Welcome to the MarlinBlog - unvarnished, unedited and uncensored comments from your host on just about any topic you can imagine. Fishing, sports, celebrity, politics, religion - all those topics they tell you to stay away from in polite conversation. Not here, baby! I make you no promise but this - we may agree, we may disagree, but you'll always get the truth - as I see it ...
Thursday, January 31st
You Knew This Was Coming ...
For the second time in less than a month, singer Britney Spears was taken by ambulance from her Hollywood Hills home to a local hospital for "psychological evaluation." Unlike the last event, which resulted from Spears' refusal to give back her kids after a visitation session, this appears to have been a long-planned intervention, one driven by her psychiatrist's fears for Spears' safety.
The police had to shoo 20 to 25 people (presumably paparazzi and future boyfriends) away from the front of her residence earlier in the evening, and the convoy taking her to the hospital was nearly 100 yards long - primarily to provide a buffer between the pop star and the photogs.
According to her mother, Spears is currently at UCLA Medical Center under a "mental evaluation hold", which allows her to be held for 72 hours, even against her will. TMZ.com is reporting that the process was initiated by her psychiatrist after a visit with her yesterday afternoon, and that the hold could be extended as long as 14 days if necessary. It also appears that the family is rallying around Spears, and trying to separate her from some of the vile influences that have helped drag her down in recent months. It remains to be seen what will happen next, or if this truly represents the first step in a real recovery.
I hate to sound like that viral video, but it's time to "leave Britney Spears alone." A big part of her problem is that her biggest addition is to the adoration of others, even if the only ones providing it to her are the same paparazzi that are sucking the life out of her. For her own sake, and to preserve any possibility of regaining some kind of relationship with her children, she needs to be separated from the public - forcibly, if necessary. We know that standard rehab won't work, as she spent a month trying it last year. This time, serious mental health professionals need to take the lead and do what it takes to straighten her out.
UPDATE: Several sources are saying that part of the concern the shrink had was that Spears was using Adderall, a stimulant used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, to keep herself awake - she hadn't slept since Sunday. In addition, she admitted to taking up to 10 laxatives a day (that explains all the late night drug store runs).
The problem could be worse, if you believe the National Enquirer:
Britney Spears had been on a 24-hour meth binge before she was rushed to the hospital, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has learned exclusively. Ironically, she was desperately trying to stay awake - because she was terrified that if she fell asleep, her family would "drag her off to a mental institution," according to a close source. The drama began at 2 a.m. Wednesday when Britney and Sam Lutfi checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel and she began doing meth. In addition to her mental problems the ENQUIRER has learned that Britney is addicted to crystal meth, and details her addiction in a front page story this week. Meanwhile, her meth habit played a key role in her recent hospitalization and friends told her mother, Lynne, that she hadn't slept since last Saturday. Her drug-taking went on all day, interrupted only by brief dashes to her home. Secret arrangements for her hospitalization had been made - but no-one wanted it to happen at the hotel."
Remember - it's the Enquirer. They take smoke and turn it into a raging fire. But the fact is that there is smoke, so who knows how much of this just might be true ...
We talked yesterday about the President's visit to Torrance today, and surmised on the impact it might have on traffic. Leave it to GWB to find a better way ...
Just after 11 this morning, I was pulling into the driveway here at the Home Office. As I parked the car, I heard what initially sounded like a lawnmower but quickly rose in intensity - to the point I could feel it rattling my ribs! I suspected what it was, and a look to the northeast confirmed my hunch. Coming fast low on the horizon were a pair of big-ass olive drab Marine helicopters, headed southwest at around 300 feet. Thirty seconds later, another pair followed - these two emblazoned with a green and white paint scheme familiar to anyone who watches the evening news. I don't know which one (and that's the whole point), but one of them was Marine One, carrying the President, Governor Schwarzenegger and the rest of their entourage from LAX to Torrance. Being a loyal American, I saluted (all 5 fingers, wiseass ...) and had lunch.
The State of Florida paid a high price to move their presidential primary election ahead of Super Tuesday, being stripped of half their Republican and all their Democratic convention delegates by the national party committees. But if their goal in making the move was to have an inpact on the national polical scene, then their plan worked as a major player from each party is calling it quits today after a poor showing in Florida.
John Edwards, who has consistently run third in the Democratic primaries without a win or much traction, is headed to New Orleans today to announce the end of his run for the presidency. The Big Easy was the site of his campaign kickoff, and Edwards is hoping to cajole the remaining candidates to focus on the poverty so glaringly apparent in New Orleans. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani's campaign tactic of going "all in" to win Florida and resuscitate his run for the White House failed magnificently, as he was only able to place a distant third to John McCain and Mitt Romney. Guiliani will travel to California with the other GOP candidates, but will announce the end of his campaign and his support for McCain before tonight's Republican debate at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
Without trying to insult Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, or anyone else still contending, today's announcement brings the primary choices into clear focus before Mega Tuesday (or whatever they're calling it these days). For the Democrats you have Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and on the Republican side you get McCain or Romney. If you don't know every possible fact about any of the candidates, fear not - if you live one of the states voting next Tuesday, you can bet you'll have hundreds of commercial opportunities to hear from the candidates before then!
It should be interesting to see how the pullouts will impact the remaining candidates. Rudy is going to pledge his support for McCain, which should help him with the more conservative wing of the party - particularly if Giuliani is willing to go on the road to stump for McCain. Those voters who had been torn between Rudy and Romney, however, will likely now go for Mitt.
