TECHNOLOGY: The Case for Precaution in the Use of Cell Phones

By Giselle Figueras
Miami- Is there room to pause and think whether or not use of cell-phones may cause cancer? While the date is still recent and too scant to conclusive answer that question in the affirmative, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Center for Environmental Oncology think there is.

Not to frighten anyone-- and not that it will stop anyone from using their cell-phones-- but the Center's findings is a good source of information for anyone interested in this topic; a topic that has not received the attention it deserves in the news media. If anything, being aware of any breakthroughs in this field of research might make some of us moderate, even if slight, our total reliance and dependence on cell-phones.

There is, of course, no room to panic.

But as the Center's own conclusion make clear: "We, the users, must all take precautionary measures in view of recent scientific data on the biological effects of cell phone use, especially those who already have cancer."

TECHNOLOGY: On "How Technology Could Be Killing Your Work Productivity (And What to Do About It)"

by Giselle Figueras
Miami-- If you're like me who thinks that technology is making us less productive, I found the following article of great interest.

Simply titled, "How Technology Could Be Killing Your Work Productivity (And What to Do About It)" from www.AnandDhillon.com, where you will find the answers to what you've always felt was true but couldn't articulate. In fact, you probably will find yourself agreeing with much of the article.

Personally, I always felt that technology, specifically the computer and the internet, is genetically changing or hard-wiring our brain molecular system in ways we haven't even begun to understand.

Let me give you an example. There used to be a time, years ago it seems, when I buried myself in books, reading dense, thick books for hours on end non-stop. These days, I'm lucky if I read any book without feeling exhausted quickly, desperate to do something else, such as simply logging online. Feeling like I was being at most productive when I was reading, I now feel I'm wasting my time.

Has that happened or something similar happened to you, too? For the next few weeks I will do some more research on this topic and get back to you with my findings.


http://www.ananddhillon.com/blog/2008/07/how-technology-could-be-killing-your-work-productivity/

OBITUARY: Estelle Getty of "Golden Girls", dies at age 84

by Keith Singleton
Los Angeles-- Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84.

Getty, who suffered from advanced dementia, died at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday at her Hollywood Boulevard home, said her son, Carl Gettleman of Santa Monica.

"She was loved throughout the world in six continents, and if they loved sitcoms in Antarctica she would have been loved on seven continents," her son said. "She was one of the most talented comedic actresses who ever lived."

"The Golden Girls," featuring four female retirees sharing a house in Miami, grew out of NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff's belief that television was ignoring its older viewers.


Three of its stars had already appeared in previous series: Bea Arthur in "Maude," Betty White in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and Rue McClanahan in "Mama's Family." The last character to be cast was Sophia Petrillo, the feisty 80-something mother of Arthur's character.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
1) Sophia Checks Out.
2) CNN Today.

MONEY: 10 Quirky Things to Insure

Alien Abduction Policies
The UFO Abduction Insurance Co. offers $10 million worth of coverage to anyone who can prove that they were kidnapped by extraterrestrials.

'John Wayne Bobbitt' Policies
London-based insurance broker Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson, which quit selling alien abduction policies after the Heaven's Gate mass suicide, offers coverage to men worried that they will get mutilated in the same way that gained John Wayne Bobbitt notoriety, according to Investment News. No word on whether the policy includes psychological counseling.

O.J. Insurance
What happens to a company whose celebrity endorser is charged with murder or even dog fighting? It turns out there is insurance for just these circumstances, called moral turpitude. The policies wouldn't come into effect for just any offense.

Wedding Insurance
What if a groom got chest pains or a flood prevented members of the wedding party from attending the reception?

Big Event Cancellation Insurance
When Pope Benedict XVI recently visited the U.S., organizers had to take out insurance in case his itinerary was canceled for security reasons.

Executive Kidnappings
For years, large corporations have taken out insurance on executives doing business in politically unstable countries. According to eGlobal Health Insurers Agency LLC, ransoms are paid most of the time and rescues are rare.

