Bad day for celebrities [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

Miranda

06-25-2009, 07:49 PM

There's no denying he exhibited some odd behavior and had a far from normal childhood (and father) but with his death you really realize what a spectacular talent he had. it's just sad that it took his death for people to start talking about that.

Watch any music video and you'll see Michael Jackson's influence.

I for one, loved him, Zen. I just played some of his old stuff in my spin class playlist. Always a great beat. And man... could he move.

Yea... things about his life, particularly later, were unusual. But, when you are person with such an unusual gift of talent... how could you expect the rest of his life to average 'normal'? (normal = by whose standards?) That's how most ecentrics in history work!

I'm in shock he's gone:(.

Zen

06-25-2009, 07:53 PM

What kind of cancer did Farrah have?

Blueberry

06-25-2009, 08:00 PM

What kind of cancer did Farrah have?

Anal. I really feel for all of them.

CA

badger

06-25-2009, 10:18 PM

MJ was planning a "farewell tour" - that would have been HUGE. He's still really popular in Germany and Japan, and I'm sure people would have paid stupendous amounts of money to see him perform one last time.

It's such a shame that the last 10 years or so of his life was so persecuted and away from any creative output. It's a huge loss in the music world.

papaver

06-25-2009, 10:53 PM

It was a really weird day yesterday. For us it started with the suicide of one our most popular singers and tv-presentors Yasmine (37). Everybody, but really everybody was/is in shock. She leaves a 2 year old girl behind. She was in the middle of a divorce (since april this year). You could see her loose weight and you could see the sadness in her eyes, but this...

And then a couple of hours later came Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

ClockworkOrange

06-26-2009, 12:06 AM

Anal. I really feel for all of them.

CA

Apparently anal cancer is quite rare but then Farrah's condition relapsed and worsened, with the cancer spreading to her liver. Also very sad that her son was not allowed out of prison to see her, however, I believe they are allowing him to the funeral..........all a bit late!

Whatever Michael Jackson did with his life, like it or loathe it, His music was way ahead of the times he lived in.

Such very sad news to wake up to.

RIP

Clock

Crankin

06-26-2009, 05:22 AM

I also really liked Michael Jackson's music. I'm not much into music and don't follow "stars" at all, but I think it's more that his music represents a fun time in my life. I clearly remember taking my 2 little boys to LaBelles (any of you Zonies remember that store?) and buying my DH the Thriller CD for Father's Day. My now 26 year old son was maybe 5 and he was the one that insisted we buy this for dad; it was the first CD we purchased after we got that new fangled CD player to replace our record player!
I also used a lot of his music in my aerobics classes. The bpm's were perfect and I never had to pitch up his music, which resulted in that chipmunk sounding stuff. Since I rarely knew anything about the artists whose music was on my tapes, this was a major accomplishment for me.

andtckrtoo

06-26-2009, 06:17 AM

There are so many reasons I appreciate this forum, and one of them is the way you ladies are actual adult humans, and not cats. I belong to several forums, and most of them are ripping him apart.

In the later years, Michael did make me uncomfortable, but he did have an incredible talent from a very young age - if you listen to the Jackson 5 songs, he was incredible at EIGHT! I plan to remember the talent - the sheer musical genius that was Michael Jackson.

jobob

06-26-2009, 07:33 AM

Driving home yesterday KFOG was playing lots of old MJ, esp from the Jackson 5 days and from Off The Wall and Thriller. I cranked up the radio and boogied in my seat - I imagine I wasn't the only one. :cool: It was fun yet bittersweet.

roadie gal

06-26-2009, 07:39 AM

It's so sad, in so many ways.

Michael Jackson was so talented, but he never had a childhood and he failed trying to create a childhood as an adult. I loved his music but after a while his strangeness made it difficult for me to listen to him. I just kept picturing his scary face...

I have Thriller on vinyl. I still have it. I think I wore holes in it, playing it so much. I do believe that it's still the best selling pop album of all time.

Poor Farrah, upstaged in her sad death by Michael. She should be getting much more air time than she is. Her death is almost a footnote to Michael's, and that's very sad, too.

Tri Girl

06-26-2009, 07:49 AM

I know- what a sad day. :( I didn't know Jerri Fitzgerald died until later in the day (she was an incredible "normal" person like most of us).

