| Corey's story: fair game or camera fodder?
Take off your sunglasses and apologise," she demanded. He said he would apologise but he wasn't taking off his sunglasses and this then became the substance of the interview. Is this really what current affairs news has turned into? It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad. McKinnon's dismissive sign-off at the end "I suggest you go home and take a long, hard look at yourself", prompted nothing more than a smart-arse kid retort which has made him legendary among youth worldwide: "I have... everyone has... they love it." Media savvy Love him or hate him, this kid seemed extremely media savvy. His interview with McKinnon was posted on YouTube, his MySpace site had thousands of hits and news organisations and bloggers around the globe were obsessed with the story.
Silent majority claim Old Trafford has been ‘turned into police ...
At a recent Manchester United home match there was a first-time Old Trafford visitor sitting a few rows in front of the press box. You could tell that he was a first-timer because he wore a look last seen on the face of Charlie Bucket on entering Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. As the clock ticked down towards kick-off, he joined in the songs being pumped out over the PA system and tried in vain to use his camera to take the perfect photograph against this famous backdrop. He looked as if he was in heaven. Then the match started and a hush fell over the so-called Theatre of Dreams. As he exhorted his fellow supporters to stand and join in his chants, the middle-aged man began to attract a combination of amusement, bemusement and disdain from those sitting around him. Some looked towards a nearby steward, as if to ask what he planned to do with this upstart.
Critics peek inside Oscar
If the past few years (or the past few decades) are any indication, trying to predict who will get a nod is like trying to predict Kevin Federline's musical career.So this year, Fresno Bee movie critics Donald Munro and Rick Bentley are taking a different approach. Their lists are the actors and films that they would honor if they were selecting those to get the Oscar nods. Here's how they would hand out the 2008 Academy Award nominations.Donald Munro's picksBest picture"Hairspray": The feel-good movie of the year, perfectly pitched and so giddy in its forward momentum and cheery social message that you'll be dancing out of the theater."No Country for Old Men": It captures the Wild West tinge of underlying violence that boosted the United States in its early days and to an extent still forms the framework of our society: a country of wide-open spaces, boundless opportunities and a chilling tendency toward taking what you can get."Once": A perfect little musical love story about a struggling Irish songwriter, this low-budget charmer has the best soundtrack of the year."Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street": This pared-down version of the Broadway musical is so bloody economical that the film achieves an amazing double whammy: It gives you the chills and makes you sing at the same time."Into the Wild": Sean Penn's adaptation of the Jon Krakauer book about a young man (Emile Hirsch) who naively challenges the Alaska wilderness is a taut, superbly told and ferociously filmed adventure.Best actorJohnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd": He's a cut above, no doubt about it.Chris Cooper, "Breach": A clenched and compelling performance as a traitorous FBI officer who shrouds much of himself -- motivations, back story, moral center -- and yet keeps offering intimate glimpses.Don Cheadle, "Talk to Me": An endearing and moving performance from an actor who captures the charisma of a born entertainer.Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood": Among the most chilling personifications of evil ever portrayed on the big screen.
UWI at 60 - Its role in nation building
The University of the West Indies officially begins its 60th anniversary celebrations today. Those 60 years were directed at producing a new Caribbean from out of the old. The next 60 years will have to be about producing a global Caribbean and happily the UWI has a strategic plan in place to equip it to do so. The UWI was a product of many things happening at once - modernisation, decolonisation, regionalisation, and nation building. One of the sins ofcolonialism was that for 300 years the British never saw it fit to build a university in the region. It was only after a series of riots in the 1930s that a British commission realised the need to promote a middle class in preparation for eventual self-government. Before adult suffrage, there was no university in Jamaica. By the start of the new century, almost 15 per cent of Jamaicans had access to tertiary education.
New Tech fan blog: 'Shake and Bake' cooking up great future with ...
JASON JONES: It was about this time last year that Derek Dooley arrived on campus and had to basically start from scratch to put together a recruiting class. To top things off, he had about six weeks to get the job done. This year, thanks to hours and hours of work, Dooley and his staff are sitting in a much better position. Coach Dooley has commitments from 12 high school athletes. In addition, junior college standout Kwame Jordan, a 6-5 defensive end, signed in December. Jordan had offers from Marshall and Troy, but it's his former high school teammate that might be his biggest contribution. John Ehret end Eric Harper switched his commitment from Nebraska to Tech when he visited in December along with Jordan, his former teammate. Other big names pledged to the Dawgs are Bastrop athlete Bud Patterson and Mississippi prep quarterback Bret Jefcoat.
Councilman MikeK Recalls Knievel Action Figure
Top: Young MikeK playing with Evel Knievel action figure; bottom: MikeK receives inspiration from his childhood friends before leaving for a Coeur d'Alene City Council meeting. I had a classic Evel Knievel motorcycle riding action figure when I was a kid. The stunts my brothers and I would stage for that motorcycle toy were legendary (riding out a second story window, chasing the dog around the house without getting chewed to ribbons, you name it). RIP Evel. I wonder what happened to Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man who played the role of Evel's arch-nemesis in the boyhood action figure wars?/Councilman MikeK. Question: What was your favorite action figure/doll when you were little? .
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