The Edwards abandonment will be more interesting. Clearly, many of the supporters of Edwards were not pro-Edwards as much as anti-Hillary, and I would expect those ones to stream towards Obama. But there were also a lot who saw Edwards as the "safe choice" (read: white, male), and now they'll have to decide which bothers them less - an ethnic president or a female president. That might be the most interesting element going forward, as the whole race/gender issue has managed to take a back seat to more traditional campaign issues so far. Expect that to change now.
As an aside, CNN's Anderson Cooper was broadcasting live from the Reagan Library last night when he got the word of Giuliani's decision to pull out. He commented at the time that they had a custom set constructed for the event, with 5 seats for the candidates - McCain, Romney, Guiliani, Huckabee and Paul - and wondered aloud if they'd have to saw off one of the seats.
Here's my solution: President Bush is in SoCal today to tour the Robinson Helicopter factory (and raise a little cash for the party). Let him have the last seat. GWB has never been afraid to speak his mind, particularly when out of reach of his handlers. He's a lame duck, a man with nothing to lose. Just imagine the fireworks that could be brought to the event. Now, that's entertainment!!
Things should get interesting tomorrow here in the South Bay as President Bush makes his first (and presumably only) visit to the area. His destination is the Robinson Helicopter factory, located on the south side of Torrance Airport. Makers of the fragile-looking R22 and R44 helicopters, they're the largest civilian builder of rotorcraft in the world. Presumably this will be another "Buy American" speech, along with glad-handing with Governor Schwarzenegger and Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto.
No matter your politics, it's always a special day when the President visits. This is only the fourth time in the last half-century that a president has visited the South Bay, and the first since President Clinton visited Harbor General Hospital ... er, Harbor - UCLA Medical Center ... in Carson back in 1999. Of course, there'll be the disruption to air traffic coming into LAX, the security cordon at the west end of the field as Air Force One awaits the president's return, and the traffic impact of the motorcade to and from the airport. But it's probably not nearly as much of a nuisance as the onslaught we'll receive this week from folks looking to take his job ...
It rained like cats and dogs here at the Home Office over the weekend - which made more time for TV sports ...
- Tell me if you've heard this one before: Tiger Woods skips all the offseason golf-for-money events along with the Hawaii tour swing, everyone says he'll be rusty, and he clubs the field over the head in the first event he plays. Happened again this weekend when Woods won the Buick Open at Torrey Pines - for the fourth year in a row!! His final margin of victory was 8 strokes, but only because he got bored down the stretch and made 3 straight bogeys. Everyone always likes to talk about majors when it comes to Tiger, and he looks well positioned to make a legitimate run at the grand slam (the US Open will be at Torrey later this summer). But the victory gave him 62 on the PGA Tour, tying Arnold Palmer for 4th on the list. He's only 20 back of the leader, but is there anyone who doesn't believe he'll hit at least 100 before his 40th birthday ... if not 120? Scary thing? Tiger says he's able to hit shots now that he's never been able to hit before - even during the fabled 2000 season. Sorry boys - you're all playing for second.
- Did you know the NHL All-Star Game was this weekend? Me, neither - and I'm a fan. Further cementing its place as a second-rate sport, the game, held in Atlanta before a respectable crowd, was aired on the Versus Network. I don't know about you, but I don't even get that one. At the rate they're going, pretty soon hockey will be pre-empted for arena football and MMA steel cage matches. It's a shame, since there's no better sport to watch in person.
- With the teams arriving in the Valley of the Sun this weekend, the Super Bowl media frenzy has officially begun. The main topic of discussion remains "Bootgate" - does Tom Brady have a bum ankle or not. The story is that it's a high ankle sprain, but not one that's causing any real trouble. Expect the press to squeeze the life out of the story, and then feign surprise when it never even shows in the game.
I'll bet if you took a quick poll of folks under the age of 45, most of them at one time or another did a stint working fast food. And I'll further wager tha majority of them worked at the Golden Arches. Back in the day, all you got was your $2.30 an hour and all the stale burgers you could eat. Now, though, you can pick up a diploma along the way.
In England, there is a program designed to allow corporations to convert the skills training provided by employers into credit towards earning a high school diploma. McDonalds is one of three corporations to get the nod from the British government.
McDonald's has said it is introducing a "basic shift manager" course, designed to train staff in skills needed to run a McDonald's outlet, from marketing to customer service.
"It is right that we recognize and accredit employers that have shown a commitment to training and developing their staff," said the government's skills minister, John Denham.
"This is an important step towards ending the old divisions between company training schemes and national qualifications, something that will benefit employees, employers and the country as a whole."
Assuming the education has value, this is actually a good idea. The key will be whether the diploma, which will be similar to our GED, will be accepted by universities and colleges. But give credit to McD's for trying to improve the lives of their employees.
Over the years, France has been the butt of many an American joke. From the "France Surrenders" mock headlines to the "fights with their feet" quips, American comics have made a good living poking fun at the French. At some level, it makes sense - after all, they laugh at Jerry Lewis.
Lately, though, I find myself with a whole new appreciation for the French - or at least the leadership of the country. Without question, I differ often with the policies and positions taken by the French government, but there's one area where I agree wholeheartedly with French President Nicolas Sarkozy - his taste in women!
Sarkozy, who only became President last May, shocked the French public when pictures surfaced of him in the company Italian model/singer Carla Bruni. And what pictures they were! As you can see, Ms Bruni hasn't lost her competitive edge since trading the runway for the recording studio. She's 12 years younger than Sarkozy, but the French President recently admitted the serious nature of the relationship, indicating that marriage wasn't out of the question.
