Google Redesigned Facelifts Gmail and GCal

All platforms with Firefox: Globex Designs, makers of the popular Gmail Redesigned skin, have released a standalone Firefox extension which applies the style without Stylish (or Better Gmail and/or Better GCal). Download the extension to completely redesign your Gmail and Google Calendar with the latest and greatest style from Globex.

FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://lifehacker.com/400156/google-redesigned-facelifts-gmail-and-gcal

1936 Nazi Color Film-Berlin in the Year of the Olympic Games

Charles Darwin investigated whether blondes have more fun

"He was the father of one of the most important scientific theories of all time, but Charles Darwin also turned his formidable intellect to a less weighty question – do blondes have more fun?

Letters uncovered as part of a major project to compile Darwin's correspondence have revealed that the great Victorian naturalist devoted part of his time to examining whether hair colour affects a woman's ability to find a mate.

He set out to investigate a theory that the prevalence of dark hair in the general population was increasing because brunettes were more likely to get married and have dark-haired offspring, while blondes tended to stay single and childless.

To further his research, he asked a doctor at Bristol Royal Infirmary to compile and send him data on the hair colour of married and single female patients at the hospital.

The investigation took place a decade after the publication of The Origin of Species, Darwin's tome of 1859 which led to the theory of evolution."

FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2530034/Charles-Darwin-investigated-whether-blondes-have-more-fun.html

Radical Right Warns McCain: No Moderates For VP... Or Else

"This week there have been a flurry of rumors about McCain picking a moderate as his running mate. Florida's closeted gay governor, Charlie Crist (recently engaged to his beard) is so interested in being VP that he abandoned his "live-and-let-live" approach that has endeared him to moderate Floridians and come out in favor of the homophobic Amendment 2. Right-wing poobahs went nuts a few days ago when it was rumored that McCain was considering former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. But both those "trial balloons"-- like Obama's dangling of Tom Kaine and Evan Bayh-- are just to titillate the starving, ravenous media-- and please local voters.
"Still, in the midst of the body slam McCain took today from the Greed and Selfishness portion of the party (see below), the GOP extremists who control much of the party's actual base have quietly told him that if he picks a moderate he can kiss the base bye-bye..."

FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/08/radical-right-warns-mccain-no-moderates.html

NEWS: John Edwards Admits to Cheating on Sick Wife

By PETE YOST
WASHINGTON Aug. 8) -- Former presidential candidate John Edwards, who won nationwide praise and sympathy as he campaigned side-by-side with his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, admitted in shame Friday he had had an extramarital affair with a woman who produced videos for his campaign.

Acknowledging a sex scandal he had dismissed as "tabloid trash" only last month, Edwards said he had told his wife and family long ago but "I had hoped that it would never become public."

He denied fathering a daughter, born to the woman with whom he had the affair, and offered to be tested to prove it. A former Edwards campaign staff member professes to be the father.

FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://news.aol.com/elections/article/john-edwards-admits-affair/125634?icid=200100397x1207357866x1200387048
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5441195
http://news.spreadit.org/john-edwards-sex-scandal/

NEWS: China Celebrates Might as Games Begin

By DAVID CRARY

"BEIJING (Aug. 8) - Once-reclusive China commandeered the world stage Friday, celebrating its first-time role as Olympic host with a stunning display of pageantry and pyrotechnics to open a Summer Games unrivaled for its mix of problems and promise.

"Now ascendant as a global power, China welcomed scores of world leaders to an opening ceremony watched by 91,000 people at the eye-catching National Stadium and a potential audience of 4 billion worldwide. It was depicted as the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks."

FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://sports.aol.com/olympics/story/_a/bbdp/china-celebrates-might-as-games-begin/72270?icid=200100397x1207333841x1200386359
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSSP11093420080808?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080808/sp_nm/olympics_dc_73
http://bonkers-bonkers.blogspot.com/2008/07/sports-meet-your-2008-us-olympic-boxing.html

NEWS: All of US Could Be Overweight by 2048

NEW YORK (Aug. 7) - "If the trends of the past three decades continue, it's possible that every American adult could be overweight 40 years from now, a government-funded study projects.