I loved both Farrah and MJ. I wanted that feathered hairdo like she had so bad when I was younger. Charlies Angels was THE show when I was a kid (I think it was re-runs when I saw it- but I didn't care). If only I could have been like those butt kickin' women...

MJ was incredibly talented and a real musical genius (I liken him to Mozart and Beethoven in modern times). He totally changed music and seemed to unite people with his music. He also let Weird Al have a good career parodying him (who I love, too). He put MTV on the map and was the real creator of music videos as entertainment. Remember that moon walk for the first time. Woot! Remember "We are the World?"
He had a rough life and hopefully is at peace now- something I don't think he had here on Earth.

I've been watching videos on MTV today. They rarely play them anymore. It brings back such fun memories as a young person. I could never afford the red jacket and glove, but I had posters galore of him in my room.

alpinerabbit

06-26-2009, 07:50 AM

a few days ago something about him was on TV and I thought along the lines... when will he crack and he'll never find the peace he is looking for.

poor guy. maybe he's found it now.
his soul was gone a long time ago. the machinery around him had been killing it since he was 6 - his genius endured longer. it's surprising his body held out this long.

crazycanuck

06-26-2009, 08:18 AM

Am I the only person on the planet that is tired of the news of both deaths overtaking more important issues facing the world today?

:mad:

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 08:24 AM

I can't claim to not have found Michael bizarre & to not have mocked him in the last however many years - but I couldn't listen to Jackson 5 songs (abc 123, whatever), without reflecting on what a pure sweet innocent voice he had (or looks in the pics) and what 40 some years in the public eye corrupted him into.

I was reading the New York times yesterday - and one of the articles on Farrah Fawcett's death really irked me. Well, maybe it was 2 of them... one was about how she'd been very public with her anal cancer and how NBC or CBS (whoever did the tv show on it) had been glad to exploit it... but they'd both missed the real public safety message, which was to get the HPV vaccine because anal cancer is usually sexually transmitted. The second was...."Let's remember Farrah as someone who TRIED" ... she tried to be something other than a sex pot, and she tried very hard. Then it summarized her career & her various efforts at trying to be taken seriously.

Tri Girl

06-26-2009, 08:26 AM

Am I the only person on the planet that is tired of the news of both deaths overtaking more important issues facing the world today?

:mad:

Not the only one... I'm just glad for a break from all the economy talk.
But yes, there ARE more pressing issues to talk about...

alpinerabbit

06-26-2009, 08:27 AM

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 08:27 AM

I think MJ & FF can have a day or two to be remembered. The economy'll still be there & still screwed up whether or not we pay attention to it, and paying attention to it has yet to result in it actually being fixed.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 08:28 AM

yeah like people like Madonna "can't stop crying": She's just shopped herself a child from Malawi. Can she stop crying about the other children who die? Obviously with ease.

It's like swine flu. It turns the attention away from the real issues.

Maybe she can adopt one of MJ's kids. Angelina Jolie can have a 2nd of them.

What other celebrity collects underprivileged kids that can adopt the 3rd?

katluvr

06-26-2009, 08:36 AM

Maybe she can adopt one of MJ's kids. Angelina Jolie can have a 2nd of them.

What other celebrity collects underprivileged kids that can adopt the 3rd?

Not sure all will get a chuckly out of your comment...but I did.
Yes, it is sad they died.
Yes, it is sad it is such big news.
But it is, and here some of us are interested!

It is just want of those OMG moments...media stars that have been part of my life for most of my life.

Geonz

06-26-2009, 08:39 AM

I never, ever could stand Michael Jackson's music except a few things ;) Disco beats aggravate me. Still, lots of folks will be grieving... makes one ponder the nature of idolization... humans are weird in how we channel our energies and griefs.
Yasmine... ouch. Ouch.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 08:39 AM

Oh, don't get me wrong, I feel horrible for MJ's kids. and Farrah's... But I can't help mocking Madonna and Angelina Jolie a bit...

As for swine flu distracting people from the real issues... It's a real issue that the world is ripe for a flu epidemic and our current system of vaccines, etc. is too cumbersome to really respond to one... And that some of our farming practices are contributing to it.

ASammy1

06-26-2009, 08:52 AM

My mom called to remind me of my 5th birthday party when they hired the Michael Jackson impersonator to "sing" at my party. Then we all watched the Thriller movie.