Here at the MarlinBlog, we like to laugh at the dumbass antics of celebrities as much as anyone - heck, it's more entertaining than most of the "product" that they produce. But as the recent deaths of actors Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro remind in a tragic way, life is precious and can easily be cut short - often through our own actions. How close have the Britneys and Lindsays and Parises of the world come to being the next Heath or Brad - probably without ever knowing it or realizing just how close to the edge they'd really come.
Just look at Spears. Never mind the absolute inability to act as an responsible parent, leading to the correct decision to strip her of her children - and her apparent indifference to it. But the constant party-party-party, the unintelligible choices she makes in the people she chooses to surround herself with, the string of incredibly stupid personal action decisions - like driving 80MPH to avoid the paparazzi ... at what point should be legitimately be concerned that her actions will inevitably lead to her own demise?
I'm not sure at this point who if anyone can get through to her. Clearly, her chain has slipped off the cog - several mental health professionals have said that her habit of periodically speaking with a British accent might actually be a multiple-personality syndrome - and there's no real indication that anyone can put it back on. She won't regain any custody of her children unless she can demonstrate that she can create a safe, nurturing environment - and I don't think anyone feels she's capable of that. Just look at her, leaving a drugstore - at 4AM this morning!! Hell, I'm a morning person, and even I don't do that ...
If you believe the Sun - home of the Page 3 Girl - then Spears' behavior is nothing new. They're running an interview with an uncle who spills the beans ...
He says Brit, 26, started drinking when she was a 13-year-old Mickey Mouse Club presenter and dabbled with drugs from the age of 14.
After her turbulent early years, Willie says she went "buck-wild" on turning 18, snorting cocaine on her birthday, adding: "She has tried just about everything - cocaine, crystal meth, ecstasy."
The really scary part?
He is also terrified she will mimic her tragic grandmother Emma Jean, who committed suicide aged 31.
I just hope those tattoos on her wrists say "left" and "right" and not "cut here" ...
Actor Heath Ledger, 28, died yesterday in New York City. Ledger was found unconscious by a maid who, like the paramedics who soon arrived, was unable to revive him. While sleeping pills were found in the apartment, there was no indication that drugs played a role in the death or that it was suicide. An initial autopsy was inconclusive, but additional tests will be run to try and identify the cause of death.
Ledger appeared to me to be a quiet, sensitive guy who was never fully comfortable with the fame his career brought. He disliked the beefcake roles initially offered him by the studios, and rebelled by taking on a series of harder roles, with success that led one to believe we were watching the early stages of a significant acting career. Anyone who can play the roles of gay sheep rancher Ennis Del Mar and legendary lover Casanova in back to back movies obviously has some acting chops. Those who have seen the footage say his turn as Joker in the soon to be released Batman sequel "Dark Knight" would have propelled him to even greater heights.
And maybe that's the problem. For all of its benefits, the life of a celebrity can be difficult. Not everyone is willing to give up all that the lifestyle demands. Sometimes, the celebrity simply walks away from the lifestyle, and sometimes the lifestyle consumes the celebrity. Hopefully, this isn't another of those cases.
There's a cautionary tale here for other celebrities as well. We don't yet know how Ledger died, so it's premature to make too many assumptions. But the antics of the Lohans and Spears of the world leave them very close to meeting the same fate as Ledger. It's really only blind stupid luck that keeps them - and those around them when they do the stupid things they do - alive. Perhaps this tragic death will cause some to reconsider the wisdom of their actions - and the value of their lives.
There are lots of crazy people in Hollywood. You don't have to meet them to understand this - all you have to do is see some of the projects they greenlight. But it's clear that some of the "celebrity" members of the community are nuts as well. Take Britney, who's meltdown gets more pitiful each day. But at least you can feel sorry for her - no one feels sorry for Tom Cruise.
There was a time when TC had the world by the balls. His movies make money hand over fist, he had his pick of the starlets, he was a man's man - even if he was 5-foot-something. Those days are long gone, though. You could forgive him the whole Katie Holmes thing - after all, many a gay man has had to hide behind a hetero relationship for the sake of appearances (my lawyer reminds me to tell you that we're not saying that's what happened here ). But the whole Scientology thing is just plain scary.
Lately, there's been a couple of "leaked" videos of Tom espousing the benefits of his "religion". Those vids, in conjunction with a newly released tell-all book, have not been well-received by Cruise - or his team of lawyers, who have gone after any one (or any site) that dared to display them. But apparently some folks in town still have a sense of humor - and the balls to back it up.
Jerry O'Connell made a parody vid of Cruise that's almost as funny as the unintentionally hilarious original version. See for yourself ...
O'Connell strikes me as a guy I'd like to buy a drink. Cruise, on the other hand, needs to be bought a colon cleanse. Should be interesting to see if Tom goes after one of his own, or if he'll see the merit in laughing at himself for a change. If I was Jerry - or new wife Rebecca Romijn - I'd be on the watch for the van full of bad guys waiting to snatch me off a sidewalk ...
Every town has those industries with which they are forever identified - Pittsburgh and steel, Houston and oil, New York and mugging - even when those industries diminish their presence or move away. For Los Angeles, we will always be tied to the entertainment business, even as much of the work moves elsewhere. You can't go far in LA without stumbling across those cryptic yellow signs used to direct workers to location sets without attracting too much attention. In my case, every morning I drive past the southwest corner of Aviation and Rosecrans Blvds, where the building used as the police headquarters for CSI Miami is located. More often than not, there's some kind of filming going on there.
These days, though, things are strained in the movie and TV biz. Much of the activity that was once based locally has moved elsewhere as attractive tax deals north of the border and elsewhere siphon off much of the business (not counting all the filming in the west end of San Fernando, better knows as "Porn Valley" - now that's a growth industry ). Local municipalities and residents complain when freeways or major highways are closed for filming (they shot the action scenes in the latest "Die Hard" installment about 50 yards of my office in El Segundo). And then there's the current writer's strike, which threatens to kill the industry entirely.
