In the Public Eye

Patrick Swayze dies

2009-09-15T08:22:00.006+01:00

Patrick Swayze has died at the age of 57.
Diagnosed with stage 4 Pancreatic cancer, the deadliest form of the disease, Swayze was determined to continue working, although he acknowledged that his time might be limited due to the nature of the cancer.

The Hunky actor who found fame as the dance instructor "Johny Castle" in the film "Dirty Dancing" passed away quietly surrounded by family. The film made use of Patricks' muscular physique and dancing talent, it was to become a worldwide hit and propelled him to stardom

Swayze later starred in "ghost" a touching comedy/thriller in which he played a murder victim who tries to communicate with his girlfriend, played by Demi Moore, through psychic medium Whoopi Goldberg, again this film became an international hit and cemented Patrick Swayzes' status as a Hollywood superstar.

Born in 1952 in Houston, Texas, Swayze was married to Niemi in 1975 who he met at his mothers dance class when he was 19 and Niemi was 15, his heart-throb staus saw him voted "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991 by People magazine.

His string of films include, Youngblood, Red Dawn, Road House, The Outsiders, Point Break and To Wong Foo.

The People of Wal-Mart

2009-09-04T09:03:00.003+01:00

It appears that the latest MUST VISIT site on the Internet happens to be of a relatively new and previously unthought of concept, that of posting pictures of people who shop at Wal-Mart. Not exactly the most interesting of website theme one might think, but how little we know.

The site set up by two brothers, Adam and Andrew Kipple and a friend, has suddenly gained momentum and gotten viewing figures reaching one million plus per day. Originally conceived as a site to showcase the many weird and wonderful people who shop at Wal-Mart, the site has attracted complaints that it is a way to mock poor and rural patrons of the store. The site owners strongly deny this, saying that they had only intended to show the ill advised dress sense and hair styles of many shoppers. Pictures are emailed in to the site for inclusion from across the US but any depicting any sort of physical or mental handicap will most definitely not be published.

People of Wal-Mart is just for fun say its' creators, not for mean spiritedness or spite, although unfortunately many of the people who have taken to commenting on individual pictures don't seem to agree. There are lots of uncomplimentary remarks made about people just because they appear to be poor or unattractive.

Wal-Mart themselves have declined to comment on the site, although the owners of People of Wal-Mart are quick to point out that their site could be a boon to Wal-Mart as it is encouraging people who haven't visited recently to decide to go now.

It could however work the other way and people who are conscious of their looks, dress sense or those who may be somewhat down on their luck, will decide that the risk of being happy snapped whilst reaching for the economy tin of beans is too much of an embarrassment and keep away.

LeGarrette Blount punches his career into the dust

2009-09-04T08:17:00.005+01:00

Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount has landed himself in real hot water with his latest temper tantrum, punching an opposing player to the floor and taking a swing at one of his own team-mates, not to mention his attempt to get at some opposing fans who had allegedly been taunting him, has brought his career prospects into serious doubt.

There is also the very real possibility of criminal charges being preferred against LeGarrette Blount, at the very least a suspension for the foreseeable future is a certainty, if not for the remainder of his senior season.

What makes the behaviour of LeGarrette Blount all the more reprehensible is the fact that the American Football Coaches Assn (AFCA) chose this game to start its sportsmanship initiative. Designed to help encourage good will on the field, the idea didn't quite go to plan, although in honsty the game played well enough, it was just the ending that went down the pan.

Les Paul passed away

2009-08-15T14:17:00.025+01:00

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World famous guitar legend Les Paul has passed away, inventor and musician he has been credited by some of the biggest names in the music world as having been inspirational in their success.

Les Paul first started to show interest in guitars at the early age of 13, he was one of the first to invent an electronically amplified guitar.

Born, June 9, 1915
Waukesha, Wisconsin,
United States

Died, age 94, August 13, 2009
White Plains, New York,
United States

More about Les Paul here
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The Beatles: Rock Band Game Coming Soon

2009-07-27T23:52:00.006+01:00

Harmonix and EA games have been able to secure the rights to the Beatles back catalogue for use in the forthcoming game The Beatles - Rock Band.