Great times...

papaver

06-26-2009, 09:08 AM

Maybe she can adopt one of MJ's kids. Angelina Jolie can have a 2nd of them.

What other celebrity collects underprivileged kids that can adopt the 3rd?

You should listen to this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK26ojnNtW4

It's about the 'new fashions'...

Irulan

06-26-2009, 09:19 AM

alpinerabbit

06-26-2009, 09:36 AM

As for swine flu distracting people from the real issues... It's a real issue that the world is ripe for a flu epidemic and our current system of vaccines, etc. is too cumbersome to really respond to one... And that some of our farming practices are contributing to it.

yeah yeah. Except that it's hardly more dangerous than other strains and that it did not come from pigs. I still don't buy it.

and the Supreme Court ruling on the middle schooler who was strip searched for tylenol in her panties only got about 3 square inchesWell that was probably worth investigating. What was she doing with Tylenol in her panties??!!

Tuckervill

06-26-2009, 09:45 AM

Am I the only person on the planet that is tired of the news of both deaths overtaking more important issues facing the world today?

:mad:

+1. Let it go.

But I remember it was like this when Elvis died, too.

Karen

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 09:51 AM

I think it was ibuprofen and it's fairly common that new flus originate in pigs... Pigs can catch human flus and avian flus. humans can normally not catch avian flus, but can catch pig flus. Flu genome is divided into 8 different cassettes that are loaded into the viral capsule... if a cell is infected with multiple flus, you get various different combinations of those cassettes into the capsule... thus making pigs fairly important as an incubator of new strains which possibly combine human & avian genes. And one of the reasons that asia is so important for flus... one of those places in the world where pigs, chickens, and humans still live in close quarters.

But yeah, this flu was fairly harmless. However, no matter how harmless it is... they haven't managed to control it, they don't have a vaccine, blah blah blah... so when the next non-harmless one comes along, hopefully they've learned a bit from this.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 09:54 AM

Well I'm not going to rip anyone apart, but I really don't care and I really do resent the front page of my morning paper taken over by all this.

and the Supreme Court ruling on the middle schooler who was strip searched for tylenol in her panties only got about 3 square inches

Odd... you seem to think that our media actually reports and practices investigative journalism.

reading a newspaper is an exercise in irritation for me, even when Michael Jackson is not on the front page. I tend to try to get my news at various places over the web to try to counteract that.

Crankin

06-26-2009, 09:54 AM

I was a little annoyed that the Today show has let the topic monopolize the air this morning. But, it will pass. I still liked his music, despite the weirdness.
There were a few stories about the Antarctica doctor on our local news Wed. night. Apparently she lived here in MA. She had a very interesting life.
Yea, I don't get people "grieving" over celebrities. Things like going and standing outside the deceased's home, lighting candles, bringing flowers for someone you never knew. Of course, a lot of people think I have an unsympathetic attitude toward these things, but I'd say it's more pragmatic. I mean, there's a lot of people I admire, but that's as far as it gets.

alpinerabbit

06-26-2009, 10:00 AM

I guess they think they know them. Because they think they know everything about them.

Zen

06-26-2009, 10:03 AM

I learned about Jerri Nielsen from reading Jezebel (http://jezebel.com/5302164/rip-jerri-nielsen), got the full story on Supreme Court ruling from NPR.

You just have to get your news from a variety of sources.

Zen

06-26-2009, 10:06 AM

But yeah, this flu was fairly harmless. However, no matter how harmless it is... they haven't managed to control it, they don't have a vaccine, blah blah blah... so when the next non-harmless one comes along, hopefully they've learned a bit from this.

If this flu is anything like the Spanish influenza virus of 1918 (and I do believe that's the current thinking) it will reemerge in a more virulent form this fall.
But you have to read science news to know that. The general public doesn't go beyond the home page on their computer.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 10:16 AM

I just ride my bike & wait for you ladies to keep me up to date with world news.

badger

06-26-2009, 10:23 AM

i think people "grieve" over celebrities because for some they evoke memories, whether they are good or bad.