Coupon Whoops!
Companies hope that consumers take advantage of offers such as coupons for merchandise or services, at least to a point. What's a company to do when a promotion goes too well? The discounts redeemed could add up to more than their budget.

Immaculate Conception
A British insurance company sold a policy to three women offering a payout of one million pounds if they could prove that they were impregnated by means not covered in high school biology classes.

Traumatized Sports Fans
BritishInsurance.com offered a policy that would pay fans of Scotland's soccer team who would be left traumatized if the U.K. team won the World Cup, the Record reported. A company official said the policy is no longer available which is a pity because fans of the New York Yankees might have been interested.

'Britney' Coverage
We all get a laugh when we see celebrities attacks cars with umbrellas or shave their heads on a whim. Well, insurance companies do not find any of this bad behavior funny. They insure celebrities who are participating in films and television shows, and bad behavior makes some of them too hot to touch.

Read the entire article at Walletpop.com.

INTERNET: The Internet Archive

by JR
Los Angeles-- Ever heard of the Internet Archive?

The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format.

Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections.

Now the Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in its collections. Its most interesting offer as of the writing of this is the 1963 movie Dementia 13, directed by none other than Francis Ford Coppola.

TECHNOLOGY: "U-Verse" expanding

by Giselle Figueras
Miami-Dade-- For all you TV junkies, brace yourselves. Ever heard of U-Verse? Well, if you haven't just think how wonderful it would be if you could record up to four shows at the same time, do other stuff with your TV, get online from it, or play games at the same time! And that's not all, of course.

After a rocky start in other markets (read below), U-Verse, the new frontier in technology as AT&T calls it, continues to expand its U-Verse television services and high-speed Internet nonetheless to more geographical areas. This time around to a place close to home, the South Florida community, which includes Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

Read up on this technology from www.uverse.att.com, where you can even check out the availability in your area by either entering your zip code or telephone number.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
1) AT&T U-verse Voice Launches in Oklahoma City.
2) Franchise Information.
3) AT&T Introduces U-verse in Houston.
4) For AT&T, U-Verse Is Picking Up Steam.
5) AT&T U-Verse Arrives in South Florida.
6) AT&T U-Verse Doomed?
7) AT&T U-Verse Discussion Forum.

CELEBRITIES: Janet Jackson's $550,000 breast flash fine overturned

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday overturned a decision to fine CBS Corp television stations $550,000 for airing a brief breast flash by pop singer Janet Jackson during the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said the U.S. Federal Communications Commission "arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its prior policy" that exempted fleeting broadcast material from actionable indecency violations.

Click here for the full story from Reuters.

CELEBRITIES: Oprah, Stedman... and who else?

by Keith Singleton

Los Angeles--Inquiring minds want to know!

According to the National Enquirer, Stedman is not a happy man these days. The reason? As reported by the most respected pop-culture yellow rag in the business, Oprah took another guy on a romantic vacation.

The headline: "Oprah Betrays Stedman. You Cheated!"

Is this true? A picture may speak a thousand words, but is it true? We shall wait and see.

Similar allegations against the couple is not new. There's a long history in the Blogsphere about similar allegations, usually reporting how Stedman cheats on Oprah, and not how Oprah cheats on Stedman.

In the end, we shall never know. After all, these have been and will continue to be allegations of a very famous and influential woman, and her man (men).

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
1) From theage.com.au "Stedman Betrays Oprah"
2) From Mark Pasetsky's Cover Awards. Your Daily Dose of Celebrity, Politics and Media. "National Enquirer says "Oprah Betrays Stedman."
3) From Opennntp.com. "Stedman selling Oprah's secrets?"
4) From PopBytes. "Did Oprah Betray Stedman?"

ENTERTAINMENT: Highest-grossing films

by JR
LOS ANGELES-- While The Dark Knight (2008) opened over the weekend (see below) with spectacular top-grossing revenues, I got curious to know which are the highest-grossing films, ever.

Below are some of these films and, yes, I even included links to their particular sites for most of them.