Due for release on the 9th of September the game will feature music from the Liverpool quartet "the Fab Four" it is the first time that Beatles music has been made available for use in a video game.

This is a major achievement by Harmonix and EA and hopefully it will be reflected in the game. Four sets of instruments made to look and imitate the real models used by the Beatles have been made to compliment the game, although due to the fairly hefty price tags it is fortunate that the instruments that that are used for the other range of Rock Band games can also be used instead.

No doubt the real die hard Beatles fans will want to stop at nothing less than the replicated models and the game makers will certainly be happy with that.

The Beatles - Rock band comes with a selection 45 of their best songs which have been chosen from all of the Beatles albums, so far only 25 (listed below) have been officially announced.

Song List to Date

I Saw Her Standing There
I Want To Hold Your Hand
I Feel Fine
Taxman
Day Tripper
Back In The USSR
I Am The Walrus
Octopus's Garden
Here Comes The Sun
Get Back
Twist And Shout
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Can't Buy Me Love
I Wanna Be Your Man
Eight Days A Week
Paperback Writer
And Your Bird Can Sing
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows
Yellow Submarine
Revolution
Birthday
Dig A Pony
I've Got A Feeling

It has been promised that most of the songs used are bona fide Beatles classics.

Cat deterrent - Lion Poo

2009-07-16T13:41:00.004+01:00

Whilst cats can be amongst the most loving and gentlest of pets when they are your own, there is nothing more annoying than to have someone else's, or stray cats, come into your garden and start using it as a toilet. The trouble with cats is that they are creatures of habit, so once they have visited an area you can guarantee that they will be back, which generally means your flower beds are going to be dug up nightly and you will have to suffer the the resulting mess and smell.

Gardeners and homeowners alike have searched for the perfect cat deterrent for years, solutions such as chimes or flashing lights right down to Lion poo, yes that right I said "Lion poo", believe it or not you can actually buy lion droppings to scatter amongst your prize blooms and rose bushes but whether it makes for an effective cat deterrent is anyones guess.

The real puzzle to me is, how on earth did Lion Poo come to be known as a cat deterrent. I mean did someone just stroll into their local Zoo and grab themselves a shovel full of Lion Poo and then drop it round their prize Begonia's. Some really creative thinking must have gone into that one.

This unusual form of cat deterrent known as "Silentroar" can be purchased by weight from several outlets including Amazon, it was the advertised item from Amazon that made me smile, there you can purchase it new or used, I would have thought that by the time the Lion has finished with it, it is already used. On the other hand wouldn't new poo just be food ?

The mind boggles.

Furminator tool for pets

2009-07-16T09:38:00.013+01:00

For those pet owners amongst us that suffer from the blight of unwanted dog hair on clothing or furniture this handy gadget should come in quite useful. The furmintor tool has been designed for the removal of loose dog hair and to help improve the appearance of your pet and your environment. We all want our pets to look their best but for some dogs it just isn't enough to groom them in the normal fashion, and that is where the furminator tool comes in, designed for both long haired and short haired dogs the furminator has been proven to reduce shedding by up to 80 percent.

The furminator has been endorsed by numerous veterinarians who fully understand the importance of maintaining a happy and healthy pet, this tool has been designed to stop the shedding where it begins, in the undercoat of your pet.

The furminator is a great new invention that all pet owners should get their hands on.

Only in America

2009-07-15T15:27:00.009+01:00

Obviously American kids have not been taught the dangers of not looking where you are going, if this story is anything to go by. A 15 year old girl was walking down the street and being so engrossed in the text message she was composing that she completely missed the open manhole in the middle of the pavement (sidewalk for the US), down she went, swiftly and completely, to the bottom, luckily suffering nothing more than a good scare and a few scrapes (and possibly some embarrassment) she was helped out by the workmen who had opened up the manhole.

Now that should be a prime example of why you should look where you are going and, one would think, a lesson learned, after all it is illegal to text and drive for a very good reason so surely the same should apply to pedestrians, well not in the eyes of the girls mother.