How many of you have gone to a school dance where they played Michael Jackson and you got to dance with your school crush? Or listening to the Jackson 5 when you were 6 years old and you remember dancing to it with your now-deceased grandfather? it's the memories that are attached to the songs or movies or shows that I think people "mourn". And passing of anyone with exceptional talent is a sad thing, imho. Imagine just what we've been denied when John Lennon died, what we missed and will never know.

Irulan

06-26-2009, 10:32 AM

yeah yeah. Except that it's hardly more dangerous than other strains and that it did not come from pigs. I still don't buy it.

Well that was probably worth investigating. What was she doing with Tylenol in her panties??!!

She didn't have any. Being asked to strip down to your panties, pull them open to expose your pelvic are on suspicion of ADVIL, when there was absolutely no reason to indicate that this girl was in possession of drugs ( ie, not a druggie type) is ridiculous and for one am very glad that the SC ruled the way they did, this is taking zero tolerance too far.

Fourth Amendment Victory in Advil Strip Search Case

Jacob Sullum | June 25, 2009, 12:24pm

Today, in an 8-to-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that Arizona public school officials violated the Fourth Amendment rights of a 13-year-old eighth-grader when they subjected her to a strip search because they thought she might be hiding ibuprofen in her underwear. David Souter wrote for the majority:

What was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana [Redding] was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear. We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable.

At the same time, unlike the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, the Supreme Court said Kerry Wilson, the vice principal who ordered the search, cannot be held personally liable for the violation because the relevant law was not clear enough at the time. "Because there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were concealed in her underwear," Souter wrote, "we hold that the search did violate the Constitution, but because there is reason to question the clarity with which the right was established, the official who ordered the unconstitutional search is entitled to qualified immunity from liability."

As I've said before, this is the best result that reasonably could have been expected, but I am surprised by the size of the majority, especially since it seemed there was a good chance the Court would uphold the search. The lone dissenter was Clarence Thomas, who has always taken a narrow view of minors' constitutional rights in the context of school and looked askance at judicial efforts to constrain administrators' authority.

Notably, the position taken by the majority is less deferential to school officials than the one urged by the Obama administration. As common sense would suggest, the Supreme Court considered it relevant not only that there was no reason to think Savana Redding had pills in her crotch or cleavage but also that the pills in question did not pose a significant threat to students' health or safety:

Wilson knew beforehand that the pills were prescription-strength ibuprofen and over-the-counter naproxen, common pain relievers equivalent to two Advil, or one Aleve. He must have been aware of the nature and limited threat of the specific drugs he was searching for, and while just about anything can be taken in quantities that will do real harm, Wilson had no reason to suspect that large amounts of the drugs were being passed around, or that individual students were receiving great numbers of pills.

By contrast, Acting Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler argued that the Court should defer to school officials' judgment about the importance of enforcing their mindless "zero tolerance" policy for drugs and find the strip search unreasonable only because there was insufficient reason to believe it would reveal contraband.

OakLeaf

06-26-2009, 10:35 AM

and the Supreme Court ruling on the middle schooler who was strip searched for tylenol in her panties only got about 3 square inches

except that was news from the day before. It got its run at the top of the headlines just because of the titillating subject. There have been more important stories hit the top since then, besides the celebrity deaths.

Brings us back to the other thread... people still say they read the "paper." :D

Irulan

06-26-2009, 10:37 AM

Odd... you seem to think that our media actually reports and practices investigative journalism.

reading a newspaper is an exercise in irritation for me, even when Michael Jackson is not on the front page. I tend to try to get my news at various places over the web to try to counteract that.

Your sources must be interesting if they don't mention a rather significant 4th amendment rights Supreme Court case.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 10:40 AM

Oh, I'd read about that the day before and had half followed this whenever it first made the news last year or so? What I don't get is why the vice principal is not personally liable for the search.

Irulan

06-26-2009, 10:48 AM

except that was news from the day before. It got its run at the top of the headlines just because of the titillating subject. There have been more important stories hit the top since then, besides the celebrity deaths.

Brings us back to the other thread... people still say they read the "paper." :D

Well, it was on the front headline of the Wall Street Journal and my local paper this morning, not yesterday.

I read TWO papers every morning.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 10:59 AM

Excellent, it's sad how many print newspapers are going out of business. I used to read newspapers, but recycling them, the ads, etc got to be a pain, so now there's the internet which lets you hit multiple newspapers. Unfortunately a lot of them just repackage what comes out over the AP wire.