The figure might sound alarming, or impossible, but researchers say that even if the actual rate never reaches the 100-percent mark, any upward movement is worrying; two-thirds of the population is already overweight."

FOR FULL ARTICLE(S): http://news.aol.com/article/all-us-adults-could-be-overweight-in-40/121577?icid=200100397x1207323079x1200363596
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/17/obesity.states.ap/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-27-obesity-rates_N.htm
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/27/america/NA-GEN-US-Obesity-Rankings.php

POLITICALLY INCORRECT T-SHIRTS

So how about showing your pride in being a politically incorrect Bonker, or just want to show off a nice t-shirt with a message?

Why not? Might as well start the weekend correctly. I mean, if Joel Osteen's wife can be sued for allegedly assaulting a flight attendant or if Oprah Winfrey can go on vacation with another man-- you can also be as bad as you want to be-- at least for a day.

We found the perfect place for you: http://www.tshirthell.com.

Movies opening this weekend

Pineapple Express
A stoner and his dealer are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.


The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Four young women continue the journey toward adulthood. Now three years later, these lifelong friends embark on separate paths for their first year of college and the summer beyond, but remain in touch by sharing their experiences with each other as they always have-with honesty and humor.


Elegy (Limited)
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.


Bottle Shock (Limited)
The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris".


Beer For My Horses (Limited)
"Beer for My Horses" tells the story of two best friends that work together as deputies in a small town. The two defy the Sheriff and head off on an outrageous road trip to save the protagonist's girlfriend from drug lord kidnappers.


Hell Ride (Limited)
The story deals with the characters Pistolero, the Gent and Comanche and the deadly, unfinished business among them.


Henry Poole Is Here
Henry Poole abandons his fiancée and family business to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone. The discovery of a "miracle" by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.


Mirrors
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.

TECHNOLOGY: New enhancements on the Google content network

Today we're announcing some key enhancements on the Google content network (partner sites for which we provide advertising) that will offer a better experience for users and better value for advertisers and publishers. These enhancements are the latest result of our integration with DoubleClick and our commitment to making advertising on the Google content network more efficient and accountable. When we purchased DoubleClick, we talked about how we would empower agencies, advertisers and publishers to collaborate more efficiently and effectively, and provide a better experience for our users. We are happy that we have been able to deliver on this promise already, like

FOR FULL ARTICLE: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-enhancements-on-google-content.html

Two-faced kitten born in Ohio

Joel Osteen's wife taken to court

HOUSTON (Aug. 6) - A jury was seated Wednesday in a lawsuit alleging the wife of nationally known pastor Joel Osteen assaulted a flight attendant.

Opening statements were set for Thursday in a case Victoria Osteen's lawyer called "silly." But Reginald McKamie, attorney for Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown, said he hopes the trial will show "that celebrity status doesn't take precedence."

Brown accuses Victoria Osteen of assaulting her before the start of a 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colo. Brown alleges Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast during an angry outburst over a stain on her first-class seat. The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.

Joel Osteen was at his wife's side Wednesday in court. McKamie said he expected to call the couple as witnesses.

Joel Osteen preaches at Lakewood Church, a Houston megachurch where about 42,000 people flock each week and where Victoria Osteen is co-pastor. His weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally.

Some potential jurors during questioning admitted to being star-struck by the Osteens and that their respect for them might affect their judgment.

"He has gotten me through a lot of tough times. I would believe what he has to say. I have a lot of respect for him," one female in the jury pool said.

FOR FULL ARTICLE:
http://news.aol.com/article/flight-attendant-sues-joel-osteens-wife/121489?icid=200100397x1207312099x1200357912

CELEBRITIES: Paris Hilton strikes back

Remember that attack ad from John McCain's camp comparing Barack Obama's celebrity to that of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears?