1 Titanic 20th Century Fox $1,842,913,795 (1997)
2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line Cinema $1,119,263,306 2003)
3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $1,066,179,725 (2006)
4 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Warner Bros. $976,475,550 (2001)
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $960,996,492 (2007)
6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros. $938,468,864 (2007)
7 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line Cinema $926,287,400 (2002)
8 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 20th Century Fox $924,317,558 (1999)
9 Shrek 2 DreamWorks SKG $919,838,758 (2004)
10 Jurassic Park Universal $914,691,118 (1993)
11 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Warner Bros. $896,016,159 (2005)
12 Spider-Man 3 Sony/Columbia $890,871,626 (2007)
13 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Warner Bros. $878,988,482 (2002)
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line Cinema $871,368,364 (2001)
15 Finding Nemo Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $864,625,978 (2003)
16 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 20th Century Fox $849,997,605 (2005)
17 Spider-Man Sony/Columbia $821,708,551 (2002)
18 Independence Day 20th Century Fox $816,969,268 (1996)
19 Shrek the Third Paramount/DreamWorks SKG $798,957,081 (2007)
20 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Warner Bros. $795,541,069 (2004)
21 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal $794,900,000 (1982)
22 The Lion King Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $783,841,776 (1994)
23 Spider-Man 2 Sony/Columbia $783,766,341 (2004)
24 Star Wars (Later titled Episode IV: A New Hope) 20th Century Fox $782,400,000 (1977)
25 The Da Vinci Code Sony/Columbia $758,239,851 (2006)
26 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount $754,502,154 (2008)
27 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $744,783,957 (2005)
28 The Matrix Reloaded Warner Bros. $738,599,701 (2003)
29 Transformers Paramount/DreamWorks SKG $707,675,744 (2007)
30 Forrest Gump Paramount $677,387,716 (1994)
31 The Sixth Sense Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures $672,806,292 (1999)
32 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Walt Disney Company/Buena Vista $654,264,015 (2003)
33 Ice Age: The Meltdown 20th Century Fox $651,564,743 (2006)
34 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 20th Century Fox $649,398,328 (2002)
35 The Incredibles Walt Disney Company/Pixar $631,442,092 (2004)
36 Ratatouille Walt Disney Company/Pixar $621,283,913 (2007)
37 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal $618,638,999 (1997)
38 The Passion of the Christ Icon Entertainment $611,899,420 (2004)
39 Casino Royale Sony/MGM/Columbia $594,239,066 (2006)
40 War of the Worlds Paramount/DreamWorks SKG $591,745,528 (2005)
41 Men in Black Sony/Columbia $589,390,539 (1997)
42 I Am Legend Warner Bros. $583,886,216 (2007)
43 Night at the Museum 20th Century Fox $573,931,127 (2006)
44 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 20th Century Fox $572,900,000 (1983)
45 Iron Man Paramount $563,488,682 (2008)
46 Armageddon Buena Vista $553,709,788 (1998)
47 King Kong Universal $550,316,795 (2005)
48 Mission Impossible II Paramount $546,388,105 (2000)
49 The Day After Tomorrow 20th Century Fox $542,771,772 (2004)
50 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 20th Century Fox $538,375,067 (1980)

MOVIES: 'Dark Knight' turns into box office gold over the weekend

by JR
LOS ANGELES- Forget that spider dude called Spider Man. There's another dude that calls himself Batman who over the weekend seems to have become King of Hollywood's box office super heroes, or anti-heroes.

"The Dark Knight" took in a record $155.34 million this weekend

That topped Hollywood's previous best of $151.1 million, set by "Spider-Man 3", in May 2007.

The movie's release was preceded by months of buzz and speculation over the performance of the late Heath A. Ledger (April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008) as the Joker, Batman's nemesis. Ledger died last January from an accidental prescription-drug overdose. The anticipation to the movie may have been the fact that he played the Joker, a demonic creature.

Some are speculating that Ledger's performance may earn him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.

