Category: Lifestyle

Babe Ruth Gave Home Runs Their Due

NPR : Babe Ruth Gave Home Runs Their Due

With Barry Boinds about to break another Babe Ruth record, NPR has an interview with a baseball historian who says:

“He just was a colossus above everybody in the game,” says Leigh Montville, author of The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth. “He really invented the home run. Before Babe Ruth came along, the home run was kind of a mistake…. [But he] showed the value of hitting the ball out of the ballpark.”

You can here the whole interview by clicking on the link at the top of this web page.

The falling prices of organic food

The falling prices of organic food
For that sea of humanity known as Baby Boomers, “organic food” conjures images of hippies in painted VW buses, Earth Shoes, hemp-growers and commune dwellers.

But the Hummers and Mercedes parked at Whole Foods — not to mention the Manolo high-heels and Louis Vuitton handbags sported by shoppers inside — illustrate the seismic shift in the organic food world over the last several years. Starting this month, that world may shift again when Wal-Mart doubles its line of organic foods.

The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam

The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam (Hardcover) > Read an Excerpt

The first of these is that a Muslim’s relationship with his God is one of fear. A Muslim’s conception of God is absolute. Our God demands total submission. He rewards you if you follow His rules meticulously. He punishes you cruelly if you break His rules, both on earth, with illness and natural disasters, and in the hereafter, with hellfire.

The second element is that Islam knows only one moral source: the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad is infallible.

The third element is that Islam is strongly dominated by a sexual morality derived from tribal Arab values dating from the time the Prophet received his instructions from Allah, a culture in which women were the property of their fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers, or guardians. The essence of a woman is reduced to her hymen. Continue reading “The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam”

Jury Duty Scam

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Crime (Jury Rigged)
Con artists have been contacting people by phone to assert those they've targeted have evaded jury duty and announce warrants are being issued for their arrest. When the about-to-be-duped protest they never received such notifications, that surely a mistake has been made, the sharpies go after what they really want, which is their pigeons' personal and financial information. Under threat of being hauled off in paddy wagons unless they succeed in straightening out this terrible mess, many folks who would otherwise be more wary about what they reveal of their personal data will find themselves reeling off their birth dates and social security and credit card numbers in an effort to convince their callers the notifications that never arrived actually went to other addresses or were never meant for them in the first place.

Powerball winner losing home in auction

Powerball winner losing home in auction
David Lee Edwards, a laid-off laborer in 2001 when he won $42 million from a $295 million Powerball drawing in Kentucky and moved to Palm Beach Gardens, appears to have the kind of financial problems that he never should have faced again.

In what is the talk of the town, an unemployed man that won a Powerball jackpot may be broke again as his $1.2 million Florida home is scheduled to be on the auction block May 22, 2006.

Update: A court hearing is scheduled July 24 to determine the status of the heroin charge, according to the state attorney’s office. Update thanks to Julie ” According to the Palm Beach Comptroller online records search… David Edwards was not present for his status check yesterday and it has been re-scheduled for August 23.”

Last July, Edwards’ $1.2 million home was auctioned for $400,000.

And Saturday, July 14th 2007 much of the home’s contents will go on the auction block at a Riviera Beach warehouse where Edwards spent his final days in Palm Beach County.

Update: Auction Results

Update: Shawna released from jail

Update: Shawna back in jail

Update Felony Charges dropped against Shawna

Update Powerfall A good article that pulls the narrative together. Amy, the reporter, wanted to talk to Tiffani, but she refuses interviews. Thanks Julie for sending this.

How other Florida Lottery Winners also didn’t fare so well

Continue reading “Powerball winner losing home in auction”

Pimpstar Rims

The PimpStar is a huge leap forward in the evolution of the wheel. With the PimpStar’s built-in full color LED lights, microprocessor and wireless modem, you can display virtually any image, including text, graphics, logos, and even digital photos! The included software allows you to create your own images and send them to each wheel individually or all wheels at the same time as you drive!

U.S. Internet Use Hits New Highs

Pew Internet & American Life Project Report: Internet Penetration and Impact
Surveys fielded in 2006 show that internet penetration among adults in the U.S. has hit an all-time high. While the percentage of Americans who say they use the internet has continued to fluctuate slightly, our latest survey, fielded February 15 – April 6, 2006 shows that fully 73% of respondents (about 147 million adults) are internet users, up from 66% (about 133 million adults) in our January 2005 survey. And the share of Americans who have broadband connections at home has now reached 42% (about 84 million), up from 29% (about 59 million) in January 2005. Continue reading “U.S. Internet Use Hits New Highs”

Last Ninja: ‘Be Able to Kill Your Students’

Last Ninja: ‘Be Able to Kill Your Students’ on Yahoo! News
Hatsumi is the only living student of the last “fighting ninja,” Toshitsugu Takamatsu, the so-called 33rd Grand Master who was a bodyguard to officials in Japanese-occupied Manchuria before World War II and fought — and won — 12 fights to the death.

Today, Hatsumi’s enemies are stereotypes and flagging interest in the ancient art. He seeks to leave the task to a worthy successor as speculation mounts about his retirement.

Most Japanese are exposed to martial arts in school. But the number practicing judo has been declining since the 1980s as more people turn to Western sports like golf and tennis. Sumo also has fallen on hard times, forcing the Japan Sumo Association to import stars.