DrWeb's Domain

Westport Now: Martha Stewart Reportedly Seeking Community Service Deal

Westport Now: Martha Stewart Reportedly Seeking Community Service Deal

May 31, 2004
Martha Stewart Reportedly Seeking Community Service Deal

Westport's Martha Stewart is reportedly seeking to do community service work teaching poor women to start their own businesses, in exchange for a shorter stint behind bars.

Stewart has offered to perform 1,000 hours of community work with Women's Venture Fund, a New York-based non-profit organization, Newsweek magazine reported.

Stewart was convicted March 5 on one charge of conspiracy, one charge of obstruction of justice and two charges of making false statements to investigators.

She has a June 17 sentencing hearing and could face 10 to 16 months in prison.
Women's Venture Fund president Maria Otero is reported to have sent a letter to U.S. Judge Miriam Cedarbaum, who presided over Stewart's trial, about the benefits the domestic icon could offer women in the program.

I say, whatever the spurious reasons for her prosecution, please let this decent woman have a chance to avoid jail, and give back via community service.. it makes good decent sense to me...

KFMB-TV: MEMORIAL DAY: SAN DIEGO EVENTS

KFMB-TV: MEMORIAL DAY: SAN DIEGO EVENTS

MEMORIAL DAY: SAN DIEGO EVENTS
Printer-friendly version

(05-31-2004) - There are many events around San Diego where veterans will be honored Monday.

Beginning at 7:30 a.m., "Vietnam Veterans of America" will hold a special tribute at the Memorial Center in Balboa Park.

At 10 a.m., the "Department of Veterans Affairs" will host the 104th Annual Memorial Day Observance. The event is at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma.

At 12:30 p.m., members of the USS San Diego Memorial will have a wreath-laying ceremony to honor World War II vets.

At 2 p.m., a tribute will be held on Mount Soledad to support military families.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Dino impact gave Earth the chill

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Dino impact gave Earth the chill

Dino impact gave Earth the chill

A cloud of sulphate particles may have blocked out the sun's warmth [photo caption]

Evidence has been found for a global winter following the asteroid impact that is thought to have killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Rocks in Tunisia reveal microscopic cold-water creatures invaded a warm sea just after the space rock struck Earth.

The global winter was probably caused by a pollutant cloud of sulphate particles released when the asteroid vapourised rocks at Chicxulub, Mexico.

The results are reported in the latest issue of the journal Geology.

The New Yorker: Fact: Six days to New York on the Queen Mary 2

The New Yorker: Fact: Six days to New York on the Queen Mary 2

SAIL AWAY
by SIMON SCHAMA

Six days to New York on the Queen Mary 2
Issue of 2004-05-31, Posted 2004-05-24

Overlooked—literally—by the seventeen-deck Queen Mary 2, as she slid into her berth at Pier 92 on April 22nd, was the dead white bird. Laid out on its funeral barge beside the U.S.S. Intrepid, as flightless and obsolete as the dodo, Concorde wasn’t going anywhere. The sleek dream of supersonic speed, the princess of whoosh, which got you there before you’d started, was now, officially, a museum piece. The future—as the mayoral bloviations greeting the ship’s midtown docking affirmed—belonged to a hundred and fifty thousand tons of steel capable of grinding through the ocean at all of thirty knots (that’s around thirty-five m.p.h. to you landlubbers). The latest and most massive of the transatlantic liners takes twenty times as long to carry you from New York to England as a Boeing or an Airbus. And that’s the good news—the reason, in fact, for Commodore Ronald Warwick, the master of the Queen Mary 2, to brag, at the quayside ceremonies, that Cunard was poised to compete with the airlines for a serious share of the transatlantic business.

Great, rambling tale of the QM2 recent sailing to New York.. In a special link to their archives, the New Yorker provides this gem.. "In this article from 1946, Andy Logan sails from England to America on the first Queen Mary, which had recently returned to commercial civilian service after transporting troops during the Second World War." Then, 1946, and now, 2004.. the worlds seem so vastly different.. good reads...

TIME Global Advisor: See Me, Blog Me -- Jun. 07, 2004

TIME Global Advisor: See Me, Blog Me -- Jun. 07, 2004

See Me, Blog Me
Turned on by online opinion sites? Then get ready for Web video journals
BY JEFFREY RESSNER, Monday, May. 31, 2004

Boston-based music-video producer Steve Garfield, 46, is no ordinary blogger. Instead of simply posting his thoughts online in a chatty weblog like millions of others around the world, he links a Canon GL2 digital video camera to his laptop and uploads short clips of protest rallies, traffic short-cuts and even news events onto his personal Internet site.