LINKS OF FURTHER INTEREST
1) The Dark Knight film (2008) from Wikipedia
2) Batman: The Dark Knight
3) Youtube Batman- The Dark Knight Trailer HD

http://www.omglists.com/article/97673/8-great-villains-we-want-in-the-next-batman-movie/

ENVIRONMENT: The Pickens Energy Plan

by Giselle Figueras
Miami-- This morning on Meet the Press, former vice president and environment guru, Al Gore, was delineating some of his plans for energy conservation. I think that it would be safe to say that our country has been less than honest and proactive about designing and implementing an energy conservation and renewable energy source which would reduce our reliance on oil.

Something's got to give.

Al Gore mentioned the Pickens Energy Plan, a new energy plan from T. Boone Pickens, a billionaire. I've been seen more and more political ads from Boone Pickens about his plan, so I decided to read a little about it.

In a recent Wall Street Journal piece, this is what Mr. Pickens writes:

"I want to reduce America's foreign oil imports by more than one-third in the next five to 10 years.

How will we do it? We'll start with wind power. Wind is 100% domestic, it is 100% renewable and it is 100% clean. ... In 2008, the Department of Energy issued a study that stated that the U.S. has the capacity to generate 20% of its electricity supply from wind by 2030. ...

My plan calls for taking the energy generated by wind and using it to replace a significant percentage of the natural gas that is now being used to fuel our power plants. ... We can use new wind capacity to free up the natural gas for use as a transportation fuel. That would displace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports."
And what is the Pickens Plan? Click here and find out.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
1) The Next Right. Politics. Strategy. Action.

POLITICS: The New Yorker July 21st cover

by Lorraine Kelly
UK--Let's talk about The New Yorker magazine's July 21st cover. We've all seen it. Heard about it. Maybe even read it.

But what do you think of this? And, what is satire anyway?

When I first saw the cover, I thought The New Yorker had taken the word satire a bit too far. But after I read it, I thought that as offensive as it may be that's exactly what the cover is about-- satire. And then I thought about this again, for someone who is a firm believer in freedom of speech and robust discussions of all topics under the sun, why was I bothered by the cover?

I don't know. Probably I have bought too much into the political correctness I fight so much against.

But how about you. What do you think?

Follow the link to The New Yorker and read the article in its entirety. After you read it, let us know how you feel.

Is it offensive?

TELEVISION: CNN's "Black in America" series

Lately I've been more interested in CNN documentaries than other documentaries on TV. With some exceptions, like the Bill Moyers PBS Show, I find these CNN stories insightful, thorough and fair. (Some of these documentaries have even been somewhat critical of CNN's founder Ted Turner).

One of the documentaries I watched today was about the price of gas, something which is affecting all of us. Another one of these wonderful documentaries that I can't wait to watch is one about race in America called, Reclaiming the Dream. Race may be an old topic but it is one that can't go away until we come face-to-face with the ugly legacy of racism in the United States, in all its dimensions.

What's interesting about Reclaiming the Dream, is that it does not focus merely on race, but it pits race in a wider context of other issues affecting all of us-- from HIV to economic disenfranchisement of African-Americans. The roster of participants in this discussion is, also, impressive.

CNN describes this new documentary as follow:

"CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien moderates an all-star panel to discuss the most pressing concerns and success stories in Black America today.

Filmed at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans over the 2008 July Fourth Weekend, Reclaiming the Dream brought together Harvard University professor Roland Fryer, Black Enterprise's Ed Gordon, actor/author Hill Harper, Bishop T.D. Jakes, economist and Bennett College President Julianne Malveaux, Princeton University professor Cornell West, actress/activist Sheryl Lee Ralph, Chicago Urban League President Cheryle Jackson, Excellence Charter School Principal Jabali Sawicki for a lively, solutions-oriented forum to discuss the state of black families, broken educational infrastructure, the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on black families, and a look at the next generation of leadership in Black America.

Premieres Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20, at 8 p.m. ET"