This is only a sample of this artist's work. For more information or to see more work by this artist please contact Steve or Tara at Montana Trails Gallery:
"I started painting landscapes and wildlife scenes at the age of twelve. On weekends, I took lessons. Growing up in Oklahoma gave me a love for nature, fishing, hunting, and campingՠmy art is rooted in these enthusiasms.
After graduating from High School, I worked several jobs and in 1987, I joined the Navy. I was trained as a Navy SEAL and served four years on Team 3 in Coronado, CA. Following my Honorable Discharge, I took a six month road trip photographing and hiking Nation Historic Sites and National Parks. This trip inspired me to begin painting again. I visited the CAA Museum in Kerrville, TX, as well as many art galleries in the West. I decided then I wanted to paint for a living. Visiting the Historic sites and reading tons of American History kindled my passion for historical western themes. Through my experience tin the military and following the roads of those pioneers and trailblazers, I felt a strong connection with their hardships, challenges working the land, and determination to survive. I sought out a good art school where I could develop the drawing and painting skills I needed to communicate my impressions. I found that at Art Center College in Pasadena, CA. This led to workshops with other painters, including Dan McCaw, Dan Pinkham, and Donald Putman.
I do Plein Air work as well which is a passion of mine. I believe it is essential in understanding the light and colors necessary in creating the mood I seek for my larger pieces. I also attend mountain man rendezvous and Civil War re-enactments to observe my subject first hand. I combine what I see there with readings of old journals and books and what I imagine it was like two centuries ago before the land was settled.
My goal is to pictorially show Americaճ heritage and manճ relationship to the land before it was spoiled by settlement and technology. The story, though very important, is subordinate to the mood I want to portray. Without communicating mood, the essence of all true art, a painting is just another portrayal of the obvious. I hope to bring the two together to inspire art lovers and historians, alike." —Todd Connor
Well, it's trash day on my block. In most neighbhorhoods, this would not be cause for a diplomatic incident. But most neighborhoods don't have my neighbors.
They have extra garbage cans; those big bins, because they have a construction crew doing something. Besides generating the extra trash, I'm not sure what.
They put those bins in front of my place, because they don't have room in front of their place, because they park on the street in front of their place, because the construction crew parks in their driveway. (That's so they can get closer to all the trash they create.)
To me, the solution's obvious: stop the construction, send home the crew, park in the driveway --or Heaven forbid-- the garage, and put-out their garbage cans, back in front of their house. Yeah, but that's not gonna happen.
So I guess I'm just stuck, being good neighbor; and I'll just keep doing what I've been doing: I put my trash cans in front of my other neighbor's house.
Across the globe, some of the top scientists are attempting to create life from nothing, and so far there has been no success but now experts are saying wet artificial life will be possible in just 3 to 10 years.
ProtoLife is one organisation trying to develop wet artificial life and their COO, Mark Bedau, said:
“It’s going to be a big deal and everybody’s going to know about it. We’re talking about a technology that could change our world in pretty fundamental ways — in fact, in ways that are impossible to predict.”
As all life its based around DNA, it could be possible to create some sort of life. As DNA is a just a chemical, all scientists need to do is create that chemical and then they will have created wet artificial life. However, the chemical is incredibly complex, so its not as easy as it sounds.
Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 9:14 AM by Chimene Williams Categories: Live from Studio 1A
This morning Studio 1A was paid a visit by justice, “Jimmy Justice.” He’s an average guy from Brooklyn, New York who’s outraged by New York City’s aggressive (his word) ticketing policy. Watch the video here.
“Jimmy Justice” talked to me for a few minutes about why he started trailing traffic enforcement agents with his video camera.
allDay: When did you start making these videos? I started making videos about a year ago. I collected videos of this sort because I saw a traffic enforcement agent write a civilian a ticket for blocking a fire hydrant and then that same traffic officer who wrote the summons to the civilian got back into his official vehicle, made a u-turn and he parked blocking a different fire hydrant across the street. And he went into a restaurant to eat lunch. And I said there has got to be something wrong with that.
allDay: Do you think it will make a difference? I hope it will snowball. Everyday the amount of hits are really growing. It’s my hope that after a larger amount of people see the video, they’ll be outraged and force City Hall to change their policy of predatory ticketing and to install a system of checks and balances monitoring the behavior of the traffic enforcement agent.