There are still those high moments for the industry, though, and this morning was one of them, as the nominations for the 80th Academy Awards were announced. The nominating committee continued with their recent trend of rewarding particularly violent or depressing movies, as both "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" led the way with eight nominations each, followed by George Clooney vehicle "Michael Clayton" and the WWII love story "Atonement". Among the pleasant surprises were a pair of octogenarians receiving Best Supporting Actor/Actress nominations - 83-yr-old Ruby Dee for "American Gangster" and 82-yr-old Hal Holbrook for "Into The Wild".
Now, it's been a long time since my tastes and those of the Academy have been similar, so once again most of the films and performances nominated are strangers to me. Filmmakers these days seem to feel that in order to fill the big screen, they must be equally big in their violence, realism and shock value. Frankly, with all that is going on in the world today, the last thing I need in a move is realistic shocking violence. Hell, I can get that from the news. What I want is friendly escapism, which is probably why I only saw two movies this year - "Superbad" and "The Simpsons Movie", although I'll admit I want to see "Juno".
Of course, it could all be for naught if they don't straighten out the Writers' Strike, which threatens to eviscerate the Oscars the way it did the Golden Globes. The Academy wields a whole lot more clout than the Hollywood Foreign Press does, however, so expect things to work themselves out in time for Hollywood's big night.
Feeling a little down today? A little depressed? In a bit of a blue funk? Congratulations - it's not your fault.
In a society where we don't hold anyone accountable for anything any more, there is now scientific proof that your depression today isn't an accident - it's Blue Monday.
Dr. Cliff Arnall, a staff psychologist at Cardiff University in Great Britain, has developed a formula that takes into account various factors that lead to a bad mood. According to his formula, today's the day.
Where T equals time since Christmas, D equals debt, W is weather, d is money due in January pay, Q time since failed quit attempt, M general motivational levels and NA is the need to take action, today, he calculates, we are in trouble.
Here is the formula: 1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA.
Don't try and work it out, it's too depressing.
In short, it decrees the Monday morning of the last full week of January to be a deeper shade of blue than any other of the year.
Personally, I think his formula is wrong. The days are getting longer, and the weather warmer, and we learned on Friday the benefits of that. Besides, the only really depressing thing I can see is that pathetic performance yesterday of the Packers ...
OK, I'm not gonna kid you - it's still winter. Heck, even in Mesa, AZ, where I spent most of this week, the overnight temperatures were well down into the freezing range.
But good news is on the horizon. The days are getting longer, and that means we'll soon be out of the winter funk. And how better to demonstrate the all-too-soon need to peel off those layers of winter clothing than with an alluring image of model/actress Bridget Moynahan. You remember her - she's the one Patriots QB Tom Brady knocked up on his way to dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen. And you wonder why people hate him ...
Bridget had her son last August, and should be well on her way to looking this hot once again. As for the baby daddy, with any luck he'll lay an egg of his own this weekend against the Chargers ...
You never know who is going to go through your things ...
A Swedish bomb squad called out to disarm a suspicious package on Wednesday did not find a ticking bomb. But they did find a vibrating sex toy.
A janitor alerted police after he found the package in a garage of an apartment building in Goteborg, the country's second-largest city, police spokesman Jan Strannegard said.
The package was humming and vibrating suspiciously, so police took no chances and sent out a team of explosives experts. After having cordoned off the area, they opened the package with bomb disposal equipment, only to find the battery-operated device inside.
"The package was vibrating when the janitor found it, but I think it had sort of died out by the time it was disarmed," Strannegard said.
I guess you could put a hook in it and claim it was an EAL ... or a Black Reidee ...
It never ceases to amaze me just how stupid some people can be. Take OJ Simpson (please ... bah dum pum). You'd think he'd be so thrilled to have gotten off the hook for his ex-wife's murder that he'd lay low for the rest of his life. Not our Juice. No, he had to get wrapped up in a sports memorabilia sting in Vegas. For that, he's staring down the barrel at a lifetime of jailtime. You'd think that'd be enough for one fool.
But wait ... there's more. OJ is out on bail, with the provision that he not contact any of his co-defendants. So what does he do? He not only decides to try and get a hold of one of them, he trys to do so by leaving a message on the answering machine of his buddies' bail bondsman.
"I just want, want C.J. to know that ... I'm tired of this [expletive]," Simpson is quoted in the documents as saying on the taped message. "Fed up with [expletives] changing what they told me. All right?"
Dumb, Juice - really dumb.
As you might imagine, the judge overseeing his case wasn't happy. She dragged his ass back from Florida to Vegas and tossed him in the slammer. Today, during his hearing to consider a request for release, she let him have it.
"I don't know Mr. Simpson what the heck you were thinking -- or maybe that's the problem -- you weren't," Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass told Simpson.
"I don't know if it's just arrogance. I don't know if it's ignorance. But you've been locked up at the Clark County Detention Center since Friday because of arrogance or ignorance -- or both."
Not only did she not release him, she doubled his bail $250K - and demanded that he actually put up his part of the bail money, which he didn't before.
What a tool. Maybe Fred Goldman will float him a loan from his cut of "If I Did It" ...
Living in LA, it's pretty hard to get excited about the NFL. After all, both of our teams (the one we stole from Cleveland and the one we stole from Oakland) left town back in the '90s. If you want to see what it's like to get fired up over football, though, all you have to do is come to Phoenix.
