Government Necessity: Grow And Acquire Power

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Some Recent News Clips -
In Case You Missed Them

What is a kill switch? A kill switch refers to the government's authority to disconnect commercial and private wireless networks -- affecting both cellphones and the Internet -- in the event of an emergency, such as a viable threat of a terrorist attack.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center reports that the court just granted the government more time to decide whether to release the kill switch plan. It now has until January 13.

This is not Science Fiction, you know. Nor is it a blog writer's crank announcement.

It's real.

Mother Jones explains:
The Government's Secret Plan to Shut Off Cellphones and the Internet, Explained

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According to The Washington Times John R. Bolton, ambassador to the United Nations in President George W. Bush's administration, isn’t pulling punches about the United States’ forged agreement with Iran: It’s a poor deal.

And he said: "But that’s what happens with an administration that would rather have any deal than no deal,"

Bolton is reported as saying: "In truth, an Israeli military strike is the only way to avoid Tehran's otherwise inevitable march to nuclear weapons."

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The divorce of Demi Moore, 51, and Ashton Kutcher, 35, was finalized after they filed in December 2012. At issue since they separated in 2011 was how to split their $300 million fortune. Since the divorce, Kutcher has been dating actress Mila Kunis, his former co-star on That ‘70s Show.

I despise Ashton Kutcher... always did. Didn't like his silly character in That '70s Show, and his movie, Dude Where's My Car sucked the big meatball (as Barry Kripke would say).

Demi Moore?

Wow!

Mila Kunis?

Uh huh.

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Did You Know . . .?

Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1864, peaceful Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were massacred by a band of Colonel John Chivington's Colorado volunteers at Sand Creek, Colorado. They attacked the unsuspecting Native Americans, scattering men, women, and children and hunting them down. The casualties reflect the one-sided nature of the fight. Nine of Chivington's men were killed; 148 of Chief Black Kettle's followers were slaughtered, more than half of them women and children. The Colorado volunteers returned and killed the wounded, mutilated the bodies, and set fire to the village.

The atrocities committed by the soldiers were initially praised, but then condemned as the circumstances of the massacre emerged. Chivington resigned from the military and aborted his budding political career. Black Kettle survived and continued his peace efforts. In 1865, his followers accepted a new reservation in Indian Territory.

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WORD FOR TODAY

massacre  [mass-uh-kuhr]
noun
an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people.
verb
deliberately and violently kill (a large number of people).

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel

(born November 29, 1955)

Howie Mandel is a Canadian comedian, actor, television host, and voice actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role as rowdy ER intern Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere. He is also well known for being the creator and star of the children's cartoon Bobby's World. He became a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent, replacing David Hasselhoff, in the fifth season of the reality talent contest.

Mandel has mysophobia (an irrational fear of germs) to the point that he does not shake hands with anyone, including enthusiastic contestants on Deal or No Deal, unless he is wearing latex gloves.

Kim Delaney

(born November 29, 1961)

Kim Delaney is an American actress best known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series, NYPD Blue, for which she has won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Jenny Gardner in the hugely popular ABC daytime television drama, All My Children. She later had leading roles in the TV dramas Philly, CSI: Miami and on the Lifetime television drama Army Wives.

Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr.

(born November 29, 1964)

Don Cheadle is an American actor and producer. Cheadle had an early role in Picket Fences and followed it with performances in Devil in a Blue Dress, Rosewood and Boogie Nights. He then started a collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh that resulted in the movies Out of Sight, Traffic and Ocean's Eleven. Other Cheadle films include The Rat Pack, Things Behind the Sun, Academy Award for Best Picture winner Crash, Swordfish, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, Reign Over Me, Talk to Me, Traitor, Iron Man 2 & Iron Man 3. In 2004, his lead role as Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the genocide drama film Hotel Rwanda, which was set during the Rwandan Genocide earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Anna Kay Faris

(born November 29, 1976)

Anna Faris is an American actress and singer. She is known for her comedic roles in the Scary Movie film series, Lost in Translation, The House Bunny, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Yogi Bear, What's Your Number?, The Dictator, and I Give It a Year.

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The public weal requires that men should betray, and lie, and massacre.
--Michel de Montaigne
   

The Evil Of Catholicism

 

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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The movie I forced myself to  yesterday was The Exorcism Of Emily Rose. Back in the mid-1970s I had viewed the original movie titled The Exorcist written by William Peter Blatty and it simply scared the Bee-Jesus out of me, I swore to myself that I would never watch such crap designed to stir up primal fears again. But now I've gone ahead and done it anyway.

This latest exorcist story was more of a  courtroom drama and, as such, wasn't as viscerally terrifying as the first but I still wish I hadn't watch it. Movies such as these, blindly accepting faith in nonsensical religious quackery, only strengthen my aversion (my abhorrence) to The Catholic Church. After witnessing such downright charlatanism, such blatant perversion of logic and reason, I knew that I needed something beautiful and good to wipe away the stains of superstitious claptrap, to help cleanse my inner self... so I searched the Internet and found just what did the trick.