News comes out faster if you read off newspapers websites - it may have been I saw the headlines about the supreme court ruling yesterday morning, and it was about 7 or so last night that the headlines about Michael were all over the internet news sites.

SadieKate

06-26-2009, 11:02 AM

You go, Irulan. :D

And why news can't be covered more than 1 day in a row is beyond me. Perhaps on the 2nd day there might be more information to offer?

I just about lost it last night when Keith O blabbered and speculated for at least 2 hours about Michael Jackson's death. Report the few facts that are known, break your normal coverage for new facts, and get back to world and national affairs (like Supreme Court rulings about strip searches of minors for unjust cause). If you want to pay homage, take 24 hours and put together a report that doesn't have the same stupid blathering talking heads and video footage re-circulating over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over ad nauseum.

papaver

06-26-2009, 11:08 AM

I read TWO papers every morning.

So do I :D

Crankin

06-26-2009, 11:44 AM

Me, too for reading the paper. On Thursday, it's 3 (when my local paper comes out). Usually don't get to the WSJ until the PM, though.
I scan the Yahoo headlines, but it's rare that I click on any story. I watch 1-2 hours of local news a night (when I am home) and the CBS national news. I look at CNN once in awhile, but it's too repetitive for me. I also read Time magazine. Yes, these are mainstream publications, but I take it all with a grain of salt.
Actually, the Boston Globe *does* do investigative reporting (i.e., the Catholic Church scandal), but a lot less of it now due to the financial condition of the paper. I was quite interested in the middle school case, because I could totally see how that could happen, although I know for sure my last boss would not have strip searched anyone! Can't say that for others, though. School law is very uneven in how court cases get decided. A few years ago I did a research paper on censorship in English classes and the decisions were all over the place according to the state, the level of court, the federal government.

ACG

06-26-2009, 12:02 PM

In my opinion the media outlets are driven to make money. The picture of a now dead, music icon, who let a tumultuous life sells newspapers, keeps ratings up, crashes websites and basically makes money.

For me there are things that are vastly more important than this, but to whom?

Then there is escapism. Many out there would rather focus on his life/death or Farrah's life/death, even if it is only for a few hours, than wonder how we are going to pay our mortgage. It takes the mind to another place.

Additionally there are a large group who 'grew up' listening to the music, hearing it at school dances, birthday parties, etc. Now the association of that music, is of a man who is no longer here to make more music. Or the beauty icon that no one would ldave alone in her final days.

I read the LA Times and the WSJ and scan the internet and watch the news in no specific order.

Supreme court decisions are always on my mind, why, it's just what I am interested in reading. If some people are more concerned about a dead celebrity, whatever, doesn't bother me either.

Irulan

06-26-2009, 01:07 PM

Oh, I'd read about that the day before and had half followed this whenever it first made the news last year or so? What I don't get is why the vice principal is not personally liable for the search.

courtesy the ACLU
www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/40031lgl20090625.html

In today's Supreme Court decision, despite deeming the strip search of Redding unconstitutional, the Court found that the school officials involved are immune from liability. The decision leaves open the possibility, however, that the Safford Unified School district could be held liable.

jobob

06-26-2009, 03:15 PM

I just about lost it last night when Keith O blabbered and speculated for at least 2 hours about Michael Jackson's death. Thank goodness Lee & I routinely record Keith and Rachel on the DVR to watch later in the evening. I just kept the controller on fast forward through both their broadcasts, it was all MJ mourners all the time. Bleah.

Hey, I'm just a wee bit sad about his passing because his music was such a fixture in my teens and twenties, during a very formative period in my life. Not that his music had anything to do with how my life turned out, but it was there in the background. Certain music takes me back to that time, his included. His music played a pretty significant role in the culture of that era (more recently, I'd think not).

But yeah, his passing does warrant a bit of my attention for these reasons. But it's probably overblown in the media, it's what they do and they're very good at it. It'll blow over in a few days.

Hell, if it really bugs you, go take a hike in Appalachia. :D ;) :D

redrhodie

06-26-2009, 03:30 PM

Well, back on topic for me...I was unexpectedly sad at Farrah's passing yesterday. I'd heard of her illness, and knew she was dying, but didn't expect to break into tears walking to the library, as I did.