allDay: What do your friends think, and why? They love it. For the same reason that the public loves it. Everyone wants to see the bully get what they deserve. And these people are bulling the citizens of New York by being overly aggressive. And now we’re catching them when they’re doing something wrong. And now we’re turning the tables on them.
allDay: How many tickets have you gotten? I’m a careful driver and I read all the signs and I still get tickets. I get approximately three per year. Every couple of months I get one. Even if I’m super careful I still get tickets. A lot of the signs are ambiguous and I think that may be on purpose.
allDay: Are you political? Yes.
allDay: Would you ever run for public office? If I was elected to office I would want to pay attention to what the people have to say because the government is to serve the people and no try to rip the people off through aggressive ticketing.
allDay: How did you come up with the name Jimmy Justice? It sounds like give me justice and we need things to be fair in this city. Parking tickets should be about public safety and not as a way to generate revenue for the city.
After watching and reading what “Jimmy Justice” had to say, what do you think? How would you handle a situation like this?
AP/Christian Abraham (Connecticut Post), August 15, 2007
Bridgeport Bluefish catcher John Nathans, right, prevents Long Island Ducks' Jose Offerman (18) from hitting Bluefish pitcher Matt Beech with a bat.
Jose Offerman has been suspended indefinitely by the Atlantic League after a wild bat-swinging incident Tuesday night in Bridgeport, Conn. The Long Island Ducks infielder was arrested after charging the mound and injuring two players with his bat in the second inning of the Ducks' 13-12 win.
Offerman had homered on the game's first pitch. He came to bat in the second inning and after a first-pitch strike, he was hit on the left calf by lefthander Matt Beech. Bat in hand, he charged the mound, taking three swings at Beech and also hitting catcher John Nathans in the back of the head with a backswing. According to Bridgeport police, Beech broke the middle finger of his right hand and Nathans suffered a concussion. Offerman, Beech and Bluefish manager Tommy John were ejected after order was restored. Nathans remained in the game but upon returning to the dugout at the end of the inning, he passed out.
Police arrested Offerman in the visiting clubhouse, allowing him to dress before taking him from the stadium in handcuffs. He was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree and posted $10,000 bond. He will be arraigned Aug. 23.
"This type of thing happens but you don't go at a man with a bat," said Frank Boulton, the Ducks' principal owner and chief executive of the league. "It was not unprovoked but in no way do the Long Island Ducks condone Jose Offerman's actions."
John said that a pitcher intentionally hitting a batter is part of the game but doubted that was the case here.
"If you're going to hit somebody, you're not going to hit him on the calf," John said on ESPN's "First Take." "If you're incensed and think the pitcher's throwing at you, you drop the bat."
While Boulton wasn't sure why Offerman was arrested for an on-field incident, John said that Beech and Nathans filed charges. Atlantic League executive director Joe Klein is in Bridgeport speaking with the umpires and all parties involved. He suspended Offerman and released a statement saying that the incident is "under review and a decision on his status and that of other participants will be announced by week's end."
According to John, Beech will attempt to make his next start with his finger splinted, pending the league's investigation while Nathans is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Hopefully, the year 2012 is going to be remembered forever in the history of space tourism industry. It would be the year when EADS Astrium space jet will take off to the space and in the very same year, the “Galactic Suite,” the first hotel planned in space is expected to open for business. Barcelona-based architect Xavier Claramunt is saying that the space hotel will be the most expensive in the galaxy and will cost $4 million for a three-day stay 300 miles in orbit.
How interesting it would be to see the sun rise 15 times a day and crawl around the pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls like Spiderman by using Velcro suits. The proposed configuration is a three-bedroom boutique hotel with pods and the designer says that the system is designed for modularity and expansion “based on the natural growth of a grapevine.”
But, how will the passengers take a shower in weightlessness? But, there is nothing to worry as they have got the solution. The guests will enter a spa room in which bubbles of water will float around. But again, the biggest problem is the bathrooms in zero gravity and they haven’t commented anything in this context. Moreover, the space tourists will also take part in scientific experiments, according to the Galactic Suite press release.
Reservations for the incredible space hotel can be made at reservations@galacticsuite.com.
Owning a luxury yacht is one of the latest fads for the millionaires. Built in India and designed with the original owner, Indian industrialist Gautam Singhania, the 153-foot luxury tri-deck power yacht, Ashena is now up for sale. It took fiver years to build the yacht and it has been put up for sale a couple of years after it was finished. Boasting a unique Burmese teak hull, the Ashena can accommodate 12 guests in six spacious staterooms, all fitted with bathroom ensuite. The gorgeous yacht is priced at US $16,494,643. Check out the interiors after the jump.
