheet, and drove her body to Silver Fork Campground, about 100 miles away in El Dorado County."

I ask, was perhaps the jealousy of Paul Merel's girlfriend and her big mouth in announcing to the party that Gwen was a transexual not ALSO responsible in ending this life?

On Monday, September 12, 2005 the jury found Michael Magidson and Jose Merel guilty of second degree murder, however deadlocked 9-3 in favor of a second degree murder conviction for Jason Cazares.

2005-09-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

The Dalai Lama speaks at the Wood River High School stadium in Hailey, Id., to a crowd of about 10,000. The Dalai Lama focused his message on the theme of compassion.
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren September 11, 2005)

Lauren Bush a "Breath of Fresh Air” or just another pretty face?

2005-09-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

Lauren Bush

Neil Bush

Neil Bush, brother of the current President and third child of former President George Bush, has a daughter described in the men’s portal AskMen.com as a “breath of fresh air in the current Bush generation”. In 1993, the BBC reported that during Neil Bush’s divorce from ex-wife Sharon it “outlined business deals and also admitted to sexual liaisons with strangers. During the divorce proceedings it was said that he had sex with women in Asia who had come to his hotel room. He said they h ad not asked to be paid”. It would probably be safe to say that Lauren Bush did not have a functional male role model if her father was busy satisfying his sexual needs outside the marriage to her mother.

Lauren is a model and according to AskMen.com has graced the cover of Town and Country (September 2001 issue), the London fashion magazine Tatler, Vogue, W, Talk, and Vanity Fair. She has also worked for Italian designer Gai Mattiolo, Abercrombie & Fitch and is the face of Tommy Hilfiger. Pirelli chose her as the cover model for their limited edition 2002 calendar.

TWO LAURENS

Lauren Bush with David Lauren, son of Ralph Lauren
(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (September 10, 2005)

This is a test Post

2005-02-12T16:05:00.000-06:00

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A rabbit watches with interest as other bunnies are lured into nets and cages at Rocky Reach Dam near Wenatchee. The Wenatchee Valley Humane Society was hoping to capture 80 bunnies, a start to moving the whole population to Rabbit Meadows Sanctuary in Redmond because of health concerns for visitors to the dam. (AP Photo/The Wenatchee World, Don Seabrook)
(February 11, 2005)

I wonder what they used to “lure the bunnies into the cages and nets”? I know what I would use to lure MY bunnys: “Happy O’s” (the cheap imitation of Cherrios). They get a bowl of Happy O’s every morning when I wake up. If I over-sleep the time they think I should wake up to get them their Happy O’s, they hop on my bed and start literally hopping on me. Are my bunnys spoiled or what!

Snuggles and Ghangis Khan

Newsletter from Lincoln | My personal website has FIRST search engine hit!

2005-02-11T16:21:00.000-06:00

Newsletter from Lincoln

I thought I would die laughing when I saw that the first hit from Google's search engine was for my brother's toe that he mowed off ... NOT that it was funny he lost his toe, but rather because of the post I had that made reference to his missing toe.

Trying to make a 3-column blogspot blog

2005-02-01T13:50:00.000-06:00

At least I'm not screwing up my usual blog (too much) ... have already done some damage. I need to see the width of this section to help with my column problems. If anyone passes by this blog ... don't be scared. This is my TEST SITE... linda :)

2005-01-30T22:15:00.000-06:00