The celebutante thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain has issued a tart rebuttal, in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, with the suggestion that Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation.

Now, Hilton has responded with a spoof on the comedy Web site Funny or Die.

Lounging in a pool chair in a bathing suit, Hilton talks about, quote, "that wrinkly, white-haired guy" who used her in his campaign ad. Hilton says she figures that means she's running for president, too.

Hilton then discusses energy policy and suggests a hybrid of McCain's offshore oil drilling plan and Barack Obama's incentives for new energy technology.

The spot ends with a shot of an American flag and name "Paris" superimposed over it.

FOR OTHER ARTICLES: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b22291_paris_thanks_white-haired_guy.html?sid=rss_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

CELEBRITIES: Beyonce's whiter look.

Unless she just got the Michael Jackson White Syndrome -- L' Oreal has some serious 'splaining to do about its bleached out Beyonce ad!

The ad features a severely Photoshopped Beyonce -- almost unrecognizable.

So the question ...

Is she being too white? Does it matter?

Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies at 89

The author of The Gulag Archipelago and One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich, who returned to Russia in 1994, died of either a stroke or heart failure.

The Nobel laureate had suffered from high blood pressure in recent years.

After returning to Russia, Solzhenitsyn wrote several polemics on Russian history and identity.

His son Stepan was quoted by one Russian news agency as saying his father died of heart failure, while another agency quoted literary sources as saying he had suffered a stroke.

He died in his home in the Moscow area, where he had lived with his wife Natalya on Sunday, Stepan told Itar-Tass.

Mrs Solzhenitsyn told Moscow Echo radio her husband lived "a difficult but happy life".

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was the single book which showed me the power of literature to change the world. Philip Larmett, Kiev, Ukraine

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to the writer's family, a Kremlin spokesperson said.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms led to the end of communism in the country, said Solzhenitsyn played a key role in undermining Stalin's totalitarian regime.

His works "changed the consciousness of millions of people", Mr Gorbachev said.

Prisoner, patient, writer

Solzhenitsyn served as a Soviet artillery officer in World War II and was decorated for his courage but in 1945 was denounced for criticising Stalin in a letter.

He spent the next eight years in the Soviet prison system, or Gulag, before being internally exiled to Kazakhstan, where he was successfully treated for stomach cancer.

Publication in 1962 of the novella Denisovich, an account of a day in a Gulag prisoner's life, made him a celebrity during the post-Stalin political thaw.

However, within a decade, the writer awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature was out of favor again for his work, and was being harassed by the KGB secret police.

In 1973, the first of the three volumes of Archipelago, a detailed account of the systematic Soviet abuses from 1918 to 1956 in the vast network of its prison and labour camps, was published in the West.

Its publication sparked a furious backlash in the Soviet press, which denounced him as a traitor.

Early in 1974, the Soviet authorities stripped him of his citizenship and expelled him from the country.

A look at the life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn

He settled in Vermont, in the US, where he completed the other two volumes of Archipelago.

While living there as a recluse, he railed against what he saw as the moral corruption of the West.

Scathing of Boris Yeltsin's brand of democracy, he did not return to Russia immediately upon the collapse of the USSR in 1992, unlike other exiles.

His homecoming in 1994 was a dramatic affair as he travelled in slowly by land from the Russian Far East.

Years later he was embraced by then-Russian President Vladimir Putin, who presented him with Russia's State Prize.

There was significant irony in the fierce critic of Soviet repression being hailed by a former senior officer of the KGB, says the BBC's James Rodgers in Moscow.

Mr Putin described Solzhenitsyn's death as a "heavy loss for Russia".

Solzhenitsyn's latter works, which included essays on Russia's future, stirred controversy.

In 2000, his last major work Two Hundred Years Together examined the position of Jews in Russian society and their role in the Revolution.