I didn't realize how highly I thought of her until right then. I was a little young for "Charlies Angels" but I loved her in "The Burning Bed" and "Extremities", both of which were really powerful performances. These were really strong characters, and she brought them to life.

She came into a store I worked in once, and I have to say, she really was breathtaking.

SadieKate

06-26-2009, 03:57 PM

In my opinion the media outlets are driven to make money. TV stations are in the business of selling advertising to make money. The news is a sidebar. I wish I could cite the lawsuit that established this but it had something to do with paying staff overtime. This is all very hazy from some HR class I took in the Dark Ages.

jobob

06-26-2009, 05:05 PM

TV stations are in the business of selling advertising to make money. Hello!

Zen

06-26-2009, 05:06 PM

Hell, if it really bugs you, go take a hike in Appalachia.

You mean take a hike on the Appalachian Trail?
Appalachian Trail, Appalachia. One is a trail that runs through Appalachia, the other is a geographic area.

As a person who lives in Appalachia I just wanted to clear that up. Now excuse me, I must go attend to my still in the holler.

jobob

06-26-2009, 05:07 PM

Sorry, Appalachian Trail, that's what I meant. :o

jobob

06-26-2009, 05:11 PM

Zen

06-26-2009, 05:18 PM

Npr

roadie gal

06-26-2009, 05:19 PM

Just curious, where do you folks go for "real" news - not to be confused with the ad-driven consumer oriented lowest common denominator stuff we often get ?

OK I admit this might be a loaded question, or an unanswerable question, but what the heck I've had my beer and I'm feelin' feisty. :cool:

I was much more into the news during the election than I am now, but here are some of my sites:

www.huffingtonpost.com
www.politico.com
www.rawstory.com
www.washingtonpost.com
Yahoo news
CNN in the morning
Rachel Maddow
and I read the Sierra Sun, our local biweekly paper :D

I almost forgot... I listen to NPR in the car and Coast To Coast AM on the way home from work because you MUST keep up on the UFO sightings.

PamNY

06-26-2009, 05:45 PM

Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Worldfocus are two television options (both on PBS). Sirius/XM radio has the BBC World Service.

salsabike

06-26-2009, 05:49 PM

Hell, if it really bugs you, go take a hike in Appalachia. :D ;) :D

THAT was funny. :D:D Now that's a story that really makes me want to barf. I don't have any trouble seeing the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett as sad. But Sanford's emails are the best diet control device I've seen THIS week. Ick.

SadieKate

06-26-2009, 06:23 PM

From Gail Collins yesterday:

“I spent the last five days crying in Argentina,” he said, completely ignoring all we have learned from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/opinion/25collins.html?_r=1

I'm still giggling thanks to a friend of jobob's. Of course, the stupid refrain is stuck in my head.

Zen

06-26-2009, 06:29 PM

From Gail Collins yesterday:

“I spent the last five days crying in Argentina,” he said, completely ignoring all we have learned from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/opinion/25collins.html?_r=1

OMG, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Too too funny :D

I hope his wife takes all his money and marries the pool boy.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 06:31 PM

salsabike

06-26-2009, 06:31 PM

Hey, I was actually SO taken by Gail Collins' column on this yesterday that I emailed her to say "Great column; been meaning to tell you I like your work." I was reading parts of it out loud to my spouse in the next room and laughing immoderately. "Finally, a governor who’s weirder than Rod Blagojevich and less responsible than Eliot Spitzer." Thank you, Gail.

salsabike

06-26-2009, 06:36 PM

I'm all over the place. New york times, financial times, bbc world, huffington post, generally if I'm reading a story about iran or whatever - go find an Iranian news paper. Get a couple different sources. Is it real then? So I end up on a lot of other news sites regularly in addition to those.

and I don't even have to get black smudges on my fingers from newsprint.

Yeah, me too. I am a total online news junkie. There used to be a Tehran Globe but my bookmark for that now does not find it. Al Jazeera English is sometimes worth a look, as is the Middle East Daily, and Malaysiakini.com is really interesting. And the Lebanon Daily Star (dailystar.com.lb).