On Feburary 3rd, Super Bowl XLII will be played in Glendale, at the west end of the valley. The game will be held in University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals (stolen from St. Louis, who then stole the Anaheim Rams, who were earlier stolen from LA). Just an aside ... how funny is it that a school that doesn't have a campus sponsors a stadium so it looks like they have a football team ... tee hee ...
Anyway, even though the event is almost three weeks away, the PR blitz is in full gear. When I landed at Sky Harbor Airport last night, I noticed that every glass door you pass through has been emblazoned with the SB logo. All over town they're talking about those "big game parties" - can't mention the Super Bowl name unless you're a licensed sponsor. And the local TV anchors are frothing at the mouth whenever they talk about the game and all the tourist money that will come with it.
I'll give the AZ homers a break - this is a pretty big deal for them. They have a shiny new stadium to show off, and it's not often the national spotlight gets shown down here. Let them have their moment in the sun ...
Plying the waters off the SoCal coast, you'll see some amazing sportfishers. From the amazing KELSEY LEE to the BAD COMPANY fleet, there's some pretty impressive hardware out there.
None cut the same silhouette as MNAC member Andy Crean's DONNA C III, though. At 120 feet, it dwarfs anything else on the water. Don't kid yourself - it might look like a cruise ship, but this thing catches fish! You'd never guess it from the listing, though ...
Starting aft, through the salon you are first met by a Steinway baby grand piano on the starboard side and wet bar on the port. At the end of the spacious salon is a dinning table that seats 8 adults. Forward is the full beam galley that any chef would die for, complete with custom sandwich bar and soda fountain. The galley also features casual dinning for 6.
The best part? She can be yours for a mere $7.7 million! Andy has the boat up for sale (and no doubt another on order), so now you, too, can drive to Mag Bay in luxury.
But wait - there's more! If you've ever stood on the porch at Andy's Villa Nova restaurant in Newport, you can look across the channel and see the boat in its berth. The house where the slip is located is for sale, too, and you can get the whole package for $22.5 million ... call now!!!
I'm sitting in Terminal 5 at LAX, waiting for a 4:30 flight to Phoenix. I'll be there the next few days for a partnership meeting with our software vendor. It's one of those shake-a-lot-of-hands-and-get-nothing-done sort of events, but you gotta do it. I'll actually be in Mesa, at the eastern end of the Valley of the Sun. High point of the trip should be tramping around Mill Ave with all the Arizona State coeds. That's where the Gin Blossoms - my favorite band of all time - got their start, and there's supposed to be an amazing music scene there still. I'll let you know!
Embattled Orange County Sherriff Mike Carona resigned today, bringing to an end one phase of his effort to fight federal corruption charges. Carona, who last week returned from a self-emposed 60 day leave of absense, is calling his action a "retirement", an convenient way to avoid having to admit he was run out of office. Also, in a decided change from his normal policies, Carona announced his "retirement" via a notice on the OCSD website, rather than stand in front of the bank of microphones with which he has become so intimately familiar over the years.
"Although this is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, my family, my staff and my lawyers all believe that this is the right time to take my retirement," Carona said. "This action will permit me to focus on vindicating my name and refuting the false charges which have been made against me and my wife."
Hmm ... he apparently forgot his mistress is also charged ...
By stepping down now, Carona avoid the inevitably ugly fight that he would have faced from those who would strip him of his office. He also can now accept the pro bono legal services offered by lawyers Brian Sun and John Cline, whose previous clients include Oliver North and Scooter Libby. His current lawyer tried to spin the announcement, saying that he had gotten so used to having Carona accessable on a daily basis during the LOA that he urged him to exercise his retirement option for the benefit of the defense effort.
All politicians feel some power, no matter the office. How you choose to use - or abuse - that power is what separates the good from the bad. It's sad to see what greedy little pigs some politicians can become once they get a little too comfortable in their office. If Carona is guilty of the charges being brought, let's hope a message can be sent loud and clear to those who would choose to abuse our trust for personal gain - it will catch up with you, and you will be brought down.
Maybe he can share a cell with Duke Cunningham ...
As Chris Berman would say, "that's why they play the games" ...
- The NFL's Divisional Playoffs had the appropriate star cachet, as the leagues top 4 quarterbacks all had a chance to lead their teams to the next round. Two did - but two didn't, and those two will be talked about all off season. Brett Favre and Tom Brady got the job done, leading their teams to easy victories. The Packers' win over the Seahawks looked like an old NFL Classics flick, as Favre got hotter as the snow got deeper. Nothing says cold like seeing snow build up on the bill of a ballcap on the head of a coach. Brady, meanwhile, disassembled a Jaquar team that many thought were likely to pull the upset. The game was never as close as the score would indicate, and the legend continues.
- And then came Sunday. If you told me there would be a Manning playing quarterback next weekend, I wouldn't be surprised - until you told me it was the Giants' Eli and not the Colts' Peyton. Playing with a homefield advantage they'd fought hard to earn, and with the knowledge that a loss could well mark the end of Coach Tony Dungy's career, the Colts played ... flat. It wasn't a terrible performance, just not a winning one. They let the Chargers stay close early, and failed to put distance between them even after key offensive tools (QB Rivers and RB Tomlinson) were knocked out of the game. Frankly, letting a backup QB beat you is just embarassing. Everyone likes to compare Peyton Manning and Tom Brady because they are so similar statistically. But Brady has that "it" that winning QBs all possess - that sense that he is a winner. Bradshaw had it, Montana had it, Favre has it, and Romo may. But Peyton does not. Look for wholesale changes to this team in the offseason/
- Everyone talked about what a statistical longshot it is for a team to beat the same opponent three times in a season, and the Cowboys had already laid two losses on the Giants coming into Sunday's matchup. The Giants are a good team, but with the Jeckyl-and-Hyde performances of QB Eli Manning, you just don't know what'll happen. In the end, though, it was less about offense than defense - good by the Giants and bad by the Cowboys. Tony Romo did throw a pick to end the game, but at least it wasn't a signature loser moment like last year's muffed kick hold. The Cowboys are a good team, but need to figure out how to take it to the next level. Romo, meanwhile, will continue to get BBQ'd over his bye-week trip to Mexico with Chestica Simpson. It's not why they lost, but shows the difference between today's players and yesterdays. When Terry Bradshaw talked about how he would never do such a thing during the season, bit was because he saw playing football as a career. Romo and his ilk just see it as a job - and a stepping stone to the next thing in their lives.