There's nothing quite like this one. A gorgeous custom contemporary built in the Navajo Ridge gated community in the Red Rock canyons. The striking six-bedroom home has a hot tub, sauna, home theater, stone countertops and a temperature-controlled wine cellar and tasting room, climate controlled by 11 separate zone radiant heat and HVAC system. The home is tucked into the rocks in such a way that the rocks are actually a part of the home itself. A stunning beauty in a land of stunning beauty, it is listed at $9.75 million. After the jump, the oasis in the desert.
Auction house Christie's big contemporary art sale in New York isn't until November 13 but the art world is already buzzing about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's iconic Liz Taylor portraits will be on the auction block. The turquoise Liz was created in 1963 and is part of Warhol's celebrity portraits that also include Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. This work also has a celebrity owner. Actor Hugh Grant bought the painting six years ago for $3.5 million at Sotheby's in New York. He now could realize anywhere from $25 million to $35 million on his investment.
Police: Man Wraps Head In Duct Tape For Robbery Disguise
Employee Says Man Reminded Him Of 'Beavis And Butthead' Character
POSTED: 7:04 am EDT August 14, 2007
UPDATED: 9:14 am EDT August 14, 2007
A man accused of robbing a liquor store in Kentucky double wrapped his head and face in duct tape to disguise his identity during the crime, according to police.
Employees at the Shamrock Liquors in Ashland reportedly laughed when the duct tape-wrapped bandit entered the store and demanded money.
After the robbery, the store manager and employee tackled the man in a nearby parking lot and held him for police, Local 6 reported.The culprit, who police identified as Kasey Kazee, denied robbing the store even though police snapped photos showing him wrapped in duct tape and then snapped photos showing his face without the tape.Reporters interviewed Kazee in jail after the crime."Look at me," Kazee said. "Do I look like the duct-tape bandit, baby? I'm not no duct-tape bandit. Live one-on-one in Ashland, Kentucky, you know this is not me. Now look. Do the math and do the homework."Store employee Craig Miller said Kazee reminded him of the "Cornholio" character from the "Beavis and Butthead" cartoon, WSAZ reported.Police said they have enough to make the charges stick.
Cadet Melanie Kleebaum and instructor Warrant Officer First Class Christopher Caicedo inspect a glider at CFB Mountainview prior to takeoff.
Photo: W. Brice McVicar
Teen cadet overcomes fear of heights
W. Brice McVicar / The Intelligencer Local News - Monday, July 16, 2007 @ 10:00
Melanie Kleebaum, at an altitude of 2,000 feet, faced her fear of heights this past weekend.
The 17-year-old Kincardine native is one of a handful of cadets participating in the introduction to aviation course in the region. Sunday afternoon those cadets were given their only opportunity to soar high above Prince Edward County in a glider.
Kleebaum, however, suffers from acrophobia - the fear of heights - and struggles when crossing a bridge. Sunday's flight, she said, would truly test her phobia.
"This is the first real opportunity as a cadet that I've got to do it," Kleebaum said in regards to her flight. "Everyone's assured me that it's safe."
Her phobia has lessened in the past few years but Kleebaum said when she learned a flight in a glider was mandatory for cadets in the program she was "a little freaked out." Had she known the flight was necessary she may not have signed up for the course, she said.
Sitting on the air strip only minutes away from take-off, Kleebaum said she did not know exactly what to expect once she and her instructor would be in the air but said she had been assured everything would go smoothly.
"I'll probably have a little bit of fear once I get up there but it's probably going to be beautiful," Kleebaum said.
Warrant Officer First Class Christopher Caicedo served as Kleebaum's instructor and said he would handle her flight slightly differently than a cadet who was not fearful of heights. He admitted he too suffers from a slight fear of heights but reassured Kleebaum things would be smooth and she'd enjoy her flight.
Caicedo said he has had other cadets who suffer from the same phobia.
"I like to talk them through it. I have lots of experience in the glider."
Major Doug Irish, Officer Commander for the ITAC program, said it is not unusual to have cadets with a fear of heights enrol in the program. Cadets such as Kleebaum are talked to long before their first flight and their fears are brought forward.
Knowing of their phobia means instructors and pilots try to "make the flight a little easier."
Irish said when a cadet does have acrophobia a flight in the glider can either act as a cure or a catalyst.