Garfield belongs to a small but growing group of video bloggers, or vloggers, who are turning the Web into a medium in which it's possible that someday anyone could mount original programming, bypassing the usual broadcast networks and cable outlets. "My last entry was a news story about a local ice rescue, and this July I'm going to cover the Democratic Convention," says Garfield, who posts one or two new clips every month. "With cheaper digital cameras and cell phones that can also shoot video, more and more regular people like me will start becoming citizen journalists."

The New York Times > Arts > Television > TV Review | 'Ike: Countdown to D-Day': Macho Swagger Overpowers D-Day Valor

The New York Times > Arts > Television > TV Review | 'Ike: Countdown to D-Day': Macho Swagger Overpowers D-Day Valor

TV REVIEW | 'IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAY'

Macho Swagger Overpowers D-Day Valor
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY, Published: May 31, 2004

It is quite a feat to make a movie about Dwight D. Eisenhower on the eve of the Normandy invasion and leave the viewer rooting for Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle.

In normal times this A&E Memorial Day movie, "Ike: Countdown to D-Day," would have been a harmless bit of Hollywood hyperbole, but when American troops are once again fighting and dying overseas, the film's bombast is not so easily dismissed. The mawkish, heavy-handed puffing up of Eisenhower's personality and command style is an affront to those who fought in that battle and lived to not talk about it.

A&E, tonight at 8, Eastern and Pacific times; 7 Central time

Technology News: Space: For the Universe, a Bouncing Baby Planet

Technology News: Space: For the Universe, a Bouncing Baby Planet

NEWS BRIEF: For the Universe, a Bouncing Baby Planet
By Harvey McGavin, 05/30/04 11:13 AM PT

Nasa described it as like the cleared trail left by a vacuum on a dirty carpet -- proof that something more recent had passed through. Spitzer has also discovered two of the farthest planet forming discs yet observed, 13,700 light years away, which contain more than 300 newborn stars.

In Earthly terms, it's as old as the hills but -- in the stellar scheme of things -- one million years is a mere babe in arms.

So when Nasa scientists announced Friday they had found the youngest planet known to man, the new arrival was greeted with great excitement by stargazers.

"It knocked our socks off," admitted Ed Churchwell, astronomer at the University of Wisconsin.

The New York Times > Magazine > Friends, Friends With Benefits and the Benefits of the Local Mall

The New York Times > Magazine > Friends, Friends With Benefits and the Benefits of the Local Mall

NYTimes.com > Magazine

Friends, Friends With Benefits and the Benefits of the Local Mall
By BENOIT DENIZET-LEWIS, Published: May 30, 2004

Jesse wants to meet at Hooters. ''It's 40 minutes from where I live,'' he says, ''but trust me, it's worth the drive.''

Jesse is 15. Surprisingly, there is no age requirement to dine at Hooters. When I call the restaurant to make sure I'm not aiding and abetting teen delinquency, the woman who picks up seems annoyed I would even ask. ''No, we're a family restaurant,'' she says. So, amid the bronzed, scantily clad waitresses and a boisterous bachelor party, I find Jesse, a high-school sophomore with broad shoulders and messy brown hair peeking out from underneath his baseball cap. Jesse is there with four of his close friends, whom he has arranged for me to meet.

I don't know what to make of this long piece on teenage dating, except, it's worth a read, well-written, and scary.. it's harder today to be a teenager than my days, but I'm not sure either time is something you'd want to go through twice...

Is gene pool shrinking men out of existence?

Is gene pool shrinking men out of existence?

Is gene pool shrinking men out of existence?
Sunday, May 30, 2004
John Mangels, Plain Dealer Staff Writer

Shrinkage!" an embarrassed George Costanza wailed in a memorable "Seinfeld" episode, trying to explain to a woman the miniaturizing effect a cold swimming pool had on his male prowess. He didn't know the half of it.

The human Y chromosome, determinant of maleness and the source code for history's greatest conflicts, is headed for extinction. Stunted, myopic, vulnerable to genetic mutations and haplessly unable to repair itself, the poor Y is a "graveyard of rotting genes" that is steadily rendering its male carriers infertile and irrelevant, hereditarily speaking.