- Just a month until baseball starts spring training!
Before I start ... yes, I know - there was no Eye Candy last week. Obviously, you noticed, too, considering the number of emails I received. Look, I'm not a show pony - I don't perform on command and you don't want to try and set your watch based on the timing of my posts. Besides, this way you'll enjoy the Eye Candy I do post all the more ...
But it is a new year, and so I thought I would provide a little eye candy for a new generation. I refer of course to the Apple iPhone held in actress Megan Fox's hand. Despite a level of hype seemingly impossible to match, the iPhone succeeded beyond the dreams of the designers, selling nearly 3 million units in less than a year. More importantly, it proved that the cellphone user was ready - in fact, desperate - for a well-built, easy-to-use cellphone, and was willing to pay to get it. For the first time, the phone was the king, not the network it ran on.
2008 will be interesting, as the next generation iPhone is said to be nearing completion. I've already made the decision to get one once it becomes available, so you'll get all the details right here ...
In the meantime, enjoy our iPhone and it's convenient holder. Sorry, boys, but she's strictly optional equipment ...
This story would be a whole lot creepier were it not about a couple of animals ...
Oscar and Arthur were best buddies. They did everything together, even snuggling at night. The fact that Oscar was a dog and Arthur a cat never got in the way. When Arthur died after a long, 17 year life, his owners were ready to move on. But not Oscar. After Arthur was buried out in the backyard, he implemented how own plan.
But Oscar's love for his friend would not die - and during the night, he pulled the cat from his grave, carried him inside, laid him in the basket they used to share and gently cleaned him up.
(skip)
Mr Bell found the pair curled up together in the basket. He said: 'Oscar had watched me bury Arthur. They had been inseparable.'
Arthur has been reburied, and a new kitten purchased. Oscar is said to already be protective of the kitty - and we've seen just how far that can go.
In LA, we were late coming to the dance when it comes to mass transit. With hundreds of miles of freeway, and gas stations on every corner, we didn't need no stinkin' subway trains!
But time changes minds, and far too late the Powers That Be decided we needed a train. 'Course, it was waaay too late to dig subways - we'd already paved everything - but using railroad right of ways, freeways medians and, yes, the occasional tunnel, the trains did indeed come. But it wasn't without its political intrigue and wrangling.
The portion of El Segundo where I work is serviced by the Metro Green Line, an east-west train line that for the most part runs down the median of the Century Freeway. Logically, you'd expect it to service Los Angeles International Airport, which is across the street from my building. But for some reason, the line abruptly turns south a block short of the airport property. Even stranger, there's a stub of a branch line just east of the Aviation Station that looks like it was supposed to go to LAX but never did.
I always wondered why the stub was there (it's right outside the Wild Goose strip club, so I had many opportunities to wonder ), but someone at the Daily Breeze took it one step further and actually found out:
At the western end of the Century Freeway, the line could either go north to LAX, which employed about 35,000 people, or south to El Segundo, home to about 90,000 aerospace workers.
"It was a clear decision it would be better to go into the El Segundo employment area," said Richard Stanger, who was the commission's director of rail planning. "The models and everything indicated it was much better to go into El Segundo and focus on the needs of the everyday worker."
But you know there has to be more to it than that ...
"We had a pocketful of money and communities that wanted rail, and we wanted to make rail real," recalls Jacki Bacharach, then chairwoman of the LACTC's rail planning committee.
"Part of what we were saying was, `OK, let's do it, let's show people we mean business.' So if we didn't get cooperation pretty fast, we closed up the end of the line and said let's use the money where we can use it."
When facts were faced, it didn't look good for the Green Line extension to the airport: Other projects had a higher priority, there was no legal requirement to take the line to LAX, there were significant planning and engineering hurdles, and money was short. The "northern extension" was dropped from the MTA's plan.
I can watch the cars on the Green Line as it makes the sweeping turn south away from LAX and towards Redondo Beach. There aren't many folks on it, no matter the time or day. You can't help but wonder how many more would be using it to go to the airport had it not been for the politicians ...
There are those who say that Hollywood's time has passed; that few features are made there any more and more television comes from Canada than Hollywood; that today's actors just don't understand how to be stars the way they did decades ago. Those people are probably right, but the mystique of Hollywood had lived on - primarily through the efforts of Johnny Grant, the unofficial "mayor" of Hollywood. Now, the town will have go to on without him - Grant passed away yesterday at the age of 84.
A veteran of radio and movies, Grant was best known for his role as the leading promoter of the Hollywood image. A long time producer of the Hollywood Christmas Parade, Grant was familar to many as the Master of Ceremonies for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From his penthouse in the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel he could look down on the stars - both those in the sidewalk and those occupying the town. Long a supporter of the USO, Grant has only recently returned from an entertainment trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Too often, we see the passing of an individual as the end of an era. Sadly, in this case, it is very much true.
