This one might be worth staying up all night for...

A full lunar eclipse will be visible from most of the northeast.  It will begin just before 5 am, but you'll have only about a half-hour to see it before the sun rises.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface.

This is the second lunar eclipse this year.  The first one happened in March.

Continue reading "Rare chance to spot lunar eclipse early Tuesday morning" »

Posted by Charles Winters at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

So evidently, in New York its okay for women to run around topless, and artist Jill Coccaro can attest to it.  Coccaro just accepted a $29,000 settlement for being wrongly arrested for going topless two years ago.

To promote an art show, Coccaro let it all hang out by taking off her shirt.  She was arrested and later released, but due to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling the cops were wrong.

In New York, if men can show off their tits - women can too.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A Manhattan artist arrested by police when she went on a topless stroll 2 years ago has accepted a $29,000 settlement from the city.
   Twenty-seven-year-old Jill Coccaro was charged briefly with indecent exposure despite a 1992 state appeals court ruling that concluded women had the right to be topless if men were allowed to take off their shirts.
   Coccaro, who now goes by the name Phoenix Feeley, bared her breasts on August 4, 2005 for an art-show promotion to cool off.
   Feeley remained in custody for 12 hours before she was told prosecutors were not going to pursue charges.
   Her attorney, Jeffrey Rothman, told the Daily News that his client won the civil rights settlement from the city, which did not admit or deny wrongdoing.
   Feeley told the New York Post that she was not treated well after her arrest. She claimed in an October lawsuit that a police officer yanked her out of a patrol car by her hair and police took her to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
   She told the newspaper she had gone bare-breasted after running the 2004 city marathon without police bothering her.

Posted by Charles Winters at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (47) | TrackBacks (0)

SIMS: The Movie.  I must admit, I love playing the game... but a movie about the animated computer people somewhat scares me.

 "'The SIMS has done an interactive version of an old story, which is what it's like to have infinite power and how do you deal with it.  Given that that's an old story, you can imagine how easily that would translate to traditional story telling," said Rod Humble, SIMS Studio head .

The script is being mastered by Brian Lynch, who wrote "Big Helium Dog" and appeared in "Chasing Amy" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." 

Still not looking too good...

 Variety reports that Fox has bought the big-screen rights from Electronic Arts.  John David ("Eragon") is heading up the project, while Steve Asbell will serve as the Fox watch dog.

Posted by Charles Winters at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (115) | TrackBacks (0)

Country singer Johnny Cash left behind a residency where he and his wife June Carter Cash lived for 30 years until they died in 2003.  Now, as this photo shows... it is nothing but ashes. 

The home that was featured in the music video for his last hit just before dying, "Hurt" burned to the ground on Tuesday afternoon.

The house was in Hendersonville, near Nashville, Tennessee, and was recently bought by Barry Gibb, of the Bee Gees, who had plans to restore it in his own style.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and fire fighters say the blaze dominated the old structure destroying it before they had a chance to combat it.

Posted by Charles Winters at 1:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

There's no crying in Chinese Idol!  No wild hair, no 'unhealthy' songs and no bad taste either. 

China's broadcast regulator announced on Friday that the country's latest version of "American Idol" can't be packed full of drama like it's US counterpart! 

"No weirdness, no vulgarity, no low taste," the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said in a notice to the producers of "Boys Happy Voice," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The talent show is the sequel to "Super Girls Voice," a highly popular singing contest that drew more than 400 million viewers.  The winner of that show went on to be a highly popular singer in China.

Not only will the contestants of "Happy Boys Voice" be required to perform "healthy and ethically inspiring" songs, but the producers must avoid scenes of screaming fans or losing contestants in tears," the regulator was quoted as saying.

The regulators have also brought the hammer down on the judges.  The are prohibited "from mocking or humiliating contestants."

So that means not only would freaks like Sanjaya Malakar and William Hung be banned from the competition, but so would a judge like Simon Cowell.  Maybe "American Idol" should start banning weirdos and sharp tongued judges as well?

Posted by Charles Winters at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Comic book fans from all over the globe were shocked to open up the new edition of Captain America on Wednesday to discover the all-American hero is dead.

When fans yesterday opened the infamous comic book, they discovered a shocking development: Captain America had been cut down by a sniper.

His sudden death prompted traffic jams at comic-book stores as fans rushed in to grab a potential collector's item.  The word of his death also upset loyal fans who have been following the character for their entires lives.

He first appeared in March 1941, punching out Adolf Hitler on the cover of a brand-new comic book. Ever since then, dressed in a red, white , and blue uniform and armed only with a shield, he has fought for liberty and justice for all.

However, executives at Marvel acknowledged death is not always the final answer in the superhero universe.

"This is the end of Steve Rogers, the meat and potatoes guy from 1941," Dan Buckley, president and publisher of publishing, Marvel Entertainment, told Reuters. "But Captain America is a costume, and there are other people who could take it over. He is iconic, and we're continuing the comic books," he added. But he declined to speculate who could step into the hero's 66-year-old boots."

Look what the soap opera world has done for characters across the board.

Posted by Charles Winters at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jesus is one of the most famous preachers of the Lord in history.  Christians believe he is the son of God, and the Discover Channel believes they have found the tomb that once help his remains.

According to the website of the Discovery Channel, producers of the "Lost Tomb of Jesus" documentary, Israeli-born filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and his colleagues have gathered scientific evidence, "including DNA analysis conducted at one of the world's foremost molecular genetics laboratories," as well as expert scholarship, to bolster their somewhat far-fetched claim that a 2,000-year-old cave in the Talpiot neighborhood once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and, possibly, their son Judah.

The scientists say the tomb contained 10 ossuaries, five of which were inscribed with names believed to be associated with Jesus, Mary, Jesus's brother Joseph and Mary Magdalene.  They also say that another inscription translates to "Judah Son of Jesus." 

All but one of these inscriptions are in Hebrew or Aramaic. The exception, written in Greek, reads "Mariamene e Mara," which is translated as "Mary known as the master."

Can I get an amen?

Posted by Charles Winters at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)