Scary, and thought-provoking.. I don't know if the book is worth a read, but the ideas are enough to make you stand up and shout...

Screenplay: Writing the Picture Review

Screenplay: Writing the Picture Review

Writing For Hollywood
A review of Screenplay: Writing the Picture by Robin U. Russin and William Missouri Downs
By Rebort

"It's just too damn hard," say the authors of Screenplay: Writing the Picture

Robin Russin and William Missouri Downs begin their handbook on screenwriting for Hollywood with some sobering advice.

“There are no shortcuts… think long and hard before you commit yourself…only a tiny fraction of you (and your work) will make it”.

Talent, good-writing and graft wont be sufficient to get that screenplay sold, let alone made, they point out. You’ll also need patience, persistence, salesmanship and luck.

Bloggers find ways to profit

Bloggers find ways to profit

Bloggers find ways to profit
Kathleen Pender Sunday, May 30, 2004

Web logs, or blogs, which started out as a labor of love, are becoming a moneymaker for writers who are selling advertising on their sites.

Some top bloggers who carry advertising say they make hundreds or, in a few cases, thousands of dollars a month. The typical take is more like $20 to $50 a month, which covers the cost of running a typical Web site.

A blog is an online journal typically written by an individual. Some are devoted to single topics, such as pets, poets or politics. Others are stream- of-consciousness musings on anything and everything. Most blogs are updated daily and feature links to other blogs.

MSNBC - ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is retro cool

MSNBC - ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is retro cool

AT THE MOVIES

‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is retro cool
Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal star in this story of a new ice age

REVIEW, By John Hartl, Film critic, MSNBC
Updated: 12:34 p.m. ET May 26, 2004

Roland Emmerich, the director of such Manhattan-wasting disaster epics as “Independence Day” and the noisy 1998 “Godzilla” remake, recently conceded that disaster epics have changed: “You have to be a little sensitive after September 11.”

Nevertheless, New York City is the chief target in his latest, “The Day After Tomorrow,” which imagines a tidal wave engulfing the Statue of Liberty and flushing through the streets leading up to the Manhattan Public Library. As the temperatures drop to well below freezing, a gang of survivors makes a bonfire of the books in order to avoid frostbite.

Should they send Nietzsche up in flames? Should they torch the tax law books? Or should they read the books to solve their problems? These are the kinds of questions that could only turn up in something as deliciously cornball as an Emmerich movie. Fortunately, he’s got a cast that knows what to make of lines like “This is so retro it would be cool if it were on purpose.”

John got it right on in this nice short review...

MSNBC - Bittersweet tribute for WWII veterans

MSNBC - Bittersweet tribute for WWII veterans

U.S. News

Bittersweet
tribute for
WWII veterans
Tens of thousands attend memorial's dedication
The Associated Press, Updated: 4:06 p.m. ET May 29, 2004

WASHINGTON - America dedicated a memorial Saturday to the fast-thinning ranks of World War II veterans, a poignant last hurrah drawing together tens of thousands of old soldiers, sailors and heroes of the home front.

Frail now, full of spunk then, they were thanked for service that "helped save the world."

The National Mall, where huge numbers usually gather in protest, instead offered a last-of-a-lifetime scene of commemoration as veterans assembled by the sweeping monument of granite and bronze that was more than a decade in the planning.

"We have kept faith with our comrades from a distant youth," said former Sen. Bob Dole, a driving force for the memorial. An Army lieutenant in the war, Dole lost the use of his right arm when a shell hit him while he served in Italy.

Includes a slideshow and links, and these numbers...

By the numbers America's wars

• Total
• Early wars
• Civil War & after
• World Wars
• Modern wars

Military service during war: 42,348,460
Battle deaths: 651,564
Other deaths in service: 243,826
Non-mortal woundings: 1,435,432
Living war veterans: 19,421,2661*
Living veterans: 25,497,6911*
* Veterans Administration estimate. Figures for Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom not available.