Well, once again yesterday we learned just how little those who claim to be experts really know about elections. John McCain, dismissed by the pundits as a relic from elections past, soundly thumped his Republican rivals. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton - whose campaign was said to be in tatters after Iowa and was shown as trailing by double digits by multiple polls the night before the elections - squeaked out a thin victory over Barack Obama in the winner-take-all New Hampshire primary. Three states into the process, and it's neck-and-neck for both parties.
The McCain victory isn't so hard to understand, considering he won the state in the last election. But how can so many be so wrong about Clinton? Every major poll showed her to be trailing Obama by anywhere from 6 to 15 points two days ago, and the media drilled her for her "breakdown" while speaking on Monday.
Wait a minute ... you don't suppose that the people who watched her tear up saw it not as weakness but rather as compassion? I certainly agree it would be a double standard to criticize a woman for an emotional outburst that you wouldn't equally debunk were it a male candidate. At the same time, though, for people to believe such an outburst make the candidate seem more human is just as wrong - but brilliant politics.
It's one thing when media hacks like Entertainment Tonight, Star and the MarlinBlog devote waaaay too much time to the ongoing Britney Spears saga. But it's different - and much scarier - when the Associated Press does the same.
The following memo was sent out by Frank Baker, assistant chief of the AP's LaLaLand Bureau:
Now and for the foreseeable future, virtually everything involving Britney is a big deal. That doesn't mean every rumor makes it on the wire. But it does mean that we want to pay attention to what others are reporting and seek to confirm those stories that WE feel warrant the wire. And when we determine that we'll write something, we must expedite it.
I'm not sure just how to take this. Certainly, Britney has made a lot of news lately, and papered the gossip blogs with her actions, but is it really newsworthy? On the other hand, she's dancing so close to the edge that a serious journalistic group feels the need to cover her closely, hedging their bets that she'll do something (suicide, fatal crash, shootout with cops) that's truly newsworthy.
Another proud day for the Spears' clan - and those who cover them.
When we get the all-too-rare sort of storms that have been rolling through Southern California for the last week, most of the talk is on the effects of the rain on the land - the mudslides and flooding, and how it might replenish the watershed. But it has an impact on the air as well - a wonderful one! Redondo Beach is pretty flat, but from the rare highspot you can see for a long ways ...
In a couple of minutes, they're going to kick off the BCS Championship Game between Ohio State and LSU - and I couldn't care less. The Gods of the BCS, in their own egotistical desire to squeeze even more dollars out of the system, have once and truly screwed the pooch. I, like most people, love college bowl games, and look forward to seeing them culminate on New Year's Day. But once the vacation is over, my mind is elsewhere. But the BCS folks string out the games so long that the championship isn't until tonight - January 7th. People are back at work, the NFL playoffs have started - life goes on. Sure, I'll probably watch the game - gotta watch something with the writer's strike on ...
And I won't even go into how they got the teams wrong - all I'll say is the USC would wipe the floor with either of them, and Georgia might as well ...
Just when you think this saga can't get any sadder, a new chapter is written. After a day in which she shows up 2 hours late for a court deposition and her attorneys resign in disgust, it took the LAPD to get the kids away from Britney Spears - who ended up in the hospital staring down a psych lockup.
Authorities were called to Spears' home in the 12000 block of Summit Circle about 8 p.m. Thursday after Federline's bodyguards went to her house to pick up Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, who were scheduled to return to their father's custody, authorities said.
By the time officers arrived at the home, Spears had turned over her younger son to the bodyguards but had locked herself in her bedroom/bathroom suite with Sean Preston, according to an LAPD supervisor familiar with the case. She was incoherent and arguing with officers in a way that made no sense, the supervisor said.
Los Angeles police determined Federline had custody of the children at that time, said Officer Ana Aguirre, a department spokeswoman. Officers waited approximately three hours before Spears agreed to leave the home; the children were turned over to Federline peacefully and with no injuries, officials said.
While officers were at the home, police said they found Spears under the influence of an unknown substance
"There was some indication that medical treatment was needed," Aguirre said.
Spears was not arrested and was subsequently hospitalized "for her own welfare," said Officer April Harding, another LAPD spokeswoman.
LAPD Officer Karen Smith said police have the authority when they believe someone needs medical treatment to transport that person to a medical facility. She declined to say whether a 5150 hold -- a formal mental health detention used when people are determined to be a danger to themselves or others -- was used, citing federal medical confidentiality restrictions.
This whole thing is spinning out of control, and has reached the point where there is legitimate concern for Spears' safety - from herself. What was once just fodder for tabloids and tacky blogs (but not us, 'cuz we're a legitimate news source ) is rapidly degrading to a voyeuristic peep show at the death spiral of a onentime pop princess. Someone who can get through to Britney needs to do so now, before she ends up in an obituary.
UPDATE #1 - With that many photogs there, you knew some pretty good shots would surface. This is my favorite of the bunch. I've never been an an ambulance, fortunately, but I'm pretty sure they don't put you in restraints unless there's a really good reason - like you might kick the attendant in the nuts. As for the look on her face, I've seen that one before - on the face of a girlfriend many years ago as I was signing her into rehab (not to get over me, wiseass - she did that all on her own). That face says very clearly "Little Girl Lost".
Today the 2008 Election Season starts in earnest with the Iowa caucuses, the first event that will select delegates for the national political conventions. The next few weeks will see an avalanche of primary elections, as the states all try to elbow each other out of the way in an attempt to gain a larger influence on the eventual candidate selection.