The first thoughts of the family is to file a lawsuit, the girls mother said "it doesn't matter that her daughter was walking and texting" and maybe to give an idea as to their main concern she continued "One of her sneakers is still down there".

Nothing said concerning the well-being of her daughter but that shoe is being sorely missed.

ebay petitions against proposed EU ruling

2009-07-13T17:44:00.005+01:00

Ebay has circulated a petition amongst its users in the hope of getting a proposed EU ruling defeated. The ruling in question concerns big brand name owners being able to stop their goods new and second hand alike from being sold on Ebay.

The basis of the argument is that to stop counterfeit goods from being sold on eBay, they should be able to prohibit sales of their brands on the auction site altogether, now to a certain degree that does have some logic to it, BUT on the other hand if you have bought a branded item and no longer have use for it, shouldn't you be allowed to sell it as you choose ?

Lets look at this properly, say for example you own a Ford Mondeo and wish to sell it on, if the brand name owners have their way you can sell it by all means but all you would be able to advertise would be "A CAR FOR SALE" instead of "FORD MONDEO FOR SALE".

I personally think that if I have paid good money for an item but no longer have a use for it and if I wish to sell it then I should be able to advertise it as it is, I probably bought it on the strength of the brand name to start with so obviously I would like to sell it under that brand name to recoup some of my money.

I fully agree that brand name owners have a right to protect their brands from counterfeiters but dictating to people who own a legitimate branded article is not the way to win support - or is it just a case of clever marketing, stop the sale of second hand and used branded items and more people will have to buy new.

Maybe I am just too cynical.

Google operating system coming soon

2009-07-08T13:17:00.002+01:00

A new operating system is reportedly in the pipeline according to Google, this new OS is due late next year and is being touted as a competitor to Microsoft Windows OS. Although Google are hoping to undermine Microsoft's hold on the PC market the fact that the Google OS will target the netbook user is probably not going to be a great cause for concern at Microsoft.

The netbook is a low spec, less powerful type of laptop and most do not include Windows as the primary operating system anyway, these netbooks are ideal for the free open source operating systems such as Linux which will run on machines with lower specs far better than Windows will.

On that basis it would appear that the Google OS will not be such a major threat to Microsoft as is being predicted, if on the other hand Google are able to create an operating system that will be work on a more powerful machine, then that might be a different story.

Historic Bible now available to view online

2009-07-07T11:10:00.003+01:00

A joint effort between institutions from various countries including the UK, Germany, Egypt and Russia has enabled 800 pages of the earliest surviving Christian Bible to be made available on the internet. The 1,600-year-old Codex Sinaiticus manuscript written in Greek on parchment leaves has been described as "one of the world's greatest written treasures".

High resolution digitised images of pages from the manuscript are now available online, it is hoped that the availability to view them will allow for more research opportunities for scholars and students who would otherwise not have the chance.

Without the internet such a great research opportunity would not have been possible.

Reiss clothing

2009-07-06T22:59:00.000+01:00

The first reiss clothing store opened in 1971 in the city of London. Founder and owner, David reiss originally set out to tailor to the fashionable and affluent of London men, Reiss clothing was described as being designed for the sexy, confident, modern man. By 2000, Reiss clothing had an in-house design team of its own and had begun to offer a full range of Reiss clothes for women.

Today Reiss clothes are offered in over 90 different stores around the world. From humble beginnings Reiss clothing has become a multi national retailer of high quality, fashionable menswear, womenswear and accessories.

Aldara cream, new hot skin cancer treatment

2009-05-22T23:27:00.004+01:00

The latest hot topic in the skin care world is Aldara cream, which is used to treat actinic keratosis, superficial basal cell carcinoma and genital warts. Aldara Cream is a skin-use only prescription medicine.

Common side effects, experienced by those using Aldara Cream, mainly involve skin reactions in the application area. These can include redness and swelling, a sore, blisters, or ulcers, skin harding or thickening, other noticeable effects are skin peeling, scabbing and crusting, itching, burning, and changes in skin color.