SadieKate

06-26-2009, 06:52 PM

I hope his wife takes all his money and marries the pool boy.It's her money already. She's part of the Skil power tool family. Just think of the possibilities . . . . :rolleyes:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/mark-sanfords-career-was-_n_220506.html

salsabike

06-26-2009, 06:57 PM

I'm quite liking her so far. http://www.fitsnews.com/2008/10/18/dont-mess-with-jenny-sanford/

Zen

06-26-2009, 07:02 PM

Wow. She should run for his office.

crazycanuck

06-26-2009, 07:27 PM

Should you wish to read about Iran etc..Why not visit the Independent & read Fisky's (robert fisk) articles..http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisks-world-the-jury-is-out-on-the-iranian-model-of-religion-and-politics-1721566.html

SadieKate

06-26-2009, 07:45 PM

Thanks, I just added a gadget for that site to my homepage.

Cataboo

06-26-2009, 07:53 PM

I end up on the independent fairly often.

crazycanuck

06-26-2009, 08:06 PM

I lost all our links when we transferred to our new computer..:o :(

I believe this was one of the papers I had on my list..http://www.iran-daily.com/1388/3432/html/

Heifzilla

06-26-2009, 08:56 PM

If this flu is anything like the Spanish influenza virus of 1918 (and I do believe that's the current thinking) it will reemerge in a more virulent form this fall.
But you have to read science news to know that. The general public doesn't go beyond the home page on their computer.

Yup, this. Flu virus loves to mutate, and this one has a lot of hallmarks of the Spanish flu, which wasn't all that bad until it's 4th or 4th mutation. So this flu virus can still come around and bite us all in the *** something fierce. Of course by that point we will all be so jaded over them "crying wolf" that we might not take it seriously :(

crazycanuck

06-26-2009, 09:02 PM

Heifzilla

06-26-2009, 09:08 PM

The ting about this "swine flu" that bothers me...The media doesn't make a point in first stating the fact that the folks this week in Aust that have died from it..were seriously ill already..One had terminal cancer, etc. Let's get some perspective folks..We're not all going to die from it..:rolleyes:

Stupid Stupid media..:mad:

I agree about the media. However, this particular flu *is* also killing healthy, young adults unlike the usual flu that mostly affects the old, already ill, or the very young. So, while I don't think we should all run around with our heads cut off, I think we should pay some attention.

PamNY

06-26-2009, 09:16 PM

crazycanuck

06-26-2009, 10:10 PM

WHooops, didn't explain myself well there :o

What I meant to say is the media reported thier deaths but the underlying fact that they were already ill wasn't part of the first couple of paragraphs in the articles or in the headline..

Zen

06-27-2009, 02:38 AM

Whether or not they had other medical issues the cause of death was still N1H1 influenza virus. it's not pandemic at this point but it's lurking.

OakLeaf

06-27-2009, 03:34 AM

For "general" news, a couple more -

http://www.democracynow.org/
http://thinkprogress.org/
http://news.yahoo.com/world/oneworld
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

There are a lot of other sites I visit for more focused coverage. I adore Robert Fisk (who is a riveting speaker as well - he's appeared on Democracy Now! several times), but for the most part I'd consider his columns commentary or background rather than up-to-the minute news.

And, H1N1 flu is pandemic as of two weeks ago (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/). Guess that got lost under the celebrity headline du jour.

Real news is out there, slugged with headlines in a regular sized font. I know I have more time on my hands than most, but nobody is forcing anyone to read the celebrity stories.

jobob

06-27-2009, 06:10 AM

Hee hee, I love how this thread is going all over the place. I'm likening it to one of those metabolic pathways flow charts. :)

jobob

06-27-2009, 06:21 AM

Anyone read ( the late :( ) Jerri Nielsen's book Icebound? I thought it was a fascinating read, not just from the human interest perspective (which was very compelling), but it also gave a feel for life on a research station on the South Pole and how the people made it through the long antarctic winter (summer?).

Aggie_Ama

06-27-2009, 06:38 AM

I am educated as a journalist but not working as one. Most journalists would rather report on the real news but papers are a business and Michael Jackson's death will sell a lot of papers in a time when their market share is very small. You can't really blame the media for trying to keep themselves in business. Every professor told us the same thing "if it bleeds, it leads". One called it "fascination with the abomination", more news on the crappy economy isn't going to get the casual consumer to buy a paper but a celebrity death might. It was shocking due to his age, you know there is way more to the story (he was supposedly an addict) and he was larger than life to many people.