"She's not the first one and she won't be the last one. They'll either come down with their fear stronger or saying 'I want to be a pilot,'" he laughed.
For Kleebaum, the flight seemed to be closer to the latter.
Moments after touchdown the quiet teenager told reporters she found the 10 minute flight interesting and she will likely try to get into the glider school program next summer.
"It was a lot of fun. I was a little nervous but it was interesting," she said.
Caicedo complimented Kleebaum and explained he allowed her to take the controls of the glider during the most difficult part of the flight. As the tow plane lifted the small aircraft into the air he handed the controls over to her to watch her perform perfectly.
Practicing what to do should an airplane ever stall, however, was a bit more challenging for Kleebaum. The glider's nose is lifted high enough into the wind that the wings stop providing lift which, in turn, causes the glider to drop towards the ground.
This move is referred to as a roller coaster due to the sensation. Kleebaum said her reaction to the maneuver was mixed.
"It was a little scary on the first one but the second one was fun."
A publisher of nude model photography is suing Microsoft for putting links and images of the company's content in search results taken from other Web sites.
Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
A publisher of nude model photography is suing Microsoft Corp. for putting links and images of the company's content in search results taken from other Web sites that are illegally reproducing the material.
The company, Perfect 10 Inc., previously lost a similar suit seeking injunctions against Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. and its subsidiary search engine, A9.com Inc., over alleged copyright infringement, but Perfect 10 is appealing that decision.
The latest suit, filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, alleges that Microsoft's MSN image search feature creates unauthorized thumbnails of content owned by Perfect 10 and includes links to see full-size versions of the images for free
The suit also says Microsoft's MSN search engine can find passwords that have been improperly posted on other Web sites and enable access to Perfect 10's Web site. Microsoft also takes advertising money from Web sites that have stolen Perfect 10 images, according to the lawsuit.
Norm Zada, president of Perfect 10, said Microsoft has rejected efforts to reach a settlement. Microsoft could not be immediately reached for comment.
Zada said Microsoft's search engine, as well as those of Google and Amazon.com, have caused his company to lose US$4 million a month. Perfect 10 recently closed its magazine after 10 years in print due to images being available for free online, which were easy to find through searches, he added.
"Our business is being destroyed," Zada said. "This is a life and death battle for us."
Perfect 10 sued between 20 to 25 Web sites that were stealing its content, but "it's absolutely hopeless. A lot of these people are in Russia or China," Zada said. Instead, Zada said he holds the search engines responsible for making it easy to find infringing content.
For a time, it looked as if Perfect 10 might prevail in its claim against Google and Amazon.com. In February, a judge ruled that Google and Amazon.com could be partially liable for infringement for displaying the thumbnails.
However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned most of that decision in May, citing fair-use principles and the benefits that search engines provide to the general public.
The court also found full-size images from Web sites are not stored by Google, and the company's search service merely directs a user's browser to third-party Web sites.
Zada said Perfect 10 is appealing the Ninth Circuit's decision, but no court date has been scheduled yet.
Sarasota, Florida has long been an enclave of modern architecture. Today's home is a new build that carries on that tradition. The six-bedroom home is 8,300 square feet. The home is a little boxy for my taste but it does have an ideal location on the water. The master bedroom has an enviable view with large glass windows facing the sea but the kitchen leaves me cold. It is listed at $9.875 million. After the jump, I think we've seen this chair before.
A man flew from Peru to New York (via Florida) with a tiny monkey hidden under his hat, according to the Associated Press, which says other passengers noticed the marmoset when it climbed out on the man's pony tail in the middle of the flight.
The well-behaved monkey spent the rest of the trip sitting next to the man, according to reports. After the flight landed at LaGuardia Airport, police took the man away for questioning and placed the marmoset in quarantine.
"There was no national security issue," Fari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Fort Lauderdale, tells the New York Post. (Headline: A flying monkey)
The National Zoo in Washington says these are the world's smallest monkeys. Here's more about the mammal. The New York Times says it was a spider monkey.
This afternoon, you may see London, you may see France, but only in New York will you see an unapologetic parade of underpants. Transformed into a catwalk, Military Island in Times Square will play host to the suggestive festivities associated with National Underwear Day, a below-the-belt "holiday"/consumer fashion show organized by the folks at online underwear vendor freshpair.com.
