Quick Flash News

The entrepenuer to Mixed Martial Arts fighting, Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Jr was killed in a Ferrari crash in Newport Beach, California. It was reported that he was speeding down Jamboree road and he hit a lightpost which then split his car in half. It is a tragedy that this young fighter in the MMA industry was killed before he even got a chance to shine. Charles Lewis Jr was even one of the founders for the well known ‘Tapout’ MMA group. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Meghan Allen is an American model and reality show contestant. She was Playboy Cyber Girl of the Month for January 2008. Meghan first appeared in NBC reality show Fear Factor in 2004. She is also the girlfriend of NBA star player Devin Harris. Devin Harris plays guard for the New Jersey Nets and made the All-Star team for the first time this year. She stated on the Howard Stern Show on January 15th, 2009 that she is dating Devin Harris. Meghan currently resides in Dallas. In 2008 Allen was a participant in the reality show Momma’s Boy on NBC.

When the Dallas Cowboys first acquired Terrell Owens, they thought it would be a blessing. It turned out to be a curse. Now they have finally remedy the problem by letting him go. Some naysayers may say that without T.O.’s talent at wide receiver the Cowboys don’t have a shot. Others will say he brought down the team and hurt chemistry.

I’m on the side that says if you can’t keep the team together, your 99 percent unlikely to win. Jerry Jones thinks he can just put a bunch of superstars together and it will just work. Well that’s not the case, certain players don’t gel with other players, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about T.O. it’s that he’s unwilling to change his “Love me some me” attitude. That coupled with his off field complaints about not getting the ball. Yes, great receivers want the ball, but that is okay to say on the field but not to reporters. Your quarterback doesn’t like hearing he’s not making the right throws from an outside source like the media. It shakes his self confidence and leadership. How was Tony Romo supposed to be confident when T.O. is chiding every pass that doesn’t go his way. Jason Witten deserves passes as well.

Half the reason T.O. doesn’t get the ball is because he is double covered. His strength and height present such trouble, that he has to be double covered or he will score all day on you. An example of how to act would be Randy Moss. He stopped complaining when Tom Brady was in charge and gave him plenty of passes, not a hundred percent. But you didn’t see him whining when Brady threw it to someone else because Moss was double covered.

T.O. is now going to the Buffalo Bills. He is now their problem to deal with. Good riddance. I am glad the Cowboys are willing to start fresh and rebuild the team. If they want a great receiver who doesn’t complain go get Terry Holt or someone in a draft next year or a trade this year. The Cowboys never had that much drama even with Michael Irvin. Sure Irvin wanted the ball, but he didn’t whine like a boy week in and week out to reporters. It will take Jerry Jones some collaborations with coaches and players to figure out what works. There is no sure fire formula, and you can’t just throw in some good players and hope it works out. You have to interact with the team and cut anyone with off field issues or locker room tantrums. Simple as that.

Set in a world similar to Sin City, Watchmen takes place in a cold dark world where evil is good, and good is evil. Even the heroes are not squeaky clean like Superman or Ironman. The Comedian is rough around the edges to say the least. He would do things most people would view as villain-esque. The closest comparison would be a philandering Punisher type hero.

Rorschach seems to be most peoples favorite. He sees things in black and white as his inkblots project this theme. The blots also serve to show his changing expressions. He has seen horrible things and is willing to do whatever it takes to serve vengeance to criminals.

Dr. Manhattan has had his atoms re-assembled by a scientific machine he was trapped in by accident. Now he is detached from humanity, but could be the one that could save them from nuclear annihilation. He has a love for the Silk Spectre II. But because of the disaster he can not give her the emotional satisfaction she needs. He is a lonely sort and only his superpowers make him interesting.

The Night Owl II can see in the dark and has a great invention named “Archie” that can fly and shoot fire out of it. He is one of the duller characters and a bit of a dork. The story seemed to revolve around him but only because the Silk Spectre II is his love interest. You start to sympathize with him a little towards the end, but not enough that he would be the favorite character.

Ozymandias is an unusual character as he is super intelligent. And not in a “gigantic brain” cheesey way. They say he can dodge a bullet he is so fast. He is always thinking ten steps ahead. With his brain power anything could be possible. A true mastermind and doesn’t have the physical weakness that you would think a brainiac would.

All these diverse heroes working together is a bit of an oddity. But that’s what makes Watchmen unique in it’s dark world and twisted scenarios. They are more human in their flaws and I think that’s what endures them so much to us. We can’t relate with the Bruce Wayne or Superman archetypes. But we understand emotional scarring that the Comedian, Silk Spectre II  and Rorschach deal with. The people that they save are ungrateful and even riot to have masks removed. How like real life, the villains are idolized and the real heroes are villainized.

In HBO’s series “Big Love” a key plot moment revolved around a Mormon endowment ceremony. HBO took special care in preparing the scene and consulting experts on LDS temple protocol. Apparently these precautions were not enough as The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints found it disrespectful.

“Obviously, it was not our intention to do anything disrespectful to the church, but to those who may be offended, we offer our sincere apology,” HBO said in a statement today.