American Revolution (1775–1783)
Total servicemembers: 217,000
Battle deaths: 4,435
Non-mortal woundings: 6,188

War of 1812 (1812–1815)
Total servicemembers: 286,730
Battle deaths: 2,260
Non-mortal woundings: 4,505

Indian Wars (approx. 1817–1898)
Total servicemembers: 106,000
Battle deaths: 1,000

Mexican War (1846–1848)
Total servicemembers: 78,718
Battle deaths: 1,733
Other deaths in service: 11,550
Non-mortal woundings: 4,152

Civil War (1861–1865)
Total servicemembers (Union): 2,213,363
Battle deaths (Union): 140,414
Other deaths in service (Union): 224,097
Non-mortal woundings (Union): 281,881
Total servicemembers (Conf.): 1,050,000
Battle deaths (Conf.): 74,524
Other deaths in service (Conf.): 59,2972 *
Non-mortal woundings (Conf.): unknown

Spanish-American War (1898–1902)
Total servicemembers: 306,760
Battle deaths: 385
Other deaths in service: 2,061
Non-mortal woundings: 1,662
* Estimated figure.

World War I (1917–1918)
Total servicemembers: 4,734,991
Battle deaths: 53,402
Other deaths in service: 63,114
Non-mortal woundings: 204,002
Living veterans: 2,503 *

World War II (1940–1945)
Total servicemembers: 16,112,566
Battle deaths: 291,557
Other deaths in service: 113,842
Non-mortal woundings: 671,846
Living veterans: 5,451,378 *
* Veterans Administration estimate

Korean War (1950–1953)
Total servicemembers: 5,720,000
Battle deaths: 33,686
Other deaths in service (theater): 2,830
Non-mortal woundings: 103,284
Living veterans: 3,913,749 *

Vietnam War (1964–1975)
Total servicemembers: 9,200,000
Deployed to Southeast Asia: 3,100,000
Battle deaths: 47,413
Other deaths in service: 10,785
Non-mortal woundings: 153,303
Living veterans: 8,300,106 *

Gulf War (1990–1991)
Total servicemembers: 2,322,332
Deployed to Gulf: 1,136,658
Battle deaths: 148
Other deaths in service (theater): 235
Other deaths in service (nontheater): 914
Non-mortal woundings: 467
Living veterans: 1,753,530 *

Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–present)
Includes operations in Afghanistan, Republic of the Philippines, Southwest Asia and other locations. Figures as of May 8, 2004
Battle deaths: 51
Other deaths in service: 69
Non-mortal woundings: 292

Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–present)
Figures as of May 26, 2004
Battle deaths: 559
Other deaths in service: 243
Non-mortal woundings: 3,850

* Veterans Administration estimate

Source: Department of Defense and Veterans Administration

The New York Times > National News > National Special: Las Vegas

The New York Times > National News > National Special: Las Vegas

Las Vegas is at the center of a population boom that has transformed the American desert over the last three decades. This series will examine what a few typical dreamers have found in this place of unmatched opportunity and extreme dysfunction.

AMERICAN DREAMERS | THE BUDGET SUITES
Seekers, Drawn to Las Vegas, Find a Broken Promised Land
By DEAN E. MURPHY
Inside the no-frills rooms of a hotel where tourists seldom go, the city's promise of new beginnings is regularly put to the test.

As for the Myth of Unlimited Cheap Housing, the Mortgage Has Come Due
By DEAN E. MURPHY
One lure that has made moving to southern Nevada so irresistible to so many striving Americans for so long - the prospect of owning a bigger or cheaper house - is disappearing.

Includes an interactive feature, demographics, and several related stories on moving to Vegas, and stories of the dreamers who do.. recommended reading...

The New York Times > Arts > Television > Death Becomes Her, Her and Her

The New York Times > Arts > Television > Death Becomes Her, Her and Her

NYTimes.com > Arts > Television

Death Becomes Her, Her and Her
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN, Published: May 30, 2004

J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times The women of "Six Feet Under," who have come to dominate the HBO series, clockwise from lower left: Lauren Ambrose, Rachel Griffiths, Joanna Cassidy, Justina Machado and Frances Conroy. [photo caption]

LAST night I was dreaming," said Lauren Ambrose, who plays Claire Fisher, the sulky, mischievous art student who grew up in her father's funeral home, on HBO's "Six Feet Under." "I was trying desperately to deep-fry these oranges. And I was really trying to deep-fry them."

Ms. Ambrose was describing an actual dream, but she was also making a point about acting: surreal scenes ought to be played straight on the cultish melodrama, which returns on June 13, after a 15-month hiatus, for its fourth season. In the show's vision of Los Angeles as a gray-green purgatory, defined by snickering ghosts and a ponderous symbolism, the actors are often forced to lend naturalism to daffy, supernatural plots. Dead people may taunt you, your brother may come on to you, frozen blue chemical waste may fall from the sky and kill you — but you must not be remote, or, worse, facetious. You have to really try.