A picture of Mila Kunis

 

Such a lovely young woman

 

Here is another

 

 

I think it would be a good idea for me to search out a large picture of Mila to use as wallpaper for my computer monitor.

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TRIVIA

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

 

On this day in 1973, future President Jimmy Carter filed a report with the National Investigations Committee on Aerial  Phenomena (NICAP), claiming he had seen an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) in October 1969.

During the presidential campaign of 1976, Democratic challenger Carter was forthcoming about his belief that he had seen a UFO. He described waiting outside for a Lion's Club Meeting in Leary, Georgia, to begin, at about 7:30 p.m., when he spotted what he called "the darndest thing I've ever seen" in the sky. Carter, as well as 10 to 12 other people who witnessed the same event, described the object as "very bright with changing colors and about the size of the moon." Carter reported that "the object hovered about 30 degrees above the horizon and moved in toward the earth and away before disappearing into the distance." He later told a reporter that, after the experience, he vowed never again to ridicule anyone who claimed to have seen a UFO.

During the presidential campaign of 1976, Carter promised that, if elected president, he would encourage the government release "every piece of information" about UFOs available to the public and to scientists. After winning the presidency, though, Carter backed away from this pledge, saying that the release of some information might have "defense implications" and pose a threat to national security.

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WORD FOR TODAY

Catholicism
noun
The faith, practice, and church order of the Roman Catholic Church.

Catholicism is a broad term for describing specific traditions in the Christian churches in theology and doctrine, liturgy, ethics and spirituality. For many the term usually refers to Christians and churches, western and eastern, in full communion with the Holy See, usually known as the Catholic Church or the Roman Catholic Church.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

James Joseph Gandolfini, Jr
(Sept 18, 1961 - June 19, 2013)

James Gandolfini was an American actor best known for his role in The Sopranos as Tony Soprano, a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia. Gandolfini garnered enormous praise for this portrayal, winning three Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Golden Globes for Best Actor – Drama Series as well as two further SAG Awards as a member of the series' ensemble. Gandolfini's other roles include the woman-beating Mob henchman Virgil in True Romance, enforcer/stuntman Bear in Get Shorty, and the impulsive Wild Thing Carol in Where the Wild Things Are.

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith
(born September 18, 1971)

Jada Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in dramatic films such as Menace II Society (1993) and Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including Scream 2, Ali, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

Frankie Avalon
(born September 18, 1940)

Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol. Teamed frequently with Annette Funicello, Avalon starred in a number of popular "beach party" comedy films during the mid-1960s. The wholesome and romantic coupling of "Frankie and Annette" in summer movies such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo became iconic figures in American films during that era.

Avalon also had straight dramatic parts in the John Wayne historical western film The Alamo, as well as the science-fiction story Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) with Barbara Eden.

Aisha Tyler
(born September 18, 1970)

Aisha Tyler is an American actress, comedian, and author, known for her regular role as Andrea Marino in the first season of Ghost Whisperer and voicing Lana Kane in Archer, as well as her recurring roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Talk Soup, and on Friends as Charlie Wheeler. She is currently a co-host of The Talk and the new host of Whose Line is it Anyway?.

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"I can't bear Catholicism."
--George Michael

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

    

More TV Viewing

    

Tucson Weather Today

 

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While watching an episode of the 'Through The Wormhole,' series, I was surprised when Morgan Freeman asked, "If, according to String Theory there are nine other dimensions, why can't we see them?"

The best answer I can come up with is:

The nine dimensions of string theory cannot be detected by humans because they lack a sensory organ that can detect these dimensions.

The process of seeing objects requires eyes connected to a brain. The process of hearing sounds requires ears connected to a brain. The process of smelling a scent requires a nose connected to a brain. The process of tasting a flavor requires an array of taste buds connected to a brain. The process of feeling objects requires touch pads attached to nerves connected to a brain.

Therefore:

The nine dimensions of string theory cannot be detected by humans because they lack a sensory organ that detects these dimensions.

Or it might be that String Theory is a false theory. And there are no extra dimensions.

I watched another movie; it's title is The Book Of Eli. I must admit that I found the story to be utterly ridiculous. I continued watching it to the end for one reason, and that is not because Denzel Washington did his usual magnificent job of acting. He did.

No; the reason I watched the entire movie instead of turning it off halfway through was because of the compelling presence on screen of Mila Kunis.

God, she's a beautiful young woman

 

Here is another picture of Mila

 

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TRIVIA

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1983, 20-year-old Vanessa Williams becomes the first African American to win the Miss America crown. Less than a year later, on July 23, 1984, Williams gave up her crown after nude photos of her surfaced. Despite the scandal, Williams later launched a successful singing and acting career, including a featured role on the hit television sitcom Ugly Betty.