Jeanne Tripplehorn’s polygamy-favoring Barb is set to participate in an endowment ceremony, in which church members perform symbolic acts to prepare themselves for admittance to heaven.

On Monday, church leaders were outcrying against HBO’s depiction of their sacred ceremony. They said that even members vow not to reveal the secret traditions of the endowment ceremony to anyone.

“In approaching the dramatization of the endowment ceremony, we knew we had a responsibility to be completely accurate and to show the ceremony in the proper context and with respect,” Olsen and Scheffer said in an additional statement issued by HBO today.

“We therefore took great pains to depict the ceremony with the dignity and reverence it is due.”

Some church members are calling for a boycott. But the Church leadership isn’t concerned too much overall, they said even “extreme misrepresentations” won’t have a “long-term negative effect on the church”.

Think about it, most of our TV shows are rehashed or basic concepts at best. Our movies are all remakes and sequels. Where is the excitement and the unexpected? Sports is the answer. It’s where we can go for original stories and events that will blind side us. A last second goal in NHL overtime, or a Cinderella story in the NCAA Tournament. These things keep us on our toes and leave us wanting more when it’s all said and done.

Our sports stories don’t stick to the same storyline and plot. Players and coaches get traded, good teams don’t always win in the end. Down can be up, and vice versa. We can follow players from high school to the pros. But some players saga end in college or their professional career is stopped short by injury. Their is plenty of drama and sadness. Lot’s of attachment and character development. More plot twists than your average TV story or movie. Different players step up in key moments to help their teams achieve victory and glory. Other players choke in the face of adversity when we expect them to shine.

In sports their isn’t a set villain, it’s whoever you want to make the bad guy. One man’s villain, is another’s hero. Point and case, Tom Brady, Terrel Owens, or Kobe Bryant. Some are in awe, and others despise them. People also have favorite teams and built up rivalries. This not only adds conflict to our viewing, but in our interactions with like-minded fans and rival fans. Some people may even choose friendships or who they marry based on team affiliations. A Lakers fan may not marry a die hard Celtics fan because of the tension and conflict. Odd to think of, but I’m sure it happens on multiple occasions.

Whatever the case, sports are there for us, to provide us that boost of adrenaline when other shows and films are lacking. Whether your a soccer or rugby fan or even into cricket, sports have a following and fellowship that you can’t find by going to a movie theater. Some people may say that sports are pointless. But then so would movies and tv if you think all entertainment is drivel. Sports gives guys and gals a way to bond with one another and cheer or boo teams depending on the situation. They’re are many people I would never have met if it had not been for sports.

The same NASA developer who created a method to power robotic underwater vehicles have proposed a new technology aimed at converting ocean energy into electrical power. Water based electricity generation is nothing new. Hydroelectric power is a significant source of energy for many nations, as is evident from China’s ambitious dam projects.

Jack Jones and Yi Chao from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory invented a method for underwater devices to help power themselves. The technology involves using the differences in temperatures around them to create energy. This involves a phase change material which changes from a solid to a liquid when temperatures go from cold to warm. The pressure on the liquid is used to generate electricity, which helps charge the battery.

The researchers realize the high-pressure liquid could be applied on a larger scale. Eventually Jone and Chao along with Caltech proposed a system that would utilize fresh water in a closed cycle, so that there would be no harm to the environment in the process. As an added bonus, the design also “eliminates all submerged electrical components, which are subject to corrosion” says Jones. This is another added benefit of the system, as in conjunction with a low cost electrical generation system, could mean that this entire system could be developed at a lower budget, and be safer than the tidal generation system currently being used in Manhattan’s East River.

The system also allows energy to be generated on command, which would help meet peak usage times when energy demands are higher. Other environmental technologies do not operate in a similar fashion, and often produce energy at unpredictable times. The benefits of this are enormous, especially in the event that the traditional polluting methods of energy generation which help satiate demand during peak hours should ever be eliminated or banned.

Ultimately, the cost efficiency will be the main question. Will this technology become economically practical? Scientists at NASA claim that current research on that aspect is only in the beginning stages and can make no promises. Many such promising technologies are being put forward. With energy being such an important aspect of our economy, it has become vital for researchers such as these at NASA to get the proper funding and backing. In the midst of trillions being handed freely to bankers and homeowners who bought houses they couldn’t afford, less than 1% of it is headed towards promising projects such as this.

Circuit City was the largest competitor to Best Buy in the retailing business. After years of mistakes, Circuit City has finally bitten the bullet. There are many blunders to address, but not enough time in the world to analyze them all. Here are a few of the issues at the heart of the Circuit City collapse.

First, the end of commission. As soon as Circuit City decided to end commission and hire a bunch of hourly goons, it was all over. Nothing is worse than going into a retail store than to see apathetic teenagers who could really not care at all about customer satisfaction. Mix this fact in with the management who was constantly pushing their “cheese” or “service protection plans” on the employees, pressuring them consistently, and it would appear only the apathetic could survive in such a setting, with no true reward for employees who succeeded. Commission served as an incentive that helped generate sales, but also helped create amiable relations between the customer and employees. Concerned employees had a reason to develop a rapport with customers. After Circuit City ended that practice, many of the long time employees left, taking their customer-employee relationships with them.