Those bold enough to stare without diverting blushed glances will be in store for an eyeful. On the men's side, boxers, briefs, boxer briefs and perhaps a thong or two may be peeped amid the throng of scantily clad models. But those paying close attention to these garments also will notice another revealing trend in the realm of men's skivvies: a couture revolution.
"I think men are becoming more demanding, they're not just settling for black, white or gray anymore," said Michael Kleinmann, founder of National Underwear Day and president of freshpair.com, which peddles more than 100 brands of unmentionables. "These days, men are looking for underwear that's a little more fashionable."
"Boxers or briefs?" that was the question. No more. Gone are the days of tighty whities, as a growing number of men are abandoning black-and-white for color. Cuts are changing, too. Now the questions are: "Pink or patterned?" "Low-rise or sport-cut?" In some cases: "Silk or soy?"
Colors in demand
In a burgeoning market where anything goes, demand for inventive briefs is on the rise. According to market research firm NDP Group, men's underwear sales increased more than 5 percent from 2004 to 2006, a time frame which also saw leaps in sales of patterned and colored briefs and a significant decline in the sale of the white knits, which once ruled the market.
"A lot of colors and patterns are in," said Kleinmann."Every season we see more and more brands offering bright colors and designs. ... Lately we're seeing lower rise underwear to match low-rise jean trends."
As with any trend, with increased demand come higher prices. Andrew Christian, for example, offers sport-inspired briefs with lifeguard crosses and soccer uniform adornments for $29 apiece. Dolce and Gabbana camouflage-waisted boxer briefs will set you back $36. Playful (and colorful) Paul Frank cuts will run you upward of $30.
Multipack offerings
Even simplicity is inexplicably expensive. Plain Calvin Klein boxer briefs, like those made famous by the racy print ads of yesteryear, now retail for upward of $24 each. Hanes and Fruit of the Loom aren't exempt from the price hike either. Solid multipack offerings, which once retailed for under $8, are getting dragged along with the incoming price tide. Now three-pack boxer-brief sets rate around $15.
"With higher-priced pieces, you're getting different fabrications, more personalized cuts or expressive designs," said Kleinmann, who noted his best-selling brands were the pricey C-in2 and 2(x)ist lines. "You can also get alternative fabrics. ... Cotton is still No. 1, but we're seeing things like bamboo and soy compositions."
And that brings us to the ultimate underwear alternative, as it were – one you won't be seeing on National Underwear Day's catwalk. According to a 2004 poll by Kleinmann's freshpair .com, 9 percent of men regularly opt to go commando, or abandon underwear all together, a choice which Kleinmann respects but hopes to combat with his holiday.
July 23, 2007 -- People who drank soda every day -- even diet soda -- in a recent study were more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease.
That is because a soda habit increases the risk of developing a condition called metabolic syndrome, according to the new research, and that in turn boosts the chance of getting both heart disease and diabetes.
"Even one soda per day increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 50%," says Ramachandran Vasan, MD, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and the senior author of the study, published in the July 31 issue of the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
But other experts, including the American Heart Association, say heart disease has many risk factors and there's not enough evidence to directly blame sodas.
To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, three of five criteria must be met: a large waistline, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, or reduced HDL or "good" cholesterol.
"This study adds to the wealth of scientific evidence that sugar-sweetened beverages increase the risk of metabolic syndrome," says Vasan. Already, he says, the rise in sugary drink consumption has been linked to the epidemic of obesity and diabetes among children and teens and to the development of high blood pressure in adults.
Soda-Heart Disease Link Questioned
The food and beverage industry takes issue with the finding.
Roger Clemens, DrPH, a spokesperson for the Institute of Food Technologists, calls the study findings "oversimplified."
"There are many attributes associated with the development of metabolic syndrome," Clemens tells WebMD. "Some of which are part of lifestyle choices, such as eating too many calories." Diet soda is a more appropriate choice than regular soda, he says.
"It's way too soon to say stop drinking diet soda," says Clemens, a professor of molecular toxicology at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles, who is familiar with the new research. "Diet soda, in moderation, can be part of a healthy lifestyle."
Study Details
Vasan and his colleagues evaluated about 3,500 men and women participating in the Framingham Offspring Study. The offspring study began in 1971, following the original Framingham Heart Study launched in 1948. The offspring study included 5,124 people in all.
The questions about soda and other dietary habits were asked at three different exam periods, from 1987 to 1991, 1991 to 1995, and 1995 to 1998. The average age of those who answered questions about their soft drink intake and other health habits was 53 during the three exam periods, Vasan says.