Exposure to sunlight (including sunlamps) should be avoided When using Aldara Cream, because of concern of heightened sunburn susceptibility. Protective clothing should be worn by patients when using Aldara Cream.

Sexual contact should also be avoided whilst the cream is on the skin, especially as it is suspected that Aldara Cream may weaken condoms and diaphragms. The effects of Aldara Cream on the transmission of external genital warts is as yet not fully known, although new external genital warts may develop during treatment.

Aldara Cream works from within by activating the body's own immune system, it is claimed that the cure rate ranges from 80 to 85 percent. Because this is considered a lower than average success rate, Aldara cream is usually seen as a back-up method for the treatment of skin cancers, rather than the 1st choice of treatments.

Olympic torch resembles a joint

2009-05-21T22:32:00.006+01:00

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games ceremonial torch is raising quite a few eyebrows and becoming a subject of much amusement. The reason is due to the striking resemblance of the new design to a hand rolled marijuana joint.

The 3-foot-long giant Olympic spliff is to be carried by 12,000 people, in relays, across 28,000 miles before the Games begin.

The Olympic torch relay committee has dismissed the claims of the resemblance. A spokesperson has said that most people's reactions are emotional. The torch was designed to look like the snow and ice marks left behind an Olympic skier or skater.

The new design is meant to represent, ergonomics, sleekness, modernity but not everyone is convinced.

Victory for the Gurkhas

2009-05-21T17:55:00.008+01:00

At long last the Gurkhas have won the right to settle in the
UK. Today the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, made the announcement that all Ghurkas who had served more than four years service would be allowed to live in the UK.

Until recently only soldiers who had retired after 1997 were eligible, today's momentous decision has been greeted with jubilation and campaigners claim "A great injustice has been righted".

One of the most outspoken and ardent supporters of the Gurkhas, Joanna Lumley, proclaimed "the Gurkhas are coming home" after hearing the announcement. The Gurkha campaign has been one that was very close to Ms Lumley's heart, as her late father was an officer in the Gurkha regiment, she said "A great injustice has been righted".

The Gurkhas have a long and proud history with the British army having served with distinction and valour in several conflicts, soldiers are still selected from young men living in the hills of Nepal - with about 28,000 youths competing for just over 200 places each year. The selection process has been described as one of the toughest in the world.

Facebook - the new home for spies

2009-05-20T11:22:00.005+01:00

Recently social networking sites have been under fire for a variety of reasons, bullying, sex scandals (of one form or another), privacy issues, the list goes on but the latest complaint does seem to be stretching the imagination a little.

It would appear that "Arab conmen" are currently trying to recruit 'spies' through Facebook, or so the Israeli internal intelligence service would have us believe. Shin Bet warn that Terrorist Organisations are using these sites in an attempt to encourage Israelis to meet up in person in order to either harm them or recruit them as spies.

Given the many past occurences of wrong-doings on such sites, the thought of Facebook becoming the next spy recruitment center does not seem to be that improbable, although I find it very unlikely that any spy worth his/her salt would trust their nefarious activities to such a dubious community as the social networks.

Established men - dating site or pimping site ??

2009-05-20T10:14:00.009+01:00

Another controversial topic in the public eye at the moment is a certain dating site known as establishedmen.com whose corporate logo "Where Beautiful Girls and Successful Men Meet" has raised a few eyebrows to say the least.

Being touted as a dating site for rich men and poor women, establishedmen has been accused of being nothing more than of a pimping site, a site where women are opting to meet men solely because they have money.

The site founder, a Canadian ex-stripper named Simone Dadoun-Cohen, is at pains to explain that the colloquially known "Sugar Daddy Site" is not about prostitution and she's certainly not a pimp.

Dancing with the stars winner

2009-05-20T09:42:00.007+01:00

After a very close final, which saw the three last dances earning perfect scores, the dancing with the stars winner was announced as Shawn Johnson.

Partnered with professional Mark Ballas, 17 year old Shawn Johnson, a gold medal-winning gymnast was the youngest entrant in the reality TV show's "dancing with the stars" eight-season history.

The dancing with the stars winner now has the mirror-ball trophy to add to her coveted collection of awards which include her gold medals.