Second, strange management shifting policies. After being employed there for years, it becomes hard to notice that the management was completely shifted out every few months and moved to separate offices only miles away. This strange disruption seemed to always occur right before it was time for evaluation (which leads to raises). Thus the promises of the old management would become null and void as they disappear suddenly, and often without so much as a word in advance. This would lead to not only many of the good employees promised salary increases getting the shaft, but disruption of the smooth operation of the company. The anger of employees at such schemes may lead to lowered sales and customers being treated with less enthusiasm. If one had the phone number of their old bosses, they were usually at the Circuit City on the other side of town, having not been moved very far.

In finality, it is the bottom line focused nature of Circuit City that killed it. Just before the fall, Circuit City cut all of their employees making above a certain amount. If raises are an indication of good employees, that would mean Circuit City just fired anyone who did “too good” of a job. This type of cost-cutting is of the worst variety. The death of the company soon to follow should come as no surprise.

APB, short for All Points Bulletin, is a new game headed for release this year. The game is essentially cops and robbers. Players choose to be police officers or criminal gang members engaged in an unending turf war for supremacy of the streets.

The creator of APB is none other than David Jones. Jones was the creative mastermind behind Grand Theft Auto, a hugely popular series, with the latest game being highly successful with a gritty realism, in which players operate in the criminal underworld while trying to avoid police.

Due to APB having the founder of Grand Theft Auto, and the similar components of gameplay and nature of the game, the parallels between the games are striking. The APB massively multiplayer online game has drawn many comments referring to it as a sort of “Grand Theft Auto Online” for the criminal elements of gameplay involved. A concept that Rockstar Games has most certainly considered in the past, but would be harder to pursue if a copycat game is released before Rockstar has made their entry to the market.

So the solution then becomes apparent. Rockstar should approach the former creator of the Grand Theft Auto series and enter into negotiations with the company. If a deal can be worked out to include the Grand Theft Auto name, and perhaps provide extra funding to improve development, APB could be revamped into “Grand Theft Auto Online”.

The difficulty lies in that development is already well underway that Rockstar might only have the Grand Theft Auto label to offer to APB developer Realtime Worlds. Perhaps some sort of agreement with publishing and marketing can be made, with the expenses mostly coming from Rockstar or some other favorable agreement in exchange for a more fair share of the profits. Realtime Worlds has denied the rumors, but it would be a reasonable venture to make.

As the MMORPG market has shown, the key to growing rapidly often can be merely the right label on the product. World of Warcraft was quite unexceptional at launch, but using the right name on their product and a massive marketing campaign, was able to woo over hundreds of thousands of gamers to subscribe, who in turn, convinced millions of new gamers to join.

The Grand Theft Auto label could help launch the MMO in a way that could be mutually beneficial to both Rockstar and Realtime Worlds. Otherwise, the two may end up becoming un-necessary rivals.

“24″ is a television show hosted on Fox that portrays a former Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) agent Jack Bauer pursuing terrorists and other rogue operatives in the country and protecting the nation. 24’s main audience is consistently made up of both an age group and a demographic that leans quite heavily to the right wing of American politics. Fox also runs news channels which, most critics contend, lean to the right wing.

Rupert Murdoch in spite of all this, donated heavily to Hillary Clinton and supported Barack Obama. To add insult to injury, Rupert is now beginning a green campaign with his networks. “24″ is the first to become “carbon-neutral”, which is slang for paying a bunch of money to “carbon credit” companies which allow companies that put out carbon to pretend that they are not. To announce the move, Rupert had one of the “24″ actresses, Cherry Jones (who plays the president) announce the move before the return from commercials, and the dangers of “climate change” and reducing their “carbon footprint”, all the while perhaps forgetting that CO2 is emitted from the breath out of her mouth.

One can imagine if Rupert Murdoch were to make this full scale move on the news networks. Imagine Glenn Beck, the conservative radio show host who moved to Fox News recently, railing against the global warming hoax, only to have Fox running a public service announcement ramming it down his listener’s throats. Will the myth of Fox News’ supposed right wing nature be dispelled by Rupert’s ever aggressive progressive agenda?

Regardless of anyone’s political leanings, the idea that Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, is not only espousing and pushing a global warming agenda, but has run the first “carbon neutral” television show, is bitterly ironic. Fox News has been portrayed as the right wing arm of the media, and thanks to Rupert Murdoch, the veil is being lifted. Perhaps there is no left or right. Only the collective versus the individual. The elite versus the common man.

Will Fox News ultimately embrace Rupert Murdoch’s green agenda? What will happen when climate change skeptics on his news programs are confronted with Murdoch’s agenda? It could certainly lead to the more right wing personalities on the show who question their bosses’s agendas and could lead to a falling out. This type of a “green initiative” was to be expected of say, MSNBC, but to see Fox News’ Rupert Murdoch pushing it is all too surreal. Only time will show the consequences of the Murdoch agenda.