Frankly, I've never had much enthusiasm for the political process. Back in my college days, I was a campus representative for Howard Baker's 1980 campaign, but beyond that I've had no real desire to do anything other than vote. Certainly politics over the last few decades has done nothing to make itself any more attractive, as the dirty tricks and mudslinging happens earlier with each campaign.
For a centrist such as myself, I find the whole election process to be disappointing. Seldom does a candidate arise who actually represents the center, since none of the national parties embrace the values the center represents. So inevitably I see politicians who are far to my right or left, and whose only forays towards the center are usually just an attempt to kiss my ass in return for my vote. Certainly it's no different in 2008, and I see no one who really attracts my attention.
There is one good thing that I see in this election. We have as diverse a group of candidates as we've ever seen run for president, but after a few early gaffes there's really no attention paid to the things that make those candidates diverse. People complain that Hilary Clinton is bitter and angry, but not that she's a woman. Others bemoan Barack Obama's lack of experience, but no one talks about his color. And that's just how it should be. If we hold any real dream of equality among our people, we have to focus on the important points like opinion and character and ignore color and gender.
By morning, the picture will be much clearer, and the initial leaders in the two races will have emerged. Should be interesting ...
Most people who know me understand that I have a sense of humor that is ... different. Visitors to the site get a glimpse of it now and then, but even here I have to keep it under wraps somewhat, since we are after all a family site.
Come the holidays, I like most folks get deluged with Christmas cards. Some are cute, some are whimsical, and some are just plain dull. But the ones that I like the most are the ones sent by people who really know me and find that one card that can really make me laugh.
This one is the one that made me chuckle this year. With the proliferation of gift cards these days, more and more cards have to do double duty as a present holder. But it's hard to find one that can do both jobs well. This is the one that can.
Make the jump to see the inside of the card - and get the payoff!
After some well-deserved time AFTK, I'm back in the saddle again. Watched a lot of sports over the last two weeks, and you just know I have some things to say about it ...
- Watching the Rose and Orange Bowls yesterday gave me a sense of deja-vu, as I have no doubt that the two best teams in the country are USC and Georgia (in that order). I have no idea how this Illinois team could have beaten Ohio State - in Columbus, no less. As for Hawaii, well, the good news is that at the end of that long flight home you'll be back in paradise and yesterday will just be a bad memory. It's possible that the BCS Championship Game might be a good one, but there's no point in pretending that the winner, whether OSU or LSU, is truly a champion of anything other than that game. I'd take SC over either one, and spot them 14 pts.
- This is the tenth season of the BCS and their attempt to wrangle a true "national champion" for football. The only thing that is clear after this first decade is that they still don't have it right. In all likelihood, there will be a split champion once again this year, as the Coaches Poll is contractually obligated to make the BCS champion their #1 team while the AP Poll is free to select whomever they feel is best. This happened in 2003-2004, when, ironically, it was USC who was the AP Poll selection while LSU won the BCS Championship - a scenario that could well play out once again this month. The bottom line is that this is what happens when you let big money run amok. There are nearly 90 NCAA-sanctioned sports, yet Division 1 Football is the only one where they do not determine a national champion. It's not that the NCAA can't figure out how - they do it in the lower football divisions - but rather that all that corporate money driving the bowl system won't let them. It's a classic case of leaving a void, and then being surprised by what appears to fill it. Not crowning a true champion is wrong, but the BCS isn't the solution. I'd rather scrap the BCS and go back to the old flawed system until someone can develop something that really works.
- As we predicted here back in October, the New England Patriots completed their undefeated season when they beat the New York Giants for their sixteenth win. Along the way, the Pats set records for most TDs by a QB and wide receiver and overall points for a team. It's a shame that what is obviously an incredibly talented team will be remembered more for a misguided use of videocamera and an asshole of a coach. Vying for a place alongside Belechick, though, are the 1972 Dolphins - the only team to run the table through the regular season and playoffs. Rather than being gracious to a team that has now won more games than they did (16 versus 15), they were quick to point out that they still have to win in the playoffs. While I'd love to see the Pats trip along the way, part of me want to see Randy Moss stuff the Lombardi Trophy down Garo Yepremian's throat ...
- Let's hear it for old time hockey! While the rest of us were stuffing our faces with chips and dip and watching bowl games yesterday, the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres were facing off in a snowstorm. A temporary outdoor rink was set up in Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, normally home to the Bills, and over 70,000 hearty souls turned out for the game. It was great to see players with toques pulled over their helmets as they snowplowed down the ice, and the sound made by that big a crowd when Buffalo scored was amazing. For those who think hockey is just a bunch of goons, I wish you could have seen the play made yesterday by Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. He charged into a group of players while chasing the puck, flipped it into the air over the other players and redirected the puck while it was in the air - not once, but twice! Looked like a college kid playing with a HackySack. Only downside was the final score - 2-1 Pens. Oh well ...
- Speaking of hockey, caught part of the beatdown the Kings layed on the Blackhawks last night - 9-2! Here's the problem: nine goals by the home team means nine times hearing the horn. But someone at Staples Center obviously knows nothing about the game, because rather than sounding like a traditional foghorn, theirs sounds like a diesel train about to hit a car at a crossing. C'mon, guys - get it right!!
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). But the whole Scientology thing is just plain scary.
). Local municipalities and residents complain when freeways or major highways are closed for filming (they shot the action scenes in the latest "Die Hard" installment about 50 yards of my office in El Segundo). And then there's the current writer's strike, which threatens to kill the industry entirely.
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Most people who know me understand that I have a sense of humor that is ... different. Visitors to the site get a glimpse of it now and then, but even here I have to keep it under wraps somewhat, since we are after all a family site.