At the first exam period, those who drank one or more soft drinks daily had a 48% increased prevalence of having metabolic syndrome compared with those who drank less than one a day, the researchers found.
As the study progressed, drinking one or more sodas a day was linked with a 44% higher risk of participants developing metabolic syndrome, Vasan's team found, compared with drinking less than a soda a day.
The researchers looked at soda consumption and the person's risk of developing each of the five criteria of metabolic syndrome. "Other than elevated blood pressure, the risk of developing the other four increased from about 20% to 30% with one soda a day," Vasan tells WebMD. They also found a trend toward an increased risk of developing high blood pressure with soda consumption, but it wasn't enough to be considered significant.
Do others share my impression that for many Catholics Ascension is the neglected feast, falling, scarcely noticed, between Easter alleluias and Pentecost pyrotechnics?
And that Jesus' Ascension, when pondered at all, appears to represent the Lord's leaving, embarking, perhaps, on a well-earned sabbatical, until "he comes again in glory."
The New Testament suggests a radically different perspective. Mark's Gospel ends, speaking of the ascended Lord "working with" those he sends forth to proclaim the Good News everywhere.
The Letter to the Ephesians insists that, by his Ascension, Jesus rules as head of his body the Church, "which is the fulness of him who fills all in every way" (Eph 1:23). There is mystery here to be sure, but hardly inactivity.
What does the ascended Lord do, what action is unique to him? He pours out the Holy Spirit to all who believe and call upon his name. As Peter proclaims on Pentecost: "Exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has poured out what you see and hear" (Acts 2:33).
We do, indeed, need a "Spirit Christology," if we are truly to realize who Christ is and who we, as Church, are called to be. But it must be a robust, not a palid or sentimental "Spirit Christology;" and its theological point of departure is neither Jesus' conception nor baptism, but his Ascension.
Ascension: not an "orphan feast," but the Feast of feasts, whereby humanity is taken into the very bosom of the Father, and we are not left orphans, but raised up as daughters and sons in the Son.
Kingsbury Place is one of the prettier streets in St. Louis. It is a private street home to a marble archway with its own fountain created by the same architecture firm that worked on today's home. The street is a showcase of homes built in the early 1900s that reflect a variety of architectural styles. This Beaux Arts-style residence was built in 1904 and has a Bedford limestone exterior. The entry hall includes a curved staircase with a beautiful glass skylight and hand-painted murals. The home is 7,680 square feet with five bedrooms, a paneled library, a solarium and a wine room. The second floor master suite has a dressing room and a bathroom with a mosaic. There is also a hidden door which leads to the study. Outside there is a garden with a pool and a dining pavilion that looks a bit like the one at Paris Hilton's house. It is listed at $2.195 million. After the jump, in the wine room a little bit of faux to go with your Beaux.
Arkansas couple have their 17th child, say they want more
The Associated Press
Published: August 2, 2007
LITTLE ROCK: An Arkansas couple had a baby daughter Thursday — their 17th child and seventh girl — and the pair say they're still not ready to give it a rest.
Jennifer Danielle was born at 10:01 a.m. at a hospital in Rogers, Arkansas, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said in an interview.
"We'd love to have more," Michelle said, referring to baby girls. "We love the ruffles and lace."
Jennifer joins the fast-growing Duggar brood, who live in a 7,000-square-foot (650-square-meter) home in Tontitown. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are taught at home.
The oldest is 19 and the youngest, before Jennifer, is almost 2 years old.
"We are just so grateful to God for another gift from him," said Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative. "We are just so thankful to him that everything went just very well."
Jennifer joins siblings: Joshua, 19; John David, 17; Janna, 17; Jill, 16; Jessa, 14; Jinger, 13; Joseph, 12; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 9; Jedidiah, 8; Jeremiah, 8; Jason 7; James 6; Justin, 4; Jackson, 3; Johannah, almost 2.
Michelle Duggar said she started feeling contractions Wednesday night and went to the hospital at about 5 a.m. Thursday.
"It actually went fast," she said. "I guess once I started progressing, it went within 30 minutes."
The Duggars have been featured on several programs on cable television's Discovery Health Network. The next special, the Duggar Family Album, is scheduled to air next month, Jim Bob Duggar said.
Among the "fun facts" listed on Discovery Health's Web page devoted to the Duggars: A baby has been born in every month except June; the Duggars have gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers, and Michelle has been pregnant for 126 months — or 10.5 years — of her life.