I have been totally sucked into this articale on a local plane that crashed in Arizona and was smuggling drugs. It is way more interesting than the lastest unemployment rates. :rolleyes:

PamNY

06-27-2009, 02:52 PM

I am educated as a journalist but not working as one. Most journalists would rather report on the real news but papers are a business and Michael Jackson's death will sell a lot of papers in a time when their market share is very small. You can't really blame the media for trying to keep themselves in business.

You will never, ever convince even highly intelligent people of that. It is popular to believe that everyone in journalism is a sleazebag who has, from childhood, wanted to report on celebrities. Also, there is supposed be a magic revenue fairly who exempts news organizations from economic realities.

Aggie_Ama

06-27-2009, 08:36 PM

You will never, ever convince even highly intelligent people of that. It is popular to believe that everyone in journalism is a sleazebag who has, from childhood, wanted to report on celebrities. Also, there is supposed be a magic revenue fairly who exempts news organizations from economic realities.

:D It is my belief that every journalist had bigger dreams but now are forced with reality of their business. I miss news writing but I know I couldn't do it professionally.

Cataboo

06-29-2009, 09:43 AM

The fact that old & ill people die of the flu is something we should just ignore & not care about?

The # of people that die from the flu yearly is staggering.. and yeah, a lot of them are old and immunosuppressed, but I really do think we need some method that works of vaccinating them quickly or drugs that work. Because dying of the flu is so last century.

Zen

06-29-2009, 11:25 AM

How can you do that with a virus that mutates?
Aren't immunizations made from a preceding virus?

OakLeaf

06-29-2009, 11:27 AM

Personally I'd rather not find some new 21st century way to die.

Fredwina

06-29-2009, 11:33 AM

Like hitting your head when the airplane blows a tire? (No more zorbeez);)

redrhodie

06-29-2009, 11:45 AM

Like hitting your head when the airplane blows a tire? (No more zorbeez);)

I won't speak ill of the dead, but I'm not going to miss the yelling. Poor guy, though. I heard his last interview where he said he had gotten hit really hard on the head. Brain injuries are amazing. You think you're fine, then...it's too late.

katluvr

06-29-2009, 11:50 AM

Since he lives here, I have update from our local paper (on line)
Seems it was heart disease and not neurological (or trauma)--just a coincidence???

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1014168.ece

SadieKate

06-29-2009, 01:51 PM

Like hitting your head when the airplane blows a tire? (No more zorbeez);)Was he wearing his seatbelt while seated?

uforgot

06-29-2009, 02:26 PM

That Thriller Video is my all time favorite! I've done that dance with my students many times, and it's still the one that is their favorite. I just flat out copied the steps. (And so did the Philippine prisoners!) Don't tell. But the choreography could not have been better. And oh my, was he a dancer! Something about his music just makes everyone want to dance!

I've heard that there is a fine line between genius and insanity. Michael was so gifted, and we enjoy his genius, but too bad he had to go through so much personal torment.

Cataboo

06-29-2009, 03:03 PM

How can you do that with a virus that mutates?
Aren't immunizations made from a preceding virus?

The current process of making a flu vaccine is antiquitated - not to mention, the antigens being vaccinated against are predicted a year in advance... which doesn't help when there's a new flu right now this second, and growing a vaccine in chicken eggs, you can't produce it fast enough to treat an ongoing epidemic.

Approve recombinant flu vaccines, and it doesn't take so long to produce a vaccine against a new antigen.

Viruses mutate - but there are usually common antigens - things that are required for infection, etc. that are conserved... target those sorts of antigens as much as possible.

And better drugs in general against an existing flu infection would help.

solobiker

06-29-2009, 07:54 PM

Yup, this. Flu virus loves to mutate, and this one has a lot of hallmarks of the Spanish flu, which wasn't all that bad until it's 4th or 4th mutation. So this flu virus can still come around and bite us all in the *** something fierce. Of course by that point we will all be so jaded over them "crying wolf" that we might not take it seriously :(

This is what the medical director where I work was telling me last week. What often happens is that people "let their guard down" and are not as vigilant with handwashing and such and in the meantime the virus as stated above has gone through several mutations which can be very deadly. He went on and on for about 30 minutes of what could happen, and the ramifications including both to the healthy and the comprimised population.