After winning the Miss New York title, Williams went to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to participate in the Miss America pageant. On September 17, 1983, Williams made history by becoming the first African-American woman in the pageant’s 63-year history to capture the Miss America title. (For the competition’s first 30 years, blacks weren’t even allowed to become contestants.)

In 1996 Williams appeared in Eraser, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Soul Food in 1997 and in the 2000 remake of Shaft, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and 2004’s Johnson Family Vacation. Williams also racked up credits on the small-screen, including roles on the short-lived series Boomtown and South Beach. Since 2006, she has co-starred on the hit ABC sitcom Ugly Betty.

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WORD FOR TODAY

noetic
adjective
of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind; "intellectual problems"; "the triumph of the rational over the animal side of man"

In philosophy, noetics is a branch of metaphysical philosophy concerned with the study of mind and intellect. The term "noetics" has been employed by several authors who write about consciousness, spirituality and cosmology.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

John Ritter
(Sept 17, 1948 - Sept 11, 2003)

John Ritter was an American actor, comedian, and voice-over artist. Ritter was best known for playing Jack Tripper on the hit ABC sitcom Three's Company.

Ritter appeared in hundreds of films and television shows/episodes combined, including It (1990), Problem Child (1990), Problem Child 2 (1991) and Bad Santa in 2003. Prior to Clifford's Really Big Movie (posthumously released), Ritter received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations for his voice work on the children's television series, Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Ritter's untimely death occurred shortly after the production of an episode for the second season of 8 Simple Rules. He died of an aortic dissection on September 11, 2003. He is the son of famous country/western star Tex Ritter, and the father of actor Jason Ritter

Anne Bancroft
(Sept 17, 1931 - June 6, 2005)

 Anne Bancroft was an American actress. She made her film debut in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Miracle Worker (1962), receiving nominations for her roles in The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Graduate (1967), The Turning Point (1977), and Agnes of God (1985). Bancroft's other acclaimed movies as a lead actress include Young Winston (1972), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), To Be or Not to Be (1983), and 84 Charing Cross Road (1987).

Later in her career, she made the transition back to supporting roles in films such as Point of No Return (1993), Home for the Holidays (1995), Great Expectations (1998), Antz (1998), Keeping the Faith (2000), and Heartbreakers (2001). She also starred in seven television films, the last of which was The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (2003).

 

Edgar Dean Mitchell
(born September 17, 1930)

Ed Mitchell is an American pilot, retired Captain in the United States Navy and NASA astronaut. As the lunar module pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

Nona Marvisa Gaye
(born September 4, 1974)

Nona Gaye is an American singer, former fashion model, and screen actress. The daughter of soul music legend Marvin Gaye and granddaughter of jazz great Slim Gaillard, she began her career as a vocalist in the early 1990s. As an actress, she is best known for her portrayal of Zee in the science fiction films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

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“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
--Groucho Marx

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

    

In The Desert

Tucson Weather Today

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I encountered an online magazine titled Motherboard and was captivated by it.

This is what Motherboard says about Motherboard:

"Motherboard is your friendly travel guide to future culture, made up of news, finds, and conversations about the edgier side of human progress, with an emphasis on the human. (But we'd like to make it clear that we have nothing against the robots.) Launched as an Internet video channel on VICE's VBS.tv in 2009, Motherboard has evolved into an online magazine made up of text and video, exploring our uncanny futures and surprising histories to get a better sense of our bizarre present."



Deepwater Horizon

Read Story at Motherboard and --

view some astounding photographs.

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WORD FOR TODAY

Feminazi [fem-uh-naht-zee]

Feminazi is a term popularized by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. In 2004, Limbaugh named feminist activists Gloria Steinem, Susan Sarandon, Christine Lahti, and Camryn Manheim as "famous feminazis." Feminazi is a portmanteau of the nouns feminist and Nazi. The term is used pejoratively by some U.S. conservatives to criticize feminists that they perceive as extreme. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term describes "an extreme or militant feminist"

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Mila Kunis

Born Aug 14, 1983
Age: 28 years old.

Milena "Mila" Markovna Kunis is an American actress. At the age of seven, she moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles, California, with her family. After being enrolled in acting classes as an after-school activity, she was soon discovered by an agent. She appeared in several television series and commercials before her first significant role, playing Jackie Burkhart on the television series That '70s Show. A year later, she was cast as the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy.

Halle Berry

Born Aug 14, 1966
Age: 45 years old.

Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2012, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood and has been involved in the production side of several of the films in which she performed.

Steve Martin

Born Aug 14, 1945
Age: 66 years old.

Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, author, playwright, producer, musician and composer. Martin came to public notice as a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at sixth place in a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics.

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A feminazi is a sexist. A feminist is a supporter of womens' rights.
--Urban Dictionary