Surgeons fight to rescue "Jim Bob" Duggar, proud father of 16 kids, from the vagina of his wife Michelle. Mr. Duggar was sucked into his wife's "hoo-hoo" in what is described as a result of extreme overexertion and mutations of Mrs. Duggar's plumbing following her 16th pregnancy.
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Banana Press International)--"Jim Bob" Duggar is once again thanking the good lord Jesus again tonight after accidently being devoured by his wife's vagina Tuesday evening. Mr. Duggar was finally freed by surgeons in a harrowing 12-hour emergency vaginalomanectomy procedure and was later treated and released.
The couple, just back from celebrating their 16th child, had settled down in their upstairs bedroom, when Mr. Duggar said he had accidently gotten sucked into his wife's vagina during an attempt to "thank the good lord for his blessings while preforming the preliminary stages of their 17th immaculate conception attempt."
"This is such a blessing to be alive, thank almighty God for forgiving me and saving my life," said Duggar. "I have to admit that Satan's evildoers strayed me away from the missionary position, instead I almost created a sin of the mouth for the purpose of evil pleasuregivin' as I stared directly into the tunnel of God's little gift chute!"
Duggar said he was then sucked into God's gift chute and then sucked into the abyss, only to feel "like I had my hand in the cookie jar.....um...except pretty much my whole damn body was in there............................ooops.....did I curse?"
Doctors blame the incident on overexertion of Mrs. Duggar's reproductive organs, so warped over several childbirths that it barely resembles a woman's vagina and more like a dark endless "void."
Death toll revised to 4, while up to 30 still missing; probe to begin
Joshua Lott / Reuters
Vehicles rest on a collapsed section of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis on Thursday morning. Emergency personnel continued searching the waters below for any bodies.
MINNEAPOLIS - Federal officials and Minnesota lawmakers prepared to travel to the Twin Cities Thursday to begin investigating the collapse of an interstate bridge into the Mississippi River. Underwater, divers searched for more bodies entombed in cars trapped beneath the twisted steel and concrete slabs of a collapsed bridge.
The Homeland Security Department said the collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related, but Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek said Thursday that the cause of the collapse was still unknown.
“All indications are that it was a collapse, not an act of someone doing it,” Stanek said. He said at least a dozen submerged vehicles were visible in the water.
The official death count stood at four Thursday morning, but Police Chief Tim Dolan said as many as 30 victims were still in the water. Hospital officials counted 79 more injured.
“We have a number of vehicles that are underneath big pieces of concrete, and we do know we have some people in those vehicles,” Dolan said Thursday morning. “We know we do have more casualties at the scene.”
The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of repairs when the bridge buckled during the evening rush hour Wednesday. Dozens of cars plummeted more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River, some falling on top one of another. A school bus hung at an angle on the concrete.
Underwater, divers were taking down license plate numbers for authorities to track down their drivers. Getting the vehicles out was expected to take days and involve moving around very large, heavy pieces of bridge.
“The bridge is still shifting,” Dolan said. “We’re dealing with the Mississippi River. We’re dealing with currents. We’re going to have to do it slowly and safely.”
‘Recovery operation’ Dolan said police estimate that 20 to 30 people were unaccounted for, though he stressed that it was just an estimate.
Fire Chief Jim Clack said Thursday that emergency work was no longer a rescue operation. “It’s a recovery operation,” he said.
MSNBC
At Hennepin County Medical Center, patients had arrived in a stead stream after the collapse, some unconscious or moaning, some barely breathing, and others with serious head and back injuries, Dr. William Heegaard said.
“There was blood everywhere,” he said.
Relatives who couldn’t find their missing loved ones at hospitals gathered in a hotel ballroom Thursday for news, hoping for the best.
“I’ve never wanted to see my brother so much in my life,” said Kristi Foster, who went to an information center set up at a Holiday Inn looking for her brother Kirk. She hadn’t had contact with her brother or his girlfriend, Krystle Webb, since the previous night.
Authorities initially said at least seven people had died, but Police Lt. Amelia Huffman lowered that number Thursday morning, saying, “The medical examiner’s office only has four sets of remains.” She said the initial reports were based on the best estimates authorities had Wednesday night.
As many as 50 vehicles tumbled into the river when the bridge collapsed. Many of their occupants had scrambled to shore. Some carried the injured up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground and some jumped into the water to look for survivors.
"We in the federal government must respond, and respond robustly, to help the people there not only recover, but to make sure that lifeline of activity — that bridge — gets rebuilt as quickly as possible," Bush said Thursday in the Rose Garden following a Cabinet meeting.
First lady Laura Bush planned to travel to Minneapolis on Friday to console the victims’ families, White House press secretary Tony Snow said.
What caused the collapse? The National Transportation Safety Board will be sending a team of investigators, NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said. The team will be accompanied by NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker, Lopatkiewicz said.
Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters was flying to the Twin Cities early Thursday morning along with the state’s two U.S. senators, Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
Peters spoke with both senators and with Gov. Tim Pawlenty, offering any help she could provide, spokesman Brian Turmail said.
While the focus has to be on emergency response, Coleman said, authorities will have to also set up a transportation system.
“Down the road, they will be doing full a forensic analysis to see what caused this,” Coleman said
August 2, 2007 -- IF you use the word "bling" these days, you're unhip and totally out of style, according toKanye West. The hip-hop star tells Complex magazine: "Only white people and older black people say 'bling' now. If a white person uses slang too early, then that makes them look like a wigger. But if black people use slang too late, then it makes them look like a wigger." Thanks for straightening us out!
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mattel Inc. (MAT.N) said on Thursday it expects the recall of Chinese-made toys, such as popular preschool characters like Sesame Street's Elmo and Big Bird, to result in a charge of $30 million.
The estimate comes a day after the No. 1 toymaker recalled 1.5 million toys that were made by a contract manufacturer in China for the company's Fisher-Price unit. Shares fell 8.7 percent in early electronic trading.
They were recalled because their non-approved paint may contain too much lead -- linked to health problems, including brain damage, in children.
Representatives from Mattel were not immediately available for further comment.
Of the 1 million products recalled from the U.S. market, Mattel said about 30 percent reached store shelves.
Independent toy industry consultant Christopher Byrne said the impact to Mattel financially as well as in the court of public opinion should be negligible.
"Mattel's systems are so strong that they were able to contain two-thirds of the product from ever getting into the marketplace," Byrne said. "That's good news and should make people very confident about Mattel."
But Mattel shares fell $2.03 to $21.55 before the bell. The shares have traded within a 52-week range of $29.71 and
$17.54.
Mattel said in a filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission that its second-quarter results would be adjusted to reflect the $30 million charge. The company's second-quarter revenue totaled $1.02 billion. Fisher-Price accounted for sales of $410.4 million.
Mattel said it was reviewing procedures with respect to all of its Chinese-made products, and said it was possible additional issues could surface in the future.
The recalled toys were manufactured between April 19 and July 6 and sold at stores across the U.S. between May and August 1, the company said.
Mattel is also expanding its testing programs to ensure that painted toys from third-party manufacturers are safe before being sent to customers.
The company is asking U.S. stores and consumers to return 967,000 plastic toys and is recalling another 533,000 from other countries, including Britain, Canada and Mexico.
The recall is Mattel's largest since a 1998 recall of about 10 million Power Wheels vehicles after reports that the ride-on cars and trucks could overheat and cause fires while being ridden.
In one scene, the captain is sitting in the fisherman's chair which is bolted to the deck of ths boat. The captain gets a nibble from "jaws" on his rod and reelwhile sitting in the chair. Later in the movie when "jaws" leaps onto the rear of the boat, the captain unable to stop himself slides into the mouth of "jaws" and is devoured. What ever happened to the fisherman's chair which has suddenly and mysteriously dissapeared? was it to enable "jaws" to have his dinner of 'captain sushi?'
This was just the nick-name gave the mechanical shark. It was named after his lawyer. The shark was not named Bruce in the film. It was just something for the crew to call it.
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Although the chair is gone after the scene where the captain (Quint) is fishing in it, the hole in which the chair was inserted is visible. It is a removable chair. P.S. The shark's name is not "Jaws". This is the title of the movie because the shark's jaws are what causes the terror throughout the film because that's what it eats with. The shark does not have a name.
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The chair is called a "fighting chair", and on every sport fishing boat I've ever been on, it screws into a deckplate whe needed. When not in use the deckplate has a smooth screw-cap that fills the hole. These deckplates get very hot after baking in the sun for a few hours, so wear deck shoes!
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This morning Studio 1A was paid a visit by justice, “Jimmy Justice.” He’s an average guy from Brooklyn, New York who’s outraged by New York City’s aggressive (his word) ticketing policy. 
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